Chapter 27
Hope’s Peak. I was known as the Ultimate EMPTY. Scenes flashed through my mind. Me with groups of people. But one of them always had the same person. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Asami Endo. Despair. Friends. Hope. Hope evolved. Despair. Despair overcame. Hope crushed. Despair. Despair. Despair. Every word pounded my chest. Hope. Despair. EMPTY. 93Please respect copyright.PENANAbxWCtj66vj
My eyes snapped open, and I realized I was shaking. Why is it always her…or this… “Ah…Ah….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” I need a glass of water or else I won’t calm down. I got off from my bed and the clock said 6:00 a.m. There was still an hour left until morning. But I needed to cool down. I took a deep breath and turned my doorknob. My door didn’t open. I tried again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Something was blocking my door from the outside. “OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!!!”
I turned my doorknob aggressively but nothing. Breaking down doors was against the rules.
My mind was racing. Back then, it did sound true, and it felt true too, but sometimes words themselves can be deceiving.
“SHUT UP!!” I screamed, driving my fist into the wall. There was a hole. And my hand was bleeding. But I didn’t feel any pain. Everything was silent. But there was so much blood. I was breathing heavily. And then everything went black.
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“Misaki…”
“Misaki, wake up please!”
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“Huh?” I mumbled. I opened my eyes. Amaya was hovering over me with a pale expression.
“She’s alive!” She cried. Who is she talking to? I felt her pulling me up as I tried to sit up. Akira was also in the room.
“How did you guys get here?” I asked them.
“Your room was unlocked.”Akira said.
“I thought you died,” Amaya cried. “You were on the floor and your hand was bloody and-”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” I reassured her.
“What on earth happened?” Akira asked.
“Yeah, did someone attack you?” Amaya asked.
“No one attacked me,” I replied. “But I don’t really want to talk about it. More importantly, how long was I out for? What happened?”
“I’ll fill you in while I bandage you,” Akira said. “Once I saw you here, I rushed out and headed to the pharmacy.”
I held out my hand as she gently wrapped the bandage around my hand.
“We arrived at a breakfast meeting this morning,” She began. “Then Isamu headed to check on Katashi but he wasn’t in his room. So we searched for him. But then we also realized Genki and Kenji were missing too. So we split up and searched. About thirty minutes later, I started to feel anxious because you never showed up. Amaya and I decided to check your dorm and then we found on the floor with your hand all bloody. And well, here we are.”
“I see,” I said. “So everyone else is searching for those three?”
Amaya nodded. “Seriously, Katashi had one job.”
I sighed. “Well, I can’t just sit here. I have to help too.”
“Then let’s look,” Amaya said. “Let’s check the first hallway first.”
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We found Genki in the sports room.
“Genki!” Akira called. “What are you doing here? Don’t you realize how much you scared us?!”
“I-I’m sorry!” He stammered. “I know I was supposed to attend the dining hall, but something kept bugging me.”
“Something was bugging you?” I asked.
“I was looking for Kenji. He has been gone ever since this morning.”
“Ever since this morning?!” Amaya asked.
“Do you know where Katashi is?” Akira asked.
He shook his head.
“Want to search with us?” I asked him.
“Yes, I would like to know where they are.”
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We searched the second hallway. We found Katashi.
He sighed. “Do I ever get peace and quiet?”
“Katashi, you’re all better?” Amaya asked.
“My mouth still hurts, but the rest of me is fine.” He said.
“Why didn’t you come to the breakfast meeting?” Akira asked.
“I just needed some solitude.”
“Whatever, we found you now, now help us find Kenji!” Amaya ordered.
“What happened to Kenji?” Katashi asked.
“He has been missing since this morning.” Genki said.
Katashi rolled his eyes. “Fine. I will help. Then promise you’ll leave me alone after that.”
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We couldn’t find him in the third hallway.
“Hide and seek first thing in the morning, huh?” Amaya asked.
“We’ll find him.” Akira said.
“Before we head to the fourth hallway,” I began. “We didn’t miss anything, right?”
“Well, it’s not like there’s much to check,” Amaya replied. “Half of the places are blocked off.”
Katashi let out an annoyed sigh. “So do we check the fourth hallway or what?”
“A body has been discovered!” We all made the same worried expression. “After a certain time passes, we’ll begin the class trial!”
“AHHHHH!!!”
“It came from the fourth hallway!” Amaya said. “Let’s hurry over.”
“Dammit, which room is it?” Akira asked.
We saw Hanako running toward us, tears in her eyes. “C-Come th-this way!”
We followed her. It was the garden room. I let out a shaky breath and opened the door. An unrealistic scene unfolded in front of me.
On a pillar, with spears impaled in him, was one of the Future Foundation members. Kenji Hinote.
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“Kenji!!” Genki cried.
Hanako trembled. “No…not again.”
“He can’t actually be dead, right?” Akira asked. “Maybe Monokuma thought he was, but he isn’t. That’s what happened before..!”
“Blood everywhere, blood on him, stabbed with spears,” Katashi listed. “He looks dead to me. Wait a minute, where did the spears come from?”
Yuki pouted. “This looks so gross.”
Just then Monokuma appeared. “We’ve reached our fourth case!”
“You..!!” Akira said in a harsh tone.
“Hm? What is it?” Monokuma asked.
Akira’s face was dark. “You did this, didn’t you?!”
“What? No, of course not! Didn’t the rules say that I can’t interfere with the students?”
“I mean the person controlling you!-”
“Akira calm down,” Isami said, tearing up. “Believe me, I don’t want this either but we’re here now.”
“She’s right,” Amaya said. ‘We have to investigate…right?”
“Correct!” Monokuma exclaimed, “Now that you all calmed down-”
“Shut up and hand over the files!” Akira screamed.
“O-Okay! I was just going to!” He handed them over. Before disappearing once more, he mumbled. “See you at the class trial.”
“Are we actually doing this?” Taishiro asked.
“E-Even so, how are we supposed to investigate him?” Hanako asked. “He’s on top of that pillar.”
“If I recall, there was a ladder in the grocery store,” Satoshi said. “I can get one from there.”
“I’ll go with you.” Isamu said, before they left the room.
I turned on the Monokuma file. Victim was Kenji Hinote. Body was discovered in the garden room. Body was wounded by multiple spears. Time of death was around 6:00 a.m.
Lacks information, as usual. I thought. Just then. Satoshi and Isamu brought in the ladder.
They leadened it against the bloody pillar.
“I-I don’t think I can do this.” Hanako said.
“Then Hanako, and I will search elsewhere,” Isamu said. “Anyone else coming?”
Yuki, Taishiro, and Etsuko agreed to leave.
Akira, Katashi, Genki, Amaya, Satoshi, and I stayed in the garden.
“The Monokuma file doesn’t say much,” I told them. “We’ll have to investigate his body ourselves.” I climbed up the ladder while everyone was searching around the garden. Akira was standing by the pillar. I was in front of Kenji's corpse. He was sitting with one knee up and his elbow was supporting his position. I examined the spears. Where did these come from? His body was cold. Well obviously, he died hours ago. I came closer to his face. His eyes were closed, and a line of blood was out of his mouth. Huh? I opened his mouth. There was some blood in his mouth. Where did this come from? Then I saw a note sticking out of his cargo pants. I took it out. A note? It wrote:
I heard you were feeling uneasy with yourself. Whenever I feel uneasy, I usua;lly workout. I’m sure a good workout will make you feel better too! Meet me at the fitness room at 6:00 a.m. Morning workouts are usually the best! I hope you’re willing to come :D -Genki Nomura
The note was soaked with blood. Genki sent him a letter? I need to secure our alibis here.
“What did you find?” Akira asked, crossing her arms.
“He had lots of stab wounds due to the spears,” I explained. “And there was blood coming from the mouth.”
“From the mouth?” She asked. “Strange. We have to search elsewhere for more clues.”
“Not just that, but apparently Kenji received this letter.” I handed her the letter.
She took it and read through it. She glared. “We need to check our alibis. Now.”
I turned to the others. “Anyone with alibis at 6:00 a.m.?”
“6:00 a.m.?” Amaya asked. “I was sleeping in my room.”
“Well, I woke up for a moment,” Satoshi began. “Because I needed the bathroom, but when I tried opening the door, it wouldn’t.”
“You too?” I asked.
“Your door was jammed?”
“Explain this.” Akira said.93Please respect copyright.PENANA3nRJOp54D6
I sighed. “I had a strange dream last night, and panicked. I figured a glass of water would calm my nerves down but it wouldn’t open. Something was blocking it from the outside. I wasn’t thinking straight so I punched a hole in my wall and passed out. The next morning Amaya and Akira found me and the hole was fixed. Wait, then you would know what blocked my door.”
“What do you mean?” Amaya asked. “There was nothing blocking your door.”
“What?!”
“This is something we need to discuss during the trial,” Satoshi said. “And if your story holds true, it means we don’t have alibis.”
“Akira, what is that letter?” Katashi asked.
Akira shoved it in her pocket. “We have a prime suspect. I will discuss it in the trial.”
“So what now?” Amaya asked.
“Akira and I will search for clues.” I replied, before pointing at Genki, Katashi, and Satoshi. “Guard the body. Amaya will also come with us.”
The guys agreed and Amaya followed.
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Akira suggested we go to the fitness room, as the letter said. On our way, we bumped into Yuki. He started crying.
“Y-Yuki, what is it?” Amaya asked.
“It’s horrible! I knew it, I knew it was it!” He continued sobbing.
“What?” I asked.
“Somebody stole my in-process chair legs!”
“Were those the spears?” Akira asked.
Yuki nodded. “They weren’t finished yet,” He sniffed. “Now I have to start over!”
I should keep this in mind. I thought. “Thank you for letting me know.”
He scoffed. “Whatever.” He walked away.
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We finally made it to the fitness room. There were two bottles on a table. One was half empty.
“These bottles are suspicious.” Akira said.
“Somebody definitely drank one of them,” I said, before looking around the room. “There’s nothing here, let’s check the pharmacy. I’m highly suspicious of that.”
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We searched the pharmacy. We weren't able to find anything until Amaya called out. “Hey! I found something!”
We rushed over to her. She was by the trash can. We glanced down. There were shattered pieces of glass. But one of the pieces had a symbol facing up. A skull. “Let’s remember this.”
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We searched the other hallways, including the laundry room. I searched the shelves, and noticed something was off. Sure, the white sheet was always there, but it was positioned weirdly. Monokuma would never make such a sloppy mistake. I took it off the shelf and unfolded it. I knew it. Blood was splattered on it.
“What does this mean?” Amaya asked.
“I’m not sure yet,” I replied. “But soon, all the pieces would come together.”
“Time’s up!” The announcement said. “Come to the doors at the main hall for the class trial!”
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We hurried to the doors and met with everyone in the trial room. Asami was smiling in her portrait with a bolded X while Kenji’s portrait had gems.
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The fourth class trial. One of the Future Foundation members was killed by one of us. Who is it? Will we be able to get it right? Or will we all fall?
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