Part 126: Chapter 5 Deadly Life, Part 4

: Makoto has been alluding to some location that the fragment reminds him of. I dunno about you, but didn't the fragments look a little bit like the bomb Hiro pulled out of Monokuma in the gym?





Monokuma's laying dismantled on the floor. But...

: I figured it wouldn't be here.



: I just found something. What is it...?
: I-It's...!
: It's what?
: A bomb. There's some installed in every Monokuma robot, I'm sure.
: A b-b-b-bomb!?



And that bomb went missing... There's no doubt about that. The fragments I found in the garden...





: That's all we can do in the gym. Maybe Byakuya is back from his errand now.





: You think you can go soon, Byakuya?
: You wanted to check out Kyoko's room, right? Very well. Let's go. *leaves*
: Ah! Wait for me!

Byakuya walked off without a second glance, and I hurried after him on our way to the dorms.







: Well then, here we go.

Byakuya took out the key and slid it into the keyhole. And then...

*Click*

: ...And it's open.
: Looks like it... Thanks.





So...this is Kyoko's room.



: This thing on the table it just calling out for examination.



There's something on the table. It's...a woodblock decoration.



: What's that? What purpose does it serve?
: I think it's probably...a key. The lockers at those really traditional public bathhouses use them for their lockers.
: I wouldn't know. I've never gone to a public bathhouse.

The doesn't really surprise me. It's hard to picture Byakuya doing something like that...



: But if it *is* a key, I think I might know what it unlocks.
: Really? What?
: Unless I'm mistaken...I'm pretty sure I saw something in the dojo that this might go to.

The dojo...?





: Let's see if Byakuya has anything to say about Kyoko's room.



: You wanted to come here, right? So what is it you're looking for?
: Nothing in particular. I just though we might find some kind of clue here... A clue that might...help us understand Kyoko.
: You can't be serious. *That's* why you made me take time out of my search to come here?
: S-Sorry...
: Regardless, if you plan on poking around at random, you're doomed no matter how much time you take. Surely you have something more concrete. Something to give us some sort of direction here.

More concrete...

: Oh! I know!

Earlier, Kyoko gave me something...


: Huh? What's this?
: Consider it a symbol of my determination. Don't open it yet. Only open it...if something ever happens to me.


I'm sure I have it here somewhere...



: Found it!
: What's in the envelope?
: Kyoko gave it to me. She said if something ever happened, I should open it.
: Well, something has certainly happened. So open it.
: O-Okay...

I opened the envelope and looked inside. Inside was a single piece of paper.



: "Under the sheets"...?
: That's all that was in there?
: Yeah, it looks like it...

"Under the sheets"... What could it be?



: We'd better check.



But...could something be hidden under the bedsheets? Part of me didn't expect to find anything, but as I lifted up the sheets...

: What's this...?

...I found a crumpled up piece of paper.





Class #78 Student Registry...? Mukuro...Ikusaba...?



: It appears to be Mukuro Ikusaba's profile.
: Yeah, looks like it...

That's probably the other thing Kyoko stole when she snuck into the headmaster's room, along with the key.



: God, you're so annoying! Fine, I'll tell you! It was a key and ******! That's it!



This must be the "blank" that Monokuma was talking about... Kyoko said a death without meaning was "unappealing." And this is what she left behind...

: I don't have time for your sentimental indulgences. Hurry up and finish your search.
: O-Okay...

I made an effort to pull myself together, then looked down at the profile sheet.



Name: Mukuro Ikusaba
Sex: Female
The Ultimate Soldier

Although small for her age, she was a military specialist trained in every weapon type imaginable. She showed an interest in the military from childhood and soon found herself completely absorbed in it. In elementary school, she won a survival game tournament and began writing for military magazines.

Just before entering middle school, while she and her family were on vacation in Europe...she disappeared. The story of a young Japanese girl being kidnapped quickly took over Japanese media outlets. An intense international investigation turned up no information, and she was never found.

However, she reappeared in Japan three years later, alone and completely unannounced. She revealed that she had joined a mercenary group known as Fenrir for those three years. She insisted that she hadn't been kidnapped, that she'd received battle training of her own volition. However, she never revealed why she decided to return home when she did.





: ...The Ultimate Soldier... A mercenary group...

This doesn't feel real. The world I grew up in, it's like a completely different dimension... It's like one's non-fiction and the other is sci-fi. There's no way to even compare the two... That's how different this is... That was how I saw things as just an ordinary person. But then...



: I never imagined I would hear the name Fenrir in a place like this...
: Huh? You recognize it?
: The Fenrir Mercenary Corps is a collection of battle-crazed warmongers. But they do have their uses, and they always get the job done. That's worth remembering...
: This is all part of a world totally removed from the one I live in...
: I have to say, I'm intrigued. Every rumor I've heard says that Fenrir has already...





: Whoa! I feel like our hero is becoming a bit player and a bit player is becoming our hero!
: Ah! It's you!
: Hmm? What have you got in your pretty little hand there?
: Uh-oh! You found her profile!?
: S-So what if we did...?



: Don't freak out on me! I'm not gonna hold it against you or anything. And in case you're wondering, I don't hold it against Kyoko, either. Even though she stole it and hid it! After all, there's no rule against stealing, is there?
: But who I *can't* forgive is Miss Ogami, who broke the rules and busted into the headmaster's room...! Maybe I'll drag her corpse out here and slice it up and devour it! Bears *are* omnivorous, ya know...
: Are rule violations really so unforgivable? You're quite adamant about those regulations of yours...
: Of course I am! A proper school life is built on the dedication to organization and order!



: Which is why even I, as the school headmaster, have to follow the regulations myself!
: Oh? So you're saying you have to follow your own rules, as well?
: Absolutely! I can't have you complaining about how unfair it all is, now can I?



: In fact, on the subject of fairness, would you like to know something interesting?
: Interesting...?
: It's about the one writing all the rules. They're actually...





: ...one of the participants in this killing game. I don't think I ever actually told you how many participants there actually were, did I?
: I was thinking, I should probably clarify that!



: When you all first got together in the main hall way back when, there were fifteen people there, right? I think that first meeting may have led to a little misunderstanding among you all...
: A...misunderstanding? Are you saying...?
: That's right! There weren't actually fifteen of you...



: The total number of students taking part in this killing game was actually sixteen!

Sixteen!? Then...!



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

The sixteenth student...Mukuro Ikusaba... She's part of this school life... So the one making all the regulations is...!



: ...Why...?
: Hm? Did you say something?
: Why are you telling us this?
: Oh, well because...



: ...like I old you, this killing game is desperately popular! You wouldn't believe the ratings! And since we've got so many viewers now, I wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. I don't want to wake up to a hurricane of complaints and hate mail, ya know?
: Make sense?
: ...
: Okay, that's all you get for now! Oh, actually! I do have some revenge to get, so I have an extra bonus for you!
: Revenge...?



: I want to get back at that sneaky Miss Kirigiri, so I'm gonna share a little secret with ya!
: S-Seriously!?
: You know how she wears those stupid gloves day in, day out, all the time? Well, don't tell anyone I told you, but... She wears them to cover a bunch of hideous scars that she doesn't want anyone to see!
: ...What?
: Puhuhu. Okay, NOW that's all you get!
: Ahh-hahahahaha! *leaves*







: Kyoko wears those gloves to cover up a bunch of scars...? Wait...so on the back of her hand...



The tattoo... Wait, but no... Monokuma specifically said they were scars, right? And that's why Kyoko wears those gloves, to hide the scars. Which means... Those fake nails on the corpse...



: Are you thinking about Kyoko again?
: ...Huh?
: Forget about her. What matters right now is uncovering Monokuma's trap.
: His...trap?
: God must have really hated you, to make you so dull.



: Don't you remember what Monokuma *just* told us?
: He said there were sixteen students, right? Which means Mukuro was a student here...
: Obviously, Monokuma was trying to tell us that Mukuro is the one creating the rules to the game. But why would he tell us that? And why now?
: He said he wanted to make things clear so there wouldn't be any complaints later...
: But the mere fact that he said that proves that Mukuro is connected to this case. *That's* why Monokuma revealed the existence of a sixteenth student. He needs to make our investigation fair.
: Mukuro is related to the case...?



: Perhaps she's the one who killed Kyoko.
: What!?
: That would explain why we would have to have a class trial, wouldn't it? If she's a student, and she killed someone, that would make her part of the school killing game.

Mukuro...is the killer? She killed Kyoko...?

: Anyone should be able to come to that conclusion, don't you think? In fact, that's exactly what I thought when the invesitgation first began.



: But...based on what Monokuma just told us, I've changed my mind.
: Mukuro Ikusaba isn't the culprit!
: Huh? What makes you say that?



: We thought Mukuro, the Ultimate Despair, was the mastermind's true identity. But if that's true, Monokuma's behavior makes no sense. Why would the mastermind go out of their way to reveal themselves to us?
: That's a good point...
: Mukuro giving us information that would raise questions about her would be bold, to say that least. It makes more sense, then, to assume that Mukuro *isn't* the culprit.
: So that's the trap... They want us to suspect Mukuro, and come to the wrong conclusion...
: That's what makes sense to me.

The way you say it, it definitely does seem possible. But if that's really true... If Mukuro isn't the killer...then who is?



: Well then, I believe our work here is finished. Let's move on. I'm sure there are other places in need of investigation.
: I should find out if that key and the dojo really are connected...
: Well? Are you coming?



: Next time, the dojo.