Ichiro's POV
"Quite a good talking point if I may say," Gundham tells me. "The demons that plague us all-"
"I'd rather not talk about demons if you don't mind," I interrupt.
Gundham lets out a small scoff as his hamsters trace his arms in a small gymnastic display. "My devas must learn the importance of-
Bing Bong Bing Bong! A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!
"Interrupted again!" Gundham snaps. "I must be cursed with a spell of muffling or a hex of incomplete-that was a body discovery was it not my friend?"
"That it was." It registers in our heads and we walk down the hall hunting for the nearest group of people. "You're my alibi."
He doesn't respond as we turn a corner. "Gundham!" Sonia worriedly runs into his arms. "It's not you then…"
"We do not know," Gundham says as one of the hamsters hops onto her head. "Ichiro and I were looking for a group of people."
"I saw some others turn down that way!" I interrupt their conversation. We join the others in hunting for the body.
On the way Toko runs into us. "Vile s-c-c-cum…" she mumbles before she takes a half step. "We must…"
"Ah and it's the demon and his pure princess sweetheart. And the footballer," I hear Togami's voice call out. "I haven't seen anyone else besides our resident imposter."
"They were just down the hall, Master Togami!" Toko chirps out. "It's quite a conundrum over there too!" She points down another corridor and I see a bundle of people just outside a doorway. I can see Yasuhiro's head, Leon's red hair, Sayaka's blue… looks like most of the other sane ones are here.
"WHICH ONE OF YOU PIGS DID THIS?!" I hear Tenko shout. "Her?! AND HIM?!" She bristles past me and runs into the room, clutching a body I still can't identify.
"Is this where…" I hear Sonia ask. "Oh my!"
"Two bodies?!" I hear a male voice shout. "Who's missing?"
"Get a roll call going," I turn to the voice, who I identify as Makoto.
"Present and accounted for Mister Aiko," Ishimaru's booming voice goes above the racket.
"Hold on," Ryoko says, inside the room. "Something's not adding up. Only one body announcement."
"EEEE!" Mikan squeals as she barrels into the group outside the hall. We all fall into a tangle of limbs before Mikan picks herself up, her skirt having risen up to her head. "I got s-scared, sorry. One announcement…two corpses…"
"Someone catch her!" Togami points to Toko, who falls over into Sonia's arms.
Mikan puts her hand on top of toko's head. "Get her warmed up," she says in a small but commanding voice. "I…I need to see the bodies…"
We take an ominous look over the body closest to the room, the ultimate entomologist. His hair is splayed out behind him. He might have taken a bad fall judging by the bucket next to him. If that wasn't the weapon that killed him it might have been some of the other monitors in the room.
She bends over Gonta, a hand on his long neck, avoiding his long and frizzled hair. It's faint but I see her fingers twitching. "Gonta's alive," she squeals. "Can we get him to the infirmary?"
Leon and Mondo volunteer to move Gonta as Mikan directs them to go to a classroom where there must have been a cabinet of medicine. I spare a glance into the room as we move further back.
Another squeal, a whimper, and someone holding back vomit. That's what we hear while Kirigiri holds up a gloved hand, holding her phone up in prime position to take a photo of the corpse of Himiko Yumeno, Ultimate Mage. "HIMIKO!" The pained screech from Tenko just arriving at the crime scene makes us snap our heads.
"I'll show her the photo," Kirigi says in her trademark monotone, this time with a trace of caring in her voice. "All of you check for the Monokuma file."
Our phones beep as Kirigiri goes through the path we've cleared for her to get to Tenko.
Monokuma File (Truth Bullet):
Victim: Himiko Yumeno
Time of Death :1:06 PM
Time of Discover: 1:54 PM
Bodily Wounds: Open wounds from her hairline down her face, Bruising on her left arm
Killing Blow: Blunt Force Trauma to the head
"Well that answers that," Hajime Hinata coughs up. "Did anyone see her walk into the room?"
His question is met with silence. "Who was-"
"Let's save the interrogation for the trial," Nagito speaks up. "We have…more pressing matters to find…"
He moves over to the site of Gonta's body while taking photos of what was left over. I see Byakuya join him and they seem to share as close to a mutual dismissive glance as Byakuya manages. Nagito seems unbothered anyways. I take a step closer to Himiko's body but make sure to keep glancing at Nagito.
Did he have the bucket? Why is he so concerned with Gonta in particular?
The crime scene for Himiko's death is centralized around the head teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. It's a central location and the large monitor hardly seems damaged. No blood is on the small blue chair underneath the desk. The drawers of the desk also seem undamaged. Truth Bullet
"Hey there's a clothing stain here," Hajime says. I look where he's directing us to look and see a streak of reddish pink. "It's not blood, it doesn't smell like it." Truth Bullet
It's worth taking a photo but I cannot tell if it'll actually be important.
Careful to avoid her body, I move onto the desk and take a look at Himiko's staff. Holding it up I can see no visible damage but I do wince when I get a splinter.
"You okay Ichiro?" Hajime asks.
"Splinter," I briefly explained.
"Himiko usually has that thing smooth, can you hold it up to the light?" Gundham mentions. "Maybe the truth will be revealed."
The light shines through the gemstone Himiko has adorning her staff. "There it is! A crack down the midline! Any crack in a worthy vessel for delivering spells would make the vessel unworthy for even the spitiest and wimpiesete of magicians. She may have been a mere quack, but she held lazy pride in her work!" Truth Bullet
"I guess that's information," Hajime shrugs. I look over the room again. Sonia seems to have put Toko on a chair and is looking over Gonta's site with Nagito. Oddly enough, Toko's tongue is sticking out. Byakuya seems to have left the room. It is only me, Hajime, a returning Mikan, Ryoko, Gundham, Nagito, and Sonia here right now. I suppose the others are establishing alibis not too far outside the room.
"Lord Aiko, if you do not mind I wish to speak with not only you, but also Dame Nevermind. I believe it is best for us to establish our alibis. My eye of shining justice needs a break from poring over the spilled iron of our fallen comrade."
Ryoko's POV
"I agree with hamster boy, are there any known alibis we can establish?" I asked. We stood around the scene of the crime as we discussed alibis. Given the bodies were recent the smell of death didn't quite hit us yet. But the smell of disgust of the act was clearly in the air.
"Well who found the bodies?" Nagito piped up, getting up from his crouching position by Gonta's still body, and walking over to our standing circle, navigating past the rows of computers.
"Myself, Maki, Kazuichi, and Mondo found the body," I said. Truth Bullet
"Myself and Gundham were together for a little bit before the bottom discovery." Ichiro stated, sitting down in one of the chairs. Gundham nodded in affirmation. Truth Bullet
Makoto made his way over to our group after glancing around the crime scene, "Hey guys, uh what're we talking about?"
"We're discussing alibis Makoto," Sonia replied, shuffling closer to where Gundham stood.
"Oh well, I was with Fuyuhiko near the time of death," Makoto replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"Yeah I was in the cafeteria around then with Toko, Ryoma and Kirumi left not long before," Ichiro added. Truth Bullet
"Do we know the whereabouts of any other groups?" Nagito asked the group.
"I don't think so, but I don't think Tenko is the culprit unless she's a great actor," I added gesturing to a crying Tenko.
"Yeah… I don't think someone with as big of a crush on Himiko as she did would kill our deceased magician," Gundham stated. Truth Bullet
"Yeah I don't think so either," Ichiro started. "I do think we'll have to establish and confirm all alibis at the trial. We're all too scattered right now to really get anything conclusive."
"I agree with Ichiro, we should focus on collecting more physical evidence now, especially since we won't have access to it at the trial," Sonia added.
Makoto's POV
"This was where we saw her last, right?" Hajime asks me as we turn into the cafeteria. "Naegi, you alright?"
"Who would do such a thing to Himiko? And Gonta?" I ask aloud. Could they have killed each other?
"Is it possible that Himiko and Gonta had something of a fight?" Hajime and I turn to see Aoi and Sakura gossiping to each other.
"Asahina-san there was no extensive damage at the body discovery location. It is possible that Himiko dealt damage to Gonta in the fight such that he might have collapsed. That seems to imply that our friend Gonta is in fact capable of killing someone such as Himiko-kun," Sakura sagely mentions. "I do not believe that the circumstances have persisted such that Himiko was able to damage Gonta, or that Gonta killed Himiko as it is."
"So it's possible that the crimes could have been separate?" Truth Bullet
"Yes Naegi," Sakura explains. "Sit with us. We are trying to establish our alibis and what we need to know for certain."
Hajime and I sit on the opposite side of Asahina and Sakura. Hajime puts his hands together in a quiet fidget. "I was at the crime scene with Ichiro and some of the others. It wasn't a fight. That much is certain. I don't remember much about Gonta's crime scene."
"Gonta's a large guy, and there was a bucket. Do you think that the bucket could have had something to do with it?" Truth Bullet
"It could very well be possible. Ah, Kiyotaka! We were talking about what could have happened but we were going to move onto a talk about our alibis." Aoi looks at an entering Kiyotaka with something of an intense glance.
"Truth be told I don't think I can be of much help this time around. I can only give you 100% certainty that I was in my room polishing my uniform," Kiyotaka tells us with a shake of his head. "Oh Miss Owari, I don't believe it's the appropriate time to eat right now."
Akane steps over a napkin and an overturned can of soup. "Fiddlesticks," Akane says. "I'm hungry and this trial can take forever! I haven't lost anyone close to me yet and I haven't lost my life and I'm hungry. How can I function in this investigation if-"
"If you're hungry?" Hajime finishes.
"Exactly Hajime! Oh, I should mention this though. I did see Himiko here before Tenko took her away somewhere. Good luck getting anything from the chick though, she's a wreck." Truth Bullet
"I suppose that helps," Kiyotaka mentions. "Thank you."
He turns to us again. "Akane has a point about hunger and thirst. I am feeling parched. I shall get some water at least before the trial begins."
The rest of us sit around the table unsure of what to do. "Could we potentially get some kind of timeline going?" asks Aoi. "Sakura can vouch for me because I was in the kitchen-"
"If you were in the kitchen did you happen to see Tenko or Himiko?" Hajime interrupts.
"I was grabbing some tea for Sakura and yes, I actually did see her. She was grabbing some tea but it was a lot of tea. She might have gone to the bathroom." Truth Bullet
"But we don't have logs of the bathroom so we can't track who went in or when," I bring up."And the bathroom is closer to our rooms. I don't think any one of us could have accessed our rooms in the time of the murder."
"It is still a possibility. There is also the idea that Gonta might have in fact lured Himiko over. Or rather, whoever killed her." Hajime turns to me. "Do you think we'd find clues in her room?"
"Worth a shot. I don't know what we could find."
"Might I come along?" Kiyotaka asks. "Any information will be beneficial for all of us. Come to think of it, I recall seeing Gonta in the gym before he left. I have to wonder if he left something of note there."
"Then let's visit the gym before we head off to Himiko's room." Kiyotaka leads the way with Hajime following shortly after and I trailing Hajime. We open the doors to the gym, passing by the open wings of the infirmary to see Gonta still laid out on a bed, his breathing at a regular pace now.
The gym we walk into is mainly empty. Ryoko seems to be having a mumbling conversation with Maki before she notices us. "Did you ladies happen to find anything here?"
"I couldn't think in Himiko's room. Everyone was over there arguing over the most pointless of things," Maki says bluntly.
"This really is a confusing trial," muses Ryoko shortly after. "We went here because we knew after Sonia and Kirumi made a small clean of this place no one was here."
"Not even Miss Owari?" asks Kiyotaka.
"No," Ryoko mentions. "None of the other athletes either."
"The bleachers look slightly moved. It seems out of character for either of those two girls to do that. Maybe let's check?" I bring up the option. Kiyotaka and Hajime have already set about looking at other containers but Ryoko and Maki join me underneath the bleachers.
"Ow!" shouts Ryoko. She picks up her foot rather suddenly to look at any wounds. "I thought you said Kirumi cleaned this place with Sonia. Why is there some trash under the bleachers?"
"They cleaned for two hours. What's that pink stain down there?" points Maki.
The three of us crane over the trash. A stained baseball bat is propping up what looks to be a crate of assorted sports equipment that Ryoko knocked over in the confusion. "That's an awfully big pile to be left behind for Kirumi and Sonia. Who else was in here?" Truth Bullet
"Beats me," I turn to Ryoko. "Did you find the information correct?"
"Not much," Ryoko says bashfully. "The bucket is tripping me up."
"Wait, that's a monokuma gift wasn't it?" The thoughts connect in a strand of realization. "Maybe…"
"Whoever owned the bucket tried to kill Gonta? And when that failed, killed Himiko?" Ryoko's eyes flit back and forth almost like they're in a tennis match. "That makes sense."
"As it stands, this baseball bat might be a bit of evidence," Maki interrupts, taking a photo of the bat with her monokuma phone. "Ryoko, I'm starting to have a hunch. If you'd come with me."
The two of them walk off, leaving me under the bleachers. "Naegi," Kiyotaka asks. "Found anything?"
"Yes, let me explain." Maybe explaining to someone else would help things out.
Ryoko's POV
"Do you think we would be able to get some information from Gonta?" I ask Maki.
"Doubtful. It seems like Gonta got hit instantly."
"He's down for the count?"
"Looks like it, I'm sure the bigger guys will help him to his room so he can rest, but it seems like the big fella is down and out."
"That sucks. I'm glad he'll be ok, but I wish he could be awake to tell us what happened."
"Yeah it is disappointing to say the least. Are there any new clues that have come about?"
"Some alibis have been established but as far as hard evidence there really is none."
"There isn't like a note or weapon?"
"No, nothing at all."
"That's certainly odd. Maybe someone managed to hide it quickly before the body was found?"
"It's possible, I mean Peko managed to take care of most everything in a matter of minutes."
"Yeah but is the killer an Ultimate Swordwoman?"
"Well probably not… but it's still possible."
"Yeah. I mean the most we have to go off of is the Monokuma File and alibis, and that bat…." Maki paused for a brief moment.
"You think Leon could be a suspect?" I asked, seeing the gears in Maki's head turn as she pondered the thought.
"I think it's highly probable."
"At the very least it was someone who was likely around him, probably today?"
"He was with Sayaka a lot, they could've done it together, unless it was someone else who took when Leon wasn't around."
"Leon isn't all that bright, could just be him."
"It's something, we'll have to bring it up at the trial, we've got some smart people here, they can piece it together."
Ichiro's POV
"Five minutes until trial time!" Monokuma shouted over the intercom.
Most everyone had met up outside the elevator by now, but I wanted to take another look at the crime scene. One question rang through my mind throughout the whole afternoon, why was Nagito so obsessed with Gonta's body. He wouldn't leave it alone and when he did he was still near it keeping an eye on it.
I walked into the lab glancing around where Gonta's body used to lay. The floor was still damp, Truth Bullet but something caught my eye. I'm sure Kirigiri or Shuichi caught this but a bucket lay behind where I pushed the door open.
"Why would a bucket be here?" Truth Bullet I mumbled to myself. "Wait, Monokuma said buckets could be one of the items!" I checked the bottom of the bucket and sure enough a Monokuma seal could be found on the bottom of the bucket.
Now what could this bucket be used for? That goes along with a wet floor? Water? I wasn't entirely sure, what I was sure of was that Nagito was somehow involved. A bucket behind a door plus water usually means that someone decided to do one of those water bucket door pranks on someone. But this one was obviously more sinister. But a water bucket can't kill someone… there was obviously something else in that bucket that could knock out the big man. And my gut says Nagito knows the answer.
"Final Call to the trial otherwise you'll be issued a punishment!"
"Guess I gotta get moving," I mumbled to myself. I walked my way over the elevator as my fellow classmates greeted me asking where I was.
"I was just doing some last minute investigating," I replied.
"Find anything Mr. Aiko?" Hifumi asked me.
"I'll share at the trial, I don't know how relevant it is," I replied.
The elevator opened, and we all slowly shuffled in, eyes darting around trying to figure out which one of us is the murderer.
