Gundam runs on pure adrenaline. He and Nidai sprint back to the hotel. When they get to the cottages, they nearly smash into the rest of the group, as well as Togami. The imposter tuns to the pair, startled. Tsumiki squeaks, running up to Nidai and prodding at Kuzuryuu. The gangster weakly coughs, a small trickle of blood dripping off of his chin. The others gasp and scream. Togami immediately takes charge, shouting.
"Nidai! Take Tsumiki and bring him to the damn pharmacy! Now!" Togami gestures wildly, and the coach nods. He picks up Tsumiki, slinging her over his shoulder, and sprints off to the second island. Gundam goes to run to the hotel when Togami grabs his shoulder. "No! Take us to the murder scene!" Gundam shakes his head.
"No... Fire... Need water..." Gundam breathlessly points at the central island. Togami and the others turn, and the imposter gasps at the sight of the column of smoke in the sky. He whirls around.
"Komaeda! Hanamura! Mioda! Get some buckets or something and fill them with water! The rest of you, let's go!" The three nod and turn around sprinting back towards the hotel. Gundam leads the rest of the group to Jabberwock Park. Their feet thunder against the ground, and Gundam uses the sound to keep him tethered to sanity. He can't lose his head. He skids to a stop with a gasp when he gets to the park. Someone bumps into him and they scream into his ear. The arcade machine, spurred on by the slight fuel of Owari's shirt, has been nearly engulfed in flames. The gymnast's corpse is partially on fire as well. Gundam reacts, along with Togami, and the two run forward, grabbing Owari and pulling her out of the arcade machine. Her body slumps in their grasp, and her hair catches fire, filling the air with a disgusting smell. Togami takes off his jacket, quickly smothering the flames with it. The rest of the students stare hopelessly at the inferno that used to be the arcade machine. It melts and slumps as the fire consumes it. Komaeda and Mioda scamper up, but find themselves rather late, buckets dangling loosely in their grasps. Mioda takes a few shaky steps and tosses her half-bucketful of water onto the fireball, which causes it to die down slightly. Komaeda puts his bucket down, dips his index finger and thumb in the water, and pinches out a small fire on what remains of Owari's collar. Hanamura jogs up, out of breath and covered in water. He slows to a stop upon seeing the smoldering arcade machine.
"What the hell happened here, Tanaka?" Togami turns to Gundam. With his adrenaline rush winding down, Gundam finds himself with a slight headache which is worsened by Togami's rough voice.
"What makes you think I know?" Gundam crosses his arms. "I just found the scene like this."
"Well then why don't you tell me about it." Sarcasm and irritation drip from Togami's words. Gundam supposes it's understandable, the imposter had yet again failed to prevent a murder. The animal breeder snorts.
"Fine. The spirited one and I arrived on the island perhaps... five minutes before the announcement." It somewhat hurts him to talk about the announcement, one that marked the death of one he was beginning to consider a friend, so casually. But he has to keep his cool, even if it means handling something like this a lot less gently than he would have preferred. Somebody has to. "We encountered Koizumi on the bridge. We then split up, Nidai heading to the park and your's truly catching up to the righteous one. She seemed... fearful of something..."
"Hold on." Togami stops him. "You saw Koizumi?"
"Yes. I believe I did just say that." Gundam crosses his arms. "She came from the park. As I was saying-" Togami cuts him off.
"Hold on. Stop. You do realize we've basically cornered our culprit." Togami's lips pull themselves into a reluctant frown. "She's the only one unaccounted for at the murder time... Or at all..."
"Are you sure about that, Togami-kun?" Monobear snickers. The imposter and the animal breeder spin to look at him. Gundam finds himself glaring.
"What do you wish from us, monochrome demon?" Gundam snorts.
"Oh nothing, nothing. I just wanted to give you guys something for someone's job well done." A demented snicker comes from the bear as he holds out a familiar looking device. Gundam has to dig through his thoughts for a moment before he remembers. A Monobear File. Togami snatches the device from Monobear's paws. "Well, I'll be off! Don't dwindle, your lives depend on it! Upupupu..." Monobear scampers off.
"Now perhaps you will let me finish, grandiose one." Gundam stares Togami down, the imposter simply nodding for him to continue. "Good. As I was saying, after the righteous one escaped from me, Nidai approached, fear in his eyes. We ran to the park to find-" He chokes up a bit here. Even he, a mighty and divine being, has standards when it comes to things like these. "...To find Owari. Kuzuryuu was slumped behind the machine, alive. Barely. He passed out moments after we arrived. That is all."
"Hmm..." Togami sighs and shakes his head. "Whatever. Let's get investigating people." The group, somewhat reluctantly, disperses through the park, a few of them ditching the place all together. Togami calls Komaeda over. Gundam plods over as well, much to Togami's chagrin. "You did the evidence thing last time, right Komaeda?" The luckster just nods. "Good. You're doing it again. Now come here. We're reading this Monobear file together." Komaeda sighs.
"Whatever you say, Togami-kun." The imposter nods, satisfied with his response. Komaeda edges close, pulling out his Student ID, and Gundam takes up the other side. The three stare down at the Monobear File as it lights up. It shows a picture of Owari with her head jammed into the machine. Next to it is a silhouette of her body. Multiple blood red splotches litter the shape, and little lightning bolts surround her head. Togami reads the words on the bottom out loud.
"The victim is Akane Owari. The time of death was around six-thirty in the afternoon." Togami stops for a moment, glancing at his watch. "Hold on. That was half an hour ago!" He shoots glares at Komaeda and Gundam. The luckster shrugs. Gundam snorts. "Ugh..." Togami shakes his head and continues reading. "The body was found in Jabberwock Park. Cause of death was electrocution, preceded by a weakening of the head by multiple blows, likely with a fist or similarly shaped object. The body is covered in welts, bruises, cuts, and puncture wounds. There appear to be traces of two strong anesthetics in the bloodstream, crudely administered multiple times with a needle-like object into various areas on the body." The imposter stops, letting the words sink in.
"Wow. That's... brutal." Komaeda cringes, typing a few things out onto the Student ID. Gundam pulls his out and glances at them when they come up in the Evidence tab. 'Time of Death: Owari died an hour before her body was discovered.' 'Wounds: The wounds on Owari's body suggest that she was in a fight before she died.' 'Anesthesia: Two kinds of anesthetic were found in Owari's body upon discovery of her body. They were applied multiple times in multiple places with a thin, needle-like object.'
Togami looks over the entries and nods. "Good. Carry on." He shakes his head sadly and plods over to the arcade machine and crosses his arms, staring blankly into the slowly darkening sky.
"...So Tanaka." Komeada turns to the animal breeder, sheepish smile on his face. "Do you want to investigate with me?"
"It is not like I could do anything else." Gundam crosses his arms with a sigh. They sit silently for a while before beginning. As they aimlessly walk through Jabberwock Park, a rustling captures their attention. They turn to see a happy Mioda pop her head out of the surrounding bushes.
"Ooh Nagito-chan! Gundam-chan! C'mere!" She motions them over excitedly. They walk over, Gundam raising an eyebrow as he spots something in the musician's hands. "Lookie at what Ibuki found!" She holds the thing out. Gundam takes a closer look at it. It looks like... a dart gun? An unusually battered dart gun.
"Mioda-san... What is that? Is that a dart gun? Where'd you get that?" Komaeda leans forward to get a better glance at it. Gundam just snatches it out of Mioda's hands. She whines in protest. "Ah... Tanaka-kun..." Gundam ignores them, taking a closer look at it. It looks modified, like someone had crudely swapped the barrels out so that they could fire something bigger out of it. It's also damaged, bent at a strange angle right in the middle. That isn't the most concerning part, however. When Gundam moves his hand, Komaeda gasps and points. The animal breeder raises an eyebrow and glances down at his hand. It's smeared with blood. He jolts in surprise.
"Mioda. Give me your hands." Gundam holds his non-bloodied hand out.
"But-" She starts to protest, but Gundam cuts her off.
"No buts. Now." He grabs Mioda's hands when she sticks them out adn carefully examines them. There's blood on her hands too. "Ha. Look." Gundam points out the blood on her hands to Komaeda. "No doubt. This blood came from the gun."
"Hmm... I suppose that would make sense. But why would there be blood on it?" Komaeda types something out on his ID. Gundam just shrugs, handing the dart gun back to Mioda. She chirps happily and drops back down into the bushes. Gundam leans over to glance at Komaeda's screen as he finishes typing. 'Dart Gun: A modified and damaged toy dart gun found by Mioda in Jabberwock Park. The barrel appears to have been changed, as well as bent from some sort of impact, and there was blood on the handle.'
"Let's continue." Gundam wipes his hand off with a few leaves and continues to walk around. The two of them spend five fruitless minutes searching. Gundam groans in anger, kicking a rock across the park. It skitters into the bushes with a gentle rustle. Komaeda just shakes his head and sighs.
"Um... Komaeda-san? Tanaka-san?" Sonia comes up to the pair. She has something clenched in her fist. "May I um... show you something?" The boys turn to her.
"Oh. Sure, Sonia-san. Go ahead." Komaeda smiles at her. Sonia takes a quick breath and opens her hand, holding it out for the two boys to see. Gundam gingerly picks it up out of her palm. It's a throwing dart. Silver, slim, and rather light. Dried blood coats the tip. Gundam scratches off a bit to make sure it is indeed blood.
"...This is blood. Where did you find this?" Gundam asks the princess. She takes in another breath, deeper this time, and closes her eyes.
"Um... I believe it was... over there." Sonia points to some of the bushes near the slag heap that used to be the arcade machine. "Here's another one." The princess holds out her other hand, which also has a dart in it. Komaeda picks up this one. He looks it over, then holds it out. Gundam puts the one he holds next to it. They're pretty much the same, down to the blood stains coating their tips. Gundam snorts and takes Komaeda's. He holds them out to Sonia.
"My lady, I request that you... hold onto these until the trial. Keep them safe." Gundam watches as Sonia takes the darts back and nods. The animal breeder offers her a comforting smile and takes out his Student ID. It buzzes a moment later, and he checks on the new tab there. 'Throwing Darts: Some throwing darts found near the scene. Their tips are soaked in blood.'
"Hmm... Tanaka-kun. Can you come with me? I want to ask Togami-kun something. And then you." Komaeda taps his chin in thought. Gundam just shrugs.
"Fine." The animal breeder follows Komaeda as he trudges over to the imposter. Togami glances over at the two as they approach.
"What?" The imposter crosses his arms, staring the two down. Komaeda readies his Student ID and takes a breath to steady himself.
"Well... I just wanted to know where you were all day, Togami-kun. As you don't really have an alibi..." Komaeda trails off.
"Hah." Togami scoffs. "You really think I would be a suspect here?"
"Anything is possible, grandiose one. I suggest you answer the question before the Four Dark Go-" Gundam is about to continue when he realizes he doesn't have his hamsters with him. He frantically pats himself down, only for Komaeda to chuckle.
"Here." He holds out his arm, and Jum-P and Maga-G pop out of Komaeda's hood, scampering across his arm and leaping onto Gundam's shoulder. The animal breeder sighs in relief. He forgot he had given them to Komaeda and Saionji. Komaeda nods and turns back to Togami. "So... about your whereabouts..."
"Hmph. If you really must know, I was on the second island, guarding the ruins. I didn't want one of you simpletons to get mowed down by that gun because you were too reckless to heed my warnings." Togami snorts. "If that's all you need, I suggest you go investigate more. We only have a limited amount of time, you know." Komaeda just nods, and Gundam's ID buzzes with a new note. Togami glances at his as well. 'Togami's Testimony: Togami was guarding the ruins on the second island all day.' The imposter rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything more.
"Come, Komaeda. I believe there is a certain place we need to visit." Gundam motions towards the bridge, and Komaeda nods in response. Just as they start walking away, however, the luckster jumps back in surprise as a crunching sound comes from under his foot. Gundam helps him steady himself and crouches down to see what he stepped on. It's hard to tell now that it's been crushed, but among the broken glass and twisted metal, it kind of looks like a syringe.
"Hmm... That is rather suspicious." Komaeda, who is suddenly crouched next to Gundam, says. The animal breeder turns to him and nods. The white-haired boy types something out on his ID, and Gundam checks it a moment later. 'Broken Glass and Metal: An object that was, unfortunately, accidentally broken by Komaeda upon discovery. It's remains appear to resemble a syringe. It was found near the crime scene.' "Welp." He says the word uncertainly. "Lets go then." They both get up and stroll towards the bridge. When they reach the part where the stone pathway becomes wooden bridge, Komaeda stops. Gundam keeps going for a few steps, then turns back to look at him. "Tanaka?"
"What?"
"Tell me what happened here again." Komaeda holds his ID loosely.
"...Here?" Gundam raises an eyebrow.
"With you and Nidai. And Koizumi." Komaeda tilts his head ever so slightly.
"Ah." Gundam crosses his arms and sighs. "Very well. When Nidai and I arrived on the central island, we encountered Koizumi, who had come from the park. I assume. Nidai went to the park and I caught up to Koizumi. She... got away. Then Nidai found me and we went to Jabberwock Park. Then the announcement went off."
"Okay. Thanks." Komaeda smiles at him, then types something out on his ID. Gundam glances at it. 'Tanaka's Testimony: On their way to the central island, Nidai and Tanaka met Koizumi, who was leaving Jabberwock Park. Nidai went to said park first, and Tanaka arrived later.' "Let's head over to the pharmacy." Gundam nods. They break into a jog, moving quickly off to the second island.
Gundam pushes open the door to the pharmacy, a cool blast of air blowing over him as he enters. It ruffles his hair and makes his eyes water. As he rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands, Komaeda slips into the pharmacy after him. When his eyes are clear, Gundam surveys the scene. Kuzuryuu is on the floor, on top of a blanket. He lies on a pillow, with another blanket covering him. His jacket lays off to the side. He seems more alert, if annoyed that Tsumiki is coddling him, poking and prodding and trying to get him to take a small, white pill. Nidai stands off to the side, arms crossed, and glances at Komaeda and Gundam when they enter.
"Ah. It's you two." Nidai nods at them. "Collecting clues?"
"Of course." Gundam says simply. "I've already told Komaeda all that we know." Nidai just nods again in response. Komaeda, meanwhile, has turned his attention towards a certain nurse dotting on Kuzuryuu. The luckster kneels down next to her, after she finally manages to get Kuzuryuu to take the medicine, and taps her on the shoulder. Tsumiki practically jumps into the air in surprise, letting out a fearful squeak and covering her face.
"Oh! Sorry, Tsumiki-san." Komaeda lays a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to talk to you about something." He reaches down into his jacket pocket, pulling out his Student ID, and turns to Tsumiki with a smile. The nurse sputters at his gaze.
"O-oh. Sure! U-um... I'll try my best to answer your questions! Oh, but you haven't even asked them yet. I-I'm probably stopping you from asking them! Oh, I'm sorry!" Tsumiki starts crying. Kuzuryuu scoffs, rolling onto his side. Gundam rolls his eyes and Nidai snorts. Komaeda laughs nervously.
"Calm down, Tsumiki-san, it's alright." Komaeda squeezes her shoulder reassuringly and moves it up to ruffle her hair. She sniffs pathetically. Komaea chuckles and wipes away one of her tears. "There we go. Now, let me ask you the question." He waits for Tsumiki to nod before asking. "So, you spend a lot of time here in the pharmacy, right Tsumiki-san?"
"Y-yes." The nurse nods. "I like it in here. I-It smells good and I like to read all about the medicine here..." She smiles before adopting a scared look. "Oh! Y-you probably didn't want to hear a-about what I like. I'm sorry!" Her lip quivers, and Komaeda quickly pats her on the back.
"Shh, shh, it's fine. I just wanted to ask if you've noticed anything missing." Komaeda comforts the nurse long enough to get an answer.
"W-well um..." Tsumiki stares off in thought before tearing up. "I-I'm sorry... I-I haven't h-had a chance to look around yet... I'm r-really sorry..." She sniffles, tears already running down her cheeks. Gundam rolls his eyes. Komaeda catches the motion, shooting Gundam a glare, and smiles at Tsumiki.
"I'll watch Kuzuryuu. You go check up on the supplies. Here." Komaeda shows her the anesthesia entry on his ID. "If it helps, you can just check the anesthesia section or whatever." Tsumiki just wipes at her face with a nod and gets up, scuttling over to a certain section of the pharmacy, out of sight. Gundam stalks over to Komaeda. The luckster glances up at him and glares again, unamused. "C'mon Tanaka."
"...Fine. I apologize." They sit in silence for a few moments, the clinking of glass bottles the only sound in the pharmacy. Tsumiki returns after a couple of minutes.
"U-um... well... I-It seems that s-someone has taken two different anesthetics..." Tsumiki takes a deep breath and continues. "O-One was a v-very strong regional anesthesia... i-it would only take a small amount to i-induce numbness in a r-rather large area... The other w-was a general anesthesia that c-can cause the r-recipient to fall unconscious v-very quickly if a large enough dose w-was administered. I u-um... also found out that one of the syringes was missing as well..." Tsumiki clenches the hem of her apron and squeezes her eyes shut. "I-I'm sorry! That's all I could find! I d-didn't meet your expectations did I?" She starts sobbing again, rubbing at her already red cheeks and irritating them further. Komaeda places a hand on her shoulder.
"No, no, don't cry Tsumiki-san. That was great. It was exactly what I needed." Komaeda smiles warmly at her, and the flow of tears slows down.
"R-Really?" She looks at the luckster hopefully, cheeks tinged pink.
"Really." Komaeda gives he shoulder one more gentle squeeze before going to enter something on the ID. When Gundam finds the nurse's eyes focused on him, he feels the edge of his mouth twitch up.
"Excellent work, timorous one. I believe this will aid us greatly in our upcoming adversity." Gundam nods at Tsumiki, making her smile gently.
"Th-thank you!" She blurts out. She then goes to cover her face with her hands, mumbling something about being too loud. Gundam glances at his Student ID when it buzzes. 'Missing Inventory: Two anesthetics, as well as a syringe, are missing from the pharmacy.'
"Hey. You." Kuzuryuu points at Tsumiki with one of his hands. The other lays, palm up, on the blanket. Blood pools in his palm and begins to dribble off the edges, staining the blanket. Tsumiki glances over, squeaking in surprise. She reaches into a bucket Gundam somehow didn't notice before, pulls and wrings out a rag, and begins dabbing the blood away. Komaeda catches sight of it and raises an eyebrow. Gundam narrows his eyes.
"Hey... Kuzuryuu-kun... Why is your hand bleeding?..." Komaeda asks hesitantly. Kuzuryuu looks at him like he's stupid.
"The hell do you mean 'why is it bleeding'? It's bleeding cause I was fucking attacked." Kuzuryuu huffs. "I went to the damn park to eat my lunch and suddenly I get sneak attacked by some fucker. I got no idea who it was. Got me from behind too, the coward." The gangster snorts angrily.
"You... went to Jabberwock Park for lunch? Why didn't you just have lunch with us?" Komaeda looks at him in confusion.
"Cause I think you guys suck eggs. Ask weasel boy over there. He saw me." Kuzuryuu motions to Gundam with his free hand. Gundam clenches his fist angrily.
"Yes. I did see him earlier. When the lithe one and I left to get ingredients from the supermarket, he was there, claiming to have come for some lunch. And also that he wasn't eating with us anymore." Gundam crosses his arms, glaring at Kuzuryuu. The gangster sneers back at him.
"Hmm... Interesting..." Komaeda snaps a picture of Kuzuryuu's wounded, and now clean, hand. It has some deep scrape marks along the palm, and there seems to be a large amount of blood coming from his index finger in particular. With a satisfied nod, Komaeda enters his findings into the Student ID. Two entries pop up. 'Kuzuryuu's Testimony: Kuzuryuu went to Jabberwock Park to have lunch, but was attacked and knocked out when he got there.' 'Kuzuryuu's Hand: Kuzuryuu's hand is in a much more wounded state than his body, covered in thick scrapes and a deep gouge on his index finger.' "Can you look at this to make sure it's accurate, Kuzuryuu-kun?" Komaeda holds his Student ID up to the gangster, open to the two entries. Kuzuryuu takes a minute to read the entries over.
"They're fine. I guess. I don't see why you need that shit about my hand though." He snorts.
"Just a... formality? I don't know. It seems important though, right Tanaka-kun?" Komaeda looks over to Gundam for support. The animal breeder shrugs.
"If you think so, fortuitous one." Gundam just crosses his arms, keeping his gaze focused on Kuzuryuu. The gangster glares back.
"Attention, attention!" The monitor in the pharmacy lights up with an image of Monobear, his voice blaring through the speaker. Gundam hears Nidai mutter an 'already?'. "I think you bastards have poked around enough! If you're ready for a School Trial, say 'I'! Hahahaha! Meet me at the Monobear Mountain! You know, the one we met at last time? Oh boy, I can't wait! I'm sure it'll be... electrifying! Upupupu..." The monitor shuts off with a click. Gundam sighs. Nidai shakes his head and helps Kuzuryuu to his feet. Komaeda comforts Tsumiki. The five of them exit the pharmacy and begin their trek to the central island, the courtroom, and yet another trial.