A/N: Here's Chapter Two Deadly Life Part Five. Please read, review, and enjoy!
Danganronpa 4: Next Generation Killing!
Chapter Two: A Thin Line Divides Heaven and Hell!
Deadly Life Part Five: Kirumi or Ryoma?
"So, what're we gonna do now?" Seven asked as he rubbed the back of his head. "We're back to square one."
"We've already determined that Snake's body was in the piranha tank." Keebo bit his lip, his eyes crossed in pensive thought. "Perhaps if we focus on who had access to the piranha tank before the magic show, we can narrow down our list of suspects."
"While Clover's innocence has not yet been completely determined, we should discuss who else had had access to the gym during the time of the murder." Ace commented.
"Yeah, but we haven't even determined the time of death." Tsumugi pointed out. "How are we going to narrow down who could have thrown Snake's body in the piranha tank if we still don't when Snake died?"
"Actually…" Everyone turned towards Kiki as she stated, "…It's actually pretty obvious when Snake was murdered, if you think about it."
"Then when is it?!" Clover demanded. "When did my brother die?!"
When was Snake's time of death? It wasn't during the magic show…I know it wasn't after the magic show…That's the one! "It was before the magic show, probably during nighttime, while we were asleep."
"So Snake was killed while we were all asleep?" Lotus asked before Kiki nodded.
"So that means the culprit probably snuck into the gym and threw Snake's body in the piranha tank while we were all asleep."
"But that means any of us could have killed Snake!" Seven realized.
"I agree." Ace concurred. "We need more information if we're going to narrow down a group of suspects, let alone the culprit."
"Then let us calmly and rationally discuss how to narrow down our suspect list." Keebo suggested.
It's true that any of us could have gone to the gym the night of the murder… Kiki thought as she glanced around at the other survivors, biting her lip anxiously. But some of us are clearly more suspicious than others. We have to address those suspicions, or we'll never bring justice for Snake's death!
"Alright, which one of you bastards went to the gym?!" Clover demanded, her eyes narrowing in anger.
"It would have to have been last night during nighttime." Seven reminded them.
"I was a-asleep!" Teruaki stammered.
"That goes for me as well." Ace commented. "I was asleep in my bed."
"Were Clover or Lotus up late preparing for the magic show?" Tsumugi pondered.
"No, none of us were awake after nighttime." Lotus denied.
"Gonta obeyed the nighttime curfew. After all, gentlemen go early to bed, and early to rise!"
"Well, you can't all be telling the truth." Sokyu muttered.
"Yes." Keebo nodded. "There must be someone who was awake during nighttime."
Kiki focused like a laser on Keebo's musings and pointed at the pondering robot. "I agree with you! Keebo's right; there were people awake during nighttime."
"Th-there were?!" Keebo exclaimed in shock.
"Wait, does that mean that there were two killers?" Clover wondered. "Did they work as each other's accomplices? Does that mean we have to vote for two culprits now?"
"That is unlikely." Ace shook his head. "Remember the school regulations? Only the one who actually kills someone would get to graduate."
"That's right!" Everyone turned towards Monokuma, who explained, "You're allowed to have an accomplice, but an accomplice gets diddly-squat!"
"Well, I guess that means nobody would work with an accomplice then." Lotus concluded.
"Yeah, there's no point if there's no reward for helping someone else." Seven agreed. "Plus, it gives the true culprit a liability that they'd need to deal with."
"A-Anyway…" Kiki began, trying to get the conversation back on track. "Can we agree that this case has only one culprit?"
After everyone nodded, Clover demanded "So? Who're the suspicious people who were up and about at night?"
The students who were awake and not in their rooms at nighttime…it wasn't Lotus and Clover…it wasn't Teruaki and Sokyu…it wasn't Snake and Ace…that's the one! "It was Kirumi and Ryoma."
"Wait, so either Kirumi or Ryoma killed Snake?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"…They did have an opportunity to…" Mokubo commented.
"I bet it was Ryoma!" Koto exclaimed.
"Yeah, he already has a history of killing!" Kiri agreed before her mother shook her head.
"Don't jump to conclusions right away. None of us would have thought Kaede would have killed someone, but she ended up being the blackened of the last trial, am I wrong?"
Everyone's eyes lowered before Maki suggested, "Let's just see where this goes. Maybe they have an explanation."
"Wait, so Kirumi and Ryoma were up during nighttime?!" Seven exclaimed.
"Yeah, I talked with Ryoma during the investigation, and he told me that he couldn't sleep."
"…I did say that…" Ryoma admitted. "I took a walk, and afterwards I was so tired I fell asleep."
"It's the same for me as well." Kirumi nodded. "I also felt restless and took a walk. When I came back, I felt so tired that I practically collapsed on my bed."
"…I don't buy it." Lotus narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "It's still really suspicious that you guys were up at night."
"I understand your reasonings…" Kirumi nodded. "However, I did not kill Snake."
"I didn't kill him, either." Ryoma shrugged.
"There's no way both of you are innocent!" Clover angrily pointed at the two of them. "One of you is obviously guilty!"
"L-Let's not rush to judgment here." Kiki stammered.
"She's right, we have to think about this calmly and rationally." Keebo advised. "There is a nonzero possibility that both of them are telling the truth."
"Then why don't we try to examine their alibis?" Ace suggested. "That should prove if they are truly innocent or not."
"Very well, then I shall defend myself from your accusations." Kirumi narrowed her eyes as she insisted, "For I am not the blackened in this trial."
Ryoma stayed silent, though his brow seemed to furrow worriedly. Kiki frowned as she thought Kirumi and Ryoma are obviously suspicious. They both say that they just went for a midnight walk and returned to their rooms. But…is that the whole truth? Or…is there something that they're not telling us…?
Kiki's dreadful thoughts were interrupted as Ace began "So, you both say that you went for a walk?"
"That is correct." Kirumi repeated "I woke up after nighttime and couldn't get back to sleep."
"I didn't fall asleep at all." Ryoma told the others.
"What a load of crap!" Clover grumbled.
"Regardless, it is the truth." Kirumi insisted. "Neither Ryoma nor I had the opportunity to commit this crime."
"So, what now?" Seven wondered, rubbing the back of his head. "One of them must have been in the gym."
Kiki bit her lip as the courtroom fell silent, pondering Seven's words. Seven's right; there's no way neither of them were in the gym. But nobody gave any clues as to which of them were in the gym. "Sorry, but can you guys repeat what you just said?"
"Huh?" Lotus furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why do we need to do that?"
"Well…I think we might have a clue…but I just need to hear everyone's statements one more time."
After a moment, Lotus shrugged. "Well, you heard her. Let's repeat this debate one more time, shall we?"
With an audible groan from the others, Ace restarted the debate. "So, you both say that you went for a walk?"
"I didn't fall asleep at all."
"What a load of crap!"
"Regardless, it is the truth. Neither Ryoma nor I had the opportunity to commit this crime."
At that moment, Seven's words flashed in her mind. No…one of them must have been in the gym! Kiki narrowed her eyes and pointed at Kiki, refuting "No that's wrong! Kirumi, you told us that you only went for a walk…but…" Kiki sighed. "…That's not the truth, is it?"
Kirumi furrowed her brow as she frowned, her podium pulling to the center. "And why do you believe that…?"
"Well…when I met up with you in front of Shuichi's room, you told me that you spent some time helping to finalize preparations in the gym last night."
"What the…you lied!" Clover spat angrily as she pointed at the surprised maid. "You said you weren't anywhere near the gym!"
"…My apologies." Kirumi sighed. "I knew that admitting it would only cause you to suspect me, and that would distract us from determining the true culprit. Nevertheless, I should not have lied to you about where I was. My deception has only made me look even more suspicious, and for that, I sincerely apologize."
"So you're not the culprit?" Lotus asked, quirking her brow.
Kirumi shook her head. "Of course not; I had no motive to kill Snake. Also, as I told Kiki, I was only in the gym to make sure all the mechanisms were working properly. I was only in there for a matter of minutes, no more."
"She couldn't have drowned Snake, set up the pane as a partition, and thrown his body in the piranha tank in such a short time." Keebo concluded.
"So that means Kirumi's innocent!" Gonta beamed with relief. "Gonta knew she was innocent!"
"Still, the fact that she was in the gym at all is suspicious." Ace commented with a frown. "Who's to say she didn't take those few minutes to set up the murder, leave to drown Snake somewhere else, then return to the gym to throw his body in the tank?"
"Th-that's right!" Teruaki stammered as he pointed at Kirumi. "She could have e-easily don't that!"
Ace and Teruaki both bring up a good point. Kiki reluctantly admitted. We still haven't determined exactly where Snake was drowned. Before we can determine the culprit, we have to settle where he died. "Ano…can we just take a moment to discuss the location of the murder?" Kiki asked.
"Who cares where my brother was killed?!" Clover complained. "No matter where she did it, it's obvious that Kirumi's the prime suspect!"
"Yeah, I'd say she's incredibly suspicious." Lotus concurred. "The fact that she lied to us certainly didn't win her any favors."
"Her deception aside, we should discuss this." Keebo argued. "Discussing the location of Snake's death will allow us to come to a logical decision without any regrets."
"Yeah, I don't see the harm in talking about it." Seven muttered.
"Okay, then let's talk about where Snake was drowned." Tsumugi suggested.
"This is totally a waste of time…" Clover grumbled, causing Kiki to sigh.
Kirumi's really suspicious, I can't deny that. But we need to know all the facts. We need to be on the same page. As long as there's something we haven't discussed, we can't reach a fair verdict!
"Alright, they're finally gonna talk about where Snake was killed!" Koto exclaimed.
"Obviously it was the pool." Kiri commented.
"We know that, but only Kiki investigated the pool." Maki pointed out.
"Indeed…" Kyoko nodded. "It's all up to Kiki to convince them that Snake was drowned in the pool."
"Don't worry." Makoto smiled optimistically. "Kiki will prove it to them."
"Yeah…she will…" Mokubo muttered hopefully as they watched the debate ensue.
"So where was Snake drowned?" Gonta wondered, his eyes lowered in confusion.
"It h-had to be the t-tank, r-right?!" Teruaki stammered.
"What, you mean the main tank?" Clover asked before Lotus shook her head.
"We already discussed this. He was probably drowned in the piranha tank."
"Well, what about the pool?" Seven asked.
Ace frowned. "That's not possible. The rules state you can't go in the pool during nighttime."
"So there's no evidence that he was drowned in the pool?" Keebo wondered.
Kiki focused on Keebo's question as she pointed at the humanoid robot. "No that's wrong! There was evidence that Snake drowned in the pool!"
"There was?!" Keebo exclaimed as Ace pursed his lips.
"Then please, tell us what this evidence is."
Kiki nodded and explained. "I investigated the pool on a hunch, and I found some scratch marks on the side of the pool that weren't there when the other girls and I had our slumber party."
"But what could have caused those scratch marks?" Tsumugi pondered as she bit her lip in contemplation. "Even if Snake struggled, I doubt he had anything on him that would have damaged the pool's architecture."
"Actually, he did."
"He did?!" Tsumugi's eyes widened as she demanded "What was it?! Was he also a wielder of the hidden blades?!"
How would he have brought hidden blades in here? Kiki sweatdropped before she shook the thought away. The evidence that proves Snake was able to damage the rim of the pool… Kiki sifted through her memories of the investigation, cycling through all the evidence she had uncovered before she realized, That's the one! "Remember when we first saw Snake in the tank?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Lotus asked, her brow furrowed in curiosity.
"Remember the state he was in when we saw him?" Kiki pressed, causing Lotus to purse her lips in concentration.
"Let's see…his eyes were closed…he was floating in the middle of the water…surrounded by those piranhas…oh, and he was handcuffed!"
Kiki nodded. "That's right; before Snake was thrown into the piranha tank, he was handcuffed."
"Probably so he couldn't thrash around too much when they drowned him." Seven muttered.
"I see…" Keebo's lips tugged into a contemplative frown. "So you think that when Snake was being drowned, he struggled and the handcuffs scratched against the rim of the pool?"
"That also explains why the handcuffs were scratched when we found them." Lotus realized. "The metal didn't look that durable, so you could definitely damage them if they repeatedly scratched against something hard like the edge of a swimming pool."
"Fine, so we know that my brother drowned in the pool, but where does that get us?" Clover demanded. "All that means is the cleaning lady cuffed him, then drowned him in the pool."
"No, she didn't."
"Huh?" Clover rested her hands on her hips and glared skeptically at Ryoma. "Why not?"
"…Because I met up with her."
"What?!" Kiki exclaimed, her and the others' eyes widening in shock at the sudden bombshell.
"Why did you not share this information with us before?" Ace demanded.
"Because…I didn't think it was relevant at the time. Plus, I was tired, so I forgot."
"We both were. I admit I forgot about meeting Ryoma as well." Kirumi admitted.
"Nuh-uh!" Clover shook her head. "No way something this convenient is true!"
"Y-yeah!" Teruaki stammered, pointing his finger at Ryoma. "You're probably just t-trying to cover for her-"
"May I remind you that there is no reward for being someone's accomplice?" Kirumi pointedly glared at the stammering man. "If I were the culprit, and convinced Ryoma to take part in my plan, he would have no chance of getting out of here with me."
"Yeah, there's no way that Ryoma's her accomplice." Seven muttered.
"So…Kirumi's not the culprit…right?" Gonta asked hopefully.
…No… Kiki realized. Just because Ryoma couldn't be her accomplice, doesn't mean that he's not trying to cover for her. And…I can't put my finger on it…but Ryoma's explanation feels…half-baked… "Ryoma…can you tell us a little more about your meetup with Kirumi?"
The tennis player turned to her, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Why?"
"Well…I feel like it might give us a clue to help us find the culprit…and if Kirumi's innocent, it'll help to strengthen her credibility."
Ryoma bit his lip in indecision before Kirumi sighed. "Go ahead, Ryoma. There's no harm in telling them."
"…Alright…" Ryoma sighed reluctantly.
Kirumi's guilt or innocence hinges entirely on what happened between her and Ryoma… Kiki realized. We have to get to the bottom of this, so we can determine whether or not Kirumi's really the culprit!
"When the nighttime announcement played, I couldn't sleep."
"Why couldn't you sleep?" Keebo pressed curiously.
"Gonta knows! Gonta thinks Ryoma had too much coffee!"
Ryoma sweatdropped. "Anyway…I got up and went for a walk to clear my head."
"At that point I was coming back from the gym." Kirumi recalled. "From there, I also went for a walk to burn energy."
"I was walking around on the fourth floor…and I ran into Kirumi. I think that must have been around midnight."
Kiki narrowed her eyes as Ryoma's statement regarding when he and Kirumi met up repeated in her mind. "No that's wrong! Ryoma, you just contradicted yourself!"
"I…I did…?" Ryoma raised an eyebrow, starting to sweat nervously as Kiki sadly nodded.
"Yeah, remember? During the investigation, you told me that you hadn't met up with Kirumi until this morning, after you both fell asleep and woke back up."
Ryoma's brow furrowed, the former tennis averting his gaze. "Oh, I…I guess I forgot to mention our other run-in…"
"Forgot, he says." Lotus muttered.
"Yeah, I bet he's lying about meeting Kirumi on the fourth floor!" Clover spat, causing Kiki to furrow her brow.
Is he though? I'm not…sure about that. She glanced at Ryoma, seeing the confused gleam in his eyes. I…don't think he was lying about meeting her on the fourth floor. Maybe…there's more to this story… "Ano…maybe we shouldn't dismiss it entirely." As everyone turned to stare at Kiki, she explained "Maybe there's some evidence we're not considering. Something that could corroborate Ryoma's claim."
"Like what?" Seven asked curiously. "Any idea what we're looking for?"
"Well, not yet, but I just think we should double check, see if there's something about last night that we missed."
Ace nodded. "Very well; let's clear up whether or not Ryoma's telling the truth."
Did Ryoma meet Kirumi on the fourth floor after nighttime? I don't know, but we have to pin that down. In order to determine whether Kirumi or Ryoma are the culprit, we have to determine whether they're telling us the truth!
"I…I feel a little uneasy…" Koto muttered.
"Yeah, me too…" Kiri agreed as their parents' eyes softened in empathy.
Mokubo's eyes narrowed as he realized, "…They're hiding something."
"Yeah, and it's only going to damage their credibility." Maki agreed.
"Hopefully this is all just a big misunderstanding, and both of them are innocent." Makoto said hopefully, though his eyes seemed to dance with dread.
"…Let's hope so…" Kyoko sighed, praying that her husband's optimism wouldn't be ill-founded.
"Is there anything that proves Ryoma and Kirumi met on the fourth floor?"
"I didn't even go to the fourth floor." Lotus admitted.
"I didn't go either." Keebo sighed.
"Yeah, me neither." Seven muttered.
"I di-didn't leave the g-gym!" Teruaki stammered.
"Same with me." Sokyu shrugged. "I never left the gym."
"Didn't anyone leave the gym?" Tsumugi wondered. "Surely there must be someone who investigated outside the gym!"
Kiki turned her head towards Tsumugi, her eyes widening as the cosplayer's words flashed in her mind. "I agree with you! Everyone, I investigated the fourth floor."
"Y-you went to the fo-fourth floor?!" Teruaki stammered in shock.
Kiki nodded. "It was when I was trying to find Kirumi and Shuichi. Before I went to the dorms, I checked out the other floors. As I was exploring the fourth floor, I saw that the storage room was open."
"The storage room?!" Keebo asked curiously. "What would anyone go in there for?"
"I…don't know." Kiki admitted. "But when I walked inside, I tripped over a metal pole. And on one side…I found a bloodstain."
"A bloodstain?!" Seven exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.
"Yeah…this doesn't prove that Kirumi or Ryoma were in there, but it's possible at least that they met up in the storage room."
"So Ryoma was telling the truth?" Sokyu asked, causing Kiki to nod.
"It looks like it…"
"So that proves it!" Clover exclaimed. "They met up in the storage room, then she got him to lure my brother out there, and she hit him over the head!"
"Ah, and that's when she transported his body to the piranha tank." Ace mused.
"W-wait!" Ryoma interjected, stammering in nervousness. "That's not what h-happened!"
"Oh yeah, then why are you so nervous?!" Clover glared disapprovingly at Ryoma.
"Because…she never went back to the gym after we met up!"
"Oh yeah? Prove it!"
"Ryoma-"
"Fine, I will." Ryoma interjected, cutting off Kirumi's concerned voice.
Ryoma, getting nervous like this isn't like you… Kiki frowned. What's going on, Ryoma? Why are you acting like this?
"Kirumi is not the killer." Ryoma insisted.
"Do you have any proof that she's not?" Ace questioned.
"Proof? Do you have any proof that she is?"
"Proof that Kirumi's not the culprit…" Gonta crossed his arms and hummed. "Did we even find anything like that?"
"We didn't find anything that belonged to Kirumi at the crime scene…"
Lotus's admission caused Kiki's brain to spark as she pointed at Lotus. "No that's wrong! We did find something that belonged to Kirumi at the gym."
"Y-You did?!" Ryoma flinched, his and Kirumi's eyes widening in shock as Kiki pulled out a pair of gloves.
"I found these behind the stage when we were investigating the gym…Kirumi…they're yours, aren't they."
"Yes, but…why were they in the gym?!" Kirumi gasped, her eyes darting in confused shock.
"Don't even try to act all confused!" Clover glared angrily at Kirumi as she spat, "This proves it, then! You're the culprit!"
"It would seem to be the case." Ace sighed. "Kirumi knocked out Snake, then brought him to the gym and threw him in the piranha tank. She then went back to her room, not realizing that she had left her gloves behind."
Kiki's brow furrowed as she pondered, Is it? Kirumi's suspicious; I'm not doubting that. But…leaving her gloves at the scene of the crime…it feels…too obvious! Something feels off…but I can't figure it out by myself! We need more information!
Kiki sighed, staring at the maid in the center of the courtroom. Her eyes softened as they flickered between Kirumi and Ryoma, seeming to plead with the two of them.
"Kirumi…Ryoma…can you please just tell us what happened? I don't want to believe that either of you killed Snake. Ryoma, you may not have cared if you died, but you never showed a hint of bloodshed, in spite of your past. Kirumi, you've always tried to make our lives more bearable during our imprisonment, and you've put everyone else's needs above your own. I don't want to believe you're the blackened, but you look really suspicious right now. So please…can you just tell us what happened last night? Please…?"
Ryoma opened his mouth to interject, only to swiftly shut it upon being cut off. "…Ryoma…enough." Everyone turned to Kirumi, whose lip quivered as her eyes shone with remorse. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but as a maid, I must fulfill Kiki's request. Besides, solving this case now requires our complete honesty. It's the only way to restore our credibility."
Kirumi nodded reassuringly at Ryoma's questioning gaze. At last, his shoulders slumped as he nodded in defeat, his eyes softening in regret.
"Everyone, I must apologize for causing you such trouble with my deception. It was not my intention to take this deception so far. So, on my honor as a maid, I will be honest with you about what happened last night. I was in the gym last night, and I met up with Ryoma last night at the storage room. And…" Kirumi swallowed the lump in her throat before she reluctantly admitted, "…And…I attempted to commit a murder last night."
Kiki's eyes widened as she gasped, her palm covering her open lips. "Ki-Kirumi…you…?"
"Aha! So she confesses to the crime!" Clover pounced on Kirumi's confession. "So this bitch went and killed-"
"…Ryoma." Kirumi interjected. "I tried to kill Ryoma."
Only Kyoko, Mokubo, and Maki's eyes failed to widen as the other Naegis gasped in shock.
"Ki-Kirumi tried to kill someone?!" Koto exclaimed.
"No way…that's…that's…" Kiri stammered.
"…Unbelievable…" Makoto's eyes lowered as he digested Kirumi's confession. "I…I can't believe Kirumi tried to kill someone." Or rather…I don't want to believe one of my students was capable of murder…
Kyoko frowned sympathetically as she rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Makoto. You know from experience how these killing games can break a person."
Makoto sighed and nodded, reluctantly accepting the facts presented to him. It's like Hope's Peak all over again…
"Still, if Kirumi tried to kill Ryoma…why did Snake die instead…?" Maki pondered.
"…Something must have happened to cause her to spare Ryoma…" Mokubo concluded.
"Indeed." Kyoko nodded. "Whatever caused Kirumi's plan to fail…is also likely what caused Snake to perish in Ryoma's place."
"I guess we'll just have to keep watching to find out." Makoto lamented.