Part 137: Chapter 6 Deadly Life, Part 1

The Ultimate Despair... A group of people who caused The Tragedy one year ago... Those same people put together this killing game and began broadcasting it around the world. The most desperately awful group of people ever... *That* is the mastermind's true identity. Our enemy has finally been revealed... But right now...



: Right now we have to get out of this horrible place. Figuring out the rest of the story can come after.
: Yeah, you're right... Kyoko, do you still have that one thing? Monokuma's "secret tool" that you got from the headmaster's room?
: Of course I do.



: It's an absolutely vital part of ensnaring the mastermind. I would never part with it.
: And it can open any door in the school, right?
: That's right.

Then we should be able to use it on that door, right?





: Hey, Kyoko. We can use that key of yours to open this door, right?
: Let's find out.



Kyoko took out the key with the Monokuma design on it and slid it into the keyhole. And then...

*Click*

: Yes! It opened!
: And now we can get out of here. Let's go.
: Sounds good.

We quickly opened the door and made our escape from the garbage pit.



Finally... We were finally free. But there wasn't even time to take a breath of relief. Because the real fight had just begun...







After leaving the garbage pit, we found ourselves in a tunnel extending straight up, like a chimney. There was a metal ladder leading up into the tunnel. We started climbing the ladder, intent on reaching the surface.



The ladder was impossibly long; I couldn't even see where it ended. We climbed into the darkness... The passage was so dark and cramped, I couldn't even see my own feet beneath me.

: I had no idea we were so far down...
: Don't lose your footing. If you slip, I won't be able to catch you...
: Y-Yeah, I'll be careful...

But now that you said that, I'm getting kind of nervous...

: ...

Maybe talking will help keep my mind off it...



: Um, so Kyoko...there's something I wanted to ask you. You said you're the Ultimate Detective, right? So how long have you been doing detective work?
: How long...? Ever since I can remember. I come from a long line of detectives. Detective work is in my blood. There was a time when being a detective was considered a sacred duty. My family's always seen it that way.
: Then...is your family famous?
: Quite the opposite, actually. Even among actual detectives, many people haven't heard of us.
: Huh? But...how come? It's like your family tradition, right? So...
: Because we take pride in it.

Pride...?

: A detective is neither light nor shadow. We represent neither justice nor evil. That is how we can uncover the absolute truth. We stand neutral in all things. And to do that, we have to stand separate from the rest of society. Which is why we've made a conscious effort to conceal our existence.
: A conscious effort...?
: It's kind of old-fashioned, and I can't say it's entirely rational... But it's our family creed, and we do what we must to protect it. Because, like I said, it's our source of pride.

Pride... So that explains...



Before I came here, when I was looking up info about the school online, I never saw anything about her. Because she hid herself on purpose, to protect the pride of her family...



: And yet... I...gave up some of that pride.
: Huh...?
: In order to enter Hope's Peak, I had to reveal myself to the school. I did it knowing it was something a true Kirigiri detective would never do.

But the reason you gave up that pride... The reason you would go so far to enter Hope's Peak...

: It was because that's how much you wanted to reconnect with your dad, right? There's no shame in that.
: ...Reconnect...? I had absolutely no desire to reconnect with my father.
: Huh...? B-But...you'd be reuniting after all those years, right? You would've had so much to talk about...
: There's nothing I want to talk to my father about. There is something I want to *say* to him, though.
: What...?
: No matter what it takes, I have to find him and tell him, face to face...
: Wh-What is it...?





: I want to sever all ties with him.

Sever...?

: The last time I saw him...I was still very young. So I don't remember myself, but apparently he was extremely intelligent. He was in line to become the next head of the Kirigiri family. He was talented, he had a promising future. But he had no interest in detective work. So he cut himself off from the family. Not long after that, my mother died, and he simply...ran away. He went to my grandfather, and they had a huge argument. And young as I was...he left me behind.
: I-I'm sure there was a reason for that. I'm sure your dad wanted to take you with him.
: If that's true, then I need to thank him. Thank him for leaving me... Because unlike him, I take pride in the work I do. I take pride in my family name. So every last part of me is happy he didn't take me with him. If I'd gone with him, I never would have had the chance to become a detective.

I was above Kyoko on the ladder, so I wasn't able to see her expression. So I couldn't tell... I couldn't see how she looked when she said that, what she might have been feeling. All I could tell was that compared to her usual self...she was more talkative. And more emotional.

: I don't blame him, you know. He had his own life to live. That's what anyone in my position might say, right? But it's not true... There's one thing... One thing I can never forgive.



: Really...?
: The way everyone else looked at me. I was never sad about being left behind. Like I said, I think it was a good thing. But when the rest of my family looked at me, they saw something different. They only saw me as the little girl that was abandoned by her father. That's how they see me even to this day. His shadow has been following me my entire life. I'm sick of it. I need him out of my life. I need to step out of his shadow. That's why I have to find him, and tell him we're no longer family. In order to settle the past... In order to remove him from my life forever. I have no doubt he forgot about me years ago.
: B-But...you're family. To just cut him out like that...
: Our only connection is through blood, nothing more. Are we connected by heart and soul? No. Is blood really enough to call someone family?

Only connected by blood, not by heart or soul... I was so shocked to hear her say something like that, I didn't know how to respond. So instead...I said nothing.



I just kept climbing the ladder in complete silence. And after I don't know how long...we finally reached the top.





: Looks like this is it.
: On the other side of this door...Hope's Peak is waiting for us.
: We're...back.
: Remember that hatch on the ground near the trash room? I'm fairly certain that's where we'll come out. I unlocked it earlier, so it should open without much trouble.
: Well, here goes nothin'...

I reached my right hand up and pushed against the hatch.

*Creak*

The hatch opened with ease. And so...





: Looks like we're back...
: But I can't believe how long that ladder was. I'm exhausted...

I can't exactly say we're safe and sound, but...at least we're out of there. Now we're back in Hope's Peak Academy...

: Kyoko...thank you. I never would've gotten out of there without you.



: No thanks necessary. I was just returning the favor.
: So...now what do we do? I'm glad I didn't die, of course, but if the mastermind finds out... And I'm worried about you, too. You helped me, so they might...
: You're worried?
: Y-Yeah, of course.
: Then let's just get a concrete answer.
: Huh...?





: Let's ask Monokuma if there's a problem with you escaping.
: W-Wait, that's--!
: If we try to hide, it's only a matter of time till we're found out. And it's not like we can run away.

As she said that, she pointed at the nearby surveillance camera.

: So you're saying rather than stressing out over getting caught, we should just give up now?



: Don't worry. What you think is going to happen, isn't.
: Because the mastermind is the one that's ensnared.

The mastermind is ensnared...

: You said something like that before. What does it mean...?
: The mastermind stood exposed during the investigation into Mukuro's death. There was a moment where the mastermind let their guard down.
: There was...?



: If we can talk to Monokuma, we can confirm it. And it'll be better for us if we go to him directly before he tracks us down. That should help with out negotiations...

...I'm still a little--no, super uneasy about this.

: But...we don't really have a choice, do we?
: Monokuma should be in the gym. Let's get going.