Danganronpa Showa: Welcome to the Occupation

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 1, 2022

[x] ...Nobody, I just didn't know
(Glass Shards(I>
(Blood Pentagram(I>
(Actress Poster(I>

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlGbKK6VnM

As I steadied myself, my first instinct was to look at that shattered radio. "Is that one of the 'Birdbooks'? Aren't they meant to have our names on them?"

"That would be Momoka's name printed on, I take it," Manami glanced forward at it and muttered, "Makes sense, if anyone could use a radio as a potential murder weapon, it'd be our Ultimate Broadcaster".

"Wait, Momoka?" I gasped, before I shook my head. "No, absolutely not! Why should she all the people be the killer, what motive could she have?!"

(Momoka's Name on Radio(I>

"Well, if the Means and Opportunity match..." Fuhito's voice coldly entered, as the Detective walked up only to glare at us, "Enoshima, Schulz, Iwai, even Yamato, I'm afraid I will have to ask you all to leave. You are clearly out of your element".

"W-what do you mean 'Out of our element'?" it was Hildegard who spoke up, "I had friends and family who were taken away and forced to play Killing Games! D-don't tell me to stay out of this!"

Fuhito sighed and her, then hissed, "It is precisely that hysterical outburst of yours that is why someone like you, someone who conceals their Talent, ought to stay out of these matters. Meanwhile, I am heir to the Kirigiri detective lineage, by far the most suitable person to investigate."
Then he looked to the side and admitted, "...Perhaps Mori too, if only for pinpointing the body's cause of death."

Aoko at first only perked an eye at Fuhito's approval, but when Hildegard started fuming at him, she leaned in towards her ear and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll slip you all the info once he's out of sight." Fuhito picked up none of those words, his gaze fixed on the crime scene.
"Anyway," she said in a normal tone, turning back to Fuhito, "Hmhm, you don't have to be the Ultimate Undertaker to know your blood doesn't naturally congeal into a pentagram shape. Could this be our killer's calling card, or some vandal tampering with the scene? I do wonder..."

Fuhito then muttered, "I can't make out any fingerprints on Sakakibara's radio. Assuming she's the killer, she may have used a rod to swing it around on the end, that is if the tank wasn't the cause of death and this radio, whatever it was doing in Katsu's Lab, merely fell down due to the impact."

(No Fingerprints at Crime Scene(I>

"Ah, then it would only make sense to discern the time of death, whether it matches with when the tank crashed down here-" Kanji began, but Fuhito immediately turned and glared.

"Didn't I tell you and the rest to leave, Iwai? I hardly need a thesaurus when inspecting a corpse," he snarled, regardless of what Kanji actually had to say.

"You know, you're still the UltimateLibrarian, not Detective," Hildegard stoop up again to Fuhito, "You don't have sole authority over this case, and Yudai was our friend too!"

"Indeed, and quite frankly," Kanji said as he adjusted his glasses, "Your Talent and mine aren't so different, Kirigiri."

"Out!" the 'logical' detective Fuhito was at the point of snapping, only for another figure to enter the room.

"Bah, the youth of today have no patience, I tell you! Thinking you can play detectives before I finish preparing my Columbird File," Columbird flew down and landed in the centre of us, holding a document in his beak.

Taking the file, Fuhito began to read out, "The victim was Yudai Katsu. The time of death is estimated to be around 1000 hours. The body was discovered by at least three innocents in Katsu's Lab, in the basement. Among potential causes are Dejan Albini's tank and Momoka Sakakibara's radio."

(Columbird File #1(I>

"Wait," I had to ask, "If the cause of death turns out to be Dejan's runaway tank, t-then... doesn't that mean...?"

"He'll be Executed, them's the breaks," Columbird proclaimed, "I don't give a damn about accidental or not, you're responsible for a death, you die in turn. So pre-emptively quit your bellyachin'!"

"Not to mention that this tank 'accident' may not have been so," Fuhito said, trying to assert himself as in charge of this case, "This is the lowest point of the school, so someone like Albini would've known his tank would roll down here."

"And the Ultimate Tank Commander would be better than to let his vehicle run amok by mistake, wouldn't he?" Manami observed.

"Absolutely not!" Hildegard had to shout out, "...Well, not likely anyway. Yudai was in class when the tank came loose. If Dejan even knew about this Lab, how would he know Yudai would've immediately run down here?"

"It is not a stretch to see someone as shifty as Katsu take advantage of chaos to make a break for it," Fuhito quickly came back with, "Anyway, didn't I tell you to leave?"

"Kirigiri has a point, you all have been getting in the way of him doing any actual detective work," Manami then said, before she began pushing us out of the Lab.

As we got forced out back into the basement, Hildegard immediately stamped her foot and seethed, "'As shifty as Katsu'? He was our classmate, yet our 'Great Detective' is treating all this like no more than a puzzle!"

I tried to console Hildegard with, "Hey, we can still try continuing our investigation in other places. I mean, Kirigiri can't be everywhere at once".

"Well spoken," Kanji swiftly added. I was worried his loud and overeager voice would immediately be heard again by Fuhito, but he wisely leaned and said in a hushed tone, "I believe I know just where to investigate".

"Momoka's Lab, right?" Hildegard said as we were led to a door located near the cinema.

"The very same," Kanji beamed, patting us both on the back from in between, "Now, I was scheduled for my very own interview right about now. If it hasn't been delayed what with the murder and such, and I do believe Sakakibara's nerves would be soothed by some sense of normality, then that is your opportunity!"

"Oh, so we just come in and ask her questions?" I took it.

"No no no, you have it all wrong!" Kanji then burst out, before he corrected, "You shall stay outside and ask questions via call. Something as sensitive as not merely a murder, but one she is a suspect in, would best be brought up to Momoka over long-distance communication, her preferred medium."

That being his plan, Hildegard and I put our radios on while Kanji headed inside. We then heard Momoka's voice, both on air but even through the walls, begin with, "Ah, hello everyone. Um, let's try our best and carry on in these times, for example I have this record here all ready."

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM8esuvEb8c

While we waited for any interview to begin, who but Kagura would suddenly pass us in the halls.
"Wow, first murder, huh?" she began perhaps a little tactlessly, then smirked and said, "Well, I'm doing my part! I've already been selected for guard duty, make sure nobody tampers with the crime scene."

"Guard duty?" Hildegard picked up on, "Er, I mean no offence, Kagura, but... don't you also need a witness for guard duty, to make sure the killer or an accomplice isn't accidentally selected to guard?"

"Witness right here," Genpachi then said, him appearing right on cue when Hildegard asked about a witness.

Oh, well, that was reassuring. I didn't say it to Kagura for fear of making her angry, but her playing truant this whole time, well, didn't that make her a suspect for meddling with the tank?
No, I already couldn't handle the thought of Momoka being the culprit, I didn't need to think of Kagura killing...

Kagura and Genpachi left to their new posts, and the time then came for Kanji's radio appearance. "Why hello there, Iwai Kanji. Ultimate Conlanger, I believe? My, I believe that's a term many of us here haven't heard of, I myself didn't know of constructed languages till today! Please, tell us more."

"Ah yes, more than happy, delighted, ecstatic too," Kanji began with, "Ahem, well you see I got started as a child when I wondered whether or not creatures like Tengu, Kitsune, Tanuki, and so on, spoke their own languages, or at least their own dialects of Japanese? In my daydreams I tried to synthesise just what such non-human tongues would sound like, but of course I've matured since, my current project is actually a Basque-Finnish pidgin..."

Hildegard and I nodded along as Kanji kept droning, him happy to answer each and every one of Momoka's questions. All except one, that was.
"I'm aware this may be sensitive, but I imagine constructed languages would be of much use in the field of cryptography, that being an essential part of the war effort you don't often hear talked about?" she asked him.

"...I do apologise, dear Sakakibara, but that is a subject I have absolutely no wish to divulge upon," Kanji's tone lost its joviality. I mean, I wouldn't want to spill military secrets either, but Kanji seemed to take it awful personally.

Momoka finally announced the line was open for call-in questions. Hildegard was ready to phone in, but I had to wonder just what to ask. Not that I didn't have questions, far from it, it's just that I knew I had limited time, before Fuhito found us, before Columbird would be calling a Trial. What I asked, it had to matter.

[ ] "You would've heard of Katsu Yudai's death? Um, any guesses who his killer could be?"
[ ] "Given Katsu's passing, are there any last words you'd like to say for him?"
[ ] "A radio belonging to you was found by Katsu's death scene, was wondering if you could elaborate?"
[ ] "The Body Discovery Announcement plays after three innocents have witnessed the corpse, so did you pass by?"
[ ] "Could a radio even be used as a murder weapon? They're saying that, don't know how likely it is"
[ ] "What are your thoughts on that pentagram symbol?"
[ ] Write-in

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 3, 2022

"A radio belonging to you was found by Katsu's death scene, was wondering if you could elaborate?" came my first question, with me not being sure if it'd be the only question I'd get a chance to ask here.

"What the-who is this? If you mean my assigned Birdbook, I have it right here! And n-none of my other equipment has ever eft my Lab!" Momoka's voice rose to protest after I asked that.

"I was, look, this is Enoshima Tsubasa, it's just I was at the crime scene earlier and saw a Birdbook tagged 'Sakakibara Momoka'," I said. I didn't want to outright say my name over the radio in case Fuhito was listening; I figured how crackly this phone would hide my voice. That said, I don't think just saying I was at the crime scene would give away anything he didn't want people to know.

"Enoshima, I... still don't know what you mean. I have my assigned Birdbook right here, it says 'Sakakibara Momoka', and I was walking back over to my own Lab when I heard the... the announcement," she went on.

Well, guess that answered the other question that'd occurred to me. I didn't have further proof on whether to trust Momoka's words, but I figured the right thing would be to have faith her alibi, until I heard anyone say elsewise.

(Momoka's Alibi(I>

"Hmm, but our names are on the Birdbooks in plain text, aren't they? What do you think about the likeliness of someone forging your name on the other radio?" came Hildegard's question.

"Y-Yes, that could be it, b-but..." Momoka started to blubber, her natural radio confidence mid-crumbling, "Who... who would want to frame m-me?"

I couldn't guess right now. I thought to tell her, 'That's what we're trying to find out' but really, what would saying that do to help?

"I've got it! Is it okay if we asks for recordings of the interviews you've had here, it's likely the culprit was one of them if they swapped out your Birdbook," Hildegard picked up on.

"U-Um, look, I really need to think about this. H-How about we just go back to you, Iwai, I believe you had more to say about conlangs, after all..." Momoka shifted things to, instead of address Hildegard directly.

I sighed as we headed away, Hildegard looking downcast too. Not that we'd made no progress, we'd sorta-established an alibi for Momoka and talked about Birdbook labels being forged, but that was about it.

Though speaking of the radio, I also thought to turn to Columbird's own station, thinking that maybe any discoveries Fuhito had made might be reported there?
Once I did though, I instantly wished I hadn't, given the brass fanfare that blared first thing.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeD9Nk8-tY0

"Hmph, and that boy called his little sewer-scraping a 'jailbreak'? I ain't never heard anything more miserable in my life. Back at home on the sacred continental shores of... America, we knew how to launch a genuine goddamn jailbreak, I'll tell ya! Alcatraz, the greatest prison on God's green Earth, never knew what hit it, 'cause we also had the greatest goddamn jailbreakers on God's green Earth too! And don't gimme that birdscrap 'bout how You-Die Cat-Sue broke outta Alcatraz too, that's a technicality, it don't count!" Columbird was mid-rant on his own station, almost lost in his own little world, a theatre of himself.

I turned the station off, but I was wrong to think that'd be the end of voices blaring right at me.

As Hildegard and I left the South building, that mysterious Voice I'd last heard back at the 'entrance ceremony' flickered on again right in my head.
"Listen up, Enoshima, and listen good. You can waste your time playing amateur detective, or I can straight up tell you who the killer is. Sounds much better, doesn't it?" whoever it was buzzed inside me, like a fly had flown into my skull.

Keeping my voice low, else Hildegard think I was talking to her, or wondered why I was talking to myself, I just whispered, "How can I trust you?"

"Really? I've been with you from the start, Enoshima, and what reason do you have to not trust me, eh?" the Voice rang out.
Oh, I could actually think of a few reasons. Regardless, the Voice then flat-out told me, "It's Mori Aoko, she killed Yudai".

I staggered backwards, at which point Hildegard ended up noticing and ran up to me. "Tsubasa, is there somethingwrong?" she asked.

"You want Momoka's interviews? I intercepted them right here: Dejan, Aoko, Simeon and Kanji you've already heard, plus that call-in from Genpachi. Now out of those, who would do it just to see a death unfold, who would do it to watch the chaos among the students?" the Voice kept talking, "Oh, as for Simeon, guy has this thing about not drawing blood, which along with the pentagram rules him out, you know what Catholics are like."

(Simeon with Blood(I>

"What-what are you saying?" I asked out loud, especially since I knew Aoko was in class when the tank got loose, as I forgot for a second about Hildegard standing there. Not that it mattered, that was suddenly all the Voice said for now.

"I... just asked if something was wrong?" Hildegard repeated.

I looked at her, tried to say one thing, but instead said, "No, I'm fine, I just had a little, ah, mental strain processing all this." That was technically true, I guess, and I just couldn't tell anyone about the Voice because, well, I had no idea how they'd react.

"I know, we'll try and get in touch with Dejan next, I mean, if he's willing to talkabout what happened to his tank," she then said, leading me along through the cave.

"I'm tellin' you, I can't have done it!" Dejan was quick to blurt out as we confronted him by the North building, "The tank was left locked in place last night, someone had to have been meddling with it! I've been trained to handle tanks all my life, ya honestly think I would've made that simple a mistake?"

I knew better than to state that Dejan unmooring the tank on purpose was still on the table, as I didn't want to stress him out this soon. Instead I just asked, "Then, do have any idea who did?"

"Hmm," he got to thinking, before he replied, "When I checked the moorings I found quite a bit of rust and a little dampness on 'em, so whoever did it would've had some sorta liquid on them, little more corrosive though than just plain ol' water I take it".

(Rusted Tank Moorings(I>

"Wait, your tank looked rusty in general, ah, no offence," Hildegard then said, before she started running over our Talents, "Pilot has fuel, Captain might have water, Jazzman has resin, Jailbreaker would have some weird sewermuck, Miracleworker has holy water, Undertaker has embalmingfluid..."

"If whoever did it used the liquid to rust the hinge over time, then they might still've been in the class today" Dejan then figured.

"Yeah, meaning the suspects, for who set free the tank at least, could be more than just Kagura, Genpachi, or Fuhito," I concluded... but then that also meant Aoko was a suspect, just like the Voice said.

"Jailbreaker... then maybe Yudai was the one who set off the tank!" Hildegard gasped as her eyes lit up, "I've got it! Er, well maybe not quite yet, but the tank getting loose could've been done as part of Yudai's escape attempt, either he applied the liquid directly or got a helper to do it".

"Yeah well, it's about time I go see my own tank anyway. Sheesh, no idea how I'm gonna haul it back up though," Dejan mumbled as he walked off. I thought to myself he might not even have the chance to haul it up.

He headed down to the North building basement, a little cautiously too as I remembered the stairs had been shredded up a bit by the tank. Fuhito didn't seem to be around, so I figured I could get away with not telling Dejan about his... issues with us.

We saw Kagura and Genpachi standing by the body, being there as guard and witness to 'preserve the scene's integrity'. Kanji was also there, I took it Momoka had asked him to investigate that radio for her.

"Wait a minute, hold on a second, just one moment," Kanji suddenly said, getting to the point with, "Assuming this is indeed Momoka's Birdbook, then where's Yudai's?"

"Can't show ya," Genpachi smirked, "It's under his corpse. Poor soul fell down right on top of it as either the perp or the tank approached".

True, there were some glass shards poking out from just beneath Yudai, though still plenty of shards on top of him too.
"Er, any progress on what that pentagram means?" I then asked.

"Huh, pentagram?" Kagura just asked.

Hildegard nearly froze. "T-the one in blood, right by Yudai's body, remember?"

I looked to where the pentagram had been, only to see a less formed shape, obscured by dust and chalk.

(Blood Pentagram(I> Updated: Tampered

"Kagura, did you-!" Hildegard burst out.

"Hey, I'm the guard, I wouldn't tamper with anything! That blood was like that when I got here!" the priestess shouted back, before she had to admit, "O-okay, maybe I did do like one or two purification rites around here, but that's it. I never touched the blood!"

"Really, dollface, sweetcheeks, how could you be so untrusting?" Genpachi then asked, "I speak for integrity here, so when I say neither Kagura or I am the tamperer, I mean it. If you gotta blame someone for this, air yer grievances with Fuhito or Aoko".

Speaking of Fuhito, I spun around to see he had returned the room, just before Hildegard and I could leave. His face was fuming, but before he could say anything, another voice came on.

"Alright, you low-down, godforsaken, Americaforsaken punks," came Columbird's voice and image on the monitors, "I want you all in the Class Trial Courtroom pronto! You've been lucky you've been given so much time ta solve this case, I've known law enforcement that can catch miscreants in half as much time as you dawdlers!"

...Saved by our first Trial. I noticed Columbird didn't say anything about said law enforcement catching the right miscreants, but I guess that was besides the point.

I figured I had to get my theories about the case straight first:

How did Yudai die?
[ ] Struck with the Momoka-labelled radio
[ ] Run over by tank
[ ] Fell on his own radio which shattered
[ ] Write-in
[ ] Still don't know

Who set the tank loose?
[ ] Dejan
[ ] Yudai
[ ] Yudai's accomplice
[ ] Nobody, it was an accident
[ ] Write-in
[ ] Still don't know

Who tampered with the blood pentagram?
[ ] Kagura
[ ] Aoko
[ ] Genpachi
[ ] Fuhito
[ ] Write-in
[ ] Still don't know

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 5, 2022

How did Yudai die?
[X] Struck with the Momoka-labelled radio
Who set the tank loose?
[X] Yudai
Who tampered with the blood pentagram?
[X] Fuhito

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOFG9TCTiG0

We were directed towards the school's main elevator. Where it was once used to travel between floors, so I assumed anyway, now it took us to only one place.

I wasn't any closer honestly to working out who, if anyone, killed Yudai, even if I had a few more leads on who didn't. Yeah, the Voice had flat-out told me it was Aoko, but given how secretive said Voice was, did that really solve things?

(Glass Shards(I>
A radio was found shattered at the scene of Yudai's death, glass shards all over him. Either this or the tank was the murder weapon.

(Blood Pentagram(I>
Someone, probably the killer but maybe a tamperer, even Yudai himself, drew a pentagram with Yudai's spilled blood.
Update: The blood pentagram has since been tampered with. It's unknown if this was sabotage or accident.

(Actress Poster(I>
A poster of US actress Rita Hayworth was found covering the entrance to Yudai's basement Lab.

(Momoka's Name on Radio(I>
Our names are written on each of our Birdbooks, and the radio at Yudai's death scene would belong to Momoka.

(No Fingerprints at Crime Scene(I>
If the radio was the murder weapon, the killer wouldn't have held it directly, rather swung it around on some sort of pole. This is probably what they used to draw that pentagram.

(Columbird File #1(I>
The victim was Yudai Katsu. The time of death is estimated to be around 1000 hours. The body was discovered by at least three innocents in Katsu's Lab, in the basement. Among potential causes are Dejan Albini's tank and Momoka Sakakibara's radio.

(Momoka's Alibi?(I>
Momoka says she was in her room in the time leading up to the announcement, and knew nothing about her radio being at the crime scene This may net a full Truth Bullet with another's confirmation.

(Simeon with Blood(I>
Due to his religious beliefs, Simeon has an aversion to drawing blood and Satanic symbols.

(Rusted Tank Moorings(I>
Some sort of corrosive liquid was used to gradually rust the tank moorings. Being gradual, this would give whoever set the tank loose time to head to class before it started rolling, widening the scope of suspects.

We were taken to a courtroom, its walls painted to resemble a sepia Art Deco cityscape, and its centre a ring of podiums, Columbird up on a gilded perch at the 'head'.

"Do I honestly have to tell the citizens of this country how a court trial's supposed ta work?!" Columbird barked at us, having assumed we needed to be told. "Argue whodunnit, then vote for whodunnit, been that way since Ancient Rome! You can thank the United States of America for giving you all majority vote, 'cause if most of ya vote correct on who the killer is, only they get what's comin' to them. But if you prove majority vote's wasted on ya and get the killer wrong, then ya got nobody to blame but yourselves when all of you but the killer get punished. Do I Make Myself Clear?!"

"I believe standard procedure here is to go over what we all know about the case," Toranosuke quickly took the lead, before he cleared his throat to say, "Students of Hope's Peak, fret not, should any of us indeed be the killer, they shall not long elude my natural genius".

"Tch, the harder they fall," Genpachi muttered.

"Katsu Yudai's body was found at 10AM. Objects at the crime scene consisted of Momoka's radio broken atop him, his own radio beneath him, a chisel and file in his hand, a torn poster just outside, and of course Albini's tank," Fuhito went over.

"Oh, so that means Momoka killed him, right?" Kagura exclaimed the very second Fuhito finished. "It's her radio and all. Ah, this is easy!"

"What?! N-n-no, absolutely not, I'd never kill, and not Katsu of all people!" Momoka then sobbed out.

>Momoka's Alibi?>>---X Momoka killed him

"That doesn't add up," I interjected, if somewhat hesitantly, "Sakakibara told me she had an alibi, that after class she ran to her Lab before the BDA, and she wouldn't have had enough to hit Katsu with her radio then head all the way back there."

"...You do know how alibis work, don't you?" Fuhito then scowled at me, "It doesn't mean anything if you only have her word for it".

"No, I can confirm," Manami then spoke up, "When Ishimaru, Albini, Kimura, and I left to track down that tank, Momoka did come our way to make it back to her base of operations."

>Momoka's Alibi>> [Reforged]

"Y-yes, I wouldn't have had time to leave my radio there, and if I left it there earlier, w-wouldn't Katsu have noticed?" Momoka found it in herself to speak up.

"Losing your radio? Then why did Columbird not reprimand you?" Toranosuke pointed out.

"I-I have more than one radio," Momoka said, though shrank back at Toranosuke's tone, "It... comes with my Talent."

"Additionally, Enoshima and I have theorised that this particular radio of Momoka's was infact stolen from her Lab by one of her interviewees," Hildegard then said, before she announced, "Who switched it out with their own."

"...And Sakakibara didst not notice this?" Yoritsune inquired, eyeing us closer.

"She did, but not immediately," Hildegard tried to explain, "Firstly, she'd have quite a few radios to go through. Secondly, our signatures are writtenon the nametags of our Birdbooks in print, so anyone could've forged her name on theirs."

"Grr, that's dumb, you're dumb!" Etsuko hissed out, "Just forge your name on your own noisebox and leave it at the crime scene, much easier, don't gotta steal anything," she then huffed.

>Cracks on the Radio>>---X Don't gotta steal anything

"That's not true!" I said in time, "Whoever planted that radio would need to steal their own back later, so they could present it if questioned. Else, they'd be left with a shattered radio, giving them away."

"Thus, we can deduce that whoever planted the radio was one of Momoka's interviewees," Hildegard continued.

"Is that so? Feh, I cannot believe we must deal with killing and stealing in the same case," Toranosuke sighed, "Truly, what is Hope's Peak coming to?"

"No, y-you've got it wrong!" Momoka then squealed out, clutching her head, "N-Nobody I interview on my show would be that bad a person, I refuse to believe it!" she then burst out with, pointing a finger at me.

[CROSS SWORDS]

~~"My guests are not bad people!"~~

~~"I'd never invite a killer and thief on my show!"~~

~~"T-this can't be happening!"~~

[ADVANCE!]

"Sakakibara... I'm sorry," I tried to tell her, "But look, we've barely known each other that long. It's harsh to say, but nobody's able to judge someone's character that quickly".
That made her catch her breath, but she still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

~~"B-but you can still tell someone that bad, right?"~~

~~"A-and logically, it couldn't be a guest of mine b-because..."~~

~~"We c-couldn't find Aoko, Dejan, or Simeon's~~ fingerprints at the crime scene"

o=||No Fingerprints at Crime Scene!>>

"We couldn't find anyone's prints at the crime scene!" I told her, before I caught my breath and said, "Look, Sakakibara, I'm sorry, but that doesn't let your guests off the hook."

"Got some nerve on ya to assume what we were all like before we even got here, doll," Genpachi chuckled at Momoka, "You honestly think us humans are inherently moral, or if so, that our morals match your own, on top of us all bein' tainted by a whole War? Sheesh, gimme a break."

"Even still, you're all missing that we don't have proof the radio was the murder weapon, or anything beyond a plant," Fuhito came in with, "This would make the planter suspicious, yes, but not necessarily the culprit."

"E-either way, don't turn your gaze at me!" Kanji spoke out, "I wasn't even on Sakakibara's program till after the murder!"

"Hold on a second... oh no, no, it cannot be so," Jeanne started mumbling, "Dejan, you are... both le tank's owner and one of Momoka's guests, no?"

"W-what? Jeanne, what the Hell are you saying?" Dejan gasped, "Argh, I'm the last person who would've set my tank loose! I mean, I'd just be sabotagin' myself when I went to help you guys round it up".

"No, that makes sense too," Manami glared at him, her arms crossed, "You helped us just to look like you weren't the culprit. Plus, the tank still ran over Katsu anyway, like the killer would've wanted, so you failed at even helping".

"Fascist!" Dejan then spouted out, "Of course you'd all accuse me damaging my beloved tank just ta kill!"

"Hah, not only do you match up with both the tank and the radio show, you cannot produce a solid defence for yourself," Fuhito smirked, "This case might as well be closed."

>Rusted Tank Moorings>>---X Defence for yourself

"That's not true! Albini himself told me that someone broke the moorings ahead of time," I said to everyone.

Fuhito looked at me only to facepalm, "...Do you realise what you've just said, Enoshima? Your words have only condemned Albini all the more. Before, he actually had an alibi, being with you in class. Now, the possibility that anyone could've loosened the tank up ahead of time, regardless of whether they were in class, has been opened. Do you finally understand why I said you were useless as a detective?"

"You've got it wrong, Fuhito. Tsubasa justsaved Dejan, not condemned him," Hildegard came to my aid at the very moment I thought was done for, "What he was trying to say was that this proves Dejan didn't setloose the tank, because if he did, then why would he tell us something that'd ruin his own alibi?"

"...That's assuming Albini wasn't being overconfident, let alone an idiot," Fuhito sneered, his influence challenged but far from crumbling.

"No, I would... like to believe Albini," Jeanne then said, "I knew I should not have doubted him, he would not simply lie when it came to his beloved tank."

"Are you going with your mere 'beliefs', Chevalier?" Manami spoke up, "Because doing so could risk the lives of everyone here. How could you be that irresponsible; this isn't about playing hero!"

"Nyaah, I still think nasty tank boy did it!" Etsuko scowled, Manami not reprimanding the Chimera's gut feelings when they backed her side up.

"Oh, is that so?" Aoko then smirked and let out a chuckle, "Tell me, do none of you take pride in your work? I wouldn't dream to be so careless with a corpse, so I don't imagine Albini would be so with a tank."

Wait, hold on... Aoko was coming to my aid? Even though if Dejan was innocent, that'd make her culprit status even more likely, being one of Momoka's guests?
No, this... didn't add up with what that Voice had told me. Only if Aoko wanted to be found out as the killer, for whatever reason.

"What's this? Do my ears pick up a Split Opinion in Court?!" Columbird then shot up, before he pounded down with the gavel clutched in his beak, "Alright ya lazy bums, do ya know what you've incurred? It's time for an old-fashioned, All-American Scrum Debate!"

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

With Columbird's words, our podiums sprang back, going from being arranged in a circle to two straight lines, all of us facing each other.

This narrows it down to Dejan! vs We still can't say who it was!

"Albini matches both the tank and the interviews!" Toranosuke opened with.

"D-does everyone think I'm that careless with who I let on my show? You believe in our morality too, don't you Ishimaru?" Momoka countered him, still not willing to give up on her guests' integrity.

"Hardly a defence, coming from the corrupt world of radio. If anything, going on your show confirmed that for me!" Simeon snapped out with.

"And the Vatican has never dealt with internal corruption? Why do you think Reformation and secularisation happened?" Jeanne spat out.

"Neither of you have disproven Ishimaru's original point," Fuhito stated.

"His point isn't so solid. Aligning with both tank and radio may make our Albini a suspect, but doesn't clinch that he's guilty", Kanji told him.

"Yet he is the only one of us who knoweth how a device as newfangled as a tank wouldst even work," Yoritsune spoke.

"You don't have ta know how a tank works in order to set one rolling, in fact I'd say the opposite!" Dejan countered.

"And how do you just casually set a tank rolling?" Manami narrowed her gaze.

"Albini said a specific liquid had been used to rust the tank's moorings over time," I recalled.

"Yeah kid, a 'specific liquid' it'd make sense for a tank fink to have," the previously neutral Genpachi joined the other side at the last minute.

"Or any of us, almost. Quill ink, plane and ship fuel, holy water, embalming fluid, even bow resin, Genpachi, just to list the possibilities," Hildegard brought up.

"I-I don't geddit. Like, we were 'bout ta find out, now we're back at square one! How does this help?" Etsuko was just puzzled.

"It 'helps' as it gives us many new murder possibilities to consider, my dear little Kimura, not just the dead end we've been on," Aoko gently laughed.

"Oh, what would you know? Someone like you is festering with death, Mori, how can we trust ya?" Kagura blurted out, her side whittled down to name-calling.

Total Influence: 22 vs Total Influence: 21
21 + Roll d20 (18) = 39
"This is our answer!"

After that, our podiums moved back to their regular circle. Fuhito, his once sharp expression appearing drained and cracked, sighed out, "Fine, are you happy? We'll cross of Dejan Albini from the suspect list... for now anyway."

"For Chrissakes, what is taking you all so long?" Columbird blurted out, "were this a proper American trial, we'd have thrown the suspect behind bars long ago! Eurgh, I'll let ya pansy-asses cut to a Break, but if ya ain't found the culprit by this time next trial, I'm declaring a vote on the killer anyway!"

...We were already at halftime, yet I still feel there were some important points that hadn't been brought up. The instant we were back, I knew I'd resume with:

[ ] What the deal was with that pentagram.
[ ] Whether Yudai's escape attempt was a one-man effort.
[ ] What motive any of us could have for killing Yudai.
[ ] Who'd tampered with the crime scene.
[ ] Who else could've set off the tank.
[ ] Write-in

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 7, 2022

[X] What the deal was with that pentagram.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu0A6yt0a7Y

"Hold on, there's something fairly noticeable we haven't brought up yet. Who drew that pentagram with Katsu's blood, and why?" I pointed out as soon as we resumed.

"I shall take this," Simeon was quick to speak up, "I see two possibilities. Either someone in league with Satan, at least in their own mind, trying to conjure his unholy spirit, or someone who realised too late the extent of their sin."

"Well, I certainly cannot imagine any citizen of Japan being a Satan-worshipper, our beliefs don't hinge on that sort of dualistic thinking," Toranosuke began, before his accusation came, "Therefore, this would narrow it down to one of our foreign students, Albini, Chevalier, or Schulz! And likely the first two, given what they've said about Catholicism."

"What the-!" Dejan blurted out, "Have you gone full Imperial, ya teacher's pet? I ain't taking no religious opiate, upstairs or downstairs!"

"Indeed! My France is a secular nation, much as some fanatic would mistake zat for Satanism," Jeanne snapped back at Toranosuke in turn.

"Not necessarily a foreigner, just someone in contact with foreign ideas enough to pick that up," Simeon then said, before turning at Genpachi, "Like one who made his name smuggling in the Devil's Music!"

At Simeon's words though, Genpachi laughed then said, "Cute, real cute. What, ya think in my travels I went and sold my soul at the crossroads? Feh, least I know enough about foreign stuff to know that a pentagram ain't just a Devil thing. It's also known as the Star o' David, ain't it?"

"No, that's wrong!" Hildegard shot out, "T-the Star of David's a hexagram! The pentagram's the stamp of Jerusalem."

"Now that sounds like an awfully specific thing to know," Fuhito said, then leaned in closer at Hildegard, "That, combined with your prior knowledge of Killing Games in Germany, well, one can only wonder..."

At those words, Hildegard's voice went ice cold, "Don't- you- ever accuse me of being a Nazi! My friends, my family, they'd all still be alive if not for them!"

"Hildegard... you are Jewish?" Jeanne had to ask, "S-sorry, I did not know."

Hildegard needed some time to compose herself again, but finally she said, "It'sokay Jeanne, it's only natural you wouldn't know. I... owe to my whole survival to disguising that very fact. Well, more correctly my mother was Jewish, my father Romani."

"And Hildegard's no killer, she's put in too much effort into solving this case for that to be just an alibi," I told everyone.

"But it also proves the perp wasn't trying to pin this on her, they'd have used a hexagram for that," Genpachi pointed out.

"And yet thou thyself couldst not discern whether the Star had five or six sides but seconds earlier," Yoritsune stated.

"Yeah, I dunno about any Demon Music, but you're still suspect, Mr. Sakamoto!" Etsuko then called out, "You were one o' the ones who weren't at class, wemember? That'd give ya heaps of time to pull this off!"

"Hah, ain't my style, doll-face," Genpachi said to her, "Ya think I'm gonna bring that much suspicion on myself by icing a guy this early in the game?

>>Blood Pentagram: Tampered>>---X ain't my style

"That's not true! The pentagram was tampered with on your watch, wasn't it?" I pointed out.

"Pfft, you'll wanna accuse the mortician broad of that, not me," Genpachi said, "The shrine dame and I, we just found the pentagram like that."

"I didn't lay a finger on that pentagram, my whole profession is about respect for sites of death," Aoko said.

"I can confirm. I was with Mori at the scene the whole time she was there, she had nothing but precision care for not disturbing a thing," Fuhito came in with, him being the last person I suspected to defend anyone.

It was those words that suddenly flared Simeon up. "Your attempts to defend that Reaper will only condemn the rest of us! Are you all blind to the fact it was obviously her?" he fumed.

"Oh? Do go on," Aoko had to chuckle at him.

At opposed to Aoko's bemusement, I had to say to Simeon, "I... think you might be jumping to conclusions here."

"She fits both the strange fluid that rusted the tank moorings and the radio interviews!" Simeon said, fire in his eyes and on his tongue.

[CROSS SWORDS]

~~"She's only in this for her amusement!"~~

~~"How to ensure more deaths? Kill the one best suited to getting us out of here!"~~

~~"Her entire livelihood revolves around death! What better way to drum up business and please Mammon?"~~

[ADVANCE]

"What? This Killing Game's far too elaborate for anyone to arrange just for profit," I brought up, "That's too much of a reach."

~~"Well, are you prepared to admit Dejan may be guilty?"~~

~~"Because Kanji was interviewed too late!"~~

~~"And as a man of the faith,~~ I would never draw blood!"

o=|Glass Shards!>>

"If you had to classify a radio as a weapon, it'd be a blunt instrument," I told him, "That means the glass shattering and blood spilling may not have been the intended cause of death, assuming it wasn't the tank anyway."

"And in the heat of the kill, moral codes tend to be easily forgotten," it was Yoritsune who spoke up, "History shows this."

"Yeah, as its shows there's been a whole bunch a' holy men who killed. The Crusades, the Inquisition..." Dejan went on.

"You dare insist I was the killer?!" Simeon lashed out, before he restrained himself and asked, "Alright, then tell me, how would I have even known the Ultimate Jailbreaker's Lab was down in the basement?"

"Because I told ya, preacher man," a smirking Genpachi then cut in. "Yudai boy was lookin' for accomplices ta help pull off his great escape. He said to meet me in the basement, but then when the holy fink caught me not headin' to 'class', I told him where the Lab was to explain where I'd been hangin'."

"...That does add up," I confirmed, "Katsu asked me in class if I wanted to help plan an escape, makes sense he'd seek out more than one person."

I expected another retaliation from Simeon, but instead he merely slumped back. "I... I can't avoid hiding my sins any longer, can I?" he said.

"Wait, no! Simeon, w-what are you saying?" Kagura spoke up.

"I knocked out Katsu with the radio I stole from Sakakibara, wielding it on one of my chains to not leave fingerprints. It was a radio I originally stole just to spite her, before any murder attempt entered my head," he told us, "And just before the tank came down to finish him off, smeared his blood to form that Satanic pentagram," he told us.

>>Actress Poster>>---X before the tank

"I can confirm! Well, some of what you said, anyway. That poster had already been thrown to the side, out of the tank's path," I said, "And I doubt Katsu would've treated it like that, since he'd need it to hide his lab entrance again."

"Huh, hold on? Then who set the tank loose?" Etsuko piped up, her eyes swirling around.

"Katsu himself, possibly," I spoke up, "We found him with a chisel and file in his hand, and well, there'd be a whole bunch of strange liquids down in a drain. And Simeon already knew of Katsu's escape plan from Genpachi."

"You've got that entirely wrong!" Kagura blurted out, "Simeon would never draw anything Satan-associated, n-no holy man would!"

"A holy man would if he was trying to pin the blame on another," Manami countered that.

"Or... he no longer believed he was so holy," Hildegard muttered, "When he looked down at Yudai's corpse and realised just what he'd done."

"I suppose I owe you my motive," Simeon then said, "I had to know whether this Killing Game was in God's plan, or if He meant for us to escape. Why else would He have appointed an Ultimate Jailbreaker among us if not for that? If Katsu lived, then I'd know this Killing Game wasn't what God meant for us, but... if he died..."

"Genpachi..." Jeanne then muttered, "You baited Simeon into doing this, did you not?"

"Damn right I did," Genpachi chuckled, before he went into a full-on ramble, "Listen, Jazz is everything! That improvisation embodied in Jazz is what allows us to break free of the society, nay, fate itself has set for us. It's our choices who define who we are, what we mean, meaning a world where some God decides everything for us, where nothing really happens because we say so, is a world without a meaning.
Yeah, simplest thing to do to get back at Simeon would just be to bump him off myself, but where's the artistry in that?" Genpachi kept going on, before his laughter started to build up, "No doll-face, you want a sucker to question fate and free will, you trick him into becoming a killer, see how his religion-addled mind handles that!"

I knew Genpachi wasn't the most trustworthy guy. Possibly from the moment we'd met, but definitely since Jeanne and I had overheard him and Simeon talking from that window.
"Genpachi, do you realise what you're even saying?" I had to get through to him.

"Frankly, sweet-cheeks, I don't, and I hope never to find out," Genpachi told me, seemingly having quietened down, "The moment you know everything, that takes away any reason or desire to know. Why break with fate if you know just what'll happen if you do?"
I couldn't tell if that was some longwinded way of him explaining why he just didn't tell us everything about the case in the first place, or if he was fully lost in his own musings. Either way, that Simeon had stolen Momoka's radio before his proper conversation with Genpachi wasn't contradictory, since he'd first stolen the radio for a whole other reason.

"NO! No no no no!" it was Kagura who then screamed out, "Simeon's innocent! If you have to blame anyone, blame me! I tampered with the pentagram so people couldn't trace it back to him, I'm the guilty one!"

"Kagura," Hildegard tried to say, "Yes, you were truant that day, and... I know you formed an early bond with Simeon. But still, no other evidence points to you."

"I'm the one who did it!" she blurted out, "I killed him! I killed Yudai!"

Was Kagura saying all this to protect Simeon, that she just didn't want to believe it was him? I had to get through to her:

[Battle of the Breakdown - Start!]

[Kagura's Forces: Paper shikigami and monstrous oni, armed with longbows and swords, and led by a taiko drummer]

[Tsubasa's Forces: A swarm of fighter planes, protected by clouds and wind, and fronted by a zeppelin]

"Simeon's innocent!" [1d10 Roll: 10]
"Why he'd ever do something like this?!" [Roll: 9]
"It's totally Aoko!" [Roll: 6]

Tempo Up! Drum bursts!

"Or blame me, I was there too!" [1d8 Roll: 4]
"I tampered with evidence, that makes me the bad guy!" [Roll: 8]
"Just stop accusing Simeon!" [Roll: 1, Use up 10]

Tempo Up! Swords shatter!

"It's all my fault!" [1d6 Roll: 6]
"You can't- you can't execute Simeon!"[Roll: 3]
"Why couldn't it have been me?"

THE|IN|BUILDING|WRONG
IN | THE | WRONG | BUILDING!

"We met in the South Building that morning, remember?" I told her, "You never came to the North building, Kirigiri would've seen you enter if you did. I mean, no offence, but you're not exactly that stealthy."

"S-Simeon," Kagura blubbed out, "Please... don't tell me it really was you".
The Miracleworker said nothing, he didn't need to.

"Let's... let's just try to get this whole case in order," I said, as all this had made me feel about ready to collapse.

*CLOSING ARGUMENT*

"Katsu Yudai, the Ultimate Jailbreaker, used a corrosive liquid to gradually rust the moorings keeping Albini's tank secure, then headed back to the class Ishimaru was giving just before the tank would be set free.
The killer knew the tank would roll down to the lowest point of the school, the basement, where Katsu Yudai's Lab was located, being told of its location by Genpachi.
Having exchanged radios earlier with Momoka after an interview, without her knowing, he tore down the poster in front of Simeon's lab before swinging the radio at him on a chain, to not leave fingerprints.
But the radio broke on impact, causing unintended bleeding. The killer, wanting to further frame on another, or possibly overcome with guilt, smeared the blood to make an occult pentagram shape before fleeing, a pentagram further smeared by Kagura in a rushed attempt to hide the killer's identity.
Katsu Yudai was doubly wounded when he fell on his own radio's glass, and if that didn't finish him, being unconscious when the tank crashed in did.

The killer being-
[ ] Aoko Mori, the Ultimate Undertaker!
[ ] Dejan Albini, the Ultimate Tank Commander!
[ ] Genpachi Sakamoto, the Ultimate Jazzman!
[ ] Kagura Amano, the Ultimate Miko!
[ ] Momoka Sakakibara, the Ultimate Radio Broadcaster!
[ ] Simeon Omura, the Ultimate Miracle-worker!
[ ] Katsu Yudai, the Ultimate Jailbreaker! (NMS Write-in)
[ ] Write-in

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 8, 2022

[X] Simeon Omura, the Ultimate Miracle-worker!

[Class Trial - End]
[Score: B = Birdcoin! x16]

"Alright, ya ground-bound homo sapiens! If ya have a suspect, time to get votin'," Columbird squawked out from atop his perch, calling the trial to an end, "Oh, and don't think ya can just wuss on outta votin', unless you wanna join the culprit in their grave."

I looked down on my podium at the buttons before me, and given what Genpachi, Kagura, and Simeon all said, everything pointed to the Miracle-worker. But then... why would the Voice say it was Aoko, did they just get it wrong too? But then why would Kagura and Genpachi act up like that for her rather than Simeon, I couldn't recall Aoko being at all close to them?

But regardless of whether it was Simeon, Aoko, or anyone else, could... could I even press that button for anyone? I mean, I'd been in a war, so even if I never saw an enemy's corpse from up in my plane, I knew I would've killed at least someone before.
No, that was it, it was because I'd already killed that I didn't want to kill someone again, or be responsible for their death in this case.

I gave in and pressed Simeon's button anyway, knowing someone was about to die no matter what I did, be it the killer or the rest of us for guessing wrong. As soon as everyone pressed, I saw a series of what looked like film reels whirring Columbird, each stopping on eight frames of Simeon, four frames of Aoko, two frames of Genpachi, and one frame of Dejan.

"Well, lookie here. Seems you juvenile whelps aren't as ass-backwards when it comes ta the great tradition of democracy as I thought. Yep, the Ultimate Miracle-worker's the perp, the trash most responsible for the Ultimate Jailbreaker's untimely demise!" Columbird proclaimed, "And I might I say how glad I am, I knew You-Die was gonna be trouble from the very moment I spotted his Talent on the enrolment list. But ain't nobody worming their way outta this Killing Game on my watch; hell, the little upstart got what was comin' to him without me even needing to issue Motives!"

"Wha- w-wait! You knew who the killew was all along?!" Etsuko exclaimed.

"Course I do, what sorta Trial would it be if I didn't?!" Columbird shot back, "And I better not hear 'Why didn't you just say so?' I ain't here ta give ya stuff for free, ya mangy ingrates!
Though I have to say, my American feathered heart is somewhat torn 'bout having to execute O'Mural here, given he took out the biggest thorn in my side... but then I remember he's Catholic and not Protestant, so he can burn in un-American hell for all I care!"

At least Simeon had enough time for last words. "...It is not dying I'm afraid of," he began, even if the shaking in his voice indicated otherwise, "The Lord Christ, his Martyrs, the Twenty-Six especially, all went with grace to their deaths, knowing God's Light shone brighter. What I fear is... where I'll be sent next.
Had I died earlier, it would've been with certainty that I'd ascend to heaven for my Martyrdom. Now... I can no longer say if I'll be welcome there. And, and I fear what will happen to everyone I leave behind," he finished, looking around one last time at all of us, but especially Kagura.

"Ah, enough of ya sob story! It's PUNISHMENT TIME, son!" Columbird announced.

It was then a beam of light shone down on top of Simeon as he said his final prayers, the beam somehow lifting him upwards, with a crying Kagura trying to leap up after him but to no avail. It was then a cinema-sized screen flickered on, its caption stating:

[SIMEON OMURA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDBa1rb94qY

The screen showed somewhere high in the skies, with shining gates of pearl resting on a stair-shaped cloud. Simeon, having levitated up here, tried to approach... only for Columbird there at the gates to give him the thumbs down, sending Simeon falling.

[ Ultimate Miracle-Worker in: The Harder They Fall! ]

Simeon then fell back to Earth so hard that he crashed right on through the ground and into what looked like Hell. He proceeded to be flung around by full-force winds, fall into cold water, be knocked around by golden boulders, crash through city walls, become trapped in a flaming coffin, fall into lava, be caught in a cauldron only for it to tip over a cliff, and finally be eaten by by a three-headed Satan animatronic above a frozen lake.

All of us were speechless at the Execution that'd just unfolded, the only sound being Kagura's continued cries. Even the most resolute or unflinching of us, like Toranosuke, Fuhito, or Manami, had a downcast look or needed to step back.

I don't know what it said, that the Ultimate Jailbreaker and Miracle-worker were first to die, the two who from their Talents alone should've been our best bet to get out of this game before it even began.
For Simeon, I'd at least say he didn't have much reason to fear Hell. Given this was an underground facility designed to psychologically destroy its captives, what was the difference between hell and this Killing Game anyway?

"Oh right, I mentioned Motives, didn't I?" Columbird, the last person whose voice I wanted to hear, then said, "I have here several of yer 'Prized Possessions', you could call 'em, letters home, keepsakes, inheritances, that kinda crap. Would've brought 'em up before, but since Cat-Sue got flattened anyway, I didn't need to. Who knows, kill again and not get caught, and I might so generously give ya yours back as a going-away present. America rewards hard workers, after all."

Columbird had a curtain lifted to briefly show us these 'prized possessions', and I nearly collapsed when I saw a certain a letter among them, but not one of my own...

"H-Hokuto..." I mumbled out.

Aoko, still alive even though the Voice had called her the culprit, then asked me, "Enoshima, who to do you mean by Hokuto?" I expected a mocking tone from her, but she actually phrased that delicately.

"Friend in the Air Force," I told her, "Komaeda Hokuto. He gave me his letter to deliver to his family, since he was worried the editors would take it off him."

"Yeah well, better get ta killin' again if ya don't want me to scribble all over it!" Columbird then said, before he had the curtains dropped.

"I...I need to be alone," I muttered, continuing to clutch at my head.

"Enoshima..." Aoko said again, as she turned to me with a somber gaze, "It's my profession to help those who mourn. I can tell this has been... hard on you, hard on us all, so please, know you can always share in your grieving. You don't have to suffer alone."

At first I planned to head all the way back to my room, but instead I decided to just walk till I was far enough out of earshot from everyone else. I had... questions to ask. Privately.

"Hey, helping me survive the Killing Game. Was that a lie?" I hissed, waiting to see if the Voice responded.

"Well, to the best of my abilities anyway," the Voice promptly came back into my head.

"So it was a mistake on your part?" I asked, "Because the alternative would mean you tried to get me, and everyone except Simeon, killed."

"Hah, shows how grateful you are," the Voice said back, "Columbird, or rather the Mastermind behind him, could've switched things around to throw me off, for all you know. It's not like a Killing Game referee to play fair."

"...Columbird knows who you are?" I had to ask.

"He might, he might not, I don't have access to his or his Master's thought-signals," the Voice told me, "If I did, I would've taken them over already. Keep talking to me like this when his security cameras are on, and you could risk him finding out. Why else do you think I don't talk to you 24/7?
Look, Tsubasa," the Voice just had to say, "If I just wanted you dead, do you think I would've gone to such roundabout measures to get inside your head?"

I couldn't think of anything to respond with on time, and those lingering words ended up the last I heard from the Voice that day. But not the last I heard right then.

"E-Enoshima, are you okay?" someone else called, as I turned around to see it was Momoka.

"Oh, Sakakibara, i-it's okay. I'm... fine, fine as any of us are right now," I tried to tell her.

"T-that's good to hear, Enoshima," she said softly and bowed, "We all assumed you'd headed back to your room, so it was worrying to see you just standing here, not moving or anything."

"What? Oh, that's nothing," I tried to tell her, "I just have... a whole bunch of thoughts to process."

Momoka nodded, "It'd be good for us to rest up anyway, it's, well, been an awful long day," she said. "B-but I was wondering, Omura talked about going to Heaven or Hell. I didn't know what to think about that, but ah, maybe you have thoughts on where he is now?"

I sighed, "Sorry, Sakakibara, I don't know much about, well, any religion's afterlife really. All I can say is... at least Omura and Katsu aren't here anymore."

But... at least we still have a chance to escape, as long as we live...

The Next Day:

[ ] Spend time with Aoko, I may have gotten her wrong...
[ ] Spend time with Dejan, make sure that tank's now stable
[ ] Spend time with Fuhito, I might need to insect his detective credentials...
[ ] Spend time with Genpachi, I ought to keep a close eye on him...
[ ] Spend time with Hildegard, she exposed a lot of herself during that Trial...
[ ] Spend time with Kagura, see how she's dealing with Simeon's death
[ ] Spend time with Toranosuke, he's the next best persobn to place our trust in, with Yudai gone...
[ ] Write-in student

{Current Birdcoin: 30}
[ ] Cryptic Diary, Cost 6
[ ] European Cheese, Cost: 8
[ ] Imported Record, Cost: 8
[ ] Machine Parts, Cost 6
[ ] Meatloaf Rations, Cost: 5
[ ] Movie Tickets, Cost: 8
[ ] Traditional Incense, Cost: 7

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 10, 2022

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

Chapter II: Spy for a Spy, Truth for a Truth

Fourteen Students Remain

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

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 13, 2022

[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.

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 15, 2022

(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

Gifts Available, more than one purchase possible {Current Birdcoin: 27}:
[ ] America's Finestest Comics Issue #2, Cost: 4
[ ] Samurai Tea Utensils, Cost: 10
[ ] Lapin and Le Fantome, French Masterthief Theatre anthology, Cost: 8
[ ] Warped Records, Cost: 6
[ ] Tickets to Gone With What Wind, Cost: 10
[ ] Grape Panta, Cost: 4
[ ] Random Present: Cost 2 (Roll 1d7)

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 17, 2022

[x] Jeanne, we could see about the ballroom
[x] Lapin and Le Fantome, French Masterthief Theatre anthology, Cost: 8

Out of the non-study books we had lying around the school, the Lapin and Le Fantome collection stood out to me; if it being French didn't already remind me of Jeanne, the dramatic, 'moonlit rooftop' cover certainly did. I spotted it in the School Store rather than in the Library, which made sense I guess, given it wasn't exactly an academic text. I did remember hearing Hope's Peak had a proper bookstore somewhere further up in the South building, from back when I was reading up on the school, but I had no way of knowing, after relocating underground and then Columbird, if it even existed anymore.

I had my Birdbook tuned to Genpachi's station, since I figured it'd be cautious to keep track of whatever he said. As he put on some French jazz, it reminded that I should show the book to Jeanne before I forgot:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq-t9TVbthc

After I headed back up through the hot springs cave again, I found that Jeanne was giving this library an inspection herself, it being a mostly brown, checkered room with bookshelves aligned in an arc.
"Oh hey, found anything?" I said to her, just trying to start conversation.

She shrugged. "Couple of things here and there, but nozing too helpful. Most of le books I've seen seemed to be tailored to our Talents, in fact..." Jeanne went over, pulling out a hefty tome with a handcuff illustration, "I was trying to get through zis one, a Jailbreaker's Manual, but it is surprisingly complicated and densely written. Well, at least zis sort of thing gives me some posthumous respect for Yudai."

"Er, I kinda assumed most academic writing was like that," I said, "Especially a book for jailbreakers, I mean, you wouldn't want a warden to easily decipher it."

"True, true. Parts of le book did stick out for me though," Jeanne nodded then went on, "For one zing, it has quite le selection of cake recipes, almost enough to be mistaken for a cookbook, which could be le point. I assume zis is so you could hide files in-between zem, from personal experience. Ooh, it also mentions smuggling escape plans within board games, a prisoner of war I knew was sent just zat once."

I got the idea that, if we could find some ingredients around here, we could follow the book to bake a cake for everyone, that'd be fun. But no, on second thought that sounded like an invitation for someone to slip poison in. Also, you could say that actually tasting good wasn't the point of jailbreak cakes.
I at least said, "Speaking of cake though, France is a said to be known for its baking, right? Is it that good?"

Jeanne thought that question over, but then had to laugh, "Sorry to disappoint, but when one is occupied and at war, haute cuisine is one of le first zings to go." She then went quiet a second, as a memory came back to her, "Ah, but I do remember le profiteroles maman would make for us as kids, before all zis war and imprisonment."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, it was the same for me with red bean mochi," I told her, though remembered, "Well, Mum didn't make them, I used to get them from morning markets.
Anyway, how about your talent? Found anything about resistance-fighting yet?" I asked, though obviously rebellions and jailbreak would be overlapping fields. Huh, it also wasn't lost on me that, had I been caught speaking with a member of the French resistance this much back in wartime, I may have been shot for treason by now.

Jeanne twitched at those words, but then said, "Yes yes, but nozing zat I'd force anyone but myself to read through. Very in-depth texts about political theory and history, incredibly specialised field."
I had to notice a bit of a contradiction in her words, given she'd complained about Yudai's textbooks being the same zing, er, thing. Well, I suppose these ones would be easier for her, given they were more her expertise.
She then sighed, "But of course, all ze really helpful and interesting books are likely being hoarded by Fuhito in his archive lab as we speak, no?"

"Well, not all of them," I said, as I figured this could be my segue into giving her my present, "Found this in the School Store, thought it may your sort of thing."

Jeanne's eyes widened as she saw the anthology book, before she eagerly took it. "Ah, Tsubasa, zank you! You have showed much forethought, no? Zese gentleman thief stories were all serialised back in le day, so how useful it is to have zem all in one place!" she beamed.

"Oh really, it's nothing..." I felt the urge to say, before another thing came back to me, "Yeah, that's right, I wanted to ask you about something else. It's about that ballroom actually, we oughta secure, or at least remove, that chandelier before it crashes down on anyone, or someone crashes it on purpose."

"Tsubasa, really, you do not need an excuse to invite me to le ballroom," Jeanne said as she fluttered her eyelashes, making me blush, "Still, you have a point, zat chandelier does stick out like le proverbial sore thumb, no?"

The two of us headed through the ice cave this time to get to the ballroom, given we hadn't gone through there before. And... yeah, I could see what Etsuko was talking about, I had to wrap my bomber jacket all around me to not be stricken by the cold. I'd only been this frigid at high altitude.

Jeanne though kept striding forth, possibly because she could've faced conditions just as bad, or perhaps out of sheer defiantness. She did have to be careful where she trod though, since the floor was slippery enough to send crashing into a stalactite, wall, or the other end of the cave. Right, as if I needed yet another hazard to keep track of, though I thought maybe if I'd been a professional ice-skater I could've used this cave as a shortcut?

Back in the ballroom again, the two of us started walking around either edge of the room until Jeanne shouted out from the other side, "Ah, it appears I have found le pulley system! Stand back, do not come near le centre!"

I looked up and saw the chandelier, one of the few things I could see in this darkness, hanging a good distance away from me, and nobody standing beneath. "Okay, it should be good to go!" I tried speaking as loud as I could.

At first I heard a metallic squeaking sound, then I heard Jeanne gasp as the chandelier fell down in an instant, crashing to the floor.
"Mon dieu, I slipped, I am so sorry!" Jeanne exclaimed.

I gradually approached the fallen chandelier, tiptoeing as carefully as I could to not stand on any broken glass in the darkness. "Well, the important thing was it didn't fall on anyone," I tried to cheer her up, though I uneasily reminded myself that all these glass shards could just become new murder weapons.

As I stood by the chandelier though, I heard brass blare as Columbird popped up right in front of me. "What in the name of all 49 States is this?! Do you know how we treat those who damage school property back where I'm from?!" he nearly exploded.

"I-It was an accident!" I tried to say, "We were just trying to lower the chandelier so it couldn't endanger anyone."

"Yes yes, don't want a repeat of le Palais Garnier," Jeanne spoke up.

"What in tarnated Hell is a Palais Garnier?!" Columbird spat out, but Jeanne seemed to sense he wouldn't care for the answer.
"And don't give me that 'endanger' crap, do you realise how much damage you've just done to this Occupied School? Anyway, the two of you better count your lucky stars it's late enough that I barely have time to give you the detention you punks deserve!" he roared out, before he said, "But tomorrow, oh ho ho, tomorrow is another day! I want you two to report back here at 0830 hours to take some goddamn responsibility for this, try to play truant and I'll star-spangle you with bullet-holes! Is-that-understood?!"

Jeanne and I could only nod, unless maybe Jeanne gave Columbird the finger that I couldn't see in the darkness.
Once he was gone, she pre-emptively said, "Hey, no need to apologise," to me, then added, "Blame le American animatronic, if anyone.
Still, ah, Tsubasa," she said in a brighter tone, "Looming detention aside, zis was still fun, no? Ooh, I will certainly read le book you gave me the moment I have le chance!"

I couldn't help but smile, "Hey, thanks, glad to hear something positive around here."

Jeanne's Trust +1

I figured tomorrow that I'd only have time to get dressed and have breakfast before that 'detention'. Jeez, even the word detention made me feel bad; I guess getting drafted had stamped out what little rebelliousness was in me. The opposite of Jeanne, really.

Well, on the bright side, maybe I'd have the chance to get breakfast with someone first?

[ ] Tallyhos, a new honey-flavoured cereal from the US, not the UK like you'd think. 3 Birdcoins
[ ] A Western breakfast of bacon and eggs. 2 Birdcoins
[ ] Meatloaf, as if we hadn't had enough during the war. 3 Birdcoins
[ ] A Japanese breakfast of miso and rice. 2 Birdcoins
[ ] Sausages and mashed potatoes. 3 Birdcoins
[ ] Forgers Bay Bridge Coffee. 2 Birdcoins
[ ] Lobster, wait, is it price increasing? Thought it was cheap. 5 Birdcoins

[ ] Dejan, he got along with Jeanne, so maybe I ought to talk with him more
[ ] Fuhito, his archives did intrigue me
[ ] Genpachi, it'd help to keep an eye on him
[ ] Hildegard, she'd been a real help during the investigation
[ ] Kagura, my first breakfast with her went well
[ ] Toranosuke, maybe I could talk to him about safety
[ ] Yoritsune, I was kinda curious how they even ate
[ ] Write-in

ArlequineLunaire · Jan 20, 2022

[X] Hildegard, she'd been a real help during the investigation
[X] Sausages and mashed potatoes. 3 Birdcoins
[X] Forgers Bay Bridge Coffee. 2 Birdcoins

My day started on a sour note, with both the rather muddy instant coffee and the serviceable if slimy sausages and mash, though honestly it wasn't like I was used to much better. But things were brightened when Hildegard chose to sit next to me.

"Guten morgen Tsubasa, er, ah sorry, would you prefer Enoshima?" she said as she corrected herself mid-sentence.

"...It's okay, my first name's fine," I told her, before I sighed, "I mean, we haven't really known each other that long, relatively anyway, but I guess situations like these have a way of making people feel close. Sometimes, well almost uncomfortably close."

Hildegard had to nod, "I can see your point, I mean, we like to think conflict creates or strengthens bonds, everyone chips in for the war effort and that. But honestly..." she muttered, then was able to continue, "A lot of time I see situations like these tear people apart. That's what they're designed to do, after all."
She looked at me, flinched and little, then slowly asked, "Tsubasa, um, would you ever have figured I was Jewish, let alone Romani, if I hadn't let it slip?"

Now that question I had to think a while about, before I admitted, "No, not really. But like, I'm not really the best person to ask, I've never met a Jew in my life. Ah, never had the chance, is all," I quickly added.

Hildegard still smiled but did have to wince. "Then again, I suppose I should be proud of that," she suddenly said, "I owe my survival to it. Blonde hair, blue eyes, well bluegreen really, point is I look just like the ideal Aryan girl. That the average Nazi refused to believe someone like me could be Jewish may have saved me from the camps. True, there are other ways of finding out one's heritage, but by the time they started looking through them, I was gone," She then went quiet, only then saying, "Most others where I lived, they weren't so fortunate."

I thought for a second, but then I recalled, "Actually, I can remember there were a couple of Jews who came over here early on in the war, well, before the German officers stationed here started complaining about us letting them in."

"Yeah, so Japan just stuck us all over in China," Hildegard had to mutter, then cleared her throat and said more normally, "I would've been one of the last to come over here, and by then I'd gotten used to disguising my roots, so I tell anyone looking that I was just another German and they'd believe me. And yeah, I was only lying by omission."

As those words sank in, I had to remark, "I can't blame for not wanting to tell us your Talent, giving what you've gone through. My own family's not that much, I mean we're kinda respected for our military background, but that's it. W-What I'm trying to say is, well, I couldn't tell what it's like being a minority."

"Uh, thanks," Hildegard said, only half-looking at me, "Hmm, you put that kinda awkwardly, but well, it's an awkward topic after all.
Hold on," she then said, shifting the conversation, "Your family's military background... does that mean you were samurai?" her eyes widened.

Now I had to flinch a little. "Only just," I told her, as I tried to recall the details, "The Enoshimas were ashigaru, so hmm, technically samurai but of the lowest rank. Well, back when that distinction even mattered. I think my own grandfather used to say our ancestor was there at the Battle of Yamazaki, uh, keyword being 'think'. Didn't get to see my grandfather much before he died, ugh, I'm getting off topic. Really, this is more Yoritsune's thing, I'm no historian."

"That'sfair, but look, Tsubasa, there's no need to put yourself down," Hildegard then said to me, "There's people who've handled being trapped in a Killing Game way worse than you have, you've even met some of them. I'm..." she then paused before sighing, "I was going to say 'I'm sure you'll do fine', till I thought I shouldn't be saying things I couldn't guarantee."

A thought occurred to me, as I then said, "Guess it's easy to be hard on yourself when you've got detention, huh?" I then explained, "Uh yeah, Jeanne and I were trying to detach a loose chandelier in the ballroom above, that way it couldn't be used to kill anyone. Thing is it slipped, Columbird got mad, and soon enough we'll be serving detention."

Hildegard had to smirk at that, "Knowing that bird, he'd get that mad over anything."

"Yeah, and since it's not an execution, I figure whatever it is it can't be any worse than the punishments in the army," I shuddered as I remembered those.
Looking back down at my breakfast, which I realised despite my deadline I'd barely touched since I'd started talking with Hildegard, I said, "They'd have to have better sausages than this back in Germany, right? Er, I was also talking about French food with Jeanne yesterday, hence the link."

"Well, so they say about German cuisine," Hildegard shrugged, "But it depends what sort of person you are, it controls what you get access to. Like even regular gentiles could get better meat than the Jewish quarters could."

"Ah yeah, I should've figured, " I mumbled.
Then noticing what time it was, I downed my mostly untouched coffee and began fast shoving the sausages and mash into my mouth. "Ack, I'm sorry," I then said to Hildegard, "Just realised the time, and I've gotta get going soon."

"Oh, I see," Hildegard nodded, but then smiled and said, "Still, I'm- I'm glad I got to see you this early, Tsubasa. Most of the times we've talked, it's been in an investigation."

I smiled myself, "Likewise, Schulz, ah, Hildegard. I'm glad I got to talk to at least someone this morning besides Columbird."

Hildegard's Trust +1

Saying our goodbyes, I then began my trudge to the second floor, awaiting whatever detention Columbird had in mind.

Birdcoin! x1
"Half a minute late I see!" Columbird shot out at me the instant I entered the ballroom. Before I had time to reply, hen then demanded to know, "Where's that French girl of yours?!"

"Huh, Chevalier? I-I don't know, I didn't see her on the way here!" I told the truth, figuring that was probably the best thing to do in this situation.

"Is this insubordination I see? Why if any US soldier was this tardy, we'd have sent them to the firing squad!" Columbird kept ranting. Although, given Jeanne's title was the Ultimate Resistance Fighter... what he did honestly expect?
"Stay here, whelp, and get to sweeping up that glass while my eagle eyes track that Little Miss Frog!" Columbird ordered, tossing a brush and pan to me that hit me in the stomach. Honestly, that he wanted me to sweep up glass in the dark didn't really surprise me.

After he left, I tried the best I could to follow those orders without accidentally cutting myself. I almost froze when I then heard a voice in the darkness, but that tension left me once I recognised who it was.
"Psst, hey Tsubasa," Jeanne's voice spoke up, "Er, to explain myself, my original plan was to skip out on zis ridiculous detention entirely, but zen I recalled I would be leaving you here, and well, zat made me feel like I was abandoning a comrade, no?"

That did bring a smile to my face, even though I told her, "Really, I... wish I had your rebelliousness. I could never dream of disobeying an order, it's like it's programmed into me by now."

"Well, zat is a fascist society for you," Jeanne remarked, before she said, "Really, it was ze thought zat le bird might execute you for my disobedience zat tipped le scales for me."

"So there you are!" Columbird then bust back into the room before I even had the chance to reply to Jeanne. "Hmph, you worthless maggots better pray that you don't fall victim to tomorrow's motive!"

"Huh, motive? What motive, bird?" Jeanne spoke back up to him.

"Well, since none of you dainty little pussbabies have committed another murder by now, I've got no other choice but to give all of you the extra shove!" Columbird went over, "Oh, not that I'd tell you miscreants what the motive is beforehand, you'll have ta wait till tomorrow's assembly for that, like we do in civilised society!"

"W-wait, weren't those Prized Possessions our motives?" I asked.

"Feh, so much for them, the promise of them hasn't gotten a single one of you wimps to murder anyone yet!" Columbird raged back, "Ahem, so I'll have to include a little more incentive. Huh, and the Game started off so promisingly too, but you wastes of space and time just had to go disappoint and disrespect me!"

Columbird's rant, I got back to sweeping up all the glass, Jeanne now forced to join in. I got to thinking who I could talk to the moment this detention was over, if I still had the energy to do so. Talking to Jeanne right now was an issue, since whenever we tried to say something, Columbird would just yell over us again. Bet there was:

[ ] Dejan, he'd want to know about our detention
[ ] Fuhito, as despite his talent, someone with detective training should be warned of a motive announcement
[ ] Genpachi, I hadn't kept track of him all day
[ ] Kagura, see how she was going with her Lab
[ ] Momoka, her calming presence would be the exact opposite of Columbird
[ ] Toranosuke, for any other source of authority
[ ] Yoritsune, since I'd brought them up when talking to Hildegard
[ ] Write-in

Gifts Available, more than one purchase possible {Current Birdcoin: 14}:
[ ] America's Finestest Comics Issue #2, Cost: 4
[ ] Samurai Tea Utensils, Cost: 10
[ ] Warped Records, Cost: 6
[ ] Tickets to Gone With What Wind, Cost: 10
[ ] Grape Panta, Cost: 4
[ ] Onmyodo Manual, Cost: 5
[ ] Random Present: Cost 1 (Roll 1d7)

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