Chapter 1: Silence of the Sacrificial Lamb (Deady Life #02)
Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, sexual innuendos, and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!
With that said, please enjoy!
Lawson the Lamb stood in the Ultimate Revolutionary Cell with nothing, but that frozen plastic grin fixed onto his grotesque face. He had been alone for so so long. For a police officer mannequin, being alone was just not healthy. It was horrible. It was torture. It was killing him. And yet, all he could do was smile through the pain. The pain of being alone... So, when he saw two new faces on that fateful day, checking out his home, the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell, for once, his wide-creepy grins finally had it. It had meaning. It had a purpose.
Most important of all, he had company.
But...
"W-What the hell am I looking at?" the police officer, who he had established to be his roommate, widened his eyes at him.
The larger guy, who he had established to be the police officer's best friend, walked closer, a little hesitantly, but close enough to read the nametag on his uniform. He fixed his glasses before doing so.
"...It says his name is… Lawson the Lamb," the larger guy stated.
"Lamb?!" The police officer exclaimed. "That's a goat! Not a lamb! Why is this even here?! In my Ultimate Cell of all places! Who even made this?!"
That was true. He was a lamb. But at the same time, Lawson couldn't help but feel hurt by how frightened his roommate and his roommate's best friend was when they had met him. Maybe if they showed off the cool things he could do, they'll love him! Laugh! Be with him forever and forever!
"Aw, I'm sure it's not all bad," the larger guy chuckled as he patted him on the shoulder. Immediately he started moving. This was his chance! His chance to make friends! He started contorting his body in ways that were unimaginable. Unimaginable! Meaning only, he could do it! Were they proud? Were they amazed? Were they-
"I-It m-moves?!" the police officer stepped away from him.
"...I… I think… Is it… Is it just me or is his smile getting wider?" the larger guy took back what he said immediately. It seemed they were both uncomfortable with his presence. He was alone for so many years and when it was time to prove himself... this was what he got in return?
"If I had it in me, I would have this thing shot in no time," the police officer shivered. "But community comes first so best not to get people riled up over the sound of a gunshot…"
"...Yeah, I think I would've preferred if it were like a blue badger instead," the larger guy stepped away from the moving mannequin.
A blue badger? But Lawson was a lamb. Lambs were cuter than badgers. Why?
Why don't they love him?
Was there something wrong with him?
Was there?
And all Lawson could do now was stop moving and watch as they checked out other places in his room. If he could shed a tear, he would. But as of now, all he could do was stick to the one thing he truly was good at:
Smiling.
TRIAL COMMENCE!
"Allow me to remind everyone the rules of this Prison Trial," Monohebi began, coiled up on the large throne that oversaw the 16 podiums. Though in Titus's podium was a mugshot of Titus himself with two X's crudely drawn over his eyes and scribbles to represent fire and possibly hint at the fact that he was burning in Hell. Whoever drew this must've really hated him. "There is a blackened among you. Your job is to argue amongst yourselves to ultimately come to a conclusion on who you think the blackened is. Once you have come to an agreement, you will be permitted to vote on who you think the blackened is. If you vote correctly, only the blackened shall receive punishment. But if you vote incorrectly, then everyone besides the blackened will be punished and the blackened will be able to escape the facility. Any questions?"
"Yeah uh, why is Titus's picture like that?" Mimi perked her head toward the mugshot of Titus.
"Decorative reasons," Monohebi merely stated. "According to Master White Collar, it will help the rest of you feel as if he is still with you in spirit."
"Sick fucking bastard…" Haruto growled.
"And why isn't White Collar here at the moment?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms. "It would be hard to think he would miss something like this in his own twisted game."
"Master has his own front row seat," Monohebi responded. "He is watching the trial proceedings as we speak. But he will join us once the trial proceedings have concluded."
"Fun…" Cassandra rolled her eyes.
"Now with that said, let us begin," Monohebi nodded her head as she flicked her tongue. "Who is it that murdered Titus Erskine?"
"H-How do we figure that out though?" Mimi looked nervous. This was probably her first time being brought to the Court of the Phoenix or at least, something similar to that. She didn't know what to do. She was a good girl. And so were the rest of these people. Besides a select few, none of them could've been the person who did this, right? "Where do we start?"
"Oi, cop," Haruto glanced toward Jared. "You've been to plenty of these court trials, right? So obviously, you should be the one to start us off. Where the fuck do we start?"
"I'm a cop, not a lawyer," Jared corrected. "All I do is give testimony-"
"I asked you how we fucking start, not what the fuck you do for a living, dumbass!" Haruto yelled.
"Temper, temper," Arthur muttered with a sigh.
Jared lowered his police hat as he thought back to his past experiences in the courtroom. Yes, he would be called to testify on the investigation and everything like that. But it's the lawyers that would start things off with opening statements and the likes. Jared cleared his throat. Best to give this a shot.
"Well, we need an opening statement," Jared nodded. "I'll be glad to provide one. So, the victim at hand is Titus Erskine. According to the Autopsy Report, the cause of death was blood loss from a stab wound. Time of death is unknown, most likely because of the fire."
"But we can easily estimate the time of death to be sometime around when the fire started right?" Maggie nodded.
"That does seem to be the case," Abigail nodded as well.
"Then I think the next matter of hand is what caused the stab wound right?" Barracuda asked with a grin. "In that case… Um… so what caused it?"
Barracuda rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Dude, are you fucking with us right now?" Haruto glared at Barracuda. The answer was obvious.
"Idiot," Cassandra scoffed. The answer was obvious.
Arthur didn't even say anything. The answer was obvious.
"H-Hey!" Barracuda looked a little sad. "D-Don't look at me like that! This is my first time in a situation like this! I'm scared and nervous and I can't think straight!"
"What caused the stab wound was the kitchen knife," Jared rubbed his chin. "It was found by Titus's body."
"O-Oh," Barracuda scratched the side of cheek. He looked embarrassed to have asked such a stupid question. "I see, I knew that."
"...Dude," Haruto dreaded the fact that they were potentially all going to die. "You were there when we checked out the knife."
"Idiot," Cassandra scoffed again.
Arthur continued to not say anything.
"H-Hey seriously guys," Barracuda yelled with an embarrassed blush. "This is still my first time! I'm scared and nervous and I still can't think straight!"
"So, the murder weapon at hand is the kitchen knife," Kane folded his arms. "What exactly does that mean though?"
"I'll tell you exactly what it means," Carter played around with his fountain pen. He looked a little serious, or at least, tried his best to look serious. "I… h-have a number one suspect in mind who could very well have been the killer."
"Huh?" Zuri looked at Carter in surprise.
In fact, everyone had turned to Carter in surprise. But the number of eyes that had been staring forced him to shrink back. He gripped his fountain pen tightly and took a deep breath before eyeing his suspect.
"Y-You're my suspect," Carter pointed his pen toward- "Mayu Mashiro."
"Moi?!" Mayu looked both flustered and shocked, throwing her hands in the air with her eyes wide.
"I like how you said her full name," Mimi praised with a small smile. "Made it sound very dramatic."
"Carter, why is she your suspect?" Ina looked at Carter with a serious expression. "Can you provide a reason why you have concluded to such?"
"...I can," Carter looked down as he began to fiddle with a strand of his hair. "B-Because the murder weapon was the kitchen knife, that could only mean that the weapon could've been taken from the kitchen. And at the time, the only one who was relatively close to the kitchen was Mayu, in the Cafeteria, was she not?"
"Oh, I see," Maggie looked a little worried at the thought that someone of Mayu's status could commit murder. "So, you're saying that Mayu could've been the only person to take the kitchen knife from the kitchen, because she was in the Cafeteria."
"Th-That's not true at all!" Mayu exclaimed. She pouted, slapping her cheeks in frustration. "Just because I was in the Cafeteria all day doesn't make me the killer! Anyone could've walked past me to go to the kitchen to get the murder weapon!"
"But when I asked you about your alibi, you stated no one could confirm you were in the Cafeteria the entire time," Arthur gave a rather cold look toward the rich girl.
"Silence you peasant!" Mayu frowned at Carter. "What do you know about alibis? I said what I said. That is an alibi!"
"...Can anyone confirm you were in the Cafeteria the entire time?" Arthur closed his eyes, silently losing his patience.
"W-Well um… no but-" Mayu stated before being interrupted.
"Then it is not an alibi," Arthur glared at Mayu. "Next."
"Um… heh, well you see," Mayu poked the tips of her pointer fingers together. "Um. Well. Yes. It's true. I wasn't in the Cafeteria the entire time. I did go to the kitchen for a bit… But! I only did it for the sake of my tummy! Not for premeditated murder!"
"Hmph," Arthur chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "I have to admit. For a member of the Mashiro Co., this isn't looking very good for you. If you are the killer, then what a shame for you to have been caught so easily."
"Mayu is the killer?" Barracuda blinked before grinning. "Alright. Then the case is closed, right? Can we start voting?"
"You seem way too happy for someone who is about to condemn someone to death," Abigail cringed at Barracuda.
"H-Huh?!" Barracuda looked surprised. "W-What are you talking about?!"
"We're going to fucking die," Haruto mumbled to himself.
"Idiot," Cassandra repeated.
Arthur blankly stared at Barracuda before looking back toward Mayu.
"Well, Mayu, did you do it or did you not do it?" Kane looked at Mayu in concern. "We won't get mad, I promise."
"Um, what?" Haruto turned to Kane with a 'wtf' look.
"I… I… No, I didn't do it," Mayu shook her head frantically, looking terrified at the prospect of everyone ganging up on her. "I swear! I didn't take any kitchen knives or kill Titus!"
"B-But, it's the only way this makes sense," Carter looked at Mayu as he bit his lip. "There's no other place that owns a kitchen knife. Therefore, y-you're our only suspect."
Mayu looked at Carter in shock. Was she really going to get condemned? All because of someone's speculation? No. This was wrong. This was all wrong. She didn't-
"Hold on there, Carter," Jared stopped the current line of questioning. "You're wrong about that. There is another place that owns a kitchen knife."
"W-What?" Carter looked at Jared, jabbing his finger on the wrong side of the pen. That forced him to bite his lip in pain. He was surprised that his theory could be so easily destroyed.
"Of course," Jared gave a nod. "You weren't there when I mentioned it so naturally, you wouldn't have known about it. But there was a kitchen knife in the Evidence Room, in one of the evidence boxes."
"Do you mean the evidence box relating to Sayaka Maizono?" Zuri widened her eyes. "In other words, the same knife that was used to… kill her?"
"...Yes, I think the knife that was used to kill Titus was taken from the Evidence Room," Jared nodded. "Not the kitchen."
"...I suppose Barracuda and I can back up that statement," Holland stated, looking away. "...We checked out the Cafeteria and later the kitchen. I don't believe we noticed anything off in the kitchen. Especially any missing knives..."
"And the knife would've had dried blood on it since it was the knife used to kill Sayaka Maizono as well," Jared noted.
"So that means, the knife had to have come from Sayaka's box!" Barracuda beamed. "There were dried splotches on the knife!"
"If that's the case, then unfortunately that means the rich brat is off the suspect list," Cassandra looked pretty disappointed.
"H-Hey, what do you mean 'unfortunately'?!" Mayu glanced at Cassandra with a pout before turning to Holland and Barracuda with a glare. "Also! Why didn't you say something sooner?! I was about to gain 40 pounds stress-eating while listening to this peasant's incomprehensible theory!"
"...I... I see," Holland glanced toward his wounded leg, slightly disappointed. "...Sorry."
"We didn't know the whole 'nothing off about the kitchen' would be a clue!" Barracuda held up his hands in the air. "Honest!"
"...S-So I was wrong," Carter looked down, placing his pen back into his vest pocket. "S-Sorry. I really thought I was onto something there."
"Um, you should be sorry!" Mayu exclaimed as she began to poke her pouting cheeks with her fingers. "You should kneel before me and apologize for accusing me so rudely like that! You're a bad person! Bad average peasant! Bad bad bad bad bad! If I didn't have money, I'd sue you for every penny you have!"
"Y-You know what, I guess it's well-deserved," Carter slumped his shoulders slightly, his eyes getting teary-eyed at the thought of being sued.
"Don't talk yourself down like that Carter," Maggie reassured him. "You had a valid reason for accusing her. What I do want to know now is what this means. I think it's a fact that the knife came from the Evidence Room. But where does that get us?"
"Well, if the killer got the knife from the Evidence Room, then shouldn't it stand to reason that it would be Jared?" Ina crossed her arms, glancing toward the police officer.
"Wait, huh?" Kane blinked in surprise.
"J-Jared?" Zuri looked shocked at who Ina was accusing.
"...Jared…" Holland muttered under his breath. While his face was emotionless, we can assume that even he was shocked at this accusation.
"W-Wait, why me?" Jared looked the most surprised out of everyone else.
"Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the killer," Ina crossed her arms as she stared at Jared with indifference. "Police officers like you are always a puppet to the Devil's control. Always obeying orders like mindless lap dogs…"
"W-Where is this hostility coming from?" Jared looked at Ina with a hurt expression on his face. "I… I would never kill… Especially not…"
"You dug your own grave when you discredited the theory that it could've been Mayu," Cassandra explained with a rather smug expression on her face. "Because if I remember, didn't you say this?"
"Gosh, the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell sounds like a really dangerous place," Titus noted.
"Well, you can be rest assured that those weapons won't be getting out of the Evidence Room any time soon," Jared tipped his hat with a smile. "Only I have access to the Evidence Room. So, the only things we need to worry about are the guns."
"That's right… only Jared had access to the Evidence Room," Yuumi looked at Jared. Although it wasn't accusatory, she did look slightly ashamed.
They all did.
And Jared hated it.
"And if only he had access to the Evidence Room…" Zuri continued Yuumi's train of thought. "Then only he could've taken the knife from Sayaka's box."
"N-No wait, guys, I didn't do it!" Jared said. "I never took the knife out of the Evidence Room!"
"B-But you yourself stated the knife had to have come from the Evidence Room," Carter looked at Jared with a frown. "W-Was that just a slip of the tongue… or a confession?"
"I just said that to clear Mayu's name," Jared looked worried. "The knife… it should've still been in the… I…"
Jared took off his police hat and began biting onto it with worry.
"I-It wasn't me; I swear, I wouldn't do something like this!" Jared yelled. "I vowed to protect you guys. Not take a life!"
"...I'm sorry Jared, but you're the only one who had access to the Evidence Room," Kane looked down. "Unless the knife somehow walked out of the room into someone else's hands, I can't see how-"
"...No, someone else had access to the Evidence Room," Abigail rubbed her chin in thought, remembering what she had seen during the Investigation.
On the screen displayed three things. The first, she wasn't surprised with:
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ACCESS GRANTED: JARED CAERTAS
...
Jared of course had access. This was his Ultimate Cell after all. In fact, he was the only one who had access to this cell. That's where the issue arises from. He was supposed to be the only one who had access.
The next two things that were displayed relayed the same message:
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ACCESS GRANTED: ARTHUR KINGSTON
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ACCESS GRANTED: ARTHUR KINGSTON
"There's a computer in the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell that records whoever attempts to enter the Evidence Room," Abigail stated. "Some of you already knew that. And Cassandra especially saw what the computer said as well, so she can back me up or just say it for me. After all, she probably wasn't ever going to tell any of us what the name she saw on it was, had I not gone and checked for myself."
Cassandra crossed her arms with a slight scowl.
"You really think I'm that much of an asshole?" Cassandra couldn't help but feel amused at the thought of it. "I was only keeping this to myself because the topic never came up. But hey, what do you know, the topic's coming up now."
"Yeah, it is," Haruto glared at Cassandra. "So, what the fuck did you guys see on that computer?"
Cassandra gave a slight huff of arrogance as she eyed one person in particular. If losing didn't result in death, she wouldn't have given them the answer out of spite. But unfortunately, losing meant she would lose too. And she sure didn't want that. Besides, even if she didn't say anything, Abbygail would've said something. She saw what was on that computer too.
"Just your average 'Access Denied' and 'Access Granted' but for a different name," Cassandra stated. Cassandra glanced at the prince-looking snowboarder: "...Arthur."
"P-Prince Arthur?!" Mimi looked at Arthur in shock.
Arthur looked annoyed that he was being called 'Prince Arthur' again.
"I-Is she telling the truth Abigail?" Carter glanced toward Abigail. "W-Was Arthur's name really…?"
"...You can bet it was," Abigail frowned, folding her arms as she glanced at the snowboarder. "Besides Jared's, Arthur's name was the only one that came up... twice."
Yuumi didn't even look shocked. She tightened her grip on Sailor Penguin as she looked at the person who had betrayed her trust during the Minigame.
"W-What," Kane blinked before slamming his fist on his podium. "Hey! How in the bullocks did you even get access to the Evidence Room?!"
"I thought Jared was the only one with access to the Evidence Room," Zuri held her hands to her heart, looking surprised by this revelation. "That's why we accused him. I… I'm sorry Jared."
"...It's fine," Jared placed his police hat back onto his head. "It was a setback but what's important now is getting to the bottom of this. How did Arthur get access to the Evidence Room?"
"Hey Kingston," Haruto growled. "You better speak up now or I'm dunking you down to the center of the Earth."
"I know of several interrogational techniques that we can use should he refuse to talk," Ina stretched out her arms as she stared at Arthur with a venomous glance.
"Although violence is encouraged for the sake of the Killing Game, please refrain from violence in this Prison Trial," Monohebi spoke up from her large throne. "Such violence will result in contempt of court. In other words, execution."
"Y-You stole the knife, didn't you?" Yuumi looked toward Arthur, trembling slightly. "Y-You went into the Evidence Room, took the knife, and killed Titus. All for what? Just to play the game?"
Arthur didn't say anything.
"Y-You're terrible Arthur Kingston!" Yuumi yelled, pointing her finger in frustration. "It's as I said before! You're a horrible person!"
"Well Arthur?" Maggie asked. "Got anything to say? We can't just wait for you to respond. We need something to go off of."
"...S-Should we vote then?" Holland asked, quietly.
"Not yet," Ina cracked her knuckles. "I'll make him speak."
"...I just said…" Monohebi stopped and sighed. "Very well. If you wish to do something violent in this sacred Prison Trial, then by all means, it is your funeral."
"There is no need for that," Arthur finally spoke up. "I'll confess. Yes, I did indeed gain access to the Evidence Room. But taking the kitchen knife and killing Titus? Why on earth would I do something so foolish?"
"Because you wanted to leave?" Mimi answered.
"And where will I go once I leave?" Arthur asked. "Who's to say White Collar will even keep his word and let you live once you get away with murder? Questions like these are why I am not the killer nor the one who took the knife."
"Bullshit," Haruto glared at Arthur. "You fucking sound like Assandra."
Cassandra glared back at Haruto. What the fuck did he just call her?
"How the fuck did you gain access to the Evidence Room, then?" Haruto had continued, ignoring Cassandra's glare and looking at Arthur with a threatening look. "They don't sell 2 Evidence Room keycards for 20 dollars here y'know."
"...Shouldn't you know the answer to that?" Arthur asked. "After all, you and I share a common trait."
"A common trait?" Zuri blinked as she attempted to figure out what that could be. "What do you mean?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Cassandra gave a smug spiteful look as she glanced between Haruto and Arthur. "They're both assholes."
"Look who's talking bitch!" Haruto turned to Cassandra with an angry scowl.
"...I… I think…" Carter rubbed his chin, fiddling with his vest pocket. "C-Could he be referring to the Minigame? The Prisoner's Dilemma?"
"What do you mean Carter?" Maggie blinked.
"W-Well… think back to the rules of the Minigame…" Carter pointed out.
"If Person A chooses Trust and Person B chooses Distrust, Person B will receive an advantage in the Killing Game, while Person A will receive a rather nasty disadvantage along with the videos," Monohebi answered. "Those are the rules of the Minigame."
"Oh right, the nasty disadvantage," Yuumi looked down, still feeling the pain of having been betrayed so casually by Arthur.
"No, not the disadvantage," Zuri blinked, hit with realization. "He's referring to the advantage someone would get if they chose Distrust and if their opponent chose Trust. And that means…"
"...The advantage was… access to the Evidence Room," Maggie widened her eyes as she glanced toward Arthur.
"Then that means, anyone who had access to the Evidence Room is our suspect!" Barracuda declared.
"No, Jared and Arthur would be our only suspects," Abigail pointed out. "They were the only names on the computer."
"But if Arthur got access to the Evidence Room, then what did you get Abigail?" Mimi asked. "You… distrusted Titus too. So, you must've gotten something as well."
"...I got the same thing as Arthur," Abigail nodded. "I'm sure Haruto and Ina did as well. They were the only other people besides me and Arthur to distrust someone who trusted."
"...Yeah," Haruto scratched the back of his neck, remembering his little argument with Yuumi over such a 'prize'. "I didn't get to use it because it seemed pretty useless at the time."
"Same here," Ina folded her arms together. "The advantage does not help my resolve."
"What did the advantage say specifically?" Kane asked, pushing himself forward the podium.
Before any of the three could answer, Monohebi spoke up.
"Allow me to answer that," Monohebi declared. "This is what was told to those who successfully distrusted someone who trusted them:
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'Congratulations on receiving this advantage in the Killing Game. There is no expiration for its usage, meaning you will be allowed to use it for the duration of the Killing Game. You can now access any room with a locked active keypad using your eHandbook. This will include Ultimate Cells as well.'
...
"Wait so, that also means," Jared began as he tipped his police hat. "As long as someone has that advantage, they can access Titus's Ultimate Cell if we were to come across it in the future. Right?"
"And any other cell really," Abigail nodded.
"Which could also include…" Maggie eyed Cassandra. The latter didn't seem to catch on, but Maggie had a thought that could potentially point to figuring out what exactly her Ultimate Talent was.
"Yeah well, let's care about the Ultimate Cells later," Haruto grumbled. "That's not important right now. What's important is that the rich smug shitbag used the advantage to get into the Evidence Room. Therefore, he was the only one who could've taken the knife that was used to kill Titus!"
"Did you really call Mayu a 'he'?" Cassandra gave a smirk as she smugly looked toward Mayu. The latter hissed and glared back at the unknown talent.
"So then, that's it?" Mimi blinked. "Is it… actually Arthur?"
"I wouldn't object to voting for him," Yuumi crossed her arms as she avoided looking at the man who had so coldly betrayed her. "Anything else he says is only him trying to save his blubbery skin."
"Blubbery skin-" Arthur raised an eyebrow before clearing his throat. He smirked and shook his head. "Unfortunately for your insane fantasy of trying to condemn me to death, I have to say that if you vote for me, the rest of you besides the killer, will be condemned along with me."
"So, you are not the killer then?" Ina stared at Arthur. "You deny all accusations against you?"
"Precisely," Arthur smirked.
"Then why was your name on the computer screen?" Abigail looked at Arthur with the most bored expression on her face. "Are you seriously going to suggest that it was hacked or something?"
"Maybe by someone named Lance!" Mimi raised her hand.
"What?" Carter looked at her strangely.
"...Who knows why my name was on the computer log?" Arthur asked. "You say that my name was on the log twice, correct? I will admit, I did enter the room, but I only entered the room once. That is the honest truth."
"I will drown out your fishy words!" Yuumi exclaimed as she flipped her sailor hat around, holding Sailor Penguin tightly.
"...Excuse me?" Arthur blankly stared at Yuumi.
"You're lying!" Yuumi exclaimed in slight anger. "You have to be the killer! Only someone so mean and cruel would do something so horrible to Titus! And the only person here who is mean and cruel is you!"
"Yo, Cassandra is literally right there," Haruto jerked his thumb toward Cassandra who merely flipped him off in return.
"Um, Yuumi," Kane wiped some random pottery on the ground. "A-Are you sure you aren't taking this a little too far?"
"Yeah Yuumi," Barracuda looked at Yuumi. "You're… starting to scare us."
"I… I can't forgive someone like Arthur for betraying me so cruelly like that," Yuumi squeezed Sailor Penguin tightly. Sailor Penguin himself was having trouble breathing… not that plush toys could breathe but still. "I can't forgive him. And given how cold he was during the Minigame, it has to be Arthur! He has to be the killer! He killed Titus because he was just playing the game!"
"Y-Yuumi, you need to calm down and stop thinking with your emotions," Jared tried to reason with the sailor. "Do you even have any evidence that Arthur is the culprit?"
"...Isn't the computer log enough?" Yuumi frowned. "Arthur was caught entering the Evidence Room twice on the log. That has to mean that Arthur went in to gather the things necessary for the murder! Like the kitchen knife!"
"Then why did he enter the Evidence Room twice if he was trying to commit murder?" Abigail looked at Yuumi, a little annoyed at how the sailor was acting. "Doesn't that seem… a little strange to anyone else or just me?"
"Well think about it this way," Yuumi tugged on her tie as she began to sweat. "Did the computer logs have any timestamps?"
"I… no," Abigail looked away.
"Then there you have it!" Yuumi beamed, looking a little more hopeful. It was clear she was doing everything she could to prove Arthur as the killer. "If there is no timestamp then think about it this way. Maybe Arthur went to the Evidence Room early in the morning to search for something. After that, he exited but then he made up his mind about killing someone. So, he goes back a second time! Wouldn't that explain the Evidence Room two times conundrum?"
"The lengths you will go to prove me a murderer is depressing," Arthur sighed. "Then I suppose I'll have to solve the conundrum for you. My eHandbook is missing… or at the very least… it's been replaced."
"W-What?" Yuumi tugged on her tie once more before banging Sailor Penguin on the podium. Sailor Penguin didn't like that. "N-No! Proof! Give me proof that-"
"Here's the proof," Arthur raised up his eHandbook… or what everyone assumed to be his eHandbook. He let it start. Normally, when an eHandbook boots up, the eHandbook would show the name of its user. Instead, it showed the name:
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...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
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Isadora De La Vega
"...Happy now?" Arthur sighed.
"N-No…" Yuumi widened her eyes. Arthur… wasn't the killer? But it can't be! How could someone so mean, cruel, and cold be innocent for this heinous crime? How?! "N-Nooooooooooooooooo-ACK!"
Yuumi pulled her tie tightly, forcing her to choke on her cry of defeat before she slowly dropped to her knees. She let go of her tie and looked to be fading away. That was when Sailor Penguin jumped up and slapped her cheek multiple times in hopes of waking her up.
It worked.
Sailor Penguin was now just a toy and Yuumi now had a temporary red mark over her neck from her breakdown animation.
...
Isadora De La Vega.
"...Isadora... De La… Vega?" Holland's straight-faced expression looked slightly confused by this turn of events. "...Your name is Isadora De La Vega?"
"Obviously not!" Arthur slammed his hands on the podium, glaring at Holland. "This isn't even my eHandbook!"
"Oh... so that's why…" Ina tapped her chin. She recalled Arthur's actions during the Investigation.
That was when Carter, Mayu, and Ina left. Ina trudged behind however, staring at the handiwork she had made. Then she looked in front and left.
Arthur watched as they left before taking out his eHandbook. All he did at that point was stare at it in thought.
"I wondered why you were so focused on your eHandbook that entire time," Ina finally understood. "Because… your eHandbook was switched."
"But then, who the fuck is Isadora De La Vega?" Haruto growled. "Everyone's name here seems fucking normal to me."
"Wasn't someone here named after a fish?" Cassandra folded her arms with a frown. She turned her head toward Barracuda. She obviously couldn't be bothered to remember what fish, but she did at least remember who had the name. "Yeah… wasn't it you? Maybe you changed your name because being called Isadora meant all the other bigger kids would pick on you."
"Uh… Barracuda is… a good name," Barracuda looked down.
"Leave him alone Cassandra," Maggie glared at the unknown talent. "Even if Isadora is his name, that's no right to go and say something like that."
"Is your actual name Isadora, Barracuda?" Zuri looked at Barracuda expectantly.
Barracuda quickly shook his head in denial. He clenched his fist as he hunched over with a sad look in his eyes, almost like a wounded bear.
"N-No!" Barracuda insisted. "My name is a good name. Barracuda is a good name! Besides, Isadora is… Isadora is a girl's name, and I am not a girl!"
"W-Well if it's not you, then who else could it be?" Carter asked.
"I got it!" Kane grinned. "We should all show our eHandbooks right now, and whoever does not have their own eHandbook will be the one known as Isadora De La Vega."
"Actually..." Arthur folded his arms. "Don't you remember anyone here who had supposedly forgotten their eHandbook?"
"...Now that you mention it..." Holland looked away in thought, expressionless.
"Wait..." Yuumi widened her eyes. "N-No way..."
She turned to the identity of the name. She knew it. At this point, everyone knew it. How could they not?
"Um… I… seem to have misplaced mine," they tapped the ends of their index fingers together.
"You… lost your eHandbook?" Monohebi stared at them, incredulously.
"N-No, I misplaced mine!" they exclaimed with a rather cute pout. "I think I left it in my room when you told us to go here…"
...
...
...
"...Y-Yeah... it's me..." came the voice of one Mimi Kazoo. Her mouth was trembling as she looked down in shame. Most of the people in this Trial looked surprised to hear that it was Mimi whose real name was Isadora De La Vega. However, no one was as surprised as Yuumi, who had just recovered from nearly choking herself.
"M-Mimi?" Yuumi asked, looking a little frightened at the implications.
"...N-No… My real name is… Isadora De La Vega," Mimi admitted as she looked down. "Mimi Kazoo is just… a title I gave to myself as the little girl who records her journeys in the enchanted forest."
"The fuck you say?" Haruto stared at Mimi in bewilderment.
"She means pen name," Maggie pointed out. "Mimi Kazoo is the name she goes by on the cover of her stories. Right?"
Mimi glanced toward Maggie before nodding. She looked ashamed as she did so. Ashamed of having lied to the people she had grown close to. Ashamed of having lied to. No. Not again. Why?…
"...Mimi?" Yuumi couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I… You lied to me? I… I thought we were friends. I thought we were best friends."
"W-We are Yuumi," Mimi looked a little teary-eyed when she saw her friend's betrayed look on her face. "We are the best of friends! I even made spells so we can always be friends! W-Why do you look so… angry?"
Yuumi didn't say anything. Instead, it looked as if Yuumi's emotional state had been shut down. As if the sailor just didn't want to be bothered with these people. She trusted Arthur. She trusted Mimi. She trusted these people. And trusting them led to Titus getting killed, her getting betrayed, her being lied to. She couldn't believe it.
"Y-Yuumi, please, say something," Mimi sniffled as she began to fear the worst. What if Yuumi didn't want to be her friend anymore? What if Yuumi wanted to leave her? No. That simply wasn't possible, right?
"...Why didn't you tell me?" Yuumi asked Mimi. "Best friends tell each other everything and yet you never told me that your real name was Isadora. You lied to me and made me think Mimi Kazoo was actually your name. Something as simple as a name and you couldn't even tell me. I don't even know what to call you anymore. I just…"
Yuumi looked absolutely miserable as she avoided looking at Mimi, who in turn was pleading toward the sailor with her eyes.
"J-Just call me Mimi!" Mimi cried out. "Mimi is my name! I'm sorry for lying! P-Please don't hate me…"
Yuumi didn't bother responding. But the shameful look Yuumi gave her forced Mimi to cower behind her podium, hiding her face underneath her witch's hat. Was this really the end of their friendship?
"P-Please say something Yuumi," Mimi begged. "I'm… I'm sorry. I still want to be friends. I'm so sorry for lying. I won't ever lie again please…"
Mimi slowly peeked toward Yuumi. She was afraid of the glance shared toward her. Yuumi's eyes were filled with so much hate. Rightful hate as Yuumi slammed Sailor Penguin on the podium once more.
"...Was it you Mimi?" Yuumi asked, her face looking so miserable and dreadful after a quick succession of betrayal and heartbreak. Just two days ago, they were having fun with a party and everything. Then the day after that, Arthur betrayed her so cruelly. Today, Titus's dead corpse was found. Present time, she had just found out that her so-called best friend had been lying to her. What could she believe at this point? How was she supposed to feel? Glad that the truth came out? Ignore the painful feeling of betrayal?
None of those. She wasn't going to feel any of those. Instead, just cold-hearted distrust…
...
"Did you kill Titus?" Yuumi looked at Mimi, her eyes trickling with tears.
"N-No, I didn't!" Mimi exclaimed. "I'm not a bad witch! I would never do that to-"
"Then why was your eHandbook with Arthur?!" Yuumi yelled. "The person who killed Titus had to have had Arthur's eHandbook! And if your eHandbook was with Arthur then-"
"N-No, I don't have his eHandbook!" Mimi shook her head, her eyes beginning to well up in tears as she watched Yuumi yell at her of all people. "I don't know when I lost my eHandbook! P-Please stop yelling at me! It's… It's scary…"
"Then who has Arthur's eHandbook?!" Haruto banged his fist on his podium.
"I- I d-don't know!" Mimi started to cry. The intense atmosphere of this topic was too much for her. All the glares. All the yelling. And worse was Yuumi, at the center of it all, yelling at her, her best friend. "I- I r-really don't kn-know. P-Please s-stop y-yelling. P-Please… P-Please…"
"Great, now I can barely understand what she's saying through all that crying," Cassandra stated, rolling her eyes. "You're our number one suspect at this point so stop crying and start testifying."
"B-But I- I- d-don't-" Mimi stammered. Cassandra's cold stare started to force Mimi to break down into sweat and tears. She couldn't do this. She really didn't know. Why didn't they believe her? Why didn't they trust what she said? Why was this happening to her? "I-"
"That's enough," Maggie glared at Cassandra before returning the glares to Haruto and Yuumi. "What the hell is your guys' problem huh? So what if Mimi's real name is actually Isadora? That's literally no reason for you guys to start ganging up on her like that. I honestly expected that behavior from Haruto and Cassandra but Yuumi? You of all people would treat your own best friend like that?"
Yuumi looked away. She didn't look ashamed. She didn't look sad. She didn't look angry. Instead, she looked empty. And she tried too hard not to show how empty her eyes were.
"So what, you going to start protecting a murderer?" Cassandra looked a little dumbfounded as she stared at Maggie.
"We don't know Mimi's a murderer," Maggie folded her arms. "It's innocent until proven guilty."
"But then why did Arthur have Mimi's eHandbook?" Zuri asked.
"...My guess is that she switched hers with his," Holland deduced. "...Which means that she should have Arthur's eHandbook."
"B-But I don't!" Mimi insisted.
"Or maybe Arthur switched his with hers," Maggie contested. "Can you doubt that possibility?"
"Yes, because that would be silly for me to switch my own eHandbook with someone else's," Arthur frowned. "Besides, why would I ever do that? The person who took the knife had to have my own eHandbook in order for the computer log to make sense. Furthermore, they would have had the time to go in and out without anyone seeing them. Where would they find the time for that?"
"Or… where would anyone find the time to take Arthur's eHandbook and replace it with Isa- I mean, Mimi's," Mayu widened her eyes in realization.
Everyone turned to Mayu. She made a solid point. They were all so caught up on the fact that Arthur had Mimi's eHandbook and the possibility that Mimi could have Arthur's eHandbook that they completely disregarded the time in which Mimi could've taken Arthur's eHandbook and switched it with her own.
There was a new question of interest now.
"That's right," Zuri nodded in agreement with Mayu. "We need to know when those eHandbooks were switched around. Was there any moment in time where Arthur and Mimi were in the same room together?"
"There was only one," Abigail pointed out. "And that was when Haruto and Yuumi were fighting."
"Yeah, that's right," Kane nodded in agreement. "Everyone was there in the Cafeteria when they had that argument. Cassandra was the only one not there and Zuri came late to alert us of a possible escape route."
"So then, that must be when the eHandbooks were switched!" Mayu began to drool proudly.
"Oi, quit your drooling," Haruto glared at Mayu. "All that did was prove when it could've happened. How does that align with when someone would find the time to go to the Evidence Room after that- Wait."
Haruto's brain started turning. He widened his eyes. He had a brain blast of an idea. It was a plausible theory, but it made sense. And it just came rushing into him out of nowhere…
"Holy shit," Haruto began to pretend that he was dribbling a basketball on top of the podium as he bit his fingers.
"What is it?" Ina raised an eyebrow toward Haruto.
"I just thought of something," Haruto stopped dribbling and rubbed the back of his neck. "Essentially, the problem is that whoever took Arthur's eHandbook had to go into the Evidence Room to grab the knife and come out without anyone noticing. Right?"
"Yes, your point is?" Ina folded her arms.
"Couldn't they have taken it in the middle of our fight?" Haruto suggested. "We were all there in the fucking Cafeteria, right? And we also established that they could've only done the whole switcheroo thing when we had that fight. So, what if the culprit took Arthur's eHandbook and just fucked off toward the Evidence Room while all hell was breaking loose in the Cafeteria."
"Your point is… valid," Arthur began to consider this fact.
"Now that you mention it," Maggie widened her eyes. "We were all really preoccupied with what was going on that none of us would've really known if someone left."
"Bingo," Haruto nodded. "That was the perfect chance for the culprit to go to the Evidence Room and take the knife."
"But it's only a theory," Kane pointed out. "There's no evidence to back up that statement!"
"Fuck the evidence!" Haruto pretended that he was holding a basketball and getting ready to take a shot. It looked fucking ridiculous. "I know I'm right about this. What other time would the culprit even have to get the knife? A moment where everyone was distracted was the perfect moment to go to the Evidence Room and take the knife."
"Then, does anyone recall seeing anyone leave?" Abigail asked, crossing her arms, looking a little distressed.
There was a brief pause of silence. But amongst the silence, someone trembled and stood out to the rest. Jared was the quickest to catch on to this. He raised an eyebrow, looked a little nervous and sympathetic but nevertheless called out a name:
"...Zuri," Jared looked toward the Ultimate Bassist. "You're twiddling your fingers as if you're nervous. Do you know something?"
"Wait a minute," Kane widened his eyes. "Of course! She came late after all! She would've seen the person who left!"
Zuri remained quiet.
"Zuri?" Mimi looked toward her.
"Hey, if you're not going to speak up then you and everyone else is going to die!" Cassandra glared at Zuri. "So say something!"
Zuri looked down. She didn't want to. She was hesitating. But why? Why was she hesitating? No. She knew the answer to that. The answer to who could've taken the kitchen knife. It was now so obvious but had its own sets of questions.
She recalled that one instance:
They sighed and left their seat while everyone in the room focused on the fight. Tucking their eHandbook in their pockets, they prepared to leave the Cafeteria. That was when Zuri came in with a pant.
"Huh?" Zuri blinked, looking at them. "Where are you going? And… what's going on here?"
"...I dislike conflict," they sighed. "I'm going back to my room."
"Oh, okay," Zuri gave them a small nod of understanding. Once they had left the Cafeteria, Zuri pushed forward toward the crowd. "I… What is going on here?"
...
...
...
"Say s-"
"...I saw Holland leave the Cafeteria," Zuri looked down, closing her eyes, feeling guilty that she had to give up a good friend of hers like this. "He left when I arrived at the Cafeteria…"
"Wha-" Haruto widened his eyes.
"H-Holland?" Carter looked shocked.
"Him?!" Ina looked surprised by this too. She never expected Holland to be a possible suspect in all this.
Holland looked away.
"Then that means…" Jared couldn't believe it. Holland was the first person he had met in this place. But not only did the guy force him to vote Distrust in the Minigame, now he was a prime suspect for the death of one of their allies. "Holland. You took the kitchen knife?"
Holland looked back toward the confused glances and glares of his peers. He had been quiet all this time. Now was the time he got to speak. He sighed.
"...No," Holland denied. "It wasn't me who went to the Evidence Room to take the knife."
"Then why did you leave the Cafeteria?" Mayu glared at Holland, not believing his denial.
"...As I told Zuri," Holland's eyes looked toward Zuri before looking back toward Mayu. His face was completely emotionless, unfazed that he was now suspect number one. "I dislike conflicts. That's why I left. I only went to my room shortly after that."
"C-Cassandra, think you can prove that?" Carter turned toward her.
"Fuck if I know who enters what room at what certain time of day," Cassandra glared at Carter. "What? You think I spend my free time staring out of the peepholes of my own room?!"
"O-Oh," Carter looked down. "M-My bad."
"Then your alibi during that time does not hold any water," Arthur coldly stared toward Holland. "It's dry and pathetic. In other words, give me back my eHandbook."
Arthur held out his hands with a menacing gaze.
"...I don't get why you all think I'm the murderer," Holland looked away. "...Sure. I may have left to avoid conflict. But couldn't someone else have left as well? Besides, if you have forgotten, I was attacked by the same person who killed Titus. I've lost the ability to walk properly because of that person. Couldn't that person have been someone else in that Cafeteria during that fight?"
"D-Did anyone see anyone else leave the Cafeteria?" Carter asked.
"...No, but then again, we were all preoccupied with what was going on that we wouldn't have noticed if anyone else had left," Kane rubbed his chin.
"I still adamantly think that it's Holland, that little shit!" Haruto growled.
"W-Wait, maybe we should also consider some other facts too," Zuri pointed out. "Like… maybe Holland is right. Maybe someone else left the Cafeteria."
"Yeah, but who else could've left?" Abigail gave a tired glance at Zuri. "We were all there, present and accounted for except for Cassandra."
"I got it!" Barracuda exclaimed. "Maybe it was Cassandra who went into the Evidence Room!"
"Cassandra had to be in the actual Cafeteria to steal Arthur's eHandbook you fucking idiot," Cassandra glared toward Barracuda. "So, no. It wasn't me."
"We're thinking too hard about this," Mayu pointed her finger with an adamant look on her face. "We're too occupied with the idea that someone else could've left when we should be pursuing the one, we know left early. Therefore, let's work with the idea that Holland did indeed leave early to use Arthur's eHandbook!"
"Mayu's right," Jared agreed. He tipped his police hat. "We're going to be forced into a stalemate if we continue that line of thinking."
"...I am not the killer," Holland looked away, avoiding the gazes of his peers who were going through with the suspicions and the paranoid glances.
"...No stone left unturned Holland," Jared looked at Holland with a rather neutral expression on his face. He had considered Holland a friend at one point. Then the Minigame occurred. And now this. From friend to a potential criminal.
And Jared hated criminals.
"So, Holland leaves the Cafeteria and heads into my Ultimate Cell," Jared began.
"Then, using my eHandbook, he gains access to the Evidence Room and finds the kitchen knife," Arthur continued.
"Then by the time everyone had separated, Holland meets Titus in the Prison Lounge… and stabs him," Ina folded her arms.
"The pieces are starting to fit much better than before," Maggie crossed his arms.
"Your deductions play a dangerous game," Holland stated, his eyes flaming but his facial expression never changing.
"H-Holland?" Zuri blinked.
"...You guys insist that I'm the one who stabbed Titus but there's no evidence of that," Holland flipped his hood over his head. "Do I have to remind you guys again? I have an alibi for when Titus had perished."
"You're talking about the fire," Kane looked toward Holland.
"...Exactly," Holland tapped his chin. "...You see, the fire started when everyone found me bleeding in the bathroom. And we know for sure that the real killer had to be the one who started the fire."
"How can you conclude something like that?" Ina raised an eyebrow toward the game designer.
"...It's simple," Holland stated matter-of-factly. "...Why else would someone try to burn the Prison Lounge where Titus had been killed?"
It didn't take long before someone came up with an answer.
"T-To get rid of the evidence…" Jared widened his eyes.
"...And it almost worked, didn't it?" Holland looked away as he sighed. "The fire really messed with the time of death because of the extreme heat temperatures after all."
"So, your argument is that you cannot be the culprit because one, you were stabbed and bleeding in the bathroom and thus were not able to create the fire to destroy a crime you may have committed," Arthur closed his eyes in thought. "Is that it?"
"...Yeah," Holland neutrally nodded.
"And who did you say attacked you again?" Abigail looked at Holland, still unconvinced. This guy had a solid point, but him being the one to take the knife from the Evidence Room made so much sense. How did his attack get tied into this?
"...I'm not too sure but I believe it was Lawson the Lamb," Holland answered.
He was met by a few glances that said: 'Are you serious'. Most of which were from Abigail.
"How could it seriously be Lawson the goddamn Lamb?" Abigail bluntly stared at Holland. "For a deranged testimony, that's a little bit of a reach if you expect any of us to believe that."
"Augh, no no no!" Carter exclaimed. "Th-Then… could it be? Could Lawson the Lamb have been the one who attacked Holland and killed Titus?! I knew that thing was out to get us! We have to vote! H-How do we vote for Lawson the Lamb?!"
"...You cannot vote for an inanimate object," Monohebi stated.
"D-Did you not hear Holland?!" Carter looked frightened. "Lawson the Lamb is the killer! He's the blackened!"
"...I really do hope you're joking," Monohebi didn't seem amused by Carter's cries.
"There is no need to worry anyway," Ina crossed her arms. "Lawson the Lamb has been found burned to a crisp in my Ultimate Cell. Whatever demon has been possessing it can go back to Hell."
"...Yeah, I'm still not buying this story," Abigail frowned. "You really expect me to believe that a mannequin like Lawson the Lamb can just come alive and walk around? That's a load of bullshit if you ask me."
"But Lawson the Lamb has done that before," Zuri pointed out. "So, I don't necessarily think Holland may be lying. I mean, he was there yesterday at the Cafeteria. Just out of nowhere."
"Yeah, and he kept stalking me around like I was on his d-death list or s-something!" Carter hugged himself tightly.
"Then there's the fact that Holland did in fact get stabbed," Zuri continued. "So… there has to be truth to Holland's words. I mean, why would he lie about it being Lawson the Lamb? It must be true because Holland was attacked."
"...Thank you, Zuri," Holland fiddled with his hoodie.
"No, I still refuse to believe it," Abigail shook her head. "There's something seriously wrong with Holland's little, tall tale."
"...What's wrong with it?" Holland sighed as he looked at Abigail.
"It is the way Lawson the Lamb moves," Arthur answered. "Mayu and I investigated this, but Lawson the Lamb moves by contorting his limbs."
"Yeah, that's right," Mayu blinked. "We checked out the limbs and noted how it worked when we found its body. Basically, the legs twist around and don't actually move anywhere but 360 degrees around. Same thing with its feet. Meaning…"
"It would have a hell of a shit time walking," Haruto answered. "Yeah. I get it now. But… then how the fuck does that thing keep showing up everywhere?"
"...Um…" Yuumi twiddled her fingers.
"Yuumi?" Mimi blinked at the sailor who had finally opened her mouth to say something.
Yuumi didn't acknowledge Mimi. Instead, she just looked down and chuckled nervously.
"...That… may be my fault," Yuumi stated. She held up Sailor Penguin and held him tight.
"...Y-Yuumi, what did you do?" Carter looked at her dumbfounded.
"Ah heh… Um, I didn't think you were referring to that Lamb thing…" Yuumi squeezed Sailor Penguin tightly.
Carter remembered what she was referring to:
"H-Hey, hey hey hey!" Carter frowned. "Don't just act like what happened is nothing! We were talking about that lamb thing running around at night!"
"Lamb thing?" Yuumi perked her head confused. "Hmm, I don't think I know any lamb things. Do you know anything, Sailor Penguin?"
She looked toward her companion toy. As expected, Sailor Penguin didn't say anything. It was a toy that didn't seem to have any sort of voice lines or functions that could make it speak. In other words, waiting for a response from the toy penguin was practically hopeless.
"Mmm, sorry, I guess we can't help you there," Yuumi giggled innocently.
For Mimi, she remembered something else:
"Hello Sailor Penguin!" Mimi made sure to greet as well. It was only common courtesy! "What are you two doing here?"
"We're supposed to be waiting for someone else," Yuumi smiled at Mimi before poking her own cheek in thought. "But… they haven't arrived yet. In fact, we haven't seen them all day! Maybe they're sick?"
"W-Wait… this Lawson the Lamb person was who you were waiting for?" Mimi looked surprised.
"And the party!" Carter exclaimed, clutching his head.
"W-Why… is it… here?!"
Carter had fallen to the floor as he stared into the creepy bulging eyes of Lawson the Lamb, who was merely standing in the middle of the Prison Lounge, waiting for any party members to arrive. As it turned out, it seemed like everything had been all set: the tables were moved and arranged together in order to provide a place for the food and there were some random confetti on the floor (probably from Mimi).
But the only thing off about everything was Lawson's presence. And Carter, Titus, Mayu, and Ina weren't too happy to see this thing here. Moreso Carter compared to everyone else.
"Th-This thing has to be possessed!" Carter exclaimed. "It has to be! This is the second time now!"
"Y-You invited him?!" Carter exclaimed. "Th-Then all this time…!"
"...I'm sorry," Yuumi looked down. "When you mentioned the lamb thing, I didn't think you were talking about Sailor Penguin's new friend, Lawson."
"What did you even think Lawson was?!" Jared looked flabbergasted by this revelation.
"...A goat," Yuumi hid her face behind Sailor Penguin.
"...Y-You know what, th-that's fair," Jared couldn't blame her after hearing that. His mind on the other hand was still processing this turn of events.
"But his name is on the tag," Ina bluntly stared at Yuumi.
"Y-Yeah but, Lawson the Lamb is such a silly name for a goat," Yuumi chuckled sheepishly. "So, I call him the Good Goat!"
"Great name Yuumi!" Mimi exclaimed, hoping to reach for Yuumi's approval again. Yuumi didn't seem to acknowledge this either.
"Okay, so we established that the… Lamb thing… cannot walk on its own," Ina concluded. "Where does that leave us then?"
"It's simple, really," Arthur smirked, brushing his hair aside as if the cold winter air had been blowing toward his face. "It leaves us with the irrefutable fact that our supposed victim had been lying to us from the very beginning."
Holland pulled on his hoodie strings tightly, forcing the hoodie to close up and hide his entire face. While his face probably remained emotionless, his actions spoke much more than what his facial features had to offer.
"H-Holland," Zuri looked at him in shock. "I-Is this true? Were you really… lying to us?"
Holland didn't say anything. He was breathing heavily beneath that hoodie. In fact, one could probably see sweat drops seep through his head down to his chin.
"But this doesn't make any sense!" Jared exclaimed, his mind still trying to figure out where all of this could lead. "If Holland lied about Lawson the Lamb attacking him, then… who attacked him and why would he lie about who it was that really attacked him?"
"Maybe it was someone he's close with," Kane rubbed his chin. "Like… the American girl over there! The one that looks like a Sarah! He lied to protect her!"
He pointed his finger to Zuri.
"Y-You know my name," Zuri groaned inwardly at Kane's obsession of dubbing her the 'American girl'. She gave Kane a slight frown. "Oh, and why would I ever want to hurt Holland? He's my friend and I would never hurt my friends like that!"
"Then why else would he lie about it being the fucking Lamb that attacked him?!" Haruto growled.
"Maybe the dark servant who defeated Titus blackmailed Holland into lying," Mimi suggested.
"Cassandra seems like the type to do that," Mayu pointed out.
"Hey, first of all, fuck you," Cassandra flipped the bird toward Mayu. "Second of all, are you guys' serious right now?"
"What is it now Cassandra?" Ina sighed. She found this bitch to be a little tiresome.
"Let me spell it out for you as simple as I can," Cassandra looked at everyone as if they were all idiots. Well, they kind of were but that wasn't the big issue at hand. "We're literally on a path to assuming that Holland was the one who took the knife from the Evidence Room because he left early from the Cafeteria. I also firmly believe that he really was the little shit that stole Arthur's eHandbook and did in fact take the knife. Then the next thing he does is lie about being attacked by the Lamb when in fact we just proved that the Lamb cannot walk on its own. And yet, even after all that, you're assuming that he was still attacked when there is a clear-cut answer that none of you have seemed to have figured out just yet."
"Well, if you're so confident about it, tell us then," Abigail rolled her eyes at Cassandra's attitude. "What is the answer we haven't figured out?"
"Holland pretty much proved he's capable of spewing out bullshit," Cassandra stated. "So why not believe that his entire being attacked story was bullshit too?"
"A-Are you saying that he lied about being attacked?" Zuri widened her eyes.
"Th-That's impossible though," Carter blinked, confused. "I-I mean, when we found him, he was bleeding."
"Yeah!" Barracuda declared, flexing his chest muscles with a determined look on his face. "There was so much blood and now he won't be able to walk that well anymore! How could that be bullshit?!"
"No no," Cassandra shook her head with a smirk. She felt that she was getting closer to peeling away the lies that Holland had supposedly built over himself. The fucker was still hiding in that hoodie by the way. Time to hit him where it hurts. "I don't deny the injury. I just deny if there was even a perpetrator who did attack him."
"Then how else would he have gotten that injury?!" Barracuda exclaimed. He was practically the most confused out of everyone. "It doesn't make sense!"
"Y-Yeah," Carter nodded with a frown. "The only way Holland would get an injury without a perpetrator to attack him is if he was the perpetrator himself!"
…
…
…
…
...
...
"W-Wait…" Carter widened his eyes. He just realized what he had just said.
All eyes turned to Holland. There was no way. Holland slowly peeked out of his hoodie amongst the silence. He felt the gazes. The shock. The betrayed looks. Jared looked at Holland, surprised at the implications. Maggie looked rather disgusted. Barracuda looked down. Haruto looked pissed. Then again, he always looked pissed.
But no one looked more upset than Zuri, his friend and the person he could trust and count on. She looked shocked, betrayed, disgusted, and most of all hurt that her closest friend in this place would seriously do such a thing, if that was the truth.
"...Finally," Cassandra looked relieved that people were understanding what she was getting at. Though, it was more of mock relief. But no one paid that mockery any mind. Everyone was fixated on Holland. "You get it now, right? There was no attacker. There never was. Because everything was all Holland…
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
…He stabbed himself…"
Holland pulled the cords of his hoodie once more which forced his head back as he began seep more droplets of sweat.
"N-No," Zuri looked at Holland in disbelief. "Th-That can't be. H-Holland. Please. Say it's not true…"
"Holland, do you deny this accusation made against you?" Ina looked at Holland seriously. "Did you stab yourself?"
"W-Why…?" Yuumi looked away, her eyes tearing up. When Cassandra's deductions and accusations were made, all she could think about was everything that had transpired before this moment in the present. Arthur betrayed her to play the game. Haruto betrayed Mimi to gain a useless advantage. Mimi, who she thought was her best friend, had lied to her. Someone had murdered Titus. And Holland had been doing nothing but lying and scheming. But stabbing himself? Why would he?- "Why would he even stab himself? Th-There's no reason to hurt himself. R-Right?"
"Seriously can't figure that out?" Cassandra crossed her arms, looking at Yuumi, harshly. "Think about it this way. Holland was the one who took the knife that was plunged into Titus. No doubt, he had a hand in his murder. With that as the context, why would Holland choose to stab himself and lie that someone else did it?"
"...To create an alibi," Jared looked away, tipping his police hat down to cover his eyes. "Because he was injured, we all assumed that the culprit who killed Titus would have been the one who injured Holland."
"In actuality, it was nothing more than a trap," Arthur folded his arms, looking at Holland coldly. "Everything that had happened was for all of us to accuse each other while Holland would get away scot free because he believed no one would suspect him. That injury was his ticket to getting off the suspect list. Unfortunately for him, we had someone who was able to uncover his trick."
"If the rest of you weren't idiots, you would've seen through his scheme too," Cassandra looked away.
"W-Wait, but if he really did stab himself then…" Zuri looked a little desperate. "What could Holland have stabbed himself with? I mean, he stabbed himself in the leg! That meant he couldn't move away from the bathroom!"
"Th-That's right," Jared widened his eyes in realization. "And we did arrive quickly when he screamed. Followed by the fact that we didn't find any weapons in the bathroom."
"...No weapon?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. She stood her ground. This was just a minor setback. No way was her theory going to get debunked by such a minor inconvenience. "What about the kitchen knife?"
"The kitchen knife was in the Prison Lounge at the time," Barracuda pointed. "And it was also very hot! Meaning it was also in the fire the entire time."
"Therefore, Holland couldn't have stabbed himself with the kitchen knife," Kane nodded. "But now we're at a standstill. If Holland really did stab himself, what was the weapon?"
No one had an answer.
"...So was Cassandra wrong then?" Mayu blinked.
"Like hell I am," Cassandra glared. "I'm definitely right about Holland stabbing himself. No doubt, he stabbed Titus too. But if he left the kitchen knife in the Prison Lounge with the body…"
"...Then where else would he get a sharp object to stab himself with?" Abigail kicked the podium in frustration.
"...See?" Holland spoke up, his face now slowly becoming more visible. "...I… I'm innocent. I would never… do something like that…"
"Fuck, the little shit's talking!" Haruto growled. "We're losing that game pressure we had!"
"...Was this line of thinking actually wrong?" Mimi looked worried.
"Calm down everyone and think," Maggie spoke up toward the group. "If we're to believe that Holland stabbed himself, then we have to think about it this way. Holland would have had to go to the Prison Lounge to stab Titus and leave the knife. That's how the body was found right?"
"I can confirm, yes," Jared nodded.
"I can double confirm!" Barracuda raised his hands.
"Triple," Haruto raised his hands. But no one really cared at that point.
"Okay, that means, the kitchen knife could not have been the one to do damage to his leg," Maggie stated. "Which also means that whatever stabbed him had to be small enough as to not be detected and easily accessible from between his trip to the Prison Lounge and then to the bathroom where he stabbed himself. Know anything like that?"
"A-Ah!" Zuri exclaimed.
"Zuri?" Maggie widened her eyes. "Did you think of something?"
"Um… when I was checking out the crime scene, Haruto and I found something," Zuri stated.
"Oh shit!" Haruto blinked. "You're right! We didn't know what the fuck it meant but we found a chess piece. Apparently, it's supposed to be the King. I… even brought it with me just in case."
Haruto reached into his pockets to show the chess piece. The King. The piece with a sharp tip. Unscarred. And most notably, there were traces of red on the sharp pointy tip.
"...Yeah, Haruto and I found it because I heard something drop," Zuri admitted. "I assume this was the thing that dropped."
"Dropped?" Maggie widened her eyes. "H-Hold on. There was a piece missing when I gathered every chess piece together. Kane and I have been trying to look for it for a long time! Th-That's the piece!"
"Where did you find this piece?" Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"...By the body," Zuri answered, looking down.
"And yet the chess piece itself is clean?" Arthur furrowed his brow.
"Clean?" Mayu raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"...There was a fire in the Prison Lounge," Arthur explained. "If memory serves, it was around the body. If this piece was found in that same area, doesn't it strike you as strange that it would look to be relatively untouched by any flames?"
"A-Arthur's right," Carter gave a nod. "It does look clean and untouched by the fire. N-Not only that but there seems to be some r-red substance on it."
"It is dried up now," Barracuda gave a nod.
"Yeah, but it was wet before," Haruto nodded. "Probably dried up since we found it."
"T-Then, c-couldn't that be… blood?" Carter pointed out.
"Yes, it could," Cassandra looked to be very much pleased by this revelation. "Untouched by the fire, there's blood, and it's sharp. We found the weapon that Holland used to stab himself."
Holland pulled the cords, enclosing the hoodie around his face again. He was starting to sweat again.
"N-No way," Zuri looked shocked.
"And we can perfectly piece together the events more clearly now," Cassandra stated with a smirk. "Holland takes Arthur's eHandbook and switches it with Mimi's or Isadora's or whatever. He excuses himself when the rest of you idiots were too distracted and gains access to the Evidence Room to take the knife. Then once everyone went off to do their own thing, Holland heads into the Prison Lounge and stabs Titus. That's when Holland takes the chess piece and brings it to him in the bathroom. Then to give himself an alibi, he stabs himself in the leg. Once people arrive, he hides the chess piece and tells them a bullshit story of how a walking Lamb mannequin did this to him."
"B-But what about the dropping noise I heard?!" Zuri exclaimed. She wasn't going to believe it. She couldn't believe it so easily! "I mean, maybe the piece was still far away from the fire and only slid off the table or something! Just because it was untouched by the fire doesn't make Holland a murder-"
"Remind us again but in more detail," Arthur jumped in. "When exactly did you hear that dropping noise?"
"I um..." Zuri's mind began to flutter. When did she actually hear it?
While Holland had begun to leave, Zuri remained in the Prison Lounge. She was still curious about those glass shards but ultimately, she had to search elsewhere if she was going to be one step closer to finding any-
Clack.
Zuri's ears caught something. She glanced around. What was that? If her hearing was right, it would have been somewhere around…
"I… I heard it when... Holland was getting ready to leave from the crime scene," Zuri answered. "But what does that have to-"
"Wait a minute, Holland told me that he wanted to go to the crime scene to help investigate," Yuumi jumped in as well. "That was when you and Holland both arrived outside of the Prison Lounge."
"I…" Zuri began to shake.
"...Zuri…" Jared looked down. "...You know what this means don't you?"
"...No," Zuri felt her heart nearly shatter. She knew for sure. She just didn't want to believe it.
"Holland wanted to come to the crime scene… so he can remove the final evidence that would unravel his entire scheme," Jared looked down. "He asked you to help him to the crime scene so he could place that chess piece back in the Prison Lounge."
"N-No… Holland would never…" Zuri looked close to tears. "H-He would never… We're friends. He wouldn't… He wouldn't use me like that…"
"...Proof," Holland finally spoke, his face emotionless. He couldn't stay silent forever. Not like this.
"Oh, so he finally stops letting his little bitch do most of the arguing for him," Cassandra scoffed. "Having fun in that hoodie of yours?"
"...D-Don't call Zuri that," Holland looked at Cassandra with a rather intense glare, something no one had really seen from him till now. "...I want proof. Proof that I did stab myself with the chess piece."
"...Isn't the chess piece proof enough?" Mayu pouted. "I mean, it has your blood on it and everything!"
"...True, it does have my blood," Holland stared at Mayu, neutrally.
"See?" Mayu beamed. "You admit it! You did stab yourself!"
"...Yes, I did," Holland nodded. "I stabbed myself… a few days ago that is."
"W-Wait, what?" Jared blinked.
"...When I investigated this area with Kane, I accidentally pricked my finger on this chess piece," Holland explained. "Kane can attest to that. We had to scrap our chess game because of it."
"...I've never heard of any of those," Holland stated before suddenly jolting his hand away from the box. "Ah!"
"Whoa their kiddo," Kane stopped flipping through the jukebox. "Something wrong?"
Holland began to suck his thumb. It was bleeding.
"Yowzers," Kane cringed. "We oughta get you a band-aid for that! What caused it?"
Holland didn't say anything. After sucking up the blood and letting more slowly seep out, Holland held up the cause for his injury: a King. The only pieces he had yet to place on the board were the Kings, and boy was the tip of the cross sharp.
"What…" Kane widened his eyes. "Who the hell makes chess pieces like that?"
"Ah, he's right," Kane nodded. "He did prick his finger."
"B-But the blood!" Carter exclaimed.
"...Is all dried up," Holland stated. "No doubt because the blood is a few days old."
"Hey bitch!" Haruto glared. "We found the chess piece when it was still wet! How would you describe that?!"
"...So?" Holland looked away. "It's dry now. And it has always been dry. ...I don't know why you would think it was wet to begin with."
Haruto was about to say something before Arthur interjected.
"Then how do you explain Zuri finding it after it was dropped?" Arthur glared at Holland. "And don't even try to declare that her ears heard something wrong. She is the Ultimate Bassist. A musician. Her ears are more advanced than anyone else's here."
"...It's as Zuri had stated," Holland nodded. "It probably fell off a table or something. Most likely from the untouched corner of the Prison Lounge."
"Th-This motherfucker…" Haruto shook his fist. "You're really going to denounce everything we just speculated?!"
"...As I said," Holland stared at the group with a neutral expression. "I want proof that I stabbed myself in the bathroom with this chess piece. If you cannot find proof, then this entire theory is debunked, and we can move onto the real truth. Someone did attack me. And it's just as you said, I did lie about it being Lawson the Lamb."
"Like hell we'll listen to you after everything!" Haruto yelled angrily.
"H-How are we supposed to prove something like that?" Mimi looked worried.
"...It's simple," Holland looked at Mimi with a neutral expression. "You can't. Because what Cassandra accused me of doing isn't true. I didn't stab myself. And I didn't use Zuri. I… I would never do that… to my friend…"
Zuri looked at Holland. She didn't know what to think of what Holland was saying. But whatever he spouted; she could no longer believe it. She couldn't. The possibility that he did stab himself and he did stab Titus was too high. Everything else Holland was trying to get at didn't.
But how could they prove it? How could she prove it? Was there anything about that chess piece she needed to look at further.
Zuri glanced at the chess piece she had brought with her to the Trial. She examined it thoroughly. She looked at the actual design of the piece, the sharp pointy tip, the blood…
Wait.
The blood.
Could it be?
Everyone had remained silent. They were trying to think of some way to prove that Holland did indeed stab himself, but nothing came up. Nothing.
"...I see," Holland sighed. "...As you can see, there is no proof to point me as a suspect. I did not stab myself. That is the truth. I-"
"No Holland," Zuri closed her eyes, blinking away every guilty and sad thought that was capable of forcing tears to come out of her eyes. "You're wrong. There is proof that you stabbed yourself."
"...Z-Zuri?" Holland looked at Zuri. His neutral expression turned to surprise. "B-But… I thought… I thought you were on my side…"
Zuri opened her eyes. When she did, Holland could see the pained expression behind her eyes. And he could see what he had done to her.
"...I did too," Zuri frowned. "Could you put your pockets inside out? Every pocket. Your hoodie. Your pants."
Holland stared at Zuri. Normally he'd be in disbelief. But there was no disbelief. Instead, he gripped his cords to his hoodie.
"...W-Why would you-" Holland stated.
"I see," Maggie brushed her hair aside. "If Holland really did stab himself, he would also still need to hide the weapon from them. And the only place he could hide it would be in his pockets. And at that time, the weapon…"
"...Would still be fresh with blood," Abigail widened her eyes.
"What's more, the weapon was still wet when we found it too," Haruto added before pointing his finger at Holland. "As I said, you fucking gaslighting piece of shit!"
"Z-Zuri, you're a genius," Jared looked surprised. "Once we see Holland's pockets inside out, we'll be able to find bloodstains!"
Holland started to shake as he pulled on his cord to his hoodie. He pulled on it tight and never let go, hiding his face behind his hoodie once more.
"...I'm sorry Holland," Zuri looked away, blinking away a single tear from her eyes.
"Any rebuttals to that?" Ina gave a glare toward Holland. "No? Then show us your pockets. Now."
...
...
...
Whether it be Ina's command that made Holland shiver or just the fact that now there was damning evidence to his stabbing, Holland just continued to tremble. He trembled as he continued to hide his face behind that hoodie, his hands gripping the cords tightly.
"A-A-" Holland spoke, muffled behind his hoodie. Then he screamed: "A-ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"
He pulled the cords as far as he could. As he stretched the cords further and further, he felt everything come undone. All of the components of that hoodie that he hid behind when he felt threatened, now coming loose into nothing but strings and cotton as pulling the cords ripped apart the hoodie. String by string, that hoodie came undone as it revealed Holland at his most emotional state: his eyes closed and his mouth open to let out that emotional breakdown.
As he continued to scream, his mind flashed with the events that had happened before his stabbing. Him stealing Arthur's eHandbook. Him switching the eHandbooks. Him telling Zuri he was going to leave. Him going to the Evidence Room to steal the knife. Him stabbing Titus. Him hiding in the bathroom. Him stabbing himself in the leg. Him lying to his peers.
It was all him.
And then, his hoodie had been completely undone until it was nothing but strings and cotton on the floor. He dropped the cords that had once been connected to the hoodie. His hair covered his eyes. He looked defeated.
He was normally so emotionless.
But now, he felt all kinds of emotions he wasn't able to express before. All kinds. The most important one however:
Guilt.
"...Yes," Holland finally spoke. "I took Arthur's eHandbook. I gave him Mimi's instead. I went into the Evidence Room to take the kitchen knife. And…"
Holland paused. He took a deep breath.
...
...
...
"...And I stabbed Titus."
DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE
So it begins! The long awaited and anticipated Trial chapter! Came out much earlier than it was supposed to: I aimed to release it on Sunday, but I was getting happy with the work I put into revising the next chapter :D
Not going to lie, I'm very nervous with how this case turned out. I had to reread this chapter like five times to make sure everything made sense and I'm still unsure if it's a good case and ultimately, that's up to you guys to decide! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know if there's anything I should know when it comes to Trial chapters!
I also think you guys realized it by now, but I go full-on Ace Attorney when it comes to Trials, just because it makes things more fun for me to write and ultimately more upbeat in my opinion. Character breakdowns, damage sprites, all the likes are in here and it always cracks me up hehe.
And of course, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to submit the extra information I need. It's just minor things but ultimately, I think it will be very helpful for in the long run with this fic :D
The next chapter has been finished but as I said, I'm still working out the kinks so expect it to be released next week :D With that said, hope you enjoyed this chapter and do look forward to the next ;D Almost done with Chapter 1 folks!
Prisoners Remaining: 15
Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular)
Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7)
Barracuda - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro)
Carter Franklin - The Ultimate Opinion Columnist (armadas)
Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate ? (ExtraMeme)
Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Basketball Player (theotakureader101)
Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi)
Ina Hamamura - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping)
Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay)
Kanenoshin Amao - The Ultimate Pawnbroker (benkj6)
Maggie LaDroubi - The Ultimate Supermodel (Project Drama)
Mayu Mashiro - The Ultimate Heiress (zetsunaflame)
Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan)
Yuumi Kizuchi - The Ultimate Sailor (Shamelles410)
Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45)