another-dr-another
9 Students Remain
Started: August 23rd, 2019 / Remade May 17th, 2020. Date In-Game: September 4th, 2019. Chapter 3: Somniphobic Sleeping in a Thorny Thicket ~ Deadly Life
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hello… turn around maeda!! -iris
Maeda, narrating - ?!
//Maeda bristles at the contact, and turns-
“...Sorry, I need to get by.”
~*~
//-In time to see a figure slip by him, into the bathroom.
Maeda - What-!?
??? - …
//When the silence is broken, it’s a familiar voice.
Uehara - Hi, Maeda.
Maeda - ?!?!
//Maeda turns once again- behind him, the bathroom door clicks shut.
Maeda - Uehara!
Maeda - Jesus- Not- not who I expected to see…
Maeda - Hi- uh-
Maeda - Whuh-
//Maeda stumbles, half-turning, for a moment, trying to work out what’s happening. Finally, he processes what he managed to glimpse.
Maeda - Uehara’s here, so-
Maeda - …Was that Tsurugi?
//A bit of blue, around his eye level, a flash of black the last thing to move past the doorframe-
Uehara - …Nah, it was Higa.
Uehara - He’s feeling better! No more murder, no more trial, he’s feeling better. He just wanted to go, uh… freshen up. As one does.
Uehara - Normal things.
Maeda - …
//Higa is still on the floor, very dead.
Maeda - …Cool! Got it, thanks.
Uehara - Mhm.
//Maeda’s unsure of how to be standing- he shifts a bit more, standing awkwardly in front of the bathroom door.
Tomori - …Uehara?
Uehara - Yesss?
Tomori, quietly - How’s Tsurugi?
Uehara - Ah…
//He pauses for a moment. Maeda resists the urge to glance back towards the bathroom.
Uehara - Mm-
//He rocks his hand, side to side.
Uehara - Fifty-fifty. Think he’s coming back up.
Uehara - Lot’s of residual pain, but it seems like he’s way better with that now- I’m sure he’ll be fiiine…
Uehara - You were there when Inori treated him in the infirmary that one time- he bounces back like crazy.
Tomori - That’s right… still, I’m glad he’s feeling better.
Maeda - …Do we know what happened?
Uehara - Mm.
Uehara - I dunno! You’d have to ask him…
Maeda - .
Maeda - What kinda response is that? Did you not ask him, Uehara? What?
Tomori - …Not to ask too much from you both, but… do you guys think you’ll be able to investigate?
Tomori - I’d get if being here… makes Tsurugi upset, but maybe ask if he’d be up to investigating Iranami?
Tomori - Maeda’s the only person that’s been able to investigate anywhere- if we can get more people to check one area…
Uehara - I mean, I don’t know why we couldn’t… but where is everyone?
Tomori - Maki and Ōtori are in the dining hall, guarding Iranami’s body… and Hatano’s there too, but she isn’t in the state to be investigating anything… much less…
Uehara - Ahh…
Maeda - And Taira just kind of… left, without saying anything.
Uehara - …
Uehara - Huh!
Uehara - Well. Who knows what she’s ever up to.
Maeda - …Didn’t Ōtori bring you and Tsurugi some food?
Uehara - …Yeah? I didn’t want to stop him and ask him about what was going on, though. Just took the oatmeal and closed the door-
Uehara - Ah, fuck. Not in a rude way, though. That makes it sound mean. He seemed busy. I was busy. You know.
Uehara - I dunno. A social hour sounds fun right now! Let’s do that instead, yeah? Better than sitting around, staring at dead bodies…
Uehara - Let’s all just fuck around… I’m sure Tsu already knows what happened, he’ll solve it for everyone if we can’t…
Tomori - …
Tomori - God- another case where Tsurugi gets fucked up right around when the murder’s happening, huh?…
Uehara - He was right, I guess- he needs to get whacked around a bit, or else he’s too over-powered…
Uehara - He’d be too cool!
Uehara - …Toooo cool~..
Uehara - For this fuck-ass murder school~
Uehara - Heh.
Maeda - …
Maeda - It’s true… Tsurugi usually knows who the blackened is before we start investigating.
Maeda - I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind if he used 1% of his power and got us out of here.
Uehara - Yeah, but I don’t think the mastermind would let that happen… if they couldn’t debuff him, they wouldn’t have put him on the roster!
Uehara - …
Uehara - I don’t play a lot of video games, by the way. I just want to clarify that.
Uehara - Oh- Tsurugi does, though.
//Again, something catches Maeda’s attention- the bathroom door, now opening.
Uehara - !
Tsurugi - …
//He looks… unwell.
Maeda - …
//This is true of every student, though.
Tsurugi - …Hiya, Maeda!
//Maeda looks at him a bit closer. Tsurugi’is eyes seem tinted, the skin around them a bit puffy. It’s a bit familiar, so Maeda focuses his attention to Tsurugi’s cheeks, still slightly flushed- and yes, still sporting some dried tear tracks. But he keeps the nostalgia going- already, he’s brightening up.
Tsurugi - Sorry, I don’t know why I closed the door-
//He freezes,
Tsurugi - That’s a lie, actually. None of you wear contacts, right?
//Then dramatically raises a hand to his head.
Tsurugi - You don’t know what a deeply personal process it is… I needed privacy!
Tsurugi - Give me privacy or give me death…
Tsurugi - Mmm… our chains are forged, why stand we here idle?
Uehara - Tsu.
Tsurugi - ?
Uehara - I like your glasses.
Tsurugi - …I will go take my contacts out-
Uehara - -Don’t do that,
Tomori - Tsurugi-
Tsurugi - -Joking!
Maeda - How did Tsurugi’s glasses stay on when he was writhing around earlier?
Maeda - Not going to ask that.
Tsurugi - …
Uehara - …
Tomori - …
Maeda - …
Maeda - Sleep well last night?
Maeda - What the fuck is wrong with me.
Tsurugi - …?
Tsurugi - Pretty well, I guess. I dunno! Forgot to ask myself.
Tsurugi - …
//He tilts his head, and stares at Maeda.
Tsurugi - …Well, at least you’ve slept better than your worst nights.
Maeda - What.
Tsurugi - …You asked because I typically comment when you have nightmares, right?-
Tsurugi - Oh, we should’ve tried getting you weighted things! Or like… scented stuff-
Tsurugi - Those can work really well if you’re distressed.
Tsurugi - Mm. I’ll look for stuff for you in the store, later- if I remember, because I might forget, that’s a really viable ending-
Maeda - …I- just felt like exchanging pleasantries.
Tsurugi - …Oh. Well.
Tsurugi - …
Tsurugi, loudly - How did everyone sleep last night!?!
Uehara - Perfect. Loved it. No complaints here…
Tomori - …I was good.
Tsurugi - …
Tsurugi - You people are in my way.
//Tsurugi hops, skips, and jumps, until he’s between Uehara and Tomori.
Tsurugi - …Kobashikawa?
//Maeda tilts a bit to see- across the room, Kobashikawa perks up.
Tsurugi - Do you want to run to your room, in a minute?
Kobashikawa - …?
Tsurugi - Wait, no, first-
Tsurugi - You sleep well?
//Kobashikawa nods.
Tsurugi - Cool.
Tsurugi - Anyways… I’m not saying you should go get dressed, because that’s not a priority.
Tsurugi - Now that Uehara and I are here, our numbers aren’t stretched so thin, but there’s still two crime scenes…
Tsurugi - So, you know. I’m okay with showing up to a trial in pajamas, I don’t give a care, and I’m going to be not-compassionate, and say that the matter of pajamas isn’t important.
Tsurugi - …
Tsurugi - But.
Tsurugi - …
Kobashikawa - …?
Tsurugi - Uehara and I can guard for a second, if you would like to go to your room…
Tsurugi - So you can go and maybe go do one or two things to make sure you feel ready-set to go stand in a room with everyone for a few hours?
Kobashikawa - …Oh- yeah that’s- I’d appreciate that.
Maeda - …Huh?
//Kobashikawa shifts a bit, adjusting the blankets around himself.
Maeda - Oh- I didn’t even think about that… it makes sense it’d be more on Tsurugi’s mind than mine, but still…
Tsurugi - Cool!
Tsurugi - You don’t need to leave right away, though.
Tsurugi - …Not that there’s anything else to do.
Tsurugi - I dunno. We could haaang… we could not investigate… we could do other things, that are more fun…
Uehara - See? Tsurugi and I are totally on the same wavelength.
Maeda - Sure that he didn’t hear you through the bathroom door?
Tsurugi - ?
Tsurugi - Don’t have my hearing aid on. What happened earlier?
Uehara - I suggested we all just fuck around, cuz we probably don’t need to investigate…
Uehara - You’ve rubbed off on me, I’m all smart now.
Tsurugi - Theft of intellectual property, stole my ideas, going to jail for fifteen years.
Uehara - Aw…
Tomori - God, Uehara, you need to stop using those psychic abilities of yours for evil…
Uehara - But it’s sooo fun to voice Tsurugi’s ideas before he can!
Tsurugi - If you ask super nicely, I won’t press charges.
Uehara - Please <3.
Maeda - …Like you could hear the heart when he said that.
Tsurugi - Right?
Uehara - Did it work…
Tsurugi - Emotional manipulation, ten years jailtime.
Uehara - In addition, or?
//Tsurugi shrugs.
Tsurugi - I’m only the judge, not the jury.
Uehara - Ah…
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - Tsurugi, are you feeling alright?
Maeda - When he says it, he sounds normal. Like a normal person who’s concerned for their friend.
Tsurugi - Ohhh…
Tsurugi - Mhm!
Tsurugi - I don’t have cells anymore- that’s what that process was earlier. I was evolving, and now I don’t have cells, so I don’t have nerve endings, so I feel perfect.
Kobashikawa - …
Tsurugi - Uhm… no. I feel fine! My head feels weird, but I think I need to drink some water. I’m okay. The universe just needed to knock me down a peg earlier.
Tomori - Oh my god…
Uehara - Hell yeah!
Tsurugi - ?
Kobashikawa - …Exactly what Uehara said earlier.
Tsurugi - His crimes don’t end.
Tsurugi - …It’s okay though. I’ll forgive him…
Maeda - ?
Tsurugi - ! Cuz I’m soooo nice…
//Tsurugi grabs a bottle of water from one of his shelves, and starts drinking.
Maeda - …
Tomori - …
Uehara - …
//Uehara goes to stand next to Tsurugi.
Tomori - …Kobashikawa, do you want to go get changed now?
Kobashikawa - I don’t see any reason to wait… I’ll be back, and you two can go investigate, okay?
Maeda - …Oh!
Tsurugi - ?
Maeda - I was wondering why you both had to stay- like, maybe one of you could go investigate in the dining hall?
Maeda - But, actually, would you both stay?
Maeda - I need to go to the dining hall, real quickly.
Uehara - Yeah, sure- but why do you need to go there?
Maeda - …
Maeda - I found Iranami’s hair ribbon…
Maeda - …It must’ve come undone from Hatano’s hair while she was sleeping last night. I… I figured Hatano would want to have it.
Maeda - …I forgot, I only showed this to Kobashikawa.
//The other three students all have their varying responses. Uehara looks almost surprised, while Tsurugi’s gaze has gone soft, and Tomori seems… almost distraught.
Tsurugi - …Oh.
Tsurugi, gently - Yeah, Maeda, go get that to her.
//Maeda nods.
Tomori - …
Tomori - I missed you, Tsurugi…
Tsurugi - I missed you tooo…
Kobashikawa - …I’ll be back, so you both can go investigate.
Tsurugi - Mmm…
//Uehara glances at Tsurugi, who seems to sense it, as he looks up at Uehara.
Tsurugi - …
Tsurugi - You’ve both got missions to go do! Go go space cadets! Save the solar system!
Tsurugi - We’ll all chat more later- we could play Uno again?
Kobashikawa - Or we could investigate.
Tsurugi - Or we could be lame, yeah.
Tsurugi - Teasing. We’ll investigate…
Tsurugi - Once the guards are back and ready, though! So go leave, so you can come back!
//Kobashikawa waves, before heading through the door. Maeda follows after.
Maeda - …See you in a few?
Kobashikawa - Mhm…
Maeda - …
~*~
Maeda, narrating - …Not that we need three guards in there-
Maeda - Oh, maybe one will guard, and the other will investigate?
Maeda - …God, this whole thing sounds dumb. Isn’t this all just tiring…
Maeda - Of course, the fact anyone would kill is insane- but, just… isn’t everyone tired? I’m tired. I’m sick of this.
Maeda - I get Tsurugi wants us to learn how to solve trials, but really, I just want him to tell us who to vote for. I won’t ask, I’ll just push the button.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I should probably be planning what I want to say to Hatano.
{Go to the Dining Hall}
#dra#yuki maeda#kizuna tomori#haruhiko kobashikawa#kinji uehara#tsurugi kinjo#chapter 3#deadly life 3#deadly life
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check in on tomori?
Maeda, narrating - I wonder what Tomori’s thinking about.
Maeda - She seems… not lost in thought, but… contemplative?
Maeda - I don’t know. Maybe she’s trying to work out who the blackened is- hopefully, that’s what she’s doing.
Maeda - …Not that I’m thinking about that right now, but-
~*~
Maeda - Tomori…
//Maeda sits next to her.
Tomori - Hi, Maeda.
Tomori - How’s it going?
Maeda - …Bad. I’m not finding a lot of clues, to be honest.
Maeda - What about you- notice anything weird, see anything last night?
Maeda - …Please?
Tomori - …
//She smiles.
Tomori - Sorry, can't help.
Tomori - I can't think of anything I mght've heard, or anything that struck me as being off this morning...
Tomori - ...I don't know- I wouldn't be too worried if it feels like you aren't making progress.
Tomori - I think… what’s really going to matter is the trial, you know? Just waiting to see where the debate takes us, and what everyone has to say…
Tomori - If we remember that one person’s working against us- one person’s telling a story they know is fake… hopefully we’ll be able to catch them in a lie.
Maeda - Mm…
Tomori - Of course, you should still be looking for evidence in the meantime! The more we know, the better.
Maeda - No, you're right... maybe I'm just stressing about nothing.
Tomori - Well, you're taking a more active role than you typically do, right? All the weight of investigating is on you, for now.
Tomori - It makes sense you'd be more concerned with what progress you've made.
Maeda - ...
Maeda - I didn't think about that... maybe she's right.
Maeda - Thanks, Tomori.
Tomori - Yeah, of course!
Tomori - ...Do you mind going over what you found in the dining hall, though? Maybe going over it with someone else will help with a breakthrough.
Maeda - That sounds great!
Maeda - ...Sounds good, I mean.
Maeda - Okay... when I got to the dining hall, Maki and Ōtori were fighting, because Ōtori wanted to start making breakfast, and Maki didn’t want him alone in the kitchen before they could check it for clues.
Maeda - I agreed to go with Ōtori to the kitchen, where he started to dump out some old coffee while I got started on the oatmeal.
//Tomori’s brow furrows at the mention of the coffee.
Maeda - He spilled some of the coffee, and I went to wipe it up with a rag. I let the rag rest on the back of my hand, and ended up burning myself.
Tomori - The coffee was that hot?! I thought you said it was old coffee.
Maeda - Oh! Chemical burn, not temperature.
Tomori - Chemical burn!?
Maeda - I’m fine! Ōtori got me some product he had in his room- cause, Ōtori Mart- and it helped a ton.
//Maeda raises his hand, with the back of it facing Tomori.
Maeda - See? All better!
Tomori - …
Tomori - God, Maeda... I'm glad you're okay.
Tomori - ...Can I look a bit closer? For my own peace of mind?
Maeda - Yeah, go for it- just be a bit careful? It’s still kinda sensitive… I’m supposed to reapply the burn stuff he gave me eventually.
//Tomori takes to inspecting Maeda’s hand.
Maeda - …I’ll keep going.
Maeda - Ōtori took over making breakfast- and I found some canned coffee, because I know better than to use the evil coffee pot of evil.
Tomori - …
Maeda - …Anyways-
Maeda - Ōtori went to go see what people wanted to have for breakfast, so Maki and I chatted, then he got back, and we all ate together.
Maeda - Uh… we looked at Iranami’s body…
Maeda - …
Maeda - No one…
Maeda - ...Bled the way that she did.
Tomori - …?
Maeda - …
Maeda - There was just… so much blood…
Maeda - We- we determined that, like… a chunk of her hair, about this big-
//He uses his free hand to demonstrate on his own hair
Maeda - Was just… matted together with blood, and… and it was thick, just this… I mean- it came from her ear! I don’t know how she managed to bleed that much from her ear!
Maeda - There was… a bit of blood on the floor, and a lot on her face, and dripped onto the table…
Maeda - But, she didn’t have any injuries. We could tell the blood came from her eyes, nose, and ears… but there weren't any marks or anything.
Tomori - …
Tomori, softly - Do… we not know what killed her?
Maeda - …
//Maeda twitches a bit- Tomori must’ve ghosted across his hand weird; it hurt for a moment. She lets go.
Maeda - I… we think she was poisoned.
Maeda - We think the coffee was laced with something, and that’s what killed her… with the way she was sitting-
Maeda - We think she could’ve gone with the blackened to have some coffee this morning, right before we woke up,
Maeda - Then she started to die, and tried to grab at them… before she passed.
Tomori - …
Tomori - Do… you think she would’ve gone with someone, if they asked her?
Maeda - …I don’t know.
Maeda - Honestly, I just don’t know what else makes sense.
Tomori - …
Tomori - But- that doesn’t make any sense.
Maeda - ?
Tomori - I didn’t… hang out with Iranami. I’d have liked to, but she never seemed too interested…
Tomori - But, from the conversations we did have…
Tomori - …Maeda, she was incredibly cautious. She was really alert, she took note of a lot of things.
Tomori - …
Tomori - I don’t know… it’s just really weird to me.
Tomori - Because yeah, we placed an emphasis on caution and safety, but people can still make poor decisions…
Tomori - …But, Iranami? Iranami decided to go with someone to the dining hall, all alone, early morning, no one else up?
Tomori - They fixed her something to drink- and, even that is odd, that she’d accept something like that- and she just… went with it?
Tomori - I can’t even remember if she drank coffee. Can you remember seeing her with a mug, ever?
Maeda - …
//He… can- but memories of her going without are much more prevalent.
Tomori - …I just think it’s weird. Maybe… we need to make an effort to get outside the box here-
Tomori - I mean, sure, there's the importance of Occam’s razor… but it just feels wrong to me.
Tomori - I think there’s something we’re missing when it comes to Iranami getting to the dining hall.
Maeda - …Okay.
Maeda - I mean, really- information like that is good!
Maeda - We… really didn’t find a lot of evidence- I think keeping things like that in mind is going to be really important.
Maeda - …Is it really so weird for Iranami, though?
Tomori - …
Tomori - Genuinely, I’m struggling to think of anyone less likely to go off with someone alone than Iranami was.
Tomori - I mean- Tsurugi is unlikely to, but maybe he’d have faith in his ability to handle a murder attempt.
Tomori - Uehara would be suspicious, but I can see him going… of course, I could be wrong-
Tomori - I’m not in anyone’s head… but I think you’re more likely to go off with someone alone.
Tomori - And the reason I think that is because I know you’ve followed Tsurugi places when he asked!
Tomori - Which, that’s part of the thing- if I was asked by the right person, I’d follow them!
Tomori - But Iranami was so cautious.
Tomori - She was by herself a lot, and didn’t seem to have much faith in her ability to keep herself safe any way but by staying out of danger.
Tomori - And that’s the thing, is that’s such a good trait to have, and something she seemed so firm on.
Tomori - …I just- genuinely, I can not picture her agreeing to follow anyone to the dining hall.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Got any theories for who Higa’d let kill him?
//Tomori laughs, slightly.
Tomori - Probably better to ask who’d want Higa dead, but…
Tomori - I mean, for how long were we saying that if anyone was going to get targeted, it’d be him?
Tomori - It was such a given fact…
Maeda - Mhm…
Maeda - …God.
Maeda - Higa did so many fucked up things-
Maeda - And like, even if he didn’t come for you specifically, he was still so horrible to be around!
Maeda - …
Maeda - I do wonder, though, if he was starting to change-
Tomori - He seemed so different in the Rec room!
Maeda - Right!?
Tomori - Tsurugi said he talked with Higa, and he was hoping that that last conversation got to Higa…
Tomori - He seemed fine during the sleepover, too… of course, I wouldn’t blame anyone who was still unhappy with him-
Tomori - I know I was crazy on edge, and he still had so far to go before I’d be okay with him,
Tomori - But… he really seemed to be acting differently.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Did… Tsurugi tell you what happened, before the sleepover?
Tomori - …?
Maeda - …
Maeda - It could be important to the case… just before we all hung out, I went to check in Tsurugi, see how things were going, you know?
Maeda - Uehara had the same idea, we bumped into each other by the dining hall-
Maeda - But… all of a sudden, we just heard… like, a bang, and then screaming.
Tomori - …
Maeda - So, of course, we ran to go see what was happening-
Maeda - Higa was yelling at Tsurugi, and he’d started to trash the place.
Maeda - He said something about…
Maeda - God, he said Tsurugi was abusive, and he called him manipulative, like, a lot…
Maeda - I think his main point, was like… that Tsurugi’s been trying to control everyone, and get us to do what he wants?
Maeda - It’s Higa, so, of course, there was this whole thing about blind obedience, and everyone being the same…
Maeda - …
Maeda - Oh. Fuck.
Tomori - That’s… horrible.
Maeda, realizing - …
Tomori - God- I thought Higa was doing better, really..
Maeda, sweating - …
Tomori - I mean- it’s not like he’d change permanently in a day, but that’s so- I mean, you said he was trashing Tsu’s room!
Maeda - …
Maeda - I think I have information I need to share with Tomori. But I don’t know how to tell her what I know without her asking why I know.
Tomori - …Maeda?
Maeda, in hell - …
Maeda - …You know-
Maeda - …
Maeda - I think…
Maeda, weakly - I think. Higa and Tsurugi got into a fight the other day.
Tomori - …What?
Maeda - Before we hung out in the rec room?
Maeda - Taira and I… we heard some noises on the stairwell… we didn’t hear exactly what happened, but-
Maeda - It looked like Tsurugi had been crying… and- and didn’t he seem upset, when he came in?
Maeda - And that was when Higa started acting different…
Tomori - …
Tomori - God… that could make sense-
Tomori - Does anything in particular make you think it was a fight though?
Maeda - …
//Tsurugi sliding down the stairs, then grabbing Higa for help standing up. Higa tumbling backwards, the sound of the duo thudding onto the floor. Tsurugi dusting off Higa’s collar, then gripping him as he started to speak. Higa’s face losing color, and blanching as Tsurugi started to cry.
Maeda - Wel-ll…
Maeda - I don’t know… it didn’t seem like a regular conversation-
Maeda - Like, when you think you can hear someone, but you don’t have the context for what they’re saying, so you can’t predict the words, and you can’t start to work out what they’re saying?
Maeda - It was like that… but the tones were just…
Maeda - I mean… this is kinda true- I never found out what they were talking about when we first heard them…
Tomori - Mmm…
Tomori - That’s odd… I mean, they had a fight, and that’s what got Higa to change?
Maeda - Maybe Tsurugi got upset, and said something that really got through to him?
Tomori - …Again, you never know what someone’s mental state is really like, but…
Tomori - Tsurugi doesn’t seem like the type to lose his cool, especially not if he’s fighting with someone- even the idea of him really arguing with someone is odd.
Maeda - …
Maeda - That’s fair, it is weird to imagine… though, it’d be even weirder if he was unfazed by falling down the stairs.
Maeda - I don’t know- maybe Higa said something that really got to him.
Tomori - …
Maeda - …
Tomori - Could I put a bandage on your burn, Maeda? I’m pretty sure they’re meant to be covered.
Maeda - Oh!
Maeda - Yeah, alright- thank you.
Tomori - Mhm…
//Tomori shuffles over, around Maeda, to one of the shelves in Tsurugi’s dorms. She opens one container, frowns, then goes one to the right, two to the right… up one, down two-
Tomori - !
//And procures a roll of gauze.
Tomori - …He should have, like, thirty pairs of scissors.
//She goes to his nightstand, and finds some much faster.
Tomori - Okay, lemme see.
//Maeda obliges, and she sets to work.
Tomori - …Just gauze should be good, right?
Maeda - Mm… I don’t know?
Tomori - Well… it’ll keep things from touching the area while it heals, right?
Tomori - Gauze has to be clean, or else it wouldn’t be used on wounds…
Tomori, mumbling - But, would it irritate the skin…
Maeda - …Fuck it?
Tomori - If you lose your hand, we’ll say it was Higa’s fault. From beyond the grave.
Maeda - Perfect.
Tomori - …
Maeda - …
~ “You’re so- you’re controlling, you’re manipulative, and you think that your guilt-tripping tirade is going to help you save face?” ~
Maeda - Higa… Higa said Tsurugi guilt trips people. And, it’s not that I agree with him…
Maeda - …What is my point in bringing this up?
//It’s almost a response- Maeda thinks back to Higa, getting dragged out of Tsurugi’s room, and pushed to the floor.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I just wonder what he was thinking, I guess.
Tomori - …
Tomori - Higa was…
Tomori - …
//She turns, and looks behind herself, at Higa’s dead body.
Tomori - …I wonder what his family was like.
Tomori - We know his dad was part of his life, at least. I wonder what his dad’ll have to say, when he finds out.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Do you think he’d be proud of Higa? He died doing what he loved- frightening people he had a history of hurting.
Maeda - I mean, maybe not in the moment, but just hours before.
Tomori - …
Tomori - I hate being here. I feel like we’re being made to justify the things that happen. We don’t want anyone to die, so we search for reasons for the crimes we see.
Tomori - None of us want to lose anyone we have left, so we’re trying to…
Tomori - Like… this isn’t because of you making jokes, it wouldn’t be because of anyone feeling safe now that Higa’s gone, if that ends up being the case.
Tomori - I’m just…
Tomori - …
Tomori - I’m scared, I guess.
Tomori - I don’t want us to start treating things like they were inevitable. Higa didn’t have to die, no one did.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I know.
Maeda - I just… I don’t know what to say.
Tomori - …
Maeda - …
Tomori - I think… sometimes we speak, and we try to fix everything, to say something that’ll make the situation at hand into a non-issue.
Tomori - But, just talking about what’s going on is good.
Tomori - I like you, and Kobashikawa, and Maki, and Ōtori, and Hatano, and Uehara, and Tsurugi, and Taira.
Tomori - And, by the end of the day, someone’s going to be dead, because someone killed two people- and we still don’t know what the trial is going to be like!
Tomori - Maybe two people will die, because there’s two culprits!
Tomori - It’s so…
Tomori - …Like I was saying, there’s nothing to be said. I can’t explain my feelings, I can’t tell you how much I want to go home.
Tomori - You know, anyways, because I know you feel the same. We all want to leave. Every single person that got stuck here has been desperate for a way out.
Tomori - …I hate the way that our world already revolves around the rules of the school.
Maeda - …
Tomori - …
//She cuts the gauze she was using from the rest of the roll.
Tomori - I don’t… know how to tie this off.
Maeda - …
//She tucks the tail under some of the loops of the bandage, and tries to tie it off. It’s a bit looser than it was when she was holding it together.
Maeda - …
Tomori - …Feel okay?
Tomori - …Should’ve asked that before I cut the strip off, but…
Maeda - It’s okay. The bandage feels great.
Tomori - Good.
Maeda - …
//Maeda shifts to his knees, tilts forward, and hugs Tomori. It isn’t meant to comfort or console her, but it isn’t an empty move- he just knows that she isn’t looking for that. It’s just about the contact.
Tomori - …
//Tomori moves, and the hug becomes more comfortable.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Let’s work out what happened, so we can get as many people home as we can. Okay?
//…Tomori squeezes tighter. Maeda adjusts his head in response, slotting in a bit better. After a moment, she shifts her arms.
Tomori - …M’kay.
//She pulls away, and Maeda does the same.
Maeda - …
//He smiles at her. She does the same, her smile staying on her face as she looks away.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - …
Maeda - I really wish I knew what set Higa off last night.
Maeda - Maybe I should talk with Uehara about that, if I get the chance.
Maeda - Actually, I’d bet his testimony could be important- he was the one asleep next to Higa last night.
Maeda - …Also- I don’t remember what Ōtori told me to do to take care of my burns. I don’t think bandaging them is right.
Maeda - Tomori may know better, I’m not questioning that- I just don’t know what I should do about the fact he gave me instructions, and I forgot them.
Maeda - Should I ask him, when I’m back in the dining hall? Or should I just… not, and see if he addresses the bandages.
Maeda - …Action, or inac-
~*~
//Something brushes against Maeda.
Maeda - ?!
{Turn Around}
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ok i think we should talk to koba…he’s in a hard situation rn considering who the victim is i think? so its best to try and talk to him -iris
Maeda, narrating - …Kobashikawa just… is not good at being a guard. I don’t think he’s even glanced at me.
Maeda - Like, he looks like he’s half asleep. I don’t think he cares about guard duty at all.
Maeda - I could have destroyed so much evidence if he was the only person watching. So much evidence.
Maeda - …
Maeda - But, maybe he just trusts me.
~*~
Maeda - Kobashikawa! Hey.
//Kobashikawa nods at Maeda as he sits down.
Kobashikawa - How’s investigating?
Maeda - I mean, fine… haven’t been finding a whole lot, but…
Maeda - I’m not really worried about it. We’re so split up right now, I’m sure once we can all talk, the trial’ll go fine.
Maeda - How have you been?
Kobashikawa - Oh, I’m fine…
Kobashikawa - …Better than last time, and that’s been nice, to say nothing else.
Maeda - Things did a complete 180 for Kobashikawa…
Maeda - No more being the sole witness to the blackened’s crime, and the victim this time is…
Maeda - Well, probably the person he’d most like to see go.
Maeda - …Hey, do you think you remember anything from last night that could be helpful?
Kobashikawa - …Oh…
Maeda, kicking himself - Shit, shit, shit. Wrong person to ask. Bad choice for who I want to ask for an account for.
Maeda - Of all the people, this is the one person I needed to leave alone about what they witnessed. Jesus, Maeda-
Kobashikawa - Not… really?
Kobashikawa - I was up for a while, but nothing happened…
Kobashikawa - Everyone seemed to be asleep, and then I fell asleep.
Maeda - …You stayed up?
Kobashikawa - Ah! Yeah, sorry-
Kobashikawa - I was trying to sleep, I just… couldn’t.
Kobashikawa - You know? You’re all exhausted, and then you actually lay down, and your eyes just won’t close?
Maeda - …
Maeda - Sure you weren’t just faking being tired, to avoid admitting you were wrong?
Kobashikawa - ?...
Kobashikawa - Wait- are you talking about when we played Chopsticks?!
Maeda - You mean when you tried to bullshit your way into a win using dumb rules?
Kobashikawa - Oh, come on-
Maeda - You need an even amount of fingers-
Kobashikawa - Was that seriously what it was about?! Maeda, that is so dumb!
Maeda - What else would I be on about!
Kobashikawa - I don’t know, maybe I’d done something actually wrong!
Maeda - Cheating is wrong-
Kobashikawa - It isn’t cheating, it’s playing like a normal person!
Maeda - You’re sick…
Kobashikawa - You’re ridiculous!
Maeda - Just admit that you had to pull out dirty tricks to win.
Kobashikawa - You couldn’t even play if you had to think about all the different moves you could make if you split with an odd hand.
Maeda - I guess there’s only one thing that can settle this… we’ll have to have a rematch, both rule sets.
Kobashikawa - Bold of you to sign up for a loss… you’re definitely on.
//Maeda smiles, and the two fall into silence.
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - I’m sorry I don’t have anything I can do to help…
Maeda - No! You’re all good, don’t worry about it.
Maeda - …Besides, maybe we’re just thinking about this wrong.
Maeda - Did you see anyone move last night- could you see Iranami from where you were sleeping?
Kobashikawa - I couldn’t…
Kobashikawa - Where was she even sleeping, anyways?
Maeda - …By Hatano, I think. But she’s… not up to conversation.
Kobashikawa - …Huh.
Maeda - ?
Kobashikawa - Oh- I just thought I saw her across the room- near you and Maki.
Maeda - …Really?
//Kobashikawa nods.
Kobashikawa - By the time that I was lying down to sleep, Hatano was… I think she was already out, actually. I saw her, but I don’t remember seeing Iranami.
Kobashikawa - It was dark, though.
Maeda - …Well, the blankets and pillows didn’t really get moved, right? Maybe we can find her things, and work this out.
//Kobashikawa nods, and starts to get up-
Maeda - Watch me! You’re supposed to be guarding, yeah? So, you should make sure I don’t tamper with any evidence.
Kobashikawa - …Oh lord, Maeda moved a blanket- it must have had a crucial testimony!
Maeda - You know what I mean-
Maeda - Oh- actually… I wanna check to see if anyone could’ve hidden anything under their pillows, or something…
Maeda - I remember thinking that they could’ve brought the murder weapon with them to Tsurugi’s dorm, to reduce the time they needed to leave for, and make things less suspicious.
Kobashikawa - That makes sense…
Kobashikawa - I’m surprised you thought of that-
Maeda - I would threaten to steal your marker, but I totally don’t even care that you’re being mean to me. It’s fine. I’m fine.
Kobashikawa - Glad to see the spirit of ableism is alive and well.
Maeda - Wait-
Kobashikawa - Teasing.
Maeda - …Oh thank god.
//Maeda goes over to the corner Maki slept in- but feels something hit his back.
Maeda - !?
//…It’s the whiteboard pen Kobashikawa was using.
Maeda - …Kobashikawa.
Kobashikawa - I have so many pens.
Maeda - Where did you get that?
Kobashikawa - …
//He erases the board and writes something new…
Kobashikawa - I have one many pens.
//…Or rather, erases and rewrites part of the sentence.
Maeda - …
//Maeda tosses the whiteboard pen back at him- forcefully, but inaccurately.
Kobashikawa - …I carry one, if I’m bringing my board, and keep one in my pocket.
Maeda - While you slept?
//Kobashikawa nods.
Maeda - …Don’t you sleep on your stomach? Wasn’t that uncomfortable?
Kobashikawa - …I’m the one who we should be asking about their observations?
Maeda - You were asleep by Ōtori, and he was talking to me! That has no bearing on things that happened last night!
Kobashikawa - Hm. Actually, I don’t think that makes sense.
Kobashikawa - …But, you’re right. I rolled over in my sleep, and I will be having words with my unconscious self about it.
Kobashikawa - Totally crushed my arm, actually… overall, I did a very poor job taking care of myself while I slept.
//Maeda hums, and goes back to checking around where Maki slept. The time passes in silence as he continues to investigate. A jacket lays discarded on the floor-
Maeda - Nothing around Maki’s stuff,
//An empty plate, stained with grease,
Maeda - And I know that I didn’t bring anything weird-
Maeda - Maybe I should’ve asked Kobashikawa to check, just so no one can accuse me of hiding stuff… but whatever, I don’t want to really involve him in the investigation.
//Pens, markers, and the Uno deck,
Maeda - Tomori and Taira both seemed clear…
//A bottle of black nail polish.
Maeda - Neither Tsurugi nor Uehara have anything weird, either.
Maeda - …Kobashikawa, do you mind if I check through your stuff?
//Kobashikawa gestures for Maeda to go ahead. The DVD case, and some stray cards, missing their package.
Maeda - Ōtori’s stuff is all good…
//Maeda checks Kobashikawa’s pillow… then glances at Kobashikawa himself.
Kobashikawa - …?
Kobashikawa - !
//He struggles for a moment- but eventually, manages to disentangle from his blankets, and toss them over to Maeda, who tries to smile without looking as guilty as he feels.
Maeda - No… there really isn’t anything-
Kobashikawa - Was there an extra set of bedding by Maki?
Maeda - ! There wasn’t, no…
Kobashikawa - Ah…
Maeda - …Is this your pillow?
Kobashikawa - It isn’t- and it isn’t Ōtori’s, either.
Maeda - Mm… it could be one of Hatano’s- it is by where she slept…
Kobashikawa - …Or, it’s Iranami’s.
Maeda - Mhm…
Maeda - There isn’t really any blankets nearby, though… like, none that seem like they belong with this pillow?
//Kobashikawa doesn’t respond.
Maeda - I know Hatano was asleep over here, at least…
Maeda - …
//A slip of yellow, tucked by the wall, on the other side of Hatano’s things.
Maeda - …?
//Maeda moves to see what it is.
Maeda - What-
Maeda - …
//…Iranami’s hair ribbon made its way to the floor.
~ “Do you want to use my ribbon, Hatano?” ~
Maeda - …Oh.
//Maeda can do nothing but stare. For a moment, tears start to prick at his eyes.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I…
//He reaches over, and gently tugs at the visible portion of the ribbon. It gives with ease, and soon, the whole ribbon is coiled in his hand.
Maeda - …I need to give this back to Hatano.
//His thoughts fall silent as he sits. All is silent. Eventually, he adjusts how he’s sitting, turning a bit to face Kobashikawa.
Kobashikawa - ?
Maeda - …
//He holds up the ribbon. Kobashikawa’s eyes widen, then soften.
Maeda - It’s… It’s Iranami’s- she tied it in Hatano’s hair, remember?
Maeda - It must’ve come undone while she slept, last night.
Kobashikawa - …
//Neither boy says anything. There’s nothing to be said.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I’m going to give it back to her, when I’m done investigating in here.
Kobashikawa - …If you don’t feel up to it, you can guard for me for a moment, and I’ll take it to her.
Maeda - …No, I… I want to.
//Kobashikawa seems to understand.
Maeda - …
Maeda - None of the blankets indicated there was a second person sleeping there.
Maeda - Hatano did seem to have a lot, though, and it’s a small space-
Maeda - It’s possible Hatano took Iranami’s blankets in her sleep… or I’m entirely wrong, and I’m just misreading the blankets positioning.
Maeda - It isn’t an exact science- I don’t think we can really come to a conclusion about where Iranami slept, right now.
Kobashikawa - I’m sure someone will be able to confirm it in the trial…
Maeda - Mm…
Maeda - Ah- And, obviously, I didn’t find anything that could’ve been a murder weapon.
Kobashikawa - …Damn it-
Kobashikawa - Not that you’ve done anything wrong… it’s just another lead that goes nowhere.
Kobashikawa - …But, it means we’re ruling out the option that the blackened brought something to Tsurugi’s dorm, at least.
Maeda - Mhm… we just need to keep getting information, and keep getting rid of possibilities.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - …
Maeda - …I really need to get this back to Hatano.
Maeda looks around the room, trying to work out what he should investigate. {Kobashikawa} is bundling up using his blankets, while {Tomori} tries to get comfortable, despite the fact she’s leaning against hard shelves. Finally… Maeda can barely see the blankets covering {Higa’s body}, still untouched.
~*~
New Truth Bullet: Room Layout
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we should probably investigate the body. :(
Maeda, narrating - …Actually, why does the Monofile exist?
Maeda - Like… is Monokuma rooting for us, not the blackened? Wouldn’t it be the most fair to avoid giving anyone any resources-
Maeda - Oh- maybe it’s because Monokuma keeps working with the blackened.
Maeda - …Weird fucking bear-
~*~
Tomori - …Maeda, you said you looked at Iranami’s file, right?
Maeda - Mhm?
Tomori - …Was it actually hard to see what had killed her? The cause of death threw me off some…
Maeda - Oh, we theorized about that-
Maeda - Remember Kurokawa and Mekaru’s files? For Kurokawa it was… what, blood loss? But for Mekaru, her cause of death was asphyxiation,
Maeda - Because, even though she’d been stabbed like crazy, what killed her was an inability to breathe- brought on by the stabbing, but still.
Maeda - So, Maki and I think that it’s because whatever precise, microscopic thing killed Iranami, it was too much of an internal thing for it to be obvious.
Maeda - The cause of death is unspecified, not because it’s impossible to tell what the blackened did to her, but because it’s impossible for us to identify…
Maeda - I don’t know, “neuro-osteoporosis” as the exact thing that dealt the last bit of damage.
Tomori - Ah…
Maeda - …Ready to investigate?
Tomori - …
Maeda - She looks… bad.
Tomori, weakly - Mhm!
Maeda - …If you just-
Maeda - Just- look at my hands! Don’t look at Higa… just watch what I do…
Maeda - Make sure I don’t wipe away any dying message, or remove any suspiciously-Maeda-shaped marks near Higa.
Maeda - Okay?
Tomori - …Yeah, okay.
Maeda - Alright-
Maeda - It’s crazy how people can step up when they’re needed-
Maeda - Adaptability! That’s what it’s called. I was just thinking about it on the scale of like… sticking up for other people, not touching your classmate’s dead body, but…
Maeda - This is probably more in-line with its evolutionary value.
Maeda - …I don’t think I can mentally procrastinate much longer without Tomori getting freaked out.
//Maeda kneels on the mattress Tsurugi and Uehara slept on. Already he can see Higa’s face… but he tries to block it out as he focuses on the blankets that cover him.
Maeda - Okay… let’s just- pinch, so we can try to avoid any real contact…
Maeda - …
Maeda - Fuck it, I have to commit to contact sooner or later-
//Maeda grabs the hems of the blankets, by Higa’s head, and yanks them back.
Tomori - …Oh, god-
//…There isn’t a drop of blood to be seen.
Maeda - …Uh-
Maeda - …Uhhh… Tomori, do you- do you see any injuries?
Maeda - Wait, you said you weren’t looking-
Tomori - I’m not seeing anything.
Maeda - …Yeah, okay. Cool.
//Maeda tries to take in all of Higa’s appearance. His eyes are shut, with his face seeming a bit crinkled- as though scrunched in disgust, an expression Maeda’s used to seeing on Higa. Both of his hands are resting near his face, specifically, up by his ears. On both, his palms are turned to face out, and his fingers seem to have curled slightly inwards. He’s facing slightly to the right, but his neck is still mostly straight. Maeda can’t see any injuries visible on Higa’s body.
Maeda - Iranami was… covered in blood… what the hell?!
Tomori - …Does his skin look right to you?
Maeda - Uh-
//Higa’s skin does appear discolored- but, to Maeda, it doesn’t seem much different than the others that have died.
Maeda - You said you hadn’t really looked at the other bodys’, right?
Tomori - Yeah… but Higa and Kurokawa had fairly similar skin tones, didn’t they? Doesn’t his skin look different to hers?
Maeda - Well…
//Maeda tries to look for details- looking for anything that seems unusual, going more off of what Iranami looked like than anything else.
Maeda - I mean- well, look at his neck…
Maeda - Those pink spots there- they kinda look like rug burn, or a rash? I didn’t see anything like that on Iranami…
Tomori - Mhm…
Maeda - I mean, I guess those could be important…
//Maeda shifts, trying to see if a different angle will reveal anything else.
Maeda - Oh!
Maeda - …Tomori, you’re the guard… could I move Higa’s arm to get a look at the back of it?
Tomori - Yeah… go ahead.
//Maeda hesitates, for half a second- before grabbing Higa’s left arm by the wrist, and attempting to lift it up.
Maeda - !
//He’s unsuccessful.
Maeda - …Oh, rigor mortis- that’s what it’s called when the body won't move, right?
Maeda - I wonder how long he's been dead for... I didn't try to move Iranami- not past her hair, which... doesn't have muscles.
Maeda - Maybe their times of death will be important-
Maeda - Not that I know how to work that out.
Tomori - Wait, that’s right… what were you trying to look at?
Maeda - It’s… does the back of his arm seem a bit discolored to you?
//Tomori shifts over as Maeda tries once again to lift Higa’s arm- he swears that the skin back there seems purple in tint.
Tomori - Yeah, I definitely see that. How weird…
Maeda - Guess it was a solid observation- good work, Tomori!
Maeda - I think the weird coloring happened on both arms… and the back of his neck too, it seems.
Maeda - Do you think it’s bruising?
Tomori - It could be- but, would we have heard a thump last night, if he fell back hard enough to bruise?
Maeda - I don’t know… I keep thinking it’s weird that no one heard anything.
Maeda - …
Maeda - But, anyways… there has to be something more to the case than just those odd spots- a bruise isn’t enough to kill anyone.
Tomori - Yeah…
Tomori - Think now is a good time to check the file?
Maeda - Yeah, probably.
//Maeda grabs his handbook, and opens the second Monofile.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Oh- god fucking damnit!
Tomori - ?!
//Tomori had to go get her own handbook, and isn’t looking at the file yet.
Maeda - It’s-
Monokuma File #03-2
Victim:
Higa Mitsuhiro
Location:
Dormitory - Kinjo
Cause of Death:
Unclear
Time of Discovery:
7:33 AM
State of Body:
Found on the floor next to Kinjo’s bed frame. Laying flat on his back, arms up and bent, with his hands in line with his face.
Maeda - Higa’s cause of death is unclear, too!
Tomori - …Oh, shit-
Maeda - Fuck!
Maeda - Ugh- I don’t know why, but I thought there’d be a cause of death for Higa.
Tomori - I mean- let’s try and theorize!
Tomori - When it comes to causes of death that don’t leave any marks…
Tomori - I mean, all I think of is strangulation?
Maeda - Yeah… but, wouldn’t that leave bruises on his neck?
Tomori - Maybe the culprit didn’t press hard enough to leave a bruise…
Maeda - God…
Maeda - Maybe they used something other than their hands to kill him?
Tomori - Hm…
Maeda - …
Tomori - Hey, do you think it’s possible they used a pillow?
Maeda - Oh! Yeah, that totally could’ve been it!
//Maeda tries to find a pillow that could’ve been used.
Maeda - I doubt the blackened would’ve used the pillow Higa was sleeping on…
Maeda - …Would they have used one of their own? If I check Uehara’s pillow, could I find the blackened, just like that?
Maeda - Wait- what am I even looking for? What would a pillow used for suffocation look like?
Maeda - I guess I could just start looking at everyone’s pillow, see if there’s anything weird about any of them-
Tomori - Maeda!
Maeda - ?
Tomori - Could you grab the pillow by Tsurugi’s bed frame?
Maeda - …The pillow by- oh!
//There’s a pillow resting on the slats of the bed frame.
Maeda - Let’s see…
//Maeda tries to reach for it without getting too close to Higa, and just manages to pull it within reach.
Maeda - Completely looked over this…
//Maeda flips the pillow over a few times, casually scanning it-
Maeda - …Oh, fuck-
//-And sure enough, he finds drops of blood staining it.
Tomori - …?
Maeda - Blood.
//He turns the pillow to show Tomori.
Tomori - …But, Higa didn’t bleed?
Maeda - Maybe he managed to scratch the blackened! If we just ask everyone to show us their forearms, we could end up finding our killer!
Tomori - …
Tomori - I don’t think that makes sense- for the blood to be from Higa scratching the culprit.
Tomori - If that were the case, wouldn’t there be blood on the blankets- or at the edges of the pillow case?
Tomori - Think about it- if the culprit was holding the pillow over his head, then wouldn’t their hands have been on either side of the pillow?
Tomori - The blood stains are too close to the center of the pillow… you can’t hold a pillow over someone’s head with your hands in the direct center.
Maeda - I mean…
Maeda - What could the blood be from, then?
Tomori - Maybe it’s just an odd coincidence… but either way, I don’t think we could use marks on people’s arms to narrow down the suspect pool.
Tomori - …I mean, I’ve got some bruises on my arms, and Tsurugi’s always getting new scuff marks-
Tomori - Don’t you have some bruises too, Maeda?
Maeda - …Eh?
Tomori - Sorry- I could’ve sworn I saw some on your arms yesterday night.
Maeda - …
//Maeda rolls up his sleeves-
Maeda - Oh- what the hell.
//Tomori’s correct. Maeda can count three distinct bruises on his forearms, combining the count. They don’t get worse than a yellow-brown color… but still- Maeda didn’t know they were there.
Tomori - …See?
Maeda - …
Tomori - Did… did you not know they were there?
Maeda - …
Tomori - It isn’t uncommon to get bruised without realizing it- especially such light little bruises! If you don’t have a tendency to bruise easily, maybe it’s a nutrient deficiency, since we’re trapped here.
Maeda - …
Tomori - …
Tomori - Uh…
Maeda - …
Maeda - When the hell did I get bruised?
Maeda - What? What?? Literally- fucking when could I have gotten bruised! Nothing touches my arms! What?
Kobashikawa - …Was Higa suffocated?
Maeda - Jesuschrist- when did Kobashikawa get here?
Tomori - That’s what we’re thinking, yeah.
Tomori - There’s this weird blood stain on a pillow we found on Tsurugi’s bed frame, but it doesn’t really line up with any of our theories-
Tomori - Maeda thought Higa could’ve managed to scratch his attacker, but I don’t think the trail of blood is in line with that idea.
Kobashikawa - Hm.
Kobashikawa - …
Tomori - Any guesses?
Kobashikawa - …No.
//Kobashikawa continues to look at Higa’s body for a moment… before turning, and walking back to where he’d been sitting.
Maeda - …
Tomori - …Talk about a dead end.
Maeda - …When did you say you saw the- the bruises, again?
Tomori - Oh- yesterday, in the rec room-
Tomori - Well, two days ago, I guess.
Maeda - …
~*~
Maeda - I don’t… like that.
Maeda - …Weird bruising aside though… is that all we have for evidence on what killed Higa?
Maeda - I mean… if he was strangled, then there wouldn’t be a lot of evidence that’d leave behind. It could explain the marks by his neck, but not what was on the back of his arms and neck-
Maeda - And it still leaves us without an explanation for the blood-
Maeda - Or, I don’t know- a suspect! Also doesn’t give us one of those!
Maeda - …Stupid file giving us literally no help.
Maeda looks around the room, trying to work out what he should investigate. {Kobashikawa} is bundling up using his blankets, while {Tomori} tries to get comfortable, despite the fact she’s leaning against hard shelves. Finally… Maeda can barely see the blankets covering {Higa’s body}, still untouched.
~*~
New Truth Bullet: Monokuma File #03-2
New Truth Bullet: Higa’s Body
New Truth Bullet: Bloodied Pillow
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Go to Tsurugi’s Dorm!!
Maeda, narrating - I don’t think there’s anything left I need to look at…
Maeda - If I think of something, I can always come back-
Maeda - But I need to make sure I go to Tsurugi’s dorm before the trial starts!
~*~
Maki - Maeda, are you leaving?
Maeda - Mhm… anything you think I need to look at?
Maki - In here? You’re fine.
Maeda - Alright.
//Maki doesn’t seem particularly invested in what Maedas doing.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Oh-
//Ōtori, however, is watching Maeda.
Maeda - …Bye, Ōtori.
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - Do you still have the burn salve I gave you?
Maeda - Yeah!
//Ōtori nods, and doesn’t comment further.
Maeda - …Okay then.
Maeda - I really need to get something with pockets-
Maeda - I’ll come back after investigating, if there’s time!
Maeda - Or, just- I could leave this in my room…
//As Maeda leaves the dining hall, Hatano catches his attention once again. Her sniffles are quiet, but seem to be mounting up again. She hasn’t been able to stop crying for more than a few minutes. Maeda doesn’t know how to help her.
Maeda - But, I guess I should get to Tsurugi’s dorm.
//Maeda leaves the dining hall, and starts walking to Tsurugi’s dorm room.
Maeda - …
Maeda - It’s weird to try and guess at what happened last night…
Maeda - I mean, what- I was just asleep while everything happened?
Maeda - …I still feel like I’m forgetting something- maybe being back in Tsurugi’s dorm will help me remember.
Maeda - Well- I was kinda close to Higa, but other people were closer… and I don’t think I was near where Iranami was sleeping.
Maeda - So, if anyone heard anything, I guess it’s unlikely it’d be me.
//Maeda has reached Tsurugi’s door…
Maeda - …Hmm…
//So, without ceremony, he pushes it open.
Tomori - -Ah!
Kobashikawa - !
Maeda - Hey.
Tomori - Maeda!
//Tomori is sitting on the floor, where Taira slept last night.
Maeda - …That is Tomori’s mattress, huh…
//Maeda steps fully into the room, and waves back at Kobashikawa, who’s sitting where Hatano was earlier in the morning.
Maeda - …Couldn’t be in further corners if you two tried, huh.
//Kobashikawa shrugs.
Tomori - What did you find in the dining hall? How are things there-
Tomori - …How‘s Hatano?
Maeda - Ah…
Maeda - …
Maeda, weakly - …Bad…
//Tomori pulls a face.
Tomori - …I mean, checks out-
Tomori - Did Ōtori make her anything for breakfast?
Maeda - He gave her some oatmeal, yeah- but she didn’t touch it… not that I saw, at least.
Tomori - Damn… we’ll have to keep an eye on her- I’m just thinking out loud, though.
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - …Gonna look at the body, Maeda?
Maeda - Mhm…-
Maeda - Hey, has Taira been by at all?
Tomori - …No? I thought she was in the dining hall, with you.
Maeda - No- I haven’t seen her, not since we found Higa’s body.
Tomori - Oh…
Tomori - Well, thank you for investigating…
Maeda - I mean, I hope she’s just checking out something I didn’t think to-
Maeda - But! Like- of course… we all have to work together, right?
Tomori - Yeah!
Maeda - Speaking of, have you two found anything?
Tomori - …
Kobashikawa - …
Tomori - …Uh-
//Tomori glances at Kobashikawa, prompting Maeda to do the same- he startles, then quickly turns away.
Maeda - …So, that’s a no?
Tomori - …
Tomori - Uhh-
Tomori - We haven’t… looked… at- at the… body…
Maeda - …
Maeda - Okay. Why?
Tomori - I’ve managed to avoid it up until now!-
Tomori - I’m sorry, I just-
Tomori - There’s Tsurugi, and Maki, and Uehara… even, say… Ōtori, Hatano, and Iranami-
Tomori - They all seemed fine to handle it, and there was always something else to be investigating!
Tomori - So… it wasn’t a need for me specifically to get all… close.
Maeda - That’s… fair, to be honest…
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - I can’t.
Maeda - …Yeah, no- No one’s expecting you to give it your all, not for Higa-
Kobashikawa - No-
Kobashikawa - I can’t-
Tomori - Oh!
Tomori - Yeah, of course-
Tomori - Don’t worry about it, okay, Kobashikawa? You’re fine.
Tomori - Like… you’d practically already done your time after Kurokawa’s death, when you and Ōtori brought Maeda to the infirmary…
Tomori - You’ve more than earned some time off from…
Tomori - …Well, you know. So, don’t concern yourself with all this!
//Kobashikawas been listening, and seems to have calmed down some, now that his point has been conveyed.
Maeda - …
//Maeda can almost see Mekaru, choking on her own blood. For a second, Kobashikawa looks the way he did when he was trying to keep her alive.
Maeda - I can’t-
Maeda - I don’t… I don’t like to walk past the entry hall, or the pool.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Oh shit, Tsurugi’s going to have to stay here.
Tomori - He can have my dorm.
Tomori - I swear, I’ll full-blown move out, let him have his own room, and I’ll find someone to stay with.
Tomori - We’ll…
Tomori - We’ll take care of all the aftermath.
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up rooming with Uehara-
Tomori - Oh my god, we all have to be in the dining hall…
Maeda - …Did either of you look at the Monofile?
Tomori - Oh- I looked at Iranami’s, but not Higa’s…
Maeda - Same-
Maeda - I’ll look at the file, then investigate the body, okay?
Maeda - That’s what I did for Iranami…
Kobashikawa - …What do you think happened to her?
Maeda - I think… it was some sort of internal damage-
Maeda - Honestly, I’m really hoping Tsurugi or Taira show up… I think they’re our best shot at identifying what got her.
Tomori - I saw her cause of death was unconfirmed, but… that bad?
Maeda - Mm…
Maeda - It’s only half the case, though… whatever we see here, it has to mean something for Iranami too-
Maeda - Even if they’re totally different! Maki was thinking there could’ve been two culprits, working together…
Tomori - !
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - I…
Kobashikawa - I can’t picture anyone killing Iranami… let alone two people, both working to make sure she died…
Maeda - …
//Kobashikawa’s omission of Higa’s death doesn’t escape Maeda. Honestly, it doesn’t bother him.
Tomori - …
Tomori - It’s been… interesting, the way the mastermind has targeted people.
Tomori - We’ve had the time to get close to everyone who’s left, but-
Tomori - Kurokawa was kind, and well-liked, and she got killed because she was worried about her brother, and Inori was scared of what everyone’s fear meant for her.
Tomori - Mekaru might not have participated with the group as much, but Yamaguchi had no issue with her-
Tomori - He just needed a way to take care of his sister.
Tomori - …I don’t really know where I’m going with this-
Tomori - But, I hope finding out the culprit’s reasoning will help us understand the masterminds better, too.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I think we can all guess why Higa got killed.
Maeda - Well, if we want to hear, we’ll need to beat them in the trial-
Maeda - So… let’s make sure we find out everything we can!
Kobashikawa - …
Tomori - …Sooo motivational-
Maeda - I’m leaving, investigate the body yourself-
Tomori - No! I was being serious… I promise!
Maeda - Liar!
Maeda - …But I’ll still investigate, for Kobashikawa’s sake. Not for you.
Kobashikawa - Wow. What a hero…
Maeda - Mhm. You all love me so much.
Tomori - …Can you go guard in Maki’s place-
Maeda - You are so lucky that I’m so nice, and that I’m going to ignore that instead of threatening to not help again.
Kobashikawa - Wow… when he doesn’t blackmail you…
//Kobashikawa swoons, totally trying to sell his appreciation for Maeda.
Maeda - Thank god they made sarcasm illegal, I love hearing people’s genuine thoughts on me.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - It’s nice to be talking with Tomori and Kobashikawa-
Maeda - I like Ōtori and Maki too!
Maeda - Things just got weird in the dining hall… I’m sure they’ll be more relaxed once we’ve finished the trial.
Maeda looks around the room, trying to work out what he should investigate. {Kobashikawa} is bundling up using his blankets, while {Tomori} tries to get comfortable, despite the fact she’s leaning against hard shelves. Finally… Maeda can barely see the blankets covering {Higa’s body}, still untouched.
#dra#danganronpa another#yuki maeda#kiyoka maki#teruya otori#kizuna tomori#haruhiko kobashikawa#deadly life#deadly life 3#chapter 3
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ok otori time!! we NEED to get an opposing viewpoint to the coffee theory rn, and i wanna see what he’s doing w his e-handbook -iris
Maeda, narrating - Ōtori seems… strongly against the coffee theory-
Maeda - Which is really weird, actually? He was so helpful when I got burned…
Maeda - I definitely need to ask him about his thoughts on everything we’ve found out so far.
~*~
Maeda - Ōtori~
Ōtori - Yes?
Maeda - How are you?
Ōtori - …Bad?
Maeda - …I meant to ask you about what you think happened, but I chose my question, and I’ll stick with it-
Ōtori - Sorry.
Ōtori - …Sorry, really- I’m just adjusting, that’s all…
Maeda - …
Maeda - I’m sorry I didn’t come back here sooner… I can’t imagine it was easy trying to keep Hatano from accidentally destroying evidence-
Maeda - God, there really isn’t a good way to phrase that.
Maeda - …It really messed me up to see Hatano’s reaction to Iranami’s death. Before this, no one was uniquely close with the victim- Hatano’s reaction made things feel really real, and really frightening.
Maeda - I didn’t know what to do, and you had to step in a lot to take care of things, but I don’t think you were ready or prepared for that.
Maeda - I feel… so stupid right now.
Ōtori - …I’m really fine. Just in shock, that’s all.
Maeda - Yeah, and what I said probably just threw you off-
Ōtori - If anything, I should be apologizing to her.
Maeda - …?
Ōtori - How I’m doing doesn’t really matter in comparison. She’s the one who lost her best friend.
Maeda - …Have you said anything to her?
Ōtori - What’s there to say?
Ōtori - She’s… even if I was… eloquent enough, I don’t think there’s anything we could say that she’d benefit from hearing.
Maeda - Yeah…
Maeda - …I hope she ends up eating some of her food-
Maeda - It’d be a good sign if she ate breakfast now, right? I’m worried she won’t feel up to eating, or doing anything to keep herself going…
Ōtori - Mm…
Maeda - Maybe when we get to the trial, work out who killed Iranami, it’ll be healing for her.
Ōtori - …
Maeda - …
Maeda - Oh- you were up before me, right? Is there anyone you think could’ve done it?
Ōtori - …Because I was up?-
Ōtori - Nevermind, you’re going based off the theory that the culprit snuck back into Tsurugi’s room shortly before we all woke up, right?
Maeda - Mhm…
Ōtori - No, no one caught my eye- it seemed like everyone was asleep.
Maeda - Did you happen to see Higa before we left?
Ōtori - No- Tsurugi was still asleep, he and the mattress together were significantly higher up than Higa was.
Maeda - Makes sense…
Maeda - …
Maeda - Speaking of what’s happened… what do you think happened to Iranami?
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - I don’t know. I don’t think we have enough evidence.
Maeda - Hm…
Maeda - You just seemed really firmly against the coffee theory… I figured maybe that was because you had a different guess.
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - …Did I?
Ōtori - Ah, well… I just think the evidence we have right now isn’t too strong. It’s important that we avoid making assumptions-
Ōtori - Every question I raise is one you’ll need to find an answer for, right?
Maeda - That’s fair-
Ōtori - Really, I don’t want to come across as dismissive! I just think it’s important we consider all the angles- wouldn’t it be a shame if we latched onto one theory, and missed the truth, right?
Maeda - …Yeah.
Maki - …
Maki - Investigating must be really important to you, Ōtori.
Ōtori - …Why me in particular?
Maki - …Well.
Maki - Of course, we all want to work out what happened to Iranami…
//Her voice lowers.
Maki - And everyone is worried about Hatano- but you were in the room when it all went down. It’d make sense if you were especially empathetic.
Ōtori - …
Maki - Not to mention, you accidentally destroyed evidence, right after you had to restrain Hatano, while she was in shock, to try and keep her from doing the same-
Maki - All the more reason you’d want to do your best to find Iranami’s killer…
Maki - I get it, Ōtori.
Ōtori - …
Maeda - I’ll do my best to investigate everything-
Maeda - …It’s everyone’s life on the line- well, everyone except for Iranami’s killer.
Maeda - Either us, or the person who was willing to sacrifice us all for escape… we owe it to Iranami to keep that person from getting what they wanted.
Maeda - …Wait, fuck- does that sound self-centered? To point out that we’ll die if we get things wrong?
Maki - I mean, it’s true-
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - I wonder what’ll happen regarding the fact that two people died.
Maeda - Oh! Do you think they were killed by two separate people?
Ōtori - …I did like the idea that two people might have worked together to kill Higa and Iranami- maybe they asked Monokuma how he’d handle it, and that’s why he specified his rules on killing two people now?
Ōtori - What I mean is- maybe they each killed one person, maybe one of them killed both, while the other assisted…
Ōtori - And whatever their reasoning was, it was interesting enough that Monokuma allowed it?
Maeda - …Do you think Monokuma is just gunning for whatever he thinks would be entertaining?
Ōtori - If I think for too long about why we could be here, I start to feel nauseous.
Maeda - Fair!
~*~
Maeda, narrating - I guess it’s early to be making any real calls about what happened-
Maeda - No! No, fuck that. I’m not saying I know precisely what happened, but I got burned! I got treated in a few minutes, and it hurt like hell!
Maeda - Ōtori may be right in saying we should be open to possibilities… but something just feels weird about his reaction to the poison.
Maeda - Maki might be right about it being guilt though…
Iranami is still on the table, same as when Maeda first saw her, same as she’s been in the corner of his eye, and same as she’ll be when he leaves for the trial. Up close, the [positioning of her body] sticks out to him a bit more than it did initially. Additionally, he can already tell that there’s [more blood] than he’d expected. [Maki] and [Ōtori] have both made their way over, but neither seems quite sure what to do. Maki is simply looking at Iranami, while Ōtori keeps glancing between her, and his E-Handbook. Lastly, {Hatano} is sitting alone a few tables away… but Maeda isn’t sure he wants to approach. Maeda isn’t sure he needs to investigate any of what remains, and he’s considering {going to Tsurugi’s Dormitory} now.
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ok i am in a maki mood let’s chat w her!! see more of her theory and what not -iris
Maeda, narrating - Maki’s… a lot more approachable right now-
Maeda - I mean, yeah, that’s just because she and I agree with each other… but, whatever.
~*~
Maeda - Hi, Maki…
Maki - Hey.
Maki - …Procrastinating on investigating more?
Maeda - Well-
Maki - I’m not judging you. As long as you get it done eventually, it’s fine… I guess I’d be more concerned if you were excited to go to the trial.
Maki - …Do you want to switch? It probably wouldn’t be an issue if you wanted to be on guard duty.
Maeda - No, it’s fine…
Maeda - The thought of just hanging around here, me, Ōtori, and Hatano isn’t something that gets me feeling too great…
//His voice drops, even quieter than it was before.
Maeda - Being around Hatano after I saw her react to Iranami’s death is…
//Maki hums, understanding.
Maki - Who knows, maybe if I hang out here for long enough, I’ll have some great epiphany about what happened.
Maeda - Mmm…
Maeda - Did you ever see Iranami drinking coffee in the mornings?
Maki - Yeah, actually-
Maki - She always went back into the kitchen to get more, she’d go through at least one mug every morning.
Maeda - …Oh, I think I remember that, actually…
Maki - I mean, it’s not like she was one to announce what she was doing… god, maybe I need to get some coffee…
Maeda - If you want, I could get some for you, from the kitchen- how do you take it?
Maki - …
Maki - ………
Maki - What.
Maeda - …?
Maki - Th-There’s coffee… in the kitchen…?
Maeda - …Yes?
Maki - But- there’s only one coffee pot.
Maeda - Yes.
Maki - …
Maki - …Did you and Ōtori actually make coffee using the poisoned coffee pot-
Maeda - OH-
��tori - What?!
Maki - There is no fucking way-
Maeda - We didn’t! We didn’t!
Ōtori - We didn’t what?!
Maki - Maeda.
Maeda - Seriously!
Maeda - I found some cans of cold brew! That’s all!
Maki - …Oh my god…
Ōtori - …What happened?
Maki - I thought-
Maki - I thought you two had actually made coffee using the pot that the poisoned coffee was made in…
Ōtori - What the hell? Maeda!
Maeda - I’m sorry! I just wanted to offer Maki some caffeine! Be a good classmate! Damn!
Maki - Jesus…
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …
Maeda - …Ōtori did actually suggest using the coffee pot, though-
Ōtori, hissing - Maeda!
Maki, overlapping - Ōtori!?
Ōtori - …What!
Ōtori - What, so it’s a problem that I have faith in my ability to sanitize things? We aren’t allowed to believe in hot water, now?
Maki - It’s not a- a fucking pathogen, poison isn’t negated by hot water!
Ōtori - Some are! And what, we can’t clean things? It would need to be spotless before I’d use it!
Maki - Jesus…
Ōtori - …Nice snitching, Maeda-
Maki - Maeda, thank you for snitching on Ōtori. I didn’t realize the extent of his…
//She places her head in her hands.
Maki - … “It would’ve been spotless,” oh my god…
Maeda - …Do you want some cold brew, though?
Maki - I’ll get an energy drink before the trial, thanks…
Ōtori - Seriously, Maeda, I think you’re the only person who likes those-
Maeda - It’s not that they’re good, I’m just not picky!
Maki - …
Maki - That… brief moment of terror gave me so much adrenaline…
Maki - …
Maki - I still can’t work out what happened, though…
Maki - I was right by the door… I can’t believe I didn’t wake up- the door had to have opened and shut, because it was closed when we went to sleep…
Maeda - Huh…
Ōtori - …
Maki - I mean… I get that we can’t just dwell on the past… but it seriously doesn’t add up-
Maki - Also? I just can’t imagine Iranami willingly going with someone, just the two of them, without anyone else up…
Maki - …But I can’t think of what happened…
Maeda - …We’ll work it out. You’re just one person- we’ll have eight different people all trying to work out what happened-
Maeda - And hey! Maybe the blackened will slip up and say something incriminating.
Ōtori - …Wouldn’t that be lucky…
Maeda - …Plus, adrenaline is nothing compared to that energy drink, so maybe when we get to the trial, you’ll be awake enough to solve everything.
//Maki snorts.
Maki - Next time we talk, watch us both have come up with totally contradicting theories for what happened last night…
Maeda - Then we finally come to an agreement, tell everyone our theory in the trial-
Maki - And they shoot it down instantly, no hesitation!
Maeda - God…
Maki - …
Maki - …Maeda, I really thought you were offering me coffee from-
Maeda - I know-
Maki - What does that say, Maeda, that I genuinely believed you and Ōtori might’ve done that…
Maeda - I know…
Maeda - …
Maeda - Ōtori really did suggest-
Maki - I know.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - I can’t tell if Ōtori’s comment was supposed to be a reference to my talent, or not.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Wait, should I have asked Maki if she wanted to trade?
Maeda - She probably isn’t enjoying being with Ōtori and Hatano either…
Maeda - …It’d probably be weird if I offered now, though.
Iranami is still on the table, same as when Maeda first saw her, same as she’s been in the corner of his eye, and same as she’ll be when he leaves for the trial. Up close, the [positioning of her body] sticks out to him a bit more than it did initially. Additionally, he can already tell that there’s [more blood] than he’d expected. [Maki] and {Ōtori} have both made their way over, but neither seems quite sure what to do. Maki is simply looking at Iranami, while Ōtori keeps glancing between her, and his E-Handbook. Lastly, {Hatano} is sitting alone a few tables away… but Maeda isn’t sure he wants to approach. Maeda isn’t sure he needs to investigate any of what remains, and he’s considering {going to Tsurugi’s Dormitory} now.
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eugh that’s a hell of a mental image… but! lets keep investigating the body, while we’re here. check out the positioning! could let credence to the theory of her body being moved.. -iris
Maeda, narrating - Yeah… if the pose of her body is throwing me off, that’s probably a sign something weird happed, right?
Maeda - Maybe I need to work on trusting my gut… aren’t people supposed to have good decision making skills in dangerous situations?
Maeda - But, anyways…
Maeda - Ultimately, I needed to check out her body sooner or later- and even after this, I still need to look at Higa’s too…
Maeda - I wonder if we’re being given extra time to investigate or not.
~*~
Maeda - Okay…
Maeda - …Hi, Iranami.
Maeda - I’m sorry I had to leave earlier… well, I don’t know why you’d care;
Maeda - You’re dead, so you can’t really give a shit about how quick I am with investigating, huh?
Maki - …Died eyes wide open…
//Maeda hums- Maki is right. If he had the stomach for it, he could hold eye contact with Iranami for longer than was ever possible while she was alive. Iranami is “sitting” at the dining table, head turned out as though she’d just gone to speak with someone next to her. Her body is positioned a bit awkwardly, her right arm and right leg both splayed out more than seems natural.
Maeda - In fact, it almost seems like she was thrown against the table…
Maeda - But, her head is resting against the arm she’s got on her table- and I think that’d be too big of a coincidence.
Maeda, mumbling - I don’t even know where to start…
Maki - Have you checked the Monofile?
Maeda - Oh, shit!
Maeda - I forgot it even existed…
Ōtori - …Weren’t you using your handbook earlier?
Maeda - …
Maeda, mocking - “Weren’t you using your handbook earlier?”… damn, Ōtori…
Maeda - You check the file then…
//Maeda opens his E-Handbook, and checks his Truth Bullets. Sure enough, there’s two Monofiles listed.
Maeda - I’ll look at Higa’s when I’m actually with him.
Maeda - I must’ve been too tunnel-visioned when I was logging information about my burns…
Ōtori - …
Monokuma File #03-1
Victim:
Iranami Satsuki
Location:
Dining Hall
Cause of Death:
Unclear
Time of Discovery:
7:30 AM
State of Body:
Found sitting at dining room table, left arm and head on table. Blood visibly pooled under her head, underneath table, and found on face.
Maeda - …Oh.
Maki - What is it?
Maeda - Are neither of you going to look at the file?!
Maeda - …But, it’s her cause of death- it just says “unclear”.
Maki - …Really?
Maeda - Yeah- everything else is in here, the time she was found, along with the location,
Maeda - There’s even a description of the state she was found in… but no cause of death.
Ōtori - I mean… doesn’t that make sense?
Ōtori - Monokuma has said that it’s about being fair to the blackened- that’s all it is.
Maeda - But- it seemed so obvious that she was poisoned!
Ōtori - Then maybe it’s a sign the obvious answer isn’t the right answer.
Maki - …Maeda, what makes you say it was obvious that she was poisoned?
Maeda - Eh? I thought we were on the same page…
Maeda - There was the coffee in the kitchen, which burned me, and we know it was from last night-
Maeda - There’s no murder weapons, and Iranami doesn’t have any visible injuries, just visible blood…
Maeda - I don’t know. Weapon capable of harming people, dead person… two and two equals four…
Maki - Oh, I didn’t know you could count-
Maeda - Hey!
Maki - …Uehara needs to come back so I can talk shit to him.
Maki - But, to get back to my point- ultimately, your evidence is the coffee, right?
Maeda - Yeah?
Maki - But… Ōtori almost dumped it out without any of us realizing what was up with it.
Maki - If he hasn’t spilled it, and you hadn’t brushed the towel while cleaning, then we wouldn’t have known anything was weird about it.
Maki - It took mistakes from both of you for us to get any evidence about the murder weapon-
Maki - And we can’t even investigate it any further!
Maki - …My point is, we came really close to losing some key evidence.
Maki - I don’t think we should dismiss the theory that Iranami was poisoned just because Monokuma thinks it wasn’t obvious.
Maeda - That’s… entirely true, actually-
Maeda - Plus, wasn’t Mekaru’s cause of death, like… asphyxiation?
Maeda - It was asphyxiation caused by the fact she’d been stabbed twenty times, but Monokuma still called the precise thing that killed her as her cause of death.
Maeda - Maybe it’s similar to that… whatever it was exactly that killed her is so hard to name that he didn’t establish it-
Maeda - Maybe she died from some specific chemical reaction that’d tell us what the poison was!
Maki - Exactly- we shouldn’t toss out our whole theory just because Monokuma isn’t confirming it.
Maki - I still think it was the poisoned coffee, Monokuma not saying it isn’t going to throw me off.
Ōtori - …Does it really matter how she died?
Maeda - …Huh?
Maki - Ōtori- what do you mean, of course it matters-
Ōtori - I mean, yeah, we need to work out what happened with her death-
Ōtori - But I don’t think we should focus on the specifics…
Ōtori - We can spend the time we have going to the library, trying to find books on poison,
Ōtori - And debating on what could have possibly killed Iranami…
Ōtori - Or, we could focus on other parts of the investigation, instead of trying to learn molecular chemistry.
Maeda - …
Maki - …
Maki - …Let’s go over what happened last night, then.
Ōtori - ?
Maki - The last time that I remember seeing Iranami, she was in Tsurugi’s dorm.
Maki - I fell asleep early, though… I’m typically asleep before the nighttime announcement.
Maki - So, what did you two see?
Ōtori - Ah- uh…
Maeda - …Oh… I thought…
//…The memories slip away the same as sand. Maeda knows there’s something he’s struggling to recall… but it remains out of his reach, for now.
Maeda - …Uh-
Maki - Are you two being serious?
Maeda - I’m trying to remember! I can’t think of anything weird that happened… but I feel like I’m forgetting something.
Ōtori - …Huh.
Maeda - But I don’t know!
Maeda - Uh… everyone laid down, and the movie was turned on… Kobashikawa and I played chopsticks for a bit…
Maeda - Then he got tired, so we stopped playing, I finished my dinner, and I fell asleep.
Ōtori - …And that’s all you remember?
Maeda - Yeah?
Maki - …Damn. Not a lot to go off.
Maki - What about you, Ōtori?
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - I, uh…
Ōtori - …I don’t remember anything either. I think I fell asleep pretty quickly.
Maki - …
Maki - Huh…
Maki - Guess we’ll just need to- fucking… reverse engineer this, then.
Ōtori - ?!
Maki - There has to be a reason she came here! There has to be a time she left the dorm, a time she showed up here, and a reason!
Maki - Was she following someone? Did someone follow her?
Maki - …Guys!
Ōtori - …
Maeda - !
Maeda - Well…
Maeda - When Ōtori and I woke up, the door to Tsurugi’s dorm was shut… and when we came here with Hatano, the door was locked-
Maeda - Is that… anything?
Maki - I mean… that means Iranami likely died before the culprit left the dining hall, with them closing the door behind themselves when they left-
Maki - So we know Iranami and the blackened left Tsurugi’s dorm, went to the dining hall, where they killed Iranami, then went back to Tsurugi’s dorm.
Maki - I wonder if they killed Higa before, or after…
Ōtori - …Could be two separate culprits, too.
Maki - Right… maybe they worked together? I’d be more likely to go with someone to the dining hall if there was a third person there…
Maki - Not that I’d do shit like that anyways. They’d need to give me a good reason why we can’t all go as a class for me to go with them…
Maki - ! But I guess there’s no reason to get into that.
Maki - To get back on topic…
Maki - The culprit goes to make the coffee, gives some to Iranami-
Maeda - Wait!
Maki - ?
Maeda - Is it possible the blackened killed her this morning, just before Ōtori, Hatano, and I went to the dining hall?
Maeda - I mean, that’d explain the coffee, right?
Ōtori - …Yeah.
Ōtori - Yeah, yeah, that must’ve been it!
Ōtori - Maki, do you remember the order people woke up in, in Tsurugi’s dorm?
Maki - Oh-
Maki - Not really, actually…
Maki - I think we all woke up at the body discovery announcement.
Ōtori - Or maybe, someone was just pretending to wake up then!
Ōtori - She has to have been killed in the morning- if it was the coffee that killed her.
Maki - …Pretty passionate about your theory for a murder weapon you don’t believe in, yeah?
Ōtori - So what? I can still work with the theory, even if I’m not sold.
Maeda - …“Sold”…
Ōtori - …Hilarious.
Maki - …But then what happened…
Maeda - ?
Maki - I mean-
Maki - So, Iranami is persuaded to leave Tsurugi’s dorm, she goes to the dining hall, takes the drink…
Maki - I mean, we can imagine she was sitting at the table, but… I mean, that’s not a normal way of sitting down.
Maeda - Oh, right…
Maeda - I don’t know-
Maeda - Maybe the blackened wanted to check and see if she had died, so they turned her?
Maki - …I think it’d be pretty easy to realize she’d died.
Maeda - I mean- yeah, but people make weird decisions sometimes!
Maki - But can we really dismiss the state of the crime scene as “just a weird decision”?!
Maeda - God… I just don’t know what else it could be!
Maki - …What if we try to reenact it, then?
Ōtori - …Iranami’s death?! You’re going to- to roleplay her fucking death?
Maki - We need to understand what happened!
//Maki walks off, and sits at an empty table. Maeda glances at Ōtori, who’s staring at Maki, then looks away, and goes to stand next to Maki.
Maeda - …
Maki - …
Maki - Okay. So, I’m Iranami, I’ve just come to the dining hall, I sit down while I wait for my drink…
Maeda - …Guess this is what we’re doing now.
Maeda - Once it’s done, the culprit brings it to her, and sits down.
//Maeda walks to the side of the table opposite Maki, and sits.
Maki - …Maybe they sat next to her? That could explain the way she was turned… at least, sort of-
//Maeda sits next to Maki, as she changes position to face her right.
Maeda - Okay-
Maeda - Then, maybe she had her face on her arm while she listened? Like, she was resting it, because she was still tired?
Maki - Yeah…
//Maki shifts, resting her head on her left arm, and looking at Maeda. They blink at each other for a moment.
Maeda - …
Maki - …
Maeda - …I feel like we’re on the right track-
Maki - Maybe she moved as she started to die?
Maeda - ?
Maki - Once you die, the only bleeding that’ll happen is a result of gravity.
Maki - Your heart doesn’t move the blood anymore, because… you’re dead. No more functional organs.
Maki - So…
Maki - Maeda, stand up… maybe she started to die, and tried to reach for the culprit in her panic, when she started to bleed…
//Maeda slowly stands, Maki grabbing his sleeve as he moves.
Maki - They start to walk towards the door, which would be behind Iranami- to their left…
//Maeda obliges, and starts to walk. Maki moves with him… slowly starting to turn her body.
Maki - But, her grip is weak, and they’re able to tear out of it.
//She drops her hand limply.
Maki - …And she dies.
Maeda - …Woah.
//Makis right arm and right leg are both splayed, and her head has shifted down to rest against her left arm… it’s eerily reminiscent of Iranami’s pose.
Maki - I mean… it’s not like I’m unbiased here… but it felt pretty natural…
Maeda - Y…Yeah… I think that’s it.
Maki - …
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …Oh what the hell.
Maki, sitting up - What?!
Ōtori - You just-
Ōtori - You just pretended to be a dead girl and her killer! You played out her death!
Maki - And we worked out what happened to her when we did it!
Ōtori - But where has that gotten us! What does that tell us about who killed her!
Ōtori - Monokuma isn’t going to care how accurately we can reenact her death! You need to know who did it!
Maki - You think we’ll work that out if we know nothing! How do you suggest we find the culprit, then!
Ōtori - …
Maki - I mean, what the hell!
Maki - What! What do you think we should do! What’s your guess, Ōtori!
Ōtori, bitter - …I don’t know.
Maki - …
//Maki stands, mumbling to herself as she does.
Maki - I’m going to look at her hand, see if there’s anything there that could implicate someone.
//Maeda steps back, and watches as Maki kneels down, grabs Iranamis hand, and starts inspecting.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I don’t… know where else to look.
Maki - …Nothing.
Ōtori - …
Maki - Well! I guess we’re fucked, then!
Maki - …
Ōtori - …Maeda, I think you should go look for clues elsewhere, now.
Maeda - ?!
Maki - …Yeah.
Maki - You’re the only person who can investigate both places, and… seems to be actually investigating.
Maki - Is there anything else you want to look at, here?
Maeda - Uh-
Maeda - We found all the wounds Iranami has… I looked at the handbook, and we checked the blood she’s lost…
Maeda - N…No…
Maki - …
Maki - Who knows what you’ll find in Tsurugi’s dorm- maybe there’ll be poison hidden under someone pillow, or something.
Ōtori - …It’s even a possibility that we won’t need to solve Iranami’s murder…
Ōtori - So…
Maeda - …
Maeda - I’ll do my best, okay?
Maeda - If we all work together, I’m sure we’ll be able to solve this case.
//Maki smiles- it’s tight. Ōtori crosses his arms, and looks down at his feet.
Maki - Sounds good, Maeda.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - Well… at least we know vaguely what Iranami went through…
Maeda - The culprit must’ve been someone she trusted… but I really don’t think Hatano is acting right now.
Maeda - We know Iranami died after everyone was asleep, and it was probably closer to this morning, than last night.
Maeda - She drank the coffee, then the culprit left the dining hall, and went back to Tsurugi’s dorm.
Maeda - I wonder if anyone would have any knowledge of poison, based off their talents…
Maeda - Maybe Taira, or Tsurugi?
Iranami is still on the table, same as when Maeda first saw her, same as she’s been in the corner of his eye, and same as she’ll be when he leaves for the trial. Up close, the [positioning of her body] sticks out to him a bit more than it did initially. Additionally, he can already tell that there’s [more blood] than he’d expected. {Maki} and {Ōtori} have both made their way over, but neither seems quite sure what to do. Maki is simply looking at Iranami, while Ōtori keeps glancing between her, and his E-Handbook. Lastly, {Hatano} is sitting alone a few tables away… but Maeda isn’t sure he wants to approach. Maeda isn’t sure he needs to investigate any of what remains, and he’s considering {going to Tsurugi’s Dormitory} now.
~*~
New Truth Bullet: Monokuma File #03-1
New Truth Bullet: Iranami’s Body
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i’m still stuck on the bleeding from the eyes that otori mentioned, so i think we should check out the blood to confirm that -iris
Maeda, narrating - Yeah…
Maeda - It’s hard to focus on anything else-
Maeda - No matter what, I just keep looking back at all the blood.
~*~
Ōtori - …What are you doing?
//Maeda has crouched down a few feet away from Iranami’s body.
Maeda - I’m looking at the blood on the floor…
Maeda - I think it's important to look at all the parts of the crime scene- maybe Taira's off looking at things we didn't think to check!
Maeda - Because… couldn’t the amount of blood that she lost be relevant?
Maeda - Or, maybe she was killed down here, and this is the blood from that!
Ōtori - I thought you thought the coffee killed her?
Maeda - ...I won’t act like I know…
Maeda - It's important to check everything!
Ōtori - Well? Anything to note?
Maeda - …
Maeda - Actually, I don’t really understand what I’m looking at…
Maeda - But, I’ll get a photo, at least- to show the others, and see if it means anything to anyone else.
Maki - …
Maki - Looking at just that pool, it doesn’t seem like a lot.
Maeda - Oh?
Maki - Mmm… not more than half a liter, if that. Not nearly enough to kill her from blood loss- if that was the only blood she lost, that is.
Maeda - I guess Maki would know about stuff like that-
Maeda - Not that she talks about her work, but still. It tracks.
//Maeda hums, then stands, and goes to look at the blood on Iranami’s face.
Maeda - …Oh, Ōtori, you were right- she did bleed from the eyes.
Ōtori - Mhm… nose too, it seems.
Maki - I'm not seeing any blood from her mouth, though-
Maeda - Really?
Ōtori - No, I agree- there's only blood from her eyes and nose.
Maeda - That's weird... wouldn't she bleed from the mouth the most, if she did die from the coffee?
Maki - Could the coffee have reacted late, so it didn’t damage her mouth?
Maeda - Hm…
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - I mean, if you ask me, this is the strongest evidence we have against the coffee theory-
Ōtori - But whether she died due to chemical ingestion or not, the fact she didn’t bleed from her mouth at all is interesting.
Ōtori - I mean, it's clear something messed her up, and it led to bleeding- so, why no blood from her mouth?
//Maeda looks closer at the blood on Iranami’s face. Since her head is on its side, the blood has flown horizontally across her face, the blood pooled from her eyes and nose pooled at the bottom of her temple, and middle of her cheek, respectively. The direction of the blood flow makes sense to Maeda, just a simple act of gravity, but…
Maeda - …Doesn’t it seem like some of the blood is a bit… far?
Ōtori - …“Far”?
Maeda - Like-
Maeda - If you got a nosebleed and tilted your head to the side, the blood would flow straight down the side of your face, right?
Maeda - You can see it here, on this blood track- if anything, the blood sort of hugs her cheekbone, like how tears don’t fall in a straight line when you cry.
Maeda - But… look at these tracks- on both her eyes, and her nose, there’s blood that’s like… it goes in the direction of her chin, instead of immediately going towards her ear, like the other tracks.
Maeda - …See what I mean? Like… it goes vertical, instead of horizontal, and then there’s no more blood track.
Maeda - It's almost like the blood splattered... but there isn't drops of blood, just a little mark, then it's done.
Maki - …Huh.
Maki - Is it possible she was sitting upright when she first started to bleed, then slumped over?
Ōtori - That’d probably make the most sense…
Maeda, mumbling - But that doesn’t account for the lack of a trail-
Maeda - Could I move her hair?
Maki - …Tell me why, and I’ll probably agree.
Maeda - Well…
Maeda - There’s the eyes, and the nose, which she bled from… then the mouth, where we think she drank the coffee that killed her, and it has no bleeding.
Maeda - I want to move her hair so I can see her ear, and see if she bled from there at all.
Maki - Ah- probably a good idea to look there, yeah.
//Maeda glances at Ōtori, checking for his confirmation as the second guard. In response, Ōtori raises his eyebrows, making Maeda feel a bit judged for not already looking.
Maeda - …
//Slowly, he reaches his hand towards Iranami…
Maeda - …
//Slowly, he starts to feel something stir in his stomach…
Maeda - …Uh…
//Maeda stills, unable to get any closer to his classmate’s dead body.
Maki - …Maeda, do you want me to-
Maeda - Please.
//Ōtori snorts a bit- but doesn’t move to take Maki’s place as she steps over, and reaches for Iranami’s hair.
Maeda - I don't know why I thought of doing that- I don't know why I thought I could do that- I don't know what was in my head-
Maeda - -Sorry- it just feels… different, when you’re about to…
Maki - Don’t worry, I get it.
//Maki gathers a lock of Iranami’s hair, using her thumb to hook it, then pinching the strands to secure her grip on it. She pauses for a second, before slowly starting to raise Iranami’s hair- she’s grabbing a solid few inches below where Maeda thinks Iranami’s ear is, so it takes a moment before the hair closer to her skull starts to move.
Ōtori - Seeing anything?
//Maeda and Maki both murmur some sort of dissent- before Maki’s breath catches in her throat, and her hand jolts away., as she seizes in on herself.
Maki - !
Maeda - What?!
Maki - I’m not doing that.
Ōtori - ?
//Maki is staring at Iranami, her hand frozen in the air.
Ōtori - …Maki, what happened?
Maki - It’s-
//She unfurls slightly, but her gaze stays fixed.
Maki - Her blood is matted in her hair.
Maki - Oh my god. Oh my god…
Maki - It’s- when I tried to move her hair, it felt like it was stuck…
Maki - I think- holy shit, come look at it from this angle.
Maeda - "Stuck?"...
//Maeda walks over to where Maki is- she shifts slightly to let him see, pointing at a spot on Iranami’s head as he leans over.
Maeda - …The dark spot?
Maki - It-It’s dried blood…
Maki - But it- it just keeps going.
Maki - I think…
//Maki blinks for a moment, before settling.
Maki - Look… on this side, the part of Iranami that isn’t against the table, there’s that little layer of hair we can see- the very upper most part.
Maki - And then- I think all the hair underneath is just- like, it’s glued to her head by all the dried blood that’s just… caked on.
Maeda - …
Maki - It makes sense... I couldn't move her hair because the blood is sticking it together... so the resistance I felt was the blood starting to crack as I pulled at it.
Maeda - ...But that means...
Maeda - It's just... blood, all the way down.
Maeda - That’s…
Maeda - If it’s like Maki says, then that blood I can see is really the tip of the iceberg…
Maki - Yeah, I think so...
Maki - …I’d bet you it comes from her ear-
//Maki’s hand jolts out, hitting Maeda in the arm to get his attention.
Maki - Maeda!
Maeda - What?!
Maki - …Look at her neck!
Maeda - …
//Maeda reaches forward, gently lifting Iranami’s hair from her neck- as he does, he notes that the upper part of her hair, by her ear, moves slightly. He’s close enough to hear a soft crackling sound, noting the way Maki shudders back in recognition. The section by her ear moves in one piece, instead of flowing freely like the hair he’s holding. Maeda tilts his head once more, looking at Iranami’s neck now- there’s the same deep, dark, dried blood he saw on Iranami’s head.
Maeda - …Ah.
Maki - …
Ōtori - …
Maki - …Maeda, keep lifting Iranami’s hair up?
Maki - If the blood is matting her hair together, then we’ll be able to tell how much hair got blood on it by seeing how much moves weird when it gets moved.
Maeda - …Got it.
//All three students wait in silence as Maeda continues to move Iranami’s hair. Sure to Maki’s theory, eventually, the hair loses its fluidity- there’s a patch inches across in either direction, which seems to be caked together.
Maki - …
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …Shit.
//Maeda gently lowers Iranami’s hair, then lets it free fall once it’s a few inches from her body.
Maeda - Well!
Maeda - …Well!
Maeda - …
//Maeda stares at Iranami. He doesn’t say anything more- but the hand he used starts to tremble, and he can’t tear his eyes away from Iranami.
Ōtori - That is… so fucked up.
Maki - …That’s so much blood.
Maki - In fact…
Maki - I’m willing to bet she bled from her nose and her ears about the same-
Maki - So there’s the blood in her hair, and on her neck, which came from her ears- all we can see coming from just that one,
Maki - And then the blood on the table has to be from her other ear, and her nose.
Ōtori - What makes you think it didn’t come from her eyes?
Maki - I mean, obviously, there was some blood… but look- the tracks by her eyes seem all watery, like there wasn’t as much blood to stain and dry there.
Maki - And, like…
Maki - Have you ever seen the blood vessels in someone’s eye burst? Her eye looks like that.
//Maeda does his best to glance at the one eye she has open. It’s true- the yellow of her iris is surrounded by bright pink blood.
Maeda - Oh... she's right- the tracks by her eyes are really faint, too- if you compare them to the blood from her nose.
Maeda - I don’t think it really dawned on me what had happened… I just wrote it off as blood on her face, and didn’t process it.
Ōtori - That's true...
Maeda - …I wonder if Inori would’ve known what’s going on.
Maki - Mmm...
Maki - It’s hard to know- we never had a case where she had to work to solve it.
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - I was...
Ōtori - I was there, for part of her exam with Tsurugi.
Ōtori - …She was the one who inflicted all the wounds on him, but… it seemed like she really was upset at the idea of paralyzing him.
Ōtori - Like… when she was trying to help him, she was really working at it- and when he moved his legs, she seemed so relieved.
Ōtori - It’s weird to replay everything she did, knowing what I do now… I guess she really didn’t want to hurt anyone- she just wanted out, and that took precedence over the hippocratic oath.
Maki - …It’s interesting how people can distance themselves from the things they do, huh?
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …
Maki - ...
Maeda - ...I wonder how the person who killed Iranami feels.
Ōtori - …
Maeda - ...Uh- just to recap, what all have we discovered?
Maki - There is a ungodly amount of blood in Iranamis hair.
Maeda, weakly - R-right...
Ōtori - ...We also have a better understanding of how much blood she lost, and we know where she bleed from, and where she didn't.
Ōtori - Specifically, she did not bleed from the mouth.
Maeda - Okay, yeah...
Maeda - I still think the coffee is the most likely cause of death- but, hopefully we can find something else to prove it.
Ōtori - You should probably get back to investigating then.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - …Can you imagine, just…
Maeda - All your hair getting stuck to your head because of the amount of blood coming out of your ear…
Maeda - …
Maeda - And I touched her hair-
Maeda - I touched the hair! On a dead body!
Maeda - Two weeks ago, I’d never seen a dead body!-
Maeda - Well, that’s not true. But I’d never been so close!
Maeda - …And that’s my classmate...
Maeda - I didn’t get to know her well, but she deserved better than this… and that's enough to get me to investigate more.
Iranami is still on the table, same as when Maeda first saw her, same as she’s been in the corner of his eye, and same as she’ll be when he leaves for the trial. Up close, the {positioning of her body} sticks out to him a bit more than it did initially. Additionally, he can already tell that there’s [more blood] than he’d expected. {Maki} and {Ōtori} have both made their way over, but neither seems quite sure what to do. Maki is simply looking at Iranami, while Ōtori keeps glancing between her, and his E-Handbook. Finally, {Hatano} is sitting alone a few tables away... but Maeda isn't sure he wants to approach.
~*~
New Truth Bullet: Iranami's Bleeding
#dra#yuki maeda#kiyoka maki#teruya ōtori#chapter 3#deadly life#deadly life 3#i will not look at this anymore take this present u guys
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“maybe what caused the burn was something on the cloth” gee. i wonder what suspicious substance maeda was using the cloth to clean up that likely caused the burn. gee. i wonder what couldve been on the cloth. i wonder
anyway. go follow otori and help him out, but make sure to let maki and hatano know about the coffee pot so that nobody else gets burned!! -iris
Maeda, narrating - …I don’t have pockets.
Maeda - I meant… to put the salve into my pockets.
Maeda - But I do not have any.
Maeda - …
~*~
Ōtori - Hey, Maki.
Ōtori - I’ll be right back.
Maki - What?
Maki - No- Ōtori, no, you can’t- don’t do this again- Ōtori!
//Ōtori has made it down half the length of the dining hall.
Maki - Maeda!
Maeda - Hi Maki- I’m sorry, Ōtori’s, uh-
Maki - What the fuck is happening?
Maeda - He’s just going to go ask people what they want in their oatmeal! He should be back soon.
Maki - …
Maki - What?
Ōtori - We made oatmeal, but it sucks if it’s plain.
Ōtori - And I left earlier to get some burn ointment for Maeda.
Maki - …
Maki, giving up - Did you burn yourself cooking?
Maeda - Oh!
Maeda - No- there was a full pot of coffee- which has to have been from last night-
Maeda - Ōtori was trying to dump it out, but some spilled on the floor, so I tried to clean it, but…
Maeda - Either something was wrong with the coffee, or there could’ve been something residual on the rag I was using?
Maeda - But I got… like, a chemical burn, on my hand.
Maeda - It’s fine now though!
//Ōtori has left the dining hall.
Maeda - The salve Ōtori got me is working really well.
Maki - …
Maki - Maeda, would you go stand at the door and watch Ōtori, to make sure he’s just going to Tsurugi’s dorm, and Uehara’s?
Maeda - How come?
Maki - He just ran out. He could have waited to explain to me, but he left. There’s no reason he should be off by himself right now-
Maki - …But, I don’t want to yell at him and try to make him listen to me.
Maki - So, just watch him?
Maki - …Or, y’know. I can, if you don’t want to- I’m a bit worried he’ll get mad if he sees me, but…
Maki - Well, he’ll probably be mad either way.
Maeda - …I can go watch for him.
Maki - Great- thank you.
//Maeda goes towards the dining hall doors.
Maeda - I wonder if he’ll be able to find Taira…
Maeda - I wouldn’t expect him to go hunt her down-
Maeda - But, I really do wonder where she’s at.
Maeda - …Maybe the rec room? That’s the only place I could think of where we’ve all been recently…
Maeda - But I don’t think there’d be any evidence there.
//Maeda pushes open the dining hall door, and tries to look down the hallway. He just catches Ōtori turning into Tsurugi’s dorm- he thinks.
Maki - …
Maki - I’m going to be in the kitchen for a second, okay?
Maeda - Got it…
//Maeda turns, wanting to keep his eyes on Hatano, or Iranami… but he can’t stand to look at either girl.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Shit! Should I have let Maki be in there by herself?! What does she even want in there!
//Maeda tries to look for Maki- but she’s already left the kitchen, and seems to be heading straight for Maeda.
Maeda - …?
//Maki is carrying three bags of rice.
Maki - To prop the doors open.
Maeda - Oh!
//He steps away to let her set down the impromptu doorstops. Once she’s done, she moves, letting him go back to where he was- but she stays, leaning against the wall opposite Maeda, facing both him, and Hatano.
Maki - …You said you’re feeling better?
Maeda - Mhm!
//He raises his hand for her to see, before realizing she’s too far away to see any details. Maki simply moves over to him, reaching towards his hand.
Maki - -!
Maki - Can I look? Or is it too sensitive?
Maeda - …I burned the back of my hand. Just be careful if you actually touch that part.
//She nods, and grabs his fingers, pulling his hand closer.
Maki - …Huh.
Maki - You said… you were cleaning a coffee spill…
Maki - Maeda, actually, what happened? You gave me no detail.
Maeda - Okay. I was cleaning the spill, using a rag to wipe it up, then I let the dirty part of the rag touch the back of my hand, and it started to burn.
Maki - …
Maki - Bad decision, but-
Maeda - I’ve realized that?!
Maki - But, that doesn’t really matter right now. At least you’ve learned.
Maki - Do you know what chemical could’ve caused this?
Maeda - No, I’m really not familiar with that sort of thing…
Maki - Hm.
Maki - I doubt it was anything from the rag- residual, like you said.
Maki - Did you use any other rags?
Maeda - …Yeah, actually. I used a few more to pick up the one I had been using-
Maeda - Hell, I had one tied to my hand!
Maki - Well, there you go.
Maki - I mean, maybe something could have reacted poorly with the coffee, but if that were the case, I’d think the one you…
Maki - …The one you tied to your hand- for whatever reason- would have had the same response,
Maki - And even if the one you used was a fluke, something still has to have been fucked about the coffee to cause a chemical response.
Maeda - Mhm… that all makes sense, yeah…
Maki - Speaking of, what did you guys do with the coffee?
Maeda - Oh, Ōtori poured it out before we realized my hand was burned.
Maki - Well, shit…
Maki - I bet having some left would be really good for our ability to work out what it was…
Maki - But, nothing we can do about that.
Maeda - …
Maki - …Oh, shit!
Maeda - What?!
Maki - We should ask Taira!
Maki - Think about it- if anyone here is going to know about chemical reactions, wouldn’t it be her?
Maki - And, for the same reasons, she’s the most likely to be familiar with the chemicals we have here.
Maeda - That’s right…
Maeda - Do you think it’s worth trying to find her?
Maki - If she stops by to investigate, I’ll ask her about it…
Maki - But, honestly? So much of the school is opened now… there’s so many places she could be…
Maki - I think we should work on getting as much information as we can, to present at the trial. If we have information to give Taira, that should- hopefully- be enough.
//Maeda hums, agreeing.
Maki - …
Maki - Have you been watching for Ōtori?
Maeda - Shit!
Maki - Don’t worry about it.
//She laughs, a bit- it sounds somewhat weak.
Maki - I’m probably just being paranoid…
Maki - …
Maki - Well, I want to downplay things… but something about this keeps… bothering me.
Maeda - What do you mean?
Maki - …
Maki - I don’t know. Things just feel odd, that’s all.
Maki - Maybe it’s because there’s two people dead…
Maki, quiet - …Or maybe it’s because of Hatano’s response- or even the fact Tsurugi isn’t here!
Maki - …
Maki - Something’s just… nagging at me.
Maeda - …Hm…
Maeda - Whatever it is, I don’t think you’re wrong for not letting Ōtori go to the kitchen on his own.
Maki - Yeah?
Maki - …
Maki - I don’t… want any of us to be the blackened.
Maki - That may sound stupid? But I’m not…
Maki - I keep going over everyone who’s left, and… I don’t know. It’s hard to imagine our numbers getting even smaller.
Maeda - No, I get it…
Maeda - …
//The two pass the time in silence.
Ōtori - !?
Maeda - Oh, hey, Ōtori.
Ōtori - …What are you two doing?
//Maeda starts to walk away, giving Ōtori more room to come in.
Maki - We were waiting for you.
Ōtori - …
Maeda - Did you see Taira? Maki and I were thinking she could be helpful in working out what happened to me, since she’s used to working with the chemicals that would be in the kitchen.
Ōtori - Why do you want to work that out?
Maeda - …I mean, past making sure my hand is fine, I’m still thinking that that could’ve been what killed Iranami.
Maki - Oh…
Maeda - …Were you not thinking about that?
Maki - I was distracted.
Maeda - Mm.
Ōtori - …I still don’t think that’s what killed her.
Maeda - Really?
Ōtori - No… but, I still haven’t gotten the chance to really take a look at…
Ōtori - …At her…
Maki - …
Maki - I haven’t looked either.
Ōtori - …We’ll investigate together after I get everyones breakfast ready.
Ōtori - What do you want in your bowl, Maki? Do you know? Have you had oatmeal before?
Maki - Peanut butter and chocolate, if we have it?
Ōtori - That’s a bit of an odd combination- popular overseas though, right?
Maki - Mhm… my dad’s American.
Ōtori - Oh, that explains it… Maeda, what do you want?
Maeda - Ah! I forgot to think about that…
Maeda - Whatever you think, I suppose?
//Ōtori nods- then vanishes into the kitchen once more.
Maeda - Do you think he needs help?
Maki - Do you remember what happened last time you tried to help?
Maeda - That’s fair.
//The two sit down at a table- Maeda painfully aware of the two others in the room, each at their own table. In the back of his mind, he notes that he’s grateful there’s so many tables in the room.
Maeda - …Is your mom Japanese?
Maki - Mhm.
Maeda - …So you have her family name?
Maki - Mhm.
Maeda - …
Maki - …Oh, it isn’t for any bad reason. My parents are together, they’re both alive, all of that important stuff.
Maeda - Probably easier to have a Japanese name than an American one, yeah?
Maki - Yeah- that’s… actually exactly why I have my mom’s family name. Wow.
Maeda - …
Maki - …
Maeda - Do you ever wonder how Tsurugi got his family name?
Maeda - Sorry, I’m just thinking about that now. Uehara’s part-Japanese, so that explains things with him, but I don’t think the same is true for Tsurugi.
Maki - Aren’t there some Korean families with Japanese family names? Because of the war?
Maeda - Which… war…?
Maeda - Like! The Korean war, or…?
Maki - …God damnit Maeda, now you’re tripping me up…
Maki - Uhm… I swear I read about this once- god, if only I had my phone!
Maeda - Hm… ultimately, who knows what’s with Tsurugi in particular.
Maeda - We probably can’t ask him… I mean, especially not now, but generally it’s just…
//Maki hums.
Maki - What do you think the odds are that there’s something in the library?
Maeda - …Low?
Maki - Yeah, probably…
Ōtori - …Now what are you two talking about?
Maeda - Do you know anything about Korean history?
Ōtori - Shouldn’t you be asking Tsurugi?
Maki - These aren’t questions we think he’d be receptive to.
Maeda - Which sounds bad! It’s about family names, that’s all.
Ōtori - Huh… yeah, no- I can offer you your breakfast, but my remedial history knowledge doesn’t include any information on that.
//Ōtori sets down two bowls.
Maeda - …What did you end up putting in here?
Ōtori - Chocolate and strawberries for you. And, I had to go digging to find your stuff, Maki, but it should be all good.
Maki - …
Maki - It looks right… thanks.
//Ōtori hums, and sets down two spoons.
Ōtori - I’m going to go get everyone else’s food, then I’ll be back, okay?
Maki - …Yeah, sounds fine.
Ōtori - …
//Ōtori leaves once again.
Maeda - …
Maeda, quietly - Can I ask what it was like when you first came in here?
Maki - …In a second; once Ōtori’s gone.
//Maeda nods, and starts to eat.
Maeda - …It’s weird.
Maeda - Not bad, just… lacking in any flavor, really?
Maeda - The chocolate is nice, at least…
Maeda - Also, I keep trying the strawberries here, but they’re consistently pretty bland. Low expectations, but I always end up disappointed-
Maeda - …
Maeda - Do you think that’s how Tsurugi feels every trial?
Maeda - …Anyways, I’m just happy to be eating. Warm food is nice at a time like this.
//Ōtori walks by, balancing a few bowls in his arms.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I wonder what he’s planning when it comes to Hatano.
Maki - …
Maki - I heard her before I came into the dining hall.
Maeda - !
//She’s quiet- Maeda thinks she’d be louder if she tried whispering to him.
Maki - I didn’t really process what the noise was, I was just so focused on getting inside, I didn’t stop to think about it.
Maki - She…
Maki - …They were both on the floor, by… the table Iranami’s at.
Maki - H… Hatano was just beside herself. I mean, there’s no word you can use to describe it beyond wailing…
Maki - But, it was like…
Maki - …You have siblings right?
//Maeda nods.
Maki - …Have you ever heard… like, one of them fall out of a tree, break their arm, something like that?
Maki - I mean, hell, even just falling off the couch, and hitting their head on the table-
Maki - That kinda sob that’s all open-mouthed, leaves ‘em shaking?
//Multiple such incidents flick through Maeda’s head.
Maki - It… it reminded me of that.
Maki - Ōtori was there, it… it seemed like he was trying to hold her, I guess…
Maki - But she just kept wailing.
Maki - She seemed to be trying to move away from him, get closer to Iranami… but, watching her, I seriously thought all her limbs were just gonna give out.
Maki - …That’s pretty much what happened, actually.
Maki - I don’t… I don’t even remember what I said, I just remember them both turning to look at me…
Maki - …
Maki - Ōtori seemed… so distressed- almost frightened… and Hatano just… broke.
Maki - I think she tried to tell me what’d happened- like I couldn’t see it- but she just got bad.
Maki - Ōtori and I got her over to the table, obviously… but she just sat there, and she bawled. Stopped trying to move, stopped doing anything…
Maki - Really, it was mostly me dragging her along, arm over my shoulders, and Ōtori making sure she didn’t fall… it was about then that she stopped crying so hard, but…
Maki - We sat her down at the table, and since then, all she’s done is start to cry, then stop again.
Maeda - …
Maki - …
Maeda - …Jesus.
Maki - Yeah…
Maeda - …How are you holding up?
Maki - Hm?
Maeda - After seeing that, I mean.
Maeda - It can’t be easy to walk in on that, especially when you have to immediately start helping out.
Maki - Oh, uh…
Maki - …I mean, this whole situation is terrible. It’s not normal to be forced to look around and try to guess if anyone’s going to try to kill you or not.
Maki - We shouldn’t be having to sit here, work together to console each other, then debate one another on who committed murder, who it is we’re going to send to death so we don’t die.
Maki - I shouldn’t… be sitting here, worried that I’m hurting Hatano more by not saying anything, or thinking that I could’ve made things worse by getting her off the floor.
Maki - …
Maki - Which, that’s not really what you asked about, but…
//Maki has glanced at Maeda occasionally, more as punctuation for her words than anything else… but now, she stares at him, visibly needing to meet his eyes.
Maki - Have you thought about how much time last night we spent sleeping next to a dead body?
Maeda - …
Maki - …
Maki - God, I’m… so sorry…
Maeda - No, no…
Maeda - I just… it’s like what you said about Hatano.
Maeda - I don’t know what to say to make things better, and…
Maeda - I’m afraid if I speak, I’m going to say the wrong thing.
Maki - …
Maki - I think… its just nice to talk.
Maeda - Mhm…
Maeda - I like knowing what you’re thinking, even when it’s hearing that you’re worried, or upset.
Maki - …
Maki - …I like… all the parties and everything that we threw.
Maki - It was nice to spend time with everyone. I miss it, now.
//Maeda nods, as Maki picks up a spoonful of her food, only to let it slide right back into her bowl.
Maki - …Ōtori gave you a napkin, it’s under the bowl. Use it to wipe off your spoon, and you can try my food, see how it compares.
Maeda - …!
//Maeda takes her up on the offer.
Maeda - The peanut butter is weird… but it’s a nice combination, at least for oatmeal.
Maki - Thoughts?
Maeda - It’s nice.
Maeda - Do you want to try mine? I won’t make you wipe off your spoon, because I’m nice.
//Maki scoffs- but she’s smiling.
Maki - I’m good…
Maki - The strawberries taste like shit here- sorry,
Maki - That’s my opinion, at least…
Maeda, overlapping - Oh my god, don’t they?!
Maki - …
//Maki laughs as Maeda grins. The two continue to eat their food.
Maeda - …I keep having them at breakfast, though. I want them to taste good…
Maki - I’d bet that’s why Ōtori gave you them, then.
Maeda - …Do you think so?
//Before she can respond, Ōtori returns.
Maeda - Ōtori, are you planning on eating now?
Ōtori - …In a moment.
Maeda - …?
//Ōtori stills for a moment, part way between Maki and Maeda’s table, and the door…
Ōtori - …
//Then, he turns, and heads towards Hatano.
Ōtori - …Hatano?
Hatano - …
//There’s a loud sniffle, and then-
Hatano, watery - Wha-t…
Ōtori - …I cooked some oatmeal for breakfast- there’s a bowl for you, if you’d like it.
Ōtori, gently - It isn’t all that good if it’s plain, but I’ve got fruits out I’ve been adding, and there’s brown sugar, and chocolate…
Hatano - …No?
//Though the distance is great enough it comforted Maeda earlier, Hatano is still close enough for him to see and hear her relatively well. Her eyes have started to puff, and they still seem wet, while she keeps rubbing at her nose- doing nothing to help the flush tinting it (along with her eyes and cheeks) to go away. She was listening, but… her expression quickly morphs to something more upset.
Hatano - I don’t… want it.
Ōtori - …
Maeda - …Hatano, it’s warm- didn’t you say you were cold earlier?
Hatano - …You think I care about that?!
Maeda - !
Ōtori - If you have something to eat, it’ll help your brain wake up, and you’ll be able to think more clearly-
Hatano - What the he-ll does that mean!
Hatano - I’m thinking fine! I- I’m the only person here who’s fine!
Hatano - You’re- Irana-mi’s- …you’re all ju-st… sitting there!
Hatano - Everyone’s just sitting, fucking- eat-ing, like… like nothing hap-pened!
Ōtori - We won’t do well in the trial on an empty stomach, Hatano-
Hatano, wailing - Who cares about the STUPID TRIAL!?
Ōtori - …
Hatano - If- If you real-
//Every word seems to be torn between a shriek and a sob.
Hatano - If you rea-lly ca-red abouut-
Hatano - If you really ca-red about the trial, you’d be investigating already!
//Maki, Maeda, and Ōtori all fall silent, as Hatano continues to sob.
Hatano - …No one ca-aares…
Hatano - None of you cared about her…
Hatano - Not like me… I’m the only one that ever- that ever cared for her…
Maki - …
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …
//Hatano rests her forehead against one of her hands- though she’s started to slump over again, she’s still visibly sobbing.
Maeda - …
//Maeda feels sick looking at her as she cries. Maeda wants to help. But he doesn’t know how. So, Maeda looks back at his oatmeal… and continues to eat.
Maki - …
//Maki turns back around, and continues to eat as well. Behind her, Maeda sees Ōtori turn away, and go back into the kitchen.
Maeda - …I wonder if Hatano will ever heal from this- I can’t even imagine how she feels right now.
//Ōtori silently slides into the seat next to him, and slowly begins to eat.
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …
Maki - …Lots of bowls, earlier.
Ōtori - …Hm?
Maki - When you left the dining hall.
Maki - Who did you make food for?
Ōtori - …Oh.
Ōtori - Four bowls. One for Kobashikawa, one for Tomori, one for Uehara, and one for Tsurugi.
Maeda - Did you see Tsurugi?
Ōtori - I didn’t…
Ōtori - I said I’d cooked more portions than we had people, so Uehara told me what he thought Tsurugi may eat-
Ōtori - Four bowls of oatmeal, and one smaller bowl, with blueberries and brown sugar-
Ōtori - I left the bowl for Tsurugi plain, in case it’d be easier to eat something tasteless.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Like eating plain food, when you feel sick.
//Ōtori nods.
Maki - …How did everyone seem?
Ōtori - Tomori and Kobashikawa seemed to be fine.
Ōtori - A bit pale, I suppose… but fine nonetheless.
Ōtori - Uehara seemed… nervous?
Ōtori - Stressed is probably a better way of wording it. He seemed really appreciative when I said I’d made breakfast for everyone-
Ōtori - It struck me as odd for a second, but, it’s probably one less thing he has to worry about handling.
Maki - …Really, I wonder what it was that happened to Tsurugi.
Maeda - Monokuma was so… evasive about every question we had.
Ōtori - …Monokuma?
Ōtori - Also, what exactly happened to Tsurugi?
Maki - Oh, right, I never finished explaining…
Maeda - It was just after we found Higa’s body. We were all standing there- Uehara, Tsurugi, and I, were by the doorframe, and everyone was just outside, in the hallway,
Maeda - Then, Tsurugi just fell to the ground, and started screaming-
Maeda - It didn’t seem like something mental, like he was all torn up over Higa’s death… it seemed like he was in pain, he kept thrashing around…
Maki - …
Ōtori - God, sounds horrible…
Maeda - Mhm…
//Maeda glances at Ōtoris bowl, and sees he’s already eaten nearly as much as Maeda- as he watches, Ōtori continues to eat quickly.
Maeda - …
Maeda - We’re… probably going to investigate after this…
Maeda - …I don’t know if I should try to eat, in case I lose my appetite for the rest of the investigation period… or if I should stop now, in case I get sick.
Maeda - …
//Maeda continues to eat, picking at his food between bites.
Maki - …When we’re all done eating, we should investigate.
Ōtori - Mhm…
Ōtori - …What does that even look like for you and I?
Ōtori - Like, is Maeda supposed to look at Iranami while you and I look at him?
Maki - I mean… I think as we’re both focused on Maeda and the body while he’s investigating, it’s fine…
Maki - It’s not, like… a thing with rules. It’s just making sure no one has the chance to, say… wipe away a dying message, or take their signature ring that they left at the crime scene back.
Ōtori - …Oddly specific?
//Maki shrugs, and they all continue to eat.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Did you two ever really investigate?
Maki - I did my fair share last time, but… I guess I’m generally more interested in the area around the body?
Maki - Actually, I think I mostly just looked around the room for clues both times.
Ōtori - …Last time, I was, uh… I was busy with Kobashikawa…
Ōtori - But before that, I spent my time in the entry hall too.
Maki - Oh, I remember that…
Ōtori - …It feels so long ago, right?
Maki - Mhm…
//Maki has been idly stirring around her food for some time now, and Ōtori seems to be finishing his bowl. Maeda starts to scrape together larger bites of oatmeal.
Maki - …I wonder how Hatano’s going to react…
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - Hopefully she’s too exhausted from everything to get upset with us…
Maeda - …I think…
Maeda - I’m ready to start investigating, if you both are.
Maki - …
Maki - Yeah. Let’s go.
//Ōtori says nothing- only stands, and starts to walk over to the table where Iranami has been waiting.
Maeda - …
~*~
Maeda, narrating - I’m glad I got the chance to talk with Maki…
Maeda - I think it helped her to talk about what happened- hopefully, I was able to do the same with Ōtori earlier.
Maeda - …God, Iranami looks horrible…
Iranami is still on the table, same as when Maeda first saw her, same as she’s been in the corner of his eye, and same as she’ll be when he leaves for the trial. Up close, the {positioning of her body} sticks out to him a bit more than it did initially. Additionally, he can already tell that there’s {more blood} than he’d expected. {Maki} and {Ōtori} have both made their way over, but neither seems quite sure what to do. Maki is simply looking at Iranami, while Ōtori keeps glancing between her, and his E-Handbook. Finally, {Hatano} is sitting alone a few tables away... but Maeda isn't sure he wants to approach.
Maeda - Alright… where do I start?
#dra#yuki maeda#kiyoka maki#teruya ōtori#deadly life#deadly life 3#chapter 3#I POSTED IT TODAY YAYYY
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ok go and follow otori..keep an eye out for any clues in the kitchen!! -iris
Maeda, narrating - How are we going to get the food to everyone anyways…
Maeda - We’d have to bring food to Tomori and Kobashikawa, and likely, to Tsurugi and Uehara as well…
Maeda - …Is Tsurugi going to feel up to eating?
Maeda - Oh, and we’d probably need to track down Taira… Maki and Hatano are nearby, but-
Maeda - …Honestly, I wonder who is feeling like breakfast…
Maeda - Maybe we should focus on breakfast foods we could take into the trial room?
Maeda - … That’s a bit too dismal to linger on.
~*~
Ōtori, muttering - Jesus…
//Ōtori and Maeda are now in the kitchen, Maeda standing awkwardly by the door as Ōtori flits around the kitchen.
Maeda- …Sorry, Ōtori.
Maeda - It’s not that I don’t trust you! I just think we should be sticking to having two people in areas that could have clues, at least for the first look at them.
Maeda - I didn’t see a reason for one person to be by themselves, not if we have the people available to accompany them.
Ōtori - It’s fine.
Maeda - Mm…
Maeda - …
//Ōtori is still muttering.
Maeda - …Plus, I really am happy to help with breakfast.
Maeda - So, really, there was no reason why I shouldn’t come with you, y’know?
Maeda - Which, like, I’m sure you get that, I just-
Ōtori - Maeda, I told you it’s fine.
Maeda - !
Maeda - Okay…
Ōtori - …
//Ōtori stills- before he goes back to looking around.
Ōtori - It’s fine, Maeda, really… I’m not upset with you.
Ōtori - If anything, I’m just- I mean, I don’t know-
Ōtori - Maybe I’m a bit messed up over everything that’s happened!...
Ōtori - I mean, ten minutes ago! I was trying to work out what I’d do for breakfast!
Ōtori - Now look at what’s happened- two people are dead, Hatano is-
Ōtori - …
//Ōtori stills once more, then turns, looking back at Maeda.
Ōtori - ….Maeda, she’s doing bad.
Ōtori
Ōtori - …God, and then finally, right when I’m really getting fucking worried- after there was a second BDA, mind you-
//Ōtori turns and continues to pull things from the shelves.
Ōtori - Maki comes stalking in, telling me that Higa’s dead, and Tsurugi’s lost his shit, so now he’s out of commission, which means Uehara is too,
Ōtori - And it’s just…
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - ……….
Ōtori - I can’t think of a singular breakfast food right now.
Ōtori - Maeda, I’m putting that on you to handle. What are we having?
Maeda - Uh-
Maeda - I don’t know, I don’t usually make anything for breakfast-
Maeda - Haven’t I told you that I get my food from your chain of stores?
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - …It’s predicted that oats are going to see major growth in the Japanese market between this year and next.
Ōtori - Lets- let’s be on-trend, let’s see if there’s instant oatmeal here…
Maeda - Sounds great…
Maeda - I’m just happy he has something to do that isn’t “try to manage Hatano”. Maybe thinking about his job will help him calm down-
Maeda - …No the fuck it will not, he is stuck in a killing game, and cannot do anything for his company.
Maeda - Very noted, I should not be pushing him towards that distraction.
Ōtori - …Okay-
Ōtori - …How many people are we even cooking for, now?
Maeda - Oh… uh-
Maeda - You and me, Maki and Hatano, then Tomori and Kobashikawa, and Taira, and Tsurugi and Uehara.
//Ōtori nods slightly.
Ōtori - …Do you think Hatano will eat? Or Tsurugi?
Maeda - Uh… I’d be more worried about Hatano than Tsurugi-
Maeda - We should just make enough bowls for everyone- that’s what, nine bowls?
Ōtori - Mhm… four duos-
Ōtori - Where’s Taira?
Maeda - I… do not know.
Ōtori - Mmm…
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - So Taira can run off to God knows where, but-
Maeda - Is this what you were looking for?
//Maeda had taken to going through cupboards, and found a container of quick oats.
Ōtori - Ah… yeah, those should work- thanks.
Ōtori - Maeda, do you think you could measure out-
//He murmurs under his breath for a moment.
Ōtori - Five cups of oats?
Maeda - Mhm…
Maeda - …Can I just toss them in a bowl, or…
Ōtori - Sure, Maeda, that’ll work. As long as it’s big enough for you to measure out the five cups, it’ll work.
Maeda - …Oh, I need to ask Ōtori if he knows where the mixing bowls are…
//Maeda turns- then watches Ōtori as he grabs… what seems to be a full pot of coffee, and brings it towards the sink.
Maeda - I didn’t realize you’d already made coffee, Ōtori.
Ōtori - …Oh.
//Ōtori stills- as he stops, a bit of coffee falls to the floor.
Maeda - !
Maeda - Yesterday, when Taira and I were doing dishes, I think I saw some dishrags in one of the drawers…
Ōtori - Oh, you need a bowl, huh-
//Ōtori sets the pot of coffee down on the countertop, then sets to work.
Ōtori - Lemme grab one for you, they should be just over here.
Maeda - Mmm…
Maeda - …
Maeda - …Wait-
Maeda - Did you make the coffee earlier? Before Maki showed up?
Ōtori - Uh… no- I actually didn’t make this, like… at all.
Ōtori - It must be from yesterday- it’s cold to the touch.
//Maeda walks by Ōtori, and grabs a rag from the drawer.
Maeda - …That’s odd.
Ōtori - Mhm…
Ōtori - What are you doing, anyways?
Maeda - Oh-
Maeda - A bit of the coffee spilled earlier, I’m just wiping it up real quick.
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - Got it. Good eye.
//Ōtori continues his search for a bowl, as Maeda makes quick work of cleaning up the coffee.
Maeda - Did I get it all?
Maeda - Uh… no, there’s a bit left… let me use a clean part of the rag, so I don’t just spread it around.
//Maeda flips the dirty part of the rag away, letting it rest on the back of his hand while he cleans up the last bits of the coffee.
Maeda - There!
Ōtori - Great- think you can come get the oats, now?
Maeda - Yeah, just lemme put this by the door so we don’t forget it…
//Maeda walks towards the door, and sets the rag down on the countertop.
Maeda - …
//He rubs gently at the back of his hand…
Maeda - …It feels… weird-
//Maeda moves towards Ōtori, while starting to rub at his hand more aggressively.
Ōtori - Great- it’ll take a second to get fresh coffee brewing, so if it isn’t done by the time you’re done with the oats, do you think you could get started on cooking a batch, if I walk you through it?
//Ōtori is waiting for the pot of coffee to finish draining out.
Maeda - Sure, sounds fine-
Ōtori - …?
Maeda - …
Maeda - One second, my hand is bothering me.
Ōtori - Hm?
//Maeda lifts his hand up-
Maeda - Gh- Fuck!
//The back of his hand is already covered in pink splotches.
Maeda - What the hell!
Ōtori - Maeda? What’s going on-
Ōtori - …Come here, let me see.
Maeda - I-
//Maeda goes to the sink, and turns on the water. He tries to stick his hand under the water, but Ōtori grabs his wrist, and tugs at it, inspecting Maeda’s hand.
Maeda - It burns!
Ōtori - …Jesus-
Ōtori - I-
Ōtori - My room has a bunch of random shit- I’ll be right back, I’m gonna find something to help, okay?
//Maeda just hisses, and finally, as Ōtori lets go, gets his hand under the cold water.
Maeda - Oh my Goddd…
Ōtori - Just- hold on.
//Ōtori runs out of the kitchen.
Maeda - Hhh… I can’t tell if it’s getting wor-
Maki, muffled - Ōtori?!
Ōtori, muffled - Be right back!
Maki, muffled - What’s going on- Ōtori!
Maeda - …
//Maeda wants to laugh at the thought of Ōtori sprinting past Maki, just minutes after they finished arguing about Ōtori being alone in the kitchen- but the pain is too immense.
Maeda - Aagh…
Maeda - I mean seriously, what the hell!
Maeda - I didn’t use any chemicals to clean, only the rag… and it was dry, so I wouldn’t think there’d be anything on it.
Maeda - …Was it the coffee itself? Or maybe there was something residual on the rag that reacted with it?
Maeda - Hm- Aaaah…
//Maeda turns his hand a bit, trying to get the water to actually do anything to help.
Maeda - …
Maeda - If Ōtori doesn’t show up in the next two seconds, I’m just gonna get a grater and take the skin off my fucking hand,
Maeda - I seriously can’t cope with this, I swear to God I am going to do it-
Ōtori - Maeda!
Maeda, weakly - Help…
Ōtori - Jesus-
Ōtori - Okay, just- stay there.
//Ōtori rushes over to Maeda, grabbing a dry cloth from the drawer as he goes. He flicks at the rag, getting it to sprawl open, while his other hand tosses a small jar onto the counter. Once the latter hand is free, it reaches for Maeda’s, grabbing at his fingers, and pulling it closer once again. Immediately, the cloth is thrown over the back of Maeda’s hand,
Maeda - Kh-!
//With Ōtori ignoring Maeda’s protests, and pushing down at it.
Ōtori - …
//Ōtori unscrews the jar, as Maeda begins to tap his foot, then bounce his leg, doing anything he can to distract himself from the pain, and the signals his brain is getting, yelling at him to take the irritant off his hand.
Maeda - Shit, shit shit shitshitshit-
Ōtori - Just a second, wait just a second…
//Ōtori reaches into the jar, using two fingers to scoop out what seems to be a salve. His free hand holds Maeda’s wrist, keeping his hand in place as the other begins coating the rag with the salve. Once it’s spread out, a consistent layer covering an area approximately equal to that of Maeda’s hand, Ōtori grabs one of the ends of the rag, and uses it to flip the rag over.
Maeda - Ah-!
//On impact, Maeda yelps, expecting it to hurt… but instantly, the pain in his hand starts to soothe away.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Oh…
Ōtori - See? It’s fine, you’re okay.
Ōtori - Stay still, lemme fix it.
//Maeda does as he’s told- wincing a bit as the rag is slid around, the sensation uncomfortable- but Ōtori works fast. Quickly, the rag is adjusted so Ōtori can tie two of it’s ends together, forming a knot at the palm of Maeda’s hand.
Ōtori - If you’re worried it’s going to fall, or slide off, you can use this end, and your fingers, to pinch it in place, yeah?
//Ōtori takes the corner he was gesturing at, and rests it along Maeda’s knuckles.
Ōtori - Better?
Maeda - Way better.
Maeda - …What is that?
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - Okay. If I say that it’s a product we technically don’t sell because it’s currently not legal-
Maeda - Ōtori.
Ōtori - Then I would be misleading you! Yeah, we don’t sell it, but it’s perfectly safe, it’s just that patenting takes forever. It’s passed all the safety trials, it’s just not available for consumer purchase.
Maeda - …
Ōtori - Seriously, I wouldn’t be using this if I was concerned.
Ōtori - It looks like you came into contact with some sort of chemical, and got burned-
Ōtori - We could’ve sat here and have you rinse your hand off periodically for the next half hour,
Ōtori - Or, we can use this. It’s meant to pull the chemical from the affected area, working to both… neutralize it- doing the same thing as water, but quicker,
Ōtori - And, it starts to heal the wound- in part, by protecting it from further damage.
Ōtori - The salve will act to stop any more damage, and- like aloe on a burn, it’ll start to soothe what damage has occurred.
Ōtori - I’ll cook the oats, you can hang out, and let me know if it hurts,
Ōtori - Then, when I’m done, we’ll rinse off the salve that’s been applied, put a light layer on your actual skin, and once that’s absorbed, we can bandage it, to keep it safe while it heals.
Ōtori - Okay?
Maeda - …Alright.
Maeda - What did I even get into, anyways?
Ōtori - Hm…
Ōtori - Maybe it was something on the cloth, like, it didn’t get cleaned properly?
//Maeda looks at the rag he was using, abandoned on the floor.
Maeda - I don’t know… wouldn’t the tips of my fingers be burned, then?
Ōtori - It’s possible the skin on the back of your hand was just more sensitive, Maeda.
Ōtori - Like… your fingertips interact with more things, right? And the back of your hand has less padding, it’s closer to veins and bones.
Ōtori - Whatever you came into contact with, it’s likely that your fingers didn’t get exposed enough to be injured.
Maeda - …Hm.
//Ōtori starts to prepare breakfast, while Maeda stares at the rag over his hand.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Hey, Ōtori?
Ōtori - Yes?
Maeda - Do you think this could’ve been what killed Iranami?
Ōtori - …Huh?
Maeda - I haven’t looked at the Monofile yet, so maybe I’m way off- but couldn’t that make sense?
Maeda - Like, if Iranami was exposed to a high quantity of something that burned her?
Ōtori - I don’t know… I didn’t see any external injuries on Iranami-
Ōtori - And I can’t think of any chemical that would cause bleeding from the eyes.
Maeda - …She was bleeding from her eyes?
Ōtori - I mean, it seemed like it; there was blood pooled around her head, and it has to have come from somewhere, right?
Maeda - Could she have had a head injury? On the side of her head that was against the table?
Ōtori - That’s true… but, I thought I saw blood on her face.
Maeda - Huh.
Maeda - I didn’t really get a good look at her before I left earlier… I guess we’ll have to see where the blood came from later.
Ōtori - Mhm…
Maeda - …
Maeda - Still, I’m going to make note of the fucking- of the whatever that burned me. People will see the rag and ask, and it’s best to note down what happened while it’s still fresh in my mind.
Maeda - Plus, if someone else was in this situation, and I found out what they’d experienced, I’d be pissed if they didn’t mention it.
Ōtori - Mmm…
//Ōtori continues to cook as Maeda logs information about what happened.
Maeda - It’s weird…
Maeda - Maybe I got into something earlier? And this is just a delayed reaction?...
Maeda - …Yeah, that’s stupid. Too much of a coincidence.
Maeda - But still, what the hell!?
Maeda - …We should do something about the rag I used.
Ōtori - Oh, right…
Ōtori - Think you could grab some spare cloths, and use those to pick up the one you were using?
Maeda - Mhm.
//Maeda carefully pinches the rag using a new, clean rag, then uses a second one to completely cover the dirty rag. Ōtori continues to cook.
Maeda - …Also, do we have another coffee pot? I don’t think we should be using the old one.
Ōtori - …I completely forgot about the coffee-
Ōtori - If you’re worried, you can run it under hot water, that’ll kill anything on it.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Are you sure? I mean, we don’t even know what burned me, or when; I think we should be a bit more careful-
Maeda - Unless we’re going to be using the coffee pot to make Kool-Aid for everyone…
Ōtori - …
Maeda - Y’know?
Ōtori - …Oh, yeah, I get it.
Ōtori - I haven’t seen a spare coffee pot anywhere, but it’s fine. We’ve got other options for caffeine.
Maeda - …A drawer of nothing but dishcloths, but there’s only one coffee pot?
Ōtori - If I hear the words “coffee pot” one more time, that Kool-Aid joke is going to become real.
Ōtori - But, anyways- you’re welcome to look for another one, if you want.
Maeda - Hm…
//Maeda spends some time searching, lacking anything else to do as Ōtori cooks- but he’s unsuccessful. He does, however, find a pack of bottled cold brew.
Maeda - …Want a coffee?
Ōtori - …Ew, no.
Ōtori - Sorry- those just taste metallic to me.
Maeda - ‘S fine…
//Maeda sits on the floor, and drinks his coffee. Ōtori is still cooking a class’s worth of oatmeal.
Maeda - …
Maeda - I… completely forgot about my hand. It really doesn’t hurt anymore…
Maeda - Well- that, or, Ōtori’s fucked up medicine slurry has burned my hand away to the bone, and killed all my nerves.
Maeda - …
//Maeda gently lifts one edge of the rag tied around his hand, checking the state of his hand underneath.
Maeda - …Can’t see shit, but it looks like it’s still there, at least.
Ōtori - …I’m almost done- once I’m finished, we can reapply the salve.
Maeda - Oh!
Maeda - Alright- Thanks, Ōtori.
Ōtori - Mhm…
//Time passes.
Ōtori - Alright- go ahead and take the cloth off, yeah?
Maeda - ‘Kay…
//Maeda’s a bit hesitant, but still, he slowly unties the knots holding the rag in place.
Maeda - …Oh!
//His hand is fine- still tinted a bit pink, yes- but everything is all there, without so much as a blister to be seen.
Ōtori - How does it look?
Maeda - Ah- Fine!
Maeda - It looks great, I mean.
//Ōtori hums.
Ōtori - That’s good, then…
Ōtori - Give me a second to finish up these last bowls, then I’ll put more of the salve on-
Ōtori - Go ahead and wash off your hand, alright?
//Maeda nods before quickly standing, and going to the sink.
Maeda - …You already finished everything else for breakfast?
Ōtori - Making ten servings, one minute per serving, but I’m cooking two at once, so that halves the time it takes.
//Maeda hums, and starts to wash off his hand.
Maeda - …Oh, the coffee pot is still on the counter…
Maeda - I guess it’s fine to leave it there- no one will be able to get in without Ōtori seeing, and he’ll warn them not to use it.
//Maeda finishes rinsing off his hand, and uses the time before Ōtori finishes cooking to further inspect it. The edges of his hand seem fine, but the majority of the back of his hand is pink. He squints at it, and thinks he could see a few darker splotches he recalls seeing earlier… but can’t tell if he’s only seeing them because he thinks he should be.
Maeda - It really doesn’t hurt at all…
//Maeda pokes at his hand.
Maeda - !
Maeda - Definitely sensitive though.
Ōtori - …Do you take anything on your oatmeal, Maeda? Plain oatmeal is a bit boring…
Maeda - …Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had oatmeal before.
Ōtori - Makes sense- it really isn’t popular here.
Ōtori - …I should ask everyone what they want…
Ōtori - We should’ve done that before hand, so we could evaluate who’s up to eating.
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - Well. No changing what’s been done.
Maeda - Hindsight is 20/20…-
Maeda - Do you think we’ll celebrate New Years here?
Ōtori - At the rate we’re going, I’d be surprised if we made it to October with anyone still alive.
Maeda - …
Ōtori - …Sorry.
Ōtori - Let’s…
Ōtori - …Let’s let the food cool down… I’ll go ask everyone what they’d like in their bowl, then I’ll pass things out…
Maeda - …
Maeda - My hand?
Ōtori - Oh!
Ōtori - Right- yeah, that’s right. Lemme help you.
//Ōtori comes over to the sink, and starts to re-dress Maeda’s hand.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Y’know, it’s just applying salve.
Maeda - I probably could have done this myself!
Maeda - But, it’s kind of Ōtori to take care of it for me…
Maeda - And I wouldn’t have known how much to use, so…
Ōtori - There.
Ōtori - And you said your hand was feeling fine?
Maeda - Mhm… it’s a bit sensitive, but it isn’t burning anymore.
Ōtori - Good…
Ōtori - You’ll likely see some light blistering after the salve is completely absorbed-
Ōtori - Just the natural response to your body trying to fight off any infection, and grow back the light bit of skin that got taken off.
Ōtori - But… we can check on it again after the trial, and see what should get done.
Maeda - Okay-
Maeda - Should I take the bottle though, for now? In case Monokuma gets rid of it while cleaning?
Ōtori - Ah- yeah, that’s probably a good idea.
//Maeda screws the lid back onto the container, and pockets it.
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - Why the hell did I choose to make oatmeal…
Ōtori - Whatever.
Ōtori - I’m going to go start asking everyone what they want- stay and guard with Maki, yeah?
Maeda - Okay-
//Ōtori nods, and immediately leaves the kitchen.
Maeda - …
~*~
Maeda - I hope my hand heals up alright.
Maeda - …God, I hope that ointment is seriously okay to use.
Maeda - Wait-
Maeda - Should I be going with Ōtori to ask everyone what they want?
Maeda - If nothing else, it’d be less for him to memorize.
Maeda - Either way I should- probably be following him.
{Go to the Dining Hall}
~*~
New Truth Bullet: Maeda’s Burns
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go to the dining hall!! fuck higa (and also if v3 rules still apply then iranami’s corpse is the only one that matters) -iris
Maeda, narrating - Yeah, alright…
Maeda - I don’t think I want to go to Tsurugi’s dorm right now, to be honest.
Maeda - It is kinda awkward to just walk by, knowing Kobashikawa and Tomori can probably see me,
Maeda - But it’d also be awkward to go back to Ōtori and Hatano like… half an hour from now, all this time after I said I’d be right back.
Maeda - I wonder how Hatano’s doing…
~*~
//Maeda heads to the dining hall, and pushes the doors open, prepared to start investigating. Of course, he would like to take in his surroundings; spend time reflecting on Iranami, look around for his classmates, see what they’re doing, and wax poetic about how often the class met in this room- but as soon as he enters the dining hall…
Ōtori - MaedaI Holy shit, finally.
Maeda - Ah!
//Both Ōtori and Maki turn to look at him.
Maeda - …Hey. What’s up?
Maki - …
Maki, tired - Maeda. Go with Ōtori into the kitchen, would you?
Maeda - …Okay?
Ōtori - You don’t need to do that, Maeda.
Maki - Yes, he does! What’s your fucking problem?
Ōtori - What’s your problem!? You’re the one making this into a whole… thing!
Maeda - Making what into a whole thing?
//Maki turns back to Ōtori.
Maki - For-fucking-give me, but I don’t like the thought of Ōtori trying to run off all alone, and go hang out by himself, where no one can see him,
Maki - When the area he’s trying to go to is the concealed part of the locked-room murder site!
//Maki turns towards Maeda.
Maki - Ever since I showed up here, Ōtori’s been trying to ditch me to go to the kitchen- when he got here, he explicitly said that he’d been waiting to go do that!
Ōtori - I don’t get what you’re so upset about!
Ōtori - Oh, yeah, let me go get rid of the fucking tunnel I made that connects the kitchen to Tsurugi’s dorm so I could go kill Iranami.
//There’s an odd noise from one part of the room- Maeda startles and looks, seeing…
Hatano - …
//Hatano, sat at one of the tables, staring at nothing. Though her face is blank, it’s obvious she’s still mentally present- not only did she react to Ōtori’s comment, but Maeda can almost see the gears spinning inside her head.
Ōtori - …Sorry.
Maki - Christ-
Maki - Maeda, just- I don’t have an issue with Ōtori being in the kitchen, I have an issue with him going there by himself.
Maki - Hell, I’ll even go in with him! Just, either watch Ōtori, or stay and… be on guard duty for a second.
Ōtori - This is insane! I’m just trying to keep everyone from starving!
Ōtori - And y’know what, Maki? If you ask me, Maeda should stay here with you. From what I’ve seen, it seems like you really want to be left alone with the actual crime scene.
Maki - Oh, bullshit!
Maki - Besides, I won’t be alone! Hatano’s right here.
Ōtori - …
//Ōtori looks at Maki, questioning the strength of that last point.
Maki - …
Maki - Maeda. You can make your own decisions, it’s not like I’m going to try and force you into the kitchen with Ōtori, or make you wait while I go with him.
Maki - But think about it. What do you think is the best option here.
Maeda - Uh-
Maeda - Sorry, still- mentally catching up...
Maeda - Should I go with Ōtori? Maki's right in that we probably shouldn't be letting anyone go alone... but I don't want to upset Ōtori.
Maeda - ...But, we should prioritize keeping the crime scene preserved. Ōtori should understand that.
Maeda - If I go with him, then no one will be left alone-
Maeda - Hatano may be... out of it... but I don't think she'd let anything happen to Iranami's body right now.
Maeda - So, I should make sure Ōtori can go do what he wants to, without us leaving the crime scene at risk.
Maeda - I'll go with Ōtori; I don't think we should be letting anyone alone while we have enough people to stick together.
Maeda - Besides, you've been wanting to work on breakfast, yeah? I can help.
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - …Fine.
Ōtori - Maybe having a second person there will make up for some of the time we’ve wasted.
//Ōtori turns on his heel and goes towards the kitchen. Maeda waits for a second, trying to process all of what’s happened. Maki and Ōtori had been standing at opposite ends of the table the class usually eats at, Ōtori standing closer to the kitchen door, and Maki on the same side of the room as Iranami, and Hatano. Hatano is sitting in one of the seats closest to the corner of the room- Maeda walked past her without realizing it when he first came in. She’s facing the direction Iranami’s body is in… but Maeda doesn’t want to look at her eyes to try and determine her line of sight.
Ōtori - Maeda!
Maeda - Sorry!
//Maeda starts to follow Ōtori, who’s paused at the door. As he walks, he briefly glances at Maki, who’s shaking her head- though, when they make eye contact, she stops, and mouths a “thank you” at Maeda. He nods back to her, then looks ahead again, just in time to see Ōtori roll his eyes, and enter the dining hall.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - Poor timing- I should've checked to see if Ōtori was watching.
Maeda - He seems so upset about all of this...
Maeda - I wonder what happened when Maki first came in… maybe he’s just overwhelmed from dealing with Hatano.
Maeda - …
Maeda - God- poor Hatano…
Maeda - I mean, seriously, I can’t think of a time she and Iranami were apart.
Maeda - …Poor Maki too. This is just… difficult, all around.
Maeda - Maybe, at the least, I’ll be able to help Ōtori calm down by helping him with breakfast-
Maeda - And maybe some food will help everyone feel better!
{Follow Ōtori}
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oh my god???? advance advance advance i need to know what’s going on!!!!!! -iris
Maeda, narrating - What?!-
Maeda - What the hell what the hell-what-the-hell-
~*~
//Uehara gives up on fumbling and simply pushes past Maeda, quickly kneeling by Tsurugi, still writhing on the floor.
Uehara - …Jesus, I-
Uehara - Okay, okay…
//Uehara reaches out, then twitches, and pulls back, unsure of what to do, where to touch, what to grab- before he settles for Tsurugi’s wrists.
Uehara - Hey, Tsuru-
Tsurugi - NO!
//Tsurugi flails, then begins trying to throw himself around, using his legs (though when he gets one planted on the ground, the other always seems to give up and fail on him) to get some leverage, wrenching his torso off the ground, before trying to jerk his arms away from Uehara.
Tsurugi, wailing - Get OF-F me!
//He spasms his way into having one leg poised and bent up near his chest- before kicking it at Uehara, who narrowly dodges.
Uehara - !
//Uehara pulls away, letting go of Tsurugi.
Maeda - …
//Maeda turns around- Taira is speaking with Kobashikawa and Maki, while Tomori seems to have been trying to see Tsurugi past Maeda and Uehara. Taira glances at Tsurugi’s dorm, but continues to talk as Maki and Kobashikawa both shift their expressions in response to whatever she’s saying.
Uehara - Ah-!
Tomori - What’s wrong?
//Maeda startles, and looks back at Tsurugi and Uehara- the source of Uehara’s panic is immediately obvious. Tsurugi is clawing at himself, he’s already succeeded in scraping little white lines across his skin, and could likely draw blood if he concentrated his efforts- but luckily (?), he’s still writhing, and keeps switching what part he attacks.
Uehara - Fuck-
Uehara - Tomori- can you-
//Tomori is already following Uehara’s example, and pushing past Maeda.
Tomori - I’m here, I’ve got you both.
Uehara - Okay, okay-
Uehara - On his side, one hand on his forearm- by his elbow, not the wrist- and the other to his upper arm.
//Tomori nods, while already moving as Uehara recommended.
Uehara - He- hopefully shouldn’t be able to kick at us like this…
Uehara - God-
Maeda, horrified - …
//Uehara begins mumbling in Italian- but already… Tsurugi is beginning to slow, still held in place by Tomori and Uehara.
Tomori - …Tsurugi?
Tsurugi - K-gaah!
//Tsurugi twitches a few times more… then stills, and begins breathing rapidly.
Uehara - …Tesoro- hey!
Tsurugi - …
Tsurugi, shakily- O- Owww-ww…
//Tsurugi begins to gently sob- but it’s obvious that he’s significantly better than he was. Whatever happened, it’s over now.
Maeda, concerned - …
Taira - …Is it over now?
Maeda - …I…
//Tomori slowly stands, and goes to leave Tsurugi’s dorm- before stopping when she sees Maeda and Taira.
Tomori - …
Tomori - I… I think everything’s fine.
Maki - …Tsurugi?
//Maeda steps away from the door frame.
Tsurugi, shakily - I- I’ll be fi-
//Tsurugi is cut off by his own rising wail. Uehara tries to wipe away some of Tsurugi’s tears, but it’s as helpful as using a spoon to bail out a sinking ship.
Maki - …Damn.
//The students all take a moment, trying to process what’s happened.
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - …Higa is dead.
Maki - …Yeah…
Kobashikawa - …
Maki - …
Kobashikawa - Huh.
Taira - Iranami has also died… I didn’t think it was possible for more than one person to die without a trial happening-
Taira - Actually… will they both be getting separate trials? Do they have separate blackeneds? Will we only be prosecuting one of the two’s killers?
Maki - …Is there a limit to how many people one blackened can kill- could we be seeing a mass murder?!
Tomori - Ōtori and Hatano are in the dining hall together… at least, if one of them kills the other, we only have one suspect.
Maki - Maeda could have killed them both-
Maki - I’m not saying you did! I’m just saying, we currently only have one testimony about what’s happening there…
Maki - …Wait, has the morning announcement gone off yet?
Kobashikawa - No…
Maki - Then, did the blackened leave the door open all night, drag Iranami in there, then you all decided to head down early and found her?
Kobashikawa - …Oh my god… Iranami’s genuinely dead…
Maeda - What? No- the door was shut when we went down there.
Maki - Then how did you get in?
Maeda - The doors open early! Ōtori said so- when we showed up, the doors were still locked, it was a minute before they were set to open.
Maki - …Really?
Maeda - Yeah- Taira, Ōtori was telling the truth, right?
Taira - Mhm, that’s correct… Ōtori and I asked Monokuma to start unlocking the doors for us… ah, a few days ago, I think.
Maki - …Then how did the blackened kill Iranami?
Monokuma - I Am Glad To See The Student Body Growing In Their Class-Trial Skills. Your Capabilities For Questioning, Debate, And Reasoning Have Grown Exponentially During Your Time Here.
Tomori - …Feels a bit late for you to show up…
Monokuma - My Apologies. I Chose To Address The Students In The Dining Hall Prior To Speaking With The Seven Of You.
Kobashikawa - …So you can only be in one place at one time, despite having multiple versions of yourself?
Monokuma - Regarding Your Questions-
//Kobashikawa rolls his eyes.
Monokuma - I Will Only Be Answering Those Pertaining To The Blackened Which Concern The Safety Of The Student Body.
Monokuma - Henceforth, A New Rule Shall Be Added-
Monokuma - A Blackened May Only Kill One Victim.
Monokuma - However, As Established At The Start Of The Killing Game; A Student Will Not Be Subject To Punishment For Violation Of A Rule If The Student Was Not Aware Of The Rule.
Monokuma - Prior To The New Rule Previously Discussed Being Added Into The Official Hope's Peak Academy Rules And Regulations (Located Under The “Rules” Tab Of Any Students Official E-Handbook),
Monokuma - A Blackened May Kill Multiple People, And Face No Punishment For Rule Violation; Only Execution In Accordance With Rule Number Twelve.
Maeda - So, no more deaths now?
Monokuma - Whichever Blackened, Or Blackeneds, Killed Higa And / Or Iranami May No Longer Kill Without Violating A Rule.
Monokuma - Any Person To Become Blackened In The Future May Kill Solely One Person.
Maeda - …Okay. Jesus…
//Tsurugi audibly groans.
Tomori - What did you do to Tsurugi!
Monokuma - Perhaps Tsurugi’s Condition Is Worth Debating During The Next Class Trial;
Monokuma - Regardless Of How The Class Perceives The Relevancy Of His Condition, I Can Not Currently Comment On That Matter.
Taira - So, we are having a class trial- what’s the goal of this trial?
Monokuma - The Goal Of The Class Trial Is To Identify The Blackened.
Taira - That’s not helpful, but okay.
Maki - So there is one blackened?
Monokuma - Further Questions Regarding Topics Which Are Not Explicitly Stated In The Official Hope’s Peak Academy Student E-Handbook Should Be Reserved For The Class Trial.
Kobashikawa - …Fuck you.
Maeda - Yeah, fuck you!
Maki - …Monokuma, do you have a Mono-file for us today?
Monokuma - Every Student Gets Their Own “Monokuma File”, With The Unique Details Of Their Unique Situa-
Maki - Fuck off, no one cares about your shitty ass Mono-files.
Monokuma - …
Monokuma - The “Monokuma File” For Each Student Will Now Be Sent To Each Of Your E-Handbooks.
//There’s a chorus of buzzing from every student’s handbook.
Monokuma - Please Reach Out With Any Questions You May Have Which Need Immediate Answers.
Monokuma - If No Such Questions Are Asked, We Will Reconvene At The Trial Grounds Upon My Announcement That It Is Time For The Third Trial To Commence.
Maki - Wait, Monokuma! I have a question.
Monokuma - Yes?
Maki - How are you… so brave?
Monokuma - Elaborate?
Maki - If I was as repulsive as you are, I wouldn’t be able to keep on living, I’d be too messed up by my own existence.
Monokuma - …
//Then, Monokuma was gone.
Maki - Hopefully he’s going to go off himself.
Tomori - …
Kobashikawa - …
Maki - …
Maeda - …We should probably start to investigate…
Tomori - Oh, right…
//Tomori turns back to Tsurugi’s dorm as Taira hums in agreement.
Tomori - …
Tomori - Uehara- do you just…
Tomori - …Could you bring Tsurugi to your dorm?
Uehara - Uh…
Uehara - Tsu, hey, do you think you could get up?
Tsurugi - …Mmmm…
Uehara - …
Uehara - Okay, c’mon, carino, you’ve gotta-
Tomori - Uehara, give me your handbook, I’ll go get your door opened.
Uehara - Ah- yeah, okay, sounds great.
//Maeda watches as Tomori goes and opens Uehara’s door.
Tomori - …
//Uehara walks by, Tsurugi on his other side, partially obscured from Maeda’s view- but it’s clear that Tsurugi is still shaken, and hardly able to hold it together enough to walk to Uehara’s room.
Maeda - …
//Uehara takes his handbook back from Tomori, and closes his door. Tomori stares at it for a moment…
Tomori - …
//Before turning back to the group.
Tomori - !
Tomori - Uh…
//The students are silent.
Maeda - I don’t know what to say…
Tomori - …
Tomori - …Uhm-
Tomori - T-Two of us need to stay with…
Tomori - …With the body, yeah?
Taira - …
Tomori - Like…to make sure nobody messes with anything…
Taira - It’s usually Hatano and Iranami who handle that, isn’t it…
Tomori - Mhm…
Tomori - …
Tomori, weakly - …I can stay…
Kobashikawa - …
Kobashikawa - I’ll be guard number two, then.
Tomori - Okay- thank you…
Taira - There’s already two people with Iranami, so that’s covered…
Taira - I think Maki, Maeda, and myself should investigate, instead of staying in one area-
Maeda - Wait, that won’t work- Ōtori still needs someone with him.
Taira - Oh, true…
Maki - …I can go. I’ll be the best for helping him with Hatano.
Maeda - Right, he did say he needed help with her… he was worried she was going to disrupt the crime scene.
Maki - God…
Maki - Okay, you all can keep discussing, but I’m just going to go make sure they haven’t fucking died-
Maki - If you all decide I need to hear anything, just come tell me, I’m not making them wait any longer.
//Maki turns, and runs to the dining hall.
Tomori - …
Kobashikawa - …We should head into Tsurugi’s dorm, yeah?
Tomori - Mhm…
Tomori - Maeda, Taira- you two are currently the only ones who can really investigate everything…
Tomori - …Maybe at some point, we should look into switching off on guard-duty, just so everyone can get a first hand look at everything?
Tomori - But if nothing else, it’s up to you two to look around the school, and find all the evidence, since everyone else is pretty confined to one area.
Tomori - …
Tomori - Good luck, guys…
Taira - Goodbye, Tomori.
Maeda - Bye…
//Tomori turns and goes into Tsurugi’s room, immediately followed by Kobashikawa.
Maeda - …
Taira - …
Maeda - Do you… want to collaborate at all on this, make sure we get everything taken care of?
Taira - We usually don’t- I’m sure everything will be fine.
Maeda - …
Maeda - Okay…
Maeda - I dunno, maybe I just feel nervous because of what just happened with Tsurugi?
Taira - …
Maeda - …
Maeda - Like…
Taira - …
Maeda - Because he normally handles so much… it’s like- he just knows exactly what’s happened, and he’s not even worried, y’know?
Maeda - …
Taira - …
Maeda - But, uh… I’m sure he’ll be okay, and he’ll just read over the monofiles, and know exactly what happened…
Maeda - …So, like. I shouldn’t even be worried…
Taira - …Hm.
Maeda - …
Maeda - What the fuck does “hm” mean.
Taira - Well, I’m going to start investigating now.
Maeda - Okay-
Maeda - See you later, Taira.
Taira - …Okay? Bye…
~*~
Maeda, narrating - …
Maeda - …Sorry, I feel a bit weird, uh-
Maeda - Okay… which horror do I want to experience first.
{Go to the Dining Hall}
{Go to Tsurugi’s Dorm}
#dra#yuki maeda#kiyoka maki#kizuna tomori#kinji uehara#haruhiko kobashikawa#akane taira#tsurugi kinjo#chapter 3#deadly life 3#deadly life#danganronpa another
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Chapter 3: Somniphobic Sleeping in a Thorny Thicket ~ Daily Life - END!
Chapter 3: Somniphobic Sleeping in a Thorny Thicket ~ Deadly Life - START!
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GO INTO TSUS DORM AHHH??? (annie)
Maeda, narrating - …I feel so sick right now…
Maeda - I- I’m heavily involved right now, I just need to tell everyone, so we can work this out together… then I’ll be fine.
Maeda - …
~*~
Maeda - Guys!
//Kobashikawa immediately whips around to look at Maeda- he’s visibly panicked and confused, and is searching Maeda’s face for answers.
Maeda - …Ōtori’s fine-
//Kobashikawa… immediately seems more confused, and a bit disgruntled- but Maeda is already moving on, trying to work out what’s going on in the room.
Maki - Iranami’s gone.
Tomori - Everyone, get over, we can see who’s here if everyones in the same space, and still-
//Maki was standing by where she’s been sleeping, and shifts closer to the wall- similarly, Kobashikawa is kneeling on the floor with his blanket. Both students are looking around, incredibly confused. Maeda steps further into the room, and immediately.
Taira - Maeda. What’s going on?
//Taira approaches, coming from her sleeping area to be over by the wall- she reaches out, brushing against Maeda’s arm to get his attention.
Maeda - I-
Maeda - Iranami’s dead, I’ll explain-
//He hears a noise behind him- Maki heard him, and stumbled. She’s now looking at him, eyes wide, face pale- similar to Kobashikawa, who’s also looking at Maeda. But once again, Maeda gets distracted, as there’s still a commotion ongoing.
Tomori - Hey, hey, what’s going on?!
//Tomori is over by the mattress Tsurugi and Uehara were on- there’s some sort of noise coming from over there.
Uehara - …Found them-
//Tomori finally backs away, allowing Maeda to see Uehara as he slams one of the drawers in Tsurugi’s nightstand shut.
Maeda - …?
//Immediately, Uehara passes something to Tsurugi before grabbing Tsurugi and tugging him up while Uehara stands himself-
Tsurugi - Okay, okay-
Tomori - Maeda!
//Tsurugi quickly puts on what Maeda now sees to be a pair of glasses, and blinks- before zeroing in on Maeda.
Tsurugi - Maeda- wall. Go over to the wall-
Tsurugi - What’s going on?!
Maeda - …
//Tsurugi begins counting everyone- they’re now lined up enough for the rooms residents to all be seen at once…
Maeda - Iranami’s dead.
Tsurugi - …What?-
Tsurugi - Where is she?!
Maeda - Dining hall- someone needs to go down there, Hatano is there, and Ōtori is worried she’s going to tamper with things, he can’t hold her by himself for long.
Tsurugi - Okay, okay-
//Tsurugi begins to walk towards the door, followed by Maeda and Uehara.
Tsurugi, loudly - Everyone, out!
//The students, all in shock, but all understanding what’s going on- and… now, they’re all accustomed to this, and know what they need to do.
Tsurugi - We need to go to the dining ha-
//Maeda has left the room, but is right by the doorframe, which Tsurugi pauses in, Uehara still behind him.
Tsurugi - …Wait, what?
//Tsurugi turns, and Uehara steps away to let him see into the room.
Maeda - Tsurugi? What’s wrong?
Tsurugi - …Ōtori’s by himself, with Hatano?
Maeda - …Yes?
Tsurugi - …That doesn’t add up- we’re one person short.
Maeda - …
//It’s as though the blood has stopped in Maeda’s veins.
Maeda - …
//Maeda looks into Tsurugi’s dorm. He has already seen everyone.
//That makes for one witness.
Maeda - …No?
//Uehara has been looking into the room for awhile now, and is tall enough he can easily see over anything that may obstruct another person’s vision. He may not have realized what he was looking at- but that makes two.
Maeda - There… there shouldn’t be- there shouldn't be another death…
Tsurugi - …
//Maeda hears it when the air chokes its way from Tsurugi’s lungs.
//Maeda truly understands what’s going on just half a second after Tsurugi found the final student. It’s a bit hard- the mattress is taller than him, but the angle makes it just possible to see from the door. Tsurugi finally has his glasses on, can focus in on things- and that brings the count to three.
Monokuma - A Body Has Been Discovered.
//…It’s such an easy mistake to make. Unlike with Iranami, there’s truly nothing off about this student. He’s just lying there. If it wasn’t for the fact everyone else is already up, the fact it’s so unusual for a person to be so still… it would really seem like Higa was simply asleep.
~*~
Maeda, narrating - I-Iranami’s dead… that should be-
Maeda - !!!
~*~
//As Maeda tries to process what’s going on- there’s suddenly a much more imminent issue. The Monokuma announcement was echoing in his brain, so loud he hardly even heard the scream.
Tomori - !!!
//It’s only when his brain registers the flash of blue flying through his peripheral that Maeda recognizes the blood curdling sound as something real- not something from Monokumas tinny monitor, but rather, a genuine, petrifying shriek, coming from the boy that was just standing right in front of him.
Tsurugi - AAAAAAAAAAAA-
//Tsurugi has fallen to the floor- and is now writhing, spasming, convulsing, all while screaming in a way Maeda struggles to accept as human.
Maeda - ?!
Uehara - Tsurugi!
//As the students clamor and panic, as Uehara tries to grab Tsurugi, as Tsurugi seizes as shrieks, as Hatano and Ōtori struggle in the dining hall- and as Iranami, and Higa, both grow colder…
Maeda - …
//Maeda stands, and stares, and wonders how, in his sleep, he managed to slip from a world of reason and sense, where pain was equally matched by perseverance, into the hell he’s found himself in.
~*~
Remaining Students: 9/15
{Advance}
#dra#danganronpa another#yuki maeda#kiyoka maki#kizuna tomori#kinji uehara#haruhiko kobashikawa#akane taira#teruya ōtori#tsurugi kinjo#chapter 3#deadly life#deadly life 3
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oh god oh fuck maeda advance -iris
Maeda, narrating - …
Maeda - Oh my God.
Maeda - Oh my God.
Maeda - I- what the hell happened?!
~*~
//Maeda is still frozen- even as Hatano shoves past him, with Ōtori racing behind her.
Hatano - Get off of me! Get off!
Ōtori - Hatano, no!
Maeda - …
//Maeda tries to look at Hatano and Ōtori- Ōtori managed to snag her jacket flying out behind her, and is desperately trying to use his whole body to keep her from darting off… trying to keep Hatano, who is shrieking. Even when she isn’t speaking, her breath is audibly ragged, torn and tearing further, unable to inhale right as she tries to scrape away from Ōtori and get to-
Maeda - ………….
//…To Iranami. At one of the dining hall tables- not the one they use, closest to the kitchen, but one of the ones running perpendicular to it… she’s sitting there. Truly, it’s easy to see how Maeda saw her, and tucked it away as fine- the scene is so close to familiar. Iranami is sitting at the dining hall, legs at a bit of an angle, seemingly resting her head on her left forearm. It’s as though she were hiding her head away, then someone came to speak to her, and she turned slightly to them, to listen.
//But she will not be speaking to anyone else. Hearing her voice was already a bit of a special occasion, and now, Maeda will never speak to her again. Because the perfect, peaceful picture is so strongly disrupted- the pink blood so vibrant, so abundant, there’s no doubt about it. Iranami has died. Some blood has dripped onto her, and to the floor, but overwhelmingly, it’s pooled around her head, on the table.
Maeda - !
//Maeda doesn’t get to stand and process anymore- he’s interrupted by Hatanos wail.
Hatano - Fuck you! Fuck you, let me go!
Ōtori - N- No!- MAEDA!
//Ōtori and Hatano have tumbled to the floor.
Maeda - …
Maeda - ………H-
Maeda - …..Huh?...
Ōtori - …Maeda- hey, Maeda, come on, listen-
Ōtori - I need you to- HATANO- I need you to go get the others, okay?
Maeda - …What?
Ōtori - Jesus Christ- Maeda, go back to Tsurugi’s dorm, I-
Ōtori - I need you to run, I need help with Hatano, and they need to know what’s going on.
Maeda - ..
Hatano - Let- me- go! I don’t-
//She’s been struggling, a mix of sobs and screams constantly coming from her as she fights against Ōtori- but now she falters, and all she does is wail.
Maeda - …Shit- Shit!
Maeda - I- I’ll go- I’ll be back!
//Maeda bounces back for a moment, trying to tear himself away from the scene in front of him. It’s a slow start, but manages to be enough to get him going, and he takes off. But, as Maeda runs from the dining hall…
Hatano - I don’t know why- why won’t you let me go! Let me go- I need to go to her! I need to- check on Iranami!
Ōtori - No, Hatano- Hatano you can’t, it’s a crime scene-
Hatano, screeching - FUCK YOU!
Hatano - I-
//She’s interrupted by her own sobs.
Hatano, heaving - I need- I need to go-o-...
Hatano - I- I’ll kill you, let me go-...
//Hatano is weakly sobbing, still trying to push Ōtori away.
Ōtori - …I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll let you go soon-
Hatano, overlapping - Fuck you! Fuck off-
Ōtori - We just need to wait, then you can go see her, just wait,
Hatano, sobbing - Noo-o…
Ōtori - I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please just wait, I- Hatano, I’m sorry, please-
//Maeda gets out of the dining hall, and after rounding the corner to exit the room, begins sprinting-
??? - EVERYONE GET UP, NOW.
//It’s loud enough to shake Maeda, who comes to an abrupt stop, almost tripping over himself as he skids.
???2 - …Wait, so many people are missing?!
???3 - Where the hell is everybody-
??? - Fuck!
??? - If you can hear me, you should be getting up, and going over to the wall-
//Maeda shook off his surprise quickly- and has already cleared the distance from where he stalled to Tsurugi’s dorm.
??? - I can’t- I can’t see-
~*~
Maeda, narrating - …
Maeda, about to lose it - Jesus.
Maeda - They’re- obviously panicking in there…
Maeda - …
Maeda - I need- to tell them…
Maeda - …Iranami-
Maeda - Oh my God, Hatano…
{Enter Tsurugi’s Dorm}
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dining hall (😨)
Maeda, narrating - …It’s freezing out here…
Maeda - I’m usually dressed better when I go into the hallway, but I didn’t realize how cold it is with thin layers.
~*~
//The trio begins to walk to the dining hall. Hatano shudders a bit, pulling her jacket tight.
Hatano - It’s so cold out in the mornings…
Ōtori - Mhm… the kitchen is nice, once you get to it, for just that reason.
Ōtori - It’s always warm in there, even before the oven is going-
Ōtori - Though, that could be… is that Pavlov, or placebo, if I feel warm in the kitchen, because I’m used to the kitchen, and expect it to be warm.
Maeda - …Uh? Depends on if your temperature is actually rising, or if you just think it is… I think.
Maeda - I think Tsurugi is our best bet at getting a solid answer, now- or maybe Tomori, actually? I want to say she has some psychological knowledge.
Hatano - We could try checking your temperature…
Ōtori - Wouldn’t we need to check it now, to get a reading on what my base temperature is?
Hatano - I mean, we could go get a thermometer from the infirmary- if there’s one anywhere, it’d be in there, right?
Maeda - I remember when the infirmary was locked…
Maeda - …Wait, shit-
Maeda - The morning announcement hasn’t gone off yet, right? We all have to have woken up before it- I didn’t hear it, and I usually do, plus everyone else would’ve woken up.
Ōtori - …No, it hasn’t played…
Maeda - Then, we can’t get into the dining hall- the door will still be locked.
Ōtori - …Oh.
Hatano - Did you guys close the dining hall doors last night?
Ōtori - I wasn’t the last person out, but I think so, yes…
Ōtori - …
Ōtori - …But, uh… that doesn’t really matter. The doors should be open in…
//Ōtori checks his watch.
Ōtori - Two minutes.
Maeda - Really?
Maeda - I’d think more people would be waking up if it’s that close to the morning announcement…
//Maeda thinks back to Tsurugi’s dorm- when he was walking, he saw more students, and they all seemed well and asleep. He believes he saw Tomori and Kobashikawa stir, but that was likely a response to the motion near them, from Maeda and Hatano walking by, respectively.
Ōtori - …It’s 7:28 right now, not 7:58.
Maeda - …Huh?
Maeda - I thought the dining hall opened when nighttime ended.
Ōtori - It used to, but Monokuma changed it awhile ago-
Ōtori - How else would Taira and I be getting breakfast done before everyone shows up?
Maeda - …
Maeda - Makes sense… I guess I never noticed.
//They’ve reached the dining hall doors- Maeda is still a bit bothered by the realization he didn’t notice the change, but gets ignored by Ōtori and Hatano. Hatano reaches to try and open the dining hall doors, to no avail- Ōtori checks his watch, and confirms.
Ōtori - 7:29.
Hatano - Dang…
Ōtori - Here, let me.
//Ōtori keeps one arm up, eyes trained on his watch as he moves his other hand to the door handle. Hatano steps back to give him space to open the door, and Maeda absentmindedly shuffles away, subconsciously following her lead.
Ōtori - …There we are.
//Ōtori pulls the door open, stepping back with it to let Hatano and Maeda in first.
Maeda - Ōtori and Taira must get up early, then… I wonder if Taira’s up now…
Hatano - Hooray!
Hatano - You’re going to make coffee, right, Ōtori?
Ōtori - Mhm…
Hatano - Do you think you’ll do anything else for breakfast? I could try and help, since I’m here…
//Maeda shuffles along, mind in a hundred places at once, but present enough to keep his eyes glued to the floor to make sure he doesn’t trip over anyone’s feet.
Maeda - I think she was still asleep…
//Maeda gets lost in calling back what he saw in Tsurugi’s dorm… he could see Maki, but couldn’t see past her- similar to how Ōtori and Kobashikawa blocked his view of Hatano. Maki was making good use of the hair tie Maeda had given her; and speaking of Kobashikawa, Maeda recalls seeing him shifting around, before eventually settling once he found and subconsciously stole Ōtori’s blanket. Maeda could see Taira, of course, sleeping on her stomach, hair still in twin buns; and when he stood up, he saw Tomori, blanket pulled up by her face, leaving everything below her ankles exposed to the cold air.
//Hatano gets through the door frame, and Maeda follows after, still lost in thought. Ōtori should have enough room to get in- but suddenly, Hatano stops.
Hatano - …
Hatano - ……….
Hatano - —----?
//Maeda remembers seeing Higa, though, being on the floor, he was mostly overshadowed by Uehara, nearest to Higa, and up on Tsurugi’s mattress. Higa’s hands had found their way by his head- a position which reminded Maeda of Tsurugi, who had found a way to get a hand tangled in Uehara’s hair, assumedly while they both slept. Which, in turn, reminded Maeda of Iranami’s hair, freed from its ribbon and hanging around her face when he finally saw her after leaving his bed. Throw in Ōtori and Hatano, and yes, Maeda can conjure up an image of every student, with all but the other two early-risers seeming peaceful as they slept in Tsurugi’s dorm.
Maeda - …
Maeda - ……….
//Maeda realizes that something is wrong with his recollection.
Maeda - …………………
//This causes two thoughts to come to his mind in near-perfect synchrony.
Monokuma - A Body Has Been Discovered.
//First, Maeda realizes that he has gotten his memories a little bit mixed up! Because, no, he did not see all of those students in Tsurugi’s dorm. This first realization runs him cold, freezes him in place- turning Maeda as still as the student who seems to simply be resting their head.
//Second, when he realizes just who he’s misplaced, he realizes just what Hatano had whispered. It was a hair above silence, and hidden under Monokuma’s announcement, but it’s so very clear. They’re staring him right in the face.
Maeda - …
//He doesn’t seem to have been wrong about the image of tranquility. But, he made a mistake- perhaps, in some attempt to shield itself, his brain took what he was seeing in the dining hall, swapped the backdrop for that of Tsurugi’s dorm, and edited out the puddle of blood pooled around the face, matted in the hair.
//But, this isn’t the time to hide away from the truth. Quickly, Maeda pushes past the false understanding, and sees his pink-splashed reality for what it is.
Maeda - …
//Maeda hears one shaky breath from Ōtori- that alone is so much more than Maeda’s currently capable of. Maeda is barely able to accept that he’s seeing anything but a classmate simply resting their head.
//The shock isn’t stilling Hatano- when she speaks again, it’s no longer a whisper. It’s a shriek, expelling the shock, pain, and grief greater than a human is meant to hold. Hatano is full of energy and life. This cannot be said for the girl who is surrounded by so, so much blood.
Hatano - IRANAMI!
~*~
Remaining Students: 10/15
[Advance]
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