As I stood there stammering in flustered confusion, Chiaki Nanami tilted her head at me.
"Hm...? Was it some super famous game or something...?"
"...No, no. I just got the wrong idea for a second."
Leaving Kyoko Kirigiri and Chiaki Nanami staring at me in bafflement, I sank into thought for a moment—then, without warning, an announcement blared across the entire island.
"Ahem, this is an announcement from the Hope's Peak Academy School Trip Executive Committee... It is now exactly 10:00 p.m.!"
I had been so busy greeting the others that I hadn't even noticed the time passing. When I looked outside, the sky had already gone dark.
"Accordingly, we have prepared individual rooms for everyone inside the hotel! Please relax and rest comfortably in your own room!"
"However, when you go to sleep, make absolutely sure to lock your door..."
As I listened to the announcement, I tried to sort through the chaos in my head. I didn't know why, but judging from the fact that she'd lost her memory at the entrance, brought up her parents, and showed no reaction at all to the words Future Foundation, Chiaki Nanami didn't seem to be an AI right now.
Originally, Chiaki Nanami was supposed to be brutally murdered by Junko Enoshima at Hope's Peak Academy in order to plunge Class 77 into despair. So how was she alive? Don't tell me... had I done something before losing my memories?
Yeah. It looked like the me from before the memory wipe hadn't completely let go of everything after all. If she wasn't an AI, then the current Chiaki Nanami was a living, breathing real person. Maybe I'd done something at the academy to save her.
But if Chiaki Nanami was alive, then how did Class 77 fall into despair...? Ah. Right. That damn brainwashing beam. Every time I think about that idiotic brainwashing video, I still want to laugh from sheer disbelief.
"...K, stop grinning like an idiot and let's get out of here already."
"Hm...? Ah, right!"
After that, I arrived at the hotel, parted ways with Kyoko Kirigiri, and entered my room. The first thing I saw when I opened the door was a soft, fluffy bed.
"Hwaaahm..."
My mind was already exhausted to begin with, so the drowsiness hit me almost instantly. I threw myself onto the bed and sank straight into sleep.
.
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.
.
"...Mr. K, wake up..."
"Ugh..."
"...Mr. K, please wake up..."
"Uuugh...?..."
"Mr. K, wake uuup!!"
"Gwah! Wh-what the hell!?"
I heard a voice through the haze of sleep and opened my eyes, only to find something sitting on top of my stomach.
"Y-you're finally awake! Then please listen to what I have to—"
Startled out of my mind, I grabbed the pillow on my stomach and smacked the mysterious thing with it.
"Ugyaaaaaaah!"
"Wh-what... what is this...?"
I fumbled for the light in a panic, and there was Monomi, rolling around on the floor of my room.
"M-Monomi...?"
"K... K, are you calling me Monomi now too...?"
"Monomi, what's going on...?"
"...K, did you really lose your memories...?"
"...Looks that way. My memory cuts off right after we escaped Hope's Peak Academy together, after ending the killing game."
"Fuwawa... I knew it..."
Watching Monomi scratch at the floor with a dejected look on her face, I asked her the question that had been clawing at me this whole time.
"What exactly happened here? From the academy escape until now... what happened?"
"...I want to tell you, but evil Monokuma put restrictions on me... The only thing I can say right now is that you, Ms. Kirigiri, and Ms. Nanami are with the Future Foundation—ugyagyagyagyak...!"
Right in the middle of speaking, Monomi suddenly convulsed, then collapsed onto the floor in a limp heap.
"What the...? What's wrong with you...?"
"Fuwawa... I didn't think he'd block me from saying even this much..."
"I don't know what's going on, but don't push yourself too hard."
"Anyway, you and I are on the same side, K...!"
Monomi had just mentioned me, Kyoko Kirigiri, and Chiaki Nanami together, then declared we were allies. If that was true, then I was probably part of the Future Foundation right now.
Then did that mean Kyoko Kirigiri, Chiaki Nanami, and I had joined the Neo World Program as monitors on behalf of the Future Foundation, only to get dragged into this killing game?
"...I think I get the rough outline now. So what do we do next?"
"If you use the one-time emergency escape code, you can turn the whole situation around..."
"But I lost my memory, remember? You don't know the code?"
"I don't have the authority to know what the code is, but... I think I can at least give you a hint...!"
"...A hint?"
"The escape code was set by you, K... And only—ugyagyagyagyak...!"
"M-Monomi...?"
"A-as for how to use iiiit...! Ughghghghk...!!"
Monomi tried to force the words out anyway, but some invisible coercion wracked her with pain, and she went slack on the floor again.
"I really am useless after all..."
She wasn't exactly wrong, but the way Monomi muttered it in that pitiful little voice made her look so miserable that I couldn't help trying to comfort her.
"It's fine. It can't be helped. We just have to do what we can right now."
"As I thought... you're so kind, K...!"
"Anyway, we're allies, right? Then help me as much as you can from here on out. I'm going to stop the kids from killing each other somehow."
"Okay...! I'll do my best too...!"
With that, Monomi vanished. Honestly, she wasn't exactly inspiring confidence... but maybe she'd still be useful... somehow...?
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"This is an announcement from the Hope's Peak Academy School Trip Executive Committee..."
"Mmm... what...? Is it morning already...?"
It felt like I'd only just fallen back asleep, but the day had already broken. I forced my stiff body upright and stretched.
"...Also, the school regulations have been uploaded to your E-Handbook, so please be sure to check them...!"
At that, I checked my E-Handbook, and sure enough, the rules had been updated.
I skimmed through them, but as expected, there weren't any changes. Losing interest, I tossed the E-Handbook onto the bed and was about to head for the bathroom when someone knocked on the door.
"...Who is it?"
"...Everyone has agreed to gather in the dining hall. Stop dawdling and come at once."
After delivering that message with brutal efficiency, Pigami moved on to the next room and knocked on that door too. Watching him, I found myself thinking.
Even if he was only imitating Togami through the talent of the Ultimate Imposter, he was still exactly the kind of person the others needed right now.
He had leadership. And more importantly, he was the sort of man who would throw his own body on the line to keep his promise to protect everyone. If he was here, stopping the killing game would become a whole lot easier.
Anyway, if everyone was gathering in the dining hall, I should get ready and head over too.
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.
.
I arrived at the dining hall with Kyoko Kirigiri, and after sitting down and chatting for a bit, the others started trickling in one by one.
"Looks like almost everyone's here... Is anyone still missing...?"
"Looks like the guy who doesn't know his own talent, the mechanic guy, and the gamer girl aren't here."
"The gamer said she'd go downstairs first and play a game until everyone gathered, sir!"
"The guy named Hinata was probably still in his room, and the guy named Souda said his stomach was upset because of what happened yesterday, so he wanted to sit this one out."
"I didn't call everyone here just to have a meal..."
"So that means there are still two people who haven't shown up? Honestly, men are so unreliable. So then... who's going to bring them?"
"I'll go."
I was quietly watching Pekoyama leave the dining hall to fetch Hajime Hinata and Souda Kazuichi when Kyoko Kirigiri, standing beside me, leaned in and whispered.
"Did Monomi come to see you at dawn too?"
"Huh...? Yeah. You too, Kirigiri...?"
From what she told me, Monomi had gone to her as well and asked for her cooperation, saying they were on the same side. If that was the case, had she gone to Chiaki Nanami too?
"For reference, it seems that girl named Nanami was originally on our side too. I couldn't hear everything because Monokuma had tampered with something, but I was able to infer that much from what Monomi said."
"Uh... right... then what should we do...?"
"For now, that girl seems to have lost her memories completely, unlike us, so I told Monomi not to make contact with her yet. Rash action could do more harm than good."
As expected of Kyoko Kirigiri. Danganronpa 2 was already suffering from a drought of actual brainpower, so if I had come here without big-sis Kirigiri too, honestly, I'd have been completely screwed.
"That's so like you, Kirigiri... heh heh..."
"...Don't grin like an idiot."
Her words left me awkwardly clearing my throat, and right then Pekoyama returned with Hajime Hinata, Souda Kazuichi, and Chiaki Nanami.
"Sorry we're late, everyone... I overslept..."
"Ugh... my stomach feels so sick I could die, and you still dragged me here..."
"Mr. Togami said he had something to tell us... so please bear with it a little longer, even if it's hard..."
"...Now then, it seems everyone is here. Before we begin, let's eat first."
"T-talk first!"
Ignoring Souda Kazuichi's protest, Pigami began eating the mountain of food in front of him. Aside from Souda Kazuichi, whose stomach was in revolt, everyone else was hungry, so breakfast began naturally enough.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Wh-what now...?"
I had been focused on eating for a while when that scream ripped through the room. Startled, I whipped my head toward the source of the sound—only to find Mikan Tsumiki collapsed in an embarrassingly... indecent... very, very exposed position.
Even though the story had already twisted far away from the original, apparently scenes like this were still mandatory. Honestly... I kind of wanted to keep looking, but Kyoko Kirigiri was glaring at me from right beside me, so I only got a split-second glimpse.
"So... I think we've all eaten enough by now, right...? Shouldn't we get started already...? I'm sleepy..."
Chiaki Nanami spoke in a voice thick with drowsiness.
"Hm... I haven't quite finished eating yet... but this is important... so I suppose we should begin. Fine. Tell me—what do you think is the single most important thing in our current situation?"
"Hmm... eating well and sleeping well?"
"You must not forget healthy bowel movements...! Good food, good sleep, and good bowel movements are the most important things in a situation like this!!!"
As the idiotic answers piled up, Pigami's expression twisted in irritation. Watching that, Nagito Komaeda cautiously cut in.
"Could it be... 'bonds'...?"
It was the correct answer, and in fact exactly what we needed most. But hearing it from a man who would soon reveal his true colors and go down in series history as a weaponized, galaxy-brained troll made it feel weirdly off.
"I think... if all of us Ultimates work together, then nothing is impossible... If we keep trying, then surely a hope strong enough to overcome any despair can bloom! So... if we're going to escape this island, we need to strengthen our unity...!"
"Ugh, wow. You can say stuff like that with a straight face? Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Haha... yeah, maybe that was a little much?"
"Still, he has a point."
As more and more people voiced their agreement with Komaeda, Pigami seized the momentum and made his declaration.
"If we're going to overcome this situation, then we need the strength of a group, not the strength of isolated individuals. And for that, we need order—leadership with structure, directed by a clear leader!"
"So... who's going to be the leader?"
When Kyoko Kirigiri asked, Pigami answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Isn't it obvious? I'll take that role."
"Wh... what...?"
"Now then, enough introduction. Let's move on to the main point."
"Wait just a second...!"
Koizumi Mahiru immediately started pressing Pigami on it. Seriously, why was she trying to stop someone from volunteering to be the leader for this group project? This was where I had to step in.
"Uh... still, isn't Togami pretty much perfect for the leader role? I mean, he's the Ultimate Heir..."
"But... if you're going by that logic, then Miss Sonia is also..."
"No... I'm merely ornamental, you know..."
"...Miss Sonia, you really don't need to say that..."
As Koizumi Mahiru comforted Sonia Nevermind, she shot me a glare. I hadn't done anything wrong at all, but somehow I was being treated like a criminal. It was kind of depressing.
"Haha, Ms. Koizumi. Don't get too angry. K does have a point, at least to some extent."
"Yeah! Just looking at that big, reassuring presence somehow makes me feel safer, doesn't it, sir?"
"...He's volunteering to be leader, so whatever. Just let him do it."
Before long, several of the others voiced their support, and the atmosphere naturally shifted until Pigami was accepted as the leader.
"Rest easy... As long as I'm the leader, I won't allow a single victim to emerge."
He meant that. In the original story, he really did run himself ragged trying to make sure not even one murderer appeared. And in the end, that resolve cost him his life.
"Now then, let's move on to the real subject. There's something I want to show all of you."
"Something you want to show us...?"
"It's in Jabberwock Park on the central island. Follow me."
With that, Pigami strode out of the dining hall with imposing confidence.
I was just about to leave as well, feeling grateful to Pigami for taking on the thankless role of group-project leader, when Koizumi Mahiru suddenly glared at me, then sharply turned her head away and stomped past me with a grumble.
No, seriously. What did I even do wrong?