"Um... Nanami? I'm fine, rea—"
"Hinata-kun, sit here for a second. I'll be right back."
"B-but... I still have to sweep the floor... They definitely said it'd only be for a little while..."
"If you go back now, they'll just work you to the bone again. You can go after your treatment's finished."
"Ha, haha... Well then, I guess I'll wait a bit."
Hinata had crashed into Tsumiki earlier and gone tumbling, leaving him scraped up all over. Seeing him standing there with an awkward smile, his clothes torn to shreds in every direction, made my chest tighten so suddenly that before I knew it, I'd dragged him to the hospital.
...It definitely wasn't because I got jealous when Tsumiki made him blush.
Anyway, once we got into the hospital room, I started treating every last one of Hinata-kun's stupid little injuries while we chatted. From what he told me, he'd been getting called all over the place and run ragged like an idiot.
That frustrated me enough that I told him not to do that anymore, but then he just gave me that awkward smile and said he didn't mind, since helping everyone out was a good way to build bonds with his friends.
I gave up. No matter what I said, it felt like that stupidly kind attitude of his wasn't going to change. Sulking a little, I pressed harder than necessary while disinfecting his wounds, and he immediately started yelping in exaggerated agony.
It was kind of fun for a moment, but if I got addicted to that sort of thing, I felt like I'd end up degenerating into something like that certain couple lurking in the next room, so I stopped.
Then, right in the middle of treating him, Tsumiki passed by the room we were in. I still hadn't heard the full nursing rules from her earlier, so I left Hinata-kun in the room for a moment and headed after Tsumiki.
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"Mmm... I understand all the nursing rules now, but... Komaeda-kun's condition is really bad..."
"Huuuh... At this rate... tonight will be the critical point..."
Komaeda's condition was more serious than I'd expected. According to Tsumiki, if things kept going like this, he could die. He'd interfered with everyone at every turn until now, and he'd even gotten Hinata-kun hurt... but even so, I didn't want him to die.
"Seriously... I feel amazing... Incredible... It doesn't hurt at all..."
"...What do we do now?"
"I'll personally take charge of nursing Komaeda-san... So... Nanami-san... please disappear from in front of me now."
"Huh...?"
"Ah, no! I mean, please take care of the other patients...!"
"U-uh... okay..."
'What was that? Just now... something about that was weird.'
The thought nagged at me for a moment, but I had to get back to Hinata and the others, so I shook it off and left the room.
"For Junko... I have to... commit murder..."
And the instant Nanami left, Tsumiki began muttering to herself, her expression tangled and conflicted.
"But... if I do that... Nanami-san... will be sad... What should I do...?"
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"Hinata-kun, I'm ba—"
"Shh...!"
"...?"
I opened the hospital room door to finish treating Hinata-kun, but he suddenly raised a finger to his lips and warned me to stay quiet. I had no idea what was going on, but I held my breath and stepped carefully inside. The blanket on Hinata-kun's bed was bulging upward in a suspicious lump.
"Th-that... what is that...?"
"Well... it'd probably be better if you checked for yourself..."
Heart tightening, I lifted the blanket.
Underneath it, Monomi was lying there in utterly battered condition, groaning weakly.
"Fuwawa... I burned... myself out..."
"Monomi? Hinata-kun... what happened here?"
"I don't really know either... I was waiting for you, and then she just suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. She asked me to hide her, so I shoved her under the blanket for now..."
Hinata-kun scratched his head as he explained, while Monomi, still buried beneath the blanket, began speaking to us in a faint, sinking voice.
"Nanami-san... Hinata-kun... please listen carefully to what I'm about to say..."
"Monomi? Are you okay? You should rest first—"
"There's no time... I used too much power... It's hard to maintain my concealment function... Just for a moment... please listen..."
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Monomi finally began revealing several critical facts.
"Just now... I recovered... part of the authority I'd lost... Of course... the price was using up a lot of power... so I can't fight Monokuma head-on... but..."
"A-authority?"
"Yes... the Neo World Pr— Aghhhhh!! That restriction... is still there... Anyway... using the authority I just recovered... I can now tell you... a few pieces of good news..."
"W-what is it...?"
"There are three pieces of good news in total... First... I transferred the enforcement authority for School Regulation #1, which had too much room for abuse... to myself... Monokuma won't be able to use that as a pretext to execute the students anymore... Of course... if any student uses violence recklessly... I can still punish them in a different way... so you don't need to worry..."
That really was a relief. Before, Monokuma had tried to execute Pekoyama by using School Regulation #1—"No violence"—as his excuse. If the authority to enforce that rule had really been transferred to Monomi, then that was huge.
"Second... we'll be able to cure the Despair Disease soon...!"
"What? Really...?"
"Yes... if you can just hold out a little longer... I can eliminate the Despair Disease all at once... So please... just endure a little longer... and make sure no murder happens...!"
"Yeah! We'll do our best!!"
Thank goodness. Thanks to Monomi, there was finally a way to cure the Despair Disease. Honestly, I'd been agonizing over it because, just like K said, there didn't seem to be any way to cure it at all. But now everyone could return to normal.
"And lastly... the escape co— Aghhhhhhh!!"
"M-Monomi...?"
"Nanami-san... you came here with student status, so you can't use it... but on K-kun and Kirigiri-san's E-Handbooks... the escape code input field has been... activated...! Ughhhhhhh!!"
"S-stop talking!! At this rate, something terrible's going to happen to you!"
"Fuwawa... I guess... when those two come to their senses... I'll have to tell them directly..."
With that, Monomi lost consciousness and collapsed onto the bed. I carefully pulled the blanket over her, then turned to look at Hinata.
"I don't totally get it... but it feels like we've got hope now... right?"
"Yeah...! We're not fighting a hopeless battle...! So let's hang in there just a little longer, okay? Hinata-kun?"
"Nanami..."
For a moment, we just looked into each other's eyes.
"Th-then... I'll go take care of the patients now...!"
"I-I'll go tell everyone what Monomi told us...!"
I hadn't realized meeting someone's gaze could be this embarrassing. Our faces went red in an instant, and we both stammered out flimsy excuses before hurriedly fleeing in opposite directions.
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"U-um... Tsumikiii..."
"Mnn..."
"Tsumikiiii...!"
"Yaaawn... what is it...?"
"G-get... off K..."
"Huh...?"
Kirigiri, on the verge of tears, was shaking Tsumiki, who had fallen asleep while hugging K. Stretching lazily and yawning, Tsumiki slowly began to speak.
"Huh...? Why am I heeere? And why am I lying on top of K-san...?"
"Jeez, I thought I was gonna suffocate to death... If Kyoko hadn't woken up, I seriously might've died from asphyxiation..."
"K-san... why was I doing that...?"
"You're asking because you really don't know? You came into this room babbling nonsense about Nanami this and Junko that, then suddenly collapsed onto the bed. Since I was already lying there, you ended up pinning me underneath you."
"Did I really...?"
"Haha... What a joke. I've got such a pathetic body that I can't even shove off one girl when she's doing it voluntarily... Worst feeling ever...!"
"Hmm..."
Tsumiki stared at K's bright, easy smile for a moment, then turned to Kirigiri.
"Kirigiri-san... I'm sorry, but could you step outside for just a moment...?"
"N-nooo..."
"There's something I want to say to K-san alone... Please...?"
"B-but..."
"Kyoko, wait outside for a bit."
"K... K...!"
"Go on."
"...O-okay."
At K's firm voice, Kirigiri shrank in on herself and went outside. Once Tsumiki confirmed she was gone, her expression turned ice-cold, and she began speaking to K.
"How interesting. Even with your personalities reversed, you still treasure each other."
"Tsumiki, why'd you come? Don't tell me... you need my help after all?"
"...Looks that way."
"Pfft. Earlier you said, very firmly, that you'd never accept my help... and now you've changed your mind already?"
"A troublesome existence has appeared. Someone who interferes with me just by being near me..."
At that, K smiled.
"Really...? But now I suddenly don't feel like helping."
"What?"
"Playing around with my Kyoko is taking more time than I expected, you know... Haha..."
"Is that so? Then if Kirigiri-san alone were to disappear—"
Before she could even finish, K's face went flat and cold.
"If you lay even a single finger on Kyoko, I'll kill you and then kill myself."
"Don't worry... I won't lay a hand on her. Not now, not ever... Hehehe..."
"...What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"How much longer do you think Kirigiri-san can hold out without receiving my care? You know her physical condition is pretty serious, don't you?"
"....."
"Well, you're the one who said not to touch even a hair on her head... so you don't really have anything to say, do you? Hehehe..."
"Haaah, fine. I'll help, okay? I'll help! Seriously, is being petty just a passive trait for despair freaks? Or did I actually fall into some world where the one making moves isn't the Ultimate Despair, but the Ultimate Petty?"
Tsumiki watched K let out a sigh and start muttering to himself.
'Since it's come to this... I'll make you a sacrifice for despair, K... And I can't wait to see what kind of face Kirigiri-san makes when she learns K-san was my accomplice too... Hehehe...'
"Fine... if we're doing this, we do it properly. But... what's your goal? Are you trying to trick the others and get everyone except you killed? Or are you planning to start a murder? If it's the first one... Kyoko could end up in danger..."
"Obviously the latter. The former... would be boring, wouldn't it? Of course, I have no intention of meekly confessing to being the culprit. I plan to prepare a trick or two. So I'll need your help with that part."
"Really? As long as Kyoko's safe, I don't care who dies. So what exactly do you need me to help with?"
"I'll tell you in a little while. I need to go nurse Komaeda-san first. If he dies like that, it'll make for a truly boring Class Trial."
"That's true too...! Then... see you in a bit!"
"Hehe, then I'll be off."
"Ah, and... I've got one favor to ask."
"Yes?"
After hearing K's request, Tsumiki made a thoroughly disgusted face, then left the room.
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"Haha... well, this is something..."
"K... K..."
"Kyoko, you're back?"
As soon as Tsumiki left, Kirigiri quietly opened the door and slipped back in. Then she carefully approached the side of the bed where K was lying.
"U-um... so..."
"What's wrong, Kyoko?"
"C-can I... lie down... next to you...?"
"Ah, that's way too cute."
When K smiled and nodded, Kirigiri shyly climbed onto the bed and immediately burrowed into his arms.
"K... I... have something I want to say..."
"Yeah?"
"I-it's..."
"What is it?"
Kirigiri hesitated for a long time. Then she finally squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it out.
"D-don't do bad things...!!"
".....?"
"C-can't you... cancel... whatever bad thing... you promised to do with Tsumiki...?"
"Ha, don't tell me you were eavesdropping, Kyoko?"
"S-sorry...! I-it's a detective habit... I just..."
"Close your eyes. I'm going to punish you."
"U-uuuh..."
K pressed a kiss to Kyoko's forehead as she trembled with her eyes squeezed shut, then murmured in a gentle voice.
"I'm kidding. Why would I punish you?"
"F-fuuuh..."
K held the bright-red Kirigiri in his arms and gently patted her back.
"Well, since it's Kyoko asking... I guess I'll have to stop trolling for a while. Shame."
As he stroked Kirigiri's hair while she beamed happily, K sank into deep thought.