Chapter 5: O Armored Hero, Stand upon the Earth!
A day has passed since the trial and the third floor has opened. The group explored the third floor as it contained a game room, an art room with a storage room for art tools, and a physics lab. Inside was an air purifier that keeps the air from being polluted. In the cafeteria, Marinette noticed Ishimaru with a complete look of forlorn sadness on his face.
"I feel bad for Ishimaru." Marinette whispered to Naegi. "He hasn't said a word since the trial."
"Can you blame him? His best friend was just executed." Naegi said. "Good thing Shadow was there to motivate him to endure the execution."
Monokuma then appears on the PA screen. "Hop to it, half-asses! Toddle your haggard little selves to the gym, on zee double! And try not to get lost on the way. Explanation is forthcoming." Everyone gathers in the gym, meeting with Togami, Toko, and Shadow.
"Huh. You guys here already? That didn't take long." Naegi said.
"Come to think of it, what became of the homicidal maniac?" Knuckles asked.
"Ugh... Why's the peanut gallery gawking at me?" Toko asked.
"A simple sneeze reverts her back to her "cheerful" self." Togami said.
"Kinda cliché if you ask me." Alya said.
"Like you have any room to talk!" Toko fired back.
"Hail, hail! The gang's all here." Monokuma said as he appeared on the stage.
"What sadistic scheme have you cooked up this time?" Togami asked.
Monokuma laughs. "That's the Million Dollar Question!" He said as stacks of cash rained down into neat stacks. "Well, ten million, actually."
"Hold up... two, three, four... he's right! Ten million!" Chloe confirmed after counting the stacks.
"Yes, kiddies: this mountain of moolah can be yours, if you graduate!" Monokuma said. "Pretty sweet, right? Eh? Eh?"
"You seriously think you'd have us kill for money?" Knuckles asked.
"Is life so cheap you would label it with a price tag?" Sakura asked.
"I know what you're trying to do! We're not going to massacre each other for money, period!" Naegi argued.
Monokuma laughed. "Sure. Whatever you say, St. Francis. I'll just leave you fine, upstanding coeds to scratch out a living a professional students." Monokuma then left with the stacks of cash.
"Money-money-money-money..." Hagakure murmured.
"Sounds to me like I'm not the only one here who's hurting for cash." Chloe glared at the Ultimate Clairvoyant as he whistled innocently. "And I'm the mayor's daughter."
"Cool your jets, everyone. If we give in to our greed, our crisis will only get worse." Knuckles said.
"Oh, you think?!" Toko barked.
"As if having us fight to escape wasn't enough. The mastermind, whoever they are, will do whatever necessary to turn us against each other." Kagami said.
"So true, Ms. Kagami. As such, adapting to life as fellow prisoners is our only means of survival." Celestia agreed.
Asahina sighs. Rainbow Dash heard her. "What's wrong, Asahina? You look like you saw a ghost or something."
"Well, actually, that's exactly what happened last night." Asahina said. "I think... I saw Fujisaki's ghost." Asahina led them to the co-ed locker room. "In fact, I saw it in here."
"Thanks for giving me the heebie-jeebies." Hagakure shuddered.
"I was looking for donuts when I saw it in the co-ed locker room." Asahina said.
"That explains the scream that almost ruptured my eardrums." Rainbow said.
Sonic noticed an open locker. "Hold on..." Sonic then approached the lockers and opened one of them, revealing a laptop. "Wait, didn't we see this in the library?"
The computer then powered on and it showed Chihiro's face on a virtual plane. "Hello? Master, where'd you go?"
Sonic then remembered something as he communicated via typing.
"Who or what are you?" Sonic typed.
"Oh, nice to meet you all. Welcome! I'm Alter Ego, a specially designed artificial intelligence program!" It spoke.
"No surprise from the Ultimate Programmer. What are you doing here?"
"I'm analyzing all the files on this hard drive. Give me a second, please." Alter Ego sighed. "This encryption's insane! I tell you, files this protected must belong to Hope's Peak."
"If it means gaining an advantage over Monokuma, we'll take what we can." Tails said.
"It's about time we had a little luck!" Naegi said.
"Looks like you may have stumbled upon our escape." Sunset told Asahina.
"Um... So guys, I haven't seen Master in a while. Know where he is?" Alter Ego asked.
"Huh. Guess he doesn't know." Twilight said.
"Chihiro Fujisaki is dead, murdered by Owada." Sonic typed. Alter Ego gasped at the revelation.
"I understand..." Alter Ego said. "I was prepared... It was only a matter of time before he died..."
"Poor guy..." Twilight said as Ishimaru approached the laptop.
"You're still with us..." Ishimaru said with tears of relief. "You never really died."
"Hi, Ishimaru." Alter Ego said.
"It's okay... if you hate me... I-I understand... I couldn't stop him from what he did." Ishimaru sobbed. "I was a coward!"
"I feel bad for Ishimaru. I wish there was a way to cheer him up." Sunset said.
"Maybe there is." Sonic said as he continued typing.
"Are you angry at Ishimaru?"
"Uh-oh... You feel guilty about what happened to me." Alter Ego said as he disappeared for a moment before Mondo's head appeared.
"Yo, you gotta lighten up and keep going on. You can't carry the weight of the world on your back for something I did. I made my own decisions. It was my price to pay. Mulling over a bunch of what-ifs ain't gonna do you any good. This wasn't your fault. Like you, I'm my own man. Feel angry if you have to... Just don't marinate in it; use it for something that's worth it. Might manage to wake yourself up from this nightmare. Gotta be ready, don'tcha? Like Shadow said at my trial: our bond is something not even death can take away. Remember that, bro. I'm counting on you." It said before Alter Ego reappeared.
"Not bad." Sonic complimented.
"Pretty impressive, right? Owada's speech pattern was a bit tricky, but I'm confident that's what he would've wanted to say." Alter Ego said.
"I'm touched truly and deeply... Your words were like his- I can feel his soul... It's moving through me!" Ishimaru said as he let out a battle cry as his body was enveloped by a white aura, his black hair turning white.
"Yikes! It's like he's gone Super Saiyan!" Rainbow yelped.
"Looks like he took that motivation a little too well..." Adrien said.
"You okay, Ishimaru?" Twilight asked.
"Never better, but who's Ishimaru? I am... ISHIDOOO!" He cried out as he marched out of the locker room.
"At least he's finally out of his funk, right?" Nino asked.
Sonic sighed and turned back to Alter Ego. "Could you please keep analyzing those files for us?" He typed.
"Sure, but there's something I'd like to show you first. I found this after I started my analysis of the files." Alter Ego said as he revealed a photo of Leon, Mondo, and Chihiro. They appear to be smiling, enjoying a fun time.
"That's strange. They look like they know each other." Max said.
"But we were just meeting each other for the first time when we arrived, right?" Marinette asked.
"Maybe... maybe they're never really dead." Asahina guessed.
"Of course they're dead. We all saw it happen. One after another, we saw it. Either their corpses, or their actual death." Shadow said.
"That picture's gotta be fake, man." Hagakure said.
The next day...
Everyone heard a scream from the co-ed locker room. Naegi, Marinette, and Adrien ran in to see Hifumi bowing to Kyoko. A handful of the others are witnessing this.
"Yamada?" Naegi asked.
"Help me, you guys! I'm practically begging!" Hifumi said.
"You mind explaining?" Adrien asked.
"All I did was ask a simple question. Why he's using Alter Ego after hours without permission." Kyoko said.
"I... I get lonely..." Hifumi admitted. "I just wanted someone to talk to! There aren't a lot of people in the world who're into what I'm into. Honestly, it was a first! Normally, people give me the cold shoulder and call me a freak behind my back."
"Dude, try to remember that it's a computer program." Nino said.
"As sorry as I am for you, this kind of "friendship" isn't healthy." Kagami said.
"Tell me about it." Knuckles agreed.
Ishimaru then came out of the sauna in a towel. "This sauna is amaze-balls!" He shouted.
"Ugh! Seriously, Ishimaru?!" Marinette yelped as she covered her eyes with an embarrassed blush.
"Something tells me he doesn't want to change. He just heard us." Sonic said.
"Got that right, hedgehog. Alter Ego's mine, a-holes!" Ishimaru said as Hifumi blocked him.
"No! This is true love! I'll be damned if I let you come betwixt us!" Hifumi said.
"That's enough! Both of you!" Shadow barked. "The last thing we need right now is a tug-o'-war over this."
"Shadow's right. Call it Fujisaki's legacy, but this computer may well be our best chance to escape. It belongs to everyone, so from now on, no one's allowed in here without permission from me or Shadow. Understood?" Kyoko asked.
"Hold on. Like Kirigiri said, Alter Ego is our best chance of escape. I know Ishimaru heard us, question is has Monokuma?" Sonic asked.
Naegi looks around. "You're right. There aren't any cameras in here." He said.
"As long as this AI remains in here, he's safe from being confiscated. That said, one of us has to stand guard here to make sure neither Ishimaru or Yamada get in and misuses it." Sonic said.
"Leave that to me." Chloe volunteered. "I'll keep a sharp eye out for them."
A few hours later...
Chloe was feeling drowsy from keeping guard all day. She was about drift off into sleep when she noticed Naegi and Hagakure go into the locker room. Chloe followed them in and saw the others.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked.
"You tell me." Naegi said. She turned to the locker and saw that the laptop mysteriously vanished.
"The laptop is missing." Kyoko informed her.
"And I'm looking at you, Ishimaru!" Hifumi accused. "We all know you did it, so be a man and fess up!"
"Really? I'll have you know that I was a three-time hall monitor in my past life!" Ishimaru said.
"I don't think either of you are responsible." Tails said. "Yesterday, Kirigiri and I modified Alter Ego to let out a loud shriek when either of you got closer than five feet."
"That is true. This would mean that someone else is the thief." Kyoko said.
"Clearly." Togami agreed. "The issue now becomes how to narrow down the remaining suspects."
"I doubt any of us had a reason to make off with it!" Alya said.
"Hmph. Perhaps... Or perhaps we're afraid to admit the truth." Togami said.
"What truth?" Max asked.
"Consider this: We've a traitor in our ranks." Togami said. Everyone gasped at the idea. "The notion leapt from possible to probable in my mind some time ago. Wouldn't a mole be par for the course? An excellent way to ensure the game went smoothly. See to it the pieces moved as desired. Correct?"
"You seriously think there is someone working with Monokuma in secret?" Luka asked. Sakura looked nervous at the idea.
"Perhaps that is the case." Togami confirmed.
The school bells chime for curfew.
"We'll deal with this situation in the morning. For now, let's head back to our rooms." Sunset said.
The next morning...
As some of the students arrived to the cafeteria, Alya was the first to notice.
"What? No energetic greeting? No rambling about tardiness? Where's Ishimaru?" Alya asked.
"Come to think of it, Hagakure, Celestia, and Yamada are missing too." Asahina added.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Shadow said. "I say we split into teams and look for them."
"Yes, I suppose that is the plan." Kyoko agreed.
"Team 1 will check the dormitory." Sakura, Luka, Max, Kagami, and Knuckles searched the dorms.
"Team 2, I'll leave the first floor to you." Naegi, Marinette, Sunset, Adrien, and Sonic looked around and saw a nurse's office.
"I'll comb the second floor with Team 3." Kyoko finished as she searched the second floor, with Tails, Twilight, Shadow, and Chloe.
"Cool. And the rest of us will take the third!" Asahina said as she, Alya, Nino, Rainbow, and Applejack headed to the third floor. They saw the door to the game room open and when they look inside, they saw an unconscious Celestia with a small hammer next to her. The five of them were in complete shock at the sight.
"Somebody help!" Asahina screamed.
Later, everyone met up with Celestia in the game room, who managed to wake up.
"I was careless." Celestia said.
"What kind of cretin did this to you?" Applejack asked.
"This may sound rather odd... Whoever it was went to great lengths to hide their face. And struck me with that." Celestia said pointing to the hammer on the floor.
"Justice Hammer #1?" Naegi identified the weapon. Celestia realized something.
"Yamada's in grave danger!" Celestia gasped. "The person who did this to me kidnapped him!"
"Did you see where the attacker went?" Rainbow asked.
"Before I blacked out, I saw them turn left, towards the stairwell to the second floor." Celestia said.
"Oh no! Kiri's down there!" Naegi realized as everyone rushed to the second floor. On the way, they saw Togami.
"Togami! Please tell us you've seen Kiri or Yamada!" Naegi said.
"Since when's it our job to watch them?" They hear Genocider Sho speak.
"Is something the matter?" Togami asked.
"Might be..." Naegi said.
"Guys! Over here!" Tails called out to them. They find Hifumi waking up. Blood was seen on his head.
"What happened to you?!" Luka asked.
"Check it out, another one of those weird hammers!" Chloe said pointing to a hammer a little larger than the first one.
"You okay, Yamada?" Alya asked.
"I can't believe it... Justice Robo attacked me!" Hifumi said. Alya gasped.
"Hardly the time to be cute." Togami said.
"He's not being cute, trust me." Celestia said holding a camera.
"Hold on, didn't you find that camera in the game room?" Kagami asked.
"Indeed I did. Look." Celestia revealed a photo of what appears to be Justice Robo attacking Hifumi.
"Is that...?" Rainbow asked as she looked at the picture.
"Well. Okay." Togami said.
"Bizarre, I know, but there it is." Celestia confirmed.
"We gotta go after this maniac!" Asahina said.
"You guys go ahead. Tails and I will take Yamada to the nurse's office. We'll join you once he's all patched up." Rainbow said.
"Of course. We'll split into teams." Celestia said.
With that, everyone split into teams and searched for the person disguised as Justice Robo. During the search, Celestia encounters a mysterious figure on the third floor stairwell and shrieks. It was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Celestia! Are you hurt?!" Adrien asked.
"I'm alright, I wasn't injured." Celestia assured. "I saw Justice Robo make a dash for the physics lab."
"The physics lab, huh? He's got himself trapped." Togami said as everyone heard a sneeze. They see that Toko has switched back.
"Oh... Hello?" Toko said nervously.
"You have got to be kidding me." Asahina said.
"What's it gonna take for you to pick a personality already?" Chloe asked. They suddenly hear Hifumi scream.
"That's not good." Naegi said.
"We'll go check on Yamada. You guys keep looking for Justice Robo." Tails told them.
"Good idea." Sakura agreed. Naegi, Asahina, Celestia, Tails, and Rainbow Dash ran for the first floor nurse's office while everyone else kept up the search. Once there, they met with a horrendous sight. Naegi screamed at the sight of Hifumi's bloody body.
"Is... Is he...?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm sorry... Odds are he's dead." Celestia said sadly.
Tails noticed a large hammer on the floor next to the body. "Another one? Didn't you see him on the third floor?" He asked.
"I did." Celestia confirmed. "How is this possible?"
They then hear an announcement. "Bum-bum-bum-buuuuum! Corpse alert, junior detectives!" Monokuma announced. "You know the drill: investi-ma-gation, then, trial!"
Asahina felt sick. "I... I'm sorry... I feel like... like I'm gonna puke..."
"Deep breaths, dear." Celestia assured the swimmer.
"Come on, let's get her to the ladies' room." Rainbow told Celestia. "Naegi, Tails, find the others and let them know Yamada's dead."
They nod and head up to the physics lab on the third floor. "Hey guys! Where are you?!" Naegi called out.
"Naegi, look." Tails said as they saw the storage room door open. They peered inside and saw Ishimaru's body.
"Ishimaru!" Naegi gasped. Toko is seen on the floor around the others.
"Is Fukawa...?" Tails asked.
"She's alive; merely passed out from the sight of blood." Togami assured.
"Unfortunately, the murderer already escaped by the time we arrived." Sonic said. "And the weapon used to slay him was another one of these hammers."
"Wait, four? We've already seen One and Two, but why isn't this Three?" Nino asked.
"Uh, that's why we're here. Somebody used Number Three to kill Yamada." Tails said.
"You're joking!" Togami gasped.
As they left the lab, they ran into Celestia and Rainbow.
"Celestia?! Rainbow?!" Naegi said.
"It... It's so ghoulish..." Celestia commented.
"What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked.
"W-We got a problem..." Rainbow said.
"Huh...?" Naegi asked cluelessly. They were led back to the nurse's office and find that Hifumi's body has mysteriously vanished. "What's going on?! Where'd the body go?!"
"Asahina!" Sakura said as she approached the swimmer.
"We... We were in the bathroom for maybe a couple minutes at most." Asahina explained. "And then... when we came back..."
"I'll betcha the killer has something to do with this." Rainbow deduced.
"If they're trying to confuse us, it's working." Sakura said.
"We're going to die... Picked off one by one 'til there's... 'til there's no one... Exactly like they were." Celestia said.
"Why would the killer have made off with Yamada's corpse?" Togami asked. "Two murders within moments of each other, then... evidence already discovered is moved."
"Wait, two murders?!" Asahina gasped.
"What are you talking about?" Celestia asked.
"Ishimaru's no longer among the living... We found him the physics lab storage room." Togami said.
"Nooooo!" Asahina screamed. "Celestia's right! We are all gonna die!"
"Pull yourself together. Don't say stuff like that." Sakura said.
"Wait... Fukawa! We left her back at the lab!" Marinette realized.
"Y-You're right!" Naegi said as he ran off to check on Toko.
"Naegi, wait!" Togami called out as he followed him, as did everyone else.
Back at the lab's storage room, they find Toko still passed out.
Naegi sighs. "That's a relief."
"It's good that she's okay, but we got another problem." Marinette said. Naegi looks and sees that Ishimaru's corpse has vanished as well.
"Now Ishimaru's corpse is gone!" Naegi gasped.
"Oh dear... What in heaven's name could the murderer be playing at?" Celestia asked.
"He, or she, is trying to confound us." Togami deduced. "The bodies are obviously hidden somewhere."
"Wait... Celestia has a valid point; why bother hiding them at all?" Applejack asked.
"Well, it couldn't have been any of us, so we'll just ask him when we find him." Celestia said.
"There's a bloodthirsty maniac on the loose!" Asahina yelled.
"Asahina, cool down and take a moment to think." Sonic said.
"Yes. Let's discuss the timing first." Togami said. "This all unfolded in a precisely balanced sequence impossible for a sole perpetrator to have carried out."
"Uhh... That makes sense." Asahina said.
"Second, and most importantly: There are three allies of ours rather tellingly unaccounted for." Togami continued.
"Hold up... I know what you're thinking. But Kirigiri and Shadow were with us all in the cafeteria. That was when we heard Celestia scream." Naegi said.
"Interesting... Well that would appear to give them a decent alibi." Togami said.
"Yes. Naturally." Celestia agreed. "But I suppose that points the finger at Hagakure being Justice Robo, doesn't it?"
"Which means the rest of us aren't in danger." Togami said. "The school rules were abundantly clear on that point."
"Yeah... A maximum of two victims per murderer, if I'm not mistaken." Adrien agreed just as Toko awakened, switching back to her serial killer persona.
"And anyone who breaks the rules gets puréed!" Sho shouts as she stands up with her trademark scissors.
Naegi and Tails gasp. "Not again!" Tails said.
"Just for confirmation... Can we assume this wasn't your handiwork?" Togami asked the serial killer.
"Oh, puh-lease! I wouldn't have done something like this!" Sho told him. "My taste in prey is way too particular, sugar lips! They gotta be hawt!" Adrien and Luka looked nervous.
"All right then, let's find the bodies." Togami said.
With that, everyone spread out and searched the floors for the bodies of Hifumi and Ishimaru. They searched every nook and cranny for the corpses. Naegi, Togami, Sho, and Sonic headed to the third floor when they saw Celestia.
"Naegi... Togami... Sonic..." Celestia said. She leads them to the art storage room, and they find both corpses.
"It's so awful!" Asahina sobbed. "Who would do this?" She approached Hifumi and cradled his head. "They were... They were innocent!" She starts crying when they hear him groan softly. "He's alive!"
"But for how long?" Luka asked. "We better get help!"
"Who... are you...?" Hifumi groaned before remembering. "Oh, yeah... Right... We all... go way back, don't we...? Been friends forever..."
"The trauma from the attack must've scrambled his brain." Max said.
"The light... It's beautiful..." Hifumi said softly. "The light's spreading everywhere..."
"Who did this to you? Tell us, please!" Asahina pleaded. "We'll bring them to justice. Help us do that, buddy."
"So... cold..." Hifumi said. He lifted his arm. "I'll try to remember... It... was... Yasu... hi... ro..." Tears flowed down his face as he breathed no more. Asahina cried as another announcement played.
"Ba-ba-ba-buuuum! Double corpse alert, chickadees! Stop me if you've heard this one: Investigation, then, trial!" Monokuma announced.
"Oh. Great. The damn bear." Togami seethed. "As if he weren't taxing enough, he has to suck all the fun out of this round."
"Thanks for the buzz kill!" Sho said.
"I believe we'd all appreciate it if the pair of you could rein in your callousness just a smidge." Celestia said.
"I'm in no mood to be delicate." Togami said. "I've wasted enough mental energy on this farce as it is."
"Yasuhiro"... Odd choice for one's final words..." Marinette said.
"No. It's... quite telling; that's Hagakure's first name." Celestia deduced.
"Very well, I'll sum up. Hagakure dons a ridiculous costume, attacks you, then kills these two before playing hide-and-seek with their remains for reasons best known to himself. Case closed." Togami said. "Let's get him."
"Hold up, what about Kiri and Shadow?" Applejack asked. "They're still missing, aren't they?"
"No, just... don't go there!" Naegi gasped.
"I'm sorry, Naegi... But we must at least consider the possibility they were his accomplices." Sakura said.
"A rather fruitless venture to involve themselves in." Celestia said. "Only the actual killer is eligible to graduate. Unless Kirigiri herself struck these fellows down..."
"The girl gets a great big old goose egg!" Sho laughed.
"Granted this has all the benchmarks of an open and shut case. However..." Celestia said. "I still think a thorough investigation is called for."
"Yeah, sure..." Naegi agreed.
"You guys search for clues; Sunset and I will try to find the others." Naegi said as the investigation began. He and Sunset checked one of the classrooms.
"Where could they've gone?" Naegi asked. "It's not like this place is that big."
"Naegi. Sunset." They hear Shadow's voice. They turn and see the black hedgehog and Kyoko behind them.
"Kiri, Shadow, jeez!" Naegi said. "Where have you two been?! I was-"
"Bring everyone to the pool." Kyoko cut him off. Naegi gasped.
At the pool, everyone gathered in front of a lone locker. "Well? We're all waiting for an explanation." Togami demanded. "Out with it! This is no time to play coy! Why are we here?!"
"Perhaps this will explain everything." Shadow said as he opens the door, revealing Justice Robo.
"Justice Robo?!" Naegi gasped. Shadow unmasks the robot, revealing Hagakure.
"This is officially not my day." Hagakure said.
"Yamada's dying words were in reference to this one's given name." Celestia said.
"But why'd he shut himself in a locker?" Adrien asked as Hagakure fell over.
"Next time, choose a costume that bends at the waist." Togami said. "Word to the wise: form equals function."
Naegi and Sunset approach him and notice a clasp on the back of the costume. "There's a clasp on the back." Naegi said. Sakura opens the clasp and she and Sunset try to pull the costume off of Hagakure.
"Not so rough! Man, it pinches like a mother." Hagakure said.
"Sounds like someone prefers their cosplay rather form-fitting." Sakura commented.
"Speaking of which, how'd you get into the thing anyway?" Sunset asked.
"Cardinal rule of cosplay: make sure you can still go to the can!" Genocider Sho said.
"Hold on, you don't think I made this piece of crap?!" Hagakure asked. "I swear on my life it wasn't me! Some joker slipped a note under my door, told me to meet them after hours in the game room. I show up like a moron... And bam! Lights out!"
They were able to get the costume off of Hagakure as he explained. "When I woke up, I'd been crammed into this thing." He spoke.
"Very interesting." Togami said.
"Do you still have the note?" Alya asked.
"Yeah. Think I stuck it in my pocket..." Hagakure said as he searched his jacket for the note. "Um...?!"
"If you want us to take your story seriously, I suggest you find it." Togami said.
"Oh, whatever! Stop playing us!" Asahina yelled. "Just admit you're the culprit already!"
"Excuse me? The hell are you talking about?!" Hagakure asked in confusion.
"Look, it doesn't matter how he got there, we were fortunate enough to find him alive." Twilight said.
"Yes. First rate detective work, Kiri. What were you on the outside? An amateur sleuth?" Celestia asked.
Kyoko and Shadow walked off. Naegi managed to catch up to them.
"Kiri, Shadow, hold up! I need to talk to you!" Naegi spoke. "No offense, but where were you this whole time? When we split up, it's like you two vanished."
"We're working a separate investigation." Kyoko said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naegi asked.
"Look, don't worry about it." Kyoko said.
"I just want to-" Naegi said before Shadow cut him off.
"It's nothing, okay? I suggest you leave it." Shadow said. "We better see the bodies while they're still fresh."
"There's something you definitely don't think you're gonna hear when you wake up in the morning." Naegi said.
In the art storage room where the two bodies are located, Naegi reads aloud the Monokuma File. "Wounds indicate death from blunt force trauma to the head. Evidence suggests both were killed with the same type of weapon. So far, that's all the info we've got." Kyoko noticed a scrap of paper in Ishimaru's hand. Hifumi's glasses were clean when he was discovered the second time.
"Both murders occurred back-to-back, the second victim expiring in full view of witnesses, correct?" Kyoko asked.
"Yeah." Naegi confirmed.
"Not much to go on, but it's a start." Shadow said. "Let's see what the bodies have to add to this." Kyoko then noticed a crumpled note in Hifumi's pants.
After the investigation, everyone headed to the trial room. "(We were able to scrounge a handful of possible clues. Not that they make much sense.)" Naegi thought in his head. "(The thing that puzzles me most was Yamada saying Hagakure' first name as he died. Could things really be that simple?)"
Everyone then entered the courtroom for the third class trial.
To be continued...