𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚎.

◇glory to the night◇

"somebody please tell me no."

"big sis [f/n]! you'll come with us, right?" gin tugged on your sleeve, standing proudly next to the high school professor. "oh! gin, mishima, sure! i don't think there's anyone i'm too suspicious of." mishima laughed and pushed up and his glasses. "you certainly are a trusting one, aren't you!" you waved him off, leading the way out of the main room. ending up in a hallway, with a room and a vending machine. the machine only had water and soda, and next to the room sat a sign labeled 'bar'. upon walking in, it was clear that it wasn't too unusual inside. the idea that a bar was there was strange in itself, but. "is this where you'd like to search, miss [f/n]?" you just shrugged, moving to observe a list on the wall. "hm, that's weird. it's got a list of people who are and aren't of age. a lot of the people on here aren't people we've met, though."

can drink: alice, kai, kazumi, keiji, shunsuke, sou, naomichi, mai, megumi, reko, q-taro, f/n. can't drink: anzu, kanna, gin, kugie, sara, joe, nao, hinako, ranmaru.

"this place is full of alcohol! i hate alcohol, and i hate my drunkard dad more!" it sucked you were so used to hearing about addicted parents, too many people went through it. "dads don't matter, kiddo. you can choose your family, whoever your dad is doesn't have to be thought of as a father." as you spun the top of a bar stool with a push of the hand, mishima laughed. "such a fascinating point of view! i do agree, family is not always blood!" gin never thought of his father as a dad anyways.

"miss [f/n], have you found something especially intriguing? you seem to be caught in a daze." mishima was especially observant, you'd have to keep that in mind. "there's some sort of cabinet over here." scooting the bar chair aside, you kneeled to the ground. there was a small bump on the left, seemingly to act as a handle. the grip was practically useless, but you were able to open it. "what's in it, meow?" your two investigation partners both came to lean over your shoulders, much to your annoyance.

"it's quite dark." you shot mishima a glare for him comment. "wow. thank you for letting me know." he ignored your sarcasm, stopping your hand from reaching into the compartment. "now, you mustn't do that without thinking!" gin was quick to agree. "the old man's right, woof! this could be a trap, meow!!" they got a shrug in response. "someone has to, jus' trust me on this one." the two made no attempt to stop you from reaching your arm in the hole, waiting for some sort of negative reaction. there wasn't one. first, there was something small near the front. "hm? it's a cigar cutter." the professor next to you visibly reacted. "now, now, you shouldn't be smoking. here, allow me to hold onto that!" he seemed ecstatic to hold the item, perhaps he was a smoker.

reaching your hand in again, the only other thing you felt was a large plastic object in the back, pulling it out, you were met with a doll's right leg. the child next to you pulled back. "no worries, it's not real." as you stood, you tossed it in the air and caught it, almost finding it entertaining. mishima went back behind the bar table to continue searching, possibly for a cigar. gin followed along. you looked back into the cupboard one more time, surprised to see something glowing green. slowing pulling it closer to you, you could see the bright green light was some sort of writing on a playing card.

"the one who claims this: this now belongs to you. keep it on you always. let no one else know the existence of this card. otherwise, you will die." flipping it over, it revealed some sort of key with the words "keymaster". the rule on back made little sense to you, but you had no chance to sort it out as you heard someone approaching. you quickly shoved the card into your shirt pocket before standing up with the leg in hand. "you found a body part!" sara and sou stood behind you, seeming a mix of fear and excitement.

"nope, mishima was just pissin' me off." though it probably shouldn't have been, it was entertaining when they actually seemed to believe you. "i'm kidding, no blood, see? you guys find anything yet?" they didn't seem to be in the mood for jokes. "we found a cigar next to the game room." mishima was quick to take that too. "anything else?" the two stayed quiet for a moment. "no, sorry miss [f/n], that's all we found." sara quickly looked at him, before slowly turning back to you. "yeah, nothing else." she suddenly became aware of the feeling of bullets in her jacket pocket. you stared, not oblivious to their lie. sara was practically shaking under your glare, sou didn't seem bothered at all. there was very clearly something off with him.

"eh, no worries. not like we found much either. although, i've done my part searching in here, you wouldn't mind if i go along with you guys, right?" mishima knew better than to protest, and gin was too focused on searching to be listening. "sure, we could use the extra help. i'm probably only weighing sara down, so." the teal-haired man continued smiling. no more words were exchanged as the three of you left, sara took the lead and guided you all to what appeared to be an average cafeteria. "hm? a dart. it looks fancy, but the tip is sharp so be careful." sara took it, looking at it. it seemed there was nothing interesting about it. the teenager continued to search around all the tables, checking under them and on the seats. you took it upon yourself to investigate what seemed to be a kitchen, looking through the large window. it wasn't long before sou appeared beside you.

"miss [f/n], do you trust me?" you didn't bother to look at him, though you could tell he was looking at you. "you appear to be very trustworthy, but i don't think i could say the same about myself. do you trust me?" sou seemed to be attempting you to admit something to him, using his timidness as some sort of persuasion. was his cowardly personality just a facade? finally, you looked at him. "have you given me a reason not to?" this was your go-to answer when that specific question was asked. it wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no either. it was turning the question around on the questioner. he didn't seem too sure on how to answer that.

"i don't think so, though it's surely a situation that's hard to trust people in." yet, he said he trusted you. it was quiet as you stared at him. he glanced around the room, not sure how to feel while you were glaring at him. "m-miss
[f/n]?" you looked back into the kitchen window. "you fascinate me, sou." you walked over to the kitchen door, but it was locked. he followed. "aha, in a good way or bad way?" in all honesty, you weren't sure yourself. "neither. say, did you lie about your name?" were you positive he lied? no, it was just a feeling.

"my name? i see, so you don't trust me." he avoided the question. "is that what trust means to you? catching someone in a lie doesn't mean you have no trust for them. i've had witnesses lie to me, that doesn't mean i have no faith in them." he stayed quiet for a while. "i didn't lie about my name, miss [f/n]."

"alright, mister sou."

"it's altogether mad to fear being disgraced by the disgraceful." -lucius seneca