Seas to Infinity

Welcome to S.S. Ikuta! Be mindful of the railings.

[melancholic-seas]

[melancholic-seas]

MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNINGS

Remember every trigger for every Seas death? Here they are again

Beheading, nooses, vague suicide implications, neck trauma, mild trypophobia, needles, depictions of uncleanliness, finger trauma, drowning

But here, for your viewing pleasure

[melancholic-seas]

Residual Blue

The redhead’s eyes, or, uh… Eye? His eye scans over all of you blankly. With his utterly unenthusiastic expression, he doesn’t seem all that excited to be here. Though, he does shoot a small smile Kayo's way, which she readily returns, before he addresses you survivors. “In any case, yes. Welcome, all of you. I’m Ren Araki, and this here,” he gestures to the man beside him, “Is…” There’s a pause for a moment as he glances to the man in question, who still seemed just about as lost as ever. “Well, just call him Sekitan for now, I guess.”

“Perhaps you should ask Daisuke what he’d prefer to be called.” Riku prompts gently, lifting a hand in Seki’s direction until they can pat his shoulder in a slightly clumsy manner.

“Fair enough.” Ren shrugs. He looks over to Seki expectantly.

Oh shit, that was his cue wasn’t it?! This is bad, he didn’t recall having received any lines or anything resembling a script at all. What should he do…? Wing it? Yes, just wing it.

He tucked his feet in, puffed up his chest and raised his head and projected his voice to the other end of the world.

“Hello!! My name is Daisuke Maiko but you can call me Seki!! Or Sekitan!! Anything is alrighty in my tighties!!” He then did a most gracious, extremely over the top bow, probably not even registering the oddity of his words or actions. Riku has notably started grinning again.

[melancholic-seas]

Souvenier

It’s another hour before the car pulls up into the driveway. “Alright, kiddos. Ya can take off yer blindfolds now. We’re here.” Kayo fidgets. She opens her door well before you have the chance to remove your blindfold. As you climb out, you notice three other figures standing in front of a small rural safehouse.

Although they obviously couldn't see the car pulling up, as evident from their clouded eyes and the way their face is turned slightly away, Riku could definitely hear it. Cars tend to be noisy. They give a wave in more or less the correct direction as they hear the doors open and Kayo speak.

"Hey, congratulations on not dying. The bad news is there's no commemorative t-shirts, the good news is there's therapy." Riku's characteristic shark smile flashes across their face, gone quickly but there long enough to show their mouthful of sharp teeth. "I'm Riku Orikasa, also known as Riku Kondou. Possibly some of you have heard, but... well, we're three of the survivors of the previous game. And now the official greeting party, apparently. Ren, was there a script? I don't think there was a script."

Despite not being addressed, Seki flinched at Riku’s statement.

“S-Script…?” He whispered nervously to himself. He hoped nobody heard his moment of panic, but of course, his voluminous voice failed him. He un-discreetly turned to Riku and whispered rather loudly. “Hey… you’re joking right? I didn’t know there was a script, nobody told me.”

Ren sighs. “No, there wasn’t a script. These things are best left to freeform. After all, who knows just how unpredictable things could be during these rescues? Looking back on when we were the new arrivals, I’m glad there wasn’t a script for us. A certain straggler would’ve thrown it off completely.”

[melancholic-seas]

Return

Three figures stand on a driveway before a small safehouse. Briefed for the approaching hours, they stand vigilant for the upcoming arrivals. The sun has long since fallen, leaving them under the pale moonlight.

Ren stands with his arms crossed, leaning against the outside wall of the safehouse. He stares up at the moon watching over them all. A momentary silence had fallen upon them, and with a sigh, Ren decides to break it. “You know… It’s been some time since we’ve been able to gather like this. Usually, we’re stuck just doing our own thing.” A soft, sad laugh escapes his lips. “I wish we were able to live and laugh together more… happily, but even just being able to meet like this on rare occasions? These rare moments? They help keep me going.”

He lowers his head, and closes his eyes. “So… Yeah… Don’t get used to me being this sappy, though. I’m a hero, after all. I have to give my affection to all of the other citizens.” A faint smirk creeps onto his face as he shook his head. “God, that was cringy. I’m sorry you had to deal with me like that back then."

Riku stirs slightly when Ren starts talking, though they make no attempt to interrupt. They do fidget with their sleeves a bit, debating whether or not to pull their cane out of their pocket just for something to do with their hands, but Seki's been a good guide so far and they know he likes to feel helpful.

"Ren, if we start apologizing for past behavior we'll be here all day." They respond at last, their lips twitching into a faint grin. "Anyway, we're about to have to deal with a lot worse. I've been paying attention to this game, and... well. You remember what it was like. It hasn't been any better for them." A very brief pause, "Although I am regretting getting out here so early. What are we supposed to do while we wait? Talk about the weather? Play twenty questions? On second thought maybe we should start the apologies back up after all."

Riku’s remark sparked a giggle from Seki’s lips. “Hey, a game doesn’t actually sound half bad. Like Ren said, it’s been awhile since we were all together!” He clapped his hands together and gave them a toothy smile. In truth, he had been feeling rather lonely as of late. It was indeed a rare occurrence for all of them to be together, so why not enjoy it while the moment lasted? “So… twenty questions? Oh oh can I go first?”

“I don’t know. What do you think, Riku?” Ren glances over to them. “... Or, wait. Would that count as a question?” He kicks himself off of the wall, and straightens himself up.

Riku lets out a faint huff that might have almost been a laugh. “Alright, that’s a fair point. Game it is… and yes, you can go first. So no Ren, it wouldn’t count. Let us know when you’re ready for the questions, Daisuke. You both know how to play, right?”

[melancholic-seas]

Paranoia

“I prepared an armored van, like you asked. It’ll be a squeeze, but it’s harder to notice. Most of the streets around here are fairly clear, with most sensible citizens remaining in their houses. You should have no issues getting to your… destination.” Keiichi sighs, his eyes glazed.

The elevator dings every five floors you crawl downwards, until you reach the parking garage level. The doors swing open, revealing a relatively empty garage. Not too many employees on duty at the moment, but no one openly questions it. Keiichi passes a key to Anon and bows. “Good luck. The world rides on your shoulders.”

Anon accepts the key with a grin. “Yeah. No pressure, right?” Without further adieu, he approaches the van, scanning it thoroughly before nodding to Kayo to bring the kids over. “Alrighty! So… while I understand it may be inconvenient, all of you will need to wear a blindfold. The location of the safehouse has to remain a secret, and until all of you have undergone a psych eval… I can’t risk that you may go off the deep end and reveal our location… Though to be fair, I probably won’t even give you its location then… Doc over there still doesn’t know.” Anon tosses a piece of cloth to Yoshi. “Hey, remember the bit about practicing medicine blindfolded… Now you can give it a go.” He quickly dispensed blindfolds to everyone. “Alright. In the car, blindfolds on. The sooner we’re home, the better.”

The car is oddly more cramped than the helicopter. It’s something akin to a clown car, really. This time, Anon drives and Naomi sits in Kayo’s lap, Yoshi sitting on the floor in front of the girls. All four adults take up the front seats, leaving the back to you to arrange as you wish.

It’s even quieter than before. No one moves outside of an occasional bump in the road. Though, you can’t see the cause with the fabric over your eyes. Kind of excessive, right? Maybe the Resistance was cautious, maybe they were paranoid.

It’s another hour before the car pulls up into the driveway. “Alright, kiddos. Ya can take off yer blindfolds now. We’re here.” Kayo fidgets. She opens her door well before you have the chance to remove your blindfold. As you climb out, you notice three other figures standing in front of a small rural safehouse.

[melancholic-seas]

Chula cried writing this post

A few additional hours of small chatter, if any at all, pass by. It feels like decades, almost, before the copter begins to descend again. The change in motion catches your eye, as you realize you are to land on the top of a large business building. A second glance makes it obvious that it’s an Ikuta Co. building. The helicopter safely (though slightly abruptly) parks on the landing pad.

“Wellp, kiddos. We’re here.” Kayo comments and gestures to the cement. Yoshi opens the doors and you all pile out. This time, Keiichi Ikuta is present, extending a hand to Kayo. Kayo shakes it, then the two pull into a brief hug. Tragedy brings humans closer together, does it not?

“One, two… three four five. That’s all of them.” Keiichi surveys the survivors, glancing for immediate injury. “Everyone made it… thank goodness. Did you have any trouble with snipers along the way?”

Anon responds. “Miki-san took care of the immediate threats. All in all the trip was fairly uneventful.”

Keiichi nods. “In the meantimes, I have a pilot inside ready to deliver the helicopter back home, potentially cause further distraction. She’s a brave woman and I’m grateful to have her on staff.” After seeing him for some minutes, you come to notice the dark bags under his eyes and the slight sags in his shoulders, compared to the relatively spritely man from before. Grief struck his face as he once again took a long look at you all.

“... Thank you, for taking care of my daughter while she was with you. It means the world to me. Even if she ended… below happiness, she still had some fond memories of you to take with her. Sincerely, thank you.” He feels a prickle in his nose as he begins to tear up.

He then whispers something quietly to Kayo, who makes a face of disbelief and follows it up with a curt shrug. “Whatever, old man. Not my decision.” Rude. Keiichi just weakly chuckles in response.

Keiichi clears his throat and turns around, motioning for you to follow him. He’s silent for a bit, gathering his bearings, as he takes you to a large elevator. It slides open, filling the group of 10 fairly well, with enough space in between. The descent begins.

[melancholic-seas]

Roster Reveal

Once Anon is comfortably (or maybe not so comfortably) on Kayo’s lap again, the helicopter once again takes to the skies, the sounds of the propeller disorienting you after the momentary silence. You had been on the move for multiple hours and hadn’t even hit Japan yet. With how far out the island seems to be, it’s no wonder you weren’t found.

“I guess I should tell ya more about the Resistance, huh?” Kayo sighs and adjusts her legs under Anon. The sitting down in a moving vehicle for a long time jitters will do that. “Guess I should summarize rather than go into depth with everything, yeah?” She sighs softly and runs a hand through her hair, ruffling it around. Maybe her messy hair isn’t exactly a bedhead?

“Well. In short: We’re tryin’ to take down the big heads of despair down as fast and efficiently as possible. No civilian deaths, just boss deaths. We’ve succeeded in a lotta that but we still got some ways left to go. The goal was without the instigators, riots would die down and we could focus on rebuilding. A certain fuckin’ Tomo-kun decided to stir up the civilians more and our minimal deaths tactics has burned to the ground.

“We’re still tryin’ to be covert mostly, but we have a large amount of us dedicated to calming down riots and getting people to shove off the war in general. We’re doin’ the best we can. I’m in charge of information and infiltration mostly. Oni-kun here…” She squeezes Anon’s side again, prompting a small grin on his face. “He’s digital hacking and general tech shit. Naoms helps me with infiltration and gathers supplies. And Yoshi here is a medic; he’s pretty busy most of the time. Arguably has the heaviest job right now.”

“Whole bunch of us. It’d take to long to list everybody, but right now, ya guys are gonna be under the protection of the covert unit. We’re takin’ ya to a safehouse where ya guys will be under watch til yer stable, and kept outta fire. If any of ya got sniped it’d raise hell. Yer gonna see a lotta me, so I hope ya don’t get sick of me.” She lets out a soft chuckle and glances around to her crew. A small attempt to lighten the mood, even if that was a futile thing to attempt.

Anon turns and flashes Kayo a grin. “Trust me… You will. But that’s why we have doc on board.” He jabs a thumb in Yoshi’s direction. “He could take care of you blindfolded.” A wry grin spread across the man’s face. “In fact…”

Kayo snorts and jabs her index finger into Anon’s back.

[melancholic-seas]

Little Port

Anon nods in his direction. “We will be landing on one of Wako Co’s vessels in a few minutes to refuel. I’d like you to remain in here during the process. You’ll have more freedoms once we’re to the safehouse, but until then…”

You have some free time to talk amongst yourselves and ask questions, most of which are promptly answered by Kayo, or directed to Anon if they’re more tech-related. Not long after, though, the helicopter descends and lands directly onto an aircraft carrier. A crew of deckhands are already standing by and begin toting over tank of fuel.

With the helicopter firmly on the ground, Anon stands from Kayo’s lap, moving to the door. “Stay here.” His eyes dance across the remaining students before landing on Kayo once more. “Keep an eye on them? I’ll make sure nothing fishy is going on out there.” Kayo nods in affirmation and sticks in her seat. It doesn’t take long for the rainbow-haired man to produce the tablet from his jacket pocket and begin scanning fuel canisters while speaking with the deckhands. As the rotors spin down, you can just make out the word “radioactive”? It seems he’s prepared for any possible avenue of attack, watching the workers carefully, not even taking his eyes off them when a familiar boisterous voice booms over the deck. “Oni!” Watari Wako approaches the helicopter at a casual pace. He looks older than before, like he had aged far more than two years. He seems tired, it’s clear the war has taken its toll on him. “It’s a shame these are all that’s left… But you did your best. We did too… Hell, even Ikuta pitched in… Still…” Melancholy washed over his face for a brief moment. “We can escort you back to port… Surely having our firepower behind you wouldn’t hurt.” Anon’s ponytail bobs as he shakes his head. “Actually, it could. Our  goal is to get them somewhere safe without bringing unnecessary attention to ourselves… In fact, we already have an agent out as a decoy to tie up some of their resources. The smaller we can keep this, the better.” Watari seems doubtful. “Suit yerself… My experience though? Big guns tend to take care of despair a hell of a lot quicker than all yer sneaking around. But… Can’t say you don’t get results.”

Anon simply shrugs. “I stick with what I do best.”

[melancholic-seas]

Act 4

After the disgusting romantic display, it became pretty clear that there were now two married couples in this helicopter. Absolutely disgusting. No decency. It stings a little, how these two are seemingly happy during rough times. Kayo wraps her arms around Anon’s waist. (until Anon probably tells her to stop.)

“Well.” Kayo states, entirely unaffected by the tall man in her lap. Nice. “I should prep ya while we’re on the move. Ya found out a little bit about the riots in yer ship. That info wasn’t kept entirely up-to-date, despite that bastard knowing what was going on…” She pauses as the copter lifts up, the noise drowning out her words.

As their ears adjust, Kayo continues. “It’s not just at riots now. We’re basically in civil wars worldwide. Sides are blurred, and it’s hard to tell why people are even fightin’ anymore. Japan and Korea have it the worst, but it’s spread over Europe, particularly over places ya guys had connections to. Russia. Most places lil miss traveler visited.” The words sink in. So… things are more dangerous than before? Maybe it would’ve been safer to stay on the island.

“A stupid amount of money is being dropped on both sides. Hundreds of high-level corporations are in on it, Namely the Tomomi Empire… on our side we got Ikuta and Wako. Senchamoto is a wild card. Can’t tell what they’re gonna do. Right… Keiichi Ikuta and Watari Wako are alive and well. Tatsuo Tomomi made sure of that, gotta keep high profilers alive to keep the war going. Took awhile to get them to calm down long enough to help rather than hurt.

“Tatsuki Yanagi, though… She passed away about a year ago. Akiga Marusa took over but… Ah, I’ll brief ya on that at another time.

“The world’s population has been cut down a sizable number, to say in the least. We’re takin’ care of what we can. Protecting key figures, settling riot outbreaks, and taking care of the heads behind the operation. Get rid of them and the war’s easier to calm down.” She lets a long silence take place. She’s calm, but not relaxed. Every now and then, you notice her gaze dart to the water, scanning for something or other.

“Did ya want to add anything?” She gestures to Anon, Naomi, and Yoshi.

Her sister is the first to speak up, her voice almost unheard over the roar of the rotors. “The world is a pretty scary place right now, but you don’t have to worry. We will do everything in our power to protect you all. We were the team that rescued the survivors of the last tragedy as well, and all of them are still up and kicking… Most have even joined the resistance. Not that you’ll be pressured to do so… I just want you to know that we can keep you safe.

“You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

Yoshi tacks on to the conversation. “And before you’d even be given the opportunity, I will be giving each of you a full evaluation. Can’t have some seemingly minor injury getting infected or anything of the like. As for older injuries…” He glances to Yori and Chieko before returning his attention to piloting. “I’ll do what I can.”

[melancholic-seas]

Japes

Naomi does however pause when she comes to Takara. “Uh… Anon? I’m pretty sure I found something.” She says pointing comically towards the swords on the samurai’s hip. “Pretty sure these aren’t considered carry-on.”

Kayo turns around to get a look at what Naomi’s referring to, taking her eyes off the forest for a brief moment before returning to her watch. While she does snicker, she provides a sincere response. “Eh? They’re fine. She’s mature and can handle herself. Besides, family heirloom.”

Anon replies in confirmation without looking away from his screen. “Hiiragi-san’s fine Naoms. Besides… You wanna take them away from her?”

Naomi looks to Takara. “Well… You heard the boss… and I guess the weird guy had input too.” With that the luckster finished her checks, and began ushering students into the helicopter.

Kayo snickers again, flashing a wink at Anon. “We’re one seat short, ya good with me hangin’ on to the side of the copter? I can handle it fine.” She flexes, though she doesn’t roll up her sleeves so there’s only so much definition you can see beneath the sweater. “W-what? No!” A brief look of panic can be seen on Anon’s face. Apparently, he actually believes that Kayo could, and would attempt to do so. “That’d put you at the highest risk in case of snipers. I… Don’t? Please?”

To be fair, Kayo 100% would if she wasn’t fought over it. “Ya think I can’t take a couple of bullets, eh?” She laughs a bit. “Crowded enough as it is, it won’t be a problem, I promise.” She playfully grabs at his side.

“H-hey! Not in front of the kids… Wait… You’re going to make me sit in your lap again aren’t you?”

Kayo waggles her eyebrows and sidles on into the copter. She sinks into a seat, letting out a satisfied sigh, then pats her lap. “Wasn’t my original idea, not gonna lie, but thank ya fer the idea.”

“Wait. No no no. You… You’re walking towards the helicopter…Stop. You…” Anon’s shoulders droop as he accepts defeat. “Fine, but if I get a crick in my neck, it’s your fault… Stupid low ceiling.”

[melancholic-seas]

Sneak

Anon interrupts to speak with the older of the sisters. “Kayo, eyes on the treeline. Let’s make sure little bunny frou-frou doesn’t try to make us go boom boom. I need to check something.” With that, he pulls out a tablet, concentrating on whatever is displayed on the screen. “All readings are still normal for now…”

Kayo shakes her head and grimaces. “Ya saw her in the gardens, and ya saw her on the boat. Don’t think she’s a threat. It’s the fucking bear that’s the problem.” Nonetheless, she watches the surroundings closely, even checking out the floors for hidden panels of the nature.

Anon’s quick to offer an argument back. "And who's to say he didn't hide himself on some partition in her head? Give us a face to trust and turn it against us, yeah? I'm not even going to say HE'S a threat at this point, but he could be, and I'm not risking ANY of their lives, or yours on an assumption."

“I stand corrected. I’ll give ya that one. Dunno where he’d hide guns, but wouldn’t put it past ‘im.” Kayo grimaces.

The pilot’s voice fills the air again, originating once more from the radio. “I know you like taking all possible precautions, but we need to expedite our departure. Fuel is in limited supply.”

Anon holds a thumbs up towards the cockpit before opening a new application on his tablet. Judging by how he’s now pointing it at each student, scanning from head to toe. He stops at the pocket of the first student. “ElectroIDs. I need all of them. They communicate with something on the ship, meaning they can be used for tracking. They stay behind.” He looked to Naomi. “Start body checks while I’m finishing up. ”

The younger Mori wastes no time in doing so, starting with Chikako. With a quiet apology for infringing on personal space, and a smile on her face, she performs the checks startlingly quickly, and thoroughly. Those students who hadn’t yet produced their ElectroIDs found their pocket lighter as it somehow appeared in her hand.

[melancholic-seas]

Comfort

Naomi sighs, stepping forward. “Yeah, we’re in a hurry. Doesn’t mean we can’t take care of them.” The girl in the hoody moves first to Yori, checking him over a bit more closely than Anon’s ocular patdown. “Hey… I know you’re not alright. That’s okay… It’s okay that you hurt right now, but I have to know... Are you or any of the others physically hurt? We can help. We have the ex-SHSL Medic with us.”

Yori looks up at her for a moment. Even though only his eyes are visible with the mask on, they and his body language broadcast his mood right now. After a slightly too-long hesitation, he shakes his head. “No. Nothing recent.” His injuries from the island are still bothering him, and he’s sure that Chieko’s eye is at some stage of recovery, but it could wait, couldn’t it? “... Why weren’t you faster?” he asks quietly. “You could’ve saved her too, but you were too slow.”

Kayo frowns and shakes her leg. "I'm sorry... we tried. Satellite images said this island didn't exist, and all historical accounts of the place were never written. Anyone who worked on it is long-since dead, and we.. we tried. I'm sorry we couldn't stop this sooner." She grimaces, but looks Yori in the eye. "While she was on the ship, she didn't participate in any plannin'. Her hands were mostly clean. I thought ya'd like to know that."

He angles his face away at Kayo’s words, blinking rapidly. Yori doesn’t respond immediately, but then gives a small, slight nod. A stiff nod. “I know.” He hadn’t known, but he’d hoped, and the confirmation did settle that fear that had been clawing at his stomach. That fear was quickly replaced, though, by more despair and bitterness. “I know she was innocent. They murdered her.”

Kayo opens her mouth to reply, but instead just pats Yori’s shoulder.

[melancholic-seas]

Constant Pain

Thankfully, not long after the questions arose, Chieko, Kyohei, and Hanami make their way up. Both girls are pretty visibly recovering from a crying session. The woman kneels down and offers Hanami a low five. “Thank ya. I’ll get them back safe.”

Hanami nods and starts walking back into the forest, only to run straight back and offer Chieko’s leg a hug. “Thank you.” She whimpers. Chieko swiftly gives a hug back before letting Hanami go on her way. The moment’s brief, but she scurries at a higher speed into the woods.

“That’s everyone.” The red-eyed woman stands and takes a deep breath. “Yo, we’re a part of The Resistance. I’m Kayo Mori, this is my younger sister Naomi Mori, and this handsome man goes by Anon! And our pilot, who’s temporarily helpin’ us out, is Yoshi Nakano. Ya mighta heard of his sister, Ren Nakano. Famous artist.”

The radio on Anon’s belt crackles to life, the static reminding the survivors of Monokuma’s announcements. How long would it take for them to recover? For the small things like that not to put a pit in their stomach? The man in the pilot’s seat’s voice carried over the group. “Are any of them injured? Do I need to come out? If not, can we get things moving along? We only have so much fuel.”

Anon pulls up the radio, replying while his eyes dance across the kids before him. “Trust me, we’re in a hurry too. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner they’re not in danger, and the quicker we can get to holding hands and singing kumbaya. No major injuries. They should be fine until we arrive at the safe-house.”

[melancholic-seas]

Constant Sorrow

At some point, the front group lost the back group. The majority of the trip up was Chikako rambling to herself, making plans, talking about grenades, speaking to ghost Komaka. The other two? Nigh silent.

Chikako, Yori, and Takara arrive at the helicopter pad first. While the pilot still sits in the helicopter, the other three have unloaded and are ready to greet you all. The vulgar woman from before squints and counts.

“Where’s the married couple?” she comments and tugs at the top of her boots. She limbers herself up, her eyes focused on the forest behind them.

Yori flinches, pulling the daki a little closer and keeping his eyes focused on the ground.

“Coming.” Takara’s response is brief, and she instead poses a question of her own to the trio. “Since you have this helicopter with you...How are the rest of my family doing?” Her voice is not particularly urgent but laced with apprehension all the same.

The woman nods. “Havin’ a sappy moment? That’d be expected of those two. They’re good kids.” A glimmer of confidence sparks up in her face as she puts her hands on her hips in pride. “Yer talkin to the three best info gatherers there are!! We found ‘em pretty easily after we heard ya mention yer family would be willing to help. They’re… Better equipped fer handlin’ these kinds of disasters than a regular citizen. They’re alive. A few scrapes and maybe a bullet wound here and there, but they’re gonna be okay, I promise.”

The tension in the Samurai’s shoulders visibly dissipates, and she steps back to wait for the happy couple to catch up with no further enquiries. There’s something resembling both relief and uneasiness on her face at the thought of how much has changed in the years lost, but as far as good omens go, the rest of her family being alive and mostly uninjured is more than she could’ve hoped for.

Chikako ceases her rambling upon being in speaking distance to the apparent rescue team. She then just--launches into a mesh of different, nigh incoherent questions and phrases. “Please tell us this isn't it. Also, is there wifi on this heli? I could get in touch with some people who might be at the ready in hiding if the situation is that bad. Also--Tomo-San and Hanami-Chan are coming with us, right? If there's any sort of tracking function in them I'm sure I can remove it. Also, do we have our hands on the most current Koschei AI architecture? I'd like to get my hands on it sooner rather than later. And--” She pauses, quieting herself down as she notices the time and place may not be the best for her endless tirade of demands and curiosities. “I'll save more for later, tbh.”

“Slow down, jeeze.” The woman looks exasperated for a moment.

The man can’t help but chuckle at the tirade of questions. “There’s more of us, no, it’s being taken care of, no, no again, and… Cool.” He pauses briefly, realizing that he’s going to have to explain his answers else risk more questions. “Our main goal is to get you back to mainland safely, and get you to the safehouse we’ve prepared. That means no unnecessary transmissions, and no mascots.”

[melancholic-seas]

Feigned Strength

Hanami stops walking, looking to the group ahead. Confliction rises up into her thoughts. In the end, Chieko’s crying gets Hanami crying too. It’s hard, for Hanami to pretend to be strong and brave when she’s actually younger than the girl she’s supposed to support. She shakes her head and whines a bit.

“No… N-No, you did…. Better than I could have.” Hanami taps her head on Chieko’s leg. She sounds a loud snivvle before continuing. “It’s ok… I-I just… I think it might have been impossible to stop. You did your best…”

“Did I?” Chieko leans a little against both people on each side, letting go of Kyohei for the first time in a long while to kneel down and gently pick up Hanami into a cuddle. She buries her face into her shoulder. “I said horrible things. I blamed everyone after Sango-chan’s… I couldn’t protect Kotori-chan either. I failed to get through to Tsukada-san in the end… Sorrel… ended his own life so we could live and Oneiro-chan… I couldn’t convince Tomo-san… And Yori has now lost her. How is that my best? I wish I did more.”

Hanami wipes her eyes. “Chieko-sama… I’m a broken, jealous, possessive, selfish person. But I have MORALS. I’m not all bad, but I’m far from all good, right? Just because I want attention and want to keep Monokuma-sama for myself, I don’t want people to die! I’m human--- Or… was, I guess. But, you’re human too. You aren’t perfect but I think you’re great how you are.” She’s trying.

“Hanami-chan…” Chieko goes quiet, looking up slowly at her husband and then back to Hanami in her arms. Her lip quivers a little as she tightly hugs the other, and sobs softly. While Hanami’s attempts are sweet, Chieko can’t help but feel like she didn’t do enough.

Hanami squeezes Chieko tighter. “Let’s get you home, ok?” She pulls away and looks Chieko in the eyes for a soft moment, then takes Chieko’s hand and gently encourages her to continue.

[melancholic-seas]

Aside

As the other three move forward, Hanami lingers behind and squeezes Chieko’s hand. She looks to both Chieko and Kyohei, and offers a sad, soft smile. “You two made it out ok… I’m glad. I’m kind of jealous too, if I’m not lying, but… You both deserve to get home.” She coughs and stares at her feet as they waddle along. “You wanted to ask something?”

“I wanted to talk.” Chieko speaks quietly. Her hand holds onto Hanami, while her other clings to Kyohei. It’s a soft sentence but she glances at both of them until she focuses on the little rabbit. Hanami nods slowly, the slight tremble of worry evident.

There’s a moment of silence as they walk for a bit. The words take a moment to form in her mind, and Chieko even opens and closes her mouth a few times. She isn’t sure how to say this… How to apologise.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice cracks a little, but she doesn’t cry. “...”

“Wh-what?! N-No… I uh… What are you apologizing for?” Hanami looks up, a hint of panic leaking out through her speakers. She layers her other paw on top of Chieko’s hand in a small attempt at comfort. I the end, Hanami never was good at this kind of thing, which continues beyond even death. She nuzzles her way a little closer to Chieko without getting in the way of walking.

“... You asked me to help people. To do what I could. I… failed. We couldn’t even save Oneiro-chan… So many people died and I couldn’t do anything.” Chieko ducks her head, trying to hide the tears that are once again pouring out already. “I… never achieved what you asked of me and for that… I’m sorry.”