We approach the dorms.
Down the hall, we see two people. Naomi is standing guard outside Mizuki's room—four doors to the left. At the end of the hall, I see Yuna, standing with her hands on her hips, wearing a whistle around her neck. She looks like she'd just love an excuse to blow into it.
We walk up to Naomi, and greet her. She greets us back, wearing the fakest smile I've ever seen. Her eyes are crusty; her gaze is distant. She looks utterly exhausted.
"You're guarding the Captain's room?" I ask.
"I didn't have much choice," Naomi replies. "Seeing as… last time…"
Last time, Akiko guarded this room. But… she can't, now…
"Naomi," I say softly, grasping her hand with both of mine. "I'm so sorry. I know that… you and Akiko…"
"Don't, Koi," Naomi mutters. "You need all the energy you have to investigate. Please… don't waste any worrying about me." Her smile becomes slighter, and a tad more authentic. "I'll… I'll manage. I can't say that I'm… as sharp as I'd like to be. In truth, I'm glad that this role allows me to… forego any serious investigation. I'm not sure how much good I'd do, in this state." She pauses. "In any case… I'll manage. And… I have Yuna to keep me company."
"Naomi," I say, almost whispering. I squeeze her hand, feeling a tremendous pain in my heart. "I promise, I if I have any time later, I'll… come talk to you."
Naomi nods. Rin and I depart.
I feel a sudden pang of anger, which is aimed at nothing in particular. The killer. Monokuma. The world. The universe. Everything and everyone who allowed this to happen. It ignites me inside. It fuels me, and pushes me forward.
To reach Takeru's room, we have to turn left; then, in the shorter hallway, it'll be the third door on the right. But before we can turn, we have to pass Yuna, who's glaring at us with suspicion in her eyes.
"Stand down, Yuna!" I request. "As long as we have a partner, we can enter any of these rooms, right?"
"Except the Captain's," Yuna clarifies.
"Right. But we're just going in Takeru's room. I know he registered a weapon with the Captain, so—we're going to make sure it's still there."
"Oh," Yuna says, relaxing. "Well, you don't need to do that. All of the weapons have been accounted for."
"They have?" I say, taken aback.
"They have!" Yuna answers. "Shingo and Naomi checked everyone's registered weapons, and there were no problems with any of them." She holds up two fingers. "Including Takeru's two ninja stars."
"Hey, wait a moment," I say. "The rule is that we're allowed to own one weapon. How come Takeru was allowed to keep two ninja stars?"
"Um," says Rin, "so, like, I was actually around for that argument. Takeru kept saying that, like. His two ninja stars are actually one weapon? Because, like. He holds one of them in each hand. He was, like, really insistent; and I think he, like, wore them down. So they let him keep both of them. Which is, like. Kind of bullshit? But also, like. Good for him, y'know?"
"It's total bull turds!" Yuna shouts. "He shouldn't even have one weapon! It's way too dangerous!"
"Well," I mutter, "I… guess I'll check, just to see for myself."
Yuna nods. "Naomi and Shingo laid out all the weapons on their owners' desks, so they'll be easy to find."
Rin and I turn left, walk down the shorter hallway—and enter Takeru's room.
His walls are covered in anime and manga posters, classic Japanese artwork, and quotes from Japanese historical figures. I'd love to look around, but we have a job to do. We make a beeline toward the desk, and…
Yeah, there are two ninja stars on the desk. Just sitting there. No bloodstains. Very, very carefully, I pick them up, and turn them over. Still no blood. They're totally clean.
TRUTH BULLET: CLEAN NINJA STARS
"But… this doesn't make sense," I whisper. "If these are here, then… what did we see in Hiroto's office? They're completely identical. There's no way that they're unrelated."
We leave the room in a bit of a daze.
Rin suggests: "Maybe he was, like… hiding two more?"
We think about this as we circle back to the main hall, leaving the dorms behind.
"So," I say, "Takeru's first gift was one ninja star, which got taken away. His second gift was three ninja stars, which he kept two of. That's four—but two got thrown away. So… maybe there were always six, and we didn't know? The two that got thrown away—I don't see how they could fit into this. They're just gone. Right? There's no way they weren't thrown out—Mizuki and Shingo wouldn't make that big an oversight. So… what that means is…"
More thinking.
"…Crud," I sigh, rubbing my face. "I don't even know where to start anymore."
"My, my," says Emi, "how unfortunate."
Emi is right behind us. I almost jump out of my skin.
HOW DOES SHE KEEP DOING THAT!?
"However," Emi says, smiling, "I am certain that a girl as clever as yourself can find a way to advance." She touches her cheek. "Though, perhaps you ought to consider the problem from a different angle."
"A different angle?" I repeat, knowing that I'm about to get roped into something. "What do you mean?"
"The area we live in is small and cramped. It provides little opportunity for hiding secrets. Yet perhaps we might find something if we take a road less traveled?"
"Um…" I mutter, trying to figure out what the heck she's talking about. "Do you mean… a room that isn't visited very often? Like the Entrance Hall, or something?"
Emi's still smiling, but I can tell my answer wasn't correct.
"I have been pondering," says Emi, "the opportunities now available to us, which are not available to us during our daily lives. The rules are different during an investigation, after all."
The rules are… different…
"Oh, right," I say. "During our last investigation, Monokuma added a new rule."
15. During an investigation, doors will become unlocked at the headmaster's discretion.
Emi's smile brightens. "I wonder how we might use this rule to our advantage?"
I think. "Well… the doors that are usually locked… there's our dorm rooms, obviously. And the locker rooms upstairs. And at night, the Ultimate Offices are locked. For all those doors, though, the right e-Handbook can unlock them at any time…"
Emi waits.
"In the trash room, the dumpster is behind a locked gate—I don't know if that counts as a 'door,' though. In terms of gates… there are the ones blocking the third-floor staircase, and the staircase to the second-floor dorms… obviously, Monokuma won't let us go there yet. And he won't unlock the red door until it's time for a class trial…"
Emi waits.
"On other floors," I say, "there are more locked rooms—I mean, there were in the first Danganronpa. Which is what made that key so useful—the key Kyogo Kirigiri found, which could unlock any door in the school. If I had that key now… well, the second-floor dorms are off-limits, but… did Kyoko use that key anywhere else? She used it… to…"
I pause. My eyes widen. An epiphany hits me like a truck.
All at once, a whole bunch of questions slam into each other, and answer themselves.
"They garbage pit!" I yell out. "Makoto got stranded there, and Kyoko saved him—they went up a long ladder, and into the trash room… through the locked hatch!"
My mind is racing. I recall a conversation from a few days ago…
"It only lasted about a minute," says Shingo. "There was a loud rumbling sound from within the trash room. Then Monokuma allowed us to enter—and the dumpster was empty."
"It's too bad you weren't allowed to meet the garbage men," says Jeff. "I bet they'd be friendly!"
"Um…" says Tsubasa. "I… don't think there were actually any garbage men in there."
"There's no way," I add. "This school is supposed to be completely closed off. If they were coming and going just to collect garbage—that'd be too obvious an escape route."
"But, uh…" Kenji mutters. "If that's the case, then… where did the garbage go?"
"And that…" I continue, "…might be where our garbage went on trash day? Including… maybe… the two ninja stars that got thrown out?"
"Okay," says Rin. "But, like. If it's locked, and shit? How would anyone get them?"
"I don't know—but it's worth checking out. You agree, right, Emi?"
"Your deductions are quite clever, Koi," Emi says. "Let us see where they lead."
Her smile radiates approval. Clearly, I've passed her little test.
Why do I feel weirdly proud of myself…?
The three of us head toward the trash room.
We reach it, open the door, and walk inside.
The first thing I notice: the gate is up. Usually, that gate is blocking half the room, including the dumpster (but not the hatch). It's been raised, though.
Two people are climbing out of the dumpster: Tsubasa and Jun.
"You're dumpster diving?" says Rin. "I used to be a pro at that shit."
"Rough childhood, huh?" Jun says, landing on the floor.
"It was a waste of time," Tsubasa complains, grimacing. "There's just some crap in there. No actual clues."
"Why is the gate up?" I ask. "Did Monokuma lift it for the investigation?"
"Nah," says Tsubasa, "it was down when we got here. I said we should go ask Naomi for the key, since it's in the Captain's room, but, uh… Jun said it'd be a waste of time. And then he just… picked it."
"He picked the lock?"
"It's a physical mechanism," Jun says, pointing to a control panel on the wall—complete with a keyhole. "Wasn't all that hard."
"How fortunate," Emi says, "that you happened to be carrying the tools for such a task."
Jun shrugs. "Best to always be prepared."
"Well," I say, "I can see why Mizuki and Shingo don't consider the dumpster to be secure… you know, if the gate is that easy to open."
"Indeed," says Emi. "I am glad that our leaders are so vigilant. Though, even to the least vigilant onlookers, there are certain criminals who cannot help but make their presence known. Like rabid dogs, they impulsively bite every hand put before them. And, like rabid dogs, they are always caught—and they are always dealt with appropriately."
"Nice talk," Jun says, heading toward the door.
"I wonder, Jun," Emi says. "How many other locks have you picked?"
Jun stops, and shoots Emi an irritated grin. "You ever met a hacker?" he says. "We unlock shit for fun. I've never met a lock I haven't tried to pick. Don't give a shit where it leads. I just like to find out if I can do it."
I ask: "What about the gate to the third floor? Or to the second-floor dorms?"
Jun shakes his head. "No lock to pick. They're probably controlled remotely."
"Oh. I guess things have changed since Kyoko Kirigiri's time… which makes sense."
"Why," says Emi, "what a coincidence. There appears to be a locked door right beneath our feet." She looks down at the hatch. "I wonder—have you picked this lock, as well?"
"Can't," Jun answers. "It's electronic."
"Oh, dear. What an insurmountable barrier for the Ultimate Hacker."
"Well. That's life."
"Of course, I am certain that you have no incentive to lie about this."
A tense silence lingers. Jun's irritated grin loses any trace of mirth.
He slowly steps toward Emi. He glares down at her. "Emi, you bitch. Will you quit beating around the bush, and say what you want to fucking say?"
"Oh, my," says Emi. "Did I hit a nerve? And yet, you seem to be hearing insults where none were spoken. One might consider this a mark of insecurity." Her smile becomes more sinister. "Of course, it is only natural that you feel insecure, given that you are a leech on society, and that your very existence is a detriment to the world at large. I imagine that these are painful facts to be reminded of."
There's a tension in the air so thick, it's almost suffocating. For two long seconds, no one moves a muscle. Jun and Emi glare intensely at each other. Then Jun breaks the silence.
"Do you know why you hate me, Emi, you whore? You look at my face, and you see a mirror. The biggest difference between us is that I know who I am. I like it. You? You fucking hate it. Everyone sees who you are. It's fucking obvious. You're not even a wolf in sheep's clothing. You're a Rottweiler in a shitty Halloween costume. That's why being around you is so fucking unsettling. Everyone sees it, and no one wants to say it. You know it's true. When you look at my face, you see a real wolf. And it pisses you off like nothing else in the world."
"Poor, poor Jun," Emi replies. "You imagine yourself free, just as a moth imagines itself free to approach an open flame. In truth, you are a prisoner of the very impulses that will destroy you. It is quite a sad thing to behold. I could not possibly hate you, Jun. My hatred is reserved for human beings. When a cockroach crawls under my shoe, I feel nothing but pity and disgust."
Emi says all of this without her smile ever wavering.
Jun glares at her for a few seconds, then responds.
"Emi, I have just three more words to say to you—and I want you to consider them very, very carefully." He pauses. "Go fuck yourself."
Jun turns around, and leaves. Tsubasa skittishly follows.
"WAIT!" I shout.
Tsubasa peeks his head through the door.
"Jeff says he was doing laundry last night. Can you try to confirm that? It could serve as his alibi."
"Wow—an actual lead," Tsubasa says, his face relaxing. "That beats dumpster diving any day."
Tsubasa disappears, and the door shuts.
"Um," Rin whispers in my ear, "so, that was fucking terrifying."
"Yeah," I whisper back, "I… wouldn't want to get on either of their bad sides."
Emi turns toward us. "Now then," she says, "shall we continue where we left off?" Her smile has returned to being… well, not warm, exactly, but less cold. Lukewarm, I guess.
I decide to ignore… whatever just happened, and focus on the task at hand. I walk over to the hatch, and kneel to look at it. It's a metal rectangle in the floor, with a small handle for lifting. I'm trying to remember the first Danganronpa… I think there was a physical lock on the handle, back then. But there's nothing like that now.
Instead, there's… another thing in the floor, right next to the hatch. A small, glass rectangle—just a few square inches. There's a small hole (a keyhole?). And there's a dim, green light under the glass.
"This light…" I say. "Has it always been here? I don't remember it."
"Fuck if I know," says Rin.
"Maybe… maybe it's only on when the hatch is unlocked?"
"That is an interesting theory, Koi," says Emi.
Nervously, I grab the handle. I pull.
The hatch lifts.
I lift it all the way up, and look inside.
Darkness. A dark shaft, going down and down. A ladder on the wall, going down and down and down… it's way too dark to see the bottom.
There's a light on the wall, though, near the top of the ladder. A green light. It's another glass panel, just like the one in the floor. There's another small hole in it, too. Another keyhole?
TRUTH BULLET: HATCH
I let go of the hatch door. It stays upright, tilted slightly backwards.
The three of us stare into the abyss.
"It looks… dark," I mutter. "Maybe we should… get flashlights?"
"Why, how fortunate," Emi replies. "It seems one of us has come prepared." She pulls a flashlight out of her kimono, shows it to us, and puts it away again.
"Okay. So… I guess we should… go down…"
"Whatever," says Rin. "Let's just, like. Get this over with."
She slides over to the ladder—and starts climbing down.
Rin's boldness pushes me forward… a little. Well, not much. I'm still reluctant.
Even so—I turn around, slide a foot down, and start my long descent.
Above me, Emi follows.
We climb down. Step, step, step. The hatch is still open; the light from above guides us.
Step, step, step…
Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step…
Down and down and down and down and down…
The light's getting dimmer. A rancid smell is growing stronger.
Step, step, step, step, step, step…
I'm panting. Sweating. My legs are tired. My arms… tired. I look down. Darkness.
"Rin?" I call out.
"What?" replies a distant voice.
"Can you… not go so fast? I'm… I'm scared."
"Okay. Hang in there, baby. You can do this."
Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step…
Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step…
Clonk.
The feeling of my feet touching concrete has never been more relieving. I wipe my sweaty forehead, and clutch my knees, and pant, and pant, and pant.
"Take it easy, babe," Rin says, patting my back. "Deep breaths."
I breathe deeply.
"Oh, ew," I hiss, holding my nose. "That's so nasty."
"Um, breathe with your mouth."
Rin and Emi wait patiently for me to recover. "Sorry," I mutter between breaths. "I'm… not very athletic…"
"Are you, like. Going to be okay?"
"Yeah… just… give me a minute…"
My eyes adjust to the darkness, and my nostrils adjust to the… atrocious scent.
There's a wooden door in front of us.
Emi takes out her flashlight, and shines it on the door.
"Okay," I say, "let's… get going…"
Rin turns the handle, and opens the door.
"Ew, ew, ew!" I shriek, holding my nose. "It's so much worse now!"
"Whatever," Rin mutters, unfazed. "I've smelled worse shit."
"Like what?"
Rin walks forward without answering. I reluctantly follow.
We pass the threshold. Now we're standing atop a large staircase; each step is a bit wider than the one above.
Emi shines her light around.
"Jesus Christ," Rin mumbles.
"Wow," I gasp. The awe is almost enough to override the stench. This room is massive. It just keeps going. Right, left, forward… it's all shrouded in darkness, the walls too distant for Emi's flashlight to reach. The top—also shrouded in darkness. The walls keep going up and up and up…
Everywhere we look, there are massive piles of… stuff. Scrap metal. Plastic. Paper. Food containers. Rotting food. Trash of every variety. Entire hills of trash. Trash, trash, and more trash…
Slowly, we walk down the staircase. Carefully. Finding gaps between the trash.
At the bottom, all along the floor, there's a layer of… water? Well, it's liquid. Whatever it is. I stare at it, frowning. I… don't want to dip my feet in that…
Rin doesn't seem to care, though—she splashes right in.
"Rin," Emi says, holding out the flashlight, "may I request that you take the lead? This environment doesn't befit me, I'm afraid."
"Uh-huh," Rin grunts. "And it befits me, is what you're saying."
"That's not how she meant it, Rin!" I interject, desperate to keep the peace. "Emi just… doesn't want to get her kimono dirty." I grab the flashlight from Emi. "We'll go together, okay?"
I'm kind of annoyed that I signed myself up for this—but it's too late for regrets. I splash into the ankle-deep liquid, cringing as I feel it soak through my shoes and socks.
Rin and I look around.
"There's so much trash," I marvel. "Where do we even start? I don't… GAH!"
Startled, I shine the light on my leg—and see the object touching it, floating on the water. "Ew!" I shriek, recoiling. "That… that dildo just slammed into me!"
"Been there," Rin mutters.
I look closer. "Wait a moment… that's my dildo. I mean—no, that came out wrong!" I correct, blushing. "It's not mine, but—it's the one Monokuma gave me as a present!"
"Seriously?" Rin says, staring down at it. "You like 'em big, huh?"
"What? NO! I just told you—Monokuma gave it to me against my will! It was some sort of practical joke! But more importantly—it's one of the presents that got thrown out. Which means we were right! They did end up down here! And… Takeru's ninja stars must have ended up down here, too!"
We look around, trying to find familiar objects.
"I think I see something," I say, shining my light toward the top of a trash pile. I see two metal boxes with their hinges open, half-buried in garbage. "Emi—aren't those the safe boxes Monokuma gave you?"
"It appears so," Emi says.
"The first one was empty, and the second one had a key in it… right?"
"Yes, that is correct. Though, I would assume that they are both empty now."
Rin climbs up the trash pile to check. I almost admire how little she's bothered by the junk touching her legs. She reaches the safes, and looks into them. "They're empty," she says. Then she picks up a nearby tube sock. "Huh. I wonder who jizzed in this sock."
"Rin!" I squeal. "Put that down!"
"Fine, whatever." She drops it. "I'm just saying. Someone obviously jizzed in that sock."
"Stop saying that word!"
"Jizz?"
"Oh, how interesting," says Emi. "Unless my ears deceive me, it seems we have visitors."
We shut up, and listen.
Emi's right. There are footsteps coming from the shaft. And… voices. Male voices? I can't really make them out.
I return to the staircase, stand beside Emi, and shine my flashlight into the open doorway.
We wait. The footsteps get louder. The voices get clearer.
Two figures appear in the doorway—shining flashlights at us.
I recoil from the unexpected light. Then my eyes adjust. "…Kenji?"
"Hi, Koi," Kenji replies, waving meekly.
"What the hell?" Shingo hisses through gritted teeth. His gaze is furious. "What are you three doing here? How did you know about this place? Answer me now!"
"Don't worry! Don't worry!" I yelp, putting a palm up. "There's a perfectly logical explanation, I promise!" I pause. "Wow—are you wearing plastic bags around your feet? I really wish I had thought of that."
"Don't dawdle!" Shingo snaps. "Tell me how you found out about this place! Now!"
"Okay, okay!"
I explain the whole series of events that led us here.
As I finish, I'm relieved to see that Shingo has calmed down. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," he says. "As you can tell, this place is a bit of a sore spot. Particularly since… the incident."
"The thief, I presume?" Emi replies.
"Wait a moment," I say. "So—the thief stole from this garbage pit? They didn't steal from the Ultimate Yakuza's Office?"
"That's right," says Shingo. "The Ultimate Yakuza's Office has nothing to do with this case. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about this garbage pit. As I'm sure you've figured out, those two ninja stars you found were among the objects stolen from here."
TRUTH BULLET: STOLEN NINJA STARS
"So… what were the other stolen objects?" I ask.
"In terms of dangerous objects," says Shingo, "there's only one other that I know of. Do you remember the Captain's most recent gift from Monokuma?"
"Yeah… she got a dart gun, right?"
"Complete with darts, yes. The gun itself was never stolen—nor were most of the darts. One dart was stolen, however."
"Weird. Just one dart?"
"I don't understand it, either."
TRUTH BULLET: STOLEN DART
Shingo adjusts his glasses, frowning. "There were some other objects stolen which don't seem quite as dangerous. As you'll recall, both of Akiko's gifts were compasses—the first one pointed north, and the second appeared to point west. Both were stolen. Hiroto's gift—the cube maze—was also stolen."
"Oh, right," I say, "I remember—it was like a 3D puzzle. He… said he liked puzzles…"
"The other stolen item," Shingo says, "was your vibrator, Koi."
"My vibrator!?" I gasp. "I mean—it wasn't mine! Monokuma gave it to me against my will! It was a prank!"
"How repulsive," says Emi. "It seems our culprit is also a degenerate."
"What… what would they even want that for?"
Rin mutters: "I can, like. Think of a few things."
"That's so gross," I growl, fists clenched. "I knew it took a sick mind to do… what they did to Akiko, but… they're a pervert, on top of that?"
"In any case," says Shingo, "those are all the objects that got stolen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
Shingo puts away his flashlight, and takes out a digital camera. He walks down the stairs. "Kenji," he says, "shine the flashlight where I point. I need both hands for this."
"Hey—wait a moment," I say. "It sounds like you've been coming in and out of here for a while. But—how is that possible? The hatch is locked."
"You haven't figured it out?" Shingo says, stepping into the muck alongside Kenji. "I'm sure Emi has."
"You flatter me, Shingo," says Emi. "I am sure you will make the connection, Koi, if you consider the objects we've inspected so far."
"So far?" I say. "Well, other than my… I mean, the…" I hesitate. "There were the two safes…" I pause. "Emi. Your most recent gift. It was a locked safe… with a key in it."
"Oh, how interesting. I wonder what that key might unlock?"
I think back to that day, when Emi's present was shown to everyone…
"A key?" says Jeff.
"Let me see that," says Jun.
The key gets passed down the table until it arrives in Jun's hands. He looks closely at the small, golden key, inspecting it from every angle.
"Thought so," says Jun. He looks up. "This thing's electronic," he says. "The key shape's just for show. Whatever this opens, it does so by being scanned."
"Weird," says Tsubasa.
"But… what does it open?" asks Jeff.
"I'm curious, as well," says Emi.
"We shouldn't th-throw this away," says Mizuki. "I will k-keep it in my r-room until we can f-figure out… what it's used f-for."
"Oh," I mutter. "So, that key…"
TRUTH BULLET: EMI'S KEY
Meanwhile, Shingo is snapping photos in the muck. Rin and I walk down to join him.
"Hey!" I yelp. "Why are you taking pictures of my dildo? I mean—of the dildo that Monokuma gave me against my will, as a prank?"
"It's best to be thorough," Shingo says, snapping another photo. "There aren't that many of Monokuma's gifts left down here. I'm not convinced we ought to leave any, in fact. After the thieving incident, we removed all the dangerous ones, and brought them to the Captain's room—where they're more secure. Rin's golf club, the Captain's taser, and so on. None of them are down here anymore." He lowers the camera, scowling. "We should have removed them from the start. We never should have allowed any weapons to stay down here. Just one mistake… one goddamn mistake, and Akiko's dead…"
For a moment, Shingo seems incredibly tense.
Then he moves on. He keeps talking as he walks. Sometimes he stops to snap photos.
"As soon as I saw that key, I knew where it probably led. I'd been aware of the hatch for some time—it's my job, after all, to know our living space in and out. I was worried, though, that someone else might make the connection. That worry increased when a certain book disappeared from the Ultimate Hacker's Office. Its title is A Hacker's Guide to Lockpicking."
TRUTH BULLET: LOCKPICKING BOOK
Shingo stops, and snaps photos.
"Woah," says Rin. "Isn't that, like. The makeup kit Monokuma gave me?"
"It is," Shingo says, smiling. He walks closer, inspecting the pink box lodged in goop. "I'm sorry you never got a chance to try it."
"I don't want it now."
We move on; Shingo's story continues.
"That happened on 'Giftmas,' which also happened to be trash day. That evening, we came down here, and confirmed our suspicions about where the trash went. That left us with a dilemma. How safe was this place? How secure is the lock? Our dorm room locks seem to be foolproof—but even there, Ryu found a loophole. Still, it was untested. We had more data about our dorm rooms than about this mysterious hatch.
"In the end, we compromised. We didn't remove anything from this pit—but we took some security measures. I set some traps. I thought it was good enough. I even convinced myself that not removing the items was part of my clever scheme—that I was entrapping some potential thief, who would promptly be caught." Shingo stops, and tenses up. "I was a goddamn fool. We completely underestimated this culprit. If only I'd done a few things differently…"
There's a tense silence. I want to comfort Shingo, but I'm not sure what to say.
The moment passes, and we move on.
"I absolutely despise being outsmarted—all the more so when my friend dies because of it. Perhaps I should be motivated by a desire for justice, or for survival. But, if I'm honest, half of my desire to catch this murderer stems from pure, petty spite."
"Um," says Rin, "do I, like, smell something? Like… other than trash?"
"Ah," Shingo says, his face relaxing, "here's something you might find interesting."
He points, and Kenji shines the flashlight on… a lump of gray-white… something. It looks broken; there are smaller gray-white chunks around it.
"Ambergris," Shingo explains. "Momoka's first gift."
"Oh, right," I say. "The whale poop."
"It's a bit worse for wear, as you can tell," Shingo says, snapping photos. "Apparently, this'd be worth a pretty penny if it were intact. More than $100,000, Momoka tells me. Of course, money is hardly our concern right now." He pauses, and frowns. "I do feel like the pieces don't quite add up. I'll have to compare photos later."
"That camera—that was your first gift, right?"
"It was," Shingo says, smiling. "In general, we try not to use Monokuma's gifts—but this was too useful to pass up. I tend to rely on my memory, but it's good to have something more concrete. So far, I haven't found any Monokuma-esque tricks—though, I'm remaining vigilant."
We move on.
"After the incident, as I said, we removed anything dangerous that remained down here—Rin's golf club, the taser, Naomi's pen, the dart gun, and the remaining darts. All are in the Captain's room now."
I ask: "What about the tape? You know—Ryu's present?"
"That tape, in my opinion, was the most dangerous gift of them all. So we soaked it in water, cut it into pieces, and flushed each piece down the toilet."
"Jesus," says Rin. "You really went, like. Fucking ham on that tape."
"I'm glad we did. Anything we could flush, we flushed. That includes Momoka's sleeping pills. And Yuna's first gift—the olive oil. Though, in both cases, the bottles ended up down here." Shingo picks up a trash bag. "We tried to drain the darts of the substance inside—but we couldn't. Some sort of mechanism prevented it." He opens the bag. "Apparently, that same mechanism might allow those darts to be used as normal syringes." He makes Kenji hold the bag, and photographs its contents. "I suppose the culprit decided one was enough."
"Um," I say, "what's in the bag?"
"Yuna's gift—her chocolate almond balls. Surprisingly, they remain mostly intact. Though, the journey down here has roughed them up a bit."
Eventually, Shingo closes the bag, and puts it down.
"Um," I say, "I feel bad for Emi, who's still waiting by the entrance… and I'm getting kind of nauseous from the smell, so… I think I'm going to go investigate somewhere else."
"Very well. Rin, do you mind staying with us? I could use an extra pair of hands."
"Fine," says Rin. "Whatever."
TRUTH BULLET: GARBAGE PIT
"Wait," I say. "I have one more question. There's a green light by the hatch—one in the floor, and one in the shaft wall. Are those only on when the hatch is unlocked?"
"That's exactly right," says Shingo. "Typically, it stays unlocked for only a few seconds if you don't open it. Then it automatically locks every time it closes, and you must unlock it again. Much like our dorm room doors."
[TRUTH BULLET UPDATED: HATCH]
Shingo, Kenji, and Rin walk me back to the entrance. I give my flashlight to Rin, and the three of them go on their way.
Emi asks: "Did you find this excursion worthwhile, Koi?"
I answer: "It was… disgusting, but informative."
We walk into the dark shaft. I look up. The ladder keeps going, and going, and going…
"I really have to climb this, huh?" I mutter.
"I am afraid so," says Emi. "Be strong, Koi. Our journey is far from complete."
I take that final step into the trash room—and collapse on my hands and knees, gasping for air, heart racing, vision blurring. "I… I feel dizzy…"
"Please stand up, Koi," Emi says, offering me a hand. "Otherwise, you might faint."
I take Emi's hand—and stumble to my feet. "I really… don't feel so good…"
"Oh, dear," says Emi. "You have not eaten today, have you? Such overexertion on an empty stomach was bound to end badly. We must remedy this at once."
We end up in the cafeteria. Emi and I sit next to each other, and eat.
It's amazing what one peach can do.
Well… no. A peach can't bring Akiko back. A peach can't make today anything less than a miserable, rotten, horrific, traumatizing day that should never have come. Today will never be a good day. Not after how it started.
But, relative to a few minutes ago, I feel a lot better. It helps that I replaced my shoes and socks for dry ones that aren't covered in gunk. And that I don't have any more endless ladders to climb. That, plus the sugar rushing through my bloodstream, helps me feel ready to tackle this investigation.
As I'm finishing, two people walk into the cafeteria. Tsubasa and Jun. The latter sees Emi, and frowns. Tsubasa ignores this—after getting food, he sits across from me. Jun reluctantly sits to Tsubasa's right—Emi being across from the seat to Tsubasa's left.
After some light chat, I get down to business.
"Did you confirm that Jeff did laundry last night?" I ask.
"Um," Tsubasa says, slouching a bit. "Well… it's weird. We checked his room, and, uh… there's laundry in there, all right."
"Piles and piles," Jun adds. "Dirty clothes. Dirty towels. Dirty sheets."
"It did not pass the smell test," Tsubasa says, making a grossed-out face.
TRUTH BULLET: JEFF'S LAUNDRY
"Wait… what?" I say, completely thrown for a loop. "Do you… you mean…"
"Yeah," Tsubasa mutters, rubbing his hair. "There's no way Jeff did laundry last night."
"Seems our resident gaijin is a liar," Jun says.
"A liar, is he?" Emi says, touching her cheek. "Why, what an interesting—"
"Emi, shut the fuck up." Jun stands up. "Jesus. I just know you were about to say something that'd piss me off." He takes his food, walks across the cafeteria, and sits down at another table—as far away as possible.
Things are awkward for a few seconds. But I'm desperate for this conversation to continue.
"I don't understand," I say quietly. "Why would he lie about that? Jeff is such a nice guy—there's no way he would… you know…"
"Yeah," Tsubasa replies, "I don't think he's the culprit either. But… didn't you think it was weird? If Jeff was doing laundry at night—I mean, alone—then that'd violate Point Eight of the Pirate Code. Right?"
Point Eight… I recall that time Akiko announced each point of the Pirate Code.
"Point Eight: going out at night is okay, but stay in groups of three or more!"
"Well," I say, "it wasn't 10:00 yet. I figured that… maybe he was quickly taking clean laundry back to his room, or something."
"Ah—gotcha," says Tsubasa. "That's still cutting it pretty close though. Not that I'm a stickler for the rules, or anything… the only reason I bring it up is, I got chewed out for something similar just a few nights ago." His voice lowers. "By Akiko, of all people."
"Really?"
"What happened was, I was finishing up my laundry—the 10:00 announcement was just around the corner—and in comes Momoka, who's just getting started with hers. I was worried she wouldn't be safe alone at night, so I decided to hang out in the laundry room with her 'till she was done. You know—playing my games, reading a book, whatever. Anyway, the Captain and First Mates catch us—and Akiko blows up at us for 'violating Point Eight.' Actually… nah, that's not really true. She blew up at Momoka. I got off pretty easy, honestly."
"You did?"
"Yeah, she was pissed at Momoka. The poor girl got a whole-ass lecture about not putting herself in danger, how we'd all be screwed if someone killed her, that kind of stuff. I tried to pipe in—but Akiko said that, even though I broke the rules, I didn't really put myself in danger, since I'm so much stronger than Momoka, and could easily fight her off. We both got off with a warning—but Momoka's warning was way harsher than mine."
"That's… interesting."
"So, I've been thinking about it, and I sorta get her logic. Obviously, being alone at night is the most dangerous thing. But even with two people, one could kill the other, and get away with it. If you're the stronger one, though, it's way safer than being alone, since you sorta have a harmless pair of eyes watching out for you. But if you're the weaker one, it's not really much better than being alone. The only way to keep everyone safe is with groups of three—even a really strong dude would have trouble killing two weak dudes at the same time. One of 'em would probably escape, and then there'd be an eyewitness."
"Tsubasa," says Emi, "I must inquire about something. Do you believe that Akiko was speaking on the Captain's behalf? Or was she stating her own, personal opinion?"
"That's the thing, right? If she was just putting on a show for Mizuki—like, showing off how much she cared about enforcing the rules, or whatever—then she should've yelled at me and Momoka equally. 'Cuz we both violated Point Eight—and Mizuki's a stickler, so that the only thing she'd care about. But Akiko's anger had its own weird sort of logic to it, where Momoka was the problem, and I barely did anything wrong. That was all Akiko, for sure. She really believed what she was saying—it wasn't just some BS she came up with on the spot."
"How fascinating. This raises a question, however. What was Akiko doing last night?"
"Yeah—I've been thinking about that, too. She was found in her bathing suit, in the swimming pool—her body, I mean—so, you'd think she went out for a nighttime swim, or something. But if she wasn't with three people, that'd violate Point Eight."
"There couldn't have been three people," I say. "It's like you said—there'd be an eyewitness." My mind is racing. "But… would Akiko really go for a nighttime swim alone?"
"I dunno—but I just don't see it. If Akiko went out alone last night, that'd completely go against the attitude she took toward me and Momoka."
TRUTH BULLET: TSUBASA'S ACCOUNT
I'm still pondering this. The conversation dies down, and there's silence for a minute.
"Koi," says Emi, "now that our meal is finished, I believe we ought to continue."
"Yeah," I agree. "Thanks a lot, Tsubasa. You've been a big help."
"First time for everything, right?" Tsubasa quips. "Seriously, though—it's no prob."
Emi and I leave the cafeteria.
I expect another riddle from Emi—another veiled hint about what to do next. Instead, she's just… walking. I follow her. "Where are we going?" I ask.
"To the room of the prime suspect," she replies. I notice—with a bit of surprise—that she's not smiling at all.
We walk past dorms. We pass Naomi, outside Mizuki's room. Yuna is aggressively squinting at us from the corner—but we pass her without saying a word, and turn left. We walk past more rooms on the right…
"Oh, right," I say, noticing the sole door to our left. Jun's door. "I keep forgetting they added a room here. There wasn't one here in the original Danganronpa—but this time we started with sixteen people instead of fifteen, so…"
Emi ignores me. She opens Jun's door, and walks into his room.
Inside Jun's room, I see what looks like a propaganda poster—but there's a picture of an octopus man on it. VOTE FOR CTHULHU, this poster urges. I have no idea what that means. Next to it, there's a decal of a blond, Western-style cartoon boy who's… peeing on something while grinning menacingly.
Of course, there are also gadgets all over the place. Jun's desk has three computer monitors on it. On the wall above the desk, there's a poster of Marilyn Monroe doing that famous pose with her dress flapping in the wind. Is Jun into Western stuff?
Emi doesn't care. She goes over to Jun's bed, and starts ripping off the sheets.
"Hey—is that really necessary?" I ask, knowing how angry this'll make Jun. "I mean… we just got here…"
"This is no time to be delicate, Koi," Emi replies, pulling pillows out of their casing, then tossing them to the ground. "Jun is almost certainly hiding something. We must diligently search every square inch of this room. Please, help me lift this mattress."
I come over, and help her lift it. Then she pushes it off the bed. There's nothing underneath, though. "Should we put it back?" I ask.
"There's no time," Emi says, walking to Jun's drawers. She opens them—and starts throwing clothes onto the floor. She still isn't smiling. At this point, that's even creepier than her typical smile—which itself is pretty creepy.
For the next few minutes, Emi absolutely trashes Jun's room. I try to look around—but mostly, I just worry about what Jun will do when he finds out I was a part of this.
Eventually, Emi convinces me to help her look through Jun's clothes, all of which she's tossed onto the floor. I sit down, and try to find something—maybe in a pocket? I don't know. I feel pretty weird about looking through a boy's clothes. But I guess this is a murder investigation, and I have to put social etiquette aside for now.
"Oh, my," says Emi. "What do we have here?"
I look. Emi's hand is deep inside one of Jun's socks. Slowly, she pulls out her hand—and shows me the object it's grasping. It's… some kind of… thumb drive?
"What is that?" I ask.
"It appears to be some manner of electronic device." Emi touches the silver plug. "Perhaps it connects with something. Might I ask that you inspect it, Koi? My knowledge of technology is quite lacking, I'm afraid."
I'm no tech wiz either—but I take the little black rectangle, and look at it. I especially look at the plug. I don't think it's USB. Have I seen any outlets like this? I try to think…
"I wonder if… this plugs into our e-Handbooks?" I suggest. I take out my e-Handbook. Like I remember, there's a small outlet on the bottom edge. I take the flash drive…
…And plug it in. It works!
"Oh, how clever," Emi says. To my relief, her normal smile has returned. ("Normal" by Emi standards, that is.)
I look at the screen, and wait.
DOWNLOADING, it says—big, green letters on a black screen. A progress bar fills up.
Then there's text. Still green letters; still a black background. But there are several lines written now. "A text file?" I wonder aloud. I read it:
[D8]
8:11 PM: TRASH ROOM
8:58 PM: SHAFT
[D9]
12:40 AM: TRASH ROOM
1:26 AM: SHAFT
1:55 AM: TRASH ROOM
2:24 AM: SHAFT
6:35 AM: TRASH ROOM
6:57 AM: SHAFT
9:50 PM: TRASH ROOM
10:10 PM: SHAFT
[D10]
9:45 PM: TRASH ROOM
10:08 PM: SHAFT
[D11]
7:18 AM: LOCK DISABLED
I study these words, trying to create theories in my head.
"My, my, my," Emi says, sounding eerily satisfied. "We seem to have stumbled upon something quite peculiar."
"Yeah," I mutter, frowning. Does this mean what I think it means…?
TRUTH BULLET: FLASH DRIVE
"May I hold onto this device for now, Koi?" Emi asks. "I would like for Shingo to see it, should we cross his path again."
"Yeah… sure…"
"Very well. I believe our work in this room is complete—and I am quite satisfied by the result. You may take the lead from here, Koi. I place our next destination in your hands."
"Um…" I mutter, thinking. "Well… based on everything Shingo said, it might be worth checking out the Captain's room. I know Naomi is guarding it, but if I explain myself, and ask nicely… maybe she'll let me inside."
STUDENT E-HANDBOOK: TRUTH BULLETS
~·~·~
Monokuma File #2
The victim is the Ultimate Sailor, Akiko Narumi. Her body was discovered at the bottom of the pool. The estimated time of death is around 11:30 p.m. Drowning is the most likely cause of death. The cranium has suffered visible blunt impact damage. There are multiple lacerations on both of the arms. However, the victim's body does not show signs of severe blood loss.
~·~
Akiko's Left Arm
Both of Akiko's arms have been wounded; however, the damage to her left arm is worse. The cuts look deeper, and they all intersect at a single point, near the center of the inner forearm. At that point, a square inch of skin has been completely chopped off.
~·~
Bloody Dumbbell
In the weight room, on the floor, there's a 75-pound dumbbell with a bloodstained plate. A dumbbell of this size was too heavy for Takeru to swing. However, Rin was able to swing it just fine.
~·~
Drips of Blood
There are several drip-like bloodstains on the floor of the weight room. All of these are very close to the bloody dumbbell. However, there are no bloodstains beneath the dumbbell's plates.
~·~
Hair by Hot Tub
A short, white hair was found at the edge of the hot tub.
~·~
Bloody Ninja Stars
Two ninja stars were found in the Ultimate Attorney's Office, under the seat of a leather armchair. Each of them have one slightly bloodstained tip.
~·~
Hair on Armchair
A long, blonde hair was found on the armrest of an armchair in the Ultimate Attorney's Office. This is the same armchair where the bloody ninja stars were found. When confronted about it, Rin acted strangely.
~·~
Clean Ninja Stars
Two ninja stars were found in Takeru's room. They're totally clean.
~·~
Hatch
A locked hatch in the floor of the trash room, which leads to a deep shaft. It can be unlocked from either the trash room or the shaft. According to Shingo: "Typically, it stays unlocked for only a few seconds if you don't open it. Then it automatically locks every time it closes, and you must unlock it again." Near each keyhole, there's a green light that only lights up when the hatch is unlocked.
~·~
Stolen Ninja Stars
Two ninja stars were thrown out on trash day. Later, they were stolen from the garbage pit.
~·~
Stolen Dart
One of the tranquilizer darts Mizuki received from Monokuma was stolen from the garbage pit.
~·~
Emi's Key
On "Giftmas," Emi received an electronic key within a safe. This key unlocks the hatch in the trash room.
~·~
Lockpicking Book
A certain book disappeared from the Ultimate Hacker's Office shortly before the thieving incident. Its title is A Hacker's Guide to Lockpicking.
~·~
Garbage Pit
There's a massive garbage pit under the school. An enormous amount of trash has ended up down here—including several of Monokuma's gifts.
~·~
Jeff's Laundry
Jeff claims that he was doing laundry last night. However, his room is filled with dirty laundry.
~·~
Tsubasa's Account
A few nights ago, Tsubasa stayed with Momoka in the laundry room past 10:00 p.m. Technically, they were both violating Point Eight of the Pirate Code ("Point Eight: going out at night is okay, but stay in groups of three or more!"). However, Akiko was much angrier at Momoka than Tsubasa, since Momoka is weaker than Tsubasa.
~·~
Flash Drive
Emi found a flash drive in one of Jun's socks. It contains a strange text file.