As Miura-san introduced herself, I remembered Miura-san's name- one of the four survivors of Class 33, as well as the only one people had never heard about.
"Ah, Miura-san," I said. "I don't remember you, but I have heard about you. You're the one who uncovered the mastermind of the Talent High School killing game, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," Miura-san said. "While I'd like to find out more about what you do or do not remember, for now, I'll assume that your memories of the time since you got into Talent High School are gone."
"That's right," I said, "but why aren't you sure?"
"Because we didn't know each other very well at Talent High School," Miura-san said. "I knew of you, but didn't know much apart from the fact that you're the Ultimate Tech Support, Nagato-sensei's daughter, a Catholic and my predecessor as vice-president."
So Miura-san did seem to know me. Everyone knew about my talent and relationship with Nagato-sensei, but if she knew about my religion and my post on the student council, she probably knew me well enough to be an acquaintance, if not necessarily a friend.
"If you're calling me like this, does that mean you're in the real world?" I said "As opposed to the Neo World Program?"
"That's true," Miura-san said, "and I suppose that means you know about the Neo World Program already. We were considering pulling you and your classmates out of the pods that your real bodies are in, but the shock would likely be fatal."
I was a bit amazed that I had so quickly accepted the idea of being plugged into a virtual reality simulator, even though I'd learned about it an hour ago. Then again, while this was probably the most outlandish discovery I'd made in my entire life, learning it helped make some of the aspects of our situation make sense in hindsight.
"I see," I said. "Where are our real bodies, anyway?"
"In the basement of an office complex located on a remote island," Miura-san said. "At some point before the Tragedy, the entire class went missing; we believe you were abducted and transported there shortly before the school was sealed."
"Yes, that's true," I said, "since while we don't remember that happening, we've uncovered proof that it happened... and that it was an inside job. Someone in our class is responsible."
Miura-san paused, and I could faintly hear her say something.
"Before we go any further, Senpai, I'd like to know something," Miura-san said. "Are any of your classmates near enough to hear you?"
"No, I'm by myself right now," I said.
"I see," Miura-san said. "Does that mean Nagato-sensei isn't in the same room as you?"
"No," I said. "Why do you ask?"
Miura-san let off a sigh of relief.
"I want to be sure that no one is listening in on this conversation," Miura-san said, "although it is possible that Monokuma- or whoever is in charge of this killing game- is listening in on our conversation. I doubt he will let me say anything that he doesn't want you to hear. However, this is important, so listen closely."
"I'm listening, Miura-san," I said.
In other words, Miura-san probably couldn't tell me the identity of the traitor, even if she knew it herself. Of course, she did seem to know about Monokuma's existence, probably because he'd also supervised the Hope's Peak and Talent High School killing games.
"If Monokuma has usurped the role of the teacher in charge of the trip, he can do practically anything," Miura-san said, "but even the teacher is still bound by the trip rules. Did he mention anything like a graduation exam to you?"
"He did," I said. "That's what we're preparing for right now."
Mom had told me that she, as a teacher, still had to follow school rules, even though she had a different set of rules than students did. While students like me were required to wear the uniform to school, Mom was expected to wear business attire, preferably a suit.
"Good; then it's not too late," Miura-san said. "Your only way out is the Forced Shutdown, in which half of the students vote for both 'Graduate' and 'Do Not Graduate' at the same time during the final exam. Since your class has sixteen students, I believe you'll need eight or nine people to trigger the Forced Shutdown."
"Eight or nine?!" I said. "Shit..."
I quickly covered my mouth the moment the expletive escaped my lips.
"Is something wrong, Nagato-senpai?" Miura-san said. She was using polite speech on me, her senpai, so I didn't know how averse she was to using or hearing profanity.
"Yes, very wrong," I said. "Not counting Mom, who doesn't get a vote, there's only five of us left- myself, Kurogane-san, Tatsuki-san, Himeno-san and Sayuri-san. Even with all of us, we'll never be able to achieve the required majority."
So that was what Monokuma was talking about when he said that we were down to a good number in our class. We'd still had enough people when we arrived at the fifth island, but it only took a single student dying to change that- and we'd lost three on that island.
"Five, you say?" Miura-san said, seemingly relieved. "Actually, we do have a workaround for that, but it will take some time to prepare- I don't know how long, though. Apart from that, I can't discuss details."
"All right," I said. "I don't know how soon the graduation exam will be, but please hurry if you can. If we're unable to get through the trial, the rest of us will end up dead."
Miura-san paused a moment, making me wonder if I'd put too much responsibility on her and made her feel guilty. Before long, though, she spoke.
"There's something you should know about the classmates you lost to the killing game, Senpai," Miura-san said, "but please try to stay calm. In a manner of speaking... the other eleven students, the ones who were murdered or executed, are still alive."
"W-What?" I said. "B-But how is that possible?"
"It's because this is a virtual world," Miura-san said, "so at least in theory, their real bodies are unharmed no matter what they suffered in here. However, because they still feel pain, the shock of being killed means that they are currently in a vegetative state, most likely permanently. The same thing would most likely happen if we tried to shut down the program or pull all of you out."
I sighed. For a moment, I'd gotten my hopes up, but the truth was that the dead- my best friend, Himeno-san's childhood friend, Sayuri-san's young friend, Tatsuki-san's sister and the guy Kurogane-san had once loved, among several others- were gone forever.
"I'm sorry, Nagato-senpai," Miura-san said. "I wish I had better news for you."
"That's fine, Miura-san," I said, "since I've had some time to come to terms with the fact that eleven of my classmates, including some of my friends, are dead. But this presents another problem."
"What do you mean?" Miura-san said.
"After the last class trial, Monokuma said that the traitor- the one responsible for us winding up inside here- was still alive," I said. "If what you say is true, then it could be anyone in the class, not just the six who have survived this long. Since we'll have to identify the traitor during the graduation exam, having more suspects makes our job more difficult."
"Actually, Senpai, that doesn't matter," Miura-san said. "I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but the traitor is-is-is-"
Static drowned out Miura-san's voice, and a moment later, the line went dead.
"Miura-san?" I said. "Are you there? Please, answer me?"
"Naughty Miura-san," Monokuma said. "Shouldn't she know that you can't make phone calls during class at Talent High School? The teachers should have gone over that with her when she got here."
Monokuma's arrival made one thing obvious- the call breaking up wasn't a coincidence. Like Miura-san had suspected, he'd been eavesdropping on us, and cut her off when she was about to reveal the traitor's identity.
"According to Nagato-sensei, cell phones are completely fine on school trips, as long as you use them responsibly," I said. "Besides, I didn't see any 'no cell phones' rule in the student handbook, before or after you started adding rules."
"My mistake," Monokuma said. "You can call Miura-san back, tell her I'm sorry about that, then pick up where you two left off."
That, of course, was impossible in our present situation, and both of us knew it. If we could call anyone, then the killing school trip wouldn't necessarily have stopped immediately, but we might have been able to get help before anyone ended up dying.
"While you're here, I'd like to know something," I said. "Does the fact that you didn't interrupt Miura-san when she mentioned the Forced Shutdown mean that you don't mind us knowing about it?"
"Not at all," Monokuma said. "You don't have the people for that, and even if you did, you wouldn't want to pick it."
"Why not?" I said.
"I'm not telling," Monokuma said, "since you've got to get through the graduation exam first. Now get back to work on finding the traitor's identity and the answers to the other questions; Miura-san won't be calling again."
Monokuma then left me behind. A moment later, I departed the office, having gotten all I could hope for. Miura-san had given me some crucial information, but in the end, the most important part- the traitor's identity- would be up to us.
My investigation of the second floor took me to the art room, where I found Kurogane-san. He was looking at a photo, and seemed rather disturbed.
"Is something wrong, Kurogane-san?" I said.
"Sort of..." Kurogane-san said. "Only recently, it occurred to me- what happened to the Talent High School administration? Well, I just found the answer."
I looked at the photo and saw the headmistress and all but one of the board members hanging from a makeshift gallows. Judging from their faces, they were clearly dead, presumably having strangled to death.
"That accounts for all but one of them," I said. "Arakawa-san seems to have escaped his colleagues' fate. Did he betray them?"
"Apparently not," Kurogane-san said, and directed my attention to another holographic display with an audio file. "I think Kagami, the mastermind of the killing game, knows about what happened to Arakawa-san."
I opened it up and heard Kagami's voice again.
"It's me," Kagami said. "I've got a solution to the Iwasawa problem. She actually is a relative of Arakawa's, so maybe we could use him against her... Good. If the others come looking for the senior class, we can grab him and everyone else. Do what you want with the others; we don't need them."
The recording ended there. We never found out who he was calling (probably Enoshima, but we didn't know for certain), or what the other person had said.
"So Arakawa-san was taken hostage," I said. "I wonder why they didn't think to kidnap our families."
"Maybe because they thought it was unnecessary," Kurogane-san said, "or maybe because in your case, the only family you have is here."
I nodded. Even though I'd learned that I'd lost my grandfather, I didn't feel nearly as sad as I thought I would. Chairman Mitamura had made a deal with Mom to avoid having to acknowledge me as his granddaughter, so I had no desire to acknowledge him as mine- the only grandfather I had was my mother's father. Seeing a photo of this man's dead body elicited feelings of disgust, but no true grief. It would be another story if Mom was the one on the gallows; I'd long since come to terms with how not all lives are of equal importance to us, so I didn't feel guilty about caring more for Mom than her would-be father-in-law.
"If they had taken our families hostage, I'm sure Monokuma would have made them into a motive," I said. "Nevertheless, this does explain what happened to the staff- Mom's probably the only survivor."
"Fair point," Kurogane-san said. "One would assume that the only people without hostages would be most suspicious, but since we have no way of proving that, we'll have to use other clues to deduce the traitor's identity."
A part of me had hoped that the traitor was some third party on the staff, so I wouldn't have to suspect one of my friends. That hope had been dashed, so I had to accept the harsh reality and find the even harsher truth of the traitor's identity.
Before long, we met up at the stairs, since there wasn't much to find on the second floor. At this rate, we'd finish the investigation in time for the trial, and the only question was whether we'd find the answers we needed.
"Now that we're all together, I have something to share with you," I said. "I recently got a call from the outside world- Kaori Miura, a student of Class 33, a survivor of the killing game, and a member of the Future Foundation, is trying to rescue us from the Neo World Program."
The others stared at me for a moment.
"Trying?" Himeno-san said. "Is something impeding her efforts?"
"Two things," I said, "namely, Monokuma's interference and the fact that she can't disconnect us without essentially killing us. She said she knew of a way she could help us, but couldn't give us a timetable for when she could intervene."
Mom sadly nodded.
"It's good that Miura-san didn't make any promises that she couldn't keep," Mom said, "since the last thing we need is false hope. We're likely on our own when it comes to solving the class trial."
Mom raised a good point, which was why I didn't mention the Forced Shutdown. Not only would we be getting ahead of ourselves, but I didn't know whether Miura-san's planned assistance would be available in time. If we discovered the traitor's identity and answered Monokuma's other questions, then we could discuss how we could get the additional three or four people we needed to escape from here.
"I'm sure we are, Mom," I said, "but that's how it's always been for us- especially for me, after Akira was executed. When I was told about this graduation exam, I set foot on the island prepared to take on whatever Monokuma threw our way, just as I had in the past. I'm sure Miura-san wants to help, but if she was in the similar situation as us, then she should know we're prepared to do what we must."
"So am I, Chiyuri," Mom said.
I smiled, then turned back to the group.
"Anyway, there's one last place to investigate," I said, "the ground floor."
"Actually, more than one," Mom said. "If the dorms are open, they may have information."
"That sounds like a plan," Kurogane-san said, "but will the stairs take us there?"
"There's only one way to find out," I said, "and only one way left to go, since the stairs up will almost certainly take us to the third floor. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
I started to descend the stairs, and the others quickly followed me.
We soon arrived on the ground floor. By this point, the building seemed to be coming apart. Apart from a few objects like doors and pieces of furniture, most of the walls were rendered as wire frames. It looked like we were in a video game that wasn't even half finished. If there was any doubt in our minds that this was part of a virtual reality simulation, it had since been dispelled.
My first stop was the rec room, where I found Kurogane-san again.
"Did you find something?" I said.
"I think so," Kurogane-san said. "It's not about the school, but it looks important."
Kurogane-san showed me another email. The sender's name was familiar, but I'd never heard of the recipient before.
From: Kyouko Kirigiri
To: Kyousuke Munakata
Subject: Talent High School Survivors
Munakata-san,
I have finished interviewing the survivors of the Talent High School killing game, and have attached the transcripts of the conversations. According to the four of them, while Enoshima was indirectly responsible for the killing game starting, the actual mastermind, Sousuke Kagami, was not a member of Ultimate Despair. The four of them suggest that someone at Talent High School played a role in Kagami coming into contact with Enoshima, but they do not know who could have played that role, apart from that person not being part of Class 33.
The four survivors- Kaori Miura, Sae Edogawa, Shinichi Inoue and Yusuke Tezuka- have regained their memories and agreed to join the Future Foundation. The four of them can act as a unit whenever working together, with Miura-san as their leader.
Kyouko Kirigiri
Head of Future Foundation Division 14
I saw the transcript attached, and opened it up, starting with Miura-san's interview. Much of what Miura-san was asked about was either entirely basic (for example, giving her name and talent for the record), or otherwise irrelevant to our investigation, but after skimming the interview, I saw her give the answer.
"It looks like we won't get anything useful from the transcript that Kirigiri-san didn't include in her email," I said.
"I thought so," Kurogane-san said. "I was busy taking a look in the interview file and didn't have a chance to check out the other two until you arrived."
"Then let's take a look at those," I said.
Next was an email from Kirigiri-san to Miura-san and Edogawa-san.
From: Kyouko Kirigiri
To: Kaori Miura
CC: Sae Edogawa
Subject: Re: Execution Supervision Assignment
Miura-san,
Thank you for your hard work supervising the execution of the woman who tried to break her sister, an Ultimate Despair member, out of prison. I do not fully approve of the reasons why you and Edogawa-san were volunteered for the job, but I appreciate your willingness to go.
I can privately discuss this execution, as well as the condemned's last words, with either of you if you want; I am not comfortable sharing my thoughts over email. Needless to say, though, the six of us went through experiences similar to yours, so we likely feel the same way.
Sincerely,
Kyouko Kirigiri
Head of Future Foundation Division 14.
"That isn't necessarily helpful," Kurogane-san said. "It seems as though Kirigiri-san was careful to not include anything that she didn't want others to hear."
"True," I said. "It could be just me, but maybe they found it hard to execute their classmates, too. I don't know if any of the circumstances were the same as with Taiga-san, Akira, or Higurashi-san, but that sounds likely, too."
Once again, I doubted whether the participants in the other two killing games had become as bloodthirsty and vengeful as Monokuma had claimed during his lectures. Of course, this was still likely wishful thinking, so I refrained from acting as though it was an indisputable fact.
I found another email, this time from Munakata-san to Miura-san and her friends.
From:Kyousuke Munakata
To: Kaori Miura
CC: Kyouko Kirigiri, Sae Edogawa, Shinichi Inoue, Yusuke Tezuka
Subject: Mission: Track Down Class 32 of Talent High School
Miura,
You and your team are granted permission to follow up on the lead regarding Class 32 of Talent High School. Investigate the island, and rescue any survivors you find.
As for the member of Ultimate Despair who infiltrated the class, your orders are clear. You are to take her into custody, and are authorized to use deadly force if she resists. Anyone who tries to protect her must be considered an accomplice and dealt with the same way.
Remember your orders, and that aiding and abetting Ultimate Despair is a capital offense. Report to Kirigiri when you have accomplished your mission.
For the sake of a world without despair,
Kyousuke Munakata
Head of Future Foundation Division 2
While it was hard to tell what date it actually was, this one seemed to be by far the newest email. By my approximate calculations, it had been sent weeks or even days ago.
"So this person is one of the Future Foundation higher-ups," I said. "He seems to be on our side, at least when it comes to Ultimate Despair."
"My thoughts exactly," Kurogane-san said. "Of course, I think the traitor's the only one who has anything to worry about. As for the rest of us, I don't think any of us are desperate for vengeance against the traitor, but we wouldn't stick our neck out for her, even if we wouldn't risk being considered her accomplices."
"No, of course we wouldn't," I said.
Since I was done with this room, I quickly excused myself, feeling rather uncomfortable, possibly from the realization that I didn't know what we'd do with the traitor. Ordinarily, they would be executed at the end of the trial, like any other blackened (or almost any other, as Tatsuki-san could attest to), but Monokuma had never said that would happen, so what would be the traitor's fate? Miura-san and her comrades would probably take the traitor into custody and put that person on trial, which would likely end with that person being convicted and sentenced to death. But was that what we wanted?
I saw Sayuri-san inside the school store, perusing another holographic document.
"Hello again, Sayuri-san," I said. "Did you find something useful?"
"This looks like this is a record of the past killing games," Sayuri-san said, "namely, the list of deaths."
I looked it over, and saw that it was a spreadsheet, with one row for each student and columns for the following categories- their name, their talent, their approximate age and their ultimate fate. All ten victims of the Hope's Peak killing game and all twelve victims of the Talent High School killing game were listed.
"It seems to match what we saw in the gallery," I said. "The only new information is which of the people who died were killers and who were their victims."
"Yes, but there is one thing I found surprising," Sayuri-san said. "Apart from Headmaster Kirigiri of Hope's Peak being executed just before the killing game, no adults were involved in any of the games."
I took another look at the document and found Headmaster Kirigiri on it. I also found that one of the survivors, Hagakure-san, was an adult when he got into Hope's Peak, most likely due to being held back, but he was still a high schooler.
"Good point," I said. "I suppose we can count ourselves lucky that Mom wasn't executed, even if it was only because she was allowed on the trip under the rules."
"I guess that's part of the reason why Nagato-sensei wasn't made to participate in the killing game alongside us," Sayuri-san said, "and the other part was that she wasn't a symbol of hope. Take a look at this."
Sayuri-san directed my attention to another email, one that was apparently a mass mailing during the Tragedy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Did you like hearing about the Hope's Peak Academy student council killing each other? Then you'll love this.
We'll be giving you the ultimate in reality TV. Fifteen Ultimate students- the symbols of hope in this despair-filled world- will be trapped inside Hope's Peak Academy, and told that the only way out will be to kill each other and get away with it. If they get caught, they'll be executed, but if they get away with it, everyone else will be.
And the best part? They don't even know why they're here.
Tune in 24/7 on any channel, with no commercial breaks.
"So that's why they chose us," I said. "Like our counterparts at Hope's Peak, we're among the most talented students of our generation- or at least most of us are- and seeing us kill each other will drive the world into despair. With the senior class of Hope's Peak having fallen to despair, and the junior class having gone through their own killing game, I guess Ultimate Despair decided to settle for Talent High School."
"Yes, that would explain Class 33," Sayuri-san said, pointing out another email announcement for that killing game, "but I don't have anything promoting our killing game. It seems rather redundant to send out an email when you have it on every single channel, but something's odd."
"Indeed," I said. "Maybe this will be important, but for now, we need clues to the traitor's identity."
"I know," Sayuri-san said. "Let's keep looking."
As Sayuri-san and I left, I thought about the idea of being a "symbol of hope," and it didn't sit right with me. Even disregarding how I'd gotten into Talent High School by being the granddaughter of the school's chairman, I didn't agree with the idea of raising only the best and brightest as symbols of hope. Even Mom, who'd taught many of those prodigies before we arrived at her school, did so under the belief that people like them needed and deserved a proper education, so they could be good citizens and make good life decisions. Perhaps the Tragedy had been caused by talented students falling to despair, but the world could be rebuilt by the countless ordinary people who'd survived the destruction.
More importantly, it didn't matter whether my classmates or I were talented, or where our talents lay. I loved Mom and considered my classmates friends, so I had no desire to see any of them die or suffer the pain of my loss. Each of us was precious to our families and friends, and too many people had lost people close to them, so I wanted as many people as possible to be able to return home once this was over.
I saw Mom near the elevator to the courtroom, scrutinizing the rather familiar-looking doors.
"So this is the elevator we'll need to go to," I said.
"Yes, it is," Mom said. "I don't think there are any clues here, but it can't hurt to know where we'll need to meet up."
I nodded. By now, we knew the Ursa Major like the backs of our hands, so once we made our way back to the ships (having come to know the islands similarly well), we could easily find the elevator. Because of that, we took for granted how easy it would be to find our way back to the courtroom, so Mom scouting out the elevator's location wasn't a waste of time.
"I'm curious, Mom," I said. "Did Talent High School always have an elevator leading under the school?"
"As far as I can tell, yes," Mom said, "but it's off limits to most people. According to Monokuma, there's another courtroom down there."
"So there's a place like that under the real school?" I said. "If that place ha always been there, then how long in advance was the killing game planned?"
Mom could only sigh and shake her head.
"I don't know," Mom said. "If what you've learned is true, and Enoshima-san, the mastermind, was part of Hope's Peak's final arriving class, then it couldn't have been planned too far in the past. Of course, that doesn't mean that the groundwork wasn't laid in advance; other people stacked the fuel for the bonfire and Enoshima-san merely brought the torch."
"Good point," I said. "As for Talent High School, I doubt that Kagami acted alone when it came to setting up the killing game. Perhaps the traitor in our class gave him some help."
"Perhaps," Mom said, "in which case, there's all the more reason to find that person. We're done here, so I'll check up on the others and tell them where to find the elevator"
I parted ways with Mom and resumed my investigation, but noticed that she seemed uncomfortable. This was the first investigation she'd taken part in, so while she knew that some of us had betrayed the class and committed murder, the traitor's betrayal was far more severe and greater in scope. They were indirectly responsible for every murder and execution that had taken place in the killing game, and possibly all twelve deaths that had occurred in the Talent High School killing game. The thought that any of us was capable of such a thing was a disturbing one, but that didn't make it any less true.
I headed over to the dorms, and walked through the halls. All of the doors were locked, and judging from the nameplates, Class 33 was staying downstairs, while Class 32 was upstairs. Luckily for us, the stairs to the second floor of the dorms led there, rather than anywhere else.
I found a note partly slid under my door. Pulling it out, I saw that the handwriting, surprisingly neat and precise for a note that was this urgent, seemed familiar.
Chiyuri,
I have some disturbing news. The Shelter Plan has been compromised, and we have no choice but to flee Talent High School. The outside world may be dangerous, but it isn't safe inside this school.
I don't know who is responsible, but the culprit is likely someone from the junior class, and I am almost certain Ultimate Despair is involved.
Get the rest of the class and meet up at the gate by...
The note, having abruptly been ripped, did not include the time or the sender's signature. Judging by the familiar tone, however, the writer seemed to know me, but the handwriting didn't look that much like Akira or Kirishima-san's; a quick glance at each notebook was enough to rule those two out.
As I was checking notes, Himeno-san approached and waved hello.
"Good timing, Himeno-san," I said. "Do you know if you wrote this?"
Himeno-san looked at it and shook her head.
"I don't believe so," Himeno-san said. "Not only does the handwriting not seem to be mine, but it's written too informally, even for a note. Take it with a grain of salt, though."
I nodded. Himeno-san had no way of knowing whether this piece of evidence exonerated or condemned her, so her answer was most likely honest.
"I will," I said. "Do you know who else might have written it?"
"It doesn't look like Kanae's writing, either," Himeno-san said, "since I recognize her handwriting and writing style. As for Sayuri... take a look."
Himeno-san got out Sayuri-san's confession letter. Loath as I was to look at something so personal to her, I took a quick glance, and saw that the handwriting did not match the letter.
"So Sayuri-san didn't write it, either," I said. "I wish Asakura hadn't burned my apology letter, or that I hadn't left Karita-san's letter behind; that way, I could have had evidence to use to compare them with."
Himeno-san laughed out loud.
"Is something funny?" I said.
"Just the idea of you writing a letter to yourself," Himeno-san said, "or of Karita-san being on a first-name basis with you."
"True," I said. "If I'd known in advance that all this, from the memory loss to the killing game, would happen, I'd probably have written a letter to myself to remind me of what I was about to forget, but I wouldn't have included that."
"I don't know who would," Himeno-san said. "Perhaps this person tried to warn you that you were about to be abducted, or tricked you in order to make that happen. At this point, it's too soon to tell."
Silently concurring, I picked up the letter and left. Perhaps some other piece of evidence would provide the context I so desperately needed, but I was running out of time to investigate and places to look.
I went back downstairs and checked the laundry room. Tatsuki-san was there.
"Hello, Chiyuri-san," Tatsuki-san said. "I think I found something, but I don't have any idea what to make of it."
"I'll take a look," I said.
In the holographic document Tatsuki-san showed me, there was a list of logins to the Neo World Program server. Each of the machines- NWP-001 to NWP-018 booted up simultaneously, with two exceptions. NWP-004 was not included on the list for some reason, and NWP-013, true to its unlucky serial number, failed to start. The latter's activation was a minute after the simultaneous activations, and a minute after that, another pod, NWP-019, activated.
"Oh, I remember this," I said. "When we were on the third island, Kirishima-san's group found several pods for some strange machine, with these numbers."
"That sounds important," Tatsuki-san said, "but isn't everyone in Kirishima-kun's group dead?"
I sadly nodded; Kirishima-san had been executed in the fourth trial, and the other two- Karita-san and Higurashi-san- had died on the fifth island. All this was a sad testament to how may people we had lost, and how quickly our numbers had thinned.
"Yes, they are," I said, "and I guarded the crime scene during that trial. Akira was able to explore the basement while she was investigating, and gave me her notebook before she was executed. So did Kirishima-san, and I recall that he found out which numbers go to which people."
I opened up Kirishima-san's notebook and flipped to the page where he'd recorded his notes, which was near the end of the part with writing on it.
"That's strange..." I said. "NWP-019 doesn't show up at all in Kirishima-san's list of our numbers."
I showed Tatsuki-san the page in question.
"Good catch," Tatsuki-san said. "So the traitor is someone else?"
I shook my head.
"No, according to Alter Ego, it could only be one of the people in here," I said. "Maybe they lied about which pod they had, or... or... n-no, th-that can't be possible."
"Or what?" Tatsuki-san said. "What can't be possible?"
Before Tatsuki-san could ask me what I was about to say, Monokuma appeared on a nearby monitor.
"Time's up," Monokuma said. "Please meet in front of the elevator."
"You heard him," I said. "The elevator should just be down the hall from the dorms, so let's get over there."
I almost appreciated that interruption for putting my doubts to rest. In class trials, we merely had to find the truth, and couldn't afford to worry about what would come of it. Perhaps I would have to face and live with the consequences of revealing the traitor's identity, but unless I was actually able to find the traitor, none of us would survive.
The six of us convened outside the elevator. It wasn't the same elevator that had taken us to the past few trials, but it evoked all too familiar feelings of dread. Not only were stakes as high as ever, but even though this was the last time, our future was uncertain.
"So, I imagine you're all too used to this by now," Mom said. "Waiting for the elevator to take you down to the courtroom, and not knowing whether any of you will return."
"We are, Mom," I said, "but I imagine it wasn't any easier for you, knowing that you couldn't have done anything for us."
"That may be so," Mom said, "and I wish I could have done more to help you as your teacher. But since you all succeeded on your own, I could believe that you would be able to prevail."
Mom then smiled reassuringly. For some, mere belief was nothing more than an empty gesture, but since Mom would have been executed, she was betting her life on our success. She didn't have much of a choice in the matter, but if she had a choice, then she would have done just that.
"That's why I'm sure you'll do just fine," Mom said, "and that you'll uncover the traitor and end the killing game."
"I'm glad you think so, ma'am," Himeno-san said, "but the way things stand now, the traitor could be one of those students you believe in- even your daughter."
"Yes, I know," Mom said, "but in their own way, each blackened who sought to graduate betrayed the class, and you were forced to come to terms with that betrayal. That's while I know you'll do so now."
Tatsuki-san winced, but nodded in agreement.
"I hope so, too," Kurogane-san said, "but I at least would like to think that the people who tried to graduate were merely desperate and scared. The traitor is the one responsible for all this."
"I know," Mom said. "I can't even imagine what would drive someone to do something so terrible to their schoolmates, but you'll have to find the answer."
"Yes, we will," I said. "We can't afford to look away from harsh truths anymore."
The others nodded in agreement, and we stepped into the elevator together, riding it down to the last trial.
I still remembered when there was fifteen of us in that elevator. Since the night we stayed in the inn on the first island, we'd lost almost two thirds of our class. Everyone here had lost a friend, a family member, or someone they had cared about... and we were about to face the person responsible for all the death and suffering.
If I had to rank what I wanted at the moment, undoing everything that had happened would top the list, saving myself, my mom and my classmates would be second, and punishing the traitor would be a distant third. Unfortunately, I knew that in the killing game, we rarely got what we wanted- we did what we had to. Perhaps there was still a chance for all- or at least most of- the survivors to get through this, but it would only be realized by passing the graduation exam, no matter the cost.
Author's Notes
Before the trial, I have some questions to guide you on finding the mastermind's identity. Since FF dot net doesn't like numbered lists, I will use bullet points.
*Which members of the class, living or dead, have behaved the most suspiciously during the killing game?
*Who would have a motive for wanting to start the killing game or let it happen?
*Is Ultimate Despair behind the killing game, or is someone else responsible?
*Has Monokuma behaved in a way that is at all uncharacteristic of him?
*Does the fact that the students who died during the killing game are still alive in a sense matter? Is the mastermind one of the dead?
*Is it possible that one of the successful or would-be killers- Yamazaki, Kojima, Tatsuki, Kirishima, Karita or Asakura- might also be the mastermind?
*What about the victims- Mihama or Kumakura or Tsukimura? If it is the latter, is it possible Monokuma lied?
*What about those who willingly gave their life for others- Taiga, Azuki and Higurashi?
*Is it possible that the traitor has an accomplice who, while complicit in their crimes, is not officially the traitor?
*Who do you think is the traitor? Did they try to undermine the investigation or conceal information during it?
*What do you think the traitor's ultimate fate will be?
I'm planning on posting the first half of the final trial on Sunday, so please submit your final guesses for the traitor's identity by then.
Omake
Somewhat inspired by some other fangans I read, I'll include a list of pieces of information uncovered in the final investigation.
Monokuma's Testimony: According to Monokuma, the traitor is still alive.
Bridge Camera Footage: No one, not even the traitor, set foot on the bridge during the killing school trip.
Asakura's Emails: Prior to the student interviews, only a select few individuals in Talent High School's staff knew about the Shelter Plan.
Listening Device: Someone planted a listening device in the headmistress's office.
Disciplinary Paperwork: Kojima was confined to his room for sneaking off campus shortly before White Day, not long before the school was sealed.
Kagami's Note: Kagami included this with the plans to the air purifier. He implies that he was blackmailed into stealing those plans from Hope's Peak Academy.
Kagami's Recording: A recording of Kagami speaking to someone who is not involved with Talent High School. He implies that he was not the only individual working with this person.
Neo World Program: A revolutionary virtual reality program, in which students control avatars modeled after their minds and bodies in the past. Anyone who dies in it will likely also die in real life.
Class Photo: A photo of the class. Mihama has grown significantly raller, so it is likely at least a year and a half after Class 32 arrived at Talent High School.
Alter Ego's Testimony: There are eighteen other individuals logged in to the Neo World Program- seventeen humans and one other AI. Of those eighteen, two pairs are virtually identical to each other- one pair is the twins.
Miura's Testimony: The people who die in the killing game are technically still alive, but in a vegetative state. However, she claims that this distinction "doesn't matter" when it comes to deducing the traitor's identity.
Hanging Photo: A portrait of the Talent High School staff being hanged. According to Kurogane, it is likely that Yukari Nagato is the only survivor among the school staff.
Killing Game Records: A list of the deaths and killers in each killing game. According to them, no high school graduates or non-Ultimates participated in any of the past killing games.
Killing Game Promotional Emails: Emails were sent out to promote the broadcasts of the Hope's Peak and Talent High School killing school lives. There is no email for the Talent High School killing school trip.
Note For Chiyuri: Someone informed Chiyuri that the Shelter Plan had been compromised by someone connected to the junior class and they would have to flee Talent High School. There is no signature, but Chiyuri believes that the handwriting is familiar.
Kirigiri's Email: Kagami, despite being the mastermind of Talent High School's killing game, was not a member of Ultimate Despair.
Munakata's Email: Munakata ordered Miura to arrest the traitor and any possible accomplices. Anyone found guilty of aiding Ultimate Despair will be executed.
Login Information: A list of times that the pods were activated. Pod NWP-013 tried to log in later than the others, but ultimately failed to do so. The inhabitant of Pod NWP-019 is unknown.