"Puppy."
"Hm?"
"Subdue Tojo."
The instant the words left my mouth, Ikusaba's eyes sharpened, and she lunged at Tojo.
"W-wait...!"
"Grrr..."
Startled, Tojo staggered backward, but no matter how absurdly capable she was, there was no way she could handle someone whose raw combat ability eclipsed even Gonta's.
"Woof!"
"Good girl! That's my puppy! Knew I could only count on you!!"
In the blink of an eye, Tojo was pinned down. I was so proud of Ikusaba that I practically threw myself at her, rubbing her head and showering her with praise.
"This can't be... how... how could this happen..."
Meanwhile, held fast in Ikusaba's grip, Tojo muttered in a hollow voice, her face gone slack with disbelief.
"My plan was perfect... and it all fell apart because of this ridiculous farce... this absurd coincidence..."
"...Not 'coincidence.' 'Luck,' Tojo."
"No... this can't... why... why...?"
She wasn't wrong. We really had gotten lucky this time.
Ikusaba had "just happened" to discover the hidden hammer trap, decided to use it to threaten Gonta... and then "accidentally" smashed the tank, stopping me from becoming the blackened.
'...If this were a manga or a movie, people would've roasted this twist alive.'
Still, this was reality. Or at least, it was a story happening in reality. Even if the odds were microscopic, freak accidents like this could happen.
Of course, buried somewhere in my lost memories was the information that this place was a "game world"... but I still had no idea what that actually meant.
Did "game world" mean the killing game unfolding right now? Did it mean this was all some grotesque game show? Or was I literally trapped inside a simulation game?
There was no way to tell.
So until I got more information, I'd decided to treat everything happening here as real.
'Anyway... we got lucky... Wait. Lucky...?'
Suddenly, something like déjà vu prickled at the back of my mind. It felt like I'd experienced something like this before.
'When the hell was it...? Ah. Right. Amnesia.'
Every question always circled back to that. "I lost my memories." God, what a cursed condition. Once I got out of here, maybe I'd try hypnosis or something.
"Gonta... you should go."
"B-but... leaving without cleaning up after ruining Yumeno-san's magic show... that not very gentlemanly..."
"We'll handle the cleanup. You need to go check on the kids at the Insect Meet and Greet, right? Leaving them unattended wouldn't be very gentlemanly either, would it?"
"N-now that you mention it... it been hours already..."
"We'll finish up here and come to the meet and greet too, so go on ahead. Got it?"
"T-then... I'm counting on you!"
With that, Gonta hurried out of the gym in a fluster.
"...Alright, then. Shall we start this conversation again?"
Once I confirmed he was gone, I looked around at the others and spoke.
"First, Tojo... you already heard everything from earlier, so there's nothing left to ask you... Hoshi, did you really participate in this scheme of your own free will?"
"...I did."
"Haaah... seriously, what a mess..."
Tojo was trembling violently, her face twisted beyond recognition, while Hoshi answered in a dead, toneless voice, his eyes as vacant as a gutted fish.
"Hoshi, do you really have so little attachment to life that you'd throw away even your own life?"
"...Yeah. I have no attachment to life."
"But there could've been something in your Motive Video..."
"There wasn't."
"...What?"
"I turned on the video, and Monokuma appeared and said there was no one precious to me."
"Ah..."
"Yeah. Ever since I saw that video... all I've wanted was to end this life as soon as possible. Then this one came to me, carrying some grand cause about saving the whole world."
"....."
This was bad. Really bad.
If Hoshi hadn't watched the Motive Video, I was going to tell him maybe his reason to live was in there, waiting for him. And if he had watched it, I was going to argue that even if the contents were devastating, there was still room for hope.
But if there was nothing there at all... then what the hell was I supposed to say?
"...At least I thought I'd die serving as a stepping stone for something. But that failed in the most idiotic way possible. Well, whatever. I'll just have to find another path."
"Another path... don't tell me you mean—"
"Of course every path I'll walk leads straight to hell. So spare me your pointless concern and pity."
"Wait!!"
Before I could say anything else, Hoshi vanished.
Not metaphorically. Not "he moved so fast it looked like it." He just disappeared, like he'd used some kind of teleportation step.
"...Been a while since I've seen someone use that technique."
"T-that was a real technique!?"
Apparently I needed to revise my understanding. According to my puppy, Hoshi hadn't vanished as if he'd used some mystical footwork.
He had actually used it.
"I can do it too... want me to show you?"
"N-no... that's okay..."
Thinking once again that my puppy was absurdly competent, I turned my thoughts back to Hoshi.
'Hoshi... with no attachment to life, he's an easy target for murder. Well... at least he doesn't seem interested in becoming a killer himself.'
If I were being honest, I wanted to go after him right now. But I still hadn't finished dealing with Tojo, the culprit behind this whole nightmare, and I was exhausted myself. Trying to talk Hoshi down would have to wait.
"Tojo. If you've got something to say, say it."
"...Yes, Master."
"No, that title is—"
"...Who the hell are you to call K 'Master'?"
"Pardon?"
'I'm gonna lose my mind.'
My head started spinning.
.
.
.
.
.
"...So please kill me, K."
"No, I mean it, how did that become the conclusion here...?"
I'd been talking with her for a long while now, but instead of the dizziness fading, it was only getting worse.
Because Tojo had dropped to her knees and started earnestly begging me to kill her.
"If you grant me permission, I can prepare a trick immediately—one no one could ever unravel. And if even that is too troublesome for you, then simply stab me with the knife you've been carrying on you this whole time."
"What are you even— no, wait. How do you know I have a knife?"
"The moment you stab me, I'll begin erasing any evidence that points to you as the culprit and forging evidence to indicate Hoshi-kun instead. Then, once I die from blood loss—"
That made five perfect-crime tricks she'd rattled off already. I had no idea when she'd come up with all of them, but I was starting to get seriously irritated.
"...Or there is also a method to disguise it as suicide. Naturally, my motive for suicide would be weak, but since the Motive Videos were only distributed recently, the others would still find it plausible enough—"
"That's enough!!!!!"
The instant Tojo started unveiling her sixth trick, my irritation curdled into full-blown anger.
"I am never killing you!! I'm not playing along with your tricks either!! And I have absolutely zero intention of becoming the blackened!!!"
"But you have to live!!! No matter what happens...!!!"
"Then what about you? What about Ikusaba? What about everyone else!?"
"...If it's for your sake, they can be sacri—"
"Shut up, Tojo. That's not sacrifice. That's just a pointless dog's death."
"But—"
"Even if what you're saying is true, and the future of the world really does depend on my life... I still don't want to survive by driving the people precious to me—including you—into death."
"....."
At that, Tojo finally fell silent, and I continued while looking straight at her.
"If I ever do become the blackened, I'll confess to everyone that very instant. So... give it up."
"K... please..."
"Then we're done here. I'll keep what happened today from the others. But... to make sure you never try anything like this again, Mukuro is going to keep watch over you from now on."
"....."
"M-me?"
"Yeah. Starting today, Mukuro, you're sticking to Tojo's side at all times. That way she won't be able to pull any more—"
"I can't allow that."
"No!!"
I was trying to assign Mukuro to keep Tojo from pulling another deranged stunt, but both of them rejected the idea with frightening seriousness.
"Right now, K is exposed to danger. If Mukuro-san isn't by your side in that state, you'll definitely become a target."
"What are you talking about?"
"Last time, you revealed the truth about [Survivor Privilege] to everyone. Because of that, you've earned far too much trust from the others."
"Which means, from the Mastermind's perspective, K is a thorn in their side—someone they need to eliminate as quickly as possible the moment an opportunity appears."
Damn it. Come to think of it, Amami had said that before.
That besides Shirogane, there might be another mastermind among us. Maybe even several.
There was even a time when Saihara, Amami, and I spent the whole night staking out the library in case one of them showed up, but no one ever used the hidden door there again.
If that was the case... then there really must be another secret route leading to the hidden room. After all, last time, Shirogane entered the hidden room without using the library's hidden door.
Amami, Akamatsu, Saihara, and I had been searching everywhere for that passage, but we still hadn't found anything suspicious.
Anyway, the important point was this: there still might be a hidden mastermind among us, someone slipping in and out of the hidden room through a secret passage.
And if that was true, then the person they'd see as the biggest nuisance would be me.
'Damn it, then what do I do...? I can't just leave her alone...'
The madness I'd seen from Tojo today had gone far beyond anything I'd imagined. The sight of her being willing to throw away even her own life just to keep me alive... that wasn't something I was going to forget.
If I left her alone after that, there was no telling what kind of disaster she'd cause. For someone like her, sneaking into my room and rigging a booby trap to trigger the moment I got out of bed would be child's play.
But if I exposed what happened today to everyone, I was afraid it might shatter the fragile cooperation we'd barely managed to preserve.
In other words, I had to cover this up somehow. I just needed a good way to—
"...K, you're always the same."
"Hm?"
I'd been agonizing over it for a while when Tojo suddenly spoke, wearing a strangely serene expression.
"You always put others before yourself. You treasure other people's lives, but neglect your own."
"What are you talking about...?"
"Even after losing your memories, you still act exactly the same... Your kindness truly wasn't hypocrisy. I can't help but respect you for it."
"Uh... thanks?"
Tojo suddenly started showering me with praise, and I awkwardly scratched my head as I answered. Watching me, she murmured with a sad expression.
"I tried to force you out of this place before someone like you could finally break... but now that it's come to this, I suppose it can't be helped."
"What do you mean, 'can't be helped'...?"
"From this moment on, I will return to being your maid."
"What?"
"I will follow your every move and attend to you. Just like before."
"H-hey... that's really not necessary—"
"I am merely upholding once more the promise I made when you saved me. I had forgotten that promise until now, and I will slowly atone for that sin by serving you from this point onward... so please..."
One puppy was already more than enough to handle, and now it looked like I was about to acquire a maid too. Cold sweat started trickling down my back.
If this were normal Tojo, sure, maybe I'd welcome it. But after witnessing the lunatic extremity of her loyalty just moments ago, I couldn't bring myself to answer.
"Grrrrrrrr..."
"Mukuro, quiet down. My head already feels like it's splitting open."
Ikusaba had started growling viciously at Tojo again before I even noticed. I hushed her, pressed my fingers to my temple, and kept thinking. Then Tojo quietly opened her mouth.
"If I remain by your side, you can monitor me, and your safety will also be guaranteed... isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
"...That's true."
Honestly, I knew accepting her proposal was probably the best option.
But... could I really handle these two?
And for some reason, every time Tojo called me "Master," I got this weird feeling that someone was about to slap handcuffs on my wrists.
'Besides... why does my neck feel itchy too...?'
"Please make your decision, K."
"...Fine. Then let me ask you one thing."
"I will answer anything. Please, ask."
"If I refuse your proposal, what are you going to do from now on?"
Hearing my question, Tojo's expression turned glacial, and she answered in a voice just as cold.
"In that case, I'll have to find another method."
"And that 'method' would be... what, exactly?"
"...I'll leave that to your imagination."
After hearing that, I had no choice but to curse the Mastermind who'd thrown me into this psychiatric ward of a killing game and make a decision I was absolutely going to regret.
"...I'll accept your proposal."
"Thank you, Master."
"I'm begging you, please stop calling me—"
"Woof woof!!"
"I seriously can't do this anymore."
.
.
.
.
.
Knock knock knock
"Gonta, we're here!! Open up!!"
Right now, I was standing in Gokuhara's research lab with Ikusaba and Tojo in tow.
Originally, I'd planned to go look for Hoshi, but Ikusaba's earlier comment—that she'd thought she heard a scream coming from the lab—kept gnawing at me, so we ended up coming here first.
"Hm? Ahhh! K? Nice to see ya~!"
But the one who opened the door wasn't Gonta.
It was Oma.
"Huh? Oma... where's Gonta—"
I peeked inside, wondering what was going on, and saw the others staring at something with utterly drained expressions.
"Hey, guys? What are you all look—"
Right as I was about to ask what had them so transfixed, a familiar sound drifted out from the thing they were all staring at.
A sound that absolutely, under no circumstances, should have been playing here.
"Hehe... abpuah... omuah... wuv you!"
"Omuah... num-num...!"
"...Wait, what the hell!?"
The latter half of my Motive Video was playing from the pad in their hands.
"Our crew attempted to conduct an interview... but they just kept saying that! Well, I suppose it can't be helped—they're babies, after all!"
"W-why do you guys have that...?"
I froze in shock, and Oma spoke to me in that oily, mocking voice of his.
"Nishishi... K-kun, I had no idea you had such a tragic backstory! How sad!!"
His words snapped me back to myself, and I stepped into the room to do... something, anything—but the video was already nearing its end.
"But these two babies... are currently being subjected to something absolutely outrageous! What exactly is happening to them is, of course, a secret! If you want to know what kind of horrible situation they're in... you'll have to see it with your own eyes!"
As soon as the video ended, everyone turned to stare at me all at once like they'd just seen a ghost.
"So, uh, here's the thing... what exactly are you, K? I'm curious!! Tell us!!"
"...Fuck. I seriously can't do this anymore."
I couldn't even see her face, but all of a sudden, I desperately wanted to see Kyoko Kirigiri.
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