Second Evidence Collection! Enjoy.

Quick Note: 'Kirigiri' refers to Jin as opposed to Kyouko in this chapter. For obvious reasons.

Another Quick Note: I just realised that I never did reveal the reference Arielle's Instant Messaging name was making. It's from the book 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn.

Yet Another Quick Note: I am going to be really busy for the next two weeks , so between now and the end of February you may only see one other new chapter , if any. Just to let you all know.

She watches the screen, her entire body taut with emotion. This is it. This is what she has been waiting for her whole life. The looks on their faces, the emotion in their voices, the stiffness of their stance, all of it illustrates despair. Beautiful, beautiful despair. A despair that will only get bigger over time, until it sends shockwaves out beyond the school. Until everyone feels it. Especially those people.

Despite her current euphoria, a shiver runs through her body as she recalls those memories. It doesn't last though. Because 16 years ago, she had been at their mercy.

And now, these high schoolers are at her mercy. A mercy which she will never show.

…

This note was attached to the front of an autopsy report filed for a murder case that occurred in Precinct 52 during the October of 1998:

Hey, Kirigiri-san! I know you don't like official-ese, so I thought I'd go to the trouble of giving you a quick summary of everything that's in this report. Here we go!:

-The victim was skinny for her age, and a bit malnourished, but that is to be expected considering her upbringing.

-She has multiple bruises on her arms and legs, consistent with being restrained by somebody's hands. She also has bruising on her face and neck.

-Her ribs have been broken many times, and three of them punctured her lung.

-She has many other fractures. Some of her bones are practically pulverised.

-She was bashed in the head a few times, and this probably caused her to become unconscious at some point. She died after this.

-There are defence wounds all over her limbs. She really was a little warrior.

-Those bastards decided to spear her with the contents of her own pencil case. I've never seen anything like it.

-She had a random tattoo on her arm, childishly written in felt tip, either done by herself or by her siblings. It said 'corpse on the battlefield' except it was written as a name. Of course, it is somewhat ironic, but not really relevant to your case, considering that the culprits are already known.

-There wasn't any evidence of a sexual assault of any kind. THANK GOODNESS! Considering she is only 8 years old, that would have been insult to the injury. But you know that already.

Anyway, you'd better get those bastards sharpish! I hope my findings help with that!

-Tomoya Kuroda

…

Extracts from a national newspaper, taken from some November 2004 editions:

…The academy , which is set to open at the beginning of the year 2005 , is rumoured to be on the site of Morning Glory Private Academy in Precinct 52 , which closed 6 years ago following public outcry over the murder of an 8 year old girl. However, this school has promised to be different. Instead of serving the privileged, it will only serve the most talented students in any field, regardless of their socioeconomic status or the area they come from…

…Today, the name of the school that is being opened on the site of the former Morning Glory Private Academy has been released to the general press. It has been named Hope's Peak Academy, as the students who are attending the school are meant to be the hopes of the future. The identity of the school principal is still unknown, but he did release a statement saying that he hopes the opening of this school will be a way to ensure Japan's future, and he also hopes that this will be a way of atoning for the mistakes made in 1998…

…Some of the alleged talents on the first student roster are a snowboarder, soccer player, classical dancer, businessman, baker and a well-known teenage model…

…The mother of the murdered child has spoken up against the opening of Hope's Peak Academy. Currently divorced, she lives a quiet life with her two surviving children who are now teenagers, and had intended to keep it that way ever since the children were released back into her care after the horrific murder investigation. She said

"To do this is evil. You are making all the grief feel like yesterday, and you may have forgotten what had happened, but some of us never will.I lost my daughter; the kids lost their nee-san. Our living conditions may have gotten better because of the compensation, but money can't help something like this! You damn bastards better stop this stuff and leave that place well alone! Just let us get on with our lives"

The committee responsible for the opening of Hope's Peak have refused to comment…

…

He had never done anything like this. In all his years as a detective, he had never had to deal with such a brutal case with such young victims. Both the dead ones and the ones left behind. It hurts. It actually hurts. Even though it shouldn't.

When he enters the conference room where the girl's brother and sister are waiting, the feeling only gets worse. They look up at him, their sky eyes empty, the tears all cried out. The little boy grips his sister's hand tightly; the girl uses her free hand to twist the hair from one of her ponytails around her finger tightly. Their haggard parents sit with them, the father next to the boy, the mother next to the girl. They, too, have all been cried out. He notices the worn backpacks on the floor, now slightly damaged. They make him think of his daughter, barely a baby. He had bought her a backpack much like these ones just the other day, to keep until she was old enough to start school. The dead girl must have had a backpack like this too. But that girl will never go to school again.

"Hello." He starts, hesitantly. The broken family look at him.

"Hello. Would you like to tell me what happened?"

…

By the time he is finished, he is drained. But not because he pulled an all-nighter on this case. No. He is drained because of those children, and what they had to go through. Even though they were the ones who went through it, he too is scarred.

I need to go home. Back to Yukiko and Kyou-Chan.

Yes. That is what he needs to do. He will go back to his wife and daughter, try and forget this all for a few moments. Then, he will come back, and work to get justice for those children.

After that, he will go home again. And this time, he won't come back.

…

"So, your first execution. I wish I had been there to see it. "

"Ah, don't worry about it. You have the videos, after all."

"Do I? Oh, yeah, I do. Silly me. "

"You really are silly, aren't you?"

"You know me. Such a dopey head."

"Hah! Anyway, you've been doing a good job! Have we got any hits yet?"

"A few. There is at least one person who is progressing through the videos almost daily, but it is mostly the intro."

"Ah…..Well, that'll fix itself in due time! "

"I am sure you will. So, what are you going to do with those two?"

"Oh, them? I dunno. It'd be deliciously despair inducing to just leave the corpses there but that would stink up the place. Maybe I'll put them in the Bio lab. Those dimwits haven't progressed far enough to get there anyway. It's not like it matters. Why should I give special consideration to their bodies, huh? Anyway, gotta go! Byeee!"

She hangs up and he stares at the phone. A new feeling starts to uncurl in his belly. One he cannot identify.