The Meltdown and the Monokuma Noodles

The orange-yellow storm had transformed my naturally Asian skin into a pristine white—a shade so utterly milky that even Europeans would struggle to lay claim to it. Similarly, a gush of water had gradually washed my pitch-black hair, leaving it a shimmering silver, like freshly fallen snow.

It was fortunate my contact lenses remained dry; otherwise, a true uproar would have undoubtedly ensued.

To the astonished eyes of the entire class, it seemed as though the girl named Ye Qi had become a lit candle, her natural colors simply ‘melting’ away.

The sight was akin to a monster revealing its true form, so shocking that even our female teacher nearly wet herself in fright.

Unsurprisingly, the entire class of brats showed no hint of shock. Ultimately, to secure a truly ‘peaceful’ learning environment for me, my parents promptly sent both my brother and me to our grandmother’s house in the capital.

It was only a full year after the incident had finally settled that we were permitted to return.

What’s more, at Father’s insistence, I had always maintained a heavy layer of ‘normal person’ makeup on my face, complemented by those incredibly suffocating black contact lenses. It was sheer torment.

Therefore, the very idea of me living in a dormitory was utterly out of the question.

****

Now.

My brother carefully placed two cups of instant noodles onto the crystal coffee table, an object of unbelievable refinement compared to the rest of the house.

I, in turn, settled onto the incredibly luxurious leather sofa, a stark contrast to the dilapidated state of the world just beyond our door.

In front of me, a fifty-inch LCD television with a darkened screen stood as another marvel of sophistication, especially when contrasted with the building’s ancient facade.

Merely observing its somewhat dated design, yet acknowledging its technological prowess that remained relevant even today, one could easily infer the considerable financial investment it represented.

The modest room was adorned with inexpensive wallpaper, specially chosen to prevent the overall decor from appearing mismatched.

Naturally, the wallpaper gleamed in a champagne gold, imbued with an aura of opulence and intricate patterns.

While it might not have appeared particularly high-class upon closer inspection, the sheer luxury of the surrounding furnishings within the room subtly compelled one to overlook any discordant details.

Though my parents had been bankrupt for an indeterminate period, my grandparents were still very much alive. In their original four-story villa, a residence nearly the size of an ordinary apartment building, none of the furnishings had been altered.

In fact, the villa itself had never been sold off, despite my parents’ financial ruin.

However, while the property rights to that estate technically still belonged to my parents, it had since been overrun by a group of frenzied ‘shareholders.’

Of course, my parents, being such ‘kind’ individuals, would never stoop to arguing over such trivial matters. After all, those so-called shareholders were now either bankrupt themselves or had been subjected to disciplinary investigations.

‘Or perhaps,’ I mused, ‘they simply feared trouble.’

In truth, there was nothing inherently wrong with remaining at my grandparents’ home in the capital. Yet, for certain reasons, I still found myself in this remote ‘Mikazuki City,’ just as I had in my previous life, determined to rely solely on myself.

****

Setting down my own cup of noodles, I, with a complete lack of gratitude for anyone’s efforts, instinctively snatched the one my brother offered me.

Whoosh!

As the lid came off, a cloud of damp steam billowed upwards, assailing my face.

…

What followed was an utterly foul stench.

‘Ah, yes, excellent. Truly worthy of the ‘Monokuma Brand Instant Noodles,” I thought sarcastically. ‘Plastic-flavored, with a delightful crunch… What the hell!’

I glanced up to find my brother, seated directly across the table, gazing at me with an expectant smile.

…I returned his gaze with an equally ‘kind’ smile.

Suppressing the urge to slam my hand down and leap to my feet, and enduring the acrid stench of plastic, I used my small, fair hand—barely wider than the cup noodle’s opening—to partially obscure the murky, yellowish glow emanating from within.

Through the deep blue light cast by the crystal chandelier overhead, I peered hesitantly into the cup.

Inside, rendered to ash by the microwave’s extreme power, floated the remnants of noodles. These charred specks drifted within the cup’s pristine water, which resembled a clear spring, much like pencil shavings suspended in liquid.

Above these ‘pencil shavings’ floated three completely unopened seasoning packets. Their surfaces were currently shriveling in an utterly bizarre fashion, covered in sticky, indescribably colored wrinkles. Moreover, these three packets had fused together into an inseparable mass.

‘…..’

A truly foul, pungent odor of burnt plastic wafted from these three tightly entwined seasoning packets.

“Haha, well done, Ye Sakaki-kun.”

“As long as you like it~”

“Hehe, I truly adore the food you prepare~ Onii-chan~ If it’s such a struggle for you, perhaps you should just eat it yourself, alright? After all, wasting food is a sin~”

“!”

****

Ten minutes later.

My brother’s face was ashen, his eyes vacant as he stared blankly at the chandelier. Waves of plastic odor continuously surged from his stomach to his mouth, then into his nasal passages.

His tongue felt coated and sticky, as if slimed by something utterly repulsive. Even the simple act of parting his lips brought forth a stench clearly not intended for human consumption.

“How does it feel, Onii-chan~ To eat, bite by bite, the instant noodles you prepared yourself~”

I uttered this, my expression utterly devoid of emotion, yet my tone sickeningly affectionate.

I paid no mind to the fact that I was currently clutching ‘Onii-chan’s’ school uniform collar with one hand, nor that the cup of noodles, which had moments ago been steaming, was now mysteriously empty, as if consumed by some unseen force.

“…Someone as utterly incapable of cooking as you truly shouldn’t exist in this world!”

I delivered this cruel pronouncement.

“Argh! In this entire world, you are the only one who has no right to utter such words! My sister!”

“Heh heh, is that so? At the very least, I’m confident that when heating instant noodles in the microwave, I would never forget to tear open the seasoning packets. In countless ways, I can produce both delicious and affordable meals…”

“You forgot that time…”

“Which… time… was that?”

My expression softened even further, yet my eyes remained unnervingly still, fixed at the very bottom of their sockets, glinting with a chilling light that seemed to scream, ‘Dare to utter another word, and you’re dead!’

Under my utterly tyrannical oppression, my brother could only swallow his resentment, his gaze fixed bitterly on the coffee table.

****

Several more minutes passed.

I curled up on the ‘gigantic’ sofa. Though immense, it was only truly gigantic from my perspective.

Given my current petite stature, the sofa was ample enough to serve as a bed. If I didn’t curl up, the extreme softness of the cushions would induce a peculiar sensation of weightlessness.

Crunch~ Mmm~

I took a bite of the vanilla ice cream in my hand, encased in strawberry-flavored chocolate and a wafer shell, savoring the endlessly lingering, fragrant sweetness of the vanilla cream that blossomed in my mouth.

In that moment, I yearned to let out a sound of pure, unadulterated pleasure.

“Umu~~!”

A clear, delightful sound escaped me.

‘S-…’

I instantly cut off the sound.

My own voice… I decided against it. That soft, saccharine tone, which even I found ‘uncomfortable’ to hear, simply refused to be controlled by my will. If I had truly continued, I would have surely died of embarrassment.

Beside me sat ‘my former self,’ Ye Sakaki-kun, who had just consumed two cups of ‘Monokuma Brand Instant Noodles’—devoid of seasoning, yet rich in plastic.

The thought of this ‘impostor,’ who had completely usurped Father’s affection and the majority of Mother’s love, now suffering through that cruel taste, filled me with a profound sense of satisfaction.