Warning: This chapter not only reveals the survivors of Where Talent Goes To Die, but also the mastermind's identity. It is strongly recommended that you read to the end of that fic first.
Day 30
As I woke up, I listened to the morning announcement. We could expect a few brief showers in the mid morning, but they'd clear up by 1 PM.
"By the way, the request from yesterday no longer applies," Monokuma said. "Feel free to go with the suit or your uniform, or the casual attire I left for you, chosen based on your personality and preferences."
I noticed a bag of clothing in my room, which contained a long-sleeved pink Magical Girl Sakura t-shirt and a pair of blue denim overalls, like the pair I found on the third island. After putting both of them on, I realized that Sakura's eyes were barely peeking over my bib. I unhooked one of the straps and let part of the bib hang down before deciding I didn't like the look and re-fastening the strap. I didn't really have a good grasp on how to fashionably wear denim, usually repairing or replacing any jeans with holes in them, so it was probably for the best that Mom and the Talent High School administration hadn't decided to make me the Ultimate Fashionista.
I thought back to what I'd worn over the past few days. Yesterday, I'd worn my suit, the day before that, I'd worn my uniform, three days ago, I'd worn overalls, and four days ago, I'd worn my uniform once again. I'd had more variety in the past few days than I had in the first three weeks, so it was always nice to celebrate the little things.
I sat with the girls again, who were dressed somewhat more nicely than I was. Tatsuki-san hardly looked like a punk rocker, since she wore a black jumper dress with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath it. Sayuri-san went for an off-white blouse, a pale blue cardigan and a matching skirt. Himeno-san had a nice white dress. As for the boys, Kurogane-san wore a polo shirt and khakis, while Higurashi-san wore a shirt and tie combo with dark pants.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit self-conscious about being underdressed, but I was content with how I was. My shirt was proof of my status as a proud Magical Girl Sakura fan. My overalls were comfortable, durable and practical, with plenty of pockets to hold things, as well as suspenders that would hold them up even if I lost a few kilos. I couldn't get away with wearing this outfit to school, church or work(unless I was a farmer or construction worker), but I could wear it whenever I was free to be myself. Perhaps a day would come when I'd have to figure out what was appropriate clothing for my job, but I was glad that it didn't matter right now.
"It's nice to see how you all look," Sayuri-san said. "I guess your personalities really come through."
"True," Himeno-san said. "This is as casually as I can dress around the house or on my days off. When we have guests, I often wear a kimono."
"I don't really look like a musician," Tatsuki-san said, "but that's just as well. When I go shopping, the only people who recognize me while I'm dressed like this are those who know me personally- my teachers, my friends and other people. Of course, some of them have a 50-50 chance of mistaking me for Taiga, which is why she doesn't wear collared shirts unless she has to- it's easier to see her birthmark that way."
While I'd long wanted to be known as something other than an illegitimate child, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be famous. I'd be fine with my coworkers recognizing, or the other housewives if I decided to become a homemaker, but I wasn't sure I wanted people to come up and say, "Hey, are you Nagato-san, the Ultimate Tech Support?"
"I have a question," I said. "Did I mention to any of you that I'm a big fan of Magical Girl Sakura?"
"I'm not sure," Sayuri-san said, "but Akira-chan starred in that movie, didn't she?"
"She did," Himeno-san said. "I never had any interest in that series, but even I can recognize a famous anime character like Sakura."
Himeno-san pointed at my chest, specifically Sakura's trademark cherry blossom-colored hair, which was easily visible and recognizable. Obviously, Akira-san, who had short dark hair, had to wear a wig when she played Sakura, but she looked as much like Sakura as a live-action performer could look like a cutesy anime character.
"So I didn't tell you," I said. "I'm sure I mentioned it at least a few times before, but maybe only to Akira-san and Mom."
"If Monokuma came up with this idea, then I'm sure he listened in on us using the surveillance cameras," Himeno-san said, "and he doesn't need to know you all that well to realize that."
"I agree," Tatsuki-san said. "Alternatively, Monokuma has information on us from the period of time we forgot about, so maybe he knows things that even we don't know about ourselves."
That was a disturbing thought. Part of the reason why I'd been so guarded around my schoolmates was that, as the police officers on foreign crime shows liked to say, anything I said could and would be used against me. In Monokuma's case, he could use what he knew about us to craft motives aimed at our weaknesses, knowing that some of us would take the bait. The fact that he'd recycled the traitor-related motive from the first island was probably because he knew it had worked once, and he wasn't wrong about that.
As I finished my meal, I realized there were two absentees from breakfast- Asakura and Karita. The former was obvious enough, since the rift between him and the rest of the class had only widened since my fight with him the other day, but Karita-san was an unpleasant surprise. I could tell that he'd never truly cared for us, but he was good at pretending that he did, if only because it was safer. For most of the trip, he'd played along with the rest of us, so I could only imagine what had changed since we'd arrived at this island.
Higurashi-san and I went to see Mom after breakfast, and I caught a glimpse of Karita-san, dressed in a white button-down shirt and dark trousers, walking off toward the warehouse. If he'd noticed us, he didn't acknowledge our presence, probably not wanting to be seen himself.
Mom was sitting in her cell, wearing her usual suit. While Monokuma had given us the opportunity to change clothes from time to time, Mom was stuck with the suit she wore when she boarded, as well as the one I gave her.
"So Monokuma gave you clothes based on what he thinks you like," Mom said.
"It seems so," I said. "Any idea how he gained that information?"
Mom shrugged.
"I wouldn't know," Mom said. "Since I only see my students in uniforms, I can only guess what they would like based on their personalities. For example, Azuki-san seemed like a tomboy, so she'd probably prefer boyish clothes, while the wealthy Himemiya-san would likely dress nicely and wear expensive clothing."
"In other words, partially based on stereotypes," I said, "so practically anyone could come up with those answers. That only leaves my clothes, and I suppose it isn't that hard to tell that I like Magical Girl Sakura."
"I had my suspicions, too," Higurashi-san said, "based on how much you admired Azuki-san. Of course, this is the anime version, not the live action version."
I nodded. The anime version of Magical Girl Sakura was Shizuka Hashimoto, a veteran voice voice actor who could play almost any female character imaginable, as well as some male characters. I was a fan of Hashimoto-san, too, but I'd never met her personally, so she wasn't my friend.
"The other girls and I couldn't come up with any conclusive theories for how Monokuma decided to give me a shirt like this," I said, "so I suppose we can consider it a lucky guess."
"That's possible," Mom said. "I doubt Monokuma could have taken account for everything that would happen here, since so much depends on the students' decisions."
While we had reason to believe that much of the killing game went according to his plan, particularly us killing each other, I doubted he could have predicted everything that happened, especially Taiga taking her sister's place, or Akira-san accidentally killing Mihama-san.
"By the way, Mom," I said, "both Karita-san and Asakura skipped breakfast this morning."
"That's a troubling development," Mom said. "I can't fathom what caused Karita-san to change."
I didn't have much of an idea, either. Monokuma's lecture yesterday afternoon, during which he'd revealed the motive seemed to be the most likely cause, if only because it was the most recent significant event, but I wasn't too sure, since people changed over time. I wanted to ask Karita-san himself, but doubtd I'd get an honest answer from him.
"Speaking of Asakura," I said, "if he was just the son of the headmistress's secretary, would he qualify for a Ultimate Title he didn't necessarily deserve?"
"Most likely no," Mom said. "Staff or faculty members could ask for their children to be admitted, but they wouldn't have much more luck than, say, the person serving the board at a business dinners. Because of that, Asakura-san's mother's status as a Talent High School employee doesn't matter... and neither does my status as a teacher."
It seemed a bit contradictory to give favors to the relatives of administrators, but not to the teachers, but it wasn't hard to imagine why. It was possible that the headmistress and board of Talent High School were the ones who sought to benefit from the school, and they saw everyone else- the faculty, the staff, the Reserve Course students who funded the school, and even the other Main Course students- as means to an end.
"That's true," I said, "but what if Asakura's mother benefited from her brother being on the board?"
"Maybe she did," Mom said, "but the elder Asakura-san is, at minimum, a competent secretary. I don't know who else applied for the job, what their qualifications were, or how well they did at the interview, but I think Talent High School hired a good candidate. Even if decisions like these aren't made impartially, that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong."
In other words, Mom was probably saying that even if I'd gotten the Ultimate Tech Support title because I had a well-connected relative, I might just deserve it anyway. The same probably went for Asakura, although Mom had less reason to believe in her coworker's child.
"So even if Asakura-san benefited from nepotism, things happened to work out anyway in her case?" I said.
"They usually do," Mom said. "Students who are connected to administrators probably make up less than 10 percent of the Main Course student body, and even they are carefully vetted. After all, people generally know their children or relatives well. When the school considered inviting you, they briefly discussed the fight you had in elementary school, but accepted my argument that you'd grown up since then."
"Thanks, Mom," I said with a smile.
Mom nodded appreciatively.
"In the end, while Talent High School may mainly exist for the benefit of its founders' families, those who work their take their jobs seriously," Mom said. "Our students are a diverse lot, but the vast majority of them do the school proud, so we seldom regret our decision to invite someone to study at Talent High School."
I thought back to when I transferred out of my old elementary school, which had made it clear that I was no longer welcome even though they couldn't expel me. Even as a young child, I realized the seriousness of my actions, and the shame weighed on me even now. Of course, it wasn't half as bad as my classmate from St. Mary's who'd stabbed someone... or the person in Talent High School who'd betrayed their entire class.
I got off the ship after most of the others had already left and took a walk around campus before the morning lecture. I was a bit worried about the two least popular members of our class (who, amazingly enough, were more disliked than the surviving classmate who'd actually killed someone), and hoped to run into Karita-san while steering clear of Asakura.
I eventually found Karita-san on the first floor of the library, sitting at a table near a bookshelf. When he saw me approach, he quickly shoved something back onto the shelf and stood with his back to that shelf, as if hiding it with his body. He'd left behind a pen on the table, as well as a couple sheets of stationery paper.
"Good morning, Nagato-san," Karita-san said.
"Good morning, Karita-san," I said. "May I ask what you were doing just now?"
"Looking at porn," Karita-san said with a cheerful smile on his face. "...Just kidding."
While I wasn't sheltered enough to be scandalized by the idea of looking at porn, since I'd already read some of Sayuri-san's work, I let out an exasperated sigh. It was a lie that was too blatant to fool me, but also one that enabled him to give me a reply without answering my question.
"So in other words, you don't want to answer," I said. "That's perfectly fine; all you need to do is tell me you don't want to talk about it."
"Let's just say it's something I'd rather not do in my room," Karita-san said. "Unlike the rest of you, Asakura-kun and I don't have any real privacy in that room, even with it being divided up into sides."
In many ways, I was lucky when it came to roommates, since I'd gotten a likable and trustworthy girl to share my cabin with. I could trust Akira-san to not look over my shoulder while I was writing anything down (which is what Karita-san seemed to be doing), or share what she saw with anyone.
"Ah, right," I said, "but in the end, I found you anyway."
"Just by luck," Karita-san said, "since this is a big library on an even bigger island. Anyway, I'd appreciate some privacy, so could you please leave for a few minutes? I promise I'm not making murder plans."
"I... I see," I said. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."
I bowed in apology and left, but turned around and looked. Karita-san, not realizing I was watching, took the opportunity to retrieve something from the bookshelves. To my surprise, that "something" wasn't a book, but it was an envelope, one too small to contain anything other than a folded sheet of stationary paper. I could only guess what was on it, or why he'd choose to write a letter rather than say whatever was on his mind to the person in question; I'd only composed my apology letter to Asakura on Mom's request.
In the end, if Karita-san refused to share what was on his mind with us, then that was his decision. Perhaps we could disapprove of it, but we couldn't compel him to be honest with us. All I could hope for was that he wouldn't do anything reckless.
At 10 AM, we headed into the lecture hall for our first lecture, on the Hope's Peak Academy killing game. The eight of us sat in roughly the same places as last time, although Asakura and Karita-san often shot glances at each other.
Within minutes of our arrival, Monokuma took his place at the front of the lecture hall, in front of a picture of Hope's Peak Academy, and class began.
As many realize, Hope's Peak's Academy's purpose was to study talent, but few are aware that it was a means to achieve the school's ultimate goal- creating a student who could master any talent. For many years, that remained a fantasy, until the school found a way of unlocking a student's talent by suppressing all other aspects of their personality.
The school reached out to Hajime Hinata, a talentless Reserve Course student and chose him to become the Ultimate Hope. Hinata consented to the procedure and was reborn as Izuru Kamukura, forgetting everything about the person he had been until this point.
Some time after his creation, Kamukura massacred the student council of Hope's Peak Academy. The incident triggered a chain of tragic and despair-inducing events that spread chaos across the world, fueled by the group known as Ultimate Despair. For the sake of preserving the most talented young minds, the school enacted a Shelter Plan, and transformed the school into a shelter for the most recent class.
Unbeknownst to the administration, two members of Ultimate Despair- its mastermind, Junko Enoshima, and her older twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba- had infiltrated the school, and started a killing game within its walls. The fourteen other Ultimates began murdering each other, with the perpetrators being executed. Ikusaba tried to betray Enoshima, but ended up being killed by her instead. After Makoto Naegi, a student who got into Hope's Peak merely by luck, escaped being executed for Ikusaba's murder, he and the other five surviving students confronted Enoshima. After thwarting her final scheme, Naegi and his classmates got their revenge by killing her, then escaped the school.
The fates of the survivors- Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Togami, Yasuhiro Hagakure, Kyoko Kirigiri, Toko Fukawa and Aoi Asahina- are not currently known, but it is believed that they joined up with the Future Foundation, an organization led by several Hope's Peak alumni, to continue the fight against despair.
We were left at a loss for words. Minutes after Monokuma had left, as had Asakura and Karita-san, Kurogane-san spoke.
"So... Class 78-C of Hope's Peak was in a killing game, too," I said.
"It seems so," Kurogane-san said, "but doesn't something seem strange to you? Namely, how it ended?"
"You mean how they executed the mastermind?" Tatsuki-san said. "It only seems natural that they'd want revenge against Enoshima. The evil bitch killed her own sister, so if anyone deserves to die, she does."
Considering how far Tatsuki-san had gone to save her sister, it wasn't surprising she'd feel that way about someone who would betray and murder her own sister. Kurogane-san probably understood how she felt, but wasn't fully convinced that this was the "natural" end to the killing game.
"Maybe it's idealistic of me," Kurogane-san said, "but after being forced to execute so many people who'd been desperate to escape, would they really lust for revenge, even against the one responsible?"
"It does sound idealistic," Himeno-san said, "especially since it's possible that they chose to blame Enoshima for their friends' deaths, rather than the classmates who'd killed them. That being said, I doubt watching the traitor die will give me any more peace than watching Yamazaki-san's execution did. If Naegi-san and the others had a similar experience with those who'd killed people they care about, then I think that they would have reached the same conclusion."
"I agree," Sayuri-san said. "Watching Akira-chan be executed for 'killing' Miharu-chan didn't make me feel better; it only compounded my grief."
I nodded, and wiped away a tear.
"So most of us agree that Monokuma lied to us," I said. "Maybe this is something we want to believe, but I can think of a reason why Monokuma would twist the truth. He probably wants us to think that Hope's Peak's students were more bloodthirsty and vengeful than they actually were, and had been willing participants in his killing game."
"Maybe he does," Tatsuki-san said, "but you can't deny that at least some of the students gave in and killed each other."
"I know they did," I said, "but the existence of graduation and the motives to serve as incentives proves that Monokuma knew that we need reasons to kill each other."
I thought about the most recent motive, which happened to be the same as the very first one for this killing game. It was based on a simple yet compelling premise- only the traitor responsible for this killing game had to die. As terrible as murder was, this seemed to assume that some of us could accept killing one person, but not letting up to fifteen innocent people die.
I stopped by the performing arts center to get out of the rain, which started a few minute after the end of the lecture, and listened to Tatsuki-san practice her guitar. She noticed me come in mid-song, but didn't say anything until the song finished and I applauded.
"Thank you for listening, Chiyuri-san," Tatsuki-san said. "What do you think?"
"I'm not an expert, but it sounded pretty good," I said. "I don't know what your best is, though."
Apart from my lack of expertise in music, I didn't think of myself as a person with discerning tastes, even for the things I was a fan of. Some particularly hardcore fans of Magical Girl Sakura posted entire essays about how later episodes of the anime, as well as even the movie Akira-san had appeared in, weren't "true" to the original show, but I didn't think that deeply about it. To me, Magical Girl Sakura was just something I watched for fun, and the same went for listening to Tatsuki-san's music.
"Fair enough," Tatsuki-san said. "I'm not as rusty as I thought, but I'm not quite ready yet. I'll give you all an update tomorrow morning, and let you know whether I'm ready or when I think I will be."
"I'm looking forward to it," I said.
I left Tatsuki-san in the performing arts center to continue practicing. Perhaps her standards were high because she'd accomplished as much as she had, or she'd gotten so far because she had high standards for herself. In either case, I couldn't help but have high expectations for the upcoming concert.
I visited the gallery, and saw Kurogane-san once again looking at the class photos. He gazed at them with a scrutinizing expression on his face, carefully examining the small details that most people would probably overlook in a class photo that, apart from the vandalism, seemed rather innocuous.
"Hello, Kurogane-san," I said. "Are you still thinking about your cousin?"
"Sometimes," Kurogane-san said, "but I've mostly accepted that he's dead, so I came here for other reasons. I was hoping to find some sort of clue in these pictures."
I nodded, then took another look with him. While there wasn't anything with a clearly established height that I could use for the sake of comparison, everyone seemed to be about as tall in comparison to the others as they usually were.
"Let me ask you something," Kurogane-san said. "How much do you think an eleven-year-old like Mihama-san would grow in a year or two?"
"I think her parents would be able to make the best guess," I said, "but I'd say that probably a centimeter or two, depending on when she gets her growth spurt."
"Your guess is as good as mine," Kurogane-san said, "since she doesn't look that different in this picture."
I looked at Mihama-san in the portrait, since her face was still recognizable even with an X over it. In the portrait, she was still the shortest of us by a wide margin; if she'd grown, she probably would have gotten to be taller than me.
"She doesn't seem at all different," I said, "probably because this picture was taken near the start of the year. Notice that we're wearing our winter uniforms."
"Oh, right," Kurogane-san said. "I guess Mihama-san would be taller if we had a graduation photo or something, assuming we made it that long."
"From what we've hard, Tragedy happened at the end of our last year of high school," I said, "and the only question is whether we managed to graduate first."
Kurogane-san got out his student handbook, looked at it for a moment, then put it away. I was about to ask what he wanted to check when he spoke.
"I just thought of something," Kurogane-san said. "The school rules say that the trip's only for Talent High School students and teachers, right?"
"Yes, the rules say that," I said. "The rule was in there even before Monokuma hijacked this trip, and he didn't repeal it."
The fact that Monokuma had added rules but hadn't removed any sounded as though it might be important, so I made a mental note to add that thought to my notebook. Then again, the rules were rather minimal, so none of them seemed to inhibit Monokuma.
"So I guess we didn't manage to graduate," Kurogane-san said, "but is it possible that the traitor doesn't actually go to school at Talent High School?"
"I don't think so," I said. "I count all sixteen of us in the picture, and know that Mom has worked at Talent High School for years. Maybe the picture's been edited, but if it was, there'd probably be something that didn't look entirely natural if we looked hard enough."
As a result of us wearing our uniforms, we were mostly identical from the neck down, with the only difference being our body shape, and whether we were wearing a skirt or trousers. Of course, that didn't just mean that you could paste anyone's head onto anyone else's body, as Kumakura-san's head would look out of place on Mihama-san's body and vice versa.
"Maybe there is," Kurogane-san said. "Let's take a look."
Kurogane-san and I pored over our class photo, trying to find any evidence of editing- perhaps the traitor's head had been digitally edited onto the body of the student that was supposed to be here, or they'd somehow added a sixteenth student. Ultimately, we failed, and decided to take a break and eat lunch before the afternoon lecture; Kurogane-san seemed almost relieved to not see any evidence of there being a traitor, as was I, since both of us found the concept too disturbing to face.
At 2 PM, it was time for Talent High School's Killing Game lecture. After the eight of us were seated, Monokuma began.
Not long after the Hope's Peak Academy killing school life ended, Talent High School followed in its footsteps. The school had sealed itself with "borrowed" technology from Hope's Peak Academy, namely the air purifier. However, one student was part of Ultimate Despair, and set up a killing game within Talent High School's walls.
By the end of the killing game, five students remained- Kaori Miura, Sae Edogawa, Shinichi Inoue, Sousuke Kagami and Yusuke Tezuka. Miura, despite having no talent apart from a strange form of beginner's luck that enabled her to master any game she'd never played before for the first few matches, was able to expose each of the culprits. She ultimately deduced Kagami's identity as the mastermind, and she and the others personally tortured him to death.
The four survivors escaped from Talent High School. It is believed that they, too, made contact with the Future Foundation to continue the fight against Ultimate Despair.
Once again, we were left speechless, and discussed the lecture after Karita-san and Asakura left. Kurogane-san blinked back tears, realizing that he'd been right all along- his cousin Shiro-san had died.
"So once again, Monokuma made the killing game participants seem more like killers than they actually were," I said, breaking the silence. "What's more, for some reason he's emphasizing Miura-san not having a 'real' talent, just like how they said Naegi-san got into Hope's Peak because he was lucky."
"Do you think she's related to anyone in the Talent High School administration?" Himeno-san said.
"No," I said. "I know all the names of the board members- Arakawa-san, Fujiwara-san, Ishigami-san, Kusakabe-san, Yoshikawa-san- and 'Miura' isn't one of them. It does sound a bit like the surname the Chairman and my dad have, but that's Mitamura."
Maybe one of the board members was on her mother's side of the family, but the odds seemed rather low. It was rare enough that three people I knew of, myself included, had a board member as a maternal relative, so while it wouldn't be impossible for Miura-san to be the fourth, it sounded like too much of a coincidence.
"What about the staff?" Higurashi-san said. "Maybe being related to a teacher or another school employee would be enough to get her to qualify."
"Again, I don't think so," I said, "since only relatives of the headmistress or board members get the red carpet treatment. I recently found out that Asakura's mother is the secretary to the headmistress of Talent High School, as well as Kusakabe-san's sister."
The others let out gasps of surprise.
"Are you sure about that?" Kurogane-san said. "Monokuma didn't mention it."
"He must not have thought it was relevant," I said. "Apparently, neither did Asakura, which is why he kept claiming that I'd gotten in because of Mom's influence."
"I'm not excusing Asakura-kun's behavior," Tatsuki-san said, "but when you have the same last name as a teacher at the school you go to, people tend to notice. As for the headmistress' secretary, I doubt many of us would see her more than a few times while at the school, much less know her name."
Tatsuki-san had a point, especially in a society like ours in which most people went by their surnames. I could also tell that she was speaking from experience as the daughter of another teacher, one who'd had her and her sister in the same class some time ago.
"Anyway, let's get back to Miura-san," I said. "I don't think there's any reason to suspect that she got in through connections. She just happened to have a strange talent that did her little good, but nevertheless, was able to rise to the occasion and help her classmates. To me, that's admirable."
"Maybe it is," Higurashi-san said, "but three fourths of her classmates died, and the remainder escaped to a harsh and despair-filled world. I wouldn't be happy about that outcome."
"I wouldn't, either," I said, "since we've lost too many people to get to this point, and we may yet lose even more. Despite that, I can't help but feel as though there's some hope waiting for those of us who are still left, a light at the end of the tunnel."
I still didn't know what Monokuma was trying to accomplish by telling us about the other killing games, but I knew what I believed. I believed that there was a way for us to survive and escape without betraying and murdering our classmates, and that if we did, we could eke out a living in the new world that awaited us. None of that would be easy, but knowing that there was a possibility was enough for us to keep on going.
After the lecture I took a walk and once again returned to the gallery, this time to check out Class 33's portrait. This time, Sayuri-san was already there.
"Hello, Chiyuri-chan," Sayuri-san said
"Hello, Sayuri-san," I said. "Are you interested in the students who survived the Talent High School killing game, too?"
Sayuri-san nodded.
"Yes," Sayuri-san said, "because apart from Miura-san, I've heard the other survivors' names before. Edogawa-san is the author of the Aiko Aizawa series, and I believe we have some of her books on the ship. Tezuka-kun is a well-known abstract artist, despite being in middle school. Likewise, I saw an article on Inoue-kun once, saying that he's a middle schooler who is fluent in several languages."
"So did I, now that I think about it," I said. "That just leaves Miura-san as the only person in this class who didn't have any sort of outstanding talent. I wonder what kind of person she is."
Sayuri-san nodded and said "Me too." If Miura-san was the kind of outgoing and confident person I thought she was, she and Sayuri-san would probably be good friends.
"Anyway, there are other names we've heard of before," Sayuri-san said. "Several of the buildings around campus are named after those who got into Hope's Peak Academy the same year we got into Talent High School. Mioda-san is a talented musician, just like Tatsuki-chan. Nidai-kun is a renowned and successful team manager. Hanamura-kun is a talented cook who shares the name of a diner that my family visited while seeing some relatives in the countryside. Sonia-san is the princess of Novoselic... or should I say 'Sonia-sama'? I'm not good with the rules about addressing royalty."
"Yes, all of them are famous," I said, "but they'd have to be connected to the school in order to get facilities named after them. Buildings are more likely to be named after some influential member of the college administration, or some donor who gave a lot of money to the school, rather than an outsider who's the best in their field."
Surprisingly enough, Talent High School didn't assign such names to its facilities; we just called them "the gym," "the library," "the dining hall," and so on and so forth, like every other Japanese high school I knew of, including Saint Mary's. One would think that the founders would want their names attached to parts of the school that students used every day, but apparently, they weren't interested in that sort of thing.
"You have a point," Sayuri-san said. "Apart from the names I've just mentioned, I haven't heard of any of the people who had buildings named after them. The university has the same name as Towa City, but I don't know of any member of that family who's called Monaca."
"Neither do I," I said. "Maybe she's an illegitimate child, but I doubt the Towa family would want to publicize her existence."
"You could be right," Sayuri-san said. "Of course, there's a lot we don't know about Monaca-san; her age, her relationship to the family, what she might have accomplished, and so on and so forth.'
It was a bit surprising to hear Sayuri-san being so formal with others since apart from Mom (who, as an adult and a teacher, deserved respect), and Asakura and Karita-san(whom no one liked), she used first names on all of us. Maybe I felt this way because ever since the trip started, I hadn't gotten the chance to see her interact with anyone she'd just met. After all this time together, none of us were strangers anymore, even if not all of us were friends.
"Speaking of which, Chiyuri-chan," Sayuri-san said, "I just thought of a conversation I'd had with Himeno-chan. Despite being born to one of the wealthiest families in Japan, she said that she didn't inherit her father's business acumen, and won't inherit much of her family's estate. That's why she foresees herself becoming a low-level office worker for one of her family's companies, rather than the women in charge of them."
"I thought so," I said, "but why are you telling me this?"
"I guess to prove that our family ties don't necessarily determine our identities," Sayuri-san said. "Neither of my parents had much talent with art or writing, but I set out to become a manga artist, and believe I succeeded."
"I'm sure you did," I said, "but what if I want to become a teacher like Mom?"
"If that's what you want, give it your all," Sayuri-san said. "I'll be rooting for you."
As I thanked Sayuri-san, I thought about how my life would have gone if Dad had lived, if Dad wasn't Chairman Mitamura's son, if I'd been a legitimate child of the Mitamura family, as well as all sorts of other changes that could have hypothetically occurred. My life hadn't always been easy, but my experiences had shaped me, for better or for worse, and i wasn't willing to give that up.
Later that afternoon, I decided to take another look in the library, seeking out information on some of the people who had become the namesakes for the school's various facilities.
As I was investigating the first floor of the library, I heard a door slam. Carefully peering through the bookshelf I was investigating, I saw Asakura, dressed in a short-sleeved white T-shirt and blue jeans. He didn't seem to be armed, so I couldn't tell whether he wanted to hunt me down and murder me. That said, he wasn't half bad in hand-to-hand combat even if he had no training in hand-to-hand combat, so I didn't want to get into another fistfight with him.
I crouched down low to the ground, managing to conceal myself behind the books. I saw him heading toward the stairs in the center, and as he climbed the stairs, I slipped by him and out the door.
Once outside the library and out of earshot of Asakura, I got out my walkie-talkie and placed a call to Higurashi-san.
"This is Nagato," I said, "Please come in- over."
Within moments, Higurashi-san replied.
"Higurashi speaking," Higurashi-san said. "Is something wrong- over?"
"I saw Asakura in the library and had to sneak out," I said. "I don't know what his intentions are, but I'm still worried- over."
"Come to the dining hall," Higurashi-san said. "I'm waiting there with Himemiya-san, and I don't think Asakura-kun will try anything with witnesses around- over."
"Copy that," I said. "I'm on my way. Over and out."
As I hung up, I began the walk north across quad to the dining hall, looking over my shoulder. I saw Karita-san leaving the dining hall and waved to him as I passed, trying to seem natural. He merely waved back, not saying anything to me, but he must have known how rattled I was.
While I was walking, it occurred to me that while I'd known that my life had been in danger since the start of the killing game, I'd never felt such a sense of imminent danger outside of the class trials, which could potentially end with my execution... until now. I'd been able to casually converse with most people without worrying whether they'd end up murdering me, and while my previous interactions with Asakura had been unpleasant, even violent, I'd never thought he had it in him to kill me.
After escaping the library, I decided to lay low in the dining hall with Higurashi-san and Himeno-san. I wasn't in the mood to eat just yet, so I just sat down at a table and waited to calm down.
"Higurashi-san told me the details," Himeno-san said. "Are you all right, Chiyuri?"
"I'm managing," I said. "I'd like to say I'm just paranoid, and Asakura doesn't actually want to kill me, but..."
"I understand," Himeno-san said. "Apart from Yamazaki-san, who ended up killing Kanae in a fit of panic while trying to kill Karita-san, the supposed traitor, no one sought to kill a specific person; just someone who fit their plan."
It was certainly terrifying to think that someone would willingly plot to murder a classmate, rather than simply acting in the heat of the moment. Of course, knowing any would-be killers had specific goals would help us to understand their crimes, an important step to solving or even stopping them.
"But this time, the motive specifically asks us to target a certain person- the traitor- even if we don't know who that person is," I said. "If Asakura wants to target me, then that must mean he thinks I'm the traitor."
"Or that he wouldn't mind killing you," Himeno-san said. "I recall him suspecting that I was the traitor on the first island, so he seems to hop from one theory to another. It's possible he doesn't know, either, or isn't confident enough in his guess to assume that he won't have to go through a class trial."
"Either way, the issue boils down to one question," Higurashi-san said. "Is Asakura-kun willing to kill someone, and possibly risk all our lives just to save himself? The answer may prove crucial in the future, so think carefully about it."
Both Himeno-san and I remained silent, tempted to say "Yes," but realized that it might be too soon to make that judgment call. The issue was further complicated by the fact that if he killed the traitor, no one else would have to die- not him and not the spotless. Perhaps some of us might be willing to kill just one person who arguably deserved it, but wouldn't be willing to let seven innocent people die.
One thing we'd struggled with ever since Tatsuki-san's trial was being cut off from any form of law enforcement; not only could we have used an authority figure to police our actions, but they would also enable us to solve our problems in a civilized manner. We could impose restraining orders against potentially dangerous students, hold suspects for the murders as they awaited trial, and imprison those convicted of murder, rather than executing them. Without police officers, holding cells or courts, we had few options for dealing with Asakura without killing him... which was just what Monokuma wanted.
Some time later, I had an early dinner with the two whose last names began with "Hi," and quickly left with Himeno-san before Asakura stopped by to eat. Higurashi-san stayed behind with Kurogane-san, who'd stopped by to eat, and kept tabs on Asakura.
Himeno-san and I sat in the quad on a bench facing the dining hall when I got a call on my walkie-talkie.
"Higurashi here," Higurashi-san said. "Please come in, Nagato-san- over."
"This is Nagato," I said. "Do you have an update for me- over?"
"I just spoke with Asakura-kun," Higuashi-san said. "He denied looking for you. When I mentioned that you'd slipped out of the library earlier, he said, quote, 'Good, the last thing I want is to share the library with her,' unquote- over."
I chuckled. Himeno-san, who was sitting close enough to hear our conversation, smiled in relief, evidently inferring that the news wasn't all that bad.
"He's sarcastic as always," I said, "but I still feel uneasy- over."
"If he wanted to murder you, he wouldn't have admitted it to me," Higurashi-san said, "but he did get... rather defensive when I asked him about his growing distance from the group. I would repeat what he said, but your mother would likely be cross with me for using such language around you- over."
I giggled at Higurashi-san's unusually tactful description of Asakura's behavior. As for Mom, she generally only responded to profanity with quiet disapproval or a polite "Please watch your language."
"I've probably heard worse from Akira-san," I said. "Besides, Mom knows it's far too late to keep me sheltered from all the bad parts of the world... even before all this killing began. But I do get your point- over."
I knew that there were countless children younger than me who'd experienced far more hardship than I had, even before the Tragedy hit, but even I knew that life was not always easy or fair.
"Copy that," Higurashi-san said. "I've said all I want to except for one thing- be careful- over."
"Please be careful, too, Higurashi-san," I said. "Over and out."
I put down the walkie talkie and turned to Himeno-san, who seemed to follow the conversation from hearing my half.
"So I suppose that the Asakura-san situation isn't as bad as you thought, but it's nowhere near 'good,' either?" Himeno-san said.
"That sounds about right," I said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to stick by your side, at least for this evening."
"It would be my pleasure, Chiyuri," Himeno-san said.
I smiled. While I'd lost my best friend, and at least one of the survivors hated me enough to possibly want to kill me, I was no longer alone. The stress of the killing game was more than one person could bear, so I was glad I had people to share it with, and that I could take on their burdens, as well.
Himeno-san and I went to the library that evening, and searched for books about the people who'd given their names to the universities. Unfortunately, apart from finding a brief mention of Princess Sonia's name in a book about Novoselic, our search came up empty. The only good news was that Asakura didn't show up while we were searching the library- only Sayuri, who stopped by to help out. I considered stepping aside and letting the two have some time together, but neither wanted to let me out of their sight.
At 8 PM, we headed back to the ship and quickly boarded. This evening, Higurashi-san decided to serve as a lookout at the elevator while I went down to see Mom, to prevent Asakura from ambushing me as I left.
The moment I got inside, Mom realized something was wrong, even without my having to see anything.
"Is something wrong, Chiyuri?" Mom said. "You seem tense."
"I saw Asakura come into the library this afternoon while I was investigating it," I said, "and had to slip out without him spotting me. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I wonder if he'll try to kill someone- possibly me. He denied causing any trouble when he spoke to Higurashi-san this afternoon, but I'm still worried"
"As you should be," Mom said. "While Asakura's enmity with you is old news, his behavior has never been this erratic."
I nodded, feeling more nervous than before.
"However," Mom said, "while I believe you should be careful, you shouldn't let fear get the better of you. I can't help but wonder if Asakura-san is afraid of something."
"Like what?" I said.
"A few things come to mind," Mom said. "He most likely believes he's a suspect for being the traitor, one that people won't hesitate to kill. It's likely worsened by how he doesn't trust any of you, possibly because he thinks none of you trust him."
I couldn't help but be skeptical, since Mom always had a certain amount of sympathy for Asakura that I couldn't manage to dredge up. While his status as my classmate merely meant that we'd been brought together by chance, and would share the same fate if we were both the spotless in the class trials, Mom had a responsibility to him as his teacher, not entirely unlike her responsibility to me as my daughter. I could only imagine how difficult losing half her class was, and knew she most likely had to stay strong for the rest of us.
"If he feels that way, he should be honest with us," I said, "just like I was when I told the rest of the class about Dad. Killing him isn't right, but he should give us reasons to trust him."
"I'm not excusing his behavior," Mom said. "If he was my son, I would give him a stern lecture about his actions. However, I think it's important to understand his perspective."
I sighed.
"That's a good principle, Mom," I said, "but the problem is that Asakura has never tried to reciprocate any of my efforts to cultivate decent relations between us, from addressing him politely to trying to get along with him. Maybe it's entitled to ask for that kindness to be reciprocated, but a little decency and civility shouldn't be too much to ask for. Over the years, I've tried to be nice to most people, but I've come up with a list of people who aren't worth the effort, and Asakura tops that list."
Mom went silent, unable to respond to that.
"I don't want him to get himself killed," I said, "or to kill anyone else. In the end, though, it's only because it would cause problems for myself, for you and for the rest of us."
"Fair enough, Chiyuri," Mom said. "In the end, all I'm asking is for you to do what you think is best. Apart from that, this is Asakura-san's problem."
I agreed with Mom, but realized that I was different from her and Higurashi-san, at least where Asakura was concerned. Mom and Higurashi-san would probably feel a sense of duty toward someone like Asakura, while I loathed him, and refused to accept him as a classmate or friend, knowing that he would never so much as be civil to me. I couldn't help but wonder if a leader was better than that, even towards those who despised them, but that was one ideal I couldn't fulfill.
Maybe this was why Higurashi-san had taken his failures as hard as he had; he felt more responsible for the lives of our classmates than I did. Perhaps I'd failed in sharing the burden, or I was never honest when I'd made that promise, and it weighed heavily on my conscience. Perhaps it was too little, too late, but I had to at least show him that he had my support.
After riding the elevator back up, I saw Higurashi-san standing against the opposite wall, looking from side to side to check for anyone who might pass by.
"All done, Nagato-san?" Higurashi-san said.
"I am," I said. "Thank you for keeping watch."
"Not a problem," Higurashi-san said. "I'd just like to let you know that both Karita-kun and Asakura-kun returned to Cabin M4."
Higurashi-san stifled a yawn.
"You should probably get back to your cabin, too," I said.
"I will," Higurashi-san said. "Good night, Nagato-san."
As Higurashi-san started to walk away, I took a deep breath, then spoke before he was out of earshot.
"One more thing, Higurashi-san," I said. "I...don't think that I've done enough to share your burden of leadership."
"It's fine, Nagato-san," Higurashi-san said as he stopped and turned around. "In the end, this is something I chose for myself. I merely asked for your assistance."
"Maybe you did," I said, "but we share the outcomes of our decisions. Because of that, I want you to know that I'm behind you."
Higurashi-san smiled and said good night to me once again. Perhaps it was little more than a platitude, but it was also how I genuinely felt.
Even after returning to my cabin and locking the door behind me, it took me a while to calm down enough to fall asleep. All this time, the more cynical members of our group knew that we were our own worst enemies, and it didn't matter how well you behaved as long as at least one of your classmates wanted graduation badly enough to kill for it. I'd understood this, even before the first murder, but I never felt this fear as keenly as I did now that Asakura had become a time bomb without a visible fuse.
As I said my prayers, I asked for help protecting everyone, even Asakura and the traitor (assuming they weren't the same person). Perhaps it was asking a bit much of God, but I knew that this was not a goal Higurashi-san or I could accomplish alone.
Monokuma Theater
Like some people, I often buy microwaveable meals, but I ran into a problem.
No matter what I did, the meal never turned out quite like it looked on the box, and I wondered what I was doing wrong.
So I tried all sorts of things to try to replicate the meal on the front, but none of them worked.
It wasn't until later that I found out that the people taking the photographs to use on the box "dress up" the meal so it looks tasty and won't go bad under the lights.
In other words, it wasn't at all possible to get the meal shown on the front, at least without making it inedible in the process.
Boy, did I feel silly after realizing that.
Day 31
The third day of our stay at Towa University began, as did the final day of the first month of the killing game. There would be some rain in the evening, but none for the rest of the day. Of course, since Tatsuki-san would likely hold her concert indoors, in the performing arts center, this was a non-issue.
I once again went with a t-shirt and overalls, just like yesterday. If I was actually attending college, I'd try to switch things up, but since I'd probably be on the island for another day or so given past trends, I didn't mind wearing the same thing a few times in a row.
At breakfast, most of us wore our casual clothes, while Tatsuki-san wore her school uniform. Karita-san and Asakura didn't show up, leaving Higurashi-san and Kurogane-san as the only two at the boys' table. The two had come back to the ship last night, but what they were up to this morning was anyone's guess.
Ordinarily, I'd celebrate Asakura making himself scarce, but this time, I grew even more worried. I actually missed the days when he made rude and callous comments that caused everyone to dislike him, since at least then, he was actually participating in the group. He rarely contributed anything of value, but at least we didn't have reason to assume that he was plotting murder.
At the end of breakfast, Tatsuki-san stood up, cleared her throat and made an announcement.
"May I have your attention, please?" Tatsuki-san said. "I realize this is short notice, but I will be putting on a concert at around 2:15 PM at the performing arts center."
"I'm glad to hear you're ready," Higurashi-san said. "Is it just after the afternoon lecture?"
"It is," Tatsuki-san said, "but I'd like to allow the rest of us some time to get over there and get settled in. The concert should last 20 minutes."
In other words, we'd be done by around 2:35 PM. The time didn't matter, since we had six hours of free time, but holding the concert after the afternoon lecture seemed like a good choice.
"Should we pass the news on to Asakura-san and Karita-san?" Himeno-san said.
"If you want," Tatsuki-san said, "but I doubt either of them want to be bothered, so I'd rather not volunteer to be the messenger. In fact, it might be better if Asakura-kun doesn't come, especially if Chiyuri-san is attending."
I nodded.
"Yes, I plan on attending," I said. "Asakura will probably behave himself while there are others around, but you don't have to tell him or Karita-san if you don't want to. Truthfully, I'd rather not see him, especially if it means everyone else will have a better time."
"Then I suppose I'll take a pass on it," Tatsuki-san said. "I'll see you at the morning lecture."
A part of me felt bad about excluding those two, since we were doing to them what so many others had done to me, but I realized it was probably fair. All groups had to weigh a certain balance between being inclusive and keeping their standards; it wasn't right to keep people out for arbitrary reasons, but it also wasn't wise to include someone who might drag the group down. Deciding where to draw the line wasn't easy, but most people would probably see few benefits and many risks to inviting Karita-san and Asakura.
Higurashi-san and I told Mom about the concert.
"It's good to hear that you have some entertainment in these harsh times," Mom said, "even if it's unfortunate that Karita-san and Asakura-san will not be attending.
Higurashi-san seemed lost in thought for a moment.
"I'd like to ask you something, Nagato-sensei," Higurashi-san said. "What do you do about students who refuse to so much as show up to class?"
"Perhaps a better question would be 'What can I do?', Higurashi-san," Mom said, "and the answer is, 'very little.' As I've often told Chiyuri, a good education requires effort from both the teacher and the student. If a student does not understand how important it is to get a good education, and is not deterred by punishments for laziness or truancy, the school may have no choice but to expel that student. In that case, it's as much a failure for the school as it is for the student."
I'd always assumed that Monokuma punished all rulebreakers with summary execution because he was sadistic and bloodthirsty, but now I realized that it was the only meaningful punishment he could hand out. If I'd told Mom, "Sorry, but I don't feel like writing an apology letter to Asakura," she couldn't have done anything to me. At school, however, Nagato-sensei would have suspended both of us for fighting, and wouldn't have hesitated to punish her own daughter.
"Talent High School rarely has to expel students," Mom said, "partly because the school is relatively lenient, and partly because few students are troublemakers- almost no one is foolish enough to throw away what they've been given. But it does happen from time to time, and every time it does, I end up feeling responsible for those students' squandered opportunities. Perhaps they made their choices, but their teachers should have done more to guide them onto the right path."
"Good answer, Sensei," Higurashi-san said. "I personally wish I could have done more to prevent my classmates from giving in to the killing game. Perhaps they were responsible for their actions, but I feel responsible, too."
Mom sighed.
"I know that if I told you 'You shouldn't feel responsible,' it wouldn't do any good," Mom said, "so instead, I'll offer the following advice. You may not necessarily be able to control what others do, but you can choose whether to make the right decision yourself. After that, all you can do is hope that the others follow suit."
"Yes, ma'am," Higurashi-san said. "Thank you very much."
Higurashi-san seemed like he would make a good teacher someday, even if he would end up feeling guilty about the students who slipped through the cracks, and whom he ended up failing. Of course, this career would require him to get through the killing game with his morals intact, two things I hoped would ultimately happen.
As I left the elevator after the meeting with Mom, I saw Asakura and Karita-san exiting the ship together. Once off the gangplank, they went their separate ways, neither of them noticing me.
After making sure that Asakura hadn't seen me, I stopped by the Performing Arts center with Tatsuki-san, who treated me to a rehearsal of her song. Since she didn't want to haul her guitar everywhere she went, thereby risking losing or damaging it, she locked it in a locker backstage.
"So how was it?" Tatsuki-san said after finishing her rehearsal.
"Fine, as far as I can tell," I said. "I'm sure you'll be ready for this afternoon."
"I'm glad," Tatsuki-san said. "The audience for this show is smaller than I would like, but I'm set on making it work."
Since this was the most determined and optimistic I'd seen Tatsuki-san for the entire killing game, not just since her sister's death, I couldn't help but smile.
"By the way, I notice that you chose to wear your uniform today," I said. "Is it for the concert?"
"It is," Tatsuki-san said. "I checked with Monokuma and he said that casual clothes weren't mandatory. He did find it a bit funny that I was willing to wear my uniform when I don't have to, but I said I wore it to all my performances at school-sponsored events at my old high school, since I was representing the school. In those performances, I was 'Tatsuki Tachibana of Class 1-B, also known as Dragon Girl,' since my status as a student was most important."
Tatsuki-san seemed nostalgic for a moment, probably wishing she'd never left her old school.
"When Taiga and I got into our old high school, the principal gave us a lecture," Tatsuki-san said. "He said that as long as we wore this uniform and attended the school, our actions would reflect on the school's reputation, and we had an obligation to do our school proud. My school was glad when one of its own became a musician, but told me to be mindful of how I acted. If they ever find out about my killing Kojima-kun, they'll probably expel me, then notify the police."
Once again, I was reminded of how Tatsuki-san would continue to bear the consequences of her actions for as long a she lived. Most of us were willing to give her a second chance, but the justice system would probably insist upon her being punished for her crimes.
"You know," I said, "the headmistress of Saint Mary's said something similar about my school uniform, but that was only half of the lecture. She said it was a responsibility to represent Saint Mary's, but also a privilege to attend the school. I'm sure that no matter what happens, some of your classmates will fondly remember attending the same school as Dragon Girl."
"I think so, too," Tatsuki-san said. "I was happy that both Taiga and I were invited to this school, and recognized for what we'd achieved together. I wish none of this had happened, and that I could take back my decisions, but I'm glad I met all of you."
I nodded, and said "Me too," before deciding to lighten the mood.
"By the way, it might be a bit late to ask," I said, "but is there a dress code for your concert?"
"No shirt, no shoes, no song," Tatsuki-san said, "but luckily, all of you are dressed appropriately. In fact, Chiyuri-san, I'd say you, as the most casually dressed, probably fit in the best."
"Thanks," I said. "I suppose you like those sorts of concerts most, right?"
"I do," Tatsuki-san said. "I might sometimes daydream about playing in a fancy concert hall where all the guests wear suits or dresses and I have to wear a formal gown, but my music isn't really suited for a venue like that, nor is my audience."
While I enjoyed music as much as anyone else, I wasn't all that much of a fan of dressing up and going to a fancy concert hall. Those events were refined and elegant, but not for everyone; some might not like the formality, while others couldn't afford to pay for tickets. Because of that, a free concert with no dress code seemed more my cup of tea, so I was looking forward to this afternoon.
Tatsuki-san did another run through of the song, and stopped about 20 minutes before the lecture.
"I think that's enough practice for now," Tatsuki-san said. "I'll stash my guitar backstage, then we can head to class."
I walked with Tatsuki-san backstage, and saw her put her guitar in the locker, before locking it.
"Done," Tatsuki-san said, as she slipped the key into her skirt pocket. "Let's get to class."
I said "Let's go," then followed Tatsuki-san to the lecture hall.
The morning lecture was about "The Rise of World Ender." Karita-san and Asakura attended, but I noticed they were gone by the end of it.
As a visual aid, Monokuma put up a picture of the logo I'd seen earlier on the document Himeno-san had showed me on the previous island, as well as rows of men and women who wore the same suits we'd worn two days ago, plus sunglasses.
In the aftermath of the Tragedy, an organization called the Future Foundation rose in order to fight against the Ultimate Despair. Its goal is to create a world devoid of despair.
It is led by Hope's Peak alumni, including the former headmaster of the school, Kazuo Tengan. It is believed that the survivors of the Hope's Peak Academy and Talent High School killing games joined after escaping their respective schools.
As a result of its efforts, the efforts of Ultimate Despair were gradually reversed, and the world began to regain its hope. Slowly, but surely, society is returning to the way it was before the Tragedy.
But those who seek despair must not despair... er, hope? As long as people exist, there is the possibility that they will fall into despair once again.
After Monokuma left, Himeno-san called for our attention just as noticed that Karita-san and Asakura were gone.
"World Ender... Future Foundation... or whatever it's called..." Himeno-san said, "I believe I mentioned it to you before."
"You did," I said. "There was a fake recruitment ad for them at the career fair in the hotel on the last island."
"That's right," Himeno-san said. "In other words, "Monokuma probably sees them as the enemy."
"Then that's good news," Higurashi-san said. "Someone must be trying to rebuild the world and combat the influence of people like Monokuma."
Himeno-san shrugged.
"It's possible," Himeno-san said, "but as I said to Chiyuri, the Tragedy is a man-made problem. Like we heard yesterday, Hope's Peak laid the groundwork for the Tragedy, and Enoshima was simply intelligent enough to take advantage of it."
"That may be true," Higurashi-san said, "but even if people are truly capable of all this, and the groundwork had been laid, two years- or maybe even one- seems like too short of a time for the world to fall into chaos. The process seems too swift to be natural."
Even disregarding how Monokuma's lectures had played fast and loose with the truth, they were simply too short to have all the answers. Historians could probably write entire books on the Tragedy, each offering its own explanation for what had happened, so there was no reason to think that Monokuma could explain it in the time needed to read the dust jacket for one of those books. We'd need to find out the full story ourselves, including the parts Monokuma didn't want us to hear.
I took a walk around campus for the next few hours, particularly around the wide open spaces on the quad and playing fields, so I could see anyone who might show up. Luckily for me, I didn't spot Asakura.
At around 1 PM, I sat with Himeno-san at lunch, since she offered to help keep an eye out for Asakura. According to her, Tatsuki-san was practicing for Kurogane-san and Sayuri-san, while Higurashi-san was keeping an eye out for the other two classmates.
"The dining hall's food is quite excellent," Himeno-san said. "I'm afraid I'll start taking it for granted."
"Ah, you said your family had a chef," I said. "I take it you're missing that person's cooking, just like I'm missing my mom's."
Himeno-san nodded.
"Some people consider me spoiled," Himeno-san said, "and while I'll admit that their belief isn't exactly unfounded, I have two rebuttals. First, while I never wanted for anything, my parents were rather strict with me. I had to follow all sorts of rules about how I dressed and acted, and between homework, extracurricular activities and lessons, I had barely any free time. I doubt any teenagers who had to work part-time jobs just to make ends meet would sympathize, but they should at least understand that I wasn't just sitting around all day."
Himeno-san sounded vaguely nostalgic, as if she'd like to be doing all those things once again. Maybe she realized that they weren't so bad, or maybe she'd partially forgotten how onerous it was.
"And second," Himeno-san said, "I had at least some idea that it wouldn't last forever. I saw two paths before me in adulthood- be married off to another wealthy family and spend my life as a housewife, or make a more meager living for myself as a career woman- and I chose the latter. Again, I realize I'm lucky enough to have this choice, but that didn't mean I just expected to coast through life."
"I understand," I said. "You sound as though you regret this."
"I don't think anyone could have foreseen ending up in the killing game," Himeno-san said, "nor the entire world being ruined in a year or two- not Naegi-san, Miura-san or any of their classmates. Still, I was rather optimistic when it came to how my life would turn out."
I shook my head.
"I don't think that's such a bad thing," I said. "Having a vision for your future, and the confidence and skill to achieve it is a good thing."
"Thank you, Chiyuri," Himeno-san said. "If we ever get out of here, I'm sure you'll achieve your goals, too."
Our future aspirations seemed rather humble for Ultimates, even considering I wasn't the genuine article. Despite that, they were near and dear to our hearts, and were just one of many reasons we had to want to escape. They weren't so precious that we were willing to kill or otherwise harm others for them, but as long as we had reasons not to give up, we could persist in this terrible situation.
A little less than half an hour later, Higurashi-san stopped by the dining hall.
"Good afternoon, Higurashi-san," I said. "Are you here for lunch?"
"I am," Higurashi-san said, "and I'd like to give you a brief update. I saw Karita-kun near the athletics center, and Asakura-kun near the gallery."
"Really?" I said. "Did you talk with them?"
Higurashi-san shook his head.
"Unfortunately, no," Higurashi-san said, "since they took off around the time I spotted them. Once again, they were probably avoiding me."
"So nothing's changed," I said, "but why not call me on my walkie-talkie? Is yours not working?"
"No, it's working just fine," Higurashi-san said, "but I didn't want to bother you unless it was an emergency, especially when you're eating."
I appreciated Higurashi-san's consideration, but at the same time, wished he didn't think of it as "bothering" me. Ever since the killing game had started, I'd learned to keep my schedule open, and on this island, there were only three things to do today apart from the usual- Monokuma's two lectures and Tatsuki-san's concert. I desperately hoped that today, a class trial wouldn't be added to my list of things to do.
The afternoon lecture was about the Remnants of Despair. Karita-san and Asakura-san weren't present this time, either.
This time, Monokuma showed a picture of a throng of people in various outfits, from casual to suits, wearing Monokuma masks. They'd come from all walks of life, but had been molded into faceless foot soldiers in the army of Ultimate Despair.
Even after Enoshima's death, her legacy lived on. Many people still followed her ideology of despair, including all of Class 77-B of Hope's Peak Academy, save one member who had died shortly before the Tragedy.
Her followers continued to spread despair throughout the world and sought despair for themselves. They performed acts of terrorism, committed sadistic crimes against loved ones to feel the despair of losing people important to them, and even mutilated their own bodies to transplant Enoshima's organs into them.
Class 77-B has since been apprehended by the Future Foundation, but it is likely that people who follow Enoshima's beliefs are still at large.
Someday, someone will once again help plunge the world deeper into despair. It might even be one of you.
After class let out, the six of us held another impromptu meeting.
"So almost all of Class 77-B fell into despair," I said, "whereas Enoshima and maybe her sister were the only Ultimate Despair members in Class 78-C. What makes those two classes so different from each other? What makes Class 77-B different from us?"
No one answered my question with anything more than a shrug, a shake of a head, or an "I don't know," and I suspected that all of them were disturbed by the implications. Class 77-B was composed of talented students in our year, who might not be so different from us, so what was stopping us from becoming like them? That said, while some of us had committed murder, even the unrepentant Kirishima-san wasn't half as depraved as Ultimate Despair was.
There was another question- why had Enoshima corrupted her upperclassmen in Class 77-B, but not her classmates in 78-C? I could guess that most of us had closer ties with people in Class 32 than we did in Class 33 (or Class 31), except for people like Kurogane-san and his younger cousin, who'd known each other prior to coming to Talent High School. The only thing that came to mind was that there was too much we didn't know about Hope's Peak Academy.
"In any case, this explains why the buildings were named what they were," Sayuri-san said. "They were named after members of Ultimate Despair."
"You're right," I said, "but what about Masaru Daimon, Jataro Kemuri, Kotoko Utsugi, Nagisa Shingetsu and Monaca Towa? I've never heard of any of them before I got here."
"Maybe they're part of Ultimate Despair, too," Sayuri-san said. "The lecture said that Enoshima had other followers besides Class 77-B."
"That's true," Himeno-san said, "and maybe the traitor's one of them."
We fell silent once again. While some of us had betrayed the group for our own reasons, none of us seemed to be as depraved as Enoshima and her followers were... or at least that person was very good at hiding it. By now, the traitor had lost someone they cared about (or in the case of Asakura or Karita-san, didn't seem to have any such people in their life), so had they secretly rejoiced? I knew that certain people were sociopaths, incapable of feeling love or remorse, but were there any people whose moral compass was so out of whack that they enjoyed causing pain to themselves?
"Why don't we forget about this for now?" Tatsuki-san said. "The five of you- plus Karita-kun and Asakura-kun, if they're interested- are invited to an exclusive Dragon Girl performance."
"Let's go," I said. "I'm sure this will be more fun than Monokuma's lectures."
All of us got up, and followed Tatsuki-san out of the lecture hall.
The five of us followed Tatsuki-san to the performing arts center. and took our seats next to each other, near the stage.
Tatsuki-san herself stood on stage and surveyed the small audience. She'd probably never played for any crowds that were this small before, or at least not since when she was just starting out, but she didn't seem to mind.
"So I suppose that's everyone," Tatsuki-san said, "since Karita-kun and Asakura-kun won't be coming."
"I saw them an hour ago," Higurashi-san said, "at the athletics center and gallery, respectively. Unfortunately, they were unwilling to speak with me. Has anyone else seen them since then?"
The others said no or merely shook their heads.
"I didn't think so," Higurashi-san said. "Did anyone see them at all today?"
"I saw them getting off the ship," I said, "but they didn't see me, and I didn't say anything to them. Unless anyone else spoke with them, I guess they won't be coming."
The others were silent.
"Well, I guess it's their loss," Tatsuki-san said. "Please give me a few minutes to get ready for the show."
Tatsuki-san then headed backstage.
"I'd like to ask something," Himeno-san said. "Have any of you ever been to a concert like this?"
Kurogane-san, Higurashi-san and I shook our heads.
"I've heard music that's in Dragon Girl's genre," Sayuri-san said, "but I've never been to a live show."
"Interesting," Himeno-san said. "I guess this is a first time for all of us."
Moments later, Tatsuki-san emerged onto the stage with her guitar.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you've all been waiting for," Tatsuki-san said. "An exclusive Dragon Girl show for Class 32 of Talent High School!"
Tatsuki-san then began playing. I wish I knew how to describe what I'd heard better, but it was a fast-paced J-rock single. with upbeat and thrilling lyrics. None of the five in attendance were really the type who'd been ardent fans of Dragon Girl before we found ourselves in here, but all of us found ourselves getting into the song. It was the sort of song you'd have to be there to fully understand or appreciate, and I wished everyone who had died could have joined us- Taiga-san most of all. While Tatsuki-san was on stage, doing what she loved most, she seemed more alive than she'd been ever since her sister's death, so I wished Taiga-san could see that the killing game hadn't broken her sister just yet.
Tatsuki-san played a couple songs, and the minutes flew by. As she played, I forgot about the death and suffering. In this moment, I was just another teenager, having fun with her classmates and friends. This would be a pleasant memory, of the kind of class trip that all of us should have had, and a ray of light within the long, dark night of the killing game.
As the concert ended, we all applauded and cheered... including Monokuma, who'd shown up at some point during the performance, dressed in his ursine "birthday suit" once again.
"Bravo!" Monokuma said. "Who'd have thought that the Ultimate Songwriter had such talent as a performer, too?"
"Thank you, Monokuma," Tatsuki-san said. "Taiga is just as good at playing the guitar as I am, even if she can't handle large crowds. Then again, I think even she can play in front of five people she knows."
I couldn't help but shoot Monokuma a smirk, knowing his attempt to hit Tatsuki-san in a sore spot had failed. Despite taking satisfaction in that, though, I knew he didn't come out here only to pick on Tatsuki-san.
"What are you doing here, Monokuma?" I said.
"I'm here to talk about Asakura-san and Karita-san," Monokuma said. "Not only did they play hooky for both my lectures today, but they didn't even go to the concert that one of their friends put on!"
Calling them Tatsuki-san's "friends" was definitely a stretch, since Asakura and Karita-san had been among those who were most fiercely critical of Tatsuki-san after the second trial.
"I think they'd take exception to that description," Higurashi-san said. "Asakura-kun never fit in well with the others, and that situation has only worsened since his fight with Nagato-san a few days ago."
"Yes, and Karita-san has been acting strangely since the motive," Himeno-san said. "I doubt either of them would be willing to attend Tatsuki's concert."
"Then they're certifiably insane," Monokuma said. "When Dragon Girl puts on a live show for free, even shut-ins will drag themselves out of their rooms. Of course, if those two were shut-ins, they'd have gotten executed the first time we reached an island, and dead people can't attend concerts."
The others felt unsettled at Monokuma's "joke," and not just because it was macabre. Part of the benefit of having regular meetings that everyone attended, from meals together to Monokuma's classes, was that we could see that everyone was alive and well for the moment. As much of a relief as it was to not see as much of Asakura these past few days, whenever I lost track of him for a few hours, I worried that something had happened to him.
A thought then occurred to me. While murders led to class trials, there was an intermediate step- the body discovery. If Karita-san and/or Asakura were dead and no one found their bodies, there would be no need for a class trial. We would not have to sacrifice the blackened, and that person would not have a chance to graduate. Of course, I realized that it wasn't a good idea to say that out loud. At best, I would seem callous, and at worst, it might make me a suspect in either of their murders.
Of course, all that was a moot point, since Monokuma must have known what I was thinking.
"Ordinarily, this'd be the time to file a missing persons report with the proper authorities," Monokuma said, "but without police or campus security, finding those two will be your job. You won't be able to get back on the ship until you find out where they went and what they're up to, and if the deadline passes while you're still looking, you'll all get punished."
A chill went down my spine. Neither of those two cared very much about anyone else, but they had enough of a sense of self-preservation to not get killed thus far. Unfortunately, if they were up to something, it was possible that they would actively avoid us, even if it meant their deaths and ours.
"Do they know about this conversation we're having?" I said.
"No, I didn't tell them," Monokuma said, "not about their needing to get back to the ship and not about you looking for them. I'm sure the six of you can comb the campus in the next six hours or so. Even if they don't want to be found, I doubt they can hide from you for that long... even in a building as big as the technology center."
I checked my watch and saw that it was a little past 2:45 PM, so six hours left us fifteen minutes to return to the Ursa Major.
"What do we do if we find them?" Higurashi-san said.
"Depends on their status," Monokuma said. "If they're alive, you can give them a stern talking-to, and once you've found both of them, getting back to the Ursa Major will be their problem. If they're dead... well, the rest of you have a class trial on your hands. I wouldn't want to miss that just because you can't find their bodies."
So Monokuma had clearly anticipated my plan. Worse, the fact that he'd specifically mentioned the class trial probably meant that one or both of them really was dead, and we would have a class trial by the end of the day.
"But I've kept you long enough," Monokuma said. "You know what you need to do, so get cracking."
Monokuma departed, at which point Higurashi-san called for our attention.
"All of you heard Monokuma, so you should understand what we need to do," Higurashi-san said. "Our goal is to find Asakura-kun and Karita-kun before Monokuma's time limit expires. Six hours should be enough to search the entire campus, so we should stay calm and search carefully."
"How should we handle the search?" Sayuri-san said. "I'm not sure we can cover the entire island in time with one group, so should we have each of us search a different building?"
"No," Higurashi-san said, "since there are eight buildings and six of us on the search team. Besides, it would be too difficult to coordinate the search that way."
"Higurashi-san and I do have a pair of walkie-talkies," I said as I produced mine from the front pocket of my overalls, "but we only found two, so we can't have everyone spread out"
Higurashi-san nodded as he reached for his, which was mounted on his belt. At times like this, I missed having our cell phones, which would have let us call or text the others once we found one of the missing students.
"Let's form two groups of three," Higurashi-san said. "If they're dead, we'll trigger the Body Discovery Announcement once we find the bodies... assuming one of the members of each group isn't the killer."
"I'm surprised you'd say that," Himeno-san said. "You're normally more optimistic."
"I'm just stating the facts," Higurashi-san said. "It's likely that in a situation like this, at least one of them is dead. If one is dead and the other is alive, he's most likely the killer. If they're both dead, then we'll have to find the culprit ourselves."
As grim as the situation was, the fact that Higurashi-san knew precisely what to do gave us some degree of confidence. By the end of the day, two or more of us would almost certainly be dead, but if we stayed rational, we could still avoid the worst-case scenario.
"Good point," I said. "So, who's in each group?"
"I'll take Kurogane-kun and Tachibana-san," Higurashi-san said. "Nagato-san, please take Sasaki-san and Himemiya-san with you."
As far as I could tell, the only commonalities I could think of in each group were that Higurashi-san and his groupmates all used the respectful "-san" honorific on me (including Tatsuki-san, who'd recently switched to my first name), while my two teammates referred to me casually. Maybe Higurashi-san chose to team me up with two of my friends. The groups were seemingly random, but everyone in them got along, so I didn't see any reason why they couldn't look for two students.
"Everyone, please let your group leader know if you find anything worth discussing," Higurashi-san said, "and if you find either of the two missing students- dead or alive- speak up. Nagato-san, you're responsible for reporting your findings to me, and I'll contact you if I see anything. Other than that, maintain radio silence until you have something to report"
"Yes, sir," I said.
"Let's move out," Higurashi-san said. "All of our lives, not just those of the missing students, are on the line here."
As we split up, I didn't hold out much hope for a positive outcome, but knew this was too important for me to give anything less than my best effort.
The search began and didn't waste any time. After a quick search of the performing arts center, we didn't find hide or hair of the missing students, so we headed north to the art gallery.
"My group will go upstairs," Higurashi-san said. "Nagato-san, please search downstairs; we'll meet up once we're done."
"Understood," I said. "I think the downstairs part is a bit larger than the upstairs, though."
"Don't worry if your group takes a bit longer than mine," Higurashi-san said. "Search thoroughly and investigate anything that seems suspicious. If my group finishes early, we'll help you."
Higurashi-san's group went straight for the stairs, while mine started looking around. Our search of the gallery's 3D floor didn't turn up any trace of the two missing students, or any definitive proof either had been there. However, I did notice that the glass in the case containing the Spear of Gungnir was broken open, and the spear itself was missing.
"I'd like to ask you two something," I said. "When was the last time you were in here?"
"Just before noon," Himeno-san said. "Sayuri and I tried to see if there was any fine art among all this... work."
"Was the Spear of Gungnir in its case?" I said.
Both girls said "Yes."
"It was," Sayuri-san said. "Himeno-chan took an interest in the spear, and told me about how her sister practiced with the naginata when she was young. Her eldest brother did kendo, and the younger of her two older brothers did judo, so martial arts seems to run in the Himemiya family."
Himeno-san nodded. I'd seen enough details in class trials to know which ones were irrelevant, but while this story didn't reveal much, both girls clearly remembered seeing the spear there.
Eventually, Higurashi-san's group came downstairs and reported not seeing anything. We were almost done with our floor, so after checking the last couple rooms, we left the gallery and headed to the next building.
Our next stop was the technology center. Since it was the largest building, we needed a plan of attack, and we met up to discuss it in the lobby. Since the time was a little after 3 PM, we had plenty of time to spare.
"Once again, my group will search the upper floors, while Nagato-san's group will search the lower floors," Higurashi-san said. "Once we're finished with each floor, my group will move downstairs, while Nagato-san's group will move upstairs. We will meet in the center, then move on to the next building... assuming we don't find anything, of course."
Higurashi-san's group boarded the front elevator; the number on the display showed that it was already at the first floor. They then pressed the button for the fifth floor, resulting in the door closing and the elevator rising to the fifth floor, as the number went from 1 to 5. As it did, my team began to search.
Within about 10 minutes, we finished searching the ground floor. Not only did none of the labs have any sign of either of the missing students, but it didn't seem as though anyone else had used them, either. If this were a normal university, they would probably see use every day while school was in session, but ever since Kirishima-san died, none of us had any need of a research lab. All that made me wonder why Monokuma had gone through so much trouble to create a detailed environment for a killing game, instead of just locking us inside a school, stranding us in the woods or dropping us on an island.
"That's it for the first floor," I said. "Let's go up to the second."
"Should we take one of the elevators, or the stairs?" Sayuri-san said.
"Let's take the rear elevator," I said, "since it's closer and Higurashi-san's group didn't look inside. We can check the stairs once we're done with the rest of the building."
The elevators and the stairs weren't in either of our "territories," but someone had to search them. Higurashi-san's group had searched the stairs leading up to the second floor of the gallery, as well as the front elevator, so it was only fair that my group should cover the back elevator. We could probably look in the stairs on our way out of the building.
I turned around and faced the back elevator, which was just across the hall from the last lab room we'd looked in. There was a 3 on the display for the floor, indicating it was on the third floor, so it took a minute or two to come down to the first floor.
As the elevator arrived and the door opened, we saw Asakura's body slumped against the side wall, an arrow buried in his gut. His shirt was stained with blood and there was a small trail of blood leading from the door to where Asakura's body lay, albeit not nearly as much blood as I had seen around Kojima-san's body. He stared at us, his eyes glazed over and a vacant expression on his face.
So it was as I feared. Asakura had gotten himself killed, and now we'd need to find his killer. The only question was where Karita-san, who was now the prime suspect in the murder, had gone.
My student handbook pinged upon receiving the body discovery announcement... and pinged again a second later.
Before I could check my student handbook, my walkie-talkie started buzzing, and I answered it.
"This is Nagato," I said. "My group just found Asakura's dead body- over."
"That makes two of us," Higurashi-san said. "My group also found a dead body... namely Karita-kun's."
Author's Notes
Thank you for the theories. Phillip Clark raises a plausible theory, although I would like to point out that the reason why Monokuma refused to mention Asakura's mother is that it's irrelevant. If her brother wasn't on Talent High School's board of directors, Asakura would never have gotten in. Of course, it's possible that Asakura is the traitor, but at least one of the victims this chapter isn't the traitor, so the survivors will have to go through a class trial.
As you can see, Monokuma tells more than a few lies this chapter(e.g. the survivors willingly killing the masterminds, Kagami being part of Ultimate Despair). They're more obvious to readers than they are to characters, but even the characters have some suspicions as to what is or is not true.
Next up is the investigation.
