Regrets, Restarts, and Forgiveness

Chapter 8

"Huh? Watch them....together?" Tenko asked. I gave a firm nod.

"Right. Because like Kaito and Keebo said, they could be dangerous. However, if we watch them together, we'll have each other's support to prevent any....deadly thoughts. How does that sound?" I asked. Everyone looked at each other hesitantly, seeming unsure of my proposal.

"And what if someone got killed as a result of your idea?" Kiyo asked, with slight threat behind his words.

"Then you can blame me. I'm fine with that." I stated. People blamed me for a lot of things before....

"I like that idea." Kaede stated. We all looked to her, who wore a smile. "I might actually feel better, watching this with my friends." She said.

"Nyeh, me too. I'm worried what's on my video, but I wanna see it. So if I watch with everyone, I'll feel better." Himiko replied. Eventually, everyone began to agree with my plan.

"So then, it's decided." I said. Maki looked away, her gaze moving to the door.

"Maki," she looked at Kaito, who smiled at her, "nobody is gonna make you, but it would be nice if you stayed. You know, so you won't feel alone." he said. Maki narrowed her eyes at the Ultimate Astronaut. Then she sighed.

"Fine, I'll stay." She said.

"Great! Now everyone exchange videos and let's sit at the table." I said. Everyone did as I said.

We made sure each video went to their proper owner before sitting at the table. We decided two people at a time would watch a video, since if all sixteen of us did so, it would be an emotional mess. Even though it was my idea, I was worried about this. But if we don't do this, Kirumi would watch her video alone....and well, we all know what she does.

To my surprise, it ran pretty smoothly. A lot of us got scared, got angry, and/or even cried. However, with the rest of us here to support them, they would feel better.

Now we were down to our last two: Ryoma and Kirumi.

The maid and tennis player looked to each other anxiously, took a deep breath, and played their videos. The rest of us watched for a couple, surprisingly tense moments.

When the videos were over....Kirumi's face was as pale as a ghost. Ryoma gave her a concerned expression.

"Kirumi....are you okay?" He asked. A shadow cast over Kirumi's eyes, and she pushed the Kubs pad away. She placed a hand on her head, trembling.

"M-My....my people....what has happened to them?" She said in a shaky voice. Ryoma frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kaito growled and stood up, punching into his fist. "I bet they're fine!" He stated. Everyone looked at him surprised. "Kaito?" Shuichi said. "I bet everyone is fine! Everyone in these videos are fine! In fact, I bet they're all fake videos! Yeah, that's gotta be it!" Kaito stated.

"But, what makes you so sure?" Himiko asked.

"I just do, alright! I want to believe that everyone is okay! So that's what I'm gonna do!" Kaito stated. He gave a wide smile to everyone.

"And you should all do the same thing!" He said. To my surprise, everyone agreed....but Kirumi was still nervous.

*    *    *    *

After we watched the videos, we had our breakfast. Afterwards, everyone left the dining hall except for me, Gonta, Ryoma, and Kirumi.

Kirumi's face was still pale as she slowly picked up the dishes with shaking hands. I've never seen her quite like this before.