When I rushed out of the bathhouse, the girls were already gathered around Oogami, who had collapsed on the floor.
"Sakura...! W-Why all of a sudden...!?"
"S-Shouldn't we at least try CPR...!?"
"She was perfectly fine just a moment ago, bathing with us... wasn't she?"
While everyone panicked and stumbled over each other, Kyoko Kirigiri calmly stepped forward and checked Oogami's pulse.
"Thank god... her heart's still beating."
"Th-Then..."
"It doesn't look immediately life-threatening... but she's definitely not in a normal state. We need to move her to the nurse's office first. You boys, don't just stand there staring. Help."
Following Kirigiri's instructions, we hoisted Oogami up and headed for the nurse's office.
.
.
.
.
.
"Sakura... come on, open your eyes..."
We stayed by Oogami's side for about an hour, tending to her, but she showed no sign of waking.
"Kirigiri, how is she?"
"...I'm not a doctor, so I can't make a precise diagnosis, but right now... I think Oogami's been poisoned by some kind of drug."
"A-A drug...?"
"Yes. She was already injured from Monokuma's self-destruct attack, and yesterday her hand was pierced by those scissors. Her condition was already poor, so even a small amount of something like that could have hit her hard."
"Then... why was Oogami drugged in the first place...?"
"..."
Kirigiri fell silent, sinking into thought. Watching her, Asahina suddenly spoke as if something had just clicked.
"Right! Come to think of it, there is one suspicious person!"
"A suspicious person...?"
"Yeah. The only one who's not here right now..."
Now that she mentioned it, Togami had been missing since morning. Asahina frowned darkly.
"Judging by the way that jerk always acts... it has to be him...! He was probably trying to kill Oogami and get out of here all by himself...!"
"Asahina, I get how you feel, but jumping to conclusions isn't a good idea. If Togami isn't here, that could just as easily be proof that he's innocent, couldn't it?"
"Y-Yeah... that's true... sorry... I got carried away..."
"Naegi is right," Kirigiri said, "but that man isn't exactly trustworthy. Why don't we search the school once?"
"Good point... We still haven't investigated the newly opened fourth floor either... Then how about we split into a search team and an investigation team? The search team looks for Togami, and the investigation team checks out the fourth floor."
"W-Wait...! Then what about taking care of Sakura...!? I'll stay here and look after her...!"
"There's no need."
"...What?"
Asahina stared at Kirigiri, completely baffled.
"Kirigiri...? What are you talking about...?"
"I'll take care of her."
"You will...?"
"I suppose it's a little late to mention this, but my talent is [Ultimate Detective]. I may not be a doctor, but I've dealt with situations like this more than once. So I'd be better suited for it than you."
"B-But..."
"And you stayed up all night taking care of Oogami yesterday, didn't you? Leave this to me and get some rest."
"...Thanks. But I can't just be the only one resting...! I'll join the team searching for Togami!"
"Then... Oogami stays here with Kirigiri..."
"Hey... I really hate running around, you know? Mind if I stay and take care of Oogami too?"
Mukuro Ikusaba suddenly cut in. Naegi, Chihiro Fujisaki, and I all knew who she really was, so we instinctively tried to intervene, but Kirigiri answered with infuriating calm.
"Fine. Do that."
"Hehe... got it...! Thanks, Kirigiri!"
Ikusaba was smiling sweetly, but something about it sent a chill crawling up my spine. No. This was bad. I had to stay too.
"Um... can I help take care of Oogami too...?"
"And why are you— oh. Right. You and Kirigiri... Seriously, you damn couples..."
The others shot me scorching looks, but this was not the time to care about that. For a while now, Ikusaba had kept glancing at Kirigiri with a smile on her face, but there was absolutely no smile in her eyes. Something was going to happen. I could feel it.
"Alright then. K, Kirigiri, and Enoshima stay in the nurse's office. The rest of us will split into teams."
With that, the others discussed how to divide themselves and gradually filed out of the nurse's office one by one.
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"..."
"Kirigiri, what have you been thinking about this whole time?"
"..."
About ten minutes passed. Ikusaba sat quietly in her chair, and Kirigiri had been lost in thought the entire time.
It was quiet, yes. But why did it feel like we were sitting in a room with a bomb ticking down to detonation? The silence was unbearable. I finally spoke to Kirigiri, and she slowly opened her eyes before murmuring in a low voice.
"So... how long are you planning to hide? Why don't you come out already?"
"Hmph. As expected, you're different from the others."
The moment those words fell, an old cabinet in the nurse's office creaked open, and Togami stepped out, dusting off his clothes.
"Making me hide in a place like this... If the plan had failed..."
"Oh, come on... But the plan worked, didn't it!? So isn't that all that matters~?"
"T-Togami...? Why are you in there...?"
"You're slower than I thought. Isn't it obvious? To kill Oogami while she's lying there."
Damn it. So he really went and did it. I'd let my guard down. In the original story, Togami eventually mellowed out, so somewhere along the line I'd forgotten what he was like before Oogami's sacrifice: the single biggest instigator in the first game.
Hell, before his development, he was practically portrayed as someone who enjoyed the killing game.
"W-Wait... then the one who drugged Oogami was..."
"Me, obviously~! While I was massaging her, I told her it was medicine for her wounds and smeared on a slow-acting paralytic poison when no one was looking! Well? Pretty clever, right?"
"I was the one who selected and mixed the drugs..."
"Ehh, let's not get hung up on the details~! Don't be so stingy!"
Damn it. If it were just Togami, maybe we could do something. But with Ikusaba here, the two of us had no chance. When she was putting on the fake gyaru act, maybe. But now? She was flaunting her true nature without even trying to hide it. If this turned into a direct fight, we'd be in danger too. If I couldn't stop them, then at least I had to buy time.
"Why...? Why are you trying to do something like this?"
"Why? To get out of here, obviously."
"For something that petty...?"
"You fools wouldn't understand, but this is a death game where we kill or are killed. You all think I'm the one in the wrong, but from where I'm standing, the ones who are truly wrong are you idiots playing at friendship."
"...Then why are the two of you cooperating?"
"She came to me last night with a proposal. She said she'd incapacitate Oogami, and then the two of us would stab her together, become accomplices, and leave this place."
"B-But... doesn't that only benefit you?"
"Well~ I take on the risk, Togami handles the drug mixture, and once we're outside, he promised to use the Togami family's wealth to make me rich! It's what you'd call a 'win-win'!"
The Togami family had already collapsed, so I had no idea how he planned to make anyone rich. Of course, Togami probably never intended to honor some hollow promise in the first place. But Ikusaba's real goal wasn't a luxurious life. It was killing Oogami and kicking the killing game into motion. So maybe she didn't care.
"I even brought a nice sharp kitchen knife to make the killing easier. What do you think?"
This was bad. Really bad. As if she'd decided she'd wasted enough time, Ikusaba suddenly pulled a knife from her clothes.
"...!"
In that instant, Kirigiri lunged, trying to snatch the knife from Ikusaba's hand, but—
"Ha. You weren't seriously trying to take this from me just now, were you?"
"...Gh."
"K-Kirigiri!"
Ikusaba dodged with insulting ease and countered, sending Kirigiri crashing to the floor.
"Y-You... y-you bitch...!"
"Oh? So you really weren't the Mastermind after all? Well, it doesn't matter now."
My vision went red. I charged at Togami, but he subdued me just as easily and sneered down at me.
"I've survived threats far worse than this. Unlike a frail weakling like you, I'm actually trained in hand-to-hand combat."
"Urgh... Leave Kirigiri and Oogami alone... If you have to kill someone, kill me instead...!"
"Pfft. That's almost touching. But here's the problem: if we kill you or Kirigiri, a Class Trial starts. That's why we're killing Oogami. We want out of here."
"W-Wait...! Just wait...!"
"Dragging this out is pointless. Fukawa is keeping the others from coming here. No one will be showing up for a while."
"Then... shall we get started~?"
Togami and Ikusaba gripped the knife's handle together, raised it high, and—
"...Hah!"
"No...!"
They brought the knife down with all their strength—
Huh?
"W-What...? Togami? What are you doing?"
Ikusaba tried to drive the knife down, but Togami was holding it back.
"...Now, you idiot."
"UOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The instant Togami finished speaking, Oogami shot upright from the bed and unleashed a full-force strike at Ikusaba.
WHAM
"Kgh...!"
Ikusaba's body lifted off the ground and flew straight into the far wall. What the hell was happening?
"So you really did have a plan like this," Kirigiri said.
"...You noticed?"
"Of course I noticed. That's why I threw myself in and pretended to try to take the knife earlier."
"K-Kirigiri... what are you talking about...?"
Kirigiri rose from the floor, brushed off her clothes, and answered coolly.
"When I examined Oogami earlier, I realized she was still conscious. But I thought there had to be a reason she was pretending to be unconscious. Once I thought it through, I suspected it had something to do with that suspicious medicine Enoshima put on her during the bath, so I lied accordingly."
"Hmph. Is that all?"
"No. There's more. You said you were going to kill someone, but there wasn't any murderous intent in you at all. And even though Fukawa was supposedly keeping the others away, and there was no advantage in wasting time, you kept answering K's questions and dragging things out. As if you were waiting for something."
The moment Kirigiri said that, the nurse's office door burst open and the others came flooding in.
"B-Byakuya...! I-I brought everyone just like you said...! D-Did I make it in time...?"
"W-What the hell is going on here...?"
"Good grief... this is one hell of a mess..."
"S-Sakura...? Togami...? What in the world...?"
"Why is Enoshima pinned over there and struggling like that...?"
Grinding her teeth as she looked at the students pouring in, Ikusaba turned to Togami.
"W-Why...? I gave you... a better offer than this..."
"It's simple. Did you really think I'd cooperate with the 'Mastermind' who trapped me here?"
"Togami...? What do you mean by that...?"
"Genocide Jack. Your turn."
"Ah, y-yes! J-Just a second...!"
Fukawa pulled a pepper shaker from her pocket, inhaled a lungful of pepper, and sneezed. A moment later, she transformed into Genocide Jack.
"Ta-daaa! Okay, maybe it's a little gross, but who cares? Genocide Jack has arrived!!"
"This is not the time for your nonsense. Play that tape you mentioned."
"Yessir~! Here we go!"
Genocide Jack pulled out a cassette tape from her clothes and pressed play.
As the students listened to the recorded conversation between Ikusaba and Genocide Jack, confusion detonated across the room.
"I-Ikusaba Mukuro...? But... aren't you Junko Enoshima...?"
"And that's not the only strange part, everyone. How exactly was Enoshima able to so casually talk about killing Genocide Jack?"
At Celestia Ludenberg's razor-sharp observation, everyone's attention snapped into focus.
"Ordinary Fukawa is one thing... but Genocide Jack is a vicious serial killer. And yet, the moment your identity as 'Ikusaba Mukuro' was exposed, you said you'd kill even Genocide Jack. Correct?"
"Now that you mention it... that is weird. Is that even possible?"
"And the more interesting point is this: Genocide Jack didn't fight. She tried to persuade you. Does that strike anyone as normal? Enoshima... no, Ikusaba. What exactly are you?"
I finished speaking, then quietly gave Celestia a thumbs-up when she looked at me with faint expectation in her eyes. Then I cleared my throat and said it.
"At this point, since everyone knows anyway, I guess it doesn't matter. The person standing in front of you isn't 'Junko Enoshima.' She's 'Mukuro Ikusaba.' One of the Masterminds behind this killing game, and someone with the power of the [Ultimate Soldier]."
"K... K... what are you talking about...!?"
"This is one of the secrets I know about the killing game. There's no time to explain it properly right now, so I'll tell you everything later when we have the chance. Anyway, the important thing right now is—"
"That she's one of the Masterminds behind this killing game. It seems you fools can only infer that much once evidence and testimony are shoved in your faces, but I deduced it on my own."
"...That pisses me off in a weirdly specific way, and it's even more irritating because you're not wrong..."
"That woman came to me last night and proposed that she would paralyze Oogami with poison, then the two of us would kill her together and escape. Naturally, I had every intention of crushing the Mastermind who locked me in this place, so I turned her plan against her."
"Turned it against her...?"
"Isn't it obvious? I gave her an ointment instead of a paralytic, then slipped a note about her plan to Oogami through the crack in her door during the night."
"That is correct... what he says is true. Even my collapse was part of his plan. Everyone... I apologize for making you worry."
Wait, what? So in the end, Togami was the one who carried this whole thing? Wow. That was... humiliating.
"U-Um... B-Byakuyaaa...? This is all well and good, but... why aren't you mentioning how I clung to you all night trying to persuade you yesterday...?"
"Silence."
"Ehehehehehehe...! Even embarrassed Byakuya is adorable!! Ahahahahahaha!!"
"Your role is over, Genocide Jack. Turn back into Fukawa."
"Okaaayyy!! A-A-Achoo...!"
So that was it. Genocide Jack had put in some absurd amount of effort behind the scenes. Honestly, whether it was Fukawa or Genocide Jack, her devotion was almost terrifying.
"Either way, I always intended to take revenge on the Mastermind who trapped me in this disgusting place. And now... the timing is perfect, isn't it?"
Togami flexed his hand loose, then started walking toward Ikusaba with a savage smile curling across his face.
"W-What are you planning to do!?"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. She trapped us here and left us unable to move freely, so naturally, she should be crippled from head to toe and left unable to move as well."
"W-Wait...! That's going too far...!"
"Too far? What exactly is too far about it? Are you suggesting we simply let that dangerous creature go? Move aside, K. I still haven't completely cleared you of suspicion."
"Even so, that's... uh... huh...?"
"What? Why are you—"
"K! Togami! Danger...! Move, now...!"
"B-Byakuya! Watch out...!"
I was still arguing with Togami, trying to stop him from spiraling out of control again, when Fukawa suddenly threw herself in front of us.
"You— what the hell are you doing all of a sudden—?"
Thud
"F-Fukawa!?"
Fukawa collapsed to the floor, groaning, blood spilling from the knife buried in her stomach.
"From this point on, if anyone moves, two people die."
At some point, Ikusaba had drawn two more knives from her clothes. Now she stood there, blades leveled at Togami and me.
"You... As long as I'm here, I won't let you hurt anyone—!"
"Sure, if I were unarmed, I'd lose to you. But right now you're so exhausted you couldn't even react to an attack that obvious, Oogami. And unlike you, I have knives."
"Even so... I can still beat someone like you...!"
"Come to think of it... maybe you could. But can you win while protecting those two standing in front of me as well?"
"...Ghk."
"...Ikusaba, take me hostage and let Togami go."
"You bastard, what are you saying—!"
"Hmm. Well, my body's not in great shape either, so handling two hostages would be a pain... And compared to that obnoxious Togami, you're weaker and actually have decent relationships with people. You make a much better hostage. Fine. K, walk over here. Togami, step back."
"...You. Why would you...!?"
"I'm not helping you because I care about you. I'm doing this for everyone, so shut up and move..."
"...!"
"And... take care of Fukawa for me..."
Togami clenched his teeth, then hoisted Fukawa up and retreated to join the others. I walked over to Ikusaba's side and suffered the humiliation of having a knife pressed to my throat.
And just like that, I became the captured heroine.