Danganronpa Kirigiri/Volume 3

## Danganronpa Kirigiri

***Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 3*** (ダンガンロンパ霧切（3）) is the third volume in the *Danganronpa Kirigiri* light novel series written by Takekuni Kitayama. It was published by Seikaisha on November 28, 2014.

## Official Synopsis

* Kanji
* Translated

時間内にすべての事件を解決するか、あるいは未然に防ぐことができたら君の勝ちだ。だが一つでも解決できない事件があったら君の負け。いかがかね？
ノーマンズ•ホテル事件から生還した霧切きりぎり響きょう子二と五月雨結さみだれゆいを待ち受けていたのは
新たなる“黒の挑戦デュエルノワール”、難攻不落の「密室十二宮」！
絶体絶命の霧切の前に現れた最後のトリブルゼロクラス探偵•御鏡霊は敵か, 味方か！？

If you can solve all these cases in time, or even prevent them from happening at all, you'll win. But if you can't solve even the last case you attempt, you lose. What do you think?
Kyoko Kirigiri and Yui Samidare survive and end the Norman's Hotel Murder Case, were waiting for a new Duel Noir Challenge, an impregnable "closed room zodiac"!
The last Triple Zero Class Detective that appeared before the disappearance of Kyoko. Is The Ghost in the Mirror an enemy or an ally!?
Personally appointed by scenario writer of Danganronpa, Kazutaka Kodaka, "Kitayama of Physics" Takekuni Kitayama, a leading figure in the mystery genre, writes a tale of the Ultimate student, Kyoko Kirigiri's past??! This is "Kitayama x Danganronpa"!!

## Summary

With winter vacation coming to an end, Kyoko Kirigiri suddenly goes missing. Yui Samidare tries to locate her. On her investigation, Yui meets two triple zero detectives, Rei Mikagami and Gekka Ryūzōji.

### *The Boy and the Count*

The Norman's Hotel Duel Noir case ended, along with a new turn of the calendar year: January 7th. Winter vacation ended, and a new school term started up. Yui tries to search for Kyoko in her classroom but another student confirms that she's absent. Yui contemplates, thinking about the case and its events after the conclusion, wanting to get in touch with the younger girl by attempting to call her house; Yielding no response. She then decides to track her down another way.
The scene then skips to the Detective Library with her checking her card for updates, receiving none. She then locates the Homicide detective section; Flipping open Kyoko's file to reveal no changes since their last encounter. Moving onto and flipping open Suisei Nanamura's file, she finds his profile to be overflowing with accomplishments, but she couldn't find any relevance to the most recent case, along with an update to his death. Concluding her search she files away the profiles, making her way to the Library's exit in which she swears that the room's luminosity began to grow dimmer. Yui made her way through the door frame, when a young figure slipped past her and entered the room. Already she's noted the significant features of the stranger: A sweet, faint scent lingering after him: His professional appearance as he continued walking. She swore she's seen him before but as she attempted to get another look the stranger disappeared. Something about the stranger captured her attention but she decides to not dwell on things further, leaving the Library empty handed.

Yui notices that Kyoko was absent from school again the following day, bringing up the problem to the homeroom teachers and nuns in charge of the academy, but none took her case seriously.
The next day she stopped by the Detective Library again, yielding no new messages. She contemplates additional help but decides against it, feeling let down. A shadow crossing the aisles a few meters ahead caught her attention as she chased after the figure, revealing that same younger boy from before. The stranger continues to slip through the shadows of the bookcases, with her giving chase until she encounters an iron backdoor, going through it to encounter a limousine parked adjacent, with the earlier stranger standing next to an open door. At first Yui refuses to board, questioning the intent of the arrangement not before realizing that she could use the opportunity to locate Kyoko. Finally boarding the vehicle, the presence of Gekka Ryūzōji almost startles her. They converse for a while, not until the older man pulls out his cellphone and orders the driver. The events throughout are essentially thwarting a carjacking in progress, in which it succeeded after some time.

Gekka then awaits Yui's questions, in which he answers with detail. He then states that there will be another Duel Noir directly prepared by Committee, summoning Yui as the detective. He then extends two envelopes; One black and the other white, to her. Yui is presented with two choices: Take the black envelope, accepting the Duel Noir or take the white, thus accepting her offer to join the Victim's Catharsis Committee. There is also the option to choose neither. After her decision, Gekka reminds her that the choice will be presented to another time. The scenery changes as the vehicle approaches his estate, with the building resembling a castle. They soon enter, en queue from an elevator. After landing on the final floor, a room with documents piled high met their vision, with the blue haired boy staying behind. Yui and Gekka are the only two in the room as they converse, with the decision being made regarding the envelopes yet again.
Finalizing her decision, Yui takes the black envelope in which she feels is surprisingly thick. Exiting the room afterwards, she encounters the younger boy, surprised by the way he talks as he was silent earlier. He introduces himself as Licorne.

After the two leave Gekka's estate, he gives Yui a box with a ribbon tied around it, claiming it's the older man's gift, to be opened 'only when necessary'.

After being dropped off to her academy's gates, Yui notices a crowd of people in the hallway, with a student pulling her along to the front of her dorm room, claiming 'an intruder attempted to pick her door lock'. Upon a closer look it seemed that the individual was none other than Kyoko, in which she embraced the other upon her presence. Entering the room, attempts are made to converse, with that leading to an impasse. Presenting the black envelope, Yui clears the situation as the rest of the time is used to unwind before they open the letter the next day.

### *Identity Unknown: ~Ghost in the Mirror~*

Upon realizing the weight of the envelope and the challenge papers, Samidare is distraught by the sheer amount of cases along, totalling to twelve. She scans the papers to pick apart some similarities, only to find the common variation of being locked room cases, and nothing more. Feeling slightly defeated by the number of challenge cards, the others suggest that they formulate a strategy. After various discussions that consume 30 minutes of their time, Kyoko suggests that a triple zero class detective, 'Rei Mikagami', could assist them in solving the cases if they manage to contact them. Despite the conversation and ideas, they were back to square one, little progress made. Suddenly an unfamiliar ringtone blares through the room, eventually being traced to a wooden box that Yui had been gifted. Answering the phone on speaker mode, Gekka relays the Duel Noir's information, as well as conditions to be met, and a contact in case of assistance. He also mentions Rei's appearance, stating that they would appear at Meyura Station. With a few last relevant information, Gekka wishes her luck and hung up. Making up her mind to go to the station, yet another call rings, this time Licorne as the ID. Answering it, he briefs Yui and tells her the location on where he will arrive; Then hanging up.

After taking the train they eventually arrived at the destination, taking sight of Licorne with a black umbrella in hand. They then decide to make their way into a department store, disguising their activity by pretending to shop. As they trod along, Licorne monologues about various information, especially three particular assassins: 'Copycat' - A woman of unknown nationality who specializes in copycat crimes, and by throwing her clients into the unrelated string of cases, allows them to evade suspicion. 'Night Flyer' - A Romanian of small build that evades by heading to the nearest airport and flying off in a private jet after completing a kill. 'Tsurugi Hitomoshi', or the 'former SHSL Rock Climber' - A former HPA graduate who received backlash after turning his climbing into a performance, now an assassin known in the criminal underworld.

Continuing on the conversation, Licorne claims that he has spotted the target fitting the description of Copycat, and they usher on to spot the target nearby a store. Tailing the target, Yui makes her way through the store's back door, only to be grabbed by the target, held in surrender with a fountain pen at Yui's neck. Not even a moment later, Licorne and Kyoko bust in, with the target pushed down a flight of stairs. The group then search Copycat's belongings, finding nothing but newspaper scraps, manga, passports but only after an interrogation yields that her mark would appear at the department store's plaza at four in the afternoon. Realizing that Rei Mikagami would appear at that time, Yui and the rest rushed up to the sixth floor, not before a fire alarm started blaring, combined with a PA announcement that lead the rest of the customers into an escaping frenzy. Just as they near the stairwell door, a security guard interrupted thee, beckoning them to take an alternate route. Yui was compliant, but Kyoko had second thoughts. Time was up and the guard was already enraged, having pulled out a suppressed pistol, taking aim. Just before he pulled the trigger, Licorne launched an umbrella towards the barrel of the gun, rendering it inoperable. The distraction was enough for the boy to sneak towards the guard, twisting his arm horrifically and pushing the guard down to the ground. He then raised his hammer to the man's head, not before being stopped by Yui, along with Kyoko aiming the guard's gun at the boy, demanding that he ceases his actions. They restrain the man, going through his belongings, concluding he is Night Flyer mainly because of his foreign appearance, despite his disguise.

Leaving the injured target behind, they finally reach the rooftop of the department store, with snow still falling outside. Multiple corpses litter the ground, upon further checking it seems that their necks have been completely snapped. A small movement alerted Yui and she turns her attention to a figure revealing itself, tearing its way through the fence. With the muscles and form, it's no doubt the former SHSL Rock Climber. Kyoko brought up the gun in defence but was knocked back with the force, the weapon losing its way in a water tank. The target set his gaze on Yui, rushing towards her, clamping his grip on her neck. Just as she was about to go unconscious, Kyoko attacked the target with a sign, distracting him and locking his grip on her yet again. A suit jacket distracted the target yet again, with Licorne facing the target with a gesture to accept the boy's challenge. Tossing Kirigri aside the target charged towards him, with the boy untying his necktie to use as a vice to restrain the target's arm. Wildly swinging, Licorne evaded the target's swings, revealing his name as 'Rei Mikagami' as per the target's boasts. A thin wire laced with poison within the necktie was enough to immobilize the target as he falls to the ground, unmoving. Rushing over to Kyoko, Yui took up her onto her back, leaving the premise behind.

### *The Palace of Twelve Locked Rooms*

Making her way into her dorm room, Yui lays Kyoko down onto her bed and lets her recover all while Licorne glances around, claiming he has 'never been in a girl's dorm room before'. Motioning for him to sit, she then asks Licorne if he really is Rei in which he responds that he does not recall his actual name, only going by the alias in cause of others referring to him as it. He also mentions that his profile is listed in the triple zero category under that alias. Yui then asks that if the Detective Library and the Victim's Catharsis Committee are connected, in which Licorne brushes off the claim, adding in that it's just a neutral organization. After some conflicts Kyoko woke up, having already confirmed Licorne's alias due to his actions. They then decide to get to the Duel Noir cases, in turn of the younger boy's assistance. Distributing the cards at random, each one received a number of cases. Nearing Kyoko, Yui gathered the six cases they were responsible for.

*> Card 1:*

Location: The Goodbye Bar — 20 million yen

Weapon: Knife — 5 million yen

Weapon: Charybdotoxin — 30 million yen

Weapon: Rope — 3 million yen

Trick: Locked Room — 20 million yen

Total Cost: 78 million yen

> Card 2:

Location: Museum of Medieval Torture — 30 million yen

Weapon: Iron Maiden — 30 million yen

Trick: Locked Room — 80 million yen

Total Cost: 140 million yen

> Card 3:

Location: Takeda Haunted Mansion — 30 million yen

Weapon: Dotanuki Katana — 30 million yen

Trick: Locked Room — 100 million yen

Miscellaneous: Rubber Bands — 1 million yen

Total Cost: 161 million yen

> Card 4:

Location: Kareobana Academy — 30 million yen

Weapon: Candles — 20 million yen

Trick: Locked Room — 150 million yen

Total Cost: 200 million yen

> Card 5:

Location: Libra Girls’ Academy — 200 million yen

Weapon: Iron Pipe — 3 million yen

Trick: Locked Room — 150 million yen

Total Cost: 353 million yen

> Card 6:

Location: Twin Abilities Research Center — 50 million yen

Weapon: Knife — 5 million yen

Trick: Ultimate Locked Room — 500 million yen

Miscellaneous: Chains — 3 million yen

Miscellaneous: Padlock — 3 million yen

Total Cost: 561 million yen

Just after that, Licorne stood up, beginning to leave. He reminded Yui that he would be available for any information upon calling and is tasked to obtain and transmit police information to the two. With that, both Kyoko and Yui walked out the entryway of the dorm room, a case in mind.

### *The Phantom Beyond the Door*

As the time nears 9:00PM, both Yui and Kyoko make their way to the train station and head off to the Takeda Haunted mansion, rumoured to be haunted by spirits, located up towards the mountains. A taxi picked them up after dismounting as they finally arrived at a dead end, dropped off nearby what seems like an abandoned structure. After the taxi drove off the two made their way through an old gate, finding at least five pairs of shoes near the entrance. Making their way through the hallway it seemed that someone was calling for help. Nearing the door, Yui attempts to open it with no success as it couldn't budge. Another group of people were already near, consisting of Hajiki Yaki, Sachi Mizuiyama, Korisu Kakitsubata, and Salvador Fukuro Yadorigi. Hajiki attempted to force open the door yet again, complaining about a resistance pulling back. Kyoko reminded Yui that the challenge card listed rubber bands as an item, and just as she was about to act, a strange noise emit from the room- An object crashing, a man's muffled voice, another heavy object collapsing on the ground with vibrations, then silence. Hajiki then attempted to pull open the door, which faintly revealed some rubber bands tied to the doorknob, in which Salvador cut open. After the door was forced open, a sight of an elderly man laid face down, a katana lodged deep in his back had taken his life. Two empty suits of armour surrounded the corpse, giving the crime scene a bizarre look. The man was then identified as Suntetsu Shirasu.

The investigation began, with the suits of armour inspected, along with the outside courtyard and the pairs of shoes as well. At midnight, police, officers and forensic officers streamed into the mansion, taking their own way into the investigation. The others claim they were lured to the mansion by a fake invitation, in which they arrived with no guest. The officers then began questioning the group. Salvador then explained the timeline of the events to the two - The group arrived at the mansion at 1PM, in which Yui unsealed the envelope an hour later. The group then waited until 3PM in which the host never showed up, in turn they explored the mansion themselves. They started questioning the legitimacy of the request at 9PM, in which they were prepared to leave until Korisu revealed herself as a detective, in which the rest did so as well. At that time, Shirasu had gone missing. At 10PM the door was sealed shut. In the next 30 minutes Hajiki, Sachi and Korisu appeared, sharing their findings. After that is when Kyoko and Yui showed up.

After the explanation, they continued on investigating; In which the officer's conclusion of a suicide was refuted by Kyoko. She then measured the shoe sizes of the rest of the group, and went outside to the watermill to take notice in an interesting mechanism that was used for the murder. Concluding the search she makes her way into the mansion, explaining to the rest of the officers the tricks and structure of the murder trick. She explained that one of the group members took advantage of the trick. One of the officers requested that Sachi go through the small opening of the door to prove the theory, but as she refused she was lead out of the room by the officers. As the case concluded, the officers then escorted everyone out of the mansion, Kyoko then revealed to a shaken Hajiki that Sachi being the 'culprit' was an act to bring the real killer's guard down. As Yui, Kyoko, Hajiki and the police officers distanced themselves from the mansion, the real culprit was in the process of destroying the evidence not until the car's lights shone on them; Revealing her to be Korisu Kakitsubata.

The case wrapped up as Korisu was escorted off, along with Yui and Kyoko being dropped off by an officer at a hotel at 4:00AM.

### *Deadly Life*

The two dismounted the train, finally arriving at the dorms. As Yui entered the room she was greeted by five black papers on the walls, each pieced with a dart and the written words 'CLOSED' with a fluorescent pink highlighter. The papers also included a Polaroid photograph of each culprit, along with other important details on the back. Yui then used the gifted phone to call Licorne, in which he answered within three rings. He explained the methods he used to solve them, going along the lines of knowing the culprit before the crime is commit. Yui takes another look at the papers not before Licorne quizzes her on his location, in which she realizes he is on the cruise ship case. Hanging up, Yui suggests that Kyoko sleep to recover, in which Yui uses the time to investigate her house. Nearing the building she leaps over the wall, approaching the mansion and peering through the windows, seeing nothing inside. Realizing something was wrong, she decides to sprint across the yard, tripping over a frozen corpse of Kirigri's grandfather. As she attempted to recover, a figure wielding a knife loomed over her, not before being struck by a shovel by Jin Kirigiri. He lead her into his vehicle, as they conversed about Kyoko's situation. Later dropping off Yui at her dorm, she enters her room to see Kyoko awakened, combing her hair as she requests the other to braid her hair. The chapter ends here as Yui's complexion grows, her desire to solve Kyoko's conflicts having increased.

## Novel Illustrations

* Insert Illustrations by Rui Komatsuzaki.