Act I: THE TITANS, THE BEAR AND THE FORTRESS OF DESPAIR

Chapter 6: Investigation (part 2)

A History of Despair

Part 1

Librarian's kampf

After a short ride, the yellow-green taxi came to halt, stopping just a few meters shy from a cliff which looked down to a valley fifty meters below. Anything tossed down here would be gone, disappeared for at least as far as people can remember them, lost in the bushes if not already destroyed by its descent through the rocky slope. A perfect spot to dispose of something unwanted as it had been used in many years, be they objects from failed love affairs, the extremely buggy but not refundable Window 15 computers, debtor contracts.

Even humans, those that hating their lives as well as those whose lives were hated by others.

It was past midnight and the area was devoid of life. Except for the driver and his passenger.

Stepping out of the driver seat was a handsome boy in his early twenties, looking more like one of those male models or singers who would rather have their own private drivers instead of taking the wheel themselves. He wore a brown cardigan, fashionable jeans and a pair of shades. There were chilling breezes in the air which caused his skin to tingle. But while outside was cold, his heart was colder from the acknowledgement of what he was about to do. It had to be done, he told himself. For many days, he had mentally prepared himself for this, going through countless books on psychology and criminology, and now was the time to put all those preparations to use.

Opening the door to the passenger compartment, the boy dragged out a female about his age, bound, gagged and blindfolded. She was shaking visibly as she exited the car. It could have been the cold: the girl was dressed only in her pajamas, not counting the bondage, of course. It could have been the sharp rocks cutting at her soles; she was barefooted when he abducted her from the inn. Or maybe she was afraid. The man eventually decided it was the first option. However, it was not the cold air that influenced her, but the coldness within the heart of the person kidnapping her.

The boy removed the gag. He would let her speak her last, not that anything at this point would make him change his mind.

"Akihiko….," the girl begged. She still could not see where this place was, but from the feeling of the wind blowing on her skin and the rocky earth beneath her feet, there was not a chance it could have been good. Only a few moments ago she was enjoying her vacation at a mountain inn and now, going back to her hellishly stressful work was the least of her worries. "Please don't do this."

"It's too late now, Kanata," the Ultimate Librarian Akihiko replied blankly. "Unless you can somehow produce time-turner so that we can go back and prevent that from ever happening again, my judgment still stands."

"Judgment?" demanded Kanata, shocked at the vindication displayed by her would-be killer. "What kind of judgment is this?"

"The kind made of iron will and forged within the flame of hatred," Akihiko said.

"It was Tokiro all along," Kanata tried to explain. "He made me do all of it. There was nothing I could have done. He is my master and you know how the Yakuza work. I could not do anything against his will."

"That, I am fully aware of," Akihiko confirmed. This was not a question of morality or legality; this was vengeance in its purest form. For a totally depraved psychopath, he was utterly calm and betrayed neither any remorse nor sense of excitement at his victim's predicament.

"Then, why are you still doing this?" the girl wept.

"Because I can," the boy answered firmly.

Akihiko was coined the Ultimate Librarian by Hope's Peak Academy, and proved that he lived up to his name thanks to his ceaseless devotion to the National Library. While the rumours persisted that he got much of his fame and success from his being ridiculously good-looking, a closer inspection at how he worked would swiftly dispel any doubt that he might be anything less than genuine. All the ladies adored him, and he tended to flirt back at them whenever he could. His outgoing tendency with the females eventually struck disaster for him as the daughter of a Yakuza lord fell in love with him despite her father's disapproval. Rather than taking the gentlemen route and have a talk over between the three of them, said Yakuza lord resorted to causing such humiliation to Akihiko that his reputation would be completely ruined.

Under order from her life-long master, Kanata, only seventeen years old, disguised herself as a fellow book fanatic and invited Akihiko to a hotel to have a lengthy discussion on horror novels written by American author Stephen King. Already fan of the books and not wanting to let down a girl, Akihiko accepted without hesitation. Unbeknownst to him, Kanata drugged him and had sexual intercourse with him while he was delirious, taking many photos in the process which the Yakuza lord used to both demoralize own his daughter and threaten Akihiko, forcing the Ultimate Librarian to do whatever he wanted or risk a public humiliation that might end career and his relationships with the ladies.

Akihiko was devastated. For many days, he buried himself in the books hoping to find solace within the imaginary world, but no matter how he tried he could not escape from the foul reality that he had become someone else's bitch. He searched every stories with happy endings where the main protagonists triumphed against overwhelming foes and found nothing that could have aided him in this situation: heroes did not get raped and threatened like he did and came out on top (except Batman, but Akihiko was sure he was not at that level). He was on the verge of giving up when a special shipment came. There was no name or address of the sender, but there were quite a number of books in the box delivered to him. These books ranged from mystery novels with dark tones to books with controversial themes that were banned from publishing and only stored for academic purposes. Akihiko went through them anyway as he searched for his salvation in despair.

After one week, Akihiko emerged a new person, one full of determination and desire to get even against those who had wronged him. He would fight back against this insidious plot with all his might and talent.

That being said, despite being a Super High School Student, there were limitations as to what Akihiko was capable off. Going after the mafia lord was out of the question. That left Kanata, and even though she was indeed loyal to Tokiro, with the current conflicts between Yakuza clans after the Kuzuryu went berserk, she would be written down as another casualty of war. Still, taking her out would earn Akihiko the attention of the mafia who would undoubtedly be more cautious when dealing with him next time. If he were to win back his life and prevent the humiliation from ever taking place, this was the only option.

"Because I can hurt and kill you, Kanata," Akihiko repeated, his face grim. "You are vulnerable. You are disposable. Those are the reasons why we are here."

"There has to be another way," Kanata sobbed, hot tears trailing from her cheeks and falling on the toes of her bare feet. "I…I will talk to Tokiro. I will try to convince him to stay out of your life."

"Words are cheap," said Akihiko. "And your master is as fickle as the wind. How many fingers has he lost so far to prove that? However, I know for a fact that he is perceptive. Your demise will serve as a message to him that he cannot do whatever he wants to me and expect to get away with this. I will not stand getting bullied by criminal scumbags like him."

The girl was desperate at this point, seeing there was nothing she could do to convince her killer to have compassion. "Does killing me make you better than a scumbag like him? Is violence the way to all things?"

"He who would live must fight. He who doesn't wish to fight in this world, where permanent struggle is the law of life, has not the right to exist." Citing from Hitler's text, Akihiko removed Kanata's blindfold and she shivered upon seeing the cliff in front of her. He untied the ropes next. The girl struggled in vain against the unshakable grip of the Ultimate Librarian who, despite exercising with nothing but books, had built up a body that resembled an athlete and a model combined.

"Don't do this," Kanata begged once more.

Wordlessly, Akihiko turned her around and placed a kiss on her lip. He kissed her passionately and, after a few seconds, she returned in kind, believing this was only an elaborate prank and that he would untie her right away. He body softened and, despite the constant wind blowing on her skin, she was warming up. Breaking from the kiss, Akihiko produced an ice pick and impaled Kanata through the eye. She did not have time to scream, dying with a hopeful expression still etched to her face. Pulling his weapon out, Akihiko let go and her corpse fell down the cliff. The drop itself would have killed her anyway, but he did not want her to suffer; even totally depraved psychopaths had limits.

Getting back into the cab, Akihiko contemplated. This car was stolen from a poor drunkard whom he drugged after inviting to a meal (no sexual harassment this time). By the time Akihiko returned with the cab, no trace of it ever being used by him would remain, and the negligent driver would not know a thing. As for the body, it would take weeks, months even, for it to be discovered. Kanata spent much of her time tending to her master Tokiro who was unlikely going to form any search party should she go missing. Even if the body was to be found and still had not decomposed entirely, the most probable conclusion would still be an accident. Akihiko was careful to tie Kanata up without leaving any trace of the ropes on her, and he knew there were animals down there that feasted on corpses. They usually went for the soft places first.

If all his planning failed, Akihiko would not be worried. He was still a student at Hope's Peak Academy, and the school had a knack of a way to get its students out of sticky situations.

Akihiko began driving back. He turned on the radio and listened to Monokuma's Gloomy Sunday. The music had a distinctive 'suicidal' feeling in it, if that could be word to describe music. He had no idea who made this, but the song went viral quickly across the media. It was truly a something worth dying for.

Day 5

Tartarus Keep

There was nothing else I could do in the Main Hall at this point. Even if there was, it would take considerable efforts and by the time I found out, Monokuma would have commenced the trial already. In the involvement of risks, an accountant must choose the decision that struck the best balance between them and returns. Under current circumstances, I thought it would help the most that I tried to cover the mystery in as many aspects as possible and then hoped the others would focus on individual aspects enough that they made up for my lack of depth.

Where I would continue with my investigation now would determine how I could contribute in the trial to come. With that said, it was time I moved on to the next room to look for clues.

Storage room

Kitchen

Gallery and hallway

Botanical garden and hallway

Storage Room

8:30

Entering this place made me felt as though an iron grasp had been placed on my heart. Akihiko was the first friend I made and this was the place where our talents were first put to use in the name of the greater good of our group. If Akihiko were still alive, this task would have been much easier, for he had been the one who put the items in place as I wrote them down. Nevertheless, I had a feeling looking inside here could provide crucial information about his murder, so despite the difficulties, I was resolved to enter.

Obviously, I did not enter alone; that I could purposefully destroy evidence while on my own aside (which I wasn't going to because I was not the murder), the amount of items, the shortage of time and the fact I could only use one hand meant it might be unfeasible to conduct this search alone. Hokuto and Inu accompanied me to the storage room. Other than Akihiko and I, Hokuto and Inu were the ones who definitely had experience with inventory management from their talents as the Ultimate Miner and the Ultimate Chemist, respectively. Hokuto was also familiar with the storage room layout since he entered it at least twice to look for some gears, albeit before the reorganisation two days ago.

"So the two of you organised all of these?" Hokuto inquired, somewhat amazed.

"Yes we did," I answered. "It took the whole morning to do so."

"Sweet," the Ultimate Miner exclaimed. "Thanks a lot for that. You guys do rock." His compliment gave me a feeling of self-proudness. If only Akihiko were here to receive as well. "That would definitely help a lot when I need the tools for my next plot to get us out of here, which I have already had some ideas. It's going to better this time around, and that bear won't know what hits him." Oh dear, now all of a sudden I was less proud of myself for shortening the interval between one Hokuto's accidental disaster from another. "Anyway, we need to get going with this. Time is short and our friend deserves some justice. How is your hand, by the way?"

"I still cannot use it," I said, bringing up my dilapidated hand which I used to defend myself from Hijiri last night. "Glad to have you two with me. I will have to rely much on you both from now."

"Always a pleasure to help," said Hokuto confidently. Well, at least there was no way his 'help' would be lethal in this case, right?

"Uhm….," said Inu timidly. The poor fellow had spent three days locked inside his room, so it was only natural his first interaction with people would come out as a bit awkward. "I…well,….what are we supposed to….I mean, what do we look for?"

"Check for any discrepancy between the book and what you see," I told him, opening up the notebook which I used to list all the items. Using the elbow of my wounded arm to pin down book, I ripped out the pages and handed to them. It would take me time to write them down all over again (also depending on the rate of my hand's recovery), but this was the only way so that we could split up and look for clues. "After that, see if the items being used could have any relation to the murder. Watch out for both quantity and location. Who knows if the killer has returned them to the store house after they committed the deed."

"Sounds like a plan," said Hokuto.

So we got to work. Despite my lethargy from the wound, Hokuto and Inu both proved to be quick on the uptake. After about half an hour, we managed to gather up what had changed since the last stocktake.

"Some medicine is gone," Inu reported. "Mostly anti-depressants and sleeping pills. The one used by Hijiri to drug you is among them, Amelda. I…sure hope more than one person are taking these, because from what I can see, the amount taken is excessive for any one person to consume. It could lead to…." The Ultimate Chemist paused and hesitated, not wanting to mention the consequence of these drugs when taken without prescription.

"Death?" Hokuto blurted out worriedly.

"Addiction?" I spoke. Inu nodded shyly at me, indicating I was correct in my assumption. For some reason, the fellow seemed just as disturbed by the prospect of becoming slave to drugs as dying by them. But then, of course, freedom was a cause worth dying for, just as what we were doing right now against the evil Overlord Monokuma even if we had no choice but to root out the wolf among us in the process. Regardless, the well-being of my fellow classmates was secondary to finding out Akihiko's murder at this point, so it was prudent to leave that discussion for another time. "What about the injectors?" I asked.

"Two boxes are currently open," said Inu. "One is missing three, the other two. Do you think….that…that is the…." Once again, the words seemed to have stuck in his throat and his face turned purple as if choking on something.

"The murder weapon?" Hokuto finished for him.

"It is what Inori and I believe," I replied. "The size matches and the fact the wound is clean means the weapon has to be sterile. Unless we can find something else more suitable, it is our best bet."

"Hijiri…said she had one injector," said Inu shakily. I could see he was putting every ounce of his effort to not break down on the spot. The recent events must have hit quite hard, perhaps as much as Minako. When Monokuma first made the announcement, we all dismissed his catatonic fear as irrational, but with one attempted murder and one successful murder taking place, the table had turned. "That leaves…four for our killer."

Truth Bullet #2

Murder weapon

The needles mounted on these injectors match the wound on Akihiko, all of which 20G and 40mm in length. Since two boxes are opened and Hijiri took fewer than the content missing from either, we can conclude at least three people have used them, Hijiri, the killer and someone else.

"Anything else unusual?" I asked.

"Not as far as I could see," said Inu, sighing. "I am sorry I could not be of a greater assistance."

"Look at what we have here," Hokuto suggested, putting on a pair of night vision goggles after removing it from the package. "I like what I am seeing with this."

"Can you postpone your great escape plan for a little longer?" I told him. I didn't want to be rude, but if we did not survive this trial, then even Hokuto suddenly turning into Houdini would not save us.

"Not that," said Hokuto. He opened the casing and removed two batteries from the goggle. "This?"

"Batteries?" asked Inu. "What do we need those for?"

"You guys are so slow on the uptake," remarked the Ultimate Miner. "The batteries are already on when I tried to use them. However, the goggles and the batteries should be packed as separate components. You can't turn on lights in the Main Hall during Night Time, so it was probably very dark when the murder took place in there."

"Which means the killer might have used this to their advantage," I concluded. It made sense that way. If Akihiko was wandering in total darkness with only the faint light from his Electronic-ID, the killer wearing night vision goggles would have been able to sneak up to and murder him. "Good catch."

"Thanks," Hokuto laughed appreciatively.

"Sorry for not trusting you there," I told him apologetically.

"Don't worry," he assured. "I did almost kill someone. Twice. I still have a long way to go to earn your trust. Anyway, there is one other thing I should tell you." He brought up a dart board this time. "Do you think the killer might have had something to with it?"

I leaned in for a closer look. Sure enough, the board had quite a few tiny holes on it. "I'm not usre. Although it is certain that someone has been target practicing lately."

"No sign of any struggle on Akihiko, according to the truth bullets you've gathered," Hokuto commented. "Do you think whoever got Akihiko took him out from range?" That was quite an interesting theory and it would undoubtedly fit into the fact that no evidence suggested Akihiko had any rough contact prior to his death. However, the lack of blood made this all but impossible.

"I don't think anyone would be able to throw a dart or an injector to another's eyes without spilling blood all over the place," I said.

"What about just throwing the needle and not the injector?" Inu asked.

"It's possible, I guess," I replied, pondering. Inu had a point there. I had thought the murder weapon was the injector whole, but what if only the needle was used instead? The flaw of this theory, however, was the killer's accuracy.

"Holding such a small thing in your hand is difficult enough," said Hokuto. "I cannot think that someone could actually toss it with such deadly precision. Not even darting champions could do that. It would take mad ninja skills to do that."

That, according to Fitzgerald, was not out of the picture just yet. I had no idea what to believe in, but I put it down as truth bullet just to be sure.

Truth Bullet #9.

Bullseye.

The dart board has clearly been used by someone. Whether this is merely an innocuous pastime or practicing for the murder, let's wait and see. If the latter is correct, we have yet to determine how the killer was able to toss the injectors/needles with such precision. Perhaps they had some sort of ballistic weapon. Or perhaps we are running into a corner.

Truth Bullet #10.

Night vision goggles.

A perfect tool to commit murder in the dark. Unlike Clarice Starling, Akihiko wasn't so lucky against a killer armed with these.

Truth Bullet #11.

Killer's return to the store room.

Should truth bullet #10 proven false, this should be discarded. If the killer managed to dispose of their murder weapon after committing the deed, they would have to return to the store. However, this contradicted with the fact there existed no store room opening entry that could fit into this.

I needed to spend my time carefully. Which room should I have a go next?

Kitchen

Gallery and hallway

Botanical garden and hallway

10:15

Kitchen

Someone went to the kitchen in the dead of the night yesterday. Whoever they were and whatever their purpose was, finding out might be the turning point to solve this mystery.

Kai the Ultimate Ballerina came with me into the kitchen. It was already two days ago when the motivation was announced, two days ago when the situation took a dramatic change, and already she looked as green as a frog. She was tired and there were bags under her eyes from sleeplessness. Her clothes were as neat and elegant as always, but her movements lacked the grace like what I saw when she evaded all those weapons raining down on her with ease. Like Minako and Inu, the Mutual Killing Game was taking a heavy toll on her.

With one glance, I could tell she was suffering from an illness but did not want to tell anyone or ask for help, presumably because it was self-inflicted in the first place. Perhaps it was a common thing among the Ultimate Students, growing stronger through surviving and overcoming obstacles in their path. Born with a silver spoon in my mouth and two loving parents, I could not share her feeling in that regard. What I knew, however, was that if the movie Black Swann taught us anything, that would be the darker side of the ballerina industry where performers were not so glamorous and jubilant as they appeared on stage.

"Are you feeling alright, Amelda?" she asked. Though I was the one getting stabbed, drugged and nearly killed, I dared say I was in a better shape than her.

"Not really, but my rest will come when this trial is over," I replied. Brushing around the bushes was not my forte, so I got to the point, "You look horrible. It's never a good idea to physically torment yourself like that, no matter how depressed you are. You need some food and sleep after this."

"I will," muttered Kai nervously. "Thanks for your concern."

"No problem," I said despite my woe.

Luckily for us, the search did not take long. We found the evidence that someone had been here last night right away in the form of an open refrigerator. A rather sloppy move by someone wanting to have their midnight snack: all the food inside might have been spoiled, not to mention the fridge itself could be damaged, invoking the wrath of Monokuma. Taking into account of the utter darkness that surrounded them while they were having their food, whoever had been here during Night Time yesterday must have been in quite a hurry. There was a puddle of orange juice and some cracker crumps at the foot of the fridge. The food inside also looked quite messy as if a hurricane had erupted within the fridge's interior.

"Looks like somebody was having one hell of a party last night," I said. "In the dark. All by themselves. Munching on crackers and sandwiches and taking huge swigs of orange juice while there is a dead body nearby and they didn't notice."

The Ultimate Ballerina giggled at my detailed description. I wonder if Japanese were so serious all the time. In the US, that was standard talking among both youngsters and adults. "Let's hope that party didn't end up an unsightly mess in the bathroom like it did the kitchen," she said. "Before you were awake, we had a talk among ourselves and everyone excluding Fitzgerald and Minako, claimed they were in their room for the entirety of Night Time. Someone has not been truthful to us." Like you are not truthful with us about your illness? I non-verbally asked. "We should look for clues to pinpoint who it was."

"Right," I concurred.

So we both had a look at the fridge. Whoever was here last night probably didn't bother to sit down on the table properly. Minutes passed and frustration kicked in. Though its last user had been extremely careless, we could not find any evidence that could be traced back to any of us in particular. I knew for a fact that Fitzgerald would be too elaborate and conscious to let this happen, and Eliza and Tatsuya were unlikely to come back after their supper. As for the rest, I had nothing on them.

"Find anything suspicious?" I asked, eating some salad. I needed some food for thoughts. Chewing something also made my more focused and less tensed.

"Not yet," replied Kai, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar. "Although I must admit…AGH!"

Kai screeched as she leapt away from the fridge. Instantly, I could understand why. The smell of corrosion preceded my sighting of the smoke coming from underneath where we stood. Apparently, the liquid we mistook for spilled orange juice earlier was a dangerous chemical which easily ate away the sole of Kai's slipper, leaving one foot exposed. My sport shoes were thicker and did not have a flat sole, so it would take longer for the chemical to melt through.

"Good Lord," I uttered, helping Kai removing the shoe that had been mostly eaten away. Fortunately, her foot was mostly unharmed as far as I could see (what the chemical was doing underneath her skin, I had no idea), though it looked like she would have to go around with one bare foot for now. "Is your foot alright?"

"Better than your hand, obviously," said Kai jokingly. Well, at least she looked quite cheered up right now, which was splendid news because being around too many depressed people gave me cancer in the long run. Still, this was the second time Kai had been in harm's way, the first one almost ending with her face spilt in twain. "Sorry if I was being insensitive talking like that."

"Not at all," I replied, smiling. "You merely stated the fact. So, are you okay walking with just one shoe?"

"Nope," Kai said and removed the other, spreading and curling her toes a couple of times as if to get them used to the cool air before planting her feet onto the ground, careful not to step on anything particularly sharp, or particularly dirty, or particularly corrosive given the situation. If Minako could survive without anything on her feet, I supposed Kai could do the same; I hoped she would not adopt this as a hobby. "It's both or neither. Balancing is extremely important in ballerina, you know?"

"And it looks like we have found the evidence we need," I commented.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kai sighed.

Putting two and two together, it was crystal clear the person who went all the way from the resident hall to the kitchen last night, braving darkness and a killer on the loose, was none other than Inu. In all honesty, I should have guessed this. The fellow had been locking himself in for three days. Normal humans would find it difficult to be deprived of food for three days, but Inu who had not the slightest hint of fat on his body would probably fare even worse. I was too worried about his wellbeing that I forgot to question how it was humanly possible for him to survive like that, let alone still able to walk around and having the strength and mind to save me earlier.

"Do you think he did it?" Kai asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I myself could not imagine someone so frail and frightened could have done this." That being said, Inu was a smart person and his mental instability could be a cause for accidental homicide.

"People can create different personas to hide their true identities," said Kai sadly. "What we see on the outside can be simply what they want us to see."

"Like Hijiri," I concurred. She acted like a lady in front of others, but on the inside she was conflicted and desperate more than most of us. I had one of these as well, but it was neither something I created, something I wanted nor something I was even aware of until recently, albeit the memory loss might have something to do with it. "We can never be sure."

"I don't want to doubt others," said Kai. "We are classmates. Friends."

"Neither do I," I answered, taking a deep breath. "But the situation compels us to."

After a brief talk, we agreed not to include Inu as a suspect in the truth bullets, less others might see it; some of us were clearly in a state of shock, so giving them ideas without good evidence to back them up was a good way of starting a hysteria. Instead, we would bring this up in the trial. The poor fellow had been through much, but it was going to get a lot harder once he started having to explain his suspicious presence in the kitchen last night.

With the kitchen investigation finished, I moved on. Time was running out. One location left to explore before the moment of truth.

Gallery and hallway

Botanical garden and hallway

11:00

Hallway

I had a hunch my attention here would be pivotal to the investigation. Akihiko was last seen in the botanical garden, after which he lingered for a moment in the hallway before leaving and meeting his fate at the hand of the killer in the main hall.

Eliza accompanied me this time. I could have asked for Minako to come with me – we was the one with the most knowledge of this place, after all – but decided not to due to her mental fatigue and Ashley's overprotectiveness. As for Eliza, she looked rather disinterested in the investigation so far and had mostly let the others do the work, probably because it did not involve her getting to work on machineries which would be her specialty. If anything, however, she was much less grumpy than last time I saw her.

"Do you suspect me?" Eliza broke the silence by asking.

"No more than anyone else," I assured, eliciting a snigger from her.

"You are saddened by his death, aren't you?" Eliza asked bluntly. "He was quite close to you."

"Aren't you?" I questioned in response.

"A bit," she claimed, shrugging. "But you have read the Hunger Games, right?"

"Yes," I said.

"Then you know what is at stake here," Eliza went on. "Twenty four contestants come in, only one walks out alive. Have a good look at our situation here. We are trapped in who knows where by a power that seems to overcome or, at the very least, evade the authority, and the only way out is the kill someone. We are humans after all, and humans are prone to temptations, leading to acts they would regret afterwards."

"What is your point?" I asked. At this point, I did not need to be lectured about what humans were made of. I had seen plenty of what was evil and disgusting about by kinsfolks laid bare in previous courts, ones hosted by human judges who abided the laws instead of perverting it like what Monokuma was going for here.

"Each of us has an equal chance of death and survival," Eliza explained. "You almost died in there, but you didn't. I could have died as well, how I don't know for sure but there are a thousand ways someone can take me out of the picture, and yet I am standing right here. Akihiko was the one who perished. His death is deplorable indeed, but we, the ones they are alive, should be relieved it wasn't us who got the chop. Mourn for him if you want to, but celebrate while you still can."

"That is true, in a way," I told her. I pondered about it for a second. If Akihiko had not died, I would have murdered Hijiri, and then the ensuing investigation would be brief for I had no preparation for killing anyone without getting caught, leading up to my punishment at the hand of Monokuma. Knowing that, would I have wanted that the Ultimate Librarian had survived instead? That was not what happened; I refused to put more thoughts into it. "That being said, I don't have to agree with you. The truth is sometimes not enough."

"That from the mouth of an accountant," Eliza mocked. "I didn't expect that. Are you saying you really feel no elation at all that someone else has kicked the bucket while it could have been you? In a way of saying, he did not die in vain."

"My heart is not frozen," I told her. Not always, that is. "Enough with this chit-chat, let's go on with the investigation."

"After you," Eliza cooed.

We searched the hallway for evidence suggesting Akihiko's delay in there and came across a letter on one of the many lockers with vases of flowers on top that lined up every hallways. The letter said: "From Alexandria, with love".

"Who is Alexandria anyway?" Eliza asked.

"No who, where," I said, opening the locker to reveal a gorgeous bouquet of flower. Whoever did this must have put their heart and soul into it, for I have never seen such beautiful display of plants in my life, rivaling those of professor Isley herself. If I were a bee, then this would be my paradise. There were many types of different shapes and colours I had no idea what species they belonged to, but one caught my attention. "Nympheae lotus, also known as the white lotus of Egypt. This is our clue right here. This is what Akihiko had been doing in the hallway last night."

"Akihiko made this?" said Eliza, looking at the flowers I was holding. "How romantic. And that letter is a nice touch, too. The Library of Alexandria is located in Egypt, once the greatest of its kind. I remember being there before during holiday." The Ultimate Tinkerer took a deep sigh. "It is ultimately futile: he never had the chance to see Minako receiving these."

"If he had not wasted his time trying to create this, he might not have died," I said, putting the bouquet down. "This is his swansong."

"Chivalry is never rewarded," Eliza confirmed. "You should try to remember it next time. Only those who can defend themselves can hope to defend others, like Superman because he's indestructible. We are powerless. We fight for ourselves and ourselves alone."

"That is a logical maxim," I agreed. Akihiko's death was a lesson in itself. Selflessness only led to suffering. Living for oneself and hoping it would benefit others as well was the only way in this mad world. Adam Smith said so, and his face was on the GBP notes, so he had to be right.

We spent the next hour or so going through the botanical garden for anything suspicious to no avail. The place was also too large to be searched thoroughly anyway.

Midday was approaching. Now was the time to go back to the main hall to wait for Monokuma to show up and hold his trial.

Truth Bullet #12.

Bouquet of flower.

Akihiko made this just before he died. That would explain his absence after his leaving the botanical garden. Perhaps it could prove more than that.

12:00

Main Hall

The booming voice of Monokuma from the many speakers announced the conclusion of our investigation, "Time is up, my ever so loyal subjects! Now, head to the main hall where I shall lead you to the courtroom. This is going to be one hell of a ride, so buckle your pants. Oh, and absenteeism will not be tolerated. If someone would kindly fetch that poor geisha from her room, I would give them a biscuit."

We gathered around the main hall on time, Hijiri included who looked like she had been through hell and back. Rin's stern eyes frightened her, but it was I who caused her the most shock: she took several rapid steps backwards with terror written all over her face until the Ultimate Police woman got behind her and held her back. Though it was true that Hijiri tried to kill me, I could not think of anything other than pity for her; the fact remained that while she was the aggressor, I was the one who caused more damage, almost choking the life out of her with my bare hand.

"This is it," said Hokuto with anticipation.

"There is no doubt about it," Kazuki confirmed.

"Just stay quiet and I'll have this one solved before it was too late for lunch," said Fitzgerald. "People talking too much distracts me."

"Oh hell no," Ashley exclaimed. "You are not getting all the glory this time."

"It is for your own safety and survival," Fitzgerald insisted. "If I don't find out the killer because you guys won't let me, we are all dead."

"No glory for you, lady's room invader," El Viento accused.

"Still believing in glory, huh?" said a disinterested Eliza. "Just do this quickly so I don't have to be around you guys anymore."

"G-g-g-guys," Tatsuya voiced. "Let's not get too excited with this."

"That bouquet, did you made it?" asked Minako, her eyes glistening at the flowers I was holding.

"No, Akihiko did," I told her. I was a terrible liar, so I told her the whole thing except the fact the very thing I held in my hand was the reason why Akihiko lost his life in the first place. "He made it for you. There is a letter in the hallway as well. I will give them to you once the trial is over. Right now, they are evidence."

"I see," said Minako sadly and stayed silent.

"Now that you are all here, let's get on with it," said Monokuma. At this point, no one was surprised in the slightest at his popping up miraculously. As he said, the two thrones moved aside and suddenly there was a pathway into a tunnel beneath them. "Come it, you bastards. Chop chop. No time to waste. Once we get down, I will be briefing on what you would be doing."

"What we would be doing?" asked Yume. "Aside from holding a trial?"

"It's a show after all," Rin explained. "He probably meant the format we will carry it out."

"Your mind is as sharp as your attitude, I see," said Monokuma, leering at the Ultimate Police Officer. "That is correct. Holding a plain old trial is boring. Nobody is going to watch that. This one I have prepared just for you bastards is much different and more exciting."

"I hope he shows us the idea behind these truth bullets as well," said Hokuto.

"Of course. Now get in before I call the enforcers," Monokuma urged.

With no choice left, we all entered the pit one by one. To whatever fate awaiting us. Whether we eventually emerged as the victor or the slain, Akihiko's loss would never be recovered. Before we knew it, the feeling of despair was slowly trickling in.

Author's note: It has been a while. Unfortunately, due to my paid commissioned writing, I was snowed under. That and my work as an accountant (you see the connection yet?). Anyway, this concludes the investigation. I find it unrealistic that the main protagonist should be everywhere in the investigation, so I put in a choice segment where only 3 out of 4 possible locations would be attended. The last one will be investigated without him.

Remember all the speculations about how the characters in Danaganronpa 3 became Junko's minions? And remember how the anime showed them being brainwashed instead? The brainwashing makes perfect sense because we can now infer that the Mutual Killing Game in Trigger Happy Havoc is meant to be Junko's ultimate video that would permanently drive the world into total despair. She mentions that herself. However, it still feels like the copped out way, much like how they made Clonetroopers in Star Wars to have chips in their brain, taking away all the character development in the process.

This chapter also contains the first of the history of despair where more back story of the character will be told. The characters themselves will not recall these, as they take place in the part of the memory that has been erased. This is distinct from Amelda's flashbacks which he does remember.

Hope you enjoy. Good luck.