A fear for one's life had been known to cause time to come to a hault -- every minute, every second, every breath taken, each one was accounted for, and their numbers seemed infinite... However, it had appeared that, like the others, the brutal, careless murderer had needed sleep as the night had passed them all without so much as a hint of trouble. The rough yakuza male had stayed up an extra shift to look out for his weaker blonde friend, who was to take the second, and once their time was up, they had headed to the Japanese male's room to wake him for his portion of the guard duty.
"Yo, Yoshiki, get up." Kasui's voice was blunt and rough as he brought a shaking hand to the male's shoulder, not showing any signs of consideration at all -- his dislike for the foreigners was overt, and he was sure that by then, the idiot had gotten the clue, and thus, there was no point in faking anything. The monochrome head shifted in his blankets a bit, releasing just a hint of a groan; he, like many others, hadn't gotten to sleep very easily, and it was very likely that he had only gotten an hour or two at best... His eyes were heavy and his sight was blurry, but slowly, he had lifted his head, just enough to make it look so that his gaze was meeting with the two Poploids'.
"Yer shift starts now, get out there."
For some reason, Roku found the simple-minded gangster's words to be a lot more agitating than they usually were... However, without a word, he had slumped from his sheets, finding it difficult to pull himself into a standing position, but after a long pause, he had managed to do so, wobbling a bit before gaining a full, albeit slacked posture. "Mmm.." He rubbed at his eyes, and then his head, just barely allowing his green hues to match those behind Kasui's sunglasses. "I'll be out there in a sec, just let me get dressed, okay?" With his, he flashed a very small, polite smile -- one that he had tended to bear in the presence of the younger Yuzune, in hopes not to offend or cause any trouble. Shun had placed a hand on Kasui's back, nodding at the Japanese male, and quickly, the two turned from his room to allow him to get prepared for the morning.
When the door had closed behind them... Roku had paused for a moment, his back turned to his bed. The home was quiet enough so that their footsteps could be heard cascading throughout the empty hallways, all the way until they had reached their own guest bedrooms. The two had stopped to chat about something or another, but Roku hadn't paid any attention to it, his mind fogged by the lack of sleep and the sight of the pale, periwinkle sky, signifying that soon, the sun would be up... or rather, that day time would be arriving. He doubted the presence of the sun for quite a while, as overhead, the pounding of the rain carried on -- though quickly, he had noted that he had almost become immune to the sound.
One door came to a soft shut, and then after it, another closed, just a bit rougher... It was then that Roku made his move...
... back into his bed.
Without hesitation, the male had crawled back within his sheets after assuring that the former guards had headed off to bed.
Because of his association with Gill, most had assumed Roku to be the responsible type -- even his naive mannequin friend thought only highly of Roku, as a very bright, very mature individual who never backed down on his word; however, this simply wasn't the case. More times than not, Roku began projects that he couldn't finish -- he took on other favors he knew he wouldn't complete -- he made promises that he just couldn't keep. This, in combination with his preference of remaining alive and his severe lack of sleep, made the idea of collapsing into a deep slumber once more so much more appealing.
Besides, it was morning -- surely, somebody would be awake soon -- they could take his place...
And surely, as the male's head sunk further within his pillow, his assumption had reigned true -- in the courtyard, surrounded by the tattered roses and the puddles of precipitation, stood a blonde child, sheltered by nothing more than a soft gray umbrella.
Her eyes were as wet as the pavement that surrounded her, and quickly, both her dress and her frail, white dress, were left in the same condition. She had woken up, and without hesitation, slipped into the only clean dress that she had with her -- the one she had brought for the ceremony, a simple, but elogant piece -- and headed into the courtyard... The rain didn't scare her away, the thunder didn't bother her in the slightest; even the presence of a murderer, who had already taken the lives of three, possibly four of her friends... didn't shake off the immense guilt that plagued her.
Hachi... had absolutely no trouble getting any sleep the night before... and it had killed her inside.
Her heart wrenched and twisted inside of her as she stared, from a distance (something she had come into a habit of doing quite often), at the fated fence across from where she stood... The body was gone -- it had been removed by Kasui and a few of the other men, but... remnants of Ichiro remained. His blood stained the concrete below... strings of tissue were left on the sharp point...
Immediately, her hands balled up into fists at hot tears stung at the corners of her eyes.
What right did she have to cry!? If she had been awake, if she hadn't run off like a coward, if she had stuck up for him and spoke her mind...! She bit down at her lower lip, remembering to tighten her grip on the umbrella as she felt her hands shaking and weakening...
It was all... becoming so hard for her to bear.
She found that now... she was alone. Without Ichiro... she was alone. Surely, there were many who remained whom she called a friend, but... Ichiro... she had known him for so long...! He had always been there for her, regardless of her antics, regardless of all of the stupid, immature things she had always done to both him, herself and those she cared about... Now that he was gone, who did she have...?
Deon.
Immediately, her mind landed upon the image of the purple-haired male, who, at this point, was likely staying at an island back on the coast with his mother and the male resident of Kinpa. When the storm cleared... she always had Deon to cry to... Together, they could cry over the loss of their dearest friend, Ichiro...
But until then... who did she have?
Momentarily, her honied hues lost their light, and momentarily, the femme lost herself. The only thing her eyes caught... was the dark maroon shades left on the ground. Her loose hair, along with her frilled dress, moved in unison with both the wind and the droplets of rain. The dress she had been wearing... Ichiro had helped her pick it out... just... for the ranking.
"Ichiroooooooo, I don't wanna dress up!! Geez, it's not like we live in the 1800s or anything!!!"
"Come on Hachi, it's only for one night... Here, let's try this, hmm? It's simple, but it'll do..."
His words.... even after all that time, they rang so clearly within her head... She had protested so much -- it just wasn't her style, the big, fancy dresses that the older women tended to parade around in each year... She was still a kid, she shouldn't have had to worry about that kind of stuff...! But, Ichiro, as agreeable as he always was, had insisted on a compromise...
Where would she be... without him?
"You... you're a bright one, aren't you?"
From overhead, the girl had been able to make out a voice amongst the noise of the shuffling leaves and wind. For a moment, she had felt her heart begin to race, but... upon glancing in all directions, not a single source could be found.
Shaking her head, the girl laughed a bit to herself, her smile dejected. "Ahaha, what, am I hearing things now...?"
"This mystery... you've already solved it, haven't you?"
Again, the voice had rang throughout her temples, and this time, the girl turned about a bit more frantically. The voice... it was one that was oddly familiar to her... One that was very rough, very strange, but in an odd sense... also very soothing... The way she had heard it... it overpowered the sounds of the rain and the thunder, and left an echoing impression, as if it existed within her mind and her mind alone...
Finally, her eyes landed upon what she had assumed to be the voice's source -- a large, majestic oak tree, with green leaves shining brightly against the charcoal-tinted sky. The girl's head had to cock upwards to even look at it properly, it's height a much greater number than her own... Her eyes half-lidded, she spoke softly. "You...?"
"Me? What, are you surprised?"
At that point, Hachi was entirely sure that she was hearing things -- while she had heard stories of a singing tree, an UTAU nonetheless, the fact that it had been standing before her, speaking for the first time without so much as a hint of it's presence before... it was insane. She shook her head, turning her back to the object, figuring that likely, the rain was giving her a cold and it was getting to her... however, it's words... they began to sting.
"The murderer... you have an idea of who it is, don't you? You know exactly who killed Ichiro... don't you?"
Hachi stood with her back turned to the tree, torn as to whether or not she should give it an answer or not... However, it was eating at her, and slowly, the words passed through her lips. "What... makes you think that? I don't know anything."
"You've been thinking about it all morning, dearest Hachibee," It paused, if only for the added tension. "Your suspect... they have no alibi, they have reasonable motives... why don't you act on it?"
"It... it's only a guess..." The girl turned slightly, her eyes downcast as she rubbed her left arm with her right hand. It was true -- the entire mind she had been awake, her brain had been buzzing around one name and one name alone... They had every reason in the world to kill each and every one of the named victims, and for each crime, they had no clear alibi that she could see... but...
"So what are you waiting for? Why don't you kill them?"
Immediately, the blonde's eyes had widened, her grasp on her arm tightening. "K... Kill them!? Are you crazy!? I... I have no proof!!"
"What, do you intend to just let the insanity ensue? How many more bodies need to drop before you realize just how right you are...?"
Hachi shook her head, her blonde strands shaking with her. "I... I can't do it! Shut up, just shut up, what are you saying!?! They're my friend, I can't just...!"
"Your friend? Aren't they all your friends?" Hachi's stomach dropped immediately, as if she had predicted the object's words directly before it had said them.
"Ichiro... he was your friend too, wasn't he?"
The tears that she had been holding back... at that point, could not be held back any longer.
"Ah, Hachi-chan...! Were you were outside...!? You're going to get sick, hurry, go get dried off!!"
The amount of time the girl had spent outside was a number that had escaped her -- it apparently, however, had been enough time for activity to pick up within the home once more. Upon her return, the lights in both the den and the kitchen had been switched on, the fireplace allowing it's enchanting scent to fill the home once more, and inside, the blue-haired tsundere, the auburn PC, along with the childish mannequin, had all gathered on the floor, surrounded by boxes of games and toys they had all pulled out from the various shelves and cupboards within the room. Tilting her head, Hachi's interest piqued slightly. "What's going on...?"
"Uu!" The mannequin grinned, waving the pieces of a model dinosaur she had found around. "Aiko-san said we should surprise everybody by making breakfast and setting up a few games no da~" Aiko nodded a bit, her smile a bit more held back than the clueless robot's. "We... really need to lighten up a bit around here." Shaking her head, however, she placed her hands on her hips, her smile quickly replaced with a very bossy pout. "But that's not important right now! You, upstairs, now! Get dried off but try not to wake anybody up, alright?"
Hachi wasn't sure if she had found the woman's bossiness and maternal attitude, regardless of her younger age, humourous... or offensive, but she figured at that point that she was too lost in thought to care. Turning her back from the girls in the den, her thoughts lingered back towards what the tree had said to her -- or rather, what she had been thinking on... Would she... could she bring up the strength, the courage... to kill?
Selen was dead. Ichiro was dead. Ganari was dead. Who would be next? The idea of losing anybody else was... painful to the blonde, but what was more painful was that before her, she had a choice, one that would either save nearly twenty other people... or destroy the life an innocent person. But... just how innocent was her suspect? Each time she thought of their grinning, cackling face shoving poor Selen into that mirror... each time she thought of one of her best friends being shoved to a horrible, gruesome fate... each time she imagined her suspect holding that gun and ruthlessly taking the life of an obnoxious, but innocent man...
The urge became harder and harder to resist.
Within the first floor's bathroom, the girl had found a towel just big enough to take care of the mess of hair atop her head... She figured that her clothes would need to air dry, as there was not much she could do about it with a mere towel. If she were to kill her suspect... how would she do it? How could she do it... without being caught...? Unless she had definite proof, there was no way that she could go through with it and run it off as justified...
Just as the urge had become harder to resist, quickly... her morals began to fade away.
What proof did she need? If the murders stopped after they were dead, that was all they needed to prove anything! As long as she could protect everybody else, their life meant nothing to her! They... had killed so many already... They had killed Ichiro... To Hachi, there was no point in letting them live anymore.
Yes... she would kill them. She would definitely, without a doubt, kill them, and protect the rest of her friends... She would bring the horrible person who had so cruelly taken away her beloveds a fate much worse than the ones they had delivered...
... but how?
"Hello...?"
Upon returning to the den, she had found it empty, her voice ringing out with no return other than the falling rain. The boxes of games and toys had been left spread about as they had been when the girls had all been gathered together... Taking a few steps inside, she examined all of the things they had pulled out, finding both their choices to be very interesting. All of them had been games that she, Ichiro, Deon and Mathieu had played together before... Clearly, she could remember Mathieu being the only one who appeared to get worked up after losing, while Ichiro and Deon brushed it off so maturely... She herself would always pout a bit, and if all else failed, she'd flip the gameboard or something... No matter what the outcome was, the group had always managed to have a good time, no matter what...
There was one box that the girl hadn't recognized, however -- the box that the mannequin had been holding. A model dinosaur? It seemed so... childish for her Deon. A part of her was a little irked with herself for not knowing it had existed earlier, but moreso, she was curious as to why it had been purchased in the first place... Peering inside of the box, she pulled out a large, foldable piece of paper, likely the instructions on how to put it together... Along with it, the girl removed pieces of the model, which had been stuck together in sheets so that they would fit within the box... and at the very bottom a thin, oblong shape rolled about. Unable to grasp it with her fingers, the girl had tipped the box over, allowing the object to fall onto the maroon carpeting.
In front of her... lied box cutter.
Both the girl's movements and her heart had stopped noticeably upon recognizing it... and very slowly, as if it would jump up and slice her into pieces if she moved too quickly, she grasped it between her index and her middle finger. It was a small weapon, certainly nothing that most would see as deadly... But as she held it within her hands, her thoughts became darker and darker. Really, the blade was sharp enough to end a life with one swift slit of the throat... Surely, a few whacks at the limbs of a person would cause quite a bit of collateral damage... And surely, it would have absolutely no problem gouging a person's eyeballs...
A part of her felt guilty for even thinking such things, but a part of her... longed for the blood of the murderer, the blood of the person who had so heartlessly taken away her Ichiro... to stain her own hands.
"W... Wahhh!" Upon realizing the true nature of her thoughts, Hachi's grasp loosened on the blade, and she was quick to toss it across the room, the plastic of the handle clacking slightly against the off-white walls. S... She couldn't kill anybody, even if they had killed Ichiro and the others! She... she was so small, and she didn't have the guts to do it! She was absolutely sure that if she saw any sign of blood, she'd faint...!
But... she wanted to protect the others. More than anything... she wanted to make sure... that not another life was lost.
Her breathing became heavy, and slowly, on her hands and knees, the girl crawled over to the opposite end of the room, where the knife had landed. On her way, however, her hand had landed atop a circular, barrel shaped game board. Feeling a stinging pain ring through her palm, she knocked the foreign object over in her attempt to remove herself from it, and instantly, the head of a small, eyepatched man popped out from a concealed hole on top. Pausing, she glanced down at the contraption, and while it had taken her a second, she had definitely recognized the game -- Pop Up Pirate, or... something along those lines... The object of the game had been to remove as many swords from the barrel as possible before the pirate head flew out, ending the game -- whoever had removed the sword that triggered the head's release was the loser. It was a game they had all played with a lot in their younger days -- but Hachi, ever the prankster, had rigged it so that every time, she would know exactly how many turns it would take for the head to pop out, thus, they had stopped playing with it and had moved on to bigger and better games...
Slowly, her hands rose to the sides of her head. This... this was it, wasn't it? Her eyes were wide, a nervous smile widening on lips.
This... was her chance.
Grabbing a hold of the box cutter, without any sort of problem or hassle, she was quickly able to remove the blade...
... and inside, in the position where the pirate's head was supposed to be latched in place... she placed the blade.
Grinning, her hands began to shake as she replaced both the lid and the colorful sword pieces within the barrel. In exactly ten turns, the blade would shoot up, lodging it's self deep within the forehead of the player... All she would have to do was ensure that the order would lead her suspect to pulling it out on the tenth turn...! Glancing down at the remaining pirate head, which no longer had any place that it belonged, she quickly tossed it into the raging fire behind her, then returned to the game, where her final adjustments would be made...
"Hey, Hachi, whatcha got there?"
The blonde had nearly jumped a foot in the air upon hearing the deeper voice of a certain Mokkene Karen, who, upon spinning around, Hachi had noted had returned with the other girls.
"A-Ah, you're back! Where'd you go...?" The blonde had asked as innocently as she could manage, her voice cracking a bit.
"Karen-brat here was trying to find something for breakfast~ Not that I'd eat anything she cooked up." Vista chimed a bit cattily, though playfully -- the pony-tailed blonde nudged at her shoulder with a pout in response.
"Oh, is that game all set up?" Aiko blinked a few times at the object within Hachi's hands, then immediately brought herself into an Indian sitting position on the floor, grinning up at the others. "Come on, let's play already, I'm so bored!"
"A-A-A-Ahh, w-wait, d-d-don't you think we s-should wait for the others to wake u-up before we p-play anything...?" Hachi's hands waved in front of her body frantically, her eyes widening a bit, but nonetheless, she forced a nervous, polite smile.
"The others aren't going to be up for hours!" The PC complained, sitting next to the blue-haired femme and frowning. "Here, I'll go first!"
The Makune twitched noticeably as the first of ten blades were removed.
"Uu, uu, I wanna play too no da!!" Scuttling to her knees, the mannequin removed yet another blade, and frantically, Hachi clung to her arm.
"W-Wait, stop, I reallllly t-think we should wait for the others--"
"Aw, lighten up brat!" With a smack to the panicked girl's back, Karen leaned forward, removing yet another one of the blades.
"We'll just set it up again before everybody else gets down here, it's no big deal." Aiko nodded, removing the fourth blade.
"Uu, Hachi-chan, it's your turn no da!"
The honey-eyed girl merely shook her head, appearing frightened -- it wasn't as if she could say as to why she really wanted them to stop... if they knew what she had done, they would think that she was the murderer...! But... she had to stop them somehow...!!!
"Ya snooze ya lose, kid!" Removing the fifth blade, Karen grinned widely, feeling confident that the game was a shoo-in for her.
"Karen, that's not fair, you just went!! Cheater, cheater!!" Vista pouted, her magenta lips curled into a deep frown as she slammed her fists onto the carpeted ground in the midst of a mini tantrum.
"Quit yer whinin' and just go already, geez!"
One by one, the blades were removed, and with each number closing in to the final projectile, Hachi released a louder squeak. The corners of her eyes began to sting, her heart was racing, and more than anything, the girl wished that for once, her sabotage skills would fail her and the blade would miss...
But... it did anything but miss.
"Nervous, Karen? I'd be if I were--" Removing the tenth blade was a move assigned to the auburn PC, and thus, when she had reached for one of the remaining blades with her gloved hand, the hatch atop the game had flung open. However, instead of the large, oversized, goofy looking pirate head revealing it's self and ending the game...
... the blade of the very sharp box cutter had shot up, lodging it's self between the space directly above the woman's bridge of her nose.
"... y... ou..."
Her mouth had twitched the final word of her sentence, and momentarily, the smiles of all of the games participants had remained well on their faces. However, by the time the girl's body had fallen backward, the blood slowly dripping from the puncture wound and her eyes glazing over, a surge of panic had overcome the remaining girls... save for the mannequin, who merely stared at the PC, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Uu, Vista-chan, you've got warm dripping from your forehead no da!"
Hachi's body had flung backwards, her head tightly held within the grasp of her hands. Her back pressed firmly against the farthest wall she could bring herself to, her eyes grew wide, and hot tears streamed past her reddened cheeks. It... she... Vista... was her friend! She... had killed one of her good friends...!!!
Shaking, Karen had jumped to a standing position, grabbing the fire prodder from it's holder and pointing it's sharp edge toward the blue-haired femme with a frightened, but confident laugh. "A... Ahahaha! I knew it! I knew you were the murderer!! W... Why didn't I say anything earlier, I'm so stupid, ahahahahaha!!!"
"W... What!?!" Aiko's eyes, too, began to widen, as she backed away from the femme with shaking limbs. "K... Karen, calm down, you're not thinking straight--"
"It's so fuckin' obvious!!" Karen laughed, her chuckles sounding more nervous than anything. "You just couldn't stand us newer UTAU taking in some of your precious spotlight, could you!?! You just HAD to take out any and all yodeling competition!!" Aiko's eyebrows furrowed, and she shook her head wildly -- what would have ever led her to believe that...!?
"Well it ends here, Kikyuune!! Ya ain't takin' me down, ya ain't takin' Hachi down, ya ain't takin' Hayari down -- you're DONE, damn it!!!" Quickly, the femme rushed forward, lifting her arms in an attempt to bring the sharp, iron bar down onto the blue-haired femme's head, but she, too, didn't appear to want to go so easily. Rolling to the side, she stumbled into a standing position, leaning against the wall near the fireplace. "K-K-Karen, WAIT, I'm telling you it wasn't--" Karen's assault didn't seem to have any plans of stopping, as yet again, the blue-haired femme was charged at, this time, only barely escaping the blonde's blow.
"Uu, new game, new game nano da!" Hayari only smiled, watching the angry, frightened expressions of the others within the room. "I wanna play too, I wanna--"
"Shut UP!" Unable to handle the mannequin's stupidity, Aiko had delivered a blow to the girl's face, causing her to fall backwards. Her eyes looked hurt, but the mannequin's experience to pain varied a bit from a human's experience, so she merely remained on the floor until instructed to do otherwise to avoid a similar blow.
"You know Karen, I think you're probably the most suspicious of all!" Aiko's eyes were locked into a burning glare, which had caused Karen to laugh amiably.
"Oh, and what makes you say that?!"
"You were the first one awake!" Aiko's facial expression now met that of the twisted blonde's, her logic unflawed. "You were the only one who had any time to set anything like this up! I've been with you, Vista and Hayari all morning!"
"How do I know you weren't up before me?! I don't!!" The blonde's words were practically incoherent screaming at this point as she tried to take another jab at the blue-haired femme, who quickly dodged. "I don't even have a motive! Just yodeling FESS UP ALREADY!!"
This time, her swing had dealt quite the blow to the taller girl's side, creating a loud smacking noise amongst the chaos. Immediately, Aiko fell to her knees, clutching the area and releasing a few coughs, before shooting a venomous stare in the direction of the two-faced brat... Without so much as a second thought, her hand reached out for the blade that had been forced between Vista's eyes and quickly, she slid it from it's wound, tossing it in the direction of her assaulter... and piercing her arm.
Karen had released a pained groan, staggering back and dropping her weapon, clutching the throbbing pain within her upper arm. "Y... You little ... doggy-woggie-poo..." Sliding the blade from her skin with a noticeable wince, she tossed it into the flame, where her opponent would no longer be able to reach it, and grabbed at her weapon once more. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Hachi's face, stained with tears and riddled with fear, was distorted beyond all normal measurements of fear. No longer did she feel the regret of her hasty decision, no longer did she feel the sadness for the loss of her friends and allies -- now, the only feeling that resided within her was the sheer desire for remaining alive. Sobbing, she clung to the wall behind her as if it were her only lifeline, and, as the girls went at it, she inched herself along until she had reached the doorway... At that point, she did nothing but run and cry, not wanting to ever look back at the mess she had made...
"Nnng!" The two-faced femme had fallen to the floor after having her ankles kicked at by the taller XYZloid, and quickly, Aiko brought her body on top of her opponent's, pinning her down with a hold on her neck. "FESS UP ALREADY, JUST GIVE UP, YOU'RE THE MURDERER, ADMIT IT!"
Karen struggled noticeably, clutching the wrought iron bar in her hand as her breath became more and more limited. "Nnnn... ah..." She coughed, unable to say anything as the blue-haired femme's grasp on her throat began to cut off her airway. Her body was weakening quickly, and already, she felt her conciousness slipping away... but she wouldn't give up so easily! Aiko was the murderer, and if she gave up, surely, she'd pin it all on her...! Slowly, Karen lifted the fire prodder sharp point towards her... and in one foul swoop...
... the sharp end was thrust through the balloon-lover's abdomen.
Releasing a high pitched scream, Aiko's head cocked backward a bit, and her grasp on Karen's neck loosened just a bit... though not entirely. With her pause, Aiko immediately understood... that after a blow like that...
... she was going to die.
But... like the blonde before her, she had absolutely no intentions of giving up...
And so, with the last bits of her strength...
She lifted the blonde girl's head... and began slamming it into the fire place behind them.
The scent of burning hair quickly began to overpower the rich chestnut scent that the fireplace was known for giving off as Karen's fair curls began to sizzle. Shrieking, Karen began to struggle wildly, her limbs flailing, all while blood began to drip from Aiko's mouth and quickly, it became apparent that she was running out of energy. However, she kept on, her resolve quite clear -- up and down, she continued to smack the blonde's head against the wood of the fireplace, allowing the flames to consume her, all until she had heard a sickening piercing sound.
It was at that point that she knew... that her endeavors were successful...
... and with that in mind, she gave up.
Her grip on both her rival's neck and on the remaining sands of life that she had left... was loosened.
Quickly... the room grew quiet.
Upon hearing a lack of voices, the mannequin lifted herself from the position on the floor, her smile wide, and her eyes glimmering with curiosity.
The room was stained with blood, both in scent and in color, but the mannequin didn't see it as such -- rather, she saw the blood as warm, a feeling that everybody loved to experience, according to the very warm Karen, who's head had rolled out of the fireplace, charred and covered in the sticky red substance.
"W... What's going on!?!" The voice of the green-haired chef echoed throughout Kinpa, his eyes wide upon hearing all of the noise downstairs -- behind him stood many of the others who had been woken up by all of the noise...
... and upon entering the den, all that could be seen was the gray-skinned femme amongst all of the bodies with a wide grin on her face, her eyes sparkling.
"Uu, let's play again nano da!"