Hey guys, PurpleSweetnessStories here! I hope you enjoy this part! And please check out the note I put at the end, I have some questions for you guys as well as some info.

DANGANRONPA: OFF THE RAILS

Chapter 1 – Freedom's End

Part 2

After he had left the pub room, Shunso returned to his room where he waited for Nighttime to hit. He prepared himself to leave when suddenly the lights in his room dimmed into a darker tone. He raised a brow at this but shrugged as he exited the dorm. Upon exiting to the train car, he noticed immediately that the lights of the cars were dimmed. Looking around the car, he watched as Kanade, Chizure, Satoru stepped out of their rooms.

Looking around at the others, Shunso sighed before looking at his SW. "…It's currently around ten. So… perhaps we should all meet up somewhere in a few hours or so? Look around and check out the location."

The other three nodded as they headed out down the train. What was once filled with an area of extravagance now held an air of unease as dark lights and silence spread throughout the train. Chizure and Satoru started to go ahead as Shunso pulled out his notebook. However, he then felt himself move as he looked behind his shoulder to see the smiling face of Kanade. "Would you like some help?"

Shunso looked like he wanted to protest but after a few moments, he sighed. "Sure. I'll write down notes about our surroundings and you can push… if that's alright."

The pianist gave a smile and a nod as she started to push the intelligence officer. The two walked in silence with the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the train moving, the walking of the pianist, the light rolling of Shunso's wheelchair, the light scratching of Shunso's pencil, and the soft hum coming from the lights.

As they reached the storage car, Shunso started to speak quietly out loud. "…the dining car is locked from the kitchen to the cafeteria, though the dining room is somehow still open. The room with all the medicine seems to be locked and no lights seem to be on in this room except the lights from within the medicine room…"

Looking over his shoulder, Kanade could see a well drawn diagram of the current car as Shunso was writing light notes. "Whoa… that looks incredible Kamata-kun. Is that part of your talent?"

The boy nodded as he didn't look up from his work. "Correct… It's my job to collect information and process it. From the surroundings to the slightest of details."

This caused Kanade to stop for a second before gaining a raised brow. "The slightest of details? …Is that why you zoned out when we first introduced ourselves Kamata-kun?"

"Correct." Shunso said with an honest tone. "I tend to go overboard with details, looking for the slightest of connections. When we introduced ourselves, you were the third Ultimate I had met. So that made me wonder why there were four Ultimates kidnapped onto a train… I am still sorry for getting lost in my thoughts."

Kanade gave a light laugh. "It's no problem at all Kamata-kun. Though, I am curious… how did you get into this career if you don't mind me asking?"

Shunso stopped as pondered about it… before he sighed. "…I guess… I was just stubborn. I like to learn information… so I kept bothering the police force until one guy gave me a chance. Showed my stuff and got a job."

He didn't say anything else as he went back to his work. Kanade could tell he didn't want to talk about it as she continued to push him. Stopping for a second, she smiled and spoke.

"Hmmm… a strange question Kamata-kun… but would you be interested in learning piano?" This caused Shunso to look back at Kanade as she continued. "Well, it's up to you…"

Shunso simply returned to his notebook as they returned to a quiet silence. Nothing was said as they reached the library room. However, a quiet voice was heard. "…I would be up for it Hanasaki-san."

Kanade stopped and blinked as she looked down at the writing intelligence officer. He didn't say anything else, but as they continued to walk in silence, one could see a small smile on the pianist's face.

As the intelligence officer and the pianist reached the end of the train, they found Satoru and Chizure waiting there. After grouping back up, the four went over to the pub as it seemed to be completely normal. Sitting around a table, Shunso pulled out his notebook.

"From what we could gather, the places that are locked up seem to be the kitchen, cafeteria, medicine room, pool, and gym." Shunso pointed down at his sketched-out map as he continued. "The rest is open due to the open design of the train. It also seems that water is off limits during the night?"

Satoru looked at them and nodded his head. "Yep. Although, there's something interesting I noticed. One of the locked rooms is different."

Shunso looked at the idol and nodded slowly. "I think I remember. All the other places had signs that said, 'Entry not allowed'. But the pool… had nothing like that. It was just locked. No sign or anything." This got a nod from the idol.

"That's right darling. In fact, there seems to be a list of 'pool rules' along with it. And some of them mention nighttime." Shunso nodded along with the idol as Chizure then spoke up. "What if we just don't have the key?"

Turning to the forger, she continued. "Well… so far we've been given pretty much nothing right? What if we just don't have the key?" The other three blinked and looked at each other.

Shunso then turned back to Chizure and shrugged. "I mean… it does make the most sense at the moment. I guess we can ask the others if they can find the key or anything… We just have to-"

The intelligence officer never got to finish as the four felt the train slow down and stop. This caused the eyes of the four to widen as they rushed out into the train. They looked at their SWs for a second and noticed the time was 6:20.

Kanade looked at the time and then at the others. "Well… it's nearly daytime? And the train actually stopped?"

Looking at the pianist, Shunso honestly had no solid answer as he tried to make sense of it. "…Perhaps-"

"It's a routine stop?"

Looking over to their side, the four see standing in the doorway, Katashi. Katashi just continued to speak. "It's a routine stop. It was the same last night as well. Some time between 6:10 to 6:20ish. I don't know exactly what time, but it's the same thing. The train stopped. Though I doubt this will be consistent."

Shunso looked at him confused. "…Why are you up Minami-san?" The therapist just rolled their eyes.

Katashi walked off to the next train car as the four looked at each other. Cautiously, they followed the therapist as he spoke. "I have bouts of insomnia. That and I usually wake up early. So blame my fucked-up sleep schedule."

"However… since you're here, I might as well bring something interesting up." He said as he stopped. The group found themselves in the yacht car as Katashi pointed to the roof near the top of the mast. On it was a vent. "…There seems to be a ton of those around in each car. I think they may be connected."

Shunso looked at him with a distrusting look. "And why are you telling us this?"

This caused Katashi to scoff and look at him. "I don't know… why don't you find that answer 'Ultimate Intelligence Officer'?" And with that… he walked off as the four were left there confused.

Chizure spoke up as she looked at the others. "…So… we tell the others what locks, the missing key, the train stopping, and the vents?"

Satoru pondered it for a bit before shrugging. "I guess. Perhaps we should split up? How about you and Mioka-chan tell Huang-san? We'll tell the next night shift." He then looked at Kanade with a smile. "What do you say darling?"

Kanade, who seemed sleepy, looked back and forth slowly before they woke a bit and nervously spoke up. "W-Well… I'm alright with it if you guys are."

Shunso just shrugged as he sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get back and tell them so we can get some sleep."

Satoru chuckled lightly with a nod. "Whatever you say darling." And with that, the four headed towards the dining car.

Time progressed as Shunso found himself waking up near the afternoon. After the first night shift split up, Shunso and Chizure found Li-Wei and informed him of their findings. Li-Wei stated he would keep an eye on Katashi as the two went straight to bed.

After his sleep, he decided to headed out and explore some more. And soon enough, Shunso found himself in the yacht car once more. Turning his head, he saw sitting there was none other then Hastur, sitting there and enjoying a novel.

The cosmicism writer then looked up and gave a small wave. "Hello hello, my friend! How was your night? I can only imagine how mysterious this 'Train of the abyss,' as I call it, can be."

Shunso looked at him weirdly before rolling his eyes. "It was normal. Some rooms were closed while others were still opened. Found a decent amount of information."

"Ah!" Hastur closed their novel and smiled at Shunso. "I see. That is truly intriguing. Perhaps when my time comes, I shall mysteries myself."

Shunso brushed it off as he slowly moved towards the nearby porthole window and looked outside at the water. "…Say… why are you reading here of all places? Wouldn't you rather go to your room or the library?"

Hastur shook his head as he moved over to the window as well. It was a little strange with a man standing at 6'1 while Shunso is 4'3 when he's sitting in his wheelchair. "No. I am fine here. I feel… a slight connection towards the sea. Water represents the connection to the unconscious mind and many aspects of life. Perhaps you know some~?"

Shunso raised a brow before shrugging. "From what I gathered, many see it as one of the four elements to human life in western culture, the others being earth, fire, and air. It usually represents aspects of motion, purity, fertility, and mystery."

Bellowing a hearty laugh, Hastur nodded. "Correct my friend! And yet… despite all that, I cannot truly connect myself with it. For you see… while a calming aura rests around water… It also holds another aspect I truly do not find myself entuned with. …Power."

The intelligence officer said no words as Hastur continued. "While the mystery and calming aura gives me a slight connection, I find myself more connected with the sky rather then the ocean."

This caused a snort from Shunso. "So you're more of a sky pirate or whatever?"

"…Perhaps. But truthfully, it relies more on the element of air. The freedom it represents. The way it can unite people together without causing destruction." Hastur then gave a small chuckle before he turned to the doorway. "Well, this has been a wonderful chat my friend~! I hope to hear from you again soon~!" And with that, off he went.

Shunso looked at the doorway silently before turning back to the window. Seeing the water splash and move, Shunso could only give a weak chuckle as he thought back to the conversation. "…Freedom huh? Interesting…"

And with that, the intelligence officer headed off. To where, he had no clue. All he knew was that he had a sinking feeling… that their 'freedom' would not last so long.

-TO BE CONTINUED-

16/16 REMAINING

Hello everyone! PurpleSweetness here!

…Sooo… uhhhh… sorry for the long gap? Things have been busy for me with moving to another province for university, getting used to school, and just in general getting things ready. That and this part… I could never find the right way to finish it until now. But! It's done! And I have a few things to say.

So, first off, the motive? Is planned to come out in the next part. I hope the motive will be an interesting one for you all as not only do I have the motive planned out, but also the killer and victim! It's a matter of weaving the story at this point. Secondly, you know that format I said last time? I realized that by saying that I was limiting myself. So, instead… I'm just going to go back to what I was originally going to do. Just write… whatever.

And lastly, I want to ask something. Are you guys enjoying the story? And if so, how do you think I can improve? I'm not the best with writing large parts but if you guys want the parts to be longer, I will try. At the end of the day, I want to make a story that you guys can enjoy. To those who's characters are in the story, I would be down to talk with you more. I want to work with you on the characters and their parts. It's their story as much as it's Shunso.

And with all that now said… That's all for now! I'll see you guys next time!

PurpleSweetness signing out!