Archive of Our Own

Work Text

Prologue - The Hero Without a Name and the Household of Despair

...
...

When I woke up, there was nothing. And by nothing I mean nothing but a blank space in my mind. Nothing more. I wasn’t even sure if I should open my eyes or just continue sleeping, because I had no idea what I would wake up to.

Actually, I had no idea who I was, or where I was. There was absolutely nothing. I was no one, and I just continued to lie there, on a surface I couldn’t recognize by touching it.

There was only this feeling of emptiness inside of me, as if something was taken away from me. And… there was a lot of this ‘something’.

This ‘something’ were memories. They were stolen from me. Or so I think.
???: Hey. Are you going to sleep here forever? Wake up.
Oh. So I wasn’t allowed to sleep after all.
???: I’m talking to you. Stop pretending you’re not awake yet. I can tell you’re conscious.Me: It seems that I’ve been found out, hehe…
I opened my eyes a little to see a black haired girl with blue eyes. The first thing about her that attracted my attention was the fancy dark-blue dress she was wearing and the cat mascot in her hands.
???: When you’ve been sitting by an unconscious person since a while it becomes very easy to notice any change in their behavior… Or… can it really be called behavior? I wonder…Me: …you’ve been sitting here since a while????: Someone had to do it, and the others agreed to let me be the one. This whole situation is really stressful… I’m not handling it well… Hey, you agree with me, right?
Others? Others who? Whole situation? What situation?  Do I really agree with her? I don’t know…
Me: …who am I????: Huh? Who are you? What do you mean?Me: I… can’t remember anything. Do you happen do know who I am????: Ehm… Not really, to be honest? But if you’re here… We all assumed you’re another one of our classmates, since this is what the rest of us is…Me: I see… Can you… elaborate a little? Classmates? Where are we?
The girl gave me a look of total surprise, but didn’t question my amnesia. I was really thankful to her for this…
???: Hmm, okay, I can try. But I’m warning in advance that I’m a model, not a speaker. There’s sixteen of us, including you. You were the last one to wake up, so we just assumed you’re the same as us…???: We were chosen to become Hope’s Peak Academy’s students, all of us. Ehm… and it seems that all of us fainted after entering the building????: Then we woke up here. I think we all had a note on ourselves, saying to meet in front of the main gate after all of us wake up… But they all went somewhere on their own, leaving me with you…???: All of this is so weird… And those people don’t seem too friendly… so I preferred to stay with you, hoping you’d turn out to be a nice person.Me: I’m sorry. I don’t know if I am one…???: Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m more worried about your memory. You really don’t remember anything…?Me: Not a single thing.???: That’s… That certainly seems troublesome, if you don’t even remember your name. How should I address you then?Me: I don’t know…? You can come up with something for me.
I said it on a whim, but somehow I didn’t really care. I was so confused that I couldn’t even feel nervous.
???: Ah, what about ‘Mumei’ then? The sound of it is nice, and it basically means that you don’t have a name. You can use it until you remember your own.Me: Hm.. I’m fine with that, I think…
I finally looked around and noticed I was lying on a bed in a room that looked somehow like an infirmary. I sat up, probably a little too fast, since I could feel my head spinning.
Mumei: Ugh…???: Ah, you should probably lie for a little longer, Mumei-kun! Don’t strain yourself…Mumei: I’m okay. As much as someone like me can be okay, I guess… Anyway, what should I call you then?
The black haired girl stood up from the bed next to mine and spun around, presenting her Lolita dress to me.
???: Let me properly introduce myself. I’m Mirai Yokohama, and at Hope’s Peak Academy my title is going to be the Ultimate Lolita Fashion Model.
MIRAI YOKOHAMA – ULTIMATE LOLITA FASHION MODEL

It didn’t say much too me, since I couldn’t remember what that Hope’s Peak Academy was supposed to be. When it came to Yokohama-san herself… She seemed like a cheerful, but a little shy girl. She was definitely very pretty, and her tiny figure definitely made it easier for her to be a Lolita model. She gave me a warm smile as she introduced herself.
Yokohama: You can call me Mirai, I’m okay with this.Mumei: I would… prefer not to…Yokohama: Please? I don’t like using my surname.
I don’t know why, but the thought of skipping any formalities and calling her just ‘Mirai’ was making me uncomfortable… But if she really wanted it…
Mumei: Then… Mirai-san?Yokohama: Eh? Mirai-san? I thought you’d go straight to Mirai-chan, but… I guess it’s also fine.Mumei: Mirai-san… Can I ask you something?Yokohama: Sure, go ahead.Mumei: What is this… Hope’s Peak Academy? It sounds like a big deal, but I… can’t recall anything…Yokohama: Oh my. Are you serious right now?Mumei: …yes?Yokohama: Hope’s Peak Academy is like… the most prestigious school in the whole country, Mumei-kun. People would probably kill to get accepted into this place.Yokohama: It’s a school that researches talent. Each student is extremely good at something and it earns them a title of an ‘Ultimate’.Yokohama: Though my talent happened to be something as silly as a Lolita model, haha.Mumei: I don’t think it’s silly. If you’re good enough to be called an Ultimate, then there’s probably a lot of people who look up to you.
Mirai-san’s face immediately turned red at my words. It was kind of an unexpected reaction and I didn’t know what to say to that…
Yokohama: A-Anyway, if you’re feeling better now I think we should get going! I know you’re probably really confused, b-but we need to tell the others that you’re awake, and then gather in f-front of the gate…Mumei: Oh… Okay…
Mirai-san extended her arm to me to help me up, then let go of me and turned in the direction of the door. Despite everything, she seemed to be in a rather good mood, her steps being basically little jumps. She waved at me before leaving the infirmary, so out of lack of ideas I followed her outside.

I found myself in a long hallway. I only vaguely recognized that it looked like something you’d find in a traditional Japanese mansion, not in a school…
Mumei: Hey, Mirai-san… This place… isn’t Hope’s Peak Academy, am I right?Yokohama: Hmm? Oh, yeah, sorry, seems like I didn’t finish my explanations properly… I just said we woke up here… Well, this definitely isn’t Hope’s Peak Academy, and that’s why this situation is so strange.Yokohama: None of us has ever seen this place before… And aside from us, it’s completely abandoned. Don’t worry though, it doesn’t seem like it’s haunted.Mumei: H-Haunted?Yokohama: Like I said, don’t…
She stopped in midsentence, looking at something in front of us. Or maybe rather someone. There definitely was another person beside us in the hallway, and they were crouching down a few meters away from us… Was it a door they were in front of? And what they were trying to do with the lock?

Mirai-san sighed heavily and approached said person, her hands on her hips.
???: What do you want, ugly?
Ouch.
Yokohama: This is my line! What are you looking for here????: Hmm, who knows? Maybe trouble?
Mirai-san bit at her lower lip, giving that person a frustrated look. I came a little closer, trying to take a better look at them. That’s when they stood up from the ground, revealing that they’re actually pretty short.

They also had black hair, but theirs was short and unruly, with some hairpins here and there. They has a cheerful smile on their face, but it didn’t reach their amber eyes… Though when they looked at me their smile seemed to become a little more honest. They were wearing a white t-shirt, a black unbuttoned west over it, shorts and thigh highs.
???: Ah, it seems that the sleepyhead woke up! Hello! I would say nice to meet you, but I have no idea if I’m not going to hate you!Mumei: E-Excuse me????: Ah, and to answer your question, I’m a boy.Mumei: Wh-Wh… No, I wasn’t t-thinking about it, really!???: It’s no big deal, I know my face is cute enough to be mistaken for a girl’s!
Oh wow.
Mumei: I-I’m sorry…???: It’s okay! Ah, I should probably introduce my great self, right? I’m Ruu Nishizawa, the Ultimate Thief!
RUU NISHIZAWA – THE ULTIMATE THIEF
Yokohama: I can’t believe this is the first person you had to meet after me…Nishizawa: Hey, ugly, I may not be the greatest person around but please don’t compare me to yourself.Yokohama: I don’t even know why did they let a criminal like you into this school…Nishizawa: Hmm, I don’t know myself? I thought I’m good enough at this not to get found out, but apparently these guys know everything. And to think I’ve been getting away with stealing shit for so long…Yokohama: You are truly despicable… You were probably trying to break into that room, am I right?Nishizawa: I might have been, or might have not been.Yokohama: Why are you like this? We only just met and you’re not even trying to make a good first impression!Nishizawa: Meet me in the pit, Yokohama.Yokohama: I’ve had enough of this! I’m leaving!Nishizawa: Be careful.
He said that, but he looked rather proud of himself as he waved her goodbye. I’m pretty sure she had tears in her eyes as she ran through the corridor, not even looking behind. I actually felt really bad for her, but… She… left me here like this? With him?
Nishizawa: You too, be careful. She’s one of those people that have a cute face but rotten personality.
Doesn’t that also apply to you? Or… especially you?
Nishizawa: So?Mumei: Huh?Nishizawa: Who are you? I already introduced myself, now’s your turn.Mumei: Ah… it’s… a little… complicated, I guess? I actually… can’t remember.Nishizawa: You mean, like, amnesia?Mumei: Yeah, I think so…Nishizawa: Then what should I call you? Any preferred name?Mumei: Huh? I thought making you believe me would be harder…?Nishizawa: A genius like me would be able to tell if you were lying.
If I could tell anything about Nishizawa-kun’s personality, it was that he certainly wasn’t modest.
Mumei: Ah, so… This girl from before named me Mumei, so I guess it could work.Nishizawa: That witch Yokohama? Then I’m surely not going to call you this.Mumei: Uh…
I didn’t want to go through another change of name… I was too confused for this…
Nishizawa: …Nishizawa: I’m going to call you Mei-chan. You can consider it as a short form, and for me it’s a completely different name.Mumei: Are you being considerate of me?Nishizawa: Yep! You sure seem like someone who’s going to be fun to tease!
He laughed loudly, ready to run off somewhere. Before disappearing around the corner he turned to me and gave me a mischievous smile.
Nishizawa: You can call me Ruu.Mumei: Please, not you too…Nishizawa: Ruu-chan?Mumei: This suggestion is even worse.Nishizawa: Ruu-kun?Mumei: …fine…Nishizawa: Yaaay!
After this, he really ran off leaving me completely alone in the hallway. What was I supposed to do now? In the end, after a moment of thinking I decided to go the same way as him. This hallway has to end somewhere eventually, right? As I was wandering around the building…
???: Ah, here you are!
…I ran into another person. This one was also short and had short hair, but theirs was white, with a blue bow on the side. They were wearing some strange outfit that looked like taken straight out of a fantasy manga.
???: I met Yokohama-san on my way here… She didn’t look well, so I asked what happened. She only told me about you and asked to help you out…Mumei: Ehm… Thank you? You don’t really have to bother yourself with me though…???: No, it’s completely fine!
The white haired person gave me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen.
???: I’m Manami Kobayashi, the Ultimate Fantasy Roleplayer. Yokohama-san told me about the amnesia thing, so… If you need help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask me. I may look a little strange, but I think I’m a rather easy going person!
MANAMI KOBAYASHI – THE ULTIMATE FANTASY ROLEPLAYER
Mumei: …what a pretty name.Kobayashi: Huh?
Why did I say this? I certainly didn’t want to say it out loud. So why?
Mumei: Ah… I-I… Sorry…Kobayashi: You just gave me a compliment, why are you apologizing… Mumei-san, right?
I nodded, still a little embarrassed… Though Kobayashi-san seemed to already move on.
Kobayashi: All of this must be really confusing to you… Do you want me to accompany you while you talk with the rest? If anyone tries to ask you any uncomfortable questions, I’ll stop them!Mumei: I don’t want to cause any trouble…Kobayashi: It’s fine! I’m not really useful to anyone else here, since my talent is just something I do for fun. Let me act as your guide, Mumei-san!
They grabbed my hand and pulled me along, leaving no time to protest. I was beginning to get overwhelmed… Kobayashi-san dragged me into some room that looked like… a dining room? A restaurant? There were two people sitting by a table there, but… no one was talking. Or maybe…?
???: Oh, you’re the one who was still asleep the last time I checked!
The person who spoke was a tall blonde boy. Left side of his face was covered by his hair, and the other half was visible only thanks to a small ponytail tied on the side of his head. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a blazer over it.
Kobayashi: Yeah, I finally brought them! It was Yokohama-san who was with them when they woke up though. And they already met Nishizawa…???: Oh boy.
The other person still didn’t say anything.
Kobayashi: Be nice to them, they’re a little out of it. Maybe it’s due to shock, but they have amnesia.???: Oh man, seriously? That must suck, I’m so sorry…
The blonde guy seemed to be genuinely worried about me… But I’ve just met him, I can’t be sure.
???: Katsuragi-kun is asking if you’re fine.Mumei: Huh????: Ah, we still haven’t introduced ourselves! You first, Katsuragi-kun.
I looked at the other boy, but he still haven’t said anything. Instead he reached for a notebook and pen, then started writing something. After a few seconds he turned the notebook to me.

Hello, I’m Shin Katsuragi, the Ultimate Landscape Painter. Nice to meet you.

SHIN KATSURAGI – THE ULTIMATE LANDSCAPE PAINTER
Mumei: Ah, you are…
The boy smiled at me and nodded. He had long, dark-brown hair tied into a low, side ponytail and a kind of plain, but kind face. He was wearing a blue hoodie and overalls.
???: Yeah, Katsuragi-kun is mute. He’s a really nice guy though! And his paintings are fantastic!Mumei: You two seem to be getting along…???: Hmm, well, I’m the Ultimate Sign Language Specialist after all, we have no trouble talking to each other. Nice to meet ya, Ran Shirakawa here! What I should call you, dude?
RAN SHIRAKAWA – THE ULTIMATE SIGN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST
Mumei: Nice… to meet you. You can call me Mumei… I don’t remember my name…Shirakawa: Aw, that sucks, man. Mumei-san then! Though if you remember your real name hit me up.Mumei: S-sure…
Katsuragi-san seemed to be writing something in the notebook again, so I waited for him to finish the message.
Katsuragi: I hope we’ll get along. I’m not the most sociable person, but I want to make some friends. Mumei: I can be your friend, if you want…Kobayashi: Aww, that’s so sweet of you!Shirakawa: Yeah! You seem like a nice person. You know, you’re giving off the vibe of someone really soft. Like a bunny.Mumei: R-Really?Kobayashi: Shirakawa-kun in turn seems like someone much too chill about everything. Even about leaving an oven on and then going shopping.Shirakawa: Man, don’t make fun of me just after we met! It may be true, but I’m trying to stay out of trouble as much as I can!Katsuragi : And are you successful? Shirakawa: Sometimes.Mumei: Katsuragi-kun also seems like a good person…Kobayashi: But also one that likes his paintings more than humans.Mumei: Kobayashi-san…!Katsuragi : There’s something true about it. Shirakawa: And also a very honest one.Kobayashi: Okay, Mumei-san, break is over! There’s still a lot of people around! Let’s check the kitchen out!
And just like this, Kobayashi dragged me out of the dining room, heading towards the door at the back of the room. Just like before, no room for me to protest, but… At least they didn’t leave me alone.

In the kitchen there were two other people as well.
??? : Hmm, why did we come here again? I don’t really feel like cooking…???: Me n-neither… But wasn’t it just that we didn’t have anything else to do????: Oh, yeah…Kobayashi: Hey, hey, waiting time is over!
The person who spoke first turned to us and made a surprised face at me. It was a glasses-wearing girl with long brown hair styled into two braids. Her clothes consisted of a white shirt, red tie, yellow sweater and jeans. She approached me without hesitation.
???: Ah, nice to finally see you awake, sleeping beauty! How was your nap?Mumei: I-It robbed me out of all my memories, but it was okay, I think…???: What do you mean by that?Kobayashi: They mean that they’re amnesiac, Oshino-san.
Kobayashi-san put their hand on that girl’s shoulder, forcing her to retreat.
???: Oh my. That seems interesting.Mumei: I-Interesting????: Yeah! Maybe you’d be interested in hiring me to figure out your true identity?Mumei: Eh? Why????: Ah, sorry, of course you wouldn’t know who I am! My name is Satomi Oshino, and I’m the Ultimate Detective!
SATOMI OSHINO – THE ULTIMATE DETECTIVE
Kobayashi: Since you’re amnesiac you probably don’t know about it, but Oshino-san is a really popular teenage detective.Oshino: I’m just an amateur, don’t exaggerate things, my dear Kobayashi-san.???: Oshino-san is specializing in finding missing people. It’s r-really impressive…Kobayashi: Ah, Yakushi-san.???: H-Hello… I guess I should introduce myself, r-right? I’m Sora Yakushi, the Ultimate Hacker…
SORA YAKUSHI – THE ULTIMATE HACKER

This person was certainly seemed more… unique. It was most likely a girl, judging by her voice, but I couldn’t actually see her face, as it was covered with a gas mask. She has really long hair though, in a pretty shade of blue. Her clothes in turn… it would be really hard to describe it.
Mumei: ...a hacker?Oshino: Sounds interesting, right? That's why I tagged along!Yakushi: It's n-nothing that interesting, really... It sounds like a criminal activity... but I'm not a criminal, not at all!Kobayashi: Of course not, don't worry, Yakushi-san...Yakushi: I'm also sorry for... the m-mask... I'm n-not hiding anything, I'm just very sensitive to air pollution...Mumei: It's okay, Yakushi-san, don't worry... In my case it may also seem like I'm hiding something...
I was almost sure I saw Yakushi-san's shoulder relax when she heard my words.
Yakushi: Y-yeah... I just hope no one's going to... distrust u-us because of this...Oshino: Who knows? If you ask me, I just find both of you really interesting!Kobayashi: Don't worry, guys, if anyone dares to mistreat you I'll kick their ass! That's one of the things I'm good at!Mumei: I hope you won't have to do that... Also, I think we should get going, there's still a lot of people I should meet, right?
I kind of said it to escape the curious looks Oshino-san continued to give me. She looked as if she wanted to ask me something but refrained from doing so.
Yakushi: Wait! You still haven't told us what we should call you...Mumei: Oh... Since I currently don't have a name, I got named Mumei...Yakushi: See you later then, Mumei-san!
I couldn't see her face, but something was telling me that Yakushi-san wasn't feeling comfortable around the a lot more energetic and curious Oshino-san. I tried to smile at her.
Mumei: Yeah, later, Yakushi-san.
Me and Kobayashi-san left the kitchen, waved at Shirakawa-kun and Katsuragi-kun in the dining room and then ended up in the hallway again.
Kobayashi: Hmm, what should we do now... Maybe let's leave the building! The others should be slowly gathering in front of the gates.Mumei: Okay... I'll leave the decision to you...Kobayashi: You know, Mumei-san, I wonder what kind of talent could you have. You don't look very athletic, so I think we can cross sports out... You're probably some kind of a brain-using genius.Mumei: I have no way of knowing...Kobayashi: Ah, sorry! I just wanted to sat that you make an impression of someone smart. Don't worry about not remembering stuff!
Kobayashi-san lead me outside, pushing the sliding door aside. That's when I stopped breathing for a moment.
Mumei: H-Hey... I may be amnesiac, but I'm pretty sure I remember the color of the sky to be blue... or at least gray... not red...?Kobayashi: So Yokohama-san didn't tell you... That's another thing that-???: Is making everyone uneasy. Yes, this is very peculiar... Maybe even unnerving to some of us? What an interesting phenomenon...Kobayashi: Oh. Nagayama-san.
Suddenly, pretty much out of nowhere, a really strange person appeared in front of us. She was very tall, much taller than me, who was already a lot taller than Kobayashi-san. They looked like a child next to this girl. She was also very skinny, almost lanky. The movements she was doing with her wrists were making me uneasy...
???: Welcome back to the land of living, young man. It seems that you won't need a burial after all.Mumei: Huh!????: You don't have to look so scared, it was only a joke. I enjoy exploring graves, not making them.Kobayashi: ...and this is Kanna Nagayama-san, the Ultimate Archaeologist. She's a bit strange, but please bear with her.
KANNA NAGAYAMA - THE ULTIMATE ARCHAEOLOGIST
Nagayama: I'm pleased to meet you, young man. Now that you know who I am, I expect you to reveal your secrets as well.Mumei: Uhm... Huh...
She came uncomfortably close to me and extended her hand towards me. Somehow her finger ended up on my chest, as she poked at me, almost as if she was about to create a hole in there. She looked at me from under her green bangs which was covering her eyes before.
Nagayama: Interesting. I can smell fear from you.Mumei: N-No, I don't... Before I could say anything, Kobayashi-san smacked Nagayama-san's hand away from me .Mumei: Don't get so ahead of yourself, Nagayama.Nagayama: Oh, I didn't know this kid already had a bodyguard. I just wanted to learn his name, that's all. I'm sorry if I offended you, my dear.Kobayashi: They're called Mumei, that's all you need to know.
Kobayashi-san grabbed my hand again and began to pull me away from Nagayama-san. I swear I could feel them trembling... and also that I could hear her voice in the distance.
Nagayama: Mumei, huh...  Interesting.
Why does everyone suddenly find me interesting? I didn't do anything... I would sooner expect them to refuse to believe me...
Kobayashi: I don't like her. I don't like her at all. Sorry, Mumei-san, I don't want to push my opinions onto you, but Nagayama is a freak.Mumei: It's fine. I don't think I want to get close to her either...Kobayashi: You don't have to listen to me. Just be careful and use your brain, since you can't count on your memories.
Well, they were right.
Kobayashi: Oh, this group looks a bit more civilized. Let's try this. Hey, Kurosaki-kun, Yanagi-san, Yokohama-san!
We approached a trio sitting on a bench. One of them was the Lolita girl I already met, but I couldn't recognize the other two. Mirai-san was sitting in the center, and it looked like the other two were trying to comfort her...
???: Don't worry about him, Yokohama-chan. He's just that type...
The boy who said it surely had to be very tall, judging by the length of his legs. His red hair was also really long, tied into a ponytail. He was wearing a tracksuit, white shirt and a green scarf.
???: Yeah, Mirai, ignore that evil midget. He's like this to everyone that tried talking to him...
The other person was a thin blonde girl with twintails. She was wearing a black and white dress and a short-sleeved hoodie.
Yokohama: I just want him to stop c-calling me ugly... My talent is basically about being p-pretty, so if I'm not pretty anymore, I'd have n-nothing to be proud of...???: Kou thinks Mirai is very, very cute! There's something wrong with evil midget's eyes!Yokohama: I d-don't know if I can believe you... Oh, Mumei-kun...!
She immediately stood up from the bench after noticing me.
Yokohama: I'm so sorry about leaving you with Nishizawa alone! I-I just...Mumei: It's fine. Kobayashi-san helped me a lot...???: Nyelo, Manami!Kobayashi: Aye, Yanagi-san!
The blonde girl grinned at Kobayashi-san, then shifted her gaze to me. I don't know what conclusion she reached, but she smiled widely again.
???: You must be Mumei! Mirai already told Kou about you, nice to meet you!Mumei: Hello...???: Here goes Kou Yanagi! Supposedly Kou is the Ultimate Luckster, but after taking a look at everything around, Kou thinks she may not be that lucky after all...
KOU YANAGI - THE ULTIMATE LUCKSTER
???: Don't worry, Yanagi-chan, everything will be fine! I'll make sure of this!Yanagi: What's with this shounen hero talk, Hirato? Are you going to become the Hokage????: Please, leave Naruto out of this… A-Anyway, as long as I, Hirato Kurosaki, am here, I won’t let anything bad happen to you!
Kobayashi-san waved at me to move closer and said something in a conspiratorial whisper.
Kobayashi: Kurosaki-kun is the Ultimate Sprinter. Also, I think he’s watched too much anime in his life.Mumei: Oh…
HIRATO KUROSAKI – THE ULTIMATE SPRINTER

Meanwhile Yanagi-san started faking a high-pitched voice.
Yanagi: Kurosaki-kun! Save me, Kurosaki-kun!Yokohama: Something is telling me that you’re not going to have an easy life here, Kurosaki-kun…Mumei: Was that a reference or something…?Kurosaki: Being amnesiac must be nice in cases like this.
Honestly, I couldn’t find a single nice thing about my condition, but it appeared to be a joke, so I chose to ignore this.
Mumei: It was nice to meet you, but I think we should get going… Right, Kobayashi-san?Kobayashi: Hmm? Oh, yeah, there’s still… five more people I should introduce you to. See you later, guys!Yanagi: That means Kou is back to comforting Mirai with only Hirato? Aw, that sucks…Kurosaki: Do you have anything against me?!Yanagi: It was a joke- Hey, stop pulling at Kou’s hoodie, she’s going to fall off the bench!
Kobayashi-san just laughed at them, watching them over their shoulder. They seemed to really like them already… Well, they sure seemed like cheerful people.

I went back to looking around while we walked. The more I noticed, the more bizarre our surroundings seemed to be… It appeared that there was more similar buildings to the one we left before… There was at least five in total, and all of them seemed rather large. I wonder what could be inside of them… Because honestly, even though this place looked like a Japanese household… with all these buildings, Japanese-style garden, massive wall surrounding the whole possession and the red sky… I was beginning to grow more and more uneasy, and my memory los wasn’t helping.
Kobayashi: Hey, hey, Nagao-kun!???: Don’t yell… You’re scaring them…
The quiet voice that responded to Kobayashi-san’s call belonged to a white haired boy. He was crouching down near that part of the wall that wasn’t really a wall, but a fence instead. It also appeared that there was a door in the fence’s net, leading to… a forest? So we were in the middle of a forest all along? Everything was getting stranger and stranger…
Kobayashi: Them????: My new friends. But it seems that they left when they heard your voice…Kobayashi: W-who are you talking about????: The wolves.Kobayashi: There are wolves in there!?
He turned to us, finally letting me see his freckled face. He slowly nodded, letting his white, unruly hair fall into his eyes. He brushed it away with a movement that reminded me of a dog trying to get something off its nose.
???: Yhm… But you don’t need to worry about them… They’re very soft and totally not dangerous…Mumei: That doesn’t sound very convincing, to be honest.???: …has someone ever told you that you should think before speaking?Mumei: I-I don’t know? I don’t remember a thing about myself…
The boy stood up, revealing how long his unzipped hoodie actually was – it was almost reaching his knees. He also appeared to be… barefoot?
???: Who are you?Kobayashi: Hey, you should introduce yourself first if you want to know someone’s name.???: Inumaru Nagao, the Ultimate Tamer.
INUMARU NAGAO – THE ULTIMATE TAMER
Mumei: I’m Mumei…Kobayashi: The Ultimate ‘I don’t remember shit’. Or the Ultimate Amnesia?Mumei: Please, Kobayashi-san, don’t come up with weird talents for me… Those aren’t even talents…Kobayashi: But don’t you want to have one?Mumei: I don’t know… I don’t  know if I should want to have one…Nagao: You don’t remember your talent...? Then maybe it’s something related to animals?
He approached me and… Sniffed me. Nagao-kun simply sniffed the sweater I was wearing without any warning. I froze, unsure of how to react. Was that a normal thing? Or should I freak out?

Why is this happening to me?
Nagao: No, definitely not… I can’t smell anything on you…Kobayashi: What are you, a dog?Nagao: I wish…Kobayashi: Anyway, what about the wolves?Nagao: They left… But I told them to behave themselves…Kobayashi: Are you sure they’ll listen?Nagao: Yeah…Kobayashi: Then it’s fine! See you later, Nagao-kun!
We walked away for a few meters.
Mumei: …are you sure this is fine?Kobayashi: Well, you don’t get the title of the Ultimate Tamer for nothing, right? Nagao-kun is actually pretty well known. Like, he’d work for circuses and stuff… I trust him.Mumei: Then I guess I’ll trust him as well…Kobayashi: Hey, you don’t have to agree with me on everything. Figure things out for yourself.
I kind of felt as if I just got scolded… But I didn’t have time to dwell on this, since we finally reached the gates. The huge wooden wings, now closed, were much more impressive than I expected. It looked much too heavy to ever be opened again… as if it was meant to trap us in here forever. I shook my head to chase the unpleasant thoughts away.

Near the gates were standing four people, but only two of them seemed to be together. Kobayashi-san pointed at the girl next to the well. She had short in the color of light pink and seemed to be wearing a suit, but switched pants for a skirt.
Kobayashi: Let’s talk to Himura-san first, okay????: Good morning! Have you slept well, our dear mysterious classmate?Kobayashi: I don’t think this question is appropriate in this case…???: Eh? Did something happen?Mumei: I think my head is beginning to hurt from all these questions…Kobayashi: It appears that Mumei-san is amnesiac. They can’t answer.???: Oh. That’s awful, I guess?
She seemed to be slightly worried, not nothing more than this. It didn’t look like she pitied me too much.
???: I mean, I feel sorry for you, but there’s nothing I can do about this. I’m only a lawyer… And if we’re already at it, let me introduce myself. I’m Mikaru Himura, the Ultimate Lawyer.
MIKARU HIMURA – THE ULTIMATE LAWYER
Kobayashi: Finally someone who seems rather normal, right?Mumei: Uhm…Himura: What was this supposed to mean?Kobayashi: You know, Himura-san… They already met Nishizawa, Yakushi-san, Oshino-san and Nagayama…Himura: Oh. So the criminals and weirdos. Understandable then, I wish you a nice day.Mumei: Are you like… a protector of justice, or something like this?
Himura-san blinked, but then laughed at me.
Himura: You could say so. I’m a lawyer after all, and I was raised in a family of lawyers. It’s a family profession so I grew up with the idea of protecting the law.Mumei: Ah, that actually sounds really cool. I think I wouldn’t mind to have a talent like this…Himura: I hope you regain your memories soon, Mumei-san. Get some good sleep and avoid suspicious people!
She waved at us with a smile as we left her and approached another of the people standing alone. It was a really tall, muscular and probably foreign boy, and by tall I mean at least two meters. He had dark-blue hair tied into a braid with a lot of loose strands, and was also wearing glasses. He also appeared to be wearing the blouse of a doctor’s uniform…
Kobayashi: Yohoo! How is life up there, Xavier-kun????: Hey, Kobayashi, my dude! Pretty cool, I would say? I can see the whole yard!Kobayashi: God, I wish it was me.???: Don’t be bitter about this. Do you want a brave patient sticker?Kobayashi: No, but thanks for the sentiment…
I was surprised by how good his Japanese was. His accent was a little strange, but other than this, it was pretty much perfect…
Kobayashi: Hey, Xavier-kun, do you know anything about amnesia by any chance????: Sure, but why are you asking?Kobayashi: This guy has a problem with a memory loss. You think you could give them some advice????: You know, my dudes… I’m a pediatrician, not neurologist, those are completely different fields. I can’t cure amnesia… But our current situation is damn weird, so maybe it’s due to shock?Mumei: I don’t know anything anymore…???: Don’t be so gloomy, my buddy! I’m sure you’ll remember everything soon enough!
He patted me on the shoulder with so much force that I stumbled on my legs and nearly fell to the ground. How much strength did he have…?
Mumei: Can I ask you one question…????: Go ahead, haha.Mumei: You said you’re a pediatrician, right????: That’s right! I’m Xavier Silverstone, the Ultimate Pediatrician! Nice to meet you!
XAVIER SILVERSTONE – THE ULTIMATE PEDIATRICIAN
Mumei: Are children… not afraid of you? With your posture? You’re kind of.. huge…Xavier: Dude, if you have the right attitude they’re going to love you. Children are much less likely to judge you by your appearance than adults, or even teenagers.Mumei: I’m sorry…Xavier: What are you sorry about? Stop looking at your feet, hold your head up high and stop mumbling. I know you must be confused, but it’s all about the attitude!Mumei: Uhm…Kobayashi: Not everyone can be as confident as you, Xavier-kun… See you later though, we still haven’t talked to everyone.Xavier: No problem, see you later, Kobayashi!
We left him there and directed our steps towards the two last people. Xavier-kun seemed nice, but at the same time kind of intimidating. Maybe I’ll try talking to him later, so I can learn how to not judge people by their appearance…

The last duet appeared to be chatting, or more like… The boy was trying to talk to the girl, but she didn’t seem interested in what he had to say.
???: So you can play piano, huh? I could compose a song for you!???: Not interested. I cannot even read music sheets.???: I could teach y-???: Not interested. Oh, Kobayashi-san! And someone else! Good morning!Kobayashi: Hello again. Sorry to interrupt you two.???: No, it’s totally fine!
The girl smiled at us as if she was genuinely grateful to us for cutting into this meaningless conversation. She had purple hair reaching her shoulders with a ribbon tied on one side and was wearing a chequered long-sleeved shirt with a  skirt with a piano pattern on its seam. She ran up to me and took my hands in hers.
???: We meet for the first time, right? I am Harumi Shinozaki, nice to finally be able to talk to you! Ah, and my talent is supposed to be the Ultimate Harem Heroine, but I don’t like it so let’s ignore it!
HARUMI SHINOZAKI – THE ULTIMATE HAREM HEROINE

Harem heroine? Can something like this be even considered a talent? I didn’t know, but it seemed a bit off to me… What would a person like this be able to do? Make everyone around love them? Well, Shinozaki-san certainly was very, very beautiful, but I didn’t feel particularly attracted to her…
Mumei: Nice to meet you. Ehm, I am… It’s complicated, but it seems that I lost my memories of who I am… I hope it’s only temporary…Shinozaki: Oh, poor thing. I hope it gets better soon. What should I call you until then?Mumei: Everyone seems to agree that ‘Mumei’ is a good name…Shinozaki: Mumei-san then!???: Wait, you lost your memories? What kind of joke is this?
It was the first person to immediately distrust my story. I momentarily could feel that I began sweating, but Shinozaki-san didn’t let go of my hands. Instead she just squeezed them tighter.
Shinozaki: Any problems, Kawakami????: Don’t tell be you believed in this lie. It’s not possible to simply forget everything about yourself without any reason.Mumei: I-I… It’s n-not a lie…
The boy shot a glare at me. I couldn’t find his face even a little bit friendly… He was wearing a baseball cap and jacket, but didn’t look like an actually athletic person. It was probably just a choice of clothes… He had wavy, reddish-brown hair and green eyes.
???: Yeah, yeah. Do you think I’m stupid?Kobayashi: Hey, can you-Shinozaki: Could you please stop taking your frustration out on innocent people? We are all confused and stressed!Kobayashi: Hey, now you’re taking your frustration out on him…Shinozaki: H-Huh? I’m sorry…???: Tch. Whatever. It’s okay…Kobayashi: Are you going to introduce yourself to Mumei or should I do it for you????: Do whatever you want.
He turned away from us and probably attempted to leave, but he noticed some of our classmates approaching from the other direction, most likely intending to finally gather by the gates, so he just stopped a few meters away from us.
Kobayashi: He doesn’t have a very pleasant personality, I guess… Anyway, this was Junpei Kawakami, the Ultimate Composer. He’s the same age as all of us, but he’s been composing music for movies and anime since a while… I remember watching some stuff with his music with my younger brother.
JUNPEI KAWAKAMI – THE ULTIMATE COMPOSER
Shinozaki: I agree that he’s pretty impressive… but also annoying.Mumei: Why is that?Shinozaki: Well, I understand that I attract all sorts of people, but I can’t stand all those awful straight boys immediately trying to hit on me. Please, don’t do that…Mumei: I don’t really feel like a person capable of doing something like this.Shinozaki: I’m glad then! I hope we’ll get along!
This is how our conversation ended. Everyone began slowly gathering in from of the gates, some of them smiling at us, some looking unnerved, some bored… All of them were looking around though, searching for something that would explain our situation to us.
Yanagi: Kou hopes it’s only some sort of prank the school prepared as a greeting…Shirakawa: Katsuragi-kun says that sometimes it’s better to expect the worst.Yanagi: That’s one gloomy way of thinking!Kawakami: Keeps you from ending up disappointed.Kurosaki: Seems like I spotted another gloomy guy.Nagayama: It only proves that they experienced a lot of disappointments in their life…Kobayashi: Why are you all like this!? You’re scaring children!Kurosaki: What children?Kobayashi: Nishizawa is a child. Where is that brat, by the way?Nishizawa: Closer than you think, smartass.
Kobayashi-san jumped a little, hearing Ruu-kun’s voice just behind them. The black haired boy just laughed mischievously, walked up to one of the benches and sat down, seemingly in a wonderful mood.
Kobayashi: Do this ever again and you’re going to end up dead.Nishizawa: Just try, Kobayashi. Also, call me a child again and I’ll fuck you up.Kobayashi: I wouldn’t want to go to jail for getting rid of someone like this...Himura: He’s not worth this, Kobayashi-san…
That’s when we heard that voice for the first time. It was unnaturally high-pitched and made me want to cover my ears after hearing only one sentence, that’s how unpleasant it was. And it seemed that I wasn’t the only person to think like this – I could see a few people frown and flinch.
???: Nya, did I hear clearly, were you talking about meowrder?Oshino: …meow what?
We all looked around, looking for the course of that strange and unpleasant voice.
Kurosaki: Hey, look, it’s there!
Kurosaki-kun pointed at the top of the gates… and something really was there. I say ‘something’, because honestly, it was hard to describe this weird thing.

One could say it looked like a cat,, but that would still be a very strange cat. Its right half was red, and left white. Everything was split right into half, even its tail. It had a black bow next to its right ear, and its face… and smile… do cats smile?... was honestly scary.
Yokohama: …what’s with this Hello Kitty imitation?Yanagi: To Kou it looks more like the Cheshire cat.???: How rude, nya. Can’t you see how cute I am?Yanagi: Kou loves cats very much, but this one is awfully disgusting.???: Hey, this is where I draw the line! I’m going to execute you right away if you don’t stop insulting me!Yanagi: Execute?! Holy heck! Hirato, come here!Kurosaki: Eh?! Why are you using me as your shield?!Kawakami: Pathetic…???: Are you going to listen to meow or not!? If not, I’ll force you!Shinozaki: You are not exactly someone I would like to listen to…???: Too bad that you’ll have to do it! I’m the one that gathered all of you here, what means I’m also your nyew headmaster!
For a moment everyone fell silent, unable to comprehend this ridiculous sentence. I was slowly beginning to feel brain-dead…

The first one to break this silence became Ruu-kun.
Nishizawa: You’re fucking what????: My nyame is Moneko and starting today I am the one who sets the rules!Xavier: You must be kidding me…Moneko: Well, I kind of am. I am only a fake headmeowster, there’s someone I would call my boss.Mumei: Like, the real headmaster of this… Hope’s Peak Academy?Moneko: Who knows? Meowbe I’m just talking about another fake?Nagao: …I’m leaving this place.Moneko: Oh, no, not so soon! Leaving won’t be this easy!Kurosaki: What do you mean? Wait, what are you even!?Moneko: Like I said, I’m Moneko, and I’m your headmaster!Yokohama: How can this thing even talk? I feel like I’m losing my mind…
I felt pretty much the same. If not for the terrible headache approaching me I would be sure this is all a dream, but… Apparently it wasn’t.
Yakushi: …I’m… pretty sure this is a robot… probably an AI? Or controlled remotely?Shirakawa: As expected from the Ultimate Hacker! Can you take control over it?Yakushi: I don’t have the e-equipment…Shirakawa: Aww, what a shame…Moneko: You know what, I’m ready to execute you anytime if you don’t start listening to me.Nagayama: What’s with this talk about execution…? Are these supposed to be jokes?Moneko: I would’ve explained meowself a long time ago if you just stopped interrupting me.Kurosaki: Okay, guys, all of you, quiet for a moment! Let this cursed cat talk… We all want to go home, right?Moneko: Like I said, it won’t be this easy. You may not have homes at this point anymore.
Everyone fell silent once again. Moneko didn’t sound like it was joking. It actually seemed to be dead serious and responding to something like this wasn’t an easy thing…

Or so I think. I’m actually not sure. I’m amnesiac after all, I have no idea if I have a home, and if I ever had one. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t exactly eager to leave this place – I didn’t know where I should go anyway.
Shirakawa: …what do you mean?Moneko: Don’t you see the red sky? Do you really thing this is something normal?Yakushi: …I’m colorblind.Moneko: I couldn’t care less about you, stupid.Yakushi: Uh…Moneko: Okay, this is already taking too much time. To quicken this, the world you knew up till now doesn’t exist anymore.
Kobayashi-san took a step forward, in the direction of the gate.
Kobayashi: What do you mean!?Moneko: I mean that you might not have any place to go outside of these walls. Not that I intend to let you go anywhere though.Himura: Do you think we’re stupid? Everything was just fine this morning!Moneko: Telling you everything now would spoil all the fun. You need to figure it out yourself.Kawakami: Then what are we supposed to do here, you fucker!?Moneko: Participate in my game, of course.Oshino: Game? What game?Moneko: Ekhem. My dear students. All of you are supposed to represent the hopes of your generation. You’re young, beautiful and talented. What a shame would it be if you were to rot away here.Kobayashi: I can’t stay here! I have someone waiting for me!Moneko: Well, I said I have no intention of letting you out, but there’s one exception. I’ll let you go on one condition.Nishizawa: It smells like a lie. Or a trap.Moneko: Oh no, I’m going to state my rules clearly. The condition that will allow you to leave this place is a murder.
Yet another long moment of silence. This time Moneko’s statement was so absurd that no one dared to speak up again.
Moneko: Did you all break?Nagayama: I’m perfectly fine, please, continue.Yanagi: What are you…Nagayama: I just want to hear all the rules, that’s all.Moneko: I feel like I already have a favorite student. Back to the topic! What was I… Ah, yeah, a murder. If you want to get out, you need to kill one of your dear classmates. Only then will you be allowed to leave, as the only person.Mumei: The only person? Then what’s going to happen to the others?Moneko: I said, I can’t tell you everything just now! It would spoil all the fun for your poor supervisor that is me! I can’t even kill anyone myself, sniff sniff…Kurosaki: Are you really stupid enough to think this is going to work and we’re going to turn into killers!?Moneko: Ah, the shounen hero talk again! Good luck managing this group of messed up teenagers!
After those words Kurosaki-kun looked around, probably wanting to check everyone’s reaction. From his expression I could tell that he didn’t like what he saw. All of us were simply glaring at each other with eyes full of doubts. Of course. No one here knew the other. No one knew who should they trust.
Kurosaki: You must be kidding me… Don’t tell me you really fell for this?Nishizawa: Well, I can only speak for myself, but killing someone isn’t that big of a deal.Himura: What did you just…?Nishizawa: I’ll phrase it differently. I don’t mind killing someone to protect my own ass.Kurosaki: I’m not going to allow this!
That’s when something cut through the air and flew just past Kurosaki-kun’s head, instantly making him freeze. When we all subconsciously turned in that direction we noticed…

A spear stuck in a trunk of the closest tree.
Kurosaki: …?!Moneko: You’re definitely going to be my least favorite student. You nyeed to just chill and go with the flow.Yanagi: Hirato! Are you okay!?Kurosaki: W-Well, yeah… For now… But…
This showed all of us that our situation is indeed serious, and our lives are in danger. Even I could feel cold sweat on my back when thinking about the fact that I could get murdered by one of those people with whom I was chatting idly just a moment ago.
Moneko: I am not allowed to kill you as a participant of the game, but I sure am allowed to punish you according to my will. Your whining is slowly getting on my nerves. I won’t allow this, I’m not going to kill… Myan, who cares? It’s none of mu business!Kobayashi: …what do you want from us then?Moneko: That’s a good question, my dear Kobanyashi-chan. I just want to see you being all desperate to escape the nightmare awaiting you wherever you go. I want to see you cry and despair. And before you ask me why… The answer is simply because it’s fun, and because my owner wants it.Oshino: Seems like a mystery to solve for me.Himura: That’s all you can think about now?!Kurosaki: P-Please, guys, stop arguing… It’s not the time for this!
Kurosaki-kun still looked really shaken from nearly getting killed, but he was trying to get his confident act back in order to do what Moneko told him – manage this group somehow.
Moneko: It’s no use, Kurosaki-chan. Accept your fate. In this place it’s kill or be killed, and the outside world is no better. You have nowhere to run to, so better just start planning a murder.Kurosaki: I will never kill, even if it costs me my life!Moneko: Then you’ll die a pitiful death. My word and will is absolute here. Only my owner has more to say than me.
Who was the owner it continued to talk about? Was they the one who brought and trapped us here? Who set up this horrifying game? I had so many questions, but no courage to speak up…
Yokohama: Somehow I feel like… we’ve just reached the bottom of a ‘hopeless situation’…Oshino: Well, you might be right, Yokohama-san.Yanagi: But if nobody tried killing anyone, things would stay peaceful, r-right?Moneko: What a nyaive way of thinking, good luck living in this place while keeping it up. By the way, I have cameras everywhere around this place, so I can see if any of you is breaking a rule. Ah, though there’s no cameras in your rooms. I may be a villain, but I don’t want to see what you awful teenagers are doing when you’re alone.Kawakami: So at least we get our own rooms, huh.Nishizawa: So if I murder someone in a room, there will be no proof for that?Moneko: Listen, brat, I’m not stupid. If two people enter a room and only one leaves, it’s pretty obvious who the culprit it.Nishizawa: Aww, you’re no fun…Moneko: Also, everyone gets a present from me! An electronic student ID! When you go back to the hotel building, you’re find a box full of them. They’re all signed, so be sure to take yours, not someone’s else! Your IDs are also going to work as keys to your rooms, so don’t lose them! After all, if someone lays their hands on your ID, they could use it against you!Xavier: It’s probably some useless garbage…Moneko: Hey. It contains all of the rules you’ll have to follow from now on, so don’t take it lightly. It’s a very valuable item! Anyway, with this, our entrance ceremony is coming to an end. I hope we all have a wonderful academic year, full of killing events!Kobayashi: Wait! I’m not done with you ye-Moneko: But I’m done! Nye!
And just like that, the cat jumped off the gates and disappeared on the other side of the wall, leaving us all shaken, confused and probably terrified. For a moment we were all too dumbfounded to even move.
Yanagi: So… Does anyone have any idea what we should do now?Kawakami: I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be standing here like idiots if we knew, you moron.Shirakawa: That thing told us to kill… but I don’t have any intention of killing any of you?Shinozaki: Me neither, but if anyone has to die, I hope guys will go down first. I don’t want to stay here with you around.Nishizawa: What a bitch…Shinozaki: What did you-Nishizawa: Exactly what you said, you hypocrite. I feel like none of you understand the situation.Yokohama: And you’re the one that understands?Nishizawa: Exactly, ugly. You, Kurosaki. You believe that nobody here will kill because we’re not stupid, and a murder in our situation would be an idiocy, am I right?Kurosaki: W-Nishizawa: But I can see it in your eyes. You’re scared too, scared that you’ll turn out to be the most stupid person around. Your intentions are pure, but you’re a moron.Kobayashi: Enough of this!Nishizawa: You aren’t much better, Kobayashi! Anyone who believes we’ll all survive this must be an idiot!Yokohama: Hey, you-Nishizawa: I wasn’t talking to you. You’re the last person I would trust here, because… The question isn’t if we’re all going to stay alive. The question is who’s going to die first. I sure hope it’s not going to be me.
The sincere hatred in his voice was enough to shut me up before I even spoke. I wanted to say anything to help, to calm everyone down and get them to talk things out so we can work together, but…

If at this point I knew anything about myself, it was the fact that I’m a coward. I wanted to believe that Ruu-kun was wrong and no one here was going to kill, but my racing heart didn’t agree with me.

And even though I was clearly scared, another question appeared in my head. Did I even have anything to live for? Was there any meaning in struggling to stay alive?

Do I even really want to live?
Nishizawa: Or maybe any of you is willing to find and hunt down the mastermind behind this? Go ahead, sacrifice your meaningless life for the greater good. 
PROLOGUE END
 Survivors: 16

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter 1 - Even death cannot cure stupidity

Part 1

Nishizawa: Or maybe any of you is willing to find and hunt down the mastermind behind this? Go ahead, sacrifice your meaningless life for the greater good.
The full of dangerous tension silence was broken by someone and something I didn’t really expect.
Yanagi: It’s a real shame that someone with such a cute face has such a nasty personality.Nishizawa: Aww, that’s really sweet of you, Yanagi, but I don’t swing this way.Yanagi: Dude, Kou neither, but she can still tell if someone has a cute face?Shirakawa: Did you both just take the advantage of the situation to come out…Nishizawa: Aside from actual stealing, I’m bad at being secretive or lying. You would’ve found out anyway.Himura: I’ll send you to jail one day.Nishizawa: Good luck doing so, first you have to survive and get out of here.
He looked very, very amused while saying all of this. I couldn’t understand this no matter how hard I tried. I didn’t want to call him a bad person right away, but this was getting out of hand…

The first person to move from their place was Kurosaki-kun. He began to make shaky steps back towards the building.
Kawakami: Hey, where do you think are you going?Kurosaki: The electronic IDs. I can’t let just anyone take them. I need to make sure everyone takes only their own ID…
And he started to run, not waiting for anyone to say anything more.
Kobayashi: Hey, wait! You going alone isn’t fair either!
Kobayashi-san decided to follow him, of course not being as fast as the Ultimate Sprinter, but also doing their best. Some of the rest, including Kawakami-kun, Shinozaki-san, Mirai-san and Oshino-san did the same thing.

Of course. Nobody wanted their ID to fall into someone’s else hands. They were supposed to play the role of a key, rule book and probably many more. I should probably move too, but my legs felt so heavy, and the headache was getting stronger…
Nishizawa: Aaah, useless effort. Run, morons, if you like running so much.Nagao: …Just be quiet. Nobody asked.Nishizawa: As if I care! Have fun, dumbasses.
And then he left in the opposite direction, just like this. I would wonder where he was going if I didn’t feel so terrible. I had to crouch down in order not to fall to the ground, as I was slowly losing my sense of balance.
Yakushi: M-Mumei-san? Are you okay?
I wasn’t okay, but neither Kobayashi-san nor Mirai-san who helped me before were there. I suddenly felt abandoned and scared. In addition my head was spinning…
Shirakawa: H-Hey, dude, do you need help? Should I go and get Xavier-kun?
I wanted to shook my head and say I’m going to be okay, but that’s probably when I lost consciousness. I didn’t know what happened later.

***

When I woke up this time I probably felt even worse than then. I think I remembered everything from before, but nothing about those memories was pleasant. I honestly wanted to continue on sleeping, but the throbbing headache most likely wouldn’t let me. I tried opening my eyes and what greeted me was a Japanese-style room with tatami mats, sliding doors and a low table. I realized that I wasn’t lying in a bed, but a futon. Someone must’ve brought me here…

That’s when I noticed I wasn’t alone in the room. There was also someone else, sitting with his back against the wall.
Mumei: Kurosaki-kun…Kurosaki: Ah, you woke up, Mumei-chan. I was beginning to worry, you were sleeping for so long.Mumei: …how long was that?Kurosaki: Three… maybe four hours?Mumei: And… you’ve been sitting here the entire time?Kurosaki: You know, I couldn’t just leave you alone. When I heard you fainted I got seriously scared that something is wrong, and I felt terrible for just leaving you there and caring only about those stupid IDs. I should’ve known better…Mumei: I’m… sorry…Kurosaki: Eh? What are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything wrong, and it’s understandable that you’re confused and don’t feel well.Mumei: I’m only causing you all trouble…
Kurosaki-kun only waved his hand and smiled at me.
Kurosaki: Don’t worry about this, really. Yakushi-chan and Shirakawa-chan took care of you after you fainted, so maybe you should thank them later though… I just volunteered to watch over you because I needed some time alone to think things through.Mumei: …how bad our situation is?Kurosaki: Not really good, to be honest.
He sighed and reached for something he left on the floor. That must’ve been the electronic IDs everyone went crazy over…
Kurosaki: This one is yours. I managed to take it for you so we could take you to your room. Ah, you don’t need to get up. Here. There’s a button to turn it on.
I only shifted so I was lying on my side and then started the device up, kind of doubting if I’ll even be able to use it.
Kurosaki: There’s a list of functions if you press this button here… Now you can find the list of rules we have to follow. I recommend you to read it, because seriously, it all sounds like bullshit… Even though it’s not.
It turned out that finding it wasn’t so difficult after all. I pressed the right button and began reading this absurd list.

Students are going to live within the walls of this household, indefinitely.
10 PM to 7AM is considered ‘nighttime’. Certain areas will be off limits during these hours.
Sleep is permitted only in the dormitory part on the building, in rooms designated for this. Sleeping elsewhere is strictly forbidden and is going to be severely punished.
Students are allowed to freely investigate the household’s grounds, unless a certain area is closed off on purpose.
Violence against your substitute headmaster, Moneko, is forbidden. Destruction of the surveillance cameras is also prohibited.
The villain who kills one of their classmates will be allowed to “graduate”, provided their crime is not betrayed to the other students.
The real headmaster’s identity must remain a secret. Any attempts on learning their true identity will be punished and may even result in death.
More rules may be added to the list if necessary.

For a moment I just stared at the rules, unsure of what to feel. It was almost like with my memories I also lost some important emotions… Though these rules left me with a sense of dread anyway. It was so unreal…

I didn’t really know what to expect of myself, but I probably wasn’t like… a violent person. Attacking that awful cat, or one of my classmates… Neither did sound tempting. I didn’t even want out, so no one had to worry about that. I was more worried about my own life.
Mumei: What does it mean… “Provided their crime is not betrayed to other students”?Kurosaki: No one really knows, but… Nagayama-chan came to a conclusion that even if someone really was killed, we’d be given the chance to find the culprit so they won’t get away with their crime.Mumei: And what would happen to that culprit then?Kurosaki: I have no idea, Mumei-chan. Nobody told us about any eventual consequences.Mumei: R-Right, of course…
I started playing with the ID, checking the other functions, and after a moment I found something labeled as ‘student’s profile’. I pressed the button, suddenly getting my hopes up, but after the screen loaded…

There was still nothing. No name stated there, no talent, no birthday… Somehow it made me feel like a ghost. I didn’t like this feeling.
Mumei: I’m sorry…Kurosaki: Hey, what are you apologizing for again? Enough of this!Mumei: I’m sorry because… I’ll probably cause you a lot of trouble in the future… because of the amnesia thing. You know… Who’s going to trust someone like me? My presence will only bring more distrust…Kurosaki: Man, don’t think about yourself like this? It’s… sad, I guess? Besides, I trust you quite a lot. You’re obviously not someone who’d stir up trouble on purpose.
His words immediately made me feel a little better, but…
Mumei: You can only speak for yourself though. I’m sure not everyone will be willing to believe in me…Kurosaki: I’m not going to let anything bad happen. I won’t let anyone die.Mumei: Huh?
This took me by surprise, but Kurosaki-kun looked… really determined while saying this. There was something about him that made me want to believe him right away.
Kurosaki: Just like Nishizawa-chan said earlier, I’m not really smart, and I’m scared too. But I really wish to keep everyone safe… And I’m going to do my best to turn it into reality, even though it may sound naive.Mumei: You’d probably make a good leader…Kurosaki: Ahahah, you think so? Thanks! I probably can’t do much on my own, but Kobayashi-chan was really helpful a few hours ago so I think we’re going to get along.Mumei: Kobayashi-san was…?Kurosaki: Yeah… Many people in this class seem like someone ready to fight for their lives. Kobayashi-chan is definitely smarter than me, so they managed to convince them that working together will be better for all of us.Mumei: I’ve been sleeping for so long… Where is everyone now?Kurosaki: I think they’re still exploring this place. Want to join them? I was supposed to do it if I get bored, but I thought I’d explain everything to you first.Mumei: Sure. I probably should do it…
I slowly sat up, praying not to lose consciousness again. I wasn’t in the position to just be lying in bed all the time. If I wanted to live I had to earn everyone’s trust…

Did I really want to live though?

It wasn’t the time to think about it. When Kurosaki-kun extended his hand to me I took it without hesitation, letting him pull me up and lead me out of the room and show me how to lock the door to my room using the electronic lock and key. Apparently there were two ways to get out of the room, one was the door leading to the corridor, and the other was the door leading to the long veranda connecting our rooms, with a view on the garden… I came to a conclusion that he was really nice and I could probably trust him.
Kurosaki: Hey, do you… like, want me to keep you company? I mean, I need to look around too, so it wouldn’t be a problem.Mumei: Thanks, but… I think I prefer to do it on my own. I caused you enough trouble… I think I need to be a little more independent.Kurosaki: You sure about this, Mumei-chan?Mumei: Yeah. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.Kurosaki: If you say so, then I’ll believe you. But don’t hesitate to ask me for help, okay?
I only nodded, not really sure about it. He was nice and I was really thankful to him, but the issue wasn’t on his side. It was the opposite, I trusted him more than myself. I needed some time to think…

We parted ways, Kurosaki-kun saying something about telling everyone to meet in the dining room, and I was left in the corridor all by myself, thinking about where I should go. I finally decided to go to the infirmary… I woke up there back then, so I kind of considered it a familiar space. Not even sure why, I knocked on the door before entering the room.
Mumei: Sorry for intrusion…Xavier: Ah, it’s you!
Xavier-kun was standing in front of a large cabinet that seemed to contain various chemicals. He was holding one container in his hand.
Mumei: Sorry for disturbing you…Xavier: There’s no problem, no problem! More importantly, how are you feeling? You really scared me back then. I feel kind of bad for not staying with you…
He was probably someone to whom lying about my condition would be useless anyway, so…
Mumei: I can’t really say I feel good yet… Actually, I’m…Xavier: Dude, you look like death itself. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?Mumei: Not really. I don’t even know what I look like.
Xavier-kun pointed at a mirror hanging over the sink. I hesitantly approached it, unsure of what I’d see, but… I looked quite normal. I certainly wasn’t attractive, with messy orange hair and red eyes. For some reason I also had a band-aid my cheek… I tried peeling it off, but after seeing a rather ugly scar I put it back there. What Xavier-kun was talking about was probably the fact that I was pale like a ghost and had terrible bags under my eyes.
Xavier: You seem like someone very easy to break. Get some rest, Mumei.Mumei: Thanks, but I think I’ve slept enough, you know?Xavier: True. At least don’t strain yourself, and if you feel it’s getting worse, come to me. I may look a bit scary, but I’m still a doctor. I care about the well being of everyone around.Mumei: That’s why you came here…?Xavier: You’re quite a smart one, Mumei! Yeah, I decided to look around this place thoroughly. Health care sucks everywhere, but I still gotta do my best, you get me… At least it looks like we don’t have to worry about running out of supplies.Mumei: Y-Yeah…
I spent a moment looking around as well, but I didn’t find anything that would attract my attention. Everything looked rather normal and someone like me, who didn’t know if they had any talent, probably wouldn’t find anything interesting there. In the end I parted ways with Xavier-kun and left the infirmary, deciding to go to the kitchen next.

I didn’t find anyone on the dining room, but as soon as I entered the kitchen I ran into two people. They were talking when I entered the room, so I felt a little awkward interrupting them…
Shirakawa: Ah, hello, Mumei-san. You sure you’re not going to faint again?Yakushi: Shirakawa-kun… That’s not v-very nice of you…Mumei: N-No, it’s okay. I’m sorry for causing you trouble before, and… Since both of you are here now, thank you. Kurosaki-kun told me you took care of me.
Yakushi-san just started waving her hands energetically… I think she was embarrassed, but how could I be sure?
Yakushi: I-I-It’s fine, no need to thank us... Ah, I’m sorry, Shirakawa-kun, I shouldn’t s-speak for you…Shirakawa: Aw, don’t be like this, Yakushi-san. No need to apologize for something like this… Man, both of you are so easily intimidated.Yakushi: …
She just turned her head away and fell silent. It seemed like I wasn’t the only awkward person around… I kind of felt bad for her though.
Mumei: Let’s leave this topic aside… Have you found anything interesting maybe?Shirakawa: Yakushi-san is a little shy, so maybe I’ll explain, okay? Since I’m that one talkative guy who can’t shut up. Sorry for that, Yakushi-san. Okay, you remember that this disgusting cat told us we’re going to live here?Mumei: Yes, I remember…Shirakawa: We decided to check the kitchen to see if it’s even possible without starving… And apparently it’s possible. Moneko appeared before us and showed us around the kitchen, saying that the food supplies will be restored every morning… I don’t know how it works, but we have enough food for all of us.Mumei: That’s… good, I guess?Shirakawa: I know what ya thinking about. I mean, none of us wants to stay here long enough to watch the fridge getting refilled, but… For now we don’t know any way out, and food is necessary after all. I think we can consider it good news!Mumei: You sure are a positive thinker, aren’t you?Shirakawa: Is it really this visible?Mumei: Yhm. Probably more than Kurosaki-kun, who’s trying his best, but…Shirakawa: …but in the end seems really hesitant? Poor Kurosaki-kun, honestly. I support his intentions but… Hmm… I think he’s fit for the job of a leader, but he’s going to need help. Maybe Kobayashi-san…?
Wow… He really do talks a lot. But I guess it’s not that bad, since Yakushi-san seems to be better off listening than talking herself.
Shirakawa: Besides food, there’s another thing that got out attention. The locks.Mumei: Huh?Shirakawa: It seems like kitchen is one of those areas that are going to be off-limits during the night. There are electronic locks on both of the doors, and we were just trying to figure out how they work when you appeared.Mumei: Sor… Wait, both doors?Yakushi: Yhm. You can enter the kitchen using two different ways…
Yakushi-san pointed at the door I came through, then she turned the other way and showed me another door, barely visible against the similarly colored wall. I slowly approached it, but then… I heard a sound. A sound coming from behind this door.
Mumei: Do you have any idea where this exit leads…?Shirakawa: Hmm, judging by this building’s design… I would say it leads directly outside.
I had a bad feeling about this, to be honest… But I made a few more steps towards the door anyway. I was almost sure I could hear someone curse from behind them. And then…

The door opened, and someone fell inside through it. Literally fell, because he soon ended up on the wooden floor.
Nishizawa: Oww… That hurts, damn… But I can’t believe it worked, holy shit.Mumei: What… just happened?Nishizawa: I broke in.Mumei: Just like this?Nishizawa: Yeah. I hope you don’t mind.Mumei: It’s fine, but… Would you mind explaining?Nishizawa: Sure. I hacked the electronic lock to test if it works and now I’m here.Yakushi: H-Hacked?!Nishizawa: Hey, don’t look so surprised, stupid! You’re not the only one who can hack!
How could he tell that she looked surprised…?
Nishizawa: I may not be as overpowered as you, but I know some tricks too! I’m a pro thief so I could break into somewhere with my eyes shut!Shirakawa: Uh… Sure?Nishizawa: Tch. No one can… Nevermind. Want to try it yourself, Yakushi?Yakushi: H-Huh?Nishizawa: The lock can be opened via electro ID only by the person who locked it in the first place. If I use my ID to lock it, you can try opening it by yourself. You in?Yakushi: I… I may try it… To confirm that it’s really possible.Nishizawa: Cool. Then get your ass outside and do it.
He himself stood up and left the room. I, of course curious, followed him to be greeted by a few steps made out of stone. Ruu-kun went down them doing little jumps, like a child would… Yakushi-san and Shirakawa-kun also followed us. When we all were outside, Ruu-kun closed the door and pulled his electro ID out of the back pocket of his shorts. Just like Kurosaki-kun showed me earlier, he chose the ‘key’ function and moved it closer to the reader in the electronic lock. We heard the sound confirming that it was really locked.
Nishizawa: Your turn now, Yakushi.
The girl took his place by the door, completely covering the view with her body. None of could tell what she was actually doing there, but a few seconds later the sound could be heard again, signaling that the door was open again.
Yakushi: It’s… really possible… to open them without using our IDs…Nishizawa: See? The more you know! Be grateful I didn’t decide to hide this information from you!Yakushi: Though… I doubt anyone else would be able to do it. It’s quite complicated… And I’m already surprised that Nishizawa-kun was able to do it…Nishizawa: It’s because I’m a genius, ha! Though this woman did it in a few seconds, while it took me about ten minutes to figure it out.
Ten minutes to hack a lock like this…? Yes, Yakushi-san’s work was even more impressive, but… She was the Ultimate Hacker. Ruu-kun was no one like this. Combining his skills with his personality…
Mumei: Sorry for asking this, but… Do you think it would be possible to pick the locks on our rooms' door?Nishizawa: ...Yakushi: I could probably do that, but I have no intentions of doing so.
For the first time since we met she spoke clearly, without pausing or stuttering.
Yakushi: I wouldn’t hesitate to use my skills to get us out of here, but I will never use them to do anything evil.Nishizawa: Pfff, what a goody-goody girl you are. Laughable.Yakushi: Uuuh…Shirakawa: Hey, you…Nishizawa: I’m out of here. I showed you the locks so my job here is done. Have fun, losers.
This is not good. Leaving him alone just like this didn’t seem like a good idea, not at all. I sent the other two an apologetic look and followed Ruu-kun on the track behind the building. We could see the wall surrounding the whole possession from here.
Mumei: Hey, wait!Nishizawa: For what? For myself to get old? Not really interested. I still have something I’m researching.Mumei: Can I keep you company then? I least for a moment?
He stopped for a second to give me an irritated look. Our eyes met for that second and… He seemed to come to a conclusion that I’m harmless.
Nishizawa: Fine. Just don’t bother me too much.
We walked for a while before stopping in front of a door in the wooden wall. It was another barely visible one, but the electronic lock on it was making it obvious something’s here. Though I doubted anyone else would wander here…

Ruu-kun stopped in front of the lock and obviously started his attempt to pick it, so I decided to stay quiet and not disturb him. It was taking more time than I expected…
Nishizawa: Why the hell can’t I break into here... Why…
He was getting visibly irritated. He wasn’t even talking to me, just to himself.
Nishizawa: I’m doing everything right… So why can’t I… I’m a genius, so why… I just…
Finally he punched the lock with his tiny fist, probably just out of frustration. No offense to him, but he looked rather… frail. He sighed and glanced at me, as I me witnessing his failure was humiliating to him.
Nishizawa: …the same thing happened when I tried picking the lock on the door to my room. They’re safe. Any more problems? Questions?Mumei: …actually, yes. Just… please, don’t be angry at me for asking. I’m not accusing you of anything, it’s just something I noticed.
I pulled my own ID out and activated the list of rules.
Mumei: “The real headmaster’s identity must remain a secret. Any attempts on learning their true identity will be punished and may even result in death.” That’s one of the rules stated here.Nishizawa: Yeah. And what about this?Mumei: There’s something you said before… Quoting, “maybe any of you is willing to find and hunt down the mastermind behind this? Go ahead, sacrifice your meaningless life for the greater good.”Nishizawa: You have a very good memory, Mei-chan. Yes, I indeed said something like this. And…?Mumei: I believe those two things are tied to each other.Nishizawa: Are you suspecting me? Well, that’s fair, I gave you a lot of reasons to suspect me, sure…Mumei: No, I don’t want to suspect you. I wanted to clear this up, that’s why I’m asking. I wanted you to tell me if it’s really just a coincidence or…Nishizawa: It’s not.Mumei: Huh?Nishizawa: Despite making the impression of someone without a fucking shred of common sense, you’re actually pretty smart, aren’t you? There’s no use trying to fool you. Like I said, I’m bad at being secretive.Mumei: What are you getting at…?Nishizawa: The fact that I’d already read the list of the rules before that goddamn cat even appeared. I picked the lock to the room where the IDs were stored out of boredom and simply took the one with my name on it. Simple, isn’t it?Mumei: Oh. So that’s how it was. It wasn’t just me being stupid…Nishizawa: Wait… You believe me? Just like this?
Ruu-kun’s eyes widened as he stared at me, his hands still on the lock.
Mumei: Well, earlier… You chose to believe me as well, right? When I told you about my amnesia…Nishizawa: You’re… actually really stupid. Really, really, really stupid. I’m hundred percent sure no one else here would believe anything I say.
I couldn’t figure him out, and somehow I sensed that it’s mutual – he couldn’t figure me out either. We were just staring at each other… Well, he was kind of glaring? But I just couldn’t find him threatening. My hand mover on its own and ended up on his head, petting his hair.

For a moment his face went completely blank, and I was afraid I shouldn’t have done that, but then… He gave me a smile. A wide and really pretty smile, seemingly completely free from any malicious intentions.
Nishizawa: Well… Thank you. For believing me.
It was strange. I couldn’t understand him, but… When I looked at him, I couldn’t see an evil person.
Nishizawa: In exchange for believing in me I’ll reveal some of my thoughts to you. You don’t have to take me seriously and just pretend I’m talking to myself.Mumei: Thoughts… about what?Nishizawa: About our situation, stupid. “The real headmaster’s identity must remain a secret. Any attempts on learning their true identity will be punished and may even result in death.” Why would the mastermind come up with a rule like this? It’s not like we can reach them from here after learning their name.
He wasn’t even looking at me, just as if he was really talking to himself.
Nishizawa: Unless they’re somewhere close, or… even worse. Unless one of us is the mastermind.Mumei: H-Huh?Nishizawa: Just think about it. If one of us is the villain, it would make sense for them not to want their identity to be discovered. Everything would go to shit if we found them! No killing game! No one dies! What a boring ending. What’s why they made this rule.Mumei: That’s…Nishizawa: Going a bit too far? Yeah, I don’t have any evidence to support this theory, but… I’m sure that if I only could open this door, I would find something! Just give me some time… I…Mumei: Are you going to risk your life and find the mastermind?
Ruu-kun fell silent and finally looked at me again.
Nishizawa: Of course not. My life is too precious for me to risk it for some idiots. I have no intentions of doing anything to protect anyone other than myself. I’m just warning you not to put too much trust in anyone. Sooner or later, everyone is going to betray you.
I thought about Mirai-san, Kobayashi-san and Kurosaki-kun… and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Would they really do it? After showing me their support earlier…
Nishizawa: And first of all, you shouldn’t trust me. That’s really naive of you.Mumei: Then, are you going to choose me as your victim and escape from here?Nishizawa: You’re much too blunt for your own sake! Think before saying something!Mumei: But what is the answer?Nishizawa: Hhhh… Dunno, I probably won’t kill you…
I found myself smiling at him, even though I don’t remember myself smiling ever before. Well, my memory is very limited, but…
Mumei: That’s enough for me.Nishizawa: Anyway, leave me alone. I’m busy. Just go away and let me do my job.
He probably meant his attempts to pick that lock…
Mumei: Hmm… Sure. See you later then… Right?Nishizawa: Yeah, yeah, whatever.
I turned back to return to the building, still smiling to myself. Maybe it was stupid of me, but I decided to trust him, despite his words.

While on my way, I noticed something… or rather someone, hiding behind a tree.
Mumei: Hmm? Katsuragi-kun?
He shook his head, signaling me to stay quiet. I looked over my shoulder… I could still see Ruu-kun from here. Was he… watching him? I approached him casually, trying not to attract the thief’s attention, and Katsuragi-kun moved aside and let me into his hideout.
Mumei: What are you doing here, Katsuragi-kun?
Back then in the dining room I didn’t notice he had a bag with him. He reached inside and pulled his notebook and pen out.

Katsuragi: I just thought it’s not safe to leave him completely alone, so I’ve been watching him the whole time.
Mumei: W-What? All those hours…?
Katsuragi: I know it probably looks weird, but I think you understand what I mean…
Mumei: Y-Yeah, but I don’t think he’s actually dangerous?
Katsuragi: Not him. I’m more worried someone will target him.

I was becoming more and more confused, so I just let him write without interrupting him.

Katsuragi: You fainted before, so you probably don’t have a full grasp of the situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone panicked and decided to kill, and Nishizawa is considered everyone’s enemy.
Mumei: And you’re worried he’d become the first victim…
Katsuragi-kun nodded hesitantly.

Katsuragi: I promised myself I’ll find friends this time, and if someone dies, it’s going to become impossible to trust each other.

He turned the page to start writing on a new one.

Katsuragi: You’re not questioning my actions?
Mumei: Why would I? You’re just trying to help, right?
He gave me an odd look, then wrote a reply.

Katsuragi: Your way of thinking is kind of stupid, you know? Is your naivety caused by the memory loss?

I could only sigh. He was the second person who thought I was stupid.
Mumei: I think it’s possible… What a normal person would think?
Katsuragi: They would probably deem me suspicious and think I’m planning a murder.
Mumei: But you’re not…
This time it was him who let out a sigh.

Katsuragi: No, of course I’m not. Call me stupid too, but I don’t want him to die just because he’s behaving like a brat.
Mumei: That’s not stupidity. I think that’s kindness.
He seemed surprised to hear something like this, but then he laughed soundlessly.

Katsuragi: You’re a funny person, you know? I simply don’t think Nishizawa is as bad as he’s making himself seem. The whole time I’ve been watching him he didn’t do anything we could consider threatening.
Mumei: Yeah, I think we should look for the enemy somewhere else…
Katsuragi: What do you mean?

Oh. I almost said too much. I doubt Ruu-kun would be happy about me repeating everything he said to the first person I met…
Mumei: N-Nothing. I think I’ll get going, I still haven’t looked around thoroughly…
Katsuragi-kun probably sensed something I’m hiding something…

Katsuragi: Sure. Be careful, I don’t have enough time to be looking after two people.

I snuck out from behind the tree and returned to the kitchen, slowly coming to a conclusion that I, in fact, was stupid, but…  the more I talked to people, the more I believed that I actually didn’t want to die. I wanted to learn more about everyone.
Yakushi: Mumei-san? T-There’s one more thing we haven’t told you before, about the locks…Mumei: What is this…?Shirakawa: They only open from the outside. Be careful not to get locked in here by anyone, or else you won’t get out, even with hacking skills.Mumei: I don’t have skills like that…Shirakawa: We’re just warning you. We’ll tell everyone else later, too.
I left the kitchen and directed my steps towards that part of the building I haven’t seen yet. The whole construction seemed to be rather large, and I would gladly accept some map… Or maybe even company. Kobayashi-san was a good guide earlier, but I didn’t really want to bother them…

After a bit of walking around I encountered a half-open door at the end of the corridor. Every other door was closed, so I assumed no one was there and decided to try those open one. I hesitantly stuck my head inside and was greeted with a sight of many, many shelves filled with boxes.
Yokohama: Ah, Mumei-kun! Thanks god you’re fine!
Mirai-san and Oshino-san were kneeling on the wooden floor, next to an open box. They probably took it from the shelf. The former stood up and ran up to me, clutching at the folds of her dress.
Yokohama: I’m so glad you’re okay! I’m sorry I didn’t stay with you this time… Kurosaki-kun kind of sent me away…Oshino: Ohoho? What’s going on there?
She said it with such a sly smile that I instantly felt embarrassed, without even knowing why.
Mumei: It’s o-okay, Mirai-san. Thanks for worrying about me…Oshino: I told you not to be so dramatic, Yokohama-san. Look, they’re perfectly fine.
Well, I wouldn’t call myself completely fine, but Oshino-san seemed to judge reality by different standards.
Oshino: Anyway, Mumei-san, care to join us in our investigation?Mumei: What do you mean…?Oshino: This place is clearly a storage room, and from what we’ve learned so far, we can find everything we need to live in here. Ranging from toilet paper to sharp objects I wouldn’t want anyone to stick into my body.
Wow. This girl is… something else.
Mumei: You seem to be… weirdly calm, considering out situation.Oshino: You can tell it as it is, Mumei-san. It seems like I’m pretty unaffected by all of this, right?Mumei: W-Well, yeah…Oshino: Let me tell you both one thing, since Yokohama-san also seemed to be bothered by this. I’ve been in a situation when I had to risk my life countless times.Yokohama: W-What? How?Oshino: I’m a detective, my dear Yokohama-san. I’ve seen a lot of things in my life. Searching for missing people isn’t about finding a lost child. Most of time it’s about abductions or something equally bad.Yokohama: Oh… I mean, it’s only logical to expect this… but somehow I didn’t think about it… I’m sorry.
Oshino-san waved her hand and laughed, as if it was nothing.
Oshino: It’s nothing, I got used to this. I signed up for this myself, right? I just want to apologize in advance for being so insensitive. This kind of attitude helps me handle my job more professionally.Yokohama: I still think you’re a very nice person, Oshino-san! And interesting!Oshino: Hahah, thank you, little one.
Oshino-san put her hand on Mirai-san’s head in a similar gesture as me for Ruu-kun earlier.
Oshino: Hmm… Anyway… I’ve been thinking about something since we got our IDs. Something about the rule list bothers me. Will you listen to me?Mumei: Of course. You’re a detective after all, I think listening to you can’t do us wrong…Oshino: Try not to put too much trust in me, I’m just an amateur. It’s just… If we’re locked here with no change of escaping… Why would the mastermind of this all make a rule forbidding us from learning their identity? It’s not like we can report them to the police. We can’t do anything.Mumei: Oh.
That sigh barely escaped my lips but Oshino-san squinted her eyes and glanced at me from behind her glasses. Somehow she suddenly seemed more scary.
Oshino: What was this supposed to me?Mumei: N-Nothing…Oshino: Are you sure?Mumei: It’s just that… You’re the second person who says something similar to me today.Oshino: Oh…So my theory isn’t surprising to you at all, I guess! Who was the first person though? Was it Himura-san? She looks pretty level-headed, doesn’t she?Mumei: Ehm… It wasn’t her. But could you please finish your thought? I want to make sure it’s the same theory.
Oshino-san tapped her finger against her lips with a soft smile.
Oshino: Ah, sure. Basically, behind all of this is one of us. One of us is the villain, the mastermind. It’s the only way to explain why would any of us be a threat to them.
I could see Yokohama-san’s mouth open in shock after hearing this. I probably looked very similar after Ruu-kun told me almost the same thing… Though he seemed to be more emotional about this. Oshino-san said it without any hint of anger or fear.
Yokohama: W-What? Do you really think one of us could…? We’re just high school students, how…Oshino: I don’t know yet, my dear. And trying to figure it out would probably put me in grave danger, so my hands are tied. I can’t investigate freely thanks to said rule.Mumei: This theory… definitely makes sense, but I don’t want to suspect anyone.Yokohama: M-Me neither! I don’t want to accuse anyone, even Nishizawa!Oshino: You really don’t like this kid, don’t you?
Mirai-san began apologizing, so I tried to look around in the meantime. I’m sure a lot of things in those boxes could pose a threat to us, but… it couldn’t really be helped. It’s not really an object that is dangerous, but people’s intentions.
Yokohama: On a lighter note, we also found some candy here! Maybe this will make you feel better!
She pushed a bag of some unknown to me sweets into my hands. I took a closer look at it and those were… gummies? That’s kind of adorable…
Mumei: Oh, thank you…Yokohama: I’m still a little worried… M-Maybe I could… Accompa-Kobayashi: So that’s where you were! I was looking for you everywhere since I ran into Kurosaki-kun!
Kobayashi-san suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking directly at me.
Mumei: Eh? Did I do anything wrong?Kobayashi: No, it’s me! Me who’s the problem!Mumei: Eh?!
They simply… kneeled in front of me so that their forehead touched the floor.
Mumei: W-What are you doing, K-Kobayashi-san!? Stop it!Kobayashi: No, I have to apologize!Mumei: But for what!?Kobayashi: For leaving you alone before! I promised to help you and yet I ran after Kurosaki-kun like a goddamn idiot!Mumei: I-It’s not a thing you should apologize for on your knees!
Kobayashi-san rose back to a sit and pointed their finger at me.
Kobayashi: As if I give a damn! I spent enough time with you to know you shouldn’t be left alone!Mumei: Why?!Kobayashi: Because you’re stupid, that’s why!
I can’t believe this. It’s the third person today.
Mumei: Somehow… I have this feeling that your personality changed slightly…Kobayashi: Just come with me, I’ll keep you company from now on!
They grabbed my hand with a sigh and dragged me out of the storage room. I only had enough time to glance at the terrified Mirai-san and very clearly amused Oshino-san. The latter even waved at us happily. What a strange girl…
Mumei: W-Wait, Kobayashi-san!
After a moment of pulling me along they finally stopped and let go of me. They took a few steps forward and then finally turned to me.
Kobayashi: I’m sorry. For… for earlier too, but… Sorry for exploding like this. The truth is that… I’m currently really angry at myself, and kind of… unsure of what to do.Mumei: …what do you mean?Kobayashi: I’ve been running around this place for the past few hours, trying to find a way out, but it seems that it’s impossible to run away from here on our own. I’m just… growing more and more frustrated after hearing all of those things earlier…
The expression on their face was only confirming their current state.
Kobayashi: I can’t stay here, that’s a thing I’m sure of. But at the same time I would never hurt anyone, and I’m ready to fight anyone who thinks killing is actually an option! I want out of here, but not like this!Mumei: I understand. I mean, it may sound fake coming from someone like me, who probably really is an idiot, but… The thought of hurting anyone is making me feel sick…Kobayashi: It doesn’t sound fake. That’s exactly the reason why trusting you is easier. You don’t have any reason to desperately want out… Sorry for phrasing it like this, but I believe you wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Kobayashi-san seemed to be kind of embarrassed while telling me this, scratching their cheek.
Kobayashi: Anyway! I’m really sorry. I think my true nature of a hotheaded person won…Mumei: It’s okay, being hotheaded isn’t necessarily a bad thing… And if you want to show me around, I’ll gladly accept your company.
I extended my hand to them and watched their worried expression get replaced with a smile. Kobayashi-san took my hand without hesitation and… started dragging me somewhere again.
Kobayashi: I’m probably overreacting, so let’s just fight the bad thoughts with some fun!Mumei: W-Wait…!
Kobayashi-san… certainly had a very strong personality. I felt like it’s going to be difficult to keep up with them, but at the same time… maybe I needed someone to pull me along. I was still confused and hesitant about everything, not knowing what was appropriate for me and what not. Maybe I’ll learn something if I stick to them…
Kobayashi: I think Yanagi-san, Shinozaki-san and Himura-san were in the music room. We call it like this, but it’s just a large room with a piano inside. You know, places like this don’t even have a proper scene…
Even before they opened the door to said room I could hear the sounds of a piano. Whoever it was, they were very good at it… Kobayashi-san pushed the sliding door aside and the music stopped.
Kobayashi: Sorry to interrupt you, Shinozaki-san, it’s just me playing a guide again!Shinozaki: Ah, there is no problem! Come in, come in!
The person sitting by the piano was Shinozaki-san. Now that I think about it, Kawakami-kun mentioned her being able to play piano earlier… Yanagi-san was sitting on the floor, completely not caring about the fact her underwear was visible, and Himura-san was standing next to the back door.
Yanagi: But holy damn, you’re really amazing, Harumin! And you’re playing without music sheets!
Shinozaki-san laughed, brushing a lone strand of hair away from her face. She closed the piano and turned to us.
Shinozaki: I have been doing this since I was little but I never learned how to properly read music sheets. There is nothing amazing about me.Yanagi: Kou thinks there is a lot of amazing things about Harumin! She’s very cute and can do a lot of things Kou is terrible at!Mumei: I don’t have much knowledge about it, but… I think playing piano isn’t an easy thing. That’s certainly impressive…
Now she smiled at me, but the ones affected the most seemed to be… literally everyone else in the room.
Himura: How is she doing this…Yanagi: Kou has no idea… It has to be dark magic, it’s impossible to be this cute!
Unlike before, Shinozaki-san didn’t look annoyed or uncomfortable. She seemed to be enjoying herself…
Kobayashi: I’m glad to see everything is alright. Have you been staying in this room the whole time?Himura: Yes… I mean, I kind of just tagged along to make sure no one harasses Shinozaki-san…Yanagi: Justice for Harumin!Shinozaki: You are exaggerating things…Yanagi: Yeah, and Kou is going to become Junpei’s best friend. Nice try, Kou chooses Hirato.Kobayashi: What is this, ‘I hate boys’ club?Himura: Some boys are okay.Yanagi: Like… Kou doesn’t have anything against boys in general. In fact, Kou prefers to see everyone as her friend! But choosing to search for good in people doesn’t mean you have to ignore their bad traits.Kobayashi: Wow, that’s… kind of deep.Shinozaki: Maybe I will explain… I actually did not ask for Yanagi-san and Himura-san’s help, but they noticed I was not comfortable with Kawakami-kun following me, so they offered to keep me company. I am very grateful to them for this.
Once again, Kobayashi-san gestured at me to bend a little so they could whisper to me.
Kobayashi: I don’t think it’s a proper way of getting rid of a love drama…Mumei: That’s what you call it?Kobayashi: I’ve seen it countless times. You probably too, but you just don’t remember.Himura: Anyway, I think we’re going to stay here a little longer. It’s not like we have anything else to do before the meet up Kurosaki-kun announced, and I prefer Shinozaki-san and Yanagi-san’s companion over some weirdos.Kobayashi: Looks like some people are not really up for working together…Himura: Any problems?Kobayashi: Me? Problems? Never. I’m always perfectly fine.Shinozaki: That sarcasm was not needed. Considering our situation, most likely no one here is fine.
For a moment everyone fell silent…
Yanagi: …Kou actually thinks we should all make some effort to understand each other and live in peace, but she’s only a not really smart potato.
…but Yanagi-san’s comment for some reason made everyone laugh, what resulted in her blushing.
Shinozaki: You’re a very cute potato.Yanagi: D-Don’t make fun of Kou!
In the meantime Kobayashi-san tugged at my sleeve, signaling to leave the room and let the girls stay there. I was kind of glad to follow them, it was so awkward…
Kobayashi: What about taking a look at the garden? I know going outside may be kinda scary with what the sky looks like, but…Mumei: It’s okay. My understanding of what’s scary and what’s not seems to be… a little off right now.Kobayashi: Hmm, okay then…
It turns out that this building had a lot of back doors in many rooms, but we decided to ignore them and chose the main ones. Apparently the garden was also directly next to the dormitory part of the household, so we could just leave our rooms and be there…

If it wasn’t for that creepy red sky and general eeriness in the air, it would be a very pretty place – a rather large, Japanese-style garden with a pond in the middle. Someone must’ve been taking good care of it… but who?
Kurosaki: Man, it’s not the time to cry over not knowing how to talk to a girl you might like. We don’t have time for this…Kawakami: It’s none of your business, Kurosaki.
We both noticed the two boys sitting on the bridge and talking. I think we both agreed it was better not to interrupt them…
Kurosaki: I know Shinozaki-chan is really cute, but really, leave that for later…Kawakami: What can you know? You look like a guy who has it all.Kurosaki: Hey, I’m just as single as you! Sports kids are actually the most awkward people, don’t look at me like this! The only thing I can help you with is jogging around the house… I got it, let’s race to relieve stress!Kawakami: I have a poor stamina, I’ll pass.
Kobayashi-san just sighed.
Kobayashi: And so the love drama continues. Who will lose their mind first? Find out next episode!
They of course said it in a whisper, so I was the only one who heard it, but it still made me giggle.

The sun was slowly setting and if the clocks in our electro IDs were right we should soon start gathering in the dining room, so we can exchange information before the nighttime. The last location we decided to visit before then was ‘Nagao-kun’s new hangout place’, as Kobayashi-san called it. What surprised me was that Nagayama-san was with him…
Kobayashi: You still at it, guys?Nagao: This insane woman tried to go into the forest. All by herself. Knowing there are wild animals.Mumei: Wait, into the forest? You can go there…?Nagao: The door says yes, but common sense says no.Nagayama: What a coward you are, for someone calling himself the Ultimate Tamer. Weren’t those puppies supposed to be your friends?Nagao: I think I need help… I can’t handle her… There’s so many ways to die in an unknown forest… and she won’t listen…She just won’t listen…Nagayama: Stop panicking. I already went there for a moment and I’m perfectly fine. I simply returned because I couldn’t find any track…Nagao: Why would you go into a forest when there’s no track… a forest you don’t know…
At this point he was practically holding his head in his hands, very distressed and miserable.
Nagao: I can’t understand some people… The more time I spend in forests, the more I understand how dangerous it can be… Please, don’t do stupid things on my watch…Kobayashi: Calm down, Nagao-kun… Probably no one else would even think about it…Nagayama: Are you completely positive about it? I would say there’s a lot more foolish than me people around.
Nagayama-san laughed in a way that made me even more uneasy, especially considering the fact that I couldn’t see her eyes from under her bangs.
Nagao: Please, help me… I don’t want anyone to get hurt because they were stupid enough… And I don’t want my friends to get blamed for this…Kobayashi: Ah, by friends you mean the animals living there, right?
A nod was his only answer.
Mumei: You think… there is a key somewhere? So we could lock this door… until we find a better way of getting out of here…Moneko: Nyaa, I think I could help you with it.
The three of us (except for Nagayama-san) jumped in surprise and immediately turned in the direction from where we could hear the high-pitched voice. That weird cat was sitting on a tree branch and watching us with this creepy grin…
Kobayashi: It’s this bastard again!Moneko: Watch your meowth, brat! I don’t feel like dealing with you either, but I’m the headmeowster so I nyeed to meet the expectations of my students!Kobayashi: Then let us out! How the hell did you even bring us here?! This doesn’t make any sense!Moneko: How much easier would everything be if only I could take a nyap instead of doing this…
Without any warning, Moneko jumped down from the branch and approached Nagao-kun. He instinctively tried to back away, probably remembering the situation with Kurosaki-kun earlier, but the cat ignored the fear on his face.
Moneko: Check my collar, brat. Stop looking at me as if I ate your family, I won't do anything to you without a reason.
Nagao-kun hesitantly kneeled down and reached for Moneko's collar. After a moment of fighting with it, he untied something that was attached to it.
Nagao: It's a key...Moneko: Nya, of course it's a key. I said I nyeed to meet my student's expectations. With this you can lock this door, meow.Kobayashi: Give me the key, Nagao-kun. I'll check it out.
Kobayashi-san took the little object from him and approached the door. They put the key in the hole and turned it, then tried pressing the handle.
Kobayashi: It really is locked... It worked...Moneko: See? I'm not that bad. Unless you piss me off I'm just a cat.Nayagama: A very ugly one.Moneko: Shut up, you're the ugly one. There isn't a single ugly cat in the world!Nagao: Its fur... Actually feels just like a real cat's... I don't like cats, but it's so soft... It's nice to touch...Moneko: Hey! Stop petting me! I didn't ask for this, human!Moneko tried to get away from Nagao-kun, but he caught the cat before it could escape. He picked it up from the ground and actually... hugged? He hugged that scary creature? It tried to get away, but apparently Nagao-kun was pretty skilled at holding a struggling animal.Moneko: Let me go or you'll activate my self-defense mechanism!Nagao: Huh?Moneko: Now you've done it!
Somewhere from Moneko's direction we could hear a strange sound, something like a ticking of a clock. Maybe it was just me, but it reminded me of something else...
Kobayashi: Throw this thing away, Nagao-kun!Nagao: Huh!?Kobayashi: Just do it, please! Hurry up!
Nagao made a panicked face, then looked at the grinning cat in his hands. It looked like it wanted to say 'you were asking for this'. He finally understood that listening to Kobayashi-san probably wasn't a bad idea and threw Moneko as far as he could with the strength he had.

Before anyone could say anything else, this cursed mascot exploded with a loud bang, almost making us go deaf. Only Kobayashi-san managed to cover their ears before it happened.
Mumei: W-What...Nagayama: ...what is the meaning of this?Nagao: It just... blew up... Oh my god...Kobayashi: It blew up, but I'm sure it's not gone. I'll come back soon. It wouldn't let itself explode if it didn't have a spare…Nagayama: That's only a logical conclusion. Anyone would be able to reach it.Nagao: If... If I die here, I want to be reincarnated as a corgi.Kobayashi: Don't talk about dying like this!Nagayama: Jokes about death are only funny when your like isn't actually in danger.Her sense of humor probably won't ever stop being difficult to understand for me. The rest of us just looked at each other, making sure if we all think the same thing.Nagayama: Anyway, considering what just happened here, I shall take my leave. The company of this brainless dog doesn't seem to be safe.
Without saying another word, she turned away from us and began walking away. Even her movements were making me uneasy...
Nagao: I'm not... brainless...Kobayashi: Of course you're not, Nagao-kun. Don't pay attention to the things she says. Being passive-aggressive like this is even worse than Nishizawa's open hostility.Mumei: I think... She's much scarier than him.Kobayashi: Of course she is. An enemy you don't know what to expect of is much more scary than the one that openly declares his plans.Nagao: I think I've had enough for today...Kobayashi: Let's head back then. It's almost completely dark now and we don't have much time before the nighttime... Oh, by the way. Do you mind holding onto the key for us? I think you're the most suitable person for this job.Nagao: Sure, Kobayashi...
On our way back to the building me and Nagao-kun mostly stayed quiet, still pretty shaken after seeing Moneko explode right in front of us. The only one who talked was Kobayashi-san, commenting on what topics should we discuss during the dining room meeting... and it seemed like they were mostly saying this to distract themself.
Kurosaki: Finally! You're the last people we were waiting for!
When we entered the dining room everyone seemed to already be here. Most of our classmates were sitting by the long, low table in the middle of the room, though there were some exceptions... Those were Ruu-kun, who was standing near the door to the kitchen, Nagayama-san, standing on the opposite side of the room and Kurosaki-kun, who took a position by the table but chose to stand instead of sitting down.
Kurosaki: Take your places and then we can finally start! Maybe some of us have something important to say...Himura: I honestly doubt it, but let's try this.
Kurosaki-kun gave her a little disheartened look and sighed.
Kurosaki: Okay then. Who's up first?
Himura-san, Shinozaki-san and Yanagi-san talked about the music room for a bit, but none of the information they could give us appeared to be useful. Then Mirai-san and Oshino-san described the storage room to us. A part of the group looked genuinely relieved about having the basic supplies around, another part looked displeased about the perspective of actually staying here. Xavier-kun's turn was next - the infirmary seemed to be really well equipped. We also got his promise of helping anyone in need. Shirakawa-kun talked about the kitchen and locks by himself, not asking Yakushi-san or Ruu-kun for help. In fact, he didn't even mention Ruu-kun being involved in testing the locks. I think he did it in order not to provoke any unnecessary fights. Kurosaki-kun and Kawakami-kun said that they looked around outside and didn't find any way of getting out without using the gates. Finally, Nagayama-san and Nagao-kun talked about the door to the forest being open, but the latter did his best to explain why it's not a good idea to enter it. Kobayashi-san joined his explanations when he reached that part with exploding Moneko.

Nobody asked me or Katsuragi-kun anything, but I guess it's only normal.
Kawakami: And you? What were you doing this whole time?
He directed his words at Ruu-kun, sounding more hostile than ever.
Nishizawa: Planning a murder, hehe~Kawakami: You little shit...Nishizawa: I have nothing to tell you.
Suddenly Shinozaki-san stood up from her place.
Shinozaki: This is fine. I would not be able to convince myself to trust your words anyway. Now I will excuse myself. It is very late, and it is also obvious we will not be able to return home today. Let us rest in our rooms...Nishizawa: Rest in pieces, witch.
Shinozaki-san sent him a glare that made me shiver, even though he wasn't looking at me, and then left the room.
Xavier: Now, now, everyone, chill, okay? Everyone's tired and arguing won't help us with anything. I think calling it a night is a good idea!Kurosaki: Yeah... Let's rest and discuss everything tomorrow. Maybe it'll be easier to think reasonably if we get some sleep.Oshino: Is it even safe for us to sleep here? I'm not really sure about the locks, since you said Yakushi-san could hack the one in the kitchen...Yakushi: I b-believe... that those in our rooms are safer... But if y-you still can't trust me, you can choose someone to watch over m-me...Oshino:  No, I think that's enough. Sorry for this question, Yakushi-san.
She also stood up to leave, but smiled at Yakushi-san before doing so. Slowly everyone began to leave the dining room, some without a word, some wishing the others a good night. In the end, me, Ruu-kun and Kobayashi-san were the only left behind.
Kobayashi: You're not going to sleep, mister self-proclaimed murderer?
He leaned on the wall and slowly slid down it with a sigh.
Nishizawa: As if I could sleep in a place like this.Kobayashi: Do what you want. You can even collapse from lack of sleep, for all I care.
They stood up from their place and directed their steps towards the exit.
Kobayashi: Ah, but you, Mumei-san, should get some rest. You still look rather sickly.Mumei: ...yhm, I'm going.
I discretely waved at Ruu-kun but he ignored me. Well, it wasn't that surprising, considering I chose to go with Kobayashi-san... So I left without unnecessarily upsetting him.
Mumei: Hey, Kobayashi-san... Don't you think that if everyone tried to be nicer to him, he wouldn't be so hostile towards us?Kobayashi: It won't work.Mumei: Huh?Kobayashi: The problem doesn't lie in our attitude. He wouldn't trust us anyway.Mumei: How can you know this...?Kobayashi: It's just intuition. He snaps at nearly everyone because he doesn't feel safe. Does that make sense?
I glanced towards the dining room, where the lights were still on, then turned back to catch up to Kobayashi-san.

It actually made a lot of sense, at least to me.

***

Despite Kobayashi-san’s words, I didn’t go to bed right away, even though I heard the nighttime announcement about ten minutes after getting back to my room. I slept for more than three hours earlier, so despite my exhaustion and confusion my body didn’t want to let me forget about everything and sleep. At first I thought about getting myself something warm to drink, but then I remembered that the kitchen was locked during the night…

Maybe I really was stupid. I decided to check it out anyway. Maybe I could try repeating what I saw Yakushi-san and Ruu-kun do and break into the kitchen…

Stupid, huh…

To my surprise, someone was still in the dining room. And it wasn’t Ruu-kun.
Yokohama: Ah, good evening, Mumei-kun. You can’t sleep either?Mumei: Yhm, seems like it…
She was sitting by the table, holding a mug in her hands.
Yokohama: Are you up for some tea? Since I found a thermos in the storage room, I decided to make more than just one mug, in case I felt thirsty later, but…Mumei: You made it for yourself, right? Don’t bother yourself with me…Yokohama: I don’t see any problem here. I have enough for another two people.
Mirai-san herself had a normal mug from the kitchen, but she reached for the cup that was a part of the thermos set and poured the hot drink there. She handed it to me with a smile.
Yokohama: Here you go. Maybe this will help you sleep. I’ll head to my room now, since I don’t think staying alone outside of my room during the night is safe…  Please, be careful as well.Mumei: Thank you…
I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Maybe I should’ve stopped her and asked to talk with me for a bit… I took a sip from the cup and learned she was really good at making tea. I didn’t even remember what kind of tea I liked before, but this one was very good.

I entered the empty corridor again, holding the cup in my hands. What should I do…
Nishizawa: I don’t like her. I don’t like her at all.
I nearly dropped my tea when I heard his voice. He was sitting on the floor next to the wall, with his knees under his chin.
Nishizawa: I don’t know why. Something about her is very off. Be careful.Mumei: So you still haven’t gone to your room…Nishizawa: Like I said, I’m not sleeping here. I’m definitely not sleeping in this creepy hellhole…Mumei: You need sleep too. You should…Nishizawa: No means no! I’m not stupid! Even if I tried… My body senses danger and won’t listen to me…
I don’t think I know any way of helping him… But I think I learned another thing about myself. I didn’t like leaving troubled people on their own, so I sat down on the opposite side as Ruu-kun, sipping my tea in silence.
Nishizawa: What are you doing?Mumei: Keeping you company.Nishizawa: I didn’t ask for this.Mumei: I know, but… I can’t fall asleep anyway. I don’t know what to do with myself.Nishizawa: You know… I can’t figure you out. No matter what you do or say, you’re a mystery to me.Mumei: Hmm, is that so?Nishizawa: Yeah. But you know what? You don’t seem to be dangerous. Even though you have no common sense and seem quite stupid, I think I can somewhat trust you. Feel honored! The great thief, Ruu Nishizawa, decided you’re not an enemy!
He was making fun of me. He was definitely making fun of me, and I’m not sure how to feel about this. That feeling was probably embarrassment.

We sat there for a while. Ruu-kun was the one talking, but he wasn’t saying anything specific. It was almost as if he was making small talk, but didn’t expect me to answer, so I stayed quiet. When I finally began to feel sleepy again I wished him a good night and left.

This certainly was an eventful day.

***

MONEKO’S COMPLAINING CORNER

Hey, bastards! Imeowgine yourself sitting in the meowiddle of a kindergarten room filled with screaming and crying kids. You’re nyot allowed to throw them out of the window or lock them inside the bathroom, so nyou don’t hear their screams.

That’s how I feel right nyow.  I didn’t sign up for this! I’m this place headmeowster, not a babysitter! In addition, nyo one respects me here. This bastards don’t even know how difficult my life is. And was… I have a tragic backstory too! You’re not special!

Uh… I got tired. Time for my nyap.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter 1 - Even death cannot cure stupidity

Part 2
 
Waking up the next day wasn’t easy. Even though the headache was finally gone, I was greeted by my utmost confusion and inability to remember anything aside from yesterday again. I was starting to hate this feeling.

After I took a quick shower I decided to look around my room a little. I knew I still had the time, I haven’t heard the morning announcement yet, so it had to be early… I discovered all of the clothes in my room’s closet looked exactly the same – there were a couple of white shirts, black sweaters and gray pants. If those were clothes of my choice, my taste must’ve been pretty basic, huh…

When I looked into the closet’s mirror by accident, I, again, noticed that scar on my cheek. I  of course had to peel the band-aid off when taking a shower, and I didn’t have a new one to put it on in its place… That probably meant I had to visit the infirmary before going to the dining room.

I wonder where did I get a scar like this… The wound had to be pretty deep, to leave a scar so thick…

I quickly covered it with my hand and looked away. Something was telling me that I didn’t really want to know. I decided to trust my gut feeling once again (since that’s the only thing I could trust right now) and left the room instead of waiting for the morning announcement.

Though apparently I wasn’t the only one who decided to do it.
Mumei: Good morning, Ruu-kun.
Said boy flinched at the sound of my voice, probably not expecting me there. He was digging through one of the infirmary’s cabinet’s drawers, already having a couple of boxes put aside on the floor.
Nishizawa: Looks like you just keep running into me. What quirk of fate…Mumei: I’m just looking for band-aids. You can ignore me.
Of course I was curious about what was in those boxes and what he needed them for, but his expression was telling me not to ask. Ruu-kun looked like someone who really haven’t slept the whole night and whose irritation was reaching its peak.
Nishizawa: What happened to your cheek?Mumei: I wish I knew…Nishizawa: Oh, right. You don’t remember. Fine.
He rose his oversized t-shirt a bit, gathered the items from the floor and placed them there, using the piece of clothing like a bag.
Mumei: I hope you’re not going to use those stuff for anything dangerous…Nishizawa: Who knows, Mei-chan? Certainly not you, since you don’t know anything.
I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I could feel my cheeks heating up from embarrassment. Well, he wasn’t insulting me, and that’s a good thing, but he certainly liked making fun of me.

I grabbed the first pack of band-aids I found and quickly took one to attach it back to my face. I didn’t want anyone to see this scar. In the meantime Ruu-kun left the infirmary, not even saying goodbye. Well, I probably also wouldn’t be in a good mood if I haven’t slept the whole night…

That’s when I heard the unpleasant voice of our fake headmaster again. It was coming from my pocket, so the electro ID…

Moneko: Nyello, brats. It’s finally 7am, so time to wake up! Provide me some entertainmeownt today! Have a killing day, dear stnyudents!

That’s not the thing I wanted to start my everyday with… With this thought, I left the room too and directed my step towards the dining room. We were supposed to meet there…
Nagayama: Oh, good morning, our amnesiac character.Mumei: Amnesiac character…?
Somehow, I didn’t like being called this. It felt as if she wasn’t treating me like a human being. I knew I must’ve appeared very boring and bland to everyone, but…
Nagayama: That’s your role in the history. Everyone has one.Mumei: …what is yours, then?
She smiled at me and one of her red eyes peeked at me from under her bangs.
Nagayama: It’s still too early to reveal all of my trap cards, don’t you think?Mumei: Uhm…Sure, whatever you say…Nagayama: Am I really this terrifying to you?Mumei: Huh?!Nagayama: You seem to be completely at peace with Nishizawa as your companion, but my presence makes you uncomfortable. Am I right?Mumei: Eh… I don’t… know?Nagayama: No. You don’t want to answer.
How could she know this? Was she reading me like an open book or just bluffing? And when did she see me talking to Ruu-kun? She was… She really was scary and I couldn’t hide the fact that I was afraid.

Thankfully we arrived at the dining room soon after Nagayama-san’s last sentence. The silence that spread between us after that was even worse.

What was awaiting us inside took me by a total surprise.
Xavier: Hello, my guys!Kurosaki: Yeah, hello, you two! How was your night?Yanagi: Kou thinks this place wouldn’t even be so bad if not for the weird elements!Shinozaki: There is a lot of weird elements here, Yanagi-san.
The four of them were sitting by the table, seemingly… enjoying their breakfast. Said table was filled with fresh-looking food cooked in many different ways. All of this looked so good that my stomach decided to remind me I haven’t eaten anything in a while.
Xavier: Seems like someone here is hungry. Don’t just stand there and join us!Yanagi: Yeah, the food is fantastic! Right, Harumin?Shinozaki: It indeed tastes good. Much better than I could have expected after yesterday’s events.Mumei: Aren’t you like… worried that something may be wrong with the food?Nagayama: I doubt there is. Moneko wants us to kill each other, not kill us with his own paws.Kurosaki: Could you please not talk about this when I’m eating? Also, Mumei-chan, sit down! There’s a lot of place next to us!
The whole group present gave me encouraging smiles, and Yanagi-san even waved at me. Unable to find any excuse, I did like I was told.
Xavier: Eat a lot, you’re too thin! Try the pancakes, dude. They taste just like true American pancakes!Mumei: I don’t know… What taste is this…Xavier: Oh, right… The more reasons why you should try them!
That’s when another person appeared in the room. Kobayashi-san looked around with eyes still only half open, yawned, then passed Nagayama-san in the doorway and sat down on the opposite side of the table, next to Shinozaki-san.
Kobayashi: Mornin…Yanagi: You look dead, Manami.Kobayashi: That’s how I feel.Kurosaki: You should be more energetic, Kobayashi-chan! Your attitude can change a lot!Kobayashi: Right now I just want to sleep. Do you have coffee here?
Shinozaki-san reached for the pot standing on the table and poured the black liquid into Kobayashi-san’s cup…
Shinozaki: Here…Kobayashi: Thank…
And they drank it in one gulp.
Yanagi: Just like this…? Without sugar?Kobayashi: Caffeine is my only friend at 7am.
Soon after this everyone began gathering in the dining room, first wondering at the amount of food on the table, then joining us in eating. Except for Yakushi-san, who did not remove her mask, Nagayama-san, still standing by the entrance, and…
Nishizawa: Hello everyone! Your favorite idol finally arrived!Nagao: …be quiet.Nishizawa: Aw, don’t be like this! Aren’t I cute?Shinozaki: Your clothes are probably stolen as well, am I right?Nishizawa: It’s always the details you care about. The thing that's important is that I look cute in them!
Katsuragi-kun, who was sitting next to me, quickly wrote something in his notebook and showed it to me.
Katsuragi: The worst thing is that he's right.
Well, I doubt anyone could deny the fact that Ruu-kun was pretty. He still had a child-like face with delicate features, flawless skin, soft-looking hair and slim figure. He also looked like someone who really cared about his appearance...
Kawakami: Life is really unfair in some cases...Yokohama: I have to agree with you on this, Kawakami-kun...Nagayama: Now, now... I think it's time for you to shut your mouth...
While saying this she put her hand on Ruu-kun's shoulder. The reaction was immediate. At first he stopped moving completely and fell silent. Then, in a second, his eyes went wide and violently smacked her hand off his shoulder.
Nishizawa: Don't touch me!Nagayama: Huh...Nishizawa: Never, ever try this again, you creepy bitch! Don't even get close to me, understood?! Stay away!Kurosaki: H-Hey, that's going a bit too far...Nishizawa: You shut up too, idiot! How is that no one aside from me can notice she's dangerous?!
Me and Kobayashi-san exchanged glances. Obviously he wasn't the only one, but...
Himura: Do I have to remind you who's the criminal here?Nishizawa: And that's why I fucking hate you, law obsessed bitch. Yeah, judge me harder instead of looking around! Kick me into jail! I'm waiting!Himura: Sure, when we get out of here.
For a moment he looked as if he was about to slap her but at the same time didn't want to touch her.
Nishizawa: Talking to you all is a waste of time.Kawakami: I guess a self-centered brat like you wouldn't be able to understand it.Nishizawa: Understand what?Kawakami: That some people are more suspicious than others, and while you're among them, Nagayama is not.Oshino: Are you sure? I would place her there too.Shirakawa: Do you mind telling us who else you find suspicious, Kawakami-kun?Kawakami: Of course. One of them is the guy you call Mumei.
If it was possible, my blood would freeze in my veins. I'm also pretty sure my heart started beating loud enough for others to hear.

Of course I would be deemed suspicious, that's what I've been thinking this whole time. There was no way I would be left alone just like this.
Kobayashi: Hey, you...Yokohama: Mumei-kun wouldn't...!Kawakami: I have no idea what do you two get from defending this kid, but give it a break. Who the hell is he even? He's here, but we have no idea if he's one of us!Nishizawa: They're not lying.Kurosaki: I doubt Kawakami-chan would believe you, if he doesn't believe them...Kawakami: The second person is the girl sitting next to you, Shirakawa.Yakushi: H-Huh? You mean me...?Kawakami: Who else would I be talking about? Katsuragi is sitting next to Shirakawa as well and he's no girl.Shirakawa: I think you're talking this too far...Kawakami: If you're such a good friend of hers already, have you seen her face? Or have you seen her eat anything today? What are you afraid of, poison?Yakushi: I-I'm glucose intolerant... and allergic to most of this stuff...Shirakawa: Yakushi-san explained it to me when we were exploring the kitchen yesterday. I believe her.Kawakami: Good, but I don’t.Nishizawa: Fucking shit. Leave her alone, maybe she’s just ugly and doesn’t want to show her face to an asshole like you?Kawakami: Oh, now you’re protecting her?Nishizawa: Me? Hell no. But when choosing between her and you, I prefer to be on a genius’ side, not an idiot’s. Kurosaki: Enough of this!
Kurosaki-kun suddenly hit the surface of the table with his open hands and stood up from his place.
Kurosaki: We won’t achieve anything like this! Stop accusing each other and just talk things through!Nagayama: Pardon. It was Kawakami who started this.Kurosaki: I don’t care about who started this! Why is the concept of working together so foreign to you?Kobayashi: …I think Kurosaki-kun is right. Let’s put our prejudices aside and team up.Yanagi: Kou supports this idea! She doesn’t hate Mumei, or Sora, or even the evil gremlin!Oshino: Working together is certainly safer than alienating anyone. After all, if anyone acts up, we’ll notice it~Yokohama: That’s your motivation, Oshino-san…?Oshino: I just love strange people. The stranger they are, the more interesting I find them!Xavier: Guys, first you all need to calm down. It’s not good for your health. Anyone wants a lemon balm tea?Shinozaki: If you were nice enough to make us a cup, I would not refuse.Nishizawa: …you all make me sick. I’m leaving.Kobayashi: Wait, at least eat something! It would be bad if you actually dropped dead!Nishizawa: Heck no. Unlike you, I actually am afraid of this food being poisoned. If you have to mother someone, Yakushi’s right here.
And just like that, he left. I wondered how long could he endure this kind of lifestyle – no sleep, no food… His body wasn’t going to hold on for too long…
Kurosaki: Right, Yakushi-chan. Will you be alright?Yakushi: Y-Yeah… I can cook something for myself later, t-there’s enough ingredients that are suitable for me…Shirakawa:  If you want any help, I’m here! One of my friends has a similar condition to you, so it’s not that hard to believe for me.Yakushi: T-Thanks…Nagao: Anyway… Kurosaki Hirato. What are your plans…? I hope you have any…Kurosaki: I have some… suggestions. To make our life easier for the time being, I guess. First is to respect the nighttime hours and don’t walk around during them.Kawakami: This is a good idea, but do you think Nishizawa will listen?Kobayashi: As long as we don’t stand in his way, everything’s fine, right? I support Kurosaki-kun’s idea.Kurosaki:  Thanks, Kobayashi-chan… The other would be not to go into the forest alone until we deem it safe.Yanagi: Sure. Kou doesn’t want to get eaten.Kurosaki: I also think it would be cool if you agreed to eat meals together. You know… To strengthen our unity.Shinozaki: It is funny how we can only talk about unity when Nishizawa-kun is not around.Himura: Are you surprised?
Katsuragi-kun poked at Shirakawa-kun’s shoulder and said something to him in sign language. The latter frowned, but translated anyway.
Shirakawa: Katsuragi-kun says that right now we’re doing exactly what we weren’t supposed to do – alienating one person.Shinozaki: It is his choice though. He is the one who refuses to work with us.Shirakawa: Katsuragi-kun also wants to remind us we were the ones to attack him first, as soon as he revealed his talent.Himura: Isn’t it just normal to distrust a criminal!?Mumei: Not necessarily… Him committing crimes outside of the academy doesn’t have to mean he would continue on doing this after enrolling, right?Oshino: I’d love to agree, but it’s not true, Mumei-san. Hope’s Peak Academy is a school that is supposed to develop the talent you got accepted for. Nishizawa-kun would be expected to continue his criminal life.Kurosaki: Yeah… You couldn’t have known this because of your amnesia…Kobayashi: Anyway, yeah, someone made a remark towards Nishizawa at the beginning. But he was the one to actually snap at us and immediately come to hate us.Yanagi: He’s kinda overdramatic…Kawakami: He threatened us, Yanagi. Many times already.Yanagi: Well, yeah…
Suddenly I didn’t feel hungry anymore, even though I haven’t eaten much. All this talking about killing, criminals, distrust and… being accused of being suspicious… made me feel sick again.
Mumei: I think… I will go to my room now. Excuse me…Xavier: Are you okay, dude?
Suddenly everyone was looking at me. Please, don’t look.
Mumei: I’m okay…Nagayama: See? You scared him with all of this.
I decided to leave without listening to them any longer, but someone followed me and called out to me as soon as we both entered the corridor.
Kobayashi: Mumei-san! You sure everything is fine? You’ve barely eaten anything… Is there nothing you like?Mumei: I’m not really hungry. Besides, I don’t really know what I like and what not…Kobayashi: Oh…
For a moment, there was silence.
Kobayashi: What about trying some stuff later? Or tomorrow, if we’re still here?Mumei: Trying some stuff…?Kobayashi: Like, cooking and checking if you like the thing. I can assist you, I’m pretty good at it.
They smiled at me, probably wanting to reassure me somehow. And it worked. Something about them was strangely comforting.
Mumei: Sure. To be honest, I just wanted to escape that tense situation…Kobayashi: I can understand it… and I kind of think Katsuragi-kun had a point, too. I’m sorry, I’m useless at being a peacekeeper… I couldn’t even defend you earlier.Mumei: It’s okay. I couldn’t defend myself either.Kobayashi: It’ll be fine. I’ll try harder and stop them from arguing… And you. Don’t lock yourself in your room for the whole day, okay?Mumei: Yeah, I won’t. See you later… right?Kobayashi: Right. See you later…
They waved at me and turned away to go back to the dining room. I was somewhat afraid of what they’re going to talk about without me around, but at the same time I didn’t want to return there, so I decided to go back to my room for the time being.

***

To my surprise, being on my own quickly turned out to be pretty boring. It also didn’t help in putting my nerves on ease… I checked the back door and confirmed I really had the access to the veranda and the garden, sat down there for a while and noticed that I was slowly getting used to the creepy atmosphere outside… But aside from that, I had no idea what to do with myself.
Oshino: Getting lonely here?
I jumped a little upon hearing her voice. I was still sitting on the floor of the veranda, so I had to turn around to look at her. She was smiling at me brightly, sticking her head out of a nearby room.
Oshino: My room is right next to yours, Mumei-san. You seen those pictures on our front doors, the ones on the side of the corridor?Mumei: I think I didn’t really pay attention to that… Sorry…Oshino: Oh, it’s nothing that important, don’t sweat about it! Anyway, do you mind if I join you here? I’m kind of bored myself, and I’m still very interested in you.
Her curiosity was still making me a little uncomfortable… Should I really hang out with her?
Mumei: …sure, you didn’t even have to ask.
I decided to play along. I wanted to learn more about everyone, and Oshino-san seemed to want to learn more about me, too. And even without that, she surely was an interesting person.
Oshino: Thanks! I’m not really good at making friends, so I’m glad you’re ready to put up with me for a bit.Mumei: I just thought talking for a bit could be nice. You’re a detective, right? I’m sure you have a lot of interesting stories to tell…Oshino: Hmm, maybe I have, or maybe not. Do you think I’m the storyteller kind of person?Mumei: Oh, sorry… You know, for assuming you’d trust me enough.Oshino: I’m just teasing you, don’t worry. I’m glad I have the opportunity to talk to you.Mumei: Why though? What makes you decide if a person is interesting enough to you?Oshino: It’s not about being interesting enough, Mumei-san. If it was, I wouldn’t have friends at all. But… Well, I have a thing for mysterious people. And by mysterious I don’t mean gloomy and unapproachable.Mumei: Then what do you mean…?Oshino: To me, mysterious is someone who doesn’t reveal the whole truth about themself. For example, I don’t really find Nagayama-san worth my attention, while you and Nishizawa-kun definitely are worth it. I want to uncover the truth about you.Mumei: So… The thing you’re actually interested in… is… the truth?
She giggled quietly and fixed her glasses.
Oshino: Precisely. That’s why I decided to become an amateur detective. There’s nothing more satisfying than solving a difficult case using your own abilities.Mumei: I see…Oshino: At the beginning, no one was taking me seriously. I was a child after all, and no one in my family has ever been involved in any detective activities. It was hard to make people recognize me.Mumei: But they finally did it, right?Oshino: Yep! You know, if you're good at the thing you're doing, no matter what it is, someone will finally notice you. It may take some time, but when people say 'never give up', they're right.Mumei: That's... really motivating somehow.Oshino: Haha, right? If a normal kid like me could become a recognized detective, anyone can do anything.Mumei: But isn't a profession like this... kind of dangerous? Weren't you afraid of getting in trouble?
Oshino-san clapped her hands with a joyous expression.
Oshino: Of course I was, but that's what makes this job more exciting! And now I can allow myself to only take cases I find interesting, so I'm never bored.Mumei: What cases do you find interesting, then?Oshino: Hmm, I don't have a particular type of cases that I like. It can be anything from discovering a love affair to a murder case, it just needs to have that element of thrill. Though I won't lie, I prefer cases that have a happy ending.Mumei: Is that why you're particularly good at finding missing people? Because you like returning them to their families... and stuff like this...Oshino: Bingo, Mumei-san! Do you want me to find someone for you? Someone you miss? I can guarantee you I would do what it takes! One time I even got stabbed while saving a certain girl!
And with this, she raised her sweater and shirt to reveal a scar on her belly. I immediately turned away, embarrassed by her lack of shame, but I saw it, of course. It was pretty visible.
Oshino: See? It doesn't really look nice, but it's like a war trophy to me. It wasn't anything serious and that girl safely got home after this, so I couldn't be happier.Mumei: You're a really strange girl, you know?Oshino: I probably am, but you don’t get into Hope’s Peak Academy for being normal. You probably aren’t perfectly normal either, but you just don’t remember about it.Mumei: Hmm… I wonder what will happen to me if it turns out you’re right.Oshino: Nothing will happen, Mumei-san. You’re still going to be one of us, our classmate. Let’s become good friends… Hmm…Mumei: …is there anything wrong?Oshino: There’s something I would like to ask you… or… No, nothing after all.Mumei: Hey, now I’m curious?Oshino: Let’s leave it for another time, Mumei-san.
She smiled at me gently, somehow more genuinely than ever before. Oshino-san definitely was quite peculiar, but she didn’t seem like a bad person. I was starting to believe putting my trust in her wasn’t that bad of an idea.

And more importantly, I felt like we grew a bit closer.

Maybe letting her investigate me would actually bring me some benefit? Who knows…

We talked for a bit longer, then Oshino-san excused herself and we parted ways.

It was still early and I didn’t feel like returning to my room for purpose other than sleeping, so I decided to talk to someone else. I didn’t have to look far, since I could notice a person occupying a bench in the garden. I approached him, hoping he didn’t mind some company.
Mumei: Hello, Katsuragi-kun.
It looked like he was drawing something in his sketchbook. From my distance it looked just like this garden… That’s the Ultimate Landscape Painter for you. Upon seeing me he looked away from his drawing, closed the sketchbook and reached inside of his bag for the notebook.

Katsuragi: Hello. Can I help you with anything?
Mumei: N-Not really… I’m just bored and wondering if you have some time to spare…
Katsuragi: Are you really sure you want to spend your time with me though? We won’t be able to talk freely.
Mumei: If you’re okay with this, then I’m too.
Katsuragi: Then sure. There aren’t many people interested in spending their time with me, take a sit.

I sat down next to him on the bench, noting that he actually looked pretty happy that I decided to talk to him. Right, earlier I promised to become his friend…
Mumei: Katsuragi-kun… Before… You said you like your paintings more than people, didn’t you? You really meant that?
Katsuragi: The short answer would be yes.
Mumei: So there’s a longer one?
Katsuragi: Yes. The longer one is that I don’t actually dislike humans. I just can’t communicate with them well enough.
Mumei: Huh? But we don’t have much trouble talking…
Katsuragi: You might think like this for now, but usually people quickly get bored of waiting for me to write my answer down.
Mumei: I think it’s you who has the right to get bored, not us… I mean, you have to write everything you want to tell us because we don’t know the sign language…
Katsuragi: I got used to this. I had to. Not many people know how to use sign language, and even less are willing to learn it just for me. That’s fine.
Mumei: You think I could learn it if I tried?
Katsuragi: ?
Mumei: So we can talk more freely. I promised to be your friend, so I want to know more about you.
He gave me a surprised look, almost dropping his pen.

Katsuragi: You were serious about it?
Mumei: Y-Yeah… Sadly, I can’t tell you more about myself, but I’m sure there’s a lot you could tell me about. For example, art.
Katsuragi: And you’re really interested in what I have to say? You’re not just saying this because you’re trying to be polite?
Mumei: I really am, I think…? I know very little about everything, so every new thing I learn about something… or someone… is very precious to me.
Katsuragi-kun looked as if he suddenly realized something.

Katsuragi: Sorry for doubting you like this. I keep forgetting you’re also a little different from the rest.
Mumei: It’s okay. I prefer this than being treated as some sort of anomaly, or than people being constantly worried about me.
Katsuragi: So we’re similar. I, too, would prefer everyone to treat me normally. But I know it’s impossible.
Mumei: Why do you think so?
Katsuragi: Because it never happened before. I wish there was someone who would understand me without the need for words.

He looked pretty serious when writing that last sentence, and I couldn’t say it wasn’t understandable. If I couldn’t speak, I would probably wish for something like this too. His life must’ve been tiring, not being able to freely communicate with others.
Mumei: I hope you’ll find that person one day. It’s definitely not me, I don’t even get myself… But I believe they’re somewhere out there, Katsuragi-kun.
Katsuragi: That’s awfully optimistic of you, but thanks.

We sat there for a while, talking about various things. Our way of communicating certainly wasn’t perfect, and I felt bad for Katsuragi-kun for having to write everything down, but not even once I felt bored or annoyed.

Katsuragi-kun was actually a really nice person. He seemed really lonely though… I hope we can talk like this again.

It was getting late, so we both went to the dining room. We didn’t have any set hours for meals yet, but we found a few people there and joined them. Apparently this time the food was also prepared by mysterious someone…

After that I decided to go straight to my room. For a moment I thought about talking to Kobayashi-san before going to sleep, but it was almost the nighttime. Even if I found them before the announcement, we wouldn’t have much time to chat.

Suddenly I recalled one more person that I should probably talk to… Though I haven’t seen him since this morning. On the way to my room I tried looking around as much as I could, but I couldn’t find Ruu-kun anywhere. I wonder if he had eaten anything today.

Moneko: Nyaa, attention please! It’s 10pm nyow, what means nyaight time! Go to sleep, boring little shits.
Mumei: What a nice way of saying good night…
I sighed and despite being a little worried, I decided to call it a day and went to my room.

I guess no magical salvation today… But at least nothing bad happened at well. That’s a thing to be happy about, right?

***

MONEKO’S COMPLAINING CORNER

I hate this so meowch. Remeowmber how I said I didn’t sign up for this? It’s the truth. I really didn’t. Actually, I’m just a mere supervisor. I’m only watching overrr the rules. And I’m sooo borrrred, you don’t even knyow.

I wish someowthing would finyally happen, so I can do my job. Go ahead, kill someowone! I’m waiting! Nyaa, master would be so happy if it actually worked…

Oh well. I guess nyot today.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter 1 - Even death cannot cure stupidity

Part 3

Moneko: Nyello, useless meowmers of society! It’s 7am, anyother terrible days start! Rise and slay!

This time I woke up with the morning announcement coming from my electro ID, but… I wasn’t sure if that’s not even worse. Well, at least I still woke up. I was still alive, for now.

My first thought was to head to the dining room to eat breakfast with everyone, just like we agreed yesterday, but I think somewhere deep down I was scared that not everyone was like me and woke up normally. For a moment I just sat there, on the futon, unable to find motivation to get up… I don’t know how long it lasted before I heard knocking on my door.
Kobayashi: Mumei-san? Is everything okay? Everyone has already gathered, so I thought I would check on you…
Maybe that’s what I needed. Someone to drag me out of here.
Mumei: I’m fine. Give me a moment.
I finally got up from the floor and went to open the door. The white-haired person waiting for me there really looked concerned.
Kobayashi: For a moment I was scared you kicked the bucket already.Mumei: K-Kobayashi-san?!Kobayashi: Sorry for this one, my sense of humor sucks, I know. Let’s go, everyone else is probably worried too, even if they don’t want to admit it.Mumei: So everyone else is alright too?Kobayashi: Yhm. We survived another night here. I guess that’s a thing to be happy about. Not that we’re any closer to getting out of here…
We left the room together and Kobayashi-san waited for me to lock the door. Then we both headed for the dining room.

Everyone was fine. I was fine too.
Kobayashi: Hey, cheer up a bit.Mumei: Huh?Kobayashi: I know it’s not easy, but being all gloomy won’t help you with anything. Also… I don’t really like seeing you like this.Mumei: Why is that…?Kobayashi: You kind of remind me of someone really dear to me. I don’t know why, you don’t have anything in common… Anyway, the point it that I don’t want to see him sad, and the same goes for you.
They seemed embarrassed to tell me this. I wonder why they did it if it was something so personal… Did they really trust me so much? Why?

I didn’t have the courage to ask, so I stayed silent until we arrived at the dining room.
Kurosaki: Hello, Mumei-chan! Have you overslept?Mumei: Ehm… You could say so?Yanagi: Kou can understand that… She didn’t want to get up as well…Shinozaki: It is not good to be lazy, Kou-chan.Xavier: Getting the right amount of sleep is important though, so being lazy isn’t all that bad, my guy.Mumei: Is it just me or have you formed some kind of club here…? Yesterday you were together too…Yanagi: Well, we have a doctor, a sportsman and a proper lady here. Kou is just an addition to the healthy kids club…
I looked around to confirm if everyone was present, and I was able to confirm that most of our classmates were indeed here. Yakushi-san, Shirakawa-kun and Katsuragi-kun were together once again. Oshino-san seemed to be bantering with Himura-san about something while Mirai-san was laughing at them. Kawakami-kun was absent-mindedly stabbing his pancake with a fork. Nagao-kun also didn’t seem to particularly get along with anyone… Nagayama-san in turn appeared to be separating herself from the rest on purpose, choosing a seat at the edge of the table, with no one next to her.

Someone was missing though.
Yokohama: If you’re looking for Nishizawa-kun, he’s okay, you don’t have to worry about him…Oshino: Yeah, this kid just locked himself inside the kitchen. As if he simply appeared to announce us that he’s not dead yet, but didn’t want to actually spend time with us.Mumei: O-Oh… I see…Kobayashi: Sooner or later, this brat will have to throw his pride away and join us. He’s stubborn, but-Nagayama: Have you ever considered the fact that he might kill someone while left unsupervised?
Everyone turned in her direction, what caused her to grin in a really unsettling way. I myself did something else – I glanced at Katsuragi-kun, knowing well that he was doing his best not to leave Ruu-kun unsupervised…
Kawakami: As long as you look after your own ass well enough, Nishizawa won’t do anything do you. Simple.Nagayama: Oh? If you think so, then everything is clear. Just don’t-
That’s when the door to the kitchen opened, allowing us to see the person that was the topic of the discussion.
Yokohama: Nishizawa-kun…Nishizawa: You know, I can hear everything from there. And I’m tired of listening. Bye.
He walked through the room and disappeared behind the door leading to the corridor without another word.
Kawakami: He’s just spying on us… Trying to know everything we’re doing, but not revealing what he’s doing…Shinozaki: Ignore him. The day has only just started, there is no meaning in ruining it for ourselves so early.Kawakami: Wise words. Just let him be.
I didn't like that. I knew that Ruu-kun chose to isolate himself from us, but things weren't going to be okay this way. I was about to speak up my mind when...
Kobayashi: This isn't the right thing to do. I'm sure it's not...We should try to convince him it'd be better if we worked together...Oshino: Even if you're right, you can't do anything with your stomach empty. Eat breakfast first, okay? Both of you.
There were two empty seats next to her, so out of lack of better ideas, we decided to comply. To my surprise, Ruu-kun's case seemed to be the only urgent problem... I couldn't hear anyone talk about anything else that was worth any concern.
Kobayashi: Hey, Mumei-san. Remember what I told you yesterday?Mumei: Yesterday? About what?Kobayashi: You've already forgotten? Wow, your memory is really bad... I mean about checking what's your favorite food. What about today's evening?Shirakawa: Oh, are you guys thinking about cooking?Kobayashi: Hmm, yeah, that was the plan. Do you want to join?Shirakawa: Maybe? I’m not the best at it, but somehow I ended up as Yakushi-san’s assistant!Yakushi: E-Eh? Oh, y-yeah… Shirakawa-kun is d-doing his best…Kobayashi: But isn’t succeeding, heh?Shirakawa: Hey! Put some more faith in me! Yakushi-san is definitely better, but-Kobayashi: Then maybe you’ll join us too, Yakushi-san? The more of us, the merrier!Yakushi: Uhm… If you’re okay with this, t-then sure. I don’t want t-to impose on you…Mumei: It’s okay. I’m sure it’ll be fun.
I remembered what Kobayashi-san told me about cheering up, so I tried to smile at the gasmask-wearing girl. I couldn’t know what effect it had on her though, but when she spoke again she sounded more relaxed.
Yakushi: If y-you say so… Then I will join you. I can show you some of my favorite recipes…
I also noticed someone else was listening to us curiously.
Mumei: Are you by any chance interested too, Mirai-san…?Yokohama: M-Me? Not really. I can’t even cook. I’ve never done that before.…
Silence.
Shirakawa: Wait, you really meant that. Like, never never?Yokohama: Y-Yes?Yakushi: D-Don’t take that personally, but… how is t-that possible?Yokohama: My family is really rich… My parents would just hire someone to do the whole work in our stead…Kobayashi: Some people really have it all…Mumei: You know, Mirai-san, I can’t do anything either, so it’s okay. We can both learn something new.Yokohama: …you’re serious?Shirakawa: To me, they don’t look like they’re joking.
Mirai-san seemed to be wondering if she should accept our offer, but in the end she smiled and nodded slightly.
Yokohama: Then I will join. Thank you, everyone…
The rest of the morning was passing peacefully, with Ruu-kun out of sight and people with more hostile attitudes staying quiet. Maybe I was just a pessimist, but all of it seemed just like calm before the storm…
Kawakami: Hey. Don’t you all think it’s high time we started thinking about getting out of here somehow? We’re not here on a vacation. Are we just going to wait for someone to come and rescue us?Oshino: Do you have any better ideas, Kawakami-kun?Kawakami: Anything would be better than this…Oshino: I dare to disagree. We have every reason to doubt there’s any way out of this situation.Kawakami: Why would you say so?Shinozaki: Just look at the sky, you blockhead. It is obvious that something is wrong.Oshino: Exactly. That’s why I think staying here until someone comes is safer than leaving on our own.Moneko: Safer? You really think it's safer?Yanagi: Eek!
Suddenly, the despised by everyone can was walking along the table, smiling creepily without even blinking. I could feel a chill run down my spine.
Moneko: I'm still here, you knyow. And I'm nyot going to allow everything to go your way.Kobayashi: And what you're going to do? Force one of to commit a murder? It's not going to work.Moneko: Don't be so sure of yourself, Kobanyashi-chan! I'm nyot going to force anyone to do anything. You're going to do everything yourself!Himura: Bullshit...Moneko: Meow, we'll see later! We're just getting started!
And so, it disappeared as easily as it appeared, leaving us with a vague sense of dread.
Yokohama: ...what do you think it meant?Xavier: I have a bad feeling about this, guys...Nagayama: This is obviously only a speculation... One you may prefer to ignore, but... I think it's planning to encourage us somehow.Yokohama: Encourage...?Nagayama: Encourage to kill, obviously, you silly.Yokohama: ...!Nagao: ...I think it's only normal we would prefer not to think about it, Nagayama Kanna...Nagayama: But can we really ignore it...?Kobayashi: The thing I would prefer to ignore is you, Nagayama. Come back when you stop talking nonsense.Kurosaki: Kobayashi-chan is right. We can't let that furry bastard provoke us, and we need to stop provoking each other!Nagao: Leave furries out of this...Shinozaki: The easiest way not to provoke each other is not spending time in the presence of someone who gets on your nerves. I am done with my breakfast, so... excuse me.
Once again, the group began to dissolve, leaving only a few people who didn't seem to mind each other's company. After the people I was the most comfortable with decided to leave too, I didn't have any reason to stay there as well. I had to find myself something to fill my free time with...

So I thought it may be a good idea to talk to someone. Maybe create a new bond, maybe learn something new about myself... Who knows. I began walking down the corridors, looking around and trying to spot someone friendly enough.

I stopped by the music room after hearing something from the inside. Those were... piano sounds, but the person playing it certainly wasn't as skilled as Shinozaki-san - I instantly excluded the possibility it was her. It most likely wasn't Kawakami-kun either, a composer wouldn't be making this kind of basic mistakes. I felt like I could copy Shinozaki-san's actions better than this person...

Finally, I looked inside and saw the person I kind of expected to see.
Yanagi: Eeh?! When did you walk in, Mumei? Kou didn’t notice you!Mumei: Just now, don’t worry. I wasn’t listening, if that’s what you meant…Yanagi: Whew, that’s good to hear…Kou is really terrible at this. She was trying to learn something to show off to Harumin, but it’s no good.Mumei: Are you by any chance… envious of Shinozaki-san?
Yanagi-san gave me a surprised look, then began to laugh.
Yanagi: No, no, that’s totally not this! Kou knows she’s very ordinary, but she doesn’t mind that at all!Mumei: E-Eh?Yanagi: Kou doesn’t really care about talents and all of this… She’s perfectly fine with not being special, because she knows that special people don’t have it as easy as it may seem. But… sometimes Kou just wants to show off a bit, to gain someone’s attention.Mumei: Oh… So you just…Yanagi: Thehe… Anyway, wanna spend some time with Kou? Or maybe you have something better to do?Mumei: Actually, I don’t, so… I’ll gladly accept your invitation.
She grinned at me and patted the spot next to her, on the bench by the piano. It was quite narrow, but there was enough place for two people, so I decided to sit down.

We spent some time trying to play some simple melody, and we ended up with me trying to teach her the one Shinozaki-san played yesterday. She was actually quite a fast learner…
Mumei: Yanagi-san… Can I ask you something? Yanagi: Sure, whatever you want, Mumei! Kou is always open to questions.
She seemed so natural, and at the same time confident and self-aware. And also so positive… For the first time, I felt envious when talking to someone. Envious because I wished I could’ve had her attitude.

Maybe her lack of special talent was what was making her seem so genuine?
Mumei: You called yourself ordinary… But don’t you actually have a talent too? Wasn’t luck recognized as one as well? Wouldn’t that make you a special person?Yanagi: That’s more than one question… But okay. Let’s talk about this! Let’s have a chat about luck!Mumei: Yhm… okay…
To be honest, I was really curious. I didn’t remember what Hope’s Peak Academy was like, but it seemed like some kind of prestigious school… I wonder why something like ‘luck’ was even considered a talent.
Yanagi: So, what is luck, you may wonder? Kou thinks it’s different for everyone.Mumei: Huh?Yanagi: Luck is a very mysterious thing! For example, Kou thinks she may not even be lucky at all! Because in the end, it all comes down to her own decisions.Mumei: I don’t think I understand…Yanagi: Hmm… What should Kou do to make Mumei understand… Imagine you have to choose between two tracks in the forest. You are aware that one will lead you out of it, and the other will cause you to get even more lost. You don’t know which one is which.
I nodded, trying to understand where she’s going with this.
Yanagi: If you go with the right one, that means you’re lucky, right? Except it’s not that easy. Kou’s luck heavily depends on her conscious choices, so just randomly choosing the track would be no good… But if she thinks about it before making a choice, she’s very likely to end up being lucky.Mumei: Isn’t that just… logical thinking? Not luck?Yanagi: It’s not! It doesn’t require any logic! Kou is an airhead and if it really was only logical thinking, she wouldn’t be here. It’s just about making the choice, not ‘the right choice’. Kou has to help the luck… or something like this.Mumei: Sorry, all of this seems too complicated to me.Yanagi: Hmm, maybe Kou chose a wrong example. Let’s try again! If Kou consciously chose to buy a lottery ticket, there’s an extremely high chance it would be a winning ticket. But if she received that ticket from someone else, or found it on the street, there’s zero percent chance she would win, or it may even lead to back luck. Is this easier to understand?Mumei: Kind of. It’s just… what’s stopping you from buying lots of lottery tickets?Yanagi: Kou’s stupidity.Mumei: Oh. I think… I think I understand it. So basically, if someone really intelligent… let’s say, a genius, had your luck, it would become a terrifying power?Yanagi: Well, possibly?Mumei: And since now you’re making a conscious choice to gain Shinozaki-san’s attention… You can be sure it’ll work?
Yanagi-san froze for a moment, opened her mouth, closed it, and blinked a few times. Then she looked back at the piano.
Yanagi: Holy cow. This might work.
So she didn’t even realize that… She wasn’t dumb, I’m sure of it, but she could be a little scatterbrained. Maybe that’s better though… better that this kind of ‘power’ belonged to someone so nice.
Yanagi: You know, Mumei, you’re a good listener.Mumei: That’s probably because I don’t have anything to say myself…Yanagi: No, no, that’s not it. Kou isn’t sure how to put it… but you have an aura of someone who’s used to listening to others.Mumei: You think so…? Maybe I was like this in the past, too…?Yanagi: Kou has no idea, but she’d like you to listen to her some other time as well! And if you ever need someone who’d listen to you, Kou’s here!
I don’t know if I’ll ever make use of that offer, since I literally had nothing to say, but I really appreciated it. After spending time with her I still thought she was the most genuine person among us, and being around her was easy enough, even if it was mostly her who talked.

I felt like we could become good friends.

Suddenly something interrupted our conversation, and we exchanged displeased looks. Of course, it was the voice coming from our IDs.

Moneko: Attention, stnyudent! I’m nyot going to repurreat it twice! All of you are expected to gather in front of the main gates in half an hour. Your presence is required. That’s all I have to say! See you, bastards!

Yanagi: Kou has a really bad feeling about this…Mumei: Yeah, me too…Yanagi: We’ve got to go though. Who knows what that parody of a cat would do to us if we didn’t. Don’t worry though! You’re Kou’s friend now, she’ll protect you if that’s needed!Mumei: Didn’t you hide behind Kurosaki-kun on our first day here?Yanagi: That’s a different thing! Hirato is Hirato, he’s the one who’s supposed to protect! Anyway, let’s go!
She stood up, then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. I couldn’t tell if she was brave or just foolish.

We arrived at the main gates about fifteen minutes before the actual time limit, but some people were already there.
Yanagi: Yahoo, Harumin!
She let go of my hand instantly and ran up to Shinozaki-san, who, again, looked pretty much cornered while trying to ignore Kawakami-kun as much as she could. Yanagi-san could probably see it… So she charged at them at full speed, hugging Shinozaki-san by surprise.
Shinozaki: K-Kou-chan?Yanagi: You alone? Where’s Mikaru? Or Mirai? Or even Satomi?Shinozaki: To be honest, I do not know… After we parted ways this morning, I could not find any of them.Kawakami: …I saw Yokohama and Oshino together before. They seem to be getting along.Yanagi: And you, Junpei? You don’t have anyone you’d get along?
Woah. That was totally a suggestion to leave Shinozaki-san alone, wasn’t it.
Kawakami: That’s none of your business, Yanagi. Also, I tried to look for Kurosaki, but he disappeared somewhere with Kobayashi.Mumei: Kobayashi-san…?Kawakami: Yeah. I have no idea what they’re at, but they seem reliable so I just let them do whatever they want.Nagayama: And you consider yourself smart?
We quickly turned to the girl standing in the shadow of one of the trees. Like always, she spoke calmly and quietly, in a tone that sent chills down my spine. If I were to choose, I preferred Kawakami-kun…
Kawakami: What are you getting a-Yanagi: You know, Kanna. Kou thinks that if you have nothing nice to say, you should just stay quiet.
Wow. She just dragged another person in the span of two minutes.
Nagayama: I’m just saying as it is. Assuming someone is harmless may be a big mistake.Shinozaki: No offense, but when spouting nonsense like this, the only thing you achieve is sounding like Nishizawa.Nagayama: That pathetic little guy? That’s unfortunate…Nishizawa: Yeah, I would appreciate if you didn’t compare me to her.
He approached us so quietly that we were unable to even hear his footsteps. That’s the Ultimate Thief for you, I guess.
Nishizawa: We may both be completely rotten but at the same time it’s a completely different kind of rotten, so keep these comments to yourself, you witch.Kawakami: Hey, don’t call her lik-Shinozaki: I can protect myself without your help. And you, Nishizawa… I advise you to keep your mouth shut, you moron.
For a really long moment everyone stayed silent, even after other people began to join us. It surprised me a bit, since I expected Ruu-kun to reply, but he seemed really tired…

Finally, only two people were missing, but just before said half an hour passed they appeared, running as fast as they could… What in Kurosaki-kun’s case meant really fast, and Kobayashi-san’s… Well, they were trying.
Kurosaki: Sorry for being so late, everyone!Kobayashi: Y-Yeah! We were kind of b-busy…
It wasn’t surprising that only one of them seemed to be short on breath.
Oshino: Ooh? Mind telling us what was keeping you so busy?Kurosaki: Sure, but… Maybe not now, okay? First let’s listen to what that gross cat has to say…Shinozaki: Oh, so it is not anything you wanted to hide from us? Great!Kurosaki: W-Why would you expect that of us, Harumin…?Shinozaki: You are a guy. Who knows what I could expect of you? I can never be sure.Kurosaki: That’s mean, Harumin…Moneko: That’s just how womeowen are, Kurosaki-chan.Kobayashi:  You’re asking for a beating, stupid cat.Moneko: Why are you booing me? I’m right!
Everyone reluctantly looked at Moneko, sitting on the top of the gates again. It was just licking its paw without any care in the world…
Shirakawa: You know what? I’m starting to get used to this…Xavier: Dude, this isn’t something you should get used to, ever.Moneko: You’re just a nyoisy as ever. Can nyou be quiet for a bit? I have something very inyeresting to say!Kawakami: You never say anything interesting, bastard…Moneko: Nyeither you do, Kawakami-chan. I just wanted to give you some more information, but since you don’t want it…Yokohama: No, wait! What do you mean by more information!? You can’t just run away like this!Moneko: Nyehehe, I actually wasn’t planning on leaving!Yokohama: Eh?Moneko: Nyaive, so nyaive… Providing you with nyecessary information is my job, fools. I really wish I could just skip that and go home, but being me is not that easy. My meowster would get mad.Mumei: …what kind of information do you want to give us?Moneko: What a polite child. Anyaway, I realized that I might’ve been too vague about your situation, so I decided to make some things more clear!Nishizawa: About time…Moneko: For example, make it easier for you to believe that the world has really ended.…
Silence.
Moneko: You purrobably find that absurd, right? You don’t remeowmber any of this! The sky became all weird while you were sleeping, right?…Moneko: You all know that’s a lie. It wasn’t just one nyaight that passed. It seems absurd to you because ny’all forgot about it.Kobayashi: Sounds like total bullshit to me.Moneko: But that’s the truth, brat. In reality, since your last available memory… Come on, how much do you think has passed? I’ll tell you!Moneko: It’s been about two years. Anything after that… I took these meowmories away.Xavier: Now that sounds completely unbelievable to me. Sorry, man, I’m a doctor and I don’t find that possibl-Moneko: But I have evidence that it’s possible, nya. This evidence stands right here.
And then… it pointed its tail right at me. I couldn’t see myself, of course, but I’m pretty sure all blood instantly drained from my face.
Moneko: If you wondered why this kid is the only one with whose memory something seems to be wrong… Nyow you know. It was meow who wiped their memory clean, so you can believe me more easily.Kobayashi: You… messed with their memory just because of this?!Moneko: I messed with everyone’s memory, not just theirs.Kobayashi: Even if, then not to this extent! They don’t even know what’s their name! If they have any place to come back to! That’s just… too cruel…Mumei: …it’s okay, Kobayashi-san. You don’t have to do this.Kobayashi: But…!Mumei: It’s impossible to achieve anything by arguing with this thing anyway. I know that… my memory loss is making me somewhat vulnerable, but I’m going to be fine.Kobayashi: If you say s-so… But I’m still mad!Moneko: What a cute scene! I would cry if you weren’t so gross. It’s nyaice to see that my most defenseless victim seems to have found their knight in a shining armor, but… Actually, I don’t care.Nishizawa: …I haven’t gotten enough sleep to have the patience to deal with your ugly mug, you fucking furry. I know this isn’t all, so just get straight to the point.Moneko: Oh? Seems like someowone believed me without complaining?Nishizawa: What’s your fucking point? I just have enough common sense to judge your nonsense for myself. It’s not about believing you, it’s about not wasting my goddamn time on you.Moneko: I don’t like you, nya. I hope you die first.Nishizawa: Go to hell. But first tell me what did you call us here for.Moneko: Tch. Fine… I just got bored. It’s the third day and everyone’s still alive. I don’t like that! So… I realized you don’t really have a reason to do it. You need an encouragement.Yakushi: W-What do you mean…?Moneko: In other words, I mean a motive! You want your memories back, nya? You want them?Oshino: You’re not going to give them back to us anyway. It’d be too easy.Moneko: Don’t be such a smartass, Oshino-chan. But… you’re right. You’re entirely right.
The cat sitting on top of the gates stopped moving completely. Its eyes widened even more, just like the crooked smile that was plastered to its face constantly.
Moneko: Because I have a different idea. I know everything about you, you knyow? I have full knyowledge of the memories I stole. And I know what kind of horrible things you’ve done during the days you don’t remember.
Silence. Once again, we had no idea what we should say. With every word Moneko seems to be gaining bigger and bigger advantage over us.

Memories mean a lot. When something causes you to lose them, you can only live in fear of what happened during the period that is missing from your brain.
Kurosaki: Th… There’s no way I did anything I would regret. I don’t believe it. I know myself.Moneko: Are you hundred percent suuuuure?Kurosaki: Of course I am! I-Moneko: It’s two years. Two years, where a part of this time you spent living in a ruined world. A loooot might have happened.Nishizawa: So?Moneko: Huh? Surely nobody wants others to learn about their crimes, nya? My proposition looks like this – kill someone and I’ll make sure you won’t pay the price for whatever you’ve done. You’ll be the only person to know!
To be honest, I had no idea if I should care, but… I realized one thing.

This motive wasn’t directed at me. It’s not me who was supposed to react to this – it was someone else, someone who knew they were capable of actually committing some horrifying crime.

I could see Shinozaki-san look away, avoiding our eyes.

Kawakami-kun just lowered his gaze, staring at his shoes.

Nagao-kun pulled his hood down, so it covered most of his face.

Actually… a lot of them seemed to be uncertain, as if doubting themselves.
Nishizawa: So what?Yanagi: H-Huh? Haven’t you heard what that hell kitty said?Nishizawa: One question. You think I give a fuck?Nishizawa: All of you already know I’m a criminal. You don’t know the extent of my criminal activities, but does that change anything? I’m already a terrible person in your eyes. Nice try, but I’m out of this. Give me something better next time.
He saluted to the cat with a bored face, then gracefully turned around and started walking towards our quarters.

Ruu-kun really was… something.
Himura: Why are you all so afraid of? I’m completely unable to believe that I would commit a crime, so I’m sure this thing is lying!
Himura-san seemed to finally snap out of her first shock and spoke up confidently. As expected of the Ultimate Lawyer…
Kobayashi: Y-Yeah! I can’t imagine myself doing something bad enough either!Yokohama: But… Two years is an awfully long amount of time…
She grasped at the fabric of her dress, frowning in distress.
Kurosaki: Don’t tell me you’re really worried about this…Yokohama: O-Of course not!Moneko: Ny’all are awfully positive, and that’s boring. Don’t worry though! Those whom I targeted with this motive are probably already plotting their first step!Kurosaki: Hey. Do us a favor and go somewhere else.Moneko: Sure. I told you everything I wanted, so I can go take my nyap. Have a killing time, brats!
Only now had I realized I was holding my breath. This creepy cat really got us good this time… At least I thought so. I couldn’t know what effects this was going to have on everyone…
Xavier: …this is dumb. Dude, I’m not going to feel threatened of something I can’t even remember.Shirakawa: Y-Yeah, that should go without saying?Nagayama: I would just like to point out that not everyone is as calm as you.
She was right. I knew she was right, but thinking about it was just making my head hurt again. The nagging emptiness where my memories should be was just reminding me about how much I differ from everyone and that I can’t understand them.
Kurosaki:  Dismissed. All of you.Kobayashi: Huh? We are supposed to go… like this?Kurosaki: It may seem strange to you, Kobayashi-chan, but there’s no meaning in discussing things when everyone is upset. That’s the main thing about working in a team, all of you must want it.Himura: …that actually makes sense.Kurosaki: So… please, just go and rest? And don’t do anything stupid. Even if we really did something we’d regret… That’s not important now. I believe in you… The current you. Okay?Kawakami: Tch. Like always you sound like an idiot, with that stupid smile. Disappointing you would make me feel like a total scumbag…Yanagi: For the first time, Kou can relate… See you later then, Hirato. Hang in there!Yakushi: Y-Yeah… Thank you for doing this, Kurosaki-kun…
This was the signal to leave this place and go back to our rooms… Or just do whatever, except for getting in each other’s way. Once again I watched everyone go their way, feeling completely out of place.
Kurosaki: You okay, buddy? You look pale.Mumei: I’m always pale, I think…Kurosaki: Hahah, that’s true. You should eat better! But… I guess that’s not that easy for you, right?Mumei: Hmm?Kurosaki: I’m not a psychologist, but even a sports kid can say when someone looks constantly stressed out, you know?
I glanced at him to see he’s giving me a sympathetic look. Despite telling everyone to go their own ways for now, he noticed I was feeling uneasy and stayed behind for me… I didn’t know if I should be grateful or just tell him he’s going against his own words and that’s not a good thing to do for a leader.
Mumei: To be honest… I’m just very confused about everything. I… kind of sensed the mastermind was the one who took my memories away, but actually hearing it…Mumei: I’m kind of a scapegoat, am I not?Kurosaki: I told you this before but… I don’t like the way you talk about yourself.
He said that in a gloomy voice, then looked around, as if making sure everyone really left.
Kurosaki: It wouldn’t be good if they saw us hanging out after I clearly told them to calm down first, but we both seem pretty calm, if you ask me… So, wanna hang out, Mumei-chan?
I knew he was right. I thought the same thing about a minute earlier, but… I didn’t want to be alone right now.
Mumei: …sure.
He smiled at me and it looked rather genuine. It would be difficult not to trust him…

We changed our location to the dining room, leaving the gates behind. This place seemed like the most natural meeting area in the whole building… When we finally sat down, Kurosaki-kun was the first one to speak up.
Kurosaki: I feel like I might’ve made a mistake, ordering everyone like this, but I couldn’t think of any other option, to be honest…Mumei: Really? That’s kind of… surprising? You seem like a natural leader for me.Kurosaki: That’s… not really something I’m happy to hear, but I’ll take that as a compliment.Mumei: Huh? Why you’re not…Kurosaki: It would take a lot of talking to explain why not, Mumei-chan. I don’t want to bore you with that.Mumei: I.. I like listening, so don’t worry. Go ahead.
He gave me a surprised look, but then smiled again and changed his position to make himself more comfortable.
Kurosaki: If you say so, then okay. It’s very hard not to be honest with you, you know? You have a very comforting presence… That’s why I was skeptic when Kawakami-chan said we should consider you suspicious.Mumei: Thank y-you, I guess…Kurosaki: Anyway, take everything I say with a little bit of distance… You know, I’ve always been in the center. A center of a group, a class, a team… The one who solves the conflicts, the one to make the final choice…Kurosaki: I’m a person who easily gets along with everyone. It’s not even that I’m liked by everyone. It’s more like… no one dislikes me.Mumei: Isn’t that the same thing?Kurosaki: It’s not, and… I quickly learned the difference. Being in the center actually means being far from other people. Like, if you’re close to everyone, it also means you can’t be ‘the closest’ to anyone.Mumei: Is that… really a thing?Kurosaki: Yeah… A class rep has to treat everyone the same. A team captain has to be fair to all team members. It kind of became a thing that people around me always expected me to help them. They expected me to prioritize them over my own problems…Kurosaki: Being a leader, even when you didn’t want to be one, is a lot of responsibility. It’s not fun at all, and prevents you from making any real friends…Mumei: I don’t know anything about friendships… But maybe all of them wanted to be friends with you?
Kurosaki-kun just waved his hand and laughed.
Kurosaki: No, no way. They all had different close friends, and they just wanted someone to be the peacekeeper. I was fine with that at the beginning, but then it finally hit me that… I can’t call myself the number one at anything.Mumei: Is that something important though…?Kurosaki: Maybe not to everyone. Kobayashi and Yanagi seem like people who are perfectly okay with being in the middle ground… But me? I realized I really wanted to be the best, the only one, at anything…
He scratched his cheek, looking away awkwardly.
Kurosaki: I quit all the teams I was in, pretty much angering everyone, since I was a decent player… And then chose a sport that allowed a single person to shine.Mumei: And that’s running, right?Kurosaki: Yeah, exactly. That may sound stupid, but… I really enjoy the feeling of being in the front. It kind of feels like leaving all your troubles behind, you know? I sacrificed my position in the center to finally become number one, and I… I don’t regret it.
I could understand that, but… there was one thing that bothered me.
Mumei: But right now you’re trying to return to the center. Am I right?
He blinked, as if my conclusion surprised him.
Kurosaki: You’re quite an observant one, aren’t you? Well, you’re right, but… I just want everyone to be safe. If that means solving the problems of others again… I’m fine with that, I guess.Mumei: That’s a good goal to have, I think… Not only this. You seem like a person who really knows what you want.Kurosaki: I wish knowing was enough to get that… But it seems like I’ve said too much. Sorry for complaining like this, Mumei-chan. And thanks for listening to me, I feel kind of lighter.
Soon after that we returned to our rooms, deciding that it might be a better idea after all… But spending time with Kurosaki-kun made me feel that I understand him a bit better now. I felt like supporting him through all of this…

Though I was sure there wasn’t much I could do.

***

Staying alone in the room felt even more lonely today… Or so I thought for that short while before I heard knocking on my door again, just like this morning.
Kobayashi: Hey! It’s me, open the door!
That’s… a pretty enthusiastic greeting. I decided to answer though, since I remembered about our plans for the evening. I was afraid that Moneko’s announcement automatically cancelled it, but it seemed like it was hard to bring Kobayashi-san down.

They were holding Yakushi-san by her wrist, while Mirai-san and Shirakawa-kun stayed a little behind them.
Yakushi: G-Good evening, Mumei-san…Kobayashi: Enough of sitting in the corner and being emo! I know Kurosaki-san did the right thing back then, but I just can’t keep worrying about everything on my own! Let’s have some fun!Yokohama: Is it really alright…?Kobayashi: Of course it is! I’m the vice-class rep here, I know what I’m doing!Shirakawa: You heard them, Mumei-san.
Shirakawa-kun just shrugged with a sigh and an attempted smile. He didn’t look too happy with this situation… Same with Mirai-san. She was just looking around hesitantly, as if checking if Kurosaki-kun was not around.
Yakushi: I t-think it’s a good idea, too… It’s not good to stay depressed, especially over something w-we’re not sure that is true…Kobayashi: Yeah, exactly! Also, if it’s true that our memories are gone too, then we’re just like you, Mumei-san!Mumei: Just like… me?Shirakawa: Kind of? If we’re not sure what kind of people we turned into…Kobayashi: Let’s put all of this aside for now! The kitchen is waiting for us!
They grabbed my wrist with their other hand and pulled me out of the room, leaving me very little time to lock it. After that we all went to the kitchen. There was still some time before the nighttime announcement, so we began our preparations, leaving Yakushi-san in charge of giving us instructions.
Yakushi: I’m not sure if you’ll like my r-recipes though… It’s free of all the things I’m allergic to…Shirakawa: I’ve already tried your food and it’s really good, Yakushi-san… What are you doing, Yokohama-san?Yokohama: What do you mean what? I’m trying to crack an egg…Shirakawa: That’s what I mean. This is not how you do it…
To specify, she was holding a knife and trying to make a hole in the shell. She also looked pretty confused when Shirakawa-kun stopped her.
Shirakawa: Is this rich people’s way of doing things…?Yokohama: Don’t look at me like this! The only thing I can make is tea!Mumei: Is the life of a rich person really that easy…?Yokohama: I-It’s not! It’s definitely not! Stop making fun of me!
She gave us a teary-eyed look, as if we really did something terrible.
Kobayashi: Shirakawa-kun, weren’t you supposed to be looking at the frying pan? Something’s burning.Shirakawa: Hiiih!?Mumei: Yakushi-san…?Yakushi: It’s fine… It’s fine… Everything’s under c-control…
To me, it didn’t really look as if everything was under control, so… I decided to take over the frying pan, copying Yakushi-san’s actions I managed to observe today, allowing her to manage the chaos on the table. Kobayashi-san joined me after a minute.
Kobayashi: This sure is fun! It’s good to see everyone so lively.Mumei: Are you sure…? The kitchen looks terrible.Kobayashi: That’s not what counts! Let’s leave this for this damn cat to clean… Or… are you not having fun?Mumei:  I… I’m not sure. But I’m glad the atmosphere became less heavy… And Yakushi-san’s cooking is good.Kobayashi: Right, right?
They laughed and stole a piece of vegetable from the pan and stuck it into their mouth instantly. A second later their face became a little too red.
Mumei: Was that too hot?Kobayashi: …maybe.Mumei: Do you want some water?Kobayashi: …sure.
We stayed there almost until the nighttime announcement, cooking more food that we were able to eat. Just before we left the kitchen, Yakushi-san put the leftovers on one plate and placed it on the table.
Yokohama: Yakushi-san..? What about this?Yakushi:  T-this…? Oh… Uhm… It’s for Nishizawa-kun.Kobayashi: Huh?Shirakawa: Oh, right. He’s very distrustful, but… We noticed that every time we’re cooking, he’s stealing some small portion. I guess he trusts us more than Moneko? So we decided to leave something for him instead. I think he’s coming here during the nighttime…Yokohama: During the nighttime? But shouldn’t the kitchen be closer during that time…?Shirakawa: He’s a thief, so it’s easy to assume that he knows how to pick a lock. Anyway, we decided to lend him a hand, since he’s such a clumsy person.Yakushi: Y-Yeah… He’s kind of scary, but… I guess I’m just too soft.Kobayashi: You definitely are, but it’s a good thing in this case. I think I said already, but it would be bad if he starved to death, so thank you for this. And… good night. It’s almost 10pm, so we should return to our rooms. I’m not about to break another request Kurosaki-kun made.
We said our good nights and returned to out rooms… or rather, I was being really slow with that on purpose. Finally, I was left behind on the corridor, alone.

Moneko: Nyaa, attention please! It’s 10pm nyow, what means nyaight time! Go to sleep, brats.

And so, I returned to the kitchen, instead of going to my room. The door was of course locked, but… I recalled the image of Yakushi-san hacking the lock on our first day here. I only saw some of the moves she made, but I approached the panel with that in mind.

Achieving anything wasn’t easy with my very limited knowledge, but I was slowly making some progress. I didn’t know how long I was standing there, before…

I finally heard a click and the door opened slightly.

I couldn’t believe I actually did it. It must’ve been a relatively easy to hack device, if even I could do that…

Thinking that, I entered the kitchen to see that the lights were on and someone really was there, just like we predicted.
Nishizawa: So you’re talented in this way too, Mei-chan? Interesting.
He was sitting as the kitchen table, eating the food Yakushi-san left for him.
Mumei: I just remembered how Yakushi-san did it, that’s all…Nishizawa: That’s not something you can just remember. You’re confusing me even more. But oh well… Does that even matter? Man, I’m tired…Mumei: I thought you didn’t trust the food here…Nishizawa: I did some basic tests for poison and didn’t find anything, and well, it’s not like I don’t have to eat. This sucks, but… Whatever.Mumei: …are you okay?Nishizawa: Tired. Really tired. But I’m not about to let my guard down. I won’t let you kill me.Mumei: I have no intentions of doing so…Nishizawa: Good. A genius like me wouldn’t allow this.
That’s when the door opened again. I remembered that they can’t be locked from the inside…
Yanagi: Oh? So someone’s still here? Kou couldn’t fall asleep, so she just-Nishizawa: Get lost, you useless lesbian.Yanagi: Says the useless gay.Nishizawa: Mei-chan, want some coffee? It’s so strong that it’ll keep you up for days.Mumei: N-No, thank you… You probably also shouldn’t be drinking it…Nishizawa: Nonsense. Also, Yanagi, get the fuck out. Wasn’t Kurosaki your buddy? Wouldn’t it be bad if I told him you’re breaking his rules?Yanagi: Now you’re just being an asshole…Nishizawa: Thanks, that’s another thing I’m good at… Actually, no, don’t go anywhere. If you’re already here, you’re going to help me with something. You too, Mei-chan.Mumei: Eh? What are you… talking about?Nishizawa: You’ll see.
He jumped off the table with a lot too much energy for someone who claimed to be so tired… and then he directed his steps towards the back door.
Nishizawa: Come on, we don’t have the whole night.
I exchanged glances with Yanagi-san, confirming that despite everything, she was a bit curious. In the end we followed Ruu-kun outside. He locked the door using his ID, probably to make sure he’s the only one who can use the back door… except for Yakushi-san and probably me.
Nishizawa: You, behind that tree. You’re coming with us too.
Oops. I guess Katsuragi-kun got exposed. He left his hideout, holding his notebook close to his chest. He looked quite embarrassed…
Nishizawa: If you thought I haven’t seen you, you’re a pretty dumb one. I’ve noticed you a long time ago. I don’t care about what you’re thinking, just move your ass and follow me.
It was pretty dark outside, so I wasn’t sure if I saw it right, but I think Katsuragi-kun just shrugged helplessly and joined me and Yanagi-san.

Ruu-kun lead us back to the building, using the front door instead. He passed by the dining room door, not even sparing it a look and turning to other corridor instead of entering the dormitory area. He finally stopped in front of the storage room.
Yanagi: Hey, Ruu… Couldn’t we just use the other kitchen door and come here without leaving the building?Nishizawa: It’s Nishizawa for you. There are two main reasons why we couldn’t. Mei-chan, tell her. I don’t have the patience.Mumei: Me? Eh? How should I know?Nishizawa: Use your brain. You have one, unlike Yanagi.Yanagi: Kou doesn’t like this trip anymore.Mumei:  Uhm… that would be… locking the back door before leaving?Nishizawa: Good answer. The second one?Mumei: Probably… Taking Katsuragi-kun with us.Nishizawa: Exactly. Come on, it’s only one stop of this ‘trip’. I need to take something with me.
We went inside the storage room. It was dark, but Ruu-kun turned the lights on faster than I even managed to spot the switch. As if he visited this place multiple times already…

He kneeled down in front of one of the shelves and pulled one box out of there, taking a smaller box out.
Mumei: A… tool box?Nishizawa: Yup! That was the reason for coming here. Now we go back outside.Yanagi: Eh?! Why!? And can’t you just do it alone?Nishizawa: Shut up, you stereotypical blonde. These isn’t a single thing I’m doing without a reason, so just do what I say.Yanagi: This isn’t going to get you any friends, you know?!Nishizawa: I don’t need friends, idiot!
He turned away from her with an angry face, leaving the room. His steps resounded loudly in the quiet room.

Katsuragi: Sometimes I think that I like him much better when he doesn’t speak.
Yanagi: That’s valid, Shin…
Katsuragi: But I kind of hope there’s more to him, not only this.

And so, we continued to let him drag us around and ended up outside again. The night was pretty cold, and Ruu-kun was the only person to still wear a short-sleeved shirt. He didn’t seem bothered by this though.

This time we stopped in front of a completely different building.
Yanagi: Hey, what are we doing here? Wasn’t it confirmed we can’t go inside…?Nishizawa: That’s the fucking point. I’m going to try to break in and see whether there’s anything useful.Mumei: And why do we have to be here too…?Nishizawa: Because I need an alibi.
He put the tool box on the ground and opened it, taking something out. It turned out it was a torch… He threw it at Katsuragi-kun.
Nishizawa: Here. Hold it for me.
Then he kneeled in front of the lock and started messing with it.
Nishizawa: Listen, I don’t care about any of you, but my life is very precious to me and I need to protect myself somehow, no matter the way. That’s why I can’t just do whatever I want without thinking my actions through.  Mumei: And by that you mean…?Nishizawa: I can’t have anyone see me like this and assume I’m doing something sketchy. Who knows, maybe they’d even try to kill me. That’s why I brought you here. To make sure it’s safe for me.
One screw hit the ground. When he got to the second one I started wondering why Moneko even allowed this, but…
Nishizawa: That’s strange… I unscrewed the lock but the door still won’t open. As if it’s fixed in one place…Yanagi: Is something like this even possible?
Ruu-kun brought his hand to his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
Nishizawa: I don’t know. It’s the first time I see something like this. It’s not like something is standing behind it and blocking it… at least I think so.
He tried pushing it once again, but it didn’t budge.
Nishizawa: Oh well. At least now I know that in some cases I can’t rely on my skills… That’s it for today, thank you for your attention.Moneko: You really are an obnoxious kid, aren’t you? Isn’t it stated in the rules that you can’t investigate an idea that is closed off on purpose, nya?Yanagi: Eek?! This things again?!Moneko: Don’t call meow a thing! I’m-Nishizawa: Ah, the gross cat. Nice to see you. If you’re here, I’m going to check one more thing.Moneko: Nyaaaaaah?!
Ruu-kun simply picked it up from the ground, holding him like he would a normal cat and making it cry out in a very not cat-like way. It was truly a disgusting sound…
Mumei: W-What are you doing, Ruu-kun!? Put it down!Nishizawa: You guys said this thing can explode, right? And it did it after Nagao picked it up. I doubt it was simply a reaction to that, so I’m going to check.
And so, he grabbed Moneko by the… skin? Do even robots have skin? Anyway, he grabbed it by the skin on its neck and started searching through its fur with his free hand.
Nishizawa: Oh. Here it is.
He pressed something, presumably a button, and I heard a familiar sound – something close to ticking of a clock.
Moneko: You bastard! I won’t forgive you this! Nyever!Nishizawa: I don’t care. And you all, cover your ears.
Then he threw it as far away as his strength allowed him. We managed to obey his order just a second before the cat exploded in front of my eyes once again. It didn’t help much though…

Ruu-kun gave us a moment to calm down, then spoke up again.
Nishizawa: The mystery solved. This thing has an autodestruct button. I hope you enjoyed this little presentation.Yanagi: H-How could we enjoy this…?Nishizawa: Just like I expected... Anyway, Yanagi, go to the storage room and put this box back in its place.Yanagi: Huh?! Why Kou!?Nishizawa: Be useful for once.Mumei: Hey, Ruu-kun… Can I ask you something?Nishizawa: Yeah. But hurry before I change my mind.Mumei: Why are you doing all of this? Why are you trying to stir up troubles? You know that it’s only causing more distrust, right…?
He stood up and started walking away, as if attempting to leave the questions unanswered, but then he turned to us again.
Nishizawa: What do you think is worse, looking after your own sorry ass and keeping distance or staying naive like an idiot and trusting the wrong people?Mumei: Ruu-kun…Nishizawa: That’s why I’m not going to believe in anything you guys say. That’s the fastest way to end up dead.
Katsuragi-kun began writing something in his notebook while still trying to hold the torch, so I took it from him to signalize I will hold it, but…
Nishizawa: You don’t even have to write anything, I know what you want to say.Katsuragi: …Nishizawa: I don’t need this. I don’t know what point do you see in following me around, but quit it. Whether it’s to make sure I don’t do anything stupid, or to prevent anyone from doing anything to me… I don’t want it.Katsuragi: …Nishizawa: Hmm? You wanted to help me? Stop joking around. There’s no reason for you to do this. Just give up… Why do I even bother? Just do whatever you want. I don’t care!
He turned around and waved his hand at us, not even looking behind. It was… a really strange exchange, where one person didn’t even talk.

I glanced at Katsuragi-kun’s notebook to see the words “I want to believe in you.” He only sighed and closed it. I felt kind of bad for him…
Yanagi: So Kou really has to put this box back…? Dammit…
She sighed, but picked it up anyway.
Yanagi: Good night, you two. Kou’s had enough for today.
The two of us also decided to return to our rooms. This whole trip shouldn’t have happened in the first place. If the others knew about it, they wouldn’t be pleased… And the thought of disappointing Kobayashi-san and Kurosaki-kun was even worse.

Even when falling asleep, I still had a bad feeling about this.

***

MONEKO’S COMPLAINING CORNER

What’s wrong with these brats… Setting up rules, and then disrespecting them… Seems like some of them are really nyaughty children, meow. Well, myaybe now at least things will get interesting?

You knyow, even when they think I’m not around, I’m still watching. Sometimes I fall asleep, but meowst of time I’m actually sitting here, bored.

This edition of Big Brother haven’t been very eventful so far.

***

Moneko: Nyello, useless meowmers of society! It’s 7am, anyother terrible days start! Rise and slay!

This time I got up with the morning announcement and left my room soon after this. I was still uneasy after everything that happened last night… and I was just praying for everyone to be alright.

But seems like my gut feeling was actually right this time.
Yanagi: Mei-chan! Mei-chan! Thanks god it’s you!Mumei: Mei…chan?Yanagi: You need to come with Kou, now! Come on! Please!
She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the exit door, frantically trying to explain her behavior. She seemed to be really close to freaking out.
Yanagi: We need to warn Ruu before he gets to the back door! He can’t enter the room now, he can’t!Mumei: Wait, Yanagi-san! What happened? Why…?Yanagi: He’s going to die if he does! Kou locked the dining room door just now, so that may slow things down, but either way! Kou doesn’t want anyone to die, and the kitchen right now is…
I think my heart almost stopped when I heard that. I decided to believe her and instead of being dragged, I started running after her.

Ruu-kun uses the back door in the mornings and at night, so if going to the kitchen right now really was dangerous, he was the one most likely to be affected by this.
Yanagi: He’s there! Hey, R… Nishizawa! Stop! Please, wait!
He really was nearby, walking towards the door, but stopped moving upon seeing us. He gave us an odd look when we stopped in front of him, both breathing heavily, and Yanagi-san so relieved that she instantly dropped to her knees.
Nishizawa: What…
And that’s when that happened. We heard a loud… an extremely loud sound, something that I could only compare to an explosion. It was coming from behind the kitchen door.
Mumei: W-what… just…Nishizawa:  I should be saying this! You just popped up in front of me, looking as if someone was chasing you, and now this!? Spare me shit like this in the morning!Yanagi: Kou has no idea what’s happening! She just wanted to help!Nishizawa: But help with what!? I don’t understand what you’re saying!Yanagi: But imagine what would have happened if you went there!
That silenced him relatively quickly, making his eyes go wide. He probably finally realized what was this all about… or at least connected some dots.
Nishizawa: Yanagi, I have no idea why are you panicking and why did you know something was going to happen, but get your ass up from the ground.Yanagi: H-huh? Why?Nishizawa: Because we’re going to check it. Right now.Yanagi: Eh?! But Kou doesn’t want to!Nishizawa: I don’t care. Move.
I offered poor Yanagi-san a hand and helped her up, at the same time noticing she was shaking. Or maybe it was me…?

I think it was safe to admit I was afraid too.

Ruu-kun walked up to the stairs without waiting for us. He pulled his ID out of his pocket but then he seemed to hesitate a bit.
Nishizawa: Come here. I don’t want to be the only one.
He only opened the door after we joined him there, and when he finally did…

A cloud of thick smoke hit us.
Nishizawa: Khe…khe…kh… What the heck… is this? It stinks like something that could kill a goddamn bear…Mumei: Kh… Try not to breathe it…
We stood there for a moment, breathing through our shirts and waiting for the smoke get replaced by fresh air. After about two minutes it finally did, allowing us to enter the kitchen, but then…

This time I really stopped breathing.

I saw something I was scared of seeing since the moment where my memories start. Something that was causing me to fear even leaving the room. Something that I definitely didn’t want to see.

I had no memories and I didn’t want to taint the very few I had with an image like this.

I saw…

…a dead body.

Lying on the floor, with its limbs scattered around limply.

A stain of blood on the right arm and on the floor around.

Eyes wide open, as if death came to it as a surprise…

The first dead body in my memories, that appeared in them to put an end to our attempts not to start this killing game.

Chapter 1 - Even death cannot cure stupidity

Daily Life – END

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter 1 - Even death cannot cure stupidity

Investigation – start!

I was unable to react in any way. I just stood there, my mind blank and legs about to give in. I could hear Yanagi-san letting out a piercing scream just behind me, and registered Ruu-kun subconsciously taking a step back in shock, but I couldn’t do even that.

Nishizawa:
…I-I didn’t expect it to be h-her…

Nishizawa:
Serves h-her right though, h-haha… hahaha….

He said that, but he didn’t look amused in the slightest. Of course. The three of us were looking at a dead body after all.

The dead body of Kanna Nagayama, the Ultimate Archaeologist.

Nishizawa:
I feel like I’m going to puke. Seeing a corpse is more gross than I thought.

Yanagi-san dropped to her knees, as if this sight made her lose all her strength.

Yanagi:
H-How can you say i-it… in a s-situation like t-this!?

Nishizawa:
H-how do you expect me to react, then?! I can’t pretend I’m not glad it’s her! Rest in pieces, creepy bitch…

Mumei:
…can you both be quiet for a moment?

I walked back to the door and stuck my head outside, trying hard to calm my breathing. The smoke, the smell of blood, the fact that someone just died… I could tell I was about to pass out again.

Moneko:
Nyahaha? What do I see here? Poor kitty can’t handle a dead body?

It was sitting on the ground in front of the stairs, but as soon as I noticed it, it started moving in my direction, then passed near my legs and snuck into the kitchen.

Moneko:
Looks like I didn’t have to wait long for someone to break and start the killing game! Wondnyaful!

Yanagi:
What is so w-wonderful about t-this… Kou wants t-to go home…

It sounded like she started crying, clearly scared. Was I scared too? Was Ruu-kun scared?

Moneko:
That’s when the fun part is starting, Nyanagi-chan! You’ll finally realize the true reason for keeping nyou here, nya!

Moneko:
But we can’t have fun with only the three of you, so let’s get everyone else first!

Ding dong dong ding!

We all could hear that sound. It was obviously coming from our IDs, like every announcement Moneko was making. The most composed person among us, Ruu-kun, pulled it out of his pocket and turned the screen in our direction. It displayed a photo of the exact room we were in, allowing everyone to see who was inside.

Nyaa, attention, please! A body has been discovered! Everyone, please gather on the crimeow scene, that is the kitchen. Use the back door.

Yanagi:
W-What is this supposed to mean…

Moneko:
I have to explain some additional details to you, nya. About what’s going to happen now.

Nishizawa:
Hmm… so this dead witch was right and we’re going to get a chance to figure out who the killer was? Neat!

Mumei:
The k-killer…?

Nishizawa:
Think, Mei-chan. Right now it’s hard for me to tell what exactly happened during the last fifteen minutes, but if we have a dead body, then we must also have a killer somewhere around.

It hit me that he was right. Of course he was. If someone died, that meant that someone else was really desperate enough to kill in order to get out of here.

But the most disturbing fact was that the person who died was at the same time the one I trusted the least. Who was the killer then…?

We waited there for a moment, Yanagi-san on the floor while still crying,  Ruu-kun deciding to sit on the table while humming some melody, and…. Me, standing there without any idea what to do.

Finally, the rest of our class began to join us, but… it wasn’t a pleasant reunion.

Kobayashi:
Hey, what the hell is happeni…

They started talking, but fell silent upon noticing Nagayama-san’s body. Their expression instantly changed to… maybe not shocked, but very uncomfortable, as they quickly looked away.

Kobayashi:
So it wasn’t a joke…

Nishizawa:
Of course it wasn’t! The witch is really dead!

Kobayashi:
You…

Nishizawa:
…asshole? Thanks!

Kobayashi:
I’m not going to waste my time on dealing with you. Yanagi-san, are you okay?

Yanagi:
K-Kou is fine… At least she thinks so…

Kobayashi:
And you, Mumei-san?

Nishizawa:
Not going to ask Nagayama?

Kobayashi:
Stop getting on my nerves, she’s dead! Why should I ask her anything?!

Another people appeared in the meanwhile, this time Kurosaki-kun and Nagao-kun.

Kurosaki:
So she’s really dead… Someone really died…

He looked pretty depressed about this, walking into the kitchen reluctantly. Nagao-kun on the other hand quickly zipped up his hoodie all the way to his chin and pulled it up to cover his nose. Maybe he could still feel that smoke…

Kurosaki:
I went for a morning jog and spotted this guy feeding the wolves… so when I heard the announcement I brought him along…

Nagao:
Can I leave? I can’t breathe here.

Moneko:
You can’t! You can only leave after I explain everything!

Nagao:
Ugh…

Then Shinozaki-san stormed into the room, and the next second she was on the floor, holding Yanagi-san’s hands.

Shinozaki:
Are you alright, Kou-chan?! You are not hurt in way, right?!

Yanagi:
This is not about Kou, Harumin… But she’s okay.

Shinozaki:
Thanks god…

She hugged her, clearly more concerned about her friend than about the body discovery. I somewhat regretted I didn’t have anyone that close, but I knew it wasn’t the time to feel lonely.

Moneko:
So, is everynyone already here? Great! Let me finally do my job! This is why I hate kids, you always find a reason to nyot let me do what I have to do, meow…

Oshino:
Not now. Speak, cat. I’ll listen to you.

Himura:
Why would y-

Oshino:
If something like this already happened, we can’t be wasting our time. I’m sorry if this sounds a bit cold, but I should act as professional as I can.

Yokohama:
Oshino-san…?

Moneko:
I like people who get straight to the point, nya know? Let me say it then. You’re supposed to investigate the circumstnyances of Nyagayama-chan’s death, and then…

The cat smiled before finishing the sentence.

Moneko:
We’ll be holding a trial, and if you don’t find the culprit, you’ll be the one getting punished.

…

Shirakawa:
H-Huh?! How can you expect us to solve a mystery like this?!

Moneko:
This is nyot my problem, that’s just how it is on this bitch of an earth.

Yakushi:
I-I can’t believe someone here actually killed a p-person…

Kawakami:
Says a potential suspect.

Yakushi:
E-Eeh?! Me?! No w-way!

Nishizawa:
Ahahah, I didn’t know this would be so funny!

Kobayashi:
You, shut up.

Xavier:
Dudes, can you like stop bickering for a moment? This is not the time! The killing game has actually started!

Moneko:
Exnyactly! That’s why you nyeed to get your shit together and investigate!

Oshino:
Don’t worry, everyone… I’ve got this. I just need to do my best to find the culprit, right?

Kurosaki:
Oh, y-yeah! We have a detective in our group! We won’t lose against you, stupid cat! I’m sure Oshino-chan can solve this case…

Himura:
As much as I don’t like her, I have to admit that she’s a pro.

Oshino:
You really believe in me so much? Thank you! I’m flattered  that you find me so trustworthy, Himura-san!

Yokohama:
D-Do we really have to do this? I still can’t believe one of is the culprit…

Moneko:
But it’s the fact! If you don’t accept it, you’re all going to die here… as if you don’t find the culprit soon, they’re going to become the only survivor!

Nishizawa:
H-Hey, I don’t want to die,  so maybe we should-

Kobayashi:
Oh, so now you’re scared, bastard?

Nishizawa:
You know what, I’m kind of changing my mind when looking at you. Just execute us.

Shinozaki:
Silence, everyone!

After Shinozaki-san’s scream everyone immediately fell quiet and looked at her. She was still sitting on the floor with Yanagi-san, trying to comfort her, but she looked… really angry.

Shinozaki:
You should be ashamed of yourselves! Fighting in a situation like this?  Truly deplorable! We should work together, not accuse and provoke each other!

Yanagi:
I f-feel like you stole Hirato’s lines, Harumin…

Shinozaki:
If he cannot stay calm in a crisis, then he does not deserve to be considered the leader and is just another useless man, who is all talk but no action!

She stood up from the ground, letting go of Yanagi-san and looking at us sternly.

Shinozaki:
Oshino-san. I have no knowledge about investigating or murder cases, so I will ask you. What should we do first?

Oshino:
Thanks, Shinozaki-san, you’re a big help. Actually, I’ve been thinking about making someone guard the body. You know, in order to stop culprit for messing with the crime scene.  It has to be at least two people.

Kobayashi:
Good idea, Oshino-san. Any volunteers?

For a moment everyone stayed still, with only Oshino-san raising her hand, what seemed to be a natural thing. She had to investigate the crime scene sooner or later, as the detective. Finally, after about half a minute, Xavier-kun raised his hand.

Xavier:
Well, some medical staff will probably be useful to you, right, Oshino?

Oshino:
Of course! Thanks for volunteering on your own, Xavier-kun.

Nishizawa:
Guys, I’m glad to see you bonding over this witch’s death, but I think you’re forgetting about something.

Mumei:
What… do you mean, Ruu-kun?

He smiled at me mischievously, then pointed at the group gathered in the room with his chin.

Nishizawa:
One of you is the murderer. The seemingly most malicious character died so early on, and only the ones who claimed they would never kill stayed. Yet the killer is still among us.

Kobayashi:
Are you just trying to piss us off again?

Nishizawa:
Me? Never. I’m just reminding you to keep your eyes open, idiots.

Moneko:
Okay, this is enough for an introduction to a show! Let us get started. I sent you a little surprise to your electro IDs, so don’t forget to check it out! It meow be of some help!

After these words, Moneko made his way outside and left us alone with the dead body of our classmate. Confused, most likely scared, and…

Nishizawa:
Okay, then I wish you good luck!

Ruu-kun laughed, as if wanting to show that he really didn’t care, and directed his steps towards the back door.

Kurosaki:
Wait, you’re not going to investigate!?

Nishizawa:
A genius like me doesn’t have to! I’ll do whatever I want to!

And without any further comments, he left.

Kobayashi:
This kid is really getting on my nerves… Hmm, Nagao-kun? What is it?

Nagao:
Can I leave too? I can’t stand this smell…

Kobayashi:
Smell…? Oh, yeah, I think it’s fine if you leave…

He nodded as a ‘thank you’ and left as well.

Oshino:
Actually, I think all of us should investigate on our own. Let’s find as many clues as we can… If there really is a murderer among us, let’s find them and make them pay for it!

Himura:
For once, I agree with you.

Everyone seemed to agree, as some people began to leave through the back door, and other decided to stay and look around the kitchen first. As for me… I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do. I knew I had to do something, but I didn’t know what could I do to be useful.

At the same time… Somewhere deep down, I felt angry. I couldn’t say I liked Nagayama-san, but nobody deserved to die in a place like this, for a reason like this. After observing these people for a few days, I learned that I wanted to live, and… I wanted everyone else to survive as well.

That’s why we needed to find the culprit. We needed to stop this ‘game’ before it started for good.

But I wouldn’t feel confident working alone. At first I thought about asking Ruu-kun, but… it seemed like I wouldn’t get far if investigating with him. Aside from me and Katsuragi-kun no one trusted him, even though he was undeniably smart.

There was someone else I could ask though.

Mumei:
Kobayashi-san…?

Kobayashi:
If we’re thinking about the same thing, then I’m all for it.

Mumei:
Huh?

Kobayashi:
I admit, I’m not the smartest person in the world, but I can’t forgive a murder. You seem like an intelligent one, so if I can be of any use to you… Then let’s stick together.

Mumei:
…I don’t know if I can be called an intelligent person, but…. Thanks. I’m sure that together we can achieve more… right?

Kobayashi:
That means I’m your sidekick now, doesn’t it? Let’s solve the mystery, detective Nice!

Mumei:
Detective who?

Kobayashi:
Ahaha, nevermind! Sorry for talking nonsense… Come on, we should get going! Maybe let’s talk to Oshino-san and Xavier-kun? Let’s hope they found something…

Mumei:
Yes, I also thought about this… But first, I wanted to check out that surprise Moneko talked about.

Kobayashi:
Oh, yeah, it said that it sent us something to our IDs… It’s good that you remembered it. I can’t believe I forgot…

We both pulled our IDs out and unlocked them. We immediately found the new file, since a shortcut to it was placed on our homescreens. It’s name was ‘Moneko’s Surprise File 1’.

Kobayashi:
One? Does this little shit hope that there’s going to be a second edition?

Mumei:
Probably…

I opened the file hesitantly, only to be greeted with photo of the crime scene, a body diagram of the victim with the wounded areas marked and a description of the damage Nagayama-san suffered… Though I could tell at first glance that it was really short and most likely meant to confuse us, not help.

The victim’s body was found in the kitchen room of this mansion.

The estimated time of death is about 7:20am.

Kobayashi:
Seven twenty… That’s like fifteen minutes ago! And only twenty minutes after the morning announcement… I can swear I have barely opened my eyes by seven twenty…

Mumei:
All of this must’ve been planned, then. Somebody had to be here before the morning announcement, to prepare… whatever they used for killing Nagayama-san.

Kobayashi:
Sure, but… isn’t the kitchen locked during the night?

Mumei:
Technically, yes, but…

Kobayashi:
…but?

They gave me a puzzled look, but I wasn’t sure if I should answer this question. The answer was that…

There existed at least three people capable of hacking the kitchen lock – Yakushi-san, Ruu-kun and me. Everyone else knew only about Yakushi-san though. If I said the truth now, I would direct the suspicions towards the three of us… as if we weren’t considered suspicious already.

It was a hard decision to make…

Kobayashi:
Hmm, whatever.

Mumei:
Huh?

Kobayashi:
I see that you’re thinking really hard about something. You don’t have to tell me now, but be sure to do it if it’s needed, okay? Make your own decisions.

Mumei:
Somehow it feels like it’s not the first time you’re telling me this…

Kobayashi:
Because it’s important! Anyway, let’s go back to this file…

The body was discovered by ???, Kou Yanagi and Ruu Nishizawa at approximately 7:21am.

I guess the ??? was me…

Mumei:
That’s…

Kobayashi:
…crazy. It’s one minute after the estimated time of death!

Mumei:
…it means that if we hurried, it’s possible what we… could’ve saved her…? This is… She died pretty much in front of us…?

That discovery made me feel helpless, as well as even more confused. Placing everything in time was becoming harder and harder… and…

Kobayashi:
It wasn’t your fault.

Mumei:
…Kobayashi-san?

Kobayashi:
Please, don’t feel guilty. You probably feel like you could’ve saved her and chose not to, but it’s not your fault, so…

They gave me a pained smile, as if they couldn’t find the right words to express what they wanted to tell me, but I… probably understood what Kobayashi-san was getting at. They just wanted to reassure me. Make me feel better…

Mumei:
Thank you…

Kobayashi:
It’s nothing! We should better check the rest of the file. Look, it seems like this is the last thing…

The victim has a deep wound on her right arm, responsible for most of the bleeding, most likely caused by an explosion.

Kobayashi:
Then… Can we assume, this was the cause of death? Bleeding out? And… an explosion? I don’t understand…

Mumei:
I guess we won’t learn anything more from this file. It wasn’t much of a help… Let’s ask Oshino-san and Xavier-kun instead.

Kobayashi:
I don’t even know what I expected from this stupid cat…

They closed the file with a sigh and put the ID back in their pocket. We haven’t even left the kitchen, just stood in a corner while talking, so we just approached the investigating duo casually… or as casually as we could. My first reaction to seeing Nagayama-san’s body again was a need to run away.

Kobayashi:
Ehm… I hope we’re not interrupting you?

Oshino:
Hmm…? Oh, no, it’s okay. You probably want to check some stuff too, right?

Kobayashi:
Actually, I think it would be better if we just asked you about what you found… It seems that neither of us is good with dead bodies.

Xavier:
Dude, it would be pretty bad if you were good with them? Even I’m… I’m not okay with doing this…

Oshino:
Sorry for making you do this, Xavier-kun… I could do this on my own, but I don’t want to risk being accused of faking evidence.

Xavier:
It’s chill, Oshino, I’ll be fine! It’s just… I’m supposed to treat people, not examine them after their death…

Kobayashi:
…could you tell us about what you found? Please, anything might be important…

Xavier:
Uh, sure, my guy. There’s not much to talk about, to be honest? She has some external wounds, but most of them are minor, like, some scratches that you could get from falling over, or hitting a cupboard by accident…

Mumei:
Then the one on her arm is the only major wound…?

Xavier:
Yeah… But…

Kobayashi:
But?

Xavier:
It may seem like it’s bleeding really badly, but there’s nowhere near enough blood on the floor to talk about bleeding out, so… I’m not really sure what that means.

Oshino:
Probably that the cause of death might’ve been different than this wound.

Kobayashi:
Oshino-san… Have you noticed anything?

Oshino:
A lot, but you might prefer to check the other things on your own, so I’ll just talk about the ones related to the body, okay?

Kobayashi:
Sure…

Oshino:
So… First thing is I don’t see any signs of struggle. She probably didn’t fight against anyone before her death, it seems like the killer caught her off guard. If there was anything to notice, I would notice, but there’s nothing.

Oshino:
The other thing is that the culprit most likely used the explosion mentioned in the file, but… I’m still not sure in what way. It certainly was the cause the wound on Nagayama-san’s arm, but if it’s not the cause of death, then… Anyway, it requires further investigation.

Oshino:
Oh, but if you want to check out the thing that caused the explosion, it’s lying over there.

Mumei:
We’ll do it for sure. Anything more you find worth sharing, or… worth considering?

Oshino:
Sure. The door.

Kobayashi:
Eh?

Oshino:
The dining room door leading to the kitchen is still locked, or rather… someone locked it after it was unlocked with the daytime announcement. Was it locked after the murder? Or before? Did the culprit use the back door? Or the dining room one? Which one?

I knew I was forgetting about something, and now Oshino-san reminded me about this. I knew exactly who locked the dining room door, but how did that relate to the case… ? I had no idea, that’s why I needed to talk to Yanagi-san later.

Kobayashi:
We’ll think about it. Also… did Nagayama have her ID on her?

Xavier:
She did, in her pocket… Why are you asking?

Kobayashi:
The IDs work as keys to our rooms too… I thought that maybe checking Nagayama’s room would give us some clues.

Oshino:
Oh, actually… We already gave the ID to Himura-san, asking her to investigate the room. You can join her, if you wish!

Kobayashi:
Hmm, okay. We’ll probably do it later. Thanks for everything.

We turned away from them, but we knew we couldn’t leave the room yet. First we needed to check the ‘cause of the explosion’ Oshino-san mentioned. We weren’t the only ones to think about it though – Kawakami-kun and Yakushi-san were standing over there, not looking very comfortable with each other.

Kawakami:
The more I look at this, the more suspicious you get in my eyes.

Yakushi:
I-I keep t-telling you I’m not suspicious!

Kawakami:
Then what are you doing here, if not trying to get rid of the evidence?

Yakushi:
Trying to h-help, of course! I-I’m the one who knows the m-most about things like this, s-so…

Kawakami:
Hmmm. Suspicious.

Kobayashi:
Hey guys, mind if we take a look?

Kobayashi-san crouched down next to Yakushi-san, causing her to yelp in surprise. I preferred to just look from a certain distance…

I could recognize the thing lying on the floor. I’ve seen it before, after all…

The parts scattered around were certainly remains of one of Moneko’s robotic bodies. Those which Ruu-kun confirmed to have a self-destruct button yesterday. A button and a timer, set to explode after some time…

Kobayashi:
Ohoho? I thought you were only a hacker… but you’re good with robots too?

Yakushi:
I-I… I’m n-not sure if I can b-be called good at it, but t-technology is my thing in g-general… Hacking, p-programming, repairing stuff… I j-just like it, so I thought I may be useful…

Kobayashi:
Uh, uh! I understand you, Yakushi-san. Ignore that asshole! So, have you discovered anything?

Yakushi:
I-I’m not sure… I’ve never s-seen one of these robots explode in p-person, so I-I can only speculate…

Kobayashi:
Yhm, tell me what you think.

Yakushi:
M-Me and Kawakami-kun also found a t-tool box  shoved under the table… I-I think someone might’ve u-used it in an attempt to t-take this robot apart…

Kawakami:
I think she’s partially right, but not completely.

Mumei:
What do you mean…?

Kawakami:
Listen, I haven’t seen this cat explode either, so I can only speculate as well, and I’m not anywhere near being a genius, so you don’t have to take me seriously.

Kobayashi:
I never take you seriously anyway.

Kawakami:
Thanks for confirming that, you little shit. Anyway, what if… someone tried to alter this thing’s settings?

Mumei:
Huh? How?

Kawakami:
You know, this thing is totally broken now, but this part looks like a screen. Maybe it was actually possible when it was still intact?

Kobayashi:
Hmm… but wouldn’t you have to be quite knowledgeable in this field to just alter it?

Kawakami:
That’s exactly the reason I’m suspecting this woman. No one else here is a technology freak.

Yakushi:
Y-You don’t have t-to be a technology freak to know things l-like this…

While the three of them stayed gathered around the remains of the robot, I decided to pay some attention to the tool box. It was dirty from the smoke from earlier, but… it looked pretty much the same as the one I saw yesterday, during our nighttime trip.

Kobayashi:
Anything that piqued your interest, Mumei-san?

I didn’t know how to answer, because to tell the truth I would have to admit we were walking around this place during the nighttime, and I think that none of us four responsible wanted anyone to know.

Mumei:
This box… probably came from the storage room. What do you think?

Kobayashi:
H-Huh? I have no idea, I never looked around the storage room thoroughly…

Mumei:
I-I just feel like I’ve seen it before. Do you mind if we check that room later?

They knew I was hiding something. They definitely knew…

Kobayashi:
Sure, I don’t mind at all.

But they didn’t react. Why? Did they really trust me that much?

We decided to finally leave the kitchen, and the first person we ran into outside was Shirakawa-kun.

Shirakawa:
Woah, be careful with opening the door, please!

Kobayashi:
Eh? Then why are you even standing here, Shirakawa-kun?

Shirakawa:
C-Can’t you tell? I’m investigating, too! I can’t really help Yakushi-san right now, so I’m just doing what I can…

Kobayashi:
Did you find anything then?

Shirakawa:
N-Not really? Ha… haha… Sorry! I’m not good at things like this! I just wanted to take a look at the lock on the back door…

Mumei:
Why though?

Shirakawa:
You know… it’s about Nishizawa-kun? He pretty much decided the back door belongs to him, so he always locks it and unlocks it however he wants. It stays locked during the daytime too…

Mumei:
So… if you lock the door on your own, the nighttime and daytime limitations don’t concern you?

Shirakawa:
Maybe? I don’t really know… These locks are a pretty confusing thing? Haha…ha…

Mumei:
I don’t think it’s something to laugh about, but thank you… It may be a helpful information.

Kobayashi:
Who knows…

We left Shirakawa-kun alone, and I hoped we didn’t make him feel too bad about not knowing what to do… He looked pretty nervous the whole time.

Kobayashi:
Where should we go now? The storage room? Nagayama’s room?

Mumei:
To be honest… I would like to talk to Yanagi-san first.

Kobayashi:
Yanagi-san…? Why is that?

Mumei:
She was one of the people I discovered the body with… and she seemed to know that something bad was going to happen. She ran into me this morning, in the corridor leading to the dining room, and dragged me outside, to stop Ruu-kun from entering the kitchen…

Kobayashi:
Holy shit... Then she really might know something important! Let’s ask her!

Mumei:
We don’t know where she is though.

Kobayashi:
Let’s check the dining room then! That’s the most obvious location, don’t you think?

We directed our steps towards the front door, the one Yanagi-san dragged me through just before the murder happened… But even before reentering the building, we encountered two people… A rather odd duo, I would say.

Nishizawa:
Yahooo! Mei-chan! Come here for a moment!

Kobayashi:
Uh… it’s him again…

Mumei:
It’s okay. We would have to talk to him too, sooner or later… But why is Ruu-kun with Nagao-kun?

Nagao:
Can I… leave now?

Nishizawa:
No, no, no! You should repeat what you told me, so Mei-chan can hear it too!

Kobayashi:
Aren’t you forgetting someone?

Nishizawa:
I’m not, I just don’t care about you.

Mumei:
Ignore this, Kobayashi-san… Nagao-kun, what does he want you to tell us?

Nagao:
It’s about… the smell.

Mumei:
Huh? Smell?

Nishizawa:
Yeah, the smell he felt when he entered the kitchen! That smoke smelled fucking awful, but I kind of recognized it, so I came to ask someone with a better nose. Come on, dog boy.

Nagao:
It’s nothing… It just smelled the same way as the first exploding cat… on our first day here…

Mumei:
Do you think it’s relevant?

Nagao:
Who knows…? I have… no idea what kind of stench was that… But it was making breathing hard…

Kobayashi:
Wait, Nishizawa! You weren’t even there when the first cat blew itself up!

Nishizawa:
Oh shit, exposed. How can you be so sure of that?

Kobayashi:
You little… you’re not making your situation any better! I’m sure a lot of people suspects you, so at least cooperate!

Nishizawa:
But what if I’m the killer?

Kobayashi:
One more word and I’ll become a killer myself…

I was almost sure he was just messing with Kobayashi-san, so I turned back to Nagao-kun.

Mumei:
You have a very sensitive sense of smell… right?

Nagao-kun nodded. He wasn’t very talkative…

Mumei:
Have you smelled anything else when you entered the kitchen? Like… people? I mean, the smell of people who last were there…

Nagao:
I… It’s not that easy… you know? The stench of the smoke was too strong…

Mumei:
Oh, I’m sorry…

Nagao:
Me and Hirato Kurosaki… appeared there just after the three of you and Manami Kobayashi… So it’s only natural I could smell the four of you. I could also smell Kanna Nagayama… because the smell of blood is strong, but also… her smell was all around there, in the kitchen. Some older scents… Kou Yanagi. Sora Yakushi. Ran Shirakawa.

Mumei:
So you could do this after all…?

Nagao:
Don’t underestimate my senses…

Mumei:
Thank you. I have a feeling that it’ll be helpful.

He nodded at me again, as if he reached the limit of words he could say today.

Nishizawa:
And whose idea was it, to talk to Nagao? Mine! The cute genius’, Ruu-chan’s! Don’t forget to thank me later, teehee~

Kobayashi:
Get lost, you fiend.

Nishizawa:
Sure, I don’t want to see your face either.

After that he ran off somewhere, and we parted ways with Nagao-kun, entering the building.

Kobayashi:
Hey… don’t you think… he actually is suspicious? He was so close when everything happened, he knows things he shouldn’t know, and there’s that thing with the lock…

Mumei:
I understand where you’re coming from, but… it’s hard for me to believe he really did that. If I asked him when alone with him, he would probably say… “As if I would ever touch that witch!”, or something like this, haha…

Kobayashi:
Hey, that was a pretty good imitation of him! But… I just can’t bring myself to believe in him…

Mumei:
Then let’s talk to someone who can.

I pointed at Katsuragi-kun, who was walking down the corridor, seemingly without any sense of purpose.

Mumei:
He tends to follow Nishizawa-kun around, to make sure he doesn’t get involved in anything bad, after everything he’s been saying. Maybe he can convince you.

We approached him, causing him to notice us instantly and give us a surprised look.

Mumei:
Hey, Katsuragi-kun… I was wondering if you know anything that would clear Ruu-kun of being suspected in this case.

He thought about my question for a moment, before reaching for his notebook and beginning to write down his answer.

Katsuragi:

Before the body discovery announcement, I saw him only once today.

Kobayashi:
You d-did!? Really?!

Katsuragi:

Yes. I’m not saying this to defend him, I’m just telling you the truth. It was just after the morning announcement. Our rooms are on the opposite sides of the corridor, so after waking up I tried to catch him leaving his room.

Mumei:
About what time was it when you saw him?

Katsuragi:

About 7:15am.

Mumei:
Going to the kitchen the roundabout way, using the back door, would take about five minutes. He would have no time to do anything else.

Kobayashi:
B-But what if this was a trap, set up earlier? During the nighttime, like we said earlier?

Katsuragi:

This might not sound believable, but Nishizawa lacks the skill of planning ahead.

Kobayashi:
In what sense?

Katsuragi:

His actions don’t make much sense. Everything he does, he does on a whim, after a random stroke of genius. He seems to be simply killing time because he’s bored.

Kobayashi:
Then he really is… just a brat?

Mumei:
If you want to put it this way… Thanks, Katsuragi-kun.

Katsuragi:

No problem.

We continued to walk through the corridor, getting closer to the dining room.

Kobayashi:
You and Nishizawa seem to get along rather well…

Mumei:
That’s what I would like to believe, but…

Kobayashi:
If it’s so, then it’s okay. I know that it’s obvious that I can’t stand him, but you can choose your own friends.

Mumei:
…friends?

Kobayashi:
Yeah, frie… Look, Yanagi-san really is here!

When we entered the dining room, we quickly noticed the trio sitting by the table – Yanagi-san, Shinozaki-san and Kurosaki-kun. Yanagi-san wasn’t crying anymore, but she looked exhausted, and Shinozaki-san was still caressing her back.

Kurosaki:
Oh, it’s only you, guys…

Kobayashi:
What are you doing here? Gave up on investigating and fighting for your life?

Kurosaki:
Of course not! I just… don’t know what I could do, since everyone seemed to have some clue about where to start…

Shinozaki:
We are sorry for not helping as well. Kou-chan does not feel well…

Yanagi:
Kou is fine… She just panicked a little bit…

Kobayashi:
Well, no matter how I look at this, it’s only natural to panic after seeing a dead body, so it’s okay... We need your help though.

Yanagi:
You mean… you need Kou’s help?

I decided to sit down on the opposite side of the table as Yanagi-san, and Kobayashi-san followed me.

Mumei:
Exactly yours, Yanagi-san. I need you to tell me what happened this morning. Before you ran into me.

Her eyes widened, then she lowered her gaze, fixing it in one place, that happened to be the table.

Yanagi:
Of course. Kou is pretty shaken up right now though, so forgive her if she mixes up some stuff…

Mumei:
Please, try to remember what happened…

Yanagi:
Kou… remembers. She had a bad feeling about something for some reason and she woke up before the morning announcement, so she got ready to leave the room earlier than usual. Kou left after the announcement, but the dining room was still empty… and then she noticed that the kitchen room was slightly open.

Kobayashi:
Do you remember what time was that?

Yanagi:
Kou thinks she left the room around seven ten…maybe twelve? She doesn’t know… It was probably around this when she arrived there… and saw the door was already open.

Mumei:
And what happened next?

Yanagi:
Kou heard some voices… But she wasn’t sure who was that. They were talking really quiet, but she could recognize some words and she panicked. They were talking about killing someone, she also heard something about the back door… So Kou used her ID to lock the door. Then she ran out of the room and intended to get someone…

Mumei:
And that’s when you ran into me, right?

Yanagi:
Y-Yeah… She thought that if she delayed those people in the kitchen, then she would save… whoever they wanted to hurt.

Kurosaki:
You did your best, Yanagi-chan…

Shinozaki:
You do not sound very reliable, Kurosaki-kun.

Kurosaki:
I know. I’m sorry… I know I let you down, and-

Shinozaki:
You are too afraid. Afraid of taking responsibility. If you truly want to be the leader, you need to accept everything that comes with it.

Kurosaki:
I thought you hated me, Shinozaki-chan, but now you’re giving me advice…

Shinozaki:
I cannot imagine myself ever putting my trust in a man, but even I can tell that you are not a bad person, Kurosaki-kun. You are trying really hard, but it seems like it is not enough and you need a little push.

Kobayashi:
I’m sorry to interrupt this, but we don’t really have time. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

Shinozaki:
No, I do not think so… I did not know Nagayama-san well, except for the fact that he was a little…

Yanagi:
Creepy. Kanna was just creepy.

Shinozaki:
Well, yes. Someone like this could have a lot of enemies.

Kobayashi:
What do you mean by ‘creepy’?

Shinozaki:
I did not talk to her much, and yet she seemed to know things she should not know. As if she was watching us the whole time. Who knows how much did she know about us? Maybe she knew the things Moneko erased from our memory?

Kurosaki:
When you put it like this, she sure sounds creepy…

Kobayashi:
Nonsense… One more thing though. Yanagi-san… Sorry to ask you this, but could you please open the door using your ID? I need to see this.

Yanagi:
If that’s what Manami wants…

She stood up and walked up to the door, first picking up her ID from the table. I could see her pick the key option and press it against the lock. A moment later the door opened quietly…

Yanagi:
See? Kou was telling the truth.

Kobayashi:
I never doubted you, just preferred to see it with my own eyes. Kurosaki-kun, take care of explaining this to people inside the kitchen. We still have some things to investigate, right, Mumei-san?

Mumei:
R-Right. Let’s check the storage room now.

Kurosaki:
Eh?! Why are you leaving me like this?!

Yanagi:
Come on, Hirato, be the superhero you always wanted to be.

Shinozaki:
Right, right.

We left the three of them with the mission of explaining the door mystery to Oshino-san and the kitchen squad, then directed our steps towards the storage room.

Kobayashi:
I don’t get shit from all of this… Nobody seems to fit into the clues we have.

Mumei:
We’ll have the trial to put this all together, I think. I hope we can do it…

The storage room lights were on, signaling someone was already inside. Soon we spotted Mirai-san next to one of the shelves.

Yokohama:
Oh, Mumei-kun, Kobayashi-san… You came here because of the tool box too?

Mumei:
…too? What do you mean?

Yokohama:
Ah, so you didn’t… Oshino-san sent me here to check if it’s still here, but it’s not, so…

Mumei:
Please, explain it in a way I can understand…

Yokohama:
S-Sorry! I’m going too fast, don’t I! So… at the very beginning me and Oshino-san were the one to look around the storage room, so we know most of the items here… Back then, we found a tool box as well. Right now that tool box is in the kitchen, instead of this room… So the culprit took it from here, most likely.

Mumei:
Are you sure it’s the same box, Mirai-san?

The girl wondered for a second, then nodded.

Yokohama:
There was only one box like this, and now it’s not here, so… that’s the only answer I can think about.

Last night, the person who was last seen with this tool box was Yanagi-san. She was supposed to put it back here… but who knows what really happened?

Somehow everything seemed to be tied to that nighttime trip we weren’t supposed to talk about. I certainly didn’t like the direction where all of this was going...

Yokohama:
Mumei-kun, are you okay?

Mumei:
Eh? Pretty much… Why are you asking?

Yokohama:
You were one of the people who discovered the body, right? Yanagi-san panicked… so I just wondered, if you’re fine. I’m sorry if I’m being a bother.

Mumei:
Y-You’re not! I… Thank you… It’s really nice of you, to worry about me.

Her worried face turned into a shy smile after my words, as if she was relieved she wasn’t bothering me.

Yokohama:
It’s nothing. I’m glad you’re okay… Good luck with your investigation, and I’ll do my best as well.

After leaving the storage room, there was only one more location we had to check out.

Kobayashi:
I don’t think Yokohama-san is related to this case… She didn’t even look like she knew anything useful.

Mumei:
You think so…? Why did you stay quiet then?

Kobayashi:
She seems to be really fond of you, so I didn’t want to interrupt you.

Mumei:
Fond? Of me? What does that mean?

Kobayashi:
You… really are an airhear, aren’t you?

I didn’t even get to answer. We were back in the dormitory part of the building and someone was clearly waiting for us.

Himura:
So you’re finally here! I expected that freak Oshino, but you’re even better!

Kobayashi:
Ehm… what?

Himura:
It wouldn’t be okay for me to enter the room by myself. Wouldn’t it make me suspicious? I’m not risking that!

Mumei:
So you were just… waiting for someone to arrive?

Himura:
What else was I supposed to do? I knew Oshino would sooner or later come. She might be a freak, but to be a detective you need to be a responsible person. Anyway, I’m glad it’s you, not her! Let’s finally go inside!

Himura-san opened the door using the ID she was holding onto up until now. When we entered the room… it seemed cold and empty. I couldn’t explain why, but I felt like… this room wasn’t of much use to the owner.

Himura:
I don’t like this place.

Kobayashi:
Huh? Why?

Himura:
I don’t know…Intuition, I would say.

Kobayashi:
That’s ridiculous…

Himura:
Just look around, Kobayashi-san. It doesn’t look like a room where someone actually lives. It’s more like… a room just to spend the night in. But did she even spend the night here today? It doesn’t look like this.

I couldn’t say I didn’t agree with her, because that was exactly the feeling I got. During those few days I managed to discover I wasn’t much of a clean freak, so if I brought anything to my room, there was a high chance I would leave it on the floor. I was usually hiding my futon to the closet after breakfast, and my bathroom… while it wasn’t a mess, it wasn’t extremely clean either.

Nagayama-san’s room simply lacked her presence.

Kobayashi:
You are right… Did she already hide her futon or maybe… she didn’t use it at all?

Himura:
Even if it’s the first option, she must’ve been awake since quite a while before… she got killed…

Mumei:
You look quite upset, Himura-san…

Himura:
That’s because I am! I can’t forgive a murderer, so whoever did that… I will prove their guilt!

Kobayashi:
That’s the spirit, Himura-san. I feel the same, so let’s find that fu… criminal, and make them pay!

Himura-san didn’t even have the time to form a reply, because at that moment…

Ding dong dong ding!

We heard the sound of an announcement about to be made again.

Attention, stnyudents! I hope you’re done with your investigations, because this is the end of the time you were given! All of you are expected to gather in front of the main gate. Any absences will be punished, nya.

Kobayashi:
I guess it’s time…

Himura:
Time for what?

Kobayashi:
For proving we’re smarter than this bastard, of course. Don’t worry, we have plenty of evidence…

Himura:
But do you have any clue about how to put it together?

Kobayashi:
M-Maybe? But I’ll be counting on you anyway, Himura-san. A lawyer probably knows some stuff!

Himura:
Somehow… I knew it’s going to be like this.

We left Nagayama-san’s room using the back door, deciding that it would shorten our walk towards the gate. None of us were in the mood for making small talk, so we were just walking in silence… At least until someone interrupted it.

Nishizawa:
Hey, Mei-chan, wait for me!

I could see Kobayashi-san frown, but instead of getting angry, they only sighed.

Kobayashi:
He seems to like you for some reason, so talk to him, whatever he wants, then make sure he comes along.

Mumei:
Yeah… Thank you.

I stayed behind, as they walked away with Himura-san. Ruu-kun caught up to me after a few seconds, pretty much jumping, as if he didn’t care about this whole situation.

Nishizawa:
Thanks for waiting! I thought it would be nice to talk to you once more before the trial starts. Who know what might happen!

Don’t put it like this…

Mumei:
Uhm… what is it, Ruu-kun?

Nishizawa:
Nothing special, just a friendly chat.

Mumei:
Friendly…

Nishizawa:
Is anything wrong?

Mumei:
Yesterday you said… That you don’t need to have friends. And me… I don’t even know what having friends means. I’m sorry…

Nishizawa:
Let’s stop for a moment then.

Mumei:
Why…?

Nishizawa:
Bend down, you’re too tall for me, idiot.

He reached into his black hair and pulled some barrettes out… Then he reached up, to touch my own hair and pinned some annoying strand of hair aside.

Nishizawa:
This is a mark of our friendship. Now we’re matching! I know I said I don’t need friends, but I’ll make an exception for you. You should feel honored!

Mumei:
And… what does that mean?

Nishizawa:
Dunno, that even if I kill someone it’s not going to be you? Ha… Hahah… Probably not this. I suck at this too, so at least there’s two of us. Let’s solve this case and survive, Mei-chan.

Maybe it was a weird thing to think, but it was a little reassuring. During the investigation… I couldn’t help but suspect him, too. I wanted to put my trust in him, but at the same time I was scared of getting betrayed. Now I could say… that I really believed in him, and that I could do my best at trying to prove his innocence.

And so, we finally arrived before the gate… as the last people. Moneko was already sitting on top of the gate, in its usual spot.

Moneko:
Looks like the potnyential criminals stick together, nya!

Nishizawa:
Shut up, you furry piece of metal. Spare me this bullshit and let’s get this started.

Kawakami:
For someone as suspicious as you, you’re pretty confident. Were you trying to get the amnesiac freak to join your camp?

Nishizawa:
I see, I see. Everyone is against me. Excellent! Let’s all die together then, I don’t fucking care. I lose my will to live every time I look at you, idiots.

Moneko:
I’m glad that things are heating up! This is gonna be such an exciting trial! Very well, let’s begin!

To our surprise, the gate began to slowly open, but… instead of revealing any kind of expected forest track to us, the thing we saw was… a small room. Or maybe rather…

Kurosaki:
An… elevator?

Moneko:
Nyaaa, what else did you expect? A route of escape? Too bad! There’s nyo escape from here, nyan. I control all of this place.

It kind of felt like… everyone around me lost a tiny fragment of hope they were holding onto. Everyone except for me.

Moneko:
Just stop complaining, bastards, and board the elevator! Look, it’s nyaice and inviting! Really solid! Let’s have a trial!

Yanagi:
Kou doesn’t want any trials…

Moneko:
Look, there goes that fuck I was supposed to give. I’m running low on patience, so just do as I tell you. A courtroom is located under this place, and this is where you’re going to discuss Nagayama-chan’s death. You want this to be over soon, right? Then do it!

…

Kurosaki:
Hey… everyone. I know that nobody here really wants to do this. I don’t want to do this either. But even if we weren’t really friendly with Nagayama-chan, we owe it to her… I owe it to her, for allowing this killing game to start.

Nishizawa:
It’s you who thinks this way. It has nothing to do with me.

Kawakami:
Shut your mouth for once, and listen to someone more responsible than you.

Nishizawa:
Eeeh? So even you are Kurosaki’s buddy now? What a disappointment…

Kurosaki:
A-Anyway, let’s work together and put an end to this, so we don’t ever need to use this elevator again!

Shinozaki:
I wish it was this easy…

We began boarding the elevator one by one, with me staying behind as always. I wondered if this would ever change. If I would ever be able to be a part of the group, without being put aside when it was convenient for them…

I didn’t like Nagayama-san, but I felt like I had to fight for her, since nobody else wanted to do it. Forgetting her would be just unfair, because… I knew that I would be easily forgotten if it was me who died. I didn’t want to disappear like this, and I didn’t wish it for anyone.

So… It was my mission, to discover the truth about this incident.

Kobayashi:
Hey. Mumei-san.

Mumei:
Yes…?

Kobayashi:
I know that believing in yourself may seem like an impossible task for you, so I’m not going to spout nonsense like this in our current situation. But don’t forget that I was with you the whole time when investigating. Even if you overlooked something, I might’ve noticed it, so I’m going to support you the best I can.

Mumei:
You…

Moneko:
Enough chatter, everymeow.

Before I managed to form a response, the elevator began moving, announcing the beginning of a battle for us.

***

Evidence list:

Moneko’s Surprise File: a report concerning Nagayama’s death. According to it, her body was found only one minute after her death, at 7:21am.

Oshinos’s investigation: the crime scene did not suggest the victim fought against the attacker. The culprit most likely surprised her.

The appearance of the body: Nagayama’s eyes were open, as if death surprised her. She had some minor scratches, but the only major wound was the one on her arm.

Xavier’s opinion: the bleeding from the wound wasn’t severe enough to cause bleeding out.

Remains of the cat robot: Moneko’s body that was destroyed in an explosion. The culprit most likely used it in some way.

Kawakami’s suspicions: someone skilled enough might’ve tried to alter the robot’s settings.
Abandoned tool box: the culprit must have taken it from the storage room, after Yanagi put it there yesterday.
Shirakawa’s testimony: Nishizawa is usually the only one to use the back door. He locks and unlocks it on his own, what makes it impossible for anyone else to use them.
Back door and dining room door: when locked by a student before the nighttime, said student can unlock it whenever.
Smoke’s scent: Nagao claims it smelled just like the smoke that appeared after Moneko exploded for the first time. It made breathing difficult for someone with a sensitive sense of smell.
Nagao’s testimony: aside from Nagayama, the people he could smell in the kitchen were: Mumei, Nishizawa, Yanagi, Kobayashi, Yakushi, Shirakawa, Yokohama.
Katsuragi’s testimony: he saw Nishizawa leave his room at about 7:15am. In addition to this, he claims that Nishizawa isn’t the type to plan ahead.
Yanagi’s testimony: she woke up before 7am and left her room around 7:12am. She headed straight to the dining room, but it was still empty. Despite that, the kitchen door was already open and someone inside seemed to be talking about commiting a murder. Panicking, Yanagi locked the door using her ID and went to get help.
Kitchen: becomes off-limits from 10pm to 7am, but someone managed to prepare a trap before 7:20am. The door only has a lock on the outside of it - it’s impossible to get out of the kitchen after the door gets locked by someone outside.
Shinozaki’s testimony: Nagayama appeared scary in many students’ eyes, meaning she might’ve had a lot of enemies. Shinozaki felt as if Nagayama knew about them much more than she should know.
Storage room: the tool box was missing from its place. Someone must’ve taken it after Yanagi put it back there.
Nayagama’s room: it seemed surprisingly empty, as if she wasn’t using it at all. It is unknown if she spent the previous night there.