Danganronpa: Shuri's School

Chapter 33: Operation Red Flag

After Monokuma left, I decided to head down for lunch. It was still hard to be in the Dining Hall, after seeing Kirumi die in here yesterday, but...well, this is where the food is. I made myself a double cheeseburger, with lettuce, tomato, and #1 Honey BBQ sauce. I then grabbed a Mr. Bipp soda bottle and ate with Maki, Peko, and Mikan in the Courtyard.

Maki ate in silence, while Mikan was checking Peko's right wrist, which was apparently sprained from doing some kind of exercise in the Dojo. It didn't seem like too bad of a sprain, or perhaps Peko just has a high tolerance for pain. Either way, Mikan eventually left Peko's wrist alone, asking her to be careful using that hand today.

Maki, at the meanwhile, shot me an occasional glance between me and Mikan, as if expecting me to say something, but said nothing herself. I, of course, was completely lost with this, but finished off my lunch anyway. Maki was clearly hinting at something, but I must not have picked up on it, so I made it a point to talk to her later.

I threw my trash in the incinerator, as I wanted to avoid the Dining Hall as much as possible today, then headed to the School Store. I swiped my E-Handbook, and got a small board/card game called "Amongst the Crew". I scanned my E-Handbook again, and got a blade sharpener. Before I could react, the crazy machine starting making jackpot sounds, and the word "LUCKY!" appeared on the glass. Puzzled, I kept watching, and I got another present, this one a small box with "80 Denier" written on it. Inside was a pair of white tights.

...What the hell was I supposed to do with all this stuff?! Then again, I keep coming back here, so maybe I should be asking myself why I keep coming back to this thing.

Utterly confused, I put the game in my lower right pocket, the blade sharpener in my upper left pocket, and the small box with the tights in my lower left pocket. I then decided to check out the Fifth Floor again.

Byakuya intercepted me on the Second Floor stairs, warning me that someone had tampered with the "Sora no Heya" and "Kagi wa Hondesu" books. If he had any suspicions on who, he didn't share it with me, and I wasn't about to ask him.

To my surprise, I found Kokichi in room 5-B, writing on the digital chalkboard and making notes in a journal-like booklet. Deciding to investigate him, I approached Kokichi and asked what he was doing in here.

Kokichi glanced up at the camera, then motioned me closer, an unsettling grin on his face. Unnerved and on edge, my senses on high alert, I approached him.

"I've come up with a plan to get everyone out of here! All I need to do is create a murder where no one can see, and make it so no one knows who truly died!" Kokichi said eagerly.

Ummmm...what? This didn't even make sense. I cocked my head in confusion.

"Best of all, Nagito has volunteered to help me! Such a good underling, willing to be a stepping stone for us all! Of course, I still have some details to work out, but there's a hallway near the Library with no cameras, so that will work!"

A question formed in my head that I wasn't sure I wanted to ask, but I asked it anyway.

"Why are you telling me this? You do realize I fully plan on stopping this, right?"

"Nee-heehee! Stopping what? This is just idle chatter, and besides, once my plan is executed, you won't even know who's dead! Is it me? Is it Nagito? No one will truly know!" Kokichi had an evil grin on his face, and then he quickly frowned. "Too bad I don't have a giant robot to hide in, so one of us would have to dress and act like the other. Or maybe this is all just a lie, and my plan is simply to kill Nagito with his consent. Nee-heehee!"

As much as I wanted to throttle the little purple checkered bastard, he DID give me some very useful information. He knows about the hidden passageway in the Library, and his plot involves killing Nagito in some convoluted way. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the "Amongst the Crew" game, placing it on a desk in front of him.

Kokichi looked the game over, seemingly amazed. "Wooooooww! How'd you get this? Are you starting to get me now?"

"Kokichi, I think you play too many head games for anyone to TRULY get you, but if this gift would make ANYONE happy, it'd be you. Now, I think this is a good time to take my leave."

As I exited the classroom, I saw what looked like Mikan heading down the other hallway, but all I could only make out long hair disappearing around the corner. Not particularly interested in checking it out, I instead headed to the Archery Room, where I knew Maki would be.

Sure enough, Maki was in the Archery Room, balancing an arrow on her finger, focusing intently on it. Deciding not to interrupt her concentration, I waited for Maki to finish whatever she was doing, then after she put the arrow away, I decided to address her.

"Maki, you got a moment?"

Maki sighed. "Is this about that idiot's attempt at an unsolvable murder? That idea's stupid, Kokichi is stupid, and if Nagito thinks this will work, then he's stupid too."

I had no argument against this, though I was surprised Maki knew of Kokichi's plan. However, that wasn't the purpose of my visit. "So, Maki, have you found anything else interesting in this room?"

Maki shrugged. "These arrows are perfectly balanced for long-distance flight. The short bows are good for little more than teaching children how to shoot. The longbows are better for teaching adults. It's the compound bows that concern me, as far as weapons are concerned. They really pack some power."

So Maki is mostly worried about the compound bows. Noted.

"Anything new on the arrows?" I asked next.

Maki shrugged again, then turned towards the target. "Shooting Monokuma in the eyes is fun. Otherwise, nothing I haven't already told you."

Glancing at the compound bows, I decided to pick one up. I haven't shot a bow in a while, but my hand-eye coordination has always been pretty good. I grabbed an arrow and nocked it, then took careful aim at the Monokuma target's nose. I took a deep breath and held it, then I released the arrow, striking Monokuma about an inch or so above his nose.

Maki nodded approvingly. "Not bad for a first shot. The feathers are designed for maximum loft, so they don't drop like you'd expect them to."

"Yeah, I noticed that. Well, thanks for the info." I considered giving Maki the white tights, but decided that would probably end very poorly for me, so I gave her the blade sharpener instead.

Maki looked it over. "This is specifically designed for small blades. Daggers, arrows...maybe even scissors, I suppose."

She then realized I was giving it to her. "Hmmmm...you must not be too worried if you're giving me something like this. Well, it's not like I mind. I'll accept it."

I nodded my appreciation, then went to leave. As I reached Classroom 5-A, I heard a scream, then some thumping, coming from the stairs. Alarmed, I ran down the stairs to the Fourth Floor, and froze.

At the base of the stairs was a girl, on the ground, not moving. Standing near her was Nagito and Peko, looking stunned. The girl had disheveled, uneven hair, and bandages all over her legs and arms.

It was Mikan, laying on the ground before us, and there were 3 sets of eyes on her.

But then, something strange happened...