The doors opened I took a deep breath, stepping inside of the elevator. My heart was going at a million miles per hour, as I watched everyone else enter. And then, slowly, we descended into the abyss below.
The elevator had lost so many people. It felt as if it were practically empty. And it would be empty... if we didn't get this right. But either way, lives were lost today. And even more were coming now.
The elevator stopped, the doors opening. The class trial grounds had changed again. Sticky notes and pieces of tattoo art all over the walls. The walls behind them were a deep black, but it was hard to tell with all the bright colors in front of it. I wandered over to my podium.
The place where the death game was at its peak...
Destroying all hope of escaping this place alive...
And we were trapped in the center of it...
Grasping at every chance we could to survive this horrible game.
-Class Trial-
In session!
"Let's start with a small little itty bitty explanation on the class trial! Basically... wait, what happens again? Why are we here?" Ressa said.
"You don't remember!? Didn't you set up this killing game in the first place!?" Imamura yelled.
"Listen Miss Egg, I have ADHD so you shouldn't judge me! Or at least I think I have ADHD..." Ressa replied.
"More like dementia..." Sugai responded, entirely bored.
"Hey! I take offense to that! Even though I don't know what that means because it's another stupid ADOLESCENT JOKE!!!" Ressa yelled back. "Anyways, in a class trial, the students work to try and figure out whodunnit! Then, after solving the mystery, they vote on who they think killed them victim! If it's right, then only the blackened will be brutally executed! But, if you're super duper mega wrong, then-"
"Everybody else suffers. We get it. Can we start now!?" Yamazaki replied.
"Well JEEZ!!! I'm sorry, what if someone doesn't understand!? I barely understand! This recap is for me and no one else! I'm the narrator, you don't get to finish when you want me to! Anyway, I'm done. Go on and figure out who killed the bitches!" Ressa chuckled.
"Um, so, what should we begin discussing?" Kawata asked.
"Um, I think w- we should go over things we already know about the case! O- or, if you guys th- think that would be a good idea..." Arima said.
"RIGHT!!!" Sugai laughed. "I'LL BEGIN THEN!!!"
Non-stop Debate
Kajiwara's Autopsy
Murder File 2
Rock
Bloody Bat
"Alrighty-oh! Let's begin with a brief explanation of the class trial!" Sugai began.
"Hey! I already did that! You can't take my spotlight!" Ressa yelled.
"So, the bodies were were placed right on top of each other..."
"And we know that they went there this morning to go decorate that weird little room."
"They were both killed in that room!"
"In the exact same way! They both had their skulls smashed in!"
"No that's wrong!" I yelled.
"Huh? What do you mean? Of course I'm right!" Sugai replied.
"No Sugai, look at Kajiwara's autopsy! Tengan's wound wasn't severe enough to kill her!" I said.
"Well maybe she's still alive! What do you think of that!?" Sugai snapped back.
"No, that's not the case. There were two body announcements. And I would've known if Tengan was alive." Kajiwara explained. Sugai's stared blankly, before looking away angrily and folding his arms.
"Stupid Kajiwara... always ruining my fun..." Sugai pouted.
"Well, then what did kill her? The only thing at the crime scene was a bloody bat, and I'm pretty sure it can't cut someones neck open." Miyazaki said response.
"I- I'm... not really sure..." I laughed awkwardly.
"The killer obviously took the weapon. There's a sink in that room, so they washed it off and left the room." Imamura suggested.
"Then how are we gonna figure this out!? Ah I can't think straight! I feel like my brain is going to explode!" Arima called out, grabbing his head in anguish.
"It's going to be alright Arima. We're going to solve this and make it out of here alive." Otani said, a bright smile on his face, though it was sadder than usual.
"Alright, I have a discussion topic." Kawata said. "Can we talk about the everything that happened this morning? That should help narrow down the suspects, right?"
"Yeah! I think that will help." Otani replied, his face soft with a slight sadness.
"Okay, then let's start." Kawata said.
Non-stop Debate
Kawata's Account
Taguchi's Account
Arima's Account
Otani's Account
"So, when I entered the cafeteria only Hirano, Imamura, Miyazaki and Otani were there."
"Then, Yamazaki and Arima came in after me."
"A little while later, Sugai and Kajiwara entered the room."
"Taguchi never shows up to the kitchen that morning, and I have absolutely no idea where he was."
"..." Taguchi didn't respond, avoiding eye contact.
"But the thing is, there's no way to narrow down the suspects because the time of death was from 6:30 AM to 9:45 AM!" Kawata continued.
"And no one witnessed Tengan and Naito in that time frame!"
"No that's wrong!" I yelled out. "Actually, there was a witness."
"Really? Who is it!?" Kawata asked, entirely confused.
"Arima saw Tengan and Naito move to the empty room at 7:12 in the morning." I explained. Arima smiled.
"Glad I can be of service." Arima said happily.
"So, we can say that Otani, Imamura, Hirano, Kawata, Yamazaki, Arima and I aren't suspects." Miyazaki replied.
"So, that leaves Sugai, Kajiwara and Taguchi." Kawata responded.
"Huh? Aw man, I guess I did it again! I killed someone again!" Sugai said. "Alright, vote for me! I'm the culprit!"
"Sugai, shut it." Kajiwara replied.
"..." Taguchi stared blankly.
"We're going to need alibi's for each of them." Miyazaki said.
Each of them spoke at one time, not waiting for the others to finish talking.
"Vote for me! I did it! I killed both of them with my prankster expertise!" Sugai yelled.
"Alright, I will explain it to you then." Kajiwara responded.
"... fuck." Taguchi said.
(Authors note: For this situation, I'm going to put each of their responses in sections. And here's the order of speaking: Sugai, Kajiwara and then Taguchi. Keep in mind that they're all speaking at once during this segment!)
Otani's Account
Bloody Bat
Perfume Canisters
Rock
-
"I woke up at 7:15 because I wanted to sleep in! Just couldn't wake up at that darn 7:00 like Ressa wanted!"
"I woke up at 7:00 at the announcement, but I wasn't at the hotel. At that time, I was at the hospital doing some work."
"... I woke up at 6:39, and stayed in my room for the whole morning."
-
"Then I went directly over to that room and absolutely bashed the brains out of Naito and stabbed Tengan in the neck!"
"I got ready and left to the hotel. I walked inside, and realized I should go check on Sugai. I arrived at Sugai's room at 7:27 in the morning."
"Imamura arrived at my room at 6:57 this morning and asked me to join her for breakfast."
-
"That's exactly what happened! I killed Naito with a bat and Tengan with a Kitchen Knife!"
"Unfortunately for me, Sugai has set up one of his pranks by the door, so I returned to the hospital to change, Sugai coming with me."
"I declined, and stayed in my room the rest of the morning till we had to arrive at the elevator."
-
"No that's wrong!" I yelled out. "Sugai couldn't have killed Tengan with a knife!"
"Aaaaawwwwww why noooooooooot!?" Sugai pouted.
"Because Otani was in the kitchen at that time. If you used a kitchen knife, Otani would've seen you enter the room! Otani, did you see Sugai enter the room this morning?" I asked.
"No, I don't believe so." Otani replied.
"Now Otani's ruining my fun!? Jeez! You guys just don't know when to let me do my thing!" Sugai responded.
"Though... there was one suspicious thing that happened this morning..." Otani said.
"And what was that?" Yamazaki asked.
"I saw Imamura really early in the morning. She came and got a cup of flour and left, and when she returned the cup was half full." Otani explained.
"H- huh? Why w- was Imamura there?" Arima asked.
"I was there to make sure that someone in particular wasn't a suspect." Imamura explained.
"And who was that?" Miyazaki asked, folding her arms.
"Taguchi Masahiko." Imamura replied.
"But why would you do that? At that time, we didn't know who was dead." Kawata asked.
"There was a lot of tension with Ressa, and I felt that at any moment there'd be another murder. After all, Ressa was covering for someone." Imamura said.
"I. Would. Never! That would be absolutely despicable! And I would never... wait." Ressa replied.
"Plus, I had a truce with Taguchi. After he became an outcast, he came to me and that's when we made a deal." Imamura explained.
"... ouch..." Taguchi replied.
"What exactly did you do with the flour?" Kawata asked.
"Alright, let me explain what happened. At 6:57, I went to get Taguchi for breakfast. But when he didn't come with me, I knew that everyone would think he was a suspect. So I went to the kitchen, and took a cup of flour, that I wiped all over Taguchi's door knob. I returned to the kitchen at 7:03, where I threw away the rest of the flour." Imamura explained.
"So... if Taguchi had left the room and returned, a hand print would have been left on the door." Kajiwara said.
"Exactly. And you know exactly what wasn't on the door knob? A hand print!" Imamura replied.
"So, it had to have been Sugai or Kajiwara." Miyazaki replied.
"Yes! We're back on track!" Sugai laughed.
"Sugai, you are not helping out situation." Kajiwara replied.
"Hey, I have a question." Taguchi said. "Have we considered the possibility of two killers? Maybe Sugai and Kajiwara are working together, and we just have no idea about it. Is that possible?"
"I will explain this conundrum!" Ressa laughed. "There can definitely be more than one killer! But only the first surviving killer who murders will be punished. You vote for who killed first! And the person who killed second will continue to live out their days with everyone else. So yes! Sugai and Kajiwara could be dirty traitors!" Ressa laughed.
"It's a possibility for Kajiwara and Sugai, since they could have both killed one person." Taguchi said.
What proves that Taguchi's statement is false?
1. "Two for One" Coupon
2. Kajiwara's Autopsy
3. Arima's Account
4. Line of Blood
"That's not true! In the trashcan of the room, was a coupon for killing two people, which would allow the user to get away scot free." I said.
"That's probably why it was out in the garbage! Ressa probably explained that the killers couldn't get away with the murder since it was only one person who's allowed to kill using that coupon." Taguchi replied, a smug smile on his face. I fell silent, staring at him for a moment.
"B- but, that coupon was put in the trashcan by Tengan a while ago-" I began.
"Then that's why it's probably in there!" Taguchi replied, his intimidating smile appearing on his face again.
"Nuh-uh." Ressa said.
"Huh?" Taguchi blurted out.
"OH SHITAKI FOXIE ROCK!!! I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT!!!" Ressa yelled.
"Then why is it there?" Imamura asked.
"No! I'm not gonna reveal anymore secrets!" Ressa replied.
"You have an obligation now! You were the one who mentioned it unwarranted..." Imamura snapped back.
"Urg... FINE!!! What I'm allowed to say is that I removed all coupons placed in trashcans about two days ago. If a coupon was on a person, then I could not go and retrieve it. Everything at the crime scene is related to the event that has occurred. I will not falsify any evidence just because I want to make things more interesting." Ressa explained. "That would break the mascot code of conduct."
"That proves that someone must've thrown it away when they killed Tengan and Naito. And the only people who could've done that were Kajiwara and Sugai." Taguchi claimed, a proud look on his face.
"Hey! No way! Kajiwara would never kill anyone!" Sugai demanded. "It was only me! I am the super genius behind Tengan and Naito's deaths!"
"I appreciate the sentiment but this is not helping your case either." Kajiwara said. He took a small sigh. "Alright, I must prove our innocence then."
Two Sets of Safety Goggles
Broken Window
Tied Cloth
Bloody Bat
"This case can be solved simply."
"Don't assume that there are the same amount of bodies as there are killers."
"With every case so far, there has been one dead body."
"But now, since a second one has shown up."
"We automatically assume that there are two killers."
"But there is just simply no proof of there being two killers."
"No that's wrong!" I yelled. "There are two sets of safety goggles covered in blood! If there weren't two killers, then there would only be one pair of safety goggles!"
"I won't back down that easily!" Kajiwara yelled out, cutting me off.
"How about we assume that there are two killers for a moment."
"The idea is absurd because of the body announcement."
"It only went off because Hirano arrived at the room."
"But this wouldn't make sense if there were two killers. Two killers would mean that the body announcement wouldn't have gone off until two people witnessed the body."
"But the killer is only counted when they aren't seen killing and aren't alone."
"But, the announcement suggests that both killers were used to count the killings."
"But that wouldn't make any sense, because they were both seen killing by the other killer." Kajiwara explained.
"No, that's also wrong." I replied. Kajiwara's eyes stared directly at me, almost creepily. He seemed absolutely hyper focused on me, which sent a chill down my spine. I gulped down the fear, and continued on. "If Tengan had seen one of you killing Naito, then it would be easy for her to be counted as a witness."
"How do you know that Tengan didn't die first?" Kajiwara replied.
What is evidence that Tengan didn't die first?
1. Kajiwara's Autopsy
2. Body Placement
3. Murder File 3 (1)
4. Murder File 3 (2)
"The placement of the bodies. If Tengan was killed first, then Naito's body would've been on top of hers." I replied.
"What if the killers moved the body on top?" He replied.
What is proof the killers didn't move the body?
1. Closet Handle
2. Broken Window
3. Match Box
4. Line of Blood
"The line of blood on the floor leads directly to the bodies! And the line of blood wasn't a drag stain!" I responded.
"Okay, in this scenario, you're suggesting that one of the killers was hiding in the room, waiting for one of the victims to enter. But where exactly was this killer hiding?" Kajiwara replied.
"What about the closet?" Imamura asked.
"And why the closet? Is there any proof they went to the closet?" Kajiwara responded.
"Well, Tengan did have the rusty door knob from the closet door. It's possible she went to open the closet, and the killer jumped out and stabbed her in the neck." Miyazaki continued from Imamura's thought.
"What if the killer planted it on her? Then they'd make it seem as if she went to the closet door." Kajiwara replied.
"But the closet was covered in blood splatters. I don't think you can fake that." Kawata said.
"Then how did Tengan get the wound on the back of her head?" Kajiwara snapped back.
"Sh- she probably just h- hit her head o- on the floor..." Arima said.
"And how do we know that? If Tengan hit her head on the floor, wouldn't that mean that Tengan tripped? But wasn't she dead? Is there any proof that Tengan was still alive enough to back up and trip over Naito's body?" Kajiwara replied calmly.
What is proof that Tengan was still alive?
1. Closet Handle
2. Murder File 3 (1)
3. Kajiwara's Autopsy
4. Perfume Canisters
"With your autopsy Kajiwara. You said that Tengan should've been alive for at least 6 seconds. Out of everyone here, you should remember that." I replied. Kajiwara stared for a moment, going completely silent.
"Kajiwara?" Sugai said. Kajiwara took a long pause. He rolled up his sleeves, and pushed his gloves up a bit more. He raised a hand to his chin, and closed his eyes, almost seeming lost in thought. Sugai paused for a moment. "Kajiwara? Is everything okay?" He stared at Kajiwara, looking for a response. But he remained frozen. A sudden sense of determination came over Sugai's face. "Nuh-uh! I'm not gonna let this happen! I'll throw myself under the bus just this once for you Kajiwara!" Sugai cheered. "How does it go? No, that's wrong?" Sugai chuckled. "Alright! Try and combat my logic!" He giggled.
Broken window
Tied Cloth
Bloody Bat
Perfume Canisters
"So, both killers went into the room, right?"
"Otherwise, there'd be no way to set up that weird perfume thing right?"
"But the door locks from the inside right? How would the killers get out of the room? There's just no escape!"
"No that's wrong!" I yelled out. "The broken window was a way for them to escape the room!"
"But isn't that too scary and risky?" Sugai asked.
Match Box
Perfume Canisters
Tied Cloth
Rock
"I mean, it's three stories! You would've broken your legs at the very least from a fall from that!"
"And I think my legs have full articulation thank you very much."
"There's just no way to leave from that room!"
"That's also wrong!" I said, cutting him off. "The killer could've easily left the room using the tied cloth."
"Pfft, that's stupid! What I'd they fell? What if it broke? Why risk that?" Sugai asked.
"I should be asking you that very question!" I replied.
"Heh... how cheeky..." Someone said. My attention directed to them. Kajiwara shook his head back and forth. He seemed as if he was laughing to himself for a moment.
"W- what is it Kajiwara?" Arima asked.
"Have you accepted that you killed them?" Taguchi asked. Kajiwara chuckled a bit.
"If that's what you think this is about, you're sorely mistaken." Kajiwara replied. "Ressa, what time was the body discovered?"
"Oooooh a question for me? How cool! The body was discovered at 9:50 this morning." Ressa said, chuckling to himself.
"So... this killer is a cheeky one." Kajiwara said, shaking his head back and forth. "And to think we almost all died because of it."
"What? What is it?" Kawata asked.
"We've been going about this all wrong." Kajiwara replied.
"H- huh? We have?" Arima responded.
"The two of them were killed yesterday." Kajiwara replied. "A body only stops leaking blood after about six hours. I'd they were killed this morning, then the bodies would still have been bleeding out."
"What if you're just saying that to make yourself seem innocent?" Taguchi replied.
"No, it's true. A body only stops bleeding after 6 hours." Yamazaki responded.
"How would you know that?" Imamura's said, staring skeptically at Yamazaki.
"I've been hired to take crime scene photos before. I've learned it from some of the police offers I used to work with." Yamazaki explained.
"Woah! Hey buddy boy, I don't remember reading that in your bio!" Sugai laughed.
"Because it's confidential info you shit head." Yamazaki snapped back.
I stared at the ground for a moment. The killer or killers killed yesterday morning? But... doesn't that completely contradict some evidence. Wait... does that mean...
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