Chapter 3a: Motives (5)

*whistle* *whistle* *whistle*

"Not bad if I say so myself. I guess I must be a more capable cook than I thought." Sheldon commented happily at the omelet rice in front of him, as he carried it and looked at the clock in the dining hall.

"4 PM. 6 more hours for the day to finish." Sheldon commented with a tired expression, as he silently ate his lunch and thought back on his thoughts and findings from his special video, if he could even call that anymore.

From what he could gather and remember, there were three important pieces of information. Firstly, something unnatural should have happened to both himself and Hal, forcing them to agree on some sort of mission. What happened for them to agree, that was yet to be seen, since the video had no visual feed, so he had no idea if their bodies were intact or not, although it was highly possible that the two of them weren't injured, since he didn't hear his voice or Hal's being in any sort of pain, although the reluctance could be heard from both.

Secondly, the fact that once they completed their mission, they would be able to return and that until that mission could be completed, there would be no way to return back home. In a way, it provided with relief, since it meant that once the two of them finished what he had to complete, they should be able to go back home, assuming there are no other problems, but that also came with the caveat of actually completing whatever mission they were told to, even if they didn't remember it currently.

Lastly, there was their plan at the end of the video. Hal had to get into contact with the Future Foundation and obtain their help, while he would have to ally himself with the entire cast of the 1st game, before the two of them went after the cast of the 2nd game. He wasn't sure how to feel about it in the first place, since it meant that their situation far more complicated that a simple "reincarnation" in the game. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to go on for this line of thinking, aside from managing to obtain an important fact, that being the fact that both of them being separated in different areas was planned from the start.

In a way, it was some decent progress for him, since he learned some important information about their situation and that it was possible to return, but in another way, it made his situation way more complicated and with many more new questions than answers. In the end, he decided to stop trying to theorize and guess more about his situation, since there wasn't much information in the first place and that everything he learned before, could be possible a lie that was made to give him hope, only to crush those later and be an elaborate prank for the sake of amusement.

Once he finished his lunch and reminiscence, he decided to grab a sweet snack for desert and chill in the hall, while waiting for a certain female duo to appear. While doing so, he couldn't help but feel unsettled, since the dining hall was quiet and the rest of the first floor wasn't much better, since the majority of the cast just stayed in their own dorm rooms. Usually, during these moments in the game, the Beautiful Dead theme would play, but since this was reality, there was no background music to listen to, making everything feel even more unsettling.

*sigh* "When are they going to come?"

"Who's going to come?" A female voice asked from behind him and once Sheldon turned his head towards the owner of the voice, he saw Hina and Sakura coming together in the dining hall.

"Honestly... A-Anyone would do at this point." Sheldon responded with a nervous smile, as the people he had in mind were the two of them. After giving his response, he quickly decided to change the subject:

"Anyways, what brings you two here?"

"We did not come here with any particular reason in mind." Sakura responded stoically, as she took a seat across Sheldon's.

"Yeah... We are here just to just and relax a bit, while trying to forget those... things." Hina responded next with a slightly pale and stressed expression.

"Figures... I would be more surprised if anyone wasn't affected by those videos." Sheldon commented with an understanding expression.

"So... Uhmmm..."

*sigh* "Curious about my "motive" video?"

"No! No, no, no... I just... I just want to ask for your opinion and some advice as well..." Hina asked with a slightly fearful and awkward expression.

"My opinion and advice on what?" Sheldon asked with a hint of confusion.

"Well... The whole thing with Monokuma, the motives and the killing game. I mean, how is it possible for someone to be able create all of this and then show those videos like it's nothing? Don't you have any advice for all of this or anything?"

Hearing Hina's agitated voice and seeing her already on the verge of breaking, he didn't know if he should tell her the harsh truth of the situation, or just lie to give her some peace of mind for little while longer, while the murder hasn't happened.

"Do you... wish to hear my honest thoughts about this? Do you both really wish to do so?" Sheldon asked hesitantly, as he looked at Hina and Sakura as well with a much more serious expression than before.

"Y-Yes..." Hina answered hesitantly.

"I am of the same mind as well." Sakura followed as well with a determined expression.

"W-Well... Don't fall for Monokuma's tricks. He's just trying to rile you up and stuff, so just don't fall for his bullcrap and you'll be fine. If you fall for Monokuma's provocation, you are basically declaring defeat and will end up doing something you'll immediately regret." Sheldon explained with a nervous expression, as he didn't have it in him to be honest with the current situation, especially with seeing Hina on the verge of breaking.

"Yeah... You're right. Monokuma is probably trying to rile us up, but it's still pretty creepy and unsettling with all those videos and stuff. Thanks Saito." Hina responded with a relieved expression.

"All of this thinking has made me pretty thirsty. I'll go get myself something to drink." Once Hina left into the kitchen, Sakura asked next with a serious expression:

"You did not tell her the actual truth, did you?"

*sigh* "There's no way I would be able to tell the truth to someone like Hina. Right now, a little bit of positivity is more than enough for this grim situation, to not look as grim as it looks and I don't intend to ruin that. I know that by tomorrow, someone will die and whether I like it or not, I have to accept the fact that it has to happen." Sheldon answered seriously, as the mood of the room had become a lot more somber.

"Then why do you not try to prevent it, if you are expecting someone to die soon?"

"I'm no saint or hero. I know who I am and what I am capable of and even if I was capable of preventing that now, I would only delay the inevitable. The moment those motives came into play, this entire situation has basically turned into a literal time bomb, waiting to explode and no amount of wire cutting or power rerouting will be able to prevent that bomb from exploding and taking out one of us."

"I see... I do not agree that the choice you made is morally correct, but I understand the reasoning for making that choice. Still, thank you for holding back for Hina's sake. You are right that her positivity was necessary lessen the severity of this situation, because if it wasn't for her, I believe the "time bomb" that you mentioned previously, would have blown up a lot sooner than expected." Sakura responded stoically with her arms crossed, before smirking and looking at Hina, who had just come outside with a tray and 3 cups on top.

"What were you two talking about?" Hina asked curiously, as her mood and complexion was looking a lot better.

"Nothing important, just some small talk and stuff. So, how come you brought 3 cups with you?"

As he dismissed her question, the three of them started engaging in some small talk and with the mood being a lot better than before, Sheldon couldn't help but inwardly wish that these moments could continue eternally, but he knew better than everyone else that everything was going to come crashing down and seeing Sayaka going into the kitchen emotionlessly and unresponsive, did nothing but cement that fact even further.