I left Kenchikka's dorm and decided to see what Theo was up to. I still had no idea what his Ultimate talent was, and I wondered if he found anything out here. I messaged him in Private Chat, and discovered he was in his dorm room, reading a book from the Library. He invited me over, and I accepted.
Once inside, I looked around Theo's dorm, which aside from a British flag, was surprisingly void of decorations. I did notice what appeared to be a British birth certificate, with a shield-like emblem at the top and another, round one at the bottom right. However, it was completely blank.
"That empty certificate was awaiting me upon my arrival," Theo said, somewhat disappointed. "I fear it has not made things any easier on me."
Curious, I asked, "Have you been able to discover anything about your Ultimate talent?"
Theo shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I know nothing more than I did before, I'm afraid. Worse still, I find myself in a bit of a pickle with the others."
"Hmm? What do you mean, Theo?" I asked.
"Well, dear Bera," Theo responded, "I must make a confession to you. You see, Theo... is not my true name. In fact, I do not know what my true name is. I have become so many people throughout my life, that I forget which one is really me, or if any of them are."
Huh? What? How did Theo not know who he was? Even I knew who I was, and I completely flipped genders during my lifetime! I didn't understand this.
"Do you mean you have amnesia or something? I don't understand," I comment.
Theo shook his head. "No, though I wish that was all it was. You see, I even lack fingerprints, so I cannot use those to determine my identity, either. It is as if my entire past is a fog, as if none of my past events were truly my own."
I looked at Theo, confused. "You really don't remember much about your past?"
Theo shrugged. "My friend, it is not that I don't remember much of my past. It is, indeed, that I remember too many pasts. Too many different lives I have led, trying to make a name of myself. Always, I would resort to using someone else's name, someone else's life instead."
Shrugging back, I offer up, "Maybe you're, like, the Ultimate Imposter or something?"
Theo chuckled. "What kind of talent would that be though? Yet, it seems fitting. Perhaps you are right, Bera. I suppose time will tell, after all."
Changing the subject, Theo turned to me. "How are you holding up? That was a rather nasty trick Monorakun pulled upon you and poor Chihiro."
I nodded, shuddering a little as I recalled the events of that party-turned-panic episode. "I'm doing ok. I came to terms with it years ago, I just don't like... thinking about... being her."
After closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I continued. "As for Chihiro, I'm actively helping him out. I just mended his clothes last night, in fact."
Theo's eyes lit up. "Really now? Do tell."
I told Theo about how I washed all of Chihiro's clothes, turning his skirts into shorts and removing the large white collar from his shirts before returning them to him.
Theo nodded approvingly. "Ah, very good, very good. It is good to see us working together, instead of trying to kill one another."
I started to respond, but my E-Handbook buzzed at me. It was a Private Message from Chiaki.
Chiaki Nanami: Would you like to join me in my dorm? I could use some company while I game, and the Electric Mage is not available.
Bera Haikiko: Sure. I can be there in a little bit.
Theo nods towards me. "If you must go, I understand. I must continue to use what resources are present, in an attempt to determine my true identity. Take care, Bera, and be safe!"
I took my leave of Theo, who left to head to the Library. Meanwhile, I made my way to Chiaki's dorm, and rang her doorbell. Chiaki answered it and invited me in.
Chiaki's room was full of gaming systems, from old-school Atari consoles, to the latest PlayStation and Xbox platforms. Each was hooked up to a large-screen TV mounted on the wall. Chiaki was sitting in a gaming chair, and had a second one inside for a second player.
Chiaki has me sit in one seat, and she sits in the other. We decide to turn on the Nantendo Switch 3D, and Chiaki put in Konkey Dong: The Banana Outage.
Chiaki played Konkey Dong, a male gorilla, and I played Dixie Dong, a female spider monkey. Dixie was smaller, but could reach areas that Konkey could not. Konkey, however, could destroy monsters that would harm Dixie.
It was a 3D Platform game where we had to work together to overcome obstacles, defeat enemies, and sometimes trigger objects at the same time to advance past gated locations.
Together, Chiaki and I navigated the platforms, defeated several bosses (including a rhino, an ostrich, and a giant rat), and found clues as to what had happened to all the bananas. We explored jungles, caves, an ocean, a desert, and finally a warehouse.
Inside the warehouse was all the bananas that had been taken from Konkey Dong's jungle, guarded by King Drool, a fat crocodile who is a longtime nemesis of Konkey Dong.
"King Drool is going to try to bite at me, and periodically charge the sides of the warehouse, causing the entire building to shake. If you're on the ground, we'll both get hurt," Chiaki mentioned.
I nodded in understanding.
"We'll be separated by a ceiling, so neither of us can get to the other. If either one of us goes down, we both lose a life, and we have to restart this boss fight," Chiaki continued.
I took a deep breath, realizing that if either of us failed our duties, we both lost.
King Drool roared and charged at Chiaki, who jumped over him. I jumped as well, avoiding the shockwave. I started running towards the opposite side of the warehouse, towards a large pile of boxes marked with a banana symbol.
While Chiaki dodged King Drool's ramming attacks and bites, I had to solve puzzles to open the crates. Afterwards, I had to push them to a chute to remove it, where it would slide down to a truck outside. We both had to jump when King Drool rammed either side of the wall, as it shook the entire warehouse, just like Chiaki said.
Eventually, after I got ten crates out, we managed to defeat King Drool, who looked up, saw the bananas were gone, and collapsed on the ground, crying over his lost banana horde.
Chiaki smiled as the victory credits played. "Great work, Bera. You did pretty well with those puzzles, too."
"Thanks, Chiaki." I was appreciative of her praise, coming from an Ultimate Gamer.
Chiaki excused herself to the restroom, so we decided to part ways. I left to go the Courtyard, to reflect on the last 24 hours alone.
When I arrived at the Courtyard, only Makoto was outside, and he was minding his own business at a bench. I sat at another bench, and just thought to myself.
Why would Monorakun seek out Chihiro and I? Is it because of Chihiro hacking his E-Handbook and discovering 未来? Is it because someone was plotting against us, and working with Monorakun to take us out? Is it another reason altogether?
No. I refused to blame Chihiro for anything. Even if he did hack his E-Handbook, he hasn't done anything to anyone, or told anyone anything. I couldn't bring myself to hold Chihiro responsible for what happened to us last night at the Halloween party.
What were the others' plans for getting out? Kaito had one idea. Kenchikka had another plan. Celeste's plot was something else, entirely. What was everyone else thinking, though?
Suddenly, I felt the urge to use the restroom. Looking at my E-Handbook, it was just after 4:30pm at this point. I left the Courtyard, noticing Makoto was gone as well. I headed to the Boy's Restroom, as it was closer than my dorm restroom.
Inside the restroom, I saw two bathroom sinks, two urinals, and two stalls with toilets. I also saw a pair of legs laying near one of the sinks. They were wearing sandals, and the shins were bare, but the rest of them was obscured by the sinks. The legs looked bruised or... something, however.
I moved off to the side, and I saw Yasuhiro laying there, with a rag and a large glass bottle, filled with a clear bottle. I could read "ntine" from this angle, but the rest was out of my line of sight. It stunk in here, too, and I quickly had to hold my nose.
Concerned for Yasuhiro, I went over and gently shook his arm.
To my horror, his body was no longer warm, like living-body warm. It was more like lukewarm now, and his arm felt pretty stiff.
Alarmed, I opened my E-Handbook, and got into the Group Chat.
Bera Haikiko: Yasuhiro's laying in the Boy's Restroom. I think he's dead.
Theo Poster: On my way.
Leon Kuwata: Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!
Celestia Ludenberg: It appears that one of us is trying to escape, using the rules given to us.
Kaito Momota: Celeste, shut up! We have no time for your nonsense right now!
Theo and Leon appeared within, and upon seeing Leon, an alert went off throughout the building.
"We've got three sets of eyes on a dead body. Everyone meet outside the Boys Restroom, now! I said OUTSIDE! Girls are not permitted within the Boy's Restroom, even during a Murder Investigation!"
So, Yasuhiro was dead, and girls aren't allowed in the Boy's Bathroom.
What does this mean?