5th Arc: Journey without Feeling or Fulfillment
Deadly life
"What is this? What's going on!?" Shuichi shouted right after Monokuma was done delivering the body discovery announcement.
He didn't know what to think. He couldn't stay calm at all, not with what he was seeing. His mind was twisting in chaos and madness, confusion and turmoil. Nothing made sense anymore. Not with this much despair surrounding them.
"Wh-What!? Th-That's blood, right!? Why is there so much blood coming from the hydraulic press!?" Tenko shouted as held a hand to her pale face.
She was covering her mouth, probably to stop herself from hurling at the sight. It was easy to imagine why that amount of blood was dripping out from the press, but it was just too evil and sickening.
"That was the body discovery announcement, right? That means…someone is in that press." Rantaro grimaced. "But…who in the world–?"
"The only ones in the hangar were Kokichi and Rin. It must be one of them." Keebo state grimly.
"...What?" Shuichi gasped in terror.
"Oh! Look!" Keebo gasped as he pointed towards the press.
Everyone's eyes followed where Keebo was pointing, and they all landed on the piece of clothing that was sticking out from the press. The single sleeve of a purple jacket.
"Those clothes!" Shuichi shouted in horror as his eyes shrank to pinpoints.
The image of a peerless, enigmatic man who had saved them on countless occasions entered his mind the moment he saw the sleeve. The smile he always wore. The confidence he always had. The kindness he always gave them…and the purple jacket he always wore. If Rin's purple jacket was there, that means that the one under the press was…
No one spoke as they stared at the sleeve for what felt like an eternity. And then, Kaede started moving towards it. It was a few small steps at first before she had tossed the Electrohammer from her hand and sprinted over to the press, ignoring all the blood she was walking as she crouched down to clutch the sleeve. After a moment of staring at it, she slowly turned to the others. A pained, devastated look was painted on her face as tears began to stream down her face. She choked out a sob as she clutched the sleeve close to her and wailed.
Kirumi was the next one to move. She slowly walked over to Kaede, never once taking her eyes off of the purple sleeve the pianist was holding like a lifeline. And then she dropped to her knees, caring not for the blood that would get on her, as she stared with a blank, confused look as if trying to process what exactly she was looking at. The muscles in her face morphed with multiple tragic emotions and twitched as she seemed to try to process what was in front of her.
Tenko stands there with tears of her own pooling at the edges of her eyes. Both of her hands were now covering her mouth, and she was incredibly pale. She looked like she might actually throw up if she continued looking at the horrible sight, yet she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away. So she simply stands there, muffling her cries with her hands as she slowly hunched over, her choked-up gasps and sobs only getting louder and clearer the longer time went on.
Rantaro didn't seem to know what to make of it all. His body shook in confusion and sorrow as his eyes darted up and down the press. It was as though he was desperately trying to figure out what had happened, and why it had to happen. He didn't find an answer, though, it seemed, as his face soon morphed into anger and defeat as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as his head dropped down towards the ground. Failure… That was probably the strongest feeling in his mind at that moment. He had failed to return the favor. He had failed to save his friend.
Keebo just averted his eyes, sadness clearly visible on his face, along with uncertainly and perhaps sympathy. He might have been a robot, but seeing one of his friends suffer such a gruesome death and seeing the rest having to suffer the pain of losing that friend in such a way…Keebo couldn't bear to watch. It was too painful. Too raw of a wound. Too…soon to have lost another person again.
And Shuichi…Shuichi stared at the scene, his eyes blank as he kept looking at everything in front of him. His mouth still hung open, and his arms remained at his side, useless and limp. Yet his mind was racing. Already, he was trying to piece everything together in his head. He had to. No, he wanted to. He wanted so badly to figure this out so that whoever did this could be punished for what they did. Perhaps not by Monokuma, but he wanted answers. Why? Why did someone else have to die? Why did Rin have to die in such a way? He had to get those answers. If only to find closure in this new tragedy they all found themselves in.
"Why…? Why is this happening again?" Kaede cried softly as she kept her hold on Rin's bloodied sleeve.
That's when he showed up.
"Puhuhu. Looks like you have a lot of twists and turns to sort out during the class trial." Monokuma laughed as he entered the hangar. "That's what the killing game's all about, after all! And so, I will now pass out the Monokuma File! Don't say you're getting bored of this! Cuz things are about to get interesting! I hope you pour your heart and soul into this investigation, too! Even if you already think you know the answer, you might want to pay attention. You never know. Maybe you'll be surprised, so give it your all!"
After quickly handing out the Monokuma Files, Monokuma left as quickly as he came. It was sobering for everyone. Before, there were never enough files for everyone. Now they all could have a file of their own without having to share. That's how few of them were left.
"Ho-Hold on! We have to investigate…? I thought the killing game was over!" Tenko screamed as the hand that held her Monokuma file shook in terror and confusion.
"If the killing game is continuing, and Monokuma is still moving, that could only mean one thing." Rantaro said with a grimace.
"The mastermind, Kokichi Oma, is still alive." Kirumi hissed with a venomous tone that no one had heard from her before. Her fists shook as she picked herself off the ground and her face hardened with a new, very visible fury. "That's the only thing this could mean. The killing game is still happening, so that means the mastermind is still alive."
"I-If Kokichi is still alive, then there's no doubt, is there? The one who's dead is…is…Rin…" Kaede muttered in a broken voice as she looked down at the bloodied sleeve in her hand.
"N-No! That's not possible! There has to be some mistake! There's no way Rin could die! It has to be a lie!" Shuichi shouted. He wouldn't believe it. He couldn't. How could he? How could he ever fully wrap his head around the idea that Rin Wakuri, the Ultimate Hope, leader of the Future Foundation, and the one who had been by their side as an ever-reliable ally could ever be killed like this?
"Just calm down, Shuichi," Rantaro told him sternly. "None of us want to believe it, but what choice do we have with the evidence in front of us?"
"Th-That's true." Tenko let out a sad whisper. "We've already lost people strong and incredible like Rin. We…have to accept what happened."
"Even so, how can you just accept this? This is…" Shuichi trailed off as he grimaced and clenched his teeth, averting his eyes as he held back tears of frustration.
"I do not want to believe it either. This…this shouldn't have happened." Kirumi grimaced. "I…do not understand how this could have happened."
"Kokichi…It must have been him…" Kaede growled as she got back onto her feet, her sadness now shifting to rage as she glared at the press that took her friend. "He's the only other person who was in the hangar with Rin. He murdered Rin! It has to be him!"
"Where is Kokichi?" Rantaro asked with a raised eyebrow as he scanned the inside of the hangar.
"That's right… I don't see him anywhere. He should be somewhere in this hangar." Keebo said as he looked around as well.
"If he's not here, then he must have run away like the degenerate he is! We need to find him! He's obviously the culprit like Kaede said!" Tenko shouted.
"Let's split up and look for him! Leave no stone unturned!" Keebo exclaimed.
"It won't matter how good he is at hiding. We'll find him, and once we find him, we'll make him answer for what he did!" Kaede declared.
"...Wait." Shuichi interrupted them with a pained expression. "We…can't leave yet. We don't know for certain if that dead body is Rin. We haven't explored all the possibilities yet."
"If it's not Rin, then who's dead in there?" Rantaro questioned skeptically. "Are you saying it's Kokichi? Then why is the killing game still continuing?"
"And if Rin is alive, why hasn't he shown himself yet?" Keebo added.
"Are you saying…he's hiding because he's the culprit?" Kaede asked with wide eyes, confused and shocked by at the thought.
"No, that cannot be right! Rin cannot be the culprit! That is even more impossible than him being dead!" Kirumi shouted, refusing to believe that Rin could ever kill someone, even Kokichi. "He just…wouldn't do something like that."
"Would Rin even have been able to kill Kokichi in the first place? Kokichi hurt him with the Exisals, remember?" Tenko asked while placing a finger on her chin as she thought. "And his opponent was the mastermind of the killing game and could control the Exisals whenever he wanted! Rin's smart, but how would he kill someone with that much of an advantage against him?"
"I don't know, I just…I'm just saying it's possible…" Shuichi told them. "Ah, and, even if it is Kokichi that was killed, that wouldn't mean that the killing game would end."
"What?" Kaede exclaimed.
"Remember when Tsumugi died? The same thing happened. She claimed to be the mastermind and had access to things only the mastermind could have had, like the hidden pathway in the girl's bathroom and the hidden room in the library. Yet she was executed by Monokuma, and the killing game didn't end after her death."
"That's…true," Tenko muttered. "But still–"
"And if Kokichi really was the one who was killed, that doesn't necessarily mean that Rin is the culprit either. The reverse is also true. Even if Rin is dead, that doesn't mean Kokichi is the culprit." Shuichi finished his line of thought.
"S-So does that mean the culprit is one of us?!" Keebo shouted in shock.
"No! That isn't possible!" Kaede yelled.
"I get that this is all shocking, what with a body being discovered, but how in the world could one of us be the culprit?" Rantaro asked while crossing his arms. "The only people who were in the hangar were Rin and Kokichi. No one else could get in, right? Kaede's Electrohammer wasn't charged yet, and Kirumi's was stolen. The only possible people who could have died and killed are Rin and Kokichi, and Tenko has already pointed out why it's unlikely that Kokichi is dead."
"...Then let us investigate." Kirumi suddenly said in a new weak, yet calm voice, none of the venom from before audible.
"Kirumi?" Kaede turned to the maid in confusion.
"We must find the truth of what occurred here. It is as Shuichi said. No matter how impossible it may seem, or how improbable it may be, without a thorough investigation, we will not know what truly happened here." Kirumi explained. "And…I want to believe that Rin is still alive. No matter what, I want to believe that is the truth, despite what is in front of us. If at all possible, I want to find the truth that will prove that."
"So…you want to play the killing game? You want it to continue?" Tenko asked with a gasp.
"A class trial will be held whether we wish or not, correct? With Monokuma still active, it is unlikely that we will not be forced to participate."
"Kirumi's right. The class trial is inevitable with Monokuma still around, so we have to investigate to prepare for that." Shuichi said. "I don't know if we'll find hope or despair…but we have to find the truth. It all starts there."
"...You're right." Keebo sighed. "If the class trial is going to happen anyway, then we should investigate."
"But we already know the answer, don't we? The culprit who killed Rin is Kokichi!" Tenko shouted.
"But if we're wrong, Monokuma will execute us all." Rantaro grimaced. "We can't die here. We already decided to live for hope, right? So we have to do this, even if we don't want to."
"Do we really have to? I don't…want to play this killing game anymore. I didn't…want to lose anyone again." Kaede cried.
"We'll lose everyone if we don't play or get it wrong. So we must." Rantaro told her sadly.
"...Alright. Let's do it then. Let's find the truth. For Rin's sake. We owe him that much."
"My main concern is how Kokichi will react if we accuse him of being the culprit." Keebo frowned.
"If he plays dumb at all or runs away, I'll pin him down until he confesses! I won't let him escape! Rin might have been acting awful to us these last few days, but he didn't deserve to die, especially like this! He won't get away with this!" Tenko shouted while glaring at the press before she turned pale again and had to hold a hand to her mouth. Yet still, she glared at the press as if it was the most evil thing in the room.
Everyone could see how the martial artist was thinking of ways of forcing a confession out of the supreme leader of evil with her most painful Aikido moves that she knew. No one pitied the little purple gremlin, though.
"I don't think he'll run, anyway. Junko Enoshima cherished the killing game rules. She let herself be executed by the 78th class once they uncovered her crime and voted for her at the class trial, after all." Rantaro pointed out.
"The Remnants of Despair worshipped Junko, so I think they'd follow her path if they were in a similar situation." Kaede nodded slightly, still recovering from her shock at discovering the body. "We'll just have to vote for Kokichi in the class trial, and then he'll be executed."
"If he is the culprit," Kirumi grumbled.
"But Kirumi–"
"I understand your concerns. It is just…something about this bothers me." Kirumi admitted as she put a hand to her chin and thought about it.
"Well then, let's review the Monokuma File. Is that okay with you all?" Keebo asked.
"Yeah. Let's." Shuichi nodded along with everyone else.
And so, they all turned on the Monokuma File and looked at what was written for them. Unfortunately, they all were disappointed with what they saw.
The body was discovered in the Exisal hangar. The victim was crushed by the hydraulic press and is unidentifiable.
"That's it!? This doesn't tell us anything!" Tenko shouted angrily.
"Even the identity of the victim is unknown? Why would that be?" Rantaro raised an eyebrow at that.
"It doesn't have a time of death, either." Kaede pointed out with a frown.
"Nor a cause of death," Kirumi mumbled. "The only thing written here is what is obviously seen at first glance. How disappointing."
"Does that mean…Rin really wasn't the one who was killed?" Kaede asked. "I mean, in the previous cases, whenever something was omitted from the Monokuma File, it was to hide crucial evidence that pointed to the killer. So by not telling us who was killed, does that mean it wasn't actually Rin?"
"Of course, we can't know for sure. Maybe Monkuma is only hiding the victim's identity because whoever isn't dead still hasn't shown up yet." Rantaro sighed.
"You mean he's just being suspenseful? But why? Would he truly hide such basic and crucial information on such a whim?" Kirumi questioned.
"It's still too early to decide anything for certain," Shuichi said while shaking his head.
"Then, I guess we should start investigating." Kaede frowned.
"...Is anyone else feeling strange?" Keebo asked.
"Huh? Strange?" Rantaro questioned.
"There's something about the air in here that's making me feel…off…" Keebo admitted. "I don't know if the Electro-Radar is to blame, or if I'm malfunctioning somehow…but I'm starting to feel somewhat sick. Actually, I was feeling the same thing last night…"
"I don't feel sick at all," Kaede told him.
"It gotta be because of the Electro-Radar, right? You run on electricity, right, Keebo? The jamming signal that messes with electronics from the radar must be messing with your head." Tenko suggested.
"You may be right, but I thought it only affected smaller devices," Keebo said.
"Perhaps the radar we made was strong since it was more unstable. It didn't have a power knob like Rin's. Perhaps the radar can affect larger devices and machines at a higher power." Rantaro guessed.
"If that is the case, perhaps you should stay outside the hangar until the radar's signal fades away," Kirumi told Keebo.
"R-Really, I'm fine, but…I suppose I'll go investigate outside for now." With that, Keebo left the hangar, swaying from side to side a bit.
"I guess we should start our own investigation, too," Tenko said.
"Then…I'll be off, then," Kaede told them quietly.
"Huh? Are you sure, Kaede?"
"If the body's like that, we don't have to worry about anyone messing with it. So…we all should make the most of it and investigate everything ourselves." Kaede said while clutching one of her arms. "So…I'm going to do that." After saying that, Kaede left and walked over to a different part of the hangar.
"I see… Kaede must suspect everyone." Rantaro pointed out.
"That is understandable. There are fewer of us now than before. Just a handful of us remain at this point, so there are fewer people to suspect." Kirumi said.
"It's obviously Kokichi…but Shuichi said that it could still be any of us, so…" Tenko added before trailing off, stealing a few nervous glances at everyone else.
"So that's why…" Shuichi muttered as he put a hand to his chin.
He did suggest that possibility, and he believed it still. The culprit could be Kokichi, but it could also be Rin if Kokichi is the one who died. And no matter who died, it might not be either of them. It could be a third party. Anyone could be the culprit.
"This is the worse possible outcome. We were united towards hope just a day ago, and now we've split up again." Rantaro grimaced.
"Do you think that might be why Kokichi killed Rin?" Tenko asked.
"To disrupt our harmony…" Shuichi finished with a thoughtful hum.
"I mean, what other reason would there be for this to happen? Kokichi already said that the killing game was over, right? So the moment that we start working together to fight him, he does this." Tenko explained. "Maybe that's why this class trial is happening, too."
"So Kokichi is trying to separate us being holding a class trial to make us doubt each other." Rantaro crossed his arms.
"Rin was the reason why were preparing to attack him. He was the one who kept us together during the killing game. It makes sense to make an example out of him." Kirumi frowned and gritted her teeth. "But still…I cannot help but feel we are still missing something."
"So we're still in a trap? Can't say I don't feel the same. Already, this case feels different. It feels…strange." Rantaro nodded.
That was something they all could feel. The strangeness of this case. The tension it caused in the group. It immediately separated them all and split them up. Even with this small group, with the way everyone was looking at each other, it didn't seem like group cooperation would be fully possible. And to make things worse, they didn't have much information to go on thanks to the Monokuma File's lack of important details. It wouldn't be of any help in this case.
"But still, there's no point standing around complaining. We just have to do it." Shuichi told them.
"You're right. No point complain about what's already been done. All we can do is get it over with." Rantaro let out a small sigh.
"Then…I guess we should go." Tenko said.
"Right." Kirumi nodded. "I wish you all the best of luck with your investigation."
"Right. You too." Shuichi nodded as they all walked away from each other and began their own investigation.
Investigation Start
Rantaro had conflicted feelings about this case. Finding a crushed body was the last thing he expected when he and the others marched over to the hangar ready to fight Kokichi and free Rin. But here they are now, investigating another death. At first, Kokichi seems like the obvious culprit, having the means and motive to kill Rin, who was his hostage, but Shuichi is still right when he said anyone could still be the culprit. Rin might be alive and Kokichi might be the crushed victim. Literally, any one of them could be the killer at the moment. Just like every other case so far.
When Rantaro took a step back to look at the scene as a whole, he couldn't help but not know what to make of it. An unknown victim. An unknown time of death. An unknown cause of death. And an unknown culprit, but a very obvious suspect. A suspect that almost seems too obvious once he thought about it logically, taking his shock out of the equation.
Plain and simple, he didn't like this. Not at all. Didn't mean he just flake out on the investigation, though.
The first thing that had to be done was obvious. They had to fill out some of those unknowns. That meant raising the press and looking at the crushed body. It was morbid but necessary. It was the last thing Rantaro wanted to see, but it had to be done.
So, with a bit of hesitance, Rantaro slowly made his way up to the hydraulic press control panel. If he recalled there were three buttons. The up button, the down button, and the emergency stop button. Taking a shaky breath, Rantaro readied himself to press the up button.
"Okay, it's now or never," Rantaro muttered to himself.
"W-Wait! Wait a minute! Are you…going to raise the press?" Tenko asked in a shout from where she was in the hangar once she noticed Rantaro up near the control panel.
"Uh, yeah. Need to check the body and all. Figured we should know who exactly the victim is if we're doing this." Rantaro gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Ugh! Don't do that! Not until I leave! If I see the body, I'm gonna-erk!" Tenko retched as she covered her mouth again and rushed out of the hangar. Rantaro sighed as he shook his head.
"Can't exactly blame her. This is going to be pretty gruesome." Rantaro said as he returned his attention to the control panel. "Now then, without further ado…"
Having made up his mind, Rantaro pressed the up button and waited for the press to raise itself. But after a few moments of waiting and seeing nothing happening, Rantaro raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"It's not moving?" Rantaro muttered as he pressed the up button a few more times, only to get no response from the press. "Huh… Now why might that be? It should work, right?"
"I believe the reason is right here."
Rantaro looked up from the control panel to see Kirumi holding up torn cables that used to connect the press with the control panel.
"It would seem the culprit cut the power cords to prevent anyone from raising the press," Kirumi explained.
"I see, so that's why the control panel isn't working anymore." Rantaro hummed as he put a hand to his chin. "That's annoying. Guess I shouldn't have expected this to be easy, but this prevents us from looking at the body. Seems like we won't know who the victim is until we figure out this whole case."
"It also serves to hide the cause of death, as well," Kirumi added as she turned to press with a scowl. "With the victim crushed under the press and the press unable to be raised, we cannot fully determine what might have killed the victim other than the obvious. Perhaps that is why they went out of their way to use the press in the first place."
"And with it being so obvious, that makes it easy to overlook other potential causes of death. Sigh… This is gonna be tough." Rantaro sighed. "Although, a part of me is relieved that we can't check the body. I didn't want to see the remains of a crushed person. I already have trouble sleeping at night. Wouldn't do adding more gruesome sights to my nightmares."
"Hmm…It is strange, though." Kirumi pondered.
"What's up?"
"The hydraulic press is supposed to have a safety function, correct? I recall Shuichi mentioning it before after we finished exploring the new areas."
"Oh, right. I see the notice right here." Rantaro told her. "The press uses some kind of infrared sensor that'll stop the press if it detects a living organism."
"Is that so?" Kirumi asked as she walked over to Rantaro and peered over to where the safety notice was written. "So the press should have stopped automatically if it detected a person."
"Well… 'supposed to' being the operative word there." Rantaro gave a nervous chuckle as he stole a glance at the gallons of blood pooling around the press. "I wonder what this means for the case." Rantaro pondered the dilemma for a bit before he found himself staring at the bloodied sleeve that was still dangling out of the press. "I'm gonna take a closer look at the press."
"Very well. I will stay here and look around the control panel. Perhaps there is some manual way to lift the press up. If there is, I will be sure to let you and the others know." Kirumi responded without turning to the adventurer as she began examining the control panel and the area around it for clues.
Giving the maid a small nod in return, Rantaro walked down the platform the press's control panel was on and moved toward the press. He crouched down to where Rin's sleeve was and took a close look at it.
"Definitely Rin's. Wasn't wrong about that." Rantaro noted as he squinted his eyes. "What is that?"
There was a hole in the sleeve. It wasn't a perfect circle. It looked more like a tear made by a blade or something. Considering how small the tear is, it's probably from some kind of small, thin knife or dagger. There were traces of blood around the tear, which meant that whatever knife made that hole hit Rin and drew blood. Even stranger, there was a wide, dried line of blood from the hole down the sleeve, right to the end of it.
"But why is there a knife tear in the first place?" Rantaro muttered. "Hmm…aside from that, I can't really determine anything else. Only the left sleeve is sticking out of the press. No parts of the victim. Was the victim crushed completely? But then…why is the sleeve just dangling here? Shouldn't there be an arm hanging out, too? Who wears their jacket without putting their arms in the sleeves."
Rantaro then paused for a moment as the image of a certain astronaut who had passed away recently entered his mind.
"Kaito…right." Rantaro let out a small laugh at the thought. "Wonder what he'd do in this situation."
With another weary sigh, Rantaro got up and frowned at the press. That was all that he would be able to piece together from the press. Just like the Monokuma File, it was less than what he had thought it would be or had hoped to find. With the press unable to be raised, that prevented the body from being checked, and that took away a lot of clues that might have been available to them all.
"Just have to look elsewhere then," Rantaro grumbled as he rubbed his head.
Would it be wrong for him to admit he was getting tired of investigating his friend's death? How'd he manage to get through his first killing game? This was hell, having to look at a friend's dead body and figure out which of his other friends left it in their wake. Rantaro couldn't help but run a hand down his sweaty face.
"Sorry, Rin. Guess I couldn't be a good leader like you thought I could be." Rantaro spoke in a whisper as he looked down at the jacket sleeve that hung limply from the press. "I couldn't do anything but lead everyone to your body. Couldn't help them fight Monokuma or even escape, not that escape matters anymore. All I did was get them riled up, huh? Some adventurer I am, and some survivor."
With a deep frown now imprinted onto his face, Rantaro could only walk away as he continued his investigation. No point wallowing now when it's too late. All Rantaro could do now was to keep moving forward, trekking through the muk and blood to find the truth. Didn't matter what awaited him or the others. They had to do it to survive, so he'd do it. That's what it meant to be the Ultimate Survivor, at least that's what it meant to Rantaro. That would be how he made it up to the ones who died, just as he always had.
"A swipe pattern… Someone was dragged?" Kaede asked herself quietly as she followed the faint trail that went from the press to the hangar's bathroom. Kaede gulped once her eyes landed on the bathroom door. "Shuichi said Rin was locked in the bathroom, didn't he?"
She didn't like this. Not one bit. It already hurt to imagine Rin being the one who had died, but seeing all the evidence that pointed to it further made her feel even sicker.
Speaking of sick, Kaede was doing her best to ignore the blood that got on her when she fell to her knees as she held Rin's sleeve and sobbed. She would change later, but for now, she didn't want to waste investigation time. She could still feel the blood on her knees and socks when she knelt down in the blood, as well as on her vest from when she held the sleeve close and her skirt where she wiped the blood off her hands.
Gross gross gross gross gross gross.
It's not Rin's blood. It's not Rin's blood. It's not Rin's blood.
Even if it wasn't, it wouldn't make it any better.
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Kaede turned away from the bathroom. She would go in there eventually. She had to if she wanted to be fully prepared for the class trial, but she just couldn't force herself to see what might be behind that door at the moment.
"...There's still more to investigate out here." Kaede took a deep breath as she steeled herself and looked around. "The first thing that looks strange to me…is that."
Her eyes immediately landed on the giant green Exisal right in the middle of the hangar. The Exisal itself wasn't shocking by itself, as Kaede and the others had already seen that the green and red ones weren't with the others and were probably in the hangar before they arrived. What was strange was how the hatch of the Exisal was wide open, exposing the cockpit.
"Have we seen the inside of an Exisal before now?" Kaede questioned as she cautiously got closer to the large mech, despite knowing that no one was in it to operate it. Kokichi still had that remote to control it, after all. Though with Rantaro's Electro-Radar should have disabled that remote. Still, that didn't stop Kaede from being scared of the large machine.
"It's smaller than I thought it would be. I thought only the Monokubs could pilot the Exisals, but it looks like a person might be able to, too." Kaede muttered as she pondered the sight. "It might be a tight fit, though. It's still smaller than a normal vehicle for people."
"Huh? The hatch is open?"
"Aaah!" Kaede jumped as Monokuma hopped up right next to her. "W-When did you–? I thought you left!"
"How strange. Only the Monokubs can turn off the electronic lock and open the hatch." Monokuma continued as if he didn't hear Kaede. Instead, he just pondered his thoughts out loud as he tilted his head in a way that might have been cute coming from anyone else.
"Huh? Only the Monokubs can open the hatch?" Kaede gasped a little. "Then…how…?"
"Normally, the Monokubs are the only ones who can pilot the Exisals. 'Normally' being the keyword." Monokuma told away from her. "But cuz of that Electrohammer thingy, the electronic lock is all screwed up."
"Have you told the others about that?" Kaede asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope. No one's asked me about it, either." Monokuma huffed. "And even if I had been asked, it would've been irrelevant information to you anyway."
"Then why are you telling me about it now? I didn't ask, either." Kaede pointed out in a curious tone. "I mean, I'm grateful and all, but it just seems strange for you to suddenly bring it up now of all times."
"Who knows?" Monokuma giggled as he covered his mouth cheekily with a paw. "Perhaps I'm cheering you on in my own way, or maybe I'm just nudging you in juuuuust the right direction so that you and your precious friends can fall even further down into despair! Whichever could it be, I wonder?" And then he left, leaving Kaede to just sigh.
"Why do I even bother asking him anything at this point?" Kaede sighed as she looked back at the Exisal. "Guess I should let the others know when I get the chance. That thing about the hatch is important, I can tell."
An electronic lock on the hatch that only the Monokubs can disable. That must be why only the Monokubs can control the Exisals. But if someone were to use an Electrohammer to disable the lock, then anyone could pilot the Exisal, right? That's what Monokuma meant when he said that, right?
"Then…could this Exisal have left the other Exisals because someone piloted it here?" Kaede hummed with a deep frown as her brows angled downward into a scowl of denial. "No, that can't be right. The only people who have Electrohammers were me and Kirumi. Kirumi's hammer got stolen by Kokichi or Monokuma, and I obviously didn't do anything. So someone taking control of an Exisal is…"
Kaede trailed off as another thought suddenly entered her head.
What if someone's lying?
Isn't it strangely suspicious that Kirumi lost her Electrohammer the day before they all storm the hangar to fight Kokichi and free Rin? Instead of someone having stolen her hammer, couldn't Kirumi have just lied and used the hammer on an Exisal?
Kaede couldn't keep her growl hidden as it rose up from her throat.
"...I hate this."
When did this game change her? What caused her to be fine with doubting her friends like this? Why couldn't she trust them like she used to? It was so much easier those first few days, and then it just went downhill from there. Trust became hard to give. It became a finite resource as doubt became more commonplace. And why wouldn't it when betrayals occurred more frequently?
It didn't help that, sometimes, Kaede found it hard to trust herself after she almost became a murderer, too. It didn't even take more than a few days for her will to break. All it took was a time limit for her to get desperate to save everyone. All it took was a motive video about Korekiyo's sister to break him and his sanity. All it took was being unable to use her talent as the Ultimate Artist for Angie to try to kill and force Himiko into the same spot when she was already dealing with her own unfair motive. All it took was Kaito seemingly dying in front of her for Maki to lose all reason and kill Gonta.
With all that in mind, was it wrong to think that all it took for Kirumi was Kokichi threatening Rin? The two of them had always been close, and they only got closer after Kirumi was brought back. Rin took Kirumi's death the hardest out of all of them, and it seemed the reverse was true considering how Kirumi had reacted at first at seeing the press with Rin's jacket in it. Kirumi seemed to almost shut down in confusion, pain, and sorrow before she was snapped out of it by the realization that Kokichi might have killed Rin. Would she have done something reckless if Rin's life was threatened like when he was held hostage by Kokichi? She certainly was furious when Kokichi dangled Rin from an Exisal's hand back at the underground tunnel.
Could Kirumi have…
"...I should save my theories for after the investigation," Kaede told herself as she moved away from the green Exisal.
She couldn't let herself be distracted by what-ifs. It would be better for her to focus on actual evidence before she comes to any conclusions. It wouldn't be far to Kirumi or anyone else if she immediately suspected them without looking at all the evidence, just like how it wouldn't be far to blindly trust them without looking at the evidence, too. At this point, it would be incredibly foolish and reckless if Kaede didn't try to think things through rationally. She couldn't afford to not doubt anyone. She still trusted them, but she had to doubt in order to find the truth. That was just how it was.
Yet she still hated it. She just wanted to be friends with everyone. That's all she wanted. It didn't feel right to doubt them like this.
"It's weird though. How come this Exisal's hatch is open, yet the red one's is still closed?" Kaede murmured as stole a glance at the second Exisal that was off to the side in the hangar.
The giant machine didn't seem to move, yet…Kaede could have sworn…No, that's ridiculous. For a moment there, she almost felt as though the red Exisal itself tensed up at her gaze. Like it was starting to feel the pressure and sweat a little. Now that was an amusing thought.
Chuckling to herself after that, Kaede walked over to the last strange oddity in the hangar, a pile of charred metal that was on the ground, and crouched down to get a better look at it. There wasn't a whole lot of metal, but there was enough for some kind of small device. Maybe one that could be held in one hand. And the metal was all charred and burnt. Kaede had no idea what it could be at first glance, but the pile looked familiar to something she had seen earlier.
"Rantaro's Electro-Radar blew up, didn't it? It was unstable, so it overloaded and exploded into a burning heap." Kaede noted before picking up a piece of the burnt scrap metal. "Could this be…Rin's Electro-Radar? He did say his radar's battery was unstable and would probably blow up too if he used it at full power."
Then…if this was Rin's Electro-Radar, does that mean he used the radar at full power? Why would he do that? Was there something he needed to disable that needed the radar at full power, despite that risking the whole thing to explode? Kaede couldn't imagine Rin doing something so reckless when this was his only Electro-Radar. He wouldn't have been able to get another one easily since Miu had since been dead. What could possibly convince him that he needed to use the radar at full power and blow it up as a result?
"...Is this…my fault?" Kaede couldn't help but ask herself in a low, quiet voice that only she could hear.
Did she make a mistake bringing this to Rin? She didn't think anything of it at the time. She had just wanted to help him when he had asked her for a favor, and considering how things had been between the two of them, she just…couldn't say no. She felt like she had to do something, and she didn't think anything bad would happen afterward. She still trusted Rin. But with the Electro-Radar destroyed, does that mean bringing this to Rin like he wanted was the wrong thing to do? Would he still be alive if she hadn't done that? Would it have even mattered? Is he even dead in the first place?
"I guess…I should check out the bathroom, then." Kaede gulped as she turned around to where the swiped blood path led. "I just really hope it's not too gruesome in there."
"Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!" Tenko shuttered as she quickly left the hangar and sped walked away with a shaky hand covering her quivering lips. "How could he want to look at the body without a care like that? He didn't look fazed at all! Rantaro always was strange, but he's really creepy when he's focused like that."
Tenko felt chills just imaging the press raising and revealing just what-no, who had been crushed. All that blood, and the guts, and the blood EVERWHERE. And just imagine the pain a death like that would cause as your bones and flesh and muscles and brain and eyes slowly, slowly, slowly get crushed as they all pop and snap and–
"Erk!" Tenko nearly fell over and hurled right then and there in the middle of the Cyber Courtyard. "Ugh…I think I threw up a little in my mouth…"
Tenko steadied herself as her legs wobbled and her head spun. She took heavy breaths as she tried to steady her heart. Tenko had always been an extremely empathic person. It came from the fact that Tenko herself always wore her own emotions openly, never hiding anything from anyone else if she could help it. That made it easier for her to empathize with others because of that. She didn't like when people got hurt, and it was worse when it was her friends hurting. Being forced to watch the executions in this place was torture for Tenko, as she couldn't help but feel all the pain as well.
This, though, might easily be the worse by far. This was just sick…and evil. Why in the WORLD would anyone kill someone like that!? Tenko couldn't understand, and she didn't really want to. Some people were just twisted. Cruel. Uncaring of others. Evil. It angered her to no end. She had originally thought only men could be like that and that most were, and yet coming to this place just made it far too easy to learn just how capable anyone and everyone was of that kind of evil.
Yet still…this was too much. This was going to far. Tenko knew she wasn't the smartest by a long shot, but that was obvious to her eyes.
That's why she had to make sure she found something useful. She wouldn't forgive the killer this time. This seemed like pure malicious and nothing else. There'd be no reason to kill in such a horrible way otherwise. So she had to find something that points to the culprit.
"I say that…but I'm all the way out here and nowhere near the hangar." Tenko sighed to herself in disappointment.
Now having calmed down, Tenko couldn't help but feel like a failure at immediately running away from the crime scene right at the start of the investigation just because Rantaro was going to raise the press. She knew that doing that would be useful in solving the crime. Rantaro said it himself, but Tenko just couldn't look at the body in that state! She could hardly look at it when the press was still lowered! It made her stomach twist into knots and flip around in her gut.
"Nevermind that, then. I'll…investigate the hangar later!" Tenko convinced herself as she gave a quick nod. "Yeah, this is fine! I mean, there's tons to look at outside the hangar, too! I'll just be the first to look at all of that evidence!"
She had no idea if she was right, but she wasn't going to doubt herself now! If she had found herself out here during the investigation, then she might as well make the best use of her time!
"Right then! Let's get started!" Tenko pumped herself up as she looked around and-woah. "When'd I get here? Did I really walk all the way over here?"
Tenko was right in front of three Exisals that were standing together in a circle. The pink one, the blue one, and the yellow one. The green one and red one were still in the hangar. Normally, such a sight would be terrifying, and Tenko would be shrieking in terror, but it wasn't considering how lifeless the robots were.
…Was that robophopic? Would Keebo be offended by that?
Eh. Tenko will think about that later.
"Hmm, can't Kokichi control these things with that remote he had? Why isn't he doing that now? Why are the Exisals just here doing nothing? Seems like a waste." Tenko hummed as she poked her fingers together.
Tenko walked around a bit as she examined each Exisal as they stood there lifelessly. But as she made her way to the last Exisal, something else caught her eyes. Something familiar and pink and hammer-shaped. Tenko gasped once she saw it. She knew immediately what it was.
"An Electrohammer! It must be Kirumi's!" Tenko exclaimed as she pointed to the hammer and rushed over to it to examine it. "So this is where Monokuma and Kokichi kept it? Or did they put this here recently? Didn't Shuichi say he scouted out the hangar before? Wouldn't he have seen this?" Tenko then picked up the hammer and looked at it with squinty eyes. "Hmm…it's out of power. Makes sense. Kirumi said she didn't charge it before it was stolen from here."
Tenko found herself wondering what exactly the Electrohammer was even doing there in the middle of the Cyber Courtyard right next to three of the Exisals as she placed the hammer down. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she truly tried to think about it. It just didn't make any sense to her. Why would Kirumi's Electrohammer be here? Kokichi and Monokuma had no reason to keep it here, right? That's when Tenko's eyes shot open as an idea to mind.
"Oh! I got it!" Tenko smiled as she hit dropped a closed hand onto her palm. "Kokichi had the Exisals guarding it along with Monokuma! That's why those three Exisals are even here, right? That's what Shuichi said he saw. Keebo too!"
That's right. Shuichi and Keebo said that they saw the Exisals circling Monokuma when they came down here to scout out the hangar and speak to Kokichi. For some reason, Kokichi had the Exials guarding Monokuma despite the evil bear not needing anything like bodyguards, so maybe he tossed the Electrohammer in with Monokuma.
Actually, once Tenko really started to think about it, why were the Exisals guarding Monokuma? She doesn't doubt Shuichi or Keebo, but it was strange. It would be next to impossible for them to have done anything against Kokichi if he had the Exisals guard himself. He was the mastermind, after all. He could do something like that. It wasn't like Monokuma needed protection. Even if they had both Electrohammers, they wouldn't stand a chance no matter how hard they fought.
"I was so focused on taking on Kokichi that I didn't even think about it. It totally wasn't just because I wanted to punch Kokichi's face really, really hard," Tenko grumbled as she scratched the side of her head with a confused frown.
"Geez, pay attention! Listen up! Take heed, I say!"
"Ah!" Tenko screamed as she grabbed whatever just jumped out at her and tossed it several meters away.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
"Eh?"
Tenko blinked a few times as her face turned a few different forms of pale and terrified as she watched a familiar white-and-black bear soar threw the air in a perfect arc before slamming into the wall. Monokuma then slide down the wall until he hit the ground with a blank face as he stared at Tenko. Black button eyes stared through Tenko's green orbs as sweat began to drip down her face.
"...Miss Chabashira." Monokuma began to growl from his upside-down position on the floor.
"I-I-I-I didn't mean to!" Tenko screamed with a heavy stutter. "You just p-popped out of nowhere! I was in the middle of thinking about things! You can't just shout in my ear like that! Of course I'm gonna toss you! I'd do it to anyone else, too!"
Monokuma just stared at her for a moment longer, making Tenko really start worrying for her life before Monokuma let out a sigh and got back up onto his feet.
"I suppose that was my own fault for startling the Ultimate Aikido Master. I guess I won't punish you for breaking the rules this time." Monokuma told in an overly cutesy voice. "I've just been having so much fun messing with you guys again that I just can't help myself today! It's been a few days, after all. Didn't you guys miss me during all of this?"
"No, not at all! In fact, I honestly had hoped you had gone back to being that balding replacement from before!" Tenko replied honestly as she brought her arms up in a stance, ready to fight back if Monokuma went back on his word about his punishment.
"Well, I definitely missed you all! I missed you so much that I was really sad when I saw Shuichi pass by without so much of a hello. How could you all treat your headmaster so poorly?" Monokuma pouted.
"Maybe end the killing game and teach some real classes and maybe we'll start treating you with the most basic level of human decency, though an inhuman reprobate like you doesn't deserve anything like that," Tenko grumbled as a disgusted scowl found its way onto her face. "So you saw Shuichi when he came here?"
"Yep yep! He was acting all sneaky and stuff! Like a teenage boy tryin' to creep into the adult movie section of the video store." Monokuma blushed heavily as he described the scene.
"Ew! Don't be disgusting, you degenerate! Shuichi isn't even like that! He's far above things like that!" Tenko shouted angrily.
"Well, he didn't even have to sneak around, y'know? Cuz the Exisals wouldn't have attacked him anyway." Monokuma explained.
"Huh? Wouldn't have attacked him?"
"Cuz everyone's coming to rent adult movies, so in a way, everyone going there is the same–"
"No, not that, you disgusting pervert! The Exisals!"
"Oh, at the time, the Exisals were on auto-pilot and directed to only observe me. Their movements are more limited now that the Monokubs aren't around to pilot them."
"Autopilot? They can move on their own? I thought Kokichi had to control them to move them." Tenko frowned as her eyebrows narrowed at the bear.
"Well…yeah, but he could set the Exisals to focus on a target and let them do what they do without any action on his part. That's pretty much it." Monokuma explained.
"Then doesn't that mean they were focused on you? They were protecting you, after all." Tenko tilted her head. "Why are you even telling me this? I thought you were to not get involved in a case and investigation."
"But I'm not getting involved. Even if it puts someone at a disadvantage, the class trial must always be fair." Monokuma chuckled as he turned his back towards the Aikido Master. "The person who shared that info with me didn't seem interested in sharing it with you guys, so you share it instead! That way, it'll be fair to all the participants! It's not like you're anyone who will be making any grand deductions in the class trial, so you might as well just be an errand girl who can give others the information they need to make those cool deductions!"
"Hey! I can totally make cool deductions like the others!" Tenko shouted back with an angry face.
"Really? But I bet you just saw a piece of evidence and its meaning TOOOOOOTALLY flew over your head!" Monokuma laughed.
"Oh? Then what did I miss then, hmm?" Tenko growled as she glared at the bear.
"That's not my job to tell you that. It's you bastards that are supposed to solve the case!" Monokuma replied. "Okaaaay! That's all I can tell you! By the way, renting movies is so old school. It's more thrilling to illegally download them. It's like trying not to get caught by a big-game hunter while holding your breath during sex!"
"Aaaaaaaargh!" Tenko screamed as threw a strong, swift kick at Monokuma, who dodged eloquently. "Pervert! Filthy, disgusting, evil pervert!"
"Oh my, you might want to be more careful, Miss Chabashira! Wouldn't want to break a rule, now would we? The Exisals might not be able to punish you lot, but I certainly can!" Monokuma exclaimed before breaking out into evil laughter as he left. Tenko could only stomp her feet angrily as he left.
"Yeah, you better run! Next time I see you and you make dirty jokes like that, I'm tossing you into next week!" Tenko threatened. She shouted some more threats before she finally calmed down. "Grrrr! As much as I hate to admit it, Monokuma's right. I should tell the others about this. I'm not smart enough to figure something like this out by myself…"
Tenko liked to think she knew what her strengths and weaknesses were. She knew that what she was best at was mostly fighting and tossing people around, especially degenerate males–er, just degenerates, actually, not just males. She also knew she was good at being emotional and understanding emotions, but aside from that, Tenko knew she was holding the group back. She wasn't smart like Shuichi. She wasn't a good leader like Rantaro. She couldn't encourage people like Kaede. She wasn't as helpful as Kirumi. And compared to Keebo, she…she…
Wait. Actually, compared to Keebo, Tenko was way better! She could at least fight! Keebo was just…there. A robot he may be, but he wasn't particularly skilled in anything aside from that. Tenko knew that better than anyone when she heard him attempting to sing to a song Kaede was playing him as she was walking past the Ultimate Pianist's lab.
Well, now Tenko felt a little better about herself, but now she felt bad for Keebo. Maybe she should apologize for thinking badly of him. She still saw him as a good friend, after all.
"Alright! Time to get back to the hangar and tell everyone what I found out!" Tenko cheered as she rushed back to the hangar.
At least with this, Tenko would be a little useful to the group. She might have lost the chance she had to shine and protect everyone since their plan to fight Kokichi fell through, but she could at least help out where she can. She might not be super smart, but she was smart enough to know that even people like Shuichi needed help from time to time, so she'd do just that! Tenko Chabashira wouldn't let something like this get her down! After all…she made a promise to keep smiling, and she intended to keep it even now.
Tenko felt her smile grow as she made her way to the others. That's right! Tenko's just getting started! Let's go!
A/N: Double update! Cause I'm nice like that. Also, I got a wisdom tooth pulled recently so I wanted to post this to see reactions to make me feel better. So how do you guys like how I'm handling this investigation section? I thought about how I wanted to do it and figured writing the investigation in different parts with each one showing a different character's perspective and thoughts would be the most interesting considering how similar this case is to canon case 5. And, as you can see, some characters might reveal more info that only they know since we're following them for a while. I had originally planned to just have Shuichi's perspective, but doing it this way made the chapter a lot more fun to write. The next chapter will follow the last few characters before we get to the trial, so I hope you look forward to that.
Also, canon V3 case 5 is absolutely one of my favorite cases in Danganronpa. I love it. I love everything about it. So no matter what happens, I know at least I'm gonna have fun writing these next few chapters.