"Whoa... now that I'm actually up here, it's really high. This is kinda... scary..."
Akamatsu was currently using a stepladder to inspect the vent above the bookshelves in the library.
"Want me to do it instead, Akamatsu-san?"
"No, it's fine. More importantly... you can't see my panties, right?"
"...Sorry."
"....."
Saihara didn't deny it. Akamatsu froze for a second, visibly flustered, then hurriedly started feeling around the vent again.
"...Ah! The cover came off really easily."
"It did...?"
"Still, crawling in through here would be tough. I mean, if someone forced their body through, maybe they could manage it somehow..."
"....."
"Anyway, I'll start stacking the books!"
With that, Akamatsu began piling the books up one by one.
Meanwhile, Saihara stared blankly at her for a moment, then his face turned red. He quickly picked up the camera and headed toward the space where the books had been stacked.
For a long while, the two of them worked in silence, each absorbed in their own task.
".....Ugh..."
"Akamatsu-san? What's wrong?"
"It'll be fine... If it's this setup, then the plan is perfect."
"Huh?"
"If this plan works... we'll be able to protect everyone! Right, Saihara-kun?"
"....."
"I mean, it's structured perfectly, just like one of Chopin's ballades! Actually, I really like things like Rube Goldberg machines and domino chains, you know? So if I'm saying this device is perfect, then it really is—"
"Akamatsu-san, do you have a habit of blurting out every bit of music knowledge you know when you're nervous?"
"H-how did you know...? Oh. Right. Detective."
Saihara smiled faintly and began to speak.
"You don't have to worry so much, Akamatsu-san. With this, we'll definitely catch the Mastermind."
"R-right..."
"Let's trust ourselves. Right now, that's all we can do."
Saihara turned around after finishing the camera installation and said,
"...Right?"
.
.
.
.
.
After finishing what they needed to do in the underground library, the two went up to Classroom A and began waiting for the device to activate.
"Whew... I really am nervous... But if I chicken out here, then nothing's gonna happen!"
"...Yeah. That's true."
"By the way, you hid everything properly, right, Saihara-kun?"
"Yeah. Perfectly. Unless someone examines it really closely, they won't notice a thing."
"I see... Then that's a relief."
Only then did some of the tension finally leave Akamatsu's body. She dropped into a chair and started catching her breath.
"Whew... I just hope this all goes well..."
"....."
"Saihara-kun, we've still got some time... want to talk for a bit?"
"U-uh... sure...?"
"I'm still really tense... and I want to know more about you, Saihara-kun!"
Saihara looked at Akamatsu as she said that with a bright, guileless smile. Then, blushing, he sat down in front of her.
"Saihara-kun, that hat of yours... why do you always wear it? Is there some reason?"
"...Ah, this?"
"It's not because you're... thinning on top or anything, right?"
"No. It's because... I can't look people straight in the eyes."
"Yeah, I figured tha—wait, what do you mean by that...?"
Akamatsu asked with a startled look. Saihara's expression darkened, and he began speaking about his past.
"...So we caught the culprit. But it turned out the victim was a complete monster who had deceived the culprit's family and driven them to suicide. In other words... he was someone who deserved to die."
"Ah..."
"And I ended up taking the victim's side."
"But that's just you doing your duty as a detective, isn't it? It's not like you were siding with the victim."
"I know that, to some extent... but I still can't forget the look in the culprit's eyes as they were dragged away that day. That look of absolute hatred directed at me..."
"....."
"After that day, I couldn't look people in the eyes anymore. I even started wearing this hat to hide it."
"...I see."
"Maybe I'm not fit to be a detective after all. I'm afraid of facing the truth... There's no way someone like me deserves to be called a detective..."
As he said that, Saihara's hands were trembling badly. Watching him, Akamatsu quietly reached out, took his hand, and spoke.
"...Akamatsu-san?"
"If there were a piano here, I would've played a piece just for you."
"Huh?"
"Do you know Debussy's Clair de Lune? It's a beautiful song that calms your heart, like the moon floating on the surface of still water..."
"....."
"Ah, there I go again, rambling about music all by myself. Sorry... it's just a habit."
"I-it's fine. You don't need to apologize, Akamatsu-san..."
"Honestly, I'm trembling because I'm nervous too. So I guess that's why that habit you mentioned came out earlier."
"R-really...?"
"Yeah. You can feel it too, right? My hand's shaking."
As she said that, Akamatsu suddenly let out a small laugh and continued.
"Pff... this is kind of funny. I grabbed your hand to comfort someone whose hands were shaking, but the person doing the comforting is shaking too..."
"....."
"Still, if you weren't here, Saihara-kun, these hands would probably be shaking even more."
".....!"
"You're the one who comforted me when I was crying before, remember? And you're the one who helped me steel my resolve to go after the Mastermind. So... I'm really glad you're here, Saihara-kun."
"...Akamatsu-san."
"So I want you to trust me too, and find your strength. I'll trust you and find mine. And the ensemble we create that way will be more harmonious than any song in the world. Right?"
Hearing that, Saihara carefully lifted his gaze and looked into Akamatsu's eyes as he spoke.
"...Okay. I'll try. I don't know if I can do it, but... I'll try. So let's do our best, Akamatsu-san."
The two of them looked at each other and smiled, but then—
Ba-bam! Ba-bam! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bam!!
"".....!!!""
Because of that sudden event, the two of them could do nothing but freeze all over again.
.
.
.
.
.
"Th-that bizarre music and video..."
"It must be the time limit warning video. Now... there isn't much time left."
"N-no way... Huh? Saihara-kun, I can hear everyone's voices in the hallway..."
"What?"
Just as Akamatsu said, multiple voices—boys and girls alike—were echoing through the hallway.
"That's... Momota-kun, Gonta-kun, Harukawa-san, Chabashira-san, Angie-san, Yumeno-san, and... even K-kun?"
Watching the group heading downstairs, Akamatsu's face went deathly pale.
"I-I didn't think that many people would go underground... If this happens, then the plan..."
"I'll go down there for a moment. Akamatsu-san, wait here."
"W-wait, what!?"
With that, Saihara hurried downstairs. Left alone, Akamatsu fidgeted helplessly, so overwhelmed by anxiety that she eventually grabbed a broom and started cleaning.
After a short while, Saihara returned to the classroom.
"Huh? Akamatsu-san... why are you cleaning?"
"I-it's nothing... More importantly, what about the others who went downstairs? They didn't go to the library, did they?"
"No. They went into the arcade. So for now, we're okay."
"B-but..."
"It's okay. Our plan still works. If anything... this might've worked out even better..."
"Upupupu! One hour left~!!"
"Tch, that damn Monokuma..."
"...Now there's only one hour left. If the Mastermind is planning to unleash a mass of Monokumas the moment the time limit ends... then by now, they must be..."
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
"".....!!!""
Before Saihara could even finish, the alarm they had rigged to go off when the bookshelf opened began shrieking.
"Akamatsu, throw that away and follow me, now!!"
"O-okay!!"
Saihara shouted and burst out of the classroom. Akamatsu threw aside what she had been holding and ran after him.
.
.
.
.
.
Ba-bam! Ba-bam! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bam!!
'At last... the time has come...'
Right as the time limit announcement began, Shirogane—who had been in the dining hall—told Iruma, Tojo, and Shinguji that she was going to the bathroom, then started walking down the first-floor hallway.
"Hey! Shirogane! Perfect timing!"
"Hm? Momota-kun...?"
"We're heading to the arcade with these guys to hold a strategy meeting... wanna come with us?"
"A strategy... meeting...?"
"Yeah! We can't just sit around and get crushed like this! We've gotta do something!"
"That's right! Gonta can even give his life to protect everyone! Gonta is gentleman!!"
"...People keep saying I look weirdly good at fighting. Do I really look like that?"
"Shirogane-san would be more than welcome!! You can toy with the Monokumas using your dazzling disguise skills!!"
"God will help us~ So come with us~!"
"Nyeh... this one is not proficient in battle magic, though..."
As everyone threw in their own pitch, Shirogane answered with an awkward expression.
"S-sorry... I'm too shaken up right now... I want to be alone and sort out my thoughts..."
"Yeah? Well... can't be helped. You guys, move it! We don't have time to waste!"
There wasn't much time left, so no one tried to press the issue. The group soon headed underground.
'Then... I guess I'll head underground too.'
Thinking that, Shirogane made her way toward the hidden passage in the girls' bathroom on the first floor.
.
.
.
.
.
"Upupupu! One hour left~!!"
Shirogane, now faintly tense, was watching the situation in the library from the hidden room.
"...Just as I thought, you came, K."
Sure enough, the library door opened and K stepped inside. Shirogane smiled, wearing the expression of someone whose prediction had been vindicated.
"....."
K stared intently at his E-Handbook, then began walking toward the spot where the hidden door was concealed.
'Good... Now K will find the hidden door and make his move, right?'
"Hm... so this is the hidden door?"
Exactly as Shirogane had expected, K stopped in front of the hidden door and began investigating the area.
Rumble...
"Good. So this really was the hidden doo—"
Click!!
"...Hm?"
As K watched the hidden door open, a camera flash suddenly burst from beside him. He frowned and started walking toward it.
'...Yeah. Good. We're almost there.'
And as she watched him, Shirogane tightened her grip on the shot put ball.
"This is... a camera..."
Bang!!
".....!?"
'Just as I thought... the shot put ball Akamatsu set up missed.'
The trap Akamatsu had prepared to catch the Mastermind had failed. Shirogane felt a flicker of disappointment, then began approaching the door.
'But... my shot put ball won't miss.'
At last, the hidden door opened, and Shirogane stepped out into the library.
"...A shot put ball?"
K looked utterly bewildered as he stared down at the shot put ball rolling around by his feet.
'Kyoko Kirigiri K, you Danganronpa superfan... you've been pretty useful up until now, but...'
Shirogane slowly crept up behind K.
'This time, your luck ran out...'
Once she was directly behind him, Shirogane raised the shot put ball high over her head and muttered inwardly,
'...Because I'm a Danganronpa superfan too.'
With that thought, a smile spread across Shirogane's lips, and she swung the shot put ball down with all her strength.
"Hyaaaah...!!"
Thud!!!
"Whoops, Shirogane-san. What exactly are you doing right now?"
"...W-what!?"
She smashed it into the innocent library floor instead.
"H-how is this..."
"Everyone, over here!!"
"Shirogane... I never thought it'd be you..."
".....!"
Shirogane had been shoved from behind by the suddenly appearing Amami Rantaro, causing her to slam the shot put ball into the floor. Then—
"What? What the hell is going on here?"
"K? Amami? Shirogane? Why are you all there...?"
"Nyeh? Shirogane, you definitely never came underground, did you?"
"Nyahaha~! What a fun situation~!"
"This situation... don't tell me..."
Then Akamatsu and Saihara entered the library with everyone who had been in the arcade, and Shirogane's face began to drain of all color.
"So it was you...?"
K stared straight at Shirogane. Then, with a crooked grin, he opened his mouth.
"...You goddamn weeb bitch."
Hearing those words, Shirogane's thoughts came to a dead stop.