The Reunion with Kei Was the Worst

"K-Kirigiri... calm down...!"

"Kirigiri... please, let's talk this through together first...!"

"C-compose yourself! Kirigiri! Panic will get us nowhere...!"

The moment Kirigiri snatched up the suspicious video they'd found in the room and tried to bolt for the door, the others scrambled to hold her back.

"Let go of me."

"Hey. I get that you're worried about Kei, but we don't even know what's on that thing..."

"I need to watch this. Right now."

"B-but Enoshima would never have put anything normal on there..."

"Th-this development... feels strangely familiar... In the doujin industry, this is a rather well-known..."

"Move. Don't make me say it twice."

Kirigiri shoved past them and made for the door — only for Ogami to step into her path.

"...Watching it is fine. But first, you need to calm yourself."

"..."

"Whatever is on that tape was put there to rattle you. That is Monokuma's design. If you let it work... you are only playing into his hands."

"...Ngh."

"...I wasn't aware that people who cannot even govern their own emotions still qualified to play detective these days."

"...!"

Togami's cutting remark finally snapped Kirigiri back to herself. She flung the video onto the desk and dropped into a chair.

"...Hah. This really is the worst."

She sat there and took stock of herself — of the detective who had forgotten her own calling and made a spectacle of losing control.

Sooner or later, I am going to have to put these feelings in order. One way or another.

When this was over — when she faced him again — she would bring whatever existed between them to an end. She made herself that promise, and slowly, deliberately, began to breathe.

"...I get how Kirigiri feels. If I were in her shoes, I don't think I could have kept a cool head either."

"...Neither could I, Naegi."

"Enoshima really is vicious, though, isn't she? She drops that bombshell on us, and before we even have a second to catch our breath, she throws another one."

"Now that you mention it... why's she pushing us this hard...?"

"Perhaps... there is a reason she has no choice."

Every eye in the room turned toward Celestia at that quietly loaded remark. She cleared her throat and laid out her reasoning.

"If the duration of this little campus life of ours were truly unlimited... would Monokuma not simply leave us here for years, applying pressure at his leisure?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that if his only goal were to make us kill one another, there would be no reason to announce a fresh motive every single day and drive us into a corner this quickly."

"Hmm... maybe he just wants to see a murder happen sooner rather than later...?"

"One could certainly read it that way. But to my eye, our hidden mastermind looks rather... impatient. As though someone were breathing down her neck."

"...That actually tracks. Come to think of it, Monokuma always looked pretty rattled whenever a murder failed to happen."

They were still turning over the question of why Enoshima seemed so desperate when Togami, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke.

"The real question is this: why is Enoshima making us play a killing game in the first place?"

"Huh? I mean... who knows?"

"There is no such thing as an action without a reason. If Enoshima is putting us through a killing game, she has a purpose."

"Okay, but what kind of purpose would make someone do something this insane..."

"And whatever that purpose is, it would appear it can only be achieved if we commit murder as quickly as possible."

"...Which means...?"

"It means time may well be on our side."

The words landed, and faces around the room began to brighten.

"That's right...! There's no way help isn't coming with something like this going on! If we just hold out a little longer, that bastard will be standing in a courtroom — I guarantee it!"

"We still don't know what she's after... but it's not like there's no hope at all. That... actually helps."

"Yeah...! Everyone, I was just about to say — if we can hang on a little longer, I've got some good news...!"

"Upupupupu...! Fujisaki... that 'good news' of yours — you wouldn't happen to mean this, would you?"

Monokuma popped into existence without warning. A few of them startled; a few of them screamed. Fujisaki just stared the bear down.

"...You... you knew...?"

"Well... when a cutie like Fujisaki goes wandering into the boys' bathroom, a fellow's eyes just sort of... follow, you know? Upupupupu...! Anyway, I brought you a present. How are we feeling?"

In Monokuma's paws was a laptop — and on its screen sat Alter Ego, wearing Fujisaki's face.

"W-what is that...? A-a-a ghost...?"

"F-Fujisaki... that's..."

"...!"

"M-Master... I've been found out... Hehe... I'm sorry..."

"I-it talks...?"

While the others were still gawking at the sudden appearance of technology none of them had expected, Monokuma burst out laughing.

"Upupupupupu...! No matter how many seeds of hope you plant... if you keep ripping them out, and ripping them out again, despair is what blooms in the end, isn't it...? Just... like this...!"

Monokuma's eyes flashed. A shrill alarm began to wail. Sensing danger, the students ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠edged backward — and Monokuma's smile widened as he bellowed:

"...Hehe."

And with that — after flashing one last small smile at its master — Alter Ego was blown to pieces alongside Monokuma.

— KABOOM!

"...Ah..."

"I-I don't know what that was, but... if it had Fujisaki's face on it... that was something important, wasn't it...?"

"...Fujisaki. That plan you mentioned. Was that it?"

"Upupupupu... I don't know what you thought you were going to accomplish by tapping into the school network, but you wasted your time!"

"...How many more of these damn bear robots are there? You blow one up and another one just waddles out..."

"Originally I was going to throw a nice, lavish execution, seeing as nobody had gotten around to murdering anyone... but then something fun came up, so I decided to keep it short and sweet!"

"...Something fun?"

"Don't tell me you still haven't watched that video? Hurry up and take a look! I think you'll find it pretty entertaining. Upupupupu..."

And with that, Monokuma vanished.

"......"

The others stole glances at Kirigiri. She sat with her eyes closed for a long moment, then let out a breath and spoke in a voice stripped of everything.

"...I'm ready. Let's go."

And so they followed her — quietly, almost holding their breath — in the wake of a girl who seemed, somehow, to be radiating an aura that made the air itself flinch.

Alter Ego... that last little smile. That means it worked. It actually worked...

At the very back of the group, Fujisaki was smiling to himself.

"..."

"Ki-Kirigiri... are you all ri—"

"...Would you be quiet?"

"R-right..."

What filled the screen the moment they hit play was footage of Ikusaba strangling Kei. She had him pinned beneath her, hands locked around his throat, demanding something from him. Kei thrashed and clawed to get free, but the strength was already draining out of him.

"...Th-this is... this is too much..."

"...Kirigiri. If you can't watch this, you don't have to."

"...I've already seen it once."

"Huh...?"

And as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on cue, Kirigiri's own voice came through the speakers.

What followed was the sound of Kei's fingers breaking — and the image of Kirigiri biting down hard on her own lip before turning and walking out.

"Ki-Kirigiri..."

"The important part is coming. Be quiet."

Onscreen, Ikusaba shut the door. She crossed the room toward the boy huddled on the bed, still sniffling, and the look on her face was ice. Kei was shaking. She reached for his throat again.

The instant her fingers touched his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠neck, the screen went black.

Monokuma vanished from the screen, and a single line of text took his place before the recording cut out.

"...I suppose we should go take a look."

"...Damn it. The fifth floor already? Enoshima really is in a hurry."

"Um... Kirigiri... are you okay...?"

"...Let's go."

"Right... then let's split into groups. Wandering around separately would just be a waste of time..."

"...Fine."

They started dividing themselves up, all of them watching Kirigiri out of the corners of their eyes — the girl who stood there in silence, looking as though something inside her had simply gone out.

Kirigiri stepped into the archery dojo with Naegi and Fujisaki, and the cherry blossoms stopped her cold. They were in full bloom, a sea of pale pink she had almost never seen — she had spent too many years overseas for landscapes like this. For a moment she simply stood there, looking, and let her thoughts drift.

It would have been nicer to see this with him.

The thought arrived uninvited, and her brow furrowed on its own. She shook her head, banishing it, and a different question rose in its place.

What were we to each other, before I lost my memories...? Why do I keep feeling like this?

The answer was not, in truth, a difficult one to reach. But Kirigiri had made herself a promise — she would not be ruled by her feelings anymore — and so she turned back to the search for any trace of Kei.

They tore through the archery dojo for several minutes. They found nothing.

"...By the way, Fujisaki. That Alter Ego of yours... is there any way to bring it back?"

"...Probably not. I could re-enter the program, sure, but without the laptop..."

"Yeah. Like Kirigiri said — there aren't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any laptops left in this school."

"...It's okay."

"...?"

Kirigiri watched Fujisaki's quiet little smile and understood at once that he still had a plan in reserve. The foul mood that had been clinging to her all day loosened its grip, just a little, and she almost smiled back.

The news that found her next, however, was enough to drive everyone in that room — Kirigiri included — straight into despair.

"G-guys...! The greenhouse... the greenhouse...!"

"Calm down and tell us. What happened?"

"There's a body in the greenhouse.......!"

"...!"

"W-what's going on...? A body...? What do you mean, a body...?"

"Oh my god... th-that's... that's a real corpse..."

"U-uughh...!"

They had come running the instant the broadcast ended, crowding into the greenhouse — and what waited for them there stopped every one of them cold.

In the center of the room lay a body. A hood covered the face. A heavy blanket had been wrapped around the rest. And buried in the chest, right to the hilt, was a knife.

"Th-that's... wh-who is that..."

"...The only people who aren't here are Kei and Ikusaba. Which means that is almost certainly one of the two."

Kirigiri was already moving toward the body before she realized she had taken a step. She reached it. Her hands were shaking as she stretched them toward the hood — and Togami's voice cracked across the room, sharp with sudden panic.

"Hey— watch it...!"

In that sliver of a second, Kirigiri saw the bomb strapped to the corpse. She threw herself sideways — and then—

—KRRRBOOOOM!!!

The body exploded.

"......"

"Ah, damn it... now there's no way to tell who that even was..."

"No... after that video we just watched... the culprit is obvious, isn't it...!"

Asahina's voice broke as she turned on the rest of them.

"The killer is Ikusaba, and that body... that body is...!"

"There you all are! Did you hear the body announcement? Who the hell—"

"—Kei, it has to be....."

And then Kei walked into the greenhouse, and Asahina's voice died in her throat. She froze where she stood. So did everyone else.

"...What... what is this...?"

The reunion with Kei was the worst.