Disclaimer: I do not own New Dangan Ronpa V3!
This is a canon divergence of what could have happened in Chapter Three in the game if Angie hadn't died and the séance didn't happen. Major character death occurs, as well as some emotional manipulation and unrequited feelings.
That said, enjoy!
They say that Angie is a bit strange.
You suppose that makes sense, because she talks a lot about her god, and people start getting that glazed look they get when they aren't really paying attention. It's the same expression you see when you've been talking about magic for too long and you remember that for a while, you thought maybe you'd cast a spell on them by accident until it dawned on you that they just weren't listening. But Angie talks about Atua even when it's obvious nobody wants to hear it, her big blue eyes bright with emotions that you'd find tiring to name, let alone feel yourself. Still, maybe it's Angie's strangeness and her constant high spirits that draws you in, pulled by a fascination of seeing the things she lacks up close. What's more, Angie never tells you you're being 'weird' or laughs at your magic. Angie laughing at anyone seems unlikely.
Though you're not good at expressing your emotions, you're grateful for this, like Angie is doing you a favour somehow. So you listen to her talk of Atua without complaint, because it's the least you can do and it's true, you do feel calmer when you pray to Atua. It was all Angie's idea, when she first hugged you in the cafeteria.
"I understand, Himiko…you're not actually scared. You're just sad, aren't you?" Angie says as she embraces you. "You feel frustrated, anxious and worried, but you have no one to confide in, do you? It's okay. You're not alone. I know a handsome God who is keeping a watchful eye on you."
The words are…comforting.
"Angie!" Tenko protests, loud as always. "Why are trying to brainwash Himiko?"
And it's weird, but for some reason, Tenko doesn't seem to like Angie too much and you think that doesn't make much sense - Angie's not a 'degenerate male', so shouldn't she be fine with her? You know Tenko doesn't believe in things like Atua, but you didn't expect her to be so mad about it. You don't know how to fix the situation at all - keeping up with Tenko is tiring, she's so changeable and seems to want so much from you that it's just easier to tune her out. Angie doesn't really care if you show your emotions or not, she says she can understand whatever you feel anyway, because Atua tells her so.
Thinking this, you decide that Atua must be a wise god and when you say that to Angie, she beams at you, bright and warm.
"That's right, Himiko!" she says, grasping your hands, her fingers cupping your own. "Atua knew you would understand! That's why he's guided me to find you and spread the word!"
You're not totally sure what she means by that, but she looks so happy that you find yourself agreeing with her anyway. It makes her happy to be agreed with.
And so it begins.
You show Angie some of your magic tricks later and she leans forward and smiles, watching with rapt attention. She even applauds at the end of your vanishing act, so you give her a rare smile and a bow. It's nice to have such an enthusiastic audience, even if such displays of energy manage to make you feel drained just by watching.
"You're so talented, Himiko!" Angie says, jumping to her feet, fanning her arms around her.
"I learned it all from my master," you reply, reminiscing a bit. Your master is gone now, but you can still remember him like you just saw him yesterday. "He taught me everything I know…if you could see his magic, you'd be amazed. I'm still an apprentice compared to him."
You don't want to explain too much about your master, because you don't want Angie to know about everybody writing to you, sending you the fan mail and the gifts, when it should have been him that got praised. It's too painful, still, even though it was a long time ago now. You don't know – it's hard to keep track of the time in the academy, really. One day seems very much like another.
(Unless, of course, someone happened to get murdered…)
Angie doesn't pry though, which is something else that's nice about her, instead she appears to be deep in thought.
"You know, Himiko, after everything that happened with Rantaro and Kaede, I think everybody needs cheering up!" Angie chirps. "And while I was watching you, Atua gave me a wonderful idea! Why don't we put on a magic show for everyone?"
"Nyeeeh…a magic show?" you say, touching the tip of your finger to your lip. "Do you really think it'll work?"
You don't doubt your magic, of course, but it's hard to tell if you can really cheer everyone up after two of their friends are dead with a show.
"Of course, of course!" Angie says, practically bouncing with excitement. "You're the Ultimate Magician, aren't you? People will definitely want to see your talent in action! And it seems like a shame to waste all that equipment in your laboratory, don't you think?"
"I guess so," you say, warming to the idea a little. You don't know how long it's been since you last performed, so your MP should definitely be high enough to pull it off.
"Wonderful!"
You jolt slightly, startled, looking up at the girl as she starts moving about your lab. Sometimes Angie makes you a little nervous. She stares at you with those big eyes like she can see straight into you. It's a peculiar sensation, and it makes you feel odd, like you're not really here. You wonder if it's Atua looking at you through Angie's eyes like she says he can.
(you ignore the thought that says no, don't be silly, Angie can't talk to gods, because it's just like what people say about your magic, because doubting and questioning things like Shuichi is too tiring, and so you brush the thought away like a cobweb.)
Angie beams and looks at the piranha tank with keen interest, clapping her hands together. She turns to you with a graceful spin.
"Let's get started!"
It all went so wrong.
You were nervous before the show, because it had been a while since you'd done a trick like this and the props were…well, Angie said it was fine, but Monokuma provided them, so you can't really be sure how safe you actually are.
The trial to find out what happens to Ryoma is even more exhausting than the previous – people ask you questions, they don't believe you, and Angie…
"Himiko is suspicious."
Well, she's not wrong. You can't be mad at her for that, even though Tenko yells at her. Atua must know that you didn't do anything wrong, so Angie is just making sure everyone else knows the truth. But…you suppose that Tenko really is just trying to protect you. She believes in you and it's a nice feeling, like something warm is in your chest. Tenko isn't so bad, you know that, so maybe you should try a little harder to be nice to her.
You're all exhausted from another trial and everyone is quiet as they leave. Tenko, even with slightly red eyes, shoots you a smile before she retires to her room and you manage a nod back. Angie seems much calmer, her face free from tears as she squeezes you.
Angie touches you a lot, you notice. It takes a while for this to come to the forefront of your mind, because Angie is a touchy-feely sort of person, always hugging people or reaching out to them in some way. Some of your classmates are not a fan of this; they dodge Angie's touch and make faces, so you guess Angie is making up for it with you. You don't particularly like or dislike it, so it doesn't occur to you to ask her to stop.
Angie tells you not to worry about Ryoma and Kirumi – they're with Atua now, so you don't need to be sad about them being gone. The sadness doesn't go away, exactly, but you're too tired to keep thinking about it, so you don't. You do miss Kirumi's cooking, though. Angie doesn't seem to notice you're even quieter than usual and she hugs you and her lips brush yours - she tastes like watermelon. You blink at Angie and draw back just a little, unsure of what to say.
"Angie..."
"Oh! Sorry, Himiko!" Angie says, laughing a little. "I wasn't thinking! Are you okay? Atua won't judge you if you want to experiment, you know. He doesn't mind about things like that!"
You think that Atua must be a wise, forgiving god to pass on his words through Angie. You don't know how you feel about the kiss, but if Atua says it's okay then it can't be so bad, right?
Right. Angie knows best.
Tenko calls it brainwashing.
"Can't you see what's going on, Himiko?" she says one morning at breakfast, almost pleading with you. "Angie can't hear Atua! She's just saying it so you'll do what she wants! You need to think for yourself instead of letting Angie put her nonsense in your head!"
"Well, to be fair, it can't be hard putting ideas in Himiko's head, since it's so empty anyway," Kokichi calls from across the table, smirking.
"Shut up, you filthy male pervert!" Tenko shouts and Kokichi's smirk widens.
You don't know what being a pervert has to do with anything, but Tenko calls the boys that all the time. It hits you that Kokichi just called you stupid and ordinarily you would have at least protested, but you can't seem to summon the energy to care anymore, if you ever had it at all. You've been feeling like that more and more, recently, like even feeling things is too hard. Angie says you just need to open your heart to Atua, but you're not really sure how to do that – it's not that you want to disappoint Angie, but…
"Himiko!"
Tenko's fingers grip your shoulders and she's staring into your eyes. "Are you even listening to me? This is exactly what I'm talking about!"
Her olive eyes search your face for some sign that you understand her and it's like she can see straight into you. Her earnestness makes you squirm in her grip – you don't want to hear it.
"Leave me alone, Tenko," you mutter.
Pain flashes across Tenko's face and her fingers slip off you. She's very unlike you, everything she feels is written all over her face. And you've hurt her.
Tenko rises from her seat at the table, her head slightly bowed and her hands curled into fists. She shoots what can only be described as a look of venom in Angie's direction, so visceral that you can almost feel it. You stare at her dumbly instead.
"I'm not hungry anymore," Tenko says, and leaves the dining hall without another word.
You watch her go, trying to make sense of the heavy feeling in your stomach. You want to call after Tenko, but the words somehow stick in your throat. Then, the familiar scent of paint fills your nostrils as Angie wraps her arms around you.
"It'll be all right, Himiko," she says, rubbing your back. The gesture is comforting and, bit by bit, you begin to relax. "Tenko is unlucky because she cannot hear the voice of Atua, so she gets jealous. Maybe if we pray for her, Tenko will see things our way."
A look of discomfort flickers across the faces of several people, too many for you to ignore. Angie has always had a knack for unsettling the other students, but this is the first time you've seen it reflected in everyone so clearly, with no traces of exasperation to dilute the feeling or wacky antics from someone else to distract you.
Actually, the mood has been dropping lower and lower, like every classmate takes a piece of everyone with them when he or she dies. Nightmares aren't uncommon – sometimes when you close your eyes, you can still see their dead bodies – Rantaro's blood splattered head, Kaede swinging limply from a rope, Ryoma's picked-clean bones and Kirumi's battered body. They didn't deserve to die – victim or murderer, you don't think any of them were bad people. It's all Monokuma's fault, Monokuma and whoever the Mastermind is.
Yet the thought still lingers in the back of your mind, no matter how tired you are, no matter how hard you try to push the question away;
Which one of us will be next?
Angie is petting your hair as best she can with your hat in the way and you want to tell her to stop, but she's talking over your thoughts and you get distracted with trying to process what she's saying as she continues stroking your head.
"In fact, Atua has given me his divine guidance and I have an idea! A way to stop all these senseless killings!"
People are starting to lose interest in Angie, as they often do when she starts to talk about Atua, but a couple of people are still listening curiously.
"An idea?" you ask, with a quizzical blink.
"Yes!" Angie beams. "Just wait and see, Himiko. Maybe we'll even end the killing game once and for all!"
You hope that she's right.
...But nothing is as easy as all that, is it?
It turns out the idea Angie got from Atua is to make a student council to enforce order and keep an eye on each other at all times. The idea makes sense, you suppose, but it doesn't surprise you that Angie is met with a lot more resistance than she seems to have anticipated – even Shuichi doesn't look happy about it. It's also not much of a shock that Maki, Kokichi, Miu and Korekiyo all refuse to join, but you admittedly weren't expecting Tenko to become a member.
"But why are you here, Tenko?" you ask, tilting your head to one side.
Tenko doesn't quite meet your eyes as she replies.
"Angie's…right," she says, "We have to try and stop the killings somehow and both times the killers went off and did something along. So if this can stop anyone else from dying, then so be it."
Something tells you that there's more to it than that, but it's far too tiring to try and pry information from Tenko. Besides, you've only just noticed that it's nice having her around again; it reminds you of simpler times. It's crazy to think you've all been here for as long as you have, but unless someone figures out you're trapped here, it looks like you'll just have to accept it. Angie says you should stop thinking about the outside world anyway.
Though the student council has split the remaining students sharply in two, members and non-members, and nothing Angie says makes a difference in their opinions, Angie has other things on her mind. Namely, the new opened laboratory available to her, and the instructions for a séance.
"Just think, Himiko!" Angie gushes as she sculpts wax between her fingers, leaving little smears where it rubs off on her tan skin. "We could speak to Rantaro and find out if he remembered anything about the Ultimate Hunt he talked about!"
You watch as the form of Rantaro starts to take shape between Angie's fingers, the placid smile mixed with those shrewd green eyes. You didn't know Rantaro well – nobody did – yet the wax effigy bears eerie resemblance to him, as expected from the Ultimate Artist. The sight of his knowing stare makes you uneasy.
"I'm going to bed," you announce, after a time, watching as Kaede's form begins to emerge. "If I don't get any sleep I can't replenish my magic."
"Of course!" Angie chirps. "Tomorrow we'll finally find out the truth once and for all, I can feel it!"
But the next day, nobody can find Angie. She isn't in her room, in her lab, in the dining hall, the gym…even with fourteen people running around, she has all but vanished. You know it wasn't because of your magic, so you're worried.
Shuichi looks around Angie's laboratory, looking for clues, as everyone else talks over each other about Angie's sudden disappearance. He pauses by a pile of ashes in the centre of the room, a stubbed-out candle not too far away. The wax makes a smeary coating on his fingertips as he pulls his hand away from it.
"Is this…?"
"Looks like Angie finished the ritual anyway," Maki says, frowning. "The Necronomicon's instructions said to burn it once you're done, didn't it?"
"But…that doesn't explain why Angie isn't here…" Tsumugi says, hands clasped in front of her.
You stare at the ashes, as if they might be able to tell you where Angie is. She was so sure that the ritual would work that it didn't even occur to you to question what would happen if she failed. The wax dolls of Rantaro, Kaede, Ryoma and Kirumi stare back at you silently, as if they know what happened but aren't telling. Gonta folds his arms, looking concerned.
"Gonta worry…not safe for people to be alone at night. Angie said so!"
"Tch, so she was bitching at us for staying out past curfew but she was in here all night? What the fuck is up with that?!" Miu complains, hands on her hips.
"Neeheehee! Now things have finally gotten interesting around here!" Kokichi snickers, hands behind his head. "Where oh where could Angie have gooone?"
"We'll have to split up and look for her," Shuichi decides.
Nobody seems to have any better ideas, so one by one, you all file out of Angie's lab before splitting up – with twelve of you, you should cover all the available places in the academy, hopefully before nightfall. It'd be a pain to have to search for Angie in the dark. Tenko tags along with you, since everyone agreed to search in groups. The two of you head outside, deciding to search around Miu and Tenko's labs first. Though things have been a little tense between you and Tenko lately, you're glad for her company – it's spooky wandering around the school when somebody…when Angie could be…
"Let's try to think calmly about this," Tenko says, even though she's bouncing on her heels, looking tense. "If she's not in her room or lab, where else would she go?"
You try to concentrate, but your mind feels foggy, vague, like all your complex thoughts are trickling out of your ears. It's much easier to just let other people to the thinking for you, like Shuichi putting all the pieces together in the trials.
"It's too bad Atua can't tell us where she went," you say, without really thinking about it.
"Himiko-!" Tenko blurts out, loudly, like she wants to start yelling at you or shaking you, and it takes her a second to compose herself, sucking in a shaking breath. "…Let's just…search top to bottom, okay?"
You nod and Tenko seems to calm down after that, reassuring you that you'll find Angie soon, but you decide not to mention Atua again. Tenko's a member of the student council, but you can tell that talking about Atua bothers her – she never liked it before and even now, she gets this weird, tense, pinched look on her face. You're not the greatest at reading other people's emotions, but with Tenko, everything's all right there, out in the open. She's so different from you, with loud opinions and boundless energy. Maybe it's her Neo-Aikido that does it.
It's night time when you finally find Angie. A crowd of people are standing at the top of the steps by the benches. Through a gap, you can see a flash of that yellow coat.
"Angie!" you say, hearing a whine in your own voice. "Is she-?"
"It's alright," Shuichi reassures you with a small smile. "She's just passed out. I think she's starting to come around."
Relief blooms in your chest and you let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding. You can trust Shuichi, after all.
"Thank goodness…"
"Yeah…" Tenko says behind you, but she doesn't come any closer.
You kneel down beside Angie, tentatively reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. Her jacket is damp and icy-cold and you pull away again, letting your hand drop into your lap. You're glad the others are here, because you don't know what to do with her and you're certainly not strong enough to shift her by yourself.
"It looks like she's been outside for some time," Ki-bo says. "We should move her inside before she gets sick."
"Gonta will help!" Gonta says and easily scoops Angie's slight form, and it's with clear relief that everyone begins to make their way back to the dorms. Though Angie hasn't made herself popular in the past couple of days with non-student council members, nobody wants to stumble on another corpse.
"But where was she in the first place?" Kaito wonders out loud. "What was she doing?"
To everyone's surprise, Angie opens her eyes.
"I was praying," Angie says and you've never heard her sound that way before – in the place of her happy, carefree tone, she sounds… lost. "I was praying to Atua. But…I couldn't hear his voice."
"Angie no hear Atua?" Gonta asks, sounding puzzled.
"Tch. Whatta fat load of shit!" Miu scoffs, hands on her hips.
"What about the ritual?" Maki presses, getting right to the heart of the matter. "You burned the Necronomicon, didn't you?"
"I…did everything the book said," Angie says, her voice faint and almost sad, "But it didn't work. I don't understand…why didn't the ritual work?"
Maki frowns and Miu scoffs loudly. The student council cluster around Angie (except for Tenko, who still has a weird, tense look on her face), and now that Angie seems to be out of danger, the non-council members lose interest and drift away. Only Shuichi pauses.
"Angie," he says. "I'm glad we found you. Try to get some rest, all right? You look frozen."
He fleetingly rests a hand on Angie's arm and she smiles at him, not as wide and bright as she usually does, you guess she's low on magic, but it's nice to see it anyway. She rests her head against Gonta's shoulder and closes her eyes.
"I will. Thank you, Shuichi."
Nobody thinks to ask where Angie's been, mostly because they're just glad they didn't find her dead. You think about questioning her, but she looks so small and fragile as Gonta gently deposits her onto her bed – nothing like the Angie you know – that you can't bring yourself to do it.
The important thing is, she's okay. You feel better with Angie around, like she fills an emptiness in you with her light. Everyone else except Tenko files out and you kneel next to the bed beside Angie, staring at her face as she drifts off to sleep. You want to ask her where she's been, why she was gone for so long, but that can wait.
Tenko's fingertips brush your shoulder.
"Come on, Himiko," she says, softly. "It's late. Let's wait until morning to talk, okay?"
It's too bad that you can still feel a wariness from Tenko, something that tugs at another part of your mind, but you don't really know what to make of it right now. You want to ask, but a yawn overtakes you and you decide it can wait. Besides, you're tired and want to go to sleep.
"Okay…" you say, standing and rubbing the corner of your eye with your knuckle.
You decide that Tenko is just paranoid.
"Himiko."
Shake, shake.
"Himiko!"
"Huh?"
You blearily open your eyes, wincing when bright yellow invades your senses, only to realise that Angie is standing over your bed. Strands of silvery hair tickle your cheek.
"Angie?" you mumble.
"Himiko, I finally understand!" Angie says, trembling with excitement. She looks a little strange to you, feverish and jittery, her hair loose and messy. "Why I couldn't hear Atua's voice before, why my séance failed! Now I know what we have to do!"
"Oh…that's good," you say vaguely, still half-asleep and wondering what this has to do with you. You're too tired to concentrate.
"Himiko," Angie says, and something about the way she says it makes you sit up straighter. "I need your help with something. I can't do it without you, and Atua is begging me to fulfil his will. Will you help me?"
You don't want to get up, but Angie seems worried and after the panic you felt when she disappeared, you don't want her to run off on her own again. So you nod and haul yourself out of bed - you fell asleep in your clothes again because it was too tiring to bother getting into your pyjamas, so all you need is your hat and boots.
Angie's face breaks out into a wide smile and she hugs you, the avocado scent filling your nostrils.
"Thank you, Himiko!" she gushes.
You nod slowly.
"Let's go," you say.
Angie leads the way outside, and it's odd but none of the other student council members are there waiting for you. For some reason this makes you oddly uneasy and you pause at the foot of the stairs.
"Where is everybody?" you ask.
"They're sleeping," Angie reassures you in a whisper, resting a hand on your back. "Let's not wake them up."
You frown at that but you're too tired to ask why everyone else is asleep when Angie isn't, or why she's only brought you outside with her. Maybe she wants to try another magic show idea? Yeah, that must be it.
(Even you don't believe that one.)
You follow Angie in a dazed stupor, keeping your eyes on her yellow coat, which is like a beacon in the early-morning light, the sun only just beginning to rise. You're not really paying all that much attention to where you're going until Angie suddenly comes to a halt.
"Angie?" you say, blinking.
"Come on, come on, this way!" she says, tugging you along.
You're…at the Altar of Judgement? You look down at your boots splash through the ankle-length water and a chill settles over you like a blanket, which must be because of that creepy Monokuma statue. Why has Angie brought you here?
"Nyeh…are we gonna be here long? It's cold," you say, hugging yourself.
"Don't worry; you won't be cold for long!" Angie says, approaching you. She seems more energetic, more awake, which is a relief. Seeing her so defeated and lifeless before was a little scary. Angie's standing in front of you now, her eyes fixed on your face.
"Himiko, close your eyes for me," she says, rocking on her heels.
You do, and the sound of the trickling water seems louder in your ears. You hear Angie's footsteps moving further away for a moment before they return, stopping directly in front of you. You jump as Angie's lips brush your own, feather-light and warm and you're about to pull back, ask what she's doing because you're tired and you want to go back to sleep-
Pain blooms in your neck and you cry out, reaching forward, trying to get your balance.
"Angie…?"
And then everything goes dark…
The cafeteria is loud with conversation that morning when Angie walks in, her hair trailing over her shoulders and a smile on her lips. There are damp patches on her coat where the water from her wet hair seeps into the fabric. Since the student council formed, there is a notable gap between them and the other students, one half sitting on one side of the table, everyone else on the other. Tenko sits awkwardly inbetween like she isn't sure what to do with herself.
"Oh, Angie! Good morning!" Gonta greets her cheerfully.
"Good morning, Gonta! Atua has blessed us with another beautiful day!" Angie replies, taking a seat as Ki-bo rises to fetch some breakfast for her. "It looks like I overslept, nyahaha!"
"Huh? Is Himiko still in bed?" Tenko asks, looking around as though the mage could have snuck in without her seeing. Angie accepts her bowl from Ki-bo.
"I knocked on her door this morning as I was leaving, but she didn't answer," Angie says, taking a bite of food. "We can bring her some food later."
"It's not good to skip meals…" Tsumugi frets.
Conversation shifts away from the subject after that, mostly centring on some weird ritual that Korekiyo has been obsessing over lately, but after the Necronomicon ritual failed, there is more scepticism among the group than there was before. Needless to say, Kaito is the one most vociferously protesting about this.
"We don't need any more of that supernatural stuff!" he yells, fist clenched. Kokichi and Miu look amused at his frantic outburst.
Tenko, however, keeps glancing at the doors with an increasingly anxious expression. Eventually, after everyone is just about done eating, she stands up, her chair rasping loudly across the floor.
"This is no good! I'm going to go try waking Himiko," she says, shooting a glance in Angie's direction.
Tenko runs out, her pigtails flying behind her. A few minutes pass before she suddenly bursts back into the room, her eyes wide and frantic.
"Guys! I can't find Himiko!" she shouts. "She's not in her room, I just looked! She's not in her lab either."
"Oh, man, not again!" Kaito groans, rubbing the back of his neck. "People need to stop wondering off on their own already!"
"First Angie, now Himiko," Maki observes, glancing in the direction of the student council, as if trying to determine which of them will mysteriously go missing next. "This student council isn't exactly efficient."
"Th-that's…" Ki-bo protests.
"Nevermind that right now!" Tenko interrupts. "We need to go looking for her! It's not like Himiko to go wandering off by herself."
"I agree with Tenko," Shuichi says, getting up. "Let's split up and search for her. I'm sure she'll turn up somewhere."
A few people groan at having to comb through the academy for a second time, but it's not like they have anything better to do, so they file out. Kaito slips a bit, swearing and Maki rolls her eyes at him. The student council members whisper amongst themselves, with Angie cheerfully assuring everyone that Himiko is just fine.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Shuichi murmurs to nobody in particular.
Tenko, however, pauses.
"Me too, Shuichi," she says, in her distress forgetting that he is a degenerate male – instead, her are eyes following Angie's back as they exit the cafeteria. "Me too."
Ding-dong, ding-dong!
"Ahem. Attention students! A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the Shrine of Judgment immediately!"
The students do as Monokuma bids (however much they don't want to) and run to the shrine, looking among their comrades as they do and trying to figure out who it is this time, what horrible fate has befallen one of their friends now.
Tenko is one of the last to get there – she's been lower on energy than usual over the past couple of days, worrying about the way Himiko has become nothing more than Angie's parrot these days. And no matter what Tenko does to warn her, Himiko keeps insisting Angie is her friend and she has the other student council members to back her up. She cannot see Himiko as she, Maki and Shuichi run for the shrine, but she's probably already there. They burst through the marble doors, Tenko skidding in the ankle-length water.
"What is it? What's going on?!"
Nobody answers Tenko and nobody protests as she shoved through the small gathering of people, her heart hammering hard in her chest. The water is tainted pink and-
Himiko Yumeno's corpse lies in the water, her face utterly blank. A wound in her neck is still gushing blood, leaving her face utterly pale, especially over her drenched black clothing. Her arms lie by her sides, one hand squeezed into a fist. A sword lies beside her, bloodstained, elegant gold covering peeling off in the water. Her mouth is open in a silent cry, they'll never know her last words -
Tenko's scream rips through the air.
And now there are eleven.
The students stand at their podiums, but the atmosphere is very different from the first two trials. Mostly because after her initial horror, Tenko has been on the warpath, her knuckles bruised from punching her podium. She ruthlessly interrogates the "degenerate males", but even her fellow women are not safe from her fury.
"Why?" she says, shaking her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why would somebody kill Himiko?! Himiko never did anything to anyone! I swear, when I find out who did it-"
"Oh, give it a rest, Tenko," Kokichi's voice cuts over her trembling voice. He sounds almost bored. "How do we know you didn't do it?"
Several people swivel their heads around to gaze incredulously at the Ultimate Supreme Leader – though it's a Kokichi-ish thing to say, the audacity of him suggesting such a thing to Tenko's face is still worthy of some shocked expressions.
"Wh…" Tenko's jaw drops open. "What did you-!?"
"Come on. It's so obvious. You were always running around after Himiko, pestering her, pretty much stalking her," Kokichi says, smirking. "Even though it was pretty obvious she wasn't interested and kept hanging out with Angie. And you couldn't stand it, could you? Did you tell her to come to the shrine to admit how you felt about her and she turned you down cold? Did you lose it, Tenko? Is that why you killed her?"
Tenko's expression is stricken, like the words are a physical assault.
"I…I'd never…" she manages to get out, more tears spilling from her eyes. Her body is shaking. "Himiko was…very special to me…I'd never hurt her! Sure, I-I didn't understand why she hung out with Angie all the time, but that's not Himiko's fault! It's Angie's! Angie brainwashed her!"
"Tenko…" Gonta says, sadly, glancing from Tenko's stricken face to Angie, but Angie looks serene.
"Don't worry, Tenko!" Kaito interrupts, flashing Tenko one of his signature thumbs-up. "I believe in you! You wouldn't kill Himiko, you were her friend!"
"More like she wanted to tap that fuckin' loli." Miu snorts, hands on her hips. "But even so, wouldn't she just off Angie instead?"
"Don't say things to crudely…" Tsumugi feebly protests.
"…Angie." Shuichi suddenly says.
"Hm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, of course!" Angie says. "Ask anything you like!"
"When you came into the cafeteria this morning, you said you've overslept…but why was your coat wet?"
There's a small pause here. At first it seems odd that Shuichi would ask about such a superficial detail, but the longer the silence grows, the more people turn to look at Angie as she stares back at Shuichi.
"What?" she says, vaguely.
"Your coat, the hem of it was wet," Shuichi says. "I didn't notice it straight away, but when we stood up to leave, Kaito slipped on the puddle the water made that had formed under your chair. But it hasn't rained since we woke up at the academy."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I remember that!" Kaito says. "Wait, that was all from Angie's jacket?"
"Were you swimming?" Gonta asks, puzzled. "But…pool not open until morning, right? Did Angie go for a swim before breakfast?"
"Oh, that's what you're asking! I took a shower last night!" Angie explains. "My coat must have gotten wet because I dropped it on the floor."
"But then, wouldn't there be splash marks on the rest of it, not just gathered on the hem?" Maki puts in, scowling in Angie's direction.
Tenko is staring at Angie with a peculiar expression on her face, like she's gritting her jaw. Heads are turning to look at Angie, waiting for her to say more. Angie is still smiling.
"Maybe the water just gathered at the bottom." She eventually shrugs. "What about the murder weapon? That was a sword from Kiyo's lab, wasn't it? Atua knows!"
"Yes, but anybody could have taken that sword," Korekiyo replies in his usual, unnervingly calm voice. "My lab doesn't lock, you see."
"Ah, and that was something else I noticed when I was examining the crime scene…" Shuichi says, putting a hand to his chin as he recalled the details. "The gold coating was flaking off on the handle of the weapon, but there were also markings on the hilt of the blade."
"Markings?" Miu frowns.
"Yeah. I didn't know what it was, at first, but then I remembered something else. When we went to Angie's lab the morning after she tried to do the ritual, she wasn't there, but the ashes from the Necronomicon were, as well as the candle Angie took from the empty room. When I picked up the candle, it left wax on my fingers. The same kind that was on the katana."
A fissure of shock runs around the gathered circle of students and now Angie's expression has gone slack – the smile has finally slipped from her face, leaving her countenance eerily blank-looking.
"So what?" she asks, with a tilt of her head.
"So what?!" Kaito echoed incredulously.
"Well, I can understand why you'd think of me if you find wax on the sword…but how do you know someone didn't just grab a candle from one of the empty rooms?" Angie says, with a shrug.
"Yeah! Why are you suspecting Angie? She was closer to Himiko than anyone!" Tsumugi protests, turning to look at Shuichi, seemingly oblivious to the pained expression on Tenko's face at her words. "It's plainly not her!"
"Then…how do you explain what we found in Himiko's hand?" Shuichi asks. "When I was examining her body, I noticed one of her hands had something clenched in her fist. White hair."
Silence.
"Maybe…maybe someone planted the evidence-?" Ki-bo begins.
Shuichi shook his head.
"For the killer to do all that, they would have had to somehow steal some of Angie's hairs without her noticing, go to Korekiyo's lab to grab the katana, get a candle to smear wax on the blade and then bring it to the shrine of judgement without any of the patrolling student council members seeing them. Plus, Himiko had her fist tightly clenched. If the culprit had planted the hairs, they would not have been able to make Himiko's hand close tightly like that once she'd died – Himiko must have been holding onto it when she was still alive. Angie's lab is right next to Kiyo's, so she would have been able to hide herself in her lab until everyone else had gone to bed. Then, she must have taken the katana to the Shrine of Judgement and hidden it, then went to fetch Himiko from her room. It was early morning, so she didn't have to worry about bumping into any student council members."
"Neeheehee! Well, this is a surprise!" Kokichi lilts. "Angie murdered her most devout follower? It would've been sooo easy to persuade Himiko to follow her to the shrine, too."
"You can't prove that I was there just because you found a hair that looks like mine, though!" Angie says, almost pouting.
"But you've already lied once in this trial, haven't you?" Shuichi replies, his voice serious. Angie blinks.
"…Huh? What do you mean?"
"Angie…lie?" Gonta repeats.
"You said you took a shower last night, but when you came into breakfast this morning, your hair was wet and so was your coat. You said you took a shower last night."
"Hey! That's right, she did say that!" Kaito exclaims, pounding one fist into his palm. "I heard it loud and clear!"
"Hey, yeah, I heard Angie showering when I left my room this morning!" Miu suddenly says. "I was up late last night so I was tired as fuck, but I remember hearing a door slamming above me. It fucking woke me up!"
"Yes, Miu's room is beneath Angie's," Ki-bo says, now looking unnerved.
"I was sculpting in my lab and I needed to clean up," Angie insists. "I know what you're thinking, Shuichi, but if you're wrong, everyone will die and Atua will punish you in the afterlife!"
"That's another thing," Shuichi says, a cold feeling settling over him. "Yesterday when we found you, you said you couldn't hear Atua's voice anymore, but today you've gone back to telling us what he says like nothing happened. Where were you when you went missing?"
Angie doesn't answer.
"I think you were praying at the Shrine of Judgment," Shuichi continues. "Your coat was damp when we found you – it's the only place I can think of where you'd be in that much contact with water, other than the pool. I think when you failed to resurrect Rantaro with the Necronomicon, it scared you. Atua had told you to do the ritual, didn't he, so when it didn't work, you stopped hearing his voice and went to the Shrine in hopes he'd speak to you. It's where Kaede and I first met you, remember? So you must have heard Atua again at the shrine. So, Angie…did Atua tell you to kill Himiko?"
Several people gasp.
"Wh-what?!" Ki-bo shouts.
"A-Angie kill Himiko for Atua's sake? Unpossible!" Gonta says, looking horrified.
"Well, Angie?" Kaito says, cutting over their protests.
Angie stands there for a couple of seconds, gazing at Shuichi with an unreadable expression, her blue eyes looking oddly glazed. Then she suddenly smiles brightly.
"Nyahaha! As expected from the Ultimate Detective!" she laughs. "Very well, you win. When I tried to resurrect Rantaro, I waited for hours and hours for something to happen, but nothing did. I thought Atua wanted it, but I was so wrong! It was Monokuma's motive all along. When I prayed to Atua for guidance, he came to me and told me the reason I couldn't resurrect Rantaro was simple – that Rantaro was where he was meant to be!"
"M-meant to be?"
"Mh-hm! You see, the only way to escape this killing game is to die, and Atua truly wants to save you all! So I knew that I had to send my friends to Atua, so that we can all leave this academy and go to him. Himiko was detaching herself from reality because the killing game was too much for her to bear. I was hoping that you'd vote incorrectly so I could send you all at once, but I guess some of you just don't understand. Too bad, Shuichi. I hoped you'd eventually come around!"
Shuichi's jaw hangs open. Everyone else is staring at Angie with varying degrees of horror or disgust. Tenko's face is frozen with outrage.
"But…but why did you kill Himiko?" Shuichi says.
"Isn't it obvious? Himiko wanted to go to Atua," Angie says. "The killing game was too much for her to bear, so she detached herself from it because she had someone to turn to. It's the way she would have wanted to die!"
"You…" Kaito says, his face incredulous.
"Ahem! Well, looks like that's the end of this trial! …Kind of an anticlimax when the culprit admits it, huh?" Monokuma chimes in, putting a thoughtful paw to his chin. "Anyway, you know what time it is! Iiiiit's…Voting Time!"
The music from the podiums rings out loudly in the stunned silence, and Angie's image pops up onscreen to electronic applause and confetti falling from the ceiling.
"Unbelievable! You're three for three!" Monokuma cackles. "That's right! The culprit was Angie Yonaga. What a twist, huh, kids?!"
"Angie…you…" Gonta says, tears gathering in his eyes. Tsumugi is also tearful.
"All this time, we thought you wanted to stop this killing game…"
But the shock from the student council is nothing compared to Tenko. The girl stands at her podium, breathing heavily. Her fists are clenched so tightly at her sides that her knuckles have gone white. Her face is tilted forward, half hidden by the shadows of her hair.
"Tenko?" Ki-bo says, looking to her with concern.
"You…" Tenko breaths, her voice hoarse, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Angie…I knew Himiko shouldn't have trusted you…you're…you're worse than a degenerate male…"
"Tenko, calm down-" Shuichi begins.
"You killed my best friend!" Tenko screams.
What happens next is a blur – one moment Tenko is standing at her podium, the next, she is not. She runs towards Angie, olive eyes blazing and her hand reaches for Angie's throat. Angie's blue eyes go wide as Tenko bears down upon her, fury, anguish and despair pulsing from the neo-aikido practitioner in waves. Shuichi recognises the look on Tenko's face – it is a mask of pure hatred.
"Tenko!" half the gathered classmates shout in horror.
The crack resounds across the courtroom. Gonta and Tsumugi both gasp. Miu takes a horrified step backwards and Kaito makes a strangulated noise in the back of his throat. Kokichi and Maki merely stare in stunned silence.
Monokuma is shouting something and so are the Monokubs, but everyone else is fixed on Tenko, who is holding Angie's limp body up by her neck. Angie's eyes are glassy, unseeing. Tenko drops Angie, who hits the floor with a thud, her mouth open like Himiko's was, her expression stunned.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Monokuma's voice shatters the silence. "Did you just-?!"
"Yeah, it looks like she did," Monotaro nods. Monophanie begins to vomit.
"You can't just go around killing the blackened before I even get to punish them!" Monokuma shouts, all teeth and fangs. "Who do you think you are?!"
"Tenko…what have you done?" Shuichi gasps.
"Holy shit!" Miu cries.
"A-Angie…" Tsumugi whispers, in shock.
"She's…" Ki-bo says.
"Oh well," Monokuma sighs, theatrically. "Since you just killed someone in front of all these witnesses, I guess we don't need an investigation or a trial. So! Without further ado, Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Neo-Aikido Artist! It's…PUNISHMENT TIME!"
The words seem to ring out, like the tolling of a bell. Tenko has no time to do much as a collar flies towards her and latches around her neck, her hands flying up to the metal and her eyes wide with shock. The classmates can only stand in horror as they watch as another one of their friends is dragged from the courtroom by her throat. Though many emotions must be running through Tenko Chabashira as her death approaches her, but only one name is on her lips.
The courtroom is silent.
Seven students down. Nine to go.
If this ending is depressing, then this may cheer you up: I imagine that Korekiyo attempts to kill the one "admirable girl" left in the academy - Tsumugi. So she dies, Korekiyo also dies on general principle, killing game ends and everybody else lives.
Thanks for reading!