The Killing Game - A DRV3 Fanfiction

58 ~ Realisation

This chapter's a long 'un...

"But we still don't know the order of when he died. Was he stabbed or drowned first?" Kaede asked.
"Well duh, he was stabbed after!" Miu shouted, "If he was stabbed first, there would be blood in the pool."
"That's still a lot of blood spilt." Shuichi pondered, "Maybe he wasn't drowned after all."
"What?!" Tenko shouted, "So all that work we just did was for nothing?"
"Ah, hang on. I haven't confirmed anything yet." Shuichi replied.
"Nyeh, this trial is going for too long." Himiko sighed.
"Despite the messy scene, the culprit must have had a level of knowledge about cleaning a scene of evidence." Rantaro said.
"So we can rule out Miu, because she's an idiot, then." Kokichi grinned.
"H-Hey, I'm smart!" Miu shouted.
"We're getting off track again." Kaede said.
"I might have a clue." I suddenly spoke up. Everyone turned to me.
"Um, when Miu and I were searching the storage room, we found the end of the rope around Gonta's neck. We also found a piece of paper...but it wasn't that important." I explained.
"Were there any clues on the rope?" Tenko asked.
"The end was frayed, but that was about it." I rubbed my arm. I thought my clue would further this case, but saying it out loud...I really was useless at this.
But-
"Shuichi." I turned to the blue-haired boy, a realisation coming to mind, "Why were you getting everyone to write down their testimonies? You haven't looked at them at all in the trial."
"Actually, that's an interesting point to bring up." Rantaro said.
"It was 'coz he wanted my fuckin' signature! A note written by Gorgeous Girl Inventor, Miu Iruma, is priceless, anyway!" Miu grinned, hands on her hips.
"Kaede found a piece of evidence when investigating the body." Shuichi nodded to the Pianist.
"I thought I saw something in Gonta's breast pocket when I was looking at the rope around his neck. When I took it out, it was a handwritten note." Kaede said, "Someone had called Gonta to the pool room."
"Wait, so if Shuichi had everyone write down their testimonies, then why haven't we just checked the handwriting?" Kaito asked.
"Haven't we already established that the culprit was smart with their plan? Obviously they wouldn't use the same handwriting as their normal one." Maki stated bluntly.
"Ooooh, Kaito angered the assassin! Better watch out, or you'll get killed!" Kokichi said.
"Shut up, Kokichi!" Kaito replied.
"Oooh, I better watch out now! I've got an assassin and a space man after me!" Kokichi blinked a few times and tears formed, "Please don't kill me!" He cried.
"I said shut up, Kokichi!" Kaito clenched his fists.
"Gonta told me about that message when I saw him last night." Miu suddenly said.
"Nyeh, but you didn't tell us?" Himiko asked.
"I didn't think it was that important. Plus...when he saw me, I was...well.." Miu began playing with a piece of hair.
"Miu, you can't just keep evidence like that!" Kaede said.
"H-hey, don't ridicule me! I was in a compromising state." Miu said.
"Compromising state?" Rantaro asked.
"F-fine! I'll tell you!" Miu shouted, "I didn't have a top on!"
"Nyeh?! Why?" Himiko asked.
"Because it was fuckin' hot! Plus nobody was outside, so I thought it would be fine!" Miu glared at everyone.
"Well, what did the note say?" Shuichi asked, changing the subject.
"It said exactly what Kaede said. He didn't tell me who gave it to him." Miu said.
"And the handwriting doesn't match the samples I got from everyone." Shuichi added.
"What makes it different?" Kirumi asked.
"The handwriting on the note was messy, in cursive and very large. Nobody else's writing matched that." Kaede replied.
"Does that mean we have another person in our midst? One we didn't know about? Did the mastermind kill Gonta?!" Tenko asked, throwing her arms up in front of her.
"Somebody faked their handwriting." Rantaro said, "But who was it?"
"Ugh, this trial is messing with my head!" I groaned under my breath, watching the debate continue.
We seemed to keep going in circles, jumping from one clue to another, trying to make headway but failing. We were stuck in a corner with no way out, nothing to help us continue. Whoever had killed Gonta had been incredibly meticulous, and the lack of evidence was getting us nowhere.
I didn't want to die.
I couldn't die here.
But...what else could we go on?