Deadly Life
I stood in the doorway, speechless. Despite already having seen two other people I'd known die, I was still hopeful- or maybe desperate- that Mizuhara-kun was still holding on to life, if only barely. I didn't want us to have to go through another trial, to have our conversation in the classroom be the last time we'd ever talk, or lose another one of us.
"Is he..." I said.
"Dead?" Mitamura-san said, tears streaming down her face. "Yes. Yes he is."
Mitamura-san's reply stripped away all my doubts, hopes and illusions. The tragedy that Sensei and I had been trying to prevent had happened for the second time, and our only way to survive would be to find whoever killed Mizuhara-kun and sacrifice them.
"Please bring the rest of the students here," Mitamura-san said, "except for Edogawa-san, who should remain watching the kitchen."
"Is that really necessary?" I said. "We already looked it over while looking for the poison."
"It would be best," Mitamura-san said. "I would rather not have anyone touch the evidence in the kitchen, save for the two who have already done so."
I nodded, realizing that while I'd made my point, Mitamura-san wasn't changing her mind.
"All right," I said. "I'll go get everyone besides Sensei."
I then walked out of the nurse's office, bracing myself for breaking the news to the remaining students. None of us had been very close with Mizuhara-kun, but all of us knew what another murder taking place meant- that we would once again have to face the ordeal of a class trial, in which all our lives would be on the line.
I then returned to the dining room, where the other students were sitting quietly, around half-finished bowls of stew, not willing to speak or eat. Considering that something in Mizuhara-kun's bowl had killed him, the others held off on eating out of fear that they might share the same fate. Of course, some of us suspected that if their bowls had been poisoned, it would already be too late for them.
Noticing the others turn toward me, Sensei stood at the entrance to the kitchen, anxiously awaiting news.
"Mizuhara-kun is dead," I said. "Mitamura-san wants all of us to meet at the nurse's office- except for Sensei, who Mitamura-san wants to keep guarding the crime scene."
The others nodded, understanding everything- what the death of one of our number meant, what we'd have to do next and even who I meant when I said "Sensei." Sensei, however, looked disappointed, a bit like a little girl being told to go to her room while the adults made "grown-up" talk.
"I'm not in any position to refuse, am I?" Sensei said.
I shook my head. Mitamura-san's only authority came from having people listen to her, but disobeying her during a murder investigation would only end up attracting suspicion.
"Not exactly," I said. "I tried to convince her, but she won't change her mind.
Sensei sighed, then nodded.
"Very well. I'll continue investigating, and will let you know what I've uncovered when you return."
"Thank you, Sensei," I said. "I'll come back to speak with you soon."
With that promise, I then turned to the others, and led them out of the dining hall.
I brought the other ten students to the nurse's office, and saw that Mitamura-san had calmed down a little. Within seconds of the first people stepping in, the monitor in the nurse's office came to life.
"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma said. "After a short period of investigation, we will have a class trial."
We stood there a moment, in silence. I was fortunate enough that everyone trusted me enough to know I wouldn't lie about something like this, but the others still found it hard to accept that someone had been killed once again. A few seconds later, Monokuma then appeared.
"Looks like we've got another murder," Monokuma said, "but none of you seem at all surprised."
"Kaori-chan already told us," Yuuki-san said. "Anyway, if we knew already, why'd you play the announcement?"
"Oh, it's just a formality," Monokuma said, "one I'm supposed to do when three or more people besides the culprit find the body. It doesn't just tell the rest of you that someone turned up dead- it officially marks the start of the investigation period."
"Why three of us?" Fukuda-kun said. "And why's the culprit excluded?"
"I'm just making things fair for the culprit," Monokuma said. "If they do a good job of covering up their crime, they might be able to hide evidence before three people discover the body. If one other person walks in, the culprit might be able to kill them, too, and avoid getting caught."
"I guess that makes sense," Fukuda-kun said. "If the culprit counted, everyone would be notified as soon as the killing happened. And if it was the first person besides the culprit, then if Mitamura did it, she would've been exposed the moment Miura walked in."
"Fukuda-san, this is no time for jokes or unfounded accusations," Mitamura-san said. "There is not much evidence, so we will need to use every bit at our disposal to find the culprit."
"You've got that right!" Monokuma said. "It's dangerous to go alone, so take this! See you at the class trial!"
Monokuma handed me the Monokuma file, then vanished. Once he was gone, I began to read it.
Monokuma File 2
The victim was Minato Mizuhara, the Ultimate Fisherman.
The body was found in the nurse's office.
The time of death was approximately 7:40 PM.
No external wounds were found on the victim's body.
I checked my watch, and confirmed that Mizuhara-kun had died just before I'd reached the nurse's office. I then let out a long sigh, knowing that the Monokuma File's information was entirely unnecessary.
"Well, this is completely useless," I said. "We already know who died, where and when, so what good does this do?"
"Well, it does prove that he probably ingested the poison," Kagami-kun said, "as opposed to say, being injected with a syringe or stabbed with a poisoned weapon. It looks like whatever was in the soup killed him, after all."
"I'm not so sure," Katsura-san said. "It's possible that the culprit wants to hide the true cause of death. Maybe Monokuma left out the cause of death because if we understood how the culprit killed Mizuhara-kun, we could easily solve the case. For example, if it said that he'd been smothered with a pillow while in the nurse's office, Mitamura-san would be the obvious suspect."
Mitamura-san glared at Katsura-san. While she was a suspect, as someone who'd been alone with Mizuhara-kun at the time of his death, I doubted that she'd be stupid enough to kill him during such a time. It was obvious that even if he'd died under her care, the cause of death had happened beforehand, so we had to find out what had killed him before we could move on to who.
"That's certainly possible, Katsura-san," I said. "Of course, the existence of the Monokuma File ruined Sakuragi-kun's plan by allowing us to realize that Kurogane-kun had died instantly. As for this culprit... we'll only know what the cause is and why it's significant once we investigate."
The others silently concurred. At this point, we were only working off of blind speculation, and we'd be lucky if any of us identified the culprit, much less made a convincing case for their guilt. Mitamura-san, however, realizing that we were all in danger during the class trial, then spoke.
"Once again, I will make the same request to the culprit that I did last time," Mitamura-san said. "Please confess and accept your punishment so that the rest of us can continue to live."
"Like Sakuragi did?" Hoshino-kun said. "He was scared shitless from when Miura pointed the finger at him to when he got squashed flat, and for good reason. Do you think we forgot what happened to him?"
"No," Mitamura-san said, "but in the end, Sakuragi-san accepted that this was for the best. There is nothing happy about one of us, even a murderer, being executed, but it is preferable to all of the spotless dying."
Mitamura-san had spoken to what all of us were thinking. Some of us still felt guilty over sentencing Sakuragi-kun to death, but all of us had voted for him, and all of us would likely vote for the next blackened.
Silence reigned for a moment. While, hypothetically, Sensei could have been the culprit, the more likely scenario was that the actual culprit was one of the twelve living people in this room, and they were unwilling to admit it.
"So no one will come forward?" Mitamura-san said. "It is a shame, although I am not surprised or disappointed."
"Yeah," Hoshino-kun said. "I, for one, would rather have an easy trial, but I guess the killer doesn't want to die, either."
Hoshino-kun wasn't exactly a person with a strong sense of empathy, but it was easy enough for him to understand someone else who felt the same way he did.
"Don't feel too bad, Reiko-chan, it was worth a shot," Yuuki-san said. "I'm sure Kaori-chan and Sae-chan will find the killer this time, too. Let's just investigate the crime, shall we?"
Mitamura-san nodded, having composed herself a little by now. Even if she knew Yuuki-san couldn't contribute much to the investigation besides cheering us on, she understood the significance of that contribution- after all, cheering for others was what Yuuki-san did best.
"I will remain to watch over Mizuhara-san's body," Mitamura-san said. "This may not be the crime scene, but I would rather not see anything happen to him that would cause us to be confused as to his cause of death."
"Me neither," Hoshino-kun said.
I was a bit surprised to see Hoshino-kun offer to cooperate without complaining or criticizing Mitamura-san. Maybe he trusted her, or maybe he simply recognized the gravity of the situation.
The rest of the group quickly split up and fanned out around the school. While the crime was most likely performed in the kitchen, any location in the areas we could access could potentially be relevant.
"I have a request, Mitamura-san," I said. "May I investigate the nurse's office?"
Mitamura-san shook her head.
"Unless you can explain what you're looking for, and also prove that it's somehow relevant to the case, my answer is no," Mitamura-san said. "While we know that soup was made in the kitchen, we still do not know how he obtained the poison. As such, in order to preserve possible places related to the crime, I would prefer that you not search here unless you can prove it will yield evidence."
"Yeah, I checked a while back and there isn't any poison here," Hoshino-kun said. "You'd just be wasting your time, Miura."
I started to say something, but stopped short and excused myself. I had to admit that I didn't know what I was looking for, and mere speculation wouldn't cut it at this point. Mitamura-san didn't require search warrants for our investigations, but she knew our time was valuable, and had no desire for me to waste it on something that might not pan out. As such, I set out elsewhere, knowing that there were more useful clues out there.
I returned to the dining room, where I saw Tezuka-kun, Kagami-kun, Inoue-kun and Yuuki-san looking around the kitchen.
"How's the investigation going?" I said. "Have any of you found anything?"
The others shook their heads.
"Not really," Kagami-kun said. "I was going to check Mizuhara-kun's soup to see if anything was different about it, but he cleaned his plate."
"How'd you do that?" Tezuka-kun said. "By having some and seeing if you die? That's not exactly a bright idea."
"Maybe not, but something's odd," I said. "All of us had at least a little of the miso stew, right?"
"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "He did eat pretty much all of his stew, but I don't think that matters. I think that whoever did this knew who'd get his bowl."
"In other words, Sugiura-san," I said. "Of course, everyone knew that she, being the Ultimate Waitress and the cook, was serving up the stew. I think it's a bit too obvious."
"Oh, a bit like how Kurogane-kun supposedly wrote your name?" Akasaka-san said. "I see what you mean."
"So do I," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, Sakuragi-kun inadvertently made several remarks that served to incriminate him during the class trial. Perhaps, to put it bluntly, if Sugiura-san is the killer, she's skilled enough to kill someone, but not enough to get away with it."
"Yeah, that'd be nice," Tezuka-kun said, "except for the fact that one of us is dead and another of us is going to die."
I nodded solemnly. The threat of death was ever-present here, and it was difficult to consider about how any time I spoke with someone could potentially be the last. In my last conversation with Mizuhara-kun, I'd held out the hope that we could get to know each other better, just like I'd hoped that Kurogane-kun would eventually find it in himself to forgive me, but my wishes had died along with each of them
"Yes, that's true," I said, "which is why we'll have to narrow down the culprit. Did any of you set foot in the kitchen between 7 and 7:30 PM?"
All three of the guys shook their heads, but Yuuki-san nodded.
"I don't think anyone besides you, me, Momo-chan and Reiko-chan did," Yuuki-san said.
"What about after the poisoning happened?" I said. "Did anyone leave the dining hall?"
"Besides you and Edogawa?" Tezuka said, before shaking his head. "No, none of us did."
"I see," I said. "I'm a bit surprised about Hoshino-kun. I didn't think he'd just follow Mitamura-san's orders without question or complaint."
"Think about it this way," Kagami-kun said. "If anyone had left the dining hall for any reason, thereby disobeying Mitamura-san at a critical point, they would have become suspicious. Hoshino-kun might dislike Mitamura-san, but he's also worried enough about his own safety to avoid doing something that would draw suspicion to himself."
For a moment, I thought back to his uncooperative nature during the investigation of the previous murder, but realized that back then, he'd justified it by saying that he couldn't trust anyone. As Kagami-kun said, if he cooperated with us, it was probably so that he wouldn't risk drawing undue suspicion to himself.
"Yeah, good point," Tezuka-kun said. "Since everyone knows he's out for himself, and he doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone else, the last thing he wants is anything that'd suggest that he actually did kill someone."
"Perhaps," I said. "Of course, knowing him, he probably would suspect anyone who'd pretend to care about others, since he doesn't think of anyone with an upstanding reputation."
"That's fair enough," Kagami-kun said. "I don't think any of us- not even him- are obviously disreputable, but who knows what sort of secrets the notepads contain?"
I nodded, then headed into the kitchen. My "weakness" was fairly asinine, but was proof that perhaps Monokuma believed we were as desperate to protect our reputations as we were to stay alive. Perhaps a trivial concern for some, but others' careers depended on their public image, and still others would sooner die than let their secrets be known. The only question that remained was who had given in to temptation and committed murder
I found Sensei in the kitchen, studying the bottle of Monokuma Poison.
"Ah, you're back," Sensei said. "Did you learn anything?"
I shook my head.
"Not much," I said. "The Monokuma File's missing important information, and Mitamura-san won't let me look around in the nurse's office unless I can convince her that there's relevant evidence there. I also found out that no one left the dining hall, but you already knew that, didn't you?"
"I do," Sensei said. "It's strange that Mitamura-san would leave me alone in the kitchen, when I might just be the suspect."
I shook my head. As biased as I was, I had evidence to prove it.
"I don't think so," I said. "After all, you didn't set foot in the kitchen while Sugiura-san was cooking did you?"
"Not at all," Sensei said. "Still, I can't help but wonder whether Mitamura-san trusts me, or if she's trying to keep me out of the way."
I was tempted to have someone else substitute for Sensei so that she could join me in the investigation, but decided against it. Mitamura-san had given an order, and two people going against it in the middle of an investigation would only serve to make us suspicious- even Hoshino-kun was cautious enough not to defy her at this point.
"What about you, Sensei?" I said. "What have you found?"
"I've had a chance to look over the Monokuma Poison bottle," Sensei said. "It says the poison takes effect immediately, and is deadly in a gaseous state. It's also vulnerable to hydrolysis, and must be kept in a cool place, away from direct sunlight."
"Hence the refrigerator," I said. "Of course, when it first went missing, I looked here and couldn't find it. I don't know where else the killer could have hid it"
Sensei shrugged.
"Another question is why Mizuhara-kun was the only one to die," Sensei said. "If the killer applied it to the stew, we'd all have died almost immediately after ingesting it. Even the killer would have probably been in danger."
"I noticed that, too," I said. "Mizuhara-kun wouldn't have made it to the nurse's office in that case. It probably would've been more convenient for the killer if he'd died instantly, though."
I pondered what would have happened if Mizuhara-kun had actually pulled through. In that case, we probably would still be trying to uncover the identity of the malefactor who'd poisoned him, simply because they could potentially do so again. Considering that would-be graduates are forced to stake their lives, those who put a plot for murder into action more or less cross the Rubicon and never look back.
Of course, I also had to wonder- if we'd found Mizuhara-kun's would-be killer, what would we have done in that situation? Considering that we didn't have anywhere we could imprison that person, and a vigilante execution would count as murder, we wouldn't have any choice but to keep an eye on them at all times, warily awaiting their next attempt and hoping it wouldn't be successful. Sensei had once said that while our criminal justice system wasn't perfect, as an institution, it was an absolute necessity for civilization, and I agreed. We needed someone more benevolent than Monokuma and wiser than us to judge this case, but until we got out, we'd have to make do and find the truth the same way we had last time.
"By the way, Miura-san," Sensei said, "I wasn't able to look at Mizuhara-kun's body, but did he have any sort of obvious signs of poisoning on him?"
"Not at all," I said. "The Monokuma File's missing information, but in this case, there wasn't anything that would match the symptoms associated with the poison."
"Then it's as I thought," Sensei said. "At this point, I'm all but certain that the poison is not the murder weapon."
"Well, you'll have to forgive the rest of us for possibly thinking otherwise," I said. "We don't have any leads."
"Neither do I," Sensei said. "I tried looking in the garbage for any kind of seal that came with the bottle, but there's nothing there. The only thing on top of the garbage is a bag of trail mix."
Something seemed odd about that piece of trash Sensei had mentioned, but I couldn't place my finger on what. The only thing that came to mind was how a snack from the second floor of the kitchen made it all the way to the kitchen on the first floor of the dorms, but that wasn't important right now.
"Maybe the culprit rummaged about and buried it under trash," I said.
"And draw attention to themselves?" Sensei said. "There's little point in disposing of evidence if you can't do so inconspicuously. As such, I can conclude that the bottle is most likely a red herring, planted to give us the impression that the culprit used it to kill Mizuhara-kun."
"But the stew's the only cause of death I can think of," I said, "which means that somehow, the culprit poisoned him. Maybe it wasn't with the Monokuma Poison, but I'm fairly sure that something that Mizuhara-kun ingested killed him."
"Indeed," Sensei said. "I'll continue looking to see if I can find anything that can indicate how, and will try to see if I can get access to the nurse's office. Try talking to everyone here and see if anyone wanted Mizuhara-kun dead."
"I will," I said. "I doubt anyone will so easily admit to having a grudge against him, though."
"Maybe not," Sensei said, "but it's also possible that if you think back on everything you've seen and heard over the past few days, you'll remember something important, even if it didn't seem significant at the time."
"I'll do what I can," I said.
I set out once again with a difficult task ahead of me, but I had two important objectives- find out how Mizuhara-kun was killed and why, then use that information to find who was responsible for his death.
I found Katsura-san and Akasaka-san waiting outside the dining hall, evidently having been looking for a chance to speak with me alone for some time.
"Oh, there you are, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Katsura-san and I have been looking for you."
"What did you want to talk with me about?"I said.
"We have a question," Katsura-san said. "Just wondering, but whose weakness did you get?"
"Yuuki-san's," I said, and then showed the two girls my notepad, causing their eyes to widen in surprise and glance at each other.
"That's strange..." Katsura-san said. "Akasaka-san, let's show her our weaknesses."
The two girls got out their notepads, and Akasaka-san turned hers on first. It showed a cartoonish image of a gray figure garroting Katsura-san from behind, while Katsura-san's eyes bulged in an equally cartoonish manner.
Komaki Katsura might not look it, but she panics when she can't breathe, due to a traumatic near-drowning experience as a little girl. Drown her, strangle her, or suffocate her, and she's as good as dead...then just plain dead.
Now who has your weakness? Let's see...
Komaki Katsura!
Immediately after Akasaka-san was finished, Katsura-san went next. In it, a gray figure smiled as some cartoonish-looking dogs ate Akasaka-san alive.
Kuro Akasaka is the living reason why her family has never gotten a dog, and for good reason- she's allergic to them. Man's best friend is her worst enemy, so bring one along if you want to kill her.
Now who has your weakness? Let's see...
Kaori Miura!
"That's odd..." I said. "I tested this out with Yuuki-san and Sensei, and the notifications were accurate in that case. Did Monokuma give them to different people at the last minute?"
"I don't know," Katsura-san said. "I've been asking around, and this is the first case I've heard of."
"That could complicate things," I said. "It's possible that the killer committed murder to keep their weakness secret, but maybe the victim doesn't necessarily have their weakness, right?"
Katsura-san nodded.
"That's possible," Katsura-san said. "Of course, it's possible that they knew that killing someone and graduating would help keep their secret hidden. Do you have any specific theories in mind?"
"I might," I said. "The last time I spoke to Mizuhara-kun, he seemed troubled by what was on his notepad- apparently, he had a very important secret, even if he didn't say whose."
We stood in silence a moment, thinking and pondering the killer's motivations. Perhaps if the indications of who had whose weakness were wrong, maybe someone had two different weaknesses, which appeared in two of their classmates' notepads. Unfortunately, there wasn't any evidence to support this, so I didn't see any point in pursuing this line of questioning for now.
"Ah, that reminds me," Akasaka-san said. "Shortly before lunch, I went to my room to retrieve the checkers set for a quick game of checkers with Katsura-san. When I got there, I noticed Mitamura-san inviting Mizuhara-kun over to her room. I don't know what they talked about, though."
"Maybe the information I got," I said, "but there's two problems. First, without his notepad, we won't know who might have been targeting him. Second, even if we do find his notepad, the killer might have gotten an incorrect report of who got their weakness."
"That's true," Katsura-san said. "Still, we have no choice but to keep searching and investigate every lead, so perhaps you should keep that in mind."
I nodded, then resumed my investigation.
I quickly stopped by the warehouse, in search of anything else that could have been used to poison Mizuhara-kun, and saw Fukuda-kun there, apparently looking for the same thing.
"Oh, hi, Miura," Fukuda-kun said.
"Hello, Fukuda-kun," I said. "What are you looking for here?"
"A possible murder weapon," Fukuda-kun said. "I can't help but wonder if that the bottle of poison you and Edogawa found wasn't what killed Mizuhara."
"I think so, too," I said. "Sensei and I looked at the bottle, and saw that the systems aren't consistent with what the Monokuma Poison causes. I'm trying to find out what else could have killed Mizuhara-kun."
"Me too," Fukuda-kun said. "I wonder if the killer put bleach or other household chemicals in the stew."
"That's possible, but I doubt it," I said. "Mizuhara-kun said the stew was delicious, so if they'd poured enough of a lethal chemical in for him to get a fatal dose, he'd probably have tasted it."
"Gotcha," Fukuda-kun said. "I was just talking to Akasaka earlier, and mentioned this theory, since she has to keep that sort of stuff out of the reach of her little brother and sisters. She has nightmares about what drain cleaner would do to their innards."
My parents had been similarly diligent about keeping their daughters safe when my sister and I had been young, and had made sure that warning labels were one of the first things we learned how to read. I could only imagine how they'd feel if they found out that my life was in almost constant danger while I was in here.
"I get where she's coming from," I said, "but it looks like we'll have to consider other possibilities as to what poisoned Mizuhara-kun."
"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "Something that's poisonous, but has uses other than poisoning people, huh...? I wish I knew what that was..."
I left Fukuda-kun to his thoughts as I set off to resume my investigate. Everyone probably had their own theories about how Mizuhara-kun was killed, but there was only one truth that, once uncovered, would help us realize the culprit's identity and survive.
I saw Inoue-kun on the first floor of the school, evidently having just finished talking with Tezuka-kun. I couldn't hear what they were discussing, but after she left, he turned and noticed me.
"Ah, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "Have you been investigating, too?"
"I have," I said. "I'm currently trying to figure out who had his weakness, or whose weakness he had."
"Well, it wasn't me," Inoue-kun said. "It seems Tezuka-kun and I got each other's weaknesses."
"I see," I said. "That's two more people accounted for."
"True," Inoue-kun said. "I think I've figured out what weaknesses most of us have. There's only a few I haven't figured out- Hoshino-kun, Mizuhara-kun, Sugiura-san, Iwasawa-san and Mitamura-san."
I nodded, impressed at how much progress Inoue-kun had made on his own.
"Anyway, how are you holding up?" I said.
"So-so," Inoue-kun said. "I know our odds aren't all that good, especially not when there's thirteen of us left- twelve suspects besides me. It also doesn't help that the killer somehow poisoned Mizuhara-kun under our noses."
I sighed. The murder would likely be more complex than the first, considering that it was less obvious who did it. Everyone had gone near the dining hall near the time of the murder, even if only four people besides me had gone in the kitchen, so we had to determine who actually had managed to poison the stew, as well as how.
"True," I said. "Still, as long as we figure out how the killer got the poison and who had access to the kitchen, we should be able to narrow down the list of suspects."
"I know," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, even if I'm hardly the best person for solving mysteries, I can't afford to give up. I know that last time, I said that we should be prepared to meet any higher powers that might exist, but when I saw the steamroller crush Sakuragi-kun, I knew that if we'd failed, all of us would have suffered that same fate. It might not be entirely up to me, but... I'm not ready to die yet, and I'm pretty sure everyone else feels the same way."
"I know," I said. "In our last conversation, Mizuhara-kun said that even if we weren't friends just yet, he wanted to be someday. He didn't fully trust me, but I'm sure he liked and cared about me, even though I was someone he'd just met, and wanted everyone who was left to get out alive. I don't know who'd kill him or why, but I'm going to find the killer so that the rest of us can stay alive."
"That's good," Inoue-kun said. "I can't promise too much, but I'll do what I can to help with that."
Inoue-kun and I parted ways. At this point, he was an unlikely suspect, so I felt some relief, but knew that even in the best-case scenario, we'd lose a fourth member by the end of the night. Still, twelve out of the thirteen of us shared a common interest in staying alive, so I was glad that some of us were willing to pitch in, help out and do what was necessary to survive.
On my way up to the second floor, I encountered Kagami-kun on the stairs and got his attention.
"Something I can help you with, Miura-san?" Kagami-kun said.
"I've got a question," I said. "Do you think that Mizuhara-kun's killer believed him to be the mastermind?"
Kagami-kun shrugged. It wasn't fair to ask him to give a definite answer to a question about a third party's thoughts, but this was something I'd been curious about, and he seemed like the person to talk with about it.
"Maybe," Kagami-kun said, "but I know Mizuhara-kun isn't the mastermind."
"Why's that?"
"Well, the killing game's still going, right? Monokuma did say that it'd end once the mastermind died."
I had to wonder why the mastermind would be willing to let us go and let everything they'd worked for fall apart after their death. That said, the incentive to end the game by killing one person could potentially provoke people to murder, and if Mizuhara-kun's killer had killed him out of the belief that he was the mastermind, it had succeeded.
"I know you're busy investigating, Miura-san, but I'd like to know something," Kagami-kun said. "What do you think about the people who kill in this killing game?"
I hesitated to reply, not because doing so would use up precious time, but because Kagami-kun had posed a difficult question. If, however, answering it would make him more willing to cooperate, I thought it was worth my while.
"It's hard to say," I said. "Murder is a crime, but I know that the culprit probably has their reasons for wanting to escape, possibly ones that I could sympathize with. Because of that, I don't condone their actions, but I don't think they deserve to die, and I'm pretty sure any Japanese judge would agree with me."
"True," Kagami-kun said. "But what about everyone else- those of us who've done nothing wrong?"
"No, we don't deserve that, either," I said. "None of us deserves to be trapped here, or to die without seeing our homes, family and friends again. Of course, as terrible as the idea of sacrificing a classmate to stay alive is, it's the lesser evil compared to everyone else dying- not to mention the one everyone chose last time."
I thought back to the previous voting time, and how everyone, including the unlikely individuals, had voted for Sakuragi-kun. Akasaka-san had probably cried herself to sleep that night, but she'd chosen to vote for Sakuragi-kun, and knew she was alive because everyone had done so. The same went for Yuuki-san, who didn't seem like she could hurt a fly, but she knew that this was the only real choice she had. Even the relatively pragmatic and logical Katsura-san took no joy in her decision, so neither did I. That said, even though I wished we'd never have another class trial, I knew that I'd do what I must when the time to vote came once again.
"I know," Kagami-kun said. "Thank you for your time, Miura-san- I'm relieved to know at least some of us have the right mindset."
I nodded, then got back to my investigation. While the fact that not one, but two, murders had already occurred hardly supported an optimistic view of human nature, that didn't necessarily mean we were bad people. Some of us were desperate, and not all of us could be trusted, but the spotless had a common interest in getting through the class trials, and whatever our feelings were, we could see the truth and do what we had to.
I found Sugiura-san outside the faculty lounge, looking in the refrigerator. Except for showing Sensei the vending machine, I'd kept my promise to Mitamura-san, but it was only natural that people would find out about someone obtaining the poison anyway.
"Sugiura-san?" I said. "Do you have a minute to answer a few questions?"
Sugiura-san turned around to face me, then nodded hesitantly.
"I do," Sugiura-san said, "but please be honest, Miura-san. Do you suspect me?"
I shrugged. It would be dishonest to say 'no', but too premature to officially say that she might have done it.
"I'll concede that you might have done it," I said, "but I'm hesitant to say that for sure. You're probably everyone's first choice for a suspect, but it's possible that if someone else is the killer, they were counting on it. So please, tell me what you know."
"All right," Sugiura-san said. "I tasted the soup at around 7:27 PM, just before we served it, and didn't notice anything unusual. Mitamura-san saw me do this, so she can confirm it."
"So the poison wasn't in the stew pot at the time," I said. "Either it somehow got in the pot after you tasted it, or was directly applied to Mizuhara-kun's bowl."
Sugiura-san furrowed her brow. If either was true, then she was at the very least guilty of negligence, if not actual murder. Her taking umbrage was understandable, but this had to be said.
"I wouldn't know," Sugiura-san said. "Everyone else ate the stew, but only Mizuhara-san died. If it had been in the pot, several other people would have been fatally poisoned."
I nodded, realizing that I'd need to rethink my theories as to how the poison got applied to the pot. For now, I had something else to ask about.
"Out of curiosity, whose weakness did you get?" I said.
"Iwasawa-san's," Sugiura-san said. "It says she's no good with tech, which I suppose we know already."
"That's true," I said. "Who got yours?"
"That doesn't matter," Sugiura-san said. "If Mizuhara-san is the victim, then there are two possible ways he comes in. Either he had information his killer wanted to keep secret, or his killer knew his weakness."
"True," I said. "Since the former is a possibility, I'd like to know who got yours."
"Edogawa-san did," Sugiura-san said. "You seem like you're getting along fairly well with her, so maybe she'll show it to you."
I remembered what Sensei had showed me, and knew Sugiura-san was lying. Maybe her information was wrong, but since Katsura-san and Akasaka-san hadn't told anyone else, Sugiura-san should have had no reason to consider the possibility.
"If that's all you want to know, I have some things I need to look into," Sugiura-san said. "I'll see you at the trial."
Sugiura-san briskly walked away, at the speed of a waitress quickly getting a tray to a table during the lunch rush. As hard as it was to believe that she'd commit a murder under circumstances in which she was the most obvious suspect, she had just lied to me. She was hiding something, but what was her secret, and how did it fit into the case? My conversation had raised more questions than answers, and I had little time to find the truth.
I asked the other students about their weaknesses and alibis, but didn't get much that was useful. The few who were willing to show me their notepads didn't have any relevant information.
Knowing that my time was likely running out, I met up with Iwasawa-san in the hallway near the dorms.
"Is there something I can do for you, Miss Miura?" Iwasawa-san said.
"Iwasawa-san, I have some questions I'd like to ask you," I said. "When exactly did you go into the kitchen, and did you have any of the stew?"
"Once, around 7:10 PM," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Sugiura said she wasn't nearly done yet, so she wouldn't let me taste it."
If Iwasawa-san's account was true, then it was highly unlikely that she added the poison to the stew pot- otherwise, Sugiura-san would have poisoned herself when she tasted the stew. Of course, given that the culprit had found a way to ensure that only Mizuhara-kun died, perhaps I'd have to think about how the culprit poisoned his bowl, or perhaps think outside the box.
"Did anything seem odd about the stew?" I said.
"I'm not sure," Iwasawa-san said. "It tasted different from the soup I have at home, but maybe Miss Sugiura's recipe is different."
Unsurprisingly, most of my lines of questioning didn't yield much information, so I decided to try something else. I didn't know where it would lead, but knew that Iwasawa-san was likely the only person I could ask about it.
"There's something else I'd like to know, even if it may seem irrelevant," I said. "I remember you loaning your notepad to Mitamura-san two days ago- was she able to fix it?"
Iwasawa-san shook her head.
"Not at all," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura spent every free moment she had on it, and returned it to me early the next morning, after giving up. She apologized for failing to fix it, but I said I was sorry for wasting her time."
"Can you show it to me?" I said.
"Certainly," Iwasawa-san said. She led me to her room, and after she unlocked and opened the door, I followed her inside.
Iwasawa-san walked over to her desk, and opened up her drawer- I noticed her handcuffs, still in the sealed box, as well as her notepad. She got out her notepad and tried to turn it on, only for the screen to briefly show a flashing battery icon.
"So the battery's dead," I said, "and without a charger, there's no way to access the information on it. I wonder if Monokuma was lying about his threat to give it to someone else."
"That's what Miss Mitamura told me," Iwasawa-san said. "But if you don't mind my asking, Miss Miura, why do you want to know?"
"I have to explore every possibility," I said, "including that someone found out something that they weren't supposed to, since we don't know who has your weakness."
"Ah," Iwasawa-san said. "I forgot about each notepad saying who has your weakness, since I haven't been able to look at mine."
At this point, I'd accounted for most of the survivors' weaknesses, with a few exceptions- notably Mitamura-san, Kagami-kun, Sugiura-san and Iwasawa-san, all of whom were possible suspects. I needed some piece of evidence to narrow them down, whether by connecting one to the crime or ruling out the other two, but how could I do that?
The monitors then turned on, and I knew I was out of time.
"It is time for the class trial," Monokuma said. "Please convene in front of the elevator on the first floor."
The monitor then deactivated. As it did, I turned back to Iwasawa-san, who was kneeling in prayer.
"So it's that time again," I said. "Once again, I'm going into a class trial without fully understanding what happened."
"I'm fairly sure no one knows the full story, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said as she rose to her feet. "Still, if anyone can put the pieces together and find out who did it, I'm sure you can."
"I'm glad you think I'm up to the task," I said, "but I can't help but feel nervous considering what's at stake."
"I know," Iwasawa-san said, "but so does everyone else, so you won't be in it alone. The other spotless will be contributing to the trial, and I'm sure that the killer will make a mistake sooner or later, just like Mr. Sakuragi did."
What Iwasawa-san was saying was true, since it had happened in the last trial, but it also drove home an uncomfortable truth. Once again, we'd been betrayed, by someone willing to kill one of us and let the others die just to escape, and considering the circumstances, Iwasawa-san could be that person.
We gathered near the elevator, our group significantly smaller than the last time we'd gone down to the courtroom. The others stood in nervous silence, since while we knew we had it in us to solve the mystery and find the killer, we also knew what sort of price the blackened would pay for their crime.
"So, Inoue," Tezuka-kun said, "you worried about going down the elevator with 13 of us?"
"Not exactly," Inoue-kun said. "First, while I usually see 13 as a sign of bad luck, it's worth noting that it's been one stroke of bad luck after another since coming here, so I don't think too much about omens of bad luck anymore. Second... there's only twelve of us here."
I looked around, and confirmed that Inoue-kun's count was correct. Noticing that Sensei was missing, I feared the worst for a moment. Moments later, the nearby monitor came on.
"Looks like you're all here," Monokuma said, "or rather, almost all of you. Edogawa-san had better get here soon, or she'll be in tro-o-ouble."
We all looked at each other, equally confused as to where Sensei was, even if not all of us showed it.
"Another murder?" Hoshino-kun said. "Seems like overkill, if you ask me- if the blackened gets away, the rest of us die anyway."
"Not this time," Fukuda-kun said, "Look, there she is."
Sensei dashed over, slightly out of breath. I could tell that she wasn't exactly a star student in gym class, either.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Sensei said. "There was something I needed to look into."
Mitamura-san furrowed her brow and frowned at Sensei, once again showing her implicit dislike of Sensei, even if she was too polite to express it openly.
"There she is," Monokuma said. "We're a bit behind schedule, so please board the elevator and ride it down to the courtroom."
As we boarded the elevator, I noticed we weren't as densely packed in as last time. There was enough space that Sensei was able to pull me aside once again, into a corner near the door.
"Where were you, Sensei?" I said in a hushed tone.
"I was investigating the nurse's office," Sensei said, "since I had a narrow window of time between Mitamura-san's departure and the start of the trial. It was a somewhat hasty investigation, but I was able to find this."
Sensei then reached into the pocket of her blazer and picked out an syringe in a case that had the name "Minato Mizuhara" printed on it
"What's this?" I said.
"Apparently, medicine to treat an allergic reaction," Sensei said, reading off the label. "It's possible that Mizuhara-kun was allergic to something he ate, but that doesn't get me any closer to finding out who his killer is."
"Theoretically, anyone could have done it," I said, "if they knew how. If only we knew what his weakness was, or who had it..."
"Exactly, Miura-san," Sensei said, "and that's where you come in."
"Me?" I said incredulously.
Sensei nodded.
"Yes," Sensei said. "Detective work is more than finding evidence- it's about understanding its significance, both individually and in conjunction with other information. You've proved your skill when you summarized the events of the last murder, so I'm confident you'll do well again this time."
I nodded. Sensei had always seemed like the most reliable of us, and not just because I admired her so much, so I was a bit surprised that she said she was counting on me. Despite that, I trusted her judgment, and hoped her confidence in me was well-placed.
"I don't think it's something only I can do," I said, "but you can count on me."
Sensei nodded appreciatively, and we rode the rest of the way down in silence. While Sakuragi-kun had possibly killed Kurogane-kun on the spur of the moment, Mizuhara-kun's killer had been more careful, having evidently planned in advance and covered their own tracks. Not only did we have to figure out who killed him, but also how and why.
Minato Mizuhara was the Ultimate Fisherman. Despite being good-natured, he'd kept a certain distance from us, and didn't seem to fully trust me. Even so, he wanted to escape, and reunite with us in a place where he wouldn't have to fear for his life, where we could be friends without fearing deadly betrayal... and his death meant he'd never get that chance. For his sake, and that of everyone who'd died so far, I vowed to find the truth and ensure that the spotless lived to see another day.
Author's Notes
Next up is the trial.
Once again, there's a poll on my profile asking who you think is the culprit. While Miura has a list of possible suspects right now, the culprit may not be among them.
