Chapter Text
Tuesday
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I can’t believe she actually did that! She is so cool! Akane is so cool! So, so, cool! Thank you thank you thank you sis!! I love it so much!!!
Wednesday
Okay, I calmed down. Asahi (my older brother) told me yesterday to calm down after looking at this over my shoulder and wait until I was relaxed properly to start writing. I was mad at him for looking at this diary… but he was right, I was kinda just squeeing without actually saying anything yesterday. Let me try again.
My name is Yua Owari, I’m the third oldest in my family, and this is my diary! Still surprised I got one at all, honestly. See, where we live… it’s kind of a horrible place. Like, the kind of place where we consider it a lucky day if we get to eat well. Money is pretty tight, since Mom doesn’t really work much, and neither does ‘Dad’ (or at least the man Mom’s with this time. Pretty sure he’s not my dad, at least). Luckily, we do have someone who’s willing to do what’s needed for us to eat, and that’s our biggest sister, Akane, the coolest sister in the world! She’s so strong that nobody can beat her, so fast that nobody can catch up to her, and I dunno how she does it, but somehow, she keeps finding ways to get food for us all most days, and even sometimes gets a little money for the rest of us when we get lucky! But that’s not all! I don’t know how, but somehow she seems to know how to get things in ways the rest of us can’t. Like, take yesterday. I saw a really nice diary here that I wanted, since I ran out of space on my part of the wall for words, but the guy there always tells me to get lost. I don’t know what happened, but she told me to wait here, went in, and within a few minutes came out holding the book, without the shop keeper yelling ‘stop thief!’ at her! And then she just handed it to me and told me to go nuts! It was so cool and awesome and… sorry, fangirling. But I can’t help it; Akane is the coolest sister ever, and as long as I have this diary, I’m gonna use it to talk about whenever something cool and new happens with her! Sure it won’t be long!
Friday
Well, it sure wasn’t! Akane came home earlier today, after doing whatever job she was doing this time, and somehow smuggled home real sushi! Like, with real fish from a good place and everything! Not only that, she brought a lot! Like, an entire bag full of the stuff! She told us she was full and that it was up to us ‘little ones’ to get as much as we could, telling us to dig in. I don’t know how she pulled it off, but it was so good! It was the best thing I ever tasted! It was like heaven on my tongue! Akane, you are amazing!!
Hiroto (little brother, 4th oldest) asked where she got all this from after we finished eating. Akane just said that after fighting off some more street trash, she met this woman who thanked her and took her out to eat at a real Sushi place! All you Can Eat! Akane just grinned and said that she took her up on her offer, bringing as much as she could for us once she was done! It’s amazing, she fights off two guys with nothing more than a few more scrapes and gashes, and gets sushi for us all for it?? Wow. Someday, I wanna be just like her! Maybe I can start by doing some of the jobs that ‘Dad’ sends Akane on!
PS, I talked to Asahi about it before bed. I dunno why, but he seemed really worried about me doing that. He used a bunch of words I didn’t get, but from what I did understand… yeah, maybe I should just leave that part of it to my big sis. It sounds… pretty icky.
Saturday
So something really neat happened! I came with Akane to her gymnastics thing, right? May as well, since she does it so great every time. But anyway, after she performed and we were heading out, some woman came over who recognized Akane. As it turns out, she was the one who got Sushi for us all yesterday! She began talking with Akane a lot, something about a pope’s peek at gymnasts or something? I didn’t get it at all, and Sis didn’t seem very into it either… but then the woman just talked about it having the best food on the planet, and the strongest people in the world to compete with, and suddenly Akane was looking at her like she was the coolest person alive (her own Akane, I guess you could say :). She then took Akane aside and told me to wait in the back while she talked with her alone. That’s fine, I have this diary to keep me entertained! So I can just write down what happened and draw as I wait!
[between paragraphs is a doodle of what looks like a girl with a horn on her head stepping on a garbage pail lid]
Just looked over at them. It’s weird, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Akane look that serious. I wonder what they’re talking about over there…
Oop, nevermind, she seems excited again! Guess it wasn’t anything too serious. It’s probably okay to head over now!
…huh. I heard the last bit of what the woman said to her. I think it was something like ‘…and we can allow them on special occasions, but we can’t perform miracles. If you’re going to accept my offer, I suggest you work something out with your family ahead of time.’
But… what does she mean work out with her family? What does she need to do with us first? And why is big sis looking so unsure?
Ah well, I’m sure it’s no big deal! If it really is important, she’ll tell us, I know it!
Monday
Akane asked me, Asahi, and Hiroto to come with her today. She took us out to a river, a little distance from our place, far enough away that you can’t hear any screams. We skipped rocks there for a bit, but then she started telling us about what that woman from Saturday’s deal was. According to Akane, she was a scout for some fancy school called Hope’s Peak, and she came to her gymnastics to invite Akane to join in. She’d have to move a little bit away if she did, and would stay away for a while. However, she’d get to eat like a queen and fight the best in the world! It sounded like heaven to me, and Akane seemed to think so too, but… I was kinda worried about losing my big sis for it. Even if I’d get to see her again later, it just… wouldn’t be the same, y’know? That’s why she told us she wanted to spend this summer preparing us. She apparently wasn’t about to turn down this place, especially since it could offer enough cash to get us out of this dump and into… anywhere else, in addition to everything else. She yelled that she wanted the three of us to be able to fight back against thugs without her, to get food for us and the little ones however we could, to get the money back where it belonged, and to prove we’d be okay without her around. In other words, we’d get training from Akane herself to do exactly what she does! It’s so cool! And if it’ll help Akane get to eat good and fight her hardest for once, then I’m willing to do it! She deserves it!
She told us it would start tomorrow! I can’t wait to begin! It’s gonna be so cool!
Tuesday
Heh, Tuesday. If you just looked at that alone, you probably wouldn’t guess that it’s been five weeks since I last wrote in this diary. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t want to or anything, it’s just that so much has been happening that I haven’t had the time! Where to start? Well, I guess we can start with exercise. Akane has been teaching us a lot more of her running and fighting techniques; said it’s gonna help us keep on top of things without her. Too bad I can’t keep up with her nearly as well as my brothers could; they all easily outpaced me in every way, from running to punching, so much that Akane even said at one point that I should maybe not get into fights with people. But that’s ridiculous! I have to fight! Akane does it, and I have to be able to do what she does to keep our family okay!
…or at least, that’s what I thought at first.
Another thing Akane taught us about was something she called Street Smarts. Something about how to work people to your favor to get what you want sometimes even without money, and man, if there was anything Asahi was good at, it was that. I still don’t know how, but he talked himself into doing… something at some office about 15 minutes away, and even somehow talked me onto the staff of a library across the street from him. So long as I can shower okay (which for now, I can), they’d let me do a job there for actual money, and a huge amount too (they said they’d offer me about 30000 yen a month for helping them out! That’s an insane amount of cash!) Mixed with Asahi, we’re making enough to be able to consistently afford basic food, while still having a bit left over for other things! As for Hiroto, it turned out he was a pretty good fighter in his own right. He was no Akane, but he had a strong hook, and he was fast enough to be able to defend anyone who came after anyone around us. Akane even joked later that she wished she’d have gotten invited earlier, as it would make her life a lot easier. But after we got a grip on things, Akane did a lot less random work, and instead ended up practicing a lot more gymnastics. She still provided food, of course, but her focus was on Hope’s Peak, and honestly, with a pitch like that lady had, who could blame her? I’m just glad that life has gotten a little better for us, now that there’s four of us working together.
Anyway, that’s a recap, but today was the talk. Apparently, Akane is gonna be leaving tomorrow for Hope’s Peak. She’ll send a way for us to visit when she can, but for a while, it’ll just be the three of us taking care of the little ones just like she did. It was really sad… I still didn’t want her to go, y’know? But then she said something to us that I will never forget.
She said, “I’m proud of you guys. You three really have taken care of everyone so well. Good job, all of ya”, before pulling us into a hug. Let me tell you, if it weren’t for the fact I only started writing in this after calming down, I’d probably have just written several lines of squees. Heck, even now, I’m beyond excited to hear that! Hearing the coolest sister in the world praise you like that? That’s not something you see every day! But still, we gotta keep it up so the little ones get to eat. And most importantly, we can’t be weak. We gotta stay strong and keep everyone going while Akane does her work at Hope’s Peak.
Don’t worry Akane; I’ll stay strong. I promise, sis.
Wednesday
Well, today was the day. That scout lady came by our place (she seemed pretty shocked by the state of things. Guess she’s not used to wandering around places like ours), and prepared to take Akane off. She checked in first with us for a bit, so we’d know how it would work, and told us that we’d be able to visit her on Campus on a specific family day, so long as Akane sent the tickets to us. I hope she does, I’d love to see the food a place like that would have!
The scout also checked in on us to make sure we’d be okay without her, saying something about how this place seems dangerous. I mean, I guess it is, but it’s just a normal place to live, right? Besides, we’re making more money now than we ever had! I told her that, but I think I only made her more worried. She ended up talking to Asahi (who’s basically been in charge of handling the money ever since we started working) and said something about offering to help a little if she could, before slipping something to him. Didn’t get a good view of what it was, but Asahi seemed very shocked and pleased by it.
After that, we said our last goodbyes. I gave Akane one last hug, as she talked about how she was about to show Hope’s Peak her serious side, before telling us to take care of ourselves as she left with scout lady. It’s still hard to believe it’s gonna be a while before I see the coolest sister ever again. But at least the next time we get to see her, it’s gonna be in a whole new place. I’ll make sure I don’t forget to write when I see her once more!
Sunday
Man, it’s been so long since I wrote in this thing. Again. But hey, I did say I wanted to reserve using this thing for cool events with Akane, and it’s kinda hard to do that when Akane is gone at Hope’s Peak. Personal life has been going fine, the library people have been quite nice, we’ve been keeping on top of the money situation alright (still not enough for everyone at where I work to not be worried about me though), and ever since I’ve been there, my vocabulary has improved dramatically. But who cares about that, it’s finally happened! The other day, we got a letter from Akane, filled with both train tickets to the place where Hope’s Peak is, as well as some sort of passes for the place itself! She sent seven, which should be enough for all of us! She didn’t send any for Mom and ‘Dad’ though, but that’s fine; they wouldn’t care about going, or us going.
Wonder what I should wear for it? I mean, it’s somewhere fancy, so I gotta put on something good, right? I’ll probably just go with that blouse I usually wear for work; it’s the best thing I’ve got, after all. Even if it’s not good enough for them, I know Akane; it’ll be more then good enough for her, and she’ll totally kick the ass of any snobs if they say otherwise!
I can’t wait to see her again.
Tuesday
Oh my God. OH. MY. GOD. This whole day… I… honestly don’t even know where to begin! Well, first off, the train ride was unlike anything I’d ever experienced! It got so cramped up at times, but it was also so fast! It was really cool! While we were riding, we three oldest decided to draw straws to determine who would keep an eye on who when we got to Hope’s Peak just in case, and luckily, I ended up with the youngest, who’s so small that I could carry her wherever I go and have no chance of losing her, so that’s good, while Hiroto had to deal with the two next oldest and Asahi the 2nd youngest. Fine by me.
Anyway, once we got there, the place itself was incredible! It stood head and shoulders around every building in the area, complete with beautiful cherry blossom trees with lovely looking red and gold petals lining the path in! It was like stepping into the land of gods, only made even better by the building itself. There was a pool, rec room, huge classrooms, a humongous track, and so many other things I can’t even begin to describe! And the food… oh man, they had a whole buffet prepared and everything, and we got to eat like we’d never eaten before! And they were right… it was delicious! I think it might’ve been even better than the sushi Akane got us way back when! If what happened afterwards is what it felt like to be full, then man, I never want to leave it ever again! All of us were so happy!
But as beautiful as all of it was, as good as the food was, it didn’t even compare to what happened afterwards. Once we were done, all the students got to visit with the people they invited, and I got to see the best sister of all time again, alongside a man who looked as big as a bulldozer! She introduced him as her coach and training partner, while he introduced himself by yelling his name (I AM NEKOMARU NIDAI, THE ULTIMATE TEAM MANAGER!!) insanely loudly. Hiroto seemed to take a liking to him, and they ended up chatting and laughing about something, but I wasn’t listening because I wanted to talk to Akane more. Turns out, even after not very long, she’d grown a lot; she seemed even tougher then when she left, more confident, and even managed to gain a little weight, confirming that this place really does feed their students well. As for her workload, she considered it a joke, as she was more then able to pass her field with her skillset, and as such, she had a lot of free time to work on improving her fighting. This is where Nekomaru came in, who according to her, was someone even Akane had yet to beat! Of course, I thought that was crazy talk, so I asked if we could see her fight him, which Hiroto seemed onboard with since he wanted to see how tough Nekomaru was. The two agreed, and then fought… and wow, she was not kidding about Nekomaru being tough! Despite Akane being even faster and nimbler then when I last saw her, nothing she did was able to cause any substantial damage to the giant coach, while every blow he landed, while slower than Akane’s lighting fast punches and not as accurate, sent her flying. No matter how many times Akane got back up, she couldn’t manage more than some scrapes. It was like I was watching my sister take on a Titan, and yet she never gave up! I don’t even care that she lost; if she was able to fight with a giant like him and still keep it nearly even, then she’s truly incredible! And when Nekomaru mentioned that he’s not even the strongest student there right now… it was impossible for my brain to wrap around the idea. This place really was a land of the strongest people on Earth… and my sister was among them. It really was like heaven.
Afterwards though, we all sat together and talked a bit, with Asahi and me sharing how our lives have been going, with jokes between Nekomaru and Akane, before they shared some stories about their classmates and adventures, and it felt really good. Like old times, even. We were a family again, except now bigger, fuller, and happier than ever. And if this was what it could be like if she graduated every day… heh, it made me not want to ever go home, to leave this heaven.
But, eventually, we had to. After a great day with Akane, we had to split up. I gave her one last hug, and told her that I’d do what she did, to which she just said she looks forward to it, before saying how she’d be able to invite us over again next year, where she’d show us how strong she’d gotten by beating Nekomaru (I know she will do it next time!). And as the little ones fell asleep on the train ride back home, I decided that I would try to do something to get to that school as well. Even if it does seem like it only happened by luck, I really want to make it to where she landed. But even if I never do… having someone like her make it will probably be enough. Once she graduates, everything is going to be so incredible.
I believe in you, Akane. Show Nekomaru, Hope’s Peak, and everybody else what you’re capable of sis!
Wednesday
I once heard a song talking about how you can’t go home again. Let me tell you, after living a life like that, returning to home now really does hammer it home how terrible everything is around here! I know I shouldn’t be picky, and lord knows I’m usually not, but really, who would ever
[Evidence shows that there was a page torn from the diary]
Monday
Okay… it’s been a while since I’ve written in this thing again after… that, but Asahi told me it’s probably safe for me to do so now, so long as I don’t write anything like that again. Alright, I won’t. Instead, I’m going to do a nice simple update, since a lot has happened. It’s been nearly a year since the last entry I can see in this, back when we visited Akane at Hope’s Peak. I’ve become a regular at the library, and we’ve even hired on some older lady who likes handing out little candies to the staff! I know I like them. Asahi has been keeping us going well, to the point where it doesn’t even feel like poverty sometimes, and Hiroto has been teaching all the little ones to defend themselves, just like Akane did with us, while balancing out some sort of pay thing at a club of some kind? I honestly don’t know what he does, but it does pay pretty well, so that’s all that matters. Mom and new ‘Dad’… well, it doesn’t matter what they’re doing. They haven’t really been a part of our lives for a while, and at this point we barely even see them anymore. Honestly, they could probably end up in the dump as the newest hits, and it might be a bit before one of us noticed.
But that’s all well and good, because it’s time to get excited! We’re only a few days away from the big event last year, the one where Akane invited us to Hope’s Peak! It was so awesome last time, and I can’t wait to see her kick that big old Nekomaru’s butt this time, like she said she would! Every day after work, I’ve been bouncing around at the mailbox, eagerly awaiting the letter from my big sis with those tickets to heaven! I know it probably will be a couple days, but I can’t wait to see my older sister and her wonderful school all over again!
Wednesday
Okay… I don’t say this often, but I’m honestly a little worried.
I got the letter from the box today, marked with Hope’s Peak’s crest as opposed to from Akane herself. ‘A bit strange, but hey, maybe they expedited the process’ is what I thought as I brought the letter in to read with everyone… only to be shocked by what I saw. The family meet and greet this year was cancelled? That on its own would be sad enough, but it’s the reasoning that scared me; apparently, there'd been a murder at Hope's Peak? Something about some social unrest resulting in it not being safe to visit? I mean, yeah, the letter did make it clear it wasn’t one of the Ultimates who was murdered, so I know Akane is still safe, but even so, I can’t help but worry. I’m not like Akane; I can’t just see that someone was murdered and think ‘yeah, that’s how it is’. I just can’t help but worry; what if the murderer strikes again on campus?? What if Akane is the one to die?! Even if she is the most amazing sister ever, I’ve seen her lose fights the last time we were there… What if the murderer overpowers her?? What if my own sister ends up
…okay, thank you everyone. I needed that calming hand. I just need to relax. Hope’s Peak is a fancy place, murder is treated seriously there. They’ll keep Akane safe, assuming Akane herself doesn’t team up with Nekomaru and protect the whole school as a dynamic duo!
Heh, I don’t know why I was worried. Even if someone could overpower sis, there’s no way anyone could do that and outrun her! Akane will be fine, this will blow over, and we’ll just meet up during her 3rd year. Everything will be fine!
[Rest of the page is covered with doodles of Akane and Nekomaru in a manga style]
Thursday
I don’t know if everything is gonna be fine. I started hearing the news; from co-workers, from students, from newspapers I change out front, from everyone… there’s some really scary rumors going around about Hope’s Peak lately. Most of it sounds ridiculous, like some silly rumor about them performing human experiments using their students as vessels, but others… sound kind of believable, like one about how the school’s high status is causing a massive uproar among some students. And honestly, given what I’ve seen about how wonderful Hope’s Peak is… I can’t say that would surprise me. Heck, sometimes I long for what Hope’s Peak has, and get angry about it for a bit. I get over it fast, but if someone couldn’t, it could cause problems.
It’s hard to explain. I just feel that things around Hope’s Peak, that once heavenly place my sister now lives, are getting really bad really fast. And even though I know in my heart Akane will be okay… I can’t help but worry.
Sis… I hope you can come home soon. Things are okay for us; I just want to know they’re okay for you.
Saturday
It just gets worse and worse with each month. It’s like whatever the heck is happening at Hope’s Peak has spread across the whole country. I’ve heard about and noticed violence increasing, especially when it’s related to Ultimates (Hell, I’ve even seen a couple lunatics come after us just for being related to one of the Ultimates! Luckily, with Hiroto around, nobody dares do anything beyond yell, which isn’t a big deal), the skies seem to be growing darker, and even the nice old lady at the library has recently told me to start carrying something on me just in case. Normally, all this on its own wouldn’t be… the worst thing in the world, but it’s not just that. Switching up the newspapers (which I must do to keep my job) keeps introducing me to terrible stories about Hope’s Peak. More than a dozen murders at Hope’s Peak? Hope’s Peak hiding a dangerous weapon of some kind? It sounds totally crazy, but I know this paper is fairly reputable, so it’s hard to deny it as possible. Worst of all was today’s headline. I read that apparently, things have gotten so dangerous that they’re choosing to lock Class 77 and Class 78 of Hope’s Peak away for their own safety until things calm down. I’m pretty sure Akane was in Class 77! What kind of thing would be so dangerous that even someone like Akane is at serious risk, let alone some of the other even stronger students? I don’t know, and it’s scary to think about. I keep telling myself it’s just a phase that will pass, that everyone is going nuts over nothing, but… I can’t. I can’t help but feel this is no phase; whatever’s happening is only going to grow worse.
Just… please sis… be safe.
Tuesday
…oh my god… no… Please don’t say that!! NO!
NO!
AKANE!!
[there’s a wet smear below the word Akane]
Wednesday
I saw the horrible news at my job yesterday… I was changing the newspapers, when I saw the headline for one of them, reading ‘Class 77 dead’. Apparently, a bunch of students from the reserve course were angry at them and charged the building Akane was locked away in… she apparently died in an explosion on the top floor, her body unable to be recovered due to it being incinerated by the blast…
It can’t be true. I don’t want it to be true. But… I saw the footage… there was an explosion there, right before… everyone in the building killed themselves for some reason…
What is happening… Why…? Why?
WHY????
Thursday
It’s been two weeks since Akane died, and two weeks since I’ve been able to get out of bed to write in this thing. I… I still can’t believe that happened. I still can’t believe that the best older sister on Earth died like that…
Asahi came over and talked to me when he saw me out of bed writing. Apparently, I’m not fired, and the library people were even kind enough to give me a month off with full pay given the situation, so I’m glad we aren’t gonna go hungry, but… but…
[following handwriting is notably different]
I know. I miss her too.
[more wet spots]
…heh… you know, you shouldn’t write in a girl’s diary like that, Asahi…
I know.
But… I really do appreciate it, y’know? It’s… kinda nice…
…Thanks for the hug, Asahi. You’re… a really good big brother.
You’re welcome, Yua.
Friday
I’m finally getting back into the swing of things at work. It took a while, but with my siblings help, I was eventually able to work on. After all, Akane would’ve wanted it for us. It’s still hard sometimes, and I still sometimes wish she could just come back home and be a family with us again, but as long as that can’t happen, I may as well do my best for her! Who cares about the situation outside? I’m gonna live a good life regardless. All for you, Sis!
Side note, this is something really annoying lately; there’s been some rumors going around, both between visitors and staff, that individuals who seem to resemble Class 77 have been noticed. I don’t know what sort of sicko started those rumors, but I really hope they stop soon. I don’t think my heart can take any false hope right now…
Tuesday
Never have I ever been more emotionally split then I am right now.
So, I had just gotten home from work, and was relaxing with a sandwich, when suddenly Asahi ended up bursting through the door like he saw a ghost, breathing heavily, face pale, everything. He told me that same rumor that everyone else had… apparently, he saw Akane alive, and not far away at all no less! My first instinct was to smack him for pulling this, but when I looked into his eyes… he didn’t look like he was joking, he seemed very serious. More than anything, he seemed terrified, which just made me incredibly confused. I know he loved Akane, just like all of us, so why is he acting like this? I asked him why, and all he said was that something was wrong. Asahi could tell it was her, but something about her made him really worried. He even suggested locking our door in case she comes over! But that’s just nuts! Akane’s been dead for a while now, and even if she was somehow still alive, she’s our sister! She loves us! We all know that! But still, all Asahi could say is that something is wrong with her, something about her eyes being terrifying, filled with a psychotic sheen that scared him to his core. I asked if he saw her do anything… but that was all he could say. All he could do is collapse onto his knees, and just say he doesn’t know over and over again. I… tried to hug him to help him out, but I don’t think it did much good.
And now I’m sitting here where I sleep, just quietly thinking to myself about what to do next. I don’t want to doubt my big brother, and honestly, after seeing that, I don’t think I can. But… believing him means believing that not only is the greatest sister ever not dead, but also has something so wrong with her that even Asahi would collapse over it. Like, after seeing that, if Akane came over tomorrow, who would I believe? What would I do? Would I listen to him and lock up… or would I listen to Akane and let her in again…?
I don’t want to say this to Asahi … but I think I’d have to choose Akane. She loves us, I know she does. There’s no way she’d let any of us get hurt. And if it’s an imposter, there’s no way they can copy her fighting ability, so I’m sure we could all win together.
Yeah… I just have to believe. Believe in us. And believe in her.
PS, Asahi and I were the last ones to sleep tonight. He said he was coming up with a plan, just in case. I want to tell him he’s being superstitious… but it’s scary to me that I honestly can’t even bring myself to.
Wednesday
SOMETHING IS WRONG. SOMETHING IS VERY, VERY, WRONG.
So… Asahi was right. Akane came home today, for the first time in three years. I heard her voice from the other side of the door, and she sounded really excited to see us again after so long! I did remember what Asahi said… but I honestly couldn’t risk not seeing my sister just in case this was all a misunderstanding, and she was just getting back home now after that explosion. So… I let her in. I can safely say this was her, and not a phony; looked the same, acted about the same, sounded the same… they even got her smell right! There’s no way an impostor could imitate all that. I gave her a hug right away when I first opened the door, but when I did, I felt the first weird thing; I could feel her ribs. Like, Akane was always skinny, we all were, but not that skinny, not to the point of feeling like a skeleton with skin thrown over it! As if on cue, her stomach growled extremely loudly, confirming that she hadn’t eaten in a long time. There’s no way in hell the Akane I know would be that starved! I backed away after that, and finally got a good look at her. As she looked at all of us, she started greeting us by name, helping to confirm again it was her, but… I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Those eyes… her eyes as she spoke to us were horrifying. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like… her eyes were filled with darkness… just, swirling around randomly. It… it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen… and I couldn’t even bring myself to run. Despite feeling danger right next to me, I felt that if I tried to run, she would be on me in a second and do… who knows what! I could tell I wasn’t alone, either, as all of my siblings were similarly struck silent, only able to speak when she had a question for us. None of us knew what this was… but we were terrified.
Eventually, Hiroto (who had become the bravest of us ever since he took the mantle of family protector when Akane left for Hope’s Peak), offered to make dinner for everyone, since it’s been so long… and instead of going all over excited at the offer like she normally would, all she did was say ‘sure, if you want!’
If you want?? The Akane I know wouldn’t say if you want, she’d say why haven’t you started already and encourage us to eat all we can! Why would she refuse food, especially when she so clearly hasn’t eaten??
Dinner didn’t go any better. It was just us eating in silence while her gaze zoomed from one sibling to the next without ever stopping to eat a bite, staring at us like a predator eyeing prey. Even when one of us tried to ask a question about what’s happening with her, she completely ignored it, just staring at us with an increasingly depraved smile, as if she was enjoying something about this. I just tried not to look… staring into those eyes, especially when they’re connected to someone who I… want to believe is still the coolest sister of all time… it’s just too much.
I excused myself from the table and left to my spot. Right now, I’m just trying to write in this where she can’t see me to calm my nerves. I hate feeling like this, especially towards Akane! I want to go back, back to the days when Akane was my hero, and not someone I’m worried would take my life! Why can’t…
Asahi just handed me something. An article, cut out of a newspaper I change at work. I read a bit of it while trying to look inconspicuous, and saw it was about a bunch of terrorist attacks from some group that was referred to as Ultimate Despair. I didn’t read much beyond that; I knew what he was saying with this. I glanced over to him, and despite how he looked just as scared as I felt, I noticed he was hiding something out of Akane’s line of sight, an old flip phone. He mouthed the words ‘get ready to hide’ to me, before pressing a button and hiding it again in his pocket. I don’t know what it’s gonna do… but I have to trust him. I should’ve done it before… the least I can do now is t
[text following is hard to read, written in different sizes and not at all within the margins, sometimes with letters nearly overlapping one another]
dON”t Breathe… dOn’t cry… jUst wait… Akane sNOres When SleePing… Just…Wait… fOr the ScreamS aNd buLLetS… tO Stop… dON’t Let her fINd me…
Oh God Oh God Oh God…
There is so much wrong, so much happened… I’ve just been running ever since I heard the snores, blindly fleeing… it’s only now that I can stop and try to calm down by recounting what happened. I can’t keep going, I need to stop and tell someone, even if it’s paper, what I saw!
So… after Asahi hit that button, a couple minutes passed, when suddenly the door was opened and some men with guns showed up, telling Akane to get on the ground. Akane just spun around and stared at them, at which point in terror I ended up rushing to hide in the cushions of the sofa behind her. I was just getting in the cushions, when I saw her grab one of my younger sisters, Himari, and then use her as a shield to protect herself as she charged towards those men! I… didn’t see anything else as I got in my hiding spot, only writing that stuff above in the dark to keep myself from screaming as I heard bullets fire, necks break, the screams of some of my siblings… it was horrifying! Why would Akane do this? Why would she use her own family’s bodies as shields, even if she was worried for her life???
Eventually, I heard silence. I didn’t dare pop out though… not until I heard Akane’s snoring, and felt it was safe to try and leave… but when I did, what I saw was something that even a life in this dump couldn’t prepare me for. There were bodies… dead bodies everywhere… Several of the bodies were of my brothers and sisters… just strewn around, filled with bullet holes, eyes open in pure terror, alongside the bodies of the men who kicked down the door, as well as several other adults who I recognized as the police force around here… somehow, Akane beat them all without a weapon… I miss when hearing that was amazing as opposed to horrifying.
I was shaking like a leaf. I considered trying to kill Akane right there as she slept… grab a knife or something… but I couldn’t… I was so scared, both of what Akane would do if she heard me and woke up… and that I was honestly considering killing the coolest sister in the world…
I had to get out.
That was all I could think of. I had to get away. Be safe. I slowly crept out of the house, before stopping to take note of the dead. It was then that I noticed that only four of my siblings’ bodies were present. Three of them weren’t around, including Asahi and Hiroto! Had they escaped? Were they still hiding? I considered looking around for them, but then I thought about those eyes shooting open, and Akane’s body charging at me with all her strength and speed… and I couldn’t. I had to be safe. I had to be safe.
Please be safe, you guys. Please be safe…
I haven’t been paying attention to where I’ve been going ever since I started running… all I know is that I’m trying to get away. But… the city tonight… it’s not helping. I know where I was raised isn’t much better than a dump, but this?? I don’t know if I was so distracted by Akane before now that I didn’t notice until tonight or it’s a recent thing, but the city right now looks worse than that dump ever did! Yeah, dead bodies weren’t uncommon, but nowhere near this many, and always for at least some reason! THIS?? This… is chaos… people are just killing people without a second thought, and not even having a reason for it… just…
I can’t…
Why is all this happening???
Is there anywhere I can go, that isn’t… this???
Please…
[another wet spot]
please just let things go back to normal…
Have to be quick. While I was crying, someone knocked me out and grabbed me… there were two of them, a boy and a girl… I think I saw them back at Hope’s Peak… they had the same eyes as Akane…
They’re looking away now… I heard where they’re taking me to the hospital in Tsukuba…
I’m gonna throw this notebook out and hope somebody good finds it without these guys noticing. I don’t care who sees this, Asahi, Hiroto, stranger, even Akane, I don’t care! Just please go there and save me! Before they do something to me! Please, I don’t want this to happen!!
I don’t…
I don’t want it to end like this…