KDA Part 22, A Smoke and a Beer

“What about that fighter guy?” June asked casually while staring up into the twinkling night sky. The wooden porch was beginning to annoy her backside and she shifted a bit to distribute her weight. After a moment of no reply, she looked through the small cloud of smoke to her companion who had a curiously and annoyingly amused look on his face.

“That pain in the ass?” The mustachioed red-head chuckled darkly. “For not thinking you know people, you are still a first class observer~.” His lidded, haughty eyes taunted her into showing more emotion as per usual, but once again proved ineffective.

“So he’s a bad choice?” The dark haired woman droned back. The smoke was comforting and familiar to contrast against the cold, dark night.

“No, no, I’d say the opposite. You just have to know how to deal with him~.” The man took a small draw from his cigarette and launched into his flowing speech, waving the smoking item as if conducting a choir, “Frith Holiday is an excellent candidate for the club as far as I’ve seen. He’s pretty much a born genius and has taught himself the art of combat so much so that his SHSL is in fighting itself. He seems to assume that his proficiency in those two areas should gain him fame and likability but is too dense to see his own asshole ways. That or he simply doesn’t care what others think of him.” Shilling smirked as he put out the small stub of smoking nicotine.

Once again June couldn’t help but envy the man’s skills at reading other people. From what she’d seen this Frith guy hardly ever talked and hung out with the more sociable people. How did Shilling acquire such a skill? “So his smarts and fighting are worth his attitude?”

“I wouldn’t put all of your trust in him, but from where I stand I say he’s worth the effort. Just as long as you know how to treat him, he might even prove to be a great secretary or whatnot in the club.” The man leaned back against the house and tilted his head in her direction. His eyes remained confident and lidded, but a question seemed to linger on his lips.

June decided to ignore it and looked back into the sky. “Good. We’ll give him a proper invitation tomorrow.” Her monotone hardly seemed to carry through the cold night air, as if she was only speaking to herself.

●○

With that memory of that conversation with Shilling still circling in her mind, June quietly followed Frith from the trial room elevator. The traumatized Mastermind Florin avoided contact with anyone and made a beeline for his room. Everyone else of the HOME team seemed to aim for the cafeteria for a ‘welcome back from certain death’ celebration for Farthing. It would be a perfect time to talk with the fighter now.

The shorter student seemed to be aiming to ascend to the second floor with ruthless speed. If he knew he was being followed, he didn’t seem to care. As he placed his foot on the stairs, the dark-haired young woman neutrally observed, “You didn’t vote for Shilling in the trial, did you?”

Frith paused in place before taking a few more steps up.

“Did you vote for Florin instead?” She asked again while remaining at the foot of the staircase.

The other student sighed and finally acknowledged her. “Look, if you’re mad about the investigation, I’m sorry. I didn’t trust your word because this damn school is getting to me.” His face furrowed and he refused to meet her eyes. “And it doesn’t matter who I voted-”

“I don’t really care if you believed me or not. We’re all still alive even after your reckless vote.” The bouncer droned calmly, this time gaining his full attention. Now to butter him up, just like Shilling would have suggested. “What I want to know is how quickly you figured out that Florin was the mastermind. I didn’t really see it coming.”

A hint of relief flashed across his face followed by a confident smirk. “Well, I knew from the start that not having memory of your skill was fishy. But when Monospinda said that the teams were even, I knew that the four-eyed wimp had to be the odd one out.”

Good sign: things were going smoothly so far. “That early in the game?” She added further.

June shrugged nonchalantly and tried to add airiness to her voice, but it ended up sounding more like a voice crack. “You caught me.” Now to get down to business with as much tact as she could employ. “Since you were right about Florin being the mastermind, I want to hear more of what you think about him. You are the smartest here after all. Well, not that you have much competition.”

Her forced flattery didn’t fly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He growled. “What would you stand to gain from hearing my theories? Go ask him yourself. You might get more out of him than the fifth floor excuse!” Maybe her dog analogy at the trial, though used by Shilling before, had made him a bit more defensive. So much for her support when Kurama died; Frith had found his own footing now and wasn’t in need of anyone else.  

I guess flattery just isn’t my thing. Blunt it is then. She folded her arms and replied in her usual monotone, “I’ll be direct then. Are your qualms with Florin over or will we still have to worry that you’ll try to kill him?”

The fighter grimaced. “You think just because he’s confessed to being the Mastermind and that he seems to have the best intentions –or whatever crap you want to say about him for that matter—and that he’s not a threat? Ever since he remembered his level he’s become even more secretive. Who’s to say that he isn’t playing his role better than ever, acting as Monospinda’s foil when he arranged the whole killing spree?” He tilted his head up to further look down at her. “And if the rules state that he’s supposed to keep his memories, why does he have more amnesia than the rest of us? I smell a rat, and if he isn’t holding to honesty then I’ll find out in the fifth floor for myself.”

For denying June his theories at first, he sure seemed to want to spout them out now. Interesting as they were, June felt the need to tighten his leash. “I don’t care if you go into the fifth floor before everyone else, but will you promise not to kill Florin?”

“Why would I promise to that? Kill him and everyone goes free.” He rumbled back.

June closed her eyes and answered in a slow drone, “Because you ought to honor my request. I could have ordered you, but I’m still giving you the benefit of the doubt.” She met his eyes again in an intimidating look. “After all, if you aren’t a subordinate why do you act like one?” She raised a hand to her chin and mused off-handedly, “Consider me a more understanding Shilling.”

The brown-haired fighter’s eyes widened and for a moment June could have sworn that he would have dashed away. He held himself well despite it and looked away in disgust. “Fine, whatever. I’m still investigating this new floor on my own.”

“Good to hear.” Her lips inched up in a smile. “Thanks for the talk, Frith.” As she turned away, she could almost swear she heard Frith stumble up the stairs. Now that that’s out of the way, I might as well check up on the cafeteria and then Florin. Tomorrow I’ll see how well Monospinda could clean up Shilling’s last hurrah.

Her memory of that starry night with Shilling sent a small pang of sadness into her. I kinda miss the outside world come to think of it… We haven’t looked through any windows or had any source of outside light for several days now. No wonder this trap is working so well, everyone is getting stir-crazy. Did Florin plan that the windows would be bolted shut, or was that Monospinda? And for what reason?

She paused at the cafeteria doorway and stared at the three cheerful students eating and chatting to each other as if they had just passed a tough test instead of narrowly avoided death. Several more moments of observation passed before she shrugged and looked away. Their cheerfulness just isn’t for me anyway. She decided. From her vantage point, something seemed a bit different at the faraway memorial table. Huh, if I had seen that, then I could have made my argument even more credible. Oh well. She gazed at the new addition of the folded up tie at the end of the table before continuing on to her last stop.

Once again, Shilling’s passing only felt simply unfortunate to her.  He talked of death and never escaping this place after all, and he was reckless beyond all measure for people he cared about. He fully embraced death at the end; why mourn the inevitable?

Her feet led her to her dorm room and she chanced a glance at Florin’s down the hall. Was it too soon to check up on him? “Ah.” She breathed to herself and turned back the way she came. Why didn’t I think of it before? I shouldn’t just barge in and demand that he buck up already. I’ll bring him a treat.

The bouncer quietly made her way into the cafeteria past the party of the remaining three HOME team students without gaining so much of a glance. It was as if she could willfully become invisible. That felt… strangely familiar and depressing. Curious at how that emotion emerged, she largely ignored it as she grabbed one of the many assortments of the Monospinda brew. If I was coping with that kind of loss, I’d turn to the drink too. June paused and took a few more just in case she wanted some.

With a handful of brown glass bottles of bitter depressants, June returned unopposed to Florin’s dorm room. Thinking that knocking was entirely pointless, she simply turned the handle and entered his unlocked room. Odd that he’d leave his door unlocked since to his knowledge Frith was still on the prowl.

She entered to behold a discouraging sight: the planner of this entire event, the one who continually said that he’d help every last one of his fellow students, hunched dejectedly on the corner of his bed. Glasses sitting on his bedside table and his tie flung on the ground, he looked very different from his usual practical, presentable self.  Though he was silent, just the mere look of him could communicate his utter sorrow.

The dark-haired student exhaled softly and closed the door behind her, locking it for privacy or in case Frith got a crazy idea from his investigations on the fifth floor. Silently, she snuck to his side and placed the beers down at her feet. As she sat down, Florin finally noticed her and yelped.

“Yaa! June!” He flailed weakly, his reddened eyes wide with surprise. “What…?”

It could probably take a while to explain things to the distraught SHSL Hope. Instead of wanting to bore him with her words, she simply met his eyes and offered him a drink. “Thought you needed something calming.” She inched her lips up in a smile and set the bottle in his hand while grabbing one for herself.

The young man froze for a long moment, trying to figure out how to react. His eyes flitted to the bottle then back cautiously at her. At long last, he finally popped it open and took a long gulp. After doing so he coughed and made a face. “The flavor still hasn’t improved…”

June shrugged and looked at the wall, content to leave him to his drink. She wasn’t going to start him talking about his problems; she already could guess that his talking about them would distress him more. Eventually she took a sip herself of the bitter stuff. It’s not bad I guess.

Florin had finished half the bottle by the time he spoke again. “So, um… what brings you here?” He asked weakly while staring into the depths of his drink.

She kept a sarcastic comment to herself and droned, “I promised Shilling I’d look out after you.” There was more, but she thought it a good answer to start with. “Worst case scenario, you’d start thinking that your death might be best for everyone. Which isn’t true.”

The red-head dropped any attempt at hiding his turmoil at the mention of Shilling. Hanging his head and swirling the beer around inside its container, he mumbled, “How could Shilling… leave me?”

“You still haven’t read his letter have you?” She calmly replied.  

“No…” He flinched and ran his free hand through his hair. “The last time I saw him… he was scared but determined. He had to have known then and there what he was going to do. He stopped me as if he wanted to say goodbye… and I was oblivious to it! I didn’t even remember that he was my brother until he died… I didn’t even get to…” He stopped himself as his throat began to tighten again.

He always was such an emotional person. June mentally played with the words before droning back, “What would he say if he saw you like this? You’re supposed to have this game’s reigns in your hands. Now all you can do is mope about.”

The fellow student’s brow furrowed and he snapped his eyes shut. Voice rasping through his throat, he slowly answered, “It’s because I was supposed to have this game under control! Because of me and my amnesia this imposter has been walking all over us. Nine of us are dead thanks to my negligence!”

“I do wonder what kind of thing would make you forget your own brother and your own skill.” June mused quietly before sipping more of the bitter yet lightening beer. I guess it would be stupid to ask if he remembers how he forgot.

Florin visibly flinched. “I’m not ready for that… I’ve got a million other things to think about before that!” His hands trembled into fists, but he forced them to rest at his head and almost using his bottle like an icepack against his red face.

June exhaled shortly and examined the wall for a long moment. “You take yourself too seriously, Florin.” She could already feel his incredulity without looking at him.

“What?” He gave a strained response. “I’m supposed to! I have all of this authority riding on me; I can’t afford to be lax about it. LIVES are at stake here! How can I not be serious about it? Everyone from Denarii to Shilling was counting on me… and I failed them!”

“My point stands.” The bouncer slowly met his vibrant green but reddened eyes. “All of this stress is only tearing you apart. Sure you might be responsible, but what about Monospinda? He’s the one who gave us incentives to kill each other.” Her drone lifted into a small reassuring note. “Maybe instead you should stick to your skill of hope. In the least you tried at something and failed. Better than not doing anything at all.”

The other student stared strangely at her for a long moment. His mouth silently repeated her last sentence back to himself. He scoffed lightly and shook his head before taking another sip of the drink. “Better than doing nothing at all… You’re right, June. You’re so right.” At long last a small smile inched up on his face. “To think that you of all people could encourage me… Thank you, June. Maybe to strengthen hope, you also need to feel despair…”

Something seemed to click in his mind, and if it got him out of depression it was worth the effort. She nodded back. “I’m not the encouraging type, no. But if you are broken down, then the rest of us don’t have a chance against this so-called imposter.”

Florin sighed and set his bottle down. Leaning back he gave her a strangely warm look. He held out his hand to lie on her right shoulder. “I’m glad that we could have this conversation, June.”

The young woman’s eyebrows rose at his touch. Shilling’s parting words from earlier that day came back to her in that moment: ‘Florin cares very deeply for you, he just doesn’t remember it yet’. Her eyes stayed focused on his and her monotone revealing nothing. “As am I. Looks like my thoughts about you being through hell and back but still having that determination were right.”

He shook his head gently. “I’m still not the focus here; I’m more worried about you and the rest of the students.”

He certainly was Shilling’s little brother: both owning short tempers, a powerful aura of authority, low view of themselves, and highly emotional. Why she hadn’t seen their similarities before now she wasn’t sure.

June closed her eyes in a small smile and held his hand to her shoulder.  Though she didn’t like hugs or touching all that much, it was reassuring. Whatever hell Florin had experienced, at least he could cling to his hope and move on. And that’s what she and rest needed most: someone to give them the boost of determination. Perhaps that was what was so curious about Florin in the first place, that he always seemed to get back up from anything even if it took several mood swings in the process.

“There really is no hope in giving up, is there?” Florin still seemed to on his philosophical train of thought. “In the least, you have to put up a fight. If you don’t… it’s almost like resigning yourself to death or a hopeless future…” With his gaze focused on the wall, she guessed that he was thinking about Shilling’s last hurrah.

“I guess it makes sense.” She mused along with him. “Something to remind you that you’re still alive and kicking, something to reassure yourself that you have control over your own life.”

He returned with a worn smile and a deep look. “It makes perfect sense when you say it like that, June.” She couldn’t help but feel that Florin was meaning more than he was saying. Perhaps Frith was right that he had become more secretive. He inched closer, but then returned to his original place. Still calmly smiling, the red-head asked, “I’m curious, are you afraid of what waits for us on the fifth floor?”

The bouncer shrugged against his hand. “It’s just stuff about the past. Whatever happened happened, not much more you can really do about it.” Maybe he wasn’t thinking about Shilling… She returned the deep look to him with her monotone question, “What kind of ideals did Monospinda mean you were pushing into our heads? What’s your motivation to do all of this?”

The SHSL Hope gently removed his hand from her shoulder but still held the same reassurance in his face. “I don’t exactly know what Monospinda meant. Maybe he means trying give you all hope, maybe I’ve forgotten what else my goals were. And like I said, I wanted to prevent Shilling from dying, from everyone here from dying.”

“And then your naïve trusting of everyone got you into this mess and with a wiped memory.” She stated bluntly.

Florin frowned gently. “Heh, don’t remind me…”

He was still being evasive about the reason he had no memory at the beginning of the game. Whatever his reasons June didn’t see that big of a need to pry further. He can keep his secrets, no skin off my nose.

The young man sighed and leaned back on the bed. His hands fidgeted a touch before he leaned back up and reached for Shilling’s letter. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “Ok… I think I might be ready…” He read the address and bit his lip. “Maybe…”

June eyed him calmly, reading the front of the letter once again to herself: ‘To my little brother Florin~’. She smiled inwardly, warmed by such an affectionate term. What siblings must feel like… she wouldn’t ever really know that feeling.

The Mastermind huffed and looked away, trying to hide his rising tears. “D-damn… Can’t even get past the first words without…” He rubbed at his eyes.

“Do you want me to read it to you?” June droned. It felt better to help him than just sit and read over his shoulder anyway. She held out her hand to accept it but added, “My voice can lull you to sleep though, just a warning.”

The red-head forced a laugh and handed over the sacred writings of Shilling. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks again, June.” Regaining his bottle, he nearly finished the rest in a gulp. He was preparing for whatever may come, as if expecting the worst.

With the envelope opened without so much as a tear, she flipped the folded paper open and began reading, “Florin. If you’re reading this, then the deed has been done. Ah, but don’t worry about me, I was never really going to live a long and happy life anyways. Truth be told, and you know me, I wouldn’t want to die any other way.”

Florin fought back a choked laugh between her readings, but she continued nonetheless in her completely unfitting tone to portray Shilling’s emotional speech, “I was wrong. I was wrong and that shook me to the core. The moment I saw you as the game started, I knew that we held a strong connection; I first assumed that we were on the same side. That of course turned out to be the thing I freaked out over: that we were never on the same side of this game. And yet how could that be when you had done so much for me?” As she continued reading, Florin lay on his back and stretched out across the bed. He seemed to want to make himself more comfortable while listening.

She continued the reading, “I really didn’t deserve your attention, little bro. My memory has returned enough to know that I’ve done terrible, terrible things. And even after doing such things, I didn’t think that I needed to change my ways. Why you even gave me the time of day still blows my mind. Well, maybe you had your reasons. Maybe your skill was really some kind of hope or determination that gave you that stubborn streak.

“Enough about me though, some parting wishes. One: whoever is controlling Monospinda should die. Like really, I know you don’t have blood on your hands, but kill him or her. They deserve nothing less for turning your experiment into a bloodbath. Two: help June. She deserves all of the attention you gave me times ten. In fact, you should totally fill her up with your hope~. Interpret that as you like~.” She paused in the letter to shake her head in playful disbelief. Typical Shilling.

Florin blushed and waved his hand lazily from his spot. “Er, sorry you had to read that.”

“No, I think if he and I were friends in the past that I’d be used to it by now.” She droned back. Curious that he’d want to mention me in his last letter. I thought he was only playfully pushing us together for Florin’s discomfort at first. Then again, Shilling did insist that his brother did care for her. Without a clue as to how to interpret it, she continued reading the SHSL Truth’s final words.

“Three, stick to your ideals. The world needs more people like you, Florin. As long as you work on your temper that is. Just because the people you were close to are probably all gone, that doesn’t have to stop you from making new friends. Move on, make something of yourself. Carry on the family name and all that shit.

“Heh… that was a lot harder to write than I thought. Well, nothing else strikes my mind that I need to tell you about. I couldn’t have asked for a better brother, even if you seemed to have forgotten. Be the support of everyone as you reach the exit doors. It wasn’t easy for me to come to terms with it and I doubt others will just accept it and just move on happily.

“Oh yeah, and one last thing: you did save me, Florin. In fact, consider me the first of Team Despair that accepted your hope and did the right thing for everyone else. I didn’t die out of desperation or because I was backed into a corner. I did this so that you could bring about your victory. So go kick some monochrome ass for me! Hope’s Peak Forever!

“Love, Shilling Daniels, Super High School Level Truth.”

Relieved that she could take a breather, June took a drink to ease her throat. As she observed the fellow student for his reaction, her eyes caught Florin’s gentle rising and falling chest. Had he fallen asleep? Well, I had warned him about my voice’s effects…

She stared into the young man’s sleeping face; disheveled red hair covered his right eye, his mouth hung slightly agape, and his hands rested neatly on his chest. Still dressed in his school uniform, though his shirt hung half untucked and one button loose, he almost had the look of a businessman come back home from a long, stressful day in the office.

Shilling’s note had proved interesting to say the least. He was caring and sweet for Florin and yet vengeful practically in the next sentence toward Monospinda. His call to kill the imposter wasn’t all that surprising, but what caught more of her attention was the hidden confession. Shilling had done some vaguely terrible things that he thought hardly deserved Florin’s forgiveness. Then again, how could he be specific when writing this letter? Perhaps the phrasing might trigger some memories as to what was going on to Florin.

The dark-haired June placed the letter back on the bedside table and the empty bottles nearby. So much for bringing more drinks along, all I needed were two. She stayed in her place, wondering if she should leave just yet. I’m content with what I learned in the letter, no need to pour through it again. Maybe I should wake Florin up and say goodnight? Laziness anchored her in place and she lay on her back instead. I’ll just relax a bit before I call it a night. Maybe he’ll wake up and we can chat more about what the note meant. With the airy alcohol drifting through her mind, she closed her eyes.