Kirumi Tojo's Palace | The Ultimate Maid's Failures

[kandata]

By now everyone may be used to find themselves in bizarre locations, between going into palaces and visiting Nekyia. It might not come as a surprise that it has happened again.

What might come as a surprise, though...is how empty this place is.

All around you there's nothing more than a large, gray, featureless expanse. In the distance there seem to be bars, curving upwards to gather so, so high above you, possibly hundreds of miles above, so high it’s hard to distinguish.

It’s a cage. So unfathomably large. You could escape, were you to get to the edges of the cage, but...it would take forever. No matter how you look at it, you're trapped. The atmosphere is so...hopeless. Devoid of anything even remotely positive.

Not that you want to hang around for long, do you? After all, this is someone's palace. Not a place to stick around at. What to do, though?

It’s all so...empty. Silent. Featureless. A flat expanse of hard gray tiles.

Gather together, everyone. Gather and choose a direction. North, East, West, South. All directions look completely identical, but could it affect your time in this place, somehow? Probably not. But all treks start with the first step. Perhaps, if you get moving, you'll progress?

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[destage]

[Sayaka seems to start when she sees Mafuyu run--she's never seen the girl so scared before, and of her?]

W-Wait, Mafuyu-san, it's dangerous here!! It's okay, we're not...!

[Sayaka pauses for a moment, considering. They only have limited time, but Sayaka doesn't see anything wrong with Mafuyu at all. If anything, she's worried deeply, though after running off after Soujuurou...

Sayaka looks to Fray, pursing her lips a bit.]

Fray, I'm sorry--please, we need to go help her! I'm not sure what's gotten into her...

[Looks like pursuing Mafuyu it is! Sayaka (and Fray, with Redd's permission, ty friend) will try to follow after the girl. Where is she going?]

[kandata]

[She's going to the other end of the storage room! And when Sayaka follows...

Mafuyu isn't there anymore. Oh, bother.

And at the other side of the storage room, the shelf over there tilts over. Slowly, it tilts, and hits the shelf nearby, making it fall down too, like dominoes.

You're going to get crushed under shelves falling like dominoes! Watch out!]

[destage]

[...

So Sayaka doesn't immediately notice the domino shelves (4) because her concern for Mafuyu outdoes her self preservation for a moment, unfortunately. Fortunately for you and myself, I love a good bit of drama, so--

Guess who's absolutely just going to get hit by a shelf! Not crushed and nothing fatal at least, but girl is absolutely eating some shit and getting knocked over at minimum--]

Ow, ow, ow--

[bloodweapon]

[Unlike Sayaka, Fray does notice the shelves, and manages to jump back to avoid being smacked around (14). Of course, Sayaka isn't as lucky, so Fray's quick to move to her side and offer her a hand. He can lift the shelf if she's trapped under it...]

Are you alright?

[You know what, here's a Diarama just in case.]

[kandata]

[Oh golly, I got a 14, so no advance notice for Fray! It's not a guaranteed hit, it just means Mafuyu didn't screw up the element of surprise.

She can see Fray moving, and immediately blasts a physical attack in Fray's direction, moving with strength? Giant Slice! Since when is Mafuyu a physical attacker?! There she comes, axe high, to slam the edge of it onto Fray's armor. She intends to see how resistant the armor is! But still, with such a strong physical attack, even through the armor that'll hurt if it strikes true!]

[bloodweapon]

[Since he's busy trying to help Sayaka up, that does hit, and boy does it smart!! Thanks, Mafuyu!! Though this definitely doesn't seem like Brainwash or some other status ailment... Still, Fray's reluctant to actually try to hit her since the last time he (accidentally) did that was like a day ago in her palace and boy it sucked!!

So instead he'll try for an Energy Shower to see if that will cure whatever she's dealing with. Obviously it won't, but like. An Attempt Was Made.]

[destage]

Fray!

[YEAH NO FUCK THIS SHIT, SWORD: OUT, SHE'S RUSHING RIGHT AT MAFUYU--]

You stay away from him!!

[granted, the giant slice (2) misses, but it's the thought that counts right......]

[kandata]

[Indeed, Energy Shower does nothing on this Mafuyu. If anything, the shower seems to confuse her, because she didn't expect that move. The Giant Slice attacking and missing startles her, too]

Wha...at?

[She's caught offguard, but not so much she can't attack, albeit a bit disoriented while she tries to figure out what was all that. Whatever Shadow is disguised as Mafuyu isn't terribly smart.

Oh! She has grabbed a bottle of lye! Throwing it at Fray, trying to get the noxious liquid to enter his helmet once the bottle shatters against it. Mafuyu misses entirely, missing so badly it almost hits Sayaka instead. Almost. Sailed an inch above her]

[bloodweapon]

[Okay, well between Sayaka's retaliation and the poor girl's confusion, it seems pretty clear that this is not Mafuyu, just something that looks like her. Fray can roll with that! He can also dodge the bottle of lye, wtf. Thankfully it doesn't hit Sayaka either...

Anyway, he retaliates with Thunderous Rage, aiming to take this shadow out quickly (11).]

[destage]

[Oh, Sayaka positively sees red when Mafuyu tries to throw poison at Fray. She attempts to follow up Fray's attack with another Giant Slice (9)...

And misses, but hey, it's at least better than the 2...??? She's learning!]

[kandata]

[Thunderous Rage, effective! Mafuyu is struck, and she's stamped onto the ruins of the shelves. Gritting her teeth, Mafuyu stands up, axe held, and decides to do a dangerous physical move.

Rampage!

Mafuyu throws herself onto them, swinging the axe around recklessly. She's not even trying to hit with the blade, she's just trying to hit with the axe, whether it's with the head or with the handle. The axe hits the wall, hits Fray, hits a shelf that's sticking at an angle, smacks Sayaka, and spins around.

Mafuyu is going berzerk!

.......

Bearzerk!]

[bloodweapon]

[not the bear puns..... they're unbearable........

Anyway, ow? Ow. Very rude of her to go bearzerk on us like this. Fray's going to slam down another Thunderous Rage on her to hopefully put a stop to whatever's going on here before they can get hurt even more (17)!]

[destage]

[The state of affairs is pawsitively unbearlievable. Sayaka glares, but does her best to focus. Trying to get a good gauge of when to attack...

Come on, Sayaka. Just like Fray!

And this time, her follow-up attack manages to land true, attempting to outright stab Mafuyu (15). Time to stop this bearzerker by force!!!]

[kandata]

[It's for sure that Monokuma has seen the way everyone has fought facsimiles of their and Kirumi's mutual friends and acquaintances and having a grand time, because this sure is quite the sight. Fray's Thunderous Rage hitting, and then Sayaka using her recent stabbing skills to hit Mafuyu.

That's definitely enough to stop this rampaging Shadow! The axe fall to the ruins, and Mafuyu explodes in a puff of smoke, instead...

...there's this weakling. No more axes for it!]

[bloodweapon]

[Fray doesn't sheathe his sword, but he does pause, head tipped to the side.]

...What is this?

[Sayaka, do you have any clue what this is, because he sure doesn't.]

[destage]

[Sayaka doesn't sheathe hers either, though she seems highly confused herself. Uh...]

This isn't something that's ever existed where we come from. Should we finish it off, or...?

[...It looks kind of pathetic, she almost feels bad for it...]

[kandata]

[Wow, it's so unimpressive it even made them stop to ponder what they were even seeing! Rude! The demon just slumps over, flat and demoralized, although not without grabbing a stray sponge with its paper tendrils and lobbing it at Sayaka's face.

Well, at least it hit, it was an 11 roll, but also it's a sponge]

[bloodweapon]

[..............

You mess with Sayaka, you get the sword. Fray wastes no time in slamming his sword into that poor demon to put an end to it. (20!)]

[destage]

[...

Sayaka does not even put that 10 she rolled to use, she just kind of stares at what's definitely a very dead paper demon and gives Fray a Dia for his troubles. Holy shit, rip in fuck little guy.]

Fray, are you going to be okay?

[...wait...she thinks for a second...]

Weapon...maybe that axe was the weapon that note was talking about...?

[bloodweapon]

I'm fine, yes.

[Here's a Diarama as well for Sayaka!]

Do you think so? Let's take a look at it.

[Now where's that axe... is there anything to note about it?]

[kandata]

[The axe looks like a run-of-the-mill axe. Doesn't seem like anything special.

...that said, Kirumi has been using an axe during excursions into Nekyia, hasn't she? And into palaces. Maybe nowadays she associates axes with weapons, first and foremost...

While they hold the axe, Kirumi and a boy appear nearby. They don't seem to notice a thing about the storeroom. They have to talk to each other, after all.

They're having a conversation.

When it ends, Kirumi and the boy vanish. That's when Fray and Sayaka may notice something written on the axe, with Kirumi's neat handwriting.

'A maid like myself is not a weapon for anyone's behalf, but lately, I have started to think that if it is for people I care about, fighting is the least I can do. For them.'

There's...also a key carved on the handle of the axe. A bit of a curious thing, to have a carving on this wooden axe handle.

Looks like you're done here!]

not interrupting

[kandata]

[Not interrupting their discussion, but just like with the other three fights, there's the sound of a camera taking a picture, and from the ceiling a bundle of cloth falls.

But turns out not to be a shirt, instead it turns out to be a bill. The reason marked there is 'wanton destruction of storage room'. The amount specified is outrageously high.

As if anyone will pay this bill, knowing who this likely came from]

[destage]

[She's so thankful, honestly, that shelf hurt. The Diarama helps at least, and Sayaka will get up and sigh a bit.]

I think I took more of a hit to my dignity than from the actual shelf...

[physical damage: cured. emotional damage? still need a bit on that...]

Sorry about that, Fray. Maybe we should get out of here and try somewhere else--did you see if she went off somewhere...?

[She's not trying the perception roll again, she is Sus about this shit already. Maybe those shelves were the weapon they were looking for???]

[bloodweapon]

[Sadly he cannot cure emotional damage... I mean he tries but you do not want his help for that.]

I'm not sure—

[and then he gets hit with an axe, rip]

[kandata]

[Once the dust settles, Mafuyu can be seen at the other side of the room. She looks...extremely upset to see Sayaka didn't die. The storeroom is a wreck now, the shelves now all on the floor, except the last one]

Could you...die...?

[That's Mafuyu's voice, but that definitely isn't Mafuyu's personality. Horrible! There's Mafuyu, advancing slowly, and she takes from the wreckage...an axe.

A weapon, in other words]