The Enemy of my Enemy is my Enemy [Mei X Monokuma Bros.]

        Mei was about to turn around and head back, especially since this room seemed to hold no purpose. The not-snow was fascinating, but not something to hold the swordswoman's attention. However, as she called, the Monokuma Bros. appeared, or, rather, they came onscreen. Mei watched for a good while as they said their piece. Stuffing? So then...

        "If I were to cut you open then, this is what would come out? However..." Mei tilted her head, "This glass between us makes that hard. Why can you not actually come out? Are you... scared? Scared that you need to hide your true bodies from my blades?" Her red eyes flashed threateningly, though she was sure the Monokuma Bros. though nothing of it. They were, after all, the ones in power here. Mei took a deep breath. A sea of blood would be nothing new... Blood that looks like freshly fallen snow, however, is something entirely different.

    "We love watching people struggle and fight for their survival." 

    "That is... If so... Why take it so far? Why trap us in this... this dirty building and turn it into a game for your amusement?" Mei's voice didn't hold anger but, rather, curiousity as she genuinely asked the bears her question.

    "Shouldn't you know it best from everyone here?"

    Mei shut her eyes at that statement and murmured, "I don't kill for fun. It's a job that I must fulfill. When I am asked to kill, in normal circumstances, I must. However, these are not normal circumstances. I assume you are waiting for when I lay my blade against another in this place? Well, it won't be easy to convince me."

    For a brief moment, Mei wondered if the Monokuma Bros. were even listening to her, but she chased that thought out of her mind quickly. These bears, they weren't like her, were they? She wasn't like them, was she? They didn't feel remorse. Instead, they felt pleasure in killing. When Shirong's body was found, they laughed. They probably celebrated that their motive had been successful. Mei could never feel happiness in killing someone. No, she felt relief. Relief that her mission was over. How many had it been by now... Too many to count. She had killed so many... Her hand traveled down to the wakizashi at her hip instinctively. When on a mission, Mei used her own katana, as using Takeo would be disrespectful. They were her missions, not her brother's. No, all swords had their purpose. Takeo wanted to protect Mei, so his wakizashi was to protect herself. Shirong wanted to protect others, so should she need to do that, his blade would be used. Mei's blade were for her missions or threatening situations. If a fight became too much, she would combine her spirit with Takeo's and dual wield her blades. A blade's purpose was second nature to her.

     "If you were to attack, we'd explode and level the entire factory."

    Well, it seemed like Mei had just found the last resort. If things got too bad and something that threatened more than just herself and everything in the factory were to be discovered, she could eliminate the threat by destroying everything with the Monokuma.

    "We do this for our own amusement, and for the outside world as well! You have no idea how many great ratings we get, especially once a murder has been committed!"

    "Ratings? I am not familiar with that term... However, I do not think that is the problem. You speak as if the outside world... wants to watch this! Surely that cannot be. Who would want to watch this senseless killing?" Mei shut her eyes.

    "But... let's see. Okay, we'll ask you to kill Oppenheimer. You know, that handless freak. Regardless of what you do, that shows us that you have free will. If you kill him, we'll punish you for killing him. And if you don't, then you can also refuse others asking you to kill."

    There it was, that manipulating tone that so many used with Mei. But it seemed like the bears were a step behind. It was her turn to scold them, "Must I repeat myself? I said in a normal circumstance and then I proceeded to say that this was not a normal circumstance as I quickly found out with Oppenheimer. People here won't kill because they have a good reason. They'll kill because you manipulate them just like you're trying to do with me. You can't tell me that Sasaki and Kamiya would've killed in a normal circumstance! And Hakuchi didn't even know he had murdered. The only people here who would kill of their own volition are me... and you. The you who is behind the scenes." Normally, Mei would have never spoken so harshly to anyone... But this was different. This was a person who killed for amusement and fun.

        Awful. That was a word that Mei had heard many times before. Especially from her grandfather. You need to stop, Mei. What you’re doing… it’s just awful... Taking lives away like that… ruins families and relationships.” She hadn’t realized that she had said part of it aloud, but Mei quickly broke free of that reminiscence and brought her mind back to the task at hand. Surely, there weren’t that many awful people in the world, right? Surely the number of kind people outweighed those awful people… right? That’s what Takeo had believed anyway. He had always told Mei to never give up hope because there would always be people out there that would be nice and carry her flame. Mei shook her head. Why hadn’t she just talked to more people back then? Now, having been forced into a situation where she needed to be social, it seemed silly. Even now, she was talking to these bears without a blade in her hand. Was it because they were her enemy or because they were behind a screen…? Perhaps she was just getting comfortable with speaking.

    Mei thought back to that. Were they really her enemy? As of right now, at this moment, Mei was conflicted. Five minutes ago and she would’ve said ‘Of course’ without a second thought. But now, the bears were taking time to speak to her and it wasn’t even like she knew the motives behind this killing game. After all, Mei had a difficult time believing that it was solely for entertainment. There had to be an ulterior motive, right?

    Then the bears disappeared from the screen and were replaced by a… rather large number.

    "The number you're seeing right now is the amount of people watching you as of this moment! Sometimes they zap to other channels, though. What a bummer if you ask us, but we didn't have the budget to take over every single channel."

    Channel? Mei was unfamiliar with the word. However, she was too focused on the number to care. A low growl emanated from within her as she touched the blade’s hilt again. “This is… absurd.” Surely, the number was fake. There was no way that so many people would derive pleasure from this horrible stuff…

    “This new motive is a perfect reason for you to kill now, isn't it? You stab someone, they die, and you get your beloved Shirong back! Who knows, maybe he'll actually do his job and die protecting you? Taking the blame onto himself during the trial?"
    
    There was that manipulation again but… They had a point for once. Shirong… She could bring Shirong back. He had died unfairly and it would be a valid reason to… No. To kill another to bring him back? That was… That was ridiculous! Mei gritted her teeth and slid out her Wakizashi on instinct, holding it in her right hand, “Lui didn’t deserve to die. That’s true. But no one else deserves to die either, therefore, taking another life would be unnecessary. I am familiar with manipulation. Many people attempt to manipulate me to get me to kill. There’s a difference though. In a normal situation, they wouldn’t need to manipulate me. You however, I will not allow to manipulate me… I can’t. Not without good reason! And none of your motives have been very motivating to me.”

    “Well, you don't know Mr. Sasaki. He seems like the type to send you to your death and not even feel bad about it. He may not directly kill you, but he would totally be responsible for your death.”

    “Sasaki… No, I don’t think even he would kill without you pushing him too it! I’m sure you know his backstory. How many people has Sasaki killed?” Mei demanded, but as the Monokuma continued, her confusion only rose. “What? You brought Kamiya here! What do you mean ‘You don’t know why she was here?’ You murdered her sister without even giving her a chance!”

    Kaede… That’s what Yoko said her sister’s name was and Mei felt the 5-ball that was in her pocket in reminiscence of Yoko.

    Anger. It builds up inside of you, unknowing and unaware that it is there at first. Signs can be evident, such as the tightening of one's hand against their sword, or the suttle gritting of one's teeth. Perhaps though, the most telltale sign of anger, at least for Mei Meiyo, who stood in front of the screen to the Monokuma Bros, was that her red eyes shown with malice. The bears... They were quite frustrating. But Mei was still torn. Talking to them like this, it was like they weren't her enemy at all. But yet, the words they spoke, they were... cruel? No, that wasn't it. Twisted? No, that wasn't it either. Insensitive? Perhaps. They spoke of the dead as mere tools. Tools for despair. Hmm... I wonder what these bears truly think of us. Are we all just mere playthings? Perhaps... I wish I could know who was behind the screen. Know their motives... There's always a motive... I won't accept otherwise.

    She shook her head to clear her thought process, but in doing so, a stray lock of hair sprang up and Mei knew it. Freaking out in a very out of character way, she bat at her head. Surely she looked rather comical, jumping up and down to get a single piece of hair to stay down.
   
    When at last the hair was back in place, she sighed. "Sasaki, or rather... Hakuchi's case was confusing. We were unaware of how your game worked and, yet, two bodies were dropped at once."

    She could sense malice from behind the screen... Was it something she said? Oh, wait. It was gone now. How interesting, the emotions of these bears were almost humanlike. 

    "I am unfamiliar with the word 'rhetorical', but... a prank? How can killing someone amount to a prank? I fail to see your logic there. I have killed many, many people in my lifetime, but none of them have caused any emotions that a prank might cause." Mei stops for a second, "But I can prank people too... I think. I've never tried."

    The Kenjutsu Master thinks for a second before rolling up the sleeve of her scarred arm. She had injured it while trying to stay awake for the Kill Command motive. Then, with barely a second thought, she sliced it back open with the sword in her hand, allowing blood to flow down. "You said that I was 'trudging in a sea of blood', yes? How's this for a sea of blood!"

    She suddenly darts around the room, sending blood... everywhere. The cotton is all stained with her blood and all at once, the room really does look like a sea of blood. A battlefield. After all is said and done, Mei is huffing, panting. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out... bandages. Yes, they are the same ones she used with Shirong's sword. She wraps her bloody arm and then turns back to the screen.