The square was pretty crowded, as per usual, but I managed to find a seat at one of those lunch tables near a cafe.

After five minutes of observing the crowd, with Izuru Kamukura nowhere to be seen, I took out the book that I fortunately did not remove from my backpack, and flipped to a random page.

'Monokuma'

'Once Junko and her Despair took over, her mascot, Monokuma, instantly became the new craze. Contrasting with typical teddy bears, Monokuma's two colored design symbolized how people can look innocent on the outside, but be deceiving on the inside. The shops in this new age made sure to take advantage of this bear of Despair's popularity, featuring him on many of the goods that were sold there, or even naming their stores after him. Movies, TV shows, magazines, and games were created that featured Monokuma to increase sales.'

'Monokuma was also the mascot of the new wave of sports. Classic sports such as Basketball, Baseball, and Football were replaced with Junko's self-proclaimed 'Killing Sports', in which fifteen competitors would enter a unique arena, and the last one standing would win. These sports were televised and highly popular. The players were chosen at random, and it was considered an honor to participate in an event that would cause so much Despair.'

I looked up quickly, and when I couldn't see Izuru, I continued to read my book.

'What does the future hold?'

'Junko's Despair movement has fully engulfed this city, and much of the area around it. It seemed to be growing faster than anything that could slow it down. The popularity of Junko and Monokuma has even reached other countries across the world, which are starting to follow in her footsteps. There is rumor of an organization that is bent on stopping her movement, but there has been little to no action at this point to slow down, or even prevent, the wave of Despair immersing the world.'

I sat there and read a bit more, but then I grew impatient. Hm… Where was he?

I looked at my watch. I was sitting here for about two hours.

Two whole hours, and not a sign of Izuru.

Hmpf, this was getting boring. Looks like I'd have to take things into my own hands. There is one place that Izuru Kamukura is guaranteed to be, at least eventually.

And that's his hideout.

But where could it be… The only lead I had was that one empty room, near Monomart. My eyes shifted in the direction of that grocery store. Maybe I'd go check that out again…

No, I thoroughly searched there. And I trusted myself enough to ensure that I found everything there was.

So what now…

Maybe something Izuru said would give me a hint. Anything…

"They've got one of those in the square, if you're interested…"

Would there be a secret passage in the hair salon here? I now shifted to face that store. It was close to where I was, although I didn't really want to go in. Maybe there's something else…

"You used to sit here and think a lot back when we were in Hope's Peak. But, of course, you wouldn't remember that."

Was he somewhere near that hill, where he appeared out of nowhere? That might be a better spot to check, honestly. But it was so far away… Hm…

"Your condition seems fine enough. You look good."

What? That has nothing to do with where Izuru's hideout could be…

"I needed to be with you."

Argh! This isn't what I'm looking for, I need rational information...

"Exactly. Whoever thinks rational explanations are necessary doesn't see the whole picture."

Come on! I need to remember any clues, any-

Wait. Just one second…

Maybe Izuru's clue is less obvious than I think… What did he say after that...

"We are polar opposites, Kyoko. Destroying and protecting, despair and hope, black and white."

Keep on going...

"I'm a paragon of Despair, and Hope is empty to me."

There! That's what I was looking for. It was right in front of me, all along…

Hope is empty to him… Just like that abandoned room I thought was his hideout…

So if that room represents Hope… Then Despair has to be…

Polar opposites…

I hurriedly took out the other book in my backpack, which was the one about the city's layout. I flipped to the page about the square. There, the layout of the city's most bustling area was drawn out, along with the surrounding pathways. I just had to find…

There. Behind Monomart. There was the room I explored. And, since this square was symmetrical…

I placed my finger on the location of the empty room, and slid it across the page, through the center of the square, and across to the opposite location.

There. That spot. Exactly opposite from the empty room. Hopefully, I was right, and this was where his hideout was.

I memorized the location and closed the book. I dropped both of them in my backpack, and then I got up and started walking to the closest pathway out of the square. My seat was taken within five seconds.

I exited the square, and turned down the alleyways that would lead me towards my destination. These pathways seemed to be very neglected, as trash was piled up along the sides of the buildings. No one even walked near this area, as the disgusting dirt and grime on the ground dissuaded them from doing so. It's a good thing I didn't wear my nice shoes today…

Nevertheless, I trudged along. Now… if my calculations were correct… it should be right around this corner here…

I turned towards the dead-end alley I expected to house Izuru Kamukura's hideout. What was here was very different from what I saw before.

Standing between me and the dead end was a large, silvery metal fence, extending up about fifteen feet. There was barbed wire lining the top edge. In the middle was a door made of the same material. On it, was a big sign that said:

Enter at your own risk

It was never simply 'Do not enter' these days; people broke rules all the time in today's world. Essentially, you had to make them believe the perceived consequences outweighed the benefits.

And, it didn't seem like there was much benefit to entering that door. At least, to most people. Other than a small door lit up by a light right next to it on the side of the alleyway, the rest of the area looked like it was not worth breaking in for. All the trash in there wasn't even worth looking at.

Yet, this was one rule I had to break. No matter the cost. And, assuming it was Izuru behind that fence, the rules of Despair shouldn't even be followed in the first place, even though Izuru has been making me a bit flimsy in that regard...

I sighed, but secretly I was excited, because this only confirmed my initial hypothesis.

Izuru, I'm coming for you. And there's no stopping me.

I walked up to the door, and reached for the knob to turn it-

Wait. Stop. That just seems… too easy. Any detective knows to investigate and get as much information as possible before attempting anything.

My hand stopped an inch away from the doorknob, and then I took a couple steps back, examining the metal fence. The doorknob did not have a keyhole, so it surely wasn't a typical fence.

Hm… I should check if it's an electric fence... Is there anything metal here?

I looked around, and found a squashed can in the distance, near a garbage bag. I walked over slowly and picked it up. Ensuring I was a good distance away, I threw the can at the fence.

BZZERP

The can halted in the air for a second, and smoked as electricity jolted through it. It fell to the ground, clanging against the asphalt.

This left me with the intriguing question of how to get past this boundary. I've always appreciated these puzzles, being a detective. I've certainly gotten past worse, with less tools at my disposal.

Hm… Speaking of disposal… maybe there's something in this trash here that I can use.

So I started walking around, inspecting each and every piece of trash in the hopes of finding something to recycle.

As I approached the first pile, I saw some bags ruffle, and a couple of mice started scurrying across the ground. On the ground where the mice came from was just used napkins, paper, and empty cans. So I took a couple steps and looked at another pile.

Still, nothing. In fact, most every large trash pile I inspected was basically the same. Used human detritus that surely wouldn't be used by me. I needed to find something that would either help me get over that fence, or break me through that fence…

As I continued to search, my eyes wandered over to the mice again. They ran a couple yards to reach some pile of trash, and they seemed to be eating something…

Wait… Is that…

I calmly walked over to the mice's trash pile. Noticing me again, they grabbed whatever food they could and hurried away.

Yes. That's it. Where there's mice, there's food… And where there's food… there are eating utensils.

Sitting before me were scraps of chicken, mostly devoured by the hungry mice. But, obviously, the food wasn't what I was here for.

I was here for the thin metal skewers underneath the chicken. They were probably used for some barbeque, or something. It didn't matter what; I had what I needed. I knelt down slowly, and picked up one of the metal skewers. Yes, this should suffice...

Still crouching, my eyes started darting around again. If only there were…

Yup. Sitting not too far away from the food scraps was a pair of used gloves. I grabbed them both, and felt them.

Good. Rubber. With a grin and a sigh, I put them on. As much as this wasn't the most sanitary behavior, it was what was necessary.

I trudged through the trash once more to reach the door in the middle of the fence, with my new tools. I put my gloved hand on the doorknob, and jiggled it to ensure it was truly locked.

Yes, it was. That would be too easy.

So it's locked, but where is the keyhole… if there even was a keyhole…

Well, time to find out.

I tried to bend the top part of my metal skewer into a hook. With a bit of effort, the skewer conceded, and I nodded. Then, I carefully threaded it through the fence opening so the hook was pointing at the back of the doorknob.

I pulled the skewer back and I felt it clang on the metal doorknob. I moved it around in an attempt to find any sort of keyhole.

After a bit of trying, I felt the skewer sink in about half an inch.

Yes… I wiggled the skewer in the back of the doorknob, trying to have it move what was locking that door. It was probably a more complicated lock than most, considering behind it was most likely the hideout of Izuru Kamukura. So I'd have to spend a bit of time bending the skewer myself to simulate the key he used to open-

Huh?

I felt the skewer turn clockwise more than normal. I froze my hand instantly, remembering the exact position to the best of my ability.

Hm… Did Izuru intentionally change the lock? Or was it just cruel irony for Despair to give these people such false hope…

Both answers seemed to explain the situation sufficiently. But, I wasn't here to explain everything. I couldn't even explain myself anymore. At this point, there was only one desire now, one mission, one goal.

To find Izuru Kamukura.

I started to turn my hand clockwise, to have the skewer unlock the door.

After a moment, I paused. The skewer was almost touching the electric fence because I was turning it. And I could feel the lock was only partway open. Also, who knows what would happen if an electric current ran through the doorknob and into the keyhole? It might lock me out for good. With my rubber gloves, I should be fine, but obviously it's better to be safe than sorry. So I carefully removed the skewer and weaved it out of the fence.

I mulled over how I would get this to work for a couple minutes, but this wasn't that hard of a puzzle. To get the skewer to move clockwise, it can't touch the fence. And getting it to not touch the fence required it to be further away from the edge that it would touch. I added another two bends to the top half of the skewer so the hook would keep its relative location, while the rotating part would be about an inch to the right more.

Requiring more coordination, I systematically got the skewer back in position, in the hole in the doorknob behind the door. Finding the exact location wasn't hard, and I turned the skewer. It turned further this time, and I could feel the door was almost unlocked when I tried the doorknob on my side.

Come on… just a little further…

With one swift movement, I yanked the skewer clockwise as I twisted and pulled the doorknob. Once I realized the door was unlocked and opening, I released the skewer, which had to touch the metal of the fence to turn enough to unlock the door.

The skewer was promptly electrocuted. I waited until the skewer fell to the ground, and then I walked through the doorway.

This is why I loved being a detective so much. The thrill of solving mysteries…

Would I truly give this up for Izuru?

My mind started to wander, but I reminded myself not to think about this question now. As I discovered before, I didn't need to choose just yet. All I had to do was get Izuru on my side…