Under Lock and Key

"Now, leave that door alone. It's locked for a reason," Monorakun warned.

Kyoko regarded Monorakun. "Why don't you want us in here? Is that the way out of here, perhaps?"

Monorakun shook his head, his red eye still lit up. "Don't be ridiculous. No, that's not the way out."

"Then it must be through that roof entrance, right?" Kyoko challenged.

Monorakun signed, and I sensed annoyance. "No. It's just a roof. Unless you think you can survive a leap from that height, and you won't, there's nothing interesting up there."

Kyoko gazed at Monorakun with disbelief.

Monorakun crossed his short arms. "What, want me to prove it to you? I can, ya know, but only if you agree to leave this room alone. Deal?"

Kyoko looked over at me quizzically, as if considering the offer given to us. I shrugged, unsure how to respond to this request.

Kyoko returned her attention to Monorakun. "It's a deal. Show us what's on the Roof, then."

Monorakun grumbled to himself. "Follow me, then, and get your E-Handbook out, Kyoko."

Monorakun led us back to the stairway leading to the Roof. There, Monorakun's face split partway open, and he pulled something black and silver out from between his nose and right eye. It looked like a USB adapter of some sort.

"Here, plug this into the charging port. Afterwards, turn on your Camera function, and select the red icon."

Kyoko did as instructed, as I looked over her shoulder, and afterwards, her E-Handbook was no longer showing her camera, but a feed from...somewhere else. Showing only the two of us, and the hallway behind us.

Monorakun noticed my confusion. "So, is it working?" He started looking left and right, and the screen started moving as well. It was then I understood; we were hooked into Monorakun's vision, somehow. "It should be broadcasting what I can see out of my right eye. My black one."

"Yes, it's working. Now what?" Kyoko asked.

"Now, you watch the screen, and I will be back," Monorakun answered. He then scaled the gate, barely squeezing his body through before laying it flat against the gate so he could wiggle his head through, and scampered on all fours up the staircase. There was barely enough room at the top for him; there was no way any of us, not even me, could fit through that crack.

Returning my attention to Kyoko's E-Handbook, Monorakun was nearly up the stairs, before sliding a door sideways, to the right, and taking the last step up. Monorakun was now standing on the roof of The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center.

It appeared to be almost flat, but was likely just at a low angle so the water would not puddle up. It was a grey and black material that I could not quite recognize, not a metal or wood, and spanned the entire length of the roof. There were a few large machines, with a fan spinning inside each of them, sitting on the roof too. I figured those must be the air conditioning units, or something equally important.

Monorakun began scurrying along the perimeter of the roof, even gazing down at what would be a certain death, or severe injury, from that height. Sidewalks went out into the grass all the way around, and while there was an emergency ladder for getting off the roof, there was an old, rusty-looking lock on it.

Monorakun held the lock in his hand, looked directly into the keyhole, and lamented, "I don't actually know where the key is to this lock. It's not anywhere in this building, as far as I know."

He then let go of the lock, resumed looking around for us, then returned down the stairs and over the gate to us. Kyoko unplugged the adapter and handed it to Monorakun, who plugged it back into his face (I apologize, but I truly have no better way to put this!), and then sat down.

"There, happy? No escape from the roof, unless you want to go splat on the sidewalk or try picking that rusty-ass lock. Now, don't pester me about that Staff Meeting Room again! We had a deal, and I'm holding you two to it!"

Monorakun then disappeared, leaving us alone on the Fifth Floor together. Looking at the time, it was just past 11am, and there did not seem to be much else on this floor worth looking at, except for the Botany Room and the Archery Room. However, the Archery Room felt dangerous, and I did not wish to view the Botany Room at this time.

I turned to Kyoko. "I am going to head down to the Dining Hall and make some lunch. I shall see you later, Kyoko!"

Kyoko nodded, stating she wanted to look at the Archery Room more closely, and we parted ways.

I headed straight to the Dining Hall and cooked some ravioli and baked some cheese bread for me, Toko, and Hiyoko. Hiyoko seemed to be trying to make an effort to be less of a jerk towards Toko, although Toko seemed leery of Hiyoko's change of heart. However, everyone seemed to enjoy the lunch I made, even though Hiyoko admitted this was not what she usually would eat.

After lunch, I volunteered to do the dishes for the three of us (not that the other two were exactly offering), and then I went to my room for a few hours, contemplating the events of the day while studying up on the effects freeze-drying has on a corpse's skin, muscles, blood, teeth, and hair.

At dinnertime, I headed back to the Dining Hall, where everyone except Rantaro was present. I later realized Rantaro was in the Kitchen, making chili for everyone. I walked into the Kitchen to say hi, then offered my assistance. He declined,stating he had everything well in hand, so I went back to the Dining Hall to talk with Korekiyo about anthropology for a while. Well, he did most of the talking.

Finally, dinner was ready. The chili was very good, not too spicy, but still full of flavor. I had some milk with it, in case the spice was too much for me. Even Hiyoko didn't have her usual insults at the ready.

After everyone ate, Monorakun scurried into the Dining Hall on all fours. He stopped and sat on his haunches, addressing us.

"So, now that everything has been made accessible, what do you think of TUTEC? See yourselves staying, or are you dying to get out?"

Toko interrupted. "N-n-not everything. There's one m-more floor left, and a l-l-locked room."

Korekiyo spoke up, standing beside Toko. "Ah, yes, the Staff Meeting Room is inaccessible. Why, may I ask?"

"Because you are not staff!" Monorakun replied, rather annoyed. "And the stairs lead to the roof. That is blocked off for your own protection, I assure you on this."

Sakura spoke next. "While this may be true, the rules state that, with minimal restrictions, we can explore all of TUTEC. Locking a door is not a 'minimal restriction', Monorakun."

Monorakun's red eye began glowing, but he said nothing.

Korekiyo was the next to speak up, again. "Monorakun, in the interest of adhering to the rules set forth to us, I must implore you to unlock the Staff Meeting Room. I am certain there is no reason for any of us to be on the roof, so none of us should object to that being off-limits."

Nekomaru, Sakura, and Kyoko voiced their agreements regarding the Roof being locked off, as did I.

Monorakun, meanwhile, was clearly unhappy, but eventually relented.

"You know what? Fine. I'll unlock the Staff Meeting Room tomorrow at 7am. But a word of warning first: Be careful what you wish for!" He then scampered off angrily, on all fours.

We all just exchanged glances, silently, wondering what kind of deal we just struck, before we silently departed the Dining Hall. I headed to bed early, feeling unusually tired, and drifted quickly off to sleep.

Monorakun's usual alarm woke up me up 7am. I got up and got dressed, realizing I would have to do laundry again tomorrow. After looking at myself in the full-sized mirror and twirling my dress once (hey, I may be a mortician, but I am still a girl!), I decided to leave.

I saw Toko and Hiyoko walking up the stairs, but I decided I wanted some breakfast first. I baked some blueberry muffins, enough for everyone to have three, and had some orange juice with them.

I finished quickly, and decided to head upstairs as well, while everyone else was still eating and talking, curious to see if Monorakun actually unlocked the Staff Meeting Room or not. Despite being a prick, he generally kept his word when he spoke.

As I walked up the stairs to the Fourth Floor, I thought I heard a scream coming from upstairs. I froze for a few moments, but did not see anything, so I cautiously walked up the stairs.

Between the Fourth and Fifth Floors, on the stairs, Hiyoko ran past me the opposite way, a look of pure terror on her face. She looked as though she was running for her life, like something bad was after her. She did not stop, did not even so much as acknowledge my presence on the stairs, just kept running full-tilt down the stairs as fast as she could in her kimono.

Finally, I arrived on the Fifth Floor, seeing no one else up here. I made my way across the hallway, and headed for the Staff Meeting Room.

And that's when I immediately saw two things.

First off, Toko was collapsed on the floor, in front of the Staff Meeting Room, flat on her back. By some miracle, her glasses were still mostly on her face, but her face was very pale.

And second, the Staff Meeting Room door was slightly cracked, as if someone had pulled the door closed without the door latching shut.

A cold chill went through me, and as much as I wanted to check out the Staff Meeting Room, I had to confirm if Toko was dead or alive first...