Danganronpa: Shuri's School

Chapter 32: Fifth Floor Investigation

I woke up about 15 minutes before the 7am alert, and rather than trying to go back to sleep, I decided to get up, get showered, and get dressed. Heading to my door, I noticed a note slid under the door. Cocking my head, I picked it up and read it.

"The room is as we suspected. No access. No interference from M."

The note was signed "BT".

I headed to the Dining Hall, which thankfully did not smell of cleaning supplies or vomit, but a sudden pang hit me. Kirumi was no longer here to cook her amazing breakfasts. She would certainly be missed by everyone, even though I was still irritated that she tried to pin her double murder on me.

This place has taken an effect on everyone here, even if they do their best to hide it. Even Byakuya seems a little more on edge lately, leaving me a note instead of directly speaking to me.

No one said a word as I entered the Dining Hall, not that Peko and Maki were ever the chatty types. I had two bananas and some orange juice for breakfast, then headed out of the Dining Hall, washing my own dishes in silence.

On the way out, I came across Nagito, who seemed to want my attention for one reason or another.

"Shurinku, are you alright after yesterday's trial?" Nagito asked, concern written all over his face.

"I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Nagito smiled. "That's good! I couldn't stand seeing you fall into despair like that. I'm sorry that a lowly chunk of rotten roadkill like me couldn't help you."

"Nagito, mind if we talk while exploring the fifth floor?"

Nagito's eyes went wide. "Wow, an Ultimate like you is asking someone like me to join them? Incredible! Yes, I would love to go with you, and do whatever I can to be a stepping stone for your hope!"

"Nagito...please..." I said inside my head. Then again, this was the very reason I wanted to Nagito to join me to begin with. I wanted to get to the bottom of his self-depreciation, and his obsession with hope, no matter how much it pained me.

We gradually made our way to the Fifth Floor, where the usual two empty classrooms greeted us on the left hallway, 5-A and 5-B. I'm guessing these classrooms must've been used at some point, but as far as I know, none of us have used them for anything other than private meeting rooms. Part of me was disappointed in this, as I truly hoped to hone my talents here, but on the other hand, I have been able to help my fellow classmates, so maybe this isn't all just wasted time after all.

Unexpectedly, we came across another locked staircase, with sign next to it saying "Roof Access", so we headed the opposite way, towards an Archery Room, a long, narrow room at the corner of the intersection.

Inside the Archery Room, Maki was examining the arrows. Along the wall hung various types of bows. Short bows, longbows, compound bows, and crossbows (which used a shorter type of arrow called a bolt). On the other end was a single target, a Monokuma face with rings circling the center at uniform intervals, with a bull's-eye at the center.

Maki put the arrow she was looking at back into a quiver. "Strong shaft. Head designed for deep penetration. I approve."

Unable to resist, I responded, "Wait, are you talking about..." before trailing off.

Maki glared at me "Do you want to die? Don't be a pervert, Shuri."

Chuckling to myself, while Nagito shot me a sideways glance, I already knew she was referring to the arrows. "Anything you can tell me about these arrows? Or the bows, for that matter?"

Maki nodded. "These aren't cheap arrows. Lightweight, designed for long-range targets. I imagine I could shoot one of these from up here, and sever someone's spinal cord in the Courtyard, given the right shooting angle and wind speed."

A chill went through me, but I remembered the windows.

Maki continued, gesturing at the target. "As for that thing, I'm unsure what it's made of. The arrows stick into it just fine, but when you pull them out, there's no signs that the target was ever struck with anything. I'm unfamiliar with this material."

I suddenly noticed Nagito wasn't here with us. Turning my attention back to Maki, I asked, "Did Nagito follow me in here?"

Maki nodded, then pointed outside, down the hallway.  "He went that way, towards the corner."

"Thanks, Maki. I'll ask you about these bows later. I should probably find Nagito."

I took my leave of Maki and walked down the hall, glancing out the window. For a moment, I thought I saw a figure with long, dark hair in the courtyard, but they left my line of sight before I could be certain I even saw anything. Shrugging it off, I continued down the hall, then made a left.

Before me was a fairly wide, open area, wider than the hallways. Two doors faced me; one said "Headmaster's Office", and the other said "Staff Meeting Room". The Headmaster's Office door was standing open, so I headed in there.

Nagito was behind the Headmaster's Desk, looking confused. Glancing around, I could see why.

The entire room, aside from a single desk and chair, was completely empty. There was even a light amount of dust on the desk itself. I exchanged puzzled glances with Nagito.

"Nothing in the drawers, nothing under the desk, nothing behind the door...just nothing. I'm sorry I couldn't find anything useful in here."

"Actually, I think the fact that nothing IS in here is a very big discovery, Nagito. To me, this seems to prove that this isn't the real Hope's Peak Academy! Why else would an important room like this be empty?"

Nagito looked at me, awestruck. "Wow! What an observation, worthy of a true Ultimate like yourself!" Nagito thought some more, then added, "Still, though, what does this all mean?"

Unsure how to answer that question, I decided to leave this room and head for the Staff Meeting Room. However, when I tried to open the door, it was locked. Confused, I stepped off to the side, and Nagito tried opening the door. No luck; that door was not budging for either of us.

An all-too-familiar voice came from behind us. "Ah-ah-ahhhhhh! That room is off-limits! Authorized personnel only!"

I spun around to face Monokuma. "Huh? Why? Whatcha hiding back there?"

Monokuma shook his head. "Authorized. Personnel. Only."

Kokichi, of all people, came around the corner. He looked thoughtfully at the three of us, then spoke up.

"Oh, do we have a locked door here? Hold on, I can pick it open in a few seconds!"

Monokuma stepped in front of him. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Kokichi laughed. "What kind of Ultimate Supreme Leader would I be if I couldn't get into places I don't belong? Nee-heehee!"

Monokuma's eye glowed for several moments, then went dim. "Eh, at this point, I don't really feel like making a new rule banning you from here, and I already know Kokichi can pick this lock. Fine, make you a deal. I'll open the lock on this door, but NOT until tomorrow at 7am. Deal?"

Before any of us can answer, Monokuma interrupted us. "Good, because this was not negotiable anyway! Now, go!"

As me, Kokichi, and Nagito made our way down the hall, with the Courtyard on our right, Monokuma said one more thing.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Be careful near the windows on this floor! One of these windows had to be replaced, and they did a real crap job at it! I don't remember which one it is, and I don't really care to look for it, either."

Crap. If Soda or Keebo were here, they could find out quickly. I wasn't about to start messing with them and find out. My luck, I'd go right through the window and land on something. I made a mental note to be careful up here. Between the faulty window and the Archery Room, not to mention the locked Staff Meeting Room, this entire floor felt like trouble.

I had no idea just how right I was...