Chapter 04 - Hair Salon of the Dead - Sanity? Arc [DAILY LIFE]
Midorikuma had called everyone to the gym for reasons yet to be explained. He just said that it was an "urgent" situation. Kujo was the last person to enter the gym, having somehow awoken in his room after the events of yesterday. He hadn't checked up on Shenjo yet. He hadn't seen anyone on the way to the gym, so he assumed Shenjo was fine. He walked in and scanned the room to count up what should have been six other students. He was lucky to have all six there like he wanted.
Eno looked at him and immediately ran to him.
"Kujo! You're alright as well?"
"Y-Yeah?" Kujo responded, feeling slightly unfortunate that the largest of the group charged to him. "It was nothing." He honestly felt little pain in his head.
Ari spoke up.
"Nothing!? You're calling a four day coma nothing!?"
"That's what I wanted to bring up!"
That's when Midorikuma made his appearance from the podium. He pulled out the memorable gavel that sentenced quite a few of Kujo's friends to their deaths.
"It's been four days without a murder! there were five perfectly healthy bastards that coulda offed each other! And there were two easy comatose targets in unlocked rooms!"
"That just means everyone was following what they thought was right."
"Huh? Who said that?"
Just then a man with scars and stitches like some kind of Frankenstein. His left hand was covered by a silk glove.
"Greetings all. My name is Grimoire Novascahv."
Grimoire Novascahv - Super Duper High School Gentleman
"..."
Midorikuma was at an absolute loss for words. He was sincerely shocked and unable to comprehend what was unfolding before him. He soon busrt out in a rage.
"NO NO NO! YOU CAN'T BE HERE! YOU AREN'T PART OF THIS!"
"Please calm yourself. I'm not leaving and you can't do anything about it."
"Upupupu. NYOHOHOHOHO! THE HELL I CAN'T! OK weirdo! You wanna stick around!? Then pick a classmate to put down!"
Everyone gasped at the idea that Grimoire had the choice to KILL someone. Grimoire simply nodded as if he understood enough. He sized everyone up and asked everyone their talents. After a while he pointed at everyone a few times before leaving his finger pointed at Thompson.
"... Huh?" Thompson forced a confused smile as his forehead turned a shade of blue.
"Your talent is meaningless. It says that you exist for nothing more than upsetting all those around you. as such, if I must sacrifice someone, It should be the most useless person."
"B-But what about Shenjo?! He doesn't even have a talent!"
"He simply doesn't remember his talent. He has potential to remember."
"So that's your choice then Grimoire?"
"FINAL decision."
"Upupu. Then I guess it's Punishment Time!"
Shenjo had something to say on the matter.
"Hey! You can't kill one of US because of one of HIM!"
"I think you'll find that I CAN and WILL!"
The horribly familiar red button that sent many of the other students to their deaths rose up as Midorikuma hit it.
GAME OVER
THOMPSON SCOTT WAS FOUND GUILTY.
THE PUNISHMENT WILL NOW BEGIN.
The ground shook as a steel box crashed up through the ground and consumed Thompson.
THE MORAL
Inside the box, voices, images, and videos appeared on screens and speakers. All Thompson saw and heard were annoying and simplistically stupid things. After a while, a revolver rose on a stand from the ground, revealing itself to the enraged Thompson. He grabbed it, intending to end the tortured. Once he had it in his hand, the room silenced and darkened. Slight little tinks and thumps started up, soon growing to loud whirs. On the outside, banging and slashing noises could be heard from the walls. Soon it stopped, and the cage cracked and split to reveal the mutilated mass of what was once Thompson's body. The cage abruptly shut closed again and crashed down into the ground, leaving a massive hole.
"E-E-EXTREME!" Midorikuma burst out once it was over. "Now let's see us a murder before this happens again!"
He just left from there.
The air grew heavy. VERY heavy. eventually everyone except Kujo just silently filed out.
"..." Kujo stared at the hole that his friend's corpse was just dragged into. "... I can't turn away from this like it didn't happen... we'll find out who's behind this. and we'll get out of here."
Kujo returned to his room, where he just rested for a little. After a while he went to the dining hall, where he found Eno trying to console Ari after what the group had witnessed. Shiro and Serena had gone to the third floor to talk like they usually do, and Shenjo and Grimoire were no where to be found.
Kujo didn't stay long and went back to his room, unsure of what he should be doing.
Ding Dong, Ding Dong.
"Ahem. It is now 10 'o clock PM. As such, it is official Nighttime. Sweet dreams everyone. Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite~!"
"..."
Kujo lay down on his bed, and fell asleep quickly.
Midorikuma Theater
"It's not an easy life being a facilitator, what with being a headmaster and a strategist. I always have to be thinking of such despair-inducing motives! But then again, why do I care? Is it because I have some hidden sense of compassion? a side of me who at least wants them to have something to kill for? That can't be it. I mean, I'm just a bear!"
Ding Dong, Ding Dong.
"Attention everyone! It is now 7 'o clock AM, and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another beautiful day!"
Knock knock knock!
Kujo sat up out of his bed and went to answer his door. He opened it to find Grimoire on the other side.
"Good morning Mister Namikawa. We should head to the dining hall."
"Why are you here? It can't possibly have been to bring me to the dining hall."
Grimoire chuckled, "Right you are. I wanted to give you something I had found. Don't let Midorikuma see it."
He produced a binder with the crest of Hope's Peak Academy on it, and gave it to Kujo.
"What the...?" Kujo looked at it for a moment and opened it up, trying to keep it blocked from the camera in his room, while Grimoire blocked it from the hallway's camera.
The binder was the class files for the group. The first page was a simple list of the students and their talents. Something seemed off though. The list read simply as follows:
Eno Washanakiie - Super Duper High School Fighter
Miura Regonaga - Super Duper High School Prefect
Shenjo Saa - Super Duper High School Police Officer
Shiro Awasaki - Super Duper High School Lucky Student
Kija Marukana - Super Duper High School Clairvoyant
Kishimaru Wada - Super Duper High School Inferencer
Grimoire Novascahv - Super Duper High School Gentleman
Thompson Scott - Super Duper High School Antagonizer
Kujo Namikawa - Super Duper High School Split Personality
Ari Nishizaki - Super Duper High School Stylist
Jackson Cross - Super Duper High School Romantic
Reon Whetcher - Super Duper High School Athlete
Runo Hashina - Super Duper High School Negative
Rina Hashina - Super Duper High School Positive
Serena Reck - Super Duper High School Conversationalist
Soo Kim Jung - Super Duper High School Dozer
Another three profiles were torn out, but Kujo didn't want to think about it. Why was there four other students now? And why was he labeled as a "Split Personality"?
"You've noticed it right?" Grimoire questioned, "You've been lied to."
"Why're there three blackened out names?"
"That will have to be explained later. For now, you only need to know that you've been living a false life since you've awoken here."
"What do you-"
Ding Dong, Ding Dong.
"A body has been discovered! After an investigation, we will begin the class trial!"
Shenjo ran over to the two in a panic, "What're you guys doing?"
"What happened!?"
"It's Eno! He... He died."
It didn't come as a surprise to Kujo that someone died, but that it was someone like Eno. It just didn't sound possible.
"Where's the body Mister Saa?"
Shenjo ignored Grimoire and led the two to Eno's body. Compared to the last murder, this should have just been a small scratch on the surface of death. Eno was on the floor of the rec room, with a bloody dent in his head, with a bloody eight ball lying nearby, and a billiards stick impaling him through the eye.
Chapter 04 - Hair Salon of the Dead - Sanity? Arc [DEADLY LIFE]
INVESTIGATION [Start]
Kujo quickly checked the Midorikuma file. It just went through the status of the body. For some reason, it omitted the exact cause of death between the ball and the stick.
OBJECTION BULLET RECEIVED: MIDORIKUMA FILE #4
OBJECTION BULLET RECEIVED: 8-Ball
OBJECTION BULLET RECEIVED: Billiards Stick
"I suppose we'll have to figure that out ourselves..."
Kujo went to question Ari, having last seen Eno with her.
"Hey Ari?"
"What?"
"Um... would you happen to have any idea what happened here?"
"Not anything about the murder. But you know..."
"Huh?"
"I did see Eno with Shiro right before I went to bed though."
"Shiro?"
"Yeah. I only saw them at the stairwell, but I'm sure that it must have something to do with the case!"
OBJECTION BULLET RECEIVED: Ari's Account
Kujo left the conversation there and went to Serena since she's the only one who ever really knows where Shiro is at any given time.
"Why do you need to know?"
"Ari said she saw him with Eno last night."
She gave Kujo a confused expression.
"That... isn't possible. He was with me last night..."
"Huh?"
"He didn't want to be alone last night after what happened to Thompson. He thought he might be the next victim."
"Well... where is he anyways? It's not that I don't trust you, but i can't rule out the possibility of you being an accomplice."
She laughed at that. "He went to the pool. And you don't need to think of me as an accomplice. I couldn't gain anything from it."
OBJECTION BULLET RECEIVED: Serena's Account
Kujo headed off for the pool where he found Shiro, lightly splashing his feet into the water.
"Hey Shiro. Can I talk to you about something?"
"What?"
"Ari said she saw you with Eno last night..."
"[I talked to him] for a moment. But i'm not the murderer."
Re:Action!
"You talked to him? But Serena said you were with her all night."
"I left for a moment and saw Eno and wanted to talk to him. He said he had to do something. He didn't want to tell me what though."
"Was there anyone else around?"
"Not that I knew of..."
OBJECTION BULLET RECEIVED: Shiro's Account
Kujo had nothing more to question. He left to find Shenjo, feeling he had to tell him about the school files. The hallway before him slightly twisted in distortion, stopping him in his tracks.
"H-huh?"
He shook it off and continued only to be interrupted by a bigger problem.
Ding Dong, Ding Dong.
"Um... Hey guys? I'm kinda bored. So lets get things rolling. So everyone gather at the gym for the Class Trial."
"Dammit..."
Kujo went to the gym, more disappointed than confused at the change of destination of the class trial. When he arrived, the first thing he noticed was the large hole, or at least the fact that the hole disappeared.
"Hey there morons!" Midorikuma appeared from the podium, "So, here's the thing: The elevator was trashed. It wouldn't be safe to use."
Serena chimed in at the unusual concern Midorikuma was displaying.
"Since when do you care about our safety!?"
"Well we can't have a class trial if you're all dead right?"
"Tch!"
"Now then. I have a new way to take care of this until i get the elevator fixed."
Just then, the podium grew larger, making it an elevator of its own caliber.
"We'll be using this elevator!"
Everyonefiled into the elevator and it descended into the ground. Descended on its way to a battle of wits. A battle of Hope and Despair. To a very Despair-filled Class Trial!
A Shade Of Blue- Just in case anyone (unlikely) doesn't know it, in the game and anime, when a character feels despair, their forehead turns blue, and red when they feel anger.
Punishment Time!- Not only do I not think Iv'e used the term at all yet, I also realized that while it's not a punishment really, it just wanted to improve on my story telling and get more game/anime related terms and such into the story.