Naegi looked down at Alter Ego's computer, where the avatar of Fujisaki's face looked away bashfully. So Alter Ego wanted to talk to someone? A faint sense of guilt stirred in him, at the thought of Alter Ego stuck in a bathhouse locker all alone day in and day out, without even the data analysis to occupy himself. It was a good thing Kirigiri had decided to check in on him – otherwise, he wouldn't have had any way to let them all know he wanted something.

"All right." Naegi sat on the opposite bench, so that he and Kirigiri could both see the computer screen.

Alter Ego looked from Naegi to Kirigiri. "Hello," he said. "So, um… it's just the two of you? Naegi and Kirigiri?"

Kirigiri began typing in response, "Is two not enough?"

"No, it's okay! Two should be plenty!"

Kirigiri nodded, continuing to type, "What did you want to ask us?"

"Um, so…" Alter Ego looked out at them nervously, a drop of sweat appearing at the side of his face, "I'd like you to take me somewhere where you can connect me to the school network."

Kirigiri froze, wide eyes going to Naegi. He stared back at her in shock. He hadn't known what to expect from Alter Ego's request, but it hadn't been anything like this. And from Kirigiri's startled expression, she was just as taken aback. Still, she pulled herself back together quickly and put her hands back to the keyboard.

"Why?"

"Well, when I finished telling you all about the data analysis, you said my job was done," Alter Ego said, looking away. "But… saying that's all I can do… I don't want that!" He straight out at them, determination clear on his face. "I want to keep helping. I want to work just as hard as everyone else so that we can all escape! I think… Master would have wanted that, too. So to help everyone solve the mysteries of this school… the only way I can help is if you connect me to the network!"

"But – if you did that –" Naegi had to force himself to speak through the horror filling him. "That would basically be suicide! I'm positive the mastermind would find out, and then you'd…" He shook his head and turned to Kirigiri. "You agree, right?"

But Kirigiri didn't reply. She just stared down at Alter Ego, one hand resting against her lips. Naegi stared at her, a slow dread creeping through him. She couldn't actually be considering it, could she?

"I know it's dangerous," Alter Ego went on. "And I am scared. But I can handle it. I don't really understand why, but… when I think about everyone else, my courage starts to grow! You might think I'm just an inhuman AI, but it's true. If it's for the sake of everyone else, I won't be afraid."

A lump rose in Naegi's throat at the sound of that voice – so committed, so admirable, and so very fragile. Alter Ego wanted to fight for them, even though they'd asked so much of him already.

Kirigiri lifted her eyes from the screen to look at Naegi. "I didn't want to ask Alter Ego to take any further risks. If we do, then you're right – there's a chance the mastermind might notice it. But – let's do it. Let's connect Alter Ego to the school network."

"What?" Naegi's jaw dropped. "But –"

"I want to take his feelings into consideration, too," Kirigiri cut him off. "He's saying that he wants to fight alongside his friends. If you were in his place, would you sit by and do nothing? Or would you stand tall next to everyone else and tell them you're their friend?"

Every time Kirigiri said the word 'friend,' guilt clawed at Naegi's heart. However much he'd been saying the word, he hadn't been able to back it up – not like Alter Ego was trying to do. How could he deny Alter Ego the choice to act on his feelings?

"Are you two fighting?" Alter Ego asked. "If it's about me… please don't. I want to believe in myself. I want to say, 'I know I can do this.' So please, let me try!"

Naegi stared at the laptop, wishing he knew what the right choice was. Should he honor Alter Ego's wishes and help him do something so dangerous, or should he refuse to do what Alter Ego wanted so much in order to protect him against his will?

"Besides, there's a place the mastermind might not notice," Kirigiri said, while Naegi was still thinking. "Remember – another place besides here where there are no surveillance cameras?"

"You mean the hidden room, right?" Naegi said, nodding slowly.

"I definitely saw an Ethernet port on the wall," Kirigiri said. "Alter Ego should be able to connect to the network from there." She frowned. "Of course, no cameras doesn't necessarily mean no danger. The mastermind may still be monitoring the network."

"But then –"

"But I think I know how we might be able to buy Alter Ego a little extra time," Kirigiri went on, before he could finish his objection.

"You do?" Naegi asked, frowning. "How?"

"If the mastermind had something else to think about, then it's possible they would be distracted enough that Alter Ego might be able to get away with some minor activity on the network," Kirigiri said.

Naegi thought it over. "But we don't know how the mastermind really operates. They might be able to watch a lot of things all at once!"

"That's true, it wouldn't be a guarantee," Kirigiri said. "All it would do is give Alter Ego a slightly better chance at success. But between this and the hidden room, I think it might be enough for a brief time – say twenty-four hours. After providing a distraction during that time, we could retrieve Alter Ego and bring him back to safety."

Naegi hesitated. He didn't like it – but he had to admit it was probably the best plan they would be able to come up with. "Well – what kind of distraction are you talking about? You aren't going to try to destroy something or break out or anything, are you?"

Kirigiri gave him a small smile. "Nothing so dramatic. Something like that would just get the perpetrator punished, which would provide a momentary distraction at best. No, there's only one thing that would guarantee that the mastermind would pay attention – if they thought someone was planning a murder attempt."

"Murder?" Naegi stared at her, aghast. "You want the two of us to try to kill someone, just to create a distraction?"

"I don't intend to take it that far," Kirigiri said calmly. "I'm only talking about making preparations. The mastermind would need to keep close track of anyone who looks like they might commit a murder, in order to judge the class trials correctly. If someone were to spend a day appearing to craft a complex murder plan, I think it's highly likely that the mastermind would pay more attention to that person than to anything else going on at the time."

Thinking about what the mastermind would do sent shivers creeping down Naegi's spine, but he had to admit it made a terrible kind of sense. "So – so you're saying that we should try to make it look like we're trying to work together to kill someone?"

"Not quite," Kirigiri said. "I doubt that anyone would believe you would help commit murder, after all your vehemence against it. And that's not even taking into account the fact that you're not much of a liar. No, I think that I will need to be the one who handles the false murder preparations."

"Oh." Naegi felt a little relieved that she wasn't expecting him to pretend he wanted to kill anyone. He didn't like the idea at all, even if it was fake. "So you don't want me to help at all?"

"I didn't say that." Kirigiri smirked at him. "You're going to be my victim."