"Tsumiki!! Where did Tsumiki go just now!?"
"Hm...? What's going on?"
"We need to pull Tsumiki away from the others right now! Hurry!!"
"But... Tsumiki already went to help them change their clothes..."
Ignoring Togami completely, Hinata bolted for the stairs, leaving the bewildered patients behind. I turned to them and started giving a rough explanation of the situation.
"Hmm... if that information came from those two, then it's trustworthy."
"Who the hell are they, anyway? How did they know all that stuff?"
"Well, they couldn't even predict that they'd catch the disease themselves... so I guess they don't know everything."
While the others whispered among themselves, Hinata came back down from the upper floor with Tsumiki by the wrist. Tsumiki looked utterly lost for a moment, then her face crumpled as she started to mutter.
"I-I knew it... someone like me... really is useless..."
"N-no! That's not it...! Just look at this note...!"
"First, it'd be best if you listened to our explanation... Tsumiki."
After hearing the explanation and reading the note, Tsumiki's expression dissolved into panic.
"If I... if I catch the Despair Disease... I'll kill someone...!?"
"Tsumiki... this isn't your fault. It's just that the disease Monokuma spread is vicious. So don't blame yourself too much."
"Uuuuh..."
Hinata tried to comfort her, but Tsumiki only shrank in on herself, pale as paper and trembling. Honestly, if it were me, I'd probably react the same way. I could understand exactly how she felt.
"B-but... if I don't nurse them... those people will...!"
"Is it really that serious...?"
"All five of them... without proper care... they're in such bad shape they might not even make it through today..."
"But... the others could help nurse them too..."
"...We have absolutely no medical knowledge. Without her instructions or assistance, we'd be useless."
At Togami's blunt verdict, silence swallowed the room whole. If we let Tsumiki keep nursing them, she could become a danger. But if we lost Tsumiki, the [Ultimate Nurse], then every single person infected with the Despair Disease could be staring death in the face.
Which choice were we supposed to make?
That wasn't a decision anyone could casually pronounce. The silence only grew heavier, denser, more suffocating.
In the middle of that oppressive stillness, I took a deep breath and spoke.
"I'll... help Tsumiki."
At my declaration, everyone stared at me in stunned disbelief. At the center of it all, Togami frowned, folded his arms, and spoke.
"I already told you before... the more people involved in nursing them, the greater the risk of infection..."
"I know. But... I have a way."
"A way?"
"Yeah. A way to stop Tsumiki from killing anyone. So... could you add just me to the nursing staff, Togami-kun?"
At that, the others immediately started murmuring.
"Come to think of it... Nanami was on the same side as Kyoko Kirigiri and K, right...?"
"It's true, Kyoko Kirigiri and K had information we didn't know... so maybe Nanami has some kind of method too?"
"What the heck? I thought she was just some ordinary game nerd... was she hiding some secret trump card this whole time...?"
Saionji wasn't wrong. I really was just an unreliable game otaku. But I trusted the information K and Kyoko Kirigiri had left me. According to that note, even if Tsumiki caught the Despair Disease, I'd still be able to control her.
Of course, the best outcome would be preventing Tsumiki from getting infected at all... but if the worst happened, then even if it put me in danger, I'd stop her myself.
"I don't know what it is, but it seems you do have some kind of solution. In that case, shouldn't you just teach that method to Tsumiki—"
"No... this is something only I can do..."
"....."
Togami closed his eyes and thought for a while. Then he let out a long sigh.
"...It can't be helped. Fine. Nanami will assist with the nursing as well. Tsumiki, stay with Nanami as much as possible. Understood?"
"Heh... hehe... thank goodness... now I can take care of the patients again..."
Now that she was allowed to nurse them again, Tsumiki beamed with pure, innocent relief. Just what kind of symptom was this, exactly, that a girl like her could be driven to murder? The Despair Disease really was terrifying.
"Nanami... are you really sure about this...?"
"Don't worry, Hinata-kun. I trust K-kun and Kyoko Kirigiri."
"...Be careful. If anything happens, call for me immediately."
"Yeah..."
And with that, I said goodbye to Hinata and headed upstairs in the hospital with Tsumiki.
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"K-K... why have you been in such a bad mood this whole time...? Did I do something wrong...?"
"Kyoko, we've got visitors... so quit whining and sit over there quietly."
"B-but..."
"Be a good girl, okay? Our Kyoko?"
"Y-yes..."
When I stepped into the hospital room where K and Kyoko Kirigiri were staying, the two of them were flirting like usual.
The only difference was that their positions had completely reversed.
Still... K had treated me with such icy hostility earlier, yet even though his voice was just as cold now, he was at least being somewhat gentle with Kyoko Kirigiri. Maybe even with their personalities inverted, soulmates were still soulmates.
"...K-kun, I read the note you left me."
"So, what brings you here... ah, you came to stop Tsumiki, didn't you?"
"Thanks to the information you left behind... thank y—"
"So what if you stop Tsumiki? This is just a bug Monokuma artificially created, so it's not like anyone can fix it anyway."
"K-K-kun! You can't...!"
"It's a secret? Whatever. If I keep bottling all this up, I'm gonna lose my mind from the frustration. How long am I supposed to keep carrying secrets around in my heart? Screw it. I'm done holding back."
"U-um... a bug? What do you mean by..."
Tsumiki tilted her head in confusion. K turned toward her with a smile, clearly about to answer, and I lunged forward in a panic to clamp a hand over his mouth.
"A bug? You mean the pro—mmph!!"
"Hahaha... maybe... Monokuma uses some kind of carrier to spread the disease? I think I saw a tiny bug flying around earlier..."
"I-is that so...!? Then I need to warn the people at the motel to watch out for bugs...!"
I watched Tsumiki hurry downstairs in a fluster, then whirled back toward K and shouted.
"K-kun, have you lost your mind? No... okay, obviously you have, but still! Did you forget the school rules? If you reveal the secret, it's Execution...!"
"Pwah... well, thanks to you, I didn't say it, right? So it's fine."
Seeing K grin and answer so shamelessly made a sigh spill out of me before I could stop it. How had that kind, decent boy ended up like... this?
"Um... Nanami... sorry, but..."
While I was standing there sighing over and over, someone suddenly started poking me in the side. I turned my head and found Kyoko Kirigiri staring at me with a timid expression.
"Hm? Kyoko Kirigiri...?"
"I-I'd... like it if you... moved away from K..."
"Ah."
She fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke in a small, dissatisfied voice, and somehow that only made me sigh harder. The moment I stepped away from K like she wanted, Kyoko Kirigiri brightened and smiled at me.
"Th-thank you!!"
"...Cute."
K reached out and started stroking Kyoko Kirigiri's head while she smiled like sunshine. If I kept watching any longer, my whole body was going to curl up from secondhand embarrassment, so I hurried toward the door—
Then K casually tossed out a line that froze me in place with my hand still on the handle.
"By the way, I wonder how far our little gamer girl has gotten with Hinata?"
"W-wha!? What is that supposed to mean!?"
"Last time you were practically seducing him like some sly little fox... don't tell me you're actually pretty good at dating sims too?"
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about...?"
"Now all that's left is to pick a day and pounce on him—"
"Knock it off already!!"
Leaving K behind as he laughed under his breath, I fled the room as fast as I could.
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"Hmm... if this keeps up, it won't be any fun."
"K...? What do you mean it won't be fun...?"
"U-um... wasn't Nanami here just a moment ago...?"
"Ah, Tsumiki. Perfect timing. Come here for a second."
"Y-yes...?"
K called her over with a perfectly calm expression, and Tsumiki approached him without the faintest clue what was coming.
"W-what is—!?"
"slurp"
The instant she came close, K suddenly wrapped an arm around Tsumiki's waist, yanked her in, and crashed his mouth against hers, their tongues tangling together.
"Mmph!!"
"slurp... slurp..."
"K... K...?"
Kyoko Kirigiri stared at the scene in naked shock. Then, all at once, her face went cold and she muttered under her breath.
"You're crossing the line...?"
"slurp... Hm? Kyoko Kirigiri, what was that?"
"Crossing the li— ah? What did I just say...?"
"Kyoko Kirigiri. Don't interrupt. Just stay still."
"B-but... what about me...?"
"Haah, I'll do you later. This is an important moment right now."
"A-am I... already boring to you now...?"
When Kyoko Kirigiri asked that in a trembling, tearful voice, K let out a short laugh, brushed a hand along her chin, and answered softly.
"As if. You're the one I like most in the whole world."
"T-then why..."
"This is just 'work' I need to do. There's no 'affection' in it."
"Even so..."
"Haah... fine. When this 'job' is over, I'll hold you and kiss you for ten whole minutes."
"Y-you promise...?"
"Yeah."
After saying that, K grabbed the dazed, half-broken Tsumiki and kissed her again. He kept their mouths locked together for a long while before finally pulling away and speaking to her.
"What happened here... is a secret from everyone... okay?"
"Huuuuuhhhhhh...?"
"You understand?"
"Y-yes... yessss..."
"Good. Then get out of here. I've already lost interest in you."
At K's frigid dismissal, Tsumiki staggered out of the room with her face burning red. Watching her go, K muttered in a voice bright with amusement.
"I always wanted to try trolling someone at least once, you know? Hahahahat..."
He kept laughing for a while, until a timid voice suddenly rose beside him.
"Now... it's my turn..."
"Hm? Oh, right. That's true..."
"H-hug me..."
"Seriously, our Kyoko really is adorable."
And with a crooked grin, K pulled Kyoko Kirigiri into his arms.