Dangan Ronpa: Despairingly Displaced

by Craftsdwarf

After the Most Despair Inducing Incident in Human History, Future Foundation has managed to restore some highly desired of peace to a number of regions. However, a number of loose ends lead to yet another crisis, as Enoshima Junko's clawed paws continue to threaten the Future. (DR/DR0/SDR2 Spoilers; Sequel to DR: Hopelessly Misplaced, Prequel to That Hopeless Place)

22. Chapter 4-5: Trial of Virtue and Sin

After the rushed meal and the lengthily Elevator trip, the contraption finally came to the stop. Who but Monokuma knew how deep below the earth they were? Stepping out into the room, Ichijou felt the chill, stagnant air, which made him crinkle his nose in disgust. Looking around at the décor, he was reminded of some pictures he saw in foreign factories: the walls were a dull gray steel, spots covered in a nasty, white residue or slick with frost. Vents were embedded in the walls at intervals, blowing out frigid air, as chunks of red meat being dragged on hooks circled the room, going in and out of dark gaps in the wall. His nose was filled with a gross stench, reminding him of spoiled meat and dirty metal.

Monokuma sat on his usual throne, wearing a dark jacket and a knit cap. The bear ordered, "You know the drill! Get, get. Oh, hope you don't mind the environment: they say a chilly environment leads to a sharp, active mind! Plus, you've all got your cold weather clothing, so you shouldn't get mad." Ichijou had to admit, he was glad he hadn't changed clothes when he had the chance.

Reaching his podium, he frowned as he saw Ganaha's portrait next to that of Mikage's, the blood colored cross over her face. He felt a pang of inscrutable emotion as he looked at the much closer portrait, that of Kirigiri Kasumi, her face circled and blown up in what seemed to be a drawing of a magnifying glass, a bloody cross over her enlarged face. He averted his eyes as Monokuma predictably began, "Welcome back, Students of Hope's Peak Academy, to the Class Trial! Allow me to explain the rules. Now that the investigation is concluded, you must use what you have learned to uncover the Culprit. When deemed appropriate, you will all vote on who you believe the 'Black' Culprit is. If you are correct, the Culprit will be Punished. If you are wrong, and vote a 'White', innocent Student guilty, the Culprit will Graduate and be allowed to leave, while everyone else Flunks, and is Punished."

Minami in her jacket grumbled, "You must have said that, what, twenty-two times now?"

Monokuma shrugged, "Twenty-one, actually." Minami scowled.

Ishihara suggested, "Can we go back to pretending Monokuma isn't here? Like normal?"

Saruta nodded, "I concur."

Ichijou smiled, "Absolutely." Tears leaked from Monokuma's eyes, but no one cared about him or the crocodile he stole them from.

Taking charge for once, Ichijou began, "Okay, first things first, we didn't have a whole lot of time to investigate, honestly. What did you guys miss? Saruta-san and I checked everything but the upper half of the Mall."

Furugori explained, "Er, Ishihara-kun and I didn't pay much attention to the Rest Markers, so we were able to check out everywhere else that looked important."

Minami began, "A certain Fashion Designer, who shall remain unnamed to protect their identity, went to the bathroom for far too long, so we were unable to give any of the underground areas a look."

After a moment, Ichijou nodded, saying, "Okay...so, hopefully nothing important was on the upper level of the Mall. Anyway, I guess we should share. There were a couple questions I wanted to ask about the Rest Markers. Some of you guys didn't get a full nights rest."

Saruta nodded, "If I recall correctly, it was: Ganaha, Furugori, Uzatei, Ishihara, and I. The only ones to get their full rest were Minami, Ichijou, and Nagasaki. Ganaha likely would have, but as she was not allowed to be awake away from her Rest Marker, I imagine she was roused, then dragged away from the Third Level Ranger Station to the Fourth Level..." After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat, explaining, "As I told Ichijou-san before, I had a little trouble getting to sleep, due to my proximity to the Shrine. I woke up to check it out, in hopes of getting to sleep quicker, but it failed to exhaust me enough to go to sleep earlier. I was awake until a little after one o'clock, I believe, as I woke with the morning announcement."

Scratching his chin, Uzatei began, "As mentioned, I was in the forest near the elevator. Unfortunately, the moonlight was so bright I had trouble, plus there were the cicadas at eleven and five...is it really surprising that I couldn't sleep well? Let's just say I eagerly await the evening. A warm bed, a shower, a clean change of clothes, a secure, quiet place to sleep..."

From a few spots away, Furugori nodded, replying, "Well, anyway. I was in that electronics store. I got distracted by all the stuff there, I just had to check it out. After I took apart one thing, I...well, it's not really relevant. What's important is that I slept until the morning announcement, so...I think I went to sleep at around the same time as Saruta-san."

Lastly, Ishihara explained, "Well, I had a little bit of a rough time getting comfortable on the rock ground. Plus, I kept remembering that night, the Monokuma Gas..." Ishihara repressed a shudder, before shaking his head, "Anyway, I didn't lose much sleep, I guess."

Looking around, Minami nodded, "Well, that's everyone then...so, I suppose we should discuss the last one in a bit of detail: Ganaha Eriko. More specifically, what was she doing last night? How was she captured and killed? When?"

Beginning, Furugori stated, "Okay, she went to the Ranger Station after we all placed down our Markers. Well, we know from the Monokuma File that she was drinking, so-"

Interrupting, Ichijou pointed out, "Er, well, before that, she cleaned up a little. It was really messy: flies and plates and stuff."

Ishihara grimaced, groaning, "Augh! I can't believe I never got around to cleaning up over there."

"Er, anyway, as I was saying. Ganaha probably cleaned up a bit, before taking one of the cups and drinking some of the cider. At one point, she went back to her Rest Marker to sleep. She probably took a cup with her, since we found one in the room. Well, she fell asleep for a while, but then the Culprit woke her up, taking her away. Next thing we know for sure, she died at 4:43 this morning, a little more than two hours before we all woke up," Ichijou explained. With a sigh, he wondered, "So, what happened before 4:43?"

Minami explained grimly, "Ganaha was grabbed and dragged to the lower part of the Lift. She was tied to one of the stopped chairs with a rope from the Storage Units. After that..." Minami paused, mentioning, "Hmm, the Lift was active before I went to sleep. That would mean it was on at 11:00, eight hours before I woke up. I presume, at least, I was asleep at that point. The Culprit must have stopped in beforehand, likely as they were preparing the rest of the crime."

Nagasaki muttered, "The weapons..."

Minami nodded, "Indeed, we can assume that around three or four weapons were used, but more on that later." Going back to the original subject, she continued, "So, the Culprit took Ganaha to the lower Lift, binding her, and slowly picking away at Ganaha's life. Then, upon finishing, they took their leave. The question is: how long would they have to take to do all of that, and which of us would have had the time?"

Saruta nodded, "They would need to switch off the Lift, take a scalpel of mine, a knife of some sort, another sharp object, and perhaps most mysteriously, what Ichijou identified as Gold Dragon's glove."

Ishihara shook his head, "I still can't believe that... I mean, I do, but just...how did the Culprit get ahold of it?"

Nagasaki nodded, muttering, "No one could touch him the other night..."

Uzatei sighed, "I think the obvious solution would be, 'it was Gold Dragon', but that seems rather anticlimactic. However, looking at it one way, it's possible that Gold Dragon is not our Culprit."

Minami smirked, "Says Gold Dragon."

Uzatei rolled his eyes before explaining, "The other night, we had a sighting of Gold Dragon unlike any before: more than one person being with him for an extended time. Without any doubt, he and his costume were there. However, there is a difference between this time and the sightings at the Hot Spring by the girls, and the earlier one on the slope between First and Ground Levels."

Uzatei trailed off, simply pointing that out and going silent. After a moment, Ichijou realized, "The Lodges were locked, right?"

Uzatei nodded, "It wouldn't be too abnormal to assume Gold Dragon hid his costume in his Lodge, where none would have a chance to see it, under his bed, or in the bathroom. However, this time, he had it outside the Lodges after they were locked up. Now, say they hid it somewhere else rarely visited, like the Fridge in a Ranger Station, or a locker in the Hot Spring, and someone were to stumble upon it?"

Saruta shook his head, bringing his fingers up to fiddle with his hair curl, "Possible, yes, but unlikely. As you said, the costume would have likely been hidden in the Lodge, no? Then it would have been there when it was locked: he wouldn't have had time to retrieve it."

Ichijou gasped, "Ah, that's right! They were locked when we were all in the Auditorium."

Uzatei gave a frustrated sigh, "Then how did Gold Dragon appear!?"

As the disgruntled Fashion Designer massaged his forehead, Monokuma cleared his throat loudly, but said nothing. Ichijou glared, "Monokuma...you didn't give him his costume, did you?"

Monokuma innocently covered his mouth in his paws, gasping, "Ehhhh? Now why would I do that? Certainly not to make this Trial even the least bit more interesting. Not that everyone doesn't already know who Gold Dragon is..."

Furugori frowned, "But we don't..."

Monokuma laughed, "I mean anyone who's anyone: you guys are just a bunch of nobodies!"

Ishihara blinked, "Even Gold Dragon?"

Monokuma spat, "Especially Gold Dragon!"

After a moment, Minami began, "Well, regardless of how or why, I suppose it's not impossible for someone to get ahold of Gold Dragon's costume, as convenient for them as it sounds. Unless, of course: Gold Dragon would like to come forth and claim his glove." There was a predictable silence, to which Minami could only shake her head in disappointment, muttering, "Some hero of Justice..."

Ichijou grumbled, asking, "A-anyway! Where were we?"

Nagasaki mumbled, "Weapons."

Saruta nodded, beginning, "Ichijou-san?" Remembering, Ichijou reached into the pockets, removing the two scalpels. Saruta began to explain, "During our search of the Medical Building, I came across a used scalpel. I could tell because, although it was clean, it had a slight amount of wear on it, and two minute nicks. Alongside it, I brought one other scalpel, untouched. Despite having to deal with a handful of injuries thus far, I've had no reason to use one, and yet, one has been used. I assure you, this was not the case long before today: I maintain the Medical Building well. Feel free to come and have a look."

As Minami headed over, Uzatei asked, "But why bring it along?"

Saruta nodded, "To prove a point. In particular, the damage is minor: with the glove of Gold Dragon, it's hard to argue that it was involved in Ganaha's bruising, but the other wounds were less clear. By proving that one of the scalpels was worn, I could also postulate that it was used on the corpses."

Minami asked, "Not the legs...the arms?"

Saruta nodded, "You're half right: or left, to be specific. The cuts on the right arm were done in such high volume, I can't imagine being done by such a fragile item such as a scalpel. And for that matter, the cuts are a little thick for the thin and precise blade. I believe the first guess of a knife was correct. However, for the damage done to Ganaha's left arm, a precise scalpel would have been able to remove the skin without damaging the muscle underneath too much."

Minami grimaced, "You seem to know a lot about this."

Saruta shrugged, "Well, it may be hard to convince you why, but I can tell that this work was done by an amateur. Though the cuts were sleek, they were a bit uneven. I also feel that there was some stretching, likely from the removal of Ganaha's skin, which is still missing." Clearing his throat, he added, "And removing skin, usually for grafts, happens to be a specialty of mine, thank you very much."

Minami shrugged, "Well, we don't exactly have much else to go on...very well. But what about the other weapons? What damaged her legs and right arm?"

Ishihara asked, "You said a knife, right, Saruta-san?"

The Surgical Assistant nodded, "For the right arm, yes. I'm still foggy as to what was used on the legs, however. We checked the Gardening Shed, but there was no luck."

Minami scratched her chin, mumbling, "They were thick, short cuts..."

Furugori asked, "What other weapons are there? The knives and hatchets are in the Lodges. The Kitchen knives were all clean."

Ishihara nodded, "Yeah, and I doubt the Culprit could have gotten one easily. They were all there at dinner, and there wouldn't have been much time before 10:00 and when we all split up to go to bed."

Thinking quietly, Ichijou's eyes widened as he had a realization. Turning to the others, he asked, "Were all of the hatchets locked in the Lodges?"

Nagasaki blinked, "Mine is. I haven't touched it."

Minami, however, looked at Ichijou in surprise. Crossing her arms over her chest, she had a bit of sweat on her face as she admitted, "Mine isn't." As eyes turned to her, she explained, "I'm in the process of constructing a canoe. I've been using my hatchet. I left it down on the Ground Level."

Focusing, Uzatei wondered, "Now, who else knew that?"

Ichijou began, "Minami, me..." Looking up at the Contractor, she shook her head, implying no one else knew.

Saruta pointed out, "I believe I heard you at work once. The rhythmic tapping of an axe can carry quite far when the cicadas aren't out. It's not too far out of the realm of possibility that our Culprit heard you in passing, and investigated later."

Ishihara frowned, "If she isn't the Culprit herself."

Minami grunted, "Hardly. I may have been closest, but I got my full night of rest."

Uzatei grumbled, "Slept like a baby, while Ganaha was killed a few dozen meters away." Baring her teeth, Minami's fist shot out, jabbing Uzatei in the side. The Fashion Designer crumpled, falling to the floor like a stiff drink, splattering about. Letting out a moan of pain, he was able to push himself to his hands and knees, before staggering to his feet.

Flustered, Minami's fist shook in front of her, as she muttered, face tight with guilt, "I know that I couldn't do a thing to help her. I'm well aware of my failings, and I don't need you to point them out to me."

Coughing, Uzatei leaned against his podium, sputtering in pain, "U-understood."

Saruta continued, "So, anyone could have gotten a hold of Minami's hatchet. When did you last see it, Minami-san?"

The Contractor answered gruffly, "Yesterday. Most of the day"

Ichijou realized, "So, it must have been taken after we split up to sleep."

Ishihara nodded, "So, that's three out of four. What about the last one? There's nothing else it could have been but the knife, and we already ruled those out." After a few moments of thought, eyes turned to Nagasaki.

The girl swallowed, saying, "I didn't...I wouldn't!"

Putting a hand on his hip, Uzatei shook his head, "Well, let's not say wouldn't. I mean, one of the last times we saw her, she rebuked you. I was a bit peeved for your sake, but I can't imagine how you felt." Ichijou bit the inside of his lip, unable to really disagree.

A bit sweaty, Nagasaki shook her head, saying, "I wouldn't do...that. I've killed before: animals. Even then, I wouldn't keep one alive and in pain. Except, well..."

A bit perturbed, Furugori asked warily, "Well..?"

Scratching her cheek, Nagasaki admitted, "Once, I used an animal I'd hurt as bait so I could eat whatever came to help it..."

After a moment of silence, Ishihara said nervously, "Well, survival of the fittest...I guess."

Not pleased, Minami began, "Who's to say you didn't do the same? Perhaps you were after Gold Dragon? And Ganaha was just the bait. Of course, you couldn't just cut Ganaha up, you had to obscure the Culprit, so you grabbed other weapons. Then, when Gold Dragon showed up, you outfought him, taking his glove, perhaps even revealing his identity somehow..."

Saruta shook his head, "A few too many leaps in logic there."

Minami shrugged, "If the pieces fit..."

As Nagasaki simply stared in fright, Ichijou remembered, "Er, Minami-san, Nagasaki was asleep for the full eight hours."

Minami froze, as Ishihara nodded, "Yeah, I don't think she could even get up to the Fourth Level and back before eleven, let alone after Ganaha fell asleep."

After another moment, Minami let out a sigh, before turning to Nagasaki, admitting, "I apologize. Perhaps I was getting a bit ahead of myself there..."

Uzatei nodded, "I was tempted to agree with you, until the matter of hours slept was brought up. I suppose yourself and Ichijou are also exempt. So, in descending order..." Uzatei snapped his gaze to Ishihara, asking, "A half an hour...is that enough time?"

The Aeronaut thought for a moment, before suggesting, "Well, I could have taken a knife from the Kitchen and lied about it, that'd shave a few minutes. Plus, you guys think I'm Gold Dragon, so that might knock off a few more. Plus I'm pretty fast, so-"

Saruta chortled, "Shouldn't you be defending yourself? Not the reverse."

Ishihara gave an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head with his hand. Putting his hand on his chin, he strained as he thought, "Well, even if I were fast, I'd have to sneak to grab the hatchet and scalpel yesterday without Minami or Saruta realizing, grab and kill Ganaha, then get to the Mines by 11:30 after putting everything away."

Uzatei slapped his forehead, grumbling, "Of course, not enough time, not enough time..."

Thinking, Minami said, "As for the others, they had roughly the same amount of time: Uzatei the most, and Furugori the least. Coincidentally, Uzatei was the farthest from Ganaha. That extra time puts him in line with the others. I'd say we've narrowed it down a little at least."

"But which one..." Nagasaki wondered.

Ichijou suggested, "Well, maybe we could try and guess how long the whole thing took? Now that we know how Ganaha was injured, I mean."

Minami nodded, "Very well. Saruta?"

The Surgical Assistant began to mess with his curl of hair, before beginning, "Well, to begin with, let's assume that to cross a Level to the next, it takes about ten to fifteen minutes. The only one too break that pattern is the Third Level, where the elevator is close to the entrance, however, the Culprit must have gone to the Station to capture Ganaha, so there is the time required."

Saruta elaborated, "So, firstly, Ganaha died at 4:43. Putting aside the weapons for now and other preparations for now, let us simply assume they were completed as Ganaha slept. So, she was grabbed and awoken in the Ranger Station. The Culprit dragged her across the Third Level to the elevator, which took perhaps, twenty minutes, accounting a bit extra for her resistance. Then, she was taken and tied up to the already stopped Lift: another fifteen minutes. Then, the Culprit tortured her, taking an unknown amount of time. The bandage was likely removed, and I imagine the wind blew it against the tree where we discovered it. The thicker fur coat and Dragon glove were thrown aside after the deed was done, then the Culprit went to return everything. The scalpel was cleaned and taken to the Medical Building, the hatchet returned to Minami's workplace the knife...hmm, one moment." Ichijou began to realize something: how did the Culprit clean the scalpel?

Ishihara noted, "The Culprit wouldn't have been able to put it back in the Kitchen!"

With a slight, mental shrug, Ichijou concurred, "That too."

After a moment, Saruta shook his head, saying, "No, it's also possible that...they never got it from the Kitchen." Glancing over at Nagasaki, he asked, "May we see your knife again?"

Nagasaki frowned, "But I didn't..."

Ichijou attested, "You didn't!"

Saruta nodded, "It's not impossible that your knife was simply taken from you. May we see it?"

Nagasaki swallowed, taking it out of her pocket and laying it on her podium once again before backing off. Saruta approached, and the surrounding Furugori and Uzatei leaned over carefully.

Saruta noted, "There's that blood...I wonder." Removing a glove from his pocket, he put it on, before reaching his thumb onto the blade, picking at it. After a moment, he knocked the dry blood loose, exhaling slightly, before holding up his hand, showing something glinting on his glove: a bit of moist blood.

Nagasaki muttered, "So...someone..."

Saruta nodded, "It seems likely. You said you cleaned it, but this blood here seems fresher than normal. I can't confidently see it staying like this from the other time it was used to cut Ganaha."

As Nagasaki looked away shamefully, Ichijou remembered the scene. There was something else, wasn't there? Ichijou gasped in realization, noting, "Nagasaki never got blood on her knife! The cut didn't start to bleed until afterwards!"

Ishihara's eyes widened as he shared, "Oh! I know what you're talking about! Sometimes, I've cut my finger, but it didn't start bleeding right away. Usually it does after I move a bit though."

Saruta nodded, taking off his glove and returning to his podium before stating, "It's not an unknown occurrence. However, the point is: the blood on Nagasaki's knife must have come from somewhere, and the only reasonable place is..."

Ichijou swallowed, "Ganaha."

Nagasaki looked puzzled, asking, "But how did someone take my knife?"

Minami added, "And why did they not kill you? Or at least attempt it. If someone could get close enough, they'd..."

Ichijou shook his head, insisting, "Nagasaki-chan has good instincts. I think maybe the Culprit was able to take the knife because they didn't want to kill Nagasaki. Besides, who would want to try? She's a Survivalist, killing her can't be that easy! If they came up to her with 'killing intent', or whatever she was talking about a while ago, I think she'd have woken up." Having been with her in the forest, when they'd attempted to escape, he had a good feeling about his suggestion.

Uzatei nodded, "You have a point..."

Furugori frowned, "So, the Culprit took the knife, then went for Ganaha."

Minami noted, "They must have taken the knife after eleven, or possibly before. We can't say for sure how long Nagasaki was unconscious. We can assume the worst, however, and say she was asleep since around ten, or ten thirty.

Nagasaki shrugged, "I heard the announcement, at least..."

"So, now what?" Ichijou wondered aloud.

Scratching his chin, Uzatei pointed out, "You know, it's strange. There's something to suggest almost all of us, isn't there?" Looking around, he elaborated, "Ishihara-san and I are incriminated by the Gold Dragon glove. Minami's hatchet, Nagasaki's knife, Saruta's scalpels. The only ones excluded from this are Ichijou, who is freed by getting a full nights rest and..."

Furugori flinched as eyes turned towards him. He stammered, "Uh, I dunno."

"'Dunno', what?" Minami grunted.

Holding his arms towards Uzatei, Furugori said, "His question! I don't know why!"

Ichijou suggested, "Well, what would you lie to him? His knife is in his Lodge...maybe a computer?"

Ishihara grumbled, "I don't think it could be him. I mean, he's had an opportunity to kill before but didn't take it."

Uzatei shrugged, "I'm sure Sanada Shinji came up with a few reasons he didn't choose too."

Minami recalled, "Actually, Furugori himself suggested why."

Saruta wondered aloud, "Perhaps he did leave something of himself? Or the Culprit, rather. A tiny screw in Ganaha's pocket, or shoved into a knife wound. It would have been small enough that I may not have necessarily noticed..."

Nagasaki pointed out, "But the time?"

Saruta shrugged, "Very well, we may be able to break it down. From the Mall, he would have needed to go through the Mines-"

Ishihara shook his head, "He couldn't have! I was there, remember? I'd have heard the elevator, and I was in the middle tunnel, so he'd have to get by me either way."

Saruta thought for a moment, before shrugging, "Well, I'll assume you're a light sleeper then. So, he went up, through the Fourth Level, stopping the Lift, then going down. To go all the way to the bottom Ground Level without going through the Mines must have taken an hour, at least. Then: another half an hour or more to go back to the Third Level, after have grabbing the scalpel, hatchet, and knife... It's such a lengthily path, I can't see it happening, not without crossing through the Mines while Ishihara slept." Ishihara continued to frown at Saruta, who retorted, "It is not impossible that someone snuck by you."

Disgruntled, Ishihara let out a course sigh, grumbling, "Fine, I guess it is possible..."

Saruta nodded, continuing, "So, in that case, from the Mall down, it might have only taken twenty minutes to reach Ground Level. Furugori could have grabbed the hatchet, gone up, got the scalpel, gone up, gotten the knife...by the time he'd reach Ganaha, it would probably take an hour and ten to fifteen minutes. Then to take her from there to the Fourth Level to stop the Lift, that would be another thirty minutes. Two hours, almost. Then to finish the job, he'd have to return to the lower Floors: to go underground would take another half hour, and he'd also have to make the organized mess he made in the store he slept."

Furugori sighed dejectedly, "That would take me about two or three hours. Because it did."

Minami shook her head, suggesting, ""Unless you made that mess earlier. Who went by the Mall before last night?" There was silence, no one answering yes.

Saruta nodded, admitting, "Fair enough, but I think we're quite finished. Even taking that into account, Furugori doesn't quite have enough time."

Ichijou scratched his head, letting out a sigh: Saruta had a good head for numbers. He'd been so quiet these last few Trials.

Saruta sighed, adding, "And I was in a similar position to Furugori. I would also have needed to go up and down to many times to commit the murder. Although I must admit to not having an alibi like the controlled mess you created."

Ishihara said, "So that leaves..." Turning to Uzatei, he studied him for a moment, before pointing out, "You were closest to the hatchet and scalpel, so...ah!" Raising his finger, he pointed out, "You could have even taken a Kitchen knife after everyone left! And before I showed up and checked the knives in the morning, who was there before you?"

"No one," Ichijou said, adding, "Uzatei-san was there when I got there, and we were alone..."

Raising his hands defensively, Uzatei reasoned, "Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves..."

Nagasaki wondered, "How long? To walk, I mean."

Uzatei nodded his head vigorously, "Yes, that!"

Thinking for a moment, Saruta began aloud, "From the First Level, the hatchet and knife could have been obtained before 10:30. Then he could have rested for a while, waking up to ambush Ganaha. It would take...fifteen, thirty...between thirty and forty minutes to reach Ganaha, another thirty-five to trap her, then another forty to return and go to sleep. No, a bit longer to return what was taken..."

Minami did the math, suggesting, "So, a minimum of one hour and forty five minutes. Plus the time taken to stop the Lift and torture Ganaha to death."

Saruta continued, "If Uzatei had done base preparations by 10:30, he had eight and a half hours until 7:00. Given that he only slept a little more than five hours, he has roughly three hours to do the rest, including more than enough free time to put Ganaha in the sorry state she was in."

Twitching his eye, Uzatei sputtered, "Erm, let's be honest now...I wouldn't have wanted to go into the Fourth Level twice, now would I? It's far too cold, plus that time spent changing..."

Ishihara shook his head, "But you'd have too! You had to go up to stop the Lift after eleven, then take Ganaha to the lower landing."

Uzatei blinked in silence, before mumbling, "Wait just one moment...there was something on the upper landing, aside from the button to stop the Lift."

Ichijou nodded, "The blood? Yeah, we didn't really figure out how it got there."

After a moment, Minami said, "It would have to have come from Ganaha, no? Who else among us is wounded?" Ichijou silently looked at his healing finger, but he knew he couldn't had left a bloodstain like that.

Saruta began, "I think the strangest thing about the bloodstain isn't its location, but the amount. It's too large to be a cut, but it's too small to be the extent of Ganaha's wounds."

Ichijou remembered, "What about that fur coat? And the bandage?"

Furugori wondered, "Could the Culprit have maybe ripped off the bandage, tied Ganaha to the Lift while it was moving, then gone to stop it...no, that wouldn't work."

Ishihara suggested, "The reverse?"

After a moment, Ichijou blinked, before gasping, "Yeah, I think that's it! The Culprit didn't take Ganaha to the lower landing, they went to the Lift Store! The bandage got lost halfway, and ended up against the tree."

Nagasaki nodded, "The fur coat..."

Uzatei slapped the bottom of his fist to his palm in realization, nodding, "Was underneath Ganaha as the Culprit did their dirty work. The bloodstain..."

Saruta continued, "Was vaguely triangular, likely from the cut in Ganaha's fur coat, caused by Nagasaki. The coat caught most of the blood, but some of it slipped through that cut." Turning to the Survivalist, he noted, "It seems you inadvertently helped us." Nagasaki frowned, not exactly pleased with her method.

Ichijou summarized, "So, the Culprit took Ganaha up to the Lift Store, stopped the Lift there, and tied her up. Then, they used the fur coat to catch the blood before activating the Lift, sending Ganaha down to the lower landing!" After that, they just needed to walk down, put the fur coat and glove by the landing, then keep going down to return Nagasaki's knife, Minami's hatchet, and the scalpel."

Minami pointed out, "And the Lift Store is closest too..."

Furugori frowned, "The Observatory, where there's a secret entrance to the underground Mall."

Uzatei nodded, "It might have been possible for you: less walking involved."

Ichijou frowned, "Really? The Mall is still pretty far from the lower levels. Actually, since he would have had to take Ganaha from the Third Level all the way up to the top of the Fourth, it's actually a longer distance, isn't it?"

After a moment, Uzatei nodded, "I can't argue with that."

Minami glared at him, noting, "Yet, even so, you aren't quite clear yet. Even with the added distance, I still feel as though you are in to advantageous a position. Being able to grab the scalpel and hatchet before ten gives you a huge time advantage."

Grimacing, Uzatei fidgeted in his spot, clearly thinking roughly, before grumbling, "Well, do you want to vote now? Just because I can't come up with an argument..." Looking over to Ichijou, he asked, "You must have something."

Ichijou frowned, shaking his head. Uzatei slumped, bowing his head, moaning, "The peasant has forsaken me: I'm doomed."

Ichijou groaned, "Hey..."

With a snort, Minami interrupted, "Well, it does feel too early to be throwing votes, but there is still one talkative suspect we have yet to consider."

Ichijou nodded, looking away from Ichijou at the Surgical Assistant, who didn't even blink as the attention shifted. Minami began, "You were closest to Ganaha. I wonder..." Moving from her podium, she headed over to Saruta, stopping in front of him, demanding, "Open your mouth."

Saruta blinked in bewilderment, before complying, stretching his law. Minami lightly locked two on her fingers on his chin, before pulling her face in. Ichijou's jaw dropped, his initial assumption being that she was going to kiss him, but she stopped short. After a moment, she nodded, letting go and stepping back, returning to her own podium, ignoring the surprised stares. Crossing her arms over her chest, she revealed, "If you are truly innocent, explain why your breath smells of hard apple cider."

Saruta breathed a sigh of relief, explaining, "Well, it certainly wasn't our short breakfast. Before we ate, I was hoping for at least some nourishment, so when Ichijou-san and I passed by the Ranger Station, I took a little drink."

Ichijou nodded with a shrug, "He did, although I didn't think it was a good idea."

Glaring, Minami suggested, "Isn't that even more suspicious then? Were you, perhaps, trying to hide something? Last night, you remembered the alcohol, and headed over to the Ranger Station, only to find Ganaha partaking in it already."

Furugori interrupted, adding, "You two were the ones who enjoyed it most last time..."

Minami nodded, "Indeed. Ganaha was also aware of your Hippocratic Oath...or at least partially, so she may have let down her guard. After she fell asleep from the liquor, you could have been in a position to bind her then and there, saving time later, when you otherwise would have needed to struggle to take her up. And those numbers you've been spouting out...assumptions. Even your assessment of the body can't be taken at face value."

Face tightening in focus, Saruta began to sweat, despite the cold. He stated, "I will not hide...I did, in fact share a drink with Ganaha last night. It was also my idea to clean up a bit: I could not stand the flies..." Wiping his brow, he finished, "But I did not kill her, nor take advantage of her in any way! She drank more than I, and in her stupor, she began to act...inappropriately. I do not like being touched, let alone...fondled. I took my leave, and she did not complain, falling asleep shortly thereafter. But that was my mistake...I left her alone, instead of staying with her through the night."

Starting to shake, he gripped the sides of his podium, muttering, "I couldn't bear the thought of anyone being attracted to a wretch like me, even in the state she was in. There was nothing genuine about it, she's never so much as smiled at me in her right state of mind. I imagine it was instinct, or hormones. She did mention she repressed herself, days ago, to set an example to her employees. I didn't want to be near her, my wretched presence alone should be evidence enough of that. But I would never hurt her." Ichijou could only frown in pity: he didn't like seeing the normally composed boy in this state of self-hatred... What had fueled it?

But despite his pity, Ichijou knew he couldn't just let the suspicion slide: Saruta was the last to see Ganaha Eriko. That and, there was something else bothering him. Ichijou asked, "Saruta-san. I said it before, and I'm going to say it again: you can tell me anything, and I'll be confidential about it. I brought this up because I want to ask...that little box you found in the Medical Building earlier...was it yours?"

Blinking, Saruta shook his head, "No, it was not mine."

Ichijou continued, "Then whose was it?"

Saruta shook his head, "I do not know, but it is not relevant to this case!"

Ichijou asked, "Really?"

Saruta nodded, "Really."

Ichijou Mitsuzi and Saruta Bimaru kept their eyes locked for a few moments until Ichijou nodded, "Okay, Saruta-kun, I believe you." However, Saruta's reaction was not a pleased smile, but a disgusted glower. Knowing Saruta's personality, however, Ichijou couldn't help but feel that his glare had been truly intended for Saruta himself, not Ichijou.

Minami, a bit disgruntled at the evidence that had just been dismissed, grunted, "Very well, perhaps there is another way we can figure this out. The hatchet, the knife, the glove, and the scalpel. The knife was cleaned mostly, as it still had a little bit on it, the hatchet remains unseen, so we can't be certain. The glove is covered in blood from the fur coat, but it wouldn't exactly have been to bloody after doing the damage it did. However..."

Looking at Saruta, she began, "The scalpel is clean, almost perfectly clean. How did you manage that one, Saruta? Or to be less direct, how would one have managed that?" Ichijou's eyes widened, as he was glad someone had brought it up.

A bit uncomfortable, Saruta began to empty his pockets, placing a few things onto the podium in front of him: a few more gloves, the small bottle of sanitizer, a small roll of gauze, a few band-aids in various shapes, and an ElectroID. He explained, "This is all I have. The scalpels are in Ichijou's possession. Did anyone notice anything in particular about the other scalpels in the Medical Building?"

Ishihara shook his head, "No, and we checked..."

Furugori nodded, "Pretty thoroughly. All we noticed was that one drawer had two less scalpels than the others, and two drawers were only missing one."

Saruta blinked, asking, "Excuse me?" Furugori nodded, and Saruta crossed his arms over his chest, stating, "If only I had been more thorough."

Ichijou blinked, asking, "What's wrong? You said that was fine."

Saruta shook his head, saying, "When I did a check of the drawers in the stands on our first day, there were enough scalpels to have three in each one, except for one drawer, so I rearranged them accordingly. One drawer had one missing scalpel, though it would be more accurate to say it was never there. Ichijou and I took two from another drawer, but yet another drawer was missing a scalpel it should have had. Where did it go?"

Minami scoffed, "You got rid of it, obviously. Tossed it off a cliff, hid it in the snow...finding it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. You wouldn't have needed to worry about cleaning it either."

Saruta nodded, "This is true. But why make a discrepancy? A better course of action would be to claim that we were always missing two scalpels."

Uzatei shrugged, "Reverse psychology?"

Ishihara shook his head, mumbling, "That's not what was bothering me though..." Looking over at the two scalpels in front of Ichijou, he asked, "You said that one must have been the murder weapon, because it was worn, and none of them have been used. But if it had been used on Ganaha, you couldn't have cleaned it off. At least not that thoroughly: except for the wear, it's as good as new."

Understanding, Furugori mumbled, "But it must have been used somehow, or somewhere, right?" Saruta did not answer, simply sweating.

Minami demanded, "Roll up your sleeves."

Saruta let out a weak laugh, before complying, showing his pale white wrists. Minami shook her head, "No scars..."

Saruta shook his head, "Self-mutilation as a cry for attention? I understand why you think so low of me, at least." Rolling one of his sleeves back down, and the other all the way up, he moved away from his podium, heading towards Ichijou. He stated, "I...would like to talk..."

Gaping, Ichijou nodded, "That's great! Er, I mean, don't force yourself."

As Saruta got closer, however, Nagasaki warned, "Careful!" As Ichijou was temporarily distracted by Nagasaki, Saruta lunged, snatching one of the scalpels from the podium. Cautiously, Ichijou took a step back, but Saruta didn't pursue, instead stepping away, towards the center of the Courtroom. Minami gripped her podium, as if to leap and grapple with Saruta if need be.

The Surgical Assistant didn't seem to mind, his face covered in sweat, his self-pitying smile faint. With the scalpel, he traced a line down the underside of his arm, nodding, "Yes, that would do it, wouldn't it? End...everything."

Realizing what a cut like that could do, Ichijou gasped, "No!"

Saruta nodded, "Yes, unfortunately. I will share my story: the contents of the box, the missing piece of evidence, and my history. Then, after having broadcast it to the world, I will end my life. My only reason to live is to heal the suffering of others through surgery, but...a monster like me? Who would let me so much as look at them if they knew?"

The room was coldly silent, and not just because of the vents and their icy excretions. Holding his scalpel at his side, Saruta said, "Not once, have I ever hurt anyone, yet still I am worse than any murderer. I have a strange...attraction. Not sexual: it was simple affection. For an organ, specifically the most important one: the skin. It comes in many shades and textures, varying in darkness, roughness, paleness, softness... Like the most doting parent, it protects you from life forms more real than anything you think is hiding in your closet. As I studied it, I felt it was more a Guardian to me than my parents: so absorbed in their money I couldn't believe they had ever loved each other. My own fondness became an obsession...I took to the streets every so often, wandering until I found something akin to my interest. It took ages, but I finally stumbled across the corpse of a homeless man. Though he was a wretched thing in life and death, I still took a small, coin sized square of skin. I preserved it, but I became hungry: I was compelled to take more, different colors, textures... I continued my prowling, only stealing from the dead. The news began to catch on, suggesting a serial killer. Without even realizing it, my scent for the dead had caused me to take my gains from murder victims."

"However, the first to discover me was a detective, who knew I did nothing wrong. Even so, the thought that what I had done could get out nearly ruined me: I wanted to die. He, however, felt my passion could be properly utilized. He pulled some strings, and in exchange for my assistance in his case, I landed a job at a hospital, where I could be in close contact with that which I desired. This man made a critical error. I should have been weaned from my sick obsessions! And yet he only furthered them," Saruta shuddered in disgust, continuing, "Tamura...Tamura Ryunosuke was, and will be, my final desecration. After you and Mikage left me alone with the corpse, I did my work quickly, before anyone else could arrive. Doing such a thing was risky beyond belief, but I couldn't resist it. And yet, I can't blame that detective. Only I am too blame."

Running his free hand roughly down his hair, he said, "The Culprit, whoever they were, knew this about me. They skinned Ganaha's arm, perhaps even alive, and packaged the flesh, leaving it in the Medical Building for me to find. That is all: I never hurt Ganaha, in life or death. I can only pray you'll believe me, though I wouldn't blame you for voting me the Culprit, if only to wipe me off this Earth. And such, I will do the deed myself." Saruta raised his scalpel, bringing it to his arm. However, it dropped from his shaking hand as he realized, "Ah, of course...to kill myself here would only complicate matters for you, how selfish of me." He didn't seem surprised of the looks of uncomprehending uneasiness he received from the others: Furugori grew greenish, Nagasaki seemed unable to comprehend, while Uzatei had a mild grimace of disgust.

However, Ichijou grumbled, "No, you're wrong..." Stepping away from his podium, Ichijou approached a hesitant Saruta, taking the scalpel off the ground. He muttered, elaborating, "You can't die: you shouldn't!"

Saruta gave a shaky laugh, saying, "This is why I admire you, Ichijou Mitsuzi. As naïve as it might be, you still refuse to let anyone die."

Gritting his teeth, Ichijou raised his free arm, striking him across the face. Saruta staggered, but didn't fall, looking back as Ichijou shouted, "So what if it's naïve!?" Tossing the scalpel aside, Ichijou continued to yell, "Is trusting in people, even if they do bad things naïve? Should we just cut Minami out, because she tried to kill someone in this stupid Game? Should we hate Uzatei and Ishihara, just because one of them might be a superhero who's rescued people, but won't tell us? Nagasaki can't interact normally, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be treated normally. You..." Looking up and down Saruta, he shook his head, "You've saved how many lives? You're not worthless! Sure, you cut up some corpses, and it's gross and I don't understand why, but...you just need help. I can't give it to you, but someone can. Maybe not in here, but there's someone!"

Clenching his fists at his side, Ichijou grumbled, "So what if thinking everything's going to be alright is naïve? So what if I'm afraid of dying? So what if I don't want to see anyone Executed, even if they killed someone else. I...I'm just a kid." Wiping roughly at his eyes, he fought the tears starting to well up. This was all so big, much bigger than him, a country boy who'd only known one landscape his whole life.

Looking away shamefully, Saruta stumbled back to his podium, and a sniffling Ichijou did the same, having finally managed to beat back most of his tears. Letting out a few coughs, Ichijou caught his breath, saying, "Someone killed Ganaha. No, they did far worse. Call me naïve all you want, but...it wasn't you, Saruta-san. I don't think it was you either, Uzatei-san." Looking between them, he said, "You're not bad people."

Minami cleared her throat, before pointing out, "Was Kirigiri a bad person? What about Kobayashi? Sanada?"

Ichijou shook his head, stating, "No, I don't think they were bad people either. I said it was Monokuma, didn't I? He pulled things to his favor so a murder could happen. Even then, Kobayashi and Kirigiri showed remorse. Sanada might have had his reasons too, but Monokuma didn't even give him a chance to talk."

Monokuma shrugged, "Hey, once you get him started, he doesn't stop!"

Ignoring the bear, Minami asked, "And me?"

Ichijou shook his head, "You asked me, didn't you? About if I thought you would try again or not. I think that was just your way of asking for help: you didn't want to kill anyone. Why would you, except to get out of here? That's why even though I never helped you build anything like I promised, you didn't take this inventive. You had two nights to try something, but you didn't. You've been busing yourself with the books, and that canoe, right? To keep your mind off the outside world?" Minami looked aside, not replying. Ichijou finished, "But whoever killed Ganaha…they did more than just kill her. Even a good person forced to do bad things would go that far. There's no reason! It only made more evidence!"

After a moment of silence, Ishihara said, "We can't just assume no one killed her though. No way it was suicide."

Furugori, in thought, mumbled, "Gold Dragon..."

Uzatei shrugged, "And who would that be?"

Blinking, Furugori shook his head, saying, "No, I mean...Except for Uzatei or maybe Saruta, the Culprit couldn't have been anyone, except...the Priest of Despair. Gold Dragon, whoever the Sixteenth Student is."

Ishihara frowned, "That's too convenient..."

Ichijou shook his head, "It fits though, doesn't it? Who else but a Priest of Despair would torture someone like that?"

Uzatei grimaced, "Making Ganaha Despair, or something like that? Is that what you're thinking?"

Furugori nodded, "Yeah. I mean, we didn't find any extra Rest Markers, did we? He could have just slept in the Shrine."

Minami shook her head, "Not both nights, he must have moved from the Third Level."

Ichijou suggested, "Unless he was on the Fourth Level the first night, in the Cabin..."

Ishihara blinked, "Gold Dragon?"

Ichijou nodded, "It would fit with both Ishihara's and Uzatei's testimonies: they both said they were elsewhere."

Minami grunted, "Do you have any evidence?" Ichijou briefly remembered the hero's dark words, when he suggested Talent was a blight, but only shook his head, feeling it was too late to bring it up now, especially when it didn't seem to matter a whole lot.

Minami grumbled, "I refuse to vote without evidence: I say we chose Uzatei and be done with it."

Uzatei whined, "Why must you bully me so. Is it my money? I'll give you money."

Minami snorted, "Money can't bring back the dead, or undo this Game." Uzatei could only groan.

Shaking his head, Ichijou said, "I just...can't see it being Uzatei. Sure, he can be mean, but torture? Plus, how could he know about Saruta's...condition?"

Minami shrugged, "The same way this detective did? Before we started the Game. News, influence..."

After a moment Uzatei shook his head, "Now, it is logic like that which reveals you as the lowborn you are. It would be far better to hold such facts over him as blackmail, to create an accomplice."

Saruta shook his head, "I would much rather die, thank you very much."

Furugori added, "And if that were the case, Saruta-san would have said something by now."

Uzatei blinked, his expression blank, before shrugging, "I just can't win."

Monokuma laughed, "Very well, let's call the vote!"

Ichijou gritted his teeth, slamming his fist down on his podium, crying out, "I'm done!" as eyes turned to him, he shook his head, "I can't...I can't vote against any of you. I'm voting for the Sixteenth Student. Whether they're the Priest of Despair, Gold Dragon, both, neither...I can't vote against you guys." His gaze on the floor, he let out a shaky laugh, elaborating, "I said it earlier, didn't I? I don't think any of you are bad people. How could I vote against you after saying that? That'd just be...hypocritical, I think."

Minami grunted, "And you expect us to vote with you?"

Ichijou shook his head, "You're all each your own person, and none of you are as naïve as me. I think you'll vote for the person you think it is. We may not know for sure, we may not be able to find out, but...that's what these votes are for, right? If we knew the Culprit for sure every time, there wouldn't be much point, huh?" Ichijou gave a smile, but despite the apparent warmth, it was accented with a nervous fear.

Ishihara shook his head, saying, "I can't see anything wrong with it." Reaching his hand out, he cast his vote. As did the others, Uzatei sweating a bit, knowing full well that if he were voted guilty, he was dead either way.

As the votes were called in, the multicolored wheel returned, sprouting from behind Monokuma's throne once again. It began to spin, before finally landing on the red space, the black writing reading 'Sixteenth Student'. Monokuma laughed, "Upupupu, what a choice that was! I wonder if you were correct?"

Surprised at the result, Ichijou looked at the others, asking, "Guys?"

Furugori scratched his head, "I think you had a compelling argument..."

Nagasaki nodded, "I trust you, Ichijou-san."

Minami sighed, "Likewise. More than I distrust Uzatei Kotetsu, at least."

"Hey..." Uzatei grumbled.

"No, 'hey' you!" Monokuma snarled. He raged, "Don't interrupt me! Besides, don't you want to hear the testimony from the Priest?" Ichijou's heart spasmed at the words, and the Elevator began to rise, heading out of sight. It was several minutes before the Students heard the Elevator on the return trip, the rumbling getting steadily louder.

Finally, it came to a stop, the grate shuddering open, a cloaked figure stepping out. Ichijou recognized the black hood and white mask, with black eye slits, one crossed with a Monokuma like eye marking, and the red, crescent of a mouth. Without word, the Priest circled the room, heading to the empty spot next to Saruta and the portrait of Ganaha, opposite of Kobayashi's portrait. After reaching the spot, the Priest laughed, "Ufufufufu, so it comes to this. I suppose, before we begin, I should share a crucial piece of knowledge with you."

A hand peeking out from one of the sleeves, the Priest grabbed his robes, tearing them off, throwing the cloak behind him. However, as Ichijou saw the Priest, still masked, he was starting to doubt his preconceptions. Around the mask, Ichijou could also see a mane of curly, dark orange hair, but 'he' wore a white kimono, covered in a red hakama, befitting of a miko Preistess. The girl laughed, her voice less deep, "I'm not a 'Priest', I'm a 'Priestess'!" The, the girl grabbed her mask, revealing a set of red eyes behind a small pair of spectacles. Tossing it behind her, she finished, "Oh wait, I'm not a Priestess, I'm a Director! Super High School Level Director, Tachibana Chiyoko! Nice ta meetcha." At the greeting, she held her hand by her face, index finger and pinkie extended as she winked, her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth.

Minami's eyes widened as she recounted, "You...Super High School Level Despair!"

Tachibana waved her hand over her mouth, shooshing, "Hey, spoilers! What if someone hasn't read Volume 3 yet? You're ruining it! Well, then again, scum who checks out the sequels first are the worst kinds of scum!"

Furugori frowned, "We already know about that though."

Tachibana nodded, "Good! Well, enough about me...actually, no screw that, more about me!"

Trying to think back to one of the earlier mysteries, Ichijou asked, "You were the one laughing on the phone! On our first day here!"

Tachibana smirked, "Yup! I mean, that Kirigiri: so funny!" Bringing her hand up to her face, she mimed talking a phone as she blubbered mockingly, "Hello? Hello? Who's there!?"

Ishihara noted, "Well, you can't be Gold Dragon, can you..."

Tachibana shrugged, "Nope! Not like I'd want to be a stupid-hero anyway. Yuck, comics are so trashy."

Uzatei huffed, "I'll have you know, some of them are regarded as literature."

Tachibana snorted, "Yeah, by the same crowd that thinks games are art!"

Minami raised an eyebrow, asking, "Really? For some reason, I doubt that."

Tachibana pouted, "Why would you doubt me? It's not like I put you in here and demanded you kill each other."

Ichijou scowled, "You..."

Tachibana shrugged, "I didn't!" Lip quivering, she whined, "Ak-kun, they hate me!" At the silence, she looked around, before pouting, "Oh right, he died."

Minami muttered, "Ak-kun...Akumada?"

Tachibana smirked, "Nope! Or, well, sorta. Gosh, don't act like you know everything when you haven't read the whole story."

Minami scowled, "The book had too much redacted information. Your doing, I presume?"

Saruta spat, "So, excluding your murder, what else have you done behind the scenes?"

Tachibana put a finger to her lip as she though, before smiling, "Oh yeah! I almost got caught once! I mean, how could I just not swoop down when a bunch of cute boys were swimming together? The male bonding! The boy's love! Fujoshi paradise! Got a little prank in with the bigfoot print too, and the fan service made it so worth it."

Confused by her terminology, Ichijou shook his head, "Fujoshi? Fan service?"

Tachibana grinned, "Turned the corner and got a sight of two cute butts." Altering her voice a bit to make it sound deeper, she giggled, "Nice~"

Ichijou realized where he'd heard that before, as did Uzatei. The Fashion Designer looked at his rear, saying, "Perhaps I shouldn't have gone with the racing style. I feel wronged."

Tachibana argued, "What's the point of having it if you ain't gonna rock it!?" With a smug grin, she repeatedly winked at the brown haired, bespectacled boy, who ignored her eye spasms.

Exasperated, Saruta sighed, "I believe we have gone quite far from the point..." Glaring at Tachibana, he stated, "Were I not under Hippocratic Oath, I would strike you until you bled, but I will let Monokuma do the work."

Tachibana snorted, "Not gonna happen!" As Ichijou's heart sank, she laughed, "I'm going to explain, in vivid detail, how I could never have killed Ganaha Eriko!"

Following her words, there was a stunned silence, but even Tachibana could tell it wasn't a reaction to the threat of her testimony. Blinking in confusion, she asked, "Eh? What's wrong?"

Ichijou explained, "We already voted..."

Tachibana blinked, looking around the Courtroom. "Eh?" she muttered. Seeing the wheel above Monokuma's throne, she gasped, "Ehhhhhhhh!?" Jabbering like a loon, she pointed at the wheel, "Who, where, when, what, why, how!?" Snarling, she spat, "Monokuma!"

Cowering, the bear apologized, "B-but mistress, I thought..."

Tachibana shouted, "You cast the vote without me!?"

Minami shrugged, "It wouldn't be the first time."

Saruta nodded, "It would be the fourth, to be precise."

Mouth hanging open, the edge of the Director's lip twitched as she muttered, "I can't believe this..."

Turning to Monokuma, Ishihara asked, "Well, did she do it?"

Monokuma began, "Did she? Well-"

"No duh!" Tachibana spat. Face full of impatient disappointment, she began, "After all you butt pirates went to sleep, I was chilling in my Shrine. Of course, the previous night, I was deep in the forests on the Second Level, where no one would find me. Anyway, Saruta came by, but left, so I thought I'd stalk him, yandere style! Good thing too, since he was cheating on me with that skank, Ganaha Eriko! They got wasted at the Ranger Station, and Ganaha started hugging him, getting all cozy, so he got out of dodge. Then she went to sleep herself, so I left! Of course, I couldn't let her just live, but I wanted her to sleep off some of that booze. It nulls the senses, you know, and I wanted her to feel it in full. I went down a few levels, grabbing Minami's hatchet and stealing one of Saruta's scalpels. Then, I pickpocketed Nagasaki's knife while she slept like a baby. I also found Gold Dragon's glove, though no telling where! Spoilers."

"So, after a little while, I went back to Ganaha nabbed her from the Ranger Station, and took her for a little trip! Grabbed her fur coat too: it's cold up there! So, we went alllll the way to the Lift Store, lost the bandage on the way there too. Had to make sure big ol' Minami didn't hear the screams! Anyway when we showed up, I tied her to one of the chairs after I stopped the Lift, and left the fur coat under her. Then, she begged and screamed while I had my fun. A little of this, a little of that: you know what's up! The fur coat caught all the blood...er, well, most of it. Anyway, I sent her on a trip down. She wasn't responsive at that point though, probably died. So, I stopped the Lift, grabbed my things, and left. I cleaned the knife and hatchet off in the snow, and the scalpel too. I left the fur coat and glove by the lower landing, where Ganaha was. I returned the knife and hatchet, but I totally forgot about the scalpel! It's still back in the Shrine, where I waited until Monokuma gave me the signal to head over here."

Pointing her fingers at her face, she stated with complete seriousness, "It was you, wasn't it, Tachibana Chiyoko!?"

Blinking, she corrected herself, "Me, Tachibana Chiyoko." Getting excited again, she laughed, "I, Tachibana Chiyoko!" Scowling, she hissed, "You bastards! You weren't supposed to figure me out! This was supposed to be the grand finale! Endgame! The last Trial, but..." turning her gaze to Ichijou, she grumbled, "You and your gross Hopes. I didn't think I'd actually get foiled by that. Not in a million years! It sure as hell didn't happen last time."

Realizing something, Minami mentioned, "The ending of the Volumes were obscured, but somehow, you survived? What a pity..."

Tachibana shrugged, "Eh, not important." Turning to the throne, she demanded, "Monokuma! Rev up those Executions!"

"Wait!" Ichijou interrupted. Tachibana angled her head towards him as he asked, "With you gone...is it over?"

The edges of Tachibana's mouth twitched, and she cracked in another smile, laughing, "Of course not, idiot! Stupid idiot! Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid! Sure, things aren't going as planned, but we can ad lib it, you know?" Grinning, she struck a pose, her thumbs aimed at her face as she explained, "You think I'm alone in this? Let's put it this way: I've got someone I'm close to, who's far away, and I've got someone who's pretty close, but still distant."

Not understanding, Ishihara asked, "What do you mean?"

Tachibana shouted, "Figure it out yourselves! Gosh, there's that poem too, but you haven't even tried to figure it out! Come on, get it together." Turning away, she made her way to the Execution Chamber. Stopping, she muttered, "You know...I could tell you something." Twirling about, she flashed a smile, stating, "But would you believe me? It's so strangely ridiculous that it could only be true."

Minami grunted, "Out with it."

Tachibana frowned, "But..."

Uzatei adjusted his glasses, adding, "We can make our own judgments."

Letting out a sigh, Tachibana waved her hand dismissively, "Fine, fine...you see, I'm not the one who put you all here. It was him!" Raising her finger, she jabbed it, aiming between Nagasaki and Yokozuna's podiums, where Furugori Yasuo stood.

Eyes widening in confusion, the Computer Engineer gasped, "Eh?"

Tachibana smiled, "It's true!" Turning about, she gave a wave, she finishing, "Well, see you later...not!"

---

TACHIBANA CHIYOKO HAS BEEN DECLARED GUILTY OF MURDER

PREPARING EXECUTION...

Hakama flowing around her feet, Tachibana Chiyoko went through the Execution Chamber door, her head held high as she crossed under a red arch, ascending a wide, zig-zagging stone staircase, which seemed to go on for ages. When the lengthily stretch came to a stop, it opened up into yet another shrine. A long, cobbled path stretched to the main building itself, where a number of paper puppets hung, dressed to resemble a certain Supermodel and her many cracked personas. Lining the path were dozens and dozens of Monokuma's in various states of dress, garbed in the dress of priests and priestesses, from pure cloth robes and pointed, black caps to white kimonos and red hakamas. They mulled about in between lit lanterns in the dim room, shaking prayer beads, staves with paper strips trailing from them, or metal rods with links of rings rattling.

Cast in the Name of Despair: Ye Guilty

Stepping past the crowds of muttering bears, Tachibana didn't even blink at the scene before her. About halfway down the path, she stopped at a stone font, rippling with murky water. Unperturbed, she grabbed a wooden ladle, scooping up a portion of the water and rinsing her hands, cleaning herself of errant, instinctual Hopes. Returning the ladle, she continued on the path, stepping down to another landmark: an uma board, displaying multiple wooden plaques with various prayers, much like the one elsewhere in the Resort. Running her hand down them, the ones she touched began to sway, rippling as they swung, for no other reason than her amusement.

Reaching the altar at last, Tachibana stopped, looking into the dark grate. Reaching into her robe, she pulled out a handful of coins, tossing them in with a clatter. As they rattled about inside, Tachibana clapped her hands together twice, before bowing her head in prayer. Above her, the Enoshima shaped dolls began to shake, their limbs and thin, grainy hair shuddering in denial. Tachibana simply blinked, as the sound of things thumping to the ground was heard behind her. Turning her head over her shoulder, she saw the Monokuma's, their objects spilled to the ground, arms limp at their sides in Despair.

Knowing what must be done at the denial from their idol, in unison, the Monokumas withdrew a number of large, wooden bows, which were a light color, with black stripes going down the length of the weapon. Each one then drew an arrow, notching it into the bow, and taking aim. Tachibana did her best to ignore it, raising her clasped hands to the Junko idols above her, praying for forgiveness. Their gyrations did not cease, and the Monokumas fired. Arrows pelted the shrine, bouncing off the stone and wood, a few finding their mark in Tachibana's back, staining the white kimono with the Director's passion. Hands still clasped, the Director staggered, her legs straining to keep her chubby bulk up, despite her extra flesh being the only thing that kept her alive. Grinning, Tachibana turned around, shaking with anticipation, her mouth stretched into a wide grin as the Monokumas lined up their second shot.

With the twang of a dozen bowstrings, more arrows from the second volley found their mark than the last time. Now resembling a porcupine, Tachibana Chiyoko's legs gave way, and she fell, the arrows in her front propping her up and digging deeper as her lifeblood stained the unholy ground.

---

Back in the Courtroom, the witnesses to the Director's Execution were silent, but out of partial satisfaction more than disgust. Ichijou himself was split: this girl was unhinged, and seemed to welcome death. Even the thought alone went against the fiber of Ichijou's being, that of basic nature. He didn't understand, and felt like he never would.

Monokuma stared blankly, seeming to slump back in his throne, before muttering, "Huh. Whoops! That's six more people getting out alive than I expected."

Face hardening, Minami grunted, "You..."

Monokuma shrugged, "Oh calm your tits. It's not like I cheated or anything: plans are plans, this one just hit a little bump, is all. Like she said, the mastermind who locked you in here is right with you! It might be tricky, but I'm sure I can keep things going for a little while longer, but even I have limits to my patience." At his ominous words, the Students could only wait in silence until the bear left them, hopping away. With no incentive to stay, they began to file towards the Elevator, returning with as large a group that had entered for once.

As the contraption rose, Furugori sputtered nervously, "I...I don't know what she's saying!"

Ichijou had to admit, "I don't believe her though."

Furugori let out a sigh of relief, but Minami noted, "At the same time, we shouldn't just ignore her though. Certainly, you must know something."

Furugori frowned, "We've been here for almost two weeks, haven't we? I haven't been here before, or even really heard about this place." Thinking for a moment, he began, "Well, there was that one thing I was gonna say earlier. I was in the electronics store, checking out things, right? Well, they were way more advanced than any appliances like them I've seen before. But it doesn't make any sense: this place is just a Resort. Why would it have such top of the line stuff? The prices didn't really reflect it."

Uzatei shrugged, "There wasn't anything particularly unusual about them..."

Furugori scratched his head, sighing, "Really? Maybe I need to go shopping more often..."

Ishihara reasoned, "Hey, it's fine, we've lost our memories, remember?"

After a moment, Furugori smirked, "N-no." Ishihara couldn't help but smile, though it was short lived.

A few minutes later, the Elevator finally reached the top, opening up. To the group that had just stepped out of a freezer, the summer afternoon air was practically molten, and the heavy clothing did nothing to help. Stepping out of the Elevator, a number of the Students headed to the Lodges, no doubt praying for clean clothes and a shower in a temperate room.

However, Ichijou did not go immediately, holding Saruta Bimaru back. As Ichijou stood in front of the Elevator entrance, the door closing shut, he realized that he'd hung back with at least one person each time.

Stripping off his lab coat, Saruta asked, "I fear I know what this about, but...go ahead."

Ichijou simply said, "Same as last time: if you want to talk..."

Saruta took a breath, before replying, "If you would...give me some time. To get my thoughts in order."

With a nod of farewell, he began to head off. As he left, Ichijou repeated, "I know you may not think so, but your life isn't worth wasting." Saruta turned his head, giving a weak smile, before continuing on his way. Ichijou could only let out a sigh, hoping everything would be alright.

---

Several hours later, after meals had been devoured and the cover of night had fallen, Ichijou, cleaned and comfortable, laid down in his bed, wearing his black and white pajamas. Discussion of the day had mostly been as to 'what next'? Their secret opponent was gone, among other revelations, so in theory, they were in no danger until Monokuma gave them another incentive. But it wouldn't be prepared either: this was supposed to be the end, but they'd gone beyond that.

The nighttime announcement rang out as Ichijou rolled over, trying to get some rest. However, moments later, his doorbell rang. Sitting back up, he headed over, cracking the door open. He widened the gap when he saw Ishihara Jouji on the other side, wearing his coat over his usual short sleeved shirt. A bit serious, he asked, "Evening, Mitsuzi-kun...can I come in?"

Nodding, Ichijou stepped back, allowing the Aeronaut inside. Closing the door, he asked, "What's up, Jouji-kun?"

Smiling slightly, Ishihara laughed, "Sometimes, I feel like you never change." Face returning to its somber expression, Ishihara began, "I was just thinking...about some of the things you said earlier. You're really brave you know, Ichijou."

A bit perturbed at Ishihara's change in addressing him, Ichijou said nothing, simply standing in his pajamas, staring blankly as Ishihara continued, "Even though you're confused and scared at this whole thing, you still give it your all. You're way more useful than I am, at least. What have I done? Nothing, but stumble around and get into crappy situations..."

Smirking again, Ishihara continued, "You're not naïve. Er, well, you're not the most naïve one here, at least. That would be me. I thought by bashing my head against a brick wall, as long as I had enough heart, it would still come down, but I couldn't. That Priest...Tachibana, she wasn't brought down by me, she was brought down by you."

"I'm not going to let anyone else die, Mitsuzi-kun. But I've gone far too long, hiding. I need someone to trust me. Even if the whole world knows, as long as you're the only one here who does, I think that'll be fine. Even with Tachibana gone, something strange, someone strange, is still here."

Swallowing, Ichijou asked, "Jouji-kun?"

Unzipping his sweat coat a bit, Ishihara reached in, withdrawing a horned mask, placing it on his face. His voice slightly muffled, he asked, "Can I trust you, Mitsuzi-kun? No one else here can know: no one but you."

Heart pulsating, thoughts racing through Ichijou's head, he could only nod in response. Satisfied, Ishihara let out a Dragony laugh, "Ha ha ha. Let us discuss things later, Mitsuzi-kun! Stay well." With a quick salute, Ishihara removed the mask, stowing it away, before taking his leave.

As he went to his bed, his mind running over things, Ichijou could only wonder: what did Ishihara have against Talent?

---

August 14th , 2013

Ninth Day of the Game of Mutual Killing

"Fine! Then in that case, I'll help you! You wanna build something? We've got a whole forest down there! There's a Mine too! Let's make that Fort look like a tiny, worthless shack!"

"Fine, I'll hold you to it."

From a monitor in a dimly lit room, the scene from the Game of Mutual Killing in progress played live. It was morning, well into a graveyard shift. The room was dourly colored, a plain white, in a fairly bare entrance hall. The center of the front wall had a large door, which led outside, the monitor placed above it, Ichijou Mitsuzi and Minami Fuyuko present in its view. The light illuminated a desk, facing away from a wall, the white surface emblazoned with the symbol of Future Foundation, a half circle around the stylized lettering.

The desk itself was a bit of a mess, however, a few odd disks spaced about. On its surface was a computer, and a few stacks of paper work. Facing it down, having turned away from the monitor above the door, was a boy, his gray eyes looking at his own computer screen through a pair of black framed glasses. He wore a black suit, a white dress shirt, and a black tie. His fingers went to work at the keyboard, oblivious to the happenings on the monitor, the climax having happened some minutes ago. Even as the boy and girl moved back towards the Lodges, he only looked up for a second.

Tired of messing with the paperwork as he kept watch all evening, Oonishi Eiji leaned back in his chair, pushing his glasses down slightly as he massaged the bridge of his nose. He was used to the night shift, not minding it in the least, as it gave him free time to get through his backlog: even the near end of the world didn't stop that from being an object in his life. No, what had drained him was the Trial detailing Mikage Naoki's murder, which had only been completed just moments ago. It was straining, more so than the times he took part in his own, separate Trials. Not being able to chime in and point out that which only an observer could: it was very different from a movie, as it was all very real. Trying to calm down a bit and get back into a righter state of mind, he reached into his suit pocket, clasping his fingers around a green and teal hairpin, shaped like a flower. As he began to relax, he couldn't help but remember that it wasn't over yet, and wouldn't be until there was some breakthrough on either of the fronts. Despite Future Foundation's increase in influence, Super High School Level Despair has still managed to slip in and grab them by the throat.

Turning back to his work, Oonishi continued his task of filing paperwork: reports of survivors. It was simultaneously hopeful and despairing work, seeing the names of everyone who'd survived the madness of the past year, only to realize that survivors were only being counted to reverse engineer a death toll. Impossible amounts of work remained for the organization, but Oonishi had promised to help, and even if he wasn't on the front lines, he was fine with that. Someone had to do the boring work, and to be honest, he was better suited for it than the companions who survived the Entrance Exam of Mutual Killing with him.

A short time later, he heard a few echoes from above, voices from above. Straining to hear, he leaned to his left, wondering what was up. Briefly checking the monitor, most of the captives had gone to sleep, so it certainly hadn't been anything there. Wondering if any news had been heard, Oonishi habitually opened the drawer in the desk, pulling out a handgun in a holster. The Base was on high alert due to current events, so he was obligated to be armed. Setting it down on the desk, he stood from his chair, approaching the corner of the wall, looking around. Waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, after a moment, he could see two figures on a large staircase in the middle of the next area. The room was much like the Entrance Hall of a place he was once held captive in, except for the addition of the wall he was peeking around right now, added hastily for defensive measures.

As he hoped to hear something, a slight 'pop' reached his ears. However, it was behind him, not in front of him. When he realized that, he began to turn, but was suddenly grabbed around the neck, a weak force managing to hold him back, the metal of his own gun being pressed against his temple. He froze as a voice ordered hoarsely, "Don't move. Don't shout." Looking down at the arm around his neck, he couldn't help but notice a thin, feminine arm, the green sleeve of a medical gown at the edge of his vision.

Realizing something, he blurted, "The safety." At his words, the woman raised her arm, choking Oonishi a bit as she cocked the pistol, loading a bullet. Cursing himself and the foot which found itself deep in his mouth, he could only beat himself up mentally, fearing what this person might do.

"Come," the woman demanded, pulling against him. She seemed fairly weak, but one didn't need a lot of strength to yank a trigger finger. Oonishi complied, being dragged back to the other corner of the wall, where he could tell she was attempting to look around the corner, sizing things up. As she did though, Oonishi realized with horror who he was dealing with, but couldn't fathom it. He tried to turn and get a better look, but was met with an increased pressure from the weapon aimed at him, keeping him occupied.

After another moment, he realized she wasn't further threating him, she was demanding he move. He was led away from the corner, around the desk, and towards the door under monitor. Reaching it, she attempted to turn the handle, but there was no such luck: it was locked. Letting out a curse, the woman paused, looking for an alternative. Still not certain, Oonishi Eiji asked, "Who are you?"

The woman replied, "I could ask the same." She did not, however, instead dragging Oonishi back to the corner. She did not make it unspotted, however: the two men Oonishi had seen earlier rounded the far corner, spotting Oonishi and his captor in the dim lighting. Oonishi recognized the one closest instantly as his father, Oonishi Mahiro, looking almost identical to his son, only taller and more stern. Behind him was another face familiar to Oonishi: a shorter, pudgier man with squared, blonde hair and a labcoat instead of a suit coat, the man known as Urushibara Itaru. Their eyes widened in shock, the Science Enthusiast gasped, "There she is!"

The woman hastened her pace, turning the corner towards the stairs, trying to get away. As Mahiro and Itaru pursued, turning the corner on the other side of the partial wall, the woman pulling Eiji made for an opening under the large staircase, which led underground. As she moved, Mahiro demanded, in as fierce a voice as Eiji had ever heard him, "Unhand my son!"

There was a pause in the woman's step, but she trucked on regardless, clearly feeling some doubts, clicking her tongue at his words. Starting to see the full picture, Eiji stated, "I know what you want."

As the woman took cover against the stairs, Mahiro and Itaru paused, keeping their distance, not wanting to agitate the woman further. She hissed, "I'm not surprised."

Oonishi further explained, "We're not your enemies!"

The woman paused, before demanding, "How can I trust you?"

Eiji reasoned, "You're outnumbered, but more than that, you're lost, confused, weak...we can help you." The woman didn't move her gun from his temple, but she was no doubt listening. Firing his own killing blow, Eiji insisted, "We know...almost everything."

Tensing, the woman was silent for a few more seconds, before shoving Eiji roughly away. He stumbled a few steps, before turning carefully, arms at his sides nonthreateningly. Looking at the woman, he confirmed his suspicions as to her identity, though it continued to boggle and confuse him. She was only a few centimeters shorter than he, and dressed in a green medical gown. Her hair was long, and pale, very pale, only the slightest hints of purple remaining. Her skin was wrinkled, yet firm, suggesting that she had aged well. As Oonishi looked into her soft blue eyes, she muttered, her voice still somewhat raspy, "Who...who am I? And why am I like this?"

Swallowing, Oonishi answered, "You are Kirigiri. Kirigiri Kasumi."

With a confused shudder, the woman shook her head, stating, "N-no, anyone would know that name. It was...contrived." As she stared at Eiji, begging for the truth, his face remained placid. Snarling, the aged Kirigiri Kasumi demanded, her voice cracking as she raised her volume, "Tell me! Mitsuzi couldn't have known! I didn't even know..."

Not faltering, Oonishi replied, "We don't know how he guessed it, but it's not like he never knew you." Wanting to drive the point home, he gave her a hard look, raising his voice as he finished, "Look at yourself: how long do you thing you two knew each other!?"

Taking a sharp intake of breath at Eiji's raised voice, Kasumi lowered the gun, raising one of her two shaking hands to her face, to look at it in the low light. Unable to take it as unwanted pieces fell into place, Kirigiri dropped Eiji's pistol, which clattered to the ground. Slumping against the side of the steps, she sunk to her bare knees, an unreadable expression on her face. Eiji couldn't even imagine what was going through the girl's mind, and feared what the burden of knowledge might do to her: the woman whom, despite all logic, was the only one to return from the current Killing Game alive yet.

---

CHAPTER 4 END

SURVIVORS: ?

---

And the climax of the story is coming ever closer! Needless to say, it would be monstrous of me to leave you on a cliffhanger like that for too long, so needless to say, we'll be getting a lot of answers next time! I do hope you enjoy reading, and thanks for coming along this far! Chapter 5 is by far my longest yet.

Anyway, here we have the penultimate batch of Design Notes! Here: /m9HWKuGt

Thanks for reading!