Dangan Ronpa: Unser Sommerende/Chapter 3 - Daily Life (2)

Continued from Chapter 3 - Motive.

[1]

So yeah, I was just sitting there in the garden. Though a lot of us hung around for a while, people inevitably started leaving, until, with time, there were only three of us there; Archie, Jo, and I. Archie was intensely looking at each of the plants, and he was writing something down in a notebook he was carrying with him. Jo was still sitting in the chair, not a care in the universe.

Without much to do, I walked over and sat by Archie, watching him. His focus on the plant was intense. I didn’t expect him to hear me, but I decided to talk a little, anyway.

“So, is this like, a plant that you’ve never seen before? I’d imagine there wouldn’t be many rare plants here, since it’s just a garden meant to look nice.”

“Mostly the opposite.” He continued writing as he spoke. “I recognise most of them, but each seems to be somewhat unusual for its respective species. Various anomalies. It’s interesting...”

“I’m sure it is.” I just sat there as he kept going. Eventually, he walked over to the plant next to it, and started studying it, same method as the last. This one was a bush with flowers on it, purple and white. I’d never seen a bush with that combination before, and I suppose that interested Archie. Though I wouldn’t know whether the regular colour was just white or just purple... He didn’t really speak of it, and I wasn’t curious enough to ask.

After finishing another page of notes, he looked at me. “Is it alright if you go fetch my Dionaea muscipula? I’d like to plant it here. The soil seems quite healthy.”

“Your... What?”

He looked a bit unimpressed. “The fly trap.”

“O-okay, s-sure, that’s fine. I guess I’ll need your Monopad to get into your room and take it, right?”

“I suppose so.”

[2]

So I went back into the halls, and descended the stairs. Going back into the inside portions of the building wasn’t as stuffy as I expected, so there was probably better air conditioning in the school than I thought. It probably just seemed stuffy because of how long we’d been in there.

“So, how are things, Jane?” Jo said, trailing behind me. I could hear his footsteps behind me since leaving the garden, and we were only on the second floor by the time he first spoke.

“Fine, I guess.” I didn’t feel like giving him my full attention, to be perfectly honest.

“Aww, no need to use that tone! I’m just having a friendly chat.”

“You sure about that? Nothing you have planned?”, I said, already exasperated.

“Nah. Not at all. You’re trying to help people out, right? Being friendly and kind, right?” He chuckled. “Guess I don’t count.”

“Well...” He was sort of right. I mean, I didn’t really trust him, but I was sort of meant to give him the benefit of the doubt, right? He’d probably just try and mess things up more if I gave into hypocrisy at the moment. “If you want to be friendly and kind and stuff, you could start co-operating again, coming to meetings and the like. It’d be great... I guess...”

“Well, sure, we could co-operate. Just not like that.”

“How so, then...?”

“I was thinking less like me joining in with your plan, and more like you joining in with mine. That’s fine, right?”

“... And screw everything up intentionally? You think I’ll do that because you asked nicely?”

“Basically, yeah. I mean, your strategies haven’t stopped the killing game yet, right? C’mon... You sure you can’t give it one try?”

“... If worst comes to worst... I don’t know. I don’t think I would, but...” I started walking faster. “... I wouldn’t. Never.” At the stairway down to the first floor, I looked back, and saw he was still following, though a bit further behind. He stopped, and just stood there, hands in his pockets. Smirking.

“Well, if you run out of ideas on your end, I’m always open. Any time.”

“... No. We’re going to make it work this time. Nobody’s going to die again. Okay?”

“Sure, tell yourself that. Keep going with it. After all, nothing could PAWssibly go wrong, right?”

“... I’m... J-just going to go. Bye.”

“Later.”

Even though I said bye, I stood there for a bit longer, looking over at him. I didn’t really know what to think. Eventually, though, I went downstairs, and went about my business.

The pot plant didn’t bit my finger off when I carried it back to the garden, which was nice. Archie planted it without saying too much other than a quick thanks.

Without much else to do, I spent the remainder of the afternoon in my room, eventually going to sleep.

[3]

MONOYAKI HOROSCOPE

Gemini!

Change is in the air! It’s a good time to buy a new barbecue, or file for divorce. Anything you’ve been putting off is on the table this week, so get to it!

[4]

The routine meeting in the morning, as usual.

Honestly, despite the new motive, the group seemed to have the most positive atmosphere since the first few days of the killing game. We were far more cohesive now, with nearly the entire group gathered together, and, in fact, the motive had honestly made us more confident, due to its absurd nature.

Even so, things weren’t perfect, mostly because of the fact that we still weren’t sure how to escape. There was no real ‘end goal’ our group had, other than wait a while until something happened in our favour.

Still, our level of cohesion put us in a position to try and increase it even further. There was no reason not to improve the general trust, was there?

“Is there anything on the agenda today?” I asked.

“Well, no. Not really.”, Archie responded. “Nothing much is really happening at the moment.”

“Wait, so,” Charlotte said, concerned, “are we just gonna ignore the crisp bag thing from yesterday?”

“Precisely. The best course of action is to leave it alone.”

“Leave it alone?...” Mia said, lying back in her seat, not really paying attention. “... Crisps... What are we talking about?”

“It’s nothing, Mia.” I said, somewhat dismissive. “Point is, it isn’t really something we should worry about.” She shrugged, and leaned forward onto the table, basically asleep. Come to think of it, wasn’t that breaking the ‘no sleeping outside of the dorms’ rule? I mean, Monoyaki always seemed so focused on stopping people from violating any of them, so I’d think she would’ve been punished. Maybe she was just pretending to be asleep... Whatever the case, it was clear that she wasn’t taking in what anyone was saying.

“Y’sure there’s nothin’ else we can do?” Rocky asked. “Can’t we organise a couple of people to act as sentries? I get that leaving it alone is the point, but I wouldn’t call it a sure-fire solution.”

“I’d agree, but...” Archie looked off for a second, then back at Rocky. “The problem is that we can’t really have two people out there consistently. Due to the rule that prevents sleeping outside of our rooms, it would require the person on night shift to stay awake the entire night, and a single moment spent asleep, even if on accident, would kill them.”

“Unfortunate... And can we not relocate the bag?” Molly inquired.

“I assume not, judging by the fact that it’s tied by rope.”

“But there isn’t anything saying we can’t cut it, is there?...”

Discussions about the crisps continued, gradually losing the point of our idea of ignoring it. I sighed, resigned to the situation.

The discussion kept involving more and more people, and the only two who weren’t speaking as much were me and Amber. She was looking anxiously at people as they talked, before looking at me instead. “... J-Jane...”

“Yes?” I asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Do you think we should hold the meetings in the garden now? I-I don’t like it when people start f-fighting...”

“What? They’re not fighting, it’s just a discussion-”

“B-but they look so serious!” She pleaded, clearly not enjoying this. “C-can’t we go somewhere more p-peaceful next time?...”

Though things really weren’t as flared up as Amber was suggesting, I did start to consider the idea of moving the meeting spot. The uninviting, pitch white cafeteria wasn’t exactly the best place for productive discussions. Really, the meetings could use that touch of nature and calm that the garden possessed in such large quantities. It could lead to a generally more cohesive environment than we already had. In fact, if I wanted to make things more friendly between everyone, I could... Yeah! That’s it!

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

“LET’S PARTY!” I proudly exclaimed, standing from my chair.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at me.

(SOUNDTRACK RESUMES)

“... I-I-I mean... U-um... I-I was th-thinking that we c-could, uh... If we... Had some sort of s-social gathering? Tonight? In the garden, where there’s fresh air. It could help boost the u-unity of the group... Y-yeah. Heheh... Heh... Do you think it’s a good idea?...”

“... I don’t understand.” Mary said. “Do these meetings not already help with this... ‘Unity’?”

“They do, b-but they’re kind of stuffy and serious a-and stuff. I think that we need a chance to try and calm down a bit, so we can think a bit more clearly. And... Look, I think everyone here could use a bit of a break, right?”

“I suppose.” Archie said, pausing to think. “Some sort of casual event would indeed contribute to a less tense atmosphere.”

“Does it have to be a ‘party’ though...?” Mia asked, barely awake. “Like, it sounds kinda loud and obnoxious...”

“And somewhat indulgent.”, Dan added.

“Look, uh...” I said, trying to make some sort of excuse. “Call it what you want. Point is, it’s just a way for all of us to relax for a night. You can even just sit in the corner, and take in the fresh air or s-something... Uh, does six o’clock sound like an alright time?”

There was another short round of awkward silence, before Charlotte said “I guess? So long as you’re not trying anything weird with this... I think I could use a break, yeah.” She sighed. “It gets tiring having to always wonder if someone’s trying to trick you...” The girl was silent for a moment, only to leer at me a couple moments later. “Don’t let that make you think I’m letting my guard down.”

“It’s okay, I’m, uh, I’m not trying to trick anyone...!”

“You seem anxious.” Molly pointed out, with a tone that sounded like a caring attitude wrapping up an inner arrogance.

“... Do I?” I tried to awkwardly chuckle, but nothing really came out.

“Just a bit.” She adjusted her posture for a moment, and stood. “If it helps, I’ll make the food and beverages for the event.”

“... Will that be includin’ cactus juice?” Rocky asked, with an expression of genuine interest.

“... If that will make you attend? S-surely, then.” Molly sounded a little disgusted at the idea, but forced a smile despite.

Slowly, the rest of us warmed up to the idea of the gathering. Pretty much all of us agreed to come, aside from Mary, who found the idea pointless, and Mia, who... Well, she just wanted to lie around in her room, I guess.

[5]

After the meeting, I retired to my dorm, and started pacing around, because, to be perfectly honest, I had no idea how the actual event was going to work. Was it going to be like, properly organised? Were we just going to talk or something? This entire thing was just stressing me out, which, come to think of it, was extremely ironic if it was meant to be helping us relax.

If anything, I just wished someone else had come up with the idea for me.

... But Molly was handling everything, right? She’d make sure things go fine.

Without me.

God, I felt beyond useless.

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

There was a knock at my door. Not a knock-knock, just a single knock. I opened it, and, revealed there was Lucy. Seeing her so suddenly kind of made me freeze up. She was looking at me, with a smile, and without word, slowly waved.

I tried to wave back. “H-hi there! Hi, L-Lucy.”

“Hello.”

We were silent for a moment, looking at each other.

“Your face is going red again, Jane.”

“N-nope. It’s not.”

[6]

She giggled. “I’d almost be a little worried for your health. Anyways... I just thought I’d drop by and chat for a bit.”

“Sure! C-come in!...” I said, despite not moving out of the way for her, since I was still a little frozen.

“... After you?~”

“Y-yeah, after me.”

There wasn’t much in the way of seats in each dorm room, so we just sat on the side of the bed with a couple glasses of water near the bedside lamp.

I didn’t try to drink my water, since I was starting to get jittery whenever I was around Lucy. Couldn’t help it, it wasn’t a conscious decision in the slightest to even be around her at the moment. I was a little stressed already, and whenever she was near me, I just got kind of dizzy. Hard to get your mind off her.

I was looking down at my legs, as if hesitant to look her straight in the eyes... But inevitably I did. Looking at those ever-so mesmerising orbs made me feel utmost calm and complete panic at the same time. Every time we had met they seemed more and more complicated, at least to me. And her smile... She was almost always smiling, at least a little. And, well, she was staring back.

“Hmm...” She put a couple fingers to her chin. “Maybe you really are getting a bit sick.”

“I-I know wh-what you’re saying, a-and I don’t look red. You must be seeing things, L-Lucy.”

“I see all.”

“A-all of what?”

“A lot of things other people don’t. Or maybe they just like to play tricks on me...”

“U-um...” I paused to process whatever she just said. “You mean that you notice small details that go over most people’s heads?”

“Oh, no no no. It’s usually highly visible. Like the wallpaper.” She pointed behind me. “It’s melting away.”

I turned behind me, and saw the wallpaper completely motionless as it always was. “That’s... Melting?...”

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t be aware of it. Some things just seem to come to me better.”

“B-but it just isn’t happening.” I turned back to Lucy. “Are you sure you aren’t seeing things? The wallpaper isn’t moving at all.”

“If that wallpaper isn’t moving... Then your cheeks mustn’t be so fiery, mustn’t they?” She smirked.

I winced, adjusted my posture, and probably started to come across as defensive as I spoke. “For the last time, they’re not!”

“Really? Hmm...” She closed her eyes, as if draping her cape across them to obscure them from view. There was something oddly angelic about it. “That reminds me.” She opened her eyes, and gained a smirk with a very slight cheekiness to it. “About the party, I wanted to ask something.”

“Ah, well...” Descending back to calmness, I let myself loosen up again. “If you have any questions about organisation, Molly is probably the better person to ask.”

“Mmm, nope. Not about that. Just something to ask you.” The smirk grew a little, and I felt somewhat anxious. “When we go there tonight...”

“Mhm?”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

“Would you like it if we went... As dates?~”

“Sure, whatever- w-wait.” My surroundings zoned out for a second. “... Dates...” A simultaneous feeling of extreme stimulation and numbness, before I tried to think of some sort of response. “... Oh, you mean like, date fruits? Like a costume party or something? We’d dress up as... Date fruits?”

She just chuckled softly. “Try again.”

“W-well, I thought that sounded a little absurd too, haha. But like... When you say ‘date’... I mean, you don’t mean... A ‘DATE’... R-right?”

“A ‘date’?~”

“Like... G-going out on a date.” I smiled with an awkward false confidence. “Right?”

“Yes.”

“... So you mean...”

“A ‘date’.”

“... O-okay, to clear up one final time, j-just confirm this for me.” I took a deep breath. “You, Lucy Rotkappen... Want to go out with me, on a... Date.”

“Bingo!~”

“Right. Okay.” I took one more breath, and then promptly lost all control.

[7]

The prospect of this was just completely overwhelming at the time, and I know it seems dumb, but... I guess it was kind of dumb. I was just stuttering like a mess, my brain not functioning in the slightest. I wasn’t even saying anything intelligible, just jumbly sounds that didn’t get anything across whatsoever.

Lucy observed my discombobulated state with concern. “Do you require time to consider it?”

I tried my best to respond, and failed completely.

“Mm, I see. Maybe you won’t be able to visit the gathering tonight, then.” She unbuckled one of the vials attached to the upper belt around her coat, and handed it to me. The fluid inside was a vibrant navy. “This should help you quell your overstimulation. It works fine and quick, it’s a remarkable potion.”

I didn’t really understand what she even meant due to being all worked up, but, now that I had something simple to focus on, I opened the vial and downed the liquid immediately. The very moment I had finished, I felt a smooth soothing wave across the entirety of my body. If I wasn’t aware of my surroundings before, I was now even less so, as I felt like a sponge floating in an empty space. Within a few more minutes, I had drifted into complete unconsciousness.

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

... The world began to manifest around me once again. I was in the same room, tucked in to bed like I would be any other morning.

I actually didn’t know whether or not it was morning. I hadn’t heard the announcement. It was just an assumption.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked about the room. No sign of Lucy. Just me. Glancing to the side of my bed, I was about to put my beret on, only to see that it wasn’t there. Turning about and gazing around the room in general, it wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

I suppose it wasn’t the biggest problem in the world, it’s just that I felt a little exposed without it.

Maybe it’s a bit weird to be wearing a hat all the time.

[8]

But I forgot about the hat when the memories of yesterday kicked in again... Although, for everything I remembered, there was just more I didn’t know. The drink Lucy gave me, whether the party even happened, everyone’s general status... Hell, this might not even be my room, since all our dorms look the same from what I remember.

As I was combing my hair, I heard a another single knock on the door. Answering it, I was somewhat unsurprised to see Lucy there. I hadn’t fully woken up yet, so I couldn’t think of much to say, nor could I muster the mental energy to ask any of the questions on my mind.

“Good morning, Jane.”

“Hi...” I yawned.

“Did you have a nice rest?” She was smiling ever so slightly, as if she already knew the answer.

“I... I think so?”

“Mm, of course. 16 straight hours of sleep, undisturbed.”

I figured she was talking about the potion, and nodded along, only to then realise just how drastic that statistic was. “W-was I really out that long? Lucy, what... What time is it?”

“Well, whatever time you went to bed at plus sixteen.” She stared at me for a moment, as if waiting for a response. “... Eight A.M.”

“Eight... Eight A.M... Uhuh...” I rubbed my eyes, trying to properly snap myself out of my lingering slumber. “... I guess we should go have breakfast? I assume there’s going to be a meeting, as usual.”

“Sounds like a plan, sugar.”

“... S-sugar?”

[9]

Arriving at the cafeteria, nobody was there. I could make some fancy metaphor or simile to describe its emptiness, but it was simple as that. Me and Lucy sat for a while and nothing happened. Nobody came.

“They must have truly knocked themselves out, Jane... Maybe they’re too tired for a meeting.”

“You say that as if you hadn’t gone to the party...”

“Well, I didn’t.” She leaned her head and looked off at nowhere as she so often did. “I was really looking forward to going with you, so when you started getting oh so stuttery and panicked, I figured that it would be too much for you...”

“It, uh...” I cleared my throat, probably already starting to blush again. “It probably would have been... A b-bit much...”

“... Would it still be a bit much?~”

With the prospect brought up once again, I felt myself seize up again like before, and tried my best to change the topic in order to retain control over myself. “N-now’s not the time for that, uh, I’m kinda worried about everyone else. Sh-should we just... Check on them? Or just investigate the general garden area to make sure nothing fishy was going on there.”

“Mm, I concur.”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

The garden was a mess. Even more of a mess than anticipated. Everyone was lying there. Like, everyone. They didn’t look to be dead, but everyone who had attended the party, excluding Dan, was lying there. Honestly, that was just five of us (Archie, Molly, Rocky, Charlotte, and Amber), but it was still... Somewhat surprising. They were just lying there, like they’d been knocked out.

They all seemed to be breathing when the two of us listened closer, which was certainly a relief, but the concern properly reared itself when we looked to the back of the room.

[10]

The bag of crisps, torn from its rope, eyes removed, empty, crumbs surrounding it. It hadn’t been torn apart, rather, the top of it had been cleanly separated, as if by use of scissors. It sat there, deflated and devoid of life.

[11]

“Attention! A... ‘Body’... Has been discovered! After a short time allotted for investigation, a class trial will be held to determine the culprit!”

Continued in Chapter 3 - Deadly Life