Anguish & Desire/Chapter Twenty Four

This is Chapter Twenty Four of Danganronpa: Anguish &amp; Desire, Scarring Time!. In this chapter, another body surfaces and the rest of the Ultimates are forced to perform another investigation.

Author's Note: oh boi can't wait for zero ppl to read this one too

After falling asleep last night, my nightmares from the previous night had resurfaced. I couldn’t get their faces out of my mind -- Yosano, Tani, Mio, Shiho, Nakata -- I couldn’t shake their bruised and broken bodies from my mind.

“You’re weak.”

“Why didn’t you reach out to me?”

“It’s your fault.”

“I won’t be betrayed again by you.”

“You can’t be trusted.”

Their voices kept echoing through my mind -- it was like they were put on repeat.

I just wish for one nice sleep; one free of worry and doubt. One where I can embrace the peace and serenity of the quiet, but tonight wasn’t that night…

…

…

...wait, I fell asleep…?

...when did I fall asleep?

Wait, that means--!

My body jolts awake at it’s realization; I must’ve dozed off in the middle of the night and forgot to wake myself.

I try to pull myself up, but, my body doesn’t cooperate. It’s too heavy. My eyes open, and...there’s a blonde head peeking out from underneath my blanket, too. The head rests on my chest, and their breath is hot on my bare skin.

…

Huh...?

“Rai…?”

Why is Rai here?

Rai’s voice is drowsy in response. “Don’t stir, Ken...it tickles.”

“Rai, what’s going on?”

I lift my arm up to flick Rai’s head, but instead I find myself only gazing at it.

The arm that just last night had cuts going up and down, side to side, was now wrapped in a gauze bandage. It still burned, but...did Rai do this?

I nudge Rai with my arm. “Rai...wake up.”

Rai Kitoaji, the Ultimate Screenplay Writer lifts their head, and yawns as their eyes slowly open. “Ken...it’s so early, go back to sleep. At least wait until the morning announcement...”

“Rai…what happened?”

Rai yawns again, and this time lets their head fall back on my chest. “You don’t remember anything…?”

I shake my head, and I really should wake Rai up and ask them what’s going on, but…

...Rai is too cute.

“I’m sorry.”

Rai lifts their head again, and this time I’m met by a frown as I sit up. Rai sits up in the bed, and scoots closer to me so we’re on the same-level. They place their hand on my shoulder, and in the most innocent voice I’ve ever heard, Rai speaks. “We finally did it.”

…

…

We did it…?

Wait, we--?

What did we do?!

Rai’s gentle blush dissipates as they start to giggle. That giggle turns from innocent, to an almost sinister-like laughing. “I’m joking, joking, oh my god Ken, you should’ve seen your face…you made me actually cry.”

As Rai says that, they wipe away at their eyes, and they begin to catch their breath. As Rai finally settles down, they nudge my shoulder. They wear a gentle smile -- but Rai’s voice is genuine. “Are you okay? You seem out of it.”

I nod. “Sorry I’m just--I don’t know what’s happening.”

“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I wanted to see if you were awake. Your door was open and...you were talking to yourself about saving everyone. You were bleeding but you...wouldn’t tell me what was going on,” Rai pauses, and their gaze falls on my bandaged arm. “I figured it out, and I wrapped that for you. You were so out of it...and I stayed with you until you fell asleep. I was scared to leave after that, though...so I kinda slept over.”

I find myself nodding. “I’m sorry, Rai. For worrying you.”

“You should be,” Rai says, shaking their head. “But I’ll forgive you.”

...

“You’re the only person I can trust, Rai,” I say, and I gently let my head fall on Rai’s shoulder. “I just wanted to save everyone.”

“I know,” Rai whispers, and their hand starts running through my hair. “I know.”

With that, Rai and I remain together for who knows how long. If I could stay with Rai forever...I would.

But, of course not. Whenever I feel comfortable or loved, something must go wrong. It’s how the world works.

There’s a knock on our door.

And not just any old knock -- it was fast, panicked.

Rai nearly jumps out of the bed in fear -- it was so out of nowhere.

“Who could it be…?” Rai asks, and slowly rises from the bed.

I follow suit -- and throw my green jacket on and a pair of jeans that rest next to my bed.

Who could it be at -- my eyes fall on my clock -- five in the morning?

The two of us slowly make our way to my door, and we stand in silence for a moment.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” I mumble.

Rai nods, but stays quiet.

We stand in silence for a moment, but when the knocking continues, I hastily open the door, and...

...we come face-to-face with the Ultimate Violinist, Kiyo Azama. Her eyes are wide, her breathing is fast and heavy.

“Ku-chan, Kitoaji--thank god--!”

What’s wrong…?

“Azama...are you okay?”

She takes a deep breath -- let’s her hazel eyes close. “I’m so grateful you two are okay. No one else is answering.”

“What’s going on?” Rai asks.

“MonoMech...he told me that it happened again.”

…

It can’t be…it happened again…?

“What happened again?” Rai asks.

“Something ‘bad’ happened to someone,” she continues, opening her eyes. “I came out to check on everyone--no one’s answering their door. I was getting so nervous...”

Someone is…

...someone’s dead…?

No--it’s not possible. I didn’t hear anyone leave their rooms last night. The last time I remember checking the clock was, like...two? Maybe three?

So it’s not possible. I would’ve heard something.

“Did he say where?” Rai asks.

Azama shakes her head. “N-No. He did mention it’d be somewhere on the third floor, though…”

“Well...we need to get going then, right Ken?” Rai asks, linking their arm with mine. “If someone’s hurt…?”

I nod my head. “Then we need to help them!”

So with that, Azama, Rai, and I began our long, cold journey to the third floor. We were cold -- though we stood shoulder-to-shoulder with one another. We knew what each other were thinking -- though we didn’t talk. Our footsteps felt heavy as we walked up the stairs.

My heart was heavy too. Azama was safe. Rai was safe. So that means…

...Obinata, Nakamoto, Saishi, Sasada, Yuka, Shiomi, Satoshi, Tomori, Nakata…

...one of them is dead.

No--no, I can’t let myself think like that. Not right now. There’s no way any of them could’ve died. Sasada and Saishi are too smart, Tomori and Satoshi are too cautious, Yuka wouldn’t go near anyone who’s not Rai or I. The other three I wouldn’t mess with -- Nakamoto and Obinata are too strong, and Shiomi wouldn’t go near anyone late last night, especially after the motive.

That’s right. They’re not dead. No one is dead, it’s not possible.

''No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead. No one’s dead.''

Before I knew it, my whole body was shaking. No matter how many times I repeated it to myself, that seed of doubt was implanted in my mind.

“Ku-chan, are you okay…?”

I nod, and now I realize where we are -- we’re on the third floor of the school. We stand in front of Classroom 3-A.

Azama steps forward and takes a deep breath. She slides the door open and peaks her head inside the classroom. I stay with Rai and watch as Azama sighs in relief and turns back to us. “No one’s here.”

Rai and I nod, and we continue on over to Classroom 3-B. This time, Rai lets go of my arm and opens the door to the classroom. Nothing.

There’s a tension in the air. It’s strong; it’s nerve wracking.

I don’t know how much farther I can go without freaking Azama and Rai out. My body just felt s heavy; like I could collapse from the weight of Azama’s words: “Something bad happened to someone.”

“I guess...it’s here,” Azama mumbles, and I pull myself up to look at the doors in front of me. The white door that leads to the pool is slightly ajar -- as is the blue door leading to the men’s locker room. The red door leading to the women’s locker room, however, looks untouched. “What color is your favorite?”

“White.”

Azama nods, and she motions for Rai and I to take the lead. I don’t blame her -- she’s shaking. I’m shaking, too.

“Let’s do this,” I mumble to myself, and I step forward. Azama and Rai fill in behind me, and I gently place my hand on the doorknob, and take a deep breath.

No one is dead. Everyone is okay. There’s no way anyone is hurt. MonoMech just wants to scare us.

That’s it, yeah, MonoMech is just pulling a prank.

I push the door open, and we step inside of the pool area.

It’s just a…

...just a…

...a prank.

I knew that my words meant nothing before I walked through the door. But...it gave me a reason to push that door open.

False hope.

It gave me false hope.

In the deep end of the pool, a body floats face-down along the water. A small stream of blood flows surrounds them, leading from the concrete on the side of the pool. When we get closer to the body, the person’s identity reveals itself as…

...Ukon Sasada, the Ultimate Gardener. Sasada lays dead in the pool.

DING DONG BING BONG

“A body has been discovered! Now, after a certain amount of time, the class trial will begin, so use this time wisely in discovering clues which lead to the blackened! Hehehe, well anyways, I’ll see you soon!”

It’s...true?

Sasada is…

“Sasada…?” Rai asks, clutching at their heart.

“N-No,” Azama says, her head turning away from the body. “Not again…”

Sasada is dead…?

''“I might not be as strong as Nakata, or charismatic like Saishi, or sweet like you, but I--I don’t want to see anyone else leave us behind like Yosano and Tani. I won’t let anyone else fall victim.”''

“I have to make sure--I have to save everyone.”

“I have to make sure no one else dies.”

Why is Sasada…?

No--it can’t be--!

“I...won’t believe it.”

“Ken…?”

I...don’t know what came over me. She was close to the edge...and I was desperate. Before I knew it, I had reached out to Sasada and grabbed her arm. It wasn’t hard pulling her close to us, and when Rai finally caught on, they helped me drag her out of the pool.

She’s soaking wet -- she smells like chlorine. When we turn her body over onto her back, it’s...even worse than I thought it’d be.

Her green eyes are wide open, her mouth is agape -- she looked absolutely terrified.

She can’t swim. She couldn’t swim. She was probably terrified -- panicking.

But--enough. I...

“Sasada…? Hey, it’s me, you’re--do either of you know CPR?!”

Azama shakes her head, and lowers her head. Rai stays silent. Sasada doesn’t move, either.

“No, no, no, Sasada please…”

She can’t be dead. She can’t be.

Please don’t be dead…

“Ku-chan, we need to get the others. They’ll be running around the school blind without us.”

“But she’s--!”

Why are my eyes wet…?

I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry, anymore. I can’t.

So I wiped away at my cheeks as quickly as my sleeves would let me, and I dug my head between my legs.

“Sasada is…?”

The voice comes from behind us -- and, we hadn’t even notice anyone else had shown up. Zeshin Obinata, the Ultimate Fashion Designer, stands a few feet behind us, and he keeps his head low. “...she’s gone?”

Azama nods, her voice is soft -- it’s like all that fear and suspense translated into somberness. “We--we found her in the pool…”

“So much for preserving the crime scene, I guess,” Obinata says, biting his lower lip as he turns away from the four of us. “Come with me...you need to see this.”

With that Obinata walks away from us, and exits the pool area.

…

“What else is there to see…?” I ask, and I feel Rai’s hand fall on my head. “Sasada’s in here…”

“Let’s just go,” Azama says, crossing her arms. “Maybe he found something to help us with the investigation.”

Rai nods, and I feel them grab my arm to pull me up. “Let’s go, Ken.”

I...don’t want to. I wanna stay with Sasada. She...doesn’t deserve to be alone. She was so kind -- all she wanted to do was save everyone. Get us out of here alive…

But, I’ll go.

If it’s for her, I’ll go.

I nod, and Rai helps me back up to my feet.

Azama, Rai and I leave the pool area and find Obinata standing by the men’s locker room. “Did you find a clue in here…?” Rai asks.

Obinata shakes his head, and he looks...tired, for a lack of a better word. His voice is strained as he speaks. “Just, look...”

He opens the door to the men’s locker room, and…

...we come face-to-face with the second nightmare of that day.

Hanging by a light fixture in the middle of the men’s locker room by a rope -- with their eyes shut tight, with a peaceful look on their face, was…

...Shuji Saishi, the Ultimate Motivational Speaker.

DING DONG BING BONG

“A body has been discovered! Now, after a certain amount of time, the class trial will begin, so use this time wisely in discovering clues which lead to the blackened! Hehehe, well anyways, I’ll see you soon!”

Saishi is dead.

Not only is Saishi dead, but Sasada was, too…

My knees go weak, and before I knew it, I had collapsed back onto the floor.

“N-No,” Rai mumbles from behind me. “No--!”

“Saishi, too…? W-Why…?!”

“Why are there two bodies…?” Azama asks, cupping her mouth with her hands. “Why…?!”

“S-S-Saishi-chi?!”

Before we knew it, everyone else had arrived.

First was Kei Nakamoto, the Ultimate Host, whom continuously ran his hand through his hair upon seeing the deceased body of Saishi.

Then was Isamu Shiomi the Ultimate Songwriter and Yuka Kihara the Ultimate DJ. Shiomi held his shoulder, and grimaced as he looked away from the body; Yuka on the other hand fell next to Rai and I. She was like me; she tried her best to stop the tears from coming out, but it was hard for her to accomplish that. “Sai-chan, too…”

Then the last two showed up: Satoshi Tsuda the Ultimate Archer & Kimie Tomori the Ultimate Model. Satoshi’s face goes pale as his eyes meet Saishi’s corpse, and he instinctively hides behind Tomori, whose gaze touches the floor.

It was silent for a moment; but Shiomi’s shattered voice speaks out. “Why did the body discovery announcement go off twice?”

“And where is Sasada?” Tomori asks.

Obinata bites his lower lip. “Go check the pool.”

With that, Shiomi, Tomori, Yuka, Satoshi, and Nakamoto leave the men’s locker room, and a scream surfaces soon after.

“U-U-Ukon-chi, too…?!”

…

Why...why is this happening…?

When the five return to us, with broken faces and shattered hearts, the tension shifted from fear to anger among most of them.

“Who the fuck did this…?” Tomori asks, her hand balled up in a fist.

“Why would you kill Sasada AND Saishi…? They did nothing wrong…!” Satoshi cries out. “Sasada was trying so hard to get us out of here and one of you...one of you--!”

“Why?!” Yuka cries out. “Why…?”

“Because, someone wanted to escape!”

As if waiting on a cue, MonoMech appears from behind us. “Ya know, I’m pleasantly surprised with one of you! You really stood up the plate and killed off two of the least suspicious characters! It’ll make for a really interesting trial, puhuhuhu!”

“S-Shut the fuck up…!” Nakamoto exclaims. “Saishi-chi and Ukon-chi are…”

“Dead! With a capital D-E-A-D!”

“S-Stop,” Rai says. “Please just stop...I’ve had enough of this…”

“You have something for us, don’t you?” Obinata asks, looking back to MonoMech.

“Yessir! I’m here to deliver the MonoMech file to you all!”

With that, the e-Handbook in my pocket vibrates, and...even though I don’t wanna do it, I pull it out, and open the MonoMech file.”

Victim: Ukon Sasada

Cause of Death: Drowning

Time of Death: 1:05 A.M.

I swipe right.

Victim: Shuji Saishi

Cause of Death: Strangulation

Time of Death: 1:20 A.M.

“Fifteen minutes…?” I hear Obinata say. “That’s a long wait.”

“You have an idea, Obi-chi?” Nakamoto asks.

“Yes, but it’s a long-shot…”

Satoshi tilts his head. “Can we hear it?”

“Not yet. Not while I’m so uncertain.”

“It’s time to start the investigation, kiddos! I’ll see you at the trial!”

With that, MonoMech leaves, and the nine of us are left sitting and standing in the men’s locker room.

“So...we’re doing it again?” Azama asks.

“It looks that way,” Shiomi mumbles.

“I’ll stay here and guard Saishi’s body,” Satoshi says -- his eyes not once leaving the ground. “Nakamoto, do you wanna guard Sasada?”

Nakamoto nods, and puts his hands together. “Yeah--I can do that.”

“The rest of us should start investigating ourselves,” Shiomi says. “Shall we?”

Everyone murmurs in agreement and soon goes their separate ways -- but I’m left on my knees in the men’s locker room.

I...don’t wanna have to do this again. Doubting my friends, investigating the deaths of my friends...why won’t this stop…?!

Why would someone kill for money? Why did they feel the need to do this…?

“Ken,” Satoshi says, interrupting whatever dark feelings I was getting to, and he finds his way in front of me. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “Y-Yeah, I’m just a little…”

“Out of it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, moping around won’t save us. It won’t find the blackened, so--let’s do this, okay? I’m...no good with gore and bodies, so, can you investigate the body with me?”

“Mind if I help?” Obinata says, sighing to himself from beside us.

Satoshi nods, and offers a weak smile. He’s trying to be supportive, I get that, but it doesn’t help that he looks like he’s about to pass out.

But, nonetheless, I nod my head, and Satoshi helps me to my feet. “We just...gotta do it, right?”

As the three of us make our way to Saishi’s body, Satoshi looks back over my shoulder to Obinata. “Can you...tell us what you were thinking?”

I look back up to Obinata who shakes his head. “I was thinking -- what, with the time differences between the deaths, and the way Saishi’s body is -- that it was a murder-suicide.”

A...murder-suicide?

“What makes you say that?” I ask, and Obinata sighs.

He reaches his hand into his pocket, and pulls out a small piece of paper, which he then hands to Satoshi and myself.

On the paper, in a black ink, were the words: "I’m sorry."

…

Yosano…

“Ken, what’s the matter…?”

“Nothing, Satoshi.”

Obinata steps forward to Saishi’s body, and points to the floor below Saishi’s dangling feet. “I found it here.”

I lower my head. “So you think Saishi killed Sasada...then himself?”

“I believe it’s possible,” Obinata says. “I’ll leave this to you two then, I’ll see what’s up with Nakamoto and Sasada.”

As Obinata leaves, I raise my head and take a look at Saishi’s body. Saishi was always so happy -- so alive, always. He was always offering help and advice, and...just, why…?!

…

His body is so limp, it’s...so unnatural for him. He was always standing straight -- always had a pep in his step.

…

“What’s this…?”

My gaze fell from his face to his feet, and, just barely poking out of his boots, are a small, crumpled up, piece of paper.

“What is that?” Satoshi asks, his head appearing over my shoulder.

“I...don’t know,” I say, and I reach down to it. As I pull the paper out of his shoes, Satoshi grabs back onto my shoulders. “A...note?”

“What’s it say…?”

I uncrumple the piece of paper and hold it out so Satoshi can read it too.

“Tomori,

''I found a way out of here. We can not make the others aware of this yet, MonoMech will become suspicious. Come to the pool at 1:00 past the nighttime announcement. The others will forgive you for breaking the nighttime rule, be sure of it. Thanks in advance.”''

…

“Why is it addressed to Tomori?” I ask, looking back to Satoshi who silently reads the letter.

Satoshi sighs. “I don’t know. Maybe the blackened was trying to frame her -- or, kill her,” he pauses, tilting his head. “What if...what if Saishi was plotting to kill Tomori, okay? And--and, Sasada shows up…”

“So you think it was an accident?”

Satoshi nods. “I guess so. Maybe it was a heat-of-the-moment thing -- and Saishi felt really guilty about it...so, this is the result.”

I find myself sighing -- not out of annoyance, but…disbelief.

“You really took Obinata’s theory to heart, huh…?”

“I just...don’t wanna have to do this anymore,” Satoshi says, backing away from me. “If it was a suicide, then the trial will be easy. And the nine of us can continue on our lives…”

I find myself shaking my head -- and I continue to stare at the note below me. “Ah, Satoshi, can I see the ‘suicide’ note?”

Satoshi nods, and is quick to hand it over. I put the suicide note next to the note in Saishi’s boot, and...yeah, okay. “What is it?”

“The handwriting is the same,” I say, looking back to him.

“So...Saishi really did write both?”

If Saishi did really write both...why was the note to Tomori hidden in his shoe? There’d be no reason to hide it after killing Sasada -- especially if he was guilty enough to not go through with everything afterwards.

I don’t get it.

I put the note in my pocket and look at Saishi’s body...I have to investigate his body without Nakata.

It’s weird. I...don’t wanna have to touch him. But, I have to, don’t I?

I have to.

…

I can’t reach him while he’s up there, though. He’s tall, and he’s off the ground.

I must’ve been making a funny face, because soon enough Satoshi’s next to me, scratching his chin. “I see the problem.”

“I’ll ask Obinata to help,” I say, and I find myself backing away from Saishi and Satoshi. I’m quick to go back to the pool area where Nakamoto and Obinata are talking next to Sasada’s body.

“--did Saishi-chi really do it…?”

Obinata nods his head as he notices me approach. “Here to investigate, Ken?”

“I was actually hoping you could help me get Saishi’s body down, so we can...investigate him.”

Obinata bites his lower lip. “Yeah, can we finish up here first?”

I walk toward the two others, and bend down next to Sasada. “Okay...sure, what’s up?”

Nakamoto sighs and sits down on the ground. “It’s...I feel like she’s staring at me.”

Her eyes are wide open -- it does kinda look like she’s staring at us. In fear. Her mouth is open; like she was screaming in her final moments. She did drown, I guess, so…

“Ironic, huh?” Obinata asks, looking down on her face. “The only time she’s shown real emotion is in death.”

…

Fuck off.

“She was kind, she was always worried about us...she just didn’t show it.”

Obinata bites his lip. “I know, Ken. I didn’t mean it like that…”

“Okay, guys,” Nakamoto says, clearing his throat. “Let’s calm down and do this, okay? Who knows when Mono-chi wants to bring us in for the trial.”

I nod, and look back to Sasada. I don’t wanna touch her, it feels wrong.

“I’m sorry, Sasada.”

After I apologize to her, I grab her hand...she’s freezing. She was so cold and scared in her last moments, it’s…

I can’t think about it. I can’t.

There’s no external injuries -- nothing on her head, no cuts on her arms, legs, back, or stomach. The only problem with that is...where did all the blood come from.

“Drowning was the cause of death, one hundred percent,” Nakamoto says. “There’s no way it’s not.”

That’s not what I really wanna debate.

I find myself backing away from Sasada and to the concrete where the blood first starts. The blood starts about five feet away from the pool, and leads to the pool -- where Sasada’s body was. If the blood did belong to Sasada, then why are there no injuries on her?

“Ken-chi...did you really do it? Ya know, for Nakata…? I know you liked her and all, but--!”

“I didn’t do it, Nakamoto,” I say, and I hear him apologize under his breath.

I guess it makes sense that I’d be one of the prime suspects this time…

...Nakata…

...I’ll get to see you after this. We’re coming.

Looking around the pool area, there’s really nothing else worthy of note, and Obinata recognizes it too. “Let’s go bring down Saishi.”

I nod, and Obinata and I leave Nakamoto with Sasada and go back to the men’s locker room where Satoshi waits.

“Let’s get this over with,” Obinata sighs.

With Obinata’s help, we’re able to get Saishi’s body down from the light fixture and down on the floor.

“It’s so weird seeing him like this,” Obinata says. “Normally he’s boisterous and and annoying and always antagonizing me, but...I kinda miss it.”

He antagonizes *you*? Are you sure you don’t have it mixed around?

Whatever.

I direct my attention away from Obinata to Saishi, whose body rests beside me.

Huh…?

Ya know I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but Saishi’s clothes are wet. Not only are they wet, but he smells like chlorine. Was he in the pool, too…?

“He’s wet?” Satoshi asks.

“Probably had to jump in to hold Sasada in,” Obinata says, shaking his head.

…

Sasada couldn’t swim, though. Saishi probably knew he didn’t have to do that.

I ignore the conversation going on behind me, and I look at Saishi’s throat. It’s definitely red; and, I’m no doctor, but this is probably rope burn, right?

So that lines up with the MonoMech file.

But as I move my hand up to his head, and I go under his damp hair, and there’s a rather large bump on his head.

So, this discredits the suicide theory, right…?

“Find anything?” Satoshi asks.

“There’s a bump on his head. He fought with someone.”

“Maybe Sasada tried to fight back?” Satoshi asks, scratching his cheek. “If she did, it’d explain the bump and we’d still all get to walk out of here--! That has to be it!”

I...don’t know about that.

Saishi has like a hundred pounds on her AND like ten inches on her. How could she have possibly done that…?

I look back to the rope that lies next to his body, and...there’s really nothing suspicious about it, being that it was used to kill Saishi.

But--ah, wait a minute.

“Can I have those notes, Satoshi?”

“Notes?” Obinata asks.

“The notes Saishi left behind,” I say, and I look back to Satoshi.

He looks confused for a brief moment, then nods his head. “Oh, those,” he pauses and digs into his pocket, before handing them to me. “What’re you doing with ‘em…?”

“I need to talk to Tomori,” I say, and I turn away from the two’s confused faces. “Did she mention where she was going?”

“Nope,” Satoshi says. “Sorry.”

I nod my head. “Thanks.”

As I exit the men’s locker room, I hear Obinata’s voice before the door closes. “What notes are he talking about? Are you two withholding inform--?”

Oh, maybe I should’ve told him. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind -- sorry, Obinata.

I’m sure Satoshi will.

So, I leave the area, and I’m met by Azama, who’s standing by the women’s locker room door.

“Hey, Ku-chan,” she says, closing the door behind her. She’s quick to walk beside me and as she does so, she shakes her head. “Nothing in the women’s locker room. How does the investigation go?”

“I’m...not quite sure, yet. Everyone’s hell bent on the whole ‘it’s a suicide’ thing, and I’m not sure if I believe it.”

“They think it was a suicide?” Azama asks, tilting her head. “I mean, that’d be nice, but it’s just unrealistic.”

“Thank you...at least someone’s on the same page.”

She sighs, and her lips curl into a smile. “So, you and Kitoaji, huh…? Are you gonna tell the others you slept together last night? It’d give you an alibi at the very least.”

Well...I don’t know exactly when Rai came over, or, when I actually went to bed, since…

“Ah! Azama, can I ask you something?”

“Changing the topic, Kuuuu-chan?”

I shake my head -- probably a bit too swiftly, since her smile grows about ten times larger. “Why did MonoMech come and get you this morning?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, when you got Rai and I, you said MonoMech told you that something bad had happened. It’s weird that he only came to get you and didn’t get any of us.”

Her smile slowly fades and her expression changes to that of confusion. “Well, he didn’t *tell* me.”

“Huh?”

Azama takes a step back and crosses her arms. “He knocked on my door really loudly and slid a piece of paper. It even had a stupid bear drawing on it.”

…

“Can I see it?”

Azama nods her head. “It’s back in my room, I’ll go grab it.”

“Thank you, Azama.”

“Anything for my Ku-chan.”

She turns to leave, and I find myself walking alongside her. “Do you know where everyone else is? I wanted to get alibis and see what else they came up with.”

“Shiomi is investigating the laundromat. Kitoaji and Tomori went to investigate Sasada’s bedroom -- said she was acting weirdly. Yuka, however, was acting...weird. She got really distant when we left the locker room, and said she was going back to her room...”

…

Really…?

Azama and I continue on to the first floor of the school, and from there we go our separate ways. She said she’d bring the note to the trial, but she didn’t wanna get it then run around and look for me while she could be investigating.

I first find myself in the laundromat, where -- just like Azama said -- I find Shiomi, going through all the washing machines and dryers.

I guess he heard my footsteps, since he’s quick to look back over his shoulder at me. “Yo, Ken.”

“Hey. Find anything?”

Shiomi shakes his head. “Nothing. I was hoping to catch the culprit slip and maybe put their clothes in the dryer, since ya know, the pool and stuff…”

Ah, that’s actually kinda smart. “Nice thinkin’.”

“Thanks. Although…”

Although…?

“If I were to name a song after this case, it’d be...Wetter Off Dead. Get it? Cause we’re better off dead than doing this...”

…

Maybe I shouldn’t rely on him, too much.

“W-Why do you look so disappointed, Ken?!”

“I’m sorry -- I’ll let ya do your thing. Can you tell me if you find anything?”

He nods. “Of course. I’ll impress ya in the trial with my skill. Call it The Song of Reckoning.”

I’d rather not.

As I leave the laundromat, my feet take me to the dorm area. I’m paying a visit to Sasada’s bedroom, right.

When I get to her bedroom, and walk through her door, I’m met by an...interesting scene.

Tomori has Rai pinned up against the wall, trapped underneath her body. I can only see Tomori’s back, but I can see Rai’s face, and oh god I don’t think I’d ever seen a more panicked expression on Rai before.

…

If this wasn’t such a serious situation, I’d have tried to tease Rai a bit for always doing the same to me when I end up on the ground or hurt, but they do look...kinda scared.

“Tomori, Rai…?”

At the sound of my voice, Tomori snaps her head back in my direction -- she’s shaking, her eyebrows are furrowed, her eyes narrowed. “Rabbit, did you know about this?”

“Ken, I--”

Rai’s protest goes interrupted by Tomori, who shushes them. “Is it true?”

“I-Is what true…?”

“That I was supposed to be the one killed last night?”

…

Rai nods their head. “Y-Yes, that’s what I heard--!”

“From who?”

“Yuka told me--Ken, please!”

...

Tomori releases her grip on Rai’s wrist, and as she does so, Rai falls to the ground. Tomori looks back to me, and, well saying that she looked angry would be an understatement. “Did you know, too?”

I shake my head. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”

Tomori frowns. “Then let’s talk.”

I reach into my pocket and take out the note that was in Saishi’s shoe regarding Tomori. When I hand it to her, she quickly reads it over.

“Dear Tomori, blah blah blah, meet me at 1:00 A.M. by the pool area,” she pauses and looks down at me. “Where’d you get this?”

“It was in Saishi’s shoe,” I say, biting my lip. She’s...intimidating in general, and now she’s mad. “Had you seen it before?”

She shakes her head and takes a step back. “No, but...everything makes a lot more sense now.”

“What does?”

“Sasada came by my room last night and was acting...strange.”

I had just gotten back from the gymnasium after MonoMech dismissed us, I closed the door and locked it behind me.

''The moment I began to change into my ‘jamas though, there was a knock at my door. I’m not one for decency, so I just let ‘er in. She looked tired, anxious; like a totally different girl than we’d been stuck with before.''

“Hey Sasada, you’re lookin’ kinda, uh…”

“I’m just--”

''She gave me some half-bullshit statement but her eyes were glued to my floor. I just figured she wanted to make amends and she’s a pretty awkward person, ya know? I was tryin’ to look her in the eyes and be there, but she wasn’t havin’ any of it.''

''Then suddenly, she fell to the ground. I tried to catch her, but it was too out of nowhere.''

''“H-Hey, are you okay…? What’s wrong?”''

''She laid on her arms, and when she finally popped back up to her feet she turned away from me. “I’m sorry, Tomori, I just...can’t do this right now.”''

''“Wait just a fuckin’ minute -- give me an answer! What’s going on?!”''

“I’m about to find out.”

''She sighed to herself and left. She didn’t look back to me once -- she didn’t look at me at all.''

Tomori looks up at me as she finishes her story. “Goddamn it--! If this is true, then Sasada died trying to save me--! Why--?! Why didn’t she at least tell me -- I would’ve fuckin’ went with her!”

“She probably didn’t wanna worry you.”

“I don’t care what she fuckin’ wanted. I should’ve followed her...fuckin’ hell--!”

Tomori takes another deep breath. “I need to go cool down, Rabbit, Kitoaji. I’m sorry if I hurt ya I just...fuck. I’ll see you in the courtroom.”

With that, Tomori shoves her hand in her pocket, and leaves Sasada’s room.

“What’s her problem…?” Rai asks, walking next to me, stretching out their arm. “She really hurt my shoulder.”

She feels guilty, I think. Guilty that Sasada died trying to make sure Tomori didn’t fall for that trap.

Rai half-sighs, half-frowns as they fall on my shoulder. “Ken...can you give me a massage when we finish this?”

“Rai...can I ask you something?”

Rai tilts their head. “Anything.”

“What time did you come to my room last night?”

“Um…around two?”

About an hour after Sasada and Saishi died, huh…?

So that means I was still conscious at that time -- that nothing I did mattered…?!

“Ken, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I say, and I find myself walking out of Sasada’s bedroom. “I need to talk to Yuka.”

“Wait.”

“I can’t.”

“Ken, stop--! You’re acting all distant again. You didn’t even tell me what was wrong last night, I just want to help--!”

My whole body freezes at Rai’s words. “I know, Rai. I know.”

“Why…? Why won’t you talk to me--?!”

“I’ll make you a deal, Rai. We find out who the blackened is and I’ll be as honest as you want me to be, okay? I just wanna--I just wanna get this over with. I wanna know why two of our friends are now dead. Okay? Let me--let me do this.”

We’re both quiet for a little bit. But, under their breath, I hear the word: “Fine,” escape Rai’s mouth.

And the second I hear it, I take that as my cue to leave Sasada’s room, and go down the hall to Yuka’s room.

If I heard Rai right, Yuka knew that Tomori was supposed to be the victim this time around, but that isn’t -- or shouldn’t -- be possible. Not without seeing the note that only Satoshi and I had seen before this, unless…

…

...it’s for the best if I don’t jump to conclusions right now. That’ll only lead us on a bad path.

When I get in front of Yuka’s room, I knock one, two, three times before Yuka answers her door for me. “Ah, Big Brother Ken!”

She beams as she exits her room to greet me. “Hey, Yuka. How’s the investigation going?”

“Pfft, you know I have no time for that Big Brother Ken! I use my time to collect my thoughts and practice my cool lines!”

“Cool lines?”

“Like, ya know how every protagonist has a cool saying? Like, ‘You’ve got that wrong!’ or, ‘Objection!’? Well, I was thinking of what mine should be.”

Using your time wisely, I see…

“So, what’d my best friend want? To cheer me up -- to raise another flag?!”

Raise another--?

I’m honestly just gonna ignore all of her off-hand comments for the moment.

“Do you mind if I ask you something, Yuka?”

“Nope! Unless it’s my age -- never ask a girl her age, Big Brother Ken! It’s the law of the land!”

“I was talking to Rai, and, they told me that you knew something about Tomori…”

Yuka’s entire face falls, and she’s quick to cover her mouth. “R-Rai-chan did?! God--I should’ve known Rai-chan would never ever ever keep a secret this big--!”

“So, you do…?”

Yuka uncups her mouth and tilts her head. “Know what? I don’t know anything about the traitor or nothing, Big Brother Ken! I have zero idea what you or Rai-chan are talking about!”

…

I’m honestly not sure if she’s being sarcastic, or she’s trying to lie to me. Especially since she just admitted she knew something about it…

“Just don’t worry about it, Big Brother Ken! I promise I didn’t kill anyone!”

...I really hope not.

…

If there’s a God out there who’s listening to my internal thoughts, pretty please spare Yuka. I don’t know if I could handle losing her...

“Okay, Yuka. Fine.”

Yuka jumps up and down in place and starts clapping her hands together. “Yay! I’m not in trouble!”

Ah, I still have to go find Azama.

I can’t help but smile just a bit -- she’s so gleeful, it’s kinda infecting. “Okay, well, I have to go meet back up with Azama, so I’ll--”

DING DONG BING BONG

“--or not.”

“Hello my precious students! I see the investigating is going well, however...I’m bored. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?! You know where to meet me, I assume?! Come to the gymnasium for the class trial! See you soon…!”

So it’s time, huh? Yuka and I exchange a glance -- one of confusion and fear -- but we both recognize that we have to do this.

So, we give each other a nod, and begin our walk to the gymnasium.

When we get to the gymnasium, everyone but Nakamoto, Obinata, and Satoshi had arrived. They’re quick to join us, however, and when they do we begin our trek to the stage, where the podiums are set up again.

MonoMech, who sits on his throne, only laughs uproariously as we begin our slow walk to the stage. “Welcome back, ya fucks!”

His comment goes ignored by the rest of us, as we all only had one thing on our mind: the deaths of two of our friends -- our comrades.

As we all get to our respected stands, I find myself glancing around the room to where Sasada and Saishi used to stand, and have since been replaced by a white & black portrait of them, with a red ‘X’ running over them.

Satoshi stands to my right, and Mio’s portrait is next to him, and Yosano’s next to her. Tomori and Obinata stand next to each other, and Sasada’s portrait next to him. Azama’s on the other side of her portrait and Shiomi stands beside her -- directly across from me. Tani’s portrait is next to him, and then an empty stand next to her where Nakata once was. Nakamoto is next to the empty stand, and Yuka is beside him. Then the portraits of Saishi and Shiho are next, and in between Shiho’s portrait and myself is Rai.

And, it’s about to begin…

...the trial is about to begin.

To find out who killed Ukon Sasada the Ultimate Gardener and Shuji Saishi the Ultimate Motivational Speaker.

They were honestly two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. The way they put their personal problems aside to try and leads us out of this school -- Saishi with his private, motivational sessions and Sasada with how she tried to save everyone and nearly worked herself to death in the process. They just wanted us to live. They wanted us to get out of here -- together.

I got really close to Sasada here -- and, we promised each other we’d make it out of here together. We were talking about meeting each other’s families and making sure we’d all make it out together, and now she’s gone.

I wish I could’ve gotten closer to Saishi here. He was loud, but his heart was always in the right place. But, now I’ll never have that chance.

They’re gone. Not only are they gone, but...

...one of us...

..The Ultimate Host, The Ultimate Beatboxer, The Ultimate Fashion Designer, The Ultimate DJ, The Ultimate Songwriter, The Ultimate Screenplay Writer, The Ultimate Model, The Ultimate Mercenary, The Ultimate Survival Games Player, The Ultimate Archer, The Ultimate Pitcher , The Ultimate Violinist, The Ultimate Pianist , The Ultimate Arsonist , The Ultimate Gardener , The Ultimate Motivational Speaker …

...one of us killed them.

And it’s up to the rest of us to find that person and condemn them to their death. We have to, or else we’ll be killed as a punishment.

And thus the curtain opened on our third class trial that’ll lead us on the path of hope and despair…

“Let’s get to it, kiddos!”

...starts!