Y/N POV: "Hey Shuichi, Y/N, you got a sec?" Kaito asked both of us. "Hm? What's wrong?" Shuichi asked Kaito. "Before we start the investigation, there's something I gotta tell you... You both are my sidekicks from now on!" Kaito yelled, I felt rather confused at that and Shuichi didn't look any different, isn't a sidekick supposed to be someone below? How come a person that didn't even do all their training gets to make that decision? "...Y-Your sidekicks?" I sweat dropped. "I'm more of a scientist kinda guy, so I'm not really cut out for investigations. Plus, the only stage fit for Kaito Momota, Luminary of the stars, is the universe itself. So I'll leave the details to both of you. Pave the path for my success!" Kaito yelled.
"Ah, but, I don't know what to do as a sidekick..." Shuichi sweat dropped. "Don't worry about it. I'll make all the tough calls, you just gotta do what I say. So.. I'll take full responsibility. Since your both my sidekicks, there's nothing to worry about." Kaito reassured, nothing to worry about...? But, there's always things to worry about, especially in a killing game. "Huh?" Shuichi sweat dropped, he looked just as confused as I did. "Alright, let's get started! First, we gotta check the Monokuma File!" Kaito yelled. At least we're getting on track, I am still against working with others though. "Y-Yes, right." Shuichi mumbled, it's rather odd, Kaito making us his sidekicks like that, not even second-guessing it, is this his way of trying to help us? I was always the one helping others when it came to school, no ones ever needed to teach me before, apart from...him. "Hey, what's the matter? Let's check the Monokuma File already." Kaito said, shaking me out of my slight daze. "Ah, right." Shuichi said, opening the Monokuma File. I did the same.
The victim is Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro... The body was discovered in the gym. The cause of death was drowning. His body was consumed until only the bones remained. No other injuries can be confirmed at this time.
The Monokuma File only notably wrote down the stuff we already knew, nothing that we didn't know was written down. "What? There's less written here than before. I've got a bad feeling about this..." Kaito sweat dropped. "the time of death isn't written here..." Shuichi pointed out. "Hm?" Kaito hummed. "The previous Monokuma File indicated Rantaro's time of death, correct? But the Monokuma File doesn't indicate a time of death." Shuichi explained. "Did Monokuma mess up!?" Kaito yelled. "I-I doubt it...I'm sure that this was intentional. M-Monokuma told us that he wouldn't give us any information that would reveal the culprit. Though, thinking about it that way...it implies that the information would be damning evidence for the culprit." I said, growing a little quiet at the end. "So that means the key to this case is the time of death! Hah, there you go! I knew I picked good sidekicks!" Kaito said. I fell silent at those words, the cause of death was drowning, I suppose more evidence can decide when he died and exactly how everything happened. "Alright. Now that we're done with the Monokuma File, we can get started on the investigation. My first command to my new sidekicks is...Investigate everywhere and find clues that will lead us to the culprit!" Kaito yelled, as expected I suppose Shuichi and I will be the ones to do most of the work.
I mindlessly followed along with Shuichi and Kaito as we walked to the top of the tank despite the want to talk with Kiyo first. "You were helping set up the show, right, Kirumi? Did you hear anything about the trick?" Shuichi asked Kirumi, the trick itself isn't difficult to understand, if I were to be investigating on my own then I could probably learn how the trick worked. "No, I did not hear a word. Furthermore, my help consisted of sewing the banner and curtains. So I do not know the details of the trick." Kirumi admitted. "I see..." Shuichi sweat dropped. "Hey, Y/N. Do you know anything?" Kaito asked me. "I-I cannot say anything that I don't know as fact." I responded. Kaito shrugged it off, I lifted my head a little to look at the tank holding the piranhas, notably, it had no lid, the front is made out of glass and the others are made out of wood. "Oh yeah. That tank was from Himiko's research lab." Kaito said. "Hey, Kaito, you helped carry the supplies for the show, right?" Shuichi questioned. "Yeah. Me, Kiibo, Himiko and Angie. It was a lot of work. But...I just helped carry it. I wonder how they hung it from there. It was a heavy tank full of water and piranhas. It couldn't have been easy to lift." Kaito sweat dropped. "It seems this is where the lighting batten for the gym is attached." Kirumi said. "Ah, Kirumi." Shuichi mumbled. "The control panel on the side of the stage allows you to raise and lower the batten. It seems they lowered the batten, attached the piranha tank to it, then raised it again." Kirumi explained. "Hmm, I never knew lighting battens were sturdy enough to lift the tank like that." Kaito admitted. "Since it was built to lift heavy objects, it is probably quite sturdy." Kirumi said. I lifted my head just a little more to look at the curtain behind the tank, there should be a window behind that.
"What's the matter? You wanna check that window out?" Kaito asked me, why does he always have to catch onto everything? "Um, yes, but-" "Oh, it's too high up to reach, huh? Yeah, it is pretty high... Even higher than the piranha tank." Kaito sweat dropped. That part was pretty obvious. "That's right! There was a ladder next to the stage! I'll go get it!" Kaito yelled. "Y-You don't have to, allow me to do it." I said as I began to walk down the stage. "You sure? It's decently heavy, y'know?" Kaito said. "it's fine, I-I can do it." I mumbled. I walked down the stage and right beside it was a ladder, it looked tall enough to use. I grabbed it with one hand and put it over my shoulder, I think Kaito overexaggerated its weight, it's really not that heavy at all.
I walked up the stage quickly. "Now that I think about it, it makes quite a lot of sense that the sidekick would be the one bringing the ladder." Kaito admitted. "Ah, y-yeah, I suppose so... Thank you, Y/N." Shuichi said. I almost wanted to say something to Shuichi about not needing to thank me but decided against it when I took a quick glance at Kaito, no matter what I say, it won't change the situation. I carefully set up the ladder on top of the stage, watching Shuichi carefully as he climbed the rungs.. "You can just barely reach the window with this. And if you open the curtain... Ah, the window is open!" Shuichi exclaimed. "If the window's open, does that mean the culprit used it? So what's on the other side of the window?" Kaito asked Shuichi. "I can't seem much...but I think it's the pool." Shuichi answered. I suppose that would make sense. "A pool, huh? I heard we had one here somewhere. Alright! Let's check that out later! The culprit probably went through there!" Kaito yelled. "Ah, wait... What is this...?" Shuichi mumbled. "D-Did...you find anything?" I asked. "Nothing, it just looks like marks on the window frame..." Shuichi answered. That sounds important, I think I'll do my best to remember that. "A-Are you done investigating the window? I'll go and put back the ladder then." I said as Shuichi climbed down the ladder. "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Y/N." Shuichi said, I felt a sense of embarrassment rush over me. It took every inch of my being to try to just reject that sense of importance. I shook it off and picked up the ladder and walked down the stage. Hearing Kaito mumble something about how it was important for the sidekick to be the one to do this kind of stuff.
Once I put down the ladder where I found it I walked up the stairs up the stage. "Hm? We all done here? Then let's go." Kaito said. "Yeah, okay." Shuichi agreed, I didn't say anything as we proceeded to walk down the stage. The tank, as expected, was in very bad condition. "Did you guys really need to break the glass? Everything's soaked now." Kaito sweat dropped. "Well, if we had left Ryoma's body there, we wouldn't have been able to investigate..." Shuichi explained. "I guess it woulda taken way too long to just empty the whole tank with a bucket." Kaito said. "It was a lot of clean up...but at least we can investigate the tank now. There might be a clue around here. I should take a closer look." Shuichi sweat dropped. "Yeah, you're right." Kaito smiled. I took a step towards the tank, the tank itself was destroyed but inside of the tank was a pair of handcuffs. I stepped inside the tank with Shuichi, successfully not slipping over, I picked up the handcuffs, they were still locked and had notable, small scratches on them. The feeling of the handcuffs, they were stainless steel, these shouldn't be too hard to scratch, but for them to be scratched like this they would've had to be scraping against something hard or sharp.
"What are those handcuffs? Were they in the tank? But I've never seen handcuffs in the warehouse. Where'd they come from?" Kaito questioned. It's odd, but this shouldn't be too difficult to figure out, Ryoma was the one that had these on, his Ultimate lab wasn't just made for the Ultimate Tennis Pro, they were also made for the Ultimate Prisoner. Perhaps an element like this should've been in his lab. Shuichi and I stepped out of the tank after putting down the handcuffs. The next thing that caught my eye was the bucket full of piranhas, Gonta said that we had picked up all of the piranhas and put them here. Did...he even clean his hands? Did he do all of the with his bare hands? But...now that I think about it, that is something that I can picture. "When I think that Ryoma is inside their stomachs, I don't even feel like eating them..." Kaito admitted. "...W-Why would you even consider eating them in general...?" I sweat dropped. "Nyahahaha! Only the strong can survive in this world that Atua has created. The least we can do is pray for Ryoma's soul, so that he may enter Ryoma's kingdom." Angie said. "Can he even go there looking like this?" Kaito sweat dropped. "Those piranhas sure were a miraculous mystery. Maybe Atua was behind those videos, too..." Angie said. "...What are you talking about?" Shuichi sweat dropped. "I noticed it right as the show started... I feel like there are more piranhas today than yesterday when we were preparing." Angie admitted, that's odd, piranhas don't just multiply that quickly in such a short time. "More piranhas?" Shuichi sweat dropped. "What, did they multiply overnight? There's no way they could reproduce that fast." Kaito said.
That's the weird part, piranhas don't usually reproduce when they're in a tank, they usually lay eggs, and even then it takes 2 to 3 days for the eggs to hatch, some things do not add up. "But, but compared to yesterday...the piranhas looked super crammed into that tank. The water was too murky, so I couldn't tell how many more piranhas they were... But anyway, it was super super super super super crammed. Super super super super super crammed." Angie said, putting her hands on her cheeks. "Geez, we get it." Kaito sweat dropped, I walked to the bones and belongings of Ryoma that I had put into a pile, it still gives me the chills, knowing that I had actually touched the bones of my former peer. Ryoma is nothing more than a pile of bones, what a sad sight.
"Tch...what the heck is this? Hey, is this really Ryoma? I didn't even see the moment it happened, so I can't believe it..." Kaito sweat dropped. "...I'm certain of it. Everyone watching the show witnessed it. We saw...Ryoma become nothing but bones." Shuichi admitted, I felt rather uncomfortable remembering the exact way Ryoma was eaten by the piranhas. "I can't believe he died in such a gruesome way." Kaito sweat dropped. "The water filled with blood so fast, we didn't see the whole thing, thankfully... But this skeleton is unmistakably Ryoma's." Shuichi said. "Geez, I know he wanted to die, but he didn't have to go and do it." Kaito said with gritted teeth. "No...I don't think that's right, Kaito. Ryoma wasn't trying to die. He said as much. He was jealous of us...who wanted to live." Shuichi said. "Huh? What do you mean he was jealous?" Kaito questioned. "I'm positive that Ryoma wanted to join us. That's why he needed a reason to live. So that we could have the same feelings we do, so that he could have a reason to keep going. To fight alongside us." Shuichi explained. "Then...he was a real idiot. Who cares if you don't have a reason to live? Can't your reason for living be something simple like good food or your friends? Damn it! That idiot!" Kaito yelled.
I looked down at the bones of Ryoma, a saddened look spread across my face, I...couldn't convince him that life was worth living, what type of librarian am I if I cannot even argue my point across to someone...? How worthless of me- "Hey, Y/N. Is something wrong?" Kaito asked me. I clenched my hand, my nails sinking into my skin. I guess the frustration is getting to me, I'm a librarian, stay composed. "...I'm fine." I mumbled, Kaito didn't have much to say about my response and didn't push it. I directed my attention to Ryoma's belongings, everything that Ryoma was holding and wearing during the time of the magic show was in a pile on the floor. including with the keys to his dorm room. "That's it! If we use this key, we can investigate Ryoma's room!" Shuichi exclaimed. "Hm? What's in his room to investigate?" Kaito asked. "His motive video. We should find out whose video Ryoma had." Shuichi responded. "Then...you think Ryoma was killed because of that video?" Kaito asked Shuichi. "I can't say for certain...but we should check, just in case." Shuichi replied. I took a closer look at the cage, there, in the center was a square pane of glass at the bottom of the tank. It's not broken, but it does a good job of standing out. A broken water tank cannot simply produce a perfect square of glass. What job does this pane serve? I shook off the thought but made a mental note to keep it in mind, I turned my head to look at Kokichi, I need to talk to him.
I walked towards Kokichi, leaving Kaito and Shuichi to take care of the tank. "H-Hey, Kokichi-" "I'm glad Himiko made this game more difficult. Now I won't be nearly as bored. Time to work hard to solve this mystery! Get ready, culprit, cuz here I cooome!" Kokichi yelled, I suppose at this point in time, I must try to be the mature one and talk to him after the class trial for the photo back, besides, talking to him now is probably going to prove to be futile. Even so, I gave Kokichi a look of uncertainty as I walked away to talk to Gonta who was crying, one day, I'll show Kokichi that those who make enemies will not be the ones to make it on top. I learned that the hard way. "Gonta couldn't save him... No, Gonta shoulda saved him...!" Gonta yelled, he looked very disheartened, but the mentality of the want to save everyone isn't good, one who thinks that they must save everyone ends up being the one to get hurt. It happened with Kaede and I'll be damned if it happened to someone else, someone like Gonta who can't comprehend that humans can be the very things that we can come to fear, shouldn't think like that. "...W-What's the matter, Gonta?" I asked. "When piranhas attack Ryoma...If Gonta had dived into the tank... Then Gonta coulda help Ryoma. But Gonta got scared. Too scared to do anything. Sorry! Gonta really sorry!" Gonta yelled. "A man shouldn't apologize so easily... And even if you had jumped in, they just woulda eaten you too." Kaito said beside me, I hadn't even realized he had walked next to me.
"E-Er, from what I read in the Monokuma File, I doubt you could've saved him anyway, Gonta." I said. "Huh? Really? Does it say that in Monokuma File?" Gonta sweat dropped. "You haven't even read the Monokuma File yet?" Kaito asked. "No...Gonta not really understand it... Gonta not smart enough to help..." Gonta sweat dropped. "What are you talking about!? If you've got time to apologize, you've got time to read the File! If you think you can't help, then work till you can! That's what you can do!" Kaito yelled. I felt a slightly uneasy feeling in my chest, am I irritated? "...I-I agree, you're a huge help. There's some information only you would know about, after all." I said, a small smile on my face, I was almost tempted to cover it up, perhaps if Kaito wasn't practically breathing down my neck every second. "Information...only Gonta know?" Gonta questioned. R-Remember? During the show, you went up the stage? That was 20 seconds before the piranhas dropped, right?" I said. "Y-Yeah... Cuz Gonta worry about Himiko..." Gonta sweat dropped. "D-Did you perhaps see anything inside the tank? Did you see Himiko or Ryoma?" I asked Gonta.
"No, Gonta see no one in tank. Gonta kinda surprised..." Gonta admitted. "But...when the piranhas were dropped and the curtains opened, Ryoma was in the tank, right?" Kaito questioned. "Yeah, that right..." Gonta said. "Then when did Ryoma get in there? You didn't see that happen?" Kaito sweat dropped. "Gonta dunno... Everyone see Ryoma in tank when piranhas drop in. After that... S-Sorry! Gonta shoulda watched tank better!" Gonta apologized, looking down at the ground sadly. "Like I said, a man shouldn't apologize so eas-" "I-It's okay, Gonta. You did your best. Thank you for the information." I said, interrupting Kaito, I know Kaito means well, I just don't think I can handle the fact that I might become less of a man if I continue to be how I am, I want to change, I just can't seem to stop looking back on the past. "...I-It okay." Gonta mumbled, I'm sure he will be okay, he just needs some time. "But...this is a problem... Now I'm even more stumped. Even if Himiko disappearing was a part of the Underwater Escape Act... How did Ryoma get into the tank? Was that apart of Himiko's trick?" Kaito sweat dropped.
How odd, no one so far has proven to be suspicious, Himiko was just the one that hosted the magic show along with Angie, Himiko doesn't seem to be a prime suspect but I imagine the others will see it differently, Tenko is going to stay by Himiko's side during the trial I assume, I wonder if Himiko will need the extra support, I just need some more information on the case, then, and only then I will be able to construct a proper theory. I walked to Kiyo next. I doubt he'll tell me anything I don't know already, but either way, anytime spent with Kiyo is time well spent. "I never would've imagined such a cruel murder happening at such a fun show... Kehehe... Why did the culprit commit such a barbaric act? Did they wish to see us panic?" Kiyo questioned. "...I-I don't think that was the sole motivation. I assume there was something else to it. That reason being related to Himiko's magic show." I explained. "So that means the culprit knew of Himiko's trick and made use of it, yes? Since the show was used, we must investigate the trick as well." Kiyo murmured to himself, then walked to the back of the stage. "Is there anything to investigate backstage?" Kaito questioned. "...Let's follow him. We should investigate the entire area anyway." Shuichi said. Do they have a thing for following people around? I thought I was talking to Kiyo alone. I shook off the thought and quickly followed Kiyo backstage with Shuichi and Kaito in tow, I suppose the reason I'm a little irritated is that I'm just not used to having people by my side, yeah...that's the reason.
"Since the show was used for the murder, we must investigate Himiko's trick as well." Kiyo said. I looked a little further backstage and the thing that immediately caught my eye was a bundle of rope on the floor next to a puddle of water, I think it's about... "Hmm, I estimate it is roughly 65 feet in length." Kiyo said, interrupting my train of thought. "You can tell just by looking at it?" Shuichi sweat dropped. "I am well versed in ropes. I once visited a village where their...use...was commonplace. Kehehe... When it was time for me to leave, the women of the village all begged me to stay..." Kiyo chuckled, I felt my cheeks grow a little red. I hope he isn't referring to what I think he is, that's probably the one thing I can't bring myself to research anymore, so very embarrassing. Don't worry about it, Y/N. Just...focus on the investigation. I turned my head to the staircase, I-I'm sure that this has something to do with the trick, I looked at the tank, nothing suspicious, at least, the size and look of the tank isn't something I find suspicious. "All sides of the tank seem to be made of a special type of glass. I see no hidden doors... Kehehe... Very mysterious. How, I wonder, did Himiko escape from the tank?" Kiyo questioned. "Well, if we figured it out easily, it wouldn't be a magic trick." Kaito sweat dropped. "I believe that if we figure out the route Himiko took, we will discover how Ryoma got in there." Kiyo said. I see...so to find out how Himiko got out of the tank we will find out how Ryoma got in.
I lowered my head to look at the puddle, I doubt it was from breaking the tank as the floor around it was completely dry, suppose someone who was wet was here, I wonder what they were doing...hang on. Changing wet clothes, perhaps? That would explain why Himiko was completely dry when she appeared before us. I don't have anything so far to back this up and Himiko will most likely not say anything to us about how the trick works and or how she even got out of the tank, even if the information is in her favor. I followed Shuichi and Kaito out from backstage, waving goodbye to Kiyo in the process. I had no time to collect my thoughts before Miu ran up to Shuichi and I, I felt my body stiffen a little, what's Miu gonna say now...? "Hey, phlegm wads! There's somethin' I need ya to tell me. It's got nothin' to do with the incident, but...I heard Gonta captured you guys last night? The hell was that all about? I was runnin' around so I got no clue what happened." Miu said. "Oh, yeah. Tell me too. I was also running, so I still don't know what went on." Kaito admitted, how was Miu of all people able to escape Gonta? She's not strong enough to fight him, did she also have to run for her life? "Chop-chop, you slimy shit!" Miu yelled. "W-Well...I suppose you could say that Gonta was tricked into kidnapping us. The first ones to get captured were Kiibo, Kiyo, Tsumugi, Tenko, and I. Y/N, Himiko, and Angie were brought in later." Shuichi explained, I really don't want to relive that moment.
"Himiko and Angie were taken from the gym, right?" Kaito questioned. "Exactly. And Kokichi and left the room after, around 9:00 p.m... So they must have been brought in about five minutes before that. We were all forced to participate in Gonta's Insect Meet and Greet. We were all freed about an hour into nighttime, around 11:00 p.m." Shuichi explained. "So from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., everyone there had an alibi. And then those people without an alibi are me, Kirumi, Maki, and...Ryoma." Kaito admitted. "Hah-hahaha! I see you've learned what an alibi is, thanks to the previous incident! But what the fuck is this 'Insect Meet and Greet' bullshit!? Hah-hahaha!" Miu laughed. "B-By the way, Miu... How were you able to get away from Gonta?" I asked Miu, almost instantly she started to blush a little bit and shrunk down, playing with her hair. "Hm? O-Oh...u-uh...well... I, uh...I had to use...my secret woman weapon... A-And let's just leave it at that..." Miu mumbled. "...'Secret woman weapon.'?" Shuichi sweat dropped.
"...Y-You don't want to know, trust me." I said. "Hah-hahahaha! I'm surprised a virgin like you knows what it is, Y/N!" Miu laughed, further embarrassing me. "Ah, hey, what's a 'secret woman weapon'-" "Hah-hahahaha! Hah-hahahahahaha!" Miu laughed, interrupting Shuichi. "Shuichi, let's just leave her be. Listening to her will just tire you out." Kaito sweat dropped. "You're probably right... Perhaps it's better to get the truth out of her at the class trial." Shuichi said. I sighed in relief, I...really hope Miu didn't do what I think she did.
Word Count: 4330