Heaven With You (Part 6) (Deadly Life)
"Who're you again?" I asked, eyeing the little girl standing in front of me.
"Yeah, what's your name?" Cotton, who was standing next to me, smiled.
The girl looked up at us and blushed. "Oh, um, my codename is Rose. I'm known as the Ultimate Prodigy. It's nice to meet you!"
"Prodigy?" I repeated. "You look 10."
"Sunrise!" Cotton frowned, glaring at me.
Rose crossed her arms and pouted. "First of all, I am not 10, I'm 14. Second of all, just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not intelligent. In fact, I probably know a lot more than you and the boy standing next to you combined."
"The hell you say?!" I frowned. "I'm the Ultimate fucking Pilot, I'm 10 times smarter than some 14 year old girl."
"Haha, no no, she's right." Cotton grinned. "Listen to this, Rose. Sunrise here didn't even know what an escape room was until I explained it to him!"
"Shut up, liar!" I yelled. "I said I didn't know who youwere, not what an escape room was."
"Sure, sure, keep on lying in front of Rose." Cotton giggled.
I could tell Rose was still mad over my comment about her age, but I noticed she was smiling as she watched the two of us argue. Tch, yet another know-it-all asshole I'm going to have to deal with…
Satoko.
I know we were never friends.
And I was always kind of an asshole to you...
But…
You didn't deserve this.
You were just 14 fucking years old...
What fucked up monster kills a girl who barely got to experience life?
I don't know...but I'm going to figure it out.
The asshole who killed you is going to pay.
"AHHHHHH!" Mari screamed. I almost felt like doing the same.
"What the fuck…" I muttered. My stomach felt sick at the sight: Satoko laying face up, fully dressed in the pool, a very faint red tint surrounding her.
Strangely, there was also something else in the pool, too small for me to see from where I was. Lastly, a few rose petals were scattered along the surface of the pool. My guess is Mari had something to do with them, as apart of her little date plan.
"A body has been discovered! Please gather in the pool room ASAP!"
Mari jumped at the sound of Monokuma's voice, but quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat. "So...Satoko is the one dead this time around." She remarked, doing her best to not look frightened. "How unfortunate for her…"
"Yeah, it's sick." I commented. "Someone beyond fucked up must've done this…"
Just looking at the crime scene already told me this wasn't going to be as easy as last time. Something felt off, like there were several factors involved, all adding up to the sight in front of Mari and I.
I had little time to think, however, as people started to pour into the pool room.
"AH!" Koko squealed. She came in with Hiiro, who also looked pretty shocked.
"S-Satoko?" He said, his eyes wide. "But...you were but a child…"
Koko's eyes were brimming with tears. "Oh no…"
A majority of the others came in next, their reactions about the same.
"No way!" Takumi gasped. "This can't be happening, not again!"
"Satoko…" Clara sniffed. "You were always so nice to everyone…"
"An intelligent young girl who would've made a great addition to the team comprising the HFH Enterprise official bank..." Sonoda sighed. "It's a shame to see someone as talented as her go."
"N-No…" Nadia cried. "Why was she the one…"
"How awful…" Leonia remarked. "She didn't deserve this, not at all…"
Isami didn't say anything, but frowned and shook her head at the sight of Satoko's body, probably disappointed that another killing occurred.
"This can't be happening…" Evelyn sobbed. "So many people...gone just like that!"
"What's going on here?" Said a voice from the back. "There's too many people, I can't get inside. Sorry for being late, I was in my room."
Oh shit.
I almost forgot about him.
He's going to take this the hardest…
Slowly but surely, he pushed his way through the crowd of people in order to see what was in the pool.
He didn't scream or yell, but his face grew pale, and his eye twitched. His breath halted, and he tightly clenched his right fist.
"Who…" He started, his voice low. "Who did this?!"
Silence, of course. Satoko's killer is trying to get away with murder; they're not just going to reveal themselves like that.
Jack turned away from Satoko's body and looked at the floor. "Whoever did this: You're sick. A monster who deserves what's coming to them in the trial...Satoko was the last person in here who deserved this."
No one dared look the card dealer in the eyes, and instead stood in silence. The guy was kinda right. Satoko was the youngest and one of the nicest ones in here, so why did the killer target her?
I should be glad that people aren't going after the assholes in here, I'd probably be one of the first ones to bite the dust if that was the case.
We all had little time to think and recover from the shock of discovering Satoko's corpse due to the arrival of a certain 3 foot tall dickhead.
"Hey, ya bastards! It's been awhile, I missed all of your smiling faces!" Monokuma remarked. He then looked at each and every one of us. "Huh, what's the matter with you guys? You all look like you just stumbled upon the corpse of a 14 year old girl who wouldn't harm a fly!"
He then turned to Satoko's body. "AHHH!" He screamed. "Don't tell me, is that the body of a 14 year old girl who wouldn't harm a fly?!"
"Stop playing around." Leonia frowned. "We all know you already know she was murdered. You even know the culprit, isn't that right?"
Monokuma giggled. "Maybeee! That's for me to know and you to find out in the investigation and class trial!"
He pulled out a familiar tablet. "Now, who's ready for the ever popular and helpful Monokuma File?!"
He threw it to me and just like last time, everyone quickly crowded around to read what it had to say.
The victim is Satoko Kiyomizu. The body was discovered in the pool room.
Her head seems to be bleeding, causing a faint red tint to surround her body. She also seems to be surrounded by maggots and rose petals.
Maggots, huh...So that's the weird small stuff surrounding her.
But wait a second...this doesn't help me out at all!
"Hey, the time of death isn't listed!" Takumi pointed out.
Yup, the little shit's right. Last time the Monokuma File told us when Silver died, which wasn't really that helpful.
This time, however, a time of death would have definitely been helpful, but none is listed. Damn it, Monokuma…
Along with that…
"And it doesn't say how she died." Norikazu commented. "Just that her head is bleeding."
"So is that how she died?" Sonoda questioned. "Or just a wound?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out in the investigation and class trial!" Monokuma repeated.
I rolled my eyes. "Can we just get this investigation started already?"
"Hey, not so fast!" Monokuma shook his head. "I have a surprise for you all!"
"Another surprise?" Hiiro frowned. "So far the only one of your surprises this week that hasn't been terrible is giving us the prize from Silver."
"Yes, that was nice to have." Koko agreed. "But everything else has been awful...the Traitor/Truce game, what happens to the eliminated in the game...Whatever this next surprise is, I don't think any one of us want to hear it."
"Are you sureee?" Monokuma asked in a suspicious tone. "I promise, you'll all love this one!"
"Doubtful…" Leonia said quietly. "But you are going to give it to us anyways, aren't you? Out with it already."
"I don't have to tell you," Monokuma said. "Just turn around and see!"
We all did so, and saw nothing…
…
…
…
"Uh, give it a few seconds." Monokuma awkwardly added.
…
…
…
Huh? I hear footsteps…
True to his word, a sight that definitely surprised all of us appeared.
"No way…" Norikazu said, his usual calm expression replaced with one of complete and utter shock.
"How is this possible?!" Leonia questioned, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
"Is this real?" Mari said in surprise.
In front of us, looking like they've been through hell, were three ghosts.
Seizo, Fran, and Akumu.
Seizo
Earlier that day…
"What is this thing?" I groaned, trying my hardest to pull my leg off of the chain tied to the stake. "Why am I being chained like some kind of animal when you two are free to walk around?"
"Who knows?" Fran sighed, continuing her attempt on opening one of the doors. "Maybe Monokuma gave you the harshest punishment because you were the first eliminated?"
"That's what I was thinking." Akumu agreed, continuing his attempt at opening the other door in the room. "But don't worry Seizo, we'll get you out of there once we get one of these doors open."
"Come to think of it, I thought you guys said you didn't feel any door knobs or anything." I brought up. "But now there's suddenly two doors?"
"That is pretty weird." Fran nodded. "We might've just missed them, we were pretty out of it from whatever happened to us, plus it was so dark you could barely see a thing."
"True…" I said. "I wonder why there's two doors, though."
"Hopefully one is the exit." Fran nervously chuckled.
"Yes, that would be nice." Akumu agreed with a similar chuckle.
I felt totally helpless sitting there all chained up, but hey, what else was I supposed to do?
I thought about how someone on the outside is dead…
As shitty as it was, it was kind of inevitable. Monokuma gave us the ultimatum threatening our families, and someone was bound to snap. The Traitor/Truce game was taking too long, so someone got impatient and killed…
I just want to get out of here already! Find out who was murdered and bring justice to them, but I've been stuck here for days, completely useless…
Knock, knock
"Gah!" Fran yelped, jumping back in surprise. Someone (or something) was knocking on the door. "Um, hello?"
"Hellooo," A familiar voice answered.
Slowly and creepily, the door creaked open, to reveal everyone's favorite abomination, staring at us with an evilly gleeful expression as he observed our misery. "Wow, wow, wow! You guys really let yourselves go!"
"You." Fran glared, crossing her arms and shaking her head disapprovingly at the bear. "Have you finally come to let us out of here?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Monokuma replied. "I haven't decided yet...I was thinking of flipping a coin to make my decision easier!"
"Oh, shut up, Monokuma." I frowned. "Just unchain this thing from my leg already."
"Yeah, he hasn't been able to move in days." Akumu sighed. "Pretty cruel if you ask me."
"Well, that's not my fault!" Monokuma protested. "If Mr. Morine had been better behaved, then he could have been free to roam like the rest of you guys."
"What do you mean better behaved?!" I asked exasperatedly. "I didn't do anything! You chained me up and stabbed my hand for no reason! Not to mention the fact that I'm starving and on the verge of dehydration…"
"Ever so dramatic," Monokuma said dismissively, looking unusually annoyed at me. "Anyways, fine, fine, fine…"
He wobbled on over to me and pulled out a key, unlocking the chain from off of me.
"Finally…" I muttered, sighing in relief. I moved my leg around ever so slightly; it was incredibly tingly due to not being able to move around for so long.
"Now then, I have far more important things to do than deal with you three!" Monokuma huffed. "Regroup and meet me in the pool room A-S-A-P!"
And with that, the bear disappeared right before our eyes, just like he always does.
I frowned. "What a dick! 'Better behaved'? What could he possibly mean by that..?"
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Akumu said, walking over to me. "He's probably just messing with you like he always does."
"Akumu's right." Fran nodded, also walking over to me. "The important thing is is that we can finally get out of this place."
The two of them slowly helped me to my feet, and after a few seconds, I was able to walk relatively fine on my own.
"Phew, that's a relief…" I smiled.
"Still...I can't help but wonder what's in that room." Fran frowned, pointing to the other door in the room.
"It's probably nothing." Akumu theorized. "Maybe an extra door to give us hope that there's a way out of this room?"
"Maybe…" I slowly nodded, though I wasn't so sure. Something about that room was weird, I almost felt as if we were being watched. "Anyways, let's go guys, I'm sure the others will be glad to see us."
"Satoko!" Akumu beamed. "I bet she's worried sick! Seeing all three of us alive again will surely put a smile on her face!"
"And Evelyn!" Fran added. "It hurt so much to see her in distress, I can't wait to see her again!"
I sadly smiled. "Yes, it'll be nice to reunite with everyone...it just sucks that we're doing so under these circumstances."
"True…" Akumu sighed. "Someone was murdered…"
"You don't think it's Evelyn, do you?" Fran asked in a worried tone.
"Let's go find out." I replied. "We can't sit here forever…"
The three of us made our way towards the pool room. Even though we were all perfectly capable of walking, exhaustion, hunger, thirst, and pain made us weak and slow. We could see the pool room, but it was like a trek around a track to reach it, the finish line.
After what seemed like forever, we reached it! The door was ajar, and we could hear commotion.
I suddenly felt sick.
Walking into the room, I was going to see the corpse of one of my friends. Additionally, I was going to be flooded with emotions on finally getting to see the rest of my classmates.
I took a deep breath, and walked in.
…
…
…
No…
No fucking way…
NO!
Through the crowd of people, all staring at Fran, Akumu, and I, it was difficult to see, but I'd recognize that outfit anywhere…
Satoko...
Why did you have to leave us so soon? I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye...you didn't even get to find out that Akumu was alive!
My eyes watered, and a couple of tears fell from them. I swear I'll find out who did this to you, if it's the last thing I ever do.
Next to me, Akumu was speechless. His eyes were wide and his lip was trembling. It was the most down I ever saw the cryptid enthusiast, my heart stung thinking about what he must be feeling right now, as Satoko was both of our close friend.
Fran was also visibly shaken, but less than the two of us. She looked quite sad. "Satoko...I'm so sorry…"
Unfortunately for the three of us, we weren't really given the proper chance to grieve and deal with Satoko's death, as voices started yelling one right after the other.
"Seizo! Fran! Akumu!" Takumi gasped. "How is this possible?!"
"We saw you die!" Koko continued. "I mean, I'm so happy you're alive, but we saw you die! This all feels so strange…We just lost one of our own but gained three of our own back…yay?"
"No fucking way…" Takahashi chuckled, shaking his head. "Y'know what, somehow I'm not surprised that D-Lister is still kicking. Tch, I'm still the leader though, asshole." He added with a glare.
"Ah, my most loyal customers!" Sonoda smiled. "You do remember you owe me 100 Monocoins each, right?"
"You three are alive…" Hiiro commented with wide eyes. " I am...glad to see you." He continued with a blush.
One by one everyone expressed their amazement, shock, and indifference to us being alive and well. The most emotional reunion was between a certain translator and archaeologist…
Evelyn pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Her eyes looked dull, as if she hadn't been getting much sleep. "F-Fran?"
"Eve!" Fran smiled. She dashed towards Evelyn and wrapped her arms around her in an embrace.
"I can't believe you're still alive…" Evelyn said with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," Fran sadly frowned. "I can't imagine the pain you must have gone through…"
Evelyn shook her head and pulled away, smiling. "It doesn't matter now! You're here and everything's a million times better!"
"Except for the fact that there's a dead body in the pool…" Sonoda muttered, cringing at the display of affection.
"Ok, ok, enough with the hugging," Monokuma interrupted. "I've seen wayyy too many teenage rom coms to know where this is going!"
"R-Rom coms?" Fran blushed. "Like a romance comedy?"
"Hehe, why not?" Evelyn giggled. "I think we make a pretty good pair!"
Fran blushed once again, narrowing her eyes.
"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.
Everyone's here?
No, that's not right…
"Where's Shiro/Kuro?" I asked.
The boy was noticeably absent. If Shiro was in control, I'm sure he would be standing next to Isami and Norikazu, but he isn't. On the other hand, if Kuro was in control, then his big mouth would've made him noticeable…
"Yes, I haven't seen him all day…" Isami commented, looking in her notebook.
"I wonder where he could be." Clara frowned. "I hope he's alright."
"Eh, if Kuro's in control I'm fine with him not being alright." Sonoda shrugged.
"Don't be a fool." Leonia frowned. "If Kuro gets hurt, that means Shiro does too."
"Exactly, and considering Shiro has done nothing wrong, he doesn't deserve that." Norikazu agreed.
"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.
"Hey!" I called. "Are you just going to ignore us? Where's Shiro or Kuro, he should be here!"
"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.
"M-Monokuma! You can't seriously be doing this…" I sighed.
"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.
…
…
…
I kept my mouth shut.
INVESTIGATION START
After a few more tearful reunions and looking at the Monokuma File, we were ready to start the investigation.
As always, Taka directed everyone else as to where he wanted them to investigate.
"OK, that's everyone." He said.
"What about me?" I frowned, looking around. I was the only one still without a place to investigate.
"You're with me." He announced without even bothering to look me in the eye. "We're going to be investigating Satoko's body."
"Oh, uh, ok…" I muttered. It was pretty strange that Taka would want me to be within 6 feet of him, but it was fine with me. As much as I hated to admit it, the guy was smart, and a pretty decent leader. Plus, seeing as I was MIA for a couple of days, I needed to get up to speed as to what's been going on.
The two of us walked over to Satoko's body, with Taka leading the way. Because it was in the pool and we were currently wearing normal clothing, we obviously couldn't get very close, but it was pretty easy to see everything that was going on from where we were standing.
"Maggots and rose petals?" I frowned. "That's an odd combination."
"The rose petals are from Mari." Taka revealed. "Some sort of date idea she had...but the maggots...what the hell?"
Truth Bullet: Rose Petals, obtained!
Truth Bullet: Maggots, obtained!
The maggots obviously came from the killer, who got them from the infirmary. I have absolutely no clue why'd they place them with Satoko, though…
"It's pretty clear that Satoko didn't drown." I surmised. "The Monokuma File wouldn't omit something so obvious."
"Yeah. There's also the fact that she has a head wound and is surrounded by red-tinted water." Taka added.
Truth Bullet: Drowning, obtained!
Truth Bullet: Head Wound, obtained!
"Damn it, that's it…" Taka cursed. "Tch, this was useless, everything we just found out was already in the Monokuma file."
Ugh, he's right...The head wound, maggots, and rose-
Wait a minute…
Maggots.
Rose petals.
Believe it or not, these two have something in common!
"Hey, Taka, do you remember the rule that Monokuma made about the pool? About how someone could never swim alone?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why?" He questioned in a skeptical tone.
"He said something about how there could never just be one organism in the pool. He never specified what organism it had to be!" I said.
"True…" Taka nodded. "Satoko is obviously an organism since she's a human. The maggots are some type of animal, and the rose petals are plants."
"Exactly. If Mari added the rose petals, the killer must've obviously added the maggots in order to bypass the no swimming alone rule." I explained.
"Huh. That's probably right…" Taka nodded. "But something doesn't add up…" He added in a hushed tone, curiously looking at Satoko's corpse.
Truth Bullet: Pool Rule, obtained!
"What do you mea-"
Before I could finish, a certain daredevil interrupted my question to Taka. "I'm sorry for bothering you guys, but I just thought you'd want to see this."
She led us over to what she was investigating: the anti-gravity machines.
"I thought everything looked alright, but look at this." She then pointed to one of the machines, which had a slight dent in it. "Monokuma told me these things were made with some super strong material, so this isn't some accidental dent from running into it or anything..."
"Meaning someone pushed someone else into it…" I surmised.
"Enough force and this thing could knock you out cold." Taka commented, tapping on the anti-gravity machine. "From there, they could easily push you into the pool, leaving you to bleed out."
"How awful…" Nadia sniffed, starting to tear up.
Truth Bullet: Dented Anti-Gravity Machine, obtained!
"Hey, relax." Taka advised, putting a hand on the Russian's shoulder. "It didn't happen to you, so you're fine."
"H-hey," I nervously chuckled. "Probably not the best response, Taka…"
"Thank you." Nadia unexpectedly replied. "You are right, I am alive and well, I shouldn't spend my time crying and worrying about myself, I need to be strong and help Satoko however I can!"
"Exactly." Taka smirked, flashing me a condescending grin. Gross.
After talking with Nadia, Taka and I made our way over to the bleachers so Taka could yell at Sonoda and Mari, who were sitting down not doing anything to contribute to the investigation.
"Are you two fucking stupid? Did you not hear me when I gave out orders to investigate?" Taka frowned. "I should call Monokuma right now on your asses to inject you with Despiscocide."
"Oh please, give me a break." Mari scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I just discovered my second dead body in a week! I need time to myself y'know, a little meditation so I don't get PTSD or anything."
"Yes, and I am here to help her." Sonoda claimed. "You know what they say, two meditators are better than one!"
Yeah, I'm pretty sure nobody says that…
Taka rolled his eyes. "Whatever...since the two of you aren't doing shit, you're going to answer some questions for me. Starting with Mari. What the hell was this whole date thing about? You know damn well I have better things to do than hang out with a self absorbed model like you."
"What do you mean?" Mari frowned. "I was just being nice and thought it'd be romantic to have a date in the pool. I set out the rose petals a little while after I went swimming with Clara, and waited for you in the announcement room, but you were late."
Truth Bullet: Mari's Date Plan, obtained
"Swimming with Clara?!" I repeated in shock.
"Yeah, swimming with Clara...what time was that?" Taka inquired.
"Around 1." Mari answered. "We only swam for about half an hour though, then Clara left to go to Takumi's party thing around 1:30. I swam by myself for a little while, but then Hiiro complained about wanting to go spend some time with Koko before his next appointment, with me and you at 2:00."
"So Satoko wasn't killed until after 1:30 when you finished swimming with Clara." I commented.
"Yes, exactly." Mari nodded. "Oh, and something else. For some reason, Kuro was watching me and Clara swim...literally until I left with Hiiro, he was still there, the creep...luckily, when I went to put the rose petals in the pool around 1:45, he wasn't there anymore."
"I wonder if anyone else saw Kuro after that…" I whispered. "If not, then that means the last time he was seen was at 1:30. Now it's around 2:40, and he's still missing…"
"Who cares about that guy?" Mari sneered. "He's the embodiment of Satan, I'm glad he's missing…"
Truth Bullet: Mari's Account, obtained!
Truth Bullet: Missing Kuro, obtained!
"And what about you, Sonoda?" Taka asked. "I saw you at Takumi's party. Were you there the whole time?"
"No, actually." Sonoda answered. "I was in a playful mood today. From 12:00 to 1:40, I was playing a VR game with Nadia, Hiiro, Koko, Takumi, Jack, Kuro, and Satoko. I stayed till 1:40 with Nadia, which is when I showed up to Takumi's party, but everyone else left around 1:00."
I could feel my eyes start to tear up again. So Satoko was playing a video game just hours before her death…
"I should probably mention that Satoko did not look very happy playing the game with all of us." Sonoda revealed. "She almost looked like she just wanted to get out of there ASAP, like she was in a rush or something."
"Duly noted." I nodded.
Truth Bullet: Sonoda's Account, obtained!
Truth Bullet: Takumi's Special Brunch, obtained!
We left the two alone to do their 'meditating'...
Taka led me over to Koko and Hiiro, who were investigating a bag by the lifeguard chair.
"What's that?" I asked as we walked up to them.
"My bag." Hiiro answered. "I have many important things in it, including my secret recipe for a caramel espresso macchiato frappuccino latte and the infirmary key...I left it here after going to visit Koko for a little while, thinking no one would mess with it, but alas…"
He pulled out a key from one of the front pockets.
…
…
…
"I don't see the problem." Taka admitted. "That's the infirmary key, right? Good, you still have it."
"No, you don't understand." Hiro sighed. "I put the infirmary key in the main pocket of this bag, not the front pocket."
"So someone moved it?" I asked. "But why? What's the point?"
"I'm sure there's an explanation, we just need to find out in the class trial." Koko said confidently. "Hopefully then it'll lead us to the killer!"
Truth Bullet: Infirmary Key, obtained!
"Hiiro, what were you up to for the past hour? Mari and I were supposed to have an appointment with you at 2:00 but we didn't show up until 2:40, and you weren't anywhere to be found." Taka brought up.
"I checked in here at 2:00, and when you guys didn't show up by 2:05, I went back to the game room to be with Koko." Hiiro answered.
"You only gave them five minutes?" I deadpanned.
"Yes." Hiiro answered bluntly. "I told Mari before that she could find me in the game room if she happened to be late, after all."
"Hiiro and I played the most intense game of chess ever!" Koko beamed. "If only we got to finish, I definitely would have won!"
"Sure…" Hiiro muttered.
Truth Bullet: Hiiro's Account, obtained!
Truth Bullet: Koko's Account, obtained!
We left Hiiro and Koko to investigate the mysterious contents of Hiiro's bag.
"Now what?" I asked Takahashi. "There's nothing else in here, right?"
"No, there's not." Taka answered. "Which is why you're going to investigate the other rooms on this floor."
"The way you're talking sounds like I'm going to be investigating on my own…" I chuckled nervously.
"You are." Taka clarified. "I need to stay here and make sure that no one messes with Satoko's corpse like Ritsu did to Silver."
I sighed. "Ok, ok...Just let me know where to go first."
Taka directed me to investigate the gym, since Norikazu was currently investigating there by himself.
When I walked in, I was surprised to see the gym empty.
"What the hell…" I frowned. "Norikazu is supposed to be here…"
"Norikazu?" I called out.
No response.
Looking around the gym once again, I noticed a couple of strange things. Norikazu wasn't the only one missing from here.
On the wall above the bleachers is supposed to be the stop clock, which records the time a piece of equipment is used.
Only for some reason, it's missing…
Truth Bullet: Missing Stop Clock, obtained!
Not only that, but the gym floor is also missing something.
On the ground is supposed to be the three bases that Takahashi drew on the floor for our game of kickball.
But, for some reason, there's only two.
Truth Bullet: Missing Base, obtained!
That's all for the main part of the gym, everything else looks pretty normal to me.
I made my way to the sports equipment room to check if anything was out of the ordinary.
At first glance, it looked normal, just a little messy from when we were rummaging around to find a kickball the other day.
However, upon closer inspection. I noticed two strange things: A broken plate and the fact that the air vent is open.
"That's weird…" I commented. What's a broken plate from the dining hall doing here?
Truth Bullet: Broken Plate, obtained!
I walked over to the vent cover, lifting it up from the floor.
It was one of those vent covers with the slots, all designed to be slightly diagonal. It's not supposed to be able to be opened: there's no screws or anything to take it off from the wall.
"I guess with enough force," I started, trying to tug on one of the slots. "You try and pry it open."
But I didn't think that was the case either; my fingers and anybody else's were too big to fit into one of the slots in order to get a good grip on it to pry it open.
So how the hell did someone open this?!
I shook my head and sighed, looking into the vent.
There's a reason this is open...I need to check to see where this vent leads to.
Sweat started to form on my forehead, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. I hated tight spaces, especially air ducts that I had no idea where they lead to.
But, this was for Satoko! Can't let my fears get the best of me now…
I crawled in, trying to ignore my anxiety plus the fact that I was putting pressure on my wounded hand.
It actually wasn't that bad, the light from the equipment room did a good job at illuminating the path.
It took me about two minutes to scale the whole thing.
When I got to where the air duct lead to, I almost jumped out of my skin.
"Norikazu!" I yelled. "What are you doing here?!"
The artist was blocking my path, examining an air vent cover, pushing on it to get it open.
"Isn't it obvious?" He questioned. "I'm trying to see which room this air vent leads to."
"So that's why you weren't in the gym," I surmised. "You also saw the open air vent and went to investigate."
"Precisely." He nodded, still trying to get the vent cover off. "The only issue is, I can't get this vent cover off...The light in whatever room this is is on, but I don't recognize it at all."
"You don't recognize it?" I repeated. "Here, let me get a look at it."
It was awkward and uncomfortable, but he scooted as far as he could to give me some room. I squeezed in next to him, and peered into the room.
I instantly recognized it.
"This room…" I started. "It's the room where Akumu, Fran, and I were being held."
Norikazu looked at me in surprise. "Really? This whole time we had a direct path to you all?"
"I guess so." I sighed. "Either way, this path from the equipment room to this room is clearly important, someone broke off the vent cover after all."
"But was it the killer," Norikazu said. "Or someone else?"
Truth Bullet: Secret Path from Equipment Room to Captive's Room, obtained!
With nowhere else to investigate, me and Norikazu made our way back through the air duct to the equipment room.
"Ok, that's it for the gym." I declared, smiling confidently.
"Yes, it seems nothing of grave importance was in here." Norikazu said. "Just things that don't really make sense."
"You're right," I nodded. "Hopefully everything will make sense in the class trial, though."
"Hopefully." Norikazu repeated. "If not, then I don't see us-"
He stopped himself mid sentence, peering at something behind me. "That's not the same color it was before…"
"Hm?" I questioned.
"Look, at this." Norikazu pointed to the pile of baseball bats carelessly stacked on one of the shelves.
…
…
…
"I don't see anything…" I awkwardly laughed.
Norikazu sighed, pushing past me and walking up to the shelf. He picked up a baseball bat and showed it to me.
It was pretty faint, but noticeable upon closer inspection. The entirety of the baseball bat was covered in small, bright orange spots.
It was otherwise spotless, with no dust or anything, just those weird faint bright orange spots.
"No wonder you spotted this," I said. "An illustrator like you probably notices the smallest difference in color, right?"
Norikazu nodded. "Yes. Additionally, I can tell you that this isn't paint. I'm not sure what it is, but it's nothing that was painted on. In fact, it appears that the original paint of the bat has been damaged."
Truth Bullet: Damaged Baseball Bat, obtained!
So, a missing stop clock, a missing base, a broken vent cover, and a damaged bat…
What the hell do all of these things have to do with Satoko's murder?!
I left the gym confused and craving a lemonade.
I resisted however, and made my way to the next room of interest: the infirmary.
Monokuma had left it unlocked for the sake of the investigation.
Inside, I found Leonia, Clara, Takumi, and Akumu.
The former three were messing around with the cabinets, looking to see if anything was missing or out of place, while a dejected Akumu sat on the foot of one of the beds, staring off into space.
I approached the group first, hoping to find out that they found something of importance.
"Pain killers, allergy medication, and motion sickness relief. They really have it all here, huh?" Takumi beamed, pulling out bottle after bottle.
"Takumi, if you keep pulling out bottles, we'll have more to put away." Clara sighed, watching the escapist gleefully continue to make a mess.
"I've never heard of these medications before," Leonia admitted, examining a pill bottle. "Hm, they must be generic."
"Hey guys," I called, walking up to them. "Anything of importance here?"
"I'm afraid not," Leonia sighed. "So far, everything looks untouched and just as we left it during the initial investigation. Well, aside from Takumi's mess…"
"It's not surprising, right?" Clara asked. "I can't see the killer using anything in here to help them with the murder."
"That's where you're wrong, Clara! Take a look at this, it was hidden in the back!" Takumi suddenly yelled. We all turned to him, to see him holding up a nearly empty bottle.
"What is this?" Leonia asked, taking the bottle from him. "...Senza-Sangue?"
"I have no idea what this is." Clara admitted. "It almost sounds Italian."
"Maybe it's a medicine from Italy?" Takumi suggested. "Either way, it's clearly important if it's nearly empty."
Truth Bullet: Empty Bottle of Senza-Sangue, obtained!
"That's it, huh?" I sighed. "I was hoping to find something more…"
"Well the more evidence we find, the more complicated the case will be to solve." Takumi claimed. "It's like an escape room; the more puzzles there are, the longer it takes to escape."
"True." Leonia nodded. "Well then, shall we make our way to the next room?"
"Wait!"
We all turned around to see Akumu.
He was kneeling in front of the air vent, which unlike the one in the sports equipment room, had screws on its cover. The cryptid enthusiast had pulled a screwdriver out of nowhere, and was working on getting it open.
"I want to see where this leads to," Akumu said. "It could be important, right?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "The killer might've used it in some way. But Akumu, are you sure you're up to investigating? You know you can take as much time as you need to grieve, right?"
Akumu shook his head and sadly smiled. "I'm fine, Seizo, but thank you. Satoko wouldn't want me to mope around all day; she'd want me to help solve her murder."
"That's the spirit," Takumi cheered. "Come on, let's see what's in here!"
Akumu finished getting the vent cover off, and one by one, we all crawled in.
"Ouch!"
"Please don't look up my skirt, Takumi."
"Hey, I would never do that!"
"Guys, it's a little hard to see in here because it's so dark, sorry if I'm a little slow!"
"No worries, Az, I'm right behind you."
After a few minutes, we finally arrived at the adjoining air vent.
Being in the front, Clara described what she saw.
"Chairs...tables...oh! This is the game room!" Clara exclaimed.
"Interesting…" Leonia noted. "The game room and the infirmary are quite far from each other, this air duct is unusually long. Nonetheless, it's definitely something important we should remember."
Truth Bullet: Secret Path from Infirmary to Game Room
We all turned around and crawled our way back to the infirmary.
Once back on our feet, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Nice, we found something else. Alright, onto the next ro-"
A familiar chime rang out, one that made my heart stop.
"Okey dokey, folks, I think that's enough investigating for now. I'm getting tired of waiting, so it's time for the long-awaited class trial!"
"Damn it…" I sighed. "Times up."
"I'm sure we found enough evidence." Clara said confidently. "We just have to piece everything together."
"This'll be a piece of cake." Takumi smiled. "We've already solved one murder, so another one should be just as easy!"
"I'm sure we can do this if we work together." Leonia nodded. "We'll avenge Satoko, no matter what it takes."
"Let's do this, Seizo." Akumu beamed, looking up at me. "We'll find out what happened to Satoko, for sure!"
Although I was still hungry, thirsty, and in pain, it made my heart happy to see everyone so confident, especially for solving the murder of someone we all cared about so much.
"We got thi-"
Just like last time, I couldn't finish my words before my eyes started to droop, exhaustion seeped into every bone of my body, and I collapsed to the floor.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that…" I muttered as I awoke.
Everyone was already awake, standing in front of the door leading to the elevator.
"At last, it's time to solve the murder of the childhood prodigy," Sonoda commented. "Gone far too soon…"
"She didn't deserve what happened to her, not one bit." Fran said truthfully. "Whoever killed her will pay for their crime!"
"We'll find out who they are," Evelyn nodded. "They can't hide forever! Nadie está por encima de la ley!"
"Only a monster could do something so terrible." Norikazu frowned. "A monster and a coward."
"...Satoko was a nice girl." Isami said, writing in her journal. "I wonder why the killer decided she should be the one to go."
"Yeah, I was thinking about why they did it." Clara agreed. "Was it for the motive or something else?"
"Win the traitor/truce, or murder someone, and your most important person is safe." Nadia recalled. "Wasn't that the killer's motive?"
"We'll see." Hiiro sighed. "Either way, we have quite the complicated case ahead of us."
"Red tinted water, a moved infirmary key, and a dented anti-gravity machine…" Koko said. "What do they have in common?"
"Maggots, roses, and an empty bottle of Italian medicine." Leonia continued. "Even more mysteries…"
"Whatever, I'm sure you guys got this." Mari smirked, flipping her hair. "Meanwhile I'll focus on rooting out the killer while you guys discuss the evidence."
"Right…" Takumi awkwardly laughed. "Even though you were dead set on it being Clara last time…"
"I just can't imagine anyone here to be the killer…" Akumu admitted. "It feels...off."
"But it's the only answer." Jack said, speaking up for the first time in awhile. "One of us took Satoko's life, robbed her of a future. This class trial is going to be brutal, but nothing compared to what Satoko went through, so be ready."
The absence of Kuro was still something concerning to me, but I guess everyone already forgot about the asshole.
Still...how is Monokuma just going to let his absence slide? I thought we all had to be present for the class trial.
I looked at everyone, observing. Some looked confident, others looked nervous.
Only one had a face that I couldn't read.
Takahashi was completely emotionless. He wasn't in his loudmouth mood or his leader mood.
He almost looked...bothered?
I didn't know what was wrong with him, and I didn't have any time to think.
The red door clicked open, as did the elevator.
"Here goes nothing…" I sighed.
We silently stepped into the elevator.
It was noticeably a lot less difficult to squeeze in…
With both Ritsu and Satoko gone, as well as Kuro being MIA, it was a whole lot more like a regular elevator rather than a sardine can.
I glanced downwards, looking at the cut on my hand.
Traitor/Truce, being eliminated, Satoko's death...this week has been hell.
God, I want to get out of this place so bad.
But as miserable as I was, Silver, Ritsu, and Satoko were in a hell of a lot more pain. They died in a place they didn't know, without having any idea where they were.
For them, I'll push forward…
Mari pushed the button leading up to the trial room, and we all braced ourselves.
Here goes nothing…
A/N: :MonokumaSweat: Sorry this one took so long!
At last, the investigation of Satoko's murder. A lot of evidence is introduced this time around, and several factors are involved in this case...can you tell who the killer is or are you totally clueless?
This trial is going to be a wild one, with plenty of information to digest. Hope you're ready!
See you guys in the next one, hopefully soon!