Gou

I snatch up some empty buckets from the Warehouse while Yuu scours around for some small instruments. "This is so stupid, dude," he laughs a bit, unveiling a pack of kazoos and a triangle.

"Of course it is! That's the point!" I agree. "Oh, shit, there's this rando online who makes wind instruments out of melons and gourds and other crap like that! It's fuckin' impressive!"

"Gou, no," Yuu cuts me off. "We are not making melon flutes. It'd never work and we'd make the biggest fucking mess of a lifetime," he cackles.

"It didn't look too hard! We hollow it out and then drill some holes into it for finger placement! Since we're not looking to play any particular song, we can just adjust to what sounds good!"

"Gou... "

I cast a glance at his toolbelt. "NO. I'm not using the same tools I use to make SHOES to carve out the inside of a squash, dude."

"Pleeeeease? I just wanna see if we CAN!" I beg.

"Is the kazoo not enough? We could literally have an entire fucking choir of kazoos if we wanted! Do we have to try out this very stupid idea?"

"Yessssss. And THEN we can play kazoo and drums! It'll be fantastic."

"You're... impossible," he sighs, defeated.

"C'mon!" I exclaim, dragging him to the rope ladder so we can go back up to the kitchen. On the way, I snag a tarp from the craft room so we don't make a huge mess. "We can try it with a couple of things! We can use, like, a pumpkin and a cantaloupe or something!"

"I reiterate: you're impossible, Gou Kita."

"Yeah, but you know this is gonna be funny, at the very least! Life is never boring with me around!"

"That's true, at least," he sighs, looking around for melons. We eventually find things we can use, and get to work. We make a hole in the tops of each instrument, carving out their guts with spoons. And then I abduct a couple of Yuu's tools to try and make the holes the right way. I think one of them is called a skriving tool... and then there's an awl. I try to design it like a recorder. When I blow into it, though, it doesn't make any sounds. It just sounds like I'm aggressively breathing into a pumpkin.

A second later, I hear a note to the right of me. Seems Yuu's had some luck! "H-Holy shit, that actually worked?!" he exclaims. He tests it again, and, sure enough, there's a note! He tries to change the pitch by blocking a few of the holes, and it works! Does it sound fantastic? Nah. But it's sure as hell astonishing. "My sis plays the ocarina, so I just— huh!" He starts playing a random little diddy. I steal one of the kazoos and try to harmonize with him as we march back down to the Warehouse, where I proceed to drum on a bunch of buckets, still holding the kazoo in my mouth. It's incredibly chaotic.

"ARGH! What's all the ruckus 'bout, ye landlubbers?!"

"O-Oh. Hey, Wakumi. We figured out a way to make a cantaloupe into an instrument, so we're holding a concert," I explain.

"Agh, ye're gonna make me ears bleed," she groans, rolling her eyes. We sit there awkwardly for a few seconds.

"Do you want one? I could try to make another. And then you can play sea shanties," Yuu offers after a while.

"...Can I smash 'em?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're food, they're gonna rot eventually. May as well get some fun outta it n' bust 'em inta a million pieces," she reasons.

"Not with those boots I literally made for you," he sasses. She spits on him in return. "Living here is my own personal hell," he sighs, disgruntled, as he rushes off to wash his face.

Wakumi physically kicks me off my bucket chair and starts drumming, and I can't help but huff in frustration. "What're ye hangin' the jib like that fer? Ain't nothin' good comin' outta that," she raises an eyebrow judgmentally.

"What are you even doing? Didn't you tell me to leave you alone?" I grumble.

"I don't like ye tailin' me n' askin' me personal questions, but if ye're doin' funny shit, may as well try it."

"Well, what if I don't want you around unless you apologize? You said I was harassing you, Wakumi! You said I wasn't your friend and that you basically didn't want me around."

"...Ye put a lot o' care inta people who don't deserve it."

"Everyone here deserves it," I say immediately, not even thinking to hold back.

"E'en Nari, the first one ta kill in the first place? E'en Keiji?"

"They each had someone who cared about them. You trusted Joanie's judgment, didn't you? So Keiji must've deserved it. And Nari's fear was exploited. We're all some really fucked up people sometimes, me included. That doesn't make us unworthy of kindness."

She eyes me up and down, multiple times, refusing to stop hitting the "drums."

Yuu comes back a long while later, carrying a new cantaloupe flute and tossing it to Wakumi. She eyes it suspiciously and then starts blowing into it, fiddling around to discover the notes it can make. She then starts to play a shanty, messing up some notes here and there and getting pissed off, but ultimately seeming to enjoy herself.

She doesn't apologize. The song is catchy, but it's frustrating, because I'm simultaneously trying to enjoy myself and NOT enjoy myself. She gets to spend her entire life being angry. Shouldn't I get to hold a grudge? Well. I guess I hold multiple. But I mean. On someone here.

"Gou! Maybe you can make a maraca or something out of squash!" Yuu urges, seemingly noticing my spite.

"Good idea," I smile. May as well not worry him with my petty drama.

Damn. This is like the sort of shit I'd do with my friends. I miss them.

Then again. These guys are my friends, too. No matter how aggravating they can be at times.

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

Tozen

Today has been, quite frankly, wonderful. Again, you wouldn't think it possible to have a good day whilst held in captivity. But it's been really good, actually. I made chawanmushi for breakfast, and it was, to toot my own horn, tasty as fuck. Damn, I love eggs. Table conversation's pretty much back to normal. Fujiko almost instantly volunteered to wash the dishes for me, too, so I had some extra time to myself. With that time, I did some sudoku with Chimon and bent my brain a bit-- the mind needs training as much as the body. After an hour or so, Gou decided to join me in my daily exercise! I've been pushing myself just a little bit further than before, running just a smidge longer, or lifting a couple pounds more. It's exhausting, but it's kind of exhilarating, too!

And now... I'm spending time with Zu. We're not officially dating. We don't really do coupley things at all, but it's definitely different than before, knowing that we have mutual feelings for each other. She wants to gather some flowers for the table, so we're chilling in the garden. It's the closest thing we've got to fresh air around here.

In fact, it's actually rather cold in here now; Christmas AND New Year's have come and gone. I made a lot of traditional food for both events, and everyone helped out with oosouji. I doubt any of us expected to still be trapped here for the holidays, and I'm honestly homesick out of my mind, but honestly, my friends and I didn't have the worst time all things considered.

"Ah, it is almost startling how these flowers are still blooming in winter. I don't have a particularly vast understanding of botany, but these are certainly some of the same plants that were here when we first arrived. How do they do that?"

"I don't know! Maybe the Monoinu are exceptional gardeners? They do harvest everything with insane efficiency after all," I speculate. "What kinds of flowers do you want to take?"

"Hmm... there are many varieties of daisies, it seems. Not the most festive choice, but lovely nonetheless, don't you agree?" she asks, happily stroking her hand over the top of some blooms.

"They are. What colors do you like?"

"Hmmm... these dark red ones make me rather happy," she admits, leaning in to sniff one. "How about you?"

"I like these orange ones. They're really vibrant and eye-catching!"

"I see! And, when paired with your brown clothing, they would serve to make you the very incarnation of autumn."

"I like thinking I give off those vibes anyway."

"I should rather desire to round out the color scheme with some white... but somehow, I don't see any!" She clicks her tongue in disapproval. "One would assume that white daisies would be the first hue they planted here, but I suppose not."

I chuckle a little at how annoyed such a small thing makes her. "Well, we could choose a different white flower instead, then." I wander a bit, idly. "Oh! Like this one! Called... 'Hellebores.' I love the petal shape!"

"My word! I concur! Goodness, I adore these! I've never seen them before, but they are strikingly beautiful!" she enthuses. She starts snipping at stems and bundling them in her arms while I grab the daisies.

When I next get a look at her, she's tucked one of the blossoms into her hair. I have to basically hold my entire self back from expressing how extremely beautiful she looks so that I can go for the much less overwhelming, "That looks really nice on you."

"You have my deepest gratitude," she responds, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear bashfully. She then shivers a tad.

"Cold?"

"Perhaps a smidge. Shall we depart from here?"

"We've got everything we need, right? Maybe, once we're done arranging the flowers, you could use the fireplace in the parlor."

"A pleasant idea, to be certain," she agrees, setting off. I follow after her, holding the flowers close to my chest, and we make our way to the dining room.

"Oooh! Pretty!" Fujiko exclaims. "Lemme help decorate the dining room! I can find all sorts of tablecloths and place settings and adorable little things like that! And you need a vase!" She zips off, rushing to the Warehouse with a surprising amount of gusto. A few minutes later, she comes back with a huge backpack literally full to bursting with options. "We're gonna make this place as attractive as I am. It's a New Year and my birthday is tomorrow, so Imma make this place look fresh and poppin'! I can only take so many months of the table looking the exact same!"

Zu giggles at Fujiko's excitement, and the two of us arrange the flowers into a decent-looking bouquet. "I will depart. I would like to curl up and get cozy in the parlor. Have fun, Fujiko!" she waves before walking away in a handstand.

"Bye, beautiful!" she responds.

"See you later, Zu!"

Fujiko gets to work, pulling out various tablecloths and placemats. "I think... just a classic white tablecloth. It might need regular washing depending on how messy we get, but that's totally fine. Do you agree? White?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Now, we have a couple of different placemat options. We've got these rust-colored guys, these light pink ones, and these burgundy ones with little white stars stitched into them. Pink is my favorite color, for sure, but the other ones are super cute, too, and they go great with the flowers! What's your opinion, Tozen?"

"I think... I like the burgundy ones the most."

"Y'know, you're, like, completely right. Good choice. Help me drape the tablecloth, and then I can set up the mats. This'll look, like, totally perfect!" We each hold an end of the tablecloth and cover the table in white. By the end of Fujiko's rampage, the place looks practically brand-new. "Eee! It's so great! I'm gonna go join Azumi now!"

"O-Okay," I nod.

She tilts her head a bit. "You wanna come with?"

"Yeah. I do," I smile. My heart's already warm, but it'll be nice to warm my hands.

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

Yuu

They actually... trust me enough to let me be alone now. They think I'm of sound mind. It's really weird, actually. After two months of having practically no time to myself, actually getting to just have some peace and quiet in my room is... bizarre. It's certainly pleasant, that's to be sure, but it's also a smidge lonely, ironically enough. I'm sewing up this shoe with waxed linen thread, yanking the ends by hand so that the wax will get hot and seal the shoe; we don't want any water getting in. Honestly, after a while of feeling uncomfortable around my own craft, it's nice to have some of the old, familiar sensations. I fill in the wooden shank for the part of the foot that doesn't bend and needs the most support, putting a thin, soft layer of cork over it. I'll just need to apply the sole next. While working, I feel myself falling into a natural flow, a trancelike state of peace and satisfaction.

A ring of my doorbell brings me back to reality. I open the door. "Good morning, guys," I greet to Ren and Zu.

"Good morning! It smells of glue and hot leather in here. Are you making shoes once more?" Azumi asks with a delighted smile.

"Yep!"

"Speaking of... may I tie yours? I don't want you falling for anyone else," Ren winks.

"You moron," I laugh. "What's up, guys?"

"We don't wanna interrupt your 'me time,' but you should hang out with us!" he offers. "I was thinking of jamming out on my electric guitar in here for a bit, and then maybe we can go karaoking!"

"Karaoke? Gosh, that sounds a bit embarrassing. My voice isn't very easy on the ears, if you didn't notice," I chuckle nervously.

"You could just listen to us, if you would rather," Zu interjects.

"Y-Yeah, okay! Sounds fun. I can take a break."

Ren leads the charge and we all head towards the basement floor down the rope ladder. I look directly below me, staring at my shoes, and then suddenly they both stop dead in their tracks. "N-No. No, nonono!" Ren starts panting.

Azumi just drops. "Zu!" I call out, catching her so that her head doesn't crash against the cement floor. Her face loses some of its color. She's out cold. And Ren runs somewhere, to something, and I know what it is, but I don't want to look. I can't make myself look.

"No. No! This can't be real! It's not real!" he begs, pleading. All I can do is stare at Azumi. I don't want to see it. "H-Hey! The announcement hasn't played! If that hasn't played, there's no--"

"Ren, I haven't technically seen it yet. I'm sorry..."

"Well, fucking LOOK! If you look at him and the announcement doesn't go off, then none of it can be real. Please, Yuu, I need it to all be some kind of hoax."

With my whole body trembling, I wrench my eyes upward, and see Ren crouched beside Tozen, holding his hand, underneath the safety net I installed.

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!"

"NOOOOOO!" Ren screams so loud that it nearly blasts my eardrums out, and I find myself shrinking into a ball. "No," he says again, but this time much softer and between sobs. It's like the whimper of a sparkler after a huge firework.

"How could this have happened again?" I ask, finding my voice so weak that I can hardly force it out of my throat.

"I told him... I told him I'd always be there. I told him I'd support him. I was supposed to protect him."

"We were all supposed to... we failed," I shut my eyes tight.

"You need to..." Ren gasps, "You need to get Azumi to the infirmary and h-help her blood pressure get back to normal. He-- He told me what to do to if she ever passed out."

"Don't you want me to--?"

"GO!" he demands, fury flashing in his expression. I flinch and then nod, trying to find a way to move her up the step ladder. I wind up having to find clips to attach her sleeves to my clothing, which is less than ideal, but it keeps me from having to think about that image seared in my head. His skull cracked and his body pooling with blood. I feel like every drop of vitality and joy is gone. People on the way to look for the body question me. "No," I keep having to repeat, "she's just unconscious. He's in the Warehouse. Tozen's gone."

I never wanted to have to see another dead body again. The horror of it truly setting in what I did to Kana, and the shock of finding Monterio in the same place... it feels like I'm getting yanked back to then. But I try to stay level-headed. People need me right now. I set Zu on the infirmary bed with a pillow and then rush to the kitchen to find a water bottle and something high-sodium. Pepperoni will do. And then I sprint back to the infirmary as she begins to wake up, weeping. She swipes the food and water from me and downs it instantly. "Yuu, please, tell me that wasn't real. He's not... I just dreamt it."

"Zu..."

She gives an incredulous breath, brown eyes in utter disbelief and sorrow. "There is no... WHY?! I loved him! EVERYONE loved him! So why is he dead?!" I hug her as she messily heaves into my chest. "I feel like such a fool! I... Somewhere in me, I believed this would never happen again! Why do we have to keep suffering?! Why do innocent people keep having to die?"

"I don't know. None of this is fair, I just--" I stutter.

"Sometimes I wish I could forget it all... but we owe it to them to remember, do we not?" she asks in a whisper.

"We do. And we owe it to Tozen to find the truth."

"I... I know. But I do not believe I am ready to face him again. May I just... wait here for a moment longer?"

"...Yes. I'll wait with you."

"My head is so noisy. My thoughts will not leave me alone."

"...Same here. It seems like we'll never get rest."

"We were not fated for peace, it seems," she sighs wistfully, swiping away a few more tears. "Not from the instant we stepped foot in here."

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

???

"I did it. It didn't feel right. I shouldn't be here."

"You furthered the mission along. You did wonderfully. Now for the second phase."