Return, Retry, Restart...Continue? (Danganronpa V3 X Reader)

Chapter 32

Tenko noticeably flinched at Kokichi's mockery of the murder. "Stop that!" 

"What? I didn't say anything wrong. Only the truth!" 

"Either way, Kokichi has a point, it probably wouldn't even take 10 minutes to stab Himiko that much. Of course, the true cause of death is Himiko's blood loss, so Himiko bled to death..." Shuichi pointed out, "Which makes me to believe that the culprit left the room before Himiko died." 

"Are you saying that the culprit left Himiko alive?" 

"Most likely on accident." 

You paused, trying to understand why Shuichi would think that. Which was when the idea hit you. "Oh! It's cause she dragged herself to the door. Her hand was outreached towards the door as well, so she definitely was aiming for the door." 

Shuichi nodded, "Not to mention that a major portion of the blood was on the wall where the streak first started. It only makes sense if she was lying there first, bleeding out, and then attempted to drag herself outside." 

"So... all this confirms is that the murder could indeed be finished in 10 minutes." Ryoma summarized, "Doesn't that mean that Tenko could have still done it?" 

You gulped, you were struggling to come up with reasons as to why Tenko could not have done it. That was when a certain piece of information stuck out. "Wait! But Keebo and Miu didn't see any blood on her." 

"How do you k-know that?" Miu asked indignantly, "We didn't mention anything about blood!" 

"Exactly." You started, "If you did see blood, that probably would have stuck out to you. Not to mention that would be one of the first things you'd report when giving me your alibi." 

"However, it was nighttime... you can't expect someone to see things in the dark can you?" Korekiyo asked. 

"Blood does have a pretty distinctive smell." Kokichi said winking at me, "Especially after Kayayday, I don't think anyone could forget that smell." 

You saw Shuichi grimace from the corner of your eye, however the Ultimate Detective continued on. "Exactly. While it is entirely possible that Tenko could have washed off the blood... but I think we agreed already that the culprit left immediately after stabbing Himiko. If they had gone to the bathroom, I don't think Himiko would have risked moving. And, I don't think Himiko would have the strength to move after that point." 

"There's actually two other pieces of evidence that point out to Tenko being framed." Rantaro spoke up. You looked at him in panic, you knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"What's this evidence?" Gonta asked.

"Well for one, I found Tenko's ribbon underneath Himiko's body." Rantaro answered. 

Gasps were let out, and once again there were a few glares thrown Tenko's way, but Tenko ignored them, her own eyes filled with shock. 

"How does this prove she is being framed Rantaro?" Kirumi asked politely. 

Rantaro inhaled, "Well, since we mostly established that Himiko moved towards the door after the culprit left the room, then it would make no sense for Tenko's ribbon to be found directly underneath the Himiko's moved body." 

"Right, it would make more sense if it was somewhere else, like perhaps during the struggle, and I really doubt that Tenko, if she were the murderer, would leave such crucial evidence behind." Shuichi answered. 

"Mmm? Is that all your only reason you think Tenko is being framed?" Kokichi innocently asked. 

You decided it was your turn to speak, "No. Earlier Rantaro found identical scratches on the doorknobs of Himiko and Tenko's dorm rooms. My guess is that the culprit had to grab a spare ribbon from Tenko's room in order to "frame" her."