And here we are with the investigation chapter! Wonder if you'll guess who killed our Ultimate Student correctly with the clues given.
Chapter 1-5: Pure Love True Hate- Deadly Life: Investigation
It was like she wasn't in control of her body anymore. She couldn't force herself to look away from the scene in front of her. Everything else seemed to fade into the background as the body of Konohana became the focus of all her senses. There was a faint sound the seemed to steadily grow louder, though, slowly cutting through her frozen state.
Was that a scream? But who was... Oh, it was Gerard who was screaming. It was pure reflex on Hanako's part that made her grab the other before she could race off towards the body.
"Let go! I can save her! I can bring her back!" Gerard begged as she struggled against Hanako's grip.
"Gerard, just wait!" Hanako yelled.
"What's going on?" Noburo's voice was suddenly heard as he walked up behind the two. "What could possibly make you two so loud, so early in the morn..." He trailed off when he pushed past them and saw the body by the pool.
Just as he did, a little chime was heard throughout the building before Monomaho's voice was heard.
"A body has just been discovered! Everyone please gather in the backyard where the crime scene is!"
Monomaho's disturbingly cheerful voice as she delivered that news still rung in Hanako's head as the footsteps of the rest of her classmates were heard approaching them.
"Oh my goodness..." Cora said numbly as she stared at the body. "I-I can't believe... But last night... We were getting along so well..."
"Oh please, this was going to happen sooner or later." Chase said casually, a little smirk teasing his face. "Seems that motive was enough for someone to finish the job."
"How can you say that?! Konohana just died!" Takeshi said, shaking lightly as Atsushi placed a hand on his shoulder to ground him.
"I mean, it's not like she's going to stay dead, right? We literally have the Ultimate Necromancer here." Yvette said casually.
"Oh no no no!" Monomaho said as she appeared again in a puff of smoke. "I will not have this ruined because of that! I forbid Gerard from using any necromancy to revive any victim!"
"That's not fair!" Gerard complained.
"Those are the rules, and you will listen to your teacher!" Monomaho countered. The magical cat panted a bit after yelling before returning to her cheerful persona. "Oh~ This is so exciting! Now, we get to move on to the next part of our game!"
"Next part?" Loch asked, confused.
"Why yes! It's time to investigate the murder! You all have a limited amount of time to investigate and gather clues to help you figure out who the killer is in a Class Trial! Isn't that exciting~? And just because I'm such a nice teacher, I'll give you all this!" Monomaho waved her wand before more puffs of smoke appeared and tablets dropped into the students' hands.
"What's this?" Hanako asked as she looked at the tablets.
"These are special devices that will allow you to collect your evidence without worrying about accidentally forgetting about it during the trial. I added a Monomaho File to get you all started!" Monomaho giggled.
"How... generous." Phoebe said.
"You're very welcome~ Now, no more dilly dallying, let the investigation start!" Monomaho said before she disappeared.
"Do we really have to do this?" Cora asked nervously.
"If we want to live, yes." Mila said bluntly.
"Eh, should be interesting. Never tried to find a murderer before." Aster said with a shrug.
"Regardless of how we all feel, we should establish who will... guard the body, so nobody tampers with it." Phoebe said.
"Eh, I'll do it. I'm the best suited for it anyways, and keeps me from having to talk to everyone." Noburo offered.
"You all don't deserve it, but I will guard it as well." Yvette said.
"Why do you want to be a guard?" Hanako asked.
"I'd rather not investigate, it's below my talents." Yvette said, causing Hanako to sigh in frustration.
"Why did I think it would be something different?" The witch muttered.
"Alright, now that that's taken care of, let us officially start." Phoebe said before everyone went to gather clues their own way.
"Well, I guess I should start with that file." Hanako said as she held up the tablet and opened the file that was preprogrammed on it.
"The victim is Konohana Nire, the Ultimate Student. She died at 1:30 AM by freezing. There is a injury at the back of her head."
Truth Bullet Collected
Monomaho File #1
"1:30 AM? So it happened while we were all asleep. That's going to make it hard." Hanako said before she decided to head over to the body, where Noburo was investigating it and Yvette was watching him, looking bored.
"Hm, that's interesting." Noburo muttering was heard as she got closer.
"What is?" Hanako asked.
"Oh, it's you." Noburo sighed. "Well, might as well tell someone, I guess. Konohana shows signs of rapid set hypothermia, she didn't die instantly, but close enough to it. She was alive long enough to climb out of the pool."
"That's sounds like a horrible way to go." Hanako said, shivering lightly at the thought.
"It happens more often than you think. Probably doesn't help that our killer took advantage of Yuria's habits." Noburo said, as he stood back up.
"Yeah, but why the injury to the head?" Hanako asked.
"My guess, they just wanted to make sure she was killed." Noburo shrugged.
"Maybe..." Hanako said as she thought about it.
Truth Bullets Collected
Hypothermia
Odd Injury
"Too bad we can't get the answers from her ourselves." Noburo sighed.
"No, but maybe she can give us a hint." Hanako said before turning to Yvette, who noticed when the attention was on her.
"Not that I don't mind showing off my magic, but why should I?" Yvette asked, crossing her arms.
"I doubt you want to die from not finding the killer." Hanako countered.
Yvette sighed as she uncrossed her arms. "Fine. I guess I can help more than I already am." She said before she brought her cane up and tapped it on the ground, concentrating. "Hmm... There's an odd energy coming from the right."
Hanako looked to the right of them, seeing the cut off from the pool to the grass and saw something in the grass. She walked up to it and picked it up, discovering it was a note, the writing rather elegant.
'Meet me at the pool at 1 AM. Your Sight will be restored then.'
"Her Sight?" Hanako asked.
Truth Bullet Collected
Discarded Note
"So, she was just out here on a whim, someone lured her out here." Hanako said before turning back to the two. "Do you two know if you might've saw anything last night after the party ended?"
"No, I was asleep. I chose a spot near the TV since I didn't feel like moving. Although, I guess I did feel a slight shiver, but I don't retain heat well, so I figured it was that." Noburo shrugged.
"I chose a spot near the entrance door. When I was trying to sleep, I did feel a breeze go by me." Yvette commented.
Truth Bullets Collected
Noburo's Sleep Position
Yvette's Sleep Position
"Alright, thank for the info." Hanako said.
"Whatever." Noburo said as Yvette merely scoffed.
Hanako headed back to the door and saw Gerard and Cora staring at something.
"What're you two looking at?" She asked as she walked up.
"There's something caught on the door, we think it might be evidence." Gerard said as she pointed to a piece of fabric caught on the door.
"You think it might be from someone's pajamas?" Cora asked.
"It looks like it, hard to tell from what though. It's dark in color, I can tell that." Hanako said. "Oh, before I forget, do you two remember anything from last night and where you slept?"
"I know that I was really cold since I decided to sleep near Yuria. We slept near the TV." Gerard said.
"I was near the karaoke machine when I slept, but something did wake me up a bit. I thought I heard someone singing but I thought I was still dreaming." Cora said.
"Hm, so I wasn't the only one who heard that."
Truth Bullets Collected
Dark Piece of Fabric
Gerard's Sleep Position
Cora's Sleep Position
Mysterious Voice
"Thanks for the information." Hanako said.
"Oh, you're welcome!" Gerard smiled.
"Yes, good luck on your investigation." Cora said as Hanako headed inside.
She walked down the hall back to the living room between the bedroom hallways. When she made it back, she saw the room was still set up from the slumber party, which left a bittersweet feeling. She was brought out of her feelings when she felt someone bump into her. She looked back and saw Loch standing there.
"Hey there Hanako, have you seen my fishing rod? I can't seem to find it since I woke up." Loch asked.
"No, I don't think so. But before you go, could you tell me where you slept last night?"
"Oh, sure thing! I was sleeping by the snack table." Loch easily said.
Hanako looked back at the room, seeing the snack table was at the opposite wall from the TV.
"If that's all, I need to keep looking!" Loch said before he walked off.
Truth Bullets Collected
Missing Fishing Rod
Loch's Sleeping Position
She stepped further into the room and walked over to the karaoke machine.
"If there was someone singing, it should be from here." She said to herself as she checked the song list. "Here we go, there's an extra song on the list. I wish it would tell me which song was for who."
Truth Bullet Collected
Song list
"What are you doing?" Takeshi asked as Atsushi and him walked up.
"I'm looking everywhere I can for anything that might help our case." Hanako explained.
"Oh, then we can help!" Takeshi said as he looked at Atsushi.
"We can?" Atsushi asked.
"Yeah, we were one of the first ones up." Takeshi said.
"Right, along with Phoebe, Chase, and Yuria." Atsushi added.
"Both of us slept near the snack table along with Phoebe, while Chase chose to sleep by the boy's hallway. He was complaining how cold it was sleeping last night." Takeshi explained.
Truth Bullets Collected
Students awake early
Everyone's Sleep Position (Updated)
Hanako glanced at the boy's hallway and saw it was beside the karaoke machine.
"He seems like a spoiled asshole so he just didn't like sleeping on the floor." Atsushi commented.
"That's not very nice." Takeshi reprimanded as Hanako decided to let them have their little spat, if you could call it that, and walked away.
She left the room and headed down the hall before she nearly tripped on something.
"Very graceful, aren't you?" Aster said as him and Mila walked up.
"Normally, but my foot caught on something." Hanako said as she looked where she tripped, seeing a somewhat long piece of wood with metal loops on it.
"Is that a fishing rod?" Mila asked as she picked it up. "If it was, it's not one anymore. It's broken."
"Well, I guess I can tell Loch what happened to it." Hanako said.
"You don't think he's the killer, do you? He would honestly be too stupid to do it." Aster said.
"Why do you say that?" Hanako asked.
"I doubt that boy could lie properly. Besides, I have a good idea on who did it anyways." Aster shrugged.
"You do? Who?" Mila asked.
"I'm not telling. It would ruin the fun and make it boring." Aster said with a smirk. "And there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise."
"Really? We all might die and you're just going along with this so you aren't bored?" Hanako asked, frustrated.
"Pretty much, yeah." Aster nodded.
"What's this?" Mila said, cutting off Hanako's response as she pulled some long strands of hair off from the rod.
"Looks like our killer didn't clean up very good." Aster said.
"Yeah, but it could be from Konohana." Hanako suggested.
"I suppose." Aster said.
Truth Bullets Collected
Broken Rod (Updated)
Strands of Hair
"By the way, could you two tell me where you slept last night?"
"I was in the furthest corner away from everyone." Mila answered.
"I slept by the karaoke machine, but I had a hard time sleeping because of the breeze I felt." Aster shrugged.
"Hm, like some of the others." Hanako said.
Truth Bullets Collected
Everyone's Sleep Position (Updated)
Breeze during the night
"Well, thanks for the info anyways." Hanako said.
"If you're looking for the others, I saw Koichi down that way." Aster said, pointing down the hall.
"I'll go talk to them, then." Hanako said as she walked down the direction Aster pointed, seeing Koichi standing by Konohana's Ultimate Lab.
"How come you're out here, Koichi?" Hanako asked.
"I was thinking, I didn't sleep with everyone else last night." Koichi said.
"You didn't? Why not?" Hanako asked.
"I couldn't sleep. So I decided to go to my room so I wouldn't wake anyone." Koichi explained.
"Wait, so does that mean you saw the killer?"
"No." Koichi shook their head sluggishly. "Sorry."
"Oh..." Hanako sighed as she shook her head. "Well, is there anything you can tell me?"
Koichi seemed to think for a bit before nodding. "When I did come out of my room in the morning, I saw something shiny behind the TV stand and picked it up." They said as they pulled out the reel for the fishing rod.
"Oh!" Hanako said as she looked at it, and saw a bit of blood on it.
"Yeah, you think this'll help?" Koichi asked.
"I think it will very much."
Truth Bullets Collected
Koichi's Alibi
Bloody Reel
"You actually find something that will help?" Kenzo asked as he stepped out of the Ultimate Lab
"Hana seems to think so." Koichi said. "Did you find anything?"
"And what were you doing in there?" Hanako asked. "Didn't pick you out for the studious type."
"Ha ha." Kenzo deadpanned. "I was seeing if the victim's Lab had anything to do with her death. But there was nothing out of place."
"Well, there goes that route. What about last night?" Hanako asked.
"There wasn't really anything that important." Kenzo crossed his arms. "Other than someone telling me to pass a note during karaoke."
"Wait, really?" Hanako asked.
"I didn't stutter, did I? I don't remember who told me to since I was busy watching the singing, but they told me to give it to Konohana."
"That early?"
Truth Bullet Collected
Note passing
"That early? What do you mean?" Koichi asked.
"I need to think about it before I say anything for sure." Hanako explained.
Before Kenzo could get his own question in, an announcement went off.
"Hello everyone, the investigation period is now over! Please gather in the entrance hall to head to the trial hall!"
"Sounds like we should get going." Koichi said.
"Right." Hanako said as the three of them headed to the entrance hall, seeing the others had gotten there before them.
"Well, everyone is here. What now?" Yuria asked.
"Didn't Monomaho say the way to the trial hall was here?" Chase said as he looked around.
"Yep! I did!" Monomaho said as she appeared. "If one of you would be so kind as to push that button on the wall~" She said, pointing to a button in the shape of Monomaho's head.
Nobody moved for a while before Aster decided to step up.
"Come on, let's get going people." He said as he went up and pushed the button, causing the hall beside it to slide up and reveal an elevator.
"Everyone in~" Monomaho said as everyone slowly stepped into the elevator. Once everyone was in, the wall closed up again and the elevator went down.
'Konohana, she was a sweet, if a bit spacy girl. I don't see how anyone would want to kill her, but someone did. And that someone, is one of us!'
You have no idea how much I was struggling with figuring out how to make the Truth Bullets so I didn't give everything away. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and try to figure out who the Blackened is. See y'all later!