Part 3 of 9

Later

"Damn these trials." Hank thought to himself as he took a drink from his beer can while sitting at the desk in his room reading a magazine on a catalogue detailing the best meat's from the previous year after everyone had decided to go to bed. "Three more people dead." He thought while taking another sip, until he heard a knock at his door. "Come in, it ain't closed." To which to his surprise Kyoko entered his room. "Kirigiri, what are you doin' here so late?"

Kyoko immediately took note of the beer cans in his room "You're drinking?" She noted.

"Yeah, what of it? Not doin' it in front of any of you kids."

Kyoko sighed as she replied "Are you cohesive enough to help me out with something?"

"I like to think I am."

"Good, grab your tool kit and come with me. I need you to repair something." Replied Kyoko, to which Hank merely nodded as he grabbed his toolkit and then followed Kyoko, until she brought him to the men's bathroom on the second floor. Hank was about to speak up, only for Kyoko to shush him as she then opened a secret door after which Hank found himself in a secret room, with a desk and a cupboard.

"What is this place?" Hank wondered.

"It is a long story, but the short of it is that Fujisaki found an abandoned laptop and was able to program an AI onto it..."

"...You mean somethin' computer related, right?" Hank asked.

"...Precisely, while Naegi and I were investigating the school, Fujisaki came to us and entrusted us with this information. We found a place to store the laptop in where Monokuma would be unable to find it, while Alter Ego helped us learn more about the school so we can get out of here."

"Now, why tell me this now?" Hank asked.

"Because I wasn't sure if you could be trusted with this information after the first set of murders, but Naegi convinced me after reminding me that you had saved Fujisaki-san from death, and technically managed to prevent two other deaths despite other murders taking place. And as the only teacher here, I've also begun noticing that you have been doing your hardest to watch over us, even if some of us have been less than kind in showing our appreciation for that."

"And is that the only reason why I was brought here, for you to tell me that you trust me?" Asked Hank, feeling skeptical about her reasoning.

"That is not the entire reason..." Replied Kyoko, as a look of embarrassment appeared on her face "...Normally, I would not ask about this. Under any different circumstance I would put certain feelings aside to do my job. But seeing as the situation is dire, there being a non-zero chance that we will make it out of here alive. So, I brought you here, because I want you to tell me about my father."

"Your... father?" Hank questioned.

"Yes, my father, the headmaster of this school. Jin Kirigiri."

"Ah, I figured there was a connection there. But why would you want to know about your old man?" Hank wondered.

"Because I know, based on the stories you've shared during our class dinners, that even with the limited time you've spend here as a guest speaker that you have interacted with him. Probably spend time with him, would I be correct about that?" Asked Kyoko, to which Hank nodded. "In that case, tell me, what type of person was he?"

"Well... based on my interactions with him, he was a man with ambition. Someone who cared a lot about fosterin' talent, and wanted to run his school to reflect that. That bein' said, he wasn't all powerful, even he had to answer to the Steerin' committee when it came to the big decisions."

"About what I expected from him." Kyoko muttered, with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"However, he was also a man with regrets."

"What?"

"He didn't talk about it often, but there were times we had a quick drink at the end of my week as guest speaker before I'd return to Arlen. We... uh... had a bit too much to drink and he'd begin talkin' about his regrets... mostly his regrets in how his relationship with you soured."

"He... he actually talked about me?"

"Damn near every time he had a few too many drinks, regrets over him leavin' you with your grandfather to have you follow in his footsteps. Regrets over not fightin' harder to have your grandfather return you to Japan to see your mother in her last moments. Regrets over fully cuttin' contact after that due to his own anger, for years wishin' he'd have the guts to reconnect with you."

"I... I see."

"That said, he also mentioned his anger towards his own father in regards to that. How he was a selfish bastard who cared more about his legacy, than the feelings of his kids, cause that was somethin' that ought to be ignored or some nonsense like that. To the point that he disowned all three of his sons for not followin' in his footsteps career wise. Only botherin' to reconnect with Jin to teach you his craft to have the legacy continue, not even carin' when his other son who became a screenwriter passed away in a car accident with his actress wife. Not even botherin' to show up the funeral, while his remainin' sons and other grandson were grievin'."

"Oh... he never even told me about that." Said Kyoko, as a pang of sombreness appeared on her face before shaking it away as she asked "Was that all he said to you?"

"Just that from the stories he managed to hear that he was proud of the detective you had managed to become." Replied Hank, as he sharply exhaled while adding "Look, I won't pretend to understand the full scope of what happened, but the way I see it, both of them can be seen as at fault for it." As he then noticed Kyoko clutching her head in pain "Kirigiri-san, you ok?"

"Yeah... can you repeat what you were saying about what it was that the headmaster was proud off?"

"Uh... sure, he told me that he was proud of the detective you had managed to become. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Asked Hank.

"A detective... was that what I was missing?" Kyoko thought to herself, as she looked at Hank who was giving her a questioning look "Yes, without even intending to do so, you've managed to help me a great deal. I now know where to start looking, I need to find Naegi to get him to continue investigating the school, I'm sure he's feeling better now." Replied Kyoko, as she began to leave the room.

"What about the repairs?" Asked Hank.

"A faucet's leaking, repair that and when Monokuma asks use that as an excuse. Oh and sensei, stay out of trouble for tonight."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Replied Hank, as he left the secret room and made his way over to the faucet that was leaking and thought back to a conversation he had at an earlier point with Jin.

The 'previous' school year

"'Least your father cared about you Jin, even if it was in his own weird way." Said Hank, as he, Jin and Kizakura were all cooped up in Jin's office, lounging on the chairs while each drinking from a bottle of Jin's best liquor.

"You're exaggerating Hill, at least yours never disowned you."

"No, but you know what he named his third son after he was born from his second wife? Good-Hank. 'least he didn't call you and your brothers disappointment one, disappointment two and disappointment three because you wouldn't follow his teachings. Oh, and he said he always hated me on his deathbed, so that's great."

"Guys... can you maybe just admit that both your fathers sucked evenly and leave it at that?" Kizakura wondered, as a knock was heard on the door after which Yukizome walked in.

"Headmaster, the taxi is here to bring Hill to the airport..." Yukizome trailed off, as she saw the bottles in the office as she sighed and said "Are you guys drunk, alright, I'll move Hill flight to tomorrow night."

"Apologies Yukizome, didn't mean to drink this much..." Said Hank with a bit of a mumble in his voice.

"It's fine, just don't make it a habit. I'd hate to have to lump you in with the rotten oranges in my class."

Back in the present

Hank shook the memory away as he finished repairing the faucet and left the bathroom, only for him to come face to face with Monokuma "Hello teacher of the year, what took ya so long in there? Did you have to piss based on the stain on your shirt?"

"No, I was made aware of a broken faucet and I was asked to fix it, the stain was because the faucet was leaking worse than I thought it was."

"Right... is that code for some kind of dirty action or something. I didn't know you were that kinda man Hill." Replied Monokuma.

"What, no... the hell is wrong with you for even suggestin' that?" Asked Hank.

"Eh... the doctor's are still out on that. Regardless, I'm glad that at least someone cares about the state of this school. I put a lot of time and effort into making sure it's as dreary and drab as possible."

"Uhuh, can I go now?" Asked Hank.

"You know what, sure. You're not who I was expecting to be roaming the halls at this time of night anyways, so go ahead. Just be careful, you don't know what kind of crazy people could be roaming the halls at night... you know what, why don't I walk you to your room?" Monokuma offered.

"I'm good." Replied Hank, as he began to walk back to his room while trying to ignore the knot in his stomach over the safety of Makoto and Kyoko, while thinking to himself "Jin, where could you and everyone else have gone?"

The following day

"Why did this have to happen?" Hank wondered, as he sat behind the desk in his office reading a book he got from the library. The tension within the school had gotten as thick as butter, after Monokuma revealed that Sakura had been working for him as a mole to spy on the rest of the group and report back to him. The resulting stare down led to everyone going in their separate directions, causing a bigger split in the group than was already there.

It was then that a knock was heard on the door and Hank called out "Come in, it ain't locked." to which the door opened as Sakura entered his office "Ogami."

"You don't seem surprised at my appearance, I take it you were expecting me." Replied Sakura.

"I had a feelin' you would show up, just not when."

"Apologies, I didn't know where else to go. I already talked to Hina, but everyone else was either too afraid of me or gave me the cold shoulder. And I thought that at the very least you'd keep your door open."

"Well, take a seat." Replied Hank, as Sakura complied and sat down across from him. "Why don't you tell me what's eatin' ya."

"The others no longer trust me, and rightfully so. I betrayed them, I betrayed their trust and in some cases lied to their faces. I completely understand that they hate me now."

"Now, hold on just a minute, I'll admit you did somethin' awful, ain't no denyin' that. But I recall you said you did it because Monokuma had taken control of your family's dojo and held those closest to you hostage."

"That's true, but..."

"I wasn't finished, now listen. I know you probably feel like a monster, but here's the thin' you didn't kill anyone nor did you hurt any of your classmates. Which, frankly, leagues better than what some of the other students in this school have done. Mind you, the motives they got were far less bad than what you had to deal with."

Sakura clenched her hands as she replied "That doesn't erase what I've done, I allowed myself to become his mole. I reported back to him everything that he couldn't see, I didn't resist at all. I gave up and just went along with his orders."

"So what exactly are you plannin' to do about it?" Hank asked, though there was a sharpness in his tone, as if he already knew the answer. "'Cause let me tell you, you think you didn't resist and yet Monokuma outed you as the mole. So you certainly managed to do somethin' that made him do that. So again, what will you do?"

"I will do my best to make this right, no matter the cost." Replied Sakura, only for Hank to slam his hands on the table as he stood up to face her.

"Now, you listen to me, Ogami-san," Hank said, his voice firm. "I may not know everything there is to know about this kinda situation, but I do know when someone's about to do somethin' damn foolish. And what you're thinkin' about doin'? That's just plain stupid."

"Sensei... I..."

"No, ma'am, you sit there and let me talk," Hank cut her off. "You think takin' yourself out is gonna fix this? That it's gonna make everything better for the others?" Sakura stayed silent over that, so Hank continued "If you think that girl, Asahin-san, is just gonna accept that and move on, you've lost your damn mind. That girl cares about you, probably more than you even realise."

"And what about your dojo? I understand if it was a familial tradition to watch over it. But even if Monokuma were to destroy it, you would still be able to rebuild it. If you take yourself out now, you won't be able to fix your dojo, you won't be able to fix what happened here and you'd break everyone's hearts. 'Sides you think you're irredeemable, but you're wrong, just like some of the others you're strong and you'll only throw away that strength if you give up now."

Sakura sighed as she replied "I… I do not seek redemption, sensei, I seek to remove the burden I have placed upon the others."

"Then remove it the right way. By talkin' to 'em. By provin' to 'em that you're still on their side. By fightin' for your damn future instead of givin' up on it and forcing those that care about you to grieve for you." Replied Hank, as a silence fell onto the room for a bit before Sakura spoke up.

"Perhaps... perhaps you are right. There is indeed a chance that this can still be fixed, but for now, I must speak to Hina."

"Now that's more like it." Replied Hank, as he sat back down in his chair.

"Thank you, sir." Said Sakura, as she left Hank's office while he let out a sigh of relief.

"What am I goin' to do with these kids?"

Later

"A body has been discovered." Announced Monokuma over the screen on the wall, as the entire group looked at the body of Yasuhiro Hagakure lying in the rec room, having bled out from his stomach due to a self inflicted knife wound as a result of him tripping in a hole in the floor while bringing a knife to a talk that Sakura wanted to have with everyone over what Monokuma had revealed a couple of hours earlier.

"We know Monokuma, we have eyes." Replied Byakuya.

"Do we even need a class trial for this, we already know what happened. We all saw it happening in front of our own eyes." Said Aoi.

"I agree with Asahina-san, there would not even be anyone to punish and it is not like the first trial where there was uncertainty over what happened." Added Kyoko.

"You know what, fine. But I'm still giving all of you a time limit to get your stories in order and come to an agreement over what happened." Replied Monokuma, after which the screen turned off.

"Ok, well, it's pretty obvious what happened." Makoto started, as everyone's attention was brought back to the crime scene in front of them "Ogami-san wanted to talk to all of us at the same time and Hagakure-san out of his own paranoia brought a kitchen knife with him."

"But how did this even happen? How did he even fall through the floor?" Asked Aoi, as Hank kneeled down on the floor and looked in the hole.

"Hmm, now that's odd, the part under the floor is hollow." Replied Hank.

"Can you see why?" Asked Kyoko, as Hank put his arm into the hole but found nothing.

"Nope, just empty space."

"Then it would be safe to assume he got unlucky and stepped onto a weak spot, lost his balance, fell over and fell onto the knife that he had swung forwards, which ended up stabbing him in the gut." Added Byakuya.

"Which was the last thing we saw of him before he bled out." Chihiro finished, with a somber look on his face "Poor Hagakure-san."

"Don't cry for the foolish Fujisaki, you'll be crying all day. Besides, he died as he lived, a complete and utter fool." Replied Byakuya.

"Would you have been any different from him, Togami?" Asked Makoto.

"He ain't wrong there, we all saw the distrust in your eyes when you came in here." Added Hank, causing Byakuya to let out a sigh in response.

"I won't deny that I felt distrustful over Ogami's reasoning for meeting with all of us. That being said, I had no intention of lashing out, quite frankly I had anticipated that one of you peasants had dealt with it by now, or that the issue would have resolved itself. Frankly, I'm surprised at the outcome, so sensei whatever it was you did, good job. So seeing this outcome, I frankly feel that this would have been a death that could have been avoided." Replied Byakuya, as he then turned to Sakura and added "You want my forgiveness, show it through your actions rather than your words." to which Sakura merely gave a quick nod.

"So, we're all in agreement over what happened then, right?" Makoto asked.

"It would seem to be that way." Replied Kyoko.

"Then we're done, right?" Asked Aoi, as Monokuma burst through the door.

"Right you are students, and the one teacher." Replied Monokuma. "Anyways, I'm here with an announcement..."

Knowing what he was potentially about to say, Hank immediately spoke up "If it's about you asking us to make a choice between my beers and Asahina-san's donuts since you still need to punish somethin', then I'm sacrificing my beers, she needs em' to function."

"Sir, you don't have to." Aoi interjected.

"Hmm, very noble of you Hill, but no. If you would please look at the screen." Replied Monokuma, as the group looked at the screen in the room and saw that the computer in which Alter Ego had been placed by Chihiro, with the people who were unaware of this looking confused at the sight, as behind the laptop an excavator appeared. The excavator lifted its arm and began to slam down the bucket onto the laptop repeatedly until after a few minutes of the process being repeated the excavator stopped. As it then moved backwards to reveal that the laptop had been revealed to rubble.

"No..." Chihiro whimpered, as he fell to his knees while Aoi and Sakura immediately placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hahahahaha, did you really think I didn't know about the little stowaway you had created Fujsaki! Consider this a warning, do something like that again and it'll be your head on the chopping block."

"How did you know?" Asked Makoto, as his eyes briefly shifted to Sakura for a brief moment.

"Oh don't worry, it wasn't Ogami, Hill's not a very good liar and I was very easily able to find it afterwards. Anyways, enjoy the rest of your days, toodles." Replied Monokuma.

"Regardless of who did it, I have an announcement to make you hear. From this moment on I refuse to play your games anymore, that fact that despite your reveal being used as a way to try and tear us apart that it had a somewhat opposite effect shows me that your methods are ineffective. Therefore, I fail to see how any further motives nor any of your further manipulations would be able to keep us in line. Clearly, you have run out of tricks, bear. What do you have to say to that?" Asked Byakuya.

"Oh, well, you see..." Monokuma said, before storming off.

"Tch, coward."

"Fujisaki, I'm sorry." Hank said.

"No, it's my fault. I should have made sure that the coast was clear when I was showing him the room." Said Kyoko, as she bowed as a form of apology.

"It's ok, really. Don't blame yourselves, there was a non-zero chance that this would have happened regardless." Replied Chihiro.

"In that case, I feel that it has gotten rather late, how about I cook up some steaks for all of you?" Hank asked.

"Are you sure, didn't you want to save them for a later date?" Asked Aoi.

"Didn't you also say that it would be impossible to use the barbecue indoors?" Asked Kyoko.

"With how few of us are left, what better time than now. And just this once, as much as it pains me, I'll grill the steaks on the kitchen stove." Replied Hank.

"He's right guys, I know today wasn't great, so why don't we end it on a good note. A dinner together, maybe then we can stand together again as well." Replied Makoto.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Said Hank.

"Can I expect my steak to be well done?" Asked Byakuya.

"You can expect it to be medium-rare or get nothin' at all." Relied Hank, as the group walked out of the rec room to return to the dining hall.

Later

"Asahina, didn't I tell you kids the steaks would be done in a bit?" Asked Hank, as he used the stoves to cook the steaks to the best of his ability.

"It's not that, I... just wanted to thank you." Replied Aoi, with a slight break in her voice. Noticing this, Hank turned the heat of the stove down a bit and turned to face her.

"Thank me for what, I don't recall doin' anythin' that warrants a thanks."

"Talking Sakura out of it." Replied Aoi, as tears were streaming down her face "I don't know... I don't know what I would have done if she had gone through with it."

"Have you told her that?"

"When she told me, I... I yelled at her, told her that I didn't know what I would have done if she had gone through with it. And I don't think... I don't think she would have changed her mind if you hadn't convinced her."

"Now I don't think that's entirely true, I'm sure she had her doubts, she just needed a push in the right direction. Why else would she go to me for advice."

"But it wasn't just a little push, sensei..." Aoi whispered, her voice continuing to break "...You saved her. You saved my best friend."

"All I did was tell her the truth," Hank replied "That she still had something worth fightin' for. That she wasn't beyond redemption."

"Well, whatever you said... it worked." Aoi replied, as she wiped away some of her tears "And… and now we're gonna find a way out of here together."

"Yes, yes we are." Said Hank, as Aoi immediately hugged him, surprised by this Hank gave her a few pats on the back as reassurance. A little bit later Aoi let go and gave Hank a grateful nod.

"You need any help with the steaks?"

"I think I'll be fine, though if you could put the plates and utensils on the tables that should fine. I think I'll be done in a bit."

"I'll get on that." Replied Aoi, as she opened up some of the drawers, as she pulled the plates and utensils out of it, but before leaving she added "Sensei, thanks again." after which she left the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it kid, just doin' what anyone woulda done in that case." Replied Hank, while turning the heat back on as he went back to grilling the steaks.

Later

"Hill, another late night stroll through the school with your tools, did something else break?" Asked Monokuma, having caught Hank as he was making his way to the rec room after the night time announcement.

"The hole in the floor in the rec room, someone has to fix it." Replied Hank.

"You know you don't have to, right? Like between us, I'm the headmaster, I'll just fix anything that breaks."

"With what, the fingers you don't have?" Asked Hank, causing Monokuma to start looking dejected at the ground.

"That's a low blow Hill, you don't see me bringing up your embarrassing body defects. But fine, spend your nights fixing what gets broken, don't come complaining to me if I decide to execute you because you fell asleep outside of your room." Said Monokuma, as he rushed away.

"Finally, I thought he'd never leave." Said Hank, as he entered the room with some wood and paint he got from the art storage room. He then placed one wooden plank slanted against a chair so it would cover the camera while Hank reached inside of the hole and pulled an object out of it that he quickly put into his pockets. After which he grabbed a wooden cylinder and firmly placed it into the hole so it would touch the ground. After that he placed a painted tile over the wooden cylinder and slammed a nail into it with a nail.

Hank then looked at his handy work and said "There, that should prevent any further injuries." As he then grabbed the supplies and the tools, after which he left the rec room and returned the objects to its proper location. After which he made his way to the secret room in the mens bathroom on the second floor where he immediately stumbled upon Kyoko and Makoto.

"Sensei, you're still up?" Makoto wondered.

"I could say the same thing to you." Replied Hank.

"It doesn't matter, Naegi was just leaving." Said Kyoko, who gave a sign to Makoto to go back to his room, who only gave her a look of confusion before leaving, after which she turned to Hank "I take it you have a reason for coming here."

"I do." Replied Hank, as he pulled a small dusty notebook out his pockets. "I felt this when I was checkin' out the hole, but with that bear there I couldn't take it out."

"So you haven't checked it yet?"

"No, I didn't. I thought you would be more versed in checkin' it out."

"Tempting, but I think it would be for the best if you read and kept what was in there to yourself. The less two people know, the less likely they are to let something slip."

"I see, what were you two talking about before I came in?" Asked Hank.

"That is not important for now, and it is the same reason why it is better off that I don't read the notebook. That being said, you were right to be concerned about the incomplete student attendance."

"Why would that be?" Asked Hank, as Kyoko reached up to his ear and whispered.

"Listen very carefully, I only know this because Ogami was able to secure me some items by allowing me to enter the headmasters office. Key off which being an expanded student registry that you did not have. Including the talents of those who were supposed to attend the school, and I believe that Mukoro Ikusaba is indeed in the school, masterminding this whole killing game, the one they call the ultimate despair."

"Why tell me this?"

"I think she might be growing impatient with our progress, and might try to break her own rules. So please, be careful when you roam the halls at night from now on."

"But you should stay safe as well."

"You sound just like Naegi." Replied Kyoko, as he shook the thought away and added "Just watch your back if you decide to stay here longer to read the notebook." As she then began to leave.

"Where will you be going?"

"I need to check on a few things." Replied Kyoko, as she left Hank alone in the hidden room, who pulled up a chair at the desk and began to read through it.

But only after a few pages did he stop as he loudly said "What in tarnation." As he began to read the pages "I'm writing this to keep track of all the craziness goin' on. Apparently somethin' been brewin' at Hope Peak for a while now and Jin said he had send me a letter telling me to not come for my monthly teachin' seminar. He got confused when I told 'im I got no such letter, same when I told 'im that he had given me a first class ticket. Regardless, somethin' weird had been happenin' with the reserve course. I'm writin' this to make sure I can make heads or tails of this situation by the end of it. Written by Hank Hill xx-xx-2011."

Hank dropped the notebook on the table as he said "What... 2011, but it's supposed to be 2010, what's goin' on here?" He wondered as he kept reading, until after a few hours he got to the final line "xx-xx-2012... it wasn't until Jin told me..." causing Hank to look confused as the last few pages had been torn out "Somethin' ain't right, but I can't make heads or tails out of it. Have I... have I forgotten somethin'"

Part 3 of 9, to be continued