Day 23
I woke up this morning feeling uneasy. If the first and second islands were indicative of a trend, Monokuma would soon decide that we'd had long enough to explore the island, and would give us a motive before long. In fact, I suspected that the only reason he didn't give us back-to-back motives, with each one being issued after the preceding trial, was that he wanted to see whether we'd kill each other without any further incentives. So far, we'd proven him wrong, but that wasn't much of a victory.
The weather was cloudy all day, but didn't show any signs of rain until late at night, after we were back on the ship. I was glad for that, since the last thing we wanted was someone being soaked and ending up getting sick.
I entered the dining hall for breakfast relatively early, sat down and ate. As I did, people ended up trickling in to the dining hall, but Monokuma didn't make an appearance.
I wondered why Monokuma hadn't shown himself when everyone was around to hear him, but I realized we were missing someone- Kumakura-san. By the time I finished eating, it was apparent that he hadn't just overslept, and I feared the worst.
"This is unusual; we're one person short," Higurashi-san said. "Has anyone here seen Kumakura-kun this morning?"
Kirishima-san and Kurogane-san shook their heads, Karita-san shrugged, and Asakura just glared at him. Normally, Yamazaki-san would be the best person to ask, as Kumakura-san's roommate, but he'd been the first to be executed.
As for myself and the other three girls, none of us answered, since we weren't exactly close with Kumakura-san. Tatsuki-san, however, seemed a little odd; she didn't have much of an appetite, and she was sweating even though she'd left her blazer in her cabin and unbuttoned her collar.
"So I guess that's a no, then," Higurashi-san said. "Nagato-san, let's head to Cabin M1 and try to find him. Everyone else, please stay in the dining hall until we return; we should be back in a few minutes."
As the others finished breakfast or sat waiting uneasily, the two of us headed to the hallway with the boys' cabins.
We walked to the end of the hallway with the boys' cabins. Once we were outside Cabin M1, we heard a loud crash, as if someone had fallen down or knocked something over.
"Are you in there, Kumakura-kun?" Higurashi-san said. "It's me, Higurashi."
"Higurashi-kun?" Kumakura-san said.
"Yes, it's me," Higurashi-san said. "Are you all right?"
"No, I'm not," Kumakura-san said. "I... I can't see."
As we were wondering whether Kumakura-san was telling a joke, he opened the door and, pulling it inwards, stumbled out into the hall, putting a hand against the wall to steady himself.
"Oh no..." I said. "So you really have gone blind."
"You're here too, Nagato-san?" Kumakura-san said.
"Yes, I am," I said. "Q.E.D., I guess."
Suddenly, Monokuma appeared off to our side.
"So this is where you've been, Kumakura-san," Monokuma said. "It's a good thing Nagato-san and Higurashi-san thought to look for you when they did, or else you might've gotten in trouble for not leaving the Ursa Major in time."
"Yes, I'm glad for that," Kumakura-san said. "Thank you, both of you."
Both Higurashi-san and I said "You're welcome," but we were painfully aware that our problems were only just beginning. If Kumakura-san's blindness ended up lasting for a while, and people became aware of it, then we'd need to be less worried about getting him off the ship every morning(and onto it every evening), and more worried about people trying to kill him.
"Anyway, please bring Kumakura-san to the dining hall," Monokuma said. "There's a message I'd like to give you all."
Monokuma then headed to the dining hall. After he did, I noticed a few beads of sweat trickle down Kumakura-san's forehead, which was warm to the touch when I placed the palm of my hand against it.
"You're burning up," I said.
"Yeah..." Kumakura-san said. "I'm... not all that hungry, but I really need a drink of water. Let's get to the dining hall and find out what Monokuma wants to tell us."
Higurashi-san and I lent Kumakura-san our shoulders and helped usher him through the halls of the ship to where everyone else- as well as Monokuma- was waiting.
Higurashi-san and I helped Kumakura-san make his way to the dining hall, where I began spoonfeeding him a cold breakfast. Despite apologizing to me for inconveniencing me, he didn't seem to mind.
Before long, Monokuma showed up again.
"I'm glad you're all here," Monokuma said, "because it's time for the new motive- the Despair Diseases. As of right now, two students are sick, and that number will increase over the next several days, until a murder occurs, at which point you all go back to normal."
"Two?" I said. "Who else is sick?"
"Why, Taiga-san," Monokuma said. "Higurashi-san has the 'senses disease,' which means that every day, he loses access to one of his five senses- sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell- a different sense each day. Taiga-san, however, has the 'death disease.' If a murder doesn't happen by 7 AM three days from now, she'll die, and someone else's disease will mutate into the death disease."
Taiga-san paled, and I noticed her sweating, too. Akira-san's accidental killing of Mihama-san had saved Tatsuki-san from sacrificing herself, and taking responsibility for the murder had saved Tatsuki-san from dying with the other spotless, but it was only a temporary reprieve, since there was a good chance Tatsuki-san would be the next to die.
"Anyway, I'd like to announce a revision to the rules," Monokuma said. "Anyone who's sick can stay at the hospital while we're on the island, but the healthy students have to go back to the Ursa Major for the night."
"How are we to determine who is who?" Kirishima-san said. "The only commonality between Kumakura-kun and Tachibana-kun is that both seem to be feverish."
"You nailed it right on the head, Kirishima-san," Monokuma said. "Of course, just so we're clear, I'll announce the names of the sick people who get to stay in the hospital overnight. One thing that doesn't change, though, is that all of you have to get off the ship by 9 AM or else you'll get punished. Later!"
Monokuma departed.
"Well, this is an unfortunate development," Higurashi-san said, "but we know what we must do. We must ensure that Tachibana-san and Kumakura-kun get medical attention."
By now, it was clear that Monokuma was starting to push us to murder each other, but it wasn't entirely clear how he planned on doing so. Was he planning to warp our personalities until we willingly killed each other, or encourage us to go after our sick and vulnerable classmates? The only thing that I knew for certain was that there would probably be another murder today or tomorrow.
By the time breakfast and Monokuma's discussion of the motive had concluded, it was already past 8 AM. Higurashi-san and I made an executive decision to go straight to the island without stopping to see Mom, and no one appeared to object.
Once we were on the island, we set up Kumakura-san and Tatsuki-san in their rooms. Kumakura-san's was at the end of the hall, near a storage closet and back exit, while Tatsuki-san's was near the entrance of the patient wing. Higurashi-san and I split the patients according to gender; he got Kumakura-san, while I helped Tatsuki-san.
I helped Tatsuki-san undress and change into a pink hospital gown, before putting her to bed. I took as many precautions as possible, wearing a surgical mask and gloves while dealing with her, and making a mental note to dispose of them once I was done before washing my hands for good measure.
"It looks like you're all settled in," I said. "Is there anything else you need?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure how feasible it is," Tatsuki-san said. "There's no call button."
I quickly searched around the bed and anywhere within arm's reach of a patient, and found nothing.
"You're right," I said. "This could pose a problem if your condition worsens."
"W-Well, I'm all right for now," Tatsuki-san said, "just a bit feverish. When my time comes... I guess there's nothing anyone can do about it, is there?"
I almost shook my head, but noticed Tatsuki-san trembling.
"We'll do what we can to ensure that doesn't happen," I said, "short of killing someone, of course."
"Thank you, Nagato-san," Tatsuki-san said. "The last thing I want is for someone else to die because of me."
While I appreciated the sentiment, I knew that it wasn't exactly practical given the nature of the killing game. All of us were alive because we'd sacrificed the three blackened, as well as because of Mihama-san's accidental death. There was only one question- would Tatsuki-san succumb to her disease as a result of no one committing murder, or would someone's death enable her to survive?
Inside the lab, I met up with Kirishima-san, who was wearing a surgical mask. He'd briefly stopped by Tatsuki-san and Kumakura-san's rooms to ask them some questions, jotting the answers down in his notebook, before heading to the lab to review what he'd learned.
"Hello, Kirishima-san," I said. "How are you faring investigating the diseases?"
"Not well, I am afraid," Kirishima-san said. "I am trying to determine whether Kumakura-kun or Tachibana-kun was our 'patient zero,' but I cannot tell how they contracted the disease, or which one infected the other. Apart from when we met up in the morning, and again in the evening, the two never saw each other yesterday."
"So it's possible that one contracted the disease from the other in the meetup," I said, "in which case all of us are probably infected."
"That is a possibility," Kirishima-san said, "but we still do not know how the disease is spread, so it would be premature to conclude that it is airborne. Nevertheless, we should minimize our contact with the infected, and take appropriate precautions to reduce the chance of anyone else falling ill."
"I agree," I said, "but what do you have in mind for a permanent solution?"
Kirishima-san frowned.
"Nothing at the moment," Kirishima-san said, "since a new and unprecedented disease cannot easily be studied. We may not have answers for, at minimum, several days. It will certainly be too late for Tachibana-kun, and possibly too late for whoever is infected after her."
"You're rather detached about that," I said. "Hasn't it occurred to you that you might succumb to the disease before you find any answers?"
"Perhaps," Kirishima-san said, "but such is life when it comes to science that relates to saving people's lives. For example, as science searches for a cure for deadly disease, many will succumb to those diseases while hoping for a breakthrough that has not been attained yet. The same can be said of the killing game, and how six of us have died while we tried in vain to find a way to escape."
I had to agree. While I'd never thought of the increasing death toll as a time limit of sorts, I had been frustrated by our inability to stop the killings from happening. Perhaps Kirishima-san felt the same frustration, and strove to do something about it, too, even if he didn't hold out much hope of succeeding.
While Kirishima-san continued to work in the lab, and Tatsuki-san and Kumakura-san rested in their hospital rooms, the rest of us met up outside the hospital, and reported on the situation. Once we were finished, Higurashi-san and I decided to share what we'd talked about while waiting for the others to arrive.
"I'll admit that there is much we don't know about the Despair Diseases," Higurashi-san said, "particularly how the disease spreads and who else may be infected by now. However, I would like to establish a few rules regarding the patients. As of right now, myself, Nagato-san and Kirishima-kun will monitor the patients and keep you updated on their status. As for the rest of you, I will ask you not to go see them while they are resting in the hospital, so as to reduce the risk of anyone else being infected."
Since neither Kumakura-san nor Tatsuki-san had any particularly close friends among the survivors, no one seemed to object. Karita-san, however, raised his hand.
"Or to reduce the risk of someone killing them, right?" Karita-san said.
"You're quite right, Karita-kun," Higurashi-san said. "Of course, that should go without saying, while the risk of infection is something that we need to be mindful of."
"So Tachibana's going to die three days from now," Asakura said, "and if no one else gets infected, Kumakura will get the death disease and die three days after that. What happens next?"
While it was obvious that Asakura was hoping that he'd be able to leave the island without any risk of dying, both Higurashi-san and I were at a loss for words for a moment. It was almost impossible to determine what would happen tomorrow in the killing game- yesterday, we hadn't anticipated anything like this happening- so doing the same for three days from now would require powers of clairvoyance.
"It's hard to say," I said, "since it is likely that at least one more person may be infected by then. Apart from what Monokuma told us, I don't know."
"Hmph, of course you don't," Asakura said. "I wish those two would hurry up and die before they get the rest of us sick."
"Calm down, Asakura-kun," Higurashi-san said. "While this is yet another difficult time for all of us, I promise you- I'm doing what I can to ensure that as many of us get through it as possible.
The others shot Asakura dirty looks, but I was fully aware that most of us, at least subconsciously, would be willing to accept someone dying as long as it was in the place of ourselves, or someone we cared about. Asakura was simply more blunt about it than most people... of course, he didn't have anyone he cared about besides himself.
As for me, while I had to admit that I wouldn't be terribly bothered if Asakura died, I had no desire for that to happen. All I wanted was for us to get through the killing game together, and then never see or hear from him again.
With nothing better to do, I stopped by the bookstore, and decided to investigate the books there to see if I could find any clues. While some of the books had been published after we'd gotten to Talent High School, there wasn't any information on the state of the world. The magazines section had a fairly good selection, from a restaurant magazine with an article on the Hanamura Diner, to an issue of a travel magazine with a special on Novoselic, but there weren't any current events.
On the spur of a moment, I hung my blazer in the employee area, grabbed a spare apron and pretended to be an employee. I'd done something similar when I was a small child in preschool, but none of the other children seemed interested in my store. Back then, I didn't understand why, and simply assumed I was doing my job incorrectly.
I imagined myself doing this sort of job for a living. In my mind, I'd probably start out after high school, while some of my schoolmates- from St. Mary's or Talent High School- were going on to college. By the time they got their undergraduate degrees, I'd probably be experienced enough to help show the new hires the ropes. If all went well, I'd probably meet a good man, get married by my mid-to-late twenties, have children a few years later and quit my job to raise them. Mom had always planned on continuing as a teacher after I was born, but if I were just a clerk, I wouldn't care enough about my job to want to continue, unless money was tight.
I couldn't help but chuckle upon thinking about that. As an person without any exceptional, let alone Ultimate-level, talents, I'd always assumed that I'd take work for whatever company would have me, at whatever position I could get, and never thought of it as "settling" for anything. I wasn't alone in this case, as many of my classmates knew they couldn't necessarily practice their talents for a living, even in the best of times. Of course, not all of them could necessarily give up on their dreams, either, so I thought it was too soon to conclude that I'd never be a teacher.
For now, I hung up my apron and put on my blazer once again. Perhaps working in a store like this would be preferable to being trapped in this killing school trip, but it wasn't the future I envisioned for myself. We couldn't always get what we wanted, but perhaps even I could pursue my dreams.
At 8 PM, we heard an announcement from Monokuma calling all students besides Kumakura-san and Tatsuki-san- or Taiga-san, as the announcement called her- back to the ship. The eight healthy students met up where the ship was docked.
"Are Kotaro-kun and Tatsuki-chan really going to be all right?" Sayuri-san said.
"Their conditions appear to be stable," Kirishima-san said, "so I doubt they will perish in their sleep. As for them murdering each other, I doubt that either will try anything when they know that there are only the two of them on the island."
Kirishima-san was as logical as always, but I could understand Sayuri-san's worries.
"At this point, it's out of our hands," I said. "Let's just get some rest."
The healthy students then boarded the Ursa Major, but I sensed a feeling of collective unease. Only two of us were sick right now, but the Despair Diseases, like the other motives, were everyone's problem. If we tried to pretend otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before we'd receive a harsh wake-up call reminding us of that truth.
Higurashi-san and I went to visit Mom, telling her about everything that happened today
"I'm sorry we didn't see you earlier, Mom," I said, "but this morning was rather hectic."
"I understand, Chiyuri," Mom said. "Two classmates falling ill is enough of a problem for a normal school trip, let alone one like this. It sounds as though you made the right call."
While Mom was an experienced chaperone for school trips, she couldn't do everything herself- nor did she have to. If a student got sick enough that they couldn't just sleep it off, she could call the nearest hospital, which would have actual doctors and nurses on duty, who had experience beyond caring for a sick child. As such, I imagined that she'd probably have her hands full even if Monokuma let her out of her cell.
"I'm glad you think so, Nagato-sensei," Higurashi-san said, "but what should we do from here on out?"
"Monitor the condition of Tatsuki-san and Kumakura-san, as well as anyone else who might fall ill, as best as you can," Mom said. "There may not be anything you can do for Tatsuki-san, but there is a possibility that one of the ill students may end up committing murder... or being killed by an opportunistic classmate."
While Mom's advice was fairly good, she'd just managed the improbable feat of making this already bleak situation seem even more dismal.
"So in other words, one of a few things happens," I said. "Either the Despair Diseases end up causing a murder for some reason... or Tatsuki-san will die three days from now."
"Unfortunately, that seems to sum up the situation," Mom said. "I'm sorry I can't offer you a better solution or a more hopeful outlook."
"That makes two of us, ma'am," Higurashi-san said. "That said, I believe that even if Monokuma has made it so that someone will have to die, this does not mean that we have to kill each other. In the end, we are still responsible for our own actions, and can decide whether to act in our own self-interest or for the good of others."
I concurred with Higurashi-san, ending the discussion on as positive a note as we could hope for. Perhaps one day, people would judge us for the decisions we'd made here. I couldn't say for certain what they'd think or whether they'd punish us for what we'd done, but I hoped that if that day ever came, we could honestly say to them, "We did our best."
Higurashi-san and then boarded the elevator together. Once the doors had shut, Higurashi-san turned to me.
"There's something I'd like to ask you, Nagato-san," Higurashi-san said. "Do you think that having someone sacrifice a classmate, like we'd considered doing on the previous island, would be a solution to our problems?"
"No," I said. "To begin with, unlike last time, we don't face the collective danger of starvation- merely that of random people becoming ill and dying, so not everyone would support it, much less volunteer to be the murderer."
While Higurashi-san nodded to concur, I realized that my rebuttal against asking a classmate to murder another, then get executed, wasn't half as forceful as I thought it would be. Maybe I was getting desensitized to all the death.
"I thought so," Higurashi-san said. "Personally, I feel the same way. Even those who are callous enough to ask others to sacrifice themselves for the group don't feel threatened by the motive. Besides, Tatsuki-san, who's the most willing to die, not only is the only one who's terminally ill at this point, but hasn't yet proposed anything like that."
"I know," I said. "If Tatsuki-san makes it through this killing game, I hope that she can eventually forgive herself. I'd rather see her live for the sake of those who died because of her, than throw her life away as a gesture of atonement."
Higurashi-san nodded. He'd also voted for Tatsuki-san when the time had come to select the blackened in the second trial, but that didn't mean he wanted her to die(or Taiga-san, of course).
"That aside," I said, "I notice you actually asked about the possibility of sacrificing someone, even if you weren't willing to go through with it."
"It's important to consider all of one's options," Higurashi-san said, "even the ones that are unpleasant enough that you wouldn't willingly choose them. We didn't want to execute our blackened, but we did so anyway three times now- including one person who'd killed by accident and another who hadn't killed at all. This isn't a civilized solution, but the killing game isn't a very civilized problem, either."
"No, it isn't," I said. "Just promise me one thing- please never forget that our ultimate goal is to keep as many of us alive as possible."
"I promise," Higurashi-san said. "It's too late to claim that we've succeeded, but it's too soon to give up."
As Higurashi-san and I said good night to each other, I wondered what Akira-san would say if she were here. Would she have found our exchange overly naïve, or would she have agreed that the situation was desperate enough to consider extreme measures? In the end, she wasn't here anymore, so we couldn't answer that question; all we could do was find our own solutions.
By the time I returned to my cabin, it was bedtime, so after making the necessary preparations- taking a shower, changing into my nightgown and saying my prayers- I got into bed, but wasn't able to sleep well at all.
I thought about Monokuma's career theme, and, remembering that he had tried to tell us that our cherished talents were useless in the new world, knew he was trying to show us that. A disease was spreading, and none of us had the training necessary to cure it. Kirishima-san was a brilliant scientist, but not only was his specialization in a different field, but he had made little progress at this point. This was to be expected, but he had far too little time to understand the disease, much less cure it.
The idea that someone was going to die on the island, whether of illness or by a classmate's hand, was terrifying, but undeniable. Because of this, Higurashi-san realized we had to consider sacrificing someone... but at the same time, that prospect disgusted him too much to actually go through with it. I, of course, felt the same way, as did anyone who was human enough to still be horrified by the cruelty of the killing game.
Faced with a situation like this, in which we were going to die one by one, it only seemed natural to prioritize one's own life, even if it wasn't right. As such, Higurashi-san's refraining from killing someone to graduate was a testament to how principled and selfless he was, but I knew all too well that not all of our classmates were so noble. Someone was going to crack sooner or later, and the only question was who.
Monokuma Theater
Happy Valentine's Day!
Oh, wait, it's a bit late for that, I guess.
Think of it as an April Fool's Day joke instead.
What's that? It's too early?
Oh well, it's pretty hard to get the timing down for these special holiday events, anyway.
Day 24
I woke up feeling drowsy and hungry for breakfast but otherwise healthy, proof that I'd dodged the Despair Disease bullet for the moment. Of course, I knew any celebration would be premature, since it was possible that my disease was incubating inside my body.
The weather showed rain lasting until the end of breakfast, but sunny weather for the rest of the day.
For now, I decided to head out and hope that no one else had contracted the disease thus far... or failing that, find out who had.
On my way to breakfast, I saw Sayuri-san in the hallway.
"Good morning, Sayuri-san," I said.
"Good morning, Himeno-chan," Sayuri-san said.
I was taken aback for a moment.
"Are you sure you're feeling all right, Sayuri-san?" I said. "It's me, Chiyuri."
Sayuri-san giggled softly. I thought it was because it was one of the few times I introduced myself with my given name to anyone besides my mother- when meeting some schoolmates for the first time, I only gave my family name- but I realized something was wrong.
"Good one, Himeno-chan," Sayuri-san said. "Oh, wait, you don't use '-san' on me anymore, do you?"
I placed my hand on her forehead, feeling a few beads of sweat. Her skin was warmer than that of the average living teenager girl, so she clearly had a fever.
"Looks like you're infected, too," I said. "Let's get to breakfast."
Sayuri-san nodded, then followed me to the dining hall.
I walked Sayuri-san to the dining hall and told everyone that she was sick.
"Looks like we've got our second infected person of the day, counting myself," Karita-san said.
"That's right, Nobuhiro-kun," Sayuri-san said. "Are you saying you're sick, too?"
"I'm Karita," Karita-san said, "but yes, I'm infected too. I couldn't lie about it if I wanted to- that's the point."
Suddenly, Monokuma arrived.
"Looks like you've got two new patients!" Monokuma said. "Sasaki-san has the 'recognition disease,' which means she mistakes one person for another- who that person looks like changes every few hours. Karita-san has the 'honesty disease,' meaning he has to tell the truth- or at least what he believes to be true. See you whenever there's a murder or new infected!"
Monokuma left as quickly as he'd arrived. After he did, Asakura let off an unsettling chuckle.
"Karita 'has to' tell the truth, huh?" Asakura said. "Let's put that to the test, shall we?"
"I strongly doubt there's anything good in it for me," Karita-san said, "but it might be fun, so I'll play along."
"All right," Asakura said. "First, repeat after me: Two plus two equals five."
"Two plus two equals... fi...four," Karita-san said.
Karita-san tried to stammer out "Five" a few times. Smirking, Asakura moved on to his next experiment.
"Now for another one," Asakura said. "I, Satoshi Karita, am not a bad person."
"I, Satoshi Karita, am not a bad person," Karita-san said clearly, punctuating his statement with a satisfied smile.
Asakura bit his lip, barely able to contain his irritation.
"Are you disappointed, Asakura-kun?" Karita-san said. "Did you honestly think I'd say I was a bad person?"
"Yeah," Asakura said, "but are you seriously saying you aren't?"
Karita-san nodded. Monokuma wasn't clear if the disease's requirement for the patient to tell the truth applied to non-verbal gestures, but that hardly mattered in this case. At least in Karita-san's mind, this was true.
"Truth can often be a matter of perspective," Karita-san said. "Because I honestly believe I'm not a bad person, I'm able to say that, even when compelled to tell the truth. You should've asked me to say I was a good person, because that would've been a lie."
"So you're not a good person, but you're not a bad person, either," Asakura said.
"Exactly," Karita-san said. "Everyone here is only human- we just want to survive, but we're willing to sacrifice our classmates to do so. Even if we do manage to avoid killing each other for the next few days, this temporary peace will come at the cost of Tatsuki-san's life."
"So what, then?" Higurashi-san said. "Are you perhaps willing to sacrifice yourself for her?"
"Not at all," Karita-san said. "I'm not nearly self-sacrificing enough to die for the group when someone else is willing to volunteer. On the last island, Tatsuki-san was willing to volunteer to lay down her life, so she may do so this time. Besides, if you were so keen on having someone take one for the team, you'd do it yourself, right?"
An uncomfortable silence ensued for a moment, as we pondered the question- why were Tatsuki-san and Himemiya-san the only ones who'd been willing to die on the last island? True, some of us weren't happy with the idea of having to sacrifice two classmates to leave, but others were fine with the sacrifice as long as they weren't the ones giving their lives.
After a moment, Higurashi-san nodded somberly. The only reason he'd directly asked Karita-san such a question must have been because he knew Karita-san would be compelled to give an honest answer; normally, most people would give an answer that was at least half false. Luckily for us, Higurashi-san could be honest without any external factors forcing him to tell the truth.
"I would," Higurashi-san said. "At this point, however, I think it is too soon to resort to such an extreme measure, especially when the alternative is one person dying of an illness, rather than the entire class starving to death. We must consider the possibility that this Despair Disease crisis may end in a murder, but we must not be too quick to accept that as the inevitable outcome."
"Well, good luck with that," Karita-san said, without a hint of sarcasm or irony. "After all, if no one kills each other, I'm a lot safer."
Most of us seemed to agree with Higurashi-san's statement. Even after all the deaths and killing, the prospect of someone committing another murder was as horrific and terrifying as it had always been. Maybe we weren't any better at preventing the murders than before, but we were still human, and that was one thing for which we could be thankful.
Since Mom had approved our plans with regard to the infected, we decided not to waste time stopping by her cell. Instead, we headed straight to the hospital, with Sayuri-san and Karita-san.
After arriving at the hospital, we briefly checked up on Tatsuki-san and Kumakura-san, both of whom were still alive, if not completely well. While we were relieved that a murder hadn't occurred overnight, we decided to wait to speak with them until we'd gotten our
Once Sayuri-san was settled into her hospital room, which was between Tatsuki-san's and Kumakura-san's, I spoke with her about her disease.
"Just wondering," I said, "but who do I appear to you as right now?"
"Tatsuki-chan," Sayuri-san said. "It seems to change fairly quickly."
I checked my watch and saw that it was a little after 9 AM. Since I'd first crossed paths with Sayuri-san a little less than two hours ago, it was hard to tell how frequently her perception of others changed.
"I see," I said. "And what am I wearing?"
"Her blazer style uniform," Sayuri said. "Unlike yours, it's blue, and has a neck ribbon rather than a necktie."
"That's certainly strange," I said. "The last time I checked, Tatsuki-san was wearing her hospital clothes."
"She would be," Sayuri-san said, "but I've gotten so used to seeing her that my brain just fills in the gaps on its own, just like how I saw you wearing an archery outfit when I thought you were Himeno-chan."
It wasn't hard to see where Sayuri-san was coming from I'd been so used to seeing Himemiya-san dressed in archery training clothes that I barely remembered that she wore a button-down shirt and overalls on the last island. Of course, considering that Himemiya-san probably only wore her archery training clothes, there were many outfits I'd never seen her in- her actual school uniform, her casual clothes, her formal or traditional attire(probably a fancy kimono), her gym clothes, her school swimsuit, and who knows how many other outfits.
"True," I said, "but even though I look like Tatsuki-chan right now, do I sound like her, too?"
"Yes, you do," Sayuri-san said, "just like you sounded like Himeno-chan this morning. Again, my brain fills in the gaps."
"Thank you for this information," I said. "Be careful what you say around people who might look like certain people you trust, lest they turn out to be individuals who'd eagerly take advantage of that trust."
"Got it," Sayuri-san said. "That being said, I was fairly sure that some of the people did look like who they said they were. I could clearly recognize Monokuma, after all."
I nodded.
"Now that I think about it, I'm curious about one other thing," I said. "Is it possible that you're seeing Taiga-san rather than Tatsuki-san, meaning that you can hallucinate seeing the dead students?"
"Maybe I am," Sayuri-san said, "and that might be nice. After all, I'd love to see Kanae-chan, Miharu-chan or Akira-chan one more time, even if it isn't real."
As Sayuri-san blinked back a tear, I nodded and did the same. We'd lost too many members of our class already, including some we'd come to consider close friends and trusted allies. The killing game was nothing more than a sick waste of human life, and I couldn't fathom what lesson Monokuma intended for us to bring away from it.
After finishing with Sayuri-san, I stopped by Kumakura-san's hospital room. When I knocked on the door and received no reply, I let myself in, since none of the hospital rooms had locks.
Kumaura-san was looking out the window when I approached, and didn't seem to notice me come in. He turned around by chance, and was surprised to see me there.
"Good morning, Kumakura-san," I said. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm sorry, Nagato-san," Kumakura-san said, his voice unusually loud. "I can't hear you."
Since neither of us knew sign language and Kumakura-san couldn't read lips, I took out my notebook and wrote to him.
So today, you can see, but can't hear? I wrote.
Kumakura-san nodded.
That's certainly strange, I wrote
Kumakura-san nodded more firmly.
For now, I guess we'll have to make do with what we have. I'll give you a pen and a few pieces of notebook paper. If you need something, write on them.
I ripped out a few pieces of paper from my notebook and gave them to Kumakura-san, along with my pen. He then took the pen and wrote Thank you on the top sheet of paper.
Do you want some breakfast? I wrote
Yes, please. You can bring it here and I'll eat it myself; I can see today.
I went to the kitchen and retrieved a breakfast meal for him, and dropped it off beside his table. He smiled to thank me before removing the plastic wrap and starting to eat, so I moved on to the other patients.
I then stopped by Tatsuki-san's hospital room to drop off her breakfast. She accepted it gratefully and started to eat.
"How are you feeling today, Tatsuki-san?" I said.
"Feverish, but otherwise fine," Tatsuki-san said, "which doesn't make sense. If the disease is supposed to kill me the day after tomorrow, shouldn't it be a lot worse today than it was yesterday?"
"I guess," I said, "although how long patients have left isn't always set in stone. Some patients can survive past their doctors' expectations if they're healthy and keep fighting for their lives."
Of course, the opposite was also possible, but Tatsuki-san didn't need to hear that right now.
"Fair enough," Tatsuki-san said. "I'll let you know if there's any other changes in my condition."
As I left, I considered the possibility that Monokuma was bluffing about the "death disease," but realized he had no reason to lie. If he hoped that one of us would commit murder to save Tatsuki-san's life, he'd be sorely disappointed, since the one person who was willing to give her life to save Tatsuki-san had already done so. The only part that sounded like a bluff was the possibility of someone else becoming terminally ill, but I hoped we'd never have to find out whether that part was true.
After quickly checking on Karita-san, I headed to the chemical lab, and spoke with Kirishima-san about everyone's diseases. He'd already heard the particulars, but thanked me for the update. He'd asked Sayuri-san and Karita-san about their movements yesterday, and the two of them had confirmed that they hadn't been to the hospital all day. Since Sayuri-san was quite honest, and Karita-san literally couldn't lie, that only made the question of how they got infected all the more puzzling.
"Once again, I struggle to comprehend how these diseases work," Kumakura-san said. "Since the patients' behavior is unlikely to be induced by any normal communicable disease, I would assume that this is some elaborate prank."
I found the suggestion so outlandish that I didn't believe it for a moment- and perhaps Kumakura-san didn't either, considering he said he "would assume" that. The four patients hardly seemed to be in any position to collaborate, but Kirishima-san clearly wanted evidence to refute his theory, so I'd give it to him.
"I don't think so," I said. "Kumakura-san didn't hear me approach at all. If he was pretending to be deaf, he'd probably reflexively turn after hearing something. Besides, what would people gain by faking something like this?"
"I do not know," Kirishima-san said. "Perhaps if a murder occurs, they could pretend to have been physically incapable of the crime in order to elude suspicion."
"I suppose that's possible in theory," I said, "but Kumakura-san is the only one so far whose disease would hinder him from killing someone, and his appears to be genuine.'
Kirishima-san sighed in exasperation, unusually disappointed about losing an argument.
"You may be right, Nagato-kun," Kirishima-san said, "but I would hope that you were not. If the Despair Diseases do not act like any conventional sickness, then our knowledge of medicine is useless. I may not be a doctor, but as a scientist, this sort of problem, which cannot be solved by rational thought and study, is nothing less than maddening."
Kirishima-san soon asked me to leave him alone and let him get back to work, perhaps showing that as frustrated as he was, he hadn't given up just yet, which was reassuring. There were still two days until Tatsuki-san's death, which wouldn't be enough to save her, but we wouldn't waste that time.
After making sure the patients got lunch and checking up on them, I headed to the bookstore for the afternoon, swapped my blazer for an apron, and started to "work." After a while, Himemiya-san showed up.
"Excuse me," Himemiya-san said. "Are you looking for part-time help?"
"I am," I said. "I'm Nagato, and I'm the manager of this store."
"That'll do," Himemiya-san said. "I'm Himemiya, and I'm looking for a job."
"Nice to meet you, Himemiya-san," I said as we bowed to each other. "Let's have a seat."
I walked Himemiya-san over to a reading area, and had her sit down in a chair across from me.
"Just to break character for a moment, I'm sorry if I'm underdressed," Himemiya-san said. "I would wear a suit if I had one."
I didn't know where traditional archery clothing fell on the spectrum between "casual" and "dressy," but the look seemed to fit Himemiya-san.
"It's fine," I said. "You're remarkably polite."
"Thank you," Himemiya-san said. "My family was strict about manners, believing that it was a matter of self-respect."
I nodded. I didn't know much about job interviews, or anything about a job at a bookstore that I couldn't get from watching the employees at the store, so I more or less had to wing it.
"Anyway," I said, "what can you offer this company?"
"To put it simply, a strong work ethic with a passion for excellent customer service," Himemiya-san said.
As an amateur, it sounded like a concise, reasonably honest answer that offered what the interviewer was looking for. If nothing else, what she'd said spoke for itself and required no further explanation or follow-up questions.
"That... sounds good enough," I said. "What sort of hours and days will you be available?"
"I am available all days of the week," Himemiya-san said. "As for hours, I am available between 9 AM and 8 PM every day."
I nodded approvingly. I wouldn't inflict a 77-hour work week on Himemiya-san, but most employers would appreciate her flexibility, even if the killing school trip had cleared up our schedules.
"Good," I said. "Will your school allow you to work part-time?"
"Unfortunately, no," Himemiya-san said. "They do allow students to work part-time if there's extenuating circumstances, such as financial need... which clearly don't apply to the daughter of one of Japan's wealthiest families. Of course, since I'm taking an unplanned hiatus from school, it's a moot point."
Technically speaking, Talent High School allowed talent-related absences with a minimum of fuss and paperwork, which was part of the reason behind its appeal for talented students. Of course, it was also a case of the chicken and the egg; for example, Akira-san would definitely appreciate the ability to take time off from school for acting, but in order to even get into the school, she had to prove herself as an actress.
"That'll work," I said. "I guess you're hired, but since we aren't paying you anyway, it won't be a problem."
"Thank you very much," Himemiya-san said. "I'll do my best Nagato-san... or Nagato-senpai?"
"Call me what you like," I said. "I've only been working here a day longer than you so I'm not much of a senpai."
I gave Himemiya-san an apron and a name tag, then pretended to man the cashier with her. No one seemed to show up while we were there, since with five of us in the hospital and two behind the counter, there were only three students who could stop by, one of whom I had no desire to see.
"So, how's it so far?" I said.
"It's manageable," Himemiya-san said. "There are careers I'd rather pursue, but I could live with this as a post-archery career. Kanae would be fairly good at this job, albeit not Ultimate level. If all sixteen of us applied for the same cashier job, Kanae would be most likely to get it. Of course, if she was still here, she probably wouldn't pursue the job, since she's busy with being a maid, so you'd be the next best choice."
"You really think so?" I said.
Himemiya-san nodded.
"I do," Himemiya-san said. "People get measured with various yardsticks depending on the situation; some jobs are meant for intelligent people, while others are geared toward strong ones who only need to be smart enough to follow instructions. You might not be the greatest student, but you'd probably be one of the best suited for being a servant apart from Kanae, who was in a class of her own."
I smiled. My skills still weren't suited for great things, but at the very least, it was heartwarming to hear that someone valued them.
A few hours later, I changed out of my apron.
"I've got to be going now, Himemiya-san," I said. "I've got to get dinner to the patients.
"Thank you for your hard work, Nagato-san," Himemiya-san said. "It was nice to spend time with you today considering I can't... never mind. Please say hello to Sayuri for me."
I said "I will," then set out for the hospital.
Eventually, the time to return to the ship came once again, and tonight, the announcement included Karita-san and Sayuri-san among those who were allowed to stay. After confirming everyone was there, Higurashi-san decided to head on in first, since he wanted to go to bed early.
As we proceeded to the ship, I saw Himemiya-san stop short at the foot of the gangplank leading to the ship. Since it was only a few minutes after 8 PM, I wasn't necessarily worried about her missing the deadline
"Is something troubling you, Himemiya-san?" I said.
"There is," Himemiya-san said. "Now that there's four people in the hospital, if a murder happens during the night, we won't be able to assume that the other person is the only possible suspect."
"That's true," I said, "but three suspects isn't a much larger pool. Besides, the two spotless patients will be able to help us identify the blackened."
Himemiya-san frowned skeptically.
"That's assuming that the witnesses are reliable," Himemiya-san said. "Kumakura-san will be unable to hear any murders that take place, and if Sayuri gets attacked or witnesses a murder, she won't be able to reliably identify the culprit."
Himemiya-san then let off a sigh.
"That being said, there's nothing I can do about it since I'm not infected," Himemiya-san said. "I can only wait on the ship and hope for the best... and if the worst happens, hope that Sayuri isn't the victim or the perpetrator."
"You're worried about Sayuri-san, aren't you?" I said.
"I am," Himemiya-san said. "She's one of the kindest members of this class, and has been through more than she deserves, losing Kanae, Mihama-san and Akira. After everything that's happened, it would be nothing less than tragic for her to be murdered by a classmate in the middle of the night."
I doubted that any of the others in the hospital were likely killers. Tatsuki-san had killed Kojima-san, but it was only to protect her sister, and she seemed to be more willing to die herself than take another life. Kumakura-san didn't strike me as the kind to commit murder, either, not to mention that his condition probably held him back. As for Karita-san, I wanted to believe that even he had enough scruples not to kill someone. That only left Sayuri-san herself, and I wasn't willing to believe she had it in her to kill any more than Himemiya-san was.
"I feel the same way, too," I said. "After all, Sayuri-san is my friend, too."
"That's reassuring to hear, Nagato-san," Himemiya-san said, "or, rather, Chiyuri, if that's fine with you."
I smiled warmly. I'd always been a bit hesitant to ask for permission to use first names, afraid of being rebuffed, but if someone as reserved as Himemiya-san- or rather, Himeno-san- was offering her friendship, I had no reason not to take it.
"It certainly is, Himeno-san," I said. "Let's head back."
Himeno-san walked up the ramp with me, and after a glance in the direction of the hospital, she headed back into the ship.
Once back on the ship, I went down to see Mom by myself.
"Hello, Chiyuri," Mom said. "I see Higurashi-san's not with you."
"He wanted to go to bed early tonight," I said, "and thought I could handle meeting with you by myself. There isn't much to report, apart from the fact that Sayuri-san and Karita-san are now sick, and are being handled the same way as Tatsuki-san and Kumakura-san."
"That's fine," Mom said. "The last thing I want is for one of you to get sick from staying up too late... well, a normal sickness, anyway."
I wondered if our immune systems played a role in protecting us from the illness, but I doubted it. As Kirishima-san had noted, the Despair Diseases didn't seem to play by the normal rules.
"That's good," I said, "but I'm not sure many of us will be getting much sleep tonight, not when a murder might occur at the hospital."
"I know how you feel," Mom said, "but let me ask you this. If you were there, what would you do to stop the murder?"
Mom raised a good question. In each of the previous murders, all of us were in the same general area, even though in the third case, the building was large enough that we had to split into groups. Despite all our precautions, people had ended up dying in each case.
"I... don't know," I said. "I guess having possible witnesses around might deter would-be killers, but beyond that, I'm not sure."
"Neither am I," Mom said. "As naïve as it may sound, all you can do at this point is have faith that your sick classmates will do the right thing."
Coming from Mom, that meant a lot. Teachers were responsible for imparting their knowledge onto their students, but in the end, it was up to the students to learn the material. Not all students saw much value in the knowledge they would receive, so all Mom could do was hope that they were willing to be responsible for their own education.
"Yes, that's all we can do at this point," I said. "In the end, the killers who chose to seek graduation were responsible for their own actions, so the only way for us to prevent another murder is for all of us to understand that nothing good comes of killing a classmate."
Even as I said that, I knew that while this would help significantly, it was obviously easier said than done. If the adults in charge of society had not completely solved the problem of people murdering each other- a problem that had probably only gotten worse if the newspaper was true- then we, as children, had little hope of doing so.
I returned to my room. Surprisingly enough, after I'd taken a shower and changed into my nightgown, I barely said my prayers and climbed into bed before I fell asleep.
Still, something occurred to me. In a somewhat unprecedented twist of fate, three days had passed since landfall without a murder occurring. I didn't know whether it was due to our actions or Monokuma's motive, but it was a landmark worth celebrating, since little else around here was. I didn't have much hope of it lasting, but all I could do was make the most of the time we'd been given.
Monokuma Theater
I have a feeling I'm supposed to write something here but...
What do you know? It looks like I've forgotten.
See you next time!
Day 25
I don't remember most of what happened on the twenty-fifth day of our cruise, as well as our fourth on the fourth island, but I will never forget what I woke up to that night.
I slowly opened my eyes and found myself on the floor of one of the hospital rooms, next to the patient's bed. While the lights were on, the view from the window showed hat it was night time outside. Sayuri-san was kneeling over me, and drew back as she realized I was awake.
"Oh, thank goodness you're all right, Chiyuri-chan!" Sayuri-san said. "I thought we'd lost you, too!"
"Thank you for your concern, Sayuri-san," I said as I slowly sat up, "and I'm sorry I worried you. But what do you me-"
That question died in my throat as I saw the answer right in front of me.
Kumakura-san's dead body lay in his hospital bed, his pillow over his face.
Author's Notes
As always, thank you for the comments, kudos and follows.
I'm a bit surprised that no one guessed that we'd have a redux of the diseases from the second game after seeing the hospital. Without spoiling too much, at least one person became infected on the morning of Day 25.
Here's how Karita's "honesty disease" works. In a nutshell, it's similar to what happens to Fletcher from Liar Liar, but here's the rules.
Rule 1: Most obviously, Karita cannot knowingly tell a lie.
Rule 2: If someone asks Karita a question, or directs a statement at him that demands a response, he must give an honest reply.
Rule 3: Karita cannot say something he does not believe to be true, even if it actually is true.
Rule 4: Conversely, if Karita wrongly believes something to be true, he will say that is true.
Rule 5: If Karita is asked a question to which he does not know the answer, he will admit that he does not know. If a guess comes to mind (whether right or wrong), he will make it, but will admit that he is guessing.
Rule 6: In questions concerning matters of opinion, Karita will give his honest opinion.
Speaking of the "honesty disease," in the original version I had planned, Himemiya would have asked the questions. Here, however, it isn't in character for her to needlessly antagonize Karita; that's more characteristic of Asakura.
Chiyuri may think of Azuki fairly often, but that's largely a consequence of how, unlike Miura, she hasn't fully developed a healthy sense of self-confidence by this point in the story, and still places Azuki on a pedestal.
Next up is the murder investigation. If you're curious about where each room is on the hallway, I'll give a specific order next chapter; if I did so this chapter, I would give away a few details I have yet to reveal.
As an omake, here's a fashion show in which characters swap their outfits with other characters.
Omake
Miura's POV
I sat with Nagato-senpai in a room of the recording studio with a runway on it. This time, we were hosting a fashion show, in which each person was wearing someone else's outfit. Even the hosts were no exception; I was wearing the dark skirt suit that Nagato-sensei most often wore, while Nagato-senpai was wearing Iwasawa-san's button-down shirt and overalls.
"Welcome to the Outfit Swap Fashion Show," I said. "I'm your host, Kaori Miura, and this is my cohost, Chiyuri Nagato. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?"
"I do, Miura-san," Nagato-senpai said. "I heard that I got Iwasawa-san's clothes, but wouldn't they be a bit too big for me?"
"They would," I said, "which is why all outfits are resized to fit the new wearer. Not only do your clothes fit you, but the look suits you well."
"Thank you," Nagato-senpai said. "You look nice in your suit, too."
I smiled. My sister had also purchased a suit to wear to her college entrance ceremony, one that she'd probably also wear to her first job. I'd do the same in two years' time, so it was always nice to hear that I looked good, too.
"And now, let the event begin," I said.
The first one up was Mihama-senpai, who wore a smaller version of Kumakura-senpai's sweatpants.
Shortly afterward, the other shoe fell. Kumakura-senpai was wearing a larger version of Mihama-senpai's blue sailor fuku uniform, a size that would have to be custom ordered. I knew of a few guys who would look decent in girls' clothing, but not the tall, musclebound Ultimate Weightlifter.
Ami-chan wore Sugiura-san's waitress uniform. She seemed out of place working at a restaurant as fancy as the one the Sugiura family ran, but she'd probably be a good fit for a diner or fast food restaurant.
Azuki-senpai wore Ami-chan's cheerleader outfit, and could barely hide her embarrassment. She must have worn more than a few costumes as an actress, but none this embarrassing. Nagato-senpai cheerfully called out, "Hang in there, Akira-san!"
Next up was Sayuri-san who wore... the same sailor fuku she always did.
"Wait, isnt' there some kind of mistake?" Nagato-senpai said. "Sayuri-san's wearing the same outfit as always."
"Yes, she is," I said, "but technically, she's wearing Mitamura-san's uniform. The two are schoolmates."
"Oh, right," Nagato-senpai said.
Fukuda-kun wore Kirishima-senpai's lab coat over a shirt and tie, along with an utterly confused expression.
Next was the sharply dressed Higurashi-senpai, who wore Sakuragi-kun's tracksuit. He seemed relatively comfortable in it, probably because he didn't wear his suit while working out.
The last on the list was Nagato-sensei, who wore her daughter's Catholic school uniform. It had been more than twenty years since her graduation, but she wore it as though she'd never left her alma mater.
