"I-I'm not interested in that... so..."
"I came up with a more interesting way, though..."
"Komaeda!! What are you doing over there!?"
Just as Komaeda was about to say something to the visibly uncomfortable Saionji, Pigami spotted the two of them from afar and came charging over with startling speed.
"I'm certain I told everyone that acting alone is forbidden here as well...!! What were you talking to Saionji about?"
"Ahaha, wow... getting treated like a criminal already? That's kind of sad. We hadn't even started talking yet..."
"Saionji, what was Komaeda saying to you..."
"Just... please... leave me alone already..."
"...Saionji?"
"I said leave me alone!!!"
With a shrill scream, Saionji slammed her door shut.
"...Komaeda, come with me. You're confined to your room for twenty-four hours."
"Well, if that's an order from Togami-kun, a survivor of a killing game no less... I guess I have to obey... haha..."
"....."
"But... Togami, there's one thing I'm curious about..."
"...What is it?"
"Why aren't you one of the watchers?"
Scratching his head with an awkward smile, Komaeda began pressing Pigami.
"The file we got on the roller coaster definitely had K, Kyoko Kirigiri, and you in it, right...? So why are the watchers K, Kyoko Kirigiri, and 'Nanami'? Wouldn't it make way more sense for you to be in that spot?"
"....."
"K and Kyoko Kirigiri wouldn't answer when I asked them, so I figured I'd ask you instead..."
"....."
When Pigami stubbornly maintained his silence, Komaeda kept going, still wearing that sheepish expression.
"Besides... the sixteen 'Ultimate Hope' survivors who made it through that horrifying killing game should be very close to each other, shouldn't they...? Kyoko Kirigiri and K are obviously very close in real life too... So why is it that you, Togami, seem to have almost no connection to either of them?"
"I simply saw no reason to act familiar—"
"But that doesn't really fit, does it? K and Kyoko Kirigiri recognized each other the instant they met... Even if that's just your personality, Togami-kun... if it were me, and I got dragged back into that terrifying killing game, I'd naturally stick with those two... Ah, sorry! I'm not blaming you..."
"...What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Haha... sorry for prying. But there are just too many strange things about you to let it slide."
Komaeda looked straight at Pigami and spoke in a loaded, almost playful voice.
"What I'm saying is... you don't act with the friends you're supposedly close to... you're not one of the watchers... and your build is pretty different from the one in the file... So I started wondering... could you be a 'fake'...?"
".....!"
"Of course, it's just a worthless little guess from someone as insignificant as me... But if Togami-kun really is a 'fake,' then I'm a little curious why you'd go out of your way to imitate 'Byakuya Togami' from Class 78."
Smiling at the sight of Pigami failing to hide his shock, Komaeda put force into his voice and delivered the final blow.
"Or is it because you're the 'Mastermind' behind this killing game?"
"You bastard... don't spew that kind of nonsense—"
"Ahaha, don't get mad... it's just my speculation, after all... Obviously I'm not going to run around telling the others and stir up trouble with such a flimsy theory... I just had this sudden explosion of curiosity and said it out loud to myself..."
"...Move."
"Ahaha... getting locked up even here is kind of depressing, when you think about it..."
Still chattering away in high spirits, Komaeda was dragged off by the arm by Pigami.
"Pig-leg-kun is... the Mastermind...?"
Meanwhile, because the shabby guest rooms had terrible soundproofing, Saionji had pressed herself against the door out of curiosity and eavesdropped on the conversation outside—only to hear something utterly catastrophic. Now she sat collapsed on the floor, face drained blue-white, muttering to herself.
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'...Whew. My head's a mess.'
I was wandering aimlessly through the Funhouse.
We were supposed to conserve as much energy as possible, but if I stayed still, the pressure in my chest felt like it would drive me insane. I'd only meant to clear my head for a little while, yet before I knew it, I'd been roaming all over the place for an hour.
Along the way, I ran into several of the others. Some forced bright expressions onto their faces. Others couldn't even manage to hide their gloom, letting it show plain as day.
A few of them firmly believed that I, Kyoko Kirigiri, Nanami the 'watcher,' and Pigami, who was being treated as a 'survivor' of the previous killing game, had some way to break this deadlock.
I couldn't bring myself to tell them that we, too, were just sitting here waiting for our scheduled ruin, so I dodged the issue. Naturally, that only made the misunderstanding worse, until now it had practically hardened into accepted fact.
In a situation like this, was it better to let them cling to even that false hope? Or was it better to force them to face the truth of despair? I didn't think I could answer that.
"...K-kun?"
"K, what are you doing here?"
After walking for a while, lost in thoughts that led nowhere, I noticed Hinata and Nanami talking together. They spotted me and called out.
The moment I saw them, a smile rose on its own, even through the wasteland my mind had become.
Hinata and Nanami—the undeniable protagonist and heroine of Danganronpa 2. In the original story, the heroine was swallowed by Danganronpa's old, merciless tradition that heroines die, and met a tragic end. But maybe this time could be different.
If things kept going like this, then unlike the original, Nanami wasn't an AI here. Once they escaped this place, the two of them—and everyone else—might actually reach a happy ending.
'But... if we want that happy ending, we have to bring this motive to an end.'
In the last killing game, we'd achieved the miracle of total survival. But in this one, because of this motive, two people would ultimately have to be sacrificed. And those two were...
'...Later. I'll think about that later.'
Anyway, no matter what happened to those two, they would definitely be part of what came next. So before it was too late, I decided to say what I wanted to say to them.
"There's something I want to tell you two."
"Something you want to tell us...?"
"Hinata, have you been following the advice I gave you before? Have you managed to form any precious bonds?"
"...Uh, well... that is..."
Hinata glanced sideways at Nanami beside him, then his face turned red.
"Looks like you have. Keep that bond going from here on out. Because... when the final moment comes, that bond will help you. In more ways than one."
".....?"
Leaving Hinata there with a puzzled look after my loaded remark, I turned to Nanami.
"Nanami, it feels like just yesterday you were trembling in a panic in the banquet hall... and now you've grown so much."
"...Mm."
"You were branded a 'watcher' without even knowing why, dragged into one incident after another... You must've suffered a lot. But now that you've overcome all of it, you've more than earned the right."
"The right...?"
"Of course, Hinata—you have that right too. Even without understanding your own ability, you kept moving forward... and in the end, you're someone who'll shine brilliantly."
"K... what are you..."
"You two have the right to lead everyone from here on out."
Looking at the pair of them as confusion spread across their faces, I continued.
"Right now, Togami is still keeping everyone under control to some extent... and the others still trust each other enough to stay united. But once this motive reaches its end, that'll change."
"....."
"So I'm leaving the others to you. If it's you two, I know you'll be able to hold everyone together—"
"...K, what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Hm?"
Nanami, who had been listening quietly until then, cut in. When I looked at her in confusion, she started speaking with a dark expression.
"You're saying you're leaving everyone to us... Of course we'll do everything we can to keep everyone together... but why are you talking like you're excluding yourself?"
"....."
"And why are you saying it with that sad look... like someone entrusting the aftermath to us...?"
Damn. So it had shown on my face without me realizing. I hurriedly pulled myself together and opened my mouth again.
"Nanami, when you play a game, what do you need to reach the ending?"
"...You need a player who keeps playing all the way to the end."
"Right. That's true. But to keep playing until the ending, there are always pieces that inevitably get used up, aren't there?"
"...What?"
"I mean the pieces sacrificed for the protagonist—the one who has the right to see the ending. The ones who solve obstacles the protagonist could never overcome alone, or sacrifice themselves to awaken the protagonist... those kinds of pieces."
"This isn't a game!!!"
Nanami shouted.
"This is reality!! Don't drag game logic into this!! No one here has to sacrifice themselves for someone else!!"
"....."
"All of us are precious! We're all the 'protagonists' of our own worlds!! So stop acting like you're putting your affairs in order, and stay with us—"
"You're right. But at this moment, you two are the protagonists. That fact won't change."
"K!!!"
"...So I'm counting on you."
Leaving those words behind, I turned away from Nanami calling my name and Hinata, who had gone pale listening to me.
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"...Nanami."
"Why... why would he think that...? Why...?"
"Nanami, K hasn't actually acted on it yet, right? There's still plenty of time to talk him out of it."
"...Hinata-kun."
"So... for now, calm down..."
Hinata carefully wrapped his arms around Nanami, who looked utterly desolate and on the verge of tears.
"...S-Sorry. I promised I wouldn't show weakness anymore..."
"It's okay... In a situation like this, of course you would... You didn't do anything wrong..."
As he gently patted the back of the quietly trembling Nanami in his arms, Hinata thought to himself:
'...Neither Nanami nor K can be allowed to sacrifice themselves here. The others too. If someone has to be the one to make that sacrifice... then I'm the most suitable choice after all.'
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"Tanaka, I'm sorry about last night... I ended up upsetting your familiars..."
"N-No... that was merely a misunderstanding on the part of the Four Dark Devas of Destruction. And if my familiar misunderstood you, then that responsibility lies with me. There's no need for you to apologize—"
"...You really are kind, Tanaka. Thank you for forgiving me—"
Grrrrowl
"...Ah."
Sonia had been smiling at Tanaka, who was trying to hide his embarrassment behind his scarf, his face flushed red. But the instant her stomach growled, she had no choice but to wear the exact same expression.
"N-No, that's not it... This is...!"
Grrrrrrrrrrrowl...
She tried to make some hurried excuse, but when the sound rang out again, all Sonia could do was lower her head and mutter gloomily.
"I'm sorry... But being hungry... there's really nothing I can do about that..."
"....."
"At this rate... in a few days, we won't even have the strength to walk anymore, will we...? And after that..."
Muttering darkly, Sonia forced a bright expression and spoke to Tanaka.
"But it's still better than killing someone... right...?"
"...Perhaps."
Looking at Sonia, Tanaka thought:
'...A life spent waiting only for death has no meaning. To stop walking and abandon life... that is nothing but an insult to life itself.'
After closing his eyes for a moment and gathering his thoughts, Tanaka stood, opened the door, and spoke to Sonia as he stepped out.
"Girl, lie down and rest for a while. I shall scout the surrounding area for a bit."
"...Okay."
As he left the guest room, Tanaka made a firm vow.
'Then soon, I, Tanaka Gundham, will have to act. Before resignation devours everyone.'
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"Ughhh... I'm hungryyyy... There really isn't any food at all...? That's insane..."
"It can't be helped. There must be some kind of solution. So—"
"I know thaaat... but at this rate... I don't think I can last more than a few days... If I could at least drink water, I could fill my stomach with thaaat..."
"....."
"Daaamn... even back when I lived in the back alleys... if I dug through garbage bins, I could still fill my belly..."
Nidai silently watched Owari struggling so badly and sank into thought.
'At this rate... everyone will be wiped out. In that case... someone has to shoulder the burden. And as the manager who supports everyone, I'm the most suitable one for that role.'
And so, with each of them harboring their own thoughts about the despair drawing near, the children began enduring days overflowing with hardship and adversity.