Tsubaki POV
The gas I was exposed had a paralyzing effect, so I could see was a mop in a bucket. The feeling in my body slowly returning to me, like ice thawing after a long Ice Age. And suddenly, like a dam breaking down, I fell to ground as my body returned to its normal state. The warmth that had flooded my system was slowly dissipating itself as I caught my breath. I pushed myself off the floor, the world spinning around momentarily. I heard a scream, a scream from someone I knew so well and loved. Kaikane was in danger and I needed to help him. I threw open the door, which was suspiciously unlocked. I found myself in the lobby of the hotel, still in a daze. Taking a moment to process things I noticed that the door to the room I was locked in blended into the wall of the lobby. Like something straight out a mystery novel or show.
And then I saw the body, my brother just sitting against the wall and staring blankly. Then I recognized the body, Jake Alexander. I didn't know him that well, he was reliable and hardworking with a real love and drive for history. And he wouldn't harm anything, from humans to bugs he just couldn't bring himself to inflict pain onto anything. In a better world Jake Alexander, the Ultimate Archaeologist, would be alive but no, a compassionate and intelligent man has been killed. Then Kaikane stirred a little, his body shifting a millimeter, as if he was reacting to my presence. But then he went back to sitting against the wall, his eyes devoid of any emotion or life. Suddenly the walls to the lobby rolled into the ceiling as Monokumas dragged the rest of the class into the lobby. The Monokumas placed them around Jake's body and stabbed them in the heart with a syringe that contained a strange liquid, all of them gasped and movement returned to their bodies.
"Oh my god." Manson said, the first one to notice Jake.
Clayton was the next to notice, but he averted his eyes.
"What kind of heinous being would such a vile thing." Shinobu said.
"Unfortunate." Yuushi said, a tinge of sadness in his voice.
A dead moment of silence fell over the group, tears streaming down some of their faces. It the most horrible feeling I have ever experienced, it was like a fuse was traveling towards a bomb and I couldn't do anything. Then a hole appeared in the ceiling and out popped Monokuma.
"Well, well, well. I'm surprised it took this long to get a murder going, you guys have set a new record for how long a murder takes place. Honestly, I thought I was going to have to throw in some extra incentives but you guys proved me wrong." Monokuma said.
"So this is a murder?" I asked, looking at Kaikane.
"Oh for sure, I saw all the big and little gruesome details. And of course the murderer is among you. Now in case you weren't paying attention the first time, let me go over what happens now. Now that a murder has been committed all of you must investigate the murder and gather evidence, then we hold a trial where you all get to debate who the killer is. And if you don't find out the killer or guess the killer incorrectly, then the killer gets to go free while you all get punished. However, if you guess correctly then only the killer gets punished." Monokuma placed a rectangular device in our hands.
"This is your device recorder and presenter, any evidence you collect will be stored in the device and can be presented at the trial. I call it the Monokuma drive. There's already an autopsy report on it. That's all folks, hope you guys have fun." Monokuma jumped up into the ceiling, leaving us alone.
"What do we do now?" Lova asked, still staring at Jake's body.
"Not much, since the murderer is obvious. Kaikane Itsuka is the murderer." Shinobu said, pointing her finger out at Kaikane who was still sitting up against the wall.
"WHAT, no! My brother is not a killer." I said, as the others turned their attention to Kaikane.
"Like I'd believe a word from you, your his sister. You two would cover for each other, lie for each other. Maybe you both killed him, you could be his accomplice. After all, you were already awake when Monokuma woke us up. Either way, it is extremely suspicious behavior and circumstances. Thus I conclude that the villainous character we are looking for is none other than Kaikane Itsuka." Shinobu explained.
"And there is precedent for this kind of behavior, many people who experience trauma often revert to catatonic state. Refusing contact with the outside world and trapping themselves in their own mind. This kind of trauma can be anything but murder is not out of the realm of possibility." Yuushi added.
"How dare you accuse me and my brother of being killers!" I said, getting closer to Yuushi.
"I'm simply stating the facts, I'm not accusing him directly. But the facts aren't in his favor." Yuushi responded.
"Then I'll find the actual facts, I'm going to prove that my brother is not a killer." I turned towards the rest of the group, I gave them a look that said "Please help me prove that my brother did not do this.".
"I'll help." Manson said.
"I will too." Lova stepped forward.
"Yeah, me too." Clayton said.
"I will assist as well." Airi said.
Then Shinobu backed away from us.
"You're all fools, but have no fear I will save us all." She said.
"I'm sorry, Tsubaki, but I can't join you. I believe you're letting emotions cloud your judgement." Yuushi made a few steps towards Shinobu, but kept his distance.
"If no one else is going to join my crusade of justice then we shall be going." Shinobu gestured for Yuushi to follow him.
"Please do not call the investigation that, the only reason I am even remotely near you right now is because of the limited space in the lobby. Once we leave I will be conducting my own investigation." Yuushi said, brushing past Shinobu.
"If you say so, ally." Shinobu bittely said.
"For such a smart guy, Yuushi can be so stupid sometimes." Clayton remarked. He started making his way towards the elevator.
"Where are you going?" I asked him.
"I can't stay here. I just can't. I need space right now, I'll come back here. I promise." Clayton continued walking towards the elevator.
"I'll go with him, make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Manson said, leaving as well.
I took a look around the room, to notice details that I overlooked during that whole confrontation. Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. On the normally white floor I noticed small smudges of something, I just couldn't tell what it was. I approached it and knelt down to take a closer look. It was a light red stain, partially smeared away. There was also a strange smell about, like a clean and sterile smell. The stain also looked to be mostly wiped away. The floor looked like a rag was swept over it, but the rag was already dirty so it left a noticeable smear. I think that the stain was actually blood at one point, but the air and an unknown cleaning chemical has diluted it from its original state. And the bad cleaning job makes me think that the killer was in a rush. Now that I knew what I was looking for I found a trail leading to the elevator doors, with the trail getting cleaner as I go to the elevator. However, there were still noticeable smears. I'm guessing the murder did not take place in the lobby. I took out the Monokuma drive and swiped it across everything I saw. I even placed in some my thoughts and notes
Blood Smears and Trail Has Been Added to Evidence
A sob was briefly started and then stopped, then it started again and then stopped again. I looked over my shoulder to see Nora shaking, her arms wrapped around her body. Her eyes were watered over with tears. Nora is a really shy person, she has a fear that every time she opens up to a person they are going to hurt. She tries but she has very few friends. She's kinda a more extreme version of Clayton now that I think about it. And with the situation we through in extreme paranoia for everyone. Poor girl, the sight of a dead body is not healthy for anyone. I should probably help her.
"Nora, what's wrong?" I asked, approaching her.
"Someone died, someone has actually died. Oh god, I'm next. Everyone loved Jake in some way, he was a pacifist. He wouldn't harm anything but someone still killed him, imagine what'll happen to me. Me, everybody hates me. Even my own father hates me. If I'm not dead now I'll be the next one to go!" Nora sounded like she was on the edge of a complete mental breakdown, I had to do something right now.
"You've never had anyone care for you, not even your father cared for you. You remind me so much of Clayton, in so many ways. You've both push people away, but you guys actually have the most compassion out of all of us. You just hide it because you've been hurt too many times. I'm here with you, Nora, I'm not going anywhere. Nora, I'm your friend and I won't let anyone hurt you." I said, placing my hands on her shoulders.
She looked into my eyes, she was searching for something. Then her eyes lit up, she had found what she was looking for in me. In any case she was now calm, I had pulled her back from the edge.
"Alright, I'm with you. But I can't stay here, I can't help but look at Jake and think that it could have been me there. I'll go up the lab, I heard Yuushi talk about going to it. Maybe I can find something there." Nora said.
"Okay, if you find anything let me know." I sent Nora on the way.
"Hey Tsubaki, you need to come over here." Airi said, examining Jake's body and the immediate area around it.
"What is it?" I asked, kneeling next to her.
"Check out the autopsy file." Airi pulls out her drive activates the autopsy file.
It read:
Victim's Name: Jake Alexander
Time of Death: N/A
Cause of Death: Single stab/piercing wound to the heart
Notes: Victim has a small wound in their heart, somewhat in the shape of an x. Victim also possess a singular exit wound that does not match up with entrance wound in either position and size.
Airi partially lifted Jake's left side up to reveal a wound that was small, but big enough to notice.
"My guess is whatever killed him shattered on impact and a shard exited through his left side. Now what the weapon was or where the shard is right now, I don't know." Airi said, laying Jake back down.
"Well, I guess I'll find out." I said, making my way towards the elevator.
"For the record, this seems planned out. I don't think your brother did this because of that." Airi said.
"Thanks, right now it feels like the whole world is against him." I responded with.
Monokuma Autopsy File Has Been Added to Evidence
When I emerged from the elevator, I suddenly had an idea. We were all last seen in the dining room before the murder, what if the murder was committed there? I walked cautiously towards the dining room, careful not to have my steps be heard. And suddenly there I was in the dining room, hard to believe this was the last room where everyone was still alive in.
I carefully examined the crossbows first, since they were likely used in the murder. I came to the last one and found that it lacked its bolt, as all the others had their bolts. I traced its line of fire to the wall on the other side of room, I found two nails with frayed rope tied around them. This must be the spot where Jake was murdered, his body was tied up and then killed. So I traced along the wall, I found an unusually deep dip in the wall. I ran my finger on it and there was something sharp in the dip that definitely wasn't stone. I went into the kitchen and found a pair of tweezers, and used them to get the shard out. I pulled it out and the metal shard was covered in a dried up red liquid, blood.
Red Metal Shard Has Been Added to Evidence
Crossbow and missing Bolt Has Been Added to Evidence
Dining Room Wall Has Been Added to Evidence
Something is missing here, and I think I'll find that missing piece in the weapons storage room. So that was my next destination, which I quickly did. I took a scan of the room, and everything was exactly the same. Exactly the same as the last time I saw it, that's extremely suspicious in light of recent events. The rack which contained all the arrows in the hotel was full except for one spot, which was missing an arrow.
"Oh, didn't expect to see you here."
I whirled around to Yuushi standing at the doorway, arrow in hand.
"What are you doing with that?" I asked.
"Just testing out a theory." He placed the arrow back into the rack and left the room.
The arrow that he place back in the rack, its tip was dull. Like it impacted on something.
Dull Arrow and Rack Has Been Added to Evidence
Yuushi was supposed to be in the lab, and if he's doing testing with arrows then I need to check out the lab. Once again I traveled to a different part of the hotel, hopefully this is the last room I need to go to. Monokuma is probably about to call the trial any minute now. Nora was inside the room, staring at a computer like she wanted to set it on fire. Next to her was a cabinet filled with bleach. Bleach is a cleaning chemical, and it can create the smell that I found earlier in the lobby. I opened the cabinet and lifted the jug on the right, I held it up to the light and I saw that it was full. I held the jug on the left up to the light and it was nearly empty.
"Damn it." Nora muttered.
"Something I can help with." I said looking over her shoulder. It looks like she's trying to access some kind of record or log book.
"We were exposed to some kind of gas, meaning that chemicals had to be mixed. This is the only place I know of that can make that kind of gas. I talked with Monokuma and he says that all usage of the equipment in the lab is recorded, but access is encrypted. Meaning that you can't delete nor alter who used it, it also means you can't see who used it." Nora responded.
"Well, Clayton is the Ultimate Hacker. If anyone can break encryption, he can." I placed my drive on the computer, it downloaded the log book.
"Come on Nora, we've got to go see Clayton." I said.
Bleach Has Been Added to Evidence
Encrypted Log Book Has Been Added to Evidence
It didn't take long to find Clayton, I found him in the kitchen along with Manson, Yuushi, Shinobu and Lova.
"Look, Clayton, Kaikane is guilty of killing Jake. We need you guys to vote him guilty or we all die." Shinobu said.
"How man times do I have to say this, Kaikane would never kill someone." Clayton responded.
"Back off Shinobu, I have evidence right here that will prove my brother did not kill Jake." I pulled out my drive and placed it on the table right next to me. Nora leaned against the table and Manson walked over to my left side.
Yuushi and Shinobu approached me
"What is that?" Yuushi asked.
"An encrypted log book showing who mixed chemicals at the lab recently. Someone made the gas that knocked us out, and this log book will show who did that. Clayton, I need you to unlock it." I said.
"Yeah, I can do that." He said.
A metal clang echoed throughout the kitchen, something fell to the floor. Then smoke rose up from the floor, breathing became difficult and my field of vision was nonexistent. Then screams and grunts of pain came next. A hand reached out onto my chest and pushed me down,a figure reached for my drive on the table and grabbed it. They turned to run away but I kicked them in the back of the knee, sending them face first into the metal table. I faintly saw some blood on the table and the attacker rolled away on the ground and out of sight.
It took a few minutes but the smoke dissipated. When it was gone Myako came in and patched up the injured. Yuushi had a marge gash underneath his eye, Shinobu was bleeding from her mouth, and Nora was bleeding from the back of her head so her entire head was bandaged up. Clayton had a massive bruise on his rib cage and Lova had a sprained ankle. And my drive was missing, meaning the one piece of evidence that would clear my brother was gone as well.
"Attention students, it is now time for the trail. Please report to the dining room." Monokuma announced over the loud speaker system.
Screw it, even without my drive I am going to prove my brother's innocence. No matter what the killer is going to pay for what they did, to both Jake and my brother. Let's get this over with.
Author's Notes
So I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I have changed some key details and plot points from what my original vision was. I hope you enjoyed the final product.
Who do you think the killer is?