Disclaimer: Danganronpa belongs to Spike Chunsoft and their respective associates. I do not own any of Danganronpa's characters or other creations.
Author Notes: My apologies for being a little late with the update. Despite it being a little late and the chapter being a bit on the shorter end this time, I do hope you will enjoy this chapter.
Review Replies:
JustUsingARandomName: Thank you and yep, that's the major character weakness that Kuramoto has.
Tunak23: I do try to stay within my commitments as much as I can. And I do hope things are getting exciting, because soon a lot of the things that went unexplained are going to start being brought to light.
LazyWriterDude: 1. Pretty much Asahina's fate was sealed from the get go. Monokuma only allowed Kuramoto enough time to try and pull her back up to just show him that his efforts were futile. 2. I had decided to introduce the new faction to potentially take the story after ADA to a new direction, if people wish to see it continue. 3. As for Kuramoto's trauma, that's more or less one of the big flaws he has due to putting too much pressure on himself (a trait he's carried subconsciously ever since his days as a soldier).
Location: Hope's Peak Academy, Ikusaba's Room
Time: 1400
Naegi found himself just outside of Ikusaba's room, with her lunch prepared. He simply rang the doorbell to let Ikusaba know that he was coming in with her lunch, just as he usually did.
"Come in!" Ikusaba said, behind the door, letting Naegi know that it was alright to enter.
Naegi had entered Ikusaba's room, getting the okay to enter. It didn't look all that different from Naegi's room to be entirely honest. Perhaps the biggest difference between his room and Ikusaba's was the collection of airsoft guns that were on one of the room's walls. Ikusaba herself was sitting comfortably on her bed for the time being.
"I brought you lunch." Naegi declared as he set the food on the desk.
"Thank you, Naegi." Ikusaba said.
"How are doing? Is everything ok with the arrangements? Do you need anything?" Naegi asked, worried about Ikusaba and how's she has been.
"Admittedly, it's been quite boring ever since I've been stuck here." Ikusaba answered truthfully. "Otherwise, I'm alright. Thankfully that bear hasn't shown up ever since I've been here, so that's some good news at least."
Naegi sighed in relief. "That's good. If you do need anything, I'll do my best to help you."
"Actually, I do have a question." Ikusaba said with a hint of concern. "Is Fumio-kun okay?
"…."
Naegi hesitated in his answer. He wanted to tell her that he was okay, but he had a feeling that she would see through him and possibly be hurt if he tried to lie.
"To be truthful, he's been going through a hard time right now." Naegi answered truthfully. "From what Kirigiri-san has told me, he's been going through nightmares. Plus, it hasn't been helping that Monokuma has been harassing him every chance he's got."
"..."
Ikusaba looked down grimly. She figured that he wouldn't have taken Asahina's death all that well, but it seems that he was handling it far worse than she had anticipated and Monokuma was only worsening the situation.
"I see, thank you for telling the truth Naegi-kun." Ikusaba thanked. "Just please promise me that you and Kirigiri-san will take care of him to the best of your abilities."
"You got it!" Naegi said beaming brightly. "We'll do our best to help him out."
Ikusaba simply stared at Naegi, almost completely stunned by the genuine smile that he gave to her.
"You ok, Ikusaba-chan?" Naegi asked, wondering by Ikusaba just stared at him.
"Oh, it's nothing." Ikusaba hastily said, now red faced. "Thank you."
With the food delivered and Naegi on a time limit, he decided to leave the room before Monokuma came in and forced him out. With Naegi no longer present, Ikusaba's mind began to wonder.
"I don't understand. Is this what they call having butterflies in one's stomach? I always tend to react like that whenever I'm around both Naegi-kun and Fumio-kun, but why?"
Ikusaba pondered for a bit longer to try and find an answer before she felt a sharp pain in her head.
"What was that?" Iksuaba thought.
"That was weird, that happened as soon as I began to think about Fumio-kun and Naegi-kun."
It then happened again, only this time it was much stronger this time and along with it, several thoughts began to flood Ikusaba's mind.
"My name is Makoto Naegi, pleased to meet you."
"I am Fumio Kuramoto, the Ultimate Mastermind."
"Just go keep an eye on him sis, show me you can at least one thing other can kill right."
"What's wrong? if there's something bothering you, you can tell me."
"The reason why I like to spend my time with you is because of how similar we are despite the different paths we have walked."
"I can hardly believe that my useless sister has actually fallen in love with the first two people that didn't run away from her."
"What is that you want, Ikusaba-san?"
"Only you can really decide for yourself as to path you want to take. Not me, not your sister, only you."
"Get out! Get out of my sight, you traitor!"
After those thoughts had hit her mind hard, she managed to come back to her immediate surroundings.
"W-What was that? I…..not sure what exactly that was but….I sure that I've heard those lines before. But…...I can't remember...does our captor have something to do with this?"
"It looks like you are finished." Kirigiri commented, meeting Naegi within the hallway.
"Yeah." Naegi said. "It's been exactly the same, just like the last several days. Monokuma seems to be more or less, leaving her be despite being in the same situation as Fumio-kun."
"..."
"Interesting...despite seemingly working for the mastermind, Monokuma's seems to be practically ignoring her." Kirigiri noted.
"But I wonder why?" Naegi thought out loud.
"My guess would be either Monokuma was lying about the motive or Ikusaba's role was nowhere near as significant as he made it out to be." Kirigiri answered.
"We'll meet up again once it's time for dinner." Kirigiri said as she turned to begin to walk away.
"Wait, hold on a second." Naegi said, causing Kirigiri to halt for a second.
"Do you have some free time?" Naegi asked. "If so, do you want to hang out for a little bit?"
This wasn't the first time that Naegi had asked her this question ever since they had got here and it wouldn't be the last. Kirigiri was about ready to simply say that she was busy as per usual, but then she remembered what Kuramoto had said to her the day before he was isolated from the rest of the group.
Flashback
"For now, I would say trust your instincts. You'd be surprised how often they can be right. I don't know as to how much you and Makoto-kun have interacted, but I'll say that he's easily one of the nicest people out of the group by a landslide."
End Flashback
"I don't think I'll be able to make much progress for now, not without getting another angle to look from, which will be tough without another person or any additional information. It would be good to potentially secure another ally as well and Naegi-kun would be among one of the least likely to be the Mastermind if he or she is hiding among the group." Kirigiri thought to herself.
"Alright, I'll suppose I do have a bit of time to spare." Kirigiri said, deciding to hear him out.
Naegi eyes widen in both surprise and excitement.
"Awesome, then let's head to the dining hall. I can make us some tea, Fumio-kun actually taught me a few things about it." Naegi said, almost sprinting his way back to the cafeteria.
"What's up with him? Isn't this just a moment for us to just spend some time together? He's seems way more excited about it than what he should be." Kirigiri thought to herself, puzzled about Naegi's reaction.
Curiosity and uncertainty aside, Kirigiri decided to follow Naegi to the cafeteria. It took some time to properly make the tea that Naegi had proposed, but eventually the two of them settle down for the proposed tea.
"It looks like you weren't kidding, this is actually quite good." Kirigiri complemented.
"Well, I do have Fumio-kun to thank." Naegi sheepishly replied. "He did me a few things that can make the difference between ok tea and well made tea."
"Why have you been so insistent on trying to hang out with me?" Kirigiri asked.
"I have never really seen you interact with anyone else outside of Fumio-kun." Naegi explained. "This whole time you mostly kept to yourself. I thought you may want someone to interact with when you are not going around the school on your own."
"I...can't really disagree with that." Kirigiri spoke up, seeing that Naegi did have a point.
"That mainly is because of the nature of the situation that we were put under." Kirigiri explained. "Complete strangers confined in a closed space and ordered to kill each other. It would have been foolish to trust just anyone. Even trusting Fumio-kun was a bit of a gamble, he could have easily lead in the wrong direction if he was the mastermind or in league with the mastermind."
"I guess you're right." Naegi agreed. "Add in the amnesia issue as well and it make sense that would be wary of others."
Kirigiri simply nodded in concurrence.
"But what about now?" Naegi asked. "Since now that your amnesia is now common knowledge and you have had some time to see who is trustworthy or not."
Kirigiri simply sighed in both annoyance and defeat.
"I guess with my amnesia laid out for all to know, trusting others is less of an issue." Kirigiri answered. "But still, it's not wise to let one's guard down entirely, not while the Mastermind still has plans for us."
"You're right." Naegi looked down, remembering the situation with Maizono. "But still, it wouldn't do us any good to act paranoid towards one another. Otherwise, we will have already lost."
"Exactly. And that's one of the few things that Togami-san fails to realize." Kirgiri agreed. "By constantly throwing around accusations and doing things that creates animosity, he's practically making it that much more likely that more people will end up dying."
"I don't want to have to agree with Kirigiri's assessment, but I can't ignore that possibility. Creating unneeded tension has already shown that it can drive people to resort to drastic measures." Naegi solemnly thought.
"But getting back to the original topic." Kirigiri said, changing subjects. "I suppose your persistence is admirable to say the least. Most would have given up trying to interact with me."
"Why would I do that!?" Naegi said, almost as if it was insulting for Kirigiri to suggest that. "At the end of the day, were all are stuck here together. We should at least try to get to know one another while we are here. If nothing else, it will at least make it that less likely that someone will resort to killing.
"True. Your point does have some merit." Kirigiri concurred.
"Hmm...so far, he really does seem to be concerned for the majority of the people here, just like Fumio-kun. Not as smart granted, but he could be still be another helpful ally." Kirigiri thought to herself.
"Well, since we are on the subject, I suppose there is one thing that I would like to ask of you."
"What is it?" Naegi asked.
"Do you know who the SHSL Fashionista is?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you seemed to know about quite a few of the other Ultimates were when you going around introducing yourself when we got here. That would show that you have done some level of research prior to arriving. I was wondering if you happened to know." Kirigiri explained, remembering Naegi's approach to several of the students at the first day.
Naegi paused for a moment, going over the names that he remembered.
"I think it was Junko Enoshima." Naegi finally answered. "But why do you ask?"
"Let's just say that's something that has been bothering me for a while now."
"By the way, Naegi-kun, if you are interested, there is something that you could do for me." Kirigiri said, as she got a tad bit closer to Naegi.
"Really? What?" Naegi said excitedly.
"I'm currently waiting on Fujisaki-kun to finish up on a task that he's working on. If you want to help out in trying to uncover the school's mysteries, then keep an eye out on your door. I'll leave instructions for you to follow." Kirigiri whispered to Naegi.
"You understand, Naegi-kun?" Kirigiri spoke at a normal volume again.
"Yeah, I understand." Naegi answered.
"Excellent. It's been good talking to you, Naegi-kun, I shall see you later tonight."
With that Kirigiri had left the cafeteria, leaving Naegi wondering what to do with the remainder of his free time.
Location: Hope's Peak Academy, Gym
Time: 2050
Oowada, Ishimaru and Fujisaki were all currently at the gym. After some consideration, Fujisaki had decided to meet up with Oowada and Ishimaru after a brawling session the two of them had at the gym shortly after Kuramoto's removal from the group and requested their assistance to continue to the workout plan that Kuramoto had set up. They had just now finished for the night and was chatting with one another.
"Thank you guys for helping me." Fujisaki thanked the two.
"Think nothin' of it." Oowada said. "Both of my bros would probably kick my ass if he heard that I didn't help you out."
"Bro's right!" Ishimaru agreed. "As the SHSL Prefect, I consider it a responsibility to ensure that I help out my fellow students to the best of my abilities whenever asked to!"
"I'm just happy I'm able to continue to the workout plan that Kuramoto-kun had built for me with friends." Fujisaki said happily.
"Yeah…." Oowada said, looking a bit down.
"What's wrong, Bro?" Ishimaru asked.
"It's nothin'." Oowada tried to change the subject.
"It's obviously something, you're typically not like this." Ishimaru replied.
"If something's bothering you, you can tell us." Fujisaki spoke up, hoping to cheer him up.
"..."
"How do you guys do it?" Oowada asked.
"Huh?" Both Ishimaru and Fujisaki said at the same time.
"How do you guys deal with your weaknesses so well!?" Oowada loudly repeated.
"Every time I think about it, seeing my brother laying there, dying on the street, it just eats away at me. How the hell do you two find the strength to push past that? It irritates me that you two make it look easy. Almost like it's no big deal."
"It isn't easy." Ishimaru explained. "Every day, my family suffers for the mistakes that my grandfather made. I'm constantly reminded of it when my family members are only just able to get by. They could only just barely afford to bring me to the private school. Thankfully, with the after school activities that I participated in, it did help out a little bit. But our living conditions were far from ideal."
"Oh…." Oowada said, instantly regretting his outburst.
"But still, if I don't do anything, the family name is going to forever remain tainted and a blight on the history books! That's why I have to press on!" Ishimaru declared.
"He's right." Fujisaki agreed. "Even now, I'm scared of what will happen once we get out of here. When people find out that I'm actually a guy. It's going to be hard to have to face them once again."
"If anything of 'em says somethin' bad about you, I'll have no problem kicking their asses!" Oowada responded.
"But that's why I think things will turn out okay." Fujisaki continued.
"Huh?"
"It's because we can lean on each other when things get bad, we become far stronger than if we were to go at it alone. So, that's why I think things will turn out okay." Fujisaki elaborated.
"I guess…..you do have a point." Oowada replied. "Thanks guys, you really do seem to know how to cheer a man up."
"It's no trouble at all." Ishimaru said. "That's what bros are for, right?"
"Took the words right outta my mouth." Oowada answered.
"I'm glad I was able to help." Fujisaki spoke up.
"Anyways, as much as I'd like to stick around, I do need to get going, I'm going to be meet up with a few others before the nighttime announcement. Thanks again and I will see you guys tomorrow." Fujisaki said, waving to both Oowada and Ishimaru.
Location: Hope's Peak Academy, Kirigiri's Room
Time: 2130
Kirigiri was sitting within her room. She was going over the notes that has taken down in order to try and figure out the mysterious behind the school.
*DING DONG*
"Someone's here?"
Kirigiri went to her bedroom door to see that a note had been left for her. She quickly went to check if anyone was nearby the door itself only to find that nobody was there. Whoever it was must have simply rung the bell in order to grab her attention. Kirigiri picked it up to see what the note had said.
It is ready. Please meet at the Bathhouse and make sure to bring a towel.
The message was pretty simple and to the point which was to be expected, if Kirigiri's assumption on who the note belonged to was correct. Kirigiri simply took the note as well as a towel and headed out to the bathhouse.
At the bathhouse, Fujisaki was already there waiting for Kirigiri to show up. Fujisaki also had with him the labtop that was from the library.
"I'm glad I managed to catch you before nighttime." Fujisaki said relieved.
"After exploring all that I could of the third floor, I'm not finding much else for right now, so I decided to turn in a little early before trying again tomorrow." Kirigiri said. "But before you show me, there is someone else that will be showing up as well."
"Huh?"
It was then that Naegi had stepped into the bathhouse with a towel and the note that Kirigiri had received. He was surprised to find that both Kirigiri and Fujisaki were present.
"What's going on? The note said that it was ready?" Naegi asked, clearly confused.
"Fujisaki-kun has something that he wants to show us." Kirigiri cleared up.
Naegi directed his attention to Fujisaki, looking for confirmation.
"Yeah, just give me a second." Fujisaki confirmed. He began to to type away at the laptop with blistering speeds. After about a minute or two, Fujisaki had stopped and it was revealed that the computer screen's contents to Naegi and Kirigiri. What was currently displayed on the monitor was, to the surprise of both Naegi and Kirigiri, Fujisaki's head.
"I have managed to create an artificial intelligence that's been decoding the files that were found on this computer. I call it Alter Ego." Fujisaki explained. "It has just managed to finish up decoding the files."
"Let's see what he has found out." Kirigiri spoke up.
With that said, Fujisaki began to type on the laptop to begin revealing the information that was contained within the laptop.
"Alright, I'll do my best to summarize the files' contents." Alter Ego began to speak. "From what I am seeing, the school was in the midst of carrying out a project with the objective of isolating the students and have them live together within the academy. If I'm reading this right, this project was built with the intent of being able to keep the students alive and inside the academy their whole lives."
"But that's that same situation that we are in right now!" Naegi protested, realizing the similarity.
"Furthermore, the project itself was founded by Hope's Peak Academy's Administrative Office." Alter Ego continued.
"So, we were actually trapped here not by some maniac or malicious organization.." Fujisaki said.
"But the school itself!?" Naegi cried out.
"It doesn't look like Alter Ego is finished just yet." Kirigiri reminded the two of them.
"An incident that occurred one year ago was the reason that the project was formed. It is known as The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History or more simply known as The Tragedy. From what I've managed to find, The Tragedy was immensely horrific and tragic incident and Hope's Peak Academy, as an educational facility, was forced to shutdown as a result of that incident." Alter Ego continued explaining.
"So that's the connection." Kirigiri spoke. "The Tragedy formed as a result of The Broadcast. Shortly afterwards, Hope's Peak had to shut down and the school itself was used as a backdrop in order to keep students inside the facility."
"Even still, it doesn't answer as to what exactly The Tragedy and Broadcast are. Nor why the school decided to trap us here." Naegi brought up.
As a response to Naegi's inquiries, Fujisaki hastily began to type once more.
"Unfortunately, there's only three additional details I was able to find that is connected to The Tragedy. The first is The Tragedy had instigated due to a world wide broadcast of explaining a horrible truth. This particular event is known by most as simply The Broadcast. The second is that The Tragedy had an effect on the entire world, there isn't any known places that haven't been affected by it in someway. Lastly, while it isn't anything conclusive, the documents contained here show that the school was suspecting that a former male student of Hope's Peak Academy was responsible for The Broadcast." Alter Ego answered.
"A former male student?" Naegi repeated.
"Odd, didn't the note that Fumio-kun show me say that the person he was investigating was female? Could the person that he was investigating be unrelated or possibly be a different threat altogether?" Kirigiri thought to herself, puzzled at this revelation.
"Well, at least we have something to keep in mind as far as a suspect goes. Plus, the information seems to be consistent with the note you found and the letter to the Hope's Peak staff." Kirgiri concluded.
"Did you manage to find anything else?" Fujisaki asked.
"Sorry. That's all that I was able to obtain from the decoded files." Alter Ego reported.
The three of them were all a bit dejected from hearing those words. But there was nothing that any of them could do about for now.
"I'll keep trying to see if I can find anything else from the computer or see if Alter Ego can be of additional assistance." Fujisaki stated.
"Well, that was quite the find and it's nice to be able to get some confirmation on a few things." Kirigiri asserted.
"At the very least, we now know that the school itself set up the academy to be like this. And we may have a possible lead on a suspect. But that still doesn't answer the as to what The Tragedy is, why Hope's Peak decided to confine us here or who's the one responsible for forcing us to kill each other." Naegi summarized.
"You have a point." Fujisaki agreed, pondering on what to make of this new information.
*DING DONG DING DONG*
"Ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10PM. Nighttime is now in effect. The cafeteria will soon be locked and entry at that point will be strictly prohibited. Upupupupupupu. Goood nnnniiiiiigghhtt."
"It looks like our time is up. We'll have to leave it as it is for now." Kirigiri said. "Naegi-kun, Fujisaki-kun, I bid you goodnight."
With that Kirigiri, left the bathhouse.
"It's alright, Naegi-kun. I'll going to just lock up this laptop so no one else can reach it and follow suit." Fujisaki said, seeing that Naegi was still around.
"Ok, goodnight, Fujisaki-san." Naegi told Fujisaki before leaving as well.
Once the three of them successfully made it back to their rooms, they all decided to head to sleep and call it a night.
Author Notes: That's it for this part. I hoped you enjoyed and will see you guys on the next part. Another Author out!