Digital Clue
IV: Look what happened to the cook!
madjack89: Okay, it's FINALLY time for the next part of Digital Clue!
Kouji: Who would be excited about that?
madjack89: People that aren't gonna die!
Kouji: …Uh-huh.
JP: So who's dying next?
madjack89: We'll find out when I get there. Now on to some reviews!
Dawn of Glory: I warned you, didn't I?! (lol) Yeah, sorry bout that, but I'm glad you like it anyway! Thanks for reviewing!
fg1fg: Aw, maybe Dai would, but not Tommy (lol)! Anyway, who shall we kill next, accomplice? My personal vote is Kouji. (Kouji: What?!) I'm just kidding! Or am I…? Anyway, glad you're liking the story and I'm not quite sure if I want to put myself in this crazy murder house, even with my powers (I'm scared lol). Thanks for the review!
hazeleyedharmony: I know what you mean! Once I played the board game and watched the movie at the same time, but that's another story full of hyper sugarness (lol)! Anyway, thanks for reviewing!
JewelledTears: I know, Henry is adorable! That's why he's my favorite in Tamers! But so far, actual Digimon probably aren't playing a part in this story (that may change, though, because my brain works in weird ways). And don't collect the Duskmons, I'll go ahead and tell you Kouichi isn't the murderer, okay? He's too nice for that! Okay, thanks for the review! (And Jeri is creepy!)
agoodcupoftea: Glad you like it! Thanks for the review!
madjack89: Okay, time for the next pulse-pounding chapter! When we last left the Digidestined, they had just discovered Sora's dead body in the kitchen. What could this mean? Who would want to kill the cook? Read and find out!
--
"Could someone help me with this?" Henry asked, straining with the weight of Sora's corpse. The others quickly rushed over and helped Henry lay the body gently on the floor.
"According to my professional training, I can say without doubt that the cook was stabbed, with the dagger, in this kitchen," JP said, gesturing to the dagger sticking out of Sora's back.
"Ha ha, a Clue reference. Very funny," Kouji said dryly, rolling his eyes. "But we still don't know who's committing all these murders."
"Well, the food was pretty bad," Yoshi muttered, smirking.
"How can you be making jokes at a time like this?" Takuya asked, glaring at Yoshi with disgust.
"Someone has to lighten the mood around here, and if it has to be me, then fine," Yoshi replied.
"You know," Takuya growled, "if I was the killer, I would kill you next."
Jeri and Henry suddenly got up from their crouched positions by Sora's body and stared at Takuya suspiciously. Yoshi put her hands on her hips and stared at him as well, smiling triumphantly.
Takuya looked around nervously for a moment, then said, "Now c'mon, guys, I said if! And besides, if anyone here is crazy enough to commit two murders, it's Jeri!"
Everyone turned their attention to Jeri. "He's got a point," Kouji muttered, remembering Jeri's other crimes.
"I am innocent until proven guilty," Jeri said firmly, reaching into her pocket and retrieving her puppet.
"Yeah, innocent until proven guilty," the puppet agreed.
"Seriously, is anyone against me ripping that puppet up with my bare hands?" JP asked.
"Save it," Kouji said, walking up to the body. "Right now we should take this body to the study."
"Why?" Yoshi asked.
"Because there's already one body in there," he replied. "Might as well put all the bodies in the same place."
"Okay guys, I'm feeling better now HOLY CRAP!" Mimi came into the kitchen, beheld Sora's body, and abruptly fainted.
"She is so gonna die," Zoe said sarcastically.
--
After reviving Mimi, the guests took hold of Sora's body and made their way to the study. When they stopped at the open door, everyone gasped. Matt's body, which had been in the room moments before, had vanished.
"Oh my god," Zoe said softly, stepping into the room. The others slowly began to join her, searching for any sign of the body. When they found none, they gathered into the middle of the room to discuss things.
"Okay, there was one person over here while we were in the kitchen, and that was Mimi," Yoshi said, pointing accusing at Mimi.
"I didn't do anything!" Mimi cried. "Why would I want to move a dead body, anyway?"
"She's got a point," Takuya said, pondering.
"Then the only other possibility is that Matt wasn't actually dead," Henry said, glancing at JP.
"I thought he was dead," JP said defensively. "But I guess it doesn't make much of a difference now."
"Makes a difference to him," Yoshi muttered, lighting up a cigarette.
"I think I need to go powder my nose," Mimi said, stumbling over Sora's body and heading to the bathroom.
"Okay, let me get this straight; we have one body for sure, one body that has mysteriously disappeared, six murder weapons strewn about, and the police are coming, plus we're all stuck in here with a murderer," Jeri said, stating the facts.
"We're screwed," JP said.
Suddenly everyone heard screaming coming from the hall. The guests rushed out of the study and saw Mimi seemingly being attacked by Matt.
"Quick; grab him!" Kouji yelled, charging forward and grabbing Matt before he could harm Mimi. The others gathered around as Kouji let Matt fall with a thump onto the floor.
They stared at his sightless eyes and noticed blood seeping from a wound on his head before JP said, "Okay, if he wasn't dead before, he's definitely dead now."
"Who the hell would want to kill someone twice?" Yoshi asked skeptically, pointing at the new injuries.
"A psycho?" JP said, shrugging.
"Which brings us back to Jeri," Takuya said, staring again at Jeri.
"She was with us the whole time," Henry replied. "There's no way she could have done this without us knowing."
"You're suddenly defending her?" Takuya asked suspiciously.
"We're from the same season," Henry stated. "As they say, birds of a feather stick together."
"That worked out well for Sora and Matt," Zoe said sarcastically.
"Looks like Mimi IS next with that logic," JP said, glancing at Mimi. "Sorry Mimi. What flowers do you want at your funeral?"
Mimi suddenly paled, looking as if she were going to faint again. Kouji walked over to Mimi, saying, "Okay Mimi, just fall into my arms, okay?"
As Kouji positioned himself behind Mimi, she slumped over, falling through his outstretched arms instead of into them. Kouji glanced at Mimi lying on the ground and said, "Oops."
"What a man, Kouji," JP said sarcastically.
"Oh, like you're any better," Kouji retorted angrily.
"What happened to the season unity thing?" Zoe asked.
"It never existed with our season, Zoe," Kouji replied, getting angrier and angrier. "And more to the point, we've got a freaking psycho running around and killing people, and any of us could be next!"
"I think Kouji needs to stop shouting," Jeri said calmly, watching Kouji pace over in front of the bathroom door.
"I'm not shouting!" Kouji snapped. He paused and then said, "All right, I am! I'm shouting, I'm shouting, I'm shout—" Kouji was suddenly interrupted by the candlestick, which had been sitting on the frame of the bathroom door, falling and hitting him on the head, causing him to pass out.
"I'm beginning to like this story," Takuya said, grinning.
--
After moving both the bodies into the study, the guests sat in the available chairs to further analyze the situation.
"So, anyone else thinking this party is really starting to suck?" Yoshi asked sarcastically.
"Believe it," JP said, winking. Everyone else groaned at his reference.
"You know, I just realized something," Takuya said suddenly, glancing at Kouji.
"What?" Kouji asked curtly, annoyed from the headache he had received from the candlestick.
"You orchestrated this whole party, didn't you?" Takuya asked inquiringly. "You wanted to get us to confess our secrets, but why?"
Kouji sighed, leaning against a wall in his cool little way (hee). "You want the long version or the short version?"
"Short," everyone said in unison, not wanting to go through a giant flashback sequence.
"Alright," Kouji said, beginning his explanation. "Matt found out that my wife had socialist friends and started blackmailing us. We didn't have enough money for him, so we started working for him. Eventually, my wife couldn't take it anymore and killed herself. So, to get revenge on Matt, I got all of you together to confess your crimes and put Matt behind bars. There, that's why. Happy?"
"Wait a second; if Zoe's here, who was your wife?" Yoshi asked skeptically.
"Use your imagination," Kouji said. "Okay, now that that's taken care of, I think we should lock these deadly murder weapons up so there won't be anymore killings."
"There's plenty of other ways to kill someone in a house like this if you really wanted to," JP said, frowning.
"Well now, we can lessen everyone's chances of dying," Kouji retorted, grabbing the six weapons and locking them in a cupboard.
Just as he was about to put the key in his pocket, Mimi exclaimed, "Hey, why do you get to keep the key to the cupboard?"
"If I have this key, I know I'm safe…from Jeri," Kouji stated, adding the last part under his breath.
"But what if you're the murderer?" Takuya asked accusingly.
"What reason would I have for killing any of you?" Kouji asked.
"We contemplated killing you!" JP said.
Kouji paused, then said, "Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me, JP! You've got a point there!"
"Just throw the key outside!" Henry cried, quieting the others. "That way none of us can get to the weapons!"
"Good idea!" Mimi agreed enthusiastically. "Kouji, go throw out that key!"
"If it makes you guys happy…" Kouji muttered, heading out to the front door with the rest of the guests. He lifted the key above his head and unlocked the door with his other key. He was about to throw the key out the open door when he noticed someone standing on the front steps, looking soaked.
The person flinched, noticing Kouji's raised arm. "Um, don't hit me?" the person said, confused.
"Kouichi?" Kouji said, recognizing the person as his brother. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Madjack," Kouichi said, sighing. "She wanted to give me a part in this story, but for some reason she keeps snickering about it."
Kouji, Takuya, Zoe, and JP's eyes narrowed suddenly as they glared at me suspiciously. "You wouldn't," JP said. (Don't be mad at me!)
"Anyway," Kouichi continued, "it's raining out, and I was wondering if I could use your phone. My car broke down, and I'm really wet…"
The others glanced at each other for a moment. "Group huddle!" Takuya exclaimed as everyone huddled together to deliberate.
Kouichi stared at them curiously as they talked amongst themselves. "Um, is something going on in there?" he asked, gesturing at the house. "Did I interrupt a party or something?"
"It's one hell of a party," Yoshi said sarcastically.
"Yes, you can use a phone," Kouji said quickly, glancing warningly at Yoshi. "You can use the one in the stud—I mean, the one in the lounge," he continued, correcting himself.
"Alright then," Kouichi said warily, stepping into the house. As soon as he was inside, Yoshi and JP ran to the study door and quickly closed it, smiling cheerily at Kouichi.
"Are you guys on something or what?" Kouichi asked, glancing at the others' almost creepy smiles. "You're beginning to freak me out."
"Oh, you know, we're just on that crazy party high," JP said, chuckling nervously.
"Sure," Kouichi muttered, still looking a bit suspicious.
"C'mon," Kouji said quickly, grabbing Kouichi's arm and pulling him to the lounge door. "Okay," he says, pushing Kouichi firmly into the room. "You just make your call; stay right in here and whatever you do, do not leave this room, understand?"
"Um…yes?" Kouichi replied, looking extremely confused now. "Kouji, what is going on?"
"I'll tell you later," Kouji said, shutting Kouichi into the lounge. Then he took the key to the door from his pocket and locked the lounge door.
Kouichi noticed the key turn in the lock and his eyes widened. "What did you get me into, Madjack?" he asked, staring at me accusingly. (Deal with it, Kimura!)
Back in the hallway, Kouji turned and glared at the other guests. "I swear if anyone even attempts to do something to him, I'm gonna…"
"Hey, don't look at us!" Takuya exclaimed, gesturing at JP and Zoe. "We're just as worried as you about him."
"Sure you are," Kouji muttered, still not convinced. "But I'm still more suspicious about Jeri."
"Then hurry up and throw that key out!" Mimi cried.
Kouji walked back over to the open door, took out his key, and threw it out into the yard, where it was lost in the tangle of wet grass. Then Kouji closed and locked the door and everyone headed back to the study to assess the situation.
"Great, now we have your freaking brother to worry about," Yoshi grumbled, glaring at Kouji. "You just had to let him in!"
"He would have been more suspicious if we had left him in the rain," Zoe pointed out, crossing her arms defiantly.
"So what do we do now?" Henry asked, glancing anxiously at the two bodies lying on the floor.
"Kouji, are you sure that there is absolutely no one else in this house?" Takuya suddenly asked, staring at Kouji.
"Yes," Kouji replied.
"Yes there is, or yes there isn't?" Takuya asked, needing clarification.
"Takuya, I meant yes as in no," Kouji said, annoyed.
"Yes as in no? What the hell does that mean?" Takuya asked.
"It means yes as in no there isn't," Kouji retorted.
"No there isn't what?" Takuya asked.
"Wait, what? Did you just turn your question back around?" Kouji asked, confused and annoyed now.
"Look, I just want a straight answer!" Takuya exclaimed angrily.
"Alright..." Kouji agreed. "…What was the question?"
"Oh my god, just tell him that there's no one else in the house, for god's sake!" Jeri suddenly cried, chucking her champagne glass into the fireplace.
"Um…yeah, there's no one else in the house," Kouji said absently, staring warily at Jeri.
"You say that, but do you know that?" Takuya asked suspiciously. "Guys, I have a plan."
"Who made you leader?" Yoshi asked sarcastically.
"My goggles and the fact that I'm the only OFFICIAL Digimon season leader here at the moment," Takuya said smugly, flashing his goggles at Yoshi. "Anyway," he continued, "I say that we search the entire house in pairs, just to make sure there isn't anyone else here."
"Wait, pairs?" JP said, glancing at Takuya. "What if you got paired up with the murderer?"
"Well, then we'd know for sure who the murderer is," Takuya retorted.
"But then the other half of the pair would be dead!" Mimi exclaimed.
"This is war, Mimi!" Takuya replied sternly. "You can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs. Every great cook will tell you that!"
"But look what happened to the cook!" Mimi cried, pointing out Sora's body on the floor.
"How about this?" Kouji began, cutting off Takuya's next comment. "We'll draw straws to pick pairs. Then, if someone dies, it would have been fair."
"Not to the person that died," Mimi replied huffily.
"Well, there are some straws we could use in the kitchen. Does everyone agree to Takuya's pairs idea?" Zoe asked. When no one spoke up, Zoe said, "Alright, let's go draw some straws."
--
madjack89: Could there be someone else in the house committing these murders? And what shall happen to Kouichi?
Kouji: I swear to god, Madjack…
madjack89: Oh, calm your little self down, Kouji. At least I'm not killing him off in F2R (probably).
JP: Then what was the probably for?
madjack89: Um…so, stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of Digital Clue (maybe it won't take as long to update next time)!
Kouichi: Wait, killing me off? What is going on?!