Death threats.
He'd had to go in to school for an exam that morning , and after that he'd got a text message from his mother , asking him to do the weekly shopping.
It was just as he was putting the shopping away that he let his mind wander back to Hope's Peak. He'd had to actively supress the thoughts , or he would not have been able to concentrate on his exam. But now he was officially half way through his exams , he allowed himself to breathe a little.
Except it wasn't really a breather , as Hope's Peak came with its own stresses and worries. But still , it was interesting , and that was something.
The first thing he did when he got to the computer was to check the forum posts he'd made , to see if there were any responses. He didn't expect much , but he had pinned a good many hopes on the forums.
Which is why he was devastated to see the death threats.
Anonymous: Eh? You think this is funny? Go die, traitor!
KK57: If you think we're dumb enough to believe this, perhaps that bear should execute YOU.
KazumiIchinose: Kibogamine has a good name! Piss off to whatever hole you came from and decompose.
-San346: YOU DESERVE NOTHING MORE THAN THE BIGGEST DEATH
Anonymous: DIE, IDIOT.
Tetsu-Haruki: What makes you think we're that gullible?
Eri-Chan2011: This you're idea of a joke?
Nyaaaaaaa: People who try to say crap about Kibogamine should die. Including you, weirdo.
Anna_Brooks: D'ya think they're all a joke? Janus is my friend, how dare you mock his life! Just die!
And so on, and so on. His first instinct was to delete the accounts he made, and the posts with them. All he'd done was ask for help, a second opinion. The internet really was a cruel place. But he'd tried. What else could he do?
Perhaps it's time to give up.
Suzu's face flashed into his mind. Arisa's and Akihito's, and the rest of their faces , followed soon after. And then he knew: that he couldn't leave them. Not now , not ever. He knew that this was real , no matter what those online may think.
He would have much rather deleted the posts and never looked at the posts again , but he felt they could be important. So he added his failed attempt to the timeline, screenshotted the posts and the comments, and saved it all.
When he finished, he felt tired. Really tired. He briefly considered studying, but knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate. So he decided to go for the (not so) easy option, and continue watching the videos.
The scene started in the lift, as everyone was going down into the courtroom. The mood was sombre, and everyone was silent until the lift got to its destination and they all filed into the courtroom , taking the places in a dazed fog.
Monobear's mood was virtually the opposite of theirs. He was practically doing cartwheels in his throne.
"Yipee!Yipeee! Another death! Now , I'm sure you thickos know what to do so get started!"
They all looked blankly at each other , until Makoto hesitantly said.
"So , erm…I guess we could go over the basic details?"
"Well , time and cause of death have already been established , no?" Kyouko said.
"Suffocation." Akihito said.
"Yes. Smothering , to be exact. By a pillow." Kyouko concluded.
"How do you know it was a pillow?" Janus asked.
"The pillow used to prop up Kiyomizu-san's leg was damp with tears." She explained.
"But…but Kiyomizu-san looked so peaceful." Chihiro said.
"We found tissues in the bin. They were soaked with water. Presumably tears " Akihito told them.
"Ah…so , that would mean someone wiped her tears away after she died?" Arisa asked. "Why?"
"Maybe they felt guilty? Perhaps this is their penance?" Janus mused.
"But surely , penance should come from confession?"
"Not if you get killed off afterwards!" Shika said. "It's not redemption if you don't have a chance!"
"I think we should just proceed slowly. I don't think this case is all it seems to be." Kyouko said.
"You might be right about that." Makoto mused.
So does that mean Kosuke is right? About it being suicide? Reuben wondered.
"Could it be suicide? Kobayashi-kun was mentioning it ,wasn't he?" Arisa asked almost as soon as Reuben thought of it.
"I don't think so." Kyouko said.
"Why not? Surely it fits?" Shika asked.
That seems a little contradictory…
"It doesn't. Think about it. She was ill , and was hardly in any position to try and kill herself. No pills were stolen , and the Monobear files would have indicated if she'd died from an overdose. Plus , if she smothered herself , how can you explain the neatness of the scene? She'd hardly be able to put it back under her leg ." Kyouko explained.
Emi flicked through her sketchbook and looked at the pictures.
"She's right! The scene is too tidy , too calm."
"Perhaps this ties in with the killer feeling remorse." Janus said absently.
"I should think so!" Shika said.
"Somehow , that doesn't narrow anything down." Emi muttered drily.
"But hopefully , we'll get an answer soon!" Makoto said. "There really aren't that many of us , so narrowing it down should be easy , right?"
I doubt that.
"That might be an idea." Akihito said. "I think the easiest person to rule out would be Maeda-kun-no offence."
Although Eirik had been going around with an angry expression on his face since Akaya had been discovered , he now looked curious.
"Why would I be offended?"
"Because , I'm basically saying you're an antisocial ro-HEY!" Mirai had snuck up behind Akihito , and had tickled his back in such a way that when he jumped back , he lost balance , and was now flailing and trying very hard to not fall on his backside. It was actually quite funny.
When Akihito managed to regain balance , Mirai had moved back to her stand , and was grinning.
"Was there any purpose to that?" Kyouko asked mildly. Mirai shrugged. Kyouko rolled her eyes , a gesture quite unlike her.
"Anyway , I got the gist of Watari-kun was saying , and I agree." Kyouko said. "So by that vein , we can also eliminate Fujisaki-san and Sakamoto-san."
"That makes sense." Kosuke said. "So your main suspects would be Sayuri-san , Isaki-san , Jay , Watari-kun and myself. "
"To be honest, I don't believe any of you are murderers. This is mere speculation." Makoto piped up apologetically.
"Yes. But it is of a necessary kind." Kyouko said. Her voice was calm , but she , too , seemed remorseful about having to think like that.
Suzu smiled at them, as if to say she understood. But the smile looked just a little strained , and sorrow framed her eyes. Reuben flashbacked to the scene where Suzu had been crying, and wondered if it was of any significance.
"In which case , I'll prove my innocence now- straight after dinner , I finally persuaded Maeda-kun to get away from the books and we played some blackjack. And a bit of poker." Akihito said.
Eirik nodded once , and then said "Jay joined us too , I recall. "
"Yes, that's right. " Janus agreed. "It was the girls who went to visit Kiyomizu-san. Not that either of them did it. Especially not Suzu."
"Seem awfully sure , don't we?" Arisa said bitingly.
"What's it to you?" Shika snapped at her.
"Ooh , someone woke up on the wrong side of bed!"
"Love can make you see –or at least want to see-the best in people." Kyouko said , putting an end to any potential squabble. When everyone looked at her in confusion , she shrugged.
"Of course , it can blur our vision too." Reuben refrained from pointing out that didn't clear anything up. He wouldn't have been heard anyway. Not to mention , he could probably come across as delusional , talking to the computer screen.
Soon , the group were going around in circles , revisiting and revisiting all of the points that had already been made , and not reaching any conclusion. It got to the point where Reuben was able to guess what they were saying without relying on the subtitles, so he decided to do a little research on the history of Hope's Peak.
Unfortunately, there was nothing of real use to him –although there were plenty of interesting success stories that had originated from the school, such as a legendary gambler whose true name was not known, and an incredibly successful young economist , who had inherited the family business and seemed to be responsible for the economy in a large part of Japan, as well as being the main contributor to the funds of a number of blind persons charities. There were also different musicians, scientists and (to Reuben's surprise) , Junko Enoshima was listed too.
He clicked on the article about her, and read through, and discovered she was one of the first students at Hope's Peak , when it opened in 2005. He scanned it briefly , then looked at the magazine article on the pin board with new eyes. He made a mental note to read the translations of it later.
He did a bit more browsing , found a few more things to add to his pin board and timeline , but nothing conclusive , nothing that would help him to help them. It was frustrating.
It was at that point he realised the video had ended , so he closed the tab and found the next video.
It started with everyone staring at Monobear sleeping , at a loss as to how they could solve the murder.
"He really is asleep , isn't he? Geez!" Shika muttered eventually.
"Are you OK , Sayuri-san?" Kosuke asked . "You've been acting odd all day. "
"Of course she has!" Janus said , affronted. "She's lost a friend!"
"You have a point there."
"Actually, Kobayashi-kun has a point too. " Emi said.
Akihito gave her a curious look. "How so?"
"Grief or not , she's been acting weird. Weirder than normal."
Reuben suddenly had a feeling that he knew where all of this was leading.
"What of it?" Akihito challenged.
"The weirdness is…well, weird enough to be suspicious, no?"
Makoto gave Emi a surprised look.
"You can't be saying…"
"I am." Emi said firmly. "I'm accusing Sayuri-san!"
"Gee, how nice of you!" Shika said in a sarcastic yet tired tone. Reuben studied her face carefully. Could she really have done it?
A flurry of voices broke out, all speaking over each other, and protesting angrily. Whether this was in agreement or disagreement, Reuben wasn't sure. The video maker (mastermind?) had not bothered with subbing that bit. Reuben was tempted to just mess around on the internet while waiting for that bit to be over , but then he noticed Kyouko was the only one not saying a word . Well, Suzu was also silent , but she was cowering whereas Kyouko seemed deep in thought as she watched the verbal fray.
"Fine , It was ME!" Shika's cry made everything fall silent. Nobody was expecting that. Suzu looked up , shocked , and Kyouko's frown deepened.
"Hah! Finally!" Arisa said.
"Perhaps now this is over..." Emi added.
"Are you sure?" Kyouko asked Shika suddenly.
"Eh?" Shika was confused. Clearly , this wasn't the question she was expecting. The others looked over at Kyouko , as baffled as Reuben.
"Are you sure?" Kyouko asked slowly and clearly.
Shika looked flustered. "About what? I'm not getting you! Make sense , please! I just confessed , didn't I?"
Kyouko let out a small sigh "That is what I'm asking you about. Are. You. Sure?" she drew out the question for the third time.
Shika's mouth fell open.
"Erm…Uhhh…" Reuben watched her carefully , waiting for Shika to respond to this new turn in questioning.
But she didn't. The silence stretched out , but nobody broke it.
Instead, they waited.
So, a cliffhanger. I know the chapter is kind of short , but I figured that this was the best place to end the chapter , with lots of questions and conflicting evidence floating around.
Please leave feedback!