Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar polluted air while almost everybody entered the building.

It had been quite some time since he had been in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters, or as it was known to everybody else in the world: 'Delacroix, School for the Gifted and the Talented'. Quite a tacky name. Tacky name, tacky leader. Why did I join them, again?

-"You're making faces again, Mitsu-chan"- a female voice sounded behind him. A blonde woman put her arm over his shoulders.

-"I'm questioning my life choices"-

-"That's too bad. Stop pouting and remember what we're here for"- The blonde stood in front of Mitsuhiko and grabbed his face, making him look at her eyes -"Our objective: make sure one of us two gets into the Main Board. It's our chance, Mitsuhiko. I'm sick of the sight of Hyogo"-

Mitsuhiko nodded with determination. "I assure you that we'll triumph. That spot is as good as ours".

I am Mitsuhiko Hikari, 25 years old. Codename: Cerberus.

I was known once as the Super High School Level Hunter, but I have left that behind. Now I'm the Hunting Demon, Commander of the Kyoto Division of Diavolos Avante.

My role in this organization is to perform assassinations on persons of interest. That's how I got into my actual position, thanks to my performance in that field.

Mitsuhiko made sure he still had his gun with him. No respectable hunter would ever be seen without a weapon, that's what he believed. After making sure it was loaded, he nodded towards the woman. "Let's go in".

She is Yurie Oyama, 23 years old. Codename: Zagan. The Hacking Demon. She's the Commander for the Prefecture of Hyogo. She's a hacker, known for her abilities on cybernetic attacks and information collecting in technological contexts.

Yurie is my fianceé and the person I have chosen to be the rest of my life with.

Mitsuhiko looked warily at the tall steel fence that surrounded the gardens. There was something unnerving on the sheer height of the fence. Sure, Mitsuhiko did know it was made for the protection of the members of the Headquarters, but it still resembled a prison in a way. Impossible to climb, impossible to break and once the gates closed, impossible to force open.

-"Stop looking at that and come in!" Yurie shouted from the entrance to the Headquarters. Mitsuhiko rolled his eyes, used to Yurie's usual pushy behavior. Once the hunter got to the entrance Yurie stopped him for a last tip. "Mitsu-chan, remember the attack plan. We need to assert our dominance, make everybody know that we're superior to everybody else in all senses"-

-"Act all mighty and crush everybody under my heel. Got it"-

Yurie smiled, satisfied. -"Then let's go in"-

The headquarters were always a sensitive terrain for him. There was something sinister in those gray halls, the lockers lining the walls and in the dim illumination. It was as if Veritas' objective was to unnerve anybody who entered the building, and in that sense, it worked. Yurie seemed indifferent to the oppressive atmosphere. She had once commented the school hadn't changed at all since her school days, so the hunter always supposed she was used to it.

-"I hate this place"-

-"You'll be seeing it every day if you win"- Yurie said. Mitsuhiko looked around with waning interest.

-"I insist you'll be a better fit for the job than me. Being in the Main Board is risky and you're much tougher than me, I'll be satisfied with staying in Kyoto"-

Yurie pointed towards the Meeting Room, where the different Commanders of the forces Diavolos Avante had in Japan often gathered every month. It was only logical that if there was a place the candidates would be reunited it would be in there. "Amazing. It's dangerous, the hunter said. You're tougher than me, said the one who is known in DeeEy for killing people. Are you ready?" Everybody called the organization 'DeeEy', being less of a mouthful than the real name. Besides, it helped with secrecy. Yurie put her hand on the handles of the door, ready to make their entrance. Mitsuhiko nodded, sharing her determination.

-"Heads will roll"-

Satisfied, Yurie pushed the doors open; making them hit the walls with a very loud sound. The rest of the candidates inside turned their heads towards the two newly-arrived with more annoyance than admiration. Mitsuhiko internally cringed; he was more used to being with less people than these. His job often involved being unseen and old habits were hard to break.

Yurie was more comfortable, smiling broadly. She was the one to take the initiative. -"That's right! Contemplate us, because we're going to be the ones to defeat all of you!"-

-"We don't even know yet what we have to do"-A bearded middle-aged man said bluntly. Yurie ignored him, instead pulling the chairs for Mitsuhiko and her to seat. Feeling Yurie would want him to speak; he attempted to seem as intimidating as he could.

-"There's no need for that. Before the day ends Valkyrie will have chosen me to take Volkos' place"-

-"We were just talking about that!"- A gal with curly hair piped up –"Isn't it strange how we never heard what happened to Volkos? All we were told was that he had betrayed DeeEy but that's it. Nothing else"-

-"Obviously it isn't our place to know the details of his betrayal"- A woman with a ceremony dress added with a calming voice. Mitsuhiko hid his surprise at seeing her. He knew her!

-"We should make a promise: the one who wins tells the others what happened to Volkos. Deal?" a lanky young man proposed, receiving lukewarm acceptation –"It's the least we can do. We're partners, after all! Let's keep Diavolos Avante's unity and strength"-

-"Yeah, no. Friendship and unity is not in our best interests. All of you remember this: we're going to do everything in our power to crush you all into oblivion"- Yurie said dramatically, grabbing Mitsuhiko's hand. The hunter lifted his chin and gave his best look of arrogance. All the candidates reacted as expected, with automatic dislike towards him and Yurie.

Step one of the plan they had arranged was done: keep everybody away of them. That'd give Yurie and him space to scheme and discuss the weaknesses they could find in their competitors. We don't need to be friendly with everybody else. As long as we have each other we'll triumph.

Step two was kind of harder: to actually find the weaknesses the candidates had. That was going to be slightly harder now that they had turned everybody else against him, but he was confident he'd manage to get onto the important information without anybody else noticed. I didn't get to where I am by luck. It's thanks to my abilities. This'll be a piece of cake.

He already had heard about most of the candidates, as it was natural from somebody of Mitsuhiko's position. There was only one he had never heard before. Looking at each candidate he recalled everything he knew about them. It wasn't much but it was a start.

The person directly to his right was a man dressed with what seemed to be an armor of sorts. Part of it was metallic while the rest seemed more like rubber. The only part of his body that seemed to not to have any protection was his neck; even his hair had a strange metallic band, forming a ponytail.

Mamoru Takayama, 28 years old, the Protective Demon. Codename: Caassimolar, Commander of the Prefecture of Nagasaki. Bodyguard extraordinaire, it's said he has even guarded people from the Main Board in especially risky situations. Usually his job is to arrange the protection of people and buildings.

-"Do you need anything?"- he said once he realized he was being stared at.

-"What's up with...you know, the armor?"-

-"It's my responsibility to protect people. If I can't stay alive then my charges can't either"-

-"You look as if you expect an attack at any time. Paranoid much?"-

Takayama gritted his teeth but responded cordially. –"You have no idea of what I have lived through. Have you ever been attacked by SHSL Despair rioters?"-

-"A couple times, yes"- with some luck Takayama would tell a situation with great detail. Based on that Mitsuhiko planned to see if there were any weaknesses in his technique. Some attacks to the professional self-esteem the bodyguard had could be a good start.

-"I was attacked to seven different spots of my body. If it hadn't been for this armor I would have died and Vieiras would have been murdered. Do you understand?"- Takayama pinched some of the rubber, showing how elastic it was –"This is my mark of excellence, an armor of my own invention. Absolutely. Flawless"-

Mitsuhiko didn't seem very impressed. Takayama had a very dramatic voice, as if he were exerting himself in order to convince people of his efficiency. –"I'll judge that if I ever see it happening"-

Takayama didn't reply, instead choosing to narrow his eyes and ignore Mitsuhiko. The hunter tried to rile the bodyguard up a couple times more, but as if he had seen through his plans Takayama didn't say another word.

Later in hindsight Mitsuhiko would realize it had been an idiotic move. Everybody had seen him talking with different people, they all knew what to expect from him.

Once it was clear Takayama wouldn't take the bait and provide him with more information, Mitsuhiko stood up from his seat to walk to the man to the side of Takayama. Once he got close enough to see him better he regretted standing up.

He was the creepiest person he had ever met in his life. The man was dressed on what seemed to be a kid's usual clothing: a vest, a plaid shirt and shorts. His big eyes and cheery smile didn't help to diminish the effect either. –"Hey there!"- he exclaimed, making his smile bigger. Mitsuhiko shuddered violently, stepping back.

Akira Hosoya, 24 years old. Codename: Asmodeus. Commander of the Prefecture of Aomori and the Con Artist Demon. It's said he can make people lower his guard and manage to make them do exactly what he wishes. How the hell does he do that when he looks like this?!

He's a specialist in dealing with SHSL Despair rioters and Future Foundation agents, able to get information from even the most despairing and devoted follower of Enoshima.

-"I-I was just passing"- Mitsuhiko said quickly, moving towards the next person, but Hosoya moved his chair back, blocking his way.

-"I thought you'd want to talk to me"-

-"You thought wrong"—Mitsuhiko grabbed the chair with as much strength as possible and pushed him against the table. Hosoya got the air knocked out of him, but it didn't make his smile leave his face. Feeling more scared every second he looked at the unnaturally weird man Mitsuhiko practically ran towards the only recognizable person there was besides his fianceé.

-"Hikaru-kun!"- she greeted. Mitsuhiko ignored the mispronunciation of his name while the woman with the ceremony dress stood up and gave him a doubtful hug. Mitsuhiko could feel Yurie's eyes boring into his back but ignored it the best he could, focusing on the beautiful woman who was hugging him. –"Has been so long since we hanged out together. Why don't you move back to Saitama?"-

Kimiko Sugita, 26 years old. The Tea Demon, codename: Seir. Commander of the Prefecture of Saitama. She's pretty much in charge of keeping the morale high in the whole Japan, and she often uses her knowledge on ceremonies and teas to diminish stress and hostility levels.

Also my childhood friend, who I stopped seeing often since I moved to Kyoto. From time to time we stay in contact but Yurie hates when we talk.

-"I can't, my people needs me. Besides Yurie and I are going to marry in a few months"- Mitsuhiko said proudly, showing his ring. Sugita put her best surprised face, Mitsuhiko usually reminded her of the future marriage every time they talked.

-"Once again congratulations! Am I still banned from going to the ceremony..."-

-"You are. Let me deal with it, okay?"- Mitsuhiko looked at Yurie, who was visibly outraged –"I should walk away now before she makes a scene"- the hunter said. Sugita sighed, still not understanding why Yurie hated her so much. After exchanging a few more words Mitsuhiko got to the next person in the table.

The lady doing her best to ignore Mitsuhiko had several long strands of pearls intertwined with her hair and on her arms. Mitsuhiko stood to her side until with a huff she turned around slowly. Her movements were fluid and slow, as if she were thinking the exact position her body should be at every second. –"May you please go away? I don't wish to have you near me"- she said with her crystalline voice.

-"I wanted to say hello"-

-"Say it and then please leave me alone"-

This is Harumi Kayano, 29 years old. Codename: Marax. The Dancing Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Mie. She has learned dozens of dances, ballet being her specialty. She often takes part of tasks that involve great amounts of stamina and resistance, despite her less-than-stellar strength.

Kayano continued ignoring him, until Mitsuhiko gave up. The man next to Kayano was clearly the oldest one in the room. He seemed quite professional and seemed like he could be calmed in no matter what situation. He was the one who initiated the short conversation as soon as Mitsuhiko got to his side. –"Are you trying to find something in special talking to all of us?"-

-"It's just my way of knowing the people I have to compete with"- Mitsuhiko said as innocently as possible.

-"That could work if it weren't because your girlfriend and you made your intentions clear. Still, my oath forces me to offer you my services"-

-"Just as expected"- Mitsuhiko said plainly, going behind the man's chair.

-"The Clinic is just around the corner of the hall. You'll find me there anytime"-

Tetsurou Koshimizu, 44 years old. Codename: Andromalius. The Medical Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Fukuoka. Just like Kimiko-san, he's in charge of our health in whole Japan if there are any grave situations that needs his help.

Mitsuhiko nodded, acknowledging the offer. The woman to his side tried to shake Mitsuhiko's hand. –"I'm not sure if you'll ever need my help, but you can talk to me anytime. I'll be your resident psychologist, therapist and psychiatrist"-

-"Yasumoto-san, right?"-

-"That's correct!"-

Chiyo Yasumoto, 25 years old. Codename: Belial. The Mind Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Tokushima. Her subordinates in Tokushima are known for being the most coordinated and stable forces in the whole country and are often ambassadors between the forces in Japan and the forces in Europe and other parts of Asia.

-"I'm in no need of a psychiatrist, thank you"- Mitsuhiko said.

-"Oh what a shame. At least with my help you'd be able to get into everybody's good graces. You didn't make the best initial impression, after all"-

-"I don't need any help. In case you didn't catch on, I don't need a good initial impression"- Mitsuhiko said bluntly. Yasumoto smiled enigmatically but didn't reply, instead pointing towards the next commander to meet.

-"Show the world how charming you are, starting there"-

-"As if"- the other commander said. –"I already saw enough of him when those two made their speech earlier"-

Mitsuhiko nodded. –"I approve not wasting time! See you"-

-"She is Sumida Kishio-san"- Yasumoto explained –"If you can't get on her good side don't expect to have an easy time here"-

-"She is THE Sumida Kishio?!"- Mitsuhiko dropped the aloof attitude he was trying to create –"I-I'm sorry for everything, Kishio-sensei. I didn't mean to offend you"-

Sumida Kishio, 28 years old. Codename: Alocas. Linguist Demon and highest ranked Commander in Japan, although she doesn't lead any team. Thanks to her ability to speak several languages she's in charge of gathering reports from Diavolos Avante forces in other countries and then inform the Main Board about it.

There was something known in DeeEy: Piss off Sumida Kishio and she'll make your life impossible. Get her to like you and you'll get far.

Kishio scowled. –"Too late. Let me make clear something, neno idiota: interfere with the relative peace Yasumoto we'll try to create and you'll regret ever entering this building. Did I make myself clear"-

Mitsuhiko knew he was acting very undignified and most likely ruining the impression he had wanted to give, but Kishio's expression made clear she was completely serious of what she was saying. Mitsuhiko lowered his eyes and in the most docile voice he had ever produced he said: -"I'm deeply sorry"-

Kishio stared blankly at him before pointing with his thumb at the guy next to her. Taking it as his cue to go away, Mitsuhiko got to the commander he had been pointed to. Behind him Yasumoto could barely contain her grin and continued talking to Kishio.

Trying to leave that weak moment behind him, Mitsuhiko repressed his frustration at best as he could. That didn't stop him of being harsh on the commander, as he was somebody he had never seen or heard about before. –"And who the hell are you?"-

-"Um"- the new Commander moved awkwardly –"I'm Kouhei Kobayashi and I was, um, recently named the new commander for the Prefecture of Nagano"-

-"And how do you plan to get the spot in the Main Board, newbie?"-

-"Well, I'm a pretty good illusionist"- he replied with a hint of pride. Mitsuhiko snorted, enjoying how he was making the new guy all nervous.

-"Illusions? Really? Just who are you, again?"-

-"Kouhei Kobayashi, Magical Demon. My codename is...is..."- Kobayashi trailed off, muttering to himself. Feeling there was something juicy to exploit, Mitsuhiko pressured him.

-"Oh, your name tells me nothing! What's your codename? Come on, tell me what is it and maybe you'll earn some respect!"-

Kobayashi lowered his voice, Mitsuhiko barely could hear it. –"Amy...my codename is Amy..."- at that point Mitsuhiko lost it. He knew enough about the occidental culture to know about the name.

-"Amy? Your demon name, handpicked for you, the name that will define you to everybody else in the organization...is Amy?"- That was followed of more ungentlemanly guffaws. Kobayashi looked away, slightly blushing.

-"I don't think it's that bad"-

-"Whatever, Amy. See you"- Mitsuhiko's mood had improved. He knew he had acted like an asshole to Kobayashi just out of spite towards Kishio, but that didn't sour his newly found attitude.

The next person to try to officially meet was somebody Mitsuhiko mildly despised. The man had listened with attention to how Mitsuhiko treated Kobayashi, amused. –"That was uncalled for, right?"- the man said.

-"What if it was? I'm not going to have any compassion towards the people I'll compete with"-

-"That's too bad. You don't even know what kind of activity we'll have to do in order to obtain the spot in the Main Board. What if it is something that needs the cooperation of somebody else? You have guaranteed more than half of us to not to want anything with you"-

-"Cooperation? It's a single spot! Cooperation won't have any place in here"-

That was why he despised that man. In all situations he felt the need to act as if he had the higher moral ground although everybody known he was a complete hypocrite, that's what he was known for. He could do something and nag somebody else about not doing it without the slightest amount of shame. Surely he'd see situations like those during their competition.

Daisuke Mitsuishi, 27 years old. Codename: Leviathan. The Flying Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Chiba. He has been marked as the worst commander of the country. His specialty is aerial scouting, although since Diavolos Avante managed to get teams in every country he has been left behind as less important than the rest.

-"Okay but don't say I didn't tell you, asshole"- he said, still amused. Mitsuishi hadn't done the slightest effort to talk to people or be likable and that's what got into Mitsuhiko's nerves. Most of the commanders had at least tried to keep an amicable face towards everybody, but Mitsuishi, Mitsuhiko and Oyama were already shaping up to be unpopular.

Trying to keep the distance between Mitsuishi and himself, Mitsuhiko hounded towards the next person to talk with. He hadn't noticed before, but the new commander was wearing a mask everybody in the room knew well: a Monobear mask. Trying to not to show it bothered him to see a symbol of what they were supposed to fight he waved towards the man in the mask. –"Hey there"- he said once he noticed Mitsuhiko's greeting.

-"...what's up with the mask?"-

Muffled by the mask the man replied. –"It's part of my most recent character, the one I was working on when I got called here"-

-"...you were in middle of getting into the ranks of SHSL Despair?"-

It was impossible to know what expression he had behind the mask, but the passion in his voice was as clear as day. –"They don't have ranks! Have you ever seen them? There's only one thing uniting them and it is causing as much despair and pain as possible to anybody, even between them. If I find the people who are giving them constant despair then maybe we'll be able to dispel SHSL Despair once and for all"-

Kumakichi Fukuyama, 27 years old. Codename: Ose. The Acting Demon and the Commander of the Prefecture of Yamagata. An expert in infiltration and intelligence, able to have a different character for any circumstances.

-"I'll be honest, I wouldn't mind if you end taking control of a large part of the world after that. Surely Veritas would admit our goals would be impossible without you"-

-"Isn't that why all of us joined DeeEy? To acquire power after we restore the world and kill SHSL Despair? I'll feel scammed if I don't have at least one country in my possession at the end of this all"-

True. I'm expecting a few counties after all this, myself. Power, the final objective. A world in control of the different members of Diavolos Avante and Veritas overseeing everything that'll happen in the new world they would build. Any opposition to their reign would be crushed as soon as possible.

There were three commanders left before Mitsuhiko got back to his seat. The next, a young lady drumming her fingers onto the table, got his attention. She didn't turn around when he got there, so he cleared his throat. –"Yes?"- she asked with vitality when she turned around.

Mitsuhiko for a moment didn't know what to say. Her eyes were blurry and unfocused, almost lifeless, in obvious contrast with her voice. –"What happened to your eyes?!"- the hunter exclaimed, not caring about how insensitive and rude that was. The young lady narrowed her eyes, looking at Mitsuhiko's forehead.

-"I'm blind, you asshole"-

Hiyoko Romi, 29 years old. Codename: Ronove. The Lyricist Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Shiga. Unfortunately she suffers of some sort of genetic mutation that damaged her eyes, turning her legally blind. Before that she was a big part on the efforts to maintain morale in Japan, now she just deals with her prefecture with an admirable amount of efficiency.

-"Really?"- Mitsuhiko had heard about a blind commander, but he wasn't entirely convinced it was actually true –"I think you can see. You're looking at my face"-

-"I can see blurry shapes and colors, but I can't distinguish any details. But let me tell you, I'm blind, not retarded. Please don't treat me as if I can't deal with anything"-

Despite his intentions to keep himself distanced of everybody else, Mitsuhiko felt a budding respect for Romi. There was something admirable on somebody managing to get ahead and having a strong attitude despite the eyesight problems. After promising himself he'd keep tabs on Romi, as one of the two that seemed competent enough to be a threat for the supposed competition, Mitsuhiko stepped to the side of the last female commander to meet, one he didn't recognize at first sight.

She was wearing an occidental and very elegant black attire and was idly writing something on a notebook. Curious, Mitsuhiko carefully looked at the writings but then he raised his voice, annoyed –"The stuck-up hunter continued talking with everybody in clear contradiction of the intentions he claimed to have. This reporter's personal theory is that he was lying in a pitiful attempt to intimidate everybody for no reason at all"-

-"Am I mistaken?"- she muttered.

That's...mostly correct. –"I'm not stuck-up!"-.

-"Got it"- she nodded before quickly writing more. 'Update: The hunter curiously protested to only the words 'stuck-up'. The rest of the affirmation went without any rebuttal; therefore he did try to intimidate everybody. Report #4 finished, Kyrie Mimori signs out'.

Mitsuhiko, who had been about to object to the accurate depiction of his intention, forgot what he was going to say when he saw the name. –"Wait, Valkyrie? The Main Board member?"-

-"Everybody thinks I am, but no"-

Kyrie Mimori, 32 years old. Codename: Botis. The Journalism Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Kumamoto. It's suspected she's Valkyrie of the Main Board, but she continuously denies it. The fact she finds out and handles confidential information of the upmost caliber doesn't help to get rid of those rumors.

Everybody in Diavolos Avante knew about the names of the Main Board: Veritas, Valkyrie, Vieiras and, recently, Wolfenmaus. Only Veritas showed his identity, and that was because he was the organization's leader. The rest stayed in the shadows, blending with everybody else in Diavolos Avante. The general opinion was that it was out of paranoia and fear of getting attacked, even if Veritas had made clear since the beginning that betrayal was something unforgivable in his organization.

Regarding Kyrie with suspicion, he went to the last commander to talk with. The man was expectantly looking around, not really paying much attention to what was going on. –"Hey you. Are you waiting for anything?"-

-"Oh? Oh, yes. I'm waiting for the Main Board to get in here. You read the letter, didn't you?"-

-"They'll be here when it's time. Why the hurry?"-

-"I have some projects I want them to check"- he briefly showed a folder filled with blueprints but closed it before Mitsuhiko could distinguish anything concrete. –"This is my chance of meeting the Main Board and show them my work"-

Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes. Somebody was already trying to curry favor with the Main Board?

Tohya Sasuga, 28 years old, the Robotics Demon. Codename: Caym. Commander of the Prefecture of Yamaguchi. A robotics genius, often creating drones and unmanned vehicles for espionage. It was said too that he was in contact with the Main Board, but looks like it may not be true.

-"Has anybody here ever met the Main Board?"- Mitsuhiko asked while he sat down.

-"I have"- Takayama the Bodyguard claimed –"Although I have never met Wolfenmaus, I think. Maybe I have and I don't know"-

-"Is Valkyrie or Vieiras in here?"- Hosoya inquired. Takayama looked around methodically without stopping on anybody.

-"I'm not allowed to say anything about their identities"-

While the candidates argued between themselves about the possibility one of them was a member of Main Board Mitsuhiko took out the letter that had called him to the Headquarters.

May 12th

Greetings, Hikari Mitsuhiko.

We at the Main Board have noticed your recent performance as the commander of our forces in Kyoto. You have been doing an excellent job and as a reward for your work you have been chosen as a candidate to be a member of our Main Board as the representative of our teams in Asia.

If you're chosen you'll receive all benefits we have and you'll have a very promising future after the world is back to normal. Please present yourself in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters in three days at noon.

Please don't tell anybody about this letter.

Valkyrie.

-"It's kind of funny that Mitsuishi, of all people, is here. He doesn't deserve a chance if you ask me"- Mitsuhiko said. Mitsuishi extended his middle finger in his direction.

-"What kind of task do you think we'll have to do? They must have something in mind to decide which one of us will be chosen"- Kishio mulled –"I think that we'll be in charge of a specially difficult group of members so we'll have to show leadership skills"-

-"You wish it were that"- Takayama muttered.

-"Does it really matter? Theorizing is useless. Just wait until...until..."- Fukuyama had started to say before stopping. For a moment the actor stared in disbelief towards the entrance of the Meeting Room, and then he pointed. –"We have company. Is she Valkyrie?"-

The door of the Meeting Room had opened slightly, just enough for somebody to stick their head inside. However the person who had looked inside wasn't a woman.

It was a little girl, of around eight years old. When it was obvious they had noticed their presence the little girl widened her eyes in surprise, bashful. –"My bad! I didn't mean to interrupt your discussion. Give me a second..."- the girl entered the Meeting Room, straightening her dark green dress.

The girl moved with confidence, as it she knew exactly where she was and who these people were, but nobody in the room seemed to have the slightest idea who she was or why there was a little girl in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters in the first place. It never had an elementary school and it had been years since the last time there were classes.

The girl stood on the far end of the table where the person leading the meeting was supposed to sit, allowing everybody to take a good look to her. She looked like a rose due to her dress and the vivacious red tone of her short hair, arranged in what almost seemed to be two nubby horns. –"Okay, let's get this on the road. You all have been called here for a reason: to get into the Main Board. We all know that Volkos has been...unfit to continue being a member of DeeEy so one of you will take his place, choose your new name and represent Asia"-

-"This can't be real!"- Kayano exclaimed –"Don't tell me you're somebody from the Main Board?"-

-"I'm not! I'm the organizer of this reunion. Sorry for having lied in my letter, but Valkyrie doesn't have anything to do with this"-

-"Then who are you?"- Sasuga asked what everybody was wondering. The girl displayed her brightest smile and with pride she replied:

-"My name is Lily and I'll be the Judge in the events of the next few days"-

-"The Judge? The events? ...What?"- Takayama thought he had heard incorrectly.

-"Yes, the Judge, /emTakayama-kun"- One of Lily's horns opened like a flower blooming, a projector appearing in the inside of the horn. That sudden quirk made Mitsuhiko do a double take, how could she do that? Sasuga was the one who said what was supposed to be obvious by now.

-"She's not human...she's a machine"-

-"Is she yours? You're the Roboticist here"- Romi inquired, trying to focus onto the image being displayed. It was a blank screen, at least for the moment.

-"No, she isn't. She's an admirable piece of work but she isn't mine"-

-"Excuse me?"- Lily waved her tiny hands –"I'm trying to talk here! So as I was saying I'm the Judge. My role will be to oversee your behavior during the next few days"-

-"Oversee what, exactly?"- Koshimizu asked calmly.

-"I'll explain"- in the projection images appeared. They resembled drawings done by a kid with crayons, the first image depicting Veritas –"Here is our Founder. He created Diavolos Avante to restore the world and reward those who help him. During all these years he has done amazing progress and now we have forces in most of the countries around the world! However we're in danger"- a humorous caricature of Enoshima was now in the projection –"She may be dead but the despair she left in the world is still active. Her followers are threatening Diavolos Avante!"-

-"Threatening how? Are they going to attack us?"-

-"I wouldn't be too worried. Aren't SHSL Despair's followers a bunch of drooling morons killing and mutilating each other? We can defend ourselves"- Hosoya said.

-"Not all of them are like that. There are a select few who have kept their faculties despite falling to despair. They're mostly high school children and to be honest I don't know where they are"- The screen displayed a photograph. It was a group of fourteen students with uniforms. The Hope's Peak emblem was visible over all of them. –"It's known these are some of them. There may be a few absent, but there's one that is important: the formerly known as Super High School Level Hope"-

-"You mean Izuru Kamukura?"- Yurie inquired. She had no idea where this was going on. Wasn't this going to be some sort of competition? What this did have to do with that?

-"Yep! That one!"- Lily cheerfully replied –"Oyama-san managed to steal something Kamukura created: The Enoshima AI"- Lily stopped for a moment for dramatic effect. The projector changed to show a drawing of a strange machine –"This AI is capable of infecting systems, as well as following its directives in whatever way it wishes. Think of it as a piece of Enoshima's soul. But Oyama-san noticed something very...worrying.

This AI has the ability to invade the human brain and install itself in the consciousness, corrupting the mind and turning the body in essentially a puppet for the AI. Imagine that. One new Enoshima, more than one, a whole group of them with the same charisma and same despair-spreading abilities!"- The image changed to the photograph of the Hope's Peak students, this time with Enoshima's hair doodled on them.

That really ruins the dramatic flair.

-"I don't really see how this is affecting us or DeeEy"- Hosoya stated, crossing his arms.

-"Should we expect those students to attack us?"- Sasuga inquired, staring at the photograph.

-"More importantly, how is this related to the contest?"- Takayama tried to change the topic but Lily pointed at him.

-"I'll get to that later! What was I talking about...oh! Okay, the Enoshima AI Oyama-san stole is an early version. It may not even fully work but we have good reasons to think SHSL Despair will get involved with Diavolos Avante using that same AI. I don't know how but I'm sure SHSL Despair will try to destroy us"-

Kayano stood up and hit the table with her hands –"Wait a second! Are you suggesting that we have left ruffians like those sneak into our proud organization? We're too intelligent for that to happen!"-

Lily closed her horn, interrupting the projection, and climbed on the table to be more assertive. Standing on front of Kayano her eyes glimmered –"Do you know what happened to Volkos?"-

-"He betrayed Diavolos Avante and had to surrender his life as punishment. There is nothing wrong with that"-

-"Haven't you considered that may not be the full truth?"-

Kayano opened her mouth but no sound came out of it. Once Lily saw she had nothing to reply she nodded, satisfied. –"There you go. The Main Board lied. They're hiding the truth but I don't know exactly why. But what I do know is that there's something going on in this organization, something rotten"-

-"But you don't even have proof the Main Board lied!"- Yasumoto protested.

-"I don't, but that's what I have called you all here. I have good reasons to believe one or more of the commanders here are involved in this conspiracy against Diavolos Avante"- Lily stood on her end of the table and announced aloud –"The one of you that finds out whom the traitors are and exposes them to everybody will be rewarded the spot in the Main Board!"-

-"So that is the contest: find out who are part of SHSL Despair and are trying to get rid of DeeEy"- Fukuyama touched his mask –"Don't look at me! This is just for my character"-

-"That is correct!"- Lily heralded, pointing at Fukuyama's mask. –"SHSL Despair is our enemy! Junko Enoshima's followers are our enemies! Those who take the form of that bear are our enemies!"-

-"Did you call?"-

Everybody turned towards the doors of the Meeting Room and paled. The person they least expected had arrived to the contest. Lily grimaced. –"This wasn't something I really expected"-

Monobear strolled to the table and climbed on, walking straight towards the little girl. Lily and Monobear met in the middle of the long table, almost fuming. Monobear unsheathed his claws, ready to attack, but Lily wasn't going to be left behind.

Her fingers moved in ways a human's hand wouldn't allow until they opened in perfect circular formation, revealing a glass circle embedded in the palm, and pointed it to Monobear's head. Nobody knew what exactly it was but it was clear it was a weapon of some kind.

The commanders stared at Monobear and Lily, trying to process the scene. What seemed to be a simple process had turned into a contest to find the best among them to replace Volkos and now had turned into a fight between two mechanical beings, and the chances of it stopping there without further consequences or problems were practically null.

Mitsuhiko could only think one single sentence, having forgotten his purpose to stay high and mighty. The strategies he had created with Yurie were now of no importance in comparison to the recent developments.

...what did I get myself into?

Chapter Text

Monobear and Lily stared at each other, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. The tension was thick and nobody really dared to say a word. Everybody looked at the robots, ready to take cover under the table if the situation got too dangerous.

-“It’d be nice if you got out of here, Monobear”- Lily said, tense.

-“After mentioning me so many times it was impossible for me to not to appear. The literary tropes command so!”-

-“What are you doing here, Monobear?”- Koshimizu asked, leaning on his chair. He seemed pretty blasé over the whole thing, curiously.

-“I’m here to set everything straight. She is the bad guy of this story and I’ll be your hero tonight! How often do you have a bear saving your collective asses?”-

-“...yeah, not buying it”- Sugita muttered –“You are Monobear, nothing good can from you”-

-“And it’s not fair, I got here first! I’m supposed to be in control here!”- Lily didn’t lower her arm but stomped on the table, as if she were about to throw a tantrum –“You can’t steal my show like this!”

A sudden noise filled the room when Fukuyama moved the table when he stood up to get a better look at what was going on. Lily looked away just for a second, being thrown out of balance. Monobear didn’t have such problems but as soon as Lily lost her focus he attacked with predatory savageness.

Monobear’s claws pierced Lily’s chest, sparks flying everywhere. Lily gasped, having been caught off guard, and tried to get away, but Monobear continued his attack. His claws ripped apart the little robotic girl’s frame, spilling away wires and chips from the inside of his opponent. Mitsuhiko shuddered, imagining the scene with a real bear and a real human.

He promised himself he would stay away of Monobear at all costs. He didn’t want to know what it felt to be killed like that.

The carnage didn’t take long. The only thing that was left of Lily was her head, frozen in a look of surprise. The table was covered in her pieces while Monobear pretended to lick his claws as if he were trying to taste blood from them. Everybody’s faces displayed shock and dismay. None of them knew Lily at all but that didn’t diminish the brutality of her death. Mimori took a deep breath and slowly stood up, moving to a corner of the room, grasping her notebook and pen. Mitsuhiko could see a line of ink crossing the page. –“Give me a second. I think I’m in shock”- Hearing the admittance of the obvious reaction to the event woke up something in him.

-“H-He destroyed her! Complete obliteration!”- Mitsuhiko exclaimed, bolting up and about to take out his gun if Monobear moved towards him. Who cared if it was not a real bear, he’d have his head on the wall if that thing took a single step in his direction.

-“Did you expect anything else? A fight between a bear and a human always ends with a victory for the bear; it’s the laws of nature. That’s why bears are the best animals ever! Anybody who tries to attack me will go through this same experience”- Monobear’s eyes glowed, erasing any possible doubts of its seriousness. Retracting his claws Monobear got to where Lily’s head laid and pushed it off the table. –“Now we’ll start what we got here for! Lily wanted this to be a contest to take the spot in the Ma-“-

Before anybody could know what happened there was a round hole on Monobear’s head, having erased all of the features in its face. Monobear stood still for a moment before crumbling down. This time instead of mere shock the commanders got into what some would call ‘calculated panic’. Nobody screamed hysterically, nobody tried to run towards the door. They were proud commanders of Diavolos Avante in the world of despair; they were used to situations where their lives were in risk. The priority was assessing the situation and find out where the danger was coming from. Everybody threw themselves onto the floor, covering under the table and the chairs. Sugita was the one who saw what had killed Monobear and dared to stand up first. –“Over there! The entrance!”-

Lily had entered the Meeting Room and her hand had been aiming to where Monobear had been standing just a few moments ago. Her fingers retracted to their normal position and the glass in her hand was covered with plaques of whatever material her skin was made of. –“Concentrated lasers enhanced with special glasses. All the intensities needed in one weapon”- she explained, climbing on the table to take Monobear’s body and put it on a corner while everybody returned to their seats. –“Monobear mentioned what happens between a bear and a human, but didn’t say anything about hunters and bears”-

-“Um, I don’t mean to sound negative but isn’t Monobear known because he isn’t stopped easily?”- Hosoya said blinking in what Mitsuhiko interpreted an attempt to be childishly innocent.

-“That’s right!”- For the fourth time the doors revealed somebody, although this time it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Monobear had returned. –“I’ll keep coming back over and over”-

Lily didn’t prepare her laser again, instead looking at Monobear carefully. –“...how many of you exist?”-

-“Oh, I don’t have that many”- Monobear put a paw behind his head –“Only about a novemdecillion”-

-“Novemdewhat?”- Hosoya whispered to Sasuga.

-“Ten to the power of sixty, I think”- The roboticist replied –“But of course he must be bluffing. There’s no place in the city where you could store that many Monobears”-

-“Would you like me to bring all of them over?”- Monobear smugly retorted –“I could fill this entire building with my beautiful doppelgangers if I wished!”-

Lily smirked, shrugging. –“I have a novemdecillion and two...Monobear, we can’t continue killing each other or we won’t ever be done with this”-

-“I agree. There’s no time for one-sided fighting”-

-“Plan B?”- Lily extended her hand, showing she didn’t mean to attack him anymore.

Monobear only took a second before putting his paw over Lily’s hand. Both robots begrudgingly accepted each other, having left their enmity aside for the moment. –“Plan B”-

-“What’s the meaning of this?”- Sasuga felt a tic on the corner of his eye –“Why are you two suddenly in peace? What’s plan B?”-

-“If we are in even forces then we can’t fight. We’ll have to settle this in some other way”- Lily started, letting Monobear continue the sentence

-“There are people in this room who want to destroy Diavolos Avante or SHSL Despair. We’ll see what side wins here”-

-“And the only way will be through a game of mutual killing”- both finished at the same time.

The commanders were in silence for a moment, trying to decide if they had heard correctly. Finally Mitsuhiko spoke. –“I got lost. How did we get to ‘hey let’s do a mutual killing game?’”-

-“I have to agree, this is way too sudden”- Takayama said –“Besides neither of you seems to be on DeeEy’s side. We have no reason to take part in this”-

-“Oi! This may be hard to believe but I’m being controlled by the Main Board”- Monobear said –“I can’t reveal which one I am but I’m on your side”-

Lily pouted –“Don’t pretend to be the good side here, bear. I am on Diavolos Avante’s side...I’m not controlled by the Main Board but you have to believe me”-

-“So our options are the symbol of despair or the girl who pretended to be Valkyrie to call us here”- Mimori had started writing again in her notebook and showed it to everybody. She had drawn herself with X in her eyes and the words ‘We’re royally fucked’

-“There are traitors between you that are going to destroy DeeEy at any cost. Use your time in the mu...mu...”- Lily had started saying until the doors of the Meeting Room creaked again. It was starting to get annoying to have to focus on the entrance at random times, although once again this was somebody nobody expected.

Mainly because they had never seen her before. A woman with a blue uniform and cap was peering inside the meeting room. Judging by her clothes and the big bag filled with packages she was a courier. –“Who the hell are you?”- Lily and Monobear asked at the same time.

The fact that a teddy bear and a girl were standing on a table with pieces of machines around, as well as fifteen people in different states in disbelief didn’t seem to bother her –“Hello? Tomorrow Enterprises wishes you all a good day. I have a package for one...”- the woman looked closer at the name in a package she had in her hand –“...Hikaru Mitsuhide?”-

-“It’s Mitsuhiko Hikari”- the hunter replied, standing up to receive the package. The courier gave it and bowed, going away quickly. Mitsuhiko sat and started to open the package. The name on it really was written incorrectly, for some reason. Glancing at it with suspicion he shook it slightly, trying to guess what was there.

-“Use this game of mutual killing to get rid of the traitors”- Lily finished what she had been saying before the courier interrupted –“And as a reward I promise you’ll be rewarded with the spot in the Main Board. There’s only one spot so you better act quickly!”-

-“So we kill the traitor and we get the place? Sounds good to me”- Sasuga nodded. The commanders murmured between them, discussing the development. It was an interesting situation for them and frankly it wasn’t like any of them was a beginner in the matter of ending lives. All of them at some point in their careers in Diavolos Avante had killed. –“I’ll do the same reward, just that unlike her I can give the Main Board place”- Monobear said –“But this is the catch: if you kill you have to avoid getting caught, or else you’ll receive a punishment!”-

-“What punishment? Does the killer get thrown out of the headquarters?”- Kobayashi was sweating; this wasn’t what he had expected from his first meeting as a commander.

-“Nope! The killer will get fired from Diavolos Avante. Oh, and also will be executed, but that’s just a minor detail, gyahahaha!”- The bear laughed noisily. Some people expected to see the sewn grin get bigger. The commanders smiled between them, having supposed something like that.

-“Well, wasn’t that predictable”- Mimori droned.

-“You! Why are you letting this happen?”- Kobayashi shouted at Lily. The girl looked away and replied with surprising coldness.

-“I was going to start a mutual killing game before Monobear arrived. His presence won’t ruin my original plans. The rules: First and most important one: the killer must mislead everybody and get away of all suspicions. That’s the condition for the culprit to win”-

-“After a murder there’ll be a short investigation followed by a trial where you’ll vote for the culprit. If you guess correctly the blackened commander will be executed and the rest will return to the game. But if you accuse an innocent commander...everybody who is innocent will be executed and the survivor will be given the spot!”- Monobear continued the speech.

Romi raised her hand –“I have a hard time believing Veritas is going to accept this. He wouldn’t let any of us hurt each other”-

-“That’s too bad! I have his authorization to carry this contest, if you don’t believe it ask him directly”-

-“I will. Where is he?”-

Monobear shrugged –“I don’t know. Australia, maybe?”-

-“Something definitely is fishy here...”- Kishio muttered to herself, thoughtful.

-“He isn’t around and there’s no way to contact him, either way”- Lily intervened –“Second rule: If any of you attempts to contact anybody outside the terrains of these headquarters in any way you’ll be executed instantly”-

-“Anybody who attacks me will be killed. Attacking Lily is allowed, though”- Monobear added.

-“No it isn’t!”-

-“This all sounds like we’re going to be here for a while. Where will we sleep?”- Sasuga inquired, other commanders agreeing the question.

-“Some classrooms on the first and second floors have been turned into bedrooms. Remember none of them have locks nor are soundproof”- Lily replied.

-“Finally, damaging anything belonging to the headquarters will be punished with death too”- Monobear said the last rule –“Follow these rules and we’ll have a fun time here!”-

-“Oh?”- Mitsuhiko had been opening the package while the robots droned about the rules, but the content of the box wasn’t what expected. Yurie and Takayama leaned towards him, curious, but when the bodyguard saw what it was he announced it aloud for everybody to listen.

-“He received a gun!”- Everybody leaned forwards to see.

Mitsuhiko punched Takayama’s arm, his fist colliding against his armor. Grunting through his aching fingers the hunter nodded. –“Yes, a gun. Nothing wrong with that”-

-“At least now we know who to blame if anybody dies shot”- Kobayashi said.

-“Who send it?”- Oyama whispered, leaning towards him. Mitsuhiko examined the box, trying to find a note or anything that could indicate the sender, but there was nothing.

-“If you’re all finished with gawking at Hikari-kun’s  acquisition then let’s wrap this up”- Lily said aloud, pushing Monobear aside and getting off the table –“Let our contest begi-“-

-“Um, excuse me?”- For the last time that day somebody peered through the doors. It was the courier again –“I think the gates are locked. Could any of you please open those so I can return to work?”-

Everybody turned to look at the robots. Lily walked towards the courier –“No you won’t! You’ll be staying here with the rest. Who are you?”-

-“I am Emiko Tanaka, courier. Please, somebody open the...”-

-“We can’t allow that to happen. You’ll stay locked in here with the rest”-

-“Why don’t we let her take part of our contest?”- Monobear suggested –“One player more would be fun”-

-“Sure, why not?”-

-“I don’t really have time for contests...”- Emiko said –“...I have a lot of packages to deliver”-

-“Too bad!”- Monobear jumped and grabbed the bag before Emiko could react. The bear carried the bag to a corner while Lily addressed everybody else.

-“We have another contestant here! Say hello to Emiko Tanaka, recruited into Diavolos Avante just three seconds ago”-

-“Diavawhatchamacallit? What’s going on here?!”- Emiko was starting to freak out. Lily grabbed Emiko’s wrist and led her to the only chair without an occupant. The commanders started protesting the new addition to the group.

-“You must be jesting! She isn’t a commander!”- Kayano argued, fiddling nervously with the strings of pearls in her clothes.

-“She doesn’t even recognize the name of our organization”- Romi scoffed –“Looks like we got our first victim now”-

-“Victim? What’s going to happen to me? I demand an explanation!”- Emiko tried to stand up but Lily held her down onto the seat. Monobear had been watching the new development with amusement and decided to take part into the fun.

-“It’s not that hard to understand. People will try to kill each other and the one who does it without getting found out will escape this building. You should give it a try tonight!”-

With every word Emiko had turned paler and paler. –“I won’t stay here to be killed. I won’t let that happen!”-

-“Then you kill somebody and this’ll be over”-

-“Stop egging her, Monobear”- Lily said bluntly –“Everybody may leave now. Tanaka-san will stay here while I explain the situation”-

-“But she can’t be part of the Main Board!”- Mitsuishi protested while everybody else prepared to leave, resigned –“I have merits and qualities, a commoner like her shouldn’t even be allowed to be in here”-

-“That’s too bad!”- Monobear replied to Mitsuishi and turned towards Emiko once he got to the door –“People sure doesn’t like you. We should call you the Unwanted Demon! That’ll fit. Bastards, follow me! I’ll show you your bedrooms”-

Slowly, the commanders left the Meeting Room. The atmosphere had been utterly ruined when Emiko was included in the game. The possibility of she winning the contest was unfair! They had all worked hard to get to their positions and a courier who didn’t even know the name of the organization had gotten the same rank than them.  

Finally Lily and Emiko were the only ones left in the room while the girl explained to the horrified courier the conditions of the contest.

-ooooo-

-“Those two sure are considering this a game”- Koshimizu commented, looking at the posters.

Somebody had placed several posters around, representing the robots. Lily’s posters had a picture of the little girl smiling angelically with a detailed typography around her “Let’s save Diavolos Avante! Lily will be your savior!”- Hosoya read –“I wonder if she placed all of these before going into the Meeting Room”-

-“These ones are pretty ugly if you ask me”- Yasumoto was looking at one of Monobear’s posters. Only one was drawn, the rest had been photocopied. The drawing of Monobear’s face had been hurriedly done and the handwriting under it was almost illegible –“Because bears are the best. Support Monobear!”-

-“I still don’t know very well what’s going on. Both Lily and Monobear are claiming to want to help DeeEy and that doesn’t make any sense”- Takayama said –“I simply can’t imagine Monobear being on our side. SHSL Despair must be in this building”-

-“Yeah, why would the Main Board use Monobear as their representative? Why didn’t any of them come directly? To be honest I’d trust Lily more than Monobear any day of the week”-

-“But Lily brought us here with lies, pretending to be Valkyrie. I’ll take my chances with Monobear”- Romi said, looking at the stairs towards the second floor –“I don’t remember seeing that white stripe earlier. Are those letters?”-

Hanging from the ceiling on top of the stairs there was a banner with big green letters –“CAMP LILY”- Sugita read and looked to the hall of the first floor –“Over there it says ‘CAMP MONOBEAR’, painted on the wall”-

-“The longer this goes the more this seems like all this was planned in advance”- Fukuyama said –“Those two must be in cahoots, so it won’t matter who we choose to trust. Either way I’m going this way”- The actor in the mask walked towards the classrooms on the first floor. Mitsuhiko looked at each banner and approached to Oyama.

-“Only somebody from the Main Board would be able to make one be part of the Main Board. I’ll go to this side”- he said and walked to Camp Monobear. There were eight classrooms, so Mitsuhiko picked one randomly. None of them was marked or seemed to have any distinctive qualities, it didn’t matter which one he picked.

The classroom that would be his bedroom was pretty simple. There were a lot of desks piled on one side and besides them the only other furniture was a single bed. Not the comfiest of places. There isn’t even a bathroom here. As far as Mitsuhiko knew the Headquarters were never intended to host a lot of people at once, it was understandable the bedrooms didn’t have any luxuries.

Curiously enough, besides the desk and the bed there were a few boxes. Opening one Mitsuhiko found clothes and trinkets, everything possibly customized to him, judging by how one of the boxes had several hunting magazines as well as a gun catalogue. Taking the chance to see what type of gun he had been delivered, Mitsuhiko took the catalogue and looked for the gun. It was apparently part of a set, Twin M9 Berettas.

-“Mitsu-chan, we must discuss our strategies. Now”-

Oyama had knocked on the door. Mitsuhiko opened it and soon his fiancée entered, sitting on the bed. Without waiting for Mitsuhiko to say anything she went directly to the point of her visit –“So who will we kill?”-

-“That courier seems to be the best target. Nobody will miss her”-

-“No, you idiot!”- Oyama scolded –“Do you think the Main Board will be impressed at all if you go for the easiest target available? We need to do a good kill here. Think of people on the level of Kishio-sensei”-

Mitsuhiko shook his head –“Way too risky. Surely she and people like her will always have somebody to keep as company”-

-“At least you understand we can’t stand around and wait to be murdered. It’s good to see you have a brain, dear”-

-“Nobody will strike without having a clear plan, I’m sure of that. We have enough time to detect any possible attacks towards us, don’t worry about that”-

-“I’m not worried. Mitsu-chan, I want you to have a target by tomorrow night. The sooner we get a murder in the way, the better, although...we need to find a weapon. Your gun won’t be any good here”-

-“That won’t be a problem”- Mitsuhiko took his personal gun out and compared the bullets for the Beretta and his own gun. They were very different in size and shape –“These people have only seen the gun in the box, nobody knows about this one. We simply need to use my gun, hide it and pretend the one everybody saw is the only one I had”-

-“Good thinking”- Oyama accepted, standing up –“We sure got this over quicker than I expected. It’s really nice to see you were already scheming, Mitsu-chan. The Main Board will be to our reach before anybody notices”- she walked to the door, having confirmed Mitsuhiko was willing to kill somebody to get to their goal, but before going away she turned around for a last time that day –“Mitsu-chan, I’ll protect you. No harm will befall you as long as I’m around, I promise”- and then she left.

Feeling a bit more cheerful Mitsuhiko piled the desks against the door. Nobody would be able to open it without throwing down the pile, alerting him and everybody else. That was the only security measure he could take, after all the door didn’t even have a lock. The hunter decided to stay in his bedroom for the rest of the day, considering the different options he had for the next day.

First than all he needed to explore the headquarters. He was pretty much the only one besides Emiko who hadn’t graduated from Delacroix, so while everybody else knew what was around he had no idea what he could expect to find. He needed to know the available places so he could finish planning the murder. There must be a way for both Yurie and me to win the contest. I really need to think...

-ooooo-

11:00 PM. Vieiras sighed, tired. –“It’s done. I finally gained access to the cameras system”-

-“About time!”- Valkyrie chastised –“You were at it for hours!”-

-“Not my fault. You focus on controlling Monobear and I’ll do what I do best”- Vieiras retorted. Wolfenmaus was looking at the hallway, waiting for their Accomplice to come, the accomplice that had given them Lily’s letter as well as the blueprints. A shadow came through the hallway, but much to his surprise it wasn’t alone. There was a second shadow coming.

-“We have a problem here”- Wolfenmaus said, returning towards Valkyrie and Vieiras. Before he could explain exactly what had happened the Accomplice entered. Much to Wolfenmaus’ surprise the second shadow didn’t stay hidden; instead they entered, making themselves known. Valkyrie stood up, not knowing if she should feel outraged or amused.

-“What’s the meaning of this?”-

-“I-I’m sorry. I was found out but the good news is that we may have some help here. A new accomplice”-

-“You’re despairingly stupid, definitely despairingly stupid. Not a single day passed before anybody found out about us?”- Vieiras said.

-“It’s only one person. Besides, it could be worse, right? This can be a great help”-

-“I suggest creating the first murder with this person as the victim. We can’t let anybody else know about us”- Valkyrie intervened. The intruder cleared their throat, getting their attention.

-“When your Accomplice dies then what’ll you do? Monobear won’t be enough; you need a real human in middle of the group. I really think you should have me as your backup. If anything happens to the Accomplice then I’ll take the job, okay?”- they talked with confidence, as if they knew the Main Board wouldn’t refuse letting them be part of the conspiracy –“I know very well that you three have been affected by the Enoshima AI. With my help you’ll get this contest to its end with success. Accept my help!”-

The Main Board stayed silent for a moment, considering the offer. Finally Valkyrie shrugged. –“I’d be more comfortable if we could insert the AI in you, though”-

-“No thanks. I have no interest on having Enoshima in my brain”-

 Valkyrie smirked –“How exciting it is to leave the plan up to fate! We accept”-

The Accomplices shook hands, elated. They were a team now. The First Accomplice prepared to give a report, taking out a piece of paper. –“We arranged ourselves with eight people in each camp. Here’s a list”- Wolfenmaus took it and read aloud.

-“Camp Lily: That courier Tanaka, Yasumoto, Sasuga, Sugita, Kayano, Kishio, Kobayashi, Mimori

Camp Monobear: Hikari, Oyama, Romi, Fukuyama, Mitsuishi, Takayama, Hosoya, Koshimizu”-

Wolfenmaus and Valkyrie approved the report. –“Any ideas of who the people behind Lily’s existence are?”- Vieiras asked

Neither Accomplice said a word; instead they fidgeted awkwardly –“I don’t know yet”- the First said –“I have suspicions but no way to confirm it yet. What will we do tomorrow?”-

-“We already have something prepared for tomorrow. I’ll prod Lily to play along; it shouldn’t be hard, but after the murders start I bet she’ll start fighting back”-

Despite Monobear’s intervention having been planned literally when the commanders were entering the building; the Main Board had created a fairly detailed plan to obtain their new member. Lily was pretty much the only problem, as they had no idea how she or her creators would react to the murders.

The Main Board let their Accomplices return to sleep and prepare themselves for the contest to officially start. Vieiras stretched, standing up –“I’ll check on Veritas”- and with that he left the room. Wolfenmaus approached Valkyrie.

-“It’s worrying that Lily simply accepted the mutual killing game. We did suspect there’d be something like that but I thought she’d at least pretend to not to want it”-

-“True. What could her creators be planning, I wonder?”-

Fifteen Sixteen Commanders, a Girl and a Bear.

END

Chapter Text

The morning brought a new perspective to Mitsuhiko in a sense It was time to get the show going and plan every step for the murder. First he put the gun he had received via courier in his belt, making sure everybody would be able to see it. The more they linked that gun with him, the harder it’d be to think he had any other gun. That was going to be an important part of the plan.

The other gun, the one he’d use in the murder was hidden in the boxes in the classroom. It was a bad hiding place but it was better than leaving it anywhere in the school. Maybe if he found a better place in his exploration that day he’d change the place.

Where’s that damn cafeteria? He thought the moment he stepped out of the classroom. Sharpening his hearing sense, something that was often useful in his work, he detected what seemed like a group of people talking. Mitsuhiko walked in front of a few doors, getting further into the Headquarters. The cafeteria seemed to be at the end of the Monobear Camp, after turning a few times from the hallway. It was a dead end with no other path other than that, unless one counted the ventilation shafts on the ceiling, far away of anybody to reach.

Everybody except Tanaka was in the cafeteria. There were rather pleasant smells in the air which was rather curious. Taking a moment to enjoy the smell Mitsuhiko wondered who was cooking. Neither Monobear nor Lily seemed to be the type to cook for their hostages, so without bothering to greet anybody other than Yurie, Mitsuhiko entered the Kitchen.

-“Good morning, Hikaru-kun”-

Sugita had been the one. The Tea Demon, with a rather homely apron, was peering into a big pot of what seemed to be soup, smiling to herself. –“I’m telling you it’s with an i, Kimiko”-

-“Sorry, sorry!Relax and have a taste of this”- Sugita took a spoonful of hot soup and carefully passed it to Mitsuhiko. The hunter sipped it and gave his approval, remembering how from an early age Sugita had a knack for cooking. Her talents certainly had improved since their childhoods. –“It’s excellent!”-

-“Thank you!”- Sugita took off the apron and thoughtful remarked. –“There sure are a lot of provisions here, all of them of excellent quality. It’s ensured we won’t have any hunger hardships but it’s curious...”-

-“What’s so curious?”-

-“Here, look”- Sugita opened the Freezer and the fridge. They were completely full of food and meat. –“There’s also a small storage for other stuff. Everything is...well, not cheap. There are even some rare teas here. Lily even said that if we needed anything we only needed to ask her and she’d bring it”-

-“Pretty strange for somebody locking us in a place for a mutual killing game”-

-“I thought the same thing. After that Monobear appeared and said she wanted us to be full of energy so we could create amazing schemes”- Sugita, filling bowls of soup went to the cafeteria, passing them for everybody –“I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true, but still...at least a hot soup should calm our souls”-

Taking his own bowl Mitsuhiko sat to a side, observing everyone. People were talking as if their situation weren’t something to worry about. The atmosphere was quite relaxed while the commanders socialized; most of them already knew each other. Kishio and Yasumoto were with Kobayashi, cribbing the newbish commander with friendly questions. Yurie, Kayano and Koshimizu stayed to a side, talking courteously. Mitsuishi was shunned into a corner and was glaring at everybody. Sugita and Sasuga seemed rather friendly with each other in a way that reminded him of Yurie and him at times. Hosoya was walking around and listening to the conversations, Romi had gotten a guitar somewhere and was singing for Mimori and Fukuyama while Takayama sat near to them, fiddling with little black boxes Mitsuhiko couldn’t distinguish.

Overall a pretty peaceful group.

Once the breakfast was over Kishio stood up near the entrance to the Cafeteria, and clapped. –“Are there any objections if I take the leader spot here? Nice”- she asked quickly without giving anybody a chance to reply –“So we got locked here. Any comments regarding this worrying state of matters?”-

-“Lily had said she wanted from the beginning for us to have a mutual killing game, that by itself is alarming...”- Mitsuishi said.

-“Yeah, no need to say the obvious”- Kishio interrupted him before he could continue, as Yasumoto raised her hand –“Yes?”-

-“Shouldn’t Tanaka-san be here to hear us as well?”- she asked

-“We aren’t going to discuss anything about DeeEy, right? She’s not one of us”- Kobayashi said shyly, as if he expected to be yelled at. Other commanders made noises of agreement, making the newbie feel validated.

-“Amy is right”- Mitsuhiko said –“We don’t need to have that courier here. Let’s go straight to the point, okay?”-

-“No, I’ll check on her and get her some soup. Surely she must be starving”- Yasumoto took a bowl and carefully walked away. Nobody tried to stop her. Mitsuhiko thought for a moment and decided to follow her, at least to see if Tanaka had been murdered yet. If somebody had gone ahead and taken the target before him then he’d need to rethink his options.

The Mind Demon walked up to Camp Lily until she noticed she had no idea which one was Emiko’s classroom. –“Huh. Could you find Tanaka-san? I shouldn’t leave this bowl in the floor”-

-“Oh, sure”- Mitsuhiko had been distracted. He had been looking around to see if there was anything interesting. The lobby had a huge stone fountain, showing the wealth of the former school. It was composed of several human figures in varied positions, all of them standing relatively upright, but it wasn’t activated. The water in the fountain seemed to be stagnant. Veritas sure likes stone statues.

It wasn’t the only location with statues. In Camp Lily after ascending to the second floor one could see several different statues of academic people to both sides of the hall. The stairs ended directly on the middle of the Lily Camp, forming balconies of sorts above the lobby. The classrooms were divided on groups of four on each side of the stairs.

Mitsuhiko knocked on the doors of the classrooms until a voice sounded behind one of the doors. –“Go away!”- The hunter pointed at the correct door so Yasumoto could see it. Yasumoto stood on and took the lead of the conversation.

-“Tanaka-san? I thought you could be hungry so I brought you some soup. It should put a spring onto your step”-

-“It’s poisoned, I bet”-

-“Pois...no! It’s not. If you wish to I could prove it to you”- Tanaka opened the door just enough for a part of her face to be seen. Yasumoto stood a bit back so she could be seen and took a few spoonfuls. This is ridiculous. Tanaka didn’t yield until after a while. She opened the door and received the bowl, retreating quickly.

The woman was quite a mess. Her uniform was wrinkled and she didn’t have her cap, it seemed like she hadn’t slept the whole night. –“Step away.”-

-“I’m Chiyo Yasumoto. You don’t have anything to be afraid of, Tanaka-san”-

-“That’s a lie. That girl told me you’d kill each other. I bet I’ll be the prime target, being the only one not in your group”-

Yasumoto frowned. –“We won’t fall easily into those evil beings’ schemes, I promise. Please don’t be afraid”-

Emiko didn’t reply. Yasumoto continued –“You’re an honorary member of our organization. It’s essential you try to integrate yourself; the more you stay away the more dangerous it can be for you. It’s simple pack behavior, people are less likely to intentionally hurt anybody they’re close to”-

After a moment of silence Emiko nodded and closed the door, but talked through it –“Give me a minute. I’ll be there”-

-“Great”- Yasumoto smiled and turned to Mitsuhiko –“Thank you for coming here. Would you please tell Kishio-sensei that we’ll be there in five minutes?”-

-“Sure”- he had seen enough. Tanaka was alive, but there was something that was bothering him about the courier. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but he felt like he was forgetting something.

Mitsuhiko notified Kishio and waited along the rest until Yasumoto and Emiko arrived. The Mind Demon attracted everybody’s attention on behalf of Kishio, as the Linguist Demon had stayed to a side. –“So we all are trapped and told to kill each other by a couple of robots. It’s ridiculous but we have no other choice than to fight back”-

-“You mean we should attack them?”- Mimori almost dropped her notebook, although her expression stayed carefully neutral.

-“I don’t want to end gutted like Lily!”- Hosoya exclaimed, recoiling. Yasumoto shrugged and clarified what she meant.

-“I didn’t want to imply we needed to destroy them. All we need is to do the opposite of what they ask for. Instead of killing each other what if we stay together as a group? Neither of them must be good news for DeeEy”-

Kishio coughed. –“As if we’re going to do that quickly enough. By the time we manage to tolerate each other enough to be united at least a few of us will be dead”-

-“Then we’ll have to force ourselves to cooperate with each other. Kishio-sensei, want me to say it or will you?”-

-“I think they’ll listen to me more for that matter”- Kishio straightened her clothes and spoke in a matter that showed she wasn’t kidding around –“You’ll all cooperate towards keeping a peaceful atmosphere here. Whoever shows to be a threat to anybody else will be...neutralized”-

-“You mean killed?”- Romi left her guitar aside.

-“No, neutralized. We’ll ensure the threat that person has is corrected, whether it is by just taking the weapon...or by locking them into a room...or by inflicting severe yet non-fatal wounds. We’ll see how we deal with that. Tá sé pionós cóir, it’s a fair punishment”-

-“Yes, seems good to me!”- Kobayashi approved with enthusiasm –“I hope nobody will try to do anything now that there’ll be punishments”-

-“Shut up Amy”- Mitsuhiko muttered. He was going to need to be more cautious now. Monobear or Lily would do a trial if he was successful, but if he didn’t kill anybody and he was found out then he’d suffer the consequences. Either way that won’t really stop me.

-“Thank you Kishio-sensei”- Yasumoto said –“There are a couple things more. First than all, Kobayashi-kun? Would you please be Tanaka-san’s friend?”-

-“I suppose, but why?”- Kobayashi raised his eyebrows

-“You two are more or less in the same position. You’re a new commander, intimidated by everyone else, and Tanaka-san is somebody afraid of us. You’re the one who can understand her the most of us all here”-

That seemed logical to everybody. Yasumoto continued –“We also need to keep ourselves relaxed. Kayano-san, you’re a dancer, aren’t you?”-

-“Yes”-

-“Do you know any relaxation and yoga exercises? We could do them every morning as a way to cleanse our mind and bodies”-

-“I could do that, yes. I can teach them a few exercises if they’re willing to endure them”- Kayano smiled.

-“¡Good! And last, please everybody remember that Koshimizu-kun and I are willing to help in anything you need. Feel free to talk to us about anything. We’re done, you may go”-

Yasumoto bowed and went away. That was kind of tedious. Now that the unexpected reunion Kishio and Yasumoto had done was over he was able to check what was in the available areas.

Mitsuhiko glanced at the stone fountain before exiting the building. As he remembered everything was surrounded by a tall steel fence. It was hardly an effective container, the only that was stopping anybody from talking to people outside was Monobear and Lily’s threats, although the school was in an area without a lot of citizens.

The despair the world was immersed in made those sane enough stay inside their homes. That was how the world after the end worked.

The Front Courtyard was no more than a path of cobbled stone towards the gates with an extension of grass and flowers that obviously hadn’t been cared of for a good while. Everything was green but wilting. Veritas doesn’t make gardening his priority. There were no trees in the courtyard, however there were a couple at the other side of the fence, even taller than their surrounding steel barrier.

Mitsuhiko walked around the building, looking at the walls. The Headquarters were a four stories tall building but the hunter knew it also had a large basement, so in total there were five stories. I have a lot of terrain to cover here. Somewhere in this school there must be a good place to be the crime scene. The further we’re from people the better so the upper floors are the best.

At the other side of the building there was the Back Courtyard, larger than the Front Courtyard. There were several courts for different sports. Yurie had once told him that Veritas had built them when the Headquarters were a school so they could cultivate their sports talents, hoping they could get students with two titles. It hadn’t entirely worked, their successes were scarce.

And look who is there! Hosoya was examining a shed near the courts. –“Hosoya-kun? What do these courts get used for now that these are the Headquarters?”-

-“For nothing. Everything here is very dusty”- Hosoya rubbed a finger on the sports implements –“But as expected, nobody has time in years like this for friendly sports”-

-“These were for Veritas’ project, right?”

Hosoya took a basketball and dribbled it around. –“Yes. I was pretty good in basketball but not enough for Principal Delacroix, apparently. There were two or three I knew that managed to get a second title added to the one they got into this school”- the con man left the ball where she found it and contemptuously commented –“I bet that Yasumoto-san will try to do some sort of sports tournament”-

-“Nothing useful in here, it seems”-

-“Yes, forget about this shed, I just wanted to remember old times. I’ll be in my room if you need me”-

Other than the shed and the courts there was one thing more in the Back Courtyard: a Greenhouse. Curious! Let’s see... Despite the lack of care the Greenhouse’s contents were still impressive. Plants as tall as him welcomed him, tickling his neck when he walked under them. There were even colorful flowers in some parts. Everything was marked with little cards that mentioned each plant’s qualities and dangers. Cool, here I could get something to knock out or poison a target, if I wished. A bottle of medicine can be noticed missing but nobody would ever notice a handful of leaves gone.

As there was nothing else worth seeing in the outside of the Headquarters Mitsuhiko returned inside. The back exit of the school was locked with a padlock, so the front door was the only option to enter or leave the building. The stone fountain once again received him and this tie the hunter walked towards the left, away of the Monobear Camp.

The first thing he found was the Infirmary, just a few meters away of the Meeting Room. Inside was Koshimizu, now wearing a very clean lab coat. The man turned around when he heard the doors open. –“Hikari-kun. Do you have any business here?”-

-“I’m just looking around. Did you study here, Koshimizu-san?”- the Medical Demon’s age is something that bothered him. He was almost double his age, after all!

-“I did. I graduated from the very first class Delacroix had, when I was eighteen”-

-“It must be strange to be a commander of such age among us youngsters”- Mitsuhiko tried to insert a subtle barb into his words. Koshimizu frowned.

-“I’m used to that. Besides I have abilities none of you would ever dream of having”- Koshimizu took a scalpel from a drawer –“I’d like to see you operating somebody. A botched surgery should give you a lesson in humility. You’re in dire need of one, little brat”-

-“Remind me to not to fall sick around you. Is there anything interesting about this place?”-

-“Hum”- Koshimizu left the scalpel back into the drawer –“Not much, but it’s curious how well stocked this place is. I remember that in past times the headquarters didn’t have as many medicines and medical implements”-

-“Lily must have prepared them”-

-“There are anesthetics and other chemicals in that cabinet. Once I close it nobody should be able to get into it and I’ll have the only key”-

Yep, definitely will have to rely on the leaves.

Leaving the Infirmary Mitsuhiko walked through the hall. He calculated he was getting onto the back of the building and what he saw through the windows confirmed it. However the back door of the Headquarters weren’t there. Does that mean that those doors don’t go into the first floor? The presence of a diagonal portion of the roof in middle of the hallway did show there was something behind the walls, probably stairs.

At the end of that hallway Mitsuhiko found a large room with rows and rows of desks with computers. A small sign on the door informed what it was. ‘Delacroix – Administrative Offices.’ Wondering if it was possible to contact anybody via Internet through the computers Mitsuhiko turned on one of them. It worked perfectly but Mitsuhiko was unable to progress once a session was started. The computer showed there were no files in the computer, nor any software installed. They had been wiped clean...most likely. Mitsuhiko considered for a moment the merits of getting Yurie to try to find anything in the computers but discarded the idea. It really didn’t matter to him; after all it isn’t like he was planning to snoop anything.

I think that is everything in this floor. I’m done. He thought while he returned to the fountain. The second floor was the only place left to check, so he ascended upstairs until he reached Camp Lily. The second floor had one long hallway, divided into classrooms-turned-bedrooms. The left side of the hallway was a dead end, ending in a closed door, also fit with a padlock. Mitsuhiko tried to open it but it was pretty well closed. This must go to the second floor too.

The hunter was disappointed when he found the other end of the hall also led to a locked door, mirroring the first he had found. There can’t be three doors that go into the second floor. One must lead to the Basement. I wonder if Lily or Monobear has the keys...

That seemed to be everything there was to see, everything else was locked. Suppressing a yawn Mitsuhiko descended the stairs towards the fountain and decided to go to his room. Not having anything else to do he considered prodding a few people to see if Emiko was around. No matter what Yurie said Mitsuhiko considered that she was the best option as a victim. Turning around to look back the hunter noticed there was one hall he hadn’t gone through yet, directly behind the stairs. Intrigued Mitsuhiko walked into the hall, finding it had no illumination. The bulbs were off except for a yellow square at the end of the hall, showing it was a room.

When Mitsuhiko entered he found what seemed a Theater. There were several rows of comfy seats in front of a wooden scenario with curtains; it was quite a simple place, but there was somebody already examining another door with curiosity.

Seeing Emiko peering through a door reminded him exactly what had bothering him since the day before.

Holding a gasp of realization, Mitsuhiko ran back to the Cafeteria, hoping to find somebody who could help him. If there was somebody who could do what he wished it was the Mind Demon. Luckily Yasumoto still was sitting to one of the tables, talking to herself. –“...and nobody has seen him around. Where could Monobear be...?”-

-“The longer he stays away the better”- Mitsuhiko replied and went straight to the point –“Are you able to tell if somebody is lying, Yasumoto-san?”-

-“I know a couple techniques but I’m not infallible. Why do you ask?”-

-“There’s something about that courier that was strange and I finally found out what it was. I want to interrogate her, please go with me and tell me if she lies”-

Yasumoto folded her hands under her chin, thinking for a moment before standing up –“Okay, I suppose there’s no harm on that. Where is she?”-

-“In the theater. Do you know where it is?”-

-“It’s behind the stairs towards Camp Lily.  Let’s get this over with”-

Tanaka was going out of the Theater when Yasumoto and Mitsuhiko got there. –“Tanaka-san, there’s something he’d like to ask you”-

-“You better not lie”- Mitsuhiko pointed threateningly at the courier, who nodded. After they got seated on front of the scenarios Yasumoto grabbed Emiko’s wrist.

-“When one is stressed, nervous or anxious the heart starts beating faster. Start whenever you wish, Hikari-kun”-

-“Right”- Mitsuhiko looked at Emiko straight to the eyes but the courier seemed very interested on the ceiling. –“Who are you?”-

-“I-I’m Emiko Tanaka, courier...”- Mitsuhiko turned to Yasumoto, who had very focused on her task.

-“She’s saying the truth”-

-“Right”- the hunter continued –“You brought me a package yesterday, but there are some strange things in all this. Who sent the package? Nothing showed who did”-

-“Oh”- Emiko widened her eyes –“I have no idea. My supervisor gave me the packages to deliver; I don’t know who sent it”-

-“Truth”- Yasumoto quipped.

-“And how did you know where to find me? The only thing written on the package was my name. There was nothing else. And what’s more, only two days ago I decided to come here. Explain that”-

-“What’s there to explain?”- Emiko frowned –“My supervisor told me to come here. I’d suggest you ask him but since we’re locked...”-

-“That’s the truth. Are you sure you needed me, Hikari-kun?”- the Mind Demon inquired, but Mitsuhiko ignored her. There was one last thing he needed to ask, as that was what intrigued him the most.

-“One last thing: are you part of SHSL Despair or maybe...the Future Foundation?”-

Yasumoto almost dropped Emiko’s wrist. –“What does the Future Foundation have to do with your gun?”-

-“This courier’s company is called ‘Tomorrow Enterprises’. It’s pretty obvious there could be a link between her and the Future Foundation...or she could even be an agent of them!”-

Emiko gasped. –“I know nothing about the Future Foundation!”-

Yasumoto frowned –“She lied”- Mitsuhiko smirked, satisfied. Emiko was an agent from the Future Foundation, that had been confirmed. Emiko, noticing how bad that looked for her, hurriedly amended her words.

-“Okay, okay, I know about them! I...I do know Tomorrow Enterprises are protected by the Future Foundation but I have nothing to do with that! I’m just by myself”-

Yasumoto stared at Emiko, judging her expression. After a few seconds she gave her opinion. –“She’s telling the truth”-

Yasumoto’s verdict surprised Mitsuhiko. He had been so sure that Emiko was part of the Future Foundation, but now that the local psychologist had said she was telling the truth it was very difficult to believe Emiko had willingly gotten into the whole mess. –“I think we’re done here. I’ll be going back”-

-“Wait, one last thing”- Mitsuhiko stopped Yasumoto before asking Emiko –“Where’s that bag of deliveries of yours?”-

-“That little girl took it away after she explained me the situation, I don’t know where it is now”- Emiko practically ran away. Mitsuhiko watched her go before deciding to see what Emiko had been looking at before. The hunter opened the door on the side of the Theater, finding what seemed to be a storage. Lots of costumes and cans of stage makeup were aligned on shelves, all of them of average quality. Just to experiment the quality Mitsuhiko dipped a finger in a can of green paint that shone like plastic. Anybody who looks closely would see these were makeup. Not the best stuff to have around.

Deciding it wasn’t important Mitsuhiko returned to the Theater, pacing from side to side. I can’t attack Tanaka if her company is under the protection of the Future Foundation. I’ll have to go for someone else.

It was going to be annoying but the only option Mitsuhiko saw was to prod people around to see who was the most vulnerable. Time to socialize with ulterior motives.

Chapter Text

When Mitsuhiko walked outside of the hall to the Theater he found a figure leaning on a corner of the room, near the stairs. –"Takayama-kun?"- That armor and red clothes were unmistakable. The Bodyguard stood up, not too surprised to see somebody. –"You. Looking to shoot somebody with the gun you received?"-

No, not with that one. –"Of course not! I was exploring"-

-"Exploring. As if you have never been here before. You studied here for years and at least once you must have been here as a commander"-

-"I didn't study in Delacroix, moron"- Mitsuhiko withheld most of what he wanted to say –"What are you doing?"-

Takayama considered for a moment not saying anything, but the apparent advantages of replying with the truth outweighed the disadvantages. Raising his hand he pointed to a tiny black box, glued onto the corner. –"Do you see that?"-

-"I'll look closer"- he tried to check but Takayama stopped him, pushing him back.

-"Better not. What you see there is a microphone. I have set at least thirty microphones around"-

-"Microphones?"- Takayama never seemed somebody who dealt with technology like that.

-"Yes, microphones. Foreknowledge goes a long way when it's about protecting people. If I know what everybody is doing and what they plan I'll be able to combat any troubles accordingly"-

-"Did you make it by yourself? Are you good with machines, perhaps...with robots?"- Takayama being Lily's creator? It could be possible. Takayama smiled wistfully, maybe imagining himself creating a robot.

-"I'm not that good. Besides my specialty are microphones and transmissions, anything needed to listen to other people's plans. Lily is out of my league. Now if you excuse me I must continue"-

Knowing there were microphones hidden all over the place was a mighty deterrent to Mitsuhiko's plans, but they weren't enough to dissuade him to stop. He just needed to plan around that, find the microphones. –"And how do you plan this to listen to all the microphones?"-

-"I already took care of that"- Takayama said smugly –"I'll be able to listen to every word anyone says. Nobody is going to get away with murder as long as I'm around"-

-"Why would it be important for you to protect us? We're your competition; don't you want to get into the Main Board?"-

-"What for?"- Takayama shrugged –"I already am in contact with them. Being a Main Board member would make everything harder for me"-

-"But if anybody else tries to get into the Main Board you'll die!"-

Takayama descended the stairs towards his bedroom –"We're not going to let Monobear or Lily make us kill each other. Yasumoto-san, Kayano-san, Kishio-sensei and I have promised that we're going to keep peace in this place at all costs. No murder will happen.

We're building a metaphorical fort. You better not do anything, Hikari-kun. Oyama-san and you are the most unstable people in here, from what I see"-

Mitsuhiko ran to him –"Why so interested on protecting us? Just because you're a Bodyguard?"-

-"...it's not just that. Have you forgotten why DeeEy exists?"- Takayama stopped, talking with great seriousness –"We're here to restore the world. Sure, our personal interests for power are the biggest incentive we have, but we must restore the world and there are two robots here that are trying to stop us.

That's the duty of Diavolos Avante"-

Mitsuhiko thought for a moment Takayama's words. It was true. Could they be letting their wishes to get into the Main Board be blinding them? Were Yurie and him wrong? Ridiculous. Once we get into the Main Board we'll be able to work better. Fourteen lives is a small cost to being able to restore the world.

Maybe thirteen, if I can find a way to save Kimiko, but I doubt she'd agree to murder anybody.

-"I can't let this happen!"- Monobear had appeared from behind the fountain –"If this is going to stop people from killing then it must be against the rules"-

-"It isn't. Nothing you or Lily said yesterday overrules what I'm doing"-

-"Give me one of those"- Monobear took a microphone, looking at it closely –"Upupupu...I see, I see...This is going to be easy..."-

-"What's going to be easy?"- Takayama raised his eyebrows, worried. The bear tried to look as innocent as possible, which was extraordinarily hard.

-"Oh, it's nothing. I'll be taking this. Continue what you're doing"- Monobear walked away towards the second floor, throwing up and down the microphone. Takayama frowned, for a moment reconsidering placing the microphones, but finally decided to continue no matter what Monobear planned to do.

-"That bear can go impale himself with a spit for all I care. I'll keep going"- Takayama muttered.

-"Just curiosity, Takayama-kun...if you find out somebody is planning a murder and attacks what would you do?"-

Takayama pushed his glasses to his forehead, looking at Mitsuhiko intensely. –"What a strange question, kid. I'll tell you what I'd do.

I didn't turn into a good bodyguard by letting things happen. These microphones are the result of my work. If I found somebody trying to kill I'd simply..."- to summarize what he was trying to say he dragged his finger over his neck. Mitsuhiko felt himself tensing at the concise answer. –"The best defense is offense. Attack before you're attacked; strike them before they strike you. What doesn't exist can't attack you.

Some people say I have a paranoia complex but it's hard to call me paranoid when I turn out to be right so often"-

-"I want to help you"- Mitsuhiko said. If he could check where Takayama would be placing microphones then he'd be able to plan accordingly, find where there were no microphones and create the crime scene there. Unfortunately the Bodyguard wasn't stupid. Remembering the gun and what Yurie and Mitsuhiko had said when they arrived to the Meeting Room the day before it was clear they couldn't be trusted.

-"No. Stay away of me"- he said coldly, going away. Refraining from insulting him any further Mitsuhiko let him go. With some luck he'd be able to follow Takayama and see the location of a few microphones, as well as knowing how he planned to keep tabs on so many machines.

I followed Takayama for an hour, seeing him place a few microphones.

Takayama entered to his bedroom after he finished placing the microphones and that marked the end of Mitsuhiko's stalking. At no point Mitsuhiko saw anything that could allow Takayama listen to the microphones, so the only possible conclusion was that it was in the bedroom. Just in case the hunter searched in all places he knew to see if there was a machine in contact with the microphones.

The only place where it could have been a possibility was the Administrative Offices, but after checking all computers there was nothing to be found. All of them were empty, just like the one he had checked earlier. It was now confirmed Takayama's bedroom must be the one to hold the contraption or...whatever allowed listening to them.

Shouldn't be too hard to enter there. The classrooms doesn't have locks, it's a matter of keeping him busy while I sneak in. But even if I did I could only listen, it'd be hard to know where the microphones are.

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to try Mitsuhiko decided to simply be more careful, find a safe place. The only possibility would be to communicate with Yurie using some way that didn't involve saying it aloud. One mistake and they'd have the rest of the group buzzing around them.

-ooooo-

-"Kimiko, I need to ask you something"- The Tea Demon had been in her bedroom when he went to see her.

Mitsuhiko was trying to think of a way for him to save Sugita. If she helped in the murder could she be considered a culprit? Having three different culprits would make it hard for everybody to guess correctly. Sure, there was only one Main Board spot but he doubted Sugita had what was needed to be in such an important position.

Although...they hadn't talked in quite a while, since he moved to Kyoto. Sure, they had been in contact through phones and email, but the contest was pretty much the first time they met face to face since they were kids. Maybe she had changed.

-"What is it?"- Sugita smiled kindly.

-"Kimiko, please answer me honestly...you wouldn't kill anybody, right?"-

-"What's up with that question?"- she dropped the smile.

-"...if you suddenly got into a chance to kill without fail...would you do it? Please be honest, Kimiko..."-

The Tea Demon stared for a moment, unsure of what to say. –"That's a strange question, but...no, I wouldn't"-

-"You mean you don't want to be part of the Main Board?"-

-"I do, I do, but it would mean everybody else's death, right?"-

Mitsuhiko nodded. Expressing worry for everyone's lives indicated it wasn't very likely she'd accept. I either trick her into cooperating somehow or I simply don't get her involved. Let's go with the second option. Sugita averted her eyes. –"Hikari-kun, I promise you that if anybody dies and I'm the culprit I'll confess, no matter if it was an accident, self-defense or even a planned murder"-

-"Did you get attached to us?"-

-"What? No! To me almost everybody is a stranger and I don't really care what happens to them. It's just that...look, I don't want to talk about this"- Sugita crossed her arms. There was something strange in Sugita's behavior. Her tone did show she was telling the truth when she said she didn't care about the commanders, but then why would she confess causing a death?

-"Can I enter?"- Mitsuhiko doubted Takayama had installed microphones inside the bedrooms, at least for now. Sugita nodded and stepped aside, letting him go in. Sugita's bedroom was very similar to his own; there were almost no differences –"But seriously, Kimiko. Killing somebody is the only way to get out of this place. You have to be ready to end a life"-

-"I'm telling you I won't. Seriously, Hikari-kun, why the sudden questions? Did something happen?"-

-"Nothing yet, but it's just matter of time before it does"-

-"And will you be the killer, by any chance? You have been worrying me. Since you got here you seemed...I don't know, changed. Would you seriously not hesitate before ending a life?"-

-"I'm an assassin, I can't afford to hesitate"-

-"I see. You really went from hunting deer to hunting people. It's only matter of time before you get killed yourself"-

-"I'm offering you a chance, Kimiko. If we both kill somebody then both of us would get out of here, even if only one would go into the Main Board. I'd be willing to give the spot to you!"-

That didn't sit well with Sugita. Her face reddened while she grabbed Mitsuhiko's arm, making him bend down until he was directly in front of her eyes –"You scum of the earth, would you leave your fianceé to die here?"-

...oops. He had forgotten about that little detail in his hypothetical scenario. He had been just trying to find out how willing she'd be to join him into the plot. Inadvertently he surely had made her more reticent to try to take part of it. Without taking a moment to breath Kimiko continued berating him. –"I can't believe you have turned into that kind of person, you asshole. You're going to go away and not talk to me until I say it's okay. I won't tell Yurie about this because nobody deserves to hear their love is going to let them be killed but if I see you even thinking about letting her die I'll make sure everybody knows about this.

Understood, Hikaru?"-

Mitsuhiko nodded slowly, aghast. It sure had spiraled out of control. Kimiko let him go, her eyes filling with tears –"You have changed a lot. I can't find anymore the kid I knew..."-

-"I wasn't a good person either when I was a kid"-

-"I know you weren't but I never thought you'd sink this low. Now go away"- Kimiko pushed him towards the door, practically shoving him onto the hall. The hunter fell onto the floor, dazed, while the door closed behind him with a bang. I haven't changed that much, have I?

So far his attempts to go around and talk to people had been tremendous failures. First Takayama, making him remember what Diavolos Avante should be doing, and now Sugita made him realize how despicable he was sounding. But I can't stop. Yurie would never forgive me if I don't do something to win. I must continue.

Looks like it'll be only Yurie and me. Sorry Kimiko. I tried to save you.

From what he remembered Sugita had always been somebody who gave great importance to friends, once even saying she'd give her own life to save people she appreciated. In elementary school she had never been one to socialize, in fact Mitsuhiko had been her first friend. Mitsuhiko could still remember how their last meeting before his departure had been.

They had met in her home, in one of her traditional tea parties. He had been living with Sugita's family for a couple years by now since the death of his parents and they had done him the favor to let him live with them. Sugita had been quite a cheerful girl, but in that moment her cheerfulness was gone -"Are you sure about all this, Hikaru-kun? I don't like the sound of this"-

-"I'm fed up with Hope's Peak. I can't continue hunting while I'm a student and it's pissing me off!"-

-"And going to Kyoto will help? There aren't hunting reserves there"-

-"I know what I'm doing! Trust me, Kimiko, besides we can continue being in contact!"-

-"What will my parents say? They're not going to let you go just like that"-

-"I'm not their son; they have no control over me"-

-"They worry about you. Maybe if you explain the situation to them..."-

-"I was told to not to tell anybody about this. It's an important job, I can't just reject it!"-

-"Does Yurie-san know about this?"-

-"She does. Everything will be okay"-

Sugita left her cup down, trying not to cry. –"Promise me you will be safe. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you...if I could stop you somehow"-

Even if he didn't want to admit it he had his own doubts as well. The person he had talked with had promised he would be safe and that if he was successful with his task he'd be rewarded handsomely...although Mitsuhiko had wondered several times why they had tasked a teenager with the job. –"I'll be fine"-

-"If you're ever in trouble tell me, Hikaru-kun. I'll leave everything and rescue you no matter what happens. You're my best friend!"-

-"You're my best friend too. I promise I'll tell you if anything happens"-

And nothing had happened. Mitsuhiko had gone to Kyoto, he had completed his job and he had been rewarded. Kimiko had been notified and while she had been relieved she had inquired what he had been doing, as she had realized he had never told her. Mitsuhiko never gave a straight answer and that was the end of the matter. The promise of going to rescue him had never been claimed.

And it looked like it never would, judging by how he had been treated just now.

I stayed outside of Kimiko's bedroom for a while, hoping she'd come out. She didn't.

-ooooo-

While Monobear had reacted to the microphones by taking one to do who knew what despite claiming it was against the rules, Lily had a pretty different reaction. –"Do you people seriously think a few flimsy microphones are going to stop you? A killer will kill even if there are microphones around. Show me which one of you is clever enough!"- she had droned to those who were around once she found one of Takayama's little boxes on the rail of the stairs.

However when Lily thought nobody was seeing her she had gone around, finding microphones and getting rid of them, especially the ones around the bedrooms in Camp Lily. Maybe she's protecting her creator.

-"Lily, are you really okay with the microphones?"- Mitsuhiko had asked while the little girl had climbed one of the stone statues in Camp Lily, trying to take off the black box on top of the figure's hand. Mitsuhiko did it for her, figuring he may as well help her.

-"If I were okay I wouldn't be taking them away"- Mitsuhiko gave her the microphone, seeing how she crushed it between her fingers –"It's annoying to know somebody is listening to what we say"-

-"But you have pretty much been telling everybody"- Lily had already ranted to at least half of the commanders. Takayama had seemed pleased to how the girl had spread the word about the presence of the microphones. –"A killer would be most likely to kill if they didn't know about them"-

Lily smiled wickedly –"And that's why I'm getting rid of them. People will kill if they know they aren't being listened...kihihihihi..."-

Hearing Lily laugh was pretty unnerving. Her voice sounded so metallic when she laughed it seemed more like cogs in need of a good dose of oil. Weirded out Mitsuhiko receded, trying to not to show the panic he was almost feeling

-ooooo-

It was almost dinner time, once again cooked by Sugita. She had taken the spot of cook between the commanders and everybody was happy for that. Everybody was waiting for dinner to be served, once again forming their little groups, with no change from earlier. The only changes were that Sasuga was in the Kitchen with Sugita and Kobayashi was with Emiko. Yurie had attempted to approach but he had limited himself to give her a piece of paper with just a few words written. 'Meet me in the Administrative Offices at 10 PM'.

Mitsuhiko noticed there was somebody who once again was alone, watching everybody with a scowl. The hunter approached, thinking quickly the advantages of targeting Mitsuishi. He was pretty much the most disliked commander, nobody would object if he died. Besides the more isolated he felt the quicker he'd attack somebody. –"Why so alone, Mitsuishi?"-

-"I'm watching everybody huddle like panicked rats"- Mitsuishi sneered –"We're DeeEy commanders, we should be used to taking care of ourselves and our people. Why would we need to stay together?"-

Mitsuhiko made a gesture of exasperation. –"You want to join them, don't you?"- The Flying Demon blanked his expression, annoyed, but finally admitted.

-"...yes"-

-"Is it self-preservation or is there some other reason?"-

-"Self-preservation"- Mitsuishi replied pretty quickly –"If they see me alone they'll attack me. I can already see it in their eyes, they want to attack me. What have I done for them to want me dead?"- All traces of compassion Mitsuhiko may have felt vanished when the pilot continued –"They're jealous of me. None of them can do the things I do. That's why they want to kill me, because they don't want to admit I have the edge over them"-

-"I don't see how your briiiiiiilliant pilot abilities will help you get into the Main Board"- Mitsuhiko made the sarcasm very clear.

-"That's because you're not intelligent enough. Why don't you try to be like me, somebody who can actually take care of oneself? Or are you going to cling to them and hope for the best?"-

Mitsuhiko couldn't take it anymore. Mitsuishi was insufferable; no wonder nobody could bear to spend a bit of time with him. –"That's why nobody wants to spend not even one minute with you. You belittle everybody but everybody knows you're exactly the same than everybody else"-

-"Don't act innocent, Hikari-kun"- Mitsuishi gritted his teeth –"I heard what you said yesterday when you arrived. If that isn't belittling then I don't know what it is"-

-"But unlike you I know when to contain my own feelings of superiority. Stop being a jackass and maybe we'll try to give you a chance"-

Mitsuishi glared at the hunter but after a moment he looked away, defeated. –"I can't be that bad. There are people worse than me. Admit there are"-

-"And that's another flaw you have. You care too much about what other people do or think. Stop being so goddamn stubborn and admit you're the one who is in the wrong"-

Mitsuishi stood up, pretending to dust down his jacket –"You think about that. I'll take my dinner now"- That was a waste of time. There's no way Mitsuishi is going to change.

The dinner arrived after a while but the commanders didn't have enough time to enjoy it before Lily and Monobear arrived to ruin the peace. –"I can't believe what I'm seeing! Are you...getting along with each other?"- Monobear asked, practically shouting.

-"Nobody is so anxious to get into the Main Board at the cost of everybody else's lives"- Koshimizu replied calmly.

-"Oh oh oh! That's impossible! Aren't we all murderers, after all? What are a few lives more?"-

-"We're already taking actions to ensure nobody dies"- Takayama said with proudly –"Nothing you or that girl tries to do will make us fail"-

-"I don't need to do anything"- Lily said, taking a dish and flipping it around absentmindedly –"All I have to do is to observe! Sooner or later one of you will break in pieces just like this!"- And so she threw it onto the floor. Unluckily for her the metaphor didn't work at all, as the plate resisted. –"That's not fair!"-

-"You failed, Lily. No surprise. I'll show you how to push people to murder"- Monobear stood on a table, ensuring everybody would see him –"You all think you're smart with your buddy-buddy friendship schoolyard club, but I can see what all of you do when you're alone.

What would you do if I said one or more of you is already planning murder?"-

-"It's them, isn't it?"- Tanaka pointed at Mitsuhiko and Oyama. Apparently she had been briefed about the boasting they had done the day before.

-"Not telling! But you can't trust anybody. Before you know it the person you trust the most...BAM!"- Monobear jumped, startling those nearest to him –"You get stabbed in the back!"-

-"N-No-Nobody would dare, right?"- Kobayashi seemed to be the one most affected by Monobear's words. –"We're all being good"-

-"If you're so sure then sleep with your door opened tonight!"-

-"Yeah, why don't you do that if you're sure nobody will do anything?"- Lily supported Monobear –"I'll give you all a chance: if by tomorrow night nobody has died I'll give all of you a special reward. Let's see if you manage to hold until tomorrow night"- the girl smirked.

-"I'll do the opposite offer! If somebody has died by tomorrow I'll give you a reward! The Main Board spot will only be the beginning compared to my prizes"-

-"You have no hope to win, Monobear"-

-"I'm beary sure they'll take the chance I gave them"- Monobear was exuding confidence. Lily groaned, not wanting to get involved in a petty fight.

-"Whatever"-

-"What kind of reward will it be?"- Hosoya asked. Mitsuhiko turned around. So was Hosoya planning to do something, after all?

-"It's a se-cret! Kill and you'll win it"- Monobear said.

-"What about you, Lily? Got something better than him?"- Lily didn't reply, instead leaving the Cafeteria.

-"Poor Lily, she couldn't bear the pressure. Don't disappointment, everybody! Remember the smiling face in front of you is hiding their claws behind their back!"- and so he disappeared.

Everybody stayed silent during dinner. It was ridiculous to think to take an offer that wasn't even defined what it was. There was no guarantee that Lily or Monobear would even make good to their word, for all they know. Nobody would be so dumb as to risk their own lives for something that may not even be true...

...right?

After dinner Sugita announced that she had prepared some tea. –"It should be here in a moment. Romi-san will bring it"-

-"Are you sure you should have left the blind woman to deal with that?"- Yasumoto inquired.

-"Oh, just because she is blind doesn't mean she can't do something as simple as this. Just watch"-

-"I don't trust her to be okay"- Mitsuhiko stood up –"I'll check on her"- Sugita shot him a dirty look but didn't protest. The hunter walked into the kitchen, where she found Romi in front of the stove with a teapot, waiting for it to boil. She was singing to herself.

-"...I don't want to be resigned to be the remains of myself / nor blame everybody else / for what's my incumbency and responsibility...fuck it, that doesn't work"-

-"What are you muttering?"-

Romi turned her head around without the slightest hint of surprise –"It's not something for you to worry about. What do you need?"-

-"Just wondering if you needed help with the tea"- Attacking a blind woman? It could work, but Yurie wouldn't be happy. Still, a murder is a murder.

-"I don't need any help. I can deal with this by myself"-

-"How do you do that? Aren't you blind?"-

Romi sighed. –"Again, not completely blind. Besides even if I were there are several hints that allow me to live like anybody with a set of intact eyes"- Romi grabbed a spoon and touched the teapot softly, tracing the edge of the circumference with the spoon. –"As the handle had the same color than the teapot and it's too thin I can't see it, but I can find it easily"- The Lyricist Demon grabbed the handle. For a moment Mitsuhiko tried to alert her about not taking the teapot with bare hands, but then he realized she was wearing some thick-looking leather gloves. If he remembered right, she had it since he had seen her the day before.

-"What's up with those gloves?"-

-"They're something I commissioned. There are tiny details in objects I can't see and could hurt my figners, so I use these gloves to avoid any wounds. They severely handicap my touch sense in my hands, but I think it's fair trade"-

Romi took the teapot to the counter and brought out a tray with cups, serving the tea in them. –"I know exactly where to stop, as the tea makes sounds when I'm serving it. It's the same with any liquids"-

-"And to carry the tray? You'll have to keep it in front of you and that'll make you not be able to look onto the floor"-

-"No problem with that"- Romi took the tray with the teacups and started walking –"When there are things in my path I...I feel a strange tingling sensation on my legs. Must be some sort of instinct I acquired after losing my eyesight. I can do anything anybody can do"-

-"I bet you couldn't aim a gun to shoot something"-

-"Nobody likes a smartass, Hikari-kun"-

Much to Mitsuhiko's admiration Romi was able to walk around, taking the teacups and passing them to every commander flawlessly. Once she was done she returned with Mitsuhiko. –"Learned yet to not to underestimate me?"-

-"Yeah..."- It was true. Romi had demonstrated her blindness didn't stop her from living or doing anything. –"I bet your prefecture is in perfect order with your leadership"-

Romi looked away –"It is, but...I can only hope they'll be okay. Do you have any idea if the Main Board will come at some point? I want to talk to them"-

-"Trying to cajole them into giving you the Main Board stop early?"-

-"No"- Romi talked very seriously –"I just came here because I was going to come here either way, to talk with Volkos. I was going to notify him that..."-

-"...that what?"-

-"...that I'll be leaving Diavolos Avante"-

Wait what. –"You can't be serious! Why are you leaving?"-

Romi touched her teacup, still not taking a sip. –"I feel unhappy. DeeEy is starting to...make me feel unsatisfied. We have been going in circles for a year already and Veritas hasn't done anything yet"-

-"Give him some time; you don't have to leave yet"-

-"We have been waiting for too long already! Sure, we're expanding, but SHSL Despair continues to be strong and we haven't done not even a dent on them! Where's the progress? When will we stop needing these organizations?"-

-"Someday. Don't worry that much about it"-

Romi spoke sadly. –"I'm a woman who likes peace...I took the spot as commander because I wanted for the world to get better but nothing has progressed...I just want to be able to relax and travel like I used to do before the Despairing incident thing happened..."-

-"Again, that'll happen soon. Veritas is a smart man, he won't let us down. Besides we have the Main Board. They're helping too"-

-"...will we be able to have a simple life, Hikari-kun? That's all I want"-

The truth was that Mitsuhiko didn't know. He was already used to his life as the Hunting Demon. While he dreamed with commanding counties and letting other people take care of nations and the rest he couldn't imagine how it'd be. –"You will, when we're done. Resist. Besides how'll you tell Veritas?"-

-"Well...I got accepted into Delacroix school thanks to my talent as a lyricist. I think it'd be appropriate if my links to DeeEy are severed with a song too. I want to tell Veritas what he's doing wrong and finally...be myself"-

The Hunter was unsure of what to say. He didn't feel the same Romi did so it wasn't like he could give her a tip. The most he could do was to listen. The Lyricist Demon had continued her singing. –"I don't want to be unable to control my anger/ nor keep carrying in my eyes that sadness... yeah, that could work. Doesn't rhyme but phonetically maybe..."-

Romi and I drank our teas.

-ooooo-

At 10:00 PM Mitsuhiko entered the Administrative Offices, where he found Yurie. The girl was sitting in front of a computer, typing something. Without saying a word Mitsuhiko approached and looked at the screen.

Yurie had created a rudimentary word processor and was typing in it. 'Don't say anything aloud. Just type. Got a target yet?'

Mitsuhiko took the keyboard. 'I do'. Yurie stared at him in silence until it was obvious she was waiting for him to continue. The former SHSL Hunter bit his lip and gave the name. They had an advantage over their future victim; it shouldn't be too hard... 'Amy'

'Is that the codename?'

'I mean Kobayashi-kun. Let's kill him'

Yurie rolled her eyes, annoyed. 'There we go, you once again going with the easy option. I suppose I'll have to accept it. How'll the plan go?'

'We'll call him to a place where we can kill him. I propose we do it here'

'Mitsu-chan and Yurie, in the Administrative Offices...and with what weapon? The gun?'

'My gun. We should hide behind a table or something. Then we put our hands on the gun, we pull the trigger and we're done'

'Simple and to the point. I like that. Tomorrow?'

'Tomorrow. What time?'

Yurie stopped for a moment, mulling the options. '2 PM. After shooting Kobayashi-kun I say we return to our bedrooms instantly. We won't be leaving any evidence besides the bullet and you already said how to deal with the bullet thing. We should be fine'

'It's settled. See you tomorrow at 2 PM'

Yurie closed the file and deleted it, also getting rid of the word processor. The hunter left without looking back, going straight to his bedroom. After verifying he still had bullets in his personal gun and taking out the Twin Beretta he had been carrying around the whole day Mitsuhiko entered into his sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Just before falling asleep he realized that Lily had never said a word to the rest about having gotten rid of the microphones.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko awoke just after sunrise.

He was sure that at that hour nobody would be awake so he had time to do what he wished now. While he was asleep he noticed there was a point neither Yurie nor him had touched.

How were they going to get Kobayashi to the Administrative Offices?

There was no time to talk to Yurie. Takayama' pesky microphones were quite a bother so talking naturally wasn't an option, and going to the Administrative Offices to type would seem suspicious. Heck, there were even possibilities that Takayama had heard them type the night before. Sure, he wouldn't know who it was, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

The only way would be a note. If I make it believable enough Kobayashi will follow it without any questions. With that in mind, he pulled a piece of paper from a generic notebook that was included in the boxes in his bedroom. Biting his tongue he disguised his handwriting as much as possible. 'Kobayashi. We have found very important files about Lily. You're the only one who can answer my questions now. Meet me in the Administrative Offices at 2 PM' –"Terrible. This wouldn't fool even a child"- Mitsuhiko muttered, but he couldn't think of anything better to write. The more copies of the note in existence the more likely they could link it to him.

The hunter opened the door and looked at both sides of the hall. As his bedroom was in the path to the Cafeteria it was likely any hungry commander would see him. Not only that, but also if anybody in Camp Lily stepped into the halls of the second floor they'd see him. I have only a few seconds. I must hurry.

Walking without making as little noise as possible he jogged to the stairs to the second floor. The Headquarters were impressively silent; the only thing he could hear was his own breathing. When he got to the second floor he listened carefully to try to hear if anybody was awake. No sound emanated from any of the bedrooms, so he got quickly to Kobayashi's bedroom. The day before while Lily had been crushing the microphones he had heard Kobayashi's voice, so he was sure where the bedroom was.

Passing the note under a door wasn't difficult. After having left it in his target's bedroom Mitsuhiko ran to his own bedroom. Breathing heavily the hunter leaned on the door, congratulating himself. The trap had been set; it was just matter of waiting now. Eight hours and half until the murder.

Mitsuhiko stayed in his bedroom until he was able to hear people walking towards the cafeteria. Counting thirteen commanders Mitsuhiko chose to go out now. It was time to test his poker face, nobody would suspect the plan.

When he entered the cafeteria everybody had gathered on mats, stretching and forming curious positions. Kayano was standing in front of everybody else, directing them. -"Hikari-san? You're tardy for the yoga"-

-"I couldn't care less about the yoga"- he replied bluntly. Kayano shrugged and sat on the floor.

-"Now everybody raise your hands, interlocking your fingers. Stretch, stretch all the way"- she demonstrated how to do it. When she stretched Mitsuhiko saw something curious among the commanders doing yoga.

Kayano now wasn't the only one who had strings of pearls. The Dancing Demon now only had one single string, weaving around her arm. There were another three commanders with pears wrapped around their arms, all of the same size and shine than the others. They were Takayama, Yasumoto and Kishio.

Lily was also present in the Cafeteria and much to Mitsuhiko's surprise she had a string of pearls wrapped around her head, laying on her hair horns. –"Why does the hellspawn have pearls?"- the hunter asked to Fukuyama, who was sitting near without taking part of the exercises.

-"Yasumoto-san said it was going to be a peace offer to whoever controls Lily. She doesn't seem to be happy about it, though"- Lily was scowling and pulling at the string with her fingers.

-"Does she really believe some pearls are going to make Lily's creator rethink locking us in here?"-

Fukuyama laughed –"She'd be delusional! But nobody stopped her so...the only conclusion is that nobody really cared about that"-

-"Yasumoto-san is trying really hard to make us get along. It's almost annoying"-

-"Kinda, but you have to admit that thanks to her we're all feeling better than we would without her presence. She has been a positive influence all around"-

Mitsuhiko stared at Fukuyama. -"Why don't you take the stupid mask off?"- Seeing Monobear's face was making him uncomfortable. As far as he knew the actor hadn't taken the mask off not even to eat. Fukuyama touched the mask, scratching the fur.

-"I'd rather not. This mask represents who I am"-

-"A traitor?"-

-"Of course not!"- Mitsuhiko had no idea what Fukuyama's expression was, but his tone was annoyed –"This mask represents my efforts to infiltrate the enemy faction. I stole it from a rioter and adopted his identity, so right now I'm...not myself"-

They stayed in silence until the yoga session was over. The hunter made sure to see Kobayashi's reactions, hoping to see if he had received the note. Kobayashi seemed nervous, almost jittery, while talking with Emiko. Until that moment the illusionist hadn't seemed too affected besides his usual bashful temperament, but now he was barely keeping his panic on check. Excellent, everything is going like it should go. The hunter inched nearer, trying to listen.

-"...don't like it not even one bit. You should tell Kishio-san"- Emiko was saying.

-"But what if it's a joke or something? I don't want to cause any problems..."- Kobayashi's attitude didn't fit his words. He was almost fainting.

-"Have you forgotten where we are? These people are cutthroat pirates. We have been lucky to not to have died until now"-

Kobayashi was about to reply when he noticed Mitsuhiko was close to them. Looking at him with suspicion, Emiko and Kobayashi moved to the other side of the Cafeteria, and the hunter didn't try to approach to them again. That had been all the confirmation he needed.

A while after they moved Kobayashi stood up alone, trying to hide in his fist a piece of paper Mitsuhiko supposed was his note. The hunter kept an eye on Kobayashi, hoping his handwriting had been disguised enough in case somebody thought about comparing it. Kobayashi gave the note to Kishio and explained the situation. The Linguist Demon's face contorted into shock with every word, and she replied hurriedly as hushed a possible. Kobayashi pointed at Emiko, at which point Kishio sighed and gestured for him to return to his breakfast.

After Kobayashi returned Kishio walked to Takayama, Yasumoto and Kayano, bringing the note. Their conversation didn't last long, as they fell in silence shortly after that.

Nothing happened during breakfast, but after everyone had eaten their food Kishio stood up, very serious.

-"Attention everybody!"- she said –"There's something I'd like to announce. In an effort to integrate ourselves even further we have planned some fun times for this afternoon. It's obligatory for everybody to be in the Courtyard at noon"-

-"Wat do you mean with 'fun times'"- Sugita requested.

-"There's nothing to define. We're going to use the equipment from the courts, the ones in that shed. We'll plan what sports we'll play, so don't worry about that"-

-"It's kind of sudden, isn't it? You never seemed the kind to encourage sports, Kishio-sensei"- Mimori raised her eyebrows.

-"It's just more efforts to try to create bonds, nothing strange, seamos amigos"-

-"Aha, whatever. At what time?"- Mimori took out her notepad and waited for the time.

-"1:30 PM. Everybody must be outside. We won't accept anybody staying inside. Have I made myself clear?"- Kishio had started to have a pulsing vein on her forehead.

Mitsuhiko frowned. This was obviously in response to the note he had written. Yurie surely would be outraged him if what he did ruined the plan. Now he had to think a way to keep himself and Yurie inside or...sneak back onto the Headquarters after going inside. He preferred the first option.

Yurie looked through the Cafeteria with obvious exasperation. It was clear what she meant. 'We need to talk'.

-ooooo-

-"Do you know anything about Kishio-sensei's sudden decision?"- Yurie asked, crossing her arms.

They had reunited in Yurie's bedroom. They were more or less sure Takayama hadn't planned a microphone there, but they could never be too careful. Besides since the note mentioned the Administrative Offices it was possible somebody would keep an eye there. Seeing how Mitsuhiko didn't reply, Yurie continued. –"It can't be a coincidence they made it so close to 2 PM. Did you do something suspicious, Mitsuhiko?"-

Uh oh. She had used the name instead of the sappy nickname. Bad sign.-"Uh, I saw Amy with a note...and he showed it to Kishio-sensei"-

That was all Yurie needed to hear to understand the situation. She sighed, resigned. –"I suppose I should have thought about that. It sure was an oversight"-

-"You don't seem angry"- Mitsuhiko was relieved.

-"I'm not. That was my mistake too. So, in or out?"-

Mitsuhiko had to take a few seconds to understand what she meant. –"In. What I don't know yet is how to do it"-

Yurie didn't seem too bothered. She smiled and indicated Mitsuhiko to wait for a moment, and then she exited the classroom. The hunter waited for a few minutes, not sure what Yurie was trying to do, until she returned.-"What the...?"-

-"I didn't need to be carried"- Monobear said. Yurie had Monobear against her chest, carrying him as if he were the toy teddy bear he seemed.

-"As if you would have accepted"- she said, leaving him on the floor –"We need to ask a favor"-

-"Do you know about the microphones, Monobear?"- Mitsuhiko asked. If the bear could confirm there were no microphones in the classroom they'd be able to talk freely.

-"Upupupu...the microphones? I'm using them right now. They were very easy to hijack, but Takayama-kun can still hear through them"-

-"So you mean..."-

-"I can hear everything you bastards do, that's what it means!"-

Thank you so much, Takayama. You provided Monobear another way to spy us. Mitsuhiko thought, annoyed. –"Okay, we need a favor. You need to make everybody else think we're outside at 2:00 PM. Say we're outside. Will you do it?"- If they got all subtle chances are Monobear wouldn't accept or wouldn't resist messing with them. It was going to be necessary to accept the risk and go to the point.

Monobear thought for a moment –"You're asking me to be an accomplice in your murder plan?"-

-"Exactly"- Yurie added –"You wouldn't refuse doing anything if it meant kickstarting your little mutual killing game. Am I guessing right?"-

-"Daring, daring...I should refuse buuuut...it's tempting"-

-"We'll do a perfect crime with your help. The game will be over in a few hours and Yurie and I will be the winners. It's simple"-

Monobear snickered. –"Okay, I'll do it, but if you two get caught I'll add extra details to your executions"-

-"Whatever, we'll take the risk"- Yurie said quickly –"Thank you so much, Monobear. You won't be disappointed"-

-"I better start preparing the execution machines and the morgue"- the bear said, leaving the classroom. Yurie sighed, pinching her nose.

-"I hate that bear. So it's settled, Mitsu-chan. See you when it's time"-

Mitsuhiko exited Yurie's bedroom, feeling uncomfortable with including Monobear in the plan. If there was anybody likely to betray it was him, but it was too late to change it. They'd have to endure having such a dangerous accomplice.

Feeling a bit hungry Mitsuhiko decided to go to the Cafeteria, but when he was about to open the door he heard voices inside. Opening the door just enough to see what was going on, the hunter peered in.

Takayama, Yasumoto, Kayano and Kishio were sitting near the door. Everyone except Kayano were standing up with furious expressions, while the Dancing Demon simply looked into a silk bag she had with her.

-"...only ten pearls left. Those strings I made for you sapped my provisions"-

-"Is that all you care? The fucking pearls?"- Takayama shouted –"Yasumoto-san is going to get in middle of a murder plan and you can only think about your little gems?"-

-"I don't think she's in peril. Unlike you two I trust her to do this correctly"-

-"Thank you, Kayano-san"- Yasumoto smiled but that didn't relax her expression at all. Kishio facepalmed, gritting her teeth.

-"We can't let you go do that, Yasumoto-san. Whoever the murderer is going to be obviously is unhinged enough to try to kill. You're going to be another target besides Kobayashi-kun"-

-"At least let me go with you, Yasumoto-san! I'm a bodyguard, it's my responsibility"- Takayama argued. Yasumoto punched the table.

-"I'm fucking tired of repeating it! I have told you several times that I must go alone, having more people would only intimidate them unnecessarily"-

-"We need to intimidate! They're killers! You think you're such a wonder psychologist but everybody knows you're not as good as you think you are"-

Yasumoto gasped. –"Take that back, Takayama-kun"- Takayama grinned nastily and said with the most obvious venom in his voice.

-"If you were so good you would have studied on Hope's Peak, not in here. You're the same than all us, mediocre and filled with flaws"-

-"My talents emerged a bit later, it doesn't matter now! Stop bringing that up!"-

-"Kishio-sensei, if you let me suggest something..."- Kayano put away her silk pouch –"I say we let Yasumoto-san do this. She has showed some good judgment and her actions to unite us have been admirable. We should give her some trust"- Kishio massaged her temples while Takayama and Yasumoto argued, until she decided to put an end to everything.

-"Tatesate hkyinn!"- she screamed. Takayama and Yasumoto stopped, as despite it being in a different language the tone made it clear what she meant. 'Silence!' –"I have taken my decision. We're going to let Yasumoto-san do what she thinks best"-

-"They're going to kill her. I'm not going to stand here and let her die"-

-"I know how to dissuade them from hurting anybody, Takayama-kun. Please, I beg you, trust me on this"- Yasumoto said tiredly.

-"Okay, okay"- Takayama surrendered –"I'll stay away. At least let me listen through the microphones"- Yasumoto looked at Kishio, who understood the objection.

-"I don't think she'd like that. Stop!"- she interrupted Takayama before he could say anything else –"I think we know how that'd go. At the slightest hint of danger you'd run to 'save her', even if you know you're quite paranoid. You won't restrain yourself, so it's better if you stay away in all ways possible"-

-"...then what am I supposed to do? Stand aside while they kill her?"-

-"We'll watch everybody outside so nobody enters, that's what we'll do"- Kishio answered –"We'll be able to spot easily who enters the Headquarters to attempt to murder Kobayashi-kun. Does that help calm you?"-

-"...I suppose"- Takayama obviously wasn't happy with that, either, but arguing any further was useless.

-"Are we quite finished here?"- Kayano stood up, stretching –"I want to my room. It's cloudy today, isn't it?"-

-"Very. It's pretty dark in the halls"- Kishio said, going towards the door –"There are also some bad lights. The hall in Camp Lily is creepy without the lights working; I can only imagine how other places look like..."-

Mitsuhiko couldn't hear anything else since he had to run away. They were going out of the Cafeteria, he would have been found out if he had stayed. Still, it had been revealing. So Yasumoto and Kobayashi were the only ones to be in the Headquarters at 2 PM? That'd make everything easier; supposing they could do it fast enough before Yasumoto could intervene.

-ooooo-

When it was fifteen minutes before 2 PM Yurie and Mitsuhiko met in the long hallway towards the Administrative Offices. The hunter and the hacker had hidden in the Theater while Kishio gathered everybody to go outside. Unfortunately when Mitsuhiko thought it was over he found that Kishio was still in the Lobby with the fountain, talking with Monobear. –"Seriously, where are they?"-

-"I saw them going outside a while ago. You should look for them behind the shed, surely they're getting their jollies on"- Monobear replied casually as if it had been something natural to say. Mitsuhiko groaned as silently as possible, it was obvious they were talking about Yurie and him. That could have gone better, Monobear.

Kishio narrowed her eyes. –"Lily! Lily, come here!"- The girl came out of the Monobear Camp. –"Lily, please watch this door and don't let anybody come in. Will you?"-

-"I can't. Directive #5: Aiding any commander in suspicious activities is completely forbidden"- Lily shrugged, eyeing the pearls on Kishio's arm.

-"And what'll I do?"- Monobear asked.

-"You go die in a hole. I'm out. Thank you for nothing, Lily"- and she closed the doors. Monobear and Lily were alone, or so they thought, so the bear decided to take the chance to force Lily to reply something

-"You! Why do you keep destroying the microphones? "-

-"They're no good"- Lily replied, smiling –"You shouldn't spy people in such obvious ways, little bear. You make it very easy to counter you"-

-"I have aces in my non-existent sleeves. Are you sure you crushed all the microphones around your creator?"-

Lily made her smile even wider –"Kihihihi...I crushed the ones I needed...and then some more to distract you. You won't find out who my creator is from the disposed microphones, Monobear"-

Monobear's eyes glowed red before leaving. Lily smugly ascended the stairs towards Camp Lily, satisfied with how she had frustrated the bear's attempts to find out who had created and brought her. –"I saw her getting rid of microphones in the Monobear Camp. Think her creator is there?"-

Mitsuhiko jumped, startled. It was Yurie, who had approached behind him without him knowing. –"No, I saw her in Camp Lily too. We can't pinpoint where her creator is"-

-"That sucks. Well, let's go. It's almost 1:50 PM"- Mitsuhiko made sure his gun was loaded and quickly ran to the Administrative Offices. They only had a few minutes before Kobayashi arrived, but it wasn't like they needed a lot of preparations. They just moved a table, moved some computers there to hide and made sure whoever entered would see a screen turned on near the furthest wall of the room. That'd make Kobayashi focus there and wouldn't notice their presence or the gun. Once their hiding point was ready it was just time to wait.

Mitsuhiko's clock showed it was 2:03 PM when Kobayashi entered. His eyes noticed the bright screen and immediately moved towards it, hoping to find whatever the note had indicated he'd see. Mitsuhiko and Yurie held the gun over the table, making sure it was aiming towards their victim. Kobayashi was busy messing around with the computer, trying to find the information. The gun was aiming to his back, to where Mitsuhiko was positive the bullet would pierce his heart. Mitsuhiko was the one supporting the gun the most but had one hand on the trigger, while Yurie only touched the trigger. The plan was to pull it at the same time, turning them both into the culprits. It was going to be as simple as that. Yurie raised three fingers and lowered one every second.

Time seemed to go horribly slow to Mitsuhiko. He remembered everything that had happened during those two days. Their arrival, Kishio and Yasumoto's efforts to make everyone bond with each other, Takayama's reinforcement of what Diavolos Avante's objective was, the contradicting yet almost identical behaviors Monobear and Lily had, Sugita's rage and denial about killing anyone and finally...how less commanders than he thought had wanted to reach the spot in the Main Board.

Maybe there were better ways to ensure their victory, some way that didn't make everybody die. Diavolos Avante would have a serious loss if there were all those deaths, their progress would be impaired. It was counterproductive for their goals. Why was the Main Board pushing for deaths, then? Why had Lily planned a game of mutual killing too?

...could it be that there was something going on...something he had missed? Was he being played for a fool, were everybody part of a bigger plan and they didn't even know it...?

The moment arrived and Mitsuhiko made a decision. Days later he'd find out that split-second decision had saved not only the commanders but also everybody in Diavolos Avante and later the world. If he had continued the plan without any problems then it would have been ensured the despair would never end.

He aimed the gun just a few millimeters to the right.

The shot was deafening. Mitsuhiko was used to it, but Yurie felt her ears ringing. The bullet soared through the air before Kobayashi could react and impacted against his right arm. The magician doubled in pain, screaming. –"Get out of here!"- Yurie whispered and started running. Kobayashi, too focused on his own pain and kneeling in front on the computer, didn't hear anything. Mitsuhiko took the chance to run. As he was more used to run thanks to his profession he reached Yurie quickly before she even got to half of the hall. Both commanders ran towards the Lobby. –"What the hell? Why didn't he die? You aimed wrongly, moron!" she chastised while running.

-"M-My-M-M-My bad"- Mitsuhiko stammered. He himself was wondering why he had done it, not fully sure of why, but those thoughts vanished as soon as they arrived to the Lobby.

Three things happened at the same time. The first one was that Yurie screamed. The second one was that an announcement sounded as soon as they stepped into the lobby. 'A body has been found! Everybody gather in the Lobby!' The hunter recognized subconsciously Monobear's voice.

The third one was that they saw the dead body itself. –"...it really happened..."- Mitsuhiko said in disbelief.

Near the fountain, with her cheek against the floor and with the head towards the stairs they could see the soaking wet corpse. They couldn't see her face, but the hair and the clothes were enough clues to know the identity of that person.

Chiyo Yasumoto had been murdered.

The front doors opened and everybody rushed in, seeing Mitsuhiko and Yurie standing in shock, with a smoking gun in the hunter's hand. There were gasps and immediate demands for explanations. Also Kobayashi stumbled upon the Lobby clutching his bleeding arm and sobbing pitifully.

...well, fuck.

Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress

(Ab)normal Days

END

Chapter Text

The commanders murmured between them, looking at Mitsuhiko, the gun and the dead body. The hunter quickly put it in his pocket, raising his hands to show his palms –"I-I didn't do this"-

-"We found you with that gun near a dead body. One doesn't need to be a genius to know what happened!"- Fukuyama said, barely audible.

-"He didn't do it! We were together the whole time, it's impossible neither of us did it"- Yurie objected. While they argued Mitsuhiko's possible guilt Takayama, shaking, stepped towards the fountain, always looking at Yasumoto's dead body.

-"I told her...I told her she'd die...she was an idiot for not accepting..."-

-"Takayama-kun, are you okay?"- Hikari-ku approached. The bodyguard was pale, his eyes were glassy. Seeing the Mind Demon's dead body was causing quite a reaction on him, which was strange. Mitsuhiko knew Takayama was routinely surrounded by dead bodies, some of them people who dared to attack his subordinates.

-"I should have stayed with her. She wouldn't have died if I had been listening"- Takayama didn't notice who had asked him that question. He sat on the stairs without taking his eyes off the body. Koshimizu crouched to a side of the corpse, delicately turning Yasumoto around.

Yasumoto had her eyes wide open in an expression of surprise and pain. Koshimizu took out a handkerchief and covered her face, frowning. –"There's something..."-

-"Already touching the body? You work fast!"- Monobear had appeared on top of the stairs towards Camp Lily. The little girl was standing in Camp Monobear, looking disapprovingly at the commanders –"It was about time somebody died, I was starting to get impatient. Yasumoto-san thought she could make you all friends and see how she ended! The only option is despair!"-

-"I was starting to believe all of you'd be able to resist killing anybody"- Lily sighed –"Looks like your ugly natures are stronger than she thought"-

-"Blah blah blah, you're disappointed and nobody cares. Moving on!"- Monobear took out what seemed like envelopes –"I have written here a bit of information about the murder. I call it the Monobear File! I'll now accept tributes in the form of shameless gushing and grilled salmon"- the bear gave to everyone an envelope.

-"An envelope?"- Kobayashi had stopped weeping, although he clearly still was in pain, clutching his wounded arm. Monobear threw the illusionist's file to the floor.

-"I expected something with more technology"- Romi crumpled his envelope, it not being useful to her in any way –"What does it say, Hosoya-kun?"- Hosoya whispered to Romi the content of the file. Knowing it was going to be necessary to take a look, Mitsuhiko opened it and extracted the file itself.

Monobear File #1

Victim: Chiyo Yasumoto, codename: Belial

Cause of Death: Bludgeoned to death with a blunt object.

Location of the Body: Headquarters Lobby

Time of Death: 1:55 PM

No chemical substances, drugs or anything similar was used during the murder in any way.

-"You mean she wasn't shot?"- Emiko gasped. Takayama raised his head and picked up his envelope, having ignored it. When he read that no bullet had taken Yasumoto's life he sprinted towards his bedroom.

-"If I say she wasn't shot then she wasn't shot. My word is final!"- Monobear replied, going away –"I'll tell you all through the speakers when it's time for the trial. Until then good luck, bastards!"-

-"I confirm the file is...accurate and misleading at the same time. Lily, come here"- Koshimizu gestured Lily to approach and gave him some instructions. The girl listened and nodded, then one of her horns opened like it had done in the Meeting Room in the first day. She projected an image of Yasumoto's dead body so everybody could see what Koshimizu was going to say. The detail Lily projected was astonishing, so nobody needed to approach the corpse itself. –"She did die because she was bludgeoned but I think the term 'savage beating' would be more accurate"-

"Was she hit more than once?"- Kayano asked. Everybody was going to do their best efforts into the investigation. They were Diavolos Avante commanders! They weren't going to let one of them have the edge over the rest.

Koshimizu talked with a very professional tone, he seemed at ease with the dead body -"I'd say he was hit three times, judging by the wounds and contusions. If I had to guess..."- he lifted Yasumoto's clothes, exposing her abdomen –"...she was hit first here"- Lily's projection showed a long and wide bruise, crossing her body –"I bet this would cause severe internal hemorrhage, but I can't confirm it without a real autopsy. Supposing she got doubled over after the hit then she was hit here"- the projection moved to Yasumoto's face. Now that the girl was showing the dead body in detail to everybody they could see how her mouth was filled with blood. Koshimizu parted her lips –"One tooth is missing"-

Missing Tooth

One of Yasumoto's teeth was dislodged and knocked down. It doesn't seem to be where the body was found

-"Maybe it's around here"- Sasuga started crawling around, looking for the tooth –"But it's curious there isn't any blood around here!"-

-"You do that"- Koshimizu grabbed Yasumoto's head and showed the scalp –"And this is the fatal blow. She got hit here on the frontal lobe. The deed was done"-

-"I saw something"- Hosoya crouched to Koshimizu's side, looking closely at Yasumoto's arms –"What is this?"- he pointed to what he had seen. Koshimizu grinned.

-"Good eye, kid. I like efficiency, well done. These seem to be shallow cuts"- Koshimizu raised the arm, Lily peered closer and projected the cut to everybody else –"Very, very thin cuts, like one fifth of a millimeter"-

-"They're on the other arm too, at the same height than the other arm!"- Sugita showed –"But there's no blood!"-

-"...you're right about that. Maybe they were done after she died, but why...?"-

Shallow Cuts

Cuts present in Yasumoto's arms, at the same height. One fifth of a millimeter thick. Possibly done after her death.

-"That's all we can see in the body"- Koshimizu stood up, cleaning the blood from his hands.

-"Since she died from getting hit with something does that mean we're cleared from suspicion?"- Yurie inquired coldly. Everybody glared at her and Mitsuhiko, as if they wanted to hang them right there.

-"They can't have been killed with the butt of a gun, right?"- Sugita stood up too. Koshimizu shook his head, carefully taking Kobayashi's arm to examine it.

-"Let's go to the Infirmary, kid. I'll get you fixed in no time"- the Medical Demon and Kobayashi walked away towards the Infirmary, leaving the rest alone.

-"...that doesn't make them innocent"- Emiko muttered, starting to inch towards her bedroom via the stairs.

-"But we can't have. At the time of the murder we were..."- Mitsuhiko stopped, looking at Yurie, who simply shrugged –"...we were hiding in the Administrative Offices getting ready to kill Amy"-

-"Oh, come on! There aren't a lot of options here"- Kayano counted with her fingers –"The rest of us were outside. Those two are the only ones who could have done it. They already tried to kill Kobayashi-kun, that should be a big hint they'd be capable of doing it"-

-"But why would they try to murder Kobayashi-kun if they had killed Yasumoto-san?"- Romi inquired. Kayano mused that but couldn't find a good answer for that question.

-"Couldn't they have killed Yasumoto-san after they failed to shoot Kobayashi-kun?"- Emiko said from the second floor. She had already ascended and was going towards the right side of the hall.

-"But when we found the body the announcement sounded! We wouldn't have time to kill her!"-

-"I bet you told Monobear to make the announcement after killing her"- Fukuyama clutched his hands –"Kishio-san said he had covered for you two"-

-"I said he had mentioned them, not that he had..."- Kishio's words were interrupted by a scream coming from the second floor. All heads turned around, it had been Emiko. Kayano, Sasuga, Romi, Mitsuishi and Mitsuhiko ran upwards, until they found Emiko leaning towards a statue with a gesture of surprise. When the commanders got to her she pointed towards the far end of the hall, where they could see a long object laying on the floor. –"What happened?" Mitsuishi asked to Emiko while Sasuga walked and took the object.

-"I had opened my door and then I saw something over there. I approached but when I saw it was stained with blood I screamed"-

-"You let yourself be scared by a bit of blood? Have you got no guts?"- Mitsuishi chastised with an amused grin on his face. Emiko entered her bedroom, running away from the jeering aviator.

-"It's true, it has blood"- Sasuga lifted the object. It was a baseball bat –"Undoubtedly the crime weapon!"-

Baseball Bat

An aluminum baseball bat, stained with blood. Very likely to be the weapon used to bludgeon Yasumoto. Found in the right end of Camp Lily.

-"I think this helps to clear those two"- Romi said, having just arrived. She had tripped on the stairs but now that she had arrived she had stuff to say in Mitsuhiko's defense –"When we entered we all saw them in front of the hallway towards the Administrative Offices, and that's pretty far from here"-

Everybody started to descend the stairs except Romi, who insisted on staying on Camp Lily. Mitsuishi informed those who had stayed downstairs of the baseball bat. –"But then who killed her?"- Sugita wondered

-"I'll tell you who!"- Takayama had come out of the Monobear Camp, but after saying those words he ran into the hallway and towards the Infirmary. The commanders followed him out of curiosity, the bodyguard entering the Infirmary by kicking the door.

Koshimizu, who at that point had been securing Kobayashi's now-bandaged arm so he wouldn't be able to move it, turned towards the door. –"What's the meaning of this?"-

-"I know how the murder went. He did it!"- Takayama pointed at Kobayashi –"He killed her!"-

Kobayashi was at loss of words –"What? Me?"-

-"I know very well it was you. It's the only solution there is!"-

-"Are you completely sure about this?"- Koshimizu asked gravely. Takayama nodded vehemently, at which point Koshimizu approached Kobayashi and in one swift move he yanked off the cloth cast, causing Kobayashi's arm to move down. The illusionist cried out in protest, clutching his arm.

-"Until you're cleared of all suspicion I'm not going to help you with anything. Tough luck"-

-"It hurts!"- Kobayashi bit down his tears of pain.

-"I don't give a flying fuck if it hurts"- Koshimizu said, placing the cast in a drawer –"If there's something I can't tolerate are traitors. It's the only law Diavolos Avante has, why are people starting to break it now..."- and he went away, grumbling. Other commanders walked away to investigate in their own ways, leaving just a few in the Infirmary. Note to myself: don't get hurt or sick from now until I'm far from that guy. I won't get any help from him now, I bet.

-"Will you be okay?"- Yurie asked, entering and approaching Kobayashi. Kobayashi practically tripped with his own feet when the hacker came closer to him.

-"Don't touch me!"-

-"While her concern may be fake mine is genuine"- Kayano piped from the entrance –"Does it sting too much?"-

-"I'll resist. It's just...a bullet wound"- Kobayashi grunted, standing up. –"I have to go clear my name. I can't sit here and let everybody think I did it"- Kayano ignored the illusionist and took out the cast from the drawer. She immobilized the arm again, making Kobayashi hold it against his chest. Kobayashi dried the pain tears, thankful for that.

-"Don't let him guile you into helping him to hide evidence, Kayano-san"- Takayama said bluntly –"You know what, I'll keep an eye on him. He won't do any funny business if I can stop him"- Takayama grabbed Kobayashi's shoulder, digging with his fingers onto the bone, and led him out.

Well this sure is a mess. I should start investigating now.

Mitsuhiko returned to the lobby to see if he could find anything near where the body was found. It was actually strange that there was no blood on the floor; it was possible she hadn't died there. A quick examination of the floor in the lobby showed it was likely, leaving aside where the body had been found there was no blood at all. The tooth was also nowhere to be found.

So I need to find where she was murdered. Mitsuhiko sat on the edge of the fountain. The body's head had been pointing towards the stairs, so it must have happened in one of the halls, right? But I saw no blood when Yurie and I were running, so the murder must have happened in the Monobear Camp. Satisfied with his deduction Mitsuhiko stood up to go towards the Monobear Camp, sneering at the crude banner that marked the place.

However when he was going to go he looked behind him. Eh? The stale water in the fountain was...different now. Mitsuhiko couldn't say it with certainty, but when Yurie and him had crossed the Lobby to go to the Administrative Offices the stale water in the fountain was transparent, showing the stone material in the bottom of the decorative object.

But now the water...seemed murkier, somehow. Dirtier.

Water in the Fountain

The water in the bottom of the fountain got dirtier in the span between Mitsuhiko and Yurie passing through the Lobby towards the Administrative Offices and the moment the corpse was found. It may not be correct.

A sudden noise in the second floor got Mitsuhiko's attention. When he looked to where the noise had come from he saw Takayama standing on the second floor, looking angrily towards the left end of the hall. That seemed like a good moment to find out something he wanted to know. –"Takayama-kun, down here"-

The bodyguard turned his head around –"What?"-

-"Why do you suspect Amy?"-

Takayama took off his glasses, polishing them. –"I'll save time and show you directly. Come with me, Kobayashi"- Takayama didn't grab Kobayashi, but the illusionist meekly followed him. Soon they got to Takayama's bedroom, where he opened the door.

–"Woah..."- Mitsuhiko was amazed. On the desk of the classroom that was now turned into Takayama's bedroom there was now a machine with headphones, it looked like a modified computer –"Where did you get that from?"-

-"I took a computer and headphones from the Administrative Offices, but that's not what I want to show you. Kobayashi, go to that corner and wait there"- Kobayashi was led into the farthest corner of the classroom, like a naughty child. Takayama sat in front of the machine and typed for a moment, putting the speakers loud –"These are recordings made with the microphones I put the other day. Listen to this"- The software showed a time. 1:53 PM.

In the recording Mitsuhiko could hear steps, there was one person walking towards the microphone. A door was knocked and opened in just seconds. 'I'll go check now, Kobayashi-kun. Stay here until I come back' The door was closed

-"That is Yasumoto-san, right?"- Mitsuhiko inquired. Takayama grimaced.

-"I can't say it with certainty. All we know is that it's a female voice, but the pitch and tone does sound like Yasumoto-san"-

The recording continued. They heard Yasumoto (?) taking some steps before a new sound happened: the sound of a door opening. Yasumoto didn't stop, but the person who had opened the door ran.

A horrible noise happened after that. Mitsuhiko never thought that was how a baseball bat sounded with it collided with a human body, although he couldn't be sure it was that. However the noise repeated again. 'W-What ath u..."- Yasumoto managed to blurt before she was interrupted by a third noise. Then it sounded like Yasumoto's body fell onto the floor.

Takayama stopped the recording. –"That's how it goes. Basically Yasumoto-san went and warned Kobayashi-kun, she was going to check the whole note thing. She walked a bit, then Kobayashi stepped out of his bedroom and killed her with some sort of blunt object"-

That wasn't a bad theory. It did have some sense. –"How do you know she had gone to warn Amy about this?"-

-"She discussed it with us. If it had been up to me I would have tied you and dragged you away to the courtyard shed, but she insisted to leave it up to her. She said she was going to convince you to stop the plan, but Kobayashi-kun killed her first"-

-"And why would he do that?" That was what Mitsuhiko didn't fully understand yet.

-"I have no idea, but what matters is that she died. Also, as soon as the trial is over you two are going to be under my mercy. I guarantee it"- In that moment Kobayashi ran from the corner and towards the door, going away. –"Hey you! Stop!"- the bodyguard exclaimed before running behind him. Mitsuhiko thought for a moment. There was something bothering him. Had the recording stopped there or had Takayama simply stopped it? Wouldn't he be able to hear how the body was dragged to the Lobby from Camp Lily?

Pressing the button to continue Mitsuhiko listened carefully. Effectively, it sounded like something heavy was being dragged across the floor. That must have been the body. The crime scene really must have been the Camp Lily hallway in the second floor. Then there were several minutes of silence. When Mitsuhiko was about to leave something happened in the recording that made him stop.

There were steps again. Somebody was approaching. Mitsuhiko held his breath, waiting to hear what was going on. The person in the hall stopped and knocked on a door. Before it could be opened the person said loudly. "Don't open! Just listen. Count to fifteen before coming out. It's safe, there's no danger for you"

That voice... It was a female voice, apparently. It seemed like it was doing an effort to sound identical to Yasumoto's voice, or at least to the first voice in the recording, but the strain was obvious. The person ran away and the last sound in the recording was a door opening, even if Mitsuhiko continued listening for several minutes more. The hunter smiled to himself. That recording was perfect evidence that Kobayashi was innocent of the crime.

Mitsuhiko disliked the newbie commander, but his own life was in danger. He couldn't let Kobayashi be blamed for a crime he didn't commit.

Recording #1

A recording of the moment of the crime. Yasumoto (?) knocked to Kobayashi's door. A door (Kobayashi's?) was opened. A person ran and killed Yasumoto from three blows with a weapon (baseball bat?).

Recording #2

A recording of what happened several minutes after the crime. A person knocked on Kobayashi's door (?) and said 'Don't open! Just listen. Count to fifteen before coming out. It's safe, there's no danger for you', then ran away. A door opened shortly after that.

Remembering that Takayama had said he had gotten his equipment from the Administrative Office he went there to see if he could find something to play the recordings in the trial. He managed to find what he was looking for, ignoring Kobayashi's blood, and decided it was time to check the supposed real crime scene.

When he arrived to the crime scene he found Romi, Takayama and Kobayashi. Kobayashi was crawling awkwardly around with his good arm, looking at the floor intently while Takayama always stayed a step behind him, looking at him with hate. Romi was walking up and down the hallway, staring at the stone statues lining the walls. –"What are you lot doing?"- Mitsuhiko asked.

-"I'm trying to find evidence to prove myself innocent"- Kobayashi answered without stopping his crawling. Takayama coughed and said something that sounded like 'getting rid of proof'.

Romi closed her eyes, deep in thought. –"I feel there's something missing around here but I haven't pinpointed what it is"-

-"Keep looking"- Mitsuhiko said dismissively. The blind woman finding something? What were the chances? Instead he went to the obvious clue in middle of the hall.

The puddle of fresh blood.

Blood in the Hallway

A puddle of fresh blood in Camp Lily, on the left side of the hall. Located between the third and fourth classroom.

-"So she was killed here"- Mitsuhiko stated.

-"Most likely"- Takayama replied –"My microphone supports it. If you see over there on the wall you'll see it"- the bodyguard pointed at a point on the wall. When Mitsuhiko approached he saw a black cube glued on the wall. –"Somebody took off the microphones I had planted in the right side of the hall, so I have no sound about the moment the baseball bat was left over there"-

I see. Mitsuhiko pointed at the doors in the left side of the hallway. –"Who does these classrooms belong to?"-

-"Hmmmmm..."- Takayama thought for a moment but couldn't remember. Romi, however, was the one who answered.

-"The room farthest away is Kobayashi-kun's. Then it's Kishio-sensei's, then the courier's, and finally Mimori's"-

-"Huh. Thank you"-

Supposing Kobayashi-kun was in his room then either Kishio-sensei's room or Tanaka-san's room was where the culprit was hiding. –"Both Kishio-sensei and Tanaka-san knew about what was going on. Weren't you all outside?"-

Takayama frowned, still furious with himself for letting Yasumoto convince him to go outside. –"Yes. The only people inside the building were you, Oyama-san, Kobayashi-kun and Yasumoto-san. That's even more proof against this asshole"- Mitssuhiko shook his head. So Takayama continued insisting the newbie was the murderer. Crouching to the side of Kobayashi Mitsuhiko went directly to the point.

-"You surely don't want to have me near, but you need to help us all. If you're innocent then we need to demonstrate it or we'll die"- Takayama laughed bitterly, but didn't say anything. Ignoring him Mitsuhiko was going to prod Kobayashi more, but the illusionist looked at him straight to the eyes.

-"I know that very well! I may be a new commander but I understand how bad this situation is. Ask"-

-"What did you do up to fifteen minutes before the body was found?"- Kobayashi sat, dusting his pants.

-"Yasumoto-san had told me to stay in my room and stay there until she told me if it was safe to go to the offices"- Kobayashi unconsciously touched his arm bullet wound, wincing –"A few minutes before 2 PM she went to my door. We talked for a moment and after a while she returned, saying it was safe for me to go"-

-"Did you notice something odd in her voice at that second time?"-

-"No, I don't think so. I was too anxious, I don't know"- Kobayashi started shaking. He was kind of pale, although he had stopped bleeding already. He started shaking –"B-But I saw nothing strange when I got to the lobby and passed through. There was no body! So that must really have been Yasumoto-san, right?"- Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows. So he didn't see the body?

Kobayashi's Testimony

Kobayashi confirms the content of the first and second recordings, regarding the female voice he listened. He can't confirm if both voices belonged to Yasumoto. When he went through the lobby the body wasn't there.

After Kobayashi was done with his testimony he continued searching. A few seconds later he gave a triumphant scream, holding an object high in the air. –"I found evidence! Something!"- Takayama, Mitsuhiko and Romi approached with curiosity, trying to see what it was. Kobayashi lowered his hand and opened it, displaying the proof he had found.

It was a pearl. –"Ah? How does this clear you, Kobayashi-kun?"- Mitsuhiko asked.

-"I'm not saying it clears me, but I'm confident this pearl may turn the case around. This single object has reduced the suspects. Listen:

Kayano-san made strings of pearls for the others who were leading us, which are Kishio-sensei, Takayama-kun and Yasumoto-san. If any of them doesn't have their string it'd make them suspicious. Ooooor...if all of them have the strings then this pearl must have come from Kayano-san's pouch"-

-"That's logical!"- Romi approved –"That was a good find, after all!"-

-"I still have my string here"- Takayama extended his arm so they could see it –"Each string has ten pearls. Count them"- Mitsuhiko did it, confirming Takayama's string was complete –"Maybe it came from Yasumoto-san's string"- The group descended to where the body was found and Mitsuhiko counted the pearls.

-"Ten here"-

-"We need to find and Kayano-san"- Romi said –"You three do it, I'm busy"- and so she ascended back to Camp Lily.

Takayama dragged Kobayashi away, looking for the two females. Before leaving Takayama rotated the pearl in his fingers and remarked something curious. –"This pearl is from a string. It has these holes where the nylon thread would be inserted"-

Pearl

A pearl found in Camp Lily near where Yasumoto was killed. Has two tiny holes for the thread

While Takayama and Kobayashi went to look for Kayano and Kishio Mitsuhiko returned to Camp Lily. There was something bothering him about the pearl and what Romi was doing. He examined the place where Kobayashi had found it. It was near the wall, not hidden. How did the culprit miss it? Could it have been planted?

-"Are you wondering why the pearl was there and not taken away by the culprit if it was a clue?"- Romi asked, looking at him from the statues. Mitsuhiko nodded, admiring how perceptive she was.

-"I just don't get it"-

-"It's no mystery"- Romi pointed upwards, towards the light bulbs –"Today is a very cloudy day and without the lighting it'd be very easy to miss something as small and gray as that pearl. That is, supposing it wasn't put there on purpose"-

Malfunctioning Lighting

The lights in Camp Lily weren't working well. That, added to the cloudy weather, lowered the illumination in the hallway where Yasumoto was murdered.

Romi gasped, looking at the statues. She had finally gotten her epiphany. –"Of course! So that's the meaning of this!"-

-"What did you find out?"- Mitsuhiko was curious what she could have gotten that everybody else, with functioning eyes, missed. He felt a bit like a jerk for labeling her as 'the blind one' all the time, as if that made her inferior in a way. Romi stood up in front of the third classroom.

-"Look, Takayama had said Kobayashi had come out of the bedroom to kill Yasumoto, yes? But remember she was hit in the abdomen, the face and the top of the head"- Romi touched her own scalp where Yasumoto had been hit –"She saw her killer coming. She must have"-

-"And so what?"-

-"If Yasumoto-san had seen Kobayashi-kun or anybody else with a baseball bat in a moment like that don't you think she would have screamed, ran away or something? Look where the blood is"- Romi pointed at the puddle –"It's between the third and fourth classrooms, Tanaka-san and Mimori-san. If she turned around when Kobayashi-kun came out of his room then she'd have seen the baseball bat and she'd have given an alert"-

Mitsuhiko remembered the recording showed the culprit had run, apparently. That by itself kinda broke Romi's reasoning, but to humor her she let her continue. –"Maybe he didn't have the baseball bat"-

-"I agree with that. When the culprit came out of whatever classroom they were in, they didn't have the baseball bat with them. It was hidden. When the culprit got here to the hallway, they grabbed it from the place it was hidden and killed her"-

-"And where would it be hidden?" Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid injecting some condescendence in his voice. Romi smiled playfully and pointed at the stone statues.

-"Don't you see any change in any of these statues?"- Mitsuhiko looked at them. All of them were statues of people, men and women of different heights and positions, pretty similar to the ones on the fountain. He didn't remember very well how they looked the first time he went to Camp Lily, so he admitted he had no idea what Romi was talking about. Romi walked to the statue between Kishio's room and Emiko's room, patting the stone hand. –"I remember there was a gray blob here. When I looked at the hallway from that point over there, near my room, I remembered it was that what was bothering me for so long"-

-"A blob, huh"- So there was a part of the statue missing, in the hand. It seemed like there was just enough space for something round and long to fit.

-"It looks different. But if whatever was there was also made of stone it can't be far"- Romi bent and looked near the base of the statue, finding a blob between the wall and the base. She dragged that object and left it in middle of the hallway. Mitsuhiko approached to take a better look.

It was a stone fire torch. Its handle also had the necessary size to fit the torch in the statue's hand. The hunter tried to lift it but it was very heavy. No wonder the culprit didn't have time to place it back; it would have taken a while.

Stone Torch

Part of a statue from Camp Lily. It was taken off the statue at some point before the murder. Very heavy.

-"If Yasumoto didn't remember the statues well she wouldn't noticed the missing torch. Also, once again the lighting would have been inconvenient"-

-"That was very observant of you"- Mitsuhiko complimented. Romi smiled, twiddling her gloved fingers.

-"I have to rely on my memory a lot now. I should be of enough help, but unless there are more things out of place I won't be useful anymore for the investigation. I'll go to my bedroom"- and with that, she walked to the right side of Camp Lily and entered her room.

When Mitsuhiko descended the stairs he went outside, towards the Back Courtyard. He already had suspicions of what had happened, but needed to check if it was possible in the first place. When he got to the Back Courtyard he got to a surprising scene: the shed of the courtyard had all its content strewn on the floor. –"What the..."-

-"Hikari-kun"- Kayano waved from there. Kishio was to her side, rummaging through different sports implements –"Have you been investigating?"-

-"I have. What's going on here?"-

-"The baseball bat must have been taken from here"- Kishio didn't stop her search –"We're trying to find if the culprit left anything around when they took it"-

-"We have found no evidence"- Kayano informed –"It is a truly harrowing experience"-

-"But did you need to throw everything around?"- it was a mess. Mitsuhiko wondered what everybody had been doing to leave everything like that.

-"We found it like this"-

-"While we were preparing everything Hosoya-kun accidentally threw down one of the shelves. It was a chain reaction"- Kishio seemed furious –"I don't want to talk about this topic. You ask him or Sasuga-kun about that, I want nothing to do with that"-

-"Right. There are other things I want to ask...who knew about the note Amy received?"- Mitsuhiko asked.

-"Takayama-kun, Yasumoto-san, Kayano-san, Tanaka-san"- Kishio counted with her fingers. The hunter frowned. They always returned to those five, although the courier seemed less likely than the rest.

-"Can you guarantee that?"-

-"I can. I myself checked every place, and the only people I saw were Yasumoto-san and Kobayashi-kun. Monobear also confirmed you and Oyama-san were in the Headquarters"-

-"But he denied it!"- Mitsuhiko protested. Kishio smiled sweetly.

-"If Monobear tried to hide you then you must have planned something nasty. It's in his nature. "-

Of course. It seemed obvious now. Using Monobear as an alibi wasn't a smart move, after all.

Kishio's Testimony

Kishio confirmed there were only four people in the Headquarters after she talked with Monobear: Takayama, Yasumoto, Mitsuhiko and Yurie.

-"Right. I have a question for you, Kayano-san"- Mitsuhiko said to her –"Have Amy and Takayama-kun talked with you yet?"-

-"Not yet. Why's that?"-

-"Could you show me the pearls in your backup bag?"-

Kayano raised her eyebrows. –"That's a strange inquiry"-

-"We found a pearl in the crime scene"-

Kayano turned deathly pale. -"A P-p-p-p-pearl!"-

-"Why so surprised?"-

-"That'd mean one of the people who has the pearl strings is the culprit! But we were supposed to be the ones to keep everyone alive!"-

-"Exactly. Show me your pearl string, Kayano-san"-

Kayano lifted her arm delicately, showing it to everybody. Mitsuhiko counted the pearls, getting to ten. –"Ooooh...here are all the pearls"-

-"I'm not surprised about that. Every string has ten pearls, as well as my backup pouch. The pearl you found isn't mine"-

-"Does the pearls in your backup pouch have holes in them?"-

-"No, they're intact. Allow me to show you"- Mitsuhiko walked towards the Front Courtyard, followed by Kishio and Kayano. They entered the Headquarters and went to Camp Lily, going to Kayano's classroom.

Kayano's Testimony

All pearl strings have ten pearls and were given to Takayama, Yasumoto, Kayano and Kishio. Her backup pouch also contains ten pearls

Kayano opened the desk in her room, taking out the pouch Mitsuhiko had seen before. Kayano opened it and took a single pearl, showing it to Mitsuhiko. The hunter examined it carefully, finding that it didn't have any hole.-"All pearls I have are untouched until I use them for a string. I use this little drill here, but all pearls in this pouch haven't been perforated yet. Maybe somebody else has pearls too?-

-"I haven't seen pearls from anybody else other than you"- Kishio said –"We should ask others too"-

-"Yes. Let's..."- Mitsuhiko was interrupted by a chime from the speaker located on a wall of the classroom.

-"Ding-dong! Time is up, bastards! Everybody come to the Meeting Room to start the trial! Not coming is punishable, so you better not take too long!"- Monobear's voice sounded. Mitsuhiko groaned, their time was over and although he had suspicions he wasn't really sure of who the killer was.

Kayano, Kishio and Mitsuhiko descended the stairs and walked to the Meeting Room, but before they left the lobby, Mitsuhiko felt something pulling from his clothes. Turning around he noticed Lily.

The little girl seemed absent, and gestured him to follow her. She led him to the hallway to the Theater. –"I don't know what to do"- she stated.

-"What do you mean?"-

-"I know very well what my programming tells me to do. I'm not supposed to help in any way, as I'll be the Judge in the trials. But...Hikari-kun, you need to keep this as a secret, okay?"-

-"I promise"- I think. If it's too important I'll tell at least Yurie.

Lily wringed her hands and said what was keeping her in so many doubts –"I was also programmed to ensure nobody's life was in risk, and to make it even worse, I was also programmed to not to interfere into anybody's actions"-

-"That's strange"- And that was an understatement. She had come with the intention to kickstart a mutual killing game, and that was also why she was going to be the Judge. But if that was so, why would she also have to keep in mind nobody should die? That was a serious contradiction. Just what was Lily's creator trying to do here?

-"And why are you telling me all this?"-

-"Directive #2: The lives of the commanders must be safe. The trial doesn't make it safe at all, so I must take actions to help you all. Take this"- Lily took a bundle of clothes she had left in the hallway, making Mitsuhiko receive it. It was a bundle of gray clothes, and they were wet and almost soggy.

-"What's this and where did you find them?"-

-"These are clothes and they were found in the Theater Storage"- Lily pointed behind her –"Although they were in the right place their actual state makes them strange"-

Wet Gray Clothes

A long overcoat with short sleeves. A big hat. Both are of a light gray color and at the moment they were found they were soggy with water. Found by Lily.

-"There's also this"- Lily gave Mitsuhiko a container. The hunter opened it, taking a look at the gray paste inside. He touched it with his fingers, finding he could smear it easily over his skin.

-"Makeup?"-

-"Theater makeup"-

Theater Makeup

A gray paste, easy to smear. Found by Lily.

-"Lily, I want to ask something: do you know who the culprit is?"-

Lily nodded. When Mitsuhiko asked her why she didn't tell him a name she nervously opened and closed the plates in her hands, revealing and hiding the glass panels in them. –"Directive #2: The lives of the commanders must be safe. The culprit will be executed, therefore is at risk and I can't directly reveal who it is. I can only help like this"-

-"Right. Anything else?"-

Lily gave Mitsuhiko a crumpled paper. When he opened it he almost dropped it in surprise. It was the note he had written to call Kobayashi to the Administrative Offices. –"I found this among the trash. It's yours, isn't it?"-

-"Why didn't you try to stop me if you're supposed to protect our lives?"-

Lily looked away. -"Directive #1: I must obey all of my creator's wishes. I was told to not to interfere with what was going on. Directive #1 overrides any other order I have"-

-"Who told you that?"- Mitsuhiko didn't think Lily would give a straight answer to that, but maybe he could find out who it was with some logic and deductions. Lily scowled, her eyes glowing disquietingly.

-"It wasn't Yasumoto-san, if that's what you're asking"- So Lily's creator didn't want anybody to die yet created a mutual killing game. Didn't want any deaths yet let a murder plan continue.

Just what's going on and how does it tie with Monobear and the Main Board?

Mitsuhiko's Note

A note Mitsuhiko wrote to summon Kobayashi to the Administrative Offices. 'Kobayashi. We have found very important files about Lily. You're the only one who can answer my questions now. Meet me in the Administrative Offices at 2 PM'

-"We have to go now before Monobear goes looking for us. Use this evidence smartly, Hikari-kun"-

-"One last thing: why did you give these to me and not to anybody else?"-

-"Directive #1"-

-"Huh"- Why does it seem like Lily's creator has a fixation on me or something? First they let my murder plan continue and then they order Lily to give me the evidence. Next thing I'll hear is that Lily's creator also was the one who sent me the gun.

Lily and Mitsuhiko walked towards the Meeting Room. It seemed there were only two other people who weren't there, so Mitsuhiko waited outside to see if any of those two could provide testimony before starting the trial.

Kayano arrived, drying her hands with a handkerchief. –"You finally arrive. Monobear was about to look for you to gut you like a salmon. That's a direct quote"-

-"Why are you out here, then?"-

-"I had to go to the washroom while everybody else calmed Monobear. Hosoya-kun went to look for you"- Kayano entered and sat to the side of Yasumoto's photograph, with Romi to her other side.

Hosoya arrived shortly after that. –"There you are"-

-"Hosoya-kun, did you see anything about the crime?"-

-"I was outside all the time, I know nothing. Besides I was busy myself"-

-"You mean what happened to the shed?"- Kishio had said Hosoya had been who had caused that mess –"How did that happen, by the way?"-

Hosoya smiled childishly, as if he were going to tell a harmless prank he had played on somebody. –"Sugita-chan is very attractive, isn't she? I got her to the courtyard shed and told her. She didn't take it so well"-

That's no wonder, you creepy fuck. –"Really?"-

-"Yes. Then I tried to kiss her"- Mitsuhiko kept his face stoic, but he had his fists ready to break Hosoya's face –"She tried to move away, so I had to force her even further into the shed. I tried again, I grabbed her sensually and..."- Hosoya sighed.

-"And then what?"-

-"And then Sasuga found me. He threw a punch and missed, but I crashed against a shelf. Sasuga and Sugita went around saying that I tried to rape her or something. That's not true, I was just wooing her"- Hosoya didn't seem the least bit bothered he had practically tried to sexually assault Sugita. So that's why Kishio didn't want to talk about this, I think.

-"Thank you for that, Hosoya-kun, but there's something else I'd like to ask"- Mitsuhiko slowly took his gun out of his pocket, making sure it had its safety mechanism on. Sure, he couldn't shoot Hosoya even if he wanted due to the consequences it'd have, but that didn't mean he couldn't give him what he deserved. Hosoya noticed too late what Mitsuhiko was doing.

In a swift move Mitsuhiko hit Hosoya with the butt of the gun directly in the mouth. Hosoya was thrown back, clutching his bleeding mouth. –"Think you can you kiss anybody now?"- the hunter asked rhetorically while entering the meeting room. Hosoya came a bit later, touching his lips. He hadn't stopped bleeding yet and Mitsuhiko honestly hoped he wouldn't.

Hosoya's Testimony

Hosoya attracted Sugita into the courtyard shed. Everything ended with the contents of the shed strewn around. Everybody was witnesses to what happened, especially Sasuga.

Koshimizu looked between Mitsuhiko and Hosoya, nodding thoughtfully. –"Nicely done"- Mitsuhiko didn't reply. Monobear stared at Hosoya.

-"You got an ugly wound there! But too bad for you. We're starting the trial now!

Let the trial for Chiyo 's murder begin!"-

Mitsuhiko took a deep breath. If Kobayashi had died a trial would have been done for that too. He had no idea how he'd have reacted as a culprit, but now, as just one innocent commander, he had the obligation to find who had murdered the Mind Demon.

Besides I can't die just yet. There's something going on in these Headquarters and I'm not sure I like it not even a little bit.

Chapter Text

-"First than all a reminder of how this works"- Monobear started, sitting on the throne on the farthest point of the table. Lily was clinging to the side of the throne, pouting –"You'll debate and vote for who is the culprit for this murder. If you guess correctly, the culprit will be executed and you'll be free to live for a bit more, but if you fail, everybody innocent will be executed and the culprit will be the new member of the Main Board"-

-"And what'll she do?"- Mimori pointed at Lily with her pen. The journalist was already ready to take notes of everything in order to solve the mystery.

-"Oh, she? She'll be my personal helper"- Monobear patted Lily's head while her scowl deepened –"At least she'll be a nice cup holder"- Monobear showed a glass of water from mnowhere, putting it carefully on top of Lily's head. That was too much for the girl, as she grabbed it and splashed Monobear with the water.

-"I was supposed to be the Judge!"-

-"That's too bad. I'll take over your responsibilities"-

-"What were you going to do, Lily? What's this 'Judge' thing?"- Sugita asked.

-"...I was supposed to conduct the trial, handling the evidence and leading you all towards the best result possible. I can't do it as well now but I'll try"-

-"Oh no, you won't! No helping! Okay, start!"-

The commanders cracked their knuckles, metaphorically, and got ready for the trial. Their lives were at stake, it was no situation to make mistakes. –"Point of order"- Fukuyama raised his hand –"How was Yasumoto murdered, exactly?"-

-"Excellent starting point, Fukuyama-kun! Define the crime weapon and the place...ack!"- Monobear bopped Lily's head –"Don't do that!"-

-"But Lily's right, let's do that. So, the weapon was that baseball bat we found and the murder happened in Camp Lily. That much is clear, what we must find is who did it"- Hosoya said, drying the blood that was seeping from his mouth.

-"There aren't many suspects here"- Koshimizu started pointing around –"Kishio-sensei brought us all outside, where she, Takayama-kun and Kayano-san kept an eye on all of us. There were only four people inside"- Koshimizu pointed to the four supposed suspects.

-"It's unthinkable that she killed herself"- Kayano piped up.

-"Kobayashi-kun was too busy getting shot while these two were the ones with the gun"- Mitsuishi completed the idea –"That means none of those four could have done it"-

-"But nobody outside could have entered the headquarters! Kishio-sensei and her merry friendship comrades never took their eyes off us"- Sasuga argued

-"Okay, okay, let's not write off everybody. We need a suspect. How can somebody with an alibi kill Yasumoto-san?"- Hosoya stopped touching his lips. Takayama smugly put his feet on the table, making his armor rattle.

-"It's all about timing. Just because one had an alibi doesn't mean it was there all the time. So, Hikari-kun, Oyama-san...how did you prepare yourselves for the murder?"-

-"We hid in the Theater while Kishio-sensei was rounding everybody as cattle"- Yurie said bluntly -"Mitsu-chan was with me all the time until we found the dead body"-

-"Were you trying to accuse us?"- Mitsuhiko practically growled. That wasn't what he had thought Takayama would do, it was in clear contradiction with everything he had done. Then why...? The hunter understood why once he saw Takayama's satisfied smile.

-"So if these two didn't do it and Yasumoto-san didn't suicide then...the answer becomes obvious, doesn't it?"-

-"You mean Kobayashi-kun"- Koshimizu nodded. He had already known about Takayama's suspicion from earlier.

-"Yes! Our newest commander is the culprit"-

-"But we were shooting him while Yasumoto-san was murdered, he didn't do it"- Mitsuhiko prodded Takayama to lay out everything he had against Kobayashi. Once he did he'd blow open the case with the recording.

-"So you say that. Look, it's all matter of timing. Let me show you how it all happened!"-

Nonstop Debate

Recording #2 / Shallow Cuts / Mitsuhiko's Note

TAKAYAMA: First Kishio-sensei led everybody outside

ROMI: You mean almost everybody

TAKAYAMA: Whatever. Hikari-kun and Oyama-san hid in the Administrative Offices

TAKAYAMA: Just after that Yasumoto went to check Kobayashi-kun in his room

TAKAYAMA: She told him to wait for a moment, but then...

TAKAYAMA: ...while she was walking away Kobayashi-kun attacked her!

HOSOYA: The bloodstain is pretty close to Kobayashi-kun's bedroom

HOSOYA: It sounds logical to me

TAKAYAMA: After killing her and leaving the body in the Lobby...

TAKAYAMA: ...he went to the offices where he was shot.

TAKAYAMA: See? It's all in the timing of the events.

To demonstrate his argument Takayama gave Lily a small portable dispositive with the recording file he had made Mitsuhiko listen. –"And there you have it. That's the moment of the crime!"

-"That's wrong!"- Mitsuhiko exclaimed, pointing dramatically. Takayama lifted his glasses to his forehead with disdain.

-"And why's that?"-

-"Because I can prove Kobayashi didn't come out of his bedroom at all after Yasumoto-san talked to him. Listen to this"- Mitsuhiko left on the table the second recording, making it sound. The recording showed the moment that unknown female voice told Kobayashi to wait fifteen seconds. The sound of the door opening was clear, but Takayama shook his head.

-"That's not very convincing. We have a recording, not a video. For all we know that person could have been talking to somebody else"-

-"No, that's impossible. You said it yourself:

Kishio led everybody outside

Mitsuhiko and Yurie hid in the Offices

Kobayashi attacked Yasumoto

Kobayashi left the body in the Lobby

Kishio led everybody outside

-"The only person who could have been in a bedroom was Amy. Yasumoto was dead and Yurie and I were in the office. Do you see now?"-

-"Right, smart boy"- Takayama took his feet off the table –"Then tell me something: if Kobayashi-kun was in his bedroom and Yasumoto was dead then who's the person in the recording?"-

-"The real culprit, of course!"-

-"The real...? Are you saying you have a suspect that isn't Kobayashi-kun?"- Koshimizu stroked his beard, looking at the hunter with interest.

-"Not only one...I have two"-

-"No, no, stop there!"- Takayama hit the table –"You haven't even proved Kobayashi-kun is innocent!"-

-"There's something I'm wondering about"- Sasuga raised his hand –"You, show me the soles of your shoes"- he demanded to Kobayashi. The illusionist nodded and took off his shoes, leaving them on the table. Sasuga took them and didn't need more than a couple seconds to show what he had wanted to find. He put one of the shoes upside-down on the table, showing the sole.

There was a good portion on it covered with blood. Takayama smirked triumphantly –"That's it! I know how this went! I have solved your argument, Hikari-kun"-

-"That can't be possible..."- Mitsuhiko grit his teeth. How could Takayama continue thinking Kobayashi was the culprit?

I SAID I COULD DO IT

Takayama had stood up. There was a feverish expression in his face. Some of the commanders stepped back, not wanting to be so close to the bodyguard –"I won't let you stray us from giving Yasumoto-san's murderer what he deserves!"-

-"Why do you care so much? Did you like Yasumoto-san or something?"-

-"What? No! This is a matter of pride. I let that stupid woman convince me to not to guard her. The least I can do is to execute the person who caused her death. Here's my argument!"-

Rebuttal Showdown

Water in the Fountain / Stone Torch / Wet Gray Clothes

TAKAYAMA: When Yasumoto went to Camp Lily...

TAKAYAMA: ...Kobayashi murdered her

TAKAYAMA: After that he laid the body in the Lobby

TAKAYAMA: And returned to Camp Lily!

TAKAYAMA: He planned to use my microphones as his alibi

MITSUHIKO: How would he know about the microphones?

TAKAYAMA: It wasn't exactly a secret

TAKAYAMA: Nobody can guarantee it's a female voice

TAKAYAMA: Kobayashi pretended to talk to himself

TAKAYAMA: And when the fifteen seconds passed he opened a door

TAKAYAMA: That's why he has blood on his shoes

TAKAYAMA: Everything related to the murder has been explained

Mitsuhiko nodded. –"He could have stepped on blood without being the culprit"-

-"You're correct, Hikari-kun, but that doesn't negate Takayama's argument"- Kayano looked at her nails with indifference.

-"I'm getting into that! So he says he has explained everything related to the murder, but there's one piece of evidence that hasn't been linked to Kobayashi-kun in any way"- Mitsuhiko lifted that heap of clothes Lily had given him, leaving it on the table.

-"Watch out with that!"- Mimori squealed with disgust, eyeing the water that was starting to seep onto the table. Mitsuhiko paid no attention to that, pointing at the clothes.

-"Explain that, Takayama-kun. How do these fit with Kobayashi-kun's murder plan?"-

Takayama took the clothes and extended them over the table, splashing some of the commanders and earning some protests. Everybody took a good luck to the overcoat, noting its color and material. –"This is a heavy cloth. Wearing it could hinder one's movements greatly"- Kishio had lifted part of it.

-"The hat doesn't have anything special"- Mitsuishi had taken it and had turned it around, looking for clues.

The bodyguard continued silent, glaring at the clothes as if they had insulted him, until he finally had to admit. –"I don't know, but there's something else I'd like to ask: are you completely sure these things are related in any way to the murder?"-

-"It's practically proven by now"- Mitsuhiko smiled smugly –"It's one concrete quality these clothes have that'll show how they're related to this case:

They're gray

They're wet

They're heavy

They cover most of her body

They're wet

-"These clothes are soaking wet, or at least were at some point. Do you all see why I'm saying they're related?"-

Mimori went back a few pages in her notebook, her voice getting an octave higher –"The body was wet too! You're saying Yasumoto was wearing these clothes when it got wet"-

-"Either her or her murderer was wearing it. So tell me, Takayama-kun, how do they fit in your suspicion against Kobayashi-kun?"-

Takayama poked the overcoat –"They doesn't. But just because I can't think of a way doesn't mean he's innocent"-

Mitsuhiko facepalmed. They weren't getting anywhere. He had the feeling Takayama would continue insisting Kobayashi was guilty, no matter what was presented. While he was massaging his temples, trying to order his thoughts, somebody had enough of what was going on.

-"I can't accept see you lot continue flailing around"- Lily grumbled, crossing her arms. Monobear, who until that point had been watching the trial with interest, looked at her.

-"Lily, I'm warning you. Don't say another word"-

-"Monobear only announces a dead body when three innocent people find it"- Lily stated before Monobear raised his claws. He striked the top of Lily's head, causing a deep gash. Lily screeched, twitching, but she didn't seem to break down.

-"I'm the bear in charge here. Stay there!"-

Fukuyama clicked his tongue –"If Lily had stayed as the Judge surely she would have made us stay on track. At least she's generous with the information"-

-"Why didn't you tell us about the three people rule?"- Takayama took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. If he had known about it before maybe he wouldn't have pursued Kobayashi as the killer. Monobear gave what seemed to be a deep sigh.

-"That's not important information. Continue, continue"-

-"Three -kun and Oyama-san found the body, we all saw it, so that's two"- Koshimizu steepled his fingers, resting his chin on them.

-"The third person could have been one of those two. Two people before them could have seen it already"- Fukuyama tried to contribute but Takayama quickly dismissed what he had said.

-"We all were outside except those four! Hikari-kun and Oyama-san really were the last to find them"-

-"Following that logic then the first person to have seen the body was...Kobayashi-kun?"-

-"It isn't confirmed he's innocent"- Takayama grumbled, still bitter for having lost his main suspect.

-"Uh"- Kobayashi timidly piped up –"But I didn't see any corpses...nor in Camp Lily nor in the Lobby. There was that blood but I didn't see it, the light was too dim, but I'm sure if the body had been there I'd have stepped on it"-

-"But you must have been the one who saw it, right? Nobody else was in the building"- Mitsuhiko argued.

-"And who was the one to say it?"- Kobayashi inadvertently touched his cast.

-"It was Monobear"- Kishio answered –"I asked him and he said that"- Kobayashi looked at her as if she were crazy.

-"Are we trusting Monobear's word?"-

-"We don't really have any other option. Look at him"- Sugita pointed at Monobear with her thumb. The bear was lounging on his seat without a care about the world –"Do you think he'd be the kind who would let us interrogate him?"-

-"I'm an honest bear"- Monobear only said that, letting everybody else continue.

-"Yeah, we don't really have any other option besides trusting his words"- Fukuyama sighed, almost unintelligibly due to his mask. Kobayashi rubbed his eyes, thinking.

-"Right. Let's suppose he was telling the truth. If I wasn't the one to see the dead body then...somebody else did"-

-"But Monobear had said..."- Oyama-san started but Kobayashi didn't let her finish.

-"He said nobody but us four were in the Headquarters. But...what if somebody entered after he had said that? That way it wouldn't be a lie, right?"-

-"Somebody entered and saw the dead body in the Lobby"- Takayama got to the logical conclusion. But that's impossible. Kishio-sensei, Kayano-san and I were watching everybody in the courtyard. There's no way any of them could sneak away from us!"-

-"...we were watching them but..."- Kishio muttered and frowned. –"...oh. Figlio di puttana'

-"Are we thinking the same thing?"- Mimori had been focused on writing what everybody had said. Kishio and Mimori looked at each other with worried expressions. Kishio sank in her seat, realizing the implications of what they found. Mimori left her notebook on the table and stood up, walking towards Lily.

The journalist put her hand over the gash on Lily's head, whispering to her. Lily, still cringing due to the damage, nodded. –"That's right"-

-"Oi, what are you saying there?"- Monobear leaned on the side of his chair, trying to listen.

-"Nothing you should care about. Okay, I think what's going on here is obvious. The Three Amigos were watching over us all, but I want somebody to tell me something: who was watching over the Three Amigos?"-

-"What do you mean?"- Sugita didn't fully understand Mimori's point. Mimori returned to hear seat, satisfied with her deductions

-"What I mean is that there are three people who weren't watched over and could do whatever they wanted: those three who wanted us to get along and be friends"-

Everybody looked at Kayano, Takayama and Kishio. Mimori's argument was obvious now. –"One of those three could have sneaked into the Headquarters..."- Emiko fiddled with her cap.

-"Yes. One of those three is the killer"- Sugita finally understood what the point was –"But when exactly would that person have the chance to do it?"-

Nonstop Debate

Shallow Cuts / Kayano's Testimony / Pearl / Malfunctioning Lighting / Recording #2

KOBAYASHI: Nobody was paying attention to them

KOBAYASHI: It was just matter of going inside

ROMI: Are you sure none of you three saw each other?

KISHIO: I was too busy keeping everybody outside

KISHIO: But I did stay near the entrance

TAKAYAMA: I was in the courtyard with everybody else

KAYANO: I was in the area on the opposite side to Kishio-sensei

MITSUISHI: That makes it impossible for Takayama-kun...

MITSUISHI: ...to enter the headquarters, right?

KAYANO: Not really. I had to move from my spot when...

KAYANO: ...a sudden event happened.

KISHIO: I'm sure everybody had gathered in the courtyard

SASUGA: Is it even confirmed one of them entered the headquarters?

MIMORI: Even if it isn't it's the logical thing to suppose

-"It's confirmed and undeniable"- Mitsuhiko stated –"And it's because of this!"- the hunter took out the pearl and rolled it on the table. Everybody watched it go until it stopped in front of Sasuga, who took it to examine it.

-"A pearl with a hole. It must have been from one of the strings they have wrapped around their arms"-

-"Let's count them"- Fukuyama, Kobayashi and Mitsuishi stood up, going towards one of the suspects. All of them extended their arms so they could see the pearls. All of them counted them, getting to ten in each arm.

-"Impossible! All of them have ten pearls!"- Mitsuishi clutched his head when everybody informed their finding.

-"No, wait! There's something else!"- Mitsuhiko stood up.

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

-"Kayano-san has a pouch where she stores pearls. The pearl could have come from there, doesn't it?"-

-"That's a good point. Kayano-san, how many pearls are in that pouch?"-

-"There are presently ten pearls"-

-"Thank you for mentioning that, Hikari-kun! Because I have something to say"- Kobayashi cleared his throat and stood up –"I say Kayano-san is the culprit here"-

-"Me?"- Kayano smiled nervously.

-"Yes, you. That pearl points at you. Takayama-kun can't be the culprit, I already counted his pearls and his behavior isn't fitting for the killer. Kishio-sensei wouldn't murder anybody, I'm sure of it. You're the only one left"-

-"Your argument is not very good"-

-"But it's a process of elimination! That's important evidence in a case like this one. You're the only one left in the list!"-

-"I agree with him. Kayano-san is the only one who could have done it"- Takayama quickly supported. Although Kobayashi raised his eyebrows to Takayama's sudden change of opinion he didn't comment about that.

-"This is preposterous"- Kayano twitched –"If my pouch is what you want then somebody go ahead and count the pearls"-

-"I'm the one closest to you. Let me count them"- Romi extended her hand towards Kayano before she could pass it to anybody. Kayano gulped but passed it. Romi opened the pouch and emptied the content in her hand. Placing the empty ouch on the table she started putting the pearls back in, one by one and loudly counting them. –"Four...five...six..."- until she got to ten. Kobayashi's eyes bulged, surprised.

-"That can't be possible! You must have made a mistake, Romi-san!"-

-"There's no mistake, there are ten pearls here"- Romi gave Kayano the pouch back –"It's impossible I'm mistaken. All of you saw me putting one by one in here, didn't you?"-

Hosoya buried his face in his hands. –"Does this mean Kayano-san is innocent too?"-

-"Well this is..."- Kobayashi was clueless now. He had been pretty sure Kayano didn't have all her pearls, but Romi had verified they had. Everybody had seen it, ten pearls into the pouch. –"Now what? Why was Kishio-sensei innocent, again?"-

-"Because she wouldn't do something like killing somebody under her charge"- Sugita answered and frowned –"In hindsight that's a terrible reason to not to suspect her. In fact...there's something that points at her. Lily!"-

-"Yes?"- Lily had been prodding her head, as if she were expecting to feel something inside it.

-"Who does the bedrooms in Camp Lily belong to?"-

Lily projected a map of the available areas of the Headquarters. It was glitching and flickering, possibly due to the damage to her head, but that didn't stop her from trying to help. Lighting up the classrooms as she talked, she started on the left side of the hall. –"First it's Kobayashi-kun's room, then it's Ki-Ki-Kishio-san's room, then Tanaka-san's room, then Mimori-san's room..."-

-"Stop!"- Sugita thought for a moment –"That's where I was going to. Let me show you how this goes!"- The Tea Demon stood to the side of the projected map, pointing at the important points while Lily helpfully added what she talked about.

Nonstop Debate

Kishio's Testimony / Recording #1 / Hosoya's Testimony / Kobayashi's Testimony / Water in the Fountain

SUGITA: The blood was here

SUGITA: That's where Yasumoto-san died

EMIKO: Between my room and Mimori-san's room

SUGITA: Exactly. The killer can't have stood...

SUGITA: ...in middle of the hall. So where would they be?

ROMI: In a classroom!

OYAMA: But in which one? It can only have been...

SUGITA: In either Kishio-sensei or Tanaka-san's room

SUGITA: They're our suspects here

OYAMA: Tanaka-san was kept outside but...

OYAMA: Kishio-sensei could have returned into the headquarters

SUGITA: Only Kishio-sensei could hide in her bedroom

SUGITA: After all it's hers!

SUGITA: Nobody else can enter a classroom except the owner

-"I have no idea where you got such a wrong idea but that's incorrect"- Mitsuhiko said as kindly as possible. Sugita only glared at him but that didn't stop him from continuing –"The classrooms doors doesn't have any locks. Anybody can enter in them at any point.

The Tea Demon gasped –"...really? But then..."-

-"Yeah, this means nothing against Kishio-sensei"- Hosoya sighed –"But she's the only suspect we have right now"-

-"She has all her pearls too, I counted them"- Mitsuishi pointed –"We're stuck. We should have followed my reasoning, we would be finished if we had"- Nobody bothered to mention he hadn't contributed in any way to the discussion so far.

-"There must be something we can define here! Kishio-sensei, can anybody confirm you stayed outside?"- Nobody stepped forward to say they could confirm she stayed outside the whole time. Before anybody could continue pursuing any lead against Kishio Mimiro laughed heartily, clutching her notebook. Everybody stared for a moment before daring to ask what had happened to her.

-"Why are you laughing?"- Takayama asked prudently.

-"It's just that...you're all missing a crucial detail, one that can change everything here. You're all lucky my observational skills are excellent"-

-"How about instead of bragging you go straight to the point?"- Mitsuhiko asked with little patience. Mimiro took her pen, pointing at Kayano

-"Who has the pearls again? The four components of Yasumoto-san's group, right? But there's something strange here with that.

What would you say if I told you there's somebody else in this room that also has pearls and hasn't gone through any suspicion?"-

Everybody was silent, processing what Mimori had just said. –"Okay, who is it? Who received pearls too?"-

-"Why don't you ask Kayano-san?"- The dancer answered instantly what had been said before: Takayama, Kishio, Yasumoto and Kayano. Mimori smiled almost sinisterly, laughing softly.

-"Are you...covering for her?"-

-"For who?"- Kayano, confused, looked around, trying to see if anybody had strings in their arms. Mimori shook her head.

-"You seriously forgot. What could it mean, I wonder?"-

-"Stop that and go to the point! Who has pearls too?"- Takayama banged the table. Mimori rolled her eyes, finally answered the query. She made a flourish with her pen before pointing to the end of the table where Monobear was sitting. The bear didn't react.

-"Monobear? Why would I give pearls to him?"-

-"No, not him. Her"- the pen moved just a bit to the left. Lily stepped behind Monobear's chair -"Get out of there and let's get this in order"- Kayano gasped, suddenly realizing what Mimori meant. They really must have been not paying attention to not to notice the rather visible string of pearls on the girl's head, tangled between her hair horns.

-"Of course. Lily. Yasumoto-san had given pearls to her as an attempt to befriend Lily's creator. I didn't remember that!"

-"Maybe because you weren't the one to give them"- Takayama had calmed down –"Lily, come here and show us the pearls she gave you"-

-"That won't be necessary"- Mimori interjected –"I went there just a while ago to check it, she confirmed Yasumoto-san was the one to give her the pearls. But the one who gave them isn't important, right?"-

-"Of course not. What matters is the number"- Romi narrowed her eyes trying to focus on Lily.

-"I already counted them"- Mimori couldn't be smugger –"You'll like what I have to say: there were only nine pearls.

Lily, you're either an accomplice or...you're the killer. I'm leaning more towards accomplice, though. Would you like to tell us what you had to do with all this?"-

Chapter Text

Lily didn't really react to Mimori's accusation. Instead she twitched before asking: -"What makes you think that? Just that pearl?"-

-"Where is your missing pearl, then?"- Mimori asked with the same calmness Lily had.

-"I don't know. Maybe it fell off when I tried to take it off earlier. Who cares"-

-"It's impossible she did it, Mimori-san"- Koshimizu stood up near Lily –"Yasumoto-san was almost as tall as me. See how Lily only can reach my waist?"-

-"That's why I said it's likely she was an accomplice, not the killer"-

-"That has got to be a joke. What did Lily do, then?"- Fukuyama muttered. Mimori flipped the pages of her notebook until she got near the beginning.

-"Hikari-kun, you were the one with the recording, right? Play it again"-

-"Uh, yes"- Mitsuhiko obeyed, pressing the play button in the recorder. Everybody listened once again how a female commander talked to Kobayashi. Once it was over everybody looked at Mimori, expectantly.

The journalist wrote for a moment –"Intrepid reporter solves devious murder plan'. That recording shows what Lily's involvement with the murder was"-

-"You mean she's the voice here?"- Romi frowned –"But it sounds very different to her voice. It's impossible it's Lily"-

-"Not if she can record voices"- Mimori stated.

-"Can she really do that?"- Mitsuhiko thought it wasn't very farfetched to think Lily had that function.

-"You confirmed that? How?"- Kishio inquired.

-"...that's what I haven't done yet. Lily, can you record voices?"-

Lily shook her head and almost fell onto the floor, having lost control of her limbs –"I ca-c-c-c-can't do that"-

-"Upupupu...Lily, Lily, naughty and dishonest Lily"- Monober shook his head –"She can do that. I have seen her"-

-"But if it's a recording then Yasumoto-san would need to say that, wouldn't she?"- Koshimizu pointed a flaw in the logic –"That can't have happened"-

-"I said 'record', not 'play. If Lily can analyze the recording and imitate the pitch and the tone of Yasumoto's voice then she could attempt it"-

There's something wrong in Mimori's logic, there must be. But what? What's wrong with this? While Mitsuhiko thought the rest went to the big point of the argument. –"Then who is the killer, if Lily is the accomplice?"- Sasuga asked hoarsely. Mimori tilted her head.

-"Her creator, of course. I have suspected it for quite a while already. If there's somebody Lily would help it's her creator"-

-"...that's not bad logic!"- Oyama exclaimed with enthusiasm –"Lily's creator tried to do a mutual killing game. When they saw nobody was killing they decided to take the matter into their own hands"-

-"That's what I thought"-

-"Lily's creator is trying to kill us all, that's what's going on"- Kishio nodded –"So, Mimori-san, who is the killer?"-

Mimori rubbed her hands nervously –"...that's the part I have problems with. I have no idea"- the commanders' attention diminished quickly.

-"Then we haven't progressed"- Hosoya put his face in his hands.

-"I'd say we're worse than before. I mean, anybody could be Lily's creator"- Kishio stated.

-"No, Lily was just an accomplice. The killer had to be somebody who sneaked into the manor, one of those suspects we already talked about"- Emiko said –"But is it even sure that the killer is Lily's creator?"-

I'm not even convinced Lily had anything to do with this, but how to prove it? How to prove...that Mimori is mistaken? But if she is then what about the pearl?

Come on...

Nonstop Debate

Wet Gray Clothes / Blood in the Hallway / Water in the Fountain / Pearl / Mitsuhiko's Note

KISHIO: If Lily is an accomplice then...

KISHIO: Couldn't she have been the one to drag the body?

KISHIO: Then the killer would be the one in the recording

OYAMA: Lily is a robot, it wouldn't be hard...

OYAMA: ...for her to drag the body

ROMI: But if Lily had done it she'd be stained with blood, right?

ROMI: Can a robot like her get wet?

ROMI: She wouldn't be able to wash blood off her

FUKUYAMA: I see no blood on her

SASUGA: It isn't even guaranteed she touched blood anyway.

HOSOYA: Lily was the one in the recording

HOSOYA: There's no other solution.

MIMORI: Nice to see we all agree she was involved, though!

-"No, Sasuga-kun. It's very likely she touched blood"- Mitsuhiko wagged his finger –"and I can prove it"-

-"Then do it"- Takayama urged impatiently.

-"When Yasumoto-san was killed blood was spilled. We all saw the blood in the hallway, didn't we? That's the blood Lily should have touched"-

-"You mean with her hands when she grabbed the body?"- Kayano arched her neck, trying to look into Lily's hands –"They seem spotless to me"-

-"No, I don't mean with her hands. Don't you all remember? Kobayashi-kun, who was in that hallway, too, got blood on himself too. That shows it's likely Lily would be the same"-

Kobayashi's eyes widened –"Her feet! She must have stepped on the blood!"-

-"Exactly! So let's take a look to the bottom of her shoes. That should set everything straight"-

Lily fidgeted –"That's fine w-w-with me"- she walked to Mitsuhiko and lifted her foot. As expected the shoes were fused to the legs, so it wasn't like she could take them off. Mitsuhiko practically made Lily stand awkwardly on one leg while he carefully rubbed the metallic sole, trying to feel if there was any trace of blood. Everybody looked at him while he carefully did it, until Hosoya lost his patience and climbed on the table, peering closer.

-"What did you find? Say it!"-

-"Move back before I decide to crush your head with my gun"- the hunter said grumpily, setting the foot back onto the floor. Lily stepped back to her spot, clutching her head.

-"So...was there any blood?"- Romi was barely holding her curiosity. Mitsuhiko rubbed his fingertips, remembering the sensation.

-"...I can say without any doubt that...

...that there has never been any blood on Lily's shoes"-

The statement was received with frustration by those who believed Lily had anything to do with the murder and with relief by those who had serious doubts about Mimori's theory. –"You can't be serious!"- Fukuyama slammed the table –"There must be blood! Her shoes are green, it'd be hard to see and be sure!"-

-"That's why I touched them and I insist, there was no blood"-

-"She must have changed them when they got bloodied. Come on!"- Oyama berated Mitsuhiko. The hunter didn't bother to look at her.

-"The shoes are practically glued onto her legs. It's impossible she changed them"-

-"Then...then this is a different Lily! That'd explain it!"- Hosoya rubbed his lips. He was hoping to find anything to discredit Mitsuhiko, but the hunter merely scoffed.

-"Do you think it's possible Lily has lots of copies of her around? Monobear and her must have been bluffing earlier. It's impossible they have nine dodecahedrons or whatever number they had said earlier. This is the same Lily than before and I think this proves one thing beyond any doubt:

Lily is completely innocent!"-

Mimori crushed her notebook, her knuckles turning white. –"Of all people who could have...who could have argued..."-

-"So now that I have proved Lily had nothing to do with this what do you have to say, Mimori-san?"-

-" But what about the pearl? She was missing one and we found one in the hallway! That proves Lily was there, at least!"-

-"That only proves Lily was there at some point between this morning and when Yasumoto-san was found. It could have fallen at any point"-

-"...Oooooggh..."- Mimori grunted and threw the notebook to the floor –"Fine! Have it your way. Lily had nothing to do with the murder. Happy now?"-

-"Definitely no"- Mitsuhiko said glumly –"Clearing Lily's name doesn't help to find out who is the killer"-

-"I still think it's Kayano-san"- Kobayashi stated. Kayano rewarded him with a glare.

-" Since the killer's name is avoiding us for now there's something else we should talk about"- Yurie grabbed her huge ponytail, twirling it around –"Where did Yasumoto-san die?"-

-"There's no sense on discussing that"- Mitsuhiko brushed aside Yurie's question, but that didn't amuse Yurie at all.

I INSIST

-"Where did Yasumoto-san die?"-

-"But that was the most basic thing we argued already! We can't waste time on that"- Kishio protested.

-"There's no time limit. We may as well do that again. Somebody, answer that to me. I insist you do"-

-"I'll set straight everything"- Mitsuhiko intervened. Yurie, we don't have any purpose on going back to such thing. Why are you going back to this point?

Rebuttal Showdown

Missing Tooth / Baseball Bat / Pearl / Monobear File #1 / Kishio's Testimony

YURIE: The first thing we must define...

YURIE: ...is the place of the death

YURIE: Once we find the exact place...

YURIE: ...the rest of the puzzle will show itself.

MITSUHIKO: But we already found out where it happened!

MITSUHIKO: It's in the hall of Camp Lily!

YURIE: Is that so?

YURIE: Then if you know that already...

YURIE: ...why haven't you noticed the problem?

YURIE: Think about the body!

It didn't take long before Mitsuhiko realized what was going on. Yurie wasn't pretending to be stupid or anything. She was pointing to an enigma they had touched yet hadn't delved into. –"The Monobear File...that's answer, right?"-

-"What part, exactly?"-

-"The location! If Yasumoto-san died in Camp Lily why was her body found in the Lobby?"-

Yurie smiled, satisfied –"Thank you for indulging me, Mitsu-chan"-

-"I should have realized that"- Sasuga shook his head –"The culprit must have dragged the body there"-

-"And without leaving any drag marks. Whoever did it is pretty strong"- Mitsuhiko pointed.

-"Neither Kishio-sensei nor Kayano-san look pretty strong if you ask me"- Sugita said –"Takayama can't have done it because of the voice in the recording"-

-"...Kayano-san was a dancer. Wouldn't that give her a nice amount of strength?"- Kobayashi pointed. Once again Kayano glared at him, not grateful by being put on the spotlight again.

-"Zle! Kayano-san is known for her endurance feats. I don't think dancing gives her strength"- Kishio replied –"I admit I'm kind of strong but that doesn't mean I'm the killer"-

-"I still think Kayano-san is the killer"-

-"Alright, I'm starting to lose my patience"- Kayano cracked her knuckles –"What do I have to do for you to stop suspecting me?"-

-"Show me your shoes. That should help clear you up"- Kobayashi commanded. Kayano rolled her eyes but lifted took off her shoes, practically throwing them to the illusionist. Kobayashi took one and with a determined look he took a glance at the soles. His determined expression fell down slowly while he looked closer and then rubbed the soles –"It can't be. Impossible..."-

-"Are you satisfied now?"-

Kobayashi returned the shoes to the owner –"The soles are made of an absorbent material, it's impossible she washed them or something...where did I go wrong?"-

-"Right, we're deviating from the point"- Emiko took off her cap, waving it in front of her face –"Why did the killer bring the body to the lobby?"-

-"It's obvious, isn't it? There can have been only one single reason:

To frame Kobayashi

To make Kobayashi see the body

To fulfill the 'three people requirement'

To hide the body

To fulfill the 'three people requirement'

-"Remember what Lily said: three innocent people have to see the body so Monobear makes the announcement"-

-"I said that?"- Lily asked, more to herself than to the rest. Everybody ignored her, instead focusing on Mitsuhiko.

-"That's what happened; the culprit moved the body so Kobayashi-kun would see it and meet that purpose. But that brings a new problem: Kobayashi-kun didn't see a body, right?"-

-"The body definitely wasn't in the lobby, I would have seen it. It was right there in front of the stairs!"

-"If she had been laid anywhere else in the lobby we would have seen blood"- Sasuga pointed –"I can declare with certainty that she wasn't in any other place than the place we found it"-

Nonstop Debate

Hosoya's Testimony / Shallow Cuts / Monobear File #1 / Mitsuhiko's Note / Baseball Bat

SUGITA: I think it's clear he saw the body

SUGITA: That'd clear up the three people rule

YURIE: But if Kobayashi-kun had seen him...

YURIE: ...then he'd have alerted everybody, wouldn't he?

KOBAYASHI: Of course I would have!

FUKUYAMA: A clear contradiction!

FUKUYAMA: You think he's telling the truth?

KISHIO: He must be

KISHIO: Nobody else could be the first person to see the body

YURIE: The killer knew what Kobayashi-kun would do...

YURIE: ...and where he would be.

YURIE: But to me it's clear the killer wanted to hide the body

YURIE: Otherwise she would have left it in the hallway

ROMI: Agh! We're in an endless loop here!

-"Of course the killer knew what Kobayashi-kun would do"- Mitsuhiko frowned –"Once again the evidence brings us to those three plus the courier. It was the note, Yurie, they knew about it."-

-"And the killer tried to hide the body, as she knew Kobayashi-kun would be going to the Administrative Offices"- Yurie clarified.

-"Where was the body hidden, then?"- Kishio inquired.

-"Heck if I know. In the hallway to the Theater? Nobody checked there"-

-"I had gone to that hallway but the lighting was too dim"-

-"It could have been in a classroom, too"- Kishio suggested, pointing at herself –"Mine and Tanaka-san were the closest ones. Any would have been good enough"-

-"That's fine and all, Oyama-san, but again: Who. Saw. The. Body. First? If you can't answer that your reasoning crumbles under its own weight"- Kayano was starting to lose her patience. The debate was getting nowhere, at that rate they wouldn't define if it had been Kishio or Kayano.

-"I don't know! There must be something we overlooked, something we got wrong!"-

This is stupid. Okay, from the beginning...let's suppose Amy was the first person to see the body. Why wouldn't he inform it? Did he have anything to gain from hiding its existence? Could he have been...an accomplice?

No, I don't think so. Amy doesn't have the guts to do that. Then what explanation is there?

Agh!

Fine, let's change the point of view! What did the killer do with the dead body? Hide it? It must have been hidden, otherwise Amy would have told somebody. Then...

...no, no, no! What's wrong with all this? Did Amy see the body, did he not, what?

Mitsuhiko was very, very confused. No matter how he thought about that conundrum he couldn't think a way to clear it up. All perspectives led to the suspicion something strange was going on. For a moment the hunter tuned out of the debate while the rest argued about other details. He had the feeling that if he could solve that part they'd finish the trial in no time.

-"I got it! Of course, it's so simple!"-

Kobayashi had been the one who exclaimed that, stopping everybody else's discussions. Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows, intrigued. –"What's so simple?"-

-"I understand everything, why we're stuck in that loop. Seriously, the answer is so simple I can't believe we didn't think of it before"-

-"Tell me you won't be like Mimori-san and taunt us without saying it"- Koshimizu tugged at his beard.

-"No, but first I'd like to be sure I know what I'm doing. Let's say this is the very core of the mystery: what if the culprit knew from the beginning Monobear's condition about finding the dead body?"-

-"Are you suggesting the killer made a plan to make you see the dead body?"- Takayama mulled it.

-"Exactly"-

-"But you had said you didn't see it. How does it work, then?"- Yurie narrowed her eyes.

-"Let's say I didn't see it...but I actually did see it. Both statements are undeniable truths, at least from what I know"-

-"That tells me nothing"- Emiko grumbled. Kobayashi ignored her, instead focusing on Monobear.

-"Monobear, if somebody asked you about that condition would you answer it with complete honesty?"-

-"Sure, why not?"- Monobear said without any worries –"It was just a question, I saw no harm on answering it"-

Kobayashi smiled –"Confirmed! You did get asked that!"-

-"That's nice, but can you say who did it?"- Kayano rubbed her eyes tiredly –"That's what I want to know"-

-"That's what I'm going to do now: find out who did it. And I know exactly how. Takayama-kun!"- Kobayashi exclaimed, startling Takayama. The bodyguard inquired what he wanted and Kobayashi practically shone in his determination. –"You planted microphones everywhere, didn't you?"-

-"I did, but if you're wondering if I heard anything, no, I didn't"-

-"That's not it. What I want to know is if anything has happened to those microphones. Are they all still in their places?"-

-"Lily destroyed some of them, I think only in Camp Lily. Other than that they're still intact"-

Kobayashi seemed to start losing confidence –"...are you sure nothing else has happened to them?"- What's Amy looking for? But it reminded him something he had seen.

-"It's true Lily destroyed several microphones, but Monobear took one with him"- Mitsuhiko informed. As soon as Kobayashi heard that he recovered the enthusiasm he had lost.

-"Excellent! What if...what if Monobear has that microphone with him for a concrete reason: to allow whoever controls him to listen to us?"-

-"But that'd mean none of us sixteen controls him"- Romi pointed.

-"He had said he represented the Main Board. I don't want to believe it but the Main Board must be the ones behind the mutual killing game"- Sasuga stated, downcast.

-"Impossible! The Main Board nor Veritas would accept doing anything like a mutual killing game. Monobear must have lied!"- Takayama remarked vehemently, but before everybody could get into a discussion about Monobear and the Main Board Kobayashi tried to get the focus again.

-"As I was saying before I was interrupted: the Monobear stole that so whoever controls him could listen to us. That's what I think and therefore...Takayama's machines must have recorded the question.

The culprit must have been recorded by Monobear's microphone"-

The possibility of solving the crime by using Monobear's machinations against the culprit was an appealing perspective. It felt like some sort of poetic justice, catching the killer with the question that must have sparked the plan to kill Yasumoto. Over all that Monobear started laughing, first softly, but then it evolved into a full blown laugh. During the hubbub nobody noticed how the doors opened and closed softly, one person going outside.

-"Upupu...upupupu...knnnng...hahahahahaha!"-

-"Oh, come on! Why are you laughing in a moment like this?"- Mitsuhiko had a bad feeling of whatever made Monobear laugh. Surely he'd brag about how none of them would now be able to listen to the recordings, to crush their hopes to find an answer and make them despair over their 50% chances of making everybody die. Or maybe 100%, if neither Kishio or Kayano ended being the killer, even if that was very unlikely.

-"It's true I have the microphone with me at all times, but you can't think I'll give you the chance of bringing those recordings here. In fact I have half of my mind on ending the trial right here and push for the voting stage!"-

-"You can't be serious!"- Kishio shouted, standing up so quickly the chair fell down.

-"I am! Let's go ahead with the voting!"-

-"And what if we refuse?"- Mimori crossed her arms. Monobear's eyes glinted dangerously, making some of the commanders feel shivers down their backs.

-"Then the trial is not the only thing that's going to end here..."- Since when Monobear acts so threateningly? Is the Main Board on such a hurry to end the trial?

-"We'll have problems if we have to choose between one of those two. I don't know who is the culprit"- Hosoya spit on the floor. Just when the commanders were going to continue protesting Monobear's sudden will to end the trial right there the doors burst open, getting the attention of everyone present.

Lily had entered running despite the deep gash on her head. She was carrying a set of equipment Takayama recognized. –"My recorder!"-

-"Yes! Thank you Lily!"- Kobayashi quickly unloaded Lily from her burden, depositing the machines on the table, but as soon as he did Monobear climbed on the table, ready to attack.

-"I said we're ending the trial now!"-

-"Lily, we're in trouble. We need to keep Monobear away from the machines!"- Sasuga said urgently, taking one of the chairs and placing it in middle of the table. Kobayashi moved to the end opposite to Monobear and put on headphones Lily brought as well. Monobear unsheathed his claws and climbed on the chair, finding his path blocked by once another chair, held on the air.

-"Attacking me is against the rules, Sasuga-kun!"-

-"I'm not attacking you. As long as I don't touch you I'll be fine"-

-"Stop pushing your luck!"- Monobear said angrily and tried to climb the second chair, sparing Sasuga for now and focusing on the task he had: destroying the proof.

-"Keep him away until I finish listening. There are a lot of recordings but I think I can find it"- Kobayashi ordered. Lily got onto the table too, trembling. She was pretty weakened due to the effects of being attacked by Lily earlier, but that didn't stop her from trying to protect the evidence Kobayashi was trying to find. Lily revealed the glasses in both of her hands.

-"Everybody s-s-s-s-s-s-tep back!"- and just when Monobear had jumped from the top of the second table she swung her arm, hitting Monobear straight on the chest and knocking him off the table. Once the bear was down she aimed and fired her laser at the strongest intensity possible, but Monobear was much more agile than she had supposed. In no time Monobear rolled away, furious.

-"You won't stop me, Lily!"-

-"I need to do it"- she said, determined –"I must do it"-

-"Fine with me"- Monobear threw himself on the table while the graduates hurriedly got onto a safe place behind Lily. They knew it was likely she'd use her lasers liberally, as they seemed to be the only weapon she had. Although they were of almost the same size, with Monobear being the shortest one, Lily wasn't as agile or resistant. Although Lily tried to use her beams and left several scorch marks on the table and the walls, Monobear was almost untouched. The only time she managed to score a hit it only grazed him, filling the room for a moment with the smell of burnt felt.

Despite her disadvantages she was doing an excellent job keeping Monobear away, though. Every time the bear managed to approach a bit she used her lasers and sometimes her body to block the path, forcing him to go back. Soon she started to almost fall apart, being shredded over and over by Monobear's claws.

-"Nothing yet?!"- Mimori shouted at Kobayashi and threw her notebook, hitting Lily –"My bad!"-

-"Idiot! Monobear would have killed you!"- Kobayashi chastised her but still took the time to answer her question –"I'm starting to listen today's recordings. It shouldn't take me more than five minutes"-

-"I don't think she has five minutes of life left"- Emiko took a scrap of green steel from Lily's dress that had fallen nearby.

-"Silence, I'm trying to focus!"-

The fight continued and the commanders couldn't do anything else other than watching, as any help could be defined as 'attacking Monobear', for all they knew. Besides the lasers continued being fired, although with less aim and strength every time. Finally, when Monobear had striked Lily on a side and forced her to drop down Kobayashi stood up, disconnected the headphones and turned on the volume to the max.

Monobear stopped, caught by surprise by the voices in the recording. They were clear and identifiable. Just like Kobayashi had supposed it was undeniable evidence of a person's guilt.

'Monobear, if anybody were to be murdered, would it be inconvenient for you if the corpse was never found?'

'It would be! The mutual killing game relies on the trials. Without a body there can't be a trial'

'But if I hid the body what would you do?'

'Upupu...I'd drag it where everybody could see it, of course. My personal rules demand people see the body!'

'Personal rules? Is there a rule about finding the corpse?'

'There is. Three innocent people must see the body. Once they do I'll announce it and the investigation phase will start!'

'Three innocent people...allow me to confirm: it'll be only when the third person finds it. No sooner than that. Do you guarantee it?'

'It's a guarantee! It'll always be after the third person sees the body, no matter what happens'

Kobayashi stopped the recording there. There was silence for a moment until Monobear did a sound Mitsuhiko could only interpret as a sigh and put his claws away. –"I tried"- he muttered before returning to his seat on the far edge of the table. The commanders also returned to their respective seats, mulling what they had just listened. Among them the culprit was already cringing, knowing what was coming but tried to hide it.

Once everybody sat and had already analyzed what they had listened the silence was finally broken. –"That voice...we all know who it was"- Hosoya stated, forlorn.

-"It's unmistakable. The voice and the slightly flowery way of speaking..."- Yurie was pretty serious too. Maybe it was the shock of finally having the proof they needed to find the culprit, but everybody was serious and grave.

-"Look at the bright side"- Mimori said to Kobayashi, who had closed his eyes in satisfaction –"You were right after all"-

-"Looks like you're more competent than I thought, Kobayashi-kun..."- Yurie said briefly before turning to the culprit –"So, got anything to defend yourself, Kayano-san?

That was, without any doubt, your voice"-

Chapter Text

Kayano slowly took off the string of pearls on her arm and tangled it between her fingers, not saying anything. –"It's your voice, you did it!"- Mitsuhiko pointed at her.

-"...didn't your progenitor teach you it's rude to point at others?"- she muttered but didn't bother to try to fight back the evidence that had just been found. It's her, it's obvious. We don't need to argue anymore.

No Blood on the Shoes

Kayano showed the soles of her shoes. There was no blood to be found on them despite the absorbent material of the soles.

Recording #3

A recording of Kayano asking Monobear about the rules regarding finding the dead body.

Monobear's Microphone

Monobear took one of Takayama's microphones and has kept it since that moment.

While many of the commanders demanded to know why she had killed Yasumoto a few focused on the very mangled metallic body that lay on the table. Lily was almost as destroyed as the one Monobear had killed in the first day, when they had been gathered for the first time since the lockdown. Sasuga carefully took Lily's destroyed body, cradling it carefully. –"Is she dead?"- Romi inquired with some concern.

-"...not yet. I'm unfamiliar with the connections and the mechanisms of this robot but I think she's still...alive"- Sasuga picked up the pieces on the table –"I'll fix her once the trial is done"-

-"Because you're her creator"-

-"No, you asshole. I'm the only roboticist around. Her creator isn't going to step forward to fix her so it's up to me to do it"-

-"Why do you care about her? She was going to lock us here!"- Fukuyama protested, extending his arm towards Lily, but Sasuga turned his back to him.

-"She saved our lives! It's the least I could do. Besides she was already malfunctioning since the early parts of the trial, I want to find out why"-

-"If she was going to lock us so we kill each other why would she try to save our lives?"- Emiko tapped her chin, thoughtful –"I don't understand it"-

-"We won't ever know. Let's not harass her over it, okay?"-

Their attention got turned to the others, who were taking a breath before continuing their attack on the Dancing Demon. Taking the chance to fight back Kayano took a breath, still playing with her string. –"I admit I asked Monobear about that rule but that doesn't mean I killed her"-

-"Oh, come on! Why else would you ask him that?"- Kishio practically shouted.

-"I admit I had an interest on killing somebody and I was considering hiding the victim but I never went ahead with it"-

-"Bullshit. Nobody would fall for that"- Emiko crossed her arms. Kayano took a moment to glare at her before continuing.

-"Can you actually prove I asked him that already planning to kill Yasumoto-san? You can't, can you? Then you have to believe my words"-

-"Nobody will"- Koshimizu took a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up. A few of the commanders made expressions of disgust but only Yurie told him to put it away.

-"I suppose so, but let me ask you something, then: how can I have gone into the Headquarters if I was outside?"-

-"We already discussed you entered while the others were gathered outside, that's no mystery"- Yurie curtly said, but Kayano instead smirked.

-"Right, but I can demonstrate I couldn't have done it. Will that be enough to convince you I have nothing to do with this death?"-

-"Try it if you can"- Koshimizu finally put down his cigarette and set down to listen to Kayano's argument –"We'll give you a chance"-

Nonstop Debate

Kobayashi's Testimony / Wet Gray Clothes / Stone Torch / Baseball Bat / Malfunctioning Lighting

MITSUISHI: Why to listen to her?

MITSUISHI: She's going to lie

KAYANO: Be silent and listen, because...

KAYANO: ...these will be facts and nothing else.

KAYANO: The weapon was that baseball bat

KAYANO: Which is usually located in the courtyard shed

KISHIO: We all know that already

KAYANO: So this is what you're insinuating:

KAYANO: I took the baseball bat and entered the headquarters

KAYANO: Am I correct?

HOSOYA: Of course

KAYANO: I can't have taken that baseball bat!

KAYANO: I stayed behind everybody else

KAYANO: And Sugita-san and Hosoya-kun entered that shed

KAYANO: If I had gone in they would have seen me.

SUGITA: She's right; she didn't approach the shed...

SUGITA: She didn't have a chance to take the bat...

KAYANO: Did that clear all suspicions?

-"Of course you took the bat, Kayano-san; it's useless to deny it"- Mitsuhiko took out his gun, examining it absentmindedly –"Your argument failed"-

Kayano narrowed her eyes but Sugita was the one who tried to counter –"But I'm completely sure she didn't get into the shed. I know I didn't see her!"-

-"Since when was it decided the bat was taken just before entering the headquarters?"- Emiko and Mitsuhiko asked at the same time, before the hunter allowed her to continue –"It could have done anytime between the question and before we all got called outside"-

-"But there's a flaw to that, one I don't think you had considered"- Kayano stretched the nylon thread of her string of pearls to its max capacity. While she was calm it was as if she was channeling her anger into the thread. –"The bedrooms where I could have hidden are not mine. Their owner could have been there at any point during the morning and people would have noticed if I had been stalking them. I couldn't have entered to hide the weapon of the crime and I definitely can't have got time to hide it anywhere else"- she twitched –"Tell me about that"-

-"That's no problem"- Mitsuhiko stared at the nylon thread. Something was nagging in his mind but he didn't understand what it was –"I could answer to that"-

THEN DO IT

Kayano's pressuring tone caught Mitsuhiko unguarded. He straightened up to Kayano's stare –"You mean right now?"-

-"Of course you must do it right now!"-

Crap. I better order my thoughts quickly so they're coherent enough. I know exactly how it went but the hard part will be to convince everybody else. After all...

...it's possible several people saw the bat and didn't pay attention to it.

Rebuttal Showdown

Blood in the Hallway / Stone Torch / Monobear File #1 / Recording #1 / Recording #2

KAYANO: The culprit had the bat with them

KAYANO: And attacked Yasumoto-san with haste

KAYANO: It's very likely they had it with them...

KAYANO: ...inside the classroom they hid into.

KAYANO: But if it had been hidden there

KAYANO: The culprit would have been caught by...

KAYANO: ...the owner of that classroom used.

KAYANO: It's as simple as that!

MITSUHIKO: Then if the bat wasn't in a classroom...

MITSUHIKO: ...where would it be, then?

KAYANO: You tell me!

KAYANO: If it had been anywhere in the hallway...

KAYANO: ...Yasumoto-san would have seen it!

KAYANO: It can't have been hidden anywhere else

KAYANO: Or somebody would have found it

KAYANO: They carried it when they entered the headquarters

KAYANO: It's the only thing that makes sense

KAYANO: As you can see there's only one option.

KAYANO: Therefore I'm innocent!

-"I know where it was hidden. The killer hid the baseball bat in the hallway"- Mitsuhiko stated confidently. That seemed like a good place to start.

-"Are you deaf? I already said Yasumoto-san would have seen it if it had been there"- Kayano made a clear gesture of barely restrained rage.

-"The bat was placed so it wouldn't really be seen. She'd see it but wouldn't see it"- Mitsuhiko pointed at several commanders –"Between the classrooms there are some stone statues. Kayano-san used one of them to hide the bat, taking off a stone torch one was holding and placed the bat there.

Easy access for the moment she murdered Yasumoto-san!"-

-"That can't be...somebody would have noticed the statue was different"- Koshimizu frowned, trying to remember if he had noticed anything different in the statues of the hallway.

-"The stone torch of that statue must have been taken off at some point during the morning. If nobody really paid attention to the statues to know how they looked then it's likely nobody would notice"- Emiko supported that theory.

-"It's an aluminum baseball bat; its gray color would have made it blend into the stone. It wouldn't stand out to anybody who passes near it"- Mitsuhiko added

-"But if Hikari-kun noticed then somebody else must have"- Mitsuishi argued –"A torch and a baseball bat are very different"-

-"But if anybody had noticed they would have done something"- Takayama pointed –"Kayano-san got the bat there, nobody saw it"-

-"Besides Romi-san is the one who noticed the statue changed and that was only because there was nothing in the statue's hand, that was after the murder"- Mitsuhiko finished the argument. The commanders briefly discussed the implications of it.

-"The blind woman was the one who saw something was amiss with the statues"- Kishio commented –"That doesn't speak well of all of us"-

-"But that doesn't point at me"- Kayano decided it was time to intervene again –"Anybody could have put that bat on the statue's hand"-

Mitsuhiko and Kobayashi grunted. She was right; it wasn't concrete evidence against Kayano. For all they knew, say, Mitsuishi was the one to do it. They needed to take a new perspective of the crime. –"Can you prove you were outside the whole time?"- Mimori bit her knuckles.

-"...I think I can"- Kayano put the pearls string on the table –"There was this incident I saw. If I tell exactly what happened will you believe me?"-

-"T-The incident? Do you mean...?"- Mitsuhiko felt nervous there. If Kayano managed to describe what Hosoya had done then that meant she was outside...most likely. I need to listen carefully and see if that fits what I know.

Nonstop Debate

Hosoya's Testimony

KAYANO: It started a while after we all went outside

KAYANO: Sugita-san entered the shed with Hosoya-kun

KAYANO: What happened in there was...nasty...

KAYANO: It ended with everything strewn around

EMIKO: Don't think you can get away with being vague!

KAYANO: I'm not going to be vague

KAYANO: I know very well Hosoya-kun...

KAYANO: ...Hosoya-kun...

KAYANO: ...tried to force himself upon her.

KAYANO: We all stood still for a moment, shocked

KAYANO: But once we recovered we tried to help her

KOSHIMIZU: I quickly isolated him

KOSHIMIZU: But I think she wouldn't see it

SASUGA: That's what had happened, more or less

ROMI: Could she have been outside, after all?

There were several points to consider, but only one stood out to Mitsuhiko. The hunter thought for a moment, thinking carefully about what Hosoya had told him. It wasn't long before he remembered what had been wrong in Kayano's testimony...or at least vague. –"Sounds like what I know, Kayano-san, but there's only one thing I'd like to ask:

Who, exactly, tried to help Sugita-san?"-

Kayano raised her eyebrows –"Uh, what do you mean?"-

-"You said 'we tried to help her'. Who is 'we'?"- Mitsuhiko leaned forward. He felt like he was going to strike a bullet into his prey, Kayano was looking more and more like an animal in mortal danger.

-"We-Well, it was...Takayama-kun, he wanted to protect her...and Koshimizu-san tried to get away Hosoya-kun...and..."- the more she talked the softer it was, until she shut up. It was obvious she wasn't going to be able to fake who had gone to help Sugita.

After all, she hadn't seen it.

-"There are so many things wrong with that I can't even start with one"- Sasuga stated –"She's lying; I was the only one who went to help her"-

-"But she didn't see it because..."- Kishio started but didn't finish the sentence, instead Fukuyama said it hurriedly.

-"...because she was in the Headquarters! It's so clear!"-

Kayano once again took her string of pearls, twirling it around as quickly as possible, as if she wanted nothing aside from strangling Mitsuhiko with it. –"I...what can I say? I don't know..."-

-"A confession would be nice. You killed Yasumoto-san!"- Fukuyama demanded. Kayano scoffed in a way unfit for a lady, and slammed the table.

-"I didn't kill her! Come on, don't let yourselves be misled. There's one last point nobody has explained yet, and it's the key to the case!"-

-"But we demonstrated you weren't outside, that should be enough to vote for you"- Romi stated.

-"Even if I went outside that doesn't explain the inconsistency everybody has been wondering about: the dead body! Did Kobayashi-kun see it? Did he?!"-

-"He didn't. He already said it several times"- Yurie crossed her arms. In that moment Kobayashi sighed as if he were going to dread what he was going to say.

-"Actually I saw Yasumoto's dead body. Sorry for the confusion everybody"-

-"But you had said you didn't see it! You were sure you didn't!"- Sasuga pointed at him, ready to argue with him. Kobayashi sighed, trying to calm him down.

-"I know, I know. It's that I didn't understand it until just a while ago. We all forgot one possibility about what happened"-

-"Okay, what do you mean?"- Sugita inquired.

-"It's just like it sounds: I saw the body but I didn't realize I saw it. It's no wonder I was the first to realize it, after all...

...an illusionist isn't the only one who can create illusions"-

A sudden epiphany came over Mitsuhiko. Of course! Kobayashi had seen the corpse, after all! –"Why didn't you say it earlier, Amy?"-

-"Because it wasn't directly related to Kayano-san. It wasn't proof against her"-

-"It's because you can't prove it was me!"- Kayano interjected, reddening.

-"I don't have to. It was already proven that you entered the Headquarters and that you had the chance to kill her. That's more than enough to vote for you"-

Kayano laughed bitterly –"Come on! You don't want to talk about it because it can't be linked to me"-

-"Actually..."- Mitsuhiko started –"It can. I can link the illusion to you. Let me do it, okay?"-

-"Sure, why not? Let's give it a chance. Come on, Hikari-kun, show me where your reasoning leads you to! How do you explain this enigma?"-

-"It's simple. Amy..."-

...is an accomplice

...didn't see the body

...saw the dead body without realizing it

...saw the dead body and lied about it

...saw the dead body without realizing it

-"It's like Amy said. It's an illusion. The rule Monobear mentioned is undeniable, three people must have seen it, and it only can have been Amy, Yurie and me. So how could that happen? Simple:

Amy saw the body but didn't recognize it as Yasumoto's corpse!"-

-"...It'd be great if you stopped calling me Amy..."- Kobayashi muttered. Kayano got pale, sinking in her seat slowly. That was all the confirmation Mitsuhiko needed to know he was in the right path.

-"Wait how can he confuse a dead body with anything else?"- Sugita asked. Kayano straightened up and pounced on that.

-"Yes, she's right! How can that be possible? Nothing can look like a corpse and not alarm anybody!"-

-"Amy is an illusionist, that's why he understood how it was: you showed him the corpse and made it look like it wasn't that"-

-"Y-Y-Y-You're not making any sense. It doesn't make any sense!"- Kayano was already sweating heavily, her curled hair starting to straighten down from all the times she had started pulling it in the last five minutes. Mitsuhiko sighed, she was resorting to stuttering and trying to deny without arguments.

What did people call when that happened? Desperation?

Panic Talk Battle

KAYANO: T-The mere thought of that...

KAYANO: Preposterous!

KAYANO: A corpse is a corpse that is a corpse!

KAYANO: There's n-n-n-nothing that could work!

KAYANO: Have you lost your freaking mind?!

KAYANO: Blood! Flesh! How do you hide that?

KAYANO: Impo-impossible!

KAYANO: You can't pin that on me

KAYANO: Kobayashi-kun is not an idiot

KAYANO: You're bluffing, right? Right?!

Statues on the Fountain

-"...I finally saw it. The pieces of evidence I couldn't fully link to the murder...I finally see how they got involved in this. This all starts with the location of the body: why did Kayano-san move the corpse to the lobby?

The answer was to make Amy see it and fulfill Monobear's rule. Kayano-san finished it and left the body where she had done that part of her plan"-

-"But you haven't said what she did, exactly"- Emiko pointed, impatient.

-"She disguised Yasumoto-san's dead body as one of the statues in the fountain. It's the same principle than the baseball bat in the hallway statues!"-

-"So you got to the same conclusion I did, Hikari-kun"- Kobayashi nodded –"I didn't have any proof to tell everybody, to be honest. Did you say you do?"-

-"I do"-

-"Impossible. That's impossible! You c-c-can't"- Kayano messed with her own hair, trying to get it back to its usual state –"For starters: how do you think I could hold a dead body against the fountain?"-

-"She's right. Propping it against the statues on the fountain would risk it falling and ruining everything, there must have been some way for her to hold the body"-

-"She did. It's all explained by this:

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Recording #3

Monobear's Microphone

No Blood on the Shoes

Shallow Cuts

-"Koshimizu-san, you examined the dead body. What was what you found that was unusual?"-

-"She had a missing tooth and horizontal cuts on the arms"- informed the Medical Demon, pointing at his own arms and trailing how they looked.

-"No way. Are you saying the tooth is the clue here?"- Kishio wondered, trying to imagine how a tooth would be involved in this. Mitsuhiko resisted the urge to facepalm, as he considered Kishio to be a bit smarter than that.

-"No, Kishio-sensei, it's the cuts. They're the trace Kayano's trick left on the body and it shows how she kept the body standing:

If I had to guess I'd say she stood on the side of the fountain Amy wouldn't see and used nylon threads like the ones in the pearl strings to hold the body while Amy walked through"-

-"But would she be able to hold the body like that?"- Kishio asked. Mitsuhiko nodded, confident

-"Again, she may not be one with lots of strength but she's known for her stamina. She'd be able to resist for as long as needed"-

-"But holding the body wouldn't be enough!"- Mitsuishi claimed –"Nothing on Yasumoto-san was gray, nobody would believe she was a statue"-

-"That's why Kayano-san used more pieces of evidence to complete the illusion. Take a look at this"-

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Recording #3

Monobear's Microphone

No Blood on the Shoes

Wet Gray Clothes

-"And also this"-

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Recording #3

Monobear's Microphone

No Blood on the Shoes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko showed the objects he had left on the table. –"This gray makeup was enough to do the job of disguising Yasumoto's skin, while the hat and the large sleeveless overcoat covered the rest. It's that simple"-

-"You had said the water in the fountain was dirty"- Romi pointed –"It's because Kayano-san washed the corpse there, right?"-

-"Exactly. So are we done with this, Kayano-san? I'd like to go to voting now"-

-"This can't be happening, there's no way this is happening to me..."- Kayano murmured to herself, closing her eyes.

-"I'll take that as you accepting your fate. So, do any of you still have any doubts Kayano-san is guilty?"-

-"That can't be, she's clearly guilty"- Kobayashi shrugged, but just to his chagrin Fukuyama and Emiko raised their hands. Mitsuhiko pinched the bridge of his noise.

-"Of course there's always a pair of dunces who don't get it yet. Okay, let's make clear what happened, alright?"-

Climax Inference

The plan the culprit hatched started when the rumors of Yurie and I's plan started to spread. Yasumoto told it to the three people she trusted the most: Takayama, Kishio and the culprit. Yasumoto was confident she'd be able to stop us and to do that plan she formed a scheme with her three comrades to push everybody outside so she'd be able to work without interruptions. However the culprit took advantage of that to create a plan of her own: to murder Yasumoto.

Takayama, Kishio and the culprit went outside, but at the first chance the culprit ran back into the Headquarters, going to Camp Lily and hiding in a classroom nearby Amy's bedroom with all the implements she'd need. There she waited for Yasumoto to talk with Amy, and once her victim finished the conversation and started walking to meet me and Yurie, the culprit sprang into action, running out of the classroom and grabbing the baseball bat she had previously concealed in one of the statues.

The murder was carried out quickly. Three hits with the baseball bat later, Yasumoto died. Having finished the first part of the plan the culprit started the second: disguise the body. To do this she carried Yasumoto's body to the Lobby, disguised it to resemble one using gray clothes and makeup and went to lure Amy outside of the bedroom so he'd meet his fate with me and Yurie. She only had around fifteen seconds but that was enough. Using nylon threads held it among the statues on the fountain in the Lobby, holding it for enough time for Amy to see it and walk into the hallway to the Administrative Offices.

Having made Amy see the body the culprit let the body fall into the fountain and washed the makeup, leaving the corpse there in middle of the Lobby all soaked. After this the culprit returned outside, having finished her macabre plan.

Unfortunately for her a series of circumstances led to her plan being found out. Our investigation almost didn't bear any fruit, if it hadn't been for the effort Amy did. And so thanks to him we can say with certainty:

Harumi Kayano! You're the culprit!

Kayano slumped on her seat, completely defeated. –"Yes. I acknowledge you got everything you said correctly. I...I murdered her"-

-"Wait, there's something else, right?"- Mitsuishi asked –"I'm one who knows the subtleties of words and I think there's something you haven't said yet. Am I right?"-

-"You're right. There's something you overlooked, Hikari-kun, Kobayashi-kun: the pearl. It's mine"-

-"But you had all your pearls, both in your string and in your pouch"- Takayama pointed, unsure of where that was going"- Kayano didn't reply, instead she slid the backup pouch to Mitsuhiko.

-"And I thought I had been lucky nobody gave a closer look to the pearls...I suppose it doesn't matter now"-

Curious, Mitsuhiko took the pouch and opened it, pouring all the pearls on the table. It took him a couple minutes to find what was wrong. The hunter took a concrete pearl, holding it in front of him to stare at it carefully. –"Is this what I think it is?"-

-"Yasumoto-san defended herself after the first blow...she managed to tear down my pearl string. It was a nightmare to look for the pearls in that dark hallway; especially since several got stained with blood and I had to wash them later. Imagine my frustration when I only found nine pearls!"-

-"And you took the only thing you could think could pass for a pearl, something of an approximate size: a tooth, right?"- Effectively, one of the pearls was a tooth. The discolored gray of the tooth was different to the pearls, but with a passing glance nobody would notice. However it was round and jagged, like a very imperfect pearl.

-"I found it while I was going for the pearls. I used my drill to turn it into a rough sphere when I had a bit of time. I thought that with some luck nobody would notice, and since Romi-san had those gloves I supposed she wouldn't feel the difference between a pearl and the tooth. I was so close to do this all right..."-

-"What about your shoes? There was no blood on them"- Sasuga inquired.

-"These are not the only shoes I own. The ones I had before did get stained with blood"-

-"But why did you kill her? That's what I don't understand. You two seemed like good partners in your awkward quest of trying to get us to get along"- Yurie asked, resting her chin on her hands.

-"...I fell for her silvery words at the beginning too, but I saw the light. It's impossible she was going to be of any help to us"-

-"How can you say that? She was doing everything she could to help us, you should know it!"- Takayama protested, taking off his glasses with sadness. Kayano shook her head condescendingly, as if she knew something the rest didn't.

-"Do you really think a DeeEy commander would do such thing as do something with no further intention? I know what she was thinking. She was going to get us all calm and nice, so she could strike and take the spot in the Main Board for herself"-

-"She...she wouldn't do that..."- Kobayashi fretted; starting to turn again into the relatively insecure newbish commander they knew.

-"Do you even have proof of that?"- Hosoya asked.

-"I don't but I think it's obvious all of you fell for her mind games. For commanders you're all hopelessly naive, you know"-

-"More like you were paranoid"- Mimori muttered, writing in her notebook.

-"I'm sure Yasumoto-san's kindness was genuine"- Emiko said with honesty –"She's the only one who made the effort to calm me down. I was scared witless when I got here, locked in middle of fight between potentially ruthless murderers. But Yasumoto-san met me and...she convinced me I would be okay. That I'd be protected. She set me with Kouhei-kun because we were both afraid of dying and...it was thanks to her and Kouhei-kun that I decided I wasn't going to let myself be killed.

Yasumoto-san was kind and pure. You killed the only person who could do anything to keep order in this place, the only one who was willing to get in middle of a murder plan to save one person and get two potential killers to give up without hurting anybody"- Emiko finished her tirade with a sigh, putting her cap over her eyes. –"You're a moron"-

Kayano stared at her blankly until she took off her string of pearls and left it on the table –"Maybe you're right, or maybe I'm the one who's right. We won't ever know. Yasumoto-san was trying to build a metaphorical fortress using us four as the cornerstones but she made the mistake of not making sure the cornerstones were willing to follow her without question. That was the flaw in our fortress"-

There was silence for a moment until Monobear finally decided to end the trial. Curiously he didn't have any enthusiasm; he talked as if it was a great bother to do it. –"Let's go into the voting phase. Please say the name of the person you think is the culprit and let's get done with this"-

-"Voting verbally? I expected something like marking the culprit's name in an electronic pad or something"- Sugita commented.

-"Forget that and just do it"- Monobear grouched, crossing his arms. It didn't take look before everybody, Kayano included, named the Dancing Demon as the culprit. As soon as the last commander voted Monobear said in a hurry: "What a surprise, you got it right. Kayano-san is the culprit of this murder and as such is going to be executed"-

-"You mean here and now?"- Takayama stood up, his eyes widened.

-"Of course not! We have a special place for that. So come with me, Kayano-san"-

-"'Come with me?' You don't even have a way to force the culprit to be executed?"-

-"We were in a hurry to set up the mutual killing game, okay?"- Monobear grabbed Kayano's arm, showing his claws so she'd know what would happen if she refused. Either way she was doomed. Mitsuhiko didn't miss the 'we' or the fact that Monobear was very unprepared for his mutual killing game, but wasn't exactly sure of the meaning of it all. Kayano and Monobear strolled through the door. –"Everybody else must stay here until we're done"- he ordered before closing the doors.

The commanders sat around uneasily for several minutes before a screen descended from the ceiling, covering almost the whole back wall of the Meeting Room. –"Are we going to see the execution through there?"- Yurie wondered, staring at the screen with attention. Her question was answered instantly when it turned on, showing the Theater.

Spring Play: Bear Lake

When the curtains opened everybody could see the Theater had a very detailed background depicting a lake, and in front of it there were several Monobears in different positions, completely still. A spotlight shined in the center, where a single Monobear had appeared, wearing a leotard, making some of the commanders smile in amusement. Behind him there was a tall pillar, ascending up to the ceiling.

Piano music started and all the Monobears started dancing with strange grace despite their shape and size. It was almost hypnotic but it didn't last long, just around ten seconds before smoke filled the Theater. When the smoke dissipated everybody could see Kayano completely immobilized against the pillar, wearing a leotard that resembled the one Monobear had been wearing before.

All the Monobears in the scenario brought up what would be the weapons to execute her, and Kayano didn't seem amused to see it: baseball bats. As if it had been carefully choreographed for quite a long time, each Monobear approached with some jumps and swung their bat, hitting Kayano with a lot of strength. Kayano lost her breath each time, and much to everybody's surprise they could hear the bones breaking with every hit. Kayano was crying silently, unable to scream or say anything, and soon after all the Monobears in the scenario had attacked her she was left bloodied and battered, untied from the pillar. She was unable to stand up and run away from the pain.

The last part of her execution happened. One last Monobear, wearing a crown and what seemed like a prince costume, approached the wheezing commander, raising his bat over his head. It was clear that whoever planned the execution knew very well what they were doing. That last Monobear first attacked Kayano's chest again, making her bend in pain. Then it was to the face, breaking her nose. And finally...to the head, being the last blow.

Mercifully the screen didn't stay on an image of Kayano's dead body, and soon went into a blank screen.

Mitsuhiko was speechless about the amount of pain Monobear, and the Main Board, had made Kayano suffer before dying. It seemed to him unnecessary sadism and but it was a clear warning for her and anybody:

The people behind Monobear weren't going to hesitate killing them with as much blood as possible. They were sadists. –"Too cruel...that was too cruel..."-

-"Shooting somebody to death seems cruel to me"- Fukuyama muttered, having heard Mitsuhiko. He didn't seem very affected by the execution.

-"It was going to be an instant death! I'm a hunter but every bullet I shoot is aimed to cause instant deaths"-

-"In moments like this I'm glad I'm blind"- Romi cringed; the sounds had been more than enough to know what was going on.

-"She...she deserved it. She killed Yasumoto-san for a stupid reason, she deserved it"- Sugita said. Mitsuhiko was surprised to see the usually kind Tea Demon saying somebody deserved an excruciating death like that one.

-"And now what? Can we leave now?"- Mitsuishi stood up just before Monobear entered. The bear, apparently still in bad mood, was brief.

-"Scram, bastards. We're done here"- he said before going away. Slowly the commanders left tthe Meeting Room, discussing between themselves what they should do. That night when they gathered for dinner Kishio took a moment to stand up and get everybody's attention.

-"We...we all know what happened today. Yasumoto-san was murdered, but we can't let that drag us from now on"-

-"What do you suggest we do now, then?"- Yurie asked, as if she expected her to say something stupid.

-"Being kind and orderly didn't work. Somebody still attacked with no hesitation, so we're going to try a different approach now:

We're going to deal with this like Diavolos Avante commanders. We're people who do what must be done. Let this be a fight for us to take the prize.

From now on it's each of us for ourselves, and for that we're going to take some measures. Koshimizu-san has proposed something, so let's listen to him"-

The aged Medical Demon stood up while Kishio sat back down, and spoke gravely. –"First than all we're going to proceed to get rid of the people who must be kept away from others. Hosoya-kun, Hikari-kun and Oyama-san. You'll each be placed in a cell.

-"A cell? But there's no place for us to keep them locked"- Kobayashi pointed.

-"False, in the second floor that was opened there are three classrooms that can be locked. I'll keep the keys with me at all times"- Koshimizu raised three keys –"One for each of you, and you'll be taken there as soon as we finish this meeting.

-"We can go to the second floor now?"- Hosoya asked.

-"Yeah, the shutters at the end of the right hall in Camp Lily has been opened now. You just have to walk, turn around the bend twice and you'll enter the new areas"- Mitsuishi indicated and grinned mockingly –"Not that you'll have time to take a look. I'm glad dangerous people like you will be away from us normal people"-

-"I'd like to see you forcing me into a cell"- Mitsuhiko said threateningly, one hand on his gun. Koshimizu shook his head, approaching.

-"By the way, you'll give me that gun of yours. No more guns for you"- he said without stopping. Suddenly Romi grabbed him in a tight hug, immobilizing his arms. Mitsuhiko tried to get away from her, but Romi didn't let go and Koshimizu took the chance. The Medical Demon took the gun, looking at it carefully.

-"I see, I'm going to keep this from now on. Let's take them in"- Koshimizu put the gun in his pocket, satisfied, and soon the three commanders who were going to be locked away got dragged. Yurie went almost willingly, as if she was confident they wouldn't really do it. Gosoya kicked all the way out but Koshimizu grabbed his legs, stopping him. Mitsuhiko grumbled but silently planned how to escape the problem they were in.

What Mitsuishi had said was true, the shutters were open. The commanders that were leading them opened a few doors, rudely pushing each prisoner in them. Mitsuhiko was pushed into one but didn't have time to fight before the door was closed and locked. He had heard the key but he refused to believe it was all over there. He tried to open the door but after a while he had to accept it was impossible. Giving up Mitsuhiko examined the classroom that now was his cell.

It was mostly like his classroom down on the first floor, but it didn't have sleeping bags or boxes with stuff. It didn't even have a bathroom. It definitely wasn't a place to stay for long. The windows were of simple glass but they couldn't be unlocked and Mitsuhiko was sure that if he broke one somebody would be alerted and he'd get locked again, in a different place.

Fuck them, all of them. I'm not going to let this stay this way. I shouldn't even help them he thought bitterly. He still was completely sure there was something very wrong going on with Monobear and the Main Board, but this time he was going to keep it to himself. Those ungrateful commanders wouldn't hear a word about it now.

Lying on the floor Mitsuhiko closed his eyes, tired. Despite everything he hated the situation he was in. Sure, he wasn't going to kill anybody but that didn't mean he was happy. I wish...I wish I were back in those simple and happy days. He hated his situation.

If only he could go back to being Hikaru Mitsuhide and erase the chain of events that led to being a Diavolos Avante commander with a different name instead of a graduate with the title of Super High School Level Hunter...then maybe everything would be better.

-ooooo-

Sasuga had taken Lily's almost crumbling body to his bedroom. He was determined to fix her, that was his way to be grateful for the help she had given during the trial. He was sure that if there was anybody in that building who could return her to normal it was him.

Carefully taking the tools he had received along with his classroom he separated Lil's head from the neck, looking inside. There was something among the processors and the wires inside Lily's head. –"What do we have here...?" Sasuga carefully shook the head, trying to dislodge the object and directing it into the large gash. It didn't take long before it fell out. –"Eh?"-

The truth is that he had the hunch that was the object; it seemed like the only possible thing. However supposing and confirming were different concepts. Either way the gash Monobear made during the trial was the only way such object could have gotten into Lily's head, making her malfunction. –"...How curious...I wonder..."-

It was a pearl.

-ooooo-

-"I can't believe we couldn't do it. We had it right in our hands, how did we miss?"-

Wolfenmaus was walking from one side to other, ranting about how everybody was still alive. The two Accomplices were watching him, having the good grace to look embarrassed. Valkyrie was busy tying her hair into twin tails, while Vieiras pouted in front of a mirror.

-"At least I did something"- the Second Accomplice muttered, pointing at the First with their thumb –"I had to do everything while this idiot simply watched"-

-"What did you expect me to do?"- the First grumbled back.

-"Anything! You must help us make sure somebody gets into the Main Board"-

-"I will later, really"- the First went to Valkyrie –"So what now?"-

-"What do you think? We continue trying, of course"-

-"I wish my hair were longer"- Vieiras muttered, going towards the arsenal that was on one side of the Main Board Meeting Room. There was quite a collection of guns and weapons, with only one section empty. –"We still haven't found the missing gun"-

-"Missing gun?"- the Second asked, approaching. Vieiras pointed at the gun directly to the side.

-"One identical to this one. It went missing the day before everybody arrived, somehow. We had thought Veritas had it but he didn't"-

-"Seems familiar to me"- the Second Accomplice could swear they had seen it before, and it didn't take long before they realized exactly where. –"...I can tell you where it is"-

The gun Vieiras had pointed to was a Twin M9 Beretta.

Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress

END

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko awoke when he heard somebody knocking on the door. Feeling like he hadn't slept at all the hunter rubbed his head. The floor was definitely not a good place to sleep, his back was aching, he could feel his neck almost creaking and overall he felt terrible. The fact he was being awoken at such an early time, at least he thought, didn't help to improve his mood. –"What the fuck do you want?"-

-"Hikari-kun, these doors have a little slot on them"- to demonstrate it the person opened it from outside, pushing the slot open and waving their hand.

-"Cool. Now go away"-

-"We have your breakfast"- a different voice sounded, one Mitsuhiko knew well. Somewhat intrigued he stood up, hating how his muscles felt cramped, and walked to the door to see who was there.

Sasuga had been the one to open the slot, as Kobayashi had in his hands a big tray. –"Hi guys. Thank you"- Kobayashi passed the tray with the food through the slot. It looked rather delicious, obvious sign Sugita was still cooking. Grateful, Mitsuhiko asked with feigned indifference –"I'm surprised to see you here, Amy. Why are you here?"-

-"I, uh, I...how to say it..."-

-"As much as I dislike it he has forgiven you for the attempted murder. He specifically said he wanted to see you"- Sasuga quickly said. Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows.

-"Amy, you're an idiot. I'm an evil man and I don't have redeeming traits. Why to forgive me like this?"- Hah! As if.

Kobayashi clutched his hands. It seemed to Mitsuhiko the young illusionist was a different person outside of the trial and during the trial. This was the usual Kobayashi he knew: a bashful commander who didn't seem fitting for an organization like Diavolos Avante. –"I...I'm not in condition of hating you. I can't afford to hate you. If I do...I fear I'm going to snap and kill you at some point...or you'll kill me later"-

-"As if we're going to let him out of this cell"- Sasuga sighed.

-"We will, we can't keep them locked for too long. These classrooms are no place for staying. Why did Veritas remodel these doors to lock and have this slot? Did he really expect to take prisoners or something?"-

-"It'd be nice if I'm let out soon"- Mitsuhiko piped up –"This place doesn't even have a bathroom"-

Sasuga showed his teeth in a very cheerful grin –"That reminds me! Koshimizu-san is sending you a little something to make your stay in this cell a bit easier. He knew these don't have a bathroom so he asked me to give you this. Enjoy!"- Sasuga passed a bedpan through the slot. Mitsuhiko took it, scowling.

-"This is not funny"-

-"Don't look at me like that! Koshimizu-san was the one who had this idea. I don't know if you have noticed but he loathes you three. Just fifteen minutes ago he was saying he wished he could give you three a good beating for daring to disturb the peace and order"-

Mitsuhiko felt his throat drying. Koshimizu definitely wasn't a weakling. If he attacked anybody with his hands it was sure it'd hurt a lot. Even if he was twenty years older than Mitsuhiko he wasn't sure he could stop him if he decided to teach him a lesson. –"A bedpan. I repeat, this is not funny"-

-"I have to go for now. I haven't finished fixing Lily, after all"- and with that Sasuga and Kobayashi started going away.

-"Wait, Sasuga-kun! Who is going to pick up the bedpan and empty it from time to time?"-

-"Do you seriously think anybody is going to come and pick up the bedpans we gave to you three? You have a window there; it should have a slot too. Use it to throw away any content"-

-"We should tell the others to stay away from that side of the courtyard..."- Kobayashi suggested, getting a smirk from Sasuga.

-"We will. Either way, people will come later. Believe it or not despite your attempted murder most of the commanders are thankful for your effort in the trial. Kayano-san would have gotten away with her crime if it hadn't been for you and Kobayashi-kun"- and they left. Mitsuhiko threw the bedpan aside in disgust. The foreseeable future definitely didn't seem kind to him.

-ooooo-

Just as Sasuga had said the window had a slot too, however that didn't help to calm him wasn't big enough to escape or get any help. For all he cared he still was completely locked in the cell.

After a while somebody knocked at the door again. Opening the slot Mitsuhiko looked outside and gasped. –"Lily! You look like new!"-

Lily smiled. She looked almost angelic in that moment. –"Not thanks to you, Hikari-kun. But I'm fixed. Sorry to hear you're locked"-

-"As if this cell will be able to keep myself locked for too long"- the hunter said, not believing what he was saying. Lily shrugged, so there was silence for a moment. –"I see you took off the pearls"-

-"Apparently one was what caused my malfunctions during the trial. I don't know how it got into my head but it must have been Monobear"-

-"So why are you here?"- Lily wasn't going to visit him just because, he supposed. There must be an underlying reason for that. Lily nodded, opening her horns. One was to project a video, the other was a speaker.

-"It'll be a bother to repeat it three times so I recorded my voice. Pay attention to this"- the image changed to a video of a hallway, Mitsuhiko recognized it as the hallway with the cells they were locked in. The video seemed to have been recorded early that day. –"Good morning prisoners. I figured it could be useful to inform you what has been opened. As you all know the second floor is now fully accessible. Let's take a look around..."- just on the other corner of the hallway the place turned into a big room, which seemed to be the center of the floor. There were stained glass windows, pouring colors into the room. On one side there were stairs, and when Lily descended them to open them Mitsuhiko could see they led to the Back Courtyard. –"The second floor has two entrances: this door and the stairs near the classroom cells. This place is a Lounge, where the students used to sit around and spend time together. It also was a hub to the places of this floor.

If the first floor was for classrooms, the second is for workshops. We'll check what type of workshops we find here!"- Lily entered through the first door. –"This is the Carpentry Workshop. There are lots of tools and lumber, which you'll find on the walls. There's no storehouse for this stuff" the visit to the Carpentry Workshop was quite brief, Mitsuhiko knew this was only to show a more or less comprehensive view of the features of the new areas and nothing more.

After all it wasn't like he could go see for himself the new places. He had to be satisfied with what Lily was showing him.

-"This is the Theater Workshop. Here people sew the costumes used in the plays and create the props they need"- the Theater Workshop was a place with several tables with sewing machines, as well as cupboards and closets lining the walls. Overall it seemed like a simple place.

Lily left that place and went to the next one –"This is the Electronics Workshop. Here the students used to work on electronic and robotic equipment. Only those with certain permissions can enter, though. A special keycard is needed due to the potential dangerous tools in here"- A hand appeared in the screen, Mitsuhiko supposed it was Lily, and it pointed to a slot on the wall –"The keycard is inserted here and the door unlocks. Otherwise it's impossible to enter"-

Having left the Electronics Workshop they entered the last place, a room lined with shelves completely filled with books. Several round tables with computers were positioned in the center of the room –"And last this is the Literary Workshop. Those students with an affinity for words and languages used to work here and produce content for both school and work. That's it"-

-"Overall seems like a pretty boring floor to me"- Mitsuhiko said. It wasn't exactly the most exciting floor, everything seemed mundane and pretty much nothing neither was important for the commanders nor helped to find any clues about whatever was happening in the headquarters. It could all have been empty, for all he cared.

-"It's not useful to you, I suppose"- Lily shrugged and stopped the projection –"The Third Floor is filled with Laboratories, but with some luck nobody will die so it won't open. I'll present the second floor to the other prisoners now"- and with that Lily walked until she was in front of the classroom to Mitsuhiko's right. Not very interested on what Lily had shown him the hunter returned to a corner of the cell, resigned to spend several hours having nothing better to do other than staring to the walls.

-ooooo-

Somehow Mitsuhiko had fallen asleep, but the noises somebody was making on the door woke him up. Stretching to try to soothe his back pain he walked to the door, opening the slot. –"Takayama-kun, what do you think you're doing?"-

The bodyguard was apparently doing something with the hinges and the edges of the locked door. –"The others decided that to stop you three from doing anything I should keep an eye open at all times. I'll do that using these"- Takayama showed a black cube Mitsuhiko knew well.

-"More microphones"- Mitsuhiko said flatly. As if that had been of help before. Sure, it had produced important evidence but the point of them was that it would stop any murders from happening. What guaranteed it'd work now?

-"Yes, more microphones. I'm placing them where neither Lily nor Monobear can touch them, so there shouldn't be any problems now"- Takayama finished gluing microphones on the edges of the door, out of Mitsuhiko's reach. –"Hope to never see you again, murderer"-

I didn't get to kill him and it isn't like I'll try now. Mitsuhiko slumped onto the floor. People really are going to keep all of them locked until everything ended in one way or another. And all he could do is...stare at the ceiling or the walls. It was stupid.

What am I supposed to do now? Somewhat depressed Mitsuhiko went to the window and opened the slot. –"Yurie? Yurie, can you hear me?"- Mitsuhiko shouted. He wasn't worried about anybody hearing, it isn't like he was going to say anything incriminating or potentially murder-y. But no matter how much he shouted Yurie didn't say anything. Somehow the walls of the cells and the glass of the windows were pretty thick. Anything could happen inside a cell and nobody would be the wiser, as Mitsuhiko doubted the microphones could pick up anything from the inside.

The rest of the day went without any interruptions.

-ooooo-

It was night. An Accomplice was running. They knew they didn't have very long; the only option was to complete the mission and quickly go back. Arriving to the hall with the cells the Accomplice hurried to one of the cell doors, looking with expert eye at the wood. They quickly localized the microphones and took them off, making sure they didn't crush them accidentally.

Once they had taken the microphones they returned with the rest. Much to their relief, nobody noticed their absence.

It had been a perfect move.

When the path was clear and everybody was returning to whatever the commanders were doing before. The Accomplice, knowing there was no room for any mistake, placed the microphones on Yasumoto's door.

-ooooo-

Just what I needed. Another day in a prison.

That was what he thought just as he awoke. Just a couple hours after that, he got once another tray with food. They were getting piled up on a corner, four empty trays. –"Can't they take the trays away?"- Mitsuhiko said to the person who had come to give him the food. It was Romi.

-"The trays aren't that big of a deal, there are literally dozens of them. Just leave them aside"-

-"Has anything new happened?"- Mitsuhiko craved anything that could get rid of his boredom even for a moment. Romi sighed, as if she weren't supposed to say what she was going to say now.

-"Well...Monobear went last night to the dinner room and gave us a motive; practically confirming...that whoever is controlling him is trying to destroy us"-

-"As if that were a secret"- Mitsuhiko droned. He had no time for stupidity from others. Romi bit her lip before looking to the side.

-"I brought Lily here, she can show you. Basically Monobear dragged us to the Meeting Room and showed us...a video. The important part is that the Main Board aren't who locked us here"-

-"You can't have watched anything"- Mitsuhiko pointed crassly.

-"But I can listen"-

-"If it isn't them then who?"- It was a possible big clue to know what was going on. That'd explain a lot of things, among them why Veritas and the Main Board had allowed the mutual killing game to happen despite loyalty being the main trait they had. Romi made a vague gesture towards Lily.

-"Just watch the video and get your own conclusions. To be honest I don't know anymore what's going on...I had thought the Main Board were the bad side here"-

Lily stepped in front of the door of Mitsuhiko's cell, ready to show what Monobear had given them as a motive. As soon as an image was projected against the wall Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes, unsure of what he was seeing.

There were four people against the wall, their wrists and legs tied to pipes. The four of them were struggling to untie themselves, but it was impossible. From what Mitsuhiko could see one was Veritas. He recognized the old man who led the organization, that cape was impossible to ignore. There was a male and a female he didn't recognize, but he supposed they were...part of the Main Board. What other explanation would there be for them to think they were innocent? The last person, tied as well, was of a gender Mitsuhiko couldn't determine, as that person was showing their back to the camera.

Monobear appeared, his eyes glowing sinisterly. –"Hello commanders. These are the Main Board. We have caught them and locked them in the last floor of the Headquarters.

If you want to see them alive and receive the reward promised at the beginning of our game at least three of you will have to die so the survivors reach the last floor...supposing none of the murderers are successful..."-

There was something strange in Monobear's way of talking. Instead of it being cruelly playful, the Monobear of the video was concise and threatening, without even taking a moment for the commanders to process what he was saying. After a very small pause the bear walked to Veritas, unsheathing his claws –"Without the Main Board Diavolos Avante is like a headless chicken...you don't want to see the organization fall, do you?"- Monobear pressed his claws against Veritas' neck, just deep enough for him to bleed. The hunter could see scratches and some dry blood on the old man's neck; it was possible this wasn't the first take of the video.

Monobear stepped away, drying the blood on the black side of his fur. –"This'll be the only warning. Thank you for your attention"- and that was the end of the video.

Mitsuhiko stayed silent for a moment while Romi waited for his opinion, finally saying: -"...that sure was a thing"-

-"The reactions were very strong"- Romi commented –"Monobear played a very strong card, everybody is about to explode. If nothing happens...I think somebody will do something very stupid"-

-"What about you?"-

-"I couldn't care less what happens to those four. I'm leaving DeeEy, remember?"- Romi pushed Lily away. –"Kobayashi-kun was almost murdered last night"-

-"Wait what? What happened?"- So Amy almost dies again?

-"Yes. He was trying to open the door to the Basement, the one at the left end of Camp Lily, and Mimori-san found him. They argued and Kobayashi-kun was almost strangled. If it hadn't been for Sugita-san who heard the scuffle we'd have a victim already"-

-"Is she locked now?"- Mitsuhiko asked, although there were no more cells. Romi shook her head.

-"They both explained what had happened and Koshimizu-san determined a punishment wasn't needed. Mimori-san simply lost the control; she wasn't really planning to kill him, but damn if it didn't cause a mess! Everybody gathered to try to understand what happened!"-

How fun. We both almost murder the same person, I get locked away and she's left scot-free. Mitsuhiko thought bitterly, grasping the lock in an attempt to calm down. While he was fidgeting in his rage he accidentally slid his hand on a piece of wood that splintered from the door, making a nasty cut. –"Fuck!"-

-"What?"-

-"Nothing, I just got cut"- Although he was bleeding and had stained the doorknob with quite an amount of blood it wasn't a wound that'd need stitches or anything like that. –"Either way, was that all that happened?"-

-"That courier almost got killed too"- Romi shrugged –"And before you ask, no, it wasn't a murder attempt. She...she almost attacked Monobear after the announcement. It was quite a ruckus, she was furious! Screaming something about that video being an absolute lie"-

-"Really?"- If Emiko had attacked Monobear then it must have been something serious for her. Does that mean...Tanaka-san knows something about the Main Board? I-"I suppose you all asked her what happened, right?"-

-"We did but she refused to say anything further than that, but she made pretty clear that..."- Romi struggled to imitate Emiko's tone of voice –"...the Main Board is involved in something very suspicious. Don't trust that video"-

Not too long after that Romi left, leaving Mitsuhiko with his thoughts. Monobear's video, Emiko's behavior, Mimori's murder attempt against Kobayashi...certainly a lot of events in one night.

...how does this all relate to each other, I wonder?

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko sat against the wall, examining the ugly wound he had on his hand. It wasn't too deep, but it was painful and there was blood now on the floor and on the handle of the door. The hunter had tried to clean the door but hadn't done a very good job. There was nothing to be done.

"For how long am I going to be locked here?" he grumbled, standing to look through the slot of the door. Nobody was passing through but he could hear voices from the Lounge. It sounded like they were relaxed. Mitsuhiko closed his eyes, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"If you have to sleep you shouldn't do it against the door"

Mitsuhiko opened his eyes, seeing Sasuga there. He had been so focused trying to hear what was going on in the Lounge he hadn't heard the Roboticist approaching. "Hey there" the hunter greeted without enthusiasm. "I saw Lily. She seems to be fine now"

"I'm a very good on what I do. What else did you expect?"

"Forget that. What are you here for?" Mitsuhiko wasn't really in mood for idle chatter. Sasuga looked to the sides and passed a small box through the slot.

"Here. This should be of help". When Mitsuhiko opened the box he found several of the things that were in his bedroom. Weapon catalogues, magazines, assorted reading material and a notebook.

"You entered my room"

"You don't care, right? Also, I'm taking the gun you had. If you're ever left out contact me and I'll give it back. Since when you owned two different guns?"

Mitsuhiko didn't reply. It didn't make him happy to know both guns had been discovered and confiscated. Koshimizu had one and now Sasuga had the other. "Thank you for the stuff"

"Think of it as a reward. I liked how you argued in the trial, Hikari-kun. You reminded me of a character of a book I'm writing" Sasuga smiled hesitantly. Mitsuhiko, somewhat amused, left the box aside.

"Are you moonlighting as a writer?"

"I started recently. It's a murder mystery book. I'm a good writer, you know"

Mitsuhiko loved the mystery genre. It was a completely different experience to be in what sounded like a very long and character-filled story and to be honest he wasn't liking it. However reading mystery books was a great way to kill time. "Awesome! Can I read it?"

"Do you really want to?"

"Sure, why not?" It wasn't like he had anything better to do. He was willing to try anything to stop being so damn bored! Sasuga's eyes shined brightly while he lifted a bunch of paper tied together. Clearly that had been the reason he went there in the first place. He was looking for somebody to read the draft of whatever story he had written.

"Thank you so much, Hikari-kun! I have been looking for smart people to read this and you fit the bill. Please enjoy!"

"When I'm done we'll discuss it"

"It'll have to be when you're not locked in this cell, of course. This book is top secret" Sasuga said almost maliciously. Even if he wanted Mitsuhiko's help it was clear he wasn't exactly bothered the hunter was in a small cell. Tempted to throw the draft to his head Mitsuhiko awkwardly put his arm through the slot, but the thought of being entertained for a while was enough to deter him. Slightly cheered up he sat against the wall and started to read the first page.

It was a closed room mystery located in a stately minor at the edge of a cliff, involving an aristocratic family in the 1800 age. However with each page Mitsuhiko's expression changed from happy to concerned to frankly aghast. The crime was interesting in a sense; it wasn't something he had ever read before, but...

"This story is terrible!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, leaving the draft aside once he finished. The crime wasn't enough to cover for the lack of talent Sasuga had. "That guy better stay with the robots and the circuits. He has zero talent as a writer"

In that moment he remembered he was going to tell Sasuga exactly what he thought about his story. He had no problems with being blunt, that was something he was willing to do. The problem was that if he was honest it could bring a lot of trouble to his life in the Headquarters, even if he's out. Sasuga was a decently intelligent person, after all. Surely he'd manage to get Mitsuhiko in problems with the rest.

This is going to be ugly.

-oooo-

Somebody knocked at the door. When Mitsuhiko approached and opened the slot he saw nobody. He wasn't able to look much further than the wall in front of him, but he couldn't see anybody. "Not funny, guys. I'm not in mood for pranks"

"Who is doing pranks, Hikari-kun?" a very annoying voice said, one he didn't want to hear. Standing on the tip of his toes Mitsuhiko looked downwards through the slot until he saw the top of an ursine head he knew very well.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I could get you out of here, you know" Monobear whispered. Mitsuhiko didn't reply, instead remembering Takayama's microphones. The bodyguard surely would be listening, wouldn't he? Surely at some point Takayama would arrive and get Monobear away of there. However not even if those microphones weren't there Mitsuhiko would not accept help from Monobear.

"I'm not interested. Go away" Mitsuhiko moved to close the slot.

"Come on! Don't you want to escape from this cell? To get your guns and get away?"

"Not if the price is doing anything for you"

Monobear pretended the hunter hurt his feelings, clutching his chest. "My poor heart! I can't bear your ungratefulness! This is how you pay me for being an accomplice in your murder plan two days ago?"

"…hypothetically…what would you need?"

"Oh, nothing, it's no big deal" Monobear said cheerfully "It's a little trade. I was an accomplice in your plan, so it'd be fair for you to be an accomplice in mine, wouldn't it?"

The hunter stared at Monobear, unsure of what he was listening. "You're not asking me to be a mole for you, right?"

"You'd get benefits! Diavolos Avante's days are close to be over now that the whole Main Board is out of commission. It'd be great to have a way out before the meltdown, specially if it means getting out of this building alive" the bear's red eye glistened threateningly "I have listened to what the other commanders have been saying in the cafeteria. Would you believe that they're hoping you're the next victim? It's matter of time before somebody tries to kill you"

Mitsuhiko subconsciously grasped tighter the doorknob. "I'm not going to let myself be killed. Don't worry about me"

"And here I was offering you a way to save yourself out of kindness. I have nothing else to say" Monobear turned around "If you change your mind call me. I won't mind to give you a paw as long as you follow my instructions" and after saying that he left, laughing quietly to himself. Mitsuhiko looked at the empty dishes and the tray to a side of the classroom. He actually believed he was a target. After all he had tried to kill Kobayashi! It was possible somebody was going to get to him somehow. However he had never realized he was in a very vulnerable state right now. Note to myself: sleep away from the door. Eat as little as possible from the food.

He was worried about Yurie, though. Although he had been the owner of the gun it was unmistakable that Yurie had a hand in the murder plan as well. That's what they had agreed and it had been revealed when Yasumoto died. If he was in danger…wouldn't that mean Yurie was in danger? He hadn't heard from his fiancée for two days, couldn't she have been attacked yet…or died? No, no. This floor would stink to high heavens if she were dead, she must be alive. For a moment Mitsuhiko wondered if she'd accept Monobear's offer, if he did the same to her. An urgent talk would be needed once he got out.

"You won't accept" Mitsuhiko turned his head to peer through the slot. Takayama was there with his arms crossed, looking at the hunter severely "You better forget about what the bear told you"

"There you are! Where were you? Why weren't you listening to your fucking microphones?" Mitsuhiko shouted. Takeyama raised his hands defensively.

"Wow, wait a second! I was listening! I heard everything he was telling you. I was curious to hear what you were going to reply"

"It would have been even better if you had stopped Monobear from talking"

"Why? Are you so weak-willed you're going to consider being Monobear's mole?" Mitsuhiko shook his head emphatically. Takeyama nodded, pleased. "That's what I wanted to hear. I hope your actions will fit your words" Takeyama stepped towards the Lounge, where Monobear had gone.

"Wait!"

Takeyama stopped and turned around with inquiring expression. Mitsuhiko took a deep breath, unsure if he should ask for that favor. "Please don't let Monobear tempt Yurie. She may consider accepting and…there's no way that can end well" Takeyama flashed a thumbs up before continuing walking away. With that settled Mitsuhiko allowed himself to sink onto the floor, somewhat relieved. Despite his flaws he knew he could trust Takeyama. There was no way the bodyguard wasn't going to keep an ear on Monobear's activities.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko was counting the number of bricks he could distinguish in the walls of the classroom. He had left the slot open to keep an eye on what was going on outside of his cell. From time to time somebody was walking there, but as their steps were soft and almost silent it was difficult to make contact with them before they got too far. He was craving some sort of interaction with…practically anybody except Koshimizu. The Medical Demon was pretty much the only person he didn't want to see.

While he was trying to decide if the farthest wall had one hundred forty three or one hundred forty five bricks Mitsuhiko managed to hear something coming from the hall. Sprinting from the corner he had been sitting on he threw himself against the door. A startled squeal was a sign he had gotten the attention of whoever was outside. "Hikari-kun!" It was Emiko.

"It's you" Mitsuhiko shrugged. May as well confirm a couple things. "Got a moment?"

"I'm not going to let you out" Emiko said defensively, straightening her cap.

"That's not what I was going to discuss!" Mitsuhiko spat, struggling to not to shout "Romi-san was here yesterday and told me about the video"

"Oh, that" Emiko nodded warily.

"She said something quite interesting about your reaction to that video…" Mitsuhiko looked carefully at Emiko's face to see her expression. The courier held his gaze without flinching but he could see a twitch on the corner of her eye. That wasn't enough to determine anything, though.

"What about it?"

"Why were you sure the video was fake?"

"Because Monobear wasn't acting at all like he is!" Emiko replied instantly "He's...going straight to the point; there was no mocking, no 'upupupu', not even a laugh! I had never seen Monobear in person before being here yet it's like I'm the only one who knows how he'd act"

"You did seem pretty blasé about seeing a talking bear and a little girl fighting on a table, when you arrived here" Mitsuhiko noted. Emiko stood still for a moment before covering her face with her cap.

"Y-yeah, a courier shouldn't feel curiosity over what happens. My job is to deliver packages, not gawk at whatever's going on"

Mitsuhiko thought about what she had said during all the time he had known her. If she's in a company guarded by the Future Foundation it's possible she's used to Monobear, either way. Besides it wasn't like his face wasn't plastered around the world. "Right. Sorry to see you got involved in all this"

"It's the world after the end. I should consider myself lucky I have a job and can survive. I just hope...this ends soon. But I have a question" Emiko put on her cap and leaned on the cell door, making visual contact "Are you, Diavolos Avante, the bad guys in this whole matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"Should I make an effort to stop all of you, get rid of your organization? I want to know if you people want to fix Enoshima's despair"

The hunter looked away. "It's not that simple. We do want to get rid of the despair, it's just..."

"Just that you want to put your own brand of despair in charge of everything?" Emiko was sounding extremely serious. Much to his chagrin Mitsuhiko felt nervousness when looking at her. He hadn't expected her to get suspicious of them.

"No, it isn't that. We want recognition of our job when it's all over, though"

"...right" Emiko let out a deep breath, looking weaker now "I'm fed up with all this despair. I have been...despairing for way too long. Just recently I learned to leave it behind and focus on the future...but there's something still in the way. A loose thread" Mitsuhiko just stared, unsure of where this was going. Emiko was silent for a moment before asking the question she had wanted to ask since quite a while:

"What do you know about the mutual killing game that happened in a bunker two weeks ago?"

The hunter thought back. He didn't know much about it, but he did know that was what led to Volkos' death and therefore...their actual situation. That's what he told to Emiko, who closed her fists. "Are you saying DeeEy were responsible for that game?"

"To be honest I'm starting to suspect the Main Board had something to do with it" the hunter replied "Volkos' death is so...strange...it's said he was a traitor and had done that mutual killing game to kill candidates to the Future Foundation, but there are strange things in this whole story. I don't know, though"

"So it's true. DeeEy had a hand in this. I knew it"

"Why do you care about that? Were you there?"

Emiko stepped aside. "No, but I know somebody who did. I...I lost my sister there"

"I asked this before but I'll ask again: who are you?"

The courier walked away after Mitsuhiko a note. Mitsuhiko sat, thinking about what she had said. He was completely sure now the courier was hiding something big and that it was likely she'd try to destroy DeeEy. However...it didn't seem to him she had been the one to create Lily and summon them. The hunter read again the note she had passed through the slot:

'Tanaka is a false last name. My real name is...Emiko Hasegawa-Nakai'

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko took the tray Kishio was passing him. It was dinnertime again and it marked the last moments of the second day of imprisonment. It had been two long, long days. The hunter had never realized how boredom could make minutes stretch until they seemed hours, and hours stretch until they seemed eternal. "Will I be let out soon?"

"No. You three are staying in your cells for an indefinite time" Kishio said bluntly. Mitsuhiko cringed, sensing clear hate towards him.

"That was Koshimizu-san's influence. Are you going to let him tell you, our leader, what to do?"

"I trust Koshimizu-san's judgment. A Leader needs to have a right hand, no lo crees?"

"You can't be a good Leader if you let other take decisions for you. How did you manage to be the most important commander in the country if you don't know that?" Mitsuhiko replied bitterly. The Linguist Demon shook her head, thoughtful.

"I discovered quite a long time ago that I'm not the most important commander because of my leadership skills. It's just...matter of convenience"

"Convenience?"

"How many people in DeeEy do you think speak eight languages? Only me. Who else would be fitting to be in contact with the commanders in other countries? Not all of them speak Japanese, after all"

The hunter nodded, that made sense. Still, he knew Kishio was a great commander and a good leader. That's why she was respected among the organization and that's why they had let her take the command of their situation. "So, what's our stance now? Are you all believing the video Monobear showed?"

"We are. It explains a lot of things, there's no way the Main Board would be behind Monobear. They got overtaken by a mysterious person and held hostage"

"Do you think they really are on the highest floor here?"

"...I think they are. They made that incentive so we kill each other, but I won't consent that. We can't use our deaths as our way to get to them"

"But several of us are ruthless enough to try to get into the free spot in the Main Board. I already tried" Kishio narrowed her eyes at obvious displeasure to being reminded that.

"Thank heavens I still have Takayama-kun with me as my partner. As long as he's with us nobody is going to fall into despair or into the temptation of killing. In fact...Takayama-kun is the most loved person in this building, after me!" Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows. The bodyguard never seemed to him like the kind to be liked by everybody "You should have seen him last night. He's...taking care of all of us. Making sure we're all right, forcing us to say what we're thinking...we're united. If it had been up to me we would be paranoid and ready to defend ourselves at the slightest attack, but he has managed to calm us down"

"To me it sounds like he's in charge, not you"

"I'm fine with that. Let others be in charge, it'll give me time to rest. I have been a commander for so long...I have forgotten what it is to sit and see others take charge of the problems. I want that"

Mitsuhiko passed back the tray with the empty plates, finally having finished dinner. "You want to do nothing, I want to do something. Let's change places"

"Hahahaha, in your dreams, asshole. I'm happy not being locked for crimes against us. Enjoy the rest of the month, Hikari-kun, the walls of your cell are the only thing you'll be seeing for a long, long time" It was discouraging to know that almost everybody wanted to make sure they stayed in those cells. While he hadn't made the best first impression the first day he never expected to be in this situation.

I spent the next hour meditating about the consequences of my actions.

-ooooo-

It was 4:00 AM

Outside in the hall of the cells the First Accomplice shook a bottle containing the mixture. They knew what they were doing would likely tip off everybody about the presence of Accomplices among them to Monobear, and while that made the First Accomplice nervous; the Second Accomplice had made clear it didn't matter.

The plan was simple: usher a murder. The to-be culprit was ready; they had been for quite some time. They had managed to contact the Main Board and convince them of giving them a hand, and the First Accomplice was tasked with being the help.

The to-be culprit was ready. The victim had been chosen and in an hour they'd be dead. The plan was convoluted but the to-be culprit was confident they'd be able to carry it out.

And it was time.

The First Accomplice opened carefully the slot of Mitsuhiko's cell and threw the bottle inside, hearing the impact. The gases inside that bottle would keep Mitsuhiko asleep no matter what happened, everything was safe now and it was just matter of continuing.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko awoke with a horrible headache; somebody was shaking him with a lot of strength. The hunter groggily opened his eyes, trying to focus. 'W-What...what's going on...?' When he was able to see properly he saw it was Yurie. The happiness of seeing her overwhelmed him, he threw his arms around her and they both kissed passionately.

'A-HEM' somebody nearby cleared his throat. The couple turned their heads around, seeing Koshimizu "Don't do that. Hikari-kun needs to rest; he inhaled a dangerous gases mixture"

"Dangerous mixture? What?" Mitsuhiko inquired, confused. Yurie dried her tears and spoke gravely.

"Somebody threw a bottle in here, the remains of whatever chemicals were inside...got him to that conclusion"

"It's an anesthetic that went through a process to turn it into a gas. Not hard to do"

"I was so afraid, I thought you'd be...you'd be dead..." Yurie said softly. Mitsuhiko, still confused, asked why she'd think that. The hacker sniffed and pointed to the door. Even from his position Mitsuhiko could see the problem.

The door knob and lock were haphazardly dismantled. Completely broken. "That's not enough to think I'd be dead, right?"

"No, but a murder is. We thought you could be a second victim"

"Second victim? I want to see" Mitsuhiko tried to stand up but Koshimizu put his hand on the hunter's chest, stopping him "There was a murder. Somebody is falling into Monobear's schemes again. I must get involved in this"

"Should he, Koshimizu-san?"

"With my supervision I suppose he could at least know the basics. Let's go"

With Koshimizu's help Mitsuhiko managed to be held between the Medical Demon and Yurie. The three of them walked towards the Lounge, where many commanders were fathered. "Where's the body?" Mitsuhiko asked and was shown the door to the crime scene. It was the Theater Workshop.

The three of them stood on the entrance, looking inside. Face down on the floor, with his feet inside one of the cabinets, laid a dead body, one Mitsuhiko recognized, even though the clothes were different from what the victim usually wore.

The only thing that stayed the same was the hair, and that was what tipped off the identity of the victim.

Mamoru Takayama had been murdered.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko felt a wave of dread coming over him. Takayama was one of the few he was okay with, and from what Kishio had told him the bodyguard was appreciated by everybody. Well, at least by most. There was one person who didn't like Takayama, apparently.

"You have seen him. Now go to rest" Koshimizu said, dragging him a bit. However Yurie growled and practically launched himself over the doctor, trying to get him to let Mitsuhiko go.

"Did you forget how Mitsu-chan helped in the first trial? Let him help! He'll need as much information as possible!"

"In the first trial he wasn't gassed the night before, you know" Koshimizu argued back, letting go of Mitsuhiko "He should follow Romi-san's example and rest"

"Wait what?" Mitsuhiko asked, having heard that.

Yurie balled her fists and replied petulantly: "Well I don't see you following Romi-san's example. Why should he?"

"Hold on, what was that?" Mitsuhiko made himself heard "What do you mean, Yurie?"

The hacker turned her head around to answer to her fiancé "I heard you weren't the only one who got anesthetized. Apparently that blind broad and Doctor Grumpy here present were gassed as well" Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows, intrigued. So there were in total three people who were sleeping deeply. That raised a lot of questions.

"I see, but I want to investigate. I'm not going to be left aside while my life is in risk" the hunter said with determination, crouching aside the body. Koshimizu, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Mitsuhiko to step aside and rest, walked to the entrance.

"Fine, but we're taking measures here. Hey, Kobayashi-kun! Get Lily here and keep an eye on this guy"

"I need no supervisor" Mitsuhiko spat, but Koshimizu didn't look annoyed. Instead he smiled with melancholy.

"It's common sense to watch over a suspect, isn't it?"

"Wait, are you serious? Are they suspecting me for this?!" the hunter stood up, enraged.

"It's theorized you may have broken out of your cell and then broke a bottle with that mix to make yourself look innocent" Koshimizu said while Kobayashi and Lily arrived, them listening to their conversation.

"It's a stupid theory" Yurie mumbled. The doctor shrugged, a tad bothered.

"Luckily for you it's not as popular as other theories. I think only me and Tanaka-san believe you're the culprit. There's another suspect and a secondary theory"

"Who's the main suspect?" Mitsuhiko asked. Koshimizu sighed, rubbing his beard.

"It's me. Don't enjoy it, because I'm not the culprit and you'll die if you vote for me". After that the doctor left, leaving the three commanders and the robot alone. Mitsuhiko stretched, ready to start the investigation.

"Is the secondary theory that Romi-san is the culprit?" he asked to his partners.

"That's right! I don't think Koshimizu-san did it so I'm more into the Romi Culprit Theory" Kobayashi answered "She's much more suspicious on my opinion"

"Koshimizu-san did it" Yurie declared "I'm sure it was him"

"I don't think you have a lot of time left, Hikari-kun, so be as quick as possible! Let me give you a good start here" Kobayashi put his hand on Lily's head "Lily, could you show him that video?"

"Yes!" Lily nodded. Since she got fixed by Sasuga it seemed to Mitsuhiko she was cheerier than before. The girl projected a white rectangle on the wall, turning into a video "Hikari-kun! This is a video of the moment the body was found" she explained when it started. The hunter watched carefully, memorizing what he was seeing.

The video started with Sasuga in his room, who was apparently checking some functions of Lily still worked. 'I think I did the best job possible here. You shouldn't have any problems'. Lily and Sasuga left the bedroom, the Roboticist wondering if Sugita had already prepared breakfast. It's 6:30 AM already, she must be awake already" he was commenting to Lily when he saw Kobayashi and Kishio on the distance, talking with worried expressions. 'Hey guys. Why are you so worried?'

'I need to talk to Takayama-kun but he isn't in his bedroom. He wouldn't do that!' Kishio replied, looking around 'We were about to go to the Lounge, he could be in that workshop with the electronic tools' The three commanders went into the Lounge and stopped in front of the Electronic Workshop, its door closed and locked. 'Is any of you authorized to go in?'

'I don't work with any electronics so no' Kobayashi said but Sasuga showed his own ID and passed it through the slot. The door opened but Takayama wasn't there.

'This is starting to be bad' Kishio murmured 'Both of you, separate and look for him'. Kobayashi and Sasuga obeyed, Lily and Sasuga entering the Theater Workshop.

'He's not here either' Sasuga said aloud but Lily ignored him, instead going to one of the cabinets 'Let's go, Lily'

'Sasuga-san, I think you should take a look at this...' Lily pointed at the floor, where some drops of blood could be seen. Sasuga crouched aside and stared at them for a few seconds before straightening.

'Fuck. Kishio-sensei isn't going to like this' Sasuga grasped the handles of the cupboard and pulled, opening both doors. As soon as he did Takayama's dead body fell from the inside. Sasuga, startled, screamed in surprise, attracting both Kobayashi and Kishio.

'Sasuga-kun are you okaOH MY GOD' Kobayashi shouted, grasping Kishio. The Linguist Demon didn't say anything, instead taking Sasuga and dragging him outside while the dead body announcement sounded.

'We need to awaken the rest. Come on'. The video ended shortly after that.

"So Amy, Kishio-sensei and Sasuga-kun were the ones to find the body. That means they're innocent...most likely" Mitsuhiko declared, approaching the body.

"Right. We have ten suspects left and in case you don't know it Koshimizu-san must be the culprit' Yurie said.

'Why are you all suspecting Koshimizu-san? I know he's a bastard and he deserves to step on rusty nails, but our lives are in risk here"

"We have found some...evidence that point at him. It's not much, but it's either him or Romi-san. Romi doesn't seem to me like she'd be able to murder Takayama-kun, you know why..." Kobayashi pointed at his own eyes and that was enough for Mitsuhiko to understand. Mitsuhiko took a superficial look at the body and then took out his own ID to check the Monobear file.

Monobear File #2

Victim: Mamoru Takayama, codename: Caassimolar

Cause of Death: Hemorrhaging Shock caused by his throat being cut with a sharp instrument.

Location of the Body: Theaters Workshop

Time of Death: 5:06 AM

The body registers high amounts of anesthetics without reaching fatal levels. There are no other wounds nor any other possible death causes.

"So the culprit cut Takayama-kun's throat. Huh. Have we found a knife anywhere?"

"It was found in the hallway of Camp Lily. I think Romi-san was the one to find it shortly after Koshimizu-san woke her up" Kobayashi informed, biting into a sandwich. The hunter was going to reply when he noticed what Kobayashi was doing.

"Are you seriously eating in middle of a crime scene?"

"Hey, there won't be breakfast now, with the body and what not! I need to eat, okay?"

"Give me a bite" Yurie ordered, extending her hand "It doesn't have peanut, right?"

"It does. It's peanut butter and jam. You guys have been filling yourselves with the strawberry jam, haven't you? We're almost out of it"

"Don't look at me, I have been in my cell the whole time" Mitsuhiko replied, turning the body around.

Bloody Kitchen Knife

The knife used in the murder. Found by Romi in the hallway in Camp Lily.

Once Takayama's body was fully turned Mitsuhiko touched the clothes the bodyguard was wearing. 'He doesn't even have that ridiculous armor underneath this tuxedo. Why is he wearing a tuxedo in the first place? Usually he has that...ridiculous rubber suit"

"Last night he was wearing the rubber suit and the armor in plain sight" Kobayashi said "But that tuxedo isn't his"

"It isn't?"

"It's from the theater costumes" Yurie said, opening another cabinet and taking out a tuxedo identical to the one Takayama was wearing "See?"

"So Takayama-kun came here and changed his clothes? Why would he do that?" Mitsuhiko wondered, comparing both tuxedos.

"Beats me"

Tuxedo

A tuxedo from the Theater Workshop. Takayama was wearing it when he was found. There's an identical suit in a nearby cabinet.

"This is a horrible way to die. Poor Takayama-kun" Kobayashi mused "Who between us would hate him enough for that? To me it seemed everybody was grateful to him"

"You're an idiot if you believe being friends will stop anybody from killing" Mitsuhiko said, taking a colorful bundle that was near the body "What's this kitschy thing?"

"It's a hat, Mitsu-chan. It goes on your head" Yurie mocked lamely "It's from this place too"

Colorful Hat

A Jamaican hat found near Takayama's body. It's normally found in the Theater Workshop

"Tuxedos and Jamaican hats. Takayama-kun was playing dress-up before dying" Mitsuhiko droned "Just what this guy was doing?"

"Lily?" Kobayashi asked. Until that moment the robot girl had stayed aside, just watching how the commanders prowled around "Has this always been here?"

"It doesn't fit this workshop. I think it came from the Carpentry Workshop" Lily replied. The illusionist was looking at a wooden hat stand in a corner of the workshop. Most people wouldn't even have paid attention to it, and that's what Mitsuhiko commented. "We're looking for clues; if there's anything out of place we should take note of it"

"It's just a hat stand" Yurie said.

"Do you normally go moving hat stands around?" Mitsuhiko asked "Amy is right for once. Let's take note of this"

Hat Stand

A hat stand normally located in the Carpentry Workshop. Found in a corner of the crime scene.

"The floor feels sticky here" Yurie notified, touching the tiles of the floor "I think blood was cleaned here"

"I wish we had luminol" Kobayashi commented "That'd confirm it"

"We don't need to confirm it, what else can it be in a freaking crime scene? And look over here!" Yurie had looked into a trash can and found what seemed to be pieces of a balloon "This is rubber"

"Rubber?" Mitsuhiko crouched near her and looked closely "You're right, it's rubber. Look at their color" the hunter took one of the rubber pieces and put it over Takayama's hand "It's similar to his skin tone"

"Look at the other side!" Yurie took the rubber piece and turned it around, touching it with a finger "This is...what is this?" on her finger Mitsuhiko could see a dense and sticky red substance. Puzzled, Yurie put her nose near it and smelled the substance.

"Is it blood?" Kobayashi asked from afar.

"No, it's not blood. It smells...fruity. Like...jam?"

"Is that what the jam was used for? To fill balloons?"

"...okay, I have no idea why this is here. We're done"

Rubber Pieces

Several pieces of rubber found in a trash can in the crime scene. They're covered with strawberry jam on one side

"That's all we can find in here" Mitsuhiko said, straightening up "Any thoughts of where I could go next?"

"Mitsu-chan, read the file! Takayama-kun had anesthetics in his system. He must have been gassed too"

So four people in total? Romi-san, Koshimizu-san, Takayama-kun and me. What was the culprit thinking? Mitsuhiko walked outside alone while Kobayashi and Yurie went into the Carpentry Workshop. The hunter was planning to check the bedrooms of the other three anesthetized commanders; where else would they have been the night before? But when Mitsuhiko was crossing the hall towards Camp Lily and passed in front of the cells Mitsuhiko stopped, having a sudden thought. It could be good to check the lock and the bottle.

Mitsuhiko almost put his eye directly on the lock, checking it. Undoubtedly it had been heavily abused and broken, apparently beaten up with some sort of blunt object. The handle on the hallway side was bent and snapped, and the place where the key was usually inserted was bent beyond any recognition. Wow, this was thorough. Why the hell was this lock broken? thought the hunter, entering to the cell and examining the other side. On the side to the cell the lock was intact, as it was to be expected, however Mitsuhiko frowned. There was something amiss and it took him a while to remember what it was:

The lock was completely clean. The blood from the cut of two days before was gone.

Broken Lock

The lock from Mitsuhiko's cell, rendered unusable with some sort of blunt object. The blood on the inside portion is gone but it doesn't show signs of having been cleaned.

Just what does this mean? Mitsuhiko thought about the lock, going to check the broken bottle on the floor. It was a bottle of the size of his hand, and Mitsuhiko could clearly see residues of the substances once contained there. It was a yellowish dust, covering the floor around the broken glass. So this is what knocked me out.

Broken Bottles

Rests of a glass bottle in the floor of Mitsuhiko's cell. There were bottles found in Romi's bedroom, Koshimizu's bedroom and Takayama's bedroom.

If anesthetics were used the most obvious place they came from would be the Infirmary. Time to check over there! Mitsuhiko descended into Camp Monobear first and verified there was a broken bottle in Takayama's bedroom. As expected there was, with the same amount of residue than the one he had found in his cell.

"What are you looking for in there?" Kishio said once he went out of Takayama's bedroom. Mitsuhiko told her about the broken bottles and the Linguist nodded. "Yes, we did find bottles in the rooms of everybody who got gassed"

"Anything unusual about the bottles?"

"Hmmmm...stranen? Well there was something about the one in Romi-san's bedroom..." Mitsuhiko immediately asked what she meant "You saw the broken bottles have this yellow dust in them, right?"

"Yeah"

"Well there was much less dust in the bottle in Romi-san's bedroom than in any other we found. You know what that means, right?"

Mitsuhiko knew "There was less anesthetic in Romi-san's bottle than in the others"

Broken Bottles (update)

Rests of a glass bottle in the floor of Mitsuhiko's cell. There were bottles found in Romi's bedroom, Koshimizu's bedroom and Takayama's bedroom. Romi's bottle had much less anesthetic than the others.

"Exactly! I was going to find Koshimizu and make him tell me how the anesthetic were turned into gases. You go and do what you need to do"

The two commanders parted in good terms, Mitsuhiko continuing towards the Infirmary. That place was pretty orderly, just as expected from Koshimizu. He didn't seem the type to leave anything disorganized. The good thing is that as everything was in its place it was going to be easier to find any clues. If the anesthetics came from here they must have been in the medicine cabinet. And just as expected the cabinet showed clear signs of being forced. It was just as obliterated as the lock of the door of his cell, but in this one he could see what had damaged it. It was right there on the floor near the cabinet.

It was a bullet.

Broken Cabinet Lock

The lock of the Infirmary cabinet. It was been destroyed by a bullet. It's worth noting that Koshimizu is the only one who has the key to the cabinet.

Mitsuhiko picked up the bullet, examining it closely. He didn't recognize the bullet but he had a feeling where it had come from. Its caliber was very telling.

The only gun he knew that could have fired that bullet was the gun he had received via mail in the first day of their stay in the Headquarters...and Koshimizu was the one who had that gun.

Bullet and Gun

A bullet for a Twin M9 Beretta. Mitsuhiko owns the gun but before he was locked in a cell Koshimizu confiscated it. The bullet destroyed the lock of the Infirmary cabinet

Once it was confirmed what had destroyed the cabinet lock Mitsuhiko opened it and scanned the contents. There were a lot of bottles filled with pills and syrups, but although he took the time to check each one he didn't see any anesthetics. "Hikari-kun, what do you think you're doing with the medicines?"

The hunter turned around and saw Koshimizu in the entrance. The man was glaring at Mitsuhiko, clearly discontent to see him. "Well the bottles were filled with anesthetics so I wanted to check if there was any in here"

"The closest there's to that is sleeping pills" Koshimizu informed and approached the cabinet, taking each pill bottle "And before you ask, yes, it's possible the gases that knocked you out were made from those. It'd need a complex chemical processing, though, and nobody has the materials for that"

"Lily had said something yesterday" Mitsuhiko remembered "She had said there were laboratories in the third floor"

"But the stairs to the third floor are blocked! Nobody could go upstairs through that grate" The Medical Demon left all bottles inside the cabinet "Huh. It was unlikely but looks like that's what happened. The sleeping pills are missing"

Missing Sleeping Pills

A bottle of sleeping pills went missing from the Infirmary cabinet. It's suspected they were used to create the gases that affected Mitsuhiko, Koshimizu, Takayama and Romi.

"So there's a grate..." Mitsuhiko mused to himself "...I think that...somebody did accept Monobear's offer"

"Did you say something?" Koshimizu asked in the way out.

"Yesterday Monobear came to the cells and tried to convince one of us to be a mole for him. Somebody working with Monobear would have access to the laboratories in the Third Floor"

"...Hikari-kun, are you insinuating that the culprit is one of the three people in the cells...among them you?"

"That could be possible" Mitsuhiko nodded "Listen, Takayama-kun had placed microphones on the doors of the cells. If anybody accepted Monobear's offer it'll be recorded in Takayama-kun's machines"

Koshimizu rubbed his beard. "Smart guy, that Takayama-kun. I'll take a look"

As soon as Koshimizu left Mitsuhiko facepalmed. Maybe he shouldn't have left the main suspect check that, but as soon as he tried to reach him he couldn't find Koshimizu. After finding Mitsuishi just sitting around he asked him to check on Koshimizu. Mitsuishi grumbled but obeyed. Well that's solved. Where could I go now?

"Hikari-kun, fancy seeing you free like me" Hosoya greeted. Mitsuhiko groaned, this was the guy he didn't want to see. He hadn't forgotten Hosoya's attempted harassment to Sugita.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to say hi to my fellow prisoner. Is that really so bad?" Hosoya never looked more childish than in that moment. It was unspeakably creepy to see a grown man with such a baby face and clothes leaning towards him.

"If it's you then yes, it's bad. It's horrifying. Leave me alone"

"Okay, okay! No need to get pissy, man" Hosoya stepped back "I was going upstairs to help investigate"

"I was going too, but you better stay away of me. If more people die I really hope you're one of them" Mitsuhiko spat and walked away. Hosoya stayed still for a moment before shrugging and following Mitsuhiko upstairs to the Lounge. Yurie was there, reading some printed information.

"Mitsu-chan, read this! And...oh, it's you" Yurie scowled when she saw Hosoya waving at her "Think they'll accept a proposal of locking him again after the trial?"

"They better accept that proposal" Mitsuhiko took the pages Yurie passed him "What's this?"

"Apparently not only new areas are opened after each trial, new software appears in the Administrative Offices. Take a look, this controls authorized access in some areas. Take a look at what this says"

The report listed two names and a date, precisely the date of the actual day. The title of the report showed this list were the people who entered the Electronics Workshop, the place that needed an authorized ID to enter.

Mamoru Takayama - 4:42 AM

Tohya Sasuga -6:33 AM

Electronics Workshop Record

The list of commanders that entered the Electronics Workshop the morning of the murder. Takayama entered at 4:42 AM and Sasuga entered at 6:33 AM

"Right, Takayama-kun entered this workshop. It's closed right now, isn't it?"

"After Sasuga-kun searched for Takayama in there the door was closed. It has been closed since that moment"

"Then there must be evidence to be found there! Evidence the culprit can't have touched!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, approaching the door.

"That's true..." Yurie started saying but was interrupted by Hosoya, who had entered the Theater Workshop for a moment.

"I brought Takayama-kun's ID to open the door" the conman shouted, showing the rectangular piece of technology on his hand. Yurie took it gingerly, as if she wished nothing less than staying away from Hosoya, and passed it to her fiancé.

"At least you're being a bit useful, Hosoya... " Mitsuhiko muttered, passing a finger on the slot for the ID on the wall to remove any dust and inserted the ID. However the door didn't budge. "Eh?" after trying again Mitsuhiko stepped aside. "Yurie, the door got stuck"

"Uh, Mitsu-chan, I think it's more likely..." Yurie's words trailed off while she took the ID, turning it on. Her eyes widened when she saw what the ID said. "No wonder it didn't work! This isn't Takayama-kun's ID"

"Whose ID is that one?" Hosoya approached. Yurie turned it around so both male commanders could see the picture and the name.

Koshimizu's ID

The ID that belongs to Tetsurou Koshimizu. Found in Takayama's pocket.

"Koshimizu-san? Interesting..." Mitsuhiko took the ID and saved it for the trial "So he isn't authorized. We need to find somebody who can enter here"

"No problem, I have a list of that too" Yurie showed a small list "There are not many commanders who can enter, take a look"

Mamoru Takayama

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

List of Authorized Commanders

The commanders whom ID allow them to enter the Electronics Workshop. Takayama, Mimori, Yurie and Sasuga are the only ones in the list

Yurie passed her own ID through the slot and the door unlocked with a loud click. The hunter didn't waste any time entering with Yurie, but he stopped Hosoya at the entrance. "No, no, no. You're staying outside. Go away"

Hosoya's expression showed his displeasure "Fine! I'm out. Choke on something and die, I don't deserve this kind of treatment" and he walked away, stomping on the floor. Rolling his eyes the hunter focused on the Electronics Workshop.

Looking from the door like Sasuga had done there was nothing out of place. However that didn't mean there was nothing to be found. To show what that meant there were two strange things on one side of the room, out of sight from the entrance.

"Is that a mannequin?" Mitsuhiko approached the humanoid shape, looking at it with attention. It was a mannequin a bit taller than him, made of plastic and felt, and thrown aside to a chair as if it were trash. The mannequin was completely naked, but despite its apparent normalcy there were two details that made Mitsuhiko wonder what was up with the mannequin.

One, it was completely out of place in the Electronics Workshop.

And two, it had a deep cut on the neck.

Mannequin

A large mannequin found in the Electronics Workshop. It had no clothes on. The mannequin has a deep cut in the neck area.

"I suppose it's from the Theater Workshop" Yurie said, opening one of the cabinets of the workshop.

"Then why is it here?" Mitsuhiko asked, but Yurie simply shrugged, focused on her own investigation. The hunter continued onto the second object, which was placed behind the chair. It was a short rope, just a couple meters long.

Rope

A rope found in the Electronics Workshop. Two meters long.

"What the...Mitsu-chan, look at this!" Yurie had opened the last cabinet and had stepped back, shocked. Alarmed, Mitsuhiko peered into the cabinet and frowned. It definitely explained Yurie's surprise.

"What are these objects doing here...?" he mused, picking them up. They were a pair of glasses and a set of clothes Mitsuhiko knew very well.

Takayama's Glasses

Glasses belonging to Takayama. They were found in a cabinet of the Electronics Workshop

Takayama's Clothes

An intense red rubber suit and a sturdy set of plates forming an armor, trademark clothes Takayama used during his stay in the Headquarters. Found in a cabinet of the Electronics Workshop.

"So Takayama was here when he changed his clothes? I don't know, there's something odd in this whole thing..." Mitsuhiko commented.

"I think it's because he's using a tuxedo from the Theater Workshop. Why aren't his clothes there?

"Exactly, it must be that. I think. Is there anything else around here?" Yurie shook her head, so both commanders left the Electronics Workshop. They indeed had found some interesting details in there, but they weren't enough for Mitsuhiko to say without a doubt what had happened.

"I'm going to the kitchen now. I'm starving" Yurie said "Are you coming?"

"In a while, first I want to check the Carpentry Workshop. The hat stand in the Theater Workshop had come from there, after all" Yurie accepted Mitsuhiko's plan and left towards the first floor while the hunter went to his new destination.

In the Carpentry Workshop he found Kobayashi, looking intently at an open tool box on a table. "Amy, did that tool box insult your mother or something?"

Kobayashi lifted his head for a moment before putting his hand in it, taking out a single object: a screwdriver. "There's nothing strange in this place except this box, and in there I found this screwdriver. It shows signs of having been used intensively, see?" Kobayashi passed the screwdriver to Mitsuhiko, who looked at it carefully. The tip showed scratches and was chipped, somebody sure had done something intensive with that tool.

"Yeah, you're right, but this could mean anything. Anybody can have used it"

"You're right but I haven't seen anybody use it" Kobayashi took the screwdriver back, putting it in the box again.

"Because anybody who uses a screwdriver must notify you, right? Don't be so narcissistic, Amy" Mitsuhiko said with the intention to bother Kobayashi, but he didn't show signs of feeling annoyed by that. Instead he left the tool box aside and went away without saying anything else.

Screwdriver

A screwdriver from a toolbox from the Carpentry Workshop. Shows signs of having been used in a difficult task.

As his investigation of the Carpentry Workshop didn't show anything worthwhile Mitsuhiko went to the Cafeteria, where he guessed Yurie would be waiting for him. Effectively, the Hacking Demon was sitting there nibbling at what seemed like peanuts. Seeing he'd need to look for his own food he entered the Kitchen, finding Mitsuishi there. "Mitsuishi-kun, did Koshimizu-san find what he was looking for?"

"He's taking that machine to the trial, if that's what you mean" Mitsuishi replied "He didn't even want to tell me what he listened there. Can you believe that guy?"

"Koshimizu-san is a jerk" the hunter replied with satisfaction, opening the fridge "But he has done a lot more for the investigation than you, at least"

"Oh yeah? Next time I'll sit aside without finding important evidence, then" Mitsuishi replied huffily.

"Important evidence?" Mitsuhiko closed the fridge, holding some toast "Like what?"

"Like this towel over here" Mitsuishi extended a small kitchen towel, holding it near Mitsuhiko's face "Smell it" After hesitating for a moment Mitsuhiko obeyed and found out why Mitsuishi had taken that piece of evidence.

"It smells sweetly...but not very much"

"It's also completely wet. I think the culprit used it to clean something and then attempted to wash it"

Towel

A towel from the kitchen. Soaking wet and has a slight sweet smell.

"And that's not the only thing that was wet and smelled sweet, either. This is exactly the same" Mitsuishi put the towel aside and picked a kitchen knife from the rack. Just like he had said it had clear droplets of water, but unlike the towel Mitsuhiko wasn't going to put it near his face.

"Are you sure it smells sweet?"

"Completely should also know that it's identical to the bloody knife Romi-san found in Camp Lily"

Wet Kitchen Knife

A knife that was washed shortly before its discovery. It has a slight sweet smell and is identical to the knife used to commit the murder.

"Okay, Mitsuishi-kun, I admit you did something good. Color me surprised"

"I was more useful than you, I bet" Mitsuishi said, but before Mitsuhiko could demonstrate he had done a lot more work than most commanders the speakers sounded with Monobear's annoying voice.

"Bastards, I'm tired of seeing you walking around. Come to the Meeting Room and let's start the trial!"

"Great. It's time to go" Mitsuhiko rubbed his eyes. He barely had the time to eat his toast before arriving to the Meeting Room with Mitsuishi and Yurie. Soon the rest of the commanders arrived and sat in their places, waiting for the trial to start. Just like Mitsuishi had said Koshimizu brought Takayama's recordings, and just after Lily arrived and took her place to the side of Monobear's throne the bear appeared.

"Aren't you all excited for this new trial? Who's going to get executed today? Let's find out! Let the trial for the murder of Mamoru Takayama start!"

Right, there are several suspects and the evidence is pointing to three concrete people. But which one could be the guilty party? And did the culprit have an accomplice that could go to the Third Floor or...could the culprit be Monobear's mole?

I can't avoid feeling there's something I'm not considering, but what is it?

Chapter Text

"First a short reminder of how the trial works: if you vote for the culprit that commander will be executed. But if you vote for an innocent commander everybody except the culprit will be executed and the culprit will be part of the Main Board. Now start!"

After Monobear's little speech Mitsuhiko buried his face in his hands. This wasn't going to be a fun trial for him. "So Takayama-kun was killed early this morning and there are three suspects: Romi-san, Hikari-kun and Koshimizu-san" Kobayashi summarized, pointing at each suspect with the finger. "Which one do you think is the murderer?"

"Koshimizu-san, of course" Mitsuishi replied "There are too many things pointing at him for him to not to be the culprit"

"Oh dear" Koshimizu sighed "Okay, first than all, why are those who were gassed the suspects here? Anybody would think we'd be cleared"

"That's exactly why you're the suspects! Look, I'm sure the culprit gassed himself or herself to avoid suspicion" Kobayashi informed.

"Yeah, because there's no better way to avoid suspicion than almost drugging yourself to death!"

"Extreme circumstances require extreme measures. That's what this journalist says" Mimori already had her notepad ready. "Whatcha say, Koshimizu-san?"

"I say you're all crazy if you think I'd do that" the doctor mumbled "Besides I'd like to hear about this 'the culprit drugged themselves" theory you all dredged up"

"Give credit where it's due, Sugita-san coined it" Fukuyama said. Sugita wasn't too happy being labeled as the author, but accepted it reluctantly when Koshimizu glared at her.

"Um, it's like Kobayashi-kun said, you did it because you wanted to avoid suspicion"

Nonstop Debate

Broken Lock / Entrance Records / Broken Bottles / Rope / Toolbox

SUGITA: If we thought you got attacked...

SUGITA: ...that'd mean you'd get away with it

KOSHIMIZU: Is that the only thing you have against me?

SASUGA: There's a lot of evidence against you

SASUGA: The bottles are just a tiny detail.

KOSHIMIZU: But I don't get it!

ROMI: You're the only one with access...

ROMI: ...to the pills used for the gases

EMIKO: You also must have experience...

EMIKO: ...with chemistry, as a doctor

SASUGA: And finally, you'd know how much...

SASUGA: ...anesthetic you should inhale to knock yourself out

SASUGA: You know, without killing yourself in the process

MITSUHIKO: The bottles are the base for this theory, right?

SASUGA: It's part of it

SASUGA: After all they don't point to anybody else

SASUGA: The use of anesthetics links him to the murder

"No, this is wrong. This can't be pointing at Koshimizu-san, it's illogical" Mitsuhiko objected, attracting some inquisitive expressions "It just doesn't make sense"

"What doesn't make sense? Who else would use anesthetics to create an alibi?" Hosoya asked, trying his hardest to not to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Romi-san and you don't know enough about chemistry and medicine to create the gases" Yurie pointed, but Mitsuhiko shook his hands, undeterred.

"No! That's not what I mean. I don't doubt Koshimizu-san knows enough to create the mixture in the bottles, but don't you think he'd at least make sure he wasn't in risk of dying?"

Several commanders started attacking Mitsuhiko, telling him that nothing mattered because nobody else could work with the chemicals, but then Kishio stood up and barked an order, making everybody silent. Once the silence was total she spoke. "What do you mean, Hikari-kun? I'm willing to give you a listen before deciding if your argument has merit, només una oportunitat"

"Look, Koshimizu-san may create an alibi like you all has said it, but I think if he were going to do that he'd at least make sure he wasn't in any risk of dying. However if he made the bottles then he gave himself a full dose of the anesthetics. That's risky!"

"Having a lesser dose would make me stand out" the rebuttal came from the person Mitsuhiko didn't expect to hear arguing. Koshimizu himself had raised a finger, apparently bored with the procedures "I don't mean to incriminate myself but giving myself a lesser dose would be idiotic"

"Even if it means you could die?"

"If I were a killer then my life would be in risk already. Execution happens, you know"

The hunter deflated, unsure of how to counter Koshimizu's rebuttal. "But...if giving you a lesser dose would make you stand out then...wouldn't this make a concrete person stand up?"

"Who? Tell us" Yurie took Mitsuhiko's hand, squeezing it with a lot of strength. The hunter looked around, his eyes falling on a person.

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Emiko Tanaka

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Hiyoko Romi

"Romi-san's bottle had less content, that's what I have heard. I think that'd make her more of a suspect"

"Is this for real?" Sasuga asked "Do you think a blind woman like Romi-san would be capable of working with chemicals?"

"Don't underestimate me, Sasuga-kun" Romi said bluntly "But you're right, I can't have done that. There's not even a place here that could work as a laboratory...at least on this floor"

"That reminds me! We need to find somebody who could have done this without the Third Floor laboratories" Yurie exclaimed, getting Mitsuhiko's attention. That was exactly a point that he had wanted to bring up.

"That's not even possible, there are no materials or chemicals" Mitsuishi replied, crossing his arms.

"Are we all completely sure it's impossible? The kitchen could be good enough"

"Nothing in the kitchen could extract the chemicals from sleeping pills" Sugita said "I know it very well"

"There's a possibility" Sasuga claimed before Mitsuhiko had the chance to do it "The culprit went into the third floor and used one of the laboratories up there"

"But nobody would be able to get through the grates!" Emiko argued but her voice showed she wasn't completely confident about that.

"There's one way: being Monobear's mole among us. What I mean is that somebody is in cahoots with Monobear and used that status as mole to get the materials needed" the Roboticist concluded. Mitsuhiko grinned with some contempt. That's not exactly what I was going to say but this could lead to something good.

"Who would accept being a mole? There's nothing to be gained with that!"

"You're so wrong!" Romi laughed "The use of stuff nobody else has access to is enough incentive to take part in Monobear's game.

"So the culprit is...Monobear's mole?" Mimori tried to get that point clarified, unsure "But if it hadn't been for the murder we wouldn't even suspect there's a mole. But maybe the culprit was confident they'd get away with it"

"But then who is Monobear's mole?" Fukuyama put his hand on his mask, as if he were expecting to get accused just because he's hiding his face between a mask with the face of the bear. "It's not me, just so you know"

"No idea. If we had some sort of clue..."

"We do" Mitsuhiko started "There's something I must tell you all, it's something that happened while I was locked" And then the hunter started telling how Monobear had approached to him and tried to convince him to be his mole. Some of the commanders seemed skeptic about Mitsuhiko's tale, maybe because they didn't trust the hunter. For all they knew he was lying about what he had answered to Monobear.

"I think you'd accept without thinking it twice" Sasuga mumbled bitterly but Mitsuhiko ignored it.

"I can prove I rejected the offer. Koshimizu-san, the recordings!"

"Is that why you asked me to check them? So I could confirm it?" Koshimizu inquired flatly but did start looking for the exact recording.

"No! You know why I told you about that!"

"I know, I know. It wasn't serious" Koshimizu disconnected the headphones, once he had found the correct recording he played it aloud for everybody. Everybody listened how Monobear offered to Mitsuhiko being his mole and how the hunter rejected it, which was also followed by Takayama's short conversation with Mitsuhiko. Once it was finished the commanders had no other option than accepting Mitsuhiko had told the truth.

"So...that eliminates Mitsu-chan from the suspect list. Koshimizu-san and Romi-san are left" Yurie declared, glaring at both.

"Couldn't Monobear had returned later to make the offer again?" Romi asked. It was possible she had thought Mitsuhiko was the culprit, but soon the doctor shot down that line of reasoning.

"I already checked the recordings after that point for not only Mitsuhiko but also the other two. Monobear never approached again any of the cells"

Oh. The hunter thought for a moment. If Monobear didn't return to the cell then that meant neither Hosoya or Yurie had accepted to cooperate with Monobear. "Has any of you seen Monobear talking to anybody?" the replies were all negative. Unless Koshimizu went checking the recordings for the two days they wouldn't find out anything. Or...it maybe wasn't even during those two days! Maybe Monobear already had one and was looking for another.

There was simply not enough time to check extensively the recordings. They were going to need to find out the culprit in some other way.

"If you ask me I'd say Koshimizu-san is the most likely to be the culprit" Mimori said the general opinion "Unless...can any of you see Romi-san working with chemicals and the such?"

"I can't. Any defense, Koshimizu-san?" Sasuga leaned to the side, observing the doctor carefully. The Medical Demon was pretty calmed, as if he already knew he wouldn't be named the culprit. However Mitsuhiko wasn't convinced of his guilt. There are several logical flaws in any accusation against Koshimizu-san. It should be easy to clear him of any suspicion, there's no way he did all this! Come on everybody! Do your best.

Nonstop Debate

Rope / Toolbox / Towel / Bloody Kitchen Knife / Rubber Containers

MITSUHIKO: What I want to know is...

MITSUHIKO: ...why do you guys think he's the culprit?

KISHIO: Because he had access to the pills needed for this

MITSUISHI: Because he knows enough about chemistry

YURIE: Because he's in the Infirmary all the time

MITSUHIKO: All that is circumstantial. Anything else?

SASUGA: He had the gun that broke the cabinet lock

FUKUYAMA: He gassed himself to create an alibi

HOSOYA: And finally, his ID was in Takayama-kun's pocket

KISHIO One single clue wouldn't be enough

KISHIO: But six? I think this is the best suspect we could have

MITSUHIKO: How did none of you realize...

MITSUHIKO: ...that one of those statements...

MITSUHIKO: ...shows his innocence?

"One of those shows his innocence? Which one, then?" Sasuga inquired with honest wonder, knowing that Mitsuhiko has a good head on his shoulders.

"The one you yourself said, Sasuga-kun. You have provided me the key to demonstrate his innocence" Mitsuhiko said and smiled "And I do mean the key"

"I don't understand..."

"Look, the cabinet was locked and the culprit had to use my gun to break the lock, am I right?"

"Well yes, and we all know Koshimizu-san has that gun, so I don't see how..." Sasuga tried to say but Mitsuhiko interrupted him quickly.

"Stop there! Tell me, who has the key to that cabinet?" the hunter arrived to the point he had wanted to make. Some of the commanders slowly understood what he meant, and soon Mitsuhiko had the answer he wanted.

"I locked the Infirmary cabinet several days ago" Koshimizu informed "So I had the key"

"But if he had the key..." Sasuga was one of the commanders that understood what Mitsuhiko was saying. "Then why did he use the gun to break the cabinet? It wouldn't make any sense"

"It's the opposite: it makes perfect sense" the doctor grinned "Look, if I used the gun then I could make it look like somebody that wasn't me opened the cabinet"

"You're not doing yourself any favors by admitting that, you know" Emiko commented

"It'd be worse if I didn't say anything. I know what I'm doing, but just in case remember you all know I have that gun"

"You could have done it so you could say that" Fukuyama shrugged, earning a glare from the doctor.

"Are we going to get into the whole 'reverse psychology' shtick? Because I won't take part in that"

"As I see it there's a possibility" Mitsuishi said "The culprit gassed Koshimizu so they could steal the gun and use it!"

"Doesn't make sense. Why to steal the gun and not the key of the cabinet? That'd be more definite in framing me"

"The culprit was looking for the key but didn't find it. Instead they took the gun because it was the second best possibility" Sugita predicted, satisfied with her reasoning "I'm sure that's how this went!"

Really? Is it my imagination or is there something wrong here...?

The order of the events

The object the culprit was searching for

The targeted person

There's no mistake

The order of the events

"This is a huge mistake" Mitsuhiko declared "You're getting this mixed up and if I let it continue this'll end in disaster"

"Okay, what's wrong?" Koshimizu asked, looking at Mitsuhiko with polite disinterest.

"The order of the events is mistaken. Look, you're all saying that Koshimizu was gassed so the culprit could steal the gun or the key, right?"

"That's my personal conclusion too" Mimori showed something written in large letters in her notebook: 'Koshimizu was framed: that's the truth"

"Then tell me this: how was Koshimizu gassed? What was used?"

"The anesthetics, of course!" Kishio answered. Mitsuhiko grinned, ready to lay in the open the big contradiction.

"So tell me, how was Koshimizu gassed if the culprit was stealing the gun or the key precisely to get to the sleeping pills used to create the mixture?"

The reactions were of disbelief. They had practically gone in circles, having the order of the events wrongly. If they couldn't get that right then what else could they get wrong?

"We're in trouble. Okay, who opened the cabinet?" Mitsuishi inquired.

"And with what? Because it can't have been with the gun if Koshimizu had it all the time" Fukuyama pointed. That was the very next problem to solve.

"No, it's clear it was with the gun and a bullet from it" Kishio argued "I examined that lock and it fits perfectly. I'm sure of it"

"So...the culprit had the gun before gassing Koshimizu-san? Maybe it was stolen before last night"

"I had the gun and the key with me all the times, except when I was sleeping. It's impossible it was stolen before last night" Koshimizu replied. In that moment Mitsuhiko raised his hand, thinking of something potentially incriminating related to the existence of a mole.

"I think I know how the gun could have been used without it being Koshimizu-san's gun"

"No way, what farfetched scenario did you think now?" Romi gritted her teeth as if she didn't want anything other than shutting down Mitsuhiko.

"While I can't say it with 100% certainty I do know the caliber of the bullet found came from a Twin M9 Beretta. That's what I just thought...there's a reason why it's called a Twin M9 Beretta" the hunter made a clear emphasis on that word. Emiko's jaw fell, knowing what he meant.

"An identical gun! It's part from a set!"

"Yes, exactly! I think an identical gun was used, as we all knew Koshimizu had one of those in his possession" Mitsuhiko looked to a side. "I'm not entirely sure, but if I had to guess it'd be..."

Lily

The culprit

The mole

Monobear

The mole

"I'd say it was the mole. Monobear wouldn't be able to grasp a gun and he has claws, there'd be no need to use it. Lily...I can't think it's her. She has lasers, getting rid of the lock wouldn't be problem"

"What about the culprit?"

"I don't have any proof but I think that if the culprit were the mole they wouldn't have tried to kill. It's a tad early for Monobear to lose his mole"

"Maybe Monobear was looking for a mole because it already happened. Kayano-san or Yasumoto-san could have been a mole" suggested Sugita.

"Either way I think the laboratory AND the gun show the mole was involved. What I don't know yet is why I was drugged, then. Maybe it really was just to frame me"

"You mean by making us think you'd gas yourself to avoid suspicion?"

EXACTLY

"That's the only possibility I can see. Quite a lousy frame job, if you ask me"

"I think there was some kind of ulterior motive..."

"But neither the gun I have or the key were needed! The culprit tried unsuccessfully to frame me, that's it" Koshimizu crossed his arms stubbornly.

Koshimizu-san is convinced the culprit was just trying to frame him and failed. But as I see it he doesn't know all the facts. Otherwise he would have realized already what the culprit was aiming for!

Let's do it.

Rebuttal Showdown

List of Authorized Commanders / Broken Cabinet Lock / Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet / Monobear File #2 / Koshimizu's ID

KOSHIMIZU: The core of the culprit's plan was to frame me

KOSHIMIZU: That's why a gun similar to the one I had was used

KOSHIMIZU: Because everybody knew I had it

KOSHIMIZU: That's why the sleeping pills were used

KOSHIMIZU: And finally, that's why I was gassed

KOSHIMIZU: What other reason could the culprit have?

MITSUHIKO: It was to get access to something...

MITSUHIKO: ...the culprit wouldn't have access otherwise

KOSHIMIZU: The pills are pretty much the only thing that fits

KOSHIMIZU: And even then anybody could have them

KOSHIMIZU: And you yourself said the gun had a copy

KOSHIMIZU: So enlighten me, Hikari-kun

KOSHIMIZU: What could I have in my bedroom...

KOSHIMIZU: ...that couldn't be obtained anywhere else?

"This is what the culprit was looking for" Mitsuhiko took out the evidence he had saved for a moment like this: Koshimizu's ID. Koshimizu narrowed his eyes.

"An ID?"

"Not just any ID. It's your ID" Mitsuhiko turned it one and put it on the table, sliding it towards its owner. Koshimizu grabbed it, his face showing for the first time during the trial some surprise.

"But that's impossible, I have my ID in my pocket..." he murmured and took out an ID from his pocket, turning it on. The face and name that greeted him made him scowl. "Motherfucker"

It was Takayama's ID.

"What explanation is there for that, Hikari-kun?" Mimori asked, biting her pen "The culprit took the victim's ID and changed it with Koshimizu's?"

"I'd say that's what happened "Mitsuhiko shrugged. That seemed like the logical conclusion.

"Right"

"So...does this mean Koshimizu-san is innocent?" Sasuga seemed pretty downcast about the loss of his main suspect. Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid feeling a lot of satisfaction in knowing he had once again led the commanders into the right direction.

At least until Romi cleared her throat. "That's nice and all but this all has an explanation that fits the Koshimizu Culprit Theory"

Mitsuhiko stared at her, not fully believing that was even possible. "No way...you can't have an argument..."

"I do. Listen everybody! Here's what happened! The Tale of the Medical Demon!" Romi stood up, strumming an imaginary guitar. Once she was sure she had everybody's attention she went ahead with her argument:

Climax Inference

Koshimizu-san had an evil plan; he had planned to kill a man...damn, I can't compose under pressure. Either way, Koshimizu-san is the culprit. He used the gun to shoot the cabinet lock and took the pills, that was done so it would look like he hadn't done it. Then he went to the third floor, it doesn't matter if he went with the mole or if he IS the mole, the point is that he got into the laboratories and prepared the content of the bottles.

Once the mixes were prepared he executed his plan, gassing Hikari-kun, Takayama-kun and me. Since Takayama-kun wasn't conscious he took the chance to drag him or carry him to the Theater Workshop, where he killed him and hid the body in the cabinet.

But that wasn't all he did. He took Takayama-kun's ID and used it to open the Electronic Workshop, hiding evidence in there like Takayama-kun's clothes, but somehow when returning the ID he got confused and placed his own in Takayama-kun's pocket.

When he returned to his bedroom he started the last part of his plan: gassing himself. He threw the bottle to the floor and let the anesthetics knock him out. He used the big dose on purpose to make it look like he wouldn't do such a thing, and as you see, that's how the tale ends!

"This has got to be a terrible joke" Koshimizu pinched his nose "Tell me she isn't serious"

"I'm deadly serious. My life is in risk here!" the Lyricist Demon vehemently protested, slamming the table "That's what happened and it's my final answer!"

"Romi-san, there are so many mistakes in your retelling of the events I don't even know where to start" Mitsuhiko said, his voice being perfectly monotonous. It didn't make him be in the Lyricist's good graces, as she gritted her teeth.

"Too bad! That's what happened! If you think there are so many flaws as you say there are then tell me what it is!"

"Calm down, don't get all riled up..."

"I'm getting as riled up as I want! Come on; take me to school if that's what you want! Tell me what you have in your mind"

It'll be a pleasure to "school you". I'll aim for the biggest flaw in her reasoning and let it be everything I need to say. She'll shut up in no time.

Panic Talk Battle

ROMI: My argument is perfect

ROMI: If it isn't him then who?

ROMI: You didn't do it!

ROMI: I didn't do it!

ROMI: Oyama-san didn't do it!

ROMI: Hosoya-kun didn't do it!

ROMI: It wasn't suicide

ROMI: It wasn't an accident

ROMI: Everything fits perfectly

ROMI: Stop denying my reasoning!

Why were we gassed?

"Yours was a tale of many mistakes, but there's a concrete one that gets my attention" Mitsuhiko said, pointing at himself and at Romi intermittently "Why was I gassed? Why were you gassed? How does that fit with your theory?"

"Oooooh..." Romi was taken aback by the objection. That indeed was something she hadn't kept in mind. "I don't know..."

"Right. If you can't answer that then your idea of Koshimizu-san being the culprit can't be taken seriously. Sorry, you failed" Mitsuhiko said smugly, enjoying how Romi looked as if her dreams got denied and destroyed.

"But then...he must be the culprit. He must be!"

"Why are you so sure it's him? Your theory got destroyed, you have no base to say that" Hosoya said almost exasperated. Romi looked at the ceiling, feeling hopeless.

"It's the only option there is. We're five suspects. Oyama-san, Hosoya-kun and Hikari-kun were in the cells. He's the only option!"

"No, there's one more" Mitsuhiko said slowly. "You. You could be the culprit"

"Again, do you think Romi-san would be capable of everything that was needed to kill Takayama-kun?" Mitsuishi inquired.

"Not of everything, but if she had help then...she definitely could have killed him"

"Please don't say that, Hikari-kun" Romi said "I can't have done it"

"I said earlier that your bottle had a smaller dose than the others. Why could have that been, I wonder?" the hunter remembered, although he wasn't sure of where he could go with that.

"So what?"

"Look, it's process of elimination. So let me ask you: did you kill him?"

"I didn't kill Takayama-kun"

"Yeah, nothing points at her, Hikari-kun. What are you trying to do?" Mimori asked, perplexed at the concept of the resident blind woman having committed such a complicated crime.

"I'm trying to find out what happened, that's what I'm doing. It's just that Romi-san is the most suspicious one right now"

"Maybe Romi-san is so desperate about blaming Koshimizu-san because she did this" Kobayashi supposed.

"Oh, come on!" Romi exclaimed "How would I be able to do that?"

"Romi-san, let me ask you something" Mitsuhiko said slowly "Did you by any chance...see anything last night?"

The blind lyricist went silent for a moment before asking. "Why do you think I would have seen anything? It was sleeping time and I was gassed. There's no reason for me to having seen anything"

"But it's just that I don't see any reason for you to having been gassed in the first place! And with less anesthetic than the others, nonetheless. There must be something about you or about you had that the culprit could need"

"Or she is the culprit" Kobayashi piped up.

"Maybe. That's possible too. Was there any evidence that could be linked to Romi-san?"

"Nothing. If it weren't for the bottle nobody would suspect her involvement" Mitsuishi replied, remembering every piece of evidence so far.

"Look, as I see it there are two possibilities: either Romi-san is the culprit or the culprit wanted something with Romi-san"

"Guys? I just thought of something..." Koshimizu had turned pale, he looked aghast at whatever thought he had. "What if she isn't the culprit or the person who gassed Romi-san wasn't the culprit?"

"Who else would it be?" Fukuyama muttered behind his mask "It doesn't make sense"

"There's one person that was involved in a lot of unknown actions here. To this point we don't know anything about what he did. I'm talking about Takayama-kun"

"Are you saying Takayama-kun is the one who gassed us all? But he had a bottle too!" Emiko pointed

"It'd be very easy to stand outside of the bedroom and throw the bottle inside"

"You know that's something you could do too, right?" Yurie asked, but Koshimizu didn't have any importance to that.

"Doesn't matter! But remember everything we have seen related to Takayama-kun in this case. Let's go straight to the point: what's up with his clothes? Why did he change them and lock them in the Electronics Workshop, a place very few of us could reach? I'm sure Takayama-kun was planning something"

"Something like what?" Fukuyama wasn't following. It seemed that everything he had done so far was asking questions like that one.

"Something like...like killing Romi-san?" the Medical Demon finished his thought. The possibility of Takayama murdering anybody wasn't something he wanted to think. That may be what happened! Maybe we could take a path from here, but not in the way Koshimizu-san is thinking. There's more here than we think. It's just a matter of connecting the dots...

Logic Dive

1: Of all the suspects, which one could have entered the Electronic Workshop?

Romi

Koshimizu

Takayama

Mitsuhiko

Hosoya

Takayama

2: Why would Romi be targeted instead of any other?

Due to her disability

Due to her unlocked bedroom

Due to her profession

Due to her disability

3: How could Takayama take advantage of Romi's blindness?

Gassing her

Hiding potential evidence in plain sight

Changing his clothes to avoid identification

Changing his clothes to avoid identification

4: Despite all those points what's the most likely reason to get Romi involved?

She was a collateral victim

She was involved in a murder plan

She was planned to be the victi

She was never intended to get involved

She was involved in a murder plan

5: In what way was she involved in the plan?

She was an unwilling accomplice

She was a willing accomplice

She's the culprit

She's the mole

She was an unwilling accomplice

"Guys, I think I see how this goes" Mitsuhiko announced "Look, we can all agree that Takayama-kun was planning something and Romi-san was involved. And the only thing Romi-san could do in this case is...to be an unwilling accomplice!"

"Unwilling accomplice?" Kobayashi exclaimed

"Yes! Romi-san was gassed with so little anesthetic so she wouldn't be knocked out until the morning. It's possible Takayama brought her to the second floor and once she was up there she woke up, ready to see what the culprit wanted her to see"

"Why couldn't she be a willing accomplice?" Sasuga inquired, paying attention.

"Because if she were I doubt she would have been gassed in the first place. Doing that brought attention to her as a suspect, I think that if it had been intended for her to take part of this they would have been more careful to not to link her in any way to the plan"

"Couldn't she have been planned to be a victim?" Fukuyama suggested. To him it seemed more logical she was targeted by the bodyguard.

"Why to make all this circus to kill her? He could have just sneaked into his bedroom to kill her during the night. No, I'm sure there was a reason to do all this with her.

"You think you know everything" Romi said spitefully "Then say it, how was I going to be an unwilling accomplice, exactly?"

"Well remember Romi-san is blind but not completely blind. She can see colors and shapes" the hunter pointed "If I had to guess I suppose Takayama-kun was planning to use her as a witness for the crime he was going to make"

"And who was going to be a victim, then?" Koshimizu asked the question everybody had in their minds now. The bottles must have been involved in this. If I'm right then…

"…I don't like to say it but I think the victim was going to be…"

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Hiyoko Romi

Mamoru Takayama

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Mitsuhiko Hikari

"I think it was going to be me. We already defined how everybody else who was gassed was involved in the crime…except for me. Takayama-kun must have broken the lock to get to me and drag me away to one of the workshops"

The silence was dense for a moment. It all was starting to fit, apparently. Takayama was going to be a murderer and had drugged Romi to be part of it. That kind of thing could only be done by a monster.

"Hold on" Koshimizu broke the silence "There's something bothering me: if Romi-san was gassed and was in the workshop with Takayama…why didn't she say anything? We have been reunited here for a while already; she could have taken the time to tell us what had happened instead of letting us argue in circles. I think there's something going on with Romi-san"

Some commanders started whispering among them. "He's right! Why didn't she say anything?" Yurie wondered.

"W-Well, it's that…" Romi tried to defend herself but it was clear she was at a loss of words. Since she didn't say anything the others pounced on the possibility that presented.

"She may be the mole" Hosoya suggested but Sasuga didn't agree with that.

"No! The mole is the person who got into the laboratories and made the anesthetics. She can't have done that"

"If she's not the mole then the only other possibility is that she killed Takayama-kun" Yurie argued, feeling confident about her statement.

"Maybe it was self-defense?" Koshimizu mulled.

"Maybe, but no matter what happened it's clear the reason she didn't say anything must be because it was a danger to her life" Fukuyama replied, echoing the thoughts of other commanders.

"Then she IS the culprit!" Kishio exclaimed.

"No, I'm not!" Romi protested aloud, but when she got asked to defend herself nothing she said worked to deny the accusation. And to a side, Mitsuhiko kept watching.

The possibility of Romi being the culprit wasn't unlikely. As he saw it maybe Romi, furious with Takayama for gassing her and getting her onto the workshops, took advantage of a distraction from the bodyguard and attacked him. The knife surely was the weapon Takayama was going to use against the hunter.

That seems logical and all. I could get behind that.

"Do you think she did it?" Mitsuishi asked to Mitsuhiko. The hunter nodded, almost sure.

"To me it looks like she killed Takayama-kun"

"I don't know what to think…there's something bothering me" the acrobat whispered back. Mitsuhiko, unsure of what he meant, leaned to the side until their heads were almost touching "Look, it's true many of the clues we found fit with the Romi Culprit Theory, but what about the rest? There are also many that just…don't mesh well with this. Have you thought about that?"

"Not really" But the hunter had to admit had a point. A lot of evidence didn't seem to have a place in what they had defined so far. It was possible there was more about the crime than they thought "But that doesn't exonerate Romi-san. We could find how everything fits in the theory with her being the culprit"

"True that, but I have a clue that practically negates everything you people have said. I'm not showing it yet, I want to see Romi-san sweat. Let's think of her just like a witness more. Maybe if we pressure her enough she'll break and tell us what she saw…or heard. In one way or another I'm completely sure Romi-san is the cornerstone of this case"

Okay, I suppose. "So, Romi-san!" Mitsuhiko said loudly "Do you have anything else to tell us? Why don't you say once and for all what happened last night?

Are you or are you not the culprit?"

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko didn't really have the patience to deal with this mess for any longer, but he knew to hide his impatience. Still, if Romi refused to say more then that could only mean she was the culprit, didn't it?

"I'm NOT the culprit" Romi replied. The hunter nodded.

"Nice. Say what happened, please"

Romi didn't obey, instead she lowered her head. That was precisely what she shouldn't do if she was really innocent, and everybody knew that. "She isn't saying anything" said gravely "That's as good as a confession"

"Are you all going to start voting?" Monobear asked. Several commanders nodded and soon Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid agreeing with them. If Romi were really innocent she wouldn't hide, right? Monobear, satisfied, stood on his throne. "Excellent! This trial ended faster than the first one. Are you going to vote correctly? Let's find out!"

"Guys, wait" Mitsuishi said firmly. Everybody turned their attentions to him, as he had interrupted just before the voting. "I don't think we should go ahead with the vote yet"

"Why not? Romi-san practically admitted she's the culprit. Not saying anything is equal to admitting her guilt!" Kobayashi exclaimed, impatient for ending the trial.

"Besides nobody here is close to her. She wouldn't do such thing as protecting others" Mitsuhiko pointed.

"And not only that, there's no reason to believe anybody else is involved. There's nobody else that could have killed him" Kishio added.

"Okay, listen here...you're all thinking that Takayama-kun gassed Romi-san and took her to the Theater Workshop. That's the core of this, right?"

"Of course it is! Haven't you been paying attention?" Yurie groaned.

"I can break that theory right now. Usually I would have let this continue but I never expected the theory to lead to the voting phase so soon. I hoped Romi-san would break down and tell everything!"

"Right, if you can break it do it now" Kishio ordered. Mitsuishi took his own ID and opened the Monobear file.

"Everybody here insists they're smart and wouldn't be fooled yet you all overlooked the most basic clue we have. Look and weep, idiots" the Flying Demon pointed at one single line in the file:

The body registers high amounts of anesthetics without reaching fatal levels

"No way!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, horrified. That did break everything they had supposed so far.

"That's impossible...how can that..." Kobayashi muttered.

"Takayama-kun had anesthetics in his freaking blood. How can you expect him to have planned to kill anybody when he was a victim himself?!" Mitsuishi shouted, enraged.

"It all seemed logical, you can't blame us for-" Fukuyama started saying before Mitsuishi interrupted him.

"Did you all seriously think Takayama-kun would do such thing as killing one of us? After you saw how distraught he was when Yasumoto-san died?! It's unthinkable he would have done that!"

"He could have wanted to take the free spot in the Main Board-" Koshimizu said, interrupted too.

"You act as if you didn't talk to him during these two days! This is the guy who spent two whole days in his bedroom, listening to his microphones. This man made sure every single one of us were okay with no trouble. If it hadn't been for him we would have been at each other's throats"

"He didn't visit me or anything" Hosoya mumbled but everybody ignored him.

"And here I had thought I was the resident hypocrite. If he were buried he would have been rolling in his grave while you all called him a killer" Mitsuishi finished, grouchily crossing his arms.

"Too bad it's too late! We already started the voting process. Let's vote!" Monobear shouted, once again pointing at his right before Lily tackled him onto the throne.

"Everybody continue with the trial! There's no need to vote now" Lily exclaimed, holding down the thrashing bear.

"No! It's voting time! If you don't vote you'll all be executed!"

"And you'll end your fun. No more murders and the culprit won't be ascended into the Main Board. If that's what you want to do then go ahead, but I'm sure you won't" Lily whispered to him and slowly stood up, leaving Monobear down.

"Um, I'd like to vote now..." Hosoya started saying before he was shushed by other commanders. Strangely enough Monobear stayed perfectly still for a minute or two, hushed voices barely sounding through the bear's speaker.

"What's going on..." Emiko whispered to Kobayashi, who simply shrugged. It took a while until Monobear stood up, curiously sheepish.

"You may continue. Go ahead" he said, sitting back in his throne. For a moment all the commanders stayed in silence in case Monobear was going to say something else, at least until Monobear seemingly lost his patience "Are you going to continue or not?!"

"Okay, so...Takayama-kun wasn't going to kill somebody and have Romi-san be an accomplice. What now?"

"Now we need to think again" Hosoya said softly "So Romi-san isn't the culprit?"

"It'd be nice if you admitted that already..." Romi said, but she had a strange distant expression despite the clouded appearance of her eyes.

"Just because we found out Takayama-kun didn't gas anybody doesn't mean she isn't the culprit" Mitsuishi piped up.

"Yeah, but there's something this brings to the table and I don't know what to think of it: why the culprit took Takayama to the Theater Workshop to kill him and did all this mess instead of simply gassing him and then stabbing him?" Yurie inquired to everybody.

Nonstop Debate

Broken Bottles / Broken Lock / Rubber Containers / Missing Medicine / Tuxedo

KISHIO: There must have been some kind of ulterior motive

KISHIO: Otherwise the culprit wouldn't have bothered

SUGITA: Romi-san can't have done everything, I'm sure of that

ROMI: Yeah, I'd need help. Am I innocent yet?

EMIKO: With the mole's help she could have done this crime

SASUGA: If not Romi-san then who? Koshimizu-san?

KOSHIMIZU: Since Hosoya-kun's cell was closed he can't be

KOSHIMIZU: It's the same with Oyama-san.

KOBAYASHI: Hikari-kun could have done all this, though

KOSHIMIZU: No, he can't. The recordings show he stayed in his cell.

KOSHIMIZU: ...that didn't sound either in the recordings!

KOSHIMIZU: There were no anomalous sound at all.

FUKUYAMA: The microphones could have been removed...

SUGITA: Did you check they were still in there when you woke him up?

KOSHIMIZU: No I didn't.

"That's so strange..." Mitsuhiko said "Koshimimzu-san, are you absolutely sure you heard nothing in the recording of the door of my cell?"

"Completely sure of it" Koshimizu put his hand over Takayama's machine "I listened to the whole night"

"But the lock of my cell was destroyed! If somebody hit it with enough strength to break it there would be a lot of noise recorded!"

Koshimizu put on the sound with as much volume as possible and quickly played the recording of the whole night with Mitsuhiko's cell. It took a while, but soon there was a verdict reached by everybody "This is not the sound of a lock being broken" Through the speaker everybody could hear a very, very hushed tinkling noise, like metal against metal. "That's not how the destruction of the cell lock would sound"

"Hosoya-kun's cell is directly to the side of Hikari-kun's cell. Couldn't the microphones of Hosoya-kun's cell have recorded that?" Romi suggested.

"Apparently Takayama-kun's microphones aren't that potent. They'd only record what happens in the nearby areas" Kishio said "He told me that several days ago"

"So...Hikari-kun is our new suspect now?" Sasuga asked almost bashfully. There was silence for a moment before the commanders expressed their thoughts.

"I think that there's something strange about the broken cell lock. Since we got so little evidence pointing towards people we should take what we have" Sugita said with some remorse. Despite their fight several days before that moment Mitsuhiko was still her friend.

"But he can't have contacted Monobear and obtained the mole's help. Koshimizu-san didn't hear anything like that" Kishio pointed.

"Writing something and passing it wouldn't cause any sounds" Koshimizu pointed "Either way Hikari-kun may not be in the clear, but as long as the matter of the sound we hear here and the lock aren't solved we can't accuse him"

"Let's focus on another part of the murder for now. What's the strangest thing about Takayama-kun? Let's go on that for now" Emiko suggested. That's easy. There's one thing about Takayama that was glaringly out of place.

Monobear File #2

Tuxedo

Colorful Hat

Hat Stand

Rubber Containers

Broken Lock

Broken Bottles

Broken Cabinet Lock

Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet

Missing Medicine

Koshimizu's ID

Entrance Records

List of Authorized Commanders

Takayama's Glasses

Takayama's Clothes

Mannequin

Rope

Toolbox

Towel

Wet Kitchen Knife

Bloody Kitchen Knife

Tuxedo

"What was most out of place are the clothes Takayama-kun was wearing. Why was there such a huge change on that? We all know what Takayama-kun wore all this time, right?"

"Nobody else here looks like an armored red condom" Hosoya commented. While Mitsuhiko thought that could have been worded better he couldn't deny it was accurate.

"Yes, you're right. Why did the culprit change Takayama-kun's clothes? Also remember where they were found: in the Electronic Workshop, a place where not many of us can enter. The culprit used Takayama-kun's ID to enter there, I guess, and hid it there"

"Are you completely sure you don't know anything, Romi-san?" Fukuyama insisted, but this time Romi shook her head slower than she had done until that point. Something was starting to get in her head "There's something she's hiding and if she were an unwilling accomplice she would have talked already" Sugita decided "Who among us is close enough to Romi-san to be protected by her in a murder...in the risk of her own life?"

"Nobody, I think. I haven't seen anything that could hint that" Sugita replied. Fukuyama was about to proceed to interrogate everybody heavily about their relationships with Romi, but it was interrupted when the Lyricist stood up, taking deep breaths.

"I don't know any more what's going on. Nothing here makes sense and I'm terrified. I want to do nothing else than going away and forget any of this ever happened.

...I don't want to die"

"So are you confessing you're the culprit?" Fukuyama asked.

"No! At least I think there's something more complicated going on...but I don't know how to explain it" Romi seemed as lost as everybody else. Romi-san wants to say something but unless somebody can tip her into the right direction we'll get nowhere.

Just what could I tell her?

Logic Dive

1: What's a detail not mentioned so far about the tuxedo?

It's very elegant

It had Koshimizu's ID in it

There are two of them

There are two of them

2: What was the purpose of changing Takayama's clothes?

Make Takayama look better than before

Disguise Takayama as somebody else

Change Takayama's identity

Make Takayama the victim

Disguise Takayama as somebody else

3: Did Romi attack somebody or something last night?

Yes

No

Yes

4: Is Romi responsible of Takayama's death

Yes

No

No

"Um, guys? I think I'm starting to crack down why Romi-san didn't want to say anything" Mitsuhiko claimed. Romi, who was still standing looked at him hopefully. "If what I'm thinking is correct then I think I'm starting to understand how this whole crime went. What's left is the who"

"Then say it! Is Romi-san the culprit?" Kobayashi demanded the important answer, but Mitsuhiko shut him up before continuing.

"Grab onto your seats because this will be great: there were two murders last night!"

"Two murders?" Kishio quickly looked around "But we're all here"

"Oh, you would never notice the other murder. I didn't realize it until just a few minutes ago, although I should have suspected it since the beginning"

"Why when a question is asked you always have to go to another point before giving a straight answer?" Hosoya didn't seem amused. Mitsuhiko ignored him, finally taking the first step towards solving the crime.

"This is the second victim of last night!"

Monobear File #2

Tuxedo

Colorful Hat

Hat Stand

Rubber Containers

Broken Lock

Broken Bottles

Broken Cabinet Lock

Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet

Missing Medicine

Koshimizu's ID

Entrance Records

List of Authorized Commanders

Takayama's Glasses

Takayama's Clothes

Mannequin

Rope

Toolbox

Towel

Wet Kitchen Knife

Bloody Kitchen Knife

Mannequin

"...okay, I don't have the second victim with me right now, but the point is that there's a mannequin in the Electronics Workshop. That's the second victim" Mitsuhiko shrugged nervously, maybe he went too far in the dramatic effect.

"A...mannequin? We're not in a trial to find a mannequin's killer"

"But I have no doubts this mannequin is in some way closely related to the murder, mainly because if it had been alive its cause of death would have been identical to Takayama's wound: a slit neck!"

"Somebody cut the mannequin's neck?" Koshimizu seemed particularly interested in the recent developments.

"Exactly. My theory is that Romi-san is the "killer" of that mannequin" Mitsuhiko looked at Romi, who seemed like she was having an epiphany "The culprit took advantage of Romi's attack to that mannequin and used that to continue their evil plan"

"Wait, was the mannequin dressed with Takayama-kun's clothes or something? That way she could think it was him!" Mitsuishi realized, but much to his disappointment Mitsuhiko shook his head.

"I don't think so. I bet it was dressed with a tuxedo. Yurie found a tuxedo identical to the one Takayama-kun was wearing. If the victim and the mannequin were side to side together I'm sure she'd see them as identical!"

"How tall was that mannequin?" Yurie asked.

"I think it's like a feet shorter than Takayama-kun, but I doubt Romi-san would notice it. Anything to say, Romi-san?"

"Uuuuh..." Romi was really hesitant about talking "Okay, I'll admit that...I did get involved in something last night"

"Did you kill Takayama-kun?"

"I thought I had, but...now I'm not sure. Heck, I didn't even know until this morning it was Takayama-kun! I just attacked the person in the black clothes"

"Why don't you say what you, um, saw" Hosoya encouraged, focusing on what she was going to say.

Nonstop Debate

Toolbox / Rubber Containers / Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet / Hat Stand / Missing Medicine

ROMI: I don't know when I was gassed.

ROMI: All I know is that I awoke woozy on a chair

ROMI: I was in the Electronics Workshop

SUGITA: The culprit used Takayama-kun's ID to enter there

ROMI: I was tied to the chair with a rope

ROMI: The person I saw was moving around

ROMI: It had a colorful thing where the head would be located

KOBAYASHI: It must have been the hat

ROMI: The rope wasn't well tied so I managed to break free

ROMI: The person got scared and dropped a knife...

ROMI: And I was so mad...

ROMI: I took the knife and chased the person

ROMI: I didn't see them run but I heard a noise in the Theater Workshop

ROMI: When I entered...the person!

ROMI: Just standing there!

ROMI: I grabbed them and...used the knife on the neck...

ROMI: All that blood...everything was full of blood!

MIMORI: No wonder she didn't want to say anything

MIMORI: That made her think she was the culprit

ROMI: But what about the blood? A mannequin doesn't bleed!

"A mannequin doesn't bleed unless it's made it to bleed, you know" Mitsuhiko said cryptically.

"I saw the mannequin, Mitsu-chan. It's just plastic and cloth, no liquids at all" Yurie said, but the hunter didn't let that break his reasoning.

"It's true; the mannequin didn't have any blood. You yourself saw the explanation for the blood, Yurie. Did you pick one up?"

"I took this from the crime scene..." Yurie put a piece of rubber on the table "This is what you're talking about"

"Funny, this color is similar to Takayam-kun's skin" Kishio said, picking it up and turning it around "What's this red thing?"

"It's the blood Romi-san saw, more concretely strawberry jam. The culprit filled something rubbery with jam, put it on the mannequin's neck and let Romi-san cut it with the knife. Seeing blood convinced Romi- san she was the culprit and therefore wouldn't say anything"

"So the reason the culprit made all this was to...to make Romi-san believe that. That was it?" Kishio prompted Mitsuhiko, putting back the jam container on the table.

"I suppose so. After Romi-san left I'm sure the culprit took the unconscious Takayama-kun, put on the tuxedo on him and cut his throat in the same way Romi-san had done it to the mannequin"

"That must be what happened!" Romi shouted "Only the culprit would have known how I killed the mannequin. By the way, where was Takayama-kun while I was being deceived?"

"I think Takayama-kun's unconscious body was in..."

The Electronics Workshop

The Theater Workshop

The Carpentry Workshop

The Lounge

The Electronics Workshop

"...in the Electronics Workshop, in the closet found there to be more precise. That's where his clothes and glasses were found, and since Romi-san ran away in pursuit of the culprit she wouldn't think of checking anything there"

"Continue with the tale, Romi-san. What happened after you killed the mannequin?" Mitsuishi requested. After taking a deep breath the Lyricist continued the story of what had happened the night before.

Nonstop Debate

Bloody Kitchen Knife / Broken Cabinet Lock / Towel / Koshimizu's ID / Takayama's Clothes

ROMI: After I killed Takayama-kun I was so scared...

ROMI: But I knew I had to disguise my crime

ROMI: I took the body and hid it in the cabinet

EMIKO: The culprit saw that, because that's where it was found

ROMI: I immediately went for a towel to clean up the blood

ROMI: I thought that'd make the body be found much later

KOSHIMIZU: You didn't notice anything weird about the blood, right?

ROMI: I didn't taste the blood if that's what you're insinuating

ROMI: I took the bloodied knife and washed it

ROMI: I also tried my best to wash the towel, but it was too late

ROMI: Everybody was bound to wake up soon

ROMI: So I returned to my bedroom

HIKARI: Did you see the anesthetic bottle?

ROMI: I did, but I knew it could be proof

ROMI: So I didn't touch it

ROMI: That's all I have to say

"There's something that doesn't fit here" Mitsuhiko said "Are you sure you washed the knife?"

"I'm sure I did, as well as the towel" Romi replied. Her expression showed she really was completely sure about that.

"But I was told you found a bloody knife in Camp Lily" the hunter pointed. Romi stopped talking for a moment, thinking about finding that knife.

"It's true, I did. In that moment I wasn't thinking right, I was going to wash it but I got caught with it. Luckily it was after Takayama-kun was found so I was able to pretend I had found evidence. But why was the knife dirty again?"

"Because it isn't the same one you washed" Mitsuhiko replied "Mitsuishi-kun found a wet knife in the kitchen, surely the one you had. The bloody knife you found was left by the culprit"

"So two different knifes were used last night?" Sasuga inquired.

"I suppose that's right. Nobody would distinguish what knife killed Takayama-kun, the wound doesn't tell us anything"

"The culprit thought of everything" Mitsuishi mused "The duplicate clothes, the places, Romi-san's blindness...everything was carefully planned"

"I think the only part the mole had on all this was the making of the chemicals in the bottles. Everything else was done by the culprit"

"Don't you remember anything else?" he asked to Romi. The Lyricist grimaced as if she remembered something disgusting.

"W-Well I didn't mention it because it's..." fighting the nausea she said it "Shortly before I managed to untie myself that horrible person took me head in their hands and...and kissed me in the lips. That was so humiliating..."

...eh? What did she say?

"I can't believe I fell in the culprit's trap and allowed all this to happen. How could I..." Romi had finally sat down, pretty downcast. Sugita, who was near to her, patted her back to show her support.

"It's not really your fault. You were conned into following the culprit's plan, don't blame yourself"

Wait a second... Mitsuhiko had finally realized who the culprit was and how to prove it: with the potential significance of a single piece of evidence. It didn't show the guilt of the culprit, but it was the only object linking the real culprit to the crime in the first place. And even them, it wasn't even a direct linking. "Guys, to confirm: who is still suspected?"

"You're turning out to be the prime suspect" Kobayashi said "But I think your behavior in this trial shows you're likely to be innocent. You cleared the name of two different suspects, if you were the culprit you would have left us to die"

"It's not the best proof of my innocence but I'm willing to accept it. Romi-san can't be the culprit, it doesn't fully fit"

"Koshimizu-san wouldn't have done such a mistake as leaving his ID in the victim's pocket" Mitsuishi declared.

"Those three were our best suspects and we have marked them as innocent for flimsy reasons" Kobayashi sighed "Have we missed something?"

"Let's suppose neither of us three is a viable suspect" Mitsuhiko suggested, he wanted to see if they suspected the person he thought was the culprit "Who else is innocent?"

"Hosoya-kun and I were in our cells, we can't have done it" Yurie said.

"Those were all our suspects. Let's take a look at the rest" Fukuyama said.

"Kishio-sensei, Kobayashi-kun and me found the dead body and triggered the announcement, that means we're completely cleared" Sasuga declared.

"The only way any of those three could be the culprit was of Romi-san saw the dead body, but I think it's clear she didn't" Mitsuhiko supported that, but he wasn't happy with where they were going. They were straying far from his reasoning. If it didn't turn to the direction he wanted he'd have to go straight to the point.

"So the commanders left are...Tanaka-san, Mimori-san, Sugita-san, Fukuyama-kun and Mitsuishi-kun. Nothing we found link any of them with the crime scene"

"Okay, that was enough" Mitsuhiko said forcefully, getting everybody's attention. "Guys, we're going too far. I have a new suspect and I'm almost sure it's right" Or at least I hope so, because the only other possibility would be... "I have a piece of evidence that'll link that person with what happened last night. It's this!"

Monobear File #2

Tuxedo

Colorful Hat

Hat Stand

Rubber Containers

Broken Lock

Broken Bottles

Broken Cabinet Lock

Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet

Missing Medicine

Koshimizu's ID

Entrance Records

List of Authorized Commanders

Takayama's Glasses

Takayama's Clothes

Mannequin

Rope

Toolbox

Towel

Wet Kitchen Knife

Bloody Kitchen Knife

Broken Lock

"I'm talking about the lock of my cell! The one that was broken"

"We may as well try to find out now why it didn't appear in the recording" Koshimizu suggested, but Mitsuhiko shouted 'No!'.

"There's nothing to find out! I have solved that part of the mystery. I should have guessed before...look, do you all see this?" Mitsuhiko showed the cut in his hand "I cut my hand on the wood of the door two days ago and I bled over the handle of my side of the door. I tried to clean it but I wasn't able to, but this morning I noticed the blood was gone! The handle was completely clean!"

"Ar-A-a-Are you sure of that?" Hosoya stuttered. His eyes were widening, much to Mitsuhiko's joy.

"Yes! There's only one explanation for that:"

Somebody cleaned the handle

Somebody exchanged the lock

Somebody got rid of the handle

Somebody moved me to another cell

Somebody exchanged the lock

"The lock, handle included, was changed with an identical lock and there's only one place a lock like that could be obtained: another cell!"

"Wait, the sound that was heard in the recording..." Koshimizu tried to replay it but Mitsuhiko didn't wait for that.

"It was the sound of the culprit dismantling the lock! There was this screwdriver that was used a lot. That's how the blood was gone; the culprit inadvertently moved my lock to their cell. Surely the mole destroyed the lock of the culprit's cell to get them out"

"But no recording showed that" Fukuyama pointed

"Doesn't matter! I can prove I'm right. Koshimizu-san, do you have the keys of the cells?"

"I have them right here" Koshimizu replied, holding them in the air. There was nothing differentiating them from one another "So according to you either Hosoya-kun or Oyama-san is the culprit"

"Then let's go. Come on, run!" Mitsuhiko stood up, his chair falling to the floor, and ran to the door.

"Wait a second; I haven't authorized anybody to leave!" Monober protested but nobody paid attention to him, as everybody left the Meeting Room to follow Mitsuhiko and Koshimizu. Speechless, Monobear had no more option than following them with Lily.

"You're not as much of a threat if you can't keep order" Lily commented but Monobear didn't reply. The girl wasn't sure if it had been good that the commanders hadn't even considered Monobear's presence. If the people in control of Monobear decided it was gross insubordination chances were a big punishment could await everybody, albeit not lethal. She hoped they wouldn't consider that.

Everybody had gathered in the hallway of the cells, Mitsuhiko looking at two possibilities. It ws as if he was afraid of revealing something very ugly, which was no surprise. His fianceé had possibilities of being the culprit. Finally he made his decision, pointing at the cell just to the side of his, Hosoya's. "Open it. Let's get this over with" Koshimizu obeyed, opening the door of the cell. Mitsuhiko, trying to keep his nervousness at bay, entered with the doctor and looked at the handle.

The relief he felt in that moment was indescribable.

"It was true, Romi-san. You did get conned into a murder plan created to make you think you had done it" the hunter said with great pleasure.

"There's blood on the handle and I don't see any microphones here on the door" Koshimizu had finished examining the door "That explains why the breaking of the lock wasn't recorded"

"Then the culprit is..." Kishio grabbed the culprit by the vest, stopping him from going away.

"Yes, Akira Hosoya is the culprit" the hunter declared.

Chapter Text

Kishio threw Hosoya into the center of the cell, the con artist falling on his back. Nobody took pity on him, for all they cared he may as well be hanged from the roof of the headquarters. "It was you. You killed him and drugged all of them!" Emiko said, astonished.

"N-No! I couldn't have done it; I was here in my cell all the time!" Hosoya screamed, standing up. He was surrounded by everybody glaring at him; he knew that if they could they would lynch him right in that moment.

"You broke the lock and then changed it for Hikari-kun's lock. You could get out if you did that" Romi sentenced, satisfied with that reasoning at least until she thought of another possibility "Actually, I think the mole was the one to break the lock. Hosoya-kun didn't have any blunt objects inside his cell. The mole moved the microphones too, and that's all that person did"

"Nothing hints the mole's identity, though. At least we got Hosoya-kun" Yurie looked at the accused commander with disgust.

"No, wait, how can you say that? All you have is a lock!" Hosoya protested, starting to get furious.

"The lock of your cell" Mitsuhiko added calmly, which made Hosoya turn to face him. Mitsuhiko felt absolutely no sympathy towards him, all he wanted was to crush the con artist and end the trial.

STOP ACCUSING ME

"Look, mine is not the only cell in this hallway. How do you know it isn't Oyama-san's?"

"Because the blood is in your cell, not hers"

"That's...okay, look, that's not enough! Wouldn't you have noticed something was going on? It was the fucking lock of your cell! Do you know how hard it'd be to change it without you noticing? Come on!" He's grasping at straws so much he's forgetting about the most basic details. Let me end this!

Rebuttal Showdown

Takayama's Glasses / Rope / Rubber Containers / List of Authorized Commanders / Broken Bottles

HOSOYA: Your lock wasn't destroyed in the door

HOSOYA: But dismantling it is noisy enough too!

HOSOYA: And even if it isn't you'd notice it

HOSOYA: You were just asleep!

HOSOYA: Don't you have light sleep?

MITSUHIKO: Did you forget what you planned?

MITSUHIKO: You should feel ashamed

HOSOYA: Bluffing, that's what you're doing!

HOSOYA: What did I do, then?

HOSOYA: I couldn't stop you from waking up!

HOSOYA: Especially not without...

HOSOYA: ...getting out of my cell in the first place!

"Two words" Mitsuhiko lifted his fingers "Broken bottle. As easy as that. You used the anesthetics, remember?"

"The...bottles?" Hosoya looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Of course, the bottles. If I was knocked out then you'd be able to do anything to my lock without worrying about me noticing. It's simple, isn't it?"

"But I can't have been the one who killed Takayama-kun! Why would I?"

"Your motive doesn't matter! For all you know you resented Takayama-kun for placing microphones on your door, I don't care. What matters is that you were the one to slit his throat"

Hosoya walked from one side to another of the cell, looking as if he were about to have a breakdown. They weren't going to return to the Meeting Room to finish the trial; they were going to end and vote right there. Mitsuhiko, knowing Hosoya was practically cornered, relaxed against the wall.

"But it's just a lock! You can't think I killed him just for that, right?"

"We'll need to hang onto anything we can...or risk death" Sugita sentenced "Romi-san, Koshimizu-kun and Hikari-kun were proven potentially innocent already, and Oyama-san couldn't have escaped her cell. You're the only option left who has been linked in some way to the murder"

"It could have been anybody else! There are five commanders left, why not any of them?"

"Nobody else has been proven to have anything to do with the crime. It's over" Koshimizu replied, cleaning the dry blood from the lock but the stains continued to exist, "I have no idea how you missed the blood. It isn't exactly subtle"

"I don't think it's there because he had missed it. He had already torn off the lock from my cell and Oyama-san wasn't gassed at any point. He couldn't take her lock and as you can see now it's hard to clean it if you don't have any water or something" Mitsuhiko pointed "Now let's end this, okay?"

Climax Inference

First you must understand there were two people involved in this murder: the culprit and an accomplice, who is somebody working for Monobear. They somehow made contact despite the culprit being locked in a cell and started their plan to commit murder.

The mole made the necessary preparations for the crime. First they took off the microphones from the culprit's cell's door, leaving it unwatched by Takayama. Then the accomplice, using the benefits of working with Monobear, got a gun and shot the Infirmary cabinet, stealing sleeping piles that would serve as an important point of the plan. These pills were processed in a third floor laboratory and used to fill four bottles.

One of those was for Mitsuhiko, so the culprit could steal the lock of his cell. One was for Koshimizu, so the culprit could steal his ID. One was for Takayama, who would be the victim. And finally, one was for Romi, who would serve as the scapegoat for the crime. After everybody was gassed the accomplice went to the culprit's cell and forcibly destroyed the lock, leaving him free.

It's possible the culprit and the mole carried Takayama's unconscious body together, and used the victim's ID to enter the Electronics Workshop, hiding him into the cupboard. The culprit also changed his clothes, wearing one of the tuxedos from the Theater Workshop as well as a hat.

The mole and the culprit then carried Romi to the Electronics Workshop, placing her on a chair and tying her loosely with a rope, making sure she'd be able to escape easily. Afterwards everything done was done by the culprit without anybody else's help.

Romi awoke thanks to the comparative minor amount of anesthetic she received and started to struggle, also receiving a kiss from the culprit, perhaps in an effort to enrage her. It worked and Romi set herself free. Feigning surprise the culprit let a knife fall onto the floor and in the time she took to pick up the knife he hid somewhere and attracted her to the Theater Workshop, possibly using the hat stand to create a noise in there.

Romi fell in the trap and went into the Theater Workshop where she saw the mannequin dressed with a tuxedo identical to the one the culprit used, and furious she did what the culprit had planned: she "killed" the mannequin. It's possible he had covered the mannequin's plastic with rubber capsules filled with jam, done to simulate blood. Once that was done she ran away, returned with a towel and cleaned hurriedly, stuffing the theater cabinet with the mannequin, leaving the place ready for the culprit to work after she ran away.

The culprit waited until she was gone and changed Takayama's clothes, putting the tuxedo on him, and once that was done...he used another knife and killed Takayama in the exact way Romi had done and hid him in the same place.

The crime was finished. The only thing that was left was leaving the bloody knife somewhere and change the broken lock, swapping it with the one from the cell prisoner that had been gassed, and that was when the crucial mistake was done. Doing that the culprit linked himself to the murder plot and brought his own doom.

The accomplice's identity is unknown but that doesn't matter as long as we know who the culprit is, and that is you! Akira Hosoya, you're the author of this complicated plan!

Hosoya was practically about to faint. Of all things he thought would happen he never really considered he could be caught. "Please...you can't let me die...I don't want to die..."

"You killed Takayama-kun and were going to leave the rest of us to be killed. Do you think anybody here is going to forgive your life?" Sasuga spat, making Hosoya cringe as if he had been slapped.

"It was a moment of panic! I didn't think..."

"A moment of panic?! This was a premeditated murder! Planned to the smallest detail! You'll be executed and I plan to enjoy it" Mitsuishi shouted, barely restraining himself from launching himself onto Hosoya.

"Enough of this idiocy. Monobear! We're going to vote now!" Fukuyama called to the bear, who was outside in the hall, grumbling to himself.

"It should be done in the Meeting Room"

"Does it really matter? It isn't like you have voting machines installed on the table or anything like that. We could vote in the courtyard shed for all we cared" Koshimizu commented, putting Monobear in even worse mood.

"Whatever. Vote now, then. One by one name the culprit"

As expected the votes were unanimous except for one. Hosoya was voted as the culprit by virtually everybody except himself. Hosoya, seeing it was hopeless to try to argue, practically let himself fall onto the floor on his knees. His plan had been destroyed even after the risk of having cooperated with Monobear.

Monobear wasn't exactly jumping around in joy. In half an hour everybody showed blatant disrespect towards him so he wasn't in mood to be dramatic and overbearingly cheerful. "You got it right, Hosoya-kun is the culprit, upupupu, etcetera. Everybody to the Meeting Room! Now!"

"Can't we go away? The trial is over" Mimori requested, but the sudden appearance of Monobear's claws was all the answer she needed "Alright, let's get going to the Meeting Room"

"It's to watch the execution, I suppose. That's where the screen is" Mitsuhiko commented, following them. Behind him everybody else walked as a group, some of them holding Hosoya to interrogate him.

"Okay, you got caught. Say who is the mole"

"Why should I? You lot voted for me, I shouldn't say anything"

"Did you ever think Monobear would let you not have to die if you got caught?" Emiko asked slowly, as if she were saying a very complicated concept. Hosoya rolled his eyes, more resigned than anything else.

"Of course not, I may be a bit dim but I'm not that dim"

"How did you contact the mole? The microphones didn't record anything" Mimori inquired, taking the role of interrogator. At least her journalism training would allow her to pinpoint important questions to interpret later.

"I had a pen with me, it was just matter of writing it somewhere and throwing it through the slot of the door when Monobear was near. That was enough"

"So you didn't ever see the mole?" Romi asked.

"I did! I'm not giving you a description, if that's what you're asking" Hosoya replied defiantly. Unfortunately for him that kind of answer wasn't what Mimori was looking for. Taking him into a headlock she exerted pressure on his neck, making sure she didn't break her neck and end being guilty for his death. Choking, Hosoya raised his hands, trying to get out. "Okay, okay! I'm telling!" he managed to say before Mimori loosened the headlock enough for him to breath comfortably.

"We're listening. Who is the mole?" the journalist asked, ready to attack again if he was uncooperative. Hosoya swallowed nervously.

"I don't know. Wait wait!" he screeched when Mimori started tightening the headlock again "I really don't know! He had a mask! I couldn't see his face!"

"What kind of mask?" Sasuga asked from the rear, having heard that.

"A Monobear mask. I never saw his face, not even his hair" Hosoya described. Everybody turned to look at Fukuyama, the only person in the building they had seen with a mask like that.

"Hey, it isn't me! These masks are mass-produced you know!"

"I think that what he said makes Fukuyama be innocent" Romi said "Otherwise he would have known it was Fukuyama-kun"

"I only knew the mole was male because of the voice. It could even have been a woman" Hosoya added.

"Hosoya-kun, I order you to not to say a word more" Monobear interrupted the questions. If he weren't a being made a plush and metal it was likely everybody would see veins pulsing on his forehead. Hosoya nodded meekly, not having anything else to say.

Everybody arrived at the entrance of the Meeting Room, Lily leading the way. "Get in, bastards, and don't dare to step out for the next minutes. Otherwise Hosoya-kun won't be the only one executed today," he practically growled, grabbing Hosoya's wrist. The con artist stayed perfectly still, afraid the bear would snap and disembowel him right in front of everyone.

Once everybody was in their place Monobear closed the door from the outside. There was nothing left to do other than waiting for the transmission of the execution, and when the screen started to appear Mitsuhiko braced himself for the ugly spectacle.

The Ol' Switcheroo

Hosoya was standing against the wall, shackled to the wall by one large chain crossing his body. He was trying to pry it away from his body, but it was useless. When the camera panned around everybody recognized where he was: it was the Camp Lily hallway and he was shackled on the far point, the one towards the Lounge.

On the other side there was a sudden sound, a truck horn. Rounding the corner from the path to the Basement a small truck appeared with Monobear at the wheel. Making the horn sound several times the bear aligned the front of the truck with Hosoya, aiming. The con artist, knowing what was likely to happen, started struggling harder.

The tires screeched and the truck started going forward. The hall was relatively long so it was possible for the truck to gain speed, and soon it was being driven at a considerable speed towards Hosoya, who seemed to lose all energy when the truck got near. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the headlights of the truck approaching.

Impact happened.

The truck collided to Hosoya with a comical BOING noise, revealing it was no more than an inflated husk made of rubber, somehow having a motor and wheels. Hosoya stared for a moment and laughed nervously, pushing the truck away easily. Monobear at the wheel wasn't frustrated, though. Instead he raised his paw and showed he had a control with only one button. "Psyche!" he hollered before pressing the button.

Three spikes emerged from the wall, piercing Hosoya in the back and skewering him through the chest. The con artist gasped for breath, spitting blood, not fully believing what had happened. The shock didn't last more than a few seconds; he lowered his head and didn't move anymore.

The commanders watched the transmission in disbelief. What the hell had happened? Did Monobear drive an inflatable truck through Camp Lily? Hosoya was killed by spikes that nobody had idea even existed?

"But there wasn't any noise from the truck…" Mitsuhiko noted, trying to think the right words to say.

"Camp Lily isn't directly over our heads, it's natural we didn't hear anything. The ceiling wouldn't even vibrate" Sasuga pointed, standing up.

"And it was a fake truck, that wouldn't make a ruckus" Mimori added, imitating Sasuga. Slowly the commanders got ready to get out, but before they got out of the door they were stopped by the Hacking Demon.

"Wait a moment. Koshimizu-san, are we free? Mitsu-chan and I…are we free?"

Realizing what she meant everybody paid attention to Koshimizu who seemed thoughtful. The hunter, having forgotten he was still a prisoner, held his breath and waited for the verdict.

The Medical Demon said it. "You're free. Compared to Hosoya-kun you two are saints. As long as you don't attempt to kill anybody you won't be thrown into the cells again"

"About time!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, feeling happy "I never realized how horrible being bored was!"

"Let that be a lesson to you. Don't shoot anybody, okay?" And Koshimizu took out the gun from his pocket. Mitsuhiko took the Twin M9 Beretta, a bit more confident now that he had a gun. Sasuga approached and gave him the gun he had at the beginning, improving Mitsuhiko's mood even more.

"I won't. I don't have any interest on getting into the Main Board" the hunter informed, which got positive reactions except from one person. Yurie seemed pretty annoyed, and getting close to Mitsuhiko she whispered:

"Meet me tomorrow morning. We need to talk"

That doesn't sound any good But he didn't say no, so the meeting was settled.

Everybody left the Meeting Room, talking about what they should do now. "I want to examine the wall where Hosoya-kun died" Kishio said, eliciting disgust noises from some.

"Monobear hasn't even got time to clean the blood! That's nasty" Mitsuhiko said, profoundly grossed out. He wasn't a stranger to blood but he didn't want to see the scene of such a gruesome death.

"Is the hunter squeamish about blood? I would have never thought it!" Mimori said mockingly but Mitsuhiko didn't react to it.

"I'm going straight to my bedroom. There's nothing else I want to do other than sleeping in a place comfier than the floor. Well, that and using a toilet again. I had never realized how I had taken a toilet as a given"

"Wasn't the bedpan enough?" Koshimizu inquired with a serious tone.

"No it wasn't, you asshole" the hunter muttered and went to his bedroom, waving at everybody without looking back. He went to his bedroom, not wanting to get out of there for a while. It was good to be free but in his opinion after two horrible days resting was more important.

Finally a good time to rest.

-ooooo-

"Useless"

"Easily deceived"

"Stupid"

"Ineffective"

"The worst accomplice we could have found"

The Main Board wasn't exactly happy. They had seen a great chance with Hosoya. The guy was locked in a cell, how would anybody suspect him? But somehow the commanders had managed to catch him and neither Accomplice did anything to stop it.

But they blamed the First Accomplice more. After all they were the one who collaborated with Hosoya, they should have made an effort to stop the trial from ending like that. "Hosoya-kun would have been a perfect replacement for Volkos. If it hadn't been for that lock..." Valkyrie put her head against the table, her newly dyed hair spreading all around her. She had gotten her hands onto a strawberry blond tone that, although not the exact color she had been looking for, was good enough.

The Enoshima in her head had judged it that way.

"They're not useful anymore, we should convince them to take a bigger step. Agreed?" Wolfenmaus suggested.

"Only the First one. The Second at least has potential to be useful"

In that moment the two Accomplices entered the room. It was time for their reunion, and just as usual this wasn't going to be fun times. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what went wrong!" the First Accomplice apologized immediately, bowing until they almost touched the floor.

"I wish there was a spear trap installed in here. We should give that a try!" Valkyrie commented but was ignored by the others.

"Don't worry, you'll get another chance! You failed miserably in trying to be a help for the culprit, but there's a chance for you to fix that. Take the chance, don't think it twice!" Vieiras said haughtily with an expression normally never seen in their face.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" the First Accomplice straightened, their face very grateful for the second chance. The Second Accomplice wasn't exactly happy, though. They blinked a couple times, processing everything and asked:

"There a catch, isn't there?"

"A catch? Why would we hide a catch in our merciful proposal?" Valkyrie said almost sardonically, grinning.

"I can see that little voice in your head is starting to finally overtake everything in you and if the rumors are right...Enoshima wasn't exactly somebody who did something without benefiting herself in some way. So what's the catch?"

The three members of the Main Board laughed, they had been busted! "How smart of you! It's not a catch; it's just a change of method" Wolfenmaus grabbed the First Accomplice's arm, pulling them towards him "Listen, you won't be a mere help for the culprit now. There's a change of plans"

"A change of plans, got it. What is it?" the First Accomplice didn't notice the strange smiles their bosses had. Valkyrie, spreading her arms wide, made the proclamation they had waited to do for quite a while already:

"Now you won't be a mere accomplice. We want you to be the next culprit!"

-ooooo-

At some point Mitsuhiko awoke, feeling hungry. After picking up dinner he returned to his bedroom. He wasn't feeling tired for now, but he wasn't in mood either of being with people, especially with Yurie. Apparently his statement about not wanting to kill anybody hadn't striked her well.

The situation he was in was...not good, to say the least. In times like this he couldn't avoid looking into the past and remembering how he had gotten in this point of his life where he was in mortal danger of being killed or executed.

If I had lived different I wouldn't be here. The fact I know where I exactly went wrong...makes it worse, right?

Mitsuhiko once again tuckered himself into his sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling. Just like it had happened after the first trial he remembered the name he used to have, Hikaru Mitsuhide. But now he was remembering more than that.

...his time in Hope's Peak.

Chapter Text

Hikaru Mitsuhide aimed with the shotgun at the target displayed at the other side of the room. He had a lot of cables and sensors wrapped around his head, measuring everything that could happen in his head, but that wasn't enough for the Hope's Peak scientists. They also had tied a blindfold over one of his eyes and instructed him to shoot with a specific weapon at a round target on the other side of the room, a dozen feet away. Hikaru had tried to tell them that a shotgun wasn't the best gun to use for such a distance but they had insisted it was necessary to use it.

And so he did. All targets were destroyed without fail. The ammo shot hit each target without anybody in the room even flinching. The results were impressive, just as expected from the Super High School Level Hunter. Having finished, Hikaru practically threw the shotgun on a table, fed up with the scientists' work on him. "Are we done? I'm almost falling asleep here"

"We're done, Mitsuhide-san" one of the scientists respectfully said, taking a series of data from a nearby computer "You may leave. Please return in two days for a new series of tests"

Resigned, Hikaru nodded and hurriedly left the testing room. Hope's Peak was known for being the school where the best of the best studied, but all students could sense there was something else going on behind scenes. Nobody knew for sure what it was; the number of students who knew could be counted in one hand. But Hikaru couldn't care less about what was going on, all he wanted was to go away from Hope's Peak and its scientists. He had no idea why all that data was needed and he was sure he didn't want to ever know.

"I need a breather" Hikaru murmured to nobody in particular, looking at the clock. It was almost 11:00 PM, way too late to go outside, or at least it'd be too late if he went through the front door. His class had found a way to get out of the school grounds without anybody finding out and he had been using it intermittently every once in a while, when everything in Hope's Peak got overwhelming.

Unfortunately the boxes that were usually found near the point of the fence were located further away than expected, in an area where somebody could notice what was going on. Feeling frustrated from seeing his escape route interrupted. When he was about to stomp away to his bedroom he heard steps. The hunter hid behind a corner, trying to see who was coming. Once he saw who it was he let out a sigh of relief. "Ogata-san! Over here!"

It was Akane Ogata, one of his classmates. She was the Super High School Level Chemist, but despite being in the same class they didn't really mingle very much. From what he had heard Ogata thought he was crass and an unlikable person and he didn't have many kind things to say about her either. However right now he was happy to see her. She apparently was coming from one of the testing rooms as well.

The chemist turned her head to where Hikaru was, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Mitsuhide-kun? What are you doing there?"

"I feel fucking stressed, that's what's going on. Some idiot moved the boxes and I want to get out. Could you please stand here and give me a hand?" The idea was to use Ogata as a boost to reach the top of the fence, that was a simple plan that could work. Ogata wasn't enthused, though.

"You shouldn't get out so late"

"If I need your opinion I'll fucking ask for it, okay?" he spat and realized that being confrontational with the person you wanted to help you wasn't a good idea. Raising his hands trying to calm himself down he breathed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry. It's that I'm stressed, the tests today were a nightmare"

Ogata, who until that point seemed pretty distrustful of him, relaxed visibly. "I know what you mean. Those guys have been busy lately and I can't even guess what they're doing!"

"I had to compare animal tracks and droppings for four hours! It was piece of cake, I'm great at tracking, but looking at animal shit for hours isn't my idea of a nice afternoon. And after that..."

"Sounds annoying" Ogata allowed herself to smile "Okay, I'll help you. You owe me a favor, okay?"

Hikaru was grateful for Ogata's cooperation "Thank you so much. I owe you one"

"We all need a rest every once in a while. Pay me by not getting caught or we'll both be in serious trouble" Ogata stood to the side of the point of the fence where they normally escaped through and prepared her hands to help Hikaru pass over it. The hunter, using the agility developed in his hunting expeditions, grabbed the top of the fence and passed with ease.

"Return to your bedroom! I can enter back by myself" Entering the terrains of the school was much easier than getting out. Ogata didn't reply, she went away before Hikaru said that. After stretching and getting used to the cold air he walked to the sidewalk. There was one place he often went when he escaped like this.

Hope's Peak wasn't a prison. The students were allowed to get out at any time, and the reason why there were bedrooms was mostly so the scientists had easy access to their test subjects. When there were no tests or studies scheduled the students had the option to spend some days in their homes, and this kind of decisions was always done following friendships among classmates. Hikaru liked Hope's Peak more than home, so he spent most of his days in there.

But just like any other place there was a time when going out wasn't allowed anymore without authorization, usually after sunset. And when Hikaru escaped the school after the closing of the gates he tended to go to one place.

Kimiko Sugita's home wasn't far from Hope's Peak. Hikaru knew it was late in the night and the chances of she being awake were low but that didn't stop him. Much to his relief the window of Sugita's bedroom were on, she was still awake! The hunter went to the window and knocked, he couldn't see the inside of the room due to the curtains. Sugita valued her privacy and this secret knock was something they agreed. Sugita opened the window and allowed him in, as if he were her boyfriend sneaking for a visit late at night.

Sugita and Hikaru were childhood friends but although Hikaru admitted Sugita was a very attractive girl he wasn't really interested in her. "I was afraid you'd be asleep by now" Hikaru said, letting himself fall on her bed while she returned to her desk.

"Delacroix continues bombarding us with homework. You wouldn't believe everything I have to do for the next week" Sugita replied. Delacroix School for the Gifted and the Talented, despite their tacky name, was actually a very good school. Not as famous as Hope's Peak, but was regarded well by its quality teaching.

"I'd prefer piles of homework than what we do in Hope's Peak. Sometimes I regret being so good at hunting"

"Don't be like that!" Sugita left a notebook aside, having finished an essay "We both have talents and we must take advantage of them. Let's not reject our privileges!"

"It'd all be easier if you were in Hope's Peak with me. Many of my classmates are a pain on the ass"

"They can't be that bad. Besides Hope's Peak already said I'm not good enough for them and my parents don't have enough money for me to be in the Reserve Classes"

"You may be lucky they didn't take you in. Seriously..."

"Why don't you transfer into Delacroix?" Sugita asked, turning around. Hikaru sat, thoughtful.

"My parents insist I should finish my school days in Hope's Peak, but it's three years! I don't know if I can resist it"

"Maybe it's worth it, I don't know. No idea if people would be impressed with a SHSL Hunter" Sugita shrugged, she had commented in the past her talent was pretty niche, just like Hikari's. There wasn't that much of a need for tea ceremonies in the modern world.

"Once I graduate I'm getting out of this city, I promise that" Hikaru declared. Sugita nodded, a bit distracted by her own homework.

"You should relax a bit. Hang out with me! My friends and I are going to a picnic in a few days. Join us! I'll bring my special tea set"

"Your friends are okay, I suppose, but I get tired of them after a while"

"There's a new girl in the school, she transferred there a few days ago. This is like a welcome party for her"

"Really?" Hikaru felt his interest piqued. Maybe he needed to widen his social circle.

"Yes, she's a hacker, that's what I have heard! Her name is Yurie Oyama and she's of our age. She reminds me of you in some ways" Sugita smiled slyly, Hikaru soon following her mood.

"Is that an insult for her?"

They laughed happily, planning the meeting in the picnic. He took part of it and met Yurie. Just like Sugita had said, she was similar to him in terms of personality, blunt and direct. And because she was blunt and direct something was clear during that day:

Yurie was attracted to him.

Since that day Yurie turned into a confidant to him. The three of them reunited several times, but after a while Yurie expressed jealousy about Sugita wanting to couple with Hikaru. Despite his reassurances it wouldn't happen soon Yurie and Sugita distanced each other until Hikaru only reunited with one of them at the time.

Hikaru told her everything. He told her about the scientists' work on him, their experiments and tests. He told her about his classmates. He told her about the small amount of homework he received. Yurie also trusted Hikaru with a lot of things. She expressed her frustration at the lack of recognition she had when she said she was from Delacroix. She hatefully talked about her classmates. She expressed several times she wanted to run away from the city but was also determined to graduate.

Overall they shared their thoughts and formed a friendship that, ten months later, turned into a romantic relationship. That time also was a rough time between Hikaru and his parents, and he told her that. He said he hated them and wanted nothing else than getting away of them. "Dealing with Hope's Peak and with them at the same time is a nightmare. Why does this happen to me?" he used to shout to nobody in particular when they reunited.

A week after such declarations Hikaru's parents were found dead, a bladed weapon having skewered their chests. Their murderer was never found, although at some point an agent revealed that they suspected the crime weapon had been a katana.

Hikaru was the main suspect for quite a while. After all he's a hunter and had access to lots of weapons, both guns and blades. It took a lot of time for the police to accept he was innocent, and indeed he was!

He had fallen into the reckless behavior of proclaiming he hated his parents when he was angry. He didn't really hate them. He actually loved them, but despite that he kept his emotions in check, not showing any grief. Maybe that's part of what made the police suspect him, he never knew for sure.

Sugita's family was kind enough to see that Hikaru was innocent and were compassionate enough to offer him a home. Sugita spend a long time with him for weeks while everything was set up. Hikaru was very grateful with Sugita's parents for welcoming him into home, but he never really accepted them as new parents. They were just his hosts and therefore had no control over him.

He also met with Yurie quite often. The hacker expressed her condolences although she had never really known his parents. "But who did it? Nobody I know could have...done this..." Hikaru said, astonished. He was with Yurie in her home, still grieving, but he still didn't cry. The most he did was trembling and gritting his teeth in despair, but he didn't break down.

"You never truly know people" Yurie replied "Besides people change. You could even change someday"

"Change how?" That wasn't a direction he had expected. For a moment he forgot how he felt, surprised by Yurie's words.

"You didn't kill them. I know you didn't, you wouldn't"

"Of course I wouldn't! I don't have the guts to kill anybody. There's a difference between animals and humans, I know that!"

Yurie nodded, taking his hand and leading him to a shelf in her living room, filled with books. While she was searching for something she continued as if it wasn't something completely inadequate. "Who knows, Mitsu-chan. Maybe in the future that mindset of yours could change. In my opinion there's not that much of a stretch between killing animals and people"

"I won't kill anybody in my entire life!" Hikaru declared but Yurie merely nodded, taking a thick book from the shelf.

"Whatever you say. Did you say the police said it could have been a katana?" While Hikaru nodded Yurie opened the book, taking out a newspaper clipping out and passing it to Hikaru. "It reminds me of this"

The clipping was from five years ago. Hikaru remembered some details of the murder case detailed there, after all it had been something that had been heavily broadcasted along the whole country due to the circumstances and the accused person. The murder had happened in Kyoto and the crime weapon had been a katana.

The person who was accused of having murdered the victim was a French woman of surname Delacroix. "Delacroix? Like the school?"

"Exactly like the school" Yurie said "The principal of my school is named Delacroix, just like this woman. I have good reasons to believe they're family in some way"

"This murder...it's like how my parents died. Do you think this Delacroix bitch killed them?"

"I don't think she did. I know she did" Yurie said. Hikaru almost let the clipping fall to the floor, shocked.

"What the...what do you mean?"

"I know this woman was in the city when your parents were killed, and I know that because...because I'm in contact with her. She's a friend of mine"

Hikari left the clipping aside and stepped aside, as if Yurie were somebody he was afraid of. "Yurie, tell me you didn't have anything to do with my parents' murder. You didn't do anything, right? Tell me!"

"I didn't. Mitsu-chan, I had no reason at all to kill them. Why the heck would I? I care about you, Mitsu-chan, I wouldn't hurt you like this!"

Hikaru wanted nothing more than believing her. She was his girlfriend, the person he loved; she wouldn't do something like conspiring in the death of his parents, right? Yurie sensed his doubts and grabbed him by the shoulders, and with a voice that sounded sincere and calming to Hikaru she spoke: "You're the most important person to me, Mitsu-chan. I wouldn't dream of hurting you. I want the best for you and never forget that.

I'll always protect you, no matter what happens. Never forget that".

-ooooo-

Funny how one's thoughts could jump around like that, going from Hope's Peak to a conversation about Delacroix. Veritas was actually Principal Delacroix, right? Mitsuhiko finally fell asleep shortly after reminiscing Yurie's words. He felt oddly comforted by them; he knew he could trust Yurie and that nothing would happen as long as they were together. They were a couple that was going to be married, having the upmost trust with each other. The hunter had believed Yurie that she had nothing to do with the death of his family. Calmed down knowing he had somebody to trust, he let himself drift into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

The feeling of awakening in the sleeping bag after having been forced to sleep on the floor for two nights was...amazingly cathartic. Mitsuhiko awoke feeling emotionless, so to speak. His mind was blank, he felt nothing specific and there was nothing to be felt for the moment.

But of course he couldn't stay the whole day in there. He had to get out and meet Yurie at some point during the morning. The hunter got out of his bedroom, finally starting to feel the dread of once another day in the headquarters. If everything went like the last week then there'd be a dead body in two or three days. Today was...a day to rest. It should be.

Was it bad he had no hopes of everybody being good and not killing each other?

When he arrived to the cafeteria he looked around. There weren't many changes except one: a lot of people were gathered around Mitsuishi, being very friendly with him. From what he could hear he was congratulated from stopping everybody of voting for Romi. Mitsuishi seemed like he was really enjoying the attention. It was quite a contrast from the way he had been treated before. "Hello everybody" Mitsuhiko greeted, going straight to get his breakfast.

"Did you sleep well, Hikari-kun?" Sugita brought his breakfast personally. Apparently she had forgiven him for his proposal from before the first victim happened. Maybe it was because of his declaration from the day before.

"It was a great night. I never thought I'd miss that sleeping bag. It'd have been better if it had been a bed, though"

"Koshimizu-san has the only beds. Apparently from now on he's going to sleep in the Infirmary to prevent anybody from taking any medicines for nefarious uses" Yurie said, looking at the Medical Demon.

"Good for him. Kimiko, this breakfast is better than normal!" Mitsuhiko complimened, tasting the scrambled eggs she had passed him. Smiling brightly, Sugita covered her face with her hands, bashful.

"Th-Thank you, Hikaru-kun"

"You seem also very happy today" He didn't feel like reminding her to not to call him that. He didn't want to lose the newly recovered friendship.

"It's not happiness, it's...nervousness. I'm so nervous! I'm going to be an announcement in a few minutes. I was going to say it yesterday but the murder happened and well..."

"An announcement?" It wasn't like Sugita was going to say something sinister, right? After all there was no way she could be involved with Monobear's controllers or with Lily's masters. The Tea Demon ran to the front and sat with the rest. Mitsuhiko ate his breakfast wondering what was up with her, and after ten minutes the time arrived.

Everybody looked at the front of the cafeteria, where Sugita and Sasuga had reunited facing the rest. "Excuse me everybody, we want to make an announcement" Sasuga vociferated, getting everybody's attention. Although he sounded firm everybody could feel a hint of anxiousness.

"You two? What is it?" Kishio leaned forward, trying to listen better to whatever they were going to say. Sasuga and Sugita approached each other and took their hands together, holding them towards everybody.

"We're announcing our engagement here and now. That's all"

Mitsuhiko left the cutlery aside, processing what he had heard. Where the heck had that come from? It was so sudden, he didn't even know Sasuga and Sugita were even friends, much less a couple. Besides he didn't know many things of Sasuga the person, most of what he knew was of Sasuga the commander. He did feel happy to hear Sugita had somebody special now, but...just where did this come from?

Nobody except Yurie seemed to share his surprise. Everybody else present clapped with varying levels of warmness while the newly engaged couple bowed slightly. "Congratulations! You two will be a great couple, I know it" Emiko said, smiling widely.

"This is not the best place to do this, but it isn't like there's any other option" Sugita said.

"What's going on here? When did these two get so cozy together?" Mitsuhiko whispered to Mimori, who was the closest to him. The journalist looked at him with contempt before realizing it.

"Right, you weren't around. Sasuga-kun and Sugita-san has been spending a lot of time together, one would have been an idiot to not to see something was going on. But yes, these days they were obvious lovebirds"

"But before I was locked nothing like that was happening"

"I did see something was sparking between them!" Mimori bragged "Later I interrogated them and found out they had been dating in secret to DeeEy for a year or so. I can't blame them for keeping it a secret"

Mitsuhiko nodded, so it wasn't really something that came out of the blue. It was instead something he hadn't noticed. Somehow that made him feel worse, was he getting distanced from his childhood friend? Not long after that another two crashed the reunion.

"Heartwarming, absolutely heartwarming! Will you invite me to the honeymoon?" Monobear drawled from the entrance of the cafeteria, entering and walking towards the new couple. Lily came behind him, rolling his eyes. Mitsuhiko in that moment also noticed Monobear and Lily were behaving stranger than before. They weren't fighting to the death anymore, somehow they were...friendlier to a fault. It was something that had happened during the trial too, sharing the same spaces. Did something happen between the controllers of those two while he was locked away?

Those two aren ' t going to turn out to be AIs, be another couple and bring freak robot cub-babies to the world, right?

"What do you want?" Koshimizu asked coldly, Kishio staying behind. Why wasn't she the one confronting Monobear, wasn't she the leader? Just how much had happened in two days?!

"I'm here to bring the lovebirds back to earth! Here's the gift of reality, have you forgotten where we are? This is a game of mutual killing! Now that you brought your relationship to everybody you have raised a huge death flag"

"I wanted to announce it because...I'd have been devastated if any of us died before being engaged. We couldn't continue pushing our luck" Sugita said carefully, trying to see Monobear's reaction.

"Now that we said it it'd be great if the next culprits don't target us two, thank you very much" Sasuga said lightly.

"That's not the way to talk! Nobody should die anymore. There's no more sense on more deaths anymore" Lily chastised, crossing her arms. The word usage got Mitsuhiko's attention, something seemed wrong about it. Anymore, eh?

Monobear shrugged, defiant of the thickheaded denial the newly-engaged pair seemed to have. "You know what would be great? If I made a motive that involved one of you two. That would be the best motive possible right now"

"You wouldn't dare..." Sasuga had lost his good mood, narrowing his eyes.

"Upupupu...I would...if it weren't because I know I don't need to. There'll be a death, I know there will be. It's just matter of time"

"Holy..." Kishio stood up, going straight to Monobear "What are you scheming now?"

"Me? I'm not scheming anything. I'm pure and innocent. If there's somebody scheming something it'll be the next culprit"

"Do you think anybody will try to kill?" Mitsuishi whispered to Mimori, who sighed deeply and nodded. Mitsuhiko realized that despite the carefree atmosphere he had found during the breakfast the truth was that there were very few commanders believing nothing would happen now.

Most of them, Mitsuhiko included, were waiting and praying they weren't the next victim. For a moment Mitsuhiko wondered if this meant they were doomed to all die, since they weren't really attempting to stop the murders. We either escape before our numbers are trimmed down too much or we're royally fucked.

Monobear continued taunting Sasuga and Sugita until it was clear nobody was in good mood anymore. Satisfied with his work, the bear finally left the cafeteria, Lily following him after giving an apologetic look to everybody else. Once they were out of the way the commanders slowly started to leave the cafeteria to do what they needed to do. Mitsuhiko reached Sugita before she left, stopping her. "Kimiko, is there something going on between Monobear and Lily?" he asked, wanting a straight answer. Sugita smiled sadly.

"Going on as in what?"

"They aren't fighting, they tolerate each other's presence...did I miss something?"

"Oh, that. I'm not completely sure but I heard Lily has been tasked for now to watch over Monobear and follow his movements. Apparently the people who control Lily are trying to see if the bear can lead them to the Main Board's imprisonment, but nothing has happened yet.

"Ah" Mitsuhiko accepted that explanation. That seemed correct and would explain what was going on. It wasn't Lily getting friendly with the enemy, it was a mission. That seemed great.

-ooooo-

The meeting between Yurie and Mitsuhiko was made in the Administrative Offices. Yurie had just finished examining the contents of a computer and judged nothing useful had appeared. New areas had been revealed but no worthwhile new information sprouted from the machines now, and since all the computers had the same information than the rest, it was necessary to check only one.

"Okay, what do you need to talk about?" Mitsuhiko asked, sitting on the other side of the room. If anybody entered when they were talking he wanted nobody to know what it was, just in case it was bad for his public image. Yurie understood his precautions and spoke with a low tone, careful to not to raise any alarms.

"It's about yesterday. About not killing anybody"

"Are you sure there are no microphones here?" Mitsuhiko looked around.

"There are no microphones. After yesterday's trial Monobear removed them all, it's unlikely we'll ever hear of them again" Takayama's last traces of his life in the Headquarters had been eliminated. He may as well have never existed.

"Right. Okay, what is it?"

"We failed in killing Kobayashi-kun. Are we going to try to kill him again or will we change targets?"

Mitsuhiko shook his head "I meant it, I'm not going to kill anybody"

"But why? What about getting into the Main Board?" Yurie seemed sincerely surprised to hear Mitsuhiko's firm statement about not taking a life to reach the objective. The hunter looked around, making sure there were no microphones, and replied.

"There won't be any Main Board if they're not saved. Have you heard about Monobear's video?"

"I know very well what was in that video and I honestly couldn't care less. What I want is for one or both of us to be up there! Everybody else can go to hell, for all I care"

"Excuse me for having common sense, then!" Mitsuhiko's voice was louder for a moment "They're the ones who offer the prize; if they're not there it can't be given to anybody"

"It's better if they never return. We'll both be part of the Main Board that way, instead of only one of us. But seriously, Mitsu-chan, who can we kill?"

"Nobody. I'm serious, I'm not killing anybody"

"Bullshit. Why would you change your mind?" Yurie sneered. In moments like this Mitsuhiko really hated Yurie, she was very stubborn and at times her ambition disturbed him. It was the type of moments that made him wonder if he was engaged to the right person.

"Don't you feel there's something weird going on? With Lily and the Main Board and everything else, I feel there's something dark behind scenes and I want to find out what it is"

"Can't it be done after we win?" Yurie insisted. Mitsuhiko, barely holding back his frustration, grunted in annoyance.

"No, it can't! Besides we're not exactly the most innocent people around. I bet when the next person dies we'll be suspected again. I'd rather to not to risk that"

"That's easy to fix. Don't be an idiot and nobody will suspect us. I have promised to protect you but my patience has a limit. Are we going to kill someone or not?"

Mitsuhiko didn't hesitate. "I won't. You do whatever you want, but I won't take part of a murder plan" That may have sounded harsher than he intended, judging by how Yurie stared with her mouth open. It took a moment for her to recover, but when she did her demeanor was icy.

"I see. Yeah, I'll do what I want"

"Wait! Remember you could be executed. I don't want you to die" Mitsuhiko tried to remind her. Even if they disagreed on what to do that didn't mean he wished anything to happen to her. Yurie smiled with some grief before replying.

"Honey, you wouldn't ever suspect I'm the culprit. I can be subtle and cunning when I want"

"Are you going to kill somebody and risk us both to die? Because of you do...one of us will die. It's impossible for anything else to happen.

That seemed to stop Yurie from going right now to wring somebody's neck. She looked at the floor, deep in thought. "When we arrived I was sure we'd be together in whatever we did...I never really thought our plans would differ. I realize that...we need to do the same thing together"

"Then don't try to kill anybody either. At least give me the chance to find out what's going on, okay? I can do it"

"I know you can. You have always been a smart person, Mitsu-chan. If there's somebody who can solve any mystery here...it's you"

"Will you wait? Give me until the end of the week" Mitsuhiko requested. Six days should be enough. I'm sure we can avoid our deaths until that moment. Yurie wasn't happy with that proposal and countered with one of her own.

"Two days. You have two days. If you haven't found out if there's anything wrong going around then we'll both kill somebody. Understood?"

The hunter avoided rolling his eyes. Sure, why not to say yes. He was sure he'd be able to convince her to extend the deadline in two days if he didn't find out anything. "Okay, two days. Meanwhile please be good and don't do anything"

"Fine, I won't" Yurie stood up "Not to insinuate I don't think you won't be able to do it, but I'll start planning a murder for us two to commit. Until then at least don't let yourself be killed. If you die...I don't think I would be able to accept that. I have worked way too hard on you and who you are that I would feel lost if you died. Please, be careful"

"Right" Mitsuhiko wasn't sure what she meant. Her words were strangely ominous, in his opinion. She has worked way too hard on who I am? What does that mean? Before he could ask her Yurie went away, leaving him alone and befuddled.

-ooooo-

As there was a new floor discovered Mitsuhiko knew the best thing to do right now was to check what was up there. He already knew laboratories were involved, that much was defined in the most recent trial, but he wanted to check by himself what was been opened now.

When he passed through the corner where Hosoya had been killed he stopped and examined the place he remembered the con artist had been executed at. Monobear had done a marvelous job cleaning up the blood that undoubtedly filled the floor. If he didn't know better he wouldn't have ever guessed somebody had died there. Approaching with some reluctance he put his face near to the wall, fearing the spikes that had killed Hosoya would spring and impale him.

But there weren't any holes or any indications there was something behind the wall. If one looked through the nearby window one would see the wall, devoid of any compartments where the spikes could be hidden. Not only that, the wall seemed way too thin for the spikes to be hidden inside it. ...there's something strange going on with Hosoya-kun's death. Wasn't Kishio-sensei going to check this place yesterday? Maybe she found something that isn't now here.

Somewhat concerned for the missing spikes Mitsuhiko walked into the Lounge and found the stairs into the Third Floor. Once he arrived up there he noticed changes in the building itself. Everything was of a shining white, almost sterile. The doors were of polished wood, very different from the doors in the other floors. The first thought Mitsuhiko had was comparing the Third Floor to an hospital.

The very first door he opened was the Chemistry Laboratory. Apparently the mole didn't clean the place after they finished creating the gases of the bottles. There were beakers, Bunsen burners and little bottles and cans strewn around in disarray. Seeing the remains of the anesthetics creation made Mitsuhiko wonder something that hadn't been touched during the last trial:

Who among them had chemistry abilities? Koshimizu was pretty much the only one they could imagine doing this, and even then it was a stretch. Just because he's a doctor doesn't mean he knows chemistry like this.

And if one linked absolutely anything to chemistry Sugita was another suspect. The gases were extracted from the sleeping pills, isn't tea prepared similarly to that? But Mitsuhiko couldn't imagine Sugita cooperating in the imprisonment of anybody, or in the death of any person. Unless she had changed drastically in the time he hadn't seen her before arriving to the Headquarters then she still was a pacifist who worked as a commander using her charisma and social abilities.

Okay, nothing around here shows who did this. I may as well leave. "Are you done, Hikari-kun?" A voice asked behind him. It was Mitsuishi, still in more sociable mood than at any other point of their stay. "I'd like to clean everything here. Otherwise somebody could attempt to use what's left to poison anybody or something, right?"

"Good thinking" the hunter replied without really paying attention, although he did notice Mitsuishi accepted the praise wholeheartedly "There are no clues, go ahead" Mitsuhiko left towards the next door, several meters away. When he entered he was greeted by what seemed like a huge machine pointing at the sky through the window. What the heck? It seemed to be some kind of death ray, the type one would see only in a comic book. It even had instructions pasted on the side and warned it was a dangerous tool of research.

The sign on the door said this was the Physics Laboratory. Just like in the Electronic Workshop from a floor below there was a slot aside of the door. Mitsuhiko supposed the list of authorized commanders was the same than in the workshop. On the walls there were mostly mirrors, possible remnants of the last experiment to be done before the Delacroix school turned into the Diavolos Avante Headquarters. There was a separate smaller room that functioned as a warehouse for materials. There were large empty boxes around, wires strewn around the floor, machines of unknown functions and what seemed like paint. Is this what I think it is?

It was a hunch, but it was worth testing. Mitsuhiko grabbed a piece of metal and looked at it closely. It was made of smaller panels and was quite thick yet fragile. Mitsuhiko opened one of the cans of paint, finding a green color he knew very well. He spread some of the pain on the metal and had his thoughts confirmed.

Lily had been made in the Physics Laboratory, in this same building.

He had started suspecting it when he saw the huge laser machine. If the last experiment made in this laboratory was related to lasers...wouldn't it be logical to think it was to give Lily the weapon she had already shown?

Spurred by the possibility of finding out who had created Lily Mitsuhiko started searching around. In a corner of the warehouse the hunter found lots of rolled-up blueprints, carefully drawn and showing different machines. When he saw they were marked with the author's name he felt encouraged, but despite his search none of the blueprints seemed remotely similar to Lily or any portion of her. Well so much for this possibility.

If Mitsuhiko had to guess Lily's body was created in this laboratory and she was programmed in the Administrative Offices. At least that was the only place he could think that had computers and the such.

The third Laboratory opened was the Biology Laboratory and when Mitsuhiko opened the door he immediately cringed, horrified. The stench inside was terrible and it was something the hunter knew very well: it was the stench of animals decomposing.

There were cages on tables lining the laboratory, each having mice and other small animals. Judging by the state of their little bodies they died recently, and unless he was mistaken it was from starvation or dehydration. The containers for food and water were empty and the cages seemed like they hadn't been cleaned in quite some time.

There was also a couple that was still alive, although in a pitiful state. Taking pity of them Mitsuhiko looked around and found a bag of food, filling the food and water containers and taking the cages out. The mice had practically thrown themselves over the food, and once the hunter placed the cages in the hallway he entered back to see what else could be found.

There was a large aquarium and the fishes were floating upside-down. There was nothing of interest inside the tank or the water. In the drawers of the desks were loads and loads of papers detailing what seemed like biological studies on the animals and experiments that he didn't feel like reading. He didn't think it'd matter.

As there was no way to dispose of the mice he couldn't do anything other than leaving them there.

After closing the door of the Biology Laboratory and the stale and awful air from the inside of the laboratory started to dilute he took a few deep breaths, looking at the mice that were alive. Those were only two cages and he decided the best place to keep them would be in the Chemistry Laboratory. He didn't really feel like keeping them in his bedroom.

There were two places left. There were balconies. One opened above the Carpentry Workshop's window while the other opened in front of the Electronics Workshop's window. Mitsuhiko right now was in front of the first balcony, and unless he had missed something there was no path towards the second balcony. The only possibility would be...that it was sealed away.

The balcony itself Mitsuhiko was standing on seemed to be refurnished in a way that it seemed to be used as an Astronomy Laboratory. It was quite large and had a number of telescopes staring into the sky. Charts of the stars and planets decorated the wall and handfuls of cables formed dioramas and large monuments that resembled solar systems. They were hanging from long planks that emerged from the windows of the Fourth Floor.

The hunter took one of the telescopes and looked through it to the streets. There was nobody walking, nobody who could help them. Even if they hung a sign asking for help to get out (and supposing the other commanders wanted such thing) nobody would be able to help them. There were trees in the sidewalk, as tall the third floor and barely surpassing the tall steel fence.

The Headquarters were isolated despite being in middle of the city. They were really only able to rely on themselves.

So this is all there's to see in the floor, other than that second balcony. He did know there was a place more but it was out of their reach. Even from the balcony he wouldn't be able to jump that far, it was impossible to go. He had to forget about that place for now. Since the Third Floor seemed to be full of only laboratories it was logical to suppose it was another one.

At least there had been one worthwhile discovery, in his opinion: the Physics Laboratory's content. He felt there could be a way to start working from there on the mystery of who created Lily, but...he couldn't think exactly how.

Returning to the first floor he took lunch, thoughtful, and went around to walk. He may as well spend the afternoon with somebody and see how everything goes in the next day. At this rate it was...matter of waiting for the culprit to strike. He felt that going to the Fourth Floor could be a valuable way to progress, but for that one person more would have to die.

However that didn't convince him letting a person die was the correct thing to do. If he could sense anything that meant a murder was about to be committed then he would do his best to stop it. Who had been the one that almost killed Kobayashi some days ago while he was locked in his cell? Mimori? Maybe it was a good idea to keep an eye on her, just in case that wasn't something that happened in a moment of rage, but a planned murder.

Time to take a walk.

Chapter Text

Not really feeling like being inside the building Mitsuhiko went outside to walk on the Courtyard, both the front and the back. Looking from the fence to the Headquarters he could see it was only four floors high. He supposed the Main Board were prisoners in the last floor, there didn't seem like there were other places they could be in. The roof of the Headquarters weren't a roof. There was actually a terrace, its entrance available in the Fourth Floor.

It'd be quite a jerk move from Monobear if they were tied to a pipe on the terrace and its door was blocked until a fourth murder happened. Mitsuhiko prepared himself to not to be surprised if that happened.

Looking around Mitsuhiko got to the Back Courtyard and found the shed and the Greenhouse. There was somebody in the Greenhouse; at least it seemed there was a shadow behind the glass. Mitsuhiko went ahead and entered, curious.

It was Sugita. The Tea Demon was picking up flowers and leaves. "Kimiko?"

"Hi there, Hikaru-kun"

"It's Hikari. Please, call me that. I'm not Hikaru anymore" Mitsuhiko said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sugita's expression soured before replying.

"I know. The Hikaru I knew is gone and what's left is somebody that festered inside his heart"

Wow. The conversation wasn't going like Mitsuhiko had thought it would. They didn't even say the usual pleasantries! "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean is that the person 'Mitsuhiko Hikari' is no more than a demon. A demon took your face and is now wearing it, pretending to be the friend I knew for so long..." Sugita looked at the glass roof, staring at the sky. "Sometimes I wonder if just like 'Mitsuhiko' grew inside you...I wonder if 'Hikaru' is somewhere in you right now"

"I haven't really changed that much" Mitsuhiko replied, but Sugita looked like he had just spit on her. The hunter looked away, ashamed.

"You have. I know people change and all that, but what happened to you doesn't feel natural, do you understand? I feel that...something must have happened that turned you into who you are right now"

"Surely it was the death of my parents. That tends to be a big change especially when one's an impressionable teenager"

"No, I think that isn't it. Or maybe it was just the beginning, I don't know"

"If it wasn't that when what was it?" Mitsuhiko asked. The conversation was making him extremely uncomfortable, and Sugita was talking with a very nostalgic tone. Had she kept these thoughts in her head all this time?

"I...I don't know for sure, but I think what happened is that you met a demon. Demons exist in the world, after all. Diavolos Avante isn't called this just because Delacroix thought it was going to be edgy, we're a group of people who are disenchanted with the world and wanted to drag others with them. Isn't that what we want in the end? To destroy SHSL Despair, restore the world and then rule over the people? How many conversions could we achieve, I wonder? How many people would have their hopes in a new world twisted and disenchanted?

Demons don't need to have horns and tails, you get me? They can be just like you or me. And just like you were originally another person more before you got turned into one of us, the cycle is likely to continue"

Mitsuhiko was already starting to walk backwards, his hand trying to find the door. He had enough of this; this isn't what he wanted to talk when he had seen Sugita. The Tea Demon, without realizing her friend was trying to get away of her, continued with the same monotone she had used so far. "Who converted you? Was the death of your parents the beginning or was it something else that demon used to turn you into one of them? It was her. She did it. I think I hadn't accepted it until recently, I allowed your corruption.

Are we different from SHSL Despair? Wasn't Enoshima doing the same thing? Are we...really qualified to fight against her and her troops?"

Hearing Diavolos Avante being compared to SHSL Despair stopped Mitsuhiko just in the moment he had finally reached the door. "No, we're not like them" he said firmly "I don't know why you're suddenly bringing all this up but the difference between DeeEy and SHSL Despair is that we have a reason to exist.

Enoshima wanted to destroy the world and that's a senseless goal to have! We want to...take control of it and lead it in the direction we think is correct. It's just that we don't care about what we need to do to achieve it"

"...I see. Maybe you're right" Sugita started to return to her normal pleasant mood. "Can demons be good for the world?"

"I don't see why not. We're not good people, none of us is, but we're not evil. At least I think most of us aren't evil" Since it was possible one of the commanders in the Headquarters was responsible for the Main Board being imprisoned it was possible one or two would fit that definition. "You're right that we're a bunch of people who had some kind of experience that would lead us to being bitter and jaded, and that's why we're commanders and not mere grunts, but we're not as bad or desperate as you're making it sound"

Sugita's mood brightened. "You're right. Thank you, Hikaru-kun. Want to have a tea party like we used to have when we were kids? There are combinations I can make from the plants in this Greenhouse that'll surprise you"

"Let's go" A tea party like the old times seemed like the best option to make her forget her rather depressing thoughts from earlier. When they were about to leave the Greenhouse, Sugita carrying the flowers and leaves she had picked up, the hunter had a fleeting thought he wanted to confirm. "Kimiko, you consider yourself a demon too?"

"Of course I do. I'm not a good person either" she shrugged. When Mitsuhiko asked why she thought that she gave the answer that'd show she wasn't the same Kimiko Sugita, idealist and naive, he had known from his childhood either. "I unwittingly led to your corruption. How many things that went wrong in your life am I responsible for? All of them, because I led that all to you. Since the day you left to Kyoto I lost all hopes of being somebody people can count on to keep them safe. You see it in my job as a commander: I'm known for fixing morale and getting rid of hostilities, but I'm not known for preventing them. I can't prevent, only try to fix what's already broken"

I spent the afternoon with Sugita, having a tea party to reminisce our childhoods.

-ooooo-

"Yurie, I need a favor"

Mitsuhiko had found Yurie in the Lounge, just sitting around. The hacker looked up from her seat, smiling slightly. "What do you need?"

"There's this laboratory upstairs that has a slot to insert IDs and I'd like to know who is authorized to enter, just like the Electronics Workshop. Can you check that in the computers?"

"Sure, why not?" Yurie stood up "I can bring that information to you, it was released recently"

While they were walking to the Administrative Offices Mitsuhiko asked something he was wondering. "Hey Yurie, the information you find has always been in the computer network, right?"

"Yeah, what about that?"

"Couldn't you unblock all the information there could be? The less people who die the better"

Yurie seemed annoyed she was reminded the hunter didn't want people to die. "I can't. I suppose the Main Board knew of my limitations because I'm simply unable to do it. They protected the network very well"

"Oh" That explained it. Who better than the Main Board, their immediate bosses, to know all about Yurie's hacking abilities? Of course they'd set it in a way she wouldn't be able to go ahead and take control of everything.

When they arrived Yurie immediately say in front of a computer and looked for the information. The hunter watched how she did it. Apparently it was a series of folders that linked to a common root, each folder being released by the network administrator. Since the people behind Monobear were opening floors after each death it wasn't farfetched to imagine they held the same control on the network. There were only two folders, fitting for the two murders that happened so far.

The second one was opened and the information inside was encrypted into individual files. It took only a few minutes, as she likely had done deciphered it earlier that day, but soon she was able to extract the information through the printer. Its title indicated the people who were authorized to make use of the Physics Laboratory. Mitsuhiko was supposed wrongly, there was only one person that had authorization to enter. 'Tohya Sasuga'.

"So Sasuga-kun is the only one that could enter that laboratory?"

"I think so, but it wasn't always that way"

"You mean that there were more people before that could enter, until it got narrowed only to Sasuga-kun?"

"No, you got it backwards" Yurie corrected, looking at a deciphered file in the screen "The laboratory used to be only available to Sasuga-kun until the IDs authorization got revoked. Anybody can enter there now and it has been like that for quite some time"

That makes these efforts useless Mitsuhiko thought. He had thought he had Sasuga cornered as Lily's creator (in hindsight it was a really obvious answer. The roboticist creating a robot!) but now he wasn't sure. It was clear Lily's creation was the last thing that happened in that laboratory, but if anybody can get in...then the only way to know who created Lily would be through their abilities. They were looking for a person or a group of people that could cover everything in the creation of that robot girl. "Will you able to find out when the change in authorizations changed?"

"I can" Yurie replied and searched through a different document. "Looks like the authorization protocol was changed two days before we got here"

"Two days?" Lily can't have been built in only two days. That was good proof he had created her! Mitsuhiko told Yurie of his suspicions, but she didn't seem very sure of it.

"It's just an ID. Anybody can take an ID. Sasuga-kun could lend it or somebody could steal it. This doesn't mean Sasuga-kun created Lily" Mitsuhiko took out his ID, given to him by Diavolos Avante. It was quite a piece of technology but nothing prevented them from being shared or stolen. Or maybe even copied.

"Uh...okay, I suppose you're right. Can you do me another favor?" Yurie nodded, so the hunter continued "Could you try to hack the system? I know you said it seemed to be made to be resistant to your abilities, but you're the Hacking Demon! You should be able to overcome this obstacle"

"I could but it may take time. Besides I also have other things to do, don't expect me to spend my nights and days in this office" Yurie replied.

Way to be unhelpful, dear love of my life. Mitsuhiko wasn't really in condition to fight. He feared that if he tried to push her hand she'd decide it wasn't worth it and then he'd be pretty much into a dead end. He had to let Yurie work at her own pace. "Okay, that's fine. Thank you, Yurie"

"Sure. I'll start working right now, but since I don't have my software it'll be even harder. Did I mention that this system is secured against me?"

"You have mentioned it way too many times" Mitsuhiko was done, Yurie could be so disagreeable at times it was tremendously tiring to deal with her. Once again he wondered why she had been the one he had decided to spend the rest of his life with.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko was in relatively good mood. At least he had made Yurie to work on the file network and he knew she'd be able to triumph over it. It was to be expected. When he was going through the Monobear Camp to go to his bedroom, when he saw one of the doors open. Approaching he peeked into it, finding it empty. "Who owns this one?" Mitsuhiko wondered aloud. It seemed pretty much identical to the classroom he slept in, however there were some objects that did show who slept here.

He had seen that guitar before. This must be Romi's bedroom. Seeing the chance to snoop around without Romi noticing, hopefully, he entered and looked around the room. There weren't really many things. Nothing inside the guitar, and the only other place there could be stuff in were the boxes in a corner of the room.

The contents were different than Mitsuhiko's stuff, obviously. She had notebooks and writing implements too, but one of the boxes had CDs and other similar objects. Taking several of those CDs, perhaps thinking there could be anything useful or suspicious, he quickly left the bedroom. With some luck nobody would guess he had ever been there.

The only place he could check the contents of the CDs were in the Administrative Offices. "Yurie, I'm going to...huh" Yurie wasn't there anymore. Thank you so much for your help, Yurie. You are a peach he thought sarcastically, sitting in front of one of the computers. After inserting the CD in the appropriate slot he saw only one file.

'Admission Proof –Delacroix'. That was the name of the file. It was a video, and when he opened it he saw it was likely to be a song.

There was Romi in the screen. She was around sixteen years old in that time and her eyes had a shine that was now absent. It was likely her blindness hadn't settled yet. She was sitting in front of a white wall with her guitar, looking at the camera. 'Uh, g-good morning, admission committee...I'm Himiroko, agh, Hiyoko Romi. I...I write songs and I'd like to be accepted into the school.

I, eh, I have one here, one I wrote recently. My inspiration is...hm..." Romi pointed at her eyes gloomily "I was diagnosed with some sort of syndrome. I'm going to lose my vision sense. I don't know how long it'll take, but it's said in a few years I'll be mostly blind.

I can't let this overtake my life and that's, um, that was my inspiration for what I wrote, about how despite all problems I must keep going. It's...the story of my life. Thank you very much for listening"

Mitsuhiko listened to the song, paying attention to the lyrics just like the Delacroix admission committee must have done many years ago. The lyrics were far from perfect, in fact in his honest opinion they were pretty weak. However since she was accepted he supposed the committee had seen some sort of talent, even if he didn't really see it.

The rhythm was mostly with the guitar, but Romi had added drums and what sounded like keyboard when she edited the video.

When the girl wants to learn to walk

And she keeps falling down

She has to stand up and improve

The girl will keep walking, the girl doesn't cry

When in kindergarten another child

Grabs her hair, throws her down

And takes her toys away

The girl won't accept it, the girl doesn't cry

When people laughs at her

For thinking different

For keeping her mind open

They may spit on what she believes

The girl ignores them, the girl won't cry

I don't know if the wind does blow my words away

But I can listen the wind speak

Even when she has nobody to rely on

And the pain doesn't let her think

Even when she has no way of looking for answers

She won't cry

When there are mistakes

And her paths are dead ends

She learns and continues working

The girl improves herself, the girl won't cry

When for love she loses her heart

Temptations overcoming her mind

And she finds out saviors don't exist

The girl gets stronger, the girl won't cry

When she falls apart

Betrayed by her friends

She may feel her soul withering away

The girl maybe won't forgive, the girl won't cry

I don't know if the wind does blow my words away

But I can listen the wind speak

Even when she has nobody to rely on

And the pain doesn't let her think

Even when she has no way of looking for answers

She won't cry

When she receives a strange proposal

And somebody wants to use her for some goal

She won't forget the principles that matter

The girl won't stay silent, the girl won't cry

When she feels she's dying

Nothing makes sense and nobody loves her

The girl will remember she has fought so much already

The girl won't give up, the girl won't cry

Even when she has nobody to rely on

And the pain doesn't let her think

Even when she has no way of looking for answers

She won't cry

"As if I needed more confirmation. I said it: 'we're a bunch of people who had some kind of experience that would lead us to being bitter and jaded'. Why is that getting hammered into my head today?" Mitsuhiko took off the CD. That had led to nothing useful in his investigation, but that song had at least led to some understanding of Romi's life until now. Apparently even without the blindness she still had some difficult times.

I listened to the rest of CDs for a couple hours more, before going to sleep.

-ooooo-

That night Monobear was walking around the halls, looking around. It seemed he had finally managed to lose Lily. That robot had been following him for days already. Monobear was no more than felt, a machine, so he couldn't show emotions the person controlling him didn't want him to show, but if that person had decided to not to hide it then he'd be showing clear signs of annoyance.

Now that he had outrun her or something it was his chance to go to where the Main Board was waiting, in the Fourth Floor. Walking as quickly as its plush body could allow it he climbed the floors until he got to the shutters blocking the stairs to the Fourth Floor. They opened, letting him come in, and closed immediately after that.

Unfortunately for the Main Board that was all the time Lily needed to sneak in.

The strategy had been quite slow but was planned to work. Basically she'd follow Monobear in the most unsubtle ways possible until she suddenly changed her strategy. The metal that formed her shell wasn't made of small panels for no reason. In fact, the circuits that formed her insides were made of special fibers that'd give her a curious ability: disintegrating into wires and threads with the thickness of a hair, without disrupting her processes.

Her head was the only part of her that couldn't do that, but it didn't matter. Lily had disintegrated into a mass of wires but had kept herself together for the most part as a bundle, clinging to the outer walls of the Headquarters. She waited for Monobear to enter towards the Fourth Floor and in an instant she followed from a window, slinking in the open stairs and sticking onto the ceiling, keeping her head into the shadows. The wires covered most of the ceiling while she advanced behind Monobear.

They got into what seemed like a Waiting Room, the Principal's Office was nearby. There were empty styrofoam cups and a single file, as if not long ago a small group of people had been discussing it. Monobear went towards a door, but before Lily could position herself ready to sneak with him through the door he turned around.

Lily spread her wires over the ceiling and kept her head in a corner, keeping her guard up. She made sure there weren't any masses of wires in a same place that could alert Monobear of her presence, and it seemed like it worked. Somebody from the inside unlocked the door and the bear entered but before she could even move the door closed and a lock was placed from the inside. Drat thought Lily. Unlike Monobear she had an AI, so she knew what to do. If the main objective wasn't achieved then she had to look around for anything that could be useful to her masters.

Moving her head on top of the file that was in the Waiting Room she carefully made it descend while holding onto the ceiling. Tendrils of wires grabbed the cover of the file and pulled it away, revealing the content. Lily's eyes started recording the information and once she was done she made sure to leave the file intact again.

As she knew the windows of the Principal's Office were covered there was no way to see what was going on in there. Returning downstairs was the only thing left to do. Since the shutter was closed she had to look of other ways. All windows were closed and despite her efforts she couldn't open them. It was as if they were glued to the frames. The ventilation shafts were the last path available. Lily managed to open the cover of one and entered in it, making sure to close it behind her.

The ventilation shaft that led to the Principal's Office was blocked by a steel mesh and in the place she was in right now she couldn't listen to whateer was happening in there, so descending into the first floor was the only thing to do. She contracted and expanded the wires, and if one paid attention one would hear a scraping sound. When she arrived to the First Floor and exited into a hall she reformed her body, she couldn't let anybody see her ability.

Lily went into the Administrative Offices and typed everything she had read into a new file, printing two copies. One was left in the cafeteria for everybody; the other was given personally to her creator. Lily's creator read it; feeling like something had fallen in the pit of their stomach. The file was useful in a sense and it indicated it had been recently created, just a few hours earlier, but he felt that it might have done more harm than good to retrieve it.

Still, maybe they were wrong. They'd only know for sure in the next day.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko was the last one to enter the cafeteria. Despite the time (it was 5:30 AM, breakfast would be ready in two hours) he had been awoken by Lily, who said there was something important to show in the cafeteria. Everybody was gathered there, reading a sheet of paper. "Do you think the people who kidnapped the Main Board are doing it in revenge?" Romi wondered, unsettled. She had just finished listening to what written there.

"It could be possible" Mimori replied "This at least explains why he was executed. It's nice to have answers"

"What are you girls talking about?" Mitsuhiko asked, approaching. Mimori passed him the document Lily had left in there, and so the hunter finally saw what had everybody in such a trance.

It was a detail recount of an event that had happened in a shelter not far from there. A mutual killing game, whose mastermind according to this file was Kaiji Kudo, known in the main board as Volkos. Overall it seemed like a good explanation of why he had been executed; after all he had acted in a way that betrayed the organization. There it said he gathered the shelter and the stuff in it by using his identity in the Future Foundation. He had infiltrated there by using a false name, effectively existing as two different people.

It wasn't until he read the false name that he didn't react. Everything else didn't seem like anything big, in his opinion, and surely the others were overreacting to the mutual killing game in the shelter, but that false name was the most important part in his opinion.

The name he had used was Heiji Hasegawa.

Hasegawa, eh? Hadn't Emiko said her real family names were Hasegawa-Nakai? Sure, there must have been thousands of people with the Hasegawa family name, but in this case it was likely it wasn't a mere coincidence. The hunter looked at Emiko, who had a stony expression in her face. He couldn't pinpoint how she was feeling; she seemed more indifferent than outraged and saddened. Maybe it was possible Heiji Hasegawa didn't ring any bells. "Interesting…" Mitsuhiko left the document on a nearby table.

"So Lily brought that. Where did she get it from?" Yurie wondered.

"I heard she had brought it from the Fourth Floor. That must be where our foes are hiding" Romi answered, pointing at the ceiling.

"Volkos was a traitor. This file confirms it" Kishio declared "Lily brought it and there's no way the Main Board could know that she'd manage to get up there and find it. This can't be a fake"

"I'm inclined to agree, they knew that Lily was following Monobear, we all did, but I don't think they'd let her get so close to where they are hiding" Sugita agreed "What do we do with this information?"

"There's nothing we can do. Volkos is dead and it isn't like he's the one who locked the Main Board away. But I think that it's possible somebody related to Hasegawa is who attacked the Main Board and created this mutual killing game" Kobayashi said.

"Lily's creators were the ones who summoned us here. Then who is behind Monobear?" Emiko asked.

"The kidnappers, of course" Sasuga replied. Emiko took off her cap, messing with her hair.

"So there's only one group and they're controlling both robots? This is all a farce from them?"

"I don't think it's a farce. I don't know what's going on, but I think we're overlooking something" Fukuyama said. Nothing useful came from a short discussion that ensued, everybody was just trying to guess who was controlling who. All they agreed was that whoever was behind any of the robots was likely to be an enemy and didn't deserve any mercy.

Since the breakfast wasn't done yet Sugita and Emiko entered the kitchen and everybody else went to spend the time idly until it was breakfast time. Nobody was worrying too much about what Lily had found, Mitsuhiko included. It wasn't very useful information, but it did make him think.

What it meant…he didn't know. But it sure was at least a potential clue of what was going on behind scenes.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko yawned. He had been awoken way too early, who in their right minds would wake up before six in the morning? Not even he in the hunting trips he used to take years ago used to wake up early. It was very annoying to feel so sleepy.

Not many seemed to share his lack of energy. Most of the commanders were active despite the early hour; maybe the document Lily left in the cafeteria had energized them or something. Sugita and Emiko were in the kitchen and the rest were prowling around without a concrete destination.

The hunter didn't really have anything to do. He couldn't focus on investigating, and also he didn't know where to continue. If Yurie had managed to finish her assignment she'd tell him, but since not a word had been said about that it was to be expected she didn't manage to do it yet.

In the second floor Lounge there was somebody who had the same lack of energy Mitsuhiko had. It was Mitsuishi. The Flying Demon was almost falling asleep on the couch, but when Mitsuhiko sat nearby he lifted his head. "Hey"

"Say something good about me" Mitsuishi immediately said. The hunter ignored that, he wasn't willing to indulge Mitsuishi's newly found ego.

"Why aren't you with the rest? I thought you were going to be more sociable"

"They're losers. For some reason they have started to drift away despite what I did for them. Bunch of ingrates..."

Oh damn it. Being praised had a very bad effect on the local hypocrite, apparently. "You didn't really do that much. You did save us from death once, but unless you do it over and over again I don't think it'll be anything special"

"I saved you all once! That's...one time more than anybody else here could say they did! Is it too much to ask for a bit of respect? What do other people have that I don't?" Mitsuishi launched himself into a rant, Mitsuhiko tuning out of most of it. He was feeling a headache incoming. After a couple minutes he gripped the sidearm of his armchair.

"Shut up! Look, it's something to be expected, okay? You contribute in the trials, do something right and then move on. It's not worth remembering it as something special"

"Why didn't I let you all die, then? If I had known this would all go to normal after a couple days I wouldn't have even bothered"

Mitsuishi was starting to be irrational. It just didn't make sense anymore. "You'd have died too, you moron! What have you been doing, reminding everybody every hour that you showed us the Monobear File? Once is fine, two is passable, but if my impression of you is right you must have done it at least forty times already"

"Sixty-seven times" Mitsuishi corrected without even a sliver of shame "I wanted to milk this for all it's worth"

"For the love of..." Mitsuhiko now knew for sure a headache was coming. Maybe it was a combination of the growing pain in his head and the bad mood that came from being awoken from so early, but for the next few minutes everything he said was meant to be cold and spiteful. His tone made clear the intention was to hurt as much as possible. "I have no time for this. I knew you had a jealous personality as well as being a hypocrite, but I never thought you'd be an attention whore too. Is there anything else you are? Autistic? Retarded? Anything else that sinks you even lower as the fucking lowest denominator of humanity you are?!"

Mitsuishi was visibly taken aback by Mitsuhiko's outburst. The Flying Demon sank into the couch, horrified. "Am I really that bad?"

"You are! Hosoya-kun and you are the resident jerks of this place" the hunter spat, conveniently leaving himself out of the list "Did you absorb his assholishness when he was executed or something? Is that why you're adding insufferable to your list of traits?"

"N-no, I don't mean to be..."

"The reason you're pushed aside is because you are unlikable, it's as plain as that. You were given a chance to get along with the rest but you took that chance and drove it into the ground. Do you think anybody in here will want to have anything to do with you after hearing you brag about what you did sixty-something times? Is that so hard to understand?!"

Mitsuishi was silent for a while. During that time Mitsuhiko gradually calmed down until he knew he had overstepped his boundaries. He was never the most tactful person there'd ever be in Japan but that didn't mean he had any excuse to harass other people like he did. "Mitsuishi-kun, I'm sorry for everything I said…I shouldn't have…"

"Do you have any siblings?" the Flying Demon asked. The hunter, a tad confused from the change of topic, shook his head.

"I was an only child"

"Then you can't understand what I went through with my siblings. I'm going downstairs" Mitsuishi announced. Mitsuhiko grabbed him by the wrist, feeling him tense up.

"Wait, I know what I said was uncalled for but did you at least understand the point? What you did wrong?"

"I have done nothing wrong and I'm not forgiving you, Hikari. Learn to talk to people and you'll be treated well, until then enjoy being ostracized by everybody. See you around" he pulled his arm, freeing his wrist, and went away. Mitsuhiko felt annoyance at Mitsuishi clearly not getting the message and daring to tell him to improve his social abilities. I should have known he wouldn't learn. This was a waste of time. Not feeling in mood to be with people for now he slept for a while in the armchair.

I slept and dreamed what having siblings could have felt.

-ooooo-

Sleeping in the Lounge uncomfortably wasn't enough to replace the couple hours of sleep lost. He felt tired and was sure had eye bags. When he got into the cafeteria it was already breakfast time. Sugita was walking around, leaving plates on the tables for each commander. "Hikaru-kun, over here" the Tea Demon left her friend's breakfast in his place.

"This looks great"

"It's nothing special" she said, going to sit with Sasuga and flirt with him. They were pretty outgoing with their relationship now that it was public and it was something everybody else was uncomfortable with. Japanese people didn't approve public displays of affection but the lovebirds didn't care at all what they thought of them. Doing his best to avert his eyes from the couple he looked at the other side.

Hey, great. There was a teapot on the counter, filled to the brim with tea. He approached and lifted it to serve a cup to himself. He knew that Sugita would prepare a tea mix that would fill one with energy for the rest of the day, that was exactly what he needed. About time she started doing this This was the first day the teapot appeared and he was happy for that development, but when he lifted it a slight stench raised from the teapot. He could smell mint mixed with something fetid. "Holy smokes!" he exclaimed, disgusted.

"What?" Mitsuishi had approached to take the teapot.

"This tea smells weird" Mitsuhiko removed the top, peering inside, and using a spoon he tried to find what caused the smell. There were no more than leaves and water in there.

"Just because something smells bad doesn't mean it tastes bad. Isn't that how cheese works? Besides I'm no tea expert but I think there are some that doesn't smell very nice. This could be one of those"

"Try it" Mitsuhiko dared, passing an empty teacup to the Flying Demon. He filled the teacup and drank half of it, imitating Mitsuhiko's earlier disgusted face when he was done.

"Augh! I was wrong. This tea is awful" Mitsuishi opened the top and poured the teacup content back onto the teapot before going away. That's gross. As if the tea needed more reasons to be left alone. Mitsuhiko, not wanting anything else to do with that, returned to his seat. Not long after that Yurie took the teapot to the tables, serving tea to those who wanted it.

"Maybe Sugita-san prepared this because it's beneficial for our health. I can't think of other reasons for her to prepare something this foul" Koshimizu supposed, wrinkling his nose.

"What did I prepare?" the Tea Demon had approached, seeing the teapot "Can I have some?"

"Are you saying this isn't yours?" Mitsuishi took Sasuga's teacup and passed it to Sugita, who looked like he was going to throw up. Her sense of smell was sensitive thanks to her talent, so the stench affected her more than to the rest.

"No! I didn't do this. It seems to have mint but I don't know what the other plant is"

Kishio, who also had drank the tea, dropped her teacup onto the floor in shock. "La'ana! Everybody stop drinking that! Now!" That didn't need to be told twice. Kishio took the teapot and took it to Koshimizu. "Koshimizu-san, can you identify the plants?"

"I can't. You suspect there's foul play involved in this" Koshimizu understood Kishio's panic. More than half of the commanders had tried the tea, and although nobody had finished their portions due to the horrid smell and dislikable flavor, it still meant a possible risk.

"What else can I think? A teapot appeared, it smells suspiciously and the only person around who makes tea didn't do it. There's something bad in this"

"I agree. Everybody who drank the tea please stay around!" Koshimizu ordered "If you start feeling bad please don't panic and notify me"

Mitsuhiko, who had been watching everything from a corner, couldn't believe what was going on. Was the the tea poisoned or something? Was it even valid to murder so many commanders at the same time?

The effects of the tainted tea started being seen almost an hour after it was drank. Eight commanders experienced symptoms of poisoning: Sasuga, Mitsuishi, Kobayashi, Kishio, Yurie, Koshimizu, Fukuyama and Romi. Despite his own intoxication Koshimizu was doing the best he could to help everybody who was sick, and soon those who were healthy had to help.

The poisoned commanders' pupils were dilated, all of them had nausea and several vomited their breakfasts. The public bathrooms were the main reunion place for them, pushing each other to have access to the toilets. All of them also had difficulty speaking, and progressively the symptoms worsened until it was clear none of them could walk around. Their legs were weakened considerably and had to be carried to different places.

The infirmary only had three beds, where Koshimizu, Kishio and Romi were placed. Fukuyama was taken to the Lounge couch. Yurie and Sasuga rested on tables from the cafeteria, and finally Mitsuishi and Kobayashi were placed in the Camp Lily hallway, the healthy commanders having taken those two's sleeping bags out of their classrooms.

The poisoned commanders' legs were so weak they couldn't even walk. If they were forced to move they'd have to drag themselves through the floor with their arms. What bothered Mitsuhiko the most was that now there were eight very vulnerable people, and later that feeling of uncertainty got worse.

"Any idea of what was in that tea, Koshimizu-san?" Mitsuhiko asked to the Medical Demon while he was heaving his gut out. Koshimizu took a deep breath, trying not to drown in his own saliva.

"H-H-He-H-Heml-Hem-ck-gh-h-ooooock" he moaned. It took a moment to Mitsuhiko to understand what he meant.

"Hemlock? There was hemlock in that tea?" Mitsuhiko knew some things about hemlock. For example, it was very rare to see in Japan, let alone in an urban area. It was painfully obvious the hemlock didn't simply arrive into a teapot with mint tea; somebody had to add it there. Where had the poisoner obtained hemlock from?

Hemlock was also horrifyingly toxic. If Koshimizu was right then...deaths were very likely to happen. It'd take a miracle for none of the poisoned commanders to die. And among them there was Yurie. The thought of she dying suffering horribly made his chest hurt. Death by hemlock poisoning was something he didn't wish on anybody. It was already ugly enough to suffer the symptoms of the poisoning by that plan. "What can we do? How can we help?" Mitsuhiko asked with sincere worry.

Koshimizu weakly raised his arm and pointed to a shelf with a few cans, barely managing to not to throw up again. The hunter took the cans he had pointed and read the label. "Activated carbon?" He had no idea how that would help but he was willing to try anything. Koshimizu managed to indicate he should force everybody to swallow spoonfuls of it; at least that's what the hunter understood. Mitsuhiko wasn't sure if it'd work, after all more than an hour since the ingestion of the tea had passed. Would the activated carbon be effective?

Mitsuhiko gave everybody who was healthy a can of activated carbon and instructed on what to do with it. It took a while, but soon everybody who was intoxicated had taken at least a spoonful of that substance and had managed to keep it down. "We should each take care of two sick commanders" Emiko proposed "I'll be with Kobayashi-kun and Mitsuishi-kun"

That isn't two, you know. "Fine with me" the hunter replied "I'll take care of Yurie and Sasuga-kun and I won't accept a 'no' for an answer"

"Fine with me" the journalist nodded "I suppose you can do that. I'll be with Fukuyama-kun and deal with Lily and Monobear. Somebody has to keep them at bay"

"I'll be in the Infirmary with everybody who's in there" Sugita informed. And with that, the caretakers were settled. There was nothing else to do than doing their best to watch how they progressed.

Sugita hugged Mitsuhiko for a moment, murmuring him to take good care of Sasuga. There wasn't much to do other than keeping an eye on them. Mitsuhiko sat directly to the side of the table Yurie was laying on, taking her hand and keeping it tight in his hand. He could feel his fianceé's cold skin, she was in great suffering. From time to time he checked she was still breathing, although it was rough at least it was still there. Sasuga was the same, although he didn't sit around taking his hand.

The day passed slowly. It was nerve-wracking to be with them while they fought for their lives. The tables soon were covered in saliva and vomit, much to his disgust. It was one of the worst days he had experienced in quite a while, and he didn't even drink any hemlock.

Hour after hour went by. Neither poisoned commander seemed to improve considerably, but at least they were breathing easier and seemed to be in less pain. Sasuga was starting to regain control of his legs, although Yurie was had them paralyzed.

He didn't eat anything else during the day, nor did anybody else come. It felt like they were the only three people in the Headquarters, not even the robots made an appearance. Maybe Mimori was really managing to keep them away from the poisoned commanders.

"..elp! ...help!" sounded at the distance. Mitsuhiko, who until that point had been still aside Yurie, stood up, not knowing what to do. Should he leave Yurie and Sasuga alone? What if it was a trap? And what if it wasn't, would he be able to leave somebody in danger? It sounded pretty weak, coming from a certain distance.

It took him a while to realize he was hearing the voice due to the ventilation shafts, and while he was still trying to decide a scream that came from a healthy throat sounded loud enough for him to listen it clearly, sounding like 'stop that!' That pushed him to a decision, he was going out. Mitsuhiko ran away after giving a last look at the two commanders he was taking care of, and ran through the Monobear camp. When he arrived to Camp Lily he found Kobayashi in the floor, with his sleeping bag. "What...what happened...?" Kobayashi asked hoarsely, trying to stand up.

"Don't get up. Rest, Amy. I'll go check"

"Where's Mitsuishi-kun? He was here earlier...and Tanaka-san?" it looked like Kobayashi was getting better too. Seeing three different commanders starting to heal from the terrible experience was encouraging and filled him with hope.

"I'll check. Don't worry" there was no sleeping bag nearby. Wasn't Emiko in charge of taking care of both Kobayashi and Mitsuishi and weren't them in the Camp Lily hallway? Where were they?

"This isn't working!" a different voice sounded, it was coming from the Lounge. Mitsuhiko ran over there, finding three people in front of the Carpentry Workshop. There he could see Mimori and Emiko, pushing against the door. Fukuyama was also there, having gotten off the couch and dragged himself to the door, weakly putting his hands against the wood of the door.

"What's going on here?" the hunter inquired.

"Mitsuishi-kun...Mitsuishi-kun..." Fukuyama muttered from the floor, stopping the pushing. He still had that Monobear mask despite his sickness, and he rested his face on the floor. The girls moved being careful to not to step on him.

"Fukuyama-kun called for help and I found him trying to open this door. He says Mitsuishi-kun is in danger in here" Mimori reported calmly. She seemed pretty blasé about the possibility somebody was dying on the other side of the door.

"Step aside, you" Mitsuhiko pushed Fukuyama with his foot, making the masked commander roll. Between the three healthy students they turned the door knob around and pushed, feeling something blocking the way. Now that there were three people pushing the obstacle started to move until they finally managed to open the door. The inside of the door had been blocked by a heavy table, one of those they had seen in the Carpentry Workshop before.

While Mitsuhiko moved the table to unblock the door completely Emiko and Mimori entered and Fukuyama dragged himself behind them. "Mitsuishi-kun! Where are..." Emiko shouted but it didn't take long to find the missing commander. He was limply leaning against a table on a side of the Carpentry Workshop. They didn't say anything although the three of them had seen the body, so when Mitsuhiko turned around he was startled.

"Fuck!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, grabbing the side of a table to keep himself from falling down.

The announcement sounded immediately after Mitsuhiko saw the body. 'A body has been found! The investigation will last one hour!' Mitsuhiko didn't listen long to it, instead approaching the body while the others watched.

Daisuke Mitsuishi was dead, there was no doubt, and it seemed the hemlock poisoning wasn't enough for the culprit. He had also been stabbed in a side of the abdomen and it seemed he had bled quite a lot from there. But that wasn't the wound that killed him.

The real cause of death was on his neck, there was no doubt. His head was leaning unnaturally against his left shoulder and his hand was grasping a bloodied electric circular saw, plugged into a wall socket. His carotid artery had been completely severed, causing exsanguination, and the cut almost reached the middle of the neck. Undoubtedly that must have been what killed him.

And since eight commanders weren't in condition to investigate it'd all rely on four people: Mitsuhiko, Emiko, Sugita and Mimori. He didn't know yet if that meant the trial would be between those four too, but either way it seemed this time dealing with the death was going to be quite harder than the two other cases until now.

Chapter Text

"Mitsuishi-kun..." Mimori murmured but it didn't seem like she was too affected "How did this..."

"Let's forget the 'how did this happen' part and go straight into the investigation. We have only one hour" Mitsuhiko said, crouching aside the corpse. As Koshimizu was currently poisoned and resting in the Infirmary the hunter decided he'd deal with the body, as he was the second person most used to corpses.

"What's going on in..." Sugita looked through the entrance, finding the crime scene "No way! Can this day get any worse?!"

"If you say that it will" Mimori noted. Now that everybody who was healthy was in the same place it was time to arrange everything "So, there are only four of us that are in condition to investigate. What will we do with the rest?"

"There's nothing we can do. All of us need to investigate, we're already very few to cover all the terrain" Mitsuhiko replied.

"Let's do what we can and hope nobody dies during the next hour" Sugita said, resigned "At least in the Infirmary everybody is getting better. I think they're out of danger"

"Sasuga-kun is getting better but Yurie is still very sick"

"Kobayashi-kun only needs to rest, he'll be okay" Emiko informed.

"And since Fukuyama-kun is here..." Mimori pointed at the actor who right now was lying on the floor, breathing with difficulty "He's not as sick as to need constant supervision"

"Koshimizu-san told me that after the immediate danger is gone they'll need at least around two days of rest before going back to normal. There's no way they'll be in the trial"

"Nope, they won't!" Mitsuhiko tensed when he heard that voice he now knew very well. Monobear had arrived to deliver the file. "But since none of them is at risk of imminent death their presence is required during the trial"

"They can't even walk, they can't talk very well and they still can't keep anything in their stomachs. How do you think they'll take part of the trial?" Emiko inquired with bluntness. Monobear shrugged, it was clear he didn't care.

"I said their presence was needed. They still have to vote! Now that chit-chat is over I bring you the Monobear File" Monobear brought files for everybody, even if most of them weren't going to be involved in the investigation. Mitsuhiko took his and read the content.

Monobear File #3

Victim: Daisuke Mitsuishi, codename: Leviathan

Cause of Death: Exsanguination caused by carotid artery rupture.

Location of the Body: Carpentry Workshop

Time of Death: 4:19 PM

The body registers symptoms of hemlock poisoning, among them inferior limbs paralysis, difficulty to talk, nausea and general weakness. There ' s also a wound in the left side of the abdomen, caused by a blade.

"He died fifteen minutes ago. This artery is very important, he must have died in no more than a minute after he was attacked with that" Mitsuhiko informed, carefully prodding the ares around the neck wound with his fingers.

"I'll tell everybody what happened" Emiko said "They may be poisoned but it's obvious they must have heard the announcement. I'll see what I can find after that" She left the crime scene, barely holding herself together. This crime was a lot bloodier than the others; it was possible she felt a weakness for excessive blood. Mimori and Sugita also decided to go to other places. Fukuyama was the only one who was left, dragging himself around, but Mitsuhiko didn't pay attention to him.

Since the wound that killed him was the one on the neck then he could only suppose the circular saw Mitsuishi had in his hand was the crime weapon. Mitsuhiko carefully uncurled the corpse's fingers and examined the saw.

Circular Saw

The saw that killed Mitsuishi. Electric, was found plugged and turned off. Mitsuishi was grabbing it when he was found.

As he saw it the culprit killed Mitsuishi and put the saw in his hand. When Mitsuhiko moved to the left side of the body he noticed something near the left hand: it was a blood message.

Or at least it was. It had been wiped away enough for it to not to be readable.

Erased Message

A message that used to be written with Mitsuishi ' s blood. The content is unknown and was wiped, leaving only a blurry stain on the floor.

"How smart, that culprit is" Mitsuhiko muttered. It sure would have been easy if the culprit hadn't erased that vital clue. Mitsuhiko, wanting to confirm if Mitsuishi had been the one to write it, grabbed the body's left hand and examined the fingertips. Effectively, there was blood in the tip of the index finger, as expected from he trying to write the message. However there was something else in the fist, which he wasn't sure what it meant.

The side of the left hand had blood as well. There wasn't a considerable amount, and it was possible the hand had gotten stained when Mitsuishi got blood onto his fingertip, but he still thought it may be worth noting because those were the only parts that had any blood

Blood on the Hand

Mitsuishi ' s left hand has blood in two areas: on the tip of the index finger and on the left side of the hand.

"Aaooo...ooo..." Fukuyama moaned, getting Mitsuhiko's attention. Fukuyama was gripping the windowsill, attempting to stand up. The hunter, alarmed, got to him and gave him his shoulder so he could at least get on his feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" he chided, not having decided if he was glad Fukuyama was around or he was wishing the actor would go away. Fukuyama tightened his grip on the windowsill.

"I want to help. There are only four, you'll need help..." Fukuyama was starting to talk better. Mitsuhiko, deciding he was wishing he was out, started dragging him away.

"Too bad. You're not in condition to be of any help, it'll be better if you stay away" Mitsuhiko got him to the Lounge couch and carefully left him so he would be comfortable "It's great you want to catch the killer but leave the investigation to us, alright?"

"Okay...give me...paper and pen. Please" he requested. Mitsuhiko, not seeing anything bad with that, momentarily went downstairs and brought the materials Fukuyama wanted. He nodded in acknowledgment and started writing while Mitsuhiko returned to the crime scene.

The moment he entered he realized there was something he wasn't thinking about yet: the state the door itself was found. There had been a table blocking it. Mitsuhiko closed the door and pushed the table against it. If the table was here then...how did the culprit get out? Mitsuhiko wasn't the thinnest commander in the Headquarters so if he could get out then most would be able to. After placing it he attempted several times to get out while at the same time keeping the table as close as possible to the door, but no matter what he did there simply wasn't enough space between the door and the table for anybody to pass through.

If I can't do it from the inside then... Mitsuhiko exited the workshop and tried from the outside to place the table, but it was a heavy piece of furniture. He couldn't do it with one single hand, and even if he did the table wouldn't have been in the same position they had found it before. If the culprit didn't get out does that mean this is...a closed room murder?

Table

A heavy table blocking the Carpentry Workshop door from the inside. When it ' s placed nobody can enter or exit without moving it away considerably.

If the door wasn't a possible exit then the other possibility was the only window in the room. The hunter approached it and tried to open, just to find it didn't budge. Taking a moment to find out why he realized it was locked. There was a mechanism on the window that locked it, and if his memory was accurate all windows in the Headquarters had such configuration in them. Peering from the entrance Mitsuhiko looked at Fukuyama, who was still writing. "Hey, do you know if the window has always been locked? Did you accidentally lock it?"

The actor shook his head. "No, I didn't, agh, lock it" Talking was a bother to him, so he preferred to stay silent. Mitsuhiko accepted that answer and went back to the window. There was a way to confirm it.

Window

The only window in the Carpentry Workshop. It was found locked.

Knowing that the window was the only possibility to know for sure if this was a closed room murder Mitsuhiko unlocked and opened it, taking a look outside to try to find any indications the culprit had gone through there. When he stuck his head out he noticed it was raining outside. A light drizzle was falling now, but it seemed that at some point earlier a heavier rain had fallen. The ground was mushy, full of mud, and Mitsuhiko knew that anybody who stepped on the ground would leave footprints. However the grass and the mud were smooth and pristine, he could say with certainty nobody had jumped out of the window onto the ground. We're on the second floor; it isn't like the culprit would break their bones jumping from here. Locking the window from the outside of the building was impossible, now he had to accept it: it was a closed room murder. Fukuyama had told the truth; if he had lied then there would have been clues pointing the window had been the escape the culprit used.

The Mud Outside

The ground of the Courtyard outside of the Carpentry Workshop has no footprints or indications anybody stepped in there at any point that day.

After closing the window Mitsuhiko dusted his hands and looked around for anything else that could be a clue as to what happened or how the culprit escaped the Carpentry Workshop. His eyes found the sleeping bag Mitsuishi had been resting in, it was in a side of the room. Mitsuhiko approached and examined both the outside and the inside, not finding anything worthwhile. It didn't even have any blood.

Sleeping Bag

The sleeping bag provided to Mitsuishi at the beginning of our stay. Blue and fluffy, this is where Mitsuishi was resting while he was poisoned.

Since the sleeping bag had nothing that could be useful Mitsuhiko stood up and finally found something that could be better: a whittling knife left in one of the tables. IT seemed to have just been left there haphazardly and by chance it ended behind objects, making it hard to see. Mitsuhiko looked at it closely, finding the blade had blood. Bingo. Taking it carefully Mitsuhiko went to the corpse and lifted Mitsuishi's coat, finding the wound he had in his abdomen.

The size and the width fit the whittling knife. The culprit attacked Mitsuishi first with the knife and after that killed him with the saw. Was the attack done so he would be weakened and unable to resist? But the hemlock was already doing that well enough...

I think there ' s something I do not understand yet.

Whittling Knife

A small and sharp knife usually used for carving wood. It ' s the blade that caused the wound on Mitsuishi ' s stomach.

That seemed to be everything that had any meaning in the Carpentry Workshop, but there was something about that wound that bothered him. I need to ask Koshimizu-san about this. Hopefully he has recovered enough to answer me something!

Mitsuhikoi left the crime scene, finding Fukuyama still writing. The hunter wondered for a moment what Fukuyama was so focused about but he had more important things to find about. For example: how was Mitsuishi caught in the first place? Wasn't he being taken care of? While Mitsuhiko crossed the lounge he remembered the arrangement that had been done just a few hours ago.

Caretakers Arrangement

Mitsuhiko was with Yurie and Sasuga in the Cafeteria. Sugita was with Koshimizu, Romi and Kishio in the Infirmary. Mimori was with Fukuyama in the Lounge and dealt with Monobear and Lily. Emiko was with Kobayashi and Mitsuishi in the Camp Lily hallway

Since Kobayashi was resting near Mitsuishi the first thought was to ask him if he knew anything. Mitsuhiko found the illusionist sleeping and luckily Emiko was nearby. "Tanaka-san, question" Mitsuhiko said. The courier had just left her room.

"Oh, Hikari-kun. I just finished checking the bedrooms. Nothing to report"

"Nice, but there's something I want to know. Where were you all this time? You were supposed to keep an eye on two people and one of them was murdered horribly in a place thirty meters away. I demand an explanation"

Emiko started pressing her fingers together, bashful. "Yeah, about that...my bad. I fell asleep"

"You fell asleep" Mitsuhiko massaged his temple; he could feel the headache coming again "You were tasked with watching over two poisoned people and you...you fell asleep. Am I getting it right"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't sleep well last night!"

"Right. You know this means Mitsuishi-kun's death may as well be your fault for letting him be killed, right?"

"I know and I'm very sorry" Emiko said, but something in her tone was strange. She didn't seem like she'd have a weight on her conscience for not being responsible about looking over Mitsuishi.

Emiko went away towards the Monobear Camp while Mitsuhiko crouched to check on Kobayashi, shaking him until he was awake. The illusionist rubbed his eyes. "Hikar...what?"

"Did you see anybody taking Mitsuishi-kun away? Or maybe he stood up and walked away?" the hunter inquired.

"I was asleep" He didn't see anything. Nothing can be easy when somebody dies, can it? Now that he had consulted with Emiko and Kobayashi it was time to try something else: Mimori and Fukuyama. They were supposed to be in the Lounge, a place where they could watch easily anybody who passed around. They better not have been asleep too or I'll tear my hair off. Since Fukuyama was the one who was the closest he went there, hoping there'd be any progress.

The actor had finished writing what was there and when Mitsuhiko came near, before he could even say a word, Fukuyama gave him the writing without saying a word. "Eh?" Mitsuhiko started reading.

"Tanaka-san did it. I heard somebody coming while I was here and I pretended to be asleep, just in case. I'm an actor so it's easy!" "You don't need to be an actor to pretend to be asleep. Besides you have that freaking mask on even when you're asleep" Mitsuhiko commented. Maybe Fukuyama glared at him, he wouldn't ever know due to that mask. "Yes, I'm sure it was her. I recognized her uniform, that cap and that cinnamon-colored hair of hers. I have no doubts. Either way, she was dragging Mitsuishi-kun using his sleeping bag. They went into the workshop and I couldn't see more than that. I heard a groan coming from there, surely when he was killed. Then Tanaka-san left the workshop and closed the door, going away to Camp Lily"

Mitsuhiko kept his expression carefully neutral. "Are you completely sure this is what you saw?" Fukuyama nodded emphatically, so Mitsuhiko folded the report and put it in his pocket. "Thank you. This could be useful"

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Emiko dragged Mitsuishi into the Carpentry Workshop and possibly killed him, afterwards simply leaving the crime scene via the door.

"Do you know where is Mimori-san?" Mitsuhiko asked. Fukuyama's only answer was a shrug, so it was now time to look somewhere else. Since he wanted to talk to Koshimizu he descended and got into the Infirmary, where he found the three commanders resting.

Koshimizu was sitting down while the others were still lying on the other beds. He seemed to be the one who had recovered the most. "Koshimizu-san, how are you feeling?"

"...better than I thought I'd be" So far Koshimizu was the only one who seemed in condition to speak "Hemlock is very dangerous, I thought I'd be dead by now. My legs are very weak, though"

"We have all been lucky"

"I think the poisoner didn't use enough hemlock or the mint countered the toxins or something. Maybe we were treated quickly enough. I don't know. So I heard Mitsuishi-kun died. That fucking bear came here and gave me the file already. A saw, eh?"

"Yes but there's something I want to ask. How dangerous would be a wound here?" Mitsuhiko pointed at the spot he had seen the wound on Mitsuishi's stomach. Koshimizu hummed, mumbling to himself.

"Depends on how deep it went. There's an important vein on this area and although it's not as important as an artery the hemorrhage can be dangerous. Exsanguination could happen in a couple minutes instead of seconds, like it'd happen to the carotid"

"A couple minutes..." Mitsuishi had been doomed from the moment he was stabbed with the whittling knife. Why did the culprit use the circular saw, then? "By the way, did Sugita stay here all the time?"

"She did. We talked for a while, nobody here left the Infirmary. Who found the body?"

"Tanaka-san, Mimori-san and Fukuyama-kun arrived first, but..." it was at that point Mitsuhiko realized it. The body announcement sounded when he saw the body, but he had been the fourth to see it.

The culprit was among Emiko or Mimori, judging by Fukuyama's testimony it was Emiko. Mitsuhiko would have considered Fukuyama a suspect if it weren't because he was poisoned and therefore not in condition to kill anybody.

Now that he had obtained an answer from Koshimizu regarding that wound it was time for him to go find Mimori. She wasn't anywhere in the First Floor, so the only option left was the Third Floor. Going upwards Mitsuhiko found her descending the stairs to the Third Floor. "Mimori-san, were you in the Lounge with Fukuyama-kun all the time?"

The journalist shook her head. "Monobear came to harass people around so I had to distract him for a while. The culprit must have gotten Mitsuishi-kun in the workshop while I was away"

"You shouldn't have left Fukuyama-kun alone" Mitsuhiko chastised and Mimori had the grace to seem ashamed of that.

"I shouldn't have, but he was asleep and I had no reason to suppose anything would happen"

"Fine" the hunter wasn't really going to argue that. There were more important things to talk about "Have you found anything yet?"

Mimori showed what she had written in her notepad. 'Our daring journalist cracks the case!' Underneath there was a list of evidence. "Too sensationalist? I didn't solve it but there are a lot of clues upstairs. Go take a look"

"You could let me take a look at what you wrote"

"No! Do your own job" she said before sitting on the Lounge. Knowing that checking by himself was going to be quicker than insisting to Mimori to let him see he went ahead to the Third Floor.

The first door near to the stairs was the Chemistry Laboratory, and when he entered he knew that what Mimori had said it was true. There were clues in the Third Floor. He could see the Chemistry Laboratory had been used recently; surely it was that same day. I bet the poisoner used this place to work with the hemlock to distill it something. The equipment had pieces of dried leaves and other traces that showed what it had been used for.

Chemistry Laboratory

The poisoner used the laboratory to try to extract the poison from the hemlock.

And seeing the hemlock leaves was another revelation: he now knew where it had been obtained. The hunter looked through the window and to the Back Courtyard, where he could see the Greenhouse. Where else would the leaves come from? Hadn't Sugita taken leaves for tea there yesterday? It wasn't hard to suppose the poisoner did the same thing.

...also, were the poisoner and the culprit the same person?

Hemlock

The hemlock used to poison the commanders came from the Greenhouse, and was processed in the Chemistry Laboratory

There were no doubts where the hemlock was after it was processed, too.

Teapot

The poison was given to the commanders through tea from a teapot in the Cafeteria. The teapot came from the kitchen.

And because linking things together is a great way to remember details this makes Mitsuhiko remember another detail: the file that was left in the cafeteria early in the morning. That was strange enough for him to make a note of it, besides...

...if Emiko was the culprit this could be linked to her reason to having killed Mitsuishi-kun, right? Or maybe she was the poisoner. Or both.

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

A file relating how Volkos did a mutual killing game in a bunker. He ' s listed as having two names: Kaiji Kudo and Heiji Hasegawa

Now that he had linked all those thoughts together it was time to focus back on what he had come here for: the laboratory implements. Mitsuhiko started examining each one, not finding anything that he didn't know or deduce already, at least until he found a change that bothered him.

The two rats he had left here the day before were dead.

For a moment Mitsuhiko thought it was due to starvation or for eating too fast their newly found food, but then he noticed the food pellets he had given them was strangely wet. Touching it carefully with his fingertip he found they were still moist instead of having the dry consistency it usually has.

Taking the food container Mitsuhiko did something he didn't think he'd do, but since he had a hunch he had to verify it: he opened the container and smelled the rat food, immediately recoiling from the smell. It was never intended to smell like roses or cookies, that much was sure. The rat food always had an earthy scent but this time there was something different and he knew where it came from, that same stench had been in the teapot.

There was hemlock in the rat food. Wouldn't that mean the rats had died from that?

Laboratory Rats

A pair of rats retrieved from the Biology Laboratory and left in the Chemistry Laboratory. Their food is soaked in a liquid that smells of hemlock. It ' s suspected the rats died due to hemlock poisoning

"Monobear! Monobear, where are you?" Mitsuhiko called. A minute or so passed before the bear made his appearance.

"Yes? Need help from this charming bear, Hikari-kun?"

"Did you clean the Biology Laboratory yet? It's practically a rat graveyard right now"

"Noooope! That's something Lily is supposed to do. I ordered her to!"

Right. That meant it wasn't going to get cleaned anytime. "I want to confirm if there's hemlock in the Greenhouse"

"That's all you need?" Monobear seemed disappointed "Poor me, nobody wants to spend time with me"

"Oh for the love of..." Mitsuhiko, exasperated, tapped his foot. Monobear somehow got the message.

"Okay, I'm telling! The Greenhouse was filled with exotic plants and among them you may find lots of hemlock. I thought some of you would love that! Upupupu...isn't it great when one's right?"

"Yeah, peachy" gently pushing Monobear out of the laboratory so it can't be said he attacked him Mitsuhiko closed the door to the Chemistry Laboratory, and without saying a farewell to the bear he went to the Physics Laboratory.

Unfortunately for the hunter neither the Physics or the Biology laboratory had anything to be found, leaving aside the corpses of the mice. He didn't really search very well in the Biology laboratory. Knowing the hour was almost over he got to the last place to see in the Third Floor and much to his luck there was something actually to be found in the Astronomy Laboratory.

Strewn all over the floor Mitsuhiko found one of the solar systems that decorated the balcony from the planks on the Fourth Floor. The marbles and foam spheres were in disarray among a bundle of cable, having been torn off. From the plank a small length of cable was left, showing the copper inside. It seemed that somebody had pulled from the cable until the plastic and the copper broke into strands, ruining the solar system.

Dismantled Solar System

One of the decorations from the Astronomy Laboratory. Made of cable, marbles and foam it used to showcase our solar system. Now it ' s ruined and strewn on the floor of the Astronomy balcony.

Mitsuhiko had gotten just in time to the Astronomy Laboratory, as just when he had finished checking the ruined solar system the speakers spread around the Headquarters sounded. "Hey everybody! Time is over! Drag everybody into the Meeting Room; attendance is obligatory for all commanders in the building. Unless you're dead!"

The hunter really didn't like the idea of whatever was going to happen in the trial. It was true the poisoned commanders had slowly recovered from what happened, but only Koshimizu seemed to be in condition of talking. The rest weren't going to be able to contribute in any way so the number of people involved in the trial was limited.

When Mitsuhiko got to the First Floor to go to the Cafeteria he crossed with Mimori, who was taking Fukuyama with her, and Emiko, who was lending Kobayashi her shoulder to lean on. The four of them were walking pretty slowly, the legs of two of them still weak. Lily was near with Sugita, possibly going to the Infirmary to get those over there into the Meeting Room. After making sure they'd be okay and able to get to the right place Mitsuhiko got to visit the two he in charge of.

Yurie was wide awake and waiting for him and although her legs were still completely paralyzed she was very grateful for Mitsuhiko coming to get her. The hunter practically had to carry her around. Sasuga was better and able to walk, although he had to take a chair to support himself all the way.

When Mitsuhiko arrived to the Meeting Room he found Sugita and Lily had successfully gotten everybody in there. Most of the commanders were sitting limply, either with their heads on the back of the chairs or on the table, none of them with energy to get into debates or discussion.

Only Sugita, Emiko, Mimori and possibly Koshimizu were ready to argue. We're doomed, aren't we? We're going to ruin everything between us.

If it wasn't for Fukuyama's testimony Mitsuhiko would have felt hopeless, but at least they had a good starting point. Now the thing was:

What did Fukuyama see? Emiko killing Mitsuishi? Or was something else going on?

That was where this was going to rely on. The only option was to solve everything using that testimony as the starting point.

Please, let this be as simple as it seems...please...

Chapter Text

"Are you all ready for the triaaaaaal?" Monobear asked dramatically, spreading her arms to both side. Just as one may suppose when more than half of the commanders are deadly sick the response wasn't exactly enthusiastic.

"They're way too sick to do this, Monobear" Lily said with a certain satisfaction "Wouldn't you rather to postpone this for a few days?"

"No! The trial will be done right now. There are some who are able to talk and discuss. Let's leave it up to them to lead the trial to a resounding success! Or to a hope-crushing failure. Three guesses which one I want to happen and the first two doesn't count"

Mitsuhiko sighed. "Okay, let's get started. The facts of the case are simple: Mitsuishi-kun was murdered in the Carpentry Workshop. Most of the commanders have an alibi in the sense they were in way too much freaking agony to go around murdering people. So, who's left?" That was a rhetorical question, but may as well try to lead everybody to a possible conclusion.

"Um, those of us that weren't sick?" Sugita replied "Tanaka-san, Mimori-san, Fukuyama-kun, you and me"

"Right. Let's narrow this a bit more. The body found announcement happens when three innocent people find the body, are you following me so far?" General nods from those who were paying attention "Fukuyama-kun, Mimori-san and Tanaka-san found the body, but the announcement wasn't triggered. It only happened when I saw it. So! What's the conclusion from this?"

"The culprit is one of those three" Koshimizu responded. Mitsuhiko felt his mood enlighten a bit, at least they had Koshimizu available.

"Congrats, Sugita-san! You're innocent!" Emiko said but it didn't get more than a mere nod. Sugita sat aside and took Sasuga's hand, the Roboticist barely registering it, almost asleep on the table.

"Fukuyama-kun was poisoned, he can't be the culprit" Mimori quickly said "And I'm not the culprit either, so it was her"

"I didn't do it, I didn't even go into the Lounge or anywhere else near that" that was all Emiko said regarding that accusation.

"It's between us two and unlike you I can prove I didn't go into the Carpentry Workshop at any time. I have an alibi" Mimori pointed at Monobear with her pen "Hey, bear. Who were you with around the time of the crime?"

"Eh?" Monobear, despite being the main observer of the trial, wasn't expecting to be dragged into it. He stared for a moment before laughing softly. "Upupu...I was with nobody, just alone by myself. Why do you ask?"

"Bear" Mimori narrowed her eyes "Are you trying to deny you attempted to bother us at that time?"

"I wouldn't do such a rude thing. I have bedside manners, you know!"

"I don't know why I expected you to be helpful" the journalist slammed her pen on the table

"Either way; even if he denies it I was with Monobear when the crime happened"

"If he doesn't admit it then it doesn't count" Emiko crossed her arms.

"Because it's convenient to you"

"This won't get anywhere, Hikari-kun" Koshimizu said to Mitsuhiko while the two female suspects argued between themselves about who has an alibi and who doesn't. Mitsuhiko, knowing it was true, had to take the decision as to who blame for the murder.

"Okay, sorry to inform you, Tanaka-san, but you're the one I have to suspect here" the hunter stated. Emiko, who apparently didn't expect to be accused so quickly, looked at him with wide eyes.

"You have to be kidding me...why am I the suspect?"

Okay, let ' s see...I ' ll try to prod her a bit. The main piece of evidence will have be presented in a moment, so let ' s go for another one for now.

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

Caretakers Arrangement

"You were supposed to take care of Mitsuishi-kun. Sure, you said you fell asleep but it's odd. It sounded like a bad excuse to me" Well, it wasn't the whole truth but that could be useful to try to gauge reaction from her.

"You fell asleep? Was dealing with two sick guys too much for you?" Mimori sneered. Apparently the fact there was a limited amount of commanders available to talk gave some leeway to antagonize other people, especially when it meant not being the suspect.

"Shut up" Emiko quickly replied before focusing back onto Mitsuhiko "It is a bad excuse for my failure as a caretaker but it's the truth. You have no idea how badly I slept last night"

"I talked to Amy and he said there was nobody near him. You weren't there" That was an outright lie but it wasn't like Kobayashi was going to deny it. The illusionist yawned when he was mentioned but he didn't say Mitsuhiko was lying.

Emiko wasn't impressed, though "Nice try, but I know Kobayashi-kun was deeply asleep. I tried so many times to talk to him I know he was knocked out"

"He was asleep and you knew it very well, eh? Maybe you took advantage of it to, perhaps, leave your spot?" Mimori took the chance to barb Emiko. Mitsuhiko facepalmed, they weren't going to make any progress if Mimori tried to stir everything up every time there was an opening.

"Mimori-san, please don't. So, Tanaka-san, just because he was asleep at one point doesn't mean he was going to be asleep at all times"

"Does he look on condition of being wide awake for long? Look at him and tell me" Emiko pointed at Kobayashi. She did have a point. Kobayashi was now drooling on the table, deeply asleep.

Well so much for that. My strategy failed. "That's not the only thing I have against you, Tanaka-san. There's something else that points at you"

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

"Amy was sleeping but there was somebody who wasn't: Fukuyama-kun. He saw you entering the Carpentry Workshop"

Emiko looked at Fukuyama who nodded, confirming he had said such thing. "Really? What did he say, exactly?"

"You read it. I have his testimony right here" Mitsuhiko passed the written content to the courier, who read it a couple times. Mitsuhiko carefully looked at her expression; it was darkening the longer she spent reading it. It looked like she really didn't like what she was seeing. Once she was done she left the paper on the table, trying to keep a straight face.

"W-well, I see. So he says I dragged Mitsuishi-kun in there but he never says I killed him. That has a lot of problems so let's start with one of them"

Nonstop Debate

Hemlock / Erased Message / Monobear File #3 / Fukuyama ' s Testimony / Teapot

EMIKO: I'm not saying what he said is true...

FUKUYAMA: I saw it... *WHEEZE*

EMIKO: Right. But even if I was with Mitsuishi-kun in there...

EMIKO: ...I think it's clear I couldn't have killed him

EMIKO: If you take a look you'll see I had no blood on me

EMIKO: And his death was pretty bloody!

KOSHIMIZU: Cutting an artery with a saw would spray blood

EMIKO: If I had slit his neck I'd be covered in blood

KOSHIMIZU: Did you see any blood, Fukuyama-kun?

FUKUYAMA: ...no...

EMIKO: There you have it

MIMORI: I didn't look around but...

MIMORI: ...I don't think there was anything she could use...

MIMORI: ...to avoid staining herself with blood

EMIKO: That's only one of the many problems with the theory

EMIKO: Got a counter? Anything?

"I do" Mitsuhiko said. It was time to start figuring out just what exactly Emiko had done with Mitsuishi in the Carpentry Workshop. He did believe she had been the one who dragged Mitsuishi away and Fukuyama's testimony supported that thought, but that didn't confirm she was the killer. Mitsuhiko needed to solve all the problems.

"You found something she could cover herself with?" Sugita asked.

"Not exactly, but she could at least wound Mitsuishi-kun without being bloodied. Look at the file" Mitsuhiko showed it to everybody "The neck wasn't the only wound he had. He was also stabbed"

"He died because of the neck, not that" Mimori pointed.

"I know! I'm trying to clarify that it's possible Tanaka-san stabbed Mitsuishi-kun. Would that make blood gush like an artery?" he asked to Koshimizu. The Medical Demon thought for a moment.

"There'd be blood but it'd be mostly on her hands"

"It's be easy to hide your hands. Fukuyama-kun wouldn't see any blood if you did that"

"If, if, if" Emiko rolled her eyes. She was taking everything pretty coldly. "As Mimori-san said: he didn't die because he was stabbed. Would that even matter?"

"It would if it proves you had ill intent towards Mitsuishi-kun. A stab first, doing the fatal strike later"

"Oh, come on! Why not to kill him all the way in that very moment? It makes no sense to wait for later"

"Besides the stab would make him bleed out in a few minutes. There was no time to wait around" Koshimizu added.

If she killed Mitsuishi-kun then she must have returned to the workshop to use the saw. I won't be able to go any further if I can't prove she came back. "Fukuyama-kun, did you see anything else?" Mitsuhiko asked. The actor shook his head. "Damn it"

Emiko closed her eyes and smiled placidly. "It was not that bad of an effort but the facts can't be twisted so they fit your truth. Let's find the correct answer, okay?"

"But I'm rather sure it's you. Nobody else entered the Carpentry Workshop, right Fukuyama-kun?"

"Um..." Fukuyama rubbed his throat "I don't know. I dozed off and...ohnlee wok ap when" his voice started croaking, having difficulty breathing. Mimori hit him on the back, trying to help, and passed him her notepad and pen. While Fukuyama wrote she gave new data.

"Fukuyama-kun was asleep when I found him. I woke him up and he immediately dragged himself off to try to open the workshop"

"Seriously?" Mitsuhiko sank in his seat, frustrated "Is everybody except me falling asleep randomly today or what?"

"I use method acting and I'm so good at it I fell asleep" Fukuyama wrote that on the notepad. Before that there were several crossed words, saying more or less the same Mimori had said.

"I don't think that's method acting"

"Let's not get sidetracked, okay?" Mimori put her feet on the table. Her behavior resembled the confident mood she had during the first trial when she was accusing Kobayashi of having murdered the first victim "Tanaka-san, you may have a point but it's between you and me. I have no other option that pursuing you as the culprit because it definitely wasn't me.

Any other defense you may have?"

"You haven't disproved my first point" Emiko replied.

"Fukuyama-kun already admitted he fell asleep and I confirmed it. Let's say he fell asleep shortly after you left after stabbing him. When that happened you returned and killed Mitsuishi-kun with the circular saw and set the closed room"

"...ah" Emiko narrowed her eyes "Since he fell asleep you could have gone in there yourself as well"

"I suppose you'd be right about that if it weren't because I was fending Monobear off and was done with it shortly after the murder. I can't have done it"

"He hasn't admitted it yet!"

"Not. Again" Mitsuhiko punched the table, startling Mimori and Emiko. If the whole trial was going to be like this then it'd get old way too fast "Do you have other arguments for your innocence, Tanaka-san?"

"Well there's another one" Emiko looked at Lily "Lily, could you project the crime scene"

"I didn't see it so I can't"

"I investigated it so I can give you the parameters" Mitsuhiko said and started reciting everything he had seen and found, as well as the quirks that made it a closed room. When he was done Lily projected a perfect replica of the Carpentry Workshop crime scene, including a small gray figure symbolizing Mitsuishi. "There. What do you have to say, Tanaka-san?"

"As you can see this is a closed room murder. Fukuyama-kun says he saw me go out of the workshop but if I had killed him then that wouldn't have been possible"

Nonstop Debate

Fukuyama ' s Testimony / Caretakers Assignment / The Mud Outside / Laboratory Rats / Circular Saw

EMIKO: The way he died doesn't matter

EMIKO: What matters is the table you see here!

MIMORI: What about it?

EMIKO: How could I escape the room...

EMIKO: ...if a table was blocking the door?

KOSHIMIZU: She's right about that

KOSHIMIZU: With that table in the way...

KOSHIMIZU: ...she wouldn't be able to escape

MIMORI: The door is not the only way out

MIMORI: There's also a window

MIMORI: I bet you got out through the window

EMIKO: But Fukuyama-kun says it was through the door!

MIMORI: He was asleep when you returned

MIMORI: You set the closed room and made it like it couldn't be you

MIMORI: It isn't that hard

"It isn't so simple, Mimori-san. She can't have gone through the window"

"Why not?" Mimori raised her eyebrows.

"Because she didn't, just like that. I checked the ground outside of the window and I'm sure jumping from a window from the second floor would leave some sort of print. Nothing like that was found there!"

"...oh" Mimori supported her head with her hands "M-Maybe she felt lightly and...yeah"

"That didn't happen. There's another thing that shows she can't have escaped through the window"

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

Window

"The window was locked when the body was found and it can't be locked in the outside. Tanaka-san can't have escaped"

"That's a good point" Koshimizu commented "I think it's clear what Fukuyama-kun saw wasn't Tanaka-san killing Mitsuishi-kun"

"But if it wasn't her then who…? And what was she doing with him in the workshop?"

"Yeah, she hasn't denied she dragged him there" Sugita added "What was that, Tanaka-san?"

Emiko fidgeted with her sleeves, looking to a side "I suspected Mitsuishi-kun had something to do with the poisoning so I dragged him there to interrogate him"

"How long was Tanaka-san in the workshop?" the Tea Demon asked to Fukuyama, who raised a single finger. "A minute? A nod was the only response. Sugita shook her head, confused "A minute isn't enough to interrogate anybody. She's lying"

"I didn't lie! It's just that he was too weak to answer anything so I left him alone"

…nothing she's saying makes sense. She's trying very hard to hide something, just like Romi-san was doing in the other trial. "Tanaka-san, I see no good reason for you to do any of that. It's painfully obvious something happened when you and he got in there" Mitsuhiko said.

"And I tell you nothing happened"

"Come on! One doesn't need to be a genius to know what happened. I should have known it earlier"

"Then say it, what did I do in the workshop?" Emiko challenged. She seemed more annoyed than anything else, as if she knew what was coming and knew she wouldn't be able to stop it. That part is easy. I think I can guess.

"You dragged Mitsuishi-kun in there and..."

You killed him

You wounded him

You knocked him out

You tried to get him to safety

You wounded him

"...and you wounded him. You were the one who stabbed him with that knife, right?"

"Let's suppose I did" Emiko crossed her arms, defiant "What does that change?"

"Mitsuishi-kun didn't die because of that wound, it doesn't change much" Mimori pointed, doodling in her notebook.

"But the stab wound would have killed him. The blood was flowing freely" Koshimizu grunted, rubbing his legs.

"So even if I did it doesn't matter, right?" Emiko shook her head "So yeah, I'm not the culprit. Move on"

...she isn't trying to even cover it now. She isn't outright saying she did it but she isn't trying to hide it either. Mitsuhiko felt there was something going on and unlike Romi in the other trial he had the feeling Emiko knew very well what she was doing. Feeling that pressing Emiko wouldn't help any further he decided to go for another matter. "If Tanaka-san stabbed him then why didn't she finish him?"

"He was going to die either way" Koshimizu said again.

"I know that! But had she any way to know that?"

Emiko's eyes immediately darted to a side before focusing back on the front. Feeling that may be a potential clue he followed to who she had looked at.

It had been Monobear. "Tanaka-saaaan...have you had medical training in any way?" Mitsuhiko asked. He wasn't sure how significant that had been. For all he knew that meant nothing.

"No, I'm a simple courier. Administrative skills are all I have" she replied dryly, carefully keeping her voice and expression stony.

"Then do you know anybody who has medical training other than Koshimizu-san?"

A pause of a few seconds before her eyes once again focused on Monobear for a second. Now he knew there was something going on. "No. Nobody at all"

"If Tanaka-san knew a spot where she could hit him so he'd bleed out then that'd solve that problem. It wasn't a random wound, she planned this" Sugita concluded, not having noticed Emiko's suspicious behavior.

"But then why didn't she outright kill him? Why did she merely leave him with enough life for a few minutes?" Mimori inquired "It doesn't make sense"

"It doesn't matter, I'm not the culprit!" Emiko claimed "I didn't cut his neck, who cares what I did or didn't do!"

"Then tell us what you did. Don't try to pretend you're innocent of taking part of the murder in any way because none of us will believe that. Give us a testimony" Mitsuhiko requested, focusing on the courier. In his opinion everything now depended on what Emiko was going to say. Come on, slip up or something. Give us a clue!

Nonstop Debate

Whittling Knife / Hemlock / Erased Message / Blood on the Hand / Table

EMIKO: I admit I dragged Mitsuishi-kun to the workshop

SUGITA: But why did you do that?

EMIKO: Not answering that

EMIKO: Once I was inside I took him out of the sleeping bag

EMIKO: And...And I stabbed him

EMIKO: Only once.

KOSHIMIZU: Were you trying to kill him?

EMIKO: ...I was.

EMIKO: But since I didn't it doesn't matter, right?

MITSUHIKO: Sounds to me you had an ulterior motive

EMIKO: Once I stabbed him I left the workshop

EMIKO: But I'll tell you something:

EMIKO: When I left the workshop...

EMIKO: ...the culprit was already in there.

"You definitely had an ulterior motive. Since you said the culprit was in that workshop then you basically brought the victim to the culprit" Mitsuhiko said. Emiko snorted. Something about her behavior greatly bothered Mitsuhiko. Why while it was being proven she was a willing accomplice to the murder she still behaved like it was no big deal? She surely knew Monobear would let only one person escape! And that person wouldn't be her.

"Fukuyama-kun didn't see anything" Emiko pointed "Right?" The actor nodded, coughing.

"And what guarantees he was in his spot? How can we be sure he isn't the culprit and he cooperated with you to kill Mitsuishi-kun?"

"Hikari-kun, you're an idiot" Mimori rolled her eyes "This guy almost died because he was poisoned, did you forget that already?"

"She's right, he wouldn't be in condition to kill somebody and create a closed room" Koshimizu agreed "I couldn't even move my legs in the slightest an hour ago. It must have been the same for him"

"But why? Why did she help the culprit? What does she gain?" Sugita inquired, touching the point Mitsuhiko had missed "You know you won't be getting out of here, right?"

"I know that. Call me suicidal but I got into this murder knowing very well what I was doing. So I repeat again: the culprit was in that workshop when I left that place. Fukuyama-kun was in the Lounge yet he saw nobody enter"

"Then who is the culprit?"

She ' s trying to lead us somewhere …and it's impossible. It can't be serious she¿s trying to suggest this is the culprit...

Monobear

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Emiko Tanaka

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Daisuke Mitsuishi

"Tanaka-san, you're daft if you think we're going to believe Mitsuishi-kun committed suicide" Mitsuhiko growled. It was clear to him Emiko was trying to mislead them to think the victim had killed himself and he wasn't going to accept it. Emiko shrugged, knowing she wasn't convincing anybody.

"Believe what you want to believe"

"Mitsuishi-kun was almost dead, being poisoned and all" Sugita reminded them "He wouldn't have the energy to create a closed room"

"He wouldn't even be able to kill himself!" Koshimizu added.

"Besides it has already proven without a doubt the culprit is one of you three" Mitsuhiko finished but Emiko merely laughed. However Mitsuhiko could feel it was very strained and there was no authentic mirth in it. I don't doubt Emiko took part of this murder but I must remember it isn't as simple as that. There must be some sort of reason she's doing this because it's clear to me she isn't a bad person.

IS THAT SO?

"Hikari-kun, nothing has been proven. You're getting ahead of yourself"

"I didn't say we have discussed it here" Mitsuhiko replied. Emiko seemed to be taken aback by those words but soon feigned her smug behavior again.

"Okay, let's see then. I want it to be truly undeniable, show me how either Mimori-san, Fukuyama-kun or me did it"

Rebuttal Showdown

Monobear File #3 / Table / Window / Dismantled Solar System / Whittling Knife

EMIKO: We all agreed from the beginning…

EMIKO: …we were the only suspects

EMIKO: Fukuyama-kun couldn't have done it

EMIKO: He's the only one that has been proven…

EMIKO: …is completely innocent

EMIKO: Mimori-san was not seen by him

EMIKO: And it's obvious by now I didn't do it!

MITSUHIKO: I don't get it

MITSUHIKO: Why are you defending the culprit?

MITSUHIKO: Only the culprit can be guilty

EMIKO: Is that why you're so confused?

EMIKO: What if I told you…

EMIKO: I caused Mitsuishi-kun's death

EMIKO: I left him to bleed out

EMIKO: Even if I didn't give the final strike…

EMIKO: I contributed to his death

EMIKO: That should be good enough, right?

Mitsuhiko shook his head. Emiko wasn't even getting a good argument; her words were jumbled and confusing. He wasn't sure what the point of the words was. "Tanaka-san, you're not the culprit and no matter what you did you won't ever be"

"Proof" that was Emiko's reply. Mitsuhiko took out the bear's file.

"We already defined you couldn't have caused the cut on his neck. The most you may have done is stab him but the file here clearly states what killed him was the saw. Did you get it already? To Monobear's eyes you're innocent"

"It isn't like he can say that…" Emiko said but the hunter wasn't done.

"The body announcement! It only sounded when I saw the body. You three had entered and it didn't trigger it. If Mitsuishi-kun had killed himself then I wouldn't have needed to see the body"

Emiko stared at Mitsuhiko for a moment before turning to Monobear. "Hey, bear. Tell them: in a crime with multiple commanders involved who would be the real culprit?"

Monobear, who had been lounging on his seat like nothing was happening, turned his head around. "Oh? The mastermind, of course. The person who plans and keeps control of everything according to their plan would be the real culprit of the case"

"Just what I wanted to hear" Emiko nodded "And if the mastermind didn't leave any option to somebody other than…killing? It being all part of a plan?"

"If it goes according to the mastermind's scheme then it counts"

"Tanaka-san, you're not trying to say… Mimori had her eyes wide open and soon Mitsuhiko understood what Emiko was going for. But it doesn't make sense for her to admit it Why is she so protective of the real culprit? Doesn't she understand she's going to die?

"Yes" Emiko nodded "I forced Mitsuishi-kun to use the saw to kill himself"

"No way!" Sugita shouted "How would you manage to do that? He was too weak to do it!"

"Right, right. So you say that" Emiko said "Consider this: was Mitsuishi-kun even sick on the first place?"

"You're saying he was pretending to be poisoned" Koshimizu concluded, eliciting a nod from the courier.

"Even if he was Monobear's body announcement condition clears Mitsuishi-kun's name" Mitsuhiko said. He wasn't going to let Emiko distract them with that possibility "Yes, Monobear himself has ruined your plan to frame Mitsuishi-kun"

A strange noise emerged from Monobear, it was like the person talking through him had cleared their throat. "I knew it was a mistake to do that. From now on the culprit will count towards the number of people finding them"

"That's no problem, it counts in this case and that's what matters"

Emiko shook her head, taking her cap off. It seemed more like she was resigned to see her plan partly ruined; nothing was going well for her. "But he did kill himself. That should mean voting for him is what we must do, because he did it. Sure, I forced him but…I didn't give the killing blow. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Um…" Sugita looked away "To be honest you have been very confusing. I don't even understand now what you have been trying to say"

"Same, what's the point of all this?" Koshimizu inquired, frowning.

"It…isn't clear? My bad" Emiko replied but it was obvious she wasn't really sorry about that. Mitsuhiko once again felt something nagging in his head. He knew Emiko was protecting somebody but her actions in the trial were confusing and her arguments flimsy.

"You're trying to confuse us, make us forget facts and stuff" the hunter declared "That's what you're doing, that's why everything you have said is disconnected. You're trying to mislead us"

"Ooooh…right? Why's that?"

"You know who the culprit is. You cooperated with them. You're trying to mislead us"

"Do you mean Mimori-san and her are working together?" Sugita asked but the journalist threw a ball of paper at her.

"I had nothing to do with all this, okay?"

"Stop that! We won't get anywhere until we put some order in this" Mitsuhiko hit the table "Let's start with an easy question: why would Tanaka-san cooperate with the culprit in the first place?" That was a good starting point. Emiko had taken control of the trial so far, it was time for Mitsuhiko to lead everybody in a direction and not let the courier confuse anybody.

"She should know by now that only the culprit will receive the prize" Sugita added "There's only one spot in the Main Board"

"Then there must be something else that encouraged her to assist them. Maybe she was threatened?" Koshimizu mulled. Mimori was doodling in her notebook without doing any effort to help.

Threatened…maybe… "I think you have the right idea" Mitsuhiko said slowly "Maybe Tanaka-san was…blackmailed into helping?"

"I wouldn't let myself be blackmailed by anybody" Emiko declared bluntly "I have nothing anybody could use against me"

"Is that so? Are you sure you don't have a certain detail like...something in your past?" Mitsuhiko had a pretty good idea of what it could be. It was pretty much laid on the table, but much to his surprise Emiko didn't flinch or anything. In fact it didn't seem like she was too affected by that...at least in the context of being blackmailed.

"No, there's nothing in my past that anybody could use to blackmail me" that was the courier's reply, and judging by her tone...she was honest about that.

"There must be a reason why she was a willing accomplice. If there's no blackmail then...what, did she approach a random person and say 'Hey, let's kill people'?" Sugita said, causing Mitsuhiko to suddenly look at her. That's it!

"I think I get it now. Why Tanaka-san took part of this plan. I was wrong, she wasn't blackmailed. In fact I think it's more likely she was approached because she'd be useful for the culprit, but first they had to know she was willing to kill"

"That's a dangerous thing to ask, the culprit must have been pretty sure she'd help" Koshimizu pointed.

"Yes, exactly! The culprit knew something...and talked with Tanaka-san. If I had to guess...the culprit used this as leverage to get her on the plan. Not this object, literally, but I think you'll understand"

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

Hemlock

"The hemlock?" Mimori's eyes widened "You don't mean that...that Tanaka-san is the one who..." Mimori wasn't an idiot; she knew very well what Mitsuhiko was saying. What she wanted was him to say it plainly so she could evaluate Emiko's reaction.

The courier wasn't an idiot either. She looked away, pulling the brim of her cap down to her eyes. "I see what you're trying to pull. You're trying to pin that on me now, aren't you?"

That was truer than Mitsuhiko liked to admit. "I don't need to pin on you something you actually did. You added the hemlock to the tea. You almost killed eight people" There was absolutely no evidence that Emiko was the poisoner. In fact all he had was a very faint possibility. She must have been the poisoner. Otherwise the culprit wouldn't have contacted her. The culprit somehow found out she did that and that led to she helping them.

I can ' t be wrong about this.

Chapter Text

"Hikari-kun, are you absolutely sure she did that?" Koshimizu asked. Everybody who was healthy enough paid attention, and to be frank the hunter didn't feel very comfortable. He knew that his answer would mean where the trial would go. An affirmative answer would mean that if he was wrong then he'd lose all credibility and they'd be likely to vote for the wrong person. If he said he wasn't sure then they wouldn't progress at all.

It was a risk he had to take. "I'm completely sure of it"

"And I suppose you have proof of that?" Emiko asked pointedly. Mitsuhiko shook his head, trying to be as noncommittal as possible.

"I have a theory"

"A theory without proof won't be any good"

"Has that ever stopped us before? We need to do everything we can" Mitsuhiko got ready to say what he had in mind. "Remember Hosoya-kun's plan for murder? How somebody, the mole, extracted gaseous anesthetics from sleeping pills? I think something similar happened this time"

Sasuga leaned forward and said something with a raspy voice. It was unintelligible but it was encouraging too, a sign the others were getting better. Hemlock is very toxic; nobody should be getting better so quickly. Why did nobody die? Was that on purpose? Sugita, noticing her boyfriend's attempt, approached so he told her in a low voice what he meant and passed the message to the rest "If Tanaka-san was the poisoner then she must have done that by herself. Are you saying she's the mole?"

"She got here in strange circumstances. Maybe she is" Mimori supported.

"No, I don't think she's the mole, but what I'm saying is that I think the mole is the culprit of this case. The mole took the saw and killed Mitsuishi-kun" Mitsuhiko clarified.

"I don't get it...start from the beginning" Sugita murmured. Mitsuhiko got his ideas in order; there was one starting point for his theory. He was sure that Emiko was no more than the accomplice and was protecting the culprit, the person that dealt the killing blow. Her words so far was no more than a smoke screen, her stuff about being the true mastermind and Mitsuishi killing himself and everything were desperate attempts to protect the culprit.

He wasn't going to let the culprit win. "Okay, as I said the culprit enlisted Tanaka-san's help to kill. They knew she was willing to murder somebody, and as I see it there's only one moment when they found out that"

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

Chemistry Laboratory

"Seeing anybody carrying hemlock around, even if it can be recognized as such, isn't really suspicious. Seeing anybody with a teapot, even if it's recognized as what carries the poison, doesn't mean that person did it.

But if they see anybody distilling hemlock in a laboratory...it's enough to raise some alarm, isn't it?"

"So you say the mole saw Tanaka-san attempting to obtain the hemlock toxins in the laboratory?" Mimori smiled "Seems to me a lie can be concocted in a moment like that"

"This isn't as easy as hiding it behind your back. The mole has a background in chemistry. After taking a look they'd know what she was doing and maybe...they'd offer some assistance in exchange of helping them in their own plan"

"But Tanaka-san had no reason to kill us" Koshimizu argued "She could have done it at any point before"

"It's not that hard to find out: she's not one of us. She is not a commander, she's an outsider. For all she cares we're no more than strangers" Mimori replied "Murdering horribly wouldn't be a problem for her"

"But it's unfair, why would the bear let her kill eight people?" Sugita inquired, eliciting a low cackle from Monobear.

"Upupu...I never said you were limited to killing one person. As long as there's one culprit standing at the end it doesn't matter how many people die. For all I care one of you can kill everybody else who's alive!" the surviving commanders cringed, now that this detail was revealed in plain sight it was possible somebody would attempt to become a serial murderer.

"Either way, something must have changed, something made Tanaka-san attempt to kill us"

"I can't believe you all already think I did it. Don't I get the benefit of doubt?" Emiko was leaning her chair backwards and looking at the ceiling without any expression.

"You already admitted cooperating in some way with this death, it's not that much of a reach to think you're the poisoner" Mitsuhiko asserted "But I agree, something must have changed...

...and I have a very good idea what it was"

This made Emiko straighten in her seat so quickly she almost fell down from the chair. "Really? What is it?"

"Alright, you got here unexpectedly, bringing a gun to me and all. It's obvious it wasn't an accident. Maybe you're not from the Future Foundation but you have an agenda to meet. If I had to guess I think you got in here to...to look for information"

"Look for information? There's nothing to find out here, my arrival was just an accident" Emiko's eye twitched for a moment before she recovered a measure of calmness "What kind of information would I risk my life to find out? I'd have to be an idiot to do that!"

She wanted information, something worth risking her life...all I need is to think what she told me while I was in the cell and think about what we found out today.

...time to drag out in plain sight who you really are, Tanaka-san.

Panic Talk Battle

EMIKO: There's an explanation for everything

EMIKO: Why would I want this?

EMIKO: I don't want to be here!

EMIKO: Let me go! Let me go!

EMIKO: It's a mistake!

EMIKO: There's nothing wrong with me

EMIKO: N-No reason at all!

EMIKO: Do you hate me that much?!

EMIKO: Stop that!

EMIKO: There's nothing to find out!

What kind of information would I risk my life for?

Deaths of sister and husband

"Tanaka-san...no...Hasegawa-san. You didn't get here as an accident. You knew very well what you were doing. You're looking for answers about...two people who died"

The silence was thick and uncomfortable. Emiko's shoulders raised, she was bracing herself for what was going to come. "Say it, what do you know?"

"I know what you have told me and what we all found out"

"...gawa? Is it about ...eria?" Kobayashi gasped, attempting to form words. It took him several tries to say what he was trying to say. 'Hasegawa? Is it about the file in the cafeteria?'

"Yes, that's something related to her reason to be here, but it's just half. Let me explain this:

Emiko Tanaka doesn't exist in this building. Her real name, which she told me some days ago, is Emiko Hasegawa-Nakai. Heiji Hasegawa, the man that was Volkos, was her husband. Whether that was his true name or not doesn't matter, she took his last name.

Volkos died as a traitor, the mastermind of a massacre: the mutual killing game in a bunker some miles away from here, we all know that...and it's to be expected she knew that too. But you didn't accept that, right Hasegawa-san? You felt there was something else.

But Volkos wasn't the only person you lost in that bunker...you lost a sister too. You said that"

"When did she say that?" Sugita inquired.

"When I was in my cell we talked, that's when she told me her name...she said she had lost a sister there. That was all she said, of course she wouldn't want to say the details, but that's all I need to know right now. This is what she came for:

To find out how responsible DeeEy was of those two deaths. And looks like the answer she found was that...Diavolos Avante were the ones to blame. Then you wanted to kill us because we were high ranking members of DeeEy, right?"

Emiko was silent. Her attempt to shout a lot to stop Mitsuhiko from revealing the reason she was caught in the game of mutual killing had been unsuccessful, everybody now knew about her real last names and the motive for her presence there. "Is all that true?" Mimori asked, approaching slowly. Anybody could see that, if Emiko refused to tell the truth, Mimori would badger her until everybody was fed up with everything. To avoid an unstoppable series of questions Emiko decided to surrender.

"You got that mostly right, Hikari-kun. I regret having told you my real name. You wouldn't have done the connection if it hadn't been for that"

"I would have but it would have taken me more time" Mitsuhiko declared.

"Right. Okay, first than all...my given name isn't Emiko. I am Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai. You're right, Hasegawa was my husband's family name, but I kept my old family name in honor to my sister. I hadn't seen her since I was a teenager and well...now I won't anymore"

"So your sister was in that bunker?" Koshimizu prudently didn't mention anything about Volkos causing her death in any way.

"She was. I think you all may remember her. She used to go in public by the name of Ginchiyo"

"Ginchiyo? Wasn't her that indie filmmaker?" Sugita'e eyes sparkled with admiration "I loved her work!"

"'Ginchiyo' was a pseudonym we both used...at least until she betrayed me. I ran away from home, not wanting to see her again, and I admit I hated her for several years. It wasn't until a few months ago that I got tired of that and decided to try to find her. But that was after the world ended, so I joined the Future Foundation because I thought I could find her with their help.

I met Hasegawa-kun in there, and no, I didn't care that wasn't his real name. Being married helped cement his identity, after all. But I didn't manage to find her because the division I was in wasn't in this city. I was at the North, near Towa City. I don't know if you have heard of that place...I returned here and...I got the news of my sister's death. And not only that, Heiji was being blamed as the one who caused it all.

I didn't believe that not even for one second. I did know about Heiji's work, how he was a Diavolos Avante Main Board member, so I suspected they were the real culprits, having gotten rid of Heiji to hide something" at that point Shizuka laughed without any mirth "I didn't expect getting locked in this game thing. But today I finally found out what I wanted to find: that file. It was for me like a confirmation of what I believed. The file AND this mutual killing game proved it, Diavolos Avante had done it. Diavolos Avante killed them.

There was nothing for me to do other than...getting out of here and plan for a way to dismantle the Main Board. And since the only way was to kill...why not to kill people who undoubtedly had caused suffering to other people? How many people have you lot killed, causing grief to others?"

"I don't think it's fair we have to pay for other people's actions" Koshimizu said calmly, although judging by the way his hands shook he was restraining himself from doing anything harsh "We're not the Main Board"

"Somebody had to pay for what they did. You all support them"

"Besides the file was no proof of their involvement, from what I see"

"It's not that simple! Do you think they're going to admit anywhere they killed Heiji?!" Shizuka stood up and confronted Monobear. The bear didn't seem particularly concerned about the courier's defiant stare, scratching his head as if it was merely a mildly puzzling thing to see "You killed him! You're defacing his memory! Am I right or not?"

The bear's eye glowed and Mitsuhiko could see he was getting ready to hurt, his claws almost unsheathed. He was expecting Shizuka to try to attack him "...I have nothing to say"

Shizuka didn't want anything else then strangling whoever was behind the bear's voice. She had settled on killing everybody who was alive sans the culprit and then go away to plan something against the Main Board, but now that her plan was discovered...she could only hope these commanders wouldn't be able to find out the real culprit. Gritting her teeth she sat again, leaving her cap on the table. Some of the commanders seemed betrayed by her, especially Sasuga. Sugita grabbed his hand to calm him down. "You revealed what I wanted to hide, Hikari-kun. What's next?"

"Hmmmm..." Mitsuhiko thought for a moment "Well the culprit is the mole and knew you were using hemlock. We could start working from there"

"But there's something I don't get: how did Tan...Hasegawa-san expect to get out of here if she wasn't the culprit? Accomplices don't escape" Sugita asked.

"That's easy. You see, there's something Hasegawa-san has that nobody else has, and while it's not guaranteed maybe it would work:"

Her mail

Her profession

Her past

Her identity

Her identity

"This is Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai...and she is not a commander. As it was said earlier: she's an outsider. Even if she wins she wouldn't be eligible. I think that the culprit and her made a deal based on that. The culprit wins the spot in the Main Board which I suppose would mean having enough power to save somebody who didn't have anything to do with DeeEy. It was possible it wouldn't work but...what else could she try?"

"...I think I understand it"

"So, as I was saying, the culprit knew she was using hemlock. What would the culprit do, then?"

Nonstop Debate

Teapot / Circular Saw / Chemistry Laboratory / Fukuyama's Testimony / Blood on the Hand

KOBAYASHI: ...not...nk...?

SUGITA: I think he said 'not drink the tea'

KOSHIMIZU: That'd be the obvious choice

KOSHIMIZU: And since Monobear's body announcement...

KOSHIMIZU: ...narrowed it even further...

KOSHIMIZU: Hasegawa-san and Mimori-san

SHIZUKA: ...it was me.

MIMORI: It wasn't me.

SUGITA: The culprit could pretend to be poisoned. But otherwise...

SUGITA: ...Mimori-san is the culprit by process of elimination

SASUGA: *gestures*

SUGITA: I think he's trying to suggest...

SUGITA: ...that the culprit drank the tea.

KOSHIMIZU: That's impossible.

Mitsuhiko's eyes widened. That's it! That's the weak point I was looking for! He had finally caught a glimpse of the truth; he knew who the culprit was. Now what remained was to make everybody else notice it. "I didn't think it before but now I see...that's how it was. That's the culprit's trick!" Hasegawa's poisoning was going to be the culprit's downfall, if Mitsuhiko was right "Look, it'd be very easy for the culprit to be "poisoned". All they had to do is take that teapot, serve a cup for themselves and pretend to have the symptoms"

"That'd need the culprit to know about hemlock poisoning" Mimori flicked a ball of paper towards Koshimizu.

"Not really. I know who the culprit is and...I see it now. Hasegawa-san and they planned this very carefully. Let's start with a suggestion: what'd be the biggest danger for the culprit if they were faking the symptoms?"

"Being caught faking them, of course" Sugita replied.

"Not necessarily. If the culprit is able to pretend flawlessly then that wouldn't be a problem. No, the biggest danger would be to actually commit the murder. Each person has a caretaker, right? Hasegawa-san was in charge of two people: Mitsuishi-kun and Amy"

Kobayashi's head rolled on the table, looking at Mitsuhiko without any energy. "...aaaaaaat?"

"Don't fret, Amy, I'm not accusing you" the hunter clarified and the illusionist relaxed "Hasegawa-san dealt with the victim, dragging him into the workshop. The culprit, on the other hand, had to deal with their caretaker. And since the culprit is the mole who better help for that task than Monobear himself?"

Monobear didn't say anything to that; Mitsuhiko continued "The mole relied on Monobear to bait the caretaker away of them. It was said several times already, didn't it?" the hunter said that, expecting Mimori to back him up, but she didn't say anything. She looked away, most likely guilty for having been led away.

"I see where you're going" Koshimizu reached to the side, placing his hand on the culprit's shoulder, who in that moment was languidly holding their head between their arms and on the table. Until that point it was just them looking like they were so sleepy they couldn't stay awake, but now that suspicion was starting to pour on them it was more as if they didn't want to be seen.

"Finally, there's one last clue that settles the culprit's guilt. Thank you for the announcements, Monobear" Mitsuhiko grinned "Your stupid rules have ended betraying your ally. The culprit found the body and there was only one "supposedly sick" commander in the workshop in that moment"

Koshimizu took it as his cue to yank from Fukuyama's shoulder, making him sit up. He still had the Monobear mask, so nobody could see his expression, but his body language indicated he had been bracing himself for this for a while. But when everybody had their eyes on him he made sure to hide those hints, settling for a limp posture. "Of course. I knew it as soon as you started talking about pretending to be sick. Who else better for that than an actor?" Sugita commented.

Feeling confident about his reasoning Mitsuhiko turned to Hasegawa. The courier was biting her lip, sweating nervously. "Anything to say, Hasegawa-san?"

"Oh, um...y-you can't prove he's pretending to be sick. You can't blame him"

"But the body announcement practically shows he's the culprit!" Sugita exclaimed "That proves it"

"You're all supposing the culprit was pretending to be sick"

"The only other option would be Mimori-san, then, and that'd make Fukuyama-kun's testimony true. He says he didn't see anybody enter"

"In hindsight everything he said was pretty sketchy when it was compared to Hasegawa-san's testimony" Koshimizu mulled.

"She entered through the window!" Hasegawa argued "After I left she entered through the window and created the closed room, leaving through the window again"

"That's impossible" the hunter countered "It's impossible for the culprit to have closed the window from the outside. It can be locked only from the inside"

"Besides you have been trying to protect the culprit all this time. Did you think we'd believe you're suddenly turning against her?" Sugita added "At the start you tried to deflect our suspicions to her but when that didn't work you decided confusing us would be better. We're not falling for anything else anymore"

I ' m completely confident Fukuyama-kun is the culprit AND the mole. There ' s still the matter of how he knew how to work with the laboratory equipment but that doesn ' t matter right now.

We already pinpointed who did it. Now we have to reveal HOW he did it. How he created the closed room. Luckily from now on it ' s all very easy. I already saw through his tricks.

Let ' s place the final nail in his coffin.

Chapter Text

The last problem to solve was the closed room. Once Mitsuhiko managed to crack that in a way everybody understood then Fukuyama could be voted as the culprit. Everything was relying on that. Otherwise the hunter would be stuck. There was no way to prove Fukuyama was only pretending to be poisoned, or that he was the mole.

"Mimori-san, did you notice anything weird about how Fukuyama-kun was behaving?" Koshimizu asked, but the journalist didn't seem sure of her answer:

"I did think he was dying. I don't know if he was faking it or not, he's an actor. He could fool me"

"He arranged Monobear to distract you so he could go with Hasegawa-san into the workshop" Sugita asserted "But how did he gets out of the workshop?"

"He just walked away with Hasegawa-san"

"No. One of them must have stayed inside and I have good reasons to believe it was the one to make the final blow: Fukuyama-kun" Mitsuhiko clarified, but this clarification got Hasegawa's attention. A smile spread on her face for a moment before she hid it.

"Is that so? If you're all planning to blame Fukuyama-kun for the crime then consider this" all heads turned towards her, Fukuyama's included, although he was very subtle "Which one of us stayed behind to create the closed room?"

"He, of course" Sugita answered.

"And why had it to be him?"

"Because his testimony said..." Sugita's eyes widened, realizing what she was saying "...oh. I..."

"What I'm saying is that you have no proof Fukuyama-kun was faking anything. I saw him before I left him in Mimori-san's care, his poisoning was true.

"But he must have been the culprit! It's the only way this crime could have happened"

"Unless we're getting this wrong. Hasegawa-san is the culprit while Fukuyama-kun is the accomplice" Mimori suggested "Fukuyama-kun's role as an accomplice was to lie, make a false testimony to mislead us"

"Then how did the crime happen?" Mitsuhiko asked. To be fair, Mimori was raising a valid point. He was starting to doubt himself on that and to make everything worse Mitsuishi's last moments didn't help at all. It was clear for the hunter that Mitsuishi had written a name with his blood, but it had been erased. Maybe it was the culprit. Maybe it was Mitsuishi-kun himself. He couldn't know.

"A good journalist listens to the facts and gets to conclusions. I said 'facts', not 'speculation'" Mimori said with a great deal with pride. It was obvious she was proud of her intelligence and wasn't afraid of showing it "This is what happened:

Climax Inference?

" Hasegawa-san dragged Mitsuishi-kun into the workshop and stabbed him, maybe thinking that ' d be enough to kill him. Then, while she was arranging the closed room, Mitsuishi-kun tried to leave the killer ' s name with his own blood. But Hasegawa-san noticed what the victim was doing, so she took the saw and cut his neck. She erased the name with Mitsuishi-kun ' s hand and continued the creation of the closed room.

A heavy table placed against the door blocked it, making it impossible to go out through there. The window was the only way. Hasegawa-san jumped from the window onto the ground and returned into the headquarters, going to the Lounge where Fukuyama-kun was resting alone. There she convinced him in one way or another to be her accomplice. They created the testimony he ' d give and when I returned from Monobear ' s distraction we discovered the body "

Mimori finished her speech showing everybody what was written in her notepad: everything she had said, written just a few moments ago. "Those are my conclusions. Am I great or what?"

"It makes sense but...I'm not very convinced...?" Sugita said slowly. That was the dilemma: Hasegawa had spent most of the trial trying to confuse them. Was that made so they wouldn't vote for her? Mimori had presented a convincing argument, a theory that placed Hasegawa as the culprit and Fukuyama as the accomplice. It was worthy of consideration, at least.

"That could cover all the holes in the case" Koshimizu mused "What do you think, Hikari-kun?"

How considerate of them to ask for Mitsuhiko's opinion. They all knew that he could find flaws in theories and help to catch the culprits. He had done it twice, already. "There's a glaring mistake here" There really is, but once I point it Mimori-san will fix it easily. I must find a way to progress from here...point everything decisively towards Fukuyama-kun. Or...could I be wrong? Was it really Hasegawa-san?

I need to rethink everything about the scene, about the circumstances of the murder. There must be something, some detail, something that shows which one of them is the culprit! "Mimori-san, please repeat this part"

First paragraph

Second paragraph

Second paragraph

"Repeat the second paragraph. That's where your mistake is"

"Okay, I'll comply, but don't expect me to patiently repeat it a thousand times. Go to the point as soon as possible, alright?" Mimori said tiredly. She was...reticent?

Nonstop Debate

Laboratory Rats / Whittling Knife / The Mud Outside / Monobear File #3 / Blood on the Hand

MIMORI: The table was all needed to make it impossible to enter

MIMORI: The window was the only exit

MIMORI: Hasegawa-san jumped from there to the ground

MIMORI: She returned to the building and went to the Lounge

MIMORI: She convinced Fukuyama-kun to be her accomplice

MIMORI: They forged the testimony he'd tell...

MIMORI: ...and when I returned we discovered the body

MIMORI: Now, pray tell, what's that flaw in my argument?

"Mimori-san, your journalism skills need a lot of polishing. You don't check all the facts you need to get to a correct conclusion" Mitsuhiko said bluntly. Mimori took great offense to that affirmation, opening her mouth to argue back, but before she could do it Mitsuhiko made a gesture for her to stay silent "Did you look outside to the state of the courtyard?"

"N-No, I didn't have a reason to do that"

"That's where you failed. If you had opened the window and looked through it you would have noticed it had rained for a while. The ground was muddy; anybody stepping out there would leave footprints"

"I see where you're going" Sugita said "There weren't any footprints, were they?"

"No footprints at all. The culprit didn't jump from the window to the ground" the hunter confirmed. It was time to break the closed room. The door wasn't the path the culprit used to escape; obviously it was the window, but... "I'm not saying the window wasn't the exit. What I'm saying is that what Mimori-san supposed was wrong.

"The culprit didn't fly away, if that's what you're insinuating" Mimori said angrily, still annoyed by having her skills questioned.

"No. The culprit used an object to escape the closed room through the window"

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

Dismantled Solar System

"On the Third Floor there's the Astronomy Laboratory. It's a balcony where students used to watch the stars and planets, I suppose, but what matters here is the location of that place and an object I found there" Mitsuhiko beckoned Lily, who approached. After giving her a series of instructions Lily projected a hologram of the outside walls of the Headquarters "If you look at this you'll notice that the balcony with the Astronomy Laboratory is directly on top of the Carpentry Workshop Mitsuishi-kun was found in. That's how the culprit escaped, he got onto the Astronomy Laboratory with the help of this" In the projection a faceless representation of a person extended some cable, tying it to the balcony and letting it hang in front of the window to the Carpentry Workshop. "This cable is from one of the solar system models that hang over the Astronomy Laboratory. The culprit destroyed it and used the cable to create the escape route"

"So, the culprit opened the window and jumped onto the cable, climbing onto the balcony" Koshimizu concluded correctly "It makes sense"

"No it doesn't" Hasegawa had finally decided to take part of the trial again "Are you completely sure the window was the way out?"

"Completely sure. It wasn't through the door, if that's what you're trying to say" Mitsuhiko said dryly but Hasegawa wasn't intimidated by his attitude.

"I think earlier during this trial you had said the window was locked. And not only that, you said it was impossible to lock from the inside. If the culprit escaped through the window and the table near the door made it impossible to open then how did the culprit lock the window?"

"With an accomplice, I suppose" Mimori said-

"No, that isn't how this works. There was only one person inside the workshop because once the closed room was created nobody could escape from it. So tell us, Hikari-kun, how was the window locked?"

Oh...she's right. How did... And that's when Mitsuhiko realized it. He had finally found the weak point of the culprit's plans. One single action the culprit made was strong evidence against him. Or, at the very least, would be enough for everybody to vote for Fukuyama-kun. "That can be easily answered. This is the core of the whole closed room case and not only that: it'll also show us without any doubt who the culprit is.

This is how the window was locked!"

Using a fishing line

It locks itself automatically

It was never locked

It was locked from the outside

It was never locked

"The reason the closed room seems impossible is because the table can't be placed against the door from the outside and because the window can't be locked from the outside. So, if there's no way for that to happen then maybe we should ask ourselves:

Was the window locked in the first place?"

"You said it was locked!" Hasegawa argued. Mitsuhiko nodded, admitting his past words.

"Yeah, I said it was locked. I found it locked but let's say this: the lock wasn't set in the moment we think. It was actually locked..."

Before the murder

During the murder

In the creation of the closed room

When the body was found

When the body was found

"...it was locked when the body was found. The culprit took the chance to go to the window to lock it, completing the illusion! That was it"

"Why do you think that?" Sugita inquired.

"Because I have remembered something: when the body was found there was one person who went to the window. That person locked it and guess who it was?" Mitsuhiko looked at Fukuyama, who was fumbling with his mask, paying full attention to what was happening "Fukuyama-kun. You dragged yourself there and when you pretended to have problems to stand up you leaned on the window. That's when you locked it"

"…no…" Fukuyama said quietly but everybody ignored him because Hasegawa immediately jumped into his defense.

"Wait a second! I-I have something to say" she was sweating, not sure of what she was going to say. It either was going to destroy Mitsuhiko's argument or it would make pretty clear she wasn't the culprit, but what else could she do? "I confess, I sent Fukuyama-kun inside to close the window"

"Are you trying to say you sent a very sick person to drag himself on the floor in middle of a crime scene to lock the window?" Mitsuhiko asked slowly, showing how ridiculous that sounded "It would have been much easier for you to lock it yourself"

"But that would bring suspicion on myself!"

"Indeed it would" the hunter conceded "But the fact Fukuyama-kun closed the window brings to mind something very important, something that shows which of you stayed inside the workshop to create the closed room:

How did he know the window was unlocked?"

"Bec-Because I told him, of course!" Hasegawa shouted but Mitsuhiko continued without being intimidated by her voice.

"As I said, it's hard to believe that you'd make Fukuyama-kun do that, it would have been much easier for him to stay on the Lounge couch while you dealt with that" it was the time. The time to give the final strike "I'll now tell you why Fukuyama-kun felt the need to drag himself to lock the window:

Because he was the only one who knew the window was left unlocked! And only the person who created the closed room could have known it. You said it yourself; only one person was inside at that moment. And because Fukuyama-kun HAD to finish the illusion of the closed room…he was caught.

If he had stayed aside while you, me and Mimori-san found the body nobody would have ever suspected him. The only reason he was suspicious is because Monobear's body announcement. It doesn't mean we wouldn't have caught him but we at least would have trouble finding out he did it"

"You got so many things wrong…" Hasegawa said weakly. She was finished, not being able to counter what Mitsuhiko had said. He knew that if he stopped now maybe the courier would find a rebuttal so it was time to summarize the crime and push for a vote. Let's end this trial.

Climax Inference

This crime was done by two people. The culprit and the accomplice. But how did they agree to help each other to commit this murder? It all started when the accomplice decided they had spent enough time in this building. They had obtained what they came to search for, but they couldn't escape unless they murdered somebody. The method they chose was poisoning us with hemlock, and the vehicle they choose was tea for the breakfast.

But when they were extracting the poison from the hemlock leaves they got caught by the would-be-culprit. What they agreed is unknown, but it's likely they agreed to commit two different murders so both could win the contest, cooperating with each other to achieve them. Between the two of them they extracted the hemlock, the accomplice pouring it into the teapot and leaving it ready for everybody to drink it.

Seven people drank the poisoned tea and the culprit took the chance to pretend to be poisoned to blend with the rest but the plan didn't go like expected: nobody died from the poison, possibly due to a mistake during the extraction, maybe a substance in the tea diminished the effect of the hemlock or maybe our first aid actions saved them. We won't know why.

But the failure of a murder to happen didn't break the agreement; it was the culprit's turn to start their plan. The accomplice dragged Mitsuishi into the workshop, where both of them entered. The accomplice stabbed Mitsuishi to weaken him. We don't know what happened, exactly, but at some point Mitsuishi wrote a name with his blood. Then the culprit took the saw and killed Mitsuishi. We have no way to know which name was written or who erased it.

Once Mitsuishi was dead the accomplice exited the room, leaving the culprit inside to set the closed room. The culprit placed the table against the door, blocking it, and opened the window to escape the workshop. From the balcony in the third floor a cable was hanging, which would serve as the way to escape. The culprit jumped from the window onto the cable, climbing until they got to the balcony, and ran to the Lounge to get in position.

The murder had been committed but there was one detail left: make the closed room complete. With Mimori and me they forced the door open, finding the body, and while I was distracted by the corpse the culprit went to the window, locking it and completing the illusion.

But the circumstances broke the plan, bringing attention to the culprit. And that's what got us here. You, Kumakichi Fukuyama, and you, Shizuka Hasegawa, are the culprit and accomplice of this murder!

Once Mitsuhiko finished his retelling of the murder he noticed he had everybody's attention. Even the sick commanders were looking at him, although with varying degrees of lucidity. "That all makes sense. That must be how it happened..." Sugita said, processing the whole argument.

"I agree. That answers most questions and I'm willing to take the chance" Koshimizu supported "Shall we call for a vote now?"

"No!" Hasegawa tried to exclaim but it sounded pretty tired. Nobody listened to her.

"Let's do it. Monobear! We're going to vote now" Mitsuhiko ordered. Monobear straightened up- His tone showed there was an underlying layer of enjoyment in his announcement.

"And the voting phase shall happen now! Be ready to say who you vote for, everybody!" Of course the commanders who were healthy enough to talk clearly said Fukuyama's name, Hasegawa being the only exception. Among those that were poisoned most pointed at Fukuyama. Fukuyama indicated he wanted to vote for Hasegawa and Yurie and Romi were the only ones unable to vote. Monobear, always graceful, laughed and said that counted as a vote for themselves. "Good thing four votes weren't enough to stop the general opinion because it's correct! The person who was responsible for mutilating Mitsuishi-kun's neck was Kumakichi Fukuyama-kun!"

"And that is all I needed to hear" Mitsuhiko said, hiding the relief he felt. He hadn't been wrong. He knew that, with some time, Hasegawa could have found an argument to turn everything around. The rushed vote worked its purpose; it ended the trial before anything else happened. It was a gamble but it paid off.

"So Fukuyama-kun was never poisoned" Sugita glared at the masked commander "Will we get an explanation now?"

Fukuyama sighed and finally took off the mask, throwing it aside. The face under the mask was... forgettable. Nobody would be able to remember it later. Fukuyama's expression was also carefully neutral when he finally spoke. "Well I suppose it's fair. I'm a reasonable man, after all"

"Okay, first things first: are you the mole?"

Then it was shown why Fukuyama had entered to Delacroix known as an outstanding actor. His face seemed to gain shadows, turning sinister, and his eyes showed an intense mix of emotions. He hadn't even changed his expression noticeably; it was a gift that didn't rely on that. "I am. I'm helping the people behind this game"

"The ones behind Monobear or the ones behind Lily?"

"Monobear. I was the one who brought Lily to their attention, after all"

"What do you mean?" Mitsuhiko asked while Mimori took notes. Fukuyama's face relaxed, now he seemed wistful for the past.

"I found the blueprints in the Physics Laboratory. It had no name and at the time I didn't know what its creator was planning to do, but when I received that letter I knew I should do something about this. So I contacted some...friends I have. They're the ones who kidnapped the Main Board"

"And why are they doing that?"

"Because of what this bear represents, of course" Fukuyama put his mask on again "SHSL Despair. Who else would make a mutual killing game?"

"Lily and her creator, of course" Sugita answered. Fukuyama laughed softly, doing his best imitation of Monobear's laugh.

"Upupu...do you really believe that? Come on! It's as plain as day that they never intended anybody to die! In fact, we knew that and took advantage of it. If Lily and her friends hadn't called you all here the mutual killing game wouldn't have happened!"

"It can't be out fault!" Lily shouted but this time Monobear was the one to reply.

"It is. This game was made with two objectives: find a replacement for Volkos and to make your creators despair. They'll be forced to see how the people they tried to save are killing each other in front of their own eyes. They'll experience betrayal when that same people are the ones murdering them. You were all idiots for thinking you could execute such a bad plan in the Headquarters and this is your reward"

Lily's fists were making some rather odd sounds, like the robot girl's own strength was crushing her own laser weapons. "That's it! The truce is over"

"Bring it on!" Monobear challenged, ready to attack Lily after she made the first move, but she didn't attack him. She instead left the Meeting Room with a huff, going to who knew where. Monobear seemed disappointed there was no physical confrontation.

"Ooooh...and here I was ready to tear her head off already. Nobody thinks of the poor, poor bear"

"Fukuyama-kun, how much do you know about chemistry?" Koshimizu asked. That had been the mole's main contribution to the problems in the Headquarters.

"Hm" Fukuyama shrugged "Not much. I followed the instructions from one of my bosses. That's it"

"Ah"

"Why did you ask for Hasegawa-san's help? Wouldn't it have been easier to do a plan alone by yourself?" Mitsuhiko inquired.

At this point Fukuyama once again took off the mask, this time his face showed a profound sadness. "I...felt pity for her. She's a third party in this mess; she didn't deserve to be here. I thought that, if there were two murders, at least one of us would get away with this. We'd try to save each other if possible. We both had one thing in common: we're here because we're dealing with the grief of losing people close to us. She's my peer on that regard"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't help my bosses just for shits and giggles, you know"

"Did all happen like Hikari-kun described it?" Mimori asked.

"Mostly, yes. Just so you know, Mitsuishi-kun had written 'Tanaka', but when I grabbed the saw he blurred it out. He noticed I was going to be the one to kill him, after all. A shame he did. A name written in blood would have turned things on Hasegawa-san and me's favor..."

That was all the questions everybody had for Fukuyama. Hasegawa, who had stayed silent while Fukuyama confessed everything he was asked, finally said something. "Kuma-kun, I'm sorry for failing. I tried very hard to save you, I did..."

"I know. You and my friend did well. It's good to know that at least I had somebody to trust even if it was in the last hours of my life" Fukuyama smiled sadly, ignoring everybody else "It was a pleasure working with you on these plans. Best of luck for you"

"Your...friend?" Mitsuhiko asked warily but Fukuyama simply shrugged, looking away. He took his mask and stood with Monobear.

"I failed. Twice. I suppose I won't get away with that, right?"

"Rules are rules. It's time for the execution!" Just like he had done in the last two trials Monobear left the Meeting Room with the culprit. A few minutes later the TV screen descended from the ceiling, turning on to show the Physics Laboratory.

Becoming the Mask

Fukuyama had put his mask on and was staring at the ceiling where an odd contraption hanged. It seemed like the legs of many metallic spiders, each of them holding a tool or a piece of black and white felt. When the blueprints of a Monobear appeared on the wall it was obvious for anybody what the execution was going to be: the affirmation of Fukuyama's role as the mole.

The machine descended and took off Fukuyama's mask. Now he was resigned and with his eyes closed, waiting for his death to come. The machine placed pieces of felt on Fukuyama's body while, near the ceiling, Monobear's head was being built with the mask as part of it. The felt for the body was tightened, Fukuyama started to turn blue. The pressure was making it very difficult to breathe but he didn't die yet.

Claws were inserted in the hands; blood trickled slowly from several points of his body. The pressure got so strong Fukuyama had to crouch, trying to not to scream in pain. Above him the head was already finished and was lowered onto Fukuyama, placing it perfectly over his.

The machine compressed the felt and the head, slowly crushing Fukuyama. Welding tools applied heat onto the junctures, making them bond together. The compression continued until the new Monobear plush was finished. Fukuyama's body was crushed, serving as no more than filling for the new Monobear. Thankfully nobody could see the gore inside it, the only remains there were from the actor was the blood that stained the felt in several places.

"...wow. That was..." Mimori was crushing her notepad between her fingers, outraged "...completely uncalled for! He didn't deserve to suffer like that!"

"He was brave. He could have been a great asset if he hadn't been on the wrong side" Sugita mused. The poisoned commanders had watched too, all of them understanding what had happened. After a couple minutes of sitting around in silence Koshimizu stood up, leaning heavily against the table.

"It's still early. After a good night of rest most of us should be in condition to discuss what we must do next. A little help to carry us all to our rooms would be nice"

"The Main Board hostages should be in the new area!" Sugita remembered "This is almost over"

"That's true but...I don't think it'd be so easy. I'm sure those bastards still have ways to screw us over. Also, Hasegawa-san" the courier had stayed still, not moving from the seat "It's unfair to blame all of us for something none of us had any relation with. Hikari-kun will take you to your cell"

Hasegawa nodded, willing to be taken there but the hunter wasn't going to do that. "I won't. Locking her won't lead to anything worthwhile. If we're going to do something to save ourselves we'll need all the help we can get"

"We can't trust her, you moron. I bet tonight she'll cut our throats like his pal did to Mitsuishi-kun"

"Maybe that's true but I insist: it's no time to go around locking people. Let her be" Mitsuhiko maybe was saying that because he had already experienced how being in a cell was like. And in a way he felt incredibly uncomfortably by something:

Hasegawa had poisoned Yurie. Yurie had almost died, she had been extremely sick for several hours. She suffered and had no way to express her pain. Then why wasn't he clamoring for Hasegawa to pay in some way? Why was he asking to let her go?

...that is what he would have done mere days ago, demand Hasegawa suffered. Did something change in him, or between Yurie and him? He didn't understand what was going on with him!

Koshimizu glared at him for a moment before shrugging "Whatever. If anything happens I'm holding you responsible for that" The sick commanders were taken to their rooms. Mitsuhiko decided to spend the night in Yurie's room in case she needed anything. Of all the commanders it seemed she was the one affected the most by the hemlock, her legs were still paralyzed. She ws profoundly asleep. Mitsuhiko hoped she'd be better in the morning.

He wanted to go to the Fourth Floor, see what was in there. See if there was anything about the Main Board or where they were locked. He still suspected there was something weird going on and this was the chance to find out for sure, but he really didn't want to leave Yurie alone.

There was also the matter about the Physics Laboratory. Fukuyama had been killed there; maybe there'd be something useful to see in there. Somebody else better explore up there or I'll scream he thought, bringing his sleeping back into Yurie's room.

It had been a tiring day. He just wanted it to end.

-ooooo-

Hasegawa gripped the bag of bricks she had brought into the Headquarters when she entered into the Meeting Room for the first time. Lily was to her side. They were in the bedroom of one of the commanders, the talk was necessary due to Hasegawa's attempt to kill everybody. Her facade as a simple courier was as good as gone. "I admit I regret having done it but it's not for the reasons you think. It's not that I think they all deserve to live; it's that...I lost sight of what I came here for. I'll still help you, if you want my help" The person she was talking with shook their head. The false courier frowned, understanding "I see. Yes, I thought you wouldn't want me involved after what I did. But can I at least ask what you plan to do now? We lost one partner already, Lily and you won't be enough to succeed. What will you do?"

Apparently telling Hasegawa that was something the commander thought was fine. Hasegawa approached closely to listen despite their raspy voice. It took a while before she was able to interpret their grunting. "Abort? So this is where it ends, we're done. We failed. So now what?" The answer to that question was one single word, nothing else needed to be said.

Escape.

-ooooo-

The Second Accomplice was nervously pacing from one side to another of the room. Now that this floor was available to everybody the risk of being seen was way too big for their comfort. And not only that, the First Accomplice had been executed just a couple hours ago. They did try to support Fukuyama but there was nothing they could do at the end.

And to be frank they were afraid of any retaliation the Main Board could have. They were currently in the process of moving their stuff to another place: the Basement. The Second Accomplice hated that place for what it had. Not only Veritas was shackled in there, in the recent days a new event had been happening in there. They really didn't want to have to go to the Basement.

"You all knew he'd fail, didn't you? Fukuyama-kun tried his best but it wasn't enough. I did what I could!" they were shouting.

"We saw and hear what happened in the trial, we know what you did and what you didn't do" Valkyrie said "Why are you so antsy? Are you hiding something?"

"Definitely not! But I want you to say it, say I won't have to kill anybody"

"It's not necessary for now. In fact, we don't need you for the next couple days. Afterwards...you'll have to follow our instructions, no matter what they are" Wolfenmaus said, threateningly. Valkyrie and Vieiras were practically unrecognizable by now. Perhaps it was a side effect of the Enoshima AI prototype in their brains. Maybe the machine currently hidden in the Sealed Wing in the Third Floor had done a mistake when it implanted the AI in their brains. Nobody had any way to know why but the effect was clear: Valkyrie and Vieiras were starting to lose their identities. All they had in mind was their role as the SHSL Despair leader and founder.

And soon Wolfenmaus would follow them in that path. And once he did...everything would be irreversibly hopeless for Veritas. Veritas' life would continue existing as long as at least one Main Board member stayed lucid. Veritas' days were almost over.

"I understand. Thank you" the Second Accomplice said, bowing their head. The reason they had accepted a role as an accomplice was precisely to save Veritas and time was running out. They knew where he was but they couldn't find any of the keys needed to open the Basement door and free Veritas.

Was all hopeless for them? They were starting to think that.

Chapter Text

"Mitsu-chaaaaan, when are you going to tell meeeeee?" Yurie pouted, practically rubbing herself on Hikaru's arm.

They were sitting in a park near Hope's Peak. Two years had passed since Yurie and he had met thanks to Sugita and during that time they had entered a romantic relationship. There were five months left before the school year ended but Hikaru was fed up. The scientists, the classmates, the oppressive atmosphere he felt around him while he was in Hope's Peak. All that kept stressing him; there were rare times when he was in good mood.

All he wanted was a moment to take a deep breath but he felt like he couldn't even do that. Yurie of course had noticed Hikaru was behaving strangely and had talked to him about that. But lately that weird behavior had changed. Now he seemed more...depressed, more anxious. Yurie was never the most considerate person in the world but even she was starting to be worried about him. "You won't ever leave me alone, will you?" Hikaru said tiredly.

"Tell me. Maybe I can help"

"You can't. It's a matter of being stoic, I think. Don't worry about it"

"If you don't tell me right now you won't like what I'll do" Yurie threatened. She used to do that when Hikaru was reticent about something and although she always said he wouldn't like it at the end it was always something harmless and kind of fun. But something in her voice showed this was different than all those times. The hunter wringed their hands, deciding to say it.

"Okay, I'm telling! It's that I'm tired of being in Hope's Peak. Homework, be analyzed, experiments, presentations, I don't have a moment to breath. Somebody in Hope's Peak has a vendetta against me or something. Nobody else has as much trouble as me" Yurie sighed. Hikaru used to rave against Hope's Peak at least once a week.

"Yeah, poor you"

"But I can't just go away. I wouldn't have a place to go, being the SHSL Hunter is my only purpose in life right now! I wish I had an option on what to do with my life right now"

"For a moment I thought it was something else" Yurie kind of regretted having asked. What he was saying was nothing new, but maybe... "How would you react if I told you there was maybe something else you could do?"

"What do you mean?" The hunter was genuinely curious about that. Could Yurie have the answers to all his problems?

"Don't ask me how but I know somebody that needs...help with something. It's not exactly lawful, though"

That wasn't what Hikaru expected. "Are you offering me something that breaks the law? Really?" But he hadn't outright dismissed the idea.

"Well it's an option. I understand if you don't take it" then Yurie said, with a very fake carefree tone "You'll have to endure more time in Hope's Peak, what a shame. Hey, there's this new restaurant across the city! Want to check it?"

"Wait, what did you say?"

"There's this new restaurant..."

"Not that! Look, I'm not rejecting your suggestion, it's just that I didn't think you'd offer such a thing" Yurie didn't seem the kind of person to have...criminal connections. She was just a teenager, after all!

"I'm not a criminal, if that's what you're wondering. She's just like an older sister to me. We have been friends for a long time and she has gone through some...unsavory things in her life"

"I'm not going to judge her, if that's what's worrying you" They stood up and started to walk away, talking mutedly as if they feared anybody listening to their words.

"The thing is that she's looking for some help. She has some...business to do here in Japan, more concretely in the Kyoto area. You could see if she wants to accept your help"

"What kind of business is she interested in?"

Yurie's mouth formed a thin line for a moment "...I don't know the full details but...she may need your hunting skills, your experience with guns, all that. Know what I mean?"

That was pretty telling. Hikaru knew what she meant but continued prodding "...explain further, please"

"...say, some people say humans are no more than big dumb animals. There are people who consider human lives the biggest hunting trophy there is. She isn't like that people; she doesn't get anybody killed for fun. It's all people that are getting in the way of her plans and businesses. It'd be an honor to work with her"

"And are you working with her?"

Yurie hesitated before replying. "...yes. I'm a recruiter. I search for people that have abilities that would be useful for us. I'm a hacker studying in Delacroix's school; I definitely have access to the information of useful people"

Hikaru felt something wriggling in his chest. For a moment he wanted to run away and not ask, but he needed to know "You...you're not with me because you're trying to recruit me, are you?"

Yurie smiled "If I were intending to recruit you I'd have done it long ago. I'm sorry, Mitsu-chan, but even if as a SHSL Hunter I didn't think you would be good for her businesses. I'm doing you a favor. I could get you an appointment with her, see where it leads"

"Is she here in the city?"

"She is. She often visits Delacroix and that's when we talk. In fact..." the hacker leaned to tell a secret "The Delacroix School is no more than a facade. It was created as a way to make recruitment easier. Isn't it funny? The world exploits people who are good at something.

Delacroix gets them into criminal activities. Hope's Peak has some sort of objective in their plans too, all those studies and tests show it. Being a great hunter may be the worst mistake you ever made"

All that was said with the same smile, turning bitter with each word. They walked in silence, meditating about what they had just discussed.

As hard as it was to admit it Hikaru had to admit...he was interested. It was an option other than Hope's Peak. His parents wouldn't approve and if they had been alive he wouldn't have dared but...they weren't alive now, were they? He was his own boss right now.

A couple days later Yurie let him meet Vittoria Delacroix.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko awoke with a headache. It had been a short dream but it reminded him of a quite significant moment in his life. To his side was Yurie, clinging to him, which helped him to calm down. It would have been a relatively nice scene if it weren't because they were in a classroom in the Headquarters. The hunter carefully lifted Yurie's arms but the movement woke her up. "Mitsu-chan? Are you okay?" she asked weakly. It looked like she was finally getting better.

"Don't move, Yurie. I'll bring you breakfast" Mitsuhiko said, ignoring his headache. Yurie nodded and laid still. Outside of the bedroom the Headquarters were pretty silent. Maybe it was because by now six people had died and chances were even more would die later. Only ten people remained.

In the cafeteria the clanking in the kitchen got Mitsuhiko's attention. Sugita was in front of the stove, struggling to not to cry. "Kimiko? Is there something wrong?"

"Hi, Hikaru-kun. I'm okay, it's just...the onions"

"That's the oldest excuse in the book. Come on, tell me what's wrong"

"Hikaru-kun, I'm scared. Yesterday, when Sasuga-kun was poisoned, I felt so lost and so...defenseless. We haven't been together for as long as you and Yurie are but I feel he's the world for me. The thought of him being killed by anybody here...it scares me"

Oh, so it was that. Mitsuhiko was never the most empathic person in the world but Sugita was his childhood friend. He felt it was his responsibility to try to show some support "I can't promise he'll be fine but the least you can do is show some strength for him. Show him you're willing to do anything to protect him. And by that I don't mean to tell him you'd kill for him or anything. It's as simple as being with him when he needs it"

"I understand. How is Yurie?"

"She's better, at least she's able to stay conscious and talk. I don't know if her legs have gotten any better, though"

"I checked the rest before coming to make breakfast, everybody is improving. Kishio-sensei made an amazing recovery! She says she'll lead the exploration of the Fourth Floor to liberate the Main Board"

"I don't think that after a whole night we'll still find them up there" the hunter pointed. Sugita smiled as if she knew something he didn't. And she did!

"We thought that as well, that's why Mimori-san stayed in the Fourth Floor the whole night. There's this locked door that may lead to where the Main Board is kept in and she slept near it. Nobody can have gone past her in any direction"

That was nice. Mitsuhiko felt some hope "Excellent. I don't think Yurie will join us into the exploration so I'll stay with her. That won't be a problem, right?"

"It won't. Here, take this to her" Sugita gave Mitsuhiko a bowl of soup "I don't know she'll take kindly to messages from me but I hope she gets better soon"

"Yeah, I don't get why she can't get along with you" Mitsuhiko said as a parting line, taking the bowl to Yurie's room. In there the hacker was against the wall, clawing at it. It seemed like she was trying to stand up. "Yurie?"

"I can't feel my legs. I can't move my legs. I-I think they're paralyzed!" she said, shaking wildly. Mitsuhiko left the bowl on the floor and rushed to help her stand up and carefully tried to step away. Yurie's legs bowed under her weight and if the hunter hadn't been close enough to catch her she'd have crashed against the floor. It was the confirmation they needed, Yurie's legs were paralyzed. Whether it was temporal or permanent remained to be seen.

Yurie was pretty shaken up by her crippled legs. It was quite a while before she calmed down enough to take her soup. "What have I done to deserve this?! Why is this happening to me?!" were some of the questions she shrieked, even getting the attention of other commanders. They opened the door, asking what was going on, but when they saw Mitsuhiko's death stare they closed the door and went away.

Once she calmed down she commented the trial from the day before. "I don't remember anything. What happened?" Mitsuhiko gave her a summary of the events, including how Fukuyama was the mole and how Lily ended a truce with Monobear. "Oh, that truce. Yeah, I knew it wouldn't last long"

"What was up with that truce? I never thought they'd agree a peaceful break" the hunter asked.

"Basically Lily and Monobear fought again. Once again their bodies were destroyed and since none of them could overpower each other they decided they'd focus on whatever they were trying to do with all of us"

"Oh, I see. So, the fourth floor is open now. That's where the Main Board is supposedly imprisoned"

"Will you go with them?" Yurie asked, having finished her soup.

"I'd rather to stay with you. You could need my help"

There was silence for a moment while Yurie mulled something. "Mitsu-chan, I'm not a little girl needing somebody to protect her all the time. Go and help them. I'll be okay"

"Are you sure?"

"Completely sure. Go with them. Besides...I need some time alone. There's a lot I need to think about"

"...well if you say so then I will...go now..." Mitsuhiko slowly went to the door as if he expected Yurie to change her mind, but she didn't. She lay on her sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling, but before Mitsuhiko closed the door she called him.

"Mitsu-chan, when you're done please come here again. There's something we'll need to talk about"

"Okay. I'll see if I can find a wheelchair or something" Mitsuhiko said, noticing Yurie's disgusted face. She really didn't fancy the idea of having to use one of those but it was going to be necessary.

Almost everybody else was in the cafeteria; Yurie and Mimori were the only ones absent. "...if anybody doesn't feel strong enough to go then it's okay, no hay problema. You may stay here and...oh. Hikari-kun" Kishio was finally fully embracing her leadership gig, maybe because the Main Board was supposedly in their reach now.

"I wanted to join the party. Is there anything I can do?"

"You'll go explore with the group. Sit over there" Kishio indicated the corner of the cafeteria where later the exploration group gathered. Kobayashi and Sugita were the other two people who were going with him. Koshimizu, once he heard about Yurie's paralysis, offered to check on her, something Mitsuhiko accepted, grateful. Hasegawa was shunned aside and watched over by Sasuga and Kishio. The rest had varied tasks.

The journey to the Fourth Floor was uneventful. Once they got up there they were welcomed by Mimori. "About time soebody came! I was starting to think nobody was interested on getting up here"

"Has anybody entered or left this floor?" Mitsuhiko inquired, looking around. This definitely seemed to be the only entry or exit to the floor.

"Nobody! I'm sure of it; I slept in front of the only locked door around. No changes to report"

"I'll go with Mimori-san to check that door" Kobayashi said, rubbing his throat. Even if he had almost left the poisoning symptoms behind him hestill felt pain and discomfort "I have experience with locks and all that"

"Because magic is no more than smoke, mirrors and faulty locks, right, Amy?" Mitsuhiko couldn't resist jabbing the illusionist. He didn't take it badly, though.

"It's partly true but I only use real locks. Magic may not be completely real but I'm not going to go out of my way to do something so mediocre!"

"Right. You go do that" the hunter beckoned Sugita and together they went to explore the rest of the place. Near the stairs to the Fourth Floor there was one more staircase, but unlike the others this one wasn't closed. In fact, they could ascend if they wanted! Sugita suggested going upstairs but Mitsuhiko thought it'd be better to see first the contents of this floor before going to the attic or whatever was up there. No Fifth Floor existed so it was unknown territory up there.

The first room they found was something that brought Mitsuhiko back to his time in Hope's Peak. It was an Archery Range! Targets filled the back, nailed to the walls. They were full of holes and splintered arrows; nobody had bothered to clean them up. "Oh, what a place. It's hard to believe just a few years ago I was being studied by scientists in a place like this"

"It used to sound like you had fun!" Sugita said, going to a door to the side "I bet you'll be coming here all the time"

"This is the closest there's to hunting. At least I have guns and bullets"

"Even if you didn't you'd be able to practice. Take a look here" Sugita had entered the storeroom to the side. When Mitsuhiko joined her he saw large boards made of cork. Lots of bows hanged from there. There were boxes of arrows and materials for them, and Mitsuhiko even saw a huge crossbow on the floor.

"Wow. This school really had everything they needed"

"Shouldn't we lock this place? This stuff could be used as a weapon" Sugita suggested but Mitsuhiko rejected the idea. They were so close to finally finding out about what was going on...there was no benefit to killing. Nobody would do that.

There was another balcony on this floor, which apparently was named the Lookout. It was nothing else than a place to hang out and spend time but it served as a way to look at most of the Front Courtyard. The planks that held the solar systems from the Astronomy Laboratory were lodged in there as well"Do you think there could be a way to climb the fence?" Mitsuhiko asked, eyeing the trees on the other side.

"It's impossible. We don't have anything we could use to climb it"

"How is it locked? A padlock, an electronic device, how?" If they knew how it was then maybe they could break it. How hard could it be?

"It seems to be something like an electronic lock. A password is needed and if one misses...I don't want to think what could happen"

"Why?" Mitsuhiko inquired. The Tea Demon merely pointed upwards. Above him Mitsuhiko saw what seemed to be sniper rifles, aiming to points where a person would be standing when inputting the code. "Oh. Yeah, not good"

"Kobayashi-kun almost got shot the first day we were here. If Tohya-kun hadn't seen them he'd be dead!" Sugita commented, entering back.

"Good for him. It doesn't seem like there's anything else to see around here" Mitsuhiko looked around; the Fourth Floor was particularly empty. All that was left was a bunch of empty rooms that didn't have any function. The exploration was pretty short "Let's move upwards"

The stairs didn't lead to a fifth floor. Instead it was to the Roof, the very top of the Headquarters. It was a large expanse of cement, the edges having a small fence to protect the people in case they got too close to the edge. It was a pretty windy place, anybody would want to sit there and do nothing, just enjoy the breeze. Sugita and Mitsuhiko took a moment to appreciate the Roof, letting themselves forget their situation.

It was a luxury they couldn't afford until that moment. But the circumstances once again overwhelmed then, bringing them out from their enjoyment. "This whole new area is a waste of time and resources" Mitsuhiko sentenced "There's nothing to report. Let's go see if Amy is as good as a lock picker as he says he is"

And he was! When Mitsuhiko and Sugita arrived to the Waiting Room they found Kobayashi finishing his assignment. The lock opened with a loud click. Mimori, who had been resting on a nearby couch, stood up to open the door. "Are you all ready? We could find Veritas and the Main Board behind this door"

"I don't want to fight..." Kobayashi muttered. Of course he wasn't in condition to get into a scuffle, he was relatively weak. Mitsuhiko took out his M9 Twin Beretta.

"I can protect everybody. Nobody would fight against a handgun like this one. Leave it up to me"

"You should go first, then" Mimori ordered "We'll go behind you" While Mitsuhiko wasn't very happy of being forced to be everybody's human shield he had to admit it was the logical way to go. Taking a deep breath he made sure the gun had bullets and entered through the door.

It wasn't a single room. It was one large office with two other rooms attached. In the one they were in was a long table, just like the one in the Meeting Room, but with three seats. On the table there were a handful of notes in a handwriting nobody present recognized. All of them were notes about the investigations and the murders, written with enthusiasm and a joy that made Mitsuhiko almost choke in rage. "For them it's just a game...I can see it..." he muttered, leaving the notes aside. The others were looking in the other rooms to see what they could find.

On the wall there was a large cork board. When Mitsuhko saw what was on it he felt some relief at seeing it was up here and not in the first floor. It was like an armory. There were knives, guns of different calibers, lots of weapons. Mitsuhiko took out the Beretta he received from Hasegawa's package in the first day and compared it to one that was hanging up there alone. The empty space and the identical manufacture of the gun on the wall was enough for him to suppose the gun had come from here. "...Hasegawa-san has some questions to answer"

"They're not here! We have been bamboozled!" Kobayashi's voice, already strained, reverberated around the rooms. The commanders returned to the main room, very frustrated.

"But they were supposed to be here! What's the meaning of this?" Mimori exclaimed, opening and closing a door as if she expected them to materialize behind it in any second.

"We were lied to. We trusted the masterminds and this is what we get. We're idiots" Sugita was more accepting than them. Mitsuhiko had already seen it coming, too. After all his suspicion was that the Main Board was the masterminds, this was pretty much the confirmation he needed.

He voiced his suspicion. The others considered it for a moment, reticent. "That...that could be..." Kobayashi seemed like he was about to cry.

"It would explain a lot of things. Are you sure nobody left this floor, Mimori-san?" Sugita inquired. The journalist was very emphatic nobody could have gone through without waking her up. "So now what?"

"Now we tell Kishio-sensei. She told me she was waiting for the result of this exploration to know what to do. If you ask me..." Kobayashi paused for a moment, looking for the right words "...I think she has intentionally not done anything yet because she was hoping the Main Board was up here. Now that it's clear there isn't...she needs to lead us. She'll know what to do"

"Let's inform her"

"I'll stay for now, I want to see what else I can find" Mitsuhiko informed, eyeing the doors to the other rooms and the object on the wall. It was a small console with a microphone integrated. Two screens showed the Cafeteria from a strange height, like a kid was watching. The commanders in there were being spied. A few lines on a corner said the AI was set on automatic mode. Since one of the screens was tinted red Mitsuhiko didn't have any problems noticing what was going on. "Hello! My name is Monobear and I deserve to get my ass kicked" Mitsuhiko said on the microphone. Mitsuhiko had no idea if it worked but it didn't matter. The controls seemed to be locked so there was nothing else he could do.

So this is where Monobear is controlled from. Which one of them was saying everything Monobear said? He didn't know what the Main Board members were like or what their personalities were so he had no idea how to determine it. It didn't matter that much, though. After checking the console just to find nothing worthwhile he went to the door on the left.

It was a tiny room with a huge console, almost completely covered in screens. Virtually every room in the Headquarters was being watched. "I had no idea there were cameras!" the hunter commented to himself. He should have supposed it, though. How else would the masterminds keep track of everything? There didn't seem to be any sound, though. So that's why Monobear had taken one of Takayama-kun's microphones. No sound through cameras, of course.

"So, let's see what's on the other room..."When Mitsuhiko entered the other room he found once another console. It was what controlled the shutters and other electronic mechanisms. He would have dismissed it if it weren't because there was one detail that stood out: something indicating there was a shutter in the third floor...and it wasn't the one on the stairs. Must be from what's in that bricked wing. There must be some way to get in there...I'll find it at some point, I suppose.

And that was everything that was here. It was pretty significant for Mitsuhiko because there was one thing he didn't find: signs of somebody being kept locked around here. In the hunter's opinion this was conclusive evidence.

But would it be convenient to say it aloud? Why not to press for an escape without alerting the masterminds about him being on their trail?

When he returned to the Cafeteria there was hubbub in a corner. Kishio was there, apparently the others had just finished telling her their findings. When the hunter approached the Linguist muttered some swears in foreign languages and turned to him. "Tell me there's something about the Main Board up there"

"Not even a clue of where they are. We have fallen in the masterminds' trap" he replied. Kishio tugged on her hair and let out a sigh of frustration.

"We're a group of dumbasses. It's my fault. I shouldn't have waited for confirmation before deciding to do anything"

"So now what?"

"Now we'll escape, that's what we'll do" she was starting to calm down, her frustration being replaced by determination "Leave this up to me. I'll assemble a team and we'll do something that'll work"

"We're not going to try to guess the code for the fence door, are we?" Mimori asked "Nothing up there had the password"

"No. There must be other ways to escape. Let me think and I'll tell you all after I think of something"

Kishio refused to say anything about potential traps, perhaps fearing the masterminds from hearing what she had in mind. As his presence wasn't needed anymore Mitsuhiko thought this was a good time to be with Yurie again, check if she needed any help and inform her of his findings.

Yurie wasn't in her room. In fact, Mitsuhiko found her now in the hall towards the Cafeteria. She was now sitting on a wheelchair, stubbornly trying to push the wheels by herself. Before the hunter could go the wheelchair started rolling forward towards him without the hacker even moving. "Woah!"

"Got you" Mitsuhiko stopped the wheelchair. There seemed to be a slope on the floor, unnoticeable by anybody walking, but it was enough for the wheels to start rolling. "These wheels must be of excellent quality. They're sensible to even the slightest tilt"

"...I hate this thing" Yurie murmured, gripping the wheels with fury "Koshimizu-san said it's likely I won't be able to walk again. I hate him, I hate everything"

"He must be wrong" Mitsuhiko said, pushing the wheelchair to the bedrooms hall "Don't lose your hope, Yurie. You'll walk again"

"Meh" Yurie looked upwards "Nothing is going well in my life these days. We're trapped here, the murder plan went wrong, you're not willing to keep trying, I got locked in a cell, I got poisoned and now I'm crippled. I'm sure it's karma...and I'm going to make this day worse now. Mitsu-chan, we need to talk"

"About what?"

"About us. Let's go to my room" she requested. That sounded like there was going to be a delicate talk so Mitsuhiko felt dread when going in. What was Yurie going to say about their relationship? It wasn't going to be bad, was it? Once Yurie was in the bedroom she took a deep breath and wringed her hands. She seemed uncharacteristically meek "I...I think we should break up"

It took several seconds for Mitsuhiko to process what she said "...what?"

"We should break up" she repeated "I know we're engaged and ready to marry but...I can't take it anymore. I have lied to you, Mitsu-chan. I...I ruined your life"

"I don't understand what you mean" Anybody could say they ruined somebody's life, it was often an exaggeration. Mitsuhiko was willing to forget what she had just said as long as she didn't go into detail. The hacker swallowed nervously.

"Many years ago I told you I'm a recruiter for Vittoria's crime organization. What I didn't tell you is that...I approached you to recruit you and nothing more"

"...I had always supposed that, to be honest, but it doesn't matter now. You're here and we got engaged. That means something changed"

"And something DID change! It's just that it was just a couple years ago, when you were already into the organization. I pretended to love you for so at least a year. I'm a terrible person"

"Ah" That did sound bad but Mitsuhiko shook his head. He wasn't going to let himself be broken "B-But you love me now and that's what matters"

"...it was at the cost of your life and future. If I hadn't gotten into your life you wouldn't be in DeeEy, you'd be successful and happy. Listen to me"

Yurie started telling him everything. How in a hacking spree of Hope's Peak's files she found out about him. How she had talked with Vittoria about the possibility of recruiting him. How Yurie received the assignment to do it. How she found out Mitsuhiko's parents were the only anchor to a normal life and how eliminating them would leave him malleable and ready. How she slowly corrupted his view of the world so killing people wouldn't be a problem for him.

...how she led him into Vittoria and later into Diavolos Avante. Yurie had taken the job to convert Hikaru Mitsuhide into a completely different person and the name change they arranged was what sealed it. Hikaru Mitsuhide didn't exist, it was now Mitsuhiko Hikari.

And it was all her fault.

"Karma must have finally caught up to me. I'm paying for my sins and I hate it. It's time for me to be honest. I love you, Mitsu-chan, but after all the gross stuff I did I don't want to weigh you down. We're breaking up"

"You can't just say we're breaking up and suppose that's it!" Mitsuhiko hadn't said anything during Yurie's tirade, way too busy trying to understand where everything had gone wrong. Had he really been so dense as to notice everything she had said she did? It seemed like he was.

It was true that lately his appreciation for Yurie had declined but that didn't mean he didn't love her.

Yurie narrowed her eyes "Two people need to agree for a relationship to blossom. If I don't want to take part in it you can't force me. You won't force me"

"...no. I won't accept this. I won't let this happen" Mitsuhiko paced around frantically "Look, I forgive you, Yurie. I won't promise everything will be like it has always been but I won't hate you if that's what you're afraid of"

"No, it isn't that. I'm breaking up with you and that's my final answer" if she could use her legs she would have left the bedroom without another word but since she was crippled all she could do was pitifully turn the wheelchair around. Mitsuhiko didn't forcefully turn her around. He wanted to be alone.

"Yurie, you better be sure about your decisions. I'll leave you to think what you want to do" Mitsuhiko had to be honest with himself; if after a while Yurie kept wishing to break up their engagement he'd accept it. Later he'd chalk his reaction to the shock and nasty surprise that was receiving such bad news.

Besides there were bigger problems than his engagement. They needed to escape, the Main Board was the masterminds and their lives were in risk. After that was solved they'd decide what to do about their engagement.

These definitely weren't good days for anybody.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko was not very happy. He had just spent a couple hours brooding in his bedroom, thinking over and over on what Yurie had said to him about what she had done to him and his life. And to be completely honest with himself, now that the shock of the news was gone...

...he felt a lot of resentment. It was Yurie's fault his life was like this, his parents were dead and he was a hitman for a shady organization...well, two. He wouldn't have even thought of walking down this path if it hadn't been for her.

But despite his need to talk about it with Yurie he didn't dare to do it right now. He told himself it'd be better to do it when they were all out. Then he'd agree to break up, it was over. Yurie was no more than a stranger, for all he cared.

That didn't mean he wanted to see her dead, though. She was vulnerable now that she was crippled, anybody could go into her bedroom and snap her neck or do something like that. Mitsuhiko swore to protect Yurie until they all escaped.

I need to talk with this with somebody he thought. Sugita was the best choice; she was his childhood friend, after all! The hunter started looking for her.

In the Lounge he found Kishio. The linguist was reading a long list in notes Mitsuhiko recognized from Mimori's notebook. It was a good time to make sure Kishio wasn't lazing around instead of doing her job as their leader. "What do you have there?"

"I'm busy, Hikari-kun. No time for socializing" she said, reading a handful of notes.

"I could help if you let me know more" to give emphasis to his intention he sat on the arm of the couch, trying to peek into the notes.

"Fine. It's a complete inventory of every object in this building. There may be many things we could use to escape or to survive in the city; we better keep track of them"

"Are you saying you're finally thinking of a plan?" Those were definitely good news! "It was about time you started thinking of an escape plan. Too many people have died"

Kishio didn't take very kindly the insult included in the comment. Mitsuhiko had to admit the stay so far had changed his opinion about many people. Yurie wasn't the person he thought she was, Kishio wasn't somebody deserving the admiration everybody, including himself, had for her, Sugita was more affected by the past than he had thought and Kobayashi was slowly proving to be more than a worthless newbie commander. Those were the biggest examples. The rest had been interesting in other ways.

"If you have nothing better to say then please get the fuck away of me" Kishio snapped. Yep, she definitely hadn't taken kindly to the insult.

"All I want to know is why you're doing this now and not earlier. It's not that hard to answer, is it?"

"There weren't enough things for us to use to escape. That is it" she replied and returned to reading the notes. Mitsuhiko wasn't going to leave her alone yet, though. She had lowered her guard when she let him approach, it was time to abuse that chance.

"That's a bad excuse and you know it. I thought you were the best commander in the country but all you have shown nothing to support that notion. All you have done so far is spout lines in other languages and be generally useless. Not very memorable character traits, if you ask me"

"This is no story, Hikari-kun, I couldn't care less if I'm memorable or not. Besides memorable people don't live for long. I want to be in the background. Better not to have a lot of attention on me"

"...well the good news is that you have been in the background. The bad news is that you haven't done a single useful thing, that is still a fact"

"If I have survived so far it must mean I have done something right" Kishio replied stubbornly, but judging by her furrowed brow Mitsuhiko's words had actually bothered her "Besides what could I have done until now? There's nothing I could have done until I knew all the facts. Think that was wrong?"

"Of course I do! You have been sitting to a side all this time while people turn into murderers and victims!"

"...that's true. Hikari-kun, I know what you think of me. You think I'm not worthy of having the reputation I have, do you?" That was true. Mitsuhiko had lost the respect he had for Kishio but he had never voiced it to anybody "To be completely honest with you I have to admit I don't know why I have it in the first place. I think it's because I'm useful for the Main Board...?"

"Well you're pretty much the only member who can talk many languages. This is a world-wide organization, it's to be expected you're useful"

"I considered some ways of escaping but...knowing the Main Board were held hostages...I couldn't simply leave them behind, you know? We all could escape but then they could be hurt or killed, for all we knew"

The hunter gritted his teeth. That sounded like an excuse to him, especially since he was almost sure the Main Board were the masterminds. "I can't understand..."

"The most important quality DeeEy enforces is loyalty. Nobody is betrayed, we all look for each other. I'm not that good of a commander but I can at least say I do my best to protect my subordinates"

"You have done nothing to protect us"

"That's not the point. My point is that the Main Board is who made me who I am. They're pretty much the only people in this organization that have helped me, encouraged me to be better; I owe a lot to them. Not to offend you but in my priority list they were higher than all of you"

That kind of made sense but that didn't mean Mitsuhiko liked it. "And now what? You're here working on a plan, did something change?"

"Of course something changed: the Main Board isn't up there. Since they aren't we have no reason to stay in this building. They must be held somewhere else and once we escape I'll look for them. I don't expect anybody else to help me but I don't care"

After that, no matter how many times Mitsuhiko tried to get her to answer more, Kishio just ignored him. All she did was finish her inspection of the inventory then start writing notes and draw diagrams. It all looked like doodles to the hunter, he had no idea what was going through Kishio's mind.

I watched in silence for a while. She pretended I wasn ' t there.

-ooooo-

The Third Floor smelled better than the day before. Mitsuhiko was thankful for that, finally the dead rats and the grime had been cleaned from the Biology Laboratory. He came to the Third Floor to look for a way to get through the brick wall blocking the way to the other half of the floor but it was carefully done and despite all his efforts there were no chances of breaking the wall. There's nothing I can do with this wall. There must be some other way to get in there, but how?

While he was leaving to return to the Cafeteria for lunch he heard a sound coming from the Physics Laboratory. Glad that no special identification was needed to enter he opened the door, finding Sasuga precariously standing on the huge death ray. He was knocking the ceiling in several points. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mitsuhiko asked. That looked very dangerous!

"I'm examining the ceiling. Remember Fukuyama-kun's execution?"

The hunter wished he could forget it. "Yeah, what about that?"

"I'm trying to find the machine that was used to kill him but I can't find anything! How can that huge machine be hidden between the floors without leaving a trace? That's what I don't understand"

Sasuga was right about that. Mitsuhiko was no expert in concealing stuff but it didn't seem like there was enough space between the floors to hide the machine. "It's the same than with Hosoya-kun's execution. Those spikes just can't have existed in that wall. Have you checked that?"

Sasuga got off the death ray "I haven't but I did check the Theather after Kayano-san was killed. I didn't have access to the chemicals in this laboratory but one doesn't need them when a mere half an hour had passed! I should have been able to see blood or something but there was nothing"

"Maybe Monobear or Lily got it cleaned"

"Maybe they did but even then there should have been wet spots or something like that. What do you think all that means?" a perk from having been such an influential figure during the trials was that the commanders wanted to hear his opinion in strange matters like this one. It was going to backfire if he was wrong or if he said something that'd end being troublesome for the group but it wasn't like he could keep his opinion to himself.

"Hmmm...maybe they didn't die? Maybe they're actually alive somewhere?"

Sasuga considered the possibility. "I think they're dead, if you ask me. Something about Fukuyama-kun makes me think the culprits are being killed...he was the mole, after all. If he knew the culprits were just taken away and freed after a trial where they get caught I think he wouldn't have tried so hard to survive. You know, planning with that courier woman, pretending to be sick, all that...he would have just played along and done nothing complicated"

"He may not have known it" the hunter argued but the roboticist shrugged, not having anything to say about that.

"A mole agreeing to cooperate without knowing all the details? Do you think Fukuyama-kun would do that?"

"I have good reasons to believe the masterminds didn't say everything about their plans" he said bitterly. Fukuyama may not have been a good person but he wasn't an idiot. Surely he knew what he was doing...or thought he knew.

"It doesn't really matter now, I was about to try something and you can help. Here, take this" Sasuga took a bottle of an unknown liquid from the counter. The label indicated it came from the Chemistry Laboratory "It's Luminol. Blood is quite sticky; even if it's cleaned there'll be remains of it. This will allow us to-"

"I know how Luminol works" Mitsuhiko interrupted. A strong chemical aroma wafted from the container "Where do you want me to spray?"

Sasuga and Mitsuhiko worked together. Although there was sunlight pouring from the window Sasuga's shadow was enough for the lantern he somehow obtained to shine onto the floor. The problem was that despite their efforts there was no blood to be found. "We either did this wrong or there wasn't any blood in the first place" Sasuga concluded.

"But we saw the execution! Fukuyama-kun left the Meeting Room and was led away by Monobear, he must have died!"

"I'm not sure what has happened with the culprits but between you and me..." Sasuga approached to whisper "...I think we may have taken some things for granted. The culprits must have successfully gotten out of this hell"

That was outrageous. Why would the Main Board let anybody go? Mitsuhiko couldn't think of a single reason for that to be possible, it didn't make any sense! Yet now there were three times in a row that there were no traces of the execution despite them being done in a place easily accessible for them. "You said ten minutes ago that Fukuyama-kun must be dead"

"I lied to see your reactions" Sasuga was obviously trying to cover for his former opinion. It was likely it was just a change of opinion and no more but it was still mildly suspicious "It's better to think people is alive than dead, right?"

"...I suppose so" Still, this is quite odd...people have died, that much I have no doubts, but what about the rest? "But let's be realistic: the masterminds wouldn't let anybody live after being caught in the trial. They're dead, they must be, and that's final. Don't think the opposite because it'd be holding onto false hopes, alright?"

Sasuga sighed "Fine, it was just a nice thought. I'm going downstairs" the Roboticist left the room, followed by the hunter. He considered informing Kishio about these findings but decided not to do it, thinking it may distract her from the task of organizing an escape. There are other things to work on. I'll leave it to her.

-ooooo-

Koshimizu wasn't happy about what he was doing. Yurie was a criminal, as far as he was concerned. She had tried to kill somebody and surely would have no regrets on seeing everybody else except Mitsuhiko be executed. If it had been up to him he'd have walked away and left Yurie to endure her leg paralysis.

But Mitsuhiko wouldn't have accepted that. Koshimizu hated to accept it but he owed the hunter a few favors...for saving their lives three times already. Once was nothing to call home about, twice was enough to make his resolve to make unlawful people pay tremble on its foundations, just like it was shown by his acceptance of letting Mitsuhiko and Yurie be free, three times was bordering begrudging admiration. He thought of this service as his way to be even with Mitsuhiko.

The hunter didn't know any of that, though. He leaned on the wall, watching Koshimizu hold Yurie's hands while she tried to stand up. The Medical Demon had insisted some physical rehabilitation was important, especially since the trauma had happened just a few hours ago. The earlier they started to fix it the better, he said. Mitsuhiko wasn't sure if that really was the correct procedure but he trusted Koshimizu on that regard.

"There we go. You can at least stand up. Your legs are strong enough to stay rigid and hold your weight, that's a good sign" he was saying.

"But will she be able to walk ever again?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"It'll take quite a while before she gains enough motor function to walk...and it's not guaranteed. Hemlock can damage the nerves. The reason she's able to stand up with help is because of her bones, mostly. Can you step forward, Oyama-san?"

"I can't, you asshole" she grumbled "Do I look like I can?" Koshimizu shook his head, annoyed, but didn't let her go. Instead he carefully made her sit again.

"Well that was enlightening. The damage is certainly extensive. We're done here for today. I'll program some basic physical rehabilitation exercises but you'll have to meet a professional on that regard. I'm more of a general practitioner, after all" Not long after that Koshimizu left the bedroom, followed by Mitsuhiko.

"Koshimizu-san, thank you for your time. I know we don't really get along but I appreciate what you're doing"

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't" Koshimizu replied, walking a tad faster. Feeling like he had touched a nerve...somehow...Mitsuhiko reached him.

"Did I say something bad? I won't accept you badmouthing Yurie, if that's what you're trying to do"

"I'm not trying to badmouth anybody. That's hard to do when their actions say everything we need to know about people like you and her"

That was a better insight into Koshimizu's mind than Mitsuhiko expected. "Is this about what she and I did about shooting Amy? Because we already said we're sorry about that"

"Yes, it's precisely about that! Do you expect me to believe you two are sorry about trying to kill somebody? Maybe you are but she isn't repentant at all. I know how she looks at us, like we're disposable people. If it weren't because you're her girlfriend I wouldn't even approach her" Koshimizu hadn't noticed his hushed tone had turned into shouting. Mitsuhiko stepped backwards, startled and unsure of what to say.

"Um...I'll accept that yeah, she's not sorry, but you're a doctor. It's your responsibility to heal people"

"I'm not a doctor! I quit that to join DeeEy. I'm, by definition, not a doctor anymore" That was a bit more of a surprise. Mitsuhiko had no idea Koshimizu had quitted the profession. "It's true I'm the medic of this organization here in Japan but that doesn't mean I'm bound by the profession. I'm my own man and don't you forget that"

"Why did you quit?"

Koshimizu scratched his chin "I don't feel comfortable talking about that but let me tell you that the reason I quit is the same reason why I'm trying to be such a hard-ass towards criminals. It's nothing personal against you or her. It's that you and she represent exactly what I want to see gone from my sight" he started walking away "Perhaps that means it IS personal. Whatever"

The Medical Demon was soon gone who knows where. Mitsuhiko leaned against the wall and sighed. So Koshimizu wasn't being an asshole to Yurie just because he wanted to. There was a deeper reason for that, and apparently it was the same reason he renounced to the profession, at least...towards the public. He felt like he understood Koshimizu just a bit better but it wasn't enough. He wouldn't really understand what the medic was like unless he knew what had pushed him away from the medical profession.

And to be completely honest with himself...he wasn't feeling brave enough to ask it directly.

I returned with Yurie.

-ooooo-

Despite Kishio's efforts it didn't seem like she had finished her plans during the afternoon. However at dinner time she got everybody's attention. "Everybody, we're going to be out of here tomorrow. Due to the possibility of the kidnappers hearing the details I'm going to take a lot of precautions about everybody's role. Our effort will at first be focused on creating a way for us to escape. Once that's done we'll gather provisions and finally get out of here. In a couple hours I'll talk with a select few and give them instructions for tomorrow. Any questions?"

"Will it really work?" Romi asked. Kishio shrugged.

"I think we'll be capable of doing it but just in case don't get your hopes too high. After all our kidnappers are watching us right now, I bet. They may try to stop us. We'll do our best, though"

That made sense. There was no way the Main Board was going to let people go easily. Knowing how this wretched place works somebody will die before the escape happens and everything will be ruined...Kishio-sensei is going to get killed, isn't she? Would the Main Board take a risk and kill Kishio themselves?

Despite Kishio's prudent warnings the moods were pretty cheery. Everybody had hopes of finally escaping, placing all their faith on Kishio. Once dinner was over most of the graduates went to their bedrooms. Yurie insisted to go by herself, trying to get used to the wheelchair. Koshimizu and Kobayashi stayed behind in the Cafeteria. Kobayashi's shot arm, wounded what seemed so long ago, was finally healed enough for the doctor to take off the sling. Mitsuhiko stayed nearby, there was something he needed to do. "There we go. Don't move it forcefully, after all the bullet impacted the bone. It'll take a while to heal, alright?"

"Thank you Koshimizu-san" the illusionist said, bowing. Koshimizu gave a thumbs up and left, ignoring Mitsuhiko. Once he was sure Koshimizu was away the hunter approached.

"Hey, Amy"

"Ah, it's you" it was the first time Kobayashi and Mitsuhiko were alone and talking to each other. Since their most memorable interaction so far was shooting and getting shot it wasn't like they had a good base for a friendship. "What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize for...that" Mitsuhiko half-heartedly gestured at the arm he had shot "I don't expect you to forgive me but I felt I should at least apologize for that"

Kobayashi usually was a placid person. He went along with everybody and wanted to blend more into the crowd than stand out. However now that placidness was gone. In its place was a disdain Mitsuhiko didn't think he'd see. "D-Do you think saying sorry is going to heal my arm?"

"Um, I didn't think that, it's just that-"

"I'm not interested, man. You shot me and it can't be taken back. Don't expect me to forgive you" Kobayashi didn't go away or move. Instead he smiled bashfully "Have you ever seen a magic show?"

Somewhat startled by the change of topic Mitsuhiko shook his head. Kobayashi nodded in understanding "They're less and less popular nowadays but I didn't care. I made myself a career in the field of magic and illusions. It doesn't makes me rich or anything like that, I should say that"

"I'd love to see one of your shows" the hunter said without really meaning it. There was something that was bothering him, the way Kobayashi had looked at him...it made him really uncomfortable. In that moment he remembered a simple fact:

Kobayashi was a commander. Sure, he was new to the role and therefore inexperienced but he was a commander nevertheless. Nobody got to be a commander by being useless or harmless. Anybody in that position needed to have a good deal of ruthlessness and know how to achieve their goals. Nice meek Kobayashi...was a commander.

"I don't think you mean it" Kobayashi's smile faded "Between you and me, nobody does. Magic is a thing of the past, apparently. Magic shows soon weren't enough for me to have money to live like I wanted to. It wasn't anything luxurious, just an apartment in a nice place, all that"

"What's the point you want to make?" Mitsuhiko really had meant to apologize but this was turning south way too fast for his comfort.

"My point is that I had to do other stuff to earn money. I tried many things but do you know what was really good, something I could use my magic in?" Kobayashi's eyes shone dangerously when he leaned forward towards Mitsuhiko. "Bounty hunting"

Kobayashi was a bounty hunter? That didn't mesh at all with the illusionist's personality. Mitsuhiko would have never guessed that. "I see! Were you good at it?"

"You can bet I was! Illusions are great for getting some people to lower their guard. I could create some very contrived scenarios and they always ended in me catching them. If I had been in high school by the time I was doing that maybe Hope's Peak would have taken me in as the Super High School Level Bounty Hunter!" Kobayashi sounded enormously proud of his achievements. Mitsuhiko was more unsettled than impressed.

"Right...I see. I didn't think you had it in you, to be frank..."

"...Hikari-kun, I'm just a bounty hunter. That doesn't mean I'm evil or anything like that" he seemed genuinely hurt, somehow "I may hate you but that doesn't mean I'll get in your way. We're pals, aren't we? DeeEy people!" Kobayashi extended his hand "We have to work together" Mitsuhiko definitely was beginning to understand why Kobayashi was a commander. He hadn't expected it at all.

Reluctant, Mitsuhiko shook hands with him. Kobayashi sensed the hunter's attitude had changed towards him and frowned. Thinking that perhaps he had gone too far with his revelations he decided to try to even up things. "Relax, I'm more your friend than you imagine. You once had a prize assigned to your head, you know. I could have captured you at some point but I didn't. That should count for something"

"Er, maybe?"

The frown deepened. "Fuck, I-I screwed up. I should have been more careful. I'll, um, go away..." Kobayashi had that more familiar behavior now and left the Cafeteria, rubbing his arm. Mitsuhiko stayed there, astonished, trying to process everything Kobayashi had said.

I decided to find out more from Amy at some point.

-ooooo-

Kishio had done it! A plan was crafted and to be honest this commander thought it could work. They had received an assignment and instructions. They and a couple commanders more were supposed to meet early in the morning to do what they needed to do, and right now this commander was gathering the stuff they needed.

They weren't alone, though. Their creation was with them, rummaging through the cabinets of the Chemistry Laboratory. "...what will happen to me..?" Lily was a robot, that much was true. However it was no secret AI had the possibility of evolving and enhancing itself. Since the day of her creation her AI had started to slowly get a level of appreciation towards her creator. The rest of humanity, even her creator's comrades, weren't high in her priority list. Now that their carefully crafted plan had been ruined and the only thing to do was to escape...what was Lily going to do now?

"You'll stay here and crack the mystery of the Main Board. You'll gather the proof we need and broadcast it to everybody. Use the transmitter in the bricked up wing. I won't be here but I trust you can do it"

The creator was speaking with a calming tone. Lily felt encouraged, being given a mission even if it was likely she wouldn't see her creator again. "I will!"

"Aaaand...if we all escape and you fail to broadcast anything...kill them. No matter how you do it, you'll have to kill them. If you fail that'll be the only way to stop them from completing the corruption that is overtaking DeeEy. Understood?"

The instructions were clear. Lily nodded and continued rummaging through the cabinets until she found the container she was looking for. 'Ethanol'. "Here it is!" she exclaimed, passing it to her creator. The creator took it and examined how much there was.

"This is no good. There's not enough. I'll need more flammable liquid. Meanwhile, look for a large container to mix in" the creator gave Lily back the Ethanol while they went downstairs to the Kitchen. They soon returned with canola oil. "This's flammable too so...what did you do?"

"I found this container" Lily had taken a large bottle she found in a cabinet and poured the ethanol into it, forgetting to take out the original content. That content wasn't flammable but maybe that could be fixed. The creator added the canola oil and mixed the liquid, deciding to testits qualities now.

They poured some of the liquid on the floor and after taking a couple steps back they threw a lit match in it. The result...was quite a fire. Satisfied, the creator got rid of the fire and approached, noticing the singed floor had a distinctive smell, hinting what the main component of the mix was. That worried them. "Oh well. It isn't like it matters now. We can't step back"

They left with the bottle of flammable catalyst, ready for the morning to come. Others would deal with a couple tasks more but they had finished their job for the night.

Chapter Text

Morning came. The day outside was once again cloudy. The weather during their stay had been almost the same during all these days: cloudy. Sometimes with rain or with wind. What was up with that? It kind of depressed Mitsuhiko. The situation would at least look more hopeful without the dreadful weather. Surely when we finally escape the sun will appear from behind the clouds and shine upon us or something cliché like that he sneered at the sky before leaving his bedroom.

Today was the day of the escape and...and he had not received instructions. The first thing to do during the day was knock on Yurie's door, soon receiving an answer, inviting him to come in. Yurie was already awake and rolling around on her wheelchair. "Good morning, Yurie. Um, since we're going to get out of here I wanted to..." Mitsuhiko started. He wasn't sure how to word it, so he went with a more or less blunt way "...to tell you that we're going to define our relationship after we're out. If we break up that's okay, if we continue together that's okay. I'm leaving this up to you"

"My decision hasn't changed" she said firmly "We're breaking up"

The hunter suppressed a few swear words, having promised himself he'd accept Yurie's decision, but in his heart he had to admit he was kind of...relieved? Yurie was responsible for his actual situation, after all. Having such a toxic person as his wife wasn't a good idea. "Fine, if you have made your mind...I won't fight it. We can at least be friends, right?"

Yurie rubbed her eyes, maybe trying to hide gratitude tears "We can! I can't say how much that means to me, Mitsu-chan"

"Right. Want to go for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry, I'll go later" she replied "First I'd like to get used to this wheelchair. I'm starting to get the hang of it" Of course Yurie would try to be independent. That was just like her. Mitsuhiko smiled in acceptance and left towards the Cafeteria.

Everybody else was already reunited there. Even Lily was among the commanders, walking around and looking pretty nervous, but the people were more excited than nervous. Sasuga and Sugita seemed happier than they had been until now, Romi had once again gotten her guitar out and was strumming it and Kishio was standing on the tables shouting encouraging words in seven languages. Mitsuhiko felt his resolve to escape get stronger; knowing everybody else shared the same determination.

Breakfast went by in a flash, everybody waiting for Kishio to say what they needed to know. She didn't disappoint. "Engarde, everybody! This is the final battle. Let's do our best. Since being prudent is the best thing to do I have assigned different goals to each person, this way the masterminds won't stop us easily. Some of you will work alone, some will work in pairs. Your tasks will be given to you privately right now" Kishio proceeded to sit in a corner of the Cafeteria and call each graduate individually and inform them of what they needed to do. She made sure to whisper and not let anybody else hear it. Soon it was Mitsuhiko's turn.

"So, you're a hunter. I suppose that means you know about survival in troublesome environments, right?" she inquired once he was with her. Mitsuhiko confirmed it "Your task shall be to gather all the provisions we may need. We're going into the city and it's possible we may encounter rioters. Keep in mind some of us may not be able to carry a lot of stuff, form small packages for each of us. Did you understand all this?"

"I did. What about Yurie's task? She's not here, I could tell her"

Kishio shook her head "She's not in condition to be of help, I'm afraid. In fact, it's going to be harder to help her escape, at least for the first part. For now she can stay in her bedroom until it's time. When it's time you'll get her and take her to the meeting point"

"And where is that?"

"The Roof. That's where we'll meet"

The Roof? Mitsuhiko expected the courtyard to be the meeting point, not the freaking roof. Was a helicopter going to come, where they going to build wings, just what was Kishio planning? She didn't go into detail, though, she only gave a smug smile as if she was saying 'just wait and you'll see'. Knowing he wouldn't get anything from further interrogation he retired to his seat.

When everybody got their tasks Kishio once again got everybody's attention. "Listen everybody! With the exception of Hikari-kun, and that exception is valid only for the next five minutes, it's forbidden for anybody to come to the Cafeteria. In fact, stay away of this hall! Coming here will be the same than insubordination. I'm serious" That seemed pretty arbitrary to Mitsuhiko, why was it forbidden? But he had the feeling asking wasn't going to bring any answers, surely that was related to her escape plans.

"Where is Monobear? I expected him to be around" Romi asked. Other commanders voiced the same concern but indeed, it was weird. Anybody would have thought Monobear would be around ruining everything but they hadn't seen him yet.

Kishio grinned widely, holding a key in the air "I found a padlock in the sports shed and I used it to lock the door to Monobear's control panel. Without a controller that fucking bear can't meddle with us"

"Great! Good job, Kishio-sense!" Kobayashi exclaimed, his eyes shining. The Linguist enjoyed the praise and went to the entrance of the Cafeteria.

"Well let's get going! Everybody has something to do, so let's go!" But she didn't leave. Everybody else did but Kishio stayed, staring at Mitsuhiko. Knowing she wouldn't leave until he did what he needed to do, the hunter entered the kitchen and got enough food for everybody alive to survive for a couple days. He was sure they'd find more once they escaped, besides they needed to travel lightly.

Once he had all the food packaged he took them to the Lobby, where he deposited everything. Kishio went upstairs to supervise. Now that she was away Mitsuhiko took the time to go to Yurie's room. "Yurie, we're getting out of here. Gather everything you may need and please wait here for me to come, alright?"

"How are we going to escape?" she asked.

"...I don't know. Kishio-sensei will deal with that. I'll be back when it's time!" he was happy and it wasn't hard to see it. Yurie smiled, feeling better, and saw him go. Mitsuhiko went throughout the whole building, gathering little objects and stuff that could come useful. Weapons for everybody, trinkets for survival, everything they'd need. From time to time he encountered other commanders but all they did was nod to each other and focus on their tasks.

Almost an hour after the breakfast meeting Mitsuhiko had finished. Just when he tied the last package Kishio appeared in the Lobby. "Well done, Hikari-kun. Please get everybody who's outside and here in the first floor and go upstairs" she requested before going towards the Second Floor. The hunter accepted the task and left the building, walking around the courtyard.

He found Mimori and Koshimizu in the Back Courtyard. "It's time. We're going onto the roof!" he informed them. The journalist and the medic shared his excitement, walking briskly back into the building.

"Has Oyama-san been taken upstairs yet?" Koshimizu asked, opening the door. Mimori took some of the packages to carry them.

"Not yet. I thought it'd be good to get you guys first. I'll go now" Mitsuhiko answered.

"I'll go with you. I'll carry her while you carry the wheelchair" he offered. Thanking him for his offered help they went into Camp Monobear.

They had only gotten in it when the fire started.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound echoed in Camp Monobear and an orange glow shined on the walls. There was fire in the hallway towards the Cafeteria! "Oh my god!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, clearly not having expected such thing to happen. He immediately ran towards Yurie's bedroom to lead her away. That fire could spread to the bedrooms! "Yurie, we need to...where is she? Where is she?! Yurie!" Yurie wasn't in her bedroom. Mitsuhiko shouted her name over and over but nobody answered.

Koshimizu arrived shortly after him and surveyed the bedroom. "The wheelchair is not here. She can't have gone far" Sudden steps sounded from the hallway, Mimori appearing. She had ran as well, having heard Mitsuhiko's cries.

"What's going on in here?!"

"Oyama-san is missing" Koshimizu answered quite calmly but the way his hands shook showed he was repressing his panic "Have you seen her?"

"I only got to Camp Lily before I heard you" that wasn't an answer but nobody cared. Mitsuhiko pushed her aside, still shouting Yurie's name.

"Yurie, answer me! Yurie!" There was still no answer. Suddenly, as if griped by a bad feeling, he bolted towards the fire. Mitsuhiko ignored Koshimizu's warnings that it was dangerous, he had to make sure that bad feeling wasn't true.

The fire had covered the walls and the floor. It roared and expelled a lot of heat but it was contained in one single place. "Why aren't the sprinklers activated?!" Mimori had gotten behind him, pulling him back. The hunter didn't care about the freaking sprinklers; he just had to make sure!

His eyes stung due to the smoke and the heat but he didn't stop looking at the fire. He could vaguely see a shape in middle of the fire. "Yurie! Yu...no...nononono..." he wailed. There was no confirmation that was Yurie or even a person but in his mind he could only thing of one thing: where else would Yurie be? He would have seen her cross the Lobby; he had been preparing the survival packages in there! Yurie couldn't be anywhere else than in that fire or...in the Cafeteria. He prayed she really was in the Cafeteria, but when she didn't she answer to his shouts?

"Step aside" Koshimizu ordered. He had brought a fire extinguisher, but in that moment a very loud shriek sounded. It sounded like it was one of the female commanders and it came from the floors above them. A sudden flash of fire appeared outside, barely seen through the only window in the hallway. "What was that?!"

"I'll check!" Mimori said, running towards the Lobby. Mitsuhiko didn't move, instead snatching the extinguisher from Koshimizu's hands and using it on the fire. He ignored the intense heat; he ignored the burns that were starting to appear on his skin and clothes. It was a grueling job but after a couple minutes the flames started to die down, revealing what was in there.

The wheelchair was in a very bad state, just like expected. In fact, the wheels had melted, the metal was warped and the leather was singed and shredded. However Mitsuhiko could only watch the person on the wheelchair. He froze, unable to look away. Koshimizu took the extinguisher back to finish getting rid of the fire. "The sprinklers are up here, why didn't they work..." he murmured but the hunter didn't answer.

The person on the wheelchair was...unrecognizable. Their skin was charred and blackened, destroyed by the intense heat and the fire. Their hair was completely burned, and the clothes were now faded and burned. Mitsuhiko had the faint hopes this wasn't Yurie, maybe it was some other person! "A body has been discovered! After a short investigation..." the announcement sounded. It was unmistakable; it was the bear's voice. And mere seconds later: "A body has been discovered!" Mitsuhiko tuned out to the rest.

"Two? There are two..." Koshimizu had finished getting rid of the fire. Spurred by the new announcement he looked through the window. And there he saw the other body.

It was on fire too but the setting was...strange. The body was suspended on a cable from the fence, fire enveloping the corpse. Most of the commanders were out there, trying to extinguish the fire on the corpse, but they hadn't progressed very much. In that moment the cable snapped, the body falling on the grass. Koshimizu jumped through the window to help before the fire spread throughout the Courtyard and towards the commanders.

Mitsuhiko watched from the hallway how the Medical Demon got rid of the fire, revealing another unrecognizable body. It was even more destroyed than the one on the wheelchair, mainly because this second body had been wrapped in flames. The hunter felt numb and looked at the commanders, as if he hoped Yurie had recovered the use of her legs and was now outside with them.

There was a large mirror set on the Courtyard and aiming towards the wall because it was as an angle. Further from that, near the fence, the commanders were gathered. He recognized everybody outside. Mimori was crying in fear and despair, terrified due to the horrifying deaths that had happened. Romi was in a state of shock, staring at the corpse. Koshimizu was taking deep breaths, not even he was calm. Kobayashi, Sasuga and Hasegawa were walking in circles, saying stuff Mitsuhiko couldn't hear, but they were clearly panicking. In that moment Mitsuhiko felt his heart jump to his throat.

Sugita wasn't among the commanders outside. Did that mean she was...that...charred corpse? In that moment his ID vibrated, having received the Monobear files. He opened them and received the final confirmation of who the dead bodies were. He realized that there were actually two people he hadn't seen outside and felt horrible for having forgotten about her.

Yurie Oyama and Sumida Kishio were dead.

Chapter Text

Seeing the two Monobear files was the confirmation of the deaths. Mitsuhiko slowly slid from the window to the floor, his pants getting stained with soot and ashes. He knew there was an investigation to be done but it wasn't something he could do and hope for the best. This wasn't a mere commander he met in these headquarters a week and half ago. This had been his girlfriend, his fiancée, the person he had chosen to spend his life with.

Nobody could expect it to be easy.

But in the end he had to do it. Monobear wasn't going to give him time to mourn to his heart's content. If he didn't do something then the trial would happen and then they'd all die. And while that was what Yurie would have wanted, except that now Mitsuhiko was among the people who could die.

Oh, and Kishio had died too. Mitsuhiko's opinion to her had greatly diminished during the time he had been in the same building than her. However he had to honor the person he had thought she was. It wasn't fueled by love like his pain for Yurie was and to some people that meant she was much less important than Yurie's death, but there'd be a trial for her death too. It was his duty to find the truth for both of these women.

"Are you okay, Hikari-kun?"

Kobayashi had entered and approached him. The illusionist was standing to his side, holding his hand forward to help Mitsuhiko stand up. The hunter didn't take it, though. "No, I'm not okay, you dumbass" Kobayashi retracted his hand, uncomfortable.

"...I'm sorry for your loss"

"Wow, that makes me feel soooo better. Amy has given me his condolences. Thank you for your empty words" Mitsuhiko knew he shouldn't be so bitter but he felt he had to somehow pour all the pain he was feeling, to steel himself for what was going to come and leave Yurie's death behind. Lashing out at Kobayashi wasn't the way but there was nothing else to be done. Kobayashi gritted his teeth and endured Mitsuhiko's vitriol.

"It's not empty. I'm serious"

"Why don't you go fuck yourself, Amy? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Kobayashi turned around and decided to go back outside to work on Kishio's crime scene. It was impossible to do anything with the hunter lashing out at anybody who came close. But Mitsuhiko wasn't done. Even if nobody was around he continued grunting in pain and sorrow, muttering everything he had wanted to say to Yurie. It wasn't all nice stuff like some people would have thought. Half of everything Mitsuhiko was saying was insults to Yurie for everything she had done to ruin his life. "...destroying everything I had worked for. I was a stupid teenager, what did I know?! What gave you the right to take my parents' lives?! Yurie, you bitch, you should have stayed away of me. I shouldn't have ever talked to you!" The rage he felt when he knew the truth, how she didn't love him, all that, was shouted at the walls and to Yurie's corpse.

...soon he ran out of furious words to shout. Slowly his screams turned into whispers, because even if she had betrayed him without him ever knowing, even if she had twisted him into a hitman who was only good to serve somebody he had only seen once in his life...he had loved her. "...I would have forgiven you... because I know that now, even if it was only in the recent times...I was important for you..."

Mitsuhiko had no idea how much time passed in his despair. His steps had disturbed the soot and moved the remains of the melted wheels but he was at least now...satisfied. Maybe SHSL Despair was like that because they could never let all that despair out just like he just did. Maybe Enoshima had made them keep it bottled until it consumed them, turning them into the monsters they were known as. He didn't know.

But he was satisfied now. He had grieved, shouted all his pain out and although it still hurt he could at least focus on something else now.

Monobear File #4.1

Victim: Yurie Oyama, codename: Zagan

Location of the Body: Cafeteria Hallway

Monobear File #4.2

Victim: Sumida Kishio, codename: Alocas

Location of the Body: Courtyard

"These are some lousy files. Not helpful at all" he commented aloud. A voice sounded from Camp Monobear, having heard him.

"That's wrong, Hikari-kun. They're pretty useful" Mimori had arrived "Are you done howling and talking to yourself? If so then maybe we can work together to solve this"

"Don't talk about what I did or didn't do. Let's get onto the investigation. Why are they useful?"

"Isn't it interesting how they don't mention the cause of death? Anybody would think they were burned to death but this hints there was some other way they were killed"

It was a small relief that Yurie hadn't suffered the pain and agony of the flames slowly killing her. Oh, and Kishio didn't either, that was good too. Of course, without any concrete proof, they couldn't say it with certainty. "Then how did they die? I'm not going to prod their bodies to find out. They look like they would...they would...disintegrate as soon as anybody touches them"

"Koshimizu-san is performing autopsies. He was the one to point how the files could be useful. Here, check his finding of Kishio's cause of death" Mimori flipped some pages of her notebook and passed it to Mitsuhiko, who read it intently.

' The cranium depicts an area with less firmness than the rest of the head. Potential cranium fracture. While I can ' t confirm it without cutting her head open I theorize Kishio-sensei ' s head got hit with a blunt object of some sorts. The fire has eliminated any traces that could hint what was used to bludgeon her '

"Is he sure about this?"

"I wrote his exact words about the autopsy but left out the rest. He said something like 'I'm a doctor, not a forensic examiner' but he's also sixty percent sure of what he was saying"

"Sixty. That's no good" Still, it was better than nothing.

Kishio ' s Cranium Fracture

It ' s theorized Kishio got bludgeoned before her body was set on fire. The body has no clues about what exact object was used for this purpose.

"Anything else to note about the body?"

"Not really but there is something I did notice when I was going to see what was going on. I was the first to find Kishio-sensei's corpse so I know what I'm talking about here" Mimori gestured at the Courtyard "When I got there everything was undisturbed. Not a single blade of grass was out of place"

"...I'm not sure if that's meaningful in any way"

"Look, you don't think Kishio fell from the sky onto that fence, do you? Somebody must have placed her there"

Now Mitsuhiko was beginning to understand why that got Mimori's attention. Kishio must have been hung from the fence during the time the fire started but Mitsuhiko hadn't seen anybody when he was looking for people in the first floor and the Courtyard. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had seen the mirror from the side, making it difficult to see, but there was nobody in there. There had been no place to hide in, either. It was simply impossible anybody was nearby. Then how did Kishio get in there?

Undisturbed Grass

It ' s impossible for anybody to have walked on the Courtyard from the time Mitsuhiko checked to the time Kishio ' s corpse was found.

"That is certainly strange. Any idea of how that could happen?"

"I'm blank. Sorry, Hikari-kun, I simply can't think of a way" Well that was of no help. It was time to see what could be found in this crime scene and then go to the one outside, but before either of them could approach Yurie's body Koshimizu arrived.

"Hope you don't mind me doing the autopsy now" he said bluntly. Mitsuhiko's first thought was demand Koshimizu to keep his grubby hands away of Yurie's corpse but he was the only person that could find out something from that body. If he didn't let the medic take a look then there'd be no progress.

"Go ahead" Mitsuhiko stepped aside. Koshimizu's face showed no expression but the way his hands shook showed how stressed he was. He carefully touched Yurie's skin, moving his fingers and looking for any important details. "...burning the bodies, who would do this? When I thought this couldn't get more brutal..." he murmured while working. The horrible state of both victims had certainly unsettled everybody. And the only person I haven't seen yet is Kimiko. Where is she?

"Eureka. I just found something" Koshimizu stepped aside, not feeling like celebrating "It doesn't make her death any prettier, though"

"Did you find a cause of death?" Mimori inquired.

"Don't get me wrong, it's possible Kishio-sensei didn't die bludgeoned but I'm sure Oyama-san didn't survive this wound. It is...it is disturbing" Koshimizu suppressed the urge to vomit "Hikari-kun, you may want to go away while I tell Mimori-san what to write. This won't be pretty at all"

"I have to see, Koshimizu-san. I need to know everything so I can catch the culprit" Mitsuhiko replied in a way that showed he wouldn't change his mind. Koshimizu didn't seem happy with that, though. He sighed and looked at his hands, seeing how the skin of those carbonized bodies had left residues on his fingers.

"...I tried to spare you the horrible truth of her death. Don't blame me for what you'll see" Koshimizu put his hands on the top of Yurie's head. What he'd do now was something that'd stay in Mitsuhiko's nightmares for the rest of his life.

The top of Yurie's head was slowly pushed to a side as if it were a stone slab covering a hole on the floor. It happened without any problems until it was moved halfway. Koshimizu stopped, having a clear sight of the inside of Yurie's head. "I'm done. I'm done, done, done, done. Excuse me" It was the first time Mimori or Mitsuhiko saw Koshimizu so affected by anything that happened in the Headquarters. The Medical Demon hurried to one of the public bathrooms, slamming the door behind him. It took quite a while for him to come back out.

Mimori was the one to put the top of Yurie's head back to its normal position, although it was obvious she had great difficulty on doing so. Nobody in their right mind would want to touch her corpse. "...what the heck was that..." Mitsuhiko asked, almost unheard.

"I don't know but I feel pity for Oyama-san. She didn't deserve any of this" Although Mimori didn't like Yurie since the first time they met in the first day of the lockdown she had to agree this was a very brutal way to die.

"How is it possible somebody had a weapon that caused this? That's what I don't understand. Do you know how hard it is to cut bone? It's not as brittle as you may lead to think. You'd need special tools or a lot of strength to completely sever bone"

"Not only that, the cut was also abnormally clean. Did you see how Koshimizu-san moved the top of her head? It was like...like..." Mimori had no description for that.

Yurie ' s Mortal Wound

The top third of Yurie ' s skull and head was cleanly cut. The cut went as deep as to the other side of Yurie ' s head.

"Stop talking about that!" Mitsuhiko couldn't take it anymore "Let me see what else is there to find, okay?" He had enough about Yurie's corpse for now. There were other things to check. For example, what was that weird smell? "Do you smell something?"

"Besides the smell of charred flesh?" Mimori wrinkled her nose "Heck no"

"No, there's something else...I have smelled it before but I don't remember where" the smell was pungent and disgusting but had a clear chemical quality Mitsuhiko recognized from somewhere. I'm sure I recently smelled this but where?

"Fires don't happen randomly. Maybe what you smell is the catalyst, you know, like fuel to make the fire happen" Mimori pointed.

"You must be right. Maybe if I can pinpoint the main component of the catalyst we can have a valuable clue" The problem was that he had no idea how to describe the smell. Unless Mimori spent her free time huffing the content of diverse chemicals it wasn't like she'd be able to help "I think we should check the Chemistry Laboratory for more clues"

"Again the Chemistry Laboratory? That place has been related to the crimes three times already"

"I know. I don't get its appeal either. Must be some kind of joke from some god or something" Mitsuhiko looked at the ceiling and mumbled "A joke from some chemistry-obsessed person who lacks originality and wants to shoehorn her interests in the game. It's not funny"

"...what was that?"

"Nothing you should be concerned about. Let's continue"

Chemical Smell

A smell coming from the ashes and remains of the fire in the Cafeteria Hallway. Somehow familiar but...from where?

Unfortunately the fact the crime was simple and straightforward meant there was not a lot of evidence to find. Besides, even if there were, the fire would have destroyed most of it. "There's nothing here!" Mimori refused to approach the body. Mitsuhiko was a bit more daring but even then he really didn't want to look at Yurie.

"I can't find anything either. I think we have done everything we could. Sorry, Yurie" How were they supposed to catch Yurie's killer with so little evidence?

"Why do you think she was going to the Cafeteria? Kishio-sensei clearly said to not to go there"

"Yurie wasn't there the moment that was said. I suppose she was going for breakfast or something" If Mitsuhiko had taken the time to tell Yurie about what Kishio had said then maybe she wouldn't have died. That thought made Mitsuhiko hurt, knowing this may have been prevented easily.

But now that he thought about that...about Yurie going to the Cafeteria...didn't this hallway have a certain trait? That's right! It was slightly sloped, enough for the wheelchair to go forward. Maybe Yurie was murdered and then left to roll forward into the fire or something like that. It was possible.

Cafeteria Hallway Slope

The hallway is sloped almost imperceptibly, just enough for the wheelchair to roll. It ' s not noticeable otherwise.

"Did you see something that could be a hint, Mimori-san?"

"I didn't notice anything odd before the fires happened, if that's what you're wondering, but there IS something strange. Do you remember what made me go outside to see what was going on? Before that I think I heard a scream"

Mimori was right. A woman had screamed before fire flashed outside. That fire must have been the moment Kishio was set on fire, but then what was that scream? Kishio's last breath? That was possible.

Mitsuhiko ' s Testimony

Just after Yurie was found there was a female scream coming from somewhere above them. There was also an orange flash outside almost immediately after the scream. Mimori and Koshimizu can testify the same.

"I think that's all we'll see here. We have almost no evidence about this murder so we'll have to rely on Kishio-sensei's death to have enough evidence to convict somebody" Mimori said while she and the hunter were going outside.

"Have you considered there may be two different killers?" Koshimizu came out of the bathroom while they were passing along. Mitsuhiko considered the question and shook his head, it seemed unlikely.

"Two different killers having the same way to kill people? It's more likely there's one single culprit"

"I don't know, Koshimizu-san has a point. The Cafeteria Hallway and the Courtyard are close by but I don't think a single person could kill Yurie and then set fire to Kishio-sensei" Mimori piped up. Koshimizu smirked, satisfied to have somebody backing him up. Mitsuhiko had to acknowledge that was a good point but there was another problem, which he voiced aloud:

"I went around reuniting anybody in this floor and outside to go to the Lookout. There was nobody else other than us three and it's impossible any of us killed Yurie or Kishio-sensei" Unless there was a seriously convoluted way to kill them I can't see Koshimizu-san or Mimori-san as a culprit.

The second crime scene, Kishio's body, was alone when they arrived there. Everybody else had gone back inside to the upper floors so they were free to investigate to their hearts' content. None of them wanted to approach the corpse, though. The stench was unbearable and once again had that chemical scent Mitsuhiko had detected where Yurie died. It definitely was the catalyst or one of its components, there was nothing else it could be.

"Fuck this. I'll get over this now" Mimori swallowed nervously and approached, ready to try to find out any clues. Meanwhile Mitsuhiko focused on the mirror. It was placed in front of the window to the Cafeteria Hallway, which was open. It was positioned in an angle, seemingly pointing at the window that led to the Lounge.

"Where did this mirror come from?"

"I think it came from the Theater. There are full-body mirrors like this one" Koshimizu answered "What I don't understand is why it's here" Because it's related to the murders in some way, why else.

Mirror

A large mirror in the Courtyard, facing the window to the Cafeteria Hallway. It ' s in an angle, facing directly at the window to the Lounge in the second floor.

"...well that was it" There was nothing else to be seen that wasn't the body. Mitsuhiko gathered his resolve to solve the case and turned to see it, approaching Mimori."So what did you find?"

"This" Mimori had managed to peel off a large mass of plastic. It had pieces of Kishio's burned clothes on it, at least Mitsuhiko hoped those were clothes and not flesh. "It was in her...her pocket? I don't know, there are no pockets anymore"

"It's something, at least" The smell was obviously present on the plastic, as expected from something that was in contact with something doused in catalyst "Get it to the trial later, okay?"

"Me?!" Mimori let it fall to the ground, repulsed "Why don't you do that?"

"Because I don't want to! Look at that thing, it's...so gross..." Mitsuhiko definitely didn't want to carry it around. Who would want to?

Melted Plastic

A heap of clear plastic Kishio had with her. It ' s unknown what it was before it was melted.

"That's it, I'm over with this. I'll go inside and take a long shower because there's no way I'll investigate any longer" Mimori stomped away, leaving the plastic behind. Koshimizu had left home, gone to unknown places. Mitsuhiko understood very well how they must be feeling, these murders were nightmares compared to everything that had happened so far in the Headquarters. If it weren't because Yurie was one of the victims it was possible he'd have done the same than then.

Holding back the urge to groan in disgust Mitsuhiko walked around the body. From what he saw it seemed the cable it had been hanging from was tied around her feet. Looking upwards to the top of the fence he saw the rest of the cable, but much to his surprise it wasn't tied to the top of the fence like he expected.

Instead it extended beyond it, getting to a nearby tall tree at the other side of the fence. Mitsuhiko couldn't see very well but it seemed like the cable was...tied to a branch of the tree? Or to the trunk? The cable was attached in some way to that tree that was for sure.

Cable (Courtyard)

A long black cable that snapped from the fire that consumed Kishio ' s body. Part of it ties together Kishio ' s feet; the rest is hanging from a tree on the other side of the fence.

"That is all I'm going to find here" Mitsuhiko decided. He definitely didn't wish to spend one second more near any of the burned corpses. The hunter practically ran back inside and once he was in the Lobby, away of the stench that filled the crime scenes he sat on the stairs.

The best thing to do was to check the upper floors. That's where the scream came from and Kishio had asked everybody to go the Lookout, so there must have been something interesting to see up there. However, before he could stand up to go upstairs, a commotion sounded, approaching. When he stood up to see what was going on most of the commanders appeared, and among them was a person in a situation he never thought he'd see.

Sugita had her arms held in front of her but that wasn't what got Mitsuhiko's attention in the first place. It was the blood that was splattered across her face and clothes. It didn't seem like she was wounded, though, then what was going on? The group led Sugita downstairs, towards the Infirmary. When they passed where Mitsuhiko was the hunter saw another detail that greatly disturbed him.

Her hands were pretty burned. Of course it wasn't to the extent of the burns the corpses had, but there were several blisters on the palms and fingers. The skin was also reddened and delicate, it was obvious it was painful and must be very uncomfortable for her. That's why Mitsuhiko couldn't understand how her face showed no expression at all, as if she didn't even feel it. "What the hell is going on here?!" he exclaimed. Kobayashi, who was the last one in the group, stayed behind to inform Mitsuhiko.

"We found her upstairs, trying to descend into the Third Floor. When she saw me she tried to run away. That was suspicious so I followed her and that's when I saw the blood she had on her"

"Well yeah..."

"Somebody with blood and without a wound looks very suspicious, don't you think?"

"Are you trying to tell me Kimiko is the main suspect for the murders?" Mitsuhiko's voice trembled from the outrage. Sugita, killing Yurie and Kishio? That wasn't right, surely there was something else going on. Kobayashi twiddled his fingers, mulling how to say it.

"...the burns and the blood are pretty conclusive, I think. She must have done it; she must have killed at least one of them" the illusionist got to the hallway to the Infirmary "Koshimizu-san will deal with the burns. I know you two are friends but I hope it won't...stop you from being...as good in the trials as you always are. It's very unlikely she isn't guilty" Kobayashi notified he was going to guard Sugita until the trial started but until then it wasn't likely they'd allow Mitsuhiko to see her.

This day was a nightmare. The escape plan is destroyed, Yurie is murdered and Sugita is the main suspect? What else could go wrong?!

Kimiko Sugita

Sugita ' s hands showed signs of being exposed to fire or, at the very least, to great temperatures. She was caught in the Fourth Floor stairs, covered in blood and without any wounds.

Now Mitsuhiko had once another incentive to solve the murder. He wasn't going to be as stubborn as to refuse Sugita was innocent, if there was proof she did it then he was going to pursue her conviction, but until then he really wanted to think she was innocent. To find evidence he ascended to the Third Floor, to his first stop.

The Chemistry Laboratory was the first place to check. After all a catalyst was used to cause the fires, it's to be expected there may be clues in there. As soon as he entered he went straight to the cabinet to see if there was a glaring lack of anything. His gut feeling was correct, something was missing. What he didn't understand was how significant that was.

The bottle of Luminol he had used the day before was missing. Was Luminol flammable? If he remembered correctly it wasn't. But it being missing added another piece to the puzzle of the murder, after all now he remembered where that strange chemical smell had been. The ashes and bodies reeked of Luminol!

The plastic Kishio had...maybe that was the bottle! Mitsuhiko remembered the Luminol had been on a clear plastic bottle. What if it was? No, it was very likely it was!

The hunter, connecting the dots, turned around in a hurry and found once another thing to pay attention too. There were two bottles more on the counter, both of them empty. Only one seemed to belong to the laboratory. Mitsuhiko took them and examined the labels. One said 'Ethanol'. A common thing to find in a laboratory and in a hundred places more, but the second bottle was a bit more intriguing.

Canola oil.

It didn't take long to understand what was going on

Catalyst

A mix of Luminol, ethanol and canola oil. It was mixed and stored in a Luminol bottle, which was in turn found melted with Kishio ' s body. The remains of the fires smell like Luminol.

A further check of the Chemistry Laboratory revealed nothing useful, so he went to the next door, the Biology Laboratory. Although Mitsuhiko looked around (and was relieved to confirm there were no more animal corpses around) there was nothing to be found. The Physics Laboratory was next and unlike the second one this time there was something potentially meaningful in plain sight.

Of course! The Death Ray was aiming to the window. However it was too far from the window to aim towards anything close to the fence or the Headquarters, there was no way it could hit Kishio. Mitsuhiko approached the window and on the floor found something that could be useful: wheel tracks. Wasn't this machine closer to the window before? He remembered it was. The Death Ray had wheels in its base; it was possible it was pushed away.

Excited, Mitsuhiko fiddled around with the Death Ray controls but didn't manage to turn it on. It seemed like it was completely useless but surely there was some way to turn it on, wasn't there? It was also pretty cold, for some reason. Aren't lasers hot in some way?

Death Ray

A huge laser machine located in the Physics Laboratory. It doesn ' t work, apparently. It was originally closer to the window than where it was found. It ' s freezing cold

But despite the potential evidence to be found it didn't seem like anything else from the Physics Laboratory was involved with the crime. As a last thing to do Mitsuhiko peered through the window of the laboratory and found something curious: the window was directly above the Lounge window...which was in turn above the Cafeteria Hallway window. The hunter could clearly see the mirror, but no reflection could be seen from this point. Curious...

The Astronomy Laboratory was the last place to check. This time ALL the solar systems had been dismantled, it was very likely to be the source of the cable, but other than that there was nothing.

It was time to move to the Fourth Floor. The first thing Mitsuhiko did was move to the Principal's Office and its adjacent doors. There he found one, the one he remembered took to Monobear's controls...didn't Kishio say she had locked it with a padlock? Well there was a padlock but the problem was that it was on the table now. The key was just to its side. Wait a second... Mitsuhiko took the key from the table, looking at it closer. It was almost unnoticeable but there was a single drop of blood on it. Could it be that Kishio-sensei was murdered by a Main Board member to obtain this key or to stop the escape? It was something to consider.

But if the key and padlock were here than it meant the Monobear control room was open. Mitsuhiko went to the door and pushed but the door didn't budge. It seemed like there was something big and heavy blocking it from the other side. "I know one of you guys is in there" the hunter said aloud "Valkyrie, Vieiras, that other guy. One of you is in here. I know the Main Board aren't kidnapped, it's you"

There was silence for a moment before a male deep voice sounded from inside the room. "And can you prove it?" Mitsuhiko definitely didn't expect a reply, much less one that sounded like a confirmation of his suspicions.

"...I can't. But it's matter of time before somebody in this building can prove it. Let us go and you may be forgiven"

There wasn't any need to wait before the next reply. Instead, a chuckle very similar to the ones Mitsuhiko was used to hear from Monobear preluded their reply. That masculine voice had now turned into a syrupy tone that gave Mitsuhiko shivers "I'm not a girl who tends to bet but if I were I wouldn't count on that. Show us what you're made of, Hikari-kuuuuuun, we'll be waitiiiiiiiing"

After that there were no more replies. Mitsuhiko spent a while trying to goad the person inside to show themselves or to accidentally reveal something that could be useful but nothing happened. Giving up on that the hunter decided continuing the investigation was a better use of his time.

It didn't take long before he found a very valuable piece of evidence. On the floor of the Security Room, just in front of the console, was blood...and splinters. Something large and heavy made of wood had broken here, as there were a few pieces of wood as big as his fingers. Other than that the Security Room was empty.

Blood and Splinters

In the Security Room, in front of the console, there was blood and splinters of some wooden object.

Although it had been a source of frustration the day before Mitsuhiko was now happy the upper floors didn't have as many places as the other floors. That meant it wouldn't take as long to find stuff. The Archery Range had nothing worthwhile, but the storage of that place showed something had changed. The crossbow Mitsuhiko had seen the day before was now gone. I haven't seen it but...I have a feeling...

The Lookout was the last place to check in that floor. Kishio had wanted them to be here, after all, surely there could be stuff that revealed why. He wasn't disappointed; as soon as he entered he found a lot of stuff that showed Kishio had indeed planned something.

The missing crossbow was in plain sight. Mitsuhiko picked it up, examining it. There was no doubt that the splinters he had found were from the crossbow, it was almost cracked in half. Not only that, there was blood on the wood. I see...so that's what happened. But how did Kishio-sensei...?

Broken Crossbow

A crossbow almost broken in half due to a strong impact. It has blood and hair on the point where it cracked.

"Okay, what were you planning, dear leader?" Mitsuhiko mused, looking around. There were other objects on the floor. The closest one to the crossbow was a lighter. It was...strangely hot. Not enough to burn Mitsuhiko's skin but it was enough to be uncomfortable. This may belong to the culprit. Despite that it didn't have any distinguishable marks.

Lighter

A lighter, generic and unremarkable. Found in the Lookout

The lighter didn't seem related to Kishio's plans, though. It didn't seem likely it could help anybody to escape.

On a side of the balcony there was a pile of what seemed to be long rods of wood with a wide round indentation in middle. It was large and strangely smooth, carefully done. "What are these for? These definitely weren't here yesterday when I explored this floor" It didn't seem like they could be useful in any way and there was nothing that connected it to the murders...

...at least no obvious way. It was perfectly possible these wooden rods were part of a cunning plan and he just couldn't see it yet. At this point he was used to thinking the worst on this regard. Just in case maybe it'd be a good idea to keep one of those rods.

Wooden Rods

A small wooden rod with a wide round indentation in middle. There were several on them piled on a side of the Lookout

As soon as he picked one up a familiar chime sounded through the speakers. Monobear wanted to say something. "Trial. Meeting Room. Be there, everybody". He was...strangely blunt. Not only that, he also sounded annoyed, like something wasn't going according to the plan. Feeling satisfaction at Monobear's bad mood Mitsuhiko turned around to leave the Lookout when he felt something brushing his scalp. Looking upwards he saw part of a cable.

Somebody had tried to hide a large bundle of cable on the Roof. Mitsuhiko pulled from it until he recovered all of it, confirming it was dozens of meters long. One end of it was strongly tied onto a small fence on the Roof; the other end was cut with some sort of sharp tool. There was no time for a throughout examination, so Mitsuhiko hurriedly took a look and left it back where he found it.

Cable (Roof)

Many cables tied together, reaching a few dozens of meters. Strongly attached to the Roof, one end of it was cut.

But he still had no idea what was Kishio's plan. Just what was he trying to do? Mitsuhiko peered to the Courtyard to give Kishio one last look. There was her corpse...directly in front of the Lookout. And under the Lookout was the Physics Laboratory window, the Lounge window and the Cafeteria Hallway window. This couldn't be a coincidence.

And...right to the front of him, at the other side of the fence, was the tree the rest of the cable was tied to. In that moment he finally understood what Kishio had been planning to do, why she had asked all of them to be in this place. Way to go, Kishio-sensei. Maybe this would have worked if you or Yurie hadn't died.

The surviving commanders gathered in the Meeting Room. Monobear was already there, immobile in his chair. After everybody sat, Sugita already cleaned up and with her hands heavily bandaged, Monobear let out an audible sigh of annoyance. "I'm pissed off with all of you. So. Pissed. Off"

"...really?" Kobayashi said tentatively, afraid of the bear lashing out and tearing everybody's faces off.

"What the fucking hell was that fire attempt?! Are you trying to kill us all?! That fire could have spread everywhere in the building! You idiots could have doomed your own lives in the most idiotic and least despair-filled way possible!"

Mitsuhiko had to disagree. If the fire had spread and nobody had escaped he was sure everybody would have despaired, perhaps more than at any other point. Then why was Monobear so angry? "If the sprinklers had worked the fire wouldn't have happened" Romi pointed.

"The sprinklers would have worked if they hadn't been disabled in the first place! Which one of you did it? Say it now!"

"I did" Lily, who until that point had been absent, strolled into the Meeting Room "These people don't have anything to do with the escape attempt, Monobear. Kishio-sensei planned it all and since she's dead you can't punish her for damaging the building. Let it go"

"I should punish you for damaging the sprinklers" Monobear growled, jumping off his throne and glaring at Lily. The robot girl wasn't intimidated, though. She once again prepared her weapon to defend herself. The commanders, knowing that being on the path of her lasers wasn't a good idea, made sure to be away of the range of fire.

"Go ahead. We both know our resources are limited. This is my last body; you're on your last body. It has always been like that, one single spare body. If I kill you right now the game will end and you'll be forced to show yourself"

"But you won't..." the bear said but didn't make any attempt to attack. Lily nodded, smiling slightly.

"I have concrete orders of not attacking you. My directives are final and I won't disobey them. And you know it's against your best interests to kill me, too. If you kill me do you think Master will stop and do nothing else? They'll create me again, and once they do...Diavolos Avante as a whole will fall"

That was definitely a threat. There was a tense silence for a couple minutes while Lily and Monobear measured each other's will to finish the whole feud with the destruction of their foe, consequences be damned. But finally Monobear stepped away, his eye glowing menacingly. "Fine. I will let it go, if only because I'm confident this trial is going to settle everything once and for all. We'll see if you're smiling so smugly at the end of the day"

"...so...are we ready?" Mimori tentatively inquired, returning to her seat.

"I think we are. Whenever you're ready, Monobear" Romi requested. Monobear yelled the trial for the murders of Yurie Oyama and Sumida Kishio was starting now but Mitsuhiko was more worried at everybody's emotional state and situation.

The only people he was sure would be unlikely to have anything to do with the murder were Koshimizu and Mimori. Sugita's eyes were tightly closed and her body was trembling, it was obvious she was under great stress. Sasuga was rubbing her arm, whispering calming words that didn't seem to be working. Romi was indifferent at the situation but the way she moved her eyes showed she had no idea what was going on...apparently. Kobayashi was an expert in mirrors, tricks and illusions, if there was anybody who could create a complicated plan to kill it'd be him. Hasegawa...he had only seen her during breakfast. Where had she been? Right now she was making sure to not to make eye contact with anybody.

Who was the culprit of those two deaths? Or was there more than one culprit? The number of clues pointing at people was pretty low, he had no idea who had done what.

...was he going to fail? Mitsuhiko grit his teeth, trying to calm himself down. I can't look away and do nothing. I don't know what happened but this trial is to find out who did it. I'll just have to connect the dots. I can do it.

Help me, Yurie, wherever you are please watch over me. I ' m scared.

Chapter Text

The trial had started. With Lily on one end of the table and Monobear in the other all the commanders in the Meeting Room felt the robots' glares. Whatever conclusion they reached during the trial would influence everything, they could feel that. Mitsuhiko himself was starting to get antsy, he didn't have the slightest idea of who had done it but if they somehow managed to pinpoint the culprit...would that lead to anything good?

He felt like they were all screwed, no matter what happened. Still, the trial needed to happen so he took the leadership for now. "As we all know there are two victims this time. Yurie, in the Cafeteria Hallway, and Kishio-sensei, in the Courtyard. The first thing we should define is how many culprits are there: were both murders done by one person or are there multiple culprits?"

"Can there even be multiple culprits?" Hasegawa inquired. Indeed, that was a very important point "Monobear, what happens if two people kill different victims?"

"A trial will be held, of course! And it's up to you bastards to pinpoint all the culprits' names. If there are more than one culprit and you fail to vote for all of them it'll count as a fail" the bear explained as if it was painfully obvious.

"And who will go free?"

"If you fail to catch all the culprits all of them will leave"

"That's so fucking unfair I'm frankly astonished" Romi buried her face in her hands "So we either catch both culprits"

"IF there are two culprits. There could be only one" Hasegawa clarified. The hunter nodded, it seemed like the trial wouldn't go anywhere unless they decided how many culprits existed. That'd be the very first discussion point now; the problem was how to deduce the right number.

Nonstop Debate

Chemical Smell / Wooden Rods / Cafeteria Hallway Slope / Undisturbed Grass / Kishio ' s Cranium Fracture

HASEGAWA: The bodies are located pretty close of each other

HASEGAWA: The hallway is mere feet away of Kishio-sensei's corpse.

HASEGAWA: It'd be a matter of throwing a match in...

HASEGAWA: ...and let Oyama-san burn while they kill Kishio-sensei

KOBAYASHI: What if Kishio-sensei was killed first?

KOBAYASHI: They could hang her from the fence...

KOBAYASHI: ...and then cause the fire in the hallway

MIMORI: No, I'm sure Oyama-san died first

MIMORI: We saw a flash of fire outside while we found Oyama-san

MIMORI: That was the moment the culprit set fire to Kishio-sensei

MITSUHIKO: There's also the matter of the scream

KOSHIMIZU: I don't think it means anything

KOSHIMIZU: But either way, the corpse in the courtyard was on fire.

KOSHIMIZU: While we were in the hallway...

KOSHIMIZU: ...the culprit set that corpse on fire.

"Wrong, Koshimizu-san. It's impossible for the culprit to have done that while we found Oyama-san's body"

"And why's that, pray tell?" Koshimizu massaged his temples.

"Because the grass outside didn't show any signs of there being a person when any of them died. If the culprit had been there then there'd be grass showing somebody had been there"

"That's true, I saw it myself" Mimori confirmed "Nobody could have been in the Courtyard except maybe to put that mirror in there"

"Then tell me this: how did Kishio-sensei get killed there if nobody could have been in the Courtyard with her?" Romi asked "As I see it I think she got killed somewhere else and then the body was carried to the Courtyard"

"But the culprit can't have carried it there, you said it yourself" Hasegawa added "Maybe it was using some sort of mechanism?"

"A mechanism leaving no traces at all? That's impossible!"

"No, that would actually work" Mitsuhiko supported Hasegawa "All the culprit needed to do was to make it not be obvious but they made a mistake: not getting rid of the evidence properly" What piece of evidence found with the corpse shows how it arrived to the Courtyard?

Monobear File 4.1

Monobear File 4.2

Kishio's Cranium Fracture

Undisturbed Grass

Yurie's Mortal Wound

Chemical Smell

Cafeteria Hall Slope

Mitsuhiko's Testimony

Mirror

Cable (Courtyard)

Kimiko Sugita

Death Ray

Catalyst

Blood and Splinters

Lighter

Broken Crossbow

Wooden Rods

Cable (Roof)

Cable (Courtyard)

"Kishio-sensei's corpse was tied to the fence with a cable" Actually, the cable was tied to a tree on the other side of the fence but that wasn't important right now "That's the remain of the mechanism"

"...I don't get it. How could the culprit move the body using a cable?"

"All we need in order to know how it happened is to know where other pieces of this mechanism are. In fact, I know where one was found"

Monobear File 4.1

Monobear File 4.2

Kishio's Cranium Fracture

Undisturbed Grass

Yurie's Mortal Wound

Chemical Smell

Cafeteria Hall Slope

Mitsuhiko's Testimony

Mirror

Cable (Courtyard)

Kimiko Sugita

Death Ray

Catalyst

Blood and Splinters

Lighter

Broken Crossbow

Wooden Rods

Cable (Roof)

Cable (Roof)

"Kishio-sensei was tied with cable but the Courtyard wasn't the only place where cable was found. Would it be too weird to suppose both places are connected in some way?"

"It depends on what that other place is" Mimori commented "If it's like the third floor bathroom I don't think it means anything"

"There was no cable in the third floor bathroom" Mitsuhiko said, somewhat annoyed by the random comment "I found cable on the Roof, hanging just above the Lookout"

"That's where Kishio-sensei was calling us to. Do you guys think she brought the cable there?" Kobayashi wondered.

"It's possible. Hikari-kun, can Kishio-sensei's body be seen from the Lookout?" Hasegawa was starting to form a theory in her head but before Mitsuhiko could answer Lily intervened.

"It can! Let me show you" In the center of the table a hologram of the Courtyard and the outer wall was projected, thankfully the corpse projected didn't have any gruesome details. The outer wall showed the Lookout on the top, where Lily helpfully added a coil of cable.

"This doesn't help me at all" Romi said "Please explain it in a way even a blind woman like me can understand, Hikari-kun"

"Right, what I'm trying to say is that the Courtyard and the Lookout are connected with Kishio-sensei's death"

"So...she wasn't murdered in the Courtyard?" Sugita was keeping her bandaged hands hanging to the sides, placing them on the table was too painful.

Mitsuhiko hesitated for a moment, should he reveal the real crime scene yet? Maybe the culprit would slip and be caught if he didn't specify where the body was found. "No, she wasn't. She was actually killed somewhere else"

"So she died in the Lookout. How was she brought onto the Courtyard and tied so she was hanging from her feet, then?" Romi made a wrong supposition but Mitsuhiko wasn't going to correct her.

"It's easy. Kishio-sensei was brought into the Courtyard this way:"

Pendulum movement

The force of gravity

Carried by the culprit

Monobear did it

Pendulum movement

"It was like a pendulum. What other way could there be for the body to end like it did?"

"I see what you mean!" Mimori leaned forward to demonstrate with her fingers the trajectory "The culprit tied together Kishio-sensei's feet with the cable and let it fall down. The cable was tied somewhere else so the body hit the fence and stopped there. Am I right?"

"That's exactly what I think happened" The way the body was tied and how quick the body was found made that the only option.

"No, there's something wrong here" Hasegawa interrupted "A pendulum would need the cable to be tied somewhere"

"There was this tree on the other side of the fence. The cable was tied there" Koshimizu informed, indicating in the hologram the place where the tree would be found.

"But that still doesn't make any sense! Did somebody get out of this place to climb the tree, tie the cable and then return like nothing happened? Tell me that's not what happened"

"It isn't" Mitsuhiko said "The cable actually wasn't tied to the tree. It was more like it was...attached to it. As to how anybody would make the cable reach the tree without leaving the Headquarters I'd say it was using this tool:"

Monobear File 4.1

Monobear File 4.2

Kishio's Cranium Fracture

Undisturbed Grass

Yurie's Mortal Wound

Chemical Smell

Cafeteria Hall Slope

Mitsuhiko's Testimony

Mirror

Cable (Courtyard)

Kimiko Sugita

Death Ray

Catalyst

Blood and Splinters

Lighter

Broken Crossbow

Wooden Rods

Cable (Roof)

Broken Crossbow

"When the Fourth Floor opened Kimiko and I explored it. We found an Archery Range and among its stuff there was this large crossbow. I bet that's how the cable got to the tree on the other side of the fence!"

"You mean the cable was tied to an arrow and shot at the tree?" Romi mused it for a moment, approving the idea "That could work!"

"That must have been Kishio-sensei's plan: to help us escape through the air via that cable. It would have been dangerous and falling four stories would not be fun at all but at this point I doubt we would have cared about the risks" Mimori drew a quick diagram on her notebook "Like this!"

"Did she seriously expect all of us to have enough arm strength to hang and move onto the cable to the end?!"

"No, I had to make some resistant rods. I think she intended us to use those rods to slide down the cable to the tree" Sugita informed, taking one out of her pocket with a wince.

"That's not a good plan, what if the arrow got unstuck from the tree? Kishio-sensei really doesn't make good plans..." Mitsuhiko started saying before shaking his head, what the heck were they discussing now "Does it even matter?! Look, Kishio-sensei's escape plan doesn't matter right now, what matters is that the body was brought onto the Courtyard with a pendulum motion. What else is there to discuss?"

"Yeah, I have something: how was the body set on fire?" Hasegawa played with her cap "An accelerant was used but what I mean is how did the culprit make it be on fire?"

Nonstop Debate

Wooden Rods / Lighter / Broken Crossbow / Death Ray / Kimiko Sugita

KOSHIMIZU: The culprit didn't walk on the Courtyard, of course.

MIMORI: The grass proves it.

KOSHIMIZU: There must be some alternate way...

KOSHIMIZU: ...a way to set it on fire from afar.

KOSHIMIZU: Or perhaps it was before it was thrown off with the cable?

MIMORI: So she was set on fire while on the Lookout?

SUGITA: That's impossible!

SUGITA: How do you push a body on fire?

SUGITA: You'd get seriously hurt if you did that!

MIMORI: Then it was done through some sort of machine

SASUGA: No matter how much I think about it...

SASUGA: ...I just can't think of a way.

"It's not that complicated. I mean, the only place Kishio-sensei could have been set on fire was on the Lookout" Mitsuhiko leaned on his chair "I found a lighter up there. It's likely the culprit left it behind after setting the body on fire and throwing it down"

"That makes sense...kinda. Why would the culprit leave the lighter behind?" Hasegawa wondered but before Mitsuhiko could say another word Mimori hit the table. It seemed like she wanted to be the one to continue the discussion.

"Thank you, Hikari-kun, but I think I can lead from here on. I know where you're going" Mimori claimed. Mitsuhiko shrugged; maybe it could reveal something useful. Mimori flipped the pages of her notebook, looking for the argument she had written in there during the trial. "These murders can be summarized in two words: freakishly sadistic. Who is the person who had the guts to kill in such freakish ways?"

"Oh, we haven't defined anything about the number of culprits" Kobayashi realized. The journalist didn't let that stop her, though; she just smiled condescendingly and wagged her finger.

"Not so fast, Kobayashi-kun. By now we can know the number of culprits, thanks to Hikari-kun. Kishio-sensei was burned on the Lookout and Oyama-san was burned in the Cafeteria Hallway. Do you notice the sheer distance that's between those two locations?"

"But it's impossible for a single person to have created both fires at once" Mitsuhiko objected. That had logic but then why did he feel he was forgetting something crucial in the matter of the fires?

"That's true but I have good reasons to believe there's a single person involved" Mimori continued.

"Who died first, though? Oyama-san or Kishio-sensei?" Sugita asked. Mimori turned her head around and looked at her with surprising harshness.

"I think that, in the big picture here, the order of the deaths doesn't matter. What we should care about is about the fires themselves, when they happened and how. Hikari-kun!"

"Yes?" She sure was taking a proactive stance in this trial, perhaps even more than in the other two she had taken active part in.

"Please tell everybody how the fire Oyama-san was in happened"

"Uh, how the heck do you expect me to now? I didn't see it light up, I got there too late"

"That's good enough. Now, how long was it before Kishio-sensei's body was found?"

"...a couple minutes, I think? We saw that sudden bright orange glow outside and-" So that was what Mimori was going for. The orange glow was the moment Kishio-sensei was falling onto the fence via cable pendulum. Somebody had to been on the Lookout to push the body down right in that moment. Not only that, now he realized what he hadn't noticed a while ago:

He didn't see anybody running away from the fire. And what's more, it was impossible somebody was in the Cafeteria because he had stayed in the Cafeteria Hallway while Kishio's corpse was found. There was only one person missing at that time.

It sure didn't bode well for Sugita. Mimori, as if she had been reading his mind, nodded with enthusiasm "I think it's clear that if Hikari-kun had seen somebody running away from the fire he'd have told us. We can conclude our pyromaniac wasn't around the hallway fire when it happened. Where was that person, then?

In the Lookout, getting rid of Kishio-sensei's body! And there's only one person who can have done it. We all have thought of that person, haven't we? The only person with burns, the only person who has blood splattered on her. Sugita-san, you're the only one among us who can have done it"

Yep, that didn't bode well at all for her. Sugita bit her lower lip, not saying anything. Mimori, relentless, pointed at the bandaged hands with her pen "We all saw the burns she has. Hikari-kun and Koshimizu-san heard a female scream and since it was so loud I'm sure other people did too"

"Now that you mention it I heard it too" Kobayashi scratched his head sheepishly "I was too busy running to the first floor to wonder what that was. W-Was it...?"

"It was Sugita-san. Let me borrow a popular saying: those burns must have hurt like a bitch" That's not a popular saying, that's a vulgar colloquialism.

Sugita didn't make any attempt to defend herself, just looking at the table meekly, so Mitsuhiko decided he'd be the one to try to put everything in order "That scream could have been caused by anything"

"Are you serious?" Mitsuhiko had forgotten about Sasuga. The roboticist wasn't the best person to argue and take part in a debate but he definitely wasn't going to sit aside while they accused his girlfriend "It could have been any other woman"

"It can't have been anyone other than her. Hasegawa-san and Romi-san descended quickly to the first floor and I was with Hikari-kun and Koshimizu-san. It can only have been her"

"Then that scream doesn't have to mean she was in pain from burning" Confirmed, Sasuga wasn't going to be of help "She got covered with all that blood because she got hurt. That must have been when she screamed!"

"I bandaged her hands and examined her to make sure she wasn't hurt. She doesn't have any open wounds" Koshimizu intervened. Sasuga, his weak arguments broken, looked at Sugita who shrugged apologetically. Sasuga wasn't going to let anybody tell him Sugita was the murderer of two people, though.

"Kimmy, tell them! Tell them why you screamed?"

"...I can't, Tohya-kun. Sorry" she said so softly Mitsuhiko almost couldn't hear her. She wasn't done, though, she raised her voice to make sure everybody heard her "But I can make them realize how wrong they are. How did I set on fire the hallway if you say I was in the Lookout?"

"That's the big question" Mimori admitted "Hikari-kun found that lighter up there but there was nothing like that in the first floor"

"Maybe she used a thread or something to move the lighter down...? You know, some kind of trick like that" Romi suggested but Kobayashi was ready to refute that line of reasoning.

"It'd be quite difficult to move that lighter. It's too small for most materials to grasp it properly and the ones that could be used would burn before the lighter could be brought back to the Lookout. That can't have been what happened"

"Did anybody find something that could be used, then?" Sasuga inquired to everybody. There was no answer. It looked like the matter of how the fire in the Cafeteria Hallway was a dead end for now

"Another point I'd like answers to is what killed Oyama-san" Mitsuhiko took the chance to say.

"It was the fire, wasn't it? I mean, the bear file didn't mention the cause of death but it can't have been anything else"

"Actually, it's very likely she was dead before she was set on fire" Koshimizu explained the terrible wound inflicted to Yurie's head, thankfully keeping it concise and without going into excessive detail. The medic looked quite queasy by the end of it and he wasn't the only one with similar reactions.

"How disgusting...but there's nothing in this building that could cause such a wound!" Hasegawa was pale, trying to keep her composure. The icy silence that received those words showed she wasn't the only one who was attempting to not to discuss it...but Mitsuhiko felt there was something underneath that silence.

It felt to him like the pyro who caused Yurie's death knew that, if it was ever found, then they'd be caught. The weapon must have some deep connection with that culprit. Finding what was the crime weapon is going to be the pivotal point of this trial. But how? The Death Ray was pretty much the only thing that could have caused it; at least it seemed to be that way.

Only a strong laser could have cut bone and set on fire the place, that was his opinion, but the Death Ray may not have been the weapon. But if it wasn't that then what else could it have been? No other object in the Headquarters could have done that.

"Alright" Hasegawa broke the silence "Let's go back to Sugita-san. Do we all agree she killed Kishio-sensei?"

"Just because she was up there while everybody was somewhere else doesn't mean she's the only suspect" Sasuga grumbled. Koshimizu rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.

"Sasuga-kun, do you know if Sugita-san had something to do with Kishio-sensei's escape plan?"

"Well she was in charge of creating the rods, I know that. I myself had a role too, which I'll have to keep silent for not having any relation with the murders. Didn't we all have something to do? Does it matter what we all were doing?"

"Do you know who had stuff to do in the Fourth Floor?"

"After Kimmy made the rods she was supposed to carry them to the meeting point, Kishio-sensei and she were the only ones assigned to that floor"

"She did do that. I found the rods piled in the Lookout" Mitsuhiko said "So Kimiko indeed was in the Fourth Floor shortly before that murder"

"B-But was it even confirmed she stayed up there? All you have is a scream that could have sounded from some other floor. You got nothing against her!"

"Sugita-san, did you stay in the Fourth floor after delivering the rods?" Kobayashi inquired kindly. The Tea Demon hid her face with her bandaged hands before nodding meekly.

"...I did. After that I went to...somewhere else in that floor" she said. Sasuga made a face as if somebody had just punched him in the gut.

"And where's that 'somewhere else'? You already admitted you were in the Fourth Floor all this time, it shouldn't matter if you specify where" Kobayashi continued pressuring but Sugita refused to answer any further. Mitsuhiko, although it really hurt to ask it, got Sugita's attention.

"Kimiko, I think I know where you were. I'm going to ask, tell me if I'm right. Were you..."

In the Archery Range

In the Waiting Room

In the Security Room

In the Roof

In the Security Room

"...were you in the Security Room?" the hunter kind of wanted to hear a firm 'no' but by now he didn't hold any high hopes. Everything was seriously pointing at Sugita as Kishio's murderer, as much as he hated to admit it. He really didn't want to vote for his childhood friend and send her to her death but what else was he supposed to do?

Sugita looked at Mitsuhiko for a moment before nodding. She hid her face in embarrassment, knowing what the hunter was thinking. Sasuga groaned loudly, still deep in denial.

"So what? What if she was in the Fourth Floor? It doesn't confirm she screamed, it doesn't mean anything! Why are you all badgering her so much?!"

"Sasuga-kun, by now you should understand she's the prime suspect for Kishio-sensei and Oyama-san's deaths" Romi said bluntly. Sasuga rose from his seat, furious.

"None of you have proven anything! Kishio-sensei was killed in the Lookout, you all said that already. Kimmy wasn't there and I haven't seen anything decisive in here. I demand to see decisive proof Kimmy is involved in some way with the murders. Come on, show me!"

"Uh, Sasuga-kun" Mitsuhiko raised his voice. The roboticist turned towards him, glaring. "I have something to tell you and you won't like it"

"Come on, Hikari-kun. You can't seriously think she is a murderer"

"I don't think she is! But there's something you must know" It would make Sugita look even worse, Mitsuhiko knew it, but it was something that should be revealed. It was time to clarify the main misconception people had about Kishio's death. Sorry Kimiko but it's necessary. We want the truth.

Panic Talk Battle

SASUGA: Anybody can scream

SASUGA: That means nothing!

SASUGA: Not even close!

SASUGA: Kimmy will prove it

SASUGA: Are you listening to yourself?!

SASUGA: Where's your loyalty?!

SASUGA: She wasn't there, was she?

SASUGA: Look at the evidence!

SASUGA: I won't believe it

SASUGA: She's no killer!

Security Room Crime Scene

"Sasuga-kun, Kimiko admitted being in the Security Room. I hope you acknowledge that"

"What if she did? The Security Room is far enough from the Lookout"

"That would be okay if it weren't because Kishio-sensei wasn't killed in the Lookout. She was actually murdered in the Security Room, right in front of the cameras console"

Sasuga was speechless for a moment, trying to understand what Mitsuhiko just said. That contradicted the general belief and Sasuga wasn't the only one confused. "But you said she was killed in the Lookout!" Kobayashi protested.

"I said no such thing. Somebody here supposed that and you all went along with that. Don't blame me for the misconception, okay?"

"And I suppose you found something in the Security Room to say she died there, did you?" Koshimizu asked. Mitsuhiko nodded, wishing he could have taken a photo of the real crime scene.

"There were puddles of blood and splinters from that broken crossbow. The crossbow was used to crack Kishio's skull open, in case it wasn't clear"

"And Sugita-san just admitted she was there" Kobayashi looked at Sugita. The Tea Demon seemed to want to be anywhere else other than this Meeting Room "What's going on, Sugita-san? What happened in there?"

There was nothing to be done. Sugita had a lot of proof against herself, both by her own admittance and by evidence found by other people. It'd be quite difficult for her to not to be the culprit and everybody knew it, even Mitsuhiko. Sasuga tried to still be in denial but even he had to accept Sugita was at least suspicious. Sorry, Kimiko. I'm sorry for this.

"...I...I knew I had screwed myself up. There was never a chance I'd get away with it, was there?" she finally said. Tears were starting to form in her eyes "I'm not a good criminal. I'm sorry everybody. I'm sorry, Tohya-kun, I..." her words trailed off while everybody tried to understand what she just said.

"Kimmy, what are you saying...?" Sasuga asked, confused.

"I think it's obvious what she's saying. It's a confession. She admits being the culprit" Romi replied "What happened, Sugita-san? Why did you kill Kishio-sensei?"

Wait, that's right! Why did she kill her? Mitsuhiko realized that, despite everything done so far, there had been no motive shown yet. Monobear hadn't done one, either! Just why did Sugita kill Kishio, then? That is, if she was truly the culprit?

"I'd like her to tell exactly how she killed Kishio-sensei. Remember when Ithought she had killed Takayama-kun? We must make sure this is a real confession and not some sort of mistake" Romi continued.

"And what do you have to say about Oyama-san's death?" Sasuga inquired. Sugita bit her lip again, avoiding eye contact with Mitsuhiko.

"That was me, too. I killed both Kishio-sensei and Oyama-san. Sorry, Hikari-kun, this must have been horribly painful for you. I can't be called your friend after doing that"

"Kimiko, are you serious? Did you kill both of them?" Mitsuhiko really had some doubts about all this and he really hoped it wasn't his conscious wishes of Sugita being innocent clouding his judgment.

"I am! I killed them both"

"Again, tell us how you did it. We're voting you as the culprit but it'd be great to make sure we're doing the right thing" Romi requested again.

"I know. Let me gather my thoughts and I'll start"

Mitsuhiko leaned on his chair, ready to listen to Sugita's confessions. This trial was starting to drain him emotionally, finishing the job started with Yurie's horrible death. The motive, that's what I really don't understand yet. Let's suppose Kimiko really is the culprit...or a culprit. Why did she kill Oyama-san? Or why did she kill Kishio-sensei? Or why did she kill both? Or perhaps she's lying about killing anybody in the first place?

I feel the reasons of the deaths are the central point of these cases. There must be something indicating the ' why ' ! Yurie in the Cafeteria Hallway and Kishio in the Security Room. Think, Mitsuhiko...

Chapter Text

"Okay, I'm ready for my confession. What would you like me to start with?" Sugita asked, having prepared herself for the tough task of revealing how she had killed two people and set them on fire.

"I think you should start with Kishio-sensei's death. That's the part we have the most certainty of your involvement" Mimori suggested and got everybody else's approval. That could be a good enough start point, if there were no flaws then they could proceed with Yurie's death.

"Alright, if that's what you want..." Sugita took a deep breath. I better pay attention here. If there's a single mistake here it could mean she's innocent. It has happened before, it can happen again. Come on, Kimiko, show you're innocent!

Nonstop Debate

Mirror / Kishio's Cranium Fracture / Broken Crossbow / Yurie's Mortal Wound / Cable (Courtyard)

SUGITA: I killed Kishio-sensei in the Security Room

SUGITA: Just as you said, Hikari-kun

SUGITA: After I delivered the rods...

SUGITA: We entered into the Security Room

SUGITA: We had...something to do there.

SUGITA: Then I saw my chance

SUGITA: I grabbed the crossbow she had left around...

SUGITA: ...and hit her with all my strength.

MITSUHIKO: But why? Why did you kill her?

SUGITA: ...

SUGITA: ...

SUGITA: ...no reason.

MITSUHIKO: No reason?!

MITSUHIKO: You can't expect us to believe that!

Nothing in his evidence could have let him progress. What he had to do was aim for any vagueness Sugita had left in her tale and force her to talk more. "I have no idea why you killed her but...I think I can find out"

"It must be something big if she refuses to say anything about it" Koshimizu commented.

"Kimiko, you said you had gone to do something in the Security Room, and you went with Kishio-sensei in there. That by itself is a big clue on what you two were doing, in my opinion"

"There's not much to do in the Security Room. All there is in that room is a console monitoring all the cameras" Kobayashi added "They may have wanted privacy..."

"Or they went into that room to monitor the cameras. That's what they were doing with Kimiko attacked, or that's what she says"

"Did you enter that room planning to kill her, Sugita-san?" Hasegawa inquired. Sugita touched the bandages on her hands, thoughtful.

"I did. All I needed is some place where I could kill her without raising any alarms. That room is secluded and nobody would hear her, so..."

"We get it" Koshimizu nodded "It was a bit sudden, though. I can't understand why you would kill her after we were so close to the escape"

"I can understand it. She had killed Oyama-san, maybe she killed Kishio-sensei to cover for that murder" Hasegawa suggested.

"I said I'd tell how I killed her but I won't go into my motives. Don't try to convince me, you'd be wasting your time" Sugita said firmly.

This seems important. Let ' s suppose Sugita is telling the truth about killing her. Sugita and Kishio entered the Security Room and something that happened there led to Kishio ' s death. I think I ' m starting to understand what could have happened.

"Kimmy...I have a question" Sasuga said "How did y-you get rid of Kishio-sensei's body?"

"We already know that. We don't need her to say more about that" Mimori snapped at Sasuga but he didn't flinch, nodding gravely.

"I know! But I want to hear it directly from her. Let it happen, okay?" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes. To him it seemed Sasuga was desperately trying to find a weak point and for that he was willing to backtrack onto previously discussed matters. While he appreciated what Sasuga was doing he didn't see any sense on talking about that again. Although maybe something new will happen, depends on what Kimiko will say now.

"Okay, Tohya-kun. I'll talk about that" Sugita acceded, remorseful.

Nonstop Debate

Chemical Smell / Catalyst / Cable (Roof) / Mirror / Kimiko Sugita

SUGITA: I dragged Kishio-sensei's corpse to the Lookout

SUGITA: Thankfully it took no time at all

SASUGA: Was that when you got all that blood splatter?

SUGITA: No, that was from when I...killed her

SUGITA: I had everything I needed to follow my plan

MIMORI: You had planned to burn the body?!

SUGITA: Of course. I doused her with the accelerant...

SUGITA: Cut the cable and tied her feet...

SUGITA: ...and used the lighter.

MITSUHIKO: You mean you had the catalyst up there?

SUGITA: Of course. I made the fires.

SUGITA: I threw the flaming body down...

SUGITA: ...and that's when I burned my hands.

HASEGAWA: It all makes sense. I see no flaw here!

"Sugita-san, you're starting to slip" Mitsuhiko declared. The flaw he had found wasn't going to make her innocent of murder but he was going to take anything he found "So you say you're the one who lighted up the fires?"

"Of course I did! I had the lighter and the catalyst with me all this time" she insisted. Mitsuhiko made a face, skeptical. While he couldn't prove it with 100% certainty he was sure Sugita had just said a blatant lie.

"And since you created the fires that means you know what the Catalyst, accelerant, whatever you want to call it is composed of, don't you?"

"Uuuh..." Sugita looked like a deer in the headlights "I-I don't really know what you mean..."

"You used the catalyst. Tell me what it's made of"

Sugita wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I didn't really make it. It was given to me and-"

"I'll tell you something, Kimiko. I doubt you're the pyro. In my opinion I think it's more likely Kishio-sensei was the one who planned the fire"

"But she was on fire! You're not going to say it was a suicide, right?" Hasegawa protested and soon was joined by Koshimizu, who also inquired why Mitsuhiko thought Kishio was the one who planned the fires.

"I have two reasons to believe Kishio planned the fire, that is, if she didn't pour the catalyst herself onto the walls and floor of the Cafeteria Hallway. Do any of you remember who ordered us to stay away from the hallway?"

"It was Kishio-sensei" Mimori answered what was now obvious for everybody "It's clear she knew what was going to happen"

"That doesn't prove she was the one to cause the fire, you know" Sasuga pointed. Mitsuhiko, knowing the roboticist was right about that, shrugged. That didn't actually matter that much, but in his mind the more information that was around the better.

"No, no, let me explain. Something I have been wondering is why the catalyst container-" 'accelerant' Mimori clarified "-whatever! The container was with Kishio-sensei's body. I think Kishio-sensei is the one who had been carrying that container all this time and then Kimiko burned it along the body..."

At that point he realized he had lost his train of thought, not even sure what point he was trying to make. It sounded so convoluted and silly and judging by the way people were looking at him they didn't understand his argument, either. Not only that, he had also clearly said Sugita had burned the body. Had he...gotten to that conclusion now? Was he now convinced she had killed Kishio-sensei? Her confession was making sense; he couldn't find any significant flaws that proved she hadn't done it.

"I think Sugita-san just wanted to get rid of the container" Koshimizu theorized. The topic of the melted catalyst container was over there, everybody accepting Koshimizu's explanation. Sugita didn't deny it, either.

At least we defined Kishio-sensei definitely knew and encouraged the hallway fire. I ' ll make sure to remember that.

"Sugita-san's testimonies match what we have discussed so far! I think it's clear she did it" Romi's doubts were gone by now.

"No, allow her one testimony more. I want to hear how she managed to kill Oyama-san and then kill Kishio-sensei shortly after that"

Nobody argued against Koshimizu's request, but Sugita cringed and seemed like she'd rather to go straight to voting right now. However refusing to say how she did it would lead to problems and an even longer trial, getting done with it seemed the quicker option.

Nonstop Debate

Death Ray / Wooden Rods / Broken Crossbow / Monobear File 4.1 / Yurie's Mortal Wound

SUGITA: I'm sorry, Hikaru-kun.

SUGITA: I planned her murder for quite a while

SUGITA: I got Oyama-san to go to the hallway...

SUGITA: ...once I was sure I had the path clear

MIMORI: How did you get her to be there?

SUGITA: Before I went upstairs I talked to her.

SUGITA: I was waiting, ready for her to appear...

SUGITA: ...and once she did, I striked.

SUGITA: I sliced part of her head off.

KOSHIMIZU: How did you do that?!

SUGITA: I used the crime weapon. It didn't take long.

SUGITA: Kishio-sensei had doused the hallway in accelerant.

SUGITA: All I had to do was light it up.

SUGITA: I ran away through the window

SASUGA: But the grass...?

SUGITA: I stayed near the walls and didn't leave any prints.

SUGITA: So I got to the Security Room and...

SUGITA: ...well, you know what happened in there.

KOSHIMIZU: I feel something odd here. Don't you all see it?

KOSHIMIZU: How vague she is being about an important point here?

"Koshimizu-san is right. You're being awfully vague here, Kimiko"

"Vague? Vague about what, exactly?" Sugita tried to look defiant but the way the corner of her mouth twitched nervously showed she was in great panic. Mitsuhiko noted that, while she was speaking of Kishio's death, that tic never appeared but now that Yurie's death was the topic it suddenly was there.

"You went into acceptable detail in most of the points but you barely touched one that has baffled us all this time: what was used to kill Yurie!"

"That's right! What weapon could have cut her head like that?" Kobayashi voiced the main question of Yurie's murder.

"Oh, that" Sugita winced "I-I didn't think it was that important. What matters is that I killed her"

"If you killed her you should have no problems saying what exactly you used to cause that wound" Hasegawa pressured.

Sugita closed her eyes, knowing she had no way to get out of the situation she had gotten into. "Fine. I'll reveal it. I wasn't there when Oyama-san died, I was with the weapon"

"I don't understand" Mitsuhiko said.

"I was with the weapon in the Physics Laboratory" she clarified. So that's what she was going to say now "I used the Death Ray assembled in that laboratory to kill her and cause the fire"

"Death Ray? Did you use a real Death Ray to kill Yurie? Heheh, are you fucking kidding me?" Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid laughing nervously. That sounded so ridiculous it was almost funny! Especially because he knew the Death Ray in the Physics Room was likely to not to be the murder weapon.

"How does that machine work?" Koshimizu asked with studied caution. It seemed Mitsuhiko wasn't the only one having a hard time believing it.

"It's not too complicated. You aim, you fire, a strong hot laser happens. It's that easy" she explained.

"The fire was caused by a laser? Okay, in hindsight that could make sense. A strong enough laser would heat up the accelerant enough to light it up"

"And the Death Ray would cause Oyama-san's mortal wound too!" Kobayashi added "It makes sense!"

"I don't get something: the Physics Laboratory is in the Third Floor. How did you hit the hallway from two floors above?" Romi asked. Sugita, a bit calmer, got Lily to project the courtyard hologram again.

"We placed a large mirror here. The angle was enough for me to aim at the mirror and direct the laser beam into the hallway"

"Kimmy, you're not saying that...Oyama-san died in the moment..." Sasuga started saying, deathly pale. Mitsuhiko had never seen him so scared.

"She did, Tohya-kun. I'm sorry" Sugita looked down, ready to take the votes.

"So she waited in the Physics Laboratory and kept an eye on the mirror. Once she saw Oyama-san in the reflection she fired the Death Ray" Mimori summarized "It makes sense, I think. What do you say, Hikari-kun? Does it all work?"

"No, this is such fucking bullshit I can't believe you're all falling for it" he said, fed up. He had finally found what he had been looking for: Sugita doing some big blunders in her confession. It didn't clear her at all about Kishio's death, in fact it seemed more than ever she really had killed her, but Yurie's death...that was something she didn't do, was it?

And if Sugita hadn't done it that meant there were two different culprits. Sugita was trying to protect somebody by making herself the guilty party of both murders instead of only one. Mitsuhiko already had a suspect in mind; after all the list of people Sugita would try to protect this much was very short: one was Mitsuhiko himself, the other...

The problem was proving it and finding the real murder weapon, but for now he was going to just break Sugita's confession and see where everything went from there. "And what's the problem now?" Koshimizu grinned sardonically and put his elbows on the table "What marvelous reasoning are you going to pull out of your ass this time?"

"He may pull reasoning out of his ass but he's usually right" Hasegawa said "It's worth listening to him"

"I never said he was wrong. It's just amusing, you know?"

"Okay, I get it!" Mitsuhiko briefly regretted being the main force in trials, but right now there were more important matters to worry about "So as I was saying, Kimiko, it's impossible you caused the fire like you said you did"

WHY CAN ' T YOU ACCEPT IT?!

Sugita would have hit the table if it weren't because of her burned hands. "I confessed to both murders. I even said exactly how I did it, without any contradictions or mistakes. Why can't you accept I did it?!"

"Because you just did make a big mistake. I admit I can't refute your confession about Kishio-sensei's death but I don't believe for a second you killed Yurie"

"I don't get it" Sugita shook her head "Fine, let's fight it out. Let's get this over with"

Rebuttal Showdown

Blood and Splinters / Broken Crossbow / Death Ray / Kishio ' s Cranium Fracture / Mitsuhiko ' s Testimony

SUGITA: Fires need three elements to happen

SUGITA: Heat, accelerant and oxygen

SUGITA: Oxygen was already present

SUGITA: Kishio-sensei provided the accelerant

SUGITA: And I provided the heat!

SUGITA: The Death Ray! That was how I started the fire!

MITSUHIKO: The Death Ray is the key here.

MITSUHIKO: Are you certain that's what you used?

SUGITA: Absolutely!

SUGITA: I used the Death Ray

SUGITA: There's nothing else in this building...

SUGITA: ...that could have caused the fire!

SUGITA: I even placed that mirror to redirect...

SUGITA: ...the laser once I fired it.

SUGITA: Does it make sense to you now?

"You are completely sure you used the Death Ray. I see. Well there's nothing else to ask"

"You mean you finally accept my confession?" Sugita asked, hopeful. The hunter grinned smugly, satisfied with what she was going to do now.

"Definitely not. In fact, I'll now proceed to break your confession! You claim the Death Ray was used, but what you don't know is that I examined the Death Ray myself shortly after the murder"

"...oh. You're not going to say-"

"That's exactly what I'm going to say! There were no signs of the Death Ray having been used recently. Actually, it was so cold it was obvious it hasn't been activated in quite a long time!"

"Really? Maybe it was designed in a way it doesn't heat up when it's used" Mimori suggested, receiving a scowl from Mitsuhiko.

"We're talking of lasers strong enough to kill! Slicing through bone as if it were butter. Do you seriously think such lasers wouldn't heat up the machine in the slightest?"

"Hikari-kun is right" Sasuga intervened "The Death Ray doesn't have anything preventing it from heating up. If it was as cold as he said it was then it was indeed never used"

Sugita stared at him in horror. "What do you think you're doing, Tohya-kun?"

"I'm solving this misunderstanding, Kimmy. Don't fret about it"

"You don't know what you're doing"

"I know it very well! Leave me do what I think is right, okay?"

"Uuuuh..." Mitsuhiko cleared his throat awkwardly. This was not the moment for an arguing couple to take the spotlight "How do you know that with certainty, Sasuga-kun?"

"I know it because I created the Death Ray. I think I said once before lasers were my specialty? I created the Death Ray some time ago" the roboticist looked away "Besides the Death Ray has been nonfunctional for a while. Only I could fix it and I can assure you I didn't ever do that"

"Then the Death Ray can't have been the weapon of the crime. What was used?" Romi mused. Mitsuhiko had absolutely no idea about that, just what kind of weapon had killed Yurie if the Death Ray hadn't been the one? He couldn't begin to guess.

"What I do know is that some sort of laser weapon was fired from the Physics Laboratory" the hunter said "There were signs of the Death Ray having been moved, surely to make space for the weapon and the culprit"

"The mirror indicates some type of laser is the weapon! But where would one find a laser in this building?"

"...I think I got it" Everybody stopped talking and looked at the person who had said it. Koshimizu, deep in thought, had been the one to say those words "I see. Are we all sure it was a laser and not anything else?"

"It's almost confirmed, yeah" Mitsuhiko was intrigued what idea Koshimizu had. Had he really solved the conundrum of the crime weapon?

"Right, I see. I must be right. Listen, there's easy access for a laser weapon any of us could have used. Monobear, I have a question!" the medic stood up. This was going to be the most important question of the trial, at least according to him. All hinged on the bear's answer. Koshimizu took a deep breath and fired what would solve the case:

"The sprinklers. You said they were damaged. What was the damage, exactly?"

"Upupu...clever. Verrrry clever, Koshimizu-san. I see where you're driving at" Monobear was strangely satisfied with the question. Something in his way of talking gave Mitsuhiko shivers, he felt like everything in the trial had gone according to the Monobear's wishes. "I will answer! The sprinklers had clear signs of having been severed with some sort of heat-based object. L-A-S-E-R!"

Koshimizu nodded gravely, that was exactly what he had expected. "That settles it" And in that moment some words he had heard around an hour ago resonated in his mind. Words said just before the trial started:

"The sprinklers would have worked if they hadn't been disabled in the first place! Which one of you did it? Say it now!"

"I did"

"No way. That...that answers everything!" Mitsuhiko stood up, hitting the table with his hands. So many questions, so many mysteries since the beginning of their stay in the Headquarters...all that had just been unveiled in front of his eyes. Mitsuhiko cursed himself for not having realized it earlier; he had seen that laser in action before! Not only that, he had cheered for the person using that laser.

He felt like a heavy weight had settled in his gut. He now understood the true nature of Yurie's death, he now understood why Sugita had confessed both crimes, and over everything else, he knew the name of one of the people responsible for their stay in the Headquarters. "What's wrong, Hikari-kun?"

"I... thank you, Koshimizu-san. It's thanks to you I realized who the killer is. First than all: Kimiko...her only crime was killing Kishio-sensei. Yurie was murdered by somebody else.

The person responsible for Yurie's death is..."

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Shizuka Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lily

Monobear

Lily

"Lily. You're the culprit, aren't you?" Mitsuhiko said. All the commanders present gasped, whether it was with shock or dread didn't matter, and focused on Lily. The robot girl fidgeted under their stares but didn't say anything "You killed Yurie. And the weapon...it was you, wasn't it? Your hands. The lasers embedded in your hands, the very same ones we have seen in action before. Those are what killed her, right?"

"I have nothing to say about the matter" Lily said bluntly, turning her head away with a puff.

"We don't need you to say anything. The sprinklers, you admitted you broke them. Monobear just informed us those were damaged with lasers; it isn't hard to make the connection" Koshimizu said. "What I don't get is why you killed Oyama-san. Tell us about that"

"My directives state my main goal is to keep people alive without interfering. While I haven't done a good job at that for a variety of reasons that doesn't mean I'll go rogue and defy my directives" she stated in a rather robotic voice, quite different from the melodious voice she usually had.

"You had mentioned your directives like in the first few days. I think you had said that" Mitsuhiko mused.

"It doesn't matter what she says! Let's solve this ourselves: why did Lily murder Oyama-san?" Kobayashi proposed, starting a new round of debate.

Nonstop Debate

Yurie ' s Mortal Wound / Mirror / Death Ray / Lighter / Wooden Rods

SASUGA: Lily had no motive to kill anybody

KOSHIMIZU: Perhaps she is malfunctioning...?

SUGITA: We would have noticed! She acted normal all the time

KOBAYASHI: It's already obvious there was premeditation

KOBAYASHI: She even placed a mirror to ensure the beam...

KOBAYASHI: ...hit Oyama-san when she passed through!

MITSUHIKO: I'm sure Lily was part of the arson plan

MITSUHIKO: She was who would light up the hallway fire

KOSHIMIZU: She may have killed Oyama-san...

KOSHIMIZU: ...to cover up her involvement.

MIMORI: Or she suspected Oyama-san had something to do...

MIMORI: ...with our stay in the Headquarters

MIMORI: She had to fight anybody on Monobear's side!

SASUGA: There are so many potential motives

SASUGA: But without proof it doesn't matter!

"The motive is simple. Amy, you think the mirror was to make sure she hit Yurie?"

"Of course it was for that! From the Physics Laboratory Lily would have a clear view of the hallway based on the mirror. Once Oyama-san passed through she would activate her laser and slice her head off! Oh, and she would spark the fire too!" Kobayashi explained, sure of his reasoning. Mitsuhiko was going to break that, though.

"I'm afraid the mirror itself contradicts your reasoning, Aaaaaamy. You see, the mirror was placed in an angle, okay? This angle was facing the Lounge window in the second floor. While the angle was perfect to redirect the laser beam into the hallway it's impossible Lily or anybody could have seen anything inside the hallway by using the mirror!"

"Oh...Oh!" Kobayashi reeled back in his chair. He was supposed to be a mirror expert, how did he make such a mistake?

"Then how did Lily know Oyama-san was coming?" Koshimizu scratched his chin "If the mirror wasn't how she did it then there may be another way"

"No, there's just no way for Lily to see. The only way would be through a camera and the Security Office but we already defined Lily was in the Physics Laboratory. It's impossible she could have seen anything happening in the hallway"

"Then where does that leave us? What's the meaning of this?" Romi felt they were missing a piece of the puzzle but couldn't begin to guess what it was.

"I'll tell you where it leaves us:"

Yurie ' s death was an accident

Lily had an accomplice

Lily wasn ' t in the Physics Laboratory

Lily isn ' t the real culprit

Yurie ' s death was an accident

"Yurie's death was no more than an unfortunate accident" Mitsuhiko declared with grief. The commanders stared at him, digesting that new statement.

"An accident? You mean all Lily was doing was...light up the fire?" Kobayashi slowly came to understand Mitsuhiko's point.

"Exactly. All Lily was doing was following orders, I suppose. All she was supposed to do was use her laser to light up the catalyst, accelerant, whatever, and create the fire. She damaged the sprinklers, it's unlikely she had no idea what was going on. Yurie must have tried to go into the Cafeteria, or maybe she found the hallway soaked in liquids and went to investigate. We won't really know"

Lily was still looking away but it was clear she was listening carefully to what they were saying. Still, she wasn't going to break and confess anything. Monobear was enjoying himself greatly, though. Barely containing the laughter trying to escape the speaker in his muzzle he waved his paw, getting everybody's attention.

"Gyah...you know, you're all pretty funny. Lily this, Lily that, murderer murderer murderer. It's-gyyyy-it's way too funny!"

"I don't get it. What's so funny?" Sasuga asked spitefully, glaring at the bear.

"You all think I'll accept Lily as the culprit? She's no more than a pile of nuts and bolts! A robot! Do you all think she went out of her own volition and started the fire because she thought of it?" Mitsuhiko had the feeling the bear was going to force them to go to the very end "Somebody must have given her the order to fire her laser. Somebody told her to do that, and that person is the culprit of Oyama-san's death! Lily is no more than a weapon, now it's time for you to find out who the culprit is!"

Right. Lily wasn't a commander; technically she wasn't going to be allowed to take the blame for the murder. One of the eight commanders, or perhaps Kishio, had given her the order to use her laser. Now they had to name that person.

Luckily for everybody Mitsuhiko knew who had done that. He didn't want to do that, though. He was completely convinced the culprit had no ill intention; they had truly attempted to help everybody, both with their summoning everybody into the Headquarters and with the incendiary actions. It was unfair they were now going to die because of an accident; it was unfair this was something greatly advantageous to Monobear.

A person whose only fault was bad judgment was going to be executed.

"How are we supposed to know? That person could have given her the order at any time of the day! It's impossible for us to know" Sasuga said, cringing "We're going to have to rely on a confession. There's no other way"

"Are you insane? Nobody is going to step forward and go to their own death. The rest of us are going to die and that person will go free!" Sugita said but something in her eyes was shining. To Mitsuhiko it was obvious. This was the scenario she wanted to see happen, everything was going according to her wishes. That confirmed his suspicions, that was enough for him.

"Do we vote r-randomly and hope we hit the right one? We know Sugita-san is a culprit but the other one will have to b-b-be random" Kobayashi's determination was starting to fade, losing hope.

"What if Sugita-san was right and is the culprit for Oyama-san's death too?" Mimori proposed.

"She would have confessed that earlier unless...unless that was some sort of plan to get us all killed. If she killed both of them and we named her as innocent in one then she still goes free!" Hasegawa was losing control, too. This trial was breaking down in record time, it was now or never for Mitsuhiko to intervene.

"Enough. Everybody, give me a minute, okay? It's not that hard to know who's the culprit. We have all the clues we need" Mitsuhiko said forcefully. Once everybody was silent the hunter continued "There's one single piece of evidence linking that person to the fires but it's very circumstantial. Other than that there are no connections or proof, but luckily for everybody here there's another way to know the identity of the culprit"

"And what way would that be?" Sasuga gasped.

"Kimiko has said it all with her crime and with her behavior. It's not going to be difficult to find out. All we need to do is to think of a few key details. Let's start with the place Kishio-sensei's murder happened: The Security Room. That place is special because..."

It ' s in the Fourth Floor

It allows to see everywhere in the Headquarters

It ' s isolated

It was near the Lookout

It allows to see everywhere in the Headquarters

"...because it's the Security Room! The console there allows seeing into all the cameras in the building. It's not difficult to suppose there's a camera in the hallway to the cafeteria, right?"

"So Sugita-san was keeping track of everything from there?" Mimori inquired.

"No. Kishio-sensei was the one watching over everything. She planned the fire, the escape, everything! Kimiko arrived after a while. At some point...Yurie's death happened. We can all suppose what exactly led to Kishio-sensei's death, right?"

The plan went wrong

Kishio saw something

Kimiko wanted to escape

Kishio attacked Kimiko

Kishio saw something

"Kishio-sensei saw something in the camera: the culprit and Lily firing the laser in Lily's hand. She saw how Yurie died and the fire started. You see where I'm going, right?"

"If Kishio-sensei had survived she would have been a vital witness! Undeniable evidence of guilt, seen by two people. The trial would have been over in minutes" Koshimizu answered.

"But Sugita-san hasn't said anything of what she saw. Why's that?" Kobayashi wondered.

"She is protecting the culprit, that's what is going on! The reason she killed Kishio-sensei was to protect that person. The reason she confessed to both crimes was to protect that person. And finally, the reason she tried to get herself voted for both crimes was so that person went away alive. Now that we're all in the same page I want to make something clear:

There are only two people she would do this for. One is me. We're childhood friends, we greatly esteem each other, but Mimori-san and Koshimizu-san can prove I was in the First Floor, not in the Physics Laboratory with Lily. Besides I would never harm Yurie, no matter what she did. It's impossible I would kill her"

"I see! The other person, it is..." Romi pointed wildly at the culprit. One didn't need to think very long to know who it was.

"I'll also point the culprit can order Lily around. That person must have been one of the people who brought us to this meeting" Koshimizu added "You have a lot of explaining to do, eh, buddy?"

That was right. The culprit responsible for Yurie's death was...

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Shizuka Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lily

Monobear

Tohya Sasuga

"Sasuga-kun. It's you" that was all Mitsuhiko said.

Chapter Text

Sasuga took the accusation with admirable stoicism for somebody with his personality. Mitsuhiko completely expected him to cave down and start arguing how he couldn't be the culprit, but instead he took a shaky breath and with as much calm as he could muster he spoke.

"You have no proof I killed her, even if you say it was an accident. You can't prove I did such a thing"

"I admit there's no proof" Mitsuhiko confirmed "The only thing linking you to anything that happened is the Luminol used as a component for the accelerant, and that is only because you passed me the bottle once. That's hardly decisive evidence"

"Then how can you say with such certainty I killed her?"

"Because Kimiko is trying very hard to protect Yurie's killer. She once told me she'd do anything to protect you"

"Everybody says such things. If I were you I wouldn't give too much credit to the words of a lovestruck woman" Sugita said, jumping onto her partner's defense.

"I hate to admit it but she's right about that. There must be something else we can use, Hikari-kun" Koshimizu crossed his arms "Perhaps we can find a link between Lily and Sasuga-kun?"

"There's no such link!" Lily had joined the debate, a first in the game so far. Until now she had been content to stand on the sidelines and watch the commanders find the culprit by themselves, now she was standing on the end of the table, stomping as if that would make her words truer "Sasuga-kun has nothing to do with me"

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Kobayashi asked, indulging her.

"I suggest you listen to me! Don't underestimate me because I'm a little girl"

"Fine. We'll listen to you. What do you have to say?" Sugita accepted but much to her surprise none of the other commanders protested to Lily trying to get a word into the debate. Before she could change her mind Lily took the chance to join.

"Thank you! First, I admit it: I killed Oyama-san with my lasers. But it was not an accident. I knowingly did that on purpose because I was following orders!"

"For real?" Hasegawa raised her eyebrows almost mockingly "Will you tell us who gave you that order"

"...my directives won't allow me to indict my creator in any way, but even if I didn't have that order I wouldn't throw my creator under the bus like that"

"Oh, so it was your creator who gave you the order" Romi tapped her fingers on the table while Lily shook her head, distraught.

"No surprise the roboticist was the robot's creator. In hindsight it was obvious, wasn't it?" Hasegawa commented.

"No, no, no, no! That's not...dang it!" She certainly hadn't done her creator any favors now. Better to take another approach "Let me just tell you what happened, okay? That'll solve it"

Lily is now trying to protect Sasuga. She doesn ' t realize the more she fights the more likely it makes it I ' m right. All I have to do is sit and let her have enough rope to hang her own creator with.

Nonstop Debate

Wooden Rods / Blood and Splinters / Monobear File 4.1 / Monobear File 4.2 /Lighter

LILY: Oyama-san's death was no accident

LILY: I placed sensors in the hall to know when she was coming

MIMORI: I saw no sensors in there...

LILY: They burned away! That's all you need to know

LILY: I was alone in the Physics Lab, waiting

LILY: When I felt Oyama-san walking by...

LILY: I used my laser!

LILY: All that was me following my creator's orders

MITSUHIKO: And you won't say a name, huh

LILY: Of course not!

"Well this is easy" Mitsuhiko was almost disappointed Lily had said such an huge contradiction...it made it way too easy to break down anything she could argue.

"Anybody can see what's wrong with her testimony" Sugita said quietly.

"What? What's wrong now? What did I say?" Lily asked, grinning nervously. Mitsuhiko shook his head, not even bothering to pretend this had been something he needed to think about.

"Lily, when was the last time you saw Oyama-san?"

"At the time of her death, of course! I didn't see her directly but I felt her walking in the hallway. That counts"

"And before that?"

"Before that? Umm...in the trial for the third murder" Lily wasn't sure where this was going to. Mitsuhiko took the Monobear File about Yurie and showed the photo to Lily.

"It's impossible Yurie was walking by or anything. She was crippled and had to use a wheelchair. I don't need to explain this any further"

Lily's horns opened and closed intermittently while she tried to think a way to escape the dead end she had gotten herself into. "This is, heh, okay, I get it, you, oh, darn, I..."

"Didn't your creator ever inform you about what happened to Oyama-san?" Mimori asked.

"I was never told that. Last time I saw her was during the trial"

"Everybody knew about Oyama-san's crippling" Sugita said "If you're trying to find Lily's creator by asking who didn't know then you'll be wasting your time"

"No, that's not my intention" Mitsuhiko argued "But it does throw some doubts onto Lily's insistence this was no accident. Remember where Yurie's wound was? Almost the top of her head. A few inches upwards and she would have been fine...well, she would have died by being burned alive but you get my point:

Wouldn't a murder ordered by one of us take into account Yurie's crippling?"

"I think they would make sure they were actually killing her" Sasuga nodded. "So yes, this was an accident"

Lily punched the table, leaving a dent in it. "It doesn't change anything" she grumbled "I did what my creator told me to do, and that's what matters here"

"It was an accident, that changes a lot. At the very least it shows your creator didn't have ill intentions, not that it matters to the bear" Mimori said.

"Fine, I can't tell you who my creator is but I do can tell you something: the instructions I received were given to me quite some time ago, because...my creator is already dead. Yeah, that's right"

"Really?" Sasuga groaned.

"Really!"

It was obvious nobody believed her. "Alright, let's continue with that. The fire, all that, did you do all that by yourself?"

Nonstop Debate

Mitsuhiko ' s Testimony / Catalyst / Cable (Courtyard) / Yurie ' s Mortal Wound / Kishio ' s Cranium Fracture

LILY: All my creator ordered was to burn the place down...

LILY: ...once there was a escape plan

LILY: I gave Kishio-sensei the idea to escape

ROMI: Did she set up the fire?

LILY: No! I did it all by myself

LILY: I placed the mirror

LILY: I made the accelerant.

LILY: I spread it around the hallway

LILY: I broke the sprinklers

LILY: I lighted it up

MIMORI: What did you do after the fire?

LILY: I went from the Third Floor to the First...

LILY: ...and stayed there until the trial.

ROMI: I can't believe it! Another big mistake

Romi noticed it before Mitsuhiko, but after thinking for a moment the hunter realized what she meant. It wasn't as obvious as thinking Yurie could walk, but there was a piece of evidence contradicting Lily's supposed involvement. "Lily, are you completely sure you didn't go to the Fourth Floor?"

"I didn't. What do you have to say now to that?" Lily seemed pretty sure she had created a flawless speech. Mitsuhiko just hoped the table wouldn't break after the punch it'd surely receive now.

"That it's impossible. I still think it's more likely Kishio-sensei is the one who spread the catalyst in the hallway, after all...the container was found melted with her in her clothes. Kimiko had put it in there. So tell us, Lily, how did a container you should have with you get to Kimiko's hands?"

"Oh. Uuuuh...I left it around somewhere?" That was not a good excuse.

"Right. We already defined Kimmy stayed all the time in the Fourth Floor. There's no way she could have gotten her hands on the container" Sasuga said mutely, taking Sugita's hand carefully. You're not doing yourself any favors, Lily. It'd be better to stop.

"To stop?! Are you listening to yourself?!"

"I know what I'm saying. Kimmy, Lily...let's not drag this any further. There's nothing to be done now"

"...I tried. I'm sorry for what I did, Tohya-kun"

"I won't say I approve it but..." Sasuga didn't even know what to say. Both Sasuga and Sugita were resigned to their fates.

"You're taking really calmly, Tohya-kun. Why's that?" Sugita had given up already. Although she had murdered Kishio intentionally, although she had been willing to let seven people die, including Mitsuhiko and potentially including herself...she didn't have a reason to continue fighting. Her attempt to protect Sasuga hadn't worked at all, in fact, it had incriminated him. Why to try anymore?

"I had enough time to get over it. I won't lie, for a moment I thought about trying to fight and arguing but...I can't allow everybody else to die for me. I must accept my punishment" Sasuga had given up already too. He hadn't even murdered intentionally, he had never thought about escaping via winning the trial. His conscience wouldn't allow him to let seven people die for him to live. Besides, he had understood his crime during the trial, sometime before he got accused. He had enough strength to keep his internal fight hidden, but now...why to try to get away with it?

"I'm sorry I killed Kishio-sensei, Tohya-kun..."

Sasuga didn't reply immediately. He caressed the back of Sugita's hand with his fingers, thinking. "...I don't approve what you did. I don't like that, not even a little bit! But..." he just didn't know what to say.

"Does that mean we're breaking up?"

"No"

Now that had been an immediate answer, and a very firm one too. Mitsuhiko felt a pang of jealousy at seeing how determined Sasuga was. Even if he didn't have a lot in the brains and common sense department, he did have a faithfulness Mitsuhiko lacked. He smiled faintly, looking at Sugita to the eyes. "We're staying together. To the end, Kimmy"

"To the end"

"...no. No, I won't allow it. I can't allow it!" Lily screamed.

Everybody, somehow Monobear included, had kept silent, letting Sasuga and Sugita talk with each other without interruptions, but now the robot girl was taking this in her own hands again. Even if the two culprits had given up, she wasn't willing to let her creator and his fianceé die if she could stop it. She strolled up to Mitsuhiko, aiming at him with her hand. "Take it back"

"Um..." Mitsuhiko opened his mouth but Lily's eyes shone dangerously.

"Take it back! Say it wasn't true. Say neither of them had anything to do with the murders"

"I won't, Lily. They're the culprits. I don't want to see them die but we don't have another choice right now"

"You-You monster...are you going to sit there and watch your friend die? Do you have no shame?!"

"What do you want me to do? I can't hold onto them and stop them from being executed, either they die or we all die!"

Lily knew he was right. She knew that, if he could, he would fight, but Monobear still had his claws all over the Headquarters. The masterminds were hidden and unreachable right now, there was nothing they could do. If she could cry she would right now. "Sasuga-kun has no relation with me. It's not proven he's the culprit! You can't link him with me in any way!"

"He practically said he accepts himself as the culprit" Sugita said.

"I don't care! That's no proof. My creator isn't Sasuga-kun; you can't prove he is, you can't!"

That wasn't going anywhere. Lily was pretty much the last obstacle in this trial. As long as she continued fighting the votes wouldn't happen, and if she was pushed any further...well, her directives included to help everybody to survive. She wouldn't go against them, would she? Sasuga didn't seem willing to intervene, so Mitsuhiko only had his wits to deal with Lily.

Good thing he knew what to say. "Actually, it can be proven Sasuga-kun had a big part in your creation"

"No way!" Lily stumbled back, still aiming towards Mitsuhiko "It's impossible, you can't know anything!"

I do. He himself said it earlier, and you ' re practically thrusting the proof in my face. Accept it, Lily!

Panic Talk Battle

LILY: There's no proof!

LILY: He has no relation with my creation

LILY: Who do you think you are?!

LILY: I won't let you get away with this!

LILY: Sasuga-kun, say something!

LILY: You can't be serious

LILY: Nothing! There's nothing!

LILY: Stop that, please!

LILY: Did you think I'd ignore it?

LILY: I won't accept it!

Tohya Sasuga ' s Laser Specialization

"Lily, there's a little something Sasuga-kun said earlier. He said that lasers were his specialization, didn't he? After all the Death Ray was his creation. Not only that, the Physics Laboratory has a heavy focus on lasers. The records say he was one of the few here allowed into the laboratory when there were restrictions, too"

"B-But that doesn't..." Lily tried to protest but Mitsuhiko was relentless.

"The lasers in your hands. There are a lot of roboticists in the world but I think Sasuga-kun is one of the few who would include lasers as your main weapon. It'd be like his trademark! Do you see now why we think there's a link between Sasuga-kun and you?"

"I still think we should have seen it coming much earlier" Koshimizu grumbled.

"We should have"

Lily kept her palm aimed at Mitsuhiko's face, but after a few seconds her palm closed, concealing the laser. "...I can't...what am I supposed to do now? I'm supposed to protect my creator but I can't do anything. Just what am I going to do now?"

"It's okay, Lily" Sasuga said, trying to console her. She slowly went to him, sitting on the table near him.

"Well, let's get this trial over, okay?" Mitsuhiko stretched and made his articulations pop "We all agree Kimiko and Sasuga-kun are the culprits. We all know how this went, don't we?"

Climax Inference

The murder started with the First Culprit mixing up the accelerant. He included Luminol, canola oil and ethanol, creating a flammable compound Kishio would use to soak up the Cafeteria Hallway. The plan the culprits and Kishio created was simple: they ' d cause a fire, possibly to distract the masterminds, and escape through a cable from the Lookout to the other side of the fence.

Once the preparations for the arson were done, courtesy of Kishio, the First Culprit reunited with Lily in the Physics Laboratory. They had placed a mirror in the Courtyard, which would be used to ignite the accelerant. They moved aside the Death Ray and prepared Lily. Once it was time Lily fired her laser, igniting the fire.

Unfortunately there was somebody trying to go through the hallway at that time: Yurie. The laser cut her head, killing her instantly, and her corpse was immediately surrounded by fire. Lily and the First Culprit didn ' t notice, and continued with their lives.

However the accident didn ' t go unnoticed. Kishio and the Second Culprit were in the Security Room, watching the progress through the cameras. When they saw it, they knew it meant Sasuga was now a culprit and a trial would happen. But the Second Culprit couldn ' t risk it. They killed Kishio by breaking a crossbow on her head, and it was done so there would be no witnesses to the First Culprit ' s crime. But now there was another body to deal with.

The Second Culprit took Kishio ' s body to the Lookout, cut the cable to tie it around her feet, and soaked the body in accelerant to make sure it burned. She pushed the body, letting it fall towards the fence and burning her hands in the process. She screamed, several people hearing her scream and alerting them of her presence up there. That scream would lead to her capture.

Two crimes, neither of them planned. And the culprits...are you two! Tohya Sasuga and Kimiko Sugita.

That summarized the events of that morning. Everybody accepted Mitsuhiko's tale, that seemed correct. "There's nothing you didn't find out. You're right about all that, Hikari-kun" Sasuga confirmed. Sugita did the same about her murder, it was settled.

"Then...are you really Lily's creator?" the hunter asked.

"I am. Lily is my best creation. I'm really proud of her" he put his hand on Lily's head "While I'm not the best with AIs at least we did a great job, didn't we?"

"You made the AI too?" Mimori was surprised. She would have expected Sasuga to have only created the robot body, not its personality too.

"...mostly"

"You got us here! You made us all be locked in this place and led to our deaths". What excuse do you have for that?"

Sasuga cuddled in his seat. "...technically I took a big part on that, but no. I didn't plan any of this. I just created Lily and sent the invitations"

"But you know who organized all this in the first place! Tell us. Is that person here among us?" Koshimizu asked. Finally, a chance to solve that mystery! Sasuga didn't seem willing to give that information, though. He didn't reply to that, instead standing up with Sugita.

"Monobear, don't we have some voting to do?"

"Nope!" he exclaimed "I'm very interested on hearing that too. So come on, fess up! We're all listening"

"Fine. Yes, that person is here"

"We want a name. Come on, give a name!"

Sasuga cringed. "Okay, I'm telling! Hasegawa-san and I were mere accomplices. The person who planned it all and called everybody here was..." Sasuga looked at everybody "...it was Kishio-sensei. Who else would it be?"

Kishio? It made some sense, after all Kishio and Sasuga were the main components on the escape plan. That'd explain why Kishio took the leader role too, even if she didn't try to escape until the recent times. Whatever reason Kishio had called them here had failed, it made sense.

Monobear was satisfied with Sasuga's answer, nodding. She was dead, did it matter anymore? All that was left was for Hasegawa to die and the three people who had tried to mess with Diavolos Avante's Main Board candidates were going to be eliminated. "Then let's get straight into the voting now! Will you vote correctly? Will you fall for the culprits' attempt to get away with their crimes? Let's start! Who is the culprit for Oyama-san's death?"

As expected, everybody in the room voted Sasuga as the culprit, and when Monobear ordered to vote for the culprit involved in Kishio's death Sugita was voted unanimously. Monobear, without bothering to hide his glee for the imminent execution of Sasuga and his fiancé, announced aloud. "You're all correct! Despite there being two different culprits you have pinpointed them correctly. Sasuga-kun and Sugita-san are the culprits!"

The announcement was received with silence. Nobody present really wanted to send neither Sasuga nor Sugita to their deaths but it wasn't like there was another option. Monobear, disappointed at the lack of protests or reactions, sighed despondently. "Fine! Let's get the trial over with. You two, follow me! It's time for your deaths" he walked to the entrance to the Meeting Room. Sugita and Sasuga took each other's hands but before they could leave Sasuga turned around.

"Lily? We're pretty much screwed. I suppose we'll have to take some drastic measures" Lily stood up straight and went to them. "Code 1774. Good luck" Lily's eyes shone for a moment before she nodded and went away.

"What was that?" Mitsuhiko frowned. That was something new. Of course Sasuga, as Lily's creator, surely had programmed something to happen with that code. Sasuga shook his head, inexpressive.

"Don't worry about that. We're done" Monobear closed the doors; the only thing left to do was to wait for the screen to show the horrible executions that would happen soon.

And just as expected, the screen descended from the ceiling and turned on.

Teapots and Wires

The screen was divided in two. Sasuga and Sugita were in places that actually didn ' t situations that didn ' t relate to their talents in any way. Sasuga was trapped in what seemed to be a small metallic container, filled to his waist in water. Sugita was in a concrete room, littered with what seemed to be pieces of machinery and wires. Both were pretty confused on to what was going on. What were these places?

The method of execution became clearer when slowly both locations came to life. Sugita gasped when the robotic pieces started to move towards her, dragging the wires and metal on the floor towards her. Sasuga screamed in pain when bursts of steam emerged from the walls of the steel enclosure and leaves fell onto the water. It was more than clear their executions had been swapped between each other.

The executions were quite drawn out. The commanders could only watch how the arms and wires held Sugita onto the floor, wrapping her tightly and immobilizing her. They watched how the water slowly started warming up, steam fogging up the camera. Once Sugita was completely immobile and once Sasuga was starting to stagger due to the concentrated heat, Monobear seemed to decide that was enough.

The screen went black just in the moment the final blows happened. The sound of electricity coursing through the wires and onto Sugita ' s body, and the sound of a teapot and boiling water mixed and sounded almost deafeningly loudly, mixing together to create a disorienting sound, and muted by those sounds the screams of the executed commanders. Mitsuhiko was very glad they weren ' t being shown the finer details of Sugita and Sasuga ' s deaths, because from the mere sound he knew watching them would lead to some serious trauma.

There were only six commanders alive now and neither of them felt with any strength to stand up and do something. That day they had lost four people, which was by itself pretty discouraging. The perspective of escaping was pretty much gone now, what were they going to do now?

"...so..." Mitsuhiko rubbed his arm awkwardly "Pretty rough, eh?"

"That's an understatement. There's not much we can do now. There'll be no new floor, there's no new area to explore, we're in the same situation than before, just that with less people" Koshimizu said.

"I don't know about you, guys, but I think we have lost any chances of escaping" Romi added.

"There must be something we can do; though" Mitsuhiko stood up "Do we need a leader?"

"Not really. What good would a leader be right now? It won't change much, what we need is a plan" Kobayashi said.

"Well I got one. You see, there are two places we haven't explored yet: the Basement and a part in the Third Floor that is bricked and inaccessible" Mitsuhiko explained "We should take a look what's in those places"

"It's worth a try. It isn't like we have new plans" Mimori stood up too "If the masterminds are in this building then they must be in one of those places. We find them, we get them to let us all go and liberate Veritas"

"Okay, let's give it a try. Follow me" Mitsuhiko, since he had been the one to bring up the new plan, decided to lead them to look for a way to break into those areas. If escaping was not an option then they'd fight. This had gone for long enough.

The commanders followed Mitsuhiko but the hunter stopped once they ascended to the Second Floor. There had been a change, something disquieting nobody in the trial room had expected. They didn't know what it meant, either, but if it was the last resort plan Sasuga had it was likely it was nothing good for anybody.

The banner decorating the Second Floor classroom hallway had been modified. 'Lily' had been scribbled over with a new addition, clearly done recently. The banner wasn't the onlyone fixed, though. The paper posters decorating the place had also been defaced to replace the former name with that new one. Mitsuhiko, not understanding what implications this could have to their wellbeing and plans, shook his head, trying to ignore it. He just hoped it wouldn't ruin the vague ideas they had just a few minutes ago.

'LILITH'

Chapter Text

When one imagines a very important person in a criminal organization one can imagine a lot of things. The stereotype usually is a tough person scowling and looking at you like you were no more than scum on their shoe. Hikaru wasn't expecting to see the stereotype enforced, after all that'd be ridiculous, wouldn't it? Even criminal masterminds were people.

Still, Vittoria Delacroix was not the person he had expected her to be.

She seemed to be of his age, for one, maybe a year or two older than him. He would have thought Hope's Peak would take her in under the title of SHSL Crime Overlord or something like that; it wouldn't be the first time Hope's Peak covers for somebody with a criminal background. Maybe she was too tough to handle or something like that.

Her black straight hair got down to her waist and covered most of her head. Hikari could see only part of her face, where a green eye peeked. She seemed rather beautiful.

When Hikaru entered she stared at him until he took a seat in front of her desk. "Hello..." Hikaru said tentatively. Something seemed to light up in her eye, he could even see a hint of a smile behind her hair.

"Good afternoon. I welcome you to my humble office, Mitsuhide-shi. Would you like to share a cup of tea with me?" she was impressively soft-spoken. He had expected her to be more assertive-sounding.

"Uh..." Getting offered a cup of tea wasn't his idea of how this was supposed to go. Vittoria tilted her head.

"Do you fear the tea may be laced with something nasty? That seems to be a rather common concern, from what I have been told"

"No, it isn't that! It's just that I didn't expect, um..."

"I try my best to keep everything civilized around here. Please, enjoy yourself while we discuss your potential career choices" Vittoria pressed a button underneath the desk, and soon another person came in. "Milgard, please bring us today is chosen tea. Do you wish any additions, Mitsuhide-shi?"

"No, thank you..." A while later Hikaru had a cup of some sort of tea he had never tried before. Vittoria had tried to do a bit more of small talk to get Hikaru be a bit more comfortable, but no matter what she did of course he wasn't going to forget right now he was right in front of the leader of a dangerous crime syndicate.

From what Yurie told him it seemed Diavolos Avante spawned in France several decades ago. They had quite a hold onto several countries, although it seemed like they kept the brutality to a minimum, at least that was what it seemed according to the media. Nobody wanted to go against them, and they valued loyalty over everything else.

"I have been informed by Oyama-shi you may be interested in joining our prestigious organization. May you please tell me more about that?"

"It's not much, I want to make my own path in life and, well, I don't think Hope's Peak is the best place for that" That summarized how he felt, although recently he had been having second thoughts.

"If the problem is Hope is Peak why do not you attempt to transfer onto my uncle is school? You shall be treated as you deserve, and the education you shall receive will be of the upmost caliber" Her extremely formal way of speaking was getting a bit awkward. She pronounced contractions in a way that made it sound stilted and unnatural. While she seemed like a kind person Mitsuhiko really didn't want to continue talking.

"That isn't the problem! I just want to...to find something to do with my life, something that isn't governed by a bunch of scientists trying to see what makes me tick" Hikaru's voice was raised, it was obvious to Vittoria he was very vehement about that "I don't know how the Delacroix school works but I don't feel ready to be in another posh prodigy school"

Vittoria stared at her tea, shaking her head. "Hope is Peak is a nightmare. I once received an invitation from them. I prodded around to see what I could find but the stuff I found out...they made me be afraid of them. You are doing well trying to get away" And them, moving to the point of her compassion:

"I can help you with that but it will have a cost. Are you willing to accept that?"

Hikaru didn't know much about how the world worked, but if there was one thing he didn't need to be told was that when dealing with dangerous people he needed to be careful. "What cost would it be?"

"Join us. Join Diavolos Avante, and work for me. Of course I will not force you; you are free to leave this room anytime you want"

"And what work would that be?"

Vittoria took out a small notebook, reading its content intently. "How do you feel about killing people? Oyama-shi is reports indicate you have hunting skills, which is exactly what we need. You will receive benefits and an outstanding dental plan, if you feel that helps" she smiled, perhaps that was a joke?

Just in case, Hikaru laughed. That didn't seem to have the effect he wanted because Vittoria glared at him. "If you do not feel it was funny then do not force yourself to laugh. It is insulting"

"I'm sorry" Goodness, this was like treading a minefield "I accept. Yurie talked to me about this already"

And so he had given his first step towards his future life as a hitman. No more hunting animals, no more shooting stuff in a laboratory so a bunch of scientists gathered data. Hikaru felt as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders, he was going to have a new life! It wasn't one his parents would have approved of, but he was satisfied with it.

Vittoria left her empty cup of tea aside, pulling out a map of Japan. The map had been heavily scribbled; this was the map of a strategist. "I welcome you to our group, Mitsuhide-shi. How do you feel about working in the prefecture of Kyoto?"

"Kyoto?!" Moving all the way to another prefecture was something he hadn't expected "Why Kyoto? Why not here?"

"Because we do not need a hitman anywhere else, of course. In the past I used to be the one to dole out "punishments", but since two years ago I cannot return to Kyoto" she seemed rather downcast from that, although her voice didn't show it, her visible eye had clouded. "You will be the one to replace me"

Hikaru felt curiosity, what could keep the leader of a criminal group away of a place? Especially one as supposedly powerful and widespread as Diavolos Avante, he just couldn't believe she would be kept away like that. "Can I ask why you can't return to Kyoto?" He immediately regretted asking. Was he seriously trying to pry in her new boss' business?

"You are one of us now. There is no reason why you should not know" She opened a drawer and took out a newspaper article, passing it to Hikaru. He took it, reading what it said.

It was an article about a murder that happened in the Prefecture of Kyoto. A person had been killed with a katana, and according to the article the prime suspect was the woman right in front of him. Then he noticed the newspaper article had been stapled to another, a smaller one. He read the second article with attention.

Vittoria Delacroix had indeed been the prime suspect, and therefore arrested for the murder. However the article informed the trial had ended in a not-guilty verdict, although it didn't give any details as to why. "I heard about this before! So you did kill-"

"I did. I was guilty. It was no more than mere luck I had such a skillful team of lawyers to defend me. Would you believe they were teenagers? Fifteen years old at most" Vittoria seemed to be rather fond of the lawyers she had in that trial "I offered them to join us, but they did not want to hear a word about that. Maybe if they had then they would not have gone the fate they suffered"

"Did they die?!"

"They did not! They suffered a fate worse than death" she leaned forward, whispering to Hikaru as if it were a secret that shouldn't leave the room "Hope is Peak got them as students"

That is it? That sure was overly dramatic. Hikari laughed, truly amused. Vittoria, now feeling Hikaru's honest laugh, let out her mirth too, feeling she had done the right thing by accepting Hikaru into Diavolos Avante.

"Ah, Mitsuhide-shi. They are truly outstanding people. I am in contact with one of them, as friends. Maybe someday you will meet them, and hopefully in circumstances that will not involve a courtroom. Please, do not get caught.

You shall be given seven days to prepare yourself for your journey to Kyoto. During this time we will also arrange the closure of your life until now. Leave it all up to us, alright?"

"Thank you so much, Delacroix-sama"

"Please, call me Vittoria-sama. However there is one last matter" she stood up, leading Hikaru to the door "In order for your new life to start you shall need a new identity, a new name. Is there one you would like to have?"

Of course he didn't have a new name planned. Why would he? He dithered, thinking. "I didn't know I'd need a new name..."

"It does not need to be overly complicated. May I suggest you adapt your actual name into a new one? How about...Mitsuhiko? That is like your family name"

Mitsuhiko...well, in a way he liked the proposal. He loved his parents, he still missed them a lot, even after two years, and although they would be mightily disappointed in Mitsuhiko's choices he wanted to honor them.

Keeping his family name was the way to do that, wouldn't it? Wear it like a badge, even if it wasn't exactly like before. Mitsuhiko, that seemed nice enough. "I like it" he said "My new family name would be 'Hikari'. It means practically the same thing than 'Hikaru'"

"That could work. Mitsuhiko Hikari, that is your new name. I shall notify Oyama-shi, and she will perform her job.

We shall be leaving in a week! Here is my business card" Head honchos have business cards? It was even written in there, 'Diavolos Avante, Co-Leader'! Getting caught with that card in his possession would be more than enough to link him to the organization.

"So you're the co-leader!"

"Similar to that. We have a Main Board, my uncle and I am the leaders. Milgard, you saw him, is a member of that board too" she smiled "A rather reliable group of people, if I may say so"

"Will I meet them?"

"Definitely not. Although loyalty is our main requirement, that does not mean we cannot exercise prudency. Each member chooses a codename"

So it was like a company. Diavolos Avante seemed stranger and stranger with each word, as if it could be a legitimate enterprise and not...well.

"Please enjoy your evening, Hikari-shi. I will contact you in one week, and so we will travel to Kyoto together"

"Together?! Are you going to escort me?" The co-leader of Diavolos Avante was going to escort him to Kyoto?

"Do you mind that? You will not need to pay for transportation" Vittoria offered her hand, trying to seal the deal with a handshake. He firmly took hers, feeling hopeful for the future.

Hikaru...Mitsuhiko knew this was going to be the start of a new phase of his life. With Vittoria as a friend the world seemed boundless.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko was speechless, staring at Lily's modified name. If Monobear had been busy with the executions and everybody else was in the Meeting Room then that left Lily as the only one who could have done that.

...maybe calling her Lilith was better now. But what did that change entail? What did it mean for the commanders here?

"I d-don't like how this looks" Kobayashi huddled closer to Koshimizu, looking at the banner with fear.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Lily's directives included not to hurt us" the medic said.

"But that was before that new code was given. For all we know that code was meant to make Lily forget all directives and follow new orders" Hasegawa pointed.

"You were part of his rebel group or whatever that was!" Mitsuhiko confronted her "You tell us what this development means"

"How do you expect me to know? I didn't create Lily, it was all him"

"We don't have time to think ab-about that" Kobayashi took a few deep breaths, turning around to not to see it "We need to explore the Basement and that other place"

"I suggest we take a moment to look for potential weapons" Mimori proposed "We are going to potentially meet the people keeping us locked in here, the people behind Monobear. We need to protect ourselves"

"Good idea. Let's meet here again in fifteen minutes"

"I don't like the idea of us going around with weapons" Romi said "One of us could attack somebody else"

"Really? After everything that has happened you still think one of us would kill? None of us have any illusions of getting to the Main Board by now" Koshimizu pointed "There's no reason to kill anybody"

"...you are right. Sorry, these weeks have me with frazzled nerves. I can't even use any weapon effectively by myself, either"

"You used a knife very well against that mannequin" Kobayashi bit his thumb.

"Did you even hear what you said?"

"Guys, enough. We're going to get weapons" Mitsuhiko started to descend the stairs "I have two guns. If any of you need one please feel free to come with me"

"I'll take the offer" Koshimizu said "I have experience with guns"

And with that, the matter was settled. Mitsuhiko and Koshimizu went to Camp Monobear, to Mitsuhiko's room. Walking near of where Yurie had died made Mitsuhiko stop for a moment, freezing in front of his classroom door. "Are you feeling okay, Hikari-kun?" Koshimizu asked quietly.

"...it feels so unreal to know she died because of an accident caused by...well..."

"By the robot girl we knew was on our side and would only intentionally attack a bear? Yes, that is tough" he scratched his head "I'll be honest, Hikari-kun, I really didn't like her. But you have my condolences either way"

Well that wasn't very tactful. Still, now that he knew exactly what happened to Yurie he strangely...felt better about that. Even Koshimizu's relatively insincere words helped to feel better about it. Mitsuhiko sighed. "Thank you, man. I still can't believe she is gone"

"You'll have to accept it sooner or later. Right now you have to deal with the living, and that's hard enough without having to drag grief with you. So let's focus on what we came here for, okay?"

"Yeah" Mitsuhiko opened the door to his bedroom, entering and going straight to the box. That's where he kept his extra gun, the other one was secured to his belt. Mitsuhiko opened the box and took out the Twin Beretta. "Here"

"Hikari-kun, I don't mean to be an ungrateful bastard, but that gun is a hassle. You have no idea how uncomfortable I felt with that. Can I have the other one?"

"Sure, I suppose" the exchanged guns, Mitsuhiko keeping the Twin Beretta while Koshimizu kept Mitsuhiko's personal gun. Koshimizu aimed at the wall, trying to get a feel of the gun itself.

"Yessss, this is good. Thank you, I'll give it back to you when everything is over. By the way..." he put the gun away in his pocket "...would you like to be our new leader?"

"Me?" Mitsuhiko definitely didn't expect that "Are you sure about that?"

"I think by now you have shown you have the necessary skills for that. Believe it or not, our general consensus is to listen to you. I'm sure if you killed somebody you could get away with it because everyone trusts you. I'm sure nobody would protest if you took the mantle"

"I'm the commander of the prefecture of Kyoto but I don't think I'm ready for this" that was his answer.

"Nonsense! Besides, it's thematically fitting. Isn't your codename Cerberus? You know who Cerberus is, don't you?"

"Giant dog, three heads. Guardian of the gates of hell or something like that. Why should I care?"

"It could be said you have kept most of us away of hell while sending the guilty souls into it. It's a bit on-the-nose, but it's interesting" Koshimizu smirked, amused. Mitsuhiko didn't agree, though.

"Sorry, not interested. Let's all be co-leaders" that was the end of the discussion. They got out of the hall, going to be Lobby where they found everyone else. Romi had taken a knife with her. Judging by the jam that still stained it, it seemed like it was the one she used to kill the mannequin, and it had been in the same place for a while. A cut from that would be likely to give an infection.

Mimori had her pens in both hands. "Is that it? Pens?" Koshimizu narrowed his eyes.

"Have you ever got one of these babies staked onto your hand? It hurts. It hurts a lot" Mimori rubbed her hand. Knowing there was no sense on arguing that Koshimizu let her be.

Kobayashi had taken a hammer from the Carpentry Workshop while Hasegawa took the whittling knife she had used to stab Mitsuishi, thankfully that weapon had been cleaned. All in all everybody had a weapon to use. They were ready to fight, if it was needed. Hopefully the masterminds wouldn't try to fight back, but Mitsuhiko had the feeling if they had done something like kidnapping Veritas and throw them onto a mutual killing game then they wouldn't go down without trying to cause some grievous harm.

"Alright, what do we start with?" Kobayashi twirled the hammer in his hands "With the Basement or with the Third Floor?"

"I think we should try the-"

"What, don't I get a say? What am I, chopped bear liver?"

Mitsuhiko groaned, knowing this was bound to happen. "Fuck off, Monobear. We're busy here" The bear didn't leave and nobody truly expected him to leave. He just leaned against the wall, as if he were doing nothing worse than hanging out with the commanders.

"But we're talking about investigating the most important places in this building! Shouldn't I do my duty as the villain of this story? I know a few good lines about futility and the despair of trying to find anything!"

"We can live without them. None of you will get away of us. We'll find you and then-"

Monobear laughed uproariously. Something about his laugh had changed. Until that day his laughs and chuckling seemed to have a certain dose of fakeness, but now the laugh had some true malice behind it. Mitsuhiko felt the person giving Monobear his voice and personality was still the same, but something had changed. "Really? Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! You didn't expect us to stand around and wait for you to catch us. While you six were busy getting your weapons we took the chance to run away.

We're now locked in a cramped, uncomfortable room but at least we have each other, don't we, Junko?"

"Totally!"

"You betcha"

It sounded like two different people had shouted from somewhere, all of them sounding exactly the same with Monobear's voice. There were definitely three different people in the same place, and by the fact Monobear was being controlled right now they could only be in the Fourth Floor, in that room where Monobear was controlled from.

There were other matters to pay attention to, though "Junko? Enoshima? You can't be talking to Enoshima. She is dead!"

"We saw that through the broadcast!" Kobayashi added "It can't have been fake, can it?"

"Fake? No, that was true as truth, I am dead, delightfully dead and crushed" Monobear scratched his head "I'm dead yet my despair continues to live on, that sure says something! But forget about my past, let's talk about the present.

So you want to enter the endgame? That is not going to be easy. For us to accept defeat you will have to solve every single mystery this building has to offer. And just to make it a bigger pain in the ass I don't mean just the mysteries related to me: you will have to solve all mysteries related to the people who called you here!"

"We already know which commanders are responsible of that. We don't need to answer anything else" Mimori crossed her arms.

"Really? Are you going to be satisfied with that? Pitiful, how pitiful, and here we thought you were a journalist. This generation is doomed in more ways than four" Mimori grit her teeth, barely keeping herself together from the insult.

"I think it's obvious all of us accept that challenge" Romi said.

"I didn't expect anything less from the last few commanders DeeEy has. I better go and get ready for the trial! But first you should try going outside, you'll find a bamboozling development!" and with that he left.

The commanders looked at the entrance of the Headquarters. "Outside? What could be outside now?" Mimori wondered, starting to descend the stairs with Mitsuhiko. "There are three places to check, then. Maybe we should form teams and explore-"

"Something is wrong here" Mitsuhiko had grasped the doorknobs and was trying to pull the door open, but they didn't budge. The door wasn't locked, in fact Mitsuhiko was able to open it slightly, enough to let light enter through the thin space between the doors, but suddenly it felt like something grasped the door outside and forced them to close.

"Is there somebody outside?" Hasegawa had joined them, trying to see through a nearby window. "I don't see anybody"

"But there's something here. What are those?" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes, eyeing the strange objects crossing the windowpane. It seemed like very thin razor wire, several strands of platinum metal, all of them converging onto the main doors.

"Looks like the doors are being held together by some sort of wires. Monobear must have tied them together" Romi mused.

"Yeah, he wants us to see this and panic or something" Koshimizu crackled his knuckles and tried to open the window, pushing it upwards. Nobody expected to see what happened now, though.

The moment the window started to be opened the wires sprung into life. Somehow, those wires tightened and pushed the window down until it was completely closed. Koshimizu stepped back, flabbergasted. Once it was clear nobody would try to open it again the wires loosened, returning to its inactive state. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't feel so sure this is Monobear's work anymore. Where did this come from?" Hasegawa seemed really uncomfortable with this development "But he knew about this. I don't know what to think"

"Everybody, check other windows. We need to find out if there's some way to get outside" Romi proposed, going towards the hall to the Administrative Offices. The group separated and all went to different places in the First Floor, trying to open a window enough to get out but they all saw the same thing at the other side of the glass: thin wires, forming webs. Each time a window opened those moved and closed the window without giving time to even put anything to keep it open.

Mitsuhiko felt greatly unnerved, he couldn't understand what was this strange object wrapping the outer walls. Between the defaced banner in Camp Lily and the steel webs outside he was starting to feel something had gone very wrong. This whole day had been one disaster after another, and with their luck it was unlikely it was going to end any soon.

"It's the same everywhere. We just can't go outside anymore" Koshimizu concluded when they reunited just a few minutes later.

"W-Well, let's not let this lead us astray. We need to go into the Basement and the Third Floor" Hasegawa adjusted her courier cap.

"Right. What do we start with?"

"The Third Floor. Part of it was bricked, that should be enough to show there may be something important there!" Kobayashi suggested. That was fine with everybody; did it really matter where they went to first?

The group ascended to the Third Floor. "Hikari-kun, where is this Third Floor part you were talking about?" Kobayashi looked around the hallway, not seeing anything unusual.

"Uh, it's a bit hard to explain. Listen, when the Third Floor opened I noticed there was this balcony, and I saw a door leading somewhere inside, but there was no path to arrive there. It seems like the access to a section of the Third Floor was bricked and painted over to the point nobody would have guessed it existed" Mitsuhiko explained.

"Are you sure it exists? Maybe that balcony was a construction mistake or something like that" Romi said.

"No, I have proof it exists. There's this room in the Fourth Floor where one can control the shutters we saw blocking the way in several places. It has this map and it shows a couple rooms, inaccessible to us. All we need to do is find where the path to that place may be, and break the wall open"

"Oh, we just need to break a wall!" Kobayashi said sarcastically "Fine, let's try that. That room you mentioned has a map. We can use that to pinpoint where the hall to those places used to be!"

"Good idea, but maybe we can get to the balcony we won't need to break any walls" Koshimizu said. Mitsuhiko saw merit to the idea, maybe between the six of them they could think of a way to get to the balcony. It would potentially be easier and quicker than breaking the wall, so the hunter led them to the Astronomy Laboratory.

Or at least that was his intention. While the Astronomy Laboratory had no doors, the way to the balcony was blocked with so many metallic wires none of them could pass through. Thankfully none of them moved or tried to strangle them, but there was simply no way to pass through.

"We can't even enter the balcony? That settles it, Monobear is blocking the ways out to hinder our investigation" Romi touched the wires "I bet he also blocked every single window in this building with this stuff"

"It doesn't matter now. Koshimizu-san, I think you should be the one to go check the map with Hikari-kun. Let's break this hopeless situation!"

Koshimizu didn't seem very impressed when he saw the primitive map in the screen, but at least Mitsuhiko had been telling the truth. He could see the bricked area of the Third Floor, balcony included. There were three small rooms and nothing more, and the hallway to enter seemed to be located between the Astronomy and Physics Laboratories. Just in case Mitsuhiko made sure the shutter was going to be open once they broke the wall to save some time. Monobear was already counting down their investigation time, if they didn't hurry then who knew what could happen.

Chances are Monobear was going to push for a trial. He loved those things. Their only option was hurry up and hope the masterminds' patience was going to last long enough for them to give their plans a try.

On the other hand, were they going to let them, in the first place? Mitsuhiko expected a positive answer, after all in the school mutual killing game he had seen in one of the hijacked broadcasts he had noticed Junko had let the surviving students investigate to their hearts' content, even letting them enter where she was hiding.

Six students survived that school game, six commanders are left. By all means we should all be able to stay alive and get a happy ending. We are six highly capable adults used to the bitter turns of life. If six high schoolers managed to survive there ' s no excuse for us failing!

-ooooo-

Breaking a wall was a difficult task, they soon found out.

The fact they didn't have tools to perform the task made it even worse. When Koshimizu and Mitsuhiko returned to the Third Floor they pointed the section of the wall most likely to contain the bricked wall. Everybody immediately went to look for anything that could help them break the wall.

There was nothing inside the building they could use. Koshimizu brought up a piece of furniture from the Lounge and started to hit the section of the wall with it, using all his strength. It accomplished absolutely nothing other than turning the sizable chair into a pile of broken pieces.

"This is impossible. Are we even hitting the right spot?" Koshimizu muttered, kicking away the broken chair.

"You're the one who said that's where the hallway was!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed "Besides if we have to hit every inch of this wall until we find the right spot then we're not going to accomplish anything. This is useless"

"What if your dearly Veritas is in that abandoned section?" Hasegawa asked.

"Highly unlikely. Veritas was kidnapped by the Main Board; they must have easy access to him. They wouldn't put him in here unless they have some way to easily access the hidden section of this floor. It's more likely Veritas is in the Basement"

"Then why are we here and not trying to open the basement? We have to save Veritas!" Mimori shouted and started to jog towards the stairs. Since finding a way onto the closed section of the Third Floor ended being impossible for now they decided to go to the Basement.

"I don't have any hopes he's still alive" Mitsuhiko said while they were walking "I bet the Main Board killed him quite some time ago, they created that video a long time ago and all that"

"No, he must still be alive. It can't be we're late to save him! You're not going to abandon our leader, are you?" Mimori had turned around, glaring at him with fury. She was so angry Mitsuhiko felt the need to take back what he said, but he didn't. He just didn't think Veritas was still alive.

"I have to agree with Mimori-san. Let's hope Veritas is alive and let's do o-our best to save him" Kobayashi agreed.

When they arrived to the Basement Romi grasped the doorknob and tried to open the door, finding it locked. "We could break the lock. This is not a wall, surely we can do something"

"Or we could dismantle the lock" Koshimizu suggested.

"If all that was possible why didn't we do this before? We could have caught the Main Board earlier if any of us had thought about breaking the door or dismantling the lock?" Kobayashi asked, quite rightly. Everybody shuffled around awkwardly, not sure how to answer such a glaring inconsistency in their behavior.

"I thought Veritas and the villains were in the last floor" Romi finally said "And after we saw they weren't all I could think of was to escape"

"That's the same stuff I thought! My bad, heh..." Mitsuhiko was almost blushing. What an oversight!

"Okay, let's get going with the lock breaking plan" Romi went to the Carpentry Workshop, where she retrieved a couple screwdrivers.

Dismantling the lock was quick, and soon the Basement stairs were seen. Mitsuhiko touched the nearby walls, trying to find a light switch. "This is the Basement of this whole building. There must be a lot of space, so keep your eyes open" he instructed once the light was turned on.

He had been right. The Basement was full of boxes and pipes, providing the Headquarters with the basic services. The group walked around them, looking at the floor to see if Veritas was anywhere, but there was nothing that indicated he had been kept anywhere in this area. "Hey, I think there are paths over there" Mimori pointed at three doors nearby. Two were wide open, the other was closed. Mitsuhiko, not feeling the need to wield his gun since he knew the masterminds were in the Fourth Floor, decided to enter first.

This seemed to be where the masterminds spent their time. There were tables, empty cups of coffee, a recently-destroyed station resembling the one that controlled Monobear in the Fourth Floor, and a few mattresses. There was even a fridge, filled with food. In a corner of the room there were two open boxes. Koshimizu took a look inside them.

"Bullets and munitions" he informed, taking a few. Mitsuhiko, being the resident gun expert, approached and took one.

"These are bullets for a gun like my Twin Beretta, and the munitions seem to be for a common shotgun. Why do they have these, I wonder?"

"Does it matter? Unless Veritas is somehow packed in the b-bottom of a box and under the bullets then we should l-leave that aside" Kobayashi said, leaving the room. It didn't seem like there was anything useful in this section of the basement, so they left and decided to go to the other open door.

It was completely dark and there was an unpleasant scent in the air. It smelled like mold, but there was another coppery smell that put everybody at edge. "Smells like blood. I don't like this, I don't like this at all..." Hasegawa whispered, straining her eyes to peek through the darkness.

"There must be a light switch somewhere here. I'll deal with that" Mitsuhiko started looking for it, touching the wall near the door.

"I admit I feel afraid of what we may find. If it smells like blood it can only be from Veritas" Romi said, standing as far as possible from the door. Blind or not, finding the dead body of the leader would be quite a shock. Mitsuhiko felt the nub of the light switch and pushed it, illuminating the room.

It was no surprise there was a scent of blood. There was no corpse around, but the walls and the floor were splattered with blood. Most of it seemed to be old, at least having been there for days, but other seemed fresher. The one closest to Mitsuhiko was very fresh; his fingers had brushed against it when looking for the light switch. Disgusted, he tried to clean his fingers on the wall. "What the heck happened in here?!" Mimori screamed.

"Is this all Veritas' blood? Did we arrive too late?" Kobayashi had paled, his eyes darting around.

"It's possible, but I don't think the blood is exclusively his. Either way, it seems to me somebody bled here recently" Romi said "It smells...fresh"

The room didn't end there, though. There was a passageway at the end, and what seemed to be like bloody drag marks leading in there. Gathering courage Kobayashi walked in there, getting to the end. "There's nothing here! It's just an empty room"

"Really?" Mimori trotted to his side, looking around the small chamber. The floor made of dirt and earth was uneven, mounds everywhere "You're right but here, take a look. There's old and fresh blood here too, like puddles. It's like bloody corpses laid here for a moment. Why would that happen? There's something very sketchy going on"

"But Veritas is not there either. That leaves the closed room as the only possibility" Kobayashi practically ran out of the bloodied rooms, going towards the last door in the Basement. Mitsuhiko was the last person who left the room, but before he left he noticed an object everybody else seemed to miss. In a dark corner there was a shotgun. Intrigued, Mitsuhiko took it for a moment, examining it. Seemed like a normal shotgun, nothing unusual, but tip of the barrels were covered in blood too, and just like the walls, floor and the other chamber, there was old and fresh blood too.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. It was something he had never thought of before but it made sense! He wasn't completely sure, though, so he decided to keep his sudden idea to himself for now.

"This isn't opening at all. Hey, Koshimizu-san, where did you leave the screwdrivers?" Kobayashi was saying when Mitsuhiko rejoined the group.

"That won't work. This lock won't let itself be dismantled. The only solution will be to break the door" the medic said.

"It'll take a while but it can be done. What can we do in the meanwhile?" Mimori asked

"I suppose we should get out of this basement. Let's see if there's anything to be done outside, maybe give another try to the Third Floor problem" Romi replied, smiling to Koshimizu "You can stay here and break the door, Koshimizu-san. I think I'll rest for a moment"

"A rest sounds nice! Let's go"

Koshimizu, while obviously not happy about being left alone to deal with the task, didn't try to stop them. The rest of the commanders left the Basement. "So, I think we should all separate and look for a way to go outside or something like that" Kobayashi looked around as if he expected a passageway to the outside "We have a whole building to check"

The plan was agreed. Maybe there was a window in one of the floors that wasn't secured. Maybe the Lookout or the Roof were available options. They had to check everything they could think. Mitsuhiko, not convinced whatever was blocking the windows and doors would leave any possible way out, decided there was something else to be done:

Wander around and talk to people. The truth was that he wanted to rest and mull everything he had seen in the Basement. Many ideas were springing to his mind but he wasn't sure of their significance or importance. He decided to wait until Koshimizu broke the last Basement door before telling anybody else.

For now, he had people to talk with.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko caressed the trigger of the Twin Beretta, thoughtful. This was going to the moment of truth. If Veritas was behind that door it would define what would happen from now on. Was he alive? Was he dead?

And what would they do with those results? The masterminds didn't have access to the cameras, but they did have access to Monobear. If they so willed, they could call for a trial to solve the mysteries right there and now. But they had almost no evidence of anything! They would fail.

Messing his hair, Mitsuhiko put away the gun and decided to look for somebody to talk with. Anything to help soothe his nerves while Koshimizu worked on that door. He felt like he wanted to run away, run until he reached the edge of the world, but that was not a possibility. Maybe some social interaction would help.

Mitsuhiko found Kobayashi in the Fourth Floor, sitting in the Waiting Room. He had his head in his hands, it seemed like he was under great turmoil. "Amy? Is everything okay?"

"Hikari-kun" Kobayashi raised his head, realizing the hunter was there. He scuttled to a side of the couch, leaving enough space for Mitsuhiko to sit. They sat together in silence for a while, each of them unsure of what to say.

Kobayashi was the one who broke the silence. "Hey, did I tell you already I'm a bounty hunter?"

"You did that already. I think you even threatened me or something" He hadn't done that. He had just said Mitsuhiko had a prize on his head, and that he hadn't decided to try to claim it.

"Right. Hikari-kun, you know I hate you, but did...what I told you...did that make you hate me too?"

Mitsuhiko thought for a moment. He didn't hate Kobayashi at all. He was more indifferent towards him than anything else, no, that wasn't right. He felt pity for Kobayashi. He had thought Kobayashi didn't belong as a commander; he didn't seem like the right person for the job, and now that he knew what Kobayashi was capable of he had to admit his opinion of the illusionist had changed.

Kobayashi was an illusionist who had been forced to take the profession of a bounty hunter in order to earn enough money to survive. Maybe that's what made him join Diavolos Avante, Mitsuhiko and Kobayashi weren't as different as the hunter had thought at first. "I don't hate you. I admit I was creeped out but it's no big deal"

"Oh. Right" Kobayashi was in silence for a bit longer "So, I'm a bounty hunter. My job is to catch criminals and take them to the police. It goes very well, I have more money than I thought I'd ever have, and then...I must have been pretty good at that because I got given a very difficult job"

"But you said you were a great bounty hunter, it can't have been that hard"

"It was difficult because it was a high profile job: I was given a file and an order: I had to capture Vittoria Delacroix"

Oh. That definitely had to be a difficult task. Mitsuhiko clenched his fists, though. He did know something about Vittoria, but her present whereabouts were unknown. Was Kobayashi responsible for that?

Because Vittoria Delacroix had been missing for years. "Did you do it? Did you capture her?" Mitsuhiko was ready to slug Kobayashi if he admitted he had anything to do with Vittoria's disappearance. She was Mitsuhiko's friend, and although he bitterly regretted having joined Diavolos Avante he didn't blame Vittoria for that.

Kobayashi smiled wistfully. "No. I couldn't capture her. I did confront her i-in her office, though...I was ready to knock her out, tie her and take her to the closest p-police precinct, but I made a big mistake. I underestimated her"

"Did you seriously think you could try to capture the co-leader of DeeEy?" Mitsuhiko smirked, noticing now his hands had relaxed. It was good to know Vittoria didn't let herself be captured by Kobayashi.

"I almost did it, you know! But she detected me at the last moment, and before I knew it she had a katana against my neck. My life fla-flashed, uh, it flashed in my eyes, I think I almost soiled myself, heh"

"Why didn't she kill you?"

"Because I fought back. I threw myself on the floor and managed ma-make her fall. We wrestled for a moment until she, well, she defeated me. She pinned me do-down, and I was sure that, uh, that was my end"

Kobayashi, despite his gentle and somewhat shy tone, had an expression of pure admiration. Seems like meeting Vittoria was also life changing for other people as well, not only for Mitsuhiko. He continued: "She had me ready, but instead of driving her katana through my chest she gave me her hand and helped me to stand up. I was so, so bewildered!"

"Vittoria has a fearsome title but she's actually a very kind person" A very kind person who murders with a katana. As long as nobody got in her bad side she was a person it was worth being friends with. Kobayashi seemed to know how close he was to be another victim, and unlike the case in Kyoto maybe she wouldn't have been caught for it.

"I know! She helped me stand up, and said I had done a great j-job sneaking into the building and getting to her office. She complimented my fighting, although, eeeh..." Kobayashi scratched his cheek "...although I was just thrashing around. I didn't trust her at first, but then she offered me to join DeeEy"

"And you accepted" Mitsuhiko said, nodding.

"At first I thought it was pity, but she said she saw potential in me. She made sure I understood what I was joining in, but it seemed...the right thing for me. And she said she was going to give me a salary I could use to live without any problems. I..." Kobayashi's eyes were watering "...I was so grateful I started crying and she...she hugged me and said it was all okay. She may have been a fearsome criminal, but I...I felt so...I don't know how to describe it"

Mitsuhiko understood just what he meant. In the past the hunter had discovered he had a crush on Vittoria, but she never seemed interested in romantic relationships with anybody. The crush withered away until it was completely gone. "I know what you mean, Amy. She was a great help to me too. I don't like DeeEy anymore, but I'll be eternally thankful of everything Vittoria has done for me"

The hunter felt he understood Kobayashi a little better now. He was still a shy and unassuming person, but he had tried his best to go forward with his life, soon all of it leading him into Diavolos Avante. In a way, he felt they could be friends someday.

We spent a while talking about Vittoria ' s influence in our lives.

-ooooo-

Remembering how much Vittoria believed in him and how much he enjoyed her friendship gave Mitsuhiko courage to endure what was going on. Deciding to go check how Koshimizu was doing, Mitsuhiko left Kobayashi in the Waiting Room and started descending towards the Second Floor to go to the Basement. However, in middle of the Third Floor, he found something rather strange and disquieting.

Hanging from a grate on the ventilation shaft on the ceiling, there were several wires hanging. They were the exact same kind of wires that were blocking the doors and windows and moving outside the Headquarters.

The wires were waving from side to side, and Mitsuhiko, unsure of what he was seeing, approached slowly. The wires didn't seem to notice his presence; they continued waving around as if there was a breeze. Slowly, Mitsuhiko raised his hand and tried to touch one of the wires.

The wires reacted instantly. Before Mitsuhiko could react the wires entangled not only on his hand, but also on his wrist. He could feel it digging into his skin, and soon some blood started to trickle. Gasping in pain Mitsuhiko tried to pry away the wires, but soon they surrounded his other hand too. Once that was done, it started to pull him upwards, lifting him from the floor.

"What the heck?!" Mitsuhiko screamed, trying to pull away, but the wires were too strong. The wires were trying to pull him into the ventilation shaft! His head hit the grate while the wires attempted to break the grate.

Luckily for him, the wires had only grabbed his hands and wrists, so they didn't have enough of a grasp to hit the grate with his body until it broke. Soon, with the combined force of Mitsuhiko's struggling, the bad grasp the wires had and the force of the blows against the grate made him be able to slip away.

Mitsuhiko fell heavily against the floor, whimpering slightly. His wires and hands were badly scratched, and they stung terribly. The bloodied wires retracted into the ventilation shaft, and the hunter could swear he heard them slithering away through the metal of the shaft. "What the hell was that?!" Something was very wrong, and he was starting to suspect what it was. There were very few things that could be.

Those wires...that had been Lilith, wasn't she? Why did she try to force him into the ventilation shaft? That was barely wide enough to contain him; it would have been a heck of a tight fit. Nobody who was alive right now would have been able to crawl in there, did Lily seriously expect him to not to get stuck?

Feeling the pain from the scratches, Mitsuhiko practically ran away towards the Infirmary in the First Floor. In the way there he found more wires hanging from several other grates, always from the ventilation shafts. They didn't only come from the ceiling, either, a few grates on the wall and near the floor had wires coming out of them, lying on the floor and moving as if they were expecting to catch somebody.

Enduring the pain for a moment, he crouched nearby, Lilith's wires once again not reacting. "What are you doing, Lily? What is going on here?" There was no answer. "Um, Lilith?" Calling her with her new name didn't help either. It seemed that she wasn't going to cooperate in any way.

What were her intentions now? What did Sasuga activate shortly before his execution?

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko disinfected and wrapped his wounds with bandages. The Infirmary was just like always. Medicines, a fridge full of bags for blood transfers, the few beds, etc. Despite all the deaths and all the wounds the commanders had suffered during their stay in the Headquarters, it was always comforting to know there was a place one could trust to be useful and safe for everybody.

After making sure there was no more blood flowing from the wounds on his hands, he decided to check on Koshimizu. "Hey! Koshimizu-san! Any progress?" he called from the entrance to the Basement. The echo was going to be enough to get ths message to the medic.

"Nothing. I'm still working on this" A bang accentuated Koshimizu's assertion. "Goddamnit, this is one tough door"

"Alright, thank you" Koshimizu was still hard at work, that was nice, but it seemed like this was going to take a bit more than he thought.

Making sure the bandages weren't sticking to his skin too much, Mitsuhiko decided to go to the Lounge. There he found Hasegawa, rooting through the courier bag she had brought onto the Headquarters the first day. "Wow, I never realized how heavy this thing was. How did I ever carry all these bricks?"

"Bricks? As in literal bricks?" Well that was weird.

"Yes, I had to play the role of a courier. We thought it'd be more convincing if I brought one of these" she raised her head, noticing Mitsuhiko's hands "What happened to your hands?"

"Oh! If you see wires hanging anywhere don't dare to touch them. That is not a good idea"

"I have seen those wires. I didn't touch them, but they were moving so creepily! What the heck are those?"

Mitsuhiko sat on the couch. "I think it's Lily...Lilith. Whatever Sasuga activated is doing that"

Hasegawa didn't have any reaction to that other than a 'huh, right'. She stood there, rooting through her bag and leaving on the floor all the bricks she had brought. Mitsuhiko had a lot of questions to ask her. She had told him a long time ago her real name was Emiko Hasegawa-Nakai. That had been half a lie; she was actually named Shizuka Nakai, Hasegawa being her husband's family name.

But that told almost nothing about who she was. Now that he knew Hasegawa was one of the people who had gotten everybody to gather here, he had even more questions. The big question, though, was...'are you with the Future Foundation?' Yasumoto had assured him there was no way Hasegawa was with them, though.

"I see you have a question for me, Hikari-kun" she said, staring at him. Mitsuhiko realized something in his expression had revealed he wanted to talk to her, so why not to take the chance and ask her something?

"So, why did you collaborate with Sasuga-kun and Kishio-sensei?" Hasegawa's brow twitched for a moment, but that was gone soon.

"Because I wanted answers. I wanted to know what happened to my sister and to my husband. There was no way Heiji was to blame for her death, I don't care what that stupid file says!"

"It would have been great if you hadn't tried to kill us all" Mitsuhiko said slowly, making sure to communicate how much he wanted her to suffer for that. It didn't go unnoticed, Hasegawa shuddered.

"I knew it'd be a waste of time to stay around, okay? That file, it was complete lie, it must have been! This place didn't have the answers I wanted. Why to stay?"

"But to the cost of all our lives?"

Hasegawa scrubbed her eyes. While her willpower in the moment of adding the hemlock to the tea had been steel strong, right now she regretted having done that. Having to admit her mindset was painful, especially because she knew everybody else surely was restraining themselves from retaliating against her. "You are a lot of murderers, blackmailers and unsavory people. The world wouldn't be much better if you all cured despair but gave yourselves positions of power. I couldn't just stand aside and let that happen!"

Mitsuhiko had never felt so disgusted in his life. "Wow. I really want to wring your neck right now, Hasegawa-san"

"I have been told that so many times since the day of the third trial" Hasegawa said, regretful "Besides the reason why we had brought you all here was useless by the time I decided to poison you all. With our leader dead, what could have we done? Lily, Sasuga-kun and I weren't enough to continue, this plan was doomed as soon as-"

"Wait a second" Now that was weird "Hasegawa-san, did you just say it was useless by that time...because your leader was dead?"

"I said that but...oh" Hasegawa covered her mouth in horror. She had done a very serious slip, a horribly revealing mistake.

"So the leader was already dead when you tried to poison everybody with hemlock. Sasuga-kun lied, Kishio-sensei wasn't the leader of you and him. It was another person, somebody who was dead"

"Hikari-kun, you are not thinking what you're thinking, right?!"

"So Yasumoto-san, Kayano-san, Takayama-kun or Hosoya-kun is the person behind our arrival here. It's one of those four" That made sense, right? The thing was how to find out which one was it? The four of them had been dead for quite some time, any evidence that could point to one of them was gone by now, and it was pretty doubtful Hasegawa would spill the beans. Lilith wasn't an option, either; she was unresponsive and had her own agenda.

All in all, it was very unlikely they would find something decisive that could give them a name.

"Does it even matter?" Hasegawa yelled "They are dead, and our plan is screwed by now. We don't need to delve further into the past"

"Fine. There's something I don't understand, though. What was the ultimate objective? Why did you and them collaborated together to bring us all here?"

"Hmmm..." For a moment it seemed Hasegawa wasn't going to reply, but she crossed her arms and spoke "You have...said before the Main Board are the masterminds, right? We did all this because there were good reasons to suspect there was something wrong with them. I can't tell you much, but I do can tell you that the reason you all were called here is because...

...

...because we wanted to save you all"

"Save us?" But how was that possible?

"I can't tell you how, exactly!" she shook her head "But that was what we wanted to do, we wanted to save you guys! We planned it all, Sasuga-kun created Lily to be an important piece of it all, and we all got ready for our roles. We didn't expect anybody to tattle us to the Main Board, though...or them to use a Monobear to create a mutual killing game" It was amazing how wrong the plan had gone.

"Did you seriously think you could do all this in the Headquarters and hope the Main Board or Veritas wouldn't notice?"

"Our intel informed us the Main Board were traveling to other parts of the world two weeks ago and would be away for quite some time. It was the perfect moment to do it! It-It was supposed to be perfect; I don't know why they returned so soon!"

It seemed that their plan actually had good bases. They had gathered information, managed to call everybody and all. That didn't excuse them for the fail that led to the deaths of so many commanders, though.

Hasegawa sighed. "That doesn't mean we didn't know they had returned. It's just that, after all this planning, we couldn't back down. This was something urgent we needed to do. Maybe...it would have been better we didn't try at all?"

In that moment Mitsuhiko could notice that right now she was filled with despair. She had cooperated in a plan that had led to them being trapped in a mutual killing game, and even though she had tried to poison them all and later kill them through a trial by getting Fukuyama as a successful culprit, she was no more than another person lost in the world.

She needed somebody to guide her to safety because she couldn't do it herself. All she had been involved in had failed. Mitsuhiko couldn't forgive her for the murder attempts, but he could at least sympathize with how lost she felt.

Hasegawa and I spent time in silence, immerse in our thoughts

-ooooo-

How long was Koshimizu going to take? Mitsuhiko was pacing back and forth in front of the door to the Basement. He could hear Koshimizu still trying to break down the door without success...yet. He hadn't given up, he had said there had been some progress. Soon the medic would manage to open it and they would find once and for all if there was some hope to set everything straight.

The rest of the surviving commanders were spread around the Headquarters, waiting patiently and getting ready to receive the news, whether they were good or bad. The hunter, impatient, felt like he couldn't stand and do nothing. Outside, it was twilight.

"Koshimizu-san, I'll be in my room" he screamed, the only reply being a grunt. Maybe he could attempt to get Lilith to answer to him, somehow, and if it was in private then even better. He needed some answers as to what was going on with her.

Thoughtful, he descended the stairs to the Lobby, watching the light of twilight filter through the wires on the windows. The lightning gave the place a very eerie feeling, fitting for all the tragedies and deaths that had happened. Now that he thought about it...it was fitting for everything the Delacroix school represented. Although he did know it had been founded in another country at first, it was no secret the branch in this city had been created to be an alternative for Hope's Peak, a competitor.

But despite that, Delacroix was not very different than Hope's Peak, was it? The facade of wanting to foster talent and help it bloom was no more than that, a facade. Hope's Peak had been created to study talent and manipulate it according to their wishes, for the good of mankind while neglecting the people here in the present. The Delacroix school, all over the world, was a way of scouting talents for the Delacroix criminal organization; to the point where they didn't even shy away from using their name as the school's name. How people even agreed to get their kids in a school like that was unknown.

This building was no more than the container of some very eerie moments and thoughts As a school, it led people to join a criminal organization. As the headquarters of the organization, it kept it all running orderly, spreading the crime in the city and further in Japan. And right now, it was a place where people were killing each other.

Mitsuhiko had never realized it, but this was not a place with good vibes at all. Something had changed in him that let him notice how ugly the truth was. But now, now they were all doing something constructive! It'd all be okay.

The hunter walked into the Monobear camp, going towards his room. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw something in the distance. The darkness of the hall, only interrupted by the sundown light filtering through the window, made everything seem much more confusing.

It was a person. A tall person, most likely male, was standing near the faraway wall, right to the side of the hall leading to the Cafeteria. Mitsuhiko couldn't see his face, hidden in the shadows, but he did recognize the suit and the cloak the person was wearing. They were that man's trademark clothes. "Veritas?"

The man didn't respond. Instead, he raised his right hand, something glistening on it. Mitsuhiko's blood ran cold when he recognized the object. It was some sort of pistol, and it was aiming directly towards him. "H-Hey, Veritas, what are you-?"

Instead of words, the man fired the gun. It seemed like the pistol had a silencer. Mitsuhiko, already wary, threw himself onto the floor as soon as he noticed the man's fingers moving to aim towards him. The bullet soared over him, and Mitsuhiko, without realizing when he had drawn his own Twin Beretta, aimed towards the man.

The man stepped forward, again aiming towards the hunter on the floor, but Mitsuhiko wasn't going to let himself be killed. Mitsuhiko fired one shot, hitting the man on their stomach. Blood started to flow, and although the man flinched, he recovered quickly, once again moving to hurt Mitsuhiko. "Stop! I tell you to stop!" Mitsuhiko shouted, standing up.

A bullet impacted against the floor just to the side of where Mitsuhiko had been lying. Now knowing telling him to stop was not going to work, the hunter decided more drastic measures would be needed. At least he was a hunter and a hitman, he knew what spots would cause pain yet wouldn't kill unless left unattended for long. If he did this correctly, he would disable the man for long enough to get help and save himself.

And so Mitsuhiko shot. Second, third, fourth bullet. All of them hit the man in the belly, more blood soaked the floor, yet somehow the man didn't stop moving. As if he felt no pain, he continued trying to move towards Mitsuhiko. How can Veritas continue moving as if nothing was happening?! Mitsuhiko knew Veritas was an exceptional man, but he hadn't thought he had exceptional stamina and pain resistance as well.

Starting to panic, Mitsuhiko decided to fire his last two bullets. One hit the man on the shoulder, the other once again in the stomach. There was finally a reaction Mitsuhiko expected. The man groaned in intense pain, doubling over and grabbing his shoulder. Mitsuhiko, shocked, stopped and lowered the gun. There had been something in that scream, something that didn't fit at all with what he knew.

It hadn't sounded like a man at all, somehow.

Before Mitsuhiko could react, the person ran away towards the Cafeteria, grasping their shoulder. It took a moment for Mitsuhiko to get a move, following the person to the incinerated hallway. When Mitsuhiko went through the corner, he saw the door of the Cafeteria closing. There was more blood through the hallway, all over the ashes, and thankfully Yurie's body was gone, although the remains of the wheelchair continued being stuck in there. The hunter didn't pay much attention to that. He needed to stop the person, get help, some answers, something that could tell him what had just happened!

Surely the other commanders would get here soon; his own six shots had reverberated through the hallway. Somebody must have heard them. Knowing that at least help would come, Mitsuhiko ran towards the Cafeteria.

But before he could open them, there was a strange sound coming from the other side. It sounded like...something banging on metal. Caught off guard, Mitsuhiko stopped right in front of the doors, listening carefully and trying to assess the danger.

"Hikari-kun!"

Kobayashi had arrived, panting. He leaned on his knees, trying to gather his breath, and waved. "I heard shots. Are you okay? What happened?!" While Kobayashi talked the metalling banging moved from the inside of the Cafeteria to over their heads. Looking upwards, Mitsuhiko saw the ventilation shaft.

"Oh. Huh, it was Lilith" but there was no time to stand around and wonder stuff. The person had run inside the Cafeteria, he had to go in! "There's no time to explain" he said, pushing the doors open and running in.

He didn't have to look for long. The wounded person was near the door, lying face down. Blood seeped onto the tiles of the floor, it seemed like the person had been running towards a table. The cloak he had seen the person have was near the entrance, bloodied too. "Damn it!" Mitsuhiko approached as quick as he could, kneeled and turned the person around.

"What?! What's going on! Did you-" Kobayashi felt the words choke in his throat when he recognized the person after Mitsuhiko turned him around. "Veritas!"

It was unmistakable. The person lying on the floor was Veritas. The old man had several gunshot wounds in his stomach, and one in his shoulder. All the blood was fresh, pretty recent. But both Mitsuhiko and Kobayashi had a more urgent matter to focus in:

There was no pulse. The man in front of them was dead. Veritas was dead, recently killed, too. And if the gunshot wounds were any indication...

...Mitsuhiko had just murdered in self-defense the leader of Diavolos Avante.

Mitsuhiko's shoulders started to shake. He felt almost numb, like he hadn't fully processed what had happened. Kobayashi was behind him, covering his mouth with his hands, not saying anything. The hunter didn't hear the steps from the hall, only Kobayashi did. The illusionist turned around to greet the person who was coming. It was Koshimizu. When the commander saw Kobayashi, they hurried to approach him.

"There you are. I finally opened the door and took a look inside. The good news are th-" Koshimizu stopped talking when he noticed the scene and ran towards the body, trying to see if there was anything he could do to save Veritas. A minute later Romi, arrived. Although she was blind, she had enough experience to recognize what was going on.

"Who is dead?!"

"It's Veritas, he-" Kobayashi couldn't finish the sentence, as a very familiar announcement sounded through the speakers. Everybody in that place felt something heavy drop into their stomachs, knowing what that meant:

"A body has been discovered! After a short investigation there will be an extra trial to determine who the culprit for this murder is!" An extra trial. There was not going to be a trial to answer all the mysteries of the commander reunion, instead it was going to be about finding out who murdered the man right in front of them.

Mitsuhiko couldn't think straight. Had he...killed...the very person the six of them were looking for? Everything was pointing that he did, and how he was going to be on trial for that. He was going to be executed.

Veritas was dead and Mitsuhiko had never felt more scared in his life.

Chapter Text

Mitsuhiko could only stare at the body, feeling utterly hopeless. This wasn't the same as when Yurie had died, at that time even if he was wreaked with grief, all he wanted was to find out who had killed her. But now he was in trouble because he had been the one to murder! Even if it had been in self-defense, he had killed Veritas.

It may not have been as terrible if it weren't because the masterminds had called for a trial. A death had happened in the Headquarters, maybe there was some logic behind the sudden decision, but it was still unfair! Why should this happen to him, why now?

Hasegawa arrived while Mitsuhiko was still trying to process what was going on. She approached, looking around. "Oh! So Mimori-san is who is dead...damn it, I liked her" she muttered, approaching to look at the body.

"No, it's not Mimori-san. This is worse than that" Kobayashi said, wiping the tears off his eyes. He couldn't believe who had died. Hasegawa, intrigued, took a look at the corpse's face and frowned.

"I don't know who this man is"

"This is Veritas. He was the leader of our organization and the person the Main Board had kept as a hostage"

Hasegawa nodded grimly. "This is the person we all were trying to find. Damn it! The Main Board killed him!"

"Actually, I think there's something fishy going on here" Romi said "Did you all hear the announcement? Remember when it is done"

"Monobear says it when three innocent people find a body" Kobayashi informed everybody, in case it wasn't obvious for them all "But there were four people here when the body was found! Monobear was late with the announcement"

"Or maybe one of the four people who were here when the announcement sounded is the culprit" Romi walked to the entrance. "I was the fourth person to arrive"

"I was the third" Koshimizu said "When I got here Kobayashi-kun and Hikari-kun were already all over Veritas.

"I came here running because I heard gunshots, and I found Hikari-kun in front of the doors" Kobayashi explained, looking at the hunter in realization. He wasn't the only one, though. In no time, everybody was glaring at Mitsuhiko, who at this point tried to stand up.

"Wait, guys, this isn't, um-"

"I'd say Romi is completely innocent due to being the fourth person to arrive. I myself know I am innocent, and Kobayashi-kun can't have a gun. Mind telling us what happened, Hikari-kun?"

"Um-"

"I only got here because of the gunshots! If Veritas was shot to death then that means you killed him!" Kobayashi accused, still trying not to cry. Mitsuhiko knew he was trapped, everybody suspected him now. Well, everybody except Mimori, but once she heard about this she'd know he had killed him.

"Koshimizu-san has a gun too!" Mitsuhiko shouted and immediately regretted it. That was a very stupid argument, and doing arguments like those wouldn't help make himself look more innocent. The medic stared at him in disbelief.

"I was in the Basement. Mind telling me how I shot somebody who was in the Cafeteria?"

"Sorry, I lost my mind for a moment" Mitsuhiko's half-assed apology didn't seem to calm down anybody, as they all continued glaring at him. He was as good as caught.

"I think an investigation would be good. While it seems very, very likely Hikari-kun is the culprit, by now we should know a careful investigation is needed, even if it is to have all the evidence we need to condemn you"

"Yes, thank you!" The hunter was greatly relieved Koshimizu was reasonable enough to allow an investigation to happen. Even if chances of him being innocent were pretty low, he still held onto the small hope there was something weird going on, something that could somehow mean he had not murdered Veritas.

It was time to start.

Body Discovery Announcement

Monobear ' s announcement happens when three innocent people find a body. Mitsuhiko arrived first to the crime scene with Kobayashi, later came Koshimizu and finally Romi, the fourth one triggering the announcement.

"My, my! Look how fired up you made the old quack be, Hikari-kun" Monobear had appeared in the entrance, wielding a pile of his usual files. "You have a knack for pissing people of, don't you?"

"Oh, shut up and give that to us" Koshimizu tried to walk to take the files, but Monobear stepped back, waving his black hand around. For some reason, he had his white arm behind his back.

"Fine, here are the files! You are all lucky we managed to take back the Security Room too, or we wouldn't have seen the cause of death. Here are the results!" But instead of giving them, Monobear left the pile of files near the door. "Come and take it! I'd stay to play but I'm busy getting the executions ready" and he left, practically vanishing.

Mitsuhiko sighed warily and approached to take the files, to give one to everybody. "Here we go. With some luck this will be the first clue to show my innocence"

Monobear File #5

Victim: Maximilian Delacroix, Codename: Veritas

Location of the Body: Cafeteria

Cause of Death: Severe internal trauma caused by five gunshots.

There were six shots in total, five of them directly related to the cause of death. The remaining bullet impacted against the right shoulder. There ' s also a large gash on the left side of the abdomen, although it ' s not directly related to the crime.

Mitsuhiko cringed when he read how the bullets were confirmed to be the cause of death. It fit with what he did, including the number of wounds caused. Although he had aimed to specific parts of the abdomen so the person wouldn't die, it was possible the bullets had hit something else entirely...

...but five of them? Did they five bullets miss and hit somewhere else? Still, it was pretty clear the bullets caused the death. No matter what had happened, this meant he had killed Veritas. The hunter sighed and closed the file, trying to push away any thoughts of his future execution. However, before he could put away the file, he noticed something unusual on the file.

It seemed to be smudged blood. The dark color of the file's cover had made Mitsuhiko almost not notice it, but now he couldn't stop seeing it. There it was, that definitely was blood! Mitsuhiko examined his own hands, but he didn't have any blood that could have rubbed onto the file, and while these objects had been left in the hallway, it wasn't left in contact with the blood.

Blood on the Monobear File

A smudge of blood, almost unnoticed on the dark color of the file.

"Everybody step aside, please. I'm going to start the autopsy" Koshimizu announced, crouching aside the body and trying not to step on the blood soaking the tiles.

"Do you think there's a chance of Hikari-kun not being the culprit?" Romi inquired. Nobody was stepping away, mainly because there was no reason to. The crime scene was here in the Cafeteria and the hallway just outside, there was no need to explore the Headquarters to look for evidence. Everybody wanted to stick together, discuss the evidence they could find, and overall mourn their leader's death.

"I won't give my judgment for now, but this does look bad for him" Koshimizu carefully examined Veritas' abdomen, touching the edges of the bullet holes with his fingertips. It was clear he wished he had some gloves or something, but there was no time to bring stuff he could need. With such a delicate death, surely Monobear would watch closely what they did. If they took too long, they risked the investigation time ending.

"Is the file correct? Did the bullets, um..." Mitsuhiko couldn't bring himself to say the words, but Koshimizu nodded.

"I haven't examined the rest of the body in detail, but it does seem these are the cause of death. Listen up, everybody. Mimori-san, take notes, please"

"Um, Mimori-san hasn't arrived yet" Hasegawa informed, looking towards the hallway. Koshimizu frowned and shook his head.

"We can't stand around waiting for her. Does anybody have something to take notes with?"

"I have some blank sheets of paper, but I don't have a-" the false courier stopped, seeing something in a nearby table. It was one of Mimori's pens "Nevermind!"

"Alright, let's see..." Koshimizu put his fingers inside one of the holes "These...okay, the bullets are inside the holes. They are indeed deep enough to hurt the organs and cause bleeding; but I can't say with certainty the five wounds in the abdomen may be the cause of death"

"Really? You think the bear's file is wrong?"

"I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just that there's one wound here in the abdomen that may have greatly contributed to Veritas' death" Koshimizu showed the gash that was mentioned in the Monobear File. Indeed, that looked like a very nasty wound. Mitsuhiko recoiled.

"That looks like somebody took off chunks of his flesh with an ice cream scoop" That was a pretty fitting description. It wasn't very large, but it was still a very nasty wound.

"The culprit must have done that as a way to torture him, I suppose. There's no reason to have done such an ugly thing"

"The masterminds must have been watching from the cameras" Kobayashi said pointing at the one watching them in that moment "That's how they know the bullets killed him"

"But they locked themselves into the Monobear control room!"Romi reminded them, but Kobayashi didn't seem to consider that a problem.

"None of us has been paying much attention to what they are doing right now. Maybe they got out and took over everything after the Waiting Room"

Gash

A ragged hole on Veritas ' abdomen. It ' s not the cause of death, but it ' s thought to have caused a lot of bleeding.

"Alright, now, about the bullet holes. They still have the bullets inside, let me try to extract one" With clear disgust, Koshimizu managed to grasp one of the bullets, and pulled it out. Mitsuhiko felt something stir inside him; although it was squashed, he could still recognize it

That bullet was, without any doubt, fired from a Twin M9 Beretta. It took a couple minutes for Koshimizu to take out all the bullets from the holes, but soon he had six bloodied bullets in his hands. "Hikari-kun, take a look and be honest: what gun fired these bullets?"

To be sure of the legitimacy of what could be another decisive clue against him, Mitsuhiko took one. Indeed, despite the damage it had, it resembled the bullets of his gun. "...these are bullets from my gun. Twin M9 Beretta"

"Thought so. All bullets seem to be of the same type, so all six were fired by the same gun. Definitely not looking good, man"

Bullets in the Body

The six bullets found in Veritas ' body were fired by a Twin M9 Beretta, and all of them were in the holes.

"Anything else to note, Koshimizu-san?" Hasegawa had diligently written everything Koshimizu had said, ready to provide them as clues to anybody who asked.

"Hmmm...there's something, yes" Koshimizu bared the wound on the shoulder "Somehow this wound is different than the others. It's rougher, slightly bigger than the rest, and not as deep as the ones in the abdomen. The depth could be due to the bullet hitting the bones, though. Oh, and look at this" Koshimizu pointed to smaller wounds, positioned an inch from the wound. Circular wounds, as rough as the bullet wound nearby, but clearly not life-threatening "I can't explain these two holes, here. They were clearly made recently, but I don't know what they mean"

Shoulder Bullet Wound

The wound on Veritas ' right shoulder is shallower and rougher than the others. It also has two smaller wounds positioned nearby, the three of them forming a straight line.

"There doesn't seem to be anything else to take note of" Koshimizu wiped his hands on Veritas' suit, taking a moment to close the old man's eyes "We're done here"

"So, did Hikari-kun kill him?"

"...how do I say this...the bullets that killed him came from Hikari-kun's gun" that was a pretty neutral answer, but Koshimizu's tone sounded like an accusation. Mitsuhiko had to admit that definitely didn't sound good for him.

"We should check the nearby hallways. There could be a clue in there" Romi walked out of the Cafeteria with Kobayashi, Hasegawa following with her notes. Koshimizu stopped for a moment, sighing.

"Do you wish to check anything? If you're not guilty this is your chance to find something to clear your name"

"I'll take the chance" Mitsuhiko didn't see any reason to examine the wounds, Koshimizu had done a much better job than he would ever have done, so he focused more on the surrounding areas. It didn't take long for him to find something that didn't mesh very well with what he knew.

Both of Veritas' hands were spotless. Mitsuhiko didn't remember very well, but...no, he couldn't even say with certainty what he had seen. His memories of the moment Veritas was shot were muddled.

The hunter decided he should check the nearby cloak, and when he moved to check on it he did notice something that resonated in him. It was the soles of Veritas' shoes. They were spotless too, which was to be expected from walking inside a building, but Mitsuhiko had the feeling that was impossible. A quick glance to the hallway told him why. The fire!

The hallway had been burned just a few hours earlier, and although Yurie's corpse had been taken away, the hallway itself hadn't been cleaned yet. It was covered with soot and ashes, black powders coating every surface. Mitsuhiko peered at his own soles, finding them caked with soot.

For the first time since Veritas was found, Mitsuhiko felt the glimmer of hope in his heart grow. Maybe...maybe things weren't as straightforward as it had seemed once.

Veritas ' Shoes

The soles of Veritas ' shoes are clean

"Your face changed, Hikari-kun. Did you find something?" Koshimizu asked. Mitsuhiko, when turning around to look at him, was surprised to see the medic's expression. To the hunter it seemed...it seemed like Koshimizu wanted to believe Mitsuhiko was innocent, and hoped there were good news on that regard. To know he had the support of Koshimizu, or at least something similar to that, brought Mitsuhiko some relief.

"Maybe. I need to check a few things more, but I think this all may be more complicated than we thought" Mitsuhiko moved towards the cloak, lifting it from the floor and extending it. It was surprisingly bloody on one side. This is very strange. The cloak should only be bloody here on the shoulder area, not in the rest. He remembered Veritas wore that cloak clasped in front of his chest, the fabric extending over his shoulders and down his back. It was not logical to see it so bloody. At least it did have a hole in the area where the bullet in the shoulder would have gone through.

Cloak

Veritas ' cloak, usually draped as a cape over his shoulders and back. It has a large amount of blood on one side, and what may be a bullet hole in the right shoulder area.

"I think I'm done here" Mitsuhiko said, leaving the cloak back onto the floor. He didn't feel like carrying it around everywhere, all he needed to do was memorize those details that could be useful. Koshimizu, knowing there was nothing else to be done in the Cafeteria, left the place. Mitsuhiko almost followed him but before he exited he remember something. What was that banging noise from earlier? It was Lilth, wasn't it? He looked upwards, seeing the ventilation shaft.

It was just like the one he had almost been forcibly dragged into. Not many people would fit in one of those, there was even a risk they would get stuck...unless they were of thin complexion. Koshimizu and Hasegawa didn't fit the bill at all. Koshimizu was stocky while Hasegawa had a healthy pudginess. The thought of them trying to crawl in the ventilation shaft was laughable.

Kobayashi and Mimori, on the other hand...Kobayashi was pretty thin and seemed to be nimble, he could do it. And Mimori was lithe and mousey, she was another option.

Mitsuhiko usually wouldn't have given much of a thought if it weren't because of the banging sounds...and because the grill covering a section of the shaft was wide open. A square of blackness stared at him. Could it be somebody who wasn't Lily crawled through there? There was one big problem, though:

The ventilation shaft was very high in the ceiling, several meters above his head. Jumping wouldn't even get close to it, and nothing in the Cafeteria was close to it. It was practically impossible to reach it. Had his recent train of thought been for naught?

Ventilation Shaft

A metallic passageway in the Cafeteria, high in the ceiling. The grate is open. It ' s not possible to reach the ventilation shaft.

Now that did settle it. It was time to leave the Cafeteria and examine the hallway where he and Veritas had supposedly gotten into a duel. As soon as Mitsuhiko exited the Cafeteria, he found something that supported his earlier theory about Veritas' shoes.

On the floor there were several footprints, all of them obviously made with the ashes of the arson from a few hours ago. Anybody who had crossed there would have their soles dirty, then why were Veritas' shoes clean?

Soot Footprints

A collection of footprints, made by the commanders when entering or leaving the Cafeteria. It ' s not possible to identify who left what prints. Other than the footprints, there are no other tracks.

Mitsuhiko now walked back to the place where the duel had taken place. Hasegawa was there, staring at the blood spilled on the floor and the walls. "I didn't know that man, Veritas. My objective all this time was to get to the Main Board, somehow, or help those two rebels to protect you all. Veritas was never part of anything in my mind"

"Does it really matter now? He's dead and we have to investigate his death"

"...you are right. So, you may be the killer, from what I have seen around. Any thoughts about that?"

"I think there's a chance I'm not the killer" Mitsuhiko said with conviction "I can't say it with complete certainty because I don't have all the pieces, but there's something very strange going on!"

"Really? Okay, I'll tell you have I have found" Hasegawa pointed at the wall "There isn't much evidence in this hallway, I just found two things. First, here"

Mitsuhiko approached the point of the wall Hasegawa was pointing too. Indeed, there was something that could end being a useful clue, very useful! Embedded into the wall, there was something that could only be a bullet. Mitsuhiko tried to take it out with his fingers, but it didn't work. "Step aside, let me try" Hasegawa took out the whittler knife she had taken to protect herself, and inserted the blade between the bullet and the brick material.

It took a couple minutes, but she managed to pull out the crushed bullet. She held it to Mitsuhiko. "Here, see what can be found from that"

"Thank you" Mitsuhiko spun the bullet around his fingers. He could recognize it, it was a bullet from a Twin M9 Beretta, crushed due to hitting the wall. But the most interesting characteristic the bullet had was that the bullet was covered in blood. Intrigued, he looked at the wall. It was completely clean in the section Hasegawa had found the bullet in, so it wasn't like it could have gotten stained from splatter. This is very convenient. I'm starting to see this situation clearer, but how do I tell everyone else.

Bullet in the Wall

A crushed bullet from a Twin M9 Beretta, found in the hallway to the Cafeteria. Covered in blood. The part of the wall it was found in has no blood at all and it was too deep to receive splatter.

"Right, that is one. You said there are two pieces of evidence, where is the other one?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"It's here, on the floor. It's another bullet, so you know what to do" Hasegawa had crouched to the side of another hole in a tile, already at work at extracting the bullet. When Mitsuhiko got there, she made it pop out and tossed it to the hunter. "Enjoy"

Mitsuhiko caught it easily and brought it close to his eyes. Crushed, that much was expected. There was no blood, that made sense too, after all it hadn't even grazed him. Now that he thought about it...no bullet the person fired had come close to hurting him. Sure, it had been aimed at him, but maybe he hadn't been in danger at all.

Or maybe that person had terrible aim.

Shaking his head, Mitsuhiko took out the bloody bullet Hasegawa had retrieved from the wall and compared it to the one from the floor. Due to the damage both bullets had received, Mitsuhiko couldn't say it with certainty, but from what he could see the bullets were different. The caliber at least indicated the bullet from the floor certainly hadn't come from the same type of any gun Mitsuhiko owned.

Bullet in the Floor

A bullet, fired towards Mitsuhiko during the encounter in the hallway. The caliber indicates no gun Mitsuhiko owns could have fired it.

"So that is all there is to see here" Hasegawa leaned on the wall, watching Mitsuhiko intently "What happened? Why is there all this blood here?"

"...I shot somebody" Mitsuhiko admitted "Six bullets in total, five on the abdomen and one on the shoulder. That is all I can say, because that is all I know"

"Can't you even confirm it was Veritas?"

"I can't! This person had clothes similar to him, but I can't say it was Veritas"

"But the possibility still exists. There's a possibility you shot Veritas dead"

"That's correct, I suppose" Mitsuhiko shrugged "We'll see at the trial, right now I don't have all the pieces of this puzzle"

"I'm sure you don't trust me at all, Hikari-kun, but if you need help with anything I'd be glad to help you. I'm more of a neutral party, after all. Veritas is nothing more than a stranger to me. If there's anyone who can have an impartial view of this all, it's me"

Hasegawa was right about that. The rest of the commanders may be furious and despairing about Veritas' death, and for that reason they may not be thinking clearly. Hasegawa's help could be valuable in the trial as a neutral party, a voice of reason in middle of everybody's biased grief. Mitsuhiko smiled, grateful. "That'd be great. Thank you, Hasegawa-san"

"I'll go search for Mimori-san, I haven't seen her at all. Good luck, Hikari-kun" and with that, she walked away towards the Lobby. Mitsuhiko sighed and gave a last look around; trying to see any clue the false courier could have missed. She was right; there were no more useful clues in the hallway. The encounter had been quite fast and left almost no evidence. There's nothing left to do here he decided and turned around to go to the Basement. That seemed like a good place to go now; after all, Veritas had been kept there for a long while.

But before he left, he saw something that didn't fit with the hallway. All the doors to the classrooms were closed with only one exception: the one closest to the corner leading to the Cafeteria, that door was ajar. It didn't take long for Mitsuhiko to grow concerned, that was the door to Yurie's bedroom. Frowning, he opened the door and entered.

He immediately knew this room was very important for the mystery. Near the door there was a large puddle of blood, still fresh. Mitsuhiko approached and crouched to a side, dipping his finger in the puddle, confirming it had been spilled very recently. It was impossible this was Yurie's blood, that much was sure. Why is there blood in this classroom? It doesn't make any sense for this to be here Mitsuhiko thought. His first thought was that the person he had shot had come out of this bedroom, that was a possible explanation, but that didn't explain to who this blood belonged to.

Blood in Yurie ' s Classroom

A large amount of blood, found on the floor of Yurie Oyama ' s room. Fresh and recently spilled.

Other than the blood, it seemed there was nothing else worthwhile in the room. Still, that was more than enough to throw a wrench into any train of thought Mitsuhiko had until then. The freshness of the blood proved this was in some way important to the recent developments, but he couldn't see yet exactly how.

Thoughtful, he decided to go back to the original plan of going to be Basement. He walked to the Lobby, avoiding the blood on the floor of the hallway, and arrived to Camp Lily. And speaking of Lilith, shortly before arriving to the stairs to the Basement he found a reminder of the potential danger she represented.

More of those wires were moving on the floor, trying to grasp anybody who walked nearby. Mitsuhiko carefully stepped over them, making sure Lilith didn't find out about his presence. Now that he thought about it, Lilith's weird behavior was still present in his mind, and the bandages on his wrists and hands proved to be a reminder that would last for a while. Still feeling the sting of his wounds, Mitsuhiko grimaced at the wires. Experimentally, he took one of the heavy torches of the stone statues and threw it on the wires, watching them coil around the stone object and pulling it towards the ventilation grate. After a few blows, Lilith managed to break the grate and the torch disappeared in the inside of the ventilation shaft, taken to some unknown place for some unknown purpose, the stone sounding against the metal. The thought of that potentially happening to him made Mitsuhiko shudder and walk quicker to the Basement stairs.

Lilith ' s Wires

Lilith has hung wires from ventilation shafts all over the Headquarters. When something or somebody gets on its grasp, it gets pulled and dragged into the ventilation system of the building.

But now that he thought about it...just what was Lilith's involvement in this whole mess? What was she trying to do, exactly?

"Hello?" Mitsuhiko called from the top of the stairs towards the darkness of the Basement. He turned on the light and descended, walking directly towards the door Koshimizu had been trying to break open. Indeed, the medic had done quite a good job.

It was open towards the inside of the room, revealing the inside of the room. It smelled real bad in there, and Mitsuhiko doubted about turning on the light. The investigation wouldn't progress unless he did it, though. It was a necessary evil. Taking a deep breath of the musty air somewhere else in the Basement, the hunter finally dared to turn on the light.

There was no dead body anywhere, no blood, or anything that could indicate anybody had received bodily harm in here. It was a cramped room, the only feature were some pipes crossing the tiny space. Underneath those pipes, Mitsuhiko could see the ground, crusted and dirty. Above that area, on the pipe, there was an object that made it obvious what had once been there.

There were shackles on the pipe, one clamped around the pipe, the other hanging freely. Mitsuhiko immediately guessed this was where Veritas was once kept, shackled to that pipe. He could imagine it now, him lying miserably on the ground, waiting for his captors to do something.

Shackles

A pair of shackles used to restrain Veritas to a pipe in a room in the Basement.

Other than the shackles, the only other object in the room was a tray. Mitsuhiko recognized it from a set he had once seen in the kitchen, and the dishes were of similar design as well. There were pieces of toast and sausages on it. Raising his eyebrows, Mitsuhiko picked up the plate and examined the food.

There weren't any signs of mold. It was already cold, but it seemed to be relatively fresh. Wishing fervently what he was going to do now wasn't going to bite him in the ass at a later point; he bit a small part of the toast. It...definitely was recent. This food can't have been there for more than a few hours.

Satisfied, Mitsuhiko spit the toast and left the tray back where he had found it. Surely Koshimizu had already seen what was in here. If he had left the food here, then he should do the same. Feeling glad to leave that tiny room, Mitsuhiko closed the door and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

He was feeling strangely light-headed, most likely due to the air of the Basement and the crash from the adrenaline from the encounter in the hallway. His stomach felt queasy, though, so soon he had a new theory. "Moron, why did you eat food you found in a place like this..." Mitsuhiko murmured, leaning on the wall.

It took quite a while for him to feel with enough strength to think. During the time he felt sick he really wanted to lie down and sleep. He still blamed the food he had found. Bitterly regretting what he did, Mitsuhiko sat on the floor.

Tampered Food

A tray of food found in the room where Veritas was once shackled in. Fresh, can ' t have been there for more than a few hours. It is not confirmed, but it is suspected the food contains some sort of weakening drug.

He rested for a while more, taking deep breaths until he felt ready to continue. There was one place more he wanted to see before the trial, and since it had been a long while since the body was found, Monobear would finish the investigation time soon. He wasn't sure how it would relate to the murder, and chances are that it wouldn't, but there was something nagging in his head that made him want to check.

Mitsuhiko stood up and slowly walked to the bloody room. There had been no changes since the last time he had been there, other than the blood being a bit drier. There was no doubt, though: blood had been spilled at different moments, at least two: one several days ago, one recently. It would be easier to differentiate if the light was brighter, but the dim light bulb on the ceiling didn't help to distinguish the possible color tones. Still, Mitsuhiko was sure about that assesment.

Bloody Room in the Basement

A room in the basement. Its floor and walls are splattered in blood from at least two different occasions: one from no more than a few hours, the rest from at some point earlier, possibly days ago.

But still, his target wasn't this room. It was the one directly after it, the one with the dirt floor. Mitsuhiko crossed over the blood and arrived to that place, finding a shovel in a corner of the room. There was definitely something buried here, and he wanted to see what it was. He pushed the shovel into the dirt, and started digging.

He had barely started when the investigation end announcement happened. "Ahem. It has been more than enough tie, bastards! Everybody go to the Meeting Room, it's time for a claaaaaass triaaaaaaal!" That was much more melodramatic than how Monobear usually sounded. He had run out of time, but maybe, just maybe, he could get a glimpse of what was here. He pushed the shovel again, achieving progress shortly after that.

He wished he hadn't. The object he uncovered...was a hand. A deadly pale hand, splattered with blood. Mitsuhiko gasped, dropping the shovel in shock, and crouched to check something. Yes, the hand was connected to an arm, and if it kept going that way...then there was a whole body down here. He managed to uncover enough of the arm to find a long sleeve from a kimono he recognized. "Kimiko?!"

He had no doubt that was Sugita's kimono, or at least its sleeve. The flesh of the hand and arm was completely intact, not like he expected it to see after such a shock from her execution. Suddenly, the epiphany hit him hard. Of course! He should have supposed it a long time ago.

Mitsuhiko, feeling proud of himself and appalled at the same time, ran out of the room and towards the Meeting Room, shaking the remains of dirt from his hands.

Buried Body

A corpse, possibly Sugita ' s corpse, is buried in a room of the Basement. It doesn ' t match the expected state of the body after her execution.

Mitsuhiko arrived to the front of the Meeting Room, breathing heavily. Monobear and other commanders were already waiting there, all of them showing signs of impatience. "About time you showed your ugly mug here, Hellmutt!"

"Hellmutt? What the-" Mitsuhiko scoffed and left the strange nickname aside. He looked at the people gathered; finding out Mimori wasn't among them. "So Mimori-san hasn't arrived yet?"

"I couldn't find her anywhere" Hasegawa informed "Where could she have gone?"

"Monobear can't seem to find her, either. If you ask me, I think that's a sign she is...perhaps...in a place she should be in" Koshimizu scratched his chin "Like in the Fourth Floor with the masterminds, for example?"

"I already told you she is not up here!" Monobear protested eliciting a scoff from Koshimizu.

"Right. I expected that answer already, but now what? Are we going to wait for Mimori-san for as long as we need?"

"Hell no. We won't stand here until the end of time. We're going to start the trial now, and as soon as I find out where she is, I'm going to kill her!" he yelled, stomping from side to side of the hallway. Mitsuhiko had never seen Monobear so pissed off, whatever Mimori was doing it was going to lead to her death. But was it possible for her to vanish like that, to some place neither Hasegawa, who had apparently walked through the Headquarters and all the floors, and the masterminds, with the cameras and security system?

The only possibility Mitsuhiko could think was the ventilation system, and that's what he said to everybody. Everybody looked at the section that went through the hallway, doubtful. "It's true she's small enough to fit, but why would she hide in there?" Kobayashi asked.

"To make the bear angry?"

"As soon as she gets out from wherever she is hidden she's going to get her head tore off" Hasegawa glanced at Monobear, who seemed about to enter the ventilation system himself to seek for Mimori.

Another voice sounded, most likely another person in the room where Monobear was controlled from, spoke: "Whatever! I'll make the other Monobear unit explore the ventilation system. If she's in there I'm going to-"

"Mimori isn't in here" a voice resonated from the inside of the ventilation shaft. The commanders, feeling dread all of a sudden, looked behind the grate on the ceiling. They could see a head with red hair, one they all knew very well.

"Lilith?" Hasegawa narrowed her eyes. It did seem like it was Lilith. She ignored Hasegawa and said:

"Mimori isn't in the ventilation system. I can guarantee it"

"The brat has spoken! Now I can rest easy on my throne with a pot of hunny and scratch my fluffy ass with abandon, sure, why not?!" Monobear fumed, trying to climb the walls to get to the ventilation system. Kobayashi, sighing, slowly approached the struggling bear and grabbed him, holding him as far as possible. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"W-W-We need to get the trial undergoing. Let's deal with Mimori-san later" he said mutedly, dropping the bear when it unsheathed its claws "We're not getting anywhere with this, um, this..." his voice trailed off, but somehow that got Monobear to calm down. Without saying a word, he sat on his throne, motioning everybody else to sit in their chairs. Everybody obeyed without objections, ready to start the trial.

There were a couple details Mitsuhiko felt could be useful, though. He thought about them for a moment, ready to bring them up if it fit the trial in any way:

Twin Beretta M6

Mitsuhiko ' s secondary gun. Received from Hasegawa in the very first meeting in the Headquarters. It ' s part from a set.

Silencer

The gun the other person used to shoot at Mitsuhiko made almost no noise when shooting. It ' s believed it had a silencer.

In Mitsuhiko's opinion, this was the easiest case to solve. He was sure he had already found out what had happened, who was the culprit, how everything related to the murder was connected. The problem was to get the culprit to confess...if that even happened. Knowing the culprit, they would deny it unless there was completely undeniable evidence of their guilt.

And that was impossible. Mitsuhiko lacked the decisive evidence. He knew what it was, where it may be, and why it was there, but it was impossible for him to retrieve it.

Since making the culprit confess may not be an option, the only way to get everything go like he wanted was to convince everybody else. That wouldn't be too difficult...if he managed to prove beyond any rational doubt he was not the culprit. Fortunately, that was easy, too! It wouldn't take long.

The truth is simple, and I ' m ready to reveal it. They won ' t like all of it, but it isn ' t like I can keep silent about this.

I ' ll reveal the truth behind Veritas ' death. There ' s no doubt I will!

Chapter Text

"Before we start, let's remember how these trials are supposed to go. The victim wasn't a commander but who cares, he died and one of you six-minus-one bastards murdered him! As always, find out who did it and that person will be executed. Let's begin with-"

"We don't really need to discuss for long. We have a suspect and a lot of evidence that say he's guilty" Koshimizu said "Hikari-kun, you were allowed to investigate because if there's anyone who can prove you're not guilty, it's you. Did you find anything?"

"I did. I can prove I didn't kill him"

"Really? And do you know who the real culprit is?" Romi asked.

"I do"

"But we can't trust you! You could be the culprit, trying to save yourself. First prove you didn't kill him!" Kobayashi demanded, and Mitsuhiko had to admit he did have a point. Until he made clear he was not the murderer there was no reason for any of them to believe what he was going to say.

"Let's start. What do we know about the murder?" Koshimizu was the one to start the discussion, trying to find out what was the general opinion about how Veritas had died. From that the hunter could destroy all misconceptions and lead to the truth if he hadn't done it. The medic was sure that, if Mitsuhiko was guilty, then between all of them they would be able to get through his lies.

"I couldn't see anything, for obvious reasons, but from what I have heard around it seems Hikari-kun and Veritas met in the hallway"

"They shot each other"

"But Hikari-kun doesn't have any wounds. Veritas was shot, he ran to the Cafeteria-"

"And he collapsed there. I arrived shortly after that when I was looking for everybody. Kobayashi-kun and Hikari-kun were already there, in my opinion, the murderer must be one of those two"

"Why me?!" Kobayashi exclaimed.

"Because of the body discovery announcement" Koshimizu pointed at him "Three innocent people discover the corpse, that's the requirement. I couldn't have done it because I was in the Basement, and Romi-san can't have done it because she was the fourth. It was either you or him!"

"That seems to be all we know. Was anything useful, Hikari-kun?" Romi didn't contribute much, mainly because she couldn't investigate. The hunter hummed, analyzing everything that was said and forming an attack plan. This could be good!

"I can work with that. Let's go from the beginning, okay? Start with the confrontation"

Nonstop Debate

Monobear File #5 / Tampered Food / Silencer / Bullet on the Floor / Shackles

KOSHIMIZU: The duel happened in the hallway

KOSHIMIZU: Who started it doesn't matter, though

ROMI: Hikari-kun has two guns; he could be carrying one easily!

KOSHIMIZU: He had the Beretta. I saw him take it.

KOSHIMIZU: They tried to shoot each other. How many times did you fire, Hikari-kun?"

MITSUHIKO: Six times.

HASEGAWA: That's the same number of bullets on that guy's corpse.

KOBAYASHI: I heard the bullets came from Hikari-kun's gun

KOBAYASHI: The noise is what brought me to the hallway

ROMI: You mean Hikari-kun's gunshots?

ROMI: Or Veritas' gunshots?

KOSHIMIZU: That may be important, but it is impossible...

KOSHIMIZU: ...to distinguish which gun made what noise.

"I don't know why that is important, but I do can answer which gun made the noise" Mitsuhiko said "It came from my gun. That person's gun had a silencer on it, it didn't make much noise"

"Oh! I see" Kobayashi said "I was on the Second Floor Lounge when I heard the gunshots, six in total, and I ran downstairs. That's when I found Hikari-kun in front of the Cafeteria"

"Were you on the Lounge the whole time?" Romi inquired.

"Um, a-after I talked to Hikari-kun I went to the Lounge and stayed there until the gunshots"

"If you had mentioned there had been six gunshots we wouldn't have needed to wonder anything" Mitsuhiko grumbled "That person only fired twice"

"Twice? I found a single bullet" Hasegawa intervened.

"Yes, twice. It must have gotten lost somewhere"

"Okay! Veritas' gun had a silencer. Does that change anything?" Romi asked and nobody was able to give her a satisfying answer to that question. It seemed they had argued something that didn't really lead anywhere meaningful "He shot him six times, the body has six bullets, what else do we need to know?"

"Be patient, Romi-san, we need to take this all calmly. Let's continue, okay? What else do you guys think happened?"

Nonstop Debate

Blood on the File / Bullet on the Floor / Silencer / Blood in Yurie's Room / Veritas' Shoes

HASEGAWA: The body was found in the Cafeteria

HASEGAWA: Veritas must have run in there!

KOSHIMIZU: There was a strange lack of blood on the floor, though

KOSHIMIZU: I would have thought six wounds would make him bleed more.

HASEGAWA: His cloak was coated in blood, it may have absorbed it

HASEGAWA: Veritas entered the Cafeteria and collapsed

HASEGAWA: He wasn't able to do anything else, right?

KOBAYASHI: I found the body with Hikari-kun, there was no tie for him to hide evidence.

KOBAYASHI: Nobody could have gotten through the hallway, either.

KOSHIMIZU: This isn't looking good for you, Hikari-kun

"Yes! This is where I start proving my innocence" Mitsuhiko grinned, excited. This wasn't bound to be very difficult "Hasegawa-san, I can guarantee Veritas didn't run into the Cafeteria"

"Is it because he was too weak to run?" Romi inquired, but that wasn't the point Mitsuhiko was trying to make.

"No, the person I shot did have enough strength to run, but what I'm trying to say is that Veritas can't have done it. We all know what happened in the hallway around twelve hours ago, it was on fire. The hallway hasn't been cleaned up yet"

"We all saw that, what is your point?"

"Did you all notice you all left footprints when you walked into the Cafeteria? I bet the soles of all your shoes are covered in soot. I'm happy to inform all of you that Veritas' shoes had absolutely no soot at all"

"It's true, all of us must have left footprints" Hasegawa touched the sole of her shoes. "So are you saying that..."

"Yes, Veritas can't have stepped onto the hallway. I doubt anyone would have cleaned his shoes, right?"

There was silence for a moment while the commanders tried to understand the implications of this. "...Veritas never went through that hallway. The only way that is possible is if...if he was inside the Cafeteria or the Kitchen from before the fire happened" Romi said, trying to make order of what was going on.

"That is impossible; m-many of us would have seen him!" Kobayashi refuted.

"I know it's impossible, but what other option is there? It isn't like he could have gone onto the Cafeteria through some other way. I suggest we leave this conundrum aside for a moment"

"There's one last thing I'd like to discuss about Hikari-kun's guilt" the illusionist requested, straightening up on his seat "I suspect him because it's impossible anyone else could have done it, I'll tell you how!"

Nonstop Debate

Lilith ' s Wires / Blood on the File / Bullets in the Body / Monobear File #5 / Bullet on the Floor

KOBAYASHI: I ran as fast as I could when I heard the gunshots

KOBAYASHI: When I arrived Hikari-kun was in front of the Cafeteria

KOBAYASHI: I never saw anybody else!

KOBAYASHI: And I'm sure the windows weren't opened at all

KOBAYASHI: There's no other escape route, either

ROMI: Maybe that culprit never exited the Cafeteria

ROMI: They could have gone into the Kitchen

KOBAYASHI: There's the ventilation system but...

KOBAYASHI: It's too high to reach.

KOBAYASHI: And with the a-announcement that settles it!

KOBAYASHI: Hikari-kun is the only person who could have done it!

"I wouldn't leave aside the ventilation system so quickly, Kobayashi-kun, because that is how the culprit escaped" Mitsuhiko crossed his arms "It's true it's too high to reach, but with help it can happen"

"With help? Help from who?"

"Help from Lilith. Have any of you noticed the wires that have been hanging from the grates and shafts around the building? That is Lilith"

"But she's just a little robot girl! Do you think she would be capable of lifting anybody?" Romi raised her eyes towards the steel passage over their heads, where Lily was still listening from "I insist the Kitchen may have been where somebody could have been hidden in"

"No. We all would have noticed if somebody had gone to the Kitchen. If anybody had gone there, we would have found this in the Cafeteria"

Monobear File #5

Blood on the File

Body Discovery Announcement

Bullets in the Body

Bullet Wounds

Gash

Cloak

Veritas' Shoes