#korishi ic

[korishisector]

...Mori.

As ordered, the remaining students hesitantly gathered around the base of the Mono-Tower. All traces of the fire from days prior had seemingly vanished, except for a couple vague scorch marks.

Standing in front of the elevator, Miamikuma puffed some smoke and waited for every last arrival. It then waited a beat more as everyone watched and waited for whatever his announcement would be.

“Took you long enough. I’ve got a job to do here, I can’t be kept waiting just because you lazy bastards need your beauty rest. I could have fit in a whole hibernation while you were mosey-ing your way over!”

“But I digress. I have a fun announcement for you! A surprise! Something I just had to tell you in person, so I could see the looks on all your faces. And no, I’m not buying you all new pet horses. Y’see...”

“You Hope’s Peak kids are so talented, so revered, and so privileged. I mean, look at our dearly departed Cheeze-it. Such a renowned member of the sciences had just as much recognition as someone who puts icing on desserts for a living! That’s the magic of Hope’s Peak Academy. You graduate from here, and you’re guaranteed success. But, you know, the only reason you were scouted is because you were already successful.”

“But you couldn’t help yourself. You wanted more, you greedy little bastards. You couldn’t settle with what you had, and Hope’s Peak just dangled that prospect of fame and fortune in front of you. Some of you want success so bad, you’d kill for it. Now...I’m not here to offer handouts! No such thing as a free lunch, after all, I won’t tell you that if you kill someone, I’ll give you all that you want and more. No, no...”

“Instead, I’m here to tell you that if someone isn’t killed in the next 5 days, I will make you all lose everything that makes you successful. That family business, your life savings, your family fortune, prospective jobs, I’ll even go out of my way to destroy any art or creations you’ve made so far in life.”

“Don’t believe me? Well, let’s just say I have some talents and connections of my own. You can try to call a bluff, but are you really willing to face the consequences if I’m telling the truth? Upupu...we’ll see. Better get choppin’, kids! You’re all dismissed!”

[korishisector]

Memento...

Things had been quiet. Almost disturbingly so. Many students found themselves wandering the newly-opened museum, facing the reality of the situation they were in. Their teacher was dead, their classmate murdered, their chaperone executed.

And if those museum displays of the victims were any indication of their fate, those deaths would not be the last. Only a few days had passed since that tense, confusing trial, and many still had their doubts about the outcome.

As the early morning dawned upon the students, a harsh screeching cut through the silent air as the map-wide speakers sparked to life. On the other end, the all-too-familiar and all-too-unpleasant voice of Miamikuma grated out a gleeful announcement.

“Wakey wakey, you bastards! I have a bear-y special announcement for you all! So look alive and get yourselves out to the Mono-Tower, on the double! Don’t keep me waiting, or I can take away your meal privileges for the week!”

[korishisector]

[???]

...

“Well... that’s a certainly a curious take on the situation, but that’s not what’s important now.”

[...Not what’s important?]

“Of course not. I think it’s obvious by now how Kibogamine conducts its affairs. It’s... insurance policy, if you will. It’s why the more pressing matter is we discuss *the incident during the Korishi field trip*. Let’s recount the events, shall we?”

[I... witnessed an explosion-]

“-Yes, yes, we know all about the unfortunate explosive demise surrounding your assigned instructor, Dororou Fufuto, at the hands of our automated assistant. Hmm, we should work the kinks out better with that Monomi model next time...”

[How... how could you say that... Dororou-]

“-Is not the focus here. Tell me ****, what occurred next? How did you react to it?”

[What... I don’t understand... if that was...]

“Focus please, ****. The murder of Chizuru... oh, right: *Anara Ibrayeva*. Gotta hand it to the school, leave it to the school to recruit a mad scientist building her career on illegal human experimentation trials. Real piece of work with her crimes against humanity and all that...”

[She... what...?]

“And to top it off... she was murdered by... huh, curious: *Mutsumi Morishibe*. How about that...didn’t think he could do it...”

[What... but that was... what’s...?]

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re being interrogated- ah, excuse me, *interviewed* as *the survivor* of the Korishi incident.”

[Survivor...? *The* survivor...?]

“Keep up, will you? *The Korishi trip* has ended, at least for you. And you are still *alive*, despite the lackluster reaction you’re giving. Yes, yes, *shellshocked* to be *pulled from such a horrific event* yadda, yadda. Give me an inch here, would you? What happens next is...”

[...there’s more? Something more happens...]

“Of course more did, you know that. *The next murder*. Tell me more about that bear...Miamikuma, and what happens next with that motive...”

[The... next motive? It... it’s...]

....

[korishisector]

A Thought | Mike | CH1 Start

Mike hated it here. 

He hated anything to do with the sea. He hated the smell of the sea, he hated how sand got into everything, he hated the fact he wasn’t indoors with a damn AC every moment he was stuck out here.

Thanks to that hatred, he’d cooped himself up inside almost the entire time. His room was his haven and his sanctuary, and just like always, he’d gone full shut-in. Not making an appearance unless it was necessary, and really, not treating the event any differently than his average day. Why he even agreed to come was likely a mystery in its own right to most people. And now everything’s on fire, the teacher’s dead, there’s another killing game and there’s a bomb and they’re going to die –

That’s his general assessment, but he simply stands there as he always does, emotion hidden by the same old costume head no one’s ever seen him without. But there’s something bothering him here. It’s a pain, but a killing game’s even more of a pain.

He lazily raises his hand, and starts talking.

“…Is teach…really dead? Where’s – the body? Prove he’s dead, for starters. I have my doubts, here. How do we know he isn’t in on…this? It’s a common trope. Prove it. Now.”