#This could also be the companion to KiraKira--

[shima-draws]

CRYIGN REAL TEARS the new Miku X Pokemon collab song that DECO composed.......IT'S SO GOOOODD

Also this song gives off MAJOR Trustedpartner vibes. POV you're Ash trying to get the attention of a cute boy

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: DokiDoki May 19

I was kind of disappointed in how my review for the TokyoTreat went yesterday, I mean, even though it annoyed me through various means I wouldn’t not recommend the box still.

Meanwhile, I was very excited for this one. I’ve realized that after doing two really big box reviews, I come to really appreciate the much smaller ones, DokiDoki and YumeTwins. In turn I feel like that makes me do a little better... maybe.

This months theme: Sweet Dreams

“Drift off into dreamland with May’s crate. This month’s theme, Sweet Dreams is all about getting you ready to settle down and get cozy for a good night’s rest. Oyasuminisai is the common saying in Japan to wish someone a good night, so this month Doki Doki Crate is wishing you sweet dreams and a good night!“

This month, the booklet features a fun illustration featuring Tomomi with the girl mascots of Japan Crate and KiraKira Crate having a slumber party. I love how they have cute crossovers between their brands like this x3 it’s a fun touch- did you know Tomomi’s boyfriend is the mascot from Umai Crate?

I also like how even though they quit making the comics, they’re still making original art now and then.

Suteki Crate

This month the Suteki Crate (special crate all subscribers have a chance to win, in case you’re new here) focused on the theme and stuck to the characters featured in this box. It makes me want to nap just looking at everything~

(and I just woke up like an hour ago...)

But I will point out that they have offered a Kirby Otamatone before. Probably a year back or so, I remember seeing it. Also, the adorable Sleepy My Melody plush goes great with the photo contest prize, a sleepy Kuromi plush~

My Melody Mesh Case

Our first item would come in handy when staying out of the house for the day, it’s a mesh pack/bag/case, which can hold many toiletries; hair brushes and accessories, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc. It features an adorable pale pink zipper to match the adorable patterned band around the bottom, which is covered in My Melody with some small forest friends doing various activities (and lots of adorable English phrases).

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

You know, I wasn’t ever into mesh containers like this, I always thought they looked kind of gaudy and they just didn’t appeal to me; but now that I’m older and I’m actually looking at one, it isn’t that bad. This would have come in handy when I was younger, I used to visit my grandma and spend the night/weekend a lot and my suitcase was always a pain dealing with. This could have lightened the load a little, or at least organized it better.

Also, it’s pretty big, I was able to fit in a lot of items and it didn’t feel too heavy or bad carrying. I did notice something though, the inside of the bottom section is sort of... thin cloth-ish, that kind of has me concerned that it might not be a good idea to get it wet, compared to the outside, which feels like it could handle that. Oh, I also noticed two holes in the mesh from the tag being cut, but I feel like it doesn’t really hinder anything.

San-X Towel

Also for bathroom/washing preparedness prior to bed or in the morning, we have a cute mini-towel featuring Sumikko Gurashi or Rilakkuma. As you can see, the Sumikko Gurashi group are out enjoying what looks like an autumn excursion :3 perfect timing considering it’s going on that season now. 

And yes, it’s on one of my cats. He wouldn’t leave me alone while I was trying to get pictures, so I tried making him comfortable enough to go back to sleep.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Well, besides being cute, I’m always impressed when we get towels like this because I don’t usually seen any around here. We have slightly bigger hand towels/rags, but nothing like this. It feels soft and nice, so I feel like this would be ideal for washing your face, drying off the hair, wrapping around the shoulders, using as a hand towel; it’s also the perfect size for wrapping up adorable pets~

(also, I noticed that when held up to the light you can see noticeable tag holes again. Not a huge deal though.)

Pajya Shark Plushie

Of course when you go to bed, you need a cuddly companion by your side to ensure sweet dreams or to help chase away the bad nightmares~

This month, we have an adorably colorful, pastel shark. The name Pajya is inspired by the fact that this was made with common Japanese Sleepwear in mind, which is usually in various soft tones and made from fluffy, soft material. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love fluffy-soft things~ and I also happen to have a fondness for sharks; it’s a weird combination when you think about it, but I love it! He is very soft and sweet looking, and he isn’t threatening or have any teeth, so he’s a good buddy for all types and ages x3 I admit, the sewing could be a little better, but it’s not bad.

(This box has made me super-sleepy~  As of now I’ve only been up an hour and a half >3< But it’s probably because I stayed up until 4am, and I’ve been hungry and didn’t eat yet...)

Kirby Eye Mask

As we prepare for bed, our next item is an adorable eye mask :D featuring Kirby or Waddle Dee. I have a few eye masks and I enjoy using them sometimes (they especially come in handy if you have a headache or just need to relax, unless they squeeze your head too much...) but I don’t use them too frequently.

The mask has a sleek feel and is thin and made from shiny material. It has a really stretchy light pink strap, and the inner-side is cloth, featuring a dark blue star pattern. It also has a small black nose flap...? I’m not entirely sure how that works or what its for, none of my others have one, but I assume it’s just for a little additional comfort or to help support the mask.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s very cute, and I love the concept of bringing in Kirby for this sort of theme. In preparation for the review I was very excited to use this, and it feels very comfortable. Sometimes when I use eye masks I end up pulling them off after a while because they’re kind of uncomfortable or start squeezing, and I admit that this one felt like that after a while- but at the same time it wasn’t nearly to the same extent and didn’t bother me as much. The thin material makes it feel sort of breathable as well, which is nice when my poor nose is stuffed up and I can hardly breath as it is.

I can’t help but relax when I wear an eye mask, so I can’t imagine a more suitable item for this theme~

Kirby Night Light

Our last item is an adorable partner to the Kirby eye mask; a light! Again, this is another great and perfect bed item, especially if you’re someone you might feel a anxious in the dark or need a back-up light. It would also just be cute for a little desk light or something.

This requires 3 AA batteries (not included) and it is available in 2 styles; this parasol blue one I got, and a pink one covered in black and white old style manga or pop art Kirby. We all know how much I love pink, but I also really like the rain, and have a lot of fun playing with the parasol ability/item in Kirby games, so I think I’m actually really happy I got this one.

And of course I wouldn’t leave you guys hanging. I did get it working:

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The light is warm yellow (you know, the lights that seem kind of dim when you compare them to white lights? and yes I know it looks white in the pic, I had to brighten the image to make it see-able clearly) but still very bright; it ended up surprising me. I found it to be really soothing~

I also like the practicality behind this, if you didn’t want to use it as a night light you could use it as a backup flashlight (cause if you’re like us you have a bunch and they either die and you don’t replace batteries, or you lose them), or just to help create a mood- like telling spooky stories during a slumber party. 

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 5 out of 5. I have no complaints, I love these items :3 They’re very sweet and cute, and seeing them (and doing this review) makes me want to lay down to snuggle up with some of them~

Theme: 5 out of 5. I’m really happy to finally have a theme like this, I wish we’d get more bedtime items or themes. I feel like this is also suitable for all times of the year, and everything definitely went together to create a near-seamless box. I say near because some could argue well the bathroom items don’t count: but many people have a routine prior to bed, and some enjoy taking bathes before bed, so in a way yeah, they do count. Suteki Crate and the prize were also spot-on.  

Total Rank: 10 out of 10 Cuties. I know to some people they might argue that a bedtime theme isn’t very exciting but everyone could use a little unwinding, especially at bed. I wasn’t feeling tired when I began writing this but I’m probably going to go back to bed when I finish. I didn’t have anything going on today and I fully plan to take advantage of that. As much as I liked our prior box, I love this one even more! Keep it up Doki Doki~

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Kirby Nightlight - I love how it resembles an actual lamp x3 and I adore the pattern/print on both of the options. The glow made me feel relaxed- the only way it could be better would be if it had an actual rain effect or color change feature like my oil mister~

2. Pajya Shark - It’s colorful and sweet, it’s perfect for bed or just in a sugary sweet pastel setting. Very soft and cuddly. 

3. Kirby Eye Mask - I kind of find face-themed eye masks to be kind of corny, but when it comes to Kirby it’s very cute! It felt really nice against the skin and I can’t wait to use it again (probably after this review).

4. Towel - It’s very cute, I can’t say the color scheme does all that much for me but I love how it’s fall/autumn themed and goes with the upcoming season. The cats really like it too.

5. My Melody Mesh Case - I think it’s sweet and soft on the eyes, but I know I won’t get much use out of it. I could use it now to do some organization of my items in the bathroom (or some others, which I’ll probably do) though, so it’s really practical.

[argeriant18]

Chiisana Lion (Yook Sungjae [BTOB] x Reader)

よくある日常の1ページに 現れた少し不愛想な猫 (yoku aru nichijou no ichipeeji ni arawareta sukoshi buaiso na yatsu) (An unfriendly cat (guy) appeared in a page of an ordinary life.)

ケガをした足がかわいそうで 見兼ねた女の子は助けてのでした (kega wo shita ashi ga kawaisou de mikaneta onna no ko wa tasuketa no deshita) (A girl couldn't be indifferent to his injured leg, and so she helped him.)

A girl named [Y/N] pulled a cat out of a hole of a fence it got stuck in.

"Oh, you poor thing." She pouted at the cat when she noticed his injured leg.

She took a bandana from her bag and she wrapped it around his leg.

"There!" She smiled as she accomplished her job. And the cat just stared at her.

"Well, I gotta go. See you soon, kitty." She beamed before she walked away to wherever she was going.

The cat stared at her retreating form as if it had something to say as she went further away from view.

"ありがとう"すら伝えられニャい 涙が落ちて魔法がかかる ("arigatou" sura tsutaerarenyai namida ga ochite mahou ga kakaru) (Can't even tell "Thank you" to you, I shed tears, and then I was caught in a spell.)

The cat looked down as if it was crying.

Suddenly, two guys approached him.

"Poor kitty." The black haired man said and he lifted the cat off the ground. "Don't cry. We'll make a way for you to show how grateful you are for her kindness. Right, Minhyuk?"

The black haired guy looked back at his companion, a blonde male that was Minhyuk.

Minhyuk snapped his fingers and they were suddenly surrounded by the galaxy.

「秘密だよ」("himitsu da yo") ("It's a secret")

"It'll be our secret. Okay, kitty?" The black haired guy said to the cat before he set it down on the floor that magically appeared out of nowhere.

月は言葉を与えて 太陽は人の姿を与えた (tsuki wa kotoba wo ataete taiyou wa hito no sugata wo ataeta) (The moon let him speak, and the sun turned him into a boy.)

"I, Seo Eunkwang, with the power of the moon, grant you the ability of speech. From now on, you will be able to talk like a human being." The black haired man casted a spell on the cat and it gave off a moonlit glow.

"I, Lee Minhyuk, with the power of the sun, grant you the body of a male human. From now on, you will be able to look like a human being and interact with them." The blonde haired man casted another spell and the cat gave off the warm glow of the sun.

After the light had subsided, a male human was in front of them instead of a cat.

He looked surprised as he looked at himself.

"Well, how do you like it?" Eunkwang was the first to approach him and the guy just stared at him. "Hey, you can speak. Why don't you try it?"

The guy opened his mouth to speak, "Is this for real?"

Eunkwang and Minhyuk smiled.

"Well, now that you're human, you're going to need a name." Minhyuk said and Eunkwang nodded, deep in thought.

"How about Sungjae?" He suggested and the guy nodded his head.

"Sungjae." He tried saying it. "I like it."

"Yook Sungjae." Minhuk said. "How about that?"

Sungjae smiled. "It's great. Thank you!"

キラキラと世界を輝かせよう イッツ•ショウタイム！！(kirakira to sekai wo kagayakaseyou ittsu.shoo taimu!!) (Let's shine the world, it's ShowTime!)

君なりの恩返しを (kiminari no ongaeshi wo) (Repay the favor of what she did for you in your own way.)

"Well, now that that's settled." Minhyuk snapped his fingers again and the galaxy around them faded and they were back to the real world near the fence where Sungjae got stuck in.

"Let's shine the world, Sungjae." Eunkwang smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"It's show time!" He and Minhyuk said in unison.

"It's time to repay the kindness she showed you in your own way." Minhyuk said with a smile.

Sungjae nodded, determined.

"I will!"

(フレーフレ ニャーニャ ) 紳士に ((furee furee nyaa nyaa) shinshi ni) ((Hooray, hooray, meow, meow!) Like a gentleman)

(レッツゴー レッツゴー) 手を取り ((rettsu goo rettsu goo) te wo tori) ((Let's go, let's go!) Hold her hand)

(フレーフレ ニャーニャ) その手に ((furee furee nyaa nyaa) sono te ni) ((Hooray, hooray, meow, meow!) To her hand)

(エスコート エスコート) キスを ((esukooto esukooto) kisu wo) ((Escort, escort!) Kiss her)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A few days later, Sungjae and [Y/N]'s path crossed again and they became pretty close in a span of a few days.

人の姿を手に入れたのに へまばかり ほらまたやらかしちゃってる (hito no sugata wo te ni ireta no ni hema bakari hora mata yarakashichatteru) (Although he became as a boy, he only make stupid mistakes, oh, there again.)

"You know, even if he became human, he seems to still have catlike mannerisms." Minhyuk said as he observed Sungjae and the girl from a rooftop with Eunkwang.

They were hidden from their sight as the rain poured down and he held onto his umbrella as he looked on at what was going to happen.

Sungjae and [Y/N] were stranded at a bus stop.

"Hey! This is my chance!" Sungjae thought excitedly. "I'll take off my jacket and I'll cover both of us with it and then we'll walk in the rain together! Romantic? Yeah!"

He got ready to take out his jacket when [Y/N] took out an umbrella from her bag.

"Wow, how stupid." Minhyuk snickered as the two stared at each other for a few seconds before Sungjae broke out laughing.

それでも猫はめげずに笑う 叶わぬ恋を諦めずにいました (soredemo yatsu wa megezu ni warau kanawanu koi wo akiramezu ni imashita) (Nevertheless, he keep laughing. He didn't give up this impossible love.)

"It's nice to see that he keeps a good outlook on life though." Eunkwang commented with a smile as he saw Sungjae and [Y/N] walk together with an umbrella above both of them. "It's good to see that he's determined."

Minhyuk tore his eyes away from the young couple and looked at Eunkwang.

"You do realize that we have to tell him, right?" He said.

Eunkwang looked up at the sky and gave a bitter smile.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"See you tomorrow, Sungjae!" [Y/N] said when they both reached her house.

"Aww, can you at least give me a little kiss before I leave?" Sungjae asked.

"Aigooo," [Y/N] cooed. "But, ok, sure."

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for walking me home, Sungjae." She smiled and she went to the door of her house to open it.

"See you tomorrow." He said and waved at her before he turned to leave.

He walked for a few minutes when he saw Eunkwang and Minhyuk approach him.

"We need to talk." Minhyuk said, he snapped his fingers and they were surrounded by the galaxy once more.

"How are the two of you getting on?" Eunkwang asked.

Sungjae smiled.

"We're doing great! I'm planning on confessing to her soon and then we'll finally be lovers."

Minhyuk glanced at Eunkwang worriedly.

本当の事は伝えられニャい バレてしまうと魔法が解ける (hontou no koto wa tsutaerarenyai barete shimau to mahou ga tokeru) (Cannot tell her the truth. If she founds out, the spell will break.)

Eunkwang sighed.

"Sungjae, we have to tell you something."

Sungjae stared at them for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Our spell can't last forever." Eunkwang said. "Once you confess to her, the spell will break and you'll be back to being a cat."

Sungjae felt his breath hitch.

"Once the spell break, they won't remember you even exist. You'll be wiped out from their memory." Minhyuk added. "So don't tell her the truth."

「約束だ」期限は近づくいていて ("yakusoku da" kigen wa chikazuite ite) ("It's a promise." The time limit is approaching.)

"Don't tell her that you love her," Eunkwang said barely above a whisper but you could hear it in his voice that he didn't want any of this to happen and that he didn't even want to say what he was saying. "Unless you want to become a cat again."

誰からも去られてしまうのだ (dare kara mo wasuresararete shimau no da) (Everyone will forget about me.)

Sungjae stood there in shock.

"Everyone is going to forget about me if I confess my feelings." He thought. "Even she will forget I exist, right?"

ドキドキな世界に飛び込んだけどイッツ•正体！！(dokidoki na sekai ni tobikonda kedo ittsu.shoutai!!) (I jumped into the exciting world, but it's the truth!)

"Sungjae," Minhyuk spoke. "Sorry to break it to you but it's the truth."

Sungjae still stood there motionless as Eunkwang just watched on anxiously.

君は人にはなれない (kimi wa hito ni wa narenai) (You cannot be a real human.)

"Even if you look like a human, our spells can't do much." Minhyuk said. "You can't be a real human, Sungjae."

Sungjae clenched his fist.

"Reality is harsh."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

(フレーフレ ニャーニャ ) それでも ((furee furee nyaa nyaa) soredemo) ((Hooray, hooray, meow, meow!) Even so)

Sungjae ran.

His breath was quickening up as he increased his pace.

(レッツゴー レッツゴー) がむしゃら ((rettsu goo rettsu goo) gamushara) ((Let's go, let's go!) Desperately)

He saw one of the [Y/N]'s friend, Kristy, and he stopped in front of her.

He told her that she should tell [Y/N] to meet up with him at the bus stop they got stranded in.

"Also, thank you for everything." Sungjae said as he grabbed her hand and shook it repeatedly before he ran off leaving Kristy confused.

"What was that about?" She muttered before she took her phone out and texted [Y/N].

(フレーフレ ニャーニャー) 今だけ ((furee furee nyaa nyaa) ima dake) ((Hooray, hooray, meow, meow!) Just now)

Sungjae ran around telling everyone how he was thankful for them and that [Y/N] should go and meet up with him.

Everyone was confused but they didn't question him and just informed [Y/N].

(エスコート エスコート) 夢を ((esukooto esukooto) yume wo) ((Escort, escort!) Your dream)

"I know what the consequences will be if I confess to her." Sungjae thought as he ran to the bus stop they were going to meet at and the corner of his eye he thought he saw Eunkwang and Minhyuk when he passed by a house with a terrace.

"I'm willing to risk that just to let her know!"

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

惹かれ会二人には 別べの幸せしかなくて(hikareau futari ni wa betsubetsu no shiawase shikanakute) (Two were attracted to each other, but they have different happiness.)

[Y/N] waited for Sungjae at the bus stop they got stranded in.

She's a bit worried about what he wants to tell her.

She saw him running towards her, panting.

"Hey, Sungjae?" She gave her some water from her water bottle. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Sungjae drank from it and he gave it back to her as he regained his composure.

わかってるけど我慢できない 驚かないで話を聞いて (wakatteru kedo gaman dekinai odorokanaide hanashi wo kiite) (I know that, but I can't be patient. Don't be surprised, will you listen to me?)

"This is gonna surprise you but please listen to me, okay?" He said to her and she just nodded.

"Okay," [Y/N] said. "What is it?"

僕は... (Boku wa...) (I...)

"I. . ." Sungjae struggled to get the words out of his mouth. He could see Eunkwang and Minhyuk watching him up on a tree.

"I love you."

「お別れだ」("owakare da") ("It's time to say goodbye.")

He closed his eyes.

He wasn't anticipating her answer but he was waiting to turn back into his cat form.

"Goodbye, [Y/N]"

月は言葉を奪って 太陽は人の姿を奪った (tsuki wa kotoba wo ubattte taiyou wa hito no sugata wo ubatta) (The moon took his voice away, and the sun took his shape of a boy away.)

Sungjae's body shone with light and he turned back into his cat form.

Eunkwang looked on, he was a little sad and Minhyuk just gave a little sigh.

"The things we do for love, huh?" He whispered. "Sacrifice."

すれ違い女の子は振り返る (surechigai onna no ko wa furikaeru) (They went pass each other, and the girl looked back.)

[Y/N] was shocked when he confessed but when the light appeared, she had to shield her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, Sungjae wasn't there anymore.

少しだけ悲しそうな顔に見えた (sukoshi dake kanashisou na kao ni mieta) (She seemed to be in a little sad face.)

"Sungjae?" She called out as she looked around, a little sad and a little confused.

Little by little, her memories of him began to fade away. When it was gone completely, she began to question what she was doing there.

あの日から 好きでした今日も明日も見守ってる (ano hi kara suki deshita kyou mo asu mo mimamotteru) (Since that day I was in love with you.)

When she realized she had somewhere to be, she ran off.

Sungjae watched him, he was now a cat again.

"I've always been in love with you."

"Well, what's your plan now?" Eunkwang walked over to him and picked him up.

Sungjae just looked up at him with big round eyes.

"Eh, I can't bear this." Eunkwang said and he casted a spell for him to speak when he was around him and Minhyuk.

"It's okay, you can still show your love by being her favorite cat." Minhyuk said and patted Sungjae's head.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next day. . .

"Waahhh!!! Kitty!!! You're here!!" [Y/N] squealed when she saw Sungjae on her way back home.

Sungjae meowed and she picked her up to give him a cuddle.

"Wow, you seem to be following me a lot. I saw you a while ago, too. Just this morning." [Y/N] chuckled.

Sungjae just meowed and licked her on the lips.

[Y/N] was shocked for a while before she giggled.

フレーフレ ニャーニャ 紳士に ((furee furee nyaa nyaa) shinshi ni) ((Hooray, hooray, meow, meow!) Like a gentleman)

"Wow, that cat." Minhyuk observed them up from a tree. "He has a better love life than we do."

レッツゴー レッツゴー 手を取り ((rettsu goo rettsu goo) te wo tori) ((Let's go, let's go!) Hold her hand)

"Well, at least he's happy." Eunkwang smiled. "We're bound to find someone soon in the right time. For now, let's be happy for Sungjae."

フレーフレ ニャーニャ その手に ((furee furee nyaa nyaa) sono te ni) ((Hooray, hooray, meow, meow!) To her hand)

Minhyuk nodded and continued to look at Sungjae and [Y/N], she was happy to be with him and he was happy to be in her arms.

"Yeah."

エスコート エスコート キスを ((esukooto esukooto) kisu wo) ((Escort, escort!) Kiss her)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The End

[digiconjurer]

Secret Santa - Kirakira Tamers

I don’t own digimon or Precure. But do have a merry Christmas, @junnichiedesu. For it was I, who was your Secret Santa! 

Rika Nonaka’s day began much  like any other day normally did.

She would wake up, get dressed, and try to find something for her partner to do for the day. Unlike most days, it was a weekend, making the last task irrelevant. Of course, that didn't stop her partner from making suggestions.

“You should take me and Ryo here.” Renamon explained and held up a poster. “Sure, it’s a bit out of the way, but you said the other day you wanted to travel. So here’s your chance.”

Rika let out a deep breath. While sure, she had wanted to get out of West Shinjuku and see the other parts of Japan, this wasn’t what she had in mind.

“Isn’t this from a show that aired last year or something?” she continued and got a nod in return. “Then how the heck are we supposed to get there then?”

An answer was not given to that question. Instead, Renamon held out what looked to be a purple cat thing.

“Please~” the vulpine digimon cooed, giving a wink right after. “Outside of a kiss, I won’t ask you for anything else.”

But all that remark got her was a look.

“We both know you’re going to break that promise.” Rika answered as Ryo poked his head through a nearby window. How he even got there is a good question. Probably jumped the large fence that surrounded the Nonaka’s property. Instead of you know, going to the gate.

“I heard my name. What do you need from me?” Ryo inquired and jumped on through. “Card game? Some kind of trip? A storytime, perhaps?”

Rika shot him a glare.

“None of the above.”

Ryo’s gaze fell to the floor, not really liking that answer. But you know, life sometimes isn’t that fair. Just ask Jeri. I bet she would love to remind you of the whole D-Reaper mess.

Of course, it would seem that Ryo's focus was more on Renamon's poster rather than the shouting of the narrator.

“So you were thinking here?” he remarked and got a nod. The pulling out of the D-arc followed. “Millenniummon might know a way to get there. Though, I'm not sure what his price to get us there would be.”

Right on cue, a ball of dust floated in. Though, it didn't look all too happy at the moment. He would probably prefer to appear as the weird gold dragon thing. But then he wouldn't fit.

“Silence!” the dust ball announced and turned their attention to the trio. “What is this about using me? I am the lord of time, not someone’s playtoy.”

No one answered. Instead, they were too focused on trying to decide whether or not this was the real Millenniummon or just some weird copy that Ryo was trying to pass off as the real McCoy. Which if you ask me, seems like a whole lot of work in the grand scheme of things. Better yet, where exactly was he going to get such a thing as a dustball.

“We get it!” Rika shouted and took a deep breath. “We were hoping to go here. Can you possibly take us here?”

She then pointed to her partner's poster. Millenniummon floated on over, making a brief pit stop to give his master a stink eye. Which I guess Ryo deserves? He did try and kill him at one point. Though, that was under the orders of the sovereigns, so I guess I can give that sort of a pass.

“We don't talk about that.” the dustball remarked as he gave the poster a nudge. The poster then disappeared, leaving behind a portal of some sort. I was expecting something more along the lines of a train, maybe a trailmon/locomon. But this works too. “Ready to go then?”

Renamon and Ryo gave a nod, but Rika didn’t respond. No, she was just confused by what the fuck was going at this very moment. But eventually, she gave a nod and they were sucked on in.

On the other side, the three found themselves subjected too to a rainbow void. It reminded two of the four of that one time that they went to the digital world. Except it was less hard on the eyes and there were more of them taking the trip.

Eventually, the rainbows faded away, giving way to a world similar to the one that they had just left. Except everything was all pastel and cel-shaded.

“Okay…” Rika whispered as they looked themselves over. Sure, looking like an adult was kind of cool, if not for the racing suit she was now wearing. She wouldn’t have minded something a bit more practical, especially if this was what she was going to be walking around in. But this, felt like something for some other time.

Kohenkyo!

Carefully, Renamon put her hand on her master’s shoulder, watching the racing suit get replaced by a bigger version of her old outfit. With the outfit, came a slightly higher viewpoint and a slight bust increase.

“Better?” Renamon inquired and Rika gave a nod. After, she let her focus turn to Ryo. Who like Rika, had gotten both a clothing and height change. Except it wasn't as drastic as hers, nor did it apply to his metal arm. That can just be put back in later. During editing.

Or why Renamon was now attempting to be a human around their age. Though, with her blouse and skirt, she looked like she could possibly pass. Millenniummon on the other hand, not so much. He still looked like a ball of dust with little change. Which is a complete waste if you ask me.

But that’s beyond the point. At the moment, our heroes found themselves in a forest. Just barely, they could make out the town below. And just beyond that, the harbor. Of course, that didn’t really tell them where they actually were.

“So where is this bakery you wanted to see?” Rika remarked, only for her attention to focus elsewhere. “Wait. Do you guys hear that?” Her teammates gave a head shake, only for a nut to hit one of them.

“Who threw that?”

More nuts followed. And by nuts, I mean stuff like peanuts and pecans. Which don’t really do that much damage. Maybe they should try walnuts? I heard those hurt a whole lot more. Or why settle for nuts? There’s got to be some sort of fruit that can be thrown as well. Thankfully, their attackers did eventually stop their assault upon them. Well, long enough that our heroes could move somewhat closer.

“Are the intruders still there?” a voice announced as what looked to be a cross between a fairy and a squirrel poke its head out. “Oh I guess they are still here.” “Uh… Could you tell where we are? We’re kind of lost.” Renamon announced and got an acorn to the head. It didn’t really hurt though. So I guess that’s nice. “Biomerge time?”

“I guess?” Rika whispered, feeling her partner become a part of her. “Wait. No transformation sequence?”

It’s a quick change. Tomato, tomato.

Whatever the case, Sakuyamon and Justimon now stood guard against the onslaught of weird fairy creatures. Which is complete overkill if you ask me.

Whip Decoration!

A ball of what I hope is whipped cream shot forth, covering both Rika and Ryo. The latter also attempted to get a mouthful of, which didn’t taste good. At all. I’m not sure why he thought it would. But oh well.

“What does it taste like?”

“Magic?” Thank you for that truly helpful answer. Not. Like seriously, that tells the viewer nothing. Bad Ryo! Bad! You should be ashamed of yourself.

“I’m not sure what I did wrong here.” Ryo remarked as a pink haired girl came into view. “Uh… can we help you here?”

On closer inspection, the pink-haired girl appeared to be wearing a pinkish white dress with a dark pink bow near the middle of her chest. A pair of dark pink high heeled boots covered her feet, with little tufts of white thrown in for good measure. Short white gloves cover her hands, while what looks to be shortcake head ornament (sadly, not edible) tries to compliment a pair of bunny ears. Interesting outfit, I guess?

“Maybe.” the girl answered, her attention split between both biomerged tamers. “I am Cure Whip. What brings you two to Strawberry Hills?”

Rika shot Ryo a glance. As tempting as it would be to just out him in the hopes of getting a trip back, it would mean also having to admit that she was being a complete buzzkill. Which didn’t sound so fun. Especially since they hadn’t thought of a way back to West Shinjuku. Oops. Probably should’ve thought that through before heading through an untested portal.

“Shut up!”

“Uh… Who are you even talking too?” the girl remarked, only to be joined by an orange-haired girl. Unlike her friend, she has gone yellowish dress with white opera gloves and a yellow ribbon. Yellow socks compliment an orange set of slippers, while a pair of cherries hang from a red choker. A flan head ornament sits right in front of a pair of squirrel ears, with a tail as well to boot. Points for theming I guess? Not what I would have gone with, but this isn’t one of my calls.

Custard Illusion!

A pair of cherries appear above squirrel girl, shattering into many small balls. Which homed into our two heroes. They did look quite tasty though.

Fox Card!

In response to that, Rika flung some sort of seal towards the projectiles. While clever thinking, it wasn’t enough to prevent either of them from getting hit. Not that it really hurt all that much.

“Ow.” Ryo whispered and got helped up by his companion. “What made you think that would work?”

Rika just shrugs. Right as squirrel girl runs on over and tries to send her little squirrel thing to attack. It isn’t too effective. Which begs the question of why that was her attack. Especially since her opponent countered with a series of kicks and staff swings.

“A little help here, Whip!” squirrel girl announced as she made a hand motion. ‘Whip’ just gave a nod and made her way over. “Thanks!”

The two then pulled out what looked to be a cross between umbrella rods and a wand. And that’s just ignoring the similarities to the previous team's sticks. Not that they would really know. Or care, for that matter.

Spirit Strike!

Four fox spirits appeared and attempted to do some damage to their opponents. But all that really happened was their opponents spirit things attacking them in the hopes of stopping them.

“We're here!” a voice announced as three more girls ran up.

“Great.” Rika whispered as duo were pelted with weird flavored silly string. “Could you I don't know, leave us alone? We don't mean you any trouble.”

The fighting stopped, as the attention shifted to the ‘digimon queen’. So she took a deep breath and reverted back to her original form.

“We just got here.” Rika explained. “I'm Rika and the woman beside me is Renamon.”

After saying that, Rika gave her other companion a slight poke. Which managed to revert him back as an added bonus. Even though he didn't help Rika at all during this fight. Which was quite rude of him, I might add. But whatever his reasoning for not acting when he did, the cyborg cleared his throat.

“I'm Ryo.” he announced and pointed towards the dust ball beside him. “This is Millenniummon. Just ignore him.”

Their opponents gazes shifted towards the dust ball.

“You sexy things.” the dust ball remarked. “Any of you available?”

That remark got him a barrage of attacks. Attacks that he most definitely deserved in that moment. They finally stopped when a girl dressed in cyan approached with a girl dressed in orange following right behind. For cyan girl, she had gone for a pegasus motif. Her companion had decided that dinosaurs were more her jam. Not that there's really a wrong answer in all of this. Just a difference of opinions.

But whatever the case, rabbit girl approached our duo. Once she was close enough, she let her outfit disappear in favor of more casual clothes. Which looked to be a halter dress and shoes with strawberry socks.

“I'm Ichika. Welcome to Strawberry Hills.” she greeted, a smile on her face. “Sorry about the trouble we may have caused you.”

Yet, Rika shook her head.

“Not at all.” she answered. “Is there anyway that we can get back?”

Ichika shook her head. Though, the attention of miss dino was now squarely on Rika. Who decided that now was a good time to approach the tamers.

“You’ve sealed your fate.” dino girl remarked and took a deep breath. “Sooner or later, your powers will be changed and you’ll no longer be able to be the same as before.”

Both Rika and Ryo gave her a stare.

“Just kidding.” dino girl remarked, getting a punch to the face. Which she responded with a series of her own. They hurt a lot more too. “Do you people take everything at face value?”

Both Rika and Ryo looked away.

“Maybe?”

It’s going to be a long day, isn’t it?

Thankfully, the rest of their opponents reverted back and revealed themselves to be teenage girls as well. Which our dustball decided that now was a good time to put on a pair of 80’s shades and blow a wolf whistle.

He got his ass kicked. Again. You would think he would have learned his lesson by this point, but no.

“Fine.” the dustball muttered and floated onto his master’s head. Once there, the group headed off down the mountain. Eventually, they reached a large park.

“What’s it name?”

Strawberry Park.

“That’s a bit on the nose.” Renamon whispered as she looked the sign over.

Yeah. But it does the job nicely. You wouldn’t want the place to just be called ‘park’ or ‘greenspace’. That would be silly.

“Would you like a cupcake?” Ichika inquired and watched their guests perk up.

“That would be nice.” Rika answered as a large building came into view. It looked like a facade from an amusement park. You know, like the stuff that they used on Main Street for Disney Parks. Except here, it was an actual building. More specifically, a bakery.

“Patisserie.” squirrel girl remarked. “There’s a big difference.”

Huh.

Inside, things were decorated for the Christmas season. You know, sleds, Christmas trees and of course, snow.

“What do you guys think?” Ichika continued, cracking a slightly nervous smile. “Yukari did the decorations.”

A purple haired girl walked over to Ichika and gave her chin a slight tickle. Which resulted in the ‘bunny girl’ erupting into a giggling fit.

It also got the purple-haired girl a glance from the gal who looked as if they could pass as a guy. Probably purple haired girl’s girlfriend or something. It wouldn’t be that surprising, but you know.

Whatever the case, they headed on in.

“Could you give us a second?” one of the girls (a blue haired one) announced and the group scurried to the back, leaving our heroes to their own devices.

“Huh…” Rika answered, taking another look around. It felt almost like someone’s home, the sort that one could pack up and take with them.

When the girls finally returned, they were now clad in white apron dresses with little tints of their respective color powers. They were also carrying platters of various sweets.

“Bon Appetit.” one of them announced as they set the trays down, joining the trio at the table. What followed, was a feast of Christmas sweets. A well deserved one, at that. Maybe after that, they could find a way off of this rock.

[lore-a-lie]

Chapter 3, Act 2: From the Diary of a Fly on the Wall

Daily Life

Kaede was feeling much better the next day at the dining hall. She felt a little bad that she hadn’t told Gonta about the flashback light Kaito and Ryoma had found, but it wouldn’t take long to explain. It wasn’t like she was really in the mood to have seen the memories either, after getting what she needed to hear out of Korekiyo, so she was glad Angie and Tenko pushed for them to wait a day.

It was really fucked up, don’t get her wrong. But assuming he was being honest, and he hardly seemed to have a reason to lie with how he kept trying to set her off to see what she’d do, she had her closure.

Not that it made seeing him any easier, as Korekiyo was still one of the first people there along with Kaito and Ryoma. It looked like they were taking over for Gonta right now, since he wasn’t here yet. Neither was Kokichi for that matter. Odd that she hadn’t seen him at all today. Unless he was trying to avoid her.

“Ey, Kaede! Bright and early again I see,” Kaito said, beaming like he normally did as he encouraged her to take a seat by Ryoma. However given his current company his chipper mood was returned with a poorly disguised facepalm by his short companion and a dark glower from his supposed ward.

Seeing such a harsh contrast Kaede couldn’t help but weakly giggle a bit as she sat in the open chair. She was pretty sure Ryoma was giving Kaito a glare, but she couldn’t really tell from this angle without making it obvious she was staring. Probably because of how close it put her to Korekiyo, and rightly so.

I mean I don’t really know how I should be reacting to this either. If they still see me shaken they might lose faith in my ability to lead or make decisions, and if I’m too openly angry or spiteful that might be considered as me being too biased against him or risk someone killing him and lead to a trial. But on the other hand if they wanted me to be more decisive about him I might be seen as too soft right now.

“I could say the same to you. Anything going on?” she asked, trying to avoid looking Korekiyo as much as she could to help keep herself calm. Which was made harder by him being the first to answer.

“You mean aside from there being a thief among us?”

“According the serial killer.” Ryoma quickly brushed him off.

“Why should that matter? Items are missing from my lab and you can’t deny that! Besides, last I checked that applies to both of us and only you earned a tabloid name for it.” (Boy he’s heated over this. Good.)

“What about “Ladykiller”?” Kaito jokingly suggested, also ignoring the possibly more serious subject.

“... That was not a request to be given one. Do try to learn some tact. You’re worse than Kibo.” With the exasperation in Korekiyo’s tone, he was probably gesturing to her to prove his point. Not that Kaede risked looking at him to know for sure.

Though as if to remind her what kind of people she was still dealing with, Korekiyo ended up derailing his own train of thought with another tabloid tangent. “Why must they all have “Killer” in them anyway? Considering our own “Killer Tennis” and how “ Kirakira ” sounds like “Killer-killer”. Though at least we aren’t misusing the word “Genocide” again, like the Genocide Jack fiasco. How could anyone  ever think that was a decent name for a possibly female murderer, given her choice of victims, is beyond me.”

“ENOUGH PLEASE! Do we know the objects being missing means they’ve been stolen? I mean if someone’s watching this game then maybe Monokuma’s meant to take away pieces of evidence so they can’t be used in later cases. You know, to keep later murders from being too similar to the others and keep things interesting?” (God I hope he buys this. I mean if stuff related to crimes is going missing and it isn’t Monokuma it’s probably Kokichi’s handiwork. Or it could just be him tormenting Korekiyo.)

“I didn’t say the relics that are no longer present were ones related to any of the murders from before.” His tone sounded like he was suspicious of how Kaede knew that. But as far as she knew she did nothing wrong so she swallowed and tried to keep her voice level as she explained herself best she could.

“Sorry, I was just guessing. I mean I saw that the katana was still missing from its sheath before and I wasn’t sure I saw that mask back in its case when I stopped by yesterday. What else is missing then?”

“You did what?” Ryoma seemed shaken by that admission. But even though the question was probably directed at her it was Korekiyo he turned to glare daggers at.

“Yes, she visited to give Gonta some more “pleasant” company. Likely to make sure I hadn’t bored him to death with my old books. Nothing you need to worry about, Ryoma.” Korekiyo lied as easily as breathing, and Kaede had no reason to want to correct him. It’d only upset Ryoma and Kaito more, she was sure. He turned to face her as he addressed her question. “Your guess was largely correct, however I’m not sure if the book I was going to use for the would-be seance murder should’ve counted as evidence in that case. However this theory does seem fairly plausible otherwise, as the syringe and other supplies related to Himiko’s death haven’t been returned to Miu’s lab either last I checked.” (KOKICHI LIVES ANOTHER DAY!)

“Aww, Gonta if you were that lonely you could have just locked Kiyo up in there and hung out with me~” Kokichi’s teasing drawl came from the hallway doors, and Gonta stood by his side, looking troubled at the group. They must have overheard, but if Kokichi picked up on Korekiyo’s lie he was content to let it slide. Gonta didn’t point it out either for whatever reason as he took to sitting on Korekiyo’s other side as Kokichi took to Kaede’s.

“Gonta sorry he late! He forget Kiyo also get up early, and Kokichi wanted to teach Gonta about-”

“Not talking to strangers in weird creepy masks!” Kokichi pointedly cut him off as he pointed at Korekiyo and gave him an exaggerated glare, getting only a skeptical look in return. But Korekiyo chose to play along with the obvious lie, as if returning the favor of Kokichi not calling his own out.

“I may be strange, but is it still right to treat me as a stranger? We all knew each other too well for that sort of false distance yes?”

“Gonta pretty sure Kokichi right if Kiyo treats bugs as candy.” (WHAT?! EW, NO! NO. NONONONO. No.)

“Reptites don’t? That’s a surprise, I’d figure they’d have at least one similar recipe considering how many “ethnic” sweets may go into such territories. But not to worry. I wouldn’t dare touch any of your beloved specimens for such a petty treat I promise. No matter how well candied crickets would go with my tea.”

“WHAT THE FUCK, I WAS LYING TO HIM! I mean, it’s not like I haven’t used licensed candies like that for some pranks, but seriously? Whyyyyyy?” Kokichi whined and flailed about, which seemed to help keep Gonta from having a clear shot at Korekiyo if the gentle giant lost his temper. But aside from some breathing exercises and tensing on his part Gonta took the news pretty well! (What a shame.)

“Beggars can’t be choosers when looking into other cultures, and as said they can be quite tasty.”

“Not when people are eating please!” Kaede complained, and possibly a bit too loudly at that.

“ARE YOU BULLYING KAEDE OVER THERE?! Kaede I’m sooo sorry, I had no idea I had left you alone with these immature ruffians!... And Gonta.” (... Did she just- Is she making an exception for Gonta? YES!)

Tenko was quick to run to Kaede’s side to give her an overblown hug as she looked at the boys as if they had done something horrible to her. Tsumugi and Angie were a ways behind her, along with a… pigeon?

It was definitely a pigeon that flew by and sat itself on Tenko’s head, and since she wasn’t overreacting to this Kaede could only assume this was some sort of normal. (One of Himiko’s doves maybe? I haven’t seen any lately. Not since the party come to think of it- ACK, that was days ago! Oh dear, are they okay?)

“Yup, yup! We’re sorry, so sorry, Angie just wanted to try swimming with Himiko’s fishies during feeding time! They enjoy Tenko’s daily blood sacrifices nearly as much as Atua does, so cute~”

“Please stop calling Himiko’s piranha “fishies” Angie, it really downplays how dangerous that could be!” Tsumugi scolded, still obviously distressed by whatever had happened in the dojo.

“It’s fine, it’s fine~ Nothing to worry about!”

“Tenko’s going to make a swear jar for you misusing that phrase at this rate.”

“Can we make one for all the third-person people too? OH, or how about catchphrases, like Ryoma’s?”

“Pretty sure your “it’s a lie” spiel should count enough too if you wanna go there kid.”

“Or it could merely be a genuine swear jar. Kaito would end up paying handsomely for that I imagine.”

“H-hey, come on dude don’t be like that. How’d you like it if we went with a purple prose penalty, huh?”

“Gonta not sure what that mean, but if it make Kiyo talk simple Gonta support it!” (Get back on topic!)

“Knock it off you guys, it’s not like money even really matters if we don’t bring it up. But I didn’t know Tenko was taking care of Himiko’s pets, why didn’t you say anything? I could help sometime if you want.”

“Didn’t I tell you? I guess that was just a student council thing, when I was asking if we could take out the pool’s chlorine thingies so Himiko’s fish could have some more room to swim around. But if you want to help there is something I was going to ask you girls! … And guys, if you agree to take things seriously.” (...I’m sorry what was that? Come on Tenko, I mean I know you can’t use the pool but why would you try to ruin that for the rest of us too?! Even if the water level looks way too low for normal swimming.)

“Kibo isn’t here and Kokichi is so I’m not sure we can honestly say we all will. But go on, shoot.” Ryoma deadpanned with a smirk, to which Kaito jokingly hit him in the shoulder in response to that verbal jab.

“This dove’s been pretty chummy with me for a while now, but I don’t really know what to name her. And before you ask yes I know for sure it’s the same bird! I even gave her a little tag on her foot, see?”

The bird in question did have a little red tie on her left leg, as she hopped from Tenko’s head to her hand at the girl’s prompting to aid in this display. As she began pecking at said tie a moment later, despite Tenko’s attempts to convince her to leave it be, it didn’t look like she was too keen on keeping it though.

“Gonta going to ask how Tenko knows it a girl bird. Birds hard to tell, if boy birds aren’t pretty colors or girl birds aren’t really big. Harder than bugs sometimes, and bugs no always have boys or girls at all.”

“What are you talking about, just look at this face! Of course she’s a girl dove!” (I don’t think that’s how this works.)

“Well what about “Himiko”? She’s probably heard the name enough to recognize it at least, right?”

“I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with that. Like maybe “Yumeno” or “Yumeko” would work, but not just “Himiko”. Not yet.”

“Right, sorry Tenko.”

“Not to worry! Thank you very much for your suggestion Kaede, it was really nice. Maybe that’d work for another bird, later. Like a… sleepy one, or something.”

“Well, if we’re starting this off with dead name suggestions why not we go with the most innocent victim of all: Hedwig!”

“Hey, watch your spoilers Kokichi! And that’s too soon…”

“Oh my god Tsumugi that was years ago, get over it already!”

“You do realize she was named for the patron saint of orphans yes? It really isn’t fitting for this at all.”

“Definitely not using it then. I don’t even know what show you all are talking about.”

“Okay, so something more light-hearted and fitting… How about “Oko-san”? I mean yeah he was a fantail, but out of everybirdie he looks the most like her and that name should be gender neutral enough.”

“I’d prefer not naming her after some degenerate bird if I can help it, but that could work! If nothing better comes up I’ll consider it. Thanks, Tsumugi!”

“If a feminine name is needed how about “Inanna”? After the Sumerian goddess of the many aspects of both love and war, due to her association with doves. I think invoking her suits you.”

“... That’s actually kinda pretty but I hate you so no.” (Thanks for that Tenko, I hope he’s disappointed.)

“Well, there was no harm in trying. You did ask for at least one of us to take your dilemma seriously.”

“H-hey we can take this seriously too! How’s about “John Coo”?”

Some distinct groans came from Tsumugi and Kokichi upon hearing it, but Kaede didn’t get the joke. Tenko did at the very least, but she also didn’t seem to appreciate Kaito’s suggestion. Ryoma however looked like he was very valiantly trying to keep himself from laughing, with the weird grin he was making.

“What, no! I just said she was a girl dove you degenerate male!”

“Um, why’s everyone groaning?”

“A bad pun I assume?”

“Seriously Kiyo? I mean a girl not getting it is one thing but what sort of man doesn’t know John Woo!?”

“And that would be?” Kaede tried to push for an actual explanation.

“That action director guy with the weird pigeon fetish!” Kokichi chimed.

“Then that would be the sort of person who doesn’t enjoy such exhausting displays of overstimulation. And here I thought such a description was limited to Tesla.”

As Kaito and Tenko were distracted arguing Gonta made a sort of chirping to get the bird to come over to him. With the small white dove perched on his finger he made another series of coos at it, to which it seemed to be responding. (I guess he really can talk to animals, huh?)

“Uh, Tenko? Birdie say she like the name John Coo.”

“Well there we have it, John Coo it is! Of course she’d like the name given to her by the Luminary of the Stars!”

“I said no!”

“Aww, I was kinda hoping that she’d at least insist on being called “Miss” John Coo or something.” Tsumugi mumbled to herself. Kaede wasn’t sure how a pigeon could really “insist” on that though.

Ryoma had apparently worked his way through his laughter for now and was the very picture of serious as he gave his two cents on the subject. “Any good pet parent would know to respect her wishes. John Coo is a lovely young lady and this should be her decision to make, not yours.”

“But it’s dumb!”

“Don’t say that in front of her Tenko, you’ll hurt her self-esteem. This is a delicate time in her life and John Coo needs you to support her right now.”

“HOW CAN YOU SAY ALL OF THIS WITH A STRAIGHT FACE RYOMA!?” (Pfft. Of course our only decent gambler has the best poker face. How can he do that over something so silly?)

“Easier for me than you I’m sure.” He replied with a wink and one of the most self-satisfied smiles Kaede has ever seen on his face. She, Tsumugi, Kiyo, and Kaito were all obviously trying to hide their laughter, as opposed to Angie and Kokichi who dissolved into a pair of giggling idiots. Gonta didn’t seem it get it.

“... You’re all horrible and Tenko wants you to know she hates you.” Tenko grumbled. (I can live with this.)

“Nyahahaha, that’s okay because John Coo still loves us! Just like Atua, John Coo is too pure to judge~”

“Only because she’s a bit... slow.”

“Just like both of her mommies!”

“I WILL END YOU KOKICHI-”

“Uh, am I interrupting something?” Kibo’s voice came from the door, looking ready to walk back out of it if the answer was “yes”. Tenko took the opportunity to gather herself and sit back down, with John Coo flitting back to her which helped calm her down.

“Nope, you just missed the christening of John Coo the lovey dovey. Say “Hi” John.” Kokichi chimed, and John did actually give a coo at the command. Or it may have been her attempt to complete her name, if that’s how a pigeon could insist on that. Tenko still seemed sour about it all as she pet the little dove.

“I… See. Sorry if you were waiting for me to use the flashback light. We are actually using it right Angie?”

“I guess… Atua still disagrees with this though.”

“Wait, no one tell Gonta flashback light found yesterday! Why no one get him or Kiyo?” (Because of me.)

“After the mess with the last video we decided to give a delay before we all see this one together again. Since not everyone thinks we should use them, but things could get difficult if we learn something big,” Kaede summed up best she could. No one appeared to have much to add to her explanation, and while Korekiyo understood why the knowledge gap could become a problem Gonta looked a bit confused.

“In case it becomes relevant the last video indicated we all may have been part of the same school, despite us all now having the uniforms from whatever highschool we attended before then. There may also be some sort of government program we tried to hide from, which was why we saw that funeral.” Korekiyo supplied, which made enough sense to Gonta that he didn’t look nearly as lost anymore. Angie and Kibo were more troubled by this information, but Tsumugi and Tenko accepted it without question.

And so, despite the concerns against it, Kaede took the light from her backpack and thumbed the switch.

Again she became nearly overwhelmed by the sense of vertigo with the world warping itself around her. But this time the onslaught of memories it unlocked within her were far from pleasant or comforting. It was like the motive videos all over again.

Meteorites had plagued the world, and led to a significant amount of damage to her hometown. The chaos and sense of end times it caused so many people to feel, as if the sky was literally falling around them. How could she have ever forgotten something this important? Or anyone else for that matter.

This explained the state her house was in though. She and her family had left it long before her kidnapping, so of course it would be a mess now. And this fit Kaito’s “natural disaster” theory from before too, for how so many people could be facing some horrible future outside of these walls at the same time.

It sounded like everyone’s experiences were a little different with this batch of memories, unlike before.

The only one who really seemed to have been in a similar situation to her own was Tsumugi, whose hometown also suffered greatly and had been faced with similar fatalistic groups causing havoc. Not that they were they were the only ones who remembered the cults with their flyers declaring that “mankind deserves damnation” and the other violent gangs that sprang out; Kaito and Kibo clearly saw those too.

As Kibo explained his it sounded like he and his professor were rather protected from the event itself, as he remembered more of the news reports and Internet buzz about them than the actual impacts. Tenko and Gonta seemed similarly disconnected, as they had also only heard about the civil unrest it caused.

Angie’s people were mostly faced with rising waters caused by the meteor impacts, which had led to her being sent to Japan as she could recall, but she couldn’t quite grasp why yet. Korekiyo offhandedly mentioned the madness everyone was facing could be part of why he could get away with killing as many girls as he did, as many people had gone missing, but when pressed he only admitted the number was greater than ninety.

He did also remember that the meteorites seemed to have been the cause of a deadly new disease that sprang up. He had encountered it in his travels rather often too, but never showed any symptoms himself. His sister wasn’t so lucky, and that was what had caused her to cough blood when they saw her film before.

It was hard to tell who was more distressed by this particular addition, Kaito or Korekiyo, but only the latter gave them an explanation for why as he tried to keep himself from having another panic attack.

Apparently her doctors couldn’t be sure if she had caught it on her own or if he unintentionally served as an asymptomatic carrier. He was confirmed to have been conventionally immune to the disease, but that was no comfort if it meant he might have been the cause of his sister’s untimely death.

Ryoma suspected a similar immunity may also have been why his prison let him out early, if only to use him as a means to help others through this calamity, considering it a form of “community service”. Tenko and her master also helped out wherever they could, but she didn’t seem as sure whether some of the “degenerates” they fought in the name of justice she remembered were parts of any larger movements.

Gonta also remembered there was a scientist who claimed that, based on a similar event happening millions of years ago, if nothing could be done all life on earth could be wiped out in an event worse than the end of the dinosaurs. Ironic considering he was raised by some of the few surviving descendants of that time.

Kaito was the first to remember the plan that was humanity’s last hope. The “Gofer Project”. With an “f”, as in the trees used for Noah’s ark, rather than the animal as Korekiyo pointed out, as it unsettled him. Like even with all the countries of the world working together they wouldn’t be able to save many from the metaphorical “flood” they were being faced with. (Of course, he’d worry more about the cultures that could be lost. Not the actual people or animals that could die or go extinct in that. The heartless bastard.)

Not that it mattered how many they were hoping to protect, if Kokichi’s memories about it “failing” somehow were true. But no one else seemed to have memories that elaborated on that.

“... What if that’s the project we were hiding from before? From the previous memory.” Ryoma asked, as no one else provided any theories for it.

“Hmm, maybe! Maybe it wasn’t really a school uniform you saw everyone in back then either.” Angie said, still smiling like she didn’t have a care in the world despite everything.

“No, it was definitely a school’s since it had an emblem on the blazers and everything. I don’t think people would waste the resources on making a uniform for this sort of thing anyway. And how else would we explain why we’re all around the same age?” Kaede replied.

“What if Angie was right before then? About why we should stay in here instead of focusing on the “outside world”. I mean this could be part of the Gofer Project right? So being here’s a good thing. Especially if we’re all here because we’re “immune”, since Kiyo hasn’t made any of us sick yet!”  As Tenko spoke about their possible immunity, Korekiyo looked over at Kaito rather specifically for some reason.

Kaede probably wouldn’t have noticed when it happened, since Korekiyo was still recovering from his panic attack, if not for how Kaito went out of his way to avoid making eye contact with him. She had no idea what this could mean though, since Kaito wasn’t acting too differently otherwise.

“Hmmm, I wouldn’t really say that. Though I suppose you missed most of the “dude eats bugs” thing.” Kokichi’s attempt at a horrible joke was enough to pull Korekiyo from his thoughts, much to Kaito’s relief.

Not that his new thoughts were better. “If you value your life I would refrain from making jest of this.”

“H-hey I thought you said you wouldn’t kill me! ‘Cause I’m a guy.”

“... True. Though it will be more difficult trying to keep things from turning fatal with our lack of medical supplies. Even when the warehouse was open Kaito was right in pointing out so many things we lack.”

“Y-yeah, which is also why this probably can’t be that government project anyway! No matter how much they had to rush they wouldn’t forget to install something that important in here, especially not with the risk of a disease mutating into something we wouldn’t be immune to anymore. Assuming we really are.” Kaito exclaimed, but Korekiyo started giving him an odd look again when the disease came up. (Why?)

“O-oh, yeah that’s a good point.” Tsumugi began, before mumbling “Didn’t really think about that,” mostly to herself again. After calming down enough to stop her stuttering she had a new thought. “But without someone who really knows about that sort of stuff would facilities like that matter anyway?”

“I dunno, I mean things are pretty high tech. Who knows what science can do if they can make Exisals. Maybe we don’t have med stuff ‘cause they injected us with nanomachines to keep us healthy. Or maybe these “flashback lights” aren’t exactly what they say on the tin.” Kokichi suggested as if trying to make the rest of us catch up to him.

“What are you talking about this time Kokichi? I will not appreciate being “trolled” by you again.” Kibo warily complained.

“Sure is convenient how none of us have ANY idea about what we “remember” with these lights before they’re triggered, huh? Kinda like how the motive videos triggered something in Kirumi and Kiyo in a way that was super convenient for keeping a killing game going for as long as they were still in it, riiiight?”

“W-well, of course, they were “motive” videos after all-” Kibo started again before Kokichi cut him off.

“And yet, both of these things came from the same source, didn’t they?”

“Atua agrees that He thinks these lights may be doing us more harm than good! Angie’s not really sure if He means brainwashing though. It could just be undoing some type of hypnosis, and if it is than it only shows us what we all had to agree to have suppressed in the first place.”

“Oh yeah, Himiko told us during our sleepover! Hypnosis only works on people who want it to work and don’t really object to what they’re being asked to do anyway. But… Does this mean we shouldn't use them anymore? I mean they still are our only clues to get out of here right? If we all still really want to.”

“Right. Besides, we can’t really prove any memories are wrong yet,” Kaede said.  “Most of them seem to line up well enough, and if this isn’t related to the Gofer Project there could be a reason for the missing medbay. These still seem to be a risk that’s worth taking for us to find out what’s going on and get out.”

Tenko seemed convinced by Kaede’s reasoning, but Angie and Tsumugi still seemed a bit wary of the idea. No one else expressed any explicit objections though, not even Kokichi who cast doubt on them at all. (Guess he’s just expressing some paranoia? Or maybe he was just lying about that for some reason?)

“It does make sense to use a place that doesn’t have any means to help save lives for a killing game, doesn’t it? No reason to base a project meant to “save humanity” on a prison school anyway. This killing game could be all this was built for, for all we know. It’d explain the death road too.” Ryoma pointed out, the unpleasant reminder never letting him forget the school’s unusual design for long. It was all too easy for the rest of them to overlook it over time, that even Kaede stopping being as aware of it at points.

“True. No sane designer of anything would make something that difficult to get through, not to mention the many codes and regulations it intentionally breaks. It’s clearly made to keep those on the inside from escaping, based on the false “Cleared” message we found. It wouldn’t read right going the other way.”  Kibo said, looking bothered but contemplative.

“So… We still no know much?”

“Well, we do maybe have a better idea of what the world’s like outside. That’s a start, ain’t it big guy? Things can’t be as bad as they looked though, since this place hasn’t felt any impacts or anything! And look at all the plants still growin’ in here, that scientist probably just exaggerated things so folks would really know to prepare for the worst. Better set positive expectations low than high right?” Kaito said to try and cheer Gonta, and everyone else, the best he could.

“I doubt the greenery we see here does genuinely reflect outdoor conditions, as the environment was made to at least support us so by extension plant-life would also be capable of thriving. We haven’t ruled out this being a sealed space yet, like an underwater facility, despite how old it seems to be.”

“Well as I doubt anything more can be gained from this I will be heading to the computer lab if anyone needs me.” Kibo excused himself, and everyone else began to part ways.

Kaede made her way to the fifth floor with Kokichi and Ryoma in tow, intending to visit Shuichi’s lab again. Tsumugi wasn’t the only other person heading that way though this time.

“Gonta going to take Kiyo to see 5th floor, since we no saw it yesterday, okay?”

“Oh, that’ll be great! I can show you my lab now, so if there’s any sort of outfit you’d like me to make you I can definitely do it now. I’m pretty sure even a plain ol’ tux would suit you, mask or no mask.”

“Huh, really? Yes, Gonta like that idea! Many gentlemen have tuxedos. And fancy hats and masks.”

“Do you want to come Kaede? I nearly finished that pair of slacks you asked for~” (As long as HE stays far away from me and keeps quiet for once in his miserable life. I can’t just say no, that’d be ungrateful.)

“Sure, I can stop by! I was just going up there anyway to look into Shuichi’s lab again.”

“For the record Gonta, under no circumstances is Kiyo allowed in that room, got it?” Ryoma glared at Korekiyo as if to emphasize his point. But it was hard to say if he was just saying that or threatening him.

“Oh? Whatever for? And I was so looking forward to seeing if it also invoked victorian era design in much the same way Kirumi’s lab did, given the proliferation of murder mystery series set in that period.” (Because murderer or not he deserves better and why the hell would any of us trust you in his lab now?!)

“Hm… It okay for Kiyo to just look in then? No need to go in room to see that, right?”

“Fineeee, I guess I’ll keep it open for that long.”

“You’ll keep it open? What do you mean?”

“Ah, right you both bailed before Monokuma gave his spiel. Apparently if a student dies before their lab is open, like Shuichi, the lab’s supposed to remain locked. Lucky for us, the way they are locked can still be picked open, so I’m your handy dandy gatekeeper now! Since I always pick it back shut to be safe.”

“What about Rantaro’s lab? Gonta thought it be up there too.”

“Maybe, if it’s behind that big ol’ door thingy, but there’s no way to open that yet. Believe me, we tried.”

Gonta looked confused again by his mistake, but quickly got sucked into Kokichi’s ramblings so it didn’t bother him for long. It was about that point that Tsumugi seemed to realize that by inviting Gonta into her lab Korekiyo would end up being with them as well, as she started nervously glancing between him and Kaede.

In an effort to help ease her mind Kaede tried racking her brain for shows she watched as a kid to find an anime Tsumugi could use as a launching point for her own rants but was coming up empty. Ryoma had better luck with “Prince of Tennis”, and having something to talk about seemed to do the trick.

Apparently he read a lot of series like that back when he still played, and Tsumugi got particularly enthralled by his admission about basing some of his moves off of ones the heroes would use in their works. “Bringing the fiction he loved to life in his own way” as she put it, much like her own passion.

But then she started talking about something called “shunpo” and lost him too, not that she noticed.

When they got to their desired floor Kokichi and Ryoma broke off to go to the Ultimate Detective’s lab like they originally planned and the rest followed Tsumugi.

Gonta and Korekiyo were taken aback by just how big it turned out to be, before Tsumugi led the entomologist to her sewing station and Korekiyo went to look into some of her established sets.

With a flourish she showed off to Kaede the “rule 63 slacks” she designed, whatever that meant. They were nice though! When Kaede tried them on in one of the changing areas they fit well, despite barely giving Tsumugi any really reliable measurements, and while they were different they still suited her.

The color wasn’t too unlike her normal skirts, but instead of music notes they had a bar of piano keys running up either side, adding a bit more black and white to the look. At closer inspection the plum color was pinstriped with the color of her socks, which Kaede tried to ignore as it reminded her of Shuichi, and the bars actually had all 88 keys, 52 white and 36 black, instead of just being a pattern for pattern’s sake.

And now I won’t need to worry about flashing anyone if I need to be more active than usual! Or just walk up stairs or ladders like what happened with Shuichi before. Wait… this means I don’t have any more training excuses either. Oh well. Maybe situps are easier than push-ups? This is gonna suuuuck.

“Thank you Tsumugi, I love it! I hope you don’t mind if I don’t wear them all the time though.”

“Not at all, I’m used to making things people may only use a handful of times! But making “original” stuff is like this is a weird feeling. But so’s my lab having a set focus over a sewing one at all, so it’s plain to see I just gotta get used to it. It’s a shame it opened so late, this would have been great for the talent show.”

“The nature of these sets also strikes me as odd, would you truly need these? The bar for example isn’t terribly unlike the one that already exists in the casino. Even the false labels on the bottles are all the same, and this is supposed to be a high school setting we are in, is it not?” (Okay, so I can leave now! I just need to keep it from being too obvious, so Tsumugi doesn’t feel offended. I need a good moment.)

“W-well, the ones I have here should be non-alcoholic so that isn’t really against any laws I think? Besides, that set there is a lot more like one of my part-time jobs so it’s kinda comforting to have.”

“Why Tsumugi work at bar?! Alcohol bad for young people! Shouldn’t let young lady in. It dangerous.”

“Cosplaying’s expensive work, especially if you want to work with the best materials. Girl’s gotta make a living somehow, you know? It’s not like I’m the only one here who may have faked an ID or two anyway. Kaito pulled something similar for his astronaut test stuff right? And who knows about Kokichi.”

“With how unkind either genetics or puberty has been to him one of those could be how he got here.” Korekiyo suggested, probably as a joke given the look in his eyes. Or at least she hoped that’s all it was.

“Hey, Kokichi looks like he could really be 15 at least.” Kaede said as Korekiyo simply chucked. “... Okay, maybe not much older than that, unless he’s a really late bloomer. Which could also fit Himiko!”

“Gonta pretty sure Kokichi older than Gonta.” Gonta said while lightly scratching at his cheek. When he noticed all the blank stares he was getting from his friends he seemed confused, but didn’t elaborate.

“... I am heavily inclined to doubt that. Though in terms of mental development I can see where this could be coming from. He is mature for his age, when he wants to be. It is odd how our profiles don’t actually list our ages, only our birth dates. I wonder if that could be relevant to our predicament at all.” Korekiyo began to theorize. (He has a point though. But no one's ever asked me about that either. Neither have I come to think of it, I’ve just assumed most of us here are my age-ish. Except Kokichi and Himiko, of course. Ryoma, Kirumi, and Korekiyo too I guess since they all feel like they could be adults.)

“I don’t think so. I mean it’s not like ages really matter in highschool right? Especially not if we can’t have any upper or lower classmen dynamics to work with.” Tsumugi spoke up, still working with Gonta through some measurements. She had to stand on a chair to do so, with how big he was, but if she hadn’t said anything Kaede would have assumed she was too focused on her work to hear them at all.

Content with what she had down she took a break as she skipped off to the working bar that started this conversation. “If anyone would like to try a cocktail I know I could make one right now if you’d like? I can make anything from a Blue Fairy to a Gut Punch! Or to a Sunshine Cloud, if we want to stay alphabetical.”

“WHY TSUMUGI PUNCH PEOPLE?!”

“It’s just the name of a drink, don’t worry. She isn’t actually threatening anyone.” Kaede comforted him, which only seemed to work a little bit since the nature of this work still worried him.

“I would have talked about a Bad Touch instead, but with that one the alcohol isn’t optional.”

“Not exactly the “classiest” bars you worked at I take it?” Korekiyo asked with what could be a grin.

“Nope, not at all. But it was fun and paid the bills!”

Kaede turned down the drinks and took the chance to catch back up with Ryoma and Kokichi. Gonta and Korekiyo didn’t make any attempts to follow her though, as Gonta still wanted to help Tsumugi where he could and Korekiyo took up her drink offer. Only after agreeing that either she or Gonta would take the first sip of her creations though, as he was still cautious around beverages after Angie’s earlier stunt.

Seemed he got to rambling about alcohol’s relevance to other cultures, reflecting drinking ages and whatnot, so Kaede was glad to be out of there. Though Tsumugi sounded like she was having some fun with it, bringing up some sort of “Shrine Maiden Saki” or something from one of her anime, and falling into her own tangent, as a Kunihimo cord from it caused her a lot of issues since the length wasn’t clear.

It was only after she got to the Detective's doors that Kaede realized how lost Gonta must feel with the way those two could talk, and the waves of guilt and regret poured in. (But there’s no saving him now.)

Shuichi’s lab felt so wrong to be in. She couldn’t put her finger on it but something about it was off, beyond how much more dangerous this lab was from some others. But as Kokichi pointed out the first time they got in it made sense for a former blackened’s lab to feel more like Moriarty than Sherlock.

Assuming Shuichi really wasn’t framed by the mastermind, so that someone would die without ending their sick game. Not that it would change the fact he was dead, and they were the ones who killed him.

Kokichi was messing around the chem cabinets as she entered, wearing the silly bowler hat they first found on the small round table instead of the hat rack. Ryoma was keeping him company and Kaede was a bit surprised Kaito hadn’t joined them yet. The tennis pro looked content though, sitting in the rocking chair by the fire with a book in his hands.

“Heey Ka-yay-de~ What can we do you fer this fine mornin’?” Kokichi asked as if he was trying to imitate some British potion seller or bartender as he pocketed another vial for who knows what.

“Depends, did you find another laxative?” Kaede had asked to see how their first experiment went in order to test if this threat could be neutralized by just getting rid of the contents, or at least the dangerous ones; Kokichi had found a “prank worthy” harmless bottle and took it to see if it would stay missing.

She chose not to ask if this stunt had any connection to Angie spiking Korekiyo’s tea earlier, as she figured no answer would really be comforting to her in this situation.

“Yup! So it really does restock everyday. It’s a real bummer, it means we can’t just smash all of these.”

“Not that we should have considered that an option anyway, since some could be air activated for all we know,” Ryoma blankly stated as he flipped another page, as if resigned to being Kokichi’s voice of reason.

“... Oh. Riiiiight. Good catch. But that’s why you were put on Kokichi-watch duty! Nee-heehee~”

“Am I being paid for this?”

“You get to keep your peace of mind, does that count?” Kokichi offered with an otherwise “innocent” grin and a gleam in his eyes.

“Eh, I’ll take it.” Ryoma said with a shrug as he put his book down to address Kaede. “So were you going to look through the files again today?”

“Yup! I mean if this isn’t the first killing game these may be related somehow. It’d make sense for the detective's lab to have clues regarding our biggest mysteries for this game right? Especially since it was meant to be sealed, if he was going to be executed regardless of whether he killed Rantaro or not.”

That didn’t narrow down which files would actually be related though. With 52 to sort through, 5 full rows of ten files with the sixth only having 2 as if waiting for more entries, they couldn’t possibly all be real and even them having drawn crime scenes or photographs wasn’t helping to narrow things down.

She initially sorted them into groups based on which had “Ultimate Detectives” leading their cases, like “Kyoko Kirigiri” from the first and third files with the help of her partner “Makoto Naegi”. But then she noticed that the third kept making reference to the second, headed by “Hajime Hinata” and his partner “Nanami Chiaki”, which also dealt a lot with missing memories and how returning them triggered a killer.

That was also a double murder in fact, but both were done by the same culprit that time. Not two parties similarly affected by memories acting during the same case period. (Almost more like the first file’s 3rd case’s double murder. And this was the 3rd case for this group too. Is this an intentional pattern? I’m not sure how anyone could control something so specific, so this may be a sign of these files just mocking us.)

As a result most of the day before had been spent reading through those connected files best she could, and then trying to find out when the files got close enough to the present that the pictures changed from anime inspired illustrations to photos. No matter which format they were in though the blood kept showing up as pink rather than red for whatever reason. Probably to stress how “fake” this all could potentially be.

She knew she couldn’t really trust these, there were way too many Ultimates and scenarios that got even more outlandish than what her group has faced yet, but there could still be some truth hidden in them. Like they were never outlandish enough for the cases themselves being unfeasible. One in the second file even involved a robot with the same emergency shut off button on the back of his neck like Kibo did, so they were all dangerous to have lying around.

These files and the various poisons was why no one was allowed to be in here alone, and why Kokichi kept it shut at all other times. And if this was how bad Shuichi’s lab was she doesn’t want to consider what Rantaro’s may be like. They didn’t even know what his talent was.

Kaede lost track of time as she poured over the notes, covering murders from monsterous to mundane. The suicides and accidents almost came as a pleasant surprise when they came up, but then there were files that barely had any cases in them. They still had the culprits and how they did it listed, but it was different. Like the person investigating wasn’t the one who caught them, and they got away with it.

At some point Kaito showed up to regroup with Ryoma, so he and Kokichi would bicker when the latter got bored sorting through which poisons had antidotes and how dangerous they were. Kaito helped her sort through the files, but he didn’t really have the stomach for reading them much like Ryoma didn’t.

The background noise was comforting in its own way, much like the sound of the fire was despite her growing urge to just throw a lot of these papers into it in disgust. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if it was because of the actual cases or at herself for not finding any leads to get out of there.

There was another knock at the door as she took something of a rage break, and she was surprised to see Kibo there instead of Gonta and Korekiyo, as she had been expecting.

He looked a lot happier than she had seen him in a while too. “Hello everyone! I have great news!”

“Well this can’t be good.” Kokichi deadpanned as he started looking at a corner again with a smirk. (Is a camera actually there? I don’t see anything, but why else would he keep doing this? What am I missing?)

“H-hey it is! Please don’t be so quick to dismiss my efforts! I finally got the last of the bugs out of the main program the computer lab was made for. So everyone can safely use it now! I’m sure you’ll all really enjoy it if you give it a chance.”

“Of course we would Kibo, I was thinking about taking a break anyway.” Kaede told him with a smile. She was a bit curious what it could possibly be, with how long its set up took, and she didn’t want to waste his efforts. No matter how potentially dangerous anything Monokuma gave them could be.

Kokichi wasn’t convinced though. “Are you sure-”

“Yeah we’re sure, don’t be a brat. Kibo’s been practically married to that thing since he got it, and it’s his first computer project too right? Of course we’ll give it a look!” Kaito urged the boy forward as he stressed how important this was for their friend, all smiles. Despite the floor it would be on.

“Do you need me to get anyone else for you while you go set things up?” Ryoma asked.

“No need, Tsumugi already offered to do so! Gonta and Kiyo should be on their way down there as we speak, so let’s go join them, shall we?”

It was hard to say no, with how happy and excited he was to show off his pet project. So they all followed the robot to see what he had in store for them.

And hopefully find some more clues to what’s going on, since my other leads are coming up empty.

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