Investigation 2-2: Trust Nobody
Naoko and I make our way to the kitchen after Tsukiko. Everybody is more organized now, and I notice that some have even left the room, probably to investigate somewhere else or be away from the dead body. Both make sense.
...Though that is not the main topic of discussion right now. In the middle of the room, I see that Monokuma is waiting with Takayuki. Takayuki looks more pissed off than usual. It is strange that Monokuma is also here since he saved Naoko and me from the Hospital. Though this seems to confirm one thing, that this Monokuma certainly has spares. Going against him will still be suicide. Just where are all the spares? And where do the passageways Monokuma take lead to? Do they lead to whatever is inside that door? I only remember darkness, that TV, and who I believe is the mastermind. What else is in there?
"Monokuma says he wouldn't start talking until you arrived," Tsukiko comments. I take a breath of relief. Even though Monokuma is here, which means something bad is either happening or had happened, it is better than anybody else getting hurt or something happening with Shinichi's body.
"So what do you want Monokuma?" I ask him impolitely. Naoko is hiding behind me, too scared to face the demonic bear directly.
"Since you asked so politely, I guess I can tell you. You're the protagonist after all! Be involved with the plot more!" Monokuma exclaims. "I thought that this wasn't a fair trial. So I allowed Takayuki to give you bastardly idiots some evidence! Now, for the last time in his pathetic lifetime, Takayuki will speak about mysteries and not get his ass poisoned." Not a fair trial? Sure, the culprit has made themselves not known pretty well, and I have no idea who it is, but I would have never guessed Monokuma would be scared enough to actually give us information. He really wants the Killing Game to continue. What is his goal though? I cannot see anybody watching this and gaining anything from it. So what is that bear thinking?
"The poison comes from the plant Strychnos nux-vomica. It is usually found in Southeast Asia so I wonder why it is here..." Takayuki's mind wonders for about a second. "Besides that, I think you can figure this out, Naoko. You're smarter than you think. And, if I hear another pity party come out of your damn mouth, I'm gonna punch you. It pisses me off that I can't solve this damn murder because of this bear." Just like that, every pad in the room rings.
"Wait...is the poison used in the bracelets the same as the one used for the murder?" Naoko questions Monokuma. His only response is to laugh. He ignores her question purposefully and drags a now smiling Takayuki with him to the kitchen.
"The same one as the murder? Don't tell me you're implying what I think you're implying..." Looking out my own action, there is a sudden weight in my stomach. The weight of knowing something is wrong but nothing has changed.
"...C-could it be that the culprit got the poison from one of the bracelets?" Naoko's confidence is gone. There is something new in her eyes, suspicion. Everything begins to click together. The poison, me being alone, being trapped in the Hospital, everything...
Is the culprit setting me up?
People usually pick the answer that is easy for them. While I am friendly to everyone besides Akemi, I am still not a part of their close friend circles. All I really have is Kyoto right now. Kazuhiko is also the first culprit, and, as his girlfriend, people are going to naturally assume things about me. This trial will for sure tell me one thing. Who I can and cannot trust with my life.
And, if the culprit somehow found out that my father is the infamous Izuru Kamukura, that would turn everybody against me. It would be easier for all of them to believe that I am a monster than challenge their own beliefs. Kazuhiko was the only person who saw me and the old Ultimate Despairs for what we truly are, human. Considering his past though, everybody would be considered a human, even the mastermind and Kotori, compared to them. THEM. Those assholes who dare called themselves-
"I-I need to be alone! Sorry!" Naoko runs out of the room, breaking me out of my thoughts and robbing me of my new investigation partner. I sigh. Goddammit, if I knew this would have happened, I would have stayed in bed. Then my thoughts would have never wandered to them. Just don't think about it...the case is more important...but...
"...Maybe I should. I'm not that important..."
"Ayano," says Kyoto as he walks up to me. He is less visibly shaken by all the events that have transpired today, but he is still not to his old self yet. This was supposed to be a day to make him feel better after all that just ended up being a set up for another murder. "...Want to see?"
"See?...Oh, the bullets? Yeah," I respond. Then, thinking about the fact that most of my classmates are now gone, thoughts begin to swirl in my head. Only Kyoto, Tsukiko, Miyuki, Cassius, and Shinichi (for obvious reasons) remain. Shinichi still has that horrible look on his face, even with his eyes closed. "Where is everybody else?"
"O-oh! That would be important. Satoshi, Yasu, and Minato are in the kitchen. Hotaru, Mitsuru, Akemi, and Hayato are in charge of the pool area along with the secret passageway. Kira, Namita, Mirabilis and Takara are searching Shinichi's room and the surrounding hallway." Surprisingly, more noises coming from the handbook. Now Kyoto shows me the truth bullets.
Truth Bullet #14-Takayuki's Poison Lesson
The poison comes from the plant Strychnos nux-vomica which is not native to Japan. It can still be found in the gardens.
Please note the murderer is not Takayuki Anno. If one of you says his name for a suspect, I'm gonna execute him. Because that would get on my nerves and I gave him a freebie! A FREEBIE! I never give out freebies!
Truth Bullet #15-Shinichi's Diary
Nothing is known about the contents inside or why it is even here. It is all written in code in some sort of possibly dead language.
It was thrown into the pool just before the party started by the culprit.
Truth Bullet #16-Before the Party
Ayano Nishiki was the one who proposed the idea to Miyuki Kobyashi, Namita Nakahashi, and Cassius blah blah blah.
Kira Iwata was there in the cafeteria but decided to not listen in to the conversation.
Ayano Nishiki and Kyoto Kamui were in the library. Hotaru Amemori came to get them from the library but was in the cafeteria beside for that. Everybody else stayed in the kitchen.
Truth Bullet #17-Investigation Positions
Ayano Nishiki and Naoko Kawabata were in charge of the Hospital.
Satoshi Nakajima, Yasu Matsuhita, and Minato Ueda the kitchen.
Hotaru Amemori, Mitsuru Banda, Akemi Nakatani and Hayato Akimoto the pool and secret passageway.
Kira Iwata, Namita Nakahashi, Rosalina Folium and Takara Miyagi searched Shinichi's room.
And, lastly, Kyoto Kamui, Tsukiko Oda, Miyuki Kobyashi and Cassius blah blah blah investigated the cafeteria.
"Diary...?" More thoughts enter my head. Was this really a random crime? How could it be a crime with a random victim? Then again, how could it not be? There was no way that the culprit could have known which cup Shinichi would have taken...or is there? This is truly turning out to be the most interesting crime. Kazuhiko would have been more useful in this case, especially since I am sure he is not the culprit this time around.
"..." Kyoto is strangely silent but clearly deep in thought. He looks over to Shinichi with sad eyes. "I am going to check the kitchen again."
"Alright, I'll come with you," I say. Kyoto opens the door for me, which I thank him for and walk in. He quickly follows after me. I observe my surroundings to see that this is where the chaos has transferred to. Satoshi is still going on about Balkan 176, Yasu is on the ground still and Minato is nowhere to be seen. Who thought it was a good idea to make the three of them a team?
"Hmm..." Kyoto begins investigating everywhere right away. He searches all the possible places to hide something or that could house things that would be simply overlooked otherwise. I, on the other hand, make my way over to the cellar. Nobody is in there so it would be good to try to find some clues. Before I do, however, I decide to ask Kyoto something.
"Hey, Kyoto..."
"Yeah?"
"Who assigned the investigation positions?" I ask.
"Oh...that would be Tsukiko and Namita...like usual," he answers me right before heading back to work. I, knowing that there are no more new bullets, make my way to the cellar. Though it would be a good thing to keep in mind. Something as big as the letter was not added after all, and we learned the hard way Monokuma is not to be trusted in the first case. That was not a fair trial. Why is he pushing so hard for this one to be fair when the first one was rigged from the start? After this investigation, I am going to do some hardcore thinking about Kazuhiko's case...Why did he have to die? I guess Akita too. There is no rule that states that you cannot think about the case after all.
"Okay." I finish my trip to the cellar. Right now, I must think about Shinichi's case. Think, think, think. Why would the culprit kill? There is a time limit yet we are nowhere near the date, right? And there is that weird water motive. Why would the culprit kill somebody in that manner just to be caught and give one person water? If they did, for some dumb reason, it is clear to see whoever they give the perk to will have a massive target on their backs.
In the cellar, it takes me a couple of uneventful minutes to find where the Balkan 176 is stored. There are about ten flasks of it, which four are emptied. There are big flasks too. They are sized up to be a little smaller than the wine bottles hiding them. Why are wine bottles hiding them though? I pick one of the full flasks up and Satoshi is right about the warning label. It is written in various languages like English, Japanese, Russian, etc. You could tell that this is pretty dated since most of the land the Committee has 'saved' now speak only English. Once again, Shinichi would be helpful here.
"..." A realization comes over me. It is something I do not want to do. I take the smallest slip possible to test out how potent this really is. Seconds later, my mouth is burning and there is a new decoration in the room. The decoration is of broken glass with whiskey. "I'm never doing that again."
It is worse than that one time that Kazuhiko convinced me to try watching this TV show called Boku no Pico. I was never the same person again. Kazuhiko had way too much fun trolling me...I would kill to have those moments again...No, Ayano, that is what Monokuma wants you to think. It is no use getting out of here if Kazuhiko is not here. Just have to make sure everybody else is safe.
...If I return, the first thing I would have to do is talk to Shiro. He would want to know what is going on here...and how Kazuhiko died. Then I guess I could kill myself. Maybe I can finally resume my investigation into where Jabberwock Island is. Maybe seeing my father again would give me a new will to live.
"Ayano, I found something!" Kyoto shouts as he opens up the door. He also has a new coffee cup in his hands.
"What is it?" I question. I slowly step over to where I threw the flask in a pathetic attempt to cover it up.
"C-come with m-me!" Kyoto rushes out of the room and I follow closely behind. I truly have no idea how much time we have left, yet something inside me tells me that Monokuma is going to be unfair with the investigations too. Would not be surprised if he says who the killer is outright once again.
Right before Kyoto shows me what he had found, we hear something. Words that I did not want to hear. Everything seems to be so rushed...too perfect. Like the only reason why Monokuma gave us that hint was to fairly end the investigation early.
"Alrighty, my precious, bastard students, it is finally time for the second class trial! Come to the front of the staircase to the trial room this instant!"
"...He's making fools out of us," I sigh. Just like usual. Next thing you know there is going to be a rule that is against breathing air.
"Fools?" Satoshi asks. He is now carrying Yasu, and I just realized how strong Satoshi is. Did any of us know he was strong enough to carry a person, even if Yasu is small? Guess that is how he stayed alive for so long working in the underground. Because, to survive in this word, you either need to be smart or strong. Satoshi is the biggest idiot in my class so it really should not surprise me.
"Yeah."
"I'm already one," he laughs. Then he leaves the both of us in the room. Yasu still shows no signs of waking up. That is a shame, because, while they are not the best at solving mysteries, Yasu helps everybody keep it together. Along with Mochi. Mitsuru seems to have a soft side when it comes to animals.
"I w-will show you the bullets once we get there," Kyoto tells me. "What I found is d-do not have the time to see it in person again." I nod my head as I take a deep breath. The trial grounds is the last place I ever want to see again, but I have to embrace it. I may not care about my life that much...yet I am not going to have all of my classmates die because I believe in nothing! Kyoto is still here! He does not deserve to die!
When we reach there, some of our classmates were waiting, although we are not the last to arrive. Naoko, Satoshi, Yasu, Minato, Kira, Namita, Mirabilis, Takara, Tsukiko, Miyuki, and Cassius arrived before us. Now we are just waiting for the group in charge of the pool and Takayuki.
All of us return to the groups we are comfortable in, clearly suspicious of each other. There are a lot of darting eyes and whispering. I stay with Kyoto, along with noticing that Naoko and Takara are deciding to stick together. Namita and Miyuki are having a conversation together while Tsukiko keeps guard on the staircase. All of the rest are all in one large group. They are by far the loudest. Most of them are talking about the trial, about what certain pieces of evidence mean, yet I can tell that there is something not right about their theories.
"The pool team should be here any minute now. Can I see the bullets?" I whisper to Kyoto. After coming to a realization that the culprit might be framing me, I cannot unfeel the suspicious eyes of others. There are definitely people checking out my behavior and other possible signs of being guilty. This might not be the smallest move to make, as there are many people I have not talked to during the process of this whole investigation, but it is better than not knowing some of the facts before the trial. I do not want to make a fool out of myself. That would only make people think I did it more.
"Of course." Once again, he allows me to see his pad.
Truth Bullet #18-Hidden Empty Bags
In the kitchen, in one of the cupboards, there are two big pouches that are now empty and wet. One of them contained the poison, while the other contained red colored water.
They were placed in the cupboard after Shinichi Fujimoto's death.
Truth Bullet #19-Right Before
In the small window of time, before the drinking started, Shinichi Fujimoto was visited by Kira Iwata, Cassius blah blah blah, Akemi Nakatani, Satoshi Nakajima, and Hotaru Amemori. All of them were in a group and had a small conversation that lasted for a couple seconds.
Truth Bullet #20-Shinichi's Secret
Shinichi Fujimoto is hiding a secret of some kind. That's it.
Truth Bullet #21-The Letters
Sometime before the party, Shinichi received a letter that told him to watch his back. It is not the same handwriting as the letter found before the murder.
"...Watch out?" Why do the last of the bullets always have to be the one that causes the most confusion? First, it was the secret passageway, and now it is these letters. What does all of this mean?
"Hello~" Hotaru comes bursting through the door while doing a handstand. She is dripping from head to toe. To be honest, she looks the worse out of everybody here.
"Please just ignore her," Akemi comments. He is not wet like Hotaru. Hotaru did something to get herself wet, but it is not surprising since they were at the pool. Though the pool seems to be a horrible place to have a swim. Perhaps Hotaru was the one who found that piece of evidence?
"Let's just get this damn trial over with." Mitsuru, though, is also wet like Hotaru. All of her hair dye has been washed away, leaving only her natural black hair behind. She is followed by a clean Hayato.
"Stop cursing!" Mirabilis tries to get Mitsuru, but the gang leader dodges her easily. This does not stop Mirabilis, however, since she is still trying to purify Takayuki.
"Hayato, why are Mitsuru and Hotaru drenched?" Tsukiko questions them. She moves from her spot to make it possible to enter the passageway. Namita tries to open it, but she realizes that it is locked.
"Oda-san, Amemori-chan and Banda-san requested to investigate the pool area while Nakatani-san and I tried to open the secret passageway. I assume that they must have had the idea to go into the pool after we went our separate ways," Hayato answers. That makes sense. Though it seems that Hotaru somehow convinced Hayato to call her chan instead of san.
"...Oh, Mirabilis, who did you purify?" Satoshi suddenly asks out of the blue. That stops everybody in their tracks, even Mirabilis herself.
"If you desire it, then it's my duty as a magical girl to give you this information. I purified two people. One of them was Shinichi accidentally when I was chasing after that crook Yuki and the other was-"
"Not so fast!" Monokuma interrupts Mirabilis...who was surprisingly using very formal language compared to usual. Mirabilis and Mitsuru both clearly want to attack Monokuma but do not strike. "Now I'll take you to the trial grounds since none of you are smart enough to learn how to lock pick."
"Where's Takayuki?" Monokuma ignores Naoko's question as he opens up the passageway. We all travel our way down silently. It would be useless to ask Monokuma anything since he would just give us the information he wants us to hear.
The trial room is the same as last time. Large, high tech, but has an oppressive atmosphere. Akita is almost lucky to be the first one killed so she did not have to witness this kind of place.
Though the most surprising thing we see is a new feature...
Takayuki is tied up in chains, clearly unhappy in his current situation. He is connected to Monokuma's throne. The worse thing though is that he is dressed up in some strange looking costume clearly meant for a female. His hair is even decorated since it is so long. Thinking back on it, I remember seeing an outfit a lot like this one in a movie that Kazuhiko liked. It is called Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi I think...and it was the outfit that Princess Leia...Layla...Leela? I don't know. Anyway, it was the outfit that she wore while being held captive by that weird alien thingy.
"...Oh, my God, that's priceless!" Hotaru begins to laugh. All of us either stare or ignore her. I ignore her.
"Shut up or I will kill you," Takayuki threatens her. It does nothing, however, as she just continues to laugh.
"Everybody shut up or I'll kill all of you and turn you into butter!" Monokuma shouts. Hotaru shuts up, but she struggles to keep the smile off her face. "Attention, students, this trial will be much, much harder than the last. But remember that the culprit is one of you. Puhuhu." His red eye glows. The words that come out of his mouth is finally what allows Hotaru to calm down.
"..." Hayato raises his hand. Monokuma points his paw at him.
"Am I allowed to speak, Monokuma-sensei?"
"Yes, stick in the mud, you're allowed to speak," Monokuma replies. He blushes at Hayato's pick of flattery. I never really thought of Hayato as a stick in the mud, but Monokuma knows he can do whatever he wants. Even break the rules since no one appears to be watching.
"Are you certain that the culprit is one of us? How-"
"It is one of you! Who else would it be? I'll tell you something that's actually true for once. There are only twenty-one people in this forest. And three of them are dead, so now there are only eighteen of you bastards left. Can you tell me who is gonna be the sole survivor?" Monokuma begins laughing like a madman again.
"Sole survivor? What are you planning, Monokuma?" Tsukiko questions him.
"Figure out who the Blackened is and you'll get to know! Oh wait, you would have to do that for five more trials. Because it's always six trials folks." He is way too smug to be trusted. We can never let our guard down around this bear. And, even if we try to get the mastermind, we will just end up like Kazuhiko.
"How are you so certain, Monokuma? We could defeat you-"
"That's the funniest thought I ever heard. You know who also thought that, Kazuhiko. And so, so many others. But you're all just meaningless trash for my entertainment! So kill, kill, kill!"
"What if the Blackened wins? What would happen then? Would your plan fall apart?" Akemi questions him. We all stare at him. The rest of the class is not used to seeing Akemi of all people stand up against Monokuma. Monokuma himself is caught off guard by Akemi.
"..." Monokuma is silent. I try to say something, but words play over the speaker.
"Go to your respected podiums and begin the trial to find the second Blackened. Monokuma will not answer any more of your questions. Disturbing him would cause you to be executed," an unfamiliar female voice informs us. Even though I am sure that I never heard it before, something about it strikes a chord in me.
"...What?" Satoshi is the most confused out of all of us. He places down Yasu on their podium. We all follow after him. I take a deep breath as I am forced to embrace the pressure of another trial like this. The podiums once again go up, although I notice that Monokuma's throne is staying down. It is finally time to find out who killed Shinichi Fujimoto, the Ultimate Translator! The embodiment of...what? I cannot think of an embodiment...
Akita and Kazuhiko were easy. Chaos and truth fit them so well. But Shinichi? Unlike those two, I realize I know nothing about Shinichi. I cannot do something that Kazuhiko always teased me about and pick a word that describes a person. Maybe this is not only a trial to find out who the Blackened is, but a trial to figure out how Shinichi truly was as a person. He is no longer alive to tell us after all.
Anyway, this is no time to think about such things! What I need to focus on is this trial of truth and lies!
It is almost Christmas which means it is almost time for the special thing of specialness. Yes, I've been busy. XD But, you know what, I'm too addicted to writing these stories help.
This is another small chapter but that's because Monokuma decided to mess with them again and shorten the investigation time. Thanks Monokuma, we all love you so, very much. And Kaneshiro too. Kaneshiro is the best person in the entire world, behind Aki and Akiza.
Well, it's time for them reviews. I'll post a poll for who you think the culprit is later~Review time!
AnonChan1-Hiya. Shinichi is the shortest person here. Plot twist. It's not Miyuki. This is the time to torture Naoko chapter. Don't trust anybody. There's a reason why this is the forest of DESPAIR. Naoko suffering is our suffering. No problem. I hope you feel better. I know how it feels like to want to do unwanted things to your body. I wish you luck. :) *huggles*
mayurie-Shinichi is deader than dead. Naoko suffering! *throws cookies back since finals are death* Don't ever stop. I enjoy giving them nicknames for this exact purpose. More Naoko suffering. *evilly laughs* Who dares raises Naoko's death flags!?...Wait, me. No, Monokuma's just there. Being Monokuma. Being Monokuma is suffering. Thanks. :)
Scissor-Snipper-Thanks, since this is the murder that took me the longest to finalize. So many different types of the poisoned cup until this. More Naoko suffering. Plot twist, Shinichi and Satoshi are the same person. Dun dun dun.
TheRoseShadow21-It is still better than my reviews...which are nonexistent. I know, right? XD It is a good way to get extra reviews though. Naoko suffering. Tumblr is where all fans go to suffer. :P Shinichi is a smol bean. Thanks. :D
QueenofChocolateWinx-No, it isn't. :P I hated being fifteen. Shinichi right now was teen years for me. XD XD XD...wait, I'm still kinda a teenager. NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
CommanderofInsanity-HEYA. You're wrong about some things Ultimate Thief. ;)