Author's note: Just want to mention that I'm not the best at writing mysteries. Since this is the first murder where I had to think it out, so I'm sorry if the case is either too easy, too hard, or makes no sense in certain areas.
2nd Arc: Ghosts From the Past that Haunt the Future
Deadly Life
Ding dong, dong ding!
"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma shouted as soon as the monitors turned on. "Everyone, please gather in the Ultimate Inventor's Research Lab!" The monitors then turned off after delivering the body discovery announcement throughout the academy. The three of us, me, Kokichi, and Keebo, were completely dumbfounded as we stared at Miu's corpse. She was just hanging there in the middle of the room with nothing but her underwear on, motionlessly. How…? How did it end up like this? Miu is the last person I would think might commit suicide. So why is she hanging from a noose in her own lab?
"This...can't be real, can it? Miu...can't be dead. My optic functions are just glitching out a bit, right?" Keebo asked as he shook in fear.
"Keebo...I'm...I'm so sorry." That was all I could muster myself to say as I placed my hand on Keebo's shoulder to try to comfort him.
"I-I...I can't even cry right now, despite me wanting to." Keebo muttered in a shaky voice. I rubbed his cold metal shoulder as Keebo did his best not to fall apart at the seams. I then stole a look at Kokichi, who hadn't changed his expression a single time since we got here.
"Are...you okay, Kokichi? You found her body, so that must have been quite difficult for you since you were alone." Kokichi didn't react at first, but then, as if someone clicked a button, Kokichi slowly started to laugh. He laughed and laughed, getting slightly louder and louder as he did.
"Hahaha…! So the stupid, dumb, cow bitch was the one to die next. Why was I so surprised? Of course someone as pathetic as her would be killed so easily. And to kill herself? That just proves she was even more pathetic than I thought!" Kokichi spat out with an evil smile.
"Kokichi! Don't you dare speak like that about Miu! Especially now that she's…" Keebo trailed off in his anger as he looked back to the hanging body. "Y-You have no right to say that right now…!"
"Keebo…" I said as I shook my head to him. "I don't think Kokichi means that."
"Wh-What?"
"Kokichi was the first one to find Miu's body, and when we saw him, he looked completely shakened. I think...this is how he's trying to cope. In his own bizarre way, even if he won't admit it." I then turned to Kokichi and gave him an angry glare. "And you. Don't you dare say stuff like that, even if you don't mean it."
"Nee-heehee… You're so stupid! I meant every word I said!" Kokichi corrected. "She was a stupid, ugly, peverted pig who only cared about making worthless inventions and sex! It's probably a good thing that she's dead! She probably would have killed someone if she didn't die like this. Why is Keeboy of all people sad? Oh, my mistake. He's a robot, not a person. Also, I thought robots could feel pointless emotions like sadness, so what's the dealio?" Keebo tightened his fists at Kokichi's words, but I stopped him, shaking my head.
"It's not worth it Keebo. Just ignore his comments, no matter how horrible they are." Keebo seemed to want to say something, but kept it to himself as he crossed his arms and looked to the ground. I then turned back to Kokichi even angrier than before. "Keebo's right, Kokichi. You have no right saying that about Miu or make fun of Keebo right now. Have some tact and respect the deceased and those who mourn for them."
"What's this? I thought you hated Miu too. You always looked exhausted dealing with her, and I've seen you both yelling at each other a few times."
"...Even if we weren't extremely close, I never hated her. She could be a bit much at times and didn't know that there's a time and place for her jokes or vulgar remarks." I admitted. "However, with that said, I still believe Miu didn't deserve to die. Not like this, and most certainly not in this place. No matter what I thought of her, she was someone I considered a friend, and I'll respect her in death. She at least deserves that much. If you can't do that, then leave. I told you before, small lies are fine in normal conversation, but lies like that are something I will not stand for."
Kokichi gave me a curious look before he eventually put his arms around his head and leaned against one of the walls of the room, now appearing to be uncaring about anything that has happened. I just sighed as I looked back at the body. We should wait before we do anything, but we should definitely bring her down when we start investigating. It wouldn't be right to leave her hanging in such a pitiable state. But I was concerned. Concerned how I was feeling that same familiar feeling from before. The same one I felt when I saw Kirumi's body and Tsumugi's execution. I'm saddened by Miu's death, but...this feeling of numbness and apathy is just persisting inside me. Why do I feel like this? It's almost like...I expected things to go like this. Like I'm used to it already.
Not even a second later did everyone burst into the lab in a complete panic. "Aaaah! Miu!" Kaede shouted in horror.
"Wh-What's going on!?" Kaito shouted. "Rin! Did Miu…?"
"No idea. Kokichi found her like this, and Keebo and I saw this moments later." I explained.
"It appears she took her own life. How fleeting and fragile life is…" Kiyo muttered sadly.
"..." Himiko was just staring at Miu's body, in complete disbelief and sorrow.
"Himiko, are you okay?" Tenko asked.
"...Why? I wanted...to have a magic show to help cheer everyone up. To prevent something like this. So why did this have to happen?" Himiko asked.
"...Let's get Miu's body down before we discuss anything else. We shouldn't leave like this." I told the others. They agreed with me and we brought Miu's body down from the ceiling. She was completely limb. The touch of death really had gotten her. She was so eccentric before, but now she's completely still with lifeless eyes.
"I guess we have to ask ourselves what happens next. It looks like Miu committed suicide, after all. Is a class trial necessary?" Ryoma asked.
"I think so. There was a body discovery announcement after all. That probably means we need to investigate." Shuichi muttered.
"Shuichi is right. This...wasn't an accident. Whether Miu killed herself or not, the killing game has started again." Maki stated.
"How could this happen? Why did it happen?" Rantaro asked with a regretful gaze.
"Why…? Why did this happen again, even after we all agreed we wouldn't do it again. After I promised I would make up for my mistake from last time…" Kaede cried softly.
"How could you guys!" Kokichi then cried out. "We swore to each other, didn't we? We swore we'd never let the killing game start up again. So that was all just a lie! You guys are liars!" Kokichi shouted as tears fell from his face. "All you liars, apologize to Miu! She believed the killing game wouldn't happen anymore!"
"You have no right to say that after your horrible remarks about Miu just a few seconds ago…" Keebo growled.
"Your disingenuous tears mark you as the liar right now…" Kiyo pointed out with a dark look.
"Oh, you figured it out. You've got a pretty good eye there, Kiyo." Kokichi said, his tears now completely gone on his smiling face. That's when things went from bad to worse.
"Heyyy guys! How's it feel now that you've got a second murder victim on your hands? And this one had nothing to do with the mastermind since she's dead!" Monokuma said as he appeared inside the room. Monokuma then took a look at Miu's body and took a step back. "Woah! Talk about a blast from the past! This totally reminds me of that one murder back in the Titty Typhoon!" The Monokubs then entered the lab as well, making it feel quite cramped with all of us inside.
"Father, should you really be saying things like that so casually?" Monotaro asked.
"Monotaro's right. People might get offended by such a vulgar name like 'Titty Typhoon'. It was just a music club, after all." Monophanie explained.
"That's not exactly what I meant when I said that…" Monotaro gawked.
"Finally! I've been waiting for the killin' game to start up again!" Monosuke bellowed with laughter. "That means we can put all this borin' crap on hold and start playin' the blame game!"
"You're rarin' to go, Mono...who are you again?" Monokuma asked his son.
"Monosuke! You should at least remember your own kid's name!" Monosuke yelled. Monophanie then turned and took a good look at Miu's body.
"...MONOPHANIE, ARE-YOU-OKAY?" Monodam asked.
"Five...four…"
"Hmm? Are you counting, Monophanie? Why are you counting…?" Monotaro asked.
"Because...three...I'm seriously...two...gonna puke...one...NOW!" And that's exactly what she did as she ran to the nearest trash can. It has to be asked, but how? And also, disgusting.
"Ah! She puked again!"
"What the hell are you doing, you failure!?" Monosuke yelled at Monophanie. "Listen up! We're here to make sure the killing game goes smoothly, capice?"
"Also, to keep me company. And new mascots present lots of exciting business opportun-"
"Shut up, you failure!" Monosuke interrupted his father.
"What!? Me too!?"
"Can we move to the reason you all are here?" I asked in a very annoyed tone.
"Yes, yes. This conversation is fun and all, but we should really get this over with!" Angie nodded. "Don't we need to start investigating or something?"
"Alriiight! I'll get the culprit this time for sure! Hurry up and give us the thingy!" Kokichi cried out happily.
"You mean the Monokuma File, right?" Monokuma asked as he took out the tablets. "I also investigated the cause of death this time, so read it to your heart's delight."
"Oh! This is sorta unrelated but I got a great business idea!" Monosuke exclaimed.
"...Yeah, that's totally unrelated." Monokuma agreed.
"Let's use the Monokuma file to start a funeral services business! Y'know how it gets awkward at funerals when you start askin' about the cause of death? If we pass out Monokuma Files, even the worst deaths will get a giggle outta the attendees!"
"That sounds horrible…" Kaede muttered.
"Well Pops? Whaddaya think?"
"You're so freakin' cute!" Monokuma shouted.
"...Huh? Cute?"
"The way you pass out the files is just so cute. Why don'tcha come with me over here…?" Monokuma said as he gestured Monosuke over.
"Heeeeee! Pops is gonna lick me all over!"
"This just took a strange and dark turn…" Himiko pointed out.
"Can we move on? This is getting out of hand." Rantaro sighed.
"Well, that's pretty much all I have for you all." Monokuma said before he perked up. "Oh right! I actually have one more thing for one of you!"
"One of us?" Maki repeated.
"Mister Rin Wakuri! Thank you for waiting so patiently!" Monokuma said as he jumped towards me and pulled my hands down towards him and put a device in my hand. "As a reward for your patience, here it is! You're very own motive video!" I felt my body stiffen when I heard that. That's right. I was only to get my motive when a murder happened, and now that Miu's dead, even though I didn't kill her, I'm being given my motive video as a result. "Well, go on! You can watch it now, or wait till later if you want. I don't care, it's not mine anymore!" I couldn't help but stare at the device that was now in my hand. This...is something I've wanted since I woke up here. A memory of mine. Some details about who I am. Who I was. Maybe some hope that what Tsumugi said was wrong. I felt my grip on the kubs pad tighten as I moved my hand towards the screen, but then I stopped. I could feel everyone's gaze on me. That's when doubts began to form in my mind. What am I doing? Someone just died and I want to watch my motive video right now? But I need this! I need to know something, anything about myself! But...But…!
"...No."
"Huh?"
"You heard me. I. Said. No." I said sternly as I tossed the video back at Monokuma. Monokuma quickly caught it despite his confusion before looking at me with a look of pure bewilderment, as if I was insane. "You're not going to distract me from this case. Investigating is far more important right now. The most important thing to me right now is finding out the truth behind Miu's death. I owe her my undivided attention for her case! Besides, what good will a single memory do me if I die in just a few hours? So I don't want it! You and that video can go to hell for all I care!" Monokuma soon began to giggle at my statement before he fell into hysterical laughter, laughter only the most depraved kind of souls could have.
"You NEVER disappoint, Mister Rin Wakuri! Never change! You truly do bring out some of the most entertaining sides of the killing game! I hope you won't regret this decision! If you die, you'll die never knowing the truth this video holds! I would have watched this video as soon as I got the chance to! But I'll do you this favor and take it back. No need to thank me. Good luck in the class trial! Bwahahaha!" With that, Monokuma and the Monokubs left, leaving only us students left in the lab. My hands immediately started to shake after that. I'm already wishing I had just watched the damn video. It would have only taken a few seconds! Why didn't I just watch it!?
"Rin…" Kaede said, slowly making her way to me and grasping my hand. Upon feeling her touch, I realized why I couldn't watch the video right now. It's because I care about these people too much. I care for them too much to let some video distract me from wanting to protect them. That's why I wanted to protect Kaede during the last trial. That's why I wanted to help Kokichi host the screening party. I care for them. All of them. That's why that video is nothing but a burden right now. This is a murder, and it needs my full attention. I can't let memories of the past distract me from what's important now. I...don't need to know what's on it.
"Thanks Kaede. I needed that." I told her, now feeling calm again. Kaede just gave me this confused look, not knowing what she did to help me, but I didn't explain as I turned to the others. "In any event, we should get started with our investigation."
"Investigation… So it's really going to start again." Keebo grimaced.
"I don't want to believe it… To think one of us killed Miu. Even after what happened with Kirumi and Tsumugi…" Tenko said through gritted teeth.
"No more… Gonta no wanna investigate friends… No wanna suspect friends…" Gonta cried.
"Then don't do it. However, the rest of us are going to investigate. We don't want to die." Maki simply stated.
"Maki's right. We need to investigate, otherwise there's a chance we'll die in the class trial. No matter how much we don't want to, we have to do this." Shuichi said.
"I'm seriously pissed we gotta do this again, but it's our only chance to survive." Kaito admitted, though it was clear he was extremely upset at the notion.
"Yup! I'll do my very best, too!" Kokichi declared. "Gonta, Rin, and I have to work especially hard so we can regain everyone's trust!"
"Oh, yes… You right." Gonta nodded hesitantly.
"Though with that said, we don't even have to investigate. It's pretty obvious who the culprit is." Kokichi then said with a cheeky grin. "The dirty pig slut was hanging from a noose, so she obviously killed herself, right? That means she's the culprit."
"Is that even how that works?" Himiko asked.
"It would still count as a murder. Technically, suicide is just murdering yourself, so Miu being the blackened in that scenerio makes sense." Rantaro explained.
"Still, it's best if we surround the circumstances surrounding Miu's death so we can better explain what happened." I told them.
"I guess that's fine. Investigating sounds pretty fun, actually." Kokichi exclaimed.
"Not like we have much of a choice…" Kaede whimpered softly. She's right. We don't have a choice. We have to investigate. We need to learn what happened so we can survive the trial that awaits us. For Miu. To face that life and death trial, we need to find the truth!
Investigation Start!
"We should split up into pairs, like we did before." Shuichi suggested.
"That sounds like a plan!" Kaito said. He then turned to me before looking back at Shuichi. I smiled back at him and gave him a nod, giving my approval. Smiling, Kaito then put his arms around Shuichi and gave him a smile. "Alright, sidekick! You're with me!"
"H-Huh? Kaito?"
"We're gonna investigate together! C'mon, let's go!" With that, Kaito dragged Shuichi off to investigate. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. It's just like when Kaito declared me his sidekick during the first investigation.
"Hey Rin, want to partner up this time around?" I turned to see Rantaro walking towards me with his usual calm and kind smile.
"Sure Rantaro. That would be great." I told him.
"Cool. I already grabbed a Monokuma File, so we should look over it." Rantaro said as he handed me the tablet.
"Yes, let's." I nodded as I turned on the tablet and read it's contents.
"The victim is Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor. The body was found in the Ultimate Inventor's Research Lab. The victim died due to a crushed windpipe as a result of choking. No other injuries or outside chemicals were found."
"Hmm...there's less here than before. I wonder why." Rantaro pondered.
"It's missing the time of death." I pointed out.
"Really?" Rantaro asked as he took another look. "You're right. Kirumi's stated when she died, but Miu's time of death isn't given. Was this on purpose?"
"It has to be. I can't imagine Monokuma missing something so simple, especially when he had it last time. He even told us he investigated this case's cause of death thoroughly, so how would he miss the time it happened?" I said. "Hmm...didn't he say he wouldn't give us information that directly revealed the killer?"
"He did mention something like that. Then the time of death is crucial for this case. It must be damning for the culprit. But that's strange. Why would the time of death matter if Miu killed herself?"
"Hmm…" I hummed as I put a hand on my chin. "There's another thing that's interesting about the Monokuma File."
"What's that?"
"The cause of death. It doesn't say she died from hanging. It says Miu died from a crushed windpipe that was caused by choking. That's very specific, yet at the same time vague. It doesn't outright deny hanging, but it still leaves room for interpretation. Very interesting…"
"I suppose we just have to do our best investigating, then."
"Right."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Monokuma File 2
"We should investigate the body now before we do anything else." Rantaro suggested.
"Yeah. I was thinking the same. The condition of Miu's body will probably be important in the trial." I nodded. Rantaro then pulled at the collar of his shirt before turning to me.
"Hey, is it just me, or is it a little warm in here?"
"Warm?" I questioned before I realized what he meant. I hadn't even noticed that I had started sweating. I wiped my forehead with my sleeve before turning back to Rantaro. "Yeah, it is a little warm here. Is it just because all of us are in this small lab? Everything here is metal after all, so perhaps it's just keeping our warmth in."
"Maybe, but it's still really uncomfortable." Rantaro said as he shook the collar of his shirt to fan air to his body. I then got a strange feeling in my stomach. Why does this feel like it's important? Perhaps I should investigate the cause of this as well.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Heat Within Lab
"Hmm, let's go examine the body now." I said to Rantaro. He nodded and we moved over to where we had laid Miu's body down. Just like Kirumi, she had no life in her eyes. She was completely and thoroughly dead. I know we didn't get along super well, but it's still sad to see her like this. Someone so full of life, now devoid of it.
"It doesn't seem like she has any external injuries, like the Monokuma File said." Rantaro said as he looked over the body. "Though that's obvious just from looking at her, since she's...in such a state."
"She's only in her underwear. I doubt anyone really wants to talk about that." I sighed. "Forgive me Miu, but I need to check." I then placed my fingers on her arm and nodded. "Still warm too. She might have just died before we found her." Rantaro nodded as he noted what was near Miu's body.
"There's also a chair that's knocked over here. She must have got up on it and knocked it away after putting the noose around her neck to do the deed."
"Maybe." I said as I examined Miu's wound. "Hmm...There is bruising around the neck, as expected. However, it's a little strange, isn't it?"
"Strange…" Rantaro questioned. "Well, I suppose they do look odd."
"Hmm…" I kept looking at the wounds, but the more I looked at them, the more they bothered me. I looked around and saw Maki investigating something with Kaede and smiled. "Hey Maki! Could you come over here for a second?" Maki turned to me with an annoyed look before sighing and walking over with Kaede.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"Look at Miu's neck. These don't look like hanging wounds, right?" I asked her as I pointed to the bruises Miu had. Maki only needed one look before she nodded.
"Nope. That isn't even a result from rope burn. It's impossible for those to be from hanging."
"Wait, really?" Kaede gasped. "What are they from, then?"
"If I had to guess, I would say they're strangulation bruises. Specifically manual strangulation." Maki answered.
"Manual strangulation?" Kaede repeated.
"That's strangulation caused by pressing parts of the body against the neck. It's what you would refer to when a person chokes someone with their bare hands or by pressing their knee into the other's neck." I explained. "Though in this case, I believe this is from bare handed strangulation."
"But isn't that still basically the same thing as what hanging does?"
"That's actually not true." Rantaro told Kaede "While hanging is a form of strangulation, it's completely different from other types of strangulations. They each harm and kill people in different ways and leave different kinds of bruises and scars."
"Exactly. Hanging would leave more of a 'V' like pattern on a person's neck, while strangling someone with your bare hands would leave more of a focused pattern of bruising since you're clasping your hands around their neck forcefully. It would be gathered around where you put the most pressure on the victim's neck like the thumbs. Miu's injuries follow that pattern, so it's safe to assume she was strangled." Maki explained further.
"I really didn't need to know that much about strangling people…" Kaede whimpered. "But how are you so knowledgeable about this, Maki? Wait, did one of the kids you took care of suffer from these kinds of injuries!?"
"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." Maki rebuked. "...Let's just say I know how to tell when someone has injuries like these for my job."
"As a caregiver?" Rantaro asked.
"W-Well, it makes sense to me. As a caregiver, if she sees signs of strangulation, she would know the kid is being abused or hurt by someone." I tried to defend Maki. Instead of making Maki happy, she once again turned to me with a suspicious look.
"I'm more curious as to how you knew there was a difference. The same thing happened when you asked me about Kirumi's injuries. How is it that you seem so knowledgeable about this stuff?"
"Uhh…" I once again was at a loss for words. This time though, I did have a small theory as to how I might now, but I'd rather not believe it. "I'm not really sure. I just get these feelings of doubt and suspicion when I see them." Maki only gave me a raised eyebrow before she sighed.
"I suppose that's all you can say, given how you have no memories."
"Y-Yeah." I nodded nervously. Still, even Maki agrees. I suppose that leaves little room for doubt. Miu died from someone strangling her. She didn't commit suicide.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Miu's Injuries
"While you guys are here, I might as well ask you about where you all were. Mind if you tell me?" I asked them.
"Of course. I was in the gym waiting for Himiko's magic show to start." Kaede said. "Shuichi, Rantaro, Gonta, Tenko, Kiyo, Angie, and Himiko were also in the gym. We all actually arrived early and helped Angie and Himiko set everything up since they didn't get to finish yesterday. Once we all finished our parts, we let Himiko finish her preparations as we waited in the gym. The magic show was just about to start before the body discovery announcement rang out."
"I can confirm Kaede's statement. All of us who were there in the gym have an alibi." Rantaro added. "Keebo was there at the start too, but he then left to get maintenance done before the show started."
"Then that means the only people who weren't there before Keebo left were me, Kokichi, Ryoma, Kaito, and Maki." I summarized. "Where were you Maki?"
"I was in the library trying to enjoy some peace and quiet." She simply stated. I felt a few drops of sweat form on my head when she didn't say anything after that.
"N-Not that I doubt you or anything, but can you prove you were there?" I asked. Maki then looked away before turning back.
"A certain idiot wouldn't stop pestering me." She answered.
"Idiot?" I asked as I followed where she was just looking at. My eyes landed right on Kaito, who was showing Shuichi some kind of mechanical device and asking if it was a possible clue. "Oooh…" I said, a small smile forming on my face as I did. "I suppose that means you and Kaito also have alibis."
"I suppose so." Maki said emotionlessly.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Magic Show Alibis
"Is that all?" Maki asked pointedly. I thought about whether I needed anything else from Maki before coming up with something.
"I don't know if it will matter, but what were you doing yesterday? Specifically the time between noon. and nighttime." I asked her.
"Why would you need to know that?"
"The Monokuma File doesn't have a time of death this time around, and since there was a lot going on yesterday, I was curious why I didn't see you at all."
"If that's all, then I suppose I can tell you. I was in my lab most of the day. I went back to my dorm room when the nighttime announcement played." Maki told me.
"In your lab, huh? I guess I can assume no one was with you then."
"That's right. No one but me can enter my lab thanks to that lock you gave me."
"I see. Any reason you were there by yourself for the whole day?"
"...I suppose it was to prevent myself from getting rusty."
"Rusty, huh?" I said with a nervous voice. I guess that means she was training there. I wonder what kind of training she could do in her lab. It is the Ultimate Assassin's lab, after all.
"You were doing training? Are there kids in your lab that you have to take care of?" Rantaro asked.
"I doubt it's anything like that…" Kaede said while scratching her cheek.
"It doesn't really matter. All that matters is that I was alone in my lab yesterday." Maki then gave me a curious glance. "Are you suspicious of me?"
"Not at all." I said immediately, surprising Maki with my swift answer. "If anything, I'm just disappointed that you don't have an alibi for yesterday. If we start discussing that time, you'll be in trouble." Maki then gave me a cold look, her eyes seeming to glow an angry red as she glared at me.
"Do you want to die?" She asked coldly.
"D-Die!?" Kaede exclaimed. Rantaro immediately stiffened, moving a bit in front of me as if to protect me from the sudden aura of hostility coming from Maki. However, I stopped him and turned to meet Maki's glare, even with how intimidating she was.
"No. I don't. That's why I don't think you're the culprit. You're not even a suspect on my list." I told her honestly. "I told you before, didn't I? I trust you, and I know I'm not the only one who trusts you either." Maki kept staring at me for a little longer before she sighed, the dark, cold aura around her disappearing as she did.
"...I don't understand you, or that idiot." Maki mumbled. "Do whatever you want. I don't really care."
"That was the plan." I chuckled.
"H-Hey Maki, about what you just said…" Kaede began.
"Oh, that? Just an old habit. Forget about it." Maki explained as the two of them left.
"An old habit, huh?" Rantaro questioned.
"Let's leave it at that, why don't we?" I told them. Still, this is worrying. Maki doesn't have an alibi for yesterday. I really hope it won't matter in the end. I suppose I'll just have to do the best I can in this investigation. The truth always comes to light eventually.
Truth Bullet Obtain: Maki Alone
"I think that's all there is I wanted to look at with the body." I said. "What about you, Rantaro?"
"Hmm, I suppose that's it." He said as he looked over Miu's body once again. "What the-?"
"What is it?"
"Look at this." Rantaro called me over and showed me Miu's hands. On parts of her fingers and palms were little bits of what seemed like glitter...or something that looked like it. "What is this stuff?"
"No clue." I said as I touched Miu's hands to examine them. "It's not glitter or any substance I've seen. You can't even rub it off."
"Could this be from one of her inventions?"
"Perhaps." I hummed in response. "Good find. This might be related to something important."
"Don't mention it. We're lucky I noticed it sparkling in the light." Rantaro replied. "Still, I can't help but wonder what could cause this."
"Knowing Miu, it could be anything." I sighed.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Sparkling Substance on Miu
"What should we investigate now?" I asked out loud as I looked around the lab.
"Let's see if there's anything here that might give us a clue as to what Miu was doing before she died, or perhaps an answer as to what this stuff on her hands is." Rantaeo suggested.
"Then we might want to check over there on her work table. I imagine she spent a lot of time over there." Rantaro nodded and we both moved over the table. As expected, it had multiple loose sheets of paper scattered on it, each one covered in messy handwriting. So it didn't look like it had changed much from when I first came here. "How does she work in all this? It gives me a headache…"
"Well let's take a look at some of these, shall we?" Rantaro said as he picked up some sheets of paper. "They mainly seem to be invention concepts and brainstorm bubbles. Hmm?"
"What's up?"
"A few of these are...weird. Even for Miu."
"Really? I've seen how weird they are. I doubt it could get worse." I said as I picked up a sheet of paper and read some of the ideas on it. "Auto-Puncher that Punches You for Telling Terrible Dirty Jokes, Goin' Commando gun, Erotic Movie Sunglasses…" Before I even realized it, I was setting the piece of paper back down and pinching the bridge of my nose, sighing as I did. "I stand corrected."
"That's Miu, I suppose." Rantaro gave a dry chuckle. "Some of these do sound interesting though. Like this page has something about the Electro series, and this one here is about a bug-vac or something. There's even a sheet that has something called a 'spatial pauser' here, though it doesn't give more details than that."
"Electro series…" That must be those Electro Hammers and Electro Bombs Kokichi asked Miu to make. Unfortunately, I doubt it has anything to do with the case. "Anything else?"
"Hmm...wait." Rantaro said as he picked up another paper. "What's this? 'Contingency Plan'?"
"Hmm?" I hummed in curiosity as I looked at the paper Rantaro found. "This one has some blueprints, but what is it? It looks like a pin of some kind."
"The plans say that it only has a diameter of 3 centimeters. That's tiny. What's this even supposed to do? Especially with a name like 'Contingency Plan'?"
"Hey, look here." I said as I pointed to a specific section of the page. "'Alpha version made, but needs further testing before final versions are made and handed out'. Just what was Miu making?"
"Do you think it has to do with that glitter stuff?"
"Not sure. None of the sheets give any more details about anything the inventions do.p, and I'd rather not waste time searching for sheets that do have details." I sighed. "Perhaps we should keep an eye out for some of this stuff. It might be helpful to us."
Truth Bullet Obtained: List of Inventions
Truth Bullet Obtained: Miu's Contingency Plan
"Guess we better move on." I said as I put the sheet down.
"Right. Why don't we-"
"So this is what's causing it!" We both turned to see Kaito and Shuichi examining the machine, Kaito yelling when he put his hand on it.
"Did you two find something?" I asked.
"Yeah. We found this device." Shuichi said, showing me the small box-like device. "We thought it had no relevance to the case like most of the other devices here, but-"
"This thing is freakin' hot!" Kaito yelled. "It practically burned my hand when I touched it! And all this heat in here, it must be created by this thing!"
"So it's a heater of some kind?" Rantaro asked as he hovered his hand over the invention. "Yep, that's producing heat alright."
"But why would a heater be on right now? And...why do I feel like I've seen something like this before…" I muttered.
"You might have read something or seen something that had this kind of thing in it. It's a pretty popular trick in murder mysteries." Shuichi explained. "Temperature can affect the rate a person's body decays, so it's common to see culprits try to obfuscate the time of death by using extremely high or low temperatures to make it seem like the victim died at a different time."
"I see. Then this heater was turned on to further confuse the time of death." I reiterated.
"Looks like it." Shuichi nodded.
Truth Bullet Updated: Heat within Lab
"So how is your investigation going, you two?" Rantaro asked.
"Good so far. We've found some interesting clues." Kaito told us. "We found Miu's dorm room key near her body, so we're planning on checking out her room later."
"That's a good idea. There might be something crucial in her room." I nodded. "We'll leave that to you both, then. Let us know if you find anything in there."
"Right." Shuichi nodded.
"Oh, while we're here, mind if I can get you to confirm something, Kaito?" I asked.
"Sure. What do you need?"
"You were with Maki this morning in the library, right?"
"Yep. I wanted to come to the magic show with me, but she was being stubborn about it." Kaito sighed.
"I can imagine. Thanks for confirming that."
"No problem. Anything for my sidekicks!" Kaito said happily before he then scratched the back of his head. "By the way, sorry that I didn't get you out of there yesterday."
"What, at the Insect Meet and Greet? Don't be. I deserved it." I reassured him.
"Still, what was your aim in helping Kokichi?" Shuichi asked. "He told us he wanted to help cause a murder by showing everyone their motive videos, and he said Ryoma was being blackmailed into helping him, but he said you were helping willingly."
"Well, I suppose it was because I was worried." I answered. "I was scared there would be another murder if nothing was done, so I wanted to try something, anything, to help prevent it, and I thought this was the best way."
"Really?"
"Kokichi's plan was to have everyone watch all the motive videos, right? That's why he called it a screening party. That's exactly what I suggested we do when we got the videos." I explained.
"Oh yeah. You did suggest that." Kaito gasped. "You told us that since some of us might have gotten our own videos, we couldn't just ignore them and the best possible way we could prevent a murder was to watch all the videos to know who would have greater motives for murder."
"Yeah. The main crux of the plan was letting us get as much information as we could so we wouldn't be in the dark in the worst case scenario. With knowledge of all the videos, we would be better prepared. Of course, the plan wouldn't completely prevent murder, but I thought it would be the best thing we could do in the situation."
"You say that, but Kokichi wanted to use that plan to get a murder to happen. He said that himself." Shuichi pointed out.
"Yeah, he told me as well. He said he wanted to show me how flawed my plan was and why we shouldn't trust each other in this death game, but I didn't really buy all of that."
"Why not?"
"Kokichi was openly asking me for my help, after all. Kind of strange for someone who was telling us he didn't want to cooperate. He also did other things yesterday that contradicted his words, so I think he had good intentions. He was just going about them in a very Kokichi-ish way. Of course, I might be wrong."
"Is that really true?" Shuichi questioned with a pondering look.
"Hmm...Maybe Rin and Kokichi had the right idea." Kaito admitted.
"Kaito?"
"Well, if you don't add in the whole Insect Meet and Greet part of the plan, perhaps it might have done us some good to all watch those videos, without looking away from the truth. At the time, I agreed with Keebo, but after thinking about it...I changed my mind. We shoulda done what Kokichi and Rin wanted and watched the videos together. If it was dangerous to watch them alone, or if it's something you can't bear by yourself, it'd be possible with everyone." Kaito said. "I shouldn't have doubted my sidekick. Rin was right when he said it was going to be hard. But that's why we need to trust each other, right? That's what cooperation is after all."
"Hindsight is 20/20, I suppose." Rantaro sighed.
"Still, Kokichi should have just asked everyone to participate instead of going to such lengths. You too, Rin." Shuichi added.
"Yes, but I think that no matter what we did, there would have been problems. Monokuma would have made sure of that. It's hard to say what we could have done that would have been the right thing to do." I admitted. "But we can't keep regretting past mistakes. We need to keep moving forward. For Miu's sake and ours."
"That's my sidekick. Always reliable!" Kaito grinned widely. "You're absolutely right. Don't worry. We'll figure all of this out and survive! I'm sure of it!"
"Your optimism never fails to cheer me up." I told Kaito, returning a smile as I did.
"Well, Shuichi and I better head off. We have more investigating to do."
"We'll let you know if we find anything." Shuichi told us.
"We'll do the same." Rantaro replied before looking at me. "Let's go ask the others about what they've found."
"Sounds good." I nodded as we continued on our way.
