Project Arc: an Original Fanganronpa

Chapter 2, Act 2

"Unbelievable... So he really did mean all of the rooms were unlocked," Anastasia huffed in a low growl of annoyance after pushing the door open to a random dormitory, only to be met with no resistance.

After revealing to the Ultimates the perk of new rooms and opened doors (literally), we had all decided to split up and explore. With the absence of any natural pairings (excluding Moxie and Satine, as Satine went with someone else), everyone was rather randomly grouped, in pairings such as: Dimitri and Felix, Ren and Arl0 (the energetic types who already explored), Moxie and Mei (who agreed on exploring in the evening), Miko and Aoki, and of course, Anastasia and I. We had agreed beforehand to focus on any potential dangers and murder weapons, to hopefully prevent another trial.

As Anastasia opened the door, it let out a waft of steam and pleasant vanilla perfume to gather around us at its opening before a slightly muffled yet pleasant voice came through:

"Sorry m'dear, just drawing a bath, mind coming back later? Preferably at, say, past 6 PM?"

Anastasia checked her watch with a scowl, before yelling back, "It's 2:43, do you really expect us to believe you will be taking a bath for over three hours?"

"We just want to take a look around," I added helpfully before Mei completely shut us out.

Silence. I was expecting the door to slam in our faces, but was instead met with a hesitant:

"Who was that, just now?"

"Me, Beau. Before that, it was Mer- er, I mean, Anastasia."

"Oh, well you could've said so earlier!" Mei responded gleefully to my statement, before I felt the warmth of her hand suddenly grasp my arm, dragging me into her room in one swift movement before the door shut behind me.

Spluttering as steam and a rather prominent scent of amber and incense crowded my face and vision, I stifled the urge to violently cough. As the mist and my vision cleared, I found myself in a rather lavishly decorated room. Dressers and armoires were dotted about the edges of the room, as if framing the circular bed in the middle draped with some sort of mesh fabric that held a light, reflective sheen.

Moving away from the center, there were a few other rooms attached to the room. One was obviously the bathroom considering the sheer amount of steam billowing out of the slightly ajar door, and another what I assume to be a small private cinema room, as while the entry was covered by a curtain, I overheard what sounded like faint voices with Mid-Atlantic accents, like in those old movies.

"So! What're you here for, Beau?" Mei asked as she draped herself over a nearby plush sofa, she herself wrapped in a silk robe. "Nothing suspicious here, I promise. Or are you here for a little chat? No," Mei continued as she gazed at my expression. "Surely not for something as simple as that."

Keeping my eyes dutifully away from the image of her in the robe, I responded quickly, "Well, nothing too serious. We're just searching for any potential murder weapons to prevent another trial-"

"And thought of visiting the Ultimate Producer's room?" Mei laughed incredulously. "Really, what would I do? Guillotine someone's head off with a clapboard?"

Now, I had no idea what a clapboard was, but I'm 99% sure it's no weapon.

"It's just a safety precaution. You never know," I replied with a glare. "Anything could be used as a murder weapon."

"Yes, but the knife was just dead obvious," Mei yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Learn to relax a li-"

"I can't!" I shrieked without meaning to, stepping back quickly. I couldn't help it, it was like watching my actions through a slightly shaky screen at my quivering breaths. Calm down. I took a deep sigh, before continuing: