Nidai and Owari grabbed me and dragged me off, and before I knew it, I'd been appointed the referee for their fight.
"Uh, this round goes to Nidai again... That makes it twelve wins and zero losses. Maybe it's about time you—"
"I can still do this! Here I comeee!!"
"Come at me as many times as you like!"
Ignoring all my attempts to stop them, the two of them launched straight into their thirteenth match.
As I held my breath and watched that spark-spitting battlefield unfold, I suddenly remembered Nidai throwing himself in harm's way to protect Owari.
Come to think of it, their relationship really was a strange one. At first, it had just been Owari barging in and demanding fights on her own terms, but little by little they kept getting tangled up together more and more, until somehow it had escalated to the point where Nidai was giving her full-body massages.
"Ghk..."
"Is that all...? Is that the extent of your will!?"
"No... no...! I can still keep going...!"
"Then get up and face me!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
Watching the two of them say lines straight out of a battle manga with utterly serious expressions made me want to laugh. I stood there smiling as I watched them, and then—
"Guhk!!"
Owari clutched her stomach, coughed up blood, and went flying, recording her thirteenth straight loss.
Well, Owari was definitely strong, but not stronger than Nidai. In that sense, this outcome was only natural.
"Weird... When I fight you, I feel kind of at peace... even if my body hurts like hell."
"The same is true for me. When I fight you, all my worries and concerns vanish in an instant."
Yeah... hearing them say things like that made it obvious. Whatever those two had, it wasn't ordinary.
In the original story, when Owari broke the rules and Monokuma attacked her, Nidai threw himself in front of her and took the blow instead, suffering a mortal wound.
And then, in Chapter 4, when Nidai died, Owari saw his body and wailed so sorrowfully it was almost unbearable to hear. Even now, that cry was still burned into my mind.
Taking all that into account, there was only one conclusion: these two were such hopeless muscle-brains that they probably couldn't even identify their own feelings for each other.
Wasn't that obvious? They were both simple to a fault, sure, but if you could throw your life away for someone, and if their death could make you cry so bitterly it would break even the hearts of the people listening... then that wasn't just friendship.
Still... would those two muscle-brains ever actually realize it?
"Grrrgh... daaaamn it!!"
"Your use of your body, your strength, your timing... all of it is awkward."
"...What?"
"You are not making full use of your abilities right now."
"...!"
"But there is no need to be too discouraged. You taught yourself all of this on your own, did you not?"
"...Yeah. We didn't have money... so I had no choice but to learn by myself."
"To reach this level through self-teaching alone... your future is promising in many ways. And your speed surpasses that of any student I have ever coached."
"Huh? I mean, I know I'm kinda fast... but I'm that good...?"
When Owari asked with a puzzled look, Nidai answered with a smile.
"Your greatest strength is speed. So for the time being, we should undergo special training to maximize that speed. First, we will run around the entire island. After that, we will proceed to drills for explosive acceleration, and after that—"
As expected of the [Ultimate Team Manager], he immediately started laying out a training course and methodology. Perfect. Now that the two of them were completely absorbed in fighting and training and had stopped paying attention to me, this was my chance to quietly slip away—
"K, you will participate in our training as well."
"W-What...!?"
"You are currently under our watch, are you not? We may as well fix that frail constitution of yours while we're at it. You will run around the island with us."
I turned pale and looked toward Kyoko Kirigiri—ah, right. I came here alone.
"Uh... wait, I...!"
"C'mon, let's run together! And since we're training together anyway... listen to my worries or something! If you do, I'll specially say I trust you in tomorrow's vote...!"
Owari had started threatening me with the vote as leverage. Incredible. I was actually living to see the day Owari used her brain.
Well, those two were neutral anyway, so I did need to persuade them... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to play along for now and try to win them over while I was at it.
"Um... you know I'm pretty frail... so could you maybe keep it at a level that matches me...?"
"Do not worry. I have coached many weak-bodied people before."
That reassured me a little, so I joined their training.
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"Huff... huff... huff..."
"This is truly severe. To think a man would be gasping and wheezing after so little! You should be ashamed!"
"N-No... this... this isn't fair... this is only nothing by your standards... for me..."
"Taking your level into account, we are currently running at the equivalent of an elementary school child sprinting at full speed. For us, this pace is so slow it does not even qualify as training."
"E-Elementary school...?"
"Yes. I am being considerate because you said your body has been weak since birth. If you struggle this much even at this level, your health will soon become a serious concern."
"Yaaawn... this is boring... I wanna run faster... Might as well call this a walk..."
I couldn't even endure an elementary schooler's sprinting pace? What the hell was wrong with this body? Monokuma had definitely done something to my avatar—no, wait. Come to think of it, this was the same body that couldn't even last thirty minutes in a sauna before passing out, so maybe it made sense.
Anyway, the phrase "elementary school level" got under my skin, so I gritted my teeth and kept running. Then Owari, who'd been jogging lazily beside me while yawning like this was a casual stroll, suddenly threw me a question.
"Hey, so, there's something I wanna ask you about..."
"Hah... hah... r-right now...?"
"Why? Isn't this the perfect situation for a talk?"
"What kind of—ah, forget it... just say it..."
If I argued any more, I'd probably just waste what little energy I had left, so I accepted and started thinking.
Did Owari even have worries?
Well... she'd grown up in a catastrophically awful home environment and lived a life burdened with countless younger siblings to support, but thanks to her naturally simple, blunt personality, she didn't really turn that into trauma and cause problems because of it.
In the original story, most of the trouble Owari caused came from that same simpleminded side of her.
If she had any real concern, maybe it would be her relationship with Nidai... but both of them were such muscle-brains they didn't seem remotely self-aware... so what exactly was bothering her?
"Lately... weird stuff's been happening in my cottage..."
"Weird stuff...?"
"Yeah... these days, whenever I do intense exercise and then lie down on my bed... all of a sudden my whole body stiffens up... stiffens up, and then...!"
Mid-sentence, Owari's face went pale, and she started trembling.
"S-Stiffens up... and then...?"
"S-Someone's stuck to the ceiling, staring down at me...!"
"What...?"
"Th-This is that thing, right...? It is, right...? A gh-gh-gh—"
"A ghost?"
"Hiiiiiiiiik!!"
The sight of Owari freaking out so badly made me laugh without meaning to. I knew she was really scared of ghosts, but I hadn't realized it was this bad.
"That's... just sleep paralysis..."
"S-Sleep paralysis...? Why the hell are scissors suddenly involved?"
"Uh... I mean... it's just a nightmare."
"A-A nightmare? No way! Whenever it happens, I'm always awake...!"
"Mm... okay, I should explain this more clearly. What you're experiencing is called sleep paralysis... it's when your mind is awake, but your body is still asleep, so..."
I explained it to her as carefully as I could, and Owari scratched her head.
"Uh... so... I don't totally get it, but it's a nightmare, right? That's a relief, at least... Actually, this is a secret, but... I'm really, really scared of ghosts."
"Puhaha! There's no way ghosts exist in this world... uh... probably not...?"
"H-Hey! Why'd your voice trail off right after sounding so confident!?"
Come to think of it, ghosts did exist. Naegi Komaru, the protagonist of [Chapter P], could see ghosts and even interact with them.
Damn this game-world nonsense. Well, apparently you could drive them off by chanting sutras or whatever... so maybe I'd be fine even if I ran into one later...?
"S-So... do you know how to fix it...? I really don't wanna see ghosts, even in my dreams...!"
"Hmm... then before you lie down, calm your mind and relax your body. If you go to bed while you're all wound up and stressed, you're more likely to get sleep paralysis."
"Y-You're sure that'll be enough...? W-What if I still get nightmares even after that...?"
"The reason you see ghosts during sleep paralysis is because you're terrified in that moment. So if it happens again and you don't feel afraid, then ghosts probably won't show up at all."
"Hmm..."
"And if you're still worried, then when it happens, try moving your fingers or your toes somehow. That'll help you break out of it fast. I know because I've dealt with it a lot myself."
Only then did Owari's eyes light up, and she shouted at me.
"Whoa!! You really are the [Ultimate Counselor]! Amazing!! Thanks to you, I won't have to be scared every single night when I go to sleep anymore! Seriously, thanks a ton!"
As soon as she said that, Owari tried to hug me, but I was concentrating every last shred of my attention on running, so I dodged her easily.
"Hey... hugging just anybody isn't a good habit..."
"Huh? But this is how you show praise, or at least that's what those old guys said..."
"I don't know who told you that, but that's something you do with someone really precious to you."
"Hmm... someone precious...? What's the standard for that...?"
"Uh... for example, people who matter to you as much as your little siblings do?"
"Aha, now I get it! My little siblings love hugs! But... did I ever tell you about my siblings...?"
"Ah... well... I mean... Ah! You told me before, remember? Back then!"
"...Huh?"
"I mean... during introductions!! You said it then... haha...!"
"Hmm... did I? Well, whatever. Thanks for all this!"
Good. Now that I'd solved Owari's problem... it was about time I tried persuading the two of them to help us in tomorrow's vote—
"Hey, I've got another question this time..."
"Hah... hah... dear god, I'm dying here... yeah, what is it?"
"What exactly is a man's tail for?"
".....!"
After that, K suffered through Owari's relentless barrage of questions for quite a while.
"...Even though he looks like he's about to collapse from exhaustion, he still listens to other people's worries that earnestly and helps solve them... Yeah. He probably isn't a bad guy after all. I think it should be fine to lower my guard around him a little."
And from behind us, Nidai watched the whole thing with a proud expression on his face.
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"So, after just one hour of training, you ended up that wiped out?"
"They... told me to come along next time too... I barely escaped... I-I feel like I'm gonna die..."
"And the persuasion?"
"Ah, right..."
"....."
"I-I mean, I did counsel her about her worries... so maybe she'll look on us favorably..."
"Forget it. I shouldn't have asked. From now on, you're coming with me. Understood?"
"Yeees..."
I'd gotten so distracted trying to explain the subject of a man's tail to Owari in the least stimulating way possible, and my body had been so utterly drained, that I completely forgot to persuade the two of them. Kyoko Kirigiri scolded me sharply for it.
"K, you're back?"
"Ah, Nanami! Did you, um... play that game over there by any chance?"
"Yeah. I just cleared all of it... and then... right after I beat it, Monokuma gave me something called a 'clear bonus'..."
Nanami spoke with a dark expression. Seeing that, I tensed up too. Just what kind of motive was hidden inside that game?
"...Can you explain it to us?"
"Okay. Then I'll start from the beginning... ah, um, Togami?"
"...What is it?"
"I'm about to explain the contents of the game I played... aren't you going to listen?"
"There is no need. I shall try it myself right now."
With that, Pigami headed toward the game console.
"Whew... okay, then I'll start from the beginning. When you start the game, you begin playing from Day 2..."
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"...That's all the information I know. And this is the 'clear bonus' Monokuma gave me, so... I think you should take a look..."
Nanami handed over the clear bonus with a miserable expression. I accepted it with a feeling of dread. Honestly, I didn't even want to look—but when I checked it anyway...
"...How pitiful."
"This is too vivid to dismiss as fabrication."
"Damn it."
There was a photo of Kuzuryu Natsumi—Kuzuryu's younger sister—dead in exactly the same state as in the original story, along with a picture of Tsumiki, Saionji, and Ibuki standing together near the entrance hall.
That's right. This motive was identical to the original. Not a single detail was different.
Why is this happening...?
What the hell had my past self been doing? I knew full well this incident was coming, so was I really just sitting around with my thumb up my ass?
The Natsumi incident was one of the key events that pushed Hinata into accepting the Kamukura Project. It was something that absolutely had to be prevented. And yet... I just let it happen? Why...? Why would I—
"Ah, shit."
"K-K... K...?"
".....?"
Kyoko Kirigiri and Nanami stared at me in shock after I suddenly spat out a curse, but I was far too shaken to care.
Come to think of it... this incident happened before I transmigrated into this body...
It looked like I'd been trapped in a fatal checkmate.