Hello! I was originally going to release this chapter earlier, but I've been busy working on something else.
I've been working non-stop this past week trying to work on an intro/trailer for this story, which should be finished pretty soon. I've been drawing each individual OC that has been sent in, and have finished nine, so far. This includes video editing and what not. You know, so it's not just plain, still images throughout the whole thing - that would be boring!
When everything is finished, I'll be uploading it to YouTube so anyone who wishes to view it can do so. I was also considering posting progress images on DeviantArt, so if any you would be interested, just drop me a PM, or write it as a side note in a review.
Thanks a lot!
Jeptwin: Yep, big time! I'm glad you've been enjoying everything, so far! Thank you for the review!
AnonChan1: Interesting theory! Guess we'll see in due time! Monokuma's a crafty little thing, isn't he? The fifth victim of the Death Flu? Who is it, I wonder? Thanks for the review!
liammarklh88: Haha, I'm sorry. It certainly won't be an easy trial, since, as you said, Satoshi has been out for the day! Let's hope the victim isn't someone you were fond of! Thank you for the review!
Kearse: Yes, indeed! Thanks for the review!
TheRoseShadow21: Looks like your review was delayed for some reason. But anyway, whatever the Ultimate Crisis is, it can't be a good thing, can it? Everything will be revealed in the trial! Thank you for the review!
BIBOTOT: Thank you for the variety of reviews! Hopefully you enjoy what's to come!
…
A body…?
No… No way…
He's just messing with us…
…
*bzzt*
"Whoopsie! I almost forgot about you sick folk – since the deed has been done, the motive has now been revoked! Have fun, now!"
*bzzt*
…
…!
As soon as the announcement ended, my eyes quickly burst open, and my body jolted.
"W-What?" I screamed, springing upwards. "I… I can move again…?"
… How is he doing this?
What the heck… What on earth is going on…?
No... Now's not the time for that…
I need to find the others!
I charged towards the exit, and left the building as fast as I could…
"Crap!" I yelled. "Where are they? Where is everyone?"
Then, from the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Shoji running towards the school.
"Satoshi!" He panted, rushing over. "Go to the restaurant, now!"
Before I could respond, he raced past me, as he closed in on the dorms.
Shoji must be going to tell everyone else; he must have been of the three who…
…!
Damn it…!
Without stopping for a single breath, I rushed over to the restaurant, and saw the hatch to the basement wide open. That must be where it happened.
Almost tripping over my feet while heading downstairs, I made my way into the basement, and saw the freezer door wide open…
I made my way over, hoping that it was just another trick…
That's right, another silly prank…
But no…
This wasn't a prank…
Laying before me, was the dismal truth we didn't want to believe…
The foul stench of darkness had taken its toll...
BODY DISCOVERY
Laying in the middle of the room, a gaping stab wound through his chest, lay the lifeless body of Kazumi Okura. A refrigerator had been tipped on its front, and the temperature of the room seemed to have been turned up, causing all of the ice to melt. There was also a dried puddle of blood next to the body.
Chapter 2: Sunshine, Cocktails, Barbecues, Despair
PART: B
…
Kazumi…
…
"S-Satoshi..." Aki called out, as she noticed my appearance. "I… I can't believe it..."
"For Kazumi to have let himself be killed..." Eiji began, struggling to get the words out. "I don't understand..."
"Same here..." Taiyo agreed. "It's tough..."
Kagura, who was leaning against the wall then spoke up. "This doesn't seem to be like last time..." She said. "This time around, it looks like someone took advantage of the situation..."
"What kind of spineless monster would do that, though?" Aki responded, almost getting emotional. "And to someone so kind, no less!"
Then, before any of us could even think of what to do next…
…
"Hey..." Taiyo spoke up. "Do any of you hear something… buzzing?"
"Ah, you too..." Eiji answered. "I was just about t-"
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
"G-Gah!" Taiyo punched the wall, before he raced towards the sound. "I knew it!"
"What the heck was that?" Aki questioned, beginning to follow suit. "An explosion?"
"Never mind that!" Eiji suggested. "Hurry, we need to get moving!"
We quickly made our way over to where the strange occurrence had taken place, only to find something unexpected.
There was huge, gaping hole in the wall, and on the other side was…
"... The catacombs?" Aki stuttered. "They were here this whole time?"
"It would seem so." Kagura stated. "That would explain why it was so cold, upon our first entering."
"Ah, because of the hollow wall." Eiji nodded. "I understand."
We then heard voices back at the entrance; it looked like everyone else had arrived.
They then rushed over to where we were standing, and noticed the impact of the explosion.
"W-What?" Minori mumbled. "What the hell happened here?"
"Probably that explosion we just heard." Shin responded. "It would make sense, anyway."
"You heard it, too?" Kagura inquired. "In that case, you must have just arrived."
"Yeah, we have." Shoji agreed, turning towards the hole. "Why would someone go out of their way to do this, though?"
"Perhaps they used the hole to escape?" Minori stated. "It's possible, at least."
"You think they used it to escape?" Mari responded. "If that's true, then they're getting away!"
"Shit." Shoji cursed. "You're probably right, and here we are just standing around!"
"Damn bastard!" Taiyo boomed, as he leapt into the tunnels. "You won't get away from me!"
"W-Wait! Taiyo!" Aki called out to him, before sighing. "Honestly, they could have gone anywhere..."
"It's awfully dark in there, too..." Eiji informed. "He could have at least waited for instructions..."
"He'll be fine." Mika stated. "Taiyo's senses are second to none!"
Sakiko then decided to speak up. "If you're all so keen to get into the investigation, at least wait for the bear." She suggested. "We still don't have any details."
"Yeah, that's true." Shin agreed. "That file of his really helped out, last time."
"Upupupupu..." A familiar voice echoed from the tunnels.
"Great, you jinxed it." Minori complained. "This is going to be fun..."
Monokuma then merrily waddled into the room, looking smug as always. "Ah, you guys." He giggled. "I knew it would happen eventually!"
"Just give us whatever it is we need..." Shoji replied.
"Yeah, just give us the shit so we can get this over with." Sakiko continued. "Hurry up."
"You know, usually that would have annoyed me, but since I'm in a forgiving mood, I'll let it slide, just this once!" He said. "Anyway, here you go."
Monokuma then proceeded to hand out the Monokuma Files, in a similar fashion to last time.
"Introducing the Monokuma File #2!" He yelled. "Boy, this one ought to be fun! See you later!"
He then disappeared, once again, leaving us to prepare for what was to come...
…
"This is insane..." Mari spoke up. "I can't believe we're being made to do all this again..."
"It's just unimaginable..." Miya added. "As if the first time wasn't bad enough..."
"I can't wrap my head around it..." Shin mentioned. "Why Kazumi, of all people?"
"This means we have to go through the class trial, again." Minori stated. "What a pain..."
"T-Trial?" Shiho stuttered. "I've never been to one before..."
"Don't worry about it." Shoji reassured. "Let us care care of everything."
I'm sure we all feel the same way, inside…
None of us want to go through a class trial again…
But we have no choice…
"Regardless of whatever any of us want to do, this needs to be done." Sakiko said. "It's the only chance we have of survival, and to find out who did this."
"Absolutely." Kagura agreed. "Whatever the situation, we can't let our emotions blind us."
It's just as they say, this has to be done…
We can't just say no and walk away…
We have to do this to survive…
We have to…
INVESTIGATION
Okay, first, I should see what the Monokuma File contains…
The victim is Kazumi Okura – The Ultimate Swordsman
The victim's body was found inside the freezer, located in the restaurant's basement.
The victim was stabbed with a sharp object.
Additionally, there is a puddle of dried blood next to the body, and a refrigerator was blocking the entrance.
That's odd…
There doesn't seem to be much information, this time around…
Last time, we were told how and when the victim was killed, so why not this time?
Hmm…
Obtained Truth Bullet
Monokuma File #2
Apparently the vending machine was blocking the door…
If that's true, then it looks like someone was able to knock it over to get inside…
The people already at the freezer were Kagura, Eiji, Aki, and Taiyo – I should ask one of them about it.
I made my way over towards Kagura and Eiji, and decided to question the pair.
"Hey, you two." I greeted. "You were amongst the first people to get here, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Eiji answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, there's something written in the Monokuma File that I'd like to clear up." I responded. "Apparently, the door had been blocked off by a vending machine, before."
"You're not wrong." Kagura confirmed. "That was originally the case, until Shoji and Taiyo forced it open."
So Taiyo and Shoji forced the door open…
That's one mystery out the way, but what about the other?
"Don't you guys think that's pretty weird?" I asked. "If they moved something in front of the door, the killer wouldn't have been able to leave."
"We were just discussing that same topic, actually." Kagura responded, placing a hand on her chin. "With there being no windows, the door would have been the only possible exit."
"Well, that was before someone decided to blow a hole in the wall." Eiji added. "Which reminds me, why did they decide to escape when they did?"
"You mean when they caused the explosion?" I asked. "What do you mean?
"If the killer had locked themselves inside of this room, then they would have had no means of leaving." Eiji began. "They clearly had some sort of explosive device that whole time, so why wait until we arrived to use it?"
"That's a good point." Kagura spoke back. "Surely, they must have had a reason – we just need to find out what it was."
Yeah, that is weird…
Disregarding what the killer used to cause the explosion, if they had it when we arrived, they must have had it before, too…
If that's the case, then why wait?
This really is confusing…
Obtained Truth Bullet
Refrigerator
Obtained Truth Bullet
Eiji's Account
There seems to be some other details written in the Monokuma File…
The victim was stabbed with a sharp object, and there's a dried blood puddle next to the body – it's quite possible that these two things are related.
I made my way over the puddle of blood, and knelt down next to it.
Looking closer, it really was dry… Like, really dry…
"Weird, right?" Shin asked from behind. "I thought the same thing."
I turned around, and saw him peering down at the crimson stain. "What do you mean?" I responded. "As in, the blood being dry?"
"This blood is old." He said. "Older than a day, at the very least."
He can tell that much just by looking?
That's pretty unusual…
"In that case, do you think this could have taken place a while ago?" I questioned. "Would that have been possible?"
"Since I had that virus, it's hard to say." He stated. "We can't say for sure, but it's very possible."
Shin thinks that Kazumi could have been killed more than 24 hours ago…
Although, nothing can be said for certain just yet…
We need to continue looking around...
Obtained Truth Bullet
Dried Blood Puddle
As I was about to continue my investigation, Taiyo – who had just returned from a run in the catacombs – strolled in through the hole, dragging a dolly behind him.
From the wounds across his head, it looked like he had trouble with the narrow path again…
"… Taiyo?" I asked, walking over to him. "… Why are you carrying a dolly?"
He gave me a sulky expression. "I couldn't catch the killer." He said. "But I found this while chasing them."
"Wait, you found this in the catacombs?" I asked, bewildered. "Of all places, why would it be in there?"
"Beats me." He scratched his head. "I tripped over it while running – I bet the bastard put it there to trip me up!"
I doubt that's the case…
But a dolly in the catacombs? Why there, of all places?
They couldn't have carried it out after the explosion, that would have been way too obvious…
So then, how...
Obtained Truth Bullet
Catacombs Dolly
I then felt a tap on my shoulder from behind, and turned my head to see Mari.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.
"Huh?" I mumbled. "Sure, what's up?"
"I was just talking to Shin." She stated. "He said you were curious about when all of this could have happened."
"Yeah, that's right." I nodded. "Do you have anything that could help?"
"Actually, I think I might." She responded. "Shin said that he thinks all of this could have happened more than twenty-four hours ago, but I spoke to Kazumi only last night."
"Wait..." I stopped her there. "What was that? You spoke to Kazumi?"
"Yeah, it was when I brought everyone refreshments." She continued. "I knocked on his door, and got a response."
"Seriously?" I gasped, completely shocked by the revelation. "Was anyone with you?"
"Minori was." She stated. "I wanted to give Miya a break, and he was the only person available."
That makes sense…
It's not like Minori would offer to do something like that…
"So he heard him, too?" I asked. "That could play a pretty large role in the case..."
"I thought so, as well." She responded. "But there's still one thing that bothers me..."
"Go ahead." I replied. "We need all the information we can get."
"It was something that Shin brought up." She began. "He said that it should have been impossible, due to second stage of the flu."
Wait, that's right…
Kazumi should have been affected by paralysis by then; it definitely shouldn't have been possible for him to talk back...
Having experienced it myself, I can say that for certain…
"Yeah… I remember..." I stated. "When I was in that state, I couldn't even open my eyes, let alone talk – there's no way he could have spoke back to you."
"That's exactly what Shin told me." She mentioned. "He would have been in the third stage by then."
She's probably right about that…
It's safe to assume that when every twenty-four hours go by, each stage switches over to the next.
In Kazumi's case, it would have been more than forty-eight hours since getting the disease, meaning he would have been on stage three – paralysis.
So then, how could he have spoke back to her?
Obtained Truth Bullet:
Mariella's Account
Actually, now that I think about it, it's pretty surprising that Mari and Miya have stuck around, considering what happened last time – they ran out screaming, as soon as they saw the body.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Mari asked, noticing my confusion.
"Oh, don't worry about it." I responded. "I was just thinking, it's odd that you decided to stick around."
She just glared at me, before crossing her arms. "What do you mean by that?" She interrogated.
"N-Nothing bad! Seriously!" I quickly responded. "It's just that you ran away, last time!"
After hearing my statement, she returned to normal. "Oh, is that all?" She said. "Yeah, last time… It was just the shock…"
"W-Well… It's understandable..." I responded. "It wasn't something anyone should have to see."
"Whether it was the body, or the amount of blood, I can't really say..." She mentioned. "It was just an impulsive reaction, you know?"
She then looked up at me, a serious look spread across her face. "After the first trial, I was so mad at myself for being afraid. Everyone else felt the same way, but still got on with it." She exclaimed. "This time, I want to make it up to everyone. I want to make up for everything I didn't do."
"I feel the same way." Miya spoke up, who had overheard the conversation.
"Miya?" I looked towards her. "You too?"
"Last time, I let my emotions take over" The hostess began. "As the Ultimate Hostess, it's my duty to look over everyone, and do whatever I can to help. This time, I wish to assist you the best I can."
She then gave me a short bow, before looking me dead in the eye. "If there's anything you need me to do, please don't hesitate."
"Sure, I'll let you know." I smiled. "Thanks a lot."
Being the Ultimate Hostess, Miya is probably disappointed in herself for acting how she did, back at the previous case. Although, it's not like I blame her – not everyone can handle that kind of situation.
The same goes for Mari – her and Miya are similar in a lot of ways.
Anyway, what's next? I should get back to what I was doing.