Master and Tool
I was heading back to the dorm when I spotted Kirigiri and Nanami locked in a serious conversation.
"Eh? Kirigiri? Nanami? What are you doing here?"
"Kei, come here quietly..."
".....?"
I greeted them with a bright smile, but Nanami answered me in a grave tone. The moment I realized something was terribly wrong, I swallowed the dry lump in my throat and approached them.
"What's... going on...?"
"It's..."
"The 'Clear Special' has disappeared."
"What!?"
The voice struck me like a bolt from the blue, leaving me dazed. The core and decisive evidence of this motive—the 'Clear Special'—had vanished? Why...
"Did you... check thoroughly?"
"I searched the entire banquet hall myself, but couldn't find even a single trace."
"Then where...?"
"There's only one answer: someone stole the Clear Special."
The instant Kirigiri spoke, the image of Komeda with his white hair and twisted hope flashed across my mind. I didn't know exactly what it was, but this was almost certainly Komeda's doing as well?
As expected, when he had briefly slipped away earlier, he had probably used that damned 'luck' to grab the 'Clear Special,' laughed like an idiot, and stuffed it into his pocket. It was painfully obvious.
"Ke...Kei!? Where are you going!?"
"...?"
Nanami and Kirigiri suddenly wore furious expressions and stared at me sprinting toward the corridor with bewildered faces, but I was consumed with the single-minded desire to torment Komeda and kept rushing forward.
"Even if you've been hit once, you can't hit me twice."
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"Ah, Kei... come quick... maybe you came here to see someone like me..."
"Shut up and hand it over."
"Eh? What does that mean..."
"That envelope! Give it to me right now!!"
"Haha, what are you even saying..."
I sprinted straight at the laughing Komeda and began frisking every inch of his body.
"Look at this? You bastard?"
"Ahahaha, gotcha... pity..."
Soon the 'Clear Special' envelope was found in his pocket. Honestly, I had half-expected it, but I had been quietly worried about where else the reward might be if Komeda wasn't the culprit—only for Komeda to prove me right once again.
Fortunately, even if I had seen the contents, I wouldn't have been able to guess what it meant. This was a reward given after completing the game. I knew it was probably important photos, but if I took them back, he wouldn't be able to cause any more trouble with them.
"I knew this would happen. This is confiscation—how dare you cause trouble."
"Hahaha..."
"What are you splitting... insane hope pervert..."
"Kei...! What's going on...?"
"Komeda...?"
Kirigiri and Nanami, who had chased after me belatedly, froze the moment they saw us.
"Here. Komeda had it."
"How did you know Komeda stole it?"
"...Now, whenever something happens, there's a fifty percent chance it's Komeda who did it. So from now on, I'll torment Komeda first."
Somehow, Kei's words carried surprising persuasiveness, and both Kirigiri and Nanami nodded without realizing it.
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- Ding dong dang dong ♬
Morning had broken.
As always, the students had gathered naturally in the dining hall for breakfast, but several seats were empty.
"Hmm... some seats are empty...? The students in the corridor should have rejoined..."
"Kokichi and... who else is missing?"
"Kuzuryu-san and Pekoyama-san are missing!"
"What? Where did they go...?"
"Sorry, a bit late."
As the saying goes, the tiger comes when called, and the moment the words left my mouth, Pekoyama pushed open the dining hall door.
"Oh! Pekoyama, I was worried you wouldn't come! Fortunately! The duty to bring food to Komeda today is you!"
"...I see."
"Here, I already packed the food, so take this..."
"Um..."
While Hanamura was explaining to Pekoyama, I interjected from the side in a timid voice.
"If it's okay, can I deliver it...?"
"Eh? Kei, you?"
"Haha, to restore everyone's trust, I have to set an example even in small things."
"Hmm, that's right. Good! Then this food is Kei's..."
"No."
Hanamura, who had thought that made sense, was about to hand the food to me, and I was about to receive it, when we both froze at Pekoyama's icy voice.
"The food, I'll deliver it myself."
"P-Pekoyama...?"
"Kei, I told you to be careful in front of me. I still don't trust you."
Pekoyama let out a faint murderous intent, and Kei flinched. Eventually he sighed and stepped back.
"Huu... I guess I have no choice. Do as you like."
"I was thinking that anyway."
Pekoyama ended with that, left the dining hall with the atmosphere frozen solid, and headed toward the corridor.
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"Damn it, this guy and that guy... nothing pleases me..."
Kuzuryu muttered to himself while wandering around the hotel. He had been about to go to the dining hall since he was hungry, but the hall was already packed with students.
Gathering food in front of everyone went against his pride.
Eventually, after wandering around the hotel, he decided that when some students were missing, he would naturally enter the dining hall to get food. Suddenly, he recalled yesterday's incident.
"That bastard... called me a little brother and a troublemaker?"
Hearing such abusive language was quite rare, and it had made him furious to the core. If Pekoyama hadn't stepped in, a real incident would have occurred.
'Huu... well, whatever... it would look that way to others.'
Kuzuryu sank into deep, gloomy thoughts.
Other students could show off their 'Ultimate Talent' even in this situation, but what could he do here?
Originally, he had entered Kibogamine Academy not because his talent shone, but because he was the 'successor' of the organization.
He had been thinking about that fact anyway, but in this situation it felt even more bone-chilling.
Here, where he couldn't use the organization's help or the intimidation of being a yakuza, he was just a fragile boy protected by Pekoyama, wasn't he?
'After all, my little brother...'
At the thought of his little brother, his heart sank.
"...Damn."
He had tried to forget, but it refused to leave him. The game he had impulsively played because of the word 'motive' had contained quite shocking stories.
How shocked he had been when the names of the students and 'Kuzuryu' appeared in the ending credits.
Of course, it was probably Monokuma's trick, but... somehow it felt strange. It felt like he had experienced this before... that uneasy feeling.
"Natsumi. I hope you're doing well..."
Negative thoughts kept rising, but he immediately shook them off. It was his little brother who had always made him feel inferior. Surely, he wouldn't die in such an absurd incident.
If he knew he was having such trivial worries, he would probably say something like 'Idiot! So whiny! Uweah...' and be disgusted. After all, worrying was harmful to the guy.
"...Young Master?"
"Peko?"
Just barely regaining composure, Kuzuryu saw Pekoyama approaching from afar carrying food.
"Young Master, what business do you have here..."
"Peko, I told you to use casual speech without titles here... we are friends here."
"B-But...I am your tool..."
"Peko, drop the 'tool' talk."
"....."
Watching her close her mouth and look lost, old memories surfaced. She had grown up with him from birth, sharing every moment, and now they were inseparable.
How many times had she saved his life, and how many times had her life been in danger because of him.
Whenever she was saved by him or got hurt, he had wanted to repay her somehow, but the organization's strict rules never allowed him to repay her.
So he had wanted to improve the master-and-tool relationship that had solidified with Pekoyama in Kibogamine Academy... but he had gotten caught in this absurd situation and was receiving help from her again.
...So he wanted to help her even with such small things.
"Peko, are you trying to deliver this food to Komeda?"
"Yes... no... uh... yes..."
"Here, give it."
"Eh... eh...!?"
"I'll deliver it. Even though you scolded me so much last night, you followed me faithfully and protected me. You must be tired, so rest for a bit."
".....!"
"And don't follow me alone—sometimes play with those guys... no need for you to be left out because of me..."
"Ku...Kuzuryu..."
"Then, I'll go now."
Kuzuryu left with that, his face slightly flushed, heading toward the corridor.
"...Young Master."
And Pekoyama's face was also flushed.
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"Hey, since you brought the food, get up and get to work."
"Hmm... Kuzuryu...? Ahahaha, this is the first time talking with you two..."
"Shut up, idiot. Don't even think of talking to me."
"Um... is there no sandwich..."
".....Crazy bastard."
Kuzuryu had been about to throw the food roughly next to Komeda and turn to leave because he didn't want to interact anymore, but he couldn't stop his feet because of Komeda's meaningful words.
"...Have you overcome your little brother's matter?"
"You... you...! What...!"
"If you played a game filled with such despairing events and saw a photo of your little brother dying so miserably... you would definitely be in despair... but still, the Ultimate...!"
Suddenly, Kuzuryu lost his reason and rushed at Komeda, grabbing his collar and shouting.
"You bastard!!! If you did this to make me angry, I won't forgive you...!!"
"What? You haven't seen it yet? Then... let's check..."
"What... what...!?"
Komeda said with a smirk.
"The photo of your little brother's corpse... that the traitors have..."
".....!"