".....Khk, huff..."
"....."
'Shit... I seriously almost died... I was really one step away from death... that lunatic Ikusaba...'
Seriously. If Kyoko Kirigiri hadn't shown up at exactly the right moment, I would've crossed the Styx on the spot, then gotten dragged into hell by Ikusaba after she was executed in the Class Trial and spent the afterlife as her personal errand boy for bread.
"Hk... hic... sob..."
The tears came out before I even realized it. Being strangled by a human war machine who had probably killed hundreds—maybe thousands—with genuine murderous intent was every bit as horrifying as it sounded.
".....You're being loud, so stop crying and shut up."
".....Sniff."
".....Tch."
Now Ikusaba was controlling whether I was allowed to cry, too. I already felt miserable enough to die, and having even that taken from me made the tears sting worse—but the person in front of me was someone who could probably snap my neck with her eyes closed.
So I swallowed the sobs and just sat there sniffling. Then Ikusaba, who had been staring at me, abruptly shot to her feet and walked over.
"Wh-what are you trying to do now...?"
"....."
Ikusaba glared at me with icy eyes. Don't tell me... now that Kyoko Kirigiri was gone, she was going to finish what she'd started earlier?
"Even if you do... it's already too la—cough, cough...! Ugh... my throat hurts..."
".....Hah."
Ikusaba's expression turned glacial as she reached for my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut and trembled, bracing for the pressure to crush my windpipe again—but what I felt instead was a touch far gentler than I expected.
"What were you doing this time to come back hurt like this again...? And what's with that scar on your face...?"
"Uh... huh...?"
"I told you I'd handle the dangerous stuff for you, idiot..."
All at once, Ikusaba's face softened, and she started speaking in a low, tender voice.
"I-Ikusaba...?"
"Honestly, what the hell was that damn detective doing, letting you end up like this..."
"Uh... um... hey... did you eat something weird?"
".....Huh? What are you talking about...?"
"The one who was choking me just now... was you... wasn't it...?"
"What are you—ugh...!"
Ikusaba's expression twisted. Then she suddenly clutched her head, collapsed, and started screaming.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
"Wh-what...? What's wrong with you...?"
"It... it hurts...! My head hurts...!"
The situation had gone off the rails so violently, one thing after another, that I could barely process it—but first I needed to figure out what was happening, so I cautiously started moving toward Ikusaba.
The moment she saw me coming closer, her whole body shuddered and she shrieked at me.
"D-don't come...! Don't come over here...! Don't come near me...!"
"C-calm down... I don't know what's happening either, but first—"
"Shut up...! Don't talk to me! Get out of my sight...!"
Apparently, just seeing me—or even being conscious of me—was causing Ikusaba pain right now. If that was true, then this was the perfect chance to end this endless hostage standoff and get back to Kyoko Kirigiri noona.
"Ikusaba, look at me."
"Aaaagh...! Get... away...!"
"Look at me properly."
"...!"
I quietly locked eyes with Ikusaba as she lay on the floor, and her rejection only intensified. She'd gone pale, trembling like someone staring straight into terror itself. Watching her shake, I slowly edged toward the door.
"N-no..."
Ikusaba frantically tried to pull out her knife, but her hand was shaking so badly she couldn't get it out in time. I seized the opening and sprinted for the door—
"Upupupu...! And just where do you think you're going?!"
"Gah...!"
Out of nowhere, Monokuma popped up and hooked my leg as I ran for the door, sending me sprawling face-first right in front of it.
The instant she saw Monokuma, the collapsed Ikusaba started speaking in a desperate voice.
"E-Enoshima... I... I..."
"Enoshima? I'm Monokuma, though?"
"I... I was wrong... please..."
"Ah, K! I got a great recording of you dying earlier! Thanks to that, I won't be bored for a while! Thanks!"
"Nngh...!"
"Huh? You're still not giving up? But if no murder's happening, and even the hostage drama ends this pathetically, it'd be pretty embarrassing for me as the Mastermind...!"
If I could just open the door right in front of me and get out, this whole damned hostage situation would be over. But Monokuma had a death grip on my leg, so I couldn't stand. I started crawling instead, dragging Monokuma along with me.
"G-give up... As long as I'm here... you're not leaving this room..."
At some point Ikusaba had staggered up behind me. She pressed me down as I tried to rise and leveled her knife at me. The door was only a little farther away, but it looked like my neck getting sliced open would happen before I ever got it open, so I had no choice but to abandon the escape.
"Upupupu... right, right. It'd be no fun if the hostage situation ended already... I just thought of a way to make use of you two..."
"E-Enoshima... are you... forgiving me...?"
"I said I'm not Enoshima, I'm Monokuma! And... forgiveness? Why would I forgive you?"
".....Huh?"
"Were you and I ever in the kind of relationship where forgiveness was even on the table...?"
"Ah... ahh... ah....."
At those words, Ikusaba looked like she'd lost absolutely everything. The knife slipped from her hand, and she crumpled to the floor without strength.
"Upupupu... from beginning to end, you're just one big 'regret,' sis. What are you, the physical embodiment of regret? Upupupu..."
Monokuma sneered at her, then started muttering to himself.
"Well... looks like detailed memory tampering was too much after all... Her memories seem to be coming back little by little... Since it's come to this... should I just kill her here...?"
Monokuma's expression changed. It wasn't good. In a flash, I remembered the image from the game—Ikusaba's whole body skewered through. Before I knew it, I was shielding her.
".....Upupupu? What are you doing?"
"You were just trying to kill Ikusaba... weren't you...?"
"Upupupupu... sharp as ever. I was thinking of skewering her full of [Gungnir's Spear]..."
"I can't... let that happen..."
".....You're protecting the Mastermind of the killing game who was genuinely trying to kill you just moments ago? Idiot. Upupupupupupu..."
"I finally get it now—why Ikusaba's like this."
"Upupupu...?"
"Ikusaba betrayed you once, didn't she?"
"....."
Monokuma shut his mouth again and just stared at me in silence. Seriously, he never shuts up when things are going his way, but the second he's cornered, he goes quiet. You had to admire how petty that was.
"Before we lost our school-life memories... I think the two of us were pretty close. I don't know what kind of relationship we had, though."
"Well, obviously, it was just a relationship where Regret Sis was regrettable all by herself... Wait, wow, you're not even trying to hide it anymore?"
"Haaah... what's the point of hiding it when it's all out already...? Anyway, the important part is this: there's only one reason you'd tamper with the memories of Ikusaba, someone who's supposed to be on your side. It means Ikusaba betrayed you."
".....Upupupupu..."
"Anyway, now that I know that, I can't just let her die. If you really want to kill her, then kill me too."
"Hey... are you full of yourself or something? You think I can't kill one little you?"
"Then go ahead and try. Do it. Come on."
".....Upupupu. I'll let it slide once, in honor of your courage. But... if you keep this up, I really might kill you, y'know?"
Just as I thought—Enoshima seemed to consider my existence extremely important. What the hell had pre-memory-loss me been doing to draw this much aggro from Enoshima?
Either way, for now I had to exploit Enoshima's overestimation of me as much as possible. If I puffed myself up and made her focus her scrutiny on me, maybe I could create an opening for the others to act.
".....Hey, I'm not going to kill her, so can you stop clinging to her now?"
".....Ah."
I'd been holding Ikusaba for longer than I realized. I pulled away, face a little red, and Monokuma grumbled under his breath for a moment before turning back to me with a grin.
"Upupupu... then if killing's off the table... kidnapping is fine, right? Of course... that means you too!"
"What are you—"
The instant he finished speaking, a syringe shot out of Monokuma's mouth and struck my arm.
"Ow! What the hell is this now...?"
"Mm... an aphrodisiac...?"
"Wh-what...?"
"Upupupu... just kidding! It's only a sleeping drug."
"Y-you... what the hell... are you trying... to pull this time....."
Thud
K tried to hold out somehow, but the sleeping drug was too strong. In the end, he couldn't last even a few seconds before collapsing beside the already-unconscious Ikusaba.
Before long, a group of Monokumas opened the door, hoisted Ikusaba and K over their shoulders, and started carrying them off somewhere.
Watching them go, Monokuma muttered in a meaningful tone.
"Now then... this is a little different from the original plan... but I think I can do something very interesting with it... Upupupu...!"
And just like that, the hostage situation entered a new phase.
.
.
.
.
.
"Haaah, Kirigiri. I never expected you to make a proposal this extreme."
"Extreme?"
"I don't know, I just figured you'd use some kind of trick or trap to neutralize Ikusaba... but this... all fourteen of us rushing her at once..."
"When I checked on Ikusaba earlier, I already understood her condition. She was at her limit just standing up. She'd only been bluffing this whole time."
".....But even if she wasn't in a normal state, every time we brought food, she was still threatening K with a knife..."
"That's why I asked everyone for help. The moment the door opens so she can receive the food from Fujisaki, everyone rushes in at once and restrains her. Considering her condition, even if she has a knife, we should be able to subdue her without putting K in danger."
"Mm... honestly, it sounds kind of reckless... but if it's you, and if it's for K more than anyone... I guess I have to trust you."
"....."
As Kyoko Kirigiri headed toward Ikusaba's room with the others, she sank into thought.
'I really have lost my mind.'
Even by her own standards, this plan was far too reckless. She'd explained to the others that there would be no problem, but anyone could see that if things went wrong, K could end up in grave danger.
And yet the reason she'd decided to stake everything on a plan she normally never would have chosen—one so absurdly rash and dangerous—was the look on his face when he'd been driven to the brink of death.
Kyoko Kirigiri could never forget the sight of that boy, who had clearly been pushed to the edge of death by Ikusaba before she arrived, looking at her and forcing himself not to scream even as his finger was bent back.
And the dread that that unforgettable image might become the last image she ever had of him was what drove her to gather the others, risk everything, and force a breakthrough before it was too late.
"Then... I'll knock?"
Kyoko Kirigiri held her breath and waited for the door to open, resolved to make this operation succeed no matter what—even if she had to throw herself into danger.
".....Ikusaba, I brought dinner. Open the door."
"....."
But from the other side of the door, there wasn't a sound.
".....Hey, Ikusaba? We agreed that when we exchanged food, we'd face each other and you'd let us confirm K's condition, remember...?"
"....."
".....Ikusaba!"
Even as Fujisaki kept knocking, no response came back, and unease began to coil tighter and tighter around Kyoko Kirigiri's chest.
"Move."
".....Ah!"
Kyoko Kirigiri roughly twisted the doorknob, and the door opened with almost pathetic ease.
".....Wh-what? There's nobody here...?"
Shockingly, the room beyond was empty. While the others panicked in confusion, Kyoko Kirigiri spotted something on the desk and approached with a hardened expression.
There, sitting all by itself, was a DVD with a note attached to it—one decorated with Monokuma's face.
"Your boyfriend's pretty damn amazing, huh?"
For the first time, Kyoko Kirigiri let go of the last thread of her reason.