Summary:
- Claim: You've done this before
- Evaluation: True?
He may have been lost in his thoughts, but years of stumbling away from disasters and recovering from accidents kept his senses sharp even while he was mulling over his new revelation. The door to the boys' bathroom had just creaked open, quietly. Someone was here. He gently set the file in his hand down, turning to face the secret entrance. Limbs gradually tensing up, he took several silent steps towards it.
Someone who didn't want others to know they were here (or someone who was just really polite, but considering the male population of this prison, that was highly unlikely). The world itself seemed to hold its breath as he waited, listening intently for the telltale signs of someone pushing open the revolving door. Patience. If this was just someone investigating, it would do no good to draw their attention to this place. And if this was someone who knew what they were looking for…he needed to keep an opportunity open for an easy first strike.
The piece of paper he kept wedged in the doorframe fluttered to the floor, and like a gunshot, Naegi was off. Kicking the door, he heard it smack into flesh before slipping past it, good arm raised high enough to clothesline the intruder. He ignored the grunt of pain, following through with his momentum until the two slammed into the opposite wall, his arm braced against their neck.
"What are you—" he trailed off before he could even begin, the red haze threatening to encroach upon his thoughts slipping away as he met the gaze of a very disgruntled Kirigiri Kyoko. "—ah. Of course."
Her eyes narrowed, and before he could let go, he found himself tumbling to the floor due to the foot hooked around his ankle. Naegi grunted as his back collided harshly with the tiles, but brought up his leg in time to execute a tomoe nage , rolling with the action and pinning her with a knee to the torso. She struggled for a moment, before abruptly relaxing, eyes trained on the knife tucked away in his sleeve. "Naegi…to think that you were working together with the Mastermind."
"Huh!?" He blanched at the thought, before awkwardly scratching at the back of his head. "Oh. Uh. I can guess why you think that. But I'm not."
She raised an eyebrow in a way that made him think the action was well-practiced. "You're currently in a hidden room. And attacked me as soon as you were discovered. Considering your unnatural capability for survival along with your rapid alienation from the rest of the class, the Mastermind would've been a fool not to recruit you."
The Luckster scoffed. "In case you weren't paying attention, Kirigiri-san, a confirmed spy of the Mastermind tried to turn me into a meaty paste. It hasn't even been a day ." He clambered to his feet with some difficulty, wincing slightly as he massaged the sore spots in his back. At some point one of his ribs was going to snap in two and leave him to a slow and agonising death via internal bleeding. Carefully drawing the knife from his sleeve, he tossed it aside in a show of good will, before offering his hand to his fellow Ultimate. "In fact, considering you were able to locate a secret room, I could accuse you of being a spy."
Slowly reaching for his hand, she allowed Naegi to pull her to a standing position before putting a respectable distance between them, gloved hands dusting herself off. He noted with a hint of admiration that the other teenager somehow managed to look more prim and proper after being flung around than he could ever hope to be on a good day. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, Kirigiri scanned the room with a glint of curiosity in her eyes. "You seem familiar with this place."
Shrugging, he picked up his file to continue reading. "I found this place when I was doing a sweep of the second floor after…well, I've been checking out the materials in here when I have the time. We don't know if Monokuma left this here as a red herring, or if it's a place beyond the Mastermind's eye."
"Either way," she was already inspecting the shelves, having apparently dismissed his presence (a poor decision, if he had really been a spy), "the information in here is invaluable. What have you found?"
Naegi sighed, mentally sorting out the theories and facts before carefully formulating a response. "For starters, it's likely that we weren't kidnapped on our first day at Hope's Peak. There seems to be a time gap between our last memories and the moment we woke up in classrooms."
Her hand stilled for a fraction of a moment, before continuing in its search. "Do you have any evidence for that theory?"
He ticked them off on his fingers. "Many files in this room reference a sort of Tragedy, some inexplicable and terrible disaster that affected humanity on a global scale. Considering we've never heard of such a thing despite implications of it having been around for years, we're missing something. Plus, there was the dusty letter Togami-san and I discussed in the library. It mentioned Hope's Peak Academy shutting down. Again, doesn't make sense with the timeline we've been working with. Monokuma also mentioned a machine gun when Hagakure-san brought up the sounds of construction. I could go on, but you get the picture." Of course, he had one more damning piece of evidence, but that was a trump card he'd keep to himself.
Kirigiri hummed, nodding her head approvingly. "A well-thought out argument backed up by several solid pieces of evidence. Even if I didn't already have the same theory, you would've convinced me." She hesitated, before continuing. "Considering Monokuma will be revealing our secrets soon, I'll confess what made me consider it in the first place." He tilted his head silently, gesturing for her to go on.
"I…I do not recall my Talent." She closed her eyes, as if ashamed of her own perceived weakness. "My hypothesis is that I possess some sort of Talent that would ruin the Mastermind's plans. But in order to modify my memories, there had to be a period of time where they had access to my body, and I was in no state to resist." Ignoring the arrogance of going straight to assuming the Mastermind had to personally remove your memories just to make sure you didn't beat their game when there were several other possible reasons for doing so, she did make a valid point.
"Sounds like a mess." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Are those the only memories you've lost?"
"Anything related to my Talent is gone." Kirigiri grimaced, folding her arms. "I do have a guess, but I need more information to ensure I'm reaching the right conclusion." How vague of you, mysterious lady.
"Regardless—" he offered her the documents in his hand, "—and I'm hoping I'm wrong about this…but there is a not-so-insignificant chance that the world as we know it has ceased to exist."
She hesitantly accepted it, expression curling into a tight grimace.
Neither said much after that.
It was becoming a routine at this point, patching himself up every night. A fresh set of bandages went around his wrist, a small bag of ice was haphazardly taped to his bruised torso and he was currently trying to eat cup ramen with his non-dominant hand. Well, at least he didn't need to write anything any time soon. His wrist was out of commission for the foreseeable future, after all. Slurping noisily as he consumed the first real meal he had today, Naegi mulled over the new information he was wrestling with. Despite his gripes with Kirigiri, bouncing ideas off someone else was a lot more productive than figuring all of this out alone. And in the increasingly high likelihood that he was going to suffer an untimely demise, there was at least one other person who knew what was going on.
Monokuma was going to reveal the rest of their secrets in the morning. He had a decent idea of most of them, but the few that he lacked information about were…hold on. He paused mid-gulp to consider the remaining students of class 78, and his information on them. Hmm. All the problematic folks (Togami, Owada, Celeste) were out of the picture, and he highly doubted Hagakure had anything hidden that was too world-shaking. Enoshima…he sighed, shifting his half-emptied cup of noodles to one side, appetite abruptly forgotten. He sincerely hoped that the one person who had stood by him since the beginning wasn't about to plant a knife in his back. The Luckster didn't think that he could handle that.
"It'll be fine…" he murmured to himself, slowly finishing the rest of his meal. "It'll be fine."
"What'll be fine, Naegi-kun?" And with almost comedic timing, their principal slash tormentor was here to ruin the rest of his day. The teenager resisted the urge to throw the soup in its face. The only thing that stayed his hand was the hunger gnawing at his insides. But oh was it tempting.
He glared half-heartedly at the animatronic, which was currently having fun poking at the various bits and bobs he had collected over the past week or so. "Why are you here?"
The bear giggled, wiggling slightly before hopping up onto his bed. "Can't I visit my favourite student?" He shivered slightly at the almost teasing lilt to its voice. Whoever was on the other hand was very, very good at getting underneath his skin.
"How flattering…" he muttered darkly, "I'd be more impressed if you didn't send your rat to kill me."
"Upupupupupu~" It covered its mouth with its paws. "Who, me? I just told Ogami-chan she had to murder someone! Unfortunate that she picked you, don't ya think?"
"You wagered the life of a stranger against her family and her treasure." He scowled. "Any reasonable person would've taken that deal. And what better person to kill than the battered, scrawny fool? You knew what she was going to do."
"Ding ding ding!" Monokuma clapped while dancing a little jig. "Naegi-kun's a lot sharper than he looks!" Abruptly, the mirth disappeared from the robot. He slowly sipped at the broth to conceal his unease. It was easy to forget, sometimes, that this was the Mastermind, a person capable of orchestrating a deadly game for the world to watch.
"Tell me…what would you do if Enoshima-chan was hiding a terrible, terrible secret from you?" It leaned in closer, red eye gleaming with malice. "If she wasn't the person you had come to know, and was waiting all this while just to betray you? What sort of Despair, I wonder, would I see on your face?" Scarily insightful of the bastard. Naegi took his time, finishing the cup and tossing it into the trash with a flick of his arm. Even still, he struggled to come up with an answer that would satisfy his own inner turmoil.
He sighed, gently touching the ribbon around his neck. "She's done nothing to hint at any sort of malice, or deceit. I'd hope that it stays that way. But if it doesn't…"
"If it doesn't?"
Naegi's mouth twisted into a snarl. "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."
"Hmm~" Monokuma hopped off his perch, circling the Luckster twice before waddling away. "Either way, I'm sure to see some fun things happen. The offer's still open, by the way."
It paused in the doorway, turning back to glance at him. "If you ever want to kill anyone…just let me know. Teehee~"
Watching the bear leave, the teenager sat there in silence for several minutes, before leaning back in his chair with a disgruntled huff.
"Couldn't even bother to close the door behind itself."
"Welcome one, welcome all!" Monokuma, as always, was in a cheerful mood. It was currently sitting atop the podium as the students gathered uneasily in the gymnasium, eyeing one another with barely concealed suspicion. Naegi stood confidently, but concealed his hands within his pockets to hide the way they trembled with a mixture of nerves and anticipation. Enoshima was positioned to his left, arms crossed and looking rather impatient. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed Fukawa nursing a bruise blooming across the side of her chin, gaze darting nervously between himself and Togami, for whatever strange reason.
"Since no one has died…it's time for a draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamatic reveal!" It waved its stubby arms with excitement, a stark contrast to the rest of the room. Naegi grimaced, but remained silent. Moment of truth, and all that.
"Would you kindly get to the point?" Celeste examined her fingers, dignified and regal. "Some of us have better things to do."
"Now now, we gotta give the viewers at home something to watch!" Monokuma's near-permanent grin seemed to gain an additional inch or two. Freaky. "Now, some of your secrets have already been revealed, so I'll skip those. The students that remain…I'll go in whatever order I feel like!"
"Fujisaki Chihiro!" The Ultimate Programmer flinched, but held their head up high and maintained eye contact with the Headmaster. "Someone's grown a spine since we last met. And your secret is—"
"I'm a guy!" They shouted, cutting Monokuma off before they could continue. Taking a deep breath, Fujisaki continued. "In order to conceal my weakness, I started cross-dressing. That's my secret."
"Tch. Why does everyone have to ruin my fun…" Naegi noted the various expressions on the others' faces, before giving the Programmer a cheeky thumbs up. Small steps.
"You're…a guy!?" Owada looked like he was experiencing some sort of cultural shock. Yamada was…breathing heavily? Yeesh.
Fujisaki shivered, but nodded. "We can talk about it later."
"Yeah yeah, no time for touching speeches!" Monokuma slapped the podium with frustration. "Hagakure Yasuhiro…is in debt with the yakuza!"
"That is most unbecoming of a student!" Ishimaru looked offended by the mere thought.
The Clairvoyant rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "A guy's got to make money somehow. Especially to buy all those OOPArts! Like this crystal ball here!" Naegi blinked twice. He was speaking words, but none of them made sense.
"How much can one spend on a piece of shitty glass?" Enoshima rolled her eyes.
"Shitty glass!?" Hagakure gasped. "This crystal ball was found in the ruins of Atlantis! It is literally a priceless one-of-a-kind artifact! One million dollars was a bargain to get this—"
"ONE MILLION DOLLARS!?"
"You complete, fucking, imbecile!" Celeste looked like she was about to strangle the suddenly terrified idiot. "I hope someone guts you in a back alley and sells your organs on the black market!" The Luckster resisted the urge to snicker. That was one hell of a reaction. Still…one million dollars for what was clearly a scam? Turns out fortune telling really is a business for the gullible.
"A-anyways~" Even Monokuma looked a little startled by that outburst. "Next on the list is Asahina Aoi…who likes to go out to her balcony in the morning to feel the wind on her skin!"
"...that's it?"
"Oh, almost forgot the most important part. She does it in the nude!"
"How scandalous!"
"I guess that's what happens when you have tits bigger than your head…"
Asahina had her face buried in her hands, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Naegi carefully scrubbed the mental image from his brain, before shoving the memory of the last five seconds into a dark corner, never to see the light of day. Still, while the secrets so far had been embarrassing, they weren't too bad.
"Three more to go, huh…" He muttered to himself. Still, with each secret revealed, the tension in the room seemed to drop another notch. Small mercies.
"Next on the list is Fukawa Toko…" The Writer in question was shaking like a leaf in the wind, biting down on a fingernail. "Who has a super duper terrifying alternate personality!"
"Alternate personality…" Togami adjusted his glasses. "That's putting it mildly."
"And what does that mean?" Owada looked a little unsettled.
The Scion scoffed. "Figure it out yourself, peons."
Naegi watched Fukawa carefully. He'd have to ask (read: interrogate) Togami at some point. Or have another encounter with said personality, but that seemed like a one way ticket to a world of pain. Just two more to go. He glanced over at the Fashionista, who still seemed to be having a giggle over Asahina.
Kirigiri raised a gloved hand, her default poker face not shifting in the slightest. "I'll confess my secret myself. The truth is that I'm missing a portion of my memories. I do not recall my Talent." Well then. That was quick.
"Amnesia?" Celeste tapped her claw against her chin. "How interesting."
"Yare yare, will you all stop ruining my fun! At this rate I'm not going to be able to say that Enoshima Junko has the highest body count out of all of you—" It clapped a hand over its mouth in mock surprise. "Oops. That slipped out."
Any remaining tension in the room abruptly skyrocketed. Unconsciously, Naegi's hands curled into fists as a chill ran down his spine, the biting frost nipping gently at him. You could hear a pin drop in the silence. The Fashionista, however, looked completely unbothered.
"Nothing to say for yourself?" Togami was the first to speak, a glimmer of interest in his eyes.
Enoshima laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "He's playing you for fools. Body count doesn't mean I killed more people than everyone here."
"What else does it mean though…?" Fujisaki looked as confused as Naegi felt.
Celeste tittered. "She's referring to the more…salacious body count."
Naegi blinked. Then blinked again. Huh.
"That's right!" The Fashionista looked far too gleeful for this conversation. "I mean, with this rockin 'hot bod, I'd be embarrassed to be a virgin!" The Luckster turned to watch Monokuma as his classmates began to chatter, something heavy settling in his stomach. The bear was silent, but still grinning, like it was privy to a private joke no one else understood. Something was off.
"Well then~" Monokuma cut through the talk as it kicked its feet, looking disconcertingly similar to a small child on a swing set. "Anyway, since this has been so very boooooooring, let's just bring in the next motive, shall we?" The amount of emotional whiplash Naegi was currently going through was enough for a lifetime.
A cord dropped from the ceiling, and with a tug, the bear revealed the next motive. Stacks upon stacks of cash began to pile up on the stage before their very eyes, and the Luckster blinked slowly as more money than he would ever manage to make in his entire lifetime was presented to them.
"Ten! Million! Dollars!" Monokuma giggled. "Whoever successfully kills someone else in the next week will go home with all this cold hard cash!" Naegi frowned. Did money even retain its value if the world they once knew didn't exist anymore? He eyed his classmates, noting the clear greed written across Hagakure's face. Still, this was enough to set someone up for life.
"When it comes to motives, money certainly is the gold standard, so to speak. Whether it's in a mystery novel, or the real world…" Kirigiri trailed off, exchanging a look with Naegi. Both knew that this was bait at best, and worthless at worst.
"B-but…there's no way we'd kill each other for money! Right!?" Fukawa, as always, was half a step away from a panic-induced breakdown.
"Ten million…I could earn more than that in a single day." Togami turned to walk out of the room, completely unenthused by the new motive. He was right, but he didn't have to be a jerk about it.
Monokuma sighed, a visible air of depression around him. "And to think I worked so hard to give you ungrateful students this present. I'm gonna go and cry myself to sleep." Once again, the bear disappeared behind its podium, leaving the students to stare at each other awkwardly.
Reaching for Enoshima's wrist, he tugged slightly at her hand. "I've got a couple questions for you."
The Fashionista blinked, before adopting a teasing grin. "Anything for you, Naegi-kun."
"Soooooooo…" She leaned against one of the desks in the classroom as Naegi locked the door behind them. "Y'know, when I said I had more than a couple notches in my belt, I wasn't offering to add one more."
He resisted the urge to throw up at the idea. "Cut the shit, Enoshima." The blonde's grin vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold, blank stare. He met her gaze evenly. "The only reason I'm giving you a chance is because you've helped me out quite a bit. We're friends, right? I can keep a secret."
An uncomfortable silence lingered in the room, and as the minutes ticked on, it grew more and more awkward. When five minutes had passed, Naegi sighed, admitting defeat.
"Fine. Don't tell me then." He reached for the door handle, only to be pulled away from it by his collar.
Enoshima wiggled a finger. "Now now, no one likes a boy who gives up so easily. Never had a girl play hard to get?" Naegi hoped how unimpressed he was by the situation was adequately conveyed by his facial expression.
She sighed, running her fingers along the back of his neck. "You know how I used to live the hobo life?"
"Yeah. You mentioned it. Said it was a long story."
"The world's full of wild animals." A dark look crossed her face. "And a girl alone on the streets was unfortunate enough to attract the attention of those types."
He grimaced. "How many times did you have to kill someone because of that?"
"Well…" Enoshima trailed off. "Only one. Guy was drunk and well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted. I pushed him, and he tumbled off the bridge we were on. You can imagine how that ended."
"...I'm sorry that happened to you."
"Eh. It was ages ago." She shrugged almost nonchalantly. "And it taught me some important lessons about the world."
"Still…" Naegi closed his eyes. "It sucks."
"Yeah yeah, life's bad. Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Her fingers danced along his neck, gently gripping his chin. "Or was there something more you wanted?"
"Nah."
She laughed, relinquishing her grip on his face. "Never change, Naegi-kun. Never change."
He watched her unlock the door and saunter off, throwing a peace sign behind her as she left. The Luckster stood there, in the silence, listening as her footsteps echoed into the distance. He resisted the urge to throw a table against a wall.
She had lied to him. Spun a sob story with the intentions of tricking Naegi into thinking that she had killed a single person, in self-defence. How did he know this, exactly?
He grinned, a nasty, twisted thing that looked more like a snarl.
She wasn't the only one with blood on her hands.