Chapter Text

Chapter 5: An Eclipse of Hope?

Daily Life

 

---

 

You awoke in a cold sweat, heart hammering against your chest, nightmare laying fresh in your mind. The smooth, cool fabric of your ivory sheets soothed your fingertips as you traced thoughtless patterns into them while the dull reality of your cabin sank in. You took long gulps of air and swallowed to wet your dry mouth and calm your erratic heartbeat. When you were calm and able to breathe easy, you turned your head to the side to look at your clock with scratchy vision. 7:04. The morning announcement would go off in a little under an hour. The weight of how little you’ve slept and eaten the last couple days poisoned your body with fatigue. Even the little sleep you got last night had been plagued with nightmares as you tossed and turned, your bedspread suffocating instead of comforting. Images of dead bodies and the feeling of falling jolted you awake time and time again, only for exhaustion to pull you back under to repeat the tormenting cycle until light breached well above the horizon. 

You groaned as hints of a headache began to wrap around the front of your skull, cursing you for not sleeping longer when you needed to. The annoying feeling almost pestered you enough to convince your tired body to roll over and reset the process one more time. Your stomach growled, the sound low and deep, your gut wrenching and nausea bubbling inside. You needed to eat, and soon, so attempting to get those last precious minutes of rest was out of the question. Hauling yourself out of bed and to the bathroom, you did your best to avoid the mirror as you undressed.

9 people were dead.

 

You headed to breakfast after getting dressed.

 

---

 

Apparently, the fifth island was unlocked.

You decided to explore with your friends after breakfast.

 

---

He’d of thought nothing could top the spectacle of the forth island’s amusement park, with its pristine stonework and fantasy design. In a way he’s right. This island isn’t any where near as colorful or clean. Rather...

 

“It’s a damn city.” Teruya said.

The streets were thick with faceless people, some walking about carrying shopping bags, others hurrying toward their destinations. The air was filled with chatter, loud music, and the sounds of bustling commerce. It didn’t feel like a place that had been abandoned for thousands of years.

Teruya looked at the buildings as they passed by. There weren't many signs of war here—the houses appeared to have been built in a regular pattern, without anything out of the ordinary. His friends were confused.

"Are you sure this is the fifth island?" Yoruko asked. "I mean, it doesn't look like much."

"You know how I feel about your judgement," Teruya said.

 

“Let’s explore.”

 

****

 

The first place they came to was an outdoor market. A wide variety of goods were being sold there, from food to clothing and tools. There was even a stand selling what might be called exotic pets.

"This looks familiar..." Yoruko muttered.

“Why?” Emma asked.

Yoruko pointed at one of the merchants. "That's the guy who tried to sell me his cat when I was 10. He's got a whole bunch of them living in cages behind him." She said.

“Don’t you suppose that the mastermind, - in the form of Monocrow and the Voids - who is subjecting the fifteen of us to a killing game, kidnaps people to serve as his willing servants on this island?” 

Everyone looked at Yoruko like that was the most savage, inhumane thing they'd ever heard.

"Well, yeah. But still." Yoruko shrugged. "If he was smart enough to kidnap me, why wouldn't he just kill my dad instead?"

"So you think we're safe?" Emma asked.

Yoruko shrugged again. "I don't know. It'll take more than a few thousand of the undead to scare me, but they are pretty nasty."

"You guys see that?" Kokoro asked. “Miss Kabuya, we should explore the next location.”

 

***

The next location was an underground mall. Unlike the previous locations, no one seemed to be going about their business. All the stores were shuttered, and there were no signs of life anywhere they looked.

“What the hell is going on here? Is this a booby trap?” asked Kanade.

“No,” Teruya replied. “This is normal. No one is here because they are all dead. They are already dead, and they aren’t coming back. This might be a Tragedy.”

“A what? What does that mean?” Emma asked.

“It means that something bad happened here before. People died or went missing or whatever. The survivors stopped doing business, and the place fell into disuse. Maybe a war happened here.”

“So what do we do now? We can't spend all our time looking for clues. We need to find the next location.”

"We will," Teruya said.

 

***

 

The next location was a vacant lot near the surface. The ground was covered in grass and weeds, which made it easy to walk across.

The place had clearly been abandoned for a long time. Graffiti had been written everywhere. Saying things like “You suck!” and “Go screw yourself.” Lovely.

“What do you think this is?” Teruya asked.

“I think this is a playground. Kids used to come here and play games with their friends. Like tag and hide-and-seek. But then some horrible Death happened here.”

“It would explain why it looks so deserted. And why this world has no children.”

“They must have been evacuated to another island, or left this island to work somewhere else. After the death.” Kanade said.

“But there was no tragedy here,” Teruya said.

Kanade tilted her head. "How do you know?"

"Because everyone is alive. Look at the kids playing around." Teruya pointed at the faceless kids.

"But they aren't using their real faces, are they?" Kanade said.

"Yeah, but that's not proof that all these kids are alive."

"What do you mean?" Teruya asked.

"Look, the people who were born after the tragedy never developed a way to use the mask system. They don't understand it. So they can't use it either."

"So you're saying that there are other people here besides us?" Teruya said.

“Kinda.” Kanade said.

"You mean there are other people in the game?"

"Sorta. The people who created the game also designed this world. That includes the Voids. I think they wanted to show us what the world would be like if the Voids ruled it.” Kanade said. 

“You mean Yuki, Nikei, Syobai, and Kokoro, right?” Teruya asked.

 

“Yes. What about them? Why do you keep calling them by their names?”

“I don’t know. I just started doing it.”

***

“There is a very big difference between your world and ours," Teruya said. They had arrived at the next location.

It was a graveyard. Most of the graves were empty. But among those that remained were several that contained bodies in various stages of decay. There were skeletons, zombies, and even some people who still wore their own faces. But nine of the bodies were those of the 9 victims of the killing game.

"These are the remains of the people who played the game. But they haven't been killed yet. That means that the person who plays this game will be the killer. And the Voids must have killed them to make sure the person who kills them is the murderer." Kanade said.

 

“But Nikei and Yuki killed someone.” Teruya pointed out. “I'm positive that Kokoro is going to kill someone sooner or later. And Syobai? He broke a rule.”

"Maybe the Voids think that the rules only apply to the people who play the game." Kanade said. "But the question is, what do we do? If we start killing the people who are playing, won't that stop them from playing? And breaking rules is no fun.”

 

Yesterday’s trial had been different, and not in a good way. Now that they knew what to expect, they were able to prepare for it. 

"I don't want to kill anyone," Emma said. "Even if they are the villain."

***

The next location they came to was a garbage dump. It wasn't exactly pristine, but compared to everything else they'd seen so far, it was quite clean.

"I guess this is where the other players throw away their trash," Kanade said. “And the Voids.”

"But this place is so clean. The Voids would never allow this to happen if they were here," Emma said.

"I agree. But the Voids probably wouldn't let people use this place if they were here. Nikei got covered in condiments when Mikado died, remember?” Yoruko said.

"Then why are we standing here?" Kanade asked.

"To make sure the Voids can't find us." Teruya said.

"Okay, but why did you choose this spot?" Emma asked.

 

“Nikei ended up being a Void. Syobai was a voice. You’re a Void and mastermind, Kokoro. And Yuki? She was a fucking Void, too! We can’t trust each other!” Teruya said.

"But the Voids aren't here, right? So they wouldn't know what's going on." Kanade said.

"Not unless they have magic." Teruya said.

Emma frowned. “Nikei was not a magician, but he did kill Hibiki, a magician.”

"You're right. I forgot about that. But Nikei wasn't strong enough to defeat her alone. It took some poisoned J20." Teruya said.

"So why do you think Nikei ended up being a Void?" Emma asked.

“I don’t know? He just killed Hibiki.”

***

The next location was a school building. It was huge. And there were lots of students. It looked like they were having classes.

"Wow! Students!" Yoruko exclaimed.

“Hm. Is this Hope’s Peak?” asked Emma.

“It looks like it, but I don't recognize it. Do you guys know?" Kanade asked.

"I've seen this place before," Teruya said. "The students seem to be reading textbooks. It’s a copy of Hope’s Peak Academy!”

"This is a school built by the same people who ran Hope’s Peak Academy. It's the Hope's Peak Academy for the world of darkness. The Voids also control it." Kanade said. “And they probably attended it!”

“I think you are mistaken. These students are not wearing uniforms, and they are not using their real faces." Shinji said.

“They are wearing masks!”

“Yes, but they are not wearing their real faces. They don’t wear brown uniforms, like the students of Hope’s Peak!”

Kanade sighed. "Shinji, the world of darkness is made up of many different races. Each race has its own culture and traditions. And each race has its own unique set of clothes. Only commoners would wear normal brown uniforms!”

“But how could you not know? You were a student here!”

“I didn't live in this world! My body was sent over from another world, and I lived in that world!” Kanade said. “My adopted sister was a nice girl!”

"But the nice people always have dark shit to hide!" Hajime pointed out.

 

"Mr Yomiuri definitely comes to mind," Yoruko sighed under her breath.

"Oh, I get it. I totally missed the point." Kanade said.

"Anyway, the Voids might be here," Emma said. "But we're here to look for clues anyway."

 

***

The next location they came to was a public park. It had been neglected for a while, and had grown wild.

“This isn't a place where people would hang out, so it doesn't make sense that someone would die here. Or kill someone.” Kokoro said.

"Exactly. It's too quiet." Kanade agreed.

"But there were lots of people here before." Emma said.

"Yeah, but that was because it was a festival. A bunch of people got together to have fun." Kokoro said. “Have you been to it? It was pretty fun!”

“I remember a festival from my old school being pretty okay. ” Emma said. 

“That one was on a sunny day. This one was on a rainy day. I didn't like it as much.” Kokoro said.

“Why? Was it raining really hard? Tell me?” Teruya said.

“Well, it rained, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds. It just made the ground slippery and muddy. And some people slipped off the stage. But since everyone was having fun, no one minded. It was the muddiest festival!” Kokoro said.

“You like mud, huh?” Yoruko asked.

“It's not like I like it, but I don't hate it either. When you get covered in mud, it's kinda fun. I can show you!” Kokoro said.

Kanade rolled her eyes. "Kokoro, you have to understand. The people who create the games, including the Voids, are very popular. Even though they are criminals, they've managed to make a career out of it. Don’t cover yourself in mud.”

Emma groaned. "You should know better than to say something like that to Kokoro."

“Why? Because I love the rain? Oh, and when I was little I loved riding on my dad's shoulders. I would jump off his shoulders.” Kokoro said.

"Kokoro! Stop it!" Kanade yelled.

Yoruko nodded in agreement with Kanade. "She's right. We don't want to get caught."

"I can't help it! I just wanna get muddy!” Kokoro said.

“It’s not worth it.” Kanade said.

“But you said that when we went to the forest, and then I found a cute little frog and brought it back to the village! Remember?” Kokoro asked.

Teruya frowned. "I thought you were joking when you said you wanted to bring it back."

"I wasn't kidding! I was serious!" Kokoro said.

"I don't care!” Teruya shrugged. “We’ll just explore the final location!”

***

The final location was a library. 

“Just like the second island’s library,” Yoruko mused.

 

---

 

“Hey, you.” Yoruko asked during dinner.

 

”Would you like to sleepover with me in my cottage?”

 

”Yes…” You said.

 

”Okay!” Yoruko said.

 

---

Yoruko’s cottage was lovely! The bed was near a window, and there was a couch.

 

It was clean, the bed was neatly made with the white, fluffy covers folded back. Your eyes found the small distinguishing marks that made the cabin her own: the silvery white drapery around her canopy bed was embroidered with white clovers, and a deep green rug spanned under her table. Pictures and paintings of rabbits in fields tastefully decorated his walls. On the nightstand, a small candle she’d likely gotten from the supermarket was still burning. 

 

It was dangerous to leave a candle unattended.. Was she really that reliant on her Ultimate?

 

You giggled. You and Yoruko talked for a while longer, keeping each other company. If it had just been you, you’re not sure how you would've been feeling, but as long as Yoruko was here you felt safe. You two were going to get to the bottom of this and get everyone out alive... nobody else was going to die on your watch!

In time, we became sleepy. You got out some of the spare blankets and pillows so Yoruko could sleep on the couch while you crawled back into bed. You stared out the window, gazing at the star-filled night sky until you drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

A day had passed since the new island became available for you to traverse. Naturally, there hadn’t been any escape readily available.

 

As you headed to breakfast, you noticed Kokoro was missing.

 

“What happened to Kokoro?” You asked.

“Better if Kokoro herself just shows you,” Emma said, opening the door.

The door opened, and Teruya gasped. Kokoro stood in the doorway, covered in mud. The painter was holding her sketchbook. She looked like she'd been playing in a river with her friends all day.

"Kokoro's here!" Teruya exclaimed. He rushed toward her. "Oh! Are you okay? What the hell happened?!” 

“There’s a pigsty on the fifth island.” Kokoro explained. Her face was still sticky from sweat, and she had mud caked to her arms and legs. A large bucket of water sat next to her. It was full of muddy water.

"What?!" Teruya said. “Why are you so muddy?!”

He grabbed Kokoro's hands and tried to wipe them off for her. His hands were also coated in mud.

"That wasn't what I meant," he muttered as he worked diligently at cleaning the mud off his friend's hands. “Why are you so muddy, Kokoro?”

 

“Apparently, I decided to sleep in the pigsty.”  Kokoro explained. She was trying not to laugh but couldn't stop herself.

Teruya stopped wiping her hands for a moment. When he heard that, he burst out laughing too.

"You slept in the pigsty?" He said. “But we all sleep in our cottages!”

"I'm sorry about this." Kokoro apologized.

She didn't seem very apologetic at all.

"It's okay. You're totally forgiven. Maybe I should go clean up, too." Teruya said. Mud had also gotten on you. It covered your clothes.

 

You headed to your showers and washed off the mud. Then you got into fresh clothes.

Banners were up when you arrived.

"What's this?" asked Teruya. 

 

"Oh, that?" Yoruko asked. "It's Christmas Day today. Yesterday was Christmas Eve."

"I thought it was tomorrow," said Teruya. "It's today," Yoruko said. 

 

"Right, Miss Kabuya!" Monocrow said, appearing. "It's the Christmas season!" 

"Great!" said Yoruko, beaming. "Great!" 

"But what about our show?" asked Teruya. "We were supposed to put on a show!" "What show?" Monocrow asked.

 

"Every year, we hold a Christmas show." Teruya explained. "We buy a big stage, and make it look like a snow-covered mountain." 

"Sounds cool," Monocrow said. "You thought Christmas Day was tomorrow." Teruya nodded.

 

"Well, I guess we're not doing that show," said Yoruko. "But you should have it."

"But we were going to!" said Teruya. "The worst kind of mixture of writer's block and life got in the way, and then the author got sidetracked by a million other things." 

"I guess we'll have to be creative and come up with a new show for next year," Yoruko said. "For this year, though… what can we do?"

 

"What about going to the cafe, you too?" Monocrow asked. "Let's do that, Yoruko." Teruya said.

 

The two headed to the fifth island's cafe. They sat down at one of the tables and ordered some coffee. 

"I never thought this would happen," said Teruya. "Monocrow's being our waiter."

 

Sure enough, Monocrow was. "What dish would you like?" He asked, giving Teruya a menu.

 

The spaceman thinned his lips, glancing over the list of items suspiciously… until he realized what was listed, and felt himself grow more nauseous with each entry.

 

Yuki Cheesecake

 

Toffee Nikei

 

Chiebukuro Eton Mess

 

NEW! Hashimoto Jam Pie

 

"O-oh my god…" Teruya retched out, bile tickling the back of his throat as he covered his mouth in horror. He desperately hoped he was hallucinating it somehow, but the words and pictures in front of him were undeniable.

 "Would you like pie?" Monocrow asked, giving them a pie with jam in the middle.

 

 

The splattered mess of a stain that was the corpse of Syobai flashed in Teruya's mind, and with it, his fury rocketed past the boiling point. "How dare you?" He shouted. "You monster!" 

"Excuse me?" said Monocrow, taken aback. "I don't think I said anything." "This is Christmas, after all! Just celebrating the season!"

"We must celebrate by eating food based on our friends' executions?! Are you insane?!" Teruya asked. 

"You're right… this is wrong." Monocrow said. "Are these food actually made of corpses?" Teruya asked. 

Monocrow nodded. "I managed to get them out of the morgue. At least turning Miss Chiebukuro into Eton mess was easy - Mr. Hashimoto, on the other hand? He's still just a bag of sludge!" 

"That's… repulsive," said Teruya, feeling a cold lump of disgust rise up his throat. They left the cafe.

 

They headed to the library to read some dark old fairytales. Some made Teruya laugh, some made him vomit, and one was the most disturbing he'd ever read. It was called Bluebeard. It was about a man who married various woman, but they went missing. A woman was married by him eventually, and was given a key and one room she must not enter. The woman unlocks the room, and she finds all the severed heads of Bluebeard's past wives hanging on meat hooks. The man tries to kill her, but her brothers then come and kill him. 

 

Afterwards, it was announced that a Christmas party would be held, but Teruya was too traumatized from the story to even look forward to the party. Yoruko dragged him to the party.

 

And what a lavish party it was! Music was in the air. The Christmas tree was decorated. The food was delicious. There was a cake shaped like the moon, with little tiny astronauts on the face of the moon, and a small speech saying that the moon was the source of all human life. And the food? That was just the starter.

 

The desserts were lavish, too. One was a tower of three different cakes, that when combined together were a map of the world, with the continents and oceans.

 

The party raged on until midnight.

 

Presents were opened. 

---

 

You tried to sleep that night, but you were too traumatized from that horrible story to even sleep.

 

You managed to fall asleep after a few minutes, though.

 

Tomorrow was Boxing Day.

 The day began like any other in this wretched island. Teruya got up, stretched his arms and headed for the restaurant. His friends were there. "How did you sleep last night?" Emma asked. Teruya's face tightened. "Terrible. How about you?"