Horrible Time
"Ugh..."
My head is spinning badly. The world feels like it's spinning around. I force my eyes open and see the familiar ceiling.
"Is this my room...?"
Chiaki Nanami, clutching her head as it throbs painfully, begins to review the situation to figure out what on earth happened.
'After breakfast... I was playing games on the first floor of the hotel for a bit... Peko called me, right...'
While I was engrossed in the game, Peko came to talk to me. She said she had something to discuss with me.
When I asked what the story was, Peko blushed and said she wanted to apologize for misjudging the traitors.
I told her there was no need to apologize with gestures, but Peko insisted that she wouldn't feel at ease unless I accepted the apology. So, I led her to my room, guided by her earnest request for advice.
Upon arriving at my room, Peko sat down with a shy expression and handed me a drink she had prepared.
She said she wanted to apologize but didn't know how to give a proper gift, so she could only give this pathetic gift, and asked me for advice on how to make a gift that would satisfy Kei and Kirigiri.
While I was enthusiastically giving advice to Peko, who was earnestly seeking advice, I suddenly couldn't resist the sleep that had come upon me...
'Wait... suddenly overwhelming sleep...?'
Something feels unnatural. Of course, I'm always sleepy and fall asleep easily, but it's not to the point where I lose consciousness while talking to someone.
And... even though I had just woken up, this dizzy and confused feeling... what is it? And where did Peko go who was talking to me...? Moreover... the room seems strangely messy...
After thinking for a while, suddenly a voice came from beside me.
"Hah... hahaha! Nanami, you're awake!"
"M... Monomi...?"
Seeing Monomi appear out of nowhere with a confused expression, Monomi starts speaking urgently.
"K... It's a big problem! If we go like this..."
"What's wrong, Monomi...?"
"Kei... Kei's in danger..."
"K... Kei?"
"That's right! Right now Kei is... Uwaaaaaaaaah!!"
Monomi was trying to say something urgently, but then she screamed like someone with electricity, collapsing on the floor.
"Why... why are you doing this!?"
"The cowardly Monokuma... even giving this much information... is restricted..."
"Kei-kun is in danger!? What exactly..."
"Play the game, Nanami."
"G... game...!?"
Monomi starts pleading with Nanami in a desperate voice.
"There's still a hidden ending that hasn't been discovered... The special feature that comes out when you see that ending... is the only way to escape this situation!!"
"That arcade game at Jabberwock Park? But I already..."
"It's the secret route added just now! There's no time to waste right now! To save Kei..."
"A... I understand...! I'll go right away...!"
After preparing to leave in a hurry, Nanami and Monomi rush to the game machine at Jabberwock Park.
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"Heh... nice... Feeling like I'm sunbathing so leisurely... I feel like I'm healing..."
"Souda, a moment please..."
"Yes! Sonia! What's the matter!!"
"It's just... I was trying to give drinks to everyone, but I don't see some of the people..."
"Hmm... is that so...?"
Indeed, on the beach, there were fewer people than the initial group. Souda starts counting the number of children with her head tilted.
"One... two... um... including me and Sonia, 6 people...?"
"It must have been 9 people when we first gathered..."
"Hmm... what is it...?"
After pondering with her hand on her chin for a moment, Souda walks to Kirigiri, who was blushing alone under a parasol in the distance.
"Um... Kirigiri...?"
".....?"
"The... 'Ultimate Detective' right..."
"...But?"
"Ah... haha... it's not that..."
After hearing from Souda that some of the kids including Kei disappeared, Kirigiri's expression starts to darken rapidly.
"...Since when?"
"Um... Kei... the last thing I saw was him coming out of the beach house and hurriedly entering the restaurant... and Koizumi and Peko... I don't know well because they were concentrating on Sonia..."
"...Koizumi? Peko?"
"Yeah, those two aren't showing up now either..."
Before Souda's words end, Kirigiri distorts her face and heads to the restaurant hurriedly.
"Eh...? Kirigiri? Where are you going...?"
"Um...? Souda? What's wrong...?"
"A crime! There's a smell of crime!"
"Who... got hurt again...?"
"Huh? What's the matter again?"
Seeing Kirigiri's fierce demeanor, the students who were looking for the kids who disappeared with Sonia start following Kirigiri's back.
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'This idiot, what kind of stunt is he pulling again...'
Kirigiri, with a restless heart, chews her lips and starts searching the restaurant thoroughly.
Even though she opened her heart so much, it couldn't be Kei who left her alone. And she had promised to go on the beach together. For Kei to suddenly disappear... and with 'Koizumi' and 'Peko' is clearly suspicious.
"Um... over there... Kirigiri...? You don't have to worry too much... he might have gone to the mart for a bit..."
"Koizumi and Peko? Are you saying the three of them went to the mart together nicely?"
"Um... it's not like that's impossible... no... ah, no...?"
With Kirigiri glaring coldly, Souda blames her own slippery mouth and weakly hits it with her hand before closing her mouth.
After turning her gaze from Souda, Kirigiri suddenly smells an odd scent. That scent, as if branded on the body, feels unpleasant yet somehow familiar.
"Chemicals... what kind of chemical smell is this...?"
"Hey... it's chemicals...?"
"...Tsumiki, don't you smell any chemical?"
"Um... um... now that you mention it..."
Tsumiki closes her eyes and carefully sniffs the surroundings, then opens her eyes and reports the identity of the smell in a crawling voice to Kirigiri.
"Um... this might be... chloroform...?"
".....!"
Upon hearing that, unlike Kirigiri and Sonia who are startled, the other kids have expressions of not understanding, scratching their heads.
"Chloro... what...?"
"A professional term came out! I don't get it!"
"What is that... is it something to eat?"
As the kids are confused, Sonia starts explaining her knowledge to the kids with sparkling eyes.
"You don't know chloroform? It's famous, right?"
"Do you know, Sonia?"
"Yes, of course! It often appears in crime dramas, and in the X-Files of serial killers!"
"Uwaaah! The media that appears is all terrifying! I feel chills starting to rise!"
"So... so... what is that chloro thing...?"
Sonia whispers with a meaningful expression to the kids who were tense.
"...It's a sedative."
"A... sedative...!?"
"Yes! In movies or cartoons, if you soak a handkerchief in it and cover the nose, you lose consciousness in one go! That's called chloroform!"
"M... that's right... but... putting someone to sleep with chloroform in one go... is a mistaken common knowledge..."
"Really? Is that so!?"
"Ah... um... I wasn't trying to lie...!"
"Tsumiki is right, it's a mistaken common knowledge that you can knock someone out in seconds with a chloroform-soaked handkerchief. Actually, to knock someone out with chloroform, you need to cover the nose and continuously inhale the chemical for at least a few minutes."
"M... that's right..."
With that, Souda asks with a puzzled expression.
"Is that so...? But... well, even if it's less than known, it's still a dangerous chemical, right? Where did this come from? It wasn't in the mart..."
"Probably... bought from the pharmacy... there's a pharmacy that opened when the second island opened... I went there for Hinata's treatment... there were various kinds of medicines..."
"Um... that being said, why is the chemical smell so thick here..."
"Well, because they kept making the person inhale the chemical until they were unconscious, the smell remains."
"That means... someone was anesthetized here...?"
"Ha... but... when being anesthetized with chloroform... the person being anesthetized would have struggled violently..."
With Tsumiki's timid opinion, Kirigiri suddenly starts speaking in a trembling voice to everyone.
"What if the person being kidnapped was someone who wouldn't pose any threat to the perpetrator trying to anesthetize them, even if they resisted?"
"Um... if there's such a person... then, no way...?"
"And... if the person who was anesthetized... resisted violently but failed...?"
After saying that, Kirigiri picks up a small mechanical fragment that had fallen on the floor. It was the button of the security buzzer she had given to Kei earlier.
"Th... that's... the one Kei-kun was wearing around his neck...?"
"...This isn't just a missing person case."
Kirigiri declares to all the kids gathered in the place without hiding her boiling anger, melting it into her voice.
"This is... a kidnapping case."
"".....!""
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"Hey, wake up."
"...Ugh."
"It would be better to wake up soon."
".....?"
When I open my eyes, the familiar place comes into view. I feel a sense of relief at the sight of the banquet hall of the old building where I had been staying with Nanami and Kirigiri recently, but as I realize the situation I'm in, my face turns deathly pale.
"Uwooh...! Uuuuh..."
"It would be better not to struggle. If you keep making a fuss, I'll use force."
".....!"
My whole body is tied up tightly, and my mouth is covered with tape. Panicking, I thrash around trying to get free, but soon Peko wraps a scarf around my neck and punches my stomach hard, forcing me to stop resisting.
"Uuuuh...! Uu...! Uuuh..."
"Next is the head."
"....."
"P... Peko! You're doing this... violating the rules..."
"I am the young master's tool. I was prepared to violate the rules. And anyway, soon depending on whether the truth is here or not, that woman over there..."
"You... you can't do this alone... rather, I..."
Looking at where their gazes are directed, I see Koizumi with a terrified expression staring at us. Koizumi is also tied up tightly, and her mouth is covered with tape.
"Well then... tell me where 'that photo' is. If you do, I'll let you live."
".....!"
"The tape won't be removed for now."
"Puhah... puhaaa..."
"Well, now tell me."
"W... what photo... what does that mean..."
"It seems you don't value your life."
"Aaaaaah!!"
"Tell me right now. Otherwise... you'll experience a horrible time."
How did those two learn about the existence of the 'clear ending'? This situation was unexpected. I need to explain quickly...
"Wait... wait a minute! There's a misunderstanding here..."
"Misunderstanding? You two were conspiring from the beginning to hide the truth... and now you're saying it's a misunderstanding?"
"What are you talking about...!"
"Last night, when I saw you suddenly intervene... you must have known the truth too... right?"
"Th... that's..."
"Peko said... you all met this morning... but instead of telling me the truth, you chose to hide it. And then what do you call that... just a beach trip...?"
"No! That's really a misunderstanding!! After the beach trip, we were going to apologize to you...!"
"Shut up!!! Do you think I'll believe that now!!! You bastard!!!!"
Kuzuryu grabs my collar and shouts at the top of his lungs.
"Hand over 'that photo' right now!! Otherwise... I'll kill you too, who participated in this incident!!"
Probably, those two who realized the existence of the 'clear ending' thought that I was trying to actively hide the truth more than Kirigiri or Nanami, since I had direct contact with Koizumi, and kidnapped me out of grudge. Well, I'm the weakest among the three.
Anyway, it's a big problem. Right now, the 'clear ending' is with Kirigiri. I don't know if she's carrying it on her body or hiding it somewhere... but it's definitely with Kirigiri.
"I don't know..."
"What!?"
"I don't know!! And even if I did, I couldn't tell you!!"
If I tell the truth, Kei will be in danger. I can't do that. Even if I die here, I will protect Kirigiri.
"This guy...!!!"
"Young master, please leave it to me."
After pulling Kuzuryu, who was enraged to the end, away from me, Peko's eyes flash as she says to me.
"Have you ever experienced torture?"
"Ugh..."
"Normal people can't hold out for even a few minutes before losing consciousness... Well, how long can you hold out?"
"Peko... I also..."
"Please stop. I am the young master's 'tool'..."
"Th... that's..."
"...Leave it to me."
Turning her head away coldly from Kuzuryu who keeps trying to say something, Peko declares with a cold expression, taping my mouth again.
"Then, how long your pathetic will lasts... let's test it."
Thus, the horrible time begins.