Let's solve the case of who covered up Natsumi's .

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to focus on investigating Hope's Peak first." Hajime replied, doing his best to elevate the hospital bed so that he could make eye-contact easier. "I know it's a bit personal, and I know you've probably got a counter-argument to focus on the Ultimate Despair group, but I can't ignore what the Academy's done to my classmates- to my friend. All I could really think about before the project was how mistreated Reserve Course students were- hell, I got beat up by Hope's Peak's head of security because I tried to help." He was shaking, wasn't he?

"I don't." Kyoko replied after a moment, her rigid stance softening slightly. "I don't have a counter-argument, I mean. It makes sense from both a personal and a logical standpoint- whereas Ultimate Despair has likely infiltrated the school, they've likely done so as students. Dealing with those in power...those who have the clout to cover up the deaths of two college-aged women and sweep anything under the rug is something I'm not going to be against."

"I see. Thanks." Hajime spoke, as Kyoko raised a gloved hand, and her softness vanished. She stared into him, like a lion eying a cut of meat, and Hajime did his best to remain perfectly normal about the look she was giving him. Was it domineering? Yes. Was it also a little terrifying? Absolutely.

"However, if I think your emotions are compromising your judgement, I won't hesitate to remove you from the investigation. I expect you to trust me with anything during this period. I'll do my best to share important information in exchange." She spoke, giving a glance to the window after a few moments. "You can't tell anyone about what we're doing, of course. Plenty of faculty are compromised, and you can't trust anyone until we've cleared them. I don't expect you to be happy with this, but it's for your own well-being."

Jin coughed, and Kyoko softened her stance again. "When things cool down, we'll call your parents and fill them in. Don't worry- we're not going to leave them out to dry."

"Thank you both." Hajime replied, doing his best to avoid tossing any biting remarks back in Kyoko's direction- at least, for the time being. "I'll do my best. So, uh. What do you know about the case, Kyoko?"

"I'll brief you tomorrow morning after the examinations are done. Let's say..." A glance to her father.

"Ten am. Should give you enough time to get ready." Jin Kirigiri spoke, getting to his feet as he approached the door. "Once you're done with the investigation, I'll help get you situated. Consider the time between then and now a "grace period." The door opened, then shut behind him. For a moment, Hajime and Kyoko were completely alone.

"Ten in the morning." Kyoko murmured, nodding. "Try to get some rest, Hajime. The investigation isn't going to be pretty, and there's a chance the two of us will be at risk. It could be dangerous- such as what nearly happened to me when I tried to look into the Izuru Kamukura Project."

Hajime blinked, then jolted out of bed, even as his legs screamed and his mind yelled about how this was the worst time to be moving, when he was already tired and still shrugging off weeks of god knows what. "What? What do you know? What'd they do?"

There was a hole in his head where they'd ripped something out. Even if it was only temporary, if the project really was linked to Natsumi and Sato's deaths...if the project he'd happily undertaken was ran by the same people who'd discarded the bodies of his classmates to keep the school's image up...

Kyoko, to her credit, merely gripped at him as his legs gave way, and for a moment, the two had prolonged contact. "Do you think you're in a state to hear those answers, Hajime?" She asked, her face close enough to his for him to hypothetically steal a kiss. If of course, he was suicidal. Instead, Hajime did his best to ignore the fact that his body was leaning into hers, as she ushered him back into bed.

"Sit." She whispered once, then spoke. "Sit."

Hajime didn't resist as he fell back onto his hospital bed.

"I will give you what information I have when the time comes to divulge it. Giving you everything instead of allowing you to interpret it for yourself would be...troublesome. I don't know everything my father knows, and I know he doesn't know everything either. All I can do is say "Rest for a minute", and "I hope you feel better tomorrow morning. Will that be enough for now?"

"...Sure." Hajime spoke, though his eyes were narrowed. Kyoko nodded, then let go of him as she walked to the door and opened it.

"Thank you for trusting me that much, at least. And, Hajime?"

"Yeah?"

"You may want to fix your hospital gown." Kyoko murmured cryptically, as she left the room.