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I could feel my veins growing in my neck, stretching out against the surface of my forehead, knowing that we were just stuck in a state of being perpetually taunted by that two-toned asshole. He held all the power in this sick game he's built, comes and goes as he pleases just to tease us with more and more information we couldn't possibly understand. It's almost as if Monoursa's very existence was built to stroke my sense of rage for the world around me, like a shot of caffeine, but built for despair. What made him even more effective as a boost of vexation and anger was that Monoursa was virtually untouchable. He would show up at one point, give us a reason to trust him, give us a reason to despair, and run out like a coward before we could react properly. We've only met on a few occasions to establish these circumstances, but the formula already felt established. What's worse, it was working.

I looked down the line of my allies in this fight against the bear to see their reactions to him just jumping into his submarine and absconding from any direct confrontation. Unfortunately, my eyes connected with the last person I wanted to associate feelings of mutual understanding with at the moment, and I could tell she had the same look of disappointment in her eyes. Regardless, the SHSL Speedster spoke first, "So, that was some bullshit, right?"

"Bullshit?" Settoku inquired. "That's an interesting way to pronounce hopelessness, but I suppose the denial technique works for some to maintain their sanity."

"The fuck are you getting on about?" Citrus challenged the teal-haired man, clenching her fist in the process. "This ain't hopeless. We just gotta do what Micky said and not let Monoursa's words get to us. He's just tryna psych us out, telling us that it's impossible to avoid fallin' into despair. If we just keep our spirits high, there's nothing that's gonna stop us!" Citrus looked reassuringly towards me at the end of her statement, as if she was trying to prove something to me in specific.

"And it appears that willful ignorance goes hand in hand with denial," Settoku sighed, a twinge of disappointment caught in his breath. "The bear serves as an arbiter of truth, and we have no reason to distrust him. We have reason to loathe him, obviously, but not to distrust what he says." I focused momentarily on the SHSL Persuasion behind me, taking note of how his strikes of malice didn't flash as he made his argument this time. Rather, his face adopted a more serious tone, a flat-lined mouth fit better for concern than pleasure. "Your spirit is noted, but do not believe so whole-heartedly that you may surpass the game's intent. The bear has spoken, and he only speaks truth."

"Setty, would you do me a favor and shut up?" Sash's voice uttered from behind me now, harboring a darker tone of irritation.

"I rest my case," Settoku leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head to get into a more relaxed position.

I turned back towards the main group, Sash now dominating the spotlight. He had the tip of his fedora at his fingertips, eyes hung low and glossed over, not looking at anyone in particular. He didn't seem to be expressing any outward emotion aside from serious. He removed the irritation from his voice as he spoke to the rest of the group, "As Citrus said, we can't let Monoursa dictate how we think, how we work, or how we act. We may participate in his hopeful activities as they are scheduled, under the assumption that Settoku's theory is right. However, we must stay as a group and collectively work through any despair that is thrown our way. We can't let another tragedy happen and sacrifice more lives to this bear."

I smiled faintly at Sash's words. Though I couldn't see right through him, it felt like the old Sash was back, a Sash that we could depend upon as a leader to fight through the despair rather than topple underneath it. The SHSL Pilot inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "As long as I'm here, I will lead you to victory over this bear. I've already felt his wrath, and I don't wish to fall again, or to have any of you fall to the same ailment."

"That's right!" Rick cheered along, standing up with enthusiasm. "With Sash here and all of us united, there's no way we can lose anyone else. We'll be unstoppable!"

"Count me in!" Citrus joined the boy standing, holding up a fist and flexed bicep, her other hand placed on the bicep with a confident grin. "That bastard isn't going to take anyone else."

Not wanting to be left behind, I joined the duo in standing and nodded my approval of their movement. Aster was the next to jump to her feet, but it seemed more of a jolted jump to her feet than our confident stances of pride. She screeched, "Sugar rockets! We left Strife alone on the island!" She planted both her hands against her cheeks in a nervous panic and turned to Ryu, pulling his hand and tugging him out to the boat to remedy her situation.

Though Aster's reaction brought a chuckle to my throat at the sudden realization, it broke the general mood, and the rest of our friends started to scatter, moving largely towards the beach to head back to the main island for the rest of the day. I was about to join them in line, but I felt a slight tug from the hood of my sweatshirt. I turned and saw that Rick was on the opposite end of the force. "Hey, Micky," he said softly.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Don't forget we're on duty tonight," He reminded me bluntly. "Night guard, y'know?"

"Oh, right," I nodded my understanding. He mentioned the guard was supposed to start tonight at the breakfast meeting this morning, and we had the first shift, along with Aster.

"I doubt anything is going to happen so soon to the last crime, especially after Sash explained his newfound motivation," Rick meandered through his thoughts, "but you'll still probably want to get a nap in before the guard duty. We need to be alert 'n ready if we want to protect everyone. Don't go out and chat with friends for too long, or you'll be fallin' asleep on duty tonight."

"Don't fret it," I nodded. "I'll just go to sleep when I get back to the cabin, and Monoursa's announcement will be my alarm."

"I knew I could count on ya to be responsible," Rick smiled at my answer. "I'll tell Aster about it when we get back to the island, and maybe I'll hafta talk to Sash about switchin' up the roles for a moment so she may get some rest for tonight's watch. I just dunno who could fill in 'er shoes to watch over the boy until night falls."

I noted that the boat Settoku had taken out had returned, fairly quickly all things considered, and the line progressed forward, pushing Rick and myself into the vacant seating. "You could always press Ryu for help. If nothing else, he seems like an attentive person willing to help out Aster at any moment he can."

"Well, that's a mighty fine idea, Micky!" Rick marveled. "Knowin' Ryu, he'll be in Aster's shadow or somethin' of the like, and, if nothin' else, I can just call and he'll come." Rick closed his eyes and smiled. "Thanks a bunch, Micky!"

"No problem," I nodded back and focused back on the mountain. Rick and I exchanged other pleasantries for a brief moment, but spent the larger portion of the trip back in our own minds. Our little group traversed the cave's canal back to the opposite end and rode our way back to the island. Upon arrival, Rick and I waved our departure as he rushed off to find the psychic and her bodyguard to relay the plans. I, on the other hand, shuffled my feet through the sand as I made my way back onto the docks and sauntered to my room.

At my cabin, I let myself flop onto the bed, bouncing once before settling on the mattress. I looked out my window and gauged the time. It was roughly 3:45 in the afternoon, based on what Ryu taught me at least. If I fell asleep now, I'd get around six hours of sleep before the night duty would come up. Content, I turned away from the light to try and bask my eyes in the shadows for a more comfortable sleep. Slowly, but surely, the soft crashing of the waves drifted me away to sleep, easing me into the darkness of unconsciousness like a mother coddling a child.

~~~

*BING BONG BING BONG*

I winced under closed eyes at the sound of the chimes. The monitor in my room clicked on and the voice of Monoursa called out to the island, "Attention Hope's Peak Students. It is now officially Night Time. I advise that all of you return to your dorms and fall gently to sleep to the soothing sound of the ocean. Good night everyone!"

  10:00. It was time already.

  Groaning, I rolled over onto my side and sat up. My feet found the floor and I was slowly able to push myself into a stand. As I reached to rub one of my eyes, the movement of my shoulder knocked my hood from my shoulder back down my back.

  I pushed the door open and began to slide my feet along the dock as I made my way towards the Activity Center, the presumed meeting spot of our little trio. As I walked, my fellow classmates walked by and we exchanged pleasantries. Some, like Citrus and Jerry, momentarily threw up a confused eyebrow as to why I was heading away from the cabins, before the realization set in that I was on guard duty that night. At that moment, they would simply wish me good luck and move onto their cabin.

  As I moved to the meeting grounds, I found Rick and Aster were already waiting, making me the last to arrive. Aster waved cutely, holding one of her hands behind her back and closing her eyes to fully show off her smile. Rick simply crossed his arms and put on a smile to greet me. The SHSL Psychic called out to me, "Hey Micky!"

  I shot out two hard breaths of a tired chuckle and waved back. "Mornin' guys. Or, should I say afternoon?"

  "All things considered, mornin' might be the most fittin' greetin' we've got," Rick shook his head. I moved in within arm's reach of the duo to complete our little trifecta of the guard for the night's duty. Rick continued his greeting into a natural opening statement, "So, I guess the three of us are tasked this night with the duty. I've thought over this a bit, and we all want to be monitorin' one another, just in case one of the others decides to go wild an' attacks one of us durin' the night. Due to this, I've been checkin' out the capabilities of our e-profiles, and came up with a lil' way to handle our shift."

  Rick pulled out his little smart device and turned it on. Within a few moments, he opened the Stalk my Students app and let the pins fall, one in each cabin of our live friends, and the three of us by the Activity Center, and Strife's icon tucked away within the building. "Y'see, this is the easiest way to keep a hold on who's where on the island, at least from the most broad perspective. There is a given chance that a person willin' to commit murder wouldn't take along their device for the reason that it would be harder to track 'em, but that's what the chat is for."

  Rick clicked on a tab in the top right hand part of his e-profile, and it flipped open to a sort of Yearbook setting, listing off the available contacts. "From here, I'll be able to message y'all if I spy anythin' fishy, and I expect y'all to do the same on your shift."

  "What do you mean by shift?" I asked quickly, butting into the layout.

    "Mighty fine question, Micky," Rick nodded to approve of my input. "Y'see, the docks only have two lines of cabins. The cabins themselves run down either side of the lines, but that still only has them running on two lines. On top of it, they're connected on the corner. So, what I would like for us to do would be to just monitor the cabins from that post and note if anyone steps out from that side. The other two can rest inside the Activity Center for a while and wait for their turn on the shift. If nothin' else, Strife is the least trusted member of our lil' family 'ere, and then we'd have two guards in the immediate vicinity to get him if he's actin' up."

  "That's fair..." my voice wavers a bit, "but wouldn't you be vulnerable to anyone who lives on the corner area? You wouldn't have backup if you were suddenly attacked from that point. And, who's to say that the murderer wouldn't try to sneak out through other means and try to get you or someone else from behind?"

  "All fair criticisms, Micky, but I've thought this through." Rick took a moment to breathe before continuing. "Y'see, Vyn's cabin is where I'll be spending the most of my time, as his cabin is most directly on the corner. I don't know about y'all, but I'd say I'm pretty safe from Vyn attackin'. Strife also had a corner house, but he's locked up 'ere in the Activity Center. And, to top it all off, the only person who lives close enough to pose a threat would be Jerry. On that instance, the murderer would be easy to point out. And, to address your point about sneaking out by some other way, the only way to get out would be through a window. This may be easier for people like Balthasar, but you would ultimately make a sound through either splashing in the water or breaking the window, at which point we will let out an alarm."

  "Wow, Rick, you've really thought all this out!" Aster exclaimed, wide eyed, but still holding a small grin.

    "Shucks, guys, it's nothin'," Rick blushed, tapping his two pointer fingers together. "I just want out group to be safe, no matter what."

  Rick shook his head slightly and looked away. "Anyways, I should be off to my post. Any moment not observed could turn dire. You two should bunker on inside. I'll message y'all when my shift is up."

  Rick reached into his back pocket and pulled out an elongated object and turned it on, revealing it to be a flashlight. With a quick wave, he took off towards the docks to monitor for the night.

  Aster and I momentarily waved to the boy until he made his turn down the boardwalk. Aster turned to me, saying, "Well, I guess we should just go on inside then."

  I started to nod, but the girl grabbed my hand midway through my reaction. "C'mon, let's go!" she exclaimed pulling me along into the main lobby of the Activity Center. To my surprise, a bench from the walls had been pulled out into the middle of the room, giving us both ample seating for the event. I started to open my mouth to question the placement, but Aster answered before I could ask, "I thought it'd be nice to not have to sit in the cafeteria, and sitting against the walls would be too inconvenient. It's not that I doubt Strife even, but Rick thought it would be a good precautionary measure to have us sit in the middle and wait out the shifts."

    "All fair," I conceded to the girl, letting her lead me and sit me down on the bench. The girl then playfully skipped to the other side of the bench and took a seat next to me. We both started to whip out our e-profiles, and I started to make idle chatter. "So, how was Strife on the island... unwatched?"

  "Nothing seemed out of place," Aster replied. "All the drugs and their contents from the morning after the incident were exactly as they had been left, nothing else on the island had been tampered with. Strife moved around a little in the infirmary, but that's just from shifting while resting. His recovery is coming along really well physically, but he's very unresponsive from a psychoanalytical perspective. He keeps saying that he wants to talk with you."

  Aster pouted a little at the mention of Strife's condition. "It's not that I'm mad that he would rather see and talk to you over me, but it's sorta my job to take care of him, so I wish he'd open up to me a little at least. And, not to discredit you, but I don't think you have a lot of training in the therapeutic fields of any variety, so it probably wouldn't be best to have you handle the patient over me." The girl sighed. "It's just frustrating that Strife is so unresponsive. All we want is answers, and he seems to not want to provide any."

  A part of me inside wanted to reveal that Strife had visited me the night before, just to give context as to why he wasn't opening up to Aster, but the other part of me knew why this wasn't a possible answer to her troubles. This would only complicate our relationship even more. Instead, I played the conversation safe, saying, "Do you think he'll move out of the infirmary when he makes a full recovery?"

  "Undoubtedly," Aster nodded, touching her e-profile and scrolling around the map absentmindedly, now with the app open needed for our observation. "Strife has extensive knowledge of how certain medicines and chemicals work to become dangerous or deadly, so it is in our best interest to keep him away from those substances once he becomes healthy once more." A shiver ran down the girl's spine, Aster vibrating slightly. "It's a terrible thought to think that a healthy friend is the most dangerous kind of friend at this point!"

  "Well, that's Strife for ya," I shook my head, taking a look around my map as well. Rick's pin was stuck in the corner, right between Vyn and Jerry's house. All the other pins were completely still, focused in their one area of their cabins. Though I doubted everyone was asleep already, there was no doubt in my mind that everyone was getting settled. There wouldn't be much to focus on for a while if this continued.

  "Though, with all of this Strife obsession going on, I might need to update my shipping charts a little," Aster pondered aloud. "I mean, it seems like you two flip flop so heavily on the scales, it's almost scary how dynamic it is. You go from pale one minute, to black another, and now it almost feels like a caliginous relationship with me as the mediator in between. All the while Strife his holding a one sided flushed feels for you, and you would at best be pale for him. I've never seen a ship run so wildly over the course of a few days outside of fanfics, so this has been really interesting to look over!"

  A long, deep groan escaped my throat. "I thought we had put the shipping behind us on the frigate."

  "Hey, shipping plays an important role in psychology and understanding people, don'tcha know?" Aster suddenly got huffy at me.

  "It does?" I reveled back, distancing myself a little from Aster.

  "Yea, of course it does," Aster rose two determined fists to her chest, ready to talk about something she clearly loved. "So, as a psychologist and someone who generally loves working with people, it is in my best interest to fully understand who each person works well with, and who they don't work well with. This helps ultimately resolve a lot of conflicts if you can appeal to both sides of an argument, and compromise happens most frequently during this period. By tracking how each person's ship is acting, it really helps me understand how they see one another and allows for me to properly mediate when the time comes. For example, Citrus and Saratoga may seem pale, which means that they are close friends that rely on one another to work well. I think that it's partially one sided flushed on Citrus's side, which means that she may secretly love Saratoga in a romantic way. She could be hiding this because she feels insecure to leak these feelings to Sara, or maybe she doesn't want to betray her girl back home, but it's clear that she holds some kind of flushed feelings for Sara. In the same way, Ryu holds strong black feelings, or hatred, towards Settoku, due to Settoku having tried to pry into me the other day. However, Settoku is basically neutral to everyone, and holds no colored feelings whatsoever. It's all so interesting and mysterious to dissect."

  "Are you sure that your readings on people's ideas and relations are correct?" I asked. "I know you can see the future, but it's not like you can read minds."

  "Of course I can't read minds, silly billy!" Aster chuckled. "I read their body language and their tone in conversation. Sometimes their wording gives it away, and sometimes it's the way they structure themselves around other people. Citrus always blushes after talking to Saratoga, and she tries to seem tough in front of her. She's hella gay for Sara, but she can't actually show it for the time being. As for Ryu, I just know him really well, so it's just natural that I know what goes on in his mind."

  "So you're just really observant is what you're trying to tell me," I nod along.

  "Basically!" Aster cheerily smiled back at me. "It's kinda been part of my life with Ryu. He's been my big bro ever since I was little. He needed to be as observant as possible to keep him safe. I totally see why too! He's a little paranoid at times, but I really respect how much dedication he put into being observant and protecting me from danger. As for me, I took it down a different route. I wanted to use my observations to bring everyone closer together. So, through vigorous training and life with Ryu, I was able to figure out how to read people well enough to get an entire understanding of them based on their little details." Aster swayed back and forth with a giant grin on her face, hands clapping rhythmically as she swayed, as if she was cheering herself on.

  "I take it you've gotten a read on me already, then?" I say jokingly.

  "Oh yea, totally!" Aster's eyes shot open and her grin grew toothy. She narrowed her eyes onto mine and started her spiel. "You're a heavy introvert who doesn't work well with people on most circumstances. You rely largely on those closest to you to provide you with information and the love that you don't get from home. To top it all off, you're very icy towards those you don't know. You treat everything from a logical point of view while you're cool, but become an emotional hurricane while hot! It's a neat blend of intelligence and logic to instinct and emotion based upon your mood. Though you don't want to go out and meet the people on this island, largely due to your own insecurity of death and the unknown, you feel as though it is an obligation to follow through on promises of a better life, and to continue on the will of Vyn. You're loyal beyond what is practical, which may have haunted you in the past, but has no bearing in the present. You have a rock hard body, but hide it under loose clothing, and are just generally ripped from pecs to calves. You pretend not to care about most things as a façade, but ultimately you care more than most the people on this island as to how everyone is going to survive."

  I blinked for a moment, trying to collect everything the girl just listed off to me. It's like she was writing my biography, but I hadn't known the girl for more than a couple days. Aster simply sat back, closed her eyes and smiled. "How close was I?"

  "Damn," I muttered, astonished at Aster's ability.

  "I'll take that as a bullseye!" Aster cheered. She then grasped at a fake bow and pretended to shoot an arrow off into the distance and celebrated on her result.

  "Silly billy," I shake my head, putting one hand on it to try and stabilize my thoughts. If nothing else, she was impressive. "How'd you even figure out about my physique?"

  "You're a mountaineer, dude," Aster crossed her arms. "Of course you're ripped. But, as an observant person, I had to look every now and again. Of course, I'm not complaining either." A devious smile grew on the girl's face as she said that remark. "Makes me excited for when you eventually go swimming or play with the others on the beach! Vision candy can only give you so much in terms of what the reality of it all will be."

    "What are you saying?" I ask, my concern growing with every addition she brings up.

    The girl's eyes widened slightly, taking in what she said. Then, blush immediately flushed her face. "Oh my gosh!" she spat out, covering her face with her arms. "I totally didn't mean it like that. I wasn't using my talent to watch you play volleyball or anything! That was just the image that turned up out of it! I couldn't dictate what vision was pulled."

  "Hey, hey, it's okay," I put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know how the candy works, so you don't have to feel bad. You just saw what you saw, and there's no shame in that."

  Aster peered out of her arms for a moment, looking up at me. I tried my best to look as consoling as possible, and it seemed as though I pulled off the look well, as Aster had a smile replace her terrified look prior. "Thanks, Micky," she sighed, leaning her head on my arm. "Just... don't tell anyone about that, ok?"

  "I won't no worries," I rubbed the girl's shoulder, letting her lean on me for the time being. It wasn't uncomfortable, and it seemed like she was enjoying herself at least. In a way, it felt natural and enjoyable, like when I consoled Vyn or Balthy. I felt a smile grow on my face at the thought of it.

  Aster's arms wrapped around my abdomen as she drew herself closer. "Thank you so much, Micky. I..." The girl's voice trailed off.

  "Don't mention it," I continued rubbing the girl's shoulder. "It's nothing bad. I'm just holding a secret for you."

  "Yea, just a secret," Aster repeated my phrasing. Though there was a forlorn sense to her tongue, as if she wanted me to pursue some other concern, I withheld from going any deeper for the time being. This moment felt too good to stop now.

Description
I could feel my veins growing in my neck, stretching out against the surface of my forehead, knowing that we were just stuck in a state of being perpetually taunted by that two-toned asshole. He held all the power in this sick game he's built, comes and goes as he pleases just to tease us with more and more information we couldn't possibly understand. It's almost as if Monoursa's very existence was built to stroke my sense of rage for the world around me, like a shot of caffeine, but built for despair. What made him even more effective as a boost of vexation and anger was that Monoursa was virtually untouchable. He would show up at one point, give us a reason to trust him, give us a reason to despair, and run out like a coward before we could react properly. We've only met on a few occasions to establish these circumstances, but the formula already felt established. What's worse, it was working.

I looked down the line of my allies in this fight against the bear to see their reactions to him just jumping into his submarine and absconding from any direct confrontation. Unfortunately, my eyes connected with the last person I wanted to associate feelings of mutual understanding with at the moment, and I could tell she had the same look of disappointment in her eyes. Regardless, the SHSL Speedster spoke first, "So, that was some bullshit, right?"

"Bullshit?" Settoku inquired. "That's an interesting way to pronounce hopelessness, but I suppose the denial technique works for some to maintain their sanity."

"The fuck are you getting on about?" Citrus challenged the teal-haired man, clenching her fist in the process. "This ain't hopeless. We just gotta do what Micky said and not let Monoursa's words get to us. He's just tryna psych us out, telling us that it's impossible to avoid fallin' into despair. If we just keep our spirits high, there's nothing that's gonna stop us!" Citrus looked reassuringly towards me at the end of her statement, as if she was trying to prove something to me in specific.

"And it appears that willful ignorance goes hand in hand with denial," Settoku sighed, a twinge of disappointment caught in his breath. "The bear serves as an arbiter of truth, and we have no reason to distrust him. We have reason to loathe him, obviously, but not to distrust what he says." I focused momentarily on the SHSL Persuasion behind me, taking note of how his strikes of malice didn't flash as he made his argument this time. Rather, his face adopted a more serious tone, a flat-lined mouth fit better for concern than pleasure. "Your spirit is noted, but do not believe so whole-heartedly that you may surpass the game's intent. The bear has spoken, and he only speaks truth."

"Setty, would you do me a favor and shut up?" Sash's voice uttered from behind me now, harboring a darker tone of irritation.

"I rest my case," Settoku leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head to get into a more relaxed position.

I turned back towards the main group, Sash now dominating the spotlight. He had the tip of his fedora at his fingertips, eyes hung low and glossed over, not looking at anyone in particular. He didn't seem to be expressing any outward emotion aside from serious. He removed the irritation from his voice as he spoke to the rest of the group, "As Citrus said, we can't let Monoursa dictate how we think, how we work, or how we act. We may participate in his hopeful activities as they are scheduled, under the assumption that Settoku's theory is right. However, we must stay as a group and collectively work through any despair that is thrown our way. We can't let another tragedy happen and sacrifice more lives to this bear."

I smiled faintly at Sash's words. Though I couldn't see right through him, it felt like the old Sash was back, a Sash that we could depend upon as a leader to fight through the despair rather than topple underneath it. The SHSL Pilot inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "As long as I'm here, I will lead you to victory over this bear. I've already felt his wrath, and I don't wish to fall again, or to have any of you fall to the same ailment."

"That's right!" Rick cheered along, standing up with enthusiasm. "With Sash here and all of us united, there's no way we can lose anyone else. We'll be unstoppable!"

"Count me in!" Citrus joined the boy standing, holding up a fist and flexed bicep, her other hand placed on the bicep with a confident grin. "That bastard isn't going to take anyone else."

Not wanting to be left behind, I joined the duo in standing and nodded my approval of their movement. Aster was the next to jump to her feet, but it seemed more of a jolted jump to her feet than our confident stances of pride. She screeched, "Sugar rockets! We left Strife alone on the island!" She planted both her hands against her cheeks in a nervous panic and turned to Ryu, pulling his hand and tugging him out to the boat to remedy her situation.

Though Aster's reaction brought a chuckle to my throat at the sudden realization, it broke the general mood, and the rest of our friends started to scatter, moving largely towards the beach to head back to the main island for the rest of the day. I was about to join them in line, but I felt a slight tug from the hood of my sweatshirt. I turned and saw that Rick was on the opposite end of the force. "Hey, Micky," he said softly.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Don't forget we're on duty tonight," He reminded me bluntly. "Night guard, y'know?"

"Oh, right," I nodded my understanding. He mentioned the guard was supposed to start tonight at the breakfast meeting this morning, and we had the first shift, along with Aster.

"I doubt anything is going to happen so soon to the last crime, especially after Sash explained his newfound motivation," Rick meandered through his thoughts, "but you'll still probably want to get a nap in before the guard duty. We need to be alert 'n ready if we want to protect everyone. Don't go out and chat with friends for too long, or you'll be fallin' asleep on duty tonight."

"Don't fret it," I nodded. "I'll just go to sleep when I get back to the cabin, and Monoursa's announcement will be my alarm."

"I knew I could count on ya to be responsible," Rick smiled at my answer. "I'll tell Aster about it when we get back to the island, and maybe I'll hafta talk to Sash about switchin' up the roles for a moment so she may get some rest for tonight's watch. I just dunno who could fill in 'er shoes to watch over the boy until night falls."

I noted that the boat Settoku had taken out had returned, fairly quickly all things considered, and the line progressed forward, pushing Rick and myself into the vacant seating. "You could always press Ryu for help. If nothing else, he seems like an attentive person willing to help out Aster at any moment he can."

"Well, that's a mighty fine idea, Micky!" Rick marveled. "Knowin' Ryu, he'll be in Aster's shadow or somethin' of the like, and, if nothin' else, I can just call and he'll come." Rick closed his eyes and smiled. "Thanks a bunch, Micky!"

"No problem," I nodded back and focused back on the mountain. Rick and I exchanged other pleasantries for a brief moment, but spent the larger portion of the trip back in our own minds. Our little group traversed the cave's canal back to the opposite end and rode our way back to the island. Upon arrival, Rick and I waved our departure as he rushed off to find the psychic and her bodyguard to relay the plans. I, on the other hand, shuffled my feet through the sand as I made my way back onto the docks and sauntered to my room.

At my cabin, I let myself flop onto the bed, bouncing once before settling on the mattress. I looked out my window and gauged the time. It was roughly 3:45 in the afternoon, based on what Ryu taught me at least. If I fell asleep now, I'd get around six hours of sleep before the night duty would come up. Content, I turned away from the light to try and bask my eyes in the shadows for a more comfortable sleep. Slowly, but surely, the soft crashing of the waves drifted me away to sleep, easing me into the darkness of unconsciousness like a mother coddling a child.

~~~

*BING BONG BING BONG*

I winced under closed eyes at the sound of the chimes. The monitor in my room clicked on and the voice of Monoursa called out to the island, "Attention Hope's Peak Students. It is now officially Night Time. I advise that all of you return to your dorms and fall gently to sleep to the soothing sound of the ocean. Good night everyone!"

  10:00. It was time already.

  Groaning, I rolled over onto my side and sat up. My feet found the floor and I was slowly able to push myself into a stand. As I reached to rub one of my eyes, the movement of my shoulder knocked my hood from my shoulder back down my back.

  I pushed the door open and began to slide my feet along the dock as I made my way towards the Activity Center, the presumed meeting spot of our little trio. As I walked, my fellow classmates walked by and we exchanged pleasantries. Some, like Citrus and Jerry, momentarily threw up a confused eyebrow as to why I was heading away from the cabins, before the realization set in that I was on guard duty that night. At that moment, they would simply wish me good luck and move onto their cabin.

  As I moved to the meeting grounds, I found Rick and Aster were already waiting, making me the last to arrive. Aster waved cutely, holding one of her hands behind her back and closing her eyes to fully show off her smile. Rick simply crossed his arms and put on a smile to greet me. The SHSL Psychic called out to me, "Hey Micky!"

  I shot out two hard breaths of a tired chuckle and waved back. "Mornin' guys. Or, should I say afternoon?"

  "All things considered, mornin' might be the most fittin' greetin' we've got," Rick shook his head. I moved in within arm's reach of the duo to complete our little trifecta of the guard for the night's duty. Rick continued his greeting into a natural opening statement, "So, I guess the three of us are tasked this night with the duty. I've thought over this a bit, and we all want to be monitorin' one another, just in case one of the others decides to go wild an' attacks one of us durin' the night. Due to this, I've been checkin' out the capabilities of our e-profiles, and came up with a lil' way to handle our shift."

  Rick pulled out his little smart device and turned it on. Within a few moments, he opened the Stalk my Students app and let the pins fall, one in each cabin of our live friends, and the three of us by the Activity Center, and Strife's icon tucked away within the building. "Y'see, this is the easiest way to keep a hold on who's where on the island, at least from the most broad perspective. There is a given chance that a person willin' to commit murder wouldn't take along their device for the reason that it would be harder to track 'em, but that's what the chat is for."

  Rick clicked on a tab in the top right hand part of his e-profile, and it flipped open to a sort of Yearbook setting, listing off the available contacts. "From here, I'll be able to message y'all if I spy anythin' fishy, and I expect y'all to do the same on your shift."

  "What do you mean by shift?" I asked quickly, butting into the layout.

    "Mighty fine question, Micky," Rick nodded to approve of my input. "Y'see, the docks only have two lines of cabins. The cabins themselves run down either side of the lines, but that still only has them running on two lines. On top of it, they're connected on the corner. So, what I would like for us to do would be to just monitor the cabins from that post and note if anyone steps out from that side. The other two can rest inside the Activity Center for a while and wait for their turn on the shift. If nothin' else, Strife is the least trusted member of our lil' family 'ere, and then we'd have two guards in the immediate vicinity to get him if he's actin' up."

  "That's fair..." my voice wavers a bit, "but wouldn't you be vulnerable to anyone who lives on the corner area? You wouldn't have backup if you were suddenly attacked from that point. And, who's to say that the murderer wouldn't try to sneak out through other means and try to get you or someone else from behind?"

  "All fair criticisms, Micky, but I've thought this through." Rick took a moment to breathe before continuing. "Y'see, Vyn's cabin is where I'll be spending the most of my time, as his cabin is most directly on the corner. I don't know about y'all, but I'd say I'm pretty safe from Vyn attackin'. Strife also had a corner house, but he's locked up 'ere in the Activity Center. And, to top it all off, the only person who lives close enough to pose a threat would be Jerry. On that instance, the murderer would be easy to point out. And, to address your point about sneaking out by some other way, the only way to get out would be through a window. This may be easier for people like Balthasar, but you would ultimately make a sound through either splashing in the water or breaking the window, at which point we will let out an alarm."

  "Wow, Rick, you've really thought all this out!" Aster exclaimed, wide eyed, but still holding a small grin.

    "Shucks, guys, it's nothin'," Rick blushed, tapping his two pointer fingers together. "I just want out group to be safe, no matter what."

  Rick shook his head slightly and looked away. "Anyways, I should be off to my post. Any moment not observed could turn dire. You two should bunker on inside. I'll message y'all when my shift is up."

  Rick reached into his back pocket and pulled out an elongated object and turned it on, revealing it to be a flashlight. With a quick wave, he took off towards the docks to monitor for the night.

  Aster and I momentarily waved to the boy until he made his turn down the boardwalk. Aster turned to me, saying, "Well, I guess we should just go on inside then."

  I started to nod, but the girl grabbed my hand midway through my reaction. "C'mon, let's go!" she exclaimed pulling me along into the main lobby of the Activity Center. To my surprise, a bench from the walls had been pulled out into the middle of the room, giving us both ample seating for the event. I started to open my mouth to question the placement, but Aster answered before I could ask, "I thought it'd be nice to not have to sit in the cafeteria, and sitting against the walls would be too inconvenient. It's not that I doubt Strife even, but Rick thought it would be a good precautionary measure to have us sit in the middle and wait out the shifts."

    "All fair," I conceded to the girl, letting her lead me and sit me down on the bench. The girl then playfully skipped to the other side of the bench and took a seat next to me. We both started to whip out our e-profiles, and I started to make idle chatter. "So, how was Strife on the island... unwatched?"

  "Nothing seemed out of place," Aster replied. "All the drugs and their contents from the morning after the incident were exactly as they had been left, nothing else on the island had been tampered with. Strife moved around a little in the infirmary, but that's just from shifting while resting. His recovery is coming along really well physically, but he's very unresponsive from a psychoanalytical perspective. He keeps saying that he wants to talk with you."

  Aster pouted a little at the mention of Strife's condition. "It's not that I'm mad that he would rather see and talk to you over me, but it's sorta my job to take care of him, so I wish he'd open up to me a little at least. And, not to discredit you, but I don't think you have a lot of training in the therapeutic fields of any variety, so it probably wouldn't be best to have you handle the patient over me." The girl sighed. "It's just frustrating that Strife is so unresponsive. All we want is answers, and he seems to not want to provide any."

  A part of me inside wanted to reveal that Strife had visited me the night before, just to give context as to why he wasn't opening up to Aster, but the other part of me knew why this wasn't a possible answer to her troubles. This would only complicate our relationship even more. Instead, I played the conversation safe, saying, "Do you think he'll move out of the infirmary when he makes a full recovery?"

  "Undoubtedly," Aster nodded, touching her e-profile and scrolling around the map absentmindedly, now with the app open needed for our observation. "Strife has extensive knowledge of how certain medicines and chemicals work to become dangerous or deadly, so it is in our best interest to keep him away from those substances once he becomes healthy once more." A shiver ran down the girl's spine, Aster vibrating slightly. "It's a terrible thought to think that a healthy friend is the most dangerous kind of friend at this point!"

  "Well, that's Strife for ya," I shook my head, taking a look around my map as well. Rick's pin was stuck in the corner, right between Vyn and Jerry's house. All the other pins were completely still, focused in their one area of their cabins. Though I doubted everyone was asleep already, there was no doubt in my mind that everyone was getting settled. There wouldn't be much to focus on for a while if this continued.

  "Though, with all of this Strife obsession going on, I might need to update my shipping charts a little," Aster pondered aloud. "I mean, it seems like you two flip flop so heavily on the scales, it's almost scary how dynamic it is. You go from pale one minute, to black another, and now it almost feels like a caliginous relationship with me as the mediator in between. All the while Strife his holding a one sided flushed feels for you, and you would at best be pale for him. I've never seen a ship run so wildly over the course of a few days outside of fanfics, so this has been really interesting to look over!"

  A long, deep groan escaped my throat. "I thought we had put the shipping behind us on the frigate."

  "Hey, shipping plays an important role in psychology and understanding people, don'tcha know?" Aster suddenly got huffy at me.

  "It does?" I reveled back, distancing myself a little from Aster.

  "Yea, of course it does," Aster rose two determined fists to her chest, ready to talk about something she clearly loved. "So, as a psychologist and someone who generally loves working with people, it is in my best interest to fully understand who each person works well with, and who they don't work well with. This helps ultimately resolve a lot of conflicts if you can appeal to both sides of an argument, and compromise happens most frequently during this period. By tracking how each person's ship is acting, it really helps me understand how they see one another and allows for me to properly mediate when the time comes. For example, Citrus and Saratoga may seem pale, which means that they are close friends that rely on one another to work well. I think that it's partially one sided flushed on Citrus's side, which means that she may secretly love Saratoga in a romantic way. She could be hiding this because she feels insecure to leak these feelings to Sara, or maybe she doesn't want to betray her girl back home, but it's clear that she holds some kind of flushed feelings for Sara. In the same way, Ryu holds strong black feelings, or hatred, towards Settoku, due to Settoku having tried to pry into me the other day. However, Settoku is basically neutral to everyone, and holds no colored feelings whatsoever. It's all so interesting and mysterious to dissect."

  "Are you sure that your readings on people's ideas and relations are correct?" I asked. "I know you can see the future, but it's not like you can read minds."

  "Of course I can't read minds, silly billy!" Aster chuckled. "I read their body language and their tone in conversation. Sometimes their wording gives it away, and sometimes it's the way they structure themselves around other people. Citrus always blushes after talking to Saratoga, and she tries to seem tough in front of her. She's hella gay for Sara, but she can't actually show it for the time being. As for Ryu, I just know him really well, so it's just natural that I know what goes on in his mind."

  "So you're just really observant is what you're trying to tell me," I nod along.

  "Basically!" Aster cheerily smiled back at me. "It's kinda been part of my life with Ryu. He's been my big bro ever since I was little. He needed to be as observant as possible to keep him safe. I totally see why too! He's a little paranoid at times, but I really respect how much dedication he put into being observant and protecting me from danger. As for me, I took it down a different route. I wanted to use my observations to bring everyone closer together. So, through vigorous training and life with Ryu, I was able to figure out how to read people well enough to get an entire understanding of them based on their little details." Aster swayed back and forth with a giant grin on her face, hands clapping rhythmically as she swayed, as if she was cheering herself on.

  "I take it you've gotten a read on me already, then?" I say jokingly.

  "Oh yea, totally!" Aster's eyes shot open and her grin grew toothy. She narrowed her eyes onto mine and started her spiel. "You're a heavy introvert who doesn't work well with people on most circumstances. You rely largely on those closest to you to provide you with information and the love that you don't get from home. To top it all off, you're very icy towards those you don't know. You treat everything from a logical point of view while you're cool, but become an emotional hurricane while hot! It's a neat blend of intelligence and logic to instinct and emotion based upon your mood. Though you don't want to go out and meet the people on this island, largely due to your own insecurity of death and the unknown, you feel as though it is an obligation to follow through on promises of a better life, and to continue on the will of Vyn. You're loyal beyond what is practical, which may have haunted you in the past, but has no bearing in the present. You have a rock hard body, but hide it under loose clothing, and are just generally ripped from pecs to calves. You pretend not to care about most things as a façade, but ultimately you care more than most the people on this island as to how everyone is going to survive."

  I blinked for a moment, trying to collect everything the girl just listed off to me. It's like she was writing my biography, but I hadn't known the girl for more than a couple days. Aster simply sat back, closed her eyes and smiled. "How close was I?"

  "Damn," I muttered, astonished at Aster's ability.

  "I'll take that as a bullseye!" Aster cheered. She then grasped at a fake bow and pretended to shoot an arrow off into the distance and celebrated on her result.

  "Silly billy," I shake my head, putting one hand on it to try and stabilize my thoughts. If nothing else, she was impressive. "How'd you even figure out about my physique?"

  "You're a mountaineer, dude," Aster crossed her arms. "Of course you're ripped. But, as an observant person, I had to look every now and again. Of course, I'm not complaining either." A devious smile grew on the girl's face as she said that remark. "Makes me excited for when you eventually go swimming or play with the others on the beach! Vision candy can only give you so much in terms of what the reality of it all will be."

    "What are you saying?" I ask, my concern growing with every addition she brings up.

    The girl's eyes widened slightly, taking in what she said. Then, blush immediately flushed her face. "Oh my gosh!" she spat out, covering her face with her arms. "I totally didn't mean it like that. I wasn't using my talent to watch you play volleyball or anything! That was just the image that turned up out of it! I couldn't dictate what vision was pulled."

  "Hey, hey, it's okay," I put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know how the candy works, so you don't have to feel bad. You just saw what you saw, and there's no shame in that."

  Aster peered out of her arms for a moment, looking up at me. I tried my best to look as consoling as possible, and it seemed as though I pulled off the look well, as Aster had a smile replace her terrified look prior. "Thanks, Micky," she sighed, leaning her head on my arm. "Just... don't tell anyone about that, ok?"

  "I won't no worries," I rubbed the girl's shoulder, letting her lean on me for the time being. It wasn't uncomfortable, and it seemed like she was enjoying herself at least. In a way, it felt natural and enjoyable, like when I consoled Vyn or Balthy. I felt a smile grow on my face at the thought of it.

  Aster's arms wrapped around my abdomen as she drew herself closer. "Thank you so much, Micky. I..." The girl's voice trailed off.

  "Don't mention it," I continued rubbing the girl's shoulder. "It's nothing bad. I'm just holding a secret for you."

  "Yea, just a secret," Aster repeated my phrasing. Though there was a forlorn sense to her tongue, as if she wanted me to pursue some other concern, I withheld from going any deeper for the time being. This moment felt too good to stop now.