Summer Woes: Abnormal Days

Ichijou Mitsuzi felt his stomach sink as he came up behind Kasumi, her gasp of surprise prompting him to investigate. He gagged as the smell of burnt hair and flesh hit his nose, only making him even more nauseous. Turning away, he desired fresh air, but that was something in short supply, given the smell of char permeating the Cabin. Looking at the others, Tamura had a look of shock and bewilderment plain on his face, while Saruta seemed unperturbed, but serious.

The Surgical Assistant was the first to say something, suggesting, "We should leave, let the air clear out a bit more...open the windows."

Tamura gave a nod and a shaky grunt of affirmation, before going to the bedrooms, as did Kasumi. Ichijou, still not quite thinking properly, headed downstairs, mindlessly opening the living room window before going outside, where the air was a little clearer. He waited there for a few moments, trying to sort out his thoughts as he heard Kasumi, Saruta, and Tamura exit as well, the mood tense and silent.

Ichijou suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning to see Kasumi, he saw that she had a worried expression on her face, asking, "Are you alright, Ichijou-san?"

Forcing a smile, the Luckster said, "Y-yeah. I'll hold up okay." Kasumi gave him an uncertain look, and he felt his face fall. Trying to put his feeling into words, he scratched his head, saying, "I just...don't know what to think. Monokuma said something like 'you crazy kids' so...one of us must have done it." Frowning, he admitted, "I really thought we could get out of this without anyone getting hurt."

Ichijou watched as Kasumi thought for a moment, and her mood seemed to change. Her forlorn face became hardened and determined, and she began to think to herself.

"Kasumi-san?" Ichijou asked, not sure of his friend's condition.

"Might I borrow your ElectroID one more time, please?" Kasumi asked. Ichijou nodded, handing it over, assuming she was going to look through the rules again. He wasn't quite sure what had gotten into her.

For that matter, what had gotten into him? This...sour depression wasn't like him. What were the others going to do if they saw him like that? But on the other hand, what could he do about the situation? Andou was dead, murdered. He briefly considered: was Kasumi thinking about finding the murder?

Ichijou wondered if that would be possible, but he found himself distracted as he got a bit of a headache. Taking a few steps away from the remains of the Cabin, he tried to get some fresher air for a few minutes in the quiet, only the sound of cicadas echoing throughout the woods, seemingly unfettered by the blaze.

Ishihara was first to arrive, bursting through the trees, a panicked expression on his face, yelling, "What was that announcement!? A body?" A few others came through, looking around, taking in the scene.

His mood sank as soon as he saw the dour expression on Tamura's face, and Ichijou's lacking its usual smile. Trying to come to terms with it himself, Ichijou answered, "Moriko was...in the Cabin. Trapped there when..."

Ishihara flinched, fists clenched at his sides as it sank in. Everyone else became to filter in as well, full of questions. One person's appearance sparked a reaction out of Kasumi, whom approached, demanding, "And where were you, Sanada Shinji?"

Holding up his hands defensively, Sanada said, "Now now, I was simply in the Auditorium. It's quiet there, and the acoustics are nice."

A bit sharply, Uzatei cut in, snapping, "Hey, don't we have other things to be worrying about?"

"Upupu, indeed you do!" came the cheery voice of Monokuma as he entered.

Ganaha suddenly snarled, "What did you do you damn rat bear!" Shakily, she muttered, "Andou died...I could be next." Shuddering, she clawed at her head as let out a she wail of fright.

"Pipe down!" came a snarl from Minami.

"Please," Monokuma added. "Mind your manners, ladies!" Monokuma chided. Minami simply scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Clearing his throat, Monokuma began, "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what comes next. I've said bits and pieces here and there, but now we're in the investigation period. You have several hours to examine the scene of the crime, coming to whatever conclusions you reach, until the Class Trial! To start you off, I have these!" In Monokuma's hands appeared a small stack of white files, with black lettering on them, reading, 'Monokuma File 1'. Ichijou took his without word, not daring to open it. "Now, any questions? Read the rules! Any more questions? Bother me when you come up with them. Good luck and good riddance!" The bear then took off, leaving to them to look over things.

As Ichijou looked over the File in his hands, he once again wanted to disbelieve this was happening. But wasn't that running? Ichijou swallowed, shaking his head. He couldn't run, not from this. He had no choice but to accept the strange course of events his life took yesterday as fact, and move on. Andou Moriko...wasn't coming back, but the person who took away her chance to live was still trying to get away with it. They hadn't fessed up, so that meant he had to help uncover them.

"I have to do this..." he muttered to himself, psyching himself up.

"The investigation?" came a fairly deep voice from near him.

Ichijou looked up at Minami Fuyuko, nodding in confirmation. Guessing the large girl might be interested in help, Ichijou asked, "Do you want to help, Minami-san?"

The Contractor shrugged, "I suppose. A few of the others are dividing into small groups, if helping at all." Minami shot a glare at Mikage Naoki, whom was walking away from the scene altogether, his Monokuma File tossed to the ground behind him. Ichijou felt a tinge of anger, like the Farmer was ignoring the death that had just happened. If he'd seen the body...

Getting himself back together, Ichijou cracked open the Monokuma File, giving it a read. It had a host of helpful information on a short page, complete with an anatomy diagram of Andou's body, colored solid black with the exception of a pink spot on the top of her head.

The Victim, Andou Moriko, was discovered in the Abandoned Cabin on the Ground Level at 5:38 PM. They died at 5:10 PM.

The Victim is covered in 4th degree burns on her whole body. On the head, there are signs of blunt trauma. There are no other wounds on the body.

Ichijou frowned at the book, not seeing much use in the information. They knew exactly how she died. Closing the File, he said to Minami, "Shall we check out the building?"

"Well, it's a start," the Contractor replied. Reaching the door, Minami immediately asked, "Was this door broken when you got here?"

Ichijou shook his head, "No, we had to break it down after, Monokuma put out the fire."

"Then perhaps, it would be wise to tell everyone what happened, no?" Sanada requested as he approached, his hand adjusting the bangs that hung over his eye. He continued, "Kasumi-san has already returned to the Cabin, and Tamura seems a bit too disheveled." Those interested leaned in, hoping to hear what happened.

Saruta offered, "I could explain, if you'd rather, Ichijou-san."

Ichijou shook his head, "No, I'll do it." The Luckster cleared his throat, beginning, "I was talking with Minami-san in the Restaurant when Mikage came and told us about the fire. I went to go help, and Kasumi-san came with me. We went to the lower level and found Uzatei, Saruta, and Kobayashi in the Ranger station."

Interrupting, Kobayashi claimed, "Er, after they came in, I went to go check out the Auditorium, where I found Sanada."

The Debater nodded, "We can discuss timeframes later, but yes."

Ichijou continued, "Kasumi, Saruta, and I went into the forest to try and find Tamura and Moriko."

"They went to find a good place to try and start a signal fire, right?" Ishihara asked.

Eyes turned to the ASCAN, who wiped his forehead as he suddenly said, "I should have...kept a better eye on her." Wiping his face a bit harder, he tried to regain his composure, explaining, "We were exploring the safe areas of the forest for a couple hours, trying to find a place we can use. We were separated...I assumed she'd just gone off chasing an animal, and she'd find me or head back when she was done. Later, I was on my way back, and I ran into Ichijou, Kasumi, and Saruta. They told me about the fire, and I remembered Andou-san. They said they hadn't found her yet either, so..."

Ichijou took over again, continuing, "I wanted to check out the Cabin, but it was on fire, at least, until Monokuma came and put it out. When the smoke cleared-"

"Eh? Wait, say that again," Ganaha interrupted. Getting peeved, she hissed, "Why would Monokuma let the fire burn so long if he was justgonnaputitout!? Augh!"

Saruta explained, "Well, he said something along the lines of, 'It looks like I'm going to have to step in this time, you crazy kids.'"

Ichijou nodded, "Then he made some hose appear and put it out in a few minutes. We waited for some of the smoke to clear, then went to check it out. On the second floor, in the closet, we found...Moriko-chan there, burnt..."

As Ichijou stopped, Saruta finished, "Just as the Monokuma File describes. The announcement regarding the body played thereafter."

"Very well, that will suffice thank you," Sanada nodded, appreciating the help. "You are free to examine the Cabin, I am going to check some other places and alibi's in the meantime," he said before turning to Tamura, asking, "Can we discuss a few things?"

The ASCAN seemed a bit displeased but nodded, and the two went a short distance away. Minami nudged Ichijou from behind, before pointing at the Cabin. Nodding, Ichijou entered. Once again, he looked around the living room, still blackened, but a little less smoky then before. Ichijou heard creaking from upstairs, likely Kasumi, searching around.

Minami noted, "For a building that was on fire for some time, it is both far too damaged, and not enough."

Ichijou scratched his head, asking, "What?"

"A house this burnt would be on the verge of collapsing, yet we can walk around it just fine. And yet, how long was it burning? Andou died at some time after five, which means the fire was likely started around five. The body was discovered after five thirty, likely a few minutes after the fire was extinguished," Minami shook her head, finishing, "Even on a warm, day like this, I can't see the fire doing this much damage unassisted."

Thinking about it, Ichijou wondered aloud, "Maybe they did assist it somehow, but we don't even know how it started. Let's look around a little more."

The pair looked over the bottom floor, searching the charred furniture, looking at the undamaged fireplace, checking the scorched cabinets, finding what little food was there damaged from the heat. After moving things around, Minami called Ichijou over, holding up a blackened backpack, having pulled it from under one of the seats. In recognition, Ichijou said, "Hey, that looks a little like the ones we used earlier today! When we went out."

Minami's gaze hardened as she gingerly opened it, remarking, "Empty. If Tamura can't explain this, he'll have some answering to do."

Ichijou shook his head, "We left ours behind when we ran away from the bears."

Minami paused, before placing it on the seat she'd found it under. "There may have been extra then, I doubt anyone went back into the woods to get it," Minami guessed.

"I think Tamura-san found them. We can ask later," Ichijou stated. Minami nodded, and the search continued up the second floor. Almost immediately, they ran into Kasumi, whom was standing by the closet, looking inside. Ichijou cringed as he thought about the haunting corpse, but something else caught his eye as he walked over.

Kasumi stood straight as she noticed the two approached, her hair tied back into a ponytail, her hands adorned by black gloves. She nodded, asking, "Here to investigate?"

"I see you're jumping right into it," Minami pointed out.

Curious, Ichijou asked, "Where'd you find the gloves?"

Kasumi answered, "I had them when I woke up yesterday. When I started investigating, I figured they'd be useful: the hair tie keeps my hair out of my face while I think, and the gloves will hopefully keep me from tracking ash on anything. More importantly though: yes, Minami-san. I figured I'd get as much time investigating things as I could. Monokuma said a few hours, and it can take a while to get around." Looking back towards the closet, she added, "That, and...whoever can kill a girl like this and show their faces around us doesn't deserve to get away with it."

Minami had to admit, "I don't disagree." Ichijou felt his fists clench, some of Kasumi's determination no doubt rubbing off on him.

After a moment, Kasumi took out Ichijou's ElectroID, handing it back, saying, "I'm done with this. I just wanted to reread the rules about the Trial and such." Ichijou took it without word.

Minami made a move, going past Kasumi (easier said than done in the relatively narrow hallway, compared to Minami, at least) and coming to the closet. She visibly grimaced as she saw the corpse, but didn't look away. Ichijou and Kasumi moved in front of her, crouching down to look at the body as Minami looked over top of them. The Luckster found himself disgusted again as he saw the charred corpse. He had to bear it though, looking her over, trying to find some sort of clue. He noted that she didn't really have much of a facial expression, her face being too charred to even recognize. There were a few scraps of her dress, but most of it had been burnt away.

"Uhn," Ichijou groaned, despite himself.

Kasumi asked, "Are you alright, Ichijou-san? You're a little green and pale."

The Luckster begged, "Don't worry about me, please, let's just...get on with it."

Kasumi nodded, moving with a bit of haste. There were a few things on the ground next to Andou: two halves of a rod, and a loop of chain, part of which was locked around Andou's wrist. Pointing at the chain, Kasumi said, "I imagine this is from the Storage Unit? I didn't realize there were locks there, though I remember chains. But more importantly, the Monokuma File mentioned 'blunt trauma'."

Minami, standing behind the other two, leaned in looking over the head, pointing out, "There, on the top of her head. Did something hit her?"

"Or she hit something," Kasumi stated, standing carefully, very nearly bumping her head into Minami's jaw. Kasumi leaned in, looking near the top of the closet, pointing out, "The rod looks like it came from up here. It seems to be removable out of the top here, but why is it broken?" Ichijou leaned in, seeing two grooves in the wall where the rod could have fit, which were shallower at the top.

Ichijou asked, "Any ideas, Kasumi-san?"

"I would guess..." Kasumi began, but she stopped herself.

"Yes?" Minami asked, imploring her to go on.

Kasumi shook her head, "I could speculate all day, but perhaps it might be better to let you go over the scene and come up with your own ideas. I don't want you to hear what I think, then try and fit everything to my perceptions."

Minami frowned in displeasure, scoffing, "How impressionable do you think we are?"

Kasumi shook her head, "Even if you don't mean to, even twisting your thoughts a slight bit can change your initial impressions, and possibly make you misinterpret something. At the Trial, I'd like to hear your own, personal reasoning."

Ichijou nodded, "Okay, I think I understand, but are we done here? " Kasumi nodded, and the closet was closed for now.

Ichijou entered the large, master bedroom, hoping for at least a little fresh air. As he got a better look around the room, he could see a number of weird things immediately.

On the ground was a tall lamp, the shade nothing but a frame, the cover scoured away. On the bed, there was the burnt skeleton of a small bird, which was a bit boggling to the Luckster. There was also a dresser and a chair, though both were damaged. The fireplace seemed unharmed, however.

Taking the scene in, Minami could only ask, "What happened in here?"

Kasumi sighed, "It's hard to say for certain, but I did want to make a few things clear. Ichijou-san, you remember when we came here for the first time yesterday?" Ichijou nodded, wondering about her point. She explained, "The window to this room was open, I believe, but the rest were closed. It was the same today."

Ichijou nodded, "I remember." Kasumi looked at him expectantly, but Ichijou only shrugged.

Kasumi looked away, indifferent, before saying, "Well, as for the scene itself, there's nothing here that could have started the fire, like burnt matchsticks or a stone to create sparks, like flint."

Minami raised an eyebrow, asking, "Why do you think the fire was started near here?"

Kasumi replied, "The Culprit would want to be sure the fire could do its work before the Victim awoke and possibly escaped, no?" Minami didn't retort.

After a moment, Ichijou looked over to the most interesting thing in the room: the dead bird on the bed. Getting closer, he pointed it out, before guessing, "This bird...did it fly through the window?"

Kasumi's gloved hands went to the small corpse, and she began to pick and poke at it. "Gah, don't touch it!" Ichijou blurted, a little repulsed by the way it cracked as it moved.

"I have to be thorough!" Kasumi tried to explain. She added, "Besides, this bird didn't fly anywhere, look at its wing." Kasumi gently fanned both out a little bit, and Ichijou could see that one was bent and broken. She stated, "As we are the first ones here, it must have been broken before the fire." Heading to the window, she looked out, saying, "I don't see any branches close enough for it to have fallen in here..." Turning back to the others, she said, "How does a flightless bird get through an open window on the second floor? If the door was open too, I might suggest it simply used its feet, but even then I can't see a bird doing so without food on its mind."

Minami nodded, "Perhaps it was brought here?"

Ichijou concurred, "I don't see any other way it could have gotten here."

"But why?" Kasumi asked. Ichijou narrowed his eyes: it wasn't a question of curiosity, but rather one more like a challenge, like she was trying to make them think. Unfortunately, having been put on the spot, Ichijou was only drawing blanks.

After a moment, the three went off to do their own things. Minami stayed at the bed, while Kasumi went to the window, and Ichijou went to the fallen lamp. Crouching down, he found something, much to his surprise. It was bent a little, but it had been hard to notice, as the way it was situated made the bend face downward, so standing above it would make it look straight. Picking up the lamp, the bend towards the top was made all the more clear when it stood.

Trying to put two and two together, he mumbled, "Hey..."

At the same moment, Minami had mused, "Strange..."

"Hmm?" Kasumi mumbled a moment later.

The three looked at each other, before Kasumi said, "You first, Minami-san."

The Contractor pointed down, before moving her foot, shifting a few melted pieces of plastic around. Kasumi came closer, grabbing one, holding it in her palm as she looked at it, before crouching down and looking under the bed. "Oho," she gasped, before pulling something out. It was a broken pair of binoculars, one of the scopes shattered, and the whole thing partly melted. "How did this get here, I wonder?" she asked.

"Oh, the Culprit could have brought it here with that bag we found downstairs," Ichijou said plainly.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow, "Bag?"

Minami recalled, "We left it near the chair we found it under."

Kasumi thought for a moment, before saying, "Perhaps I should have given the lower floor a better look. But anyway..." Holding up the binoculars, she said, "These don't seem particularly useful down here, do they?"

Ichijou couldn't help but agree, shaking his head, "Nah, there's trees everywhere. Maybe up on the cliff..."

After returning the binoculars to where she found them, Kasumi turned to the Luckster and proceeded to ask, "So, what did you find?"

Ichijou turned back to the lamp, replying, "Over here. Do you think this lamp hit Moriko-chan? It's bent, see? I don't think the fire would have done that.

Kasumi pondered for a moment, before saying, "I haven't seen anything else likely to do that much damage without some kind of mark, so it's most likely."

Ichijou nodded, before asking, "So, what'd you find, Kasumi-san?"

Kasumi thought for a moment, saying, "I didn't find anything, but I was thinking...it does seem as though the fire started rather quickly, doesn't it? One minute, there's nothing, the next, a pillar of smoke. I'm over exaggerating a bit, certainly, but still, there might be something we're missing." The three did another quick look, but they discovered nothing obvious.

Kasumi said, "I'm going to give the Cabin one more look, since I'd rather not have to come back, but I'll let you know if I find anything."

Minami was already headed for the door, so Ichijou nodded, "Okay, see you in a bit, Kasumi-san." As he went to follow Minami, his eyes fell on the closet door again, and he took a breath before heading downstairs.

The lower level was not unoccupied: Yokozuna Hina and Nagasaki Ayumi were looking around. When the former noticed the other two, Yokozuna headed over, saying, "Oh, guys!" Taking a short breath, she said determinedly, "We're gonna help too! That Culprit's gonna regret it!"

Before they got too ahead of themselves, Minami stated, "Andou's corpse is in the hall closet on the floor above. A fair warning though: it's rather...unsightly."

Sobered, a slightly less enthusiastic Yokozuna nodded, "Er, okay..."

Ichijou nodded, "We were just heading out. See you guys at the Trial?"

Yokozuna nodded, "Okay, good luck!"

As the two began to leave, Ichijou heard Nagasaki mumble to Yokozuna, "Smells weird..."

The Luckster stopped, asking the Survivalist, "What smells weird?" Sniffing the air again, Ichijou said, "I only smell the char."

Nagasaki looked around again, before explaining, "I know the smell of burnt wood. I've used it a lot, but there's something else..."

Ichijou should have guessed a Survivalist would know the smell of burning wood well, but he couldn't imagine what other scents she had caught. Looking around, nose active, she mumbled, "It's not from the kitchen, or anywhere specific, it's from everywhere." As she searched, stooping down a little, Ichijou looked around on the ground as well, not seeing anything in did notice that Nagasaki seemed to be tracking a little dirt, as was Yokozuna. However, Minami didn't have as much dirt on her shoes as the pair.

Minami suggested, "Maybe it's just the type of wood?"

Nagasaki shrugged, "Maybe..."

After a few moments, Yokozuna said, "Anyway, you guys are done here, so why don't you leave this place to us and go look elsewhere? We'll look outside too. We could cover more ground that way."

Glad for any help they could get, Ichijou smiled, "Okay, sounds good! See you guys later." He took his leave of the Cabin, Minami following. Looking around, there were two, well dressed people loitering nearby: Sanada and Ganaha.

As the Luckster and Contractor approached, Ganaha asked, "You two done?"

Ichijou nodded, "For the most part. There's a couple more things I want to check on."

Getting a bit fearful, Ganaha gasped, "Y-you don't suspect me, do you?"

Sanada simply laughed, "I think you're safe. It's quite a walk from here to the upper level. I think it's more likely the murderer was down here when the fire was noticed. If they had tried to ascend, wouldn't it look suspicious when they bumped into someone on the way up?"

Counting on his fingers, Ichijou said, "So that means you, Tamura-san, Uzatei-san, and Kobayashi-san..."

The Debater smiled, "Ask away!"

"Do you want a girlfriend!?" Ganaha spouted suddenly.

Sanada shrugged, "If my career plan goes the way I want it, I can have any nearly any woman I choose. I'm far more worried about getting out of here alive." Smirking, he turned to the Producer and asked, "Or were you proposing something?"

Ganaha crossed her arms over her chest, saying firmly, "No."

Sanada frowned, stating, "...That stung more than I care to admit."

Minami huffed, "Well, at least you're honest, if blunt..."

Turning his head, Sanada retorted, "Is he now? Are you so sure about his honesty?" Facing the other way, Sanada pointed out, "Oh please, has he given you any reason to distrust him?"

"I'll crush you," Minami interrupted threateningly, flexing her fingers.

Raising his hands defensively, Sanada Shinji said, "Er, no need for that." Clapping his hands together, he said, "I'll be good, I promise." Looking around, he said, "Now, where were we?"

Ichijou asked, "You were in the Auditorium, right?"

"Indeed, for a little while. The acoustics are excellent, you see. When I speak, the echoes make it seem as if I'm talking to someone else," Sanada rambled.

Interrupting, Minami asked, "How long were you there today?"

Sanada nodded, "It was about an hour before Kobayashi came to get me. So, since around 4:20, I believe."

Minami began to ask if anyone could confirm that, while Ichijou became distracted when he noticed the ash on the ground, sticking to his bare feet. He also noticed that while Ganaha and Minami had bits of ash on their shoes, Sanada had both ash and more than a bit of dirt.

"I'm afraid no one saw me until Kobayashi, except for Kasumi, but that was a few hours before the fire. No one happened to be between levels when I got bored of my room and descended," Ichijou heard Sanada say.

"So...you did it!" Ganaha yelled, pointing her finger at him.

The Debater shrugged, "It's not impossible, but I can only insist that I didn't. I can't create an alibi, but there's no doubt something else to clear my name. Would you come investigate the Cabin with me, Eriko-chan?"

Ganaha gave him an odd look at the less formal tone, but shrugged, "Yeah, fine, let's go."

"That is, if we're done here," Sanada said, turning back to Minami and Ichijou.

"Fine. Go," Minami growled. With a nod, Sanada took his leave, and Ganaha followed, the two slipping into the Cabin.

Knowing they needed to find the others, Minami and Ichijou began to take their leave of the forest, reaching the road. In the darkness, it was hard, but the light from the Ranger Station illuminated a certain girl in a vest, whom stood in the light, looking down the road. Ichijou approached, and the girl didn't react. "Kobayashi-san?" Ichijou asked.

The girl jumped a bit, before turning to see Ichijou and Minami. Letting out a sigh of relief, she said, "Jeez, don't sneak up on me. I don't wanna be Victim number two." Her face falling, she mumbled, "It's a shame about Andou-san, but what can we do?"

Ichijou nodded resolutely, "Find out who did it!"

Kobayashi took a deep breath, saying, "Well, I suppose someone has to have confidence that we can get through without 'Flunking'...whatever that means. Doesn't seem like much of a test, I mean."

Minami shrugged, "We'll see, I suppose. The 'Class Trial', and all."

Kobayashi nodded with uncertainty. After a moment, she asked, "So, something I can help you with?"

Ichijou answered with yet another question, "Yeah, how long were you down on the Ground Level?" At the mention of 'down' his eyes went to her boots, which had a bit of dirt and little ash on them.

Kobayashi shook her head, "Not very long, I went to the Ranger Station at about...four thirtyish? A little after maybe. Then Uzatei came in later, maybe close to five...no, after! Definitely after five. We talked for a little while until we got a call from Ishihara-san."

Minami nodded, asking, "Did you see anyone else?"

Kobayashi thought for a moment, before saying, "I saw Sanada at maybe four thirty, but I don't know which way he went. I guess it had to be the Auditorium, huh?" After she answered, she asked, "That's about it. I mean, I was on the upper level after lunch but if I saw anyone suspicious, I'd remember."

Not thinking of anything else to add, Ichijou said, "Okay, see you later, Kobayashi-san." The Park Tycoon nodded, running her hand down her slicked back pink hair with another sigh, likely still in a mood regarding the whole situation. Ichijou said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Kobayashi-san, we'll get out of this alright."

Kobayashi gave a small smile and a wave, before the Luckster and the Contractor headed out. It didn't take too long for them to reach the slope upwards. The trek up took longer than they would have liked, given the circumstances, but it couldn't be helped. Reaching the Resort proper, there weren't many hanging around, despite the fresh air, though a hint of smoke could still be sensed.

Ichijou and Minami headed to the Storage Units, seeing someone else in the dim lighting. Tamura was crouched by the entrance to the lower Unit.

Noticing the pair, he stood, forcing a smile, "Oh, Ichijou-san, Minami-san, hello again."

Ichijou nodded, saying, "Tamura-san, we have a couple questions."

Minami butted in, "So, where exactly in the forest did you go?"

Tamura, a bit surprised, began to think for a moment. Ichijou's eyes went to his shoes, and he saw they had plenty of dirt and just a bit of ash on them. After a moment, Tamura said, "We mostly went along the cliff, though after we split ways, I tried to go a little deeper into the middle areas. If she ended up by the Cabin, she probably just went all the way through." He added with a hint of dejection, "Probably chasing some bird or something..."

"Are you going to keep beating yourself up, or am I going to have to knock some sense into you?" Minami threatened, cracking her knuckles against her palm.

Tamura swallowed, a bit fearful, before shaking his head, suddenly begging, "Hit me! Just once!" The ASCAN closed his eyes, bracing himself.

Minami didn't move. Gingerly, Tamura opened his eye, loosening his stance. Then Minami punched him, her fist slamming into his chest and knocking him into the iron side of the Storage Unit. He went to the ground coughing, clutching at his torso.

Ichijou gave Minami a shocked, disbelieving look. The Contractor said, "He'd have gotten more hurt with that stiff posture of his. It was for his own good. Trust me on this one."

Tamura stood shakily, wiping his face, grunting, "Th-thank you. I needed that. Maybe some water too..." Shaking his head, he said, a little more firmly, "Anything else I can help you with?"

Ichijou thought for a moment, before asking, "You didn't see anyone before going into the forest, did you?"

Tamura thought for a moment, before shaking his head, "After lunch, Moriko and I were the first ones down the slope. I was in the forest until I heard you calling for us." With a relieved sigh, he said, "Glad you're vouching for me, Ichijou-kun. And ideas on who the Culprit it yet?"

"Nope," Ichijou admitted.

Tamura gave him a worried look, before saying, "Well, maybe I should get started on the investigation myself. Excuse me."

Ichijou stopped him, "Oh yeah! Wait a sec Ryunosuke-kun, there was something we wanted to ask you about." Tamura stopped, looking over, curious. Ichijou pointed to the Storage Unit, asking, "You got the backpacks, right? How many were there?"

Tamura answered, "There's a big box that had about a dozen. Why?"

Ichijou nodded, "Oh, I see. There was one in the Cabin."

Tamura's look hardened, and he nodded in understanding. "Okay, understood, I'm going to check it out myself," he said, heading off for certain this time. He broke into a run, clearly wanting to hurry, as it was difficult to say how much time they had left.

Before heading out, Ichijou and Minami quickly checked the boxes, finding where Tamura got the backpacks from. There were still a good ten left: one backpack for each of them and the 16th Student once you counted the missing ones. They also found a box of padlocks and matching keys, and more chains as well. Done with that, they checked the Restaurant, they ran into Uzatei and Mikage, chatting at the table.

"Oh, Uzatei-san! Just the person I wanted to talk to!" Ichijou smiled, approaching.

Raising an eyebrow, Uzatei asked, "What about?" Mikage, understanding he was not part of the conversation, leaned back in his chair, silent.

Ichijou asked the same question as he had several times before, "Where were you before the fire?"

Uzatei pondered for a bit, saying, "Well, before my rendezvous with Kobayashi at five, I mostly spent time in my room."

Minami gave him an uncertain look, asking, "Wait; rendezvous?"

Uzatei explained, "It's French. It means to meet up, or get together, at a predetermined place."

Minami glowered, rumbling, "I know what it means..." Uzatei's gold eyes widened behind his glasses and he leaned back a bit in his chair, as if trying to put distance between him and her.

Stepping in, Ichijou insisted, "We know what it means, but we were wondering why Kobayashi didn't mention it earlier."

Uzatei raised an eyebrow, relaxing a bit as Minami lowered her level of killing intent. He stated, "Strange. I understand why she might not want to say anything normally, but these are exceptional circumstances. I think I'll go an-"

"No," Minami said forcefully. "You'll stay right here and make no move to speak with her until the Class Trial," she demanded.

Uzatei repeated, "I think I'll go and stay right here and make no move to speak to Kobayashi Nagisa until the Class Trial."

Minami turned to Mikage, suggesting, "You had better make sure he keeps his word."

"Whatever," Mikage shrugged. Minami growled and Mikage raised his hand, "Fine, fine. I'll stick to him like ugly on a country girl. Even if he does try to talk to any Kobayashi ladies, I'll hear every word."

"Duly noted," Uzatei replied.

Ichijou frowned, voicing his thoughts, "Country girls aren't ugly..."

Mikage shook his head, "Nah, man, you haven't seen 'beautiful' until you check out some city girls, trust me." Mikage glanced at Minami, before stating, "Real city girls."

"I'm betrothed to a girl in my town," Ichijou stated.

Mikage scratched his head, offering, "My condolences then."

Feeling like he was being made fun of, Ichijou did the wise thing and turned away from the Farmer, back to Uzatei, asking, "You didn't see anyone else down there, did you?"

The Fashion Designer pondered for a moment, before shaking his head. "Can't say that I have, until Saruta arrived," he admitted.

After a moment, Minami nodded, "Understood." Turning to Ichijou, she asked, "Now, is there anything left to do?"

Thinking for a moment, Ichijou said, "I think we've covered all the bases." Hearing something, he wondered, "Who's in the Kitchen?"

As he made a move, he heard Mikage answer, "It's Ishihara."

Ichijou entered, with Minami close behind. The Luckster could hear boiling water, and smell something burning. Ishihara stood at a nearby counter, frozen still with a knife in hand, over some half cut vegetables. Ichijou could see a pot on the stove boiling over.

"Jouji!" Ichijou shouted. The Aeronaut looked up and around, jarred from his thoughts, before letting out a cry of shock when he saw the pot. Quickly grabbing some pot holders, he lifted the dish off the heat, placing it on a cool burner before turning off the stove.

Ishihara scratched his curly brown hair, a look of embarrassment on his face as he grumbled, "My bad. I was gonna make some food and then tell everyone they could get something to eat before the Trial when I went to do my own investigation. Guess I kinda spaced out..." As Ichijou frowned, Ishihara continued, "There must have been something I could have done."

Minami shook her head, "I doubt it. All things considered, you went above and beyond."

Ishihara shrugged, "I guess." Wiping his forehead, he asked, "You guys need something?"

Ichijou shrugged, "Not really." A moment later, his stomach growled at him. He laughed, "On second thought..." Looking back at Jouji, he remembered, "Oh yeah, you haven't done any investigating yet, have you?" Ishihara shook his head, and Ichijou said, "How about Minami and I do this? We're done, so why don't you grab...maybe grab Furugori-san? I haven't seen him around. He'd probably be a big help."

The Aeronaut gave a slight smile, saying, "That sounds like a plan. I'll see you guys later! Thanks!" With that, Ishihara ran off.

Once he was gone, Minami looked over to Ichijou, grumbling, "You can't be serious."

Ichijou began to clean up the mess, before saying, "How hard can it be?"

Harder than he'd thought. Ichijou's attempt to get a slightly unwilling Minami to make soup went almost as bad as Ishihara's attempt. Disgusted, Minami left the Luckster on his own, where he relented, simply cutting up some fruit (unevenly) and preparing a couple other snacks one didn't need to cook, bringing them out to the table. As he finished putting the food out, he quickly peeked under the table, getting a look at Uzatei's relatively clean shoes and Mikage's slightly less clean ones, neither having much dirt or ash on them. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't say what. Trying to mull it over, he made his way out.

Ichijou returned to the Cabin, telling everyone he ran into on the way down that there was food if desired. By the time he got to the Cabin, the only ones he hadn't seen were Ishihara and Furugori. Luckily, he ran in to them outside as they were discussing something. Ichijou also noticed Furugori was looking a little green in the face.

He smiled and waved as Ichijou arrived though, the chubby Computer Engineer greeting him, "Hello, Ichijou-san!"

Ichijou returned the greeting, "Hey guys. There's some food in the Restaurant if you want a bite to eat."

Ishihara nodded, "Sounds good. Also, quick question: you were the first to investigate the Cabin, right?"

Ichijou explained, "Yeah, with Kasumi and Minami. Saruta and Tamura were with us when we found the body, and Kasumi helped Minami and I when we got a better look."

Ishihara began, "Okay, then you didn't see this then, right?" The Aeronaut led the other two around the corner of the Cabin. He pointed at a plastic bottle on the ground under the window. Ichijou recognized it as the same window to the large bedroom where the fire had been started.

"Oh, no I didn't see it. Who found it?" Ichijou wondered.

Ishihara explained, "Kobayashi said Sanada found it. She was just here with Ryunosuke-kun, but they left."

Ichijou nodded, "I ran into them on the way here." Thinking about it, he said, "Anyone have a guess as to what it was for?" Ishihara shook his head.

Furugori scratched his head, "Still no ideas, huh? Hopefully everything will be clear come the Trial. I think I'm gonna go grab some food though, I haven't eaten since lunch."

In agreement, Ishihara and Ichijou went with him, heading through the forest and out to the road. Their ascent up the slope was interrupted by the sound of bugles playing reveille throughout the Resort. The music chilled Ichijou as he stopped to hear the announcement.

"Excuse me, your attention please! It is now time for the Class Trial. I hope you've studied! Please, make your way to the Courtroom Elevator Door on the First Level with haste. See you soon~"

Though a bit disappointed at the lack of getting a snack, Ishihara, Furugori, and Ichijou made their way past the dead trees to the red door without complaint. However, it was now wide open, revealing a dim fence cage within. Ichijou got a little worried as he stepped in: though he could see past the fence, there was nothing but blackness.

In minutes, everyone else began to arrive, loading themselves onto the elevator until the fourteen heads were present. The red doors creaked shut, making it slightly dimmer as the elevator rumbled. Nagasaki let out a slight squeak of fright, as if it might plummet, but it did no such thing as it rumbled downwards slowly.

Ichijou glanced over at Kasumi, still in her 'detective mode', her hands gloved and pale purple hair in a ponytail. She gave a nod, but didn't say anything. Aside from the rumbling, the whole ride was silent, the Students too choked by fearful anticipation to speak. Ichijou's thoughts turned to the poor Victim.

Andou Moriko: a passionate and kind girl, though perhaps a bit too appreciative of nature. She hadn't hesitated to help during her short stay at the Resort, but perhaps that very kindness had been taken advantage of, resulting in her death. Of the fourteen of them there had snatched away her life, and now they descended into a Trial of Fact and Fiction, and Trial of Trust and Betrayal, a Trial of Hope and Despair.