Naegi took deep breaths. He often did before every interrogation, confrontation or…anything that had to do with work.

He knocked.

"Come in." With Kimura's permission, he entered the doctor's office. The pungent odor of disinfectant plaguing the hospital, fades with the door closed behind him. Inside, the air smelled naturally clean, if scentless. Purposeful, he bets. The impression Kimura gave him, was of a no-nonsense perfectionist. The immaculate state of the room reinforces that opinion. He doesn't catch sight of even one loose file on her desk.

Kimura sits cross-legged, facing away from the monitor. "How may I help you, Mr. Naegi?"

He puts on his most disarming smile. "I'm taking a tour of the hospital. Thought I'd drop by."

"Tsumiki is off today. A patient roaming about unsupervised is troubling." He's sure there's a frown underneath that mask. "This is the first I've seen one so enthusiastic about exploring this hospital."

"I'm a curious guy, or so I've been told."

"Has that curiosity helped you learn anything worthwhile about us?"

No, but it's my job to find out. "Up until now, Medicine was out of my areas of interest. Thought I'd take the chance to change that."

Kimura briefly looks him over. "I've reviewed your medical history and there aren't records of you being admitted to a clinic. I'm impressed."

The brunet paused. "Are you . . . sure? I had a big accident when I was younger."

"Were you brought to a hospital?" Kimura asked.

Naegi scrounged his memories. Nothing. "It was a long time ago . . ."

"It's not unusual potential patients don't report injuries. Humans heal exceptionally quickly, and most ailments are fast recovered."

"That's…good?"

"If that was a good thing, I would be out of a job."

With a small movement of the hand, she offered Naegi a place to sit. He gingerly accommodated.

"Much like you…or rather, ought to have been like you, those admitted to Shingen General Hospital, are imminently at risk." When she puts it that way, it feels like he really had a close brush with death.

Why? And who would do that to him?

Kimura continued. "If you were sick enough to be instituted, then you had a bad case from the start. That also means treatments tend to fail more often than we would like. In such unfortunate instances," She tapped the floor with the front of her heel. "the hospitals serve as morgues and freezers." Shingen General Hospital contained one of the storages holding patients with fatal diseases like M0. This wasn't unique to the ward, but a staple of hospitals in general.

"A tour through the facility isn't impermissible, but for ethical reasons, I don't condone it. Nor for those reasons."

"Gotcha, that was insensitive of me." Naegi bowed his head. "I think I've got a better impression of Tsumiki. As fragile as she looks, anyone who works here needs a lot of nerve."

Kimura nodded slowly. "She'd be happy to hear that. Clumsiness aside, Tsumiki is skilled. Ruruka always had an eye for talent."

An unfamiliar name. "Ruruka?"

"Ruruka Ando. The woman who scouted Tsumiki and became her supervisor. She was also my friend." Kimura replied. The continued use of past tense was disconcerting. "She disappeared." The white-haired woman's nonchalance had Naegi double take.

"I don't follow. Did she just quit one day?"

"I wish I could tell you, and I hope that is the result. All I know is that Ruruka vanished without a trace a few months ago." Kimura said.

"That doesn't make sense. That would have been reported . . ." Naegi stopped before giving himself and his mission away. The case Kirigiri had hinted to him.

A staff at this hospital had been murdered via unknown means, and he had to investigate undercover. It wasn't easy getting warrants to search the hospitals. But if he was a patient . . . it couldn't be helped if he just happened to stumble on important knowledge.

And this chance had all been coincidental with his attack, so he had to get moving before his stay was up.

"Are you alright?" Kimura asked

"A bit spooked. It's unusual for people to just disappear one day after all." He smoothed over his flop.

Kimura tilted her head. "Is it? In my experience, people of all conditions come inside these walls. It's not uncommon for them to never leave. Though I try to prevent that as much as able."

The door slams open. A nurse bursts in.

"Emergency! We have a patient in critical condition incoming!" Without delay or a word to Naegi, Kimura is out the door, with the nurse in tow. The detective follows a distance behind, keeping pace with their fast walking.

He notes the emptiness of the halls. That hadn't changed since he'd first arrived. Few nurses passed. Fewer patients accompanied them. Those that did, looked much worse off than him.

Naegi's face took on a pensive quality when a stretcher came into view. Multiple officials moved it at both sides. Kimura meets and joins them. Whatever she discussed with her colleagues was too hectic for him to make out from a distance. The urgency, however, is crystal clear.

As are the bloodstained sheets.

The vibrating in his pocket reactivate his still muscles. "Caller ID is Saihara, Naegi." Alter ego said.

Naegi picked up the call. "What's up?"

"We need to talk." Saihara said.


"You look paler." Saihara remarked, sitting across Naegi's hospital bed.

"Don't worry about it." Naegi dismissed his friend's concern with a wave. "How's the investigation?" He rested his back on the headboard of his hospital bed.

Saihara doesn't push his line of inquiry and shifts to the important matter. "You want the good news or bad news first?"

"I'd like to meet the guy who saves the disappointment for last." Naegi joked.

"Kaito."

"That's more of not wanting to hear the bad news at all, isn't it?"

"Heh. Got me there." Saihara continued. "The bad news is that I've combed your apartment and found no traces of the culprit."

"And the good news?"

"There's no trace of the culprit."

That is odd. "…Not even on the cameras got them outside?"

"They managed to slip past them. We don't know how. The position of the cameras should have nailed the guy, but it's like they never left or entered for that matter." Saihara's explanation was a clue in of itself. If there's no evidence, they needed to figure out why and how.

"Was the footage tampered with?" Naegi asked.

"I checked. The time wasn't altered. I asked Alter Ego to check for hacking attempts at got nothing."

"You're kinda scaring me here. Are you saying whoever attacked me mysteriously appeared and disappeared?"

"I kinda doubt the answer's so unscientific. That said? I don't have that answer yet. That's why I'm visiting." Saihara muttered.

"Oh. Here I was thinking you were worried about me." Naegi slumps.

"Course I wanted to check in, but I also had to– and you're screwing with me." Watching Saihara's reaction transform from anxious to irritated at the drop of a hat never got old. Still, he never learned.

Naegi nodded happily

"Seeing as you're most involved, I'd think you'd take this the most seriously." Saihara sighed "On topic. What can you tell me about your landlord?"

"What did you want with Yukizome?" Naegi must've sounded off, if the uptick in Saihara's left brow was any indication.

"That she let a tenant in a room without functional locks, is sort of the reason we're in this mess. She might even face charges for that."

"That's not happening." Naegi's exclamation silenced his peer. "I'm the one who accepted that room."

Saihara pressed a finger to his chin. "Interesting arrangement. Mind my asking how it came about?"

". . . This is for the investigation?"

"It is."

There were few things Naegi'd rather do less than retread memories from that time period. "I met Yukizome in my senior high school year. It was a rough time for me, and I'd often leave my house or skip school to wander around the city." He let out a rare grimace. "We bumped into each other at a café. I was on edge…and so was she. We fought."

"That's so not the picture I've got of you." Saihara spluttered

"I can pick fights too, y'know." Naegi tipped his glasses. "Just . . . not that time. She started it . . .and I ended up apologizing first anyway."

"That's more in-character."

"She accused me of playing hooky (even though it was a holiday)!" Naegi folded his arms and frowned deeply. "I tried being mature while she was venting on me because of her relationship issues."

"That wouldn't have anything to do with Kyosuke Munakata, would they?" Naegi's face told Saihara everything. "I did some digging on her of my own."

"…Wow." He wasn't called the precinct's rising star for no reason.

The pink tinge was too visible on Saihara's face. "Don't look at me like that. Munakata's the one who came to me. After I interrogated Yukizome, I got a call for from him not long after."

Not exactly Naegi's idea of a good time. He can guess the director wasn't too happy. "From what I know, they're childhood friends, maybe more. It'd be weird if he wasn't angry."

"That's reasonable. For him. What's your excuse?"

Naegi knitted his brow as if to say "mine?"

Saihara locked eyes with him, and he was momentarily reminded of Kirigiri. "You gave me the same look. Judging from your story, you don't have such a close relationship with Yukizome . . . or is there more?"

"After we cooled down that evening, we talked some more, like adults . . . well, moreso, one adult and a 17-year-old. She heard about my circumstances and vouched to give me a place to stay once I got into college. I didn't have to pay rent until I found a steady job."

"Go back!" Saihara's eyes widened in disbelief "How'd we go from fighting to her dropping a deal like that on your lap?"

Why's he getting so excited? "It wasn't all at once. When I say we 'talked', I gave her advice a few problems. We kept in touch afterwards. . . and here we are. Before I knew it, we saw each other practically every other day."

"That explains it." Saihara shook his head exasperatedly.

"You've been saying that for a while."

"Hypothetically speaking, let's say Yukizome has been having romantic troubles with a boyfriend . . ." Saihara began.

"Not too far from the truth." Naegi muttered under his breath.

"Put yourself in the shoes of her second other. Your girlfriend meets another guy after you had a fight. There's a bit of an age gap, but she starts seeing him like they've been friends for years. What's this situation sound like to you?"

Naegi averted his eyes. "Recipe for an overreaction?"

"A motive."

He felt like he'd been slapped in the face. "Are you saying Munakata-"

"The scenario doesn't matter, it's your behavior and how someone dangerous could see you as an obstacle." Saihara pointed. "I'm sure you think you've probably got no enemies but…you stick out as a nice guy. And you are. But nobody is liked by everyone."

"I might have been attacked because of something I Inadvertently did? Didn't do? That's stupid. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"It's not like it's easy to communicate your intentions, and not everyone is reasonable even then. That you find that tough to believe…it shows you've been surrounded by good people for a long time. That can make others very envious." Saihara held his cap down. "All it takes to create conflict is for one party to be offended, by anything."

Naegi has to admit, it's a possibility he hadn't considered. He didn't think he'd done anything to gain somebody's enmity. Maybe that's the problem, he didn't think about it.

"It's about the only motive I can think of. That brings me to a question I've asked before. What's your relationship with Junko Enoshima?"

This again "We're neighbors." He elaborates, this time. "At least, that's as far as I go. On her end… I don't know how serious she's being, but she claims to have a thing for me."

"She told me you spent the night together." Saihara didn't meet his eyes.

Naegi smacked his head. "Nothing happened."

"Not important. You've had interactions with her that go beyond what your feelings suggest. Do you know of any other relationships she might've had? Exes?"

"I've seen her go out with a few guys here and there. She only . . . got this weird around me recently."

"Understandable. She's very pretty."

Naegi's face contorted with abject disgust. "You think?"

"You don't?" Saihara arched an eyebrow. "If this wasn't an investigation, I'd have frozen up just trying to approach someone like that!" The detective shook his head. "Anyway, that she's had other partners gives me something to work with. Thanks for that. I'll be going back to work now."

"Wait up." Naegi looked to the door. Empty. Back to Saihara, he whispered. "Can I ask a favor? It's about the case I'm working on."

"Kirigiri-san told me. Is it going well?"

"I'm in a rut. I wanted to ask if you could help me look up Ruruka Ando. She used to be a doctor here. Doctor Kimura said she . . . disappeared one day." He air-quotes.

"I'll look up a few things, but I don't think it'll be necessary." Saihara said, nonchalantly. "Its not like you're expected to crack the case."

Naegi froze. "What do you mean?"

"Think of it this way. There's no guarantee you'll be able to stay in the hospital for long. I bet the chief knows that, so it'd be unreasonable to expect you to catch the culprit by yourself, with almost no resources. The most we could hope, is to speed things along so we already have a leg in once the formal investigation begins." Saihara's analysis was iron-clad and thoroughly rational, leaving no room for emotional input.

Naegi let his head fall, while his hands clawed at his sheets.


Hours later and Saihara's theories still circulated in Naegi's head. He rummaged through the faces and people he'd had contact with. None of them should have a reason to hate him. By proxy? Maybe, but it sounded silly. He'd kept out of drama for one such reason. "Then again, tracing all this headache to Enoshima sounds pretty believable." He joked.

Not much more he could be doing with himself.

"It's not like I can be of use to anyone." The self-deprecation shocks even himself.

He sits upright. "This isn't like me. I should take a walk." He slides on his slippers and heads out the door. Of course, unwanted thoughts creep on his shadow.

Naegi let his feet drag him back to the site of the wounded patient from the other day. On the way over, he caught sight of little other than the wayward stares of the hospital staff.

It was quiet. For easily explained reasons.

He wasn't at the station with most of the guys.

Tsumiki was absent

Enoshima hadn't come to visit today.

"Never did like being alone for too long." His head sways in every direction, aimless. "What's with her?" Naegi cocked his head, as a red-haired woman snooped around. He'd caught her leaving a patient's room. She swiftly glanced in several directions and gripped a conspicuously large camera.

"Talk about suspicious." Naegi muses, like he wasn't guilty of the same offense.

He trails the strange girl at a distance, observing her crease open the rooms. She peered inside, then closed the doors, not alerting whoever may have been inside to her spying.

Whatever she was doing held a lot of her focus. She didn't even notice he was tailing her.

. . . Now I'm really curious. – With a mischievous smile, the detective approached with light steps.

His frame helped a lot.

His target's barely shorter than him at standing height. With how she's crouched over, peeping into the room over, he igets directly behind her and says, "Hands up."

A yelp that nearly blew out eardrums stuns him, leaving Naegi wide open to a well-placed slap to his cheek. His face flew to the side, his glasses flew farther, onto the other side of the hall.

"What was that?" Naegi's ears picked up on voices coming from up the corner.

"Shit." The girl cursed. Without warning, she grabbed his arm and dragged him with her into the vacant hospital room and shut the door behind her. Her fingers twisted the lock.

She whipped her head back from the door to glare at him.

At first.

Her lips part open, her gaze meets his and stays there.

He breaks eye-contact and looks to the door. "My glasses are out there."

She fumbles over her words, but the bite rings out loud and clear. "G-Get them later, you almost got me caught!"

"You were the one acting suspicious."

"Big talk for the guy who snuck up on me."

She had a point there. "It's a bad habit." Naegi considered himself a fairly serious guy, most of the time. Most of the time. It's just . . . he had an urge to play small pranks if the opportunity presented itself. He couldn't help it, considering the family he grew up with. Thankfully, he rarely got the chance nowadays.

Except with Saihara. He made it too easy.

"What are you smiling about?" His new lady friend fumed.

"Nothing. But I really need my glasses."

"Do you have bad eyesight?"

"A bit yeah."

"Then it can wait." She turned her back.

She's a feisty one. "My name's Makoto Naegi. What's yours?"

"Really? Now?" She hissed.

He nods with a smile.

"Mahiru Koizumi." She snipped and glued her ear back to the wall.

"So . . . you're a journalist, Koizumi?"

Her head whips back to him. He makes a mental note of her shocked face. "How'd you know?"

"Don't freak out but," . . . With as serious an expression Naegi could muster, he declared. "I'm an Esper."

A tumbleweed could have rolled over in what felt like a full minute of crushing silence

"That was a joke…Hehehe. Guess it doesn't work so well at my age." He smiles lamely.

"It wouldn't work at any age." Koizumi deadpanned.

"Okay it's your aggressiveness, and that camera you're wearing. I'm a detective, so I know a journalist when I see one." Naegi caught a flicker of surprise when he revealed his occupation. Koizumi receives his proper introduction with a steely glare.

"Did you see an injured patient being rushed over here the other day? If so, tell me the room."

"So that's your scoop?" Naegi frowned in disapproval. "You can't capitalize on suffering, Koizumi-san."

"Okay first off? My actions are within my rights." Legal terms. It me or is she being colder than a second ago. "Second, I'm not taking advantage of them. I'm going to get their story, and the truth, out to the public. The police are definitely hiding how severe this issue is.

"What issue?" Naegi blinked.

If he'd been any closer, she might have slapped him again. "Are you stupid, or treating me like I'm stupid? I know all about that serial killer and the recent murders."

Naegi throat ran dry as visions of the bloodied body came to the forefront. Koizumi didn't seem to notice as she continued. "I also know the number of casualties is swept under the rug."

That was true, but he was surprised a civilian could have that knowledge. "How again?"

"You think I'll reveal my connections because you asked?" She narrowed her eyes.

. . . "Fine, let's put aside whether that info's true. Don't you think the police might be hiding the truth for a reason? Social unrest almost never does anyone favors."

"An excuse like that, is just for your own convenience!" Koizumi's inflamed cheeks were close to matching her hair color.

The sudden outrage left Naegi taken aback.

"We deserve to know what's going on right under our noses." Koizumi tightly gripped her camera. "Not all of us are pigs who eat whatever slop we're fed."

"Why-"

A loud knock on the door startled the two. "Is somebody in here?" The rattling of the doorknob followed.

Anxiety spread across Koizumi's features.

Naegi signaled for her to be quiet with a finger to his lips. His other pointed underneath the bed.

Koizumi hesitated until, "Open this door." It was clear that whoever was outside was losing patience.

"Hold on, I'm coming." Naegi said aloud. Seeing the silver lining in a bad situation, Koizumi rushed over and hid herself in the gap.

Naegi calmly strolled over to the door and slid it open. "What's going on?" He smiled to the unfamiliar nurse.

A momentary glance passes before she answers. "Aren't you Tsumiki's patient? What are you doing all the way over here?"

"My room was getting dreary. I wanted a change of view and found an empty one. You don't mind, do you?" He flashed his pearly whites.

". . . Please go back to your room, sir."

"Guess you do." He stepped out the door. The nurse looks inside.

"I thought I heard a woman's voice." She asks.

He turns back to meet her. "You must've heard things. My voice isn't that high."

Slowly, she nods and fumbles with her uniform "Do…you need an escort?" She asked with flushed cheeks.

"I appreciate that, but I'm fine by myself." Naegi ignores her evident disappointment and treks over to the fallen specs, courtesy of Koizumi. "Ugh. Not again." He noted the damage. It had been small, at the time he was attacked in his room, but now the crack streaked down to at least half the lens.

"I need a new pair."


I hope Koizumi got out okay – Naegi reflects on the way back to his room. He didn't find out what she wanted or what drove her. Probably never would. Still, he found that anger he witnessed, troubling.

Naegi's body jerks in the middle of the empty hallway. His chest constricts, his hand quickly covers his mouth and blot out the loud, dry coughs. The series is long and taxing enough to make him lose balance and slump against the wall. "I need to get to bed." With a hoarse voice, he wobbles. His room was only a few doors down. He almost falls when the second wave hits and a cold shock passing through his body.

A hand latches onto his to keep him steady. "That doesn't sound good." Said the carefree voice.

"Who . . .?" He wheezed, stopping himself as he recognized his helper. A rare bronze-skin tone coupled with a bikini nobody would brazenly wear in this season. "It's you." He said weakly. The woman he'd crossed paths with on Valentines.

"Yoohoo, Mr. Serious. Is it fate for us to meet like this?" She asked.

"Fate needs to get a sense of humor if I was destined to catch this awful cold." Naegi droned.

She laughed, surprisingly. Naegi thought it was a weak joke himself.

Up close, he could see how young she was, like a girl at most in her senior high school year.

In his musings, he feels a warmth drape over him; a gold jacket to be precise. "Children need to keep warm." In direct contrast to his own thoughts, she labels him the child.

She did that last time too. "I'm in my 20s. I can't really be called a 'boy' anymore." It does feel warm though. "Thank you, but-"

She cut him off. "This is my small thanks. For helping me out. Now let me help you to your room." Without giving him a say in the matter, she's hoisted his arm around her shoulder.

Naegi directs, and they start walking. It isn't long before they enter his humble abode.

"It's not much at aaall~" She astutely remarks.

"And it's still putting a major dent on my credit. Should I sue them for ripping me off?" Naegi can't help but smile as she sits him on the bed.

"Yes. Yes. If it were up to me. I would make many decorations to make you feel right at home. This is a hospital, so hospitality matter most!" What about the . . . healing process?

"What are you doing here anyway?" He inquired.

"Paying a visit to old friends."

"Are they sick?"

"Isn't everyone?" The confidence in her reply miffs even himself. "The sickness of the heart is much worse than on the body. And I see that you are ill indeed." In that moment, Naegi re-evaluates his companion almost entirely. His initial impression was that of a child. For several reasons. The frivolous dressing, her smiles that complimented the joy teeming in her eyes.

He'd made the same mistake for Enoshima – only more of a shark than anything remotely resembling innocence – who he recently begun to change his mind on. The woman before him left a more immediate impression.

Her words weren't carefree or poorly contemplated at all.

"You sound like a fortune teller." He fishes.

Her mouth forms an 'o' "Divinations are one of my specialties. I'm surprised a boy you know of that profession." That went double for him. He was confident the joke would fly over her head.

"This is a fated day, after all. Since I'm in a good mood, I'll even read your fortune, free of charge. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity~" She said.

This was going places he hadn't expected. "I'm not really interested."

She hummed. "Can it be . . . you don't believe in fate?"

"Has nothing to do with what I believe. I don't think I need that kind of help." But yeah, he wasn't sold on the whole superstitions. Naegi accepted faith and the belief of higher powers as part of human history, and certainly didn't want to offend anyone's culture. But that didn't make him a believer.

"Hmm…Angie understands. You are perfect." The smile accompanying the question. No, the question itself made his stomach turn. "Given a chance to find your star among countless others, and you reject it. You must have no doubt in your heart that you will overcome everything and anyone, all by yourself."

"You barely know me." Without filter, those harsh words slipped out as naturally as water gushing out from an open tap.

The woman's smile didn't change in the slightest. Her eyes did. Those orbs went cold. Frozen. Like the flick of a switch, light returns to them, even brighter than before. "I'm embarrassed! It's not every day I talk to someone so casually! It felt like I'd known you for a loooong time, but we haven't even given proper introductions!"

I can't make this person out at all.

"Let's try this from the beginning." Her hands pull both sides of her skirt as she gives a small bow. "My name is Angie Yonaga."

". . . Makoto Naegi." He curtly replied. "I didn't mean to sound cold, but you're wrong about me. I'm not perfect. I try to be independent, sure. But that's because I live alone and don't want to burden anyone else."

Yonaga tilted her head. "The meaning is the same, isn't it? You don't let others get close, not to your problems or yourself. That's wonderful, if you're capable. Otherwise, you're just being a nuisance."

The blunt reply may have offended others but for a detective often dealing with hard truths - and had coworkers that acclimated to that same environment – it was making good conversation. "Divinations huh? What's your success rate, if you don't my asking." If nothing else, her honesty was refreshing.

"100%." Yonaga said.

Maybe he spoke too soon. "A perfect reading of the future." A more than skeptical Naegi retorted.

"Nope!" The eccentric said. "The future isn't easy to predict. Anyone who thinks they can, is a liar. Watch out."

Now he felt like an idiot. "What can you do?"

"Teach." Yonaga said. "There's more than one way to divine the future. I don't have clairvoyance, but I can read you, the flow of your star and offer the knowledge to achieve your desires~"

"Okay." Naegi said not entirely convinced. "Do you need a setup or something, like a crystal ball?"

Yonaga giggled. This time, he was sure she was mocking him. "All I need is the month and day of your birth, your zodiac sign and the name of your parents."

"My birthday is February 5th. Aquarius. My dad's name was Wataru Naegi. My mom was Shizuka Naegi. My father was Michiru Maizono."

To credit Yonaga's professionalism, she doesn't even pry. She places her hands atop both of his and closes her eyes. "What I can advise you is . . . to not doubt yourself."

Naegi creases his brows. "Could you be more specific? What are you 'teaching' me here?"

Yonaga's eyes reopened. Her hands didn't leave his. "You've already been doing really well. Dream big and don't be led astray by the comfort of others." Yonaga's fingers trail upwards, starting from his chin. "Believe in your strengths. Miracles only happen because someone makes it happen. In this world, nobody will go out of their way to make your wish come true for you." She brushes against his glasses. "You don't need anybody at all. That's why I know you'll return that jacket to me. Nyahaha!"

Here he was getting sucked up into her pace. "You don't need exceptional insight for that. I'm a civil servant, and a man. I'm not letting a girl walk around like that in the cold."

"So serious." She teased as he tossed the jacket back to her. "I don't have a reason to fear cold. I am blessed." Yonaga draped the clothing over her and spun around, her back facing him. "I've read your fortune. Now it's time I be on my way."

"Before that, what do you mean 'blessed?'" He called out.

Yonaga doesn't stop to answer his question.

He meant that in a very literal context. She skipped out the door and still answered his question.

"Yes. I am among His chosen few."

Her voice carried inside with such clarity that he was nearly deluded into thinking she was still in front of him.


Night had fallen. The detective had stared at his phone for nearly an hour. It helped that sleep had decided not to come for him. In no small part thanks to his new bubbly, bikini-clad acquaintance. He couldn't explain why the words of a woman he'd conversed with for all of 20 minutes resonated with him so strongly.

He rings up one of his contacts.

". . . Hey, Saihara."

"Naegi? It's late, isn't it?"

"Remember the favor I asked of you. Forget it."

". . .Did you make headway?"

"No, but that's fine. I'll solve this case in the time I've got left."

"Solve? . . . You don't sound like yourself. Did something happen?"

"I think I want to do this on my own after all." Naegi ends the call.

"You're perceptive, Saihara. I wish I had as much talent as you." Naegi's altogether unremarkable when compared to his peers. Like Komaeda says.

But so what? His lack of talent shouldn't provoke a lack of effort. Not when he still had something to prove and promises to keep.