DISTRUST

>Well, hold up- there's only five of us here. Won't that mean someone gets left out?



“Yeah, that wouldn’t be a problem if Akane-chan would just get out of her room.”

“But we’ll just have to do a group of two and a group of three, i guess.”

>Try make amends with the VA and ask them who'd they prefer to go with?



“Hey, uh, sorry about before, by the way.”

“...”

“Oooooooooooooooooh, what’s this? What’s this what’s this? Hey Floormat-chan, any drama deets you wanna share with us, hmmmmm?”

“I accept your apology.”

“...No fun.”

“Anyways...”

>if you can talk to the Philosopher before pairing off, you should suck it up and pair off with Megumi for now. Matsumoto orchestrated this alliance, and she said she trusts Tsubame, so maybe putting them together would give Tsubame a chance to feel her out and see if she's on the up-and-up with this arrangement?



“Tsubame-san, maybe you should go with Matsumoto.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Well...I mean...only if you want to though, but maybe you two need to talk some things out?”

“You could think of it as a trust exercise.”

“If Matsumoto-kun is alright with that, I suppose.”

“As long as Kotone-chan’s our mediator~”

“A mediator...?”

“Mediator...mediator...”



“...Alright. I’ll do my best.”

W-woah! He -- no, she? Sounds exactly like Noboru-kun!

It’s impressive...but also a little creepy.

“So that leaves me with...”



“...”

“Guess we’ll be sniffing out info together, Drapes-chan!”

“Let’s take a picture together!”

“No, wait -- “



*click*

“...”



“Beautiful! Gyahahahaha!”

“Anyways, I could use something to eat. So is this meeting over?”

“What? Yeah, yeah, pretty much, have fun.”

...I hope Matsumoto at least heard the ‘trust exercise’ part.

Anyways, time to eat.



“Oh, there you are.”

Or time to not.

“It is good to see you out and about, friends.”

“Kobayashi-kun told me that you were all probably still in your rooms, so I wanted to check up on you.”

“None of us have seen you guys all morning!”

“Or I think it’s morning...”

“What about the others?”

Looks like Kobayashi really hasn’t told anybody.

“Uh, Tsubame-san, Matsumoto, and Tsukino-san are just hanging out together.”

“Yukimaru-san hasn’t come out of her room, though...”

“Still? She told me to leave her alone earlier too...”

“She should at least eat, though. Maybe I should get a plate for her?”

“Considering recent events, that may not be the best course of action.”

“She won’t starve herself, I’m sure! Let us leave her be for now.”

“Well...alright.”

“Anyways, you probably haven’t checked yet so, all the doors got unlocked downstairs.”

“Well, except for one...but we’re all checking them out for anything to help us escape. We’re a little, uh...”

“...Short on hands...”

“...So if you could help that would be great.”

“No worries, Hulk! We gotcha covered!”

“After I eat.”

“The press can’t be slowed down by things like hunger, Drapes-chan! My trigger finger’s itchin’ for something new!”

“After. I eat.”

“Sure, but if ya gotta shit later, I ain’t stopping!”

“...”

“She’s...not bad. Really. She’s just...”

“...Enthusiastic.”

I’m pretty sure that’s the nicest thing you could say about her.

“Alright. Well, I’m gonna eat. See ya around.”

“I’ll be at the gym if you need me.”

“Ooooooh! How suspicious!”

“N-not to work out! To look around!”

“As if you need to buff up those big meaty arms any more, Hulk!”

“Eating. Now.”

“Sheesh, don’t have a cow.”

“Or do! I’m not about to knock your diet! Gyahaha!”



Well, I guess there’s more rooms to explore now. So I could eat a quick snack or I could make myself an actual meal.

Well, Yamaguchi-kun said that Nakayama was...not bad...

Do I want to just go exploring as soon as possible? Or at least try to chat with...



...Her.

SpoilerShow

If you decide not to friend Megumi here, you can decide to try to bond with someone else while exploring. If you don’t bond with anybody, then that bonding opportunity is gone forever, though, so be sure to do one or the other!

>Disguise meal preparation as hunting for clues to appease Nakayama-san. The truth must come out about the contents of this kitchen!

> Remember this kitchen? You remember being in the kitchen with K-1. Angst some more.

Losing the camera was a big deal for her. Were there photos she liked stored on it or something?

>Encourage her to take photos of every room you go in. It could come in handy.

PLEASE BE FRIENDS WITH MEGUMI MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER

> PLEASE BE FRIENDS WITH MEGUMI MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER



“I’m gonna put on some rice. Do you want anything?”

“Nah! I already ate! I’m not as sleepy a head as you, ya sleepyhead!”

Let’s just hope I survive this...

> Remember this kitchen? You remember being in the kitchen with K-1. Angst some more.



“...You know, I made an ice cream soda with K-1. While he was there, I mean.”

“It feels like...I dunno. I wish he was here.”

“Instead of me?”

“What? No! I was just -- don’t make it about yourse -- “



*click*

“Gah!”



“Why’d you do that!”

“Your angry face is way more interesting than your sad face!”

“Anyways, don’t worry about Mister Bad Haircut. We’re the ones still in trouble, aren’t we?”

“‘Bad Haircut?!’”

“You can’t even call him by his name even now?!”

“Hey, he still has a bad haircut! Doesn’t change whether he kicked it or not!”

“Haven’t you ever heard of respecting the dead?!”

“Eh, well I get to laugh while you’re off moping about the guy, so I’d say that’s a win for me! Gyahahaha!”

“Sucks I couldn’t snap a quick one of him. That haircut sure was wild!”

...

...Maybe this is her way of coping.

Because if it isn’t, I might just punch her.

> Losing the camera was a big deal for her. Were there photos she liked stored on it or something?



“Eh? You wanna see my pictures?”

“Gyahahaha! Here! Take a look!”

...

...She’s showing me all the unflattering pictures of me.

“...”

“I was kinda thinking more like if there were any pictures stored when you found it again.”

“Woah there, you can’t just sneak a peek ‘fore I publish them! Gotta pick out what’s the most compromising first!”

“...So there were some stored there?”

“...”

“Like maybe pictures when we were all kidnapped?”

“Freedom of the press means freedom to shut up! You ain’t getting anything outta me!”

“Wha -- ! But that’s important for everybody to know!”

“It’s only important if I reported it! And I didn’t report it! So it’s not important!”

“Shut your clam and eat your slop!”

Mmmgh...but I’m so curious...but she really doesn’t look like she’ll give up on this.

Maybe she’ll talk about it later?

>Fail to shut clam

>"Well, let me know when you're ready to report it, then."

> Leave her be for the moment and continue with your food preparation.

Well, OK, but when do you think they'll be ready? Are there any future scoops we CAN know about?

Failing that, any scoops that have just come recently that we don't read her blog didn't see before getting kidnapped?

> "Well, let me know when you're ready to report it, then."



“Ohoho, you’ll know when I’m ready to report.”

“But don’t wait up on me, gotta cross-check and shit. Make sure I get aaaalll the details.”

“Any way I can help?”

“No way! The only eyes I trust are my own!”

“Oh. Okay.”

“So why would it take so long anyways?”

“Are you kiddin’ me? I’m legally blind!”

“Everything’s super blurry even with glasses!”

Those are the eyes you trust?!

> Failing that, any scoops that have just come recently that we don't read her blog didn't see before getting kidnapped?



“So what sort of news have you broke recently?”

“Just think ‘bout the latest gossip, and that’s all you gotta know!”

“...Gossip.”

“Did a buncha pictures of actors leaving other people’s houses, celebrities fighting with their spouses...”



“...governors committing sexual assault...”

“Woah woah woah woah, what?”

“I’ve been called to court!”

“You’ve been sued?!”

“Nah -- “

“ -- well, yeah -- “

“ -- but I’ve been called as a witness!”

>So this trial stuff isn't new to you, then.

You must have some enemies then, on the outside?
...Anyone you can think of with the kind of resources to pull this kind of weird scenario off?

ok pizza face

>do you clean your glasses often

>So this trial stuff isn't new to you, then.



“Trials, yeah. Murder trials with some dalmatian judge and the threat of death over my head? No.”

“Oh, yeah. Guess not.”

“What kinda things you think I get up to? Are you stupid?”

“I was just asking!”

> You must have some enemies then, on the outside?
...Anyone you can think of with the kind of resources to pull this kind of weird scenario off?



“Lessee...”

“Someone who wants to get back at me specifically, but gets a whole buncha other people involved...”

“Who can kidnap students from right in front of a school without anybody noticing...”

“Who also has this secret mansion base thing that’s got guns and cameras and shit...”

“Who likes doing some convoluted bullshit insteada just outright killing me?”



“I’d hafta score a real crazy enemy to deal with that!”

“So you don’t have any enemies.”

“Oh, I do. Some of them want me dead, I guess.”

“Dead?!”

“Now hang on! That’s not something you ‘I guess’ about! That’s a really really really serious thing!”

“Eh, like any of ‘em got the genitals to off a high schooler.”

“They could!”

“Like, if you bothered really important people enough, and they hired someone to do it!”

“Eh.”

“Don’t ‘eh!’ How can you be so casual about maybe getting killed?!”

“Isn’t that basically our life now?”

“I, well...maybe! But still!”



“Eh. I mean, there’s always gonna be someone who hates you, y’know.”

“I just figure, why worry about it!”

“Gyahahahahahaha!”

...

I’m...a little worried about her.



“‘Sides, I always got contingencies.”

“(I’m talking about blackmail.)”

“If. You say so.”

Well for better or for worse...

I feel like I understand Nakayama a bit more now.

...



...

Well I guess that’s all for breakfast or whatever.

“Shall we look at the new rooms?”



“Finally! Thought you’d never stop pigging out.”

“Where we headin’ to?”

>Well, we don't know what's in any of the new rooms, so I guess the closest one we haven't been in yet?

>so suppose there is a next murder, wanna check out which one you think it happens in?
>wanna make a bet where it happens

> What are our options?

>Well, we don't know what's in any of the new rooms, so I guess the closest one we haven't been in yet?



There’s a door right across the way.

Guess we’ll just try going there...



“Hey! Woah! Hold up!”

“Aah!”

“You girls can’t go in there!”

“Oh yeah? Why not!”

“It’s the boy’s changing room!”

“Good girls go in the girl’s changing room!”

“The boy’s, you say? Gyeheheh...”

“Hmmm...I don’t like the sound of that...”

“Alright, new rule! Only boys can go in the boy’s changing rooms and only girls can go in the girl’s changing rooms!”

“Obey or be punished!”

“What about if you aren’t either?”

“Eh?”

“Um...like Kobayashi, you see...he, they? Said they weren’t either.”

“Gnnnaahhhh!”

“Don’t ask me, a bear, about genders!”

“Us bears don’t have use for things like those.”

“But us headmasters also need to preserve the innocence of you precocious children!”

“And if that means arbitrarily segregating you based on what’s in your pants, then so be it!”

“There, it’s in the rules! No going back now!”

“Well...what about people who got both -- “

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”



...

He disappeared.

“Well, I guess we’re not going in there.”

The next door is...



...

...A garden? A pool...?



“Oh! Oh! It’s Mori-chan!”

“Still not on first name basis.”



“Hello~”

“Hey! It’s Shorty and Shota!”

“Sh-shorty? Wait, is that me?”

“Why’m I shorty?! Koizumi’s shorter than me!”



“Well yeah! He’s shota than you!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

>Flick her in the head

>Discussion on a subject matter like that is not appropriate in a school environment
>Besides technically every guy here is "shota" and every girl here is "loli" if you're going to suggest things like that

"Um, can you not,"

> Icily ignore Takayama's tasteless joke, inspect vegetation.

> Ask these two what other new rooms they've seen and/or if they found anything of interest in here.