ACT 2: NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE
Chapter 6: Investigation (part 2)
History of Despair
Part 5
The reinvention of despair
Alone in the room of her dormitory, Elizabeth "Eliza" Piket wept. She was supposed to be the Ultimate Inventor (currently the Ultimate Tinker), destined to bring about a new era of technological development and, with her friends at Hope's Peak Academy, launch mankind into an age of advancement. This was the reason why she was scouted by the most prestigious school on earth in the first place, the reason why she left America to Japan to study here and, in turn, allowed her talent to be studied.
But today, she didn't feel like an Ultimate at all.
She had just come by from her third try at proving her talents to the evaluation committee of the Academy, and once again, she flunked it hard. It was failure after failure after failure at this point. But how could she possibly get there?
Her first attempt was a normal try. She made a toaster that could create two-hundred different flavors. Unfortunately, every judge that ate the bread coming out of it had to be hospitalized due to a severe stomachache. Eliza was given a failing grade but allowed to redeem herself within two weeks.
Knowing she had to prove her worth like never before, Eliza doubled down her effort for her reexamination. Going for something more simple this time, just enough to get her a passing score, Eliza decided to put the tweak on the paintbrush so that the color could be changed at the press of a button, with over sixty to chose from. With this brush, she claimed, an artist could finish an entire painting in one stroke. When it was put to the test, however, the brush malfunctioned and spat out the paints it held uncontrollably. But the paints were no paint at all: oil for black, cat's blood for red, grape juice for purple, and so on. Once again, Eliza was deemed to have failed.
That should have been the end of her dream right there for Eliza had it not been for a good friend of her, the Ultimate Fashionista Junko Enoshima. Junko convinced Hope's Peak Academy evaluation committee to give Eliza another shot at it. After much discussions, and probably backdoor dealings, the allowance was granted but on the condition that Eliza must provide a major innovation that could have a widespread effect on society. It was the type of talent test that was supposed to wait until the student's graduation despite Eliza being only in her second year. Even so, the Ultimate Tinker was boundlessly grateful and jumped at the opportunity.
For her project, she constructed a pair of mechanical prosthetic arms inspired by the sci-fi movies she had watched. She spent almost all of her time and every single penny she had saved so far on this. She even had some help from Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic. When it was finally time, she presented her latest manufacturing to the committee, hoping they would finally see her genius. The first test on a mechanical frame went well enough. The new pairs of hands adapted to the alien CPU and performed its task admirably.
But the test didn't stop there, for innovation must have a practical application in order to pass, which, in this case, meant the limbs must be able to help an amputee regain their normal life. Little did Eliza knew, this was where things went from bad to worse. The test subject was a young girl who recently lost her arm in a traffic accident. Upon being grafted with the implant, she expressed great joy at how it felt as if it were her real arm. A split second later, her happiness turned to distress as the mechanical arm abruptly seized her in the neck and choked her. It was clear the girl was no longer in control and Eliza could not shutdown the rebellious arm either. In the end, it was El Viento's jumping in and ripping the whole prosthetic from the girl's shoulder that finally saved her life, but not before significant damage had been done to her brain, rendering the test subject in a comatose. Instead of giving her a chance to have two normal arms again, Eliza had inadvertently robbed away the girl's cognition and feelings as well.
As usual, Hope's Peak Academy covered up the incident, but Eliza knew it was only a matter of time before the reached a judgment on her. Never before had she been so disappointed with herself. Her talent had failed her. She had failed the Academy, her friends, and the society she was supposed to contribute to. What was the point of her being here anymore?
As Eliza wondered with dread what would happen to her next, someone knocked on the door to her dorm. Each student in Hope's Peak Academy had their personal room so that they could develop their talents to their full potential without any distraction.
"Eliza, are you in there?" asked the voice Eliza recognized as belonging to Junko Enoshima.
"Yes," Eliza replied, wiping the tears from her face.
"Can we come in?" Junko asked.
"Sure."
The sisters Junko and Mukuro entered her room. Mukuro was the Ultimate Soldier who fought for a mercenary group in the Middle East. She didn't know much about Mukuro other than that one of her classmates, Amelda Mason, came across her at some point during his summer project in Israel where he took some military training and the military took lessons from him with regards to financial management. The two of them shot at one another on the battlefield before returning to school where they seemed to get along well.
"I just learned what happened," said Junko. "It was soooo tragic."
"Oh, Junko, I'm sorry," Eliza sobbed. "You gave another chance and I screwed it again. I let you down. I'm a failure. I... I don't deserve to be in this school anymore."
"What if I tell you it wasn't your fault?" asked Junko, a smirk running across her face. Eliza normally would hate to see people being happy while she was upset, but some Junko didn't make her feel annoyed at all.
Eliza stared at the Ultimate Fashionista, wide-eyed. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"Dear sis, show her." Junko turned to Mukuro who produced a camera. "You see, unlike others, I fully understand what you are capable of, so it came as a great shock to see you failing without end in your exam. My spider-sense was tingling so hard I nearly scratched my skin off. That is why I asked my dear sister here to do some investigation."
"What did you find?" Eliza inquired expectantly,
"Nothing much, except this." Junko played the recording which Mukuro seemed to have caught while hiding inside a bush. The scene unfolded in a restaurant where a group of Hope's Peak Academy was celebrating. Eliza didn't recognize any of them, though their uniforms suggested they were from the reserve course, as opposed to her being in the main course. The reserve course consisted of ordinary individuals who chose to study at Hope's Peak Academy, advertised as the chance to be exposed to the exceptional individuals that were the Ultimate High School Students. In reality, according to Amelda and Fitzgerald, they primarily served as a means for Hope's Peak Academy to get the funding they need to conduct further research on talents. Contrasting with how Ultimates was scouted and recruited to Hope's Peak Academy where they received education free of charge, the reserve course students had to pay out of their teeth to get in. Consequently, there was a lot of resentment between the two groups and they, despite Hope's Peak Academy's effort to bridge the difference between the two, rarely interacted with one another, which kinda rendered the whole promise about learning from the Ultimates moot.
"What is this?" Eliza asked.
"Listen," Junko suggested.
The group of students was cheering for something. Then, Eliza's heart skipped a heartbeat when she realized they were celebrating her failure and impending expulsion from the academy.
"That American whore got just what she deserved."
"I don't know why Hope's Peak Academy decide to take in so many foreigners like that. As if our country doesn't have enough talents already."
"I'm the Ultimate De-inventor here. It took a lot of skills to sabotage her work, you know. Why can't I be in the main course?"
"Yeah, how come they get all the good stuff for free while we pay money to the Academy only to be treated like second-class?"
"Now that she's out, you think you can replace her?"
"STOP!" Eliza shrieked. "I don't want to hear this anymore." Her disappointment had all but evaporated and been replaced by a wave of anger so powerful she swore she could just run in there and ripped those fuckers to shreds with her bare hands before feasting on their juicy corpses.
"Now you see the conspiracy behind all of it," said Junko matter-of-fact. "You are a victim. So don't feel bad."
"We need to do something about it," Eliza cried. "Show this to the judges."
"And what?" asked Junko, looking disappointed as if she was expecting more from the Ultimate Tinker. "You can't just put the blame on them just because one of them is caught admitting on camera. Besides, do you know how rich and powerful these people are? How do you think these talentless curs even got into Hope's Peak Academy if not for money and relations?"
"There has to be something," Eliza growled. "Anything. How are we supposed to stand this injustice? My whole future is one the line here. I won't allow a bunch of common swine to ruin it."
Junko shrugged. "It's how things work around here. You should really know it better before coming here in the first place. Not everything in Hope's Peak Academy is rainbow and sunshine."
Eliza was dumbfounded. Her seething anger soon gave way to hopelessness as she realized no matter what she did, it wouldn't matter. What she was up against was the whole system in a foreign country that, so far, she had foolishly believed was rigged in her favor.
"I'm going to be expelled from the academy, aren't I?" Eliza muttered. "This is not fair. Not fair at all."
"Do I spy with my eyes a distressed lady?" Junko asked sarcastically. "Who will be the shining knight coming to he rescue? Wait, that's us right here!"
Eliza frowned. "You two?"
"Of course," said Junko. "We are your friends, remember?"
"Then tell me how," Eliza urged.
"This academy is built upon nothing but lies," Junko replied, giving out a rather serious expression. "There is something dark hidden beneath it. Can you see the gradual increase in the number of reserve course students? Ten years ago they were a minority, and now they outnumber us six to one. The amazingly special Hope's Peak Academy has shot itself in the foot by diluting its own student pool with a bunch of common folks. Less and less is the Ultimate Course focused on and, instead, all the fund has been channeled to someplace else."
"What should we do about it?" Eliza asked.
Junko went back to smiling as she stared into Eliza's eyes. "I intend to reveal its true nature to the whole world. Help us do it. Help us make the change, and your talent will finally be realized."
Eliza thought about it for a moment. Exposing the school's scandalous activities might not be beneficial to her education, or talent development for that matter, but she would lose by doing nothing anyway. She tried to imagine what her classmates would do if they were in her shoes.
Fitzgerald sent traitors and murderers behind bars.
Amelda testified against business crooks.
El Viento brought down an entire drug cartel.
Yume lost the use of his legs because he tried to save someone from a serial killer.
And as for Rin, her record in the Philippines was as exemplary as it was extraordinary.
"I'm in," said Eliza, confident that her classmates with their strong sense of justice would fully back her up. "Tell me what to do."
Day 9
Tartarus Keep
Library
4:00
This entire investigation felt so surreal. We were threatened on the pain of death by an evil teddy bear to uncover the culprit behind one of our friends' murder, and the only way to do so was to piece together evidence to understand what exactly happened during the time when all of us were under the influence of Fear Gas and, thus, had neither control over out actions nor awareness of our surroundings. It was like solving a mystery from a dream. Only this was a nightmare. And the nightmare was reality.
I doubted there was any evidence left in the dungeon, and it seemed Inori and Hokuto were covering the library for clues. Unlike the last trial, there were more places to examine with fewer people investigating. I needed to choose carefully.
Kitchen
Main Hall
Hallway and gallery
Bar
Laundry room
4:00
Laundry room
It appeared this unremarkable room had been spared from the carnage. Eliza was with me on this one, though she remained very stressed out by the ordeal. She had not fully recovered from the act and still refused to talk about it, only insisting without substantial evidence that it wasn't her who killed Ashley. I wished I could believe her, but that only meant the unwilling killer was someone else - that someone could very well be me. When the trial started, the Ultimate Tinker wouldn't be able to hide anymore.
"It's not me," she muttered as we searched for any clue. "It could not have been me. I didn't do it." I could feel self-loathing in her words. Perhaps I should talk to her about this at some point.
"Eliza, please," I calmed her.
"Yes, I'm sorry," she apologized. Her eyes wandered at me and then staring at her feet in shame.
"I know it's difficult to get over it," I told her. "I understand how you feel."
"You do?" she asked.
I decided to slip to her a bit about my own history. During our previous conversation together, Eliza revealed parts of her background to me; now it was my turn. Normally I didn't like talking about it, not out of embarrassment or unwillingness to admit my own weakness, but because of the bad memories it brought up. However, after the carnage I had witnessed in Tartarus Keep, this memory all of a sudden didn't seem as bone-chilling as it used to anymore. "When I was young, something very horrible happened right before my eyes and it traumatized me for years. I lost someone very important to me that day. I was not the same person ever since. Even now the incident continues to haunt me."
"Really?" Eliza breathed. "I didn't know."
"Let's talk about it later," I said, sighing. "Right now, we need to focus on the investigation. If you are convinced you didn't do it, then let's find the evidence to prove that, shall we?"
Eliza nodded, smiling weakly. "Of course."
Looking at the room more thoroughly, I found myself mistaken in my previous observation. There were bloody footprints on the floor, which I thought were just water spilling from the washing machines. The tiles were orange-red, so I couldn't tell the color of the liquid at first. If there were bloody footprints in the library, it was impossible to tell - the floor there was covered in crimson carpet and the mess already there made them quite indiscernible.
Tracing the bloody prints, we found our evidence: Kai's flats. As all of our clothes here, they were probably one of many pairs of replicates provided to us by Monokuma for the sake of looking consistent throughout the ordeal, the reason being the bear didn't bother learning about our appearance outside our outfits. Then again, the that we came from different species might be responsible for that. If I would have a hard time telling one cow apart from another in the same ranch without any means of marking them, then perhaps a similar cognitive process applied to animals in the case of humans as well.
As to be expected, there was a layer of dried blood on the flats' soles.
"This must be the place she took them off before ending up in the bar where I and Fitzgerald found her," I said.
"Are you sure about that?" Eliza questioned.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Look," said Eliza, holding up one flat for me to see. "See the dirt on it. Anything strange you notice?"
"It's from the inside of the shoe," I replied, noticing what she was talking about. "Dirt, rather than dust. Could not have come from the dungeon."
Upon inspecting, I noticed just how small the flats were - even my sister could wear them and she was thirteen years younger than I was. Recalling the age difference between myself and Alice sent a pang of pain upon me as if my stomach was churning open. When I asked my parents why we were born so far apart from each other, the answer I got was that the pain of losing a child, any child, to be unbearable, and after I nearly got killed, they wanted to make sure I was alright before they give birth to a second child. Even then, it took a while until things got right. Back in my middle school, I was both nerdy and puny, a perfect victim for bullying by the meaner kids out there. I remembered going home with bruises. My assets would disappear and I could do nothing but write them off. My parents were the pillars I could lean on. They spoiled me back then just as they were spoiling my sister right now.
To think after all their care and love, I still ended up in this God-forsaken castle forced to play some wicked game of life and death, and Alice permanently disabled like that, I could not imagine how sick and worry they were right now. Seeing how Monokuma could easily get a hold of our loved ones, I also felt sick and worry about my parents' current state myself.
"Exactly," Eliza continued, snapping me out of my thoughts about my family. "They are also ruined." She indicated several parts where the fabric had been torn away, mostly at the sole, which indicated either treading on difficult terrain or stomping on something. "Whoever used it must have been very sloppy."
"And we knew Kai took off her shoes, driven by the gas, and had her feet cut for that," I confirmed. When we found her, she could barely stand, let alone walk all the way to the laundry room. Therefore, we must conclude the shoes had been taken off beforehand.
Eliza and I searched the place over to make sure no clue escaped our notice. The hectic nature of the incident that led to the crime meant they might not even be related to the murder itself, yet any evidence to justify any person's innocence was still a step forward. The less we leave to speculation, the better.
After a few minutes, I came across Fitzgerald's jacket inside one of the washing machines. Now that I thought about it, I could recall Fitzgerald not wearing his usual trenchcoat after the gassing had stopped. As I was about to touch it, Eliza grabbed my arm to prevent me.
"Wait," she warned, hinting at the part that had been torn away. "It might not be safe to touch."
As I looked closer, the fabric had not been simply torn away - it was melting away. Some blue chemical was the cause of that, eating a large hole at the belly as if whoever wearing this had been shot with an anti-aircraft gun. Even now, after several hours, a trace of green substance remained. I now knew Fitzgerald had to take off his jacket because of it. Being a Private Detective and having run into troubles in the past, Fitzgerald was probably trying to hide something when he chose to dispose it inside a washing machine (which didn't work) rather than just taking it off and throwing to the floor.
"You're right," I stated. "I should have been more careful. Thanks for stopping me there."
With the help of a cloth hanger, we were able to extract the trenchcoat from the washing machine and, surprisingly, there was nothing to be found aside from the obvious chemical spill. All the pockets were emptied - Fitzgerald removing all personal items from his trenchcoat when he threw it away. There was also no sign Fitzgerald was intending to use the washing machine in the first place, evidenced by the knob being set at Wool even though the coat was cotton.
Whether this was evidence pointing to his salvation or damnation, I didn't know. For now, every clue must be accounted for.
Truth Bullet #5
Kai's flats
We can now confirm that Kai's shoes were used by someone else during the gassing. There is dirt inside the shoes. The soles of the flats have sustained damage.
Truth Bullet #6
Fitzgerald's trenchcoat
Fitzgerald disposed of his trenchcoat during the gassing and stuffed it into the washing machine. The trenchcoat is damaged by an unknown blue chemical that proved to be corrosive on cotton.
"That was great, Eliza," I said at last. "You were very insightful. I don't think I would have been able to handle that without you."
The Ultimate Tinkere blushed a bit at the compliment. "Well, I am the prime suspect around here," she pouted. "Just because I was there doing that doesn't mean I was the killer. That Hokuto is getting on my back. I need to work hard to throw him off. Like, really hard. As Edison said, 'genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration'."
"Let's keep it up, then," I told her encouragingly.
Now that the laundry room had been taken care of, with huge thanks to Eliza who pointed out my mistake not once but twice (she really proved helpful when putting her head into it), I should proceed to my next area of investigation.
Main Hall
Hallway and gallery
Bar
4:30
Hallway
"Are you feeling alright now?" I asked Inu who Inori stated was not in the condition to carry out the investigation. The Ultimate Patient, ironically now the best medical and forensic expert we had right now, concluded that he suffered from a concussion and was uncertain about his recovery. As it happened, he looked rather fine now. Even better than when I first met him, in fact. He was all shivering back then but now there was determination in the way he spoke and acted.
"No," he replied, taking deep breaths between sentences. "But I know that I am better than before. And I know none of us is feeling alright. Which is worse for you guys but better for me. I want to make up for what happened earlier." By that, he probably meant being completely absent from the first murder investigation up to the trial. "I want to help."
"Well, that's great," I agreed, admiring his determination. "Any idea about the Fear gas that was used on us?"
The fellow brightened up at the mention. "I'm glad you ask," he said. "As Fitzgerald pointed out, this gas, originally invented by Jonathan Crane, has been further modified." He held up an empty canister, not unlike the ones used by riot police apart for the distinctive half-black-half-white coloring which seemed to be the main theme around here. "Look. There is an instruction here too."
"Despair Gas," I read. This was going to be the term we would be using from now on. "Cause hallucinations, sensory distortion, hyperactiveness, memory loss, temporary reanimation of recently unconscious bodies. Whoever inhales the gas will truly know the meaning of despair upon despair as their worst fear manifests, even if it is only artificial and for a short while. Amount to be used: 20cc per dose, once per day. Keep away from children and pets. Does not work on people already diagnosed with HIV or terminal brain cancer."
"Did it say reanimation?" asked Yume.
"Could be just resuscitation," I replied. "Just what we need. Now we know the gas makes you get up and continue to act even if you have knocked out. Sounds reasonable. Monokuma couldn't just let anyone of us go unless someone is dead."
"There is truely no end to his evil," El Viento mused.
"This is an important clue indeed," Inu pointed out. "If Monokuma is hellbent on... destroying us, why would he be leaving it around so... obviously like that?"
"He wants us to have chance at solving the mystery," I said. "You heard him, right? The whole Mutual Killing Game is being broadcasted. Would it be more interesting that we have a glimmer of hope, or that we are faced with impossible challenges and predictably fail to overcome?"
"That's exactly the point," said Yume, looking down in disgust. "All of us just dying at once isn't what he is going for. In baking, there are specific rules about the time and heat required for each product. You can't just turn the double the heat on the oven and expect the patisserie to come out right in half time. Monokuma, that devious, demonic bear, wants to prolong our suffering as much as possible. It is his goal, after all. Nothing in this world disturbs me more than seeing my friends dying one by one like this." At this point, I could see tears dripping from his eyes.
"I guess you are right," I conceded.
"What is the point of going on anymore?" Yume sobbed. "Even if we win this round, another one of us will be dead. And then Monokuma will come up with new ways for us to kill each other again."
"Muster up your bravery, baker boy," El Viento snapped. "There is a purpose in our actions. As long as we are alive, as long as we are still fighting, there will come a day where the mastermind behind this is faced with justice, and all our friends' deaths will not have been for nothing."
"Do you believe that day will come?" asked Yume.
"Certainly," I told him. "Justice will be served in the end. In the meantime, we have no choice but to continue with this game. For our sake."
El Viento was about to say something when she lurched forward and began coughing uncontrollably. Then, she dropped another pile of vomit onto the rug.
"Are you alright?" I asked her, remembering how she reacted the same upon discovering Ashley's body. I noticed her eyes were bloodshot, almost akin to mine whenever I experience a sudden hemorrhage.
"Yeah," she said, wiping her mouth with her bare arm and then wiping it again onto the wall. "I'm better now. Perhaps that thing I drank wasn't too good."
"You drank something dying the gassing?" I asked. Given the lack of consciousness, she might have perceived it something different entirely. I certainly would love to hear the story behind it, but as Fitzgerald had warned, we simply didn't have time for that. While not specifically stated, the amount of time allotted for the investigation last time was three hours. Our activities during the gassing could be explained and scrutinized during the trial, but any evidence represented by a physical object would be lost unless we discover it during the investigation.
"Could it be... Inurium?" asked Inu.
"What is Inurium?" I asked, confused by the name.
"It's a substance I worked to create," Inu explained. "Sorry... for the bad name. I have not assigned any use for it yet, but I do know that consuming it will lead to digestive disorder."
"You have anything to cure it?" asked Yume.
"I do," said Inu. "I get it mixed up a lot, so I have this just in case."
The Ultimate Chemist produced a vial of blue chemical from his lab coat which El Viento thanked, took and drank from the vial in one single slurp. I frowned at her recklessness. Inu had not even given his instruction yet. If El Viento suddenly got turned into a mindless zombie or exploded like an overinflated balloon, I felt it was my fault as well for not stopping her. As neither of that happened and Inu seemed content, I guessed my woe was unfounded.
"Are you feeling any better now?" asked Yume.
"Slightly," said El Viento.
"It takes time for the potion to take effect," said Inu.
"Time is running out. We need to move on with the investigation," I urged. Normally, the response would have been asking El Viento whether she needed to sit down for a while and take a break, but I had interacted with her long enough to know she would certainly have rejected.
"Right on," El Viento agreed. "Now we know the effect of the gas, things are going to get even murkier from here." I couldn't agree more with her. Fitzgerald emphasized the importance of each person accurately telling their own experience during the gassing; the assumption being because no one knew they had committed the murder or not, they would have no reason to lie - it was essentially a game of Russian roulette. Yet, this discovery meant even unconscious people could be roaming around thanks to the gas without being able to recall what happened to them or what they did.
The four of us searched the place upside down. The state the hallway was in made it important to distinguish clues left behind by one incident from another, as each of them, on their own, could tell a story that would shed some light on what activities were happening here during the gassing.
There were several traces of several struggles throughout the hallway with some of the plant pots laid shattered. One of the two armor suits placed at the entrance to the gallery as like a duo of watchful sentinels had also fallen down. The armors looked very old albeit well-maintained, and I wondered had the Mutual Killing Game taken place six centuries earlier, would some of us have seized these suits as means of self-protection. Looking more closely, I found the helmet's noseguard, consisting of a piece of metal that protruded forward like the beak of a great bird, had blood on it, while every other piece appeared to be stainless. There was no other trace of blood surrounding the pile of metal either, suggesting it was unlikely to have been caused by splattering. Which meant the helmet must have come in direct contact with the injury of someone, perhaps used as a weapon.
"Whoever knocked down those armor over there wasn't responsible for this," said El Viento.
"What makes you so sure?" I asked. "Aside from the fact we still have three rows of intact suits between this and the mess over there?"
"Look," the Ultimate Luchador pointed out. "The pieces here are quite neatly together, suggesting it crumbled rather than being knocked down by force. I think, intentional or not, this was done by someone who tried to examine the suit a bit too hard, rather than as part of a struggle."
"I see," I concurred. "The helmet. There is blood on it. And it also lands quite far from the suit. If your hypothesis is that the armor had merely crumbled, would you think the helmet could have landed a bit closer? Its shape isn't that great for rolling around on the carpet."
"You think someone grabbed it as a weapon?" El Viento asked.
"Possibly," I replied.
"Your claim has power," El Viento nodded. "We must consider it part of another event."
We found the remnants of two of Inu's chemical vials (just how many he was carrying anyway?). One of them, intact but empty, was tagged as Inurium, confirming it was El Viento who drank it. The other was shattered and spilled its blue chemical content onto the rug, leaving a large hole on it and revealing the marble underneath.
"H202," said Inu. "Eats through... clothes quickly."
"Why do you even carry around such chemicals in the first place?" I asked. "Some of them don't seem quite safe." I still remembered Kai slipping on one of those dangerous chemicals that Inu inadvertently spilled while he went to the kitchen for his midnight snack. It melted her shoes, and nearly her feet, away. Unfortunately, as a piece of evidence, the chemical spill almost threw us off towards Inu's direction, compounded by the fact the fellow had a hard time defending himself in front of so many people, and allowed the true killer, Kazuki, to walk away.
One way or another, Inu going around with chemical vials in his coat could spell his/our doom.
"He's right," Yume added. "You don't look very well, Inu. All of those chemicals cannot be healthy for you."
"It's... a long story," said Inu shyly, reverting back to his former self. "Can I... tell you at another time?"
"You can choose not to if you want," I told him.
"No, I really want... to tell you," Inu insisted, his breathing heavier and more sporadic. "I just need... some time."
"Have as much as you want," Yume soothed. "As much as I hate to admit, we aren't going anywhere any time soon, are we?"
Inu smiled a bit. "Okay... Later."
The hallway, as a whole, looked as if a tornado had just passed by. I could not help put pitied the pots and the portraits; these decorations gave a warm and fuzzy feeling which lightened my mood each morning before I remembered the ordeal I was in. Then again, Monokuma would clean this place up in no time, and I wouldn't feel anything different, right?
El Viento, our expert in person-to-person combat, confirmed there must have been more than one brawl that took place here during the gassing. This was hardly surprising, considering I only had one forceful encounter with, without a doubt, the person I looked upon as the leper, but several of my classmates displayed clear injuries including Minako whom I took into my room with me. While I had my battle with my greatest childhood fear, it appeared others were also fighting for their lives against whatever imaginary threat they were perceiving.
"Hey, guys," Yume called. "Look at what I found." He pointed at a pair of scissors on the floor which, being wheelchair-bound, he could not reach.
I picked them up and examined them. At first, I admired the meticulous craft that created them, then I realized they looked just like the ones Hijiri attempted to kill me with. The memory was not a pleasant one. The palm of my right hand still bore the tinge from the assault, and I still sometimes struggle to make use of it.
The scissor being once again blood-soaked further made me uneasy.
"The disproportional blood on the blades confirms it," I said. "They were used as a weapon by a certain someone."
"Hijiri?" Yume asked. "I saw what happened to Tatsuya and Minako. They both have cuts. Do you think she..."
"That diablesa," El Viento said derisively. "And I thought she was ready to turn over a new leaf. Seniorita Rin was right. Maybe it's time we do something about her."
"Hold your hose, El Viento," Yume stopped her. "She might have acted more... aggressive than the others. But, golly, she is no more a victim of Despair Gas than anyone else. I'm sure she didn't mean to do it... this time. We should not blame her for them getting injured."
"Let's not jump to any conclusion here," I recommended. "As much as I have not forgiven her for nearly killing me, I think we should give her a chance in this. Besides, we didn't catch her in the act, which means anyone could have wielded those scissors. We should not put the blame on her just yet."
Since we knew that Kai's footwear was worn by someone else during the act, the same could apply to Hijiri's scissors as well. Possession didn't equal usage.
"Right," said El Viento. "But I am still watching out for her. Only two fates await a villain, redemption or damnation. Monokuma is beyond the first. I hope our Geisha won't be."
Truth Bullet #7
Despair Gas
The gas used by Monokuma as motivation for the second murder is a modified version of the fear gas. It causes the person to lose control of their actions in addition to experiencing hallucinations. It can also trigger the brain of a recently rendered unconscious person, causing the body to move on its own without them even aware of it. Item will be brought class trial for further examination.
Truth Bullet #8
Inu's chemical vials
The Ultimate Chemist two several of his vials containing chemicals during the struggle. One, containing Inurium, was drunk by El Viento. Another contained H2O2.
Truth Bullet #9
Crumbled armor
The suit of armor next to the gallery wasn't brought down by a struggle. Someone directly did something to it, intentional or not.
Truth Bullet #10
Bloodied helmet
The noseguard of the helmet is covered in blood. All other pieces of the armor are unstained. Given the previous Truth Bullet, this could have been the murder weapon.
Truth Bullet #11
Bloodied scissors
These scissors belonging to Hijiri were found in the hallway soaked in blood. The blood on the blade indicates they were used aggressively.
Now that the hallway was pretty much covered, I should be moving on to the next location. El Viento and Yume would go over with the gallery without me due to lack of time.
Main hall
Bar
5:30
Main hall
Entering the main hall, I found Tatsuya, Minako and Hijiri in their own investigation. Tatsuya was bandaged up from the numerous cuts on his arms and abdomen, none of which deep enough or hitting a vital spot to cause severe impairment. He was good to go.
Minako took a much graver injury to her upper arm, however, which during the gassing I interpreted as Alice without her whole arm. Seeing how the wound almost got infected had it not been for Inori and Fitzgerald's timely intervention, I felt a pang of guilt in my chest for not helping her out sooner. And I did know a thing or two about first aid from my time during summer camp in Israel (or at least I thought I knew); even if I was nowhere as proficient as the two aforementioned classmates, I could have done something to alleviate her suffering.
The idea that Hijiri was going to take part in this bothered me a bit, but I knew I must set my personal grievance aside if I were to survive in this. Besides, it seemed Hiriji had learned her lesson and was trying to make up for her past mistakes; therefore, I should give her a second chance.
"Hey," I called. "I came to check on you guys."
"Amelda-kun," Minako greeted me, forcing a smile. "Had the situation been different, I would have been as glad as a blooming tree to see you."
"I saw a number of clues added to our e-handbook," Hijiri remarked. "While I admire everyone's effort, I must still ask. Are we closer to solving this mystery?"
"I can't say for sure," I replied. As an accountant, I was loathed to say something like that, for a wild guess was still better than using concrete evidence and in-depth research only to come to the conclusion that I was uncertain.
"I see," replied Hijiri, disappointed.
"How goes the investigation on your end?" I asked. "Have you found anything?"
"As a matter of fact, we did," said Hijiri. The Ultimate Geisha seemed much calmer when away from where the corpse was. "Toshishai-san, may you tell him?"
"Ah,... w-w-well, yes," the Ultimate Delivery Boy stuttered. "As you can see, there's not much left of the dining table." He indicated the mess in the middle of the main hall. "From what I have deduced, based on the table seemed to have caved in at the middle, something large was likely thrown upon it with great force, causing the wood to splinter."
"Any idea what?" I asked.
"Well, that's the thing," said Hijiri coolly. "There is nothing we found that could have caused it. The only thing large enough around here is the throne, as well as the fridge in the kitchen. However, they are both in place."
"Maybe the table was crushed by a hippopotamus," Minako suggested. "I always knew they just love to be able to fly. I helped one before. It... didn't turn out well."
"A h-h-hippopotamus?" Tatsuya appeared frightened by the concept. "In this castle? W-w-where is it?"
"It might have run away," said Minako, putting her finger on her chin. "Or maybe it's hiding. Hey, Hippo-san, come out of your hiding. Come out, come out, wherever you are."
"Well, hippopotamus or not, we know that something huge broke this table," said Hijiri, trying to bridge a gap between Minako's imagination and reality. "And that 'something' is no longer here."
"Alright," said Tatsuya, seemingly relief that there was no hippopotamus inside this castle. We already had one overweight murderous animal to contend with, and that was one too many. "We also found t-t-this." The Ultimate Delivery Boy held up a revolver for me to see. I recognized it belonged to Fitzgerald.
As I checked the revolver, I noticed the cylinder had a single bullet case in it. I remembered Fitzgerald entrusted me with all the bullets he had which I had put away in a locker inside my room.
"I didn't know we had a gun," said Hijiri.
"Such foul object," Minako hissed at the sight of a firearm. Her face contorted into an expression of disgust as she turned away from it. I had not seen her so agitated before.
"It belonged to Fitzgerald," I said. Though I had promised to keep this a secret between him and myself, I couldn't see how this could not be traced back to him during the trial. Besides, as an auditor, I could not overlook the fact the gun was fired at least once during the gassing.
"Highly suspicious indeed," Hijiri continued. The two of us had a closer look at the gun. "Another chamber is covered in some sort of white powder. Is it gunpowder?"
"Can't be," I replied. "Gunpowder can't be that obvious. It would ruin the mechanism."
"But we can confirm he fired the weapon during the gassing, can we?" Hijiri went on.
"Possibly," I replied. "Did you find any bullet hole?"
"No," said Tatsuya. "We thought about t-t-t-that as well, but there's none we can s-s-see."
"Maybe the bullet flew off to the ceiling," Hijiri suggested. "Or maybe it was embedded into someone else."
"But that doesn't make any sense," I breathed. "I have all the bullets. Fitgerald gave it to me."
"Are you sure he gave you all of them?" Hijiri pressed.
I hesitated. "I don't know." Once again, I hated myself for having to give such an answer that only served to point out my weakness in both information gathering and trusting of others.
"Then maybe we should ask him during the trial," said Hijiri. "After all, it's his idea that we save our story for it."
"But that means we need to tell the rest about what we f-f-f-fear most," said Tatsuya. "Aren't you e-e-embarrassed?"
"Of course I am," Hijiri stated insouciantly. I noticed her attitude was slowly reverting back to before she tried to murder me. I wondered if was a good or a bad thing. "But all of us will have to let it out, right? If we are all embarrassed by our secret,..."
"Then none of us should feel embarrassed," I finished.
"It... still feels not right," Tatsuya murmured. I wondered what he saw that made it so averse to disclose to others.
"Don't worry," I assured him. "It's going to be alright. We all have our less-than-glorious moments. What's important is that we stick together."
First the jacket. Then the chemical spill. And now this. Dirty Fitzgerald had gotten a lot to explain once the trial began, and I hoped he didn't come up with that idea to put himself as an advantage at the expense of the rest of us. I looked forward to hearing about his story.
At the scene, there was also a noose of rope that had been cut off from the rest attached to the ceiling. Ashley, the Ultimate Pranking Queen, was responsible for this contraption which led to El Viento hanging upside down (she loved it) during the morning on the day right after the first trial. I didn't realize at all it had been still there since then. By the look of it, someone probably got entangled and had cut this down, presumably to free themselves.
A person caught in the trap would be hung from the ceiling seven meters above the ground. Falling from such a height after frantically freeing themselves, someone could end up with severe injury if they didn't land properly. Since the cause of death was presumably brain trauma, this detail should not be ignored.
"Did someone rearm Ashley-chan's trap?" asked Minako. "At first, I thought it was inconsiderable of her to set it up in the first place. As with guns, many wild animals have fallen victim to human contraptions, a testament to our proficiency as ruthless killers. Then I saw how happy El Viento-chan was..." The Ultimate Herbalist began to sob as she recalled the memory she had with Ashley. The two of them were quite close, even if it was Ashley teasing Minako who proved to be an easy target due to her naivety. After the death of Akihiko who clearly had a crush on Minako, it was Ashley who gave her the sentimental boost she needed.
First Akihiko, now Ashley. Minako seemed to have the worst luck with making friends around here.
"It's alright," I told her. "I'm sure she's in a better place right now. Either God or Mother Earth would have taken her in. Same as Akihiko and Kazuki. We are both religious, aren't we? Have faith."
"Yeah," Minako sniffed as she wiped her tears away. I suppose... that's one way to put it."
"Back to the investigation, if not Wiltarow herself, who else?" Hijiri pointed out. "She might have seen things differently, but the knowledge required to operate something like this is exclusive to her. Had she been alive, we might have been able to learn why."
It seemed even in her death, Ashley's legacy would continue to plague us. Her testimony, if we could somehow extract given she was as dead as a doorknob, would have been invaluable to us.
"Don't forget Hokuto," Tatsuya blurted. "He is very familiar with h-h-hauling mechanics. He even offered to help me with more efficient s-s-sorting and d-d-delivery systems."
"Really?" I echoed. "Let's take note of that."
"It's not like I am s-s-suspecting him or anything," Tatuya explained shakily. "It's just..."
"It's fine," Hijiri said. "The whole case is as clear as mud even with all the clues we've found. As it stands, any of us here could be the murderer and they might not even know it. It could very well be... me."
"Then I shall leave this to God's judgment," I admitted. "Even if I turn out the blackened, I will still do anything I can so you guys can have another chance at it."
Truth Bullet #12
Smashed table
The table was smashed with great force, likely the result of something huge being dropped on it. There is no indication of what object was used to have caused it.
Truth Bullet #13
Ashley's contraption
The trap used on El Viento earlier was reactivated during the gassing. It caught someone and help them upside down. Whoever it caught didn't stay there for long, as they are able to cut their way out. The position of the rope suggests the dropping of this person did not result in the smashed table in the previous Truth Bullet. What was used to cutting the rope wasn't clear.
Truth Bullet #14
Fitzgerald's gun
The revolver was found in the main hall. One chamber still had a bullet case while another was filled with some sort of white powder.
As I looked on the e-handbook, two more Truth Bullets were added to the list.
Truth Bullet #15
Flour on Ashley's body
Traces of flour was found on the victim's body. It is confirmed that no one comes into contact with this before the gassing.
Truth Bullet #16
Bloodied bottle shards
Aside from the pile where Kai danced on barefooted, several blood-soaked shards were found next to the door. The bottle was broken upon being tossed, injuring someone else.
"The following decree addressed all subjects beholden to Overlord Monokuma. Investigation time is over. That means all of you bastards must arrive at the main hall for the upcoming trial. And I don't care how injured or hungry or tired or upset or bored or frantically despaired you are (hopefully the latter). No-show will not be tolerated."
Within minutes of Monokuma's announcement being broadcasted across the castle, what's left of the class gathered at the main hall to prepare for the second fight for their life within two days. Most looked haggard and down, while Fitzgerald was the only person maintaining an air of confidence. I wondered if his expression meant he had gotten to the bottom of this, or he was satisfied with his elaborate ploy to fool us all.
One thing for sure was that, unlike the first trial, the condemned would be guilty of only being unable to control their own actions as a result of Despair Gas. The knowledge that someone who never intended on committing murder in the first place would be punished unsettled us. Kazuki met his end for his transgression in killing Akihiko believing he did so for a noble cause, but the second trial would bring no justice whatsoever, only another meaningless death.
Today was probably the darkest chapter in most of our lives. And the worst probably had yet to come.
Yet, we must fight on. We must do our best to stay alive and protect others.
"Put your bear ears up and listen carefully, Monokuma," Rin proclaimed. "We are only playing along with you a little longer. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow or the day after that. But justice will be served in the end. And you will be made to pay for all of this. I swear it."
"Not the first time I heard that," Fitzgerald commented.
"At this point, not even I can be so optimistic," Yume agreed.
"We are just saving our asses here," said Hokuto. "It's like a game of gladiators where the slaves fight one another, all the while the true deciders of their fate, their masters, gloat.
"Trapped in this cruel game," said Hijiri poetically. "Friendship and justice falter. The only way out, kill."
"Don't be like that," El Viento admonished. "Brush up your courage. We will confront this madness together."
"Such defiance," Monokuma sniggered. "Seeing you all in such hopeless ignorance sends tears of joy to my eyes. As the game goes on, I can't wait to see the look on your faces when you realize the truth behind it all."
Much as I despised Monokuma, I had always had a feeling there was more to the Mutual Killing Game than to gain viewership from a bunch of sadistic audiences. Now that the bear himself had said it, I wondered what I would find out as the game progressed and the mystery unfolded.
Like with so many of my unhappy memories, I doubted I even wanted to know it.
Author's note: It's been two years since I left this story. Ever since I started working, things haven't been very kind to me. Needless to say, I had neither the time nor the spirit to continue writing this.
However, after reading some of the stories on this site, I am encouraged to continue writing. A shoutout to all authors of Danganronpa SYOC out there. Keep up what you are doing. You are the inspiration I have in overcoming my personal struggle.
Back to the story, I will have the previous chapters all updated for a better reading experience. I really enjoy writing these "History of Despair" snippets, as it portrays the characters in a different light than what we see them so far.
Hope you enjoy it. I will see you next time.