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lynneshobbydomain · 5 years

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Vengeance Chapter Six

(Thank you all so much for the likes and reblogs! Also thank you so much @sinfulwonders for beta-reading my chapter, also for telling me about the tagging system. Jesus I didn’t know that was a thing. Also, I’m changing the rating on all of my chapters from NSFW to mature as there is really nothing Explicit in my chapters thus far and probably won’t be. I maintain my position that ratings can change depending on what happens and as new information appears (like the tagging, jesus I still can’t believe no one told me. It used to be it was either sfw or nsfw and there was no in between...You’re so wonderful to me <3. Early update once again, but who knows why >:D)

Rated: Mature (language, murder, descriptions of violence, sexual language)

Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the “Usual 16” wasn’t going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren’t being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can’t shake off the feeling that there’s a reason behind the disappearances, and he’s close to the answer.He just didn’t realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.

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You can read this below the cut or at AO3

The house no longer felt the same. The missing sounds of the guitar were still too much and the scattered conversation between him, his aunt, and his uncle all felt forced and unnatural. Shuichi remembered how he interviewed the families who were missing and how they always said the house felt strange without them. Like there was a piece missing. It wasn’t the absence of routine. It was a literal piece and Shuichi wished that he never knew what it felt like.

It was raw. It was a constant reminder that she wasn’t there. It wasn’t just the missing guitar, it was the fact that his aunt was at the stove. It was his uncle that was at the living room table with files scattered and a furrowed brow. It was the strained silence that held too many words that Shuichi knew needed to be said, but no one was daring to say them. It was a loss. Calling it a heavy cloud of grief and of worry didn’t even make sense. It was more like a ghost. Every phone call was a jolt, a prayer, a hope. It was a spark that was easily extinguished and left a sour taste in the back of his mouth.

Shuichi pulled his hat over his eyes, and glanced down at the ground on the train. He didn’t want anyone to take a look at him and pester him for answers he didn’t have. Class was the same way, the same averted gaze. The teacher drowned on and on and he couldn’t grasp what was being talked about. The day both moved like molasses and moved at supersonic speed and he wasn’t sure which one he preferred. He just wanted the world to stop. He wanted to figure out this case.

On spur of the moment he decided to ditch the rest of his classes. They weren’t doing him much good mentally, and he wasn’t focusing. It was better for him to leave before someone figured him out, and asked him to go see someone. It wasn’t that he disregarded those who worked in the mental health field, it was just he had bigger fish to fry. He was going to have to figure out a way to get a new phone so that he could keep in contact with D.I.C.E and everyone else. Aki wasn’t going to be able to get a hold of him, but he sure hoped that she wouldn’t think he was kidnapped if she heard the wrong voice at the end of the phone.

Getting home was a surprise in itself. He didn’t remember getting on a train, but he remembered being around crowds of people. He didn’t remember turning at the corner like he usually did, but he did remember to stop at the park bench and wait a moment to see if someone was going to run and catch up to him. He also forgot that his aunt was home, and that he outed himself that he had skipped.

Soft padding of feet alerted Shuichi to look up to see that his aunt was standing at the foyer, hands on her hips. Her lips were pursed but it was easy to see that it was out of worry, not out of shame. The word “plain” echoed in his mind the last time his father spoke about his aunt. She wasn’t exotic with the different hair colors like himself or his uncle. Black straight hair, almond eyes that could pierce through any one’s soul. Much like she was doing to him now. Despite being home, she wore a professional button up blouse that was a wine red and black dress slacks.

Instead of arguing or telling him that he should go back, she stepped down into his space and hugged him tightly. Shuichi froze at first, feeling everything in him tense up and his skin prickled at the feeling. He could smell the soft scent of her perfume that she constantly wore to work. He brought his arms up and sank into her embrace, hugging her back.

“We’ll get through this.” Keiko spoke. Shuichi didn’t realize how similar his cousin and his aunt spoke. The same lit to their words, the same gentle tone. She pulled him away and she gently moved his cap so she could brush some of his hair out of his face. Her eyes were watery, red rimmed. She had been crying recently, and probably all day while he was at school. “Koji went to the station. See if he could find anything. You might’ve provided a lead with those emails.”

False hope wasn’t like his aunt, but they were grasping at anything really. Shuichi couldn’t blame her for that. For wanting to find some sort of hope. For finding some sort of peace. It was torture not knowing what was happening. Shuichi pulled his shoes off and decided to go back into his room.

The only way to know anything, Shuichi sat at his desk and pulled the laptop close, was to dive in. He braced himself for the worse, and he also braced himself for a spam email that’ll give his computer a thousand viruses. God he could imagine how hard Kokichi would laugh at that. Solo probably would have tried to contact him on his phone to warn him. Considering he requinished it to his uncle for evidence, he wouldn’t have gotten the message and Kokichi wasn’t ditching class. Or if he was, he probably was checking in on Deuce and Trick.

Keeping a mental tab open that he was going to have to visit too, he logged into his email account and froze when he saw a third letter from Danganronpa. The subject line made his blood freeze and his stomach feel hollow. It’s Voting Time.

The letter simply asked one question: What would the first round’s motive be? The answers that Shuichi were greeted with were appalling at best.

Fight For Your Loved Ones

Memories You Think You Forgot

Reasons To Live

“What the hell.” Shuichi whispered softly to himself, staring at the choices. He still didn’t know what the hell the motive was supposed to be for. He had meant to go into the link, to see what he was missing. Instead he was greeted with this and his heart rate accelerated. He could hear it throbbing in his ears and his stomach only buckled under the pressure of anxiety. He felt nauseous. It didn’t help that there was a time limit. He had until six in the evening to decide what it was.

Were these motives supposed to be reasons to escape? He would have thought that the “escape” would be reason enough. Using that as his own motivation, he clicked out of the email and he went into the second one with the invitation link. He clicked on it and pursed his lips together as his screen suddenly went black.

Well. That answered that question didn’t it? He was about to close his laptop and see about talking to Takahashi to fix it when an emblem of a crest appeared. The rest looked like a high school’s crest that was vaguely familiar to Shuichi. It had a checkered background of black and white. There was a pen going diagonally to the left and a jagged red gash that went the other direction. The crest was crowned like royalty and on either side was adorned with angel wings.

Shuichi could suspect that the crest was mocking someone or something. There was just...a bad feeling that etched into his psyche and told him to stay on guard. The screen disappeared turning back to black when it reappeared.

There was a chat log on the right hand side of the computer that was already taking off. Shuichi noted that there were a lot of banned comments that took up most of it. There were only three rules that were being stated. No pleading, no complaining, and no online bets.

Shuichi blinked slowly at the chat log before he turned his attention to the screen. The location looked to be like a dinning hall. There was a long table that had exactly sixteen seats and a kitchen in the nearby background. There were no windows, but the light overhead was bright enough to mock sunlight. There was also overgrowth that was happening in the corners of the room. Were they in a place that was abandoned? Inside the dining hall, there was a green haired boy that was talking to another boy. His brows furrowed, he could’ve sworn he saw that green-haired kid somewhere. When the camera moved to a different angle, the lightbulb appeared.

“Amami-kun?” Shuichi spoke softly. “But we thought you were in Japan…” He trailed off. They had been right in thinking that he was in Japan. But now it made sense why they couldn’t find him. He was also one of the Usual 16.

Same with that boy that he was talking to. He wore a black and blue flannel shirt and torn up jeans that had grass stains at the knees and mud at the hems. His boots were covered in it, meaning that he walked around hiking trails and forested areas quite a lot. His hair was an untamed mess that was a result of all the trees branches trying to snatch at him. Shuichi also noted that he wore brown heavy duty gloves. The kind that bird trainers would wear at the zoo.

“-Don’t think anything has happened yet.” Rantaro spoke. He had a tone to his voice that was soft and unassuming. A casual dialect. “So I don’t think we have to worry much about Monokuma's planning, Kokai-kun.”

Monokuma? Shuichi blinked slowly. He glanced at the chat log to see if anyone was going to answer that question, but all he saw were mockery and laughter. These were people who’ve probably seen more than their fair share of this kind of game if they knew what to expect.

“I jus’ don’ like the fac’ dat we’re all here and dat we dunno wha’s goin’ on.” The heavy accent made Shuichi’s head spin. He was really going to have to listen hard to understand what he was trying to say. “Dat bear ding really makes me a nervous willy. ‘Elling us dat dis is a killin’ game.”

Shuichi felt himself lurch backwards, his hands gripped in front of his desk. A killing game? Then that meant that the class trials were to figure out something. Was this supposed to be a game of real life murder mystery solving?! Then that would explain why no one was connected to each other. Why put family members in the same room when all they would do was try to find ways to save each other, or kill for each other?! Shuichi brought himself back into the conversation.

“Yeah that was a bit weird and unsettling.” Rantaro agreed. “For now our main focus is to figure out a way out of here. I know that we already split into groups, but do you wanna come with? You don’t have to if you’d rather stay out of it. I get it.”

“Nah, I’ll come.” Kokai agreed, tugging on his gloves nervously. “I dunno how much help I’ll be, bu’ if I can see or do somethin’ I dun mind.”

“Thanks partner. I’ll be relying on you.”

The blush on Kokai’s cheeks was flaming red and Shuichi glanced at the chat log again to see that more comments were going off.

The camera changed to another group. Two girls were in a grassy hallway with springtime flowers that were blossoming. The windows had the sun shining through the glass, pouring onto the ground and lighting up the area with its rays. One was wearing a sparkling leotard that caught the light and shimmered everytime she moved. Her blond hair was tied in a tight knot on the top of her head. She had an athletic build and she stood in a way that told Shuichi that she was used to being in a poised position. Either she was a ballerina, a dancer, or something else entirely.

Her accomplice was a messy looking character. Her ends of her hair were singed and she had a black streak that went across her cheek past the bridge of her nose. She had a lot of black marks on her clothes, and a lot of burn holes too. Her socks were over stretched and hung at her calves and she also had a plaid red black skirt. Her shirt had floppy long sleeves that were torn and burned as well. She had bandages wrapped around her fingers and hands, and she was twirling a lighter in between her fingers. Shuichi blinked slowly. If he didn’t know all of the members of D.I.C.E he wouldn’t have been surprised to find out she was one.

“That bear gives me the creeps.” The girl with the lighter spoke. “But you gotta admit he’s a cutie too. Do you think if we light ‘em up he’ll let us go?”

“I don’t think that’s how that works, Yuya-chan.” Yuya. Shuichi quickly grabbed his notebook from the side. He quickly jolted the name down. He just needed to see if anyone was going to be on a first name basis. “So um…” She shifted nervously. “Can I ask you something?”

“Do you wanna ask me how many buildings I’ve burned down?” Yuya stopped twirling the lighter and suddenly flicked it, scaring the other girl into jumping back a few feet away. “Nyahahaha! Sorry!” She extinguished the flame. “What was the question?”

“Why do you burn down buildings?”

“Would it surprise you if I told you I never did?” Yuya blinked at her as she twirled the lighter. “I think the only reason I got Ultimate Arsonist is because I set fire to my house once. By accident thank you.”

“H-how on earth?”

“Curious to know the same.”

The girls screamed and Rantaro and Kokai approached. “Sorry.” He waved casually. “Didn’t mean to scare you girls into a fright. You okay?”

“Amami-kun you’re like a ghost you know that?” Yuya pouted. “So you wanna know the story too huh? What about bird boy over there?”

Ultimates? Arsonist? Shuichi was starting to wonder if he could keep up with all of the information that was being poured out to him. What was an Ultimate? What did it mean in the context of the game? He didn’t hear about any house burnings in his area but...if they were all taken from different prefectures….then there had to have been a house burning recently that caught everyone’s attention. He was going to have to look that up later. If he could get a better name than just “Yuya”. Depending on where she lived, there could be plenty of them running around or just a few.

“Okay well since you’re soooo insistent. I guess I’ll spill. It was a cooking accident.” Yuya sighed as she folded her arms around her waist. “And just so happened that it was near something electrical and kaboom!”

“Sounds scary.” Rantaro had the same expression as the girl and the other boy that was next to him. Shuichi also couldn’t hide his own surprise. That was terrible luck. “Glad to see that you’re okay.”

“I got some major burns for it, but I’m walking!” She pounded at her chest. “Nothing gets me down. What about you Amami-kun? Since we’re being all chummy. How did you get your Ultimate title?”

“Haha.” Rantaro rubbed the back of his neck. “I suppose it’s because I often travel.”

“But you’re not the Ultimate Tourist.” Yuya pointed out. “You’re the Ultimate Adventurer. So there’s a story there.”

“Maybe.” Rantaro shook his head. “Personally I don’t really see it as a story. You know. Going off into the wilderness.”

“Oh that kind of adventurer.” Yuya pouted. “And here I thought you’d be looking for something. Like treasure.”

“Haha. Maybe I am and I just haven’t stumbled upon it yet.”

“Sounds like you Amami-kun. We already know why bird-boy’s bird boy-”

“Shuddup.” Kokai frowned.

Ultimate Adventurer. That fit with the fact that he was trying to go around the world and find his family. Shuichi paused in that thought process as the hand that cupped around his mouth slowly fell in realization. Ultimates weren’t “Ultimates”. That was just a fancy title. No, what connected these people together wasn’t how close they were. It was the accomplishments.

Every single person in that room, in that game that was being played out before Shuichi’s eyes, accomplished something. Which meant that they were in newspapers or they were in some sort of local event that gathered. They somehow caught Danganronpa’s attention. He just had to figure out where that point of interest was.

He looked at the chat log to see that some of them were annoyed with Yuya. Some thought she was cute. Some were commenting on Rantaro and whether or not he would last in the game. Some thought he was cute. Some thought he was bland. There were also comments about the girl too. Shuichi barely caught the word Maeji before he scrambled to write that down. He would have to wait and see how the game progressed to get her “ultimate” and see if he couldn’t find her.

Shuichi couldn’t deny that the fire and the description of it helped narrow down his results. He couldn’t open anything in a new browser since the game took up the computer screen, but he could wait until it was over, or at least until he decided to log off. He noted that there was a timer on the side of the chat log. He carefully wiggled his mouse and dragged the pointer over to it to see that it was the amount of time left before the voting polls were closed. He still had time.

He chanced a look at the chat logs, just to see if there were more banned comments. Instead his eyes were greeted to a simple conversation, but one that held meaning.

[ Loki: Maan so lame. How long are we gonna have to listen to them chat about how to get out of the stupid building? ]

[ Shinigami: This is the first episode of sorts, Loki. We’re still trying to get to know who the players are and who we want to show our support to. Hence why there’s such a long time for us to vote. They want us to feel something for these people. They’re going to allow them the luxury of feeling safe for now. The real game begins with the votes are cast. ]

[ Loki: Ugh you’d think they’d be able to do it without us. ]

[ Shinigami: The audience did request more of a presence. ]

Which was why the emails were sent. Which was why the timer was a constant reminder that they had to decide everyone’s fate. He watched the group split apart again after a chat and wander away. He knew that paying attention to every little detail, every little piece of the conversation could lead to something bigger, but he was also filled with worry, with dread.

Right now, it appeared their motive was simple. They were trying to escape or trying to find a way to get out. Shuichi could understand why they had to split up. The area that they chose to use for the game looked pretty big. They would need all hands on deck if they wanted to figure out a way out. If there was a way out. Shuichi wasn’t sure about that. Chances were it was a one-way ticket. There was no traditional way of getting out of there.

He was right when the camera took them outside. The dome shape barrier was enough to tell him that these people who were behind the game were smart. Dreadfully clever. They thought things through, they had to. They had 52 seasons to mess up. How many made it out alive? How many all died before they could reach the entrance? Shuichi pursed his lips together as he tugged his hat down slightly.

The camera focused in the courtyard by the fountain. There were two people that were wearing white lab coats. One wore the safety goggles and had different colors splattered all over her coat. She had her cotton candy colored hair tied in a ponytail and she kept a navy mask over her mouth too. Her features were...obscured heavily. The other one who wore a white lab coat wore a suit underneath. His tie was fixated at his neck and he had a couple of pens in his pocket. He carried a clipboard and his hair was slicked back since he couldn’t very well tie it.

They looked much older than the other classmates, but at the same time Shuichi wondered how much of this was due to what they were wearing. Now that he was thinking about it, it was a bit odd for them to be wearing such clothing. He doubted those were the clothes they were stolen in. If anything, Shuichi was starting to get the idea that this was a horrible game of “dress up the part”.

They were being mocked for their talents and they didn’t have a clue.

Shuichi was also starting to get the sense that the camera favored following around one particular student, but he couldn’t tell if it was the boy with the accent or Rantaro. The camera zoomed in on the conversation just as Rantaro and Kokai appeared to them. “Yo.” Rantaro greeted as he approached. “Did you two find anything?”

“So far our research fails us.” The woman spoke as she adjusted her goggles. “We had a hypothesis that said that the entrance could be outside somewhere rather than indoors, but we can’t seem to figure out where it could be. We supposed that it could be a manhole, but looking at it...we verified that it wasn’t the case. Our reasoning is that the manhole would be too...obvious.”

“Obvious in the sense that the mastermind or whoever thought of this game would think that we’d have the same idea.” The man spoke. “Ajshi-san thought so too, but we can’t come up with any other leads.”

“I also had a hypothesis that maybe someone might know more. I attempted to talk to one of the Monokubs, but they accused me of attempting to cheat.” Ajishi frowned, as she tugged up on her gloves. “I guess that proves my hypothesis correct even though I can’t exactly prove anything. Attempted repeats will probably get me killed. Ougai-san also convinced me not to go further in my research. I’m inclined to agree. I’m not good with people. I’m good with chemicals.”

“And depending on how bad things can get, if we have someone here that can at least help make medicine using my knowledge, it’ll be half the battle.” Ougai nodded sagely. “We’re too important to just risk.”

“I get that.” Rantaro replied. “So not the man hole then. Sucks. Would’ve thought that would be our way out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Any other ideas?”

“None that I can think of so far. But we’re attempting to come up with an idea. Our thoughts were to use Yuya-san’s ability to the maximum. However, we’re unsure what would be good to break this dome. I have never seen anything like it. It’s thick to the touch.” Ajishi rolled her shoulder as she spoke. “I’ll have to see if Yuya-san has even worked with something like this before, and if she knows a way to make it explode. It could be our only way out.”

“That is if it doesn’t count as school property.” Ougai spoke just as a black and white bear appeared on the screen.

It was one of the most hideous creatures Shuichi had ever seen. The white side looked like a normal stuffed bear. The black side on the other hand had a red gash for an eye that looked vastly similar to the emblem that had been on the screen not too long ago. “What do you mean it’s not a part of school property?!” He yelled, in a very over the top high pitched tone. “If it’s on school grounds, it’s school property.” He changed tune quickly into a nervous wreck. “You youngsters and your rebellion phrases. I thought you would get over yourselves. I told ya, you ain’t leavin! That’s just a pipe dream! You know how to get out!”

“Murder isn’t our forte. We don’t have a killer among us.” Aijshi spoke up sternly. “You caught people who are pacifists in nature.”

“What do you know about being a pacifist?” The bear asked, suddenly curious. Shuichi was starting to get whiplash on how all over the place this animal was. What even was this creature? This couldn’t be real. That had to be the made up part about this show. “Anyone here has a potential of killing. But what do I know? I’m just a lonely stupid bear.”

“Besides escaping, what other reasons could we have to murder?” Rantaro spoke up, his voice just as firm as Ajishi’s. His arms were folded tight against his chest as he stared down at the bear, unphased by the creature’s looks or his wording. “There’s nothing.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?” The bear suddenly sing-songed. “But I’ll tell you one thing. Ya ain’t leaving by trying to explode those things. We knew that grabbing an arsonist was going to make us look bad.”

“Whose we?” Ougai suddenly spoke up with interest.

“Uh oh.” Just like that he disappeared.

“Wait just a moment!” Ajishi shouted before slumping, her goggles slipping half-way down her face. “He ran away again. Just as he was about to let something important slip.”

“Dun’ ya dink it’s weird dough?” Kokai suddenly spoke up. “Dey planned for an arsonist.”

“Yes, I thought the phrasing was strange myself.” Ajishi suddenly perked back up, adjusting her goggles back onto her face. “Which means they prepared that there would be a chemist and a doctor among you as well. We should tread carefully. That animated bear may be on to something. Anyone has the capability of murder, that is correct. There is not a single person among us who is a detective.”

Shuichi’s heart lurched in his chest. Did that mean that she wasn’t in this game? At the same time, he had to stamp down that hope. He already knew that everyone had a talent that meant they accomplished something. Aki never did anything with detective work, so there was no way that would be her accomplishment.

It meant that he knew now what kind of motive that bear was looking for too. That motive vote was to either persuade people to kill or to persuade people to keep stalling the game. Shuichi cupped his mouth with his hand as he moved his mouse and clicked on the timer and saw that the vote was also embedded into the website. They must have come to the thought that not everyone was going to vote first or be able to escape out of the computer screen.

If Aki was going to commit a murder, Shuichi knew that she’d do it if she thought he was in danger. Which meant that he had to be very careful about what his choice was. Loved ones were out. He couldn’t afford to be the reason. He didn’t know if Aki suffered from depression like he did. She didn’t show that to him. He had no choice, Aki had developed a sixth sense of when he was down and unable to get out of bed. She would’ve caught him this morning looking like a wreck.

It would be amusing if it didn’t make his heart ache. That left with one other choice that didn’t make much sense to Shuichi. Memories. What could she have forgotten that the Danganronpa knew about and wanted to torment her with? It was a flip of a coin, but it was the safest alternative than either one of the previous options. He clicked the vote and held his breath.

Nothing happened besides a thank you screen. Shuichi let out the breath, both grateful that he didn’t have to see the cumulative results so far, and a little miffed that he couldn’t see what everyone else wanted to happen. He was also starting to see why the anonymity of having family members mingled in with the audience was a huge thing. The audience could try to rig it into their favor. That was why the rule of pleading and complaining was one of the hard rules of having comments banned. No one wanted to hear them plead and empathize with them. They wanted the game.

He heard his aunt calling for him and Shuichi reluctantly decided to close the laptop shut. He hadn’t realized that time had gone by so quickly that it was nearing dinner time. He was going to have to figure out a way to start jumping in on the chat conversations as well. If anyone was going to slip what was happening with the motives or with the contestants, that would be the place to make waves.

He just would have to come up with a good user handle.

Unfortunately when he got back to the room, the game was already over. At the very least, the website was down and everyone was still chatting in the logs, reminiscing on what was happening. Shuichi leaned back in his chair, content to lurk around. So far the only ones that were on were him, Shinigami and Loki.

[ Loki: So tell me Shini-shiny how long have you been watching the games for? ]

[ Shinigami: Never call me that again, otherwise I’ll tear your tongue out. As for how long I have been watching, this will mark my third year. I was invited through...different means you could say. ]

[ Loki: So you’re someone with a family member that offed themselves or something? ]

[ Shinigami: Your crudeness astounds me. No. Danganronpa was not so lucky as to get someone from me. Instead they got something better. I am a scholar, you could say. I was offered a chance to see what a real life killing game looked like. My observations are...anonymous. So if I were to publish a paper, I cannot mention anything. So, you could say that it would be futile for me to even attempt to document such a tragedy. Yet here I am, bound to do so. ]

[ Loki: Sounds like a bore. Do you have any idea of who might win this thing? ]

[ Shinigami: If I were a betting man, I would say the Traveler and the Cosplayer may have a chance. ]

Cosplayer? Shuichi decided that if this was the time to talk, it couldn’t hurt. He missed too much apparently.

[ Seeker: Sorry I’m new...but what do you mean by cosplayer? I think I missed them. ]

[ Shinigami: It is hard to keep up when there is new blood and everyone is trying to introduce themselves. You must have come in after the fact. The Ultimate Cosplayer is named Shirogane Tsumugi. She is...I hate to say...not as insane as the rest of her class. A typical wall flower if you ask me. Which is why no one will think to murder her. Unless of course the Ultimate Mangaka wishes to not have a fan among her midst. It’ll be interesting to see that death play if that’s the case. Other the other way around, considering some cosplayers are such huge fans...they hate the canonical work the author put in. Warping it and turning it into their own works of literature. ]

[ Seeker: There isn’t by chance a list of names and ultimates is there? ]

[ Shinigami: It’s considered too risky. You just have to be able to keep up I’m afraid. Though I’ll happily name drop who I am talking about. I have no qualms in discussing who may win or lose. Shall I indulge you on who I think may be our first victim? ]

[ Loki: Enlighten us Shiny. ]

[ Shinigami: It is times like these I wish I were a mod. Regardless I shall spill. I believe our first victim will be none other than Yuya Chika. ]

Shuichi couldn’t place that for a second. The girl was hyper sure, but he didn’t get the vibe from her that she would just commit murder or be a vitcim. Then again, maybe they would want her gone because of her talent to make things explode. It was a dangerous talent to just run around unchecked. He wrote the name down in his notebook regardless.

[ Loki: Hmm but who’d be her murderer? ]

[ Shinigami: I hazard to say that is a toss between the chemist or the figure skater. Did you not see the way she jumped away from the flames? I have no doubt that Yadori Miki could have a trigger and that Yuya caused it. It could be an easy motive to murder. Yuya demonstrated a danger, and she could easily fall into the mindset that she’s protecting people by taking her out of the game. Ajishi Misa on the other hand may take the arsonist out simply because Yuya is too close to her element of study, and people who study in scientific fields don’t usually like sharing titles. ]

[ Seeker: That’s an awful lot of maybes though. ]

[ Shinigami: Ajishi likes to be the smartest one in the room. She uses language in a way that indicates that she should be the only one using the jargon. She stayed close to the doctor, Ougai Eiji because they share similar fields but his is less about chemicals and more about the human body. He has to rely on her for medications to be made if medications can be made. ]

[ Loki: Ew. Power trips. I hate those. ]

[ Shinigami: But it is a good motive for a murder no? Ah speaking of motives and murder, I was curious about the voting poll that we participated in. I will not ask you what you voted for, as that is between you and Danganronpa, but I must say I was a bit...surprised at how tame it was. ]

[ Loki: Yeah me too! I thought we were going to be voting methods of death or something! ]

[ Shinigami: That could still be the case. After all, we are only voting to see what will push these contestants into the brink of despair. We haven’t exactly gotten through the first round. ]

[ Seeker: What do you mean “first round”? ]

[ Shinigami: It means what it means. ]

[ Loki: Yeah Seeker, pay attention! ]

[ Seeker: I think you two misunderstood my confusion. How can this be “first round” when nothing happened? ]

[ Shinigami: Ah you are correct. I did misunderstand. My apologies. No, it would be better to say this was the “first day”. Everyone is trying to get their bearings and understand what is happening. The hopelessness of no escape will start to eat at them by the third day. Monokuma usually is nice to allow that many days respite before the games begin. I suppose it is also his cruelty. We get attached to the contestants as the contestants get attached to each other. Then it all goes to hell for lack of a better term. ]

[ Loki: Ugh. So we have to spend three days watching them get chummy with each other? Gross. ]

[ Shinigami: Sounds like you only came for the murder and gore. ]

[ Loki: Uh duh? ]

[ Seeker: We already met everyone though correct? And this is...just us trying to get one on one time with them? To deepen connections? Why would they go so far if it’s a killing game? Wouldn’t it be better if they were handed weapons and say go off? ]

[ Loki: ^ ]

[ Shinigami: You really are new to this game aren’t you Seeker? Loki? I had pegged Loki to be a veteran, I was sorely mistaken. Well, considering that we aren’t kicked off the website yet, I can indulge you for a moment. Allow me to explain. There is a theme that goes on in these games. The most common is the fight between what is more powerful, hope or despair. There are some themes where the fight is different. For example, there was a season that dealt with living in the past or living for the future. There was a fight about whether or not memories were important to a person’s personality. There was even a fight, though I wasn’t around to witness it, on reality versus fiction. As you can see, there are plenty of things that this game prides itself on. Hope versus Despair is the common theme because it’s the easiest to implement. How can you cause despair? Get attached to these people. Let these people get attached to each other. Craft a motive that is to cause heart ache. At first no one would ever think that murder will cross each other’s minds, but we know differently. ]

[ Loki: What’s the TLDR version of that whole wall of text you greeted us with? ]

[ Shinigami: Rudeness doesn’t get a TLDR. ]

[ Loki: WAAAAAHH and here I thought we were FRIENDS ]

[ Shinigami: You must be insufferable in your real life as you are online. I cannot picture this any other way. ]

[ Shinigami: Before we part, I will give you some advice. Vote as early as you possibly can and if you are an insomniac, I recommend watching the episode that was playing live around midnight. They edit out the bits that don’t mean much, and you get hints in between the pauses about what this game’s theme or even what this game’s motive is about. ]

[ Loki: So what we’re watching is the live version? ]

[ Shinigami: Live versions start at nine in the morning depending on where you are. The episodes that are recorded are edited and put out by midnight. ]

[ Loki: That’s an hour of editing. ]

[ Shinigami: I imagine they edit along the way so that they can do that. Not everyone has the day off like I do, anot not every day I can make it to a live session. That is not to say that they do the recordings for me, but you get the idea. ]

[ Loki: Well it’s no skin off my nose, but I’m bored now. So I’m gonna say bye bye and hang with my boyfriend :D Goodnight. ]

[ Shinigami: Pity your boyfriend. ]

Shuichi couldn’t help but to laugh a little at that and he also decided to sign off since there was nothing else he could think of doing. He had a good amount of leads though and he felt confident that if he could gather all of that evidence up, he could present it to his uncle and the game would end before the first motive appeared, or at the very least before the first murder happened. Right now though, he needed to start looking at the ultimate titles he did have down and figure out their history.

He had a lot of work to do.

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