Ace Attorney Investigations: Virtual Despair

Chapter 5: Flawed Punishment - Part 2 (Daily Life)

~ Ultimate Software Engineer Zachary Moore's POV ~

We all trudged back to the restuarant as Monokuma requested. I had no idea how everyone else was feeling, but as for me... I knew the emotion well: anger. There were often times where I struggled to control my temper, but this stupid game made the problem worse.

Monokuma was indeed waiting for us at the restuarant. He was stood on one of the tables. "You all look like stereotypical moody teenagers!" He called. "Come on, show me some hustle and get in here!"

"What do you want?" Akari interrogated, her violet eyes narrowed.

Monokuma sighed. "Geez, you guys always assume it's going to be bad news when I show up. What if I have something good to tell you guys, huh? Have a little faith in me! I am your teacher, after all!"

"Whatever," Jordan growled, rolling his eyes. "Just tell us what you want. We have better things to be doing than talking to you."

"Oh, it's nothing too heavy." Monokuma continued. "I just had a little announcement to make!"

"Announcement?" Botan repeated, clearly already suspicious. "What could you possibly have to announce?"

"I have a surprise planned for all of you!" Monokuma cried, throwing his little arms into the air. "Trust me, you'll love it!"

"A... surprise?" Kyle echoed, his blue eyes narrowing with worry. "Is that, like... some kind of death trap to kill us all with or something?"

Monokuma deflated slightly. "A death trap? Is that really the best thing you could come up with? Actually, no, it is not a 'death trap'. It's something even better!"

"What is it, then?" I asked impatiently. "You're not doing yourself any favours by being so cryptic about it."

"If I tell you, then it's not much of a surprise, is it?" The monochrome bear crossed his arms, apparently trying to appear intimidating. "Just try and contain your excitement until I've finished preparing it, okay?"

With a final wave of his hand (paw?), Monokuma vanished into thin air as he usually did. I turned towards the others. "So... now what?" I asked. "We've explored the fifth island, so there's not like there's anything new for us to find there."

"We'll have to wait until later to get any answers." Niamh sighed. "I'm curious as to what he could have for us, but... at the same time, I'm worried. You know what he's like. Death and despair and all that."

I gasped when I realized that the room was emptier than usual. We were one person short, and the lack of two redheads proved that one of them was missing. I snuck out of the restuarant and glanced around, hoping to catch sight of her.

I saw her sat next to the pool, just outside the hotel. Akari had that white scarf around her neck as usual, but tighter, so that it covered the lower half of her face. She wasn't doing much other than staring into her reflection in the pool.

I cleared my throat loudly as I approached, trying to think of some way to start a conversation. My social skills weren't exactly amazing, but I had to at least try and do something. "Hi," I greeted with a small wave. "You, uh... okay?"

Akari remained silent for a few moments. "Yeah." She replied eventually, her voice slightly muffled by the material around her neck. "Why?"

"I-I was just asking." I blurted out. Her tone of voice had been dark; something I'm not used to hearing, especially from her. "I just... wasn't expecting to find you out here... on your own... doing this."

Akari continued to stare into her own reflection's eyes. "I want to get out of this game more than ever." She sighed. "I want to go home... My brother is probably worrying about me."