When he couldn’t get ahold of Kirigiri immediately, Conan ended up continuing his investigation of the school. He hoped to run into her during it, but she must have been locked up in her room (catching up on sleep, perhaps) because he didn’t see her for quite a while.
    
He and Hattori eventually met to search the trash room, but unfortunately, they didn’t find anything of interest. Really, that was the summary of Conan’s exploration: there was nothing else to find.

He confirmed the blood in the gym and on the knife, and he watched the video on that disk labeled “Sayaka Maizono”. He came very close to sneaking into the public bath, but Monokuma showed up and yelled at him.

It wasn’t Night Time yet but it was still pretty late when he finally ran into Kirigiri in the halls.

“Ah, Kirigiri-neechan!” He bounced in front of her, as carefree as he could be, though only received a curious look in return.

“Did you go back to sleep? I didn’t see you around after breakfast, and you wouldn’t answer when I knocked.”

“...I did.” She certainly didn’t look quite so tired anymore. She must have also had a shower because her long hair looked a bit damp. 

“Ehh? Did you just wake up, then? Won’t you have trouble sleeping tonight?”

“Perhaps,” she answered simply, crossing her arms. She didn’t seem too concerned and Conan wondered if she was going to sleep in again tomorrow morning and the cycle would repeat. 

“Did you need to speak to me?”

Conan nodded happily. “I did! I just wanted to ask what kind of person Makoto Naegi was. There isn’t much in his room, so I don’t know…”

(--Ah, so there was blood in Naegi’s bathroom, Kyouko concluded. Interesting. It seems little Edogawa came straight to her instead of telling everyone about it last night.)

Conan noticed a little smile - but it didn’t look like the kind of smile you make when you remember something pleasant. It was coy and all-knowing, and suddenly it felt like she was looking right through him again. Nonetheless, she answered his question.

“Naegi-kun... was incredibly ordinary. He was good at nothing in particular. He was a bit more optimistic than most people, as he would always say. He wasn’t extraordinarily smart, but he plenty of potential. His interests fell in what the populace liked. In a crowd, he never stood out much. He was kind and put perhaps too much faith into his friends…”

Her face was softening now, and it was clear she admired Makoto Naegi very much. But that past tense she was using was worrisome.

“If it wasn’t for him, nobody would have made it out of the school.” She paused, contemplating on what to say next. She crouched down to be at eye level with Conan and continued.

“You know how his card says his talent is ‘good luck’? While he is very lucky, I want you to know his talent was something else. Naegi-kun’s true title is ‘Super High School Level Hope’. Remember that, okay?”

She wasn’t being demanding or lecturing him - it looked like she was sharing something that was special to her. Kirigiri wanted him to know this. Conan just… didn’t know what to do with it yet. But he figured she was trying to say: he was the most innocent of them all. That he definitely didn’t kill anyone.

“So, Naegi-niisan was your friend, right?”

“...He’s certainly one of the most trustworthy people I’ve ever met. I would trust him with my life and… my secrets...”

Conan hummed to himself in understanding. He noticed Kirigiri’s finger twitched ever so slightly, as if she suddenly became conscious of what was under her gloves. Did she have one of those secrets on her hands, or--?

“Um… did anything weird happen in his room?”

He almost felt bad for asking now, because it seemed like he should have had the answer just from her little speech. But he had to make sure. Kirigiri stood up straight again, her expression sobering to hide away any stray emotions.

“Hm? Several things occurred in his room. Did you find something odd?”

Several things? Well then. “In the shower, I found something on the wall that looked like red paint! But we haven’t found anything like that in the school--”

“Was it really red paint?”

She was smirking - she knew exactly what he had found. She was trying to make him say what it was. 

If he just avoided the truth, it would probably make things worse, wouldn’t it?

“Um, maybe not… Could it maybe be blood? Like how there was blood in the gym and on that knife…! Ah, did someone die in Naegi-niichan’s room?!”

“It seems the blood has been implying that, yes.”

Then very suddenly her voice became hushed and delicate, with her next words sending a chill down Conan’s spine.

“So? Do you think Makoto Naegi was a victim? Or one of the murderers?”

“Uh…” It couldn’t be that simple, right? That would mean… he invited someone into the room, and he either killed them, or they killed him. But, if he intended to kill someone, why would he put that wooden sword in his room? Why would…

Oh. Oh. This was a trick. Duh.

“He didn’t have anything to do with it, right? Kirigiri-neechan wants me to believe in her friend! Because, if he was a victim, that meant he let a murderer into his room, which would be weird, right?”

“Well, he was awfully trusting, so I don’t think he would have noticed.”

“But, if he died, how could he help everyone get out of the school? So two other people must have been in his room! Like, maybe the true culprit switched rooms with him for a night… then called the victim to the room!”

“That’s an excellent theory. You like solving these mysteries, don’t you?”

Conan nodded enthusiastically. If Kirigiri was a detective fan, maybe acting a bit smarter than usual would get him some brownie points.

“How about this? Since I strongly believe we’ll keep finding these bloodstains... if you can come up with a good deduction and evidence to prove it, I’ll tell you what really happened. Okay?”

It seemed what he said to Hakuba and Hattori in passing turned out to be the truth after all. She wanted them to find the truth on their own. If they presented the evidence and something resembling the truth, she would confirm it and go in detail. 

It was strange. Most people would see a detective and tell them all they could to help them reach the truth. But Kirigiri was different. She was a bit like a guide or a mentor who gave them nudges in the right direction if they felt stumped. And once they finally reach the truth, it turns out she had been there at the finish line the whole time and she knew the case better than anybody.

“Okay! ...Say, Kirigiri-neechan, you’re really smart! Are you a detective too?”

Her face changed. The compassionate expression shattered all at once to reveal an icy interior. She grew serious and her eyes seemed to pierce through his very soul.

“What made you think I was a detective?”

“Eh? Um… I just...” Damn, her reaction was… a bit terrifying. What was a good excuse? What was it that Hakuba said--?

“...Hakuba-niichan told me that some students got out of the school when they solved all the mysteries. And you know a lot about the school--”

“I did attend classes here for awhile, didn’t I? It doesn’t take a detective to know about a place they are familiar with.”

(She wasn’t denying his words though. So maybe it was true. Maybe Kyouko Kirigiri wasn’t a murderer and could be trusted.)

Think, Shinichi! What tipped you off? Kyouko Kirigiri… she just had that look that exposed all your secrets, and you could tell she was always looking to do just that. She always looked like she was collecting information.

It made him wonder… about that talent on her card… could it be…? No… way...

“...Edogawa-kun?” Conan returned to reality to see Kirigiri was talking to him. ‘Edogawa-kun’? That was odd - not many people called him that. 

“Let’s extend my earlier proposition. Any mystery regarding the school - including the ones about myself or the other classmates. I’ll tell you the truth if anyone can present a solid case to me. I would be... honoured if the talented detectives present, such as yourself, could reach the correct conclusion.”

...Huh. She recognized him as a “talented detective”? Well, he was in the papers for chasing down a certain phantom thief… He wasn’t sure if that was enough to recognize him as a detective, though.

Or maybe she was just flattering him. Appealing to the child’s ego. That was probably it.

But, ignoring the part where she was fueling his ego, it was clear Kirigiri wanted people to know her truth. This was her case and she wanted to tell people about it, but something was stopping her. Whether it was a third party or her own emotions, he couldn’t tell. Somehow… with the way she said it, he was thinking it was the latter.

“Okay… I guess I’ll tell everyone else about this!” He tried to transition to his next topic in the least obvious way possible, trying to seem nonchalant about it. “Umm, does that mean you can tell us your super talent? Heiji-niichan thought Hakuba-niichan knew it already, so if he knows it, does that mean you’ll tell everyone now?”

There was a pensive look on her face - similar to the serious look she had when he asked her about being a detective. She exhaled the slightest of exasperated breaths as she considered her answer. 

(--Kyouko didn’t know the story behind Hakuba’s traitorous slip-up, but she was a bit angry that he apparently made it so obvious. She was almost sure it was because of him that this boy came to his earlier conclusion.)

Eventually, she offered a sly and mischievous smile.

“He is not to say a word, so it won’t count. If anyone else finds out, however, I will admit defeat on that secret.”

Damn. He wondered if she would consider it cheating if he swiped her ID card. Then again, that had to be how Hakuba found out. He gave the card to Kirigiri yesterday - it wouldn’t have taken much to check.

“Was there anything else you wanted to speak with me about?”

There wasn’t much else he could do here without evidence, so. Maybe he’d think of more tomorrow.

“No, you told me a lot today! Thank you, Kirigiri-neechan!” Conan turned to run off, but Kirigiri’s voice made him stop.

“Before you go, I would like you to know one more thing.” She paused, and the young detective looked back at her. Her face was calm, but also solemn.

“Our ally… is ‘hope’. If we want to get out of here alive… we can only defeat our mutual enemy with our ally’s help. Don’t lose sight of that hope, alright?”

Conan nodded quietly before scurrying off, not looking back. 

Hope… 

The opposite of hope is despair. Was she trying to say that ‘despair’ was their enemy? 

And she mentioned that Makoto Naegi’s true title was ‘Super High School Level Hope’. Hope was to be trusted. So he was to be trusted. Naegi was their ally.

...Could there be a “Super High School Level Despair” to identify as their enemy? And wait. Was the mastermind one of the students? And if that mastermind is related to this one, could there be multiple people with the despair title? Could it be… an organization?

...

No wonder Kirigiri didn’t want to explain her case to them plainly. There was nothing plain about this at all.