Conan was almost the first to arrive to the impromptu meeting that night.
    
During the latter half of the day, Hakuba traversed the school and requested everyone come to the public bath an hour before Night Time began. Seeing as all their meetings had been in the cafeteria up until now, Conan could only deduce that it was something he didn’t want the masterminds to hear since this was the only room without cameras.

Nearly everyone was there - including those who had been avoiding everyone that day. Conan had to wonder how the hell Hakuba managed to speak with Kuroba if he was ignoring visitors (especially since the dorms were soundproof). 

Nonetheless there was… one person missing. Despite that--

“I’m glad everyone is here,” Hakuba began. “Before I get to the point, could I have someone... discreetly watch the halls for Monobear?”

“Discreetly, huh?” Hattori snorted. Wordlessly and almost immediately, Subaru took a place near the exit as their guard. Conan noticed that Amuro seemed to consider taking up the job, but he was too late now. The Osakan continued. 

“I’m sure Monobear saw us come in here usin’ th’ cameras outside. Maybe ya want ta keep watch fer Kirigiri-san?”

Kirigiri was the only one who apparently didn’t get the memo, as she was the only one absent. Hakuba smiled sheepishly, admitting defeat.

“Yes, actually, that is the case. She likely wouldn’t approve of the contents of this meeting, so I decided to… keep her in the dark.”

“Ah le le, doesn’t that sound weird to you guys?”

Kuroba was the one who made such an outburst and it made Conan's skin crawl because of how much it matched his own intonation. He sounded annoyed, but it was better than the forced, dull tones they all heard that morning. Apparently his self-induced isolation helped him a bit, because his eyes were wide with life again and he was back to being incredibly emotive. 

The only problem was that he looked permanently grumpy, which looked especially silly since he was the only one sitting on the floor. Everyone else preferred to stand or claim a spot on the bench (there was enough room, so Conan didn’t know why the magician felt the need to be different).

Although, now Kuroba hopped to his feet and gracefully cleared his throat. What came out was a voice that was eerily similar to Hakuba’s in pitch (it was noticeably off a bit, thankfully, otherwise it would have been a confusing experience for his audience) but kept all of Kuroba’s natural inflections and mannerisms.

“Hey everyone, I’m Saguru Hakuba!” His tone was horribly mocking and degrading - the real Hakuba could only look on in shock. “We just woke up in this weird place, and most of us are going to die before we see the sun ever again! But you know that cute mystery chick? The one that the masterminds know veeeery well? The one that knows absolutely everything going on, but won’t explain it to us? Let’s trust her! Nothing bad could happen if we do that!”

He cleared his throat once again, returning to his normal voice and scowling at the blond detective.

“That was you, if you didn’t catch on. It was a bit subtle, I know, but those were somewhere along the lines of your exact words.”

“...That was a terrible imitation, Kuroba-kun. We both know you could have done better than that.”

The magician huffed and sat back down on the floor. The atmosphere in the room had soured, but Hakuba tried to ignore it.

“...Anyways. Yes, I’ve been… saying something like that. And I still believe it. That’s what this meeting is about, actually. I’d like everyone else to trust her as well.”

“Tha’s a pretty tall order there,” Hattori noted, “I don’t think jus’ askin’ will get ya anywhere.”

“Especially when she’s holding back from us!” Sera chimed, rocking back on the bench she was sitting on. She didn’t seem like she entirely disagreed with Hakuba, and instead spoke as if she were merely reading off a shopping list. “I mean, she won’t share this place’s secrets, she doesn’t share anything about herself, she doesn’t help with any of the cases unless it becomes necessary, she doesn’t even think about trusting any of us--”

“And don’t forget about that key!” Sonoko exclaimed. “The one that showed up in that trial! The one she didn’t tell us about! It can open every door in the school, and we’re supposed to trust her when she has that?!”

Since the beginning of this meeting, Hakuba kept a hand in one of his pockets. At this moment, with a smirk, he fished out something - his trump card.

“That key… You’re talking about this one, correct?”

Many in the room were shocked, but Conan predicted this had been the case. Why would she let someone keep her own room key? And they were far too hushed about it. They (or, likely Kirigiri specifically) didn’t want anyone to know who actually possessed the key. That person would become a target for other people, including the masterminds. A target for distrust and isolation.

Kyouko Kirigiri would know better than anyone that it was an unpleasant burden to carry.

“Kirigiri-san gave me this key after the trial,” he continued. “She was aware no one trusted her with it, so she gave it to me in this very room. It has been in my possession since then.”

“Ah! Ain’t tha’ wha’ ya two were talkin’ about in th’ cafeteria?” Kazuha asked and she received a nod in response.

“She refuses to take it back, but I believe she might if everyone could trust her with it.”

“Alright,” Hattori announced with a slight drawl, “let’s hear this speech’f yers.”

It looked like Hakuba had been preparing for this moment for awhile now. The detective made sure to make eye contact with everyone in the room.

“...We have ended up in a very real and dangerous situation,” he began, “and we have exactly two options. One is to accept our fates and move according to the masterminds’ desires. We kill when they want us to, and they execute us how they like. I imagine this would continue until our numbers are too small for… an engaging trial, or until someone succeeds in their escape.

“The other option is to rebel, but this is much more difficult. As we’ve already seen: if we do not act, the masterminds are not afraid to interfere with this game. However, if we could succeed, then this option will hypothetically get us out with the least amount of casualties. I can’t speak for everyone here, but I find this the most favourable option.”

“But how do we carry out a successful rebellion?” Takagi asked from one of the benches. “Even if all fourteen of us worked together… could we even touch the masterminds or make an escape?”

“So far, there has been no way out,” Sato said, “and we don’t have the strength to create our own exit. Even if we had an opportunity to attack someone behind all this… what would we do? Despite everything, we can’t…”

She paused; she didn’t exactly want to admit it. 

Hattori picked it up from there: “We can’t jus’ kill them in return. Tha’ makes us no better than them.”

“Being a good guy has so many inconvenient rules, doesn’t it?” Amuro joked. Conan turned toward the locker he was leaning against and gave a glare. Thankfully, he didn’t notice it.

“Yes… and this is our problem.” Hakuba resumed his explanation steadily. “This is an unfamiliar situation. Even now, we are being directed to a certain goal. If a class of Hope’s Peak Academy couldn’t end this quickly, then what chance do we have? However, if we have Kirigiri-san’s assistance and knowledge… we suddenly are at less of a disadvantage.”

“Too bad she ain’t willing ta share,” Hattori noted. 

“She might if everyone would trust her.”

“I’ll trust her when she starts telling the truth,” Kuroba snapped.

Hakuba sighed and changed angles: “I spoke with a few of the others about this, but don’t you find it odd? The fifteen chosen to be here, I mean. It was no coincidence - after all, everyone here is familiar with someone. Even Kirigiri-san knew who a few of us were, and yet no one knows her. Being a survivor of the previous incident, and thus, an enemy to the masterminds, I believe there is a good chance that we were picked with her in mind. So, that means the ultimate goal of the masterminds is perhaps to cause grievances to her. How we feel is likely just a bonus.”

“So…” Sonoko paled and furrowed her brows, “...that means we’re just here for no special reason? It’s because of her? That doesn’t-- what does that mean?”

“W-Wait!” Kazuha noticed a contradiction and wanted desperately to point it out before the conversation slipped by. “If they jus’ wanted ta target Kirigiri-san, why didn’t they bring th’ other survivors too?! They’re her friends, so she’d be more upset if somethin’ happened ta them!”

“It could be just that, actually,” Sera mused. “Currently, she has no way to contact the ones she loves. If they aren’t here, she can’t protect them. Even though they could potentially die here, she would still have the power and the hope that she could stop it.”

“Super High School Level Hope…”

Conan had only muttered it, but many eyes looked at him. He spoke up with a nervous grin.

“A-Ah, it’s just something Kirigiri-san told me! Why would the masterminds bring back so many people who trusted each other and never killed anyone? It would probably minimize the trials we have, since there would be so many who are already close and won’t kill anyone! If the masterminds had to carry out the killing themselves, the effect wouldn’t be so strong, right?”

“Most’f us are connected t’ tha law in some way,” the Osakan detective added, “includin’ Kirigiri-san. They really want us an’ her ta ‘despair’, right? What better way than ta put fifteen people wi’ strong morals in one buildin’? They take away freedom an’ give us motives - watchin’ people we respect stoop so low is enough ta destroy anyone.”

“And I think Kirigiri-san really respects detectives!” Conan recalled the various moments of ‘weakness’ he noticed from her. She belittled her talent and was quick to encourage him and Hattori despite how she looked down on their methods. She encouraged them all, actually, because she wanted them to solve the school’s mysteries by themselves. She wanted to know her respect and admiration was going to the right place... and perhaps this would lead to her trust. 

“So seeing people she once admired die like this would be heartbreaking, right? It would be like losing faith in us, and then…”

“...she would despair,” Amuro finished. His voice gave Conan chills - god, it was so hard to remember that they already had a dangerous person in their midst along with the omnipresent threat watching over them. He wondered if anyone else realized this. He wondered if the masterminds knew this already.

He was just a kid, so no one would believe him if he said anything. Haibara and Subaru knew for sure. But it would be hard to warn others.

“Doesn’t this mean Kirigiri-san was the weakest link of the survivors?” Haibara mused. “Our hope-driven detective… was the one most susceptible to despair. That’s not very comforting, is it?”

“I think that explains quite a lot, actually,” Kuroba said, “like how her only emotions are 'scary perceptive glare' and 'scary looks-down-on-you glee'.”

Hakuba sighed - victory was slipping further and further away from him. “...For the latter ‘emotion’, Kuroba-kun, I can guarantee you were completely responsible for triggering her.”

“Eh? Have you seen it then?” A low whistle. “What did you do to upset her?”

“Anyways--” Hakuba wasn’t letting the conversation slip from his grasp any further, because he was already at a disadvantage. “--in our case, Kirigiri-san is the strongest link. Firstly, she has been in this situation before. She understands the rules, the layout, and how the masterminds will act--”

“The previous mastermind is dead.” 

Haibara corrected him bluntly. Conan blinked and stared at her. Had she spoken to Kirigiri? When did that happen…?

The simple statement drew out a silence for just a moment. Sonoko broke it with a nervous question: “H-How would you know that…?”

The scientist was giving her a “what do you think” look, so Hattori figured he would fill in the implied details. 

“She prob’y heard it from Kirigiri-san - tha’ detective told us tha’ as well.” He put a hand on Conan’s head, who gave a grimace in reply. “She also said tha’ they died right in front’f her, an’ tha’ th’ mastermind was one’ve ‘er classmates, so there’s no doubt about it. Apparently they had followers, so th’ current masterminds are prob’ly tha’ group. ...According ta Kirigiri-san, at least.”

“There’s one less advantage, then.” Amuro smirked and continued, “New masterminds, so she won’t understand their movements quite as well.”

Hakuba frowned. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. But I’m not done yet. Secondly…”

He paused for a moment.

“...I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but out of all of us, I believe Kirigiri-san has the highest rate of survival.”

“This relates to the masterminds’ motive, right?” Sera asked. She smiled and went on to explain: “If their first goal is to put Kirigiri-san into despair, then they won’t kill her unless she kills someone or becomes a serious threat to their plans. The rest of us are disposable. So the only people that will target her are us - or, more specifically, the ones who don’t trust her. Anyone simply trying to take advantage of someone will target someone they know well and I don’t imagine Kirigiri-san falls into that category for anyone here. Therefore, if she isn’t driven to kill and we can all honestly agree to trust her… her chances of dying become almost zero.”

“Exactly.” Hakuba nodded and mimicked the confident smile that Sera flashed. “If we have the key, the masterminds will likely have few regrets killing us for it. If Kirigiri-san has the key, I believe they might see an advantage in letting her keep it. As it stands, people don’t trust her. The key makes her a target for murder and suspicion. The existence of the key upsets alibis as long as a witness isn’t present. Locked doors will not restrict the one with the key. Since accomplices have nothing to gain, chances of lending out that key become slim. She may never use it, but the masterminds want us to panic at the idea of Kirigiri-san, a near stranger, holding such power over us.”

“She’s pretty cautious and ruthless,” Kuroba added, “so it would take a master to steal it from her. Unless one of us has some unspoken superpower, she would be the only one in possession of that key, right? So it narrows our options for suspicion when something weird happens.”

“Yes, that’s correct…” He gave the magician a curious look before continuing. “My last argument is…” 

Hakuba paused and broke into a smirk. 

“...Now you all know that I have the key. If someone here was desperate enough, I would be a target. All thirteen people present become a suspect if something were to happen to me. Despite how some of you feel about me, I would certainly hope it could never come to murder, but…”

He shrugged and a silence blanketed them all. His entire speech worked up to this. The foreign detective was essentially blackmailing them into agreeing with him on the best course of action. If he doesn’t return the key to Kirigiri, then he suddenly becomes the most likely to die next. The masterminds don’t know he has the key, so they wouldn’t be able to argue the existence of an outsider anymore. They would be forced to suspect each other.

...Conan had to admit, it was a good plan on Hakuba’s part. He was impressed.

“Hmmm…” Hattori thought it necessary to consider his options loudly and acted like this was a difficult decision. “Yer life, huh? Geez, tha’s a hard choice ya got there--grrk!”

Kazuha had elbowed him in the gut to stop him from going further. “I agree wi’ Hakuba-kun! Let’s give tha key back ta Kirigiri-chan! I don’ want anymore murders ta happen!”

“It does seem like the best course of action to take, doesn’t it?” Sato asked. A few people chimed in with their approval. Kuroba sighed and, from his sitting position, leaned back to lie flat on the ground.

“Yeah, it’s probably best to give it to her,” he said begrudgingly. “Cuz I’m pretty sure you have no chance against anyone here. You’d be super dead. Even more than regular dead!”

“Thank you for your input, Kuroba-kun.”

“But aren’t we all forgetting something?” Koizumi rose from the bench and stepped over to where Hakuba was so she could address the group properly.

(Conan noticed Hakuba blush and step down so he wasn’t in her way. What the hell.)

“Now we’re all going to know that Kirigiri-san has the key. Certainly, her chance of survival is much higher, but she’s only human. Now, we can all pretend to trust her, but where will that get us? She can easily take advantage of that and cleverly kill someone while everyone else is sleeping. But we’ll be so busy trusting her that she’s going to get away with it and the rest of us will be executed.”

Hakuba’s confidence faltered and his eyes darted away. “She… Kirigiri-san surely wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Oh? She wouldn’t?” The redhead cackled. “I think she would. We already know her motive. She has precious friends - more precious than any of us in her mind - all helpless on the outside. If she’s here for too long, who knows what could happen to them? Perhaps the masterminds will threaten her at some point and she’ll be forced to act.”

“So… what do you propose we do instead?” Takagi asked. Koizumi smirked as she glanced over at Hakuba, who was looking slightly distraught.

“Personally, I think Hakuba-kun should give the key to anybody who isn’t Kirigiri-san. Discreetly, of course, so nobody else knows who holds it. He can choose whoever he wants. I believe he’s a good enough judge of character to do something as simple as that.”

From his place on the floor, Kuroba rose his hand. “I vote he doesn’t give it to Akako.”

Koizumi clenched her teeth together and glared at the boy on the ground. “I am perfectly reliable, right Hakuba-kun?”

“Eh? O-Of course you are, Koizumi-san…”

“This solution presents an even bigger problem.” He had been quiet for most of the meeting, as usual, but Subaru spoke up from the other side of the room.

“It doesn’t matter who Hakuba-kun gives the key to. All someone has to do is threaten him for their identity. It’s likely they’ll kill him… and then they’ll kill the person with the key. If they don’t, that will be two people who can testify of their ill intentions.”

“...Y’know, I’ve been thinking,” Sonoko began. Conan hadn’t been paying much attention to her, but she had a puzzled look on her face. So she really must have been thinking pretty hard.

“...Why would someone kill someone else if they wanted the key? They’re either going to die or escape the school, so they don’t really need it anymore.”

“It’s to prevent someone making use of the key in a murder,” Amuro answered. “Its existence makes things pretty complicated. Even if it’s not involved, the only person who knows that for sure is the culprit.”

“Plus after killing the person holding the key, the culprit might be able to use it to cover up the crime.” Sera nodded and leaned back. “Yep, the existence of that key is a motive in itself while we’re in a kill-or-be-killed situation like this!”

Kazuha looked back and forth between them. “But… is someone here really willin’ ta kill anotha person…?”

“You asked that about the students of this school, didn’t you?” Koizumi asked with the ghost of a smile on her face. “You can’t even trust your best friends in a situation like this. If the masterminds start giving us motives, who knows how long it will take before someone snaps…?”

“They made an example out of Mouri-san,” Haibara said. “If we don’t play along, they’ll interfere and nobody will get out. The atmosphere they’ve provided us makes tensions high... At the smallest sound, we’ll be running for a weapon to defend ourselves with.”

Silence. There had been hope just a moment ago. The idea of rebelling and allying with Kyouko Kirigiri had given everyone a new determination. As Conan looked around, he could see the reality setting in.

Most of them were going to die. Maybe all of them.

“H-Hey…” Conan looked around frantically while trying to think of something to say. “Um… Let’s go with Hakuba-niichan’s plan and return the key to Kirigiri-san! Everyone will know she has it, so Hakuba-niichan won’t be in danger anymore! And I trust Kirigiri-san! She promised to help us, and besides, she doesn’t seem like the type of person who would be able to face her friends again after killing someone… R-Right?”

Hattori sighed, not quite pleased with this turn of events but seemingly satisfied. “Yeah, ya got my vote. There’s not much choice, after all. An’ whaddwe got ta lose? Well, aside from ‘r lives--”

He barked out a short laugh. While this decision had been backed by enthusiastic support earlier, everyone was suddenly a bit more wary in light of the recent conversation.

“I say we go for it,” Amuro said with a smile. “We’ve all seen how Kirigiri-san is. I think it’s safe to say anyone will think twice about trying to take it from her compared to anyone else.”

“Koizumi-san? Are you alright with this?”

Conan wasn’t sure why Hakuba was asking for her permission, but she was the main source of protest against this idea. She huffed and looked around the room, realizing she didn’t have much of a choice since everyone else seemed to be in agreement.

“...Fine! Go ahead and give it to her!” She flipped her hair back and frowned. But after a moment of consideration, she smiled deviously. “But don’t come crying to me when I say ‘I told you so’. Because no matter what you or she says, I shall never trust her!”

And she laughed as she left the public bath, likely thinking they were all incompetent and blind. There was a tense silence for a moment, but Takagi broke it with a nervous voice soon enough.

“Will that be all for tonight, Saguru-kun?”

“Yes, it is. Have a pleasant sleep, officer. And you all as well--”

Everyone started to trickle out as the atmosphere gradually grew more pleasant. The chatter died out as people departed and headed further away from the baths. A few people lingered back, however.

“So what did you do to Kirigiri-san, Kuroba-kun?”

“I ain’t done nothin’!” He claimed, stretching out his limbs now that he was on his feet again. His energy had apparently returned and he has back to being his normal self. Hakuba raised a brow, which prompted Kuroba to change his response.

“...Okay, I talked to her. I just happened to mention... something she didn’t like and she had a hissy fit on me. That’s it, I swear!”

“Wha’ tha heck did’ja mention, Kuroba?” Hattori asked. The magician hesitated, his eyes darting to Hakuba, who also seemed curious.

“...Kaitou KID.”

“Really?” Hakuba tilted his head curiously, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “She… doesn’t like him? At all?”

“Hates him, actually!” He grinned, but Conan caught something angry behind that grin. For some reason, Kuroba was taking it personally. 

“Yeah, she said a lot of things about him… hmm, I don’t actually remember any of them! Maybe you should ask her about it yourself.” He yawned - and Conan was pretty sure it was fake - and started walking towards the exit. “Well, I’m beat! I’ll see you all tomorrow morning--!”

“Ah, wait!” Conan called out to him, and he stopped. Curiously, he turned to face the younger boy.

“What’s up? Except, y’know--” and he snickered, “--the rest of us.”

Height jokes. Funny. Conan hasn’t heard one of those before.

“Ehhh… I just wanted to ask you and Hakuba-niichan about your classmate! She’s kinda…” While he struggled to find a nice adjective, Hakuba chuckled.

“She may act a bit hostile, but she’s rather compassionate, I assure you. She’s quite the pleasant woman to be aroun--”

“She’s a real, bona fide witch, James!” Kuroba yelled in somewhat poor English. He was mocking some kind of accent, and despite the butchery, Conan was still impressed that the magician could get his voice to do that. But Hakuba merely sighed.

“...I told you not to call me that. And she’s not a witch. Honestly, that’s incredibly rude to say of her…”

Kuroba rolled his eyes. “Mm-hm. Yo, kid, you stay away from her, alright? She’ll probably put a spell on you - just like she has done to ol’ Hakuba over here!”

He grinned and laughed to himself as he left the room. Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose and was probably counting to ten inside his head.

“Ya got some interestin’ friends, don’tcha?”

“They’re peers, not fr--”

The blond stopped himself when he realized what he was about to say. He sighed and shook his head. “Did you need anything else? I would like to see Kirigiri-san before it’s too late.”

“D’ya know where she is?”

Hakuba thought for a moment and frowned. “No, I don’t. Actually, I was going to ask when you two saw her last. Our meeting went on longer than expected, so I’m surprised she never happened upon us…”

“Well it is pretty late, so she’s probably just in her room,” Conan said, hiding the hint of anxiety behind an encouraging smile. 

“Yeah, she’s clearly been havin’ some rough nights if her mornin’ attendance means anythin’.” Hattori shrugged. “Wouldn’t be surprised if she turned in early.”

“You’re likely right.” Hakuba hummed and slipped the key into his pocket. Echoing above them, Monobear’s voice rang out through the speakers.

“Ehh… This is a school announcement. It is now ten PM. Night Time begins now. The cafeteria’s doors will be locked shortly. You are forbidden to enter it. Well then, good night. I wish you all have pleasant dreams…”

“Tha’s ‘r cue,” Hattori yawned. “I guess we’ll be puttin’ everythin’ on hold ‘til tomorrow. Good luck with Kirigiri-san, yeah?”

They were all going the same way, so they walked out together and silently accompanied each other to the dormitories (breaking away at this hour would have been suspicious). 

Conan waved good bye to Hattori and as he went to enter “Maizono’s” room, he noticed Hakuba stopped at Kirigiri’s door. He watched him knock gingerly, but then the bespectacled boy escaped into the bedroom after that.

He’d ask how it went in the morning.