Love Hotel V3

When he woke up, Komaeda was in a different room – one of the conference rooms, perhaps, except all the seats had been removed. The rest of the group was there in varying states of wakefulness. Even Enoshima’s bathroom break hadn’t saved her – she was awake, talking to a bleary-eyed Akamatsu. Hinata was asleep on the ground beside Komaeda.

‘Hinata-kun.’ Komaeda shook his shoulder gently. ‘Hey, Hinata-kun, are you awake?’

‘I’m awake,’ Hinata said, lifting a hand and batting at him vaguely. ‘What happened?’ He sat up gingerly.

‘We’ve been moved somewhere.’

‘Is this still the hotel?’ Hinata asked – looking at the high ceiling, perhaps.

‘Good question, Hinata-kun!’ Hinata jumped as Usami appeared beside him – she’d been restored to her normal form, apparently. ‘This hotel was designed as a multi-purpose venue, with a variety of meeting facilities. So yes, we’re still in the hotel.’

‘You’re looking much better now, Usami-san,’ Komaeda said.

‘Ehhehe, thank you for noticing! Things did get a little messy back there. That’s why Usami thought it was a good time for a refresh!’

Usami made her way to the front of the room, so that she could address them all.

‘Phew!’ she said, after she’d clambered up to the podium. ‘After everything went so topsy-turvy this morning, Usami had to come up with a new plan. Today’s activity is called School Gym Sleepover. We’re all going to stay here together overnight! Isn’t that exciting?’

No-one thought it was exciting, and several people renewed their demands that Usami should ‘end this farce’ and let them go. Usami paid them no mind.

‘Usami thought we could play some party games to get us in the mood. Let’s see ... there’s 40 participants left, so let’s put you in four groups of ten!’

40 left. Four who had escape and four who had died. One of the 40 remaining had to be involved. One of them, at least, was a killer.

Rather than handpick the groups, Usami put them all in a circle and counted them into groups. It was predictable enough that Komaeda could avoid standing next to Hinata, slotting himself in three places away instead. Hinata looked at him strangely for it. It didn’t really matter which group they were each in, but Komaeda was sick of Usami’s penchant for splitting them up.

‘Right, now I’ve prepared some cards so that we can play the King Game. I hope you’re all ready to come up with some exciting orders! But remember to keep it safe. And no-one’s to leave the room, of course.’

Each of the groups gathered together, with some grizzling. The most worrying person in Komaeda’s group was Iruma – she seemed most likely to insist on telling everyone to kiss each other, or something equally asinine. Shirogane was in their group too, and Usami delivered their ten cards to her.

‘I guess we all pick randomly,’ Shirogane said, and she offered each of the group members the cards in turn. Komaeda got the four of hearts, which probably meant something disastrous.

After they’d all drawn their cards, Momota was the one to show his king card.

‘I guess I gotta do this, huh?’ he said. ‘How about … 1 and 2, let’s see which of you can jump the highest.’

‘Jump?’ Iruma said. ‘Y-You just wanna see my tits bounce, don’t ya, ya perv!’

‘No-one wants to see that,’ Souda said. It seemed the pair of them were 1 and 2. Souda won the jumping contest easily, although perhaps Iruma would have made a better showing of things if she hadn’t had one arm clamped over her breasts.

‘Alright!’ Momota said. ‘Now, number 3 … let’s see if you can do a cartwheel.’

Number 3 was Togami, who still had one arm in a sling. ‘Try again,’ Togami said drily.

‘Oh, right … how about the splits?’

‘No.’

‘Come on, don’t be so hasty.’

‘Togami-kun’s still recovering,’ Amami said. ‘Maybe we stay away from physical challenges?’

Togami tched, as if to say he didn’t need Amami stepping in for him.

‘Yeah, okay … then how about you sing us a song?’

‘You want me to sing?’

‘Sure. Even a guy like you’s gotta have a go-to karaoke pick, right?’

Komaeda thought that Togami might refuse again. Instead, with a completely straight face, he began to sing the natural anthem. Togami actually had a very good voice, and he didn’t hesitate to let it fill the hall.

Momota looked taken aback, but at the end he clapped enthusiastically. There was a smattering of applause from the other groups (not least from a dazed-looking Fukawa). Togami looked somewhat perturbed.

Komaeda found himself wondering how Mioda would have reacted. Would she be recruiting Togami to her band as well? Somehow, thinking that made her death concrete. More, even, than seeing her corpse had.

After that, Momota reverted to physical challenges – Komaeda had to compete against Chabashira for the number of push-ups they could do, a challenge he was happy to lose (Chabashira seemed disappointed he gave up so easily). It continued until there was only one person left – Harukawa. She should have been able to do whatever Momota asked easily, Komaeda thought – except that with Harukawa, Momota changed tack.

‘Number 9,’ he said, ‘please give someone you like a hug.’

Harukawa’s face twitched. Momota looked very pleased with himself.

‘Don’t think I’m giving you a hug,’ Harukawa muttered.

‘I only said “someone you like”.’

There was some sort of mental battle between them; then Harukawa turned sharply, and walked up to one of the other groups. She tapped Pekoyama on the shoulder. Pekoyama seemed surprised, but she listened to Harukawa’s explanation and didn’t object when Harukawa gave her a quick hug.

‘Better luck next time,’ Amami said to Momota.

‘Aw, it’s fine. It’s nice Harumaki has a friend.’

Harukawa came back, and Momota gathered the cards and shuffled them.

‘Do we hafta keep going?’ Iruma said. ‘This kind of game is annoying. We haven’t even had anything to drink.’

‘It’s not even lunchtime,’ Hinata said.

‘So? If Usami’s making us play dumb games, least she could do it get us drunk first.’

‘Hotel rules,’ Usami said, appearing beside Iruma and making her jump. ‘No alcohol before 5 pm.’

‘Yeesh,’ Iruma said. ‘Who came up with that one?’

‘Usami did, of course. If you’ve finished your first round, you should go again. It’s important to keep busy, you know. Youth delinquency is a real problem.’

‘Who’re you calling a delinquent?’

‘I was going to say, we’re all adults,’ Amami said.

‘If you’re adults,’ Usami said, ‘you should be enjoying an adult love, shouldn’t you? But you’re all still here. You’ll never mature like this! That’s why you gotta do as Usami says.’

‘Because the remote-control rabbit is an expert on love,’ Togami said. ‘Do you seriously think these inane games are worth our being here?’

‘Don’t answer that,’ Amami said to Usami. ‘Let’s play another round, okay?’

‘And I really thought Togami-kun had had a breakthrough the other day,’ Usami said. ‘I guess it was fool’s love.’

‘Come on, Momota-kun, offer me a card,’ Amami said. He drew from the hand Momota offered; seeing them occupied, Usami went to bother someone else.

‘I didn’t realise you were so keen to go along with things, Amami-kun,’ Komaeda said.

‘It’s not that,’ Amami said. ‘She’s just getting on my nerves. Togami-kun, you don’t have to rile her up.’

‘Is that what I’m doing?’ Togami said.

‘Okay, that’s all of us!’ Momota said, loudly, as if to distract from the tension building between Togami and Amami. ‘Who’s the king?’

‘It’s me,’ Amami said, showing his card. ‘I’m going to keep things simple. I want everyone to say one thing they remember about someone who has died.’

Togami lifted his eyebrows.

‘Is that really a good idea?’ Shirogane said.

‘It doesn’t need to be anything super meaningful,’ Amami said. ‘Komaeda-kun, why don’t you go first?’ Making Komaeda his accomplice.

‘I think you’re meant to stick to numbers,’ Komaeda said, ‘but alright. I remember Hanamura-kun offered to make lunch for me and Amami-kun, even when there was no reason for him to be that nice to me. He just did it.’

‘It was really good too, right?’ Amami said.

‘Yeah. Much better than if I’d made something myself. Anyway, that’s mine.’ There was something uncomfortable about saying something so sincere in front of the group. It was the first thing that had popped into his head.

‘I can go next,’ Momota said. ‘One morning we had sausages at breakfast and I saw Owari eat ten of them in a row. Bam bam bam, just like that. I never saw anyone eat like that before. I thought, wow, there’s a girl I want to get to know better.’ The smile that had been in Momota’s voice folded in on itself. ‘She shouldn’t have died like that.’

‘She showed me pictures of her family,’ Harukawa said, surprising Komaeda. ‘So many brothers and sisters …’ She lowered her eyes. ‘I don’t know who’s going to tell them.’

They went quiet a moment. Then Chabashira spoke up. ‘Mine’s about Ibuki. She didn’t act like it was weird when I asked her out during the scavenger hunt. And then …’ Chabashira seemed uncharacteristically abashed, fidgeting with her sleeve. ‘She asked me to be in her band so we could pick up girls together. And now it’s not fair it’s never going to happen.’ Chabashira’s last words came out in a rush, and she clamped her mouth shut. She looked like she might be about to cry; Komaeda looked over at Amami to see if he was penitent, but he was without shame.

‘She said the same thing to me,’ Hinata said, ‘kind of. But I think she meant it. Mioda really did want to hang out with everyone.’

‘I guess everyone’s saying nice things, huh?’ Iruma said. ‘I hit Hanamura in the face after he tried to hit on me. And then he apologised and asked if I would do it again.’

Was that meant to be a nice thing?

‘Kuwata had great stories,’ Souda said. ‘Like playing at Koushien and stuff. You don’t get to talk to someone like that every day.’

Wasn’t that another way of saying he was self-obsessed?

‘I overheard him trying to ask Maizono-san out,’ Shirogane said. ‘Before the thing with Hanamura-kun. She rejected him. I wonder what he would have thought of her going off with Naegi-kun?’

Now they were getting off-base.

‘Togami-kun?’ Amami prompted. Togami was the only one who hadn’t spoken.

‘This is pointless.’

‘You don’t have one memory you can share?’

‘I remember that idiot woman dying,’ Togami said, ‘because we thought we had a way out. Does that satisfy?’

He and Amami looked at each other. Komaeda wondered about that ‘we’ Togami had used. It felt exclusive. As if there had been some deliberation that Komaeda, at least, had not been privy too.

Amami looked away first. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘I’m not about to tell you what to remember.’ He glanced at the others, then gestured for them to hand back in their cards.

‘I guess I brought the mood down,’ Amami said, when Komaeda passed his card back.

‘If it makes you feel better, I’m not sure there’s much further down it can go.’

‘It wasn’t a bad thought,’ Hinata said. ‘It’s better to remember the others than to get caught up in what Usami wants us to do.’ He seemed awkward saying it.

‘Are you trying to make Amami-kun feel better?’ Komaeda said. ‘I thought you didn’t like him.’

‘I never said that!’

Amami’s brows went up, but somehow he looked less surprised than he had at Hinata addressing him.

‘You know, Komaeda-kun, you don’t have to say everything that comes into your head,’ Shirogane said.

‘You make it sound like a big deal,’ Amami said. ‘We’re not all required to like each other.’

‘Do you think that?’ Shirogane said.

‘Sure. There’s plenty of people in the world. You don’t have to like someone to get along with them.’

‘What sorta idea is that?’ Iruma said. ‘If you get along with someone, that means you like them, you doofus.’

‘Maybe I didn’t explain that right … you can still work with someone you don’t like, right? And as long as you don’t try to be friends, you can get along together.’

‘What? Since when do you work?’ Iruma said.

‘You know,’ Momota said, ‘I think you two really get along.’

Amami and Iruma both turned to look at him.

‘Should we just hand out these cards again?’ Hinata said. ‘I feel like Usami’s going to bother us again if we talk too long.’

Shirogane drew king next. She came up with orders like ‘yell the catchphrase of your favourite child hero’ or ‘make an acrostic off someone else’s name’. Inoffensive, boring orders. But Komaeda wondered if Shirogane, who had told Koizumi to sleep with Gokuhara, and who had slept with Akamatsu despite having previously cheered her on with Saihara, was as inoffensive and boring as she made out.

She’d told Komaeda not to say the first thing that popped into his head. That implied there were things in her own head that she wasn’t saying. Maybe she’d wanted to say something far, far harsher.

It was toward the end of Shirogane’s round – Harukawa had just been required to imitate a cat washing itself – that Usami’s signature chime rang through the room.

‘Oh, how lovely!’ Usami’s voice came over it. ‘I knew this approach would pay off!’

Everyone turned to look. Usami was skipping happily around an aghast Akamatsu and Saihara.

‘But – but it doesn’t mean anything!’ Akamatsu said. ‘It was just part of the game!’

‘Don’t hide your feelings!’ Usami said. ‘Usami knows when people are being sincere. And Saihara-kun knows it in his heart as well, doesn’t he?’

‘I –’ Now people were looking at Saihara, who was even paler than usual. ‘I don’t know anything! We were just playing the game. Akamatsu-san already told me she – she doesn’t want anything to do with me.’

‘You can fight against love,’ Usami said, pumping a paw in the air, ‘but you will not defeat it!’

Akamatsu looked for Komaeda across the room, her eyes pleading. He stepped forward, as if he could reassure her.

‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind dying, if it’s for Akamatsu-san.’

‘Don’t say that!’

Akamatsu said it, but someone else said it too – Hinata, who had grabbed Komaeda’s arm at the same time.

‘Don’t say that,’ Hinata said again.

‘But it’s really alright.’

It was a shame, of course. Even when he’d been told his parents weren’t coming back, he’d never wanted to die. Even when he’d been told he was sick, he’d never wanted to die. Even now –

‘Why are you crying?’ Komaeda said. Hinata’s eyes were wet; it wasn’t right that those be tears, but Komaeda’s brain couldn’t pretend they were anything else.

‘I mind if you die,’ Hinata said, ‘Nagito, you idiot.’

Komaeda’s heart squeezed; he thought suddenly that he couldn’t stand Hinata looking at him so desperately. Hinata shouldn’t be looking at him so desperately.

‘It’s nice that you’ve become such good friends,’ Usami said, ‘but we’re trying to celebrate Akamatsu-san and Saihara-kun here –’

‘Why are you so obtuse!’ Akamatsu said. ‘Komaeda-kun’s the one who’s in love, not me!’

‘What’s that?’ Usami said. ‘But he hasn’t said anything.’

‘I thought you said you knew what was in our hearts,’ Akamatsu said. ‘But you don’t. You’re just a cheap, no-good, murderous doll!’

‘Hinata-kun,’ Komaeda said, ‘it’s alright. You don’t have to pretend to be in love with me.’ If Hinata cared enough to want to save him, that made sense. That was fine. Komaeda would be glad to die knowing that he had made a true friend, someone who cared enough to want him to live. ‘It’s better this way. Because, you know, everyone I care about gets hurt because of me. I don’t want that to happen to you too.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Hinata said. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to me because of you.’

‘I’m really happy though,’ Komaeda said, ‘that you decided to use my name.’

‘Can I just check something?’ Amami said suddenly. ‘Usami, do you really only think that Akamatsu-san and Saihara-kun are in love right now?’

‘You know nothing would make Usami happier than if more of you were in love! But your time will come. Well, except for two of you who are done after this.’

‘But I like Komaeda-kun,’ Amami said. ‘Does it make a difference if I say it?’

‘Hmm … that depends on Komaeda-kun, doesn’t it?’

‘So if he said he liked me, you’d believe it?’

‘What an exciting chain of events!’ Usami said. ‘Komaeda-kun, do you like Amami-kun?’

It was very troubling, to be the centre of attention like this. ‘I think maybe Amami-kun’s misunderstood something.’

‘No, I’m just trying to figure out what criteria Usami’s using. I know you don’t like me like that.’

‘Aw,’ Usami said. ‘I was hoping we’d started a chain of love confessions …’

‘It’s not a show,’ Hinata said. ‘Why do we have to confess our feelings publicly?’

‘Huh?’ Usami said. ‘Didn’t you come here because you thought you were joining a dating show?’

‘Well, sure. What difference does that make?’

‘No difference! All participants are equal in Usami’s eyes –’

‘Are they really?’ Shirogane said.

‘Huh?’

‘Don’t you think you overcompensated this round?’

Usami tilted her head in confusion. But Shirogane wasn’t looking at her; she was looking at one of the other participants – Enoshima Junko.

‘Tsumugi-chan,’ Enoshima said, ‘aren’t you just pissed that Akamatsu likes Saihara better than you?’

‘What?’ Akamatsu said. ‘Tsumugi, what is she talking about?’

‘Yeah, Tsumugi-chan, tell her what I’m talking about.’ Enoshima grinned. ‘You won’t though, will you?’

Somehow, the energy in the room had changed. The attention was off Komaeda now, and Usami had gone quiet.

‘Enoshima-san, I was wondering.’ Kirigiri spoke up before Shirogane could bring herself to respond to Enoshima. ‘You weren’t in the room when Usami put us to sleep, so what were you doing?’

‘What a good question,’ Enoshima said. ‘As expected of the number-one detective in the room with us today. But if you’re hoping I’ll say something like, “I was fixing up Usami’s body, of course!” you’re going to be disappointed. I was talking a leak. Usami got me after I left the bathroom.’

‘Is that so?’ Kirigiri wasn’t done, though. ‘I have a question for Shirogane-san too. Who told you that having sex would give you immunity?’

Shirogane didn’t speak. Which was strange, because she’d answered the question easily enough that morning.

‘It was Usami, wasn’t it? Tsumugi?’ Akamatsu had an uncertain note to her voice. ‘Wasn’t it?’

Maybe the quaver in Akamatsu’s voice got to her, because Shirogane answered. ‘Enoshima-san told me.’

‘Geez,’ Enoshima said, ‘are we really going to go through with this?’

‘If it was Enoshima-san …’ Akamatsu bit her lip. She looked toward Enoshima.

‘Fine!’ Enoshima said. ‘I get it; the jig’s up. I, Enoshima Junko, am the one who put all this together, and who programmed Usami too.’

‘D-Don’t listen to her, guys!’ Usami said. ‘Usami is always in charge of her own actions!’

‘Oh, bullshit,’ Enoshima said. ‘I mean, I know I’m the one who made you think like that. But you gotta admit it’s a joke, right?’

Komaeda was rather hoping it was a joke. The idea that Enoshima – someone he’d barely paid attention to – was behind this. It should at least have been something like Togami …

‘No way,’ Hinata said beside him, but not for anyone to hear. He was still holding onto Komaeda’s arm, and Komaeda felt a sudden rush of warmth toward him.

‘So you’re the one who killed Mioda-san,’ Amami was saying. ‘And Owari-san, and the others –’

‘Hey!’ Enoshima said. ‘You can’t go blaming me for all of that. I’ll cop to Mioda and Hanamura, but Owari blundered into her own death. Anyway, it was all in the name of love, right?’ She made a heart with her fingers. ‘So that makes it okay.’ She lacked Usami’s sincerity.

‘You don’t mention Kuwata-kun,’ Kirigiri said. ‘I take it you didn’t kill him either?’

‘Well, duh. Like I’d bother to do him in. I just gave him to Mikan-chan instead. I gotta say, you guys were much more fun to play with that the previous contestants. I mean, I know I spiced things up this round, but some of you really went for it.’

‘What do you mean, the previous contestants?’ Akamatsu said. ‘This … this hasn’t happened before, has it?’

‘You’ve forgotten already? You’re gonna make me cry, Kaede-chi. It was in the primer, wasn’t it? This is Love Hotel V3.’ Enoshima cupped her hands around her mouth. ‘I’m still refining the formula.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Togami said. ‘If this had happened before, people would know.’

‘You think? I guess we’ll find out on that one.’

‘They’ll cover it up,’ Sonia said. ‘A conspiracy this big, they’d have to. There are obviously more people involved than just Enoshima-san.’

‘That’s right,’ Enoshima said. ‘Everything I do has been approved at a very high level. Higher than even you’d know, Togami-kun.’

‘You’re suggesting this is some kind of government project? That’s preposterous.’

‘Is it? You know what those old geezers are like, it’s all –’ Enoshima put both hands to her face like paws – ‘“Oh no, the youth aren’t pairing off and popping out their 2.5 children like they’re meant to, however will society perpetuate itself?”’ She dropped the cutesy voice. ‘I’ll admit, they don’t know about the death thing. Version 2 went pretty well, except that half the couples broke up when they got back home. I thought maybe a little bit of danger would forge those bonds the stronger, but I guess we’ll see on that one.’

‘So you’ve just been playing with us?’ Akamatsu said. ‘This whole time?’

‘I say we stop listening to her,’ Oma said, ‘and start making her let us outta here.’

‘Nice thought,’ Enoshima said, ‘but what makes you think you can? I’ve still got control of Usami and this building. Plus I’ve got my secret weapon. So what makes you think you’re getting out of here?

‘“It’s tragic,”’ she orated, ‘“but this batch of contestants were too unpredictable together – they ended up killing each other. None survived.” How about that?’

‘Naegi-kun and Maizono-san should be arriving back in Japan soon,’ Kirigiri said. ‘Or did you lie about that?’

‘Well, obviously they weren’t the real loco ones here. That started after they left.’

‘You won’t get away with it,’ Shirogane said.

‘Huh? You say something, Tsumugi-chan?’

‘I said, you won’t get away with it!’

‘Now you’re taking the other side?’ Enoshima said. ‘You really are pissed about Kaede-chi here, aren’t you?’

Komaeda raised his hand. ‘Just to clarify,’ he said, ‘Shirogane-san has been in on this the whole time, is that right?’

‘Bingo,’ Enoshima said. ‘In fact, you could say she was the one who killed Ibuki-chan.’

‘You’re lying!’ Akamatsu said. ‘There’s no way … no way Tsumugi would do anything like that!’

Her defence would have been touching, except that Shirogane just looked uncomfortable.

‘Nah, you’re right. I totally lied to her about the immunity rules. So she was only in on half of it. Right, Tsumugi-chan?’

‘Stop,’ Akamatsu said. ‘Tsumugi, you can’t just let her say things like that.’ She looked pleadingly toward Shirogane.

‘It’s true,’ Shirogane said.

‘… what?’

‘I’ve been involved since the start. With the first two rounds, too.’

‘Right?’ Enoshima said. ‘We’re totally best buddies, Tsumugi-chan and me.’

‘There’s no way,’ Akamatsu said, but she looked as if her faith was fracturing. Saihara had stepped in beside her, like he could support her that way. People had swooned over lesser things.

‘Anyway, I’ll still let you and Shuichi go free, cuz you earned it and all. But Celes-chan and Komaeda –’ Enoshima’s eyes brightened.

Komaeda had thought these revelations were perhaps a stay of execution, but it appeared Enoshima still intended to go ahead with her plans. Well, it would have been disappointing if she’d given up so easily.

‘But hang on,’ Amami said, ‘that’s what I don’t get. You let Oogami-san and Asahina-san through, so why don’t you recognise these two?’

He meant Komaeda and Hinata.

He meant Komaeda and Hinata, and Hinata was now turning bright red at the tips of his ears, and maybe he was going to argue with Amami about it –

‘Oh yeah,’ Enoshima said, ‘that was round one’s problem. Usami kept declaring all the girls in lesbians with one another, so I had to recalibrate her criteria for same-sex couples. Like, sometimes gals are just pals, Usami!’

Usami didn’t respond; she’d gone suspiciously still.

‘Basically,’ Enoshima went on, ‘unless you make an explicit confession, Usami won’t pick up on it. I gotta say, those two had a very touching discussion about just what it would mean to be out publicly. No way could I pretend to have missed that.’

‘So you’re saying those two pervs aren’t out enough for you?’ Iruma said. ‘What’s a few blowjobs between friends, huh?’ She cackled. Komaeda could have corrected on the details, but it didn’t seem like it would be constructive.

‘Just cuz you’re down to fuck doesn’t mean you’re in love,’ Enoshima said. ‘I thought you would have known that, Iruma. Or are you saying you, Souda and Kiibo are in a committed three-way now?’

‘What?’ Kiibo said, startled.

‘Like I’d bang a chick like her!’ Souda sounded defensive.

‘Yeah, I didn’t think so,’ Enoshima said.

‘Enough already,’ Hinata said. ‘I just have to say it, right? And you’ll leave Komaeda alone?’ He’d let go of Komaeda’s arm now. Komaeda missed it, even if it was better for his circulation.

‘Sure. If Usami acknowledges you both, I’ll leave you alone.’

‘Excuse me,’ Celestia said, ‘but there’s more at stake here than just one life. He’s not even anyone important!’

‘She’s right,’ Komaeda said. ‘It would be better if Hinata-kun were to declare his love for Celestia-san.’

‘Are you kidding me?’ Hinata said.

‘I gotta say,’ Enoshima said, ‘you two are not selling me on this budding romance of yours. But we’ll see what Usami has to say. Hey, Usami!’

Usami didn’t respond.

‘What the hell.’ Enoshima went and gave Usami a smack on the side of the head. Usami fell helplessly over. ‘Well, that’s a pain in the ass. I guess that means it’s up to me to decide.’

‘Was that you?’ Momota stage-whispered to Iruma.

‘I didn’t do anything,’ Iruma hissed back.

‘Alright,’ Enoshima said, clapping her hands. She walked over to Komaeda and Hinata. She shouldn’t have looked intimidating at all, but she had an aura of wickedness. ‘You two. How’re you gonna prove to me that you’re in love?’

‘Don’t we just have to say it?’ Hinata said.

‘Nah, boring. That might satisfy Usami, but not me. I know! Komaeda-kun, why don’t you choose? Over here, we have our other potential dropout, Celestia-san!’ She gestured to the other woman. ‘Only you can save her from certain peril! But only if I get to kill Hinata-kun instead. How about it?’

‘Ah –’ Komaeda was aware that Celestia had started a series of pleas, promises and threats, none of which were of the slightest consequence – ‘I’m going to have to decline that offer. Sorry, Celestia-san.’

Celestia’s bargaining turned to insult; Komaeda had heard worse. He was more concerned by how aghast Hinata looked, even if it was aimed at Enoshima.

‘How predictable,’ Enoshima said. ‘Well, that one was a gimme. What about –’ Enoshima cast her eyes about ostentatiously – ‘Tsumugi-chan?’

‘I chose Hinata-kun.’

‘Junko-chan!’ Shirogane objected to being dragged into things, apparently. Komaeda was pretty sure Enoshima wouldn’t kill her, but after Shirogane’s admission of guilt, he didn’t care either way.

‘So decisive!’ Enoshima said. ‘Then how about your roommate? You two are friends, right? Would you choose Hinata over your sister-from-another-mister Akamatsu?’

Komaeda sighed. ‘Isn’t Akamatsu-san already out of the game?’

‘I can always mix things up.’

‘Then I chose Hinata-kun. Are you going to go through the whole room? That seems like a pointless exercise.

‘Wow,’ Enoshima said, and she laughed. ‘That’s really something! Mukuro, how ’bout it?’

Ikusaba shifted her weight, but didn’t pull out her gun. It was weird from the start that she had a gun … Komaeda should have realised then that she was involved.

‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ Ikusaba said.

‘Come on, babe,’ Enoshima said. ‘I haven’t got all day.’

Ikusaba went to draw, but she wasn’t as fast as she might have been – and perhaps that was deliberate. She aimed at Celestia, but before she could get a clean shot, Pekoyama slammed into her; the two of them fell together to the floor. As they grappled, the gun went off, the sound of it sending everyone ducking (apart from a few who were apparently accustomed to that sort of thing).

‘Peko!’ Kuzuryu cried out as Pekoyama fell back, clasping at her shoulder where the bullet had gone through. Ikusaba was still supine, but she aimed her weapon again – except that something hit her first. Kuzuryu had thrown a knife.

The impact made Ikusaba drop her gun; before she could reach for it, Kuzuryu had pulled another knife, and he stabbed her in the throat.

Ikusaba lifted a hand, but not to pull out the knife – she stretched it toward Enoshima –

And died.

Komaeda felt sick.

Kuzuryu grabbed Ikusaba’s gun. He straightened and took one, two steps toward Enoshima. Not so close that Enoshima could have knocked the gun out his hands. Tsumiki had run over to Pekoyama’s side.

‘Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you right now,’ Kuzuryu said.

‘Gee, that’s a hard one,’ Enoshima said. ‘Maybe because Mikan has your precious Peko’s life in her hands?’

Kuzuryu wasn’t so inexperienced as that; he didn’t take his eyes off Enoshima. ‘She’s the one who did in Kuwata, right? Figures she’d be on your side.’

‘I – that wasn’t me,’ Tsumiki wailed. She had her hands on Pekoyama, though, fingers tight against Pekoyama’s bullet wound. Pekoyama didn’t scream, but the grunt she made through gritted teeth was just as awful.

Harukawa had left their circle, and moved behind Enoshima. Enoshima must have sensed a threat, because when Harukawa shifted her weight, Enoshima threw herself to the side.

The gun went off.

But Kuzuryu hadn’t aimed it at Enoshima after all. He’d shot Tsumiki in the head. Blood and brain splattered the floor behind her.

‘Botchan,’ Pekoyama said, pale and panting with pain. Kuzuryu met her eyes, briefly. Then he directed the gun back toward Enoshima, whom Harukawa had pinned to the floor. Harukawa sat on top, Enoshima’s arm pulled backwards in her grasp.

‘Okay, okay!’ Enoshima said. ‘I surrender!’

‘You surrender?’ Kuzuryu said. ‘Why the fuck should we accept that?’ He lowered the gun but didn’t put it away. ‘You think anyone here will speak for you?’

‘We could wait for the authorities to turn up,’ Togami said. ‘We sent Naegi off with our true location, not the one she programmed into all our phones.’

‘I don’t like it,’ Kuzuryu said. He crouched by Enoshima and Harukawa, and he held the gun to the back of Enoshima’s head. ‘Anything could happen between now and then.’

‘Sh-she’s surrendered,’ Akamatsu said. ‘Is it really okay to kill her while she’s helpless?’

Akamatsu was too nice. Enoshima would have had her killed, and Komaeda hadn’t stopped her, but she was still too nice.

‘If they take her back to Japan for trial,’ Shirogane said, ‘it will all get covered up.’ She sounded sad, somehow. ‘The government won’t want it known that they funded this project.’

‘Hey, Tsumugi-chan,’ Enoshima turned her head on the floor. ‘What’re you getting at?’

‘I’m mad,’ Shirogane said, although her tone was placid. ‘You told Ikusaba-san to kill me.’

‘What about you?’ Akamatsu said to Shirogane. She was trembling. ‘Will your involvement be covered up too?’

‘I expect so,’ Shirogane said. ‘It’s not like I was involved in programming the deaths.’

‘You’re practically innocent,’ Togami said.

‘Should I tell them what your role was?’ Enoshima said. Kuzuryu jabbed the gun harder against her neck.

‘It’s fine,’ Shirogane said. ‘I’ll tell them. I’m the one who selected the participants. All of you are here because I chose you.’

Shirogane had chosen them.

Shirogane had chosen Komaeda?

‘So I’ll do you next,’ Kuzuryu said, without looking over from Enoshima.

‘I wish you’d get on with it,’ Enoshima said. ‘Just holding me down like this is starting to feel kinky, you know?’

Harukawa, who was the one on top of her, jerked back.

‘Don’t you move, Harukawa,’ Kuzuryu said. ‘Pekoyama, how you doing?’

‘I’m alright,’ Pekoyama said. She’d gathered some of the others to her side; Sonia was tending her wound. A princess who could deal with injuries in the field, apparently. Souda would be thrilled.

‘Tsumugi,’ Akamatsu said, ‘can you tell us how to disable the defences on the building?’

‘I don’t know how,’ Shirogane said. ‘I’m just another contestant here. We’d need Usami to do that.’

‘Where is Usami?’ Amami asked. ‘Shouldn’t she have reappeared by now?’

‘Maybe Fujisaki-kun’s virus worked properly this time?’ Komaeda said.

‘You got me,’ Enoshima said. ‘I knew I shoulda cleaned up the system instead of just doing a patch job. Too bad, huh? Like Tsumugi-chan said, Usami’s the only one who can let us out of here.’

‘Iruma-san, you can’t switch this one back on?’ Amami said.

‘Like I said, it wasn’t me!’ Iruma said.

‘Sorry guys, that one was me,’ Souda said. ‘I copied the device you made, Iruma.’ But when he pressed the button on his counterfeit, nothing happened. ‘Uh … why isn’t it working?’

‘Cuz you can’t copy genius, you idiot!’ Iruma said.

‘Don’t call me an idiot!’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Amami said, lifting his hands in a calming gesture. ‘I’m sure Enoshima-san programmed a back door.’

‘I guess you better leave me alive then,’ Enoshima said, ‘or you’ll never find out.’

That then, settled things in favour of leaving Enoshima alive (or perhaps it was more accurate to say convinced Kuzuryu not to kill her just yet). Kirigiri had produced a pair of handcuffs from somewhere, and she cuffed Enoshima’s wrists behind her back.

Which was weird, because it wasn’t as if Kirigiri was that sort of detective.

‘What about Shirogane-chan?’ Oma said. ‘Shouldn’t we slap cuffs on her, too?’

‘I’m not planning to run away,’ Shirogane said.

‘Sorry,’ Amami said, ‘but I don’t think we can trust that.’

‘I suppose I deserve that.’

Kirigiri frowned. ‘I only have the one pair of handcuffs. Saihara-kun, do you –’

‘I’m not that sort of detective!’ Saihara said.

‘I mean, I got a pair,’ Iruma said. She lowered her voice. ‘They’re kind of pink and fuzzy though.’

‘Pink and fuzzy will do,’ Kirigiri said, ‘if you wouldn’t mind.’

Iruma hesitated. ‘Uh, does someone want to come with me? Just in case there is one of those fucked-up Usamis still out there.’

‘Geez,’ Souda said, ‘if I must …’

‘I’ll go,’ Kiibo said. He was positively fired up at the idea. ‘I may not be much use if one of those things decides to attack, but I will do my best!’

‘Yeah, thanks, Kiibo,’ Iruma said.

Somehow, despite his professed reluctance, Souda looked annoyed to be beaten by a robot.

It was strange, because Komaeda would have sworn Iruma was more interested in Fujisaki than in either of them.

Beside him, Hinata sighed. ‘Does this mean it’s over?’

‘I don’t know,’ Komaeda said. ‘It might turn out there’s 100 Usamis waiting for them outside the door. Or 100 cops, depending on what Naegi told the police.’

After Iruma and Kiibo went, people began to drift back into their own groups. Kuzuryu made Shirogane stand by him – although he kept an eye on Enoshima as well.

Hinata sat down heavily in place. Komaeda sat beside him, feeling slightly awkward in the aftermath of Enoshima’s demands.

‘I can’t believe you said what you did,’ Hinata said. They were obviously thinking of the same thing.

‘Which part?’

‘When Enoshima asked …’ Hinata looked down. ‘You know. Akamatsu.’

‘Why would that be hard to believe?’ Komaeda said. ‘I mean, I know the value of either of our lives isn’t much in the grand scheme of things. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Akamatsu-san never talks to me again. But …’ It was fine if he never saw Akamatsu again after this. You could forge bonds under fire, and leave them behind as well. The one Komaeda wanted to hold onto was someone else.

‘It’s alright if Akamatsu-san doesn’t forgive me,’ Komaeda said. ‘I choose you, Hinata-kun.’

Hinata tilted his head against his folded-up knees. ‘If I’m meant to call you Nagito now, shouldn’t it go both ways?’

Nagito’s heart thumped in his chest. ‘You want me to call you Hajime? Is that really okay?’

Hinata gave a shaky laugh. ‘After what I had to say before, I don’t think my name should be the sticking point.’

‘Hajime.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t have anything to say; I just wanted to say it.’

He shouldn’t be so happy. They were sitting in a room with two corpses and the two women who had put them in this awful situation, but Komaeda couldn’t help feeling happy. Even knowing his luck might affect Hinata – would affect Hinata, there was no escaping the inevitable – he was still happy.

‘If we make it home,’ Komaeda said, ‘let’s do something really ordinary, like go to the supermarket to get dinner ingredients together.’

‘If we make it home?’

‘Well, you never know. We might get kidnapped by pirates before that happens. I was kidnapped once before, you know.’

‘By pirates?’

‘No, just a guy who wanted the ransom money. Except there was no-one to pay him. It’s a long story.’

‘Sometimes,’ Hinata said, ‘I can’t tell if you’re having me on or not.’

‘I know it seems unlikely,’ Komaeda said, ‘but it’s true.’ Somehow, he didn’t mind Hinata’s doubt. He knew Hinata would take him seriously either way. ‘I can probably find the news articles, once we have internet again.’

‘It is true,’ Shirogane said suddenly, making them both jump; Komaeda had forgotten she was in hearing distance. ‘I read about it when I was doing my research. There were quite a few articles about you, Komaeda-kun.’

‘Not for anything worth talking about, I’m sure.’

Shirogane’s eyes crinkled. ‘I thought it would be interesting, to throw someone as unlucky as you into the mix. Although I guess you’re not so unlucky with your love life.’

‘I think that remains to be seen,’ Komaeda said. ‘We’ve only known each other a week.’

Hinata gave him an annoyed look.

‘Well, anything could happen!’ Komaeda said. ‘We could get rescued and you fall in love with the tough but beautiful lady cop leading the investigation –’

‘That seems like it would be a problem for the investigation,’ Hinata said.

‘It could be a hopeless one-sided love?’

‘I can’t tell if I should be cheering you two on or not,’ Shirogane said. Feeling left out? Kuzuryu was listening too, which was awkward.

‘Don’t bother,’ Hinata said. ‘I wanted to ask, though. About Mioda. You were telling the truth, right? You didn’t know the whole rule.’

‘I was telling the truth.’ Shirogane looked uncomfortable. ‘I didn’t want Ibuki to die. If I had, I wouldn’t have said anything at all.’

‘I wonder if that’s true,’ Komaeda said. ‘Or else why did Enoshima-san lie to you?’

Shirogane glanced across the room, where Enoshima was stuck between Harukawa and Oowada, neither of whom were talking to her.

‘I think maybe Junko-chan was looking for something else this whole time,’ Shirogane said. ‘Not just to see people couple up.’

It seemed quite obvious to Komaeda that Enoshima hadn’t been doing all this for the sake of seeing people fall in love. If that was what she wanted, she would have been better haunting amusement parks and aquariums during dating hours.

‘What do you think Ibuki felt,’ Shirogane said, with dry lips, ‘when she learned she’d been tricked? That she wasn’t saved at all? Don’t you think that would be the ultimate despair?’ She laughed. ‘Junko-chan’s mind really is superlative. I could never have thought that far.’

‘Mioda’s dead,’ Hinata said. ‘Aren’t you sorry at all?’

‘Sorry? I already said I didn’t want her dead … but I do admit it made my heart race a little …’

Hinata looked disgusted. Komaeda was glad that look wasn’t directed at him.

‘You don’t have to listen to her,’ Kuzuryu said to them. ‘I’ll keep an eye on her till Iruma’s back.’

‘You should be glad,’ Shirogane went on. ‘Kaede too. If you manage to get a happy ending, shouldn’t you be grateful to the one who cast you?’

‘Do you think Mioda was grateful?’ Hinata said. ‘Or Owari? Even Tsumuki and Ikusaba, who were on your side …’

‘They had the same opportunity as you did.’ Shirogane stared at Hinata with wide, fervent eyes.

Hinata rose to his feet, and Komaeda after him. ‘It’s our lives,’ Hinata said. ‘It’s not a game.’ And he nodded to Kuzuryu, and he walked away – so that Komaeda had to hurry after him. Despite his stern words, Komaeda thought that he might have been about to cry. Which Komaeda didn’t want. But if Hinata did cry, then he wanted to see.

Komaeda wouldn’t have said it in front of Hinata, but he was glad. The way Hinata was determined not to be, Komaeda was.

Even if it did all fall apart as soon as they were rescued. Or even if it didn’t.

Maybe it was scarier if it didn’t.

Once they were away from Shirogane, Hinata said, ‘I should have walked away sooner.’

‘You want to think that something she says will make sense,’ Komaeda said, ‘but it won’t.’ To Hinata, it never would.

Hinata scuffed the floor with his shoe. He sighed. ‘Want to see if Usami’s failure mode means we can walk out the front door now?’ Looking for a distraction.

‘I’m not sure I want us to be the ones to test that out. Maybe Iruma-san should look at it first?’

‘What if we just take the door off its hinges?’

‘I don’t have a screwdriver or anything,’ Komaeda said. ‘Do you?’

‘I can ask Souda.’

‘You don’t have to do that,’ Komaeda said quickly. ‘Maybe there’s something else we can investigate. Now that Usami can’t stop us.’

‘Or,’ Hinata said, ‘maybe we should get some lunch.’

‘Lunch?’

‘Yeah. I don’t know how long our nap was, but it feels like it should be time for lunch.’

‘I guess if Usami’s broken, that means our meals won’t just appear any more …’

‘There’s still stuff in the kitchen.’

‘Do you think we should make something for everyone?’

Hinata looked startled. ‘For 40 people?’

It wasn’t 40 any more, but Hinata didn’t need reminding of that.

‘Just for us, then?’

Hinata nodded.

Komaeda didn’t know how long it would take for the authorities to find them. Or for them to work out how to leave on their own. Or how much food they had stored away. There had been a lot of instant ramen, but for 40 people …

Thinking of instant ramen reminded him. ‘Actually, can we ask Akamatsu-san too?’

‘Akamatsu?’ Hinata looked as if he understood. ‘Sure. Should I meet you down in the kitchen?’

Komaeda nodded.

It didn’t feel entirely safe, to let Hinata out of his sight. Komaeda would never feel entirely at ease, caring for someone with his luck.

He’d just have to get used to it.

---

Akamatsu, it turned out, had already left the hall and gone back to their room. She was sitting on the bed when Komaeda came in, her suitcase pulled out on the floor. She wasn’t doing anything with it.

‘You packing already?’ Komaeda asked.

‘Oh, Komaeda-kun … I guess I thought … but we still don’t know how long it will be, huh?’ She smiled weakly.

‘We might still be living here for the rest of our lives,’ Komaeda said. It probably wasn’t funny. ‘Hinata-kun and I were going to sort out some lunch, and I thought you might like to join us. That is … well, I’m sure you hate me now …’

‘I don’t hate you.’

‘No?’

Akamatsu held her hands in front of her face as if she might cry into them. ‘I hate that Tsumugi made me think she was my friend. When this whole time …’ Akamatsu shook her head and she stood up. ‘I’d like to get lunch,’ she said. If the cheer she’d forced into her voice rang false, it would have been unkind to call her on it. ‘Thanks for asking me.’

‘You could get Saihara-kun too if you wanted –’

‘No,’ Akamatsu said. ‘I think I’d like to leave that alone. It was just the stupid order that Oma-kun gave me … tell number 4 that you love them … I don’t even want to think about romance right now.’

‘There’s more kinds of love than that,’ Komaeda said. ‘Didn’t Mioda-san say something like that?’

Akamatsu gave a little nod. ‘Shall we head down? Did Hinata-kun come up with you, or …’

‘I said we’d meet him down in the kitchen.’

‘Alright.’ They left the room behind, Akamatsu walking in front of him. ‘There’s gotta be something more exciting we can make than just instant ramen.’ Her cheer might have been false, but it was still a relief to him. As long as she could fake cheer, she hadn’t lost hope of once again being cheerful. She could return to the person she was meant to be.

Maybe Komaeda could watch her on the new year’s broadcast again this year.

And then, because he was allowing himself the smallest bit of hope too: maybe he and Hinata could watch her on the new year’s broadcast together.

Probably it would never happen. There were a million things that could go wrong first.

But for now, with the villain identified, and with help (hopefully) on the way, and Komaeda hadn’t seen any more murderous rabbits around –

Well, Komaeda could allow himself to dream that much.