Chapter 4: Persona Non Grata (Daily Life 2)
The sight that befell the remaining students of the college stunned them. It was nothing like any of the other rooms in the entire campus. The entire hallway was in disarray, bullet holes covered the walls, white drywalling turning the floors white with powder to match the bullet holes underneath them. "Oh my god… what happened in here?" Kenji asked, slowly patrolling the halls and looking around a corner. He had to cover his mouth to fight a gasp, as the walls around the corner were also covered in bullet holes… but another thing.
Blood. There was dried blood caking the floor, each one with a chalk outline where the body it came from originally lied. Kenji's nose flared to try and choke off the smell of copper and rot. Setsuki turned pale as Yukiji, who somehow got even paler than he usually was. Shiro tucked his hands in his pockets and looked away in disgust.
"This… was a massacre. Or.. very convincing decorations." Airi observed, she covered a thumb and index finger over her lips to fight her urge to gag. Akira tried to count how many chalk outlines there were strewn on the floor, and leaning against the walls, before losing count. This hallway alone had at least 70 outlines, with enough dried blood to spare between them.
"Holy fuck, dude…" Yukata muttered out as he suddenly began to turn around to leave. His shoulder was grabbed by the firm grip of Haru.
"Man, they told us we can't leave. We have to investigate…" He said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Just push through it, dude." Haru said, nudging Yukata to move him forward. Yukata stumbled, but quickly caught himself as he walked to the first door her saw on the hallway. Wrapping some of his jacket on his hand to not get it dirty, and opening the door.
'Happy Homecoming, Students of Future's Crest University!' read the banner as Yukata stepped into the room. The room had rows of desks topped with unpowered computer monitors, more students following behind Yukata and looking over the monitors. Looking under the desks, the students found no towers connected to the monitors, save for one toward the back. "Hrm… I don't like the look of this." Airi said, moving slowly to the remaining computer.
"What's wrong, Ai-Spy?" Setsuki asked as she walked up behind Airi. Airi just rolled her eyes and muttered to herself as she sat down in the old chair beside the desk.
"That's only slightly better…" Airi grumbled as she pressed the power button, watching to see if the computer would even turn on. "The fact that there's only one working tower in what appears to be the University Computer lab is… worrying." Airi explained. The outdated logo of the operating system it ran on appeared, as the CRT monitor whirred to life.
"Ya think this thing gets porn?" Yukata asked, but Airi just looked back at him with an annoyed glare.
"Really...? Really? You're a sad man, Yukata." Airi said as the computer booted up, her gloved hands dancing across the keys to open a web browser and inspecting the router. "Anyway, this is a private network, it would mostly be accessing server files in the school." She said, opening the bookmarks tab to see which ones were listed.
"Sorry, I just… Wow the more I think about it, the more out of place that comment was." Yukata mused to himself as Haru slapped him upside the head.
"You asked to look up porn after realizing someone shot up the college like 5 minutes ago, dude."
"Don't judge me! I live in the moment!" Yukata exclaimed.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Haru replied, shaking his head.
"You wear a speedo!" Yukata shot back.
"That's not relevant!" Haru barked, Kiko joining and barking at Yukata
"If you both don't shut up, I will cut the cord and you will never internet again." Airi said, glaring at Haru and Yukata. The two quickly went quiet. "Good, now I don't have to hit you. Let's see if we can figure out anything about 'Future Crest University' while we're here." she continued, clicking open a bookmark. Her eyes darted back and forth along the page, taking in information while looking for keywords.
"Hm, let's see… It seems like this college is stationed in Shiga, outside of Kyoto. Founded in 1992 by a man named… Masato Inoue. It explains why we couldn't see Mt. Fuji in the skyline." Airi said.
"Anything about Masato Inoue?" Kenji asked, Airi looking for a section about the founder of the college.
"Masato Inoue… Was a entrepreneur who tried to make this university a trade school program, but failed… When a man known as Jin Kirigiri took over a place called Hope's Peak Academy, a government backed high school a few decades afterward, he apparently retooled his college to have a similar concept, recruiting the best of the best and helping them toward a degree."
"So… Whoever made this school was just ripping off Hope's Peak? That's lame." Yukata said, reading over her shoulder.
"No, I can see the purpose in having more than one school. Each region is operated by a smaller section of the government, so most of the students they enroll can take a bus, or live near their families... " Airi argued.
"Wouldn't a school like that just hemorrhage money?" Kenji asked, trying to slide past Haru to look at the screen as well
"It's a college, Kenji. Everything here would cost money and that would be more than enough to recuperate the taxpayer money keeping this thing open. 50,000 yen for a 3 year old text book, food three times the cost of what it should be? That's a college staple." Akira mentioned, adjusting her tie.
"I'm assuming mimicking the 'Ultimates' program from Hope's Peak would mostly be scholarships, and every other student would have to enroll with money. Because according to this, there was at least 3500 students as of this webpage's last update. To think they would all be Ultimates would be… pretty impossible, I think." Airi said, trying to find the webpage for any of the college staff.
"That many people good at that many things? Do you think that means there's an Ultimate Spider-Eater?" Yukiji asked.
"I highly doubt that. Let's see, Future's Crest staff included Masato Inoue, Akio Watanabe-"
"It's a common name, we're not related." Yukata interrupted.
"Duly noted. Tomoko Kirishima, Ryuji Sakamoto…. Hrm, as I expected." Airi said, nodding.
"What's up?" Setsuki asked.
"No listing of Junko Enoshima." Airi continued, gently crossing an arm over her chest as she turned to face the others.
"So… did we learn anything from looking at this?" Yukata asked, scratching his chin. "I feel like we're just talking in circles."
"We've learned plenty. Where we are, the owner of the university, and the very important fact that this is indeed a real location, and was converted from a college to a killing grounds. But the major question is… who could have? Was it one of the members of staff?" Airi asked.
"Wait, so if Junko wasn't the founder of the University, who was she?" Kenji asked, Airi looking up at the ceiling briefly.
"It's possible she was a student that Monokuma's controller had some sort of personal connection or attachment to. She stood behind him on the statue, with a proud look on her face. It might just be connotation, but I feel like it would make sense." Airi explained, turning back to the computer and looking though other pages, including the student listing.
"Anything on the current students?" Kenji asked, a hand on her shoulder, which she casually removed as she spoke.
"The whole section's been scrubbed. It's all broken image links and word purges. There probably isn't a original copy, since this seems to be the school's private server." Airi observed, Yukata humming to himself and clicking his tongue before he replied.
"How can ya tell?" He asked, Airi reaching up to point at the address bar.
"These aren't websites. They're local files with the same IP. We're accessing ourselves, albeit in different subsections." Airi answered.
"Most likely Monokuma doesn't want us accessing the outside world… It would make it harder to trace the location and let us send help." Shiro guessed.
"Yeah, but why wipe away the student records? He knew we were gonna find this place, why not let us learn more?" Setsuki asked.
"Controlling information is a very easy way to make us act the way someone wants us to. The less we know, the easier we are to manipulate." Shiro surmised, a hand behind his back as he adjusted his glasses. "Is there anything else you can ascertain from that computer, Kudo?" he asked, Airi combing through page after page.
"It's pretty outdated. I think this was more to establish where the school was, than give us any revelations about what's going on." Airi explained, but Akira walked up, kneeling down to the same head height as her.
"Do you think there might be any emails between members of the staff?" Akira asked, Airi getting a smile as she closed the tab, and opened the outdated mailing program.
"It's an idea worth entertaining. The staff profile page had their emails, but I wouldn't know any of their personal passwords, it would take a lot of time and research, unless I had my decrypting USB drive with me. One of the things that didn't come with me when I woke up here."
"Have you got one in your lab?" Setsuki wondered, Airi shaking her head.
"I highly doubt Monokuma's gonna let me have anything that could break through his security checks. I'm no master programmer, so to replicate it would be very difficult." she replied. "And without any chance of getting those emails, we've got everything we can out of this computer unless you guys have anything else you want to find."
"Well, if we're locked out of anything else, maybe we could try another room." Kenji said, leaving the computer lab. Airi shut off the computer as the rest of the group left, checking different rooms and mostly finding empty classrooms. Akira made a point of categorizing everything, having to be dragged out a few times as they came upon a door labeled 'Dean's Office'
"So.. I guess this is Masato's office?" Kenji said, turning the knob and peering inside. Inside was what Kenji expected out of a Dean's office; an oak desk, bookshelf full of books, a massive filing cabinet and a lot of dust. What stood out in the room was a black DVD projector sat on the desk, directed at a screen hanging from the wall. Of all the interesting places there was in the university, this was the least. "Huh… looks like any other office…"
"It's cleaner than any other room. No blood, or bullet holes… Just a lot of dirt and cobwebs." Akira said, looking over the books. "What the…" Akira said, dusting off the cover of the book she was holding. "Is this… a book about apocalypses?" She asked herself, pulling another book from the shelf and tucking the first under an arm.
'End Times: How you and Your Family Can Prepare For the Fires of the Final Era'"Hey, are all these books about the apocalypse?" she asked, looking and seeing the same theme of books about the End Times, the Rapture, Robot Uprisings, extinction events, nuclear war, Kali Yuga, the list went on. "They're all about apocalypses…"
"Okay, so he's a nutbar. Got it." Haru said with a chuckle to try and make light of the subject. "Do you have to take a mental exam before you can open a college?" he asked with another chuckle. He got no response as everyone looked around the office, Yukiji crouching down behind the desk.
"Maybe there's something from him in these…" he said, slowly lifting up a cardboard box and setting it on the desk. Inside was two stacks of black, unmarked cases. Yukiji grabbed a case and opened it to find a disc inside. "Could somebody get the lights?"
"Do the discs have anything on them?" Kenji asked, walking over beside Yukiji. Each one was blank, but had a marker on them indicating numbers such as #141, #153, #292, and so on.
"They have numbers, but that's about it. I don't see any particular pattern to them. I thought it would be a math problem or something." Yukiji said, looking at the discs back and forth.
"Let's start with the lowest number we can find, I guess." Kenji said, sorting through the discs in the cases, starting with the lowest he could find, #51. He passed it to Yukiji to insert the disc into the tray of the projector as he went to turn off the lights. He hit the switch, and the video began to project onto the screen.
It was the Dean's office, albeit much cleaner than before. A woman with long curly blonde hair was sitting on the desk as she was writing on a clipboard. An older man with black hair to his shoulders sat a chair in front of the camera, then sat off screen as a rather tall, strong willed woman turned the chair backwards and sat on it. Her hair was vividly dyed, and had a wide grin on her face.
"June 19th, Student #51. # %# %#" The voice off to the side said in a clear, professional tone, though there was a loud scratching sound at the end.
"I..Is that Miho?" Kenji asked, noticing her hair was a different color, but she looked about the same otherwise. Akira walked up closer to the projector screen.
"Sup, college guy!" Miho said with a big grin on her face and a thumbs up, showing her signature elbow pad.
"I believe you've enrolled in our special Ultimates program… What do you believe you could bring to our college that no other person possibly could?" The man asked, the woman with the clipboard slowly climbed off the desk, sitting down on the other side of the room to write down notes.
"I suplex people! I'm not sure how that relates to college, but my brother in law told me this is the place to go when you're awesome. And I am! Have you seen me on TV?" Miho replied, patting her padded elbow.
"I'm not really a fan of such shows, but I believe I've seen you in commercials." the man responded. The next few questions were not that interesting, but there was one that caught everyone's interest.
"In case of a potential disaster, would you be alright if you chose to live in the school until things settled?" he asked.
"Yeah. I mean, I'd be living in the school even if there wasn't a disaster, right?" Miho said.
"Very good. Thank you, Ms. # # # # " the man said, the DVD coming to a stop.
"So, these discs… I think they're our interviews with the Dean." Akira said, reaching into to the box to grab a case. She pulled out #311, switching out Miho's disc for the next one. Sitting in the chair was a girl with long, curly white hair and blue eyes. She was looking nervously at the man in front of her, pressing the tips of her index fingers together, she set her hands in her lap and offered a sheepish smile.
"June 23rd. Student #311 %#%^$^*$ " The same man as before had announced, the girl gently nodding her head as she looked around the room, avoiding eye contact at first.
"Oh, yes! Hello." She said, cheeks slightly flushed as she finally looked at him. "That's me." She said, a finger gently curling a silver lock of hair as he spoke.
"You have enrolled in our Ultimates program without a transfer from one of our high schools, so What do you consider your ultimate skill?" He asked, the girl's face lit up as she spoke.
"Oh! Uhm.. I'm actually a theater manager. Like… the stage theater, not the movie kind. I help put on plays and coach the actors. I… I was pretty good at it, at least my teachers thought so. And.. Bram Stoker was a theater manager too! I thought that was pretty cool, since I was a big fan…" She said, before realizing she was rambling and covering her mouth with a hand to stop herself from cutting off his next question.
"Wakako?" Yukiji spoke up, the other students taking a closer look. She looked exactly like her, so there was no doubt. The only thing different was that she was dressed in more casual clothes, a long button down jacket that ended in a skirt over her leggings.
"She seems...quirkier than I remembered. It's kinda refreshing, after all that happened a while back." Akira admitted, rubbing the back of her head. Yukiji quickly shushed Akira, who had been speaking over the interview.
"-being a fan of Bram Stoker." the man said.
"O-oh! Yes!" She said, closing her eyes and giving a small, sheepish smile. "He inspired me to become a lover of the arts! Well... posthumously, of course. I want to make my own grand opus to one day surpass his vision." she explained, catching her mouth once again. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I keep cutting you off! P-please, continue!" she said, slightly muffled by her hand. The man chuckled.
"There's no need. This interview is about you, after all." he said, Wakako's cheeks burning as she let out a skittish laugh.
"Ohohoho… thank you, sir. B-but you're probably busy with other interviews, I don't want to take up too much time." Wakako said, twisting a lock of hair tightly around her finger.
"She's so shy, it's kind of weird to see… Like a tiger playing poker." Setsuki said in a hushed tone. Yukiji looked away from the projector.
"S-she was a good person… and she probably still was when I was friends with her! What caused her to change when the Killing Game started!?" he said, fighting some of his tears. Akira patted Yukiji on the back, Yukiji leaning into her shoulder.
"We were all good people… Most of us would have been friends if we weren't forced to persecute each other." Akra said comfortingly.
"-chose to live in this school until things settled?" the Dean asked.
"Oh, w-well, I guess so… Honestly, I… I think I wouldn't mind more time to myself writing. Maybe I can entertain the other students in the school with all my play ideas!" she said with an excited grin.
"Well, I hope to see one soon. Hopefully, we'll accept an Ultimate Stage Actor who can bring your plays to life" the Dean said, Wakako's eyes lighting up.
"Oh! Oh! Is there an Ultimate Stage Actor here?" she asked, bouncing in her chair with excitement. The DVD stopped around there, Kenji rooting around for another DVD to put in. The students watched several interviews from each student; Akami's, Reiko's, Haru's, Hana's, Setsuki's, Bam's…
"Alright, #222…" Kenji said, pulling out another DVD and switching out Bam's disc. On the video was Kenji, looking the same as he ever did. The only difference was that his hair was much shorter and messier. Instead of the cleaner side part he had, he had a bad case of bedhead, with a tall strand sticking out from the top.
"Oh god, I had Akira's stupid hair attentena, I forgot to comb my hair that day!" Kenji said with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Excuse me?" Akira said with an annoyed glare, Kenji moving away from her and hiding behind Haru. "Yeah, that's what I thought!"
"June 22nd, Student #222 *%*%*%*%**%. That's a lucky number if you believe in it." the Dean said, Kenji laughing.
"Nah, I don't really think numbers are lucky, I don't think I've ever gotten lucky in my life." Kenji said on the video with an awkward chuckle. The Kenji in the roo just shook his head. "God, I was such a dork."
"Was?" Yukata joked, getting lightly punched in the shoulder by Kenji.
"Shut up." Kenji said, laughing before turning back to the interview. The interview went by with little issue, coming up on the last question.
"Well, if things got that bad, I'd probably stay and do everything I can to help. It's my duty as a kind person to help someone whenever I can!" the video's Kenji said, the Kenji in the room feeling a slight warmth in his chest.
"I guess some things never change…" Kenji said, reaching for the next case in the box. He put the disc in for #201. His face turned white at the sight of a blue-eyed girl in a smock with her blond hair tied into a bun with a few loose strands on one side, smiling a friendly smile to the Dean.
"June 21st, Student #201. # # # # #" the Dean read off.
"Emi…" Kenji said in a hushed gasp, reaching for his shirt pocket.
"You were a transfer student from Hope's Peak Academy, correct?" the Dean asked.
"Mhm. I was the Ultimate Carpenter. Trained by the best to make the most stuff. Pretty cool, huh? The family motto is 'You need it? We'll make it!'" Emi exclaimed, pulling out a small pocket drill and making it whirr.
"I don't recall letting students bring workshop equipment into the school, despite you just using it to punctuate your sentences." the Dean said.
"Y-you didn't see that." She stammered, hiding the drill behind her back.
"...Right. What do you believe you can bring to this university as the Ultimate Carpenter?" the Dean asked.
"Like I said, you need it? I make it! I fixed up some of the old, broken furniture back at Hope's Peak. It's why the Headmaster put in the recommendation, especially after I set up a video game shelf that retracted back into the wall when no one was looking." Emi said.
"Hm, how impressive…" the Dean said. Kenji gripped at the photograph in his pocket, shutting his eyes as he felt hot tears form in the corner of his eyes. He felt his hands shake and his breath become hitched. He then felt something rub up against his pant leg. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Kiko looking up at him.
Kenji slowly bent down to pet Kiko, trying to force a smile. "I-I'm fine, Kiko…" he choked out.
"Just let it out, Kenji. If you want, we can stop the DVD." Haru said, patting Kenji on the back.
"N-no… keep it playing. It's not going to get any easier if I run away from it." Kenji said, watching the rest of the interview.
"Ehehehe, well… I did it because I wanted to see what was in the teacher's lounge. Yeah, I could've asked, but where's the fun in that? Asking wouldn't let me unhinge a door." Emi said, laughing.
"I'm sure Headmaster Naegi must've been displeased to see that." the Dean said with a hearty chuckle.
"Heh! Yeah, he was pissed. Everyone was surprised because he's usually so mellow" Emi said.
"In case of a potential disaster, would you be alright if you chose to live in the school until things settled?" the Dean asked.
"Nah. I'd probably build you a bunker, actually!" Emi offered, the Dean waving a hand across the screen.
"That won't be necessary, but thank you." the Dean said, the disc coming to a stop. They kept watching DVDs, getting through Yukiji's before coming up on Akira's. Akira had shorter hair, but looked about the same.
"June 19h, Student #78 ## ######" the Dean began. "Now if I recall correctly, you're actually a transfer from a school for Juvenile Delinquents."
"Yeah, I was in Juvie for a few years after I smashed a car into a school. I was training to become a police officer." Akira said.
"Ah, attempting to correct the mistakes from when you were young?" the Dean asked.
"Exactly. I'm a cadet right now, but I'll get to do more than paperwork in a year or two!" Akira said excitedly.
"Well, you came to the right place. Students of Future's Crest often become leaders in their field before graduation. I believe that within a year, you'll be Commissioner." the Dean said half-jokingly. The interview went on as the others had, finally coming up on Akira's answer to the disaster question.
"Of course. In times of crisis, somebody needs to maintain order." Akira said, reaching for her cap to tip it only to notice it wasn't there.
"Heh… guess Miho was right about me being a dork… hindsight's 20/20." Akira said as the DVD stopped. After Shiro's DVD came a DVD of someone no one recognized.
"June 21st, Student #205 #$ #$*^&^% Thanks for showing up on time." the Dean said to the student in front of him. He had silver hair framing his face in tangles, and narrow green eyes, he was wearing a black sweatshirt and a white and red baseball cap. He also had bags under his eyes and a single earring from his left ear. Kenji rubbed his chin, feeling there was something familiar about the person being interviewed.
"No problem. I was worried I was gonna be late, but I guess things work out, don't they?" the young man said.
"And congratulations on winning our University Lucky Draw. We only have one every year, so the title of Ultimate Lucky Student is very prestigious." the Dean said, Kenji's eyes widening as he remembered something.
"Wait… I've seen him!" Kenji said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the photo of him and Emi. He pointed to Akira in the background, chasing after a someone with the same hat. "He's pretty far away, so I couldn't notice these details, but… I think this is that baseball hat guy we saw..." he said, Akira grabbing the photo and squinting her eyes.
"Hrm… that's weird, he wasn't in the school when the Killing Game started. How does he have a interview DVD like the rest of us?" Akira asked.
"He was referred to as the Ultimate Lucky Student, so it's likely that Kudo killed him and replaced him before the Killing Game began." Shiro said, getting glared at by his classmates. "Ah, of course. Because I said it, no one wants to consider the possibility." he said, pushing up his glasses.
"Of course not, because Airi's not a killer like you." Kenji spat out.
"I'll give him this contention, Kenji… I haven't seen me on a single one of these DVD's so far, and this kid.. Whoever he is. He isn't here, I don't know if I killed him, but… something had to have happened to him." Airi replied.
"I don't believe in luck, but if you guys think that being lucky is important? Guess it might be." The kid on the video spoke, his voice was a bit reedy and soft sounding, but his tone was easygoing and a bit pointed. Then came the disaster question.
"We'll have to see, won't we? I don't see a problem with it." He said with a smile. The DVD stopped and they had two left. There was Yukata's, which played out like the others, though Yukata's hair was somehow even spikier and a bright green.
Finally there was Rio's DVD, the remaining students looking grimly at the disc. It had been two weeks since they had found Rio's body lying in a pool of blood and water, head smashed in. But the memory was still vivid to them as when it all began. When Emi, in an effort to weed out Monokuma's controller, set the trap that killed Rio. When the seed of despair had been planted and soon others would follow in the cycle of murder and execution; Bam, Wakako, Miho, Akami and Reiko.
"M-maybe we shouldn't watch this one…" Setsuki said, face white as a sheet.
"I feel like we have to." Akira said, putting the DVD into the projector and starting it up.
'June 24, Student #415 %&%&%&%%%." the Dean read off for the last time.
"Why are the names all bleeped out?" Setsuki asked.
"Perhaps it's a matter of privacy. Masato probably wanted to make sure your information wasn't leaked, they did ask about our addresses and personal lives." Airi surmised. The one on the screen was indeed Rio, leather jacket, red scarf, and confident smile. Setsuki covered her eyes with her beanie, shaking slightly.
"Yeah, sapphires as big as your head. It was an incredible find and I even kept one of them as a little souvenir." Rio said, pulling a sapphire necklace out from under his scarf. "I like having keepsakes from my bigger adventures like this. Badges of honor, ya know?" he said with a smile. Kenji let out a heavy sigh.
"From all these interviews… Everyone seems like they're great to have as friends. I just… wish I knew why I forgot that entire year." he said, looking back at the photo. Akira put a hand on his shoulder.
"We all do, but we have to focus on getting out of here. When we get out, when this place is safe… maybe we'll come back here and find what we lost." Akira said with a smile, though she was glancing at Airi, who looked shocked.
"So… I really didn't enroll here. What am I doing here then? Did someone tell me to come here… Or did I force my way in?" she asked, about to place her index finger at the corner of her mouth, but her body stiffened up. Shiro caught this motion from the corner of his eye, adjusting his gloves before speaking.
"I'm not going to claim you as a murderer, given everyone's unwillingness to entertain the idea… But an infiltrator is technically your occupation. You could be complicit with Monokuma in order to monitor us." Shiro accused, Airi looking over at him with a frustrated look on her face.
"Why would I be wondering what happened to me out loud, then?" She asked him, but it seemed Shiro already calculated his response.
"To make it seem like we're on the same team of course. Interrogators will share a few minor secrets to make their targets ignore a much larger one. For example, the first class trial we attended, you never opened your door during the monitored hours. But there was the possibility that you never went in your room during the lockdown, and instead monitored things to see if someone would commit a murder that night." Shiro explained, adjusting his tie. "And lucky for you, Emi pulled it off, so you waited for the lockdown to end, and went back to bed." Shiro added, glancing at Kenji for a second, but ignoring him.
"That's oddly presumptuous of you." Airi said with a barbed tone, but Shiro just casually pointed his finger at her.
"And, for the last three murders, you always seem to be absentee, or barely involved. Like you know where the murders will happen, and intentionally avoid them." Shiro continued, but Airi just sighed. "If you aren't a liar, we need to see some proof, it's that simple."
"I lied about my title because I didn't know who any of you were. I can't just give out my identity like that. I've been trained to pretty much make up names, occupations, and my life story on the spot so I don't have anything they can trace me with. I've been honest with you ever since the second trial." Airi said, Shiro scoffing slightly at that.
"Curious though that you had known of the Ultimate Lucky Student title. How could you have known that title unless you met the person who had it?" Shiro continued to try and cross examine Airi's statements, as Kenji and Yukiji decided to avoid him by searching through some filing cabinets they found.
"It may sound flimsy, but I know I've heard that somewhere before. Not here, but… somewhere in my past. Someone else had the Ultimate Lucky Student title, they said the student is picked once a year, per school. It was a gamble to have that as my fake title, that's why I avoided using it on our first day here until I was sure none of you had it. Once I had everyone's talents, I switched to being the Ultimate Lucky Student. It requires the least amount of information to be one so I wouldn't look ill-fitting for it." Airi explained.
"Sounds like you had all of this figured out for a while, Kudo." Shiro said, pushing up his glasses.
"I was never around any of the murders because I'm cautious and tend to be by myself unless I need to speak to someone. I'm not here for Monokuma to play with as part of his stupid games. If there's a motive, I stay away from it to be safe." Airi said.
"Except for the Monokuma Theater." Shiro pointed out.
"Well, he said the building would explode. I didn't want that to be my fault, so I stayed." Airi countered, Shiro just giving a brief chuckle.
"But it did give you something you could against the rest of us later on." he said, Airi glaring at him.
"You mean like how you can't tie your shoes?" Kenji said suddenly.
"I wasn't speaking to you, Taisei, stay out of it." Shiro shot back, pointedly.
"Whatever, murderer." Kenji said, Shiro taking a deep breath, clenching his fist and turning back to Airi.
"Despite what some people think, I'm not always trying to get a rise out of you. I feel like I have the right to be suspicious of you, now that we know you weren't originally of this school, and that your presence in this killing game seems to be illogical." Shiro said.
"And yet everything I have done has proven to be to the benefit of the group while you have been known to withhold information, antagonize your classmates and even stoop low enough to kill someone who did nothing wrong to you. I may be suspicious, but at least I have people who choose to trust me out of good faith, something you will never have." Airi shot back, but their debate was interrupted by the sound of coughing.
"Yukiji, you okay!?" Haru said, running over to his companion as he began to cough louder, Kenji and Yukiji were inspecting the desk, when suddenly what appeared to be a fog began to spray from a nearby outlet.
"We were looking at this laptop, and now everything's getting woozy…" Yukiji said, his head bobbing as he spoke.
"...We're being gassed! Cover your mouths, we need to form a single file line to the exit!" Akira exclaimed, running to grab Yukiji and pull him off the floor. Akira tucked her mouth into her shirt collar and ran for the door to open it, only to find it locked. "It's locked! Haru, help me knock this thing down!" She yelled, Haru shrugging.
"Guess I'm the 'knock down the door' guy, now! Here it goes!" Haru said, charging the door with a shoulder, only to let out a cry of pain instead as he hit solid oak. "Gh! I think I just broke my shoulder!" He cried out, wincing in pain as Akira tried to break the doorknob by giving it a few hard kicks, before feeling her body grow weak and send her falling back onto her butt.
"D-damn it… Why is he gassing the room?" Akira asked as she felt herself getting tired. She looked around the room, seeing other students had passed out already while others coughed and wheezed. The room became thick with gas, clouding Akira's vision. Through the fog, Akira could see that Setsuki, Hana and Yukata were on the floor already. Kenji's shadow seemed to leap toward Shiro's, Kenji passing out before the two came to blows. Haru soon fell, nursing his shoulder the entire time. Akira soon felt her vision fade as Airi and Shiro were struggling to stay standing.
Everything in the room had turned to black and when Akira woke up, she would not be on the fourth floor. She would not be on any floor...