Chapter VI: Goodbye Talent High School

Warning: This Chapter will extensively discuss revelations made in the final Chapter of Where Talent Goes To Die, especially the mastermind's identity.

Deadly Life

"Chiyuri?" Mom said.

I opened my eyes, and saw Mom leaning over me./ We were inside what looked like a nurse's office and I was lying on the bed. For a moment, I wasn't sure whether the vision I'd just had was a dream, or the events of the past thirty-three days had been.

"Mom?" I said. "Where are we?"

"In the nurse's office inside Talent High School," Mom said, "or at least the replica of it. You blacked out the moment we entered, and we carried you here. We only just arrived."

I turned to my side and noticed my four classmates, as well as Monokuma. I wanted to feel relief over the fact that I hadn't been unconscious for long and nothing unfortunate had happened during that time, but I knew this was no time for relaxation, let alone celebration.

"Good, you're awake," Monokuma said, "and the rest of you are here. I was going to hold this discussion in the gymnasium, which is the perfect place for big assemblies, but if you're all together, this place will do."

I pulled the covers back, sat up on the bed to face Monokuma and listened attentively.

"I'm going to officially announce the goal of the graduation exam," Monokuma said. "You've got to answer several important questions about your situation- where you are, how you got here, what the purpose of the killing game is, and, of course, who's responsible. Most of those aren't too hard... well, except for finding the traitor, of course."

"And you think we can find the answers here?" I said.

"This place is a replica of Talent High School just before the Tragedy," Monokuma said, "so anything that was at the school before it was sealed away can be found here. All the doors are unlocked, and certain confidential computer files are available for your perusing, so you have everything you need to find the traitor's identity. All doors to relevant locations are unlocked, so you can explore Talent High School at your leisure."

So in other words, this was one final investigation. Unfortunately, while we had clear goals, as well as some idea of what we'd need to find to fulfill them, it wasn't obvious where we'd need to look.-

"That's all," Monokuma said. "I'll let you know when it's time for the graduation exam. When the time comes, head to the elevator- you can get there by taking a right turn at the school entrance, and turning right again. Dismissed!"

Monokuma departed once again. As soon as he was gone, I rose to my feet and quickly looked myself over in a nearby mirror. My tie had been loosened while I was unconscious, so I quickly retied it, so that the knot was at my collar.

I then turned back to Mom and my classmates, who seemed utterly lost.

"So... in the end, we have no choice but to find out who the traitor is and expose them," Sayuri-san said. "This pursuit cost Kanae-chan, Yamazaki-kun, Asakura-kun, Karita-kun and Nobuhiro-kun their lives, so who else will have to pay the price?"

"I don't know," I said, "but Monokuma isn't giving us a choice. It's like yet another class trial, in which the traitor is the blackened and we're the spotless."

The others looked at me despairingly, and I realized that this wasn't the right thing to say. Some of the more cynical members of our class had dismissed Higurashi-san's speeches as platitudes, but at least he had something to say in order to lift our spirits. Now that he was gone, it fell to me to give the others the courage to move forward.

"However, this time will be different," I said. "The first murder and the two most recent murders were caused by people unilaterally seeking to eliminate the traitor for their own selfish ends. They failed for many reasons, but I think the one reason that all of them had in common was that the rest of us were united in order to solve the murder. This time, we will work together to find the traitor, for the our survival- not just our own, but our friends and loved ones. All of us have the same goals, the same wish to return home, so if we recognize that we're all in the same boat, both figuratively and literally, we will prevail."

The others smiled. When Tsukimura-san had died, many of us, including myself and her killer, had little faith in our ability to solve a murder, but we'd done that five or six times, depending on how one counted. We'd lost many of our friends and classmates along the way, but we'd gained a sense of camaraderie in the process. That didn't mean that the past few weeks were worthwhile, but by going through those figurative and literal trials, we were prepared to face this one as well.

"Excellent speech, Chiyuri," Mom said, "but what about the traitor?"

"I'm sure she will simply pretend to cooperate," I said, "...or he, if Kurogane-san is the traitor. All we need to do is find out who is trying to steer the investigation away from the truth, and the culprit's identity will be known."

"That's right," Tatsuki-san said with a mirthless chuckle. "Back in the second trial, I tried to accuse Azuki-san of the murder to throw suspicion off of myself. We all know how well that turned out..."

In hindsight, Kirishima-san was the only blackened with a clear plan to frame someone else, and his plan relied on my inability to remember the events leading up to Kumakura-san's murder. Perhaps the traitor had chosen a "fall guy," but since there were no obvious candidates ever since Asakura and Karita-san's deaths, that ploy would, at best, merely buy the traitor time

"In any case, you all know what to do," I said. "Like with the previous investigations, please search the school for information that we need- namely, answers to the questions Monokuma has given us. Please forward any important findings to me or to Nagato-sensei. Without any further ado, let the final investigation begin."

As we set out, I couldn't help but fear that things were not as simple as I'd made them seem. In each of the previous cases, the killers had left behind some evidence that helped uncover the truth, and the more mistakes they had made, the more evidence there was. As far as I could tell, the traitor's plan to make us kill each other had gone off without a hitch, so where would we even begin to find a clue that would reveal their identity?

As we exited the nurse's office, we took a look around. As a result of coming to meet with Mom after she got done at work, as well as my interview, I knew the building better than anyone who hadn't worked or studied there (a group that didn't include us, thanks to the memory wipe). As such, I recognized the area around me instantly, although something seemed a bit odd about the color of the walls.

"So... where should we start?" Himeno-san said.

"The fifth floor is the best place I can think of," Mom said. "It contains the headmistress's office and other facilities. Any sort of confidential information will likely be there."

"I agree," I said. "It'll be a bit of a walk, but once we're done there, we can work our way downward."

Following Mom's lead, we headed upstairs and before we knew it, we were on the fifth floor. Upon stepping through the door at the top of the stairs, I turned around and saw the stairway to the fourth floor behind me. What was even stranger was that not only did we only go up two flights of stairs, but unlike the technology center on the fifth island, which had a single stairway in the middle, none of the stairways on Talent High School were connected.

"Wait, we're up to the top floor already?" I said. "We should only have gone up two flights of stairs"

"There's no mistaking it," Mom said. "This is the top floor, since I recognize this as the area around the headmistress' office."

"Then I suppose that's a good thing," Himeno-san said, "since it does save us some time walking up the stairs."

I sighed.

"Yes, but it complicates things," I said. "Let's search each floor one by one and meet up when we're finished, since we have no way of knowing where we will end up when we go down the stairs."

"True," Kurogane-san said. "Kojima-kun told me about teleporter mazes in video games. Ordinarily, teleporters A and B would be connected, meaning that if you enter one, you go to the other, but it's possible that while A would lead to B, B would lead to C, or either would be one-way teleporters with no way back."

"That sounds rather troublesome," Sayuri-san said.

"I know," Kurogane-san said. "Kojima-kun had to look up the solution to one such dungeon in an old RPG on the Famicom. We don't have that luxury, so let's just do as Nagato-san says."

Authority figures earned the loyalty of those they commanded for a variety of reasons. Some people respected them, others were scared of them and still others needed someone to guide them, whether out of trust or because they didn't have the willpower to make their own decisions. The latter reason seemed to be true here, so I had to be worthy of my classmates' trust.

We split up to search the floor, and I joined Mom as she investigated the headmistress's office. I'd been there a couple times, so it seemed to be as I remembered, except for a few floating holograms that seemed to contain text.

"We don't have time to pore over every document in the headmistress's office," Mom said, "so I'll pick out what seems important and hand it to you to look over."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, "While you're sifting through everything there, I'll take a gander at that."

I pointed at a hologram that was floating in front of our faces. which looked like an email viewing window on a computer or mobile device. It was intangible, but by pointing my finger, I could manipulate it in the same way that I could a touchscreen.

On the screen was an email from the headmistress, to Kumiko Asakura, who was presumably Yuichi Asakura's mother. The subject was "CONFIDENTIAL: Shelter Plan."

From: Headmistress

To: Kumiko Asakura

Subject: One-On-One Meetings With Students Re: Shelter Plan

Asakura-san,

Today, I will call each of our Main Course students into my office to obtain their consent for the Shelter Plan. We are asking a great deal of those students, even if it is for the sake of saving their lives and preserving their talents, so if they agree to participate, they must do so of their own free will.

This is a matter that is strictly confidential, so please wait outside until I am finished. The same goes for Nagato-sensei and Kurosawa-sensei, who, as the students' homeroom teachers, were the only ones consulted about this in advance.

I recalled Kurosawa-sensei's name somewhat well. According to Mom, Kurosawa-sensei was the homeroom teacher for Talent High School's senior class, while Mom was the homeroom teacher for the junior class.

"So the headmistress asked Asakura-san to stay out of the meetings with the students," I said. "Do you think Asakura-san might have only pretended to go along with it?"

"I won't say it's impossible," Mom said, "but Asakura-san isn't the type to disobey orders. Take a look at this."

Mom directed my attention to another hologram, this time an email by Asakura-san to the headmistress.

From: Kumiko Asakura

To: Headmistress

Subject: Re: One-On-One Meetings With Students Re: Shelter Plan

Ma'am,

Rest assured, you can count on my cooperation. As my son is among those who will be protected by the Shelter Plan, I understand the seriousness of the situation.

I have not told Yuichi about this, but I am sure that he can be trusted. Likewise, I am sure that Nagato-sensei has not told her daughter either.

"So in other words, we only have Asakura-san's word to prove that neither she nor her son are traitors," I said. "Then again, I guess there isn't anything proving that they are guilty.

We continued to look through the office, and discovered another email, once again from the headmistress. The "To" section, however, indicated that it had been sent to all of the school's faculty and staff.

From: Headmistress

To: Talent High School Faculty and Staff

Subject: Listening Device Found In My Office

To all staff and faculty members,

A listening device has been discovered in my office after the Shelter Plan interviews were conducted.

I cannot identify the model, but it appears to wirelessly transmit data to an outside source.

It was likely planted the day before I interviewed the students.

Please search for the culprit, but do not tell the students about this.

"So the headmistress's office was bugged, but she didn't tell anyone," I said. "I suppose that means that the traitor was the only one who realized something was wrong."

"Maybe not," Mom said, as she showed me a document she'd found on the table.

I took a closer look at it and saw that it was paperwork for disciplinary action against a student- namely, Kojima-san. He'd been charged with unauthorized departure from campus, and been confined to his room for ten days. The date was about a week before White Day of our last year of high school.

"It says here that Kojima-san snuck off campus," I said, "and was only caught after he returned. I guess that means that there was some sort of hole in our security, but why would he want to try to get out of here?"

"Take a look at the transcription of the student council's interview with Kojima-san," Mom said. "Apparently, he wanted to get chocolate for White Day."

As I read the document, I couldn't help but giggle. In hindsight, I was of two minds regarding Kojima-san's unrequited crush on Akira- a part of me was irritated by how doggedly he'd pursued my best friend, but another part sympathized with his yearning for someone who'd never love him, since many people I'd wanted to befriend never gave me the time of day. Of course, breaking the rules and risking his own life just to get chocolate for Akira seemed like something Kojima-san would do.

"It looks like he never changes," I said. "Of course, even disregarding how he's dead, I doubt that he's the traitor. He staked his life on a chance of escaping with Akira, and ultimately got himself killed. Not only is it unlikely that the traitor would be that careless, but I doubt they'd be willing to die for that."

"Quite true," Mom said. "All of the killers, plus Taiga-san, Azuki-san and Higurashi-san, had things they were willing to die for. I can only guess what the traitor's motive is, but I doubt they would throw away their life in a poorly thought-out attempt to escape."

As we searched the rest of the room and found no more relevant evidence, I thought about what this meant for the investigation. Perhaps Monokuma was telling the truth, and the traitor had faked their death somehow, but I doubted that any of the people who had been executed fit the profile, so the pool of suspects being limited to the six of us who were still alive didn't rule out too many people who would otherwise be suspicious. Of course, this would be like any other trials- either we'd find the one person who was guilty, or the rest of us would lose our lives.

My next stop was the physics lab, where I saw Sayuri-san standing near a large and familiar-looking machine. I recognized it as the air purifier from the fifth island.

"Oh, hello, Chiyuri-chan," Sayuri-san said. "I found some possible evidence, but it seems a bit hard to understand.

I looked through another document, a blueprint for the air purifier. A handwritten note was attached to the document.

I upheld my end of the deal and obtained the plans from Hope's Peak Academy. Once this is finished, you should have the last thing you need for the Shelter Plan.

While I kept a little insurance policy handy just in case you go back on your promise, you can trust me to cooperate. Getting the air purifier up and running is as much in my best interests as it is in yours.

-Kagami

"So it seems as though Kagami was responsible for 'borrowing' the plans to the air purifier from Hope's Peak Academy," I said, "hence why our school has a machine like theirs."

"That's what I gathered, too," Sayuri-san said. "But even if he was the mastermind behind the Talent High School killing game, he died at the end of that killing game, so what does he have to do with us?"

"Good question," I said. "Maybe there's a link of some sort between their killing game and ours?"

As I pondered that question, I turned my attention to a holographic window that looked like a media player.

"Anyway, there's an audio file here," Sayuri-san said. "I wonder what it's about."

"Me too," I said, as I pressed the "Play" button.

"It's me," a boy said, sounding as though he was speaking on a phone. "Talent High School accepted the air purifier plans and doesn't suspect a thing. I don't know why your informant didn't do the job, or what you've got planned for them, but it's just as well. I'll be ready to get things started after you're finished with Hope's Peak."

The recording then ended.

"Was that... Kagami-kun?" Sayuri-san said.

"I assume so," I said. "We've never heard his voice, but he did say that he was related to the theft of the air purifier plans, so I don't know who else it could be."

"Me neither," Sayuri-san said. "Speaking of which, I've heard of a few of the other members of Class 33- for example, Mitamura-san was my kohai at my old school- but Kagami-kun isn't one of them."

I shrugged. While Miura-san was the only survivor of the Talent High School killing game that no one had heard about, I hadn't even heard of half of the people who'd died.

"I can think of three possibilities," I said. "One, his talent manifested- or at least became known- in our first year at Talent High School. Two, he's the relative of a board member, like Kojima-san, Asakura and I are. Three, he faked his way into Talent High School, like Karita-san did. In any case, Kagami's less important than the 'informant' he mentioned- who's probably the traitor."

"That's a good guess," Sayuri-san said "Perhaps if we uncover the truth behind the traitor's identity, we'll find out more about the Talent High School killing game."

I nodded, then after a cursory examination of the rest of the lab, left to examine the rest of the floor.

I visited the student council room next, and saw Himeno-san there, along with Mom.

"Oh, hi, Mom, Himeno-san," I said.

"Hello again, Chiyuri," Mom said. "I finished with the headmistress' office, but couldn't find any that were of any significance. Her desk was locked and her computer wouldn't start up, so I joined Himemiya-san here."

"I see," I said. "What have the two of you found here?"

"Just some pictures and other documents," Himeno-san said, "relics of our time at Talent High School."

Himeno-san drew my attention to the table in the center. There were some pictures of the class at Talent High School doing a variety of things- attending class, hanging out together, taking part in school-sponsored events or even practicing our talents.

"So two years really did pass," I said, "and we really did spend that time at the school. There's a possibility that it's been edited, but I think the evidence so far supports the theory that we really did attend the school."

"It seems so," Mom said. "Talent High School takes pride in its students, and extensively documents their time at the school, to prove that such talented individuals once studied in our institution."

My gaze fell on a picture of the Christmas party. Mihama-san was a few centimeters taller than she was in the killing game, not to mention taller than me.

"This must be from the Christmas of our second year at the school," I said.

"I believe so, too," Mom said. "Mihama-san is noticeably taller than before. Chiyuri grew a bit when she was that age, although she's still on the short side."

Apparently, Dad was a bit on the short side, so I'd gotten my height from his side of the family. I couldn't help but wonder what my classmates looked like when they were young.

"I have a question, Sensei," Himeno-san said. "Do you have any personal keepsakes in your workspace that might provide information?"

"None that I know of," Mom said. "The only personal touch I have on my desk is a picture of myself and Chiyuri."

Mom had a few pictures of herself and Dad, but she kept them at home. After all, her agreement with the chairman and the rest of the administration required her to hide the identity of my father, even if it ultimately doomed her to suffering the stigma associated with unwed mothers.

"Ah," Himeno-san said. "It was just a thought, since I hoped I might be able to help Chiyuri to think of places to look."

Himeno-san suddenly turned beet red.

"Err... I mean 'Chiyuri-san," Himeno-san said. "Or is 'Nagato-san' more appropriate? I'm not sure whether it's more appropriate to address her as your daughter or a classmate."

"Whatever Chiyuri's fine with being called is fine with me," Mom said.

"That's right; 'Chiyuri' is perfectly fine," I said. "The only reason Nagato-sensei calls me 'Nagato-san' in class is that it's part of an agreement we made... and even she slips up and calls me 'Chiyuri' sometimes."

"Oh, I'm glad," Himeno-san said. "I think I told you this before, but when I'm as familiar with someone as I am with Kanae, it's difficult for me to switch back to formal address. There aren't many people I'm that close with, but I'm glad you're one of them."

I nodded, with a smile. Perhaps Himeno-san and I had become this close while we were at Talent High School, or perhaps it had taken the killing game for us to bridge the gap between each other. Of course, it was entirely likely that the traitor was someone I shared a close bond with- a close friend or perhaps family. If that was true, why would they choose to betray me, as well as the rest of the class?

After looking through the student council room, I found Kurogane-san and Tatsuki-san walking in the hallways.

"Oh, hello, you two," I said. "Did you finish investigating?"

Both of them nodded.

"I checked the garden," Tatsuki-san said, "but there's nothing inside."

"I thought the data center might be worth looking into," Kurogane-san said, "but it's locked and I can't get in. So are the bathrooms- both for the boys and the girls, so you don't have to worry about breaking into the boys' bathroom on the small chance that there's a clue."

This could be useful information. It wouldn't be wise to check the two rooms off our list just yet, but at the very least, it was unlikely that I'd find anything.

"That's good to hear," I said. "I think we're good on time, but I'll take a quick look around the rest of the floor."

"Please do," Kurogane-san said. "The two of us will take a look around and then head for the stairs."

I quickly headed to each stop and confirmed what my classmates had told me. Perhaps doing so was a waste of time, but unlike most class trials, in which the crime scene was obviously important, and we could guess at least a few other places, any room inside the school could potentially have vital evidence. If we went to the trial without searching the school from top to bottom, we risked not having all the pieces to the puzzle.

As agreed, the six of us met up at the top of the stairs between the fourth and fifth floors. Once we were all together, I listed each place I'd investigated, confirming that we'd looked everywhere on the floor.

"So is that all for the fifth floor?" Kurogane-san said.

"I believe so," Mom said. "If we're done here, we should head on to the next floor."

Ordinarily, Mom would have said something more precise, like "go downstairs," or "leave for the fourth floor," but it was anyone's guess as to where the stairs led. This was strange even for the killing game, but we had no choice but to accept it.

"Of course, that's up to our leader," Mom said, "since we may not be able to return if we forget anything. Are we ready to move out?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Please lead the way, Nagato-sensei."

We then descended the stairs, not knowing where they would take us, but knowing that they were the only way down.

We arrived on the fourth floor... or what I thought was the fourth floor. I'd met with Mom on the ground floor of the school, and my interview for the Ultimate Tech Support had been held on the fifth floor, but I wasn't entirely confident in my knowledge of the three floors between them.

"Well, we've arrived," I said. "This looks different from the first and fifth floors, but is this really the fourth floor?"

"It is," Mom said. "I can recognize some of the facilities on this floor, not to mention the most obvious sign- no pun intended."

Mom pointed at something we'd overlooked- a sign saying "Stairs to Fifth Floor" next to the door leading to the stairs we had just climbed down.

"Oh, right," I said. "I guess part of the reason I was confused is that things look a bit strange."

We looked around, and saw that most of the walls had turned a bluish color, and could see that some textures had started becoming pixelated.

"That's an understatement," Sayuri-san said. "If this was a manga, it would look like the page does midway through the inking process."

"Maybe we're in a video game of some kind," Kurogane-san said, "but we'll have to find more evidence before we can be sure of that."

That wasn't a bad theory, but I'd have more than a few reservations about telling Monokuma that this was our final answer about where we were right now.

"I can think of two possible investigation spots on this floor," Mom said, "namely, the A/V room and computer lab. However, we should check all of the available rooms, just to be sure we don't miss anything."

"Yes, the same rules apply, this time," I said. "Search the floor until there's nothing left, then meet up at the stairs to the next floor. Let's get moving."

The others spread out. It was comforting to know that we'd become used to investigating in our time at the island, and Mom not only knew Talent High School well, but was a quick learner when it came to searching for data. Perhaps one of my five fellow investigators had deceived and betrayed us, but the remaining four had proven valuable allies, so I hoped we could catch the traitor together.

I found my way into the computer lab, where Mom was investigating. As usual, she seemed to have a good intuition for finding the most important investigation spots.

"Hi, Mom," I said. "Did you find anything?'

"Not on the computers," Mom said, "since none of them will turn on. However, I did find this."

Mom pointed at another holographic document.

The Neo World Program

A state-of-the-art virtual reality program developed by Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate Programmer, Ultimate Neurologist and Ultimate Therapist.

Users can transmit their consciousness inside the program, and control avatars based on their own flesh and blood bodies.

WARNING: The Neo World Program accurately simulates all stimulations, both pleasure and pain. Memory loss can be caused if the user avatar is based on the user's past.

The document was rather brief for something that was meant to explain the program's features, but it told us what we needed to know.

"So that explains why everything was so real," I said, "and why we forgot the last few years. It also is why some things seemed... off."

"What do you mean?" Mom said,

I paused for a moment, realizing that while I hadn't chosen my words as well as I could have, the problem was that Mom was the most in the dark about this.

"You probably didn't notice, since you haven't left the ship until today," I said "but the seventeen of us are the only life forms we've seen on this cruise. Not only are there not any other humans, but there aren't even any animals, birds, insects, fish or other organisms inside here. There were microscopic organisms, which resulted in us getting the Despair Diseases, but they didn't seem to act like a normal illness. All these small things seemed rather unusual, and Kirishima-san noticed them before any of us did."

"Do you suppose that's why he tried to graduate?" Mom said. "Possibly because he assumed it was a simulation, and that everyone's deaths, possibly including his own, would not be real?"

That sounded like a reasonable assumption, given how calmly Kirishima-san had faced death. Of course, not only was he no longer around to tell us whether our assumptions were correct, but his words seemed to indicate that he expected to die.

"It's hard to say," I said, "but I believe he was telling the truth about his belief that these class trials were unfair, and how he'd become sure of that after Akira was executed. The outcome of the fifth trial would only have reinforced that belief."

"Fair or not, you all had your choice to make, as did Kirishima-san," Mom said. "He betrayed the class and prioritized his own escape over everyone else's lives, while you did what was necessary in order to survive."

"In a way, so did he," I said. "I can't condone his actions, but I can understand why he thought seeking graduation was his only hope of surviving. I think even Asakura and Karita-san were the same in that regard."

Mom sadly nodded.

"So in the end, all of those who killed were driven to do what they did by the killing game and the motives involved in it," Mom said, "but what about the traitor?"

"I don't know yet," I said. "I suppose we'll have to find their reason before we find their identity."

Nothing could justify what the traitor had done to us, but perhaps if we learned their motive, we would understand why they had turned on their class, or whether they even cared for us at all. It would undoubtedly be a bitter pill to swallow, but we had experience accepting harsh truths, so I was sure we could do what was necessary.

In the A/V room, I saw Tatsuki-san watching a video.

"Hello, Tatsuki-san," I said. "What are you watching?"

"Apparently, these are videos we gave to give consent for the Shelter Plan," Tatsuki-san said. "We agreed to spend the rest of our lives inside Talent High School, in order to stay safe from the Tragedy."

"I saw information about that in the headmistress' office," I said, "along with how it was kept a secret from everyone besides Nagato-sensei and But obviously, that didn't end up happening, did it?"

Tatsuki-san shook her head.

"Apparently not," Tatsuki-san said. "So far, everyone's videos seem to be of them agreeing to the plan, but would you like to any specific videos?"

I paused to think for a moment, knowing my time was precious.

"Let's start with mine," I said.

Tatsuki-san rewound the video and found mine, pressing play when she saw me in the preview.

"Y-You want me to stay inside the school for the rest of my life?" I said. "I know that things are desperate in the outside world, but I didn't know it was that bad."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Nagato-san," the headmistress said. "Did Nagato-sensei tell you?"

"No, ma'am," I said. "Nagato-sensei has been trying to keep her class's spirits high, being reassuring but reminding us that school is still in session."

"Good," the headmistress said. "It seems as though Nagato-sensei has kept her promise. None of the others knew about this in advance."

So I hadn't heard about the Shelter Plan at the time. Of course, it was possible that I was merely lying, but I doubted I could do so convincingly.

"In any case," I said, "if the Shelter Plan is necessary, and taking part in it will protect myself, my mother and my classmates, then I give you my consent."

"Good," the headmistress said. "Please go back to cla..."

Tatsuki-san paused the video.

"Did you get what you needed, Chiyuri-san?" Tatsuki-san said.

"Almost," I said. "Can you show me Asakura and Kojima-san's meetings?"

Tatsuki-san then took a minute to find Asakura's meeting.

"...but I don't get why you didn't tell us about it," Asakura said. "If you had a plan to protect the students, why not tell us until now?"

"It's a matter of secrecy, Asakura-kun," the headmistress said. "If word got out, certain people might force their way in out of a desire to seek shelter from the violence and chaos."

"Thought so," Asakura said. "My mom and uncle didn't breathe a word of this to me."

Tatsuki-san then found Kojima-san's meeting.

"You mean we're going to have to stay inside here for the rest of our lives?" Kojima-san said. "Man, so that's why everyone else looked so down when they got back."

"This decision was not made lightly," he headmistress said, "but can I count on your cooperation?"

Kojima-san paused, barely able to look the headmistress in the eye.

"I... I don't know," Kojima-san said. "It sucks that the rest of my family and my friends won't be able to get in, but I guess everyone else had to go through the same thing, right?"

"They did," the headmistress said, "but in the end, they recognized that those close to them want them to be safe. I spoke with Ishigami-san about this, and she feels the same way."

Kojima-san sighed.

"Fine, I guess I've got no choice," Kojima-san said. "You can tell Auntie Yukino that I'll do what I have to."

Tatsuki-san then paused.

"I can show you my and Taiga's videos if you like," Tatsuki-san said.

"That's fine," I said, "since I got the answer I wanted. No one outside the faculty, staff and administration- not even the relatives of those people- knew about the Shelter Plan before they got our consent."

"That sounds important," Tatsuki-san said, "but what does it prove?"

"I don't know yet," I said, "but could you please check the rest of the video and see if there's any proof that someone might have known?"

"I will," Tatsuki-san said. "I'll let you know when we meet up."

I said goodbye to Tatsuki-san for now, then resumed my investigation.

I walked around a bit and found that the others hadn't found anything. There didn't seem to be much evidence on this floor, but we were able to clear it quickly.

We met up at the stairs to the third floor. As we did, Tatsuki-san, who got there first, pulled me aside.

"I double-checked the others' videos, Chiyuri-san," Tatsuki-san said, "but no one seemed to know about the Shelter Plan in advance."

"I thought so," I said. "Thank you for checking, though; it was worth a shot."

Tatsuki-san nodded, and eventually, the other three showed up. After I confirmed that we'd investigated the entire floor, the six of us then headed downstairs.

As we arrived on the third floor, we started to see even more pixelation, as well as lines of code on the walls. If the Neo World Program was a video game, then the state it was in right now wouldn't pass muster with any beta testing group worth its salt. Nevertheless, I was able to find a sign confirming that this was, in fact, the third floor. Maybe our teleporting all the way to the fifth floor was just a fluke, or Monokuma guiding us to where we needed to go.

"So we're up to the third floor," I said. "Do you have any ideas where to look, Mom?"

Mom shook her head.

"Unfortunately, no," Mom said. "There are no rooms that would contain any records or other pieces of information relating to the school's administration. Perhaps there are other bits of evidence laying around, but exploring this floor is a lower priority than the fifth floor."

"I thought so," I said. "Still, we should at least take a glimpse at each of the rooms on this floor."

The others set out to scour the floor for clues. As large as Talent High School was, we had less ground to cover than we did on the previous two islands. As long as we kept up this pace, I wasn't too worried about running out of time before we'd searched everywhere.

Most of the rooms that I searched didn't have any clues in them. The good news was that we didn't have to spend nearly as much time on this floor. The bad news was that we weren't getting any closer to being able to prove the identity of the traitor.

I eventually reached the gallery, which seemed like the most promising location, and saw that Tatsuki-san had thought to look there first.

"Did you find any evidence, Tatsuki-san?" I said.

"Unfortunately, no, Chiyuri-san," Tatsuki-san said. "There does seem to be a portrait of Class 32, as well as a painting by Tezuka-kun, but nothing we haven't seen before."

I took a look at the former. It was identical to the one that we'd found in the art gallery on the previous island, only without the vandalism over the dead students' faces. After all, if this was how the school had been at the time it was sealed, then no one could have predicted who would have died in the killing game.

While I was looking, I saw another holographic file, represented by a folder. Heedless of any possible danger in opening an unknown file, I pressed my finger on it, causing it to open.

The two of us then saw a strange figure- a holographic red silhouette that wasn't clearly identifiable as male or female. From what I could see, the individual had a skirt, but it also had short and somewhat unkempt hair, making it seem like a girl.

"Are you... students of Talent High School?" the figure said.

"We are," Tatsuki-san said. "I'm Tachibana and this is Nagato."

The two of us bowed to the figure.

"I am Alter Ego," the individual said, "or rather, a copy of the real Alter Ego. I was copied along with the rest of the Neo World Program, but left hidden away in an isolated corner of the world... until now."

So this Neo World program wasn't the only one of its kind. At this point, I decided that this piece of information, while potentially important, wasn't relevant to our current situation, so I jotted it down in my notebook and decided to forget about it for now.

"So you have some idea of who we are," I said. "Is it possible that you have information on us?"

"I have records of each of you who logged into this simulation," Alter Ego said, "but unfortunately, not your names; I only know you are Talent High School students based on the trip rules. I detect the presence of eighteen individuals besides myself, but there only appear to be sixteen different people.

"Eighteen?" I said. "There's only the sixteen students, Mom... and Monokuma. But what does the discrepancy between the two numbers mean?"

"To put it simply, there appear to bet two identical pairs of individuals," Alter Ego said.

"So the first is my and Taiga's," Tatsuki-san said, "but what about the other pair?"

"I... cannot say," Alter Ego said. "One member of the latter pair appears to be a human, while the other is an artificial intelligence, like myself."

"That other person is probably Monokuma," I said, "while the former is the traitor, right?"

"I do not know," Alter Ego said. "There is a limit to how much I can do, and discerning that person's identity is beyond me."

It was possible that Alter Ego was hesitant to disclose the traitor's identity if the traitor was listening. Of course, Tatsuki-san, the only person with me, was the only survivor who couldn't be the traitor, according to what Alter Ego had just said.

"I see," I said. "Would it be possible for you to contact the outside world and call for help?

"Unfortunately, no," Alter Ego said. "Not only do I not have the ability, doing so may be dangerous, since it is likely that the people who would first receive the call are the people who put you inside here. The only way to speak with someone in the real world is if they try to contact you inside the program."

"I thought so," I said. "Thank you for the help, though."

As Tatsuki-san and I said goodbye to Alter Ego, my head began to swirl as I recalled what I'd just seen- artificial intelligences with human-like intelligence, flying robotic drones with weapons, a virtual reality simulator that could almost perfectly emulate reality, and the ability to erase people's memories. If the people responsible for trapping us here had all that at their disposal, who knew what sort of tricks the traitor could use to stay one step ahead of us?

After finishing our sweep of the third floor, met up once again at the stairs to the second floor.

"It looks like we didn't find much on this floor, but we were able to get through it quickly," I said. "I honestly don't know whether that's good or bad."

"As long as we didn't miss anything, it should be fine," Mom said. "If we get all the relevant evidence, the only thing left is to piece it all together."

I looked at the stairs. Statistically speaking, we were just as likely to wind up on one of the other floors we had already visited as we were to go to an unexplored floor (even counting the first floor as one we had not yet fully explored), so going down the stairs was a leap of faith. Nevertheless, we had to go through the entire school, and so we took that leap.

The second floor was practically unrecognizable, with all sorts of lines of code appearing. The only reason I was sure it was the second floor was because it was the only place we hadn't been yet.

"I doubt we'll find much on this floor, either," Mom said. "There is the faculty lounge, but that's mainly a place for the teachers to relax. It's off-limits to students, but I doubt the school would keep anything secret there, if even the teachers weren't privy to the Shelter Plan until it was finalized."

"I'm frankly amazed at teachers being given classified information of any sort," Tatsuki-san said. "The only secrets Mom had as a teacher were student records and other private information, not some secret plan to turn the school into a bomb shelter."

"These are certainly strange times, Tachibana-san," Mom said. "I can only imagine what your mother had to do in order to deal with this crisis at her school."

I nodded, then once again gave the order to fan out and investigate. Perhaps it was a stroke of misfortune to be the last graduating class of Talent High School prior to a world-changing disaster, but perhaps it was because I'd gone to this school at such a time that I was still alive. I was grateful to God for letting me live this long, and hoped I could escape here with everyone else... perhaps even the traitor.

My first stop on the second floor was the faculty room, and I seemed to be the first person there. Apparently, the others didn't have much faith in the possibility of finding anything, but that didn't mean it was worth taking a look.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard a phone ringing and I quickly searched for the source of the sound. Upon finding it, reflexively picked it up and pushed the Talk button, before even bothering to wonder who could be calling or why the phone had service.

"Hello, Nagato speaking," I said. "How may I help you?"

"Is that you, Nagato-senpai?" the caller said. "Thank goodness someone picked up."

The caller sounded as though she was my age, or a bit older, but the fact that she called me "senpai" seemed to imply that she was younger than me, assuming she hadn't gotten held back in school. But since I was only at Saint Mary's for a year, was there anyone I knew in middle or elementary school who fit the bill?

"I should be thanking you, miss," I said, "but who are you, exactly?"

"You may not remember me, but we attended Talent High School together. My name is Kaori Miura, and I'm the Ultimate Beginner's Luck... as well as a member of the Future Foundation."

Author's Notes

This part of the chapter came together more quickly than expected, and I'm most of the way through the rest of the chapter.

One thing I had to think carefully about is how Yukari would affect the group's dynamic after being released from her cell, especially now that Higurashi is dead. She's the actual authority figure over Class 32, but Chiyuri has gained her classmates' trust over the course of the killing game, so Yukari lets her tell the others what to do when it comes to the investigation. Yukari also waived her expectation that Chiyuri call her "Nagato-sensei"/"Sensei"/"ma'am" but Chiyuri still does so on occasion, often when talking about her mother as a teacher.

Incidentally, Kurogane isn't slacking off during this investigation; while he isn't contributing as much as the Nagatos, he'll get to do a bit more in the second half. It just so happens that most of the rooms he's investigated on the top three floors are locked.

Next up is the latter half of the investigation. Please finalize your choice for the traitor's identity by the time I post the first part of the final trial.