Danganronpa: Despair unbound
Chapter 3: Et tu, Monokuma?
Day 09
(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 09 – 6:35)
Jinsei's eyes were growing bags. He'd been up all night. The immense heat had made it impossible to sleep at all. He'd spent hours just tossing and turning on his bed, trying to ignore it or grow accustomed to it. His body felt weighted, his boxer shorts stuck to his skin by his own sweat, arms sprawled over the sides of the bed as the hot air clung to him like a despairing embrace. This was truly hopeless.
As he stepped into the shower he found himself shrieking as hot water pelted him, steaming and sizzling like cooking oil in a pot on his skin. He yelped as he stepped back and away from the hot water, turning it off. Monokuma was really serious about the heat spell. With little else to do, Jinsei thought the only thing he could do was go outside and hope the night was still cool.
He dressed up as much as he dared, wearing an unbuttoned dress shirt and not bothering to add anything to his boxers. Opening the door, he trod barefoot down the corridor and headed for the door. The sun was rising and cresting over the tall wall outside. Jinsei snatched at the handle and tugged it, swinging the door wide open and out into the grounds.
The earth was muddy from the rain the previous day but was surprisingly warm. In fact, the entire outside was warm. The weather was going through a heat spell, just like the building itself. The wind blew a hot breeze over him as Jinsei felt himself wince in a fit or horrible irony. They truly were trapped inside a heat box and it was only going to get hotter. It would only be a matter of time until the volcano that was brewing went off and ended in yet another death. Jinsei gulped dryly.
(Faithwood Academy – Dining room – Day 09 – 7:30)
The students gathered at the dining room but no one had a particular appetite for hot food during this condition inside the school. They'd all clearly been devoid of sleep and sat grumpily with bags under their eyes. The heat was relentless and it was clear it had affected each of them. Furostomi had for once changed out of her thermal coat and ski gear into a tee shirt and shorts. Kasper had shown up shirtless in only his boxers. Daisuke was flapping his cap in front of his face, wearing actual shorts unlike most of them. The only one fully clothed was Yayoi, her usual maid outfit present on her. Jinsei could tell she was taking it hard. Sweat was beading and rolling down her face, her skirts hung limp and she was even panting slightly in the heat.
"Yayoi… you should dress down." Jinsei suggested. She shook her head.
"A maid must… be in proper attire… at all times…" she replied, rubbing her sleeve across her forehead.
"This is no ordinary circumstance." Pointed out Gina, wearing only a short band across her chest in a fairly short skirt. "You might pass out."
"No… I'll be… fine…" she insisted.
"Gaaah I can't stand it…" Daisuke grumbled heavily. "The bear's sick… I feel like I'm gonna snap…"
"Take heart, fellows." Said Yakusha who had managed to make it out in his "2B" shirt and striped trousers. "We must remain vigilant in this situation. The bear is counting on us to crack. We will prove to him we are not so easily bested!" The actor held Yorick up high as he spoke.
"Easy for you to say!" blustered Taro. "I don't trust anyone here, this heat is killing us! No words of inspiration will beat this heat!" He shouted angrily, sweat beading on his neck.
"Stop squabbling." Gina said, smacking her fist onto the table. "We're playing right into Monokuma's paws here by fighting."
"Who cares…" snarled Kiyonari, having lost her denim dungarees for once and dressed in only a bra and shorts, the heat clearly effecting her badly. "It might be what he wants, but letting the anger build up won't help us."
"I'm kinda with her on this one…" Haruo agreed, shifting awkwardly.
"That said, fighting ain't gonna solve this." Kasper cut through the argument quickly as Haruo noticeably flinched.
"Let's just try and get on with our days…" Cho tried to appease the group. "Maybe he'll let up if we can avoid any violence." It was a hopeful suggestion, which Cho quickly forgot about.
"You're right Cho." Agreed Furostomi, not shivering for once.
"I am?" She asked, scratching her head in confusion.
"Alright… I know where I'm going…" Grunted Daisuke as he took off from the table. One by one the other students filed out and went off to go do their various things. The only ones left behind were Jinsei, Yayoi and Gina.
"Yayoi please… you're going to pass out if you keep the dress on." Jinsei assured her, looking at her. The maid looked at him and gradually nodded.
"Very well… this once…" she panted as she then left to change. Jinsei looked at Gina and nodded solemnly. They knew they had a job to do. In this heat, all they could do was try and keep tensions down. Maybe the bear would relent on them if he saw his little trick wasn't working…
(Faithwood Academy – 3F corridor – Day 09 – 8:10)
Jinsei and Gina split up to check the floors. Gina agreed to take the first floor whilst Jinsei checked the third floor. They'd meet up to check over the second floor together once they were done. Getting upstairs was only made harder by the intense heat pressing down on him like a lead overcoat, sluggish steps on a hot floor made it worse and worse with every move. Eventually he reached the third floor and came across Taro in the corridor, swiping his forehead.
"Taro?" Jinsei began, looking at him. The tenor looked to him flustered and managed to speak after a few struggling gasps.
"Jinsei… what is it… I'm about to be busy…" He spluttered, swabbing sweat off his forehead constantly.
"Busy? With what?" The psychiatrist eyed him curiously.
"I don't trust anyone… the heat will make someone get me! I can tell!" The tenor explained. Now Jinsei could see what this exasperation really was. Fear.
"So what are you doing exactly?" Jinsei asked, still curious.
"I'm locking myself in. I'm not dying because of heat, that'd be positively ridiculous!" And with that he opened the classroom door and went inside, slamming the door behind him, locking it tight behind him. Jinsei tried to handle a few times, but it was locked tight. He sighed somewhat. At least this meant Taro was out of harm's way.
Now his attention shifted over to the ice rink door. He'd admittedly forgotten it. During a time of such heat, surely even Monokuma couldn't keep the ice rink hot. He tried the door handle and to his extreme dismay, it was locked. It was then he noticed a little notice left on the door.
'Ice rink out of bounds until further notice. Love, Principal M.' the note also had a little picture of their principal's face in the corner.
Jinsei growled slightly. That figured. Lock the one place that might've solved this whole situation… but that led him to another question. Where Furostomi was.
During further excursion of the third floor, he eventually found the petite skier in the most unlikely of places. The arcade. Daisuke was in there again, blasting away a zombie in snobby looking glasses, Furostomi was watching at his side.
"How do you get good at these?" she asked. It was so strange hearing her without her stutter. At least this heat had brought out some good, Jinsei ruminated.
"I used to play these all the time when I was a kid." The mathematician explained, not even looking at her as he paid attention to the game, but the smile on his face showed he was clearly enjoying the boasting. "Helped me get good with calculating."
"Really? How do video games help you calculate?" The skier asked, eyes full of curiosity. Daisuke sniffed slightly and quickly swiped an elbow across his damp forehead.
"It's simple. Video games are programmed to behave and act in certain ways. Through numbers! If you can predict what a game will do, you can predict its numbers. And therefore, calculations! You just got to know how it'll work!" he shouted triumphantly as zombie twirling a pair of scissors went splat. Furostomi gasped slightly as she looked on.
Jinsei decided not to interrupt the two… the heat oddly seemed to be aiding Daisuke's gaming and Furostomi wasn't complaining, so he continued on his excursion and went over toward the chemistry lab. Inside he found Haruo, bent over the sink, mopping at his head with a sponge.
"Haruo? You doing ok?" The psychiatrist asked as he approached. The alchemist sighed and turned toward him, scratching his wet hair.
"No… I'm not. Is anyone?" He said with a frown. Jinsei shrugged slightly. It was hard to suppose anyone was doing well in this heat.
"With some help, hopefully…" he tried to remain positive. Haruo sighed slightly.
"Can we walk an talk? I don't think I'm getting much done here…" Behind his back, Jinsei could see some soiled glassware. The heat was bad enough it had properly prevented him from actually doing experiments? Sad thought, Jinsei said to himself.
The two left the chemistry lab and walked back down the corridor, briefly passing Yakusha as he paid them no notice.
"So… how're things with Kasper?" Jinsei dared to ask as Haruo cringed.
"Bad… to be honest." Haruo managed to say through profusely gritted teeth. "Sticking up for myself… I kinda can't look at him the same."
"How so?" Jinsei asked.
"…I think he might bad mad." The alchemist admitted.
"What makes you think that?" Jinsei queried. Insanity was nothing to take likely. Jinsei hadn't dealt with it hand-to-hand before, but he was prepared to deal with it.
"I've seen him just talk to himself and not make sense… and he grins over nothing." Haruo continued to explain. Jinsei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Talking to oneself was a possible trait of insanity, and it was true that Kasper had a strange glee to his attitude in such a horrible place… but could that be insanity? Really?
(Faithwood Academy – 2F Therapy room – Day 09 – 9:00)
Jinsei took a seat opposite Gina, both brows creased in frustration. Their searches had been mostly unfruitful. Jinsei had left Haruo as a ball of nerves and he'd left Furostomi with Daisuke. Everyone else he wasn't sure of, that was for Gina to tell him.
"Cho was helping Yayoi… they're both having trouble with the heat." Gina began. "She has at least gotten changed." That was good, Jinsei thought.
"What about Kasper?" he asked, growing suspicious of the hunter.
"Swimming. He thought it'd help him cool off… but the pool's like a hot spa." Gina nodded grimly. "I caught him talking to himself… he seems on edge."
"Haruo said he thinks he's crazy." Jinsei revealed to her. "I should talk to him once this heat's gone…." Gina nodded.
"Good idea. What about Taro, Yakusha and Furostomi?" Jinsei nodded.
"Furostomi's with Daisuke in the arcade. I found Taro locking himself in the classroom upstairs… and Yakusha didn't want to talk." The two shared a somewhat sorrowful look.
"This all feels somewhat futile doesn't it?" The kendoka admitted. Jinsei couldn't help but share in her thoughts.
"A little… it's the heat." He rubbed a hand through his hair, damp and greasy.
"We need a plan… something to calm everyone… what about the ice rink?" Suggested Gina. Jinsei shook his head.
"Locked up… Monokuma thought of it before we could…." Gina's hand curled into a fist as she frowned excessively.
"Then there's nothing…" she admittedly dejectedly. "I wish Cosmic… Noriko was still here." Jinsei looked upon her with sympathy. The death had really gotten to her. Even now he could see how it was affecting her.
"It was sad… but she thought she did the right thing." Jinsei tried to comfort her, to little avail. "It wasn't a result of her… it's this place. It's infectious, the things we do…" Gina looked up at him.
"I suppose… but…" she rubbed her temples a bit. "Don't you feel like someone else is provoking us?" The psychiatrist raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know… it's not just Monokuma. It's like there's something… something…" she trailed off as she looked up at the ceiling. A look of fear suddenly graced her eyes as she looked around.
"Gina?" Jinsei asked. The kendoka looked back at him.
"Jinsei… can't you feel it?"
"Feel what?" he replied.
"The heat…" Gina said mysteriously.
"Well of course I… wait…" now that Jinsei thought about it… it didn't feel as hot anymore… in fact, the temperature felt normal… "It's gone… the heat's gone. Monokuma must've relented!" Jinsei said happily, but Gina still looked troubled.
"I think there's only one reason Monokuma would turn down the heat…" Gina said gravely. That was when Jinsei caught on. He gulped dryly.
"You think… someone is dead?" he dared to ask. The kendoka nodded. Almost instantly, Jinsei got to his feet and bolted out the door. "You take this floor, I'll get the first floor!" he shouted back at her as he slid down the stairs. If Gina was right, another murder had been committed. Jinsei begged the gods of fortune and luck for that not to be so.
(Faithwood academy – 3F corridor – Day 09 – 9:30)
The first and second floor searches had revealed nothing yet. Now only the third floor remained. Quickly, Jinsei ran for the classroom door and knocked on it.
"Taro! Taro are you in there?!" he shouted. He received no response, which only made him panic more, knocking again. "Taro!" he cried out exasperatedly.
"Yes! Yes I'm here, what's wrong?!" replied the irritated tenor.
"We think someone's died! Get out here and help us, quick!" Jinsei left on that note. Knowing the door had been left locked; chances are the murder hadn't occurred in there. He ran through the corridors and checked the rooms as he went, finding Daisuke again in the arcade, alive and well. That just left the chemistry lab.
Grabbing the handle and pushing, Jinsei was shocked to find the door was locked. Fearing the worst, he banged on it.
"Hello! Is anyone in there?! Hello!" he shouted, trying hard to open the door. It was no use. Something was keeping it shut from the other side. He pushed harder and tried with all his might, but no avail.
"Stand back!" came a shout from down the hall as he spotted Gina running toward him. He stepped back as she shoulder charged the door. Jinsei heard a wooden splintering from behind it. Gina bashed the door again, her strength surprising even Jinsei as another loud crack was heard. With one more strong charge, the thing broke behind the door and it swung open. The two quickly ran into the chemistry lab. Their eyes instantly focused upon something that chilled them to their cores.
Lying out on the chemistry floor was a body, laying on its front with its arms splayed out in front of it. The floor was wet around it, intermixed with a trickle of blood trailing down out of the corpse's hair and onto the tiled floor. Laying by one of their hands, a familiar plastic skull was laid bare, a slight red blemish on its teeth. It was unmistakable. Yakusha Kuronin, the super duper high school level actor, was dead.
The two stopped dead and just stared at the body as the identification sunk in. They shared a grim and sorrowful look as one of their brightest had been snuffed out. They were joined by Daisuke soon after.
"…damnit…" he grunted, looking down at the body. That was the cue for the screen to flicker on.
"Another body's been found! You all know the drill, you got some time to investigate before we hold yet another class trial!" Cackled the bear, grinning down at the students. The three were left alone with the body as they decided what to do.
(Time until trial – 1:30:00)
(Faithwood academy – Jinsei's room – Day 09 – 9:40)
The first thing the psychiatrist decided to do was take a shower. With the heat now back to normal, it'd help if he could be fully relaxed and able to take in the crime scene properly. Being hot wouldn't help anything. A lot of the other students had taken his advice too, with only Gina staying behind to make sure no one messed with the body. Jinsei sighed to himself as the cold water splashed down on him. Yakusha had been one of the few he'd trusted entirely, and now someone had killed him. The strain of three deaths now pressed down on his mind as he let the water cleanse him. He'd make sure whoever killed him was brought forward. It was his only way to recompense for allowing someone to die again.
When he was done, he dressed up in his usual attire of suit and smart trousers, notebook in hand. It was time to investigate.
(Time until Trial – 1:20: 23)
(Faithwood Academy – 3F Chemistry Lab – Day 09 – 9:50)
As Jinsei walked back toward the chemistry lab, he flipped out his electroID to check the few details Monokuma would give them on the case.
Victim: Yakusha Kuronin
Time of death: 9:15
The corpse was discovered in the chemistry lab on the third floor.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma
Jinsei looked down at the body beneath and winced at the time of death. He and Gina was right. The cooling had been only seconds after Yakusha parted ways with this world. How despicable of Monokuma, he thought. But now it was time to analyse the body.
First Jinsei looked at the wound. It was right on the back of the actor's head, leaving a bloody mark in his hair. Looking around, Jinsei could see no obvious weapons or any trace of one at all in the chemistry lab. Did the killer take it with them? If that was true, this case would be even harder to figure out. He made a note of it in his notebook.
Next, Jinsei noticed something over to one side of the room. The sink. Both taps had been left on and were still spurting water into the basin. Jinsei doubted it was related to the case, but there must've been some reason for it. He noted it down and then turned back to the body.
The skull, Yorick, was still close to Yakusha's hand. The teeth had the slightest blood mark on it, which was already drying. That meant Yakusha probably had him right up until the time of death. And the blood mark meant he might have lived a few moments after he'd been hit. He made another note of it as Yorick itself held no other clues.
The water on the floor intruged him. Yakusha was a fair ways away from the sink so the water probably didn't come from there. All the glassware in the chemistry lab seemed dry, so how was the wound wet? As well as the floor? Just another mystery, he thought as he noted it down.
Jinsei did one final check around the chemistry lab. Everything seemed in place from the looks of it. He passed by the Monakuma and spotted that one of the beakers on the left of the painting had been moved slightly. The label was facing away slightly. But it wasn't wet. Jinsei raised an eyebrow but decided to move on.
Now there was the final piece of evidence. The chair that had been propped against the door, preventing it from opening. It was wooden, most likely from one of the classrooms. It had been propped up against the door from one side and now lay broken into two pieces. This was the strangest part of the whole case. Yakusha had been locked into the room. So, either the killer had managed to escape somehow or… he really didn't want to consider it, but it might've been suicide.
With his notes taken, he let Haruo move past him as he was up to something with the body. He left to go over his notes a bit and question one or two people. No matter what happened, he'd puzzle this case out. For Yakusha's sake.
(Time until trial – 0:49:13)
(Faithwood academy – 3F storeroom – Day 09 – 10:11)
"Jinsei!" shouted Cho as the psychiatrist was working on his notes in the corridor. He turned to look.
"Yeah?" he said.
"You need to see this… it might be important." The psychiatrist followed her into the storeroom as she pointed at a large metal box resting on the floor. Upon opening it, Jinsei found the last thing he expected to see. A chainsaw.
"You found… this?" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah… no idea why." Jinsei picked up the heavy tool and looked at it. The blade was oddly wet, a small puddle having formed in the box over time. What kind of relevance could a chainsaw have to this case?
"When did you find this?" he asked Cho, looking over at her. She was back in her usual attire too, scribbling into her book.
"Just a few minutes ago, when we all came to see the body… who was it again?" she asked, checking the book. Jinsei sighed slightly.
"I don't suppose you know anything about this case?" Cho shook her head.
"Nothing… except Kasper said he needed to talk with Yayoi downstairs." She admitted, scratching her head in confusion. Jinsei nodded and headed downstairs to investigate.
(Time until trial – 0:40:13)
(Faithwood Academy – 1F dorm corridor – Day 09 – 10:20)
Jinsei headed downstairs and looked around for the two. He came across them in the dorm room corridor. He didn't approach them for now and remained out of sight to listen in. Who knows, this could be useful for the case.
"That's the plan." Kasper was saying to Yayoi, wearing an oddly serious expression.
"You're mad, Kasper." Yayoi said, stepping away from him. "This just sounds like you're going to kill someone…."
"No no no no… not kill. You've got that all wrong Yayoi." He chuckled slightly as he approached her. The maid backed off slightly. "I want to kill that god damned bear. And I'm getting ideas about how to do that."
"Your plan involves putting everyone at risk!" Yayoi argued.
"We're all at risk, Yayoi. Every one of us could die next. You, me. Do you want that to happen before we know the truth?" the hunter grinned as he drew closer to her.
"We need to play it safe… I don't want to see everyone die because of some stupid plan." She pleaded with him, with the hunter wasn't listening. The difference in her usual polite tone was somewhat upsetting considering. Jinsei didn't hear what he said next as he stood close to her and whispered, but decided it was time to break things up. He stood into the corridor and walked over to them as their attention was drawn.
"Hey guys. Something going on?" The two turned to him in surprise as Kasper merely tipped his Stetson.
"Someone died Jinsei, I'd say something HAS gone on." Jinsei knew this was what Kasper did, confusing a point to negate it. Not today though.
"What were you two talking about?" he sprung the question as Kasper flinched slightly.
"Nosey, aren't we?" Kasper countered again.
"Someone died. I need to know everything for the case." Jinsei continued to rebuke the hunter. The hunter took his hat off to look hard at Jinsei.
"This has nothing to do with the case. This was about escape." Kasper admitted.
"Nice thing to talk about in front of the cameras." Jinsei taunted slightly, glad to finally get one over on the cocky hunter. But the hunter grinned.
"Yeah… isn't it?" he gave him a wink and then walked away as the maid and psychiatrist watched him go. Jinsei wondered to himself as the hunter went off. He wasn't convinced that the hunter was in fact mad. Tricky, yes. Perhaps way too full of himself, yes. But not mad.
(Time until trial – 0:03:13)
(Faithwood Academy – 1F elevator corridor – Day 09 – 10:57)
Jinsei lamented as he gathered with his fellows before the door. His notes were sparse and empty. He had ideas but once again, he felt like he was going to a gunfight at high noon with only half a bullet in his clip. The heat may have been gone but Jinsei had never felt more hot under the collar. The murder seemed impossible. There was no weapon, little evidence and a locked door. All things that surmounted to a seemingly impossible to crack case. All he could do now was trust it would come out during the trial.
The elevator opened before them and sunk into the ground now containing the high schoolers. Another trial to decide their fate, the murder triggered by heat would be a true trial by fire.