Chapter 4: Secrets Revealed
Through Unfamiliar Eyes
Kyoko had woken up at 6AM today, just like she did every day. Her body's internal clock had been completely trained to do so, and it proved to be quite useful, especially in situations such as this one.
Unsurprisingly, she had not seen anyone in the kitchen as she ate breakfast— she highly doubted anyone else was awake. The important question was whether or not Apollo had completed the First Life Room. According to Phoenix, he planned to do it yesterday evening.
Phoenix Wright, the Ultimate Lawyer. Where did he get off, speaking condescendingly to her like that? Acting as if her line of reasoning wasn't worth considering? And just after she had opened up to him about her discoveries.
She inhaled deeply through her nose. She wasn't going to let herself slip, even when no one was around to see it. Reticence was fundamental to the Kirigiri family— if others could read your emotions, they would attempt to manipulate you.
Of course, her father had abandoned all of that to go run his joke of a school. The school that allowed his own daughter to get kidnapped and sent to this village, to watch her classmates murder each other.
Then again, she had partially abandoned it as well to even attend the academy.
She felt her anger rising again, and recognized that her current train of thought was not going to be helpful. Taking another deep breath, she cleaned her dishes and marched out of the kitchen.
First, she would check the Outer Hall. If Apollo had indeed attempted to clear it, perhaps there would be a sign of some sort near the entrance. Then again, perhaps Phoenix had persuaded him not to undergo the gauntlet. It was worth checking the hall regardless.
She didn't entirely expect the doors via the Prosecutor House to be open, since Apollo had almost certainly entered through the Lawyer House. Then again, he did seem to be among those who had entered the Prosecutor House kitchen, so maybe he had entered through there?
She opened the door to the Outer Hall. As soon as the door cracked open, she suddenly felt an unbearably oppressive sense of foreboding. She had felt that sensation before, and she knew exactly what it meant. As she opened the door further, the source of the negativity became apparent. She stepped into the room to see the corpse of Chihiro lying face-down on the purple floor in front of the door to the First Life Room. A thick chain was wrapped around her neck.
Kyoko did not avert her eyes, nor let her sadness get the better of her. Now was the time to act. She had a few options: analyze the body now, or gather everyone here before beginning the investigation.
She needed to get information first. She rushed over to Chihiro's corpse. After glancing around to ensure there was truly no one to witness it, she removed her gloves and felt for a pulse, pushing aside the chain to feel for a pulse in the neck, as well as the wrist. Unfortunately, she could tell as soon as she felt Chihiro's stiff, cold hand that the programmer had been dead for several hours.
She was far too late.
As unlikely as it was that the killer had not left the scene— she still needed to check. Stepping away from Chihiro's body for a moment, she took a few steps down the spiral staircase towards the first floor whilst donning her gloves, examining the room for any signs of recent access. She didn't expect to find anything, but her eyes immediately settled on a large bundle of chains wrapped around the handles on the set of double-doors to the Lawyer House. Apparently, it was in the best interest of the killer to make sure no one could enter from the Lawyer House. The chains being on the inside guaranteed that the killer had left via the elevator, or…
Perhaps they were still in the First Life Room. Then again, if someone were to emerge from that room with no explanation, it would very clearly pin them as the killer. Right now, the most likely scenario was that the killer had fled via the Prosecutor House exit.
In that case, she needed a body discovery announcement to play to alert the boys residing in the Lawyer House. Although it pained her to do so, she left Chihiro's body where it was and bolted out of the Outer Hall. As she bounded up the staircase, visions of the previous murders flashed through her mind.
Dahlia Hawthorne. Poisoned by Franziska von Karma.
Athena Cykes. Stabbed by Nahyuta Sahdmadi, who was assisted by Nagito Komaeda.
Ema Skye and Leon Kuwata. Stabbed by Peko Pekoyama.
She ascended the final step.
And now, Chihiro Fujisaki. Seemingly strangled by an unknown party.
Kyoko first sprinted over to Chiaki's room, as it was the closest to the staircase. Maya had opted to live next to Chiaki, so it would not take long for Kyoko to wake both of them.
She tried Chiaki's handle. Thankfully, the door was unlocked. She shoved it open and found the gamer fast asleep, dangling halfway off the bed. A small puddle of drool had formed on the ground.
Kyoko walked over to the bed and gently shook Chiaki awake, just as she had yesterday morning with Phoenix.
Unfortunately, Chiaki awoke much slower than Phoenix did. It took about thirty seconds of vigorous shaking before the sleepy gamer finally opened her eyes, yawning.
"Kyoko…" she spoke. "What's the matter?"
"Chihiro is dead."
At this, Chiaki sat upright, still visibly exhausted but approaching the situation with much more gravitas. "Where?"
"The Outer Hall. Get dressed— I need to go wake Maya up."
Kyoko quickly departed for the Ultimate Spirit Medium's room, which was also unlocked. She growled in frustration— unlocked doors everywhere! That may have been why Chihiro died to begin with!
Maya was sleeping in a position just as unflattering as Chiaki— she lay starfished on top of the covers, half of which had fallen to the ground.
Fortunately, Maya was much quicker to rouse than Chiaki. She jolted awake at Kyoko's touch.
"H-huh?" Maya gasped, her eyes flying open, flitting around wildly for a moment before focusing on Kyoko. "Did I oversleep?"
Kyoko shook her head. "No. Someone has died."
Maya sat up swiftly, pushing Kyoko away. "Who?!" she asked frantically. "Was it Nick?" She practically flew out of bed. "Where is he?"
Kyoko grabbed Maya's shoulder. "It's not Phoenix. It's Chihiro."
Maya's face fell. "N-no… Not her…"
"She's in the Outer Hall," Kyoko informed her. "Get ready, and I'll meet you there."
Maya closed her eyes and took a shaky breath in, then nodded. Kyoko moved past her and returned to the exterior of the second floor. Chiaki was waiting at the top of the staircase, and the two walked down, quickly making their way back into the Outer Hall. Kyoko quietly braced herself to see Chihiro's body again— although the dead body was not what concerned her. The aftermath of someone's death was almost always much worse than the death itself. And, just like all the other dead bodies in the village, this one's aftermath would entail a class trial and an execution.
Kyoko pushed the door open. Chiaki slowly approached Chihiro's body, quietly taking in the somber scene. She peered at the chain wrapped around Chihiro's neck before scanning the room, seemingly looking for something.
A few seconds later, Maya burst into the room. It did not take long for her eyes to settle on Chihiro's corpse. Tears began welling up in her eyes.
As Maya approached Kyoko and Chiaki, the familiar chime of a body discovery announcement played.
That should wake up the boys, Kyoko nodded to herself. As Monokuma described where the body was, she felt confident they would arrive soon enough.
Unfortunately, someone— something— else arrived, too. She wasn't surprised to hear the cartoonish squeal of Monokuma's arrival, but it was still unwelcome.
"Wow, that didn't take long!" the bear chortled from behind the three surviving girls. "It hasn't even been 48 hours yet!"
"And yet, those hours without your presence were the most enjoyable we've had so far," Kyoko seethed, turning around. "Give us the Monokuma file and get out."
"Wow, so snippy!" Monokuma snickered. "Who died? Oh yeah! Chihiro! Well, if you insist!"
Kyoko heard three synchronous chimes coming from the handbooks of each of the students in the hall.
"Um… Shouldn't we wait for everyone else to get here?" Maya spoke up.
"Oh, you mean the other boys?" Monokuma cackled. Kyoko narrowed her eyes. "I wouldn't count on their arrival anytime soon."
"Did you do something to them?" Chiaki asked, pointing down at Monokuma.
"Of course not! But the elevator is a bit out of service right now. I guess someone must have tampered with it! Puhuhuhu!"
"Did you break it?!" Maya accused frantically.
"Once again, of course not!" Monokuma wagged a clawed finger. "I'd never interfere like that. I'm just letting you know not to expect them."
"We need to call them!" Maya exclaimed. "Let them know what's happening!"
Kyoko nodded. "Let's go." She marched swiftly out of the Outer Hall, glancing back briefly to ensure Chiaki and Maya were following her.
"Hey! What about me?" Monokuma shook his paw in frustration. "Don't walk away from me, young ladies! Why, wait till I tell your mothers ab-"
Maya slammed the door shut, cutting off Monokuma's jabbering. The trio made haste to the telephone directly across the pyramid, covering the distance quickly. Kyoko appreciated that the bottom floor of the Prosecutor House was smaller than that of the Lawyer House— it made crossing it simpler.
Kyoko picked up the phone and pressed the large attorney's badge on the base. A dial tone rang in her ear for a few moments as Maya and Chiaki leaned in anxiously. After several seconds of waiting, the silence only punctuated by occasional ringing, Kyoko heard a click as someone picked up on the other side.
"Is everyone there?" Kyoko asked. She was greeted with a shaky breath. After a moment, she heard a faint voice from the other line, as if the microphone was being covered.
"Mr. Wright, you do it. I can't take any more of this." She placed the voice as Apollo's, although it was very hard to hear. After another pause, the voice of Phoenix Wright came through. Kyoko clenched her jaw.
"Who is it?" Phoenix asked. At least he was willing to get straight to the point. From Kyoko's right, Maya breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his voice.
"Chihiro," Kyoko answered.
There was a pregnant pause where neither of them spoke. She pictured him struggling to contain his emotions— that was something essentially everyone in this village was terrible at.
"Is everyone else with you?" Kyoko finally asked, pushing her own feelings aside. "Did they hear my answer?"
"They are," Phoenix confirmed. That meant no one was hiding in the First Life Room— a small relief. "Apollo— you need to hear this, too. Please come listen. Chihiro is dead."
She heard Apollo exhale slowly as he approached the phone.
"Clearly everyone is awake over there, too," Phoenix added.
"They're with me," Kyoko told him. "Monokuma told us the elevator was out of commission— is this accurate?"
"Yeah," Phoenix grimaced. "The call button is completely obliterated."
Kyoko heard a shuffling coming from the other side of the phone. "Fräulein Kirigiri—" apparently Klavier had grabbed the phone from Phoenix— "Is there no way for us to get through via the Outer Hall? Chihiro's body is there, ja? Perhaps we can investigate the Outer Hall while you investigate the Prosecutor House?"
"You'll have to get through the Lawyer House door first," Kyoko sighed. "The door has been completely chained shut."
"What?!" A chorus of voices screeched. Kyoko tilted the receiver away from her ear slightly as Maya and Chiaki flinched.
"Did you fail to hear me the first time?" Kyoko asked sardonically.
Makoto's voice was next to speak. "Kyoko! Are you saying we're trapped?"
"Unless you know of another way to the Outer Hall or the Prosecutor House, then that is indeed what I am saying." She felt slightly guilty at the tone she had taken with Makoto, but now was no time for mincing words.
"Why don't we just take the elevator to the Lawyer House?" Maya pondered. "Then they could ride with us on the way back."
"The elevator would go to the Lawyer House, but we would be unable to press the button to make it return," Kyoko reminded her. "That would only make the situation worse."
Maya looked down, mumbling an apology.
"So, what should we do?" Phoenix asked, having retaken control of the phone.
"Investigate what you can," Kyoko answered. "Try to repair the elevator as quickly as you can, if you believe you can do so. If not, then I suppose I'll see you at the class trial."
"Alright," Phoenix agreed. "And, Kyoko?"
She braced herself for some ridiculous claim or weak apology. Instead, what she heard surprised her:
"I trust you."
Her lips briefly parted, but she was unable to respond before the line clicked, ending the call. She shook her head and returned the receiver to the base. Before she could return her mind to the investigation, a voice called out:
"Ready to investigate?"
Kyoko did not consider herself an easily shaken person. Most of the time, her observational skills were enough to analyze a situation and determine the most likely outcome. But, on rare occasions, something unpredictable happened which truly surprised her— and nothing about this situation indicated that, despite the access elevator being broken, and despite the Outer Hall being locked, Nagito Komaeda could suddenly defy the laws of physics and appear behind her.
And yet, here he was.
She whirled around, holding her fists up in a defensive position. Maya stared at the luckster, awestruck. Chiaki narrowed her eyes, her face uncharacteristically skeptical. Nagito seemed unaware of the confusion his arrival caused— he smiled casually at the three of them.
Kyoko realized she was inadvertently revealing far too much about her emotions to someone very dangerous. She exited her fighting stance and removed any hint of surprise from her face.
She steadied herself before demanding: "What are you doing here?"
Nagito shrugged. "I got bored of the Lawyer House."
Kyoko narrowed her eyes. "And how did you get from the Lawyer House to here?"
Nagito smiled playfully. "Maybe I… teleported."
"Did you hide a secret passage from us?" Kyoko accused.
"Of course not. I'd never hide something so important from you Ultimates. I'd tell you right away, because you're true beacons of hope and I'm worthless trash!"
Kyoko raised her eyebrows.
"...Is probably what you were expecting me to say, right?" Nagito scorned, his demeanor shifting scarily quickly as he pointed at Kyoko's face. "Well, the truth is, there's a lot I'm hiding from you. And it's going to stay that way! Figure it out yourself!"
Kyoko stared silently at the luckster after his outburst, waiting for another statement. She could tell he wasn't finished.
"Although, I will say this," Nagito concluded, analyzing his fingernails, returning to his calm persona. "There are no secret passages between the Lawyer House and Prosecutor House. I guarantee it."
Kyoko narrowed her eyes. Nagito's wording was very careful, and she knew it wasn't by accident. However, pointing this out to him when he was clearly in an uncooperative mood would serve little purpose.
"Could you bring the others with you?" Chiaki asked hopefully. Kyoko held back a scoff. Whether or not he could was not the issue— it was whether he would.
"No," Nagito sighed exaggeratedly. "I'm afraid I can't."
Kyoko clenched one of her fists. She wanted to send everyone away and investigate by herself, but that definitely wouldn't help the situation. Instead, she asked: "Is there anything else you want to tell us?"
"I cleared the First Life Room," Nagito answered nonchalantly.
"I know," Kyoko said icily. "You know I know, so go ahead and get to the point."
"Huh?!" Maya interjected. "Stop speaking in circles! What are you talking about?"
Kyoko did not feel Maya's question was worthy of a response, so she stayed silent.
"Aw," Maya pouted, "You're ignoring me?"
"Maybe you should use your head for once instead of relying on others more intelligent than you," Nagito shrugged.
"Hey!" Maya protested.
Kyoko ignored the argument between the two. "What did you find in the First Life Room?"
Nagito grinned unnervingly. "A lot! The gauntlet wasn't even that deadly. There were a ton of weapons— swords, guns, tasers, bombs— it was like raiding a barracks."
Kyoko fiddled with a long strand of hair near her waist. That must have been the prize Monokuma promised— an easy way to kill someone. Had Nagito taken any of those weapons? It seemed likely.
"More interestingly, though, I found this file." Nagito reached into his jacket and produced a black leather folder. The front of the folder displayed the Hope's Peak logo. "There's some very interesting stuff in here!" He twirled it between his fingers before tucking it back into his jacket.
"Are you going to sho-"
Kyoko held her hand up, interrupting Maya's question. "Don't bother. If he wanted us to see, he would have shown us. Let's focus on investigating."
"Don't mind me!" Nagito laughed. "I'll just be… observing."
"Should we go back to the Outer Hall?" Chiaki stroked her chin slowly.
"Two of us can," Kyoko said. "The other two should investigate Chihiro's room."
"I can do that… Probably…"
Chiaki's noncommittal confidence was aggravating to no end, but Kyoko suppressed her annoyance and merely replied: "Go. Maya, you go, too."
"Are you sure you want to be left with Nagito?" Maya asked skeptically.
"I'll be fine. Get investigating."
Chiaki and Maya jogged to the other side of the pyramid, ascending the stairs and entering Chihiro's room. Kyoko, meanwhile, walked briskly back to the Outer Hall, letting Nagito follow her.
She pulled out her handbook as she walked, finally bringing up the Monokuma File. Nagito peered at the text from over her shoulder.
The victim is Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer. The body was found in the Outer Hall via the Prosecutor House. The time of death is around 1 AM. The cause of death is asphyxiation. A ligature mark was found on the victim's neck, but no other external wounds were found.
Kyoko pursed her lips as she tucked the handbook back into her inner jacket pocket. Nothing about the Monokuma File immediately stood out as being a trick, and all the information she expected to need was available. Perhaps her own autopsy report would reveal something new.
"Did Monokuma give any of the boys a Monokuma File?" Kyoko asked Nagito as she opened the door to the Outer Hall.
Nagito scratched his head. "Can't say. He definitely didn't give me one."
That meant there might truly be nothing for any of the boys to investigate— four of the eight surviving people had nothing to do. That put them at a major disadvantage.
She arrived at Chihiro's body. It was still lying in the exact same position, facedown with a chain around the neck. Rigor mortis had long since set in, meaning it wouldn't be worth it to move her limbs.
First things first: the chain needed to go. She gently grabbed both ends and untwisted them, careful not to apply any extra force on Chihiro's neck. Once the chain was no longer around Chihiro's neck, she gently slid it aside.
"Help me flip Chihiro over," Kyoko commanded. Nagito groaned, but he complied, assisting Kyoko in gently turning the programmer's body over.
Now that Chihiro was unobscured, Kyoko was able to better take in the scene. The small girl was lying almost peacefully, her arms resting by her side. Kyoko checked to see if she was holding anything. Her left hand was empty, but the right hand held a crumpled up piece of paper. With some difficulty, Kyoko extracted the paper and unfurled it, revealing a certificate of some sort.
Upon closer inspection, she realized the award was titled the "First Life Award." The text congratulated one Chihiro Fujisaki for successfully clearing the deadly gauntlet and exiting the room at 12:50 AM.
"I see," Nagito said sagely. "So Chihiro cleared the First Life Room 10 minutes before the murder."
"Do you have any useful observations?"
"Well, it does make one person seem pretty suspicious," Nagito answered.
Kyoko sighed— she saw where this was going. "Yes; you. Anything else?"
"No, that's everything."
Kyoko pondered why Chihiro would bother clearing the First Life Room to begin with. She didn't seem like the type to commit a murder using the weapons found there— she didn't even seem like the type to face a deadly gauntlet to begin with. Maybe more would become clear.
Kyoko continued her scan of the body. She gently felt the wounds on Chihiro's throat— a ring near her larynx that slowly faded away as they wrapped around her neck. Next, Kyoko checked all the pockets on her blazer. She felt nothing out of place until she was past the top half of the body…
"Wh-what?" she said aloud, cursing herself immediately after for betraying her emotions.
"Getting a little handsy, aren't you?" Nagito mocked. "Even for an autopsy report, that's a bit much."
Kyoko shook off the surprise and took a moment to recompose herself. "I have to be thorough to be sure I didn't miss anything."
"So you found something?"
"No, it was a mistake," Kyoko lied. She had indeed found something— something she found quite shocking. But, truthfully, it had no bearing on the case whatsoever, and she doubted Chihiro would want the truth exposed in such a manner.
The truth that Chihiro was a boy.
It explained why she… he… was so uncomfortable with living in the Prosecutor House with the girls. Additionally, it explained why Monokuma said the "other boys" wouldn't be able to make it to the Prosecutor House. Part of her wanted to solve the mystery of why Chihiro presented as a girl in the first place, but unless she could find a reason to believe it affected the case, she knew now was not the time to ponder it.
Apart from the note and the revelation of Chihiro's sex, Kyoko did not find anything on the body. She stood up and brushed herself off, turning around to face Nagito.
"Where's your certificate for clearing the First Life Room?" she demanded.
Nagito chuckled. "Not now. I'll show you all when the time comes."
Kyoko rolled her eyes. Of course Nagito would make things more difficult. However, that meant it was something pertinent to the case— perhaps the time he cleared it would exonerate him?
A part of her wanted to enter the room for herself to see if there were any clues hidden beyond the doors. She was almost sure that there would be… but it wasn't worth risking her life. Instead, she turned towards the staircase in the center of the room and quickly marched down to the first floor. Nagito trailed slowly behind her.
The only noteworthy clue on this floor was the set of chains wrapped around the door handles— she approached the double-doors to further analyze them. They appeared to be the same set as the ones wrapped around Chihiro's neck. A thick padlock connected the chains together, making it impossible to unlock the door for those in the Lawyer House.
At least she gained one piece of information— the chains were the same, meaning whoever killed Chihiro and whoever locked the door were almost assuredly one and the same.
And whoever killed Chihiro had also cleared the First Life Room.
She tugged gently at the chains, confirming that they did, in fact, block the door. That begged the question: how did Nagito open them? He couldn't have unlocked the chains from the Lawyer House, and the fact that he had admitted there was no passage from the Lawyer House to the Prosecutor House meant it had to be via the Outer Hall in some way.
Maybe the passage was from the Lawyer House to the Outer Hall, but entering using the passage meant he could enter the Prosecutor House? She wasn't sure yet.
Having seen all she wanted to see, Kyoko led Nagito back up the stairs and out of the Outer Hall. She walked over to Chihiro's room, intent on learning what Chiaki and Maya had uncovered.
When she pushed the door open, she found Maya lying on her stomach, peering under the bed, while Chiaki rifled through the drawers in the desk. The covers on the bed had been haphazardly pushed onto the floor, and two chairs were stacked on top of each other in the corner.
"Looks like you're having fun!" Nagito laughed.
"We're looking for something…" Chiaki responded half-heartedly as she stuck her head into a drawer.
"What are you searching for?" Kyoko inquired, curious as to what could cause such a bizarre scene, and to why they hadn't noticed the one apparent problem with the room.
"Alter Ego," Maya answered. "Chiaki came up with the idea to ask it if it heard or saw anything during the night, but we can't find the laptop anywhere!"
"Chihiro may have hidden it so no one could find it," Kyoko postulated.
"We checked all of the other dorm rooms, just to be sure," Chiaki explained. "We think the killer stole it… probably…"
"Perhaps," Kyoko acquiesced.
"Say, Kyoko," Nagito attempted to prod Kyoko's shoulder, but she grabbed his wrist before he could reach her. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.
He withdrew his hand, holding both in front of his chest in apology. "Notice anything odd about this room? Something that shouldn't be here, perhaps?"
Kyoko sighed. "There are two desk chairs in here. All other rooms have one."
"And why would that be?" Nagito placed his fingers on his chin.
"Maybe the killer brought a chair with them into Chihiro's room?" Maya suggested.
Chiaki tapped the desk absentmindedly. "For what purpose?"
"It will become apparent soon," Kyoko asserted. In her experience, things like this always worked themselves out. "Did you find anything else interesting in this room?"
"No," Maya sighed. "Sorry…"
"Where shall you look now?" Nagito pondered.
"We need to scour the Prosecutor House," Kyoko decided. "Check every room— see if anything is out of place, or if you can find Alter Ego. Let's get going."
Kyoko personally examined the kitchen and recreation room while Nagito watched from the sidelines. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything worth noting. She felt the red walls were slowly driving her insane; the prosecutor's badges drifting towards the bottom of the pyramid creating the sense that the whole floor was rising as she turned the facts over in her head.
First, Chihiro had died from strangulation around 10 minutes after clearing the First Life Room. Coupled with the fact that he had died right outside the doorstep, it suggested that the killer had been waiting. Did they see him enter?
Additionally, the chain was something that must have come as a prize for clearing the gauntlet. This meant that the killer had cleared the gauntlet— with Nagito hesitant to reveal his award, it pointed towards…
Actually, she had no idea what it pointed towards. With most people, it would have pointed towards them having cleared the room before 1 AM, but Nagito may have been hiding evidence out of some sort of twisted sense of fun. He could have cleared it before or after Chihiro.
She sighed. There were still too many unknowns. Hopefully the investigation in the Lawyer House had had some modicum of success, but she was skeptical there would be any clues there to begin with.
"This investigation has been going on for some time," Nagito observed as they exited the recreation room. "I'm surprised Monokuma hasn't called us to the class trial yet."
"Maybe he's waiting on something," Kyoko surmised. "On what, though, I'm not sure."
"Hopefully there's still enough time for us to help out a little bit," a new voice entered the conversation, concluding with an awkward laugh.
Kyoko inhaled deeply through her nose before turning around and coming face-to-face with Phoenix Wright, Makoto Naegi, Klavier Gavin, and Apollo Justice.
Phoenix smiled uncomfortably. Makoto gave Kyoko a small wave. She couldn't stop herself from returning a small smile, feeling slightly more confident now that the remainder of their class was now here. The class trial was coming, but now they were no longer literally divided.
They would face it together.