A Night in the Infirmary

****Takagi Masahiko’s Perspective****

‘Am I dreaming? Or am I dreaming…?’

Faced with the scene before me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had been hallucinating ever since the moment I first saw that note.

‘A hallucination…? Hahaha… It must be… a hallucination… right…?’

The heavy scent of blood in the air, a visceral assault on my nose and brain, underscored an undeniable, horrifying reality.

“Oh~? I never expected Kamimura-chan to turn up here! But then again… I never expected things to end like this~” Monokuma sauntered over, observing the scene with a gleeful, mocking air. Yet, my eyes were vacant, my voice trapped, unable to rebuke its joyous demeanor.

‘No, I don’t want this… I absolutely refuse… this kind of ending…’

‘And yet… I… haven’t even… told her…’

I lifted my legs, heavy as if bound by shackles, and walked to her side, where she lay by the doorway.

The wound on her scalp was starkly visible, and the small pool of blood beneath her head was a grim testament to the injury.

What truly astounded me, however, was why Kamimura-chan held a bloody hammer in her hand.

‘What… what in the world… is going on…?’

‘Wasn’t this hammer… kept in the small storage room…? Who took it…? Kamimura-chan…?’

‘But… Kamimura-chan… why would she do this…? And how did she get hurt…?’

‘No time for such thoughts! I need to quickly check if Kamimura-chan… is still alive!’

Urgently, I extended my hand to her nose, waiting for the faint puff of breath.

The next second, a faint, warm breath brushed gently against my hand.

‘She’s breathing! She’s alive! Thank goodness!’

Still, it was too soon to celebrate; the wound on Kamimura-chan’s head seemed to be slowly bleeding.

‘Forgive me, Kamimura-chan!’

My left hand cradled her fair neck, while my right slipped beneath her slender, graceful legs, which were softly outlined by the tautness of her black thigh-high stockings.

I gently lifted her into a princess carry, as carefully as one would handle a cherished kitten, terrified of touching any other hidden injuries.

Her body was neither heavy nor light, and the parts I touched felt incredibly soft beneath my hands.

The lavender scent emanating from the girl’s body mingled with the metallic tang of blood from her head, these two strikingly disparate aromas assaulting my senses once more, leaving my emotions in a tangled knot.

‘Tch! What am I doing?! At a time like this, how can I be standing here pondering such useless things?!’

My left hand, wrapped around her shoulders, held her tightly against my chest as I rushed towards the elevator door with renewed resolve.

With her slender, soft legs cradled by my right arm, I struggled to extend my right index finger to press the call button, then waited for the doors to slide open.

“Ding!”

It was quite remarkable, really; I, who had once felt such unease in the overwhelming darkness of this place, now felt no fear at all.

I recalled Arisumi-chan mentioning that the infirmary had been unlocked last time. ‘Good! I’ll head to the infirmary first!’

Kicking open the already ajar infirmary door, I gently laid Kamimura-chan’s body flat on the sickbed. ‘Next…’

‘First, I need to find medical bandages and rubbing alcohol to stop the bleeding effectively!’ My heart pounding with urgency, I hurried to the medicine cabinet and rummaged through its contents.

After a frantic minute of searching, I finally found the bandages and alcohol I needed! I even managed to grab some cotton balls for dressings, killing two birds with one stone.

I quickly tore open the bandage, and after confirming there were no foreign particles or grime in the wound, I gently dabbed it with a cotton ball soaked in a bit of alcohol. The next step was to carefully wrap the bandage around the head wound two and a half times, ensuring it was snug but not too tight.

After several careful observations, Kamimura-chan’s head wound appeared to have stopped bleeding.

Still, I couldn’t entirely relax. Even though the bleeding from her head had been stanched, other parts of her body had yet to be thoroughly examined.

Thus, I meticulously inspected Kamimura-chan’s body from head to toe.

‘What… is this…?’

My eyes fixated on Kamimura-chan’s abdomen, visible through her clothes, where a distinct shoe print was clearly impressed.

‘A shoe print?! Could it be… that someone… kicked Kamimura-chan in the stomach…?’

To confirm further, I reached out, intending to expose her abdomen, but paused abruptly just as my hand neared her clothing.

‘Men and women should keep their distance… Is it really appropriate to peek at her abdomen like this…? But, I… I need to confirm her injuries…’

…………

After several internal struggles, I ultimately decided to lift her shirt.

I glanced around with extreme caution. ‘Good! No movement!’

Phew… I took a deep breath, then reached for the edge of her shirt.

‘I’m sorry, Kamimura-chan… Everything I’m doing is for your sake! Please don’t scold me!’

Slowly, I lifted her shirt, gradually revealing her abdomen.

The sight of her fair skin instantly accelerated my heartbeat, and my entire face flushed uncontrollably.

However, the next sight brought my thoughts to a screeching halt, the image before me shockingly sobering my embarrassment: amidst her pristine, beautiful abdomen, an incongruous red imprint stood out starkly, a footprint so deeply etched that the injury was clearly severe.

‘So, in the time before I woke up… what exactly did Kamimura-chan go through…? And who inflicted this footprint?! Why such a brutal, merciless blow…?’

I couldn’t bear to look for another second, so I pulled the lifted shirt back down over her.

Out of caution, I took out my student ID and photographed the shoe print, then carefully studied its size and structure.

‘Its size seems slightly smaller than mine… The structure… it somewhat resembles a sports shoe, but not entirely…’

‘Sigh… Right now, this single picture won’t reveal anything conclusive…’

My gaze shifted to Kamimura-chan’s face, and only then did I notice that her usually rosy complexion was now as pale as frost. Moreover, a faint trace of tears seemed to linger near the corners of her eyes.

‘She… cried…?’

‘Damn it…! Why didn’t I notice this sooner?! If… if I had come to the library earlier… I never would have let Kamimura-chan suffer such pain!’ I painfully squeezed my eyes shut, gritted my teeth, my fingers nearly digging into my flesh, bitterly lamenting the cruelty of reality.

Yet, the next second, I gave a self-deprecating laugh. ‘How many “what ifs” are there in life? The only thing we can do… is strive to achieve.’

I covered the unconscious Kamimura-chan with a white cotton blanket to prevent her from getting cold.

Driven by an inexplicable feeling, I pulled out my student ID and checked the time: eleven fifty.

‘Is it already this late? Everyone must be asleep by now, right?’ But then, a sudden chill ran down my spine. I sprang up, locking the door in a split second.

‘How could I have been so careless! After all… I’m not the only one awake right now! I absolutely won’t tolerate anyone harming her again!’

Now, there was little to fear. I just needed to wait until everyone came to find me tomorrow morning.

‘Hmm… It seems I’ll have to spend the night here.’

And to be in the same room as Kamimura-chan, ahem, ahem… ‘the same room…?’ This bold, sudden thought made my heart pound wildly.

‘Th-this must be the first time I’ve ever slept in the same room as a girl, right?!’ I stood by the door, grinning foolishly like a husky (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘erha,’ referring to someone acting silly or a bit dumb, often humorously compared to the goofy nature of a Siberian Husky.).

I moved the room’s only chair next to Kamimura-chan, then slowly sat down, once again admiring her face with a contemplative gaze.

To me, no matter how many times I looked, she remained a vision of exquisite beauty.

Observing the slight rise and fall of the blanket over her chest, my anxious heart finally found a measure of peace.

Speaking of which… Kamimura-chan’s chest, ahem, ahem… it traced a perfect curve, neither exaggerated nor small, just right…

‘Ahem! No, I shouldn’t think about that! Time to sleep!’

I rested my head on my folded arms beside her, closing my eyes. ‘Form is emptiness, emptiness is form… form is emptiness, emptiness is form…’ (TL Note: A Buddhist proverb, ‘se ji shi kong kong ji shi se,’ meaning that all physical existence is transient and illusory, and that emptiness is the true nature of reality.)

The lavender scent wafting from Kamimura-chan filled my nostrils, and a sense of calm serenity naturally enveloped my entire body, a wonderfully hypnotic feeling.

‘Kamimura-chan, please, you must wake up. Don’t leave without a word again…’

“I have to tell you again…” My deep, gentle gaze fell upon her profile.

“Good night, Kamimura-chan.”

My head buried in my folded arms, I peacefully drifted into sleep.