Redacted

After lunch, which I made spaghetti and meatballs for everyone, I decided I should try to talk to Kyoko about what she found in the hidden basement. Monorakun brought it up in front of me, so I could use that as an excuse to bring it up to her. However, I knew she would not want to just spill everything she knew right away, and I would have to do this on her terms.

Not wishing to arouse too much suspicion, but not wishing to wander aimlessly around the entire school, I opened my E-Handbook's chat in an attempt to find Kyoko.

*Shishano Kantoku has entered the chat.

Shishano Kantoku: Has anyone seen Kyoko or Korekiyo? I am looking for either one of them.

Rantaro Amami: I think Kyoko in in the library. No idea on Korekiyo.

Kyoko Kirigiri: Yes, I am in the Library. What do you need?

*Shishano Kantoku has left the chat.

I made my way up to the Library, and found Kyoko reading some sort of History book. Kyoko gazed up at me apprehensively, but I approached her anyway, keeping my voice down.

"Kyoko, may we speak in private? I have a few things I was wondering about, and you may be the only person with the answers I seek. Maybe in your dorm room, or in mine?"

Kyoko looked at me quizzically, so I glanced nonchalantly at the camera in the room, then back at her. She seemed to get the message, as she placed a bookmark into the book she was reading, and wordlessly left the room. I followed, choosing to remain silent myself, and let Kyoko take the lead.

Kyoko ended up leading me into her dorm room, shutting it behind me. Her dorm room had a bookshelf full of books, a desk with lots of papers and books on it, and her bed (of course). I noticed her closet and bathroom doors were open, though no one was inside.

I glanced at her quizzically, then back at her closet door.

"If the doors are closed, then I know someone has been in here. Also, closed doors block my line of sight, in case someone finds a way into my dorm room to attack me," Kyoko bluntly stated.

I nodded, having never looked at things that way, then figured I had better get down to business. Kyoko did not strike me as a patient type.

"So, what was Monorakun talking about with the Basement? What did you find down there?" I asked, glancing at her desk again.

Kyoko glared at me apprehensively for several moments, but her eyes softened as she shook her head, seemingly to herself. "No use in trying to hide anything now, but keep this between us, ok?"

I nodded and moved, positioning my back so it was facing the camera in the room, and let Kyoko take the lead again.

She started by showing me a bill of sale, mentioning "Hope's Peak Academy and its property". It was sold by someone named Izuru Kamukura, but the buyer's name was blotted out.

"I don't think this is the original copy, and even if it was, the new owner could simply purchase another bill of sale whenever they needed one," Kyoko commented.

Next, she produced a half-page document from Izuru Kamukura, to the buyers. It mentioned how Izuru was bored with the building, and wanted to leave to find something less boring. It mentioned an "Ultimate Robotic", and an "Ultimate ------------", as the second Ultimate was blotted out and illegible. It also mentioned that Izuru did not care if the buyers changed the name to TUTEC or not, as once they purchased the building and property from Izuru, it was no longer his concern.

Kyoko revealed some schematics of Monorakun next. Monorakun's red eye had Infrared, UV, X-Ray, and night vision, as well as regular vision. The black eye only had regular vision, but also contained a small camera for taking pictures and video. Monorakun was made of a metamaterial that had a setting that would divert light around Monorakun from all directions, essentially making him invisible. The details on this gave me a slight headache, but it dealt with titanium-based nanofins, ensuring all light wavelengths are focused in the same spot, and other details. This metamaterial was located underneath Monorakun's regular "skin", and could completely envelop him in "less than half of a blink of an eye".

"So, this is how he turns invisible," I muttered to myself. "He does not just disappear; he is still there. He just...does this science thing?"

"Yes. These schematics are vague on precisely how this metamaterial surrounds him, but it seems to start from between his black and white halves, at the center of his body and face. Another spot seems to be at each shoulder and hip, for the arms and legs.

Kyoko then showed me some correspondence between the Ultimate Robotic and the Ultimate -----------. It seemed the two did not fully get along, but were agreeing to work together in some sort of "get rich" scheme, allowing...viewers...

To place bets on each and every one of us. Plus/Minus on number of days alive, whether someone would survive until the end or not, who would die next...even bets on who the Blackened was when a murder would take place. All losing bets would be collected by the two of them, of course.

This proved that the cameras were not just for monitoring us. We were being broadcast, somewhere, for some sick, twisted people to make money off of our misery in here. Whenever one of us died, someone got rich. Whenever one of us survived past a set number of days, someone else got rich. I did not even care that sometimes, these bets were not won by the bettors. Our lives were NOT a Craps or Roulette table for others to place bets on!

Kyoko looked at me grimly. "You understand this MUST remain between us, right? I'm only showing you this because of Monorakun's comments in front of you. If word gets out that we're being bet on, this could wreak havoc in here, and I do not want to see the repercussions of that. Like it or not, we're all prisoners in here, and it's a bad idea to start a riot with no way out."

I nodded again, in full agreement, still angry that we were being bet on, but realizing there was nothing anyone could do about it. "I should probably take my leave at this point. It's 3pm, and there are a few things I would like to do in here."

Kyoko nodded, gathering up the paperwork she showed me and neatly putting it away. "Just be careful. I know we can't stay in here forever; at some point, we need to leave. However, I fear it will take at least one more death before we can even think of leaving. All I can do is be strong, be cautious, and watch my surroundings carefully."

Kyoko led me to the door, opening it so I could leave. Before Kyoko shut the door behind me, she added, "You would be wise to do the same, Shishano."

My eyes went wide. What did Kyoko mean by that?