Purrfect Beat

[♫♫♫]

The bear had opened a lot of large buildings, and there was a lot to see. It was the day after the deaths of Harumi and Stella. Just like every day, Hiroshi had woken up early, gone for a run, bathed, and had breakfast. Normal. Wouldn’t even know two people had died less than 24 hours earlier.

The hospital had drawn Hiroshi’s attention. He wasn’t sure why. Well, he sure wasn’t interested in a school, and malls weren’t really his thing. The library might have something, but the hospital seemed so… odd.

Odd because it was huge. A small island like this, he’d expect a small clinic, but this thing was a full sized, fully operation medical facility. As he walked down the corridor of the third floor, passing by locked room after locked room, he really got a sense of the scale. It could fit the entire student body, and Hiroshi found himself wondering why. It raised a lot of questions in his mind.

It was also dark. Not that it really creeped Hiroshi out, but when he heard footsteps in the hallway, it occurred to him that others might not like it. Especially when his huge frame loomed in the shadowy hallway. He must have looked like an encounter in a horror game - a tall, shadowed figure at the end of a dark hallway.

He stepped forward, palms out, until he came into visible light. He couldn’t help but grin at the other student.

Just as she was about to take the head off, a dark figure seemingly came out of nowhere and caused her to jump so high she swore she almost hit the ceiling. Chika looked over at the source of the voice who spoke out to her and realized it was just Hiroshi...admittedly, though, he was probably one of the last people she’d want to cross paths with while alone. Even though she’d defended him pretty heavily during the first trial he still made her a little nervous. She was small, he was big, he had a good foot or so on her at least, and he definitely wasn’t the type she’d want to piss off. He seemed nice enough for the most part...and she could handle herself pretty well...but there was still something a little off that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Maybe it was just her mannerisms, but something about him other then his height definitely made threw her off. She decided to play it off.

“I could say the same to you. What brings you here? Hmmmm? ♥ ”

Or in this case, another area worth exploring.

The recent memories of death and despair lay fresh in Mayuri’s mind– haunting her dreams until the sun shone through curtains. Tired and somewhat frustrated, the volunteer worker had a slow start on her day.

Apartments  → Grocery Store

Had she stumbled too far from the apartments? What had prompted to believe that venturing somewhere unknown all alone would’ve been a good idea? It– It wasn’t like she didn’t trust people, no. In fact, she would’ve given up herself if it meant no one else would die. And yet..

Her sleepy eyes slowly open and shut, long soft locks bounced with every dazed step she took. Until–

“Pufwah.. !!”

A gentle bump into something much taller was all it took to bring Mayuri back to reality. Her hold on the pink notebook tightened in a pulse of fear, but slowly loosened upon gazing at the beautiful Chika Minami– was that her name? This person was nice, right?

‘… Sorry…’

That was all Mayuri could read before an ID card was produced.

..

Of course!

The girl nodded, fumbling around for her own card to read what the other had said. Her cheeks flushing into a sweet shade of pink, it took some time for Mayuri to write a response.

“I’m sorry, miss. I should’ve seen where I was going! Are you okay?”

Chika blinked down at the girl frantically scribbling in her notebook. The sunfish was cute. After reading her response, Chika studied the other girl closely for a moment, and tried not to visibly frown. Her quiet, shy, demeanor reminded her a lot of Harumi...Chika’s chest tightened at the thought and looked away. She’d learnt her lesson on trusting people just because of their outer behavior and appearances. And while she was actually pretty positive Mayuri seemed safe to be around, ever since Harumi...it was just really difficult to not be suspicious of just about anyone. When people are put in the situation they’re in, well, it’s not hard for them to break down and crack.

“It’s not a big deal...I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going because I didn’t think there was anyone else here...you don’t need to apologize.”

“Are you alright? This must be a pretty difficult situation for yo-”

“Ah, no, that’s...I didn’t mean for that to come out so rude...or to make it seem like you’re helpless just because you can’t hear...I just, it’s pretty dangerous...are you going to be alright on your own?”

Hayato looked to the side awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn’t a stranger to being complimented, but being called great despite knowing who he was before really touched him. He grew quiet, looking at Chika as she talked.

He frowned at her worried expression. She was right; his sisters, his friends, Akemi…they must all be worried about him right now, but why hasn’t anyone come for them yet? It’s been a while since they’ve been on this island, shouldn’t they have noticed that a handful of students just suddenly vanished?

“Yeah…I’m worried about everyone outside of this island…I really wanna go home too…”

His eyebrows furrowed a bit before he shook his head, standing up before turning to Chika, hand extended to help her up, a rather awkward smile on his face.

“Um…you wanna go grab something to eat or drink? Maybe somewhere more brightly lit than here and not reeking of smoke? It’s been a while since the whole trial and investigation thing so…maybe some food and company would be cool…i-if you want, I mean.”

When Hayato offered her his hand, all she could really do was blink and stare like an idiot. She was perplexed at what to do. Take the cute stranger’s hand and follow him off just as it’s getting dark, or politely decline and book it back to her apartment. Her mouth contorted and she tried not to overthink things as she usually did. Overthinking lead to her making stupid, rude, comments and that was the last thing she wanted. 

So she carefully placed her hand on his, and stood to her feet, tucking her mascot head under her arm. There was an awkward minute or two of silence as she just sort of stood there unsure of what to do, and once she noticed she quickly jerked her hand back and looked away.

“That...that sounds nice. I wouldn’t mind. Maybe we could drop by the arcade or movie theater too? Might be a nice way to relieve some stress...”

Hayato stared in awe at the cat head. Holding it up so he can see every detail on it. Or really, what detail there is since it’s just a cat head. He thought about putting it on, but he didn’t know if she would be okay with it. She did give it to him, so maybe he could at least ask.

He looked a bit flustered and ashamed when she brought up how he was upset before, looking at the ground sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Haha…I was, wasn’t I? I mean…my friend is gone and now everyone knows that I was a delinquent. I was scared about everything and everyone. Now that they know that part of me, they probably think I’m dangerous…”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Even though he knew they didn’t mean it, he was still hurt by being called naïve and poked at for his secret. Actually, he felt the latter was intentionally trying to rub salt in the wound. He rubbed his arm, picking at that bandage that was always wrapped so tightly around his right wrist. He shook his head, looking at Chika with a sort of sad smile.

“I’m sorry, I’m not normally upset like this either. I guess it’s because we both lost someone we cared about, huh?”

He didn’t hate Harumi, he felt bad for her. She was getting blackmailed for something in her past that probably haunted her to this day. He felt like he could relate, sort of.

“…I’m sorry about what happened to Cho-san. She didn’t deserve having her secret being used against her like that. None of us did…”

He tilted his head to look at Chika.

“How about you? You were pretty upset as well earlier. How are you feeling?”

“Haru-...Cho San was a nice person, and I guess I really felt we could be friends...but it’s not like that’s exactly possible now...”

Chika trailed off and changed the subject back to Hayato, obviously not ready to talk about Harumi and her death. 

“Anyways... you seem really nice, and even if everyone thinks ill of you just because of something from your past then they probably don’t deserve your time or friendship in the first place...right? But I don’t think that would even be an issue in the first place, you’re great to be around, you know?”

Chika, carefully, took the cat head back and placed it back down on her lap. She stared down into it’s lifeless eyes and frowned for a minute. It wasn’t their fault. She truly believed that. It wasn’t their fault they were kidnapped and put on some random island, it wasn’t their fault they were being forced to kill each other, that they were being blackmailed, or even that whoever put them there put them there in the first place. All she did know was she wanted to get off that damn island and back home to her career, friends, and family...and she was sure everyone else felt the same.

But it wasn’t even that simple, was it?

“W-Wha–?”

Hayato was pulled out of his thoughts by the rather feminine voice and the hands on his shoulder. He turned around to see…a cat? A black cat?! Didn’t realize Kuroi was here…no, wait, it’s the bassist girl. The one who was close to Harumi. His face was surprised to see Chika, a moment passed and it felt like maybe he didn’t enjoy that surprise, until a grin spread across his face and his eyes had that starry look in them, observing the cat head closer.

“Haha, woah! That is so cool! You can see through that, right? Did you make it yourself? It’s really cute!”

Even though it was just a short period of time, it felt like forever since Hayato started acting like his old, excited self again. He realized that as well, leaning back a bit and coughing awkwardly. He did look back at Chika with a noticeably more relaxed face and a small smile as he spoke.

“Um, sorry about that. Those kind of stuff is just…really cool to me. You’re Chika Minami, right? Or, um…do you go by a different name since you’re a bass player and stuff, like a stage name?”

Oh boy now he’s babbling. At least it’s better than having him be all sulky.

That had worked out better then she’d hoped. Chika pulled off her cat head, and took a seat next to Hayato, then passed it to him. It made her happy that someone appreciated the head itself, since it meant so much to her, and she was also happy that Hayato seemed to be feeling better even if it was just a little. She stretched out her legs, then sighed a little.

“I’m glad you like it...it was actually a present from my lead guitarist. She gave it to me when I agreed to join the band. Actually, she was so happy that she more so threw it at me...haha...so I didn’t make it or anything. The face has a special mesh to it so I can see, and my stage name is Nyaoko. My band’s name is Charismatic, there’s three of us...I guess I miss them a lot, I don’t usually break down like I did during the trial...”

She realized that she was rambling now. Being easily embarrassed, her face flushed and she continued to stare down. It wasn’t like her to talk a lot outside of her Nyaoko persona, and she immediately clammed up as soon as she realized just how much she was speaking.

“Ah...sorry.”

“It’s good that you’re feeling better...you seemed really upset...”

[ Apartment Complex - > Children’s Park ]

Hayato stood at the Children’s Park. He stared at the swings where he first had talked to Stella. It stung his heart knowing that the girl he talked to just a while back is suddenly gone. His gaze lowering as he moved his hand out of his jacket, pulling out something as well. In his hand were two envelopes, one black and the other one white. He stared at his motive cards before his eyes narrowewd into something akin to a glare. It was because of these two stupid slips of paper that four of them were dead; these papers and that bear…

Hayato’s other hand moved out of his pocket, revealing that he was holding a lighter. It looked oddly familiar, wasn’t that the late Counter-Terrorist’s lighter? He opened the cap and flicked it on, a small flame suddenly burst to life. He stared at the two items in his hand before he hardened his gaze, bringing the flame closer to the papers. As the small flame had touched the black envelope, it started to crumple and grow hot as it burned. Hayato dropped the two envelopes, turning the lighter off as he watched the envelopes were engulfed in the fire.

The smell of smoke and ash filled his senses as the envelopes burned into ash, causing Hayato to start stomping at the envelope. Luckily, it wasn’t a huge fire but it still kind of burned the bottom of his foot as he tried smothering it. After a couple of minutes, the envelopes that were burning had turned to ashes. Hayato grinded his heel in the ashes as to make sure that the fire was put out. It was done. His motives were done. He was supposed to feel more relived after getting rid of those motive cards, and yet…

[ ♫ ]

Hayato sighed, ruffling his hair as he sat down on the pavement cross-legged. He was leaning forward with his shoulders slumped as he stared at the pile of ashes. This was supposed to make him feel better and it did a little bit, but he still felt empty. He hated feeling like this, he had tried so hard not to feel like this again but here he was. Even after destroying the things that made him feel like this, the sadness of loss will never go away.

“Huh…I still miss her…”

Hayato murmured quietly to himself before standing up. He was too lost in himself to realize anyone standing behind him.

After coming back from the apartments, Chika rolled the giant mascot head in her hands back and forth. She really wanted to put it on and just be Nyaoko for a few hours, but somehow...it felt like that was the easy way out. Like she’d just be running from her problems. The girl was lost in thought when she heard some mumbling and realized she’d somehow wound up in the Children’s Park. That wasn’t good, wondering around aimlessly and absentmindedly could get her lost...or killed. 

Chika blinked, bringing herself back to reality, before peaking around the corner to see where the mumbling had been coming from.

Ah...he was the one who was really upset over Stella...

She gripped at the mascot head she was carrying and frowned down at it. Aside from Miki, Masumi, and H-...Cho San, Chika hadn’t made any effort to socialize...and with the recent events wasn’t even sure she should. At the same time, though, she knew how he must feel...but what would she say?

“Hey, sorry my sort of friend killed your friend. No hard feelings right?”

She just couldn’t think properly like this. Chika shifted her gaze from Hayato back to the cat head. Wait...

Maybe...maybe thinking wasn’t the best thing right now...

Chika pulled her hair into two, tight, loops, then put on her Cat head. She took a deep breath, then bounced over behind Hayato and leaned down, grinning from behind her mask.

“Heeeeeeeeey~ Why the long face? Purrhaps you’re still sad? That’s too bad. You have such a warm, happy, smile! You should show it off. ♥ “ 

The mention of the trial struck a chord in the spirit medium and her body language seized up to reflect the fact. Her teeth clamped down onto her bottom lip as her shoulders tensed. Her gaze flickered from one corner of the room to the next - an attempt to find something that would distract her mind for a moment.

“T-The trial was…it was…i-it was - ”

She caught herself before she could begin to ramble, instead forcing herself to swallow the words and suck in a deep breath. Exposing her weaknesses wouldn’t do her any good, especially not after she had just seen what could happen to her if she did. She nodded slightly, as though mentally reaffirming to herself that she could keep herself together, before releasing her breath. She would be fine if she could just get a moment to clear her head.

“F-Fresh air sounds like it may be a good idea…”

Well, it wouldn’t exactly solve any problems, but if anything she needed a change of scenery. Wallowing around in her room all day would likely only serve to deteriorate her mental condition even further.

Chika watched the girl tense up and immediately and instantly stuck out her hand for a moment to try to touch her shoulder to calm her down, but she recoiled and clenched her fist. She quietly examined her for a moment, trying not to eye her up and down,...Harumi was definitely the type of girl you’d want to protect. Instead of violently grabbing the poor girl by the shoulder, Chika reached out and gently patted her on the head as she began to walk past her. 

It took a moment for her to realize that she had been addressed. 

“Um…well, I…”

“I don’t know“ was what she had wanted to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Did she need something? Perhaps. But even if she did she wouldn’t be able to point out what exactly it was that she needed. She grimaced at the thought; she could barely even help herself, yet she had been so consumed with trying to do something for the others. Thinking about herself only served to make her even more uncomfortable, though, so she quickly decided to change the topic.

“W-What about you, Minami-san? Are you…here for something?”

Now that she thought about it, however, she realized that it was likely a useless pursuit to see how the bassist was doing. She had seemed wholly unaffected - bothered, really - throughout the duration of the trial. Even if the execution had done anything to affect her, she would likely be able to bounce back on her own (not that she would know what to do if she actually had to help). Now, if only she could say the same for herself…

Chika searched for the right thing to say. She didn’t want to scar the medium off, but she wasn’t sure what she could really do either. Harumi hadn’t been too vocal during the trial, and Chika had probably come across as...not the kindest most sympathetic person. She was scared she’d already made Harumi dislike her...then again, should she really worry about something like that here? It was hard not to be torn on the subject, but she shoved it to the back of her mind for the time being. 

“I was just...about to get some fresh air I guess...”

“The trial...are you okay? It was kind of a mess...”