#DKronpa
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Chapter 4: The Sky is Just a Skip Away ~Post-Trial~
//Return of the DKronpa!
//It has been a looooooong long time since I last uploaded to this series. I really regret leaving it for so long but unfortunately a lot got in the way of writing and I just could leave it where it was. I’m happy to say though that I’ll be back to working on it a little more consistently in my spare time.
//I still have to iron out specifics for chapter 5, but it is for the most part complete. Please be patient and as always thank you for reading!
“Ahahahah! You guys never fail to pull through! Once again you were correct, the killer of Doi Kurohiko was indeed Junpei Yokozawa, the Ultimate Blogger!” Monokuma exclaimed. Yokozawa-san’s shoulders slumped, and he held his head in one hand upon hearing the confirmation.
“So, it really was me…shit.” He said, his voice completely devoid of any kind of emotion. It was completely broken, apathetic. We had seen three other people have to accept they lost the trial, but this one was different. Yokozawa-san, he…
“This is bullshit.” Okanaya-kun cursed. “Monokuma, are you seriously saying that Yokozawa’s the culprit when it was fuckin’ Graves’ fault?! How the fuck is that fair?!”
Monokuma tilted his head, “Fair? I think it’s pretty fair. After all, you guys all know how the rules work. You’re all free to use those rules however you want. Technically, Karma Graves is a smarty pants for being able to come up with a great plan like this! You can technically be responsible for as many deaths as you want and be unable to get punished for it!”
“The rules shouldn’t be allowed to be used like that…! D-dammit!” Kobo kicked the podium.
“Hey! I’m tolerant to a lot of things, but if you damage the trial room in the slightest way, I won’t hesitate to punish you!” Monokuma warned.
“Shut up, bastard! You think I’m gonna fuckin’ let this one slide!? I don’t give a shit about the official ruling, Yokozawa ain’t at fault here!”
“Stop it, Okanaya-kun. You’re just embarrassing yourself at this point.” Yokozawa-san said.
“What?! You can’t be alright with this!”
“Of course, I’m not. I’m pissed off as well…but it’s not a big deal. Seriously, just let it go. I just gotta know though…why did you do this, Graves-san? Why all of this? If you knew that Kurohiko-kun and Asano-san were planning to die, why do all of this?”
Graves-san stared at Yokozawa-san with an empty gaze, “because there’s no way I was going to wait another trial to pass by before killing you.”
What? What the hell is she saying?
“So, your goal was to kill Yokozawa from the start? Then why not just fess up the truth from the start? What about those moments where you were preventing us from reaching the truth?” Sly-san said.
“…I so wish Junpei could have stayed alive but that stopped being an option after everything I learned recently. My lab is super useful, you know? I wonder if the mastermind set it up like that on purpose? Did they maybe manipulate the situation so I would act like this, and if that’s true, is it true for all the other motives too? Curious. Suuuuuper curious.”
“Th-the fuck are you talking about…?” Okanaya-kun stepped back instinctively. The more Graves-san spoke, the less sense she was making, and the darker her expression got. Does she know something that the rest of us don’t know? Is there something in her lab?
“Could it be…did you find something out about our situation?” Kurosaki-san asked.
Graves-san stared intently at Kurosaki-san before smirking, “Shouldn’t you already know that Yuuki?” She said with an almost teasing tone.
Kurosaki-san stared at her cautiously, then for a split second his eyes widened. I didn’t miss that look of horror in his expression before he tipped his hat down to hide his face, “How much do you know, huh? What did you find out?”
“I know plenty about you~!” She said in a sing-songy tone, “What was it you introduced yourself as again? The ‘Ultimate Explorer’? What a cool title when you get down to what it means, but I wonder what the point was in lying to everyone about that?”
Huh?
“L-lying?” Kirishima-san repeated.
“Yuuki Kurosaki isn’t the Ultimate Explorer. Judging from his talent lab, it’s got absolutely nothing to do with that. You should really think through some stuff more, the Ultimate Theorist should have been able to figure out I might have security cameras in my lab.”
…Theorist?
“Kurosaki.” Sly-san stepped towards him.
“Ублюдок!” Kurosaki-san exclaimed and before any of us could react, he had Graves-san pinned against the trial stand. “You would dare?! Do you even realise what you’ve done by saying that?! You could have very well killed us all!”
“Ahahahahah! That doesn’t matter!” Graves-san laughed almost carefreely.
“Doesn’t matter?!” He spat.
Before anyone blinked, Graves-san had Kurosaki-san on the floor, pinning his arm to his back and held it in place with her foot. “Let me clarify something, we can kill each other as much as we want, and it doesn’t mean a damn thing in the end. Do what you want everybody because it’s totally fine as long as we’re in this killing game!”
“Y-you’ve lost your fuckin’ mind…!” Okanaya-kun said.
“On the contrary, knowing what I know I can finally stop holding back! I’ve been so stressed out that I was worried about what I might do when the pressure gets to be too much, but I’m totally relaxed now! I can do whatever I want!”
“Those words…you think we’d ever let you run wild and do what you please?” Amaterasu-san’s stance changed as if ready to pounce onto Graves-san.
Graves-san tutted and shook her head. “So aggressive. Don’t make me break Yuuki’s arm. That would just leave him super vulnerable for anyone to pick him off. And let’s be honest without him and Ryuu, you all would’ve gotten us all killed by the second trial.”
“Go ahead and try, I’ll separate your head from your body before you can do it.” Sly-san threatened, reaching into his hoodie.
“Cool! A trial right after we just finished one? I wonder if that’s a record? What do you think Monokuma?”
“Upupupupu~ It certainly would be the fastest it’s taken.” Monokuma added. Is he really not going to stop this? Would he really just them all fight each other like this?
“Stop it! All of you!” Yokozawa-san exclaimed. Everyone’s heads turned to him. His eyebrows were turned downwards, almost like he was getting impatient. Annoyed, even. Like everybody arguing right now was just some kind of inconvenience to him. He just turns to Monokuma, “Hey. Are you sure this is alright? I’m not sure if this is right.” Is he…talking to Monokuma?
“Wellllllll~ It’s definitely a new experience. But shouldn’t we try to always experience something new? New can be good and fresh! And it’s getting very exciting!” Monokuma said.
“So, you think it’ll…” Yokozawa-san’s voice trailed off, as if the rest of the sentence was already obvious.
“When does it not? Don’t you stress so much!” Monokuma responded.
“If that’s the case then I have no objections to all of this. But let’s make it quick, and I don’t want one of those damn chains dragging me away. I’ll cooperate and all that, so just let me walk there myself.” Yokozawa-san said.
“Y…Yokozawa-kun? Is it me, or are you acting very strangely casual about all of this?” Kirishima-san asked. Yokozawa-san’s eyes passed over all of us, taking in each of our perplexed expressions, until he landed on the only one who didn’t seem confused at all by his tone or words.
“I assume you understand it’s better for you to keep what you know to yourself. Right?” Yokozawa-san asked Graves-san.
She just grinned and nodded, “Of course. I’m not going to let this pass me by.” Graves-san said.
“Hold on now! I still don’t get what’s going on! Yokozawa, why the hell’re you talking so casually to Monokuma?! How the hell can you be so calm about the fact you’re about to die?! And most importantly…the fuck’re you and Graves talkin’ about?” Okanaya-kun badgered him. One question coming quickly after another. Each other, making Yokozawa-san’s expression sourer and sourer.
Graves-san could only laugh. A full belly-laugh that filled the trial room. “Awww dude, don’t you understand it? Of course, Junpei is being so casual with Monokuma. Wouldn’t you talk pretty casually with a good co-worker?” Everyone falls silent, staring at Graves-san or Yokozawa-san. Dumfound. That was the only word for everyone’s faces.
“Co-workers?” Sly-san almost whispers.
“Co-workers!” Graves-san repeats cheerfully, “That was one of the things I found out thanks to my talent lab! Turns out Junpei wasn’t actually trying to figure out the wi-fi password the whole time he was in his talent lab. He was talking to Monokuma a whoooole bunch! Talking about progression of the killing game and about their goals and everything. Yeah…Junpei Yokozawa is actually on Monokuma’s side. Always has been.”
“Tch!” Junpei clicked his tongue, “You heard all of that? What a pain in the ass. No wonder you’re acting so well informed.”
“Hey.” Kobo-kun says, his voice deeper than usual, “You better refute what was just said.”
“Graves-san, it’s already annoying that you told them all that, but in the future be careful with what kind of information you reveal. If you tell everyone stuff too soon, you’ll probably just end up getting yourself killed and you don’t want that.”
Graves-san scoffs, “As if it matters.”
“Hey! Of course, it matters! The killing game is very serious business, so you better not think of throwing your life away so easily, got it?!” Monokuma snaps.
“Exactly! What Monokuma said!” Kirishima-san agrees.
“Don’t agree with him.” Amaterasu-san says.
“Isn’t this an exception?” Kirishima replies.
I’m sure I would have missed what happened next if I blinked. All of a sudden, Sly-san’s hand was wrapped tightly around Yokozawa-san’s neck, nearly holding him off the ground. I’d never seen Sly-san make an expression like this before- sure I had seen him angry before but this felt completely different.
His eyes were laser-focused on Yokozawa-san. The veins in his hands were protruding from the tension along his arm and in his grip but the rest of the features were eerily neutral. No smile. No scowl. No emotion whatsoever.
This must be the Ultimate Assassin’s face of bloodlust.
“Enough of the comedy act. Talk. What is the relationship between you and Monokuma, in full.” He says evenly. So calmly that it’s unsettling.
“Herr Knives, stop.”
“Not until he starts answering.”
Yokozawa-san grins, his voice is breathy are full of cracks, “Y…you think you can make me talk? I’m gonna die anyway…you gonna kill me?”
Sly-san’s free hand dips below the neckline of his hoodie, “I’ll certainly make it more painful than whatever execution Monokuma can think up, that’s for sure. So, I’ll ask again: what’s the full relationship between you and Monokuma?”
Yokozawa-san’s eyes drift over to Monokuma who is watching this happen silently from his chair. The lack of response seems to be enough of an answer for Yokozawa-san, “Fine.”
Sly-san’s eyes lose their intensity almost instantly and he drops Yokozawa-san. He stumbles and supports himself on the trial podium, rubbing the bruising that’s already beginning to show on his neck.
He takes a second to gather his thoughts before speaking, “There’s only so much I’m really able to tell you all, so I’ll give you the simple version. Like Graves-san says, I work with Monokuma- or rather, the person controlling Monokuma. I guess you could say I’m like a…middleman. Someone that can keep an eye on the game itself from the inside.”
“What exactly does that entail?” Kurosaki-san asks.
“To sum it up, my job was to report back anything interesting I learned that Monokuma’s controller might have missed whilst dealing with other matters. And if all else failed, I was to either instigate or commit a murder.”
“And you and Monokuma…who is it you work for? Some kind of organisation? Are you just a pair that works together that orchestrated this by yourselves?” I ask. Yokozawa-san glances over at Monokuma, as if asking for permission.
“Now now. You guys don’t want all the spoilers, do you? Where’s the fun in that?!” Monokuma sing-songs, “If you reveal all the secrets too early, then what’s the point in playing the game until its ending? You guys have start using your noggins!”
“Shut up! We deserve some fucking answers after all we’ve been through!” Okanaya-kun argues.
“You guys haven’t earned those answers at all! You’re lucky I even gave you that much info! Don’t you know that exposition dumps at the end is my thing?!” Monokuma’s claws protrude further from his paw as he speaks.
“If Monokuma says I can’t speak anymore then I’ve gotta listen. He’s my boss after all.” Yokozawa-san says.
“He’s going to kill you in a moment, you do realise that, right?” Amaterasu-san says.
Yokozawa-san shrugs nonchalantly, “I know the risks. But it’ll all be worth it as long as we reach our goal in the end. We are still on track to do so, right?”
“Yep! Just leave it all to me and everything will be smooth sailing.” Monokuma promises.
“Then it’s all good. Nothing left to say…well, almost nothing,” He looks towards Graves-san, “I feel sorry for you the most. Knowing what’s coming next, I regret not being able to be there to try and help you circumvent it. Still, you’ve made your bed. I’m sure you’ll learn to sleep in it.”
Graves-san doesn’t say anything, the smile plastered on their lips doesn’t drop. They just stare at Yokozawa-san, unmoving. It seems the conversation is over to the both of them, even if it ends cryptically.
“If that’s all, then it’s time to get the show on the road, don’t you think?! I’ve prepared a very special punishment for our Ultimate Blogger, Junpei Yokozawa!”
Yokozawa-san sighs, “God, you’re not gonna take it easy on me then? I guess I’m not surprised. It wouldn’t be fair for me to participate and have you guys treat me any differently. In that case I’m at least gonna accept it gracefully,” Yokozawa-san raises a hand into the air and with a defiant smirk, flips off the whole room, “Don’t go forgetting my name or my face. I’ll make you all regret it.”
“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiit’s PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!!!”
-Game Over-
-Junpei Yokozawa has been found Guilty!-
-Commencing Execution-
Like clockwork, it repeats. When Yokozawa-san has been dragged away in chains, the monitor flashes on to display him sat in a dimly lit room, the only light source being from a computer monitor a couple of feet in front of him. Displayed on the monitor is a webpage that’s titled “Daily Updates with Yokozawa-kyun~”. A message begins to type in the text box:
-Ugh. Can’t believe that I got splashed by a car today! #Unlucky-
When the “Send” button is pressed, something squeaks, and water pours from above and drenches Yokozawa. His eyes wide in cold-water shock, shivering in his restraints as the next text box beings to type.
-Junpei Yokozawa’s Execution: Junpei’s Daily Life!-
The next posts finishes typing:
-Just dropped a knife in the kitchen! Might need to see a doctor about this #klutz-
When the “Send” button is pressed this time a knife shoots out from the dark and skewers itself through Yokozawa-san’s calf. He lets out a scream just before a second knife shoots out from behind the monitor and imbeds itself into Yokozawa-san’s shoulder.
The posts continue on and on with the same theme. A spanner falls and strikes Yokozawa-san on the head. A cigarette burns the back of his hand. Hot oil is splashed on his clothes and skin, the flesh bubbling from the scaling liquid. Then it’s another blade to his arm, an iron to the back of his head. On and on and on.
Yokozawa-san’s left bloodied and bruised and still soaked from the water that was originally splashed over him. One eye is sealed shut from a hammer striking him in the side of the head. He struggles to read the blog in front of him anymore, the letters blur together. Then the chair he’s sat in move forward slowly. Closer to the monitor until the letters begin to come into focus.
-I feel exhausted. But still, I’m think I’ll survive it all-
Yokozawa-san’s good eye widens in surprise when he reads the text. A smile that’s filled with chipped and blood-stained teeth begins to show until he hears a spark above him. He looks upwards at a falling electrical cable descending towards him, then back to the post in front of him as the wire pasts his face.
-LOL #JustKidding-
The wire drops onto Yokozawa-san and instantly the electrical current surges through his body with the water as a conductor. The rooms sparks and the monitor short circuits momentarily but it finally blacks out for several moments. An announcement of a backup generator plays and the screen turns back on. Showing the still body of Yokozawa-san, now covered in electrical burns. Unresponsive. Unmoving.
Dead.
___
We all stand in silence. It’s so much to take in. Yokozawa-san, who we had just learned to have been tricked into being the killer was tricked because he was actually working with Monokuma- or rather, the person controlling Monokuma whoever that is. Then we had to watch Yokozawa-san be treated just like any other participant of the killing game. An execution just as brutal as any other.
“You’re sick.” I say without waiting for Monokuma to come in with a silence-breaker.
“Oh? Are you not happy? You guys just eliminated a spy within your midst, you should be overjoyed with yourselves! I’d say this is a very productive day for the team!” Monokuma says cheerily.
“Don’t mock us. And you still owe us answers.” Sly-san says. When Monokuma tilts his head, his eyes narrow impatiently, “Just who the hell is Yokozawa? Was he really an Ultimate? Or was he just an accomplice for you? After all…Ultimate Blogger is something that you could pretty easily lie to us all about.”
“But I’m sure I had heard of Yokozawa-kun before I joined Hope’s Peak, so I’m sure he must’ve been a real Ultimate.” Kirishima-san says.
“Of course, he was a real Ultimate! I only allow Ultimates to play the killing game. Nobody wants to see a bunch of talentless nobodies try to kill each other, there’s absolutely no pizzazz in a situation like that. In fact, you should be the happiest of all with this outcome, Kirishima!”
“M-me?”
“Weren’t you the one that tried to talk sense into Yokozawa after the last class trial? He broke down and was blaming Nagata left and right about his lucky talent being totally useless and you tried to give him a big inspirational speech. But after all that, it looks like he was just trying to manipulate you all into forming a thicker sense of distrust between you. Doesn’t that just suck for you?”
Kirishima-san looks down at her feet and runs her fingers through the middle strand of her hair. I try to reach out to say something but-
“And same goes for you all. I mean, that was Kurohiko’s killer! You should be super happy, Hokama! And since Sly and Kurosaki have been trying so hard to end the killing game then they should be happy an accomplice for the game was killed!” Monokuma continues.
“I’m not happy at all.” Amaterasu-san retorts.
“Oh? Why’s that?” Monokuma asks.
“Because Junpei-chan isn’t the reason Doi-chan’s dead. Karma is.” Amaterasu-san turns her glare towards Graves-san who hasn’t moved an inch, the same smile still plastered in place. Almost like a statue.
“Don’t think we’ve forgotten so quickly. No matter who Yokozawa actually was, you were quite happy to use him in order to kill Kurohiko. I won’t so easily overlook such actions.” Sly-san says, his eyes almost glowing a bloody colour.
“Aren’t you overreacting? Doi was gonna die after the class trial anyway, so what does it matter if I just sped up the process and also took out an enemy?” Graves-san asks with a shrug.
“No matter what your motivation were, it shows you have no respect for the rules of the killing game. If you’re going to bend the rules to do whatever you want, then it makes you the most dangerous person in this group.”
“I’m really not. At least I’ve been upfront with all of you about everything I’m thinking this whole time. Yuuki on the other hand…well, he’s had pretty much everything figured out from day one and has refused to indulge anyone with the information except for Sly. Now, that doesn’t make him seem trustworthy at all does it?”
“The Ultimate Theorist.” Amaterasu-san recalls.
“Wait, how do you know if Kurosaki-kun told Sly-kun anything?” Kirishima-san questioned.
“Easy! When I revealed it, Sly wasn’t surprised in the least. Which implies he already got told this info, or he knew the information beforehand. I wonder, what is your guys’ relationship? Could you possibly also have some kind of connection to this killing game that you’re hiding?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course, we don’t. We’re trying to end the killing game.” Sly-san says.
“By keeping the rest of us in the dark?”
“That’s not it, Herr Okanaya-“
“Save it. Everyone…everyone here is lying. Or hiding something. Or shutting people out. It’s bullshit! I’m just…” Okanaya-kun’s voice trails off, his shoulders sag, “I’m so fucking exhausted. I can’t deal you people anymore.”
“Okanaya-kun-“
“Don’t even get me started on you, Nagata!” He snaps, “Listen. I meant what I said about you being important in the class trials, but I know you’re hiding shit from us all as well! I’m just so over it! All these secrets, I just can’t keep up anymore!”
“Oh~ So even our precious Ryuu is hiding secrets as well?” Graves-san grins.
The archives he means. When Amaterasu-san and I were looking for evidence on the truth on the killing game. I still can’t tell any of them about it. Dammit.
“I’m…sorry.”
“You always are.” Okanaya-kun whispers in a voice that feels so heart-breaking to me, “I just…I can’t do this tonight. There’s too much going on.” He says, making his way to the elevator. Nobody stops him or says anything as he hits the button and starts returning to the surface. I didn’t even realise until I drew my eyes away from him, but Monokuma seems to have disappeared at some point during the arguing.
Kirishima-san lets go of the middle strand of her hair and finally speaks up, “E…even if Okanaya-kun is struggling. I still trust everybody! We…we can still-“
“Trust everybody? You really trust everybody? Does that include me then, Rina?” Graves-san asks.
Kirishima-san hesitates then purses her lips, and ultimately answers, “Yes. Even you, Graves-san. I think you want the killing to end. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have done what you did. That’s why I think we can still trust you.”
Graves-san laughs, “Is that so? Then will you kill someone for me? After all, you trust me so much that you must understand that if I want someone dead it’s for the good of the group!”
Kirishima-san freezes when asked the question, like a deer in the headlights, “N…no, I don’t want anyone else to die. Please don’t ask me to do that again. We should try and co-operate to end the killing game. We have to…end the killing game as soon as we can.”
“Then we’re on the same page! Let’s work together and end this killing game as soon as possible, right?” Graves-san exclaims. Then, before Kirishima-san can respond to Graves-san, they scamper off to the elevator and ride it back up to the school building.
Kurosaki-san, Sly-san, Kirishima-san, and Amaterasu-san are all silent. I don’t even have a means to break the silence. What can I even say? Kurosaki-san looks so broken in this moment…
The Ultimate Theorist.
…now isn’t the time to quiz him on this. He’s clearly not in the right state to answer either…”Let’s go back.” I say.
Without any verbal response, we all file into the elevator and ride it back up. Finally putting an end to the 4th class trial.
-Chapter 4, Post Trial, Yuuki-
Yuuki sits solemnly on his bed, Sly staring down at him with crossed arms. They had been quiet since they got back. Sly was clearly waiting for some kind of indication of what to do next. He always had something to say so it was unsettling for him to be so quiet. He gives in and clicks his tongue.
“Kurosaki. Talk to me. What’s our move?”
“We’re doomed now.” Yuuki says.
Sly’s eyes narrow, “Come again?”
“We’ve gone off-book. I showed you my theory book and this isn’t what’s supposed to happen. All this rule-bending and everybody finding out about my true talent. With their perception of me forever changed, I can’t do what I need to do in order to end the killing game…I’m sorry Sly. After everything I got you involved in, I can’t even deliver you the promised results…I’m a failure.”
Sly stares at the wallowing boy. His body is tense with anger. “You’re just giving up then?”
“I don’t have time to draft new theories. There’s no way to know what’s going to come next. Graves…Graves has changed the course of fate. We might very well be doomed now.”
That’s enough, Sly decides. He turns and goes for the door. It’s unbelievable. After everything he’s done, Yuuki wants to say Sly’s work means nothing? There’s no way he can accept that. He ignores Yuuki calling after him and leaves the door with a loud slam of the door.
…
If bending the rules is the only way to move forward, then maybe the rules should bend to their breaking point.
-Chapter 4, Post Trial, ???-
Monokuma stirs his tea and stares at the person sat in front of him, kicking his legs in the air, “You know! It shouldn’t be much longer until we have enough! Do you think you’ll be satisfied?”
{REDACTED}
“I get you, I get you. But it’s all on track. I’m sure everything will go as planned, and then the killing game can end on a happy note! Won’t it be just so exciting when it comes!”
{REDACTED}
“Well, maybe you feel like that, but I guarantee that not everybody shares the same perspective. Of course, I always share your opinion. Fun part of being controlled, I guess. I’m a fan! Though doesn’t it mean that you’re just talking to yourself in situations like this?”
{REDACTED}
“Fine, fine. In that case, I’ll keep doing what you want…let’s just hope the results are what we’re looking for. I’m excited either way…so very excited! Upupupupu~”
-Chapter 4: The Sky is just a Skip Away END-
-7 Students Remain-
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Dkronpa?
//omg I forgot it existed. Might have to look into that again at somepoint.
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Chapter 4: The Sky is Just a Skip Away ~Trial~
//YIKES!! This chapter took some time to complete but it is finally here! This trial had a lot of ground to cover, coming up to a word count just shy of 11,000 words! I hope you all enjoy it, and I’ll get to work on the post-trial!
-Class Trial Start! All rise!-
“Now! Let’s begin with a simple explanation of the class trial! You’re votes will determine the outcome of this, you will debate on a variety of topics regarding the murder and then try to identify ‘whodunit’. If you can correctly guess the culprit, then the culprit alone will be punished…but if you guess the wrong one. I’ll punish everyone besides the culprit! And that person will earn the right to graduate!”
“Alright, let’s get right into it…which one of you killed them?” Amaterasu-san started.
“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t play dumb. I know one of you killed Doi-chan and Mami-chan. You better fess up before I lose my patience.”
“You still talking in that same monotonous tone somehow makes this a whole lot creepier.” Yokozawa-san commented.
“I get you’re pissed off about what happened, but you must have learned by now that brute forcing your way through these things will just cause more trouble than it’s worth.” Sly-san said.
“I don’t care. I want their killer dead.” Amaterasu-san spat.
“If that’s all you want, then say no more!” Graves-san piped up, “after all, looking at it logically, we only really need to consider three people as the culprit in this scenario. After all, majority of us have alibis!”
Majority of us…by that, she means…
-
My logic follows!
-
“Graves-san, Okanaya-kun, Kurosaki-san, and Sly-san all have alibis for the time of the murder. After all, they were together far before it all went down. I joined them a little later, but to say I have a solid alibi…”
“So then! Between Ryuu, Rina, Junpei, and Amaterasu herself! One of you guys must be the culprit!” Graves-san declared.
“Huh?! I’m a suspect?!” Kirishima-san exclaimed. Graves-san is saying someone out of us four is the culprit due to alibis…I wonder how this argument will pan out.
-Non-Stop Debate (1)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Kirishima-san’s Account/Kirishima-san’s Mistake
Graves-san’s Account/Graves-san’s Mistake
Amaterasu-san’s Account/Amaterasu-san’s Mistake
Karma: Since half of us already have alibis…it’s up to you guys to debate who the culprit is!
Rina: Th-there’s no way I’m the culprit! I was in my lab all day! I never even went to the 3rd floor!
Junpei: Yeah, I was in my lab as well. I never left it cause I was working hard on the computer.
Sly: We’ll need some evidence of what you’re saying.
Amaterasu: …
Kobo: Hey, it’s suspicious if you keep quiet! Maybe you’re the culprit!
Amaterasu: Don’t even suggest that.
Ryuu: (If we can start disproving some of these accusations, it’ll be a good start…Graves-san said only 3 people need to suspected, so…)
I agree with that!
-
“Actually, out of us four, Yokozawa-san has an alibi. In fact, I’d like to know why you haven’t brought it up yet Graves-san, since you were the one that told me about it. Graves-san was by the fountain at around 10:40pm, the time of the murder. From there, she could see into the window of Yokozawa-san’s lab. He was sitting there the whole time.”
“Yep, that’s true!” Graves-san nodded.
“Then why didn’t you say that upfront?!” Okanaya-kun yelled.
“It’s good to get the brain going quickly. So, I decided to give Ryuu an easy one to start off with.” She smiled. Okanaya-kun clicked his tongue and looked away.
“But in that case, it means Nagata, Kirishima, and Amaterasu all are lacking alibis for the time of the murder.” Sly-san stated.
“Are we even sure she actually saw Junpei-chan? I mean, from the middle of the courtyard?” Amaterasu-san questioned.
“Sure, I couldn’t tell at the time, but Ryuu and Yuuki are the only other blond guys and they were with me when we heard those gunshots go off.” Graves-san said. “Ah, now that I think about it! That means Ryuu also had an alibi for the time of the murders, he has a bunch of witnesses to the fact!”
“Which just leaves us with Amaterasu and Kirishima, huh? Well, obviously that ain’t right. Everybody knows Kirishima couldn’t kill anybody, let alone two people. Meanwhile, it’s impossible for Amaterasu to have killed those two in particular. Anyone else I could’a seen.” Okanaya-kun said.
“Huuuh? Thinking like that isn’t helping! We need to really suspect those two, y’know? I mean…did anybody seriously think any of the culprits so far actually seemed capable of killing?” Graves-san asked.
“Karma has a point.” Kurosaki-san agreed.
“What the hell…don’t mess around. There’s no way I’m the culprit.” Amaterasu-san said.
“N-neither! Not a chance!” Kirishima-san added.
“Though it’s true that neither of you have alibis, right?” Sly-san asked.
“W-well…yes.” Kirishima-san confirmed. Amaterasu-san crossed her arms and looked away, confirming Sly-san’s suspicions.
“Then let’s play the game of lies! Which one of our suspects is lying this time around?!” Graves-san cheered. Amaterasu-san and Kirishima-san? No way, they’re both the last people who would murder someone, especially in a case like this.
-Non-Stop Debate (2)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Amaterasu-san’s Account/Amaterasu-san’s Mistake
Graves-san’s Account/Graves-san’s Mistake
Kirishima-san’s Account/Kirishima-san’s Mistake
Firecrackers/Fireworks
4-Way Battle Royale/Abandoned Meeting
Karma: Since Amaterasu and Rina are the only ones with no alibi…one of them must be the killer!
Rina: Th-there must be some mistake, there’s no way I could have killed them!
Amaterasu: And if an alibi is all you have on me, then you clearly don’t know how these trials go. Unless there’s actual proof connecting either of us to the crime scene then you can’t name us.
Yuuki: Well, nothing actually links anybody as far we know…
Karma: But, but! Everyone at the battle royale has an alibi cause we heard the gunshots! Not to mention I can personally vouch for Junpei’s whereabouts!
Kobo: Then it’s probably Amaterasu. Can’t be Kirishima.
Sly: Don’t count someone out so easily.
Ryuu: (I’m not sure if I can prove either of them as innocent with what we’ve deduced thus far…but maybe I should think about what makes them suspicious. The established alibis are the problem, so can I do something about that?)
No, that’s wrong!
--
“Graves-san, you’re saying that because Amaterasu-san and Kirishima-san weren’t present during that moment we heard the gunshots, one of them is the killer?”
“Pretty much! Or maybe both of them are the culprit and are working together! That would be a twist!” Graves-san proposed.
“No…we can’t say that’s correct. After all, it’s entirely possible that what we heard wasn’t gunshots. Kurosaki-san was poking around the labs earlier and found that a box of firecrackers in Amaterasu-san’s lab were opened and two firecrackers were taken. The same amount as the number of gunshots we heard in the courtyard.”
“Huuuuh? Firecrackers from the Ultimate Thief lab? Isn’t that something that can tie Amaterasu to the crime then?”
“Not necessarily. If someone went snooping around in the labs beforehand, they could have easily discovered those firecrackers. It’s not like Amaterasu’s lab has a lock on it.” Sly-san argued.
“Exactly! It was easy enough for me to discover them!” Kurosaki-san added.
“Right, I think we might be able to assume that the noise we heard in the courtyard was actually firecrackers, and not the gunshots.”
Ding dong, guess who’s wrong!
--
“Nope. I still pretty much think we heard gunshots! Maybe the killer took the firecrackers as a red herring or something? Make sure you don’t fall for the killer’s trap now, Ryuu!” Graves-san smiled brightly.
-Rebuttal Showdown Vs. Karma Graves-
Truth Blades:
Firecrackers
4-Way Battle Royale
Kurohiko’s Gun
Yokozawa-san’s Account
Karma: Sure, I agree that it’s possible for the noise to have been some firecrackers, but don’t you think gunshots and firecrackers make totally different sounds? Surely somebody would’ve been able to distinguish the noise. But since everyone agreed it had to be gunshots, they must have been gunshots!
Ryuu: The fountain in the middle of the courtyard is a good distance away from the Talent Lab building, from that distance it would’ve been a lot harder to tell the difference between two such noises.
Karma: Hmm…maybe! But it doesn’t change the fact that everybody heard them around the time of the murder! Since that’s the case, it couldn’t have been anything but gunshots. I mean, why would the killer have to gain from setting off firecrackers at the exact same time they were gonna kill two people? How would they even coordinate that?
Ryuu: (There’s a sound argument here, but not a perfect one. Somebody clearly contradicts this argument!)
I’ll cut through that argument!
--
“No! You’re wrong! Not everybody heard the alleged gunshots at that time. Yokozawa-san was working in his lab at the time of the murder, that much you’ve already confirmed. However, he never mentioned hearing any gunshots around the time of the murder. Not everybody that should’ve heard the shots heard them!”
“Yeah, it’s true…even though I was working in my lab the whole time, I never heard anything suspicious.” Yokozawa-san confirmed
“Yokozawa was working hard though, maybe he just missed them?” Okanaya-kun suggested.
“No, that’s not it. There was a reason that’s already been revealed by Yokozawa-san.”
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“Yokozawa-san and Kirishima-san did an experiment during the investigation. One of them stood outside in the hallway whilst the other stayed inside the crime scene with the room door closed. No matter how much noise either of them made, the other couldn’t hear them.”
“It’s true. I can confirm as much, made it that much harder to focus on my own investigation.” Sly-san confirmed.
“S-sorry about that, we just wanted to make sure, but because of that I’m sure the walls to the Talent Building are all soundproofed!” Kirishima-san said.
“Interesting…so that means what we all heard could not have been the killing shots. Since we shouldn’t have been able to hear any noises from inside the building, the noises must have come from outside. So, most likely, they’re the missing firecrackers.” Kurosaki-san summarised.
“And it’s not, like…I dunno, they were shot through an open window or something, right?” Okanaya-kun asked, “Just making sure we’re covering everything.”
“As in a sniper? No, that would’ve been impossible too.” Sly-san said. Right…because of that…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“Sly-san’s investigation revealed that Kurohiko-san was shot with a pistol whilst Asano-san was killed with a revolver. Neither of them were killed with sniper bullets, so that kind of murder method isn’t a possibility.”
“So, the killer was definitely in the room with them. That much is definite.” Amaterasu-san concluded.
“Then doesn’t that just bring us right back to what I was saying? Whoever didn’t have an alibi had to be the killer. Amaterasu and Rina.” Graves-san said.
“No, we can’t say they’re the only ones without alibis anymore. Since we never heard the gunshots, we can’t say we were all together at the time of the murder. That 4-way battle royale can’t be considered a solid alibi anymore.” I explained.
“Sorry, but I don’t agree with that part.” Sly-san interrupted. “I think the 4-way battle royale can still be considered an alibi when you consider the timeline of the events. First of all, you know when the murders took place, roughly. Right?” Yeah, the Monokuma File mentioned as much…
-
My logic follows!
-
“The murders took place between 10:40pm and 10:45pm, as stated in the Monokuma File.”
“Right, and Kurosaki was the last one to turn up to the battle royale though really, he, Okanaya and I basically arrived at the same time. That was at 10:50pm.”
“Then that means Karma-chan was by herself before that.” Amaterasu-san pointed out.
“True, however with how soon us three turned up to the meeting place, it meant Graves wasn’t left with enough time to come down from the third floor and get to the fountain before 10:50pm. Due to that, it means us four all have alibis.” Sly-san explained.
“That’s, like, a whole half of us!” Kirishima-san exclaimed.
“Not to mention Graves already gave Yokozawa an alibi too. So, he’s in the clear.” Okanaya-kun reminded, “W…wait…then doesn’t that mean there’s only one additional suspect?” One additional suspect…? Is he talking about…?
-
It’s you!
-
“W-wait…are you talking about me?” I asked.
“Nagata was the only one that gained an alibi from the firecrackers trick. He arrived at the fountain just before the went off.” Sly-san said.
“Not to mention, he did come from talent building path, right?” Graves-san grinned, “Ahhhhh, I get it. Ryuu must have killed those two and then tried to use those firecrackers as a last-minute alibi when he saw all of us at the central fountain. Honestly, we should’ve seen it coming when those firecrackers didn’t line up with the time of death. Those firecrackers were, what? 20 minutes after the murders? More? Sloppy, sloppy work.”
“Ryuu-chan?” Amaterasu-san’s stoic expression faltered. Dammit! She said I was away for a long time after I left for my walk, don’t tell she thinks…
“N-no, I didn’t do anything like that! I was walking a lap of the grounds and noticed you guys had gathered at the fountain by the time I reached the talent building.”
“Well, did you notice Graves-san sitting there before everyone else had gathered?” Kurosaki-san asked.
“N…no, I didn’t. I was kind of in a daze of sorts, so I wasn’t really paying attention to anything for a while. S-sorry, I know it’s a weak reason-“
“I believe him.” Okanaya-kun suddenly said.
“Huh? You believe a bunch of lame-o excuses like that?” Graves-san’s brows furrowed, “I get you don’t always understand what’s going on but if you’re really gonna side with him, shouldn’t you at least wait to hear a good reason to?”
“Nagata’s way too honest, don’t you guys think? It kinda pisses me off sometimes. Nagata was the one that brought up the firecracker possibility in the first place, y’know! Why would he do something that was gonna destroy his own alibi?”
“That’s…” Graves-san frowned, “I guess that’s a good point. Even so, he’s suspicious.”
“So what? Everyone’s suspicious all the time during a class trial! There’s plenty of tricks that could’ve been used to create an alibi, so why’re we deciding it’s Nagata so soon?! We don’t even know what happened yet. All we’ve been doing is naming people and hopin’ an accusation will stick!” Okanaya-kun lectured.
“Okay, okay-“
“Nah! You all haven’t learned shit! Alright, you just leave this to me, I’ll guide us to the truth this time. Let’s start all over and look at this from the beginning! The crime scene!” Okanaya-kun grinned.
“Wh…what’s with you all of a sudden? Someone put a quarter in you or something?” Graves-san sighed, “Fine. Let’s see how this guy’s methods hold up. Should be fun.”
“Then we’re going to look at the crime scene, right? Then in that case, I propose we actually discuss the second important matter of this trial- namely which order the victims died in.” Sly-san said.
“Right…Monokuma’s rule stated that only the first body counts in the class trial. It’s important to know who died first on the off chance that the killer of Herr Kurohiko and Mademoiselle Asano are different.” Kurosaki-san said.
“That’s quite the theory to bring up suddenly.” Amaterasu-san commented.
“I’m just saying, we should be ready for anything.”
“Now…let’s go! Let’s look into who died first!” Okanaya-kun said far too enthusiastically. Even though he was angry with me, he still stood up for me. Okanaya-kun…thank you.
-Non-Stop Debate (3)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Kurohiko-san’s Gun/Kurohiko-san’s Knife
Asano-san’s Gun/Asano-san’s Knife
Room Setup/Trashed Room
Room Divider/Empty Room
Note on Asano-san’s Body/Asano-san’s Empty Pockets
Yuuki: For a reason we can get to later, Herr Kurohiko and Mademoiselle Asano ended up in the Ultimate Romance Expert’s Lab
Rina: And whilst they were there, the killer arrived at the scene…and shot both of them. So, then…which of them died first?
Kobo: My gut says Asano but I ain’t got a reason to think that, really.
Rina: Right. It was just as possible that Kurohiko-kun was the first one to die. So then what do we do to figure out who it was.
Kobo: No clue! But I’m sure there’s evidence somewhere! There always is!
Amaterasu: You jumped into a topic without knowing how to go about getting answers? Idiot.
Kobo: I didn’t pick this topic, Sly did!
Ryuu: (Knowing who died first will be an important part to the case. If there’s any way to figure out who could’ve been shot first, that’s what we need to figure out.)
I agree with that!
--
“Going off the evidence, and my own suspicions on what happened, I think it was Asano-san who died first. In between the bodies was that divider, right? That divider had two separate holes –presumably, bullet holes- but neither of those bullet holes were at the right height to have hit Kurohiko-san’s heart. One of them, however, was the right height to hit Asano-san’s head.”
“It’s not just that either. The bullet that hit Asano didn’t go all the way through, whilst the one that hit Kurohiko did go all the way through. I’m led to believe that Asano was shot through the divider and the divider slowed the bullet down enough that it didn’t go all the way through.” Sly-san added.
“Then what about Kurohiko-kun? The killer was nearby him by the sounds of it, but on the other side of the divider from Asano-san?” Kirishima-san questioned.
“That’s another confusing point as well. By that logic, the killer would have had to stand where Kurohiko’s body was and shoot Asano through the divider and then turn and kill Kurohiko who would be right next to them, but that doesn’t sound possible at all. Surely Kurohiko would’ve run right after Asano got shot, and vice-versa.” Sly-san frowned.
Okanaya-kun clapped his hands once to gather the attention, “then for now, we’ll look at something bothering me! Why the hell did those two go to Kurohiko’s lab in the first place?! Talk about a weird place for both of them to be!”
“Is it really so weird for Kurohiko-kun to be there?” Yokozawa-san asked, though it was said more like a jab.
“Maybe not! But it was definitely weird for Asano to be there! So…let’s discuss, yeah?!”
-Non-Stop Debate (4)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets:
Kirishima-san’s Account/Kirishima-san’s Mistake
Note on Asano-san’s Body/Asano-san’s Empty Pockets
Ultimate Assassin’s Lab/Ultimate Explorer’s Lab
Yokozawa-san’s Account/Yokozawa-san’s Mistake
Kobo: It’s totally weird for both Kurohiko and Asano to have been together, right?!
Karma: They were both friends, that’s not weird at all.
Kobo: Nah, something about the situation is weird! I bet there was a plan to meet up!
Rina: Oh! Oh! And if that’s true…maybe the killer went there planning to kill one of them…but got surprised by the other!
Kobo: Yeah! That’s the type of theories I’m looking for!
Amaterasu: That still doesn’t answer any of the other questions…
Ryuu: (Hmm…I think it’s easy to prove why they were there together, but what does it mean?)
I agree with that!
--
“Okanaya-kun is probably onto something there. It’s likely that Asano-san and Kurohiko-san planned to meet at the Ultimate Romance Expert’s Lab that night. There was a note found in Asano-san’s dress pocket that detailed a scheduled meeting half an hour after night-time. A time just ten minutes before the murders occurred.”
“Ah!” Kirishima-san gasped, “th-then the reason I saw Asano-san when I was leaving my lab earlier…she was going to that meeting?”
“You never mentioned you saw Asano-san.” Yokozawa-san pointed out.
“O-oh…sorry. Just after night-time began, I left my lab to go to bed and I bumped into Asano-san on the way out. We just said our hellos and went out ways, but in hindsight…she must have been going there.”
“Why the hell would she turn up so early to the meeting? It wasn’t for another half an hour, right?” Graves-san asked.
“Asano was brought up with strict rules. Remember, she wouldn’t even speak unless asked to when we first met her. It’s entirely possible she was taught to be that early to meetings.” Kurosaki-san theorised.
“So, like, what were Asano-san and Kurohiko-kun going to meet about?” Kirishima-san asked.
“That’s still unclear. It must have important if it was arranged via note instead of being asked in person. Maybe whatever they were meeting about was a dangerous topic they couldn’t discuss in the open in case the wrong person overheard them?” I suggested.
“Like a shootout.” Graves-san said casually. Huh…? A shootout? What’s with a suggestion like that? “It’s totally possible, right? Maybe the two were planning to go on a spree and that’s why they met up? A merciful killing compared to letting us all suffocate to death. I can totally believe Doi convinced Mami into doing that.”
“Don’t be so stupid, you didn’t even know them.” Amaterasu-san said.
“And you did? If you were so close, how come you weren’t included in their little plan?” Graves-san grinned. Amaterasu-san clicked her tongue and looked away. A shootout…a shootout? “Besides, there’s totally evidence that one of them took the weapons for a shootout.”
The evidence that something was taken for a shootout…?
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“You’re referring to the revolvers that went missing from Sly-san’s lab, right? Do you think that either Kurohiko-san or Asano-san took them?”
“Of course! Nobody else was walking around with a gun, right? They totally were the ones that stole them! And they were planning a shootout before the killer came along and killed them both!” Graves-san smiled.
A shootout…a shootout? Ah! “Graves-san…might be onto something.”
“What?” Amaterasu-san glared.
“N-not a shootout in the way that Graves-san suggested, but something similar…if I’m right, I don’t think Kurohiko-san and Asano-san had any malicious intent in their plans. I believe Kurohiko-san and Asano-san were actually agreeing to a duel.”
“…huh?” Yokozawa-san said. “Wh…what do you mean?”
“Uh…okay. Let’s look at it like this. We know that someone shot through the room divider and ended up killing Asano-san, right? Well, I’d say the setup was something along the lines of…Kurohiko-san and Asano-san stood across from each other and the room divider was slid into place. The two then took aim and fired and in a stroke of…I guess you could call it luck, Kurohiko-san managed to kill Asano-san without even seeing her.”
“L-like some kind of suicide pact?!” Kirishima-san exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock.
“No, that would imply that the other killed themselves afterwards but that doesn’t make sense.” Sly-san objected. Right…it couldn’t be like that because…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“The different types of bullets. Sly-san told me that the bullet in Asano-san’s body came from a revolver, but the bullet in Kurohiko-san came from a pistol. The difference in gun types means that whoever survived the duel didn’t kill themselves afterwards.”
“Yeah…it’s basically confirmation of what we suspected anyway. There were two different killers this whole time.” Sly-san said.
“T…two killers…” Yokozawa-san’s face seemed to gain a green tint, “Urp…o-oh god…”
“At the very least, can we agree that Kurohiko was Asano’s killer? We already agreed she died first so-“
“No.” Amaterasu-san spoke suddenly. “No way…I refuse to accept that. A duel? A suicide pact? Who cares, there’s no way either of them killed the other. It’s gotta be some other kind of explanation…”
“Amaterasu-san-“
“No!” She snarled all of a sudden, and without warning the stoic mask that Amaterasu-san always wore was shattered and replaced with an expression that can only be compared to a wolf baring its fangs. “They…they wouldn’t do that…! You’re telling me they were just gonna sacrifice their lives like that?! Some kind of sick agreement where only one of them lived…wh-why…? Why would they do that? Why wouldn’t they tell me?”
“Probably because of how you’re acting now.” Okanaya-kun said suddenly, “If they told you their plan you probably would have tried to stop them. I think they did this for the same reason we had that battle royale. They…wanted to end the killing game as well.”
“End the killing game?” Amaterasu-san looked down at the floor, “a sacrifice like that…yeah. It’s like a message saying, ‘you don’t have to play anymore’, right? We could’ve discovered the truth and it would’ve been some sappy moment where we all vowed never to kill.”
“And they didn’t know about the battle royale cause we didn’t think to tell them. Shit!” Okanaya-kun cursed.
“If anything, the battle royale would have made them carry out their plan quicker.” Kurosaki-san said.
“Doi-chan…Mami-chan…!” Amaterasu-san gripped her podium with enough force that the wood creaked, “they should have spoken to me about this…we could have found another way out!”
“I’m not sure if we could’ve.” Okanaya-kun said, “we were running out of oxygen. We had no options, y’know? Everyone but you, Nagata, Kirishima, and Yokozawa were involved in something that meant sacrificing someone. We had no choice. It was just a race to see whose plan finished first.”
“Then where does this leave us?” Yokozawa-san asked, “I mean…we know now that Kurohiko-kun killed Asano-san. Does that mean that Kurohiko-kun is the culprit?”
Kirishima-san gasped. “Ah! Then that would mean…”
“No execution…” I finished. Really? Asano-san died first, which would mean this trial is for her, according to Monokuma’s ‘first body’ rule. Right?
“Then we’re at voting time. Monokuma?” Graves-san said.
“You sure? Is it really time? Seems a little anticlimactic, but I got no problem-“
“Wait!” Huh?
“Nagata? Something up?” Okanaya-kun asked. I’m not sure…but I just felt like I needed to object for some reason.
“So, it’s not just me. Something doesn’t fit…that rule Monokuma put in place about the ‘first body’, are you all interpreting it correctly?” Sly-san said.
“Yeah? Asano died first, so she’s the one that class trial is for. So, the culprit’s Kurohiko.” Okanaya-kun explained.
“What if that isn’t it though?” I said, “thinking out loud, but…wouldn’t it make more sense for the rule to be talking about the body we discovered first? Wouldn’t that mean this trial is about finding Kurohiko-san’s killer?”
“Huh?! Kurohiko-kun’s killer?!” Kirishima-san exclaimed.
“I suppose the rule itself is pretty unclear, isn’t it? Monokuma, you willing to tell us more?” Kurosaki-san asked.
“Hmmm…I mean. I kinda like where this is headed. I think I’ll let you guys duke it out for a bit and if you entertain me enough, I might let you guys in on that juicy info! In fact…”
Here comes the segue!
-
“I figured this is where the discussion is heading anyway, so how about we just jump right into it? Presenting our very own morphenomenal trial grounds!” Monokuma announced, pulling out the key we had seen several times before. He turned it and we all slowly rose into the air.
-Scrum Debate, Begin!-
“Who is the class trial for?”
“Doi Kurohiko!” – Ryuu, Amaterasu, Sly
“Mami Asano!” – Kobo, Rina, Junpei, Karma, Yuuki
Karma: Haven’t we finished already? The culprit has been decided!
(Sly-san!)
Sly: Nothing has been decided yet. We have a lot to go over still.
Rina: Monokuma’s rule says the first body will be the one we argue about in the class trial!
(I’ll deal with this!)
Ryuu: The rule never once specific what ‘first body’ really meant though! We discovered Kurohiko-san first, so he could easily count as the ‘first body’ too!
Karma: Mami died first, so this trial is for her!
(Amaterasu-san!)
Amaterasu: Mami-chan might have died first, but that doesn’t mean the rules dictate her as the first body.
Junpei: What’s the point in even arguing about this? We know the whole story, so let’s just go to voting.
(I’ll deal with this!)
Ryuu: It’s too early to start voting when we still haven’t figured out the truth behind Monokuma’s rule!
Yuuki: If Kurohiko isn’t the culprit, you’re saying we still have an undiscovered truth?
(Sly-san!)
Sly: We can easily uncover the truth if we keep discussing a little longer!
“This is our answer!”
-
“Everyone, you have to listen to us! The killer we’re looking for isn’t Kurohiko-san! I’m sure of it now. Monokuma’s rule didn’t refer to the person who died first, it meant whoever we discovered first!”
“When we got to the room, Kurohiko was the one we found first. We only found Asano after Kurosaki pulled back that curtain.” Okanaya-kun said.
“Right…the curtain! The culprit must have drawn that curtain to hide Mademoiselle Asano’s body so they could guarantee that this trial would be for Herr Kurohiko.” Kurosaki-san concluded.
“Son of a bitch! Then that means they must have known how the rule worked beforehand, right? Monokuma, did you tell anyone that rule before today?!” Okanaya-kun demanded.
“Lemme think…oh! I completely forgot; I totally did tell someone the first day you all got here! They were asking for a lot of clarification on the specifics of the killing game and…well, I guess two bodies came up.” Monokuma covered his mouth with his paws and stopped himself from laughing.
“A-and…? Are you gonna tell us the rule?” Yokozawa-san asked.
“If you must know, Nagata is totally right! Since it was Doi Kurohiko’s body that was discovered first, this class trial is totally about discovering his killer! You guys wasted a whole lot of time figuring out who killed Asano!”
“Wasted?!” Amaterasu-san snarled.
“Then we still don’t actually know anything!” Kirishima-san said.
“No, there’s no need to think about things like that. After all, we’ve gathered a lot so far. For now, we need to focus on Kurohiko’s body. There’s a clue there that hasn’t been properly explored yet. Something we can look at to discover our culprit’s identity.” Sly-san said. The clue in Kurohiko’s body? That’s probably…
-
My logic follows!
-
“The gun that was used to kill Kurohiko-san wasn’t found at the crime scene. Unlike Asano-san, who was killed with a revolver, Kurohiko-san was killed with a pistol.”
“A pistol, huh? You said that the revolvers went missing from your lab, right? Is it the same for that pistol?” Okanaya-kun asked.
“Impossible. My lab doesn’t carry pistols, it never has. That’s where I’m confused. I never took the time to look at the other talent labs so I don’t know if anybody might have firearms of some kind? There are a few I would think might.”
…Sly-san’s lab doesn’t have pistols.
And if Sly-san’s lab doesn’t have pistols…”I know who the culprit is.”
“Huh? Out of nowhere?” Kirishima-san tilted her head.
“It should’ve been obvious as soon as Sly-san said about that pistol! I just…yeah, it just clicked there. The culprit…”
-
The culprit…is you!
-
“Graves-san, it’s you.”
“Huh?!” Yokozawa-san startled.
“What the hell? It’s Graves?! How the hell did you figure that one out?!”
“I’m guessing I’m in the minority here, but I’ve actually gotten to see Graves-san’s lab. Twice, in fact. She has a lab fully equipped with firearms, gadgets, I even saw a grappling hook in there. I’ve seen every lab, and Graves-san’s is the only one other than Sly-san’s that comes equipped with guns.”
“I see. I figured Graves would be a likely suspect, but because I hadn’t seen the other labs, I couldn’t be sure. I wondered if maybe Kurosaki or Okanaya had antique guns that could have been used…”
“Nothing like that.” Okanaya-kun said.
“Same here.” Kurosaki-san added.
“Then it really could only have come from Graves-san’s lab. Even so, how does that make her the culprit? Anybody could have walked right into Graves-san’s lab and took a pistol.” Yokozawa-san said.
No, they couldn’t have done that. Nobody can just walk into Graves-san’s lab.
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“Graves-san’s lab is fully equipped with different types of passcodes, retina scanners, fingerprint scanners, everything. The only reason I got in was because I met Graves-san up there during the investigation. I can only presume that she was putting away the pistol she used to kill Kurohiko-san.”
“So even if someone could get past a passcode, they couldn’t get past things that would actually require Graves’ physical body.” Sly-san summarised.
All of the eyes went to Graves-san who was playing with her snapback. Has she even been listening to this? She was so quick to accuse everybody earlier, so what’s with this sudden disinterest? “Graves-san, don’t you have anything to say? You’re being accused of the murder.” I say.
“Oh, I heard.” She stared at us with a smile, “Soooo…?”
“So?!” I repeated.
She folded her arms behind her head, “I don’t plan on kicking and screaming if that’s what you’re expecting from me! I got waaaay more class than that, homeslice!” She said that, but I could see her foot tapping out a rhythm. Was she nervous now?
“Shouldn’t you still be trying to refute it?” Amaterasu-san said.
“I don’t really have to. You’re accusing me even though I have an alibi, remember? I was at the battle royale, remember?”
“You were the first one there, and I think I touched on it earlier but even though I was the last to arrive; myself, Herr Knives, and Herr Okanaya all arrived within the same minute. You had a good 5 to 10 minutes where you were by yourself.” Kurosaki-san said.
“And? There’s no way I could’ve committed the murder and then gotten to the plaza before the rest of you with time to spare. I mean, let’s look at the timeline. Between 10:40pm and 10:45pm, Mami and Doi both die. Mami dies first and in the next few minutes, Doi dies. Meaning the killer had to be in the room in any time up until 10:45pm. If I were the killer, I would have to get rid of the weapon, edit the scene how ever I needed too, then run all the way down three floors and then reach the fountain all in a 5 minute timeframe before the rest of you show up.”
“Th…that’s…” I start.
“I-isn’t that impossible?” Kirishima-san said.
Graves-san clapped her hands and cheered, “correct! It’s totally impossible to accomplish all of that!”
“Hmm…is it though?” Kurosaki-san pondered.
“Come again?” Graves-san smirked, “don’t tell me you’re losing it? Nobody here is fast enough to do all of that.”
“Ahahah! Possibly! However, I think there’s still some interesting pieces of information we’ve yet to discuss. For now, maybe you could retell that whole sequence of events for us? If you’re confident enough in your own words, that is.”
“Sure. No problem.” Graves-san said. I looked at her shoes, and they were still tapping away. Did Kurosaki-san figure something out, or is he just winging it? Maybe if I listen carefully enough, Graves-san will say something and slip up.
-Non-Stop Debate (5)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Orange Power/White powder
Note on Kurohiko-san’s Body/Kurohiko-san’s Empty Pocket
Yokozawa-san’s Account/Yokozawa-san’s Mistake
Kurohiko-san’s Gun/Kurohiko-san’s Knife
Room Divider/Empty Room
Karma: I don’t know why I’m even repeating myself, but like I said…There’s no way I could’ve committed the murder and then gotten to the plaza before the rest of you with time to spare.
Kobo: We all got to the plaza at 10:50pm and if you say you were there since 10:40pm, it’s a good enough time frame to have done it!
Karma: I mean, let’s look at the timeline. Between 10:40pm and 10:45pm, Mami and Doi both die.
Rina: Asano-san got shot by the gun Kurohiko-kun was holding…then Kurohiko-kun was killed by the real culprit.
Karma: Right! Mami dies first and in the next few minutes, Doi dies. Meaning the killer had to be in the room in any time up until 10:45pm.
Yuuki: Hmmm? And what were your reasons that it couldn’t be you?
Karma: If I were the killer, I would have to get rid of the weapon, edit the scene in which ever way I needed too, then run all the way down three floors and then reach the fountain all in a 5 minute timeframe before the rest of you show up. Is that really possible?
Rina: Hearing it all out loud does make it sound impossible to accomplish.
Karma: Exactly! So, I’m innocent!
Ryuu: (There’s something wrong here, I’m sure of it. I don’t think my logic has been wrong so far, so there should be a problem somewhere!)
No, that’s wrong!
-
“Kirishima-san, what you said isn’t true. Kurohiko-san didn’t kill Asano-san with that gun he had. The gun Kurohiko-san was holding was a BB gun.”
“Huh? Really?” Kirishima-san tilted her head, “Oh…Sly-kun might have mentioned that to me during the investigation…maybe…”
“Wait. A BB-gun? Are you sure?” Yokozawa-san asked.
“Definitely. I guess I forgot to mention that the revolvers that Kurohiko and Asano took weren’t the only weapons that went missing from my lab. A BB-gun also got stolen.” Sly-san said.
“What use does the Ultimate Assassin have for a BB-gun?” Amaterasu-san asked.
“Target practice for when you don’t want to waste good ammunition. Plus, the pellets are easy to sweep up. However, I don’t see what this has to do with the issue at hand.”
“H-honestly, I don’t either. But when I heard Kirishima-san say that I felt like I needed to point it out.” I admitted.
“Awwww, you were making me think you were on to something there! Don’t get my hopes up like that!” Graves-san pouted, “well, if we’re done then-“
“It brings a whole new set of questions now, don’t you think? For example, what must have been swapped with the BB-gun?” Kurosaki-san asked. Graves-san cocked an eyebrow. What got swapped with the BB-gun, that was…
-
My logic follows!
-
“That would have to be the gun Kurohiko-san shot Asano-san with, right? That was the other revolver that was taken from Sly-san’s lab.”
“Correct! The culprit swapped the revolver that killed Mademoiselle Asano for the BB-gun! Meaning, they killer then had possession of the revolver in question!” Kurosaki-san said.
“So what? That doesn’t change anything.” Okanaya-kun said.
“…ah!” Sly-san’s eyes widened, “don’t tell me that the revolver is the same as that revolver?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Yokozawa-san asked.
“We…we saw someone with a revolver right after the murders. Kurosaki, did you-“
“I only just realised myself, actually. It’s quite embarrassing how long it took for me to piece it together. But yes, we did see someone with the revolver right after the murders took place. Right, Nagata-kyun?”
The revolver…? Someone had a revolver right after the murders…?
-
It can only be you!
-
“Graves-san brought a revolver to the battle royale…! Are you saying that the missing revolver and the revolver that Graves-san brought are the same weapon?”
“Full points! If that was all Mademoiselle Graves was in possession of the revolver, then it means that she went to the Ultimate Romance Expert’s lab after the murders and took the gun from Herr Kurohiko. If that isn’t enough evidence to indict her, then what is?”
“Ohhhhhh noooooooo!” Graves-san exaggerated with a flat tone, “…soooo?”
“You’re still saying ‘so’ after hearing that?!” Okanaya-kun growled.
“If you wanna know how I got the revolver then I’ll tell you. I was chilling by the fountain and I heard something fall into the bushes around the side of the talent building. When I investigated, I found the gun. I figure that it was probably Doi disposing of the gun right before he was murdered.”
“You found a gun in the bushes and didn’t even investigate further?!” Amaterasu-san barked.
“I had prior commitments! I couldn’t go wandering off at such a crucial time. Plus, the perfect weapon just fell into my lap for the battle royale. No way I wasn’t using it.” Graves-san reasoned.
“I’m calling so much bullshit on this! There’s no way any of what you just said was true!” Okanaya-kun yelled.
“Besides, even if I’m lying you still have another issue. Namely, how I could’ve possibly gotten from the third floor to the fountain in less than five minutes. Sure, I admit I could’ve run from the entrance of the building to the fountain in less than a minute, but all those stairs are another story.”
“Th-that’s…” Kirishima-san frowned.
“I know you guys aren’t used to Ryuu being wrong whenever he makes an accusation, but he’s missed the mark this time around. Sorry to say that I’m really not the killer. Or, what? You want to examine my statements again?”
“Actually, I would.” I said, “after coming this far, I can drop it until I’m satisfied with the answers. I’ll explore this possibility until every possible route has been mapped out.”
Graves-san sighed, “Fine. Have it your way. If you wanna pursue this until you’re satisfied, don’t come crying when you don’t like the truth.” Don’t like the truth? What’s that supposed to mean? No…there’s no point in trying to make sense of what she’s saying. I just have to focus on this trial.
-Non-Stop Debate (6)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Sound Experiment/Sound Heard
4-Way Battle Royale/Abandoned Meeting
Ultimate Secret Agent’s Lab/Ultimate Paranormal Investigator’s Lab
Orange Powder/White Powder
Ultimate Assassin’s Lab/Ultimate Explorer’s Lab
Room Setup/Trashed Room
Karma: If you’re so worried about that gun, I’ll have you know that I found it in the bushes after hearing it fall into them.
Amaterasu: That’s such a bullshit excuse, you seriously think we’ll believe that? There must be evidence on how you got the gun!
Karma: Duh if there was it would’ve been presented already! That’s not even the biggest problem. There’s still the issue of how I could have gotten from the 3rd floor to the fountain in less than five minutes. Even I’m not that fast.
Yuuki: You definitely could have used a tool to get down from the 3rd floor quickly.
Karma: Keep deluding yourself, broski.
Ryuu: (I refuse to let this go. I know there’s a light at the end of this tunnel as long as I keep searching!)
I agree with that!
-
“…Kurosaki-san is right. Graves-san used a tool to get from the 3rd floor of the talent building to the ground, giving her enough time to get to the fountain in that five-minute time period. All she had to do was use the grappling hook that’s in her lab.”
“Oh yeah, you did say there was a grappling hook in there, didn’t you? So, Graves used that?” Okanaya-kun said.
“If she attached the hook to the window on the 3rd floor, she could descend to the ground easily. This is the solution to the time problem you presented, Graves-san!”
“Does it though?” She asked, “I mean, sure. Logically if I did all of that, then it would all be sorted out. But isn’t there a few problems with the theory? For starters, I can hide a gun in my jacket, but the grappling hook is a totally different story! It’s waaaaaay too big to carry around without someone noticing me carrying something of that size!”
“Couldn’t she have hidden it in the bushes?” Amaterasu-san suggested.
“In theory! However, it meant I would have to go all the way to the ground floor during the investigation period, grab the grappling hook from the bushes and then get back to my lab on the 4th floor without being caught. Do you seriously think that’s possible with everybody moving about?”
“You’re the Ultimate Secret Agent though, it’s not impossible.” Sly-san argued.
“But…Kurosaki and I were at the entrance for almost all of the investigation. We didn’t find anything like a grappling hook, and we didn’t see Graves out there either.” Okanaya-kun said.
“Then maybe she left it attached to the window!” Kirishima-san suggested.
“Sure, let’s look at that theory! The three possible labs I could have used would be Doi’s, Junpei’s, and Sly’s. But those are impossible. Sly ran away to check his lab when we all discovered the body, so he totally would have noticed the grappling hook attached to the window. Junpei was in his lab the whole time, so I wouldn’t have been able to use it no matter how sneaky I was. Plus, Junpei’s lab window faces onto the courtyard so we couldn’t have entered the building without spotting it.”
“And we don’t really need to go over why descending from the crime scene would have been a bad idea.” I admitted. Seriously…? What the hell?
“Wh-what about descending from the 2nd floor?” Okanaya-kun said.
“If you want that timeframe to work, I would have needed to descend from the 3rd floor. I didn’t have time to go to the 2nd floor. Meaning no matter how you cut it, I couldn’t have done it! It’s impossible!”
“No!” How…? Did I seriously get it wrong? But how does that make any sense? Nobody else could have gotten the pistol except for Graves-san. What am I missing? What am I not thinking of?
“Calm down, Nagata. You’re stressing out too much.”
“Okanaya-kun?”
“Maybe it’s blind faith, but you ain’t steered us wrong yet. So…something’s fishy here. I dunno what yet, but there’s definitely a way to make this all make sense! You just gotta throw a theory out there until it sticks!”
“A theory…until it sticks?” I repeated.
“That’s incredibly stupid.” Sly-san deadpanned.
“So stupid that’s it on brand.” Amaterasu-san added.
“But he’s right, isn’t he…?” Kirishima-san said.
“Yeah. It’s totally like our Okanaya-kun to say something like that.” I smiled.
“O-oi! Why are you all talking like I’m not here?!” Okanaya-kun growled.
“For now, let’s try it out. If we’re just throwing out theories, then we can just say whatever lame thing comes to our head.” Kurosaki-san said. “Right! Time to get into the mind of Herr Okanaya. I’m a little scared to see what comes from this.”
“Asshole, I’ll punch you!”
-Non-Stop Debate (7)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Asano-san’s Gun/Asano-san’s Knife
Kurohiko-san’s Gun/Kurohiko-san’s Knife
Orange Powder/White Powder
Sly-san’s Account/Sly-san’s Mistake
Firecrackers/Fireworks
Room Divider/Empty Room
Karma: Y’know, I think this is by far the dumbest thing you’ve all agreed to do.
Yuuki: Never doubt how dumb we can get! Now, where to start?
Rina: Maybe the killer used a set-up to clean up the evidence after they left!
Amaterasu: Or the killer can turn invisible. That would be cool.
Sly: A stupid idea…? Maybe they messed with evidence in an unnecessary way?
Yuuki: Hey! That’s way too intelligent a suggestion! You have to think like Okanaya!
Sly: I’d rather not.
Kobo: You’re all a bunch of bullies!
Ryuu: (Ah…wait a second, what was it that person said? Could it be…?)
I agree with that!
-
“Sly-san…you’re right. The killer messed with the crime scene in a weird way. Kurohiko-san’s gun is the BB-gun, which was swapped out for the revolver he used in the duel with Asano-san…why did the killer do that? Surely it would have made more sense to swap the revolver with the pistol…”
“What do you mean?” Kirishima-san asked.
“If you swapped the revolver with the pistol then you could have some ground to argue some kind of double suicide or even murder-suicide case. Either Kurohiko-san kills Asano-san, swaps their guns, then kills himself, or they both kill themselves from the start.”
“The bullets would then match the guns they were found with, if Kurohiko was holding the pistol. That’s a good point.” Sly-san agreed.
“Right. But they didn’t swap it with the pistol, they used a BB-gun. They used a 4th, completely unrelated gun. Why? There would be no advantage to doing that.”
“Unless the 4th gun wasn’t unrelated.” Kurosaki-san said as he bit into his nail, “but that would mean…surely not…Nagata, what would the most logical reason be for there to be a 4th gun involved in this case?”
The most logical reason?
…no. “No, Kurosaki-san-“
“N-Nagata-kun?” Kirishima-san said nervously. If he wants the most logical reason for a 4th gun to be involved, then is he seriously implying that…?
-
My logic follows!
-
“…a 4th person? Kurosaki-san, are you implying that there’s-“
“An accomplice. At this point, it might be the only logical explanation for all the things that don’t add up.” Kurosaki-san said.
“H-hold on a damn minute! There can’t be an accomplice, don’t you remember the rules? The only person who gets to graduate is the one that kills somebody else! An accomplice gets nothing out of helping a culprit!” Okanaya-kun reminded us.
“What if the accomplice didn’t care about that rule?” Sly-san suggested. “This is a killing game. Thinking within the confines of the rules will limit our ability to judge properly. Especially seeing as this is the only explanation that seems to make sense. And either way, Graves is involved in this case.”
I only became aware of it there, in tandem with the tapping foot, Graves-san was drumming her fingers on her podium, “Are you serious? You’re so desperate to pin this on me that you’re gonna fabricate an accomplice. The culprit might have put the BB-gun without calculating the implications of putting it there.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that they could only get the pistol from your lab. You’re involved. As the culprit or as the accomplice, I’m not sure yet.” Sly-san said.
“Y-you think Graves-san might not be the culprit?!” Kirishima-san exclaimed.
“It’s a possibility. And this killer definitely knew what they wanted to do with the crime scene. A few ways they tampered with it show that much.” Sly-san said. By the way the killer tampered with the crime scene, he means…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“The room divider had an extra bullet hole. At the very least, the killer knew they wanted to spin the idea that they died in the shootout. This killer knew how they wanted to sabotage the crime scene.”
“Right. This was either planned ahead, or one of them knew exactly how to set up the scene afterwards.” Sly-san agreed.
“…honestly. I think it’s obvious who Graves’ partner in crime is, right? We shouldn’t beat around the bush. There’s only one person she’d convince to help her.” Okanaya-kun said.
…the accomplice or the culprit? Either way, the one Graves-san did all this with has to be…
-
The culprit…is you!
-
“Yokozawa-san, you’ve been quiet for a long time now.”
Yokozawa-san was hugging himself tightly, if he were any paler, he’d turn transparent. “M-m-me? C-c’mon…y-you’re joking or something, r-r-right?”
“Yokozawa-san, you were there with Graves-san when Kurohiko-san was killed, weren’t you? You helped Graves-san tamper with the scene afterwards, and you hid the pistol and grappling hook, right?” I asked.
“Th-that’s ridiculous…I…I wouldn’t…” He attempted to form any kind of sentence as his legs shook underneath him, threatening to give out any second.
“Nagata-kun, doesn’t Yokozawa-kun have an alibi?! How could he have taken part in this?!” Kirishima-san objected.
“No, Junpei-chan’s alibi came from Karma-chan, remember? Karma-chan was the only one to claim that Junpei-chan was in his lab at the time of the murder. But now that we know she was assisting in the murder, that alibi doesn’t exist anymore.” Amaterasu-san said.
“N-no! I really was in my lab! I swear it!” Yokozawa-san yelled, “B-besides, there’s no evidence of another person being at the crime scene! The gun…that’s just a baseless claim on its own! You can’t prove anything with that alone!”
“Just denial then? Fine, we’ll break through it.” Sly-san said. “I’m sick of this trial, its been going on way too long. Let’s hurry up and get this done.”
Don’t shrug me off!
-
“You’re wrong, I’m telling you! Don’t just decide for yourself that I’m involved! I have nothing to do with this! I just stayed in my lab the whole time, I swear, so please believe me!” Yokozawa-san pleaded.
-Rebuttal Showdown Vs. Junpei Yokozawa-
Truth Blades:
Note on Asano-san’s Body
Note on Kurohiko-san’s Body
Asano-san’s Gun
Kurohiko-san’s Gun
Firecrackers
Junpei: It’s not me! It’s not me! It’s not me! I didn’t do anything wrong; I swear! I was in my lab at the time of the murder, I didn’t have anything to do with those deaths, so please believe me already! I don’t wanna dieeee!!
Ryuu: Yokozawa-san, you need to talk calmly, or we can’t learn anything! If you’re not the culprit then you need to argue it!
Junpei: I…I can’t be the culprit! I can’t be the culprit! Nothing places me at the scene! And even more to that point…there’s no real evidence of a 4th person being involved! So, you can’t claim I have anything to do with this!
I’ll cut through that argument!
-
“Yokozawa-san, whether you want to admit it or not, there’s definitely evidence of a 4th person being there. We covered the note found on Asano-san’s body earlier and how it was probably sent between Kurohiko-san and Asano-san, however, we haven’t covered the note on Kurohiko-san’s body.”
“A…note on Kurohiko-kun’s body?” Yokozawa-san repeated.
“I'm scared he's going to kill her; we need to put a stop to this before another trial can occur.” Sly-san recited, “yes, it was in Kurohiko’s pocket.”
“…what?” Yokozawa-san’s expression seemed lost. Further than disbelief.
“It implies that whoever sent the note knew that somebody was going to die very soon. It wouldn’t make sense for Kurohiko or Asano to have sent it seeing as they never seemed to be planning to stop another murder plot. If anything, it seems like this was an exchange between the culprit and their accomplice.” Sly-san theorised.
“If Graves sent that to Yokozawa, then isn’t it totally possible that Yokozawa went there without any plans to kill? It just kinda happened…?” Okanaya-kun suggested.
“It’s possible. Seeing Doi-chan with the gun and Mami-chan dead, maybe Junpei-chan panicked and…” Amaterasu-san’s voice trailed off.
“That’s…where did you get that note…?” Yokozawa-san asked.
“Like I said, Kurohiko-“
“You…can’t be serious…why would that…? A-and the BB-gun? It was a BB-gun? Not a handgun?”
“It was modelled to look like a handgun, but it wasn’t real.”
“Yokozawa-kun?” Kirishima-san said.
“No…no no no…no, this can’t be happening…” He murmured to himself, clutching his head, “This isn’t happening. I’m just gonna wake up any second now, right? After all, even after all that, even if there’s an accomplice, there’s no evidence It was me…ah, that’s right…”
“Huh?” I said.
“Th-there’s no evidence that the accomplice was me! It could have just as easily have been Amaterasu-san or Kirishima-san! You have nothing to link me to this!” Yokozawa-san laughed, throwing his arms out to the side. No, there’s evidence to connect Yokozawa-san, I’m sure. In fact, there’s that strange piece of evidence we found all over the crime scene…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“No…there’s evidence. Unlikely evidence, but evidence, nonetheless. Yokozawa-san when I bumped into you by the fountain the other day you were carrying food to your lab. Not just any food, it was bags upon bags of cheese balls.”
“Wh-…so?! Are you gonna criticise my diet?!” Yokozawa-san snarled.
“Not at all. What I’m interested in finding out is how much cheese dust would get on your skin and clothes after eating all of those bags after all this time. After all, there were traces of orange powder found all over the crime scene.”
“Orange powder…? Fuck off, are you seriously suggesting that the orange powder was from some cheese balls?!” Sly-san said.
“You didn’t see the amount of bags Yokozawa-san was carrying, if enough of it stuck to his clothes, then it would be impossible for him to have messed with the crime scene without some of the cheese dust fallen from his clothes. It’s stupid, but it’s what happened.”
“What, so you’re saying Yokozawa didn’t change the whole time he was there?” Sly-san said.
Yokozawa-san’s face flushed as he tried to speak, “W-well…the thing about that is, um…you know how whenever you plan for something there’s always one thing you forget…?”
“Gross!” Okanaya-kun grimaced.
“The main one I remember if that there were some traces of the orange powder on Asano-san herself, if Yokozawa-san was tampering with the crime scene while Graves-san was running back to the fountain, then it would Yokozawa-san shot through the room divider with Asano-san’s gun. That was probably when the powder got on Asano-san’s clothes.”
“That would also explain why the other bullet hole didn’t match up with Kurohiko’s wound. After all, Graves would have easily been able to make those line up.” Sly-san said, “and then Yokozawa must have also set off the firecrackers.”
“Huh…the firecrackers?” Yokozawa-san said, “Th…that’s impossible. Yeah! Hold on, that’s definitely impossible for me! I would needed to set off the firecrackers by the entrance, right? But don’t firecrackers have short fuses? If I set them off, I would have needed to rush all the way back up those flights of stairs and get into my talent lab without any of you catching up to you. I’m not exactly against saying I’m not the athletic type.”
“We were searching the other labs though. You had plenty of time to get back to your own.” I argued.
“I couldn’t have known you would do that! Do you think I’m dumb enough to take that kind of chance if I was involved?! There’s no way I would take that chance!”
“Then…it just means you did some other way! There must have been some way for Yokozawa-kun to have done it without getting caught!” Kirishima-san said. Right, I’m sure this is the last line of arguments that Yokozawa-san has. Once I break through here, there will only be one question left to answer…
-Argument Armament Vs. Junpei Yokozawa-
Junpei: I’m not the culprit and I’m not the accomplice! I just stayed in my room, I was trying to figure out the wi-fi password, remember?! There’s no way I’d want anything to do with Kurohiko-kun’s murder! I liked Kurohiko-kun and Asano-san! I’m innocent, I’m telling you!
Junpei: I didn’t set off those firecrackers, I couldn’t have gotten back to my lab before you all caught up with me, right?! It’s all inconclusive, and I won’t accept anything that doesn’t 100%, no! 1000% proves my involvement!
Junpei: Why am I getting treated like this?! Graves-san is the suspicious one, right?! No matter how you look at it, I’m not the one that should be getting grilled like this! I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I’m innocent! I’m way too weak to kill anybody, even Kurohiko-kun! I could never fire a gun! I couldn’t do it!
Ryuu: This is the end!
Junpei: How could I have set off the firecrackers?!
From the 3rd floor window!
-
“It was easy to set off the firecrackers without getting caught. If you just opened a window on the 3rd floor and dropped them from there, the problem of getting caught would be gone.”
“Gh…!”
“It’s unlikely he used his own lab window because we would have seen the flash. Most likely he set off the firecrackers at the same time he retrieved the grappling hook for Karma-chan.” Amaterasu-san reasoned. “You…you two killed Doi-chan. You two made Mami-chan’s sacrifice mean nothing. If you think I’ll ever forgive you-“
“Hold on. There’s still one more crucial thing we need to make clear. Graves-san, Yokozawa-san…which one of you two was holding the pistol that killed Kurohiko-san?” I asked. Graves-san and Yokozawa-san looked at each other for a moment.
“You…you lied to me-“
“Don’t say something unnecessary-“
“I killed Kurohiko-kun. But there’s a lot more to it than just that. So…if you’ll hear me out, I’d really appreciate it.”
“I said stop!” Graves-san’s tone suddenly changed. She was pleading to Yokozawa-san. “Whatever he says is a lie! I killed Doi!”
“No, she didn’t…urk, I can’t even explain it properly. Look, Graves-san was the one that swapped the BB-gun and revolver so clearly, she never held the pistol. Not to mention there’s no way I would have put that note in Kurohiko-kun’s pocket, I didn’t even touch Kurohiko-kun’s body. I would let Graves-san touch the pistol; I was too scared to let it go. Graves-san gave me a list of things I should take care of at the crime scene. I threw that list away but it’s in my lab, sitting in my trash can.”
“What the hell…did you seriously not plan to kill him…?” Okanaya-kun asked.
“Of course not! But…I thought he was coming at me when I saw him with that gun and then Graves-san and I shot at the same time…! I didn’t know which one of us killed him! I got scared and then…then Graves-san just started tampering and then produced that list and said she had to leave…”
“You bitch, you fuckin’ trick him into this and then leave him to it?!” Okanaya-kun growled.
“It’s all a lie, he’s lying!” Graves-san denied.
“You orchestrated everything…but despite that, the one that killed Herr Kurohiko was Herr Yokozawa…which means he’s the one we have to vote for.” Kurosaki-san tipped down his hat.
“I know…I know…b-but it’s fine. I just want this to be over…” Yokozawa-san looked at his feet, “I even stopped shaking. Funny how that works out.”
Yokozawa-san…”Alright. Let’s finish this off, I’ll go over this case again just to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
This is the truth of the incident!
-
Act 1
This particular case starts off with one of our victims themselves. Kurohiko-san realised that pretty soon the oxygen concentration would be past the point of no return so he communicated to Asano-san that he had a plan and told her to meet him in his room in the talent building at 10:30. After night-time. Asano-san agreed to meet him and went to the room at the appointed time, then Kurohiko-san presented Asano-san with his plan: a shootout where only one of them would survive. A sacrifice in order for everybody to survive. Asano-san must have understood that there was no way to save everybody with this motive, so she agreed. The two set up the divider in the room and then walked their 10 paces before shooting. Kurohiko-san managed to shoot before Asano-san could raise her gun, I presume, killing her instantly and leaving a hole in the divider. What he couldn't have anticipated was the next series of events.
Act 2
A little beforehand, our culprit, or rather, the real ringmaster behind this case, had managed to catch wind of Kurohiko-san's plan and followed him to the meeting. Learning the objective, they first went to Yokozawa-san's lab to grab Yokozawa-san, telling him that Kurohiko-san was plotting to kill Asano-san and that they had to stop him. They rushed to their own lab and took one real pistol and a BB-gun. This was the moment the ringmaster tricked Yokozawa-san, giving him the real gun but telling him they were both BB-guns.
Act 3
The two made their way upstairs, at the same time Kurohiko-san had just finished killing Asano-san and was leaving the room only to be confronted by the ringmaster and Yokozawa-san. Being caught red-handed with the gun, the ringmaster ordered Yokozawa-san to shoot and at the same time...he and the ringmaster shot their weapons at Kurohiko-san. Of course, the ringmaster's gun just fired a pellet. The bullet from Yokozawa-san's hit Kurohiko-san in the heart, killing him instantly.
Act 4
Yokozawa-san must have freaked out when Kurohiko-san died but the ringmaster was quick to act. They convinced Yokozawa-san that they couldn’t tell who the real culprit was. So, the two worked together to stage it like Asano-san and Kurohiko-san had gone out in a double-suicide. The ringmaster for the case have Yokozawa-san a list of things he needed to do to set up the crime scene, this included using Asano-san's gun to shoot a second hole in the divider but the problem was that Yokozawa-san didn’t know where to shoot for the bullet to line up with Kurohiko-san’s heart. In addition, Yokozawa-san couldn’t have known that the ringmaster was actually swapping out Kurohiko-san's gun with a BB-gun, otherwise he would have realised the truth much sooner.
Act 5
Then, the ringmaster took the grappling hook they had on them already from their talent lab and used it to quickly descend from the third floor and rushed to the central fountain before anybody else turned up for the battle royale. They never bothered hiding the revolver because they could simply use it in the fight and nobody would think anything of it. All that was left to create the fake alibi by having Yokozawa-san drop the firecrackers from his room.
Maybe officially it says Yokozawa-san's the culprit, but the one really responsible for orchestrating this whole murder plot is you...Karma Graves, The Ultimate Secret Agent!
-
“And that’s the truth behind this whole case. Did I get anything wrong?”
“No, not really. It’s pretty much like you said.” Yokozawa-san admitted. I looked at Graves-san but she kept her gaze fixed on the floor, “I…I wish I knew why this all had to happen. I just don’t get why, Graves-san? Why did you do it all…?”
“…do you realise what it’s like to want to save someone but also want to see them dead?” Graves-san murmured.
“Huh?” Yokozawa-san turned to her.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just get on with it, that’s what always happens at this point, y’know?” Graves-san said.
“Is this really okay? To vote with how things are?” Kirishima-san asked.
“I think so. I don’t think they’re lying anymore. I really think we’ve reached the end this time around.” Kurosaki-san said.
“Are you definitely sure this time? Geez, this took a long time to get to, but you know the drill! Pick who you believe is the culprit from the buttons in front of you! It’s time to pick your culprit, will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What’s it gonna be? Who’s it gonna be?!” Monokuma cackled as we all silently locked in our answers.
The roulette wheel lowered and begin to spin around before landing on Yokozawa-san’s face. The usual bouquets of flowers popped out and the coins poured out like a waterfall to celebrate the end of the trial and the results of the voting.
The fourth trial was over.
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Chapter 4: The Sky is Just a Skip Away ~Investigation~
//This did take longer than expect, and I apologise. I won’t lie and say that I expect to get through the trial quickly since I do go back to college but I will do my best to try and write when I can! As always, I hope you enjoy!
-Chapter 4 Deadly Life, Ultimate Romance Expert’s Talent Lab-
Everyone eventually had gathered at the scene of the crime, unable to describe what they were seeing. Just earlier today I was talking with Kurohiko-san and now…that’s not even getting started on Asano-san. Asano-san? Dead? Who would even think of killing Asano-san? She never stopped thinking about what she could do for everyone, and Kurohiko-san was always available for emotional support whenever somebody needed it. Why…? Why them?
“This is not good. Not in the slightest.” Kurosaki-san tipped his hat down. “Investigating two murders in one with the same amount of time for one murder? I don’t like these odds.”
“I have to agree.” Sly-san crossed his arms. “Right off the bat, I have my own issues with this as well, but I can talk about that stuff at the trial. Speaking of which, he should be arriving now.”
“Ah! You’d be right.” Monokuma popped up, pausing for a few moments. “…ah, no yells in terror. I’m gonna miss that guy, y’know? What a character. Oh well! Just how the killing game goes, right?” Monokuma chuckled, clearly not too beat up over the situation.
“Hold on now, I have some questions to ask of you. After all, this is a completely different kind of investigation for us.” Kurosaki-san said.
“Ah, yeah! This is the first time we’ve had to investigate two corpses! What’s the protocol for that?” Graves-san asked.
“Protocol? I guess you mean who you guys are voting for in the trial. Y’see, in the class trial, I believe in ‘first come, first served’! Meaning the first corpse will be the one you’re voting on!” Monokuma said. The first corpse, huh? Then I guess first order of business will be discerning which corpse is that ‘first’.
“I see…the first corpse.” Sly-san murmured it to himself.
“But wow! Two key players in a row? Your investigation will be rough…but I’m here to make it a little lighter with our recurring sponsor! The Monokuma File! Don’t worry, both of your victims are there! So, happy investigating!” Monokuma disappeared. I looked around at everyone left. There’s eight of us. Half of our original total. A lot less people left to help with the investigation.
“Right! We should decide who’ll stay behind to look after the crime scene!” Graves-san said, “I’m up for doing it this time around!”
“No…I don’t want anyone else looking after this place.” Amaterasu-san growled.
“Huh? Are you saying you wanna do it by yourself? It’s always been at least 2 people keeping watch over the scene.” Okanaya-kun said. Amaterasu-san had a pained look on her face. The most emotion she had shown since we got here. It’s easy to forget, but she really cared about Kurohiko-san and Asano-san.
“Is it alright to let Amaterasu-san look after the scene by herself this time?” Kirishima-san asked. “I-it’s just…it must be a tough situation for her…and we’ll all be coming in and out of here anyway! There’s no reason to worry, right? S-so…”
“Rina-chan…” Amaterasu-san looked up, “thanks. I appreciate that. If you wanna leave anyone with me, I’ll accept Rina-chan.”
“A-ah, is that so?” Kirishima-san smiled shyly as she filtered her hair between her fingers, “I don’t mind doing it. As long as I can help out somehow.”
“C…can I stay as well?”
“Yokozawa-kun?” Kirishima-san tilted her head. Yokozawa-san looked really pale, almost like he was gonna throw up.
“I, uh…I just…this is a lot, so…I’m not sure I’m up for moving about much. S-sorry, I don’t think I could be much use outside of just watching over this place…” He apologised, holding his stomach almost in pain.
Kirishima-san walked over to him and placed her hands on his cheeks, making him look into her eyes, “Please don’t apologise! This one will be hard for everyone, and we’ll all react differently! If you need anything, let me know! Even if it’s just a glass of water! I’ll run straight to the cafeteria and get some!”
“K-Kirishima-san…”
“I’m glad you’ve become so dependable, Mademoiselle Kirishima.” Kurosaki-san smiled a little.
“Ah, is that so? That makes me happy to hear.” Kirishima-san giggled. “Okay. We need to do our best again to find the truth…so…let’s do it!”
Everyone seemed really encouraged by Kirishima-san’s words. Which is good in a situation like this, the higher our morale is, the better. We have more work on our hands, another truth we need to find. I won’t let this go unsolved.
Investigation Start!
I opened up the Monokuma File to see what kind of information Monokuma provided this time. The first page was of Kurohiko-san, a pink splotch over his chest, around here his heart is. The next page was Asano-san, the pink splotch was located on her forehead. I scrolled to the next page.
The victims are Doi Kurohiko and Mami Asano. Both bodies were found in the Ultimate Romance Expert’s Talent Lab. Both victims died within 5 minutes of each other from gunshot wounds after the night-time announcement.
“Huh? Night-time?” I said out loud. “How late is it?”
“What are you saying? The night-time announcement played a long time ago. Don’t you remember?” Kirishima-san asked.
“A-ah…really?” I must’ve been so absorbed in what Amaterasu-san and I were doing that I didn’t even register it playing, “sorry, I’ve been distracted all day…guess I just didn’t remember.”
“I don’t blame you. Everybody’s been really preoccupied today.” Kirishima-san let out a sigh.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Monokuma File 4
Doi Kurohiko - Shot through the heart
Mami Asano - Shot through the head
Deaths occurred within minutes after night-time.
-
Amaterasu-san was looking solemnly at Asano-san and Kurohiko-san, barely moving. She could be mistaken for a statue. “Why did this happen to them? It doesn’t make any sense…nobody hated them.”
“Amaterasu-san…” I looked for something to say to comfort her, but nothing came to me.
“I’ll suck it up for now. I suppose you’re wondering about my alibi, right?”
“Huh? You’re alibi?”
“Well, we were separated for about an hour. You never realised how long you were gone?” Man, how out of it was I? “I suppose it makes sense after what we saw…I can tell you, but the problem is that if someone questions me, I can’t confirm anything without endangering the archive.”
“So, you were just continuing your research during that time…you never left?” I asked.
“Nope. I know it’s not really an alibi but it’s the truth. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.” Amaterasu-san turned her attention back to the scene. I think I do believe Amaterasu-san. It’s true, there’s no evidence yet for me to believe her, but…I want to at least believe Amaterasu-san wouldn’t do this.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Amaterasu-san’s Account
Amaterasu was in the archive during the murder, researching as much as she could even after Ryuu left for a walk.
-
“It’s just awful, don’t you think?” Kirishima-san asked, a crestfallen look upon her face. “Asano-san was so kind, and Kurohiko-kun was just so wonderful to everyone…I hate this so much. We have to figure out what happened for their sakes.”
“Of course. By the way, Kirishima-san. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where were you today during the murder? I haven’t seen you all day.”
“Ah! Right! I’ve been in my Talent Lab the whole day. The stress of the situation was getting to me, so I thought I could work through the worry. I stayed in my lab until the night-time announcement played. Then I headed to my room and was about to sleep, that’s when the body discovery announcement played.”
“You left the building after the night-time announcement? Did anybody see you so we can confirm that?”
Kirishima-san thought for a moment. She opened her mouth a little but seemed hesitant. “It’s just…the only person I remember seeing was…A-Asano-san…”
“Huh? You saw Asano-san right after the night-time announcement?!”
“W-we were just passing by each other! We just exchanged ‘hellos’ and went on our ways…thinking about it now, she must have been coming here and then…” Then she died…which means Kirishima-san is the last person to have seen Asano-san alive. It doesn’t look good for her, but there’s no way Kirishima-san’s the killer…
-
Truth Bullet Added: Kirishima-san’s Account
She was in her Talent Lab until the night-time announcement before heading back to the dorms. As she was leaving, she ran into Asano as she was leaving, making her the last to see Asano alive.
-
“Yokozawa-san?” I walked over to Yokozawa-san who was stuck, paled in the corner. “Are you sure you’ll be okay with watching over the scene? You don’t seem totally with it today.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just…th-this is a lot to take in. Y’know, it’s just gotten progressive worse? Watanabe-san was our leader. Irunami-kun happened right in front of all of us, Shinko-kun died in such an awful way…a-and now two victims. If it gets worse, I dunno how I’ll be able to handle it.” He explained.
“I understand. Your lab is just on the other side of the floor, right? Were you in there the whole time?”
“Yeah. It’s like I told you yesterday, I was trying to figure out the wi-fi password. Still no luck, mind you. I haven’t left the lab until the body discovery announcement.” He said.
“I see…wait, then you didn’t even hear the gunshots? Even though you were on the same floor.”
“Gunshots…? Ah, right. That’s how they died…no, I didn’t hear anything. Which…I suppose is odd…it’s like…even if I was deep in work, I should’ve heard it, right?” Yokozawa-san started murmuring to himself.
“Yokozawa-san?”
“Sorry, my mind’s running…if I think of anything, I’ll let everyone know. For now, though…s-sorry, I’m totally at a loss.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry too much about it, we’ll need your help at the trial so try to focus on calming down. Deep breaths, alright?”
“Y-yeah.” Yokozawa-san’s clearly in shock, even if he’s suspicious, this sort of shock can’t be faked. I’m not sure what to think…
-
Truth Bullet Added: Yokozawa-san’s Account
He was working on trying to figure out the password for the Wi-fi the past day and hadn’t left his lab until the body discovery announcement. He never heard any of the gunshots.
-
I finally turned my attention to the scene of the crime. Sly-san was investigating Asano-san’s body currently. I walked over to him, watching him dig into the various pockets in Asano-san dress. He sat back onto his knees and sighed.
“Looking at her like this, she really did look like a doll. It’s sad. Lives like hers don’t deserve to be taken but fate is never fair, is it?”
“No, it’s not.” I agreed. “Have you found anything of note?”
“A few things, actually. I’ve still gotta check on Kurohiko’s body but as far as Asano goes, I’ll start with her body itself. Other than the obvious cause of death, she doesn’t have any external injuries. No sign of anything being ingested so I doubt she was poisoned or something. You can call someone else if you wanna double-confirm that. The bullet wound itself didn’t go all the way through her skull.”
“So…what does that mean?”
“Either there was a lot of distance between her and the shooter, or something was between them which would have slowed the bullet.” Sly-san clarified.
“I see…”
-
Truth Bullet Updated: Monokuma File 4
Mami Asano – Shot through the head, the bullet didn’t go all the way. No sign of her ingesting something beforehand or any other external injuries.
-
“Asano-san had a gun…?” I nodded to the weapon clutched in her hand.
“Yeah. It’s a revolver, and it’s missing one of its bullets. I’ll have a look into the bullets themselves later. Also, while I was searching her pockets I found this-“ He pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to me “-some kind of note.” I unfold it and read out loud.
“Meet me in my lab half an hour after night-time. It's very important we meet tonight so please don't be late." I said. That’s just a little before they were both killed… “Who do you think wrote this? Kurohiko-san? Since it does mention meeting in the sender’s lab…”
“That seems like the most likely possibility, but it’s not signed so who knows?” If it was Kurohiko-san, why did he call Asano-san up here…? And right before the murder…?
-
Truth Bullet Added: Note on Asano’s Body
"Meet me in my lab half an hour after night-time. It's very important we meet tonight so please don't be late."
Truth Bullet Added: Asano’s Gun
A revolver that's missing 1 bullet from its chamber.
-
Sly-san cocked an eyebrow, “Nagata? You seem rather spaced out. It’s unlike you.”
“H-huh? Do I? Sorry, I guess this is just a little jarring, is all. Don’t you think it’s odd there are two bodies in the first place?”
“Of course, I do. If you kill two people, it only leaves more evidence behind. If anything, it’s a disadvantage to the culprit…though, I suppose…” Sly-san’s voice trailed off, “I suppose that’s a thought for the class trial. For now, I’ll keep going with my investigation.”
“Yeah, thank you.” I nodded. I wonder what Sly-san’s thinking? He’s smart when it comes to the trials so hopefully, he’ll have some insight to what could have happened. Though, if there’s anybody’s theories I want to hear…it’s them. ”Do you know where Kurosaki-san went?”
“Kurosaki? It looked like he was heading for the staircase. Maybe he’s thought of somewhere else linked to the crime?” He paused for a moment. “Hold on! Why are you asking me where that guy is?!”
“I mean…you two are close aren’t-“
“Do you wanna die?” He growled.
“Wh- s-sorry! I just thought after that last trial!”
“…that was a one-off, get it? That guy is trouble even I don’t want to get involved with more than necessary. If you’re smart, you’ll keep your distance. A good kid like you shouldn’t get close to dangerous people.”
Sly-san…aren’t you a dangerous person?
Shaking off that thought, I murmured an agreement and walked over to the divider in the centre of the room. There were two holes in the divider, not to mention that when we walked into the room the curtain on Asano-san’s side was drawn to hide her. I wonder why the room was set up like that? Also these holes…they must be bullet holes, right? I can’t imagine anything else causing them.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Room Divider
Two bullet holes were found in the divider.
Truth Bullet Added: Room Setup
There was a divider set up in the middle of the room and a large curtain that could be drawn over to block out one half of the room
-
Alright, I think until Sly-san has investigated Kurohiko-san’s body, that’s all to look at right now. It’ll be more efficient to hear the info from Sly-san later and look elsewhere. There are a few places I want to check out and a few people I still need to check in on. Now, where to check first…?
-Chapter 4 Deadly Life, 4th Floor-
When I reached the top floor, it was as I expected. That person was standing in front of their lab. “Yo yo, Ryuu!” Graves-san greeted.
“Graves-san, what are you doing up here?” I asked.
“Ah, well I thought maybe the weapons used in the murder might have come from my lab, you know? I thought it would be best to check it out just in case. I totally forgot about the lock system though.” She scratched the back of her head and stuck her tongue out. Right, I remember when I first investigated here, Graves-san mentioned that her lab had a passcode on the door.
“So, there’s no sign of anything being taken?”
“Nope! Everything is as expected, you wanna come in and check?” She offered.
“Please. Not that I doubt you, just so I can confirm to everybody else later should they ask about it.” I said. Graves-san nodded and inputted the 6-digit code and the door slid open. Just like last time, the room was totally barren.
“Gimme a sec!” She went around the lab using the various security measures. Ocular scanners, fingerprint scanners, passcodes, everything. Eventually, almost every panel of the floor, walls, and ceiling had flipped to reveal weapons, monitors, information on the students, I even saw a grappling hook gun which I thought only existed in spy movies, it was almost overwhelming to see it in its full glory, “How cool is all this stuff, huh?!” She cheered.
“Graves-san, everything is locked behind some kind of security measure, right?”
“Of course! Even if you could get the passcode for the front door, my guns are all locked behind an ocular scanner so nobody but me could access that! It’s one-hundred percent secure!” She promised. I see…so only Graves-san had access to the weapons in this lab.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Ultimate Secret Agent’s Lab
The lab is locked up with a six-digit passcode only Graves-san knows. In addition, all the weapons are locked behind an ocular scanner.
-
Graves-san put her hands on her hips and smirked, “if you’re satisfied, then is that all?”
“One more thing. Did you see anything out of the ordinary or anything worth noting? Anything, no matter how little it might seem.” I asked. Graves-san fiddled with the her cap for a moment.
“Oh! Junpei! I saw Junpei after night-time! When I was waiting by the fountain after the night-time announcement, I could see into Junpei’s lab window! His computer is right by the window, and I saw him around the time of the murder as well!” Graves-san said.
“You saw Yokozawa-san? And you’re sure it was around the time of the murder?”
“Definitely. I was at the fountain at around 10:40pm.” Graves-san confirmed.
“Got it. I’ll keep it in mind.”
-
Truth Bullet Added: Graves-san’s Account
Graves remembers seeing Yokozawa at the window of his research lab from the fountain at around 10:40pm.
-
��Okay. I think that’s everything here, thanks for your help, Graves-san.”
“No problemo, homeslice! Always happy to help.” When she said that, I almost paused. It wasn’t so long ago that she was saying she didn’t trust any of us. Just how inconsistent was Graves-san? I just don’t understand her at all…
-Chapter 4 Deadly Life, Talent Building Exterior-
When I left the building, I found Kurosaki-san and Okanaya-kun talking just off the path. Okanaya-kun spots me first, grimaces and then looks away. Kurosaki-san turns back to look at me and smiles. “Nagata-kyun! Have you come to finally confess your love?”
“No, what are you two doing out here?” I asked.
“Herr Okanaya and I wished to investigate the outside of the building just in case of any possible evidence the culprit might have disposed of.”
“And?”
“Unfortunately, nothing on the outside. Disappointing, really. However! I was snooping around the talents labs and did discover something interesting. I looked in Amaterasu-chan’s lab and found an opened box of firecrackers!”
“Firecrackers?”
“There were a few boxes, so they presumably came with the lab. Judging from the state of the box, only two were taken, but I still found it interesting.” Kurosaki-san said.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Firecrackers
The Ultimate Thief lab came equipped with firecrackers. One of the boxes was opened and missing two firecrackers.
-
“What a fuckin’ waste of time.” Okanaya-kun grumbled, he barged past me and went back inside the talent building. So, he’s still mad about then…dammit. I wanna make things right so badly, but if I tell him…
“Trouble in paradise?” Kurosaki-san asked with a genuine concern.
“We just had a fight. You don’t need to worry; I’ll talk to him about it.” I said, forcing a smile. Kurosaki-san let out a low hum and nodded once. Slowly. “A-anyway, what about you? I was actually hoping to get your thoughts on the case so far.”
“My thoughts? Apologies, I don’t have any kind of thoughts to share at the moment.”
“Huh, really? That’s…surprising. It always felt like you kind of knew what was happening. You really don’t have any ideas?”
“Ahahaha, sorry to disappoint. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting anybody to really try and kill. That’s why we organised the battle royal.”
“Was that the thing I walked into before we heard those shots?”
“Indeed. I, Mademoiselle Graves, Herr Okanaya, and Herr Knives all agreed to do something about this motive before it got too far. Since there was a two-victim limit, having four people meant we guaranteed a surviving witness no matter the outcome. We all knew time was of the essence, so we all agreed to meet at 11pm.”
“11pm? That’s pretty late.”
“It was, wasn’t it? Not that it mattered. We all ended up turning up early and simply waited for it to roll around to 11pm.” Kurosaki-san explained. “I was the last one to arrive. I got there around 10:50pm.”
“I see…so you all have alibis for the murder then.”
-
Truth Bullet Added: 4-Way Battle Royal
Kurosaki, Okanaya, Sly, and Graves all decided to fight each other to the death in order to prevent everyone from dying due to the motive. They agreed to meet at 11 though they all arrived early.
-
“Thank you for talking with me, Kurosaki-san. I think it helped.”
“I’m glad. I’ll need to work a little harder than usual in order to uncover this truth. So, I’ll be counting on you to help me out.”
“You give me too much credit. I’m more or less just following your lead. Besides, everyone is pretty useful in their own ways. We’ll get through this class trial as a team, I’m sure.”
Kurosaki-san just stared at me before smiling. “Oh, to have your attitude.”
-Chapter 4 Deadly Life, Ultimate Romance Expert’s Talent Lab (2)-
When I returned to the scene, Sly-san was hanging back at the wall. He must already be finished, but what caught my eye more was the slightly less pale Yokozawa-san talking to Kirishima-san. “Hey you two, what’s happening?”
“Ah, we made an amazing discovery!” Kirishima-san exclaimed, “you know how Yokozawa-kun was talking about not being able to hear the gunshots earlier? Well, we tried this experiment! I went out into the hallways and yelled super loud. At the top of my lungs! But nobody in the room could hear a thing!”
“Huh, is that true?”
“Yeah. Kirishima-san got really curious when I told what I told you, and it sounds like the walls to this room at the very least are soundproof.” Soundproof walls…
-
Truth Bullet Added: Sound Experiment
Kirishima-san yelled as loud as she could from the hallways but the people inside the Ultimate Romance Expert’s Lab couldn’t hear her at all.
-
Thanking the two for the information, I walked over to Sly-san who stood up straight when I approached. “I finished my autopsy.” He stated.
“…and?”
“It’s odd, actually. The gun that Kurohiko is holding isn’t a real gun. It’s a BB gun, so it only shoots harmless pellets.”
“What? So, Asano-san had a real revolver, but Kurohiko-san only has a BB gun?”
“Not only that,” He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me, “I found this on Kurohiko’s person. Another note.” I unfolded the note and read it out loud.
“I'm scared he's going to kill her, we need to put a stop to this before another trial can occur." I murmured the words once or twice more. “This is odd…it almost sounds like Asano-san and Kurohiko-san were planning to kill someone…”
“I wonder who all those pronouns are referring to though. ‘He’, ‘Her’, ‘Us’. It’s full of questions.”
-
Truth Bullet Added: Kurohiko’s Gun
The gun Kurohiko was found with was a BB gun that was modelled to look like a handgun.
Truth Bullet Added: Note on Kurohiko’s Body
"I'm scared he's going to kill her, we need to put a stop to this before another trial can occur."
-
“I feel this got a lot more complicated,” I let out a sigh, “Also, I forgot to ask before but when we initially ran here, you went to check on your lab. Did you find anything?”
“Actually, that ties into what we were just talking about. I looked around and found that three of my guns were missing. Two revolvers and one BB gun. Last time I checked that lab was just before the motive reveal so between then and now, those all were taken.”
-
Truth Bullet Added: Ultimate Assassin’s Lab
Two revolvers and a BB gun went missing from the weapons wall sometime after the motive reveal.
-
“Phew…that’s a lot of info.”
“I’m still not done. A few things I noticed during my actual autopsy.”
“Th-there’s still more?!”
“When I investigated Kurohiko’s wound, I found that he was shot with a pistol. Not a revolver. Asano-san was shot with a revolver though. Not to mention when I checked out that divider, neither of the holes were high enough to have shot Kurohiko in the heart. Not to mention the holes were different sizes, if they’re indeed bullet holes then they’re two different calibres.”
-
Truth Bullet Added: Sly-san’s Account
The bullet in Kurohiko's body came from a pistol whilst the one in Asano's came from a revolver
Truth Bullet Updated: Room Divider
Two bullet holes were found in the divider. According to Sly, neither bullet hole was the right height to have hit Doi in the heart and they were different calibres.
-
“R-right…”
“And finally-“
“More, still?!”
“It isn’t my fault you didn’t look hard enough this time around. Don’t get pissed off at me or I won’t share my info with you.” Sly-san said.
“S-sorry…you were saying?”
“I noticed it when looking at Asano-san’s body, but it seems there was some orange powder on her. In fact, when I looked around closely enough there were tiny specs of orange powder all around the room. You won’t notice it if you don’t look for it though. I’m lucky Asano’s dress is white, so it stood out and I knew to keep an eye out.”
“Orange…powder? Weird, but okay then.”
-
Truth Bullet Added: Orange Powder
Traces of an odd orange powder were found all around the crime scene, including on Asano’s body.
-
~Ding dong, Bing bong~
“Is it time yet…? I feel like it’s time. Alright, time for you all to haul ass to the usual place! Don’t be late, got it?!” The monitor turned off.
“Let’s go.” Was all Sly-san said before leaving the room.
-Chapter 4 Deadly Life, Trial Grounds-
When everybody gathered outside the elevator Kirishima-san kept looking around the room. “This…is this really everybody?”
“Look at us. This is half of what we started off as originally.” Okanaya-kun noted.
“If anything, I’m just glad to have made it to the top eight!” Graves-san giggled, “Seriously though, how much longer are we gonna have to continue this sort of formula? It gets kinda boring after a while.”
“Must be nice to be able to get bored with this sort of stuff.” Sly-san said.
“You’re saying you’re enjoying this? Wouldn’t it be better to find it boring than find it fun?” Graves-san questioned.
“I’m not going to answer your dumb questions.”
“Awww.” She pouted as the elevator doors opened, “ah, let’s do it.” She pumped herself before walking on.
Okanaya-kun barely regarded me before walking onto the elevator, Kirishima-san looked between us with worry, “U-umm…” She fiddled with her hair before simply opting to walk onto the elevator.
“So cold~” Kurosaki-san remarked as he followed suit, as well as Sly-san.
Amaterasu-san had this determined look in her eyes, “I’m gonna put in a lot more effort this time around. I wanna get this bastard.” With that, she, Yokozawa-san and I all stepped into the elevator and it began to descend. I couldn’t help but take notice how, even though I had much more room in the elevator, it hadn’t become less suffocating to stand in. A tense place right before we all put our lives on the line.
The elevator came to halt and revealed the new design to our trial ground. The walls were patterned with hot pink love hearts and white dollhouses alternating on the black wallpaper. We all moved to our podiums without Monokuma even commenting this time. God, have we seriously become to numb to this process that we don’t even need to have anything said to us?
There were three new portraits. Three. Asano-san and Kurohiko-san were stand X’s, but Ishikawa-san’s portrait rather than any clever X, were numerous hands reaching out from the bottom of the picture frame. Without really looking at those we had lost, we prepared ourselves.
Doi Kurohiko, The Ultimate Romance Expert. He was goofy and often came across as unreliable, but even so, he was one of the easiest to approach, almost like a big brother. He understood everybody’s emotions better than anybody else. He might have understood someone more than they understood themselves.
Mami Asano, the Ultimate Living Doll. It almost seems cruel to have that be her title. When I first met Asano-san she had to be told to do anything including sleeping or eating, but she was learning and improving on herself to make her own decisions. She was just at the start of her journey of discovering herself…
Rina Kirishima
Yuuki Kurosaki
Doi Kurohiko
Saori Kibe
Amaterasu Hokama
But both of their lives were cut short.
Sly
Karma Graves
Junpei Yokozawa
Maemi Watanabe
Kobo Okanaya
Tomoe Hachi
Somebody here cut their lives short. And I can’t forgive that.
Mami Asano
Toson Shinko
Sadao Irunami
Tsukiko Ishikawa
Ryuu Nagata
I will find the culprit, no matter what. I’ll bring them to justice, because why should we have to become sacrifices for them? This class trial…begins!
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Chapter 4: The Sky is Just a Skip Away ~Daily Life Part 2~
//Sorry this took so long yall but it’s here! I’ll get started on the investigation as soon as, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
-Chapter 4 Daily Life, Secrets in the History (Oxygen Levels – 19%)-
“Huh…? Amaterasu-san?” I watched her walk out of the dorms as I was heading to the dining hall in the morning. She always comes to breakfast in the morning though? …maybe I should follow her. I got a weird feeling about her behaviour the past two days.
--
We wound up in the history building for some reason. In the library, but not I can’t seem to find her. Stupid library is too big to keep track on people. I began pacing up and down the rows upon rows of books without being able to spot Amaterasu-san at all. Just where did she disappear to?
“Amaterasu-san?” I called out but voice only echoed out, “maybe she went somewhere else…? But I’m sure she came here…” I felt my foot kick against something and looked down to find some kind of hairpin. Doesn’t Amaterasu-san wear a hairpin like this? So, she definitely came in here…
I looked around the area that it was dropped, but nothing looked suspicious. “She couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air…” My eyes fell on the wall of the library. The walls themselves had no bookshelves covering them up, just old wallpaper. On closer inspection, it looked like a section of the wallpaper had been either torn or cut.
“I wonder…” I murmured, feeling around the wall for a bit. As I approached where the tear was, my hand managed to push a switch that was hidden underneath the wallpaper. The wall shuddered and slid open towards me.
“A hidden passageway…? What the hell?” I pulled the door open further and entered the hidden area. It was a dimly lit room covered wall-to-wall in old dusty bookshelves. Is it really just more books in here? I walked further into the room and took in the surroundings.
“What is this place…?”
“It’s the archives.”
“Uwah!” I jumped, turning to find Amaterasu-san hiding in between two of the bookshelves. “A-Amaterasu-san?! Y-you scared me…”
“I noticed.” She said.
“What are you doing here…? You said it was, what? An archive? An archive for what?”
“A lot of different things. There is a lot of top-secret government files and police records and stuff. It’s all unmarked so I dunno what else is in here. Kinda just reading through everything to get a full scope of things…”
“How did you even find this place…?”
“Found it yesterday. In my lab I noticed this empty space on a map of the History Building that was connected to the library, so I decided to investigate. Found it pretty quickly. Monokuma even said if I search enough there could be a clue or something in here.” She explained.
“Huh?! A clue?! Then we should tell the others, the more people we have-“
“No, we can’t.” Amaterasu-san said forcefully. “Monokuma also said that I can’t tell anybody about this, but if they discover it on their own, it’s fine. He never said I wasn’t allowed leave clues for people so when I saw you following me, I dropped that hairclip. Speaking of which, can I get it back?”
“O-oh…yeah.” I handed back the hairclip. “That looks new, where did you get it?”
“Mami-chan gave it to me. She said it was a token of friendship or something like that. Kinda felt bad ‘coz I didn’t have anything to give her in return. Oh well.”
At least try to sound bad about it. “I see…it’s a shame we can’t ask people to help out, but I hope you don’t mind if I help out? Maybe we can even lure other people here to help out. Though Monokuma might not be so forgiving if you do that again. The important thing is trying to find a way out before…”
“I hear you. I’ll do what I can. Help me out.” It didn’t sound like a request, but I agreed anyway. Somewhere in these walls could be a clue to getting out of here…I need to find it.
“I’m happy to be assisting you, Amaterasu-san. What kind of things have you found so far?”
“Like I said, not much. Just top-secret stuff and police records. Nothing relating to Hope’s Peak or anything about weird projects that could be the killing game.”
“But it sounds like government files are in here. Maybe we just need to search the right shelf. If you continue from wherever you were, I can search the other side of the room. I’m a fast reader as well, so let’s do our best.”
“Right.” Amaterasu-san nodded. I was hoping to get her to crack a smile, but no luck. I suppose she’s still not ready to open up completely, but I’m happy to be working with her.
--
*Ding dong, bing bong*
“Alright, bastards! It is now 10pm and therefore night-time! The cafeteria will be locked, and certain places are now prohibited!” Monokuma’s announcement ended and I rubbed my eyes. The dust was making it hard to read for this long, it feels like I’ve barely made a dent in this first shelf.
“If you want, you can head to bed. This place isn’t prohibited at night-time, so I don’t mind staying behind and reading a little more.”
“No, I wouldn’t want to leave more work to you…”
“I work better at night. Go.” She said. For some reason, it was hard to argue with Amaterasu-san when her voice got stern.
“Thank you, I’ll be sure to come by after breakfast.” I said. Amaterasu-san didn’t react, not even a nod. But we had a silent agreement to meet again.
--
As I was walking past the central fountain, I saw the silhouette of somebody just off the path towards the Talent Building. Getting closer I could make out the frame of Yokozawa-san, struggling to fit a large number of chips in his arms.
“Y…Yokozawa-san? What are you-“
“Nagata-kun, help me out instead of just standing there.” Yokozawa-san barked the order as he stood up, bags of chips falling from his arms. “I’m trying to take these to my lab so can you just…pile the rest of them on top? It would be a big help.”
“Huh?! Are you…planning to eat all of these?!”
“Of course, I’m pulling an all-nighter. I already brought a bunch of soda to my lab earlier, now I just need good snack food.” As he spoked, I picked up a few packets and noticed they were all the same.
“Cheese puffs?”
“They’re my favourite.” He said.
“I…see…what are you pulling an all-nighter for?”
“I’m still trying to figure out the wi-fi password on that computer set-up. I’m telling you, once I can get logged onto the wi-fi, it’s gonna be big. We’ll be able to get out of here in no time!” That’s right, I had forgotten about the computer…
“Do you think you can figure it out?”
“I’m not sure. But doing nothing won’t help anybody, y’know? So, I’ll keep up my work and try to get us out of here. I promise.”
“You’ve become really determined, huh? Before it kinda seemed like you couldn’t be bothered with most of us.”
“Is that really how I came across…?” Yokozawa-san frowned. “Honestly, I think the problem came from the fact that nobody ever notices me…but it seems like that’s not as much of a problem for you. Most people wouldn’t have seen me just now.”
Probably shouldn’t say it was the bags of chips that stood out before I noticed him, ”Right. I hear you. I hope everything goes well with finding the password. Good luck, Yokozawa-san.” I said, piling the last few bags into his arms, “are you sure you’ll be alright carrying that?”
“Yeah. I only dropped it because I tripped over my foot, so I should be fine getting to my lab. Thanks again, Nagata-kun.” He smiled a little before walking off, doing a little balancing act with all the bags in his arms. Amaterasu-san and Yokozawa-san are both doing their best to find ways out of here, I have to do my part as well…
-Chapter 4 Daily Life, Fear (Oxygen Levels 18%)-
“Nagata! The hell happened to you yesterday?” Okanaya-kun asked me when I was making my way for the door after breakfast. “I was lookin’ around for you, but I couldn’t find you. Me and Kirishima were gonna meet up and try to plan somethin’ to deal with Monokuma, but we wanted your head there too.”
“Dealing with Monokuma?”
“It’s this motive…we gotta look for ways to stop the killing game before things get bad, so Kirishima thought we should get together and figure out a plan. I’m not good at thinkin’ so it would probably just be Kirishima shootin’ down whatever I came up with.”
This is bad, I promised I would help Amaterasu-san. What should I say? “Actually, I can’t help out. I’d really like to, but…I have prior commitments.”
“Prior…huh? The hell could be more important than ending the killing game?!” Okanaya-kun questioned, clearly annoyed.
“Wh-what I mean is, I’m already doing something, but I can’t really talk much about it…”
“You got a plan already? Then show me! Me and Kirishima can totally help out!”
“N-no!” I yelled suddenly; Okanaya-kun’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ah…this is something I have to do on my own, so…I can’t. I’m really sorry, Okanaya-kun. I wish I could tell you, but I just can’t do that.”
“Nagata…you don’t sound like yourself. If you keep saying shit like that, I’ll think the worst…”
“The worst…?” It clicked. What he meant by that. “Okanaya-kun, you don’t seriously think I would do something drastic like that, do you?”
“I dunno, this isn’t like the other motives! Hell, I wouldn’t rule out Asano killing someone at this point!” Thank god the cafeteria is empty, not sure Asano-san would like that accusation.
“You know I would never even consider that!”
“So, what the hell are you considering?!”
“I can’t tell you!”
“Dammit, Nagata!” I hadn’t realise it, but I had ended up with my back against the wall, with Okanaya-kun looming over me. It was like a flashback to that first day and how much he scared me. Okanaya-kun must have realised too because he jumped away, a fear in his eyes. A fear of himself. He looked down at his hands before leaving the cafeteria.
“Okanaya-kun!” I chased after him, he was almost half-way down the hall when I composed myself enough to follow, “Okanaya-kun, wait!”
“Don’t!” He turned and put his hand out, telling me to stop. I did. “Please…just…don’t.” With his gaze glued to the floor, he turned and hastily walked away. Dammit…I really messed up…
-Chapter 4 Daily Life, remember who your friends are (Oxygen Levels 18%)-
“Kurohiko-san…? What are you doing here?” I passed him as I was making my way to the history building.
“I could ask you the same thing. You got business at the History Building today?” He asked me in his usual cheerful manner, though something in his eyes felt a little off.
“I wanted to do some reading in the library, hopefully take my mind off things. There’s so much happening right now, and I think I just need to distract myself for a while.” Which is what I wish I were doing, to be honest.
“Don’t blame you for feeling like that. Though you make it sound like something else is bothering you.” He put his hand to his chin and stared at me for a few moments, “ah. Did you and Okanaya-kun have a fight?”
“Huh?! Y-you could tell?!”
“I know it doesn’t come up much but being a romance expert means I know a little on psychology. You looked like something recent really upset you, but since you were clearly already referencing the motive and something else, I figured it had to be a fight with someone you were close with. More likely candidate was Okanaya-kun.” He explained.
“Kurohiko-san…you’re actually pretty amazing, huh?”
“The ‘actually’ wasn’t necessary.” He deadpanned, “I digress though; what happened?”
“We got into an argument about what to do about the motive, and he got really upset with me. I wanna apologise, but…I think he really needs some space right now.”
“Most likely. Okanaya-kun is that kind of guy, y’know? The type whose feelings need to simmer and settle before he can talk about them. Do you mind asking why you actually argued about something like that? I’m not seeing how that topic could get so heated.”
“Okanaya-kun asked me to help him and Kirishima-san come up with a plan to stop Monokuma or end the killing game or something along those lines, and I declined to help…I have my reasons but I just can’t disclose them. It’s a complicated situation.” I explained. Kurohiko-san gave a thoughtful nod before letting himself smile softly.
“I’m sure it’ll all work out when Okanaya-kun calms down. Just…promise me something, will you? When this motive is over, you’ll really talk to Okanaya-kun about your feelings and his feelings? I think it’ll be really therapeutic for both of you.”
“I understand. We really need to clear the air on that argument as soon as possible.”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant…” Kurohiko-san laughed hollowly. “I suppose I can’t force you to realise. Just…promise me you’ll learn to rely on others a little more? I think that might be your main problem. How many things are you keeping bottled up?”
“That’s…”
“You don’t need to tell me; I know we aren’t close enough for you to tell me your most personal secrets or anything. But…consider telling the two that really wanna see you as a reliable guy.” Kurohiko-san gave me a pat on the shoulder before walking off. Every now and again, he says something pretty helpful. He’s almost like a clumsy big brother.
-Chapter 4 Daily Life, The Sirens Play (Oxygen Levels 18%)-
“Oh. Good, you’re here.” Amaterasu-san waved when I entered the archive. She was already deep in some of the text from her shelf, “I didn’t manage to find anything last night. Still feels like I couldn’t make much progress overall.”
“Even after all that time, huh? Amaterasu-san, I’m worried about all this. Soon it’ll be hard to even read what’s written. What are we gonna do when that time comes?”
Amaterasu-san sat silently for a few moments, “there’s not point thinking about that. We can only do our best in the present. What we do now decides our future.”
“Yeah…you’re right. I’ll get to it then.” I sat in my spot from yesterday and continued where I had marked at and our silent readings began for the day.
--
I couldn’t tell how many hours had passed since I had started but I had gone through numerous files before stumbling upon one I thought was interesting to look into further. “Amaterasu-san, come check this out.” She got up from her seat and stood peering over my shoulder. The folder I had found was branded with the Hope’s Peak symbol and a tab sticking out on the top simply said ‘Class 79’.
“Hmm…from what I remember, the last class to go into Hope’s Peak was class 78. Which means…”
“Is this about us?” I questioned, opening up the folder. It started with 79-A, containing a list of names that looked unfamiliar. “Are these only first names…? That’s odd, right?”
“A little. Check if there are any other classes.” I flipped through the pages rapidly until I landed on 79-B, again it contained a list of first names though unlike with 79-A, their family names were also given. Hiroaki Yamahata, Ultimate Daredevil. Chieko Arishima, Ultimate Shrine Maiden. Kotone Okuda, Ultimate Bounty Hunter-
“That guy has your family name.” Amaterasu-san suddenly pointed at one of the names on the page. Sora Nagata, Ultimate Riddle Solver.
“Wh…that’s…” I felt a lump in my throat as I tried to speak. His name was listed here…? Why?
“You know him then.” Amaterasu-san concluded.
“S…Sora…he’s my brother. He’s an Ultimate as well. We got accepted together, I never even thought about it until now, but…what happened to him? He’s not here with us. I-is he safe? D-did he get caught in a game like this as well?!”
“Ryuu-chan. Relax. Deep breaths. Sora-chan’s probably fine. If he’s anything like you, then he’ll be alive and well.”
“He’s nothing like me…but, I suppose that’s a good reason for me to think he is alive…but what’s with this document? The A-class is first-name only, but the B-class is full names. Ah…it looks like there’s still more.” I flicked further through until I landed on the page titled ’79-C’. There I found the names I had expected to find. Our group.
“Yeah…we’re all listed there. So, we really were supposed to be a class?” Amaterasu-san said. My mind went back to the photo I found when we first explored the History Building. The one of Kibe-san, Hachi-san, and Irunami-san. I turned the page of the file and found a large collage of photos. Photos of our group- or class -in various situations. One was of Kurohiko-san, Asano-san, and Amaterasu-san baking in a home economics class. Another was of Sly-san who was weilding a knife and chasing a terrified Kurosaki-san down a hallway of a brightly lit school with Kibe-san in the foreground holding up a peace sign.
The whole page was covered in these photos that it felt almost nostalgic to look at. But that nostalgic feeling could have also been nausea. When had these been taken? I had no memory of these and from her actions, Amaterasu-san didn’t seem to either.
“It’s weird…isn’t something missing from these photos?” Amaterasu-san looked closer, her finger tracing along the page, I could hear her counting under her breath. “Fifteen. There are only fifteen different people in these photos…who’s missing?”
I stared at the page. Intensely, I stared. And I stared. Searching, searching, searching. But I couldn’t. “I can’t see me…” I said. My throat felt dry for some reason, my heartbeat was picking up, because why wasn’t I there? I flipped back and saw my name was listed, so why wasn’t I in any photos? Kirishima-san and Okanaya-kun were in a photo together but I wasn’t.
“Ryuu-chan!”
*WHACK*
“Ow!” I dropped the file and held my head where Amaterasu-san smacked it.
“You were panicking. Look, these photos were probably photoshopped or something to make you paranoid or something. You shouldn’t get so worked up over a stupid thing Monokuma probably made himself.” It was hard to know if Amaterasu-san believed those words herself, but I tried to find some comfort in her statement.
“M…maybe you’re right. Maybe he thought doing this would make me a suspect of whoever discovered the archive…?”
“Possibly. Can’t say for sure.”
“Yeah…sorry, I feel a little uneasy. Do you mind if I go get some air?”
“Go ahead. Take a lap of the courtyard or something.” Amaterasu-san suggested. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. I shakily got to my feet and left the archive, the file still playing on my mind.
-2 Months Before Entering Hope’s Peak-
“Haaaaaah…” Sora sighed, slumping onto the couch. “This is exhausting…all I ever hear about is stupid Hope’s Peak at school now. ‘New Hope’ this and ‘Our future’ that. Boring…”
“It’s not too weird. There’s barely ever any Ultimates from this region and all of a sudden there’s three accepted into the same class? Of course, people will talk about it.” I reasoned. Sora just rolled himself up in a blanket and let out an annoyed groan.
“Don’t remind me. Mamoru’s probably been ready for a while. He was so pissed cause I got my letter a week early.”
“That’s just the kind of person he is, I guess.” I didn’t blame Fukao-san. Sora’s not exactly known for, uh…actively practicing his talent. “It’s exciting though. I wasn’t sure if I would’ve made it into the same high school as you, but this means we get to stick together.”
“What’s with that attitude? So annoying…you’re just as smart as me.”
“Considering our talents, I really doubt that.” I half-laughed.
“Yeah, true.”
He gave up so easily. Then again, if he’s not in the mood for a conversation he’s likely to just end it like that. “We have to do our best though. It’s another chance for our family…”
“Yeah.” Was all Sora said, but I could feel the weight his voice carried. It was more than a title for us, so we had to make this work for our whole family.
-Present Day-
That scene suddenly flooded back into my memory almost as if forcibly injected into my mind. I hadn’t even thought about Sora this whole time, but now that file was making me worry. We promised we would do well together at Hope’s Peak for our family. That’s right…because…
Before my mind could wander, I realised I had almost completed a lap of the courtyard and had ended up in front of the Talent Building. I suppose it would take longer to get back if I went to the fountain first, I hope Amaterasu-san doesn’t mind me using up so much time.
I could a few people in the distance, nearby the fountain. Sly-san, Kurosaki-san, Graves-san, and Okanaya-kun. An air of tension was surrounding them all, so thick that you could choke on it. ��Wh…what’s going on here?” I asked, the four all snapped their heads to look at me.
“Nagata, unless you’re looking to get involved, walk away.” Sly-san said.
“What does that mean? What are you up to?” I asked again, more worried now. The four of them fell silent. I didn’t like where this was going. Graves-san looked at me and smirked.
“We’re having a battle royal.”
“Battle…royal…?”
“This motive is unavoidable. We can’t save everybody, so we’re looking at our best options…so, we all decided to have a four-way free-for-all until one of us gets killed. Then we have three witnesses for the trial, so that way we can just breeze through it.” Okanaya-kun explained, not even looking at me, “This…this is the solution we all came up with in order to prevent everyone dying.”
“W…wait, hold on! You guys don’t have to do that!”
“Nagata-kyun, as much as the sentiment is appreciated, I’d really rather prefer you didn’t interfere. We’ve all already made our peace with whatever outcome this brings. Please don’t make this more complicated than it already is.” Kurosaki-san said.
“B…but…”
“Stand back, Nagata.” Sly-san reached into his hoodie and pulled out a survival knife. “There’s no reason for someone like you to see whatever happens next…”
“Hmph.” Kurosaki-san reading his bullwhip, “as long as I can help prevent the deaths of everyone else, it’ll be fine…”
“Yeah.” Okanaya-kun slid of a pair of brass knuckles, “I’m not usually the one to rely on weapons and shit, but I ain’t got a choice this time around…”
“Okanaya-kun, stop! You don’t have to do this!” No matter how I look at it, he’s at the biggest disadvantage. Graves-san and Sly-san are professional killers, and Kurosaki-san just radiates a dangerous aura.
“Of course, I have to do this! Don’t you get it?! There’s no other way to move forward!” Okanaya-kun yelled, “I need to do this otherwise I can’t say I did my part to try and end the killing game!” End…the killing game…?
“What? You’re worried about someone killing somebody you care about? Wonder what that’s like.” Graves-san spoke with malice as she pulled out a revolver, “we already agreed to this, so do us a favour and don’t get in our way. Alright?”
“Then everyone get ready. The sooner we do this the better.” Sly-san readied himself. No…I have…I have to do something. I can’t watch them kill each other like this. But…what can I-
*BANG!*
Everyone stopped, as if reality brought their minds back into heir heads. Their expressions all dropped, Graves-san and Kurosaki-san paled a little. And then-
*BANG!*
It sounded again and we all turned to the source of the sound. The Talent Building. “Wh…what was that? Gunshots?” Okanaya-kun asked.
“It can’t be…” Kurosaki-san clenched his jaw and took off towards the Talent Building.
“Kurosaki-san!” I yelled, sprinting after him. The other three running behind us. This can’t be happening. No way. I refuse to believe this is happening. It’s way too early to be worrying about something like this. The oxygen levels are at 18% so we would be fine for another few days!
When I burst through the doors of the entrance, Kurosaki-san has just slammed the door to Asano-san’s lab. “Nothing on this floor! Quick, up the stairs!” We didn’t much more prompting than that and followed Kurosaki-san upstairs. On the second floor, Kurosaki-san checked his own research lab, whilst Okanaya-kun quickly ran to check his.
“Still nothing?” Sly-san said tentatively. “The third floor…? That’s where my lab is…” Everyone grew pensive. “Let’s brace ourselves.” We all took off and up the stairs, noticeably a little slower. Why did we end up going slower? We didn’t even know what that noise could’ve been. Maybe we all imagined it.
Is what I wish I could’ve said.
When we reached the third floor Sly-san took off down one way to his lab and the rest of us took off the other way. Not that we got far. At the end of the hallway we could see a door to one of the labs left wide open. Whose lab was that again? For some reason, the memory wouldn’t come to me. I think I heard someone in the group call out to me, but I wasn’t sure. I just kept walking towards the lab. Strangely calm. Calm? Why was I calm?
Calm shouldn’t exist in a place like this…
As I walked into the room I was hit by the realisation that this was Ultimate Romance Expert’s lab, and on the floor of the right side of the room, was it’s owner, Doi Kurohiko, blood staining his shirt and a gun held in his hand.
“Wh-what the…fuck…?” Okanaya-kun’s voice came from behind me.
*~Ding dong, dong ding!~*
“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of investigation time, the class trial will begin! Everyone, please make your way to the Ultimate Romance Expert Talent Lab!” Monokuma’s body discovery announcement stopped.
“Herr Kurohiko…? And what’s with this setup…?” Kurosaki-san walked into the room. A divider had been set up in the middle of the room, Kurohiko-san’s body was on the right side of the room, but a curtain covered up the left side. “What’s…behind here, I wonder?” Kurosaki-san pulled back the curtain…
And the calm feeling vanished…
Behind the curtain, laying almost peacefully on the ground was the body of the Ultimate Living Doll, Mami Asano. Similarly, a gun was also within her grasp.
*~Ding dong, dong ding!~*
“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of investigation time, the class trial will begin! Everybody, please assemble at the Ultimate Romance Expert’s Talent Lab.”
…huh? A second body discovery announcement? Why a second one? We’ve never had a second one before…”N-no fuckin’ way…Asano…and Kurohiko…were both killed…?” Okanaya-kun’s words hit me with a realisation.
“Two people? Two people are dead…?”
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Chapter 4: The Sky is Just a Skip Away ~Daily Life Part 1~
//Not much to say other than I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Got this one planned out pretty well methinks.
-Chapter 4, Daily Life, A game of trust-
~Ding dong, bing bong~
“Gooood morning everyone! It is now 7am! Rise and shine, it’s gonna be another beautiful day!” Monokuma’s announcement played. I was ready this time though. More like I could barely get any sleep with Yokozawa-san’s outburst still playing in my mind.
Today was a new day though. I was in the shower as soon as morning started. My clothes for the day were already laid out. I was gonna make sure this was a new turning point for the group. A real do-over.
No matter what happened yesterday.
-Chapter 4, Daily Life, Talents-
Things were going as well as you’d expect. I walked into the dining hall to find Amaterasu-san and Okanaya-kun having a stand-off. “I fucking knew you would use your talent against us eventually! Now gimme back what’s rightfully mine!”
“You’re delusional if you think I’m gonna give you anything.” Amaterasu-san looked unusually serious, a terrifying aura surrounding her body. Kirishima-san ran up to me, looking exhausted.
“Nagata-kun…! Please help us out, they’ve been staring each other down for the past five minutes! I’m worried they’ll hurt each other…!” She clung to my sleeve and pleaded. Honestly looking at how fired up the two seemed, I didn’t want to get involved at all. What the hell happened here?!
“A-Amaterasu-san, maybe you should just-“
“Sorry Doi-chan but I can’t give up that easily. It’s a matter of pride.”
“Pride…?” He said matter-of-factly.
“I suppose it was just a matter of time before you and I exchanged blows…I’m gonna settle this quickly!” Okanaya-kun cracked his knuckles. Amaterasu-san took a defensive stance, preparing for whatever attack Okanaya-kun was about to throw at her.
“Both of you cease this at once!” Asano-san’s voice rang throughout the cafeteria. Both of them snapped their heads to Asano-san who was glaring at the two, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. “What childish behaviour! All of this over a bacon sandwich!”
What.
“It was the last of the bacon this morning cause Amaterasu already monopolised the rest of it!” Okanaya-kun argued.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about.” Saying this, Amaterasu-san nonchalantly took a bite of a bacon sandwich.
“No! My breakfast!”
“Really, are you two not too loud for this early in the morning…?” Sly-san rubbed his temples. Slightly surprised he hadn’t stepped in to solve this.
“Gross. You cooked this way too much.” Amaterasu-san offered a crestfallen Okanaya-kun the rest of the sandwich.
“I don’t want the rest of it! You’ve already bitten into it!” He complained before slumping into his seat, poking at the rest of the food on his plate.
“Okanaya-kun’s…kind of like a little kid sometimes, isn’t he…?”
“He can still be scary…” Kirishima-san sighed.
“Alright, if you won’t eat then I’ll feed it to Doi-chan.”
“Wh-why me?!” Kurohiko-san’s face flushed.
“You don’t want a hot girl to feed you? I guess you’re less of a useless man than I thought. Congrats.” Amaterasu-san gave a thumbs up.
“Why are you congratulating me for the bare minimum…?” Kurohiko-san questioned.
“Kurohiko-kun, it is very ungrateful to turn down Amaterasu-san’s offer! You should eat the sandwich!” Asano-san said.
“Wh-what?! You too?!”
“You three are so strange…” Yokozawa-san murmured.
“Sorry that you don’t have friends.” Amaterasu-san said, forcing the sandwich onto Kurohiko-san’s plate despite his protests.
“Wh-who doesn’t have friends?! I have friends!”
“Speaking of which…Graves isn’t here. Any word on that?” Okanaya-kun asked. Yokozawa-san stopped for a moment before averting his gaze from the group. Last night…there’s no way that what she said isn’t still on everybody’s minds.
“No. I haven’t seen her today. I’m not her damn sidekick, so why should I be keeping tabs on her? If you wanna know where she is why don’t you track her down yourself instead of relying on someone like me.”
“Eh!?” Okanaya-kun leans over the table, “who the hell d’you think you are talking shit to me?!”
“What? I didn’t say anything wrong. No reason you should be getting offended.” Yokozawa-san said in a more timid tone. Okanaya-kun let out a growl before sitting down once again and continuing to eat what was left of his meal.
“Never a dull day, I guess…” I said half-jokingly.
“Bonjour mein amigos!” Kurosaki-san barged into the cafeteria.
“None of those words were from the same language.” Asano-san pointed out.
“I have some very interesting news to deliver. I went to investigate ahead of everyone else about the new building that’s opened up to us, and you won’t believe it! It’s a treasure for those with Ultimate talents! Let’s hurry up and explore together!”
“Can’t you see we’re eating? Go away.”
“Herr Knives, don’t be crueeel! I thought we really bonded this time around!”
“Do you wanna die?!” Sly-san snapped.
“They’re like an old married couple.” Amaterasu-san commented.
“Huh?! Who is?!” Sly-san glared.
--
We all stood outside of the fourth building painting in a multitude of colours, none of which went well with each other. It was like it was painted with melted candy, a sickeningly sweet sight. “Kurosaki, you said you already got a head start. What kind of building is this, some kind of artsy building?”
“Non! This is a talent development building!” Kurosaki-san announced, throwing his arms into the air to present the building.
“The hell does that mean?” Okanaya-kun said.
“Monokuma told me earlier to pass on the message. Basically, this building was constructed for us all to develop our individual talents. Each floor has 4 talent labs, one for each student in our class. It’s fantastic! Tres bien!” Kurosaki-san cheered as he half-skipped into the building ahead of the rest of us.
“He seems quite happy to scamper off by himself. I suppose this time we should just investigate alone? Everyone will wanna see what their talent labs are like, I’m guessing.” Kurohiko-san suggested.
“I have no objections.” Asano-san supported. “I do wonder might have been prepared for me.”
…I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student. Is it even possible to create a lab like that?
-Talent Lab Floor 1 (Ultimate Thief)-
I walked into a room; the door painted with a large shining diamond. The room was decorated wall to wall with maps of famous museums, prepared with different tools I was unfamiliar with, but Amaterasu-san seemed rather enthralled with. So, this is the standard we’re looking at for Talent labs?
“This is pretty incredible, don’t you think? I haven’t seen tools this high quality before. If I used stuff like this, I could stop even the most high tech security systems in under 10 minutes.” Amaterasu-san’s words definitely should’ve had more energy behind them. Even though she was staring intently at them, her face still refused to display any hint of emotion.
“It’s certainly interesting. You think you’ll use these tools when we get out of here?”
“Possibly. I don’t usually need tools, but if it’s a seriously tough job then maybe I’ll use this stuff. Of course, carrying all the stuff I want will be difficult.” She said trying to cram as many tools as she could into her pockets and arms.
“M-maybe wait until we’ve actually found a way out before trying to take all this stuff…?”
“Ah. Yeah. Good shout.” She nods, starting to put stuff back. Amaterasu-san has stayed in the background a lot during this whole game, she’s clearly smart but she doesn’t show off. Not to mention she doesn’t have a big personality. I wonder if she keeps to herself because of her talent. Or is it another reason…?
-Talent Lab Floor 1 (Ultimate Taxidermist)-
I went through the door with a goat’s head painted on the front. I could already tell I was going to be entering Kirishima-san’s room. What I couldn’t have prepared for what the horror show that would follow.
The back wall was decorated with various animals that were stuffed and sewn then mounted onto the wall as ornaments. A large table in the centre of the room fit with sewing needles, thread and various other tools for taxidermy. Kirishima-san was in the corner look inside a closet.
“Wh-what’s in there…?” I managed to get out as I approached her.
“It seems that a load of unstuffed animals have been prepared for me. Even some unsewn. Guess this really is constructed to improve our talents.” Kirishima-san noted. I-it’s full of animals?!
“D-doesn’t it smell really bad in there?! Wouldn’t you rather keep that closed?!” I argued as she continued to shuffle around the closet, I kept my distance.
“It looks like they’ve already been treated properly. Which makes sense, this is the 4th building that we’ve gotten to explore so it naturally means these have been here a while. Monokuma must have treated the animals in advance for when I’d get here.” Kirishima-san murmured.
“I…I see.”
Kirishima-san’s movements slowed down before she took a deep breath, “I know this stuff grosses you out, Nagata-kun, but…” She turns to me, “…this…this sort of stuff is fun for me! It means a lot. It’s something I learned by someone I love so…I might spend some time in here when I want to calm down. I hope you don’t think that’s gross…” She paused, “N-no…e-even if you think it’s gross, I’ll still do it…I don’t want to be ashamed of my talent anymore, so…! There!”
“K-Kirishima-san…” I wasn’t entirely sure what to say in response. She really had changed from when I met ‘Ram’. Kirishima-san is a lot more vocal and assertive. Even if she’s still timid, she’s sticking up for herself and her talent. It’s such a contrast. “Well, how can I think it’s gross when you’ve got so much passion for it? Spend your time here when you need to, I won’t judge you for practicing your talent.”
“Ah…r-right! I will then!” Her smile was almost blinding. She’s come so far, she’s managed to gain a smile despite all that’s happened, rather than lose one.
-Talent Labs Floor 1 (Ultimate Living Doll)-
I entered the room with the pink door. I found a large plastic box in the back of the room, large enough for a human person to stand in. There was a table in the corner set up for a tea party and an old gramophone in another corner. A desk with many textbooks and various other things that didn’t seem to match up.
“Ah, Nagata-kun…” I looked over to see Asano-san standing in front of the box. A solemn expression on her face, “it seems this lab was developed for me. This box resembles the one my parents would make me stand in during my display days.”
“I…I see…” Right…all this time I forgot, Asano-san’s talent and what she went through to get it. The items around the room make more sense now though, her parents forced her to learn literature, music, and etiquette. “I mean, this doesn’t seem so bad. You have a nice library of books as well as somewhere to relax and play music-“
“Please do not try to make me feel better.” Asano-san said, hugging herself, “it’s such a depressing sight now that I think about it. How much of my youth was spent inside that box, I wonder…? Now Monokuma would choose to put the box here as well…?”
“A-Asano-san…”
“I…I am more than a box, Nagata-kun. I wish to prove that to the world. That the Ultimate Living Doll is more than just forced surgeries! I am capable, I tell you!” I could hear the fear in her voice. Was she this terrified of her own talent now?
“…of course, you are. You’ve always been more than your looks. I mean, you’ve always been helpful in class trials and you’re kind of like the voice of reason in the group. Even Okanaya-kun will listen to you.” I said.
“Y…yes, I suppose.”
“Plus, you don’t wait for permission for anything anymore. You’ve been making more and more of your own decisions. That’s proof enough that you’re more than your looks.”
“P-please, you are giving me too much credit.” She waved her hand to dismiss my comment, “I fear I still have a long way to go…so, please wait until I am able to be fully reliable.”
“Of course. That’s what friends are for.”
“Friends…yes.” She smiled fondly. I wonder is Asano-san has ever had friends before? Or listened to her own thoughts…this killing game, ironically enough, it’s made her much stronger.
“Ah, that reminds me. I tried going into the talent lab next to mine, however it was locked.”
“Locked?” I repeated.
“Indeed. Monokuma then appeared. He told me that the lab was prepared for the late Kibe-san. However, since she died before the building was opened, he saw no reason to keep it unlocked.” Asano-san explained.
“So…only the labs of those alive are unlocked.” I surmised. Asano-san firmly nodded. “It’s a shame. I would’ve liked to have seen the other talent labs. Maybe there could have been hints to our situation in them.”
“You think Monokuma would do such a thing?”
My mind went to the photo I found in the library during my investigation of the history building. There was definitely something strange, but I needed more information. “I think anything’s possible in this killing game…”
Asano-san nodded in agreement.
-Talent Labs Floor 2 (Ultimate Tour Guide)-
“HEEEEEEEEEEEELL YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” I stumbled as I walked into the room with a map of Tokyo painted onto it. Okanaya-kun was running around the room gazing, almost lovingly, at all these maps.
“O-Okanaya-kun…?!”
“Ah, Nagata, check it out! Look at the quality of these maps! They’re so fuckin’ detailed! They have ones for bus routes, landmarks, trainlines, it’s just so much info! This is great for expanding my knowledge and shit!”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you more excited.”
“How I not be?! And all these books about history of towns and landmarks are ones I’ve never read before! There might even be more info that I’ve never learned!” His eyes were lit up like stars as he spoke.
“I’m glad you’re happy. Feel like you deserve it after everything we’ve had to deal with thus far.”
“Yeah, I’m sure a lot of people’ll be happy with their talent labs. Finally, we’re all getting to do what we love after being forced into such a shitty situation, it’s no wonder I’m happy. Oi, Nagata! When we get outta here I wanna give you a tour sometime so stop the tour company I work for!”
“Sure, sounds like a good deal.” I nodded. Okanaya-kun started off abrasive and unapproachable, almost terrifying like a monster, but getting to know him…he’s got a lot of love in him for his friends. Sure, he’s hot-headed, but he’s not a malicious person. I…I want to escape with Okanaya-kun.
-Talent Labs Floor 2 (Ultimate Explorer)-
I was about to head into an unpainted door when Kurosaki-san suddenly exited. I bumped into him as he swiftly locked the door to his lab before he looked back and smiled at me. “Ah~ no peeking!” He said.
“Peeking?”
“Sorry, sorry. The stuff in my lab is rather delicate. Many artefacts and such. I don’t want to risk anything getting damaged, so I’d prefer to keep my research lab off-limits for everyone. You understand, right?”
“Not really. I’m sure everyone would be careful, but…if you’re that concerned about it…”
“Indeed, I am.” He confirmed. Kurosaki-san would never lie to me, right…? He’s hidden things, sure, but I don’t think he’s ever outright lied to me. But for some reason, this situation…why do I feel so uneasy about this lab?
Kurosaki-san, just what are you…?
-Talent Labs Floor 3 (Ultimate Blogger)-
The door this time had Wi-Fi bars painted on it which made it easy to guess I’d be walking into Yokozawa-san’s talent lab. There was a large multi-monitor computer setup in the room along with a shelf of various drinks and snacks and a refrigerator.
“So this is what was prepared for the Ultimate Blogger…” I wonder, this computer’s here then maybe-
“Don’t bother trying to search anything.” Yokozawa-san said.
“Gwah!” I jumped back. Somehow Yokozawa-san had managed to sneak up on me again just like in the storage room yesterday. Come to think of it, I almost missed him on day 1 and Watanabe-san said she didn’t see him when she and the group woke up before splitting off. “Y-Yokozawa-san…you surprised me.”
“I get that a lot.” He said.
“…right.” I forced myself to say something, so we weren’t left in awkward silence, “…ah, you mentioned about searching?”
“No Wi-Fi.” Was the answer I got. “Well…there’s Wi-Fi, but it’s password protected, and I couldn’t find the password anywhere. So, I can’t connect to the Wi-Fi. The only thing I can really do on that computer setup is write documents and play minesweeper.”
“Is that so? That’s a shame, I was hoping we might’ve found a way to alert the outside world.”
“Same here. Imagine my disappointment. The one time my talent might’ve been useful, and I can’t do anything. I’ll try a few passwords out and see if anything sticks, but I can’t promise anything. Password could literally be anything.” He shoved one hand in his pocket and fiddled with his hood with his other hand.
“Well…if anyone can figure it’ll be you, right?”
“I guess.” He shrugged.
“Yokozawa-san?”
“I just wanna be useful, is all. This might be my only chance, so I don’t want to fuck this up. Leave it to me and I’ll figure it out, but…I can’t promise anything.” Yokozawa-san walked away and sat at the computer.
Junpei Yokozawa…a massive online presence, ironically has no presence in real life to the point he’s almost invisible. But if it weren’t for him, we might have not solved Shinko-san’s murder. He’s intelligent but clearly wary of everyone and refuses to allow himself to get close to people. Graves-san seems to have taken a shine to him but it doesn’t seem like the feeling is mutual…but if anyone could help us find information on our situation, it’ll be him…
-Talent Labs Floor 3 (Ultimate Romance Expert)-
“It’s…not too flashy, is it?” Kurohiko-san commented as he looked around the purple walled room with the red carpet. “A little gaudy, if I’m honest. And this divider in the middle…is it supposed to be for blind dates? How will that help me develop my talent?”
“I’m not too sure.” I admitted. Romance is a difficult talent, I think.
“Ah.” He opened up a drawer filled with sheets of paper, “this is more like it! Dating profiles! Now these would help develop my talent! Maybe I should get everybody to fill these out, it could be fun. What do you think?”
“Should we really be thinking about our love lives when we’re in this situation?”
“Of course we should! Lord knows we need a little positivity in here and love is about the most positive force in the world!” He flashed a ‘pretty boy’ smile that I hadn’t ever previously seen before. I think it’s easy to forget how much of a people person Kurohiko-san actually is despite all his…clumsiness.
“I guess I understand that perspective, but I doubt many others would see it that way.”
“Probably not, but…at this point anything’s possible, don’t you think? Love can bloom in the strangest of places!”
I tilted my head a little, “I suppose?”
Kurohiko-san stared at me, “Ah, geez…you’re really dense then, aren’t you? Nothing I can do about that until you realise it yourself though. I’ll support you when you figure it out.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a thumbs up.
I…honestly still don’t get Kurohiko-san. When I first met him, he was a complete disaster but now he rambles much less and seems to have a better hold over his thoughts and feelings. Is he reliable? I’m still not entirely sure, plus I still have trouble figuring out what he’s talking about half the time. What am I supposed to be realising?
-Talent Labs Floor 3 (Ultimate Assassin)-
I entered the room painted to look like door is dripping down from top of the doorframe to find a wall covered in different types of knives, swords, and guns. Horrifying, to say the least, when you’re in a killing game.
“Don’t worry, I took out all of the ammo.” Sly-san assured me.
“O-oh, good.” Can he read me that easily?
“You always barge into other people’s rooms unannounced?” He questioned.
“H-huh? Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to-“
“It was a joke. Hah.”
“O…oh…” There was a phrase of awkward silence.
“Why do you always stand like that?” Sly-san asked as he examined one of the firearms on the wall. “Y’know…like you’re apologising for existing? I thought you just needed time to warm up to everyone, but you do it even when you don’t realise I’m around.”
“I do that…? Wait, what do you mean when I ‘don’t realise you’re around’?”
“Constantly, and yet as soon as we step into a class trial, all of that nervousness disappears. Weird.” He put the gun back onto the wall and turns to look at me, slight suspicion in his eyes, “tell me something, Nagata. How does someone so timid become the lead in such dire circumstances?”
“Are you suspicious of me?”
“The fact you didn’t answer my question makes you look even more suspicious.” His hand reached into his hoodie.
“S-seriously, what’s up with you?! I don’t know why! I don’t even realise I’m doing that, okay?”
Sly-san stared at me, his hand lowered from his hoodie. “I suppose that could be true. Out of everyone here, you’re the second-least likely mastermind. Only beaten by Kirishima who I put as 10th- bottom of the list.”
“You have theories on who the mastermind is?”
“Obviously. Everybody should. Top of the list is Kurosaki, obviously. It’s way too suspicious for him to just know everything there is to know about this killing game and the crimes committed during it. It’s hard to not be suspicious of him.”
“I suppose…” I murmured. Kurosaki-san was definitely suspicious, but being the mastermind…? I don’t know, ”Wait, you said 10th for Kirishima? You include yourself on that list?”
“It’s possible I’m an unaware culprit. We don’t even remember how we all got here, who knows what else we might be unaware of.”
“I didn’t think of that? You really think the mastermind would do something like that…? Plus, the mastermind being one of us…? Wouldn’t that be risky for the mastermind? What’s the goal in taking part in the game?”
“Exactly that: taking suspicion away. Understand? No sane person would willing take part in a killing game they set up, therefore, we have to consider they’re not a sane person. Don’t know about you, but that just makes Kurosaki even more suspicious.”
Sly-san’s so calculating and level-headed. I’m still scared of him, admittedly, but he’s definitely one of the most reliable people here. However, we still don’t know anything about Sly-san. Someone so quiet about himself but also so intimidating…what am I supposed to think? Or act? He even considered me for being the mastermind. He considered himself as being the mastermind…
-Talent Labs Floor 4 (Ultimate Lucky Student)-
I walked into a room with a lucky cat painted on the front. Before I even stepped in, I was sure this was going to be my talent lab, and upon entering my suspicions were…not entirely cleared up. I found a small garden in the centre of the room filled with clovers. The wall was lined with items that were typically thought to increase luck. Horseshoes, a rabbit’s foot, pennies.
Was this really supposed to help me develop my talent? Then again, how else would you develop Ultimate luck?
“Whooooa! This shit’s awesome!” I jumped when Okanaya-kun’s voice suddenly came from the doorway behind me, “Nagata, you’re research lab is really cool!”
“C-cool? I don’t see how.”
“Well, your luck is supposed to affect people around you, right? So…it looks like this stuff is supposed to be used to see if lucky items can make you a better lucky charm. Ain’t it cool if you look at like that? You could be even better for us!”
“Ah! You’re right, that does make sense! Maybe if I start carrying around more stuff like this in my pockets, everyone will be blessed with some better fortune. In this situation, we’ll need as much luck as possible…hmm, looking at this stuff, only a rabbit’s foot is lucky to carry around on my person, huh?”
“Well, maybe we can do something about that!” Okanaya-kun walked over to the clovers and began gently sifting through them, what’s he up to? He suddenly stood up straight with a bright smile spread across his face, “Bingo!” His hands started to move methodically crafting something delicately at his fingertips.
“What are you…?”
“Here! Hold your hand out!” He extended one hand to me. I hesitated for a moment before giving him my hand. His other hand came from behind him and slipped something onto my index finger. A four-leaf clover ring tied together with stems. “There! You could make a bunch of these and it makes you, like, infinitely luckier!”
“O…Okanaya-kun, thank you.” I stared at the ring not entirely sure how I was supposed to respond to the gesture. “A…although…isn’t it only the person that finds the four-leaf clover that the luck works on?”
“Ah?! Really?!” Okanaya-kun tapped out a rhythm with his foot and hummed along with the beat, “then…you better stick close! If that clover’ll only work on me, then you’ll just have to be my lucky charm!”
“St-stick close, huh…?” Geez, he says such embarrassing things so easily, ”Then, if you’ll put up with me…”
“Hah! Good to have you around!”
-Talent Labs Floor 4 (Ultimate Secret Agent)-
I walked into the final unlocked lab. By process of elimination, this has to belong to Graves-san…I wonder what I’ll find in here? I go to open the door but the handle just rattles. Huh? Is it locked? I thought Monokuma opened the labs of everybody who was still alive…right?
“Yikes, my dude! I go to the bathroom and find you trying to break into my talent lab!” Graves-san laughed heartily at me as she approached her talent door. She placed her hand on the wall next to her lab, a beep played which revealed a security pad. She typed in a number I couldn’t see at the current angle and the door clicked to signify it had unlocked. Graves-san turned to me, “wanna see?”
“U-um…if you don’t mind.”
“Sure! Let’s go!” She was back to her cheery self. Even so, after last night after the trial…I followed her into the talent lab, however…
“Huh? There’s nothing in here!” I exclaimed when I was greeted with a bare white-tiled room.
“Oh, right! Everything’s here, it’s just hidden behind passcodes and ocular scanners and stuff like that. Pretty much only I’m able to access the stuff in this lab, pretty suitable for the Ultimate Secret Agent, right?! I’m uber excited to see if there are any secrets to discover about my lab!” Her eyes sparkled.
“I see…well, if any labs were gonna hold secrets it would be either yours or Kurosaki-san’s.”
“Riiiiight~ Yuuki is definitely hiding something from all of us! I’m gonna try and figure it out very quickly! I wonder if anyone knows anything about it? Maybe Sly does?”
“I suppose they hang around together a lot, though…I don’t even think Sly-san like Kurosaki-san…”
“Business relationship, duh.” Graves-san shrugged. “Once I expose him, everything will be revealed…I’m sure of it. Everything will finally make sense.” She spoke with a kind of determination I hadn’t heard from her before.
Graves-san…I’m so uncertain of her. I don’t know how she feels about me, and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about her. She’s been explicit with how she feels fine about killing to escape to the point that I worry for everyone’s safety, and yet…she seems focused on uncovering the secrets of the killing game at the same time.
What is you aim? Who are you really, Graves-san?
-Chapter 4 Daily Life, Reporting-
All of us, bar Graves-san reassembled back in the dining hall to discuss what we had all found. The nine of us sat around the large centre table looking at each other with rather blank expressions, “I mean…if there even much to talk about this time around…? We all got to explore our individual talent research labs. That’s all the building had to offer, right?” Kurohiko-san said.
“Kurohiko-kun is correct. I failed to find anything of value there.” Asano-san agreed.
“Not to mention all the labs of those who passed away are locked up. We can’t explore then even if we wanted to.” Yokozawa-san said.
“Monokuma confirmed as much. I tried to pick the locks but Monokuma said he made them unpickable, even by me.” Amaterasu-san added.
“Well, if we explored all the research labs then I guess there’s nothing to be done!” Kurosaki-san shrugged.
“Not all of them. Kurosaki…you didn’t let anybody into your research lab. What’s in there?” Sly-san asked.
“Nothing interesting, but it’s stuff for the Ultimate Explorer so it’s a little dangerous. I’m keeping it locked so that nobody gets hurt or anything.”
“Locked? Your room locked…?” Sly-san cocked an eyebrow, “my lab doesn’t lock.”
“Oh? How odd. My lab came with a lock.” Kurosaki-san murmured.
“So did Graves-san…well, not so much a lock as it was a security system. Something about it being part of her talent getting developed.” I said.
“Eh?! You ran into Graves?!” Okanaya-kun exclaimed, “sh-she didn’t do anything, right?! You’d tell us if she hurt you, yeah?!”
“Okanaya-kun, Nagata-kun’s clearly okay. Let’s not doubt Graves-san so much…” Kirishima-san said.
“Don’t doubt her?! Did you forget how she was actin’ after the class trial? How she’s been acting since the class trial before that?!”
“O-Okanaya-san, you shouldn’t yell like that at girls…” Kurohiko-san tried to reason. “I’m in agreement. Graves-san is probably just as scared as the rest of us, she’s just not handling it in the same manner.”
“She seemed chipper when I saw her.” I said.
“Probably because she realises how terrible you’d be if you tried to murder someone.” Amaterasu-san said.
“A-ah…probably.” I admitted. Yeah, Graves-san knows who a threat to her safety could be. This whole thing might be her becoming overly cautious. Although it’s hard to totally determine what it could be with her…
“Well…if there’s nothing else to discuss, then I suppose we’re done for the day, huh? This was the shortest meeting we’ve ever had.” Sly-san said.
“Yep. Well, later.” Amaterasu-san gave a half-ass wave before promptly exiting the room.
“S’up with her?” Okanaya-kun asked.
“Not sure. She’s been kinda weird the past few days. I’ve asked her about it, but she just keeps saying she’s been wanting to spend time by herself. Obviously, it’s something more than that.” Kurohiko-san said.
“Weird for Amaterasu to be so secretive…” Okanaya-kun frowned.
“No, I disagree. Although myself and Kurohiko-kun are fairly close with Amaterasu-san, we don’t know anything about her past her name and talent.” Asano-san said.
“She’s flew under the radar. Though that’s probably how someone like her prefers it, being the Ultimate Thief.” Kurosaki-san smirked.
“You’re probably right. I just kinda wish she’d open up even a little…” Kurohiko-san shrugged.
-Chapter 4 Daily Life, No Air-
The next morning, we had all been called into the gym for Monokuma’s next motive announcement. When we all arrived Monokuma was standing in the middle of the room, idly playing miniature golf, wearing a visor and carefully aiming. He hit the golf ball with far too much force sending it across the room, imbedding itself into the wall.
“WAAAAAH!!” Kurohiko-san cried out, clutching to Asano-san’s arm, “t-talk about unnecessary force!”
“Yeah, I’d say that’s a hole-in-one.” Monokuma shrugged, throwing away the visor and golf club. “Anyway, how’re we all doing? Feeling kill-y or what?”
“Do you actually want an answer?” Yokozawa-san clicked his tongue at Monokuma.
“…who are you again?”
“Bastard…” Yokozawa-san spat back.
“Careful now! It would be bad if you used up all the air in here!” Monokuma giggled.
“What?” Yokozawa-san raised an eyebrow.
“I suppose I had to give you a heads up on this motive otherwise you might all end up dead before you even realise what’s going on. Alrighty, better start learning to conserve your oxygen cause this motive is oxygen deprivation!”
“Oxygen…deprivation?” Kirishima-san repeated.
“Yeppers! Every day I’m gonna decrease the oxygen level in this killing game area by 1%, so yesterday the oxygen level was the usual level at around 21% and today its been lowered to 20%!” Monokuma explained.
“What the hell?! Ain’t that the sky above us outside?! How you supposed to decrease the oxygen levels?” Okanaya-kun questioned.
“Huh? Oh, I guess I never mentioned it until now but there’s actually a layer of glass covering the top of this place. So, actually, you’re totally trapped inside here! Up until now there have been air regulators on the sides of the buildings which have been keeping the air breathable, but from now on I’ll be decreasing the levels. The only way to stop it is…you guessed it! Kill someone!” Monokuma cackled as he disappeared behind the podium.
“Shit…” Kurosaki-san cursed under his breath, “he’s become so desperate to basically give us a time limit like this…? Sadistic bastard.”
“He’s…gonna suffocate us…?” Kirishima-san trembled.
“Worse than that…” Sly-san shook his head. “Gradually decreasing the oxygen levels won’t let you die so nicely like that. It’s much slower, dangerous.”
“At 20% it’s fine, really. Places like Salt Lake City have an oxygen concentration of 17.9%. Getting lower is when it becomes a problem. I know a decent amount about this cause I’ve climbed the odd mountain or two during my explorations. At around 15%, you can experience a bunch of different symptoms, usually nausea and dizziness. Possibly confusion if you develop High Altitude Cerebral Edema, or HACE. Further drops in oxygen levels can cause cyanosis or respiratory distress which can lead to fainting and such.” Kurosaki-san explained.
“Wh-what the fuck…so that shit’s gonna happen to us?!” Okanaya-kun paled.
“That’s not all to worry about…” Graves-san continued, “we clearly don’t have the resources to treat any symptoms should they start to develop. So, trying to do a class trial when we’re all super loopy…? No chance we’d pass.”
“So, waiting until the oxygen levels are low is a viable option for someone if they wanna get out.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Amaterasu-san…!” Kurohiko-san turned to her.
“It is.” Amaterasu-san shrugged, “although probably means they couldn’t kill anyone efficiently at that point.”
“She’s got a point. Really, if a murder doesn’t occur before we hit 16% then one won’t happen at all, if I had to guess.” Asano-san theorised. “This is…a test of time. Either all of us die or one of us kills.”
“Would Monokuma really do that though?! To just…end the killing game in a way like that?!” Yokozawa-san questioned.
“Our lives are just playthings to him. Doesn’t matter how we die.” Graves-san answered.
“Nagata, you good?” Okanaya-kun placed a hand on my shoulder. I had been hearing what everyone was saying, but I was having trouble reacting. It’s really came down to this? Monokuma’s just gonna put a time limit on our lives and see if that kills us? No way, that can’t happen…right? I don’t wanna die like that…
“S-sorry, it’s just…a freaky thing to think about…” I murmured, rubbing the back of my neck. “What the hell are we supposed to do about something like this? Is there even a way out…?”
“N-Nagata-kun?”
“Ah! S-sorry, Kirishima-san. I didn’t mean to sound pessimistic, it’s just…”
“I understand…b-but I’m sure there’s a solution! We just have to find it! We still have a few days before any effects settle in, right? Then let’s use our time wisely and try to escape before then!” Kirishima-san seemed pumped up.
“Good luck with that.” Amaterasu-san nodded before heading to the door.
“W-wait, Amaterasu-san, where are you going?!” Kurohiko-san called out.
Amaterasu-san turned back and stared at Kurohiko-san. Suddenly she struck a dramatic pose and simply said, “it’s a secret” before promptly leaving like yesterday.
“Seriously, what is up with her? It’s getting annoying…” Yokozawa-san complained, though looking rather thoughtful, “ah…I gotta try and occupy myself while I think stuff over. I’m gonna go to my research lab if anyone needs me.” He pulled his hood over his head and left the room.
“Yokozawa-kun…Amaterasu-san…we need to work…together…” Kirishima-san twiddled her thumbs as she tried to keep her enthusiasm.
“Then the rest of us’ll work on finding an escape route. Nothing much else we can hope to do. Plus, with our numbers we can pair off and search like that.” Sly-san suggested.
“Nah, no point in that. If we pair up, we’ll end up covering less ground. It’s better for us to split up.” Okanaya-kun said.
“I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’m in agreement with Herr Okanaya. It’ll better our chances of finding an exit if we all investigate separately.” Kurosaki-san seconded. Sly-san stared at Kurosaki-san with a confused expression.
“…fine then. We’ll do that.” Sly-san conceded. “We can’t afford to waste the rest of the day, so let’s hurry up. Split up everyone, we’ve got an exit to uncover.”
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Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies ~Post-Trial~
//And the end of chapter 3 is finally upon us! I hope you all enjoy I’ll start working on chapter 4 immediately, hope you all enjoy!
“Wowee! Three for three! You got it right once again, the one who punched a bunch of holes in Toson Shinko was none other than the Ultimate Thanatologist, Tsukiko Ishikawa!” Monokuma announced.
“Please refrain from describing it in such a grotesque way.” Ishikawa-san said.
Sly-san looked at Kurosaki-san, “You were right, huh? What the hell?”
“What can I say? It’s just what happens.” Kurosaki-san shrugged nonchalantly. Whatever happened with Kurosaki-san’s plan is definitely suspicious, but for now…
“I…just can’t really believe it…Ishikawa-san’s always been such a big help during the investigations and has helped everyone by supporting them, so…I don’t understand why. Why, of all people, did you end up killing someone?” Kurohiko-san asked.
“The motive, obviously. Tsukiko-chan must have had a list of really important people in her life that she couldn’t afford to pick any of them.” Amaterasu-san said.
“…I’m afraid that’s not my reasoning at all.” She admitted.
“Huh?” Amaterasu-san cocked an eyebrow. Ishikawa-san’s shoulders slumped as she took a breath.
“I’m afraid I did not have much time left with all of you. My body was destined to give out on me soon during our imprisonment here.” She said.
“Wh…what the hell does that mean?” Okanaya-kun asked.
“I am a corpse. My body is decaying. I am slowly returning to my eternal slumber. Why, only a few days ago, I found my hair falling out in clumps during a shower. I fear that if I stepped back into water, I would waste away…”
“Now that I think about it, I suggested we all go to the pool after the motive reveal, but you seemed really against that idea…was that because…?”
“I’m sorry, Kirishima-sama. I did not mean to hurt your feelings but snapping at you back then. At this point it matters not. My body shall be thrown away no matter what happens from here on. What a dreadfully awful result I’ve ended up in.” Ishikawa-san laughed to herself.
“Why Herr Shinko…?” Kurosaki-san asked. Ishikawa-san stopped laughing almost immediately, “for all the time I sat and thought, I couldn’t come up with a reason as to why you decided he should die. I know you two didn’t get along, but was that really enough for someone like you…?”
Ishikawa-san’s expression turning thoughtful for a moment before answering. “Shinko-sama was not…respectable. Unlike the rest of our group, Shinko-sama refused to ever reveal who he was to us. I loathe ingenuine people. If it were to be anyone, it would have to have been him. Life is a sacred thing, you see. Everyone in this room values life and lives their lives as well as they can. As someone who was lucky enough to be given a second chance, anyone who has no care for life infuriates me.”
“I don’t get what you mean at all.” Kurohiko-san admitted.
“Shinko-sama had no value for his life. Or anyone else’s. It was not a thing of importance in his eyes, that is what I mean to say.” Ishikawa-san clarified.
“No, on a fundamental level I can get what you’re saying, but…I refuse to believe Shinko-kun was like that. Sure, he was abrasive and rude and a little selfish, but to suggest he had no care for his or anyone’s lives?! Isn’t that going too far?!”
“Did any of us really know him though?” Graves-san suddenly spoke, “I mean…put your hand up if you would have said you and Toson were close.” Nobody moved, “so, none of us can really say Tsukiko is wrong about him. For all we know, he could have been selfish enough to not value our lives. Maybe he was getting ready to kill while he was hiding in his room all that time.”
“There was no evidence of such a thing.” Asano-san argued.
“So? You need hard evidence? What if he was calculating enough to do it all in his head? He’s a director, after all, it could have played out in his head like a movie.”
“Graves-san…!” Asano-san’s fists balled up.
“To think…it wasn’t even Monokuma’s motive that got you to kill someone. It’s so stupid, I could cry out of pity.” Graves-san laughed a little. What the hell? I’d never seen this side of her before. “Hey, Tsukiko…I’ve got to wonder about you and your little ‘zombie’ theory.”
“I am not a zombie.” Ishikawa-san said.
“Yeah, I know. Let me ask though, what do you think will happen to you next…? I mean, you already see yourself as dead. Don’t you? So, what does an execution mean for a walking corpse?”
“Well, it means…that is…” Ishikawa-san stopped and frowned.
“I mean, if you’re a conscious dead person, does that mean even if Monokuma crushes your body into paste, you’ll still be conscious? What are the rules for someone that’s been reanimated? Tell me. Tell me, please.”
“Stop this, please.” Ishikawa-san shifted uncomfortably.
“Tell me tell me tellmetellmetellme-“
“STOP!!” Ishikawa-san suddenly shouted, “I…d-don’t you understand?! That’s why I had to get out! We…we don’t know how long we have been trapped in here, but I didn’t think much about that at the start! Th-then…my hair started falling out, it felt like my skin was becoming thin, like if I rubbed it, it would tear apart…it could only have been a matter of time before I was left as nothing, and then what would happen to my body?! I…I couldn’t waste away in here!”
“Ah…hey, Nagata. Remember what Kirishima’s first motive said? The thing about the 8 days ending today? You don’t think…?”
“It was your card, Ishikawa-san. Kirishima-san’s card was a time limit for how long you thought you had left before your body would waste away into nothing.” I concluded.
“…so, that was my first motive…? My unfinished business? I didn’t even think of it. I just…wished to see the outside world one last time before my final departure…” Ishikawa-san clasped her hands together, a tear falling from one of her eyes.
“I see, I see…well, even corpses gotta get their comeuppance, right?! Just cause you’re dead, doesn’t mean you’re exempt from consequences!” Monokuma suddenly chimed in.
“It can’t be time already?!” Ishikawa-san gasped.
“Now, let’s get to the main event! I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Thanatologist, Tsukiko Ishikawa!”
She took a breath to calm herself. An expression of acceptance appearing on her face. “…I do hope to pass on properly this time, I suppose. Please do not allow me to linger or revive again, I do not deserve another chance.” Ishikawa-san sighed, bringing her hands close to her chest, “I’ll offer up a final prayer. For Shinko-sama’s soul…and hopefully my own.”
“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiit’s PUNISHMENT TIME!!!”
“…Memento Mori…”
-Game Over-
-Tsukiko Ishikawa has been found Guilty!-
-Commencing Execution-
The monitor turned on after Ishikawa-san had been dragged away in the same manner Kibe-san and Hachi-san had been and displayed Ishikawa-san laying down in a black coffin holding a bouquet of white flowers. A headstone sitting right behind the coffin.
-Tsukiko Ishikawa's execution: Black Thread Hell-
Monokuma appears next to the open casket with a black marker and proceeds to wildly scribble black lines across Ishikawa-san’s body, arms, and legs, along with a moustache and glasses on her face, before slamming it shut. From inside the coffin a large rumbling noise can be heard, Ishikawa-san waits until the rumbling dies down before trying to move. She wipes away the marker on her face and opens up the coffin, only to find herself in a hell-like place with huge jagged mountains and trees.
As she looks around, a huge Asura-looking creature approaches her from behind, armed with swords and axes. She climbs out and runs, with the Asura swinging at her, but always seeming to miss. She runs through black trees and thorn bushes, and jumps a jagged rock, where it looks like she's safe. However, as she takes a step forward, she realizes her leg is bleeding along one of the black lines. As she reaches down to examine it, one of her fingers fall off.
In a moment of confusion, terror and elation, Tsukiko looks down to see blood seeping out of all the lines. Her left hand drops off at the wrist, then her right arm midway down, then all of it above the elbow. As she tries to take another step forward, her lower leg drops off at the knee. She collapses into a pile of meat slices, organs, and blood.
-
“Uuuu….urrrgg…bleugh!” Kirishima-san collapsed in the corner; the sound of her vomiting made my stomach turn. Ishikawa-san…there’s no way she deserved to go so brutally. Kibe-san and Hachi-san weren’t exactly executed tamely, but this felt on a whole other level…
“G-good god…” Yokozawa-san covered his mouth, his face earning a green tint. It seems most of us were feeling the same way. This was too much.
“Monokuma. What the hell was that? Even for you, that seemed graphic.” Sly-san demanded.
“Hmm? I dunno what you mean. If anything, I think it’s pretty in-line with what she did to Shinko, don’t you? I mean, those other two just stabbed and bashed but this girl threw him in an iron maiden! That’s some real crazy stuff there! It’s only fitting an execution be just as horrifying as the murder, right?!”
“This really is just a joke to you, isn’t it?!” Okanaya-kun spat.
“No way. I’m taking this seriously. I’m taking this more seriously than anyone else.” Monokuma said.
“Eheheh…hahahah…” Graves-san covered her mouth trying to laugh, “geez. This really is a far cry from Maemi getting stabbed in the back- literally. Now people are getting sliced into piles of mush, piece by piece…I don’t wanna end up like that. I don’t wanna end up like that at all.”
“Graves-san…”
“Ah, Junpei, don’t worry. I won’t kill you. You and I are friends! You’re pretty much the only person I have a little trust left in at this point. Even then it’s thin. Saori showed us you can’t trust the quiet ones, Tomoe showed you can’t trust your friends, Tsukiko just showed you can’t even trust those who try to be helpful. Anyone could stab us in the back at any moment.” Graves-san smirked. “Scaaaaary.”
“This is an unexpected change in your behaviour. Is this your survival instincts kicking in, I wonder?” Kurosaki-san said.
“Ah, who know? If anything, you’re the one I trust the least. What was it Sly was saying earlier about you, huh? That you just seemed to know things…what was that all about? Are you some secret psychic?” Graves-san got closer to Kurosaki-san until they were staring at each other, faces inches apart. “I wanna learn all your secrets. Will you give me the chance?”
“Knock yourself out. But I’d rather die than let you learn anything about me.” Kurosaki-san smiled.
“Careful what you wish for~” Graves-san half-cheered, “Ah! But I’m suuuuper tired! Hey, Monokuma is it okay to leave now that the execution is done? I gotta get some serious Z’s for tomorrow! I wonder what’ll happen?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. You guys are dismissed. I gotta go find a mop and bucket.” Monokuma waved goodbye as he headed down the hall to the execution room.
“Oh, Junpei! We gotta grab breakfast tomorrow so I’ll meet with you a little after the morning announcement. Cool?”
“Y-yeah…cool.” Yokozawa-san nodded nervously. Graves-san flashed a bright, almost innocent smile and skipped to the elevator, taking the ride back up alone.
“She’s dangerous.” Amaterasu-san said almost immediately.
“Hey now…” Yokozawa-san tried.
“W-we should tie her up, just in case! I’m worried about her after she said all that. Should we even trust somebody that’s got a talent like Ultimate Secret Agent…? She’s definitely gonna be able to kill without hesitation.” Kurohiko-san said.
“You’re saying that as if the Ultimate Assassin isn’t in the room.” Yokozawa-san argued.
“You ever seen Sly genuinely threaten someone so happily like that?! That bitch is off her fuckin’ nut!” Okanaya-kun shot back.
“Shut up! You were the one that threatened everybody in the early days, and now you have the nerve to judge someone else?! None of you even know her! She’s probably just as scared as everybody else but you just wanna all focus your own fear on an easy target!” Yokozawa-san snapped.
“H-hey now…”
“You’re the worst for it, Nagata-kun. Y-you…you never do anything to help out, but as soon as a murder happens, you’re some big hero?! Don’t screw with me! Why…why do you get to be a hero when you don’t even have a talent…?”
“The fuck’re you talkin’ about?! Nagata’s the Ultimate Lucky Student!” Okanaya-kun argued.
“He doesn’t seem very lucky to me. Then again, didn’t you say your talent affects the people around you…? So, answer me this then. Why the fuck are we all stuck in here if you’re so goddamn lucky? Why have we had to watch people die over and over and over again if you’re supposed to bring us all good fortune…?” Yokozawa-san’s hands were balled up into trembling fists. “I…w-wanna go home already…! Just let me go home now…!”
“I…I don’t know…I don’t know why this keeps happening.” I admitted. He’s right. What good is my talent if we’re in this situation. How can I even call myself the Ultimate Lucky Student?
“Of course you don’t. God, if you died at least the situation would make a little more sense-“
WHAP!
We all stood stunned. Yokozawa-san stumbled back, holding onto his cheek where Kirishima-san had hit. Her eyes were welling up, her hand, the palm slightly red, was shaking so violently she had to hold it with her other hand.
“Don’t say that, please…we shouldn’t be fighting like this…not after what just happened.” She pleaded. “It’s not Nagata-kun’s fault…it’s not Graves-san’s fault. It’s nobody’s fault except Monokuma’s! So we shouldn’t be standing here trying to pin the blame on anybody.”
“R-Ram-san…”
“It’s Kirishima.” She corrected, wiping the traces of tears. “Yokozawa-kun, please keep an eye on Graves-san for us. You’re the only one she’ll trust right now. We need to get our group back together. We need teamwork.”
“She is right. The fighting and blaming will not improve our situation.” Asano-san agreed. “So…let us reconvene tomorrow, yes? There will most likely be a new building for us to search, so it will be the opportune time for us to rebuild our relationships. Even if it must be from scratch.”
“Yeah…that’s fine.” I said, glancing at Yokozawa-san. He was refusing to even look in my direction. I’ll need to try and talk to him tomorrow.
“Then…let us head back.” Asano-san said.
-Chapter 2, Post Trial, Ryuu-
I sat laid there and stared at my ceiling, going over Yokozawa-san’s words in my mind. I never thought about it now. Everyone without fail had been blessed by good luck when I was around them, so why not now…? Why was this the moment my talent was deciding to fail me? Can talents just stop?
“Is something wrong with me?” I wondered aloud, sitting up in my bed. I didn’t feel any different. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the motive card. My motive. I just figured Monokuma would come and collect them himself after the motive was over, but I guess not. I shook my head, taking the motive card and throwing it in the trash.
I never had to think of this awful motive again. I don’t have to think about what would’ve happened if Shinko-san wasn’t killed. Shinko-san was killed, so everyone on that card was safe.
“Oh god…” I internally gasped, “why am I thinking like that…?” This game has really taken its toll. Or maybe… “Am I a bad person…?”
-Chapter 2, Post Trial, Yuuki-
“Ah…this is frustrating. I figured someone would break by this point, but for it to be Mademoiselle Graves is really…problematic.” Yuuki said. Sly tapped his foot annoyedly waiting for Yuuki to finish lamenting the situation. With a defeated huff, Yuuki crossed his arms and mimicked Sly’s standing position, slightly mockingly.
“You said you would tell me the truth if I helped you out. Now, are you going to go through with that promise or not?” Sly asked.
“You’re so impatient. You have no respect for suspense, or perhaps you just really hate spending time with me.”
“Do you want me to answer that?”
“Mean!” Yuuki pointed overdramatically. “If you’re gonna be so mean, I’ll never reveal anything to you!”
“Oi…” Sly warned, a hand in his pocket.
“Oh please, I know all you have is that dog tag.”
“Then I’ll beat you up with my fists.” Sly cracked his knuckles, edging towards Yuuki.
“Fine, fine.” Yuuki lifted up his shirt and pulled out a small journal with a leather cover that was tucked away on his waistline. “…I hope you realise the risks you’re taking by getting yourself involved with this.”
“I am. You said we can end the killing game if we work together.”
“Yes, that’s still my hypothesis. If you’re completely sure, then go ahead and read this journal. Read how the rest of this killing game goes…” Yuuki presented Sly with the journal.
And Sly took it.
-Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies END-
-10 Students Remain-
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Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies ~Trial~
//Sorry for the long wait, but this is by far the longest chapter so far. It might be a little confusing but I think it starts to make sense in the latter part of the trial?? Sorry, this was the one case I really didn’t have the clearest plan of what I was doing.
//Hopefully you all still enjoy!
Bold = blue statements
Bold and italics = yellow statements
“Now! Let’s begin with a simple explanation of the class trial! You’re votes will determine the outcome of this, you will debate on a variety of topics regarding the murder and then try to identify ‘whodunit’. If you can correctly guess the culprit, then the culprit alone will be punished…but if you guess the wrong one. I’ll punish everyone besides the culprit! Hmm…the victim this time was a pretty big hotshot, huh? Pretty sad we lost such a big celeb. Our ratings are gonna go down for sure.”
“Doubtful.” Sly-san said.
“Indeed. I doubt Shinko-sama was the popular type.” Ishikawa-san said.
“Geez, so much for having respect for the dead.” Kurohiko-san frowned, “Uh…I’m gonna be honest. Even after investigating, I don’t really know what to think about all this. I feel like the more I learned, the more confused I got.”
“So, it wasn’t just me then.” Asano-san sighed. “Despite my best efforts, my evidence doesn’t add to anything…”
“Then…let’s discuss…the location? Just to get the discussion going.” Ishikawa-san suggested. “It’s a mystery as to why the murder occurred in the history building. Shinko-sama was locking himself up in his room, so how could the killer manage to get him to the building?”
…Shinko-san was careful. There was no way the killer could have easily lured him out…but then why was he at the history building…?
-Non-stop Debate (1)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets:
ElectroID Entrance/Tampered Card Reader
Crashing Noise/Silent Night
Blank Motive Card/Filled in Motive Card
Tsukiko: Shinko-sama kept himself locked up in his room and wouldn’t see anybody. So, pray tell, why was he in the history building?
Amaterasu: He probably just went by himself and got ambushed by the killer.
Karma: Oh! Oh! Maybe the killer ambushed Toson beforehand…then they could have dragged him there whilst he was unconscious!
Yuuki: I feel like there’s more problems with that situation. But, oh well.
Ryuu: (Let’s figure this out first…I’m sure there’s evidence to disprove one of these theories.)
No, that’s wrong!
-
“Graves-san, I don’t think Shinko-san was unconscious like you said he was. I got a copy of the card reader’s log and it said that on the night of the murder, Shinko-san used his handbook to enter the history building. So, he must have been conscious at that time…wait.” Why did I have this weird feeling?
“Nagata-sama? Is something wrong with that deduction? I saw nothing wrong with the logic.” Ishikawa-san said.
No…there is something wrong about that…is there not something else that might disprove that? “U-um…sorry, I might be wrong…I think? I dunno.”
“H-huh? Nagata-kun’s confused?” Kirishima-san frowned, “And right off the bat too…?”
Evidence that contradicts what I just said…?
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“Yokozawa-san, you remember that rag that was in the storage room…?”
“Yeah, you picked it up and nearly passed out, from the looks of it…ah! You think…?” Yokozawa-san’s eyes widened slowly.
“That rag might have been used to cause Shinko-san to pass out. After that, the killer could simply take his body all the way over to the history building. If the substance on that rag was something like chloroform or something similar…yeah, I think that makes sense-“
That doesn’t add up!
-
“Ah, contradictory evidence is waaay annoying! But I think its way more plausible that Shinko-san walked to the history building by himself. After all, that rag could’ve been planted later.” Kurohiko-san interjected.
“So, you’re taking that stance, huh…?” I’ll have to argue this. This theory seems a lot more plausible in my eyes, so I just need to show Kurohiko-san why.
-Rebuttal Showdown Vs. Doi Kurohiko-
Truth Blades:
Monokuma File 3
Window Frame
Crashing Noise
Drag Marks in the dirt
Loose Bar
Doi: No matter how I look at it, it makes way more sense for Shinko-san to have walked to the history building by himself. I can understand the idea behind him being ambushed in the storage room but transporting his body to the history building from there should have been impossible!
Ryuu: How could they be impossible? Isn’t that a little presumptuous?
Doi: Not at all! Shinko-san is a pretty in-shape guy. He would’ve been too heavy for anyone to carry all that distance. Plus the issue of the card reader still exists! It said Shinko-san entered, so it must have been Shinko-san! Not to mention that a rag by itself isn’t enough to convince anyone of a theory like that!
Ryuu: (Kurohiko-san has some good points…but there’s more evidence behind my theory!)
I’ll cut through that argument!
-
“No, it’s not just the rag that points to this happening! Just outside the dormitory building, right before the stone path up to the fountain, there are fresh drag marks in the dirt, as if something heavy was pulled through that spot.”
“Something heavy like Toson-chan, you mean.” Amaterasu-san clarified.
“Ah, really…? But…what about the card reader? It still said Shinko-san…” Kurohiko-san said.
“That’s pretty easily explained. Shinko most likely already had his ElectroID on his person when he went to the storage room. Once he’s knocked out, the killer can just use Shinko’s ElectroID on the card reader themselves.” Sly-san said.
“Wow, great deduction, Sly!” Graves-san cheered.
“Even then, I believe there is more evidence to prove that Shinko-kun did not leave for the history building that night. I can say that for certain after seeing what was in his room.” Asano-san said. Right…in his room was…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“There were some plates of untouched food in Shinko-san’s room. It’s likely that Shinko-kun was getting ready to eat but forgot something from the storage room. When he went back after placing the food in his room, he got ambushed by the killer.”
“I still have a few questions. You say that Shinko-sama was knocked out with chloroform? Where would the killer acquire such a thing? As far as I’m aware, there isn’t anywhere you could get such a substance.” Ishikawa-san said.
Somewhere you could get chloroform…? I think there might have been one place…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“In the history building, there are a number of different exhibits to check out. One of them is called ‘non-murdery murder tools’. Sly-san was telling me about that place and mentioned that it actually houses a number of different chemicals. It’s possible that chloroform is among those chemicals. In fact…knowing Monokuma, it’s almost definite.”
“Ah?! You’re gonna blame me?!” Monokuma covered his mouth in shock.
“He’s right though. I’ve been in that room before, and there was definitely bottles of chloroform in there. Even the chemicals needed to make it yourself if you’re a skilled enough chemist.” Amaterasu-san confirmed.
“The distance might still be an issue. Like, theoretically, I get it. However, getting from the dorms to the history building, and then all the way up to the third floor? And into the iron maiden? That’s gotta be exhausting for anybody.” Kurohiko-san said.
“So, the killer must have been a pretty strong person. Guess Yokozawa and Ram are out.” Sly-san said.
“E-eh!? I’m out that easily?!”
“Harsh.” Yokozawa-san said.
“With that in mind, I’ll just go ahead and say it…Kurosaki’s the killer.” Sly-san said.
“Aaaaand there it is.” Kurosaki-san shrugged to me as if to say ‘told ya!’.
“Y-you’re accusing Kurosaki-kun? On what grounds, exactly?” Asano-san questioned.
“He was in the history building on the night of the murder. I saw him there. It’s not too out of the question to think he’d be the murderer.”
“The records do show that Kurosaki-sama entered the history building that night, however, we already established that the killer ambushed Shinko-sama and dragged his body to the history building and used Shinko-sama’s ElectroID on the card reader.” Ishikawa-san pointed out.
“…what if Toson-chan woke up though?” Amaterasu-san suggested.
“With Shinko’s body type, the amount of chloroform might have not been enough to keep him unconscious the whole time. If he woke up part-way, he might have ran to the history building to take cover.” Sly-san said.
No…no there’s something wrong with that, and it clearly says it in this record.
-
My logic follows!
-
“That can’t be right though! In the records, it says that Kurosaki-san entered the history building before Shinko-san’s ElectroID was used.”
“That’s not really too much of a problem to deal with. If Yuuki-chan took Toson-chan’s ElectroID after he ambushed him in the storage room, when Toson-chan woke up, he could have just grabbed whichever ElectroID in a panic.” Amaterasu-san argued. Agh…that’s…true. There’s no way to say that that didn’t happen…
“Stop panicking, Nagata-kyun. I told you that my defence is in your hands.”
“Eh…? The fuck you sayin’ all of a sudden? Don’t go shoving shit onto Nagata.” Okanaya-kun said.
“No, it’s fine…” I really don’t think Kurosaki-san is the killer. I need to find a hole in Sly-san’s theory.
-Non-Stop Debate (2)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Window Frame/No Windows
Exhibit List/Unfinished Exhibits
ElectroID Entrance/Tampered Card Reader
Blood in the library/Shifted Bookshelves
Sly: I’ll say it clearly; Kurosaki is the killer. Not only was he strong enough to have carried Shinko’s body, but he was also in the history building that night.
Amaterasu: When it comes to the card reader…Toson-chan probably woke up…then he panicked when he realised the situation.
Sly: And when he panicked, he stole a random ElectroID off of Kurosaki and fled to the history building, hence the contradiction with the card reader records.
Rina: And if nobody else was in the building…
Sly: The killer had to have been Kurosaki.
Ryuu: (No…this is all wrong. Sly-san must know that I know, so why…?)
No, that’s wrong!
-
“Actually, there was one more person in the building at the same time the records logged Shinko-san and Kurosaki-san. Sly-san, you also went to the history building that night.”
“So? I already told you that I saw him there, didn’t I…? I saw Kurosaki enter the building.”
“That cannot be right.” Ishikawa-san said, “No…the records said that you entered in between Shinko-sama using Kurosaki-sama’s ElectroID, who was first, and the vice-versa being second.”
“Exactly. If you did see Kurosaki-san enter the history building, it would’ve been when Kurosaki-san’s ElectroID was logged as being used! That means, Shinko-san didn’t take his ElectroID!” What the hell…? Sly-san is being so quiet. It’s not like him to accuse anybody, especially when it’s so easily proven wrong…what gives?
“But…that means that both Kurosaki and Sly were in the building right before Shinko got murdered, right?” Okanaya-kun asked. “What gives with that? What were you two doing…?”
Both of them stayed quiet. Seriously, what is this bad feeling that I’m getting…? Like I’m gonna be sick…
“Could it be…an accomplice?” Ishikawa-san said.
“A-accomplice?” I repeated.
“Allow me to explain. Monokuma informed us on day one that accomplices couldn’t be acquitted of the murder and win the trial, only the person who did the actual killing can…however, with this case, it may have been possible for there to have been two killers.”
“Oh ho~?” Kurosaki-san smirked. “Mademoiselle, you want to accuse both myself and Herr Knives?”
“Imagine this. The two of you manage to lure Shinko-sama to the history building, you work together to drag him to the torture exhibit. If you both opened the iron maiden, both of you threw Shinko-sama inside, and both of you closed it…then both of you would be equally as responsible for his death!”
“Ergo, two culprits.” Sly-san concluded. “You’re delusional.”
“H-hold on, is it even possible for two people to be the culprit?! Monokuma?!” Kirishima-san asked. Monokuma tapped his paw on his chin before speaking.
“It’s not impossible if that scenario took place. After all, if two people really did work together to close the iron maiden door then they would have both violated the rules equally.” Monokuma said. “So, in that scenario…sure! There would be two culprits!”
“But it’s unlikely.” Kurohiko-san said.
“However, the possibility is there, and in the class trial, all possibilities must be explored.” Ishikawa-san argued.
“Fine, I’ll play ball. I’m not the killer.” Sly-san said nonchalantly.
“At least sound like you care, will you?! You could be sentenced to death!” Kurohiko-san yelled.
“Losing my composure here wouldn’t do me any good. I’ll fight your accusation with a level-head and show you all why you’re wrong.”
-Non-Stop Debate (3)-
Truth Bullets/Lie bullets
Iron Maiden/Locked Iron Maiden
Blood in the Library/Shifted Bookshelves
Rag/Clean Rag
Rock Pile/Undisturbed Rocks
Tsukiko: I argue that both Kurosaki-sama and Sly-sama are the killers! If they committed the murder as I said, then they would equally as responsible for Shinko-sama’s death!
Sly: I don’t like Kurosaki enough to work with him on something like this. Not to mention everything you just said is impossible.
Karma: I don’t get what was so impossible. If you killed Toson at the history building, you could plant all the evidence later!
Tsukiko: And with two people, you could fake the drag marks.
Yuuki: What a theory!
Sly: Like I said though, it’s impossible. After all, I was too occupied to have killed Shinko.
Ryuu: (…both of them are hiding something. I don’t know why, but they must be working together…I gotta think of a way to find the truth of why they were at that building…)
I agree with that!
-
“Sly-san, by ‘occupied’…the night of the murder, did you sustain an injury, by any chance?”
“An injury? Be more specific. I’m an assassin, I’m covered in scars from fights.” Sly-san said.
“An injury that would’ve produced the blood I found in the library. Something like that, perhaps? I was trying to figure out how it all fit in, but…let’s say there was in incident and you got injured somehow…”
I’ll kill your theory!
-
“You’re an idiot.” Sly-san spat.
“Is that really your whole argument?”
“No incident happened. You’ve got nothing.”
-Rebuttal Showdown Vs. Sly-
Truth Blades:
Blood in the Library
Bloody Book
ElectroID Entrance
Blank Motive Card
Sly: You wanna claim that an incident, but can you prove when that blood in the library appeared? Better yet, can you prove it’s my blood? Kurosaki was allegedly in the building as well, so isn’t it just as possible that he’s the one that got injured doing something stupid, as usual.
Ryuu: You stayed out of the investigation, saying you weren’t feeling up to moving about. If you got injured that night, then it makes sense why.
Sly: Is that so? Maybe I just felt better watching the body…and that blood still doesn’t mean anything. It was the only blood…and it’s got no indication that it couldn’t have happened before the building became available to us.
Ryuu: (There’s definitely a flaw in Sly-san’s argument. I’ll point it out and get to the bottom of this)
I’ll cut through that argument!
-
“No, it wasn’t the only thing with blood. Underneath one of the tables in the library, there was a bloody book. A hardback book at that.”
“…so what…? You’re saying I got assaulted with that book?” Sly-san raised an eyebrow.
“I think it’s a possibility…if you were hit hard enough with the book, then it could explain the blood traces on the bookshelves.”
“Then you’re also saying that Kurosaki is the one that attacked me, right…? After all, he was the only other person in that room according to your theory.”
“Hmm? Couldn’t it have been the other way about? Maybe Sly-chan hit Yuuki-chan with the book?” Amaterasu-san suggested.
“Nope. I did it.” Kurosaki-san said. Huh…? He’s…
“Y…you’re admitting it?” I asked.
“You’d figure it out eventually, after all, there’s evidence that I was the one who handled that book. The piece of evidence found alongside that blood book…” The evidence alongside it…? That was…
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“That book had a motive card inside of it…Kurosaki-san, are you trying to claim that motive card as your own?”
“Indeed. I have an older brother who I care about very much. I’d hate it if anything ever happened to him!” Kurosaki-san smiled. His brother…that’s strange. After all…
-
My logic follows!
-
“But…that motive card was blank. How can you say that it was your card whilst claiming you were that close to your brother?”
“Wouldn’t you say it’s more terrifying to have somebody’s name omitted from this motive…?” His expression suddenly darkened. “Before I entered Hope’s Peak, my brother Taro was perfectly fine…so to find that his name wasn’t on the motive card was just about the most haunting thing. I couldn’t help but theorise as to why his name wasn’t on the card…”
“…when we spoke before, you told me you had the most dangerous motive out of everybody…did you mean it like that?” I asked.
“Of course. What’s more terrifying…? One single name on the motive card…or having a blank card when someone you care about should be alive and healthy…?”
“Ahhhh…that is pretty awful! I just don’t have anybody on the outside worth killing for, so I can’t imagine what your situation is like.” Graves-san said.
“B-but…if Kurosaki-kun knocked out Sly-kun. That means he was the only one who was conscious in the building when Shinko-kun was there…d-does that mean…?” Kirishima-san twiddled with her thumbs as she spoke.
“Kurosaki-sama. You killed Shinko-sama!” Ishikawa-san accused.
“Oh~ Hohoho~ apologies, but Herr Shinko’s death had nothing to do with me! That scuffle me and Herr Knives got into just happened to occur today! You can tell he got injured after what he said at the start of the investigation. About staying at the crime scene because he wasn’t in a state to move about.” Kurosaki-san said.
“You admit to injuring Sly-kun, but not to murdering Shinko-kun? And you expect us to believe that? You were the only one in the building at the time.” Yokozawa-san stated.
“But don’t you understand…? If I was in the library at that time, there was no possibility for me to be the one to create the drag marks in the dirt, or to have dropped that rag in the storage room! My fight with Herr Knives is my alibi for the murder!”
“You could have easily planted that evidence afterwards. Perhaps you were waiting for Shinko-sama to arrive after calling him out to the history building and Sly-sama interrupted that plan.” Ishikawa-san suggested.
“Herr Shinko would have never gone to the history building just because somebody called him there. He was avoiding everyone, so he wouldn’t have gone along with such an obvious trap.” Kurosaki-san argued.
“Then explain the fact that Sly-sama left before you!” Ah, I suppose it does say that.
“Sly-san left…even though he was the one that got knocked out?” Kurohiko-san frowned.
“Oh, that’s a simple one! I stole Herr Knives’ ElectroID whilst he was unconscious!” Kurosaki-san stuck his tongue out playfully.
“You what?!” Sly-san growled. “I’m gonna kill you, I swear-“
“Hey! No violence in the class trial! I swear, you kids are too gung-ho about killing!” Monokuma chastised.
“I can prove it too!” Kurosaki-san held up the ElectroID that was in his pocket and showed Sly-san’s name when it turned on.
“You really did take it then…” Yokozawa-san said. “Then…where does that leave us? It’s all so crazy, none of this makes sense…and yet…”
“No, surely after all this, Kurosaki-sama must have been the killer! He was the only one in that building!” Ishikawa-san insisted.
“But…that’s simply not his character at all.” Asano-san disagreed. “Kurosaki-kun is…confusing, unpredictable, and most certainly a danger to himself and others…however, killing Shinko-kun in such an awful way…I refuse to believe that Kurosaki-kun would do such a thing!”
“All I can say is that after we fought, I simply went back to my room.”
-
What a messy situation!
-
“Huh? A standstill? Are you guys at a standstill now…? Well then, the only thing to do is really let you all duke it out here and now! Get ready for the trial morphing grounds!” Kurosaki-san trusted me with his defence…I can’t let him down at this point. I’ll believe in Kurosaki-san until the end!
-Scrum Debate, Begin!-
"Should be believe Yuuki?"
"We Should Believe him!" - Ryuu, Yuuki, Kobo, Mami, Rina
"We Shouldn't Believe Him!" - Sly, Junpei, Tsukiko, Doi, Amaterasu, Karma
Doi: Even after all this evidence, you wanna say that Kurosaki-san isn’t the killer?!
(Asano-san!)
Mami: The evidence also shows that it would have been impossible for Kurosaki-san to be the killer.
Karma: He waited for Toson in the history building but Sly interrupted that plan!
(Kurosaki-san!)
Yuuki: Non, non! There is not a chance that Herr Shinko would have come to the history building without a very important reason.
Amaterasu: Couldn’t Yuuki-chan have planted all the evidence we found after he killed Toson-chan?
(I’ll deal with this!)
Ryuu: Kurosaki-san isn’t the only person who could’ve planted that evidence afterwards.
Tsukiko: The card reader records clearly show that Kurosaki-sama used his ElectroID to leave the building after Sly-sama, despite Sly-sama being knocked out!
(Okanaya-kun!)
Kobo: Kurosaki already showed us that he switched around their ElectroIDs, don’t start forgetting shit!
Junpei: Kurosaki-kun’s the most dangerous person here, it’s not hard to believe that he’d kill someone so brutally.
(Kirishima-san!)
Rina: No…dangerous or not, Kurosaki-kun isn’t a killer! I believe that wholeheartedly!
Sly: You’re all being fooled. He had motive, means and opportunity. He attacked me! He’s the killer!
(Kurosaki-san!)
Yuuki: You’re wrong. The killer is fooling us all, and I intend to prove that in this trial!
“This is our answer!”
-
“…as I said before. I am not the killer. I won’t allow you all to die because of the killer’s trap.” Kurosaki-san said.
“E…even if you say that…how are you intending to do that? We still don’t know anything about this whole murder plan…it’s like there’s no concrete at all.” Yokozawa-san frowned.
“I disagree. Let us look at the facts. Herr Shinko clearly wouldn’t have left his room for anybody, oui? Ergo, he must’ve been ambushed in the storage room. Let’s roll with that theory for now and see where it takes us.” Kurosaki-san suggested.
“Right. The rag that was doused with chloroform…which means the killer came up behind Shinko-kun and took him by surprise.” Kirishima-san said.
“And off we go! Here’s the beginning of our journey to discovering the killer!”
-Non-stop Debate (4)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Rag/Clean Rag
Drag Marks in the dirt/Undisturbed Dirt
Dented Shelf/Food Shelf
Yokozawa-san’s Account/Yokozawa-san’s Mistake
Loose Bar/Iron Bars
Yuuki: Now that we’re in agreement, let’s go over the events as if Herr Shink were ambushed within the storage room.
Junpei: Nagata-kun already showed enough evidence to say that Shinko-kun went to get food for himself. That was when the killer ambushed him.
Mami: When the killer ambushed Shinko-kun, they used a rag with chloroform on it…
Doi: And Shinko-san went down without a fight.
Mami: Then, the killer began to drag Shinko-kun’s body over to the history building.
Yuuki: We never decided if he woke up or not, but either way, Herr Shinko’s ElectroID is used at the card reader.
Amaterasu: The killer then managed to get Toson-chan into the torture exhibit…and they pushed him into the iron maiden.
Kobo: Awful way to go…
Ryuu: (This is a general gist of what could have happened…I need to see if anything contradicts with the evidence…)
No, that’s wrong!
-
“Kurohiko-san, I don’t think Shinko-san went down without a fight. That seems really improbable, actually.”
“Is this about the shelf?” Yokozawa-san asked.
“Yeah.”
“Basically, there was a dented shelf in the storage room that had appeared sometime last night. Based on the distance between that shelf and the floor, I figured it was probably caused by someone at least 6 foot hitting their elbow into it.” Yokozawa-san explained.
“You were able to tell all that just from looking at the damage?” Asano-san tilted her head.
“It’s cause Junpei-chan has no social life.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Ah, I see. I too know a lot of general facts because of my restricted personal life.”
“Please don’t compare our situations…” Yokozawa-san sighed, rubbing his temples, “anyway, it’s not as simple as who’s 6 feet tall. It’s also possible that Shinko-kun picked the killer up during a fight and the killer caused that during the struggle.”
“So, it doesn’t actually narrow anything down. That’s unfortunate.” Ishikawa-san said.
“No. That’s it. That finally puts the nail in the coffin that was necessary for a solid accusation against our killer. Merci, Yokozawa-kyun!” Kurosaki-san clapped.
“K…’kyun’?!” Yokozawa-san blushed a little.
“Ugh…finally.” Sly-san let out a sigh of relief, “You were really starting to get on my nerves, I never thought it would work out.”
“Wh…huh?” Okanaya-kun tilted his head.
“Sorry, sorry! I should apologise to all of you for taking you on that ride earlier, but it was necessary to get to this point! You see, Herr Knives and I…kind of acted out everything before in order to draw suspicion to the real killer.” Kurosaki-san said. What? What is he talking about?
“What, like…you two were working together?” Graves-san asked.
“This guy called me a few nights ago detailing that a certain someone was planning a murder. I didn’t really believe it, but…I guess I couldn’t chance it. Don’t get it twisted, I still don’t trust him. He’s a slimy bastard through-and-through.” Sly-san said.
“Then why help him…?” Kurohiko-san asked.
Sly-san twirled his chain around his finger, “…cause he knows stuff. That’s all I can really say about it. So, we staged a fight in front of the main bulk of the group. Figured nobody would bother us and we could figure out what to do in secret.”
“You two faked that whole thing?!” Okanaya-kun said, “The fuck…if you thought a murder was gonna occur, why didn’t you stop it?!”
“If we tried to stop it, we would have ended up victims instead. That was a guarantee. Either way, someone was going to die.” Kurosaki-san said.
“How can you know that?!” Okanaya-kun growled.
“He just can…I don’t like it, but…” Sly-san shook his head, “the point is, the killer’s messed up. What Yokozawa just said outs them as the killer.”
“R-really…? You’re saying I helped out…?” Yokozawa-san was clearly trying to stop himself from smiling, “I m-mean…of course! You guys would be lost without me, right?! You should all be thanking me!”
“What a tool.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Nagata-kyun, you’ve realised it by, surely? Someone has been acting very suspicious ever since this morning. Not to mention that Herr Shinko being in a fight directly contradicts something you’ve heard before.” Kurosaki-san nodded to me. Yeah…I figured it out while they were talking. The killer…the one that killed Shinko-san like that, is…
-
The culprit…is you!
-
“…Tsukiko Ishikawa.” The name caused a void in the room. Everybody’s eyes swiftly shifted towards the silent girl who stared at the whole group with vacant emotionless eyes, no smile or frown on her face. No sign of surprise or expectancy. “…I remember. In your autopsy report, you said there were no signs of a struggle on Shinko-san’s body. But, the dent on that shelf shows that he definitely fought with his killer. It’s a direct contradiction with what you told me! What do you have to say?!”
“…Nagata-sama, come now. Is this a joke.” Ishikawa-san put a gloved hand over her mouth, suppressing the urge to laugh, “because of an error in my autopsy, I’m now a suspect? That’s completely absurd.”
“But it’s not. Ever since this morning, you’ve been acting…cold. Almost on edge…I didn’t think much of it, that maybe being in here was just getting to you…but the murder was on your mind. You were acting differently without meaning to.”
“…the issue here is with the autopsy, yes? That can be easily explained. If you will allow me to speak…?”
“Go right ahead. We’ll reach the truth one way or another.” Sly-san said. Ishikawa-san’s brow furrowed.
“Insolence.” She said.
-Non-Stop Debate (5)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Ishikawa-san’s Autopsy/Ishikawa-san’s Mistake
Loose Bar/Iron Bars
Monokuma File 3/Monokuma’s Mistake 3
Dented Shelf/Food Shelf
Iron Maiden/Locked Iron Maiden
Tsukiko: There is absolutely no issue with me getting something wrong in my autopsy report. After all, I am not a forensics expert.
Sly: Despite the fact that your field of expertise is dead bodies?
Tsukiko: Be that as it may, even a professional mortician would have had trouble. Shinko-sama’s body was in an iron maiden. Ergo, holes were all over his body. I messed up the autopsy because of the holes in his arms. Nothing more.
Yuuki: Ah…you really think it’s so simple. You can’t run away from the truth.
Tsukiko: You’re a fool. You have no proof I was there other than circumstantial evidence.
Ryuu: (Ishikawa-san…it’s hard to believe, but this seems to be the way Kurosaki-san and Sly-san were pushing the argument.)
No, that’s wrong!
-
“Ishikawa-san, did you really think that would work?”
She said nothing.
“If you look at the Monokuma file, on the page where it shows the placement of Shinko-san’s injuries…you can clearly see that his arms didn’t sustain any injuries at all! There were no injuries to obstruct you from seeing signs of a struggle on his arms!”
“And? There were no signs of a struggle on his arms. If there was a struggle, then he would have gotten injured elsewhere.” Ishikawa-san said.
“Now you’re changing your story. Not looking good for you.” Kurosaki-san taunted.
Ishikawa-san clicked her tongue. “Isn’t it early to accuse anybody? We barely have a picture of what transpired last night. All we know is that Shinko-sama was ambushed in the storage room, and because of a mix-up in my autopsy, I’m the killer? I think not!”
“…fine. We’ll do it your way. Let’s figure out the rest of the events and show that Mademoiselle Ishikawa is the only person that could have done it!” Kurosaki-san said.
“Then we should discuss the time of death. We still haven’t settled on when it took place.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Yuuki should know, right? After all, the killer arrived at the history building with Toson’s unconscious body right before he left the history building!” Graves-san said.
“Hmm…Herr Knives arrived around 12:30am. Then at some point the killer arrived. Herr Knives and I staged our fight and I left at around, say…12:40am. In that 10-minute time frame is when the killer arrived.”
“It takes about two or three minutes to walk from the dorm building to the history building, but with dragging Shinko’s body…the killer probably would have taken double that. So, let’s say it took them five minutes.” Sly-san decided.
The time of death definitely took place sometime after that 10-minute period between when Sly-san arrived, and Kurosaki-san left. If we can figure out when, maybe it’ll prove Ishikawa-san’s the killer…!
-Non-Stop Debate (6)-
Truth Bullets/Lie Bullets
Window Frame/Missing Windowpane
Crashing Noise/Silent Night
Bloody Book/Regular Book
ElectroID Entrance/Tampered Card Reader
Exhibit List/Unfinished Exhibit List
Karma: So, the killer definitely arrived at the history building between 12:30am…and 12:40am.
Rina: Then they must have taken a certain time to get the body all the way up to the third floor. Ah…that must have been really challenging.
Kobo: Depending on their strength, it could take up to 20 minutes for the killer to reach the torture exhibit.
Rina: The problem is that there was no evidence discovered in the history building that could point us to the time of death.
Junpei: Does it need to be the time of death…? Can’t we even estimate a timeframe?
Amaterasu: It was probably after Yuuki-chan left the building. So, definitely after 12:40am.
Kobo: But we have no idea when the killer left!
Junpei: Surely not too soon after?
Ryuu: (Establishing the time of death could help us discover the killer…I wonder is there any way to figure it out…?)
No, that’s wrong!
-
“No, we do have an idea of when the killer left the building! That night, Okanaya-kun, Kirishima-san, and me were all out on the field when we all heard a crashing noise come from the leisure building. When we investigated, we found a broken window on the side that faced the history building.”
“Huh…? You sayin’ that was caused by the killer?” Okanaya-kun asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure of it. That crash happened somewhere between 1am and 1:30am, we weren’t keeping track of the time so we can’t make anything definite.” I said.
“No, that’s fine. Kurosaki said he left the building around 12:40 and dragging the body from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor and then putting it into the iron maiden would probably take about 20 minutes, so it fits in with the time frame.” Sly-san said.
“Preposterous.” Ishikawa-san said.
“Oh? Why’s that?” Kurosaki-san smiled.
“Do I really need to point out the obvious? The killer was in the history building, but the broken window was at the leisure building. How on earth would the killer manage that?”
“…I don’t think that would be much of a problem in this case. You could probably hit the leisure building from the history building if you used…”
-
My logic follows!
-
“…the catapults at the top of the towers on the history building.” I concluded.
“Oh yeah, if you used those catapults then you could definitely hit the leisure building window from the history building. So…the killer probably saw Ryuu-chan, Kobo-chan, and Rina-chan all out on the field and used the catapults to distract them for long enough to get back to the dorms without being seen.” Amaterasu-san said.
“And there’s even evidence of the catapults being used, right Nagata?!” Okanaya-kun grinned. Ah…yeah, he’s right actually.
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“It’s as Okanaya-kun said. There was a large collection of rocks underneath the broken window, and when I went to check the weapons exhibit today, the pile of rocks in there had been disturbed and were lying around on the floor. The killer most likely used those rocks and loaded them into the catapult.”
“They didn’t clean it up…? That’s pretty unusual.” Yokozawa-san noted.
“The killer was in a rush. They didn’t know how long that distraction would give them, so they had to get to the dorms as quickly as possible.” Asano-san took a moment to put the sequence of events together in her head, “yes, most likely…the killer launched the rocks, sprinted down the stairs and left the history building-“
You’ve dug your own grave!!
-
“That’s impossible!!” Ishikawa-san suddenly yelled.
“H-huh…?”
Ishikawa-san took a moment and returned to her usual demeanour, “Ahem…what I mean is…the killer never shows up on the card reader records after Shinko-sama enters the building, correct? Or rather…it’s impossible to leave the building without showing up on the card reader. So that must mean the ones who show up on the card reader are the killers!”
“You’re gonna throw the blame on Kurosaki-san and Sly-san again?!”
“I believe the shoe has fit for a while. I will end this farce here and now!”
-
-Rebuttal Showdown Vs Tsukiko Ishikawa-
Truth Blades:
Iron Maiden
Exhibit List
ElectroID Entrance
Crashing Noise
Broken Window
Rock Pile
Loose Bar
Window Frame
Tsukiko: To leave the building, you are required to scan your ElectroID at the door, there is no other way out of the building! If we are to follow that very simple logic, whoever shows up on the card reader must be the true culprit!
Ryuu: That doesn’t account for all the logs on the records! Kurosaki-san and Sly-san both entered before Shinko-san arrived and didn’t leave until after he got there! What’s your explanation for that?
Tsukiko: It is obvious. Shinko-sama went to the history building after all! Either Kurosaki-sama or Sly-sama ambushed and killed him! To think that you would all accuse me when the truth is as clear as day…
Ryuu: (The further we go, the more agitated Ishikawa-san becomes…I’m convinced now that we’re on the right track…)
I’ll cut through that argument!
-
“You’re wrong! There is another way out of the history building other than the ID entrance. Kirishima-san was investigating the ground floor and stumbled upon something really interesting; one of the bars on the windows was loose and could be removed pretty easily.”
“Ah, yeah! I totally forgot about that! With the space between the bars, taking one out means anyone could have slipped through the gap!” Kirishima-san said.
“Ishikawa-san, you objected because you knew that fact already. You thought if you threw off the argument now that we’d direct our attention back to Kurosaki-san and Sly-san, but it won’t work.”
“So, what if the bar comes out? That doesn’t mean the killer actually used that route to leave the building!”
No…she’s wrong, there’s evidence of the killer using that window!
-
Here’s my proof!
-
“There were scuff marks on that window frame as if something metal was scratching against the stone. Ishikawa-san…those buckles on your boots are metal, aren’t they?” I waited for a response, but Ishikawa-san remained silent, glaring intensely at me. “If you crawled out of the window, your boot buckles would have scraped against the stone which would explain those scuff marks that were found!”
“You…” Ishikawa-san’s voice began to sound venomous.
“God, this talk about the ID gate is really confusing me…hey, Nagata-kun, how do you even know about all these gate records anyway?” Yokozawa-san asked.
“Monokuma gave us a sheet of paper with the record of the last 24 hours. I was supposed to share it with everyone cause it’s the only copy, but…I kinda forgot.” No, Kurosaki-san told me to keep to myself.
“That’s weird…” Okanaya-kun murmured. Huh? What’s weird. “You didn’t show the records to anyone…?”
“Only to Kurosaki-san, but that’s because he was with me when I got them.” I said. Okanaya-kun only frowned further. Something is weird about all this…what’s weird about this…?
-
My logic follows!
-
“…ah! Ishikawa-san knows about the ElectroID records!”
“Wh-“
“Actually…ever since the start of the trial, she’s been talking about the ID records as if she’s seen them, but if Nagata-kun is the only person with a copy then how-“
“I have seen the records.” Ishikawa-san cut Asano-san off. “When I was performing my autopsy, I asked Monokuma-sama to bring me the card reader records because I believed it would lead to the killer. However, I returned the paper to Monokuma-sama once I read it. That is why Nagata-sama ended up with the records.”
“But wasn’t Sly-chan in the room with you?” Amaterasu-san asked.
“Not the whole time. Due to the head injury and the stench of blood, I had to leave the room for five minutes to get some air. I guess it’s possible in that time, Ishikawa asked for the card reader records. I hate giving it to her, but this is one thing we can’t disprove.”
“Even so, pile it on with everything else…it’s more likely that she knew Sly and Yuuki were in the building because she saw them, right? She got there right after Sly arrived so she might have spotted him, and she hid from Yuuki after she got there.” Graves-san pointed out.
“It’s all circumstantial! You’ve still yet to show any solid proof of me being in that building, let alone killing Shinko-sama! I’m really getting fed up with all these baseless accusations! I apologise for my mistake with the autopsy report, but we’re all guaranteed to faulter at some point, so just move on!”
“We can’t do that. After all, Mademoiselle…you’re the killer.”
“ENOUGH!!!” Ishikawa-san snapped, slamming her hands on her podium. “I’m sick of this! Sick of it all! Who are you to get on your high horse and accuse everyone?! If anybody in this group is suspicious it is you!! You’ve really pushed me to my limit!”
“…Nagata-kyun.”
“Is this the end argument…?”
“I believe so.” Kurosaki-san nodded.
“Then…I’ll take it head on. I’ll give you your proof and show you that you were present at the history building!”
“You insolent boy…! You have no respect for your peers, I will prove you all wrong right here and now!!”
-
-Argument Armament vs Tsukiko Ishikawa-
Tsukiko: All you have given to say I am the killer is circumstantial evidence! You’re all putting blind faith in baseless theories provided by Kurosaki-sama without showing any concrete proof and I refuse to stand for it!
Tsukiko: I would never kill Shinko-sama! As a thanatologist, I have too much respect and value for life that to take away life would be a sin for me to do! You all truly believe that I would betray my own occupation for a chance to escape?! Preposterous!
Tsukiko: The killer is Kurosaki-sama, or Sly-sama, or both! You have all been fooled by their craftiness! I will not allow them to pin all of their crimes on me! Stage a fight?! Predict a murder?! Who would believe such foolish nonsense?! You’re all smarter than that!
Ryuu: This is the end!
Tsukiko: Where is the proof, I was in the history building?!
In the rock pile!
-
“I have it. Your proof that you wanted so desperately. In that rock pile that hit the window, there was something else mixed in there…a piece of black fabric. Ishikawa-san…I wonder, could that piece of fabric come from you…?”
“I’m suddenly the only person that wears black?”
“No, obviously not…but when launching the catapult, I wonder…is it possible your glove got caught on the catapult and tore when it launched? Or maybe it tore when you were carrying the rocks…? If we collected that fabric, would it be the same kind of fabric as your gloves…?”
“What kind of fabric are your gloves, Mademoiselle? Silk? I think you’d be the only person here that wears silk.” Kurosaki-san chimed in.
“Th…that’s…” Ishikawa-san looked lost for the first time since she started to argue. “I…can explain-“
“Ishikawa-san. Please…” Asano-san spoke softly. “It hurts to even accuse you, but seeing you argue like this hurts me even more. You must understand that there are no more arguments now that Nagata-kun has placed you at the history building.”
“And as the one that pulled the lever on the catapults.” Graves-san added.
“And left scuff marks on the window frame.” Kurohiko-san followed.
“And with nobody there to back you up. Yuuki-chan and Sly-chan already said they were there together.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Not to mention, I’ll gladly show everyone my wardrobe. None of my black clothing is damaged in any way.” Sly-san said.
“Also, since you dropped the rags, you had your gloves to use for a replacement rag if Shinko woke up again.” Okanaya-kun said.
“I…I…” Ishikawa-san’s clenched fists relaxed, her eyes exhausted, “…concede.”
“…then let’s wrap this up. We’ll go from the start of the case and finish this for good.”
This is the truth of the incident!
-
Act 1
For the killer to guarantee that their plan worked, they needed to pick a victim that would be easy to ambush. Luckily, their observations allowed them to learn that our victim, Shinko-san, would go to the storage room at night to get cutlery for his food. It was the perfect opportunity, despite Shinko-san doing everything he could in order to avoid being killed. The night of the murder, the killer snuck up on Shinko-san and attempted to drug him by using a chloroform-soaked rag, however he fought back and in the ensuing fight before he passed out, he dented the food shelf.
Act 2
Next the killer began to drag his body over to the history building. Usually this would be hard for any normal person, but our killer was experienced in handling bodies. When they got to the history building they used Shinko-san's electroID to get inside and went to the ancient torture exhibit after hiding from Kurosaki-san who was leaving around the same time they arrived and then...they threw his body into the iron maiden and closed it over. I'm not sure if Shinko-san died whilst unconscious, frankly, I don't want to consider the idea that he regained consciousness.
Act 3
The killer then went to leave the building but spotted myself, Okanaya-kun, and Kirishima-san sitting outside at the fountain and realised they couldn't get back to the dorms without being seen, so they made an on-the-spot plan. They took a pile of rocks from the torture exhibit and loaded them onto a catapult at the top of the tower and aimed it at the leisure building. The released the catapult and began sprinting down the stairs, not realising a piece of their glove tore on the catapult.
Act 4
The rocks hit the windows of the leisure building, alerting myself, Okanaya-kun, and Kirishima-san and causing us to go and investigate. That's the opportunity the killer had to climb out of the window, to avoid using the electroID lock on the front door, scuffing the window frame as they did and ran back to the dorm building. All they had to do from there was wait until the next morning and discover the body and lie in the autopsy report.
And the person who did all of this...was you, right?! Tsukiko Ishikawa, the Ultimate Thanatologist!
-
“…I see. I…truly underestimated you, Nagata-sama…Kurosaki-sama.” Ishikawa-san giggled as if everything was normal. “I…thought that as long as I left no trace of myself, I could win. Then Nagata-sama, Kirishima-sama, and Okanaya-sama turned up and…I slipped up.”
“Ishikawa-san…”
“I did my best to fight it. I’ve abused my second chance at life…I’ll accept my fate now, it is alright.” She smiled politely, “apologies for my behaviour.”
“…that’s gotta be the politest confession we’ve ever gotten!” Monokuma sprung to life. “Well, you all know the score by now! On your podiums are buttons of all the participants, it’s time to vote for who you all think is the killer! Will you pick the right person, or the dreadfully wrong person? Who’s it gonna be…? What’s it gonna be?!”
We all locked in our votes and the roulette wheel started to spin around before eventually landing on Ishikawa-san’s face. The bouquets of flowers and coins showered out from the machine to celebrate the end of the voting.
The third class trial had ended.
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Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies ~Investigation~
//HOOO BOY, this was a looooong chapter to write. I don’t even wanna say too much because this trial...I feel is gonna be...interesting to write, so I’ll let you guys read and decide what you think for yourself.
//Hope you guys enjoy!
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Torture Exhibit-
We all stared silently at the iron maiden. Ishikawa-san was respectful enough to close over the slide that let us see Shinko-san’s face. Frankly, I don’t think I could stomach seeing his final expression. I think we were all trying to figure out how someone was able to do this to him. Not physically but morally. Killing was already bad enough but to use something in the torture exhibit room…
“Man you guys are so mopey whenever you find a body!” Monokuma chided, “give me a little variety! Someone celebrate, this guy was kind of a douchebag, don’t you think?”
“Oi, if you start saying shit like that-“
“You’ll hit me? Go on, big guy! Hit me and see what happens you do!” Monokuma taunted. Okanaya-san let out a shaky breath and stayed put. He was holding back, “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d do. Anyway, as per usual, I present to you…the Monokuma file! Make sure you read up on what I’ve prepared and have fun…so…I’ll see ya later!” And once again, Monokuma was gone.
“How shall we go about this?” Ishikawa-san asked, “I doubt many people want to see the state of Shinko-sama’s body, however, if I do not perform my autopsy then I fear we may lose vital evidence.”
“Then only people who can stomach the sight should investigate this room. Simple as that.” Sly-san said.
“I suppose…” Ishikawa-san seemed reluctant. I wonder if this is even too much for her to handle, “very well…I will deal with the autopsy once everybody who does not wish to see the state of Shinko-sama has left. There is a tarp in the back of the room I can use to cover him should they wish to come and investigate this room later.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Kurohiko-san said woozily, “I…I think I’ll just stick to investigating elsewhere though. It’s just…s-so much blood.”
“Mademoiselle Graves, Herr Knives and I are probably the only people who will be able to stomach seeing Herr Shinko’s body. So, one of us should stay behind to watch over the crime scene with Mademoiselle Ishikawa.” Kurosaki-san said.
“I’ll do it. I don’t feel up to walking about this time around.” Sly-san murmured. Kurosaki-san’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before nodding.
“Very well…everyone, let’s do our best for Herr Shinko’s sake. Oui?” There was a silent agreement in the room. Or almost a full agreement. Someone in this room killed Shinko-san…they were going to be working against us.
Investigation Start!
I opened up the Monokuma file and looked at the information I was provided with this time around. The pink splotches were shown all across Shinko-san’s torso area and legs, though that was to be expected. I scrolled to the next page.
The victim was Toson Shinko, his body was found in the torture exhibit of the history building at 9:24am. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds across the body resulting in blood loss.
No time of death again, so I’m going to have to figure out a timeframe for that…
-
Truth Bullet Added: Monokuma File 3
The victim is Toson Shinko, the cause of death was several stabs wounds across the whole body.
-
“Hmmm…Hmmmmmmm!” Graves-san was nodding to herself as she looked at the iron maiden.
“Wh…what are you doing?” I asked.
“I was just thinking; this thing is probably super heavy right? Then it totally narrows down who the killer could’ve been, right?! This thing is solid metal, so only someone strong could’ve thrown Toson’s body in there and closed the door.” She said. I suppose the thing did look pretty heavy, “also, did you know that even though iron maidens are considered a medieval torture device, there’s no evidence of the iron maidens we know today before the 19th century. Bonkers, right?”
“Y-yeah. Bonkers.”
-
New Truth Bullet: Graves-san’s Account
Graves-san believes the killer must have been strong to be able to get someone of Shinko-san's build into the iron maiden.
New Truth Bullet: Iron Maiden
An iron case filled with iron spikes. Shinko-san's body was found inside of it.
-
“Ah, Nagata-kun, could I ask you a favour?” Kurosaki-san approached me all of a sudden.
“A…favour? I’m not sure I like the sound of that coming from you.” I said. That was the moment Kurosaki-san would hit back with a line, but his face remained neutral. I suppose he still feels off with the group’s situation.
“I want you to investigate with me this time around.” He said.
“Oi, what are you up to? If it’s anything suspicious, I’ll kill you.”
“Sly-sama, please.” Ishikawa-san chastised. No, I had to agree. It was strange that, out of everyone, Kurosaki-san would want to investigate with me. Even Ishikawa-san must know that.
“The important thing right now is the truth, non? You’re the only reason we’re still alive right now, so if anybody is going to be able to find out the truth this time around, it’ll be you. I just want to make sure you have all the necessary evidence to piece it all together.” Kurosaki-san explained.
“…you say that, but I’d have probably gotten a lot of things wrong or gotten stuck if it wasn’t for you being there to guide the trial…Kurosaki-san, you’re the reason we’re alive. So, why are you relying on someone like me?”
“I don’t have a lot of people I can trust.” He said coldly.
…I can’t understand what this guy must be going through or have already gone through to be able to speak like that…but, if I can find the truth then I guess I have no choice. “Okay then. I’ll help you out.” I said.
“Then let’s go to the library.”
“Huh? The library? What does that place have to do with Shinko-san’s murder?”
“You’ll understand eventually. Let’s just go.”
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Library-
We stepped into the library- or rather, Kurosaki-san made me follow him there. “Alright, we’re here. What is it you’re wanting to check?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? Take a look.” Kurosaki-san simply gestured to the whole room. Ugh, why can’t he just tell me directly? We’re on a time limit right now…
My eyes scan the room and I notice it. A book laying on the ground underneath one of the tables, blood covering its cover and spine. A white strip of paper was sticking out from the pages. “Is this what you were talking about? What is this book?”
Kurosaki-san walked over and picked up the book. “It’s a book containing past records for Hope’s Peak Academy. The past classes and such, y’know?” The blood left the cover illegible, so Kurosaki-san has probably read it before and recognised it from its design?
“That bookmark…somebody was reading it then.” I said. Kurosaki-san slid the bookmark from the pages and handed it to me. In actuality, it was a card with a bloodstain on the front of it. I opened it up to see what it said, but was greeted with nothing, aside from lines that would be used to write along. “Huh…? What’s with this?”
Kurosaki-san loomed over me, staring at the card. “My best guess…is that it’s a motive card. The blood is covering up the name of whoever this belongs to, but it’s got the exact same layout of my motive card, and it has a Monokuma symbol in each corner.” That was true…
“It’s blank though. There’s no names.”
“Indeed…how ominous.” Kurosaki-san said.
-
New Truth Bullet: Bloody Book
A bloody book found in the library. The blood covered the cover and spine and has sealed a number of pages together.
New Truth Bullet: Blank Motive Card
A motive card found as a bookmark in the bloody book. The name is covered up by a bloodstain.
-
I continued my scan of the room and noticed that by the bookshelves that the wooden frame of the shelves was decorated with splotches of blood as well. “Seriously? What happened in here?” Could it be related to Shinko-san’s murder? Either way, I should remember this.
-
New Truth Bullet: Blood in the library
The frames of the bookshelves in the library seem to have spots of blood on them.
-
“I think that’s all we’ll find in here. For now, we should go to the front entrance. There’s something important to look at there, non?” Kurosaki-san said. Again, he’s leading around the place…
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Ground floor-
“Nagata-kun…a-and Kurosaki-kun…?” Ram-…Kirishima-san appeared when we reached the ground floor. “I guess you two are investigating together then. I’m doing my best as well, don’t worry! I’ll definitely find some good evidence.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I nodded.
“Have you found anything so far…?” Kurosaki-san said.
“Actually…i-it’s a little embarrassing but I found something on accident just a minute ago. I dunno if it was me or if it was already like that…b-but one of the windows at the end of the hallway had a loose bar. I almost knocked it completely out of place…” She said. Kirishima-san isn’t heavy either, so it must be really loose.
“Hmm…the windows here aren’t blocked with glass, so the iron bars are a replacement. If you didn’t break it, I wonder why it’s loose…?”
“Not only that! There were some strange scratch marks on the windowsill! Like…if something metal was dragged on the stone.”
“You noticed a few things then. Impressive, Ram-san.” Kurosaki-san said.
“U-um…actually, it’s Kirishima now…l-long story.” Kirishima-san smiled half-heartedly. Of course, Kurosaki-san wasn’t there when Kirishima-san said that to everybody…
-
New Truth Bullet: Window Frame
There are scuff marks on the window frame as if something scraped against it
New Truth Bullet: Loose Iron Bar
One of the windows on the ground floor was slightly loose and could be removed easily.
-
“I’m gonna check elsewhere! I wanna make sure I leave no stone unturned in a building like this! If I find anything, I’ll let you know.” Kirishima-san promised before jogging up the stairs.
“She’s become rather determined over time, has she not?” Kurosaki-san said.
“I’m glad. I remember how frail she came across when I met her the first time, so I’m glad she’s been able to get to this point. I think we can really rely on Kirishima-san.”
“Oh~hohoho~? Nagata-kyun, are you perhaps falling for Fraulein?” Kurosaki-san teased.
“E-eh?! N-no way! That’s definitely not it!” I protested. Even if I didn’t like being teased like that, I have to say that I was happy to see the normal Kurosaki-san, even for a second.
Kurosaki-san and I walked to the entrance and I used my ElectroID to exit the building. He stopped when the doors slid shut and turned back to the card reader. “Monokuma! I need you!” He called out.
Within a second, Monokuma appeared from nowhere, “What what what? You wanna start the trial early? I dunno if the others’ll be happy with that!”
“No, it’s not that. This card reader, is there any records on it? If possible, could you provide us with a copy of the records? We’d only really need the records of the last 24 hours.” Kurosaki-san said.
“Ah~ I knew someone like you would ask about it, so I had a copy prepared already…although, the budget is tight for this killing game. This is the only copy I got…so, be nice and share it around! Or don’t!” Monokuma shrugged and vanished, leaving a piece of paper where he was standing.
Kurosaki-san picked up the paper and read through the names. “Oh? No timestamps…” He murmured before handing it to me. “For now, let’s keep the information on this between us. I have my reasons, so please trust in me.”
-
New Truth Bullet: Card Reader Records
The entrance to the history building requires an electroID to open. The log was as follows, from most recent to least recent in the last 24 hours:
"Nagata - Exit"
“Asano – Exit”
"Graves - Enter"
"Yokozawa - Enter"
"Sly - Enter"
"Kurosaki - Enter"
"Okanaya - Enter"
"Kurohiko - Enter"
"Nagata - Enter"
"Kurosaki - Exit"
"Sly - Exit"
"Shinko - Enter"
"Sly - Enter"
"Kurosaki - Enter"
"Graves - Exit"
"Ishikawa - Exit"
"Yokozawa - Exit"
"Kirishima - Exit"
-
Huh? “K…Kurosaki-san, you were in the history building last night?!” I exclaimed.
“Indeed. Though, that shouldn’t be surprise. I told you I was going to be investigating the library as much as I could, and that’s exactly what I was doing during the night.” Kurosaki-san explained.
“But…between the time you entered and left…Shinko-san came to the building as well and it says here that he never left either.” I pointed out. Kurosaki-san folded his arms and hummed under his breath, almost in thought.
“…I’ll probably get accused at the trial. For Herr Shinko’s murder, I mean. However, I did not kill him, okay? I have too much to lose by killing someone. I’ll be counting on you when that time comes.”
Even if he says that, why would he leave his defence to me…? “…if it’s what you want, then I’ll do it…but I’m putting a lot of trust in you. If there’s any doubt in my mind, I’ll accuse you myself. You know that, right?”
Kurosaki-san’s eyes widened. “Oh…you would’ve never been so direct with someone like me if this was the first trial. You’re becoming quite the protégé detective, Nagata-kyun.” Kurosaki-san chuckled. “Well, I knew that already. I’ll be putting my faith in you when the time comes…like I said, let’s keep this information between us for now. Don’t even ask other people their reason for being in the building the last 24 hours.”
“…alright then.”
“Good. I think this will be where our co-investigation ends. I’ll look elsewhere, so good luck with your end of the investigation, Nagata-kyun.” Kurosaki-san tipped his hat at me and walked off. I need to find more places to investigate…where should I go…?
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Dormitory-
“Asano-san, you decided to come and investigate here too…?” I walked over to her, snapping her out of whatever thought she was in.
“Indeed. I wanted to investigate Shinko-kun’s room seeing as that was why I called upon his search this morning in the first place. Would you like me to show you what I found? I left the door open.” I took her up on the offer and followed her to Shinko-san’s room. A doorstopper was wedged underneath the door.
I took in the sight of Shinko-san’s room. The walls were decorated with numerous movie memorabilia and awards I assume belonged to Shinko-san. A director’s chair was in the corner with Shinko-san’s name on it. I recognised a lot of the items as props used in his short film from the talent show.
“He was a wonder to work with.” Asano-san said, as if reading my mind. “I believe he simply became too scared of dying that he thought shutting himself away was the only way.”
“Were you two close?”
Asano-san shook her head, “Regrettably, no. I feel as though as I could have done more though…Ishikawa-san and I talked to him that day to try and get him to come back to the group, but…”
-A Conversation with Toson-
“You’re here to beg me to come back to the group? I’d actually prefer to not be fodder for the rest of you. No, I’ll keep to myself.” Shinko-san said.
“We work best as a group. Staying away from us is not only a hindrance for yourself, it’s a hinderance for everybody. I would actually prefer it if you could stop being selfish and realise this game is more than just you.”
“Ishikawa-san-“
“Hah?! You wanna start preaching about morals in a killing game?! Morals became irrelevant a long time ago, dumbass! We’re in a kill or be killed situation, and like fuck am I being killed off like some stupid side-character!” Shinko-san barked.
“So that’s what we all mean to you? You were almost sentenced to death in both trials thus far and yet you wish to argue that you cannot trust anybody? The efforts of Nagata-sama, Kurosaki-sama and everybody else means nothing?!” Ishikawa-san argued.
“They did it for themselves, not for me. They would’ve had no qualms about voting me as it the killer. And how I can trust someone like Nagata? He’s the reason we’re still in this shitty situation! And you-“ He pointed accusingly at Asano-san, “-you were on Nagata’s side in that debate, so how can I trust you?!”
Asano-san attempted a response though she could only manage stammers.
“I tried to put my trust in this group, but I’m sick of feeling like that trust is just gonna get thrown right back at me. Have fun acting like you’re all friends but leave me out of it.”
-
-Present Time-
“And then he slammed the door in our faces…”
Shinko-san was probably scared, by the sound of it. And it’s my fault he separated from the group in the first place…if I hadn’t spoken up like that during the last trial, Shinko-san wouldn’t be dead…
“We all should have done more to make everybody feel safe enough to stick together.” I said.
“Indeed…” Asano-san said. I allowed myself a few moments to be angry at myself before trying to refocus on the investigation at hand.
“A-anyway…I’ve been wondering for a while, but why did you think to check Shinko-san’s room this morning? You just came into the cafeteria and said he was missing without much explanation.” I asked.
“Oh, of course. My apologies for forgetting to explain. When I was making my way to the cafeteria this morning, I noticed Shinko-kun’s door was ajar because of a doorstopper. I found it strange due to our previous encounter and decided I should investigate further. That is when I found out he was not in his room and began my search for him.” Asano-san explained.
“And when you couldn’t find him in this building, you came to the cafeteria and we all split into our groups. So, that doorstopper holding his door open right now is the same one that was holding it open this morning?”
“Correct.” Asano-san nodded. Shinko-san’s room is at the very back of the dorm hallway and Asano-san’s is right across. I suppose she was the only one who would’ve seen it.
-
New Truth Bullet: Asano-san’s Account
She noticed a doorstopper holding Shinko-san's room door opened, when she checked the room she found he wasn't there which is what prompted the search for him.
-
I turned my attention to the bedside table where there was a plate of untouched food sitting. “This is pretty strange as well.” I commented.
“Indeed, I was trying to make heads-or-tails with it. Perhaps the killer ambushed Shinko-kun while he was in his room and he didn’t get a chance to eat this. It’s prepared perfectly, so it must have been for eating right away.” Asano-san concluded. Ambush Shinko-san? Shinko-san seemed like a pretty in-shape guy, so I doubt there were many people who were strong enough to overpower him without leaving any signs of a struggle…
-
New Truth Bullet: Plate of Food
Plate of untouched food found in Shinko-san's room. Clearly prepared to eat right away.
-
“I think that’s everything in here…that food plate is making me a little suspicious…he wouldn’t come out of his room during the daytime, and the cafeteria shuts at night-time…so he probably got that food from the storage room.” I decided on my next destination.
“I see…I’ll wish you good luck in your search there. I shall continue to look elsewhere, just in case.” Asano-san said.
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Storage room-
The storage room was deathly quiet. This was the second time I had to come here for an investigation, and that fact really put my teeth on edge. I began looking around the room to see if anything was out of place and made my way to one of the far-right shelves.
I noticed a rag on the floor in front of the shelf. I picked it up and felt that something had dried onto it. I couldn’t tell what it was as there was no stain, but the material of the rag definitely was soaked in something. I brought it a little closer to my face but-
“Ugh!” I recoiled when I started to feel a little dizzy and ended up dropping the rag…suspicious.
-
New Truth Bullet: Rag
A rag found on the floor of the storage room. There's an odd substance on it that made me dizzy when I got too close to it
-
I turned my attention to the food shelf it was in front of. None of the boxes seemed too out of place, though, ”A dent?” I murmured, tracing my hand along the dent made in one of the shelves. I don’t remember any of the shelves ever being damaged before.
“It’s pretty high up, yeah?”
“Uwah!” I jumped, spinning to face whoever the voice belonged to.
“Ack! D-don’t just yell like that, idiot! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Yokozawa-san growled.
“S-sorry, you surprised me…”
“I’ve been talking with you this whole time. You sniffed that weird rag even though I said not to.” H-huh?! I didn’t even realise he was there…has he been in the room this whole time, “God, even after all this time, you still don’t notice me when I’m the room with you. Sad.” Even though he says that, he seemed to just shrug it off.
“S-sorry.”
“Stop saying that.” He chided before turning back to the shelf. He let out a low hum, glancing to me then back to the shelf, “No…probably not.”
“Huh?”
“Just thinking out loud…this dent was probably because somebody hit it with their elbow. I was thinking it could’ve been someone short and they hit their head on it, but the shape of the dent is probably more like an elbow did it going down onto the shelf. And with the height of the shelf…both of us are too short to have done it. Person must’ve been…6 foot at least? Yeah, that sounds about right. Though I suppose a short person could have been dropped from above that shelf and hit their elbow on the way down.” Yokozawa-san concluded.
“E-eh?! You were able to tell all that just from a dent?!”
“Being on the internet all the time, you ended up spending your time learning how to do this and that. There was a time I wanted to be an investigator, so something like this is just simple deduction. And it’s definitely new as well. I was here yesterday and there was no dent…”
“Impressive…” I said.
-
New Truth Bullet: Dented Shelf
A food shelf that seemed to have been damaged at some point in the last 24 hours. Judging by the dent itself, it was cause by somebody at least 6 foot hitting their elbow on it.
-
“I, uh…I appreciate you telling me all that. J-just because you didn’t have to. You could have kept that information to yourself…”
“Huh? Why are you being weird? It’s pissing me off. If you’re acting like that because of the last trial or because I kept myself in my room, then knock it off! It’s not your fault about the last trial, I get where you were coming from. Even if Hachi-san said they were gonna end the killing game, we couldn’t know for sure…”
“B-but Shinko-san-“
“Did you kill him?”
“Huh…?”
“Did you make someone kill him?”
“Of course not!”
“Then shut the fuck up and get on with the investigation! I don’t have time for self-pitying bastards like you! We should be focusing on finding Shinko-kun’s killer above all else.” Yokozawa-san said. I twiddled my thumbs like a child getting scolded. Yokozawa-san didn’t make much of an impact when I met him, but his words are pretty sharp and to the point.
“You…actually kind of remind of Shinko-san. He was pretty brutal with his words too.”
“Is that so?” Yokozawa-san fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie. “I suppose if I’m gonna help you, I should probably say…I actually say Shinko-kun in here the day before yesterday. I have a supply of food in my room, but I ran out after night-time that day, so I came here to get more and then he came in afterwards. It didn’t look like he noticed me…but I just thought I should mention it.”
“I see…thank you, Yokozawa-san. I appreciate the help.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
-
New Truth Bullet: Yokozawa-san’s Account
He met Shinko-san a few days before the murder, going into the storage room. Though Shinko-san didn't notice Yokozawa-san was there.
-
“Good luck on your investigation.” Yokozawa-san murmured as we parted ways.
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Fountain-
“Yo, Nagata!” Okanaya-san called out as I was passing by the fountain. He was walking on the path that led to the leisure building. “How goes the investigation?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve collected a lot of information, but I haven’t taken any time to piece anything together yet. There’s evidence I’ve found, not just in the history building, but also the dormitory.”
“Ah, the drag marks, yeah…?”
“Huh?”
“You never noticed?” He gestured me to follow and we headed back towards the dormitory building. We stopped before entering the building and Okanaya-san pointed to the dirt patch between the entrance and the stone path that led to the fountain. “See? There’s marks in the dirt as if something’s been dragged.”
“Ah yeah. I didn’t even notice.” I said.
“…I wish I was more alert last night when we came out here. We might have noticed these and maybe stopped the murder.”
“Stopped it? How so?”
“You remember that crashing noise last night, and the broken window? I was thinking that it might have actually had something to do with the murder. I’m not sure how, I’m not so good with that stuff, but…it was just a thought. I went to recheck that…and I found this.” Okanaya-san pulled out a scrap of black fabric. “It was hidden in with the rocks. Not sure what it’s from, but…thought it could’a been useful to hold onto.”
“Yeah…good work, Okanaya-kun! This is a lot of good information, I think!” The rocks in the weapons exhibit had been disturbed when I checked on it. I wonder if the rocks came from there…? “That crash as well…do you remember when it happened…?”
“Uh…thinking about the time I got you and Kirishima at…must’ve been somewhere between 1am and 1:30am?”
-
New Truth Bullet: Drag marks in the dirt
Drag marks on the dirt outside of the dorm building
New Truth Bullet: Rock Pile
A number of rocks next to the leisure building. A piece of black fabric was found in the pile.
New Truth Bullet: Broken Window
A window at the side of leisure building that was broken the night of the murder
New Truth Bullet: Crashing Noise
The approximate time of the crashing sound from last night was 1am - 1:30am
-
“…it’s weird that Shinko got killed.” Okanaya-kun said.
“Huh?”
“Ah, thinking out loud. Probably something I should be saving for the trial…I’ll let you get on with your investigation. I’ve been keeping you too long.” Okanaya-kun nodded before heading off. There’s probably not much time left until the investigation is over, Ishikawa-san should be finished her autopsy by now.
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Torture Exhibit (2)-
“Nagata-sama! Have you finished your investigation?” Ishikawa-san asked when I entered the room. A tarp was over the ground, I’m guessing that Shinko-san’s body was underneath it. The iron maiden was luckily closed over again, I don’t think I could stomach seeing the inside of it.
“Just about, I think. I just came to get your autopsy report and see if you guys had anymore information. I’ve collected a lot, but I don’t know how anything fits. It feels all…contradictory.”
“Save it for the trial.” Sly-san said.
“I agree. You wish for my autopsy, correct? Well, it was actually hard to learn anything because of the state of the body. I couldn’t discern the time of the death. The iron maiden is cold so I wasn’t able to make an estimate on the time of death because it would have made Shinko-sama’s body cool faster.”
“I see. What about the injuries themselves?”
“As you’d expect, he had stab wounds across his entire body. However, I believe he was ambushed in some way because there was no sign of a struggle. So…I suppose I could at least tell that much.”
“Even that might prove useful, thanks for your help, Ishikawa-san.”
-
New Truth Bullet: Ishikawa-san’s Autopsy
The time of death was hard to discern. Though there were no signs of struggle across the body.
-
“Sly-san, have you been able to tell anything?”
“Not really. I left the autopsy to Ishikawa and just made sure nobody messed with the crime scene. Though while I was here, I was making a list of the different exhibits in the building. I figured that with how extensive this building is, the killer probably used something in one of the other rooms.”
“I know about the torture exhibit and the weapons exhibit, which show different torture devices and weapons throughout the ages respectively…what about the other ones?”
“Monokuma has a room that’s basically a Darwin Award hall of fame called ‘Worlds Wackiest Deaths’. Not much to it, but the killer might have gotten ideas from there…another is a place that has information all about serious calamities from throughout history, like major wars and such. Calls it his ‘History of Death and Destruction’. Finally ‘Non-Murdery Murder tools’ which is just what it sounds like; a bunch of things that aren’t what usually come to mind when you think about killing someone. Needles, syringes, pillows, a sink was in there, a few chemical stuffs as well. The history exhibits are on the second floor along with the library, whilst that non-murder tools thing is here on the top floor.”
“Huh? But don’t the stairs go up higher?”
“Yeah, to the four towers. Nothing much up there except a catapult, though I doubt the killer launched themselves or Shinko’s body.”
“A-ah, yeah. That makes sense.”
-
New Truth Bullet: Exhibit List
A list of exhibits that exist inside the history building:
Torture Exhibit
Weapons Exhibit
Worlds Wackiest Deaths!
Non-Murdery Murder Tools!
Monokuma's History of death and destruction!
-
~Ding Dong, Bing Bong~
“Alright, I think I’ve given you all way more than enough time to get this all together, so hurry up and head down to the trial grounds! It’s time we get this trial underway!” Monokuma announced.
“Ah, it’s time…” Ishikawa-san frowned, glancing at Shinko-san’s body. “Let us discover the truth.” Ishikawa-san said before leaving the room.
-Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Trial Grounds-
When we all arrived the door for the elevator was already open, awaiting us to step onto it. “He’s raring to go this time around, huh? Stupid bastard, taking so much satisfaction in this.” Okanaya-kun growled.
“We…we should not worry, everyone! We have survived two class trials already, as long as we work together, we can overcome this trial as well!” Asano-san said, though I don’t know if she was trying to convince everyone else, or just herself.
“…Okanaya-kun, Kirishima-san. I’ll be counting on you two.” I said.
“Of course! We’ll all work together and get through this!” Kirishima-san nodded. I was with them last night, so I feel confident in saying that neither of them is the killer. It’s just figuring who else it could be…
“…’-kun’…?” Kurohiko-san tilted his head. “Odd of you to refer to anyone with something other than ‘-san’, Nagata-san.”
“O-oh?” I hadn’t even noticed that I was doing that.
“…ah. I get it.” Kurohiko-san, for some reason, had a knowing smile. “Don’t worry, Nagata-san. I’m sure it’ll work out.” He winked and walked onto the elevator.
“H-huh? K-Kurohiko-san?!”
“Nagata, c’mon!” Okanaya-kun dragged me onto the elevator and the doors closed behind us. Ugh, why was Kurohiko-san saying weird things at a time where I need to be focused?! We all waited silently as the screeching elevator moved down to the trial ground, opening slowly.
The décor has changed once again, matching the interior of the history building with torches that were barely lighting the room, shackles dangling from the grey stone walls. Monokuma said some usual speech about how we looked despairful and should take our places, but we were already moving whilst he spoke. “Hmm…? Have you already gotten used to this then?” He chuckled under his breath.
I glanced at the two new portraits. Hachi-san’s…instead of a regular X, their face was crossed out with two bloody magic wands, whilst Shinko-san’s face was crossed out with a regular X. We stood ready for another trial…
Toson Shinko, the Ultimate Horror Movie Director. He was rude, abrasive, and narcissistic. It was hard to understand him or even get close to him…but even so, his sharp words kept me on my toes and there’s no doubt in my mind that was just as scared about this situation as the rest of us, he just wanted to appear strong before us all.
Rina Kirishima
Yuuki Kurosaki
Doi Kurohiko
Saori Kibe
Amaterasu Hokama
Despite all that, somebody here is responsible for his death…
Sly
Karma Graves
Junpei Yokozawa
Maemi Watanabe
Kobo Okanaya
Tomoe Hachi
We need to find out who…otherwise we’ll never survive this killing game!
Mami Asano
Toson Shinko
Sadao Irunami
Tsukiko Ishikawa
Ryuu Nagata
And so, the trial of hope and despair…the battle…the third trial begins!
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Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies ~Daily Life Part 1~
THE LONG AWAITED CHAPTER 3 BEGINS
My bad for it taking so long I had a bad case of writers block half-way through but I have the whole plot for this chapter totally ironed out now. I’ll write as often as possible and hopefully I won’t leave you guys hanging like that again
Enjoy~
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Dream Sequence-
It’s cold. Really cold. Winter, I think. No snow but the wind is biting at my skin. I’m staring at a car.
No, I’m staring at what’s under the car. The blood coming from underneath and the hand stretching from underneath. There’s someone crying nearby. Where am I again? What am I doing?
Why didn’t I do anything? Why? Why?
Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy-
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Ryuu’s Room-
“Ugh!” I jolted up in a cold sweat. What was that? A dream? No…a memory? But surely something like that would be easy to recall, but I don’t remember that kind of event at all…it must have been a dream. “Y-yeah, a dream.”
I let out a shaky sigh and grabbed my E-Handbook. It was close to Monokuma’s morning announcement, so I may as well get ready.
…but should I even bother? After what happened yesterday…we could all be out of the killing game by now if I hadn’t spoken like that. It’s my fault we’re all still in the killing game…Hachi-san killed Irunami-san so we could all escape and I made both of their deaths in vain.
Even so…I should try my best to show face, shouldn’t I? Come on Ryuu. Pull yourself together.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Short numbered-
By the time I got to the cafeteria, I expected everybody else to be already eating breakfast though when I entered the room, there were a few people missing from the group. “Huh…? Is this everyone that showed up?” I asked everyone present.
“Shinko and Yokozawa said the same thing, they don’t feel like they can trust anybody here. So, they’ve locked themselves in their rooms and are refusing to leave. They’ll probably leave later to get food; they can’t stay in there forever.” Sly-san answered.
“Hmm? You went to check on them?” Asano-san inquired.
“We need to keep track of the group in this situation. Don’t read into it when it’s nothing deep.” Sly-san said.
“Graves-san isn’t here either…” Ram-san noted.
“I met her in the hallway earlier. She said she was going to keep her distance for a while. Doesn’t know who to trust anymore.” Kurohiko-san answered. This group really broke up after last night. And with those three not present right now…it really feels empty in here than how it used to be…
“Oi, Nagata. Did you sleep alright? You look exhausted.” Okanaya-san looked at me with worry. I instinctively touched the dark circles under my eyes. Ram-san looked over with concern as well.
“It’s nothing. Bad dream is all, woke me up early.” I murmured.
“One bad dream is not such a terrible thing, Nagata-sama. After all, it is better to get your bad dreams out of the way so that your eternal dream will be an enjoyable one.” Ishikawa-san smiled.
“Jesus, do you ever talk about something less terrifying? You realise what situation we’re in, right? We don’t wanna hear you talk about death all the fuckin’ time.” Okanaya-san snarled.
“I was not attempting to make anyone uncomfortable.” Ishikawa-san replied.
“Well you are, so shut up already.”
“Okanaya, that’s enough.” Sly-san said. Okanaya-san grumbled under his breath but dropped it. This group is starting to show cracks. Today it may only be three people that don’t show up, but what about tomorrow? What about the day after that? Will I even live long enough to see the day after tomorrow? What am I supposed to do-
“N-Nagata-kun…” Ram-san put her hand on mine.
“Sorry. I’m fine.” I lied with my best fake smile. I’m not sure if she believed it or not but Ram-san nodded slowly not letting her concern disappear from her expression. I wonder if anyone’s stealing glances at me? Do they hate me?
“Geez, what’s with the tension in here? So gloomy, it’s like you guys lost your chance at something suuuuper important.” Monokuma said, doing his stupid sudden appearance shtick. I’m over it. “…not even a yell from the pansy? Alright then. I was gonna wait until everyone gathered to tell you, but it seems like this is about as good as it’ll get.”
“Let me guess. Another building has opened up?” Sly-san said.
“W…wow, you aren’t just gonna let me have my moment, huh…?” Monokuma looked down with a sad expression. “Yeah…you got a new building. Feel free to explore it at your own discretion. Or don’t. Doubt you’ll find anything useful there anyway.” Monokuma shrugged before disappearing again.
“Eh? Why did he say that? About not finding anything useful there…?” Kurohiko-san asked.
“Probably because we won’t find anything useful.” Sly-san said.
“Or he is using reverse psychology in order to compel us all to investigate the new building. I feel as though that is a much more plausible answer. What shall we do?” Ishikawa-san said.
“It’s probably for the best that we investigate. The more we learn about this place, the better. Shall we all head over?” Kurosaki-san asked.
“Will you be included in that group? If so, I’ll pass.” Sly-san folded his arms and leaned back into his seat.
“I suppose it’s just the rest of us then! Have fun, Herr Knives!” Kurosaki-san smiled and gave Sly-san’s back a firm slap as he walked past him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get so angry that quickly.
“Don’t touch me so damn casually!” Sly-san yelled. There was a moment of shock seeing as he’d never lost his cool before. Though he regained his composure just as quickly as he lost it. “…if you start pushing everybody’s buttons then you’ll just end up dead.”
“O-oi, Sly! No need to say stuff like that! I get your pissed, but…” Okanaya-san said warily. Sly-san crossed his arms and looked around the room.
“If you all want to be around that then be my guest. Just don’t cause any trouble for me.” Sly-san stood up and made his way for the door.
“Sly-sama, please wait-“ Ishikawa-san attempted to call out to him but he was already out the door by the time she found her voice. Even Sly-san is distancing himself from the group. Even though we said we’d all work together at the start of all this!
“Ah…that’s a shame.” Kurosaki-san murmured. “Shall we? We should investigate the building now.” He made his way for the door. There was this lost look in his eyes as if a difficult thought was stuck in his mind.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to understand what goes on in his head.” I said to nobody in particular. Ram-san gave me a look of concern, though she understood what I mean. I’m sure of it.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: History has its eyes on you-
I walked to the building next to the Leisure building with Ram-san and Okanaya-san. To say the building exteriors differed would be an understatement. In contrast to the leisure building which appeared more like a fancy gym, this building was designed to appear like a medieval castle with four spires at each corner of the building and iron bars on the windows instead of glass and curtains.
The only part of the building that seemed out of place with the rest of it was the front door. A card reader was attached to the wall next to a glass sliding door that had no handle for us to open it with. “A card reader to get into the building? How come the other buildings don’t have this?” Okanaya-san asked.
“Are you wondering about my design choices?” Monokuma suddenly appeared next to us, me and Ram-san jumping slightly. “It’s a card reader, just use your E-handbook on it already!”
“But why is it only on this building?” Okanaya-san asked again.
“I like to give a unique thing to each of my buildings! The dorms are underground, the leisure building had the massive ventilation system…and this! The history building has a card reader to get in and out of it!”
“History building?” Ram-san repeated.
“Yep yep! This building has got all kinds of good stuff! There’s an archive filled to the brim with cool books to read! There are many exhibits throughout the floors for you to check out too! I’m sure nerds like Nagata will enjoy it!”
“H-hey!” I protested.
“Anyway, you guys get the gist, right? You gotta use your E-handbook to get in and out of the building! So…I’ll see ya later!” And with that, he was gone.
Okanaya-san sighed and pulled out his E-Handbook. “What a pain in the ass. This is so unnecessary.” He held his E-Handbook up to the card reader. The LED light above the reader went from blue to green and the door slid open.
The three of us walked in to be greeted by the discomforting atmosphere. The hallways were dimly lit by the fires of torches decorating the walls. I know Monokuma likes his themes, but this is way too much.
“Should we look for those exhibits that Monokuma mentioned?” Okanaya-san asked. Ram-san and I silently agreed and began making our way through the hallway of the building. I stuck close to Okanaya-san, as did Ram-san, though she was holding onto his sleeve and looking around nervously at the walls. There were odd red stains here and there decorating the stone…I didn’t want to think about it.
We entered the room at the very end of the hallway to find it decorated with displays of different weapons across the walls and in glass cases. It reminded me of a museum with how it was laid out. The head of Graves-san popped out from behind one of the displays and grinned widely at us.
“Yo, dudes! Can you believe this place?! How cool is all this?!” She cheered brightly. “I dunno how Monokuma managed to do all this. Some of these weapons are can’t get acquired by the public and some I’ve only seen drawings of. I never thought I’d get to see these kinds of old weapons for myself!”
“If that’s all true then I really worry about Monokuma’s sources.” I murmured.
“Ah…like whoever’s running this killing game? Someone rich, for sure. They’d need billions if they wanted to set something like this up. Not to mention actually constructing this area for us to play in…”
“Play?” Okanaya-san repeated.
“Well, duh! You ‘play’ a game, right? Even if it’s a killing game, it’s a game, nonetheless. So, we’re the players and we’re playing…right?” Graves-san spoke so casually about it that it actually threw me off a little. I suppose she’s in the same boat as Sly-san and Kurosaki-san. They all seem to have been through a lot to get to this point, so I shouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t so easily phased by the situation.
“Either way, the real problem is knowing who had the ability to set it up.” I jumped a little when Yokozawa-san spoke. How long had he been there?! He clearly noticed my surprise and formed a look of irritation. “Pay attention to your surroundings. I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Oh yeah! I totally forgot I followed you here!” Graves-san said.
“I don’t blame you. I don’t stand out, so it’s not like I’m worth remembering.” Yokozawa-san threw his arms up as if he were joking though I’m pretty sure he was being serious…
“Yokozawa-kun, we heard you weren’t going to be leaving your room anymore. Why are you out here? In fact, we heard you were going to keep your distance from us too, Graves-san!” Ram-san asked.
“It’s a new area. Even if I don’t wanna get involved with all of you, I should still investigate as new areas open up to us. Never know when we might find a hint about our situation. Unfortunately, I got spotted by Graves-san and now I can’t seem to shake her off.”
“Hey now! I know you appreciate the company! It can’t be too fun being alone all the time. Plus I have the same reasons for being here as Junpei, so I thought it made sense to go about with him.” Graves-san said.
“Speak for yourself. I don’t mind being by myself, in this situation, it’ll probably be better for my health if I keep my distance.” Yokozawa-san replied. “You’re all trouble for me…keep out of my way, alright? I don’t wanna end up like the others.” The blogger shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and strolled out of the room.
“Hmm…he’s definitely lonely.” Graves-san nodded slowly.
“You can tell?” Ram-san asked.
Graves-san seem to take her time deciding her reply, “I guess…I used to be pretty lonely.” She muttered.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Fields of Knowledge-
We made our way up to the second floor and made our ways to the room marked with a book on the ElectroID maps. It was easy to predict that when we entered that the room in question was going to be a library, tall walls filled to the bring with books almost like an archive that was started as far back as the stone ages.
“Th-this is incredible…! Did Monokuma prepare this for us?” Ram-san asked, taking in the view.
“So many books…I guess we at least have something to occupy our time with. Though I’d rather find a clue to a way out of here.” I said. It was an impressive collection though; I couldn’t deny it.
“These are all most likely history books if this is the history building…even so, I want to have a look around and see if we can find anything useful.” Ram-san said.
“Good idea! Alright, Nagata, you take the centre part, I’ll take the left! Ram, we’ll trust you with the right side of the room!” Okanaya-san ordered out his instructions and without waiting for a response, ran off into the shelves of books.
“At least he’s always prepared to work.” Ram-san said before walking to the other side. I walked down the centre aisle of books. They were categorised by subject. Middle Ages. Roman Empire. Medical Studies. Even some 20th century crime novels. Even if Monokuma placed these here to give us ideas for murder, I still might read them at some point.
As I was nearing the end of the line of bookshelves, I felt myself step on something. Moving my foot out of the way revealed a polaroid photo laying on the middle of the floor.
“Wh…what the heck…?” I murmured as I picked it up. The photo showed Kibe-san, Hachi-san and Irunami-san all sat in a line together holding up peace signs to the camera, a large window with the sun shining in was in the background and in the corner of shot I could make out what seemed to be a classroom desk.
What the hell is this…? Did those three know each other before we came here? No, I’m sure Irunami-san would have mentioned knowing those two before coming here.
“Whoops!” Monokuma suddenly dropped down from atop the shelves. “Can’t believe I left this lying around, silly me!”
“E-eh? This belongs to you?”
“Umm…in a sense! A-anyway, give it back!” Monokuma quickly snatched the photo away. “Memories are important, you know! I wanna keep this one, so stop being so selfish!” Without making any sense, he jumped atop the shelves once more, most likely disappearing as he always does.
What was with that photo? The way Monokuma talked about it…is it a real photo? Not faked? A memory…
“Oi, Nagata!” I snapped back up and saw Okanaya-san waving at me from the end of the line of bookshelves. “What’re you standing around for?! Come on!” Whatever that was…I have a bad feeling about its implications…
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Report back!-
We all sat down in the cafeteria. Or…all those that were still coming here. “Ah…we’re really short on people now…” Kurohiko-san commented.
“It can’t be helped. Plus without Tomoe-chan, we don’t have anybody here to give us maps to visualise our new locations…it sucks.” Amaterasu-san said.
“If it sucks so much, try to show it, will you?” Kurohiko-san sighed.
“If I may take the lead for our reports, please?” Asano-san waited to hear if there were any objections. “N…no? G-good. Shall we discuss our findings on the history building…? Myself, Kurohiko-kun, and Amaterasu-san all worked together when investigating however we could not find any such clue as to how we can escape.”
“So, the usual.” Okanaya-san sighed.
“That doesn’t mean there wasn’t cool stuff to see! On the first floor this had this amazing display of different weapons from across the ages! I’ve never seen anything like it! I love the history of weaponry!” Graves-san said cheerfully.
“E-even though that was all put together so it would be easier for us to kill each other…?” Ram-san said.
“Weapons can still be interesting, even if they aren’t being used.” Graves-san replied.
“It’s definitely less jarring than the torture room on the third floor. Filled with different kinds of instruments of torture. Iron maidens, stretchers, pliers, saws…it’s nasty.” Amaterasu-san said in her usual monotonous voice.
“T-torture stuff…?” Graves-san gasped. “I can’t believe I never went to check it out! I’ll need to rectify this mistake as soon as possible! The stretcher is one of my favourite torture devices, it should have been used in a Saw movie, for sure! I’ll take Junpei to see it!”
“Something tells me Yokozawa-sama would most likely decline that offer.” Ishikawa-san said with a giggle. “It is clear Monokuma-sama is far more direct now about wanting us to kill each other if he’s put all of that together. He also gave us supplies to make murder easier to commit.”
“What do you mean? There’s more?” Kurohiko-san paled a little. “G-geez…isn’t there already enough…”
“A room also on the third floor contains things such as special poisons, common things people are allergic, trip wires, chemicals, and far more.” Ishikawa-san explained. She was silent for a moment before pursing her lips, “I…feel as though we should steer clear of that building at all costs. It is far too dangerous to go near…”
“Oh…? I’m afraid I can’t agree to that. After all, that library is far too important to stay away from.” Kurosaki-san said. He was being unusually quiet this whole time, it was a little unnerving. “That library has a lot of valuable information if you know where to look. I plan on studying the contents there further afterwards…but I feel as though a clue to our situation is hiding in there. Somewhere in those books.”
The photo Monokuma snatched away from me came to mind. I could say something right now, but if I do…would that have good consequences? People might suspect the people in the photo are suspicious. But we all saw their bodies…
Kurosaki-san’s eyes flicked towards me. Does he know what I’m thinking? Do I look suspicious? How does he always seem like he knows what’s going on…?
“Very well, the library may be okay…but perhaps we can board up the other rooms? We should at least take some defensive procedures.” Ishikawa-san said.
“You think Monokuma would allow something like that? Don’t be an idiot. He’d change the rules in a heartbeat so that we aren’t allowed to block the entrances to the rooms in any of the buildings.” Kurosaki-san argued.
“He has a point. Monokuma’s goal is to kill all of us. No way he’d let us block our own access to the weapons.” Amaterasu-san said. Ishikawa-san fiddled with the sleeve of her dress and silently conceded defeat.
“If that’s all, are we done here? I plan on heading back into the library and continuing my studies…” Kurosaki-san stood up and made his way for the door. His hand resting on the door-handle, he looked back at the group, giving me a once over in particular. “We all have things we’re hiding…I wonder who’s hiding the fact that they’re the reason we’re here.” And with that, he left.
“What a prick. It would so much easier if he was one of the ones who died.” Okanaya-san cursed.
“Okanaya-kun, you can’t say something like that!” Ram-san puffed her cheeks out and glared at Okanaya-san. The tour guide took a moment staring at Ram-san’s face before letting out a sigh. Something about that expression seemed to stop him from arguing. “…ah, sorry, I just yelled at you like that!”
“No, it’s fine. You’re right…my bad.”
“…can I ask you guys something?” Kurohiko-san spoke.
“Is something wrong?” Ishikawa-san said.
“…if I’m honest, a lot is wrong. We’re falling apart as a group. Four of us are keeping their distance…Kurosaki-san…he just gives me a bad energy…I don’t know what to think anymore…”
“Kurohiko-kun, that is not the attitude to have.” Asano-san said. “I will concede that our position as a group is less than ideal but if we act like that then our situation will never improve. For now, we should give those people space to collect their thoughts before we try to ask them to re-join us in our routine.”
“…if you say so…” Kurohiko-san nodded.
“You guys are something else.”- Graves-san folded her arms –“I only came here to see what everyone had to report…but now I just don’t understand you all even more. So frustrating…”
“Graves-san?” I said cautiously.
“…oh well. Nothing I can do about it.” She shrugged, making her way for the exit. Guess it was going to take more to get her to come back into the group properly.
“She has a darkness inside her, do you not think? Right now, I would say Graves-sama is our biggest worry.” Ishikawa-san said.
“She’s a secret agent. Other than Sly-chan, Karma-chan is the one who’ll have the easiest time killing someone. Scary.” Amaterasu-san added. Yeah…scary.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life, The Cards in your deck-
The usual. We stood in the gymnasium after Monokuma made his announcement. Even those who were keeping their distance had turned up, though clearly not happy about the situation. Shinko-san was angrily tapping a rhythm with his shoe.
“That motherfucker barely even waits before giving us a motive. I’m sick a’ this shit!” He growled.
“Shinko-sama, do not give into those emotions of yours. Us 12 have been able to resist the past two motives. I am sure we will all be able to do it again. If we have faith in each other and work together, we will prevail.” Ishikawa-san reassured.
“God, that way you talk pisses me off. You can spout the same fuckin’ speech all you want, but if there’s a motive, someone will give into it. It’s just how it goes.” Shinko-san replied. Ishikawa-san pursed her lips and glared at Shinko-san. An unusual thing for Ishikawa-san to do but I suppose Shinko-san and Ishikawa-san have always been like oil and water…
“Yikes! Such a thick juicy tension! Can I get a bite?” Monokuma laughed into his paws. “I’m kidding of course! Tension is way too full of calories for a bear of my size!”
“Can you just quit with the jokes? They don’t even make sense now.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Not my fault you stoic chicks don’t get humour.” Monokuma shrugged. “Anyway, guess what time it is, kids! Motive time! And for todays motive…” Monokuma produced a set of cards. Each with the name of one of us written on the front.
“Ah…didn’t we already do something like this?” Graves-san asked.
“No! This is different! Just take it!” Monokuma handed out the cards to the corresponding student. I opened mine up to find a list of names…a list of familiar names. The names of my parents, my siblings, and one or two of my close friends.
“Oh…? It’s laid out like a polling card.” Ishikawa-san pointed out.
“It sure is! Because this motive is a game of choice! You each have a list of the people who are closest to you on the outside world, your job is tick one of those names as a sacrifice!”
“…sacrifice?” Sly-san’s expression clouded over in an instant. “That better be a joke.”
“Huh? Why would I joke? In 48 hours, you gotta have a name ticked on that card! If you don’t pick somebody…everybody on that card is gonna be sacrificed instead! And, well…you know the method in which you can prevent it from happening, right? It’s pretty obvious how to save everyone on that list.”
“E-everyone…?” I felt my hands begin to tremble. My family…? My friends…? One of them…or all of them…?
“Hey. I said that you better be joking.” Sly-san stepped forward.
“H-hey, Sly-kun…” Yokozawa-san warily.
“What.” Sly-san spun around, glaring at Yokozawa-san who stepped back from Sly-san’s glare. “Monokuma-“ He turned back to find the bear gone. “…dammit.” He clicked his tongue.
“H…how the hell am I supposed to pick…? H-how can I pick…?” Kurohiko-san whimpered.
“If you don’t know who you’re gonna pick, don’t pick. Simple as that.” Graves-san said. “I dunno if I’ll pick. Would I be fair to pick one person over the other…?”
“I can’t allow that…I can’t allow her to get hurt…” Sly-san murmured. “I won’t let her die. I’ll do what it takes…”
“Oh-ho? Herr Knives is getting so riled up! How unlike you!” Kurosaki-san smirked.
“If you’re gonna kill, try and kill me! I’ll give you a real good fight!” Graves-san said.
“D-don’t just say stuff like that, no way Sly-san would kill, r-r-right?!” Kurohiko-san panicked.
“I’ll kill anyone if I need to. I have no issues with killing any of you-“
“Enough!” A hush fell across the room, Asano-san held her arm in the air to grab everyone’s attention. Her arm was trembling a little with everybody’s eyes on her. “…w…we cannot fight like this. It is exactly what Monokuma-kun wants us to do. I’m sure there is a way out of this without killing anyone…we have 48 hours to figure something out so please do not be so irrational…please. I am sorry.”
“Haven’t you learned yet? There isn’t an alternative. Unless someone dies every single person on these lists is in danger.” Shinko-san said.
“I choose to believe otherwise.”
“Then you’re an idiot. Faith like that will get you killed.” Shinko-san shook his head. “…I don’t need this. I’m going back to my room.”
“Shinko-kun, wait!” Ram-san tried but he ignored her call for him and left the gymnasium, Sly-san and Yokozawa-san leaving silently afterwards.
Ram-san forced a small smile, “U-um…maybe we should cool off for the day…h-how about we all go to the pool or have tea-“
“No!” Ishikawa-san suddenly yelled, “I…no! I won’t…” She mumbled to herself before shaking her head and powerwalking of the room.
“E-even Ishikawa-san…I am sorry, I thought maybe I could help…” Asano-san sighed. “It seems my decisions are not helpful-“
“H-hey now, don’t say that. Even if things don’t work out the way you thought they would, doesn’t mean it’s your fault. Those guys are all really scared…I am too, b-but hearing you trying to be optimistic helped me a little…s-so, um…wh-what’s my point again? I can’t even remember…heh…” Kurohiko-san rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Yeah. Good work, Mami-chan.” Amaterasu-san added.
“O-oh…th-thank you, both of you.” She bowed slightly. I noticed in the corner on my eye that Ram-san was staring at Asano-san with awe.
“Asano-san…is really impressive, isn’t she? Even though she was taught to do what others said…she had the courage to speak up like that when someone needed to say something. Hey, Nagata-kun, isn’t Asano-san cool?” She smiled up at me.
“…yeah, she is.” I nodded. I think I wanted to be able to do what Asano-san just did.
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Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies ~Daily Life Part 2~
//Hooray for getting this done pretty quickly! Hopefully I’ll get the investigation out soon as well
//I’m also working on the FTE and those’ll be released in the order the characters died (Labelled Chapter 1 Victim etc) so look forward to that!
//Enjoy!
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Renaming Resolve-
“Kurosaki-san isn’t here today…” Kurohiko-san said as those of us remaining sat around the centre table eating our breakfast. That was now five people distancing themselves, leaving seven of us. “…what are we gonna do? At this rate we’ll all be divided…our unity will be totally broken.”
“Feel like our unity took a hit as soon as Maemi-chan turned up dead.” Amaterasu-san said.
“Our group may have taken hits, but we shall not submit to Monokuma-sama. I will not allow it. We must find a way to gather those five back to our group. With them all separate, we are danger of losing track of each other. Should a murder occur, there’ll be a smaller chance of finding out people’s movements.” Ishikawa-san said.
“That’s your concern?” Okanaya-san asked. “Ah…whatever. If our problem right now is that our group is divided, all we gotta do is reunite it. If we all take someone, then it shouldn’t be hard! Plus if you get Yokozawa, then Graves’ll probably follow.”
“True, she seems to have taken a shine to him.” Ram-san nodded. “But the issue is the how.”
“I guess we could try talking to them…” Kurohiko-san suggested. “It’s a weak idea, but we can’t really force someone like Sly-san to come back.”
“Then that is what we shall do!” Asano-san announced. “Hmm…Nagata-kun, if you could take care of Kurosaki-kun? Ram-san and Okanaya-kun can talk to Yokozawa-kun. Ishikawa-san and myself can talk to Shinko-kun whilst Amaterasu-san and Kurohiko-kun can talk to Sly-kun.”
“E-eh? I have to deal with Sly-san?” Kurohiko-san fidgeted.
“Don’t worry. I can deal with him if things get hairy.” Amaterasu-san gave a thumbs-up.
“I d-don’t want things to get hairy in the first place! I want things to stay very not-hairy!”
“Please, Kurohiko-kun! I trust in your abilities! I believe you and Amaterasu-san, so believe in yourself also.” Asano-san assured. Kurohiko-san stared at Asano-san for a few moments before twiddling his thumbs.
“Ah, what should I do? I’m totally terrified but if I don’t do this then I’m gonna disappoint Asano-san and I don’t wanna do that. But I don’t wanna see Sly-san when he’s acting so scary? Is death worth believing in Asano-san? Am I even gonna die? Is Asano-san right? How can I even know? Even if Amaterasu-san is there-“
“Enough.” Amaterasu-san swatted the back of Kurohiko-san’s head, shutting him up. “We’ll take care of it.”
“Excellent. I thank both of you.” Asano-san nodded.
“Then if we’re getting to work, let’s get to it! Ram, let’s-“
“K…Kirishima.” Ram-san suddenly cut Okanaya-san off.
“…huh?” He tilted his head.
“Um…A-Asano-san!”- Ram-san ran over and held Asano-san’s hands in her own. –“U-um…I wanna be more like you! You have so much courage now a-and…I wanna be able to help everyone here like you’re trying to as well…so…”- Ram-san turned to the rest of the group –“I…I need to reintroduce myself. I introduced myself as Ram, but…that’s obviously not really my name. Please…call me R-Rina Kirishima. I’m the Ultimate Taxidermist. I’ll do my best to continue getting along with you all…”
“Rina…Kirishima…san?” Kurohiko-san sounded out.
“I…have a lot of things I need to deal with…and if I don’t start dealing with them then I’ll be holding the group back. So…I needed to start being Rina…and stop being Ram.” Ram…Kirishima-san had a determined look in her eyes I hadn’t seen in her before.
“Kirishima-sama…” Ishikawa-san smiled softly, “The real you. I am glad we are going to be able to see it from now on.”
“A-ah, is that so…? G-gosh, I don’t know what to say…” Kirishima-san’s face flushed as she twirled the middle strand of her hair around her index finger. “…Um…I’ll do my best to get stronger. So, I apologise for you having to deal with me until then-“
“KIRISHIMA!!!” Okanaya-san suddenly yelled.
“K-Kyah!” She jumped.
“Alright, I’ve yelled your name, so it’s locked in my brain space! Let’s work together and get that bastard Yokozawa coming back here! YEAAAAH!” Okanaya-san began psyching himself up.
“Y-yeah…!” Kirishima-san smiled slightly. These two…are seriously something else.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life, The Most Dangerous Motive-
I don’t like that I’ve been left to deal with someone like Kurosaki-san by myself, but with four people to look for and seven of us, somebody had to go alone…but I couldn’t have gotten someone like Shinko-san?! He would’ve just cussed at me.
Mustering up whatever resolve I had, I knocked on Kurosaki-san’s door and waited until he answered the door. “Hmm…? Nagata-kyun! Is this a love confession?!”
“No.” I shot down immediately. “Kurosaki-san, is it okay if we talk for a bit? You’re free to say no if you don’t wanna-“
“Ah…” His expression quickly changed to one of disinterest, “you’re here to convince me to come back to the group, oui…? Sorry, I don’t really have any interest in re-joining the group right now. I have a lot occupying my time, from the motive, to the library, to Herr Knives…I’m afraid my hands are tied.”
“Sly-san has something to do with this?”
“Of course. I suppose you could say Herr Knives is…a restraint. Not just for me, but the whole group. His whole existence keeps people in line because they know he can shut down any dangerous behaviour in an instant, and nobody would dare mess with that. One of the reasons I find him so interesting is how his simple presence is intimidating.”
“And without him there…”
“The group loses that restraint. I suppose I could come back if he were to return…but he wouldn’t return to the group if I was there. Ergo, the best course of action is for me to distance myself from the group instead. I can handle myself, however, you have plenty of people that need that restraint in place.” Kurosaki-san explained.
“You pushed him to that point though.” I pointed out.
“Indeed, I did! Therefore, I should be the one to leave the group for being such a nuisance. I may be a schemer, but I’m not a murderer.” For some reason, I believe Kurosaki-san when he says that.
“What about the motive…? Are you really that worried about it…?”
Kurosaki-san smirked before pulling his hat down to cover his eyes, “yeah…but I’m guessing my worries aren’t the same as yours. No…I think that, out of everyone, I have the most dangerous motive card…”
“Wh-what does that-“
“Ah, look at the time! I should really get going. I don’t want to lose precious time investigating that library!” Kurosaki-san tipped his hat, stepping into the hallway and closing his room door over. “Adios, Nagata-kyun! Thank you for your kind words!” He began to walk away…if Asano-san was here…
“Kurosaki-san!” I called after him, “…you…should try talking to Sly-san. I dunno if it’ll help, but…it can’t hurt trying to communicate…” Kurosaki-san didn’t say anything. He simply looked over his shoulder at me and nodded before continuing on.
-Chapter 3 Bonus: Brand New You-
“I am so glad to see Asano-sama embracing her truest self that has been locked away so deeply inside her! It has also set Kirishima-sama on the same path! I wish to do something for the both of them! I makeover maybe, however finding the supplies for such a thing is difficult…” Ishikawa-san sighed.
“Actually, I got a make-up kit from the Monokuma machine if you wanna have it? I like the sound of it being used for such a cause.”
“Oh! This is perfect! Nagata-kyun, thank you so much. Hmm…I may need some assistance, so would you mind coming to my room later? I promise I will not try anything promiscuous.”
I’d hope not.
--
I don’t know why I had to come along but considering the creepy décor of Ishikawa-san’s room, I wish I didn’t. Despite her…vibrant personality, most of the stuff in her room was dark or old. It was slightly discomforting, though Kirishima-san and Asano-san didn’t seem to mind.
“I thank you both for coming here. I wanted to be able to have a get-together in order to celebrate both of you becoming your true selves. So, I believe the best way to celebrate is a little experimentation with makeup.” Ishikawa-san explained.
“I-isn’t that a little strange? Why celebrate with makeovers?” Kirishima-san asked.
“Well, whilst makeup can be used as a tool to hide your truest self, I also believe it can be a way to discover even more about you. If this can help either of your progress further in your journey of self-discovery, then I believe it will have been worth it.” Ishikawa-san said.
“And why is Nagata-kun here? Is he on a journey of self-discovery?” Asano-san asked.
“No, he is simply my assistant should I need one.” Ishikawa-san smiled. So, I’m not necessary, huh?
Ishikawa-san began use different types of brushes and different palettes on Asano-san’s face. I didn’t know a lot of the things she was using other than the obvious stuff like lipstick and mascara. Eyeshadow is a thing, right? She used a pencil to shape Asano-san’s eyebrows and a lot of different brushes on her cheeks.
“Hmm…what do you think, Asano-sama?” Ishikawa-san gave Asano-san a hand mirror. I could see her reflection and I admit, even I was taken aback by the transformation Ishikawa-san had achieved.
Asano-san usually perfectly porcelain white skin how was coloured with blush, her eyelids were coloured dark blue and her eyebrows were shaped to look more normal sized.
“I…almost look how I did when I was young. Before my parents began remaking me.” Asano-san said with a hushed tone. The hand mirror trembled in her grip before Asano-san launched herself and hugged Ishikawa-san tightly, “Thank you…Ishikawa-san, you did a wonderful job.”
Ishikawa-san smiled softly and patted Asano-san’s back comfortingly. “Of course. I am always glad I could help.”
Kirishima-san smiled at the two embracing then flashed her smile towards me. It seems she had fun as well, even if she didn’t get a turn to get her makeup done. Well, I guess I had fun too.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life, Midnight Trip!-
…
Tomorrow is the deadline for the motive…if I don’t tick a box on this card then everybody on the list will die. But how am I expected to pick from the people closest to me? Nobody on this list deserves to live over anybody else, so why am I being forced to choose between them all?!
There was a knock at the door. Well, more like seriously loud banging. I got off my bed, setting my motive card down and answered the door. “Nagata!!” I stumbled after being greeted with the bellowing voice of Okanaya-san.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
“Sorry about this, Nagata-kun. Okanaya-kun did the same for me.” Kirishima-san poked her head out from behind him.
“C’mon, let’s move, we got somewhere to be!” Not wasting any time, Okanaya-san grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me out of my room.
“H-hold on! You can’t just start pulling me around! O-Okanaya-san!”
--
Somehow, we ended up sitting on the grass near the central fountain. “Okanaya-san, it’s the middle of the night…why are we sitting out here in the freezing cold air? I want my bed.” I complained. Okanaya-san laughed as if I had said something hilarious.
“It’s team building, obviously! My team from the tour guide company loved to camp, but since we can’t sleep outside our rooms, I figured this was the best alternative!” Okanaya-san explained. “I really forgot how much I loved to sit under the stars with my friends, it’s pretty nice.”
“Y-you think of us as your friends?” Kirishima-san said.
“Huh? Well, duh. I know I was a pretty shitty guy when we all met, but when you’re put into a situation like this…yeah, I guess I was pretty on edge. Sorry you guys had to deal with me when I was like that.”
“No, it’s fine. Everybody was on edge when this all began…some still are…but, Kirishima-san and I know the real you. Even if you’re quick to snap, I know you’d jump at the chance to help someone. I’ve never been the assertive type, so watching you be so vocal about your opinion without worry…I kind of admire you for it.”
“O-oh…that so?” Okanaya-san blushed slightly. I’m not really sure where all that came from, but I think I really meant it.
“So, what did you and your friends do when you did something like this?” Kirishima-san asked.
“We mostly chilled out. It was a good way to distract us from shit that was bothering us. A particularly bad day or somethin’ like that. I figured it was necessary considering…” The motive, he wanted to say. “…hey, have you guys picked someone on those cards yet? I’ve tried to, but…I dunno how I’m supposed to make that choice…”
“N-no way I could do that.” Kirishima-san’s hands tightened on her lap, “I…don’t really have friends outside of here, so it’s only my close family that are on the card. I can’t choose between them all, but if I don’t tick someone…”
“Ah, that reminds me. What was with that whole thing? Y’know, calling yourself ‘RAM’.” Okanaya-san asked. Kirishima-san played with her hair as she thought about it.
“It’s…a sad story, I’m not sure you’d want to hear it.” She looked back at our understanding expressions. She took a deep breath before continuing, “It’s actually an acronym for a chant people would say whenever they saw me in my middle school. ‘Rina’s just Another Mistake’, but R-Jam didn’t exactly roll off the tongue so…”
“They called you Ram instead.” I guessed.
Kirishima-san nodded, “Th-they all were grossed out by my talent. If I tried to lend them a pencil, they’d recoil in disgust, I’ve had people throw their lunches on me and say that ‘at least you’re cleaner than before’…”
“So, how you reacted when I met you. That was because you were used to people reacting badly about your talent as the Ultimate Taxidermist?” I asked, Kirishima-san nodded again.
“Those bastards…” Okanaya-san clicked his tongue.
“Now that I think about it, that motive note Kibe-san tried to use during the trial said ‘Another Mistake’, didn’t it? So…”
“Before I came here, I was trying to reinvent myself back into being Rina, rather than Ram…but, when I was meeting everyone in such a strange situation, I completely shut down. As if all my progress up to that point meant nothing…so, I suppose you can call that unfinished business.” Kirishima-san said.
“What about the note you got for the motive?” I had been thinking about that for a while. Now that the motive was over, what were all the notes in the first place?
“It said ‘8 Days’. I’m not really sure what it means.”
“A time limit…come to think of it, we’ve been here like…9 days, right?” Okanaya-san said.
“Yeah. And if we got the note on the 2nd day…then that would mean that time limit is today…” I said.
“Sh-should we be concerned?” Kirishima-san asked.
“Nothing happened today though. I don’t think we need to be too worried.” Okanaya-san shrugged, “probably something in the outside world. Maybe something someone didn’t realise had a time limit?”
“That’s…probably it.” I got a strange feeling in my stomach…
“What about you, Nagata? What did your note say?” Okanaya-san asked.
“O-oh, um…I think it said ‘Ape’. Though I don’t really remember…geez, all of these motive notes…they were pretty vague, huh?” I forced out a laugh, but Okanaya-san’s expression had changed drastically. A grotesque darkness was hidden behind his gaze, his eyes widened and staring at the grass which his fists were clenching tightly.
“O…Okanaya-kun…?” Kirishima-san tried.
“Oi,” I flinched when he spoke, it was like the Okanaya-san from before the first trial was back, “if I ever hear you say that word to me again…”
“O-Okanaya-san?” I said.
Okanaya-san blinked, his pupil reverting to their normal size as his hands relaxed. “…s-sorry.” He put a hand over where his heart is and took slow breaths.
“…Okanaya-san, are you okay?”
“I will be. Y’just…caught me off guard. I didn’t think you…” I could guess what he was gonna say. Whatever ‘Ape’ meant, it was linked to Okanaya-san and it was clearly something he wouldn’t appreciate being pushed on.
“Wh…what about the note you got, Okanaya-san?” Kirishima-san quickly broke the silence.
“Ah…what did it say again? I think I was name…ah, yeah it-“ Before Okanaya-san could finish, there was a crashing noise that came from the leisure building. “Wh…what the fuck was that?! Is somebody else out here?!”
“Should we check it out…?” I asked.
Okanaya-san hesitated, “Yeah…we probably should, just in case.” ‘Just in case’…something bad happened. We all cautiously made our way towards the leisure building. Since we could hear the crashing noise, we figured that the source of the noise was somewhere around the perimeter of the building.
When we went around the side of the building, the window closest to the ground was smashed in from the outside. “What the hell…?” Okanaya-san questioned looking inside the window, parting the curtain to see which room it was. “This leads into the guys changing rooms right before the pool.”
“Did they really need to break the window to get in? Sh…should we look inside?” Kirishima-san asked.
“Yeah. Just in case.” He said ‘just in case’ again…
Even though we looked everywhere around the leisure building, there was no sign of anybody being there. Not even in the pool area. It was an odd event but none of us had any kind of explanation for it. Uneasy about the situation, but left with nothing to do, we all returned to our rooms.
-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Missing Maiden-
I sat quietly in the cafeteria. Despite our efforts yesterday, nobody seemed interested in coming back to the group. Not to mention that today, Asano-san still hadn’t arrived. I thought about bringing up the weird incident from last night, but…nothing came of it, so there’s no real reason to bring it up. Right?
“Geez, where is Asano-san?” Kurohiko-san sighed. “She’s usually here by now.”
“You miss her that much? Am I not enough of a comfort for you?” Amaterasu-san asked.
“N-no, I ain’t saying that! B-besides, why would you even think of saying something like that! S-so weird! A-Asano-san is g-great, but-“
“I’m joking.” Amaterasu-san interrupted.
“O…oh.”
“Ah, Kurohiko-sama. I am so glad you are getting to enjoy your youth. Not many boys can say they were caught in a love triangle, after all.” Ishikawa-san giggled.
“L-love triangle?! N-no way, this is definitely not like that! I m-mean, Asano-san and Amaterasu-san?!”
“You don’t like tall girls?” Amaterasu-san tilted her head.
“Y…you have to bring that, huh?” Kurohiko-san said while pouting like a little kid who just got denied candy. I didn’t think he was sensitive about that stuff.
“At least they’re all lively today, huh?” Kirishima-san half-laughed. I don’t know how…I can’t stop thinking about how the motive deadline is tonight. Tonight, Monokuma is gonna follow through on those lists. I doubt I’m the only one that’s thinking about it, but I’m certainly the only one showing it.
A minute or so later, Asano-san walked into the cafeteria with a look of concern painting her face, “We have an issue.”
“H-huh? What’s up?” Kurohiko-san asked.
“I was walking through the dorms and noticed that Shinko-kun’s door was slightly ajar. When I opened it, I found he was not there. And…he is not here either, it seems. I’ve already searched this building but there is no sign of him!”
“Of Shinko-sama? I am sure he’s off doing something unimportant.” Ishikawa-san dismissed.
“Even so, tonight is the deadline for that motive! We cannot…”
“O…okay…okay! Um, why don’t we split up then?” Kurohiko-san stood up and put a reassuring hand on Asano-san’s shoulder. “Um…Asano-san and I can check the leisure building. Okanaya-san and Amaterasu-san, you guys are the fastest so how about you search the campus grounds-“
“So, Kirishima-sama Nagata-sama, and I shall all check the history building.” Ishikawa-san said, though with little enthusiasm. “Very well, if it will put Asano-sama’s mind at rest then we shall search.”
We all fled from the dormitory building and began our searches. Kurohiko-san and Asano-san went directly towards the leisure building whilst Amaterasu-san and Okanaya-san split up to cover as much group as they could. Leaving Ishikawa-san, Kirishima-san and I to head to the history building.
I pulled out my E-handbook and used to the scanner and we entered the building. “Where should we look? Should we split up?” Kirishima-san asked.
“Uh…I’ll check out this floor. Kirishima-san, you check the 3rd floor. Ishikawa-san-“
“The second floor? I understand.” Without listening to another word, Ishikawa-san left.
“Ah…is she alright?” I said.
“Ishikawa-san isn’t usually this cold. Does she really not care for Shinko-kun that much…?” Kirishima-san frowned.
Putting that away in our minds, we split up as well. I went down the hallway to the weapon exhibit. All the glass cases seemed to be undamaged, but more importantly, Shinko-san wasn’t in here. Something that did catch my eyes was a disturbed pile of rocks, my mind went back to last night…
Shaking my head, I left the room and moved to check the classrooms though before I could open the doorway-
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
“K-Kirishima-san?!” Without a second thought, I began sprinting up to the second floor, two steps at a time. I spotted Kirishima-san wobbling down the stairs, falling into Ishikawa-san’s arms.
“Kirishima-sama?! A-are you-“
“Th-that torture exhibit room…” Kirishima-san put a hand over her mouth, her face had a slight green tint to it.
“…Kirishima-sama, will you be okay going to the bathroom by yourself? I feel as though both myself and Nagata-sama need to see this.” Ishikawa-san asked. Kirishima-san nodded and began looking for the bathroom, “…Nagata-sama. This will likely be a horrifying scene, are you ready?” Not even asking if I want to see it. I have to see it.
Ishikawa-san and I made our ways up to the third floor and went towards the torture exhibit. “…Shinko-sama.” Ishikawa-san murmured his name, “I…do not have a good feeling.” I nodded, understanding. We slid the doors open.
The unfolding scene made me understand that our situation still hasn’t changed…
The torture exhibit was decorated with various instruments. I could only imagine how most of these would function, but my eyes were drawn to the giant iron casing placed against the wall: an iron maiden with blood flowing from the bottom of it. With the iron maiden closed, there was no way to know who was inside…but my gut said-
~Ding Dong, Bing bong~
“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time for investigation, a class trial will be held! Everyone better haul ass over to the torture exhibit in the history building!” The monitors turned off.
“…I’ll investigate it.” Ishikawa-san walked towards the iron maiden and stares at it from a distance. “…there’s a slide where the head would be.” Ishikawa-san reached over the blood and opened the slider. Her face was stoic but her tone was dark, “Indeed…it’s Shinko-sama.”
Shinko-san…Toson Shinko, the Ultimate Horror Movie Director…
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Meet the Students #16
Name: Yuuki Kurosaki
Gender: Male
Height: 6′0″
Birthday: July 1st (Cancer)
Likes: Scrapbooks
Dislikes: Arrows
Talent: Ultimate Explorer
Travelling from continent to continent, Yuuki Kurosaki is always searching for his next adventure. With credits for discovering hidden temples across the globe and recovering treasure, Yuuki is known among treasure hunters and explorers alike. He is a natural flirt with everyone around him, though he says that it’s just fun and its hard for him to fall in love. With his two trusty whips attached to his belt at all times, Yuuki is always raring for an adventure.
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Meet the Students #1
Name: Ryuu Nagata
Gender: Male
Height: 5′8″
Birthday: February 14th (Aquarius)
Likes: Katsudon
Dislikes: Grapes
Talent: Ultimate Lucky Student
A meek and shy boy who won the lottery to enter Hope’s Peak Academy. Doesn’t think much of his talent as rather than affecting him, its actually the people around him who become lucky. The first signs of his gift were displayed the first week of his birth when his parents won the lottery. He cares the most about his family but has a hard time talking about them though for unknown reasons. He has an analytical eye though his self-doubt may one day hinder him from being able to help others.
#DKronpa#Profiles#fanganronpa#fangan ronpa#danganronpa oc#oc#//I'm gonna post one profile a day so get ready for one for the next just over two weeks#Ryuu Nagata
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Chapter 2: Lost in Sacrificial Fate ~Investigation~
And the first chapter on a blog of its own! The investigation into the 2nd murder is underway, hope you all enjoy! And with the creation of this blog, I’ll probably create profiles for each character so that if anyone (for some reason) finds this blog and wants to read it, knows a little about each character.
-Chapter 2 Investigation, Auditorium-
We all just stood in silence, just staring at Irunami-san’s body. We had all just watched him die in front of us, how the hell was I supposed to process something like that? He was just on stage about to start his act and then all of a sudden…
“He’s not here, is he?” Sly-san looked around the room. “Kurohiko. He’s been missing ever since the act with Kurosaki. He should have heard the body discovery announcement so, where is he?” That’s right, Kurosaki-san joined the audience after his set, but Kurohiko-san still hasn’t showed up. I’ll need to look for him during the investigation.
“Who cares about that guy anyway? What a total loser, right?” Monokuma said. Great. This again. “Ah, that beautiful lack of a scream…it’s such a nice change of pace. Anyway, with this brand-new murder I gotta present you with…the Monokuma File!” Just like before, our E-handbooks all buzzed when Monokuma said that. “Y’know this is gonna be super exciting! I just can’t wait to see how you guys will handle this whole trial!”
“Huh? What does that mean?” I asked.
“Ah, you’ll understand once you get to the class trial, so until then…I’ll see ya later!” And with that, Monokuma vanished.
“First and foremost, who’s going to watch over the body this time around? Last time Irunami and Hachi did it, but obviously that’s not going to be the case for this murder.” Sly-san said.
“I…I still want to watch over Irunami-kun’s body…I don’t think I could focus if I tried to investigate elsewhere…” Hachi-san sounded out their words slowly. Their mask made it hard to tell, but it was obviously hurting them a lot.
“Then I shall stay with Hachi-sama. I plan to perform an autopsy anyway.” Ishikawa-san said. “Please, leave this to me. I will help in whatever way I can.”
“It’s decided then. Hachi and Ishikawa will look over the crime scene. The rest of us should split up and try to find as much evidence as possible. Like last time.” Sly-san instructed. Like last time…first Watanabe-san, and now Irunami-san…how could we let this happen again…?
Investigation Start!
“Okay, the Monokuma File…” I opened up the file on my E-Handbook. The full-body image of Irunami-san showed a pink splotch on his head. That much was expected, so there’s nothing to really not on this page. I scrolled to the second page.
The victim is Sadao Irunami, the Ultimate Hypnotist. His body was discovered in the auditorium at 1:30 pm. The cause of death is blood loss from being struck with a blunt weapon.
This has a little less information than the first Monokuma file, so I’m not sure how useful it’ll really be. Either way, evidence is evidence. I can’t complain.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Monokuma File 2
Cause of death was blood loss caused by being hit by a blunt object.
-
“Let’s have a look then…” I stepped closer to the scene. I watched Ishikawa-san inspecting Irunami-san’s body without much problem. I didn’t want to interrupt her, so it might be easier to ask her later. “This here…is this a stage light…?”
“Right!” Okanaya-kun said with a smirk. “I gathered those from an equipment room backstage. Made the lighting rig myself…but geez, I can’t believe this happened.”
“The lighting rig fell…Okanaya-kun, do you think this could’ve been an accident?” Okanaya-kun seemed a little surprised for a moment. Did I say something weird?
“A-ah, um…I don’t think so. That lighting bar is pretty sturdy, and the cables were secured. I made sure of that last night.” He assured me.
“Well…who was working on the lighting for the show? Maybe it was sabotaged?” I asked.
“Nah. I was the only one working the lights for the show. There’s no way it could’a been sabotaged…so I guess this all bein’ an accident is possible. Though it’s just who caused the accident we’d need to figure out.”
…does he not realise?
-
Truth Bullet Added: Lighting Rig
A bar that held the stage lights above the stage. Came crashing down during Irunami's act
Truth Bullet Added: Cables
The cables that held the lighting rig up. Suddenly gave way during the performance.
Truth Bullet Added: Okanaya-kun’s Account
He was the only one who was working lighting for the show and he made sure the lighting was secure the night before
-
“It’s…odd…” Ram-san whispered. “Nagata-kun, it’s really odd!” She suddenly yelled.
“H-huh? What’s odd?”
“Irunami-kun…I m-mean…the stage outfit Asano-san and I made for him. He isn’t wearing it, and that’s really strange.” She fiddled with the middle part of her hair. Right, Asano-san and Ram-san were in charge of the costumes for the show. If Irunami-san was on stage, it’s odd that he wasn’t wearing his stage costume.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Ram-san’s Account
Irunami had a stage outfit prepared for his set however he was discovered in his regular clothes.
-
“How are you feeling though…? Last time we saw a body you really didn’t handle it well, not that I blame you. Are you feeling well enough to investigate this?” I asked.
“Y-yes…I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all, b-but we have to investigate, or we’ll all be in trouble. Don’t you think…?” Ram-san asked. Was it really necessary to ask something like that? Obviously if we didn’t investigate, we’d jeopardise our lives. “Nagata-kun, what about you? You did a lot of work the last class trial, are you going to be okay if that happens again?”
“I have to be. I’m not particularly special, but I can at least organise everybody else’s thoughts. That’s all I can do right now.” I closed my eyes for a moment. “We’ll work hard and find out the truth of the incident though. Okay?”
“Y-yeah. Okay.” Ram-san smiled weakly. I nodded and looked back at Irunami-san’s body, specifically the spotlight next to him covered in blood.
“I suppose this was the light that struck him when the lightning rig fell.” I said to myself. The light wasn’t attached to the rig, so it probably broke off on impact?
-
Truth Bullet Added: Broken Spotlight
A spotlight not attached to the rig that's covered in blood. Possibly the one that struck Irunami. The glass bulb is cracked but it’s overwise undamaged.
-
“Y’know, he was the most excited about the show…” Hachi-san spoke softly. “It was really Irunami-kun’s idea to have the talent show. Shinko-kun and I just helped him iron out the plan. But now…I should’ve stopped him or something. If I knew this was going to happen…”
“Hachi-san…” I tried to find words to comfort them, but nothing was coming to mind.
“It’s fine. I can focus still. You wanted to ask me something I’m guessing?”
“Actually, yeah. You were next on the list of performers, but when the lightning rig fell you ran past me. So…where exactly were you before the lighting rig fell?”
“Oh, I was in the audience. Irunami-kun’s final trick needed me to be in the audience, but he wouldn’t tell me what the trick was. He just told me that I’d know what to do when I saw it.” Hachi-san explained. “Come to think of it…Irunami-kun was acting weird ever since the motive got revealed. I can’t explain it, but he’s just been…off…organising the talent show, deciding who was in what group, making me host magic classes…”
“That’s a lot to absorb in one go…so he decided the groups, huh? And…magic classes?” I asked.
“Yeah. Irunami-kun said it would be worth my time teaching the special effects team one of my magic tricks. It was a wind trick. Though a pretty big number of the group showed up, guess they really wanted to learn from the best.” Hachi-san explained. Irunami-san did all of that…?
-
Truth Bullet Added: Hachi-san’s Account
Hachi was in the audience to help with Irunami-san's finishing trick but even they didn't get to find out what it was. Irunami had been acting strange since the motive reveal, organising the groups for the talent show and creating the magic classes.
Truth Bullet Added: Hachi-san’s Magic Lessons
Hachi-san was teaching magic classes to the special effects group in the days leading up to the performance including a wind trick that they were known for. A large portion of the group, even outside the SFX team showed up.
-
-Chapter 2 Investigation, Backstage-
Past the wings, I came to the backstage area which was a hallway with different dressing rooms situated along it. I counted 7 dressing rooms in total. “Jesus fucking Christ…” Shinko-san cursed, standing over an odd-looking machine.
“Shinko-san? Is something wrong…?”
“It’s the fog machines. Remember how much fog was on stage during Irunami’s set? That was way too much than what we’d use in the rehearsals, so I thought I’d check out the fog machines, but it looks like this one got broken when the stupid lighting rig fell.”
“Right, it was so foggy that we could barely see Irunami-san past it all.” I murmured. “What else can you tell me about the fog machines?”
“Not much else. They have different intensities; low, medium, and high. We had then set up in the wings so none of the fog would spread outside of the stage. They were supposed to be for Hachi’s act, but they turned on during Irunami’s instead. Maybe someone fucked up the timing of it.” Considering what just happened, I’m kind of glad for the fog.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Fog Machines
Several were set up in both wings offstage. They were to be used in Hachi's act, but were turned on early in Irunami's act
-
“By the way, Shinko-san when you were called up to the stage at the start of Irunami-san’s act…didn’t you say something to the effect of that not being the first time it happened.” I asked. Shinko-san took a moment and frowned.
“If I’m honest, it’s been bothering me for a while. I know Irunami’s a professional but his rehearsal and actual performance up until the lighting rig dropped were pretty much identical, word-for-word.” Word for word? It’s not impossible, but it sounds a little weird…
“What was the rehearsal process like?”
“Not too exciting. Basically, mostly Irunami and Hachi practicing what they’re gonna say and blocking their tricks and shit. Irunami recorded all the stuff he did so he could watch it back later and see if there was anything he needed to fix.” Shinko-san explained. That was a lot of information, but I’ll just need to do my best to remember it.
-
Truth Bullet Added: Shinko-san’s Account
Irunami’s act up until the lighting rig dropping was word-for-word the same as rehearsals. During the rehearsal process Irunami and Hachi took up the time blocking their tricks and recording them for future reference.
-
-Chapter 2 Investigation, Under the stage-
I wandered down a set of stairs that were backstage after saying my goodbyes to Shinko-san. I came to a dusty area filled with various junk from props to costumes to speakers though it was proving hard to see with how dark it was down here. They must use the area under the stage for storing the stuff they’re using for the show. I look around until I found a light-switch, flicking it the room was lit very dimly but I could at least see better.
As I ventured further into the room, inspecting the small bits here and there…that’s when it happened. Behind a box…I found him.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! DON’T KILL MEEEEEEEE!!!!” I jumped back in surprise as Kurohiko-san screamed in fear.
“K-Kurohiko-san?! Is this where you’ve been…?”
“H-huh…? Nagata-san? Oh, thank god it’s only you…” He let out a sigh of relief. ‘only’?
“What are you doing here?”
“A-ah…wh-when I heard that crash and then the body discovery announcement, I got really scared…I thought the killer might’ve been on a spree and trying to just kill everyone off.” So, he hid. What a troublesome guy… “Sorry, I probably worried everybody, huh…”
“Don’t apologise.” It took me a while to notice, but…Kurohiko-san’s outfit…
“A-ah, right. I’m still wearing my stage outfit, I know.” Luckily it was changed from what Hachi-san had made them wear that first day of rehearsal. “After I came off-stage with Kurosaki-san, I left to find my normal clothes, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I still don’t know where they went…geez, why does it always have to be me?!” Kurohiko-san’s clothes went missing, huh?
“Well…where did you leave them?”
“On the costume rack.” Kurohiko-san pointed to the costume rack in the corner of the room. “When I couldn’t find them I decided to look around the wings to see if one of the other racks had them.”
“You would’ve needed to cross backstage to go to both wings. Did you see anyone during that time?”
“Other than Okanaya-san who was working lights? No…well, I passed Amaterasu-san as well. She seemed frantic for some reason.” Amaterasu-san? Frantic?
-
Truth Bullet Added: Kurohiko-san’s Account
After coming off from the performance, he found that his clothes had went missing. He started searching around for them by checking the other costumes racks in the wings. During that time he saw Okanaya in the wings and Amaterasu walking around.
Truth Bullet Added: Costume Rack
Everybody's costumes for the show were left here. They were left under the stage.
-
I started to look around the area properly now with Kurohiko-san present to turn to in case I need to ask about something. I found a contraption resembling a lift. One wooden panel with a circular frame on each side of it. “Hey, Kurohiko-san? Do you know what this is?”
“Hmm? Oh! It’s the trap door. If you hit a switch them this panel on the bottom will be switched out with the panel on the stage. Pretty cool, right? It’s like everything in the auditorium is controlled via remote control! I think Irunami-san was planning to use it…before…” A trap door…
-
Truth Bullet Added: Trap Door
A lift that alternates between two panels underneath the stage. Activated by pressing a button.
-
Sitting around the back of the room was a toy car. It was a model I’d seen before when I played with my toys in elementary school, but what was it doing under the stage.
“That’s it!” Kurohiko-san suddenly exclaimed. “That toy car is the thing that Amaterasu-san was looking for earlier! It’s so awesome!”
“Why was Amaterasu-san was looking for a toy car?”
“It was part of her act. Whilst she sang to the audience, this car was supposed to drive around and pickpocket the audience without anyone realising. I saw her practicing with it earlier. Seems like its well equipped with a robotic arm so it can grab what it needs to.” Kurohiko-san explained. Even if she’s the Ultimate Thief, this seems a little too far…and where did she even get this?!
-
Truth Bullet Added: Remote Control Car
Was part of Amaterasu-san's act but she never got to use it. Equiped with a claw so it can pickpocket people while Amaterasu-san distracts them.
-
The last suspicious thing I noticed was nearer the trap door. A life-sized plush doll was lying on the floor. It was dressed in some kind of flashy outfit I recognised. It was the costume Ram-san had made for Irunami-san.
“You curious about the dummy? We used it as practice for the dangerous stunts like Kurosaki-san’s knife throwing and a few of Irunami-san and Hachi-san’s tricks.” I inspected the dummy closer, finding a tear at the base of the back of the dummy’s neck.
“Did you actually ever damage the dummy?”
“Don’t think so. Kurosaki-san’s pretty good with those knives so I don’t think he ever actually hit the dummy.” Then where did this tear come from?
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Truth Bullet Added: Dummy
Used during rehearsals to practice the more dangerous stunts. The one underneath the stage has a tear on it.
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-Chapter 2 Investigation, Irunami’s Dressing Room-
According to the name plaque on the door this was Irunami-san’s dressing room. For such an immature guy, this place is pretty orderly. There was a desk with a large mirror on the wall it was set against, the desk was covered with what I had to guess was stage makeup. Asano-san and Yokozawa-san were already in the room when I arrived.
“Nagata-kun, good timing. You won’t believe what Asano-san and I found.” Yokozawa-san held up a device that seemed to resemble a small cannon. “It was just chilling back here, and I thought it was suspicious. Turns out its something really cool!”
“Something cool?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Shinko-kun described it as a device like an air cannon that shoots out pressurised air. Irunami-kun was supposed to use one for his act that would be used to launch him into the air.”
“I-it’s that strong?!”
“Yeah! How cool would it have been to see that?! Just hit this power button and it builds up pressure and releases. It sucks we didn’t get too see it.” Yokozawa-san sighed. I think its worse that Irunami-san died but call me a buzzkill, I guess.
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Truth Bullet Added: Air Cannons
A cannon that shoots pressurised air after building it up for a while. Has enough power to blast someone into the air. Irunami was supposed to use it in his act.
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“Asano-san, what about you? Have you found or saw anything important?” I turned to Asano-san who seemed to smile slightly at the question.
“I am very glad you asked me. I feel as though I may have important information that could direct us towards the killer.” I seriously had to ask her to give us important information?! This girl… “When we were all in the audience, I took note of everybody around us at the time and just before the lighting rig fell the only people missing were Kurohiko-san, Okanaya-san, and Amaterasu-san.” A list of possible suspects?!
“Asano-san, I’m really glad you told me, but I shouldn’t have needed to ask you for that information. Would you have really kept it to yourself if I never asked?”
“Apologies if I upset you. I am only ever allowed to speak when other speak to me first.” Asano-san bowed apologetically.
“You’re not getting my point. If you have something to say, then you should say it. Your parents aren’t here, so you should be making decisions for yourself.” The idea seemed to visibly shock Asano-san. “Don’t worry so much. You see us all make our own decisions plenty of times, just do what you want to do…”
“What…I…want to do…?” Asano-san repeated. “W-w-well…I was thinking about the case as a whole…I feel as though that we should note certain things about the acts previous to Irunami-san’s act.”
“Huh?”
“I just…feel as though it’s important. Recall for Kurosaki-san’s act that several people were working lighting down in front of the stage. Myself, Yokozawa-san, and Ram-san were working the lights from the audience shining up to the stage whilst Okanaya-san was working in the wings.” Is this what they call women’s intuition…? “And for Shinko-san’s filming, those working on the film were busy the whole rehearsal times. Those people being Hachi-san, Ishikawa-san, myself, Sly-san, and naturally Shinko-san.”
“Whoa…Asano-san, you should speak up more often.” Yokozawa-san said. Yeah, no kidding…
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Truth Bullet Added: Asano-san’s Account
From Asano-san's observations, at the time of the murder Kurohiko-san, Okanaya-san, and Amaterasu-san were the only ones missing from the audience.
Truth Bullet Added: Kurosaki-san’s Set
Kurosaki-san had several people working lighting down front for his set. Including Asano-san, Ram-san, Yokozawa-san, and Okanaya-kun. He also had Kurohiko-san on stage to help him out.
Truth Bullet Added: Shinko-san’s Filming
The filming took the last few days to create. Hachi-san, Ishikawa-san, Asano-san, and Sly-san were all working on it with Shinko-san.
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I began poking around the room and my eyes landed on the costume rack. It had a bag that I’ve seen tailors put suits in. Irunami-san’s stage clothing was on that dummy though, so what’s in here…? I unzipped the bag and a familiar outfit tumbled to the ground. “Those are Kurohiko-kun’s clothes, aren’t they?” Yokozawa-san asked.
He mentioned that his outfit had went missing, so it ended up here…I inspected the clothes closer and found small splatters of blood on the shirt. Could this blood…?
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Truth Bullet Added: Kurohiko-san’s Clothes
Kurohiko-san's clothes he was wearing before Kurosaki-san's set. Found in Irunami-san's dressing room with blood on them.
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I looked at the mirror and saw a piece of paper taped to it. It was the rehearsal schedule that we all agreed to at the start of all this work. We’d start at 9 in the morning after breakfast and then we’d finish at 9 at night so we could chill a little before night-time. I suppose its not a bad thing if I keep note of this.
“Shinko-kun was pretty uptight about sticking to the schedule. Had to be here sharp, hard to leave sharp. He even locked the doors. What a guy, seriously.” Yokozawa-san commented. Keys again. Shinko-san and keys.
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Truth Bullet Added: Rehearsal Schedule
A schedule posted around the building for all the people working on the talent show to see. We would always finish work at 9pm.
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-Chapter 2 Investigation, Auditorium 2-
I arrived back at the auditorium to find a select few still present. Naturally Hachi-san and Ishikawa-san were still watching over the crime scene, but Graves-san and Kurosaki-san were here as well. It could probably pay to talk to them as well.
“Ishikawa-san, have you finished your autopsy yet?” I walked over to the thanatologist.
“Indeed. I’m quite pleased with my work this time around. As the Monokuma File said, the cause of death was indeed the blow to the head, however I also found that this wound was the only one Irunami-sama has. No signs of fighting back, and no second injuries.” Just the fatal blow.
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Truth Bullet Added: Ishikawa-san’s Autopsy
There are no signs of a struggle on Irunami's body, and the fatal wound was the only one present.
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I walked over to Graves-san who was covered with dust patches, just where had see been? “Graves-san? Have you found out anything interesting?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it! I was thinking that there might be evidence somewhere weird so I decided I would search the ventilation system. I crawled around there a whole bunch and found it goes through the whole building! Every floor, every room!” That explains the dust on her outfit. “Of course, I’m gonna have to wash all of this after the trial. I didn’t even find evidence, but I had fun!”
“I suppose that’s important?” Was it?
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Truth Bullet Added: Vent System
Goes throughout the whole building. Every floor and every room according to Graves’ investigation.
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And finally,…him. “Kurosaki-san-“
“Nagata-kyun! Perfect timing~!” Kurosaki-san held out two pieces of paper. “I made these for the investigation, I felt like they were important to note!” Huh…?
“These are…the production team jobs and the show line-up? You made note of this stuff, of all thing…?”
“If the killer is so who I think it is then we’ll need this. Just trust me on this, I’m sure it’ll come in handy.” Kurosaki-san smiled. Kurosaki-san was really helpful in the last trial, but his attitude still creeps me out…but information is information. It can’t hurt to know this stuff.
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Truth Bullet Added: Talent Show Line-up
Each act was on for 20 minutes - 30 minutes. There were five acts, Kurosaki, Shinko, Irunami, Hachi, Amaterasu
Truth Bullet Added: Job List
Perfomers: Hachi, Kurosaki, Shinko, Hokama, Irunami.
Tech Crew: Graves, Okanaya, Kurohiko, Kurosaki, Yokozawa.
Costumes & Props: Ram, Asano, Kurohiko, Nagata.
Special Effects: Hachi, Ishikawa, Sly, Okanaya, Shinko.
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~Ding dong, dong ding~
The monitor turned on. “Alright, I feel like I’ve given you all plenty of time! Meet at the red door like before and we can get this class trial underway!” The monitor turned off.
…the class trial…we have to go back there.
-Chapter 2 Investigation, Class Trial Grounds-
Once we had all gathered, Monokuma instantly appeared before us. “Good good, everybody showed up! I’m glad I didn’t have to drag that stupid idiot Kurohiko here!”
“H-hey!”
“Anyway, everyone should hurry into the elevator and I’ll meet you at the trial grounds! I just can’t wait to get started~!” And no sooner, Monokuma vanished and the elevator door opened. There was a moment of hesitation before Sly-san, Amaterasu-san, and Kurosaki-san walked into the elevator confidently.
“Everyone…I want to find Irunami-kun’s killer…” Hachi-san’s voice had a sudden grit to it; I was almost taken aback. “No matter what, I can’t let the killer escape, I won’t let it happen so please…let’s work together and find the killer.” Without another word, they stepped onto the elevator.
“Oi, Nagata…did you find anything out?” Okanaya-san asked.
“I’m not sure. I have a lot of evidence but putting it together might be a little difficult. So, I’ll be relying on you and everyone else. Please, do your best as well, okay?” I smiled.
“Yeah, you can count on me!” Okanaya-san nodded. “You too, Ram! We’ll be counting on you as well!”
“H-huh?! A-alright then! I’ll do my best!” Ram-san, caught of guard agreed without really knowing what was just said. Then we all stepped onto the elevator and took it down to the trial room. When we got off the elevator, the room had completely changed from last time. Instead of the simple red carpets, the whole room was decorated like a stage at an awards ceremony. Lights all focusing on the circle of podiums where Irunami-san’s and Kibe-san’s portraits were now added alongside Watanabe-san’s.
Watanabe-san…sorry we ended up here again.
“Alright everyone! Take your places and get ready for the trial to begin!” We did as we were told, a little less hesitation than before and stood ready for the trial…
Sadao Irunami, the Ultimate Hypnotist. In both appearance and in nature, he was a kid that was always joking around. He was a bundle of energy who could brighten up the whole room, not to mention he seemed to genuinely care about us all…someone like Irunami-san...was murdered.
“Ram”
Yuuki Kurosaki
Doi Kurohiko
Saori Kibe
Amaterasu Hokama
And that killer…they’re someone in this room.
Sly
Karma Graves
Junpei Yokozawa
Maemi Watanabe
Kobo Okanaya
Tomoe Hachi
For Irunami-san’s sake, we need to uncover who it is and survive!
Mami Asano
Toson Shinko
Sadao Irunami
Tsukiko Ishikawa
Ryuu Nagata
And so, the battle between Hope and Despair…the class trial…begins!
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Meet the Students #10
Name: Amaterasu Hokama
Gender: Female
Height: 5′11″
Birthday: April 20th (Aries)
Likes: Shiny things
Dislikes: Security Guards
Talent: Ultimate Thief
A girl whose family was evicted when they were young and forced to live on the streets. To her provide for her family, Amaterasu would steal food from stores so they could eat. Eventually, she fell in love with the thrill of the heist and began taking on bigger goals though she would always return anything important i.e. museum items, people’s wallets. A stoic girl that very rarely shows any emotions. Though she comes across as childish, personality wise, as she strikes idol poses and cracks jokes all whilst holding her same disinterested expression.
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Meet the Students #12
Name: Tsukiko Ishikawa
Gender: Female
Height: 5′4″
Birthday: August 15th (Leo)
Likes: Body Farms
Dislikes: Processed Cheese
Talent: Ultimate Thanatologist
As a thanatologist, Tsukiko is an expert in all things death: decomposition, rituals, funerals, etc. Similarly, she dresses appropriately in dark clothing. However, in sharp contrast, she’s easily one of the most upbeat, cheerful one could meet. While she can come across as weird and creepy, she’s really a nice girl. However, her most eccentric quality may be the fact that she believes she’s already dead: she suffers from Cotard’s Delusion, believing herself to be a walking corpse, even when others point out the inconsistencies in that fact.
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