Danganronpa Showa: Welcome to the Occupation

Birdcoin! x1

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvwWuo-L21Q

[x] Spend time with Aoko, I may have gotten her wrong...
[x] Traditional Incense, Cost: 7
{Current Birdcoin: 23}

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xlAy3gWfdg


It was hard not to have Aoko on my mind that morning, given I'd spent much of the investigation and last trial fearing she'd been the killer, only to find out she was innocent. Even besides that, it made some sense that a mortician would be the best person to talk to after an... execution, especially one like that.

I found Aoko standing just outside one of the rooms in the North Building, the one where the Incinerator was kept. It was... maybe not the least suspicious place to be standing by, but still, it could just be the natural link between undertaking and cremation.

"Hello there, um, Mori," I tried starting a conversation with her, bowing like so, "I, well, kinda wanted to apologise for-"

"Thinking I was the killer, hmmm?" Aoko gave a slight chuckle, but then said, "Well, I do suppose that's only fair, given our human urge to suspect everyone in crises like these. I myself didn't have any real thoughts to who the killer was till we narrowed it down to Simeon.
Still, hasty as those guesses turned out to be, I can't blame people for suspecting Sakakibara and Albini," Aoko then said, "The former was a government employee, much like Hope's Peak is government-funded, so who knows, the Killing game could've been in her interests? As for Albini, well, our nation was in the Axis, his sworn enemies, so I couldn't blame him for wanting to see its citizens punished".

I had to twitch, "Hold on, sounds like that would've been leaping to the exact opposite conclusions!" I exclaimed. I didn't know Dejan the best either, but it at least seemed like he could make a distinction between a country's government and citizens.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't intend to imply that I ever believed either theory," Aoko's words swerved back around, "I was just trying to encourage you, Enoshima, to keep a broader mind, consider all perspectives, think about the assumptions others might make. That's all."

I nodded and told her, "Yeah, I guess that's good advice," even if she had a weird way of putting it.
Remembering my gift, I reached into one of my jacket's many pockets and handed Aoko some incense I'd gotten from the school store. "Well, thought I at least owed you something as an apology," I said to her, my face flushed.

She chuckled again, but gracefully took the incense and said, "Why thank you, Enoshima dear, I only regret I have nothing plane-related on me to give to you."

Trying to further this conversation, I asked her something I'd been wondering about, "Oh yeah, um, don't think I caught your interview with Momoka back then, but um, I hope she wasn't spooked out or anything. it's just I imagine, no offence, that you'd have some pretty nasty stuff to talk about for an interview, being an undertaker and all."

"Oh yes, I did indeed," she just had to smile at that, though did adopt a more serious tone when she said, "In particular, I went over the new difficulties undertakers face when it comes to funerals for atom bomb victims."

"Atom bomb victims... wait, you don't mean-?" I gasped.

"I do mean. My services were requested in Hiroshima not long after... that day," Aoko said, her smile now fully gone, "I would've headed to Nagasaki too, had I the time."

"Ah, I'm... I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, hearing what she had to say.

She smiled and said, "Don't be. I highly doubt it was you who dropped those bombs, after all.
Of course, the nuclear hellfire didn't even give its victims a choice whether to be buried or cremated," Aoko then sighed out, "This Killing Game, meanwhile, has only claimed two so far, and says it'll claim no more than fifteen. Of course, a death is a death either way, be it tens or thousands... I guess what I'm trying to say is, my line of work can make one think they've seen it all."

Those atom bombs may've been the last thing I wanted to think about, including even the Killing Game. Aoko's words however, did get me thinking about something else.
"I guess we should hold a memorial for Katsu and Omura, shouldn't we?" I brought up, "I mean, were probably the only ones who know of their deaths right now."

"A fair point," Aoko replied, "Though tell me, would it be best to host such services as soon as possible, or perhaps leave them till this Killing Game is escaped or finished?"

I... wasn't sure I was the right person who should be making that call. Still, I answered:
[ ] "Yeah, as soon as we can. Neither of us may even be here to hold any services if we wait"
[ ] "Leaving the services till we're out makes sense. I think right now we have to keep looking forward, mourning is a privilege"
[ ] "Er, maybe we can do both? One service now, another for everyone once we're out?"
[ ] "Sorry, but I think you'd know the answer to that better than I would"
[ ] Write-in

"I see," she just said to that, before she switched topics to, "Ah, I believe Ishimaru said he wanted to meet with all of us around this time. Apparently, more of the central cave system has opened, and he may be planning an expedition party. I suppose we ought to be off.
Still, Enoshima," Aoko added with a smile, "It was pleasant speaking with you, I hadn't had the chance to do so in private till now."

Aoko's Trust +1!

"Oh, ah, same for me," I said back somewhat nervously.

---

"Mori, Enoshima," Toranosuke promptly said the moment we stepped inside the dining hall, "Well, you've showed up at least, I suppose that's at least something. Anyway, you would've heard about the caves opening up by now, right?"

"Yeah, Mori told me," I said to him.

"Good, because my natural instinct was to sort us into two teams of three and two teams of four, fourteen not being the easiest number to divide," he was quick to say, "Two or one would leave people to open to killers, while more than four would result in ground being covered slower. The Ishimaru generosity does prompt me to ask, Enoshima, who you'd most like to be grouped with?"

I was... actually surprised, I wasn't used to having a say to which group I was assigned.

[ ] With Dejan and Manami
[ ] With Toranosuke, Yoritsune, and Kagura
[ ] With Momoka and Genpachi
[ ] With Fuhito, Hildegard, and Kanji
[ ] Write-in characters

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYylyaJBjQg

And the original fanfic this is based on:

[x] "Leaving the services till we're out makes sense. I think right now we have to keep looking forward, mourning is a privilege"
[X] With Jeanne and Kagura

---

I sidled up to Jeanne and Kagura, the former out of familiarity, the second since I'd been meaning to talk to her again after... everything that'd happened that trial. Neither raised any objections to this arrangement, even if I could understand Kagura doing so.

Not that Jeanne had no objections overall, as she questioned Toranosuke, "Attendez, would it not make more sense to separate us into four groups of three, zen have Momoka and Genpachi stationed as mission controls, to communicate with all of us, no?"

"Thou wouldst trust one like Sakamoto to his own devices?" Yoritsune asked back.

"And as for Big Sis Sakakibara, I dunno. I wouldn't wanna leave her all on her own, in a scawwy place like this, even if her lab is all secured," Etsuko said.

"Not to mention Sakamoto as mission control would just see it as an excuse to blare his infernal jazz constantly," Manami muttered.

"Hey, if you don't got any taste or vision, that's yer problem, doll-face," Genpachi said, with Manami's jazz criticism being what he chose to speak up against, and not Yoritsune.

"Then it's settled, we shall proceed as originally planned," Toranosuke spoke, drawing attention back to him.
"Students of Hope's Peak, Class 39," he then launched into what sounded like a speech, "Given the state our nation was left in by the War, some of you may be wondering why we should bother returning to surface, Killing Game or not? But I promise you, I shall use my genius to make the surface one worth returning to, if, no, when we escape, it will be to a brighter tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure it'll be," Dejan then mumbled with crossed arms, "But not all of us are Japanese, y'know? I mean, what future would Germany, France, and Novoselic have to look forward to?"

Toranosuke twitched a little at Dejan's words, but then responded with, "Well, Foreign Affairs is a part of any nation's workings. So please, if your nations continue to suffer, Albini, Chevalier, Schulz, you have only to ask for our aid".

"Pfft, the people of Novoselic don't need some far-away Head o' Government to act as their fairy godmother," Dejan spat out.

"Dejan, ernsthaft? I mean, Germany right now has few allies as it is, we shouldn't just be turning any help, and I imagine the same goes for Novoselic," Hildegard pleaded with him.

"You would still zink of Germany as your home, even after everything it did to you?" Jeanne asked Hildegard back.

"Look, dear people, fine friends, let us just fix our attentions on escaping this vile place first, we can worry about international relations or syncopated music all we like once we've vamoosed, how's that sound?" Kanji then spoke up.

"Hmm, oh I don't know. I was hoping this bickering would at least let clues for a potential next murder slip," Fuhito had to say, all of things.

"Ugh, we've been sorted into groups, so let's just head out already," Manami said, keeping herself from seething.

---

There were two paths heading up on the east and west sides of the cave, now cleared of the cooled magma flow that had clogged them. My group with Jeanne and Kagura, along with a second consisting of Genpachi, Dejan, Manami, and Aoko, were tasked with heading up the eastern cave, which led us away from the magma of the main cave and into one filled with steaming water.

"Ooh, a natural hot springs!" Kagura was quick to say. While some relaxation would be nice, we still had exploring to do.

"Wait a second, I think I see something in all this steam," Manami said, pointing towards what looked like some shrouded structure.

Not that it was easy walking through the steam to see what it was, at least, not easy for me. the cave floor was more than a little slippery here, had it not been for the balance and steadying that'd come with my pilot training, I feel I would've fallen right into the springs and soaked my whole wardrobe. Then again, everyone else walked through with little difficulty, so maybe I was just out of practice?

"Aha, I knew it! Things just keep looking up for me," Kagura then beamed as the shadowy structure turned out to be a torii, built into one of the pools. Taking a leap over that pool, we reached a shrine that looked like none other than Kagura's Lab.

And it was some shrine, as not only did its wooden arch loom over us, the shimenawa rope that hung from it and also onto two stalactites either side looked as big as any of our bodies... oh wait, oh no. Birdcoin! x1
Of course my mind was already going through options this cave had for killing people. Crushed by the rope, skewered by a falling stalactite, drowned in the hot springs... I mean, I guess identifying ways to kill was exactly what I should be doing to keep safe, or uncover any future killers, so why did I feel so guilty about doing so?

Then Kagura opened her Lab door, and it turned out you didn't need any of that to kill.

A skeleton came tumbling out, having been propped up behind the door. We all jumped back, well, all but Genpachi, who tilted his hat and muttered, "Say, shouldn't one of 'em Body Discovery Announcements be soundin' off right now? We're way more than three here, and ain't all us here could've killed whoever this sucker was."

"In that case, it's probably a prop," Manami figured.

"Yeah, Columbird's probably just playin' some stupid prank!" Kagura proclaimed, "And a real mean one too, disrepectin' holy ground!"
Hmm, if anyone did die around here, I could probably write Kagura off as a suspect. As she said, the Ultimate Miko would know better than to profane holy ground.

Aoko, her gaze focused, knelt to inspect the skeleton. After analysing it a while, she stood up and said, "No, it's real. trust me, I of all trades could spot a fake a mile away."

"W-wait, another of us just got killed?" Dejan burst out.

"Ain't ya been listening? No BDA, ya clown," Genpachi had to repeat.

"Zen is it not possible others have been killed at Hope's Peak before us?" Jeanne raised, "Such savagery would not be so out of place at ze premier institute of Imperial Japan, no?"

"...Then, should we tell Ishimaru about this?" I brought up, "I mean, at first I would've, b-but if what Jeanne says is true, I've... got no idea how he'd react."

"Oh, I wouldn't pay attention to Jeanne here," Manami then said, "Her words sound like she's just leaping to conclusions; I know that talk."

"C'mon, you're in denial!" Dejan spoke back at Manami, "I believe Jeanne, what other explanation could be there for a dead body here that ain't one of us?"

"It's likely we lack enough evidence to reach a conclusion either way," came Manami's response, "We should continue our exploration, that's what we're up here for after all."

"Ooh, but before we do that," Kagura then said, "Since we're here, why don'tcha take the time to write a wish on the shrine's plaques?" I figured she was trying to forget about the whole skeleton thing for now.

Still, I didn't see any harm in writing up a wish. I mean, I figured the worst that could come of it was blackmail material, but your average wish tended to be too broad for that-
Ugh! Could I honestly not think about any random thing without relating it back to the Killing Game?

Okay, so while I was here, I wrote a wish for:
[ ] Escape. Obvious, but how could I not?
[ ] No more killing, as in vain as it may be
[ ] That everyone we knew back on the surface was safe
[ ] Nothing, I decided to pass on it
[ ] Write-in

---

Manami's group headed north in the new cave, leaving Jeanne, Kagura, and I to head south till we arrived back at the dormitory building, if the next floor up of it. Jeanne was able to pry open a window to get us in, leading us first into a series of hallways with more empty bedrooms. However, it wasn't long before we reached somewhere that stood out more.

We came to a large, wooden-floor ballroom, most of it shrouded by darkness to the point where it looked like another cave. A creaky chandelier hung from above, probably the most obvious murder instrument we'd come across, and rows of dust-covered tables circling around, with patched balloons attached to their chairs. Birdcoin! x1
Were the school functioning like normal, I could see myself walking up from the cafeteria to have lunch here, being able to just use the stairs and not have to go through caverns to get up here.

"Say Tsubasa, would you be any good at dancing?" Jeanne then asked me, before she blushed, "Um, well, I am not exactly good at it either, I admit..."

I nearly blushed back. "Same for me, really," I said.

"Ooh ooh, I'm real good!" Kagura shot up, somewhat wrecking the mood.

"Ugh, I meant at modern dance, not at... whatever shrine ritual choreography you specialise in," Jeanne gritted her teeth at her.

"Hey, I'm great at keeping a beat, you should know that from my taiko drumming!" Kagura protested.

Heading further into the ballroom, we clambered up on stage to find the door to another lab behind the curtains. Given the artwork of brass and woodwind instruments dotting it, I assumed, "So this'd be Sakamoto's Lab?"

"What, the jazz guy? But wait, then how's he been doin' radio broadcasts without his Lab?" Kagura asked.

"From his dorm room I imagine," Jeanne surmised. She then frowned, "Along with zat skeleton, we might consider keeping zis a secret too, no? Genpachi so far has only served to add fuel to the flames of le first murder, I... have concerns about what his Lab would enable him to do."

"I get what you mean, but..." I had to say, "Seems kinda unfair to keep an Ultimate from their Talent Lab, that's all. But still, I can't rule out the chance that Yudai and Simeon might still be alive if not for him."

[ ] When reporting back, I'd tell everything.
[ ] When reporting back, I'd talk about Genpachi's Lab, but keep the skeleton secret for now.
[ ] When reporting back, I'd talk about the skeleton, but keep Genpachi's Lab a secret.
[ ] When reporting back, I'd keep quiet on both the Lab and the skeleton.
[ ] Write-in.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYS60rDLChY

(QM's Note: About the votes for wishes tying, I'm gonna give it to both of them since the two wishes aren't mutually exclusive, and could maybe fit on the same plaque if Tsubasa's handwriting can get small enough)
[X] When reporting back, I'd tell everything.
[X] That everyone we knew back on the surface was safe.
[X] No more killing, as in vain as it may be

---

"Oh mein, there you all are!" Hildegard's voice suddenly echoed throughout the ballroom. From out of the darkness I could see her, Momoka, and Etsuko making their way in here.

"Ooh hey, you guys found anything good?" Kagura was quick to pipe up.

I could see Etsuko still shivering. "The w-west cave is sewiously freezing!" she burst out with, "E-even all my fur couldn't save me from gettin' super-cold, nyaa!" Then again, far as I knew Etsuko's fur only covered certain parts of her body.

"Yes, while it didn't feel the frost quite as bad, it's most definitely chilly in there," Momoka confirmed as she clutched at her shoulders, then looked at her feet, "Slippery too, with all that ice."

"Hmm, suspicious, no?" Jeanne then remarked, her eyebrows furrowing, "How could ice and magma caves exist so close to each other?"

"Well, it's not unheard of. Take Iceland for instance, or even this island's own snow-tipped volcanoes," Hildegard said as she adjusted her glasses.

"I know, but... the transition's not usually this instant," I had to say.

"Well, 'notusually' isn't 'never'," Hildegard replied.

"Yeah yeah, but what else besides the ice, hmm?" Kagura pressed, "Like, we also found my Lab in the east cave and... some stuff in it too," she said as her energy faded, likely not knowing how to break the news of that skeleton. I admit, I wasn't sure how to either.

"Well, we found entrances to the secondfloors of both schoolbuildings. We're here, um, guess that's obvious, and Toranosuke, Fuhito, Kanji, and Yoritsune went to check out the north," Hildegard went over before she shrugged, "...That's about it really, no Lab or anything in the ice cave."

"P-Probably for the best," Momoka muttered, still shivering a little, "I'd only feel sorry for anyone assigned there. Well, unless they were the Ultimate Ice Skater or Sculptor, my, they'd be an interesting person to meet..." she started to daydream, going on her expression.

"Well, along with Kagura's we also found Genpachi's Lab, it's right there behind the stage," I added, pointing to where the door was.

"Hmhm, have you been inside yet?" Etsuko then asked.

"Well, um, no, it's none of our Labs," was what I said on impulse, but after a little reconsidering I added, "Although... yeah, it may be good to check up on what Genpachi's been supplied with in there, just in case. I mean it's probably only instruments in there, but to be sure..."


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMuItUv9xZc


Heading in there, we found Genpachi's Lab... surprisingly barren. There were none of the music sheets I thought would be in a music room, just an extra radio, a record player, and some spare bows and strings for his bass.
Well, those were the only items that had at least something to do with music; on further inspection we could spot, er, a pool cue, a yarn ball with a needle fixed into it, an empty jug, a flyswatter, and some statuettes of the three 'no evil' monkeys at Nikko.

"This... I don't quite get," Hildegard muttered, seeming to share my thoughts.

"Hmm, my assumption is, with him being a Jazzman, all zese extra objects are improvisation material, no?" Jeanne figured, "Zat he'd be encouraged to find his own uses for zem. And naturally, who would turn down a flyswatter?"

Well, someone had already found a use for the yarn, as Etsuko was already busy fiddling with and juggling it.
"Um, Kimura, I'm sorry b-but... this isn't your lab, I don't think you should be touching-" Momoka tried to say, only to get cut off as the chimera hissed at her.

"Grr, like smelly Genpachi deserves any of my, or our, respect, after all he's alweady put us through!" Etsuko exclaimed.

"I-I guess I see your point, b-but... by the same logic, should we really be antagonising him, even without his knowing?" Momoka still said.

"Ah, why don't we just head back and report our findings? It should be abouttime to do so, I believe," Hildegard came in between them.

I nodded in agreement, it's not like there was much else in Genpachi's Lab anyway, and it'd be good to know what was on the second floor of the north building. I'd just... have to come up with a way to neatly break there being a skeleton in Kagura's Lab, if she didn't speak up about it herself.

---

The six of us came back into the ground floor dining hall, a bit later than the other eight. We barely had time to take our seats before Toranosuke asked, "So, what have we all found?"

"That I've got a lab right in the middle of a hot springs cave!" Kagura beamed.

"Yeah, of course ya gotta rub it in..." Etsuko said as she tried getting off the last of the ice stuck to her, "That your stupid cave was all nice and toasty."

"Most of le south second floor was taken up by a ballroom, which if it had some lights may be quite le romantic place," Jeanne mused, her head resting on her hand, "And, well, if it also was not for zat rickety chandelier."

Giving her possible caution about revealing Genpachi's Lab, I took a and breath and said, "Sakamoto's lab is also there, behind the stage."

"Hah, that'll at least beat having ta hack into radio broadcast from my room," Genpachi said, but then he leaned in a little closer an asked, "Oh, and be honest kid, you went around rummagin' in there, didn't ya?"

I winced, and could only mumble, "Well, um, you see, the thing is..."

"Hah, 'cause I gotta say, if it were me having stumbled upon yer Lab, I'd have done the exact same thing, sweet-cheeks," Genpachi broke into laughter as he leaned back in his chair. Er, I guessed it was a good thing he was more understanding than I expected him to be, but still, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to hear...

"Anyway, we were fortunate enough to chance upon a library in our sojourn!" Kanji piped up, as I could see he'd taken a few manuscripts out from it.

"Yes, and... my own lab," Fuhito muttered. Huh, strange, I'd have thought him finding his lab would be cause for a little celebration in him, but well, he was at odds with the Talent he'd been assigned, so it made sense that'd carry over to that talent's lab.Birdcoin! x 1
"Well, an archival room is a useful thing for any investigation to have, so I suppose I have little room to complain," he then said, lightening up as much as he could.

"The second floor also contains a swimming pool, which I bring up as it'd appear the roof of my lab is its floor," Manami also filled us in.

"Ah, well if that's all, then I would proclaim this a successful-" Toranosuke began, but I had to raise my hand.

"It's just, um, there's one more thing we should probably bring up," I said, then looked over to Kagura, "Er, it was in your lab and all, so are you okay with talking about this?"

Kagura for a second looked incensed I was about to mention the skeleton, but then he sighed and said, "Grr, fine then, guess they'd find out sooner or later," with her arms crossed.

"We opened up Amano's shrine door and, ah, corny as it is to say, then a skeleton popped out," I told everyone, shrinking back a bit.

"Yet there was no Body Discovery Announcement," Fuhito remarked, before he smirked, "Likely just a fake, your concern if I'm correct is over nothing."

Aoko then shook her head and said, "On the contrary, I was there, and confirmed this skeleton was real. Mine of all Talents should know."

"Hah, most interestin' thing I've heard all day, 'sides from my Lab," Genpachi had to say, "Sounds to me like Simeon and Yudai weren't the first deaths on campus, heh, I'd make a gamble on Hope's peak having held a Killing Game before-"

"Absolutely not!" Toranosuke burst out, acting just how I was afraid he would, "You would dare question the integrity of this institute of genius, of the very representatives of our nation?"

"I mean, Columbird's American, guess that's obvious," Momoka backed Toranosuke if with a more restrained tone, "And he only just got here, so how could a Killing Game have been held here without him?"

"The Americans would've gotten the idea from the Nazis, remember?" Hildegard pointed out, before she looked at Dejan and Yoritsune and recalled, "Who in turn got it from Novoselic, who may have gotten it from Rome and Sparta."

"Yeah, and your country was Nazi bedfellows, remember?" Dejan spoke up, Jeanne then taking his side.

"...This meeting is adjourned," was all Toranosuke had to say at all of this.

That went... about as well as I thought it would. On the bright side, I guessed this meant I now had the free time to spend with the others.

[ ] Jeanne, we could see about the ballroom
[ ] Dejan, it occurs to me I barely know about Novoselic
[ ] Hildegard, she'd know the most about Killing Games
[ ] Toranosuke, maybe a gift will calm him down?
[ ] Fuhito, a library might be useful to hear more about
[ ] Genpachi, I could check on him checking on his Lab
[ ] Kagura, now that's the skeleton has at least been addressed
[ ] Momoka, she may be happier talking somewhere more private
[ ] Write-in

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