AN: So it should be fairly clear now that I'm not following any real schedule, lol. I wish I can update more consistently, but alas, I just can't promise the rapid updates I used to be able to make. With that being said, here's the last investigation section for this chapter.
For future updates, check out my profile page, as there's some pseudo-timer thing which will estimate when the next update will come out. This is so you won't be left in the dark all the time between my weird, sporadic update habits.
PSISomething: Two chapters in a row? What do you mean, lol? Glad to be back anywho, hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
Demigod39cluesfan: Thanks! Hope you like this one as well!
Kizi1999: I'm back! No need to miss me anymore! I wonder how Yoshinori died?
Soundtrack: Tropical Despair
…What is this?
"T-that's Yoshinori..!" Unmei cried. "She's completely destroyed..!"
In front of us lay the dismantled body of Yoshinori Ai. The room was filled with a pungent oil smell – this smell of blood was something we weren't used to. To the west of Yoshinori's body, the glass wall was completely shattered, revealing a concrete layer behind it. Tons and tons of glass shards of different sizes were spread across the floor. Yoshinori's head was completely emotionless, the face as cold-blooded as when she was first summoned against us by Meowykins. Her head lay on top of a pile of her body parts, completely separated. Her mechanics stacked on top of each other – whoever killed her assembled her as a junk pile. And it sickened me.
"Y-Yoshinori..!" Unmei cried once more. "W-we can fix her, right? She's just a robot..! We'll find some way to fix her!"
"Upupu! You wanna bring back the robot sent from hell to kill you guys, is that right?" Monokuma asked, appearing from behind us.
I couldn't even process what the bear was saying. My fists were clenched, with my nails digging harshly into my skin. It was already heartbreaking that Mirai had to die. But how could there be another double murder..? Why did there have to be two victims again?
"Shit…" I murmured to myself. "This is turning out to be like Kirei and Furo's trial…"
"Just cause there were two victims doesn't make these cases similar," Monokuma sighed, permeating me with his disappointment. "For all we know, this could've been one romantic lovers' suicide."
"S-shut up," I said. "This wasn't a suicide…"
"Is that right?" Monokuma asked. "Well, I'm not the one investigating here. But then again, I already know everything that happened."
Monokuma trotted over to me slowly, and stared me in the eye.
"Imagine the despair you'll feel when you find out who did it."
I looked at him straight back, and clenched my teeth.
"I'll find out who did it, then I'm coming for you."
"Upupu…Keiko, you seem really angry at me for some reason. I'm not the one who killed your little boyfriend. I'm not the one who decided to take a second victim here. This was all a heartless, shameful act by one of you students left."
"T-there's only four of us left..!" Unmei shouted. "It couldn't have been one of us!"
"That's what you want to think with each trial," Monokuma sighed. "You're always so optimistic, that the ones around you couldn't possibly be so evil. But that's not how you meatbags work, is it? You guys are the most disgusting creatures that ever walked the face of not just our planet – the stars and beyond would benefit more if none of us existed."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I growled. "When did you get so…pissy?"
"Who knows," Monokuma sighed. "I'm just rearing up for the final showdown, you know. But that's for later. This is far from the end. I'm looking forward to an endless cycle of sadness and misery from this group."
Fury grew inside me, bubbling slowly out of my system.
"This is…this is going to be our last trial..!" I cried out. "It has to be..!"
"…If only you knew the half of it," Monokuma giggled. "You guys aren't ready."
With that, Monokuma disappeared into thin air again.
*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*
Attention! A body has been found! Well…technically, this robot here isn't a true student anymore. But don't you guys love just shooting up the death count..? Double trouble! Double trouble! You bastards better hurry before time runs out! This one is gonna be a doozy!
*Click!*
…Not a true student? No. That's not true. Yoshinori might not be human, but she was still one of us. She's not the one who tried and kill us. That was all Meowykins.
"…Keiko, we need to hurry," Unmei said. "I don't know how much time we have left..!"
"He'll give us enough time," I said, reassuring Unmei. "He always does."
…I already swore that whoever killed Mirai would pay. But it's unforgivable that the same person would kill another one of our dear friends.
It's time to end this!
INVESTIGATION CONT!
Soundtrack: Ekoroshia
UNMEI: I still can't believe Yoshinori died…How could there be another double murder?
KEIKO: …Don't ask me. I'm just as angry as you are.
UNMEI: No…you're probably angrier, aren't you?
[…]
UNMEI: Well, where's the new Monokuma File?
KEIKO: …Hey, that's right. He's supposed to give us a new one.
UNMEI: Why isn't he giving it to us..? Is it because he doesn't consider Yoshinori a student?
KEIKO: But he made the corpse discovery announcement.
UNMEI: Well…we don't really need it, do we? We can basically tell what happened just by looking at her. Someone destroyed her and all of her processes died.
KEIKO: …You're forgetting the much convenient fact that she was put into a murderous, psychotic state by a stuffed toy, with deadly weapons all over her.
UNMEI: Er, well, someone might have found a way to disable her?
KEIKO: How though..? There's no one here fast enough to disable Yoshinori like that.
UNMEI: Well, what about Mirai?
KEIKO: …Huh?!
UNMEI: Remember? That one time at the cafeteria, Micky went all psycho and attacked us with a knife.
Flashback!
As he laughed, the doors to the cafeteria slammed open. Micky was carrying a knife, and he was dressed in all black. I stared at Unmei and Shougo, and noticed two things. One, they stared immediately at Micky with a hostile intent in their eyes, and two, they were also wearing all black, something I didn't notice before. Shougo began to spaz out, and he got up, carrying a kitchen knife, and lunged towards Mirai. [Cp. 2 Sec. 4]
UNMEI: Mirai was really superhuman that time when he was defending us, you know? He managed to subdue Micky and then tie him up.
KEIKO: That was only one time though..! And it was just against Micky. It wasn't against a dangerous robot like Yoshinori.
UNMEI: Well, I mean, if you think of it my way, maybe the two of them just ended up killing each other?
KEIKO: No, then we wouldn't even be having a class trial. It would have just been Mirai dying from an accident. That doesn't classify as murder.
UNMEI: …Well, I guess. But…
[I don't think it could have been Mirai. But how else would someone be able to approach Yoshinori like that? Defeating her, no less?]
==Culprit vs. Yoshinori has been added as ammunition. (18)
*Crash!*
[Is that the door..?]
NOAH: T-thank goodness you two are okay…
KEIKO: Noah, Shougo…
SHOUGO: I-is that Yoshinori?!
UNMEI: …Yeah.
NOAH: …Another one was killed?
SHOUGO: I can't believe it…
NOAH: …Well, let's…not just stand around…
UNMEI: We'll avenge Yoshinori. We have to!
[Yeah…that's what she'd want. Isn't it?]
NOAH: Now, let's take a look at her "body."
[…]
NOAH: It's completely disfigured. She was just taken apart.
SHOUGO: Well, no shit? The question is how.
NOAH: …We'll have to look around the room for a potential weapon.
KEIKO: What kind of weapon can take down something like her, though?
NOAH: I don't know. But on the bright side, it should stand out, shouldn't it?
KEIKO: Well, yeah, but…
[…So we're looking for a big weapon then?]
UNMEI: Well, how about that? The gatling gun in the corner of the room.
NOAH: That gun likely belonged to Yoshinori as one of her, er, features. One of her pre-equipped weapons?
KEIKO: It's possible she used it against herself, right?
NOAH: No. Not at all.
KEIKO: Why not..?
NOAH: There aren't any bullet marks on her body. It's just…dismantled. It's also quite burnt up. Like she…blew up?
UNMEI: Blew up? You mean she exploded?!
NOAH: Look at the state of her body…it's singed everywhere.
KEIKO: Then, what was this gatling gun for?
SHOUGO: Is it still operational? Maybe that was the weapon used to kill Mirai?
UNMEI: But there were only three bullet holes in his body…how could the killer be so inaccurate with a gatling gun like that?
NOAH: These guns don't just dispense one bullet at a time. There could be hundreds of bullets in the chamber. Firing one at a time is just unrealistic, especially in this case.
KEIKO: So what actually happened..?
NOAH: …
NOAH: I'm going to go try and get back to the surface. I need to take another look at Mirai's body again.
[Noah..?]
NOAH: I'll see you guys. Meanwhile, I'll try and map out the maze as well…
[Where's he going..? Why does he need to find Mirai's body again?]
SHOUGO: Well…the lawyer is here to replace the policeman, I guess.
UNMEI: So what do you think happened?
SHOUGO: Heh. I have no idea.
UNMEI: That's not helpful at all..!
SHOUGO: Well, maybe this will help. This room is different than the others, you know.
KEIKO: Different..?
SHOUGO: The walls everywhere else had a layer of concrete underneath the glass floors and outside of the glass walls. But you see the wall directly in front of us..?
[…Oh! There's no layer of concrete behind the wall.]
UNMEI: Okay, what's your point?
SHOUGO: Maybe the wall was shot..?
UNMEI: If the wall was shot, we'd all have drowned to death sooner or later, thanks for the help.
KEIKO: But…there are lots of glass fragments to the side of Yoshinori's body.
[What do these glass shards mean..?]
== Glass Shards have been added as ammunition. (19)
== Concrete Walls have been added as ammunition. (20)
== Yoshinori's Gatling Gun has been added as ammunition. (21)
KEIKO: …Hey, look. Underneath Yoshinori's body.
SHOUGO: That's rope, isn't it..?
UNMEI: It's not just one length of rope though, there's two…
[Two lengths of rope..?]
== Rope has been added as ammunition. (22)
UNMEI: …Hey, Keiko, look above you.
KEIKO: Huh..?
UNMEI: The concrete ceiling is completely cracked.
KEIKO: Cracked?
UNMEI: Yeah…did Monokuma mess up the architecture or something?
Soundtrack: Mr. Monokuma's Lesson
MONOKUMA: Never! My architecture is always on point! No mistakes!
KEIKO: …Why is the concrete ceiling cracked?
MONOKUMA: You doubt me? You doubt my architectural skills? Is it because I'm a robot?! Are you arkoudaphobic?!
KEIKO: I just…wanted to know.
MONOKUMA: Uguu…I'm so saaaad! Keiko d-doesn't believe in my strengths as architect..! B-but that's okay. Remember what your mother told you, Monokuma. Follow your dreams..! Don't listen to others!
KEIKO: So, Unmei, I'm guessing that the crack in the ceiling is important, since this thing won't tell us.
MONOKUMA: Hey! You genuinely stung me! I didn't even notice that big crack up there! How about instead of asking me, YOU repent to your crimes!
KEIKO: Are you saying that one of us managed to make that big ass crack? It's on the verge of breaking, and it's covered behind a huge ass glass ceiling. There's no way we could have reached it.
MONOKUMA: Well now I'm mad! I'm very, very mad that one of you took the opportunity to damage this facility! I'm writing you up! I'm writing you all up!
*Vanish!*
Soundtrack: Ekoroshia
KEIKO: …
UNMEI: So that ceiling…is important, right?
KEIKO: I guess so.
== Cracked Ceiling has been added as ammunition. (23)
SHOUGO: Ugh!
KEIKO: What..?
SHOUGO: Why is Yoshinori's body so goddamn heavy?!
KEIKO: Are you trying to look for evidence in the body..?
SHOUGO: Yeah. So far, I'm coming up short though.
KEIKO: Alright…
SHOUGO: I swear though. These things can hold a fucking bear down. Oh..! But you and Unmei were able to lift them up pretty easily to find the rope…
SHOUGO: …
SHOUGO: Wait, what does that say about me..?
[…its okay, Shougo. I embrace your masculinity.]
KEIKO: Are we just supposed to wait for Noah now, or can we investigate ourselves?
UNMEI: Well, I'm sure we can stay nearby. There are a couple of other rooms on this floor as well.
KEIKO: I guess.
UNMEI: The catacombs here as so big though…how difficult is this case going to be?
KEIKO: …I don't know. But we'll figure it out, Unmei. Don't worry.
SHOUGO: But so far, we don't know anything about this case besides that Mirai was shot three times. Doesn't help that the Monokuma File doesn't designate how he died.
UNMEI: It's weird though. It's pretty clear that he received the gunshot wounds, so it shouldn't be a problem if Monokuma included that as the cause of death.
SHOUGO: Which means…the gun shots might not actually be what killed him?
UNMEI: Maybe…it's not even mentioned in the Monokuma File, you know? There has to be a reason that all of the information was omitted.
KEIKO: Hmm…
[That could be why Noah wanted to go back and find Mirai's body…come to think of it, we only really paid attention to the wounds Mirai had. But we didn't check anything else…]
UNMEI: W-well, let's go to the next room. Maybe we can find something there.
KEIKO: Right. Let's do that.
Location: Hallways | Time: ? | 12 DAYS LEFT
Music Halts
[…W-what the hell? What is all this?]
Soundtrack: Ikoroshia [8bit]
UNMEI: …This isn't just me, right?
KEIKO: N-no. It's not..! The walls are covered in green code!
[T-this all seems very computer-y…]
KEIKO: Look at this numbers..! 010100111011… This is all computer code, right? Why is there computer text on the walls?
NOAH: …It's a long story.
KEIKO: Noah..!
NOAH: Monokuma's playing with us, you guys.
UNMEI: Playing with us..? You mean these numbers on the walls are from him?
NOAH: I-it's technically from him, but…I think you guys should come with me.
KEIKO: What? Why? Where?
NOAH: I need to take you guys back to the lobby. Where the computer is.
KEIKO: T-the computer? Why?
NOAH: …You won't believe me if I tell you now.
[Noah..? Did you find something?]
Location: Final Dome Entrance Lobby | Time: ? | 12 DAYS LEFT
NOAH: Take a look at the computer screen.
KEIKO: The computer screen?
[…This is a plan for something called the Future Foundation Rehabilitation Project. We've read this before.]
KEIKO: Didn't we read this before?
Flashback!
It is of great importance that this document is not leaked to the general public. Soon, we shall be launching a plan to rehabilitate members of despair and wipe out another possible threat of Super Highschool Level Despair. We have created a special program that will allow us to emulate a different version of what SHSL Despair did to the six students long ago. We shall gather fifteen of the most dangerous SHSL Despair students currently alive, as well as add in a special program to monitor these systems.
If you wish to participate in the assistance of this event, please reply back soon. We would like to get started as soon as possible. [Cp. 5, Sec. 1]
NOAH: Yes, that's it said originally. But there's something new added at the bottom.
KEIKO: Huh..?
[…Hey, Noah's right. T-there's more to this!]
Soundtrack: DISTRUST
Effective a week from this email, we will begin our next project in order to instill hope back into the world. The "Future Foundation Rehabilitation Project" will be an extension of the "Neo World Program" made effective a year ago.
Thank you all for your fast, swift replies. Since our last update, we've been able to obtain over 100 students who affiliated themselves with Super Highschool Level Despair. In the meantime, we were successful in creating numerous other machines capable of emulating the Neo World Program. We will dub this, "Neo World Program V2," or in short, NWP2.
NWP2 is much more advanced, and handles the conditions of the test subjects with much more care. There is a much less emphasis on activity from the brain where it matters, and our new version…asudh* Y(hoahsd9d8hdH (*hfod... … …
[It cuts off there and moves onto something else…]
…and for the alpha phase of this new project, we have randomly sampled 14 participants from our population. Our 15th position will be given to someone of great importance, and we will monitor her condition carefully in order to ensure that this program will work, and that even someone like her can set a great example for many Super Highschool Level Despair followers.
[Someone…like her? So it's a girl…? Wait a minute…]
…Our test subjects for our first run will include Touka Enoshima, one of the daughters of Kiyomi Enoshima.
[Kiyomi Enoshima? That's the mother of the recent generation of the Enoshima family, right?]
After we maintain that our alpha run was successful, we will branch out and begin using the rest of our subjects and instill hope again throughout the world.
The leaders of the Future Foundation would like to thank you all again for your dedication and patience. Together, we will rehabilitate the world! We will bring hope back!
[…W-what does this mean..? Why is this showing up now..?]
KEIKO: Noah, you can't possibly be suggesting that…
NOAH: …that we're a part of this program..? No, I didn't believe it myself. But when I started connecting the dots, it started to dawn on me.
UNMEI: Y-you mean, we're all part of a computer program..? You can't be serious..!
SHOUGO: What dots are you even talking about?! There can't possibly be enough evidence to assume that we're actually…test subjects!
NOAH: This wasn't in the computer before! Monokuma opened up the rest of this file for us because it must relate to this trial somehow..!
UNMEI: But how do you know that we were in this trial as an experiment? That we're in a computer right now?!
NOAH: L-look at the numbers on the wall, Unmei..! And more importantly, take a good look at the ocean we're surrounded by!
[The ocean..? T-there's numbers everywhere..!]
NOAH: This isn't some light trick that Monokuma is playing on us!
KEIKO: Wait a minute..! I can't accept that..! All of us who died then…that means that our friends only died in the computer program! Are you telling me they're still alive somehow?!
*Boing!*
MONOKUMA: Upupu! Do you think that's really what you should be focusing on right now?
KEIKO: What do you mean?!
MONOKUMA: I mean, for God's sake, I was basically forced to give you these hints as a result of what the culprit did!
UNMEI: W-why? What does the fact that we're in a program have to do with this case?
MONOKUMA: That's for you to find out. It turns out, it's very important regarding the culprit, you know?
UNMEI: U-ugh..!
MONOKUMA: Well, see you all later!
*Vanish!*
[As Monokuma vanished, so did the numbers, all disappearing and making it back into the original form.]
KEIKO: N-no way. We can't just be in a program…What does this all mean..?
NOAH: Look. We don't know how we're being influenced by this program we're in, but right now, we need to focus on surviving so we can figure it all out later, alright?
UNMEI: H-how are you so collected?
NOAH: I'm not…But you guys need to calm down! Alright?! This isn't the weirdest thing we've been put up to!
UNMEI: Y-yeah, but..!
NOAH: Let's just…focus on the case, yeah?
Music Halts
SHOUGO: …He's right.
Soundtrack: Ekoroshia
NOAH: …Right then.
== Future Foundation Rehabilitation Project has been added as ammunition. (24)
NOAH: I also took another look at Mirai's body. Underneath all of his clothers were a significant amount of cuts.
KEIKO: C-cuts?!
NOAH: There were so many cuts…it's a miracle we didn't see through it.
KEIKO: W-wait a minute! That doesn't make sense! If there were that many cuts, we would have noticed somehow through his clothes!
NOAH: D-don't look at me! I was as confused as you!
NOAH: Jeez…what's going on?!
== Cuts on Mirai's Body has been added as ammunition. (25)
KEIKO: Cuts on Mirai's body..? Does that mean maybe the bullets weren't really how he died?
NOAH: I don't know. I just don't know.
NOAH: …While I'm at it, I finished mapping the catacombs as well. It's not as complex as we thought, but it follows the same exact pattern as the fifth floor.
imgur|com/wzIGCT8
KEIKO: But the final dome has a second floor.
NOAH: The second floor simply hangs over the catacombs.
NOAH: The museum is where the staircase is. The underwater military base is stationed over the weapons locker. The strip club and boxing ring are split in half over the ruins. The ballroom is just an extra room off to the side that doesn't correlate to the catacombs.
== Final Dome Layout has been updated.
NOAH: Now, there are still two rooms we haven't explored in depth through the catacombs.
KEIKO: The weapons locker, right?
NOAH: Correct.
UNMEI: So that's where we're heading to next?
SHOUGO: Let's go…the faster we get this done, the better.
Location: Weapons Locker | Time: ? | 12 DAYS LEFT
KEIKO: Woah. There…are weapons here.
SHOUGO: A weapons locker should have some weapons.
NOAH: …Notice however, a lot of these weapons are missing.
KEIKO: You think the culprit used these weapons..?
NOAH: Perhaps. It's hard to guess whether these weapons were used on Mirai or Yoshinori though.
UNMEI: Mirai received lots of cuts, right? So it's hard to tell which weapons were used how.
NOAH: Yes, exactly.
== Missing Weapons have been added as ammunition. (26)
SHOUGO: Hey, there's a note in one of the lockers.
KEIKO: What does it say..?
SHOUGO: Umm…
KILLCODE: 11037. Use this code to disable model NO301. The key panel is located right on the back of her neck.
KEIKO: Are these…instructions on how to turn off Yoshinori?
UNMEI: How would anyone be able to reach the back of her neck like that?
SHOUGO: Why is this down here, anyways?
KEIKO: Meowykins probably put this note down there when he created these catacombs.
SHOUGO: Why would he though? He wouldn't want us to find Yoshinori and disable her, right?
NOAH: Perhaps it was a ploy. To get us to approach Yoshinori and have her kill us.
KEIKO: …
[I wonder…]
== Killcode Instructions have been added as ammunition. (27)
KEIKO: …Alright, I guess we're done here. Let's head over to the ruins, now.
Location: Ruins | Time: ? | 12 DAYS LEFT
UNMEI: J-jeez! This area is completely wasted!
KEIKO: There are rocks, and everything.
SHOUGO: Are those bullet holes all across the walls?
NOAH: It looks as if…there was a major struggle here, no?
== Condition of Ruins has been added as ammunition. (28)
KEIKO: Jeez…Did Mirai and Yoshinori maybe face-off here?
NOAH: Who knows? We'll have to discuss that during the trial.
UNMEI: …Hey, there are a couple of doors to the side of that big slab in the middle.
KEIKO: Oh, that's right.
[What are those doors for..?]
== Doors have been added as ammunition. (29)
KEIKO: And look at the giant slab in the middle.
UNMEI: There's writing on it.
This giant rock will detonate, revealing an entrance to a very important aspect of this world. This has been added in by someone from the Future Foundation. When the time comes, you'll remember what to do.
293074009720397502073094720937057984023450264578923649578263489756298374659287436578923649573649587263489+973872469816986986184569187236598723465037589233872643786477
UNMEI: W-what is this..? Is this a math problem?
SHOUGO: Er, can you add those mentally right now?
UNMEI: W-well, I'm a SHSL Problem Solver. I can try to solve it mentally.
KEIKO: What's behind this rock..?
[Unmei solved the problem and said the answer out loud, but the rock would not detonate.]
UNMEI: W-what gives?
NOAH: Then that's not a math problem. There's something greater behind this wall.
KEIKO: Alright, then our next step is to –
Music Halts
*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*
"The sound of betrayal and sadness permeates throughout our students here today. The depression lets out in waves, flowing just like the mighty beats of the ocean. …Well, wasn't that just beautiful? I thought it'd be great if my announcement towards you packed a punch, you know? Now let's head to the Entrance Lobby, where it'll be time to commence this action-packed class trial!"
Soundtrack: DISTRUST
"Wait a minute, we aren't finished yet..!" I said out loud. "We need to get behind this rock..!"
Why won't Monokuma let us go behind this rock..? We need to know what's behind it!
"W-we need more time," Noah said, panicking. It was unlike him to be so flustered, but the case was so convoluted, even someone like him got confused.
We can't..! We're not ready yet!
Location: Final Entrance Lobby | Time: ? | 12 DAYS LEFT
"Upupu! Welcome one, welcome all! How does it feel to have only four of you left? Does it ravage you with excitement, or does it permeate through your body with fear? Are your palms sweating? Do you have anxiety?"
I wanted to punch Monokuma as hard as I could, but I knew that would land me in trouble.
"Now, it's time we board the submarine! Let's all ride to the next trial location!"
Monokuma forced the four of us to board the submarine. We all sat together, looking at each other with worry plastered all over our faces. We were all in agreement – we weren't ready for this trial. We didn't get enough information. What were we going to do..? How are we going to pinpoint the culprit?
"Oh, Keiko, you won't be sitting back there with your comrades this sub ride."
Music Halts
"Huh?"
"What do you mean?" Noah asked.
"She's sitting in the front with me," Monokuma said. "We need to discuss a few things."
"Wait, what?!" Shougo yelled.
"What do you want with Keiko?!" Unmei demanded.
"It's just regarding a piece of evidence Keiko found," Monokuma sighed. "Don't talk back to your teacher!"
My stomach began to close in on itself. Anxiety flooded through my body like it never had before. Is Monokuma going to reveal my secret to them..? There's no way…
As I walked up and sat next to Monokuma, he closed a door behind me, separating me from the others. Monokuma kept his eyes in front of him, and didn't face me at all.
"Upupu, isn't it exciting? Doesn't this just feel so penultimate?"
"…What do you want?"
"I'm going to give you a piece of evidence you missed. Two reasons, we need a cover-up for what we really talk about, and it would have taken you too long to figure out you actually needed it."
"What the hell is it?"
"An excerpt from Mirai's diary."
"…And it says?"
"Take a look for yourself."
…And based on what I remember, I know where to go. I'm going to find that place, and I'm going to end all of this.
== Excerpt from Mirai's Diary added as ammunition. (30)
"What's Mirai talking about?"
"Not my position to tell you."
"…You seem serious. What happened to your normal, sadistic, energetic self?"
"…You know, you're not ready."
Soundtrack: New World Order
"What do you mean I'm not ready? Ready for what?!"
"Upupu…so disappointing. Even at this stage, you just won't give in, will you? Get in the back of the submarine."
Monokuma forced me out of the doors, and sent me back to the others.
"K-Keiko! That was fast!" Unmei sighed in relief. "What did that thing want with you?"
Monokuma slammed the door hard behind me, and I walked over, placing my hands on the door. What the hell did he mean..? What aren't I ready for?
What's going on..?
Music Halts
I was left to think about what Monokuma said, until we pulled up onto another island – where our final class trial would be held. We all stood and marveled at the sight in front of us. A huge Monokuma building stood in the back – towering over us.
"Welcome to the Monokuma manufacturing company! This is where all of my models get built and assembled!"
Before I could hop out of the submarine, Noah and the others stopped me. Monokuma trotted out from the submarine, not realizing we weren't following right behind him.
Soundtrack: Welcome to Despair Academy
"W-what's going on, guys?" I asked.
"…Mirai and I talked at one point, down at the catacombs," Shougo replied. "And I remembered something he told me."
"What..?"
"He was talking to me about you."
"…Can this wait until after the trial? Is it really that important?"
"Hold on," Noah said. "Shougo told us this while you were in the front with Monokuma. You should hear this. Before we go out into this trial."
"…Well, what did he say?"
"…"
"Mirai, I don't know where Keiko is –"
"I need to talk with Master..! I need to tell her something!"
"But –"
"It's important..! Please, help me look for her!"
"…"
"…I want her to know. I want her to know that I don't care about my past anymore. What I know, or what I don't know doesn't matter..! But…I realized it doesn't matter because I don't think it's that important anyways."
"What are you talking about? That doesn't make any sense."
"…She's strong, you know. She's stronger than all of us!"
"Mirai, what does this have to do with anything..?"
"I'm going to find her… I'm going to find her and tell her everything."
"O-okay…"
"And I'm going to back her up through anything that follows."
"..."
"…Sorry. I know I'm not really making any sense right now…"
"It's okay."
"…But, if you do see her, pass on this message for me, alright?"
"What is it?"
"I'm…I'm going to be stronger, now. I wasn't really all that strong before, because I was so caught up in what I couldn't remember. But I know now what I have to do."
"…What do you want me to tell Keiko?"
"…That I'll trust her, no matter what happens."
…
That…that doesn't make any sense.
"Keiko, do you know what he's talking about?" Shougo asked. "It sounds like...you and Mirai both know something, and we don't know what's happening."
I shook my head.
"I-I don't...it makes as little sense to you as it does to me."
"But-"
"I said I don't know!"
I began to violently shake my head and cover my head with my arms. I was trying to shake away the sadness. The misery I was feeling in that moment.
…
I fought through my tears and faced away.
"Whatever," I said. "Let's just get through this trial…"
Noah placed his hand on my shoulder, but I brushed it away and shuffled towards Monokuma.
There was no way he could trust me. I told him what I did to Kirei and Furo, and…how could he possibly trust me after that?
We followed Monokuma out to the seats, and I stood up straight, preparing myself. I had to do this…Mirai said he trusted me. I have to figure out what really happened.
Soundtrack: Tropical Despair
I just realized...everyone around me is dying…
We weren't able to accomplish anything. We didn't figure out much about ourselves, and why we were here. And in retrospect, there was no hope for escape in the first place.
Mirai died…and so did Yoshinori. Even if it's futile, there's no way I can let this go!
I have to solve this! To avenge the both of them!
This is it…the class trial to live or the class trial to die!