This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. Hiroshi felt the world spinning around him as Monokuma’s words processed through his mind. He had killed Mamoru Nomura? Impossible, that was completely and utterly impossible. How could he have known? Was Nomura even alive? He certainly had said ‘for now’ within the game. But he still couldn’t believe that the game master had survived his earlier brush with death. All that felt too real to have been fake.
But then again, what he knew to be fake had felt so real. Within the virtual reality simulation, it had felt real even though he knew it was a game. What if they had been in a virtual reality since the beginning? As unbelievable as it might sound, he’d rather believe that than the insanity he’d had to endure for so long.
But now, Monokuma had said he’d killed Nomura? Was Nomura the one that had been healing them? He had said he would be... No no, this just can’t...
Taking in a sharp breath as he clenched his fists in his pocket, kicking the wall in frustration, it took a lot to keep himself from screaming. He’d killed. And now he was going to get punished for it.
“Damn it... Why... Why now. When I finally thought we’d make it.”
Choking back a sob, he continued facing the wall as tears streamed down his face. He couldn’t bare to see the others like this. Frozen to the spot Hiroshi slummped down to rest against the wall, bringing his knees up against him, he slowly took out the note he had received so long ago from Takumi Akiyama. Hiroshi stared at that piece of paper, wrinkled and stained with tears, words smudged but still legible. “I’m sorry... I failed. I’m so sorry.”
Hiroshi blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. The scene before him remained the same as the body discovery announcement went off on the station's speakers. This couldn't be right. Haruo Minami? Shizuka Gozen? Dead? Impossible, that couldn't be the case. There had to be a mistake, she-- She had been a trained killer. She couldn't have gone down so easily... Blinking slowly as once again his surroundings blurred into the back of his mind, Hiroshi approached Haruo's body, coming to a stop in front of her as he looked the class president's body over. Cautiously, he reached a hand out and slowly waved his hands before her eyes.
No response.
Pausing for a moment, Hiroshi's glazed expression showed signs of strain as he bit his lip, this time reaching out to the piece of paper he saw clutched in her hands, along with a familiar looking sword. He attempted to hold down the sword with one hand as he had decided to pry the paper from Haruo's grip, but as soon as his hand touched Haruo's, Hiroshi flinched back, as if the black haired girl would spring up at any moment, sprightly as ever and threaten to kill him. But that of course wasn't going to happen ever again, and Hiroshi couldn't say that he didn't breathe a sigh of relief. But with Shizuka Gozen gone... So was Haruo Minami. Ever since the second murder trial and the reveal of the other girl's alter ego, he hadn't spoken much with the girl. To be honest, he'd always viewed her as irritating, like an overbearing mother... But in the end, he supposed it was just her doing her job... No. It was because she actually gave a damn about her classmates. He'd always known this... He couldn't say he ever hated her.
He'd always known the events of Shinya Zaizen's death... Hadn't been Haruo's fault. It had been Shizuka Gozen's. And though he couldn't say he'd gotten to be best friends with either Haruo or Shizuka Gozen. He could say that Haruo didn't deserve this.
Reaching over once more, this time unflinching, Hiroshi did his best to wrench the note away from Haruo's already stiffening grip. Holding it up, he inspected it closely, turning it around this way and that.
As soon as he heard the announcement over the station's intercom system, he knew it wasn't going to be good news. As he was already in the area, he waited as the others slowly filtered into the area with similar jaded expressions of wariness. Turning to regard the phones, pursing his lips, Hiroshi recalled how it'd only been recently that he'd attempted to use these phones, just as Monokuma had said. He'd slammed the receiver back into place in frustration because, surprise surprise, nothing had happened. However as soon as Monokuma had countered his original thought, the phone began to ring.
"Wh--"
His eyes widened as he stood, watching as the other phones in the area began ringing as well. What the hell was going on? Seeing the others picking up the phones, Hiroshi himself cautiously turned to the phone closest to him and with a tentative motion, picked up the phone. And what he heard...
His eyes widened even more as his breath hitched up in his chest. That voice... It was unmistakable, it was his younger sister's voice. Feeling his pulse rate go from a resting pace to one akin to if he was being chased, Hiroshi's grip tightened on the receiver as his other hand went up to catch a handful of his jacket.
"S-Stupid big brother... Help... Help help help. Help me, I'm scared... I can't find Mom, Dad, or Hiromichi-- I, I came home with Gakuto, and everything was a mess... Where are you? Answer your phone darn it!! Please come home... Please... I know you don't answer your phone a lot, but please please please!! This is important and I--"
She was crying. It wasn't the usual whining cry he'd heard over and over growing up with the bratty girl, this one truly concerned him. Had something happened? His parents though frequently unavailable due to work, they were always just a phone call away from a short and terse conversation for him. Feeling his blood run cold, Hiroshi swallowed, his breathing a bit shallow as he spoke.
"Musumi-- H-hey Musumi, calm down I-- I'm right here... Hey, Musumi?!"
No matter how much he yelled into the receiver, he soon came to realize that his sister couldn't hear him and soon after that realization sunk in, there was a clicking noise. And then, nothing. Muffled silence filled his ears once more.
The call had been disconnected.
Shakily putting the phone back into it's place, Hiroshi stood wide eyed as he thought over what had just happened. He'd never heard his sister in such a panicked state before. Taking in deep breaths as his mind raced. That... Couldn't have been real, could it? How could he know that wasn't just a recording? Even if it was a recording... He could tell the fear in her voice was real. It felt so real and raw that he couldn't deny that even if it had been just a recording, whatever had happened had been dire.
Gathering himself up, his hands jammed into his pocket as he turned his gaze to his other classmates. Had they all heard something similar? By the looks on their faces, he could tell it had all been personal. So... That bear had tailored each and every call to every single one of them?
"Tch..."
Once again, that bear had them playing right into it's paws... Biting his lip in utter frustration, he stood there lost in his own thoughts as he watched the others. Knowing the pattern of things... They'd soon have another corpse on their hands.
Hiroshi's eyes blinked open. One slow blink after the other, he stared up at the ceiling as he turned his head to the side, slowly closing his eyes as he let out a long sigh, the sound of his body turning against the cotton fabric of his bed filling the empty silence of the room. Bringing a neatly folded sheet of paper up to his face, Hiroshi paused before biting his lip as he clutched it.
"Akiyama-kun. Akiyama-kun I'm sorry. I failed... I failed. I thought that this time things might be different. But what was I expecting. It's no use. You keep telling me that I should just head for the goal... But... I, I don't..."
A pause.
Silence once again filled the room as Hiroshi slowly sat up from his bed. "... Not gonna help me this time, Akiyama-kun? Ahah, I'm a lost cause I guess. I always was. Why did I even try to trick myself into thinking I even had any talent at all... After all, wasn't I just planing on faking it to make it at Hope's Peak?" Shaking his head, it really was all useless, right? Even if he got out, so what? He was still a nobody who couldn't even do anything to stop his friends from killing each other.
-Ping-
"Huh?" A small breath left Hiroshi as the noise from his pocket caught him off guard. Ah, that's right. Just like after any class trial they had in the past, it looked that new areas were unlocked. Perhaps by Nyanburu... That cat thing. Where had it gone...? It didn't matter. Just like them, it was powerless against Monokuma. It and Mamoru. They were both useless. If he hadn't been able to stop his friends from killing one another, why didn't those so called game masters do anything about it?
Reaching into his pocket Hiroshi guessed he could at least check out these new areas for a potential escape route. Looking through his transit pass, clicking on the maps section, Hiroshi's eyes widened as he saw the new area they'd gained access to.
"... Gold and Electrum station. A mall?"
He'd remembered in the past he'd frequented such underground malls that connected to department stores back where he used to live. He couldn't say he was fond of them, but they were quite the places to kill time after school. Looking at the map, he recalled back to what Alter Buddy had shown him. A map of the entire metro system they were stuck in. Most of the area's shapes resembled those of all the stations that had been opened up so far. So if logic served him correctly...
"One area left... Two to be exact, though I don't know how we'd go to that last station... Or if it even is a station. But, I wonder... How many of us have to die before we get there. There's hope in that an escape lies down the path we're treading. But to have such hopes... Is inviting an even greater despair."
Leaving his room, his door closing behind him with an audible thud and click, Hiroshi headed over on the train towards Gold Station, not even bothering to count the minutes that flew past him till he arrived at his destination. Stepping into the area, he was suddenly jolted to attention by the sound of a loud explosion. Barely having time to even think, Hiroshi bolted towards the direction of the sound, practically skidding to a halt in Electrum Station, his heart nearly stopping as he took in the scene.
"No..."
He watched in horror as he glared daggers at Monokuma. Just what the hell had happened?! Hiroshi gritted his teeth, standing by helplessly as Naomi was carted off by... Even more Monokumas. It was as if there wasn't anything this bear was capable of. Glancing about at Suzuka and Haruo, Hiroshi looked away before walking back towards Gold Station with his hands in his pockets.
Not even bothering to look at any of the stores lining the length of the underground mall, Hiroshi cast his eyes downward as he simply walked till he arrived at the end of the hallway. Looking about, his jaded gaze stopped for a moment on the trash bins at one end before he quickly whipped it away, grimacing at the memory of a death he'd wished hadn't had to happen.
Going down the other way, he was met with another phone booth. It stood there at the end of the hall as if mocking him, just like the ones he'd tried to use in Central Station. There was no way it'd be functioning, right? Before he could really stop himself, Hiroshi continued down that way till he stood in front of the phone. Reaching out, he put the receiver to his ear. Scrutinizing the machine, he paused before pressing the 'call' button.
"Hello?"
... Heh, as if there was anyone to answer him at all.
Tsubasa Mariya... Dead? No no, that can't be it. He can't be dead, not after that promise... That, promise. He'd promised to protect him. What had happened? Ignoring the pinging noise that came from his transit pass as whatever it was updated on it's systems, Hiroshi stared down at Tsubasa in his arms. With a shaky hand, he reached into his pocket and took out a napkin, gently wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth and dabbing the tears away from his closed eyes before letting the napkin fall limply to his side as he knelt on the floor, still holding Tsubasa.
"... Hey. Mariya-kun. What do you mean...? Tigers and water. Didn't I say... I'm not a tiger? ... Hey, Mariya-kun. I--"
"Ngh--"
He was sorry. he was so so sorry. Yet another promise broken. One said too soon and without enough thought. But how could he have known? How could he have known this would happen? He couldn't have helped it. He couldn't. Then why, why was he so frustrated with himself again?
"Hey, Mariya-kun? Your words. What do they mean? Change? Even our names? Wha... What? I don't get it. Not one bit of it. Could you please tell me again?"
Pausing as his tears continued to fall. Hiroshi reached for another napkin in his pocket as he noticed some of his tears had fallen on Tsubasa's face. Wiping them away, he continued. "Oh, sorry. Sorry about that... So... Something about the water, huh? Did something happen to the water, Mariya-kun? I guess we should tell the others, huh?"
Pausing, frowning as he felt the warmth beginning to fade from the chocolatier's body. "No no, don't go yet. We still have a lot to do... Please. Stay with us... It's unfair. It's so unfair. I--"
Letting out a soul shaking sigh, Hiroshi felt as if his whole entire body was about to collapse into a heap of nothingness. He felt so tired. Just, so so tired. He'd failed once again. Failed after he'd tried, over and over again. Why? Why did this keep happening?
"I'm... So tired... I don't want to do this anymore."
“Well yah don’t have to if you don’t want to”
He paused as a familar voice filled his thoughts, his eyes shut tightly as he struggled with each breath. “What do you mean, Akiyama-kun? Everyone… I… We’re all going to die if we don’t… A-- … Oh what’s the point. I can’t.”
“Yah didn’t let me finish- The choice is yours bro. You can give up and let this killer get the better of yah. Or yah can fight for your friends… And your life.”
“My… Life. As if that’s even worth it. These friends are the ones that keep killing each other. Are they even my friends? All they keep telling me is, you’re the one that’ll get us out, you’re this, you’re that, you need to do this for us Koda-kun, hey Koda-kun can you-- NO. I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS. WHY CAN’T THEY JUST-- … Well. They did. They left me here alone with Mariya-kun right? Mariya-kun… He… He’s dead. And one of us…” His voice rose and fell, his emotions loud, almost deafening that he couldn't hear Takumi's next words.
“...Is the killer yeah. But you never gave up when you searched for Tsuzarahara-san’s killer and yah didn’t give up when yah found Zaizen-kun’s killer too - even if it was me. Yah gotta power through this; the Hiroshi Koda I know doesn’t give up.”
“... Was that even the real Hiroshi Koda? I… Keep trying to live up to my title, to be a good samaritan. I’m… Not a good samaritan. I’m not even a good person. I’m just a good for nothing no matter how hard I try. I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t protect Mariya-kun and I even broke that promise to you. I let another person die. I’m sorry… I’m--”
“Snap outta it Hiroshi-chan. What I said was a death wish, but this is the real deal. Someone killed Mariya-kun. The game continues and just like Hockey; nobody leaves the Ice ‘till we beat the opposite team. Beat the person behind this - Every killer in this game is just a goon on the other team. Take ‘em down and head for the goal.”
"Head for the... Goal."
Nodding to himself, he slowly lowered Tsubasa's body to the ground, looking the boy over thoroughly as he slowly got up to his feet. That's right. Beat the opposite team. Eyes on the prize. Situations change and he had to adapt to them lest he wanted to die himself. The goal, freedom. And he had to make it. He had to, if not for himself, for those that couldn't make it. He had to keep living so their memories wouldn't die. It wasn't a matter of if he could or couldn't anymore. He had to.
Turning around as he heard approaching footsteps, he dried his eyes before looking them straight on, unwavering once more.
"... How are things looking, did you go to Amalgam Station? How's everyone holding up there?"
Tch. Of all times for this to happen, it had to have been when he'd stepped out to investigate the new areas he'd neglected to do so earlier. Just his fucking luck. Gritting his teeth in anger, he glared at the now blank TV screen. This all just had to be so convenient, huh. By the way Monokuma had spoke, he could assume that everyone in the station was either in Mercury Station or Amalgam Station. After all, how effective would this motive even be if it didn't affect everyone.
Gripping the note from Takumi as well as Alter Buddy's console in his pocket, Hiroshi was glad at least that before setting out he'd changed back into his usual attire, that being the warmest in his possession. At least for now he could possibly outlast a few people in Mercury Station depending on who would be here. But still... How long would it be before they all either succumbed to hypothermia or overheated? This was bad... This was really bad. It wasn't a matter of if, but a matter of when someone would kill.
Fuck that bear and whoever it was behind it. Once he found out who was the one behind their confinement, he'd fucking kill them. But first thing's first... If he was going to survive this, he might as well use his energy earlier on and do the most he could before the cold got to him. And for that to be effective... He had to get something to eat. He hadn't eaten in ages.
Stepping out and around the burger stand, Hiroshi entered the employee area, looking around for the supplies to make himself his own burger. Onions, lettuce, hold the tomatoes and pickles, two meat patties, and the buns. After finding the necessary materials, Hiroshi turned on the stove, grabbing a frying pan and spatula and a bit of oil and salt before he began with the cut onions first, pouring in a bit of the vegetable oil and grilling them to a nice golden tint before adding the patties with a few pinches of salt. Taking a plate, laying out the buns as he put the now cooked patties on the bottom with the fresh lettuce and onions on top. Putting the top bun to finish it, resulting in a pretty burger looking burger. He was no chef, but at least he knew how to make things the way he liked them.
Turning off the stove, Hiroshi picked up the burger, taking a large bite. Mm... Not bad at all. Closing his eyes and smiling to himself as he focused his attention on the flavor of the burger for a moment, tuning out his surroundings. His current circumstance. The fact that they might all die once again. And just let the savory flavor of the burger--
... Well looks like that didn't last for long. Letting out a sigh as he saw someone else enter the stand, Hiroshi rolled his eyes as he took another bite of the burger before swallowing and called out to them.
"Welcome to the Mercury Station Burger Stand. How may I take your order."
His voice was monotone as he stared down his other classmate, completely straight faced before taking another bite of his burger. A little humor never killed anyone, right?
