Danganronpa: Shuri's School

Chapter 19: Byakuya's Private Meeting

My eyes shot open, and I froze in spite of myself. Kirumi noticed this, and promptly asked, "What's the matter?"

I responded, "I just had to remember where I placed them for a moment. Pretty sure they're still in my room. I'll retrieve them for him at once...you know how he gets sometimes." I then nodded sarcastically.

Kirumi curtsied, then let me pass. I immediately headed to the second floor library, where Byakuya was reading a small book, his right side facing me. I pointed towards the corner of the room, where the secret doorway was, and didn't say a word. Byakuya nodded, and we both walked over to the bookcase. I pulled the "Sora no Heya" book, and as before, it came halfway out before snapping back into place, moving the bookshelf into the crevice. We walked through the dark corridor, and reached the other bookcase. I pulled "Kagi wa Hondesu", and it opened the bookcase as well, letting us into the white, empty room again.

Byakuya let both doors shut behind us, then started speaking immediately. "I've been upstairs already, and I suspect you've noticed the abnormally large wall on the third floor. By my calculations, this room is directly above that large walled-off area. I suspect that this ceiling is actually a floor to another room, but I have yet to figure out how to get up there."

"Have you seen anyone come or go from there?" I asked.

"No, I haven't, but that doesn't mean that no one has. Furthermore, while in the Library, I have heard no strange sounds or noises coming from that area. If I am correct, and I am SURE I am, this must have a silent mechanism connected to it somehow."

"Alright. No one I've spoken to has mentioned this secret room, so I'm pretty sure only you and I know about it, so far. However, I feel it's just a matter of time before Monokuma catches on, especially with the security cameras."

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, and I am devising a plan for whenever that unfortunate event occurs. Leave that to me."

"Speaking of leave, it may be a good time for us to go, too. Too much time spent in here could draw the wrong sort of attention, if you catch my drift," I responded, being mindful of the time.

"We should get going."

Byakuya smirked. "Yes, I agree. Let us leave this place before the others ruin everything."

We quickly left together, shutting both secret doors in the process. Byakuya went back to reading a short, thick book with a blue cover on it. Not interested in what he was reading, I decided to check out the third floor by myself.

Nobody was in the classrooms, but Soda was in the Shop Room, eagerly creating...something. I didn't want to distract him, with his fingers so close to the saw blades, and I doubted he would have heard me anyway, so I checked out the Track Room.

Aoi, Akane, and Ibuki were running in the Track Room. It didn't surprise me to see Akane in here, and it kinda made sense for Aoi as well, but I was puzzled as to why Ibuki would be here, running in circles.

Ibuki saw me and stopped, nearly getting run over by Akane in the process, but barely seemed to notice her. Instead, she ran over to me.

"Hey Shuri! Wanna run in circles with Ibuki today?" Ibuki asked, excitement level turned to 11. "It's so much fun to burn energy and just run, run, run!"

I shook my head. "Nah, I'll pass. Maybe another time, alright?"

Ibuki looked equal parts disappointed and slightly annoyed. "Awwwww."

Hina slowed down to meet up with us two. "Sup? Am I interrupting something?"

Akane, meanwhile, ran full-speed past us, not even glancing in our direction.

"Nope, not really. You girls doing alright?" I didn't want to be more specific, not with Ibuki standing right there.

Ibuki looked down. "I still don't know who could've voted me as the killer, so I decided to run a whole bunch of laps until I figure it out! Running is one of Ibuki's hobbies, ya know!"

Confused, I looked over at Hina, who merely shrugged at me. Ibuki, meanwhile, turned around and started running full-speed again.

Hina started talking to me, to my surprise. "Akane and I have been pushing each other physically lately. She's almost as fast a swimmer as I am, but I still beat her by a few strokes. Now that we have this running track, it's another thing we can challenge each other on!"

I nodded. "So who's the fastest runner so far?"

Hina glanced to the side. "So far, Akane's a little bit faster than me on land, but that's ok! I can still beat her in the water! I'm just glad to finally have someone to compete against, because it gets lonely at the top."

Considering how many swimming records she's broken, it would make sense that she's always looking for someone to compete with. Akane seems more and more like the perfect match for Hina, both socially and physically. I may have to take some time and watch them compete against each other sometime.

Having nothing else to say to any of them, and seeing that Akane was paying me no attention, I decided to leave them be, and left the Track Room. Looking out the window, I saw Kokichi, Nagito, and Kirumi talking in the Courtyard, in front of the benches near the Monokuma fountain. Of course, I couldn't hear a word they said, but it seemed that Nagito and Kirumi were doing most of the talking, with Kokichi focused on the fountain for some strange reason.

Interested as to why Kokichi was staring so intently at the fountain, but not wanting to interrupt their conversation, I decided to head to my dorm room and take it easy the rest of the day.

The next day, I would find out what Kokichi was up to, and his plan was just as crazy as he was.