Anguish & Desire/Chapter Twenty Five

This is Chapter Twenty Five of Danganronpa: Anguish &amp; Desire, Night Time!. In this chapter, we dive into another class trial. Ken doesn't have a mental breakdown this issue so be blessed :(

Author's Note: have u guys watched shark tank yo that show is tight

“Let’s get to it, kiddos! Let’s start the class trial~!”

MonoMech -- who has been sinisterly giggling to himself since we arrived in the gymnasium -- sits down in his throne. “Now, now, please don’t look at me like that my children, for I am not the one who killed your dear friends.”

“Like hell you ain’t--!”

Nakamoto’s exclamation goes unheard by MonoMech, who only continues. “Now that we’re here, let’s start with a basic exclamation of the class trial, shall we? The reason we’re here today is to congratulate -- er, execute -- the one who killed off the most boring of you eleven, Ukon Sasada and Shuji Saishi! Now, your votes will determine the outcome of this trial: like a good democracy, majority rules! If the rest of you -- the pure, precious ones who are innocent this time around -- find out who killed Ukon and Shuji, you’ll be let go to continue your daily lives entrapped in this lovely school. The blackened, of course, will be executed! However, if you make the wrong choice, and do not identify the true blackened, then they will go free while the rest of you are executed in their place. Got it?”

No one answered him -- no, not vocally. I’m sure he looked at how I shook, how Satoshi ran his hand through his hair frantically and how Rai had tears in the corner of their eyes and knew what was going on in our minds.

We knew the deal...and I think that was starting to scare me. We knew what was at stake too well -- ask Tani, or Shiho. They learned it the hard way.

“Before we begin, may I ask one question?”

“Of course, Zeshin!”

Obinata gestures to the empty stand where Nakata normally resides. “I’m assuming she’s out of the running?”

MonoMech nods his head. “Of course!”

“Very well,” Obinata says. “Then let’s get on with it, shall we?”

I...don’t wanna have to do this. But...I have to, don’t I? If I don’t -- if *we* don’t -- everyone else will die.

“Let’s just dive into it then,” Tomori says, resting her arms on the stand. “What should we talk about first?”

“How about the murder weapon?” Satoshi asks. “I mean -- it’s always best to start off with something we at least have some idea of, right?”

Azama nods her head. “Seems fair enough.”

“Let’s start with Sasada,” Obinata says, clearing his throat. “As stated in the MonoMech file, she drowned. Which means…?”

I tilt my head. “The murder weapon was the pool…?”

“Yes. Now, I feel like it is important to note that the murder weapons aren’t really important in these cases.”

…

They aren’t?

“And what makes ya say that?” Tomori asks.

“Well, traitor--”

She grits her teeth. “Call me that one more time, I dare you.”

Obinata leans in over her stand. “Trai--”

Rai jumps up -- like a little bunny sensing danger -- and cups their mouth. “N-Now, now, you two, let’s not do this now, please!”

“Rai-chi is right!” Nakamoto exclaims. “Let’s just take a moment to collect ourselves, ‘kay? It’s been a rough day for everyone.”

“The creepy man is right!” Yuka exclaims.

“Really, Yuka-chi…? I’m not a creep--!”

“I’ve never seen a grown man hit on sooo many underaged kids before! First Big Brother Ken, then Toshi-chan, AND even Rai-chan! Creep!”

“H-Hey--!” Nakamoto exclaims, putting his hands up defensively as he looks down at Yuka. “That’s a horrible misread on my character--!”

She crosses her arms. “It fits you pretty well!”

“Why are you only mean to me--?!”

“She doesn’t like me either,” Tomori says, sighing to herself.

Guys...isn’t this a bit off-topic? Should we start talking about, oh I don’t know, the murder weapon…?

“Or me,” Shiomi mumbles. “I didn’t even do anything wrong though--!”

“You just smell bad, Isa-chan!”

Shiomi nearly collapses at his stand. “Why me…?”

“Okay guys, can we please get back on topic?” Azama says, placing her hands on her hips. “...I already forgot what we were discussing--do you guys see what you did?!”

She sighs to herself. “Honestly, why are you all so unreliable…?”

“S-Sorry, Kiyo-chan,” Yuka says, frowning to herself. “I’ll be quiet.”

Oh boy, here we go…

Azama’s whole body almost freezes. “I’m sorry--I didn’t mean to sound rude, I just--!”

I now find myself sighing. “She’s just teasing you. We were talking about the murder weapon, right?”

“You’re no fun, Big Brother Ken!”

“Ah, right!” Azama exclaims, before turning back to Obinata. “Obinata, why don’t you think the murder weapons matter this time around?”

He clears his throat. “Well, just because they’re so obvious, right? Sasada drowned in the pool, and Saishi’s cause of death was strangulation, and you saw what he was hanging from, right? It is pretty obvious.”

“Y-Yeah, but…”

My protest goes interrupted, as Obinata continues. “Do we really need to discuss the murder weapon, Ken? It should be fine…”

…

“He does have a point,” Shiomi says. “It pains me to admit it, but we shouldn’t be wasting too much time on things we already know…”

“I hardly think talking about this is wasting time,” Azama says. “Sure, it might be obvious, but, what if there’s something we’ve overlooked? Just talking out loud could help us, ya know?”

...something we’ve overlooked?

…

There isn’t, is there?

“What have we overlooked?” Obinata asks.

Azama simply shrugs her shoulders. “Nothing. I was just making a point; there could be clues in the smallest of details. We have all the time in the world, after all.”

Obinata scoffs. “Mhm...”

He’s so condescending…

...it’s pissing me off.

Shiomi raises his voice. “So, the murder weapons are the pool on the third floor and the rope used to hang Saishi...anything else?”

“Nothing comes to mind…” Rai says, furrowing their eyebrows. “Should we--”

“Discuss the possible culprits now?” Obinata interrupts. “Yes, let us.”

Rai steps forward. “W-Wait--!”

“Obinata, isn’t it a bit early to be thinking about that?” Tomori asks, placing her hands on her hip. “Like, wayyyy early?”

Obinata crosses his arms and shakes his head. “Not when it’s so simple.”

“So simple…?” Yuka asks, tilting her head.

He smirks. “I hereby declare, that the one who murdered Sasada and Saishi was...Saishi himself!”

Oh, I should’ve known this was coming.

“S-Sai-chan did it...?” Yuka asks -- but this time, her voice was hoarse; it was as if Obinata’s words were a dagger that pierced her. It takes her a moment to recover, but after her eyes met Obinata’s, she opens her mouth. “Oh...I guess that makes sense.”

…

“What’s wrong, Yuka?”

Her eyes fall on me, and she shakes her head. “Nothing, Big Brother Ken. It’s just...hard to imagine Sai-chan would do that.”

“Whatever you say,” Azama says, biting her lip. “Still, how can you be so sure it was a murder-suicide…?”

“Among other things, the time difference between the deaths,” Obinata says, pulling the e-Handbook out of his pocket. “There is a fifteen minute difference between the deaths of Sasada and Saishi, in that time, I believe Saishi felt immense regret over what happened with Sasada, and he then hung himself in the men’s locker room.”

So, Obinata believes Saishi killed Sasada, and fifteen minutes later killed himself…? I kinda understand the logic, but…

“That doesn’t really explain a whole lot though…”

“I agree with Ku-chan,” Azama says. “That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Saishi would never do that.”

Obinata scoffs. “And I’m sure Shiomi here said the same regarding Tani, correct?”

Shiomi’s face drops. “Tani…? W-Why her…?”

“Obinata, why are you--!”

“It’s a simple question, Ken. Shiomi said the exact same thing about Tani and *she* killed Yosano. Now, I know Saishi talked a big game, but…”

Tomori grits her teeth. “Choose your next words very carefully.”

Obinata sighs. “I’m sorry, but there’s no way to sugarcoat this, okay? He had some...social issues.”

…

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Azama asks. “Hey, what are you getting at--?!”

“Let’s just say this situation was too extreme for him, and he broke. He killed Sasada because he couldn’t handle the pressure of the situation, but we all know him, right? He loved Sasada. He probably didn’t realize how much...remorse he would feel afterwards. And because of that guilt, he…”

“...he killed himself,” Satoshi concludes, nodding to himself. “Okay, I understand where you’re going with this.”

“Satoshi...you believe this?” Tomori asks -- almost out of disblief.

He frowns. “I mean, kinda…”

“Obi-chi knows his stuff,” Nakamoto says, scratching his chin. “Has he ever been wrong before?”

Um, yes. Yes he has.

“Does ‘Sasada being the traitor’ ring any bells?”

“Well, that was--”

“Or, ‘Sasada killed Shimazaki’?” Rai asks.

“Okay, nevermind--!” Nakamoto exclaims.

“I am not wrong on this,” Obinata says. “I promise you that Saishi is the culprit in this case--!”

“Then prove it,” Azama says. “Prove it to us!”

“We will!” Satoshi calls out. “Obinata and I will prove it!”

“Count me in, Satoshi-chi!”

“Yay! A party!” Yuka exclaims.

Shiomi runs his hand through his hair. “Let’s make it happen guys -- we’ll all get out of here! Together!”

…

“Fine,” Tomori says, throwing her hands together. “Then I’ll show you why you’re wrong--!”

I find myself nodding my head. “I--I’m with Tomori. I know you wanna believe that it wasn’t one of us -- but there’s too much evidence we can’t ignore!”

And with that information, we’ll find the contradictions within your argument!

“Let’s do it, Tomori, Ku-chan.”

“And don’t forget about me!” Rai exclaims. “I’ll follow you guys anywhere -- you know that by now.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Obinata says. “We’ll decide this by a majority vote.”

I find myself looking from Tomori, to Azama, to Rai who stands beside me. They were...much more confident than I was right now; or, at least that’s how they looked. Azama and Tomori stood up straight, their eyes were narrowed and their beautiful faces wore a look of desperation. Rai’s smile was soft, and their hand was entangled in mine.

Obinata’s right, the vote’s going to be decided by a majority vote, so it’s up to us four to show them why they’re wrong; to prove to them that Saishi didn’t do this--!

“So, to start things off, we need to discuss the timeline of what happened,” Azama says. “We’re all in agreeance that Sasada was killed before Saishi, correct?”

“That much is clear from the MonoMech file,” Obinata sighs. “What next?”

“Let’s discuss what we think happened,” Satoshi says, nodding to himself. “First, we need to discuss what happened leading up to the murder.”

Leading up to Sasada’s death…?

“Ah!” Nakamoto exclaims. “That reminds me, what was Ukon-chi doing by the pool in the first place? Was she lured out by the killer…?!”

“She was always a sucker for rules,” Shiomi sighs. “She wouldn’t have broken them if it wasn’t important.”

“Exactly,” Obinata continues. “So let’s say Saishi DID reach out to her; they were best friends. She wouldn’t have any reason to turn him down...it’s perfect.”

…

“No, that’s wrong,” I say, and my hands fall into my pocket. I steadily pull the note addressed to Tomori and hand it over to Satoshi. “Satoshi and I found this note in Saishi’s shoe.”

Satoshi nods, and as the note reaches Obinata, he reads it aloud. “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.”

I hear Tomori sigh as Nakamoto gasps. “So it was Tomori-chi this time, too…?!

“No,” I continue. “She never got the note, right Tomori?”

Tomori nods. “It’s true. Sasada came by my room last night, and I...I guess she took it.”

“You *guess*?” Obinata asks.

“Well, she was acting strange,” she continues. “When I answered my door for her she was acting all spaced out and she fell over on the floor. I thought she was just in pain, but looking back on it...she was definitely hiding something.”

“So you were supposed to die last night…?” Shiomi asks, and when Azama’s glare falls on him, he panically backs away. “No--not that you were *supposed* to, but--!”

“We understand what you meant,” Rai mumbles, rolling their eyes. “Tomori was originally the supposed to be the victim this time around…”

Obinata suddenly leans forward, locking his eyes with Rai’s. “And how we do know this isn’t a ploy?”

Rai only leans forward in response. “What is?”

“What if, the traitor over here did get the note, and when she got there, she killed Saishi and Sasada who *were* trying to escape…? She tried to kill once, who is to say she wouldn’t again…?”

…

“Oh, and what, then she put the note in Saishi’s shoe instead of disposing of it…?” I ask. “That makes no sense, ya know?”

Obinata chuckles. “The boy’s getting feisty. This is why I like you, Ken. You’re a crybaby most of the time, but when you want to be, you prove yourself to be much more...”

I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or be creeped out.

I hear Satoshi whisper under his breath, “Creepy…”

...yeah, I’ll go with that, too.

“I was only throwing that possibility out there,” Obinata says. “Don’t read too much into it.”

“You’re the one who’s leading the charge,” Rai says, placing their hands on the stand. “So, what do *you* think happened, Obinata?”

“And don’t try to throw us off--!” Azama exclaims. “No tricks, just give it to us straight.”

Obinata smirks. “Fine. If Tomori’s testimony is honest, than that leaves me to believe that Sasada intercepted the note, and made her way to the pool. There, Saishi was waiting for her, but here’s the problem: he was expecting Tomori.”

“And what is the problem with that?” Shiomi asks.

Obinata pauses for a moment. “For starters, Tomori’s much bigger than Sasada is.”

…

“Is he calling me fat?”

“No...I don’t think so…?” Shiomi mumbles.

“What I mean is, you have muscle; more muscle than Saishi, anyways. He was probably aware of this, and planned to take you by surprise. He wasn’t expecting Sasada to show, and before he knew it, Sasada was in the pool.”

…

That doesn’t sound right.

“But what about the note?” I ask. “Why was it in Saishi’s shoe?”

“What do you mean?” Satoshi asks.

I lean forward and rest my forearms on the stand. “By your logic, Sasada would’ve still had the note on her as she went into the pool.”

“The note is kinda damp,” Yuka frowns. “What’s that about? It went in with Sai-chan?”

“But how would Saishi had wound up with it?”

“He would’ve had to search Sasada…” Shiomi says, sighing as he does so. “Which you don’t agree with?”

“You guys said that Saishi ended up killing himself out of regret of killing Sasada. If that’s the case, I don’t think that he’d search her entire body to dispose of any evidence if he wasn’t planning on getting away with it.”

“And you showed everyone the suicide note, right Obinata?” Satoshi asks.

Obinata nods, and that note also begins making it’s way around the group. Once it finds it’s way to Rai, they gasp.

“It has the same handwriting as the letter addressed to Tomori!”

Exactly.

Nakamoto claps his hands together. “So that proves it was Saishi-chi! Case closed, let’s go home!”

“No, it doesn’t…” Azama mumbles. “It doesn’t.”

“Did anyone even find a pen on Saishi’s body?” Tomori asks.

A silence falls on everyone in the courtroom.

Shiomi sighs. “Well, no, but…”

“...none of us were looking for that,” Obinata says. “None of us looked, so that doesn’t confirm or deny anything.”

Yuka pouts. “I wanna get this over with already, though!”

“And we will, once we prove to these four what the truth is,” Obinata says. “The truth that Saishi killed Sasada.”

Fine, then we’ll have to show them they’re wrong--! We’ll find the flaws in their arguments!

“So let’s move onto the biggest flaw in your argument,” Azama says, crossing her arms.

“Oh, and what’s that…?”

“Ku-chan, Satoshi, you should know what that is, right? We’re the only three who looked into it.”

…

Their biggest flaw…?

“Ah, you mean Saishi’s body?” I ask.

“Bingo,” she continues.

“How is *that* our flaw?” Obinata asks. “He died by hanging -- that much is indisputable!”

“Yes -- that much is true,” Satoshi says. “There was a light rope burn on his throat, but nothing much to indicate a strangling…”

…

“...not that I know that much about these kinds of things. Sasada would’ve had a better answer.”

Well...that’s true.

“So, what’s the problem then?!” Yuka exclaims. “He hung himself, it’s over--!”

Azama sighs. “Did anyone else investigate the body?”

“I did,” Satoshi says.

“I did as well,” Obinata mumbles.

“And so did I!”

“Right, so out of the three of you, did anyone notice Saishi’s clothes…?”

Saishi’s clothes…?

Ah!

“You mean they were wet, right?”

Azama nods. “That’s my Ku-chan!”

“They were pretty damp,” Satoshi says, putting his hands behind his head. “What’s that have to do with anything, though?”

I scratch my chin. “Well that means he probably went into the pool as well, but...why?”

“To get the note from Sasada’s body?” Rai asks.

“To save Sa-chan?!” Yuka exclaims.

“To finish her off…?” Nakamoto asks.

…

…

“Let me ask you guys something,” I say, scratching my chin. “There’s blood at the crime scene, right?”

“Yes,” Tomori says. “There was.”

“Where did it come from -- Sasada had no external wounds, right?”

A silence befalls on the trial room, until Shiomi’s sighs. “It started on the floor next to the pool, and led to Sasada’s body. Where else could it have come from?”

“The only other person it could’ve come from,” Azama says. “Saishi, right?”

I nod. “He was hit over the head with something; right, Satoshi?”

Satoshi looks back over to me and nods gently. “It’s true.”

“So, the blood came from Saishi-chi?” Nakamoto asks. “So, uh, where does that lead us? I’m not seeing anything...”

“That means that your ‘he took Sasada by surprise theory’ hold zero fruition,” Tomori says, placing her hands on her hips. “Got it now?”

“That doesn’t mean Saishi didn’t kill her,” Shiomi mumbles.

“True,” Obinata says. “So, let’s just say he didn’t take her by surprise than, they would’ve had to have fought first, right?”

“Sasada wouldn’t have wanted that,” Rai says. “She would’ve tried to avoid violence at all costs--!”

“People can surprise themselves when their life is on the line,” Obinata sighs.

“Oh what, you guys think Sasada was able to hit Saishi over the head hard enough to make him bleed despite being an entire foot shorter than him? And do you really think Saishi threw her into the pool after that, then went into pool to take the note off her...?”

…

“Ya know, when you put it like that, it does seem off…” Shiomi mumbles. “It, uh, really sounds weird.”

“Then, how about this?” Nakamoto asks, scratching his chin. “They had a scuffle *in* the pool.”

“In the pool…?” Azama asks.

“Yeah, it makes sense, don’t it? If Sasada and Saishi got into it, they’d wind up in the pool!”

…

“Oh, and then what?” Tomori asks, half-mockingly.

“Saishi-chi would hold her underwater, and ya know how that goes…”

Again, there’s one flaw with that

“But, Sasada can’t swim…”

“S-She can’t--?!” Nakamoto gasps.

“Plus the blood started *outside* of the pool,” Rai sighs. “There’s nothing here that implies that they fought in the pool.”

“W-What if we got it the other way around…?” Shiomi asks. “What if, it was--!”

“It’s not,” I say.

“H-Huh…?”

“Whatever you’re about to say, it’s not. This wasn’t a suicide and I know deep down you know that, Shiomi--!”

“Stop this!” Obinata exclaims. “You don’t have any proof either, Ken! There’s no proof that it *isn’t* a suicide.”

“He’s right,” Shiomi says. “Unless there’s definite proof, I’m out.”

Yuka pouts again. “It’s Sai-chan! Sai-chan killed Sa-chan!”

“G-Guys, seriously…?” Tomori asks.

“It’s no use,” Nakamoto sighs. “It’s just not working for us.”

“You hear that?” Obinata asks -- he sounds like he’s mocking us now, the way he leans over to Tomori. “We’re. Not. Budging.”

“Why--?!”

I feel my voice waver.

Rai tilts their head. “Ken…?”

“Why are you so hellbent on this being a suicide, Obinata?! You of all people should know to keep your options open--! This is so not you! Like it or not, there are so many contradictions in your arguments -- you can’t not see them, so why are you being like this--?!”

Obinata goes silent for a brief moment; he lets his head fall his chest as he opens his mouth. “I’m just...tired.”

Tired…?

He lifts his head, and lets his eyes survey the room, at the eight of us standing before him. “Aren’t you guys all tired, too?”

“Of what?” Azama asks.

“Of all of this!”

With that declaration, Obinata’s voice grows louder and sharper. His shoulders start to shake as he points over to Satoshi. “Of all this lying, and deceiving, and manipulating…? Aren’t you guys tired of doubting your friends--!”

“O-Obinata…”

“I know you are too, Ken,” Obinata continues, and he nods to himself. “I know you are.”

…

He’s right. I know he’s right; he knows it too. That’s why he’s singling me out.

I would want nothing more than for Saishi to be the culprit of the case. There’d be nothing more gratifying than that, because…

Nakata. Rai. Yuka. Azama. Satoshi. Shiomi. Tomori. Obinata. Me.

...we’d all get to survive another day. We’d all get to stay together, and fight together, and continue our plan to escape this hellhole, but…

...even so…

“Even if I am -- even if we don’t like it -- we need to press on!”

“Why…?” Obinata continues. “This isn’t living, and you know it! Let’s just...vote for Saishi and be over with it.”

“Please, Big Brother Ken!” Yuka suddenly cries out. “I don’t wanna do this anymore -- I wanna go home! L-L-Let’s just go hoooome!”

And, when the tears start flowing out of Yuka’s eyes, Satoshi’s start too. “I can’t do this anymore…”

Tomori tilts her head. “S-Satoshi…?”

“Please, leave me alone…”

Nakamoto’s next. “I’m so over this, Obi-chi. Let’s just...stop.”

Shiomi tugs on the dress of Azama idly. “Azama…”

Azama looks back over to him. “W-What…?”

“Let’s give up already.”

Azama -- once more -- narrows her eyes. “Shiomi, no. We’re going to get out of here, so don’t you do this.”

“We will get out of here,” Obinata says. “If we vote for Saishi.”

“G-Guys, stop...we’re not done here!”

“Ken-chi, just stop. We’re not doing it anymore.”

Guys...what’s going on?! We can’t just give up!

“So...are we ready to vote?” MonoMech asks. He sits perched on his throne, watching us like a hawk watched it’s prey.

“W-Wait--!” Rai exclaims. “No, we’re not--!”

“Yes we are,” Shiomi says, crossing his arms. “We’re ready to go home.”

“We can’t give up yet--!”

Obinata shakes his head. “There is just no more proof, Ken. It’s over.”

Proof…?

There’s gotta be something -- something, anything--!

…

My eyes scan the room. There’s gotta be something we overlooked. Tomori’s, Rai...

...Azama…

Wait, does she have--!

“Azama!” I exclaim, and she almost jumps right out of her dress.

“W-What, Ku-chan…?”

“The note! Do you have the note!”

Azama’s face turns from shock to confusion, and when the realization finally hits her, she smiles a big, bright smile. “Yes, I do.”

She reaches into her, er, dress, and pulls a small piece of paper out. She hands it over to Shiomi, and it’s passed around the circle until it finds it’s way into my hands.

The note reads:

''“Azama, something bad has happened on the third floor. Please gather everyone upupupupupupu! ~ Your Lovely Headmaster.”''

Oh look, she’s right, there’s even a picture of a bear here…

…

What was I doing--wait, wait! Okay, right.

I take the other two notes we received -- the one addressed to Tomori and the one found by Saishi’s feet -- and put them on the stand beside Azama’s note.

Okay, so--yes! This definitely confirms it.

“I’d like to show everyone something,” I say, and I gently pick up the notes, and hand them back over to Rai. “Look at the handwriting of all three notes -- the one luring Tomori, the suicide note, and the note Azama had received. Azama, when did you get this?”

“Right before I started knocking on everyone’s doors, like literally five minutes after that. Ku-chan and Kitoaji were the only ones to answer me, by the way, sheesh…” she pauses, and continues. “Someone woke me up, and slid the note under my door, before you guys start asking how I got it.”

“Ah, they are the same!” Nakamoto exclaims, as the notes finally reach him.

“W-Wait, so, it wasn’t Saishi…?”

“Wait, how do we know that MonoMech didn’t write the note?” Obinata asks. “It’s signed by him, after all. What if it’s just a mere coincidence…?”

N-No, that’s wrong…!

“Read the note again then -- when does MonoMech ever call us by our last names?!”

“Nice catch, Ken!” MonoMech exclaims. “You’re such a good student, ya know that? Picking up on your teacher’s quirks and all!”

“Mono-chi’s admitting to not writing it…?!”

“Why would I do that?! I have the keys to all your rooms and I can fly in whenever I want!”

“So there you have it,” I continue. “That proves Saishi didn’t kill Sasada, nor did he kill himself!”

“Well, yeah, one look at the crime scene should’ve told you fucks that…”

…

...what did MonoMech just say?

“W-What…?!” Yuka asks.

“You guys were saying that Shuji hung himself by the light fixture, but there isn’t even so much of a chair there. How did he get himself up there without one--?!”

…

…

“Oh my god I’m so stupid--!” Nakamoto exclaims. “That’s so obvious--!”

“S-Seriously…?” Shiomi asks.

“Wait, so...it was one of us?” Satoshi asks. “W-Why…?! Why them?”

“It wasn’t supposed to be them, remember?” Tomori asks, placing her hand on her hip. “Me, remember?”

Rai frowns. “So they were just…”

“Trying to help me, right? In the end, it’s because of me.”

“Don’t say that,” Satoshi says. “It wasn’t your fault, none of this is!”

“I was supposed to die last night. Sasada and Saishi took my place. Whichever one of you did it, I swear--”

“Shut up,” Obinata mumbles.

“Don’t *you* tell me to shut up--!”

He ignores Tomori entirely. “Fine, I’ll play your game, Ken.”

Huh…?

Obinata’s entire body is shaking one more, his arm is raised and his finger is pointed in my direction. “I’ll concede. Saishi is not the blackened, I’ll give you that. But then, who?”

…

“I--”

“Don’t know, huh?” he asks, and as his voice cracks once more, he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

What is he--?

What is he trying to do?

“Then I declare that the blackened of this case -- the one who killed both Sasada and Saishi -- to be you, Ken.”

…

…

“H-Huh…?”

I can hear Rai gasp from next to me. “W-What…?”

“You’re the blackened, Ken. And I’ll prove it to all of you--!”