Deadly Life

I was so shocked at the sight of Kumakura-san's dead body that I almost fainted again, but knew I had to stay conscious for the sake of the ensuing murder investigation, or I'd share his fate.

I turned around and saw that Sayuri-san, Karita-san, Tatsuki-san and Himeno-san were all standing near me, wearing hospital gowns. The only person who seemed out of place in that group was Himeno-san, who was dressed the same as the others.

"Kumakura-san's dead?" I said. "What about the body discovery announcement?"

"It played while you were unconscious," Sayuri-san said. "The four of us here were the ones who discovered his body- and, as we'd feared, yours."

So in other words, the culprit was possibly one of the four of them- or perhaps five of us, since I couldn't completely rule myself out.

I then noticed I was dressed in a hospital gown, since the loose top obviously felt different from my button-down shirt and necktie. While this was far from the most pressing issue at hand, it was proof that I must have fallen ill within the past day or so. If Himeno-san and I had gotten infected, though, it would have kept with the pattern, except for today's infected being two girls, rather than a girl and a boy.

"Wait, I'm dressed as a patient?" I said. "Since when?"

"Since this morning," Himeno-san said. "It's... a long story, but for the moment, let's just say that's why you don't remember anything that happened today."

While there was a large and alarming gap in my memories, one thing was clear. Roughly a day had passed since I returned to the ship with Himeno-san and the others. A lot had happened, not just the murder, and I had a feeling that small and seemingly inconsequential evens would be crucial to solving the crime... which is why it was so distressing that I couldn't remember them.

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared.

"Good to see you're awake, Nagato-san," Monokuma said. "With this, all the patients are together, and the healthy ones- sans your mother- should be here any moment."

I checked my watch and, checking the time, realized that since most of us were relatively eager to get back on the ship after what had happened last time, they were already back on the Ursa Major, and possibly in bed.

"So it's about 8:30," I said. "Haven't the others returned to the ship by now?"

"They did," Monokuma said, "but I called them back for the investigation, since it wouldn't be fair to leave them out. I also sent you the Monokuma File, so take a look at it."

Himeno-san, who had her student handbook, opened up the Monokuma File.

Monokuma File 4

The victim is Kotaro Kumakura, the Ultimate Weightlifter

The cause of death is being suffocated with a pillow.

No other wounds are visible on the victim's body.

Like with Kojima-san's case, there was no time of death. I could only assume that the time was an important aspect that might lead us to an important discovery. In this case, the time of the murder could easily determine how long or short the list of suspects was.

"One more thing," I said. "Since Sayuri-san recognized me, all of us should be back to normal, right?"

"That's right," Monokuma said, "I did say the Despair Diseases would wear off once a murder occurred."

"That's the first I've heard of it," Karita-san said. "By the way, two plus two equals five."

The others stared at Karita-san. Unfortunately, as obvious as his lies were, they proved that he could easily tell a subtler lie at the trial, especially if he was the culprit.

"I thought so," I said, "but if my disease caused me to forget what happened today, why aren't my memories coming back?"

"That's just how your 'memory disease' works, Nagato-san," Monokuma said. "It's not that you forget things- it's that you don't remember them. You should be making some new memories from this moment forward, but you won't get back what you didn't have in the first place."

For a moment, I wondered what had happened to our memories of the two years. If they were like paper documents containing all the information we'd memorized during that time period from school lessons to news stories about the world descending into chaos, were they locked away in some filing cabinet, waiting for us to retrieve them, or had they been shredded or incinerated?

"Of course, it's for the best that you don't remember," Monokuma said, "since I've got a feeling it wouldn't be much fun if you did. Get cracking on the investigation, and I'll let you know when it's time for the trial."

Monokuma then departed. As he did, the remaining members of the group- Higurashi-san, Kirishima-san, Kurogane-san and Asakura- arrived. Kurogane-san and Higruashi-san gasped in shock upon seeing Kumakura-san's corpse, while the others simply stared.

"So it's true," Higurashi-san said. "Kumakura-kun is dead. What happened?"

"I got up to take a quick walk before bed, at around 8:20," Himeno-san said, "at which point I noticed Kumakura-san's dead body and Chiyuri lying unconscious. After I did, I called Sayuri-san and the others, and we all made our way here about five minutes ago. The Body Discovery Announcement then played, and a minute or so later, Chiyuri regained consciousness."

"How long ago do you suppose Kumakura-kun was killed?" Kirishima-san said.

"Unfortunately, I don't know," Himeno-san said. "The last time I saw him alive was around 6:30 PM, when I was walking back to my hospital room. After that, we were in our rooms for dinner. I went out to take a walk at 8:20, and then found Kumakura-san's body"

"Ah," Kirishima-san said. "The question of when the crime took place is important. The healthy students, myself included, started heading back to the Ursa Major at 7:50 PM, and promptly boarded the ship at 8 PM. If the crime took place after 7:50 PM, the blackened could only have been one of the sick students."

So this was why Monokuma had refused to share the time of death with us. If the culprit was one of the healthy students, they must have been planning for us to discover the body after they had returned to the ship, but could they have anticipated that the Monokuma File wouldn't give them away?

"Speaking of dinner, who served it to us?" I said. "Ordinarily, I'd help out, but... I was one of the patients, wasn't I?"

Higurashi-san awkwardly nodded, not used to being asked a question I should be able to answer myself.

"I spoke with Kirishima-kun," Higurashi-san said, "and he said that you had offered to head to the kitchen to pick up the meals, claiming that you were well enough to handle the task."

"Indeed I did," Kirishima-san said. "I also offered to serve as Higurashi-kun's informant on the status of the patients in your absence."

I could only imagine how useless I must have felt, with the disease having left me unable to handle my responsibilities. Higurashi-san probably would have felt the same way if he'd gotten sick while I'd stayed healthy, resulting in my ending up as acting leader of our class.

"At 7:20 this evening, I ate dinner with Kurogane-kun and Asakura-kun at the hotel restaurant," Higurashi-san said. "The three of us were together the entire time, and started to head back to the ship together once we were done. Kirishima-kun met up with us while we were on our way back, and the four of us boarded the ship together."

The other healthy boys nodded.

"So if the crime took place after 7:50 PM, the culprit had to be one of the sick students," Kurogane-san said. "If it took place earlier, the healthy students would be possible suspects, but we couldn't rule out the sick students, either."

"Yeah, but there's one that's a hell of a lot more obvious than the others," Asakura said, "namely Nagato. You want to tell us what you're doing at the crime scene?"

As Asakura pointed his finger- figuratively and literally- at me, I froze. Being accused of murder in a place where the punishment for being caught was death was a terrifying prospect, especially when I couldn't say with any certainty that I was innocent.

"I... I..." I said.

"I think Chiyuri-chan was set up," Sayuri-san said. "Considering that she was unconscious at the time, and didn't wake up for several minutes, it's clear that she wasn't just acting. Even if she was the culprit, she wouldn't simply stay at the scene of the crime."

Higurashi-san nodded, but while I sensed some sympathy from him, I realized I didn't have his complete trust.

"Both theories are possible at the moment," Higurashi-san said. "As such, I will allow Nagato-san to investigate the crime with everyone else, but I would rather not have her guard the crime scene. Kurogane-kun, could you please help me out?"

"Certainly," Kurogane-kun said.

"Thank you," Higurashi-san said. "Let's get to work, everyone."

As the others set out, I took a look around the crime scene. There were no signs of struggle, so Kumakura-san must have been incapacitated before he was killed. On Kumakura-san's night stand, there was a pen, as well as a few of the pieces of paper that I had given him- there were two and I recalled giving him three or four. Eventually, I spotted the waste basket near Kumakura-san's bed, which was still upright.

"I'd like to search this for clues," I said.

"Go right ahead," Higurashi-san said. "I'll be there to look through it with you."

I nodded, wanting to believe that Higurashi-san's offer was as much because he wanted to investigate the trash can as because he wanted to make sure I didn't alter the crime scene.

I dug around in the wastepaper basket. There was a discarded food container, as well as the plastic wrapping that had covered it. The plastic cover had been neatly ripped open, but I did notice a single small hole in it. There was also a damp rag in it that smelled odd. Beneath the two were two other food containers and their plastic wraps.

"So it looks like he had dinner tonight," I said, "not to mention lunch and breakfast."

"Yes, it seems so," Higurashi-san said. "Monokuma takes out the trash on a daily basis, so what you're looking at is today's trash."

"When does he take it out?" I said.

"Late at night, when the patients are asleep," Higurashi-san said. "He made one of his usual jokes, saying that it was a bit like Santa Claus, only coming when the good boys and girls are asleep."

If Monokuma was Santa Claus, I suspected he'd swap his Naughty and Nice lists around. I could only shudder to think what he'd consider to be good gifts, or what sort of children he deemed worthy of them.

"I'd like to know something, Higurashi-san," I said. "Do you really think I killed Kumakura-san?"

Higurashi-san sighed. He must have known that it was difficult for me, a short girl, to overpower and murder a tall muscular powerhouse like Kumakura-san, but stranger things had happened on this killing school trip.

"To be honest, I have no proof of it," Higurashi-san said, "but after everything that happened, including Azuki-san becoming the blackened, we cannot afford to rule anyone out."

"I understand," I said. "If I am indeed guilty, then I'll accept my fate so that the rest of you can live. However, since we don't know for certain what happened, and it's possible that voting for me will be a fatal mistake, I won't spare any effort to find the truth."

Higurashi-san smiled.

"That's the spirit," Higurashi-san said. "So, what can I help you with?"

"I'd like to ask you about myself," I said, "since you seem like the person who'd first notice something was off about me."

"You're right, I was," Higurashi-san said. "Nothing seemed particularly odd until just after breakfast, when we both met with Nagato-sensei, when you loosened your tie and took off your blazer. At that point, you'd forgotten what we'd discussed mere minutes ago, but you could remember many other things, from the events of the past few weeks to the dress you wore for your First Communion."

I nodded. My First Communion was so long ago that my mom had filled in most of the details, but it was my first clear memory. As for what I'd worn, not only did I still remember it, but it was in the family photo album, even if I hadn't seen it since the killing school trip began.

"So it's true," I said. "I couldn't create new memories, but my existing memories weren't affected."

"That's right," Kurogane-san said. "At that time, Himemiya-san was acting oddly, too, so after Monokuma showed up and diagnosed you two, Higurashi-kun and I took both of you to the hospital."

"What about after that?" I said.

"I checked on you a few times throughout the day," Higurashi-san said. "The last time was around 6:30 PM, just after Himemiya-san had returned to her room, so after that... I don't know what happened."

"Neither do I," I said.

Higurashi-san let off a long, forlorn sigh, probably wishing he could say something more reassuring.

"I don't know whether you're guilty or innocent, but I do know one thing," Higurashi-san said. "The you who's in front of me right now seems to be earnestly investigating the murder, so I'll trust in you until you give me reason not to."

"Thank you very much," I said. "I'll be sure to prove that you weren't wrong."

Throughout my life, I'd met few people I could trust implicitly, not to mention few who would show me the same trust in return. The fact that it would change in a killing game of all places was nothing short of astounding, but I was grateful for it. After all, if no one believed in me, there would be no hope for me, or the rest of our class.


I found the medical supply cart in a closet at the end of the hall, just past Kumakura-san's hospital room. Himeno-san was there.

"Hello, Chiyuri," Himeno-san said.

"Hello, Himeno-san," I said. "Are you here to investigate the closet, too?"

"Yes, I am," Himeno-san said, "since it seems like the easiest place for the blackened to hide something without me noticing. If they left the crime scene, it was probably this direction."

So Himeno-san believed that the blackened had willingly left the crime scene, rather than passed out in the middle of it. If nothing else, it was pleasing that she could come up with a logical theory that could point to my innocence.

Looking in the top drawer, I noticed a used syringe and, recalling Mom's advice, approached it with the utmost care. The same went for the discarded bottles of chemicals, which turned out to be chloroform and muscle relaxant.

I saw that the bottom compartment was open, and peeked inside. Said compartment was completely empty, save for my notebook.

"What's my notebook doing here?" I said.

"That's what I want to know, too," Himeno-san said. "Maybe you were hiding in there, or someone had hidden you in there. Try getting in."

I curled into a ball, then climbed into the compartment. It was a tight fit, but I could manage to stay inside... even when Himeno-san shut the door on me. A moment later, she opened it up.

"What was that for?" I said.

"I simply needed to test something," Himeno-san said, "and it seems that you are short enough to fit inside. I'll try the same."

Himeno-san climbed inside, but unlike me, she couldn't quite fit, even with the door open, so she got out.

"As you can see it's certainly possible that someone used it to transport you," Himeno-san said, "possibly to drop you off at the scene of the crime. Unfortunately, I don't know enough to prove anything with this."

"Neither do I," I said, "which is what I'll have to find out."

"Then I won't keep you," Himeno-san said.

I nodded appreciatively.

"By the way, I'm curious about something," I said. "What was your disease, anyway?"

Himeno-san blushed and fidgeted.

"Th-The 'manners disease,'" Himeno-san said. "While afflicted by it, I spoke rudely forgoing honorifics and swearing like a sailor. My parents would have been furious if they had seen me behaving that way."

I could think of three reasons why Kurogane-san kept the particulars about Himeno-san's disease secret. The first was that it wasn't relevant to the investigation. The second, which probably went hand-in-hand with the first, was that Himeno-san was embarrassed about what she'd said and done today. The third was that Kurogane-san had something to hide, and possibly, so did Himeno-san. The third seemed rather unlikely, so I dismissed it for now.

"My mom probably wouldn't have been too happy, either," I said. "Of course, if she isn't shown the respect she thinks she deserves- let's say you call her 'Yukari-chan' rather than 'Nagato-sensei'- she'll politely tell you what she wants to be called the first time. If you comply, she'll thank you for respecting her wishes, but if you don't, she'll accept your decision with silent disapproval."

"Ah," Himeno-san said. "That sounds reasonable enough, although some would probably want to get a rise out of her by being rude to her."

That was part of the reason why Mom refused to overreact to being disrespected. The only exception to the rule I mentioned was in my case, where she was determined to correct me if I called her "Mom" at school or "Nagato-sensei" outside of school, since there might be situations in which it was unclear whether we were "on the clock" as teacher and student.

"Anyway, I would say that you got off easy when it came to diseases," I said, "but if Tatsuki-san had succumbed to her 'death disease,' there's a chance that you would have been the next to get that disease."

"Yes, that's true," Himeno-san said. "If we went by the order in which the patients were infected, Kumakura-san would have been first, but we can't rule out the possibility that the 'death disease' would have chosen its next patient randomly."

In other words, it was hypothetically possible that the killer might have been motivated to act to prevent someone else from being infected by the death disease- or maybe to save their own life. That being said, unlike the second trial, there was no opportunity to bring someone else along while graduating, so unless the killer was willing to sacrifice their own life, they were most likely purely motivated by the desire to survive.


After taking my notebook with me, I spoke with Sayuri-san, who was in her hospital room.

"Hello, Chiyuri-chan," Sayuri-san said. "I was in my room most of the day, so I didn't really see much... well, not anything that would help you."

"I need all the information I can get," I said, "so please tell me."

Sayuri-san sighed.

"All right," Sayuri-san said. "I saw you, dressed in your school uniform, pushing the cart past my hospital room not long before 7:30 PM. You didn't stop by or say anything to me; I didn't even get any dinner."

If I was the one who'd passed by Sayuri-san's room, then I'd clearly broken the promise I allegedly made to take care of handing out dinners.

"Did anyone else see me?" I said.

"I don't believe so," Sayuri-san said, "since my hospital room is the only occupied one between yours and Kotaro-kun's. You'll have to take my word for it."

Now that I thought about it, none of the rooms were labeled. I had a fairly good memory as to whose room was where- Tatsuki-san's room was near the door to the administrative wing, Karita-san's was a few rooms down the hall, Sasaki-san's was two rooms away from Kumakura-san's, and Kumakura-san's was at the end of the hall.

"What you said doesn't sound like a lie," I said. "Did you hear the murder?"

"Unfortunately, no," Sayuri-san said. "The hospital rooms aren't completely soundproof, but I could only have heard something if it was loud or right next door to me."

"I see," I said. "You only found out about it because Himeno-san told you, right?"

"That's right," Sayuri-san said, "and she'd stumbled upon it by chance. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn't found it when it did?"

I shrugged. At least in theory, it was possible that if we never discovered a body, we wouldn't have to go through a class trial. Of course, Monokuma wouldn't want anyone to ruin his fun, so unless the victim had fallen into the ocean, he probably would give us a hint of some sort pointing to the body.

"I don't know," I said. "I guess we'd have to find the body sooner or later so that the investigation could start. The only question now is whether the blackened will get away with it."

After finishing my conversation with Sayuri-san, I found myself pondering how much of the crime, especially how and when the body was discovered, had gone according to plan. If the killer was healthy, it would certainly be to their advantage to have Himeno-san discover the body at some point after they'd boarded the ship, but it happened soon enough that it was definitely possible that Kumakura-san had been killed before the healthy students had returned to the Ursa Major. If the killer was sick, having the body discovered while everyone else was on the island would help expand the pool of suspects, but in the end, the killer would probably be best off pinning it on one of their fellow patients- most likely me. At this point, the only thing that seemed certain was that I was being set up, and I needed to find who was responsible for all this.


I stopped to the room next to Sayuri-san's room to search for clues. I immediately noticed that unlike the other unoccupied rooms, the bed wasn't made. My student handbook lay on my nightstand, so I picked it up. I then opened up the closet and found my school uniform neatly hung on the hangers inside.

It was certainly possible that someone had planted all this evidence in the room to make it seem as though I had been there, but I wasn't sure what the benefit would be. If Sayuri-san was telling the truth, though, then she would have been the only one to have seen me before the crime, which would be consistent with the position of my room compared to the crime scene. The only question was whether she'd truly seen me, or whether she'd mistaken me for someone else.


A I passed by the crime scene once again, I overheard Kurogane-san speaking with Karita-san. I'd apparently passed by in the middle of the conversation, with neither party hearing me.

"So I guess you're saying that you don't have to tell the truth, anymore, right?" Kurogane-san said.

"You've got that wrong," Karita-san said, "by which I mean 'that's right.' In other words, you can't necessarily trust what I have to say, just like with anyone else."

"I see," Kurogane-san said. "I was hoping that if you said, for example, 'Nagato-san killed Kumakura-kun,' and your disease didn't prevent you from saying that it was a lie, then we'd know she was the culprit."

It wasn't especially surprising that Kurogane-san used me as a hypothetical case, but it was still disturbing. One way or another, I'd die if I was convicted, and the only question was whether the majority of the class would die with me.

Karita-san, however, let off a "Tsk-tsk."

"It's not that simple," Karita-san said. "To begin with, I don't know the culprit, so even if I still had the disease, I'd be unable to say that I knew for a fact who was the culprit. If I thought Nagato-san did it, I could say, 'I think Nagato-san killed Kumakura-kun,' but all that would prove was what I thought. Besides, there's plenty of ways I could twist the truth; for example, I might be telling the truth if I said I didn't kill Kumakura-kun, if I'd hired an assassin to do it instead."

While Karita-san was right about that, under the killing game, Monokuma would have probably made the assassin into the blackened instead. As a result, we'd understand that Karita-san had betrayed the group, like Tatsuki-san had when she'd tried to get away with killing Kojima-san, but he wouldn't be the one we'd need to convict in order to survive.

"I see," Kurogane-san said. "Personally, I was hoping for an easy way out of this. These class trials are anything but fun, especially considering that most of us will die if we don't find the killer, so I'd rather not take any chances."

"Me neither," Karita-san said, "but laziness and greed attract the attention of con artists the same way the scent of wounded prey attracts a predator. I'm sure the blackened this time, whoever they may be, is all too willing to trick you to succeed."

"Fair enough," Kurogane-san said, "but let me ask you this- do you think it's Nagato-san?"

"Who can say?" Karita-san said, "especially since she can't remember herself. But finding the killer passed out at the crime scene seems a little too convenient."

As Kurogane-san thanked Karita-san and resumed the investigation, I felt a bit relieved. Perhaps it was too much to ask either of them to trust me, considering the stakes and the fact that we hadn't spoken much, but because of those stakes, they weren't willing to take any chances. It would be difficult to convince them of my innocence, but at least they wouldn't be foolish enough to blindly suspect me without considering any other possibilities.

As Karita-san started to walk away, I approached him.

"Oh, there you are, Karita-san," I said. "I have a question for you."

"Ask away, Nagato-san," Karita-san said, "but just remember- my answer might not be true."

"Fine," I said. "Did I serve you any meals today?"

"None," Karita-san said. "I went to the kitchen myself to pick up my own meals today, since I was worried about someone slipping me poison in my food. I started heading to the kitchen around 7:15 PM, and, got back to my room at 7:25 PM. Himemiya-san and Tachibana-san saw me pass by their rooms on the way out and the way back."

I made a mental note of what he'd just said. Since I could still remember much of what everyone had said after I'd woken up at the crime scene, it was clear that my ability to remember things had returned, even if I had no memories of what happened today.

"Did you see anyone else, or vice versa?" I said.

"Not at all," Karita-san said, "until Himemiya-san came to tell me about the murder. It's not an airtight alibi, but at least no one saw me near the crime scene."

Without the Despair Disease in effect, that was probably the most honest answer I would get out of Karita-san at the moment. I could only hope that it would be enough to lead me to the truth.


I went to Tatsuki-san's room to speak with her about a few things, including Karita-san's alibi.

"I'd like to know something, Tachibana-san," I said. "Did you see Karita-san pass by your room at 7:15 PM and 7:25 PM?"

"Yes, and yes," Tatsuki-san said. "I'm sure Himemiya-san did, too."

I considered asking Himeno-san about this, but decided it was probably unnecessary. While Karita-san didn't have an alibi for the crime scene, he'd gone in the opposite direction of the crime scene, and returned while the crime might have been in progress. For now, I had more important things to ask about.

"That's what I wanted to hear," I said. "Did you see me at all today?"

"Only once," Tatsuki-san said. "I stopped by your hospital room in the early morning, not long after you arrived. It was a little after 9:30 AM."

"In other words, about ten hours before the most likely time the murder occurred," I said. "You're sure you didn't see me at all after that, right?"

"No," Tatsuki-san said, "not until Himemiya-san brought us to the crime scene."

As frustrating as it was that this testimony didn't exonerate me, at least it didn't give any proof that I might have done it.

"I thought so," I said. "Did you notice anything else that seemed odd today? Especially about Kumakura-san?"

Tatsuki-san paused to think.

"There is one thing that's strange about Kumakura-kun," Tatsuki-san said. "We had some spicy takoyaki for lunch, and while he usually hates those, he ate them. Since you weren't feeling well, Kirishima-kun was the one who delivered the food."

That was certainly odd, since it directly contradicted what Kirishima-san and Higurashi-san had told the rest of us.

"Are you sure?" I said.

"About Kirishima-kun?" Tatsuki-san said. "I'm positive I saw him delivering food to my room at lunch time. I don't know about the others, though; Karita-kun got his own meals."

This sounded like it might have been important, but if the other patients couldn't confirm it, then it wouldn't be reliable. As such, I decided to move on to the other thing that bugged me.

"Well, that's not the only thing," I said. "I was also asking about whether you really saw Kumakura-san willingly eat something he could barely stomach."

"I think so," Tatsuki-san said, "but I'm not sure whether he really doesn't like spicy food, since I only knew him for a few weeks. That said, one of the few things I remember was how he was visibly uncomfortable eating food like that. He eats them to be polite to whoever's serving it, but he doesn't enjoy it, either."

"Ah, yes, I noticed that, too," I said. "I saw him doing that just after the last trial."

Tatsuki-san nodded grimly.

"Is... something wrong?" I said.

"Not at all," Tatsuki-san said. "I don't think you're lying about not being able to remember, since your disease apparently means that you can't create new memories, not that you lost the old ones."

Tatsuki-san ended up having nothing more to say to me, and left me with more questions than answers. Something struck me as very odd about my fellow patients' testimonies. While Kirishima-san and Higurashi-san claimed I'd volunteered to deliver food to the other patients, none of them had actually seen me do so. Someone was lying, but who?


I checked the chemical lab's closet. Two vials of chemicals were missing- chloroform and muscle relaxant, which fit with the two I discovered in the cart.

I pondered over who could have taken the chemicals. Kirishima-san had been the only person whom I'd seen spending much time in the lab, but everyone knew about the existence of the chemical closet, and it didn't take a scientific genius to use those chemicals efficiently.

While I was there, Kirishima-san wandered by.

"Ah, hello, Nagato-kun," Kirishima-san said. "Are you perhaps trying to find out who took the chloroform and muscle relaxants?"

I nodded. It was tempting to assume that Kirishma-san's knowledge of which chemicals had been stolen was suspicious, but he'd probably been here enough times that he'd memorized the contents of the cabinet, or had found them elsewhere.

"I am," I said. "I haven't found any proof as to who the person is, but I was hoping you could help."

"Do not expect too much from me," Kirishima-san said. "I cannot watch the lab all the time, even while I am on the island, but I would not be so irresponsible as to give someone a potentially harmful chemical while trusting them to use it well. If I had been foolish enough to do so, I would tell you the name of the recipient."

Hypothetically speaking, it was possible for the recipient to pass the chemicals on to a third party, who could do so yet again. Of course, I doubted that anyone trusted one of their classmates enough to hand something that dangerous over without asking questions.

"So you don't know who took them," I said, "but let me ask you this instead. Are there any times when you left the cabinet unsupervised?"

Kirishima-san paused to think.

"All the chemicals were present when I first arrived this morning," Kirishima-san said, "and I stayed inside for most of the day, occasionally checking on you and the other patients. The last time I saw all of the chemicals was at roughly 6:45 PM. I did not return to the lab until just now, after the murder."

"I see," I said. "And how do you know which chemicals are contained in the lab?"

"This list," Kirishima-san said, producing a sheet of paper. "It contains records of each chemical in the cabinet, and their quantity."

I scanned the list. A lot of the names were complicated scientific names for the various mixtures, making it hard to understand. That said, both the chloroform and the muscle relaxants were on the list, and a quick scan of the cabinet revealed that they were both missing. Furthermore, when I compared the number of vials on the list to the number in the cabinet, I could tell that two- and only two- were missing.

As I was thinking things over, I heard an announcement from Monokuma.

"Time's up!" Monokuma said. "All students, please head to the elevator to the courtroom on the Ursa Major. Attendance is mandatory, so no fair calling in sick. If you're a patient, feel free to get dressed."

After hearing the announcement, Kirishima-san and I both looked at each other.

Considering that Monokuma didn't tell us how long we had or when the timer began, there was no way of knowing how much time I'd cost the group by passing out at the crime scene. All I could do was make the most of the time I had, and I prayed that this would be enough.

"So, it is time," Kirishima-san said.

"It seems that way," I said, "but one more thing. "Did I really ask to be left in charge of delivering meals to the other patients?"

"You did," Kirishima-san said, "against my better judgment, of course. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you whether you actually made those deliveries."

Something didn't quite add up. At least one of the people I'd spoken to this evening had lied to me, but was it Tatsuki-san or was it Kirishma-san? Or was there only one liar in this group, not just the killer? I'd have to answer these questions if I wanted to even begin to lay the groundwork for identifying the killer. Since Kirishima-san had answered my question, I said goodbye to him for now, then headed to the hospital room to change before I returned to the ship.


I quickly stopped by my room, and got dressed as quickly as I could. Since I set my alarm early enough that I didn't have to worry about being late, I generally had enough time that I didn't need to get dressed in a hurry, so I was unused to doing it.

As I was tucking my shirt into my skirt, Tatsuki-san approached me. She was wearing most of her uniform, but her blazer was unbuttoned, as was the top button of her uniform, and she was carrying her neck ribbon in her hand.

"Are you almost done, Nagato-san?" Tatsuki-san said. "I don't want Monokuma to think that we'll be late.

"Coming, Tachibana-san," I said, as I slipped on my blazer and put my tie into my pocket.

The two of us briskly walked out of the hospital and toward the ship. Tatsuki-san followed my lead, since she'd apparently only walked from the ship to the hospital one- the time she was being admitted as a patient. Since I'd made several trips to the hospital, I knew the way back to the ship without needing to check the map.

"By the way, is it hard to get dressed in the morning?" I said.

"It takes a couple minutes, but not really," Tatsuki-san said. "It can be a pain if I have a performance after school, though, meaning I have to change out of my uniform and into my costume, then back once I'm finished. I wish I could rip open my shirt and blazer to reveal my stage costume underneath, like if I was a superhero, but that'd ruin the shirt, so I take it off one button at a time."

"Ah," I said. "It's useful to know I'm not the only one who takes a couple minutes to change into my uniform."

"Useful?" Tatsuki-san said. "Did you find something out?"

I shrugged. Not only was it not a good idea to share my strategy with a potential blackened, but I also didn't want to share anything before I'd fully thought it through.

"Let's just say... I don't know yet," I said, "but I hope so."

Tatsuki-san nodded. If she was the blackened, then surely she knew that her chances of getting away with her crime this time were not much better than they were two trials ago. If she was the spotless, then she'd been saved from death thanks to someone else committing murder, only to be forced to place her life on the line once again at the resulting class trial. It was too soon for her to feel relieved at her survival, or guilty over those who had died; for now, all we could do was find out who had killed Kumakura-san.


We assembled at the elevator. Our numbers had shrunk yet again, and this time, we were going into the trial without one of our most valuable players.

The two of us were among the last to arrive. When we did, everyone else was there, with the former Despair Disease patients having changed back into their usual clothing, but the elevator had yet to arrive. After taking a moment to tie my tie as best as I could without a mirror, I quickly pulled Himeno-san aside.

"Just wondering, Himeno-san," I said, "but did anyone serve you food this evening?"

"No," Himeno-san said, "since I assumed that we were supposed to get our own meals. I went to the kitchen to get mine at 6:15 PM, and got back by 6:30, since I was feeling hungry. I don't think anyone checked to see whether I had eaten."

So once again, there wasn't any conclusive proof as to the identity of the person serving the meals. For now, I had a more personal question to ask.

"By the way," I said. "Do you think I'm guilty?"

"It's hard to say," Himeno-san said. "It's certainly possible, but I share Sayuri's suspicion that you were meant to take the fall for the crime. It all seems too obvious."

I had to agree. I was obviously biased, hoping that I was innocent even if I didn't know for certain, but I'd probably have come to the same conclusion if I'd found Himeno-san on the floor.

"That being said, I have a question for you," Himeno-san said. "If it turned out that the person you're closest with- let's say Sayuri- is guilty, would you be able to vote for her?"

I sighed. It was clear that the only reason Himeno-san didn't use my mother was that it wasn't possible for her to have committed the crime.

"Then I suppose I'd vote for her," I said, "even if it would be difficult to accept that she was responsible. I suppose you'd do the same if it was Tsukimura-san?"

"I would," Himeno-san said. "Kanae is the sort of person who'd never kill anyone, and the only one of us who doesn't have any blood on her hands at this point. If she confessed to murder at a class trial, I'd find it difficult to accept, but I would believe her, simply because I still trust her to not lie about something so important. The same went for Akira, which is why I voted for her."

I nodded. I could understand why Himeno-san had disapproved of my refusal to vote for Akira-san, since she knew that while it was a difficult choice, it was also a necessary one. By now, however, I no longer sensed any willingness to judge me in her tone.

"Speaking of trust," Himeno-san said, "I do have faith in you to do what's right, which is to identify the spotless, vote for that person and accept the consequences, whether your decision is right or wrong. There's no two ways about it- people's lives are on the line, including your own- but since you understand that, I'm sure you'll make your decisions responsibly."

"Thank you," I said. "I can't promise too much, but at the very least, you can count on me to do just that."

"I will," Himeno-san said, "and I'll do the same. My decision, whether trusting you or voting for the culprit, is my responsibility, and no matter what happens, I won't blame anyone else."

The nine of us boarded the elevator and rode it down. It occurred to me that in the best case scenario, we'd leave with eight people left- half of those who'd started on this journey. Everyone who had people they were close to had lost at least one of those people, and there was no telling who would be the next to die.

Kotaro Kumakura was the Ultimate Weightlifter. He was an intelligent and good-natured young man who was modest by nature, and while we hadn't been particularly close, we'd gotten along. It had taken me too long to learn to confide in my classmates, but I always thought it was never too late to change... and yet, Kumakura-san and I had missed our chance to become friends.

There was only one thing I could do for Kumakura-san, and for everyone else who was still alive- find and convict the blackened. I still didn't know whether I could do it as easily as Akira-san could, but I knew one thing for certain. In a life or death situation like this, she couldn't afford to be paralyzed by doubts, and neither could I. Like her, my only option was to do my best and hope that would be enough to see us through this ordeal.


Author's Notes

Thank you for your theories so far. I wonder if they'll change after you see the investigation, especially considering that this also gives a glimpse at what happened on the day of the murder.

Here's the order in which the hospital rooms come. All of them are on the same side of the hallway.

*The entrance to the patient wing.

*Tatsuki's room

*Himemiya's room

*Kaita's room

*Chiyuri's room

*Sasaki's room

*Kumakura's room

*The end of the hallway, with the supply closet and a back exit.

Next up is the trial. I should have it up by the end of the month, but the start of Chapter V may take a month to publish, to give me time to work on that and Chiyuri's remaining Free Time Events (Asakura, Kumakura, Kurogane, Tatsuki and Yamazaki)