Already in the Red

Dragged off by Nidai and Owari, I found myself suddenly appointed referee of their fight.

"Uh, that's another win for Nidai... That's twelve and oh already. Maybe it's about time you two—"

"I can still go! Here I coooome!!"

"Come as many times as you want!"

"....."

Despite every attempt I made to stop them, they plunged straight into their thirteenth bout.

I held my breath and watched the sparks fly, and unbidden, the image of Nidai throwing his own body in the way to protect Owari rose to the surface of my mind.

Come to think of it, the relationship between these two was a fascinating thing. At first it had been nothing more than Owari unilaterally demanding a fight. Then they started crossing paths more and more often, and before long Nidai was the one giving her full-body massages.

"Ghhk..."

"Is that all you've got...? Where is your will!?"

"No... no, it's not...! I can still...!"

"Then get up and come at me!"

"Uwaaaaaaah!!"

Watching the two of them deliver lines that belonged in a shonen manga with perfectly straight faces, I couldn't help but smile. I stood there grinning as I took it all in—

"Gahhk!!"

—and Owari went flying, clutching her stomach and coughing blood, sealing her thirteenth consecutive loss.

Well. Owari was strong, no question, but she wasn't stronger than Nidai. In that sense, the result was only natural.

"It's weird... When I fight you, my heart feels at ease... Even if my body's killing me."

"I feel the same. The moment I start fighting you, every worry and every care just blows away."

Hearing them say things like that... yeah. Whatever was between those two, it was not an ordinary friendship.

In the original, when Owari broke a rule and Monokuma came after her, Nidai threw himself in the way and took a hit that nearly killed him. And in Chapter 4, when Nidai died, Owari looked at his body and wept with a grief so raw it could break a bystander's heart. I could still hear that cry. It had never left me.

Put those things together and the conclusion was obvious. They were both muscle-brains of the highest order, which meant they had almost certainly failed to identify their own feelings for what they were.

And why wouldn't they? Two people that simple, that straightforward—willing to throw their lives away for each other, capable of weeping so desolately that even a stranger would ache to hear it—that was not mere friendship.

But would those two muscle-brains ever actually figure that out?

"Ghhhk... Nidaaaaaaiii!!"

"The way you use your body, your strength, your timing—all of it is clumsy."

"...What?"

"You are not drawing out your full potential."

"....!"

"But there is no need to despair. You taught yourself all of this, did you not?"

"...Yeah. I didn't have the money, so... I had to learn on my own."

"To reach this level independently—your future is a promising one, in more ways than one. And your speed surpasses that of any student I have ever coached."

"Huh? I mean, I'm pretty fast, but... I was that good...?"

Owari tilted her head, puzzled, and Nidai answered her with a smile.

"Your greatest weapon is speed. Which means that for the time being, we will need a special regimen designed to push that speed to its absolute limit. First, you will run the entire island. After that, drills to sharpen your reflexes, and then—"

True to his title as the Ultimate Manager, he laid out a training course and methodology on the spot. Perfect. The two of them were so absorbed in fighting and coaching that they had completely forgotten I existed. If I slipped away now—

"Kei. You will be joining us."

"Wh—what!?"

"You are currently under our surveillance, are you not? We will take the opportunity to correct that frail constitution of yours. You will run the island with us."

The blood drained from my face. I looked around for Kirigiri—ah. Right. I had come here alone.

"Uh... listen, I...!"

"Aw, c'mon, just run with us! And while we're at it... counsel me about my problems! Do that and I'll specially vote that I trust you tomorrow...!"

Owari had started blackmailing me with the vote. Extraordinary. I was actually witnessing Akane Owari use her brain.

Well. The two of them were neutrals anyway, which meant I needed to win them over sooner or later. Playing along for now and making my pitch during training didn't sound like the worst idea.

"Look... as you can see, I'm frail, so... maybe keep it to something my body can actually handle...?"

"Have no fear. I have managed more than a few frail clients in my time."

That was mildly reassuring. And so I was absorbed into their training.

"Hhhaah... hahh... hahh..."

"Truly pathetic. A man, reduced to crawling after this little? Know some shame!"

"Nooo... this isn't... this isn't the same thing... this is nothing to you guys... to me it's..."

"We are accounting for your level. What we are doing right now is the all-out sprint of an elementary schooler. For us, this is not even training. We are running slowly enough that it barely qualifies as movement."

"E-elementary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠schooler...?"

"Indeed. You said you have been frail since birth, and we are making allowances. If even this leaves you on the ground, your health will become a genuine problem before long."

"Haaahhh... so boring... I wanna go faster... eh, I'll just treat this like a stroll..."

I couldn't even survive an elementary schooler's full sprint. What kind of body was this? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Monokuma had to have done something to my avatar—no. Come to think of it, this was the same body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that passed out after less than thirty minutes in a sauna. That tracked, unfortunately.

Still, the words "elementary schooler" lit a stubborn little fire in me, and I clenched my teeth and kept running. Beside me, Owari was jogging along at a lazy amble, yawning wide enough to unhinge her jaw, when she tossed a question my way.

"Hey. So I've got something I wanna get counseling for..."

"Hah... hah... r-right n-now...?"

"Why not? This is a great time to talk, isn't it?"

"What even... f-fine... go ahead..."

Pushing back any further would only drain what little stamina I had left, so I gave in and let her talk. Meanwhile, I turned the question over in my head.

Did Owari even have problems?

Well... she had grown up in the worst possible home environment, with more younger siblings to support than any one person should have to carry. But Owari's personality was so straightforward, so stubbornly simple, that she never turned any of that into a trauma that caused problems for other people. In the original, nearly every mess she landed in came from that same simple-minded streak, not from some festering wound.

If she had a worry at all, it would be whatever was going on between her and Nidai... but they were both muscle-brains. I doubted either of them had even noticed. So what on earth was she about to ask me?

"Lately, see... weird stuff's been happening in my cottage..."

"Weird stuff...?"

"Yeah... recently, whenever I do a hard workout and then lie down in bed... my whole body just locks up, and then... and then...!"

Mid-sentence, Owari's face went paper-white. She started trembling.

"L-locks up, and then...?"

"S-someone was stuck to the ceiling, staring down at me...!"

"...What?"

"Th-this is that thing, right...? It is, isn't it...? A gh-gh-gho..."

"A ghost?"

"HYAAAAAAIIIK!!"

Watching her seize up in pure terror, I almost laughed out loud. I had known she was afraid of ghosts. I had not known it was this bad.

"That's just sleep paralysis."

"Sl-sleep para-what...? What does sleeping have to do with anything?"

"Uh... I mean... it's just a nightmare."

"A... a nightmare? No way! Whenever it happens, I'm always awake...!"

"Okay... I'm going to need to explain this more carefully. The thing you're experiencing is called sleep paralysis. Your mind is awake, but your body is still asleep, so—"

I launched into a thorough explanation, and Owari scratched her head.

"Uh... so... I don't really get all of it, but it's a nightmare, basically? That's a relief, at least... Don't tell anyone, but... I am ridiculously scared of ghosts."

"Pfft—haha! As if ghosts even exist in this—uh... they don't, right...?"

"You were so confident and then you trailed off at the end!!"

Come to think of it, ghosts do exist. Komaru Naegi, the protagonist of Ultra Despair Girls, can see them. She can even interact with them.

Goddamn game world. Well, the lore said you could exorcise them with a sutra or two, so if I ever ran into one I'd probably be fine... right?

"H-hey... so do you know how to fix it...? I don't want to see ghosts even in my dreams...!"

"Alright. Before you get into bed, calm your mind and loosen up your body. If you lie down while you're still tense and stressed, you're much more likely to get sleep paralysis."

"W-will that really be enough...? Wh-what if I do all that and I still have the nightmare...?"

"The reason you see a ghost during sleep paralysis is because you're terrified of the situation itself. So if that happens again and you just don't let yourself feel afraid, the ghost won't show up."

"Hmm..."

"And if you're really worried, try to move a finger or a toe the moment it starts. That'll pull you out of it fast. I've done it plenty of times. I know what I'm talking about."

Owari's eyes lit up, and she all but shouted at me.

"Whoa!! That's the Ultimate Counselor for you! You're amazing!! Now I won't have to be scared every single night when I go to sleep! Thank you so much!"

She finished speaking and went in for a hug, but every nerve I had was dedicated to the act of remaining upright and moving forward, so I sidestepped her without much trouble.

"Hey... grabbing just anybody like that is a bad habit..."

"Huh? But those old guys said this is how you show someone they're doing a good job..."

"I don't know what you've been told, but that's something you only do with people who really matter to you."

"Hmm... people who matter...? What's the cutoff for that...?"

"Uh... people who matter about as much as your little brothers and sisters, I guess?"

"Ohh, I get it now! My little siblings love getting hugged! Wait... did I ever tell you I had siblings...?"

"Ah... that's... I mean... ah! You did! Back then, remember?"

"...Huh?"

"You know... during the introductions!! You mentioned it then... haha...!"

"Hmm... did I? Well, whatever. Thanks for all of this!"

Good. I had solved Owari's problem. Now I could finally start working on the two of them, get them to help me in tomorrow's vote—

"Hey, so I've got a question this time..."

"Hah... hah... good lord, I'm dying... Yeah, what is it?"

"What's a guy's tail even for?"

".....!"

From that point on, I was subjected to Owari's relentless barrage of questions for quite some time.

...The boy looks ready to drop dead, and he is still listening to someone else's troubles with that much care, still solving them. He is not a bad person. I can afford to lower my guard a little.

And behind us, Nidai watched the whole thing with an expression of genuine, almost paternal approval.

"So that's why you're a wreck. One hour of training."

"They wanted me to... come to the next session too... I barely got away... I th-think I'm dying..."

"And the persuasion?"

"Ah. Right."

"....."

"I-I did counsel her, though, so... they'll look at me a little more favorably, at least..."

"Forget it. From now on, you go with me. Understood?"

"Yeees..."

I had been so busy giving Owari the least graphic possible explanation of a guy's tail, and my body had been so thoroughly destroyed, that I had completely forgotten to actually persuade either of them. Kirigiri dressed me down for it without mercy.

"Kei. You're here."

"Ah, Nanami! Have you... have you tried that game over there?"

"Yeah. I just cleared all of it... And the moment I did, Monokuma gave me something he called a 'Clear Bonus'..."

Nanami's expression was dark as she said it. The look on her face put me on edge as well. What kind of motive had been hidden inside that game?

"...Can you walk us through it?"

"Okay. I'll start from the very beginning... ah, Togami?"

"...What is it?"

"I was about to explain the game I played... Are you not going to listen?"

"Unnecessary. I shall play it myself."

With that, Togami turned and headed for the console.

"Whew... alright, I'll start from the top. When you boot the game, you pick up from Day 2, and..."

"...That's all the information I have. And this is the Clear Bonus Monokuma gave me. You should... you should take a look."

With a wretched feeling in my chest, I took the Clear Bonus Nanami held out. I checked it with the expression of someone who would rather have looked at anything else, and found—

"...Poor girl."

"This is... too sharp to call a fabrication."

"Damn it."

A photograph of Kuzuryu's little sister Natsumi, dead in exactly the same way as the original—and a photograph of Tsumiki, Saionji, and Mioda standing together near the entrance. That was all.

There it was. This motive was identical to the original. Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single detail out of place.

Why? How did this happen...?

What had the past version of me even been doing? He had known this incident was coming. Had he just sat there sucking his thumb?

Natsumi's death was one of the events that pushed Hinata into accepting the Kamukura Project. It was an incident that had to be stopped, no matter what. And I had just... let it happen? Why would I—

"Ah, fuck."

"Ke... Kei...?"

".....?"

Kirigiri and Nanami both stared at me, startled by the sudden curse. I barely registered their faces. I was too busy standing in the wreckage of my own assumptions.

That's right... this incident happened before I ever possessed this body.

It seemed I had been saddled with a fatal advance—a debt incurred before I had even arrived.