Confession

I left the cafeteria with Naegi, Kirigiri, and Fujisaki, and the four of us started talking through how we were going to investigate the unidentified corpse.

"...So where do we even start?"

"Um... maybe we should go back to the park...?"

"We already covered everything there was to cover, even if we didn't have much time. The body was pulp — there was nothing useful to find. And by now it'll have been cleaned up completely. We're not going to discover anything new."

"Th-then... is finding out who the victim is, and who the killer is... just impossible...?"

"Even Enoshima wouldn't assign us something that's completely impossible..."

In the original game, the corpse had been Ikusaba after she'd been turned into a hedgehog, and the damage hadn't been anywhere near this thorough. Between the Monokuma File and a proper examination ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the body, you could piece together who it was. This corpse, though, offered nothing. All we knew was that the victim had already been dead before being blown to pieces, that a knife had gone through the abdomen, and that there had been a massive wound to the head.

But no matter how badly Junko Enoshima had been backed into a corner, there was no way she would just grab some random body from outside, dump it on us, and tell us we'd die if we couldn't identify it. There had to be a clue. Somewhere.

"...I've got an idea. Want to hear it?"

Naegi suddenly dropped his voice to a whisper so faint we almost missed it.

"...Kei said Enoshima is in the data processing room. So... what if we just go in there and catch her...?"

"Not a bad thought. But Enoshima already knows we know the secrets of the killing game. She's probably evacuated somewhere by now."

"Yeah... you're right..."

"I think I know where she'd hide."

".....What?"

"...Enoshima is probably holed up in the hidden space inside the data processing room. The door that leads ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there can only be locked from the inside — you can't open it from the outside..."

"How would you even know that... no, I suppose there's no point asking at this stage. You really are something else, Kei."

"Ahaha..."

I was still squirming under the compliment when Kirigiri leaned in, her expression deadly serious, and murmured,

"If that's true, then we go into the data processing room, seize control of Monokuma, and smash the door open. We catch Enoshima and we end this killing game right here."

"Th-that's brilliant. That's Kirigiri for you...!"

"Shh. From this point on, we move as carefully as we can. Act natural. Don't let Enoshima notice a thing."

"U-um... then wouldn't it be better to gather everyone and... rush in all at once...?"

"Do that and Enoshima will sense something's off and make a move. We pretend we're investigating, keep it as natural as possible, and then we go in."

"Ah... right...!"

"If we head straight for the data processing room, she'll find it suspicious. We start by pretending to investigate the greenhouse on the fifth floor, then we make our way there."

"Okay...!"

And so the four of us started upstairs, carrying the fragile hope that we might catch Enoshima and end this killing game without ever having to stand a class trial.

We gave the greenhouse a cursory once-over, offered a few words of encouragement to the students still investigating the fifth floor, and then headed down to the fourth.

".....Ready?"

".....Yeah. Let's go in."

We stepped into the data processing room as naturally as we could manage. The moment we crossed the threshold, a wall of monitors stared back at us, every one of them broadcasting a different corner of the school.

"Whoa... Enoshima was watching all of these at once...? What a waste, using a talent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that to run a killing game..."

"This is the first time I've seen this many electronics since we got locked in here... I feel weirdly calm..."

".....That'll be the Monokuma control room."

Kyoko Kirigiri was looking at a door with Monokuma's face painted across it. We traded a glance, swallowed, and eased the door open in silence.

".....So Enoshima is hiding somewhere in here, then?"

"Yeah... there's definitely a hidden door. Fujisaki — do you think you can operate Monokuma...?"

"I'm good with electronics, so... leave it to me...!"

Fujisaki peered over the control console for a moment, pressed something, and a Monokuma popped out.

"Wow... so this really is where they were being controlled from..."

"I won't be as smooth as Enoshima, but... I think I can at least smash a hidden door..."

Watching Monokuma speak in Fujisaki's shy little voice was so surreal I just stood there staring, until Kirigiri jabbed me in the ribs.

"Focus. We're already short on composure. Now is not the time to zone out."

Her scolding snapped me back, and the four of us started hunting for the hidden door. We'd been at it for a while when Kirigiri suddenly called out.

"Everyone, look at this. Doesn't this seem off?"

She was pointing at a rectangular iron plate set into the floor.

"This is the only section made of a different material from everything around it. This is probably the hidden door. Fujisaki — can you break it?"

"Um... it's iron, so we'll probably need Monokuma's self-destruct... It could be dangerous, so everyone stand back! I'll trigger it and run straight to you...!"

"Alright... we're counting on you, Fujisaki...!"

We fell back. Fujisaki fidgeted with something on the console, face tight with nerves, then bolted toward us.

"I turned the blast down as much as I could, but just in case — everyone be careful...!"

Just to be safe, we'd ducked out into the monitor room, shut the door, and flattened ourselves against the floor. The explosion thundered from inside the control room.

We got up and eased our way back in. The iron plate lay in pieces, and where it had been, a passage opened downward.

"Everyone...! What was that noise...! I heard an explosion from this room and came running!"

"I thought something terrible had happened again — my heart nearly stopped...! Honestly..."

"What the hell did you people just do in here?"

Startled by the blast, the other students began gathering one after another. Leaving them behind us, I peered into the opening, every nerve on edge — and found a space much larger than I'd expected.

"What is this place... it's cleaner in here than I thought...?"

Naegi's uneasy remark followed me inside. Packaged survival food caught my eye immediately. Instant ramen cups and frozen meals lay scattered across the floor — Enoshima had clearly been eating her meals down here.

"Enoshima...! We know you're hiding in there, so come out...!"

I put everything I had into the shout. Only my own echo came back. I swept the room, still on high alert, and then the table caught my attention.

"What's this...?"

A scrap of paper was stuck to the tabletop.

Even after being reduced to this cheap, petty version of herself, Enoshima was still Enoshima. The title of Ultimate Analyst hadn't gone anywhere.

...Looks like we were going to the Headmaster's Office.

"Hey... guys? We were so busy with the fourth and fifth floors that nobody's been to the half-destroyed dorms on the second, right...?"

"Huh? Oh, Kei! You didn't hear? We already went! I even helped smash the Headmaster's Office door open!"

Owada's sunny voice jogged something Kirigiri had told me. The others had stormed the Headmaster's Office, she'd said. But in the game, the second-floor dorms didn't even open until Monokuma declared the final showdown... didn't they?

"That Monokuma bastard said he was sick of hiding floors, so he left the second-floor dorms wide open — and then wouldn't even unlock the door. What a cheap little punk, right? So I taught him a lesson!"

Ah. There it is again. My worst habit — blind faith in game knowledge. I'd sworn I wouldn't do this anymore, and I'd broken the promise immediately. I had no excuse.

"Ah, I see... Well, in that case, we should head to the Headmaster's Office, right...?"

"Hold up, though. If we can control Monokuma from here... can't we just use this Monokuma to fight Enoshima?"

Wait... he's right? Was Hagakure actually a genius this whole time...?

"F-Fujisaki, can you operate more than one of them...?"

"Y-yeah...! I think I can make it work somehow...! If it's for everyone...!"

"Great! Then we send every last Monokuma to the trial grounds...!"

"Upupu... I even left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a note to set up this dramatic little reveal, and you still forced me to come out..."

A Monokuma popped up out of nowhere, and the others jumped.

"Upupu...! It's been a while since I actually startled anyone! This is why I love surprise parties..."

"Enoshima. How are you controlling Monokuma right now?"

"Well, obviously... because I have a remote with the highest-level access! You people... I know I've been failing a lot lately, but aren't you underestimating me a little too much? Anyway, since you're already here, we might as well have a little housewarming—"

".....Anyway. We need to go to the Headmaster's Office."

"Kei. Could you and I go there alone?"

"Huh...?"

Kirigiri made the request with a dark, sorrowful look on her face. Just seeing her like that made something in my own chest ache.

"Upupu... interrupting me to flirt, of all things... Haaah... forget it... Kei, I'm so over you... I'm leaving..."

I completely ignored the Monokuma muttering to itself as it vanished, asked the others to keep investigating the school's secrets, and headed for the Headmaster's Office with Kirigiri.

"...This is your first time here, but this is the Headmaster's Office. To get into the hidden room, you have to enter a password on this computer..."

In the original, the password was Kirigiri's name. I'd sworn off trusting the original's information — but the fact that Jin Kirigiri loved his daughter wouldn't have changed. This time, at least, it ought to be right.

"Um... is it possibly..."

"You already know about my relationship with the headmaster."

".....Yeah."

"...Good. Saves me the explanation. Anyway — you were about to ask if the password is my name, weren't you?"

"W-wait... it's not...?"

"My name was the first password. But we need a second one."

A second password...? That put us in a tight spot. I only knew the first one...

"Honestly... I've been going back and forth for a long time about whether to admit this feeling. But I think it's time I made a decision."

Without warning, Kirigiri looked straight at me and began to speak with complete seriousness.

".....Huh?"

"A detective who allows subjectivity to creep in loses their light. That's what my grandfather always told me."

"....."

"And do you know what he told me just as often as that?"

".....?"

"Never forgive your father, who abandoned the clan."

"...I see."

Kyoko Kirigiri was, in a way, a deeply pitiable girl. Her father's leaving had set her on the path of a detective — and at the same time, it had condemned her to grow up under the pitying, judgmental stares of people who knew she had no parents.

To escape those stares, to confront her father and formally disown him, she had even broken the Kirigiri clan's creed that they must never step into the public eye, and enrolled at Hope's Peak Academy. What had that felt like?

I wanted to understand. I couldn't. At the very least, I had had parents — we hadn't been close, but they had been there.

I must have been looking at her with a pretty wretched expression, because Kirigiri smiled.

"What's this? Kei, of all people, worrying about me? How unsettling."

"S-sorry for worrying...?"

".....I'm joking. Anyway. You saw that video call between my grandfather and me last time."

"Ah. Back then..."

"That's right. He was trying to tell me something about my father."

"....."

"I didn't catch the last of it, but given his expression, his tone, and the situation at the time, it's easy enough to infer what he was about to say."

"Uh... so...?"

"Grandfather broke his word first. I think I'm allowed to break one rule of my own."

With that, Kirigiri reached out and struck a single key on the computer.

The letter she typed was K.

The moment we stepped into the hidden room, we found a photograph of Kirigiri as a child with her father, a photograph of Kirigiri and me together, a photograph of Kirigiri, her father, and me, and a DVD with a slip of paper stuck to it that read The Identity of the Corpse.

We loaded the disc into the same computer we'd used for the password. The footage that began to play was the moment Jin Kirigiri, her father, was executed.

The instant it started I lunged to shut it off, but Kirigiri stopped me and watched the whole thing through, her face drawn tight with the effort of holding herself together.

The spacecraft slammed into the ground. When the hatch opened, his body lay inside, cold, a massive wound torn through his head.

Then Monokuma appeared on screen and began narrating in that nauseating voice.

"....."

".....Ngh."

The final confrontation with Enoshima was right in front of us. But Kirigiri was in no state for that. First, I had to take care of her...

"...I already had a feeling."

"...Huh?"

"There was something strange about the body. When I first saw it, I thought it was Ikusaba's — or yours. But it wasn't either of you."

"....."

"The moment Monokuma's note mentioned the Headmaster's Office, I already expected it would end like this. But actually confirming it... really..."

"Kirigiri..."

She stopped talking and drew a long breath. Then, once she had forced the storm in her chest back down, she looked me in the eyes and said, very quietly,

".....!"

Kirigiri pulled off her glove and held her hand out to me. Severe burn scars marked the palm of her right hand.

I took it gently, covering the burns with my own, and stood.

Hands joined, Kirigiri and I walked toward the end of the killing game.