“...but there was a large cooler in the execution chamber.”
“I did see the outside of the cooler!”
“The lid wasn’t particularly accessible, though.”
“ ‘s that the thing you, like, totally told me not to see?”
“Yeah.”
“Is this regarding the tasteless disposal of empty shells?”
“That’s sure one way to put it.” Not exactly wrong, though. Especially the tasteless part.
“The cooler was full of dead bodies.”
“Dead...”
“Bodies?! Like, who?!”
“Who do you THINK it was, MORON?!”
“It was everyone—sans Aidan, of course—who died in this game.”
“Kokoro included.”
“And that’s supposed to PROVE her file wasn’t FAKE?”
“By itself? Maybe not. But not only was her body in the cooler...”
“...it was mixed in with the other victims taken off life support—between the fourth case victims at the bottom and the fifth case victims at the top.”
“In other words, Miss Tanukihara logically would have died at the same time as them, been disposed of at the same time...”
“...and stayed put.”
I nod.
“I didn’t exactly crawl into the cooler to take fingerprints, so I can’t prove all the bodies were exactly who they seemed to be...”
“...but preparing fake corpses to use like that, including where her own body would end up if she didn’t receive the motive vote, is kind of overkill, don’t you think?”
“So you mean the masterdude’s seriously Kokoro...”
“And she’s just, like, legit dead?!”
“And most certainly not by her own hand, as some fools have suggested.”
“Then MONOCHAP killed her?”
“If she’d already designated an heir to control the game after her, then what would be the point of making a fairly easily confused robot do it instead? Just to confuse us for a final trial that she had no reason to expect?”
“......”
“Besides, Mister Monochaperone couldn’t be considered the culprit. This trial is only taking place because a student committed the murders in question.”
“Yet he could be considered merely an instrument of the culprit, correct?”
“Okay, not sure what that means cuz I don’t think you mean, like, drums.”
“But why would she make Monochap kill her and then, like, not even bring her back? Totally wack.”
“Why hold this game at all, for that matter?”
“Kind of hard to look that deeply into the mastermind’s head after she’s died...”
“But one of us knew her a little better than the rest. Maybe we should ask her co-conspirator.”
“I’m sure we all saw at least some of the execution props next door.”
“Like MJ’s cliff ‘n stuff?”
“Right. Even aside from what we’ve already seen used...”
“...it looked to me like executions were prepared for all of us. Including the young masters.”
“So WHAT, I look like the type to EMBRACE his own EXECUTION?”
“You’re much more the type to flee it.”
“Are you CALLING me a COWARD?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Perhaps you’d care to face down my blades to prove otherwise?”
“No blade-facing!!”
“Miss Kogamino, if you could continue...”
“I would love to.”
I clear my throat, as if it will instantly shift the energy of the room back where it was supposed to be. It has yet to work after all these months, but still worth a shot. I just up my volume a little instead.
“I say we all had one prepared because they’re pretty clearly tailored to our talents.”
The room at least goes quiet in thought for a second.
“A greenhouse for the Gardener...”
“A plane for Aid’s thing...”
“You can always just say ATC if you're wanting to save yourself a few syllables.”
“And then a ‘country western’ for the Country Music Artist...”
I think it even referenced a specific song of hers, but heck if I can keep all her lyrics straight.
“And PENS and PAINTBRUSHES for the next guy, very fun, very exciting.”
“NOT!”
Why are you even talking?
“And finally a mochi hammer for Miss Kurokame.”
“The pattern... certainly holds.”
“And there were a lot more props and backdrops back there than the ones we saw in action. A backpack for Arthur, an 8-ball for me...”
“.....”
“P sure I saw some messed-up gym stands or something.”
I assumed those were hers, yeah. Not going to think much harder about it.
“But you say there were props for all sixteen of us? Young masters included?”
“Right. And the funny thing is...”
“Two of the props that hadn’t been used during the game were less dusty than the rest.”
“Implying that they were handled more recently...”
“...despite not appearing in the executions we... were made to watch, correct?”
“Like, I guess you could totally horse around here if you’re that bored?”
“Totally jank kinda playground, though.”
“Of all the items here, I doubt the young master felt like playing with a gurney and a slab of concrete.”
“GREAT, so it’s something MEDICAL.”
“Sounds more like KAICHI’S execution than MINE, don’t you THINK?”
“As if any of these whelps can be said to think.”
“We’ve already given plenty of reasons that Kaichi wasn’t the mastermind.”
“If you want to claim he was the heir, then that still wouldn’t clear you of your role.”
“Because of the slab of concrete?”
“Right.”
“Even if ‘something medical’ could apply to multiple students, the point of a single slab of concrete is a lot more limited.”
“There’s totally no construction dudes here.”
“And if it was intended for me, I should think...”
“...a greater distance traveled... would be involved.”
“Right. This wasn’t any sort of path. Sidewalk material, but not leading anywhere...”
“A pretty prime spot for some chalk art, wouldn’t you think?”
“For what, a CHILD? I need a LOT of surface for MY projects, thank you very much.”
“When did I provide the dimensions? All I said is it wasn’t a path.”
“I INVESTIGATED the same ROOM, you know.”
Well. Can’t prove he didn’t see it just a bit earlier.
“So the theory, I presume, is that the mastermind and heir arranged for their own recorded ‘executions’ just prior to the game starting, or even shortly after it started...”
“...so that they wouldn’t have to worry... should they feel the need to be killers in the game.”
“Wait, so they, like, already died? Again? How many times’s Kokoro bought it now?!”
“Fool. Clearly it was merely a spectacle rather than another true death.”
“Can you people at least DECIDE whether or not the young master was FINE with dying or not?!”
“They FAKED it, they DIDN’T fake it, they FAKED it again—”
“UGH!”
“More than faking their executions, test runs of the execution chamber’s capabilities in general would make just as much sense.”
“And only the ones who put this game together from the start could have come down here to make these preparations.”
“Well, Ichiriki? Do you have a better explanation for all this?”
“......”
We’ve had all sorts of responses to being cornered in trial. Exactly what someone with control over Monochap could do...
“What ELSE could you mean? You think the MASTERMIND is already DEAD?”
“It would be rather difficult for an unbound soul to run a ‘game’ of this sort.”
“Can I please make my actual point.”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Better launch into it before someone interrupts again.
“We can’t assume we didn’t see the young master die.”
“We...”
“...”
“Okay, dude, ‘s too many no’s in one sentence. What’re we saying?”
“...”
“The young master may be someone who appeared to die?”
“Right.”
“After all, Aidan’s sitting right there.”
He waves.
“On a SCREEN. That doesn’t PROVE he really DIED.”
“If anyone cared to view my x-rays, there is sufficient proof I was involved in a large-scale accident consistent with what I assume appeared on-screen.”
She heaves a sigh. “You mortals are truly fragile things.”
“I can’t claim to know exactly what went down, but multiple students here suffered lethal trauma.”
“Yet one of them is back with us, and the rest apparently died—again—in very quick succession, according to their Monofiles.”
“Those murders are the whole basis of this trial, remember?”
“Kay, so we got Aid and we got some super-extra-dead people. Totally still don’t get how I’m wrong, though?”
“They’re only ‘extra dead’ because they'd been brought back in the first place.”
“So we can’t assume the young master didn’t die, because they had a way to preserve themself if the worst happened.”
“Meaning the MASTERMIND doesn’t HAVE to be one of us six.”
“It just makes more SENSE if it is.”
“Basically.” As much as we can hope for anything about this to make sense.
Kanagi groans.
“Man, that makes it way harder to, like, guess.”
“I’m still not planning on guessing.”
“That’s right!”
“We’ll just have to rely on other criteria for elimination, unfortunately.”
“While some sensible alternatives have already been proposed, I’m afraid I’ve found no sort of proof of anyone’s...”
“...pre-game... socioeconomic statuses.”
You might be less exhausted if you picked words with fewer syllables.
“So-zee...”
“...you know what, it’s whatevs.”
“And the ‘following the rules’ angle could be faked pretty easily, if it’s not a central moral issue for you.”
“Which, again, would be difficult to find proof for.”
“Not to mention, you lot seem quite fond of breaking even your own rules...”
“Thus the reason one such as myself is necessary.”
“.......”
“Why can’t we just SOLVE this like all the OTHER murders?”
“We’ve already discussed how useless having a timeframe is.”
“And trying to get into motives is just asking for random accusations.”
“And, like, we totally said no weapons, either, right?”
“And what about the METHOD?”
“Unplugging a machine? I should think...”
“...anyone would be capable of that much.”
Ichiriki just scream-sighs.
“But there’s much more to this trial than the second death of the victims!”
“If this concerns the identity of the one who brought us here and ran the game, there are many more ‘methods’ we could discuss.”
“And you suggest what, precisely? Starting at the very beginning?”
“Of the young master’s actions, that is. You fools would struggle to comprehend a ‘beginning’ for one such as myself.”
We struggle to comprehend you, that’s for sure.
“We have to start somewhere. Makes as much sense as anything to me.”
“The beginning of our time here...”
“I... hope I can recall useful details after so long.”
“Like, seriously, dude.”
“Totally feels like we’ve been here for, like, ten years.”
“It hasn’t been that long...” Yet.
But it’s never going to be, because we’ll find our way out of here today. Let’s get started.
“Before we call this point dead in the water, there’s one more angle we should look at.”
“Maybe Monochap only serves one young master at any given moment...”
“...but what if that title can be passed down?”
“WHAT, like GENETICALLY?”
“STUPIDEST thing I ever HEARD!”
“You’re the one who said it, though?”
Ichiriki gestures wildly in my direction. I’m glad I’m a couple stands away.
“But it was HER idea!”
“No, what you said was very much not my idea.”
“Yes, we’ve already covered the topic of an entire history of killing games.”
“I’d prefer we... didn’t return to it.”
Yeah, no more backtracking here than necessary, please.
“Instead of anything that needs to be familial...”
“...could the mastermind have designated someone to inherit the ‘young master’ title upon their death?”
“It seems likely that the person responsible... would have at least considered the necessity... of some such thing.”
“Especially being one of the very participants of the killing game.”
“And how, pray tell, would they determine which of you worms was fit for such a thing?
“I certainly wouldn’t trust any of this lot.”
“They had plenty of research on all of us, at least as far as the student profiles go.”
“They could've even known someone before the game, though I don’t think that’s anything we could prove.”
“And HOW would that CHANGE anything?”
“KNOWING you people BETTER would make me trust you LESS!”
“Sounds like a you problem, dude.”
“But if we can’t prove that the mastermind may have known and trusted a, er... accomplice?... ahead of time...”
“...how could we prove this theory at all?”
“I’m sure you pathetic whelps could ‘prove’ it just as well as you’ve proven much of anything today.”
“Gee, sorry this trial’s a little less tidy than solving a single incident.”
“Hard proof would... certainly be difficult, yes.”
“But as with the rest of this trial... circumstantial evidence and arguments are a lot more convincing once enough of them have been stacked up, don’t you think?”
“Then what circumstantial proof do we have?”
Proof that the young master title could've been passed down... There has to be something.
“They’re personalized mini-tablets, basically! Just so you don’t accidentally run off with someone else’s, I’ve made sure they display the owner’s given name at startup!”
That’s right! If we can just get her to hand over her ID...
“...Tsunyasha.”
“What?”
“Monochap gave you a student ID like everyone else, right?”
“Indeed.”
“Seeing as such an unholy creature was responsible, there’s no reason you couldn’t part with yours for a minute, right?”
“B-but I...!”
“Surely hers will show the same profiles as ours do?”
“I don’t believe mine showed my own true talent from the start.”
I shake my head and turn back to Tsunyasha.
“Humor me?”
“Is that any way to ask a favor of the holy one herself?”
“Look, dude, can we please just see the thing?”
“ ‘S not like you need it, anyway, right? With your holy owl-knowing ‘n stuff.”
“Hmph. I suppose.”
Finally, Tsunyasha sweeps around the circle of podiums to hand her ID over... to Kanagi.
“Sweet, thanks!”
“....”
“Uhhhh what’m I doing again?”
“Just restart it and see what happens.”
“ ‘Kay.”
After eventually locating and nearly dismembering the power button, Kanagi taps her foot and stares at the screen until its light hits her face again.
“What’s it say?”
Beside her, Ichiriki, who’s pretty well able to read over anyone’s shoulder he wants, heaves a massive sigh.
“Looks like ‘Kiiko Senade’ to me.”
“So, like, was she taking notes just now, orrr...”
“Monochap. Remind us what our electroIDs display when we turn them on?”
“Oh, um...!”
“That would be the owner’s given name...”
“!”
“...”
“So regardless of who’s ready to admit what, all the evidence points to Tsunyasha coming to Apex Academy as the Super High School Level Kuroko. Not any sort of assassin.”
“In other words, this entire RIDICULOUS tangent was to say there’s no REASON to think the weirdo would decide to POISON people.”
“Of course not. One with my skill has no need to resort to such cowardly tactics.”
Masterful selective hearing for sure, but I won’t complain if it saves me a knife to the face.
“You’re the one who was whining about a lack of hard evidence, Ichiriki.”
“UGH!”
He casts his capelet over his shoulder in a huff, is apparently even less pleased with it this way, and proceeds to wrestle it like a cat until it’s roughly back in the same spot. Kanagi leans out of his way.
“ ‘Kay, so, like, hold up.”
“We’re saying the masterguy totally isn’t Tsuntsun, then?”
“Or at least that...”
“...the oxygen poisoning wouldn’t be expected from her, despite her alleged talent.”
“...And lack of consistency in regards to the prerequisite knowledge of poisons.”
“Then the focus of the second motive argument should wholly be on medical types?”
“And potentially Mr. Shintsuu, more chemically.”
“And you can HARDLY tell me a MYSTERY AUTHOR wouldn’t know OBSCURE ways to KILL people!”
“The poisoning wasn’t lethal... but that’s a fair point.” Especially when he had some kind of lung condition to boot.
“Wait, wait. Didn’t we totally already get rid of KAZE?”
“Like on the list or whatever. Not, like, rid-of rid of.”
“Dispatched, you mean?”
Before we can go any further down the thesaurus rabbit hole...
“Kazusuke didn’t fit the hidden camera criteria, right.”
“So if we’re to cross-compare those two lists of young master suspects...”
“...we’re left with only Mister Kishaba and Miss Tanukihara.”
“Is that correct?”
“Sounds right to me.”
Our final suspects...
Is the culprit really one of them? For all the speeches on the value of life or altruism, could one of them have plotted a killing game?
That’s what it looks like from here. Let’s see if we can come anywhere close to agreeing on the culprit.
“The one that’s NOT in the purple surfboard, APPARENTLY.”
“Correct.”
Now that we’ve gotten that worked out...
“In order to operate this hidden camera the way they did, they’d need to satisfy two criteria. The first is regularly having the disguised camera at around shoulder level or higher.” Depending on height, but I can’t get that exact an estimation from the photos alone.
“Such as... hats or glasses?”
“The heavy-laden one kept goggles round his neck, did he not?”
“And you’ve pearls around your own. Supposedly.”
“Definitely not a whole string of genuine ones, but yeah, these would fit that criteria.”
“Ich’s kinda got a necklace? Ish?”
“You mean my COLLAR? As IF!”
“So if we were to make a list of... consistent accessories at the appropriate heights...”
“That would leave myself, Miss Shitanaga, Mister Ford, Mister Kishaba...”
“...Perhaps it’s easier to list those who... don’t fit.”
“If I’m remembering all the outfits correctly—” and the student ID only shows so much—”that alone really only eliminates Otoya and Mary Jane.”
“Unless we want to count Mary Jane’s turtleneck or Otoya’s scarf, but those would be pretty unstable perches for a camera.”
“Whoa, whoa, why am I still there? Why’s Iggy there?”
“Your hair clips would technically qualify.”
“And since the only photos we found were before the coffee shop fire, we only get to consider his outfit from back then.”
“That’s also why Ichiriki isn’t disqualified for not having his capelet on all the time.” Or facing the right direction.
“Taima is actually eliminated twice over then, correct? If there were photos of us on the second floor...”
“...she never made it that far.”
“Right. Same for Kazusuke.”
“So WHAT, then? This is practically USELESS!”
“I wouldn’t say that! We’ve managed to eliminate 18.75% of the suspects with one...”
“...and a half? criteria.”
“Oh yeah, there’s, like, another one, right?”
“Right.”
“They also had to regularly handle the camera without us noticing.”
“Thus, those such as the pink one who don’t often reach for the object in question would be disqualified.”
I nod. “So unless anyone’s noticed me fiddling with my necklace a lot, it doesn’t really qualify as a possible hidden camera.”
“I don’t believe Ford reached for his goggles often, if at all.”
“And seeing as we’ve already eliminated any glasses, that should bring the number down to...”
“Four, I believe?”
“And we’ve already eliminated Kaichi from those four, so down to three.”
“Itsurou, Kokoro, and Tsunyasha.”
Now to brace myself.
“You dare suggest the Holy Assassin was responsible for this?”
She hasn’t come over here with knives drawn, so I’ll call it a win.
“I suggest your little mask meets our hidden camera qualifications, that’s all. Shoulder level, handled regularly.”
“Much like my glasses, we can easily prove your innocence by examining it...”
“...if you don’t mind us giving it a good look.”
“I would hardly deign to let your sinful hands come close to my possessions.”
“They may well burn you to the bone.”
“Thus the specification we’d like to see it,” he says too low for her to hear.
“We’ll be careful, dude. Just let us look so we don’t gotta waste time thinking it coulda been you.”
“But you’ve already named two others, have you not?”
“Best to focus on what little your feeble mortal minds can comprehend.”
“So not you.”
“Precisely.”
Yup, that went straight over her head.
“Unfortunately, we can’t inspect Itsurou’s writing materials or Kokoro’s clipboard at this point, either.”
“No more... hard proof down this avenue, I suppose.”
“Still, narrowing it down to three is quite impressive!”
“To two, rather.”
“Like, yeah, if you actually let us see the thing.”
“No.”
Frustrating as it may be, the last thing I want is to force my way past barriers of privacy. Last resort only.
“Those are our remaining candidates for this ‘young master,’ then? Kishaba and Tanukihara?”
He glances at Tsunyasha, too, but it’s not like naming her aloud will get us anything but more righteous indignance.
“In theory.”
“You call it impressive and then immediately don’t seem so sure.”
“........”
“Don’t mind me. What’s... our next point of discussion?”
“Don’t mind HIM? Since when does THAT runt not want to be the CENTER of attention?”
“Doppler is exhausted, as I’m sure most of us are.”
“Yeah, I’m totally game for moving on, but, like, to where?”
“I def don’t think Koko did it, FWIW.”
“What, because she showed some semblance of kindness to your ilk? Hardly a decent argument.”
“Thus the FWIW, dude. Chill.”
“Your point’s been noted, but sadly I agree that I’d rather not rely on that reasoning for such a big trial.”
“What OTHER reasoning do we even HAVE?”
“ ‘s plenty of whack stuff t’ go around. Uhhhhh.”
“Like, the masterdude woulda come up with the motives n’ stuff, right?”
“Certainly a point to pursue!”
“So long as we don’t... veer back into arguments based in... some kind of attempted criminal psychoanalysis which none of us... really...”
“.....”
“...is qualified for, I’m guessing.”
“.....”
“.....”
We don’t have the time or energy to keep going in circles. Even if that feels like about all we can do for such a broad case.
We’ll throw out whatever we can come up with, at least. There’s got to be some way forward.
