Part 74: Reach Out, I'll Be There

MUSIC: Spirit, Praise and Beauty



I feel excellent for the first time in a while! My movements are on point, wouldn't you say!?

Y'know, if I did die, my funeral would be way more awesome than that shitty memory! The whole country...no, the whole world would mourn my passing!



Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome... Many cultures have ways to speak with the dead. Many seances have been created all around the world. The Caged Child is but one of them.

What could that memory mean? I mean, it's impossible that a funeral was held for me.

Cuz I have Atua. So I'm in no danger of dying, y'know?

MUSIC: Beautiful Lie







You had...no one. You found out that awful truth and gave up your life for Kirumi. But...I... Ryoma, you wanted to fight with us, didn't you? Was that not enough reason to live? You could've fought with us, we could've fought together...then you could have lived. We...couldn't have been your reason to live?

...Maybe I'm just being arrogant.





Kirumi's final moments... I can't get the image of her running for her life out of my head. I can still hear her... Her scream of defiance. Perhaps running isn't so bad... Perhaps we aren't strong enough to face it. In order to live until the end...





...I can't just ignore what she said. She sounded really upset.

*knock, knock*

...

*click*



Ah, um, if it's alright with you, do you wanna talk?

...Didn't I tell you to stay away from me? I'm staying away from you and the others. So just...pretend I'm not even here.



...



The inner tube isn't here... Did Monokuma put it away?



I am soooo disappointed in Kaito! Why does he care so much about killer girl!?

...Oh, maybe he's trying to suck up to Maki, so she doesn't kill him.



Do you think it'll be okay if we don't do anything about Maki? She told us to stay away from her, but... I still think it's dangerous to leave a killer like her unattended!







Nyeh...? What is it...?



Now that I'm thinking about it... I wonder if Monokuma's still bald. It's not that I'm worried about him... It's that he's just plain disgusting like that.



Oh, Shuichi! Perfect timing! Gonta need to ask you something!







It's not okay to lump them together just because they've both killed someone.



Kaede and Kirumi...did both kill someone... But that doesn't make them murderous fiends...









I think Kaito would be game to watch Office Space based purely on the second word in the title.



Alright! As thanks for this cool gift, I'll tell you a cool story!



You're pretty enthusiastic about this...

Ah, well, you're an astronaut trainee, right, Kaito?

Sure am! I'm still a trainee, but I'm gonna be accepted for sure!

Training to be an astronaut must be hard... Can you handle it?

No problem! My training's a piece of cake!



Well, to be honest, it's about as intense as intense can get. But the universe is harsh. You gotta be able to handle any situation.

Any situation...



It's pretty straightforward. You learn the skills needed to be an astronaut! Medicine, aeronautical engineering, scuba diving, linguistics, survival training... You pretty much just gotta master everything.



Yeah, for emergencies where I gotta make an unexpected return from Space.

That's right, I suppose you do risk your life to be an astronaut.

Ah, that reminds me, I remember watching something on the news...



Right! It's pretty famous! It's a little different from basic training though.





Perseverance?

Sure, that's necessary. But there's something more important than that. The seafloor facility exists to help people train this specific thing! And that thing is...

A healthy body?

Yeah, that's true... You bring up a good point.

But there's something more important than that. And that thing is...

A talent? If you don't have any expertise, going to space would be out of the question.

Well, that makes sense. You have to run a bunch of tests out in space.

But no matter what talent you've got, there's one thing you absolutely need. And that thing is...



The universe is a frontier that the people of the world challenge together. And since we need to work together, communication is vital!

That does sound quite important...

Right? They check that in the recruitment exam.



Of course, I can speak Japanese, English, and Russian all fluently! I didn'tjust learn the languages, I had to learn each culture, too.

The culture, huh? I never thought I'd hear Kaito...



He can speak multiple languages, is well-learned, and has what it takes to be an astronaut. ...I've been underestimating him. Kaito is incredible!



The world needs this Luminary of the Stars to shine even brighter!

...I don't have the heart to tell him that I'm not so sure about that.









MUSIC: Rise and Shine, Ursine!



It is now 10 pm. It's beddy-bye time for us.

YOU-TWO...SHOULD-SLEEP-TOGETHER-IN-ONE-BIG-BED.

Oh, the three of us could all sleep in one big bed, right?

AS-CLOSE-AS-WE-ARE, NOT-ONLY-COULD-WE-SLEEP-IN-ONE-BIG-BED... WE-COULD-SLEEP-IN-TRIPLE-BUNK-BEDS.

Huh!? But whoever's in the top bunk might fall outta bed and dieeeeee!

Ugh... I dunno if we're that close...







NO MUSIC

We haven't done it for a while because of the murder, but we're going to do it tonight, right? In that case, I need to go to the courtyard.

MUSIC: Darkness Time





Ah, nowhere in particular... What about you, Angie?

Oh, I was just talking to the others.



Since they can't hear Atua's voice, I was explaining His wisdom to them.

Ah, I see...

Atua was touched by everyone's feelings, so He said we must all preserve the peace here! Nyahahaha! I'm so relieved! I'll work with everyone to make this academy a paradise!



Bye-onara, Shuichi! See you tomorrow!



Himiko's magic show was Angie's idea as well... What is she planning this time?



Then, suddenly...





Her?





Maki? Why is Maki here?

...That's what I'd like to know. Someone kept buzzing my intercom and I got so fed up, I finally opened the door. Then this guy grabbed my arm and dragged me all the way here—



If we're gonna train, it's more fun with three people than two, right?

Training? The three of us? Is that really the reason you dragged me here?

This is stupid... I'm going back.

Heh...you callin' this stupid?



That's what this training is! It's important for a hero like me.



Of all the examples you could have picked...

Did you really think that crazy explanation would convince me to stay? This is still stupid... I'm going back.



Even super pets think of themselves as heroes.

The same goes to both of you! Each of you are the heroes of your own stories!



...

I don't know what you're up to...but I told you both to stay away from me. You know this will end badly if you don't, so why are you being so difficult?

NO MUSIC



...What?

MUSIC: Heartless Journey

Kaito brought his face close to Maki's.

Your mask is coming down... I could tell just by looking at you today.



Please...just pretend I'm not even here.





...

Hey, what's your enemy?

...Huh? My enemy?

You don't need to tell me what it is, as long as you know it yourself.



...Run away?

Yeah, you've been running away. It's pretty pathetic.

But...if you want to stand against it, even a little...

I'll train with you! So you can be strong!



...

Maki is getting angry... Kaito is just provoking her. Is he going to be okay? He's antagonizing the Ultimate Assassin...

...



Hey, Kaito... It's okay, you don't have to—

...Fine, I'll do it.

Huh? You'll do it?



Heh, so you do get it!

...The only way to deal with idiots like him is to give up and just keep nodding.

Y-You don't get it at all!



...Well, what are we doing first?





MUSIC: Becoming Friends

AUDIO: Maki's Super Fast Push-ups



N-Not bad...Shuichi... You're getting...better!

H-Hey Kaito...no slacking today, yeah? I'm counting your reps!

Heh, I'm on fire today. I can easily do 50 push-ups!

I thought we were doing a hundred!

Hey, what about you, Maki? A hundred might be too hard for you, so-



Wha—!? That fast!?



Maki stood and brushed the dirt from her hands, totally composed.

Y-You're done already?

Y-You're not even out of breath... I guess you've trained before, huh?



B-Before coming here, I did some warm ups... I already did 500 push-ups, so...

Kaito... *That* was the best lie you could come up with?

Anyway, I'm done and you can't say I didn't train with you. I'm going back to my room.



...



MUSIC: Beautiful Lie



Hey, Kaito...why did you do all this? To help her?

Hm? If someone's weak, you help them out. Teamwork's important for astronauts.

If someone's weak and suffering, there's no way you can just leave them!



Well, in that sense, you're—

No...your case is a little different.

What do you mean?



So are you.

Weren't you listening? I already did 500 push-ups before I got here.

...Nice try, Kaito.



We agreed to just start over, and we were exhausted by the time we reached 100.

NO MUSIC



When I got back to my room, I huffed out a deep sigh and fell backwards onto my bed.

Kaito bringing Maki... he really is crazy. But maybe it's because he's crazy that Maki came in the first place. ...Kaito...you really are something else.

My eyelids closed as I continued talking to myself, and eventually I drifted to sleep.

MUSIC: Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3





...CURIOUS? ...CURIOUS-WHAT-WE-MONOKUBS-DO-WHEN-YOU'RE-NOT-AROUND? I'LL-TELL-YOU. WE-LISTEN-TO-FOREIGN-MUSIC-AND-LAUGH-AT-THE-FUNNY-SOUNDING-WORDS. WHEN-WE-HEAR-WORDS-THAT-SOUND-PERVERTED, WE-GET-REALLY-EXCITED. WE-ALSO-WEAR-PAJAMAS-ALL-DAY, AND-LOUNGE-IN-AN-AlR-CONDITIONED-ROOM... AND-WHEN-WE-ALL-GO-OUT-TOGETHER, THEY-USUALLY-MAKE-ME-STEAL. SEE? WE'RE-ALL-SUCH-GOOD-FRIENOS. WE'RE-ALWAYS-TOGETHER. EXCEPT-WHEN-THEY-RUN-AWAY-WHEN-I-GET-CAUGHT-STEALING.





Day 11.

MUSIC: Rise and Shine, Ursine!



THIS-IS-AN-EMERGENCY-ANNOUNCEMENT. PLEASE-ASSEMBLE-IN-THE-GYM. REFUSAL-TO-GET-ALONG...IS-GROUNDS-FOR-PUNISHMENT.

Oh, Monodam, you're really obsessed with this whole getting-along thing!

"Friends" is the only show he watches now!

IF-YOU-DON'T-GET-ALONG...I-WON'T-FORGIVE-YOU. I-WlLL-USE-THE-EXISALS-TO-PEEL-YOUR-FACES-OFF-LIKE-MANDARlN-ORANGES.





Ah! She puked again! Ooh, it's blue this time! How rare! They say anyone who sees Monophanie's blue puke will have good luck.





Next time: good news, everyone!

Prison Navy Theme
Ryoma Hoshi's theme.
A fall from glory, the sorrow of sin...







The handcuffs in the upper left corner swing back and forth. That's a nice touch.