"I said...! Stay away from my big sis from now on...! You bastard...!"
"No, what the hell are you even talking about..."
"Don't make excuses...! Pervert! Scumbag! The worst! Just die!"
"....."
At present, I was being held in place by Saionji and verbally flayed alive.
To understand what kind of deranged situation this was, we need to rewind a little.
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'I'm already out of coffee mix...'
After finishing my talk with Hinata, I was exhausted enough to want another cup of coffee, so I rummaged through my drawer. All I found was dust.
I'd always liked coffee quite a bit. Back when the Killing Game had my nerves wound tight, I hadn't even had the mental space to think about it. But now that Kirigiri had eased some of that tension, coffee kept resurfacing in my mind with almost obsessive persistence.
A thirsty man digs his own well. So, wincing through the pain in my thigh, I carefully made my way to the supermarket.
'Hmm... this should be enough, right...?'
I grabbed three boxes of coffee mix and was about to leave the supermarket when someone blocked the entrance.
"Perfect... just who I wanted to see."
".....?"
The one blocking the doorway was Saionji Hiyoko. She stood there with both arms stretched wide, glaring at me like a tiny executioner, then finally opened her mouth.
"What did you do to my big sis...?"
"Huh...?"
"Because of you... my big sis is sick right now...!"
What was she talking about? Sure, Koizumi had been kidnapped yesterday, and she'd passed out after being strangled, but after waking up she'd seemed perfectly fine. And now... she was sick because of me?
"Because of me...?"
"Yeah! Because of you!! So... stay away from my big sis from now on...! You bastard...!"
"No, what the hell are you even talking about..."
"Don't make excuses...! Pervert! Scumbag! The worst! Just die!"
And just like that, I found myself trapped in a situation that made absolutely no sense. I tried retracing everything in my head, hoping I'd at least find a clue, but no matter how I looked at it, I still couldn't understand a thing.
As I stared blankly at Saionji after getting blindsided by that torrent of abuse, she snorted hotly and glared at me even harder.
Apparently, Saionji had gotten the wrong idea about something. Which made sense, because I hadn't done anything to Koizumi. At most, I'd given her some advice. So why exactly was she supposedly sick because of me?
Feeling the need to clear this up before the misunderstanding metastasized into something worse, I cleared my throat and spoke to Saionji as calmly as I could.
"Ahem... Saionji, I don't really understand what you're trying to say, but... what exactly is wrong with Koizumi?"
"After my big sis... talked to you... she kept blushing... and stuttering every time she tried to talk...!"
"H-Hiyoko!! I was wondering where you ran off to all of a sudden..."
"B-big sis!?"
Speak of the devil. Koizumi suddenly appeared behind Saionji.
Koizumi looked relieved when she saw Saionji, but then she spotted me standing there with a deeply troubled expression. She froze, then instantly flushed bright red and started speaking to Saionji.
"I-it's not...! I told you, you don't need to do this!?"
"B-but, big sis... even right now...!"
"No... this is... I mean...! Ughhh... I don't know anymore..."
"Big sis? Big sis!?"
Koizumi clutched her face and bolted in the opposite direction. Saionji shot me a murderous glare, then immediately sprinted after her.
'Seriously... just my luck.'
All I'd wanted was to stock up on coffee, and instead I'd gotten cursed out for reasons beyond mortal comprehension. Before I got dragged into some fresh disaster, I hurried straight back to my cottage.
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"K, it's time for the live performance Ibuki mentioned. I'll help you walk, so come out."
"Huh...? Is it already that late...?"
After returning to my cottage, I sipped coffee while finishing my encyclopedia of [Despair Disease], and before I knew it, evening had arrived. Keeping Kirigiri waiting was unthinkable, so I quickly got ready and opened the door.
Kirigiri was standing there holding something.
"Kyoko... what's that...?"
"A handmade leather-strap personal alarm. I used tougher leather this time... so it shouldn't come off easily anymore."
"L-leather...?"
I stared at Kirigiri in surprise, and she smiled faintly as she explained.
"Originally, I was going to use a chain, but leather seemed better for something worn around the neck."
"Ah... hahaha..."
"Now then..."
Kirigiri stepped closer, slowly fastened the personal alarm with the leather strap around my neck, and then, without warning, pressed a kiss to the scar on my face.
"Well then, shall we go for a walk?"
"...Yesss."
"Good. You're so obedient."
Kirigiri stroked my chin with her hand, then smiled and took my hand, leading me toward the live house.
'Ah, right... I should give that to Kirigiri.'
While I was walking to the live house hand-in-hand with Kirigiri, feeling weirdly like I'd been transformed into a pet dog, I remembered the [Despair Disease] summary notebook I'd just finished. I stopped for a moment, carefully pulled it from inside my clothes, and held it out to her.
"Kyoko. This..."
"What's this...? Ah."
The moment I quietly handed her the notebook, Kirigiri suddenly froze.
"Th-this is..."
"H-haha..."
Just in case Monokuma saw it, I'd changed the cover to look like a love letter. That way, I could pass the information to Kirigiri naturally and—
"I'll treasure it."
"Huh? Ah... th-thanks..."
"...Ahem."
Kirigiri somehow managed to suppress the corners of her mouth from rising, accepted the notebook while maintaining a veneer of composure, and then hugged it carefully to her chest. Yeah... she definitely misunderstood something here.
"Um... Kirigiri... about that notebook..."
"Preparing something like this... how cute. I'll reward you properly soon."
"....."
Seeing the happiness on Kirigiri's face, there was no way I could bring myself to tell her it wasn't a love letter, but a [Despair Disease] notebook. Damn it. I really should've prepared an actual love letter too...
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By the time we reached the live house, I'd already missed my chance to tell Kirigiri the truth and was sweating cold bullets. Everyone else had already gathered there.
"Those two always show up together late..."
"Is this your first time noticing? Just let it go..."
"Those two always... give me such wonderful material... good... ehehehe..."
Ignoring the now-familiar whispers, I joined the others and looked around. A few people were missing.
"Huh...? Where are Nanami, Saionji, and Owari...?"
"Nanami... got weirdly excited and joined the performance with a triangle."
"Saionji said she's gonna do traditional Japanese dancing next to Mioda..."
Hinata and Koizumi answered me with hollow, dead-eyed expressions. Judging by the look on their faces, they'd tried pretty hard to stop this and eventually given up. I was suddenly terrified of what kind of performance awaited us.
"Then what about Owari?"
"Owari? Who knows...?"
"Nidai, do you know anything...?"
"Who knows. If it's that wild filly, she might be rolling around somewhere again..."
As I watched Nidai grumble while digging at his ear, a memory from the game flashed through my mind.
'Ah, shit.'
There had been too much going on. I'd completely forgotten that around now, Owari was supposed to pick a fight with Monokuma.
"N-Nidai...! Come with me!!"
"Huh? K... why all of a sudden...?"
"Now!!!"
I shouted that and immediately took off at full speed toward the beach.
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"I'll show you the results of all my special training...! Today, I'll take you down and save everyone...!"
"Upupupu... if you think you can, then go ahead and try!!"
"Then... here I coooome!!"
"Like hell you are! Freeze right there!!!!!"
"Huh...?"
At the beach, Owari and Monokuma were just seconds away from clashing.
"Y-you guys... how did you even get here...? I came here on purpose so nobody would see me...!"
"Go! Nidai!!!"
"Uooooooooh!!"
Nidai lunged forward and grabbed Owari just as she was charging Monokuma, pinning her down. Owari struggled for a while, then finally gave up and muttered in defeat.
"I... I just wanted to fight for everyone..."
"You idiot filly!!! If you really want to do this for everyone, then stop acting alone and learn to cooperate first!!!"
"B-but..."
"Clearly... you require special instruction... come with me..."
"...Tch."
"And as punishment, no massages for a while."
"N-no, not that...! My body can't live without your massages anymore...!"
"Quiet!!! Move!!!"
Watching Owari get dragged away with tears in her eyes, I let out a sigh of relief. That should prevent Owari from getting executed for breaking the school rules, and stop Nidai from turning into a robot too.
"Upupupu... K, you again?"
Monokuma sounded thoroughly fed up. I ignored him completely and spoke to the others instead.
"All right, crisis averted... let's go back and watch the performance."
"K...! How did you know something like this was going to happen? That's amazing...!"
"As expected... is this level of deduction just basic stuff for a serial killer hunter...?"
"Are you seriously really a 'counselor'...? What even are you?"
"Just now, K, you looked like someone who'd read a strategy guide for the game... maybe this is your second playthrough...?"
As everyone started heading back in a noisy swarm, Nanami followed along holding her triangle and tossed out that innocent little joke. I flinched.
Because, well... it was true that I knew the game's walkthrough, and while this wasn't exactly a second playthrough, it was definitely a multiple-playthrough situation. So in a horrifyingly technical sense, she wasn't wrong.
"J-just a joke... hahaha..."
"If this were a game... it'd be nice if we had save-load... yaaawn..."
Nanami trailed off in the middle of her sentence, let out a huge yawn, leaned against Hinata's shoulder, and immediately started dozing.
"N-Nanami!?"
"Mmn..."
Hinata's face turned bright red in an instant as he awkwardly caught her in his arms. When everyone's gaze shifted toward them, cold sweat started pouring down his face.
"Uh... Nanami looks really sleepy...? Maybe it'd be better to take her back to her cottage first..."
"I wanna... play too... triangle... mmn..."
"....."
The others stared blankly at the two of them for a while, then eventually asked Hinata to at least bring Nanami to the live house, and one by one they started heading back.
Hinata stood there in total confusion for a moment, then finally wrapped an arm around Nanami's back and slowly started walking toward the live house. Leaving the two of them behind, Kirigiri and I quietly followed.
...It seemed nobody noticed Nanami smiling to herself in secret, but let's just pretend that never happened.
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Boom!Ba-boom!
After the performance ended, all of us gathered at the beach and watched fireworks together.
For the record, the performance was... one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. In more ways than one.
Mioda's otherworldly metal, Nanami's mystifying triangle, and Saionji's traditional Japanese dance had fused into a spectacle so bizarre that it would probably haunt my memory forever.
Ba-boom!Boom!Bang!
Watching the fireworks embroider the darkening sky, I couldn't help sinking into a reflective mood. Looking around, I saw the others were intoxicated by this rare moment of peace too.
In the distance, Nidai was flicking Owari on the forehead while putting her through some kind of spirit-training lecture. Meanwhile, Tanaka was debating with Sonia over which was more efficient: the fireworks blooming in the sky, or his own custom hellfire projectiles.
Souda was desperately trying to wedge himself into that conversation somehow, but their wavelengths weren't lining up at all, and he was having a rough time of it. Watching him struggle made my eyes sting for some reason.
Pigami was stuffing his face with the special late-night snacks Hanamura had prepared, while Tsumiki tearfully lectured him on the dangers of eating at night.
Meanwhile, right beside them, Mioda was holding a skewer and belting out metal again. It was a little loud, sure, but after it was discovered that her singing had an outstanding effect on repelling mosquitoes, everyone decided to let Ibuki sing to her heart's content.
After spending the entire day taking care of everyone else, Kuzuryu and Pekoyama had finally been released into freedom. They stood off in the distance with uneasy expressions, like they still weren't sure whether they were really allowed to be part of this. Then they'd timidly pick up stray fireworks lying around, launch them, and exchange bitter little smiles.
Koizumi and Saionji chattered away for a while, then shot me a sidelong glare, then went right back to chattering... and kept repeating that cycle. It had been a long time since I'd been the target of whispered slander.
Nanami had fallen asleep leaning against Hinata's shoulder. Hinata, meanwhile, had reached some kind of enlightened state and was quietly watching the fireworks bloom across the night sky. Of course, the faint upward curl at both of their lips should probably remain our little secret.
"It's peaceful..."
"Yeah..."
Kirigiri, seated beside me, was leaning against me with a rare looseness in her posture.
"...I'll make sure to read what you gave me tonight."
"Th-that was..."
"Shh."
Kirigiri placed a finger against my lips and whispered,
"Depending on how adorably you wrote it, the quality of your reward will change... so look forward to it."
"I told you... that's not what it iiiis..."
"Hm...?"
"Ah... why am I... so sleepy..."
I tried somehow to explain things to Kirigiri, but an overwhelming wave of fatigue crashed over me out of nowhere, and my eyes closed before I could finish.
"Anyone could tell I was teasing you, and you still reacted so seriously... you're really adorable after all."
Kirigiri gave a wry smile as she looked down at K, now asleep beside her. Then she helped him up and brought him back to his cottage.
Only after laying K down on the bed and tucking a blanket over him so he wouldn't catch cold did Kirigiri finally relax. Then, her expression turning serious, she fidgeted with the notebook in her arms and left K's room.
"Ugh... ughhh... c-cold... I'm freezing to death... th-this... don't tell me..."
But despite all of Kirigiri's efforts, the moment she left, K started groaning in his sleep.
"That damn... Alter Ego..."
And those pained murmurs continued all through the night.