mm trial 9.1 | michiko | ain't no lie baby byeā«bye bye
Itās all adrenaline thatās keeping her going, her hands trembling with the exertion, still in pain from her wounds before. None of it matters if they get out alive, though. Nothing matters so long as the class doesnāt, for the love of anything, vote for Mikoāsā
The bearās voice declares the trial over as soon as sheās finished speaking. No one has time to react to her admission, no one changes their vote, no one has time to blink before itās considered uselessā¦ she had acted too late. Sheās reminded of overtimes where shes running back to step on the point, descending from her perch, only for the timer to run out milliseconds before she makes it.
ā¦And the ensuing āLOL nice try anaāās and the post-defeat death she inevitably suffers.
(Onlyā¦ itās a 3v4 for some reason and she still has to work together with her enemy team andā ok this metaphor is getting messy.)
(Maybe a guild really is a better comparison.)
Her arms fall, brushing against her sides. Wordlessly, she puts the jacket back on, responsibility weighing heavily on her shoulders. Sheād tried, but what does it matter if they still lose in the endā¦?
And although all of the stakes are digital, itās not like that hadnāt been Michikoās primary motivation before Hopeās Peak.
Wordlessly, she takes her sisters hand and squeezes it, despite that it hurts at the moment. She lets Tadashi go on his rant uninterrupted ā sheād be hoping for it, really, sheād complained enough with him in private ā and watches him, only moving to let him be closer to her sister and to steady him somewhat.
āDonāt strain yourself.ā
She smirks at a few of his lines, her eyes crinkling, but thereās no lasting effect there. Thisā¦ had been quite the defeat, after all. No amount of regrouping could salvage it.
And sheās fine, maybe, she thinks. Ā Sheās used to around-the-clock working, sleepless nights, confusing communication, strategy planning and number crunching. Ā Itās taken her until now to tell herself that itās all the same, because it isnāt, reallyā¦
Especially not with Miko shuddering next to her, breaking, and her own lip quivers when she sees it. Ā If she were in a better mood ā if they were crying at a commercial or a stupid WoW song parody, maybe ā sheād quip that they share minds and emotions and blah blah blah.
She pulls Miko close suddenly, patting her short hair protectively. Ā They canāt undo this ā she doesnāt have a battle rez in her kit ever ā butā¦ maybe they can stop it from becoming any worse. Ā Itās ok, she keeps telling herself, if everyoneās fine in the end.
(Sort of. Ā Maybe. Ā Why is everything so uncertainā¦?)
āItās as Miko says. We saw how Mr. Swanson was deleted ā absolutely deleted ā from existence. Heās gone. Dead. For good. If weād waited for a motive to be announcedā¦ someone else might have died like that, too. I mean that selfishly, though ā if Miko died? If Holly died? Iā¦ well, to me, it was better to do this. Make it confusing, like Miko said, but in the end wrap it around on us. That way, if we messed up this mastermind trial again, weād be safe from dying for real during the next potential motive, too ā you know, by fake-dying-via-execution. It was calculated, so sorry about that. Ā I mean that to you, too, Mr. Matsuo-kun.ā
She massages one of her hands, grimacing. She watches as her sister makes her own formal introduction, and then sighs herself, leaning on her somewhat for her own support, headbutting her cheek affectionately.
āAndā¦ if you know her work, you know mine. Iām also known as [BYE(star)BYE] ā thatās the kind of medic I am. Um, unlike her, though, please donāt feel obliged to call me that. Iāve truthfully worked hard to begin medical school after my secondary education butā¦ my work there obviously wasnāt enough to get me into this school for being a doctor. My, um, online work was apparently a lot more persuasive. Somehow. Iā¦ really didnāt mean it cruelly ā honest! ā it would just have been embarrassing to my familyā¦ theyāve worked so hard to make names for themselves, and if their only daughters were to go here for playing, um, video gamesā¦ thatād be on second rate tabloids for months, probably. I hope I can one day be worthy of the ā admittedly ambiguous ā title I was granted here.ā
She smiles but itās definitely pained, not spreading to her eyes. Ā She just wants to take Miko and go, but they canāt go anywhere until this awful trial is over.
āBut Mikoās right there, too ā we tried to make it random to make it impersonal. Truly wasnāt expecting to roll Ms. Kimotoā¦ and, um, if itās worth anything, Iām sincerely remorseful toward her.ā
She sighs, releasing some tension in her shoulders.
āI donāt intend to waste my breath or your time any further, soā¦ letās just agree that we all want to get out of here. We can all work together for that goal, right? If not for the people immediately around us, um, for the people who have exited the VR already and who are relying on us as well. Iām determined to make this our last trial ā for real! So I wonāt, um, intentionally do anything destructive again. I just want to get out of here and try to set my life straightā¦.ā
She smiles warmly at Miko at her comment, some sadness tugging at the corners of her eyes.
āOh, my dearā¦ youā¦! Ah, but her point stands, yes? Iā¦ canāt imagine intentionally being separated from herā and oh, yes, Mr. Fenn, thatās why.ā
She doesnāt say so unkindly, and instead presses her hands to her mouth, almost infectiously happy alongside Jamie. Sheās glad that Ai had sent that text in the end ā it wouldāve really made her feel bad to feign suspicion on him.
(But thereās a slight twinge ofā¦ somethingā¦ when Ryan refers to her sister so familiarlyā¦ fight it! Ā Fight it!)
āBut I hope you all can trust that sheās not guilty of this any longer. I donāt expect trust from, um, any of you really, but Iām sure that point goes without saying on our part. Besides, I believe many of us have a solid case for who our mastermind is. We can dive into that, or we can start by discussing what the real nature and intent of our VR prison has been. I amā¦ ok to discuss either.ā
She perks up at the book, however.
āThatās probably our best starting point, actually.ā
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