Anguish & Desire/Chapter Eight

This is Chapter Eight of Danganronpa: Anguish &amp; Desire, Trial Time!. In this chapter, the Ultimates must work together in their first class trial to figure out who killed one of their own.

Author's Note: ''“It is enough to be alive...don't you think so? If I'm only alive, I can talk with the rest of you...if I am only alive I can fight again...” '' - Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager.

“S-So now what?” Shiomi asks, tilting his head.

“Do we just go?” Nakamoto asks. “B-But where do we even start?!”

I look to MonoMech, who, sits on his throne, deviously smiling to himself.

I never really sat down and complicated it, but, who could it be?

Who could be controlling MonoMech -- who could be organizing this...whatever this is?

No--

Now isn’t the time to think about this stuff.

I need to figure out who killed Yosano--who killed my friend!

“Let’s start with something simple,” Nakata sighs, looking straight across to Sasada. “If we do that, the other details will come to us naturally.”

“Okay, then,” Sasada nods, pulling out her e-Handbook. “So, let’s just confirm everything that is stated in the MonoMech File.” I pull out mine, too, and I can see that almost everyone -- minus Tomori & Shiomi -- do the same as Sasada continues. “The victim is Chie Yosano, she died from blood loss after having her throat slit. No other external injuries were noted.”

“Well, that doesn’t help much,” Tani sighs, scratching her head. “We could’ve just known that from looking at the crime scene.” She looks to me and shrugs her shoulders. “Like, what was she killed with though?”

“What she was killed with?” Shiho repeats. “I didn’t recall a weapon at the scene of the crime,” he turns to Nakata & Nakamoto. “Did you guys find anything?” Nakamoto shakes his head -- and Nakata does too. “Did anyone find anything?”

“No,” I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Does that really matter though?” Obinata sighs, crossing his arms. “It was a knife of some sort, I think we can all agree on that, can’t we?”

“I don’t have any objections,” Sasada nods. “However, any evidence pointing to the murder weapon would be beneficial to the trial--”

Sasada is cut off by a high-pitched voice.

It was like a knife cutting through the courtroom.

The voice...of course it belonged to Yuka.

“Who CARES about that garbage?!?” she screams. “J-Just give me back Big Sister Chie! WHY did you have to kill her?! S-She,” Yuka pauses. S-She’s crying still. Saishi, who stands next to her, slowly leans away from her, and Nakata simply watches.

Why am I so far away? Even if I tried to comfort her...could my words reach her?

“She was so nice!” she continues. “She didn’t deserve to die...she didn’t deserve any of this...”

“Yuka…”

I found myself mumbling her name. It's all I can do.

Yuka looks back down, her voice gets softer. “Why did it...have to be her?”

“It--”

“It wasn't supposed to be her,” Obinata says, cutting off whoever was about to speak next.

Rai gently gasps from beside me, and Azama gasps even louder.

“It wasn’t?” Shiomi asks, and, Obinata shakes his head.

He then turns to me. “Ken, you remember what we found?”

What we found?

“Are you referring to your door?” I ask, and Obinata nods.

“What about his door?” Satoshi asks. “Is it not real gold?”

...Satoshi and I have really been on-point lately.

Obinata frowns, and, looks to me. “Did you tell him to say that?”

I shake my head and can’t help but smile a little. “No...great minds just think alike.”

Satoshi flashes me a smile and gives me a thumbs-up.

“Glad the two of you are being modest,” Sasada says.

“Modesty is a virtue,” Satoshi says, and Sasada sighs in response.

“She was being sarcastic, Satoshi-chi,” Nakamoto says, scratching his chin. “Anyway, Obi-chi, what did you & Ken-chi find?”

“It was actually Shimazaki that pointed it out,” Obinata says, nodding in her direction, and the Ultimate Arsonist stands at attention.

“That’s me~!” she exclaims. “And yes sir, I did something!”

“So, what was it about your door that’s so important?” Azama asks, tilting her head. “Does it point to anything that might lead to the blackened?”

“Not really,” Obinata says. “However, it can tell us one thing; Chie Yosano wasn’t supposed to be the victim for this trial.” He turns to me. “Care to explain?”

I nod, and look from Obinata to Shiho, to the rest of the Ultimates. “I don’t know what it means, exactly, but the doorknob to Obinata’s door was halfway taken off.”

“You mean someone tried breaking in?!” Saishi exclaims. “That’s horrible!”

“Yeah, but whether it means they were trying to frame Obinata or if Obinata was supposed to be the victim is unknown...we won’t know until this is all over, probably.”

“Shimazaki,” Tani calmly says, drawing the arsonist’s attention. “How did you notice the doorknob was broken in the first place?”

She tilts her head. “Well, I told Obi I’d wait for him in front of his room after MonoMech let us go, but he wanted to talk to Greenie, and, I was bored so I went to open his door, and--!”

“And, she noticed the doorknob had fallen off.” Obinata concludes.

Azama loudly sighs. “That doesn’t get us anywhere though!” she exclaims. “So, someone tried breaking into your room, yes, but unless you know with what they tried to break your doorknob off, or, if there were any clues, that gets us literally nowhere.” she pauses, and looks to Nakata...there’s something sinister in those eyes of the pianist. “Why don’t we just move into possible culprits.”

“Ooh, what a scary face you’re wearing, Kiyo!” MonoMech exclaims from the sidelines.

“I’ve narrowed it down to two possible culprits.” Shiho comments. “Madoka Nakata, Rai Kitoaji, I hereby declare that one of you two murdered Chie Yosano!” He points at the both of them, flashes a smile to the rest of us, and nods his head. “With what we know, it should be evident.”

W-Why? Why those two?

Nakata blankly stared at Shiho -- no emotions, no nothing. Just a blank stare.

And Rai, from my left, made a noise that sounded like a mix between a gasp and a cry, and takes a step back from their podium. “I-I couldn’t,”

“Wait a minute,” Tomori interjects. “I could see Nakata doing it,” she pauses, and scratches the back of her head. “No offense,”

“None taken,” the merc solemnly responds.

“But, Kitoaji?” she continues. “No way, not buying it.”

“Why not?” Shiho asks. “Kitoaji is always one of the first people in the dining hall in the morning, and today, on the day of the murder, you’re suddenly not there? Not buying that”

“Wait just a minute!” Saishi exclaims. “You can’t just blame Kitoaji for something like that!”

“And why the fuck not?” Azama asks.

...they’re getting vicious.

I take this time to look to Rai, who, shakingly looks at the floor. Rai is...mumbling something to themselves. “Not me...I couldn’t--”

“Hey,” I whisper, and Rai turns to face me. A tear stains Rai’s cheek. “I’m here.” Rai simply nods, and I look back away from Rai, and I’m met with the curious gaze of Obinata...other than him, no one else seemed to have noticed Rai and I talking.

“Why can’t you just tell us, then?!” Shiho exclaims...he’s getting angrier by the moment. “What are you and Kitoaji hiding?!”

“Who fucking cares?” Azama says. “We decide this with a majority vote anyways, right? I’m NOT dying because you two are fucking crazy.”

“You two?” Sasada asks, tilting her head. “And who are you referring to?”

“Saishi, and Ku-chan!” Azama exclaims. “The two of them are so high on their pedestals right now, and, this is just getting ridiculous. Why won’t the two of you listen to reason?! Throw your emotions away, get rid of your fucking biases…” Azama pauses, shaking her head. Her voice grows softer, shakier. “Saishi, do you really want to die for Kitoaji...for Nakata?”

Saishi turns away from the rest of us. “S-Stop!” he exclaims. “I’m trying to tell you that Kitoaji has a very personal reason for not showing up this morning, and, Rai is good!”

Azama shakes him off. “Ku-chan, you were so close to Yosano, were you not? Why aren’t you doing everything in your power to avenge her.”

Where is this all coming from?

The guilt-tripping...the vicious attacks…

...Azama, what happened to you?

Everyone’s eyes are on me now. Why--Why is this happening?

“Sh-Shut--stop.”

“What did you say, Ken?” Shiho asks.

“Just, stop.”

...am I crying again? I really need to stop this.

“O-Of course I want to find out who did this to Yosano, but you’re the ones who are making this harder than it has to be...where’s the evidence?”

“You’re asking for our proof?” Azama asks. “Our proof is that--”

I cut her off. “Is that what? That Nakata is the Ultimate Merc? That Kitoaji was late for breakfast this morning? That’s some flimsy evidence, if you ask me.”

“Indeed,” Obinata says. “Unless we have something more concrete, than I could really care less for what you two buffoons have to say.”

“Sorry,” Sasada bows. “This is, as Ken said, evidence that’s easy to manipulate.”

“G-Guys, she’s a killer!” Shiho exclaims.

“A killer who only kills if her life is in danger,” I say. “You’d know that if you actually spent time with her.”

I look to Nakata, who, is wearing the hints of a smile. She stares back at me, and, opens her mouth. “If I were the blackened, don’t you think I could do better than a simple throat-slit? Don’t you think I would’ve been able to break into Obinata’s room without tearing off the doorknob? I would’ve been a lot more thorough than the really blackened was.”

“Then what about Rai?” Shiho asks.

“I have to agree with Saishi, too.” Satoshi says. “If it’s that personal that in this case of life-and-death they still won’t share, then I won’t push it.”

“It’s not that we’ll cancel them out,” Obinata continues. “They’re still suspects, like the rest of us, but unless they have alibis, I won’t cross anyone off.”

“Don’t we have alibis though, Ken?” Nakata asks.

“Do you?” Shiomi asks, tilting his head.

“I believe Nakata already told you though,” I say, and Shiomi leans back again, stroking his chin.

“Did she?”

“Yes I did…” she mumbles.

“This morning, Nakata and I were together, like usual. We were training in the gym and we stopped and parted ways maybe ten minutes before the morning announcement.”

“And, once the morning announcement rang, I went straight to the dining hall!” Saishi exclaims. “Nakata, or Ken, would’ve had no time to do any killing within that timeframe!”

“As did I.” Sasada says.

“So, the merc’s alibi adds up,” Shiho sighs. “And I’m gonna trust Saishi on this to not go deeper into whatever is wrong with Kitoaji right now.”

“Thank you.”

That’s all that Rai said. It was shaky...but, why? Rai was totally fine being accused by Shiho before while he was locked in here. He wasn’t panicking or anything...what does Saishi know? Is it really that bad?

“You two should apologize,” Yuka pouts, her voice less shaky than before. She’s looking to Azama and Shiho. “That wasn’t very nice of you.”

Shiho nods his head and closes his eyes. “Sorry.”

...talk about the most half-assed apology ever. He probably couldn’t have sounded any more disinterested or annoyed.

“S-Sorry,” Azama mumbles. “I got carried away.”

“I-It’s fine,” Rai says, offering them a gentle smile.

How real is it? I don’t know, but, if it makes them feel better, I won’t say anything.

“Let’s get back on track, shall we?” Tani asks.

“Good idea,” Satoshi says, nodding his head. “So, what do we know so far?”

“We have no murder weapon, and, the blackened also tried to break into Obi-chi’s room…” Nakamoto says. He sighs and throws his hands in the air. “...we have nothing!”

“Well, there are still a lot of points we have yet to go over,” Nakata says. “For example, the motive.”

The motive?

“What about it?” Shiomi asks.

“Do you think it played a large part in today’s murder?” Azama asks.

“Potentially.” Nakata nods.

“Well, that’s not much help…” Nakamoto says. “The motive could’ve influenced most of us in here, so, that doesn’t really narrow it down much.”

“I didn’t watch it…” Yuka mumbles. “...I believe I told you all that.”

“And I couldn’t care for who MonoMech kidnapped, in all honesty.” Satoshi nods.

“So?” Obinata asks, shaking his head. “How do we know the two of you aren’t lying about your experiences with the motive? And, additionally, if you were telling the truth, perhaps you just wanted to get out of here so you killed Yosano.”

“You guys brought up the motive first,” Satoshi shrugs. “So, why feel the need to talk about it?”

“It was just a possibility I was throwing in,” Nakata says. “From what I remembered, it took it’s toll on a lot of us.”

“That was it’s job!” MonoMech exclaims from the sidelines. “Despair...seeing your loved ones in captivity...how horrible!”

“Put a stick up it, dude!” Nakamoto exclaims.

“Seriously, we’re trying to have a conversation here, just shut it.” Tani spits back at MonoMech.

“Yikes! Okay!” he responds, slumping down in his throne.

“Anyways,” Tomori says, tilting her head. “The motive sucked, yes, but mine said that if you waited another week without killing than all the hostages would be killed nonetheless.”

…

…

...what?

“That’s not funny, Tomori,” Tani says. “Mine didn’t say that.”

“Nor did mine…” Sasada mumbles.

“Really?” she asks, tilting her head. “That’s weird.”

No...you’re not serious…

...Tomori...that’s a lie, right?

“Did yours really say that?” Nakamoto asks, and Tomori nods her head.

“Mine did as well,” Obinata says. “If you pay attention, after the screen cuts to black, if you let the video play for an additional five or six minutes, text pops up in the bottom right corner of the screen saying ‘Or, just survive another week, see what happens!’”

“...what?!” Saishi asks.

“Did no one else realize this?” Obinata asks. “A-Are you people serious?”

“I…”

“Rabbit, you didn’t either?” Tomori asks, again, tilting her head.

“Why didn’t either of you say something?!” Saishi asks. “Are you saying that all of our loved ones are going to die?!”

“It’s not my fault you buffoons don’t pay attention to your surroundings.” Obinata sighs. “I’m disappointed, I really am.”

“I’m feeling sick…” Rai whispers, looking to me. Rai is bending over the stand “...this is too much.”

I lean in closer to Rai, and do my best to force a smile -- one I’m sure wasn’t convincing at all. “We only have to go a little further.”

“A little further?” Satoshi asks...okay, I was probably a little too loud.

“Well--”

“Yes,” Nakata says, smiling to herself. “I believe we are actually close to finding the culprit behind Yosano’s death.”

I’ve never been so grateful for someone to cut me off...but, is she right?

Has she already figured out who did it?

“Really?!” Saishi exclaims. “Yes! We almost did it! Good job, team!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, please.” Sasada says. “We still have to discuss the rest of the clues.”

“The rest of the clues?” Tani asks, tilting her head. “What else is there?”

“Why don’t we talk about the state of Yosano’s body?” I ask, smiling to Nakata. “That’s something that we haven’t done yet.”

“Her bo~dy?” Shimazaki asks, scratching her cheek. “Well, she was WET! WET! WET!”

“...that sounds dirty.” Nakamoto sighs, his face scrunching up. “She was wet though, because the shower had been hitting her for who knows how long. She also had a slash along her throat, which goes along with the MonoMech file which told us her cause of death was her throat being slit and dying of blood loss.”

“There was blood everywhere…” Shiomi recalls. “I didn’t stay long, though, but that’s all I really remember.”

“That’s not everything though, right?” Nakata asks. “If you actually looked at the body, you’d find a few details interesting.”

“Interesting?” Shiho asks.

Is she talking about the bump on her head? Or her bloodless fingers?

The bump on her head is what confuses me the most...did Yosano put up a fight? Did Yosano realize what was happening that entire time…? Was she scared...all alone?

“Are you talking about the bump on her head?” I ask, and Nakata nods.

“What bump?” Tomori asks. “I didn’t see a bump.”

“That’s because you had to feel for it,” I explain, crossing my arms. “There was a big bump on the back of Yosano’s head.”

“Y-You toucher her body?!” Saishi asks. “T-That’s unholy!”

“A-Anyway,” I continue. “The point is that Yosano hit her head on something before she died. I was thinking for a little, and--and I can’t stop thinking, what if Yosano had saw something she shouldn’t have?”

“Saw something that she shouldn’t have...?” Tani repeats. “Like, what exactly?”

“What if she saw the blackened trying to break into Obinata’s room?”

For the first time all trial, there was silence. “That’d confirm my suspicions.” Obinata nods. “It adds up.”

“There’s also the dying message to prove it,” I say.

“Chie-chi’s dying message?” Nakamoto asks. “Didn’t she write that to apologize for...well, dying.”

“Well, I was looking at her body, and she didn’t have any blood on her fingers,” I say, looking from Nakamoto to Nakata. “Plus, if she was knocked out, there’d be no way for her to write ‘Im SoRRy’ in blood on the wall behind her.”

“So, it’d have to be the culprit then, right?” Tani asks, sighing. “So, they dipped their fingers in Yosano’s blood just to apologize?”

“...that’s...so messed up.” Satoshi mumbles. “Hold on, but there was no blood in the hallway.” Shiho sighs. “There was nothing to indicate a struggle...and if you’re right, there’s no way Yosano would go quietly.”

“Why didn’t she yell?” Yuka asks. “Why didn’t Big Sister Chie scream for help…?”

“Maybe she did.” Satoshi sighs. “Our rooms are soundproof, remember? She could’ve been screaming for help...and no one came to her rescue.”

“There wouldn’t be any blood because the only open wound on her was the slash on her throat, remember?” Nakata asks, before continuing. “She could’ve just been over-powered or chased into her room.”

“So she was knocked out in the hallway, dragged into her room, and then the blackened slit her throat in the shower?” Tani asks. “Th-This doesn’t seem right.”

“Yeah,” Shiomi nods. “This just doesn’t add up.”

“Well, where are you confused?” Obinata asks.

“The timeline,” Tani continues. “The timeline of the case.”

“What about it?” Nakamoto asks. “After the concert last night, the culprit tried to break into Obi-chi’s room, but was presumably caught by Chie-chi. The culprit knocked Chie-chi out, brought her back into her own room, and slit her throat in the shower.”

This is...a lot.

Who could do such a thing?

Yosano...she was strong. Very strong.

For starters, who would do such a thing?! Obinata would be...dead, if it weren’t Yosano, and the culprit killed Yosano to cover their tracks?

But, who could’ve knocked her out? Physically, Yosano was one of the stronger people in here. Even in her dress, she could’ve taken on anyone in a fight...maybe I should look over everyone individually.

Satoshi...I don’t know. If we’re talking strictly motive-relationship with this case, it’s easiest to cancel him out. He’s also really sweet, I--I just don’t think he could be the type to murder someone. Physically, he could have definitely done it, but I just don’t...I just don’t know.

Shimazaki is just such a wildcard...I don’t know anything really about her. She looks like she could have easily gotten the jump on Yosano, and, I don’t know her relationship with Obinata enough. If we’re right about the culprit trying to target Obinata, then she wouldn’t have had to break into his room, she could’ve just knocked and he woulda let her right in.

Tomori is surprisingly strong, despite her title of the Ultimate Model. She could beat me, and probably Shimazaki in an arm-wrestling contest if we tried, but would she have the will to kill someone? That fight with Saishi today threw me off, too...was she always that hot-headed?

I believe I can rule Obinata out. Despite looking excited when MonoMech explained to us this killing ‘game’, Obinata had been super helpful this trial and kept us on the right track for the entirety of the trial.

I don’t believe Sasada has it in her to kill, honestly. Not only is she physically weaker than Yosano, but, Sasada just seems too nice to kill anyone. I’d bet against her being the culprit.

Azama seems desperate, right now. But, what for…? I don’t understand what’s up with her. Is she scared she’s gonna die, or, is she scared we’re getting closer to solving this investigation?

Shiomi...I don’t know what to think of Shiomi. He’s been mostly quiet throughout this trial, but, is that enough to cast suspicion on him?

Tani...is she strong enough to take on Yosano? Nakata said it herself -- that Tani is one of the weakest here -- and, for someone who fights others for a living, I’ll take her word on it.

I don’t think Nakamoto is capable of murder. On the surface he seems like he’s out there and he’s nothing but some narcissist, but, I really think he’s kind-hearted and is doing his best to help us out here.

Nakata can’t be the culprit. I mean, I was with her for all of this morning and she didn’t seem any different than usual...plus, I was with her while the murder was taking place...it definitely couldn’t have been her.

Yuka--no. Just, no. Yuka was the closest to Yosano than anyone else was...she thought of her like a big sister. I refuse to believe Yuka could have done anything to hurt her.

Saishi, I think I can say with certainty, is one-hundred million percent not the culprit. The way he stood up for Rai, just the way he is in general...he cares about everyone in here wholeheartedly. More than everyone else, I think.

Shiho. I don’t trust this guy. I don’t know what it is about him, but, the way he treated Rai and Nakata just...just makes me think he’s hiding something. They say that the one who casts the most blame is the one who is actually the perpetrator...but, if I target in on him while I’m unsure, I’ll just end up blinding myself to the truth.

Rai...no. Definitely no. I refuse to believe Rai has even a mean bone in their body...they couldn’t hurt anyone, let alone Yosano.

This...just sucks...I’m...so confused.

“Ku-chan,” Azama says.

Oh, right, I need to pay attention to the trial at hand.

“Yes?” I ask.

“Can you take us through what happened when you discovered the body?” Sasada asks. “We’re trying to figure out the timeline to the murder, and, Obinata wanted to address something from your testimony.”

My eyes immediately drift to the Ultimate Fashion Designer. He slyly smirks at me and shrugs his shoulders.

“Sure,” I say. When I discovered the body, huh? That seems so long ago, now, but in reality it’s only been one or two hours...this is...insane. “Because Rai and Yosano didn’t show to breakfast, Saishi and I went back to their rooms to get them. Saishi went to Rai’s room, and I went to Yosano’s. Her room was unlocked, and, I went inside. I heard the shower was running, so I knocked on her bathroom door and she wouldn’t answer -- I thought she was angry at first so I didn’t think much of it, but then I noticed that water was leaking from the bathroom. So, I opened the door to the bathroom and...found her.”

“And, why did you two choose the rooms you did?” Obinata asks.

“Saishi didn’t want to enter a girl’s bedroom without permission.” I say, and, I can hear Shimazaki chuckle from the side.

“It’s unholy!” Saishi exclaims. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it!”

“H-Hey, wait a minute,” Tomori says, tilting her head. “Nakata, this morning you said that this morning the shower was extremely cold, right?”

“That is correct,” Nakata says.

“What about you, Rabbit?” Tomori continues.

“Y-Yeah,” I say, nodding my head. “I turned it on the second the morning announcement hit, so I should’ve been the first one in this morning, but it was still freezing. I asked MonoMech about it, and he said it should’ve been running fine.”

“Is that what I said?” MonoMech asks, tilting his head. “Well, I probably said something like that.”

“There was nothing wrong with the showers, then?” Obinata asks.

MonoMech shakes his head. “How dare you accuse my stuff on breaking! I worked hard to get top of the line equipment for you brats!”

“So, this is where I’m confused,” Tomori continues, resting her hands on the stand in front of her. “If there’s nothing wrong with the showers, then why was the water so cold?”

“The only possibility I can think of is that Yosano’s shower was on all night long.” Sasada says. “She was still wearing her dress, too.”

“But that shouldn’t be possible, right?” Azama asks. “After the nighttime announcement, all the water in the building should stop working.”

“We left the concert after the nighttime announcement, so this should be impossible.” Shiomi nods. “So, it had to have happened this morning, right?”

“Why would Yosano wear her dress to bed?” Rai mumbles. “And then, even more than that, leave her room without changing out of it.”

“Maybe she got hungry.” Nakamoto smiles. “Ooh, that’s it!”

“Again, highly unlikely.” Obinata says. “If you recall, Saishi and Sasada said that as soon as the morning announcement came on, the two of them went straight to the dining hall. They would’ve seen something go down.”

“Plus,” I interject. “I turned on the shower as soon as the announcement came on, it makes no sense that it was ice cold right away...it’d have to have been running for at least forty-five minutes beforehand to get to that point.”

“This doesn’t make any sense…” Satoshi sighs. “...this just seems impossible.”

“It’s very contradictory, yes, but like I said earlier, I think we’re very close to finding out who the culprit is.” Nakata says, nodding her head. “MonoMech, may I ask you a question?”

“You just did!”

“Is it possible to break these rules without being punished?” She asks.

MonoMech tilts his head. “Well...what if I were to say, some of the rules could be broken if you specify it’s for a murder?!”

“That shouldn’t have been as surprising as it is.” Obinata sighs. “I really thought these rules were absolute...how disappointing.”

“Stop being so smug, Zeshin!” MonoMech exclaims.

“Anyways,” Obinata continues. “You understand what this means, right?

...yes, I do…

...it means we’re back at square one.

“Yes,” Tani responds. “That means that the culprit could be anyone, because no one has an alibi for two.”

H-Huh?

“Exactly!” Saishi exclaims. “After all this, we don’t know anything!”

Wait a minute?

I look around the circle, and once my eyes lock with Obinata’s, I know exactly what had just happened. Obinata is smirking to himself, his arms crossed, and as my eyes continue to scan, I see Nakata doing the same.

“So, now what?” Sasada asks.

“Can I ask a question?” I ask.

Is this it?

I can hardly believe it…

“What is it, Ku-chan?” Azama asks.

“Tani…”

...is this how it’s gonna end? Because of a slip-up?

I lock eyes with Tani, who, I notice for the first time looks like she’s completely devoid of emotion. Her eyes are barely open, her pupils are huge, she looks so...sad. “What?”

She even sounds like her emotions are long gone.

“...how did you know the murder took place at two?”