On the Path to Bravery in a Coward's Paradise

Chapter 3: A Midsummer's Day Nightmare

A Midsummer Day’s Nightmare Daily Life 1

The chapter 3 is here! Of course, the name of Chapter 1 was based on the title of the 2018 film A Wizard's Tale and the name of Chapter 2 was based on V3’s canon Chapter 2's title: 'A thin line divides heaven and hell'. So Chapter 3’s name is based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The nutshell version of this part of Chapter 3: Nanako spends time with an energetic and misandrist astronomer and her lethargic broker friend.
Nanako had barely slept at all. Wandering into the dining area, face pale, movements slow and unsteady, twisted visions of yesterday flooded her mind. The discovery of Hibiki’s body. That horrible class trial. Kanade’s execution, which Nanako would have nightmares about for the rest of her life.
Seventeen students had entered this awful, horrible place.
Four of them were already dead.
Would it be better, she wondered, leading herself to her usual seat? Would it be better if Team Void tried to end the killing game? The game would end if they succeeded in doing so. The fear of the next murder, the next trial, the next maniacal execution… all of it would be over.
Mikado was not his usual self.
“What’s wrong, Sannoji?†Nanako asked the Wizard.
"When he announced he would execute Kanade," Mikado explained, shivering. "I thought he would just shoot her or stab her or something along those lines, but instead he...that tank of acid..."
“Yeah,†Emma said. “I still have nightmares about Kanade’s death.â€
"Alright, everyone!" Nanako declared. "I know yesterday was hard for all of us, but today's a new day! Let's get right to it, shall we?!"
Nanako was confident that if they worked together, they could prevent any further deaths. As was Nikei. The siblings knew by being dual leaders, they would let no more murders happen!
Boy, were they wrong.
(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q87RnMuJNt8)
Chapter 3: A Midsummer Day’s Nightmare
Daily Life
After breakfast, Monochrome appeared and announced that 4 new Ultimate Research labs would open.
The 4 new labs were Hajime’s lab, Syobai’s lab, Setsuka’s lab and Yoroko’s lab.
Nanako decided to spend sometime with Yuri.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Rq8MjAKkQ)
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“Yuri, what started your love of the Galaxy?†I asked.
“Yuri’s rich parents gave her a book called “800 facts about the universe.†Yuri said.
“And then what happened?†I breathed.
“Yuri’s father told her that the Galaxy is only something that men love, so she mustn’t tell any boys about her love for the Galaxy, or she would be mercilessly mocked.†Yuri said. “Yuri was so naive that she took him literally. And now, Yuri hates men!â€
So her father unknowingly caused her to become the self proclaimed enemy of men…
Yuri then began to chuckle to herself. "Regardless… you see, Yuri believes the Galaxy is something which possesses infinite beauty. Yuri finds even the ugly aspects of the galaxy to be beautiful. So Yuri can't help but wonder, what kind of beauty will she be able to witness when she is older and she becomes an astsronaut? With a 10th planet coming soon, she can't imagine how wonderful it will be." She says with a smile.
Too bad all this beauty is going to be caked in blood when the world ends.
Suddenly, Syobai ran into the place.
“Looks like I’m gonna have to spend some time with him, too.†Nanako thought.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Rq8MjAKkQ)
“Syobai, what started your involvement in… human trafficking?†I asked.
“Oh, human trafficking! I learned about it in an audiobook!†Syobai said, not his usual quiet and sleepy self. “The audiobook said ‘Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of selling them for slavery.’ It also said ‘Recent studies show that over 7, 0000 people get human trafficked every year.’â€
“That’s horrifying! So an audiobook was the reason you got involved in human trafficking?†Nanako asked.
(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8B09DBDSZJg)
Syobai nodded. “Yes,†he said. “I also do organ theft. To escape, I’ll sell your organs!â€
“Sell organs?†Nanako asked. Bile rose from her gut and threatened to spill out from her mouth.
“Yes,†Syobai said. “Or I might ship you to an Eastern Europe country, where you’ll wish you were dead.â€
Are you implying to escape, you’ll subject me to a fate worse than death?
“As the Ultimate Broker, anything is possible.†Syobai said. “Even selling people for slavery.â€
Note to self, never talk to Syobai again. Yuri seems nice, though, albeit slightly misandrist. I should probably keep in touch with her.
A few hours later, Nanako and Nikei were looking around the Ulimate Broker’s Lab.
There were four steel doors in the lab.
Nanako touched one.
It felt cold to the touch.
Holy shoot.
Terrible thoughts flooded her mind as she realized that the Ultimate Broker’s lab was also a morgue… was this where the corpses of the deceased were being stored?
The stabbed body of Iroha?
The dismembered carcass of Yuki?
The drowned cavader of Hibiki?
The dissolved remeants of Kanade?
Their deaths replayed over and over in Nanako’s head, one after the other and all at once.
Suddenly, Syobai appeared.
“I would like my lab to be body-free myself...†Syobai said.
So, this is indeed where the bodies are being stored.
Nikei suddenly found a trapdoor and flipped it open.
Nanako went down it, Nikei following her.
They found themselves in a dark room.
Setsuka was there.
“Are you ready to start a game of hell?†She said, holding a laser tag gun.
She tossed Nikei and Nanako two guns, and it became painfully obvious what she intended to do with those.
“Let the Lasertag Game commence!â€
When Nanako had first arrived in the dark room, Setsuka had told her that they were about to play a game of hell. It appears that wasn't a lie.
Being the Ultimate Billiards Player, Setsuka Chiebukuro looked vigorous. And she was exactly as vigorous as she looked. With any escape routes blocked off, all the two siblings could do was run around the room in a panic.
Nanako was shot a couple of times. As for Nikei, however, he was shot several times.
Setsuka kept repeatedly shooting at them.
They cried for help, but it didn't save them at all.
Nanako wished she could have not gone down that suspicious trapped door.
She had, though.
Nikei screamed, running around the room as Setsuka kept shooting him, despite suffering from the severe effects of being shot with lasers.
“I haven’t had this much fun since Iroha hosted her party!†Setsuka laughed manically as the two siblings ran around the room in a panic, the gunslinging billiards player running after them the entire time.
The Lasertag Party continued without mercy.
It isn’t known exactly how long it lasted, but eventually the two siblings’ bodies became very exhausted. They were so close falling asleep. Once they were in this state... Mikado Sannoji finally entered the room.
“What the hell happened?†He asked, confused.
Setsuka had a gun, and she was shooting his friends with a manical look on her face.
Nikei was screaming running around the room while a heavily injuried Nanako did her best to get blood out of her mouth. Mikado knew he would never say this to Setsuka's face, but this was possibly the worst way possible to try to get anyone to love Lasertag.
"You guys okay? You look like you've been to hell and back.†Mikado said as Setsuka put down the gun, much to the relief of the two siblings.
“Trauma,†Nanako shivered. “I never want to play Lasertag again.â€
Setsuka then got a grin.
“Let's play lasertag all day…" she said with a serious glare. "Who wants to play!?"
"Eh?" That was the only sound Mikado could make in his newfound fear.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant!†He said, as he tried to prevent his fate.
Nanako and Nikei left the room through the trapped door, as Setsuka got out the gun.
They then left the Ultimate Broker’s Lab and closed the door. Almost immediately after, Mikado’s screams could be heard from under their feet. God, Nanako felt terrible. But this had to be done.
Let's just make this worthwhile.
* Ding Dong! *
“It is now nighttime. Let your despairing minds rest…â€
Nanako rested in the bed, listening to Mikado’s screams. They still could be heard. Nanako did a nefarious grin, listening to the Ultimate Wizard’s comeuppance.
Serves him right.
However, as much as she wanted to listen to Mikado’s just desserts, there was another issue weighing heavily on Nanako’s mind.
Can I prevent any further deaths?
Only time would tell.
Next time, the motive, and a murder!
A Midsummer Day’s Nightmare Daily Life 2