I woke up slowly this time, lying on my back in what I assume was the bed in the infirmary. I peeled my eyes open, flinching at the bright lights coming from the ceiling, and sat up, propping myself up on my forearm.
"Yo, Togami. Finally awake, huh?" Kuwata said, "We were worried that you wouldn't wake up."
"Well, I did," I responded, "How long was I out for?"
"Four days," Kuwata told.
I groaned, "Fantastic. Just fucking great. What did I miss? Has the next motive been given? Had anyone died?"
"Whoa, chill out, man. Ya didn't miss much. No death, no motive. Monokuma's been away," Kuwata explained.
"What do you mean, away?" I demanded.
"I mean, away. Gone. Vanished. No one's seen him," Kuwata clarified.
"What the hell?"
"I know, right? Anyways, everyone's probably in the caf right now, if you wanna grab some food and catch up."
I stood up, stumbling and leaning heavily on the wall.
"Here, let me help ya," Kuwata offered, stepping towards me.
"No," I said, and Kuwata stopped, "I don't need your help, so fuck off."
"Hey, I know you're the guy who's all cautious, careful who he trusts, but ya gotta accept help when ya need it," Kuwata told.
"I don't need your help or your pity so leave," I hissed.
"Fine. Fine!" Kuwata yelled suddenly, "I won't help ya, jerk!"
"Good! Now leave!"
Kuwata stormed out of the room, and I sighed in relief. I hadn't been awake for five minutes and I could tell already that I wouldn't adjust well to life at the school without Celes.
One thing had been bothering me. I felt this strongly about Celes, but I had only known her for four- no, three days. Now that I was thinking about it, a lot of stuff was coming to mind: Asahina's motive for the first murder, the connection Celes and Kirigiri seemed to have, how quickly Oowada and Ishimaru got together. Not to mention the second motive, which I knew had a lot of stuff about the relationships between students. How was this all happening so quickly? Did it have something to do with our missing memories?
Well, there was no point in thinking about it anymore right now, so I made my way to the cafeteria, slightly slower than usual, but it didn't matter.
"Togami-kun!" Naegi exclaimed, standing up as I entered the room, "You're awake!"
"Yes, I am. Stop stating the obvious, Detective," I sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm. I hadn't forgiven his utter incompetence during the trial.
"Sorry, I just- I was worried about you," he muttered, and I felt bad. Just a little bad. It's not like I cared about his feelings or anything.
I joined Naegi at the table he was sharing with Ikusaba.
"So, Kuwata-kun told me that Monokuma disappeared. Is that true?" I questioned.
"Yes. No one's seen him since the Class Trial," Ikusaba confirmed.
"Where the hell has he gone?" I demanded.
"I'm not sure, but it's making me uneasy. It feels like he's planning something," Naegi voiced.
"Something's definitely not right," I agreed.
Ikusaba stood up, "I'll leave now. See you later, Naegi-kun." She quickly left the cafeteria.
"Alright, she's gone. Has anything happened between you two while I was out?" I asked under the guise of friendly curiosity. I was really just trying to find out if Ikusaba had made her move while I was otherwise occupied.
Naegi blushed slightly, "Well, umm, we're together now."
Great. She beat me. That was a dirty trick, going in while I was unconscious.
"That's good, I guess. I have to go. See you around." I stood up, wincing. I still wasn't at my strongest, but I could walk on my own now. Probably. Walking slowly, I left the cafeteria, then paused. Where should I go? Not my room. To be honest, I always felt trapped in there. Going to the public bath wouldn't have a point anymore, not since Celes-
No. Stop thinking about it. Thinking about it is a really bad idea. I reached into my pocket and wrapped my hand around the key to the locker. A key that would never be used again. I couldn't bear to continue, not without Celes. It was time to give up on any hope of finding the mastermind and play the game. Maybe, just maybe, it would be worth killing someone to escape.
Normally, in a situation like this, I would head to the library, but Ikusaba was probably in there, and if I saw her right now, I might do something regrettable. So, the library was out.
Oh, right. After the last Class Trial, the second floor had opened. If the bear was one of pattern, which he seemed to be, the third floor would now be available.
I was right, of course. I climbed the previously blocked staircase to the third floor. Glancing at the map on my Digital Notebook, I saw there wasn't much of importance on this floor: classrooms, rec room, art room, physics lab. Well, the physics lab was interesting, but useless without someone who knew how to operate the equipment. There was probably someone here who did, but I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.
I suddenly heard a voice coming from nearby and froze, listening to try and see who it was. From what I could here, it was Maizono, and she was alone. I stealthily looked through the partially open art room door and saw that it was, indeed, Maizono, and she was talking to...
A fish. There was a half-finished sculpture of a fish, and Maizono was talking to it. As I listened, I realized she was sobbing.
"It's just… nothing's the same anymore! I can't take it! After the last trial… I don't know how much I can take, babe. Well, at least I have you, right?" she sighed, "It's just, I can't talk to anyone but you anymore, and you're a wooden fish. I'm just worried, you know? With four of us dead, and the rest emotionally damaged and maybe planning murder. Not to mention everything that's been happening in the last week. The whole thing with Monokuma, it's obvious that something bad is coming, and I just- I can't handle it."
Ooooookay. The swimmer had gone crazy. I started to back away slowly, but my foot hit the wall and Maizono turned and saw me.
"O-oh! Togami-kun! How much did you hear?" she asked, blushing embarrassedly.
"Enough," I said simply, joining her in the room and leaning up against a table.
"No one was supposed to hear that. I didn't know you were listening."
"Of course you didn't, that was the point. I'm a cautious person, and I prefer to watch unseen."
"I can see why, I guess. After what happened with Fukawa-san and Celes-san-"
"Don't talk about it," I interrupted sharply. She looked at me for a second, look of confusion on her face, then giggled lightly.
"Oh, I get it. The cautious, cold, unfeeling Togami-kun is feeling emotions about what happened, and strong ones. Don't worry, I get it. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, as long as you don't ask me about personal stuff."
I was puzzled for a moment. What could Maizono be hiding? Then it hit me. During the last trial, something that Kuwata said. It hadn't stood out to me at the time, but now it struck me as odd.
KUWATA:A few people had alibis; Enoshima, Ikusaba, Naegi, Oowada, Maizono, and Ishimaru all were... otherwise occupied.
ENOSHIMA:And how would you know?
KUWATA:I was... testing the soundproofing on the walls?
KUWATA:Nah, I just like to keep track of who's sleeping with who.
Well, obviously Ishimaru and Oowada were together, and… was Ikusaba with her sister? No, that would mean Maizono was with Naegi, which just didn't make sense. Ikusaba must have already been with Naegi at that point, that sly bitch. Which meant…
"Maizono-san, are you sleeping with Enoshima-san?" I asked abruptly.
"Why are you asking me that?" she asked nervously in response, "I just said that I didn't want to talk about personal stuff, okay? Excuse me." With that, she bolted out of the room.
Well. Interesting. That could have all sorts of implications. I should head down to the change room, update the list, meet with Celes at some point-
Dammit. For a minute I had forgotten about what happened. I had started thinking about the mastermind again when, really, there was no longer any reason to. There was only one thing I had reason to do anymore, and that's to get the hell out of this school.
Now how to do this.
If I killed Ikusaba, it would be a bit too obvious. I've been acting weird around her and Naegi, which could throw suspicion onto me, plus Oowada knew a little bit about the situation. And there was that time Enoshima saw us in the library. No, it would have to be someone without ties to me, someone who I could… take care of without suspicion. That was surprisingly difficult; I had gotten a bunch of people to help me out along the way, and most could be traced back to me. Not only that, but some would be able to fight back, or at least make enough noise so that I got caught in the act.
I could only really think of two people who I could get away with killing; Maizono or Fujisaki.
Now, which one of them, and how?
"Umm.. Togami-kun?" came a quiet voice from behind me. I turned to see Fujisaki, "Could you help me with something?"
Oh. Interesting. This could very well be my opportunity. "I guess. What do you need?"
"I- it's easier to show you." Nervously, she led me down to the second floor and into the small area leading to the change rooms.
"What are we doing here?" I asked. pretending to be annoyed while actually waiting for an opportunity.
"Just… come with me, okay?" She stopped in front of the door to the male changing room.
"Umm, Fujisaki-san, you won't be able to get in there, only g-" My words died in my throat as she- no, he, or maybe she? they- held their Digital Notebook up to the scanner and the door opened. I followed them numbly into the change room.
"So. You're actually a guy?"
"Yes," Fujisaki admitted ashamedly, "Biologically, I'm male. I think I'm what they would call a trans girl. And please, Togami-kun, if it isn't too much trouble, could you continue referring to me with female pronouns?"
I nodded, "Yeah, sure. I know a bit about this kind of thing, I used to have a genderfluid friend. I'll use whatever pronouns you prefer."
"Thank you, Togami-kun! I was worried about telling someone my secret, and I'm glad I chose someone as understanding as you!" she beamed.
Well. I couldn't kill her now, out of respect. It was complicated, the thing with my friend, but there was no way I could kill Fujisaki. "So what did you need my help for? Or did you just want to tell someone?"
Her face fell, "Actually, there is something. I've always been really weak, you see? I hate the fact that I'm so helpless. But I want to become stronger, I really do! So I thought I'd ask you, Togami-kun!"
"Why me?" I asked, confused, "Why not Oogami-san, Oowada-kun, or Ishimaru-kun? They would probably be able to help you better than I could."
"True, they're physically strong, but you're stronger than all of them! The way you're able to keep going, despite the deaths of our classmates, especially Celes-san, the way you carry yourself day to day… I admire your strength. You're the kind of person I want to be like."
I could feel my face heating up. Her praise was too much, and it made me feel horrible for even considering murder.
"I can't. Sorry," I said shortly, trying to conceal what I was feeling, "I think Oowada-kun and Ishimaru-kun are much more suited to help you, and I know your secret will be safe with them. I'll find them and send them down, okay?"
"Okay, I guess. Thank you for helping me," she said, smiling.
I left her in the change room and headed down to the first floor to look for Oowada and Ishimaru. Hopefully they weren't in the middle of something again. I was still scarred from last time. I was in the hallway that connected the building with the dorms to the main building when I heard a faint shriek and stopped. I had a weird feeling, like something was about to happen.
"Ding dong, ding dong! A body has been found! After a set period of free time, the Class trial will commence!"
"Shit!" I swore. I know I had been considering it, but I don't think I actually would have been able to go through with it. I never expected something to happen so fast, mere hours after I had woken up. Well, it had been a week for everyone else, which was a record for longest time without a death.
I snickered quietly.I was just picturing The Monokuma Book of Hope's Peak Records,with stuff like 'longest time between deaths,' 'shortest time between deaths,' 'most creative murders,' and so on.
Refocusing, I tried to figure out where the body was. The scream was definitely above me, but within earshot, so second floor. I had a feeling I knew where it was. I quickly headed up and turned the doorknob to enter the library. Once inside, I felt like I was going to puke. I didn't expect this. I didn't think something this gruesome was possible, and especially not to this person. I mean, I didn't expect someone who wasn't me to do this.
For in front of me, pinned to the bookshelf, was the mangled corpse of the SHSL Literary Girl, Ikusaba Mukuro.