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It was easy to get lost in the tranquil environment of Jabberwock Island. With grains of sand in between her toes, the fresh and slightly salty smell of the beach, and the sound and sight of gentle waves crashing on the shore… Chiaki almost forgot that this island was the site of nine deaths so far. She’d never be able to forgive that bear, and she hardly even understood how he infiltrated the simulation in the first place. Was there even anything she or Future Foundation could do to stop these killings?
Maybe… she shouldn’t think about that. Instead, she gazed upon the island’s horizon with a small sigh as she booted up her handheld system.
Normally, Chiaki wasn’t observant unless she needed to be… and usually, she needed to be on this island. Since Monokuma took over, there were plenty of suspicious areas popping up on the island that she needed to keep a close eye on, and the murder investigations she’s had to help solve so far haven’t been any help. But whenever her attention was available, usually, she would be engrossed in some game. Today was different, but that wasn’t a surprise to her. Though there was a handheld console gifted to her from Hajime in her grasp, she was instead watching the sunset. The environment of crystal blue waters under a warm, orange sky… it was a nice change of place from the gaudy Funhouse she had been previously trapped in.
They had just escaped, unfortunately at the expense of Gundham and Nekomaru’s lives. What a cruel motive. Monokuma hadn’t forced a kill like that before… Why did it have to happen..?
No, guilt wouldn’t do anyone good. She grieved her classmates, of course… but they weren’t really her classmates, were they? Chiaki frowned at the thought. No matter how she looked at it, she was the odd one out, wasn’t she? Nobody here was like her, and she was struggling to truly fit in and be ‘human’ while protecting everyone else at the same time. But it was so unlike her to bring herself down like that. Maybe she was just upset that everyone seemed to be falling into despair again...
…Hm… maybe she should think about something else.
Her eyes flickered down to her handheld, and as if on instinct, her thumb moved towards the power button. Video games were always there. Even when the world around her was falling apart, she could spend days and days with her eyes glued to a screen. The actual games on the handheld were subpar at best, since Monokuma had obviously designed them all. But… she would take anything, really. Even though she had already 100% completed practically every game on the console, and hardly any of them had much replay value, she still played. She’d still find a way to have fun.
Chiaki couldn’t really tell how much time had passed. She was so absorbed in the game that she might as well have been a part of it. The 8-bit platformer was clearly a ripoff of another, more popular franchise, but Chiaki didn’t mind. She still found new and faster ways to complete levels, and had genuine fun doing it. She smiled softly at her screen as she reached the end of yet another stage, before something had suddenly brought her back to Earth.
“Hey, hey, hey! Are you even listening?!”
She gasped, looking up as someone snapped their (rather greasy) fingers in front of her face. The bright yellow jumpsuit and neon pink hair stood out sharply in front of the cool colors of the ocean. Chiaki could recognize Kazuichi anywhere. “Oh… did you need something?” She asked slowly. The mechanic grunted in response, folding his arms as he stood up above her.
“This is where you disappeared off to? We already can’t keep track of Nagito, so we don’t need you vanishing on us, too!” He paused for a moment, whipping his head around to look at their surroundings. “Hey, what are you doing out here all alone, anyways? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Chiaki let out a small noise of realization, putting her handheld down. “You must’ve been worried about me,” she said. “Sorry about that.” Her words were soft and reserved, but not too apologetic. A lack of any intense emotional expression, mixed in with a hint of genuine kindness… yep, that was Chiaki’s signature tone.
“Ah– hey!” Quickly, Souda moved to clarify, waving his hands in front of him. “Don’t– don’t say it like that! It wasn’t, like– we were all looking for you, you know? Hajime was the one who was really worried about you, so– d-don’t try to make it look like I’m being disloyal to Miss Sonia or anything!” Chiaki couldn’t help but frown. It was typical of Souda to get worked up over hardly anything, which was where the two of them differed. But, still… taking Chiaki’s words and twisting them into something else was rather strange. She hadn’t even mentioned Sonia, but she still somewhat expected him to bring her up.
Because he likes her… like, romantically. At least, Chiaki thinks so. That’s how she understands it so far, but then again, she didn’t understand love too well. She glanced up at Kazuichi. Maybe this was her opportunity to learn a little more…
…Well, even so, she should probably ease into a topic like that. “That isn’t what I was trying to do,” she muttered, tracing circles in the sand. “...I’m not sure Sonia minds you being ‘disloyal’ to her. She may have more to worry about right now… I think.”
“Wh… what’s that supposed to..?” Kazuichi trailed off, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking away. Chiaki could tell– he knew what she meant. Sonia was sad about Gundham, that much was obvious, but she couldn’t really tell how Kazuichi was taking the whole thing. Gauging emotions was always difficult for her… so, maybe instead of trying to read his face, she should talk about it.
“Hey, hey. Kazuichi,” she started, scooting backwards and patting the ground next to her. “Do you have something you want to say..?”
He blinked, sputtering. “I… I have to let everyone know you’re here,” he said instead, changing the subject. “We got worried that something happened when we couldn’t find you, you know?”
“Oh.”
An awkward silence settled between the two teenagers. Chiaki quietly drew in the sand with her finger, expecting Kazuichi to either leave or take her to the rest of the group. Instead, he lingered above her with his mouth slightly agape, like a fish. Was he going to say something? He looked like he wanted to, Chiaki briefly observed, but maybe he just couldn’t decide on what to say. Finally, after a prolonged silence, he moved. But rather than leaving, he plopped down next to her with a sigh.
“...What’re you out here for, Chiaki? Did’ja just wanna see the view, or..?”
“Hmm… something like that,” she mumbled, tilting her head as she watched the sea. “I can’t really remember how long I’ve been sitting here. Just… thinking.”
“‘Bout what?” Kazuichi asked, leaning back as he wrapped his arms around his knees. Chiaki didn’t know how to reply without giving away the truth. So… she didn’t. She sat in silence again and let her mind wander, and eventually, it wandered back to the topic of Sonia.
“...Hey, Kazuichi? Is it okay if I ask you something?”
“Eh? Sure, go ahead. Why not?”
She paused again, pondering her words. Words were important , she thought. A single word could completely change the meaning of her question. After careful contemplation, she finally decided on what to say. “How do you feel about Sonia? And… why?”
“Wha..? Really, that’s it? Heck, I figured something like that would be obvious!” Chiaki watched as his demeanor swiftly changed. He chuckled and reached up to brush his fingers through his hair, grinning from ear to ear. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?! That beautiful blonde hair and clear, gorgeous skin… Plus, she’s a princess! Always so nice and dainty– there’s no other girl like her!”
Souda raved on and on about the princess, as if he could talk about her forever. But as Chiaki listened, she began to notice a pattern. A repeated use of the word ‘perfect’, emphasis on her appearance, and a description of Sonia that was superficial. Yes, Chiaki knew she was kind, but wasn’t there more to her than that? Her courage and determination to believe in her friends was truly admirable to Chiaki, and even though she had some difficulty understanding Japanese culture, she was truly intelligent. Not to mention how strong she was, working through a close friend like Gundham’s death. No matter what, Sonia was a figure to look up to. At least… that’s what Chiaki thought, anyway. But Kazuichi never brought up any of that.
Maybe… Chiaki was just thinking about it all wrong. Kazuichi must have been more experienced in love, right? So maybe this was just what normal love was. But at the same time, the more she thought about it… well, there was a reason she was so bad at dating simulators, wasn’t there? It was because she couldn’t figure out who the characters were and how they felt beyond a surface level. Because she was inexperienced with people… would it be the same for Kazuichi, too?
“You’re always trying to impress her,” Chiaki said, making Souda stop in his tracks. “You gave that speech, and you even made Minimaru. You’re always trying to get her attention in the trials, too… but you don’t seem to be doing a very good job raising her flags… I think.”
Kazuichi sputtered, his mouth twisting into an insulted grimace. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?! A-are you making fun of me or something??”
“...It’s okay,” Chiaki reassured, turning to look at him through half-lidded eyes. “Because… you gotta make the wrong choices the first time to know the right ones the second time. At least… if you don’t have a walkthrough. And there aren’t really any walkthroughs for real life.”
“Ah– ‘ wrong choices?!’ ” Sharply, Kazuichi’s tone changed, growing defensive like a lioness shielding her cub from a predator. “Miss Sonia is not a wrong choice, thank you very much! In fact, she’s about the rightest choice I’ve ever made! Er… Rightest? Most right?” His tone shifted again, just as quick, but this time he was hesitantly muttering to himself as he pondered his word choice.
Chiaki blinked slowly at him, unimpressed with a hint of disbelief. How did he misinterpret her words that badly?
“...No, that’s not really what I meant,” she sighed. “What I meant was more along the lines of… well, I guess you chose her, but she didn’t really choose you…” She paused, tilting her head in thought as she gazed mindlessly at the ocean, all the while Kazuichi stared dumbly at her. “...Have you ever played a dating game before? I have. You get to interact with a character a bunch of times, and you get different choices you can make while you do. They’ll like one choice more than the other, raising their flag and making them like you more. Usually, at the end of the game, if you’ve made enough right choices, you’ll get that character’s ending. But if you don’t… they end up rejecting you.”
His eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying..? Wait– no, no, hold on!” Kazuichi exclaimed, frantically waving his arms out in front of him. “W-well– if we’re following that video game logic, then– it’s not over yet, right?! She totally likes me! She just… there’s just gotta be some time for her to realize it, okay? And now with G–”
Suddenly, he cut himself off, holding shaky fingers up to his mouth. Kazuichi didn’t need to finish his sentence, though. Chiaki knew exactly what he almost said. ‘Now with Gundham gone, he had a better chance of impressing Sonia.’ To be honest, Chiaki was surprised he stopped himself. He didn’t stop liking her after Gundham’s death, and as horrible as the thought was, it would be easier to get Sonia’s attention with him out of the way. She expected that line of logic from him, given what she knew about him so far, but… was something holding him back, maybe? The morality of it? Did he feel any sense of guilt or pity that Gundham lost his life? Chiaki didn’t assume that at first– maybe that's why she was so bad at dating sims. She always assumed the characters were only what they said, but there was always more to them. That’s what made them human, and Kazuichi was more human than Chiaki ever would be.
But he seemed to lack as much understanding as she did. At least, when it came to relationships.
Quietly, Chiaki spoke up. “I think… well. Maybe you should consider her feelings a little more.”
There was a lot Chiaki could have said, but she went with a simpler route. That was probably the best way to go about this kind of conversation. Kazuichi couldn’t muster up a reply, though he certainly tried to. He stammered, trying to refute or at least defend himself, before giving up with a grunt and bowing his head. “I-I get it. Geez. I know I’m bad at this kind of shit, you don’t gotta rub it in…”
“Oh.” Chiaki tilted her head, glancing at Kazuichi. “No… That wasn’t what I was trying to do. I’m not trying to make you seem like a bad person or anything. I just kind of want to understand what’s going on… I think.” That didn’t seem to convince him to stop sulking, so after a long pause, Chiaki spoke again. “...I think I get it. Maybe you just don’t know how you’re supposed to feel.”
“Eh– what? That’s– that’s ridiculous!” Kazuichi shot back. “Of course I know how I feel! I’m in love with Miss Sonia! Isn’t that obvious?!”
“Not really,” Chiaki said casually, much to his chagrin. “Why are you so sure you’re in love?”
“ Because! Because she’s pretty! She’s pretty, nice, and blonde… So why wouldn’t I–” He stopped himself, as if it had suddenly dawned on him just how shallow his words sounded. “N-not like– I-I mean..! It– it just seems like… aren’t I… It– it just makes sense, right?”
Chiaki hummed, leaning back and carding her fingers through her hair. “...Maybe. Not much of it makes sense to me. Just… love in general, I mean.”
“Ah– really..?” He stopped, as if the two of them suddenly reached an understanding. As if there was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn’t put any of it into words. Kazuichi’s mouth hung open for a few moments, then he sighed, digging his hands into the sand and drooping his shoulders. “...I didn’t really expect that. What– what should I do, then? Do I have it all wrong or something..?”
“I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong way to find things out. I’d say… maybe just try to figure yourself out the best you can. It can be difficult to reconsider what we think is right, but… well… I think whatever makes you happy is the best. It’s important to listen to others, but I think the most important thing is listening to yourself, too. I think… I hope that makes sense.”
“I…” Kazuichi trailed off, his voice small like a mouse. “...Yeah. I-I guess so.” Chiaki could still tell he was unsure of himself– that much was obvious by his troubled expression as he stared out into the sea. But maybe that was okay. Gently, she rested a hand on his shoulder, making him jolt, but only slightly. Still, he didn’t move from his hunched-over position with his knees against his chest. Maybe Kazuichi wasn’t used to this– a friend offering support and guidance, steering him in the right direction.
…Were they friends? Chiaki hoped so. Chiaki considered everyone a friend. Hopefully Kazuichi would be her friend, too.