Azuki was starting to feel a little grumpy by the time he started to get close to school. He'd more or less ended up pulling an all-nighter in the perfection of his alibi. And in all fairness, the 'Towa City By Night' video idea was actually quite a cool one, and he'd managed to gather a lot of ideas that he was fully intending on actually using at some point.

But he couldn't be happy about that, not when he'd basically just assisted in a kidnapping, and when they still had not found Hana. And he'd tried to look himself, while wandering and pretending to take shots and make notes. But he'd not managed it. And all the scenarios that could have caused that were running over and over in his head. Fuck, I could have done something more concrete, couldn't I? Especially as the first of us to notice? Why didn't I specifically tell her to go over to the panic room, and then notify the others? Why didn't I myself pick her up and bring her with me? These were things that should have occurred to him before, he knew full well. But they hadn't.

Hopefully nobody is going to try and make small talk with me as I head back, and at least I'll be able to get away with just going to bed instead of classes. He was still dressed 'as' Azuki, rather than Fumiyo, so it wasn't as likely anyone would approach him, but it hadn't been unheard of. But turning onto the road, he noticed a couple of police cars parked, and instantly, he tensed. Fuck, oh fuck. Alright, keep walking, don't look suspicious. He hitched his bag a little higher on his shoulder, and quickened his stride, trying to look purposeful. Getting through the gates, he noticed police clustered around the side of one of the buildings, and a number of people suited up in those huge white suits that made people look like beekeepers and astronauts. Despite himself, he slowed a little so he could stare, but he didn't want to get any closer. Besides, they seemed as if they were attempting to clear the crowds of students that were gathering.

"I heard that a cleaner just found a girl, like dead on the floor-"

"-a Reserve Course, apparently, right?"

"threw herself off..?"

The snatches of conversation that Azuki caught were enough to make him catch his breath, for his blood to run cold, but he forced himself to keep walking.

"Heeeeey!"

Azuki squawked as Sho slapped him on the back in a comradely way, looking ridiculously perky, and oblivious to the glower that said perkiness was now earning him.

"Whatcha doing up so early then, hmm?"

"Planning for a new video." Azuki said tersely, as Sho wasn't alone. "What is it to you?"

"Jeez, chill, man." One of Sho's buddies said, though he didn't seem that bothered.

"Ah, coolness, coolness." Sho said. "You heading to class?"

Azuki shook his head, wanting to take Sho by the shoulders and shake him. He knew that they couldn't talk so openly around others, but couldn't he show even a little concern? Or had he really, somehow, inexplicably been actually sleep the entirety of the night before? Do you really have no clue? Azuki studied Sho's careful rumpled-ness, his smile and the annoying brightness of his eyes, but he saw nothing there. Nothing he wanted to see.

"Woah, hey, did you hear this? Some girl topped herself here last night?"

This exclamation came from one of Sho's friends, who had been intently studying his phone and now looked up, shocked but also somewhat excited. This was all it took for Sho and his other buddies to move away from Azuki, losing interest in him almost as quickly as they'd approached him. With a disgusted shake of the head, Azuki continued moving forward.

As he got closer to his room, he heard more snippets of conversation, mostly rehashing the points that he already knew: a girl had been found dead, possibly having jumped off the roof, she wasn't recognised as one of the Main Course and thus was more than likely a Reserve Course student. Nobody had identified her, and despite many efforts, the police around hadn't given details, giving the usual reasoning of needing to inform next of kin first. Which was of course the right thing to do, but was not much use to Azuki. Not when it could be…

Azuki almost stumbled as he had to get out of the way of a white-suited person who was suddenly striding down the corridor, two smartly dressed women who he assumed to be police or detectives of some kind closely following, heads bowed together, talking in hushed tones that only became more hushed as they walked past him. But even so, they couldn't hide the suitcase that the white-suited person was carrying. A small, ordinary brown suitcase, looking somewhat worn out, and only made special by the sparkly floral stickers that dotted it. These, two, were also worn out, but they were still enough to make the suitcase distinctive. Enough that, although Azuki had never seen the suitcase in his life before, he knew whose it was.

Azuki put a hand to his chest, closed his eyes for a moment. No. Please, no. When the detective and the forensic person finally disappeared down the corridor, he looked up and saw Minah looking at him in concern from the other side of the corridor. Cautiously, she looked either side of her before going up to him.

"I…have you heard anything from her?" she asked, softly.

Azuki shook his head, gesturing to where they had been.

"Didn't you see, the suitcase?"

Minah blinked, then shook her head.

"That can't be! Are you sure?"

"We didn't hear anything." Azuki said. "It lines up."

"No, but…."

Minah covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide and worried. The possibility looked like it had knocked the breath out of her too, but Azuki couldn't bring himself to say anything that could reassure or comfort. It wasn't as if there was anything, after all. So instead, he just pushed past her and ran the rest of the way to his room, ignoring anything and everything else, until he was finally inside. He slammed his door, locked it, then leaned against it, covering his face with his hands, and finally falling apart.

It had been confirmed by lunchtime, that the dead girl that had been found in the early hours by a cleaner was indeed Hana Otsuki. There had been an urgent video message, broadcasted by both principals, urging sensitivity and compassion for the bereaved family, who wanted to be left in peace. But since these kind words had been supplemented by a request (one that seemed half plea, half command) to not 'dwell' on it or to 'worry unnecessarily', Mokomichi had to wonder about the sincerity of it. Of course, he had other reasons for doubting it-there was no way that those two could possibly have not known why, exactly, the girl had been driven to do something so horrific. Just no way. But either way, it hadn't stopped half the Reserve Course student body from gossiping about it.

"I'm sure she must have been making a point, right?" one of his classmates said as they chatted, waiting once again for their teacher.

"What do you mean?" another asked.

"Well, like, she must have known it'd cause a scene, right, being on the school roof of all things?" the classmate replied. "Otherwise, why not just do it in your room, the way the other girl did?"

"But do people really think that clearly about that kind of thing when they're in the moment?" Mokomichi asked.

Because surely, Hana couldn't have been thinking clearly. Otherwise, I would have managed to find her, right? It stung that he hadn't managed to find her, that he had not even thought of the school. But if he'd been trying to escape such a thing, he would have run as far from the school as possible, not closer to it. I don't understand.

It took him a moment to realise that his classmates were staring at him. Mokomichi simply stared back, waiting. Eventually, one shrugged.

"I don't know, man. I don't know."

"Well, whatever. At least they've noticed."

"But you'd expect us to be interviewed about her state of mind and things, right?" another spoke up. "But they haven't."

"I mean, it's a clear-cut suicide."

"But what about an inquest?"

"Oh, yeah. I dunno, man. It sucks though, either way."

"Yeah, it does."

At this point, Mokomichi tuned out, half-watching the rest of his class, half-ruminating. He glanced at Mihoko, who to all appearances was diligently studying. But he could see that her posture was tense, that she was gripping her pen a little tighter. She didn't sense him staring, and didn't look up, but he'd seen her expression when Hana's death had been formally announced and he was sure it'd be much the same now. He sighed and shook his head, and decided to get his work out himself, when suddenly, the classroom door opened and his teacher, along with another, turned up with two strangers . All four remained in the doorway waiting for everyone to notice them, which didn't take too long. Once the classroom was quiet, the teacher spoke.

"Alright, as you know, as well as the tragic death of the second year student, we've also had a girl from the first year disappear from her home. The detectives want to talk to you all about that, since she is well known. The two of us will be acting as appropriate adults, though since quite a few of you are 18 already some of you might not need one. "

"They'll be group interviews, there's nothing to worry about. You just need to be as honest as you can, alright?" the other teacher said. "So, lets start…"

Mokomichi and Mihoko ended up in a group together with four other students, with their own class teacher as their appropriate adult-who promptly made a point of sitting in a corner and fiddling on her phone, until the detective asked her to put away, which she didn't seem too pleased about. Once introductions had been made, the detective got straight to business.

"So, I'm not sure how much you know, but Emiko Shishikane disappeared from her house last night. I'm sure you will all know her at least by sight or by reputation, am I right?"

"She's friends with her."

This student blurted this out eagerly, pointing at Mihoko, who didn't give much away apart from perhaps sitting up a little straighter. Mokomichi tried to catch her eye, but she studiously refused to meet anyone's eyes apart from that of the detective.

"Ah, are you now, Sakurai-san?"

Mihoko simply nodded.

"How long have you two been friends for?"

"I guess the beginning of this school year, or thereabouts. We met in school, through Otsuki."

"This is Hana Otsuki, right?" the detective checked.

Mihoko nodded.

The detective frowned, and made a note on his tablet.

"How is it you specifically met through her?"

"Not really sure, it just sort of happened. I know they know-knew-each other through their families though."

The detective nodded, and asked Mihoko a few more questions, which she answered as blandly in as few words as possible. Mokomichi was asked a little about Hana, since it was known that he'd known her via Mizuki, but he tried to keep his answers neutral. He allowed himself to 'admit' that Hana had felt pressured and that it worried her, but remained on guard for the rest of the interview. He couldn't tell whether the detective was satisfied with their answers or not, but at the very least he didn't seem suspicious, which was something.

When their class teacher dropped them back at the classroom, she declared it a 'free period' and promptly left with the next group of students to be interviewed. Almost instantly, Mokomichi and Mihoko exchanged a look, and then they went to gather their things and left the classroom.

They said nothing to each other as they left the building. Mokomichi turned to head to the willow tree, and Mihoko paused for a moment before speeding up to catch up with him. He sat down, and took his books out.

"I thought you were going home."

Mokomichi shrugged as he took his phone out and typed a message.

"No, I'm waiting for Mizuki." He said, simply.

In the end, after he'd been looking, he'd not gone back to her, instead going back to his flat. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because he hadn't wanted to disturb her, or because he hadn't wanted to face her with his failure. Either way, now he wanted to see her. Needed to. Which was why he'd told her where he was, now, hoping that once she was finished with the myriad things she had to do, she'd come back to him.

Mihoko frowned quizzically, and then shrugged.

"Okay. "

She proceeded to sit down nearby, and took out her own work. A few minutes passed, and then Mokomichi sighed.

"Do you think we'll be alright?"

"I don't know. They're probably going to connect the two, but…yeah, I don't know."

"We'll need to get our stories straight though, right?"

"Mmmm. Let's figure it out later, once the school day's ended. That's what you're going to talk about, right?"

"Mmm."

Amongst other things.

Mihoko looked up and narrowed her eyes at Mokomichi for a moment, then shook her head and returned to her work. Mokomichi tried to concentrate on his for a moment, and then something occurred to him.

"Has someone told Shishikane-chan?"

"You mean 'Yanagi-chan'?"

Startled at the bitterness, Mokomichi could only stare, momentarily failing to understand what it was she meant. Then, he recalled a message sent in the early hours of the morning.

"Yes, but still. Someone needs to tell her."

"Shino will." Mihoko said decisively. "They were in today-not in class half the time, but in."

Mokomichi wasn't sure what it was that made him do so, but he narrowed his eyes at her, almost in a mirror of the look she'd given him just moments ago.

"Bu-"

"Shino will tell her. Will tell Yanagi-chan."

Mihoko pointedly turned away, and picked up her books once again. What on earth? Mokomichi continued to stare, then decided to try and do the same, and once again a little time passed in silence until he felt a presence draw closer, and he looked up.

"Hey." Mizuki said, simply.

"Well, I'll leave now."

Mokomichi barely had time to blink before it seemed that Mihoko had practically vanished. He stared at the space where she had been, then turned to face Mizuki, who was standing, clutching her schoolbag and looking at him wistfully.

"I looked." He said, eventually. "I promise you, I looked."

Mizuki nodded slowly.

"I know you did. It's not your fault."

She sighed, and looked away. Mokomichi regarded her carefully, and then said.

"It's not your fault, either."

Mizuki shrugged, then sat down heavily in front of him, settling her bag on her lap and propping her chin on her hands.

"It feels like it."

"I know." Mokomichi reached over and covered her hands with one of his. "I know."

Mizuki let out a shaky breath, then closed her eyes.

"They asked me, if I wanted to take someone else for TEP, now that Otsuki-san is gone."

"That was fast." Mokomichi said, trying to be calm. It wasn't clear if they had been the Student Council or one of the principals, but it didn't particularly matter.

"I said no, anyway." She opened her eyes. "I still have you, after all."

He couldn't help but blush a little at that, but then he smiled, just a little.

"Yep. You have me all to yourself now."

Mizuki gaped at him for a moment, not quite getting it, but the moment that comprehension did dawn was clear, and she returned his tentative smile with one of her own.

"So I do, "she said. "So I do."

"Mmmm. So…shall we go home now?"

"Together?"

"Yeah. I'll stay this time"

"Alright."

Shino was supposed to be making something for both them and Hatsumi to eat, but they quickly got bored, and left the preparations halfway to pick up their phone and scroll through various social media, to see what people were saying about Hana's suicide. They would have expected there to be a proper outpouring, a demand for some sort of inquest or investigation. Instead, there were vacuous statements about the 'pressures on modern youth' and the need to 'put more in place to help the younger generation cope with the pressures of life', and outpourings of sympathy and scorn in equal measure. One article did mention Riko in passing, though not by name, and it was the closest thing to trying to call out Hope's Peak.

this death follows one that occurred in June, also on the premises of Hope's Peak, except in the dorm room of the student concerned. Though the two students did not know each other or have any discernible connection to each other, two tragic deaths in such a short amount of time has sparked concern that the centenary is putting particular pressure on the elite teenagers to surpass their limits…

"Pfft, no connections, my arse." Shino muttered.

They continued to flick through a few more, but again, found nothing particularly interesting or useful. The only thing that could really count as either was the fact that Otsuki's parents seemed desperate to sweep it under the carpet, but if they hadn't known why Hana had been out last night, they would have assumed that this was just an example of typical rich and stuffy parents wanting to brush off scandal so they could remain shiny. They supposed in a way it still was, except that this time they had further to fall if someone did dig in. Scrolling to the bottom of one particular article and noticing a link to an 'anonymous tip' page, Shino was almost tempted, but then they heard Hatsumi's somewhat muffled warbling coming from the shower and they stopped. No, I'll save it for later. They put their phone down, and with some reluctance went back to the food.

Once the pasta had been made, Shino shovelled it into two bowls, stuck a fork in each bowl, and then plonked them onto an old tray they'd pulled out that morning. Then, they shoved all the cooking utensils they had used into the sink, ran some water over it briefly so the sauce wouldn't dry and make life harder later, then picked up the tray and took it down to the panic room.

"Food's ready once you're done!"

Shino called this out as they walked past their bathroom. They didn't need to elaborate that Hatsumi needed to come to the panic room instead of the kitchen for said food. They knew that she knew that the kitchen and the bedroom, what with their windows, were by far the most dangerous for her to be in. Once inside, they plonked the tray on a heavily-sellotaped box of childhood books, and sighed, wondering what to do. Then, they looked around absently, wondering what to do while waiting. Their eyes landed on the print out of the project document, and despite having basically read it almost to death, they decided to read it again, hoping for some sort of loophole or revelation that they'd be able to use to do something. Blow all this wide open. Avenge Hana. Save Hatsumi.

At first, nothing seemed to jump out at them as they read it, it was just more of the same depressing, disturbing content. But then, something that had always been there but they'd been skimming over all this time caught their eye.

"The chosen subjects will be tested alongside Subject E (Appendix C-3), to compare the potential effects between what could be considered as 'fresher minds' and that of one who is physically older."

Shino frowned at this. Subject E. Why E, of all the letters? A thought popped into their mind, but determinedly, they pushed it down as they flicked through to find Appendix C-E, and read it carefully.

Subject E was a first-year male student in the Reserve Course who was reported to be shy and quiet, generally unassuming but in good health physically. Though his parents claimed he had no relationship with his two younger siblings-a five year old girl and a three-month-old boy-teachers reported that he had been heard talking fondly about them to the few classmates he had befriended. On one occasion, he was seen showing the girl around the outdoor grounds, and there seemed to be a genuine affection between them. He was reported to be 'utterly' average and to have very little interest in being Talented, despite the wishes of his parents. Indeed, he seemed to want to transfer to an 'ordinary' school, though owing to his nature he did not seriously fight for this want the way other teenagers might. More details on his background can be found in the 2022 edition of this report, Section B.

Subject E was taken for the Izuru Kamukura Project on the 6th November, 2022, with the consent of his parents. At this stage, as it had been decided that any students enrolled were not to be informed of the nature of the Project, he was bought to the project under the guise of being asked to see one of the Principals. His parents then put about the story that he had run away from the school-

Shino closed their eyes, trying to stop the trembling that had suddenly taken over their entire body. Slowly, they forced themselves to reopen their eyes, look down at the sheet. One paragraph slightly further down jumped straight out.

Though it is unclear whether they are aware that Subject E did have a connection with his younger siblings, the parents were adamant that this would not pose a problem in being able to use him. The baby of course would not know different if he was absent, and the five year old was described as being at an age that was 'still early enough to mould' and that she could be persuaded to forget-

Almost unconsciously, Shino tossed the papers away from them, scrambling backwards and staring at them as if they were burning, the trembling worse now. Persuaded to forget, persuaded to forget, persuaded to forget…

"Fuck, it worked, didn't it? It really did."

"Shino?"

They jumped violently and whirled around to stare at Hatsumi, who had come out of the bath, dressed in dark jeans and a thin mint-green jumper, a towel draped around her shoulders and her hair wet and straggly, center-parted haphazardly and falling in waves that it hadn't had before. Damn, she really is transformed. Cautiously, Hatsumi looked around her and at all the papers that were now scattered everywhere before tentatively walking over and picking one up.

"Shino?" Hatsumi repeated. "What happened?"

Shino opened their mouth to speak, and realised they couldn't breathe. Doubling over, they gasped, trying to breathe in, and out, and in, and out, until finally, their chest loosened, just a bit, and they were able to straighten and look Hatsumi in the eye.

"Eizan…" they started.

"Eizan? That's the name on the box you're so freaky over, what-"

Hatsumi was frowning, looking mostly at Shino but still glancing at the paper from time to time as she spoke. But Shino interrupted her before she could finish the question.

"I need to tell you about Eizan. I think I know what happened to him."