A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! Hopefully this chapter will answer some of the questions about Despair and Kamukura.

On the way to Fujisaki's apartment, Kirigiri filled them in on the details.

Last night, at the former apartment of Hifumi Yamada, a burnt car with Fujisaki's fingerprints and the corpse of Kiyotaka Ishimaru was found. The forensic evidence suggested that he'd been killed late at night on the 25th, the day before the wedding, and forensic evidence also pointed to Chihiro Fujisaki, who had been seen with Ishimaru (alias Saul Tsuji) the last day of his life.

Fujisaki, that Ultimate Programmer who began developing the revolutionary AI "Alter Ego" ten years ago, lived in the Shibuya ward, at a building called La Tour Shibuya, floor 14. "The security here happens to include some KDL work," Kirigiri said as the three boarded an elevator, "Aoi Asahina's renting out an apartment to the newly-homeless Hifumi Yamada, and she's paying for security. Hiyoko Saionji also lives here."

"How nice of Asahina-san," Nanami commented.

"I gave her a discount," Kirigiri replied, as if that answered the question.

The elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened. The fourteenth floor was empty, so it did not take them long to find the Fujisaki apartment. Nanami knocked on the door, and Fujisaki opened the door slightly. "Chiaki-san… oh, and Kirigiri-san too."

He opened the door up wider, and let in Kirigiri and Nanami before he tried to shut the door on Hinata. Nanami grabbed the door, however, and let Hinata in. Hinata mumbled his thanks and moved to stand next to Kirigiri.

"Fujisaki-kun," Kirigiri said as soon as Fujisaki shut the door, "I have some questions-"

"Follow me," Fujisaki said, and he walked to the end of the hall and opened a door on the left side.

The door opened up into a combination living-dining room, much larger than Nanami's, which had a white wicker table jammed against the right-most window, a television mounted on the back wall opposite a pristine-looking couch, and all manner of computer parts and monitors and technology scattered around the room. The television was currently on the news, but Fujisaki shut it off, and he pulled the chair away from the table to sit opposite from the couch, where Kirigiri, Hinata, and Nanami were sitting.

Fujisaki and Kirigiri didn't say anything, but Nanami nudged Hinata and nodded to a shelf next to the television holding a flickering monitor and all sorts of computer equipment. Nothing seemed to be out-of-place… when he saw a little Monobear poking its head out from on top of the monitor.

"Fujisaki-san," Kirigiri said, "you are aware of why we are here?"

Fujisaki nodded. "Ishimaru-kun again?"

"Partly," Kirigiri said lightly. "Both him and Iyatso Tsuji."

Fujisaki's eyes widened. "I-I don't know where Tsuji went-"

He cut himself off when one of Kirigiri's eyebrows arched. "How did you know that I was going to ask that?" she said.

Fujisaki gulped and mumbled, "it seemed obvious."

"Very well," Kirigiri said, and she continued, "Fujisaki-san, do you know who Tsuji-san was?"

"H-he was just an opera singer, right?" Fujisaki said.

"He was the Ultimate Animal Breeder Gundam Tanaka, Chihiro-kun," Nanami said. She sounded uncomfortable, and she was fidgeting. "Didn't you recognize him?"

Kirigiri glanced at Nanami quickly, while Hinata nodded. "Fujisaki-san, you were with him for the entire wedding. You were even looking for him," Hinata said, "clearly, you spent some time around Tanaka."

"And what would make you think I would recognize an underclassmen from four years ago?" Fujisaki said softly.

"Fair enough," Kirigiri said, "then why were you so interested in him at the wedding?"

"M-maybe I was just interested in him! Is it a crime to be gay!?" Fujisaki squeaked.

"No, it's not, Fujisaki-kun, and I have no intention of making this into an issue regarding your sexuality," Kirigiri said coldly, "so don't try fishing for sympathy."

Fujisaki squirmed in his seat. "Kirigiri-san-"

"Fujisaki-kun, where were at 23:00 on the 25th of September?" Kirigiri demanded.

"I-I was-" Fujisaki said, "I was at the party-"

"No you weren't," Hinata said. "You were at Chiaki-san's apartment, in the shower."

Fujisaki's eyes darted towards Hinata, and he paled. "N-no I wasn't-"

"No, you were," Nanami said. "I remember the time you called."

Kirigiri glanced at Nanami again and then back at Fujisaki. "Fujisaki-kun, why have you been lying to us?"

Fujisaki gulped. "My mind slipped-"

"Fujisaki," Kirigiri said, and her voice was very icy, "would that explain the blood I found in Nanami-san's shower drain?"

"That's impossible!" said Fujisaki, "the body was strangled-"

And then he stopped himself, but not before Nanami gasped. "Chihiro-kun," she whispered, "you killed…"

"T-they told me!" Fujisaki said, his face now paler than Kirigiri's, "it was your people-"

"No news of Kiyotaka Ishimaru's death or even how was he killed was leaked, Fujisaki," Kirigiri said.

"Which means the only way you could know about it is if you're the murderer-" Hinata said.

"-or a Monobear controller," Nanami interjected. She sounded like she was trying to fake enthusiasm.

For the third time, Kirigiri glanced at Nanami, as did Fujisaki (wide-eyed), and even Hinata himself. "Nanami-san, are you accusing your cousin of being in Despair?" Kirigiri said.

"Better than being a murderer," she said. There was a hard edge to her voice.

"Regardless, back to Tanaka," Kirigiri said. "Assuming that you are part of Despair, then you should know full well who Tanaka was."

"I don't think he would, actually, boss," Hinata said. "Tanaka seemed scared of the Monobear at the party."

Kirigiri frowned and thought for a moment. "I see," she muttered. Then she said, more clearly, and Hinata noticed that she had one hand on her gun, "in any case, I have a hypothesis for you."

"Chihiro Fujisaki, I believe that you killed Kiyotaka Ishimaru, in his apartment. You killed him, and then fled to your cousin's apartment probably because the killing was unintended. When you were done with your shower, when you were done plotting in there, you returned to the apartment, smuggled Ishimaru down to his car, and drove out to the burnt-out apartment complex to dump it there. You then lit the car on fire, but the fire did not burn everything.

"On the way, however, you were spotted by two witnesses: Gundam Tanaka, and Hajime Hinata. Now, this is based on pure speculation until we find Tanaka, of course, but please, humor me. Hinata saw you coming out of the shower. He also works for KDL, and would no doubt know about you being a suspect- after all, security footage would feature you prominently."

Fujisaki gulped again. He was now as pale as the white half of the Monobear, and he was staring, wide-eyed, transfixed at Kirigiri. "It can't be…" he whispered hoarsely.

"Continuing," Kirigiri said, "during the wedding, the real reason that you spent so much time with Tanaka was so that you could find out if he saw anything. And if he did-"

"-you killed him," Hinata finished. "And if you have a connection to-"

And then Hinata paused, a terrible thought striking him. Who's Xiong Nu? He's the boss of the Shibuya cell. Hinata looked at Fujisaki. Everything began falling into place.

"Is something wrong, Hajime?" Nanami whispered. She put one of her hands on his leg.

"Unless you're- Xiong Nu," Hinata said.

Fujisaki's eyes sprang open and he leapt to his feet, but Kirigiri quickly grabbed him and forced him back down. "I-I'm innocent!" he whimpered, "I'm just scared-"

"It all makes sense," Hinata said. He stood up as well. "Nakejawa said that Xiong Nu ordered him to kill me, even though there was a ban on harming Kamukura. Masaru told me that Xiong Nu was the cell boss of Shibuya, where you live, and that he was on the game planning committee. And Komaeda told me that his little Monoscope device worked based on the Monobears-"

"The ones you gave me!" Nanami said. She put a hand over her mouth, in shock.

"Since you're an 'Ultimate Programmer' and work so much with technology, you knew that even the most paranoid of us wouldn't bother to check for bugs or such if you'd checked it first," Kirigiri said, "or at least, that's what happened with Makoto and I."

"And me and Chiaki-san," Hinata added. He did not include that he had brought up the idea of Fujisaki sending bugged bears with Nanami, but she did not comment either.

"In any case, you were the one handing out the Monobears in at least two instances. You probably have a connection to the monitor Makoto described in Nidai's house too, now that I think about it," Kirigiri said.

"And that explains why Tanaka was so scared after the bachelor's party," Hinata said, and he could feel himself slipping back into that realm of possibilities from last night, "he knew that Ishimaru was Saul Tsuji, and if you found out through your Monobears that he was Gundam Tanaka, then you might make the connection-"

"I think you're reaching on that one, Hajime-kun," Nanami interjected.

But Hinata was too… excited to stop. He felt somewhat lightheaded, but he was not swaying. Everything was becoming clear. The brown-haired murder stared at him with wide eyes. "I-I-what are you talking about?" he squeaked.

The purple-haired woman with one of her hands on her… gun said, "Hinata-san, are you fine?"

"Hinata?" Hinata said, "That has no bearing on the case." He pulled out his own gun and aimed it at the brunet's head. "Tell us. What is your connection."

The purple-haired woman- "that's your boss, Kyouko Kirigiri"- whipped out her own gun.

"Put it down, Hinata!" Kirigiri shouted.

"Tell us your connection!" Hinata snarled at the murderer- "that's Chihiro Fujisaki, Chiaki-san's cousin".

"Stop this right now!" roared Kirigiri. Nanami grabbed Hinata's arm and tried to pull the gun away from her cousin's head.

"Please, Hajime-"

"Don't bother me," Hinata snapped. "Now, Fujisaki! Tell me!"

Fujisaki was now crying, no doubt due to fear, while Kirigiri shouted instructions at Hinata. Hinata's head began throbbing as Nanami pulled the gun arm away from Fujisaki and pointed it towards the monitor.

The throbbing intensified. "Fujisaki…" Hinata hissed. A jackhammer was running in his head, and he clapped his hands to the side of his head.

"I admit it!" screeched Fujisaki, and he jumped out of his seat and began scrambling for the door. He didn't get very far, since Kirigiri was able to grab the back of his neck. "K-kirigiri-san, I don't want to die!"

The aching died away, although Hinata felt terrible. He looked at his gun and holstered it, and then shuddered and sank into Fujisaki's sofa. Someone sat down next to him and put a shaking arm around him. "It's not your fault, Hajime," she whispered; her voice was quivering, and her arm felt clammy.

He looked up and saw that Fujisaki had sat down in his chair again, and Kirigiri had put her gun away. "Tell me what happened," she said.

Fujisaki glanced at Hinata and then at the floor. "I was… I was kept in the dark about Kiyo-kun joining Despair," he whispered, "probably because they knew I'd act this way… that they knew it would be able to tell me to kill him."

"What's it?" Kirigiri said.

Fujisaki glanced up and, with a shaking finger, pointed at a set of double-doors. "It's in there," he whispered. Then he continued, "anyway, I found out Komaeda's bachelor party that Saul Tsuji was Kiyo-kun. His usual disguise must've slipped- I'd seen Tsuji fine enough before- but this time, I saw him for who he was. Probably because I fought with- fought with him-" and he shuddered, "and he… reminded me of Kiyo-kun."

Hinata swallowed thickly and looked away. Two people afraid of him…

"And then?" prompted Kirigiri.

"I-I convinced him to bring me to his apartment. We left early, and while we were there, one of the M-monobears convinced me to… get revenge," Fujisaki said. His voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper, as if he were ashamed of what he'd done.

Or, something inside Hinata said, he's ashamed of being caught. He looked down, and another headache flared up, but as soon as Hinata winced in pain Nanami held him tighter, causing it to recede.

"A-anyway," Fujisaki said, and Hinata glanced up to see him staring warily at him. Then Fujisaki resumed his gaze at the floor. "I called Chiaki-san and asked her if I could use her shower. I made it sound like I was drunk, like when I was talking to your-your husband," he said. He glanced at Kirigiri at the last part.

She nodded. "Makoto wouldn't have the right machine with him," she commented. "Continue."

"I didn't know that Hinata went home early with Kirigiri-kun," Fujisaki said. "So I was surprised to see him at Chiaki-san's place, and all through the wedding I thought that maybe he'd make the connection."

"So you gave the order to kill me?" Hinata said, "And Nakejawa said the others-"

"During the wedding, Persia told me that Germany had been… 'emotionally compromised', and as their designated replacement, I was to take charge temporarily over Minato until a suitable… replacement, could be found," Fujisaki said. "But I- I ordered Netherlands to kill Kamukura while Athens and Sparta killed Austria and Spain on Persia's orders."

"And Tanaka-kun?" whispered Nanami. Behind them, a door creaked slightly open, but Hinata did not look over at it.

"T-tanaka saw me in Kiyo-kun's car," Fujisaki said. "So I sat next to him and tried to find out what he knew. He refused to talk. So I… so I…"

"So you killed him," finished Kirigiri.

Fujisaki gave a very tiny nod. Tears began welling up again. "I was scared, and Monobear told me here that it was my only choice!" Fujisaki cried, "And Tanaka was supposed to die anyway since it'd be bad news for Despair once it turned out he hadn't died in prison…"

"Since then we would know that someone might've helped him escape," Kirigiri said.

Fujisaki gave another almost imperceptible nod. "I brought Tanaka home. I have Saionji's keys since I'm her boss in Despair, so I strangled Tanaka with one of her kimonos and then hanged him in her shower. She hasn't come back yet."

"I'll send someone to check," Kirigiri said. "Hinata-san, will you?"

Nanami let go of Hinata, and Hinata noticed that she was as pale as her cousin. He made his way towards the door ("the keys are in one of my shoes in the hall") when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye: a Monobear, slumped against the door.

"Boss," he said, pulling his gun out. "We have trouble-"

The Monobear's eyes flashed red and it stood up. A horrible, squeaky noise emanated from it, as it said, "I guess there's no fooling you, Kamukura-san!"

Then it began laughing. But not an ordinary laugh, but a bizarre "upupupu" laugh that sounded… inhuman. "Hinata, shoot it," Kirigiri ordered.

He complied, but the bullet seemed to have no effect. "And now, Fujisaki," Monobear said, "you have been caught and have admitted to your guilt!"

"You told me to kill them!" screamed Fujisaki. He stood up quickly, knocking over his chair, and ran towards the entrance hall. Kirigiri didn't try to stop him. "You need me!" he yelled, "take them! Take Kamukura, take that traitor, take Kirigiri, just don't kill me!"

"I remember when you were brave," Monobear continued, its voice rising above the din of Hinata's gun. Nanami had her hands clapped over her ears, and Kirigiri had pulled out her own gun and started firing into Monobear. The bullets impacted its eyes and punched right through it, but still, it narrated: "But now you've fallen. Your man's promise went unfulfilled. And now- execution!"

It roared with laughter, and then stuck one of its arms out. A handcuff on a chain shot out and grabbed Fujisaki by the arm, and then whipped him towards Monobear. Another bullet slammed through Monobear's head, and the laughter stopped; its eyes began dimming, but not before-

There was a piercing sound, and something red began streaming down Fujisaki's front, ruining his dress. A large, blood-covered spike was sticking out of his chest, his pale face holding only shock. Monobear continued to twitch in silent laughter, but its eyes were dimming.

There was a wail and Nanami rushed forward, pushing Hinata to the side and pulling her cousin off of the Monobear's arm-spear. She began frantically checking the pulse but when it was clear that Fujisaki was dead, she broke down, sobbing.

Hinata, who was now trembling, sunk down next to Nanami. Fujisaki, the man who murdered two people, was now nothing more than a cruel parody of his boyhood self. "Chihiro-kun!" sobbed Nanami, and her own dress was getting soaked with blood as she held onto Fujisaki and cried.

Hinata, at a loss as to what to do, looked at Kirigiri. Kirigiri simply shook her head and moved over to the Monobear. She picked it up and nodded to Hinata. "Come with me," she said, "quickly. And we can't leave Nanami-san here alone."

Hinata nodded and shifted slightly. He put his hand on Nanami's shoulder. "Chiaki-san, there's a bomb in the Monobear," he said, softly, "we need you to come with us-"

"Why did you bring me!?" she snarled, glaring up at Hinata. Tears were streaming down her face, and her cheeks had regained some of their color. "Why!?"

Kirigiri pressed a button on her phone. "Monobear would've killed him even if you weren't here, Nanami-san," Kirigiri said, "Fujisaki-kun used to be a friend of mine. But at the same time… the Chihiro-kun I knew would never've killed three people and ordered the death of another."

She did not sound compassionate, and Nanami glared harder at her. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd let me die that night," she hissed.

Kirigiri looked away. "That's a lie, and you know it, Nanami-san," Kirigiri said. "All you would've done by dying would be driving Fujisaki-kun into the arms of Enoshima even faster."

A KDL agent- Reiko Honda, now head of the KDL Domestic Affairs division- appeared in the room. "Sir!" she said. Her eyes flickered quickly to Hinata, and a familiar look of disgust surfaced, but it disappeared when she looked back at Kirigiri and saluted. "Your orders?"

"Keep an eye on Nanami-san until the police and the paramedics arrive," Kirigiri said. "Hinata-san and I will bring this bomb downstairs so that the police and defuse it." She motioned to Hinata and picked up the sparking Monobear. It was surprisingly heavy for a teddy bear.

Leaving Nanami crying over her cousin, Hinata and Kirigiri descended back to the ground floor. "Evacuate the building until the bomb's cleared up," she said to one of her security personnel, who nodded. "We'll wait in the lobby."

The evacuation was quick and efficient, thanks to the building's security and the assistant KDL agents; the slowest part was when Yamada got stuck in a doorway. "Something's holding them up," Kirigiri said once the final evacuee left the building, "the police are usually faster than this." She put her phone away.

"Kirigiri-san, why did you ask me to bring Nanami-san?" Hinata said.

Kirigiri blinked. "Are you telling me you didn't catch it?" Kirigiri said.

"What?"

"Nanami-san mentioned a Monobear controller. And yet… she's been in no situations where she could know that Monobears needed to be controlled, has she?" Kirigiri said. She sat down on a sofa. Hinata, still holding the Monobear, leaned against the receptionist's desk. "I know for a fact that all through Sonia-san's party, there was no Monobear. Likewise, there was no Monobear in the Novoselician wedding, nor at her apartment, according to your report."

Hinata opened his mouth to protest, but realized that Kirigiri was right: there should've been no way Nanami knew about the Monobears. "What about the little ones?" he replied.

"They don't appear to move," Kirigiri said, "only the big ones."

"Kirigiri-san, are you claiming that Nanami-san is in Despair?" he said. He kept his voice steady, but he felt a bit angry, as well as a bit anxious and a bit… betrayed, by both Kirigiri and Nanami.

Kirigiri slowly nodded. "Fujisaki even called her a traitor. Perhaps there's something else?" Kirigiri said lightly.

Memories began running through Hinata's mind: Nakejawa not shooting him once Nanami arrived, her "introduction" of Dr. Ryouko Otonashi to him even though she knew that the good doctor was bad news, her blanket refusal to look at the little Monobears harder even though she quickly accepted that they were bugged, her apparent sparing at the hands of Komaeda, the missing robotics research, her belief that Despair wouldn't target her.

Too many things would be explained. Yet at the same time… "No," Hinata said, "I can't think of anything."

Kirigiri pursed her lips and arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

The silence lasted for almost a minute. "They're still late," Hinata said.

"Indeed. Hinata-san, seeing as the Masarus have left, I have a new mission for you," Kirigiri said. She stood up and looked him in the eye. "Fail to do this mission, and you will be discharged from KDL. Do I make this clear?"

He nodded, and looked away. "Let me guess… spy on Nanami-san."

"Officially, you're protecting her," Kirigiri said. She sat back down and crossed her legs. "But at the same time, you are to determine if she is in Despair, and if she is, what role she has. Who knows- maybe she's Germany."

Once the police had left, Kirigiri convinced Togami to let Nanami have the day off work considering her cousin's brutal death. Hinata drove the two of them home; she cried all the way back.

By the time they were back in Residence B's parking lot, Nanami had fallen silent. Her bloodied clothes drew some looks from residents, but with a wave of his badge, Hinata was able to stave off any curious onlookers. "Official business, coming through."

When they arrived in the apartment, Hinata quietly closed the door behind Nanami and considered whether to tell her about Kirigiri's new orders, but decided against it.

"Chiaki-san," he said, "go get clean. I'll- I'll make us something to eat," he said. She nodded stiffly and then shuffled off towards the bathroom.

She emerged from the bathroom in a towel. Hinata had not heard the shower running. He could not see blood on her, though he knew she must've had it still on her in her… covered areas. "Hajime," she said lifelessly, "could you go get some clothes from my room…"

"Sure," he said. She nodded and reentered the bathroom. After a moment or two, he heard the shower turn on. He entered her room, and found an unpleasant surprise.

A normal-size Monobear was sitting on the bed, its eyes lightless. A note was attached to its leg. "To Chiaki, from Mikan," it said, upon closer inspection. Hinata turned it over, and shook it, and then squeezed it. It was apparently a normal, if oddly-colored, teddy bear. He frowned and threw it next to Nanami's bunny in the corner, and turned to go through her clothes, thoughts of Mikan running through his mind. Of course, it made sense that she would be in Despair, all things considered… she worked for Matsuda, and her boyfriend owned a restaurant where the waiters wore Monobear masks.

Even if it was three years ago, living with Nanami for a year meant that it was easy for Hinata to assemble replacement clothes. He stole into the bathroom and entered the shower room, where a shower curtain shielded Nanami from view. "I'm just going to leave them in here, okay?" Hinata said.

"Thanks."

"Oh, and Tsumiki-san left something for you in your bedroom-" Hinata said. He cut off when Nanami opened the shower curtain slightly, exposing just enough of her for him to choke on his speech.

"No one should've been here," she said, and she quickly added, "and grow up, Hajime, we had sex last night and you're petrified by… you're… Hajime, go check your room-"

Hinata forced himself to nod and rushed out of the room, glad that Nanami was no longer speaking as slowly as she had. He shut the bathroom door and glanced at his door. It was still barricaded. Then he checked in the TV room.

The sliding door was shut, but the block of wood was leaning against it. And the television had another sheet of paper stuck to it- "A Monobear looked through the kitchen…"

Hinata turned his back on the TV room and ran into the kitchen, his hand on his gun. There was nothing in the kitchen, and he searched for five minutes. He sighed in relief and turned back towards the TV room, where he ran into Nanami. "Hajime," she said, "did you find anything-"

He shook his head, and she fell silent. "Don't worry, Chiaki-san," he said, "we'll catch whoever did this."

"Just like you caught Chihiro-kun?" she said bitterly. She put the wood block back in place and then pulled the paper off of the television. "Why did he have to die…"

"Because he was useless to Despair," Hinata said. "Listen, Chiaki-san, I…" She looked at him expectantly, and his mouth dried up. He could not tell her about his suspicions. "I-I think we should play a game. You know, something to… something to…"

"Something to keep my mind off of Chihiro-kun," she said miserably. She sank into the couch. "Sure. Super Smash Bros."

They played Super Smash Bros., but Nanami lost every time, even to the AI. Then they played Mario Kart; Nanami came in last place, making it the first time Hinata ever beat her. And then again, in everything from Mario Party to Call of Duty, Nanami lost, probably for the first time in her life in many cases. At the end of a disastrous team match, Nanami simply put her controller down and curled up against Hinata. "I'm tired," she said softly, "I don't want to think. All I can think of..."

"I know how it feels," Hinata replied softly. "I'll try and help you…"

"Kirigiri-kun didn't die," she said.

"No, but all I imagined was you dying."

She was silent after that. Hinata turned the television off, and the two of them just stayed there, Nanami curled up against him, Hinata's arm around her, until they went to bed. Before Hinata drifted off to sleep, he gripped Nanami's hand tightly.

A/N: So. Hopefully, Chihiro being a killer wasn't out of left field- I tried to foreshadow what he did in the previous chapters. Also, hopefully you want to strangle Hinata for his refusal to believe that Nanami's in Despair- that's what I'm going for.

Now, if she is in Despair or not, is something only I know. Although it is pretty obvious, I think. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, leave them in a review!

I'd say that there are only a few chapters left. I'd be surprised if I reached 18. Next chapter, Komaeda should be back, and then the final plot will kick in.