Black Tie
As soon as sheâd pressed the button to betray her best friend and get out of the cell, Kiku had known it would come to this. Itâs why she did it in the first place, after all. She had panicked about what could happen to Keahi if the time limit expired, or even if ey were just left on eir own around the other people who could hurt em. Ey had gotten hurt anyway, and it had probably been her fault, but something worse couldâve happened if she hadnât done that, rightâŚ? She just wanted to protect her best friend. Even then, though, staring at the knife in her hand that Kino had given her was surreal.Â
It was a normal kitchen knife, sheâs held plenty before, but it felt like the heaviest object in the world. She didnât want to do this, but she had to. Sheâd already messed up so bad, eyâd been hurt because of her, so she had to do something. It wasnât even just for Keahi, it was for Keahiâs mom, and all those other innocent people, and fuck, even Naomi and Possumhead. None of them deserved to be executed over nothing like that, she didnât want any of them to die! The only person she wanted to die right now wasâŚ
âJust⌠stand over there,â she said with a strained voice, using the knife to point to the far end of the classroom, by the hypothetical teacherâs desk. âOkay, Ika?âÂ
Despite the fact that Kiku had been visibly holding a knife, Ika hadnât caught on whatsoever to what was about to happen. To his knowledge, he was just about to play a game with his good pal Kiku! He waddled over next to the desk, still peering at Kiku and her pointy friend curiously. Ika wasnât supposed to touch those, but heâs sure other people having them is okay.
âAlright! Like this? Thatâs a silly way to play hide and seek, Ika thinks, haha.â âŚWhatâs with him and thinking that everything was hide and seek?
âY-yeahâŚâ God, this was so easy it was heartbreaking. Ika definitely wouldâve died soon anyway, though, right? Like, look at him. Thereâs no way this kid is living past 17. Honestly, itâs a good thing that sheâs helping him go out peacefully and not, like, on fire or drowning or whatever. âJust, uh⌠t-turn around⌠towards the wall.â Nope, none of that helped her feel any less like scum right nowâŚÂ
Ika just chirped a cheerful âOkay!â and shuffled around, facing the wall now. âOh, so is Ika the seeker, maybe? Does he need to count while Ms. Kiku hides?âÂ
Kiku gritted her teeth. This was the worst. Barring when she thought that Keahi was dead yesterday, this was the worst sheâs ever felt in her life. She takes deep, steadying breaths as she works up the courage to walk up behind Ika. She knows, logically, that this is the right decision; letting so many people die by doing nothing was basically unforgivable. That didnât make it any easier, thoughâŚ
She didnât answer Ikaâs question. Making him count down to it would just be fucking cruel. So in silence, with shaking hands, she approaches the penguin researcher. She slowly raises the knife up and- No, no, she canât, she takes several steps away and almost tosses the knife into the corner, butâŚ
She reorients herself. It was either him or Keahi and over a dozen others. This was obvious. It had to be doneâŚÂ
âMiss KikuâŚ?â Ika asked again without turning around.
Fuck. Dammit. His happy, innocent voice made her stomach churn. âY-yeah, Iâm here. Just wait a secondâŚâ She goes back to Ika. She really doesnât hate the kid. At least she can say that much. She looks at the back of his neck, feeling chilled with sweat and fear, and raises the knife again. She breathes deeply, braces herself, and-








