"Damn it, Tenko! Let go of me!" Kokichi shouted as he finally managed to yank his arm free from the Aikido Fighter. "God, you're grip's almost as strong as Gonta's, and Gonta actively tried to hold back his strength to prevent hurting people!"
"If I didn't hold on to you tightly, you would have run away!" Tenko shot back with a huff.
"Yeah. I take issue with being dragged away by someone like most people." Kokichi deadpanned. "Anyway, why did you bring me to Kaito's lab?"
"Like I said. I have a hunch about this place I want to check out." Tenko smiled as she pumped up her fist. "If we were sent away because of the Gopher Project, and if this really is a spaceship we're all in, then doesn't it make sense for something to be inside the Ultimate Astronaut's Research Lab?"
"Well…I can't say your logic is flawed. It's more like the premise is iffy. Then again, what do I know? The more I learn, the more lost I feel." Kokichi sighed. So why did you need me here with you to investigate this hunch of yours?"
"I wanted to talk to you about something." Tenko began as she gave Kokichi a much more serious look.
For the typically loud, energetic, emotional Tenko, the look on her face at this moment seemed almost out of character. Right now, she looked more focused, as well as more somber. Kokichi felt a small pit in his stomach at seeing it. Whatever serious crap Tenko wanted to talk to him about, he would really rather just not.
"I'm not sure what you wanted to talk about, Tenko, but whatever it is, can't it wait until we're done with all of this? We're kinda in the middle of investigating the mysteries of this school and the killing game, as well as Rinny's murder. Do you really think we should be—"
"Rin knew he was going to die. You understand that, right?" Tenko interrupted him.
Kokichi flinched at the sudden declaration. He was so startled by it that he was momentarily at a loss for words, which Tenko took advantage of as she kept talking.
"No. That's probably not right. If I had to guess, Rin knew someone wanted to kill him, and instead of avoiding it like a normal person, he took advantage of that and made a plan that revolved around him dying." Tenko growled as she grimaced at the thought. "That was the sort of person he was, after all. He gladly walked into death traps just to prove a theory he had. Sometimes I wonder if he ever even cared about his own life. He certainly didn't seem to care how we all felt, so he must have thought it was okay to keep doing stuff like this without having to think about how he would hurt us after the fact."
"W-Wait a minute, why are you—?"
"What I'm getting at is Rin probably knew since at least yesterday that he was going to die, and he allowed it to happen." Tenko frowned. "If Rin had made a will and left it in his room, that would be one thing, but the fact that he went out of his way to disguise it so that we could find it like this means he knew this was going to happen all along."
"Yeah? So what? What does that have to do with me?!" Kokichi yelled, visibly getting angrier the more Tenko spoke.
"I'm saying this because I want to know what you're thinking right now," Tenko answered, her voice now softer than before. "You were his…Rin's death hit you really hard. Heck, you might have been the person closest to him at the end. So…I want to make sure you are alright after learning Rin let this happen."
"W-Why would I care?! Rin was always getting himself into situations that could easily kill him, just like you said! T-This was no different, except he actually died! Why would I… Why would I…?" Kokichi started to trail off as he realized he was trembling. He could feel his eyes start to water as he was forced to confront this thing that he had tried to push away for a few minutes.
"Kokichi…" Tenko tried to speak as she moved closer to him, only to have her reached out hand slapped away by the supreme leader.
"Who do you think you are!? You think that you can just bring this up to me at the worst moment!? You think that out of everyone here, I would open up to you?! We're not friends! I don't have any friends in this place! Not anymore! The friends I did have are all dead!" Kokichi screamed. "You think you can walk up and comfort me because I'm letting myself be vulnerable right now? News flash! I'm vulnerable right now because I literally can't keep my usual mask on anymore! I'm so tired of everything that I just can't be bothered! You're not special, Tenko! What happened back in Rantaro's lab was just a fluke! I would have broken down in anyone's arms at that moment, and I've already run out of tears! I'm not going to latch onto you like Himiko, so just leave me the hell alone!"
There was silence after that as Kokichi glared at Tenko, who didn't move a muscle. However, while her expression showed some pain and hurt in her eyes and a slight tremble of her lips, she remained strong despite all of that. And then, after she had organized her thoughts and gathered the right words, she spoke again.
"You were the one who helped me when I had no idea how to deal with my emotions," Tenko said calmly and simply.
"...Huh? What are you talking about?" Kokichi blinked a few times as he asked the question.
"After Himiko's execution, you yelled at me for being a liar. You were the one who pointed out how I was starting to lie to myself and told me to just let it out like I always do."
"I…I never said to—"
"You implied it. You always try to hide the meaning of your words behind lies and insults. You never say what you really think or feel. Even if you want to help someone, you feel as though you have to act like a villain while you do it. I still don't like that part of you, by the way." Tenko told him. "But the fact of the matter is that it was you who helped me realize I was being stupid back then. I didn't know how I should feel after that trial and was overthinking things like always, and you helped slap some sense into me! So why wouldn't I try to return the favor when it seems to me like you're going through the exact same thing I was? If you're feeling sad and want to cry, then just go ahead and cry! Crying doesn't make you weak! And if you're angry because Rin did something stupid like this, then yell! Scream! Get angry! No one would blame you! Just do what feels right, and you'll feel a lot better!"
"You're crazy… Why would you want to help someone like me? Someone so cruel to you and the others for no good reason? I'm a bad guy, y'know? I'm the Ultimate Supreme Leader of Evil!"
"Yeah, you are, but you're also Kokichi Oma, someone who helped me when I lost people I was close with, and you're also someone who just lost people you were close to as well," Tenko said as she tried to smile back at him. "You're right when you say we aren't friends, and I don't think we can really 'start over' like people do in stories. But I'd still like to help you. I still want to repay the favor. Maybe we can become friends after all this, but right now, I just want to help you despite not being friends. Is that so wrong?"
"YES!" Kokichi screamed.
"Ha! If this is wrong, then I don't want to be right! I'm not smart anyway, so it hardly matters to me!" Tenko shot back, completely unfazed.
Kokichi just stared at her, jaw agape, as he tried to process what the girl in front of him was saying. It was almost like an entirely different language to him. It was words he had never expected to hear from anyone. It was words that sounded so, so similar to what Rin had told him in the Hangar.
"God, how stupid…You've just surpassed Kaito and Gonta in terms of sheer stupidity." He eventually grumbled as he shook his head. "You're not my damn therapist."
"I know. I'm just offering you a shoulder to cry on should you need it, someone to vent at if you feel like you're gonna explode, and an ear if you ever want to talk about this." Tenko replied as she turned around and walked away as she began her investigation of the lab.
"Hmph. I told you. I don't have any more tears to cry. I'd rather not get all teary-eyed and pathetic like before, and I don't need to vent right now." Kokichi rolled his eyes. However, instead of leaving, he moved to the other side of the room and began helping Tenko in her search. "But I guess having someone's ear may be a nice thing. Just make sure you cut it off before giving it to me."
"I'm not going to literally give you one of my ears!" Tenko shouted in a mortified tone as her hand immediately shot up to the side of her face to cover an ear.
"Too bad. Verbal contract. Too late to back out now." Kokichi smirked back. "Nee-heehee~..."
"Things are getting really dangerous now," Shuichi grumbled as he and Kirumi continued running up the stairs to the fourth floor. The entire building was continuously shaking from the battle outside.
"It only shows how desperate Monokuma and the Mastermind must be, being in this precarious situation at the moment," Kirumi said. "Let us hurry. We must enter the virtual world and find what we need before that battle potentially damages the computer room."
"That is a possibility, isn't it?" Shuichi shuttered as they kept moving.
Wasn't that worrying? With how much damage the Ultimate Academy has taken just within this one morning was immense. Even climbing the stairs to get to the virtual world simulator was made difficult thanks to the fallen rubble and debris that blocked the way. Thankfully, Shuichi and Kirumi were able to make a path together, but Shuichi knew that if there were any bigger pieces of rubble in the way, they might be unable to pass by.
Fortunately, that didn't happen, and the two of them made it to the computer room safely.
"The headsets are still here and plugged in," Shuichi noted as they walked into the room.
"Good. We shouldn't have to worry about having to set up everything." Kirumi nodded as moved over to one of the chairs. "We just need to make sure the wires connecting the headsets we use are plugged into the right spots."
"Oh, right. Angie swapped the wires in your headset, and that caused you to lose all your memories of the virtual world." Shuichi recalled.
"Indeed. I even refused to reenter the simulation because I was worried about what might happen to me if I entered again." Kirumi frowned at the memory. "However, now that I know what happened, I am not as worried about it as I was before."
"Then let's do this." Shuichi steeled himself as he sat down in one of the chairs and put on one of the headsets.
It didn't take long for him to open his eyes and see himself once again in the virtual world. Shuichi looked down at himself and once again frowned at the familiar, disappointing graphics that his virtual avatar had.
"Nothing seems to have changed here…" Shuichi hummed.
At that moment, Kirumi's avatar materialized. She stared blankly off into the distance, though, not saying anything or even looking toward Shuichi.
"Uh…Kirumi? Are you okay?" Shuichi asked. Even after directly addressing her, Kirumi didn't speak. Now more worried, Shuichi walked over to Kirumi and lightly shook her shoulder. "Kirumi!"
"H-Huh!?" Kirumi blinked a few times before she slowly turned to Shuichi, confusion evident on her face. "O-Oh…Shuichi."
"What's going on, Kirumi? Did something happen?"
"...In a way, yes," Kirumi muttered as she tightened her hands into fists that shook with anger. "I remember."
"H-Huh? Remember? Remember what?"
"The memories of the virtual world that I lost." Kirumi clarified.
"R-Really? You just suddenly remembered everything that happened before you were logged out by Angie?"
"Yes. Perhaps those memories were stored here within my avatar after I was logged out since the memory port wasn't probably plugged in. When I logged in now with the wires properly plugged in, the memories in my avatar must have returned to me. It was…disorienting."
"Well, that's good, though, right?"
"...I would not say that. Let us hurry up and find that photo album and wallet, then leave this place. The sooner we finish here, the sooner we can return to reality and continue our investigation." Kirumi muttered as she walked off. "To make me remember that at this point in time…how frustratingly cruel…"
At that, Shuichi understood. She remembered those memories she had lost, and they must have been pleasant, or perhaps it made her forget for just a moment the reality of their situation. If Shuichi remembered correctly, Kirumi and Rin had been investigating together in the virtual world before that case happened, so what Kirumi must have remembered was memories with Rin…
Shuichi forced the sad thought out of his mind. While he was worried about Kirumi, he had to follow her lead and focus on their investigation.
The detective quickly followed after the maid as they left the mansion and walked over to the chapel. When they entered, Shuichi immediately spotted the photo album sitting on top of the chapel's organ, alongside the wallet.
"This must be where Kaede and the others left it or where Rin left it if he came here before us." Shuichi hummed as he and Kirumi walked over to the book.
"Kaede, Tenko, and Rantaro said that this was full of photos depicting Rin's past, yes? If that's true, then I wonder what we'll see."
"I imagine we might see the people that Tsumugi cosplayed as during the first trial." Shuichi guessed.
"Cosplayed? Oh, yes. I remember hearing about what happened during the first trial from Rin, though he didn't describe it in detail. Angie didn't elaborate further, either. I know Tsumugi was the Ultimate Cosplayer, and Rin told me she tried to get under his skin by using her talent to pretend to be people he supposedly knew, but what exactly happened?"
"W-Well, Tsumugi began cosplaying as friends of Rin when he started accusing her. She cosplayed as a bunch of people, all of them Ultimates like us. However…there were a few strange things that she did and said."
"Strange things she did and said?" Kirumi questioned, motioning Shuichi to clarify.
"Well, for one thing, none of us had ever heard of these people she was cosplaying as, despite them being Ultimates," Shuichi told her. "Here, I remember one of those people was a girl named Asuka Wada. She is, or at least was, the Ultimate Singer. Have you heard of her?"
"I cannot say I have," Kirumi frowned. "That's strange. Very strange. Ultimate Titles are lost upon graduating from Hope's Peak Academy, but the recognition of even being an ex-Ultimate would be profound enough to easily be recognizable."
"That's what I thought, too." Shuichi nodded. "Even now, with our memories of Hope's Peak back, I cannot recall any of those names. I don't even know if they died in the tragedy or if they survived."
"What were the other oddities?"
"Apparently, Rin killed one of his friends," Shuichi said matter-of-factly.
"Excuse me?" Kirumi blinked a few times in utter shock. "You do not actually believe that, do you?"
"Of course not." Shuichi shook his head. "Still, it makes me wonder why Tsumugi would say that. From her words, Rin killed his friend, Yuna…Tamura, I think it was? But that doesn't make much sense. I can't see Rin killing anyone. Rather, I couldn't see Rin killing anyone back then. If someone told me that yesterday, I'm not sure how I'd respond. Rin has changed a lot during this killing game. Not that I blame him."
"This game does have a way of tearing down your very soul and character." Kirumi nearly spat out. "Was there anything else?"
"Hmm…One last thing. Tsumugi claimed she couldn't cosplay as real people. I remember Kaede saying Tsumugi showed her why when Tsumugi dressed up in Kaede's clothes. Kaede said Tsumugi's skin broke out in hives and turned pink with rashes. Tsumugi called it 'cospox'."
"...Really? 'Cospox'?" Kirumi deadpanned.
"Hey, that was what she called it, not me." Shuichi defended himself.
"And you all believed her?"
"At the time, no. I mean, she was cosplaying as Ultimates—Ultimates that were supposedly Rin's friends. Rin even seemed to recognize some of them. She even cosplayed as Rin himself. If Tsumugi was being honest with the cospox stuff, she wouldn't have been able to dress up as those people. That's why Rantaro suggested that Tsumugi's cospox was probably a type of cosplay itself—a disguise Tsumugi made to trick us."
"That would make sense," Kirumi nodded before frowning. "But just now, you said 'at the time'. Does that mean you believe what Tsumugi claimed now?"
"No, but…" Shuichi began before trailing off. He then shook his head as he looked back at the photo album. "Nevermind. Let's just get back to why we're here."
"If you say so." Kirumi sighed, allowing the topic to be dropped.
But while Kirumi dropped the thought, Shuichi couldn't help but think just a bit longer about what he was going to say.
If Tsumugi really was telling the truth back then, what did that mean for them? What did that make those people she cosplayed as? What did that make Rin? Just what was Tsumugi's goal back then? What was she trying to accomplish?
Shuichi feared he might never find that out. He feared that he might not want to find out.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Tsumugi's Cosplay
"Anyway, let's take a look at these photos," Shuichi said as he opened up the book.
Inside, the two of them found exactly what they thought they would see. The pages were completely covered by pictures of different shapes and sizes, all of them depicting something from Rin's past. He was in many of the photos, but they weren't all of him. Some photos were of just his friends, but they were all the people that Shuichi remembered seeing Tsumugi cosplay as.
The images depicted were nothing short of heartwarming because they didn't show anything of importance. In fact, all they were, from what Shuichi could tell at a glance, were simple moments captured for the sake of remembrance. These were simple, normal moments capturing simple, happy people—just simple, small slices of the lives these people must have lived once upon a time.
All of the people Shuichi was prepared to see in this album were shown smiling, enjoying themselves, laughing—looking like the middle schoolers and high schoolers that they seemed to be. Multiple scenes were depicted throughout the images, telling simple stories that weren't out of place for young teenagers to go through. One group of photos might be of a small group of these people at some amusement park before the next picture shows some of them at the beach. Then the photos focus on all of them at a summer festival, showing off all of them that were in yukatas as well as all of them enjoying the stall food or playing the stall games.
All the while, in these photos, Rin himself lurked in the background, not seeming to like having his picture taken at all. In contrast to the friendly, reliable adult figure Shuichi had known, this younger teenage Rin the pictures had in them seemed a bit more similar to the person Rin had been before he had died. This younger Rin seemed more prone to anger if the few photos showing him and one of his friends glaring at each other whenever they were near, and he did not appear to like being photographed at all as whenever he was the main focus of any of them, such as when he and his two friends graduated middle school where Rin had a deep frown as he stood further away from the two excited girls as he fiddled with his uniform's collar.
And yet, in the very next, the photos depicted one of Rin's friends, the singer, center stage in a concert, smiling brightly as she sang. In the picture after that, the photographer managed to sneak a shot of Rin away from the crowd by himself as he held a soft smile as he watched. In that one picture, Shuichi saw the same person he met before this terrible killing game began, and he laughed at what he saw next: a blushing Rin with wide eyes filled with embarrassment chasing after whoever snapped the previous shot while his friends in the background laughed.
Shuichi had to wonder what connected all these people and who they were. How did all these people know each other and become friends? Shuichi might have guessed the reason for this might have been that they were all part of the same class, yet that theory didn't hold any water, as almost all of these people wore different school uniforms, both in middle school and even in high school.
Strangely, none of them were wearing Hope's Peak Academy Uniforms, despite them all supposedly being Ultimates.
Yet that was something that could be easily brushed aside. Depending on when this all took place, it was possible that the new Hope's Peak Academy hadn't been rebuilt yet. Rin wasn't that much older than Shuichi and the others. It made sense that Rin might not have been able to attend Hope's Peak as a proper Ultimate. After all, he was given the title 'Ultimate Hope' after years of leading the Future Foundation against the Remnants of Despair, so he didn't have to be an alumnus of Hope's Peak. But what about Rin's friends?
Perhaps he and his friends were given Ultimate Titles after the new Hope's Peak was built despite them all having already graduated high school? It wouldn't seem too strange to Shuichi if that was what happened. In attempting to recover from the tragedy, the country, and perhaps the world, needed new bright hope in the form of the next generation, even if they weren't the same teenage prodigies as the previous Ultimates. Even ex-Ultimates are given immense respect, after all, and even those people bring people even greater hope.
"There's so much here, it's sort of overwhelming," Shuichi noted as he and Kirumi poured over the pictures.
"Indeed. I feel as though I am invading something far more personal than I first believed." Kirumi hummed before she paused. "That's strange. This one has a number on it."
"Huh? A number?" Shuichi repeated as he looked at what Kirumi was looking at.
Just as Kirumi pointed out, one odd photo on this page was marked with a number written in what appeared to be a black marker. This one, in particular, did not have Rin in it. Instead, it was a calm image showing two of his friends relaxing in a library as they read, the sunset showing in the background and lighting the room with a warm orange glow.
"These two are…" Shuichi began as he slowly recalled these two from when Tsumugi dressed up and pretended to be them, using their voices and personalities to cruelly taunt and berate Rin and crush his spirit. "Makoto Haruta, the Ultimate Fairytale Writer, and Yazu Hirakawa, the Ultimate Translator."
"Fairytale Writer and Translator? Those are unique Ultimate Talents." Kirumi notes. "Not that it matters right now. What matters more is why this photo is marked with the number five."
"Hmm…If this is marked as five, then are there others?" Shuichi wondered.
"If there are, we should make sure and check."
So, the two of them quickly scanned the entire album, discovering five photos marked with a number from one to five.
The first image was of Rin himself alongside Asuka Wada, the Ultimate Singer standing in front of a high school on what seemed to be either their first day or the day they passed their entrance exam, as Asuka happily drags an annoyed Rin into the frame as she flashes a cheerful smile while Rin frowns and fidgets with his tie that he appeared to dislike. That image was marked with a one.
The second image marked as two was again of Rin's friends without him in the frame. Specifically, the picture was of two girls Shuichi recalled as Sora Kiyomizu, the Ultimate Natural Beauty, and Ayaka Ayanokouji, the Ultimate Tailor. The two of them seemed to be shopping at a mall, and the pink-haired tailor seemed enamored with a clothing store with…interesting designs, in Shuichi's opinion. Sora seemed to share that opinion, as she looked terrified, or more accurately mortified, as Ayaka dragged her into the store as the picture was taken.
The third was a picture of Nobu Hosaka, the Ultimate Trust Builder, and Masuyo Otaka, the Ultimate Entrepreneur. They were at a birthday party, Masuyo's specifically Shuichi believed, and the wild, red-haired girl happily hugged the stern, uncaring-looking businesswoman, who looked away and sipped her drink with a barely noticeable blush as the smaller girl held onto her like a puppy dog. Shuichi got the impression this Masuyo girl, despite her title as an entrepreneur, was properly, was helpless against close friends of hers.
The fourth and final image Shuichi and Kirumi found was of Naomi Chisaka, the Ultimate Chess Player, and Ryuunosuke Hiroshima, the Ultimate Parkour Master. They appeared to be at some competition, a parkour one that Ryu was participating in. As he ran the course, climbing up one of the walls set up for it, Naomi watched on with the rest of the audience, a small fond smile on her face as she watched on.
Five photos, each marked with a different number. Each one shows a different pair of people.
"Strange… What do all of these photos have in common? Why are they all numbered like this?" Shuichi questioned. "My first thought is to assume it's an order for something, but an order of what?"
"It cannot be to show the photos in chronological order. If it was, then why were only these five photos out of the entire album marked?" Kirumi noted. "Not only that, but Rin is only in one of these marked pictures. If this was something about Rin, then we might have been able to figure out this puzzle, but with it involving people we do not know, I do not see how we can piece this clue into something coherent for us."
"Yeah…" Shuichi frowned before he turned to the other clue left in the virtual world for them. "Maybe there's something in the wallet?"
With that, he grabbed the wallet and opened it. He frowned when he saw that the only thing inside was a badge. However, this badge was familiar to Shuichi—so familiar that he wondered how he hadn't pieced it together before.
"Mirai Hills… Future Hills…" Shuichi muttered. "This badge has the character 'Mirai' on it. Of course! The Future Foundation!"
"Ah! Yes, that would make sense. This virtual world must have originally been made by the Future Foundation before being twisted by Monokuma, and this badge must be a Future Foundation badge."
"If that's the case, then given the circumstances, I think it's safe to assume this is Rin's badge. At least, a virtual recreation of it." Shuichi said. "There's another message here, too."
"What does it say?"
"It says… 'Even in the face of terror and despair, we will reach towards the future. Just as the star gazers did before us, we will look towards the sky and reach towards the stars. Count the immeasurable, and you will have the key to the truth of despair.'" Shuichi read outloud.
"Count the immeasurable? Is this another riddle we must solve?" Kirumi questioned.
"I'm not sure. It almost seems like a sort of devoted message or pledge given by the Future Foundation." Shuichi frowned as he cupped his chin and thought. "Still, you might be right about this being a riddle just like the one Rin got. Maybe this is the key to solving that riddle and these photos."
"Then it is a shame we cannot take either of these out of the virtual world."
"We'll just have to remember it all before we leave."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Photo Album
Truth Bullet Obtained: Future Foundation Badge
"I think we should log out now. I don't think we'll find anything here."
"Then let us hurry," Kirumi said as she pulled out a familiar pink flip phone.
"That's still here?" Shuichi gasped in surprise.
"I saw it lying next to the phone in the salon. It must have been put there after the trial," Kirumi guessed. "I made sure to bring it with us so we can expidite our leaving here."
"Good thinking." Shuichi nodded as he took the phone from her. "Shuichi Saihara."
With that, he logged out, with Kirumi following closely behind him.
When Shuichi pulled the headset off him, a massive headache hit him like a brick. Agonizing pain tore through his mind just as it had back in Kokichi's lab. He could not hold back his scream, which mixed together with Kirumi's into a haunting cacophony of shrieks.
Then, they remembered. Shuichi remembered the direct aftermath of being found and having his Ultimate memories returned to him. After that happened, Shuichi remembered being directed into Headmaster Naegi's room. Upon entering, he saw the two men who had created the Gopher Project.
The legendary Makoto Naegi was at the desk, front and center within the room. He looked worn, and that was a nice way of putting it. His attire and hair were disheveled, and he did not bother to try to hide the dark bags under his weary eyes. Shuichi was almost certain he could see strains of grey born out of stress now littering the headmaster's otherwise brown chestnut hair.
The other person stood off in a corner behind Headmaster Naegi. While he did appear to be tired, it was not nearly to the degree as Naegi. Instead, crimson eyes bore into Shuichi's deflated frame with what could only be described as a mixture of livid frustration and immense disappointment. Shuichi once admired the man before all of this happened and had once wanted to learn from him.
If that hope still lived inside Shuichi, it was extinguished the moment Shuichi's eyes met Wakuri's. The way the white-haired man glared openly at Shuichi and tightly gripped the sleeve of his black Future Foundation suit was evident enough to show what must have been a grand loathing toward one of the sixteen meant to save humanity.
One of the sixteen that ran away.
Headmaster Naegi did his best to remain cordial and polite despite Shuichi's actions, while the Future Foundation Leader Rin Wakuri could barely restrain his hatred of Shuichi's apathy toward the Gopher Project.
In the end, though, Shuichi was convinced to stay with the project. It was for the sake of hope and the headmaster's dying wish, after all.
When Shuichi returned to his senses, he was panting heavily and sweating profusely as he leaned against the back of his seat. Shuichi managed to turn his head to where Kirumi was, and he saw the same reaction from her.
"D-Did you remember something as well?" Kirumi managed to ask as she held a hand against her chest and breathed heavily.
"Y-Yeah. I…I remembered a meeting with the Headmaster of Hope's Peak and…the Leader of the Future Foundation," Shuichi answered.
"I…I as well," Kirumi responded once she had regained her bearings. "It was after I regained my Ultimate Memory, and I was convinced to rejoin the Gopher Project."
"Same." Shuichi nodded. "I think we should keep going with our investigation. We can't get distracted by these memories."
"...Of course." Kirumi gave a hesitant nod. "We have gotten what we came here for. I already know where I plan to investigate next, but what about you, Shuichi?"
"...I think I know, too." Shuichi hummed. "I think I'm going to stay on this floor a little bit longer before heading to the fifth floor. I have a hunch I want to check out."
"I see. Then this is where we part ways. I wish you luck in your investigation." Kirumi told him.
"I hope for the same with you. Good luck, Kirumi." Shuichi smiled as the two of them went their separate ways. Once Shuichi was alone again, he turned around to face deeper into the fourth floor. "Alright. Time to check out that hunch of mine."
With that, Shuichi headed deeper into the fourth floor before arriving at his destination: Angie's Research Lab. Thinking back to what Kirumi had said before the two of them investigated Rin's burnt room, Shuichi recalled she had mentioned a chemical smell, specifically the smell of Acetone.
Shuichi was unfamiliar with Acetone. However, he remembered hearing something about it.
"If I recall, Acetone is sometimes used as a paint thinner or remover." Shuichi hummed to himself. "Could the place the culprit got it be here?"
It was either from this lab or the warehouse, and Shuichi was already there, so he might as well.
"Huh? Shuichi? What're you doing here?" A smooth voice asked as someone approached Shuichi from behind.
Shuichi turned around just in time to see Rantaro coming out of the hall leading to the fifth floor. Rantaro waved friendly as he walked over to the detective.
"Rantaro." Shuichi nodded as a greeting. "My investigation has taken me here. Can I assume the same about you?"
"Yeah, you could say that." Rantaro rubbed his neck before something clicked in his mind. "Actually, this is perfect timing. Are you doing anything right now?"
"H-Huh? Y-Yes. I was about to check something in Angie's lab."
"Angie's lab?" Rantaro repeated before he brushed off the strange place considering the investigation's focus. "Well, do you have anywhere you need to go immediately after?"
"No. Why? Have you found something?"
"More like I had an idea that might help us learn something big." Rantaro smiled slyly.
"Something big?"
"I'll explain when we head to the fifth floor. For now, let's hurry and find what you're looking for. I'll join you."
"Okay. That'll make things easier." Shuichi replied as he led Rantaro into the Ultimate Artist's lab. "I'm looking for some kind of container of paint thinner or remover. Specifically, I'm looking for containers filled with Acetone."
"Acetone? Like the stuff that's in nail polish remover? Why are you looking for that?" Rantaro asked.
"Well…It seems as though the culprit who killed Rin might have used it to burn everything in Rin's dorm room." Shuichi answered.
"They caused a fire in Rin's room?" Rantaro's eyes widened. "I guess Acetone is very flammable. My dad always warned me about the stuff whenever I bought nail polish remover for my sisters."
"You must have been very well acquainted with the stuff, huh? You did tell me you learned how to polish nails because of your sisters."
"That's true. That's not the only reason why I know a lot about the stuff, though," Rantaro said before he smiled. "Aha! I found what you're looking for."
"Really?" Shuichi walked over to Rantaro. There, just as Rantaro said, were multiple containers of thinners and removers, and just as Shuichi thought, a few of them had 'Acetone' labeled on them.
"This is it. This must be where the culprit got the fuel for the fire in Rin's room." Shuichi hummed. "Still, how did they set it up so that the fire would start right before we tried to investigate Rin's room? What caused that explosion that created the initial spark?"
"Hmm…I might have an idea." Rantaro said.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Well, the reality of the situation is the culprit might have gotten everything they needed from here," Rantaro said.
"What do you mean? There's enough in this room to set up an explosion?"
"Definitely. I'm surprised Monokuma left these lying around like this." Rantaro grimaced as he carefully picked up a certain can of paint. He examined the back and immediately frowned. "Just as I thought. Some of these water paints have glycol ethers in them."
"Glycol ethers?" Shuichi repeated.
"Yeah. I doubt you're very knowledgeable about chemicals like this," Rantaro chuckled. "I learned most of this from my dad since he used to work in engineering, which is actually how he started his fortune. Anyway, he used to tell me stuff about his job and the chemicals he worked with. Apparently, when something like Acetone was mixed with ethers like this, it can explode."
"E-Explode!?" Shuichi exclaimed.
"Yeah, in the right amounts, anyway. I doubt a tiny, unconcentrated dose would do the trick," Rantaro clarified. "He worked in that field for a long time, so I trust him when it comes to what he said about this stuff."
"Then…could the culprit have done something like that here?"
"Maybe. It's actually pretty easy to find stuff with glycol ethers in it. It's in water paints, aerosol paints, brake fluid, cleaning products—a lot more than you would expect. If someone managed to find something that had a good amount of ether in it, like these water paints or even stuff from Kirumi's lab, and used it in this fire trick of theirs, I can see something like that working. All they would have to do at that point is figure out the timing and which fluids would work. I mean, they had to have set this up last night, right? I'm not sure how they would be able to delay the reaction for hours until you came to the room. The explosion would have soon after the acetone reaches the ethers."
"Hmm…I wonder…" Shuichi muttered.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Paint Supplies
"Okay, that's all I needed from this room," Shuichi said before turning to Rantaro. "What did you want me to see?"
"Well, remember how Tsumugi's lab is locked because of Monokuma's rules?" Rantaro began. "Well, the door's still locked, but I figured out a way to get in there so we can investigate."
"Really?"
"Yep. We just gotta head up to the fifth floor." Rantaro told him.
"Then let's hurry," Shuichi told him.
Shuichi and Rantaro quickly hurried up the stairs and made it to the fifth floor. Once Shuichi made it up the stairs and got a good look around, Shuichi couldn't help but gasp at how much damage this floor specifically had taken already, considering both Monokuma statues were completely destroyed, having toppled over onto the floor in pieces. Still, Shuichi managed to shake his shock off as he looked back at Rantaro.
"Okay. How do we get into Tsumugi's lab, Rantaro?"
"Hmm…He should be here by now…" Rantaro mumbled as he crossed his arms and thought for a moment.
"He?"
"Keebo. I ran into him as I was investigating, and he offered to help in the investigation by blowing up entrances to places we can't get to." Rantaro explained.
"He said that? So you asked him to come here to destroy the entrance to Tsumugi's lab?"
"Yep. The door to the lab is still locked, see." Rantaro said as he tested the door's handle, only for it to clank as it refused to move much. "When I came here and realized that, I figured maybe I could ask Keebo for some help, to which he agreed. He must be caught up with something right now, though." Rantaro hummed before he thought of something. "Actually, this is good timing. I can show you something else that might be relevant."
"Oh? What might that be?"
"That video message I told you guys about. Now that Monokuma is too busy to stop any of us, I can show you the video itself without having to deal with him trying to stop me." Rantaro explained.
"Hmm…That's true. We haven't actually seen the video you mentioned." Shuichi realized. "If you could, I'd like to watch that video as soon as possible."
"Then let's go. The laptop and USB are still in my lab," Rantaro said, motioning Shuichi to follow him back to the Ultimate Survivor's lab.
They quickly entered, and both of them did their best not to grimace at Rin's body, which was still sitting there, impaled against the wall. Instead, they moved to the back of the room where the strange vault was. As Rantaro began working on it, Shuichi couldn't help but ask about it.
"So, how did you solve this puzzle in the first place?" The detective asked.
"Oh, that's simple. Remember that strange message Gonta kept telling us about that he noticed after the first trial?"
"You mean that message Kokichi made? The one that said, 'This world is mine. Kokichi Oma.'?"
"Yeah, that one. I don't think Kokichi made that message." Rantaro began. "Or rather, he didn't make it at first."
"Huh? What makes you say that?"
"Remember what the first part of the message was?"
"Umm…" Shuichi thought about it for a minute before it finally came back to him. "It was 'horse a', wasn't it?"
"Exactly. Now look at this dial and tell me if it connects with that message."
Shuichi raised an eyebrow before he turned to the vault and quickly scanned over it. Very soon, he realized what Rantaro was talking about.
"Hang on…On the 'a' dial, it has a horse on it. In fact…aren't all the images on the 'a' dial animals that are part of the Chinese zodiac?"
"Yep, and the 'b' dial is the Western zodiac." Rantaro nodded. "Rin and I found a second message in the boiler room that said 'twins b'. So when we finally managed to make it to my lab, and I saw these choices, it was easy for me to figure out the answer."
"I see…so why did the first message, 'horse a' change? Was that Kokichi's doing?"
"Probably. The original message was a clue for me to solve this puzzle. When Gonta found it and told us all, Kokichi must have thought it would be a good way to help convince us that he was the Mastermind for his mastermind plot. That's why he progressively updated and added onto the original message until it was what we ended up with." Rantaro guessed as he finished unlocking the vault. "Here we go. Exactly where I left them." Rantaro smiled as he brought the laptop and USB out and set them up for Shuichi.
"Okay, I got the video ready," Rantaro told him as he gestured to the monitor.
"Right. Pardon me." Shuichi said as he crouched down to watch the video. He clicked the space button, and the video began to play.
"Hey there. Guess I don't have to introduce myself, huh?" The Rantaro on the screen began in a dull, lifeless tone, as though all the energy and hope that might have been inside of him had been sucked out of him. "...I get that this is probably pretty confusing, seeing…yourself like this. Guess I should start from the beginning."
"First things first, I…am you. No tricks, no actors. It's you. The reason you don't remember recording this is because that memory was erased. Think of this video as a message from the Rantaro before you lost your memory to the Rantaro after you lost your memory."
"So, let's get to it then. The reason I recorded this footage. I won the right to a special perk for participating in the killing game. Part of that perk is this video message Monokuma said he was gonna make some kind of puzzle for you, but the fact that you're watching this means that you've solved it already. Also, you can't share this with anyone. If you catch Monokuma shooing anyone away from you, that's why. There's another part to this perk, something you get at the start of the game. I bet you know what I'm talking about. Something you've had from the start, yeah?"
"Now, I thought that if you were smart, you'd have used it to end the killing game, but if you're watching this, that obviously didn't work out. Life's never easy, huh? Well, anyway, that's the perk. Other than that, you're just like all the others. You go in, they wipe your memories, and you start killing. That's the way it is."
"Now, Monokuma probably already told you this, but just in case…" Screen Rantaro paused as he collected his thoughts before he continued. "This killing game will continue until there are only two people left. Now the important part of that rule is that—"
Buzzzzzzzz!
Before screen Rantaro could finish, the room turned red as an alarm blared loudly, cutting him off.
"Hahaha…Looks like they didn't want sayin' that, huh? Guess you'll have to solve that little mystery, but hey, you're smart. I know you can do it." Screen Rantaro let out a weak laugh as he showed a fragile smirk. "...Oh. There is…one more thing."
"Well, the truth is…this isn't your first killing game. You're the Ultimate Survivor. You survived the last killing game. That's why you get this perk—the Survivor Perk. But it's not all fun and games. Anyone who finds out who you are is gonna come for you… So watch your back. Trust no one. And never forget…"
"You wanted this killing game, so you have to win no matter what." Screen Rantaro finished with those ominous words as he stared hopelessly at the screen. "...No matter what."
And with that, the video ended.
"I see… It's exactly how you described it to us." Shuichi muttered.
Shuichi couldn't help but wonder, though… Why did that Rantaro look so hopeless? How did it all tie together into this killing game?
Truth Bullet Obtained: Rantaro's Video Message
Shuichi wanted to think more about what the video might mean for Rantaro and the others, but before he could, yet another painful headache crashed into his mind. Shuichi and Rantaro let out screams of anguish and pain before they nearly collapsed as they remembered the next memory.
This time, Shuichi remembered being back in his class at Hope's Peak Academy, speaking to his classmates and friends. They were so happy and excited that he was a part of the Gopher Project. They didn't understand what the project was, though. Shuichi remembered that he could only remain silent as his friends and classmates guessed what strange adventures in space Shuichi would have once the Gopher Project began, all the while some of them continued to suffer from the virus that Hope's Peak had failed to find a cure for. The same virus that they still believed the school was working on a cure for.
Yet, even when Shuichi wanted to give up, his friends begged him to keep going. They told him to remain strong.
They told him that he was their hope.
Shuichi let out a gasp as the sudden flashback ended.
"I… Th-That memory…" Shuichi groaned as he held his heart in pain.
"That damn bear…I knew he was cruel, but that's a whole 'nother level of vileness." Rantaro frowned as he hissed and glared, most likely imagining unpleasant things he would be doing to Monokuma if he was able to. "I'm guessing you remembered your old friends and classmates, too?"
"Y-Yeah. But…why? Why make us remember them now?"
"Doesn't matter to me. It doesn't change anything. If Monokuma's trying to get us to give up, he's failing pretty badly at it. The more I remember, the more I want to prove him wrong and win. No matter what, I'm going to keep fighting until we end this killing game! I won't let it continue anymore!" Rantaro firmly declared, confidence radiating off him.
"But…is that right?" Shuichi muttered quietly to himself. "Just what are lies…and what are truths?"
"We should head back to Tsumugi's lab. Keebo might be there now." Rantaro said, not hearing what Shuichi had mumbled.
"R-Right." Shuichi nodded.
The two hurried out of Rantaro's lab, just in time to see glowing lights from outside the windows. In the next moment, the light glowed strongly, before Keebo burst through the window. Glass scattered everywhere as Keebo landed on the floor in a 'superhero pose'. Even Shuichi had to admit that while decked out in all that equipment, Keebo struck an imposing figure.
"...Thank you for waiting," K1-B0 told them in a muted tone. "I was held back by the Exisals, so I had to shake them off me before arriving."
"That was one hell of an entrance!" Shuichi smiled.
"I'll say. You're a real badass now, Keebo." Rantaro smiled. Keebo barely acknowledged the compliments, though, as he walked over to the front of the entrance to the Ultimate Cosplayer's Lab.
"I will destroy this door at once. Please stand back, you two." K1-B0 said.
"O-Okay." Shuichi nodded as he and Rantaro took a few steps back.
Once they were out of the way, Keebo aimed his gun straight at the lab's door and charged it up. It only took seconds, and once it was done, Keebo didn't hesitate to fire it at the door. The teal laser shot out faster than Shuichi could have expected, and once it made contact with the door, it all exploded in glorious fashion. Shuichi and Rantaro coughed as the dust cloud the explosion created blew back at them, though Keebo was unaffected.
"Well then, I leave the rest to you," K1-B0 told them. "If there is anywhere else you would like to access but can't, please call me. I will blast open an entrance just like I did for you now."
Then, just as quickly as he came, Keebo left, flying back outside, leaving Shuichi and Rantaro shell-shocked.
"...Anywhere I'd like access…" Shuichi repeated as a stray thought suddenly came to him.
If they could go anywhere with Keebo's help…does that mean they could get in there, too?
Shuichi shook his head. He could think about that later. Tsumugi's case came first.
"Alright. The way's open. Let's check this place out." Rantaro began as he walked into the lab.
"R-Right." Shuichi quickly nodded as he followed right behind him.
The Ultimate Cosplayer's Research Lab… It wasn't as grand a place as Rantaro's Ultimate Survivor's Research Lab, but it was certainly grand in its own right.
"This is amazing… It's like an event venue!" Shuichi exclaimed as he took in the lab's appearance.
While the interior of the lab was mostly a gray warehouse, there was plenty to give it character. The multiple different sets set up in the room, the stage constantly swapping from one scene to another, the blaring stage lights, the cameras and lights, the numerous rows of clothes and outfits—it was perfect for any aspiring Cosplayer and the perfect place for the Ultimate Cosplayer to do their work.
The person they knew as Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, would have loved this place. Despite knowing that, Shuichi couldn't help but wonder if Tsumugi Shirogane, the Mastermind of the Killing Game, would have cared much for this place.
"Let's hurry up and search the place. This is easily one of the biggest labs, so we need to make sure we find anything that might be useful in here." Rantaro said.
"Got it." Shuichi nodded as he hardened his expression and began his investigation.
The first thing he investigated was the giant studio set at the back of the room. It was clearly meant for photoshoots and offered plenty of interesting and unique backdrops, but nothing related to the killing game. It was still incredibly impressive. There was another set that had a more gothic aesthetic. This set was set up with multiple cameras, so it was probably meant for filming, or at least that's how things were set up. There was nothing stopping anyone from moving anything around how they wanted. Not like they could have before now considering the lab was locked this entire time, not to mention the one person who might have known what they were doing was the second person to die in this game.
There was also a workshop off to the side of the room. It was set up with a fancy, expensive sewing machine, as well as thousands of different fabrics, each made from different materials or having different colors. Shuichi wondered whether he might find anything related to the costumes of Rin or his friends that Tsumugi wore during the first trial, but there was nothing there, nor were those clothes in any of the clothes racks in the room. From what little Shuichi could tell, the only outfits in the lab were those of fictional characters or entirely original outfits.
There was one thing Shuichi noted as important.
"These are equipment cases. They're typically used to store things like large camera sets, lights, and other such things. These must be to help move all of this filming and photoshoot equipment if Tsumugi ever wanted to set up something in another room." Shuichi thought out loud as he crouched down to investigate the large trunks. It was only after getting closer to them that Shuichi realized something. "Hang on…These are all black…and they're all slightly larger than normal cases… Could this be what Kaede saw last night?"
Kaede said she saw Rin heading up to the higher floors of the academy while carrying a large, black case. These trunks certainly fit that description, but…
"How would Rin have gotten in this room to use these trunks? The room was locked," Shuichi pondered.
That's when Shuichi had another thought. Just what in the world was Rin even doing, carrying a large trunk like this up the academy? Could there be clues relating to it in these trunks?
Only one way to find out.
Shuichi quickly opened up each of the trunks, hoping that he would find something, anything that might explain what Rin was doing before he was killed.
It didn't take long for Shuichi to find exactly what he was looking for, and it was not at all what he expected.
"-Ah!" Shuichi let out a yelp the moment he opened up the lid of the fifth trunk he checked. He nearly stumbled back but kept his composure as he looked at the trunk's interior. The familiar smell of iron invaded his senses as he scrunched his face. "Blood…"
Indeed, this trunk had large blood stains inside it. A large amount of blood had dried at one end of the trunk, staining the bottom and part of the side. Shuichi felt sick looking at it, as he could only come to one conclusion about the trunk's use now. Despite that…Shuichi didn't want to acknowledge it.
What happened in this case? Shuichi was starting to piece it together, but he still couldn't give a clear answer.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Equipment Trunk
Shuichi checked the rest of the trunks, but none of them had anything else in them. Moving on, Shuichi went to the bar set that was in the lab. He wondered for a moment why Tsumugi's lab would have a set based on a bar, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
"Wow. This is pretty neat. It's almost just like the real deal." Rantaro noted as he looked around the bar. "They've got some expensive stuff here, too. Color me impressed."
"You're knowledgeable on alcohol, Rantaro?" Shuichi asked with a suspecting look.
"Yeah, but mostly because my dad loves to try out these expensive drinks whenever we used to travel. In fact, I think he's drunk some of this stuff. Why would Monokuma give us access to actual alcohol? Could it be to help some potential murder case?" Rantaro wondered out loud before tilting his head at something on the counter. "What's this?" The adventurer asked as he picked up a black book.
When he saw the book's cover, Shuichi gasped
"Hang on… That's the emblem of Hope's Peak!"
"Yeah… It looks like a yearbook or something." Rantaro hummed as he opened up the book. "Yep. It's a yearbook, or at the very least, a book detailing old classes of the academy. These all seem to be alumni of the school."
"Alumni?"
"Yeah. Look. Class 77 and 78 are in here." Rantaro said as he showed Shuichi the pages with said classes on them. "There's only the photo and last names of the students given, but these are the people we remember, right?"
"Yeah…That's definitely class 77 and class 78." Shuichi agreed. "What other alumni classes are listed?"
"Several. This is a record of all alumni classes in the school's history, including the old Hope's Peak and the new one," Rantaro said. "I doubt we'd be in here. We never graduated."
"That's true. Still, there are a ton of people listed in this, but only their last names. Shirai, Hayashi, Nanaki, Muto, Kobayashi, Kawaguchi, Shinoda, Von Karma, Marble…Hmm? Hang on, what's this?"
"What's up?"
"Rin's in here." Shuichi frowned. "In fact, he's listed as being in the same class as those people Tsumugi cosplayed. The only person not in his class is that Yuna Tamura person."
"Huh…You're right. Rin is listed here. He and his friends were class 89." Rantaro noted.
"But that's strange. That shouldn't be right…" Shuichi pondered out loud. "Because that photo album from before…"
Which was right? These files clearly showed that Rin and his friends were alumni of the New Hope's Peak Academy, but the photo album of Rin and his friends showed them wearing high school uniforms that were not from Hope's Peak. Even more than that, in the photo album, they wore different uniforms entirely, meaning many of them were not in the same class.
So what did that mean?
Truth Bullet Obtained: Hope's Peak Files
"That seems to be all that's here. How disappointing. I was certain there would be something involving the killing game in here since Tsumugi claimed to be the mastermind." Rantaro frowned as he crossed his arms.
"It makes sense. If Tsumugi was part of this killing game, she wouldn't want anything too obvious that pointed to her being the mastermind in her lab, or else we would get suspicious." Shuichi sighed.
"I guess, but I'm still hoping to find something." Rantaro relented as he shook his head. "At least we found some clues. Those files are interesting, and that trunk you found will definitely play a part in this case."
"Yeah. but the question now is where to investigate next?" Shuichi thought as he cupped his chin.
"Well, I know where I'm going to check out next," Rantaro replied. "I'm heading to the dorm room to see if I can get into Tsumugi's room. We weren't able to get in since her room was locked after she was executed, but maybe I can convince Keebo to help me out again. If anything, I'll swallow my pride and displeasure and ask Kokichi if he can pick the lock."
"If he could, I'm sure he would have the day after the trial." Shuichi pointed out.
"And I'm certain that if he could, he wouldn't tell us—not at the time," Rantaro added.
"True. Still, I imagine only Keebo will be able to open the door. Be careful, though. The room might be set up to burst into flames like Rin's was."
"I'll be careful. Good luck with your investigation, Shuichi. I'll let you know if I find anything."
With one last wave, the adventurer left, leaving Shuichi alone once again.
The detective thought to himself for a moment as he collected his thoughts once more. He had much more evidence now, and he was starting to get a better picture of everything. Despite this, there were still gaping holes left in this picture Shuichi was trying to make.
So, Shuichi thought back to what he had found for any possible leads. The only one he came up with was that riddle that Rin had gotten—the same mysterious message he chose to leave behind for them to find.
"A clue to find the truth. Within an unfamiliar world lies the key, hidden within a fractured chain of memories. Then, after gazing upon the stars, walk through the realm of demons and angels to find the way." Shuichi repeated the message. "There's also that other message left in the wallet in the virtual world. 'Even in the face of terror and despair, we will reach towards the future. Just as the star gazers did before us, we will look towards the sky and reach towards the stars. Count the immeasurable, and you will have the key to the truth of despair.'"
He pondered what the messages meant, especially when paired together. Eventually, he found it. The next lead. The next clue to the puzzle.
"Gaze upon the stars… Star gazers…" Shuichi muttered out loud. "Could that mean…Kaito's lab?"
It made sense, as that was the only place Shuichi could think of that could be referenced in these messages. The only other place to look at the stars is outside, but that's not specific enough for a puzzle like this, nor did Shuichi have the time to investigate everything that might be outside—not when Keebo was waging war out there.
"It's the only lead I have right now. So I've got to check it out." Shuichi determined. He couldn't let any loose threads go unpulled. He had to find out where it all led.
With that in mind, Shuichi quickly left, running out of the Ultimate Cosplayer's Lab. In doing so, he took another step forward towards the truth.