Part 113: Chapter 5 Daily Life, Part 1

: Mukuro Ikusaba.
: What...?
: Mukuro Ikusaba... The sixteenth student, lying hidden somewhere in this school... The one they call the Ultimate Despair... Watch out for her.





Kyoko told me to watch out for her... Mukuro Ikusaba... That was three days before...the next incident. Three days before we would be faced with another murder.



Three days before the worst thing so far would reveal itself...





In the meantime, the day after Sakura's class trial... That morning, in the dining hall...







: So, let's begin the usual post-trial investigation.
: Hey, you didn't make small talk or anything! We never just get straight to the point like that!
: If you want to keep up with me, you must refrain from pointless small talk.



: Jeez, how high is that horse of yours?
: He just acts like that to hide his own insecurities. That's what I like to think, anyway...
: Regardless, if you want to defeat the mastermind, you need to follow my lead. They creep around the school like a mouse, but the mastermind's pride is as bloated as a cow's udder.
: And no matter what it takes, I *will* rid this world of them...



: ...
: Hey, Toko...you've been pretty quiet.
: ...
: Man, you're so boring now! You just sit there, like a mushroom. Gonna start calling you Miss Mushroom!
: ...



: She didn't snap back at you...
: Her talking makes things difficult. So I told her not to open her mouth without permission.
: What!? But if she can't open her mouth, she can't eat! Or drink water!
: I don't care.
: And you're okay with that, Toko!?
: ...
: Jeez, how low is that rock you're hiding under...?



: I believe this is the small talk Byakuya warned us against.
: And yet...I let myself get involved. But it is now finished. I will never allow you to drag me down to your level again.
: We're going to begin our search. Stop running your mouths and start moving your legs.

Pressured by an obviously irritated Byakuya, we all started our exploration.





: It's time to explore the 5th floor. The stairs up are right next to the Chem Lab.



So here I am on the 5th floor of Hope's Peak Academy... The 5th floor has been opened up to us... And it's totally different from all the floors we've seen up till now.

: For some reason it feels...unpleasant.



: The 5th floor isn't huge but it has a couple important rooms to check out. I really like the look and layout of the halls here. It's a very pleasant blue with the sparse foliage on the sides.



: We'll start by checking out Classroom 5-A.



: Not much to see in here, like most other classrooms. More weird chalk art though.



: As for Classroom 5-B...



: Looks like someone's here.



: ...!

Huh? Does she want to talk to me about something?

: Toko...what's wrong?
: ... ...

Is she...trying to say something? I think she's almost...! Just a little more and I might get it...!

: ...
: I'm sorry, but...I have no idea what it is you're trying to tell me.
: ...

She just let her shoulders drop. She looks so sad. I guess she gave up...

: Well that went about as well as I expected it to.



: In the bottom right corner of the map there's a large wooden door.





: Inside, is the school dojo. It's very pretty. Let's see what Kyoko has to say about the place.



: ...

What Kyoko told me yesterday... What the heck did it mean...?



: Mukuro Ikusaba... The sixteenth student, lying hidden somewhere in this school... The one they call the Ultimate Despair... Watch out for her.



: Um, Kyoko...?
: I'm not going to say anything.
: ...Huh?
: I can't say anything...

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. Her gaze darted up to the surveillance camera...



: ...You understand why, right?

She was trying to tell me that whatever it was, it was important. The mastermind couldn't find out. But how did Kyoko get her hands on information that could be that important...?

: We're finished here.

She made it very clear that our conversation had come to an end. And just like usual, I didn't understand anything any better than before...



: There are a couple of flavor text descriptions in here like the Japanese suit of armor and sword training straw post. The trees actually elicit a response from Kyoko though.



Even though this room is totally enclosed, there's a cherry tree here. And it's in full bloom.

: It's quite elegant.
: This is what you consider elegant...?
: I lived overseas for a long time, so this kind of Japanese-style scenery is refreshing.

But considering our situation, isn't it kinda...out of place?



: The other major thing to examine here is the row of lockers.



There's a bunch of wooden lockers in here. The wooden lockers and keys remind me of super old-school public bathhouses...



: That does it for the dojo. Across the hall is this double door with a light on inside.



: Well, that was unexpected. Are those blue skies?



: At first I thought I saw blue skies, but turns out they just painted the walls and the ceiling!
: Guess not.
: Oh, but the plants are all real. It's been a while since I've smelled vegetation. It helps me relax.



: ...That's not what you're thinking, is it!?
: Don't you get it!? Don't you realize...the true horror of plant life!? It's there, just beneath the surface. Beneath their calm exterior, they're always watching, and waiting... And when they decide they can't leave us in charge of Earth anymore...
: ...they'll put their plan for global human extinction into action!
: ...
: I'm serious!
: ...



: Yeah, I'm not buying that one either. Let's see what's up with this huge plant.



: ...Uwah! Wh-What *is* this...?

This thing is super weird, super creepy! Flowers aren't supposed to get this big...!

: Is this thing...real?





: WATCH OUT!!!
: Wh--!?
: That's a Monokuma Flower. I came up with the name myself. Try and touch it, and you're in for some real excitement! Your heart's all like whoa! and the plant's all like snap! and your flesh is all like bluuuggh I'm dead!

In other words...it's a monstrosity.



: It's pretty frickin' amazing, if I do say so myself! A student at Hope's Peak added improvement after improvement, and created this miracle creature! The Ultimate Botanist... Although, they don't go here anymore. They died during The Tragedy!
: By the way, despite how it looks, that flower is super practical! It can eat paper, plastic, even people! So it's totally good for the environment! Such an eco-friendly creation is vital for the future growth of a healthy society!
: Not that I'd know anything about that myself! Ahh-hahaha! *leaves*

Spouting more and more nonsense, Monokuma eventually disappeared.

: Whatever it is, I'd better keep my distance.





: Some sort of device on the side here.



There's some kind of control panel set near the wall... Does it control the air conditioning or something...?





: It's for the sprinklers!
: Sprinklers...?
: Yeah! It controls the sprinklers in the garden! The sprinklers are set to go off every morning at 7:30. Don't you dare change it without permission!
: Of course, the settings panel is locked, so you couldn't change it if you wanted to!
: So that means the sprinklers go off at 7:30 a.m. every morning?
: Yup, you got it. It's super user-friendly, which sucks. So if you get here too early, you'll get drenched. So watch yourself!



: But you're not a little kid, right? You're too old to go running through sprinklers anyway.
: ...Or do you have some kind of water fetish!?
: I'm gonna tell everyone! Ahh-hahaha!





Is this...a chicken coop? What's a chicken coop doing here?



This place even has chickens, huh? They're...just regular chickens, right? Like, they don't eat people, or lay bombs instead of eggs, or something crazy like that...?

: ...It seems safe...





: Oh, you like chicken too, Makoto!? Yeah, I love these little guys. They're seriously cute, right!? And there's exactly five of them here!
: Exactly...?
: Five! You know, the number that comes after four and before six? At least, in terms of natural numbers... Anyway, whenever the number five pops up, that's a good omen! It contains the mysteries of the cosmos...
: It's a number of power! A refreshing number on par with hand-squeezed all-natural lemonade!

He never lets me get a word in edge-wise...





: There's a toolshed in the back of the garden.



Just to be sure, I should take a look in that toolshed.



This place seems totally disorganized. From a lawnmower to fertilizer, flowerpots to farm tools... And leaning against the back wall... Is that a pickaxe?



: There's a bunch of stuff in here to check but the only thing notable is the pickaxe.



Huh? There's something carved into the handle of this pickaxe...

: Crazy...diamond...?

I feel like...I remember seeing that...somewhere...



: Anyway, that's it for the garden and toolshed. Back out in the halls, we can run into Hina.



: This floor feels different compared to all the others. I'm not sure what it is... Is there some reason for that? I hope it's not anything too...creepy.



: Well that's...a very and long ominous hallway.



: Raw...



*Rattle rattle*

It's locked... We came all this way, just to be denied here. The sign in the hall says Bio Lab.

: A bio lab, that we're forbidden from seeing into.

It kinda sounds like something out of an old cheesy horror movie...



: And lastly, there's a third classroom on this floor. Every other floor has only had two. Let's see what's hiding in Classroom 5-C...