Tomorrow's Sleuth: (Ab)normal Days

With a groan and a grunt, Ichijou Mitsuzi rolled out of bed, plopping onto the wooden floor once in his black and white pajamas yet again. They hadn't even been here a week, but it had felt like...at least two.

Going to his dresser, he changed into a fresh blue yukata, no longer having to worry about the bloodstains. Looking at his bandaged finger, he rubbed the area to find that it still hurt a bit. He'd probably go to Saruta again later to make sure it was still alright. Checking his dresser again, he looked at his wrapped knife, still dangerous in its hard plastic. Ichijou shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn't discovered that little factoid. Sanada Shinji had discovered it on his own somehow though...

He shook his head as the rousing reveille played, followed by the unchanged morning announcement. Figuring now was as good a time as any, Ichijou headed out, making his way to the Resort Restaurant. As he glanced at the slope to the Second Level, he recalled that the Third Level should have been opened now. He was eager to give it a look, but for now, his stomach called. Heading over to the Restaurant he saw Mikage already relaxing at the table, looking a bit bored as he toyed with his sunglasses, and could guess Ishihara was currently in the Kitchen, alone once again. After giving a quick morning greeting to Mikage, he slipped into the Kitchen, seeing Ishihara hard at work, his dark yellow jacket set down as he cooked.

Taking a couple steps in, Ichijou asked, "Morning, Jouji-jun! Want a hand?"

Ishihara smiled in greeting, before realizing what the Luckster had said, eyes widening in shock. Ichijou couldn't place the meaning of the reaction, until Ishihara smiled awkwardly and say, "Ah, thanks, but no thanks. I've got it under control. Besides, the last times I've had help..."

Ichijou swallowed as Andou and Yokozuna came to mind. He replied, "Oh, I see. N-nevermind then. Sorry."

Ishihara shook his head, "It's not your fault. It's just...I'm starting to feel like I'm cursed. I don't want you to be next..."

Trying to be reassuring, Ichijou said, "That's not true!" He was having a hard time trying to refute it though: Andou, Yokozuna, and Tamura had all been his friends, and so was Ichijou... Trying to cheer him up, Ichijou suggested, "Hey, you know, the Third Level probably opened up. Wanna check it out after breakfast?"

Ishihara thought for a moment, before nodding, "Alright, sounds like a plan." Ichijou responded with a satisfied smile.

Looking around again, Ichijou asked one last time, "Sure you don't need any help?"

Ishihara nodded, "Positive." He added, a bit saddened, "I'm cooking for less people now anyway."

Finally taking the hint, Ichijou nodded, taking his leave. Returning to the restaurant proper, he saw there had been more arrivals. As he took a seat, he noticed the Furugori seemed a bit tense. He was also holding what appeared to be a page from a newspaper, folded up. The Computer Engineer noticed his eyes, and said, "I already said I'll explain when everyone else is here, sorry."

Ichijou nodded, before greeting, "Good morning to you too!" Furugori returned the greeting with a smile and a nod.

Looking over, Ichijou saw that Nagasaki hadn't arrived yet, though neither had Kirigiri, not that he was surprised. Getting up, he was about to head for the door when Nagasaki entered. Once she did, the mood tensed a bit, many of those who'd noticed her turning away, as if avoiding her. Any hope or expectations in Nagasaki's face fled, and she shakily took the seat farthest from anyone. The mood toward her hadn't been like this last night, but now they had time for it to sink in: her role in the last case, and how dangerous she really could be. Ichijou knew he couldn't change anyone's opinion, but he could at least keep Nagasaki from feeling isolated. When they met eyes, Ichijou gave her one of his typical grins. He saw the edges of her lips twitch, as to if to try and smile back, but she didn't quite manage it.

As Ichijou sat back down, Kirigiri entered, fashionably late, and looking a little on the tired side as well. She smiled at Ichijou as she sat, looking around at the others as well, but even after her arrival, things were fairly quiet until Ishihara brought out the desired breakfast.

As everyone was plating up their fruit and oatmeal, Furugori began, "Okay, now I can share."

Kirigiri looked over inquisitively as he brought a note from the newspaper, showing it off. It read:

Greetings and well met, Furugori Yasuo! Though your involvement in the events of yesterday was unfortunate, you have earned my trust.

I would like you to pass this message along to the others: my failures to keep the peace thus far have been fruitless thus far, but it is time for that to change. From now on, I will be making a greater effort. I have already scanned the Third Level: I believe it will be enlightening in more ways than one. The other paper here was discovered in my search: I believe it was planted by Monokuma, but whether it is fact or fiction is for you and the others to decide! Thank you, and stay well.

-Gold Dragon

The bulky Minami scoffed, "Trust? Who is he to talk?"

Furugori continued, "Anyway: this is that other paper." Unfolding the newspaper, everyone leaned in to give it a look. The mumbles of wonder were silenced as the Students saw the large picture dominating the front page, surrounded with columns of articles, much of it blacked out and hidden.

The picture showed a man, appearing to be exiting a shiny black car, a few other reporters in frame, and a pair of bulky looking men in black suits flanking him as he walked towards the right side of the picture, away from the vehicle. He wore a light blue suit over a white dress shirt, and had one gray eye visible, his bangs covering his left eye. He had a few wrinkles on his face, and his hair was mostly dark blue, with gray sideburns and a little more around the ears. The text across the top read 'Deputy Prime Minister and Former Hope's Peak Student Sanada designated Prime Minister of Japan after the death of Wakasuki Takao!' Ichijou's eyes widened as he reread it, a little surprised.

Ganaha nearly dropped her bowl, exclaiming, "S-Sanada!?"

Uzatei muttered, "What nonsense is this supposed to be!?"

Minami shook her head, "It can't be the same one, obviously..."

Looking closely, Ichijou noticed, "They don't say his given name. Is he a relative?"

Kirigiri muttered, "There's little to no info in the columns, most of it is redacted. There's so little readable I wonder why it was even included."

She kept looking over it as Ishihara asked, "So, if he went to Hope's Peak, he must have some kind of Talent too."

Mikage shook his head, "Even if it is just a relative, come on, they're practically identical. They even wear their hair the same way!"

Kirigiri gasped, "They don't!" Everyone leaned in as she pointed at the car. "Look here, it's parked on the right side of the street: he came from there and is heading to the right, likely to some political building."

Ichijou, not understanding, blinked as he asked, "Yeah? And?"

Ishihara lit up, understanding, "Ah! It should be on the left side of the street! It'd be wrong otherwise. Unless he's in another country, but come on..."

Kirigiri nodded, explaining, "It's possible that the picture was flipped, which would mean he doesn't wear his hair over his right eye like Sanada Shinji did: it would be flipped as well."

Furugori nodded, "Oh, nice catch!"

Uzatei scratched his head, wondering, "But who is it? Parent? Grandparent? Uncle? How often do more than one Talented Students crop up in families? Are any of you related to someone who went to Hope's Peak before?"

Mikage shrugged, "I'd never even met anyone who'd gone to Hope's Peak before getting stuck here."

Saruta nodded, "Likewise."

Uzatei mumbled, "Well, I wouldn't say haven't met, but that wouldn't really be all that relevant now, would it?"

Ganaha grumbled, "All this stupid mystery: I want some answers!"

Kirigiri sighed, "I agree, I don't think there's anything more to discuss yet. Maybe there's something Gold Dragon missed? We should eat and give it a look."

Ishihara nodded, "The food's getting cold guys!" On the contrary, Ichijou found his at a perfectly palatable temperature, but everyone quieted down a bit as they ate. Some quicker than others: Kirigiri was the first to leave, putting her dishes in the Kitchen before heading out, Minami going after minutes later. Ichijou took his sweet time, even helping on the dishes when he finished. By then, most everyone had gone off to explore.

After the Kitchen was clean, Ichijou grabbed Ishihara and asked, "You ready to give it a look, Jouji-kun?"

Ishihara nodded, "Yeah, sounds good. Let's go check it out."

Heading off, the two ascended the nearby slope to the Second Level. The path was still quite long, unfortunately. En route, Ichijou couldn't help but notice that the signs had been returned to their natural positions: the blue one by the Shed, the purple one by the Library, the green one by the Greenhouse, and the red one being the last one, near the slope up to the Third Level. Reaching that last area, Ichijou shuddered as he looked beyond the path, knowing Yokozuna's corpse had been there not long ago. Trying to push that from his mind, the pair ascended.

The grassy path up led to a rockier path, narrow and enclosed, only the sky visible above. As it wound around, Ichijou's sense of direction got flipped around a bit, and with the sun out of sight, he couldn't quite tell which way they were going except forward. Ishihara seemed unfettered though.

Finally, it began to open up, into a clearing, and a forest. However, Ichijou was left looking around, mystified for a moment. The forest wasn't of trees, but towering stalks of bamboo, their leaves brown, the air a bit chilly, it stark contrast to the warmth of the levels down at the lower parts of the Resort. There were rock walls behind them surrounding the rocky path, but a dirt path stretched and split, going two ways into the bamboo forest. Near to them Kirigiri and Uzatei were hanging around. Kirigiri seemed a bit stressed though.

Ichijou approached, asking, "Something wrong, Kasumi-chan?"

The girl looked at him incredulously, before repeating, "'Is something wrong?'" She looked around, before replying, "It's autumn up here! Autumn! Down there you hear cicadas in the afternoon, but you come up here and...I don't understand!"

A bit worried, Ishihara asked, "You haven't been standing here freaking out the whole time, have you?"

Uzatei nodded, "Yes, she has. I'm going to get Saruta-san."

Kirigiri snapped, "Don't you lie!" Uzatei smirked, turning his head as he laughed. Seeing the concern of the two boys, she let out a frustrated sigh, before ranting, "I'm just tired of Monokuma's proclaimed 'power over nature'. It's unpleasant." Snapping back at Uzatei, she added, "And I've made a full circuit! You only just got here too."

Ichijou asked, "So, it goes in a circle?"

Kirigiri nodded, "Yes. Well, a diamond, actually, or square, if you prefer. But more importantly, following one path will indeed bring you back here eventually. The strange thing is though; I haven't found the way to the next level, if there is one. Nor did I explore the buildings around the Level."

Uzatei asked, "Oh, in that case, may I join you?" He pointed down the path to the left, asking, "Shall we go this way?"

Kirigiri shrugged, "That's fine, I don't mind." Turning back to Ichijou she nodded, "I'll see you later." With an exchange of waves, the pair headed down the left path, leaving Ichijou and Ishihara with the right path. It was quite straight, and the pair found them going through a length of bamboo forest until it opened up a bit. Though the left side was still a bamboo forest, the right was a small, clear field, covered in tufts of brown grass and some fallen bamboo leaves. There were a few wooden tables near a smallish building that overlooked a fenced off cliff as well. Next to the building, there was a large, black, metal thing on wheels Ichijou didn't recognize, however. There was a ninety degree bend in the path as well, but it went ignored as the pair crossed the field, going to give the building a look. Passing the tables as they approached, Ichijou pointed at the black thing and asked, "Hey, what's that?"

Ishihara stopped, heading over. Messing with it, he flipped it open, and Ichijou could see a grate across it. Ishihara explained, "It's just a barbeque grill."

Ichijou nodded, "Oh, for cooking?"

Ishihara nodded, "Yeah, picnics and stuff...you've never-" Ishihara stopped himself, before shaking his head, "Oh, I guess not. You don't see if that often even in cities either, outside of stores, so I don't blame you. Maybe we should try it some time?"

Ichijou smiled, "Sure. That might be neat."

Returning to their original destination, they entered the building, seeing that it was yet another Ranger Station of sorts. It had the entrance room, with a bench, and the second one, with a phone, large window, mini-fridge with one water bottle, and Saruta Bimaru, looking out the window. He looked up as they heard them enter, nodding, stepping aside to allow them room to see the window.

As they approached, Saruta began, pointing down, "It looks like the path we took to get up here circled this side." Ichijou looked down, seeing the rocky path below, stretching out of sight, another 'no flying' sign sticking up in sight. Saruta noted, "I wonder what went through their minds as they shaped this place. I imagine they wanted to make things optimal for tourists? It's quite a hike to get up here, and there's more to go."

Ishihara considered, "You know, there was that terrorist thing a few years ago, and Monokuma: maybe they would have caused some of the changes?"

Saruta shrugged, "Perhaps. Geography, ecology, weather patterns: there's nothing here that's normal in the least." He fiddled with his hair curl as he laughed, "Not even we Students are particularly normal, you could argue."

Ishihara laughed, "True, true."

Ichijou wondered, "You know, he messes with us, sure, but I wonder if there's a reason for it? Like that newspaper picture? It's gotta be important somehow."

Ishihara said reassuringly, "Well, there's gotta be answers somewhere. Let's keep looking."

Saruta sighed, "I only hope there are genuine answers, and not only ones that make us ask more questions."

Ichijou couldn't help but scratch his head, answering, "For some reason, I don't think we'll be finding a lot of those."

Saruta shrugged, "True."

Looking back out the window, Ichijou said, "The Lake would probably be on the other side, right?" Looking over at Ishihara, he said, "Let's go see."

Ishihara nodded, "Sounds like a plan! I can't say no to a good view."

Saruta pointed out, "There was a 'no flying' sign: do be careful."

Ishihara scratched his head, saying, "I didn't say I was going to do that! Not that I don't want too. Maybe I should build a glider just for fun..."

Worried, Ichijou asked, "But what if you fly into a no flying area on accident?"

Ishihara said resolutely, "Then that's a risk I just might have to take!"

Ichijou gawked, "I thought you said for fun!?"

Ishihara nodded, "What part of taking risks like that isn't fun?"

Ichijou gave a nervous laugh, hoping he wasn't being serious, but given that he jumped off the Tokyo Tower, he probably was. Seeing his unease, Ishihara suggested, "Okay fine, I'll be a little more careful than usual." Despite that opening up a few questions as to how he was normally, Ichijou decided not to press anything (unless he actually planned some gliding, of course).

Bidding farewell to Saruta, the duo took their leave of the building, returning to the path. Continuing down the next section, they walked through more forest, a cliff side nearby. They had a good view, but it was mostly more forest, partly flooded: a higher part of the same sight they could see from the cliffs near the Library on the lower level. After some time, they came across another fork in the path, likely on the opposite side of the entrance. There were three paths, however: one extended to a stairway in between a bunch of bamboo, one went at a ninety degree angle to the one they were on, going out of sight, and the last went right between them, heading into the bamboo forest in the between the diamond of paths.

Ichijou mumbled, "Hmm, which way first?"

Looking around, Ishihara suggested, "Let's check that path on the right, heading away, first. Then we'll go down the path to the center, then come back and go down that path to where we started."

Ichijou shrugged, "Sounds good! If we don't get lost, that is."

Looking at the four way intersection, Ishihara said, "Well, there's only one right angle, so as long as we remember that, we'll be fine." Ichijou nodded, and they moved on.

Heading up the staircase, it became apparent what was this way as they reached a small area between staircases, passing under a red archway as they reached the second staricase. Sure enough, they arrived at a Shinto Shrine. A path extended to near the cliff side, where a pair of medium buildings was lined up. The path there was flanked by a number of unused stone lanterns, filled with leaves and covered in moss. There were a few smaller constructions around as well.

Ichijou let out a sigh, "Man, this place has seen better days. Reminds me of the one we've got."

Ishihara asked, "Oh, you mean in your town in the country, right?"

Ichijou nodded, "It mostly gets used by the locals on occasion, but some travelers heading through pray to the river God sometimes. But yeah, it's sorta filthy most of the year until everyone pitches in to clean it before the New Year." Seeing a small building on the right, he got a bit closer and confirmed that it was a water basin, for use in cleansing before worship. Unfortunately, the water was stagnant, green bits of mold sticking to it. Ichijou had considered using it, but now he wasn't so sure.

Continuing down the path, past the lanterns, he was about to move to the ema board, where a number of wooden plaques hung, when he saw Ganaha Eriko up ahead, her white suit contrasting the brown of the Shrine. She was in front of the main building, the open section she was in flanked by two lion statues, their faces replaced by Monokuma's. Getting closer to the girl, Ichijou noticed that she was standing in front of the offering receptacle, a grated wooden box where people would drop their coins when they prayed. There was a closed set of double doors at the front of the building, raised above ground, the short steps up being on the sides. Ganaha was muttering quietly to herself, not responding to the boys as they approached.

Ichijou gave her a look, before saying, "What's up, Ganaha-san?"

Suddenly aware of their presence, the girl turned to the pair quickly, looking a bit fearful, and guilty. Ichijou's eyes widened as he saw a ten thousand yen bill in her hands.

Ishihara asked, a bit accusingly, "Where'd you get that, Ganaha-san?"

Ganaha muttered, "Uh, I was going to offer it..."

Ichijou repeated what the Aeronaut had asked, "But where'd you get it? I haven't seen any money since we got here."

Ganaha began to sweat, pursing her lips. After looking around she muttered, "I-it was in the offering box..."

Ichijou crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling, "You stole it?"

Ganaha whined, "I was gonna give it back! I thought I could use some divine favor after yesterday... I never wanna be involved in a Trial like that again."

Ichijou could see her point, but even so, he had to say, "But stealing from the gods?"

Ganaha whined, "I'm giving it back though! See?" Turning back to the offering box, she rubbed it again, muttering a chant which could have been a prayer or a curse, before dropping it in.

Ishihara shrugged, "Well, I guess you balanced out that divine karma, at least. You might have ended up with a net loss though."

Ganaha frowned, "What? Really?"

Before she could pout, the three jumped when the double doors suddenly burst open. Ganaha jumped the hardest, leaping into Ichijou, whom reflexively caught her, holding her from her legs and back in his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As his legs buckled, a dark figure stepped out of the Shrine. It seemed imposing, largely due to being concealed by a billowing black cloak. Though the head was hooded, a pure white mask with a thin, sharp, red smile carved across it and two thin black slits for eye holes covered the face. The left slit was crossed with a red mark, which Ichijou realized was shaped just like Monokuma's eye.

The thing laughed, its voice hard to read, certainly not sounding like anyone Ichijou knew, at least, "Ohohoho! New worshippers to the Shine of the Goddess of Despair? Or thieves, taking what little this Shrine has to offer?"

"I'm sorry!" Ganaha shrieked into Ichijou's ear, making it begin to ring, as if carrying the fifty plus kilos of Producer wasn't enough for the Luckster already.

A bit intimidated, Ishihara asked, "W-who are you?"

The cloaked thing laughed, "I am but a simple Priest. Now, if you have no business here, be gone from this holy place! Lest you besmirch it with your disgusting Hopes and dreams of the Future!" Head bowing slightly, it hissed, "Even the rot that is the Balance between Hope and Despair has no place here." The cloak spread out as the person hiding underneath raised his arms, white sleeves poking out of the arms and the hem of something wide and red visible under the bottom of the cloak. The figure chanted, "Despair is freedom! Despair is pleasure! Despair is life itself!" The Priest of Despair turned away, slipping into the Shrine again, and the doors slammed behind him.

Ishihara, regaining his thoughts, leapt at the door, scrambling over the offering box in no time at all, landing in front of the door and reaching for the handle, trying to rip it open, but only managing to pull against it fruitlessly.

Ganaha mumbled, "Man, what the hell."

Getting a bit tired, and frustrated that the girl was getting so comfortable in his arms, Ichijou gave a strained grunt, "G-Ganaha-san, please. You're heavy."

Ganaha gave a gawk, face displaying her shock as she loosened her grip, allowing Ichijou to put her down. Ishihara gave up on the door as Ganaha muttered, "G-guess it's dieting time..." She pouted, "I'm not getting as much exercise these days. Stupid Killing Game..."

Ishihara grumbled, "That's what you're concerned about!? Who the hell was that!? Aren't you the least bit curious?"

Ganaha shrugged, "It was the 16th Student, right?"

Ishihara's mouth hung open for a moment, before he sighed, "Probably. It could have been someone else though." Giving her a hard look, he said, "You don't seem to care either way."

Ganaha moaned, "Of course I don't care! I'm no good at this weird mystery nonsense! It just pisses me off, okay!" Eyes getting watery, she whined, "This sucks, this'll probably super important later but it had to be me here not, like, Kirigiri, who'll notice one tiny detail that'll turn everything on its head!" She feverishly scratched at her head letting out another cry, before she slumped over, moping, her voice low, her flaring mood burnt out, "I'm gonna go get some ice cream or something..." Like the walking dead, she shambled away, heading down the Shrine steps and out of sight.

Ishihara frowned, slipping his hands into his pockets as he sighed, "Maybe we're being too hard on her..."

Ichijou scratched at his black hair, sighing, "Maybe a bit." He had to admit the irony: at times she seemed more unstable then Nagasaki, and yet...

Looking back at the Shrine doors, Ichijou said, "Should we wait to tell everyone until dinner?"

Ishihara nodded, "Yeah, we don't want to leave anyone out." Looking back at the path, he said, "Ah! If she eats that ice cream she'll spoil her dinner before I even start it!" Before Ichijou could stop him, he sped off after her, rushing down the steps.

Ichijou moved to follow him, but he figured he'd come back to him once he found her. In the meantime, he went back to the ema board. Looking over the wooden plaques hanging on it, they were despairingly, well, Despairing. Each one prayed or Hoped for some kind of death or destruction, like 'I want my attempt to kill her to go flawlessly', 'I hope the Yokohama Marine Tower falls over', or 'Katsuragi-san scorned me, please make her family suffer.' Ichijou had a brief compulsion to tear them all down, but withstood it, simply heading back to the path, a bit sick of this place.

As he descended the stairs, he saw Ishihara below, having been going up. He waited until Ichijou arrived, as the Luckster saw a red mark on his cheek, and a mixture of shock and sadness on his face. "She...hit me," he explained, as if he had no idea how it had happened.

Ichijou asked disbelievingly, "What did you do?"

He explained, "She told me to stop bossing her around."

Ichijou asked, "After she hit you?"

Ishihara shook his head, "While she hit me. I didn't get a chance to apologize."

Ichijou scratched his head, not sure what to offer. Thinking to the remaining girls, he was really starting to miss Yokozuna and Andou. Between Nagasaki and Ganaha's lack of stability and Kirigiri and Minami butting heads, Ichijou kept feeling like he had to tread lightly around them else invite trouble.

Going down the stairs and returning to the main path, the two friends went across the main path to the other offshoot, heading into the bamboo forest. The forest seemed to get darker, the bamboo being more tightly packed, thin branches even getting in the way of the path at times. It finally opened up however, and the sight took Ichijou's and Ishihara's breath away.

What stood in front of them was a large complex, surrounded by large stone walls. Behind an opened gate was a large, feudal style building, with a red paneled roof and white walls. A sign to the right of the gate read, 'Fort Arashimine'. They had to get closer to read it, but the subtext explained that it was in use during the Warring States period, which Ichijou remembered Kirigiri mentioning a few days ago. Entering the walls, the two got a look around at the sprawling complex, but found their hopes dashed. The intricate layout of pillars, training equipment, and the unfitting placement of a souvenir stand, was laced with yellow tape. A series of signs sticking out of the ground at various intervals read: 'Closed for renovations'.

They weren't alone in the courtyard of the Fort though: on her hands and knees in front of the doors, barred and coated in tape, was Kirigiri Kasumi again, Uzatei and Furugori standing behind her. Seeing her head bowed in Despair, Ichijou approached, asking, "Are you okay, Kasumi-chan?"

Standing up, she pouted, "I wanted to see the inside..."

Uzatei sighed, "We've been here for how long? Get over it already."

Kirigiri glared, "It's been a minute or so." Uzatei bit his lip, suppressing a smirk and looking away as Kirigiri said to Ichijou and Ishihara, "Don't believe his lies."

Furugori concurred, "I wanted to get inside too though. I mean, an old military base, how many of those do you see?"

Kirigiri twitched, before saying, "And the other thing that was bothering me...this placement! Even if you cut down all the bamboo, its pain for the enemy to get to it, sure, but how are any allies supposed to get here? Can you imagine trying to get a single horse up here? Let alone an entire cavalry unit, and those were quite crucial during the time period." Looking around, she wondered, "Maybe it wasn't a standard Fort, it might have some other reason for being here besides tourist attraction."

Ichijou wasn't really surprised at her knowledge, but that still didn't mean it wasn't impressive. Uzatei joked, "Sealing away an ancient evil, perhaps?"

Ishihara grumbled, "The only thing evil here is probably at that Shrine."

Kirigiri raised a curious eyebrow, making Ishihara give Ichijou a look. Ichijou quickly said, "Well, you saw that board with the plaques of wishes to the god there? Yeah, we'll tell you later."

Kirigiri looked between the two, before pouting, "It's rude to keep a girl waiting."

Uzatei shrugged, "And it's not rude to keep a man waiting?" Kirigiri gave a simple shrug, and began to head away, waving farewell at the three guys.

Furugori gave another look at the Fort, before muttering, "Hmm? What's that?"

Kirigiri and Uzatei, still in earshot, stopped, turning to look. Following Furugori's gaze with Ichijou and Ishihara. Ichijou could see it barely: on the roof, behind a protruding, decorative spike, was something green, contrasting the red roof and brown forest.

As Kirigiri and Uzatei returned, getting a closer look, Ichijou wondered, "Can we reach it?"

Ishihara looked around, before answering, "Stand back." He began to back up, as if to get a running start, throwing his dark yellow jacket aside.

As the four complied, Furugori gawked, "R-really?"

Kirigiri noted, "It's no less than four meters..."

Ichijou began to look and see if there were a lower point to get to the roof, but it was too late. Ishihara began to run straight at the Fort. When he got close, he leapt, transferring his momentum upward. Ichijou's eyes widened as he jumped: at the peak of his jump, the Aeronaut's feet were at roughly the level of Ichijou's head. Ishihara came down, rolling to absorb the shock from the fall rather than taking it in his legs. Backing up again, he muttered, "One more shot."

Kirigiri blinked, "You were closer than I anticipated, but still about a meter off..."

Ishihara grinned, "I haven't warmed up yet." As he returned to his position, however, Ichijou heard someone else breaking into a run. He looked down, seeing Uzatei's scarf discarded, the Fashion Designer going for the Fort. Ichijou heard Ishihara say in confident disbelief, "Yeah, no way."

Ichijou had to gasp when he saw Uzatei jump almost as high as Ishihara had. Kirigiri and Furugori were a bit impressed as well. It wasn't unknown for an Aeronaut who regularly jumped off of buildings to perform such a feat, but Uzatei?

After landing, Uzatei grunted, "Hmm, that was close."

As he approached Ishihara, Jouji said, as if in challenge, "Not even."

Uzatei smirked as he stood next to Ishihara, squatting as he stretched his legs, "I went no less high than you. I'm sure I could do better."

Ishihara began to stretch as well, replying, "Wanna bet?"

Ichijou blinked, looking at Kirigiri and Furugori, asking, "How did this happen?" The pair simply shrugged helplessly.

As the pair ran for the building simultaneously, Furugori sighed, "They make it look so easy..."

They both jumped, but failed to reach the roof, or go any higher than they'd already jumped. As they walked back into position, Ichijou could hear their banter: "Oh? Not going to grab that glider in progress of yours?" "You should take your glasses off, you might get a little less air resistance."

The pair tried a couple more times, neither getting any farther, just wearing themselves out a little, working up a sweat. Realizing something, Ichijou asked, "Hey, wait a minute, why don't you guys, like, work together?"

The pair stopped, looking at Ichijou like he'd first discovered fire. They switched their attention to themselves, before nodding. Uzatei went to under the Fort, before grumbling at Ishihara, "If you kick me in the face, I'll sue."

Going even further beyond, Ichijou began to approach, saying, "Er, maybe we should avoid jumping. If we stack up though, we should be able to make it."

Ishihara shrugged, "Fine by me."

Uzatei nodded, standing, as Ichijou approached. He shrugged, "Very well, hop on." Ichijou nodded as Uzatei stretched out his arms. As Ichijou began to go for the shoulders, Uzatei, eyeing the bottom hem of his yukata, corrected himself, "Actually, you stay on the bottom."

Ichijou pouted, but complied on one condition, "Uh, you could at least take off your shoes?"

Uzatei frowned, groaning, "But then I'll miss out on the thrill of quashing peasants underneath my boot. It's not quite the same with my heels..." Regardless of his words, he kicked off his shoes as Ishihara did the same. Ichijou could only give the Fashion Designer a disapproving look.

Finally setting things into motion, Ichijou bolstered himself as Uzatei stood on his shoulders. Worried about falling, Ichijou spread out his legs, giving himself a bit more stability. Understanding that time was of the essence, Ishihara quickly climbed the tower of high schoolers, and was able to grab the lip of the roof with little trouble. As he climbed up, he said to the two below, "I'm good!"

Face red from exerting himself, Ichijou bowed down, and Uzatei jumped off, landing on the ground in his socks. As he went for his shoes, Ichijou backed up, rubbing his shoulders. Uzatei brushed off his feet as Ishihara returned, standing at the edge of the roof with a green book in his hands. Noticing, Kirigiri approached, looking up. Ishihara read off the cover aloud, "'A History of the Games of Mutual Killing: Volume Two: The Field Trip of Mutual Killing.'" Eyes widening, he blinked, "Eh?"

Eyes wide, Kirigiri looked up longingly. Ichijou blinked, wondering aloud, "Wait, Volume Two? Then this has happened before..."

Furugori nodded grimly, "At least twice, by the sound of things."

Crouching down from his rooftop position, Ishihara leaned down, explaining, "I'll come down after I give it to you."

Kirigiri nodded, raising her hands up. She flinched as Ishihara dropped it: it opened a bit in midair, the pages fluttering as they moved. She managed to catch it, cringing as she bent and ruffled some of the pages in her hands. Frowning, she fixed it as well as she could, before closing it and looking over the cover again. Ishihara took a few steps over, before climbing down, hanging from the lip of the roof before dropping down, once again rolling to his feet, as cleanly as if he did this every day.

The four leaned in as Kirigiri looked over the book's cover, not opening it yet. She swallowed, wondering, "I want to, but...should I?"

Furugori, surprised at her reluctance, insisted, "If it's a Killing Game just like ours that concluded, there's gotta be some answers."

Kirigiri shook her head, explaining, "No, I mean, it's a sequel. Shouldn't I read the previous one first?"

Ichijou gave her a disbelieving look, amazed that she'd pass up an opportunity to read, to which she replied, "Joking."

Ishihara laughed, "Okay, Kirigiri-chan. So, we gonna look over it after dinner? When everyone's together?"

Kirigiri suggested, "Or, if you'd rather, I could read through it and summarize. Who knows how long it could take to get through it with everyone asking questions." Looking around, she added, "I won't horde it: after I've found everything I can, I'll probably leave it in the Library. But more importantly..." Holding it up again, she asked, "Where's Volume One?" Uzatei rolled his eyes, to which she replied, "In seriousness this time. Monokuma wouldn't be cruel enough to not let us see the first Volume, would he?"

"Maybe," Uzatei noted.

Ichijou wondered, "Maybe we missed it? This one was pretty well hidden."

Ishihara agreed, "Yeah, no kidding."

Furugori suggested, "Maybe we can look around a little more? In our free time, I mean."

Ishihara nodded, "Tomorrow maybe?"

Ichijou smiled, "Sounds good. We should finish checking up here first though."

Kirigiri began to make for the gates, saying, "I have one more stop, then I'll head down and start reading." As Uzatei made to follow, she added, "If you see Minami-san, let her know I have it, I don't want her to think I'm hording it."

Ichijou nodded, "Ah, right." Crossing his arms over his chest, he pondered the whole matter between the two. There had to be some way to get them to make up...

Wanting to get a move on, Ishihara waved farewell to Furugori, before asking Ichijou, "Ready to go?" The Luckster nodded, and they went after Kirigiri and Uzatei. Once again returning to the main path, they could see Kirigiri and Uzatei heading over to the Third Level Ranger Station. Ichijou and Ishihara went the opposite way, however.

Their path through the bamboo forest eventually allowed them to come within sight of a rocky path downwards at the next corner of the diamond shaped paths, the area above simply being more forest, with the occasional half buried boulder. The pair headed down, eventually coming across a fairly sheltered section of the path. They were surrounded by two rock walls, but though the sky couldn't be seen, some light still filtered down. The air was warm and humid as well. Continuing down, they saw the telltale sign of a Hot Spring: a curtain with a circle drawn on it, several wavy lines coming from the top. Lifting the curtain, Ichijou headed in, finding a room with a number of shelves. About half of them were empty, and the other half had pure white towels for drying oneself. There was also a bench, but it was occupied: Mikage Naoki lied down on it, arms behind his head. The only other thing of note was another curtain, which likely led to the Spring itself.

"Mikage-kun?" Ichijou asked. The Farmer didn't budge. Feeling ignored, the Luckster decided to respond in kind, going through the curtain to the Spring itself. Despite the warmth of the area though, the first sight he saw chilled him: the icy glare of Minami Fuyuko. From his spot, he did get a quick look around: the large steaming Spring took up quite an area, and a bit of the sky could be seen above. Cool water trickled down from a small stream above into a raised portion of the Spring, which hissed as some of it occasionally lapped into the larger part of the Spring. There was a tiled section on the side, where there were some faucets, stools, and soap, likely for cleaning oneself properly before relaxing in the spring.

Ishihara came in a moment later, hesitating as he saw Minami. Of course, she was fully clothed, but the look on her face made the two wonder what was up were her. She finally grumbled, "Barging in here like you own the place? You're lucky I hadn't decided now was a good time for a bath."

Ishihara couldn't disagree, mumbling, "In more ways than one."

Minami shot him a threatening look at his muttering, so Ichijou quickly stepped in, insisting, "Ehehe, well, I didn't see anything on the shelves back there, so I thought it was safe."

Minami shrugged, "Very well."

There was a brief moment of quiet. Ichijou looked around a little, before saying, "It is really nice in here. I don't really like the shower. I mean, a bath is the perfect way to end a day, you know?"

Ishihara nodded, "I do, but...wait, you do shower, right?"

Ichijou nodded, "Yeah! Of course." Blinking, he wondered, "Why do you ask?"

Suddenly a little self-conscious, he sniffed at his own armpit, prompting Ishihara to insist, "No reason! Er, you don't stink, at least." Ichijou was a bit relieved at that: he was worried for a second.

After thinking for a moment, Minami wondered aloud, "There should be a way to let others know the spring is in use, instead of just hoping they pay attention the shelves. I'd rather not have to worry about anyone peeping."

Ishihara blurted, "I don't think you have to worry, at least." Under her glare, he quickly added, "I mean, you'd probably beat crap out of them, ha ha."

Minami couldn't disagree, nodding, "Most likely."

Glancing around again, Ishihara said, "Well, let's not linger. Wanna head out, Mitsuzi-kun?"

Nodding, he bade Minami goodbye before leaving. As they headed out, they heard Mikage let out a snore.

Looking up at the light, Ishihara noted, "Getting a little late."

Recalling something, Ichijou gasped, "Ah! I need to tell Minami about the book."

Ishihara suggested, "Mind if I go ahead? I think by the time I get back down, it'll be close to dinner."

Ichijou nodded, getting cheerier at the idea of a meal, "Okay! Catch you later." Ishihara nodded, before heading off, going through the curtain and out of sight.

Ichijou turned to head back to the Spring, but stopped as Minami came out. The Contractor, looked around, noting Ishihara was gone. With Ichijou lingering, she could only think to ask, "Did you need something?"

Ichijou nodded, explaining, "I just wanted to mention something. We found a book at the Fort. Kasumi-chan's giving it a look right now."

Minami crossed her arms over her chest, saying, "The Fort was closed for entry. Did you see her find it or did she just tell you?"

Ichijou really shouldn't have been surprised at her paranoia. He elaborated, "Er, we found it on the roof and she offered to take it."

Minami narrowed her eyes, but nodded. She then queried, "It this important? What's so special about the book?"

Realizing that he missed the most important part, Ichijou said, "Er, 'History of the Mutual Killing Game', the second Volume."

Minami's eyes widened, and she nodded, saying, "Thank you."

Suddenly kicking her foot out, Minami jarred the bench Mikage was on, causing him to jerk awake, rolling off the ground and landing on the floor. His sunglasses clattered to the ground as he pushed himself to his knees, saying, "I'm up! I'm up!" Grabbing his sunglasses, he looked around, wondering, "Wh-what happened?"

"We're leaving," Minami said. Ichijou could only wonder how long the two were here if Mikage could fall asleep. The Farmer grumbled as he put his sunglasses over his green eyes, quickly heading out, as if to distance himself from the large girl, whom followed after him. Ichijou had no idea what was happening.

After a moment, he made to follow, heading back up the path to outside again. Heading down the diamond path back to the entrance, he noticed that it was set alongside a stream, the beginning of which seemed to be out of sight in the bamboo forest, he realized as it bent out of sight. Finally reaching the starting point, he took the path back down to the Second Level. As he passed the red signpost, he realized that perhaps the stream and Hot Spring fed into the lake. He recalled that it wasn't particularly cold when they'd swam there the other day, which lent evidence to the idea...not that it really mattered. Maybe. Hand moving to his lower back, where he'd poked himself with his knife yesterday, he had to remember that any detail could be important.

Going down the path to the Second Level, he reached the First Level after what felt like a hike. It was taking longer and longer to traverse this place. He waited quietly in the Resort Restaurant until dinner, as everyone slowly began to gather, their hunger calling them. As Ishihara brought out the night's meal, Ichijou couldn't help but notice Kirigiri hadn't shown up. Everyone else had, so he got up, saying, "Be back in a minute."

As he left, Minami got up to follow him. He didn't deny her, and the pair crossed the Level to the Lodges, finding Kobayashi's. Ichijou could only guess that she was here, but figured she might also be in the Library as he approached. He rang the doorbell, and after a few moments, Kirigiri opened it. Looking at the pair, she blinked, before saying, "Oh, right, dinner."

Minami grumbled, "Is this book that engaging?"

Kirigiri nodded, explaining, "I'll bring it over. I skimmed it, but there's some information omitted: blacked out lines, pictures, and pages...but it's still quite detailed otherwise." Turning away, she retreated inside, before coming back out with the green book in hand. The three then headed to the Restaurant quickly, plating up their food as a few curious eyes looked over the cover of the book.

Ishihara began, "Okay, now that we've given the Third Level a look, anyone have anything to say?"

Ichijou smiled, "The Hot Spring! We need to use it at some point." Quite a few of the others seemed to agree.

Furugori added, "The Fort seemed kinda interesting. Shame it's closed. The Shrine was neat, at least."

Kirigiri interrupted, "You didn't read the prayers on the ema board, did you?" The Computer Engineer shook his head, but Kirigiri said nothing more.

Saruta noted, "There was also another Ranger Station, though I can't imagine what the tables might be used for, unless we want to eat in a different environment."

Ishihara mumbled, "Oh, there's a thought."

Looking around, Kirigiri said, "Well, if that's everything."

Ichijou mumbled, "Well..."

Interrupting, Uzatei pointed out, "Was there any way to get to a higher level? I'm afraid we didn't see."

Thinking about it, Kirigiri said, "There must be. Yokozuna mentioned that she's snowboarded here, and we haven't seen any worthy slopes here yet, have we?"

Uzatei shrugged, "I suppose we could have missed something..."

Trying to go back to his story, Ichijou began, "Anyway! There was something." Looking at Ishihara and Ganaha, he quickly told everyone about the incident with the cloaked and masked Priest of Despair. The reaction of the others was mixed between intrigued and uncaring, but naturally, the one with the most questions was Kirigiri Kasumi. She asked, "How tall was he? Was there anyone unaccounted for at the time?"

Ishihara answered the first one, explaining, "He was standing above us, so it was kinda hard to tell, sorry."

Brow furrowed, Furugori asked, "Wait, how did you know it was a guy if you couldn't tell by voice?"

Ganaha explained with a bit of uncertainty, "Because he called himself a 'Priest', and not a 'Priestess'...pretty sure."

Nagasaki muttered, helping to answer the second question, "I...wasn't with anyone."

Saruta nodded, "I encountered Ichijou-san and Ishihara-san before they say the incident occurred, but not many after.

Furugori scratched his head, saying, "I guess I was alone too."

Kirigiri thought for a moment, before sighing, "Well, we don't know much. All we can do is speculate. It's not impossible that it was one of you three." Giving a glance at Nagasaki, she mumbled, "One of you two..." Ichijou saw where she was coming from: Nagasaki would have to be an amazing actor to pull off both her usual self and the Priest of Despair. Of course, even with that in mind, it didn't seem likely to be Furugori or Saruta either. The latter would have had to follow them without their noticing, for starters.

Kirigiri continued, "Of course, I think it's more likely to be a trick of Monokuma's, or the Sixteenth Student. However, another hypothesis just popped into my head." Looking around, she noted, "The Priest of Despair wore a mask, Gold Dragon wore a mask...we may be dealing with a strangely two faced Sixteenth Student." Getting a few looks, she elaborated, "A boy whose Talent lies in Acting or Disguise, perhaps?"

Uzatei noted, "There's a thought. Wouldn't that explain your Laughing Student incident last week as well? We discounted that person being Gold Dragon, but with this bit in mind..."

Kirigiri nodded, "We'll have to wait for more sightings and evidence to be sure. If we could mark either of them somehow...but I digress." Grabbing the book, she held it up, showing off the cover, beginning, "Shall we discuss this?"

Ganaha asked, "Well, what is it?"

Ishihara answered, "'A History of the Games of Mutual Killing: Volume Two: The Field Trip of Mutual Killing'."

Saruta began to fiddle with his hair curl, musing, "Oh? Do go on."

Uzatei asked, "How far did you get?"

Kirigiri began, "I skimmed it briefly, but it is partially redacted: there are some pictures, lines of text, or even entire pages blacked out. To start from the beginning, it covers a group of Students, much like us, who remember little about their brief time at Hope's Peak Academy, before being dropped into a remote location and told...well, first there was the rabbit, but it wasn't long before Monokuma showed up and told them to kill each other. It's another Game of Mutual Killing, just with a different batch of Victims and a different location. The ending seems to get a bit stranger from what I glanced at though, I'll keep you updated."

Minami said firmly, "I would like to go through it with you."

Kirigiri gave a perplexed look, with perhaps a hint of defiance, but conceded, "Very well. We can look over it right here after the meal."

Getting frustrated at the subject change, Ganaha grumbled loudly, "But the...what about the rabbit? Why is there a rabbit!? What is the purpose of the rabbit!?"

"Upupupu, all this talk just of the Field Trip just brings the memories flooding back! Good times, gooood times," said Monokuma as he entered the scene. Looking at the book, ignoring the glares, he laughed, "Well done on finding that! You've achieved 1 of 3 Collectibles in Arashimine Resort. Your Main Game Progress is 53%. Your Side Quest Progress is 34%. Your Free Time Progress is 34%. You have found one hidden area. Would you like to save the game?"

"What?" Ichijou asked, not having any clue what the bear was talking about.

Monokuma answered, "Trick question! Real life doesn't have save points."

Uzatei grumbled, "Do you have anything sensible to say or are you just going to be annoying?"

"Both!" Monokuma replied. Looking around, he asked, "Oh, now where was I...oh right, Monomi! My little sister wasn't without purpose! She was there for me to abuse, physically and mentally, in the comedy of life! She couldn't make it through; she has a tragic case of Punished. It's been going around lately." Looking at Kirigiri, he laughed, "Ahaha. Whoops! Spoilers."

Kirigiri's eyes spun for a moment, before stammering, "Wait, she was...a Culprit?" She looked at the book again, before shooting Monokuma a nasty look, likely assuming the bear was toying with her.

Monokuma shrugged, "What? It's true! Oh well, you guys enjoy my memories. Be sure to find the others: they've all got some juicy stuff! Friendships! Murder! Betrayal! Despair! Suffering!" Sagely, he added, "Learn from those before you and be wizened, so as to not repeat their mistakes...especially you future Culprits!" Scampering off, he left the Students alone.

Ichijou frowned, "Friendship was the only positive one."

Ishihara tried to reassure him, saying, "Er, I'm sure there's some nice bits in there...in between the Trials."

Kirigiri suggested, "I'll look over things with Minami-san and we'll give you the details tomorrow, okay?"

The response positive, the night finally began to wind down. After cleaning up a little, both his dishes and his person, Ichijou found himself drifting to sleep after what felt like a long day, his last thoughts for the evening on the idea of other Games of Mutual Killing. Had there been survivors? Where were they? And who was behind all of it? He could only hope things could go well...

So much mystery happening! Could we even hope to solve it all?

Anyway, for our Free Times, it looks like we'll be seeing Mikage for certain. It was a tie for the others, but I'll be going with Nagasaki. Anyway, we'll see the first one next time, thanks for reading!