"NOO!" I cried, collapsing to the floor. I forced myself back up to my feet and looked at Yamada's body. His head and face were covered in blood, and a bloody hammer lay next to it. "Justice Hammer 3… oh god… it's bigger than the first two!"
"What?" Asahina said. "So this Robo Justice is just going to keep hitting people, with bigger and bigger hammers every time!?"
"Th-this… I certainly was not expecting this…" Celeste said sadly. "I did not imagine that Hifumi would be… MURDERED!"
Ding Dong, Ding Dong!
The monitor on the wall at the back of the nurse's office came to life, confirming the horror that I had just witnessed.
"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!" Monokuma's voice cried out over the monitor.
I looked at Celeste and Asahina. There were three of us here… It could no longer be denied. Yamada was well and truly dead.
Asahina sat down on one of the beds, her eyes vacant and staring at the floor.
"Asahina?" Celeste asked.
"Huh? I…" Asahina trailed off.
"Hmm. This is troubling. We need to go and tell everyone, but in Asahina's state she cannot be left alone." Celeste asked.
"I'll look after her, Celeste. You go." I said.
Celeste shook her head. "No. It is fine. I will stay. I am still a little sore from my attack this morning." She nodded to me. "You go."
I nodded, not sparing another moment's thought. I gave Yamada one last sad glance and then raced out of the dining hall and up to the third floor. According to Celeste, the strange man went around the corner past the rec room, so he could only be in the art room, repository, the physics lab, or the equipment room. I raced around the corner and towards the art room. Checking every nook and cranny, I could not find anyone in the art room or the repository, so I rushed out of the art room and down towards the physics lab. No-one was in the physics lab either, but I sensed a foul presence at the back of the lab, like more horrors were waiting for me. I slowly walked around the air purifier and into the equipment room at the back of the physics lab.
My intuition was correct.
Ishimaru was dead on the floor, his head oozing with his own blood.
"KYAA!" I screamed. I wanted to slam the door shut and run, but my feet had frozen to the floor. My knees shaking, I looked up from the floor at Ogami and Togami, who were both silent, not looking at each other or the body. Kirigiri was leaning down and examining Ishimaru's body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another figure lying on the floor. "FUKAWA!" I yelled. "Is she-"
"No, she's not dead." Togami sighed. "She passed out after she saw the blood."
"Right… Ishimaru's blood…" I said shakily.
"But why Justice Hammer 4?" Ogami said, pointing near Ishimaru's body.
"Justice Hammer 4?" I looked to where Ogami was pointing. Sure enough, there was a large wooden hammer covered in blood next to the body. Just like the rest, it was blue and had "Justice Hammer" written on it.
"Celeste was hit with Justice Hammer 1, and then Yamada was attacked with Justice Hammer 2." Togami explained. "If Ishimaru was killed with Justice Hammer 4, where is Justice Hammer 3?"
I gulped. "About that…"
Togami growled. "Out with it. Is there something we need to know?"
I swallowed. "Talking about Justice Hammer 3 just reminded me. I-Ishimaru isn't the only one that's been murdered… Yamada's dead too!"
Kirigiri stood up. "Yamada?"
Ogami's eyes flushed red with anger. "WHAT? He's dead too!?"
"So that's why you came to get us." Togami said. "I see."
"Hurry! We need to get back to the nurse's office!" I cried.
We all quickly ran out of the physics lab and into the corridor, where we found-
"Celeste!?" I asked. "B-but you're supposed to be in the nurse's office!"
Celeste looked exasperated and confused. "S-Something has come up."
"Yes, we've heard." Togami said. "Yamada has been murdered, correct?"
"Th-that's not all!" Celeste panted. "It's disappeared!"
"What do you mean? What's disappeared!?" I cried.
"Yamada's body! Yamada's body has disappeared!" Celeste yelled.
"What are you talking about? 'It's disappeared'? Don't be ridiculous." Togami growled. "How can a body just disappear!?"
Celeste just shook her head.
"We must confirm this for ourselves." Ogami said. "Quick, we need to go to the nurse's office at once!"
Ogami took off at top speed, and we all ran after her down to the first floor, where we found Asahina, who looked terrified.
"He's gone…" She said quietly.
We burst open the doors to find out Celeste was telling the truth.
Yamada's corpse had disappeared.
"Celeste and I went to the bathroom… We were only gone for like a minute!" Asahina explained.
"It's not your fault, Hina." Ogami said, taking Asahina in for a hug.
"I just wasn't feeling well!" Asahina sobbed. "When we got back, Yamada's body had vanished. Without a trace."
Celeste looked shocked. "This must be the work of the culprit. They must have come back and taken the body away!" She explained.
"But why!?" I sobbed. "Who would do such a thing!?"
"How would the culprit have managed that without being seen?" Kirigiri asked.
Celeste's face of shock quickly turned to anger. "I cannot believe someone could do this! They must be enjoying this. Enjoying the sight of us standing around, frightened and confused…" She choked back a sob. "We're going to die. We are all going to die here - just like those guys died!" She pointed at the blood on the ground where Yamada had been laying moments before.
We all stared at the blood-soaked linoleum, anger and confusion all on our faces.
"I don't believe this…" Togami growled. "I don't believe a body would just… disappear." He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. First, there were two murders, and now a body has been taken? It doesn't make sense."
"Wait, two murders!?" Asahina cried. "What do you mean, two murders!?"
"Ishimaru is dead." Kirigiri said bluntly.
"ISHIMARU!?" Asahina screamed in anguish.
"We found him in the equipment room." Ogami said gently. "Killed by Justice Hammer 4."
"It can't be… Why!? Why him too!?" Asahina covered her ears and closed her eyes. "Celeste's right. We're all going to die here. We're all dead!"
"HINA! CALM DOWN!" Ogami shouted, grabbing Asahina's shoulders.
"Then who might the next target be? Fukawa?" Togami said, his voice suddenly devoid of emotion again.
My eyes widened. "She's-"
Ogami gasped. "I completely forgot! She's still unconscious in the equipment room!"
"You left her at the scene of the crime?" Celeste asked.
"We had no choice." Togami explained. "She passed out and refused to wake up."
"Wait. You remembered she was there all along and you said nothing!?" Ogami growled angrily.
"Of course. She clings to me like an insect. I'd prefer to be rid of her."
"You misanthropic bastard!" Ogami shouted.
"Well, her death would be on you too, since you also forgot about her." Togami said coldly.
"This is no time for bickering." Kirigiri spat. "We have to get her NOW."
"She's right! We have to go back for her! Before it's too late!" Asahina cried.
Without another word, we all sprinted back up the third floor and into the equipment room.
"Fukawa!" I cried, racing to her side. She was still unconscious, but from what I could see she was still unharmed. "Thank god, she's okay."
"What the hell!? This can't be happening!" Togami screamed.
I followed his eyes and discovered the horrifying truth for myself. "AH!" I screamed and jumped back, almost tripping over Fukawa as I did.
Ishimaru's body had also disappeared.
"Are we all hallucinating this or something?" Ogami growled.
"No. This is very real." Kirigiri said. "Someone is deliberately trying to mess with us. First Yamada, and now Ishimaru. We need to pin down everything that has happened."
"B-but, we have to find the bodies first, right!?" I said.
Kirigiri nodded. "Correct."
"Clearly, this costumed suspect is still continuing his spree." Celeste growled.
"We gotta find him before he kills ALL of us!" Asahina cried.
"Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that." Togami said.
"W-why not?" Asahina asked.
"Think about it." Togami said. "As per the rules, a single student may only kill up to two people."
"W-well, what if it's more than one person?" Asahina asked.
"Good question." Togami said. "Allow me to counter with this: Who could possibly be responsible for killing and hiding Ishimaru and Yamada?"
"Well…"
"To answer that, all you have to do is subtract from those who aren't here. Which leaves Hagakure and Enoshima."
"H-hold on, it can't be Junko, she-" I cried.
"You seem pretty adamant about defending her." Togami interrupted. "Perhaps you are… in love?"
I frowned and said nothing.
"Regardless. It leaves those two people." Togami continued. "As long as we all stick together, this strange costumed man can't continue to harm us. And, if it is just the one perpetrator, the remaining person would be left unharmed as per the rules."
We all nodded in agreement.
"I… I guess that makes sense." Asahina said.
"Thank you Togami for that extremely long-winded explanation." Kirigiri said sarcastically. "Ogami, you stay with Fukawa. Everyone else will split up to find the bodies and this costumed individual."
"C-can I stay with Sakura?" Asahina asked. "I'm still scared…"
"Of course, Hina." Ogami said.
Asahina walked up to Sakura and hugged her.
Sensing the tension, we all quickly left the physics lab again and began our search.
"I suppose I'll start with the art room…" I called out. Several people nodded in my direction. I looked around the art room but couldn't find anything. I went to open the door to the repository, but to my surprise- "Huh? The door is locked." Thinking nothing of it, I turned and left the art room. As I continued down the hallway, I kept thinking about how strange it was that the door was locked. I approached the rec room and walked inside. Again, nothing, aside from the hammer and the camera, mementos of Celeste's attack that morning. I walked out and continued down the hallway. I peeped inside both of the classrooms, but couldn't find anything either.
"Kirigiri?" I said after walking into the second classroom. "Any luck?"
Kirigiri shook her head. "Nothing. We should try checking the other floors, just in case."
I nodded. I followed her out of the classroom, and bumped into Celeste and Togami.
"I've found them." Celeste said. "The bodies are in the repository."
"The repository?" I said.
"Quickly." Togami said. "I've already told Asahina and Ogami. They're on their way now."
I nodded and followed them with Kirigiri into the repository. I watched Kirigiri slowly turn the door handle. To my surprise, the door opened. "Wasn't it locked before…?" I said quietly to myself. I could feel my doubts swirling in my stomach next to my fears. My fears manifested, and I opened my eyes to see the horror that unfolded in front of me. Even though I had expected it, seeing Yamada and Ishimaru's bodies again still terrified me and I couldn't help but cry out in terror.
"Ah!"
Ogami and Asahina rushed in from behind us, and that's when we heard it.
Ding dong, ding dong!
"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma's voice played through the monitor. "After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"
"Oh god… they're really dead, aren't they?" Asahina sobbed.
"Well! You're all here! Fantastic." Monokuma popped up out of nowhere, stopping us in our tracks. "Well, aside from a couple of you. But I can catch them up later. Anyway, here ya go! It's… the Monokuma file!" He snapped his claws like they were fingers, and a beep came from my eHandbook that I had become all too familiar with. "You know, I was gonna give it to you the first time it happened, but I figured something might happen. Puhuhu! Patience is a virtue you know!"
"Shut up." Togami said. "I don't have time for your drivel."
"Now, make sure you all investigate to your heart's content and mental might to prepare for the trial! Ahahaha! See ya!" Monokuma laughed and then disappeared.
"Ugh! Damn that bear!" Ogami cried.
"Well, now that that's out of the way and we've found the bodies, all that's left is to find the culprit."
"B-but… who could do such a thing as to kill two of our friends!?" I cried. "And how can you be so calm about it!?"
Togami huffed and said nothing.
"Nnghh…" Came a moan from somewhere below us.
"YAMADA!" Asahina cried. She ran down and knelt down beside him. "Yamada, please, speak to me! Who did this to you!? WHY!?" She grabbed his face and held it up.
Yamada's eyes were glazed over, but he slowly regained consciousness.
"How?" Togami asked. "He was pronounced dead mere moments ago."
"Hush." Kirigiri said. "This is important."
"Nnnghhh…" Yamada looked up at Asahina's face. "I… I remember… I remember… you all… before I met you… all… all my friends… the tragedy… I remember… everything…"
"His memories are blending together. He has nothing to offer us." Togami said.
"Tragedy!?" Asahina cried. "Yes, Yamada, try to remember! Who did this to you!? What was their name!?"
Yamada smiled. "Heh. Yes. That's right… I remember… their name…" He moaned. "Ya… su… hi… ro…" He let out slowly. His eyes gradually closed again. His body went limp.
"YAMADA!" Asahina cried, but it was too late. Yamada was well and truly gone. Asahina let out a sob, and stood up, letting go of Yamada.
"Yasuhiro. He said it plain as day." Celeste said. "We need to find Hagakure right now."
I couldn't believe it. A masked assailant who attacks and murders people, and then hides their bodies? Was that who Hagakure was? My mind flashed back to my tea session with him the previous day. He'd been so nice, so cheerful. Was that only a front? Was he really planning a murder so extravagant all that time!?
"Hold on just a moment." Kirigiri said. "I agree, having the victim implicate his own murderer like that is telling, but we still need to conduct a proper investigation. There could be more to this case than meets the eye."
"And, until we can corroborate Enoshima's alibi, she is also still a suspect." Togami said, eyeing me with evil glee. I scowled at him.
Celeste looked angry for a brief moment, and then softened her expression. "Yes. You're right, as usual."
Kirigiri nodded. "Good. Let's start with the Monokuma File."
I reluctantly took out my eHandbook and opened the section marked "Truth Bullets" and opened the file.
"The victims were Hifumi Yamada and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Both were killed with a blow to the head. It is thought that they were each killed with a similar weapon."
"Huh!?" I cried. "That's it!?"
"Hmm. That is odd." Togami said. "We received way less information than the previous files."
"In Naegi's case, we got an exact cause of death and time of death." Kirigiri said.
"The lack of information is not important anyway. Most of the events unfolded in front of our very eyes." Celeste remarked. "It would not be difficult for us to determine it ourselves. Besides, we do have a number one suspect. This case seems fairly open and shut."
"You say that, but I am also worried about another thing…" Ogami said.
"Are you talking about… Junko?" I asked.
Ogami nodded. "I know you don't want to suspect her, but she's been acting very suspicious these past few days, and she has no alibi for any of the attacks."
"It's as if she's vanished into thin air." Togami said. "And, given the timing, it does seem awfully convenient, don't you think?" He gave a pointed look at each of us, and we all immediately knew what he was referring to.
Alter Ego.
"B-but, even so… I still don't think she'd kill for money… she's already a very popular fashion model." I explained.
"Murder is murder, regardless of the motive." Togami said. "For all we know, the money could be completely irrelevant. She just finally saw an opening while we were all distracted and took her opportunity."
"SHE'S NOT THAT KIND OF PERSON!" I screamed, walking up to Togami and staring him down.
"Think that all you want. For all I know, you could be the spy for the mastermind instead of her."
I scowled at him and said nothing.
"Stop it. We need to focus on the case." Kirigiri said.
I turned and walked away.
"The time of death being redacted could be extremely important." Kirigiri said. "We have to keep that in mind. We need to pin down exactly how the events played out and gather everyone's alibis. In the meantime, we also need to find Hagakure and Enoshima to get their testimonies." She cleared her throat. "And finally, we need to find out if this 'Robo Justice' really exists. While we have photo evidence, I still need to see it for myself to believe it is connected to the case."
"But we saw it dragging Yamada away…" Celeste insisted. "That is irrefutable, is it not?"
"For the time being, yes." Kirigiri walked towards the door to the repository. "For now, I want you to investigate this area. I am going to search any other areas that may be relevant to this case. Goodbye."
"Kirigiri-!" I cried, but it was too late.
"What on earth does she mean by 'may be relevant'?" Togami said. "Why is everyone acting so goddamn suspicious lately?"
"Probably because you have not the ability to trust anyone." Celeste giggled.
"You act as if trust is important to me."
"And yet, you seem on edge, no? Perhaps you have something to hide?"
"Quiet, you." Togami said sharply.
Celeste only laughed.
"But, Togami might have a point. What if the killer had an accomplice?" Ogami asked.
"An accomplice!?" I cried.
"An accomplice!?" Monokuma cried.
"AH!" I jumped.
Monokuma laughed. His appearance was so sudden I almost fell over.
"What are you doing here?" Celeste sighed.
"Don't be rude! I'm just here to answer your question!" Monokuma said.
"What question?" I asked.
"About accomplices, of course!" Monokuma giggled. "I'm sure I explained it in the first class trial, right?"
I shuddered.
"Welp, that was a while ago now, so I guess I can go over it again for you:" Monokuma cleared his throat, or at the least made a noise to resemble that. "Each murder is allowed to have an accomplice, but only the one who does the killing is allowed to graduate."
"That's true." Ogami said. "In other words, the supposed accomplice would gain no benefit from working with a blackened, as they would also die should the blackened survive the trial."
"That's right." Togami said. "From that, we can concur that the chances of two people working together are very slim."
"Do you think that's the same with this case too?" I asked.
"More than likely." Togami answered.
I looked at Monokuma.
"Oh that ever-so-subtle gaze!" Monokuma said. "I'm afraid I can say no more! That would obstruct the free exchange of information between you guys."
Celeste sighed. "Meaning that knowledge is vital to the case. I see."
"Hold on now, don't rush me!" Monokuma said. "There is one more thing I have to say here. If an accomplice is directly involved in the case, then all you have to do is look for the one true blackened who devised the murder and put it into action!"
"The one… true blackened?" I said.
"I see." Togami said.
"I don't. I'm very confused." Asahina said. "Does this case have an accomplice or not?"
"Like I said, can't say!" Monokuma said. "Now it's down to the final battle between all of you and the blackened! Good luck to all of you contestants!" Monokuma vanished.
"So… to my understanding…" I said, slowly trying to gather my thoughts. "The person we're looking for is the true blackened of this case? Not whoever they set up to be implicated or an accomplice?"
Togami nodded. "That would seem to be the case. But, thanks to Monokuma, the knowledge of whether or not there was an accomplice is still entirely up in the air."
"I just… I doubt that Hagakure or Junko would involve themselves in such a scheme."
"Then you are a fool." Togami said.
"Hey! Don't be mean!" Asahina yelled.
Togami rolled his eyes. "However, I will admit, as has been proven already, there is more to this case than meets the eye. So, yes, there is a chance that both of them could be innocent."
"It does seem awfully suspicious though, does it not?" Celeste said.
Everyone else nodded in agreement. I was frustrated. Did no-one trust each other at all? I shook my head. That kind of blind trust may have worked for Makoto, but he's no longer with us… thanks to me… I choked back a sob. "I have to focus on the investigation." I said to myself.
"Wait! I've just realised!" Asahina cried. "I know someone who's capable of murdering multiple people! Especially boys! Genocider Syo-"
"Wha-!? I'm offended!" Genocider Syo cried from behind us.
"KYAH!" Asahina jumped.
"You- When did you-?" Togami started.
"I was looking all over for you, master!" Syo said. "When I woke up, you were nowhere to be found!"
Togami said nothing, probably irked by her sudden appearance.
"Anyway. YOU! Milk-sack swimmer girl!" Syo cried, pointing a pair of long, sharp scissors at Asahina.
"Milk-sack swimmer girl!?" Asahina cried.
"Why do I gotta be a suspect!?" Syo said. Was she… pouting?
"Because you are a serial killer!" Asahina said. "And there's two people, both of whom are boys, dead on the ground!"
"That don't mean a thing, girl!" Syo tutted. "I have an alibi, anyhow!" She thought for a moment. "Wait. Do I? What was Miss Morose doing?"
Togami sighed. "Unfortunately, she's right. If you recall, we were all in the bathhouse dressing room around the time Celeste was initially attacked." He turned to Celeste. "Remind us what time that was again?"
"Well, I'm not sure exactly, but probably around… just before 7am." Celeste said
"Exactly." Togami said. "And unless Syo here, or I suppose Fukawa as she was this morning, can run at the speed of light, there would have been no time for her to attack you, regroup with us, and then attack Yamada, regroup with us again, and kill Ishimaru without any of us noticing."
"Not that that matters, as Yamada screamed from the nurse's office whilst we were all grouped together on the 3rd floor." Ogami said.
"Exactly." Togami sighed. "It's impossible for any of us here to be the culprit."
"The nurse's office?" Syo said. "How the hell was ANYONE able to move that lardball up two flights of stairs, let alone me!?"
Asahina frowned and said nothing.
"The only person capable of doing that on their own would be Ogami, but she has a rock-solid alibi." I said.
Ogami nodded.
"We're just going in circles here. We need to nail down the specifics." Togami said. "If Kirigiri was here, she would have been able to do that for us. Where on earth could she have gone that is somehow more important than this case?"
Everyone shook their heads. Togami scoffed.
"Do you want me and Hina to guard the bodies? In case they go missing again?" Ogami said.
Togami nodded. "Correct. For now, we should start our investigation. Finally."
I nodded. Celeste bowed and left the repository. I looked around. I had no idea where to begin without Kirigiri's help. I looked at the bloodstain underneath Ishimaru's body. Unlike Yamada, who was bleeding right onto the floor, Ishimaru's body was placed on some sort of tarp.
"A tarp?" I asked aloud.
"That was probably used to move the body… just carrying him as he was would have gotten blood everywhere." Asahina said.
I nodded. "But why move it in the first place? Seems excessive."
Asahina shrugged. "To throw us off?"
I shrugged back. I moved my gaze over to a dolly in the corner. It looked vaguely familiar. "Have we seen this dolly before?" I asked.
Togami looked over to the dolly. "I believe so. I think that was in the equipment room when we found Ishimaru's body."
"Hmm…" I said. "Hey look!" I cried, pointing to one of the wheels on the dolly. "It's covered in blood."
"I see." Togami straightened up. "So we can presume that this dolly was used to move Ishimaru's body from the equipment room to the repository."
"That would appear so." I said. "But why?"
Togami had no answer.
I looked over at Yamada's body. Lying down, I could truly get a sense of how large he was. How the hell was anyone able to move him up two flights of stairs? I shook my head. I have to focus on his body for now. From what I remember, he was killed by a blow to the head, just like Ishimaru. Justice Hammer 3, it was. "Wait…" I said, bending down to get a closer look. Trying to avoid his head wound, I inspected closer at the thing that I thought was odd. "What's- OH!" I cried, realising it. "His glasses!" I said. "His glasses are clean!"
"Yeah, so?" Asahina asked. "Why does that matter?"
"Well, do you remember?" I asked. "When we found him in the nurse's office? His glasses were covered in blood!"
Asahina gasped. "Oh yeah!" She frowned. "Wait. Why does that matter?"
I thought for a moment. "I'm not sure yet, but I feel it's quite a big clue." I stepped away from his body. "Hey, Togami…"
"What is it?" Togami said, aloof as usual. "Do you really think Hagakure or Junko could have done this?"
"Well, Hagakure does seem like the most likely suspect." Togami explained. "After all, Yamada did say his name."
"But doesn't that sound a little too easy? Like, we have this whole costume thing, and the hiding of the bodies, it doesn't make sense."
"Well, he probably adorned the costume so as to not be seen, and moved the bodies to delay the investigation."
"Well we found the bodies pretty easily, right?"
"Because he's a moron." He chuckled.
I shook my head. "Again, it all seems too… easy."
"I get it. You're in for the thrill of it, aren't you? You're just like me. You like a challenge." He grinned. "That murderous intent resurfacing I see."
"NO! Shut up! It's not like that!" I frowned. "God… anyway. There was one last thing. Why kill two people?"
Togami was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the rules state that you only have to kill one person in order to graduate, right?" I pointed at the bodies on the floor. "So why kill two people? That only leaves more evidence, right?"
"Ah-!" Togami's eyes widened, as if he had just realised something. "Perhaps… I see. So that's what that means."
"I-is everything okay…?"
Togami looked at me scornfully. "Don't talk to me as if we're friends."
"Wha- hey! Harsh!" I cried. "You don't have to be so rude!"
He shrugged. "But, I will spare you some appreciation, out of good nature. Perhaps this will be an interesting investigation after all." With those mysterious words hanging in the air, he left the repository.
I turned back away from him, anger flushing my face red. "The nerve of that guy sometimes…" I looked at the wall behind Ishimaru. On it were a series of large wooden mallets hanging on nails stuck into the wall. They had all seen various signs of use. Looking at them closely, I can see the resemblance to the Justice Hammers. Plus, several of them being missing gave a big clue as well. I looked at the remaining ones closely. All of them had some sort of dust, splintered wood, or chakly debris on them, except for one. The biggest one. The largest mallet sitting on the walls was completely clean. I touched the handle. "It's wet…? Has this been washed recently? Hmm…" I stepped away from the mallets, careful not to trip over the tarp or Ishimaru's body. "I think that's everything in this room…" I said quietly to myself. I need to check the other crime scenes: The equipment room where Ishimaru was killed, the nurse's office where Yamada was killed, and the rec room where Celeste was attacked. I walked towards the door of the repository and touched the handle. "Oh!" I said aloud.
"Something wrong, Maizono?" Ogami asked.
"No, I just- I just remembered something." I replied. "I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner…"
"Well? What is it?" Asahina asked.
"Well, when I first checked here after we discovered both bodies had gone missing, I noticed that the door was locked. I hadn't checked there since a few days ago, so I must have just assumed it wasn't relevant, but now…"
"The door to the repository was locked?" Ogami said. "That's very strange…"
"Do you think the killer locked it? Robo Justice?" Asahina asked.
"That… does seem like the most logical explanation." Ogami explained.
"But that doesn't explain how we were able to get in after…" I jiggled the handle. "It seems like the door can only be locked on this side too." I said. "I'm so confused."
"Take a deep breath, Maizono. Remember the killer is trying to confuse us to throw us off, but we know who our target is."
"Yeah." Asahina scowled. "Hagakure. Yamada said it himself."
I frowned. A testimony from the murder victim himself was rather telling, but I could not help but feel like there was more to it. "I'm… going to check the other areas."
Ogami and Asahina nodded and said goodbye.
I walked through the art room and back into the hallway. Since the equipment room was on this floor, I decided to check there first. I quickly walked down the hallway towards the physics lab and then bypassed the physics lab to go into the equipment room, where I found all the evidence still untouched, and an angry Genocider Syo.
"Hmph. I was asleep right here when the murderer took the body away! I'm super pissed I missed such an ultimately rare event!" Syo said.
"Did you notice anything at all?" I asked.
Genocider Syo said nothing.
"Fat lot of help she is…" I mumbled to myself. I turned back towards the crime scene. First thing I noticed was the pile of tarps, which had gotten noticeably smaller. "So the killer took the tarp they used to carry Taka from here…" I quickly looked back at the bloodstain on the ground. Confirming my suspicion, there was a noticeable tire mark going through the pool of blood and heading towards the door of the equipment room. "So Taka's body was wrapped in a tarp, placed onto the dolly, and then was dragged towards the repository?" I said aloud. Hearing it being said even from my own mouth was ridiculous. What was the killer's goal with moving the body? To confuse us? If that was it then it was definitely working. The murder weapon, Justice Hammer 4, still lay on the ground exactly where it was last time. Aside from its garish aesthetic, there was nothing strange about the hammer. Leaving the crime scene as I left it, I went downstairs to the final crime scene: the nurse's office. Once I walked in, I noticed Celeste investigating an odd air of… dismissiveness?
"Oh! Hello, Maizono." Celeste said.
"What are you investigating, Celeste?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm not really investigating per se." She said wistfully. "I'm more looking for where Hagakure might be. Since he is the culprit, I wanted to hear his explanation for myself."
"Shouldn't that wait until the trial?" I asked. "We don't have much time before it starts and we need to collect as much info as possible." I said. "One thing I should ask, however…" I looked at the blood on the floor where Yamada's body was. "How was someone able to move Yamada's body up to the third floor?"
"Yes, that is an interesting question." Celeste frowned. "Well, as you know, I stayed behind with Asahina as she was not feeling well. At one stage she needed to go to the bathroom, so I went with her. But that was my mistake. Once we came back, we discovered Yamada's body had vanished!"
"How long were you in the bathroom for?"
"Only a minute or two."
"That's exactly what Asahina said…" I said. "Anyway, shouldn't you be helping the investigation? Trying to get an explanation out of Hagakure should wait until the trial."
Celeste rolled her eyes. "My my, I did not know you were so pragmatic, Maizono. But you must know your efforts are fruitless: We already know Hagakure is the culprit."
I bit my lip.
Celeste took the hint and swiftly left the nurse's office.
I wasn't sure what else would there be to find, but since I was here I figured I may as well start looking. I looked in the trash can at the back of the office, and found a bloodied yellow handkerchief with some sort of anime character on it. Feeling its material, I could tell it was for cleaning glasses. Why would there be a glass-cleaning cloth in the trash can, and moreover why is it covered in blood? This case was getting more and more mysterious by the minute. "I don't think there's anything relevant here." I said aloud. I put the cloth back into the trash can and left the nurse's office, where I met Togami.
"So this is where you've been. I've been looking for you." Togami said.
"For me?"
He nodded. "I wanted to thank you for your information from earlier. It wasn't your intention, but you made this game very interesting for me indeed."
I sighed. "I don't particularly want to listen to you wax rhapsodic Togami. I appreciate your gratitude though."
He scowled. "You say a lot of words with very little meaning." He huffed. "Anyway, I didn't come to… 'wax rhapsodic', as you so eloquently put it." He spat sarcastically. "I came to give you this." He handed me a small sheet of paper with some writing on it.
"Come to the dining hall!" It read.
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked.
"It's a note written from Hagakure. Note the handwriting." He said.
"It's… pristine! Very pristine!" I said.
"Indeed." He nodded. "He may not have many brain cells hidden underneath that sea-urchin hair, but he does have some stellar penmanship."
"How is this relevant?"
"I highly suggest checking Hagakure's bedroom. You'll find some very useful information there."
"Togami! Can't you just-"
"I owe you no more explanation." He interrupted. "Goodbye." He turned and left, heading back upstairs.
I stamped my foot angrily. "He could stand to be far less cryptic." I said to myself through gritted teeth. I looked at the note again. "Meet in the dining hall…" My curiosity was getting the better of me, and with how little time we had left in the trial, I had no choice but to investigate it myself. I headed back through the school area and towards the dorms. I approached his door and tried the handle. "It's… unlocked?" I said. "Why would he kill two people and then leave his bedroom door unlocked where we could find all the evidence? That doesn't make any sense." I stepped inside his bedroom and looked around. There were plenty of posters and books that seemed very 'occultist'. It gave the room a very creepy vibe. However, the thing that caught my attention the most were the various boxes stacked in the middle of his bedroom. I opened them up and looked inside. Blueprints, bits of cardboard, plastic, and plaster all stacked haphazardly in the box. "This looks like… Robo Justice!" I cried. More and more evidence was being pointed towards him. I picked up one of the blueprints and examined it closely. "Hold on…" I looked at the handwriting on the blueprints. It looked completely different to the note that Togami said had been written by Hagakure. "Something very fishy is going on here…" I said. I left Hagakure's room and shut the door. This whole case was very confusing. I could tell someone was trying to mess with us.
"Maizono! Big news!" Asahina suddenly appeared, taking me off guard.
"Ah!" I jumped. "What is it?"
"We found Robo Justice!"
My eyes widened. "Where!?"
"Kirigiri found him. He's on the second floor. Follow me!" Asahina took off like a bull at a gate, and began sprinting towards the school grounds.
"Asahina- wait!" I cried, my legs struggling to catch up with Asahina's fit, athletic form. Eventually, I caught up to her at the top of the stairs to the second floor. Finally, the case was beginning to unravel. It was only a matter of time before the end of the investigation, and at this stage I was even less sure if we'd be able to find the one who killed Yamada and Ishimaru.
