Kouki Yamasaki - SHSL Bass Guitarist

Kouki turned her head just in time to see a big splash rising up from the water. She stared blankly at Morgan, flailing around in the water, feeling a distinct urge to not help him. Damn idiot probably scared all the fish away. She watched him struggle for a while, before begrudgingly dragging herself to the edge of the water, spear still held firmly in her hand.

“Shit, how the hell did you manage that?” She said, irritably. She sighed, and shook her head, before reluctantly holding out her arm to help Morgan. “C’mon you klutz, get outta there.” She was starting to think she should’ve just let him squirm for a while longer.

The cold water was definitely a shock to their system, causing them to yelp at the impact. Once they finally stopped being a doofus, Morgan gladly took the hand offered to them and waddled out of the water.

“Haha, wow, what a mess I am huh….” They look down at their now soaked clothes, pulling the hoodie off their shoulders and wringing it out absentmindedly before answering Kouki’s question.

“Well. I haven’t really got used to stopping in these–” and they point down to their shoes/makeshift heelys with a sigh, “I’m gonna have to see if I can, Idk, fix ‘em before trying to ride them again…” Morgan pouts, before glancing to Kouki with a warm smile.

Kouki had come to the newly revamped save room to exchange a couple of hearts for, hopefully, something useful. Hopefully this time, it would involve less throwing stuff at people. She recalled the last time she’d been here, making her smirk a little. It as almost enough to forget that a quarter of them had been brutally killed, but panicking and getting all sad about it wasn’t going to do ass…

Trying to put that thought aside for a moment, she pulled one of the hearts she collected out of her pocket, and was about to lay it in front of the statue, before she heard someone come inside. Kouki turned her head and saw that it was Matthew. She didn’t even have time to react before he started rambling. “What? No, it’s all good, dude.” She said monotonously. Hey, at least he didn’t say sorry this time. Turning back to the statue, she lay the heart down before it. 

“So uh, you here to trade some hearts too?” She asked. She tried to sound casual, but she was trying to avoid talking about the ever increasing body count. For his sake, not hers. 

Matthew lowered his hand, and looked to the ground sheepishly. “Haha, um…” He rubs the back of his neck with one hand, and fiddles with his scarf using the other. “O-okay, sorry–” Matthew stopped himself with a sudden look up. “Or, I mean, um, thank you… For being o-okay with it…!” He puts up a bit of a cheesy smile on his face, and tries for a thumbs up, but he immediately goes back to hunching over and looking a bit dejected. 

She said it so monotone, he couldn’t help but to think that maybe she was just, like, faking it or something. Ugh, what an idiot! He shouldn’t have tried being better about his constant apologies, because now he probably just looked and seemed foolish.

Kouki nodded in understanding. If Matthew wanted to hang out, that was fine with her. She turned back to the heart she had offered up to the statue, and saw that it had been replaced with...

a flower in a terracotta pot.

@romantichydrocity

By now, Kouki had begun to settle into the new accommodation. At first the idea of living in a literal cave seemed like an affront to her dignity, but the new dorms turned out to be alright. And besides, the caves had started to grow on her after a while. There were lots of places to explore, and it was honestly kinda cool. Yeah, not nearly as aesthetic as the previous castles, but hey, you gotta make compromises sometimes. 

Morgan, as oblivious as ever, had rolled on towards the waterfall in their makeshift heelies and noticed! Kouki! Now, they hadn’t really gotten a chance to ever say hi or anything, but of course they knew of Kouki. A small bubble of excitement welled in their chest as, well, they admired her! They admired everyone here in terms of reputation, but Kouki was genuinely very cool.

“Hey ther- aAA!”

Splash.

@akuma-bass

Things were… upsetting, to say the least. Matthew definitely wasn’t having it, that was for sure. He just didn’t feel up to doing much of anything, really, other than wandering around the castle, periodically knocking on walls and avoiding monsters. Hey, mindlessly walking around is one thing; getting into fights was another.

Checking his phone, he decided to make for the save room. He didn’t have any hearts, not anymore, but… It’d probably be just as nice as the other save rooms, right? Just to hang out in.

Trying to put that thought aside for a moment, she pulled one of the hearts she collected out of her pocket, and was about to lay it in front of the statue, before she heard someone come inside. Kouki turned her head and saw that it was Matthew. She didn’t even have time to react before he started rambling. “What? No, it’s all good, dude.” She said monotonously. Hey, at least he didn’t say sorry this time. Turning back to the statue, she lay the heart down before it. 

Two Waiter Skeletons were defeated by Kouki in the 3rd floor ballroom

Yeah, no. Matthew was clearly not okay. But if faking his own okayness was the bet way for him to deal with this, fine. Better than being an incoherent mess, I guess. 

At first Kouki thought she’d respond like she always had. Just say “I’m fine.” and move on. She’d sort of… closed herself off from the others a bit since it happened, but she had a feeling she didn’t have to fear Matthew. There couldn’t be any danger in just being honest with him.

“Eurgh, I’ve just been feeling angry and frustrated and fucked up in the head all the goddamn time lately. Fucking Rikyou…” She was clearly getting worked up just talking about it. “Still stuck in this motherfucking castle and still no closer to finding a goddamn way out other than going along with this perverse murder game bullshit. Jesus Christ, when I get my hands on this Dracula dude, they’re going straight ‘round his neck.” 

Kouki was… giving off a bit of a threatening aura now. Maybe it would have been better to just say she was fine and leave it at that.

Angry and frustrated made sense. A lot of sense, Matthew thought. First, someone gets murdered, and it turns out the perpetrator was someone lying about their identity. Matthew would’ve been angry and frustrated, too, he thought, if he weren’t so busy feeling hurt, guilty, and distressed.

He awkwardly fiddled with the ends of his scarf as he listened to Kouki… vent? Was that the right word? She was talking about her negative feelings and stuff, so… yeah. Vent. The sounded right. Matthew wanted to vent, too, but he didn’t want to come off as even more annoying and whiny, especially not after he pretty firmly established himself as such pretty much every time he met with Kouki.

But, well, in any case, Matthew could relate to what Kouki was saying. Still stuck in the castle, and, yeah, that sucked. A Dracula dude, making all this happen, even worse. Matthew did want it all to just be over, but Kouki’s more… violent plans wasn’t anything he could quite relate to. The ideal would to just escape without any more deaths and no more altercations of any kind, but… Matthew couldn’t bring himself to hope for that. 

And, if Matthew was going to be honest with himself, he was definitely starting to get a bit intimidated by Kouki’s growing aggression. He understood where it was coming from, but… still.

“I-I’m sorry you’re, um, like, feeling that way..!” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, fighting back the fear that was about to begin welling up. “B-but, I mean, um, it’s understandable, I think…” Matthew looked down to the floor, still rubbing his neck. “Rikyou being… um… like that was…” He paused. “U-upsetting, for sure..! I-it was terrible… I-I felt like m-my heart was getting, like, r-ripped out, haha…” Oof. So much for not being even more of a whiny idiot. 

“A-and, um, yeah, haha… Murder game… Th-that’s a nicely fitting name..!” He placated, although, in truth, he wasn’t sure how he felt about the term himself. It was a bit too morbid of a reminder of the situation they were all facing. “A-and, um, I-I dunno if you should, like, try a-and attack whoever Dracula is, th-though. I-I don’t want you t-to get hurt…!” If any of them even get the chance to find Dracula before they all die, that is. 

The door opened aggressively enough to make Kouki flinch a bit. She stared at Matthew in mild bemusement for a moment. It was clear he had been crying, and even now he seemed to be struggling to keep it together. Poor guy. 

“Hey.” She said, greeting him with a half raised hand. for a moment, she wasn’t really sure how to start. She knew why she was there, but hell, she wasn’t a goddamn counselor. She wasn’t used to talking about feeling’s ‘n’ shit. 

“I uhh, just wanted to check how you’re doin’ after… after all that shit happened…”

Matthew just barely noticed the flinch from Kouki, and a pang of guilt hit him. Stupid. He shouldn’t have been so excited. And his eyes were still red and puffy and he must’ve looked like a mess and oh god this was embarrassing. Still, an overenthusiastic smile plastered his face, and he was almost looking forward to this conversation. He could really go for some comfort after… everything.

He briefly raised a hand in response to her wave, running almost completely on nerves. Although, to be honest, Matthew was pretty much always completely running on nerves. And, in a situation like this, that was more true than ever.

“R-right!” Matthew had assumed (hoped) that she was arriving to, well, talk about all that stuff that happened, and he felt relief at hearing the confirmation. “I-I mean, um, that is, thank you! Th-that’s nice of you. I mean. Um. Thank you.” He bowed slightly, and said nothing for a moment, before he realized something. “O-oh! I-I, um, right! P-please, c-come in!” He gestured Kouki into the room, just as another realization struck him. 

“A-and! I-I’m doing! Um, okay!” He lied. “R-really, totally fine! Things just really suck and two people just died and we’re still all trapped here and…” Matthew stopped himself and shook his head. “…b-but, yeah! I-I’m fine!” Despite his desires for comfort, it seemed as if his typical overly-polite, not-wanting-to-be-a-bother attitude took over. 

At first Kouki thought she’d respond like she always had. Just say “I’m fine.” and move on. She’d sort of... closed herself off from the others a bit since it happened, but she had a feeling she didn’t have to fear Matthew. There couldn’t be any danger in just being honest with him.

“Eurgh, I’ve just been feeling angry and frustrated and fucked up in the head all the goddamn time lately. Fucking Rikyou...” She was clearly getting worked up just talking about it. “Still stuck in this motherfucking castle and still no closer to finding a goddamn way out other than going along with this perverse murder game bullshit. Jesus Christ, when I get my hands on this Dracula dude, they’re going straight ‘round his neck.” 

Kouki made her way through the labyrinth of corridors which had formed around the dorms after the castle had rebuilt itself. She was certain the castle was just trying to be an asshole by this point. Something that inconvenienced everyone but wasn’t really a threat. Just a little extra insult to an already horrible situation. These were trying times for everyone. Natural to feel just a little bit upset when someone commits murder and is subsequently brutally executed. 

Kouki was especially worried for Matthew. Poor guy must be a wreck right now… This was a lot for anyone to digest, but he was already anxious as hell before people started, ya know, killing each other. Even Kouki herself was still… a little fucked up in the head after what happened.

Thanks to the map on her phone, Kouki eventually found the dorm Matthew said he was staying in. She wasn’t sure if he was even in, or if he was, whether he’d open the door or not. Kouki raised her hand to knock on the door, but hesitated for a moment. What good could she possibly do? She wasn’t a goddamn counselor. This could easily just end up being a waste of her time…

He knew he was probably just being a dumb crybaby, but… well, he wasn’t the type to bottle up his emotions. He was more the type to apologize for them. But, God, was Matthew ever annoying. Still sniffling and just sitting around being sad, instead of actually, y’know, doing something. 

Still, when he had gotten the titter message from Kouki, asking where he was, he decided not to move an inch, in case she was actually gonna come or something. Matthew’d never ask for someone to come over and comfort him (or, hopefully comfort him? he could really go for some comforting, to be honest), but if someone was offering, or even implying… well, he couldn’t possibly refuse.

“Hey.” She said, greeting him with a half raised hand. for a moment, she wasn’t really sure how to start. She knew why she was there, but hell, she wasn’t a goddamn counselor. She wasn’t used to talking about feeling’s ‘n’ shit. 

Visually, Kouki didn’t seem to react that much to the news. “Oh. Fucking, wow. That’s uhh…” Kouki was taking a moment to digest all this information. It didn’t help that she was still in a mild state of fatigue. “That’s not good.” Damn, I couldn’t have said it better myself, Kouki. 

As Kouki’s tired mind put the pieces of the puzzle together, she felt unease rising up within her. So, the ghosts knew everyone’s dirty little secrets now. Great. Fuck ghosts. Goddammit, what are they good for? She should’ve set the ones in the ballroom on fire when she had the chance. Her unease became anger, and she clenched her fists. She really wasn’t ok with the idea of these things getting inside her head. What did they know about her…?

So, the implications were clear. She didn’t want to believe someone would do it, but… she wasn’t too optimistic. She wasn’t used to assuming the best of people. Human beings often liked to think of themselves as above mere animals. But the reality was that we weren’t any better than them. We get scared, we lash out, and in fear, primal instinct can make people do less than honorable things. “…it might be a good idea to watch your back for now…”

She suddenly realized she had been a bit cruel. Matthew was, clearly, very upset about all of this, and she hadn’t done anything to help. She might have even made things worse with that last comment. “H-Hey, calm down.” She said, walking over to him and putting her hand on his shoulder. The poor guy was bawling, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. What could she possibly say that would help? She wanted, deep down, to say that everything was going to be alright, that nobody was going to be hurt. 

But that would be a blatant lie. Everything was not alright. She knew it. Someone. Someone, was going to react to this. It was just a question of who, and when…

“D-Don’t worry. I… I’ll make sure to watch your back for you…”

That, at least, wasn’t an outright lie.

Matthew nodded vehemently, in very energetic agreement with Kouki. It wasn’t good! It really wasn’t good. “Y-yeah…! I-I’m glad you think so, too..!! It’s… it’s awful…” He wiped his eyes and started whimpering. “This is awful…”

He was… pretty certain he knew what the ghosts would end up revealing about him, when they got around to it. It was better to think of it as ‘when’ and not ‘if,’ right? An ‘if’ would imply that someone must’ve died… And, for all anyone knows, it could end up being him. He was a pretty easy target, wasn’t he? Weak, meek, feeble, stupid, annoying, pathetic…

Watch his back… Yeah. He was a target, now, right? Ideally, nobody here would be willing to kill over a secret that only, like, 15 other people would be learning anyway, but…

Matthew shook his head and wiped at his tears once more. It’d be nice if, maybe, just maybe, the ghosts would just give up eventually, before anyone would die, but… Matthew didn’t want to waste time being optimistic. He didn’t want to get his hopes up for anything, especially not in this hellish castle.

Ah, right. He needed to calm down. Matthew had started when a hand touched his shoulder, but he took in a shuddering breath in obedience. He was just being a nuisance as he was! Crying and sniffling and being stupid… He held his breath to try and stop his hiccuping and sobs, but, uh, it was failing. “S-sorry, I-I’m just… S-sorry…!!” He grimaced, more than he already was as a result of his crying.

Then, Kouki went ahead and offered, or, more like outright stated she would watch his back. That was just placation, wasn’t it? To get him to worry less? Of course it was. It had to be. Still. He didn’t want to voice that thought aloud. And Kouki was still really cool and it was nice of her to even try and placate him in the first place. The best thing to do would be to reciprocate, right? 

The sudden change in the atmosphere of the castle was unsettling. Ever since Kaoru had that incident with the poltergeist, the whispering… oh god it never stops. Kouki knew she could probably block it out if she really tried, but it’s mere presence pissed her off far beyond rational levels. So yeah, most of that night involved being very not asleep and wanting to punch something but being way too tired to summon the willpower to do so.

Inevitably, Kouki awoke later than the others that day, and missed the most important thing already. In a haze of half consciousness, she heavily climbed out of bed, and picked up her flip phone, seeing the Titter post calling everyone to the library. She didn’t really know what was going on, but the whispering sure as hell wasn’t gone… “Eurgh, fucking Christ…” She muttered as she dragged herself out of the room.

By the time Kouki arrived, everyone else was already there, and Dominique seemed to be in the middle of something. She only heard the second half of what he had to say, but she got the implication that something was the fuck up. The atmosphere in the room was tense.

After all, even in the midst of all this, he could never not appreciate someone being so cool. Now that Matthew thought about it, maybe it was actually super cool of her to walk in late. Yeah, Matthew decided, it was cool. But, still, she would need to know what the hell was going on, right? 

Because, well, it was pretty important. Like, super important. If, by chance, Kouki’s secret got revealed, she’d probably at least want context. So, with an oddly aggressive trepidation, he approached Kouki, trying to subtly wipe away his tears with his scarf. 

It was no use. His eyes were still puffy and red, and even his cheeks were flushed. “U-um, K-Kouki,” he started, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself. “Y-you, you actually missed a lot. S-sorry.” He awkwardly choked on his own words, before wiping his mouth with his sleeve and continuing. “D-Dominique was, erm, explaining that…” 

He let out a sob. Maybe he shouldn’t have tried approaching anyone.

As Kouki’s tired mind put the pieces of the puzzle together, she felt unease rising up within her. So, the ghosts knew everyone’s dirty little secrets now. Great. Fuck ghosts. Goddammit, what are they good for? She should’ve set the ones in the ballroom on fire when she had the chance. Her unease became anger, and she clenched her fists. She really wasn’t ok with the idea of these things getting inside her head. What did they know about her...?

So, the implications were clear. She didn’t want to believe someone would do it, but... she wasn’t too optimistic. She wasn’t used to assuming the best of people. Human beings often liked to think of themselves as above mere animals. But the reality was that we weren’t any better than them. We get scared, we lash out, and in fear, primal instinct can make people do less than honorable things. “...it might be a good idea to watch your back for now...”

She suddenly realized she had been a bit cruel. Matthew was, clearly, very upset about all of this, and she hadn’t done anything to help. She might have even made things worse with that last comment. “H-Hey, calm down.” She said, walking over to him and putting her hand on his shoulder. The poor guy was bawling, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. What could she possibly say that would help? She wanted, deep down, to say that everything was going to be alright, that nobody was going to be hurt. 

But that would be a blatant lie. Everything was not alright. She knew it. Someone. Someone, was going to react to this. It was just a question of who, and when...

“D-Don’t worry. I... I’ll make sure to watch your back for you...”

The night passed, ghosts continued whispering inaudible things throughout the night. It was an uncomfortable sleeping experience, that was for sure. Goodness knows if any of you managed to get any sleep. It was near unbearable.

Kouki extinguished the flame the moment she heard a voice. Except the source seemed not to be a person, but a small shiba inu. Kouki couldn’t help but stare in bewilderment. “Holy fuck it’s a talking dog.” She blurted out, the words tumbling from her mouth involuntarily. “Uhh, I just had some dumb idea…” She responded to Shayler’s question, snapping the tome shut.

Was it the same dog she’d seen when she arrived? It looked like it. The dog just fucking talked words at her. What.

Ahaha… AHAHA!! Goodness, there was something so blunt about that, that it was just humorous. Kaoru genuinely laughed, trying to muffle it behind his hand, aided by the mask as well. Not everyone noticed the speaker immediately, so it wasn’t uncommon to be confused, but that delivery, hoo boy.

“BWAHAHAHA!! The goddess Shayler here possesses a vessel upon her neck that transmits my voice, Kaoru Inukai, the dark spirit! Shayler herself is a simple goddess and only directly speaks to her most faithful followers. Thus far, she has only shared her voice with me and her own kin.”

Stupid. It was all ridiculous, really, and Kaoru was fully aware of that much. He just kept going, though, unreasonable words and ideas spilling from his lips. Alas, it was but habit at that point. At least Kouki hadn’t freaked like Kimi had. Kouki, right? He thought this was Kouki, based on the roster on his phone. He double checked quickly from behind the scenes and confirmed as much.

Not that her name mattered, as Kaoru never used names.

“An idea? Do expand upon the thoughts. I am curious about your intentions. Per chance I could aid your efforts if so necessary.”

“I mean, it would just go through ‘em, wouldn’t it?” She said with a shrug. In truth she wasn’t really thinking about it anymore. She was more curious about the guy behind the camera now. At first she thought it had to be some sort of joke or something, but nobody had burst out from behind a table and started shouting about how she’d just been pranked by the Prank Patrol, so this had to be for realsies. 

“They remind me of when I went to Tokyo Disneyland when I was still but a wee spirit. They had a scene like this on the Haunted Mansion ride. … Topical, I suppose. I am unsure if physical objects would do a thing, though magic might take effect.”

Well, it wasn’t a terrible idea at all. Human curiosity had a need to be satisfied, and spirit curiosity existed too. Hence why many spirits in the olden times were considered to be tricksters and whatnot. Spirits didn’t have their tales documented in more modern times in comparison to the old obviously nonfiction materials.

… Well, that was quick. Granted, this wasn’t exactly a question he was unfamiliar with, but usually it wasn’t this FAST that people started asking him to show his face. Basic politeness didn’t mean a whole lot here, he supposed. Not when so many other strange happenings were about. (still, though….)

“Y-You see…. anyone who observes my visage will be cursed for a millennium!! If I were to show you my appearance, your life would never be normal again! You do not wish to see me, I assure you. Dark spirits are mystical and evil beings, being in the presence of the goddess Shayler should be much more preferable in comparison.”

Kouki extinguished the flame the moment she heard a voice. Except the source seemed not to be a person, but a small shiba inu. Kouki couldn’t help but stare in bewilderment. “Holy fuck it’s a talking dog.” She blurted out, the words tumbling from her mouth involuntarily. “Uhh, I just had some dumb idea…” She responded to Shayler’s question, snapping the tome shut.

Was it the same dog she’d seen when she arrived? It looked like it. The dog just fucking talked words at her. What.

Ahaha… AHAHA!! Goodness, there was something so blunt about that, that it was just humorous. Kaoru genuinely laughed, trying to muffle it behind his hand, aided by the mask as well. Not everyone noticed the speaker immediately, so it wasn’t uncommon to be confused, but that delivery, hoo boy.

“BWAHAHAHA!! The goddess Shayler here possesses a vessel upon her neck that transmits my voice, Kaoru Inukai, the dark spirit! Shayler herself is a simple goddess and only directly speaks to her most faithful followers. Thus far, she has only shared her voice with me and her own kin.”

Stupid. It was all ridiculous, really, and Kaoru was fully aware of that much. He just kept going, though, unreasonable words and ideas spilling from his lips. Alas, it was but habit at that point. At least Kouki hadn’t freaked like Kimi had. Kouki, right? He thought this was Kouki, based on the roster on his phone. He double checked quickly from behind the scenes and confirmed as much.

Not that her name mattered, as Kaoru never used names.

“An idea? Do expand upon the thoughts. I am curious about your intentions. Per chance I could aid your efforts if so necessary.”

“I mean, it would just go through ‘em, wouldn’t it?” She said with a shrug. In truth she wasn’t really thinking about it anymore. She was more curious about the guy behind the camera now. At first she thought it had to be some sort of joke or something, but nobody had burst out from behind a table and started shouting about how she’d just been pranked by the Prank Patrol, so this had to be for realsies.