"Ah, you sure you don't want to hang out in the library? There are couches we can sleep on once Nighttime comes." Hands on her hips, Akamatsu cut a reluctant figure, concern flashing in her eyes.
Shuichi was hardly surprised she'd be the one knocking on his classroom door. Out of everyone in the group, she seemed the most likely to step into the position of leader, the glue that held them all together. She had been the one who proposed that everyone escape together as well. It made her someone deserving of praise.
And my opponent. He nodded, making a show of paying attention to her words. If she succeeds, I'm done for.
"I appreciate the offer, Akamatsu-san. But I, uh, s-snore very loud… I wouldn't want to keep everyone up." He nearly cringed at the pathetic excuse.
Luckily, Akamatsu either didn't appear to notice or was too tactful to bring it up. "If you say so… But please, you can call me Kaede."
"Ah… okay. K-Kaede-san."
Kaede broke into a smile, before concern painted her face once more. She twiddled her thumbs. "What about Ouma-san? Is he sleeping here too?"
"Ouma-kun does his own thing," he said. "Although… if he decides to stay here for the night, I could hardly kick him out. We both started out here, so it's as much his classroom as it is mine."
"I see. Well, if you ever change your mind, Saihara, you know where to find me." Then she was gone.
A few minutes before 10 pm, Shuichi double-checked the lock. After confirming that it indeed worked, he approached Kokichi, who stood right underneath the vent tapping his foot.
"Hurry up and give me a boost, slowpoke!"
A wave of surprise washed over Shuichi at how normal lifting the other boy onto his shoulders had become. It helped that he didn't weigh much. In no time at all, Kokichi removed the grill, letting it drop to the floor. The clang proved loud, but thanks to everyone camping out in the library, it went unheard by the rest.
Kokichi pulled himself into the vent. Yanked Shuichi up.
They crawled.
It had not occurred to Shuichi the first time they had traversed the ventilation system, but there were no cameras within. Which meant their movements weren't being monitored at the moment. He wasn't naive enough to think the only surveillance system existed in their room. Even if they wouldn't be penalized for wandering the halls at night, he'd rather not have eyes tracking him wherever he went.
As they moved, Shuichi made a mental note of each turn they took. A while later, Kokichi finally stopped at a grill. Opened it. He scanned the area, looking for any cameras. To their luck, there was only one and it was powered off. They hopped down one after the other.
Now that they stood on the ground, Shuichi had a better view of the place. Unlike where they had started, this wasn't a classroom. In fact, it appeared to be an infirmary of some sort. Sharp, jarring lights hung from the ceiling, casting an ugly glow on everything below. The walls a bright, blinding white. Against them leaned a variety of dusty medicine cabinets, the glass display smudged with a greasy, unknown substance. Still, Shuichi could make out a few pill bottles within and an unopened package of bandage.
A bed lay in the corner, the gaudy yellow curtains drawn.
"We should still be on the sixteenth floor," he said. "This must be a hidden wing. Our starting room is probably close by."
The other oohed and ahhed, before ransacking the cabinets. A blink, and Shuichi followed suit, taking as much as he could fit in his pockets.
"Not too bad of a haul, if I do say so myself," said Kokichi.
With their combined efforts, they were able to gather a small pill bottle with four capsules of antipyretics, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and a package with a roll of bandage. Other than that, nothing else of use that they could see. Most of the medicine had expired.
Time to check the hall.
Kokichi pushed the door slightly ajar. Careful not to make a sound, both boys stepped foot into the hallway.
Unlike the brightly-lit infirmary, darkness swallowed up the area. Thanks to the opened door behind them, they were able to make out a few things in the distance, despite the blurry silhouettes. At one end of the hallway stood a single, nondescript door. Contrary to the other wing, there wasn't an elevator at the other end. But a door to a stairway proved a different story.
"Looks like it locks from the outside. I guess it's time to show off in front of Saihara-chan~" From who knew where, Kokichi pulled out a bobby pin. He went to work. That he could lockpick came as a pleasant surprise to Shuichi, but in hindsight he should have expected it.
The clinks as Kokichi did his magic calmed his heart. Any second now, and the door would open. They could head to the next floor. Shuichi tilted his head back, his eyes shut. His fingers shook. He bit his lip. Just a bit more.
An otherworldly scream tore through the air.
The moment he whipped his head back, a hulking figure came into view. It stood at the opposite end of the hallway, just beyond the touch of the infirmary lights. But even without that luxury, Shuichi could still make out a few details. Wide as it was tall. Gleaming red eye. A high-pitched, somewhat-mechanical voice.
Just as the creature prepared for a charge, the lock clicked, and Kokichi yanked the dumbstruck Shuichi into the stairwell.
The slam of a door.
Almost as if on autopilot, they grabbed onto the vertical door handle, pulling it toward them. As though just that would save their hides. Shuichi braced himself for the barrage that was to come. But after moments of nothing, he opened the eyes he did not realize had been screwed tight.
The other boy pressed his ear to the metal door. A moment passed, and he moved away from it.
They shared a look, still gasping for air and adrenaline still coursing through their veins. And then they giggled.
But what joy they had been able to cultivate vanished the next second. Because thick metal bars blocked the flight of stairs down.
"Saihara-chan."
He couldn't think; the world around him seemed to undergo a strange transformation, a thick, viscous layer of something filtering his vision—
"Hello, earth to Saihara-chan…"
It were as if Shuichi had submerged underwater, the hopelessness drowning him, squeezing out whatever air was left in his lungs—
"SAIHARA-CHAN!"
"Huh?!"
"Geez, am I boring you that much or what? I called out for you a hundred times!"
"W-what? Oh, I'm sorry, I just…" He stared at the metal bars blocking their way out, like just that was enough to convey his swirling thoughts. "The stairs…"
Kokichi fell silent. He stared at him, eyes seeming to peer into his soul. Then he waved dismissively. "Gosh, and I thought you were worried about something that's actually dire."
"How could you say that, Ouma-kun?" Shuichi curled his hands into fists, shaking. "What we thought was our way out was just a huge joke. I... I..."
"Relax. Why are you so stiff? This is a good start," said Kokichi. "At least we know where to go from here."
"Well unless we find a saw or something, we won't be able to get through the bars."
Out of the blue, Kokichi's face brightened. "Wow, Saihara-chan. Taking that emo hat away from you was the right move. You're waaaay more assertive now!"
"Ahh… No…"
"I think that thing is gone. I heard it move away from the door. Like it was going toward the other end of the hall… Boo!"
Shuichi yelped. The other boy threw his head back, giggling.
Shortly after, Kokichi pushed the door open just a slit. Peeked through. Then he waved behind him as he pushed the door some more and entered the hall.
It was just as they had left it.
The door to the infirmary still stood open, the sharp light flooding a section of the hallway. The red-eyed monster seemed to have vanished out of thin air.
Deadly silent.
Now that the danger had hidden itself, Shuichi had half a mind to search the other rooms. Before he could voice his thoughts, however, Kokichi said, "Maybe we should head back."
That surprised him. Shuichi eyed the other boy curiously, attempting to pick him apart. "...I would have thought you'd be throwing a tantrum to stay," he quipped.
Kokichi met his stare and threw on an offended expression. "How rude! I'm not a kid! Why would I throw a tantrum?"
"So… you wouldn't?"
"Nishishi! I would! Buuuut I really do think we should leave now. Let's just say I've got a sixth sense. Like an Ultimate Clairvoyant! I'm correct 30% of the time!"
Isn't that… quite bad? But Shuichi just nodded and followed Kokichi back to the infirmary. I should trust his guts. He's probably the type that doesn't die easily.
The door clicked as it closed behind them. Instead of moving straight for the vent, Kokichi reached the infirmary bed in long, quick strides. In one fluid motion, he ripped the blankets off. Folded them neatly. "Saihara-chan, can you grab the pillow?"
"Um, sure."
It proved a bit difficult moving through the vents with the items, but they made do. Once they had reached their classroom, the shorter boy threw their haul from the infirmary into a locker. Afterward, he made a beeline toward a corner of the room. Laid one of the blankets down to form a makeshift bed.
He patted the spot next to him. "Put the pillow down here, Mister Detective! Let's snuggle up and cuddle~"
Shaking his head in helplessness, Shuichi approached him. Once he had pulled the second blanket over himself, he closed his eyes, making sure their bodies didn't touch.
As soon as he was about to drift off in slumber, his ears caught a rustle. So light, that he almost thought he had dreamt it. Pushing it to the back of his mind, Shuichi once again began to doze off.
"Psst Saihara-chan."
Strange. He could have sworn someone called out his name. A wrinkle appeared between his brows.
"Are you awake?"
"Ngh… Ouma-kun…? What's wrong? Can you not fall asleep?"
"What do you mean? I'm asleep right now."
Shuichi decided not to respond.
"Okay, I lied. I'm wide awake. But only because you woke me up, okay?"
"...Right."
"I'm not nervous. I'm definitely not afraid of what's going to happen. Nuh uh."
Yet, Shuichi caught a trace of a tremble in the other party's voice.
"I'm going to get out of here. You can come too, of course. I don't mind carrying extra baggage if it's only one person."
At this point, the sleepiness that had plagued Shuichi earlier disappeared in a hint of smoke. He turned over to face Kokichi.
Kokichi's eyes gleamed in the darkness. It was hard to discern the deep violets, but at the very least, Shuichi could tell he was staring at him. The naked uncertainty proved sobering. Yet…
Shuichi reached out. Held his hand.
The galaxy of his face stilled.
The calluses still remained. Of course they had. "I won't be baggage," said Shuichi, his voice a hint above whisper, yet perhaps proved loud and clear in the other boy's ears. "We're a… team, aren't we?"
Silence stretched between them. But amidst it all was an unspoken agreement.
The next day, they learned first-hand the punishment for sleeping outside the dorms.
Symptoms of a common cold.
"Eh, could be worse," said Kokichi, blowing his nose into his sleeve.
A grimace vanished as quick as it had appeared on Shuichi's face. "How did they even do this?"
"Maybe they spread the virus through the vents," said Kokichi, venturing a guess. "Who cares for now. Let's go back to the hidden wing."
"We need to show our faces to the others first though. So they won't worry." Or get suspicious, was left unspoken.
Kokichi shrugged.
"Ah." Shuichi's eyes widened a fraction. "Looks like we completed the first Quest." Sure enough, a notification counter flashed in the corner of his MonoWatch screen when he turned the screen on. A tap, and it revealed the following message:
||Quest Complete!||
The Sheep have been deprived of their hard work, sending them into a slight state of hunger and despair.
You have gained 100 Monokuma Credits!
He pursed his lips. Swiped away from the message. "It's… 7:14am. We have some time before 'Rise and Shine.' Are you sure you don't want to sleep some more?"
"What does it matter if we follow the schedule or not? Not like we'd get punished as the eeevil Wolves!"
They folded up their blankets and pillows and Shuichi stored them neatly in a locker.
"What if… people start asking to see our room? We've got a hole in the wall with all those monitors," he said, worried.
"Hmmmm. We can buy a lock from the vending machine."
"But that'll just look even more suspicious!"
"I wonder~"
Then he skipped to one of the desks. At first, Shuichi was unsure what he was doing, but after studying his actions, realization struck him. He's looking for notebooks. But why?
The answer revealed itself shortly: Kokichi ripped the pages out.
"What are you doing?"
"Nishishi! You'll see!"
Indeed he would. Kokichi wasted no time in taping the loose sheets together, forming a makeshift screen. He taped the top end right above the hole to the secret room, letting the bottom end hang.
"Where did you even find the tape?"
"It's hospital tape! I nicked it from the infirmary. If anyone ever asks why this is here, we can just say we went a bit overboard when looking for tokens."
Just as Shuichi's about to say something, a scream broke out in the hall. In the blink of an eye, they ran outside.
A crowd of people gathered right under the security camera aiming at the elevator. From where he stood, Shuichi could not determine the cause for the congregation. However, with each step he took and the longer he studied the body language of those before him, the further his heart dropped. Halfway there, a foul odor smacked him in the face, so much so that he gagged.
"Saihara! L-look!"
The crowd parted.
Tojo Kirumi lay face flat on the ground, umoving. Next to her head is a pebble. A pool of yellow liquid surrounded her, making for a rather pitiful appearance. The stench was the strongest here. It stung his eyes, tears clinging to his long lashes.
"Maaan, you guys sure act fast, don't ya?"
Everyone turned around to see Monokuma grinning at them.
"It's not even time for breakfast yet! And I even gave you guys a non-killing option to graduate. Do you really like to kill so much?"
"N-no, you're wrong!" shouted Kaede. Her whole body shook as she gritted her teeth.
"Oh reaaally? Then what do we have here?"
"This…"
"Upupupu! Wow, this is such a riot! You kids say you wanna escape together, but one of you's already dead the next day! Well! I don't blame ya. Staying here with nothing to do is bound to drive anyone nuts."
A look of rage swept through Momota's visage. "What the hell?! You eavesdropped on us?"
"Eh, wasn't it obvious I would? What did you think the cameras were for? Decoration?"
"...You're wrong. There's no way someone would kill anyone here…" Shirogane appeared on the verge of collapse.
"Ohhh! How about this? I'll give you guys a super-duper special quest as a celebration!"
Immediately, each of their MonoWatches lit up.
||Super-Duper Special Quest||
Correctly determine the culprit and cause of death of the Ultimate Maid, Tojo Kirumi.
Reward upon completion: A clue about the secret to this game.
Time Limit: 2 hours.
Hint: Check the Monokuma Files
||Monokuma Files||
CASE 01:
The victim is Tojo Kirumi.
The time of death is estimated to be around 6:00 am.
The corpse was found face-down in the hallway of the sixteenth floor, under the security camera aimed at the elevator, at 7:22 am.
The victim died in the same spot where her corpse was found.
There is an injury on her forehead that is in line with blunt trauma.
The pupils are constricted, the muscles are consistent with extended spasming, and the underwear is soiled.
Everyone stood there, stunned at how light of a manner Monokuma had treated this.
It can't be... Shuichi bit his lip. He tried to ignore the ringing in his ears. The nausea threatening to empty out his already-empty stomach.
His hands trembled, and he locked them together to stop the shaking. He looked up at the camera. The world seemed to fall in tones of grey.
If his assumption were correct…
"How could you?! You! Making light of someone's death!" roared Chabashira. Fortunately, Gonta was quick-witted enough to hold her back from attacking Monokuma.
"Let me at him!"
"Please Chabashira-san! You'll be punished if you hurt him!"
"Gonta not want to fight! Want peace!"
"Shut up, you muscle-brained degenerate male!" But her spirit wasn't as strong as before, face crumpling into tears.
"You killed her… You killed her, you fucking bear!"
"I didn't kill anyone! I'm an innocent party being framed." Monokuma had the audacity to look offended. "Maybe if you guys weren't sinners in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."
"Does this mean we can go down a floor now?"
At that moment, silence. The gazes of everyone converged on Kokichi, some carrying shock, others incredulity. Still others held a calculative gleam.
But rage triumphed in the end.
"How could you say that?! Our friend has just DIED!"
"H-he's got a point though…"
"So can we go down or not?" continued Kokichi, ignoring the heated glares of the others. "You said we can descend to the next floor as long as someone dies. Well, would you look at that? Someone's dead!"
Monokuma picked his ears. "Ehhh. You've got two hours to this quest. Complete it or not, I don't really care, and then we'll talk more about it later." He glanced at his nonexistent watch. "Ah! Would you look at the time! I'm outta here. Upupupu!"
With that, the rest of the crowd fell apart. Although they had not been together for long, they had formed a sense of camaraderie in such a terrifying, unnerving situation. And even more so now.
"I think I'm going to be sick." That was the only warning before Momota Kaito emptied his stomach of bile and gastric juices onto the floor.
Following a period of strained silence, the group of teenagers regained a portion of their calm.
"So…" Korekiyo's smooth voice traveled through the hall. "The question remains: will we actually try to complete this quest?"
"It feels like... an act of disrespect against Tojo-san," said Yumeno.
"Gonta agrees!"
"But we can't just let the murderer get away with it either," Harukawa said.
"How are you so sure there's a killer?"
At the sound of those words, everyone turned to the speaker in question. A moment later, irritation clouded most of their faces.
"What do you mean, Ouma-san?" asked Kaede, frowning. "If no one k-killed her, then how did Tojo-san die?"
"Well, I wonder. Maybe she tripped and fell over. Oh! And then she hit her head on the ground and died!"
"What the fuck, you little shit? So you're blaming this on Tojo-san?!"
"I'm just throwing out an idea. Better than what you've been doing, Mister vomit-out-my-brains."
"Enough." Amami stepped forward. "Everyone settle down. This is getting us nowhere."
That seemed to do the trick. At least Kokichi and Momota weren't at each other's throats anymore.
"I can't believe it. First we fail that stupid quest so we can't eat today, and now this."
"Are you seriously thinking about food at a time like this?"
"Ah, Harukawa, I just mean that we won't be able to investigate on an empty stomach."
Such an excuse didn't stop her from glaring at Momota, though.
"Come on guys! We need to take this seriously. Both for Tojo-san's justice and that clue about a secret to this game."
"A c-clue?!"
"Akamatsu is right," said Amami. "Let's all get to the bottom of this."
"Oh, oh! If Amami-chan says so, then I'm in too! Right, Saihara-chan?"
Hearing his name, Shuichi instantly looked up. "Huh? Uh…"
"Looks like Saihara-chan needs a break," said Kokichi, a thoughtful look to his eyes.
He shook his head. "No… I'm alright. I was just thinking." Should I tell them? He glanced at the security camera from his peripheral vision. But if there's suspicion among them, someone might try to escape on their own.
"Saihara?"
"Yes, um, I'm here." He stared down the crowd. Sucked in a deep breath. "I don't think there was a murderer."
Silence.
Then, Kaito chuckled, albeit in a forced manner. "You… You're joking right? My Sidekick wouldn't actually suspect the victim, right?"
"Momota-san…"
"Why are you siding with that cretin?!"
"What? I'm not siding with anyone, Momota-san. Please… listen to what I have to say." Shuichi placed a hand on his chin. "I don't think the cause of death is blunt trauma to the head. But I do agree with Ouma-kun about one thing. I do think she hit her head on the ground."
"But… how? There's nothing to trip on in the hallway and Tojo-san's shoes are slip-on."
"Don't her shoes have laces?"
"Those are for show," said Shirogane. "I know because I had the same conversation with her in the solarium yesterday. I was interested because her shoes are an exact replica of Tomoko-chan's in 'The Demon King Only Loves Me ,' the award-winning anime from last year."
"I don't mean she fell by tripping," said Shuichi. "Rather… First, let's address the smell in this hallway."
"Smells like shit!" chirped Kokichi.
"Thanks for the image. I'm as dry as the Sahara Desert now," Iruma said.
"The Monokuma Files say that her… ahem, are soiled." Pink dusted Kiibo's cheeks. How that was possible was anyone's guess.
"Her pupils are constricted. Her muscles are consistent with convulsions. None of these specifically point to death by blunt trauma to the head. If I'm correct…" He stepped over the corpse and lifted her wrist with the MonoWatch. "Yeah. There's an injection mark, alright."
Hoshi whistled, but said nothing.
"So she died from the Happy Cubs Neurotoxin? But why? She didn't break any rules!"
"Ehhh. Not so sure about that." Kokichi shrugged. "The Monokuma Files said the approximate time of death is 6:00 am. Looks like someone was up in the hallway all sneaky during 'Nighttime.' Not to mention," he pointed to the camera above, "she died right underneath this camera. Doesn't that seem suspicious?"
"What do you mean? Gonta cannot understand."
"You don't understand a lot of things, do you, ya big oaf?"
"Hey! Don't bully Gonta-san!"
"Whaaatever."
Kaede intervened. "I think what Ouma-san is trying to say is that Tojo-san broke the rule about damaging the security cameras."
"Only one way to find out."
With the help of Gonta, Amami was able to get a close-up look at the camera in question. "Looks like the glass is cracked. It's undetectable unless you're this close, though."
"How did she crack it?"
Shuichi picked up the pebble by Tojo's silver locks. "Probably by using this…"
"But why? Why would she do that?" asked Yumeno amidst her tears.
"I think Tojo-san was experimenting." Kaede bowed her head, unable to contain her grief. "She mentioned yesterday how it's better to know what the punishment was for breaking the rules. She must have been testing it out." Her voice cracked. "She did this for us."
The hall stood silent once more.
"Why is it death? She only broke two rules, didn't she? Why didn't that bear tell us anything?!"
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean, Amami-san?"
Amami faced the crowd. "Like Ouma said, the time of death is approximately 6:00 am. Tojo-san cracked the camera's glass with a pebble. And then sleeping outside of the dorms. That's three rules she broke."
"This still doesn't explain how she died." Momota chewed his lip.
The gears in his brain spun overdrive. Shuichi glanced at his fellow Wolf, before saying, "We deduced her death was caused by the neurotoxin. In order to determine how she died, we have to understand how neurotoxins work. I'm not a doctor but… before I was abducted, I helped my uncle with his cases. And I had once come across a murder where the murder weapon was coated in a neurotoxin." He paused, taking in the expressions of everyone. "What I learned was… they're destructive to the nervous tissue. And some of the symptoms are… the loss of control of bodily functions, pupil constriction, and convulsions. Convulsions eventually lead to… death by asphyxia."
The rest of the investigation was a blur. Nausea had once again wracked his body and he had to excuse himself.
Hidden in the minor comfort of his classroom, Shuichi threw himself in a corner and crumpled into a ball.
The click of a lock. Kokichi made his way toward him, the pita pat of his shoes echoing in the surrounding space.
Head cradled in his hands, Shuichi screwed his eyes tight. He could taste the bitter tang of bile from the back of his throat.
The room was quiet, save for Shuichi's rough, jagged breathing.
"I think we should show them the monitors."
And there went the elephant in the room.
At first, not a word left both of their lips. But then, Kokichi frowned. "No way."
"They deserve to know. I know we can't tell them about the Wolves and us, but... withholding such important information could kill them. You saw what happened with Tojo-san." The corners of his eyes grew damp. "Maybe… maybe if we told her the surveillance monitors were in our room she wouldn't have tried to inspect the cameras." And died , thought Shuichi. She wouldn't have died.
"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll never know now, would we? Since she's already dead."
Horrified by his words, Shuichi whipped his head up.
Lion's gaze. That was all he could think of to properly describe the sight before him. Kokichi's stare pierced through him, deep and profound, swirling with a myriad of emotions Shuichi couldn't for the life of him put into words. He almost felt ashamed. As if he didn't deserve to see this. However, he quickly quelled the notion.
"If we tell them about the surveillance system, who are they going to suspect first, huh? Let me give you a clue. Us! They'll think we're the masterminds or something. I mean, this is some damning stuff, you know? Even though they have it in their heads that the watch killed Tojo, their doubts and suspicions against us wouldn't disappear overnight. It'll be seared into their brains, never to be forgotten." He dropped to a crouch in front of Shuichi. "Don't forget, we're Team Wolf. If any of them wisen up and realize they've got traitors in their mix—and that it's us —we're done for. Gonezo. You probably won't even see our corpses by the end of it.
"We need to blend in with the Sheep," said Kokichi, biting the nail to his thumb. "So don't be burdened by your guilt. And don't hold it all in. It's okay to cry." The faster we figure a way out, the less people would have to die.
Shuichi just stared at him, unable to utter a word.
Such a sight caused a grin to spread across Kokichi's lips, one that was devilish, borderline-impossible by human standards. "Why are we trying so hard anyway? We just need to pass the ten quizzes and take the Final Exam. Then we'll be home free."
Shuichi shook his head, brows furrowing. "B-but if we all graduate together, that would mean we all escaped together... You and I will die."
"Exactly! Keep it in your head that we'd die if we all left together. I was kinda miffed that you told them about the injection, though. If they all thought someone among them was a killer, the more likely one of them will try to escape on their own. We'd lose our necks if they all escape, but they'd be fine if we leave first!"
Somehow, Shuichi had his doubts. What if the Sheep faced death if the Wolves won? But immediately after that thought, he shook his head. If that were the case, the others would have appeared more stressed earlier. It's human nature to distrust others.
He cleared his throat. "But didn't you follow up hinting about the rules being broken?"
"Well, yeah! We're teammates after all." A smile blossomed on Kokichi's lips, small and somewhat soft. "Plus, this way it's waaay more interesting. A clue about the game's secret… Who wouldn't want to know?"