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Tenko had until tomorrow. She had until tomorrow to save everyone from Monokuma's terrible motive.
Angie smiled widely across the room, holding the Necronomicon above her head.
"Praise be God! The effigies are almost ready and the Necronomicon will raise Rantaro tomorrow."
"Um…so then why did you make the other ones?" Shirogane shifted, eyeing the Akamatsu statue beside herself warily.
"It was divine will! God said Angie should and so she did."
Everyone accepted it so easily. Tenko tried not to frown. The real reason was probably that Angie had been feeling a bit stir crazy without doing any art and then went overboard. Tenko could understand the compulsion. She crept away to her dojo early every morning since it had opened and feeling a proper Aikido practice felt good.
If only Angie could take some actual responsibility. If she actually used the book it would cause nothing but trouble. It would be far better if Angie went and painted or something with subjects that had nothing to do with the previously deceased.
The effigies were good, however. Almost unnervingly life-like. Tenko just wished Angie's talent wasn't something that was going to hurt them in the long run.
Angie and the rest of the student council were ecstatic, of course. It wasn't as if Tenko didn't want to see another of her peers alive and well (even if it were Amami over one of the girls), but there was no way Monokuma had given them anything to accomplish that.
"Anyway, Angie just needs to put the final touches on the effigies. They look good, yes? Angie hopes they will guide Amami's spirit safely into them during the ritual."
Tenko held back a huff. Angie still hadn't told them about what the ritual was. She clung to the Necronomicon at all times. Tenko hadn't seen the inside of it, and questioning proved at least Yumeno nor Shirogane hadn't either.
The Necronomicon had to be a lie. Whatever happened when it was used would be awful. Tenko trusted her gut. Her training with Neo Aikido hadn't steered her wrong yet, and all of the crawling nervousness that filled her when she looked at the book had to be coming from somewhere.
Plus—Monokuma never did anything without a price. Even with the short time they'd been stuck with the bear, his nature was obvious. Why Angie refused to see that made no sense to Tenko, but she had to remain steady. Remain as loyal as she could appear while trying to bring the others out.
But it made attempting anything frustrating. No one wanted to question Angie and Angie was unwilling to consider another option. Tenko had been giving as light a touch she could, but any pressure made Angie eye her down and her tone darken. She couldn't convince Angie to stop, but if they pressed her all together…?
She had then focused on Yumeno, mainly because Yumeno seemed to be following Angie's faith out of a lack of any real conviction on anything and if anyone were going to break out it'd be her, but then it hadn't and she'd had to try conversations with the others.
None of what she tried with them went anywhere. Gonta's sincerity was overwhelming. Keebo took the entire business far too seriously. Shirogane alternated between fanatical and glib, which made her a frustrating read. Shirogane really didn't take anything too seriously, considering all her jokes and references, so that made a certain amount of frustrating sense.
All of them were happy with the way Angie was running things. They didn't want to think about the consequences of using the motive. If Amami came back and Angie provided order, they were all just content to follow.
"Nyeh, so what do you want us to do until then?" Well, Yumeno wasn't that ecstatic, Tenko supposed. She was smiling a bit, though. Tenko wished it was under better circumstances.
"Just make sure everyone is following the rules. Angie doesn't want another murder so close to the ritual. As long as everyone listens it will be fine!" She giggled, tucking away the Necronomicon again. "Now are there any concerns before we depart? Angie and God are listening."
"Momota still isn't leaving his room, but I think everyone else is okay…" Yumeno trailed off, slumping again.
"Well—Harukawa-san and Saihara-kun have been going out at night," Keebo admitted.
"Gonta doesn't think they are going to do anything, though he has tried to stop them. They just like working out."
Angie pouted. "Working out or not, Angie thinks they should be indoors. They have all day. God would prefer a morning workout anyway!"
"Still, they aren't really listening. I don't know what to do."
"I could cast a spell?"
"Gonta thinks that might be too much."
Tenko scratched her wrist, thinking. She knew by now that the student council was out. She tried and tried and they all dug their heels in deeper. Iruma and Shinguji wouldn't be an option and neither would Momota or Ouma. All of them were too abrasive and unconvincing in their own ways. None of what they would argue about would be the motive, it'd be the student council's rules and regulations.
Tenko didn't like them either, but they weren't the point. The point was the book. No one could raise the dead and even if it could, what would Monokuma's response to that be? He wanted them to use it.
Nothing the bear wanted could be good.
"Tenko can talk to them tonight," she said. "Tenko thinks she can handle them."
She had Angie's full attention now. Her head tilted and she narrowed her eyes the slightest amount. Having Angie's gaze wholly focused on her always sent Tenko's pulse racing, even though she wasn't exactly sure why.
"Oh?" Shirogane turned toward Tenko. "Harukawa-san can be scary. You sure you don't want someone to help?"
"Tenko will be fine. She has her Neo Aikido. Harukawa-san isn't that scary, either. Tenko knows she wants to try and fit in."
"If that is what Tenko wants, Angie thinks it's a fine idea!" She clapped. "Now if that it all, Angie is feeling some divine inspiration. So please let Angie work and knock if you need anything!"
If Tenko thought it would work, she'd protest. But Angie was stubborn. Tenko liked that in girls normally, but not when they were pulling everyone into their obviously fake religion and trying to use motives for murder.
She shook her head on the way out the door, rolling her shoulders. Tonight, she would try to convince Harukawa and Saihara to say something. They, at least, had mentioned how terrible using the motive was. And as much as she hated to admit it, Saihara was good at convincing people.
"Um, Chabashira?"
"Yumeno-san?" Tenko spun around. She shifted a bit, since she was close to the stairs. Yumeno blinked slowly, before shuffling and following her over.
"Are you sure you don't need help with Harukawa and Saihara?"
Yumeno has a slightly pinched look to her face. Tenko had gotten her expressions wrong before (how embarrassing, though she was glad Yumeno was in touch with herself enough to know and confident enough to speak up) but she was fairly certain her face was twisting in dread.
Or, her version of twisting in dread.
"Tenko has it! Yumeno-san shouldn't worry."
Yumeno tugged down her hat. "I wasn't worried…"
"Tenko thinks Harukawa-san and Saihara-san are just stuck in a routine. They aren't going to hurt anyone."
"If you're sure, I guess. But this is important to Angie…so if you need my magic to help, I can do it."
Tenko wished it was important to Yumeno. But now wasn't the time to get into another argument.
"Thank you, Yumeno-san! Tenko thinks your magic is awesome, so thank you for offering."
Yumeno pouted, shuffling off while Tenko walked down the stairs slowly, considering the night ahead. She was happy Yumeno had taken initiative, but Yumeno could be doing so much more. Angie was letting her get away with the worst of her flaws, her apathy. Tenko wanted to shake Angie sometimes, and that was only increasing the longer the killing game went on.
The rest of the day moved at a crawl. Harukawa and Saihara spent most of it talking. Momota was in his room again. Iruma and Shinguji stayed in their respective labs. Ouma darted between rooms constantly, but Keebo had taken that particular headache on, and Tenko was glad for it.
Being in student council meant a lot of pretty pointless patrolling around the campus. No one had tried to do anything suspicious, though Tenko kept her eyes on the boys as she always had. After Shirogane took up Angie's lunch, Tenko went to her own lab for a minute to think.
She had no idea how to convince Harukawa or Saihara. They wanted the same things, but it wasn't like they'd spoken to Angie one-on-one. Were they angry enough to go against her so openly? At only Tenko's request?
Saihara might. He was awfully male, but he did take the situation seriously. Tenko would like to think Harukawa would, but she had no real clue. Neither of them had spoken overly much.
With a pant, Tenko collapsed to the tatami floor. She started her cool down stretches.
Tenko was pretty sure Angie already suspected her. The little looks. Some of the things she said. The way she led Yumeno away sometimes when Tenko tried to break through her apathetic shell.
But why she hadn't booted Tenko puzzled her. It could just be face. Tenko hated lying and tried to wear her heart on her face. Angie might be trying to work with that.
On the other hand, the others were so brainwashed, it wasn't like Angie couldn't just make up a reason. Say God wanted Tenko gone, or whatever. Tenko couldn't argue against that, which was why Angie was always using God as a proxy for her own wants.
But she hadn't.
Maybe Angie was having second thoughts? Or maybe she just wanted to keep an enemy close? Tenko had no idea. Maybe that's why Tenko hoped coming in with backup would work. If she could force the issue, Angie might budge.
Which way, she wasn't sure. She hoped on the side of not using the motive, but Angie had proven to be a bit of a wild card. It was part of the reason she couldn't get Angie out of her head. She had to push against her, whether it was with Yumeno or the student council.
Tenko didn't want anyone else to die. She didn't want another trial. She didn't want to see anymore pointless suffering.
In her heart—
Well, in her heart she hoped Angie felt the same. That she wasn't being a bad influence and imposing her will because that was the kind of person she was. If Angie was doing it for everyone, then maybe she could be convinced.
With that, Tenko loped back inside for her own lunch. She wasn't looking forward to any of the conversations she'd be having, but they were all necessary. Tenko just had to keep reminding herself of that.
At night, Tenko had chosen a nice place to watch the courtyard. Harukawa and Saihara were both outside again. She peered at them, waiting for a good moment to interject. She doubted they'd be happy to see her, since she was student council.
They weren't.
She also hadn't realized how obvious she'd been. Angie knew because Angie was good at manipulating people, she'd told herself. Or maybe it was that Angie knew because it was obvious. The conversation went as well as it could, which is to say neither of them told her to get packing or started ranting about unrelated topics.
Her poor answers to Ouma's questioning were also proof that Tenko was a poor actor. The one good thing about Yumeno's apathy was that she was the one person most likely not to notice.
Tenko flushed, hurrying ahead and answering the pair's questions. It faded as she came closer to Angie's lab. Harukawa's question pulled at her. Did she want Angie dead?
She replied to Harukawa that she wouldn't mind if Angie were, because she'd be gone. Angie gone would mean no motive. No manipulation. No pretending that God had a command when in reality it was Angie's own wants. They would have the flashback light. Yumeno would hopefully crack her shell.
But Angie would be dead. Tenko swallowed, palms sweaty. It was such an awful thing to think.
When Angie wasn't heading a cult she wasn't bad. Those moments were fewer and farer between, but those first few days—
Tenko hadn't minded her. Maybe she didn't want Angie dead at all. She just wanted her to stop.
And of course, she didn't. Angie poked her head out and had an argument for everything.
Harukawa and Saihara tried. Then Tenko tried. Angie wasn't interested. She wasn't listening. The awful thoughts bubbled up again. If she were just gone they'd be fine.
And Tenko wasn't part of the student council anymore. She didn't care about that, but she had hurt Yumeno's feelings, which felt particularly awful. All of her prodding and poking and trying to make Angie see reason was for the good of everyone.
Making Yumeno feel bad wasn't part of that. She was having a difficult time enough already.
"You can apologize in the morning."
"Right…Tenko will—"
She stopped, staring at the steps she was on.
"Chabashira-san?"
Tenko had been focusing on the future. She had failed with Angie, no longer part of the student council, but it wasn't like Angie had spit on her name. Even after being too bluntly honest with Yumeno, Angie had that calm smile on her face.
She turned back around.
"Chabashira-san!?"
"Tenko is fine. She's going to talk to Angie again."
Harukawa made a questioning noise. "She isn't going to open the door, you were kicked out."
"Tenko knows. But Tenko also knows she can sit at the door and talk all night until Angie come back out."
"You're going to…annoy her?" Saihara asked.
"Tenko wouldn't put it like that. But Tenko is going to make Angie listen."
"Yumeno might still be up there."
Tenko stiffened. Then sighed. "If Yumeno-san is up there, Tenko will go to the other door. She probably does need space before Tenko apologizes…Tonight is about making Angie realize using the motive is a terrible idea."
"It might not even work."
"Tenko is still going to try."
She headed back up, only stopping when Saihara called up again.
"Good luck, Chabashira-san! We'll stop by in the morning to see what's happened."
"Tenko hopes it will be settled before then."
Harukawa grumbled a bit. "I do too. C'mon Saihara."
Tenko listened to them leave before finally heading up again. She hoped it would be, at least. If she could just get through to Angie, then they might avert disaster.
Mercifully, Yumeno was gone when she came back up. Tenko still felt awful. Yumeno needed to face reality, but Tenko needed to not come on so strong. Yumeno would just retreat further with that kind of treatment.
She slid down the wall, settling her feet under herself.
"Angie! Tenko knows that you aren't going to open the door. But Tenko isn't leaving! Tenko still thinks you're making an awful mistake."
There was no answer. Tenko hadn't expected one.
"Tenko hopes…Tenko hopes that you're doing this because you think it's the only way. But Tenko doesn't believe that. Tenko knows this motive has something wrong with it. Monokuma wouldn't give us resurrection without something going wrong. Tenko just wants you to think about that."
She frowned down at her hands, smoothing her skirt down. A part of her really just wanted Angie to listen. It felt like she wasn't. Like the words were bouncing off a trampoline and into the air around them. The door helped, but it was also making it harder to gauge Angie's thoughts. Tenko bit her lip and continued.
"Tenko just thinks…if we use this, what will go wrong? Tenko doesn't want to see anyone dead. Tenko has lost so many friends. Akamatsu-san, Toujou-san…" She hesitated. "Even Amami-san and Hoshi-san. All of them deserved better."
With a swallow, Tenko leaned fully against the wall.
"So Tenko wants to make the right choice. And she wants Angie to make the right one, too."
There. Tenko had made her case again, but maybe calmer this time. Harukawa and Saihara had been less helpful than she hoped, but the two of them had given her the courage to speak freely.
Tenko wished she had both Angie and the door. Angie made it hard to stay focused. The blank look, the small knowing smile; it all pissed Tenko off just a little. Tenko didn't mind feeling anger, but it wasn't very useful for such a serious conversation. She would have to reach inside herself to find her calm. Arguing with Angie wasn't an easy task. There was a reason Tenko had avoided doing it so head on until now.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Angie poked her head out the door. Her smile was muted and her fingers curled around the edge of the door so tightly that they flushed.
"Angie thinks you should go to bed, since staying up after night time is against the rules!" She leaned further across to stare down at Tenko. "And since Tenko isn't part of the student council anymore, those rules apply to her."
"And Tenko thinks you should stop trying to use the Necronomicon. So maybe both you and Tenko aren't getting what they want."
Angie's lips thinned. Tenko swallowed thickly. There was something incredible about her mask dropping.
"The Necronomicon is a blessing from God. Do you want to take away the chance Rantaro will have again to live?"
"Tenko wishes Amami-san could come back. And all the others. But the Necronomicon—" Tenko stood, wobbly. "It's a motive. When has the motive worked for anyone? When hasn't it caused pain?"
"Angie thinks that's dramatic. Kirumi and Kaede made their choices. No one wants to murder because of the Necronomicon. It is only going to bring someone back. The motives, no one had to kill. That's why God won't be bringing them back."
Tenko opened her mouth, anger rushing through her head and down to her chest. Angie waved her hand, stopping her before she could get a word out.
"Angie doesn't care. You have your own thoughts. God and Angie don't agree."
"And if it's wrong—"
"And you can stay here all you want, but Angie isn't going to stop. Goodnight."
The door slammed shut and Tenko sank down to the floor again. Again, she hadn't gotten anywhere. She pressed a hand against her forehead. Her heart was racing, skin reddened with the wisps of rage that were vanishing without Angie's presence.
At least she'd been able to say more. Angie hadn't listened to a word of it, but that didn't matter. She had come out on her own, at least. Tenko accomplished something, even if it was a small thing.
Tenko settled down in a more comfortable position. Angie might not like it, but Tenko was going to stay the whole night. Even if it meant getting no sleep. When Angie came out again, Tenko would just argue with her over and over.
Eventually, Angie would snap at her, but that was okay. Tenko just wanted her to think about what she was doing. If Tenko could introduce just one doubt, then she would count tonight as a win.
Tenko had tried arguing a few more times. Angie hadn't said anything. While it was funny to imagine her scooted in a corner with her hands over her ears, Tenko knew she was probably still working on the effigies.
If she pressed her ear to the door she could hear something vaguely scraping. Wax tools on wax, probably.
The quiet started to get to her and she found herself jerking awake a few times. Her neck hurt from where her head slumped against her chest. Tenko hadn't been getting good sleep lately. She doubted anyone had.
How Angie was still working was a testament to her willpower. Tenko begrudgingly admired that about her.
Her head started to slump again, vision going dark around the edges, when a bang startled her up. Tenko glanced around the empty hall, heart racing.
"…Hello?"
Nothing answered. Tenko shook her head, shaking the last vestiges of sleepiness from her eyes. She supposed it was either a dream or Monokuma doing something weird. No one would be on the third floor this late, besides Angie and herself.
Tenko stood, stretching. Since Angie still hadn't left, she would have to change tactics again. She gave a chop to the air in determination. If Angie had thought she was being annoying before—
The door opened. Angie peered around, her eyebrows furrowing when she saw Tenko again.
"Angie is surprised…"
"What's more surprising is how long you've worked!" She came closer, hands on her hips. "Tenko still thinks this is something that needs stopping. You're going to get everyone hurt."
Angie frowned finally, closing the door and wheeling around to face Tenko. "Angie understands you have doubts. But Angie knows this is what God wants. So go away."
She turned sharply, stomping off.
"And Tenko knows that's just an excuse! You want to use the Necronomicon. Your phony God has nothing to do with it!"
"God would be very unhappy to hear you say that, but it's okay! Angie forgives you," Angie said through gritted teeth.
They passed the stairs and Tenko wondered where they were headed, before she sped up to Angie's speed.
"Tenko thinks you believe in a God, but that most of what you say is your opinion. You're just using the God-stuff to get people to do what you want! That's dangerous. Especially when you want to use a motive."
She stopped finally and Tenko had to dodge to avoid running straight into Angie's back. The dark look directed towards Tenko made her swallow, before Angie smiled again. It was tight and her shoulders were tense.
"Angie can't prove anything one way or the other. All Angie knows is that you need to get out of her way, please."
She shoved Tenko gently aside. Tenko let her do it. She didn't want to hurt Angie, or anything. She really really just wanted her to see reason for once. She followed behind Angie in silence, waiting to see where she was going.
They passed Shinguji's lab, heading to the three empty rooms. A swell of uneasiness rose in Tenko's chest. She glanced at Angie bobbing in front of her.
Through it all, she hadn't agreed with Angie. She hadn't thought what Angie was doing was right or needed. But being led to an empty location was a little…disarming.
"Angie doesn't care what you think," Angie said softly. "Because Angie knows what she needs to do."
"And going in the empty rooms—?"
"Angie needs a candle. Not that you need to follow Angie. She has it under control."
Tenko wondered why she needed a candle of all things. For the wax, maybe? Tenko didn't know anything about carving wax, but everyone knew it melted under heat. If Angie made a mistake, especially since it was so late, that could explain it.
Angie eyed the doors before heading into the middle one. Tenko waited outside. There wasn't any need to follow her into an empty room and besides, the nervousness she felt earlier was still rising strongly.
"Oh what are you—?" Angie said in confusion from within the room.
A room that no one else should've been in. Tenko gulped, before racing through the doorway. It was just as dark as it was the last time she'd been in there, only lit by the flickering flames on the wall. Angie was frozen while reaching towards one. On the other side of the room, Tenko could make out Shinguji standing from a crouch from the floor.
He had something in his hands, almost like a flat board. He was in the middle of raising it above his head, stepping forward towards Angie.
Both of their eyes flickered towards her as she came through. Even in the dim lighting, Tenko could make out the confusion still simmering on Angie's face and the scowl forming between Shinguji's eyebrows.
Tenko lurched forward, intending to take Shinguji off guard. Regardless of his intentions, the suspicious nature of everything had her on the offense. Angie yelped and Tenko could hear her scuttling backwards as Tenko managed to wrest the board from Shinguji. He stumbled over something on the floor and jerked to the side.
Another beat and Shinguji was on the ground. Tenko threw the board behind herself and away from Angie.
"Tenko demands to know what's going on! Why is Shinguji-san fiddling with the floorboards?"
There was a noise behind her and suddenly light filled the space. Angie hovered at her side, one of the candles in her hand.
Shinguji raised up, chuckling. A chill crept down Tenko's spine as she observed the floor. A saw lay discarded to the side. There was a gaping hole where the floorboard used to be. It was apparent trying to avoid it was what had sent Shinguji down.
"Angie can't think of a reason to be cutting the floorboards at night," Angie said at her side. Her eyes were flickering over the scene. "This is…suspicious."
Shinguji made an attempt to stand that Tenko quickly dealt with. She breathed, centering herself.
"Tenko needs to know what you were trying to do." She tried to say it authoritatively, but there was a waver she couldn't quite smother.
"And Angie would like to know too. You aren't supposed to be out after night time."
He was still chuckling lowly, not answering. She shared a glance with Angie, their argument forgotten in the face of this new disturbing Shinguji.
"Maybe Angie should go get something…or someone?"
"That would be…a good idea," Tenko said, trying to wrestle Shinguji into a better position. He'd tried to struggle a few times, but he was in a bad position with part of his leg sticking through the floor. If he had more leverage it would've been a larger problem.
Angie ran out.
"Tenko still would like to know what you were thinking. Even though Tenko doesn't like the boys here, she would hope one of them wasn't doing anything awful." It was more honest than she'd usually give, but the whole set-up was a little damning. Tenko couldn't think of a reason to be cutting floorboards in an empty room no one ever went in for a good reason. Though, she'd love to hear one.
"Oh, I do apologize," Shinguji finally said. "I was attempting a ritual when I was startled—I didn't mean to give you all such a fright."
Tenko loosened her grip slightly, but didn't let go. The way Shinguji had looked—Tenko wasn't sure, because of the low lighting, but he hadn't seemed startled.
"If that's the real explanation then Tenko will apologize later. Right now everything is too fishy. Tenko will keep you right here."
The door opened, room filling with the light of the hallway. Angie stood there, Gonta beside her.
"Gonta woke up early and saw Angie running around." He frowned at Shinguji. "She didn't tell Gonta what was wrong…why do you have Shinguji-kun held up like that?"
"He cut up the floorboards and looked like he was going to hit Angie with one. Tenko isn't sure what's going on, but Shinguji-san says it's for a ritual and Tenko thinks that sounds…fake." Normally she would hope that she was right, but right now she was desperately hoping it was some odd ritual she'd never heard about.
Gonta nodded, taking over. "Gonta will hold Shinguji-kun for now, until everyone can get to the bottom of this. Sorry, Shinguji-kun. But if this is what Angie wants…"
"It's fine. I'm sure this will be hashed out shortly."
Gonta's shoulders relaxed, relieved his hold on Shinguji wasn't being held against him.
Tenko backed up, looking at the sawed portion of the floor. Angie crouched near her. It didn't look like a murder attempt, but it did sort of look like a way to hide a murder. Tenko slid down between the gaps, Angie following with the candle.
"It looks fine in here…"
Angie turned around, lighting up the underneath. "Look! Angie sees a hole."
It was. "It looks old, though."
"Angie still thinks it should be checked." She crawled forward, heading through the gaps in the siding. Tenko sighed, following her through.
They crawled to the middle, glancing around.
"Well, Tenko isn't seeing anything— wait, is that a missing piece?" She reached up, accidentally standing a little as she did. Her head bumped the low overhead and instead of being pushed back down, the board above shifted without the crosspiece Tenko had been looking for.
"What?" Angie asked, sidling beside Tenko to prod at the board above them. It moved easily to the side. Angie put the candle to the side and lifted herself out, Tenko following and rubbing her head.
"It's the next room…Tenko is so confused."
"Angie doesn't think you would need to do this for any sort of ritual." She frowned, leaning down to scoop the candle again and lifting it around to look at the corners of the room. Tenko checked the floor, noting how the edges of the crosspiece almost looked…sawed.
"You're probably right," she said. "Tenko doesn't think there's anything innocent about this."
The two of them should probably fetch the last of the class, regardless of the sleep they'd miss. All of this planning was shaping up to be something that couldn't be handled by a small group. Everyone would need to weigh in.
Angie shifted, still looking down at the damaged floor. "Angie should thank you. If what looks like was happening actually happened…" She trailed off. "Then Angie owes you one. Thank you."
Tenko bit back the instinctive urge to ask Angie if she wasn't going to thank her god instead. Angie was being as nice as Angie could get. If Shinguji had been setting up a murder, it was entirely likely he would've killed Angie without Tenko there.
She stepped towards the door. "It's fine, Angie. Tenko hopes Shinguji-san wasn't going to hurt anyone, but if he was she's glad she could stop it."
Angie followed her out. She glanced at Angie. "Tenko thinks we should warn everyone else. Tenko isn't really sure what to do right now."
With a small laugh, Angie caught up to Tenko. The candle trembled slightly in her hands. "How divine! God thinks that's a good idea too."
Ah, she was back to it. Tenko rolled her eyes, but didn't protest. She trusted Gonta to keep Shinguji still, but she didn't exactly want to dawdle, so she sped up a little, Angie huffing.
"Oh! Angie didn't even put the candle down…"She said, gently setting it on the ground beside the staircase. "Angie will get it on the way down."
"You aren't worried about it tipping?"
"Monokuma will get it then," she said, going down the steps. Tenko had expected her to mention her god again, but it was true that Monokuma would probably put a stop to any burning of his horrible Academy.
"Why did you need it, anyway? Tenko was curious."
Angie almost paused, with a stutter to her step that was obvious. "Angie was going to use it for the Necronomicon."
"You were going to do the ritual tonight?" Tenko couldn't help but to shout. She wanted to shake Angie. Angie bounced down the stairs quicker.
"You kept annoying Angie. Angie thought, why not do it now? Rantaro would be back and no one could argue against Angie again about it."
Tenko growled, grabbing Angie's shoulder and spinning her around. "And with Tenko right in front? You know it would be a bad idea, it's a motive—"
"It doesn't matter if it's a motive! Angie almost died anyway, and it wouldn't have anything to do with the Necronomicon!" Angie flinched after she yelled, arms crossing.
"You don't know that."
"And you don't either. Angie doesn't know why she almost got hit. Maybe it wasn't even a murder attempt. Angie doesn't know and you don't know, so let's stop talking!"
With a frown, Tenko released Angie's shoulder from her grip. Angie stormed ahead towards the dorms. It was true, Tenko supposed, that neither of them knew that much about what Shinguji had planned. They were mostly guessing and probably guessing from wrong angles.
Even though no one had died, they'd have to prepare for an investigation regardless. She shoved her way into the dorm after Angie and started to knock on the girl's dorms. Angie took the guy's rooms.
As everyone converged to the courtyard (some, like Iruma, with complaints) Tenko and Angie shared another look. Angie's expression was much less pinched and she marched forward.
"Angie has an announcement! There's been an attempted murder!"
And of course everyone erupted into chaos. Tenko couldn't even hear what anyone was trying to say. Finally, Momota took control and then promptly shoved Saihara forward.
Typical. Tenko fought the urge to sneer.
"If you will follow Tenko, she will show you the scene. Shinguji-san is being restrained by Gonta, so if everyone could hurry—"
The march up towards the room was a bit messy, but the curiosity was enough to propel even Ouma and Iruma forward to see what Angie and Tenko had been talking about. Saihara was still leading behind Tenko, his face set into an inquisitive frown.
Tenko explained what had happened, Angie chipping in briefly. It meant they could step back as everyone else piled into the room.
"Do you think…they'll figure it out?" Angie asked quietly, staring into the overfull room.
"Tenko thinks so." And she did. This seemed far less complicated than the two other investigations they'd been through.
"Angie forgot the candle…"
"Oh," Tenko said. This would be the perfect time to do the ritual. Everyone was distracted, and with something important. Tenko couldn't just lead a charge against Angie. She'd have to hope to stop her own her own.
But Angie didn't move, eyes fixed into the darkness of the hall.
"Angie thought about what you said…Angie thinks maybe she should wait."
"Wait?"
Angie turned, nodding. "God is telling Angie this isn't a good time. Angie should wait and see what happens after this."
So, she still wanted to do it. Tenko could groan. But at least Angie seemed to want to wait. Nothing about what she said seemed insincere. She tapped her chin.
"Angie knew the night time rule was good, but trying to stop it didn't work…Angie isn't sure where to go. Angie could use more force, but would that stop it? Angie doesn't know."
Tenko shifted awkwardly. She hadn't liked the student council's rules, but Angie hadn't been wrong. If everyone did keep to the schedule then Shinguji wouldn't be trying whatever he had tried.
But—how could anyone stop it? Tenko herself had come and sat in front of Angie's door the entire night. Angie could fuss, but it hadn't changed anything.
Before either could say anything else the door opened again, Yumeno shuffling out.
"I-I wanted to say sorry, Chabashira."
"Oh! Yumeno-san has no reason to be sorry. Tenko is the one that should be sorry."
"Nyeh…It's fine. Just accept my apology, okay? Thank you for helping Angie."
"Angie is fine with Tenko rejoining the student council!" Angie chimed in, looking a fair bit more chipper. "Tenko and Angie might not agree on everything, but Angie appreciates your help." She said the last bit while focused wholly on Tenko. Tenko flushed.
"I-It's really nothing. Tenko just wants to protect the girls here! Angie included."
Angie's smile grew while Yumeno sighed in relief.
"I'm just glad I don't need to do any spells of forgiveness…"
The door opened again, a few more people shuffling out. The sounds of yelling leaked out and Tenko's eyebrow rose.
"What's happening?"
"Saihara-kun figured something out," said Keebo, frowning. "But Shinguji-kun started going…well. I'm not sure."
"Fucking bananas, you mean," Iruma said, chortling. "What a weirdo. Always knew something was fucking up with him—"
"Saihara-kun knew something about a seance he'd been planning, I guess." Shirogane sighed. "And I guess he figured out that Shinguji-kun was prepping a murder because of that? I plainly don't know. Detectives are beyond someone like me."
"Everything is beyond you, four-eyes."
"Could we not fight, guys."
"So…what's going to happen to him?" Tenko asked. She glanced at Angie, who'd gone a bit pale at the news. Subtly, Tenko shifted so that they were closer.
"Fuck if I know! Guess Big Dick is gonna have to be on creep-watch."
"I couldn't tell you, but Iruma-san probably isn't wrong…how are we going to keep watch? I guess we could tie him up and put him in a room? But then someone would have to go in and feed him."
"Damn, I didn't know you were so kinky—"
"Be quiet." Tenko didn't even have to move. Iruma just yelped and started complaining. Honestly, she was too often no better than a guy.
The door opened again, Saihara peering out this time. "Um, we think we have what we need if you want to come in. Or—well we could come out. I don't think Gonta minds…?" He disappeared again, presumably to ask.
"It's fine, we can talk out here," he said when he returned.
Everyone besides Shinguji and Gonta trailed out, forming a rough circle. Angie pressed even closer as she stared down Saihara.
"So…it looks like this was a murder plan. Shinguji-kun was going to do a seance and kill someone during it."
"For what fucking reason—"
"What! How could he—"
"I can't believe this…"
"Anyway," Saihara said loudly. "We need to figure out what to do."
"What was his motive?" Shirogane asked. Her expression was oddly unreadable and she'd gone totally stiff. Tenko made a note to try and talk to her later.
"Oh? He didn't really say, just to get out, I guess? Wasn't the Necronomicon, though." Momota rubbed the back of his head. "He did say that."
"So he wasn't even interested in the motive…"
"Guess not!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Tenko could see Angie frowning. It was true, she supposed. Shinguji hadn't seemed interested in anything about the Necronomicon.
"I tried to ask, but I kept getting odd answers," Saihara said. "But yes, we can rule out the motive for this as that."
"So could we go on and use the Necronomicon? We wanted to revive Amami-kun," Shirogane said, tilting her head towards Angie. "What do you think, Angie?"
Momota sputtered in protest. Angie shifted closer to Tenko, face painfully neutral.
"Angie thinks we should wait until everything to do with Korekiyo is finished."
"That's probably a good idea," Keebo said. "This is going to take up some time…"
"Yes! God wouldn't want us distracted," Shirogane said, clapping her hands. "Which…what should we do?"
"Your tying up idea was fine, what other shit could we do?"
"Tying someone up all the time would introduce problems," Harukawa said, biting her thumbnail. "The best practice would be some sort of guard shift."
"And just leave him in his room? Tenko's not sure how that would work." Someone would have to be outside the door at all times and prepared in case Shinguji came from behind them. Obviously, he'd want to be sneaky if he wanted to get out, but there was no one stopping him from just knocking someone out and hiding.
"It's not ideal. Another option is the hotel or Hoshi's room."
The room almost collectively flinched at the mention.
"Well," Ouma said, "It isn't like he's the only one who has a little murder problem—"
"Why you—"
Tenko sighed before it turned into a huge yawn. Eyes shifted towards her and she flushed.
"T-tenko's been up all night! That's why she could tell you what happened and stop it."
Angie yawned at her side. "Angie too. She was working on the effigies…"
"You guys haven't slept, huh?" Momota frowned. "Maybe you should go and we'll tell you what we figured out. You can veto it, I guess, if you hate it."
Tenko was fine with that. She didn't have any great ideas and didn't want to particularly hear Momota and Ouma get into it. Guys arguing was far down on her list of things she wanted to hear, especially when bone tired.
"Angie is fine with that. Please let her know what you're thinking. And hope God approves!" She giggled a little before stepping away from the group. Tenko followed. She didn't particularly care about Angie's god approving or not, either.
The walk back to the dorms was quiet, but not unpleasantly so. Tenko kept yawning, which would make Angie yawn in return. How she had so much energy, Tenko didn't know, but she was a little envious.
Angie kept bumping into Tenko, too. Little sideswipes that almost seemed accidental until Tenko caught Angie's eye and she smirked. With a flush, Tenko frowned. She had no idea why Angie was acting this way. She didn't…mind, exactly. The Angie of tonight had been many things. Some of them Tenko found extremely frustrating and some that she found herself enjoying.
They stopped in the foyer and Tenko paused to tell Angie good night, before Angie grabbed her hand, ducking her head. Her palm was warm and Tenko could feel sweat beading on her own palm.
"Angie wants to know if you could come to her room…Angie still has some things to say."
"If that's what you want, Tenko doesn't mind."
She dragged Tenko into her room, patting the space on the bed beside herself. "Sit, sit. Angie wants to talk comfortably."
Sitting on a girl's bed was intimate. Tenko flushed, but still sat. They'd both been through a harrowing night and the beds here were comfortable. Angie scooted closer, their arms almost touching.
"Angie wanted to thank you again. Angie knows you and Angie have had problems lately…but you helped Angie out despite that."
"Even if Tenko disagrees with you, she doesn't want to see you hurt."
"You said that before."
"Because it's true!"
Angie giggled. "Still. It makes Angie feel better. Angie doesn't want to see you hurt either." She leaned over, holding Tenko's hand again. "Angie cares about you, even when she disagrees."
Suddenly sweaty, Tenko's eyes darted around the room. Unfortunately, it was the same as her room so there wasn't anything to stare at that she hadn't already seen a thousand times.
Except Angie, who was still staring up at her. Tenko sputtered, before gently squeezing Angie's hand back.
"Tenko cares about you too," Tenko said, staring at the place their hands were connected. "So that's why Tenko is so worried about what you're doing."
That hadn't been true all the time, but Tenko could definitely say it was true now. Her fear about Angie using the Necronomicon wasn't just about everyone else. As soon as she'd seen Shinguji holding the board up, the thought had been at the back of her mind.
Tenko doesn't want anything to happen to Angie.
And now it was impossible to think about much else. Part of that was probably proximity, but Tenko knew how she cared. And she cared about Angie more than she ever thought she would.
Angie shifted. "Angie was scared, suddenly."
"Scared?" Tenko's slowly drifting shut eyes shot back open.
"In the hallway. When Shuichi told us about Korekiyo. Angie was scared all of a sudden and then Tenko was there."
She smiled at Tenko. "So Angie wanted to thank you for that as well."
"But Tenko didn't do anything—"
"Angie says she did and God agrees! So it must be true!" Angie cackled and rolled sideways, laying on the bed. Tenko sometimes did not understand her.
The silence, though, was peaceful. Tenko was glad Angie had asked her to come in. She didn't want to think about just sitting alone in her room, trying to go to sleep.
She yawned again, eyes fluttering. Tenko could feel Angie perk up by her side and sure enough when she opened her eyes, Angie was leaning over her.
"You can sleep here! Angie doesn't mind. Angie would feel safer, you know?" Angie huffed as she worked the covers out from under herself. "It's better to use the buddy system!"
"Tenko has no idea what the buddy system is."
"Two people are better than one! So sleep, Tenko!"
Tenko grumbled, but she was ridiculously tired. Her eyes kept shutting briefly and she was starting to get an oddly loopy weakness through her body.
Angie helped tug the covers out and put them on Tenko gently. In the morning this would be terribly embarrassing and hard to think about. Angie was pretty. It'd been one of the first things Tenko had noticed about her.
But her annoyance had overcome her attraction and it had been easy to ignore Angie. Now…now she was starting to shake off the negative feelings and her mind kept dragging itself to the thought. And sleeping next to someone was comforting. Tenko felt safe. Tenko felt like she could keep Angie safe. More relaxing than her spa day had been, honestly.
Luckily, her exhaustion won, and Tenko fell asleep before she could fret about sleeping next to a pretty girl she no longer disliked and felt terribly, terribly safe next to.
Tenko woke up slowly, blinking heavy eyes. She sat up, then looked down at her clothes. She was still wearing her uniform instead of pajamas. Then, finally, the knowledge that she'd fallen asleep next to Angie last night hit her like a truck.
She yelped, clutching her suddenly warm face. It was all almost too much.
She glanced beside herself. No Angie. With a tilt, she managed to see into the bathroom, which was also open and empty. Frowning, Tenko threw the covers off of herself.
Before she could move, the door opened and Angie walked through. She was holding a tray and humming.
"Good morning, Tenko! Angie has brought breakfast!" She paused, then laughed. "Or, lunch!"
She plopped the tray into Tenko's waiting hands. None of it was like Toujou's breakfasts, of course, but Angie had put a bowl of fruit and some rice and fish.
"Thank you Angie," Tenko said, poking at the rice with her chopsticks. The taste was good too. Angie set a glass of water on her nightstand and sat in the chair by the desk.
"Angie keeps weird hours sometimes, because when God gives Angie inspiration she wants to work right away! So she woke up earlier than you."
"Tenko appreciates it." She dug in, finally noticing the hunger licking at her stomach. Angie just laughed, leaning back.
A more pressing thought was coming to mind, though.
"Did…did they figure out what they were going to do with Shinguji-san?" Tenko asked.
"Angie asked, but they still haven't really figured it out. Angie thinks they're going to have someone with him all the time." She pulled out a paintbrush from its holster and tapped the edge of it to her fingers. "Angie doesn't know if it'll work or not, but there isn't much else anyone can do."
"Shirogane-san's advice to just lock him up looks more and more appealing," Tenko grumbled, digging into the fruit.
Angie laughed. "Angie agrees, but there aren't many places that lock on the outside…it'd be the same problem, yes?"
"Ugh, you aren't wrong. Tenko wishes there were better answers."
Tenko set the tray aside. She hoped she wouldn't be on guard duty very often. She wanted to protect people, but hanging around Shinguji all the time, especially after what he'd almost done to Angie sounded awful. Tenko didn't know if she could keep quiet when forced to be near him.
"Tenko hopes they don't make her watch him. Tenko wishes she'd tripped him harder."
Angie laughed behind her paintbrush. "Angie doesn't think they'll ask. If they do, you can always ask Gonta to cover you. Gonta is a gentleman after all!"
Tenko's nose scrunched up. "Tenko just doesn't think she could get over what Shinguji-san did to Angie."
"Huh?"
"You almost got hurt. It makes Tenko so mad…" She looked away, trying not to stare into Angie's eyes. In the moment there had been very little time to think about how she felt when Shinguji had started to attack Angie. But now, more awake and full than she had been all last night, a burning fire stoked in her heart.
She spent most of the past few days trying to needle Angie in various ways. Last night had only been the most obvious. It was hard not to feel a connection, no matter how ridiculously it had started.
"Angie appreciates that," Angie said, smiling. "Angie thinks the student council is going to look different, too. Angie wasn't able to stop Korekiyo from setting up anything at night. Angie couldn't even stop people from exercising."
"So, what are you thinking?"
"Angie thinks everyone should maybe go to bed together?"
"T-together."
A snicker. "Not like that! Though Angie wouldn't mind if you went with Angie again."
Tenko spluttered, flushing. "T-that's—"
"No, Angie thinks as long as groups are out it should be fine. That was Angie's first problem."
"First problem?" Tenko leaned back, setting her tray to the side.
Angie kicked her feet in the chair and put away her paintbrush. "Angie's been thinking. The Necronomicon…Angie was being honest about not using it now. Everything's too much right now. That's what God says, at least. That people wouldn't be able to understand."
"And…?" Tenko tried not to freeze. She wanted to worry at her lip. Though she might have understood Angie more now, she didn't know if she quite trusted her decision on the Necronomicon.
"Angie doesn't know that she won't use it." She leaned forward, gazing at Tenko seriously. "Angie thinks it has more pros than cons! But—Angie would be willing to talk about it more."
"Tenko is surprised you changed your mind." She was. Angie had been so insistent last night. Tenko wondered why she switched so suddenly.
"Well…Angie's rules weren't working, even though she really wanted them to, like Angie said. So Angie needs to find a way to make everyone safe and have rules that work."
"And the Necronomicon is part of that?"
"Mmhm! Angie thinks it will be important later. God is telling her that. But right now…Angie doesn't see a problem with putting it aside. Now everyone needs to worry about Shinguji and what to do about murder attempts and not murder successes."
Tenko snorted against her will, pressing her hands to her face in embarrassment. "That's an awful way to put it."
"Is it wrong?" Angie looked sincerely concerned.
"No, but Tenko thinks you shouldn't say it like that."
"Well, if it's what you want…" Something mischievous came through her voice, then. "Angie had one more thing to say, by the way."
"Something else?"
"Yep, yep. Angie has been thinking about it for a while, actually, but Angie didn't think it mattered until last night."
Tenko had no idea what Angie was talking about. Angie slipped out of the chair and sat beside Tenko on the bed again.
Angie leaned forward and whispered, "I like you!"
She grinned, ignoring the steadily reddening of Tenko's face.
"Angie likes you! But Angie thought you didn't like her at all. She knew Himiko was the reason you were in the student council. And when you followed Angie around all the time, Angie thought that was about Himiko too! But then," Angie whispered, leaning close again. "Then you saved Angie! So Angie wanted to be honest."
"H-honest?"
"Yes! God is telling Angie that now is the right time."
Tenko hadn't thought about how following Yumeno around would look to Angie. But they had been constantly together in the beginning, hadn't they? Yumeno mostly passive, while Angie and Tenko spoke around her.
Tenko's hands curled loosely in her lap, focused wholly on Angie's smiling face filling her vision.
Angie still frustrated her a bit, though Tenko was satisfied she finally had gotten through to her. But—
When working together, it had been nice. Tenko had liked spending time with an Angie that wasn't trying to dominate everything. And even then, now she felt like she knew Angie more. It felt like she could understand where Angie was coming from.
Angie could be overbearing and overly controlling without considering all of the consequences of her actions, but she at least was trying. Even if she hadn't completely changed, she was now willing to think about things more than she ever had in the past. That was more than most people here—that care Angie had was something special, even if Tenko bristled against it at times. At least here was proof that Angie could listen to her and understand in turn.
And Angie was pretty. Tenko wouldn't mind sleeping beside her every night (though the thought made her go somehow redder). Tenko wanted, suddenly, something she couldn't quite name.
The doorbell rang, causing Tenko to startle. Angie stood, pulling open the door and answering it.
"Yoo-hoo, Shuichi!" Angie smiled at him, bouncing a little on her toes. Saihara stood hunched, fiddling with his bangs. Tenko wished suddenly that he would poof away and at the same time also grateful that he had appeared. Tenko didn't do well with being flustered.
"Sorry, I know you two are still resting, but Monokuma wants us in the dining hall."
"Monokuma?"
"Now? He's doing better?"
"Uh—yes. He seemed pretty serious."
Tenko sighed. She hated that bear. "Well, Tenko better not keep him waiting."
"Angie will be there too, don't worry!"
Tenko stood, wishing she had time to change. Monokuma would probably throw a fit, though, and cause even more problems. Tenko gave an exaggerated eye-roll to Angie, who giggled and then they followed Saihara out.
The first thing she noticed was Shinguji, standing stiffly beside Harukawa and Gonta. Her eyes swept over him, fists clenching. Angie bumped against her and Tenko shook her head, glancing around.
Sure enough, the bear was standing in the middle of the dining hall, fur back in immaculate condition. He placed his paws on his hips and sighed theatrically.
"Finally! Everyone's all here!"
"What the fuck do you want," Iruma asked. He tutted, pulling out some sort of card.
"Since some people didn't use the motive and some people can't murder without having their hand held, I, Monokuma, have graciously decided to give you an additional motive!"
He held it toward Saihara, who tentatively reached for it. Before he could, Ouma sprinted by and tried to make a grab for it. Monokuma jerked away, causing both Ouma and Saihara to hit each other.
"No, no, no. After the disaster last night, I get to choose who gets this. And I pick—"
He shoved the card into Iruma's hands. She shrieked, fumbling with it before tucking it between her boobs. Tenko groaned at the action.
"And what I say goes. If you wanna take someone with you, that's fine. But I better not see anyone else on their lonesome with it! I've been a very hungry bear, you know!"
And then he spun away again, leaving them gaping once more.
"Well, that was plainly weird." Shirogane tilted her head. "Iruma-san, do you know what that card is for…?"
"W-what? Why the fuck would I know that?!"
"Well Monokuma did give it to you—"
"Like I know why that mascot-fucker does anything?! Hop off my dick, four-eyes!"
Tenko backed away from the argument. She didn't think Iruma having the card was a very good idea, but it wasn't like she could change Monokuma's mind. Besides, Tenko thought as she gazed at the circling mass of people around Iruma, it wasn't like with Angie. Plenty of people were ready and willing to tell Iruma she was wrong.
"Angie wishes there had been more time…" Angie was smiling, but there was almost something dejected about it.
"Monokuma wouldn't ever let us have a break." Tenko sighed. The bickering was moving out of the dinning hall, finally. Shinguji was being dragged out by Gonta, so Tenko relaxed.
Usually there would be rooms to explore, but without the murder all they'd gotten was the motive. It wasn't like Tenko needed any of the rooms, but it would've been nice to know they could still access them without murder.
She yawned.
"Are you still tired?" Angie asked. "Angie is, a little."
"O-only a little," Tenko admitted.
"Okay! Then let's go relax!"
"But what about the card—"
"Angie thinks the others will figure it out and let us know. They're all following her around anyway. Miu is the one who has to have it in the end, right? Angie can't think of anything she could do about that…"
She trailed off, pouting.
"Anyway, go go go go! Get ready! Angie will be waiting for you outside. Angie wants to spend time with just you the rest of the day!" Angie pushed her out of the dining hall and rushed off herself.
But, then again, Tenko hadn't been the only one to go to bed in the clothes she wore the previous day. Angie was arguably worse, since she probably had wax scrapings tucked away in off places.
The shower was nice and as Tenko changed into a new outfit, she realized a horrible truth. Angie had told her she liked Tenko. Then she'd asked her to go out one-one-one. Tenko flushed, shaking her head violently.
After she left the dorm, she stood in front of the dorms, fists clenched at her sides.
“This isn’t anything serious,” she muttered to herself, feeling foolish. “Probably. Angie just wants to hang out…for morale. After all everything horrible that's happened. And that's what Tenko wants too, definitely not because Angie asked." Muttering to herself was just making her feel more stupid, so she stopped, a smile coming unbidden to her face when she saw the dorm doors open.
Angie bounced out of the dorm, hands clasped behind her back. Her eyes were brighter than they had been all night and something loosened in Tenko's chest at the sight. Things were getting better, at least.
“Yoo-hoo! Tenko!” Angie called, waving and jumping up and down. “God says we're going to have a good time!"
Well—that was one thing Tenko would have to get used too. Her smile twitched. Still, her face burned at the insinuation. “O-Of course! Not that Tenko was too excited! We could just use a rest—"
Angie stopped in front of her, tilting her head. “You've been getting red a lot today, Tenko!" Tenko could see the devious curve of her smile and Tenko flailed.
“Tenko is not! It’s normal! Tenko's face always looks like that!” She flushed harder at the silly excuse.
Angie giggled, then reached out without hesitation and took Tenko’s hand. The contact was just as warm as it had been before. Angie gently squeezed, smiling at her.
Tenko froze.
“There,” Angie said. “Now Angie feels better.”
“What!" Tenko squeaked. “You can’t just say things like that!”
“Why not?"
Tenko wanted to shake her. Again. Angie laughed harder.
“Angie knows she said she wanted to come to relax,” Angie said, glancing up at the sky. “But Angie wasn't being entirely honest. Angie was scared last night. It was—so close."
Tenko’s chest tightened. Everything had happened so quickly that Tenko still hadn't quite processed it. But she wasn't the one who had been in the line of fire.
“Tenko won’t let anything happen to you,” Tenko said, squeezing her hand. “Tenko will protect you! Tenko is going to train harder. For you and for everyone. Even if it means taking on shifts—”
Angie hugged her. “Tenko, you already did."
Tenko swallowed.
"Angie thinks she'll thank you a thousand times, if that's what it takes."
"T-there's no need to do that…" Tenko muttered, flushing.
“You’re always talking about protecting people,” Angie said, letting Tenko go. “But when Angie thanks you, you can't handle it."
Tenko sputtered. “T-That’s not fair!”
“It’s very fair,” Angie replied. She tugged Tenko forward, until they were in a lonely patch of grass away from most of the buildings.
Angie laid on the ground while Tenko followed, stretching out on the scratchy grass and staring at the domed sky above the both of them. Faintly, in the distance, Tenko could hear the others shouting and laughing. Iruma squealed and started yelling. The motive, at least, was being handled.
Tenko took a breath, reaching out and grabbing Angie's hand again.
"Tenko didn't answer you before," she said, letting her thumb barely trace Angie's palm. "But Tenko likes you too."
Angie stiffened and before Tenko could worry, leaned over and kissed Tenko on the corner of her mouth. "Angie knew, 'cause God told her, but she likes it when you say that anyway."
"Good," Tenko said, her mouth feeling like it was full of cotton. "'Cause Tenko does like you. A lot."
"Me too!" Angie kissed her again and for a moment Tenko could forget the Necronomicon under Angie's bed, Shinguji walking around, and the new motive in Iruma's hands.