Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, this chapter will be the start of the investigation. Let me tell you, trying to figure out when the students will be able to figure certain details was extremely difficult, considering how painfully obvious this trial was.
Oh, and I also got some good news: A couple of people actually bought my short story! Most of them were during the free promotion, but it still good that I got some sales. Progress! Hope the number of sells increases overtime. Also, the link of Adept: The Strategist Chapter is on my profile, and future links of oncoming short stories will appear as well, so keep an eye out.
So, with all that out of the way, enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
A Lucky Soldier: Helllooo everyone and welcome back to the latest chapter again! I hope the wait wasn't too long for everyone in your busy lives and all but anyways, the investigation begins!
Chapter 56: Watching Ch 3: NGL! STGH! Part 15
For a moment, everyone was silent as Hina broke into tears once more. Makoto, Sakura, and Celeste held somber looks as Hina cradled Hifumi's head.
However, the silence was quickly broken by Byakuya. "This isn't some stereotypical fantasy world. Tears can't restore a person's vitality." The heir stated callously.
Byakuya's statement caused several to stiffen up. Honestly, none of them knew if they should be used to it by now. But still, it was a painful reminder of the past every time they see it.
Celeste held a frown towards him. "You have no tears, do you?" She stated bluntly. "No blood in your veins, no calcium in your bones. At least you have your meat…"
"You're just angry." Byakuya scoffed. "Going out of his way to return, just to leave us with those unnecessary dying words. Now this game has become exceedingly boring."
Byakuya internally winced, grinding his teeth in frustration. Is his future self even self aware of the situation? Now wasn't the time spout off such nonsense!
Makoto winced in sympathy for the present Byakuya, while Kyoko, Mukuro, and Sakura had expressions of disapproval. The rest were definitely more upset.
"He said… Yasuhiro, right?" Sakura inquired.
"Yasuhiro Hagakure…" Celeste murmured loudly. "That is the only person he could have been referring to."
"And with that, the case is solved." Byakuya declared.
"No… no, it has to be a mistake…" Hiro, who finally managed to get his mind somewhat together, mumbled out. "It couldn't be me, could it? It can't be!"
"There's no use denying it." Byakuya sighed. "You're the only one we haven't seen, the only one without an alibi, and Hifumi said your name. There's no able way for you to deny it."
"But, it can't be me!" Hiro denied desperately. "It can't! I would never kill somebody!"
"Hiro, you were willing to sell someone else's organs." Sakura pointed out. "And that was not only to save yourself, but also to keep the money you have saved up."
"In other words, if you're willing to do that, it isn't far-fetched to think you would kill to get out with a million dollars." Leon concluded. That caused the fortune teller to try and stammer out a defense, but he couldn't find one.
Celeste, meanwhile, was caught up in her own thoughts. How… how did Hifumi know her name? When and where did he hear it from? And if he said her last name… does that mean she was the one that killed him and Taka?
No, that wasn't possible. Hifumi was killed when she was with the others. Taka later when she was with Hina. There's no way she could've killed either of them.
'Maybe, he meant Hiro.' Celeste thought to herself. 'It was probably coincidence that he said his first name, rather than his last. Yes, a coincidence…It must be...' However, despite her attempt to convince herself, she knew she was going against the odds.
'Assaulting people, and even killing Hifumi and Taka…' Makoto thought to himself. 'And then going so far as to hide their bodies. A criminal that hides his face behind a mask, and uses a bunch of giant wooden hammers. Is that what Hiro is…?'
Makoto frowned to himself. None of this makes any sense. All of the evidence points to Hiro, yet when thinking about it, the fortune teller being the culprit is confusing. Why hide in a costume? Why try to hide the bodies in the first place? And more importantly, why kill two people instead of just one? It just doesn't make sense.
'Is he even capable of coming up with this plan?' He thought at the back of his mind.
And despite what the others think of him now, he knew that Hiro wasn't a malicious person. He can be stupid, yes, as well as selfish and greedy, but not malicious enough to be willing to kill somebody for money, let alone two. And if Hifumi, somehow, knew Celeste's real name and was talking about her… then that makes it much more complicated.
Guess he'll have to find out during the investigation. Though he knew, either way, the outcome was going to be ugly.
"If it's true, I can't forgive him… no way can I ever forgive him!" Hina snarled, her tear stained face twisting into a scowl. "To kill two of our friends…!"
"Anyway, it's about time we tracked down the culprit in our little life-or-death game here." Byakuya cut in. "Although… this time it's not all that life-or-death. The trial will conclude without much trouble."
"Yes, it does look that way." Celeste agreed.
Hiro started sweating from fear. Did his future self really did it? Kill two people? It still doesn't seem possible! But if he did… then that mean he'll be killed! Executed! And doesn't want to see himself die!
Kyoko, meanwhile, felt that the trial won't end that easily. The amount of time to not only kill two people, but hide their bodies? It's physically impossible for most of them here to do. Something about this screams a fabrication of some sort.
Makoto was silent at this, looking down at the floor. 'It's… going to begin again.' He thought to himself. 'We have to go through this… one more time.' He let out a sigh of resignation. 'I have to accept it. I have no choice to but to go through with this. To make sure everyone survives… I just have to do it!'
Makoto clenched his fists tightly, keeping them on his legs. During this investigation, he'll need to look at everything carefully. Find out whether it was Hiro… or Celeste.
"Here goes another investigation, and another trial." Byakuya sighed. "Before we continue, someone wake Jill up."
"I got it." Leon volunteered, getting up from his seat. When he got down to his knees, he shook the unconscious bookworm/serial killer. "Yo, Jill. Time to stop playing dead."
After a couple more shakes, Jill's red eyes snapped wide open, causing the baseball player to yelp and jump back. "Gyahahahaha! Your famous serial killer is back once again!" She then flipped back up on her feet before stretching. "Man, I am loving this watching the future thing! I get to come out much more and be my loving murderous self!"
"Of course you would like all this." Hina grumbled, scowling in anger. Similar thoughts were shared by the Sayaka, Leon, and Mondo, judging by the angry looks on their own faces.
Jill happily ignored the swimmer. "So, what did I miss this time? Someone must've been off'ed yeah?"
"Hifumi and Taka." Mukuro answered, getting raised eyebrows from the serial killer. "Then there bodies were dragged and hidden in the dormitory. In the span of several minutes. All done by someone in a robot costume, which is most likely Hiro." She ignored the protesting shout of the fortune teller.
"Oh? Two deaths?" Jill cocked her head to the side, interest clear on her face. "Someone here is vicious enough to kill two people? Now I'm definitely interested!" She let out her signature laughter. "Each chapter is getting more and more interesting!"
She then plucked herself back into her seat. "Kyahahaha! Now, let's get it rolling!" Nobody chose to say anymore to the serial killer, knowing that it'd only incite her more and turned their attentions back to the screen.
Makoto lifted the Monokuma File up to his face. 'First I'd better check the Monokuma File…' He began reading the content of the file. "The victims were Hifumi Yamada and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. The cause of death for each was a blow to the head. It is thought that they were both killed with a similar weapon."
When Makoto tried to scroll down to read more, nothing else was revealed. "That's it?" Makoto said incredulously.
"What the-? That's way less information than before." Leon stated in disbelief.
"Must be because there isn't much to tell." Kyoko mused, holding her chin in thought. "Nothing that we can't figure out for ourselves, anyway."
"Probably." Mukuro agreed with the detective.
"Yeah, it's pretty strange." Byakuya agreed, narrowing his eyes. "We got way less information this time than before."
"That is no problem. After all, the events of this case unfolded before our very eyes." Celeste reminded them. "We should know more about what happened than the Monokuma File, anyway."
"Maybe…" Was Byakuya response to Celeste's statement.
'But why avoid revealing the time of death, and their location of their death?' Byakuya thought to himself. 'The file didn't avoid those details in the last two cases. Why now?'
Kyoko was also musing on the missing info. '...Omitting the information must mean they're important.' Kyoko mused to herself. 'Otherwise, Monokuma wouldn't actively try to keep that info to himself. But what reason is there to do, when it was clear when Taka and Hifumi died?'
As soon as she thought that, a thought dawn on Kyoko. 'Perhaps it is because the time of death isn't as clear as we think.' The detective guessed. She was right after all; this trial won't be as straightforward as it appears.
Unknown to her, Makoto had his eyes slightly towards her. 'She figured something out, hasn't she?' He shook his head with a small smile. 'Kyoko is way too amazing. She's able to get something out of that little info.' He then put on a thinking face. 'Which means what the file says, or what it's lacking, must be important.' It's something he'll need to keep in mind as the investigation progresses.
"There's something else that's bothering me…" Sakura spoke up. "Someone else has been missing for quite a while…"
The group immediately knew what the future Sakura was talking about. "Kyoko…" Sayaka murmured loudly in concern. "There's no sign of her ever since they split up this morning."
"Where could she be for so long that none of us would find her?" Makoto asked worriedly.
"I'm also concerned for her well-being." Sakura admitted. "While she isn't fragile, something still could've happened."
"The only thing we could do is continue watching and find out." Kyoko interjected. While she's confident that she wasn't dead, as Monokuma wouldn't allow a third murder to happen, she was curious, and a tad bit concerned about her well being as well. After all, being MIA for that long does spark some concern for most people. Did she discover something that took so much of her attention? Or did she got caught into a trap of some sort, set up by the mastermind? They would have to wait and see.
"Are you talking about Kyoko?" Makoto inquired.
"Without a doubt, she has an alibi for when Celeste and Hifumi were attacked." Sakura stated. "But what if the killer wasn't acting alone? What if they had… an accomplice?"
Those were some heavy words to take. "Sakura!" Makoto gasped in shock. "Why would your future self think that?!"
"You have to admit Makoto, that Kyoko's absence is suspicious." Sakura sighed, quickly understanding her own reasoning. "And with how confusing the case at the moment, we can't leave anything out."
"But there's no benefit for me to become an accomplice." Kyoko pointed out. "If I help them, then I will die anyway. So why would I be an accomplice for a murder?"
"True enough." Byakuya agreed. "I can't see you, in any scenario, assisting in a murder scheme."
The luckster's eyes widen at this. "An accomplice?!"
"An accomplice?!" Once again, Monokuma appeared.
"...What are you doing here?" Celeste sighed in annnoyance.
"Don't be rude!" The bear admonished the gambler. "I'm here to answer your question!"
"What question…?" Makoto inquired.
"You're talking about accomplices, right?" Monokuma rhetorically asked. "I'm pretty sure I explained it before, didn't I? During the first class trial! You can be an accomplice if you want, but there's no gratification in it!"
"So are you saying nobody worked together this time, either?" Sakura asked.
"Sorry, can't answer that!" Monokuma responded back. "It would obstruct the free exchange of information between you guys. I just want to make sure you don't forget - no matter how much you might assist in a murder, only one blackened can graduate. An accomplice gets NOTHING!"
"Then we only need to figure out who that one blackened is that did the killing, right? Just like normal?" Byakuya spoke up.
"Okay, okay, let me take this opportunity to clarify the whole shebang." The bear stated. "In this class trial, what you need to determine is… the one true blackened who devised the murder plot and put it into action!"
"...I'm so confused here." Hina moaned, rubbing her head. "Is there or is there not an accomplice? Answer clearly please!"
Junko snorted. "The day the bear gives us a clear answer is the day Mondo goes without cursing for a day."
'...Actually, his words seem plenty useful.' Kyoko thought to herself. 'The one true blackened who devised the murder plot and put it into action? That very much implies that the killer has an accomplice, or a partner of sorts.' And something tells her that finding out the accomplice will lead to the true culprit.
'The true blackened…?' Makoto thought in confusion. 'So just one person?'
"That's enough for explainifyin'!" Monokuma declared. "Now it's down to the final battle between all of you, and the blackened! Good luck to all the contestants!" Once again, the bear disappeared without offering a chance for any more questions.
'So there can only be one blackened. An accomplice wouldn't benefit…' Makoto thought.
"So Kyoko couldn't be a accomplice." Chihiro agreed with the luckster. "There's no benefit for being one, and she knows that."
"And she is way too smart to get manipulated into doing anything." Leon added.
"Still, the question as to where Kyoko is remains." Sakura reminded them.
The luckster then spoke out loud. "Then I can't see any way Kyoko would be connected to this case, after all."
"You may be right…" Byakuya conceded.
"If that's true, then… Kyoko, where are you?" Hina asked, clearly worried.
"The future Kyoko better have a good explanation ready…" Byakuya sighed. "Otherwise, she'll invite us to suspect her as the traitor."
Kyoko frowned at this, as did Makoto. They both knew that if the future Kyoko manages to find something, she won't be willing to reveal anything. And with some of the survivors' suspicions, it won't look good.
"As long as she's not connected to the case, it doesn't matter." Sakura sighed. "Let's get back to the investigation."
"I have absolutely no doubt that Hiro is responsible." Celeste stated. "But for the time being, I suppose it can't hurt to pursue further information."
"There's gotta be some sort of mistake!" Hiro exclaimed, holding his head in panic. "There has to be some sort of fake Hiro running around!"
"If that's the case, then who could've done that?" Leon remarked.
"Well, maybe Jack! She's a serial killer after all!"
"How rude!" Jill huffed. "Just because I'm a serial killer, I'm automatically suspected for every kill?" She then pointed at the two new victims. "Besides, I only kill cute boys! And while strict boy here might barely qualify, he's too 'RAAGH FOLLOW THE RULEZ' to be cute! And I don't even need to explain Huffy!"
"That's because you have no good taste…" Hifumi grumbled, though not as much as heat as he usually would have, while Taka just sulked, painfully aware of how he comes onto other people.
"You know…" Hina hesitantly spoke up. "Don't you think we should consider a certain someone a suspect, just in case?" When she saw the others looking at her, she continued. "I'm talking about the murderous fiend… Genocide Jack!"
"Wha-? I'm offended!" Jill, who was right next to Hina , exclaimed.
"Kyaah!?" Was Hina's response, jumping away from the serial killer.
The present students also screamed or yelped in shock. "How the hell does she do that?!" Leon exclaimed in shock. "We didn't even notice her!"
"But, of course! I wouldn't be the murderous fiend if I wasn't able to hide my presence!" Said murderous fiend stated proudly.
"Seeing as this is also from Makoto's perspective, his perception definitely needs some work." Mukuro absentmindedly commented.
"You…" Byakuya stared at her in shock, along with Celeste, Makoto, and Sakura. "When did you-?"
"I've been looking all over for you, Master! When I woke up, you were nowhere to be found!" Jill explained.
The Togami heir was silent at this, still stunned. While he was silent, Jill turned to Hina with an angry look. "Anyway! You there, milk sack swimmer girl!"
"Milk sack…?" Hina repeated, looking both confused and offended.
"Why do I gotta be a suspect?!" Jill continued, clearly outraged.
"I know, right?" Jill said in agreement with her future self, pouting. "They always suspect the serial killer…"
"Maybe it's because you're a SERIAL KILLER?!" Sayaka pointed out. "You're more likely than any of us to kill!"
"Yet I haven't even attempted to kill a single one of you yet!"
Her rebuttal was surprisingly met with an uncomfortable silence as she drove the point home. "...A point to the psychopath." Byakuya sighed. They're three chapters in, and the infamous serial killer has yet to even attempt a murder, while there were others who attempted or actually killed their fellow students.
"Well, I mean… you are a serial killer." Hina pointed out.
"So what, I'm like a special guest suspect every time?!" Jill said in retort. "I have an alibi, you know!"
"She's right about that…" Byakuya agreed reluctantly. "When we heard Hifumi scream, she was with me. And when the body disappeared, she was still lying unconscious in the living room. Plus, Taka's body aside, I can't imagine any way she would have been able to move Hifumi's body."
"So in other words, it's impossible for Genocide Jill to kill either one of them in any way." The present Byakuya concluded.
"Oh, master!" Jill sighed dreamily. "I love the way you defended me!"
"I'm just stating the facts. There's no deeper meaning to it." The heir stated flatly.
Meanwhile, Hiro still looked panic. "Then, maybe the mastermind did it?! And are trying to frame me for it?!"
"You seriously think the mastermind would waste time trying to a pin a crime on you?" Junko deadpanned. There are far more suitable candidates for her to frame, Makoto and Kyoko tying on the top. Why would she bother trying to have fingers at the useless fortune teller?
Besides, her future self doesn't really to do something like that. For one, it would ruin the whole point of the killing game. And two, they're doing a wonderful job killing each other off already. No need for any further interference.
"Besides, I calculate every move I make!" Jill added in. "I'm not gonna kill someone when everyone knows what I look like!" She lifted her scissors with an psychotic grin. "They don't call me the murderous fiend for nothing!"
"That's not the kind of thing you should be bragging about!" Hina exclaimed in anger.
"I agree with Hina." Taka spoke up, his voice soft but fierce. Despite the emotional turmoil he's feeling, he still felt the need to speak. "Being a murderer is not something to be proud about."
"Shaddap, you stiff!"
"On another topic," Celeste spoke up before an argument could break out. "Should we post a guard by the bodies like before? We can't have them disappearing again…"
"Hina and I can handle that." Sakura volunteered. "You don't mind, do you Hina?"
"Sure." Hina sighed. "I'd be totally useless on the investigation, anyway…"
"Then that's that. Let's begin." Byakuya stated.
Makoto frowned to himself. 'This whole thing is so strange…' He thought to himself. 'All but one of us has an alibi, so figuring out who did it should be obvious, right? But…' He turned towards the crime scene. 'Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's going to be as straightforward as it seems.'
"And why would you think that?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow. "All of us have some form of an alibi except for Hiro, Hifumi told us that he was the killer before dying. It leaves no room for any other possibility."
Makoto turned his head away at that. "I got that, but… even if accept that as fact, that still leaves some confusing questions." There's also the fact that Hifumi's last word could refer to Celeste's actual name. But for now, he's going leave that out.
"And what would those questions be?"
"I think the future Makoto is going to ask them." Kyoko interjected, seeing the luckster on screen going towards Byakuya. "But I agree. If we just assume that Hiro is the killer, then there are holes left unfilled."
Hiro couldn't but look at them in slight shock. They're still willing believe in him? Even after hearing all the evidence against him, and hearing what his future self asked Makoto previously?
"Byakuya… do you think Hiro really did it?" Makoto asked the Togami heir.
"I don't see how anyone could think otherwise." Byakuya answered. "When the attacks and murders and disappearance all happened, every one of us had an alibi. And the last thing Hifumi said when he died…"
"Yeah… he said Hiro's name." Makoto finished off.
"Then there is no room to suspect anyone else." Byakuya concluded.
The luckster let out a sigh at this. "Okay, but if he did do it… why would he hide his identity with that weird costume?"
"Maybe he thought that no matter what happened, he'd be safe as long as his face was covered." The heir guessed. "Because he's the fool of the century, you see."
'I mean, he is kinda dumb…' Makoto admitted to himself.
"No I'm not!"
"You bought a fake crystal ball for a million dollars, con'd a yakuza girl out of her money, and used that money to buy 'artifacts' …" Hina listed off blankly. "And you still don't believe they're fake!"
"They're not!"
"Oh for fuck sake…" Mondo growled angrily.
'But do you really think that's enough to explain it? I feel like there's a clue hiding in there somewhere…'
"The costume or the fact that he's stupid?" Mukuro asked, ignoring any indignant protest from the fortune teller.
"The costume… mostly." Makoto answered, giving Hiro an apologetic smile. "Don't know what yet, but I feel there's something more about that suit. And the hammers."
Of course, those that are adamant that it was Hiro didn't really get it, but there were a few that got thinking. Namely Byakuya, Chihiro, and Celeste.
"And that is it? That's all that bothers you about the case?" Byakuya inquired.
"Well, no… there are a few other things." Makoto answered. "Like, why did the killer try to hide the bodies?"
"They probably figured that if we couldn't find the bodies, we couldn't complete our investigation." Byakuya, once again, answered easily.
"But if that's the case, we found the bodies pretty easily, didn't we?" Makoto rebutted.
"Again, it comes back to the fact that the culprit was a moron." Byakuya's fired back.
"Can we really point to Hiro's lack of intelligence as evidence?" Kyoko pointed out. "If that's the case, we could've easily pointed to Byakuya or Jill thanks to their view of the situation and killing, respectively."
"That's… true enough." The Togami heir sighed. That was something he was unable to deny.
"Is that really all there is to it…?" Byakuya was silent at Makoto's question. "The other thing that bothers me is… why'd they bother killing two people?"
"...What?" That question gain the Togami heir's full attention.
"Because all the rule says is, if you can kill someone and get away with it, you graduate. Right?" Makoto reminded him. "So if you're the killer, your number one priority is not getting caught. But killing people means more clues, more chances you'll get found out."
"That… is actually a good point." Taka spoke up, frowning in thought. "It wouldn't make sense to kill two people, when you only need to kill one."
"Perhaps Hiro thought he could get more rewards with more kills?" Celeste suggested. "Like we said before, he is a fool."
"Okay, I admit, I'm stupid! But I'm not THAT dumb!" Hiro protested. "There's no way I would think that!"
"The fool has a point. Despite the lack of brain cells, he unfortunately does have a functioning brain." Byakuya sighed. "However minimal that may be…"
"So… does that mean Hiro probably didn't do it?" Chihiro hesitantly asked.
"There's still the alibis we all have, and Hiro's name being said by the horse's mouth." Junko pointed out. Truthfully, she's quite curious about that. She has no doubt that it was Celeste and Hifumi that caused all this glorious chaos, with Celeste as the mastermind, so why would Hifumi say that Hiro was the one…?
The model had to bite her tongue to keep her crazy grin from coming up. Ohhhh, so it's like that, huh? Guess that explained the hate she had for Hiro from day one.
"That is true." Sakura agreed, completely unaware of Junko's thought process. "We cannot ignore those things."
"Hold on. Perhaps…" Byakuya frowned in thought. "I see… so that's what that means."
That grabbed the group's attention. "Did future Byakuya figured out something?" Makoto asked curiously.
"Must be something important, if it gained his attention." Mukuro mused.
Byakuya, meanwhile, thought about his future self's reaction. What is he thinking about right now? Something about the entire chase? Something in the Monokuma file? Possibly something he was thinking on beforehand? Or maybe…? 'Is he thinking about Monokuma's words? About finding the one true blackened that orchestrated the entire murders. If so, then… does that mean the culprit somehow orchestrated the entire thing?'
He narrowed his eyes at the screen. 'Perhaps Kyoko and Makoto are correct. This trial looks to be more complicated than how it appears.'
"I-Is everything okay…?" Makoto inquired, a bit confused.
The Togami heir was silent for a moment. But after the moment passed, he gave Makoto a condescending look. "Don't talk to me as if we're friends."
"Huh?" Makoto's eyes widen at the sudden attitude. "What's with the attitude?"
"Yeah!" Hina agreed with a scowl. "He was just discussing something with you!"
"My master is just being tsundere, that's all!" Jill let out a content sigh. "He always act like that with me all the time!"
Byakuya could only respond with a most disgusted face, not even finding the words to express it.
"But… you have my appreciation." Byakuya said, walking out of the room with a smirk on his face. "Thanks to you, I might have some fun with this after all."
His words got people tense once again. "What is he planning?" Hiro asked nervously.
"Don't tell he plan to mess with the crime scene again…!" Leon groaned.
"I rather doubt it. There isn't a position to tamper with it." Byakuya retorted, hiding his annoyance. "No, it's more likely that he figured that this trial is more complicated than we realize."
"What? How can it be more complicated?" Hina questioned, mouth agape. "I mean, it's obvious that Hiro is the killer!"
"Perhaps he's not." Byakuya retorted. "Like Kyoko and Makoto said, there's too many questions held around the case. Until we're able get the answers those questions, along with more evidence, we can't say for certain."
"So… you believe in me too, Byakuya?!" Hiro asked hopefully, near tears.
The heir merely scoffed. "Hardly. I believe in what I'm seeing."
The short exchange got Chihiro thinking. If there's more to this trial… does that mean Hiro isn't really the killer? Is he actually innocent? Maybe he too, should learn to be more patient.
"He talked as if… he'd figure something out." Makoto said to himself. "But if he did, would it have killed him to tell me what it was?"
"Yeah, it would be good to have some info…!" Leon huffed, crossing his arms. "Cause seriously, this is becoming more confusing."
"Yeah." Hina groaned, rubbing her head. "I mean, if it isn't Hiro, who else could it be? There's nobody else that could've done all these things!"
"We'll figure that out during the trial, Hina." Makoto reassured the swimmer. "Once we get everything we need, the answers will come to us." Honestly, he had a feeling these answers will reveal themselves during the investigation. Because the more questions they ask, the more it feels like it's a partially complete puzzle with obvious holes around it.
Sighing, the luckster began his investigation. "I began the investigation right in the repository." Narrator Makoto began as the luckster kneeled towards Hifumi's body. "The first thing I did was look at the two bodies, starting with Hifumi's." As this was being said, Makoto focused his eyes on Hifumi's clean glasses.
"I looked at Taka's next, noticing the tarp lying under it." The scene switched to Makoto looking at Taka's body, laying a hand on the tarp. "Along with it, I noticed the dolly next to the body, with the wheels tracked with dried blood." A clip of the dolly, along with the blood stained wheels, was shown.
The group felt queasy at seeing the bodies up close, but not as bad as before. Whether it's because of the fact that the crime scene is not as grotesque as the last two, or they're getting used to seeing actual corpses on screen, they didn't know.
As the thought crossed Makoto's mind, he gripped his knees uncomfortably. Are they getting numb to all this? To the murders, the trials, the executions… is it something they're getting used to?
He shook his head. Now is not the time to think about it. He needs to focus on the investigation. 'So there's a tarp and a dolly, which probably means the killer used those things to carry Taka. Don't think they could've been able to do with Hifumi's, since it was on the first floor.'
'Speaking of Hifumi… his glasses weren't clean before, were they?' The luckster noticed the clean glasses on Hifumi's face. 'If so, why are they clean now? Why would the killer clean them?'
"The final thing before I left the repository was hearing Hina's account during the search for the bodies."
"Hey, um… Makoto?" The luckster turned towards the swimmer, who looked concern. "I've been thinking about something. It's about the repository…"
"Huh? What is it?" Makoto inquired curiously.
"After Hifumi and Taka's bodies disappeared, we split up to look around, right?" Hina asked, recapping the earlier events. "I was really scared, so me and Sakura stuck together. And we came right to the repository to, y'know, look around. But when we got here, the repository was locked. We couldn't get inside…"
"Locked?" Mukuro repeated, a frown on her face. "But it wasn't locked when Celeste found the bodies, was it?"
"No." Kyoko narrowed her eyes at the screen, her mind clicking away already. "It wasn't…"
"It was locked…?"
"And we came here as soon as the search started, so there's no way someone coulda beat us here…" Hina continued.
"So it couldn't have been anyone that was together during search." Makoto mused. "That would only leave Kyoko and Hiro…"
"But it would be extremely difficult, possibly near impossible, to get out unnoticed." Byakuya pointed out. "Those searching would've saw them."
"So how and why is it locked?" Sayaka asked the group. "It sounds impossible for it to happen."
"It sounds like most of the shit that happened is impossible…" Mondo grumbled.
Kyoko held her chin in thought. There seem to be a lot of impossible scenarios surrounding this case. But it's clear something was done to make it all possible, otherwise they wouldn't have happen. So what was it?
"So if that's true, then… who locked it? And why is it unlocked now?"
"I wonder the same thing…" Makoto agreed, frowning in thought. 'The door was locked when the search for the bodies began, but now it's wide open…'
'So the killer must've locked the door while dragging the bodies there, and when he was done, unlocked it and left.' Makoto theorized to himself. 'But still, the timeframe doesn't really quite fit. Yeah, they could've done so with Taka's body, but Hifumi's body was still at the first floor. There's no way they could've move his body so quickly.'
'Not only that, but if the killer got out of the depository, they would've been spotted by someone else.' Byakuya thought. 'All of us were searching around the entire building, it would be incredibly difficult for the killer to move around the area freely.'
'So how can you make all these impossible scenarios possible?' Kyoko asked herself. 'Who could've done all this in the time frame set? It couldn't have been anyone searching the school. Hiro and I aren't physically capable of moving the body, nor could we get out of the depository without anyone spotting us. So the only one who could do this is…'
'Eliminate all the alternatives and that really only leaves one conclusion...?! No way!' Makoto thought in shock. 'I mean, it would make sense, but… no. No, I just need to wait and see. I need more evidence before I come to that conclusion.' However, if he was right… then all these impossible situations makes much more sense. And with Celeste's real last name mentioned, she will look more suspicious in his eyes.
"Hmm… there's gotta be a clue around here somewhere." The luckster said to himself as he walked out of the depository. 'Maybe I should check somewhere else. There are some places I already know about. The nurse's office, where Hifumi was found; and the equipment room, where Taka was found…'
As the scene switched to the luckster being in the equipment room, narrator Makoto spoke. "So, I went to both the equipment room in the physic lab, and the nurse's office at the first floor." As he talked, the present Makoto kneeled towards the puddle of blood. "In the equipment room, I noticed tire marks made from the blood."
The next scene was Makoto grabbing a yellow glasses cleaning cloth, with a anime character on the front, from the trash can of the nurse's office. "And in the nurse's office, I found a glasses cleaning cloth."
Hifumi was surprised to see it in the trash. "What the-That's my glasses cleaning cloth!"
"What?" Everyone turned to the fanfic creator with confusion and a bit of alarm. Makoto was the one to speak. "That's yours Hifumi?"
"Yes!" Hifumi confirmed with a nod. "But it's all bloody…"
"So someone took it off your body to clean something?" Chihiro asked with a small frown. "But what? And why?"
Some immediately figured out why. 'Hifumi. He must've used it to clean off the glasses.' Makoto thought grimly. 'That would explain the clean glasses. And who else would benefit from cleaning them?'
'And if Hifumi was actually playing dead, he would've been in the best position to move the body to the equipment room.' Byakuya thought to himself. 'Which could mean…'
'...he was an accomplice in the murders, and was betrayed in the equipment room.' Kyoko finished. 'And there's one person I suspect the most of everyone…'
'...Celeste.' Makoto gritted his teeth at this. 'She's the only one I can think of.' Her last name being said by Hifumi was a large part of the reason why he think so. But he also remembered how strange her reaction to all this was, from the scared looks to the scream. Her being the first to say that Hifumi was dead, how adamant she was about Hiro being the killer, and how much more proactive she was in everything…
He clenched his fist tightly as these thoughts ran in his head, drawing a look of concern from Sayaka. "Makoto, are you okay?" The idol asked softly. "You look tense."
The luckster tried to give her a reassuring smile, though it came out as a grimace. "I'm just… thinking, right now." That's an understatement if there ever was one. He doesn't know what was worse right now. That Celeste could be willing to do all this… or that he's at a point where he manage to find a suspect before the trial even began. Sayaka, obviously able to tell that Makoto was onto something, didn't press the issue since if he wanted to talk about it, he would've simply told her. Whatever it was, he must be waiting for something definitive before telling.
As Makoto's gears kept spinning, he was once again brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand laying on one of his clenched fists, causing him to turn towards the source of the contact. There was Kyoko, gave him a look of understanding and support, likely due to coming to a similar conclusion to him. In response, he gave her a small smile in thanks, unfolding his fists into Kyoko's gloved hand.
"After that, I ran into Byakuya…"
"So this is where you were. I've been looking for you." Makoto turned his head to see Byakuya at the door of the nurse's office.
"You have…?" Dropping the glasses cleaning cloth, the luckster walked towards the affluent progeny.
"I wanted to thank you for what you did." Byakuya stated. "Not that you meant to, but you ended up making this little game of ours very interesting indeed."
"I'm really start hate that word." Leon grumbled. "Cause interesting probably means deadly, horrible, or god damn confusing every time Byakuya says it."
"Or Monokuma." Hina added.
"U-Umm…"
"You should go to Hiro's room." Byakuya advised.
"What? Why my room?" Hiro questioned in confusion.
"Byakuya probably found a clue in there." Makoto guessed. "But shouldn't his room be locked?"
"Don't tell me that idiot forgot to lock his room…" Leon said blankly.
Hiro could only chuckled nervously at this. There were a lot of times where he forget to do things…
"Oh, and let me give you this." He handed Makoto a paper, which was the note made for everyone.
"This is the note Hiro wrote to get us all to meet up, right?" Makoto inquired.
The heir nodded. "You remember well."
"Well, the penmanship was pretty remarkable, so it left an impression…" Makoto explained.
"Anyway, this makes it clear, right?" Byakuya asked, getting back to the main subject. "This is a trap."
"A trap?" Hina asked in confusion. "What do you mean a trap?"
"Tsk. If you can't figure it out yourselves, just wait for the trials." Byakuya advised. "Everything will be explained then."
"How about you it explain to us now, asshole?!" Mondo retorted in anger.
"How about you wait?" Byakuya responded back. "I doubt you'll believe me if I tell you now, so just wait for all the pieces to come together."
"That's probably for the best. Unless you're able to figure it out yourself, it's best to wait until the trial is underway to get answers." Kyoko spoke up, crushing any arguments from forming.
Mondo sulked back into his chair thinking that he'll never understand people who use their brains that much. Fists were simply faster and more effective.
Makoto frowned at this. "What is…?"
Instead of answering, Byakuya let out a chuckle. "Things grow ever more exciting."
"Um… what are you talking about?" The luckster asked nervously.
"I've already repaid my debt. I don't owe you any more explanations." With that, the Togami heir turned and began walking away. "Goodbye…"
Makoto watched Byakuya left before looking at the note again. 'Um… so he said to go to Hiro's room, but… what's waiting for me there?'
Narrator Makoto spoke once more. "So, I decided to go there and take a look," The scene switched to Makoto inside Hiro's room, which contained some cardboard boxes on the floor. "There, I found some cardboard boxes lying in the middle of the road. And in those boxes…"
As Makoto opened the boxes, the camera angled upward to show the blueprint and material for the Robo-Justice suit. "Is this… Robo Justice?" The luckster asked himself, holding the blueprint. "And it's in Hiro's room…!"
The shock at the reveal rippled throughout the room, especially for Hiro himself. It didn't take long for glares to be aimed at him. "So you did make the Robo-Justice suit!" Hina growled. "There's more and more proof that you did it! You can't possibly deny that you did it!"
"I- this is- I can't-!" Once again, Hiro's mind was too jumbled up to say "I can't even draw that well if my life depended on it!".
"This appears to be very bad." Once again, Junko got into her teacher persona. "A lack of an alibi, Hifumi's dying word, blueprints for the Robo-Justice suit, all points to you being the killer."
"Just man the fuck up and admit it already!" Mondo growled.
As several of the students ganged up on Hiro, a few were thinking. 'This is far too convenient to be actual evidence…' Byakuya thought. 'Having the blueprints and materials inside his room, while it's unlocked? It's obvious that it's a ploy to frame the fool.' The fact that several of his classmates are falling for it made him want to shake his head. Imbeciles.
'But wait…' Makoto narrowed his eyes on the blueprints. "Hmm…"
'Not only is the evidence is way too convenient to be true, but the handwriting is too different to be Hiro's.' Kyoko mused to herself. 'This is probably would be something Hifumi would make, not Hiro. Especially with his abilities and interest in anime.'
Chihiro and Mukuro both also thought this was too convenient. Having evidence planted in his room, with his door unlocked, had them both questioning Hiro's guilt. 'Is… someone really trying to frame Hiro?' The programmer thought to himself. 'Does that mean he's innocent?'
Meanwhile Mukuro was more doubting the technicalities of the situation. 'Is Hiro even capable of making them?' She thought, examining the the material inside the boxes.
Makoto, however, was thinking differently. His eyes were turned towards a certain gambler. 'Cele- no… Taeko. What are you thinking right now?' He asked himself. 'You must have noticed something's wrong. Especially with your last name mentioned.'
Celeste, who was silent for much of this, was trying to reassure herself. 'There's no need to worry. There's no way Hifumi could have known my real name.' She thought. 'And all the evidence is pointing to Hiro. There's no need to worry.' As far as she's concerned, this trial will obviously end with Hiro ousted as the killer.
It doesn't matter what Kyoko is thinking. Doesn't matter what Byakuya is thinking. It doesn't even matter… what Makoto is thinking. This trial isn't as complicated as they say. Once it starts, and all the evidence presented, there will be no doubts that Hiro did it.
There isn't any other possibility. There isn't any chance… that she could have killed two of her classmates.
And that's the end. I hope you guys like this chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter out quickly, so I can END this chapter. Also, make sure to check my profile for links to my short stories. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.
A Lucky Soldier's Shower thoughts that didn't come from the shower:
I haven't done this in some of the recent chapters since school has started kicking my butt again, but I was looking back through some old Fate/Stay Night stuff and wondered "Why didn't they make a Mitzusuri Ayako" route? I actually like her character and looking through Ao3 and FFNet, she's really not that popular huh. Or maybe, I just like the underrated characters. Ayako is a good girl.