CHAPTER 3 · END · Fighting for attention

It’s difficult to put my own story into words when I’m doing so at the exact same time I’m experiencing it. For some reason, I always feel like I have to justify everything that I feel, everything that I think.
I don’t know if my personality’s just like that. I don’t know if something about the way I was raised caused it. I don’t know if it’s a result of my amnesia.
What I’m starting to wonder is if maybe…
Somewhere deep within myself, somewhere I don’t know how to look, I already know I don’t have much longer.
“Oh…
Fuck off!”

It’s fully and utterly shaken that I follow the last few remaining of us to the elevator.
It should be no surprise that none of us knows what to say. We all look at each other at least for a couple seconds, and if everyone feels the same way I do, it’s pathetic and ridiculous.
Incapable of thinking anything else… proper… I focus my attention on the way everybody looks. The way everybody acts.
Maybe I’ll learn something from it. For the trial… or for myself.
Akiro is looking away from everybody, though he is, of course, standing next to Jan and Alice. Jan is absent-mindedly fidgeting with his broken necklace, and Alice is rearranging her bun while she shoots glances all around the elevator. Chloe, just behind her, appears to be looking at nothing but her. Next to her, Isabella is using her handbook as a makeshift mirror to rectify some smudges in her make-up, and not far behind her, Chris is leaning against the wall with her face inside her hands. Keith and Oscar are standing on either side of the elevator – the Ultimate Sexologist staring at the ceiling, and the Ultimate Bodyguard staring at the floor.
As for Lois… she’s still standing next to me. I hazard a look in her direction… but she doesn’t pay attention to me.
I guess that’s normal.
I shouldn’t be so weird.
It’s not her fault I’m like that.
And it’s upon these thoughts that the elevator stops – that the doors open behind me… to yet another trial.

I’ll be honest.
I don’t believe it.

“Ah… finally. I thought you bunch would never make it here.”
“Hmm… If they hadn’t shown up, I would have killed them. Simple enough.”
“…If you killed them, they would double-not-show-up, though.”
“Ah.”
Kumakuma climbs its way on top of Monokuma’s throne, to sit once again on its… father’s, I guess, lap. That horrible plush bear had been waiting for us…
…But it’s hard to care about him, when there is, undeniably, a killer among us.
When I look around me to see these people I’ve grown to care about, somehow… diligently taking place at their designed podiums.

Spoiler:

I feel some weird pressure all the way from my stomach to my throat, and my eyes can’t help but look in the direction of…
…


No… please, stop already!

“M-Me neither…”
Eager to drive my attention elsewhere, I turn to Akiro, behind me, as soon as I hear his voice.
“I really don’t think it’s funny…”
“It’s n, it’s not supposed to be funny. It’s supposed to be bad.”
After standing awkwardly next to each other for a few seconds more, they each make their way to their respective podiums.
Next to Akiro…


…And next to Chloe…


She’s right…
It’s not funny.
But because I’m just a weakling with no personality, I take the last few remaining steps towards my podium. And that’s when…
“Looks like these bastards are ready, my sweet child.”
“Already? It always feels like they’re eager to start. These freaks.”
“Damn right! And then they dare to complain about us. Ungrateful brats.”
“I’m trying to get on their good side, so I’ll be nice to them and start right away. And wish them good luck, ‘cause they’ll need it.”
“Upupu… I think luck’s on their side, my child.”
“What..?”
“Whaaat? After all these murders? Well, whatever. You heard us, didn’t you? The class trial may start! Officially! As decided by your headmaster. NOW!”
…
… …
… … …
The bears look at us expectantly, but no one says anything.
“…I hate them so bad.”
…
The silence lingers for a little while longer.
It’s hard to know what to say or do in the face of tragedy… And someone used to be there with us, to give us hope…
But she…
And she…
Right..!
“S-So…”
With a trembling voice… I’m the first to speak up.
Because…
“This… isn’t real, right?”
“…Sorry?”
“I mean… This is ridiculous, isn’t it? So…”
“Ooooh boy.”
“Because..! We have multiple reasons to believe this isn’t… fully… real, right? Monokuma’s giant machines… That, that wasp robot… Keith… The weather… It’s time to cast some doubt, isn’t it?”
“Why me..?”
“Heh. And there’s no Queen of England.”
“W-Well, no, there hasn’t been one in a while, but I don’t get…”
“C-Come on… Anyway..! Listen… That Noah took the motive seriously, and as the Ultimate Soldier, killed someone… I can… I can buy that. Then… That Benjamin forced Andi to kill him to cause a class trial… That was already too much, but… Still, I guess I can believe that too.”
They’re all staring at me.
“But this… this is too much. Don’t you agree?”
“What… makes it different?”
I slap my podium with both hands.
“This..! Why would someone… Kill two people, and dispose their bodies… Like this?! I can’t… I can’t… This can’t be real!”
“Is it too grotesque for you?”
“I don’t… know… But, but come on! Lois!”
I stare at her like my life depends on it.
“This can’t be justified, can it?! Murdering two innocent teenagers and putting them on display, undressed… That’s so… That’s impossible!”
I don’t believe it for a second.
That’s why… There was no use in making myself endure this horrible sight. There’s no need for it.
“But you still saw it, didn’t you?”
“…We all had to see this.”
“Regardless of what you think, it was in front of us, wasn’t it?”
“But whether things are real or not is an existential question… Now I’m left wondering if Keith really is real…”
“I’m really gonna lose my patience very quickly.”
“I’m, I’m not joking, you know..!”
“I know!”
…If my life depended on staring at Lois, I guess I just ended it.
And Alice does look serious.
“I think we all know where you’re coming from. But if this isn’t real, then Ben’s death wasn’t real, you know.”
“That’s… impossible…”
I was… right there.
“Someone watched the life leave Ciel and Mina’s eyes…”
“Gh..!”
“The culprit… right?”
“Yes… it was a heinous act. So heinous, in fact, that it’s hard to even believe.”
…
“That’s why there is no doubt that the person we’re looking to unmask is, in fact, a heartless murderer.”
“Heartless…”
“That’s… right. It’s difficult for us to comprehend, but they did it.”
“R-Right! And regardless of how we feel, we… We can’t let them win!”
But…
No one here is heartless… are they?
“So… if we’re done… let’s try to even survive this, shall we?”
Isabella, on the other side of the room, extends her hand in my direction, flipping one of her twin-tails on the way.
My… Because I’m…
Damn…
“S-Sorry…”
I wasted everyone’s time… Just because I couldn’t accept… Their absence.
“Oh, no, I was curious where you were going.”
Fuck… Hearing everyone’s voices, their thoughts… I’m starting to understand that it really is just the few of us.
It’s not about those who are gone, it’s about… those who are standing in this trial room.
“I would even say you broke the tension! So that’s good!”
“Y-Yes… Now I’m ready… I think.”
“Great! And you, Jan? Are you ready?”
“…”
My cheeks are warm, but I feel cold at the same time. I turn my attention to Jan without really thinking about it. It crosses my mind that he has been silent until now. Then again, so has been Oscar…
I look in his direction, but seeing him moping with his nose buried inside his scarf, I’m not brave enough to keep at it.
“…Ah. Not yet?”
“…”
Jan inhales suddenly, and sharply, before slapping both his cheeks with each hand and keeping them there.
“Alright, Jan.”
“Hm?”
“Sorry. I’m ready. I’m just impressed by how brave you are.”
“Oh…”
I couldn’t say exactly whether Alice is only surprised, or also flattered.
“Come on, though. Please don’t wait for me. I don’t know exactly how we should start this discussion, but let’s try our best.”
“Okay! I think Mina would have started with some sort of exposé. L-Like, having someone expose the current facts.”
Wow, he’s jumping straight to it.
I know that’s what we need to do… I’m still reticent, but I can tell it’s the right thing to do.
…
I don’t know that Mina… and Ciel are truly gone, but they’re not here right now!
“Yes. I remember that during the first trial, she insisted we include everything, even stuff that seems obvious.”
“Okay, so what’s stuff that we obviously know?”
“There are two victims.”
“Ah… Hmm… Yes, that’s obvious. Okay. Uuuh, what else…”
…I feel strangely warmer, though.
Oscar participating definitely means I can do it. That too… seems obvious, now.
“We found both bodies in the Music room.”
My voice is still shaking, but it’s like Jan said. Let’s not wait. Let’s try our best.
“That’s… true! Maybe we should ask ourselves if they were killed there, or moved there.”
“The crime took place at night, so… why would they have been inside the Music room?”
“Though one shall also wonder why the killer would choose that room afterwards.”
“I, I don’t know…”
“The crime scene was most definitely a setup…”
“If we want to know if they were moved, we need proof.”
“Hmm… Yes… We need a solid foundation for each of our theories. Conclusive evidence.”
“Y-Yes… If we don’t have proof, then we’ll never be able to advance… And we’ll just… stagnate.”
“That’s… not the angle I was looking for.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Hm?”
“We’ll figure it out, so keep at it. Right Chloe?”
“O-Oh…”
Jan seems to have gained renewed confidence… I guess he gave himself the pep talk he needed. That’s less time consuming than what I caused…
“So. Does anyone believe they have evidence… That Mina and Ciel were murdered elsewhere, right?”
“Well… Mina was wearing just her socks, right? So maybe… she was in her room, at the time…”
“I would even say that is for certain. Her lock was picked, so there’s no doubt that someone forced her door open.”
“Argh…”
“Oh, that’s right! I concur! And Akiro and Jan concur! We saw that. So that’s conclusive evidence, right? Someone… attacked her inside her room.”
“Absolutely not. That’s not nearly enough proof.”
“...Ah?”
Huh?
“Ciel’s door wasn’t forced. At least according to the clues you found, it says it wasn’t.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“You guess, huh. Well, that creates a hole in any argument, doesn’t it? They were both in the Music room in the end. Most importantly, there’s no proof that Mina’s door wasn’t broken after she died.”
“N… Huh?”
“We don’t know the killer’s motive… or intent, let’s say. What if my theory were that the killer was trying to retrieve something from her room? Then they could have broken the lock at literally any time, as long as they opened it.”
“Well... You don’t have to be rude about it.”
“Sadly, you would have to prove that too.”
“Well, you have to prove you know the time Mina’s door was broken.”
“I have proof.”
“...Do you?”
Isabella turns her gaze very slowly towards Chris. It’s hard to read her attitude… It’s hard to figure out whether she believes her, or not.
“I have proof... That Mina’s body was moved.”
I follow Isabella’s glance towards Chris just in time to see her turn her head to the floor on her right side, dejectedly.
“So that’s what this… I had an inkling.”
“What… are you talking about, Chris?”
Chris sighs before turning her attention back to the centre of the room.
“This morning… Isabella, Chloe and I split into two groups. I went to the gym on my own.”
“Yes, that is true.”
Chris stops to think.
“What’s the problem now?”
“I’m looking... For something that will corroborate my testimony… Else you’ll get on my case again.”
“…”
“...Neo.”
…
“Wait, me? What? Yes?”
“You have an impressive talent. I think it’s more than just its name.”
“Huh?”
Why would she say that… Now, of all times?
“I’m putting my trust in you.”
She says that, but she’s very clearly grimacing.
“Can you please… Recount what happened when you found the body?”
“S-Seriously?”
“Would you care to explain how that pertains to your proof that Mina’s body was moved?”
“...Please.”
Ignoring Lois, Chris continues to stare at me uncomfortably.
…
“O…kay.”
Get on with it. Move forward.
Alright… so…
“Lois and I were together in the library, when we decided to go upstairs. But when we reached the last floor…”

There was a strange smell:

A sign had fallen off the Music Room’s door:

I tripped and fell:

…
“The sign Mina, Ciel and I had put on the Music room’s door was on the floor. I noticed right away, and… I casually walked up to it, to put it back where it was.”
“I can confirm his movements, of course.”
“In that moment, I…”
…Why is this so hard to think back to… when it’s so recent?
I guess at that point, to me… reality was different.
“…When I placed the sign on the door with my hand, I pushed it by accident. That’s when I saw… … Ciel.”
And then I screamed.
Of course I did.
But was that it?
I saw Ciel, and I underwent such a state of shock, I… I recall screaming, but I can’t recall the memory of hearing my own scream.
That’s what happened at that moment when I opened the door and found Ciel…
Is it?

It is:

It isn’t:

…
“Yes, I remember..!”
I could be wrong, but I seem to notice Chris’ face regaining some colour.
“Before I screamed… I heard someone else screaming in the distance.”
At the time, that felt unreal as well. Like the scream was just part of the horrible scene I was witnessing. But now that I think about it… That scream was real…
“It was you! For some reason, a woman screamed, way downstairs.”
“Oh… I was… convinced that had been my imagination.”
“…What?”
Jan looks… genuinely surprised.
“W-What? You heard something?”
“But you were with us… we didn’t… I thought you didn’t have a special sense of hearing or something.”
“Well it’s not… special…”
“Why didn’t you say something..?”
“If you’ll recall, it was immediately followed by a much more… hmm… consequential scream. In fact, that first one was so discrete, I could have imagined it. And with everything that happened, it didn’t come up again.”
“…Do you often imagine the voices of women screaming?”
“...”
“...Good question, actually.”
“As a matter of fact, no.”
“But you were ready to believe you did?”
“...”
“…May I?”
“We’re tabling this.”
“If Jan also heard, that’s perfect. That means my testimony is credible. I did scream at some point, but it wasn’t loud. I expected only a freak like Neo to have heard it.”
“…Ouch.”
“I feel like this is some sort of -ist but… we’re tabling this.”
“If she was all the way downstairs in the gym and Akiro and I didn’t hear it, you have to admit it’s a bit freaky that he was able to hear it… Like…. What if I talk in my sleep?”
“I can’t hear tha… I’ll, I’ll explain later…”
“I miss Mina.”
Ouch! Double ouch! We’re doing horribly!
“…So I’m thankful to them. In all seriousness… I went to the gym alone to exercise. I’d done that before, so when I saw a loose football in a corner, I knew it wasn’t in its place.”
I wouldn’t say we’re not being serious. Something about the way Chris continues her testimony proves it to me – we’re too confused not to get lost in our arguments.
“I knew it came from one of the gym bags at the back of the room. I opened them up and found which one was missing a ball. But when I pushed stuff over to make room for it… I found a dark stain.”
“A dark… Why..?”
Chris closes her eyes.
“I didn’t know what to think. I was pretty sure it wasn’t here before. So I emptied the contents of the bag to take a closer look… And when I put my face next to it… There was no doubt it was blood.”
“Well that must have fucking sucked.”
“Sure did. I screamed and let go of the damned bag. Right then, I heard Neo’s horrible scream. Having just found a stain of blood… I immediately knew something horrifying had happened. I left the bag behind to run to him.”
“And tha-that’s why you w-were running… so fast. I mean, we, we saw you.”
“Sure is.”
“And… what does that prove, exactly?”
“…The stain was located… at about the quarter mark on the bag.”
“I don’t understand what it proves.”
Chris inhales to let out a short, hesitant sigh.
“I believe… Mina was carried inside this bag.”
“No..!”
“That’s… that’s just gruesome...”
Right… I can’t… imagine… something like that.
“...I see. If the stain was located where you say it was, then that is a possibility indeed.”
“S-Seriously?”
“I thought Mina died from a crushed windpipe. Why would there be blood..?”
…
Oscar’s tone is hard to read as always, but… the way he sadly buries his nose in his scarf punctuates his sentence in its stead.
“It’s true that according to the clues, the only instance of blood are those mysterious bloodstains in the stairs. But I inspected Mina’s body, and there was undeniably blood. It came out of an open fracture of her right knee.”
“...Exactly. If she had been put in that bag with an open fracture on her knee… it would have left a bloodstain in that exact place.”
“So… along with the hints that she was attacked in her room… you think she was then put in that bag… and moved to the Music room.”
“No… that is too disrespectful.”
“I agree but… Can we put it past someone who… arranged Ciel’s body like they did?”
“Assuming there’s only one killer.”
“Oh c’mon!”
“And you’re using the fact that you screamed as proof? That’s interesting, but I have to ask… Why didn’t you share this evidence right away?”
“...Argh.”
Ah, right. Among everything I’m hearing and seeing today… This reaction from Lois is the least surprising. She already shared her frustration earlier when Chris didn’t say everything.
“Sorry, but I didn’t want to believe it either. Maybe I was kinda like Neo. Or Oscar.”
“Is that so?”
Chris turns her head to the side again… just low enough not to look at Mina’s portrait.
“If someone had proven Mina was killed in the Music room, I would have reassured myself that I didn’t find out... something like that.”
“…Fine. Such events only prove that… we shall mourn the loss of the Ultimate Detective greatly.”
…
“Stick to your part of the job,” she said.
Mina’s intentions were to help us no matter what. I even remember… a conversation we had, a few days ago now. She recommended to us people to trust if she were to…
… … And it’s hard to tell if I can take her ideas seriously, but one thing is for certain… She was expecting Ciel to outlive her.
This knowledge puts a strain on my shoulders, one I am, oddly, willing to fight against.
“No, but let’s come back to what Isabella said for a sec. You don’t actually think there were two killers, do you?”
“I don’t know. Where’s your evidence that there wasn’t?”
“Where’s your evidence that there was?!”
“Ciel’s cause of death was undetermined, wasn’t it?”
“S-Surely it wasn’t… that accident with the piano…”
“F-Fuck off with that! The Kumathing file says they were already dead when that happened!”
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the body for long.”
And yet, that image is engraved in my mind.
“I didn’t see any noticeable injury… from the front.”
From the front… Oh, Ciel, I’m so sorry. I would spend the rest of my life apologising to you if I could.
“Oscar, you got closer to Ciel when you put your jacket over them, didn’t you? Did you… see anything?”
“...”
By a slight movement of his head, it’s evident that Oscar acknowledges Chloe’s question. But he stays silent for a few long seconds before answering.
“I was eager to run to the door, so I did not pay attention. But I did not notice blood.”
“Ah, that’s right… You were just thinking about leaving, in that moment.”
“Yes.”
“If there really was no blood, we could assume it was strangulation as well…”
No…
“But evidently, something was done to prevent us from gaining that knowledge.”
“And I don’t claim to know whether the killer was trying to make us think there was more than one killer, or if they were trying to hide that fact to protect their accomplice.”
“If there is more than one killer, this trial would be beyond difficult without some guidance. Don’t you think?”
Lois raises her head towards the two bears.
“Bitch, I don’t know.”
“…It is fairly commonplace in Danganronpa games for the headmaster to clarify, at some point, what to do in the event that there is more than one killer.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. That’s a question for me, isn’t it?”
“What? You’re going to help them?”
…Asking them for help… is quite the ballsy move.
I’m speechless.
“Well, well, well. Let me think… Hmm… What can an old man like me do for you… Let’s see… You asked a question, and I shall give you a truthful answer.”
“S-S-Seriously..?”
“I won’t help you bastards, but let me remind you… That even if the killer had an accomplice, only they themselves would benefit from winning the trial.”
“But what about an event where two people decided to kill separately?”
That seems... unlikely.
“Hmm. Pff. Well, in that case, I’ll confirm that you’d only be searching for the first killer, since they’d be the one who put an end to the motive. Now stop wasting my time with your stupid questions!”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t know Ciel’s time of death either. It could have been any time between when Neo last saw them… and when we found them.”
…
“He went to his room early, from what I understood.”
“…Oh.”
“According to Neo’s testimony, yes. And it would appear no one has contradicted it as of yet. After all, most of us have been locking ourselves in early.”
“Guilty as charged. But then I wake up extra early. Anxiety’s not treating me well.”
“I, I c-could stay up later, if y-you and Jan did…”
“…Of course, as far as yesterday night goes, none of us did.”
“Is that so? Last night, everyone went to their rooms early. Is that what we’re claiming?”
“Perhaps you disagree?”
Lois pauses.
The air feels cold. I’m tempted to think it emanates from her, but – what a painful thought. In any case… I think I know what she’s getting at… I think I know… But do I know that it matters?
“Well, I went in early. I know nothing else.”
“D-Didn’t you use to… have some sort of hiding place to…”
She shakes her head.
“Not anymore. Unfortunately… I guess I gave up on that advantage.”
“Why?”
That is a dumb a question, and yet, it crosses my mind.
“That’s… A choice, alright.”
“You don’t sound too happy about it. You went to your room early, Chris, right?”
“...Yes.”
“And can you corroborate anyone else’s testimony that they also did?”
Chris looks tense, but she answers nonetheless.
“I know Chloe and Isabella went in at the same time as did.”
“Thing is, you wouldn’t know if they went out again afterwards…”
“That’s true. It would be quite helpful if we had someone’s testimony that another person was out, at any point.”
“Sure, it would be.”
“Of course, they could be the culprit.”
“N-Now hang on..!”
“But… correct me if I’m wrong, but since no one can claim to have seen another person outside at night, just asking everybody to tell us what they were doing… would be a useless line of questioning, wouldn’t it?”
“I… well… no…”
“No?”
“It’s just… uh… hang on…”
Akiro’s stress is the type to be easily contagious. Visibly nervous as he takes time to think, he looks all around him with no meaning, until his eyes meet Chris’… a portrait across from him.
Chris’ attitude is different – everything points to her being able to stay in place. Still, there’s no doubting her anxiety, and I’m surprised to see her, after a few seconds of hesitation, smile to him.
What could it mean? Unquestionably, Akiro is just as surprised, yet it causes him to shyly smile back.
After a few more seconds, he finds the courage to inhale deeply and continue:
“I think.. there’s a chance, maybe… that by listening to everyone’s alibi, m-maybe… we could open the door t-to questions we have for them, or… m-m-maybe see holes in their testimony…”
“What, are we playing Ace Attorney now?”
“Who’s ace..?”
“The attorney.”
…Is that a slight smirk I see? Either way, it sounds like another retro game…
“So, Chris, see anyone out at night?”
“Jesus fucking Christ lady, whatchu got against me?!”
“What are you complaining about? This is definitely reciprocal.”
“…Well, I didn’t see anyone at night, that’s the whole truth!”
“I’m on your side and all, but you sound mighty defensive, right now.”
“W-Well, there’s n-no reason to believe she’s lying, s—”
“This is unfair!”
“Ugh…”
…My condolences to Akiro, though it’s evident that Chris didn’t interrupt him intentionally. For all intents and purposes, she is pissed. And I…
“No one? Not even a guy… About this height…”
“…You didn’t have to use me as a reference.”
“Brown hair, bad haircut, basic uniform…”
“Three out of four so far.”
“Jan.”
“Warm voice, bad language, broken back, girly face—”
“What?!”
“That’s where you drew the line?!”
“If I could I would have drawn the fucking line a long time ago. What the hell do you want from me?”
“Sources say you were the only one out at night.”
“Ghh…”
Keith turns his attention to Chris.
“…What did you do?”
“Eurgh……”
Aww…
“She didn’t do it on purpose!”
…Judging by Keith’s face, this didn’t help.
“Well, this was an easy trial.”
“Huh? No!”
“Uhm, maybe it would help if you… told us what this is about?”
“Why does it always have to be meeee…”
She fake-sobs.
…Unless she’s real-sobbing?
“D-Don’t worry, I’m not the culprit!”
“Convincing.”
“Fuck y—What role are you even playing?!”
“Well, someone has to keep you losers in check.”
“…This is weird, even for you.”
“Weren’t you busy crying about your horrible taste in men?”
“Wha-argh?!”
“Are you weirdos against me or against Chris?”
“I’m not against Chris.”
“Hmm.”
“Tha-That implies… … uhm…”
“…Keith, since you’re not the culprit, hopefully you have a way of proving it to us.”
“Woah, you... Actually said that without a hint of sarcasm.”
“I didn’t mean it sarcastically...”
“Eh, that explains it.”
“W-Well…”
Honestly, I’m at the point of accepting that I don’t know Keith enough to know for sure what his attitude means. I would assume he was taken by surprise.
“As it happens, I don’t have an alibi.”
“Hm.”
“And neither do you, that’s the point.”
He’s red in the face.
“Yesterday, I told Chris I would spend all night inside the library.”
“Huh? Why the hell?”
“What? We were just chatting.”
“N—Yeah right, that’s what I meant.”
“…Tch. After my eighth emotional breakdown since I’ve been here, I’ve decided to stop wasting so much time and try to catch up with my studies. Earlier in the day, I found a few good enough books.”
“That’s, that’s right, by the way. Keith told me he would search for some books. For that reason.”
“Yeah. So I was overenthusiastic and ready to work non-stop. Who cares if I pass out? When I woke up, I’d work more.”
“That… doesn’t sound healthy.”
“That’s what I said.”
“…And I ended up listening to you.”
“Ah?”
“Chris didn’t like my idea, said I’d do better if I looked after myself better, and spending all night out alone was too dangerous. But I was stubborn, and didn’t give her arguments the time of day. At first.”
“Oh.”
“So I set out to spend the time inside the library, but it kept nagging at me. Eventually, I realised I was too stressed to focus. So I went back inside my room. I brought books with me, but I took the opportunity to nap for a bit.”
“So what you’re saying is… Yesterday, you told Chris you’d spend the entire night outside, but unbeknownst to her… you changed your mind.”
“Exactly.”
“Shit… Well, I couldn’t have known…”
Keith lets out a loooouuud sigh.
“I know. I knew. It was at the back of my head all along. I’m just surprised you confided it in… Lois..?”
Hey, speak for yourself.
I mean… I don’t know what I mean.
“I didn’t… like Neo said, it slipped outta me.”
“So, knowing full well that Keith could be the culprit, you decided to keep your mouth shut.”
“...Tch.”
“I’ve been wondering about this as well. What’s your end goal here? I thought you learned your lesson during the first trial.”
“...Keith…”
Clenching her fists, Chris starts off staring at the floor, before directing her eyes to the middle of the room, not looking at anyone in particular.
“...is not the culprit.”
“Hah? How do you know that? Pray tell.”
“I know it, that’s all! Did you take any fucking time to get to know the guy? He ain’t gonna kill anyone!”
…Huh?
I… guess I would assume that out of everyone here… But can I really guarantee it..?
“I’m not sure.”
… …Why would you say that..?
“Is that so? Did you think that of Noah as well?”
“Noah… Noah was already a killer.”
“Hey, Keith, did you think that of Ms. Hendry as well?”
“You b—… You bi— Ugh!”
“Isabella, keeping everyone in check is one thing, wasting our time is another.”
“Hmpf. Guess so. I’d do well spending less time right next to this skank.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Uh… Uuh… If I may…”
“You may not.”
“You may.”
“Uuuh… thanks. W-Well, I don’t, I don’t think Keith could have do-done it.”
“…I appreciate it.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Uhm… If, if you’ll recall, Mina was strangled… which would have been quite ph-physical… especially if she struggled… plus there’s the, the whole setup in the Music room… and… and Keith’s injured, you know.”
“… …Ah.”
“Oh, right…”
“Hey, that’s right! Keith’s a completely unrealistic suspect. The man can barely walk.”
…Yeah…
“Ah, yes. That is true.”
Keith knows what’s wrong with this argument, but I imagine it’s hard for him to tell on himself… when it’s life or death.
Thankfully, a few of us already know that as well.
“I… Yeah, we can’t ignore that point.”
It won’t stand, because a few of us know… A certain number of us…
…

Two of us:

Three of us:

One of us:

…
No… No!
Somehow… I’m the only one to…
Why, oh, why?
I have to…
I have no choice..!
“No…”
“No?”
“N-No… That’s wrong!”
“Waaaah! He said it! He said it!!!”
…
“S-Sorry?”
“Hahaha, I should totally get his autograph after this!”
… …
She’s… Why is she making fun of me..?
“What was that..?”
“And what’s wrong, exactly?”
“Eurgh…”
“…”
I have to focus.
I’m alone, but… no, there’s no but. I’m alone.
“Keith’s injury… It’s actually… gone.”
“It’s gone?”
I look in Keith’s direction… but he avoids my gaze.
“That’s right… M… Mina was the one who pointed it out. And Keith confirmed it. His back is better.”
“It… is?”
“You… said that?”
“…”
“If that’s true, it’s… it’s miraculous, Keith, I’m happy for you!”
“I… It’s.. …”
“That would be inconvenient. You had a single alibi…”
“It is surprising. The injury was not mild.”
“...According to Kumakuma, it was… uh, his doing. For no understandable reason, but…”
“Hell yeah, that’s an accurate description of the kinda person I am.”
“It’s… It’s true.”
“R-Really..?”
“Yes... Sorry, Akiro, but your defence doesn’t work. I’m… I’m freaked out about it, but my back just… fixed itself.”
“Oh, but… you should be happy.”
“Hmm… I’d be freaked out, too…”
“We need a better alibi…”
I don’t know if Jan just spoke to Keith, or to himself.
“Most importantly… Keith was the one to inform us that Mina was, in fact, strangled, rather than hung. And he had no intention of telling us his back was fixed.”
“Hang on, I’m not that fucking stupid! I knew Neo knew!”
“But you also knew Mina and Ciel knew. What if something prevented you from silencing Neo as well?”
…
Huh?
“Come on, that’s… a coincidence…”
“You suddenly don’t sound too convinced.”
“I guess we have yet to identify a link between the victims…”
“But… then… does this mean we don’t believe that Keith actually came back from the library..?”
“After telling Chris? I’d have picked another day, for fuck’s sake!”
“Unless you realised the motive was going to end.”
“...Still, humour us, Keith… What time do you claim to have come back from the library?”
“Uh… Fuck… Well I would say… From when I looked at the time… It would have been some time between 11.05 and 11.10PM.”
…
“...”
That’s…
“That’s Mina’s time of death..!”

CLASS TRIAL //BREAK//

“That’s… what?”

Is Keith a pathetic killer with no plan, easily backed into a corner?
It may sound cruel…
And why do I even have such a thought? How does that match my character?
But seeing the gruesome plan the killer devised, I don’t think someone with such weak reactions could be the culprit.
“How would you not know that? It’s in the Kumakuma file.”
“I… It didn’t click…”
“Oh, so you’re an idiot, is what it is.”
“Maybe I am.”
He closes his eyes.
I feel bad for thinking he was weak.
“I’m an idiot, I’m a loser, I have a bad temper and unhealthy habits, and maybe cutting my own hair wasn’t my best choice.”
“...Huh, he admitted it.”
“You rendered even Isabella speechless with this one.”
“Really? I could have sworn she just said something.”
“And that one time my girlfriend’s cat scratched me, I pretended it wasn’t my fault, but it totally was!”
“Aaaaaaand we lost him…”
“You have a girlfriend, Keith? Congrats!”
“What the fuck do you mean congr- well, an ex. Maybe the cat told her!”
“I didn’t know we were on trial for a cat.”
“Uhm, if I may, I’m a bit lost here…”
“We all are, that’s what we’re saying!”
“The point is… you’re entitled to dislike me, but don’t pin a horrible crime on me!”
“Didn’t you try to do that to yourself last trial?”
“C’mon, what did I do to you..?!”
“You called me a bitch one time and showed no appreciation for my genius masterplan.”
“………”
“...Alright, alright, just kidding, I’m trying to keep the mood light here! I don’t want to think you’re the killer!”
Alice shakes her arms erratically in front of her. How could I blame her? I don’t know what to do either, and it feels like I’m not even trying.
What can I do? What kind of person do I want to be?
“W-We just have to prove it!”
“We..?”
For some reason, what Akiro said looks to shake him.
“Correct. If I understand, you don’t have an alibi. This means that we have to find another way.”
“Huh?”
“O… Obviously, we can argue that n-no one has an alibi, so it’s not f-fair to expect Keith t-t-to have one.”
“It makes sense that we would suspect him, being the only person to have been, to our knowledge, out of his room at the time. His injury doesn’t protect him from being suspected anymore either. But do we have actual proof that he was involved in the killings?”
“W-Wait! It sounds like you two want to defend me!”
…Huh. It does.
“Uuh… Uuuuh…”
It is confusing. The vocabulary they’re using… Implies that they’re not trying to figure it out…
Akiro is too embarrassed to find an answer, so I turn my attention to Jan, who hesitates visibly as well, for a few seconds at least.
“…Yeah.”
Looking at Keith, he smiles.
“You’re not the culprit.”
Just seeing him smile makes me feel warm through and through. I don’t know if he’s right… but it makes me want to believe in what he believes in.
For the sake of keeping him happy.
“S… Seriously…”
Noticing that Keith is on the verge of tears feels like a cold shower.
“Why… are you crying?”
Right. Turning my attention back to him, I see that it didn’t take him long to actually tear up.
“You should feel reassured, right? Jan’s so kind, but even Akiro’s on your side.”
“Uuuuh, and, and I’m not..?”
Keith sniffles loudly.
“I don’t deserve your kindness…”
“Of course you do! Everybody does!”
Jan speaks with conviction…
“Huh, this came from a place.”
Now Keith is fully red, clenching at his chest and pulling a horrible grimace.
Honestly… What a mess…
“I believe in you too!”
“Gh…”
If Jan believes in him, then I don’t need a better reason. Plus…
“I’m not going to turn against someone who went through all this trauma with us..!”
Not Keith… Not Isabella…
Not myself.
“Exactly… I’ve been on your side from the start, so don’t disappoint me, okay?”
“Hm-hm…”
He struggles to swallow back his tears.
“I’m sorry… If I’d listened to your advice right away yesterday, then we wouldn’t be there right now…”
“Heh, the price of always being right.”
Chris seems to have fully found her composure again.
“I want to become more mature again… Thank you for giving me a chance.”
“Thank you everyone for your cooperation.”
Jan looks happy.
Phew…
“What is your plan, then? You acknowledged that it’s reasonable for us to suspect him.”
“I have an idea…”
“Tell us!”
“Well, if we find the real culprit, it’ll prove Keith’s innocence, won’t it?”
“Hah! You’re cute!”
“Thanks.”
“N-No, I’m not gonna tell him it was sarcasm, ‘cuz he is.”
…Akiro mutters to himself.
“What happens when you’re proved wrong? If it turns out he’s the culprit after all?”
“Well, can you do that?”
“Hah?”
“Can you prove to me Keith is the culprit, please?”
Please? I’m a good boy but even I don’t know how to be this polite.
…Maybe I’m not such a good boy.
“…Tch.”
“I understand that our only plausible suspect is Keith, at the moment. But we would gain nothing out of rushing to the vote. Perhaps we should continue figuring out the murder… and we’ll discover the truth along the way.”
“Whatever. I don’t care.”
“My ass…”
“I promise… I didn’t see, or hear anything. All I can say is that when I was in the dorms, the killer wasn’t there.”
“Hmm… It would be helpful if you had a more precise time for when you were there.”
“…If I’d known Mina was being murdered, I wouldn’t have looked at the time, I would have intervened.”
“Hmmmm…”
“Well congrats, you’ve made Chloe sad.”
“The thing is, we don’t know where Mina was killed, right? Because according to Keith, she didn’t die from hanging. So it could have been anywhere… except the dormitory.”
“Is it a good idea to rely on a suspect’s testimony?”
“Ugh… I knew someone was gonna say that.”
“T-To be honest, if sh-she had been hung, it would make sense that Keith didn’t, didn’t see it, if he was in the dorms, and she wa- she was in the, the Music room.”
“She wasn’t, though.”
“Hmm… Earlier, we said we thought she was killed in her room.”
“I’ll remind you that I also made a case that her body was moved.”
Yeah, I remember that…
“If Mina’s injury left a bloodstain in the bag, then she was injured before she was moved.”
“And… if she was moved, we can exclude her being killed in the Music room.”
“What are you getting at, Chloe?”
“I don’t know… it’s just… we don’t know where or when Ciel was murdered.”
Ciel… You should come back and tell us.
…
“Right… We have close to zero information about his involvement. Does it make sense to disregard it for the time being?”
“Then... Did Ciel die for nothing?”
“No! No! Shut up!”
“Ah… But I said that because I… disagree…”
“Shut up..!”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!”
My thoughts are going in whirls.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!!!”
“Hah! Does it hurt? Do you get it?”
“Emily died for y… ghrk..!”
Shut up…
Emily died for…
Emily died for nothing…
Emily died…
Emily…
“Emily isn’t dead yet..!”
“Neo..!”
“Wha… Are you still in denial..?”
“Is there another Emily..?”
“Is there?”
“Why are you saying that..?”
“…Well, it doesn’t matter for now. Should we continue to focus on Mina because she’s the one we’ve uncovered the most information about, or should we shift our focus to Ciel to try and get to the same place?”
What’s wrong with me..?
“The only thing we do know about Ciel is that they were involved in the trap inside the Music room.”
Why did I interrupt everyone?
“Maybe we should get it out of the way.”
Why do I feel so scared?
“Hm?”
“We should understand the trap. Then we can talk with more knowledge.”
“Hmm… Yeah! If we’re all clear how the trap was set, we might have an easier time agreeing on the killer’s movements.”
“And by trap, you mean…”
“The one you activated.”
“By accident.”
“Of course.”
“Yeah, of course! She freaked out!”
“Right. Unless she’s the Ultimate Actress, we know at least that she was surprised by something.”
“Oh… Interesting…”
…
“Hey, wait…”
… …
“Uhm, sorry if that’s rude, but what is your Ultimate, actually?”
“Well, I did take drama classes when I was a kid, and I like to think I did a good job.”
“But that’s not your Ultimate.”
“Certainly not.”
“You still don’t want to say what it is..?”
“Certainly not now.”
Not now..?
“I hate to say it, but that’s super shady…”
“I understand that, but it’s not my fault.”
“How?”
“...If you knew, you’d agree with me.”
What the hell does that mean?!
Who… Who is she?!
“L-Let’s re-centre… on the tr-trap.”
“Whatever. Sure. Earlier, I activated it by accident.”
“I remember. I do not understand why you did that.”
“…Like I said, by accident.”
Of course, I remember clearly.
The reason Chris activated the trap in spite of herself was…

She’s really dumb:

It’s very sensitive:

She kicked it violently:

…
“Just like Lois, you barely had to touch it for it to move.”
“Correct… I only touched it with the tip of my finger, and it started rewinding.”
“And uh… what is it, exactly?”
“Ha, looks like we’ll have to rely on Chris again.”
“Oh?”
“It sounds like… Chris conducted a very good investigation.”
“…Thanks. Well, by “it”, I’m referring to the hose rewinder the piano was attached to.”
“A hose rewinder?”
“Yeah... Instead of a hose, there was rope inside, right?”
“That’s what attached it to the piano.”
“A hose rewinder..?”
“Did we lose Chloe?”
“No, it’s just… I use those regularly…”
“Well, it doesn’t need to have anything to do with you.”
“Of course, it’s a tool like any other… But those are not sensitive. The opposite, even.”
“The killer must have messed with it, ‘cuz I saw you use one and it didn’t react like that.”
“Hmm… If I’d realised earlier, I’d have taken a look at it…”
“Ugh, I don’t think I’d have let you.”
“But we said earlier that we wanted definitive proof… And an inexperienced testimony isn’t that, right?”
“I can help with that.”
Ha…
Why did I think… Benjamin was talking..?
“Hah?”
Akiro covers the top of his head, as if he’s scared the bear is going to fall on top of… Oh, right.
“We’re gonna clean ‘em up anyway. I can bring you a souvenir if you want.”
“A souvenir… Hmm… Yes… Sure.”
“You’ll owe me one!”
“Hmm...”
The white bear jumps off its father’s lap, thankfully to land nowhere near Akiro. It goes behind their huge chair... And comes back with the rewinder I saw in the Music room.
“Huh? Did it already have it?”
“Here you go! Have fun!”
It runs towards Chloe frighteningly fast, and throws the object at her.
“Thank... you…”
“She’s got nerves of steel…”
“Can’t relate?”
“No, I can’t.”
He’s not the only one.
As Kumakuma climbs on the chair again, Chloe starts to inspect the rewinder. The rope has been removed, and it wasn’t replaced, leaving it empty.
“Let’s see… Let’s say it’s unwinded…”
She reaches her hand inside and makes some motions I can’t really understand…
*clack*
“Aaah..!”
“Aaaah..! Chloe, are you okay?”
“Oh, y-yes, don’t worry!”
“What was it?”
“It’s just… It is sensitive. I was just holding it after unwinding it, and it wound right back.”
“Just like we said.”
“Hmm...”
Pouting, Chloe lays the rewinder on her podium, and breaks it open.
“Huh? You broke it?”
“It’s not very high quality.”
She continues to look at different parts inside of it, and eventually grabs half of it to show it to the entire room.
“It didn’t require a lot of engineering...”
She punches it from the inside, and what appears to be a switch clicks towards the exterior.
“They broke the switch so it was practically always on.”
“That would sound dangerous even without a piano involved.”
“Oh yeah, these cheap plastic ones can rewind stupidly fast… Hm.”
She looks at her hand. It looks like she cut herself… on the plastic? That’s bad luck.
“Oh! Do you have anything against dinosaurs?”
“Dinosaurs..? What? Like the plastic..?”
“T-Too soon…”
“Too soon to start making fun of dinosaurs? Seriously?”
Jan takes his pack of (children’s) Band-Aids out of his pocket.
“You’ll match with Alice.”
He takes one out and stretches himself to extend it to Chloe.
“Thank you… They’re black and white, like your clothes.”
“Like Monokuma.”
“That’s… a sour topic.”
“So what Chloe sacrificed her hand for…”
It’s a small cut on her finger.
“…was to confirm that this hose rewinder was essential to the trap, correct?”
“Yes. When she tried to walk behind the piano, Lois hit it with her foot.”
“More accurately, I hit it when I tried to back away... After seeing Mina’s body.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened.”
“What led you back there in the first place?”
“Well, I... when I looked at the piano, I saw cords attaching it to the ceiling and ground… But there seemed to be an incomprehensible second, lone cord behind the ceiling attachment.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake…”
“While I was trying to leave to find Mina, you found her.”
…
“I’m sorry.”
… …That’s too sad.
“You noticed it very quickly, but someone would have eventually, regardless. The killer probably expected that one of us would find Mina’s body soon, and they would most likely not be careful where they were stepping.”
“Exactly.”
“Tha-That’s s-s-so dangerous th-though, a piano f-falling down? They could ha, could have k-killed her too..!”
“Maybe it would have been better if they did.”
“What? Are you crazy?!”
“...”
“By the looks of it, the piano was meant to fall straight down.”
“What about the piano’s legs..?”
“Sawed off.”
“The, the intent was to d-destroy Ciel’s b-body… Using the piano’s weight… S-so they used the stubs to attach him… and crash.”
“Thank you for the sound effect.”
“That wasn’t the accurate one.”
“Please.”
“You know I won’t do it!”
“I appreciate it… Earlier, I was told the legs had been given wheels.”
“Hm-hm. I think they were glued on.”
“Just... Glued on?”
“They must have used the same glue as the previous trial. The one even Oscar couldn’t rip off.”
“I have strong arms.”
“We… know.”
“So… why? If they were going to saw them off afterwards…”
“Don’t you think they needed them to move the piano?”
“Oh, you’re right. They moved it to the middle of the room.”
“Are wheels what you’d normally use for that?”
“To my knowledge, yes. Carrying a grand piano is no easy task. If someone is going to push one by themselves, it should be on wheels.”
“How heavy is it?”
“For a piano this size, the norm would be between 300 and 500 kilograms.”
“…That’s more than you’d think.”
“Can anyone lift that?”
“Yeah.” “Yeah.”
“Nerds.”
“What’s your talent, again?”
“Protecting ecosystems.”
“Walking.”
“Can you lift 500kg?”
“Fuck no.”
“577kg was actually the world record for a long time. Once it was broken, though, it seemed that it only kept getting higher…”
“Can… Oscar do it?”
“Deadlifting so heavy weight is hard. But I could do the work of moving a piano.”
“As in, without wheels?”
“Yes. Easy. I will get it done.”
“Do you have a second job at a moving company..?”
“No.”
“Shame.”
“Basically, if our killer wanted to make sure they could get the piano where they wanted it, they had to put it on wheels.”
“How did they do that… when the piano is so heavy in the first place, though?”
“We already know that they were able to push it standing up.”
“C-Can just anyone d-do that?”
“I don’t think it’s impossible, but I would be scared to try it.”
“It would be extremely strenuous. You would be grunting and panting and it would take you a while.”
“Evidently, they were alone in the building. They might have spent the entire night on it.”
“What a risk... and for what?!”
That’s…
“That’s the part that’s incomprehensible.”
“Yeah. Not just to you.”
“They probably wanted to destroy evidence… On Ciel’s body.”
Without thinking it, I was hoping we would not talk about the two of them again…
“But why did Lois have to be the one activating the trap? Clearly, they could have pushed the damn piano themselves!”
“B-Because they, they’re messed up…”
“So basically, someone with strong muscles did it.”
“Uuuh… Huh?”
“Jan said he would be scared to try pushing it. There are only two people stronger than him in the room.”
“That, that doesn’t mean anything. Alice has very good legs, you know.”
“It sounds like a compliment, but is it supposed to be an accusation..?”
“Well that’s… debatable… but mostly, I did not kick a piano!”
That sounds painful.
“That’s worth taking into consideration. The strong people argument, not the kicking.”
“Thank you very much!”
“It makes sense.”
Oscar sounds emotionless as always. Not even a blatant accusation such as Isabella’s can faze him… And yet, ever since we found Mina’s body… He’s been keeping his nose sadly buried inside his scarf.
“Now that I think about it, Jan could be claiming it’s too much for him to save his own ass.”
“Tha-That’s so funny.”
“Oof, that was cold.”
“…Fine, it makes sense. Can we prove that the piano could have been moved using other means than brute force?”
“Ugh, I’m forced to think about it now…”
Hmm… I don’t think I have the information to really figure that out.
Arguably, if Oscar could move the piano by himself, then he would not have attached the wheels… Meaning this leaves… No, that’s just dumb.
“Lois..?”
“Yes?”
“Since you got close to the contraption before it fell down… Do you think you could maybe… sketch its layout for everyone?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Hmm… I’m thinking that maybe… the rope was used in a certain way..?”
“Eh. Sure. It won’t hurt.”
Lois takes a small notebook and a pen out of her pocket…
“Did you always have that..?”
“...Don’t waste my time,” she mutters, as she throws a few lines together on the paper.

This is what she then shows me.



…
“Eeeeeh, good enough, I guess.”
“Can you maybe… Write what is what, to make it clearer?”
“No. Do it if you want.”
She actually hands me her pen.
“Uuuh… I guess I will.”
This is what I add.



I place it in front of me to show it to everyone…
“What is that ring on the ceiling?”
“Both the piano and Mina were held up from it.”
“But… I can’t recall seeing rope attached from the piano to the ceiling on the scene...”
“After the piano fell? Whatever knot was holding it up there must have come undone, ‘cause it ended up loose on the floor.”
“It… did?”
“Yeah. That’s where I found it.”
“W-What’s your idea f-for how the rope was used, Chloe?”
“Hmm… Could have the rope and ring on the ceiling been used to hoist the piano up?”
“Like… with a pulley?”
“Oh!”
“Uhn?”
“That’s it! That’s…”
In her excitement, Lois punches her podium… but she quickly calms herself down.
“This could be it, at least.”
“What is it?”
“The ring attached to the ceiling looked different. I didn’t think much of it… Enough of these had been used, and they might have run out, but now…”
“What wa, what was different about it?”
“Rather than an aluminium ring by itself, it looked like a ring inside a circular casing.”
“…Like a pulley.”
Seriously..?
I didn’t even notice there was anything up there!
I didn’t exactly know where to look… Or want to look…
Could anyone else than Lois have seen the ring attached to the ceiling?

Someone could have:

I don’t think anyone did:

…
“While I was out of the room… I think someone moved… took… put Mina’s body on the floor.”
“That’s true. Can you corroborate Lois’ testimony?”
“Yes.”
It was… Oscar?
“The attachment for Mina looked as she describes.”
“How convenient…”
“According to what Lois saw, the same attachment had been used for the other rope. Lois has no incentive to lie about this, being that she is not a likely suspect for use of brute force.”
“Yes. Lois is very small.”
“We could have left it at what Keith said.”
…Although she’s barely shorter than the other women, Lois is indeed the shortest person in the room.
“Then… Then a pulley WAS involved.”
“But it was glued on… I still can’t believe we’re relying on superglue to hold up an entire piano.”
“I will not allow further defamation of my amazing product.”
“Daddy’s translucent, gooey glue is the best!”
“Fine! Fine! Gross! I regret saying anything!”
“Clearly, it worked.”
“Then… Could they have used the same system the first time they needed to pull the piano up?”
“You mean… When they needed to add the wheels?”
“Yes…”
“I think yes.”
“Oh..?”
Timidly, Oscar raises the fabric of his scarf higher up his face.
“A small pulley like this can be turned.”
“…I see. The killer could have installed the pulley, and first turned it towards the piano’s original position to hoist it up and add the wheels. They would have turned it again for the final setup.”
“That is what I mean.”
“So, to summarise… They used the pulley to… pull the piano up, and added the wheels. They pushed it back down to move it, then pulled it up one more time to create their setup, which involved removing its legs. Is that correct? Have we figured out how they did it?”
“Does this… prove that the stronger people are innocent?”
“Innocent? No. But it proves that someone else could have done it.”
He smiles, as always…
Does he not care about proving his own innocence?
“That brings us nowhere!”
“That you’re right about.”
“Let’s see… We unfortunately couldn’t pinpoint the killer yet, but what do we have so far? Mina’s body was moved from a place to the Music room.”
“Her room, right?”
“We know that that’s a possibility because her lock was picked.”
“But Isabella mentioned that we don’t know when the lock was picked.”
“The, the impact on the door was n-nearly invisible, s-so Keith couldn’t know if it was already p-picked when he passed it by.”
“Sorry.”
“I believe Mina was attacked inside her room.”
“Why?”
“…”
Lois lets out an uncomfortable moan.
…
Her obvious discomfort causes everyone to stare at her in silence.
“Neo… Could you help..?”
That attention is quickly turned to me.
“Hah? How?”
“Since it’s my fault… Someone else should explain it.”
“Your fault? What are you talking about?”
Exactly… What is she talking about?
Something that is Lois’ fault… Has she hinted to anything like this... That would make sense to bring up right now?

Hurting my feelings:

Kicking the rewinder:

What Mina shouldn’t have known:

…
“You mentioned… That there was something that you thought Mina shouldn’t know.”
“Yes.”
She whispered… I’m not even sure the others could hear it.
“This was related… to the marks we saw on the ceiling.”
“Marks on the ceiling..? Could this have something to do with the chair we found on top of her bed?”
“A chair?”
“If we believe that Mina was the one who caused them… …”
… … …
Suddenly, I freeze.
My face feels stiff. My organs stop working. My legs might just let go.

Mina knew about the secret passageway:

Mina knew about the secret passageway:

Mina knew about the secret passageway:

“L… Lois… It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
“No… Well… I can’t help how you feel about it, but I didn’t want you to think it.”
Is Lois… a kind person?
I shouldn’t even ask myself that question.
“What… are you talking about?”
“The scratches on the ceiling might be proof that Mina... Was trying to escape.”
“From the ceiling?!”
“…You… You mean the hiding place Lois had.”
The depressed tone with which Akiro said that… doesn’t match his usual nervous attitude.
He’s right on the money.
“Yes…”
…I hesitate.
Should I tell them? I think Lois wants me to… right? After all… it can’t be accessed anymore.
I swallow my spit loudly… It’s as I open my mouth to speak that I finally realise the weight of what Lois had decided to confide in me.
“Her hiding place, so to speak, was in fact a secret passage way that led to every single bedroom.”
“Do you mean… Our rooms have a secret door? Like, with no key?”
“Exactly. They’re situated on the ceiling… Anyone could have found theirs, and they would have had free access to everyone’s rooms!”
I bite my lower lip to the point of drawing blood.
“That’s why… Lois was keeping guard this entire time.”
“You took this responsibility for us..?”
“Yes… If it hadn’t been for Benjamin finding it too and helping me… I don’t know what I would have done.”
Not unlike Akiro, her voice has lost its usual strength.
“Then, what stopped Mina from going in it?”
“That’s because… Haa…”
Lois’ strong demeanour is a poorly kept front. As she inhales, she swallows back her tears.
“I let myself… When Neo offered to let me join everyone… I was shaken by what happened with Ben, and I agreed… I let him close it up definitely.”
…
“Mina couldn’t escape through the secret door… Because it was closed?!”
“Yes… But I…”
I watch her… Able to feel my own sad pout, but unable to react any other way. She finally lets a few tears flow on her cheeks.
“Benjamin told me… He promised..!”
“Him…”
“He promised… what?”
“He told me… Mina didn’t know! And she wouldn’t find out! He was certain of it!”
“She was the Ultimate Detective.”
“Why do you think I asked?! He promised… He was certain!”
“Did he… lie to you?”
“Why?!”
Why? Why did Benjamin get it wrong?
Or was he a liar through and through?
“Mina tried her best to flee… She must have injured herself, jumping and falling so high over and over again… And instead of finding me, she was stuck… She was killed! Just because I..!”
“Lois, stop..! It was… It was me. I’m the one who decided to seal it off!”
She hides her face behind her hands.
“I could have said no… But I…”
“You’re just… a gal who trusted the wrong guy…”
“Hmm…”
Everyone sounds like… they’ve just deflated.
Is this too horrible? What I did… kept Mina from fleeing.
In the face of an attacker… She must have felt…


“Mayb-be… Benjamin could… nn’t… see past his own, his own death.”
“Wha… What?”
“He had a plan he believed in, didn’t he? But it… failed. N… Nothing to have happened after it… Was according… to plan.”
“Jan… You’re crying.”
Jan is speaking in between biting his own fingers, with tears flowing down his cheeks. In spite of those, when I speak up, he turns to me and smiles.
“Oh… No, don’t… worry. Those are not my own.”
“What..?”
He chuckles.
“Haha... I’m really losing it, aren’t I?”
Although his smile seems sincere, he moves his thumb towards his mouth to bite it, but is interrupted…
“Stop biting.”
“Yes.”
This…works.
I hear Lois sniffle once more, but it seems that she’s calming down. Jan glances at her, before continuing:
“I swear, though. Well, I thought maybe knowing that Benjamin didn’t mean to lie to you could make you feel a little better.”
“Hmm… I see… I don’t know what I want to think.”
“Most importantly, you’re not responsible for the fact that someone attacked Mina. She shouldn’t have been made to flee.”
Jan and Lois seem to calm down as the same cadence.
He said those tears weren’t his own… What did he mean by that? He managed to smile and to cry at the same time.
“Tha-That’s exactly right.”
“Yeah! We’re still looking for the culprit!”
“Correct… According to Lois and Neo’s testimony, Mina tried to flee from her own room. Along with the picking of the door, this pretty much confirms that she was attacked from there.”
“Right! Let’s continue with the facts.”
At least…
This’ll have helped us confirm the truth.
But…
Even if this hadn’t happened to Mina… Would Ciel have been..?
“Mina was attacked, and most likely killed in her room… at 11.05PM. She was moved inside a gym bag, up to the Music room in the main building. In the Music room, the killer used the piano to set up a trap.”
“But what role did… Ciel… play in this..?”
“Hmm… Unfortunately, the only thing we know is that they were already dead when we found them… And our only assumption is that the killer wanted to hide something on his body.”
“We don’t know that to be a fact, though.”
“Plus… For some reason, Ciel was shirtless…”
“Could he have been attacked in his room as well?”
“Unless he kept his door open while he changed, unlikely. The lock hasn’t been picked that we know.”
“Wouldn’t this mean that he was anywhere but in his room, then? Why?”
“I saw him go inside his room..! Why would he have left?!”
“W-We don’t know any… anything… Like why was the k-killer out… Why did they kill Ciel…”
“Why did they kill two people?”
“With Mina being the Ultimate Detective… could it be that the killer targeted Ciel, but was found out, at which point they killed her… for having been the witness?”
“Like Hiyoko…”
“Who?”
“No, uh… No one.”
“Why would they choose Ciel, though?! He was nice to everyone… And the youngest here!”
“Are you saying that the oldest and meanest of us deserved to be killed?”
“Eugh… You know damn well that’s not what I mean.”
Isabella laughs a bitter laugh.
“…So we have reason to believe that Ciel was out of his room when he was killed. But we have no way of knowing why he was out.”
“We don’t even know if he was killed before or after Mina…”
“Or how he was killed.”
Would that matter to us anyway..? We don’t know of a weapon that one of us specifically knows how to use, while the others don’t. We’re not real detectives. We could determine nothing…
I guess… Aside from Keith’s assertion that Mina was strangled.
But I’m just a voice actor.
“Actually… We were talking about the fact that they were shirtless.”
“Ciel..? Uuh, y-yes.”
“Well… obviously.”
“Did Ciel state that he was more comfortable with masculine pronouns?”
“Y…Yes. Exactly.”
“Oh. Gotcha. Well, we never found his t-shirt, did we?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“There’s literally NO reason to assume he was out and about without a shirt on.”
“Why… Did someone do this to him..?”
“Please…”
…
“Please.”
“What if… It was burnt?”
“Burnt?”
“This morning, Jan noticed a burnt smell outside, that wasn’t there before. Right?”
“Correct.”
“During the investigation, we did find a patch of burnt grass… and ashes.”
“Wha... They burnt his t-shirt?!”
I… I need to stay calm…
“Well... what do you think, Jan? Did it smell like it could be fabric?”
“Sorry..? Granted I have a sensitive nose… But I’m still a pianist, not a… what job would that even be?”
“Sniffer?”
“Ew…”
“Dog.”
“He does have a bit of the golden retriever.”
“Haha! Sorry… No, I don’t know. That being said, I don’t know what else could have been burnt.”
“Did anyone here burn something last night or this morning?”
…
No answer.
“…Okay, so that might be it, right?”
“So they didn’t just take off Ciel’s clothes, they destroyed them.”
“That definitely legitimises the idea that they had something they needed to destroy on Ciel.”
“But what?”
“Well...”
…We don’t know.
“So that’s all we have… the knowledge that something was hidden from us.”
Like I was thinking earlier… why even bother? What could we possibly uncover about the killer, just from the way Ciel was killed…
Or from his clothes?
What did Ciel ever do?!
“They’re hiding something from us…”
“Are we… out of clues?”
“Aren’t we?”
“I believe the only clue we haven’t explored is… a few stains of blood in the stairs.”
Oh… right. I saw those.
“Isn’t this something I should have brought up..?”
“The stairs… leading to the last floor.”
“Blood… Earlier, we said no one saw blood on Ciel. But we know that Mina had an open fracture…”
“Hmm… The one that stained the bag. That could have been hers… seeping from the bag.”
“Just there?”
“I don’t know... What other blood was there?”
…
I don’t know.
Of course… I saw a lot of blood on the scene… Ciel’s.
Ugh… My friend was disrespected like this… And for all we know, that last clue might just be his blood that someone stepped in by accident..!
Mina was the only one with a known open injury, and we already know that she bled inside that bag…
…A bag?! Seriously?!
I… I’m just too stressed not to be angry, too angry not to be stressed…
And I suddenly realise that no one has said anything in a while.
Not me… Not anyone else.
“Wh… What?”
“Are we seriously… out?”
“N-No one has an alibi… None of wh, of what we found out points t-to someone in particular…”
“Well, we can always go back to pining this on Keith.”
“Voting for someone with no certainty is not even safe to do!”
“They will want us to vote eventually…”
“L-Lois…”
“I… don’t know what to do…”
“There’s no reason to worry, everyone… No matter how we do it, we will find the killer.”
“What? You sound so sure, but…”
“That’s what we want to think… It always happens to someone else.”
“Well, I know I’m not dying today.”
Calm as usual, Jan grabs his Monopad from his pocket, and starts to look through clues.
“Have we really looked through everything..?”
“We didn’t have many clues to begin with…”
“But… It’s true that we’ve managed to expand a lot on what little we had. We know that’s something we can do!”
“Alright, go on, surprise us.”
Alice sighs…
What… else am I supposed to say?
It does seem that we’ve talked about everything. We know for a fact that we have no information on what happened to Ciel…
“I am a bit… tired of talking…”
True… We’ve been going at this for a while, and making no progress.
Didn’t we know?
Didn’t we realise from the get go that without Mina… we were nothing?
…
But she thought she might die.
She even gave us… Ciel and I… advice on who to listen to during a trial.
Was she right..?
Or was she just hopeful?
“Hey… Do you remember Emily?”
“Huh?”
“…Well, yes, of course, you remember Emily. I just thought about something…”
“Really? Tell us!”
“Clearly, we’ll take anything.”
“Chloe, you tried to look at Ciel’s… … Ciel, after the incident with the piano, correct?”
“Yes.”
“His fingers seem to have somehow survived the fall, and you insisted that the blood around the body went as far as underneath the nails.”
“Yes…”
“Ugh… That’s a lot of blood…”
Alice’s grimace is much more extreme than any expression she’d pulled so far.
“I’d assume none of us were brave enough to watch the fall, and how Ciel’s fingers may have hit or scratched the floor.”
“D-Did they look b-broken to you?”
“Uhm… No, not that I could see.”
“Assumedly, they just fell and laid there. For blood to work its way up underneath his nails…”
“What are you getting at?”
“…We also know that the killer tried to destroy Ciel’s body. They were trying to hide something.”
“Do you think they wanted to hide… his nails?”
“Moreover, there are mysterious stains of blood that we aren’t certain belonged to Mina. Meanwhile, Ciel didn’t appear to have any open wounds.”
“Are you saying… Wait!”
Calmly, Jan puts his Monopad back in his pocket.
What is this about… suddenly?
“I assume some of you have tried to wash off blood before…”
“The blood underneath Ciel’s nails… That would have been on his t-shirt… They tried to hide its existence?”
“Huh? Are you sure?”
B… Blood?
“Whose… blood would it be?”
They’d choose to hide that that blood had touched Ciel… but Ciel didn’t seem to have bled…
Whose blood could it be?

Ciel’s:

Mina’s:

The killer’s:

…
“The killer’s?!”
“This means that the killer… would have a fresh injury somewhere on their body.”
“Th… That’s…”
“Ha… Good luck proving something like that. Do you plan to have us all strip? In honour of Ciel, perhaps?”
“I…Isabella..!”
“I guess that’s not an option…”
So he was considering it.
“Hmm… Let’s consider who could be hiding an injury, that they might have sustained from scratching…”
“Are y… Are you serious?”
Jan leans over his podium, and starts to give everyone in the room a thorough look.
Someone who could be hiding…
Am I… someone like that?
Jan wouldn’t… ask me to show my arms… would he?
“Oh… Oscar…”
“Yes?”
“I understand you’re nervous, but I would like to get a good look at your face, please.”
“My face? Why?”
“…Of course, we’re confirming that no one here has sustained any sort of injury recently.”
…
Oscar stays still for a few seconds, before burying his head farther down his scarf.
“I have not. Thank you for the concern.”
“Sh… Show us your face.”
Oscar raises his hand to stroke his scarf softly.
“My grandma made this scarf for me… It comforts me.”
“We’re not asking you to take it off. Just raise your head.”
“I wish grandma were here to comfort me. Without her, I feel like crying.”
“With the grief you’re experiencing, we will understand any outburst you may have.”
“It is not true... You are all scared of me. Only Mina was nice to me… And I upset her…”
After a short sniffle, he grabs the fabric to pull it even higher up his face, hiding it completely.
“O-Oscar!”
He sniffles again…
…Are we making a grown man cry? Or…
“Please… I don’t know if you don’t understand, but we need proof that no one is injured… right now!”
“…Oh. I see. You are accusing me.”
“N-No…”
…
He lets his scarf fall just enough to cover his nose.
“I will try my hardest to prove that I did not commit the murders. Please feel free to tell me your accusations.”
“We’re accusing you of hiding your face on purpose..!”
From inside the scarf, he shakes his head.
“No, I am not. This is my lovely grandma’s scarf that she made for me. When I wear it, I can feel her warmth.”
“Alright… I’ve had enough. Chloe, you’re closest to him! Take it off!”
“Huh? Me? Are you losing your mind?!”
“Unfortunately...”
Jan marks a long pause.
“If you don’t do what we ask… We will assume you’re the killer.”
“That is not fair. It is easy because none of you like me. But Mina was my dear friend.”
Yes..! Yes, she was! So why… why are you scaring us, right now?!
Ciel and I spoke to you at length about the best way to apologise to her… You were going to apologise to her the next day..! And now that she’s gone… What are you doing?
“If it were because they dislike the suspect, they would have suspected me already.”
“You have caused strong feelings and have close friends. I am…”
He buries his face inside the scarf again.
“Maybe I am the one who is scared of all of you…”
“You..!”
“Yeah, you, you should be!”
“So long as you don’t take off your scarf, you will be our number one enemy.”
“Oh… Nonnina… I am causing them to waste their time…”
“Yeah, we noticed that.”
He grabs the scarf with both hands, only to coddle himself harder.
“Nonnina… They are not my friends, for one of them killed my dear friends…”
“Go to hell...”
“It’s over, Oscar.”
“…”
…
“There’s still time”, I think.
Just like Noah… Maybe Oscar’s face bears old injuries, and he’s just immaturely wasting our time…
After all… After everything we discussed… It couldn’t be so easy.
“Fine.”
No..!
“No!” I think, but… Oscar extends one hand over his head to finally grab the scarf fully, and he tugs on it with violence to reveal…


“Here it is! My beautiful face!”
“You… You bastard!”
“Hmm? Are you jealous? I understand.”
The person looking at us… Save for the obvious proof of their crime… Is a completely different one from the one we knew.
His eyes filled with malice, a wicked grin surrounded by thin injuries, Oscar broadens his shoulders and stands prouder than I could have ever imagined.
“Why did you do this?!”
“What? Oh, I never said I did it. When ever did I say that?”
“How dare you?!”
“What, this? Oh, the cat did it. That’s all it is!”
“Of course, the cat… the one that’s out of the bag.”
“Haha! Not bad! Alright, remind me, what are you bunch accusing me of?”
“You… killed Mina and Ciel…”
“Hmm… Did I?”
“What do you gain out of acting like this?”
“Haaa… I just need to blow off some steam. I’m about to be executed, aren’t I? And I would have gotten away with it too… If it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
“Hah?”
“That’s truer than you think.”
“Just explain yourself. You don’t have much longer.”
“That’s cold, coming from someone who feels more guilt for the crime I committed than I do myself.”
“Why are y-you... even talking differently?!”
“What about the way I talk? I think it’s rather normal, isn’t it? Of course, my English is quite alright, and my accent barely stands out. I wasn’t born two centuries ago.”
Who…
Who is this horrible person..?
“I’m just a normal guy, after all… Not some evil mastermind.”
“Hmmmmmmmm…”
“Haha..! But it really is funny, isn’t it? I never thought kids would be the bane of my existence. I got rid of two, and the only one left found me out.”
Jan…
Jan looks away from Oscar. He looks sad…
Oscar… is a monster..!
“Eh, don’t make that face. I’m just kidding. As far as I’m concerned, you’re all a bunch of kids. Keith’s the same age as I am, isn’t he? Yet he hasn’t known real life.”
“My ass.”
“Being broken up with by your girl because of a cat isn’t equivalent to knowing real life, you know.”
“It wasn’t because of the cat. I initiated the break-up. It was amicable.”
“Oh? Oh, well, my bad then.”
He laughs again.
“Stop going after Keith’s ex-girlfriend for a sec, and explain yourself! Why would you kill them?!”
“Alright, alright. You beat me, so I guess I owe you that much at least. You may think that I’m evil, but I will respect your grief.”
“…Just go on with it.”
“I’ll even say... I appreciate how much time you spent dissecting my actions and my little setup. I almost convinced you that a regular-sized rando had decided to move a grand piano all on their own. A damn shame it didn’t succeed in destroying the kid’s entire body.”
…
Be proud, Ciel…
“Of course, my initial target was Mina. It was important to get rid of the Ultimate Detective.”
“But… she was your friend…”
“Yes… That was a problem. As the Ultimate Bodyguard, if I somehow failed to protect the one I claimed to be guarding, I would immediately be suspicious. Not only that, but we spent too much time together, and she could have told I was preparing a murder.”
“Don’t tell me… you initiated a fight on purpose..!”
“Of course! Oh, I don’t regret making myself look like an asocial dumbass. I was able to claim I meant none of it, and you ate it right up… all the while she told you the vicious insults I directed her way.”
Urgh… I want to throw up..!
“And as you insisted that she try to hear me out, it made all the more sense to slip her a note indicating I’d like to meet her and make up before the motive ended… For safety’s sake, of course. I subsequently destroyed it.”
“Pin blame on Neo all you want… This was your doing.”
“Heh. I know. Either way, she chickened out.”
“What… do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t show up. I was left with no choice but to get her in her room. Had no idea there was supposed to be some sort of emergency exit in there, but it looks like someone had taken care of that for me.”
…
I… refuse to look at him…
“You’ll imagine that it was easy for me to strangle such a small girl. Too easy, even, and I guess I ended up breaking a bunch of bones. I truly didn’t notice her leg had opened up, let alone stained the bag I carried her in.”
“Is this… evil?”
“I did what I had to do. That included creating an elaborate setup in the Music room, hoping that it would shock and confuse you bunch.”
“Is that why you killed Ciel too?!”
“Hah, no. The more people you kill, the more clues you’ll leave behind. Unfortunately, that little bitch walked in on me.”
“He… what?”
“What… l-l-led him there..?”
“I wish I could tell you. I took Mina out of the gym bag, hoping it wouldn’t stink up too bad. But when I had my back turned, that piece of shit decided to walk in!”
“The… the…”
The Music room?
Why? Ciel, why?!
“I ran after him… her… it, whatever, as soon as I saw him… He ran down the stairs, but he was no match for me.”
“And yet…”
“Right. I may be angry… But I bow down to Ciel’s determination, as he fought for his life until the last moment.”
He actually bows…
He’s making fun of us…
“As I was strangling him, he scratched my face like a maniac. Do I hold his intelligence in high enough regard to even assume that he knew he couldn’t survive..?”
“Gh… Rgh…”
I don’t… I don’t even know what he’s saying anymore…
“Ciel… Thank you so much for saving our lives.”
“Haaaaaaa..!”
I let out a loud sob…
Ciel… my first friend..!
“Sprayed blood all over my scarf and his t-shirt. Once I was done reworking my plan to include him, I had to get rid of them.”
“Even… your scarf?”
“Hmm? Yeah. Damn shame. This is a spare.”
How could he?!
“Surely the blood from these scratches didn’t warrant… getting rid of his binder, as well!”
“Hah. You’re observant. I saw what that little thing was doing, and I figured taking it off would shock you bunch alright.”
“The impact of Ciel’s kindness… will far outlive that of your evil.”
“I wonder about that.”
…
Oscar continues to stand there, at his podium, with a smug look on his face…
“This can’t… be all that it is…”
“And yet.”
“You claim to respect Ciel... And yet treat him with nothing but disrespect…”
“I don’t care so much for strangers.”
“This has nothing to do with indifference… Your actions are pure evil.”
“I did what I had to do.”
“Why? Why did you do it?!”
“...”
Oscar inhales deeply, closing his eyes, and the neutral expression he bears when he opens them again… reminds me of someone I thought deserved a chance.
“Because of the motive, evidently.”
“Phew! I thought I’d really gotten old!”
“Ugh… I’d almost forgotten about him.”
“…Why? What about the motive justified what you did?!”
Rather than answer immediately, Oscar puts his scarf back around his neck.
“That, I will not tell.”
“Hold on a minute! Do you really think you’ll get away with that?”
“…What?”
It’s shocking.
The normal expression of genuine surprise and worry on Oscar’s face… is shocking.
“You’re the one who kept my fun little threat from taking shape. You know damn well I’m using your tape to compensate.”
“You…”
Although I expect him to continue showing regular, unfiltered emotion… Oscar closes his eyes again, and sighs.
“Fine… I understand. Proud as I act, I have been defeated, and I have to accept it.”
“Damn right! What do you think we move on to the vote?”
“Let’s-a-go!”
“Nannina… If you will not accept my apology, please accept that I worked my hardest until the very end.”
“You heard the old man! Respect your elders! Engage iiiiin… VOTING TIME!”
Our podiums convert yet again…
And although I feel conviction in mind, as I move my finger to press Oscar’s portrait on the touchscreen…
My arm shakes wildly.
Still… I manage to vote before the timer ends.

“Looks like it’s time to tally the votes! Well, I say that, acting all excited and the such… But we all know who the killer is… So I wonder if it even matters.”


“IIIIt’s… Oscar Belmonte. What a surprise.”
“Surprised or not, it’s movie trailer time!”
“Movie… trailer?”
“Yeah. We don’t have time for the whole thing, so I made a shortened version.”
“Will we get the most important details?”
“Of course… Now get ready! Uno… due… TRE!”

A large screen appears behind Oscar… and though his lips don’t move, his voice echoes through the trial room.


An image appears onscreen of a baby in his mother’s arms. The father stands next to her… but the camera continues to back away, and as the picture expands, more and more people appear all around them.


A diversity of images appear on screen, each showing Oscar at a diversity of ages in different simple, yet positive situations.
As a toddler, following his mother around wherever she goes.
As a child, watching an old woman knitting a red scarf for him.
As a teenager, being home-schooled…
As a young adult, drinking a beer with his father…
And as a young adult again, sitting down with a beautiful woman in a restaurant.


The images disappear suddenly, to be replaced by different ones.
As a child, befriending other children in a public park.
As a teenager, breaking into a house and installing what looks like a micro camera.
As a teenager still, exercising to the point of exhaustion.
As a young adult, having a spot tattoo-ed on the bridge of his nose…
And as a young adult again, hiding a gun underneath his jacket before opening the door to a guest.


The screen lowers itself to end up right behind Oscar. Onscreen, around him, a diversity of symbols appear…
I can’t identify them all… Some of them are objects, some of them photos of unknown places… Only one I recognise… A drawing of a circle, surrounded by dots.
The screen goes back up, and shows Oscar leaving what looks like a ceremony…


The scenery around him changes, and shows his father walking behind him.


And…
That’s it.
The screen turns black.
“I didn’t record this.”
“Huh..?”
“Giving you food for thought. I never recorded this voice over.”
“Right.”
“I’m sure.”
“But… you’re… actually… part of the mafia?”
“As much as it hurts me to reveal it... That is correct.”
“So… You were… Evil from the start…”
“Oh, please, no. We are flawed, as the system is. We compensate each other’s flaws. In many ways, we cover for each other.”
“The fucking mafia… This is ridiculous…”
“I wouldn’t say so. There’s a reason I’m an Ultimate.”
“What do you mean by that..?”
“Let me tell you this... The system is cruel. Contrary to us, it knows no love, no pity… no pride. I am proud to act as a good representative of my family… But since the day that I became an Ultimate, I have been working extra hard to protect our secret.”
“I… see…”
“To be kidnapped along with other Ultimates and forced to kill each other… Is it truly meant to be a copy of an historical videogame series? Or is it a terrorist plan?”
“A t-t-t… A terrorist..?”
Oscar bows once more.
“As our respect for the family knows no bounds, I know that my efforts will be recognised, no matter what… But I will not stop there. If I can confirm one last thing before I endure the consequences of my failure... It is that the mafia had no hand in this.”
“I see… You’ve had a different outlook on the situation from the start.”
“Yes. I befriended the talented Ultimate Detective, whose work I appreciated, hoping to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, none of what I found… had meaning to us.”
“You appreciated her… But did not hesitate to turn against her.”
“Life is cruel. Fortunately, we have a deal with God… and every victim of the mafia winds up in Heaven.”
Heaven…
Does it exist?
“You, however, will end up in Hell.”
“My grandfather was a great man… I have always dreamt of meeting him.”
“Weird!”
“Before we execute him…”
“Hmm?”
“Just like my dear daddy, I don’t like to miss out on a good story. There is something I would like to clarify… about Ciel.”
“About… Ciel?”
“Don’t you wonder how he wound up in the Music room in the first place?”
“Of course we fucking do!”
“After going to his room, Ciel ruminated, and was stricken with doubt… He wanted to make sure of something, and decided to leave his room, at which point he saw Oscar leaving with a gym bag.”
“I see…”
“Of course, that bag indicated nothing… Ciel came to Mina’s door, but no one answered. In fact, the lock was broken… and the door open, leading to an empty room. Doubt struck again, and he ran after Oscar.”
…
Doubt..?
“He looked through the entire main building… And when he saw Mina lying down on the floor of the Music room, he ran to her aid… But her killer was in the same room. That is what happened.”
“Ciel was… looking out for Mina..?”
“Why would you tell us this?”
“Excellent question. See… Ciel was one of the two last people she spoke to.”
…
“After her stutters let on that she would force herself to do something that night… Ciel worried greatly… But that other person didn’t care.”
… …
“Why?”
… … …
“That’s all! Please enjoy this execution!”
“…We won’t enjoy it.”
“As you see fit. Good luck, everyone. Dear family… If you avenge my death, please direct it at the organisers, and not these children, to whom I have caused sufficient hurt.”
And just like that…

Oscar starts turning…
Faster and faster in place…
Slowly going down…
And he is brought underneath the ground before every screen turns on… yet again.

Oscar lands inside a flight of stairs. He misses a step, then another, and quickly finds himself running down a spiral stairway, struggling not to trip.
When finally he reaches an exit, it’s because he hits himself against it – some sort of barrier at waist level, with black and white stripes… The Bodyguard looks all around himself, and right above from it, finds what looks like a traffic light.
It’s red… It stays red for a few seconds longer, before turning orange, and quickly green. As it does, the barrier lifts up… and for some reason, Oscar starts running again.
He runs out of the stairway, he runs outside for a while, and the landscape around him gradually starts to look more and more like a racetrack. Wearing his entire suit, he keeps running, watching straight ahead…
And it’s as he watches ahead that he sees his competitors zoom right past him, and with obvious reason – he is running alone, competing against… race cars.
Surprised, the giant man tries to pick up speed. Without tiring, he keeps running, but is obviously no match for the cars.

The camera zooms on his face to show him breaking his first sweat. Finally looking somewhere else than straight ahead, Oscar looks repeatedly behind him, hesitatingly, to watch an old misshapen convertible speed behind him. He leans his body forwards, trying to run even faster again… But the car gets closer and closer, and eventually hits him.
The impact is shown multiple times in quick succession. Oscar does a brilliant backflip, and lands safely inside the car, where he finds no driver. This must be his chance – he grabs the wheel, and presses the pedal, in the hopes to get back into the competition.

The Bodyguard drives ridiculously fast. When obstacles start appearing on his way, he speeds right through them…
He brings the convertible up mountains and through hoops without hesitating. When a brick wall appears in front of him…
…He doesn’t hesitate, and goes right through it, then through the next one, and the next one again. Shockingly, with each obstacle it breaks, the car picks up more speed.
It works likewise for the next obstacles – new, stiffer mountains, each one higher than the next. Without ever slowing down, Oscar goes up and down each one, his car getting dangerously closer to just falling over with each one…
And each one…
And each one…
Until finally, it happens. The convertible valiantly makes it up the highest mountain, but at the top, goes straight flying – it makes its way down off the road, the speed it picks up being, this time, in loops.
Looping towards the ground, Oscar never looks anywhere but ahead…
Refusing to look away even when the car finally crashes against the ground, upside down, and he meets his end, crushed underneath.

A chill goes down my spine.
Is it… over?
Is this revenge?
Is this… enough?
What should I feel..? Surely this emptiness that paralyses me… isn’t right…
Should I scream?
Should I…


…Cry?


Is this what that person is doing?
It actually sounds rather like… they’re… struggling.
“Akiro? What’s going on?”
A…ki…ro?
Why?
“Ha… Haaa… AaaaaAAAAhhh!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!”
I turn my head slowly and see the Ultimate Writer grab his mouth with both hands, poorly attempting to muffle his own screams.
“HaaaaAAaa… Haa… Ghrl…”
What is he…
Drool falls off his chin… Tears inundate his face… This doesn’t look… normal?!
“Nh… Hmpf…”
He takes a few steps back… Awkwardly, almost like he’s about to fall down.
“A…Akiro, is everything okay?”
He doesn’t answer, but shakes his head violently, continuing to grunt and dry heave. Alice runs in his direction, but he takes a couple more steps back.
“Come here, take my hand, okay?”
“Nnnn… Haa… HaaaaAAaahh..!”
“Let’s calm down toge—”
“Nnnn… Nnoo..! No!”
“What..?”
She reaches her hand towards his, but he throws his arms erratically to push it away, taking more steps back to eventually fall on his butt.
“Don’t… Don’tt… Don’t touch meee..!”
“Wh… What?”
Alice doesn’t move…
“GET AWAY FROM MEEEEEEE!”
…Yet he screams at her to get away. Hesitantly, she does step away.
“O-Okay. I’ll stay here. What do you need?”
“Haaa… HaaaaAAAaaah… argh… Nooo…”
The writer grabs his head with both hands, continuing to move, moan and cry hectically.
“W-What do I..?”
“Nooo… Please… Help me…”
His dry heaving and sobs get more and more intense…
So intense, even, that is crosses my mind…
That he might die.
“…Akiro..!”
Jan… pushes me out of the way… and walks up to him.
“Nnn… Nhhh… No…”
“Wait, he doesn’t want…”
Chris interrupts herself… For Jan ignores her, and kneels next to Akiro.
Of course, the writer gestures violently…
“Akiro… It’s me. I’m here.”
“Haa… Haaaa…”
…but when Jan speaks to him, he stops.
“It’s over. It’s okay.”
“Argh… Haaa… Where… Where…”
…Where?
Akiro looks in every direction with confusing rhythm… Can he… not see?
“Right here.”
Jan grabs his hand, and immediately, he grabs him.
“Jan… Jaaaaaaann…”
The pianist lets him coddle himself in his arms, and he continues to sob violently…
But the dry heaving seems to stop… And his shaking becomes less…
scary.
“W…Why..?”
I’m finally confident enough to look at Alice specifically, but I find her… shaking as well, with a shocked expression.
“Why..?”
“G-Good job, Jan. Is he… okay?”
“Are you hanging in there?”
“Hmpf…”
Shaking lightly still, Akiro doesn’t reply, sobbing softly against Jan’s chest.
“Continue…”
Keith walks hesitantly next to Alice and Chris.
“Continue to comfort him for the time being. He should speak when he feels like it.”
“Hm-hm.”
“That’s fun and all, but I will discreetly nod at the elevator opening to your left… right… behind… depending on where you’re standing.”
…
None of us move at first.
“Nod nod.”
“Nod nod.”
But the bears insist…
“We get it. It’s time to go.”
Without hesitating any more, Lois spins on her foot and makes her way towards the elevator.
Isabella soon follows… Then Chloe… Then, with uncertain looks on their faces, Chris and Keith…
…I eventually do the same, but… Alice, Akiro and Jan stay behind.
She watches them in silence, her mouth slightly agape.
“Can you move? Is it okay?”
“Hnn…”
Leaning on Jan, Akiro tries to hoist himself up… but his legs wobble, and he falls right back down.
“Ouch…”
“No..?”
He tries again, but this time barely makes it off the ground.
“Nod nod.”
Alice looks at the bears, then the boys, then the bears again… and finally looks down, and makes her way towards the rest of us.
“Sniff… I _can’t… Hngh…”
“It’s okay… we’ll just have to take our time.”
“Ha? Take your time?”
With the majority of us inside the elevator, both kumas jump off their throne and take a few steps in our general direction.
“Good luck with that. Daddy’s elevator won’t wait for a fraud.”
A… A what?
“Tch...”
“Come now or stay down here forever.”
“…Fine.”
Jan sighs and stands up to grab Akiro and carry him like a bride.
“Voooooiiilà.”
“Sniff…”
He walks up to the elevator… And stops near the wall on the right, not too far from me, without putting the writer down.
As the doors to the elevator close, he changes the position of his arms to get a better grip on him… and whispers something.
“What does it feel like… being carried by a fraud?”
“Hmpf…”
Without comment, the boy buries his head against his chest.
…
I don’t think I was meant to hear that… But I did.
…
The elevator starts.
Somehow, it feels like this didn’t end properly.

When it reaches the ground floor, and its doors open once again… Once more, I stay in place, and watch the others leave.
Isabella and Chloe together.
Jan carrying Akiro.
Alice on her own.
Only four of us remain… for a little bit longer.
Eventually, Chris takes a few steps forward, and turns to look at Keith.
“I’m gonna stay outside for a bit. Wanna come with?”
“Do you really want me to?”
“Why the hell do you think I’m asking you?”
“…Yeah. I appreciate your attention.”
“Sure. I like you.”
“…”
“… As a friend.”
“Yeah, same. I’d like to be your friend too.”
“That’s actually… reassuring.”
They leave together… Leaving Lois and I behind.
Would I even be brave enough to say something like that to her?
“I guess it’s just the two of us.”
…
“It’s still early. I’d like you to show me something.”
“W-What?”
“That note in the hospital room. Let’s go together... Again.”
“…Okay.”
She walks out of the elevator, and I’m meant to follow her.
We start to walk up the stairs again…
Last time we did… We wound up finding something horrible…
I could have never expected to find my friend… my friends, dead…
My everything is tense, but my thoughts are going at hyper speed.
I can’t believe Ciel’s gone.
Now it’s… us.
This entire time, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Lois… Despite having a close friend I couldn’t imagine losing, she was always on my mind…
What if something happened to her? It’s not even worth considering. I already know that I couldn’t bear it.
Suddenly… I stop myself in my tracks.
A thought invades my mind. My first reflex is to push it away, but… now that I look at it…
It’s time that I admit…

I am in love with Lois.