#maki: does anyone know why. it's one of the weirder things I know about him. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jitterbugperson · 4 years ago

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Talentswap Au Pologue: Part 3

This isn’t getting much attention, but I’m still working on it! I really hope more people see this soon, I’m working hard on it and it’s a real passion of mine. Also sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes, I didn’t read this over before posting this, I wanted to get it out quickly.

Kaede looks at the list in her hands, and goes through it quickly, not dwelling too long on anyone in particular. Each person got pointed to as she went through the list, allowing Kaito a few seconds to try and memorize and match names to appearances.

Kirumi Tojo, Ultimate Martial Artist- Light green long hair tied up with a ribbon, wearing a short button up and tie with a few colored bandaids on her arms.

Himiko Yumeno, Ultimate Pop Sensation- Short bob of red hair, wearing a frilly light red and pink dress with several bracelets on her arms and pins in her hair. The one currently putting the colored band-aids on Kirumi’s arms.

Angie Yonaga, Ultimate Clairvoyant - White hair cut straight and short, wearing a purple cloak, several piercings, scattered tattoos on her exposed skin of her arms, legs, and stomach. Currently talking to Rantaro.

Rantaro Amami, Ultimate Gambler- Short green hair, wearing a vest and bowtie, sleeve of tattoos. Currently listening to Angie ramble.

Gonta Gokuhara, Ultimate Moral Compass- Long green hair in a loose ponytail, very muscular, wearing a school uniform. Trying to get Ryoma to stop smoking

Ryoma Hoshi, Ultimate Biker Gang Leader- Very short, wearing a beanie and leather jacket, carries a pack of cigarettes. Currently smoking and being worried over by Gonta.

Tsumugi Shirogane, Ultimate Swimming Pro- Long blue hair in a high ponytail, wearing a baggy jacket and athletic shorts. Currently talking to Tenko.

Tenko Chabashira, Ultimate Softball Player- Dark green hair in a braid, wearing a star covered ballcap and a jean jacket with pins on it over a t-shirt and pants with holes in them. Currently talking to Tsumugi.

Kiibo Iidabashi, Ultimate Programmer- White hair, wearing a green and grey hoodie and headphones. Currently standing away from the others with his headphones on.

Korekiyo Shinguji, Ultimate Writing Prodigy- Long straight blue hair, round glasses, a small black mask over his mouth, wearing a sweater and jeans. Currently standing next to Kiibo, also away from the main group.

After going through the names, Kaede looks at him with a small smile.

“Got it alright?” She asks, still holding the list. Despite not fully memorizing the people, names, and talents in such a small window of time, he nods.

“Yup.” He’s lying, but she doesn’t seem to catch on, simply folding the paper and putting it back into her pocket.

Kaito lets his eyes wander, gazing over the grouped up people. For the situation they were all in, they seemed surprisingly put together. At least no one was freaking out, so that’s a good sign. They were all ultimates though, so that is to be expected.

He cleared his throat, turning to Kaede.

“So, what now? None of us know how we got here, the windows are closed off, I’m assuming there’s no exit. And there’s no teachers, from what I’ve seen.” He questioned, almost into thin air as Kaede had no answers for him.

Thankfully, there was someone who could answer his question for him. As soon as he asked the question, an annoyingly high pitched voice called out.

“Ahem! Ahem! Mic check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system!

It rang out throughout the room, followed by a loud chime.

Ding dong, bing bong

Everyone turned their heads to the noise, and saw a monitor at the front of the room spark to life. Through static, a small, bear shaped silhouette could be seen.

“Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then, to all incoming students, I would like to begin the entrance ceremony! We’ll be starting at about… right now! Please make your way to the gym at your earliest convenience. That’s all! I’ll be waiting~”

After the sing-songy voice cut off, everyone stood silent for a few moments.

What the hell?

“What the hell?!” Someone shouted out, speaking what everyone was thinking. Kaito turned to the voice, seeing Miu still staring at the monitor, her face one of confused shock. At her comment, everyone else looked around nervously, unsure what to do,

“Hey now, let’s just stay calm. This is probably just to get us excited for the entrance ceremony, that’s all.” The green haired guy in the vest and bowtie stepped forward, a calm smile on his face. Rantaro, Kaito reminded himself.

“A-Are you sure? This all seems too strange to be normal for a school, but I don’t know.” The kid with the headphones replied nervously, his headphones now dangling at the sides of his neck.

“I’m sure we’ll be okay Kiibo, I mean, we’re all okay now, right?” Himiko smiles at the taller student, who looked away, avoiding eye contact, and instead stared at the ground.

“Yeah, alright.” Kiibo nods, and Himiko grabs his hand in a comforting gesture.

As soon as she does that, there’s a scoff from the front of the entrance hall. Facing the noise, Kaito notices it’s the purple haired kid from earlier, looking at the scene with a small sneer.

Without saying a word, he turns around and walks out of the room, heading down the hall and towards the gymnasium, leaving everyone else behind.

Tenko and Tsumugi exchanged looks.

“What’s his deal?” The girl haired girl commented, snarky and obviously not a fan of his attitude.

“I’m not sure, but he does seem to have the right idea. If the entrance ceremony is starting, wouldn’t it be a good idea to head to the gym?” Tsumugi adds, talking to no one in particular. The others look around, before unanimously deciding that heading to the gym would be the best idea at the moment.

The group of 15 split into smaller groups as they walked down the halls, similar to the groups in the entrance hall. Maki and Shuichi, Tsumugi and Korekiyo, Gonta and Kirumi, Angie, Ryoma, and Rantaro, Tenko, Himiko, and Kiibo, and Kaito, Miu, and Kaede. Together they headed to the gym, the purple haired kid already there waiting for them.

Next to Kaito, he heard Kaede speak up to both him and Miu.

“Don’t you think it’s odd we didn’t see any other students on our way here?”

Now that he thought about it, yeah that did seem pretty weird. Judging by the look on Miu’s face, she thought so too.

“Hey, you’re right. Where the hell is everyone?” Miu shouts out, a little louder than necessary.

The response she got was similar to Kaito’s in the Entrance Hall, replied to by the same high pitched voice.

“Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here?”

Without waiting for anyone to answer, they continued.

“Good! Then, let’s get things rolling!”

As soon as those words were spoken, a small, animatronic teddy bear popped out from behind the podium on the stage, its body split into a half of black and a half of white. No one dared to move or speak for a few seconds, trying to take it in.

“Is that… a stuffed bear?” Korekiyo asked out loud, voice quiet and full of disbelief.

“I am not a stuffed bear!” The bear cried out, angry at that notion.

“I am Monokuma! This school’s headmaster.”

Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any weirder.

The bear stepped down from the podium and walked closer to the students, and the knot of anxiety that’d slowly been accumulating in Kaito’s stomach turned to outright dread as he realized how absolutely screwed they were. This was definitely not a normal school, much too weird for Hope’s Peak, and certainly not a school that made the tiniest bit of sense.

“Nice to meet you all!”

After Monokuma finished his introduction, everyone stood still and quiet, just staring at the bear.

“Um, is anyone else seeing and hearing the same thing? I’m not hallucinating this?” Tsumugi asked, looking at the other for confirmation.

“I am not a stuffed bear!! How many times do I have to tell you!” He yelled out angrily, jumping out at her and causing her to flinch back.

“Eeeeek! Get away from me!!” She yelled, putting her hands in front of her face. Quickly, Tenko, who’d been standing next to Tsumugi, jumped in front of her, hands out wide.

“Back up little dude.” The green-haired girl hissed out, glaring at the bear.

“Stop it, both of you!! It’s not like it can do anything to you, even if it can… walk and talk, for some reason.” Kaede tried to reason, not wanting people to get worked up for no reason.

“No no, little miss jumpy over here has the right idea. I could kill you if I wanted!” The bear chuckled, causing a few people to exchange looks.

“Well, anyway, do you happen to know why we’re here, mister...Monokuma?” Gonta speaks up, ignoring the potential death threat in favor of getting some answers.

“Ah, yes! Of course, that is why I brought you all here!” Monokuma exclaims, and a few students relaxed a bit at the notion that their questions would soon be addressed.

Kaito wasn’t one of those. He wasn’t sure why, but he just felt…off. Something wasn't right here, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Monokuma cleared his throat(?).

“Now, continuing with the entrance ceremony! First, we should address what your school life will be like here! Yes, this should be the first thing to talk about since you’ll be living the rest of your lives out here.”

He said it so calmly, yet Kaito felt his heart stop. Looking around at everyone else, they seem to have heard it too, all wearing similar expressions

“Yes yes, you students are the hope of this world! You will all spend the rest of your life designated only to the grounds of this school, protected from the outside world!”

“H-Huh? That’s not… you’re not serious are you?” Kaito spoke, now hoping that this was all an extremely elaborate prank like he’d thought in the beginning.

“I am one hundred percent serious, my little luckster! But do not worry, we have quite the budget, so your life here will be quite comfortable! You will be more than accommodated for here at the academy.”

“Wait, so we’re stuck here? With no way out?!” Tenko shouts, her eyes wide with fear.

“Yup! You’re all completely cut off from the outside world! You can call for help all you want, but you’re stuck within these walls for the rest of your life!”

The room was silent, everyone quietly panicking at the news that they’re stuck in here forever. What about their f”milies? Their friends on the outside? Their lives on the outside?

“Aww, why do you all look so glum! You all came here of your own free will, didn’t you?”

Well, he isn’t entirely wrong.

“I guess you’ll all be happy to hear, there is something I forgot to mention. There is one way out, and only one.”

Everyone perked their heads up at that, some skeptic, others willing to listen.

“I’ve created a special rule, allowing those who wish to leave the ability to do so! With some conditions of course.”

“Spit it out already, we’re tired of waiting.” Ryoma grumbled, looking heavily annoyed at all this stalling and back and forths.

“Hold your horses, I’m getting to that!” The bear shouted, angry.

“Now then, what I was trying to say is that this school has what is called a Graduation Clause. The lifestyle you all will have here is one of order, but should someone interrupt said order, they and they alone would be allowed to leave.”

Kaito quirked an eyebrow.

“Interrupt the order? What does that mean?”

“Ah, curious one, aren’t you. What I mean by that is, in order to leave, someone needs to commit a crime most unspeakable, one that would truly disrupt the natural order. Murder, to be more specific.”

At that, everyone’s face paled a good few shades.

“Asphyxiation, blood loss, snapping of the neck, cutting off all blood flow to the brain, get creative! It doesn’t matter the process, all that matters is someone’s heart stops beating! That is the only way to escape this school.”

Katio could feel his breath picking up, panic becoming the leading emotion in his head. Kill someone to leave? That’s insane!! He was losing his grip, heart beating out of his chest and his hands gripping the sleeves of the others absurdly tight. A hand dropped to his soldier, surprisingly calm. He looked up and saw the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, lips in a taut line as she stared at the black and white bear.

“What makes you think we’ll just go along with this? Do you forget we’re children? The chances of us getting the nerve to kill someone is absolutely absurd, and this is considering you’re telling the truth. Chances are, this is some trick, a prank of some sort. Why someone would go through this much trouble to prank us, I don’t know, but there is no way you would be allowed to do this, considering some of our home lives.” Kaede spoke with such confidence and authority, the kind Kaito likes to pretend to have but could never amount to. A kind of confidence bread by experience, one she could only get in the kind of life she lives.

The bear quirked his little head.

“You all keep acting like this isn’t real. What is it gonna take to convince you that you’re stuck here forever? Because this isn’t a joke you know.”

As soon as Monokuma finished his sentence, there was a short rustling sound, a blur of motion, and suddenly, Monokuma was being held in the air. Holding him up in a death grip was the short purple haired kid, an ice glare on his face.

“I don’t know what your game is, or what psycho decided it would be a fun idea to mess with us. Whatever your reason, I’m not a fan, so I’m giving you about ten seconds to cut this shit out before I destroy your little toy.”

“A-Ah! This is certainly unexpected!”

“10.”

“Hold on now! You have no idea what I’m capable of little boy-” The grip on the bear’s face tightened.

“9.”

“You don’t want to do this, trust me.”

“8.”

“Alright, if this is what you want!”

“8.” An autonomous voice joined in with the smaller boy’s counting.

“7.”

“Hey, m-maybe you should put it down.” Himiko stepped forward towards the boy and the robot.

“Stay out of this!” The boy snapped, causing Himiko to yank her hand back.

“6.”

“She has a point, I feel like you should let go of the-” Kirumi tried to reason, but was interrupted.

“5.”

There were some metal clanging noises.

“What the hell is that?” Kaito shouted out.

“4.”

“Seriously man, put the damn thing down!” Ryoma shouted, but he was ignored as well.”

“3.”

“2.”

The metal clanging got louder, and Kaito moved before he could think, his panic fueled adrenaline making him do something he normally wouldn’t.

“1.”

As soon as he spoke the last number, Kaito pushed the bear out of his hands, stopping him from destroying it. The boy turned to the much taller one, the icy glare now directed to him.

“What the he-!” He was cut off as metal spikes sprung out of the belly of Monokuma, shooting straight up and out to the spot the kid previously stood, and still would have if he had still been holding the bear. The spikes pierced through the air, ripping through the fabric on the short kid’s shirt sleeve and the side of Kaito’s sweater, cutting through the skin with the tips of the metal. Both let out a surprised cry of pain, and Monokuma dropped on the floor with a small CLANG.

Kaito gripped his side with his opposite hand, a pained grimace on his face as he stared at the bear. He heard a few startled cries from behind him, and soon felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Turning around, his face met a worried Miu’s, with Kaede soon behind him.

“Holy shit, you alright dude?”

Breathing heavily, Kaito nodded.

“Yeah...yeah I’m okay.”

No one had time to move much before the metal spikes returned to the belly of the robot, sinking back in and being covered up as though they weren’t even there in the first place. Monokuma sprung up with a hearty chuckle.

“Looks like you got saved before I could skewer you! Well, at least now you know that I am serious about this! If that nosy kid hadn’t saved your ass, you’d be good as a shish-kebab!”

He laughed again.

“Now, it’s important to know that violence against the headmaster is strictly against the rules! I’ll let you off with a warning this time, but anyone else who disobeys the rules won’t be let off that easily.”

Everyone was silent, the gravity of the situation finally dawning on those who’d been skeptical before.

“I’m not unfair though! I’ll be giving you all fully digital e-Handbooks so that you know the rules of the school and what not to do! Remember, there are surveillance cameras all over the school, so don’t even think about getting away with anything naughty.”

Dread settled over the entire gym, everyone staring down at the handbooks being held to them as Monokuma went down the line. Once all were handed out, Monokuma straightened out.

“Well then, that’s the end of the entrance ceremony! I hope you all have a wonderfully depressing school life here at the school, and I look forward to what kind of murders you decide to come up with!”

He gave us a small wave, his unnerving half-smile still plastering on his face.

“See ya!”

And like that, he was gone, leaving us all to our own devices.

“Well, shit.”

#talentswap au #trigger happy havoc #drv3 #danganropa #danganronpa au #talentswap

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lore-a-lie · 7 years ago

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Chapter 1, Act 6: Clair de Loon

Daily Life

Kaede finally got to take her seat at the piano. It feels like it’s been ages since she was last able to play, she hadn’t spent nearly enough time in her lab since it opened. She’s glad she left the gloves Tsumugi gave her in her bag, so she could enjoy the feel of the ivory keys at her fingertips. Feel the music flow through her, around her. She could hardly even notice anyone else around her in that moment.

Which is how the little mage managed to startle her so badly with her innocent interruption, and Kaede hit her knee against the underside of said piano something fierce.

“N-nyeh? Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, of course I am! What’s going on, sorry I kinda went in my own little world there for a bit.” (Nothing is okay. Everything is hell and it hurts.Why me? But I better keep smiling, so nobody needs to worry.)

“Nah, it’s okay. I do it all the time too.” (We’ve noticed. Not sure you aren’t still in it.)

“Is everything okay?”

“Y-yeah. Just wanted to tell you how pretty it sounded and thought me talking to you would be less jarring than Tenko since she’s headed this way. Sorry.”

“Kaede~ And Himiko! What do you think? Isn’t this cute~ I feel like a princess!” Tenko sing-songed right on cue, giving a twirl of a curtsy as she did. Not that Himiko was paying her any attention. (It would probably be cuter if I didn’t know her personality or need to worry about how she’d react to a guy agreeing.)

It was an elegant blue ball gown, the color not unlike her uniform’s. The dress’s ruffles even mimicked her normal skirt’s layered style, just to a much more modest degree. Her hair was done in a much more understandable set of buns too, tied with little green bows like the one large one she normally had.

“It’s beautiful on you Tenko. I didn’t know you’d be so comfortable in that sort of thing. Almost expected you in a suit like Himiko, for mobility or something.”

“Yeah, it looks great. And that reminds me…” Himiko began as an oddly serious expression came across her face. “Make fun of Kiyo’s clothes and I’ll hex you both. I mean it. I’ll use my “every time you sneeze you’ll think you’d had an accident” curse and everything, so you better be nice.”

“W-what sort of accident?! And what qualifies as “making fun of” for this? What did he do?!”

The tiny girl didn’t answer Tenko’s question as she ran off to have some words with… Maki? No, the hair wasn’t long enough for Maki. And she wasn’t anywhere near six feet tall-

Okay, now this just isn’t fair. (It is quite the relief though, I was worried it’d be something more drastic.)

Kiyo’s definition of “more comfortable” for the evening was apparently a red woman’s kimono with an orange and blue floral pattern, tied with an orange and green scale patterned obi. The mask was off as per Kokichi’s petty request, but aside from that and his hands, the dress covered nearly as much as his regular clothing did, though he had quite a heel on his brown zori. His hat was gone but he had taken his odd chain off its band to use in his hair for now.

AND HE’S ACTUALLY ATTRACTIVE NOW, THIS ISN’T FAIR! I’ve never been able to pull off even a simple yukata that well during the summer’s festival season, what gives? And why does Kiyo of all people look better like this than he does in his normal clothes!… Oh dear. Does this mean I didn’t know myself as well as I thought I did when I got up this morning? I was not ready to go through something like this today...

“Oh wow she looks amazing- W-wait, that’s not… Was Tenko mistaken in thinking Kiyo’s been another degenerate male this whole time?! Has this all been some sort of act? She is not okay with any of this!”

“Nope, he’s still definitely a guy, his sister even called him “little brother”. But I’m pretty sure the way I’m thinking about him right now is still a sign of something new and I don’t know how to feel about that either.”

“Not necessarily but thank you for the compliment.” The person in question's voice came from behind them in a needlessly cheery fashion, having lost Himiko to Angie. (HOLY SHIT HOW DOES HE STILL DO THE NINJA THING IN HEELS?!… HOW DOES HE WALK IN SHOES LIKE THOSE??? There is no justice in this world.)

Tenko’s squawk returned so it sounds like Kaede wasn’t the only one to forget how Kiyo could move like a ghost. Considering her misandry, reaction times, and combat experience it’s probably more impressive to shock her. Her responses are certainly more amusing and vocal, given how he’s gone into a giggle fit.

“... Why?” (Thank you Tenko for being able to restrain yourself to only one question. I wouldn’t.)

“I hardly saw a reason why not to give this a try. I thought it would be more interesting to see how I’d be received while looking like this. I don’t feel like... “myself” without my mask anymore I suppose, so why should I look like "myself" with it gone? Miss Shirogane’s eager acceptance and comparisons to her hobby’s notions regarding "crossplaying" were already pleasant surprises for this study.” (“Miss Shirogane” is oddly formal for him to use isn’t it?)

“Did she help you with the lipstick and eyeshadow too?”

“No, that’s my handiwork. A steady hand is infinitely useful when transcribing works you know. Did she help with your nails by chance?” (Too close! Stop getting distracted. Too. Fucking. Pretty- Wait what?)

“... Rantaro did actually. I almost forgot about that with everything that happened, Tsumugi had pulled me aside to try some nail art with me in the game room and after she used a pink “gradient” on mine he happened to pass by and thought this two-toned “French slant” might suit me better instead. It helps make them look longer he said, since I keep them short to make playing piano easier.” (And Tsumugi got super jealous that a “normie” like him upstaged her like that too, but I’ll keep that to myself for now.)

“Huh?! But they’re so cute, how did he know how to do this sort of stuff?” Tenko asked, and seemed to be having troubles actually processing this information.

“From helping his little sisters I presume? Sister needed some help with her own from time to time too.” (That explains his own nails, which are so much nicer than mine. He even managed to keep them longer than I do, those don’t look plastic! Doesn’t explain the scars poking out from his sleeves though. Gah, bad territory! Whether I’m feeling jealous or attracted to him is a much safer rabbit hole to go down than that is right now.)

“Sisters? I didn’t know he had more than one. Thought he had learned it from a girlfriend at first, to be honest, but yeah.” Kaede said with a somber smile which Kiyo seemed to have understood with the sympathetic look in his eyes as he gave a nod.

“He had a number as I understood it, but he lost contact with them and kept things rather vague. It came up when we talked about traveling, he was surprisingly experienced in that way. We even had some overlap in previous destinations. I wonder if it could have been related to his forgotten talent.” (Was Rantaro really offended when I thought he was some sort of playboy if his father was one? How else would you just lose contact with family but divorce issues?)

“I... never really talked to him at all come to think of it.” Tenko softly admitted, regret clear in her voice.

“Given your stance on men in general, this is far from surprising." Kiyo replied in a snide tone, before switching to one much more melancholy, "It is a shame how life works out, isn't it?”

“Kiyo! I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you manage to bring the mood down again. This isn’t exactly good for a “Lovely Assistant” you know, we’re supposed to be bringing smiles to people tonight!” Himiko’s apparently broken away from talking to Angie and pointed at him with a cross looking pout. (Hey, Kiyo’s not a “warlock” anymore! And at least the "lovely" thing isn't just me and Tenko. I hope this is a good sign, since she didn’t make him a "mage" too.)

“Ah, quite right. Now’s not the best time for bittersweet reminiscing, my apologies.” He said with a bow, as Tenko went off with Himiko and Angie. Which was all for the better considering how loud the person who was sashaying over to them was. In more ways than one.

“Hey dumpy tits what’s that face for- … OH COME ON!”

Nope, not even Miu’s sexy getup is enough to be better looking than Kiyo. Not sure if I’m hoping Kirumi can be the one to try and answer my dilemma. But I'm pretty sure if he didn’t start laughing again that would have been enough to set Himiko on her curse thing though. It’s sorta sweet how protective she’s being over this, given how they weren’t close before. And almost adorable given their huge height difference too, like a really weird set of siblings.

“Kukuku~ Not to worry, that’s a reaction I’m used to by now. So tell me your thoughts: Am I pretty?” (Of course, you fucking are you smugass sonuva- Oh wait I get it, this is from that one Yokai thing isn’t it?)

“Should you really be asking anyone that now when you’re not wearing the face mask?”

There’s that gleam in his eye he gets when someone finds the answer he’s looking for! It’s weird being able to see him smile along with it now, probably weirder than seeing him in lipstick and makeup like this honestly. Have his lashes always been this long? Something about his eyes looks different tonight- STOP CHECKING HIM OUT AND FOCUS DAMNIT, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW NICE HE LOOKS RIGHT NOW!

“Issat one of your culture nerd things? Is that’s what’s happening here right now? Because if saying “yes” is a bad thing I ain’t touching it.” Miu huffed. (She’s pretty obviously jealous though. She keeps looking at his chest and then back at her own as if confused why her “girls” didn’t give her a bigger advantage here.)

“That’s fair, as there is often no “right” answer to the Kuchisake-onna’s query anyway.”

“The what now- ya’know what nevermind, maybe later. HEY KIBO YOU FORGOT SOMETHING!”

Miu quickly wandered off to the ‘bot, who… Didn’t look all that different aside from his hair being a little less poofy. Until his face changed colors after realizing how much leg her pink dress was exposing at any rate. Or because he noticed her plunging neckline instead, given how his height made him basically eye-level with the bottom of it. It was hard to tell as either would work in this situation, which suited Miu pretty well.

Her hair was much tamer than it usually is, though it was still a rather messy bun all things considered, but her “antenna” were quickly starting to come loose from how she’s almost dancing around him while randomly poking at certain areas. (Pressing buttons perhaps?)

Any questions about what she was trying to do were quickly cleared up as the areas that were normally glowing cyan on the robot started to cycle through colors. It was rather unsettling to see how his eyes could change to match, which is likely why she made them go back to his “natural” blue setting instead.

“Kiyo did realize I was kidding before right? About the hooke- OW, HEY!” (YOU. I BLAME YOU FOR THIS. And maybe thank you for it? I feel so conflicted right now. At least you still aren’t attractive to me.)

Sounds like Kokichi was cut off by a rough slap on his back by Ryoma who was sitting on the nearby railing, which would have easily looked like a friendly gesture between them to people just giving the two a glance and weren’t able to hear the context for it.

“Shut up man, just let him have his fun and don’t be a dick about it. Whatever makes him happy, who cares?... I’ve never even met anyone who actually knew how to put on that sorta thing before come to think of it. It’s interesting to see that bit of culture in person for a change. Makes a guy feel a bit underdressed though, even looking like this. It’s weird comparing traditional wear to western stuff.”

“You didn’t need to hit me though! Meanie. Betcha you wouldn’t have been able to reach me there if you weren’t cheating either, shorty. And why didn’t anyone tell me Kee-boy could double as a disco ball?!”

“You still have a ways to go before you can really call me that short stuff. But I don’t think he knew until just now, so not sure anyone else could’ve.”

Both Kokichi and Ryoma were in more conventional suits, almost surprising given their heights. Kokichi’s being almost all white, with a purple shirt and his checkered neckerchief sticking out of a pocket, while Ryoma’s was a traditional black with a loosely done blue tie, ginger hair out for all to see. (Is it mean to wonder if Tsumugi had to get these from the kid’s section or large toys or something? Mostly for Ryoma.)

“Yeah, his panels just couldn’t keep from tearing through anything I have on hand that I thought would work for him. If my lab was here then I’m sure I could have made him something nice, but at least Miu found an easy alternative. Not sure it’s as “useful” as she claimed it could be when she tried to explain it to me earlier, but maybe it could be related to a flashlight feature or something?”

Tsumugi’s dress was rather simple, a sexy medium length light blue qípáo with gold trim. Behind her was Kirumi, with a red rose in her lacy headband and a long black and white Victorian dress with a matching rose pattern on it. As she offered before she’s left any and all aprons she has behind for the evening.

Welp. Good news: Someone is finally prettier than Kiyo and I can safely say now I’ve definitely learned something new about my tastes tonight. Bad news: Having “really tall, dark, kinda eerie femme fatale” as my type of feminine person I’m attracted to does not bode well for me. Particularly not in this setting.

“At least everything else has worked out nicely. When exactly will Himiko’s show begin?”

“Well, I guess the first thing to make sure is that everyone’s here right? Then we’ll just need to ask her and Kiyo.”

“I think we all are, if you’re talkin’ like Kiyo’s here already. I hadn’t seen him yet.” (Of course, you haven’t Kaito. I don't think this will end well.)

Kaito’s hair is remarkably untouched all things considered, just wearing an indigo men’s yukata with a subtle star pattern to it and a white robe over it like his coat. Maki’s hair was in a ponytail, and was in a red dress that looks like it has one of those cowl necks that can be used to make a hood, and given how much she was playing with her long locks she appeared rather uncomfortable with her new setting.

Past her Kaede could see Angie skipping about in a long white sundress around Gonta who didn’t look all that different than usual. Looks like not even Tsumugi could convince him to tame his hair or wear shoes for the night. Still, her work on everyone else was amazing, especially if she didn’t base them on characters or anything. If she did it’s not like Kaede would be able to tell, but they felt original tonight.

It looked like everything was just about ready to begin, but Kiyo looked rather concerned. He hid his mouth behind his hand by force of habit or to avoid lip reading as he spoke to Kaede in hushed tones.

“Himiko might need a bit of time to settle her nerves again, would you mind playing something first?”

Kaito’s definitely seen Kiyo now, after he came over to whisper in Kaede’s ear like that, and looked even less comfortable than Maki does. Too bad seeing Kaito’s reaction was enough to set Himiko off, but she was shaking less now, as the blissfully unaware Tenko still tried to act as her one person cheer squad.

He also noticed how she was muttering under her breath and giving him her best glare, since he looked mildly terrified and moved to place the now definitely blushing Maki between him and the young witch’s wrath. Kiyo was clearly amused by all of this, given he was clearly barely able to keep himself from laughing behind his hand as he approached Kaito assumedly to try and ease Himiko’s concerns.

… Or just to make things worse on purpose because he can, that works too. Kaede could hear he had switched to using a falsetto now just to aggravate any issues Kaito was having with him as he spoke with an unkind smile on his face. But seeing them “talk” did make Himiko’s muttering stop for the time being.

Good grief. This was more the creepy semi-sadistic sort of thing I was expecting of him in general. It’s probably for the better I take up his suggestion for now until people settle down some more. Now’s as good a time as any to play that song, isn’t it? I'm sorry it’s so late Shuichi. Then I'll do a song for Rantaro too.

It was easy to let any awkwardness or tenseness from the group fall away as Kaede played Clair de Lune. It was always easy to lose herself and her troubles in her focus on the music, on the keys and pedals before her. The songs never lasted long enough, it was always as if they ended too soon for her regardless of what it was, but she appreciated the polite applause and praise she received when it did. And pointedly ignored the few wolf whistles from Miu and Kokichi.

Himiko was as ready as she’d ever be at this point, so she and Kiyo took to her stage. She had Kiyo introduce her and provide almost fairytale-like explanations for everything she’d be doing for the night.

Thank goodness he stopped doing the falsetto, that’s too random for this since we know how he talks normally. Unless he wanted to do some Rakugo thing for his talent, it might work for something like that.

She went through an interesting variety, starting with “Incorporeal Vorpal Blades”, an unusual combination of her “saw in half” trick with a “disappearing box” act that made it very hard to tell where exactly Kiyo actually was during the performance until it finished.

After a few rounds of that she went to “Wyrd Maiden” magic, which given the subject did result in some laughs as Kiyo pulled out his falsetto again to play up the title despite Himiko’s attempt at giving him a firm pout, starting with the box-of-swords trick that somehow resulted in Kiyo coming out of Himiko’s “witch’s brew” that was sitting far off to the side.

They finished up with her take on “Wingardium Leviosa”, where upon the release of her various doves Himiko moved so quickly it was like she disappeared, leaving only her hat in her place. After a few moments when Kiyo hammed it up again while showing everyone that there were no doors in that area the banners above the stage began to move, showing Himiko proudly standing between the columns up above them to everyone’s applause.

Too bad they hadn’t actually sorted out for her to get back down though as she began looking around, rubbing the back of her neck like she forgot what she was supposed to be doing, which got some laughs from those who thought it was part of the show as Kiyo and Tenko mimed to her where to go.

When she was back safely on the ground, she asked if it would be okay to run off to the restroom for a bit now that her show was done. Kaede went back to playing for the night as Gonta released the various breeds of fireflies and beetles he collected that would each release their own pleasant glow as they took off to the night sky. (Given the glowing shapes moving along the ground there were probably glowworms or nightcrawlers or whatever too. Ick.)

No one suspected anything was wrong until Tenko went to see what was taking Himiko so long to get back, given how smoothly everything had went. Even then that was easy to forget about, Kaede couldn’t even be sure how long Tenko was gone looking. It wasn’t until she came running back, scared and asking for help that a problem was clear so those closest to the door ran to where Himiko had been going last.

When she, Kaede, Kiyo, and Angie made it to the bathroom door the dreaded announcement’s chime began to sound. Himiko was dead on the floor, blood seeping from her neck with a lifeless stare.

With that, the killing game began again. Despite their best efforts, it was time to begin a new investigation. ( And now this time we don’t even have a true detective to help us figure out why. )

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