Kana

"There's no way that's real!" I laugh.

"Hey, we have no way of knowing, we're not gamers!" Fujiko giggles after purposefully going down face-forward on the slide.

"It's real. Oh, it's real. And it's old. Old enough to be on a physical cartridge. I cannot BELIEVE you've played that game!" Monterio insists.

"What?! It's real?!"

"I told you, my friends at home are fucking crackheads, plus we're in middle school!" Chimon grins. He cartwheels on the soft foam and falls on his back because he's laughing.

"I need to know more now!" Fujiko squeals.

"All of the sprites are legit old school pixel art of rhinos! It's a legit rhino dating sim! I mean, rated G, thank all that is holy, but it's what I imagine a high would feel like!"

"What are the characters like?!" I beg.

"FUCKING RHINO ROYALTY! You're the court jester in a kingdom of rhinos, and the cast has like a whole bunch of date options! You can date the head cook of the castle, the princess's handmaiden, a minstrel who frequently visits... and if you do all the other routes, you can date the princess!"

"Who was your favorite?" Monterio asks, looking genuinely invested. I shove his face away, and he chuckles.

"I liked the minstrel! Every time she came onscreen, she had a new cute little song to play! The handmaiden's route is a goddamn acid trip, though! You legit help her slowly rise to power until she overthrows the king and ramps up the military budget, and you HONEST TO GOD DIE before you figure out what she's planning!"

"Oh, goodness! Is she at least a PRETTY murderous coop-leading rhino?" Fujiko asks jokingly.

"It's 'coup,' actually," he corrects automatically, "But as for your question...??? Uh, as pretty as a murderous coup-leading rhino can get?! The graphics are shit, so I don't fucking know!"

"WHAT?! And you say you found this thing tucked in the far back corner of the game room cabinet?!"

"YES! I can prove to you that I'm telling the truth about this!"

"We're entering legendary gamer status today, all," Monterio beams, cradling me in his arms so I can't defy him as they all descend down the stairs. And trust me, I try. I grab the banister of each and every staircase, but my attempts are useless.

When we get to the game room, he quickly retrieves the cartridge and waves it about flagrantly. Monterio finds the console for it, and Chimon gingerly but swiftly puts it in its proper slot.

Suddenly, red pixels like blood drag down the pixel rhinos' faces. Monterio and Chimon look at each other with some kind of awe on their faces. "Oh. My God. It's a ROM Hack. What luck!" Chimon wiggles with a smug expression.

"Ooooh! Like all of those game-related horror stories?" Fujiko leans in with interest.

"Oh God, what are we getting ourselves into? Is this an even creepier, more absurd version of a rhino dating sim that already includes murder?" I blink tiredly. My love leans in and gives me a warm, affectionate hug, kissing my neck and making me giggle. "Wh-What's this for? You know horror doesn't scare me. I'm in it for the comedic value."

"Right," he mumbles, just loud enough for me to hear without letting the other two notice.

I don't get scared. I don't. I especially don't get scared of absurdist rhino dating sims from early gaming. The weird sounds that appear out of place. The nightmare faces. The thing we can occasionally see just out of the corner of our eyes. The handmaiden telling us disturbing shit she plans to do. To the kingdom. To the players. Nope. None of it scares me. Not at all. I was raised in a family that tries to scare each other all the time. This. Is. Nothing.

At the very least, it's nonspecific enough that I'm sure the game doesn't actually know who's playing. Which also reassures me that it's not a Monokuma trap. Especially when it mentions the player's "house", which this very obviously is not. You know what? This actually is okay. It's even kind of fun--

The power goes out, and the four of us scream, latching onto each other in some strange tangle of limbs and pounding hearts.

"MY FAULT!" Ren and Tozen both yell from different directions of the floor.

"I plugged in a ton of irons. I'll go look for the circuit breaker panel!" Tozen continues.

"I plugged in my amp. I will, too," parrots Ren.

"Is everyone alive and well?!" I yell out, feeling Monterio stroke my hair comfortingly. But his hand is shaking.

"I'm alive, but 'well' is a whole other question! That fucking terrified me!" Yuu responds.

"Are you uninjured, then?" I specify, trying to make sure that my tone is filled with genuine concern.

"Y-Yeah," he confirms, still on-edge.

"AYE! What n' the name o' Jack Ketch is all the hullabaloo about?!" Wakumi yells. "Ahhhh, I see! Blackout on this floor. Power's on up 'ere, everyone meet ta ensure that nobody's shark bait." We shuffle out, holding each other's hands, and make our way upstairs where the lights are on. The only people we haven't heard from-- Gou and Azumi-- were already up there, and they're safe. Yuu is shaking a bit, but we're all alive and okay.

"Oh, thank God everyone's okay," Chimon sighs, releasing the key necklace that he'd been clutching in anxiety. His knuckles are nearly white, and he still hasn't let go of Monterio's hand.

"It's fixed!" Ren shouts. The two of them quickly shuffle up here, also both unharmed.

"I nearly hammered my finger while working on a pair of shoes! Why the hell were you four screaming?"

Fujiko snorts, and then starts to giggle. We all burst into laughter, much to everyone's bewilderment. Yuu even laughs with us. "Why are we laughing?"

"You just had to be there," she dismisses, wiping a tear from her eye.

"You guys down to keep going?" Monterio asks.

"Hell yeah!" I insist.

"Aw, yes! I'm glad! ...Huh," Chimon responds.

"Huh," Fujiko echoes.

"Huh?" I ask.

Monterio just smiles and pinches my cheek. "Huh," he says, as though to just continue with a joke that I don't think any of us intended to make.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wakumi

I don't need anythin' or anyone. I don't need me anger. I do like it, though. 'E got that part right. N' cause I love me wrath... time ta share it with the bilge-suckin' moron who chatted 'bout me. Swords are good for stabbin' things that aren't flesh, too.

There're a lotta tires stored fer backup in the outdoor athletic area. If ye plan on slashin' tires, it's best not ta leave any backups. They restock this place annoyin'ly quickly, but in a way, I kinda like that. I can get a fixin' o' revenge each n' e'ery mornin', right? It's a nice feelin', fuckin' up someone's day. N' I know the annoyin' thing 'bout it is that 'e just turns ta e'eryone else's talents when he ain't got access ta 'is own, but this is still enough ta quench me anger. POP. POP. POP. POP. Nice ta get inta a rhythm.

"Are you done yet?"

"Get off me back. Ye ain't me matey."

"Wakumi, this is-- what?-- the ninth day of you doing this? I want to drive the freaking car. I already said I'm sorry a bunch of times. I shouldn't have talked about you to Kana or Azumi. Can this please just be over?"

"Nay. Cause ye ain't really sorry. I told ye that shit confidentially."

"Really? Cause it sounded more like you were proud of it to me. 'I smashed it, Gou!' " 'e waves 'is arms 'round a bit with a mockin' tone. "I wasn't gonna lie to Azumi about it for you. So, sure, I guess maybe I'm not sorry. I get that you're angry about Bisque and Joanie and pretty much everything else, but it feels like you were holding it against me. Like you might've considered fixing it if I stayed out of your way enough."

"Ay! It was me present ta do with what I would. Ye ain't got no say in how I choose ta treat it."

"But don't dangle that information over my head, and especially don't treat me like shit for telling someone when you didn't even let me know that it was supposed to be a secret! You never told me what happened right before the last trial, so don't pretend that you were putting so much trust in me by telling me that you destroyed your pottery! You were just trying to show off how bitter you are!" 'e rants, whole body tense n' on-edge.

"DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES." 'Fore I know what I'm doin', I drop the sword ta the ground n' lunge at 'im. We scuffle at pretty much full force; 'e sullied me name n' I don't take kindly ta that! It's kinda a blur ta me-- we definitely knee each other a lot, n' kick n' shit. I think I bite 'is arm at some point, but not enough ta puncture 'is clothes. The dirt scratches up 'gainst our clothes n' skin. Soon, I find that 'e's actually gettin' a bit o' a leg up on me.

I black out once again n' wake up sittin' a few paces away from 'im, n' I ache. "Argh. What just happened?"

"We were fighting, and then suddenly you reached for the sword. I seriously thought I was a goner, but when it was a couple inches from my neck, you just suddenly stopped and gave me a surprised expression. I froze, still shaken up, and then you just put the sword back down and climbed out of my loose grasp," he explains, curled in on 'imself.

I take a deep breath. "N' that's 'bout the extent o' what happened n' the pool. 'Cept apparently I didn't stop meself that time. Had ta be wrestled out instead. Now this one is REALLY confidential, ye savvy? Maybe I was just tryna show off that first time. Didn't think I was, but maybe I was." I cross me arms defensively n' keep me eyes off o' 'is.

"O-Oh. I promise I won't say anything this time. And I'm sorry for being a hypocrite... I just remembered how, back when you rubbed spit on Yuu that one time, I told you that everyone deals with death differently. I didn't take that into account. I was... angry. I felt like you were trying to put all the blame on everyone else, and nothing pisses me off more than people who try to escape accountability for their actions. I guess I was probably doing the same thing, so I admit that I was in the wrong."

"So was I. I... ap-apo--"

"It's fine."

"I apologize," I force the words out. They feel weird in me throat, like an odd lump.

"I'm proud of you for that."

"Aye, shut yer yapper. What are ye tryin' ta be, me mother? Don't patronize me," I roll me eyes.

"You... do understand that not everyone in the world is out to get you, right?"

I scoff. "This is the one place where it's least beneficial ta believe that. Gotta be ready ta defend meself at all times."

"But if you're constantly sure that everyone wants to fuck you over, how are you ever gonna cooperate with us?"

"Just gotta put it aside when it benefits me."

"Oh, hey, speaking of that, I have something for you. That's actually why I was looking for you, before we got sidetracked fighting." 'E hands me a scrap o' paper, n' I unfold it.

Wakumi (if this isn't Wakumi, please give it to her),

Hey. I know you're probably pretty suspicious of any compliments that happen to come your way, but I did wanna say something real quick. I find it really cool that you always have the guts to do what everyone wishes they could do. The first time you slammed your foot onto the table in the meeting room, I was sincerely surprised but silently impressed. The name of the game is never restraint with you, but I hope you know that we all find you really fun, if a bit scary at times. But knowing you, that last part is still a compliment.

M.M.

"Ye're all real weird..." I resolve, stickin' the note in me coat pocket.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chimon

I think I'm healing. Just a bit. It feels weird knowing that this place has probably helped me more emotionally than it's damaged me.

999... 1000! Yes! I made it! I've been hole punching the whole way through, so now all I have to do is just make twenty strands of fifty cranes with my string! And it goes easily.

I polish all of "Homeward Bound," and then the rest of my marbles, and then I sit back with pride at everything I got accomplished this morning.

I told him a few days ago. He needed to hear it from me before potentially stumbling upon my conversation with Fujiko. I told him even more than I told her. I told him what caused it. I was worried that he'd hate me, and the thought made me sad. It felt like such a contradiction. I've had a few of those lately. Like fabric being torn but the tears not being empty. As far as I know, though, it went as well as it possibly could've. I cast a glance at that letter and scrunch up a little. The words were exactly what I expected. "We're struggling." I haven't done anything like this before, but I stick the letter in a book so I don't have to see it and tuck my key necklace into my hoodie. Y'know what? I've just gotta go give him the cranes.

I take them up into my arms, draping some across my neck. It is not easy carrying all of these, given I'm so small. I immediately head up to the playground; it's just where I've come to assume that my friends usually are.

A primal scream escapes my throat and the world spins and every internal wall that was supposed to protect me comes crashing down and tears come pouring out of my eyes unprompted and as I crawl toward him I remember that I could only see Joanie's body as "a body" but now I can only see Monterio's body as "Monterio" leaned up against the slide with a metal arrow in his chest and dried blood all over his mouth and chin and then he becomes too blurry to see because the silent tears are still streaming relentlessly down my face and I realize:

I am devastated. All of those suppressed connections are rushing back right at this horror-filled moment, and just like when they went away in the first place, I can do nothing to stop it. And it's a miracle. And he caused it. "But why did my miracle have to come at the cost of you?!" I cry out, quaking and throat raw as if I'd just inhaled ashes of a burnt city. I look up at the camera, and scream, "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE MY BEST FRIEND?!"

I stand up and run downstairs, nearly tripping several times on the way from my panic and low visibility, and in the dining room I find Tozen lecturing on the nutrients that are beneficial for clear skin to Fujiko, Gou, and Yuu. And a hush falls over them as I burst my way in. "He's gone," I sob, voice cracking.

"Wh-What?" Yuu asks meekly.

"No way..." Gou furrows his eyebrows in concern.

Fujiko stands up, eyes wide in alarm, and grabs my hand. I clutch onto it like it's a last bastion of security.

"Take us now," she demands, though not coldly. I obey wordlessly, cranes dragging behind me. And I realize that I still have the wish. I wish I could wake up and everything would be okay. But I've known for a long time that this world isn't a very nice place. I could only learn how much he meant to me when he died, and he isn't coming back no matter how hard I plead. I wonder... would he have been comforted, just a little, if I had been able to tell him that he was the closest thing I ever had to a brother?

I beckon to the playground.

Ding Dong Dong Ding!

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"He's actually... he is gone," Tozen states breathlessly, in utter disbelief.

I whimper, and Fujiko sinks down to hold me. I hug her as she tries to whisper encouragement, but I can barely hear it; my ears are ringing. After a while, though, I can feel her heart quicken and her breathing hitch. "F-Fujiko?"

She pushes away from me just a little so that she's holding my shoulders. And quivering, she points to the very top of the slide. I can see a heel. I start to hyperventilate as she and I clamber up the play equipment to reach the top. Laying down with yet another arrow jammed into her chest... is the other side of the coin. Both dancers are gone. Fujiko shrieks and bends down to her, begging, "Kana, Kana, please get up! Wake up!" And I know she won't, but I join her in groveling. And we just yell until the other three make their way up here, hoping for something impossible.

Ding Dong Dong Ding!

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"Two?!" I hear Azumi cry out as she leans her head in. "Oh my God."

"Argh. I was hopin' this'd ne'er happen," Wakumi murmurs.

"Oh shit! Monterio! Does that mean--?!" Ren yells.

"KANA!" Fujiko answers him, and it's gut-wrenching. We squeeze each other as though letting go means the end of the world. I can't even tell how much time has passed before her muscles start to relax. I stare at her, and there's a fire, a determination. "We are GOING to find who did this. We'll get them justice. I will do whatever it takes, Chimon."

"Me too," I whisper to her, "but this time for the right reasons. I'll do it for you, and for the dancers, and for everyone else."

"Then I know we won't fail."