Once they all found the body they reacted one by one
"Wh-What the...!?" first Makoto
"A-Are they really dead!?" then Hina
"For sure. But..." Hiro
"Who...is it?" Byakuya
"Kyeeehahaha! I told ya, there's a corpse hangin' out here!" and Genocider
"Are they really...dead? Is this really a dead body...?" Hina covered her mouth
"You need to begin looking around right away. However... Be ever so careful. There's no telling what you might find." Byakuya cautioned
We need to find out who this actually is... But there's no way to tell with the mask covering their face like that. And the white coat they're wearing makes it impossible to tell anything about the body itself. The victim is a total mystery... But one thing I do know...is that whoever this is, they attacked me last night in my room. But why...? How did they wind up dead in here!?
"Their heart isn't beating, they're not breathing, all signs of life have come to a complete stop..." Byakuya began the autopsy "Thanks to the knife that's been driven into their stomach, their clothes are stained a bright red. It appears the bleeding has stopped, but the blood that's there is still wet. Be careful you don't touch it and get some on you..."
"How can you be so calm at a time like this? Who is it!? Their face and body are all hidden, so I don't have a clue..." Hiro said
"I'm pretty sure it's a girl at least..." Hina thought
"Huh? How can you tell?"
"Well...I think I see the outline of her chest. And just the general shape of the body... Yeah, the more I look, the more I'm sure it's a girl."
"Kyeeehahaha! Okay then!" Genocider laughed "Let's just tear the mask clean off!"
"Wait, don't-!" Byakuya's warning was too late. Her hand shot to the mask to pull it off, but as soon as she touched it
*KABOOOOOOM* it exploded. The body exploded
"Hurry up, put out the fire." Byakuya ordered. A bucket of water was shoved into Makoto's hands "Come on, dump the water on it."
"O-Okay!" Makoto threw the water to the body. The fire died out, leaving the smell of burning flesh airing through the garden "I-I guess that took care of it..."
"But what the hell, man?" Hiro shouted
"It...exploded?" Hina gasped
"I...had a bad feeling about that body." Byakuya said "But I never imagined it would explode... And now the body..."
"It's burnt to a crisp! That's beyond well done, man!" Hiro continued shouting
"Don't compare it to a steak! I'll never be able to eat steak again..." Hina whined
"But now that the body's charred, I really have no idea... How are we gonna find out who it was...?" Makoto worried
"Who isn't here right now?" Byakuya asked rhetorically
"...Huh?"
"If we consider who's not here, that will quickly narrow down who it must be."
"There's only one girl missing..." Hina said
"It's...Kyoko." Hiro concluded
"K-Kyoko!?" Makoto gasped
"Calm down. I didn't say it was Kyoko." Byakuya corrected
"But, I mean...who else...?" Hiro asked
"There is one other person. The mastermind..."
"What!?" Hina recoiled
"Th-The mastermind!? Come on, there's no way! The MASTERMIND got char-broiled!? Get serious!" Hiro yelled
"I agree, normally the idea wouldn't be worth considering. But I have reason to believe it may be true." Byakuya said "The mastermind being dead would explain that other matter, wouldn't it? Monokuma can hardly move around if its master is dead, right?"
"B-But...that corpse is a girl, right? It doesn't make any sense! I mean, remember what Alter Ego said? He said the mastermind is some middle-aged dude, right? Which the corpse obviously isn't! Then could that mean...the mastermind isn't the headmaster...?"
"Is it the teenage girl Kyoko and Quill told me about? The Ultimate Despair...?" Makoto mumbled
"Huh...?"
"Mukuro Ikusaba...the seventeenth student at Hope's Peak..."
"...What are you talking about?" Byakuya asked in disbelief
"The other day, they gave me a note... it said there was a seventeenth student here in the school."
"I think you'd better tell us everything you know."
Makoto recalled what the note said as well as what he was told
"There's another student here, and it's a female? That would match the body's characteristic..." Byakuya summarized
"And that phrase, the Ultimate Despair-it sounds super mastermind-y, doesn't it?" Hina asked
"Okay, so...the mastermind is this girl Mukuro? And she's a student here? And she's the Ultimate Despair? But if she's been hiding here in the school like some teenage Bigfoot...how'd she wind up burnt to a crisp!? None of this makes any sense! To just suddenly show up and then die!?" Hiro shouted again
"I think we'd better take a closer look at the body." Byakuya suggested "There may be some clues to help us figure out exactly who it is."
"Ah! Hey, wait!" Hina yelped suddenly
"...What?"
"A-Aren't we forgetting something? You know...Toko?"
"Oh yeah! She got totally blown up, huh!?" Hiro gasped
"Forget about her." Byakuya told them "I'm sure the explosion vaporized her."
"Nn...gh...!" Toko stumbled towards them
"Oh! She survived!" Hina smiled
"Oh...she survived..." Byakuya grumbled
Toko suddenly fully regained consciousness "Huh? What just h-happened...? Master...?"
"You declared for the whole world to hear that you would never again inhale a single molecule of oxygen."
"Oh. Then...I don't mind b-breathing in the carbon dioxide you exhale. That's enough for m-me to live..."
"This is the strangest back-and-forth I've ever seen..." Hiro commented
Makoto took a step towards the body before Hina warned him "Watch yourself, Makoto. She may be dead, but she's still a girl..."
"D-Don't worry. I don't plan on touching the body all that much." Makoto told her. Getting closer to the body he noticed some type of key by the body, not the one that Quill had shown him, this one was a smaller blue electronic key "Then this key is...?"
"What is it? Did you find something?" Byakuya asked
"Yeah... This was on the ground near the body."
"I've never seen this key before. What could it possibly go to...?"
"So even you don't know, then?"
"Makoto...I'm going to give you a very important task."
"Huh...?"
"That key might give you access to certain areas we thought were locked."
"You mean...?"
"The bio lab, the data center, the headmaster's room, and the dorm rooms on the 2nd floor... It's in your hands."
********************************
Since the key was an electronic key, Makoto decided to try it on the data center first "Okay, let's give it a shot..." *Click* "It fits! I have to go tell everyone else!"
********************************
"So, you're back. How'd it go?" Byakuya spoke as he saw Makoto return
"I found out which room the key goes to. It's the data center, down on the 4th floor."
"Then we can get into the data center now!?" Hiro asked
"Interesting... But why did the now deceased have that key on them?" Byakuya wondered "I suppose we'll just have to go to the data center and find out."
"Yeah, I think you're right." Makoto agreed
********************************
"Here we are." Byakuya said as they all stood in front of the door to the data center
"Looks like the door is still unlocked..." Makoto mentioned
"Hey, so...when you open that door, there's not gonna be another huge KABOOM like before, right?" Hina worried
"You're asking that question now?" Hiro questioned
"Don't worry. We have Makoto." Byakuya smirked
"What...?" Makoto sighed
"It's in your hands..."
"Again...?"
"It means I trust you."
That's an absolute lie. I'm just being used...
He slowly reached for the door, closing his eyes and trying not to worry about it. But as he opened the door... nothing. The door opened without issue
"Hey, that's-!" Hiro trembled, pointing to the wall covered in monitors. Each one showed footage from the security cameras placed throughout the school
"Th-This is...!" Makoto looked across the wall
"It's a direct feed from every single surveillance camera...!" Byakuya said "All the cameras in the school feed back into this room...and they're displayed here on these monitors. So the sole purpose of this room...is to watch us."
"To...w-watch us!?" Hiro recoiled
"Then this room is...!" Hina gasped
"The mastermind's private room, without a doubt." Byakuya finished "Then I think this settles it."
"Huh...?"
"The body in the garden... If they had the key to this room, it can only mean one thing. That was the body of Mukuro Ikusaba, and she was the mastermind."
"Then the mastermind is dead? Like really really dead!?"
"It would seem so."
"F-For serious!?" Hiro recoiled again
"It's too bad they had to g-go and die...before Master could k-kill them himself!" Toko fantasized
"B-But...if the mastermind really is dead... That means we can finally get outta this hellhole! We gotta hurry up and find the exit! C'mon!"
"No. We have to check this area thoroughly first." Byakuya decided
"Huh!? But what about the exit!?"
"If the mastermind truly is dead, we can leave whenever we decide to. But right now... we need to find out why the mastermind set up this life-or-death game in the first place. And I'm bothered by the fact that the mastermind was obviously murdered."
"M-Murdered!?"
"So you think so too, huh?" Makoto asked
"Naturally." Byakuya smirked "The state of the corpse makes it plain as day. There is absolutely no doubt the mastermind was murdered."
"Wh-Why's it gotta be that way!? I mean, who could've even done it!?" Hiro wondered
"That's exactly why I said we need to investigate the purpose and identity of the mastermind."
"Now do you u-understand, you useless insect!? You're banned from t-talking to Master ever again!" Toko screamed
"Okay then, let us begin our search. It's time to uncover the identity of the mastermind."
Makoto walked towards the desk with the computer and its several monitors
"They're all on, but they seem to be locked."
"So what, we can't do anything? Just use your fighting spirit to force your way in!" Hina said
"What c-century are you from...?" Toko insulted
"The mastermind must've been using these to monitor the network. And Alter Ego..." Makoto trailed off
"You may well be right about that. But there's no point in thinking about it now." Byakuya told him
"You're right..."
Hiro noticed the tv to the right of the desk "Huh? Hey, look. Next to that TV..." he pointed to the object right next to it "Isn't that a TV antenna? It is! It's just like the one my grandma uses! It's totally one of those hi-def antennas!"
"Wait, so if we hook up that antenna, we could watch TV?"
"Huh? Did someone say TV!?" Hina perked up
"Well well, Saturday Morning Hina's here!" Hiro joked
"Uhh...are you talking about me? Anyway, if we can watch TV, let's do it! C'mon c'mon c'mon!"
"Ah, you're all starved for info from the outside world, huh? Alright! Lemme work my magic, and you'll be quantum leaping your way to TV land before ya know it!"
While waiting for Hiro, Makoto checked the Monokuma door in the back, but *Rattle rattle* "No luck..."
"The door's locked, huh? What if you use the key that opened this room?" Hina suggested
"Let's give it a try, just in case." *Rattle rattle* "Nope, no good. It won't even fit in the keyhole."
"Oh... Well, don't worry about it! Everything's fine. The mastermind's dead, right? So nothing's gonna happen to us!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right..."
"Hrm... Hrm hrm hrmmm... Oh...! Oh oh oh oh oh!" Hiro repeated
"...What's wrong?"
"Good news for all you Saturday morning kiddies out there! I think I got the TV working!"
"Really!?" Hina got excited
"Now all we gotta do it...switch it on!"
"...Then do it." Byakuya ordered
"Friggin' idiot mastermind! All 'you guys need to cut free from your regrets of the outside world'... And they were sitting here watching TV the whole time! They really thought they could get away with it...? Hm...?" once turning the tv on
All it showed was them
"Huh...? This is..." Makoto trailed off
"It's the feed coming from...the surveillance camera monitoring this room, isn't it?" Hina asked
"Huh? That's weird..." Hiro commented
"Hey, what are you doing?" Byakuya glared at him
"That's really weird. Hmm..."
"Y-YOU'RE weird...! Weird in every way p-possible. And not j-just weird... Super weird!" Toko repeatedly insulted
"But...this TV isn't hooked up to anything but the antenna... So how is it showing the camera feed?"
"Did you try changing the channel?" Hina asked
"Oh, good idea. Let's give that a try." he switched the channel over and over and over, but each one just showed the same camera footage from inside the data center "What the heck...?"
"Is it broken or something?"
"No... There must be some kind of trick to it, some weird setup..."
"A trick? What kind of trick!?" Monokuma asked him
"I'm not sure, but..."
"...Huh?" Toko was the first to notice
"...Huh?" Monokuma mimicked
"Wh...?" then Hina noticed
"Wh...?"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT!?!?" then Hiro
"Gyaahaha! Been a while, ya friggin' bastards!"
"M-Monokuma!?" Makoto gasped
"How...? You're supposed to be d-dead!" Toko took several steps back
"Gyaaahahaha! Me, dead!? Don't be freakin' stupid!" Monokuma laughed
"Hey, you're actin' kinda strange! Something seems...different." Hiro claimed
"Of course I'm different! Evolution is perfectly natural! After all, I've been hibernating for two years already..."
"Not even! It's been like half a day at MOST!"
"How are you alive again!?" Hina asked, shocked
"Oh yeah, that's it. Puhuhu..." Monokuma laughed "The look on your faces right now is sublime! That's what I wanted to see-the moment you went from hope to despair..."
"Don't tell me you pretended to be dead, all for this moment...?" Byakuya grumbled
"Why would a bear pretend to be dead? You're the ones who should pretend to be dead when you see a bear! I mean, that's totally laughable! It makes me laugh! I'm gonna laugh now! A-ha-ha-ha! And that's that. Well, it's almost time to cut off your past so full of hope, and begin to despair at the future ahead of you! I want you to all have way more fun in this killing game!"
"You can't be serious... We have to keep going?" Hina's shock turned to disbelief
"N-No... We were supposed to get out of here...!" Hiro cried
"Get out of here? Are you still obsessed with getting out of here? How do you not get it!? There IS no getting out of here!" Monokuma told them again "And besides... This life isn't all bad ya know! I mean, there's stuff you won't like about life no matter where you are!"
"Are you s-serious? This place is the w-worst...!" Toko grabbed her head
"If it's the worst, does that mean you're in...despair? Ahh-hahahahaha! Whew. I'm pooped from all that laughing! I guess I'll just get to the point now."
"The point...?" Makoto repeated
"You guys really struck gold when you found that TV. Yes, indeed! That TV is an essential part of your school life here."
"I knew it was hiding a secret of some kind..." Byakuya said
"But I connected the antenna, so why's it just showing us the surveillance feed?" Hiro asked
"Puhuhu... Look how attentive they are now! Well then, I'm gonna let you in on a blood-gushing secret and tell you about it! That TV is absolutely, without a doubt, displaying the signal coming in on the antenna." Monokuma told them
"Huh? But...what does that mean?" Hina questioned
"It's displaying th-the signal...? But it's just us, standing h-here..." Toko pointed out
"Ugh, you're so stupid! Don't you get it!? Fine, I'll just tell you... This killing game is being broadcast live to the entire world. It's the most popular thing on TV!" Monokuma 'explained'
"What...?" Makoto reacted
"This killing game is being broadcast live to the entire world. It's the most popular thing on TV!"
"Wh-What?" Hina gasped "Broadcast live...to the entire world? What kind of bad joke is this...?"
"It can't be... Have they taken over the airwaves somehow...!?" Byakuya tried to make sense of it
"The camera feed is being broadcast...? No way, that's impossible!" Hiro shouted
"That kind of overconfidence is a major weakness in your crisis management system, you know that? All you need is one weird trick that I found, and hijacking the airwaves is Easy Mode!" Monokuma claimed
"A-Are you being serious right now...?" Makoto mumbled
"Of course! Everything has a meaning, you know... All those hints I gave you, all those tantalizing tidbits about the school's mysteries... Even me luring you here right now... Why would I do any of that without a reason? It was all for my captive audience-to show them true despair like they'd never seen it before! I became the director of a despair-based production! This is the ultimate reality show! The best in despair entertainment!"
"You're lying! If this was on TV, the police and everyone else would be going crazy!" Hina objected
"Y-Yeah... There's no way they wouldn't have tried to come and rescue us!" Hiro backed her up
"What if...they already did?" Monokuma baited
"...Huh?" Makoto took it
"But then again...it's not really any of their business, right? Sure, some people might yell at their TV to try and warn you. But who would actually come here to help? Don't you think that's impossible? I don't really know personally though, so whatever!"
"But to take control of all communications like that, you'd need an astronomical amount of resources." Byakuya mentioned
"Yup! So, how could things have come this far? Well... That's a secret! There's something you all need to do first, remember?"
"What...?" Makoto questioned
"Yeah, duh! There's the little business of..."
*Ding dong, dong ding* "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"
"Huh...?" Makoto still hadn't spoken a full sentence
"C-Class trial!? Do you mean...!?" Hina stuttered
"Puhu... Puhuhuhuhuhu...! Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu...!" Monokuma laughed "I'll leave the next Monokuma File right here. Everyone give it all you've got, okay!? Okay! Things are gonna get pretty crazy from here on out! You're in for a heck of a ride...! I can't wait...! I can't wait!" and he left, leaving an air of despair
"I don't understand any of this... What's 'despair entertainment'? And...how is he still alive!?" Hiro threw questions
"I thought that finally...finally we could get out of here..." Hina lamented
"A-And plus...what did he s-say about a class trial!?" Toko asked
"Well that part's obvious. The class trial is the class trial. What it means is that at this point, we have to figure out who the culprit is... Figure out...who killed Kyoko." Byakuya explained
"What...?" Makoto reacted
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Hiro questioned "I thought Mukuro Ikusaba was the one who died..."
"The victim was female, right? Kyoko certainly fulfills that condition. And if Monokuma is still alive and active...that means that the mastermind, Mukuro Ikusaba, isn't dead." Byakuya continued explaining "So naturally that body can't belong to her. So it must be Kyoko. There is no other possibility."
"I don't believe it...! I refuse to believe it!" Makoto exclaimed
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. The truth is the truth! If you refuse to believe, it's your responsibility to uncover the truth for yourself."
"Myself...?"
"...Anyway, we'd better begin."
"B-But...if we're gonna have a class trial...then that means the killer..." Hina trailed off
"Correct. It must be someone participating in our school life."
"Wait, so you're saying one of us killed Kyoko!?" Hiro gasped
"Well...that's not precisely what I'm saying, no."
"Huh? But you just said-"
"I don't have time to explain now. Quill is still missing and there is a veritable mountain of issues I need to confirm. So I'm going to begin my search. If you value your lives, you'll put everything you have into this. That is how this game works, after all..."
Well...I'd better start by checking out the Monokuma File...
[Due to the explosion, the victim's identity is unknown. They were, however, dead before the blast. The victim had been stabbed a single time with a knife, which went completely through the body. They had also been struck in the head with an object about as thick as a metal pipe. The body was covered with other wounds, but these were at least several days old.]
🎵 A New World Fool
[Persona 4]
"So even the Monokuma File doesn't tell us who the victim actually was..." Makoto thought aloud
The unidentified body... Could it really be Kyoko...? Or...? I have no choice... I have to investigate. I have to uncover the truth for myself... No matter what, I have to find out what happened. Or we're all dead...!
"I need to go back to the scene of the crime-back to the garden!"
********************************
Once making it back to the garden with everyone else, Makoto stepped towards the body
If I check the body more thoroughly...maybe then I'll find out for sure if it's Kyoko or not.
On the hand that had been uncovered after the explosion he noticed both long red nails "Huh...? There's something weird about the body's fingernails... Oh, these are fake nails. They're really long... They seem like they'd get in the way of normal activity." and a tattoo. There's also something on the back of her right hand... Is this...a tattoo? It got burned, so I can't make out the whole thing, but... It looks like it's a picture of a dog or something. I've never seen anything like it before... The upper half of the body got set on fire in the explosion, so it's totally blackened... Also, the top half of the body is wet. That's because it got set on fire, and I threw water on it... Since I only threw water on the part that was on fire-the top half-the bottom half is still dry. In other words, there's nothing strange about the top half being wet. There...isn't, right?
Stepping away from the body, he noticed a small piece of something on the ground. These...look like fragments of something. They're all burnt, so I can't really be sure, but...I feel like I've seen something like it before. But where...? The fragment had a small corner of red metal on the edge. "Wait, was it...there!?" I'll have to double-check that later...
Another thing laying near the body was- There's a knife laying on the ground... Is this...? It must be the knife that was stuck in the body before it exploded. The force of the explosion must have thrown it over here... The Monokuma File said the knife went all the way through the body, from front to back. Does that mean this knife is what caused the fatal injury...? ...Either way, this knife... It looks really familiar... Wait, is this...!? That's it! It's the knife that person was holding...! This is getting really weird... There are just too many strange coincidences. Whoever the person in the mask was that attacked me last night... They were holding that knife... And that same knife was used to stab that same masked attacker we found here... So...maybe this masked person got stabbed because...! When they attacked, I was in a kind of trance. Maybe I reacted by grabbing the knife...and maybe then I...I...! And if this really is Kyoko...it would mean Kyoko is the one that attacked me. But why the mask...? I just don't know. I don't remember anything clearly from last night... No...no, it can't be. There's no way...!
Hina walked up to him "Listen, Makoto... Do you remember how the body looked, y'know...before it blew up?"
"Umm...if I remember right... It was wearing some kind of mask, and a big white coat. Also, there was a knife sticking out of the stomach, and the area around it was stained with blood... Apparently, the wound had stopped bleeding, but the blood on the body was still wet. Byakuya said not to touch it to avoid getting all bloody... But for how much blood there was on the body...I didn't see any on the ground around it."
"Wow, thanks! That was a big help. Now that you explained it, I totally remember how it looked!"
"Well, having to talk about it like that helped me remember it a lot better, too. So thank you, too."
Seeing it behind Hina, he walked over to the sprinkler's control panel. This is the panel that controls the sprinklers. They're set to turn on at 7:30 every morning. And Monokuma said the time positively couldn't be change. "Huh? Hold on..." So the sprinklers turn on at 7:30 each morning, right...? Then...if the body was here before then, the sprinklers should have gotten it wet. "Which would mean the murder must have taken place..."
Makoto walked to Hiro "It's 11 o'clock right now!"
"...Okay, and?"
"Oh, well I was just thinking about when we first found the body..."
"When the body was found, huh...?" I should look back at what I did this morning, to help me remember when that was... Monokuma's announcement woke me up at 7 o'clock as usual, and I headed for the dining hall pretty soon. Once I got there, I met up with Hina. That was right around 7:30. Then I headed to the gym, where everyone else was waiting. Next, Toko went to go get the pickaxe. And that's when she found the body... What time was it then...? "That's right...! It had to have been right around 9 o'clock!"
"Ah! Now that you mention it, I think you're right!"
"So I think we can say for sure that the body was found at 9 a.m. Okay, my job's done!"
I remember there were some chickens in the chicken coop. Walking over to said coop, I count four chickens. "Huh...? Four?"
"What's goin' on, Makoto?"
"Listen, do you remember how many chickens there were in here?"
"Of course! There were precisely five."
"Yeah, right?"
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"There's only four chickens here now. We're one short..."
"Huh...? AaaaAAaaAAAHHhhhHH!"
"That's so weird. I wonder when it disappeared..."
"I was down here just before nighttime last night, and there were definitely five chickens then. What are we gonna do!? Going from five to four is gonna have an impact on the structure of the world! It's like a jigsaw puzzle. If even a single piece disappears, the entire world will remain unfinished!"
I did my best to ignore Hiro and focus on the problem at hand... Why did one of the chickens disappear? Could it be related to the case...?
Makoto walked over to Byakuya "Good timing, Makoto. I wanted to talk to you."
"What do you want to talk about...?"
"I'd like to hear your alibi."
"A-Alibi!?"
"Correct. I'd love to hear where you were after nighttime began last night."
"U-Umm... Well I was sick, so I was asleep all night... But why are you asking about that now? And what's 'nighttime' got to do with it...?"
"Isn't it obvious? This murder took place after nighttime."
"H-How can you know that for sure?"
"Because just after nighttime began, I came to the garden. I was going around looking for everyone, so I could tell them about Monokuma. Hiro's been spending most of his time in the garden the last few days, so I figured he'd be here. And I can confirm that when I arrived last night, there was no body here. So the murder could only have taken place at some point during nighttime, after I left the garden! However...Toko, Hiro, Hina, and I were in the gym together the entire night last night."
"What...?"
"Once I found Hiro in the garden, we immediately went to Toko and Hina's rooms to get them. At that point, we all went to the gym and began dismantling Monokuma. As a precaution, we made sure not to go anywhere alone. We even went to the bathroom in pairs. In other words, all four of us have air-tight alibis. The only ones who don't have alibis..."
"...are me, Kyoko, and Quill."
"And if the victim really is Kyoko..."
"...then me and Quill are only ones without an alibi...!"
"Also, when we went to go get Hina and Toko, we stopped by your room, as well. But you never came to the door. So...where, precisely, were you?"
"I'm telling the truth, I was in my room. But I was dead asleep. I had a fever, so..."
"That's hardly an alibi."
"I know..."
"So? What now? You seem to be at quite the disadvantage here..."
Just to be sure, I should take a look at the toolshed. He opened the door and stepped in. This room is dusty and disorganized. In other words, a pretty stereotypical toolshed. He noticed something new on the ground. Is this...a tarp? Wait...was there a tarp in here before? "I should probably look into that. It could be related to the case..." The top is wet, and covered with mud and grime. But the underside... It's totally clean, and completely dry. One side of that tarp is wet and dirty... Something about that bothers me...
"I think I've checked everything I need to in this area." But I'm not done yet... There are other areas I need to check. Specifically, that fragment I found before... There's somewhere I need to go in order to confirm my suspicions... And I still need to find out more about Kyoko. Is that corpse really Kyoko? If that's true... was that also Kyoko who attacked me last night? If I can find out more about her, maybe I can answer that question... Kyoko was never the kind of person to talk about herself all that much. Maybe if I can get into her room, I'll be able to find out more... But the key to her room... I don't have a choice. I have to see if he'll let me borrow her room key... He walked back over to Byakuya "Hey, um...Byakuya?"
"If you do come up with ab alibi, I'd be happy to hear it. Later. At the class trial."
"Oh, no, it's not about that. You have the key to Kyoko's room, right? I was hoping I could borrow it..."
"...I'm afraid I can't take that risk. You're a prime suspect, after all. Of course, if I were to go with you, that would be a different story.
"Then... will you go with me?"
"Sorry, I have my own agenda to take care of. Find me again later and we'll see. Depending on my mood, I may go with you. Or I may not." Byakuya walked off and left
********************************
Makoto walked in to the gym. Monokuma's laying dismantled on the floor. But... "I figured it wouldn't be here." And that bomb went missing... There's no doubt about that. The fragments I found in the garden... Doing all he needed to here he returned to the garden
********************************
Makoto noticed Byakuya had also returned to the garden "You think you can go soon, Byakuya?"
"You wanted to check out Kyoko's room, right? Very well. Let's go." he waled off again
"Ah! Wait for me!"
********************************
"Well then, here we go." Byakuya put the key into Kyoko's dorm door *Click* "...And it's open."
"Looks like it... Thanks." So...this is Kyoko's room. The room was fairly baren, the only thing of note was There's something on the table. It's...a woodblock decoration.
"What's that? What purpose does it serve?"
"I think it's probably...a key. The lockers at those really traditional public bathhouses use them for their lockers."
"I wouldn't know. I've never gone to a public bathhouse. But if it is a key, I think I might know what it unlocks."
"Really? What?"
"Unless I'm mistaken...I'm pretty sure I saw something in the dojo that this might go to... You wanted to come here, right? Was there anything else you're looking for?
"Nothing in particular. I just though we might find some kind of clue here... A clue that might...help us understand Kyoko."
"You can't be serious. That's why you made me take time out of my search to come here?" he grit his teeth
"S-Sorry..."
"Regardless, if you plan on poking around at random, you're doomed no matter how much time you take. Surely you have something more concrete. Something to give us some sort of direction here."
More concrete... "Oh! I know!" I'm sure I have it here somewhere... Makoto dug in his pocket and found the envelope he was given before the two disappeared "Found it!"
"What's in the envelope?"
"Kyoko gave it to me. She said if something ever happened, I should open it."
"Well, something has certainly happened. So open it."
"O-Okay..." he complied, pulling out a small piece of paper. All it said was "'Under the sheets'...?"
"That's all that was in there?"
"Yeah, it looks like it..." 'Under the sheets'... What could it be? After thinking about it, he looked over to the bed But...could something be hidden under the bedsheets? He lifted the sheets, not expecting to find anything, but "What's this...?" There was a crumpled up piece of paper. Class #78 Student Registry...? Mukuro...Ikusaba...?
"It appears to be Mukuro Ikusaba's profile."
"Yeah, looks like it..." That's probably the other thing they stole when they snuck into the headmaster's room, along with the key. This must be the 'blank' that Monokuma was talking about... Quill said they refused to have meaningless deaths... And this is what Kyoko left behind...
"I don't have time for your sentimental indulgences. Hurry up and finish your search."
"O-Okay..." he went over the profile
[Name: Mukuro Ikusaba
Sex: Female
The Ultimate Soldier
Although small for her age, she was a military specialist trained in every weapon type imaginable. She showed an interest in the military from childhood and soon found herself completely absorbed in it. In elementary school, she won a survival game tournament and began writing for military magazines.
Just before entering middle school, while she and her family were on vacation in Europe...she disappeared. The story of a young Japanese girl being kidnapped quickly took over Japanese media outlets. An intense international investigation turned up no information, and she was never found.
However, she reappeared in Japan three years later, alone and completely unannounced. She revealed that she had joined a mercenary group known as Fenrir for those three years. She insisted that she hadn't been kidnapped, that she'd received battle training of her own volition. However, she never revealed why she decided to return home when she did.]
"...The Ultimate Soldier... A mercenary group..." This doesn't feel real. The world I grew up in, it's like a completely different dimension... It's like one's non-fiction and the other is sci-fi. There's no way to even compare the two... That's how different this is... That was how I saw things as just an ordinary person. But then...
"I never imagined I would hear the name Fenrir in a place like this..."
"Huh? You recognize it?"
"The Fenrir Mercenary Corps is a collection of battle-crazed warmongers. But they do have their uses, and they always get the job done. That's worth remembering..."
"This is all part of a world totally removed from the one I live in..."
"I have to say, I'm intrigued. Every rumor I've heard says that Fenrir has already..."
"Whoa! I feel like our hero is becoming a bit player and a bit player is becoming our hero!" Monokuma popped up
"Ah! It's you!" Makoto gasped
"Hmm? What have you got in your pretty little hand there? Uh-oh! You found her profile!?"
"S-So what if we did...?"
"Don't freak out on me! I'm not gonna hold it against you or anything. And in case you're wondering, I don't hold it against Kyoko or Quill, either. Even though they stole it and hid it! After all, there's no rule against stealing, is there? But who I can't forgive is Miss Ogami, who broke the rules and busted into the headmaster's room...! Maybe I'll drag her corpse out here and slice it up and devour it! Bears are omnivorous, ya know..."
"Are rule violations really so unforgivable? You're quite adamant about those regulations of yours..." Byakuya questioned angrily
"Of course I am! A proper school life is built on the dedication to organization and order! Which is why even I, as the school headmaster, have to follow the regulations myself!"
"Oh? So you're saying you have to follow your own rules, as well?"
"Absolutely! I can't have you complaining about how unfair it all is, now can I? In fact, on the subject of fairness, would you like to know something interesting?"
"Interesting...?"
"It's about the one writing all the rules. They're actually...one of the participants in this killing game. I don't think I ever actually told you how many participants there actually were, did I? I was thinking, I should probably clarify that! When you all first got together in the main hall way back when, there were sixteen people there, right? I think that first meeting may have led to a little misunderstanding among you all...
"A...misunderstanding? Are you saying...?" Makoto questioned
"That's right! There weren't actually sixteen of you... The total number of students taking part in this killing game was actually seventeen!"
Seventeen!? Then...! The seventeenth student...Mukuro Ikusaba... She's part of this school life... So the one making all the regulations is...!
"...Why...?" Byakuya grumbled
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"Why are you telling us this?"
"Oh, well because... like I told you, this killing game is desperately popular! You wouldn't believe the ratings! And since we've got so many viewers now, I wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. I don't want to wake up to a hurricane of complaints and hate mail, ya know? Make sense? Okay, that's all you get for now! Oh, actually! I do have some revenge to get, so I have an extra bonus for you!"
"Revenge...?" Makoto asked
"I want to get back at those sneaky Miss Kirigiri and Birdbrain, so I'm gonna share some little secrets with ya!"
"S-Seriously!?"
"You know how Kyoko wears those stupid gloves day in, day out, all the time? Well, don't tell anyone I told you, but... She wears them to cover a bunch of hideous scars that she doesn't want anyone to see! And Birdbrain doesn't just hide his name and identity for safety as a canary, but to try to disconnect himself from it entirely! Imagine what that could possibly be considering what he proudly claims under his alias!"
"...What?"
"Puhuhu. Okay, NOW that's all you get! Ahh-hahahahaha!" Monokuma left, his laugh ringing through the room
"Kyoko wears those gloves to cover up a bunch of scars...? Wait...so on the back of her hand..." The tattoo... Wait, but no... Monokuma specifically said they were scars, right? And that's why Kyoko wears those gloves, to hide the scars. Which means... Those fake nails on the corpse... And what could that have possibly meant about Quill?
"Are you thinking about Kyoko again?" Byakuya asked
"...Huh?"
"Forget about her. What matters right now is uncovering Monokuma's trap."
"His...trap?"
"God must have really hated you, to make you so dull. Don't you remember what Monokuma just told us?"
"He said there were seventeen students, right? Which means Mukuro was a student here..."
"Obviously, Monokuma was trying to tell us that Mukuro is the one creating the rules to the game. But why would he tell us that? And why now?"
"He said he wanted to make things clear so there wouldn't be any complaints later..."
"But the mere fact that he said that proves that Mukuro is connected to this case. That's why Monokuma revealed the existence of a seventeenth student. He needs to make our investigation fair."
"Mukuro is related to the case...?"
"Perhaps she's the one who killed Kyoko."
"What!?"
"That would explain why we would have to have a class trial, wouldn't it? If she's a student, and she killed someone, that would make her part of the school killing game. Anyone should be able to come to that conclusion, don't you think? In fact, that's exactly what I thought when the invesitgation first began. But...based on what Monokuma just told us, I've changed my mind. Mukuro Ikusaba isn't the culprit!"
"Huh? What makes you say that?"
"We thought Mukuro, the Ultimate Despair, was the mastermind's true identity. But if that's true, Monokuma's behavior makes no sense. Why would the mastermind go out of their way to reveal themselves to us?"
"That's a good point..."
"Mukuro giving us information that would raise questions about her would be bold, to say the least. It makes more sense, then, to assume that Mukuro isn't the culprit."
"So that's the trap... They want us to suspect Mukuro, and come to the wrong conclusion..."
"That's what makes sense to me."
The way you say it, it definitely does seem possible. But if that's really true... If Mukuro isn't the killer...then who is? Quill wouldn't... right?
"Well then, I believe our work here is finished. Let's move on. I'm sure there are other places in need of investigation."
"I should find out if that key and the dojo really are connected..."
"Well? Are you coming?"
********************************
As soon as they entered the dojo "Hurry up and check the locker. That's what we're here for, after all." Byakuya ordered
There are wooden lockers here... They use woodblock keys, just like at those super traditional public bathhouses. It looks like the key we found in Kyokko's room really does go to one of these lockers...
"Makoto, do you see the locker farthest to the right? That's the only one that doesn't have a key in it at the moment. You understand what that means, right?"
"I should probably use the key we found on that locker, right?"
"Well? Just try it!"
"O-Okay..." he took the woodblock key and put in into the lock *Click* and opened the locker. There are...arrows in here. It looks like...ten arrows in total.
"They look like they're made of titanium, which means they're quite strong despite how thin they are. Of course, without a bow they're nothing but strong little sticks."
Strong...sticks... Oh, there's something else inside the locker... It's a wadded up ball of duct tape. I wonder what this was used for... "Is that...a bloodstain?"
"If it is, that means it must surely be related to the case."
This duct tape is related to the case somehow...? But...how could it possibly be involved? I think that's all the locker has to offer for now...
Byakuya was silent as he stared at the locker
"Is something wrong?"
"It's very odd, don't you think? The locker was hiding items that were clearly related to the case. But how did the key to the locker wind up in the victim's room...? Or...perhaps......"
"Byakuya...?"
"Forget it. Come on. We need to continue on to the next location."
"Huh? What next location?"
"There's still something we need to look into. We need to do more research on Fenrir."
"Fenrir...? You mean the mercenary group that Mukuro was a part of? But...how are we supposed to find out about that?"
"Isn't it obvious? Where in this school would you go to do research on something?"
"Are you talking about...the archive? That's right... The archive has all kinds of info that the general public doesn't have access to."
"We only have so much time before the trial begins. Let's hurry."
********************************
"I believe there was a file related to Fenrir somewhere over here..." Byakuya searched the archive's shelf "Ah, here we go. Take a look at this."
Makoto took the file, but "Umm...I have no idea what it says. What language is this?"
"How did you make it all the way to high school without learning a single word of French?"
"Uh...I'm pretty sure most high schoolers can't speak French..."
"Well, whatever. I'll read it for you, but I expect you to repay your debt a hundred times over. [Fenrir is an elite fighting unit base out of the Middle East. Unlike military contractors, they are a fierce group of soldiers who engage in direct combat. They claim that a single member is equivalent to an entire company of regular soldiers. Just like Fenrir, the Wolf of Ragnarok, their mere presence is enough to strike fear into any enemy. They have been involved in countless military battles and operations, most of which are highly classified. However, some time ago, they completely ceased all activity. At present, their continued existence cannot be confirmed. There are unconfirmed reports that the key members of the group were all neutralized. Rumors indicate they were killed to keep them from revealing the many state secrets they'd acquired. Some, however, believe there was mounting internal tension within the group, and they simply imploded.]"
Makoto couldn't find the words for any type of reaction
"...What is it?"
"This all just sounds like some kind of...alternate reality."
"Well, it isn't. This is our reality, the only reality. These people are part of our world. Their battlefields aren't much different from our lives here. An unpredictable, unimaginable world... That's what makes it all so exciting. So, did anything jump out at you? This may be your last opportunity to learn about Fenrir."
"The report said something about where the name Fenrir comes from, right...?"
"That's right. It said Fenrir is...the Wolf of Ragnarok. Speaking of which, would you like to know something interesting related to that? To show that they're a member of the team, each soldier that joins the squad...would get a tattoo representing Fenrir somewhere on their body."
"What...?" They got a tattoo...of Fenrir...? Could that mean...!?
*Ding dong, bing bong* "Time is utterly silent, and yet it constantly assaults us--organisms, the earth, natural phenomena... It damages us little by little, until the end. You should really think about that. Anyway! It's time to begin the class trial! So, please meet up in the usual spot! Puhuhu... See ya later!"
"Then the time has come..." Byakuya said
"All we can do now is try to uncover the truth during the class trial..."
"It would seem that way. Let's go."
********************************
*Ding dong, bing bong* "Time is utterly silent, and yet it constantly assaults us--organisms, the earth, natural phenomena... It damages us little by little, until the end. You should really think about that. Anyway! It's time to begin the class trial! So, please meet up in the usual spot! Puhuhu... See ya later!"
"Hmm, seems we're a bit late."
"Well, we should at least get a look at the scene first yes? I'm sure they can wait"
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The Canary's Birdcage
Vanilla Valentine - Vanilla Vanguard
2/17/2024