Post by Mei Meiyo on Nov 15, 2016 8:16:59 GMT 1
words: 4009
With all that had happened in the day, you would expect Mei Meiyo to be fatigued or, at the very least, burnt out from all that had happened. The balance between sanity and insanity seemed to fly at extraordinary rates in within the stinky, rusty, old factory and many were feeling its adverse effects. However, as the Kenjutsu Master sat in a dusty corner, like she almost always tended to do in any social interaction, her mind kept wandering away from the present and she felt not a hint of fatigue. Thoughts kept speeding around at rates which alarmed even the swordswoman herself. The questions raced through her head, zipping around as if they would never be answered despite how much effort and thought she put into solving her mysteries and most of them came to the bottom line of, 'What does this mean?' Now, if Mei had her trusty dictionary, this wouldn't have been anywhere near as big a problem as she could just easily look up most of the words missing from her inner vocabulary, although she doubted that some of the words such as 'Monokuma' would be listed within those pages. And alas, Mei's dictionary had disappeared without a trace. It wasn't anywhere on her person and she couldn't seem to find it anywhere. Well, Mei was pretty sure that it was lost somewhere along the way between the grand Hope's Peak Academy's gates and here in this small, confined space. Yes, she was almost certain that she had had the dictionary when she approached the gates, after all, she had needed it to remember what exactly her acceptance letter was telling her, but now... the thickset book was nowhere to be found. What an odd thing for someone to go and do, to take her dictionary and not something more valuable, like her two swords. Those were always out in the open, with one of them being strapped at Mei's left thigh and the other one attached to her back via a strap. It was even odder when one took in that fact that the dictionary was usually tucked away within her jacket outside of view. Could the perpetrator be the same as the person who had brought the sixteen people together? The one that had decided to force the students of Hope's Peak Academy into a situation where they'd have to kill each other?
The motives of the person behind this certainly seemed... odd to say the least. What did the 'Monokuma' thing say? Despair? Now... what did that mean again? Mei had remembered seeing the word before once. Maybe twice. After all, whenever she came across a new word, she looked it up. Despair wasn't too common, but she'd seen it before. She was sure of it. Despair... Despair... Ah! That was it! A feeling of negativity or sorrow and the complete absence of hope. Sorrow meant sadness and hope was a feeling you got when you wanted something or expected the future to be better. Now, why did the two semi matching bears want despair? Why would they want to be sad and have no more hope? Or did they want to make the students sad and hopeless? Mei's mind drifted to Yoko, the Super High School Level Jack of All Trades. She had certainly seemed sad earlier when they had discovered the two bodies. In fact, she had tried to claim another life in return. Was she feeling despair from the death of someone obviously close to her and were the bears giggling to themselves at that moment from already being successful in creating this despair? It filled Mei with a strange, unidentified emotion, thinking of the bears sitting and laughing at the situation. But what was that unknown emotion? Rage? Hatred? Compassion? No... She couldn't care less who she served or who used her. Whether it was the bears themselves who wanted to use Mei or Yoko Kamiya in order to exact her revenge, Mei would act as their sword because that was her ultimate talent. The Super High School Level Kenjutsu Master, destined to serve others in their quests for vengeance or hatred. It was who she was and who she would always be.
But it wasn't like Mei wasn't a human. Of course she was. She, too, ate food and breathed the same life giving air. She felt feelings and emotions as well, such as a crippling sadness when she plunged one of her swords, or both, into an adversary or a rushing exhilaration when she was sparring with a particularly tough partner. It was simply that her textbook definition of a 'Meiyo' was someone who served other people even at their own expense. Her parents died protecting the world from that awful, awful group that Mei had been taught to fear her whole life. That horrid group with the wolf tattoos. Then, her brother died protecting her from an unforeseen attacker when they were both young. The child never had a chance to grow up and develop his own skill. Mei had to wonder, if Takeo could see her now, would he approve of her decision to serve? Her decision to be the sword of others? Mei took out her white wakizashi blade and stared longingly into the painted wood. When Takeo was to become twelve, he was to receive the very blade that she held. But he died unfairly when he was young and instead, when Mei turned twelve, she took on both her brother's white wakizashi and the black katana that was meant to be hers. It matched Takeo's hair, or at least what Mei remembered of it. Perhaps that was intentional or perhaps it was something more.
Inside, she still worried about her other, older brother, Keizou. That strange, future telling vision she was shown... It was a double-edged sword. At one, hopeful angle, it would mean that Keizou was still alive and doing well on his own, but looking at it the other, more despairful way, Mei would end up dying here in this factory. But, thinking deeply on it, she realized that she was okay with that. As long as Keizou remained healthy and alive, the Meiyo family would continue to grow and flourish and that was more than enough for Mei. She didn't know much about her missing brother as he left when Mei was very young and didn't interact much with her before then. After the news had come that their parents that had gone to war were dead, Keizou declared that he would grow much stronger and take of journey of self discovery and that was the last Mei saw of him. Her grandfather then took care of the young Mei and Takeo, but when Takeo had died... Mei was left all alone with her grandfather. She grew up very simply. Her life was nothing more than sleeping, eating, and training and she needed nothing more. Sleep, eat, train. Sleep. Mei slept from the depths of dusk to the light of dawn, with the sun acting as her guide for when to be asleep and when to be awake. But here within the factory walls, she couldn't really see the glow of the sun all that well. A thick smog covered the outside air, creating a veil and preventing light from entering the old, rusty building. Eat. Mei's daily diet consisted of various types of fish and soft, white, fluffy rice. Sometimes she put them together and made nigiri, which was raw fish atop rice, sometimes she smoked the fish to create an unforgettable flavor. Other times she broiled and sometimes even roasted the sea creature. It all depended on what Mei felt like at the time, but it was safe to say that she had never once ingested anything besides fish, rice, water, and occasionally, dark and pure tea, since she was very young. She had all but forgotten the sweet taste of the grains of sugar, or the sour, but slightly sweet taste of fresh fruit. In fact, if she were to try to eat stuff like that now, she would probably recoil at the pungent taste and less than desirable side-effects would occur.
Being secluded and isolated for so long with only her grandfather to keep her company and the rare, occasional meet in with a stranger at the store had affected Mei to say the least. Most people avoided her since she carried around blades and the cashiers at the store said nothing to her as they helped her purchase fish and rice. Mei always found it difficult to start conversations and hold them and she knew it. She knew just how big of a problem she truly and. How she would get nervous and freeze up, unable to get a word out. There were exceptions to her anxiety, of course. When Mei got really desperate to know something, often a new word that she'd never heard before, she would instinctively draw her wakizashi sword. And Mei found that when she was holding a blade of any type, it was like all of her sharp, corrosive anxiety just melted away. She was able to get what she needed done without any further complications, though it was often at the expense of others. Cut whom she must cut. Save whom she must save.
The goal here was apparently not just to survive as one might guess, but to kill and not just kill, but get away with the murder too. However, if you were to get caught, what then? Would you die too? That seemed just a bit counter productive. If not for the threat of the dangerous 'toxic fumes', Mei would've suggested living together in peace and harmony, but those deadly fumes would apparently kill them all in just a single week unless someone else were to die. It was all or one and most people would choose the latter. Still, it wasn't enough to sway the stoic swordswoman. Her simple life of solitude may come to an end if she were to stay, but the Meiyo family would live on. She was sure of it. Through Keizou and through her Grandfather. It took a lot to kill someone like a Meiyo and even more to make them fall extinct. Mei had lived a fulfilling life up to this point in her mind and she didn't mind dying as long as it meant protecting those whom she needed to protect. Of course then, if someone were to order her to kill... Things would be different. Very different, indeed. Because of her personal code, she would have no choice but to follow the commands given to her. Cut whom you must cut. Save whom you must save. Cut whom you must cut. Save whom you must save. Cut whom you must cut... Save whom you must save... The words repeated in her mind whenever she carried out a hit request that she was given and gave her the strength to move forward with resolve and a strong mind because she knew what it meant and what her purpose was.
Of course, she wasn't at all ashamed of who she really was. After all, she had chosen to walk down this path herself and it wasn't something that she would ever hide from. If someone were to go and ask Mei if she'd killed before, she'd reply with a firm "Of course." or at least she'd try. She would hope that she wouldn't have to say that ever to prevent scaring people away or make them distrust her, but in the off chance, rare case that someone were to ask, she wouldn't pretend or hide behind a veil of lies. Mei was a simple person, that was all. Living, training, and killing could sum up her seventeen years of life. Of course, there had been some small hiccups along the way that prevented her life from being boring and thinking about it drew the Kenjutsu Master back into her memories. Back to her childhood where she had trained alone, but wasn't quite completely abandoned.
-----
"Grandfather! Grandfather!" The small girl cried out, fear and shock lacing her young voice, "There's a flying thing! Help me, grandfather!"
"Mei, birds fly, that's how the world works." An older man croaked out, stepping outside from a small door. He flinched as the cool, nighttime breeze touch his arms and face, but chuckled to himself a bit as he saw the young girl frantically running around in circles, waving a stick around wildly, without control.
"It's not a bird, grandfather, it's like a mouse! A flying mouse! It's scary!" Mei whimpered, and stopped running, pointing her stick at the black, silhouetted object flying against the dark, nighttime sky speckled with stars.
"It's a bat, Mei. They fly around at night. Don't worry, it can't hurt you." The man attempted to comfort the girl, his voice raspy, but surprisingly compassionate and soft.
"A bat?" Mei lowered her stick in realization, but when she did, she let out a high-pitched squeal of fright as the bat suddenly swooped down at her without a hint of warning. The black-haired girl instinctively took a single step forward as she swung a horizontal slice with her stick and smacked the bat right out of the air. She jumped back as it fell, shivering slightly and bringing the stick close to her chest. "G-Grandfather?"
The old man stepped down the stairs slowly, sighing and deep sigh, his face deeply wrinkled. "Oh, Mei-Mei. Now look what you did. You hurt an innocent creature. Come here."
Mei slowly stepped forward and knelt down to look at the fallen bat, it twitching over so slightly and bleeding from a blow across its side. It's left wing was torn and slowly, it stopped moving, "I killed it..."
"Mei, every action you take has a consequence. Whether it is good or bad depends on what you do. The bat wasn't going to hurt you, but you swung your sword and in doing so, you took its life."
"I'm sorry..." Mei looked down, "I cut the wrong thing... I hurt the innocent thing. B-But.... Grandfather, it was so scary!"
-----
A much older, fifteen year old Mei swung her katana around, the dark blade blending in with the shadows of the night. A squeaking pierced the air and Mei froze, hearing the soft flap of wings. Slowly, the swordswoman turned and then she saw it. The bat swooped down and flashes of images burned in Mei's mind. "G-Go away!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut and swinging the katana. She heard the soft beat of the small creature hitting the ground and when she opened her eyes, she saw the broken, bloody rodent.
"Seven years and you still can't deal with a bat, eh, Mei-Mei?" Came a familiar voice, "It's getting late, dear."
"Grandfather!" Mei snapped up in surprise. "I'm sorry. They still frighten me so much."
"Come inside, little one. You've been out here for hours." The man wheezed, opening the door to the house.
"But Grandfather, I have an assignment in just a couple of days. I need to make sure I'm ready!" Mei argued, holding her now bloody katana in a defensive stance.
"Another hit request? Why do you torture yourself with such things?" The man sighed.
"They offer a chance to test my skills. If I cannot carry out a simple request, what good am I as a swordswoman?" Mei shook her head, "But very well, Grandfather. I will come to bed."
"Good girl, Mei." The old man praised, "You know, if your father were still alive, he'd be happy with any choice he made. When he and your mother went out, they went out warriors."
"Cut whom I must cut. Save whom I must save. Those are the words I live my life by, Grandfather. I live as the sword of others." Mei said as she passed by her grandfather and disappeared into the house.
"Oh, Mei... Just don't lose sight of yourself." She could hear the man say behind her.
-----
Snapping out of her thoughts, Mei shook her head vigorously. Why had those memories surfaced? Why now? She didn't need to be reminded of those horrible, small, crumpled bat bodies and her grandfather's piercing stare as he judged. She shuddered slightly, her fingers lightly skimming the top of the wakizashi. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her panicking thoughts. I need to think of something else... But what? The Kenjutsu Master thought back to the previous events such as the scare with Oppenheimer and the killing of that one girl. Jeanne Suko was her name apparently. The SHSL Marathon Runner.
Well, according to the ‘Monokuma’, she was already dead before they picked her up. But then that begged the question, how did she die? Was it a natural cause? She thought to how the body looked, laying on the ground. Honestly, Jeanne’s body looked the same as Seiteki or Ken’s had. Just like she was sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of her surroundings. But then... What killed her? There wasn’t a wound on her body as far as Mei was aware, but she supposed that if she wanted to know the truth, she’d have to ask the bears later.
Then there were the other people. Just who were they all? Who could Mei trust? Definitely not that orange-haired shouty guy, right? Apparently, the glasses girl implied that he was acting stupid. Speaking of the glasses girl, Mei wanted to find her later and talk to her about a possible sparring partner. She certainly had the fire for it and Mei felt like the girl could make a wonderful swordswoman if given time and practice. Of course, there was also the black haired boy, Katsu, whom had stopped Mei from drawing her sword and then the long haired little looking girl that seemed like she would be tolerable. Of course, some people were sketchy too. Like the brown haired, tan skinned man who had introduced himself as Oppenheimer and the white haired red coat man named Izuku.
Mei shook her head, perhaps it was to early to be judging people. Based on how wrong she seemed to be already, it seemed for the best that she just stop. There were too many people here, anyway. Fifteen others? At least one of them had to be helpful in some way or another. Well, okay. She knew there were at least two people she couldn't trust. Those bears. Those hideous looking, awful bears that had shown her that vision. Who was the person in the vision, Mei wondered. It definitely seemed female, and that glint at the end. What was that telling her? Who's eyes could glint in such a way? Mei thought about the females in the group. There was her, but obviously, she didn't do it to herself. Then there was the green haired girl. Mei couldn't remember if the figure had long hair or not, so she couldn't quite rule her out yet. Then there was the average girl, Yoko. Despite everything she'd seen of Yoko so far, Mei couldn't see the Jack of All Trades as her killer. In fighting, Mei would have a serious advantage over her, right? There was the silver haired girl who kept her hair up in a ponytail and the white haired young looking girl, but something still struck Mei as off. The masked girl would obviously be suspicious to everyone and then there was the glasses girl.
The thing that struck Mei as the weirdest though was still the glint. Eyes don't do that, right? The green haired girl, the silver haired girl and the long, white haired girl couldn't possibly make their eyes do that. Perhaps though... If the light hit the masked girl or the glasses girl in just the right way... It could reflect off of the glass over their eyes. Is that what it meant? That her supposed killer was either the masked girl or the glasses girl? But why? For what purpose? The masked girl seemed so shy, introverted, timid. How could she possibly commit murder? And the glasses girl, while showing off a violent side to her, didn't seem comfortable with the idea of killing either. So why? Was it possible that the person she was shown was someone she had yet to meet or even see? Maybe that was it. A seventeenth person hidden somewhere. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike... Like a ninja or assassin. Mei had never dealt with one before, so her heart began to pound faster in excitement. She was likely riling herself up for nothing, but the idea that there was someone there worth fighting and had a sneak attack at that was almost too much to bear. She wanted this person to show themselves. To fight her right away!
Mei stood up and raised her wakizashi into the air, before swinging it in a basic vertical slice. Then a horizontal slice. Training was what she needed to do to get her mind off of the situation. She drew a circle in the air before cutting straight up. A technique she had taught herself to distract enemies. Of course, it was much more effective when she was dual wielding with her katana and could defend herself at the same time. The swordswoman pulled off strings of moves after moves, not even breaking a sweat as she did so. To an onlooker, they might see her as graceful, even dancing perhaps. To herself, Mei was simply moving with the sword. Feeling the rhythm of the strikes and imagining invisible enemies being cut down before her. Her movements became faster and faster until they were almost invisible and with a leap, Mei finished with one final cut.
She didn't feel satisfied yet. Her thirst for the adrenaline hadn't been sated yet and Mei carefully took off the strap over her shoulder, drawing out the tightly bound katana. She then placed the strap on the ground and held the katana in her left hand. Ever since she had obtained the blades, Mei had practiced using the swords together. As if they were partners. She began her training routine again, this time with both blades and light feet. Right foot. Left foot. Block. Strike. Step back. Right and swing. The black and white blades blurred together, creating gray, and Mei felt as if she were as free as ever. As if the factory walls didn't exist to keep her trapped inside. She felt empowered as she held both blades and let the instincts inside her take hold. She could fight forever, when ever. Cut whom I must cut. Save whom I must save. Eventually, she slowed to a stop, her breathing having become deeper, her heart pounding in her chest. Her arms felt heavy when she stopped, and she took a seat on the ground, sighing heavily. It felt good to let everything out and for the first time since she had arrived at the factory, Mei felt content. To say she was happy, now perhaps that was pushing it a bit far. Mei rarely felt pure happiness and she doubted she would ever feel it as long as she was within the rusty, orange walls of the factory. Her life from this point was set and she was certain that it was destined to end in one way. Hope would give way to despair and with it, bring new hope and the cycle would be reset. Hope to despair to hope and back to despair. Happiness had no room in the equation, not even as a subset of hope, but despite it, Mei was ready to face anything that came at her with a new, rekindled fire. A fire of determination, brimming with both hope and despair. She was ready to face her fate and challenge it head on. The vision would be her stepping stone to a stronger, sturdier future where no one would have control over her.
The motives of the person behind this certainly seemed... odd to say the least. What did the 'Monokuma' thing say? Despair? Now... what did that mean again? Mei had remembered seeing the word before once. Maybe twice. After all, whenever she came across a new word, she looked it up. Despair wasn't too common, but she'd seen it before. She was sure of it. Despair... Despair... Ah! That was it! A feeling of negativity or sorrow and the complete absence of hope. Sorrow meant sadness and hope was a feeling you got when you wanted something or expected the future to be better. Now, why did the two semi matching bears want despair? Why would they want to be sad and have no more hope? Or did they want to make the students sad and hopeless? Mei's mind drifted to Yoko, the Super High School Level Jack of All Trades. She had certainly seemed sad earlier when they had discovered the two bodies. In fact, she had tried to claim another life in return. Was she feeling despair from the death of someone obviously close to her and were the bears giggling to themselves at that moment from already being successful in creating this despair? It filled Mei with a strange, unidentified emotion, thinking of the bears sitting and laughing at the situation. But what was that unknown emotion? Rage? Hatred? Compassion? No... She couldn't care less who she served or who used her. Whether it was the bears themselves who wanted to use Mei or Yoko Kamiya in order to exact her revenge, Mei would act as their sword because that was her ultimate talent. The Super High School Level Kenjutsu Master, destined to serve others in their quests for vengeance or hatred. It was who she was and who she would always be.
But it wasn't like Mei wasn't a human. Of course she was. She, too, ate food and breathed the same life giving air. She felt feelings and emotions as well, such as a crippling sadness when she plunged one of her swords, or both, into an adversary or a rushing exhilaration when she was sparring with a particularly tough partner. It was simply that her textbook definition of a 'Meiyo' was someone who served other people even at their own expense. Her parents died protecting the world from that awful, awful group that Mei had been taught to fear her whole life. That horrid group with the wolf tattoos. Then, her brother died protecting her from an unforeseen attacker when they were both young. The child never had a chance to grow up and develop his own skill. Mei had to wonder, if Takeo could see her now, would he approve of her decision to serve? Her decision to be the sword of others? Mei took out her white wakizashi blade and stared longingly into the painted wood. When Takeo was to become twelve, he was to receive the very blade that she held. But he died unfairly when he was young and instead, when Mei turned twelve, she took on both her brother's white wakizashi and the black katana that was meant to be hers. It matched Takeo's hair, or at least what Mei remembered of it. Perhaps that was intentional or perhaps it was something more.
Inside, she still worried about her other, older brother, Keizou. That strange, future telling vision she was shown... It was a double-edged sword. At one, hopeful angle, it would mean that Keizou was still alive and doing well on his own, but looking at it the other, more despairful way, Mei would end up dying here in this factory. But, thinking deeply on it, she realized that she was okay with that. As long as Keizou remained healthy and alive, the Meiyo family would continue to grow and flourish and that was more than enough for Mei. She didn't know much about her missing brother as he left when Mei was very young and didn't interact much with her before then. After the news had come that their parents that had gone to war were dead, Keizou declared that he would grow much stronger and take of journey of self discovery and that was the last Mei saw of him. Her grandfather then took care of the young Mei and Takeo, but when Takeo had died... Mei was left all alone with her grandfather. She grew up very simply. Her life was nothing more than sleeping, eating, and training and she needed nothing more. Sleep, eat, train. Sleep. Mei slept from the depths of dusk to the light of dawn, with the sun acting as her guide for when to be asleep and when to be awake. But here within the factory walls, she couldn't really see the glow of the sun all that well. A thick smog covered the outside air, creating a veil and preventing light from entering the old, rusty building. Eat. Mei's daily diet consisted of various types of fish and soft, white, fluffy rice. Sometimes she put them together and made nigiri, which was raw fish atop rice, sometimes she smoked the fish to create an unforgettable flavor. Other times she broiled and sometimes even roasted the sea creature. It all depended on what Mei felt like at the time, but it was safe to say that she had never once ingested anything besides fish, rice, water, and occasionally, dark and pure tea, since she was very young. She had all but forgotten the sweet taste of the grains of sugar, or the sour, but slightly sweet taste of fresh fruit. In fact, if she were to try to eat stuff like that now, she would probably recoil at the pungent taste and less than desirable side-effects would occur.
Being secluded and isolated for so long with only her grandfather to keep her company and the rare, occasional meet in with a stranger at the store had affected Mei to say the least. Most people avoided her since she carried around blades and the cashiers at the store said nothing to her as they helped her purchase fish and rice. Mei always found it difficult to start conversations and hold them and she knew it. She knew just how big of a problem she truly and. How she would get nervous and freeze up, unable to get a word out. There were exceptions to her anxiety, of course. When Mei got really desperate to know something, often a new word that she'd never heard before, she would instinctively draw her wakizashi sword. And Mei found that when she was holding a blade of any type, it was like all of her sharp, corrosive anxiety just melted away. She was able to get what she needed done without any further complications, though it was often at the expense of others. Cut whom she must cut. Save whom she must save.
The goal here was apparently not just to survive as one might guess, but to kill and not just kill, but get away with the murder too. However, if you were to get caught, what then? Would you die too? That seemed just a bit counter productive. If not for the threat of the dangerous 'toxic fumes', Mei would've suggested living together in peace and harmony, but those deadly fumes would apparently kill them all in just a single week unless someone else were to die. It was all or one and most people would choose the latter. Still, it wasn't enough to sway the stoic swordswoman. Her simple life of solitude may come to an end if she were to stay, but the Meiyo family would live on. She was sure of it. Through Keizou and through her Grandfather. It took a lot to kill someone like a Meiyo and even more to make them fall extinct. Mei had lived a fulfilling life up to this point in her mind and she didn't mind dying as long as it meant protecting those whom she needed to protect. Of course then, if someone were to order her to kill... Things would be different. Very different, indeed. Because of her personal code, she would have no choice but to follow the commands given to her. Cut whom you must cut. Save whom you must save. Cut whom you must cut. Save whom you must save. Cut whom you must cut... Save whom you must save... The words repeated in her mind whenever she carried out a hit request that she was given and gave her the strength to move forward with resolve and a strong mind because she knew what it meant and what her purpose was.
Of course, she wasn't at all ashamed of who she really was. After all, she had chosen to walk down this path herself and it wasn't something that she would ever hide from. If someone were to go and ask Mei if she'd killed before, she'd reply with a firm "Of course." or at least she'd try. She would hope that she wouldn't have to say that ever to prevent scaring people away or make them distrust her, but in the off chance, rare case that someone were to ask, she wouldn't pretend or hide behind a veil of lies. Mei was a simple person, that was all. Living, training, and killing could sum up her seventeen years of life. Of course, there had been some small hiccups along the way that prevented her life from being boring and thinking about it drew the Kenjutsu Master back into her memories. Back to her childhood where she had trained alone, but wasn't quite completely abandoned.
-----
"Grandfather! Grandfather!" The small girl cried out, fear and shock lacing her young voice, "There's a flying thing! Help me, grandfather!"
"Mei, birds fly, that's how the world works." An older man croaked out, stepping outside from a small door. He flinched as the cool, nighttime breeze touch his arms and face, but chuckled to himself a bit as he saw the young girl frantically running around in circles, waving a stick around wildly, without control.
"It's not a bird, grandfather, it's like a mouse! A flying mouse! It's scary!" Mei whimpered, and stopped running, pointing her stick at the black, silhouetted object flying against the dark, nighttime sky speckled with stars.
"It's a bat, Mei. They fly around at night. Don't worry, it can't hurt you." The man attempted to comfort the girl, his voice raspy, but surprisingly compassionate and soft.
"A bat?" Mei lowered her stick in realization, but when she did, she let out a high-pitched squeal of fright as the bat suddenly swooped down at her without a hint of warning. The black-haired girl instinctively took a single step forward as she swung a horizontal slice with her stick and smacked the bat right out of the air. She jumped back as it fell, shivering slightly and bringing the stick close to her chest. "G-Grandfather?"
The old man stepped down the stairs slowly, sighing and deep sigh, his face deeply wrinkled. "Oh, Mei-Mei. Now look what you did. You hurt an innocent creature. Come here."
Mei slowly stepped forward and knelt down to look at the fallen bat, it twitching over so slightly and bleeding from a blow across its side. It's left wing was torn and slowly, it stopped moving, "I killed it..."
"Mei, every action you take has a consequence. Whether it is good or bad depends on what you do. The bat wasn't going to hurt you, but you swung your sword and in doing so, you took its life."
"I'm sorry..." Mei looked down, "I cut the wrong thing... I hurt the innocent thing. B-But.... Grandfather, it was so scary!"
-----
A much older, fifteen year old Mei swung her katana around, the dark blade blending in with the shadows of the night. A squeaking pierced the air and Mei froze, hearing the soft flap of wings. Slowly, the swordswoman turned and then she saw it. The bat swooped down and flashes of images burned in Mei's mind. "G-Go away!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut and swinging the katana. She heard the soft beat of the small creature hitting the ground and when she opened her eyes, she saw the broken, bloody rodent.
"Seven years and you still can't deal with a bat, eh, Mei-Mei?" Came a familiar voice, "It's getting late, dear."
"Grandfather!" Mei snapped up in surprise. "I'm sorry. They still frighten me so much."
"Come inside, little one. You've been out here for hours." The man wheezed, opening the door to the house.
"But Grandfather, I have an assignment in just a couple of days. I need to make sure I'm ready!" Mei argued, holding her now bloody katana in a defensive stance.
"Another hit request? Why do you torture yourself with such things?" The man sighed.
"They offer a chance to test my skills. If I cannot carry out a simple request, what good am I as a swordswoman?" Mei shook her head, "But very well, Grandfather. I will come to bed."
"Good girl, Mei." The old man praised, "You know, if your father were still alive, he'd be happy with any choice he made. When he and your mother went out, they went out warriors."
"Cut whom I must cut. Save whom I must save. Those are the words I live my life by, Grandfather. I live as the sword of others." Mei said as she passed by her grandfather and disappeared into the house.
"Oh, Mei... Just don't lose sight of yourself." She could hear the man say behind her.
-----
Snapping out of her thoughts, Mei shook her head vigorously. Why had those memories surfaced? Why now? She didn't need to be reminded of those horrible, small, crumpled bat bodies and her grandfather's piercing stare as he judged. She shuddered slightly, her fingers lightly skimming the top of the wakizashi. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her panicking thoughts. I need to think of something else... But what? The Kenjutsu Master thought back to the previous events such as the scare with Oppenheimer and the killing of that one girl. Jeanne Suko was her name apparently. The SHSL Marathon Runner.
Well, according to the ‘Monokuma’, she was already dead before they picked her up. But then that begged the question, how did she die? Was it a natural cause? She thought to how the body looked, laying on the ground. Honestly, Jeanne’s body looked the same as Seiteki or Ken’s had. Just like she was sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of her surroundings. But then... What killed her? There wasn’t a wound on her body as far as Mei was aware, but she supposed that if she wanted to know the truth, she’d have to ask the bears later.
Then there were the other people. Just who were they all? Who could Mei trust? Definitely not that orange-haired shouty guy, right? Apparently, the glasses girl implied that he was acting stupid. Speaking of the glasses girl, Mei wanted to find her later and talk to her about a possible sparring partner. She certainly had the fire for it and Mei felt like the girl could make a wonderful swordswoman if given time and practice. Of course, there was also the black haired boy, Katsu, whom had stopped Mei from drawing her sword and then the long haired little looking girl that seemed like she would be tolerable. Of course, some people were sketchy too. Like the brown haired, tan skinned man who had introduced himself as Oppenheimer and the white haired red coat man named Izuku.
Mei shook her head, perhaps it was to early to be judging people. Based on how wrong she seemed to be already, it seemed for the best that she just stop. There were too many people here, anyway. Fifteen others? At least one of them had to be helpful in some way or another. Well, okay. She knew there were at least two people she couldn't trust. Those bears. Those hideous looking, awful bears that had shown her that vision. Who was the person in the vision, Mei wondered. It definitely seemed female, and that glint at the end. What was that telling her? Who's eyes could glint in such a way? Mei thought about the females in the group. There was her, but obviously, she didn't do it to herself. Then there was the green haired girl. Mei couldn't remember if the figure had long hair or not, so she couldn't quite rule her out yet. Then there was the average girl, Yoko. Despite everything she'd seen of Yoko so far, Mei couldn't see the Jack of All Trades as her killer. In fighting, Mei would have a serious advantage over her, right? There was the silver haired girl who kept her hair up in a ponytail and the white haired young looking girl, but something still struck Mei as off. The masked girl would obviously be suspicious to everyone and then there was the glasses girl.
The thing that struck Mei as the weirdest though was still the glint. Eyes don't do that, right? The green haired girl, the silver haired girl and the long, white haired girl couldn't possibly make their eyes do that. Perhaps though... If the light hit the masked girl or the glasses girl in just the right way... It could reflect off of the glass over their eyes. Is that what it meant? That her supposed killer was either the masked girl or the glasses girl? But why? For what purpose? The masked girl seemed so shy, introverted, timid. How could she possibly commit murder? And the glasses girl, while showing off a violent side to her, didn't seem comfortable with the idea of killing either. So why? Was it possible that the person she was shown was someone she had yet to meet or even see? Maybe that was it. A seventeenth person hidden somewhere. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike... Like a ninja or assassin. Mei had never dealt with one before, so her heart began to pound faster in excitement. She was likely riling herself up for nothing, but the idea that there was someone there worth fighting and had a sneak attack at that was almost too much to bear. She wanted this person to show themselves. To fight her right away!
Mei stood up and raised her wakizashi into the air, before swinging it in a basic vertical slice. Then a horizontal slice. Training was what she needed to do to get her mind off of the situation. She drew a circle in the air before cutting straight up. A technique she had taught herself to distract enemies. Of course, it was much more effective when she was dual wielding with her katana and could defend herself at the same time. The swordswoman pulled off strings of moves after moves, not even breaking a sweat as she did so. To an onlooker, they might see her as graceful, even dancing perhaps. To herself, Mei was simply moving with the sword. Feeling the rhythm of the strikes and imagining invisible enemies being cut down before her. Her movements became faster and faster until they were almost invisible and with a leap, Mei finished with one final cut.
She didn't feel satisfied yet. Her thirst for the adrenaline hadn't been sated yet and Mei carefully took off the strap over her shoulder, drawing out the tightly bound katana. She then placed the strap on the ground and held the katana in her left hand. Ever since she had obtained the blades, Mei had practiced using the swords together. As if they were partners. She began her training routine again, this time with both blades and light feet. Right foot. Left foot. Block. Strike. Step back. Right and swing. The black and white blades blurred together, creating gray, and Mei felt as if she were as free as ever. As if the factory walls didn't exist to keep her trapped inside. She felt empowered as she held both blades and let the instincts inside her take hold. She could fight forever, when ever. Cut whom I must cut. Save whom I must save. Eventually, she slowed to a stop, her breathing having become deeper, her heart pounding in her chest. Her arms felt heavy when she stopped, and she took a seat on the ground, sighing heavily. It felt good to let everything out and for the first time since she had arrived at the factory, Mei felt content. To say she was happy, now perhaps that was pushing it a bit far. Mei rarely felt pure happiness and she doubted she would ever feel it as long as she was within the rusty, orange walls of the factory. Her life from this point was set and she was certain that it was destined to end in one way. Hope would give way to despair and with it, bring new hope and the cycle would be reset. Hope to despair to hope and back to despair. Happiness had no room in the equation, not even as a subset of hope, but despite it, Mei was ready to face anything that came at her with a new, rekindled fire. A fire of determination, brimming with both hope and despair. She was ready to face her fate and challenge it head on. The vision would be her stepping stone to a stronger, sturdier future where no one would have control over her.
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