CHAPTER 1, ACT 3
To some, the body was reliving, in it's own sickening way. The tension was over, and they didn't have to spend every waking second fearing that somebody would take the plunge.
Of course, there was the fact that somebody had died. Something that, once everybody had entered the art room, Monokuma was reaping to no end.
"It actually happened…" Ari lamented, "Somebody actually did this…?"
"You bet, Pianist!" He was jumping up and down, like a kid at a boardside carnival, not how any sane person would react to a corpse… "We finally got ourselves a body! I would've done it myself sooner if I got the chance, but kids will be kids!"
(Mr. Monokuma's Extracurricular Lesson)
Dai was looking forward with disbelief. Last night, she seemed happy. Tired, but happy. Everyone was hopeful, that they would be able to escape, everyone would live… And now, that hope had been shattered, torn to pieces.
Itsuki began to look around, panicked… "One of y'all… One of y'all had better fess up to this, right now!"
"We both know that's not gonna happen, Itsuki," Aino mentioned. "Why do you think somebody killed a person?"
"T-To get out… You're right, that ain't working."
Dai looked towards Monokuma. "Now that… All this happened, you said you'd give us time to investigate, correct?"
He stared back at her. "You know it! Plus, I've got a two-for-one special… To assist in your investigations, I would like to present the Monokuma File!"
He wandered around, passing around what looked like miniature red tablets to everyone.
"That should even the playing field a little… Time's ticking, Ultimates! Best of luck in your future endeavors!" Monokuma disappeared, waving goodbye, and leaving everybody lost.. At least for a moment or two.
"So, are we all going to stand here? We need to get investigating, now." Sora's words effectively broke the ice, snapping everyone out of their respective moments. "It's either that… Or we're all screwed, to put it lightly."
"I... Where do we start?" Dai looked around. She was used to taking care of matters after things had been discovered, but not while an investigation was occuring. This would be different from everything else she'd ever tried thus far.
The Monokuma File, that's what he called it. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check.
She hit the file's power button, as the screen lit up, displaying info related to the case.
"The Victim is Sayori Kalashikov. The time of death was around 5:00 AM. The body was found in the Art Room. There are two stab wounds in her chest. As well, there is blood around her mouth."
Monokuma File was added to the Truth Bullet List.
(BOX 15)
Looking around, the art room was in pretty clear disarray. Between the knocked-over paintings and spilled blood, it seemed like whatever happened here wasn't the quickest job for the killer. Dai tried visualizing the situation.
"They might've started here… Knocked those over, she tried to leave… And things finished in the corner. That… That's probably what happened."
Evidence of a Struggle was added to the Truth Bullet List.
Dai wandered over to the body, Ari, Sora, and Eiken already there.
"Sayori… You don't need to worry," Ari mentioned, "we'll find out who did this to you. I promise."
Sora turned towards Dai, walking towards her. "I'm guessing you're here to take a look at the body?"
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll try to be gentle with it." She reaffirmed.
With that, she slowly stepped over to Sayori. Inspecting a body wasn't the most appealing thing in the world, but if it was the difference between life and death…
Just gotta look at it once, and then I'm done.
The file seemed fairly accurate when it came to Sayori's wounds. Two stabs, and blood at her mouth. The blood felt oddly fresh, too, so the claim of a 5 AM killing held up as well.
"What's with the blood around her mouth?" Dai began thinking aloud. "Does getting stabbed do that to a person?" She sniffed the air… "And why's this place smell like puke…?"
It was Sora's turn to cut in. "More likely than not, she vomited up blood. It explains both the smell and why there's blood all around her mouth. Why she puked… We're gonna have to figure that out as we go."
"Guess that's our only option, huh?
External Wounds was added to the Truth Bullet List.
"Sora, Dai. Look here."
Eiken was pointing towards the wounds, trying to get a closer look at them. Dai gave them another look.
"What's so special about them, did we miss something?"
"Look closer. The blood, to be more exact."
Dai looked confused. "Uh… Can you explain what's up with them?"
"Well, the blood around Sayori's mouth is older than the stab wounds. It's crustier, and a darker shade."
Sora looked forwards again… She couldn't tell exactly by how much, but there was a time discrepancy.
"Which means that whatever caused that blood…" Dai added, "came before the stab wounds, right?"
"Correct. I'm willing to bet that'll mean something to you two in due time."
Dried Blood was added to the Truth Bullet List.
"Dai, look," Sora pointed towards a corner, nearby Sayori's body.
Dai looked over to it, seeing a small cluster of hair on the floor. It was a bit shiny, gray, and weird-feeling.
"Usually," she began to explain, "hair serves as evidence of some kind of struggle, or an attack. You'd be surprised what you can infer from just a few strands."
"Ah, got it!" Dai smiled, they were another step closer!
Cluster of Hair was added to the Truth Bullet List.
Sora and Dai got up, ready to get moving. There wasn't much else they could find over here. They started to get moving…
*Crunch*
"Huh?" Dai looked downwards, at her shoe, seeing a small, scattered pile of broken glass on the floor. They were in tiny pieces, like it'd been smashed to bits.
"Dai?" Sora looked towards it. "What are… Glass shards. These are probably related to the case." She started picking them up, putting them into her pocket.
"Wait, seriously? You can tell just from that?"
"It's not completely certain… But in a time like this, you need to be as perceptive as you can. No stone unturned, right?"
"Yeah… You're right." She smiled… It's great to have someone like her around for a killing game like this… Though it would be nice to develop these skills on her own, eventually.
Glass Shards was added to the Truth Bullet List.
Stepping outside and into the lounge, the two investigators saw a rather peculiar sight…
"P-Please, man, keep it down…" The green-haired boy complained. It seemed like Hiroto was in a "mystique"-esque persona, mask and all.
"I do dearly apologize, Mr. Takeba… But I simply cannot make heads or tails of what you and I have discovered!"
"What you've discovered?" Dai stepped towards the two. "What's going on, you guys?"
"W-Well, um… We found something just outside the art room, in the trash bin."
Daisuke ruffled around in his pockets, pulling out several scraps of paper.
"There wasn't anything inside the bin last night, so… We thought it'd be relevant to the case, somehow. I-I hope this helps…"
Dai smiled, looking at it. "If it showed up the night of the crime, then odds are, it's probably got some relevance. Thanks, guys."
Hiroto's voice boomed throughout the lounge, almost as carefree as Monokuma's. "It is simply our pleasure! We wish you the best as you reach out for the truth!"
"No, seriously, st-stop already!"
Shredded Paper was added to the Truth Bullet List.
For the next few minutes, both girls wandered about, without much info being found. Every room felt like a dead end, repeat info, or nothing at all. Stumped, they headed to the dining hall.
"This is more complicated than I expected…" Sora was looking around. "I'm starting to have doubts in my own skills, to be honest. We've found a lot of information so far, some of it helping us quite a lot, but nothing seems conclusive… Too many pieces are missing."
"Sora… Don't talk like that." The Prosecutor looked at her with a fair amount of concern. "Even if we're hitting dead-ends, there's gotta be some kinda solution. Any suspects so far?"
"No, not yet… As I said, there's nothing conclusive on anyone at all, so it's hard to say."
"Ah, got it. That's fine, though! We'll still figure this one out!"
Dai reached out towards the potted plant in the middle of the table, intending to take one of the leaves… Before a hand held her back from taking it.
"Huh? Haruka?"
The survivalist looked at her, like she was sticking a fork in a toaster. "Dai, you got any idea what that thing is?"
"... No…?"
"Ugh…" She looked at the flower, and began explaining. "This is a Gloriosa superba, but it's better known as a Flame Lily. Whatever idiot put this here clearly wasn't thinking straight…"
Sora perked up at the mention of said idiot. "Monokuma put it here, he said he was redecorating yesterday. And he said something about "the chemicals within."
"Right…" Haruka looked around more. "It's deadly. If you ingest so much as a leaf, well… Game over."
"He gave us weapons earlier, right? Probably just another motive, to get us to kill quicker." Sora started pondering again… This could be the breakthrough they needed.
Flame Lily was added to the Truth Bullet List.
"Yo, Sora, Dai!" The two of them heard a voice from at the end of the dining hall. The bespectacled woman was rushing towards them.
"Just the two ladies I was looking for! I wanted to chat with y'all about something!"
"Huh?" Dai looked over to her. "What's happening?"
"If we're collecting evidence," Itsuki added on, then I thought I'd mention something. It's about Sayori."
"Alright," Sora responded, "do tell."
"She was dawdling around before heading off to bed. I saw her, and asked what was goin' on. She said it was nothing, and headed off to bed after… Y'think that's got something to do with this?"
"Well, as Sora said…" Dai looked towards her, "We've always got to keep things in mind, right?"
"That's how you do things!"
Itsuki's Account was added to the Truth Bullet List.
Ding dong, Bing bong!
Monokuma appeared on the intercom once again, looking at the students.
"Well, that's just about enough messing around, wouldn't you say? I think it's time for the moment that everyone's been waiting for! It's time… For the Class Trial!"
(Desire For Execution)
One by one, the remaining students all left the dining hall, in the direction of the main hall… Pretty soon, Dai and Sora were the only two remaining.
"... Hey, Dai."
"Huh?"
The two looked over to each other. There was a pretty clear sense of unease between the two. Things were finally getting started, but… It would either mean the death of a fellow student, or everybody else's deaths…
"Listen. I can't figure this one out on my own. I've got some ideas, but… I think this one's gonna be up to you."
"... Are we seriously gonna make it? Not just that, but if we actually find who did this, will they..."
"It's hard to say, really… I think there's evidence pointing to some people, and I've already got a couple ideas, but still…"
Sora looked back at Dai. "Our job's always to find the truth… No matter what. I can't really do this alone, a situation like this would require more than one person... so lead the way, Dai."
"Heh… Alright. I won't let you down, Sora. That's a promise, from one Law Squad member to another!"
With that, both of them shook hands, their determination stronger than ever.
The two stepped outside, arrived at the main hall… What looks like a bullet-shaped elevator was sticking out of the ground, everyone surrounding it.
"You took an awfully long time in there, you two." Aino grinned. "Discussing how you'll cover each other's backs in the trial?"
"Wh-No! That's not even close to what happened!"
"If you insist!"
"That makes fifteen of us." Mikiko scanned the area. Everyone's faces ranged from excitement, to worry, to outright fear… "Listen, everybody. There's a killer among us, got it? Whoever it is, no matter what's going on, we need to find them, or we're all being done in. So stay strong!"
And with that, the sixteen students entered the elevator, and began its descent. It was noisy, metal creaking at every moment, going on forever, and forever… Until it stopped.
The trial grounds were intentionally made to be low-budget. Blue stone-painted walls and lit lamps were the only decoration, along with a wooden floor… And in the middle, sixteen seats, all in a circle, with one large chair overlooking them all. And on top…
"Welcome to our Killing School Trial Grounds! We're a little low on budget here at the moment, but that'll certainly get better soon! For now… What do you think?"
"Thanks, Monokuma!" Aino grinned. "Looks like shit!"
"Oh, how you wound me so…"
Souta looked at the open seats… One was taken up, a picture of Sayori's face, with a blood-colored cross drawn over it.
"A-Aside from what would've been Sayori's seat… We can choose whatever place we want, right?"
"You bet! Sit with whoever you'd like, whatever makes our class trial more enjoyable for you!"
The remaining fifteen students took their seats… And with that, the first case opened.
A deadly riddle, a deadly judgment, a deadly betrayal… A deadly Class Trial. Let's make the magic happen. We'll make sure you don't go unavenged, Sayori...
SURVIVING STUDENTS: 15
Note: (Alright, now we're moving onto the big stuff! All the cards are on the table, and things are about to get interesting! With that, we've finally begun our first trial! See you around, thanks for reading!)