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?

Comments

[kandata]

Yes, I believe you all made that very clear, while I was...

[.......]

I am sorry for attacking earlier. I do not even recall what Monokuma was saying to me, but I get it. Getting me to fight was part of his plan.

[Monokuma just wanted her to fight so he could then go ahead and claim she's someone who deserves scorn because she doesn't learn.

She really hopes that was all her memories of Monokuma and absolutely no component of her subconscious influenced that]

[destage]

You aren't the first, and you likely won't be the last; don't worry about it too much. You had to get your feelings out somehow, right?

[It's gentle, at least; come on, let's get moving.]

I'm not surprised. Conflict was always a part of that bear's agenda, and that he dragged you into it and hurt you for so long...I'm just sorry we couldn't get to you sooner.

Please don't go and blame yourself. You can take responsibility for your own actions, but I don't think a single one of us blame you for what Monokuma did.

[kandata]

[Yeah, time to get moving! At least she seems willing to move]

I did not see all that happened. I hope he did not cause distress to you all.

[At best she had some vague awareness. Still, she's certain Monokuma would never restrain himself from showing the worst of Kirumi, but other than that she has no idea what they went through]

[destage]

[Ah, that. That makes Sayaka go deeply tense. How much was Kirumi out of it for?

...]

I was the one who wrote that anonymous post, you know.

[She's not sure if Kirumi could fully hear everything, but in a way...she hopes that it tells the girl what she needs to know.]

But it's...it's fine. Promise. We're all going to be fine, because we managed to at least get you out of this place.

[Sayaka is very distinctly not looking at Kirumi after that, though, and she does seem shaken. Likely answering Kirumi's question far more honestly than she's willing to actually speak of it.]

[kandata]

So it was you. I...

[She had suspected it. Process of elimination had narrowed things down quite a bit, and from the very few remaining people, Sayaka definitely was among the people she thought could be the one who wrote that.

She decides not to say that]

I hope I was of help back then.

[That anonymous person seemed like they had needed the help, after all. Even in a moment like this one, she's concerned for others, even though she should be focused more on herself]

[destage]

[...]

You were. I...I didn't last as long as you, when I was brought into a game like this.

[There's a slightly bitter chuckle, there.]

Not that I think it matters too much, if...if the same for you was the same for me...

[kandata]

[Kirumi is silent for a moment. She's trying to figure out how to respond, because in her head, her own problems and the need to give Sayaka encouragement are battling for her attention, until she just blurts out:]

If I will be fine after this, so will you. We can get through this. That bear will have no power over us.

[destage]

[...Ah. She shouldn't be doing this, she shouldn't--]

...We will. And if you need any help at all...I'm here for you, Kirumi. Whether you decide to stay Kirumi or become someone else, you...

...You'll always be my friend. And friends, they help each other, always.

Don't forget that, okay?

[kandata]

...I won't forget it. I won't.

[It's a tacit promise!]