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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 25, 2016 23:47:49 GMT -5
A Nurses office. This place could be useful, though knowing Monokuma there was probably more methods to kill someone here then there were methods to save a life. Still it was better than having nothing in case of injury.
He could see nothing here that would help them escape. In fact there were no clues at all.
Damn it. Would they really make no progress again? Just allow more people to die senselessly as they simply waited for it to happen?
No that was a bit untrue. It wasn't for nothing. The people who died this time would save the others. The possibility that they could fail in the trial was a slim one. The last case was ridiculously complicated and they managed to solve it. This case, motivated by insomnia and paranoia, probably wouldn't be nearly so bad.
Though with people like Taro still around there is a chance he could make things complicated for everybody. Taro's entire talent was in surviving, so there's no reason to think he wouldn't do anything to keep breathing. Kill someone who poses a threat, act like an idiot in the trial, and hope that everyone else would think he was too stupid to commit the murder and escape. For all Willow knew he was the mastermind or a traitor.
In fact he should probably get out of here soon. The investigation was ongoing and he had been lucky enough to avoid Taro so far. Keeping up the pace was advisable.
Of course Willow had forgotten that to speak of the devil was to summon him.
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 25, 2016 23:58:37 GMT -5
Taro followed Willow into the nurse's office as he wanted some peace and quiet for their conversation. He would rather not be bothered by anyone questioning his motivations.
"Willow Fey." He looked sternly at Willow.
"Have a seat, if you would." Taro told Willow with a tint of rage into his voice to perfectly capture that this conversation was not going to be a pleasant one.
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 26, 2016 0:08:05 GMT -5
"Taro Yamada. I can stand for any conversation you would like to have." Willow said, through gritted teeth. What the hell did he want to talk to him about?
"So what is this about? Obviously you have something against me and I have no idea why. Did I troll you in a message board or something?"
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 26, 2016 0:23:13 GMT -5
Taro glared at Willow.
"This isn't a conversation. This is an interrogation. Sit down."
He had to dominate the conversation and make it very clear that this was not the time for games.
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 26, 2016 0:29:39 GMT -5
Willow glared at Taro. Who the hell did he think he was? Still he had dealt with enough people with hard-ons for bossing those around. The type who can only feel good about themselves when they think they are in control.
"Very well, Mr. Yamada sir. What can I do for you?" Willow snarked, bowed mockingly and sat down.
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 26, 2016 0:31:42 GMT -5
Taro cleared his throat and began speaking.
"There is something that was never disclosed during the trial. That is simply why you were talking to Monokuma several times. I want to hear your reasonings behind it."
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 26, 2016 0:41:16 GMT -5
Willow snorted. This was what he wanted to talk about? More stupid, baseless accusations. For some reason Taro was bound and determined to see him hang.
"That? Really? Why would a prisoner attempt to communicate to their captor? I was merely trying to ascertain the limits of his rules, see if I couldn't get him into slipping up and revealing something I could use. In essence, I was trying to get us out of here. That's what I have been trying to do nearly every waking moment since we arrived. " Willow explained.
"How about you Taro? Why do you hate me so much? What have I ever done to you?" Willow asked. Taro was an utterly frustrating and infuriating presence. Why the hell did he act this way?
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 26, 2016 0:58:23 GMT -5
"Mr. Fey, I don't go witch hunting. What the bear said about the mastermind, it leads me to conclude that you have an unusually high chance to be the mastermind. And before you tell me what a "nutjob" I am, I have evidence. You see, you pegged me as sort of off when I first got to know you. Saoirse Moran is a reckless youth. Makes sense for a freerunner. Mariko is shy and introverted like most artists are. Makes sense for a film maker. You being a borderline-gentleman? That doesn't make sense for a trickster. In fact, I have yet to see a single trick pulled throughout our time together here in Monoworld. There is also the problem concerning the bedsheets. It is really convenient that right when a murder happens, you gave a pen, which was an intended murder weapon, a good enough time to make some sheets look like blood and that conveniently got on your school clothes. I'm not wrong when I say that those evidences can easily make it seem like you are the killer. So, it is quiet possible that you knew said murder was going to occur. I doubt you had before-hand knowledge of Tamashi's death, but Shiro's you could have been told from Monokuma. Lastly, we all believe Monokuma, yet you were the only person outspoken that the bear could be a liar. That's suspicious for someone who knows that the bear is capable of pulling strings to get your family, or whatever people was on your ElectroID that you could pass off as family, to be murder and not think that he couldn't put traitors and masterminds into the game. Now, if you aren't the mastermind, then you must be the despair traitor. I am curious as to what you have to say in order to defend yourself from these accusations. And don't just brush them off by calling me incompetent or jumping to conclusions, I need you to disprove every single statement with facts."
Taro finally blinked after a prolonged period of staring right into Willow's eyes, looking for any tell that Willow might be lying.
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 26, 2016 21:33:38 GMT -5
Willow closed his eyes for a few moments and simply breathed. He had been seeing red all day just thinking about Taro. That was irrational. That was exactly what Monokuma wanted. He was becoming his enemy, an absurdly simple thing for humans to do. Once he opened them the fog cleared. He felt much calmer. Exercises like this were very useful both in his "occupation" as a trickster and "hobby" of occultism. Yamada had genuine concerns that he wanted addressed. They were absolutely foolish and misguided concerns but they are none the less real. Or at least were very convincing lies.
"First of all Mr.Yamada, everybody that has ever gone chasing after shadows or tilting at windmills have always said, even believed that the threat was real. Secondly, I don't have any obligation to prove anything to you. Though in the interests of advancing cooperation, I will try to answer these accusations. As you appear entirely irrational I doubt this will have any effect, but at least the attempt will illustrate that or prove me wrong. It is a win either way." Willow said. He was dismissive during that little speech but as he launched into his next he looked Taro solidly in the eyes. Trying to prove he was telling the truth with the naked vulnerability of eye contact.
"I am a Minnesota boy born and raised. We in the midwest of the United states have a stereotypical but accurate depiction of being polite and disliking confrontation. I have also spent much of my time around the surburbs and sucking up to modern day aristocrats. If my "gentleman" behavior is concerning to you, I am sure I can adopt another persona. Perhaps charming rogue would put you more at ease? Maybe I could declare myself an occultist of great renown or act like some kind of stage magician? Maybe I could act as a snickering internet troll or a trickster out of a warner brothers cartoon. If I acted like a trickster I wouldn't be very good at tricking people would I? Unless I was to perform some sort of Kansas city shuffle- I mean to make somebody think that I was tricking them and that they knew what the trick was while the trick is something else entirely."
"This is hardly the time and place for a trick. People are dead, and everyone here is in jeopardy. I am not Iocus who would tell jokes as the bodies pile up around him. I know two things: That I am skilled and intelligent enough to do well in this game and to help us find a way out of here, and that because of my talent everyone will be predisposed to not trusting me even more then anyone else. If I played tricks my trust among the group would plummet even further and I would be a burden on the group and a liability to everyone's survival including my own. "
"As for the pen incident. I am really concerned about your abnormal fixation on those events. Some red ink and an attempt to hide something that could obviously stir up distrust and paranoia if discovered? Seems fairly cut and dry to me. To address your concerns however, I will say that alot of people had "convenient" timing. Alexia and Saiorse with their injuries for one. Iocus and Root had their rooms singled out for suspicion as well. Tunnel visoning on me seems an incredibly biased thing to do. In fact I would say it is textbook confirmation bias at work. I had the unlucky circumstance of sleeping on my pen the night of a grisly double murder. Monokuma probably choose red pens to place in our rooms because the ink resembles blood. I wish I could use some more evidence to prove that it was a coincidence but you can't really prove coincidence can you? I got careless, I will not get so complacent in the future."
"If I was either the mastermind or a traitor, I see no reason in me trying to frame myself. If I was successfully convicted, the game would come to an end. Considering the Mastermind was the one who set up this game and traitors supposedly work for him, I see no reason why they would want the game to end so soon. Once again your accusation has no grounds over which I can actually dispute. It is entirely theoretical. You have no hard facts either."
"Lastly, I can accuse Monokuma of lying with relative confidence of safety thanks to my talent. As a trickster I spend much of my time reading people, "What kind of person are they? How would they react in a certain situation? What type of person would they feel comfortable or uncomfortable with?" etc. Through observation and conversation I can analyse their personalities and profile them. As you know, I have had conversations with Monokuma. I can tell that he is not the type to simply kill us because we question him. Nor will that decide our loved ones fates. They are already either set in stone or will continue to be used as leverage. He wants us to kill each other, and he is willing to let us talk and talk as long as their is a potential for a rift to occur between us. In this way animosity between us can only serve him. " Willow sighs. Mentioning his loved ones has left him sad and drained. If not for that exercise he would have struck Taro for bringing them up and implying that they were lies.
"Look. I have no real reason to hate you. Yet. You have accused me and a person I quite like of a terrible crime. However you did so out of genuine belief. If you repent and try to act more rational in the future I will have no issue with you whatsoever. We will probably never be best friends but we can at least tolerate one another. You might not belive me, but I am not someone who likes fighting. Debate and arguement sure but this is just petty nonsense when we really should be focusing on cooperation. If I was the Mastermind or working for the Mastermind I would be trying to stir up people's hatred of one another, not trying to get people to put that aside. The issue here is merely that we don't understand one another. The issue of all major conflicts throughout history. Let's break the cycle." Willow finished at last and offered Taro a hand.
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 26, 2016 21:57:51 GMT -5
Taro crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He laid back in his chair and was clearly in deep thought and left Willow's hand extended. Five minutes they sat in silence until eventually,
"The best way to keep the rift between everyone, as you so put it, is to include the traitors and the mastermind into the game to shake things up between the contestants."
He sat up straight again.
"I believe you. Now, if not me nor you, than who is the traitors and mastermind?"
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 26, 2016 22:55:54 GMT -5
Willow withdrew his hand. A childishly stubborn denial. How typical.
A simple "I believe you." That was way too easy. Taro seemed to be far to stubborn to accept it so quickly. Perhaps Taro was running a trick of his own? Trying to fool Willow into saying someone's name so that Taro could use that as Willow, "Trying to stir things up". Potentially paranoid but in a game like this it paid to be.
"I honestly have no idea. Inserting traitors in the game could make sense, but if it is a group of sadists behind this the Mastermind wouldn't want to risk themselves. Most sadists of this sort are cowards and would rather hide behind a computer screen. If it is a cult, the Mastermind might insert themselves. Fanatics are more likely to put themselves at risk. As for who they could possibly be...I wouldn't hazard a guess. It's hardly important anyway if we can find a way out of here. If part of the game is figuring out who it is...we should simply keep our eyes open and minds sharp. Personally I am not a hundred percent certain any of Monokuma's second motive was the truth. It seems like it could just be a way to induce paranoia. But as I said, a healthy amount of caution is vital here. " Willow said diplomatically. It was more or less true. He had inklings of who the parties in question could be, but no concrete theories.
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 26, 2016 23:09:40 GMT -5
"True, but this is the mastermind of a killing game. I feel like they want to be a part of it for the sheer joy of the game. I think they had weighed their options and becoming a participant is way too much fun for them than their safety."
Taro stood up to read some posters on the wall.
"But, if you had to make a guess, who do you think is the mastermind is. I'm kinda leaning towards Adrianna now that you're innocent. Something about her personality seems off to me and unlike you, I can't go straight up and ask her about it."
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 26, 2016 23:52:36 GMT -5
Adrianna. He had to bring up that name didn't he? He must know Willow was attached to her. He was trying to use this to rattle him. If he was, The Ultimate Survivor was absolutely insidious. He could very well be the mastermind or a traitor and trying to provoke him.
Calm down. Breathe. Be reasonable. Adrianna still walks and breathes. You will never leave her behind.
"Adrianna? I don't think she could be behind this. The mere fact that you noticed she was...a bit strange without spending much time with her is evidence of this. If the mastermind weren't able to be calm and collected in this situation, they would never have the clarity of mind to organize such a large scale operation in the first place nor get much in the way of followers. Adrianna is a bright girl, but she is not mastermind material. More importantly I don't think she could really do something like this. Ms. Kravenski just isn't that type of person." Willow said. He believed it too. Adrianna was a person that sought adventure, not organized large scale killing games. And as much as she seemed to enjoy violence and death, Willow couldn't believe she would kill someone. At least not without a very good reason.
"If I did absolutely have to guess who the mastermind could be...Maybe Nana Okabe? It is always the ones you least expect after all. However I would hardly stake my life on it." Willow said, tossing someone he deemed unimportant to the wolves. He felt a bit of guilt, but if Taro ended or someone ended up killing her on that suspicion, she at least wouldn't die a meaningless death. What else could he say in such a situation? Refusing any more might look even more suspicious and this was a good chance to test Taro's reactions.
"So is that really all Taro? You have no more grievances with me? They have all been addressed and put to bed? I would hate for this to come up further down the road because I neglected to be thorough."
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Post by Taro Yamada on Jan 26, 2016 23:56:27 GMT -5
Taro glanced up in thought for a few seconds.
"Nope. Nothing comes to mind right now. I was just testing you on that Adrianna thing by the way. If you were the mastermind, you would have fed her to the wolves. Any questions you have for me?"
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Post by Willow Fey on Jan 27, 2016 20:27:29 GMT -5
It appeared Taro was playing the game. Interesting. Well if Taro wanted to play, that was fine by him. He had spent most of his life playing variations on that theme. The survivor was trying to test him. Likely he would continue this behavior, using their new found "amicability" and the fact that he had been "honest" about his little test as his sword and shield. If that was Taro's game then he had chose to play it with exactly the wrong person.
That sort of thing was why Willow had been accepted to Hope's Peak in the first place. In order to beat his enemy he had to see through their eyes. If Willow was the Mastermind or a traitor he would do something like this. Identify threat. Try and push their buttons so they would think he wasn't being "too nice". Manipulate them into believing they had convinced him that they couldn't be the mastermind or traitor. Use the trust as a way inside their heads. Have them killed if they posed to much of a threat to the endgame, whatever that might be.
Of course that reasoning could indicate Taro is a traitor. Or a witch-hunter but that wouldn't be a surprise.
"Ok Taro. I'll bite. Why exactly were you so convinced Daisuke wasn't the murderer? In spite of all evidence, you continued to believe it was either me or Saoirse of all people. Why the stubbornness? Your accusations at time seemed almost random." Willow asked casually. No longer was Willow ready to bolt. He was getting comfortable. Here he was in his element.
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