Neat, Petite and acting chops that can't be beat!

“Aha! More knives!”

When Yuki rezzed into the chocolatier room, that’s what she heard. Thankfully, the ‘aha’ was less a giggle and more a exclamation or eureka moment, like ‘a-ha!’

Why didn’t I just write it like that to begin with?

Ochako was making a small mess of the chocolatier room. Nothing that would take a while to clean up, but it seemed like all of the knives and pans and other hard or dangerous objects in the room had been put into a couple piles on the counter. Next to the piles was an open notebook and a pen.

Ochako was kneeling up on the counter, looking in a cabinet at the pans, taking them out and putting them on the pile she had made. She hopped down, wiping her brow, and then noticed Yuki.

“Oh, hey there, Yuki-chan! I’m taking inventory. Sorry if I’m in the way or anything!”

After the initial surprise, Yuki called out to the other girl who totally isn’t a secret agent but with the new motive in the air Yuki is second guessing this, though to be fair this is also set before ochakos reveal so she has no confirmation in anything so she’s going off pure paranoia, boredom, and speculation.

“I never thought to do that...” huh. Imagine if someone had killed someone with one of those knives... ugghh. It’s making Yuki dizzy just thinking about it. “At least someone’s head is in the right place, I guess!” Yuki smiled. At least she can now put ochako in the category of: trustable!

It was a day in the Translation room as Barako proceeded to do some typing out on her tablet. Smiling to herself as Yuki sat across from her.

“Alright Yuki. I’ll first be explaining the basics of English,” Barako said with a smile, “now the hardest part about being a native Japanese speaker trying to learn English is that English has many more word sounds than Japanese. As such trying to speak English without sounding stilted will be difficult…”

Barako placed down a sheet of paper in front of Yuki. There was a funny picture of a cartoon lion on it with the English word “Lion” below it.

What is she doing here… Sorry I’m late Yoriko-sensei, A tripped over a stray cat… No, Yuki. This is Barako, not that old mean English teacher… and that cat jumped out in front of you! Not your fault that you fell.

“Now let’s see… Yuki dear?” Barako pulls out a book and hands it to her, “can you please read me back chapter 1?”

It was a day in the Translation room as Barako proceeded to do some typing out on her tablet. Smiling to herself as Yuki sat across from her.

“Alright Yuki. I’ll first be explaining the basics of English,” Barako said with a smile, “now the hardest part about being a native Japanese speaker trying to learn English is that English has many more word sounds than Japanese. As such trying to speak English without sounding stilted will be difficult…”

Barako placed down a sheet of paper in front of Yuki. There was a funny picture of a cartoon lion on it with the English word “Lion” below it.

What is she doing here... Sorry I’m late Yoriko-sensei, A tripped over a stray cat... No, Yuki. This is Barako, not that old mean English teacher... and that cat jumped out in front of you! Not your fault that you fell.

Yuki sat in the hub area, uncharacteristically quiet for once. Actually, she was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, in complete silence. Her hands on her lap and here eyes completely closed… who would have thought she’d turn to meditation to try and clear her mind. She sat in the silence, humming to herself quietly… Every now and then she would stop and shake her head. If anyone were close enough to hear, they’d hear her mumbling to herself.

“… It’s not real… It’s not real…” She sighed exhaustively… These visions… they seem so real at the time… how is this even possible… putting memories like this into her hea– And then she remembered where she was again. Right. Anything is possible in here… pacman skirts… bears with guns… this. Anything.

Yuki sat in the hub area, uncharacteristically quiet for once. Actually, she was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, in complete silence. Her hands on her lap and here eyes completely closed… who would have thought she’d turn to meditation to try and clear her mind. She sat in the silence, humming to herself quietly… Every now and then she would stop and shake her head. If anyone were close enough to hear, they’d hear her mumbling to herself.

“… It’s not real… It’s not real…” She sighed exhaustively… These visions… they seem so real at the time… how is this even possible… putting memories like this into her hea– And then she remembered where she was again. Right. Anything is possible in here… pacman skirts… bears with guns… this. Anything.

“That’s okay! It seems like a lot of people here haven’t heard of me... it’s kind of sad, actually. But I get enough praise as is!” Is that bragging? It sounds like bragging. “I’ll be sure to email you, Miss Senchamoto!” she’ll be sure to get her manager to email you, is what she’s saying... who uses email anymore?

Yuki felt her ElectroID buzz, and curiously pulled it out. Once she inspected closer and noticed the message… She knew. This was it, right? This was the end. They’re going to die. Shirokuma said so. They’re done for. People tried to tell her otherwise, but she should have relied on her instincts. Then the voice. That voice. Who the hell was that?!

She didn’t want to go. No, she wasn’t GOING to go… but the minute the voice mentions a ‘punishment’, Yuki hightails it out of there and sprints to the hub. She’s panicky, and a little confused and scared, but… she should be fine – oh god it’s another bear. No, this is NOT okay. Yuki enters the room and unlike the last time, she stands there quietly, shaking like a leaf the whole time until Kurokuma starts explaining the rules… Kill each other?!

Once he finishes his whole monologue, Yuki tries to speak up. “W-We aren’t going to do tha–” She shouts, completely trying to talk over the bear and is cut of the same point he is, by a gunshot. To which the drama queen responds with an over-the-top scream, followed by falling onto the ground, landing on her butt. Oh god, the bear has a gun,  the bear has. a gun.

When she eventually realized what was happening... mostly that she was hugging a 8 foot tall tin can, she looked back in confusion. Why is there a weird robot hugging her? Wait.. robots don’t have fur? The massive chunk of metal that was quivering like a leaf slowly made more sense to her as it’s colours began to alter slightly, and she recognized who it was, and then he spoke.

Yuki finally released her hug.. can’t say much of the same for Osamu, but she just looked back at him in awe and confusion for a moment... so he’s human? She shook her head and smiled, as if to shake negative thoughts away.

“... Wait! Senchamoto Tea Company? I think I’ve heard of them! All of the famous actors always demand their tea when they’re backstage! i heard it’s really good, but, I don’t drink much tea... It’s amazing that your father is CEO of such a huge company!” Even better to hear he’ll probably come save them. Bless you, Senchamoto!

“Oh! Yes, of course! I’m mostly known for ‘Daily Sunshine’! It’s a pretty popular show. The fifth-most watched in Japan, actually!” she smiles. “I’ve been in a few movies too, ‘Don’t Speak’, ‘.INK’, The ‘Tsukuyomi’ series... Perhaps one might ring a bell!” She pauses, looking at Ochako, a little confused.

It had been a day or so since everything with Shirokuma had happened… and it was still all so… confusing? Teddy bears were fighting, they were trapped in VR, and worst of all, the black bear with the hat was trying to get them to… yeah. But after a little rest, some faith, some trust and a little pixie dust, Yuki had came to her senses a little more. She trusted the people around her, well. All except Matsuo, for the time being. But even then, Matsuo wouldn’t kill anyone… right?

Yeah. He’s rude, not a killer. None of them were, so there was nothing to worry about. She had pushed that thought to the back of her mind and tried to look forward and stay positive about the situation she was in. No matter how awful it seemed. She decided to return back to the Debunker room, scanning through video after video of alleged alien sightings and other cryptids, something to take her mind off of everything. But she got a little too into them. Actually, she was pretty swayed by most of them, believing them very easily. 

As another individual warps into the room, She looks up for a brief second. “Have you seen these?! This woman says an alien abducted her cow and –” She stops, looking up to notice Ochako was the one who had entered. “Ah! It’s you! I’ve been meaning to talk to you!” She jumps up from her seat, skipping towards Ochako.

“Me? A secret agent? Goodness, how forward…” Ochako smirks. Quietly, she leans in… as if there were anyone else in the room to hear.

“…Alright, I’ll let you in on a secret. I am a secret agent… And I am here to save you. But I can’t do it overnight. It’ll be a little while!” She could hardly stop chuckling while talking.

“Anyways… Whats your name? My current mission is to meet everyone here. Mind telling me who you are?” She pulls up a chair, sitting backwards like a cool teacher in a movie or something. “I’ve done a little bit of research using my secret ‘FBI’ intelligence base over in Antarctica… but I’d prefer to get to know everyone myself before I just believe the documents that the president of America II gave to me.” She’s doing a really good job not just breaking into laughter… but the chuckles are still there. 

It had been a day or so since everything with Shirokuma had happened… and it was still all so… confusing? Teddy bears were fighting, they were trapped in VR, and worst of all, the black bear with the hat was trying to get them to… yeah. But after a little rest, some faith, some trust and a little pixie dust, Yuki had came to her senses a little more. She trusted the people around her, well. All except Matsuo, for the time being. But even then, Matsuo wouldn’t kill anyone… right?

Yeah. He’s rude, not a killer. None of them were, so there was nothing to worry about. She had pushed that thought to the back of her mind and tried to look forward and stay positive about the situation she was in. No matter how awful it seemed. She decided to return back to the Debunker room, scanning through video after video of alleged alien sightings and other cryptids, something to take her mind off of everything. But she got a little too into them. Actually, she was pretty swayed by most of them, believing them very easily. 

As another individual warps into the room, She looks up for a brief second. “Have you seen these?! This woman says an alien abducted her cow and –” She stops, looking up to notice Ochako was the one who had entered. “Ah! It’s you! I’ve been meaning to talk to you!” She jumps up from her seat, skipping towards Ochako.

“You… You…. YOU!!”

Shirokuma marches forward, rifle directly pointed at Kurokuma. Kurokuma calmly watches on, still. When Shirokuma looks as if she’s about to shoot once more, Kurokuma swiftly weaves around the barrel, snags Shirokuma’s wrist, and slams his paw into her’s. A loud CRACK of metal inside Shirokuma’s arm bounces off your eardrums, and she lets out a warped sound. Kurokuma seizes the rifle, aims…

And shoots the white bear instead.

Shirokuma falls.

She’s not moving. Her robotic body lays on the ground, lifeless and broken. What are you supposed to think about this? She slowly seems to disintegrate into pixels and disappears from her position.

“And now you see the punishment for crossing me.” He spoke calmly, his arrogance shining brighter than ever. “Well… I suppose this serves as an appropriate example, and introduction to what awaits. Go, kill one another. Earn your freedom. I certainly won’t give it for free.”

“Welcome to MY world children. I am Kurokuma.” He spoke with a certain air of arrogance that couldn’t be missed. “I see many of you have already familiarized yourselves with what has been made available. Please… Make yourselves at home. You’ll be here a long, LONG time.” The bear lets out a posh laugh. “Some longer than others… But… It’s quite feasible you’ll all be spending the rest of your lives here.” His red eye gleamed brightly for a moment. “Now… before you become TOO panicked, I would like to inform you of one thing. A rule. Something I’ve provided to allow you an opportunity at escape.” His laugh grew a bit more raucous, and he began pacing in front of the students, his hands clasped behind his back. “You like the sound of that don’t you? Escape? It is a bit ominous though, don’t you think? If there’s an escape… There has to be something you’re escaping from… For the sake of transparency… It’s not me… It’s the rest of your classmates. You see… The only way to escape this place… Is to kill. Find a way to kill one of the people around you either in this world or reality, and you will be given a chance to escape.” He emphasized that last word.

“Oh… And before you try to get away with this without a scratch on your conscience, I want you to be fully aware of what your actions will cause. You see… I see everything that happens in this world… And if you should happen to die here… I’ve modified your VR capsules, and am able to ensure you die in reality as well. A bit cliche, so I’ve heard, but… You now understand the gravity of your actions here, correct?” “Good. Now I-”

His speech is cut off by a loud gunshot. Kurokuma zips the opposite direction a moment before the shot fires, avoiding a bullet now lodged in the back wall of the hub. One of the couches is flipped upwards and reveals Shirokuma underneath, a rifle in paw. How did she get ahold of that? She reloads quickly.

“Damn it!”