Hajime and his friends only have a few hours left to stop the bombs before their island is blown to kingdom come. Will they succeed? Will they fail? Probably the first one, since this isn't the finale yet, but how will they succeed?
Yeah, that's it. Not a lot of commentary this time. Not until the bottom of the page, anyway.
In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 37
Lucky Break
The next morning, Hajime slowly rose from his bed. Instinctively, he thought about heading to the restaurant, like he would any other morning, but he quickly recalled what Nagito told them the day before, that he would be there all day waiting for the traitor to come forth. He also quickly realized that, if anyone were to head to the restaurant like they normally do, they would encounter Nagito. The thought got his heart racing. He quickly got up and headed to there as fast as he could, hoping to prevent anything bad from happening.
The moment he reached the top of the stairs, a shocking and terrifying scene unfolded before him.
Maki, who he had not seen at all since the previous trial, leapt off of a nearby table and angled a drop-kick toward Nagito's head. The boy stumbled back, and tripped on a glass that was knocked onto the floor. He fell back, narrowly avoiding Maki's attack altogether. She fell past him, her foot slamming into the ground with great force.
As soon as she landed, she grabbed a knife off another table and turned back to Nagito, throwing the weapon at him with crosshair precision. As he scrambled to get to his feet, he knocked over a table, flipping a plate into the air at just the right time to block the knife, the two utensils falling to the ground harmlessly.
Nagito, along with the others present, were momentarily impressed at the effects of his luck. All it took was this one moment for Maki to close the distance. Her hand shot out, grabbing him by the neck. With the force she gripped him with, she nearly lifted him off the floor.
"I'm not playing games anymore, Nagito. Tell me where the bombs are." She demanded.
"That hurts... but I'll never tell." He wheezed out. "If you really want me to spit it out... just tell me who the traitor is."
For half a second, Maki's face seemed to register hesitation. Just as quickly, her resolve seemed to return. Her hand tightened, and Nagito's face turned a startling shade of red. "Have it your way. But remember... I'm the Ultimate Criminologist. I've never met a criminal that I couldn't make talk."
Suddenly, the other students broke out of their shocked daze and began to react.
"Wh-What are you doing!?" Nekomaru asked.
"M-Maki!?" Sonia gasped.
"H-Hey... at this rate... isn't he seriously gonna die...?" Hiyoko asked.
But Maki didn't pay them any attention. "Tell me... Which finger are you most attached to?" Nagito's face began shifting to purple as she reached for another knife on a nearby table.
Suddenly, a resounding smack sounded throughout the room. Nagito fell to the ground, gasping for air. Maki lightly touched the side of her face, where a red imprint seemed to sting her. She slowly turned toward the source of the wound.
"Calm down... okay?" Chiaki still had her fist raised, but on her face was a look of concern.
Maki stared at her, softly rubbing her cheek. "Why would you... You..."
"You don't really want to hurt Nagito, right? You don't want to hurt anyone. You're just scared, like the rest of us... Right?"
Maki's expression shifted from shock to confusion. "You... You know. How did you...?"
Chiaki ignored her, lowering her fist. "See, it's all right. Yep... no problem."
Slowly, the Criminologist glanced around the room, noticing everyone else's stares. "I... apologize. Though, as usual, whatever excuse I give will sound half-hearted..."
"Don't tell me you were actually thinking about killing him." Nekomaru said.
"Of course not. I was merely going to play bad cop for a little bit. After all, I can't afford to kill him when he's the only one who knows the bomb's location."
Nagito slowly rose from the ground, chuckling. "Thank you Maki... I got to see my dead dog again. I haven't seen him in ages."
"Serves you right..." Hiyoko muttered. "You probably pissed her off in the first place, didn't you?"
"Hmmm... I didn't mean to do that though..." He turned to Chiaki. "Anyway, thank you for saving me. Looks like I owe you one."
"If you sincerely mean that, please tell us the password to enter the ancient ruin." Sonia requested.
"The password? To the ancient ruin? What are you going to do with that?"
"Don't play dumb! You hid the bombs inside the ruin, right?" Nekomaru asked.
"Yep, I did... until yesterday." At the other student's confusion, he elaborated. "There wasn't anything important inside the ancient ruin... Just some familiar scenery."
"...Familiar scenery?" Hajime repeated.
"I got bored of it. Also... if I hid them in there, it would be completely meaningless. So even if you had managed to learn the password to the ancient ruin, it has no meaning anymore. Now that I've moved the bombs somewhere else."
"...But they were inside that ancient ruin, right?" Chiaki asked.
"...Anyway, I guess it was right for me to move them. They were about to be found before the traitor confessed. Well, it's not like it really matters... In fact, that might be better... To make hope shine even brighter!"
"Just tell us where you moved the bombs already!" Nekomaru demanded.
"Looks like you're in a hurry... well, that's understandable. After all, time runs out today. Then let's begin the final battle. The final battle between the traitor... and everyone else... The final battle between hope and despair...! The place I hid the bombs this time is... a place you've all visited at least once."
"That's it!? That's too broad!" Hiyoko snapped.
"It shouldn't be that hard if you guys split up. For now, why don't you guys search everywhere as fast as you can? As long as everyone cooperates... it should be easy to find out where the bombs are."
"Wh-What the heck...!?" Hajime growled.
"It's going to be fine... I'm pretty sure everything will work out in the end... After all... there's no way hope can lose... Absolute hope that can break through any despair can never lose in a place like this! And not only that... I believe in you all. I believe in the time we spent together. And more than anything... I believe in my Ultimate Luck! So it's going to be fine... As long as you believe in hope with all your hearts, the path should open..."
With that, Nagito walked away, leaving the others with his mixed message.
"Ugh, why does he still have to be alive...!?" Hiyoko asked.
"Now's not the time to complain about stuff like that!" Nekomaru snapped.
"Besides... we don't have time to fight among ourselves..." Chiaki said.
"You are right..." Sonia agreed. "We must hurry and search for the bombs! We should still have time to stop them!"
"But we've already been everywhere on every island!" Hiyoko argued. "Where do we start looking?"
"The only thing we can do is split up and cover as much ground as we can!" Nekomaru shouted. "There are exactly six of us! Each person should be in charge of searching an island!"
"Six...?" Maki repeated. "You're going to include me in this, too?"
"It's about time to did something useful." Hiyoko said. "Where have you been all this time, anyway?"
"I was... avoiding the rest of you. I know that my behaviour is upsetting, and I decided it would be more beneficial to everyone involved if I kept my distance."
"Then... does that mean you...?" Sonia muttered.
"Don't misunderstand. While I understand that my choice was morally reprehensible, I still stand by the idea that what I did was ultimately the best option, and I refuse to apologize for saving your lives."
Her somewhat self-righteous choice of words did little to please the others.
"This doesn't matter right now!" Nekomaru snapped. "It's all hands on deck! Maki, if you truly want to live, then you need to help us find the bombs!"
She nodded. "Of course. I wasn't expressing shock at the idea of helping, simply at the fact that you were desperate enough to recruit a killer like me."
"Then... leave this island to me." Hiyoko decided. "I already have the layout of this one memorized."
"If Hiyoko has the first island, then I'll do the second one." Nekomaru said.
"Chiaki, you can search the 3rd island with the hospital. Hajime, you take the amusement park." Maki ordered. "Sonia, you're fine with taking central, right? You probably can't cover ground quickly in your getup, anyway."
"Huh? B-But...!?"
"I'll take the final island. I've spent more time there than the rest of you, and I'm the fastest on my feet, too."
"Alright... then let's do it!" Hajime declared.
"Let's hurry up and find those bombs so we can take care of Nagito once and for all." Chiaki agreed.
Without a moment's hesitation, everyone ran out of the restaurant and toward their chosen destinations. No one seemed to notice the irony that Nagito, while the reason they were all splitting up, was also the one who was tying them together.
Hajime had spent all morning searching the 4th island for the bombs. He had searched every nook and cranny, even barging into Monomi's house to look around, but he came up empty.
Just as he was ready to give up, he heard footsteps approaching him, and a voice called out.
"Hajime...!" The sight of Maki caused him to start, being alone with a murderer, but what she said next replaced his fear with optimism. "...I-I found them!"
"You found them...?"
She was breathing heavily, as if she had just sprinted over, but she nodded. "Yeah, huge pile of bombs... Inside that stupid Monokuma factory..."
"The Plushie Factory... got it!"
"I'll tell Nekomaru and Hiyoko. Think you can get Sonia and Chiaki?"
"Yeah, got it...!"
"We'll get everyone to meet in front of the bombs." She muttered, and Hajime nodded.
He broke out into a sprint toward the bridge, though it wasn't long until Maki caught up with him, even with her obvious exhaustion. Right, they would both need to head to the bridge to get to their destinations. He noticed that, even though she was a faster runner than him, she had a noticeable limp. Her left leg seemed to jerk a bit when she put weight on it.
"Are you okay...?" He asked.
She followed his gaze, then shrugged. "Don't mind it. Just old injuries coming back to bite me. I've been pushing my body too hard."
"Old injuries...?" He repeated. "Did you... get those in your previous killing game?"
She eyed him. "I guess Hiyoko spilled, did she? Figures. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't bring it up when we found that file about the killing school life."
"Maki... What was your killing game like? Is there anything about it we need to know?"
By this point, the two of them had slowed down a bit, so they could speak easier. They remained at a jogging pace.
"I... I don't think my killing game is of any relevance to this one, unfortunately. If it was, everything would be so much easier. I could just... write this off as a mystery solved. Still, I've been thinking... maybe I should tell you guys some of the information surrounding this situation."
"So you do know something?" He asked.
"Back before Mikan's trial... I told her a few things. About me. I was preparing myself, so that I could tell everyone everything I knew... everything about me. But then, her trial happened, and I was so drained afterwards that... something inside me snapped, I guess. I fell back into old habits. Distrust, lies, and trickery, in the name of survival... And now, I'm wondering if things might be easier if I just came out with the truth. I mean, what are the rest of you going to do to me? Monokuma's the only one I'm afraid of, and he pretty much already knows everything about me..."
"Maki...? What kind of information do you have?"
She hesitated, but eventually said, "I... I'm being targeted by the Future Foundation."
At this, Hajime stopped dead in his tracks. Maki made it a few feet farther before she stopped and turned to look at him.
"A-Are you serious...?"
She quirked an eyebrow. "Would I joke about something like that?"
"I guess not, but... Why would the Future Foundation be hunting you down? And... what about the rest of us? What are we doing here?"
"For your first question, I can't really go into detail. They're watching us right now, even as we speak, you know? Suffice it to say, I've done things that put me in their sights. If I said any more than that, they might decide it would be best to... delete me."
Hajime gulped at the choice of words. "And the second?"
She started fingering her cat-ear hairband. "...Everyone other than me and the traitor share something in common, and that something is what the Future Foundation is after. That's... all I know, really. I couldn't tell you what that common trait is..."
"Is that so..."
She started out into the horizon. "There are some details I could go into more depth about, but... I'd prefer to do that with everyone together, and when we're not under a time constraint. If we survive past noon, then... I promise, I'll tell you guys as much as I can."
"Yeah... Let's make sure you get the chance, then."
The two of them quickly continued running, sprinting at full speed toward their destination.
When they finally made it to the bridge, Maki slowed down once again. "You remember where Chiaki and Sonia are, right?"
"The Central and 3rd islands, yeah."
"And, uh... Hajime?"
He turned to her.
She appeared to be searching for the right words, and seemed almost... bashful. "I just... It's unlike me to think like this, given my philosophies on death, but... If, somehow, we don't make it out of this, I just want you to know... I enjoyed the brief time we spent together, and I was better for having known you. That's... That's all."
Before he had a chance to respond, she broke into a sprint once again, heading straight for the 2nd island.
He did his best to shake her ominous message from his mind as he began to search for Sonia.
"Did that... Yes!" Chihiro cheered from his corner of the Observation Room.
"That sounds like you winning. Is that you winning?" I asked, rising from my chair once again and making my way over.
"I took your advice to heart, and tried thinking outside the box." He explained. "Like I said before, I wasn't really sure how to apply that to programming, since it's usually pretty straightforward. But I realized that this situation isn't like my usual programming jobs, anyway. For example-"
"I, uh, just want to remind you not to use big techie terms for your explanation, or else I won't get it and you'll end up reiterating it anyway."
"Oh, yeah..." He started thinking for a moment. "Um... Basically, as an AI, Junko is much smarter than any normal virus would be. But because of the way the Alter Ego template works, the Junko virus is also just as prone to errors as the human it's based on is."
"Which, given that this is Junko we're talking about, doesn't mean much."
"Right, but she's not perfect, either. So... basically, I set a trap. I started attacking directly, in the most obvious way I could, so that all the attention was on me. Until now, Alter Ego had been focusing on defence, but with Junko focused on me, he was able to quickly take over some files before it even noticed what was happening."
I laughed, clapping him on the back. "Good job, dude. I almost wish she had a face just so I could see her reaction to that. So, what did you take?"
"Nothing too big, but I was able to change the properties of a few objects in the simulation. There was one object in particular I wanted to get to. It's supposed to be dangerous, but I think I managed to disable the threat..."
"Where's Sonia?" Maki asked as Hajime arrived at the factory. Chiaki, Hiyoko, and Nekomaru waited by the entrance.
"I told her about the bombs but she wouldn't listen to me." He explained. "She said she'd catch up with us later..."
"Later? Why...?" Chiaki asked.
"She should know that now isn't the time for that, but..."
Maki shook her head. "Tch... I was hoping her military expertise could come in handy disabling the bombs, but I guess we'll have to make do without her."
"You're right... we need to stop the bombs first."
"Okay... okay... Let's do this...!" She seemed to summon the last of her courage, squaring her shoulders and removing the fear from her face, before she pulled the factory doors open. The others followed close behind her.
Sitting in the middle of the room was a large truck. It had its hood open, its engine roared continuously, and the truck bed was overflowing with bundles of metal tube-shaped bombs. The bombs were hooked up to the truck, as well as a nearby metal box with a sensor sitting on top of it.
"A truck? Why...?" Hajime asked.
"What's important is what it's carrying." Maki pointed. "Those are the bombs that have been causing us so much trouble. I don't know how powerful they are, or if Nagito was bluffing, but... If there's that many of them, I doubt we'll be walking away from the explosion unscathed."
"Maki... you've used explosives before." Nekomaru said. "Can't you disable them?"
Maki approached the truck and inspected under the hood. "This... is a car bomb. It's a pretty simple setup. I've used it a few times, myself, in the past..."
"You what!?" Hiyoko asked.
Maki ignored her. "The problem is, it seems the engine is acting as the detonator. That's why it's still running. If it stops, the bombs will blow..."
"So can you disarm it or not!?" Nekomaru asked.
Her gaze followed down the wires to the safe. She shook her head. "If I had more time, maybe, but... the main detonator is in the metal box, and it looks like it's welded shut. We'll need some kind of power tools to get it open..."
"So it's going to take you a long time?" Hajime asked. "That's not good... I mean, it's almost..."
"Yeah... noon." Hiyoko gulped.
"What if... we use the tools at the military base?" Chiaki suggested.
Maki considered it, before brushing her off. "Even if we found something that could actually get it open, we hardly have enough time to run there and back."
"The truck's engine is the detonator, right? Then can't we stall for time by adding gasoline?" Hajime suggested.
"We could..." She walked around the side of the truck. "...if the fuel cap wasn't welded shut. Dammit."
"What if we drove the truck into the ocean or something?" Nekomaru suggested.
"Even disregarding all the mechanical and physical flaws in that plan... Nagito also tied a chain around the wheels."
"If we can't disarm the bomb, stall for time, or move the truck... There's nothing we can do...!" Hajime snapped.
Amidst the panic, Chiaki was the only one who remained calm. "...Hey... check it out."
"...Huh?"
"There's some kind of machine on top of that metal box Maki mentioned."
"Huh? A machine..." Maki turned to where she was pointing. "Oh, that... It looks like a card reader."
"A card reader...?" Hajime repeated.
"Maybe... we can disarm the bomb if we swipe the key card..." Chiaki suggested.
"That... makes sense, actually..." Maki conceded. "Nagito wouldn't have any leverage on us if he didn't have any way to disarm the bombs."
"Maybe he never planned to disarm them in the first place." Hiyoko said.
"No, I don't think that's it." Chiaki argued. "Nagito is probably trying to make us do something here."
"What do you mean... something?" Hajime asked.
"Knowing Nagito, there's definitely some kind of theme to this... I think."
"A theme...?"
"That definitely sounds like something he'd do..." Hiyoko muttered.
"Then we just gotta find that theme, right?" Nekomaru asked.
Hajime looked around, before his eyes fell on a laptop resting on top of the stopped conveyor belt.
"This... wasn't here the last time I came here, right?"
"Hmm, it looks suspicious." Chiaki said. "It might be good if we examine it thoroughly."
"Yeah, you're right..."
As soon as he touched it, a program started up, and a video began to play.
Nagito's face appeared on the screen. "Why hello everyone. Great work... So you really found the bombs, huh? Believing in you was completely worth it."
"N-Nagito...!"
"It looks like a video message from Nagito..." Chiaki said.
"Obviously..." Maki rolled her eyes. "In any case, let's try to watch it without interruptions. We're short on time."
"Now then, now that you guys have found the bombs, all you need to do is stop it. To tell you the truth, it's actually not that hard to do. You see, there's a card reader on top of the metal box. As long as you scan an e-Handbook, it will disarm the bombs."
Maki quickly pulled out her e-Handbook and turned to the scanner, but was interrupted. "However...! It won't work with just any student handbook. If you want to disarm that bomb... You have to use the traitor's student handbook. To be honest... I found out who the traitor was after secretly monitoring everyone's activity... But... I was a little annoyed that they never came forward. So if things stay this way... it'll look like I lost, right? That's why I was thinking I should have another battle. So this is going to be your last chance, traitor... What are you going to do? Everyone's life depends on you... Whether or not you save them is up to you. Now then, I wonder how this is going to end? Will the traitor's identity finally be revealed?"
With that, the video cut out.
"The traitor's... student handbook...?" Hajime muttered.
"God dammit!" Maki threw her handbook at the nearby wall, where it fell to the ground without a scratch. "So that's it... Even after all this, our lives are still in the traitor's hands..."
"Is there even a traitor?" Hiyoko asked. "If there is, shouldn't they have said something by now? Their life is in danger, too..."
Hajime nodded. "That's true... but..."
"Quit whining and complaining!" Nekomaru roared. "We should just do it one at a time!"
Maki shook her head. "We don't know what will happen if someone other than the traitor tries to scan their handbook."
"It's really stupid to be fighting over something like this." Chiaki decided. With an annoyed expression on her face, she pulled out her handbook and ran it over the scanner. A second later, the device buzzed. "Looks like... it was wrong. Who's next?"
"Are you crazy?" Maki asked. "If we're not careful, the bombs could blow!"
"...But they didn't."
"We didn't know that they wouldn't!"
"W-Well... I guess Chiaki's not the traitor." Hiyoko said. "I doubt the traitor would've scanned their handbook first like she did..."
"Th-That's..." Maki trailed off.
"...So what now?" Nekomaru asked. "Who wants to try next?"
"Like I said, let's try being more careful..." Maki insisted. "Scanning the wrong one might only be... safe... once..." Her eyes widened as she turned to the truck.
"...Hey, what happened?" Hiyoko asked.
"D-Do any of you think... that the engine sounds like..." She dashed over and ducked her head under the hood. "No... No, no, no! It's out of gas!"
"Wh-What did you say!?"
"Huh? B-But if there's no gas...!"
"IT'S GONNA BLOW!" Maki shouted, scrambling away from the truck as fast as she could.
"B-But isn't it too soon?" Hajime asked. "I mean... there's still time until noon..."
"Did Nagito miscalculate...? Dammit, the one time we need him to get something right!"
"At least Monokuma knows how to keep a schedule...!" Nekomaru snapped.
"Hey, can't we do something about it?" Hiyoko asked. "Isn't there anything we can do...?"
"There's only one thing we can do..."
"What is it!? What do we have to do!?" Nekomaru asked.
"...RUN!"
With that, everyone turned and dashed for the exit. Before they reached it, Sonia made her dramatic entrance.
"It is all right!" She declared. "It is not a bomb!"
"...Huh?"
At that moment, the inside of the factory was filled with a brilliant light. There was no combustion, no inferno, no rupturing shockwave.
Instead, the factory was being filled with colourful sparks flying through the air in dazzling patterns. They were fireworks. In a much more enclosed space, it would have been dangerous, but the room was large enough and had a high enough roof that no one ended up burned.
"Wh-What the hell is this...!?" Nekomaru asked.
"Looks like they're... fireworks..." Chiaki noted.
"F-Fireworks...?" Hajime repeated.
As the last of the fireworks went off, the intensity of the brightness died down, and the students began to calm themselves.
"Nagito... tricked us..." Maki growled.
"So... it is just as I thought." Sonia said.
"...Hey everyone. Look over here." Chiaki pointed. "The laptop... It looks like it's playing another video."
"...Is it Nagito again?" Hajime asked, making his way over. Sure enough, the video displayed Nagito just as before.
"So...? Were you surprised? Seriously... think about it. Do you really think there are enough bombs to blow up an entire island? Even if there were... a guy like me would never be able to use them."
"But if it was all a bluff... Th-Then... what was that bomb he detonated at the hotel?"
"Nagito... went to the Octagon inside the Funhouse, right?" Chiaki recalled.
"Is that... where he got that bomb?" Nekomaru asked.
"But... it definitely wasn't strong enough to blow up an island..." Hajime said. "Nagito was lying about that..."
"Is he still watching us from somewhere...?" Hiyoko asked. "How else would he time the video so well...?"
"It looks like the video was set to play automatically after the explosion..." Maki explained. "But why not just confront us here in person? It doesn't fit his usual brand of psychotic."
"...Let's think about that after we've watched the whole thing." Chiaki decided.
"...You're right." Hajime agreed.
"So how did it go? Did the traitor come forward? If I had to guess... well, I'd say they didn't, right? So then, which is it? It'd make me very happy if you guys could tell me. I'll be at the warehouse next door waiting for your answer. From there, we'll compare our answers, and I'll let you know who the traitor really is. See you later." With that, the video ended.
"...The warehouse next door?" Hajime repeated.
"So that's where he is..." Maki muttered.
"So, are you and Nekomaru up for beating the crap out of him again?" Hiyoko asked. "After what he put us through, he deserves to die!"
Maki nodded. "Oh, he's dead, alright. I want the rest of you to stay out of my way this time."
"You guys... what are you saying...?" Nekomaru asked. "I'm the one who's gonna fucking kill him!"
"You guys... you've totally flipped your lids..." Chiaki muttered as they each stormed out of the factory.
"Now's not the time to be calm! We need to stop them!" Hajime shouted.
"...You are right! Let us make haste!" Sonia declared.
The three of them ran out of the factory. Outside, the other three were marching toward the warehouse door.
"I'm gonna do it..." Nekomaru muttered. "I'm gonna beat the shit outta him..."
"H-Hey... I totally know how you feel but calm down..." Hajime eased.
Just before she reached the door, Maki stopped walking. "...Quiet!"
"Huh?" Everyone's march ground to a halt, and their rage transformed into caution.
"M-Maki... what is it?" Hajime asked.
"Do any of you hear that? From the other side of the door?"
"...The other side of this door?... Music?" Sure enough, a weird song was playing from inside the warehouse.
"Ugh, what's he planning...?" Hiyoko asked. "Is this... another one of Nagito's traps...?"
"Maybe the real bomb is set to go off when we open the door?" Nekomaru suggested.
For a brief moment, Maki seemed to shiver at the idea, but she forced her fear down once again. "Only one way to find out..."
"P-Please do not, Maki! It is dangerous!" Sonia begged.
She ignored her pleas and placed her hand on the doorknob, slowly twisting it and pushing the door open. However, the door barely moved a centimetre before it came to a halt. "What the...? Something's blocking the door."
"Seriously, it's a trap!" Hiyoko snapped. "Just stop it, okay!?"
Maki's eyes moved across the group before falling on Nekomaru. "You're our resident muscle. Ironic, considering you don't have any. Whatever the case, I'll let you plow this open for us. If anything explodes, you're the most likely to survive it."
He seemed to flip-flop between caution and determination about a dozen times, but he finally approached the door, stiffly raised his robotic leg, and shot it into the door like a piston.
Everyone's bodies instinctively tensed, but nothing happened. Instead, Maki approached the door.
"...Hm? What's this?"
"Wh-What happened?" Hajime asked.
"Look inside."
He did so. "It sure is... dark..."
"Looks like there aren't any lights on..." Chiaki noted. "Is Nagito really in here?"
"...Do you hear that?" Maki asked.
"Yeah, it's really loud..." Hiyoko whined. "Does Nagito like listening to this depressing crap?"
"No, not the stupid music. I mean-"
As if on cue, a fire erupted in the darkness, originating from the back of the room, and quickly grew in intensity.
"I-It's on fire!" Nekomaru gasped.
"Whoa! Wh-What's going on!?" Hiyoko asked.
"F-For now, we must extinguish these flames!" Sonia declared. "Let us hurry and put them out!"
"How do you propose we do that?" Maki asked.
"There should be fire extinguishing supplies inside the factory break room. Perhaps we should use those?"
"...Break room it is, then."
The group quickly ran back into the factory, into the break room, frantically searching for any supplies they could.
Hajime picked up a small red container. "A huge supply of lined up plastic bottles. It looks like there's some kind of liquid inside them..."
"...You found it! Those are fire grenades!" Sonia said.
"...Fire grenades?"
"...They're basic fire extinguishing goods." Chiaki explained. "When you throw them at a fire, the container breaks and the chemical inside puts out the fire."
"But... this is strange." Sonia muttered. "The last time I peeked inside this place, I recall seeing other fire extinguishing supplies too..."
"Whatever." Maki began grabbing as many as she could carry. "I've never heard of these things before, but if you and Chiaki think they will work, then this should be plenty. Let's hurry."
Back outside, the group approached the door to the warehouse, setting down the excess fire grenades.
"Make sure you don't get too close to the fire... it's dangerous." Chiaki warned.
"Take care not to inhale the smoke as well." Sonia added. "We should throw the grenades from the door at the same time."
"It looks like the curtain at the back is where it's burning." Hiyoko said. "I just have to aim for that, right?"
"All right, let's go!" Nekomaru shouted.
One by one, they began throwing the fire grenades at the back of the room, at hard as they could.
"Hey... is it just me, or does it feel like the fire isn't going out at all?" Hiyoko asked.
"Does it not seem like the fire is intensifying!?" Sonia asked. "If the fire continues to rise, it will enflame the ceiling!"
Nekomaru turned to pick up yet another round of grenades, but his hand only touched the ground. "This is bad... We've already used up all the fire grenades...!"
"So what now?" Maki asked. "We just sit here and pray for rain?" As if on cue once again, water began spraying down from the ceiling. "...What the-?"
"So this is the power of the Japanese "teru teru bozu"...!" Sonia gasped.
"That's not it..." Hajime corrected. "It looks like the sprinklers activated..."
"Oh... the sprinklers..." Chiaki stared upward. "They must've detected the smoke and turned on."
"Took them long enough..." Maki muttered.
Eventually, the fires were completely extinguished by the sprinklers, and the students started investigating closer, though they couldn't go far due to the heavy smoke.
"L-Looks like the fire is out..." Hajime coughed.
"Th-That is a relief..." Sonia said.
"THE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL!?" Monokuma roared as he appeared in the soaked ashes of the warehouse.
"Ahhh!"
"Man, my merch is drenched! It got splattered with water and now it's soaked! I-It's so w-wet...!"
"Yes, yes, it's completely useless now." Maki cut in. "Will you let us inside to investigate or not?"
"Huh? Ah! Time out! Time out! You can't! Nuh-uh! No way!"
"Wh-Why... can't we go inside...!?" Hajime asked.
"Smoke and hazardous gas are still spread throughout the warehouse, so it's gotta ventilate for a while."
"He's right...!" Nekomaru agreed. "I might be fine, but it'd be a problem if the rest of you breathed in any lingering smoke."
"So for the sake of your health, please wait for just a little while."
"Okay, I'll bite." Celeste said. She was the only person other than Chihiro and I in the room right now. "I was assuming the "dangerous object" that you said you disabled was the bombs, but after Nagito left that other message, it seems they were fireworks all along. So what is it that you actually changed?"
"It wasn't the bombs, that's right. I knew all along that they were just fireworks." Chihiro confirmed. "I never programmed any bombs into the system, they were all added by Junko. And to add something powerful enough to blow up the entire island, while the simulation was still running... Well, having an object like that would likely reduce the frame rate beyond what the subjects' minds could make up for."
"Basically, they'd realize that something was wrong with their world." I said. "Which could lead to all sorts of bizarre psychosomatic symptoms that we're not prepared to deal with."
"Don't leave me in suspense, here. What did you change?" Celeste asked again.
"Maybe this will explain it." Chihiro moved his cursor over to the monitor displaying the status list, and scrolled through it until a particular name popped up.
I stared at the name, and the status next to it, unsure if I should keep my smile on my face or drop it.
"I'm sure it's finished ventilating by now." Monokuma announced, gesturing to the entrance of the warehouse. "Also, I'm finally starting to feel better! Just because my important merch was ruined doesn't mean I should be depressed about it forever! Whenever I feel depressed, I always ask myself this question: "Why are your eyes on the front?" So we can move forward! Don't be sad about what's already happened, and be positive..."
"W-We get it already..." Sonia said.
"Yeah, your ability to imitate a self-help book doesn't make you wise." Maki spat. "Quite the opposite, actually."
"Okay! I'll leave the rest to you guys! Ah, I turned on the light for you guys, too. You might hurt yourself if it's dark. Now now, go ahead! Go right ahead! Ahead!" With that, he disappeared.
"...Is... Nagito inside?" Chiaki asked.
"He said he was in that video, but... that was probably a lie." Hiyoko decided.
"There was so much fire and smoke, there's no way he could've stayed hidden in there!" Nekomaru agreed.
"Well... why don't we go inside and see how it's doing?" Chiaki suggested. She turned to the one member of the group who hadn't said anything yet. "...Hajime? What happened?"
"W-Well... nothing happened, but..." He couldn't quite describe it, but his heart was racing, and wouldn't settle down. It was like he was watching an intense chase scene in a horror movie, the anticipation of the outcome driving him to the edge of his seat. But he also felt like he couldn't move, as though whatever horrible outcome he was waiting for had already come to pass.
Maki eyed to door to the warehouse warily, and appeared to share his apprehension. "I never thought I'd say this... but part of me almost wishes I had his sense of foreboding..."
"Maki?" Chiaki called her name, but the other girl simply walked forward.
"...Anyway, let's go inside..." Hajime decided.
Inside, the smell of smoke and ash permeated the air. The students carefully stepped around burnt merchandise and puddles on the floor.
"Hey everyone... Did you know about that curtain?" Chiaki asked, pointing at the back of the room.
"You mean the curtain that was on fire, right? What do you mean, "know"?" Hajime asked.
"I didn't notice it until the curtain was burning but... there's space on the other side of it, too."
Sure enough, where everyone had assumed was the far back wall actually opened up into even more storage space.
With slow, methodical steps, everyone approached the burnt and tattered curtain. Several of them held their breaths as they moved their gazes to the newly opened space. The horrific scene before them painted a crimson red across the source of malice on this island.
The figure before them was lying flat on their back, their four limbs tied with rope so that they were spread across the ground. In the centre of their torso, a spear had impaled them. Their thighs and left upper arm had been thoroughly lacerated, likely by the knife that was impaled completely through their right hand. The horrific expression on their face was guarded only by the duct tape blocking their mouth, silencing their screams of pain.
The figure was Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student.
"...Eh?" Hiyoko was the first to make a noise, before quickly breaking out into a terrified shriek. Sonia joined her almost immediately.
"Wh-What's going on here...!?" Nekomaru asked. "Is he really dead...? He's not pretending or anything, right? I-I mean... it is Nagito!"
Maki looked just as shocked as the rest of them, but something seemed to snap her out of her daze. "...No. Wait..."
She quickly ran up to the boy, and knelt down so that her ear was just inches from his face. "...No way... You bastard..."
"Wh-What... is it...?" Hajime asked.
She stood back up, suddenly angry. She seemed to be considering kicking Nagito, but didn't want to brutalize him any further than he already had been.
"Maki, what is it!?" Chiaki asked.
"He's... He's still breathing..." She explained.
"You mean...?"
"That's right... Nagito is alive!"
Was it through his own luck that Nagito survived, or was it through the influence of Maki? Or even Albert? Did Nagito's luck cause their influence to effect events this way? I suppose there's only one way to find out.
Though I must admit, that's something interesting about Nagito that I haven't capitalized on much: I could have his luck behave however I want, and if anyone objects, I can just say "Albert and Maki's presences are causing it to work differently. Yep." Though maybe I never really utilized it because it sounds deus ex machina-ish. I think one of the writers for Pixar once said something like, you should only use coincidences to get your heroes into trouble, but using coincidences to bail them out is cheating.
In any case, how will this effect the cast? Obviously, they aren't going to sit back and ignore the incident before them, they'll need to know what happened. And knowing Nagito, it's doubtful he'd be willing to tell them anything, and that's if he's even in any condition to. As such, it appears next chapter will technically be an investigation chapter, even if we don't technically have any victims and we're not technically having a trial.
In the next chapter, we'll see Hajime and his friends try to deal with this sudden turn of events.