Secrets, Mysteries, Inconsistencies, and…A Name.
Grey.
That's the first thing I couldn't help but notice after stepping in through the secret passageway. How grey everything was, no doubt the dust plaguing the entire room serving as a major contributor to it…which in insight, it's a good sign, as it would mean that there hasn't been someone here before in quite a long while.
Or if there were, they didn't do much…
Besides the dirty walls, the room was surrounded by pipes and valves of all sizes and lengths along their respective handles. Nothing is pointing out what function they have or what they regulate, so interacting with them could be dangerous. I should leave them alone unless, for some strange reason, circumstances were to force me to do otherwise.
Regardless, this felt more like the type of room you would find in a basement rather than on the second floor of a 'Not so impossible of being the case now…' school.
Even so, that wasn't where the particularities of this place ended.
Ahead of me, there was a simple desk holding up three drawers and a chair just beside it, while above it, there was what appeared to be a napkin box. That last item felt admittedly out of place, and if it weren't for the dust, I would've suspected that someone put it here recently.
Be that as it may, I decided to put it aside in favor of what truly held importance for me, what was making me believe already that investigating this room is truly going to be of some use.
Further ahead of the desk, there was a large shelve filled to the brim with all kinds of files and books.
Just like the rest of this area, none of them showed any signal of being touched recently. Of course, good as it sounds the possibility of having an upper hand against my captor, I can't allow for this apparent small victory to get into my head. The chances that this in itself is also a trap can't be discarded.
That doesn't mean I will not get immediately into checking them out, though.
Regardless of what I find tonight, the mastermind may eventually catch on to the fact that I found this place. Sure, I choose acting this late so that person becomes none the wiser of this, and the fact that the cameras weren't following my movements as I moved through the halls, implies I was successful on it, otherwise, presence removed or not, detecting me through the lens of a camera shouldn't have been a problem for my captor.
But I highly suspect that they will eventually find this place 'Either out of sheer causality or another member of the group finds it too and acts less careful about it…' and, if there's truly something of interest here, no doubt they get rid of all these files. Besides, he or she will eventually wake up. I could be along with everyone else at the morning announcement, which I doubt, or in just between the next hour.
Is it a pessimistic way of thinking? Yes. Was it unreasonable? No, not at all.
In summary, I'm working under a clock here. There's just so much stuff that it would take me days, which I highly doubt I have, to get a detailed inspection of all of it, so I should just focus on the titles, perhaps the first and second pages too for some cases, and then choose the three or four documents that sound most important among all of them.
With that plan on my, I began to rummage through the bookshelf.
Not so long after I began my inspection of the files, my brows involuntary furrowed. It wasn't necessarily because I was beginning to think of these documents as useless, not exactly at least. Instead, what trouble me about these files was that I was beginning to notice a pattern among all these pieces of intel.
Every single one of them, without exception, was related to Hope's Peak Academy.
While nothing about it so far sounded useful for my current situation, neither can I deny that under other circumstances, they held some value. Partnerships, shady business like bribes, preferential treatments for their graduates and nepotism, things like that. That's about it so far.
But again, everything was about Hope's Peak in some way or another.
Is…is this truly Hope's Peak, then? Maybe it could be that our captor just managed to get a hold of all this information? Or is this truly a trap…?
I shook my head out of those distracting thoughts. This was not the time to think about that or reach any conclusions, much less considering that I wasn't even halfway done assessing the shelf.
Bringing myself out of my stupor and refocusing on the task at hand, I restarted my search.
Eventually, after looking through more books that were far from sounding promising, I caught up on something that made my furrowed brows deepen.
Hope's Peak Academy's Elementary School Division.
'Elementary School Division?' I couldn't help echoing that specific part of the file's title in my head as I picked it up and gaze upon it with the earliest signs of annoyance.
It doesn't sound like something useful could be found inside…but giving it a brief look, wouldn't hurt right?
Agreeing with that train of thought, I skimmed through a few pages to obtain the gist of what was this about.
I didn't even need to get past the fourth one to get the full picture and close the book with a little extra force than necessary, sighing in exasperation soon after.
Apparently, besides the Reserve Course Department and the Main Course, there's also a third one. Hope's Peak Academy's Elementary School Division as it is so called, appears to be a branch whose focus is the scouting and recruitment of promising individuals…only younger, way younger than the ones Hope's Peak usually does.
I should've known by just the name alone, but…
…It appears Hope's Peak has taken inspiration from the Holy Salvation Society's modus operandi, huh?
I would be lying if I said that I have a soft spot for kids. I don't give preferential treatment to people, either during interactions or missions. No matter which demographic you are talking about, there are just two types of people for me: Those I care about and those I don't.
Well, technically speaking, the higher-ups of the Salvation Society and my captor could fall in the people I despise category…
In any case, while I couldn't say that the kids involved in this program Hope's Peak have in its hands are my concern on an individual level, taking into consideration how close it hits to home regarding me, Maki, and the kids she takes care of….
Neither I am a fan of the idea.
But whether I like it or not, that doesn't matter. I'm not in a position to do anything about it, and even if I were, I highly doubt I would do something, more so if that letter implying the absolute cease of functions among the academy holds any truth.
For now, though, I should keep a cold head and look for anything that could help me and Enoshima.
After being done looking through the entire bookshelf, I picked up the documents I found the most relevant-looking ones and laid them on the only desk in this room.
Such files consisted of:
Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: Class 77-A.
Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: Class 77-B.
And finally, Hope's Peak Academy Student Registry: Class 78.
Among all the files found on the shelf within this secret room, those were the ones I believe have some merit to look at thoroughly. They are admittedly less than what I would've liked to find here, and they sound less compromising too, but it can't be helped, it is what it is. Besides, it's not like these files are useless. I can't throw away the likelihood of finding valuable intel about my classmates inside them, and I specifically picked up those three because, although I suspect it is the 78th one, I don't know which class I, supposedly, belong to.
As far as I remember, that wasn't told in the acceptance letter I was given.
The other reason was that, again, I don't have all the time in the world for this, and seeing that the volumes for the student rosters went as far as the 60th class, I choose to pick up the most recent ones. After all, it would raise some questions if my supposed class wasn't among the ones I picked up.
For now, any more mulling about this is just wasting time, so I better get into it.
Beginning with the first file I picked up; I slipped into my hand the roster containing information about the first half of the 77th class.
The first page that greeted me was the profile of a boy with brown hair and hazel eyes. Leaving aside the stern expression he was presented with, there wasn't any noteworthy trait about him that I could take note of in his picture.
On the additional information of his profile, there's mention of him being the head of Hope's Peak Student Council, which apparently is a thing. Ironically enough, the talent of who seems to go by the name Soshun Murasame, if what the student roster points hold any truth, is that of the Ultimate Student Council President.
Overall, I couldn't say there is anything worth pointing out about him in general.
I flipped through a pair of pages, briefly reading through the profiles of a guy named Santa Shikiba, the Ultimate Botanist, and Kotomi Ikuta, a girl whose talent is the Ultimate Hair Stylist. Like before, there wasn't anything of interest. Just the basics like their names, talents, birthdates, gender, and blood types. There was also some background information about them, but not even there I could see something that merited some attention.
Although before I could lose the optimism of finding anything worth my time, the following profile satiated those worries…to a certain degree.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: Isshiki Madarai]
[
Name: Isshiki Madarai.
Gender: Male.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 77th Class, Group A.
Special Ability: Ultimate Multiple Birth Siblings.
Birthdate: 12 January, 1996.
Height: 6'6'' (198.1 cm).
Blood Type: AB-
Notes:
Isshiki Madarai is the peculiar result of the conception of octuplets. He has been recruited and assigned into Group A from the 77th Hope's Peak Academy branch of students as the Ultimate Multiple Birth Siblings on account of his expertise in communication, synchronization, and team coordination with each one of his brothers.
Additionally, somewhere before their official enrollment into the Academy, he and his siblings have approached the headmaster on discretion for the request of being referred as a single individual under the talent of the Ultimate Bodyguard. After some debate and agreement that these conditions would work towards the development of their actual talent, such petition was accepted with the condition of them guaranteeing the safety of Hope's Peak Academy Student Council as actual bodyguards.
As such, all personnel aware of these circumstances has been instructed into referring to him and his siblings by his unofficial talent and only as Isshiki Madarai, while keeping absolute discretion of his true talent towards anyone else.]
As if to confirm that everything said on this page was real, the following seven pages had similar profile pictures of a tall and long black-haired, lizard-looking guy with basically the same information as the first one. And yeah, at least when it came to their faces, every single one of these Madarai brothers looked like a pale reptile of sorts with those abnormally large but narrow eyes, and that unnaturally large tongue. It didn't do any favors to their human appearance, or their lack thereof, how long and slender each of them was.
Besides…their talents as Ultimate Multiple Birth Siblings and Bodyguards. At least on paper, they sound like a problematic bunch to deal with in case I were in the need of fighting them.
Anyway, while in regards to my situation these profiles are next to useless, the fact that such a unique piece of intel could be found here increases my chances of finding something useful in the following profiles.
Whether that will be from this class or the others, remains to be seen, though.
After being done checking the profiles of the Ultimate Blogger and the Ultimate Soccer Player, I was met with the second file to catch my attention.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: Yuto Kamishiro]
[
Name: Yuto Kamishiro.
Gender: Male.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 77th Class, Group A.
Special Ability: Ultimate Spy.
Birthdate: 27 November, 1995.
Height: 4'11'' (150.6 cm).
Blood Type: O+
Notes:
One of the main justifications for him to earn his title as the Ultimate spy, comes Kamishiro's ability to hide his presence, making him practically invisible to the naked eye. Since a young age, he has been a possessor of such skill, but after years of either ignoring it or seeing it as a disadvantage in his everyday life, it wasn't until he began his career as a Spy that Kamishiro came to our radar.
Besides this natural ability for stealth, he also has proven himself worthy of being labeled as the Ultimate Spy thanks to his numerous achievements in infiltration and information gathering. Having an extensive red of agents located all around the world. Especially in key places such as the [REDACTED], or [REDACTED] to mention a few.
Although his personality is problematic in regards to members of the female demographic, his proactiveness for the development of his talent can't be denied.]
While the fact that this…guy? Kid? 'He has the face of being the latter, that's for sure…' is capable of hiding his presence just like me is interesting, and that part about him conflicting with females is worth brow-raising 'And also makes me wonder if it has any relation with the fact that the more I look at his face, the more I want to punch it…', what truly was making my brows to furrow were those '[REDACTED]' segments of the note.
Were those parts censored by our captor? Or was it something that Hope's Peak did beforehand to hide their tracks? If Hope's Peak is only responsible for the censure, then there's still a chance that I could find something useful against the mastermind, but if it results that my captor has been here and managed to mess with these documents…well, that would certainly be problematic.
There's the chance of a worst-case scenario where Hope's Peak is both responsible for the censure and also the one behind this Killing Game.
This secret room is full of dust, and that includes the entire bookshelf, which should serve as evidence enough that the mastermind, at the very least, hasn't been here in quite a while, which in turn, it would mean that they didn't catch on the ruse I pulled with Enoshima back this morning and have no idea that I have discovered this place. If this isn't a trap, then I see no reason for me to not find eventually something good.
…
…
…
…Sigh.
Whatever the case is, I have no other option but to continue searching. Ignoring the issues this recent development brings is being naive…but over-worrying isn't going to get me anywhere.
Flipping onto another page, I saw the face of an individual whose skin tone was pale enough to wonder if he was sick, with messy black hair reaching down the level of his neck, pale blue eyes, and notoriously long eyelashes. His expression was a peculiar combination of stern and apathetic.
I might not know him, but he certainly gives the vibes of being a rather sarcastic person, bordering on being straight-up tired of dealing with humanity's stupidity.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: Yasuke Matsuda]
[
Name: Yasuke Matsuda.
Gender: Male.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 77th Class, Group A.
Special Ability: Ultimate Neurologist.
Birthdate: 03 December, 1995.
Height: 5'11'' (181.1 cm).
Blood Type: AB+
Notes:
Yasuke Matsuda, member of Group A from the 77th Hope's Peak Academy batch of students. He has gained his talent as the Ultimate Neurologist for his unparalleled genius in the neurology field.
Since a young age, Matsuda has shown signs of interest in neurosciences. At the age of thirteen years old, he succeeded against his older and more experienced peers completing his first thesis regarding [REDACTED], following soon after his bachelor's degree in neurosurgery.
Although under strict supervision, Matsuda was already performing surgeries at the age of fifteen, and by the time he was scouted and enrolled into the academy, he had already acquired his doctoral degree in the same field.
During his time at Hope's Peak Academy, Yasuke Matsuda has made ground-breaking discoveries in his area of expertise, especially in the subject of [REDACTED], along with being a major contributor to the development of the [REDACTED]. It goes without saying that, even among his peers, Yasuke Matsuda stands out as a talented individual, acting as a prime example of what Hope's Peak thrives to see in his students.]
Hmmm, I guess he's the jewel in the crown that is his class, at least it gives me that feeling with those praises in his profile. I could almost feel the passion within it as they describe how good he is.
Which he admittedly is. As far as I know, neurology is one of the hardest sciences you could find, and this Matsuda appears to be an expert on it. Good for him, I suppose.
Although that doesn't quit my annoyance and wariness at seeing the censure for this guy's profile. It doesn't help that I don't know which one of the two is more problematic when one is a neurologist and the other a spy, those professions are a big deal by themselves. And when you put Ultimates into the mix? Those exact problems multiply.
Those places this Kamishiro character has people undercover are relevant, yes, but to whom? Hope's Peak? The mastermind? Both? In which way are they important? The same goes for Matsuda. What do those censored parts talk about? Who benefits from keeping them a secret? And how? It's so easy to straight up declare that the mastermind is the one gaining from this, but…
…Again, the dust in this place tells me nobody has set foot here in quite a while. One would think that with someone so meticulous as our captor, they would've come to visit this place and make sure everything was in order within recent days at least once, leaving the bare minimum of evidence at the very least that someone has been here recently, which isn't the case.
Even so.
I will keep the idea that this benefits Monokuma somehow, I just have to, even if I dislike over-speculating about a subject, I have little to no information about it. When it comes to the how, though, that's for future me to deal with, as I highly doubt that I will find the answers for that anytime soon.
Turns out that Matsuda was the last member from class 77-A, making it a total of sixteen students. It appears that's the norm for all classes it seems, though I'm about to find out if it's the same case with the roster of the 77th class's other half.
I returned the document to the desk and put the following one into my hands. Then I proceeded to flip it open.
The first student I got a look at was a girl with pale-pink hair, short enough for it to not go past her shoulders and accompanied by the hairclip of what I could only make as a pixelated spaceship of sorts, meanwhile, the tone of her eyes was a middle point between orange and pink. She seems like a calm person, or at least I get that feeling when I see how it appears she's fighting the urge to fall asleep on the profile picture.
Besides that, there wasn't anything else worth pointing out about Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer, so I moved on to the next ones.
After browsing through the profiles of the Ultimate Animator, Ultimate Nurse, and Ultimate Traditional Dancer, I finally found something that caught my attention.
Skin pale enough to look like a ghost, ghostly green eyes, and wavy long hair devoid of any life or color. I know I'm making a lot of comparisons to ghosts for this person, but it's because his paleness goes so far with this guy that it makes the Ultimate Neurologist like the walking definition of healthy.
Although that wasn't all there was to it.
I'm not entirely sure if I'm just imagining things, but as I look at the guy in the picture, I can't help but think of him as a bizarre version of Naegi. Plus, his talent isn't doing any favors for me to think otherwise.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: Nagito Komaeda]
[
Name: Nagito Komaeda.
Gender: Male.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 77th Class, Group B.
Special Ability: Ultimate Lucky Student.
Birthdate: 28 April, 1996.
Height: 5'11'' (180.4 cm).
Blood Type: O-
Notes:
As it has been the tradition in recent years, Hope's Peak held an annual lottery to grant the title of the Ultimate Lucky Student to give any ordinary teenager the chance of being accepted into our halls with the rest of the Ultimates that comprise this prestigious Academy, with Nagito Komaeda being the lucky student to win a seat within Hope's Peak Academy 77th batch of students.
Although on paper it can be remarked that Komaeda truly has no trace whatsoever of what is considered a talent, his luck is worth studying.
Incidents such as surviving an airplane crash caused by the fall of a meteor on the airplane just to become rich through the inheritance of his deceased parents not long after, being kidnapped by a serial killer, and then finding a lottery ticket in a garbage bag after said murderer died of a sudden heart attack, among other incidents that multiple of his peers have witnessed during his time in Hope's Peak Academy do nothing but prove the genuineness of his extraordinary fortune.
In its own way, and regardless of the issues his luck can provide, the academy is fortunate to have someone like him within our halls.]
Huh, so Naegi was saying the truth about that lottery thing being done every year. Although from what I could read here, it seems that this Nagito's 'Geez, even the names sound similar…' luck is the real deal.
Not like that is a good thing, though.
It didn't go past me that those examples of good fortune in the notes seem to be linked to a tragedy following someone else as if he obtains his good luck at the expense of other people's misery. And there's that mention of issues once he entered the school. They don't sound like school shutdown levels of urgent, but…
…I can't help but feel like I dodged a bullet by having Naegi instead of him in this Killing Game.
The moment I caught sight of the next student, seeing their picture, name, and talent. I couldn't help the sigh that escaped my mouth.
Sonia Nevermind, the Ultimate Princess.
Leaving aside the discovery that its Hope's Peak being okay with accepting foreign exchange students, it sure is a surprise on its own to see that of all possible prospects, the princess of the Novoselic Kingdom is the one attending the academy.
And yeah, I was aware that Nevermind is the surname of the royal family in that country, even before reading it through this file.
The reason I huffed when I saw her profile was…well, I can't say I feel animosity towards her, but it's true that if I had the chance, which I have 'Though it's not one I could say I'm a fan of…', I would avoid any interactions with her.
This comes from that mission involving the vault door of similar origin to the one found in the main hall. The noble I had to take care of for holding sensitive information was from that nation, and if that hasn't made things clear enough, yes, it was the Ultimate Princess's parents who contacted the Salvation Society, which afterward directed them to me. That in itself wasn't a problem…the issue, though, lies in the fact that during the entire duration of the mission they gave her daughter free rein over the line used to contact me.
To what purpose she made use of that?
Interview me.
It turns out that Sonia Nevermind has a fascination for both the occult and infamous murderers, mostly serial killers, but as long as the reputations precede them, professional ones are free game for her too.
Hard to not have that piece of info ingrained into my head when she didn't shut up about it…
With the Salvation Society having a reputation as a cult that trains assassins 'For those who don't have an idea of the farse they are about the cult part…' and with my codename, 'The Raven', much to my chagrin, being well known among the most powerful members of society with any involvement in contracting assassins, there wasn't an hour in which she didn't attempted to ask personal questions about me, and some others involving Makangos, which if my understanding of her culture is at least half as good I as think it is, I did well in taking extra care of not answering those questions.
Hell, she went as far as offering her savings to quintuple the original payment of the contract in exchange for a face-to-face interview. Of course, I refused, but the face Temperance was making when I had to give him the report of the mission told me that he would've actually considered it.
I can only imagine how much of a hassle it would've been dealing with her if I had attended Hope's Peak and the Novoselic princess were to catch on to my real identity. Sure, her nation's militaristic culture would mean that she isn't what I would consider boring…but if that taste of her personality I got back from that mission still holds any truth after all these years, then no, I don't I have it in me to deal with someone like that every single day.
Anyway, ranting about how uncomfortable Nevermind's presence would be in a school environment is unhelpful, as I would be doing nothing but waste time. What I should be doing now, though, is moving on to the next profile. Which I did…
…Only to immediately narrow my eyes when I saw it.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Roster: ? ? ?]
[
Name: ? ? ?.
Gender: ? ? ?.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 77th Class, Group B.
Special Ability: Ultimate Imposter.
Birthdate: ? ? ?.
Height: ? ? ?.
Blood Type: ? ? ?. ]
…What the…?
I tried to do a double take, giving it a scrutinizing gaze and looking at the back of the page of the profile to see if I was missing something, but try to no avail. Most of the file from whomever this person is, it's full of interrogatives. It's not even those '[REDACTED]' marks I've seen from those other files whose intention was clearly to hide compromising information, which makes it seem that rather than that, whoever was in charge of this Ultimate Impostor's profile straight up didn't have any idea of who this person was apart from their talent.
Their additional information seems to confirm that much.
[
Notes:
Unknown name, unknown relatives, unknown date of birth. Everything surrounding the Ultimate Imposter is a complete mystery. Everything but their flawless capacity to impersonate others.
Voice, personality, mannerisms, and appearance. If there is one thing, we can know for certain about this individual is that once they disguise as someone, it is practically impossible to distinguish them from whomever they are impersonating.
A most notable example comes from their very own recruitment into the academy, when they disguised as one of our main talent scouts, Koichi Kizakura, and made use of its impersonation to find and recruit most of the students who now form Group B from the 77th Hope's Peak Academy batch of students with all the staff being none the wiser until they revealed to us on their account.
Such a display of talent was what made Hope's Peak decide on granting them a seat among their peers as the Ultimate Imposter.]
This person…
…If there's one thing I can say about Hope's Peak is that they don't lack the means to acquire personal information on people, regardless of how much care these same people have in keeping said intel a secret.
The fact that Hope's Peak doesn't know anything but the talent they assigned them with, in compliance with what this Ultimate Imposter is apparently capable of, does nothing but make me see them as dangerous. If it's true that they are as skillful as this file claims to be, I can't help but become wary about the possibility of them being actual participants in this Killing Game, perhaps even going as far as being a mole for the mastermind.
I know it sounds farfetched. I don't even have any clue of what kind of person this Ultimate Imposter is. What are their morals, desires, and goals, or if they could have any reason to collaborate with my kidnapper…but I can't help it. It's in my nature to worry about potentially dangerous individuals, and if this Ultimate Imposter doesn't enter this category, then I don't know who does.
It's true that I've always been cautious of the group, but the knowledge of someone like this person existing isn't going to help in building genuine trust towards them any time soon.
Besides the discovery of the Ultimate Imposter, I couldn't find anything valuable in the following profiles from class 77-A. Sure, it was interesting to find out that the heir of the biggest Yakuza group in Japan was also part of this group or about that Ultimate Swordswoman, but if I'm honest, it was the previous group who gave me at the very least more insight of what I'm dealing with, minuscule as it was.
But…
While the students themselves didn't give me any intel, there's something weird I've noticed. When it came to both classes 77-A and 77-B, some of their notes alluded towards them attending classes, which if they truly are my 'upperclassmen' from the previous year, then that is a contradiction with the letter found in the library.
Kirigiri implied that the letter was left there for around a year, meaning they didn't have any time at all to partake in any activities within the academy…although that's the thing, hers was an estimation, which means that it could have been laying in that place for a while more than that as much as being more recent than originally estimated. The latter would allow the possibility that the students from both groups of the 77th class had studied here for a few months before Hope's Peak had closed its doors. Such a theory is sound enough to be real.
Of course, there's also the chance that Kirigiri's estimation is nowhere near being right. Taking her words as if they were facts is as dangerous as believing that letter is the real deal without any shadow of skepticism.
What is the truth and what is a lie? Discerning that could be useful, perhaps straight up necessary if all those inconsistencies surrounding the mysteries of this place are anything to go by.
This lack of answers is truly beginning to turn frustrating. Besides the discovery of an Ultimate Imposter that might or might not be here, all I've been discovering are more and more interrogatives.
… Despite that, though, I have to focus on what is probably my last chance of finding something of use within this room.
Putting the last file of the 77th Class down, I grabbed the document that should contain information on 'my' class into my hands and flipped it open.
Instead of getting greeted by a student profile, the first thing I saw was a note. On it was…
'You must not leave this place'
That's all the slip of paper had on it.
…
…
…
…Weird. The wording makes it sound like a warning rather than a threat…but regardless of what it says, it's just a piece of paper, and there's no reason to take those words seriously.
Although…
I'm curious about who put it here. Unlike the censure of documents, and if careful enough, the mastermind could've slipped this piece of paper into this student registry without leaving a trace, using it as a tactic of sorts to confuse someone gullible enough to take everything they see at face value. But.…
…What if it wasn't that person? What if it was someone before the time the mastermind took over this place? For some reason, I can't remove that thought from my mind. If that were the case, then…what would they gain with it?
…
…
…
…Tch.
Another small piece for a titanic puzzle, huh?
I will keep the note, useless as it might seem considering its contents. For now, though, it is time to get into the next most important matter.
With the note finally out of the way, I caught sight of what is the first of the profiles.
Curiously enough, the first one was Naegi's. There was his name, gender, his supposed assignation, talent, birthdate, height, blood type, and some extra information regarding his enrollment. Exactly the same as in previous cases.
Save for one detail.
There wasn't a profile picture.
Although if I'm honest, I didn't bat much of an eye at that. If anything, I would be worried if there was indeed a frame of reference for his appearance, as that would signify that there would one for my file too, and that wouldn't make any sense. Besides the incident with the punching bag, I have never allowed a picture to be taken of me, and neither I have taken one myself.
I suppose this is also why, unlike the other documents containing information about previous classes, the file for the 78th class it's called 'Student registry' instead of 'Student roster', being a preliminary version before the official entrance of its students into their halls.
Although this does count as another inconsistency with the letter…
Anyway, after being done with Naegi's profile and seeing that it was as average as he claims to be, I moved on to the next ones.
Going through Togami's.
Hina's
Yamada's…
…And then there was Taeko Yasuhiro.
When I first read the name, for a moment I thought I had forgotten about Hiro's full name, but as read through the document, I discovered that this was a whole different matter altogether.
Full name? Taeko Yasuhiro.
Gender? Female.
Talent? Instead of the expected Ultimate Clairvoyant…
…Ultimate Gambler.
There wasn't a picture on it, but the info was sufficient enough to confirm that, yes, Celestia Ludenberg's true name was Taeko Yasuhiro. I always had the suspicion the name she presented herself with was made up, and it appears I've been right about said suspicion.
It isn't groundbreaking intel, but with how much value 'Celeste' puts on her crafted identity, I suppose this is potential blackmail material, and that will always be welcomed.
The next three profiles didn't give much apart from verifying that Fujisaki wasn't that much of a 'she'. Why is he hiding it? I couldn't say I know for certain, but it is undeniable that his reactions at the pool backroom gave me a lead that I could work with.
Putting that aside for the future, I moved to the next page…and I couldn't help perking up when I read the name of this profile.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Registry: Kyoko Kirigiri]
[
Name: Kyoko Kirigiri.
Gender: Female.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 78th Class.
Special Ability: Ultimate Detective.
Birthdate: 06 October, 1996.
Height: 5'6'' (167.5 cm).
Blood Type: B-
Notes:
Kyoko Kirigiri, a detective from the 65,500-member-strong organization known as the [REDACTED], comes from a long linage of professionals within the same field, and faithful to that tradition, she's a possessor of unparalleled rationality, observational and associative skills, and a keen intellect capable of analyzing clues to a degree few people in the entire world could even begin to boast.
Although she specializes in Murders since a young age she has shown proficiency in the resolution of crimes of all types of classifications: Terrorism, embezzlement of resources, gambling, theft, kidnapping, and drugs, among others. You can name her any category, and Kirigiri wouldn't have issues presenting a detailed report of at least ten cases she has resolved within the said classification.
Her most noticeable achievement, an investigation that led to the dismantling of an infamous organization known as the [REDACTED] after, thanks to her efforts, the most notable members were apprehended is what led Hope's Peak to come to the natural conclusion of granting Kyoko Kirigiri a well-deserved seat on her own merits within Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Detective.
It will be, without a shadow of dishonesty, an absolute honor for our staff to become future educators of a such promising and talented individual, and there's no doubt in our hearts that once she sets foot outside our halls, she will make use of her skills for the benefit of a prosperous and hopeful future in which no lie shall be left uncovered.]
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…Ultimate Detective, huh? That…
…Makes a whole lot of sense, if I'm honest.
It does explain the extra bit of suspicion she carries toward me, that's for sure.
Although I can't say I'm one hundred percent surprised. From everything I've seen of her so far, her talent was either that or the Ultimate Criminologist. I will give, though, that with this new insight into consideration, I can see that it was a big omission on my part to not notice how her attire certainly gives the vibes of a detective.
And there's more than that in this file. There are those annoying signs of censure once again…but unlike in previous cases, whoever put them here made the mistake of leaving a big clue for anyone with enough information beforehand. Implying that an organization has 65,500 members might not tell much for the average person, but it does to me when taking into consideration that Kirigiri is a Detective.
The Detective Library.
If the Holy Salvation Society is the most renowned institution for the formation of Assassins, the Detective Library is the one for Detectives. Not only has, as the name implies, a massive archive compiling every resolved case its members have resolved, but they also possess privileged access to the most important cases that, thanks to its ranking system, pits Detective against Detective through the competitive nature of their organization has developed over years in such a way that, in the end, only the very best success in their career.
Regarding that other censored segment, I admittedly don't know whom the file is talking about. My biggest suspect is the Victim Catharsis Committee with how heated up things got between the two organizations a few years ago, and how following that, they have gotten more and more silent as time went by.
But that's just speculation on my part, I simply lack evidence to make any affirmations regarding that. Besides, apart from the previously listed information, there's one more important piece of information. Due to the public nature of the Detective Library, the name of its founder is very well known among the population.
Fuhito…Kirigiri.
I knew that I'd heard of her surname before. Kirigiri, a centuries-old lineage of the best Detectives in the world. Judging by the age…I suppose she's that person's granddaughter.
If that's the case, I guess I now know who was that old man on her motive video…
With all this information put together, I guess I can understand why she has kept her talent a secret. When the only way to get out of this place is to kill someone without allowing anyone to discover you are responsible for the crime, the last person you want in the game is the Ultimate Detective. She must've acknowledged that her talent puts a big target on her back.
Understandable, considering that I DID begin to plan her murder back when I was onto the idea of becoming the blackened myself…
In any case…it might not be about the mastermind, but I can't deny that this might be the most useful intel I've found so far. It's still left to be seen how I might use it, but it surely is bigger blackmail material than what 'Celeste's' true name is.
Of course, for it to work as genuine blackmail material, I will need evidence of it.
After carefully ripping Kirigiri's file from the student registry and keeping it on the insides of my jacket, I rummaged through the remaining profiles. Fukawa's, Owada's Ogami's, Maizono's, Hagakure's, all of them until I landed on Enoshima's…
…Which I immediately skipped, not seeing anything more than her name.
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…
…I…I am curious, of course I am. After all, there's a high chance that I could find more details of whatever Monokuma was talking about regarding Enoshima, and it's obviously something I want to find more about.
But not like this.
I don't want to force my way into knowing more about her, and even less so when it is clearly a topic that she wouldn't want me to find out in such a way. It's…It's not conventional, at least it is not for someone like me to do things this way, but I will do it regardless. I will wait…wait and hope that she someday trusts me enough to share it out of her own volition.
With that resolution made in my mind, I turned my gaze down to look at the next profile with a not-so-small amount of grimacing on my face.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Registry: Shizuka Shigaraki]
[
Name: Shizuka Shigaraki.
Gender: Male.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 78th Class.
Special Ability: Ultimate Assassin.
Birthdate: 02 November, 1996. (Presumably)
Height: 5'9'' (177.2 cm).
Blood Type: A-
Admittance Notes:
Admission by recommendation of Hope's Peak Academy Board of Trustees. Although a special case, the committee guarantees his talent, as such, his admission to the 78th class is to be approved. Neither the headmaster nor any of the scouts have the authorization to reject this decision. As the headmaster is in charge of overseeing the students after admission, the Steering Committee will no longer bear responsibility.]
Huh, if my acceptance letter ends up being genuine, I wouldn't be surprised if this missive regarding my acceptance into the academy was the real deal. It would do nothing but confirm the obvious time bomb I always knew Hope's Peak was.
Leaving that aside, though…
I knew that those bastards gave some of my info when I saw my name in that acceptance letter, but that doesn't mean I'm disliking it any less when I see with my own eyes that they truly have delivered more than just my name.
And as if that wasn't enough, I couldn't help my grimacing straight up turning into a scowl as my grip on the student registry tightened when I looked further into the additional information.
[
Notes:
Since a young age, Shizuka Shigaraki showed proficiency in stealth along with stamina, strength, speed, and motor skills way above what his peers within the orphanage he was raised could presume, going as far as being labeled as a prodigy. Such traits gained the attention of the [REDACTED], who recruited him not so long after his seventh birthday.
In his time there, Shigaraki was trained professionally in the subjects of Assassination, making him capable of turning a lethal weapon out of practically anything.
4918 Confirmed assassinations, 732 unconfirmed ones, and a perfect record of 0 failed attempts have earned him the right to be called the most effective member within his organization, in addition to the alias [REDACTED].
No known likes, dislikes, no information about any family members, acquaintances, or what kind of personality he possesses. Outside of his professional lifestyle, our knowledge of Shizuka Shigaraki is absolutely null. It doesn't help that the information provided to us, while fulfilling enough to regard Shigaraki as worthy of having him within our halls, seems to be lacking in certain important areas that make us suspect the possibility of there being much more about him than what we have known right at this moment.
However, although the means by which he was enrolled into Hope's Peak Academy are… unorthodox, there's no denying that his assigned title as the Ultimate Assassin is justified in its totality, making it invaluable to have such a gifted young man within our halls.]
I would roll my eyes at that last segment if my attention wasn't on the rest of the notes.
On one hand, it appears that AT LEAST they didn't share information regarding Maki 'So much for that, though…', or the 'privileged' training I received from them. On the other…
Just how much did these greedy dipshits share about me? To give intel about my early life and how many objectives I've taken care of…which I highly doubt they just gave those numbers and Hope's Peak 'Or someone who pretended to be them…' accepted them at face value, less when it is clearly implied that there was a transaction of information about me.
Did they really go as far as sharing reports of my missions too? 'Was it all of them? Or just enough to make an account of the bodies I've accumulated?' I know that when it comes to potentially big financial gains, they are not what I would call rational 'To not say they basically turn into a bunch of braindead dumbasses…', and also that I'm expendable. No matter how much 'praises' I have received from them, the possibility that they would get rid of me if there would be a way to do it without dealing with the economic losses my demise would cause them has always lingered in my head.
…
"…Tch, so annoying…" I inadvertently let out a sigh of exasperation. It wasn't that much of an unexpected development to see all that personal information within these files…but it is a clear signal that my days of service towards the Salvation Society are beginning to show an expiration date. It could be days, maybe months, perhaps even years, but there's a timer now.
If whatever our captor did for the motive video didn't affect the Salvation Society directly 'Which I find it doubtful considering that it appears that they are targeting their orphanages, who's to say they didn't go further than that…', then the higher-ups are just bidding their time meanwhile someone with even more potential than me is found out.
Still…
…What does this mean for me? I mean, obviously, there's the part of them attempting to hunt me down, but what if they don't succeed? What if, by any chance, after trying and trying only to receive nothing more than the heads of whomever they send after me, they give up after accepting the futility of it? What's next then? What awaits me?
If I had to answer, then…I would say that I don't know, I simply don't. I…I admittedly never truly questioned a life different from the one I've lived for the past decade. There wasn't a reason to. I've always seen myself doing the same thing until hitting my thirtieth birthday and suffering a painful death not so long after. After all, my profession isn't one where people live long lives, and I highly doubt that I'm the exception to the rule, no matter how talented.
It would be so easy to say that I would continue my career just like it always has been. Only this time working as an Assassin under someone's else shadow, or maybe even going as far as working as a private one, but…
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…
"…It doesn't matter…" At least right now, and until Enoshima and I escape this place, those thoughts about the future, MY future, are just useless distractions, and the last thing I need is to deal with problems that would distract me from my most important goals.
Speaking of which.
Despite everything, it appears I'm done with all of the sixteen profiles of this class, just like it has been for all the previous cases.
…
…
…
…Or that's what I would say if I truly were done with everything within this student registry.
I mention this because in the corner of my own profile, just underneath it, an extra page was poking out.
What…?
With my curiosity reaching its peak, I flipped my profile aside and saw what indeed seemed like another profile.
The first detail I noticed about it was the name.
Mukuro Iku―
BADUMP!
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…Mukuro…
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…Ikusaba…
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…Mukuro…Ikusaba…
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…Mukuro Ikusaba…Mukuro Ikusaba…Mukuro Ikusaba…
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…MukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusaba―
"NNGHHHHHHHH!" A throbbing pain invaded my mind as a single thought screamed inside of it.
Mukuro Ikusaba.
I clutched my head with one hand in a desperate attempt to suppress the distress, but it was in vain.
Mukuro Ikusaba.
Even with two hands now almost crushing my head, alarm bell after alarm bell was shaking at every corner of my brain, the exact same name ringing and ringing in my head.
Mukuro Ikusaba.
Mukuro Ikusaba.
Mukuro Ikusaba.
MukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuroIkusabaMukuro―
―And then it was gone.
As if nothing but a fleeting dream, the intense hammering at my psyche suddenly disappeared, with my ragged panting being the only physical proof that it ever happened. At least…the agony threatening to make my head explode did cease to exist, the same thing couldn't be said about the feelings that surfaced when…when that name…Mukuro Ikusaba registered in my mind.
It was a…weird mix of sensations. Nostalgia, melancholy, and a strange and confusing feeling of fondness all meshed together into an even more bizarre emotion that I just couldn't put a name to. There was also this sense of déjà vu, as...as if that name, Mukuro Ikusaba, had a greater meaning than what I could grasp.
Saying it was confusing me would be the understatement of all understatements.
"…W-What…what was that…?" Whatever happened the moment I read that person's name, it WASN'T a normal reaction. I can say with absolute confidence that I've never experienced something like that in my entire life, not even during the most mentally-straining days within the Salvation Society.
Even more important than that…
Mukuro Ikusaba…the 17th student…
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…
…Why…
…Why did I forget that there was supposed to be a 17th student?
And why…why I'm feeling this much self-loathing about doing so…?
Whether that acceptance letter was the real deal or a trap to lure me here, it clearly mentioned that there would be other sixteen students besides me, and with this file here, it is hard to think of said 17th student as a deception of some sort.
I'm not going to claim that I have a memory capable of keeping every single tiny bit of information that I become acquainted with…but that and not noticing that a person was missing for the past week is a whole different ordeal.
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…
…I need answers. Before questioning things any further, I need to look at the profile of this person. I need to know Every. Single. Bit of information I can obtain about Mukuro Ikusaba.
[ Hope's Peak Academy Student Registry: Mukuro Ikusaba]
[
Name: Mukuro Ikusaba.
Gender: Female.
Position: Hope's Peak Academy 78th Class.
Special Ability: Ultimate Soldier.
Birthdate: 24 December, 1996.
Height: 5'8'' (174.8 cm).
Blood Type: A+
Admittance Notes:
Admission by recommendation of Hope's Peak Academy Board of Trustees. Although a special case, the committee guarantees her talent, as such, her admission to the 78th class is to be approved. Neither the headmaster nor any of the scouts have the authorization to reject this decision. As the headmaster is in charge of overseeing the students after admission, the Steering Committee will no longer bear responsibility.]
So, it's a girl, huh? That's good to know, for a moment I was worried that―
W-Wait, what? That's not important 'At least not for now…', what matters about this part of Mukuro Ikusaba's profile is her 'Badass' talent.
The Ultimate Soldier, someone whom Hope's Peak labeled as the most talented Soldier in the entire world, and by the looks of it, that admittance note points out towards Mu―Ikusaba being a similar case to mine in which the academy pulled some strings to make her enrollment a reality.
Why Hope's Peak would think it was smart to put an Assassin and a Soldier in the same class? I have no clue 'Although I can't say I find the idea dislikeable…', and I suspect that just like the previous bunch of other mysteries and inconsistencies that have been piling up, I won't find an answer for this anytime soon.
Anyhow, I can see that there's more about her 'Good', so I should check that too.
[
Notes:
Mukuro Ikusaba, using her age to underestimate her skills is a grave mistake. She's a military specialist trained in every weapon imaginable. Since childhood, she showed an interest in the military which soon turned into a fixation for the subject. The earliest examples of it are during her time in elementary school, as by then, she was known for winning survival game tournaments and by writing for military magazines.
Her career as a Soldier began at the age of ten, when one day, while she and her family were on vacation in Europe, she disappeared with no track whatsoever. Such an incident became news all over the Japanese media outlets, leading up to an international investigation of the young Japanese girl who was separated, presumably kidnapped, from her family.
Five years later, Mukuro Ikusaba suddenly appeared back in Japan. She revealed that she wasn't kidnapped, instead, all that time she had joined a mercenary group known as [REDACTED] where she was trained and received real battle experience. All of it done on her own volition.
Although there are no official records to confirm it, it is heavily suspected that she possesses a body count reaching the four digits. Additionally, despite the countless battles she went through, not even once did she receive any scar or injury. Mukuro Ikusaba is without a doubt what could be considered a prodigy in combat, and someone fitting of being called the Ultimate Soldier.]
Even after I was done reading, my eyes stayed fixated on the document for what felt like hours. Rereading the same words an uncountable number of times, with every repetition turning my gaze into a harsher glare 'Especially at that redacted segment…', almost as if 'Begging' demanding for this file to show me at least a tiny bit more of information about her…about Mukuro Ikusaba.
Unfortunately, and much to my enormous disappointment, nothing of that occurred. Forcing me to leave the file be, and focusing instead on reviewing what I obtained from this file.
First, there's the obvious. Which is…
…Geez, why I haven't known of her before? It truly is a shame this is the first time I've heard of this Ikusaba girl. Truly, what I would do to meet her in―
What the hell is up with me!? I-I mean…sure, just from the tease this file gives me, she sounds like the most awesome girl in the world. Seriously, military mastery for all types of weapons? Going into war for years and not even once receiving an injury? If that isn't the definition of a badass then I don't know what it is. Although that makes me wonder. What does she look like? Her profile doesn't give any description of it, but for some reason I feel that it would be good if she were to have, I don't know, perhaps freckl―
! ! !
A-Again!?
Dammit! I…I know she sounds like the type of person I would be…curious about, but this isn't the time for that! No, what matters the most right at this moment is…
…What happened to her?
Why she isn't here among the rest of the class?
Where is she then?
The most immediate and simple of possibilities is that Muk―Ikusaba simply didn't make an act of presence on the day we all were captured. If I had a chance, I wouldn't have even considered the idea of accepting the invitation in the first place. After all, even if we leave aside my distaste for being part of a school life, the red flags this 'Academy of Hope' showed sufficed to make me apprehensive of the idea.
So, who's to say she didn't come to the same conclusions? Only that, unlike me, she had the choice 'Possibly…' of not attending and took it. It sounds plausible enough of a theory.
But it would be considerably naïve of me to accept what is only a theory as the absolute truth, all the more considering how potentially dangerous Muku―Ikusaba is. I can't toss away the idea that she IS here, somehow, somewhere along the repercussions of that.
Besides…
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…
"…Mukuro Ikusaba…" For the first time, I said her name out loud. Strangely enough… "…Mukuro Ikusaba…" Every time I said her name… "…Mukuro Ikusaba…" There was this funny feeling both in my chest 'For some unknown reason…', and in my tongue, as if encouraging me to repeat her name… "…Mukuro Ikusaba…" As if it was the right thing to do for me to say her name again and again until I no longer couldn't "…Mukuro Ikusaba…"
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…I also need to figure out where is this coming from.
After confirming Ikusaba's file was the last page from the Student Registry for the 78th class 'This time for real…', and ripping her profile so I could keep it to myself 'With purposes of investigation, of course', I grabbed all of the books I used and put all of them back to where they were in the first place. Thus, signaling that I was officially done with the documents in this room.
I know there may be something of interest within previous courses if the fact that I found at least one interesting thing from each of the three books I picked up is anything to go by. But I have already overstayed my welcome in this place, at least I think so considering that I admittedly lost track of how much time I've spent here thanks to…unexpected circumstances, and the last thing I need is for Monokuma to get a whiff of my movements, which is why neither I can't bring any of those files outside of this room.
Perhaps for another time…if they are still here...
Besides, there's one last thing to do here.
On the opposite side of the desk, there were three drawers that I left without inspecting, mostly because the big pile of books seemed like the biggest priority and the one that would take the most time, which ended up being the case.
After moving toward the drawers, I crunched down on their level and began to check them in descending order.
Just opening the first one brought me an interesting discovery.
Inside it was an assortment of cables. All of them with varying lengths, shapes, and colors. The one which caught my attention the most was the blue-tinted one, which coincidentally was also the largest of them all.
A network cable.
'If this cable can be used for the library's computer and were to be connected here…' The moment I caught sight of it, the implications dawned on me as my gaze flickered toward the network socket in the wall, the only one available in the entire building from what I'd seen so far.
Granting that device access into the network of this place would be a major blow against the mastermind, perhaps even going as far as putting an end to their game if the laptop were to be used to hijack the control the mastermind has over certain systems within the building.
Like, let's say, the one in charge of the gates blocking the doors, or maybe the trap system. If either that 'Although it would be preferable if it were both of them…' was turned against the responsible for this, I could reach that person and snatch the vault door's switch from their hands.
Their cold and dead hands, of course.
Under normal circumstances I would scoff at such an idea, considering it way too out of reach…but with someone like Fujisaki around, the chances for this to work are solid enough for even me to be cautiously optimistic about them. Of course, first I need to confirm if he can actually make the laptop work in the first place
As I left those thoughts be, I put the network cable in my possession 'I can't risk it being found by someone else…', and closed the drawer as I moved on to the next one.
Which was empty. Disappointing but not surprising, so I left it be in favor of checking the third and last one, which turns out was also the biggest of the three.
Same as the previous one, it was empty.
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…
…
…At least it seemed like that at first glance.
Putting my hand inside the compartment, I put some pressure on its base…which flipped as soon as I did, revealing an extra space the false bottom was hiding.
On it, there was a single item.
A letter.
"…" I carefully picked it up before giving it a scrutinizing gaze, looking at it from its front and back. Unlike the one in the library, this one lacked a seal, or clue that could point to whom this envelope belongs. Besides that, it was in a notoriously better state, with clear evidence that it is more recent by quite a while.
Determining that keeping it like this wasn't going to give any answers, I opened the envelope and brought its paper out. Then I proceeded to check its contents.
What I found in it…
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…What this message contained…
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…Every character my gazed upon…
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…Every word ingrained into my mind…
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…The further I read what was inside this ordinary piece of paper…
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…The more my eyes widened as I found that its contents were far from ordinary, and when I was done through all of it when I finished reading what should be considered nothing less than impossible…
…I only had a single sentence to voice my opinion about it.
"Wh…Wha…W-What…What the hell is this…?"
After scanning the library and having my eyes land on a specific location, I was half-tempted to sigh in relief. But no, instead of that, I walked towards the desk where I could see the laptop still was, even with the room as poorly illuminated as it was.
Once within range, I closed the device shut and put it underneath my rear side, holding it between my pants and shirt. It can't be helped, considering that it was too big to fit in any pocket and I didn't want to be too obvious that I had it with me, just in case.
It was a bit awkward, but it will have to make do for a little bit.
I was about to leave the library when something stopped me for a moment, well, rather than something, it would be more accurate to say that the one who halted me was myself.
As my body was under the effects of a self-induced immobilization, my gaze flickered towards the door leading to the archive room, with my eyes boring into it with enough intensity and grimacing that I wouldn't have been that surprised if I had made a hole with it. Meanwhile, my fists clenched as I bit the bottom of my lips with almost enough force to draw blood.
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…I broke out of my stupor with a scoff before rushing out of the room.
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…Tch.
Goddammit…
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't tired, at least mentally speaking. Today has been…well, quite something would be a way to put it. Sure, I'm used to working under pressure, but the pressure isn't something I would precisely say was the major of my problems, instead, it was the stress of dealing with circumstances I'm not used to. Acting as a bodyguard on someone else's behalf, the envelope from the library, the meeting following the exploration of the second floor, and that incident outside the bathhouse. There's also the two last subjects I found myself with back in the secret room.
Mukuro Ikusaba and the contents from the second letter.
If there was anything worth finding out in that place, those two were definitely the most remarkable.
Though I suppose it would be ungrateful of me to complain about it when, although I'm far from reaching a solution to my situation, I can't deny some progress has been made.
Speaking of.
As I strolled back to my room, I patted one of the pockets in my pants, confirming that the locker key was still there.
I'm not the biggest fan of the idea of leaving the laptop somewhere that isn't my room, but the camera and lack of where to securely hide it makes the bathhouse a way better alternative with its lack of surveillance and the lockers.
The snatched files and that letter are a different story, though. They are small and foldable, so long as I kept them with me and only brought them out when there were no cameras around, it should be fine.
This had nothing to do with me not wanting to let go of Ikusaba's file.
Of course not.
…
…Anyhow. It appears I can officially call it a night as I have arrived at my room.
I brought my personal key and inserted it in the keyhole, just about to unlock it and―
! ! !
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…
…It was already unlocked.
"…" And I remembered locking it this time.
Steeling myself, I slowly opened the door as I readied a dagger with the other hand.
Once it was fully open, I caught sight of the last individual I wanted to see.
"Hey, handsome~" Just hearing the disgusting attempt of a sultry voice coming from the individual in front of me as he rested on my bed was sufficing enough to give him a death glare.
"…Monokuma" With far from a small amount of hostility, I addressed the monochrome bear.
…Shit.