A note for my readers: later on in this chapter is a spot where you need a map. You can find the link on my profile page. Now, on to the chapter!

Smells Like Crushed Spirit: Abnormal Days

And expected silence filled the Interrogation Room as its two living occupants awaited the return of Pollyanna. Glancing over to Uchida, who had her eyes locked on the wall, Katsuragi stepped over, asking, "You okay?"

Uchida sighed, "I guess. It's just..."

"Did you like him?" Katsuragi wondered.

Gagging on her spit, Uchida gagged, "N-no! I mean, even if he was a dumbass and a brute and a perv...he still tried to help keep us safe, right?"

Swallowing, Katsuragi gave an assuring, "We'll find out who did it."

Uchida blinked, before scoffing, "Of course we will! We haven't screw up yet. I mean, a couple close calls...really close..."

After a moment, Katsuragi suggested, "Let's investigate together."

Uchida noted, "I've been doing it alone this far, haven't I?"

Katsuragi managed a slight smile as he shrugged, "First time for everything?" Uchida gave a contemplative frown, but didn't give her response just yet.

It was a few minutes before the others arrived: first Pollyanna along with Nakamura, Takanashi, Hiiragi, and Zaizen, then shortly followed by Furinji. As the others discovered the body, reactions were somber, but muted, attentions more focused on the bittersweet freedom than the Victim.

With everyone present, it was not more than an instant before Monokuma arrived, cheering, "Huzzah! Man, we went one day longer than normal without anything going down: I was about to die of boredom!"

"Like you have room to talk," Nakamura growled.

Monokuma giggled, "Whoops! Of course you want to start the investigation! Will it be the last one? How many more are there to go? The suspense is killing me! And him too!" While Katsuragi frowned, Monokuma withdrew 'Monokuma File 5', placing it on the pillory above Kitano. "And there you are! But that's not all: some of you might remember that I had to open the door for you! Well, say the words 'Monokuma is love, Monokuma is life', and I will lock the door just like it was before I interfered. For the purposes of the investigation, of course! And just say it again, and I'll fix it to where it is now! Just don't abuse the power I've given you. Cheeky brats."

"We haven't even done anything yet!" Katsuragi frowned.

"Exactly! Now get to it. The clock is ticking," Monokuma finished with a chortle, leaving the students to their own.

Looking over the corpse, Nakamura snorted, "Well, so much for that little 'protection measure'."

While Polly bit her lip, holding back her frustrations, Furinji began, "He and I both knew the risks."

Takanashi muttered, "Should there have been any?"

Zaizen sighed, "Polly-san did what she could, but as long as there was one person out of their cell, there was the risk of a murder."

Hiiragi noted, "There were only eight cells, but nine of us."

Uchida muttered, "Well, If you put it that way, sure, but there's always risk! I'd say it was lowered too: sure, I was bored out of my mind and two out of three meals were awful, but I didn't feel like I was in danger. Not even once!"

Nakamura began, "Not even with that thing in?" The Spelunker glared as he jabbed a finger at Polly's rapier.

Katsuragi frowned, "Well, if Kitano or Furinji started something..."

Nakamura nodded, "Good fucking point. Well? Show us the blade. And if it has one drop of blood..."

Sternly, Polly withdrew her weapon, brandishing it. Katsuragi saw that it was as clean as ever.

Furinji pointed out, "She would have had ample opportunity to wash it."

Throwing his hands up into the air, Nakamura grumbled, "Not my job to figure that out. Now, If you'll excuse me, I'm going outside. I'm gonna lose my mind down here."

Zaizen huffed, "One would think you'd be right at home."

"Hardy har har. Fuck off," Nakamura hissed as he turned away. A few others made to follow, No doubt wanting to see the sunlight or get a good meal, but Katsuragi didn't want to come back down here again if he didn't need to.

Turning to Uchida, he asked, "Ready to get started?"

Uchida was quiet for a moment, before murmuring, "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Katsuragi glanced over at the File, but instead look over to the other two remaining, asking, "Polly-san, Furinji-san, did you guys notice anything lately? Or, well, when were you guys last down here?"

Furinji began, "I patrolled until 10 PM, when Kitano took over my shift."

Polly explained, "It was...Hiiragi. I took her to dinner."

Looking around, Uchida sighed, "Oh, right, Nakamura left. I was waiting for a snippy comment."

Katsuragi suggested, "I'll take his place. Polly-san, how was your da-"

"No," Uchida and Polly said in unison.

Katsuragi laughed, "Fine, fine."

Furinji sighed, before noting, "Back to the matter at hand: the Culprit is either Polly or I, or somehow the cells have been compromised."

Uchida frowned, "I'm thinking that's possible. I want to talk keys. Kitano said that there was someone else, though how he figured that out...maybe he was tricked?"

Furinji said, "That will be up to you two, no?"

Katsuragi nodded, "You can count on us as usual."

Polly added, "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

Uchida nodded, "You wanna tell us about the keys? I got a look earlier. They're...weird."

Polly reached a hand down to her belt, pulling up a ring, where six strange keys hung. Their shape was less like a traditional key and more like a stake however, with a narrow tip and a groove down the side. Polly began, "The unique shape allows for the equally unique lock to be unpickable by traditional means. They are also paired with a chip that ensures that only the paired door can be opened with it: a combination of mechanical and technological.

Uchida suggested, "You wanna put them back by the right cells? We might want to look at it later."

Polly gave a curt nod before making her way out, leaving the three alone. Ready to move on, Katsuragi wasted no time. Glancing around his eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the body on the ground, still leaning against the pillory. Up top, however, was the Monokuma File. Taking it, Katsuragi held it so that Uchida could see before cracking it open. As usual, there was the diagram of Kitano's body, blood coloration on his neck and one of his hands. On the other page, it read:

The Victim, Kitano Tsuda, was discovered in the Interrogation Room at 6:12 AM.

The Victim suffered from two broken fingers and a laceration on the neck. The cause of death was hemorrhaging. There are no other wounds on the body.

"How'd he break his fingers?" Uchida wondered.

Katsuragi frowned, "Not sure." Placing the File back down, he went over to the corpse, stooping down. Cringing, he examined his hands, finding that the index and middle fingers were a bit worse for wear, clearing being bruised and bent slightly. Noticing the shape of the bruise, he pointed out, "Does it look kinda...squarish to you?"

Uchida said, "Yeah, but it looks light on the edges, but the inside of the bruising seems a bit darker. Did he hit something twice?"

"With only two of his fingers?" Katsuragi wondered. Uchida frowned, returning to a state of contemplation.

While she though, Katsuragi took a look at the neck wound, noting, "As for this, well...it's not to deep."

Uchida began, "Well, it still can't have happened that long ago: I mean, sure, he's a monster, but the neck is pretty soft no matter how many muscles you've got."

Katsuragi added, "It looks like it was cut though, but not slashed."

Uchida blinked, "Uh. What?"

Katsuragi explained, "Well, okay, sure, they're the same word, but what I mean is when you slash someone's throat, you don't cut across it, you actually stab the neck and slash the knife through the front."

Uchida blinked, before shuddering, "Why do you know these creepy things!"

Katsuragi began, "Commentary for an anime called-"

"Never mind," Uchida sighed.

Katsuragi pouted, "They really did their research to make the neck slashing scene really accurate! They had to censor it for the television airing though, so of course I...got my dad to buy the Blu-Ray. I'm not 18, after all."

"How strange..." Uchida muttered.

Looking back at the body, Katsuragi gasped, "What?"

"You seem to think I still care," Uchida bit.

"Ehehe," Katsuragi chuckled sheepishly, before pointing out, "It could be important!"

"Whatever!" Uchida sighed as she stood.

Following, Katsuragi gave the body one more glance, before scanning the rest of the room. Seeing the shelves, a thought came to mind, and he began to head over. En route, however, he bumped his knee on one of the other objects in the room, looking down to see a chair. What caught his eye however was the fact that it had belts on back, legs, and arms, no doubt for the back, legs, and arms of whoever was strapped in.

Turning back to Kitano, Katsuragi gave the room another look, finding something a bit off. Nudging Uchida, he began, "Hey, doesn't this room seem pretty...aligned?"

Uchida blinked, looking around before asking, "How so?"

Katsuragi explained, "I dunno, but everything seems lined up, almost. Orderly."

Uchida frowned, "The pillory Kitano's against doesn't...wait, hold on." Stepping back over, she wondered, "You think it's angled because he fell against it?"

Katsuragi nodded, "Yeah: you weren't there, but back when he got into the fight with Polly, he said that no one had ever knocked him down before after Furinji tossed him."

Uchida murmured, "Well, it probably wouldn't be too easy to knock him down, so I bet the throat cut was what made him fall."

Katsuragi pointed at the pillory, adding, "And it looks like he fell this way, which means he might have been facing towards this chair!"

As the two turned back to the chair, Uchida blinked, "Any ideas?"

"None," Katsuragi stated.

Sighing, Uchida bent over, examining the chair, before nodding, "Aha!" Moving aside, she pointed to a spot under the armrest of the seat, where a few drops of blood had landed.

Brow furrowing, Katsuragi wondered, "Huh, how'd they get on the side? I mean, it's weird they aren't on the rest of the seat too."

Looking back, Uchida grabbed the seat by the arms, attempting to lift it, letting out a grunt before stopping, frowning, "It's bolted to the floor."

"A no go, huh?" Katsuragi sighed.

Uchida shrugged, "Lets worry about this later."

Nodding, Katsuragi went to his original destination, heading over to the shelves. Looking around, the metal torture implements were quite well organized: if there was an open spot, he'd have noticed. And in fact, he did: on the lowest shelf, there were three metal skewers, but next to them was an open spot. Katsuragi suggested, "These...these were taken to hold up the drapes, right?"

Uchida nodded, "Looks like it. And speaking of those." Uchida took a few steps over to the next set of shelves, where only one cloth remained. Lifting it, Uchida noted, "It's not very thick, but it is wide, and long." Blinking, she shot a look at Katsuragi, growling, "I'm not saying that again."

Katsuragi recoiled, laughing, "I heard you the first time!" Trying not to smile, he added, "Besides, what could you possibly be thinking of that's long, wide, and thin?"

Uchida hissed, "No! That doesn't even...I'm not answering!" Snapping the cloth a bit, she added, "I'm just thinking that it'd be thicker if you folded it, but I'm still not sure why go through the effort of hanging these up."

Katsuragi agreed, "Yeah, it's like a big sign saying, 'something's wrong'."

As Uchida replaced the cloth, Katsuragi turned around, looking to see if anything else was out of place. One thing did in fact catch his eye, and he made his way across to the iron maiden, the device cracked open. Pushing it open even further, Katsuragi grimaced as something stuck out: one of the stakes within was bloody down one side.

"Hello murder weapon," Uchida grimaced as she approached.

Baffled, Katsuragi muttered, "But how?"

Uchida asked, "Can you pull it out?" As Katsuragi reached for it, Uchida gasped, "Ah! No! You don't want to touch it, do you?" Unamused, Katsuragi gave Uchida a flustered shrug, before Uchida suggested, "There are others!"

Looking back, Katsuragi made to reach his hand in, before shuddering, "What if there are like, spiders, or something?"

Uchida called, "Furinji-san! Katsuragi's too much of a baby to help in the investigation!"

Taking a few steps over, Furinji asked, "May I be of assistance?"

Katsuragi whined, "I got it, I got it!" Widening the door a bit, he gingerly reached his hand in, grasping one of the other spikes. Before pulling, he asked, "Hey, it's kind of heavy, but could you hold the door from the other side?" Uchida stood, gripping the iron from the other side, Katsuragi holding the side edge with one hand while his other grasped the spike. With a grunt, he began to pull, but it was no use: twisting and turning only allowed for his hand to become sweaty and slip off the spike.

"Huh," He frowned, giving it another look. This time, when he reached, he tried to feel for anything odd, working his hard to the back. As he felt around the base, he thought he noticed something odd, messing around a bit. As he gripped something, he applied some pressure, and to his surprise, heard a slight click, the spike coming free. Pulling it out, he blinked, "Huh!"

Looking over, Uchida asked, "You got it?"

"Somehow," Katsuragi said as he pulled it out. He wasn't sure why it had given him so much trouble: it seemed like a normal spike to him. Passing it over, Uchida gave it a look before suggesting, "Here, swap with me."

Complying, Katsuragi stepped out, Uchida taking the spike as she asked, "Open the doors as wide as they go. I don't like small spaces." As Uchida stooped down, Katsuragi made way, creaking the iron maiden's doors as far as they could go. Once she had room, Uchida began to fiddle with it. Katsuragi thought he heard a faint click as the spike was returned, and a moment later, she took it out again.

Nodding, she explained, "There's a slot at the end, and it has a little button on the side. It's kind of hard to reach into the groove, but manageable." Uchida frowned, "But why try to hide it? And so poorly?"

Looking closer, Katsuragi compared the bloody spike to the ones next to it, noting, "Hey, is it a bit...different to you?"

Uchida blurted, "Aside from the blood?"

Katsuragi nodded, "Yeah. Look closer."

Leaning in, Uchida gasped, "You're right! The tip is worn down a little, so it's not as sharp, and there's a scrape on the side." Brow arching, she gave it a quizzical look as she muttered, "Kitano's neck wouldn't have done that, right?"

"Give me one of the spikes," Katsuragi asked. Uchida took a moment to take one out, handing it off. Stooping down, Katsuragi slashed it across the ground, a grating sound echoing throughout the room. Holding up the spike to Uchida, the pair saw that the spike was still pointy, though it did have a scratch on one side.

"Not it, huh?" Uchida sighed as she took the spike back, replacing it. The girl wondered, "Why are they even removable?"

From a short distance away, Polly, returned, answered, "For cleaning, I imagine. It's quite silly though: the iron maiden was never actually used for torture or interrogation. There's no reason for it to be here aside from show, so I don't imagine anyone would need to clean it."

Katsuragi shuddered, "Let's hope Sonia doesn't get the urge to experiment."

As she looked around once more, Uchida said, "I think that's everything."

Katsuragi shook his head, saying, "There's one more thing, actually. But...I don't want to say it."

"Huh?" Uchida scoffed.

Letting out a sigh, Katsuragi droned, "Monokuma is love, Monokuma is life."

As understanding dawned on Uchida's face, there was a sudden rush of movement, a black and white blur moving near the door, a grinding noise being heard. Once the sound faded, Monokuma ran off. Looking to the door, Katsuragi saw that the stretching rack had been moved. It now rested in front of the door, blocking the lower half, while one of the ropes, intended to bind a limb, was bound tightly to the doorknob.

The two approached, giving it a look. Katsuragi tried to open the door, but naturally, it would not pull open with the rack in the way. Backing up, he said the annoying phrase again, and Monokuma restored the room to its natural state. Rather than mess around with the rack, Katsuragi went to the door, opening it. While it pulled inward, he was mostly curious about how it worked given how it was split into two through the middle, under the doorknob. After pulling it inwards all the way, he noticed that a lip on the inner side kept the upper half of the door from surpassing the lower one, but it did not match on the other side, so Katsuragi was able to pull the upper half of the door away. Not only could he allow it to reach the door frame independent of the lower half, he could even go beyond, allowing it to rest against the outside wall. However, it did not do so easily: once it passed through the door-frame, the back half of the door clipped off, becoming a frame of glass, which stuck fast. Katsuragi was only able to find this out from the outside, as trying to open the upper half from the inside led to him needing to duck under the glass.

Heading to the outside with Katsuragi, Uchida began, "I think I get it. If the door was closed, and you opened the other half from outside, you could look inside without risking anyone escaping. Like, if a prisoner had slipped out of their restraints and was waiting to strike."

Sticking his hand through, he noticed, "There's a hole for the doorknob though."

Uchida sighed, "Sonia's engineers aren't flawless, I guess. Not even money can buy perfection."

Returning the door to its natural state, the two returned, giving the room one last glance before Katsuragi concluded, "I think that's all there is to see here then."

Looking over to the other two, Uchida asked, "Will you two be alright?"

Polly nodded, "I think it would be fitting for the two of us to stay here while you and the others take a moment to move freely."

Furinji added, "And, as usual, watching the investigators at a distance is mildly amusing."

Uchida gave a worried laugh as she replied, "I-isn't it?"

Done here at last, Katsuragi and Uchida closed the Interrogation Room door properly, heading out. Passing down the passageway, Katsuragi stopped a little ways down, spotting Hiiragi poking her head out of a cell door. Approaching, he grinned, "Nice to see you again, Hiiragi-chan!"

The girl nodded, "Yes, but..." Frowning, she mumbled, "Kitano-san..."

Uchida gave a reassuring nod of, "We're on the case."

Hiiragi blinked, "T-together?"

Uchida waved her hands as she began, "Er, well, we're working together, yeah! But..." Katsuragi blinked as the girl looked between him and Hiiragi, before scratching her head, sheepishly adding, "It's been a little hectic."

Pouting, Hiiragi replied, "Fine, fine, I get it." While Katsuragi stared, she giggled, "It's nothin'."

Katsuragi shrugged, before asking, "Then why are you here?"

"Just lookin'. And discoverin'!" Hiiragi said, lighting up. Beckoning for them to follow, she led them through the cell door, aiming her finger at the wall in front of the toilet. Peeking over, Katsuragi saw a dark blue cloth curled up on the ground.

Uchida grimaced, "Here we go again."

Katsuragi frowned, "That's one of those stupid robes, isn't it?"

Hiiragi nodded, "I be the Culprit hid it! It's got blood on it!"

"Really? Let me see," Uchida said, pushing her way through. Gingerly, she unfurled it, holding it up. Indeed, there was a spatter of blood on each of the two edges. "No mask..." she added.

Moving closer, Hiiragi reached a hand out, pulling something off. Holding what seemed to be nothing in front of her, she was quiet for a moment before gasping, "A hair!"

Putting the cloak back down, Uchida gasped, "Eh? No way! That's huge!"

Showing it off, Hiiragi frowned as she revealed, "It's...brown."

After a moment of silence, Katsuragi nodded, "Then Furinji's. Or Takanashi's. Inami's dead, so..." Shaking his head, he sighed, "Well, we better leave it, just in case." Turning around, he began, "There was something else I wanted to look at: where's the key?"

"Ummm..." Hiiragi muttered as placed the hair down on the cloak, before heading to the cell door. Stepping outside, she pointed at a ring on the wall, the thick key suspended from it. "Right here!" She called.

Approaching, Katsuragi took it off, giving it a look stake like key a look. Curious, he stepped out, headed back to the other cell in this hall, closer to the Interrogation Room. Grabbing it, he looked closely at the keys. Noticing something, he returned, calling, "They look the same, except for the marking, but... I wonder...this way." Gong back, he reached the four way intersection, turning back towards where he recalled his cell was, first reaching Uchida's once they were through the drapes. Taking a look, he saw that they key had been returned. Handing one of his two off, he grabbed the key to Uchida's cell, comparing. Baffled, he gasped, "Huh? The tip is worn down."

Uchida blinked, "She said there was a chip or something?"

Handing both the keys off, Katsuragi stooped down, poking his pinkie finger in, feeling around. As he twisted however, he let out a yelp as he felt pressure, then a prick. Slipping his finger back out, he had an intake of breath as he saw a small dab of blood where his finger was cut, about a centimeter lengthwise.

"Ah! You're hurt!" Hiiragi gasped.

"Okay then..." Katsuragi frowned. Shaking out his hand, a drop of blood falling from the wound, he noted, "The deeper I went, the more in contracted."

Uchida grumbled, "Did the architect actually try to design the worst prison imaginable?"

Stepping back from the door, Katsuragi asked, "Hey, Hiiragi-chan, do you still have that stick you smacked Oomichi with a couple times?"

Hiiragi shook her head, explaining, "I had to leave all my stuff in the Security Room. I just left it there though, on the first day we explored down here."

"Of course..." Katsuragi nodded, before adding, "And I don't think anything you could wear would be tough enough to unlock this."

"Polly's rapier?" Hiiragi suggested.

Uchida giggled, "She had all the keys you goof."

"R-right," Hiiragi laughed.

"She did..." Katsuragi said, taking the key that didn't belong to Uchida's cell. Poking it in, it went forwards, and to his surprise, a turn opened it.

As Katsuragi shut the door swapping keys, Uchida frowned, "That's not going to work, she said-"

With a click, the door was unlocked once more. Uchida gasped, "H-huh? The chips!"

Katsuragi suggested, "Maybe they've been disabled..."

Returning the key, Katsuragi made his way back, returning the other two, before saying, "I guess that's it for down here. Except for the drapes, but..." Looking around, he asked, "Do you think we should map this place out?"

Uchida noted, "We can't bring paper and stuff, can we? And I don't think we can take anything out either."

Katsuragi suggested, "Maybe Monokuma will make an exception? It is for the investigation."

Hiiragi asked, "You want me to do it?"

Katsuragi thought for a moment, before suggesting, "That would be great, but Nakamura could probably do it faster."

Uchida muttered, "I wonder..."

Hiiragi nodded, "You're right! It's about time he put his Talent to good use 'round here. I'll fine 'em!" With another smile, Hiiragi headed off, tailed hair trailing behind her.

Katsuragi let out a breath as he admitted, "I'm glad we didn't have to go find him. We've got more places to look out."

Uchida nodded, "I know, right?"

Heading after her, the two made their way out of the Labyrinth, reaching the Security Room. Katsuragi made for the checkpoint scanner, but Uchida grabbed his arm, jerking her head in the direction of the Surveillance Room, asking, "You think the cameras picked anything up?"

"Good thinking!" Katsuragi nodded, heading over. Reaching the door, he began to-

"Oh!" came a feminine gasp from within. Stepping back, Katsuragi but his hands to his sides as he saw Takanashi Ritsuko within, pulling the door back. The girl managed a smile as she offered, "Excuse me." Pulling the door all the way in, she gestured for them to enter, saying, "It may be cramped, but please, welcome!"

As he stepped in, seeing Zaizen at the console in front of the monitors, Katsuragi asked, "Find anything?"

"Such as?" Zaizen asked.

"The Culprit, nimrod!" Uchida growled.

Zaizen sighed, "Do you have any idea how long it takes to go through these, one at a time?"

Takanashi offered, "We did find one strange instance, but largely there has been nothing. Zaizen-sama is currently checking the final camera."

Zaizen nodded, "There's no reason to go past midnight. Kitano was patrolling at that point, though he only passed those areas infrequently: little need, due to the layout. One could see all the cells easily from the two main hallways."

Katsuragi explained, "Well, Hiiragi is going to try and get Nakamura to make a map for the investigation, so we might notice something."

Takanashi smiled, "Wonderful."

After a few more moments, Zaizen gave a relieved sigh of, "Finished." Adjusting his glasses, he leaned back in his chair, fiddling with the controls until the marker settled on 'Camera Four'. Turning the knob, Katsuragi watched the monitor as it fast forwarded. Kitano walked by once, but then, around five twenty, Katsuragi felt his heart leap as something else appeared: a heavy looking figure in a cloak. Hand gripping the top of Zaizen's chair rather tightly, he leaned in, giving the figure a stern look. They seemed to be heading deeper into the Labyrinth, as far as Katsuragi could tell based on the orientation of the camera.

Zaizen continued, "And there was one more instance." Continuing, he stopped at around five fifty, where the cloaked figure was returning, their face turned away, their frame a bit slimmer.

Uchida frowned, "Whoever this is should tell me their dieting techniques."

Katsuragi grinned, "You noticed too?"

Takanashi wondered, "Could they be different people?"

Zaizen began, "One person entering, another leaving? However, I don't know which camera is labeled 'four'."

Katsuragi took a breath, before saying, "I hope Nakamura draws a good map."

Zaizen began, "And what of Pollyanna? She should know this place quiet well."

Katsuragi blinked, "Oh. Huh. Didn't think of that." Moving to the door, he suggested, "We should get on that."

Turning, Zaizen began, "Takanashi-san, you are free to leave if you so desire. I will inform anyone who comes of our discovery."

"Absolutely not," Takanashi said sternly. While Zaizen blinked in confusion, she smiled, "Your investigation will be that much more effective than mine. Please, I shall remain!"

As if hesitant to argue, Zaizen blinked, "V-very well." Standing from the chair, he followed as Katsuragi and Uchida moved out of the way, the three leaving the door open as they stepped out. Bowing from the doorway, Takanashi bid, "Good luck, everyone."

Katsuragi felt a tug on the upper part of his sleeve, looking over to see Uchida begin, "Come on, let's get going."

As the two left Zaizen, Katsuragi began, "Now, where to find Nakamura..."

Heading out of the Security Room and to the Entrance Hall, Katsuragi felt a bit of relief as he saw Nakamura and Hiiragi, but a bit of worry when he spotted Sonia Nevermind with them. After shooting the monarch a look, he asked the Spelunker, "Going to give it a look?"

Nakamura grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, quit bothering me."

Sonia giggled, "And it will be my pleasure to aid in the investigation for once as well!"

"Th-thank you," Hiiragi squeaked uneasily.

As the three headed off, Katsuragi noted, "They're probably going to take a while..."

Uchida shrugged, "Wanna eat?"

Hunger striking like a summer rain, Katsuragi nodded, the two making their way out, crossing the grounds in the sunny morning to the Residence Tower, not even needing prompting to transfer their meal to the outside steps. They were too hungry to even chat.

However, once they disposed of their dishes, heading back outside, a series of bells assaulted their ears as they crossed the grounds. Monokuma announced, "Hold up! Time for the Trial to begin, students and studentettes! Please, make your way to the Courtroom Tower posthaste!"

As he turned around, Katsuragi moaned, "Ah! Now what are we going to do about the map?"

Uchida suggested, "W-well, it was a good walk over here, maybe..."

Heading back over, the two were the first to arrive at the Tower, standing by as they waited for the others. Zaizen arrived first, followed by Takanashi, then Polly and Furinji. It was a few minutes before Sonia, Nakamura, and Hiiragi arrived.

As they approached, Sonia giggled, "We have finished! In no time at all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take the elevator. Please use what little time you have left to review the map." Tossing her sparkling hair, Sonia moved past the students, reaching the door as it opened and stepping inside, the elevator creaking as it ascended.

Katsuragi wasn't paying attention, however, stepping over and asking, "Well?"

Nakamura grumbled, "Hold your horses! Jeez. Here." The Spelunker unfolded a sheet of blueprint, marked on with a yellow writing utensil.

[See map on profile page]

After giving the map a look, Zaizen and Uchida peering over his shoulder, Katsuragi muttered, "Uh."

Nakamura explained, "The bottom is where you come in from: the stairs to the Security Room. The place on the far right is the torture room, the left is that barred hallway, and at the top is the door to the Mausoleum."

Hiiragi continued, "The 'C's are all cameras. They had little plates for labels! I almost pulled one off."

Zaizen noted, "So our cloaked figure passed by this one in the lower right..."

Uchida nodded, "I see you marked our cells, and the two empty ones."

Nakamura shrugged, "Figured it'd be important. Hiiragi was freaking over the drapes though."

Hiiragi pouted, "I wasn't freakin'!" Cheek puffed, she explained, "I noticed that when you pass through them, the bottom ends up on the sides, not the middle, since it's so long it touches the ground. None of us went through the two on the halls for the second and fourth cameras, right? It might be important!"

Katsuragi blinked, "Wait, how did you tell?"

Uchida explained, "It's easy: when you go through, you lift it up, and the end drops back down. Since it's too long, it doesn't stop in the middle, so the drape ends up pointing in one direction. That's what the arrows are for, right?"

Nakamura nodded, "Nailed it. Except for those three: since everyone had to go through them, we didn't know what to put."

Raising a thumb, Katsuragi grinned, "Nice job!"

Nakamura nodded, "This is me you're talking about."

As the elevator returned, Uchida growled, "You can stroke your ego some other time: let's get going."

Filing on to the elevator, the eight remaining members of the 79th Class stood without further need for words, their familiarity with things well ingrained in their minds. It was beginning to feel empty in here, moreso with one particular set of hulking shoulders missing.

Kitano Tsuda was by no means friendly, but he was honest to a fault in spite of his rough edges. As he adapted to the situation, lending more of an effort to help, he met his hand at the hands of one of the eight present, one of eight who now descended onto a Trial of Life and Death. A Trial of Balance and Chaos. A Trial of Past and Future. A Trial of Hope and Despair.

One more chapter in the Chapter to go! Hope you stick around, because there's more to see than just the Culprit.

Also, the map was made with a program called Grid Cartographer and edited in MSPaint. There's both a free and a premium version on the creator's website (davidwaltersdevelopment(.com).

Anyway, see you next time!