Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, first off, thanks for answering my questions from the previous chapters. Think I'll go along with both ideas; already have a summary written and posted on p.a.t.r.e.o.n for the original story I plan to write there (And I'll do so for Ko-fi soon), so go check it out if you're curious about what'll be about (Don't worry, the post is public, so anyone can read the summary. Original chapters will be only for patrons, however, just to be clear).
Meanwhile, with AO3, I'll likely just post the chapters here one at a time. That way, it won't be so overwhelming to publish all of them.
Second, for those wondering if I'm still gonna do reaction fics for Danganronpa 2 and beyond; yes, I still plan for at least Danganronpa 2 (Though I'll probably give myself a break before I do, to avoid burnout and whatnot). As for the others, they're all maybes.
Again, apologies for the long wait times for these chapters. It was difficult trying to write in general, for the past couple of years, but I'm slowly getting back in the groove thanks to a number of other things, so I'm hopeful that I can get back to my previous update schedule at the very least. So, with all that out of the way, enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
Chapter 78: Watching Ch 4: All Star Apologies Part 12
The scene switched to Makoto entering inside the chem lab. However, it was made clear that he wasn't the only one who had the idea to come here. "Makoto… did you have your eye on the chem lab, too?" Byakuya inquired, "Just make sure you don't get in my way."
The sour faces of several of the students made it clear that Byakuya's appearance was not welcome. "Of course he would be there," Sayaka grumbled.
"Wish we didn't have to deal with the asshole until the fucking trial…" Mondo also groused.
"Yeah, I got it," Makoto merely sighed.
"I think what you meant to say was, 'Yes, sir. I understand'."
"..." For once, the lucky student ignored Byakuya and focused on finding clues. And immediately, he spotted something. 'What's that powder spilled in front of the shelf?'
Makoto kneeled down towards the spill and the broken bottle in front of the shelf. 'Is this where all the powder came from…?' He mused, focusing on the bottle, 'It looks like the bottle had a label on it - CHEM C-4…'
As soon as the spilled bottle was shown, some of the students quickly formed conclusions. "Well, there's no question that poison was used now," Junko remarked.
"Indeed," Celeste nodded in agreement, "While the poison could be a red herring, it's very doubtful with previous information."
"Would you like to hear something interesting?" Byakuya asked rhetorically, "I was on the 4th floor this morning, checking things out, and at that point… this room wasn't like this."
"Then… this must have been spilled…"
"That's right. It could only have been around the time of the incident," the Togami heir finished.
"And here's further proof that poison is involved."
"Only if we can trust Byakuya at his word," Mukuro refuted, "While he's probably the most trustworthy out of the three main suspects, we shouldn't rule out the idea of him lying to divert the trial."
"That's true," Sayaka agreed, a dark frown entering her face, "The second trial definitely proved that."
Some of the students tensed at the mention of the second trial, especially the victim of said trial.
'If that really is when it happened, it must be related to the case somehow,' Makoto thought. His eyes then moved to the other side of the spill. 'These are… footprints? And they're only in front of the shelf…'
'That's… strange,' Kyoko thought, frowning, 'It's clear that someone went into section C for the poison, yet there are footprints going directly straight to section A?'
That tells her either one of two things: one, the killer disguised their movement to alter the crime scene; or two, different people entered inside the chem lab, likely at different times.
"How do these footprints relate to the scene as a whole?" Byakuya mused, mostly to himself, "We may need to sketch out the floor plan…"
"By 'we'... do you mean me?" Makoto guessed flatly.
That earned a smirk from the Togami heir. "How kind of you to offer." Still smirking, he handed over a piece of paper and a pen. "Well? Let's go, chop chop!"
"...You walked into that one, dude," Leon told his friend.
"I did," Makoto could only nod, looking blank.
"O-Okay…" Makoto then got to work, and before long, had drawn up a decent enough sketch of the room to work with. "Um, so… how's this?"
"Not bad," Byakuya offered, "For you, I mean."
'For me…?'
"Can't you give a compliment without sounding insulting at the same time, Byakuya?" Taka groaned.
"I think you know the answer to that, bro," Mondo grunted beside him.
"So, when you look at it like this… interesting…" Byakuya murmured to himself, "It would appear that whoever left these footprints only had business at the leftmost shelf. They came in, went straight to that shelf, did whatever they had to do, and left. That's what the footprints tell me."
"These footprints must be…" Byakuya turned his eyes towards Makoto. "Makoto, are they yours?"
That caused Sayaka to immediately shoot up from her seat. "Are you accusing him AGAIN?!" the idol shouted in outrage.
"What makes you think he would be the one to kill Sakura?!" Hina also spoke up, indignant at the idea of someone accusing Makoto for Sakura's murder.
Mukuro didn't say anything; however, the growing dark look across her face told the others her thoughts on Byakuya's accusation.
"No!"
"Okay. Then let me see your shoes and I'll confirm their size for myself," the Togami heir commanded.
Finding no reason not to do so, the lucky student quietly complied with the demands. "I see… your feet do appear to be too big," Byakuya confirmed, sounding almost disappointed, "Unfortunately, I must admit these are not your footprints."
"Unfortunately…?!" Sayaka repeated through gritted teeth.
Mukuro's dark gaze started turning murderous.
"I assume you must've really wanted to be rid of a potential obstacle in your bid to win the game, huh Byakuya?" Celeste remarked, her voice thin and tone dark.
As always, the Togami heir refused to look at anyone. "It would've been ideal for my future self if Makoto was the blackened, I will admit."
"Well, too bad for you, huh?" Hina spat.
Makoto himself didn't say anything. Merely let out a sigh of exhaustion.
"Unfortunately…?"
"But with how clear these prints are, it should be quite easy to determine who they do belong to," Byakuya continued, ignoring Makoto's question.
"Really?" Leon questioned, squinting at the screen, "Don't really see anything that tells me who the footprints belong to."
'I do,' Kyoko thought to herself. Alongside Byakuya's sudden scrutiny of Makoto's shoeprints, it's clear what type of shoes would make these footprints. And only three people have those types of shoes.
Byakuya also made the connections as well, and started forming his own conclusions. 'With Makoto being taken out of the equation, only Sakura and Hina could make those types of footprints. Adding the protein can in the rec room, the dropped bottle of poison on the floor, and the clear fact that Sakura was poisoned…'
It paints a very disturbing picture, one of betrayal and malicious intent. However, he refrained from saying anything, seeing that there are still dots to be connected and knowing that his hypothesis will not be received well by his classmates.
'Then these prints are a really valuable clue,' Makoto thought in realization.
"After that, I went back to the rec room, to see if Kyoko found something." The scene showed the lucky student walking back into the rec room as Narrator Makoto spoke. "I also told her what Hiro and Toko told me."
"I see… so along with Byakuya, they're both claiming they didn't go see her," Kyoko mused loudly, "But it's all too convenient. Someone must be lying…"
"Well, we know that Hiro was lying," Mukuro said, ignoring the protest from the fortune teller, "But what about Byakuya and Toko?"
"I can say that Byakuya is the least likely to have gone," Kyoko admitted, holding her chin in thought, "Toko, however, is uncertain at the moment. Could go either way."
"I-I wouldn't!" Toko protested, "Like f-future me s-said, I would be t-too scared to go!"
'Maybe. But that fear could go in either direction,' the detective countered in her head, 'You would either be too scared to go to the meeting, or too frightened at the consequences if you don't.'
'Someone's… lying…' Makoto thought, frowning.
"Well, I've made some progress of my own," Kyoko stated, changing the subject, "Sakura's body, the shelf of magazines, and the Monokuma bottles. These three things have revealed new clues. You'd do well to look them over one more time."
Her comments drew snorts from quite a few of the students. "Of course she did," Leon remarked dryly, "Even when tied to one room, she can find three different clues from the same spots."
"Like I said before, staying in one area wouldn't affect me much," Kyoko said in retort, a hint of smugness in her tone.
Taking her advice, the first place Makoto looked was the magazine rack, sifting through the magazines. "Hmm… clue… clue…" he mumbled to himself. That's when he spotted it. '...Huh? This magazine is upside down. Did someone put it back that way by accident?'
Getting a nagging feeling in the back of his head, Makoto grabbed the magazine and flipped through the pages. When he got to a certain page, his eyes widened in alarm. "Th-This is…!"
What alarmed him was the one word in the center of the page, written in blood: Toko. "...a dying message?!"
Like Makoto, several eyes widened in the size of saucers.
"No way!"
"Toko?!"
"Another dying message!"
"Why was it in the magazine shelf of all places?"
Toko, who still has her eyes covered, was of course confused. "Wh-What is it?"
"There's a dying message with your name written all over it," Junko stated bluntly.
"What?!" And just like that, Toko uncovered her eyes to see such damning evidence. However, as soon as she saw that it was written in blood, she squeaked and covered them back up. Though she still felt faint over the bloody sight. "Wh-Why is my name written on there?!"
"Isn't it obvious? To implicate you as the killer." Byakuya was also blunt in his statement. "The question is whether that dying message is genuine or fabricated."
Hina had a look of frustration mixing in with her fury. 'Who did it?!' she raged in her mind, 'Which one of them killed Sakura?! For once, can there be a clear-cut answer?!'
"Then it would appear you found it," Kyoko said, moving next to Makoto.
Makoto looked at the girl in shock. "Kyoko… is this…?"
"It is indeed a dying message," she confirmed, "Someone used their finger to write it."
'A dying message…'
"But just to be clear, I'm not the one who put it back upside down," Kyoko told the lucky student, "It was already like that when I found it a little while ago. I made sure to put it back exactly as I found it, for the benefit of others who might come looking."
"That explains how Kyoko took notice of it," Taka stated, "But why was it on the magazine shelf? Why make the dying message that much harder to find in the first place?"
"Maybe so that the killer wouldn't notice it?" Hiro suggested, almost eagerly, "And if Sakura wrote the message, then that means Toko did it!"
"Don't start p-pointing fingers at me!"
"H-Hey… is that…?" Hina, who went to Makoto's other side, hesitantly spoke up, "That says… Toko, right?"
"Y-Yeah, it looks like it," The lucky student nodded in confirmation.
"Then… she's the killer! Right?!" Hina immediately deduced.
"W-Well, it hasn't been confirmed yet…"
But the swimmer wasn't listening. "It's settled! She's the killer for sure!" she stated, "That's conclusive evidence, right?! We can use it to corner the killer!"
"Whoa, down girl," Junko said with a convincing look of surprise, "Just because Toko's name is written on there, doesn't mean she's the killer."
"Agreed. Hina has become eager to find the culprit for Sakura's murder," Celeste noted with narrowed eyes, "And quick to point fingers at anyone with the slightest amount of evidence attached to them."
"This will be another obstacle in the class trials…" Mukuro observed neutrally.
"Hina…" Sayaka and Chihiro murmured, concern clear in their voices. Sakura was also concerned, judging by the small, anxious frown across her face.
The swimmer herself felt her frustration growing inside her, teeth grinding and hands clenched tightly. 'Am I really that much of a nuisance?!' Hina exclaimed in her head, 'Do I really cause this much trouble for everyone?!'
Just… how can she expected to stay perfectly calm when her best friend has been murdered? How can she be rational when everyone just keeps dying and dying and dying…?!
'I can see why you would think that, but…' Makoto looked at the magazine with a frown on his face, 'It just seems too easy. If anything, it makes me that much more suspicious…'
"Yeah, that does seem too straightforward," Hifumi agreed with a nod, "It's a clear framing plot if there ever was one…"
"But again, it doesn't make sense since the magazine was on the shelf," Taka argued, "Why not put it somewhere obvious to ensure someone sees it?"
'...Perhaps they did. But someone else put it back,' Kyoko realized, her eyes turned to the shivering book writer, 'Someone who clearly wouldn't like what was written.'
The next place Makoto went to look was Sakura's body. However, instead of examining it immediately, he merely stood around the corpse, an unpleasant look across his face. "Just staring off into space isn't going to help you figure out anything," Kyoko pointed out.
"W-Well, yeah, I know," Makoto said, looking away, "But…"
"Don't you think you might need to actually examine the body?" Kyoko urged.
"..."
The lavender-haired girl sighed at the lack of response. "There's no getting around it."
"It can't be that easy, Kyoko," Taka chided softly, an unpleasant frown across his own face, "Most of us here have not been around dead bodies for a long period of time. Even with the fact that this is the fourth case…"
"It's still unsettling to be around the corpse of a classmate," Sayaka finished, snuggling into Makoto's shoulder for comfort, "Even if they've known each other for only a short period of time."
The detective sighed. "I'm aware. But time is of the essence, and Makoto needs to see the evidence for himself."
"We know, but… we wish that your future self could be less cold with her approach," Chihiro offered his own input meekly, "More understanding that this type of thing isn't normal."
"I do understand that," Kyoko sighed once more, her head turned away slightly. "But... I'll try to take that into consideration more."
Makoto couldn't help but look at Kyoko with a bit of bafflement. "I can't believe how calm you are. No matter how many times I see a dead body, I can't get used to it…"
"That's totally normal," Kyoko assured him.
"Then… how can you…?"
"I imagine it's because I've had plenty of opportunities to touch dead bodies in the past," the girl mused.
"What…?" was all Makoto could say to that, looking more baffled.
"And note the phrasing of her statement," Celeste mused with interest, "A reminder of her deeper memory having been wiped."
"It must unsettle your future self, huh Kyoko?" Makoto asked with concern, turning towards the detective, "Considering that being a detective really defined much of your life…"
A small frown settled on Kyoko's face. "It probably is," she admitted. It's… difficult to imagine having those memories erased from her mind.
"Sorry, never mind," Kyoko quickly brushed away the topic, "More importantly, look here…"
Her finger pointed at Sakura's sneakers, one of which contained a bit of yellow powder. "Her… shoes?" Makoto voiced in confusion.
"You see that yellow powder on her instep?" Kyoko pointed out.
The luckster nodded. "Yeah, it really stands out…"
"The powder is clue number one."
"So that's the powder from the poison…?" Leon guessed, "Did the killer or Sakura spill some of it when putting it in the protein can?"
"That's a possibility…" Celeste said in musing, "Though that doesn't seem right…"
"Next is the wound to her head. Look carefully…" Kyoko paused for a moment, before shaking her head. "Actually, even telling you that, it's incredibly difficult to spot. So let me just explain…"
She moved Sakura's hair to show her scalp and the head wound. "It would appear that she didn't suffer a single blow… but instead, received two blows to the head."
"Two blows…?"
"Two attacks, was it?" Celeste said in musing, holding her chin, "I wonder… did those two attacks, as well as the poisoning of Sakura, happen at the same time? Or were there two or three separate attempts on her life?"
"Two or three separate attacks?" Chihiro looked at her in confusion, along with several others. "What makes you say that?"
"It's merely a theory at the moment, but it's hard to imagine one killer being capable of attacking Sakura twice," the gambler explained, "One surprise attack is plausible, sure, even one after she drank the poison, and the effect was happening slowly. But two attacks AND poison, by one killer? A sizable stretch, to be sure."
"You… raise a good point," Byakuya conceded, looking thoughtful, "It would make much more sense if these attacks happened by separate people. And there isn't anything that would disprove that hypothesis."
"And knowing that Sakura invited Hiro, Toko, and Byakuya to the rec room…" Makoto added grimly, "That theory is looking even stronger."
"So… more than just one person attacked Sakura?" Hina growled venomously, "Hiro, Toko, AND Byakuya tried to kill her?!"
Before any more could be said, Sakura placed a calming hand on the swimmer's shoulder. "Let's wait until the trial comes, Hina," Sakura urged her friend, "Being quick to make conclusions will not help us." Hearing her, Hina once again took some deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Interesting, wouldn't you say? And there's one more thing…" She pointed to the fingers of the corpse. "Both of her hands were spotless. There's absolutely no trace of her blood on either one."
That definitely caught the group's attention. "Okay, that definitely proves that the dying message was forged!" Junko declared.
"Agreed," Celeste nodded, "If both hands were spotless, that clearly means that Sakura wasn't the one to write the dying message."
"But then… why was it on the magazine shelf?" Chihiro questioned, frowning in confusion, "Like Taka said, they should've placed it in a place where everyone could see it."
"Most likely, it was put up by someone else," Mukuro deduced easily, "Which further proves Celeste's hypothesis on there being multiple attackers." And it's clear to some who would benefit from the dying message being hidden.
"So, that's what I learned from examining her body in detail."
'I can't believe she was able to learn all that just by looking at her body…' Makoto thought with some disbelief, 'I don't think anyone but Kyoko could have pulled that off.'
Despite the serious situation, a few of the students couldn't help but give teasing looks at the lucky student, namely, Leon and Mondo. The student in question buried his face in his free hand, his cheeks burning red.
'Why?' was all Makoto could think. Why must it be his thoughts that are revealed?
From one side of him, Kyoko also felt her cheeks turn a darker shade, though she turned her head away before anyone could see it. On the other side, a smile was plastered across Sayaka's face, though it's clear from the dark aura that she was far from happy.
Finally, Makoto went to the shelf containing the Monokuma bottles. 'Something new… something new…' the luckster thought to himself, 'Hmm…'
"Um, I don't really see anything new," Leon said, his eyes squinting at the screen, "Seems like the same bottles to me."
"Ditto," Mondo agreed with a nod, already looking frustrated with this small puzzle.
'...The chess pieces,' Byakuya, Kyoko, Celeste, and (surprisingly) Hifumi managed to catch. The rook, bishop, pawn, and king are all there, with the knight being a part of the broken bottle. But the queen was missing.
"So? Did you figure it out?" Kyoko inquired, "There's a hidden correlation between all the bottles. Pay careful attention and you're sure to find it."
'A correlation… umm…' Eventually, Makoto just sighed in defeat. "Hey, Kyoko… can't you just tell me what it is?"
"I don't mind guiding you toward clues, but giving you my conclusion isn't a good idea," the lavender haired girl explained, "Each person needs to come to their own conclusions, so that everyone can have confidence in the outcome."
"And it's not just because you don't trust me… right?" Makoto questioned.
"..."
"No answer?!"
"Are you serious?!" several students cried out.
"Oh, she better be fucking joking!" Mondo growled, now clearly frustrated, "Cause this shit is getting old!"
"Agreed," Sayaka spoke through gritted teeth.
"I do trust you, to a degree," Kyoko assured him, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you anything to begin with."
'Only to a degree…?' Makoto couldn't help but think.
"Well… that's something, at least," Junko shrugged, "Don't think anyone else got that far with Kyoko."
"Still pretty annoying though…" Leon groaned, facepalming.
Kyoko, pulling a Byakuya, stubbornly ignored the comments made about her, while Makoto smiled sympathetically at her.
"Actually, there's one other thing about the Monokuma Bottles that's bothering me…" Kyoko suddenly stated, looking in thought, "I'd like to do an experiment to confirm it. You don't mind helping me, right?"
"An experiment…?"
"Can you gather up all the pieces of the broken Monokuma Bottle?" the girl requested, "Try to get the smaller pieces too."
"Huh? Are you sure it's okay to mess with the crime scene like that…?" Makoto asked in return.
"I've already done a thorough investigation, so it's fine," Kyoko reassured him, "And that obnoxious Byakuya's not here, so…"
Her comments about Byakuya did not fail to catch the students off-guard. However, a moment of surprise turned into a moment of snorts and laughter at the expense of the Togami heir.
"Anyway, I need to get something from the chem lab." She then proceeded to walk towards the exit of the rec room. "While I'm gone, try to gather up all the glass."
"First she insulted the guy, now she's disregarding his 'order' to stay in the rec room?" Leon laughed, holding his stomach in mirth, "The second part I would expect! Not the first one though, at least not from Kyoko!"
"Kyoko, I take back all instances of annoyance with you during this whole investigation," Sayaka giggled out, desperately holding back full blown laughter, "This more than makes up for it."
Mondo, Hiro, Junko, and Hifumi were laughing and snorting loudly, while Taka, Chihiro, and Makoto were attempting to hold back their laughter. Celeste let out melodic giggles, whereas Kyoko had a full blown smirk across her face. Mukuro and even Sakura had amused smiles, while Hina found it in herself to let out a few giggles.
The only ones who weren't amused were Byakuya and Toko, the latter of whom held an appalled look at the insult towards her 'Master'.
With that, she left the room, leaving Makoto and Hina by themselves. "I really don't know what this is about, but…" With a shrug, he bent over and proceeded to gather up the glass. "...what choice do I have? I'd better just do it."
The scene transitioned to the lucky student putting the last of the pieces in a plastic bag. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Makoto looked up to see Kyoko back in the room, with a scale in hand. "Is everything ready? Then let's get to work."
"So… what kind of experiment are we doing?" Makoto asked curiously.
"I got a scale from the chem lab," Kyoko said, placing the scale on a table, "We're going to use it to compare weights."
"Compare the weights… of what?"
"The pieces of glass you collected, and one of the Monokuma Bottles that's still intact," the lavender haired girl answered.
"Uh… I don't get it." Hiro said, looking completely confused, "What's measuring the weights of the bottles gonna tell us?"
"If my thoughts are aligned with my future self's line of thinking, quite a lot," the detective answered, already understanding her own thought process.
And judging by the narrowed eyes of Celeste and Byakuya, as well as the widened eyes of Makoto and Chihiro, they also see what the future Kyoko is thinking.
"So we did," Narrator Makoto spoke up, showing Kyoko and Makoto making the comparisons, "First, we compared the weight of two regular Monokuma bottles, which showed that they both weighed about the same. Then, we weighed one bottle with the broken one, and that comparison…"
"Huh…?" The actual Makoto gazed dumbfoundedly, seeing that the broken bottle weighs more than the actual bottle. "The broken pieces are… heavier?!"
Eyes widen in shock, confusion, and in some cases, realization. "What the fuck…?!" Mondo exclaimed, mouth agape.
"This further proves my hypothesis, then," Celeste nodded in satisfaction, "There were two attacks."
"So, this is what you wanted my future self to see, wasn't it?" Makoto deduced, turning towards Kyoko, "There were six Monokuma Bottles, rather than just five that we see."
"Correct," Kyoko nodded, "You wouldn't be able to tell at first glance, even with the open spaces. But with the chess pieces, it's clear that one other bottle is missing from the scene."
"The queen," Hifumi spoke up, "There's clearly the rook, bishop, pawn, and king at the shelf, with the knight being a part of the broken bottle. But the queen is nowhere to be found."
"So, someone clearly was trying to hide the evidence of that missing bottle," Byakuya stated, arms crossed, "Trying to hide the fact that there were two attacks."
"This is almost as confusing as the last trial…" Hiro muttered to himself.
"H-How is that possible…?"
"Just as I thought…" Kyoko nodded in satisfaction.
"What?" Makoto turned towards the lavender haired girl with visible confusion.
"The results of our experiment, and the correlation between each of the bottles - put it all together…" Kyoko smirked at Makoto, "...and I believe you will arrive at one very persuasive conclusion."
Before any more could be said between the two, the school bell rang and, as per usual, the monitor turned on. "...Oops! Ya caught me sleeping. Your investigation was just so boring, I couldn't stay awake!" Monokuma stated, "Should I do it? Is it okay? Can I? Can I, can I, can I?
"Okay, then let's begin the class trial! You know where to meet, right? Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!" With that, the monitor shut off.
As like with the previous trial, the students found themselves tensing up. Hina, especially, found herself wound up for this trial, almost eager to find out who's the blackened. To find the one that killed Sakura.
Sakura herself, who was silent throughout all of this, was merely staring stoically. She's unsure what will transpire, but she hopes that through this, both the future and present Hina will have their souls soothed. The last thing she would want is for her friend to be left in this continued state of fury.
'It's already time…?!' Makoto thought in alarm, 'But the mystery of the locked room is still only half-solved… at this point, whatever happens will have to happen at the class trial…!'
"Oh right, there's still that whole locked door mystery!" Hiro said in recollection, "How are they going to figure that whole thing out?!"
'That will be the toughest mystery to figure out…' Kyoko acknowledged. As it stands, there seems to be no actual way for a locked room to happen.
It's clear that multiple attacks have happened; that two people had attacked Sakura with the Monokuma Bottles, one of them likely hidden in the locker. The martial artist was also poisoned by another party before the locked room murder was created.
So then how, throughout this whole scenario, did the locked room murder get created? What way did the killer manage to jam the door shut, without being trapped in themselves? Because, unless she, Makoto, and Hina were incredibly hyper-focused on Sakura, there's no actual spot for the killer to hide in the ro-
'...'
'...'
'Sakura… you didn't.'
The scene then switched to the entrance of the trial room, the remaining six students gathered inside. The moment they were gathered, Monokuma popped in. "The ultimate martial artist ^_^," The bear exclaimed excitedly, "A locked room murder mystery! ;)"
"Wha-...?"
"How…?"
"Why?"
"The fuck?"
"What the…?" Kyoko spoke with obvious confusion.
"Oh, I've just recently discovered the power… of emoticons!" Monokuma declared. "Like, no matter how awful something is, if you toss in a smiley face, it turns positive! For example… you're at a picnic and you find a dead body! XD"
"This is… rather disturbing," Taka voiced, looking completely weirded out by this event.
"I am with you there, bro," Mondo nodded in agreement, unsure of how to react.
"This is just plain creepy…" Hiro groaned.
"And how about the reverse? No matter how great something is, if you put in a sad face, it makes it look super negative!" Monokuma said in response, "For example… do you have a hundred friends? T_T"
"He's right!" Hiro gasped, "That does make it seem sad!"
"Don't encourage him!"
"Hiro, dude, shut up!"
"I'm sorry!" the fortune teller cried out.
"Now then, please get on the elevator! o_O" Monokuma requested, "I'll see you all down there! (*-*) ^(*-*)^ (*-*)." With that, he dropped down to the trial room.
"Wh-What the hell was that…?" Toko stuttered, creeped out.
"Monokuma just being… Monokuma," Leon stated, looking rather done with all this, "That's all I can really say at this point."
"For a psychopathic mastermind, he creates far too many jokes," Byakuya deadpanned, "Though this is definitely one of the more bizarre ones."
"I don't get it…" Hiro sighed.
"I don't get you guys!" Hina spoke up, glaring straight at them, "How can you act so casual after murdering someone?!"
"I-I… don't think I'm acting casual," the fortune teller protested, "Er, I mean…! I didn't murder anyone!"
"Yeah, I'm c-completely innocent… how d-dare you call me a murderer?!" Toko also spoke in denial.
"Whatever…" Hina dismissed their protests.
"Either way, the truth will be revealed soon enough," Byakuya cut in, "Because there can be no doubt, one of us is the culprit."
'Truly?' Kyoko mused to herself. Because if her epiphany rang true… then none of them are the culprit.
However, is her deduction true? While it seems the most likely outcome, she could still be missing something, and it would be easy to think that no one would have to be executed. So, she'll have to wait, see if there's anything else that will reveal the mystery of the locked room.
'The killer… the one who killed Sakura…' Makoto thought grimly. A flashback of Sakura's body was shown. 'She was stronger than anyone I know… and yet, someone killed her.' The lucky student looked at all the remaining students. 'And that person is here…? That person… is one of us…?'
'They'll pay… they will pay for what they did…!' Hina thought venomously, 'Hiro, Toko, Byakuya… one of you is gonna pay for killing Sakura!'
At this point, she doesn't even care if they get executed. If that's the only way for them to pay for their crimes, so be it. She won't allow them to get away with killing her best friend!
One by one, the six remaining students entered the elevator. Once they were all in, the elevator closed up and started descending. As usual, the students were lowered to the trial room in complete silence, until the elevator stopped. The door opened to reveal an Egyptian style trial room.
"Hmm… just the six of you, huh? Really…" Monokuma spoke in mock depression, "That's so few! You must be so lonely!"
Of course, the bear's words caused some fury to rise up in several of the students. But guilt also started meshing into the anger, more specifically with those who had murdered (Or, attempted to, in Sayaka's case), feeling at least some responsibility for the low numbers.
Sayaka especially, felt her heart grip at the mention that there's only six of them left. Soon to be five. And she's the one who started all this.
"You say that like it's not YOUR fault we're all that's left!" Makoto retorted angrily.
"I wonder, will the class trial end with one less classmate again?" the bear mused, ignoring Makoto's angry statement, "Or… will your school life come to an end completely? Now then, are we ready to begin? You know the drill! Find your assigned seat!"
Slowly, the six remaining students went up to their podiums. "And so, the curtain opened for the fourth time…" the narrator spoke, "A deadly judgment… A deadly deception… a deadly betrayal…" The scene showed a nervous Hiro, a shaking Toko, and a composed Byakuya.
"A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith…" Then the angry Hina and stoic Kyoko were shown next.
"A deadly…" finally, a weary but still determined Makoto was brought on screen, "Class trial…!"
'From everything gathered, it's clear that Hiro is one of the attackers,' Makoto mused to himself, 'Toko might be the other one. But who would have poisoned Sakura? Was it one of those two? Possibly even Byakuya?'
However, in all honesty, he couldn't see a scenario where Byakuya would be able to give Sakura that poison. At least not any with all the evidence given. And he definitely can't see Kyoko or Hina doing it.
Plus, it still feels like something is missing. Something that would put all the pieces, put the multiple attacks, the poison, the locked room, in one, cohesive closing argument.
And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Honestly, it was kinda difficult to write the whole investigation reaction. It seems obvious in hindsight that Sakura would be the one to create that locked room scenario. But would it really be that obvious? I'm not sure.
Anyways, next up will be the trial itself. Gonna be a heartbreaking one at the end, that's for sure. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.
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