Welcome back to another installment of Ultimate Danganronpa – Crossover Mania. We will now be moving into the investigation portion of the chapter, meaning that we are currently in the Deadly Life portion of Chapter 1. The investigations are going to be much shorter than the Daily life portion of chapters, as they will be straightforward.
Also, I want to say that, due to school starting up, updates will be slower not only because of this, but because of my sister and the fact that she has to draw all the art for this, it takes longer to pump these out. Since one drawing of one character takes upwards of 2 to 3 hours alone, you can see why these things take longer than they look. Also, side note, but there won't be art for the truth bullets in this chapter. I'm sorry to disappoint if that news was, indeed, disappointing.
With that being said, welcome to…
[Karmic Justice for the Unjust – Deadly Life]
[Play: Boy's life of Despair]
Time suddenly came to a halt. The sight before the small group of four was gruesome. The room reeked of death, and it was all made twice as apparent by the corpse of Daphne Blake smack dab in front of them, leaning against one of the plant holders as she laid there, motionless, lifeless.
Blood caked the area around her and on her. There was blood behind her head, blood on her face, blood smeared against the plant holder she leaned upon, and what appeared to be a bloody handprint. To her left was a bloody rake, and on the floor beside it was a bloody hammer. Her shoes had been taken off for whatever reason, and a plucked rose lay on her legs.
It was safe to say that whoever had committed this heinous crime did so with intent.
Nobody said a word. Everyone was shocked into complete and total silence. There was only the cold, dread-filled hum of the light fixers above mixed with the smell of rot and decomposition.
Shigaraki had no words at all. He thought back to a time where he had killed someone like this and couldn't find any single memory of such. Anyone who died by his hands usually got turned into dust, so he never had seen this amount of blood before, aside from when Toga would slaughter her victims, but even then, that was considerably tame.
A part of him felt sad. He might not have known Daphne, or hell, even considered her an acquaintance, but the fact that she was dead, her body stiff and smellier than a piece of mouldy cheese, caused him to think about all the times he murdered someone.
"What… what am I doing. Is this, is this really how I should be feeling? I've killed all my life, anyone who even looked at me wrong died. So why… why do I feel so… so dirty?"
Shigaraki's thoughts were only stopped when he heard the shuffling of feet, which caused him to turn to face where the movement had come from and the person responsible for breaking his train of thought.
And it was the same person who broke the silence the room had been filled with.
The person responsible for breaking the silence was Deliah, her face had gone ashen, and her eyes had shrunk to a degree where they only looked like dots as she let out a primal scream filled with fear, horror, and mortification.
"AHHHHHH!"
After her shout to the heavens, she grabbed at her hair and began to mutter faster than anyone else could've possibly muttered. Tears came pouring out of her eyes as she trembled in place, not even willing to look at the body.
Nobody made an off comment about her reaction. It was perfectly reasonable. In fact, Shigaraki was shocked that Max didn't yell or scream, though his horrified reaction was enough to cement the fact that he, too, was caught completely off guard by the fashionista's corpse.
But none were more affected in the room than Velma, who had tears welling up in her eyes, though no noise left her mouth. She was slack-jawed, her face drained of all colour, her attention solely on the body itself.
Finally, after the scream that Deliah had made broke the silence, someone decided to speak.
"H-Holy mother of fuck shit… w-what… what in god's name happened here…" Max was the first one to speak out of anyone in the room. He had cleared his throat and shaken his head, some colour returning to his face, though his hands were shaking immensely as he let out shaky breaths.
And then, without warning…
*Ding. Dong. Bing. Bong.*
"A-hem, Attention, attention please! Everyone, please report to the Greenhouse. A body has been discovered! You will have a certain, undetermined amount of time to investigate the crime scene before the Camp Trial commences. Good luck!"
The announcement cut off, leaving everyone with the shocking realization. This wasn't fake. This wasn't some sort of joke. This was real. Daphne was dead, and now, no one had any way of denying the facts.
Letting out a shaky breath before slapping herself in the face multiple times, Velma turned to look at everyone, a serious expression on her face. "Let's get out of here while we wait for the others. I… I'm sure they'd all want to see just what happened here…" Velma shakily spoke, though it sounded like she was unfazed, the look in her eyes said otherwise.
"W-Why…" Deliah muttered, hugging herself as she stared down at the body, her eyes still shrunk and her face still pale. There was no way in hell that the kid wasn't traumatized. "W-Why d-did this happen? I-It wasn't e-even 24 hours a-after the motive…" after saying that, her voice became so quiet that nobody but herself could hear what she was saying.
The look of Despair on her face was something that caused Shigaraki to frown. Her body was shaking, and her face had gone far paler than it was when the body was initially discovered. The teal-haired man reached out to touch her, only for the brunette to slap his hand away.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" and with that, she ran out of the room.
"Deliah, wait!" Shigaraki called out as Max huffed, placing a hand on Shigaraki's wrist.
"Leave her alone…. She's terrified. Just leave her to her own devices, or let her friend talk to her. Right now, let's just focus on what's going on," Max stated matter-of-factly, his face twisted in a look of forced anger. It was clear as day that Max had never seen something like that, despite his tough-ass attitude. All Shigaraki could do in response was sigh before cursing under his breath. He didn't like the idea of Deliah running off on her own, especially with a killer on the loose.
"Fine…" Shigaraki groaned, looking back at the entrance, a dreadful feeling washing over him. Following what Velma had said, they exited the Greenhouse, just in time to see everyone else show up, the chief of which being Shaggy, his expression filled with concern.
" Velma is Daphne really—!" Shaggy stopped as Velma lowered her head. Not a word was said, but the understanding was evident between the two, a pained expression on his face as he looked away. "Fuck…"
"So wait, you're saying that…." Harry muttered as Shigaraki nodded.
"Yes, Daphne was… she was murdered. I think that was pretty fucking obvious when that bear said that a body had been discovered," Max spat as Dio huffed.
"My thoughts exactly. However, that is the least of our concerns. But before we… investigate, as that bear said we should, Tomura, didn't that little brown-haired girl, Deliah, run off with you? Where did she go?" Dio asked as Shigaraki lowered his head in disappointment.
"She… ran off. I tried to stop her from running away, but when I did… she screamed and ran, shouting at us to stay away from her. I think… after seeing Daphne, she lost the will to trust us, at least for now," Shigaraki stated as Harry looked at the ground, hand balled up into a fist.
"Damnit… I, I should go looking for her. If anything, she needs someone she trusts to talk to. Especially someone she's known for years…." Harry said, walking away from the group as Jaune's eyes followed him, a scowl on his face before he turned his attention back to the group.
"Uh… can we… see the condition of the body, or…" Jaune asked, a slightly disturbed yet also curious expression on his face as Ruby smacked him up the back of the head.
"Are you serious, Jaune? Did you really just ask to see a corpse?" the redhead chided, causing the blond to glare at Ruby.
"Yes, Yes I did. What else are we supposed to do, sit around and do nothing?" Jaune snapped, causing Ruby to flinch. "Look, I may not be the bravest guy around, but someone here killed Daphne, and we should be doing everything in our power to find the killer. Looking at the body might help us." Jaune stated as Ruby looked away, rubbing the back of her head.
"H-Heh, yeah, I guess you're right…" the redhead said as Neil shrunk into himself.
"Uh… can I step out of this? I-I don't mean to disrupt anything, but… I have Hemophobia, so the sight of blood causes me to faint. I don't think I'll be of much help in his case, or any, for that matter…." The curly brown-haired kid stated as Natsuki scoffed.
"So you're scared of blood? Guess that makes sense, but at least that'll help us in finding the killer," Natsuki stated as Neil raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? How would that help?" Neil questioned as Monika giggled.
"Well, you just said that you have Hemophobia, so that would naturally mean that it would be impossible for you to kill someone, right?" Monika stated as Neil blushed, an embarrassed look on his face as Nikki patted him on the back.
"Yeah! You're innocent! Now I don't have to bite you!" Nikki said, a smirk on her face as Neil jumped away from the blue-haired girl.
"Bite me?!" Neil near screamed as Max groaned.
"Okay, tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber, that's enough, we have a case to solve, no horse assing around, got it?" Max snapped, causing the two to salute him, which in return made Max facepalm. "You guys… for fuck sake…."
"I don't think that's the issue right now. We need to see the body, first and foremost," Izuku stated, looking away from the group as Shigaraki nodded.
"I can second that. Let's also try and keep the investigation centred around this area as well. That way, we can all be relatively close to one another, in case we find something important, and we don't have to run across the camp just to find someone," Shigaraki stated, causing a few people to nod.
"But wait, what about Harry and Deliah? Don't we need them here too?" Erina asked as Jaune shook his head.
"I think Deliah has had enough trauma for now. Besides, I'm sure Harry is doing his best to calm her nerves." When Jaune finished, Erina nodded, though her expression was one of suspicion. Still, no one else seemed to pick up on it.
"Okay, then let's-"
"HOLD ON!"
[Play: Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3]
As soon as everyone heard that voice, a few people glared in its direction, while a few simply scoffed, and others just stared. Monokuma stood in front of the Greenhouse, hand on the doorframe as he wheezed, almost as if he ran a marathon just to get to their location.
"Wait… just… a… second… you… can't… start… investigating… yet…." The black and white bear panted as Shaggy glared at Monokuma with a fierceness that no one would've expected from the shaggy-haired teen.
"What what makes you say that? You were the one who caused this mess, like, what's stopping us from pushing past you and getting to the investigation?" Shaggy growled as Monokuma sighed.
"Kids nowadays, so impatient. Well, you can't exactly investigate without the surface-level knowledge, right~?" Monokuma stated, grabbing something from behind him. It was a metal tablet of sorts with Monokuma's signature black and white colouring. On the screen were the words: CASE #1 in uppercase.
"Ta-Da! Introducing the MONOKUMA FILE! This file has all you need to start a basic analysis of the crime scene, such as the type of weapon used, the time of death, etc.! It's in your hands, Mr. Shim- I mean, Mr. Shigaraki!" The bear stated, handing the Monokuma file over to the teal-haired man, who sneered at the bear. "Also, before you all go off and investigate, I've updated your Monopads. It's important for your investigations!"
And just as quickly as he came, Monokuma left.
[STOP OST]
"So… that's it? We just… investigate now?" Izuku asked, causing Shigaraki to nod.
"Yes. We'll split up. That way, we can cover more ground. But be sure to stick in this area, understand? Nobody leaves, got it? And if Deliah and Harry come by, tell them to talk to me, okay?" Shigaraki stated as everyone nodded, going their separate ways.
Shigaraki looked down at his hands. Daphne was murdered… and he, along with everyone else, needed to find the suspect. Anyone could be the killer, and that was the scariest part. Had Shigaraki been the same person as he was when he initially came here, he would've suspected everyone. But now, now that he had slowly begun to warm up to everyone, he didn't want to suspect anyone here. But he had no choice.
"Alright… it's time. I may not have known Daphne for long, but I will avenge her," Shigaraki stated, turning on the Monokuma File as his eyes became lively for the first time in a long time.
[Play: Despair Searching]
-INVESTIGATION: BEGIN!-
The first thing that Shigaraki did was turn on his Monopad. When he did so, a new tab opened up, a tab called "Truth Bullets." Monokuma did say that this new tab would be necessary, and Shigaraki already had something he wanted to put in there. It might have seemed inconsequential at first, but it was something that he needed to write down.
Truth Bullet 1 – Neil's Hemophobia: Neil has a crippling fear of blood, so much so that he faints upon seeing any significant amounts of blood.
With that written down, he slid his Monopad into his pocket before turning on the Monokuma File. Upon turning it on, he got a pit in his stomach.
Victim – Daphne Blake, The Ultimate Fashionista
Wounds: Several stab wounds on the back of the head & Head trauma, brain trauma, with several skull fractures.
Fatal Blow: Hit in the head with a heavy blunt object.
T.O.D: 10:00 PM
B.D.A.: 7:15 AM
Weapon used: Blunt Object/Sharp object
Victim was stabbed in the back of the head with a sharp object repeatedly(?) before being bashed in the head with a blunt object.
The body was found in the Greenhouse at 7:15 AM.
Shigaraki grimaced at the information. She died at 10:00 PM, during the nighttime announcement. "Damnit… if only I had stayed back at the Greenhouse, I might've seen the killer… we were mere moments apart. Fuck."
A pain of guilt surged through the villain. If he had been there just a few minutes longer, then maybe Daphne wouldn't have died. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head. No, he needed to focus. Worrying about this now would just anger him even more.
Truth Bullet 2 – Daphnes T.O.D: Daphne was killed at 10:00 PM, at the same time as the nighttime announcement.
Putting the Monokuma file away, Tomura looked at the Greenhouse. In the back of his mind, he knew full well that the majority of the evidence would be in there and around the body. He didn't want to see it again, but he had no choice. Steeling himself, he let out a deep sigh and marched into the building.
Upon entering, the smell of death overwhelmed him as he plugged his nose. In hindsight, a part of him should've known that entering a crime scene would reek of death. Without a single moment to spare, he immediately saw something that caught his attention right off the bat.
Next to Daphne's body was a bloody rake, the handle and the rake head itself bloodied. Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. It was clear that whoever used that weapon was the killer, but… something didn't seem right.
Truth Bullet 3 – Bloody Rake: Leaning against one of the planters next to Daphne's corpse is a bloodied rake, though it is unsure whether or not the rake is the murder weapon.
When he finished updating his truth bullet section, Shigaraki's eyes continued to glance around the scene without much of the way of actual details. The next obvious thing that caught his eye was the fact that her shoes were taken off.
Truth Bullet 4 – Blood-covered shoes: Daphne's shoes are covered in blood, and, for some reason, her shoes are taken off.
Shigaraki hummed to himself. In traditional Japanese culture, people who committed suicide took their shoes off before doing so. However… as he glanced at the body, none of it seemed to reek of suicide. However, it was something to keep in mind.
Truth Bullet 4 – Updated – Blood-covered Shoes: Daphne's shoes are covered in blood, and, for some reason, her shoes were taken off [Addendum: Perhaps this could be because the person who killed her either wanted to frame it as a suicide or, to pay respect to Daphne after killing her.]
The teal-haired man let out a sigh. Daphne didn't deserve any of this. A part of Shigaraki wondered just what she had been doing at the Greenhouse in the first place. Was it for the same reason he brought Erina here for? To look at and tend to the flowers?
Speaking of flowers. Shigaraki noticed that Red Rose on her lap. However, he wasn't the only one who was looking at it. Velma was to. "Hey, Tomura, do you think this means anything?" Velma questioned the teal-haired boy said as Shigaraki tilted his head in confusion.
"Huh? The flower? No, why?" The man stated as Velma sighed.
"Do you know anything about calling cards?" the Detective asked as Shigaraki went into deep thought. He knew that when Toga usually killed someone, she left a message written in blood. Was that a calling card?
"Uh, is it like a message left behind by a killer?" Shigaraki asked as Velma nodded.
"Spot on. So, if we look at this rose, this could lead us to the killer. It's a Red Rose on the lap of a murder victim," Velma stated as Shgiaraki nodded, motioning the brunette to continue. "Because of this, we know that the killer is either a fan of Roses or… perhaps they are linked to this specific Rose," Velma explained as Shigaraki hummed.
"It could be possible. But, let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Shigaraki stated as Velma nodded.
"Right, as every good detective knows, building up a bias against one person or the first person that comes to your mind is a bad idea," Velma said, an uneasy look in her eyes as Shigaraki updated the Truth bullets section.
Truth Bullet 5 – Plucked Red Rose: On Daphne's lap is a plucked rose. It could either be a calling card from the killer or the killer themselves are linked to this specific rose.
As soon as he finished updating his Truth Bullets, Velma bit her lip in frustration. "It just doesn't make any sense. What did Daphne do to deserve this?" The teen said as Shigaraki placed a hand on her shoulder, catching the Detective off guard.
"Well, killers tend to kill for the sake of killing. The only ones who plan out their victims usually do so because they feel like they deserve it. Believe me, I work with killers regularly. I know that what I'm saying isn't exactly what you want to hear, but it's the truth," Shigaraki stated as Velma stifled a tear before nodding.
"I'm going to look around the perimeter. The longer I stay with this body, the more emotional I'm going to get. See you at the trial, Tomura," Velma said, walking away as Shigaraki sighed. He looked around. Only himself and, strangely enough, Max, were the only ones left in the Greenhouse. The boy approached, a slightly disturbed look on his face as he tried his best not to look at the body.
"I was wondering when that dumbass was going to leave," Max said, causing Shigaraki to narrow his eyes at the kid. "Don't get me wrong. I get that losing a friend can suck balls, but looming over the body creepily threw me off my own investigation…." Max said, crossing his arms as Shigaraki kept his glare trained on the boy, though it lessened considerably.
"What do you want, Max," Shigaraki questioned as the black-haired boy scoffed.
"What do I want? Well, I want this to be done already so we can get straight to the accusations and find the killer, but I know that ain't gonna happen, so I'm making myself useful. Standing around doing nothing will only draw suspicion to those not helping," Max stated bluntly as Shigaraki sighed.
"That's not what I meant, Max. I meant, 'why are you talking to me,' can't you see I'm busy?" Shigaraki stated as Max rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, I wanted to show you something that I found," Max stated, walking over to one of the planters and dragging what appeared to be a mallet. "I found this near Daphne's body, but I took it away, so that little miss nosey didn't take it. Fuck, this thing is heavy…." Max groaned as he wiped his forehead.
The mallet in question was giant, almost the same size as your typical work hammer, but with a head made entirely out of condensed wood and a wooden stick. And to top it all off, the right side of the mallet's head was bloodied.
Truth Bullet 6 – Bloody Mallet: Max had found a heavy mallet next to the body of Daphne, covered in blood. Potentially the weapon used by the killer to end Daphne's life. The mallet was so heavy that Max couldn't carry it.
"Interesting…." Shigaraki thought aloud as he glanced at Max. "Hey, Max, this might sound abrupt but, do you mind telling me where you were during the time of the murder?" Shigaraki asked as Max raised an eyebrow.
"You want my testimony, eh? Fair enough. Fine, I was making my way to the Greenhouse, as I planned to meet up with someone when I saw someone leave the Greenhouse. When I went to go check, all I saw was Daphne's body. I didn't say anything to anyone because I didn't want to be blamed for the murder, nor did I want the killer to try and kill me," Max stated as Shigaraki nodded.
Truth Bullet 7 – Max's Testimony: Max was nearby the Greenhouse when he saw someone leave. When he went to go see who it was, all he saw was Daphne's dead body. Instead of telling anyone, he ran off to his cabin and kept quiet about it due to the fear that he might have been seen as the killer.
"There, you happy now?" Max asked, an annoyed tick in his voice as Shigaraki nodded, causing the boy to leave, muttering something under his breath, though it was too quiet for Shigaraki to hear. The teal-haired man watched as Max left, waiting for him to go before continuing his investigation.
Truth be told, a part of Max's testimony seemed almost made up, but he didn't want to judge the kid. Not yet, at least.
Once Max was nowhere to be seen, he decided to pick up the hammer, inspecting it more closely. When he ran his finger over the top of the bloodied hammer face, his finger stung, causing him to gasp slightly in pain before looking at his finger. There, Tomura found a small piece of glass sticking out of one of his exposed fingers. Plucking it out of his skin, he scratched the back of his head in confusion.
Why was there glass residue on the mallet? Shigaraki looked around for a bit longer in the area of the body when he spotted two things that caught his eye, one that was more noticeable, while the other wasn't as noticeable.
Just a few steps away from the body, in between a set of plant potters was a shattered window, and on one of the pieces of shattered glass was a piece of yellow fabric. He now knew why there was glass residue on the mallet. But now, the question remained as to why. Why was did the culprit shatter the window, and did they have anything to do with the yellow fabric on the window.
Truth Bullet 8 – Shattered Window: One of the windows by Daphne's body was shattered for no apparent reason.
Truth Bullet 9 – Glass Residue on Mallet: On the Mallet, presumably used to kill Daphne, there are traces of glass residue on one of the faces of the hammer, meaning it was used to break a window or a glass object before it was cast aside.
Truth Bullet 10 – Yellow fabric on glass shard: On one of the remaining shards of glass in the window frame of the broken window was a piece of yellow fabric, potentially linked to the killer.
Shigaraki sighed. He was about to have a migraine. "Why does this have to be so complicated?" Now Shigaraki knew just how bad he most likely drove the detectives and heroes back in his time. This stuff was really, really annoying to do.
Crouching down, he took another glance at Daphne's body. There was something… off about the corpse that made him want to poke and prod at it. His eyes continued to look over the body. Was she really gone? Was this person that he barely knew still alive? No. It wasn't possible. He knew that. Her skin was too pale, and her body reeked of death.
Shigaraki had no emotional connection to this person, yet, the sight of seeing them dead made a part of him want to punch a wall. He shook his head. His problems were the least bit important right now. What was important was surviving the up-and-coming trial, and to do that, he needed to gather more evidence. This wouldn't be enough to convict someone. He knew that much.
So, much to his dismay, he kept looking, staring first with Daphne's corpse. He glanced down at the rose, and a part of him became intrigued with it. He picked the nose up from the stem, bypassing the thorns, and noticed something odd. On one of the thorns, there was a speck of blood. However, unlike the blood from the body, there was something… off about it. He ran his finger over the blood and compared the texture of it.
And then, he smirked.
The blood on the rose was dryer than the blood on the body. That would be important.
Truth Bullet 11 – Blood On The Rose: On the rose thorn, there is a speck of blood that is dryer than that the blood on Daphne's body.
While it seemed inconsequential, but it was more important than that. The blood on the rose dictated that someone other than Daphne pricked their finger or scratched their hand on the rose.
Shigaraki put the rose back down on the body's lap before something caught the corner of his eye. Looking straight forward, on Daphne's orange hair, there was something that was unmistakably not supposed to be there. He dared not to touch it, so instead, he observed.
It was a singular, black piece of hair.
Truth Bullet 12 – Black Piece of Hair on Daphne's hair: There is a singular black piece of hair on Daphne's body. Perhaps it's a piece of hair from the killer?
Shigaraki got up from his crouching position as he stretched his back. There wasn't much else in the way of evidence inside the building, so… perhaps there were some pieces of evidence outside and around the building?
With that idea in mind, Shigaraki knew precisely what it was he had to do next. The case was starting to make sense to him, meaning that they were in the final stretch. He looked at the time. Monokuma wouldn't want the investigation on for much longer. He didn't know what the others had been gathering in terms of evidence. After all, they all had their own truth bullet sections, all of which were private.
It was time for the final stretch of the investigation.
[Play: Hope Searching]
Leaving The Greenhouse, Shigaraki took a few steps outside before being bombarded by Shaggy. "Like, Tomura, you gotta see this!" the brown-haired teen stated, catching the teal-haired man completely off guard.
"What is it, Rogers? Can't you see that I'm busy?" Shigaraki retorted as Shaggy rolled his eyes.
"We all are, but you seriously gotta see this. You remember when I caught you in the work shed, right?" Shaggy asked as Shigaraki raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, what about it?" Tomura asked as Shaggy smirked.
"Well, take a look inside again. There's something different about the place now," and without elaborating, Shaggy walked over to the shed, which had been across from the Greenhouse. Shigaraki sighed, taking his bait before following the teen. When Shaggy opened the door, Shigaraki's eyes widened.
"See, what did I tell you! One of the mallets and rakes are missing. So that means we now know where the killer got them from," Shaggy stated enthusiastically, placing a hand on Shigaraki's shoulder. The teal-haired man shrugged his hand off as the man continued, his expression puzzled.
"So, either you have something to do with this, like maybe telling someone about the contents inside the shed, or someone else already knew about it and didn't bother to say anything, or…." Shaggy didn't finish his sentence, only glaring at Shigaraki before clearing his throat. "Anyway, I just thought that you might want to know this stuff because come time for the trial, I think this will be important." And with that, Shaggy left Shigaraki at the shed.
He was right. Some things were missing from the shed. But… something wasn't right. Nobody had been with them when they talked about what was inside, unless… "someone followed me there," Shigaraki muttered, snapping his fingers. That had to be the only reason why the killer knew unless they checked it out beforehand. Still, the fact of the matter remained. When they all reported on what was in each area a few days ago, nobody mentioned anything about inside the shed.
Regardless of why Shigaraki now had evidence of where the weapons came from.
Truth Bullet 13 – Missing Equipment inside of Shed: Inside the shed by the Greenhouse, a mallet and a rake are missing, both of which were involved in Daphne's murder.
Shigaraki left the shed without further investigation, and decided to look around the perimeter of the Greenhouse. The area around the Greenhouse had mud surrounding it, meaning that anyone who left the building by any means aside from the front door would leave footprints or shoeprints. Sure enough, upon making it to the side Daphne's corpse was on, he saw a shattered window and a pair of shoeprints that didn't match his.
The shoe prints were smaller, and with the glass shards around them, it was safe to assume that the person who lept from the window was the culprit. However, the shoeprints were the same size as his, if not a bit smaller.
"So, whoever the culprit is, they're most likely a teenager due to the size of their feet. However, I can't rule anyone out. Not until the trial."
Truth Bullet 14 – Shoeprints outside of the Greenhouse: There are a pair of shoeprints that are most likely to belong to the culprit.
Shigaraki cursed under his breath. If only there were a way to get the measurements of the footprints. From what he knew, detectives usually had a mould to put the shoeprint in, but they didn't have that kind of stuff, nor the time for it to dry. He needed someone who would be willing to help him.
"Shit…" Shigaraki muttered, his nose flaring. However, just as he was about to move on, he heard a pair of voices come around the corner.
"Come on, Deliah, I know you don't want to be anywhere near these people, but we still have to help with the investigation. Okay?" The voice of Harry spoke out as Deliah responded.
"B-But, what if the killer is—"
"I don't think the person behind it would make another attempted murder with everyone being so close to one another. Now, let's go look for someone who needs help, okay?" Harry interrupted as Shigaraki smirked. Wasn't he super lucky? Luck sure was on his side today.
"Hey, speaking about people who need help, I could use a hand," Shigaraki called out as Harry turned to face him.
"Oh, Tomura, well, isn't that convenient. What do you need help with?" Harry asked, steering Deliah in his direction as the pair walked up to the man.
"Well, I was wondering, since these footprints are so close to the crime scene, and they're a tad bit bigger than mine, perhaps you could—"
"26 cm…" Deliah muttered, causing the pair to turn in her direction.
"Could you repeat that?" Shigaraki asked, his eyebrow raised as Deliah spoke, this time louder.
"26 cm, those footprints are 26 cm. Before you ask, I only know because I would always buy shoes for my friends when they couldn't afford them. I can only assume, but the shape of the footprint, as well as the width, shouts 26 cm." Deliah clarified as Shigaraki hummed.
Truth Bullet 14 – Updated – Shoeprints by the Greenhouse: There are a pair of Shoeprints that are most likely to belong to the culprit [Addendum: The shoe size is 26 cm, the average foot size for a teenager, as pointed out by Deliah]
"Thank you, that helped a lot. But now, I want to ask, what were you two doing at the time of the murder?" Shigaraki asked as the two replied unanimously.
"Sleeping."
"I was asleep."
Shigaraki hummed. That made sense, so there was no need to write it down. "Just asking, thanks for helping me out, but I gotta go collect a few alibis from a few people who I have an interest in, so I think you should piece together a theory of your own with whatever evidence you can find," Shigaraki stated, walking away, leaving the pair behind.
He didn't have to go far to find the group of people he was looking for, that being Nikki, Neil, and Max. They were talking with one another, not doing anything, it seemed. Shigaraki frowned mentally, out of all the times to sit around and do nothing. This was a time not to be doing, well, nothing.
As soon as he got close to them, Neil was the first one to see him.
"G-Gah! Oh, god, why did you sneak up on us like that?!" Neil nearly screamed as Shigaraki rolled his eyes.
"I'm looking for alibis. Do you mind if I get your guys'?" Shigaraki asked as Nikki tilted her head in confusion.
"Ali… bi? What's that?" the blue-haired girl asked as Shigaraki groaned. Right, they were kids, something that, even with his personality change, he didn't like.
"What you were doing during the time of the crime. That's what an alibi is, now, tell me. This is for the trial," Shigaraki stated, folding his arms as Max groaned.
"You already have mine," Max grunted as Shigaraki sighed.
"I know that. I was talking to your friends," Shigaraki stated as Max rolled his eyes. As soon as their exchange was done, Nikki spoke up.
"Well, now that you mention it, I was heading to my cabin after being scolded by Monokuma not to climb buildings when I saw Max leave the forest, saying something like: Something, something, something, Rose." Then he and I left for the cabins!" Nikki proclaimed, a smile on her face.
Truth Bullet 15 – Nikki's Testimony: Nikki was just about to leave the main area when she saw Max leave the forest, muttering about a Rose before heading back with her to the cabins.
"Thanks, and what about you, Neil?" Shigaraki asked as the boy in question simply looked away for a second, only for Max to slap him up the back of the head.
"Listen here, nerd-for-brains, you're not the asshole who did this thing, so out with it," Max spat as Neil looked back at Shigaraki as he sighed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, but… still… ugh, you know what, fine. I was in my room doing some experiments. I left my cabin once, and when I did, I saw that green-haired guy come back from somewhere. He looked confused, scared and, well, I don't know, something. I asked him if he was okay, but he just kept muttering under his breath about something. It wasn't too long after the motive was announced, so he was probably just wandering to clear his head. But still… he muttered something about you, then went into his cabin. I just went back to mine after I threw away my broken beakers. So… that's it, can you leave me alone now?" Neil explained as Shigaraki nodded.
Truth Bullet 16 – Neil's Testimony: Neil had been in his cabin experimenting when he ran into Izuku coming back from wandering around. He threw out his beakers then went back to his cabin.
And with that, Shigaraki left, seeking out the last person he wanted to question. He walked further out, eventually finding the person in question, that being Izuku Midoriya, standing all by himself, clearly in thought as he began muttering about something under his breath. As Shigarkai got closer, the boy seemed to stop, looking at him with an uneasy eye.
"Hey, brat. I got a question for you. Where—"
"Where was I during the murder? I was wandering around to keep my mind off of the motive. I returned to my cabin when I finished having something to eat at the cafeteria. There, now, can you please leave? I'd rather not have you talk to me while I'm busy investigating. Thank you very much," Izuku stated, a glare in his eyes as Shigaraki recoiled from the hostility.
"Seems that he still hates me, fair enough, whatever, not that I care," Shigaraki thought as he updated his truth bullet section, walking away from Izuku.
Truth Bullet 17 – Izuku's Testimony: Izuku wandered around the camp to keep his mind off the motive. He returned to his cabin shortly after.
Shigaraki sighed. That was everything he could do. The teal-haired man investigated the crime scene as thoroughly as he could. He talked to the people he wanted to and got their alibi's. So now, he didn't know what else to do.
"Maybe I could—"
[Stop O.S.T.]
*Ding, Dong. Bing, Bong.*
"A-hem, Attention all Campers! TIMES UP! Make your way to the judgement hall! I've marked it on your map if you don't know where that is. It's time for the Camp Trial! Remember, this is MANDATORY! Anyone who refuses to come will be dragged her, against their will, regardless of what it is they're doing!"
[Play: Despair Syndrome 2]
And with Monokuma's announcement ending, Shigaraki let out a cold sigh. This was it, the first trial. In the back of his mind, he knew that he would become a hypocrite after today. But why, why would he become a hypocrite?
To most, the reason might not have been apparent, but to him, it was.
He, Tomura Shigaraki, a person who has killed thousands, if not tens-of-thousands of people as his time as the leader of the League of Villains, would be putting a killer on trial.
And the irony was not lost on him. Not a single bit.
The walk from the central area of the camp to the Judgement hall was… tense. Izuku was behind him. He could feel the green-haired boy's glare on the back of his neck. Of course, the hero would think the villain was the one who committed the crime. It was only natural.
But he would be wrong.
As soon as they made it to the massive white building with the monochromatic bear on the front of the red door. A feeling of Despair racked through the teal-haired man's body as he stared at it. The face of their kidnapper stared them down, judging them. He could almost hear the bear's condescending voice.
You've fallen right into my paws. Someone's dead, and you all said you wouldn't crack. Now you have to judge someone, convict them and make a mockery of them.
It didn't take long for the remaining campers to show up at the judgement hall, everyone all sharing the same concerned expression on their faces.
"I must say, I think I've done a good enough job, don't you think, Erina?" Dio asked as Erina nodded.
"Indeed. I think we have enough evidence to convict our suspect," Erina stated, smiling at Dio as the male blond smirked.
"Naturally," Dio stated, a clear tone of narcissism in his voice as Jaune rolled his eyes.
"Can you two shut up? Seriously, get off your high horses," The swordsman groaned as Dio raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so am I not allowed to boast about my accomplishments?" Dio asked as Jaune balled his hand into a fist, glaring at the younger blond.
"YOU HAVE NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS YET! THE TRIAL HASN'T EVEN BEGUN YET!" Jaune shouted as Ruby put a hand on his shoulder.
"Jaune, please, he's just trying to rope you in. Leave him alone," Ruby said as Jaune let out a huff of air, glaring at Dio, who merely smirked at the swordsman.
"Does everyone have a decent amount of evidence compiled for this?" Velma asked as everyone silently nodded.
"I think we did the best we could do with the time given to us," Deliah stated, still keeping herself to only Harry, her eyes mostly hollowed over from what she had seen. There was no doubt about it. Deliah had been worse off from the moment she saw the body.
"Hey, where's that stupid fuckin' bear? He was the one telling us not to be late!" Natsuki spat, when suddenly, as if he had been called, Monokuma came out of the bushes.
"Yeesh, those bushes are seriously tough shit. Anyways, sorry for taking so long. Let's just get this over and done with. I'll now say the magic words to open the door to the judgement hall, a-hem." Monokuma started as he raised his paws up into the air, the red light in his eyes growing brighter. "Oh mighty gods of Judgement, heed my call! These unruly campers have done someone in, and now it is time to make them see their sin! Justice, Hope, Despair, open this door, and let us see who will win this affair!" And with a mighty roar, the doors opened, and a thick fog came out of the doorway.
"Wow, that was pretty dramatic if I do say so myself," Nikki deadpanned as Monokuma bowed.
"Thank you. I practiced that for three straight days!" the monochromatic bear stated as Max groaned.
"Look, can we just get inside?" the black-haired boy asked as Monokuma looked disheartened.
"Oh, I thought you would've appreciated my performance. Oh well, that's fine, well, let's get to the trial room! Beyond that door is an elevator. That elevator will take you down into the underground trial room. Upon entering, I will explain the trial rules, and then, it shall begin." With that said, Monokuma disappeared, leaving the group of 15 campers to walk into the Judgement hall.
The inside was a massive hallway with a red carpet, with black and white walls styled after Monokuma's colour scheme. Chandeliers gave light to the ceiling, as well as blood-red mood lighting. At the end of the hallway was an elevator, and as they approached, they all felt a looming sense of dread.
No one said a word to one another as they boarded the elevator. As soon as they boarded, the elevator began to descend. The only things that they could think of now were the fact that one of them was the killer, and that killer was on the same elevator, waiting to meet their fate.
However, Shigaraki was the only one who had a determined look on his face.
[]
Daphne Blake, the Ultimate Fashionista, was murdered by someone.
…
Everyone here was equally able to and subsequently unable to kill her.
…
Everyone here was innocent until proven guilty. However, one thing was for certain.
…
The person who murdered Daphne should've murdered him instead.
And as soon as the elevator stopped and the door opened, the sneering voice of Monokuma spoke out to them. "Glad you could all make it!"
-To be Concluded in the Camp Trial-