[Synopsis: Ninja was never one to cave into discomfort, so on a day when he doesn't feel quite up to snuff, he decides to push through it and act normal. Unfortunately for his pride, not everyone believes that he's perfectly fine.]

[Location: The Skeld]

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"Okay, gang! Once we get one more person, I'll start up the game!" Captain announced.

"'Bout time," MrCheese huffed. "Another minute longer and this place will prob'ly close down."

Everyone was ready to start the match, and they'd been waiting for a while for the lobby to fill up; not everyone who'd been invited was able to make it, so they all agreed that they would start on a dozen and have two Impostors instead of three. With the lobby now at eleven, they all wondered who would show up next.

"Hey, Eggy," Ria piped up. "If you don't mind, I think I'm gonna hang with Mother this round. I was thinking you could spend some time with your brother while I picked up a few things from her."

"Ooh yes, splendid idea, love!" he smiled. "Planning for a few things?"

"Well, not just that. She's got knowhow beyond raising kids."

"Yes, that's very true. Well, don't let me keep you, love."

The two nuzzled visors, prompting Veteran to mock-gag behind their backs.

"Go to Medbay for that kinda stuff..." he mumbled.

The sound of someone else spawning in caught everyone's attention just a moment later, and they all turned to see a familiar purple figure with a headband appear on one of the dropship seats.

"Hey, Ninja! Glad you could make it!" Player greeted him cheerfully. "Oh, hey, just in case you get Impostor, could you do me a favor and make my death quick and painless? I know how hard your katana can hit, heh...Just askin', I can get kinda nervous about you sometimes."

Ninja massaged his temples and blinked drearily as he turned his head to face him.

"Somethin' the matter, Ninja?" MrCheese asked curiously. "You seem a little down in the dumps."

"昨夜はあまり眠らなかったので、今日は少し不器用かもしれません."

"Oh, sorry to hear that, Ninja," MrCheese sympathized, sitting down beside him. "Just take it easy today then, okay?"

"What'd he say?" Mother asked.

"He said he didn't get a lot of sleep last night," the orange crewmate replied. "Oh, the countdown's starting. Let's get ready to go, fellas."

The screen faded to black, and Ninja awaited his role...To his good fortune, he was chosen to be a crewmate this time, which meant he wouldn't have to be on edge the whole time, except for when he suspected someone might be out to kill him.

もし私が死んだら、私は死ぬ, he figured, shrugging as he spawned into the Cafeteria and looked at his task list.

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Tasks:

Admin: Swipe Card
Admin: Fix Wiring
Storage: Fuel Engines
O2: Clean Filter
Cafeteria: Empty Garbage
Electrical: Calibrate Distributor
Electrical: Divert Power to Security
Navigation: Download Data
Weapons: Clear Asteroids
Medbay: Inspect Sample

____________________________________________________________

"...冗談でしょう."

TEN tasks!? What was Captain thinking? How was the crew supposed to complete ten tasks each before the Impostors killed everyone?

私はその時急ぐべき, he said to himself as he headed away from the table and went into Admin to swipe his card and fix the wiring...Everyone else had gotten there ahead of him, and were leaving one by one as they swiped.

"Finally got the perfect speed down, huh Player?" Veteran remarked, watching his best friend successfully enter his information into the system with a single glide across the swipe.

"Yep! Just make sure there's about one second between putting the card in and getting it to the end."

"I'll try that out next time; usually, it takes me half a dozen tries to get it right."

Ninja grumbled as he stepped into the stack himself. He felt like his brain was pulsating and hitting the inner walls of his skull, and his eyelids felt like lead. If that wasn't enough to make him miserable, he could hardly breathe in through his nostrils, and it felt like the AC on the Skeld was turned up WAY too high.

But he wasn't about to complain; he had to do his part as a crewmate, and he wasn't about to let everyone down. Not him. Not now...Not ever.

After he glided his card through the slot, he realigned the wires under the panel in the same room, then did the same with the ones in Storage before going further down into the room to fill up the fuel tank and take it to the Upper Engine...It felt a lot heavier than he remembered, but even after double and triple checking it, he found it had no more fuel in it than he normally carried.

As he went past Electrical, Ninja figured he'd go in and get his tasks in there done on his way to the back of the ship; if he could get things done in a somewhat linear order as he went through the Skeld, he could save some time.

たぶん, 私がそれをしている間に, 私は行動中の殺人者を捕まえるでしょうもし私が十分に運が良ければ, he said to himself as he headed inside, eyeing the power distributor.

...And quickly noticing the headless, pink-clad corpse right beside it.

"もうね?"

He rolled his eyes, then sluggishly pulled out his megaphone and made the report.

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DEAD BODY REPORTED

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"Wow, that happened pretty fast," Ria remarked as they all spawned at the meeting table. "Seems like whoever it was doesn't mess around."

"DUM! NO!" Captain mourned upon seeing who'd been killed. "Oh, God...They like to mess around with my emotions, that's a given."

"Where'd you find the body at?" the maroon-clad Sheldon inquired.

"電気の。 周りには誰もいませんでした."

"...MrCheese, can you translate that?" the coral-clad MrEgg requested.

"Sure thing, egghead. He said the body was in Electrical. No suspects in the area."

"Say, uh, this is just a hunch," Rookie piped up. "But you don't think it could be a self report, do you? Ria said it herself; this was a pretty recent death, given the starter cooldown."

"That is true," Player nodded in agreement. "But to be honest, a self report in a situation like that doesn't feel like something Ninja would do. The opportunity for him to escape was right there if there wasn't any around, and I think he'd have done that if it were him."

"ありがとう, プレイヤー..." Ninja replied to the red crewmate, massaging his temples before resting his head on the table.

"You alright there, Ninja?" the coral crewmate inquired. "I'm not sensing that fire you usually bring to the lobby with you."

"いいえ、いいえ、元気です。 私が言ったように、私はただ疲れています."

"Fire, you say?" his older brother repeated.

"Oh yes. Everyone brings something special to the lobby when they hop on. In Ninja's case, whenever he's around, he always seems so...mysterious and energetic. I can almost feel the heat of his fiery passion radiating off of him, I tell you," MrEgg said to him.

"Hm...I knew you said you were perceptive, but I didn't think of it to this extent."

"Well, now you know otherwise...But in the case of today, I'm not feeling that same fire from him. Ninja, I know you said you were just tired, but...Are you sure that's it?"

He sighed, then nodded again, aggressively clearing his throat while he was at it.

"Well, we ain't gonna get anywhere talking about what's eatin' Ninja," Veteran chimed in. "We've got tasks to finish. Wanna skip the vote for now, everyone?"

"I suppose that's the best course of action we can take," Captain nodded solemnly...Out of the dozen crewmates, someone voted for Ninja, despite the verdict, though nobody thought much of it given the majority of the vote.

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No one was ejected.(Skipped)
2 Impostors remain.

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Everyone left the table again and carried on with their tasks; the bar hadn't filled up very much in between the game's start and the first meeting, but Ninja figured that was only because he'd found the first body so quickly, so he set back to work, heading back into Electrical to calibrate the distributor and divert the power to Security.

He cleared his throat again as he headed up into Security to finish the two separate task steps in there; his nose had been bugging him a bit earlier, but only now was his throat beginning to feel itchy. At that point, the violet-clad warrior was beginning to believe MrEgg was right in what he said.

たぶんそれは単なる疲れ以上のものかもしれません, he thought. ほんの数時間の睡眠しか取れなくても、私は通常、これよりも気分が良くて目を覚ます.

But he refused to show any sign of weakness; especially at a time like this. He'd be made into mincemeat by the Impostors in no time flat if he did. In an effort to distract himself, he checked his task list again.

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Tasks:

Admin: Swipe Card(COMPLETE)
Security: Fix Wiring(COMPLETE)
Storage: Fuel Engines
O2: Clean Filter
Cafeteria: Empty Garbage
Electrical: Calibrate Distributor(COMPLETE)
Security: Accept Diverted Power(COMPLETE)
Navigation: Download Data
Weapons: Clear Asteroids
Medbay: Inspect Sample

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And he still had that fuel tank on him to fill the Upper Engine with...If he filled the first engine, stopped in MedBay on his way to the Cafeteria to inspect the sample , then emptied out the garbage, he could just circle back through Storage and to the Lower Engine and get most of his tasks done in those rooms without going all over the place and wasting time.

うまくいけばそれはバーをより速く満たすのに役立ちます, he said to himself as he put his plan into action, filling up the first engine before making his way into the Medbay hall...Upon turning into the room, he saw MrEgg and Sheldon inside, the former proving his innocence to his brother via a scan.

"Finished!" the coral bean announced as he hopped off the scanner. "Now, you said something about having to clear the asteroids, right?"

"Right indeed."

Ninja cleared his throat yet again, expelling the gunk that'd been slowly building back up in it and catching the brothers' attention.

"Oh, hello Ninja," MrEgg greeted him. "Say, you didn't happen to see me scan just now, did you?"

He nodded in confirmation, knowing MrEgg couldn't decipher his language.

"Oh you did! Splendid! One more witness on my side, it seems."

Ninja plodded over to the sample inspector and booted it up, not bothering to respond to MrEgg's cheerful remark. His voice was too loud...Everything sounded too loud, for that matter. Even the droning of the Skeld's engines seemed to resonate within the walls of his skull, making his head throb painfully. He audibly sighed as he pressed the start button, massaging his forehead with the tips of his fingers to try and numb some of the pain.

"So, Shel' and I are going to go to Weapons," MrEgg continued. "Care to tag along and help clear his name? He says he's got asteroids to blow to pieces."

"今はできませんが," he replied hoarsely, leaning slightly against the machine to ease some of the weight off his tired feet. "私はタイマーが終了するのを待つ必要があります."

Sheldon and MrEgg exchanged confused glances with one another before the latter spoke again.

"Um...You know you don't have to stand there for a minute while you wait for the timer to run out, right?"

"Yeah. Ain't exactly a download."

"おや...右."

He pushed himself back up off the machine and stood up straight, only for his vision to suddenly darken around the edges and his head begin to pound harder. He brought his hand back to his forehead and grunted in frustration as he staggered on his feet; why was he so bothered by all of this? He'd felt much worse before, that was for certain.

MrEgg was slightly alarmed by Ninja's sudden lack of balance, and swiftly stepped over to aid him, holding him upright with both hands.

"Gracious, Ninja, you looked as though you were going to faint."

"私はちょうど少しめまいがした. 私はあまりにも速く起きた..."

He halfheartedly pushed the coral crewmate off of him, then straightened himself out and dusted off his bright violet suit, acting normal once again...But as normal as he now appeared, he failed to completely hide his state from the egg brothers.

"He looks a tad green about the gills, doesn't he, bruv?" the older of the two remarked.

"I don't like poking my nose in spots it doesn't belong, but I really do think something is wrong with you," MrEgg insisted. "It wasn't just when you got lightheaded there, I've felt that way this whole time. It's like I can feel it; you have this aura about you, and it's concerning."

"あなたはあなたが何だと思いますか?" Ninja snapped back at him. " あ ルカリオ?"

"...I'm not sure what you just said, but it probably wasn't very nice."

Sheldon just sighed and shook his head, nudging his younger brother slightly to keep him from getting into trouble with the purple crewmate.

"C'mon, Egg," he said to him softly. "I know you're worried about 'im, but let's not make matters worse by botherin' 'im about it too much, a'ight?"

"Hm, well...Okay."

"Let's just focus on our last few tasks before worryin' about it again. I'm sure he'll come around in good time."

MrEgg nodded before following Sheldon out into the Medbay hall again.

"If you need us for anything, we'll be in Weapons, Ninja!" he finished as the two disappeared...By the time they were all finally done with the conversation, the timer on the sample inspector had drained to zero anyway, so Ninja selected the red-filled beaker and finished the task at hand before trudging back out and heading to the Cafeteria again, pulling the first lever for the garbage disposal...An easy enough task, considering the weight he felt across his entire body.

"さて、次は何か見てみましょう..."

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Tasks:

Admin: Swipe Card(COMPLETE)
Security: Fix Wiring(COMPLETE)
Storage: Fuel Engines(1/2)
O2: Clean Filter
Cafeteria: Empty Garbage(1/2)
Electrical: Calibrate Distributor(COMPLETE)
Security: Accept Diverted Power(COMPLETE)
Navigation: Download Data
Weapons: Clear Asteroids
Medbay: Inspect Sample(COMPLETE)

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It was upon reaching the bottom of the list that he realized he also had to clear the asteroids. And despite the throbbing pain in his head, he was more than aware enough to remember that MrEgg and Sheldon said they were going to do the same there as well...Heading there now deviated slightly from his original plan, but the room was right there across from his location; it wouldn't hurt to stop by and see what was up.

...It seemed as though just as when he took his first step away from the garbage disposal, the lights in the Skeld began to dim; a blackout sabotage had been induced.

Normally, Ninja would be bothered by the lights being cut if he were a crewmate, but the garish lights of the ship dimming down actually seemed pleasant this go around; peaceful, dare he think such a thing.

Barely even realizing what he was doing, the purple crewmate leaned back against the wall, slid down to the floor and folded his knees, crossing his hands around them resting his head atop them...It felt good to finally sit down and close his eyes for a moment, relaxing his weary form.

A yawn escaped him, and his ears toned out the sounds of the crewmates chattering in the other rooms, the humming engines, everything...He paid no mind to the talk, the crack, the thud, or the clang.

...The only thing that stirred him from his state of near sleep was the lights coming back on, and even then, it took a few moments for him to register that it'd happened.

Part of him was too tired to care whether or not the crew saw him slumped against the wall the way he was, but the other, stronger one was too afraid of what they might think of him if they did, so he scrambled back onto his feet...Just as TheGentleman and MrCheese were coming in from the south end.

"I dunno how I was able to figure out it was his fault in the state I was in, but I shoved his sorry butt right into the lava pit!"

"Ha! Good show, MrCheese! Fortunately, Captain's learned his lesson since then...Oh, Ninja. Fancy seeing you here."

"ああ、ええと、ちょっと," he greeted them, casually leaning against the wall with his hand. "すべてがライトでうまくいきましたか?"

"Well yeah, duh," the orange crewmate replied, eyebrows raised. "If it hadn't they wouldn't have come back on, dumb-dumb."

"ああ、はい、それは本当ですよね?"

"Yuh-huh."

Ninja sighed, looking to change the subject while still trying to keep the hoarseness of his voice well hidden.

"ねえ、私は小惑星をクリアする必要があります。お二人は見たいですか?シェルドンとミスター・エッグはおそらくもうそれを見るために周りにいないので."

"Asteroids, huh? Sure thing. C'mon, TheGentleman, let's-"

"Oh, great Scott! What the devil happened here!?"

"何?"

The purple and orange crewmates peered into Weapons, and they saw the familiar red-clad form of Player lying lifeless on the floor, his head bent at an odd angle...MrCheese shot a skeptical look at Ninja, scratching his chin thoughtfully. He had no proof yet, but considering his location before the body was found, he had reason to be suspicious.

"Oh, Mr. Player...D-don't worry, old chap. We'll find out who did this! Rest assured!"

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DEAD BODY REPORTED

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"Oh, the humanity...!" Captain mourned. "First Dum, and now Player!? What kind of sick, twisted monster is responsible for this!?!"

"Beats me," Veteran shrugged. "Where was the body, Gentledude?"

"I found our dear Mr. Player deceased in Weapons at the download," he responded. "MrCheese and Ninja were with me when the body was found, so they can testify against the odds of a self report."

"Yeah, he didn't do it," MrCheese defended him. "...However, I do think Ninja's kinda sus."

"すみません...?" the purple crewmate slurred in response, slowly turning to face him with a confused glint in his visor.

"Yeah, don't play all innocent just yet. You were right there by the trash chute in the Cafeteria just a minute before we found Player in the next room."

"That does sound pretty sus," Rookie nodded in agreement.

"Hmm...TheGentleman," MrEgg addressed. "You said the body was at the download screen, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"I do believe that if it had been Ninja who killed Player, he'd have had the sense enough to hop right into the Weapons vent after the kill and move to a farther location. Especially during the blackout, at which time he could have covered his tracks more easily."

"That's a pretty good point there, MrEgg," Mother remarked. "Ninja's probably the smartest Impostor in this whole lobby, so he wouldn't make a rookie mistake like that...No offense to you of course, Rookie."

"Oh, uh, no, it's okay," the blue crewmate replied to her, shrugging it off nonchalantly.

"And Player did defend Ninja during the last meeting," Ria pointed out. "I doubt he would have killed him when he has the chance to use him as an alibi."

"Another good point, love" MrEgg nodded. "Besides, Ninja came to Medbay and saw me scan before starting up his sample inspection. Isn't that right Ninja, Sheldon?"

"Yes, that is right," the maroon crewmate confirmed. "Both of us were present. And Egg was present in Weapons when he saw me clear the asteroids before the lights were cut."

"Also true."

"Hey, wait a sec," MrCheese realized. "Ninja, didn't you say you had to clear the asteroids too?"

He nodded and hummed in response.

"So, if you can do them after the meeting, you'll be clear, right?"

Another nod.

"Huh...Well, if he turns up clear, then we can eliminate him, MrEgg and Sheldon. And TheGentleman and I were together during the blackout in Electrical fixing the lights, so it couldn't have been us."

"Hmm...Good point," Captain nodded. "Player, Dum...Whoever did this to either of you, I promise. We'll make 'em pay. So just finish your tasks up, and we'll get to the bottom of it! Now, everyone skip the vote for now! First order of business after the meeting is to head to Weapons to watch Ninja clear the asteroids!"

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Veteran:
Captain:
TheGentleman:
MrCheese:
MrEgg:
Sheldon:
Ria:
Mother:
Ninja: **
Rookie:

Skipped: ******

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No one was ejected.(Skipped)
2 Impostors remain.

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"...Okay, which of you two voted for Ninja instead of following my command as captain?"

Nobody was willing to fess up, everyone exchanging curious glances at one another.

"Hmm...Well, whoever they were, I'm willing to bet they were our culprits," the white crewmate remarked. "Now, everyone. To Weapons!"

They all headed to the room in question. Ninja did his best to pick his feet up and act with some haste, despite feeling like his entire body had been hit with a sledgehammer and thrown out into a Polus-level blizzard.

ただそれを無視してください... he said to himself. もうすぐ終わります.

When he finally made it to the chair, he sat into it, leaned back and started firing at the asteroids, his eyes straining as he focused on each target...Mother was the one to keep an eye on the blasters outside, and confirmed to the others that he was indeed doing said task.

"Alright everyone, Ninja's in the clear!"

"Huh..." MrCheese nodded, glad that they at least had someone else to rule out on their suspect list. "...A'ight, you're clear. But since you've been proven innocent, I gotta say, I am kinda surprised you didn't do any spy work during the last blackout to see who killed Player. That seems like somethin' you'd usually be doin', y'know?"

"今はただ自分の仕事に集中したいだけなのに、チーズさん," Ninja answered him, clearing his throat yet again.

"Yeah, we do have a lot o' tasks this round...Stay close to me, okay TheGentleman?"

"Well...If it were you, I suppose I'd have been one of the first ones dead," the charcoal crewmate surmised. "But just remember I can run much faster than you."

"Yeah, I know, don't rub it in, tall guy, heh heh..."

By then, Ninja had blasted the last incoming asteroid to smithereens, and they all saw him get up from his seat and head down to Navigation.

"Alright, everyone. Let's get back down to business," Captain told the crew. "We're going to need to finish up if we want to have any chance of beating these Impostors."

They all departed and split up to finish their task lists...When Ninja's download had finally finished up, he trudged back up the hall towards the Cafeteria, aiming to get his upload done before another report was called...His feet felt heavier by the second, and he was well aware of just how slow he was moving compared to his normally brisk pace...He'd felt a brief moment of respite when he'd made the decision to rest in the Cafeteria during the last blackout, so he was considering reevaluating his options...But he quickly snapped back upright when he realized what he was thinking.

いいえ...屈しないで, he thought, straightening himself out as best he could and marching straight through the Cafeteria and into Admin. The purple crewmate pressed the start button and patiently waited for the loading bar to fill up.

As he stood there staring at the screen, another sudden bout of lightheadedness overcame him, and he wavered slightly on his feet. Ninja brought his head up to his forehead to massage it again, but it didn't help at all. If anything, the extra pressure made his head hurt even more.

"私は頭を上げておく必要があります," he told himself, out loud that time. "私は今、彼らを失望させることはできません...できません...できません..."

"Ooh, did she give you that, Ria?"

"She gave me a few different recipes; wanna try one out for dinner tonight?"

"Sounds lovely. Here on the ship, perhaps?"

"I do like the space aesthetic of the place, I do. Thanks for the invite."

Ninja didn't even register the voices of the Egg family as the approached Admin. His mind was covered in a fog, and his vision was becoming increasingly blurry, so he didn't bother to try and make himself look decent.

"Say, there's Ninja again."

"Y'know, Ria, he's been actin' strange all round. Egg tried to get to the bottom of it, but without much luck."

"Huh...Hey, Ninja. How are the tasks coming along? Mother and I are finished."

She got no response. He simply put his hand against the wall and leaned against it.

"Ninja...?"

"ぐふ...何...?"

"Ninja, did you hear me? What's gotten...?"

Ria's voice faded into a hazy blur of sounds, as did the image of her alongside her husband and brother-in-law. The next thing he was able to register was the sound of his upload finally completing, followed by the sensation of his knees buckling, the sound of someone screaming, and then finally nothing.

____________________________________________________________

...

____________________________________________________________

Consciousness came back to Ninja slowly and painfully. The first thing he made out when he began to wake up again was just how horrible he felt. He was chilly, achy, he could barely breathe through either his nose or his mouth, and he could barely muster the strength to open his eyes.

But he managed it, and when his visor did pry open, he made out the images of four crewmates moving around in the brightly-lit room he was in, slowly blurring into view.

The coral figure approached and draped something over his forehead. Whatever it was, it was sopping wet and freezing cold, which was a strong enough sensation to make him wince, then groan in discomfort.

"寒い..."

"Oh, guys, he's waking up!"

MrEgg's sudden verbal outburst rang in his ears and throughout his head, and he groaned again as he heard the others approach his bedside...He finally realized where he was: in Medbay. And surrounding him were not only MrEgg and Sheldon, but Ria and Mother as well, along with the latter's two small children.

"Gracious, you gave us quite the scare back in Admin," the coral crewmate continued. "Y-you were burning up; Mother said your temperature was almost 104°!"

"私は...私はしませんでした..."

"Shhhhhh, don't talk too much," Mother shushed him, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb to soothe him. "You need to stay in bed and rest, dear."

Ninja wanted to pull away from the token of affection, but he barely had the strength to pull in enough air with each breath he took. His nose was blocked to the point at which his sinuses stung, and he could feel the thick layer of mucus coating the inside of his throat, the urge to clear it out strong and relentless.

"I knew something was off about you today, but...I didn't expect it to turn out THIS bad," MrEgg remarked. "Ria dear, have you got the cough syrup yet?"

"I got it right here," she nodded, handing Mother the bottle. Ninja curled up and emitted a strained, weak-sounding cough as the cyan crewmate poured a dose into the cup.

"This outta help you some," she said to him, holding the plastic cup full of thick purple liquid close to his mouth. "Do you think you can keep it down?"

He nodded lightly.

"Alright. Open wide; it tastes better than it looks, trust me."

Ninja barely even had the strength to feel humiliated; he slowly parted his lips and dipped his head back without any protest as Mother carefully poured the medicine into his mouth, then swallowed before laying his head back down on his pillow.

"There we go, good job," she praised softly, tucking his further underneath the pale blue blanket draped over him.

"Do you think he's been like this all day, Eggy?" Ria asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me; I sensed something was off right from the minute he joined the lobby," he replied. "Though I doubt it was thid bad until recently."

"Well, that's what's gonna happen when you push yourself like that in such a state," Sheldon chimed in, taking another gander at Ninja. "How long's it been since he collapsed in Admin?"

"私..." the purple crewmate strained, trying to sit up straight. "...私は倒れましたか-?"

Ninja was interrupted again by another coughing fit; the most violent one he'd had all day.

"Take it easy there, old chap," MrEgg said to him, gently lowering him back onto his pillow. "You're really quite ill for someone so strong..."

"Ninja, honey. I know you have a thing about making good impressions and working hard," Mother said to him. "But if you don't feel well, you shouldn't overexert yourself like this. It's just as important to rest as it is to work. Trust me; I've been there before..."

She turned around quickly to catch her two children messing with the sample inspector, and grabbed each of them before they could damage anything.

"There have been a couple times I had to send them over to their dad's for a good few days so i could recharge my batteries. You might not have children, but I imagine you wear yourself out with your training and studies...How much sleep do you usually get?"

His throat too sore to emit words without hurting, he merely rose his hand and held up three fingers.

"Three hours...?" Mother gasped lightly.

"O-onry two...last-u night...T-too cold..."

"My gosh, Ninja, you're going to end up...Agh...Why do you do this to yourself...?"

She took his hand and gently squeezed it with one, placing her other on top of it and rubbing it gently.

"To show weakness..." he croaked. "It...means dishonor. I c-can't let-u myself g-give in..."

He wanted to bawl. He wanted to hide under the covers and let out everything built up inside him, just to take the edge off of the humiliation. But the only thing that escape him was a congested, shudders breath and a single tear; he was too weak to outright sob, and he had just a shred enough of resilience left to keep himself from making the scene playing out in his head.

"I f-failed you..."

"Ninja, you didn't fail us, don't be silly," MrEgg said to him, flashing a tender smile as he approached the bed again. "Everyone needs to rest up and catch up on their health every so often. I should know; believe me."

"Hey, besides," Sheldon added. "Even though I don't really advise doing work in such a state, the fact that you pulled through a good number of tasks is bloody impressive. You outdid yourself today, you did."

"R...really...?"

Mother shushed him again, gently stroking the top of his head and propping his pillow up a bit more.

"If I say so myself," she said to him. "Sure, every so often, there's gonna be a time where you need to push yourself in order to finish something important. But today, I think you've done more than enough to earn yourself a nice, long rest."

"Ah..."

Ninja sighed again, rolling over onto his side and curling up under the covers even more.

"...I app-ur-eciate you saying this," he replied. "But-u...M-my own family. The honor I am s-supposed to bear...It is...more than many of you imagine."

"That still doesn't mean you should push yourself like this, Ninja," Mother said to him, her tone ever so slightly firmer. "I don't know what your family thinks about pushing yourself beyond the limit, but..."

She sighed herself; she didn't want to come off as disrespectful towards Ninja's heritage, but it seemed to her like they had a few conflicting priorities...Ninja was in no condition to exert himself anymore; he shouldn't have to feel like he wasn't doing enough.

"Can...can you just take my word for it just this one time, Ninja?" Mother asked him. "Please, honey, I...I'm just so worried about you, and I want you to rest for long enough to get better."

He averted his gaze from her, a contemplative look on his flushed face. He emitted another muffled cough before giving the cyan crewmate an answer.

"...Just dis one time?"

She nodded. Ria, Sheldon and MrEgg all gathered around her to make sure the purple crewmate could see their doting smiles...In spite of everything, Ninja let slip a tiny grin himself; it amazed him at times just how much they cared about things he felt might seem trivial.

"...わかった," he nodded lightly, reverting back to his mother tongue. "あなたが勝ちます."

"Hey, it ain't about winning, it's about you, mate," Sheldon replied.

"何-待って...あなたも日本語を話しますか?"

"Wait, did you get that, Sheldon?" MrEgg asked his brother.

"Yeah, I took a course back in school; don't remember everything, but a few words and phrases managed to stick."

"Huh...I thought MrCheese was the only one here who ever understood him."

"もう違います."

The maroon and purple beans chucked with one another for a moment, only for the laughter to be cut short by yet another, more boisterous coughing fit from Ninja.

"...笑うのも痛いです," he groaned. "皮肉な..."

"You sit tight, Ninja," Ria said to him, fluffing his pillow a bit. "How about I get you something to eat if you can stomach it? There's plenty in the Cafeteria."

"私...私はあまり空腹ではありません..."

"Perhaps not, but you will need some fuel in you if you want to recover faster," Sheldon said to him. "Besides, doesn't something hot sound good right about now?"

He nodded lightly.

"I'll go look for some ramen noodles," Ria told everyone. "There are probably some in the food crate. Sound good, Ninja?"

He nodded again, flashing the lime crewmate a weak smile before everyone saw her off.

"I've been in your place many a time, Ninja," MrEgg said to him. "Rest assured there's no shame in taking proper care of yourself when you feel under the weather. Besides, regardless of whether or not you might be sick, doesn't it feel nice to get to be able to unwind a bit and relax in bed?"

Another nod, accompanied by a congested, yet somewhat content such as he relaxed beneath the covers as best he could.

"Don't fall asleep on us just yet though," Sheldon told him, prompting the ill crewmate to pry his visor open more and look at him. "You won't be able to eat anything if you zonk out."

In response to the maroon figure, Ninja scooched backwards into his pillow, getting into a sitting position. Another shiver escaped him when the MedBay air touched his bare exosuit, but it was nowhere near as bad as it'd been before.

"There we go, old chap," MrEgg smiled. "...You know, this brings me back to a few months ago during one of my own bouts of illness. TheGentleman and MrCheese, oh, bless their souls...The latter showed up with a first aid kit, he was so concerned over me!"

Ninja managed a quiet chuckle.

"Yes, it was just a tad overboard, perhaps...The soup they brought was some of the best chicken soup I've had in quite some time. You know, I wonder if they could give me the recipe for-"

He suddenly stopped talking, and the smile faded from his face in a sliver of a second, his widened visor reflecting a glint of dread.

"Somethin' the matter, Egg?" his brother asked.

"...I think something might be wrong on Ria's end," he replied swiftly. "You want to come with me to Storage?"

"Oh, yes. We are still in the game, after all. Mother, will ya get along without us?"

"Sure dears. You two go do what you need to do. I'll tend to Ninja."

With that, the two left Medbay, headed down through the Cafeteria and past Admin, then came upon Storage...The doors to the room were shut.

"Blast it," Sheldon muttered. "Do you think we can-"

MrEgg quickly put his forefinger up to his brother's lips to quiet him, then motioned for him to press his ear against the door and listen.

"How'd I do?"

"Not bad, kid. Good stalling and quick action. And right after a double kill, too."

"You think we can win this, Veteran?"

"It's lookin' good. But don't expect to get any more kills in before the next meeting; someone will probably find one of the bodies here soon. Right now, let's just get as far away from the bodies as we can, alright Rookie?"

"Got it."

MrEgg and Sheldon ducked back into Admin just mere seconds before the doors opened again, and they heard the two Impostors head to the back end of the Skeld. Once they knew they were out of earshot, they went in and beheld Ria's lifeless body, blood spilling out of the hole through her visor...MrEgg knew this was only temporary, but it was still awful to see her in such a state.

"Oh, Ria..." he sighed, face scrunching up a bit in anguish. "I...I know you're with me in spirit. Don't worry...We know who did this."

Sheldon whipped out his megaphone as MrEgg made his promise, and everyone save for Ninja was teleported to the center of the Cafeteria for the meeting.

"What'd I miss, gang?" Captain inquired. "I've been trying to start the reactor for AGES, now, so I haven't been around much. At least it's my last task."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've bad news and good news," Sheldon began. "Firstly, I regret to inform you that my sister-in-law has fallen victim to the Impostors, her body in Storage."

"Oh, oh goodness gracious," Mother exclaimed quietly. "Well, I...I better get the noodles myself, then. Captain, may I be excused for a moment?"

"No offense Mother, but isn't this kind of a bad time for a lunch break?" the white crewmate responded. "By the way, where on earth is Ninja? He didn't show up on the death screen, but he's obviously not here at the table."

"I can answer both of those questions, dear. First off, it turns out Ninja's been sick all day; he collapsed in Admin, and the Eggs took him to Medbay."

"Oh...Really? Boy, I never suspected anything might be wrong with him. Poor guy."

"The noodles are for him. Ria offered to get them from the food crate, but...Well, you can probably figure out what happened."

"Man, that was a pretty low move, whoever it was," Veteran remarked. "Hopefully not anyone I'd ever get hung up with."

Upon hearing that, Sheldon raised an eyebrow at him, but maintained his cool as he replied to him.

"Well, do pardon me, Veteran, but don't you think that's a rather spiteful thing to say 'bout your blue Impostor partner?"

At that, Rookie's visor instantly widened to the size of a dinner plate, and he jerked his head in the maroon figure's direction, emitting a strained squeal of a gasp.

"That brings me to my second point. I'm happy to inform you all that MrEgg and I have discovered who the Impostors are."

"How do you know it's them?" Captain asked.

"We heard the two of them discussing their next move through the closed Storage doors," MrEgg answered. "Apparently, they'd killed TheGentleman and MrCheese not long beforehand, and their next move was to head to the back of the ship; as far from the bodies as they could get. Isn't that right, you two?"

"Uh, no," Veteran replied dryly. "It's not. I'm fact, I'm willin' to bet you and your brother just made all that up to gain everyone's trust only with the plan to kill them when the right time comes."

"I highly doubt it's the brothers. I'll have you know that they, Ria and I were ALL in Medbay for a rather lengthy amount of time leading up to about a minute before the report," Mother informed them. "And I doubt they'd opt to spend their precious time helping to care for Ninja when they have killing to do...Besides, I honestly doubt either of them would do such a thing to RIA, of all people. This is MrEgg we're talking about here, not MrCheese."

"Well, I dunno, Mother, there's a first time for everything," Rookie replied, obviously nervous. "I mean, Veteran might have a point."

"No, Rookster. You're only proving ours with your lame defense," Sheldon told him. "All those in favor of casting Veteran out into space first, say aye!"

"AYE!"

"Hey, that's MY line!"

"Oh, COME ON," Veteran huffed. "We were GOLDEN for most of the round."

"Gotta admit," Captain said to him as he was dragged to the airlock. "Even though we did catch you, you're not wrong. If it hadn't been for the Eggs, you might have managed to pull it off; I mean, I never suspected you until now."

"Huh..."

"Sorry, Rookie. You must've been looking forward to a win," MrEgg apologized to the blue crewmate as his partner was put into the airlock chamber, doors shutting on him.

"Eh...It's alright. I've got plenty of Impostor wins up my sleeve anyway."

With that, Veteran was ejected, followed soon after by the same happening to Rookie. With both Impostors gone, the screen faded to black, and the crew victory screen came in to congratulate the winners.

"Eggy, you guys did it!"

While the Eggs all congratulated one another on their win, the two Impostors spoke to one anothe about their loss.

"Sorry, boss. I tried," Rookie said to his accomplice.

"Eh, I'm not a stranger to losing. Of course, this kinda thing happens pretty rarely, considering how good I usually am at it, but everyone has their mediocre days, y'know how it is."

"Yeah, I didn't expect you guys until it was a second too late, heh heh," MrCheese replied to them.

"ああ、ギー...あぁ..."

Ninja was the last one to spawn back in, recoiling in discomfort as he spawned into one of the chairs; a stark difference from the bed he'd been settled into before. Mother was quick to rush over to him to tend to his needs.

"Wow. I've never seen Ninja in a state like that before," Player remarked, turning to Veteran. "You think he's gonna be okay?"

"Yes, I believe so, my dear boys," TheGentleman replied to the duo, approaching from the side. "Beanie Boy and I monitored the scene for a few minutes in our spectral states; Mother and the Egg trio appear to have everything well under control regarding his recovery."

"Good to know," the yellow crewmate nodded. "...Whoa, hey, are we starting another game already?"

"Just a pacifist round," Captain told him. "That's what I've decided to call rounds with no Impostors. I figured that since Ninja should take it easy in Medbay for a while that we all have lunch at the Cafeteria. Ria just told me there are TEN crates of ramen noodles in Storage! And not the cheap 50¢ kind you see in Walmart, I mean the fancy-shmancy Asian brands!"

"Broooo, I LOVE THOSE," Veteran gushed as the screen faded to black...In merely a few minutes, almost everyone was gathered around the Cafeteria table, eating and mingling...Only Ninja, Mother and the Eggs were absent; they were all in Medbay, keeping the former most crewmate company.

"So how is it, Ninja?" the cyan crewmate asked him softly. He responded with a nod and a smile; regardless of a sore throat, the fact that his mouth was stuffed with his last bite of noodles was an obvious reason for him to not speak.

"Glad you've still got a good appetite," MrEgg remarked. "I feared you might not be able to keep anything down when I saw how bad off you were."

Ninja finally swallowed in order to reply, placing his now empty bowl on the table at his bedside.

"H-have you, ah...Been dere b-before?"

"I have," MrEgg nodded. "A few times, really."

"Hm...Tell-u me again, th-the time Chisu-san fretted over you."

"Oh, that story?"

"I think he just wants you to put 'im to sleep," Sheldon teased lightly, slurping his noodles loudly.

"He'll never go to sleep If you keep making noises like THAT," MrEgg responded.

"Heh...Touche, bruv."

As the coral-suited crewmate told him the story again, Ninja relaxed and closed his visor...Maybe they were right. Maybe he did deserve all of this, after all.

"Well, it was about half a year ago; I try to keep from going out much when the weather is wet and the air is cold, but there were some errands that simply HAD to be done...I suppose that's no excuse though, considering I came down with something anyways. I gave TheGentleman a ring sometime in the morning hours, I believe..."

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Sorry this took me so long, Inverted-Opal57

But hey, I did it! ^^ Now to figure out what to write next, bc I'm running out of ideas again. XP

Welp, I'll see you guys next timr, either way! :D