#he was taken away and Ryoma went to the hospital... everyone was so shocked

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 3, deadly life (Part 6)

Note of the author: You have no idea how much I love watching you all praying for Kokichi not to be the blackened.

Also I edited a thing Deadly life part 3 so if you didn’t see my message then here you go

Chapter 3: What is beyond humans’ control - Deadly life

...

“Where did we even stop Himiko’s investigation?” Miu started.

“We established that I and the rest of the hospital team got drugged. We didn’t go that far in the investigation.” Rantaro replied.

“I guess we should try to put an order first.” Ryoma suggested. “We know this murder was premeditated, so we could get clues this way.”

Shuichi nodded. “The killer had to retrieve the soporifics to use them, right?”

Tsumugi pondered. “Of course it wouldn’t have been hard for Rantaro, but we need to explore all possibilities.”

The medic rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I was sleeping on the fourth floor the first night. I left the lab open so I would be quicker to retrieve something in case of emergency but now I realize how much of a mistake it was.”

Shuichi could barely hear Kokichi mutter “Wouldn’t be surprised if karma played a part in this.”

“Now isn’t the time to dwell on mistakes.” Kirumi said. “Your lab was open the entire night and a floor below you, so the culprit could have sneaked in at nighttime.”

“That doesn’t really help us after all...” Shuichi muttered.

“What about when the person put the poison in the plates?” Ryoma asked.

“We brought the plates between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM.” Shuichi replied. “Although we’ll need some alibis for that.”

“Kirumi, when did you start making the meals?” Tsumugi turned to the mercenary.

“I would say I started around 6:00 PM.”

“I was in my lab until Kirumi called us to eat at 8:00 PM!” Angie exclaimed.

“But is there anyone to confirm it?” Rantaro raised an eyebrow.

She hummed. “I don’t think so...”

“Unfortunately I believe I do not have an alibi for after 6:00 PM.” Kiyo admitted.

“Me neither...” Kaito’s voice was low, but Shuichi could still hear it.

“I was preparing the meals, so I understand why I am a prime suspect.” Kirumi declared.

“Did you leave the room while you were cooking?” Tsumugi questioned.

“I did leave once or twice to ask others for their preference for yesterday evening’s meal.” she explained.

“To that I can testify.” Kiyo agreed.

“So someone could have sneaked in anytime...” Rantaro concluded.

“Besides, Miu and Shuichi were the ones to bring to bring the plates, but Shuichi did have time to do so when putting Rantaro’s meal in his lab.” Ryoma added.

The violinist winced at the mention of his name.

“Didn’t we already establish Rantaro’s plate wasn’t the only one to get drugged?” Tsumugi raised an eyebrow.

“So Shuichi and I can confirm each others’ alibis!” Miu exclaimed. “We were at the casino for the entire afternoon! And when we entered the dining hall Kirumi directly gave the plates to us for the hospital team! None of us would have time to put the product in it!”

“That raises a good point. We can exclude Shuichi and Miu from our suspects then.” Rantaro smiled at them.

Shuichi was relieved. He could see Miu faintly blush at Rantaro’s confirmation.

“What’s the suspect list now?” he asked.

“Let’s see.” Kiyo replied. “We can take off Miu and you because you two can confirm each others’ alibis.”

“We can also take off Kokichi, Tsumugi and I. She and I don’t remember anything. As for Kokichi, I doubt the killer would act like...” Ryoma trailed off.

Shuichi sometimes shot nervous glances at the small boy. He was truly unreadable.

“So the full suspect list is Angie, Kirumi, Rantaro, Kiyo and Kaito.” Tsumugi concluded.

The violinist could see the annoyance in Rantaro’s eyes.

“Didn’t we agree on investigating the murder as a whole?” Angie asked.

Ryoma nodded. “At least we’ll have more clues this way.”

So they were going to investigate after the killer drugged Rantaro...

Or after Rantaro drugged the others.

Shuichi brushed off that thought. There was no way Rantaro would do this, right...? Unless he caught the despair disease-

No. Now was not the time to think about that.

“My question is...” Miu pondered. “Why was Himiko outside after nighttime?”

“Himiko was usually out stargazing, right?” Angie replied. “Perhaps she was already out when the killer did it.”

“But why in the shrine of judgement of all places?”

“That’s right... The shrine of judgement was a cage withing this academy. You couldn’t see the sky properly from here.” Shuichi thought.

“Perhaps the killer dragged her here?” Kaito suggested.

“Himiko was usually stargazing next to the dorms. That’s pretty far away.” Kiyo countered.

“Besides there were no traces of blood whatsoever between the dorms and the shrine of judgement.” Kirumi added.

Shuichi started thinking. Why was she there?

“Perhaps...” He started. “Himiko saw the killer go to the shrine of judgement and followed them here?”

“So the killer must have been preparing a plan to kill someone, but when Himiko showed up they killed her instead?” Miu continued.

Shuichi noticed Kokichi frowning even more.

Karma was terrifying.

“That’s plausible. But that must mean the target was someone else.” Tsumugi added.

“And it couldn’t have been Keebo for sure.” Ryoma noted.

“But how do we know who was the target?” Kirumi questioned.

“My guess would be that the killer sent a message to someone to meet them here.” Kiyo thought.

“But then who was it? That means they must have gone to the shrine of judgement and saw Himiko’s corpse, right?” Miu retorted.

Everyone glanced at each other, hoping to see someone say they were the target.

But no one did.

“So one of us is lying.” Tsumugi broke the silence.

“But why would they stay silent?” Angie pondered.

Then it clicked in Shuichi’s mind.

“What if... The target really was Himiko?”

That would explain things better. She would have gone to the shrine of judgement by herself, and got killed here.

“As much as I hate this, this is the most plausible theory.” Rantaro affirmed.

"But I still don’t get it.” Ryoma frowned. “Why the shrine of judgement?”

Shuichi started thinking. Perhaps...

“... It was the furthest point from the dorms, right? Perhaps the killer didn’t want to take any risks by waking up someone.”

“I think...” Kiyo narrowed his eye. “It was also for symbolic value. To bewilder us. We would have had to go back to the shrine for the trial, they perhaps used shock as a way to confuse us.”

Shuichi winced. That was also plausible.

“When did the killer take the weapons anyway? Considering how many of them there are it would have been impossible to do it in one go.” Kaito hesitantly asked.

“That must have been between nighttime and the moment Himiko was killed. We would have noticed it otherwise. Especially me.” Kirumi replied.

“But still, there was a ton of weapons! That must have taken ages to mess with basically all the labs and bring the weapons to the shrine!” Miu exclaimed.

“Perhaps the killer used something to transport them?” Angie suggested.

Think.

“Kaito... You remember Maki’s lab, right?” Shuichi turned to the biker, who perked up.

“Yeah... It was a huge mess with everything thrown into different places.”

“There was a roll of fabric on the ground that was cut clean... Perhaps the killer used a piece of fabric as a bag?”

Ryoma frowned. “And how would you know it wasn’t from when Maki was, you know. Alive?”

Shuichi winced.

“You’re saying the cut was clean?” Tsumugi asked.

He nodded. “Yes, cut with scissors, I think.”

“Then it’s not her.” she immediately replied. “Maki was tearing the fabric with her hands. She only used the scissors when she was using the patterns to cut it into shapes.”

Shuichi was surprised she remembered such a detail, but her help was definitely welcome.

So the killer drugged Rantaro, used a giant piece of fabric to bring weapons to the shrine of judgement, then after sending a message to Himiko, the girl went there and was killed.

“Perhaps it’s about time we talk about the weapons used.”  Kiyo pointed out.

Shuichi put a finger on his chin. “From what I’ve gathered we have scissors from Maki’s lab, knives from Kirumi’s lab, darts from Kokichi’s lab, scalpels from Rantaro’s lab and various tools from Angie’s lab.”

“You’re forgetting one.” Kirumi added. “The needles.”

It’s true, they had found needles hidden in the flowers.

“There were also exploded bottles around.” Kiyo noted.

“Kirumi’s lab was a mess. The killer must have wanted some poison from her lab to use it.” Tsumugi explained.

“More than a mess.” Kirumi insisted. “The killer used the axe to get through places I locked myself.”

“Say, Kirumi...” Angie tilted her head to the side. “Even if your lab was a mess, you could have used an axe to make us think it wasn’t you.”

“But this is Kirumi’s lab, why would she destroy everything in it if she knew where the products were?” Shuichi frowned.

“Because she was the only one who knew where the products were. If she didn’t mess it up, suspicion would fall on her instantly.”

That... Raised a good point. But Kirumi wasn’t the killer, right? He saw how even she was disgusted by the state of Himiko’s corpse. Was it... To throw them off?

“That is a possibility we cannot ignore.” Tsumugi looked at the annoyed mercenary. “After all, your job is to kill people without a trace, right? If you have the disease it could have turned this into something completely different.”

... If things continue to escalate there would be no going back.

“I can’t win, right?” she glared at the prodigy.

“Let’s not accuse people right now, we have a murder to solve.” Rantaro sighed.

“Anyway.” Ryoma changed the subject. “The killer brought poison to the crime scene and used it on Himiko with the needles.”

Rantaro frowned. “No... There’s something wrong with this.”

“Could you enlighten us on this?” Kiyo turned to the medic.

“Well... The cause of death is blood loss. Not poison.” he explained.

“That could have been a slow acting poison. She could have been poisoned but the killer finished the job before it could kill her.” Ryoma said.

“But then why even messing with Kirumi’s lab in the first place?” Miu waved a hand in confusion.

“Everything the killer did was to throw us off, I wouldn’t be surprised if the killer never used poison.” Kiyo countered.

“Kirumi, do you have slow acting poisons in your lab?” Kaito asked.

“I do not remember by heart every single poison in there, but there were some.” she answered.

“So it was slow acting poison! The killer just finished her before it could kill her!” Angie concluded.

“No... Now that I think about it, it was definitely not poison.” Rantaro frowned.

Shuichi was hesitant. “But you said yourself that there was a needle mark on Himiko’s body, doesn’t that mean something was used?”

“You said it yourself. Something was used. Not poison.”

“Huh?”

The medic crossed his arms. “There’s one thing that proves it wasn’t poison, actually.”

“Her eyes were not bloodshot.”

Now that he thought about it, he was right.

“And does that really prove us it’s not poison?” Miu asked.

“I can confirm this.” Kirumi chimed in. “I think I know enough about it to say that bloodshot eyes is one of the main characteristics of strong poison, slow or quick acting.”

“Exactly.” Rantaro confirmed. “She didn’t have bloodshot eyes at all, so it must have been something else.”

“But... What if the killer never used any substance at all and messed with the labs to make us think they used something?” Angie suggested.

“There was still a needle mark in her neck.” Rantaro shook his head.

“I mean... What if that syringe didn’t have anything in it? the mark would be here still...” she continued.

“Doesn’t this seem strange to you?” Tsumugi fiddled with her hair. “I know Himiko isn't the strongest among us, but she would have tried to fight back and possibly hurt the killer.”

Shuichi started thinking. A reason why she wouldn’t fight back.

“Perhaps... The killer took her by surprise? Then she wouldn’t have been able to fight back because of it.”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes. “Still... The killer did inject her something, I’m sure of it.”

“But... Can we really be sure it’s not poison?” Kiyo asked.

Kirumi crossed her arms. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while but... If Himiko didn’t receive poison, then that would explain this...”

Tsumugi raised an eyebrow. “And what do you mean exactly?”

“There were bottles on the floor of my lab. If the room was messed up that much with a part of the poison on the floor...”

“... Then we can safely say the killer never cared about using them in the first place.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened. “That’s it... But what was used, then?”

Kaito perked up. “Perhaps they used something from Rantaro’s lab, not Kirumi’s...”

“Huh? I thought Rantaro’s lab didn’t have anything lethal in it...” Miu was confused.

Shuichi instinctively looked at Kaito, and he did the same.

Rantaro closed his eyes and sighed. “... I lied.”

Tsumugi frowned. “You lied? Do you have an explanation for this?”

“I said there wasn’t anything dangerous in here for the same reason why Kirumi didn’t mention poison being in her lab.” he explained. “Since I asked you all to leave things to me I made sure none of you went through the products. But some can do damage.”

“If I may say...” Tsumugi’s gaze was ice cold. “... You’re looking more and more suspicious by the minute.”

Rantaro glared at her.

“You were with us- the ones infected by the despair disease. You know a lot about your products and how the human body works. Killing Himiko would have not been a problem for you.”

“Hey.” Ryoma interrupted. “We said we would solve the entire murder, not point out fingers at whoever is suspicious.”

Tsumugi glanced at the smaller man. “... Fine.”

Miu tried to get back to the conversation. “Where were we...?”

“I said that the product probably came from Rantaro’s lab...” Shuichi answered.

“What do you even have in your lab, Rantaro?” the prodigy asked.

“I have painkillers, paralyzing products and soporifics. The paralyzing products were missing, some soporifics were gone and the painkillers are all still here.” he answered.

Shuichi started thinking.

“The killer probably took Himiko by surprise with a needle full of paralyzing substance...”

“... In that case she couldn’t have done anything to fight back, right?” Kaito added.

“Those products only take seconds to act, so this is probably what happened.” Rantaro nodded.

“Himiko stepped in the shrine of judgement, then the killer went behind her and attacked first by planting the needle in her neck and paralyzing her.” Tsumugi concluded.

“I see...” Angie thought. “The killer must have used some type of curare then...”

Rantaro’s face blanched, his eyes widening.

“Angie...”

He turned to her.

“How do you know what a curare is?”

[lore-a-lie]

Chapter 2, Act 4: I Stepped on the Bear

Daily Life

It was the morning announcement that woke Kaede up this time, with not a Kokichi in sight. Monodam was still there from the night before as he sat looking expectantly at the monitor in the corner. When it came to life Monosuke was there alone, like Monodam indicated he would be, but he was different now.

The setting was the one Monokuma would use for himself with the cushioned chair and city backdrop, not the cub’s couch, and his pacifier was gone. It sounded like he was giving one of the usual pointless spiels that typically came with these things as he played with his “mature” new champagne flute so Kaede paid little attention to him as she got ready in her bathroom before heading to the dining hall.

On her way there she saw Kokichi and Kiyo talking again, it sounded like the latter was planning to spend most of his time in his lab. Kokichi was pestering him to have a closer look at the gold Katana in exchange for helping Kiyo sort through things. Given who he was a “closer look” probably meant playing with it.

Luckily Kiyo wisely refused his help under those terms, since Kokichi handling a blade couldn’t lead to anything good. Kaede hurried her pace when she caught Kiyo’s eye so he couldn’t try asking her either. (NEVER AGAIN. I have a bigger mess to clean up right now as it is thanks. Technically a creepier one too.)

The arguing had already started back again from where last night left off when she got there, Kaito ready to go as ever. Ryoma and Maki stood on either side of him, while Angie, Tenko, and Gonta sat at the table with their morning meals. Monophanie was also with them, but like Monosuke it looks like she decided to try changing her own appearance to match their shifting dynamics.

She was apparently trying to literally take up the mantle from her eldest brother, as Monotaro’s scarf sat in place around her neck instead of her normal top. Monodam looked rather bothered by this new switch as he blankly stared at his sister from behind Kaede, almost full white in shock.

“Calm down Kaito, there’s no point talking until everyone shows up. With this group we’d just have the same problems we did the night before.” Kaede tried to take control of the situation best she could for now. At least it was enough for now, as while Kaito still looked conflicted he reluctantly went to get some food for him and his trio and seated themselves as far away from Angie as they could at the end of the long table.

When Kaede went to do the same she saw Kirumi looked rather hurt that the three of them chose to do this for themselves, so she tried to ease her friend’s stress by offering to help Kirumi with the cooking.

It was hard to keep up with Kirumi’s sudden lesson, but “teaching” her did help lighten the maid’s mood and it was fun in its own way, so Kaede kept at it until everyone else had arrived. She helped lay the plates out best she could too, which wasn’t the greatest as she hadn’t done work like this before. Kirumi even laughed a little for a change as she watched Kaede’s struggles with balancing some heavier dishes.

But now was time to get back to the business at hand.

“Alright, now that everyone’s here do we all know what the student council did yesterday?-” Kaede started, trying to be as neutral as she could before Kaito interrupted.

“ANGIE BLOCKED OFF OUR ONLY FUCKING ESCAPE ROUTE DAMMIT! As if her attempt at enforcing an unbalanced curfew wasn’t enough of a problem.”

“Now, now you have to think of the bigger picture. Atua knows best, and we all saw how the false hope the idea of escape drove Miu to murder before. Had Kaede not asked her to make her special hammers then her lab wouldn’t have been attacked in the first place and her paranoia wouldn’t have driven her to such extremes. And now one of the most practical talents among our number is gone.” Angie said, putting her hands as if in prayer despite her face never losing her "gentle" smile.

Kaede clenched her fists and tried to ignore the pain and guilt that the accusation caused her. Even if Angie wasn’t necessarily wrong that doesn’t make what this cult is trying to do right. The core of why Angie’s doing this was too flawed to ignore. (And who’s Angie to criticize others for “extremes” anyway?!)

So Kaede tried again. “We couldn’t have known that would happen and we had to do something! We can’t just stay here-”

“So you think the stress and traumas of the Death Road would have been preferable? We have no means of knowing if Miu’s tools would have even been effective in such a treacherous setting. It hardly matters if most obstacles are gone if we still can’t find our footing enough to make some of those jumps, and I doubt it would solve issues like the irregularly moving platforms. We don’t even know if there is an actual exit at the end. Staying is a safer choice as we know what we can generally expect here.” Kirumi said shaking her head as she cut Kaede off. Kaede's confusion must have been obvious as Kirumi gave her a sympathetic look and a small nod when their eyes met. Not that it actually answered anything. (Why is Kirumi of all people the one saying this? Doesn’t she still want to try and save everyone outside?)

“Then why not talk about it before you start enforcing rules like that? For a second I thought Gonta and Keeboy went to the Casino last night to just take me up on my earlier offer, neither told me about any curfews when I invited them. ” Kokichi countered, giving both Kirumi and Angie suspicious glances. After a pause he started lounging back on his chair with his hands behind his head as he gave Maki and Kibo a wink while addressing the room, "I mean thing’s gotta look preeetty bad if even I think it’s sketchy, right?"

“Because debate can take too long and may not get us anywhere if liars like you want to keep twisting our words around to best suit yourself!" Tsumugi shouted, accidentally shoving part of the table forward as she stood. She leaned across it a little, using her right hand for support while her left pointed at him accusingly. "It’s plain to see any complaints about us being too controlling will fall flat coming from someone as manipulative as you! At least you all know why we’re doing this.”

“Hey, he’s a fucking creepy little wack job but he’s not wrong you know? All the rules in the world won’t change the fact we can’t fuckin’ stay here. Especially if they don’t even apply to you.”

“Wooow Kaito, I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me-”

“Shut it, we gotta stay on topic. You’re all still taking this way too far!” Kaito shouted, despite Kokichi's teasing.

“Gonta think Angie’s right though. We might not have nurse’s office or hospital here but we have food and shelter, and that most important thing! With Atua blessing protecting everyone now, Gonta can even release more bugs outside and try planting fruit to make food and air more reliable.”

“It hardly matters how hospitable we try to make this place." Kiyo cut in. While his tone stayed neutral as he continued there was an unmistakable frustration to his body language that was unexpected. Not like his tremors when he'd panic, but there was a harshness to his gestures and he spoke with his hands more than he usually did. "We’ve already seen first hand what happens if we try to reach a peaceful existence in here for too long, yes? And what do you propose we do should another kill or be killed styled motive try to present itself? Or worse, one based on disease or the like given said lack of medical facilities and how hard it would be for us to keep it from spreading and potentially causing multiple casualties. We must be here for a reason and we can’t trust our captor’s own conflicts will be enough to protect us or change whatever that may be.”

“Should another one of those motives come up we have an alternative solution now, so none of us would need to die the way Rantaro or Shuichi did. The Necronomicon can bring back someone who died once already-” Kibo began before trailing off when he heard Ryoma huff at his train of thought.

“So assuming that even works, you think it’s okay to bring someone else back from the dead just to use them as a sacrifice? Come on Kibo, you’re better than this. You know how fucked up that sounds. And what would you even do, be even more of a monster and try to drive them to suicide to help yourself?" Ryoma challenged, knowing that addressing that elephant in the room directly would help make his point. "Otherwise whichever one of us will be doing the “sacrificing” would need to die too in the next trial.” (At least he didn't follow that with offering to be that "sacrifice" again.)

“W-well, you see-” The robot tried to argue, but his words kept faltering under Ryoma and Maki's twin glares. As if one of them wasn't bad enough.

Which was likely for the best as Tenko took the chance to say her piece in this debate.

“Sorry Kibo, but Tenko’s agreeing with Ryoma here! But since the cubs have taken over, and only the degenerate among them intends to do us any harm, I don’t think any motives like that will come up. Not anytime soon anyway. So until that day comes Tenko will still enforce the will of Atua best she can!”

“If physical force and threats are how you really want to make us obey do you really think you can handle it? You and Gonta are hardly the only ones among us who can fight you know. Do you really think you’d stand a chance against someone like me? Do you want to die? ”

Maki’s cold glare was hard to read, eyes nearly glowing in their intensity, as Tenko tried to hold her ground and match it with one of her own. Ryoma and Kaito were quick to try and settle Maki, while Gonta and Kibo made their way to Tenko’s side unsure whether to stop or protect her if a fight started.

“W-wait, hold up there Maki Roll, no need to take things that far! Calm down okay?”

At that Monodam scampered between the two girls with something in his arms, head anxiously swiveling from side to side to look at them both as he waved his gift like a white flag. Kaede hadn’t even noticed he and his sister left to go get this, but they must have gone shortly after the arguing started.

“Yes-No-Need-For-Fighting! Let’s-All-Just-Get-Along! We-Have-A-Present-For-You-All, So-Please-Calm- Down. It’s-Another-Flashback-Light-To-Help-Bring-You-All-Closer-Together!”

“Are you sure? Because I think seeing a badass crazy catfight is more than enough to bring us closer-”

“Knock it off Kokichi, Flashback Lights are what we need more of right now. We need answers.”

“But is it the more awesome option Kaede? Didn’t think so. This would totally net us better ratings-”

“This isn’t a show you smartass! Just hand it over already-” But as Kaito reached to take it from Monodam Angie plucked it from his paws instead. Kokichi was still in the middle of giving the corner of the room a smug aside glance, like he was pretending that’s where a “camera” would be for his joke, before realizing Angie’s intent as she lifted the light high above her head as if to smash it on the ground.

Thankfully Kirumi intervened before that could happen. Using her height to her advantage, she took it from her supposed “president” and passed the light back to Kaito. Monodam and Monophanie both heaved heavy sighs of relief at that, but Monodam still looked rather hurt at Angie’s attempt to break it.

“We don’t need to give everyone more reasons to distrust the student council Miss President, if they want to use it to solve the mystery of why we’re all here then let them try. We needn’t be a part of this and I’m sure we’ll be able to stay in control of the situation regardless of what it might reveal to them.” Kirumi said matter-of-factly as she helped keep the frustrated Angie away from their precious clue.

“But these are merely reminders of the outside world, we have no need for such memories anymore-”

“Which is why we already removed the easiest false hope they could possibly reach for. What could it possibly show that would be a stronger call to action than my own motive video? And yet I’m still quite content where we are now despite its initial impact on me, so I’m sure the others will come around soon enough. Besides, from what we’ve seen of her Monophanie isn’t the sort that would try to hinder our group’s efforts with a trick like this, now is she?”

On Kirumi's cue, Monophanie frantically nodded her agreement. “R-right! We just genuinely thought that the memories this should give you all would be able to make you become better friends if you just sat down and talked about it! No need to get violent or participate if you don’t want to. We didn’t mean to offend Miss Angie, right Monodam?”

“C-correct. No-Need-For-Hasty-Action. Maybe-Just-Watch-This-One-And-Then-Decide-If-You-All-Don’t- Want-Any-Flashbacks-Anymore? If-You-Don’t-Like-Them-We’ll-Find-Something-Else-For-You-Later.”

“Fine, as Atua still thinks this is a foolish decision Angie will be leaving. The rest of you can feel free to make any mistakes you want for now. The rest of us can go pray to Atua for His guidance. Bye-onara~”

The disconnect between Angie's words and attitude was hard to ignore as she strolled out of the room. Her anger was hard to get a hold of since she always tried to present herself as carefree and chipper, but still there.

As the rest of Atua’s cult left to follow her Kaede caught a glimpse of Monosuke approaching Kibo, saying something about working in the computer room. (Well that can’t be good. Maybe Monosuke found out it isn’t set up or something and hopes to use Kibo to fix it since Miu isn’t here. But Kibo’s also bad with tech isn’t he?)

As tempted as Kaede was to see what that was about the Flashback Light needed to take priority right now. She stayed where she was as Kaito turned on the light, making the world twist and turn as it faded away in favor of the memories that flowed into everyone like water pouring into an already full glass.

At least this memory actually looked like one of her’s this time, but she was wearing some sort of brown blazer style uniform. Everyone was actually, Kiyo even had a normal black fabric face mask in place of his leather one and only Shuichi had a hat on, so it probably had to do with some sort of school. (Maybe we were all classmates once after all? But why was I still given what I remember wearing from my previous school to wear in here? None of us have this one. Not even Gonta’s looks like this, his tie’s too different.)

It sounded like they were trying to find some way to get out of being involved with some sort of project. A serious scientific sounding one too, not a normal school project, given how things went in favor of them all faking their deaths together so they could go into hiding. Hiding from the Ultimate Hunt.

As the real world came back into focus there was a warm sense of relief in Kaede’s chest.

They finally got a set of memories that answered more questions than it asked.

It felt like they made some progress with this discovery, despite having no idea what that “project” was called or could be about. Even if this new school was a complete mystery to her, it still helped answer why they were here to a degree and addressed what the funeral from the last one meant in context.

She just had to ignore how the relief turned to a sick low-burning anger at how Angie nearly screwed them out of all of this. There was no guarantee that if she had succeeded in smashing it that this would be used as the next Flashback Light. Hell if Angie had her way there wouldn’t be any new ones to follow it.

As she felt it was best to break the silence than linger on those thoughts Kaede began the discussion.

“We… We were all part of the same school after all, right?”

“Sure looks that way! But it didn’t sound like we were all in the same class to me. Maybe we were all friends? Does anyone remember what that school was called? I didn’t see the logo for very long.”

“No, I don’t. But part of the emblem struck me as looking too much like Monokuma’s red eye for my comfort. They may be playing a role in this.” (I think I remember what Maki’s talking about, it was a white shape across a black pen on some sort of shield. Almost looked like a European coat of arms.)

“Neither do I, but if that is the case why are we still wearing the uniforms we had from our schools prior to that one? Even with my travels I’ve never needed to transfer schools before, accommodations were always made to take into account the educational value of my field studies so I never fell behind either.”

“If I faked my death how could I have gone to prison? Or does this mean I was put in a program to take lessons in a real school despite being on death row? Did I get out? This doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Ugh, how are we going to explain this to Angie and her little army of nutjobs? “Hey guys it turned out we all went to the same school together maybe, and then we all played dead to try and avoid some sort of hellish project. Guess we failed though, whoopsie daisy~” Are they going to buy that? Do we just not tell them? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure Ryoma’s not the only one here who’d make this pretty confusing.”

“If they ask we can let them know best we can, but you’re right in that it doesn’t answer that much about the Ultimate Hunt itself. But at least we can all rule out us being secretly dead or anything!”

“Yeah, that would make being part of a killing game preeetty weird Kaito. Or being able to bring students back from the dead. Unless being double dead is easier to fix than being normal dead-”

“Okay Kokichi, we get it. We still don’t know how that motive would work anyway, we haven’t even been able to read that weird book yet. I think Angie still has it.” Kaede looked to Monodam for a confirmation, seeing how it was their motive, and he nodded.

His attention shifted to Kaito though, as he was looking rather ill again. Odd seeing as the worst of what they’ve been dealing with was over now, but maybe that’s why the stress just caught up to him.

Kaito was out of it enough that when the Monokub offered to get him back to his room he actually accepted, which got Ryoma and Maki’s attention enough that they left with him. Leaving Kaede alone with Kokichi and Kiyo again. (Please don’t ask me anything, please don’t ask me anything, please don’t-)

“Well, it seems as though we’re all going our separate ways then. Unless you would care to join me in sorting through my lab Kaede? I assure you I won’t be so inattentive to your state of mind this time.” (GODDAMNIT NO! But I can’t just say that to him, it’d be rude. Gaaah, what’s the right way to say this?!)

“Nuh-uh, I was more than willing to help and you said “no” so you definitely don’t need her help. Besides I was going to ask her to play something for me in her lab! That sounds waaay more fun right Kaede?”

“Well I have been meaning to spend more time there but-”

“See?! Told you so Kiyo~ So come ooooon, let’s go get your piano freak on!” Kokichi didn’t even let her finish her thought before he started dragging her to the Ultimate Pianist’s lab, sticking his tongue out at a mildly bewildered Kiyo as they left.

Which was kinda a good thing as I don’t think I knew how I was going to finish that sentence anyway. He’s been acting weirder lately too so it’ll be good to have some time to see what’s up even if wanting to hear me play was a lie.

Kaede’s suspicions were quickly proven true as Kokichi made it clear he just wanted the excuse to talk to her and mess with Kiyo a little. Kaede couldn’t be sure why that was, maybe something happened last night after she left, but she didn’t mind too much as talking while she played was also a good form of practice. It was good to be able to multitask after all, even if it did mean she couldn’t focus on the music the way she’d normally like to.

Most of what he had to say was simple small talk, avoiding any questions about his behaviors, but he did note that the student council also locked up the warehouse tight enough even he couldn’t pick his way in anymore. (Hard to tell if it’s a bad thing or not, seeing how the shot put ball that killed Rantaro came from there. I’m still not sure how Shuichi hid picking that up as well as he did, I didn’t notice at all.)

“Are you sure something didn’t happen at the Casino after Maki and I left? You’ve been acting kinda strange around Kiyo lately, and you don’t have the sort of excuse I do.”

“Excuse? What excuse? You being a big ol’ pissbaby that couldn’t handle the history geek’s ramblings?”

“Hey, I am not! And at least it is a reason. What he do, reject you or something?”

“Eww, no. I have way better taste in guys than that. Something he said just rubbed me wrong is all.” Kokichi was facing away from her so she couldn’t see his face but it felt like that was something he wasn’t sure he should say or not.

Even though with how much Kiyo could talk and how much of it sounded bad enough as it was that really didn't narrow anything down for her and he knew it too. Which was likely why he didn’t mention it until after he said something he knew would distract Kaede first. And that it certainly did.

WHAT?! I didn’t mean to pry, I was just kidding! I mean… Is he serious about liking guys? Or is he just trolling me again? Monodam said Monophanie was shipping him with boys but I thought that was more about her interests than his! Does this mean he doesn’t like girls at all? Except Monophanie was still shipping me with him too, so how should I take this? Should I believe him if he tries to laugh it off or anything? Should I just forget he said that for now or respond to it? WHAT DO I DO???

“Mister-Kokichi, Did-You-Break-Miss-Kaede-Again? That’s-Still-A-Bad-Thing-To-Do-To-Your-Friends.”

“Maaaaybe, but only ‘cause she was getting nosy. Jeez she’s fragile. Hey Kaede, would it make you feel better or worse if I said only half of that sentence was a lie? Yooohoo~ anyone home? Don’t make me play chopsticks, I will and it will suck I promise. It might not even be an intentional sort of suck either!”

“... Why must you be this way?”

“Because it makes things more fun! Ain’t I a precious lil’ scamp? Nee-heehee~”

“What do you even want Monodam?”

“To-Give-You-A-Gift! Repayment-For-Last-Night. I-Had-Tsumugi-Help-Because-She-Is-Good-At-Sewing- And-Also-Has-Opposable-Thumbs.” True to his word the little bear held out an even smaller stuffed animal out for her appraisal, much to Kokichi’s continued amusement as he teased about “last night”.

It wasn’t quite a Monokuma doll, but the proportions were rather similar. At first glance she thought it was one of Monophanie, but the pink on this doll was a solid color rather than pinstriped. The ears were longer too, so it didn’t even look like a bear really, and instead of a flower there was a pink bow on the opposite ear. No pacifiers, but there was something of a diaper on it so they might be of a similar “age”.

“Well, thank you. It’s cute!... What exactly is it?”

“It-Can-Be-A-Not-Mother-Doll-To-Go-With-Your-Not-Fathers! Except-It’s-Of-Our-Auntie, But-Not-Auntie- Sounded-Weirder-To-Say.” (HOW DO YOU HAVE AN AUNT? Or… What are the implications of this?)

“So your aunt is your mother? This explains so much. Except why Tigger’s from the north, not the south.”

“No-She-Is-Not! We-Do-Not-Have-A-Mother. And-What-Would-That-Explain-Anyway? His-Name-Isn’t- “Tigger”-Either-It’s-Monosuke, Since-He’s-A-Bear. And-Bears-Do-Not-Tell-Lies. But-We-Do-Sometimes- Enjoy-Bouncing. What-Do-You-Mean-By-He’s-“From-The-North”-Anyway? North-Of-Where-Exactly?”

“Ignore him, he’s just being silly again-”

“Hey!-”

“Is for horses, which suits you rather well. But what is your “Auntie’s” name Monodam?”

“I-Can’t-Remember. I just remembered what she looked like.”

“So we’re not the only ones with memory problems?” Kaede asked, which made Monodam nervous enough to change the subject. (Were we not supposed to know that? From what little we saw of Monotaro it sounded like he was pretty forgetful, which could be related.)

“I’m-Glad-You-Like-It! I-Thought-You-Would-Because-It’s-Cuter-Than-Your-Not-Father-Dolls-And-Is-Also- Pink. Kaito-Said-Girls-Like-Cute-Things, Stuffed-Animals, And-Pink-Things! Like-Most-Of-Your-Stuff-Is.” (...He’s not trying to stereotype, he’s just a kid. I will not embrace my inner Tenko and hit the child. Yet.)

“Wooow, yup Kaito has the mysteries of the female mind all worked out hasn’t he? We’ve got the second coming of Einstein on our hands or something.” (...I will not embrace my inner Tenko and hit the larger more aware children here either. Even if this one knows he’s just asking for it. I am better than that.)

Instead Kaede simply put the bunny into her bag and continued to play, despite Kokichi’s continued snickers as he poked fun at their new companion. At least Kibo isn’t an isolated case in this regard, even if it probably helps his claims about Kokichi being a “robophobe”. (Which I still don’t think is a thing.)

She largely ignored their conversations as she played largely for herself, as neither of them had much in terms of musical requests. Monodam tried once but quickly learned his paws and lack of fingers meant she couldn’t actually teach him how to play “Der Flohwalzer” like he asked, though he wouldn’t say why he had an interest in it at all. Being a simple song for beginners seemed like a fair enough reason to her, but for whatever reason, he seemed to be under the impression it was mostly played on the white keys, not the black ones. (Probably another beginner’s mistake. Most newcomers tend to forget about those.)

At one point it sounded like Monodam started asking Kokichi how exactly “leaders” should act. It made sense, given how he and his siblings still hadn’t found a working solution to how to handle things after getting their father out of the picture. But then it began to dissolve into him asking why his siblings were so cold to him now, as if the answer wasn’t obvious. Obvious enough for Kaede to chime in.

“It’s because you’re a murderer now. They can’t just forgive or forget you killing your own brother, even if he was pretty awful. He was still family, and you all had already lost one sibling. Who’s to say you wouldn’t be tempted to kill either of them too if they didn’t agree with your idea of “getting along”?”

“But-Monokid-Was-Cruel-To-Me-And-They-Did-Nothing. And-Things-Got-Better-For-Us-Now-That-He’s- Gone. How-Was-I-Wrong? What-Else-Should-I-Have-Done? I-Don’t-Understand.”

“If you want to be a leader you have to know how to keep people from hating you, dumbass! What’s not to get? It’s not too bad to try and get others to fear you if you can’t make them love you, as long as it means they’re still respecting you in some way, but the second they actively hate you you’re dead in the water, got it? And you went and made yourself the scariest fish in the fucking barrel, idiot! You can’t just trust someone after you know they’ve killed somebody ya’know? There’s no coming back from that.”

It was hard not to be taken by surprise by Kokichi’s outburst and even Kaede had to stop playing for a moment. Monodam looked even more depressed than before as he processed those words.

“Even-If-It-Was-Justified-Or-Self-Defense? Or...Unintentional?” (Is he talking about Monotaro’s death?)

“For you it wasn’t any of those things. And no. There’s no such thing as a “justifiable” murder, simple as that. If you’re smart you’d be able to find another way, and if it was really an accident it’s not murder.”

There wasn’t much to say after that. After a while of sitting in that tense silence, Kokichi went through some of the CDs and passed one to Kaede to see if she could play it to break the tension. When she did though he started messing with her like a restless kitten, pressing various notes mid-song to see how she’d react to it, leaving Monodam alone with his thoughts. Kaede didn’t know how long they stayed like that before Maki came in, but a glance at her Monopad said it was nearly night time now at least.

“There you are. Kaede can I talk to you outside for a bit?”

“What’d you need her for? You already have like two besties in this place, so why do you need mine too huh? I only maybe have the one. You are my best friend right Kaede?” Kokichi clung to her arm like a jealous girlfriend and gave her his best attempt at Bambi eyes. Which given who he is would be an excellent rendition of them for anyone who didn’t know him. Unfortunately for both of them, Kaede did.

Excuse me what? I… No. I mean... technically, I guess I’ve been spending the most time with him but he’s definitely not my “best friend”-... But that could still make me his “best friend” couldn’t it? This might be the most depressing thought I’ve had all day. This probably also applies to Kiyo too if I’ve hung out with him more than Kokichi or Ryoma have so far . Nevermind that is easily my most depressing thought-

“Hey, Kaede stop zoning out with your weird inner commentaries or whatever and answer my question!” (FUCK.)

“I, uh, guess I am? I mean you did break into my room that one time so I’m getting mixed signals on if you mean I’m your only friend which makes me your “best” by default or if I’m your only “best friend”.”

“He did what?” Maki turned to Kokichi with a bone-chilling glare. Not that his now beaming face cared.

“See? she’s surprisingly mean too sometimes so it works!” (HOW ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO RESPOND?!)

“With how you are you couldn’t reasonably expect much better from anyone. But what’s on your mind Maki?”

“Kaito likes to do some physical training at night, something he and Ryoma started. So I’m inviting you because he’s an idiot and hasn’t yet. But only you. Kokichi isn’t allowed to come or I will end him.”

“Jeeez, Maki’s so mean to me too~ But fine! It’s not like I’d want to hang out with Kaito’s merry band of murder munchkins anyway. I’ll just see if Kiyo needs help enough to let me play with his katana now.” (You realize she’s still taller than you are right? Why do you keep trying to make the “short” jokes here?)

“Why do you even want a katana? They’re unwieldy, dangerous, and impractical as far as weapons go.”

“Shows what you know, Miss Murder. Because swords are awesome, duh! And everybody knows katanas are a special kind of awesome sword, since Japanese stuff is always the best. So since this one is an ancient golden katana that makes it a SUPER special awesome sword! Why wouldn’t I want one?!”

“Because Kiyo would kill you if you broke it?” Kaede deadpanned, remembering how single-minded he got before about the fragile nature of most of his lab’s contents and their surprisingly intact condition.

“No he wouldn’t, he likes me too much~” After the words came out of his mouth Kokichi took a moment to rethink his statement, getting a distant look to his eye as he nervously stared at a far corner of the room. “… He’d probably just make me wish he would. Said something about tearing out my nerves before. That was scary." After a beat the morose expression was gone, replaced with a toothy grin. "But I’m sure it’s fine! If I wind up dead you know who to blame~”

“Yes, you. For being an idiot and aggravating him." Maki deadpanned, and almost seemed to smile a bit. "Pretty sure that would count as a suicide in this case.”

“Would you two please not joke about things like that? I honestly don’t get how you both can in here.”

“Fiiiiiiine, you all have fun. Just don’t get caught by any crazy cultists while you’re out past dark~” Kokichi sing-songed as he strolled out the door with his arms behind his head, leaving Maki and Kaede to make their trek to the courtyard in relative silence to avoid unwanted attention. After leaving the school was a different story, as where Ryoma was waiting for them came into view.

“Only Ryoma’s there right now? Is it normal for Kaito to be late?”

“No, he told me he’d be skipping tonight. That’s part of why I invited you, since he’s inconsistent in his reasons why not to. He still honestly talks like he can’t believe someone “small” like me could be a killer when Ryoma is right there and he barely bats an eye, things like that. I’m choosing to assume he hasn’t tried dragging you into this to keep you from feeling pressured or anything, but if any of us could afford to get stronger it’s probably you.” (Oh come on I’m not that weak. I just… Don’t work out. Like... Ever. That and I’ve never really been allowed to do anything that could risk breaking my fingers, for piano.)

“Is he still feeling sick from earlier? It’s easy to get a bit worried about him.”

“He’ll be fine, I don’t think it’s an actual illness. I’ve seen targets get this way under stress before, and it’s at its worst when the resurrection ritual and Angie’s Student Council come up. It would be pretty ironic for the guy who has the most medical experience to be the one who catches something, right?”

“But can’t stress help lead to getting sick for real though? Or aggravate health conditions? I think I heard about that when some other musicians would get stage fright or need to call in sick due to nerves.”

“True, and I think I heard him tell Ryoma it’s been messing with eating and sleeping too. But still, you know what they say about idiots and colds. For a smart guy I’m pretty sure he’s too stupid to be sick.”

Kaede couldn’t help but laugh a little at that, even if it was a bit mean. Maki was never one to sugarcoat her thoughts, and her blunt honesty was appreciated in its own weird way. Though she looked oddly embarrassed now over making Kaede giggle like this, combing her fingers through a pigtail as she picked up her walking pace. Hearing Kaede’s laughter caught Ryoma’s attention too as he stopped his sit-ups to wave them over.

“You really were serious about bringing her over huh? No need to worry if you have trouble keeping pace with us, to be honest, Kaito’s a bit of a slacker so just trying would put you ahead of him. We just do basic exercises like sit ups and push ups. Kaito tried to make the numbers simple too, like 50 or 100 but they honestly don’t matter with how fast Maki and I are, and he never finishes either. It’s mostly time to talk.” (O-okay. That’s not too bad. Still sounds like this is gonna suck, I’m no good at this stuff.)

“Alright!... Wait a sec, sit-ups in skirts? That… Sounds like a poor plan. So I’ll just try some push-ups tonight!” (Maybe they aren’t as hard to do as I remember them being? Hopefully? Yeah no, this is bad.)

Ryoma got a far-off look in his eye and while it was hard to see in the lighting Kaede was pretty sure he was blushing a bit as he messed with his beanie. Maki, on the other hand, wasn’t concerned in the slightest, giving Kaede an almost confused look as she began her own sit-ups, short skirt be damned.

The two of them made this stuff look easy, barely needing to pause as they blazed through 100 like it was nothing. A far cry from Kaede and her noodle arms struggling to hold her up at 25. Not at all helped by how Maki pointed out she wasn’t really holding her body right for this in the first place near the end.

Neither of them objected when Kaede decided the ground was her new best friend and laid there like a dead fish as they talked, but she was sure the two of them were trading looks about her current state.

Most of the conversation was about how to handle the situation with Angie, but none of them could reach a real solution for this. The best idea they could come up with was if one of them were to try and approach Angie to “join” the Council to find out what exactly her plans were for the resurrection ritual. Maybe even try to use the position to try and curb how controlling or dangerous they were becoming.

But as Angie’s stance on Maki and Ryoma was fairly clear, and even if he was healthier Kaito’s hostility to her ruled him out, the only one there who could try was Kaede. And they needed to act fast.

A look at their Monopads indicated Angie was still in her lab, so now was as good a time as any to try.

They had no way of knowing for sure when Angie was planning to do the ritual in the first place, so Ryoma went ahead to try and make sure no other Council Members would notice Maki or Kaede as they headed up to the fourth floor. A game of keep away wasn’t exactly the most mature strategy they had, but Tenko still fell for it and tried chasing him best she could so at least it suited his intended “opponent”.

Since Kirumi’s marker indicated she already went to bed for the night and Gonta was patrolling outside, mostly in the backyard, Tenko was their biggest concern as she handled the first floor and caused a ruckus which helped bring others to her.

Tsumugi was originally wandering around the second but was one who came down to help Tenko, and Monophanie tried her best (without her Exisal despite the earlier discussion) to take care of the third, but neither caught so much of a glimpse of either girl as they made their way up. Kibo was still in his computer lab so they weren’t as worried about him showing up.

But when they did make it to Angie’s lab both doors were tightly locked. Kaede tried knocking and calling to get Angie’s attention, seeing how Kibo would be too far away to hear them, but it was no use. Neither was Maki’s attempt to break the door down with her pounding, much to Kaede’s distress.

“What are you two doing up here so late at night? There is a curfew in effect as you may recall. Shouldn’t you both be off to bed? I can escort you if you’d like.” (Well so much for this plan.)

“H-hi Kirumi. Wasn’t expecting to see you here. I thought you went to bed too. How-”

“That would be because I left my Monopad in my room tonight. I suspected that’s how they were able to tell us where everyone was so reliably, and wanted to test the theory a little. I assume Kiyo’s been doing the same thing, seeing how he’s in his lab right now despite what your map may tell you. I was fairly certain he’d end up sleeping in there, or not sleeping at all, if I didn’t stop by to remind him to go to bed at a more reasonable hour. Finding you here was more unexpected. Do you wish to speak to Angie?”

“Yes, that’s why we’re here. Or rather that’s why Kaede’s here. I decided to follow her so she wouldn’t be dragged off to bed before she got to try. Aren’t you supposed to be enforcing this curfew she set up?”

“Of course, for that is the will of our President and as her maid, I will gladly carry out her wishes, regardless of if it is for her or Atua. But as the curfew is for your own protection escorting you both back to your dorms after you finish talking should be following the spirit of the request. Allow me to get her for you, she had mentioned earlier that at night time she’d only open her doors for council members.”

As Kirumi predicted Angie had no issues opening the door for her, and despite how she ignored Kaede and Maki before made no indication she was bothered by their presence even if it broke her rules.

“My, my, now this is a surprise. What could Kaede and Maki be wanting so late at night? Oh, I know! You both wanna join the student council, don’t you? You’ll need to get acquainted with Atua first, but I’ll gladly introduce you to Him if you like. Come in, Come in~” (... Well that was anticlimactic. I thought she’d be angry, well her version of angry, at Kirumi for breaking her rules to help us or something.)

“Yes! Exactly. Sorry for the intrusion, I just… I wanted to help you so we could unite everyone again. I’m not sure I’m really fit to be leading everyone anymore, so I thought joining your group could help smooth things over with the others, like Kaito. Though Maki was just keeping me company.”

Kaede took a moment to tell Maki to wait for her outside the lab to be on the safe side. Maki might be too hostile or brutally honest about some of the things Angie may say so Kaede was best off alone here.

However, when Kaede entered Angie’s lab she was in for a shock, as Shuichi stared back at her. Not just him either, Rantaro, Miu, and Himiko were all there. Statues of them at least, but the likeness was uncanny. Though oddly enough Himiko’s hat looked like it was the same one she actually wore, rather than a wax replica like the rest of her, and Shuichi didn’t have his hat at all showing off his own cowlick.

Kaede could barely process Angie’s explanation of them as she tried to calm herself down, faced with everyone she’s failed like this. But when the resurrection ritual came up she was able to focus again.

“Divine aren’t they? Atua took possession of me to make these wax effigies for the resurrection ritual and I’m quite happy with how they’ve turned out. It didn’t really say how they would be used so Atua wanted to make them look as lifelike as possible, and Tenko even helped me get one of Himiko’s hats.”

EXCUSE ME WHAT?! Possession ?! Gah, as if Kiyo and his seances weren’t bad enough already. So… Is she crazy? Or maybe this is… Just some sort of metaphor? I can’t handle any gods or demons today...

“T-the ritual? I mean you… or “He” did really do a good job with them. I almost thought they were real.”

“Yup! The book says we needed an effigy of the deceased we intended to revive them, though we did go a bit overboard. Tenko made an excellent case for Himiko being the one we bring back so we didn’t need any of the others. I just thought I- WE might make a series out of it, to memorialize those we’ve lost. Just because murderers are too much of a risk to bring back it doesn’t mean I think they should be forgotten. And Rantaro’s a case where it’ll just be easier to trust Himiko, regardless of how things would turn out.”

“I-I see. So that’s why Tenko’s a part of the council? To make sure Himiko can come back?”

“Yup-yup-yup! I have my doubts how much she honestly believes in Atua, but she’s loyal if nothing else.”

“And when exactly are you going to be doing the ritual? Did you just recently finish these?”

“Indeed I did! It might be a bit too late to finish it tonight but I think tomorrow will work.”

“Are you sure? Because, if I’m a member of the council I could spend tomorrow trying to get everyone else on board with your plan. So we could all do the ritual together. No hard feelings between anyone.”

“Huh, Are you sure you’d be able to convince them all? Kaito was rather against we do this at all before. As were you. Have you really changed your mind?” (It’s okay Kaede, stay calm. Lying can’t be too hard.)

“Yeah, I mean look at how ridiculous some of these deaths have been! None of that could be real. And I’m sure he’s objecting because of issues with your previous ideas. I’m positive I could get him to listen!”

“Hmm… Well, in that case, Atua doesn’t mind putting it off until the day after. This isn’t a timed motive after all. And I’m sure our friends are all just waiting for us. Maybe we’ll even be able to bring all of them back! That’s what Atua tells me at least, and Atua is never wrong. We wouldn’t want Him to punish us.”

“R-right! Thank you Angie, I’ll do my best tomorrow! For… For Atua! And everyone else. Would you mind if I take a look at the Necronomicon, to see if there’s anything else I can help you with?”

“Sure~ But you aren’t allowed to take it from this room, okay? I still need it to set things up.”

With Angie’s permission and under the fanatic’s watchful eye Kaede took in what information she could to further delay things if possible. The effigies were already prepared so nothing could be done there, and it’d be easy to replace them even if she broke one since the requirements for it were so basic.

But she could prevent Angie from burning the book for now.

There aren’t many sources of fire in the school after all, so Maki could help her remove the candles from the side rooms. If the Necronomicon couldn’t be reduced to ashes Angie wouldn’t be able to do things ahead of schedule. That could give Ryoma time take this book and stop Angie’s plan entirely, no one would be able to catch him at his speed, and if the book couldn’t be burned the motive was useless.

Kaede thanked Angie for her time as she returned the book and followed Kirumi back to her room with Maki in tow. After she heard Kirumi’s footsteps leave the main area she knocked on Maki and Ryoma’s doors so she could share her plan with them.

They only had one day to act so they’d need to make the most of it. But at least there was something they could do to help curb this madness now.

She tried to ignore any guilt she felt over how she was plotting against Angie, or prioritizing the safety of the group over Tenko’s wish to see Himiko again. It was a feeling she knew well but they couldn’t afford to take any risks like this.

The motive videos turned out badly enough so they can’t trust this one, and no matter what the cult said there was no way of knowing if Kirumi really changed her mind about escaping.

Angie hadn’t noticed when Kaede lied after all, and Kirumi would surely be better at it than she was.

Kaede almost missed Monodam’s company as she struggled to sleep, but the Monomi plush helped a little. She had no way of knowing how long it took for her to finally fall asleep with the way her thoughts kept racing. The last thought she could remember was the wish that she was really doing the right thing.

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