ACT 2: NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE
Chapter 6: Investigation (part 1)
History of Despair
Part 4
The final prank
Ashley Wiltarrow was not an ordinary girl in her quiet town. Ever since a child, how she came to be was a subject of wide discussions among the local children and even some of the adults had (reluctantly) joined the debate. Some said she fell from a tree on her head, but just at the right angle and on the right object so that instead of her skull cracking open and spilling all the brain matter for the eyes to see, the impact gave her psychic abilities instead. Others claimed she was the spawn of a human and a leprechaun and was given birth under a rainbow. At least Bill Bowleski, the nerdy kid who often came up with silly contraptions that reduced more hair from his spectators than they wanted (and at the wrong places, too), supported the idea of an alien abduction.
Whichever the case, Ashley was truly what someone would call a devil's companion. She loved to prank people, much to the dismay of everyone within ten kilometers of her ranging from the victims who fell prey to her tricks, the poor janitors who had to clean up the mess afterwards, those who had to wait impatiently while the facilities were cleaned up following a prank, and her parents (for obvious reasons). It was no surprise that when she left for Japan that the town threw a party to celebrate their riddance of her. Little did they expect, Ashley had the last laugh on them by swapping a fifty-seven dollar bill for some light snacks and drinks for a twenty thousand dollar fake one, leading to a showdown of arguments and swearing between the headmaster, head of Student Association, head of local government and a manager of Head & Shoulder.
Those were good times, but in this tighter and more traditional culture, Ashley knew she would encounter difficulties in conducting her ruses without causing too much of a ruckus that would see her expelled. Though Hope's Peak Academy claimed they would help nurture her talent and direct it into productiveness, so far Ashley didn't see that was the case. The curriculum was not that different from what one would see in a normal school even if the workload was three times the amount she endured back in the United States. The teachers here were strict and while they allowed her to make use of her talent anywhere within the school parameter, letting the outside world know too much about it was a no go. Eventually, Ashley got bored of pranking on her classmates who were also Ultimates in other fields and looked to the outside despite warnings from the teachers.
As Hope's Peak Academy was located in a big city, pranking on the local was out of the question. One of the reasons she was so successful in her hometown was because no murder or robbery had happened there for many years, thus the police were just for show (they spent more time in bars and doughnut shops than at the station). Here was the barren land where her jokes would neither be appreciated nor she would be able to get away lightly with them.
Ashley was on the verge of giving up when she was approached by another Ultimate student who made an offer she could not refuse.
"Hello there, you must be the Wiltarrow the Ultimate Pranking Queen," said a younger girl with lollipop coloured hair tied into twin tails. "Nice to meet you."
"Why, hello," Ashley replied. "You are that supermodel from the magazine, aren't you? Junko Enoshima from Class 78th, isn't it?" Unlike Ashley whose fame was mostly local, the Ultimate Fashionista was renowned throughout Japan and over the world. Perhaps one day Ashley's name would be known after she pulled a prank on the President of the United States once she got back to her country.
"That's right," said Junko excitedly. "You must be the one who flooded the toilet on the third floor and used a metal lid to prevent the water from pouring out. Do you know that when Nagito tried opening it, the whole tsunami came pouring out, and his clothes weren't wet at all?"
"Because he was naked at that time," Ashley finished. "He just returned from the swimming lesson and said his swimwear was too tight. What a lucky bastard. Wait-a-minute, wasn't his talent Ultimate Luck in the first place?"
"That's right," said Junko, gazing at Ashley with her big shiny eyes that Ashley thought weren't possible outside anime. "A shame it didn't go as you planned." Ashley reminded herself to add Nagito Komaeda to the list of nemeses alongside the likes of Amelda Douglas Mason, Scott Fitzgerald (that's not even his real name) and that particularly annoying student council who kept reprimanding her for pranking on the pitiful, inferior, talentless Reserve students (she prayed he would die horribly by a chainsaw or something). "I love it! It was so cool! I am so happy to be in the same school as someone like you."
"Wh-what?" Ashley was taken aback by the statement. Normally when people coming to complain to her about her pranks, she would be like "What are you going to do about it?" or "Beat it, sucker.", but now faced with someone who actually admired her talent, Ashley was speechless.
"It's so sad not many people respect your talent, isn't it?" Junko continued. "There are so many ways it can be effective, like cheering somebody up or taking revenge against iniquity that slipped through conventional justice, yet people are so judgy and serious all the time."
"Yeah," Ashley responded more confidently. This was the first time someone showed any fondness for her talent and she was not going to let it come to waste. "You're right."
"It's because you are so talented, I have something to ask of you," said Junko, her expression grinning gleefully. "Do you think you are up for the task?"
"What is it?" Ashley asked.
"Well, here's the thing," Junko began. "I have been having this stalker following me for a while. I know that my occupation means I will have a lot of people like that, but this one is quite persistent and…, well, I am beginning to think he is harassing me. Now, obviously, I have a plethora of ways to deal with it, ranging from calling favours from my friends in high places to letting loosed my cute little sister who would slit the throat of anyone coming within three meters of me. But these are so conventional, so uninspiring, and besides, I wouldn't want to cause too much harm to this stalker no matter how perverted he is. Can you handle him in a subtle manner for me?"
"That is right at my alley," Ashley jubilantly claimed. "Just tell me his name and some of the phone numbers he has been using, and I will get to it."
"Thanks a lot," said Junko with a grin was so large her whole face looked to be inflated with air. Ashley supposed being a person in front of the camera all the time required such training (or even surgery) to give a heart-warming smile like that. "I am in your debt."
Three days after Ashley started, the stalker died. And not just him, his whole family, mother, father, grandfather, younger brother and sister, all got butchered. During the investigation of the mutilated and half-eaten corpses, the police were perplexed by the evidence pointing towards a savage animal attack, most likely a pack of lions or tigers, which included pawprints and even furs left behind. However, there was no sighting of any such predators roaming in the city and no circus or zoos reported any missing animal. When an animal hunt yielded no result, they turned towards other less noticeable clues such as the family members' interactions with outsiders prior to their demise. And sure enough, the abundance of anonymous spam emails, many of which death threats, sent to the oldest son drew their attention.
Five days after the murder, Ashley was arrested. The charge was placed on her based on the fact she had been harassing one of the victims and her history with (mis)using animals in her pranks.
Two excruciating days after that, the police released Ashley under a compromise by Hope's Peak Academy.
Though free, things for Ashley was no longer the same after the incident. Worst still, the head of the investigation Rin Yamamoto was disgusted by the police's decision to give up halfway and decided to continue where they left off by questioning her to no end. Being an Ultimate Student herself at Hope's Peak Academy, she had both the right and power to do it, or so she believed.
"I am asking you one last time, did you do it?" Asked Rin during lunch. The Blue Devil's eyes stared a malevolent gaze at Ashley as if it could eat away her soul.
"It wasn't me," Ashley replied soullessly. She was tired. She couldn't sleep knowing what she did. She thought about killing herself but Minako, frightened and doleful, begged her to abandon the idea. If anything, Ashley would continue this miserable existence for her friend's sake.
"Then who did it?"
"It wasn't me."
"One of the victims is a student in the Reserve Course which we are instructed to minimize association as much as possible. What did he do to you that you decided to spam his mail?"
"It wasn't me."
"Enough of this!" Rin bellowed, throwing her food tray across the room and terrifying anyone within earshot. "Answer my question, damn bitch! I asked if..."
Day 8
Tartarus Keep
Main Hall
21:00
"YOU DID IT!"
"IT WASN'T ME!"
The screaming contest between Hokuto and Eliza was getting nowhere with one side hellbent on condemnation and the other not giving an inch.
"Upupupupu." The familiar malicious snigger greeted me as the ongoing clash distracted me from the macabre remains of one of my classmates. "It seems the gas worked just as I had intended. I always knew adding those components was a good idea. As for you, my ever-so-loyal subject, don't look so stunned. I was a wild bear once. There is no such thing as a 'clean' meal in the woods. Food was not always easy to get and once the prey was caught, it would devour it until absolutely nothing was left, not even bones."
"My God, Monokuma," I exclaimed. El Viento's eyes shot burning glares at the talking teddy bear even as her body felt temporarily weak and languish from the vomiting after witnessing the crime scene. Awesome, now we have another mess in the library to deal with, and I kinda liked this place too; had it happened in somewhere else, I might have been less disappointed. By some kind of foul magic (in Yume's words), Monokuma had made the scene of the first murder disappear completely as the trial was taking place, removing any trace of it or the fact either Kazuki or Akihiko had ever been there. This one, however, would require more than just magic – it might take a miracle to restore the library back the way it was. "We are humans, not bears."
"And so?" Monokuma sneered.
"Our standards are different," I explained to him, not sure if any rational logic would apply to this unnatural creature. Nevertheless, Monokuma was correct in the sense that modern humans had become so detached to the concept of death that scenes like this could scar a person for life whereas five centuries ago it would be merely passed as abnormal, the same thing with Kazuki's execution. "For you, it might be the norm, but none of us here is used to seeing shit like this."
"Then get used to it," Monokuma admonished, raising his voice like a teacher scolding a dunce. "You bunch are really slow learners, aren't you? Cannibalism still exists on Earth. I thought after you saw the way that flautist went down, your stomach would have gotten harder and your gut grown a bit bigger. Grin and bear it. From now on, I don't want to hear any more whining on this particular type of cultural shock."
At this point, Fitzgerald, Hijiri, and Rin barged into the room.
"We heard screaming. What happened he-…?" Hijiri could not finish what she intended to say. Upon setting her eyes on what could not be unseen, she fainted to the floor. Though her intense fear of blood was faked, I couldn't blame anyone for passing out in front of a scene like this (I wished El Viento had gone to the bathroom in the library to empty her stomach rather than doing it on the spot, however). For some reason, I found myself strangely more composed in dealing with the situation, even more so than the Ultimate Police Woman so looked visibly disturbed despite all the horrors she had seen and committed but not as much as the Ultimate Private Detective.
Perhaps the violent nature of the death reminded me of some friend I used to have a long time ago. Her demise had made an impact on my psyche ever since.
"My God," Rin stammered, covering her mouth in shock and disgust. "Have I failed in my duty… again? Is that… Ashley Wiltarrow?"
"It seems like it," said Fitzgerald insouciantly while giving his partner a better-her-than-me look. He then proceeded to check up on Hijiri to see if she was alright while Rin stared at Elize and Ashley's remains in terror before exploding into a fit of rage. "Goddammit. All this fear gas is making me hungry for some cannabis. Just my like that I got a cannibal instead."
"This is an outrage!" the Ultimate Police Officer declared vehemently. "Monokuma, you will pay dearly for what you did. I swear it upon the graves of my fallen comrades." By fallen comrades, I supposed Rin was referring to the Filipino enforcers who became martyrs during the brutal crackdown on crimes instigated by the country's president last year. The Blue Devil had volunteered to join it and she was warmly received, earning several decorations and a fearsome reputation offshore in the process.
"Then I guess they must be rolling in their graves right now seeing how you have consistently failed in your duty to protect your classmates," Monokuma taunted, which had the immediate effect of shutting down the raging policewoman. "You think you're so tough, aren't you? Prove it with more than mere threats of revenge. Prove your title was not wrongly given."
With a terrifying shriek, Rin went feral and began thrashing the library. She tumbled entire shelves and ripped apart books with unfettered fury all the while howling curses and obscenities. Further destruction to the library made me sadden. Due to the addition of rule number eleven, this act of sabotage was no longer outlawed, though I doubted it would last long.
"Calm down, Rin," I tried to reason. The adversary we faced here was formidable indeed: the bear was as shrewd with words as he was diabolical with his motives. We could neither outfight nor out-argue him. "There's no helping venting out your anger like that. You're just going to end up destroying evidence."
El Viento, who had recovered from vomiting, grabbed Rin from behind and prevented her from causing more mess in the library. The Ultimate Police Woman thrashed about a little longer before falling slack under the immense strength that restrained her. "Control yourself," pleaded the Ultimate Luchador. "You are making this difficult for all of us. If you cannot best your own temper, what chance do you have against Monokuma?"
"Mason and El Viento are right," Fitzgerald added as Hijiri came to. She still intentionally diverted her eyes away from the carnage. "Throwing a fit at Monokuma only cements the fact we are on the losing side, like those fucking idiots from the First Orders. No, we need to keep out shit together. We win by solving the mystery behind our capture: only then can we find a way to escape. In the meantime, there is another mystery that requires our attention, so let's use that opportunity to brush up our detective skills, not that I need any more."
"Mystery my ASS!" Hokuto screamed, his rage moving from Eliza to the rest of us for not instantly believing in him. The normally calm fellow had lost it entirely by what he saw. "I saw it with my eyes. I can be your witness. How can you refute something as clear as broad daylight? No more investigating. Just end this shit right now."
"It wasn't me!" Eliza denied fiercely and frantically. "I didn't do it! I just…!"
"You just make a light snack OUT OF YOUR OWN CLASSMATE!" Hokuto hollered. I had never seen him so angry or Eliza so frightened before. Then again, the fear gas did bring out the weaknesses in us. I remembered crying just a couple of hours before like I did ten years ago when I thought I was infected with leprosy and would turn into a half-zombie degenerate. I had not cried once since Rebecca's death and I was four when it happened. "You are Hannibal Lector's bastard child!"
"You calm down as well, Hokuto," I demanded. We had a very dire problem on our hand here and the last thing I needed right now was someone to lose their shit. "Just because Eliza was devouring the corpse doesn't mean she's the one who killed Ashley. She might come across the dead body and saw… something else." I had to resist my hunger to not say Peking Roasted Duck. All of this gassing was making me hungry, not to mention the fact I had not eaten anything since lunch and it was late night at this point. Damn, when was the last time I tried some of that Chinese duck; I could still remember the taste on my lips during my trip to…. Seeing it was not a good time for that kind of remembrance, I snapped myself out of it. "We still need concrete evidence before we can accuse anyone."
"You took the words from my mouth once again, Mason," Fitzgerald complemented and Hokuto seemed to regain his composure a bit. I wasn't sure about Eliza, however. She looked too violent to approach at this point, so it was better to leave her there for a while.
"I'll leave the drama and melodrama to you," stated Monokuma. "Enjoy your investigation. Upupupupu."
The bear disappeared afterward, leaving us stunned by how shocking this murder was compared to the previous one. Ashley might be a prankster and I liked to (jokingly) think that all pranksters belonged in hell, but she was still a friend and had some respectable qualities. While we didn't get along, this fate was not something she deserved. Her loss would be mourned.
But now was not the time for that. We need to get to the bottom of this and find out who, under the effect of the gas, had committed this atrocity. Eliza might be found next to the body and Hokuto testifying against her, but unless he could prove he had seen Eliza killing Ashley this case remained unsolved. It pained me to send another friend to their death. My heart ached even more with the knowledge the murderer was not having control over their actions and probably had no evil intent just as Kazuki killed Akihiko to free our loved ones.
Still, we had to start. If we were to defeat Monokuma and make sure all the deaths were not in vain, we must first survive even if it meant saying goodbye to yet another one of us.
Day 9
Tartarus Keep
Main Hall
3:00
The investigation didn't start until the next day when we all had had our rest and the wounded were treated. Rule 11 mentioned clearly that we were allowed to recover, though I wasn't fond of it beginning so early in the morning which my biological clock wasn't used to coping with. Due to my personal distaste for coffee, I had some Modafinil instead to keep myself up and about at this hour.
Attention
A body has been discovered. An amount of time has been given to find out the culprit, after which all students must gather at the main hall to be transported to the trial ground. Good luck.
So this was the body announcement I missed last time. This was followed by:
Attention
A rule has been revoked
Rule #11: Should a murder take place, the gas will stop. The effects are expected to last an hour later afterward. For this scenario, all students must be accounted for before the Body Announcement is played. Damage to property is now sanctioned.
Thank you beary much for your compliance up to this!
The announcement came when we were gathering in the main hall having our very late supper. After making sure Inu, Hijiri and Kai were in no critical condition, we made some negotiation with Monokuma and the bear allowed us to have something to eat before the investigation. Due to the state of the body, it was imperative that investigation began as soon as possible, but it was deemed doing so on an empty stomach would be disadvantageous to us. For all his evil intents, the bear genuinely cared about our well-being (except when he was trying to make us kill each other) and acted both generous and fair. That being said, whether some of us eat anything or not was entirely left to our discretion, and with what we just witnessed not all had any appetite left. The only persons enjoying the meal were myself, Fitzgerald, Minako and Yume with the latter two encouraging the others to let go of their depression by eating to no avail.
Roasted Peking Duck; how could I say no to that? How Monokuma knew my taste was beyond me. His intelligence service must be like the Stasi of old.
"Looks like it has begun," said Yume sadly. "I was really hoping we would get more time to rest after what happened yesterday."
"Ashley-chan," Minako sobbed. "Why does it have to be her? Why is this happening to us? What have we done to deserve this?"
"Only God knows that," I told her. "Let's not be too harsh on ourselves."
"Inu has recovered," said Inori. "However, I don't think he's going to be able to join the investigation."
"Let him rest," I told her. "Unless Monokuma makes an exception, he'll still have to participate in the trial no matter what."
"Sadly, his skills in chemistry might be very helpful to us," said Hijiri timidly. Though all of us (with the possible exception of Rin and El Viento) had forgiven her at this point, she felt intimidated and didn't act like herself in front of her classmates. "Just a… thought."
Fitzgerald nodded encouragingly. "Kaneshiro raises a good point. From my previous studies, I have had the basic understandings of Crane's fear gases. However, it is likely that bear has made his own modifications to the formulae, so further understanding it might give us a clue in this case. I will stay with Kagyuu and consult with him when he comes around."
"No, we need you out there," I said. The Ultimate Detective gave a smug look at my insistence that his participation was vital to the investigation. As much as I disliked his attitudes, he had proven time and time again that solving a murder mystery was right at his avenue.
"Then I will take care of Kagyuu-san," Kaneshiro said. "Forgive me, but… I don't really want to be anywhere near the library for a while."
"That settles, then," said Rin with a slight hint of mistrust. "I want to have a look at the body. Inori, will you lend me a hand?"
"This is nonsense," Yume exclaimed. "How could anything good come from studying that… that… mess?"
"Like how she died?" said Rin sternly.
"Eliza might have… eaten some of it," said Tatsuya, "but that doesn't mean she is the one who committed the murder. She might have just come across the already dead body… at a bad time."
"A very bad time, indeed," Kai echoed my statement.
"Eliza might not be the predator, only a scavenger," El Viento added. "Deriving the cause of death might enlighten us on her true identity."
"And perhaps the identity of the killer," said Fitzgerald.
"Don't worry," Inori confirmed. "I am no stranger to death. I don't think I could be any more disturbed at the sight of a body."
"You have finally calmed down yet, Hokuto?" I took my turn to ask the Ultimate Miner who was still casting a cold gaze on the others with Eliza being the focal point of his attention.
"I'm fine," he said briskly. "Sorry for my outburst yesterday. That won't happen again."
"What about Eliza?" asked Kai. Despite her injuries and having to walk with a crane, she had decided to join the investigation. Seeing her so pale and weak filled me with sorrow. "I feel that she's the lynchpin of this case. According to what Hokuto said, she was literally eating the remains of Ashley, so doesn't that automatically pick her as the main suspect for now?"
"Yes," Fitzgerald agreed. "However, I tried to get her to talk and failed. Her trauma is without a doubt severe and understandable. Perhaps she just needs more time."
"She's a lost cause," El Viento said dismissively. "El Diablo has gotten over her. She's not seeing us as her friend as much as her prosecutor."
"Time is not on our side," Rin snapped. "We have until breakfast to solve this so-called murder mystery. In any case, Eliza will attend the trial and, there, we will give her no choice but to talk."
"If all fails, she's our last resort," said Hokuto, meaning if the investigation and trial yielded no success in finding the culprit, Eliza would be our sacrificial lamb. Though we had gotten him to marginally calm down, he was still all too happy to point his finger at Eliza and just get over with the trial. No shortcut was allowed, however; his testimony was considered inadequate, much to his dismay, which meant we needed to start this investigation from the ground up and all details had to be examined before anyone could be condemned.
"How do we even solve this?" asked Minako. "None of us have control over our actions when it happened."
"That is incorrect," Fitzgerald stated. "We do have control over our actions. However, it is dictated by a brain that has been tampered with. We all remember what we do, what we see during the gassing. Each of us has a story to tell, and I would love to hear them all."
"That… includes you telling us yours as well," Tatsuya remarked.
"Precisely, but now is not the time. We shall discuss this during the trial," said Fitzgerald as he concluded our meeting. "The investigation will be spent on finding out physical clues that can aid us in telling whether one's story is truthful or not. After all, what we do in our dream still affects the material universe in some manner. Let's spread out and crack this case."
INVESTIGATION STARTS!
It pained me to see the library in such a mess, but that pain was nothing compared to the witnessing of a friend (or friendly rival) of my butchered in such a savage manner. Still, I could not blame this on Eliza: the gas made her do it just as it made me cry like a five-year-old when I thought I would join the ranks of the army of the lepers, which was wholly ridiculous. Ignoring the toppled shelves, scattered books and the pile of vomit on the wall left by El Viento, I put all of my focus on the elephant in the room – the one Hijiri tried so hard to avoid looking at.
"Thanks a lot, Rin," said Fitzgerald derisively. Five of us, him, myself, Rin, Inori and Hokuto returned to the library to have a look at the crime scene. The rest who had weaker stomachs were assigned other places. "Your effort to save us has put us in an even more precarious situation. Your tantrum has caused the crime scene to be tampered with, and I will pretend that pile of wrestler's discharge over there didn't exist. We might have lost invaluable evidence."
"Shut up," Rin retorted, her face reddened. "If you are so high and mighty, why not accept this challenge and prove you deserve the title."
"Of course I would," said Fitzgerald calmly. "I only fear that our partners will encounter difficulties. Remember, the crime could not have been planned. The culprit murdered Ashley while under the effect of the fear toxin."
Fitzgerald was right. Whoever did this could not have been as meticulous as Kazuki. Their killer-instinct probably was awakened on the spot and they might not be aware of what they did even until now, which meant the culprit should not have been able to cover up the crime scene before Rin accidentally ruined it.
"What does the Monokuma File tell us?" asked Hokuto.
"Well….," I began.
Monokuma File #1
Murder Victim is Alshey Wiltarrow the Ultimate Pranking Queen
The body is found in the library. The time of death is about 7 pm. Her body was dismembered and devoured post-mortem.
That basically summed up what we had known so far. The time of death was unlikely going to be of any use as all of us lost track of time while under the effect of the gas. Damn, the Overlord of Tartarus Keep sure knew how to make a murder mystery interesting.
Rin and Inori dug through the mess that was once Ashley, separating bits they could identify from the rest. Good news: we found her head, mostly intact since the human skull was tough for any teeth to chew through. Bad news: her lips were gone, leaving her face in a perpetual state of grinning while blood dripped from her teeth. If my sister saw this, she would have nightmares for a week and then beg to sleep with me.
"Looks like we are lucky," said Rin, pointing at the back of Ashley's skull. "There is a sign of an impact right here. And it looked serious."
"Let me have a look," said Fitzgerald. He held the head as dramatically as Hamlet with Yorick's skull. The hair where Rin indicated was drenched in blood and I could see some was leaking from beneath rather than splattered from the rest of Ashley's butchered body. "Yes. I see. This cause of her death is plausible."
"She died from a concussion?" asked Hokuto. "Are you sure about it?"
"Concussion is an incorrect term to describe it," Inori pointed out. "You see, despite popular beliefs, concussion rarely kills unless it is continuous. What we have here is severe traumatic brain injury and a lot of internal bleeding. It could not have killed Ashley instantly." The Ultimate Patient suddenly turned cold and melancholy. "My God, I could not imagine the suffering she experienced leading to her death. She didn't deserve this."
"What caused the injury?" I asked. "Did someone hit her in the back of her head with a blunt object?"
"Could be, or she might have just fallen," Inori explained. "I have seen quite a few cases where brain injuries are caused by accident. It's actually quite a common occurrence."
"If it was an accident caused by the hallucination, does that mean we don't have to vote for anyone in the trial?" Hokuto asked hopefully. True, if no one other than Ashley's bad luck was responsible for her death, Monokuma would have no reason to kill off any more of our classmates. This was the best case scenario at the moment and I prayed Hokuto was correct.
"Thank you, Hayashi," said Fitzgerald coolly and he laid down the decapitated head. "Before we jump at any conclusion just from this discovery, I reinstate that the theory was plausible, not concrete. There is an 80% chance the brain injury was what offed our dear prankster."
"And the remaining 20%?" asked Rin.
"As Hayashi has kindly mentioned, Ashley didn't die instantly," Fitzgerald elaborated. "Anything could have happened between her dying a 'natural' cause and someone else putting her out of her misery. We cannot rule out that possibility just yet. Besides, even if Wiltarrow did succumb to brain trauma, that doesn't automatically mean no one is guilty."
Truth Bullet #1
Cause of death
There is an 80% chance Ashley died from brain trauma. However, as she didn't die instantly, Eliza or someone else was able to put her out of her misery.
Truth Bullet #2
Cause of injury
Applies only if the 80% possibility is correct. There are a number of ways this injury could have been inflicted and not all would lead to condemnation of another of our classmates.
Rumbling through the pile of books, I found nothing of interest. As I feared the unkempt state of the library might have concealed any evidence, I came across something that wasn't there before: a badge of some kind bearing a stylized letter N colored in purple in front of a white swan with its wings outspread. Some fabric still attached to the badge told me it had originally been sewn into something, probably either clothes or banner. A thin layer of blood coated its face.
"What do you make of this?" I asked.
"Looks like some sort of royal symbol," said Rin. "I am not familiar with this kind of stuff, really."
"Let me see that." Hokuto rudely took the badge from my hand and examined it carefully. I could see his eyes light up when he exclaimed, "The rim is made of gold. Real gold. I mean, seriously, where did you find it?"
"On the floor," I replied.
"If there any more of that?" Hokuto pressed.
"Look for yourself," I told him. The Ultimate Miner wasted no time digging through the piles of books in search of more. As an accountant, I understood the endearing goal of maximizing the wealth of companies and individuals alike, but to let it control your action to the point you no longer cared what people might be looking at you and thinking, that was not alright. "We are in an investigation here. Stay focus."
"I'm focusing," Hokuto replied. "For all we know, this could be valuable evidence." That, however, was something I could not disagree with.
"That letter N, I think I saw it somewhere before," said Rin. "In Tartarus Keep. I just… need to remember where exactly."
"It could not have been Monokuma, that's for sure," I said. "It is made of real gold, so I believe it is genuine. Perhaps it belongs to the previous owner."
"And the only place of Tartarus Keep the bear has not altered is…," Fitzgerald stated.
"The dungeon," said Rin, Hokuto and I in unison.
Truth Bullet #3
Letter N badge
This badge found in the library was attached to some sort of fabric before it was removed. According to Hokuto, the gold that made it was real. There is blood splattered on the side of the badge facing up when I found it, but not on the other side.
Just that moment, I noticed the passageway to the hidden chamber was open, letting an eerie cold wind brushing on my neck. This place was already creepy enough with the Mutual Killing Game; a dungeon with (possibly) zombies inside was just icing on the cake. The desk that was placed to seal it off had been tossed aside and, given the angle of it, I was certain it was done by someone on this side rather than from inside the dungeon itself.
"Hey, guys," I called out. "Have a look at this."
"Mason, did you…?" Rin started.
"No," I cut her off. "It was like that when I saw it."
"What should we do?" asked Inori.
"Go in?" Hokuto suggested. "Maybe there's something in there that is linked to the murder."
"Good idea," Fitzgerald agreed. "You take the point, Yamazaki."
Leaving behind Inori who couldn't bear the dust, four of us, led by Hokuto with his mining helmet which had a flashlight attached to, embarked down the passageway. The air was dank and cold as I remembered while the scent of decay must have tripled since last time. The smell was unbearable and I had to cover my nose as I climbed the stairs. Rin cringed all the way while Hokuto and Fitzgerald, no doubt used to such foul smells, proceeded without any issue.
By the time we reached the basement the smell of decay receded as the stench of death overwhelmed it.
"Goddammit," Rin swore. "Can we please get over with macabre sights already?"
I was glad El Viento was not here because adding the stench of vomit to the already plethora of nasty smells was the last thing I wished right now. The zombie king and queen had been released from their chains, but whatever freedom these undead might have had been brutally cut short. Both their heads had been partially crushed that brain matter began to spill out.
"Looks like we won't have to worry about them biting anyone anymore," I commented darkly.
Like a vulture, Hokuto descended on the bodies hoping for some loot. To his disappointment, whatever jewelries carried by the couple had already been removed beforehand.
"Someone was here during the gas attack," the Ultimate Miner deducted. "If anything could be said, subtlety was the last thing on their mind when they performed their deeds. Both bodies are missing their ring-finger."
"What do you think caused this injury?" I asked, pointing at the partially cracked skulls.
"Feet, most likely," said Fitzgerald. He bent down and pulled a piece of fabric where the impact had landed on the king's head, ripping through flesh and exposing the white bone within. Whether they were alive or dead or undead, neither of them had an easy time dying or staying dead or de-animating. "Shoes. This is wool from the red carpets upstairs which run across the hallways. There are quite a few bruises on the bodies as well, but the majority of the damage was done to the skull."
"What type of shoes?" asked Rin.
"Not sure about the size, but I am certain the sole is quite flat," said Fitzgerald. Three persons with that type of footwear came to mind. One of them lacked to strength to cause this type of damage, not to mention the fact they would struggle just to be in the environment of the dungeon, and another probably would have crushed the skulls fully without trying. Despite Hokuto being the major suspect out of the fact he had been so obsessed with looting from these two monarchs, I could already guess who was actually responsible for this.
"Hey look," I pointed out at the hole in king's overcoat left arm. "If I am not mistaken, that must be where the N badge came from."
"Their crowns are missing, and Hokuto said their rings are gone as well," Rin stated. "Was looting the motive behind this?"
"Definitely so," Fitzgerald agreed. "Though we must remember whoever did this was under the effect of the fear gas. What they saw might be something entirely different."
Truth Bullet #4
Dungeon burglar
Someone came to the dungeon and caused a mess in there during the gas attack. Several jewelry items were taken out.
With no more clues left, we couldn't wait to get out of the dark and damp dungeon. I stalled for a moment to remove my jacket and placed it over the battered bodies of the king and queen. I still had no idea who they were but it was not right to leave them like that. If a proper burial was beyond their reach, then this would have to suffice. As I move what was left of the corpses together to cover them, a sense of urgency ran through my mind: what about my own parents? Alice was mutilated - dear God have mercy on her - but at least I knew she was safe now. As for my parents, their situation remained a mystery to me which impelled me to win this game as soon as possible to get the hell out and discover myself. Unlike that bitch who did this, I was not ready to forsake the people who procreate me in the first place.
With a renewed sense of purpose to get through this, I exited the dungeon along with the others. That should be it for the library. Depending on what kind of story told by the people obviously in here during the gas attack, Hokuto, the burglar, and Eliza if we could get her to, the evidence could be either redeeming or damning. The implication right now was impossible to say.
Now, it was time to have a go at the other places. With so many rooms available but fewer people investigating, I wondered if we could cover them all. Then again, we did not have to worry about the culprit erasing the clues: they probably weren't even aware of their deeds.
Author's note: Holy Jesus, it has been a while. Sorry for the very long wait between this and the last update, but I got into a serious illness and the new job demanded a lot of my attention. Now that I have settled in, I will try to update regularly like before. I hope you guys are still reading.
Anyone here notices the Star Wars reference? One of the shitty aspects of the new trilogy that I cannot take seriously anymore.
Monokuma is depicted here as a true dictator rather than a bully. He actually shows he cares for his subjects while still forcing them to kill each other. He follows his rules and tries to make the student's life easier. This is how I envision him to be threatening: being able to compromise and influence others without ever deviating from his standards.
Hope you enjoy the read.
Good luck.