First of all, review replies. (Man, I missed reading these!) These are the last review replies for Act 3! Just like the first two acts of the story, I don't trust myself to not spoil things while responding to you guys so I'll put all of it on hold until the final chapter. I hope you keep reviewing nonetheless, I love reading your reactions.
The SENDER and the TRAVELER: I'd be lying if I said I didn't smile at that Kikyo scenario - although to be fair, for that to happen, it'd mean she and her hubby survived the killing game, and we can't have no happy couples around, can we? Yori and Kikyo's parents really could learn a thing or two about parenting, though, huh... good thing that didn't stop their kids from becoming the two precious little teens! As for the cliffhangers... I'll be blatant and confess. What's the fun in ending a chapter without giving you good reason to suffer until I update? Thanks for your review!
Revolution921: Riou and Shizuka being your final guesses would certainly even out the death spectrum... we're down three girls as of right now, aren't we? Still, who cares about stuff being even these days? Murder has no preffered gender! Thanks for taking the time to review!
TheRoseShadow21: That seems to be the most popular theory, with good reasoning behind it. As for the deaths, Riou would be a devastating death for young Tsukushi! He'd rather die than see his beloved little muscle-man dead in front of him, I'd say. Thank you for reviewing!
Katastic Writer: Maybe the FTE format made the chapter seem longer? Should've kept my big mouth shut, haha. Regarding Yori's backstory, he was actually one of very few students I complimented with extra backstory! I guess I just felt extra inspired with his past, since there was exploreable ground to cover. Now, for the victims... Riou, Yatarou and Yori are good guesses - I apologize in advance if it ends up being the last one! Thank you for leaving a review!
BlueTanaka: Well, if you're that hard to convince about Shizuka's 'death', so be it. Yori is a good bet for the body in the lake! Read further for more details, I guess, haha. Happy reading, and thanks for reviewing!
Neutronicz: I'm glad to have someone else on par with the updates! It's always nice having one more person for me to make suffer with my occasional cliffhangers, haha. Thank you for all the kind words! I'm really enjoying this story, as well as writing all the characters people sent to me - although, unfortunately, we're bidding farewell to one or two this chapter. Whenever you feel like making those theories of yours public, I'd be delighted to read them. That aside, thank you so much for taking the time to review!
xpokemaster: I'm glad you're enjoying the story nonetheless - or the non-trial bits, at the very least. As for investigations, they normally end up being pretty lengthy chapters and regarding trials, I do underline the argument that's consented or opposed, so I'm not sure where you're coming from with some of your qualms. If you could please elaborate in another review or a PM so I could work around them and rectify them, I'll be sure to do so! Thanks for leaving a review!
SongBirds-Lullaby: I loved reading this long as hell review, so thanks for that alone! Your thoughts on Chapter 5 were great and entertaining to read, and I hope I'm doing a good job writing Kikyo and having her be a cheerful character along with being a fangirl with Yatarou. She's actually one of my favourites in this story! As for Kiyoshi, he still has a bit of development planned for him - you'll see. And yes! Thanks for catching the title reference! Kikyo's crush will come to light very soon, haha, and same goes for Shizuka's fate (you should just keep reading). I hope you have fun reading this third investigation, now! The Class Trial starts soon... thanks for leaving your review!
ACT 3: Holidays For The Hopeless
CHAPTER 7: Double Trouble
MORNING
Location: Lake House
"Sh-Shizuka!" Kikyo scurried behind me and grabbed me by the shoulders, hiding her torso behind mine as she peeked over my head. "Th-There can't b-be... No!" she kept crying out, and soon pushed me away, pressing two of her fingers against the fallen boy's neck. Her eyes widened as her face lit up. "H-He's breathing... he's alive!" the Hairstylist looked behind her, eyeing me, Akahana and the rest of the people who were gathering at the various steps of the stairs.
Kiyoshi, unsurprisingly enough was the last to arrive and was clueless as to what happened. "What the shit's going on now? Can't a man sleep in peace!?" he complained as he sleepily descended. "FUCK!" he cursed loudly. "Someone else died?"
"What do you mean someone else died!? He's alive and breathing!" Riou shot back at the Custodian, making him lift his arms instinctively, as if he was being held at gunpoint.
"Jeez, not acting so gay now, are you?" he rolled his eyes, and everyone was shocked at the sudden realization.
Chigusa wasn't screaming, Eita was inexpressive again and Riou was back to his manly self. "The motive... lost its effects?" Chigusa stammered, reminding Kikyo and I about the serious implications of that happening - implications we had coincidentally discussed yesterday.
Suddenly, Akahana bolted out, vaulting over Shizuka's limp legs as she ran towards the exit of the lake house. Kikyo and I followed suit, worried about the fate of the other person we had seen, and someway, somehow, we knew we wouldn't be so lucky to encounter a second unconscious body. The announcement had laid everything bare.
Nine people out of the twelve we had yesterday left the wooden building in hopes of finding another one of us fainted, but we weren't so lucky. We eyed each other in confusion, with fear and despair ever present in our hearts and knots tied around our throats and stomachs. Bobbing up and down in the surface of the lake was a flurry of red - a thick piece of fabric that rafted a lifeless body, restricting it from sinking below the surface. His neck was violently snapped back, and his face was one of fear. The face of someone who was defenseless against any assailant. He... He didn't deserve it.
Yori Hanamichi, the Super High School Level Magician, didn't deserve to die like this.
"Y-Yori?" Eita squinted ever so slightly, disheartened to recognize the fabric below the body as the Magician's own cape. "Is that..." he trailed off, unable to continue his own sentence. Maybe as an aftereffect of the motive, Eita sounded sad. Everyone could hear it, yet no one would acknowledge it verbally. The monotone Estimator had been finally brought to emote something... if only it hadn't been like this.
"He's not..." I hoped, but I couldn't bring myself to create false thoughts any longer. The body discovery announcement had played, and there was no way Yori could survive a broken neck like that. A sigh escaped my lips as we stared at him in silence.
Kiyoshi broke the silence. "How do we investigate if his body is all the way out there? I ain't swimming all that way."
"Someone has to... bring his body to shore..." Yatarou suggested what was on my mind, but was met with almost unanimous refusal. There was no way any of us could do that... drag our friend's dead body to the coast.
"I'll do it." Riou stated with resolve, making all eyes turn to him. "What? S-Someone has to." he tried to remain resolute in his posture, but his voice crack gave everything away. He was every bit as repulsed by the idea as we were.
Barefoot, he threw himself onto the lake at his usual speed, breaststroking his way to the Magician, and grabbing the hem of his cape. It didn't take too much time to do, but for some reason, it felt like an eternity. The Boxer was the first one of us to confirm what everyone knew. Yori was dead.
His feet back on dry land, Riou grabbed Yori and put him on the ground, resting peacefully. Were it not for the grotesque way his neck was limping, I would probably think he was just unconscious, much like Shizuka inside.
"What do we do now...?" Yatarou stuttered, knowing exactly what was to come.
"Investigate." Akahana replied matter-of-factly, kneeling next to the body with Kikyo by her side. "We will take care of the body. Everyone, start investigating the remainder of the area. There might be clues somewhere else."
The creaking of the door made us all turn. "What happened?" the Street Magician asked, rubbing the back of his head as he was greeted by the grisly sight. "Ack... I feared as much. Hanamichi-san, isn't it?" he asked, moving forward to see the face of the person lying down. "I see... where is Inubarashi-san?"
"Huh?" I asked, looking around. "I... I don't know." I realized, and my heart tightened once again.
Sakurako bit her bottom lip and ran to the inside of the lake house, leaving us in her dust. A couple of short minutes afterwards, as we were all left in shock, she opened the window on the second floor and shook her head, a pessimistic look on her face. "She's not here!"
"People, the investigation has to wait. We need to find Maruko!" Akahana ordered, asserting her leadership. "Bring her back here safe, please! Move out!" she sounded quite like a military officer, I thought, but there was no time to do so. Before I knew it, my legs were carrying me automatically through Marine Views, leaving other people to investigate buildings I passed. I entered the movie theater, when a loud announcement burst through the speakers on the street.
A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!
AFTER THE DESIGNATED INVESTIGATION TIME, THE CLASS TRIAL WILL BEGIN!
Goddamnit.
MORNING
Location: Breast Bonanza
Yatarou's message brought me here. Kikyo, Sakurako and him had already found the body, and Shizuka was already there. Kiyoshi, Chigusa, Eita, Akahana and Riou were on their way, or so I thought, but I couldn't take my eyes off the person on the floor.
Her skin was charred. She was completely black. Her clothes looked like they had just been shredded by flames, with abstract tears in the fabric, leaving most of her stomach and legs exposed to the tense atmosphere we'd created there. The smell of burnt hair and flesh hung in the air, making everyone pinch their noses. My eyes watered as I saw the true second nightmare that awaited me today. I don't understand... why would someone do this? We were supposed to get out of this place alive. Weren't we? So why?
Why was Maruko Inubarashi, the Super High School Level Translator, lying on the floor with burns all over her body?
"This c-can't be..." Sakurako's jaw was visibly dropped, but her hand covered the gaping expression of shock she had plastered on her face. Unknowingly, she gagged and looked away, being reminded of someone who had met her end in a similar fashion, in this same building. With sorrow in her eyes, she looked to the back door that led to the execution chamber and back to Maruko. "This is not fair! I-I couldn't help anyone again..."
Yatarou fidgeted around, tapping his hip impatiently as he forced himself to look anywhere but the body. "It's not there if you don't look. It's not there if you don't look." he repeated to himself in a low, almost silent tone of voice, but the Tour Guide lacked conviction. He didn't believe his words - there really was another dead body.
"A... second? Dead body?" Akahana barged through the door, with Eita and Kiyoshi by her side, who looked at the body with an expression of disgust. "I feared as much... we have a double murder in our hands."
"D-Double!?" Kikyo stuttered. "No way! I-I have a hard enough time believing we'd kill a person, but... two!?"
Still a bit slow on the uptake due to his recent and yet unexplained encounter with who I could only assume was the killer, Shizuka was the one to respond. "Believe it or not, we have two bodies on our hands. And we could have had a third one..." he added, talking about himself, as he touched the back of his head with a serious expression.
"NO!" a third person slammed the door open with herculean strength and ran, making a beeline towards the body. The small girl knelt down to the charred remains of the Translator and sobbed, screaming her lungs out. "NO! NO, NO, NO! WHO DID THIS TO HER!?" Chigusa yelled, tears streaming down her face.
"T-Takagawa-san!" Shizuka called, stepping forward.
"D-Don't touch her!" she shouted venomously, striking the Street Magician. "Who... Who did this to them!? Yori and M-Maruko! They... They didn't deserve to die!" she kept ranting, crying her eyes out as she did. I had yet to see her throwing this much of a tantrum while in her normal self... I had never seen her so angry, so sad, and frustrated all at the same time.
Glances were shot around the room, as Chigusa had her arms drooping beside her, her back slumped over herself. Her head hung lowly as tears dripped down to the floor, her screams as loud as they'd ever be. "Chigusa!" I tried to call her.
"I'm not a grown woman yet!" she vented, eyeing the girl that lay below her. "Maruko, please come back! You're my only friend here... I... I need you! I'm not strong enough on my own, I-I-I... I need you! Please, Maruko, please!" she kept screaming, directing her voice at the body but echoing all around the grand hall of the music venue. "Maruko! Maruko! MARUKO! COME BACK TO ME, PLEASE! I NEED YOU, MARUKO!"
My heart sunk as I witnessed the scene, hearing the screams of a girl who would never see her friend again because someone decided to commit murder. I... I was speechless. The emotion that overflowed from her words, reminded me of the Gardener I knew before coming to Marine Views. The insecure girl who wasn't sure enough of her skills as a person, that wasn't comfortable with her own strengths... she came back in full swing, contrasted even more by the personality swap she suffered so recently.
"Ch-Chigusa..." Yatarou pleaded as the Gardener's voice started to give out. "Please... if you don't calm down... we'll never be able to bring the killer to justice."
"Yatarou is right!" Kikyo comforted the teary-eyed girl. "We need to solve this, for Maruko's sake."
A deafening silence filled the air. Chigusa stood up, her knees scraped from her fall as she knelt down next to Maruko, and clenched her fists. "I... I... You're... right." she tried to fake conviction and resolution in her words, but failed as the crack in the voice made it clear she was not yet okay. "Let's... Let's do this thing... for Maruko... I just need a moment."
And with that, she was off. Plod after plod, Chigusa left the halls of the music venue and hurried off somewhere.
"I'll tail her and make sure she's okay." Yatarou offered, leaving the building. "Investigate without me for now."
"Wait!" Akahana called, but it was too late. The Tour Guide had already gone off somewhere. "This is hardly the ideal investigation... we need all hands we can get." she maintained a serious, stern, calm persona upon all this, revealing her coldness to this kind of thing. Maybe she's just got more experience than me when it comes to murder cases... serial murder cases, even. That's the only possible reason.
"Jeeeeeeeeeez!" a robotic cackle filled the empty air before a certain monochrome bear killed the mood with his depressingly upbeat demeanor. "I was wondering when I'd have a chance to show up! I wanted to tell you guys to investigate already, but it's hard with so much crying and yelling! Oh?" he paused, counting the number of heads - alive heads - around him. "Where are the others!? Gardener girl, the Mahiru wannabe and the steroid machine are all missing! I can't work like this!" he complained.
Kikyo retorted. "Then stop working!" she spat without thinking, tears in her eyes.
"Oooh, spicy! I like that!" he winked, making the Hairstylist flinch in disgust. "Maybe your team spirit is at an all time low? I mean, the investigation hasn't even started, and the distrust among you guys is so strong that you're not even looking into the case together!? I'm getting good at this killing game mastermind shtick, huh!?" he bragged before bursting into laughter. "Aaaaaanyway! I have something to hand to you before the investigation... the classic Monokuma File! With a double entry to boot! Files #3 and #4, coming riiiiiight up!" he announced right before he vanished, and our handbooks beeped at the exact same time.
The feeling had sunk in again. The trial, the investigation, the execution... all of it would happen for the third time. And there was nothing we could do.
INVESTIGATION: START!
Monokuma File #3 - Victim: Yori Hanamichi, SHSL Magician
The victim's body was found floating in the lake, a few meters off the shore where he died. Estimated time of death is from 12am to 1am, during night time. Additional information: the victim's neck was broken.
Monokuma File #4 - Victim: Maruko Inubarashi, SHSL Translator
The victim was burned alive in the music venue, where she was later found. Estimated time of death is from 12am to 1am, during night time. No other wounds of note are identified on the body, except for burn marks.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: MONOKUMA FILE #3
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: MONOKUMA FILE #4
"Things are unusually laid out for us here..." Akahana commented as she perused through the files. "Especially Maruko's. The time of death, cause of death and crime scene are all specifically detailed here. Sounds like establishing the basics in today's trial will be a breeze." she added, almost like the thought was refreshing to think about.
"Oh, yay." Kikyo sassed, her eyes still a bit swollen. "What a great time! Sounds like we're executing a friend of ours earlier than expected! Oh, oh, or even better: we can all die!"
Taken aback by Kikyo's sarcasm, Akahana nodded and went back to investigating something else, leaving everyone to do as they pleased.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going back to the lake house. There're enough people here to investigate the venue." I state, mentally exhaused. "See you later."
"I'll go with you!" the Hairstylist suggested, and sprinted over to my side. "Maybe we could investigate together? Two heads think better than one." I shrug at her request, but she takes it as an assent, which I didn't complain about.
It's time to get to work, Tsukushi... again.
I spied a small gathering of people outside the lake house. Riou and Yatarou were speaking, the former being tasked to guard the late Magician's body. "Hey, you guys! Found anything near Yori?" I call for the boys' attention, making both turn to me and wave as a greeting. As Kikyo and I approached them, the Boxer started explaining something.
"The body does have something I don't read in the file!" he exclaimed, proceeding to the explanation. "His sleeves have a little bit of blood near the armpit. I have no idea how it got there, since there wasn't any blood anywhere else. Magic pipsqueak isn't bleeding anywhere on his body."
"Hm..." I scratch my head, recalling the grotesque imagery I had seen in the music venue a few minutes prior. "I don't think Maruko had any blood on her either. Just a lot of burns..." I shuddered, blinking away the mental image of her on the ground.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: YORI'S CLOTHES
Turning to Yatarou, I repeated my previous question. "Found anything?"
The Tour Guide shrugged and gestured to the side of the house, just below the window I had first seen Yori's body from, Kikyo and Akahana beside me. "Over here, follow me." he asked, leading the way to the spot he wanted to focus on.
"I'd rather go inside, actually." I excused myself and took a step back. "Kikyo, go and check the side of the house out and I'll meet you both later. I need to investigate inside as well."
Kikyo nodded and quickly walked away with Yatarou next to her. As they did, I decided to go with my gut instinct and go through everything inside the lake house, coming in through the front door. Entering the wooden building, one person stood out to me, his arm bent backward as he pressed a plastic bag against the back of his head.
"Shizuka?" I call, getting his attention. His neck turned to me and he greeted me silently, limiting himself to a nod. "Everything fine?"
"I wouldn't say so." he replied calmly. "Ever since we found our way here to Marine Views, I have been frozen, then forced to take care of crazy people and now was attacked during said taking care of people. I regain consciousness and two people have been murdered. Does it seem like I'm fine?"
Mentally facepalming at my own rethorical question, I assented with my head in apology before taking a different approach. "Can you tell me a bit about the attack? Maybe it'll be useful."
"I was downstairs, around where I woke up. It must have been just before midnight... I heard something odd in the kitchen but no one was there when I went to check it out. As I was leaving, I was hit in the back of the head and fell unconscious on the floor." he explained. "Can't remember anything at all between fainting and seeing you all outside with Hanamichi-san."
As I jotted his testimony down in my mind, I kept giving my consent with small, occasional nods as his explanation went on. "Hm-hm." I responded to his conclusion. "Sounds about right... I think that'll be helpful in the trial. There's no way these incidents aren't connected."
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: SHIZUKA'S ACCOUNT
"You don't say." he sassed, sitting back down and pressing the ice against his head again. "If I were you, I would check upstairs. Takagawa-san is there already, I believe there's bound to be some clues somewhere."
Agreeing with the Street Magician, I turned on my heels and ran up the stairs, climbing two steps at a time before I reached the top floor. Sure enough, the same clothes I found earlier when first discovering the body were there. A magic wand and a top hat - the items that gave away the dead man's identity even before I was certain of it.
TRUTH BULLET UPDATED: YORI'S CLOTHES
"What to do..." I thought, putting the clothing items down after examining them. "No tears, no anything... but the fact Yori left these here... he probably fought his killer. I mean, did he? That doesn't make much sense." I pondered, contradicting myself. "He's blind. Hm..."
"Tsukushi!" a frail voice called, Chigusa's head peeking out of a certain Translator's former room. "Come here, pronto!" she ordered before retreating back to the inside of the room, making me widen my eyes in shock. For the usual Gardener, she seemed oddly serious and leader-like - something expected after her loss. "Tsukushi!" she repeated, noticing I wasn't yet following her order.
Entering the room, I saw the straw hat wearing girl kneeling beside the bed, her back curved so she could look under it. The black straps that were used to restrain Maruko's movement during this whole ordeal clearly contrasted the white background of the bedsheets. "What'd you find?" I asked, making her call me over with her hand.
As I put myself on all fours, in order to get a better look below the wooden structure, she pointed to the end of the strap. "Look!" she pointed out. Eyeing the thick strip of fabric Riou had brought from the mall right after Maruko went insane for the first time, I noticed a clean horizontal tip, another piece of the restraint fallen on the floor. "This was sabotage!" she concluded, without elaborating her point further.
"Okay, so this thing was definitely cut... probably with some scissors from the kitchen downstairs?" I guessed, before continuing. "That being said, it definitely makes us sure that Maruko didn't break out of these by herself and commit suicide."
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: BED RESTRAINTS
"S-Suicide? Maruko obviously didn't do that to herself!" Chigusa pushed me, making me hit the side of the bed with my shoulder.
"O-Ow..." I yelped lowly, cracking my shoulder so the pain would lessen. "I had to entertain any possibilities, Chigusa, sorry. Narrowing our choices might cost us."
She scoffed and brought herself up to her feet again. "R-Right." she nodded resolutely. "Yori's room is clean, nothing weird there. So you don't need to check it out... focus on Maruko's murder!" she suggested, a little more autoritarian than I'd like, and stomped towards the door.
"Ch-Chigusa... I need to pay attention to both. If we don-"
"I don't give a crap! I want to bring Maruko's killer to justice and kill that son of a bitch!" she snapped, turning around and shouting, her eyebrows furrowed and expression tense. She stormed off, leaving me kneeling behind her, a shocked look on my face.
She's clearly not okay.
"Tsukuuuushiiii!" I heard a female voice call as I left the room, on my way downstairs. Looking behind me, I was greeted by an empty hallway, the open window at the end of it. With a hesitant walk, I proceeded to slowly cross the entire corridor before peeking out of the window. Below me, Kikyo and Yatarou waved. "We've got news!"
Still a bit shaken from Chigusa's outburst, I nodded, nudging them to start reporting. "Okay, so!" Yatarou began. "See this imprint on the dirt down here?" he asked, pointing to a thick drag mark on the dirt right below the window. "This definitely has something to do with the murder! Kikyo and I think someone got the ladder from the music venue I brought and used it to climb up to the second floor without being seen!"
"Ladder?" I repeated, unaware of the existence of said item.
"Yeah!" Yatarou nodded. "Long story short, Maruko wanted to clean the house outside because it looked dirty or something, and had me bring over a stepladder over. The marks here are thick enough to be a bunch of footprints, so that's a point to consider!" he theorized on the spot.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: MUSIC VENUE LADDER
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: DIRT BELOW THE WINDOW
"We've got some other things, but come down here first, will you?" Kikyo asked, rubbing the back of her neck as it was growing tired of looking up. "Here!" she briskly walked to my right, making me follow her with my eyes as she picked up the ladder with Yatarou's aid and put it against the wall.
Step after step, I started descending the ladder and jumped to the ground a few steps off the ground. "There we go!" I said as I jumped, raising a bit of dirt, some of it settling on my feet. Wiping it away, I asked the two investigation mates. "So? What'd you want to tell me?"
Kikyo was the one to start. "Well... you know how the motive has been really important to find the killer these past two trials?" Kikyo looked down, involuntarily reminding herself of the two occurences, both of which ended as they did. "U-Um, yeah, the motives were fundamental, right?"
"So, we compiled a chart of everyone's symptoms!" Yatarou cheered, taking a piece of paper from his back pocket. "We wrote all of this yesterday, when you were sick. Everyone of the affected people - save for one - are accounted for."
"Hm?" I noticed. "Save for one? Did you find out anyone else who was sick?"
Kikyo and Yatarou's faces became a bit more shy as they struggled to give me information. "Actually... it was you, oddly enough. We all talked about your sudden illness and the way you were acting and we all came to an agreement..."
"You were acting like Kiyoshi." Yatarou concluded Kikyo's longwinded explanation, as she clearly wanted to circumvent the ending.
"Say what!?" was my initial reaction, but after pondering what I remember from the day before, it became clear. I was acting a little more rude, faked an illness so I wouldn't need to leave bed, barely communicated and was generally tired. "I... I see..." I was forced to agree.
If anything, I guess I understand Kiyo a bit better now.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: TALENT SWAPS
"Anything else?" I insisted.
"O-Oh, yeah!" Yatarou remembered. "I don't know how I forgot to tell you this... I better tell everyone later, but I think I heard Yori's final moments!"
Kikyo eyed the Tour Guide suddenly, her eyes shot open. "Say what!?" she questioned, incredulous.
"Y-Yes!" he replied, nodding. "I was with Eita and him when we heard something downstairs and Yori went to check it out. Not the best idea, I know, since he can't really... see..." he admitted, before excusing himself. "But! We didn't trust Eita to not take advantage of his blindness and run away! I-I panicked, okay..."
"I don't care about that!" I sighed, exasperated. "Give me the facts! What happened!?"
A nervous nod later, Yatarou resumed. "Well, while we weren't looking, someone locked us inside! They had amazing reflexes, though... we couldn't have seen them even if we turned around in half a second!" he praised the killer, making me a little uncomfortable, honestly. "Afterwards, I heard Yori groaning and a scream. There were a few steps later and then, dead silence."
"This is just like Asuyo's trial..." I sigh. "Hearing things isn't as good as evidence as eyewitness testimony, which'll make this difficult. Why weren't the others alerted though?"
"Shizuka was probably unconscious by that point." Kikyo guessed, tightening the bun on her hair. "Kiyoshi, Riou, Maruko, Chigusa and yourself were all asleep. Only Yatarou and Eita could have heard this, then." she concluded. "We were out in the cinema since we took care of everyone in the morning, so that's why none of us knew."
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: WORK SCHEDULE
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: YATAROU'S ACCOUNT
"Alright..." I nodded continuously, before giving a final, firmer nod. "That's all then?"
Kikyo and Yatarou went silent, before eyeing each other so the other could add anything else. Shrugging at the silence - which meant there was no more details to check - the Tour Guide confirmed my suspicions. "Sure sounds like it. How was stuff upstairs?"
"The only thing of note aside from Yori's clothes being strewn in the hallway was inside Maruko's room." I explained, both the Hairstylist and the Tour Guide listening intently. "Think back to when Maruko first went ballistic... after she passed out when she attacked Chigusa, Riou brought her over here to the lake house and restrained her along with Eita, wasn't it?" they both nodded. "Well, they used some straps from the shopping mall to tie her down to her bed because of how she was acting, but they were severed when Chigusa and I investigated them just now."
"Severed?" Kikyo pondered for a moment, trying to find a reason for the ropes to be cut.
Yatarou reiterated the previous point. "That means... she broke out of them!"
"N-No." I denied, correcting his assumption as I bowed my head ever so slightly. "It actually means the exact opposite, Yatarou! The cut was clean, which would mean there was someone who willingly pressed a sharp object to that and let Maruko leave."
"Okay then, sorry..." he apologized for his mistake. "But wasn't she fine now? I mean, the talent swap made her not as crazy, or at least not as obnoxiously loud about her being suicidal. There shouldn't be a reason to keep her restrained!"
My fist hovering in front of my mouth, I thought about his point before shaking my head. "Nope..." I replied similarly, making the Tour Guide deflate at the shooting down of his theory. "They kept her tied up anyway, because she could still go and do it as a SHSL Maid."
"Sounds like now she won't have to do it herself..." Kikyo sighed, twiddling with her thumbs. "W-Well, where are we going next?"
"I'm thinking about going-"
"Tsukushi!" a rough voice interrupted my thoughts, calling me over to it. Turning around, I saw Riou waving at me, gesturing for me to come over to him, by the body.
"E-Excuse me." A lewd look from the other two later, I made my way there. "Did you need anything, Riou?" I asked awkwardly, as we had yet to speak alone ever since the motive lost its effects.
Shifting, he rose his falling gym shorts back up to his waist and looked at Yori, trying to avert his gaze from me. "You... were the last person to be with magic pipsqueak, weren't you? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Taken aback by the implications of his question, I took a step back, making him look at me suddenly. "N-Nothing really. He was with me for a bit, and we spoke a while before he left me to check on Yatarou and Eita."
Nodding with his head, it took a few seconds before he formulated a new question. "Do you remember anything about him leaving? Any sounds, feelings, voices?"
"Why the sudden questioning?" I raise an eyebrow.
"I have to know your alibi so I can know how to protect you, right?" Riou put his knuckles to his hips and looked away with a sad smile. "So?"
A short silence fell between us. "Um, I don'-" I interrupted myself, remembering a small detail. "Well, for what it's worth... I asked Yori to leave the door open yesterday before he left, and he did but... this morning, the door was closed."
"Hm." Riou nodded, repeating my testimony mentally over and over again.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: TSUKUSHI'S ACCOUNT
"Okay then. Anything else?" the Boxer insisted, trying to pry new information out of me. Noticing my silence, he inferred there was nothing else for him to worry about. "Alright, babe." he thanked me, throwing a nonchalant, discreet nickname my way.
Blushing, I turned away and looked elsewhere for support, noticing a certain duo looking our way. "I-I'll see you later. I have to take a look at the venue as well. Maruko's body is there, and the ladder used to clean the house also came from there so... it'll be important." Nodding sternly, he waved goodbye to me and went back to sit down next to Yori's body, trying to find anything wrong as no one else came for him to interrogate. "L-Love you." I added lowly, unknowingly grabbing his attention.
"Me too." he smiled, and went back to work.
A tightening heart in my chest, I stomped back to the side of the lake house, glaring at Kikyo and Yatarou as I went by them without a word. They snickered and went back to their investigations, leaving me by my lonesome, heading towards the music venue with a cluster of questions pestering me.
Some about the case, some not so much.
Entering the venue, I saw Chigusa zoom past me in a hurry, rushing over in the direction of the laboratories without a word - only heavy breathing and incessant panting, although not as much as I'd expect her to. Maybe the stamina training regimen she forced herself to carry out worked after all.
Inside, I was met with a grim scene. Maruko was laid on the floor, with Kiyo next to her, tapping his foot impatiently as he was forced to guard a third body. Eita and Sakurako debated something over to the side, before the Estimator nodded and left to give the body a look as well. The jumpsuit-clad boy who guarded the corpse eyed the boy with a bit of restraint, not bothering to make small talk or ask anything about the investigation thus far.
With a sigh, I walked towards Eita. "Hey there, Eita."
"Hey" he sighed back and responded abruptly, an emotion clear in his voice although I was unable to identify which. He sounded... dismissive.
"Any leads?" I insisted, trying to make him talk a bit more.
"There's a lighter over there, probably the murder weapon." he theorized, pointing over to a Monokuma-brand lighter from the storage room. Dividing my attention between the blackened skin of Maruko, someone I had been with not long ago, and the lighter, my body shivered instinctively.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: LIGHTER
"Also of note..." he continued, his voice dry but also sad, something I had yet to hear from the Estimator. "The floor around Maruko is wet, and has a distinct smell. We aren't really sure why or how."
Considering the options for a moment, I guessed. "Gasoline?"
"There isn't any gasoline in Marine Views as far as we know. It's unlikely someone brought it over like Kiyoshi's cleaning supplies last time." he explained.
Kneeling down to Eita's level, I inhaled the scent emanating from below. Sure enough, behind the smell of burnt flesh, hair and skin that drove my stomach wild, there was clearly a different smell. Something sweeter and all-around more pleasant to the senses, but I couldn't determine what it was.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: WET FLOOR
"Hey, Sakurako." I called as the girl entered the music venue storage room, letting the door close behind her. With a quick sprint, I followed suit and entered the storage room, a couple ladders on display on the right side of the room, leaning on the wall. To the left, a couple of containers grabbed the Information Broker's attention as she quickly searched through them. "Um, hey?"
Sakurako looked over her shoulder for a moment before resuming her search. "Hello, Mis-Tsukushi." she caught herself in the habit before correcting her greeting. "I may have found the fuel that killed Maruko... these are flammable, see?"
Bending over to peek inside the boxes, I noticed various bottles, some of which empty, but all labeled with an orange square, a black silhouette of a flame drawn on it. This can't be unrelated - not to an arson/murder case, it can't.
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: CLEANING SUPPLIES
"I want to ask you about your investigation so far, Sakurako." I started, diverting attention from the box, but was ultimately interrupted by the crackling of static, right before the speakers blared out the announcement around Marine Views.
DING DONG, DING DONG! INVESTIGATION TIME IS OVER, LOSERS!
GET YOUR ASSES OVER TO THE SUNDIAL SO THE CLASS TRIAL CAN PROCEED!
NOON
Location: Anghern Sundial
I hadn't even been able to go through the venue before being thrown into the lion's den.
For the third time, we gathered in front of the crystal structure that marked the heart of the city. Anghern Sundial shone brightly in the midday sun, reminding me of the first time, but there was no way around the tension we'd built around us. Looking around myself, I was met by roughly half the people I met in this forsaken prison of a city. Everyone else was... dead. Murdered or executed in this sick, twisted game we've been forced.
And one more of us would join their ranks in a few moments, after the trial. They had to... if they didn't, it'd mean everyone else was doomed.
"Jeez, guys, lighten up!" Monokuma complained about the moping students around him, making me grit my teeth at him. "Woah, woah, calm down there, boy! No need to get animalistic in here - there can only be one loveable mascot in this game, and that's me!" he chuckled. "Is everyone ready?"
He was met by unanimous silence, but shrugged it off as he pressed the button and the sundial was lifted, revealing an elevator.
"Before everyone goes in, I have a small announcement to make!" he revealed, making us all stiffen at the thought. What could it possible be?
Nothing good, that's what.
Following his promise of an announcement, the plaza fell silent and Shizuka pushed the bear over, urging him to continue, and proceed to the actual revelation. "I was just checking if you were all awake! Even those two dead bastards look more lively than you!" he joked grimly and proceeded. "Check your handbooks, please!"
My heart pounding, I slid my Electro-ID out of my pocket and looked at the notification screen for any updates.
#NEW RULE# Rule #10: It is forbidden to share Solo Bullets in the trial grounds! Any student that reveals their bullets before they're relevant to the debate will be faced with immediate punishment! #NEW RULE#
"What the hell!?" I asked, facing the ursine above us. "Why the heck shouldn't we not be able to share our information!? That's the point of investigating in the first place, Monokuma!"
Monokuma scoffed and shrugged. "If you just check all your bullets and share what information you have before the trial, there won't be interesting plot twists later! I', thinking about the audience, here, you dumb air-head!"
Biting my lip, I kept quiet, not to anger myself any more than I already was. I needed a cool head for the trial ahead - everyone is resting on each other's shoulders, and at the same time, everyone is at each other's throats. That... was the nature of a true Class Trial. Scrolling through my own Bullets, I spied for any that might be Solos and found one.
My own account. The fact that Yori left the door closed was relevant, and privy to me and Riou.
"H-Hey, Tsukushi." Chigusa spoke lowly, beside me, interrupting my depressive thoughts. "I've spoken to the rest of the people already... here." she whispered, unnoticed by Monokuma as she handed me a paper on a special disease. The signature on the bottom and the fine print I couldn't bother to read made the documents seem much more official.
I could only read the title of the file. "Quark V9". The following sheets of paper were various bulletpoint lists reading 'symptoms', 'causes' and 'antidotes'. Was this... a disease?
TRUTH BULLET ACQUIRED: QUARK V9
"What is this, Chigusa?" I whispered, turning my head to the right and asking the Gardener before noticing she wasn't there anymore. In fact, as I grew aware of my surroundings, Akahana and Kiyoshi had just entered the lift to the trial grounds below, leaving me all by my lonesome, outside the elevator.
The black and white bear on top of the sundial sat down on the corner of it, eyeing me impatiently. "Helloooooooo?" he insisted, making me conscious of what I should be doing - hurrying. Pointing to his wrist with his stubby paw, as if there was a watch there, he cocked his head towards the lift entrance.
I sighed, defeated before raising my head and walking forward. The doors closed behind me, the elevator suddenly much more spacious than it was before, during the past two trials. And the descent began for the third time.
Whoever did this... murdered two people. Right? There... There couldn't possibly be two killers on the loose, right? No. I have a hard enough time thinking about one of us being a murderer - two is unthinkable. One of us killed-
I was suddenly reminded of Maruko's body, charred beyond recognition on that lonely music venue. She had been sick for the past few days, but the motive saved her life. Sure, she still wanted to commit suicide and was all around insane, but there was hope for her. There was hope that she'd be cured!
And Yori, the blind, innocent, defenseless Magician. What kind of heartless human being would attack and murder someone who couldn't even defend themselves if they tried!? He has been nothing but kind to us. His testimony saved us in the past couple of trials, and he always tried his best to help in any way he could.
Ding.
And so, the curtain arose above the Class Trial to rule a verdict over Maruko Inubarashi and Yori Hanamichi's deaths.
A Class Trial that would decide the fate of the blackened, and all the innocent parties.
Third Class Trial
(SURVIVORS | DEAD)
ASUYO UEMURA | KIKYO NAMIKAZE | YUKI BATORA | RIOU RYIELO
MARUKO INUBARASHI | SAKURAKO OHWATANI | TSUKUSHI HANANARI | SHIZUKA MATSUOKA
FRANCES BAISHOU | YUZURU KANZAKI | KIYOSHI IKEDA | EITA KUROGANE
AKAHANA NAKAJIMA | CHIGUSA TAKAGAWA | YATAROU NEKOMIRIN | YORI HANAMICHI
A/N: Two more people have bit it, and unfortunately, Yori and Maruko were the ones to do so! These two poor, precious little students sure didn't deserve it, but things are never just inside the Walls, are they? An immense thank you to Katastic Writer for submitting Yori as a character, and for reviewing so regularly, and to Crimson Spider Lily for submitting Maruko into the story as well! They were both amazing characters, both of which I loved a lot and had a tough time killing off, if I'm honest. They were both quirky and interesting in their own way, and made for great assets in this Mutual Killing Game - but alas, they were shot down.
Ten people remain! How many will survive the Class Trial? One? Two? Nine? I hope you're excited for the coming chapters, because I sure am!
QOTC: A bit more of a personal question, but do you know any completed DR fanfics on this site? I've been on a huge reading spree lately. I'm currently checking out Despairingly Displaced (after reading the prequel), and have already finished Encore of Despair. All great stories, by the way, I recommend them all!
Review replies will be cut from the next chaptes, as previous stated, but be sure to keep up with your reviews! I want to see reactions to what's happening in the trial, haha. Until next update, Yamazaki out!