#sc chapter 4

[sleeplesscitizen]

See It To Believe It | Boufana | RE: Yajiro

“Oh, how kind of you, dearest Yajiro, for considering the state of your verdant ally. For one, I’ll confirm that she is not guilty of the deaths that occurred during the closure period. If any of you were concerned to vote on a culprit that was absent, I shall put that to rest. Not too hard, right?”

Repositioning herself at the exit door, she continues her line of thought. “As for her health, she is unfortunately comatose as her body is receiving special treatment. I hoped to save such a revelation for after the trial, but Fukai is a bit special. No other human being could have survived impalement like that, but the girl is resilient as shit, and for good reason. You can all ask about that once this is all over. But for now, here’s a little teaser!”

The screens above the mainframe light up, revealing the immediate image of, unsurprisingly, Fukai Miki. Still wearing the same clothes as at the time of her attack, she floats upright in a large, futuristic glass tube full of an unknown, presumably viscous blue-tinted liquid. 

As the camera pans out, much more surprisingly, are similar looking teenagers that deeply share Miki’s resemblance, with green hair, toned skin complexion, and same facial expressions of deep rest.

The screen cuts out seconds later, after sufficient evidence of the girl’s living existence became clear. 

“Hope that did it for you, because I could wheel her out if y'all wanted! Though she’d probably die if I did that, so I recommend continuing with the trial before my patience runs out.”

With the worries about Fukai out of the way, the goal is clear: the culprit must be brought to justice.

[sleeplesscitizen]

RE: Start >>

“And here we are again, only this time, for the first time!” Boufana breathes in, relaxing upon every student’s entrance into the room. “Home, sweet home! Well, my home. If any of you are curious, the hulk of metal you’re looking at is none other than yours truly!”

“Yep, that big girl right there is your beautiful teacher, Miss Boufana (Deeznuts)! Appearances can be deceiving, lol!” She struts towards the machine, knocking lightly on its stainless steel hull. “Normally, AI systems aren’t this large. But I’ve always been the brains of the family, so it’s only natural my system is the largest! After all, I control what goes on in Japan! Not only that, but I gotta manage all the people to murder on the outside, too! Imagine how much work it is...I mean…sheesh, give a girl a break, right?”

“Anyways, I’m sure you’re all just itching to start the trial back up after our long, long recess. Feels like a month passed, if I’m being honest! Of course, even with all that extra time I so generously handed out, I’m sure you’re still nervous. So just remember...sucks to be you! Although, you may not have it as bad as the intruder among you!....Oops! Well, you know what they say, trust your fellow man! Unless they’re trying to kill you all. So I guess, well, don’t trust em’, lol!....

…trial restart? Trial restart!”

TRIAL RESTART!

[sleeplesscitizen]

Out of the Fire Pit into the Hot Laptop

After being escorted by a set of autonomous cars to the nearest bullet train, you and your other classmates arrive in a timely fashion only about two hours after departing from Fuji Five Lakes. The trip is tense, an atmosphere of frustration firmly gripping the nearly silent ride. It’s eerie how used to near silence one can get, with the soft noises of the train itself blurring into a monotonous white noise.

The elevator ride is mostly the same, merely switching the backing track. Frustration blooms into anxiety, the threat of what could be if this trial goes wrong suddenly a lot more tangible.

Arriving at the fifth floor to find the new trial room leaves a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach, a reminder of the past tragedies you’ve already gone through. The circular room radiates heat from the middle where a large mainframe sits, the walls littered with monitors, giving way to small alcoves where consoles are. The room is far more futuristic than the past settings you’ve had for trials, with an even more oppressive atmosphere, computing systems humming softly, and blinking lights scattered throughout. Above the mainframe is a jumbotron, and once every member of the class has stepped inside it, along with every other screen in the room, flicks on. They display video footage from all across the globe, except from Japan itself. The jumbotron shows off some well dressed folks in a casino, gambling and chatting. Everyone in all the footage across all the screens look peaceful, calm, happy, going about their days normally. As if they were blissfully unaware of your plight, forgotten in the sea of sleepless.

Between the buzz of electricity, the waves of heat, and the anxiety to avoid a sour outcome the smiling face of Boufana feels like a slap to the face.

[sleeplesscitizen]

Shamble Along The Dirt Path

If anything, you feel lucky. The state of the trial before you were given the recess was clearly grim for everybody but the culprit, whose actions against the other victim nearly went undiscovered. Thankfully you were all given a second chance to discover the identity of the perpetrator of this double homicide, which nearly turned into, oh baby, a triple.

Your watch vibrates and rings to notify you of, unsurprisingly, the end of your opportunity to explore the area for more clues. A familiar blonde expresses, once again, the necessary actions to take to resume the trial process.

“Hey kids! Oof, what a day, right? Sorry if I’m about to make things worse, but it’s about time to head to Hopes’ Tower, lol! This time, we’ll be meeting on the newest floor, courtesy of this chapter’s generous death-bringer. And while I would have been fine with the death of just one person, two works just as fine! Remember to be back by your curfew, kids! I’ll be watching.”

And so, with the announcement made on your watches by Boufana, the investigation period has come to a close. And interestingly, instead of returning to the campsite, the new trial location now follows the same pattern as before: to a new room in Hopes’ Tower, once again.

You have learned that Kaoru was killed along with poor Minato, and there was clearly meant to lack evidence. Luckily, no crime is absolutely perfect, and your collective investigations as a student body may be able to track down the culprit behind this absolute mess.

As opposed to the first investigation, the second has revealed new information, at the disastrous cost of losing Fukai’s involvement, though thankfully not her life. The idea that three people could have died within a single closure has wrecked your nerves, and the chip on your shoulder feels like it couldn’t be any heavier than it is now.

And yet, you have a feeling in your heart that it may very well crush the shoulder it sits upon.

[sleeplesscitizen]

Nature’s True Beauty

The investigation, for everybody, seems to have come to dead ends. Each group painstakingly explored almost every conceivable area, and you, most honestly, really poured your heart out into discovering who killed poor Maestro.  Too bad he didn’t have any extra lives...and Kaoru’s likely reaction to this is probably even worse than your own, seeing as they spent their time exclusively together. From the fishing docks to Hatsune Miku’s Bass Pro Fishing, you’re put at a loss, and your nerves grow more strained as the searching comes to a close. Whoever did this, made sure it was a clean kill. And then, in the silence of the sand, stream, forest, and lake, a searing voice rings out from the filtered speaker of a megaphone.

”HELLLLOOOOOOOOO CAMPERS! LIKE, HOPE YOU’RE FINISHED WITH INVESTIGATION, BECAUSE WE’RE STARTING UP THIS BABY RIGHT AWAY! MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CAMPSITE AYY ESS AYY PEE!”

It’s hard to imagine her voice being more annoying than it already is, and yet, she finds a way to go beyond that. So the trial will take place immediately as soon as everybody convenes? It’s a little barbaric, right? Its a strange thought. Are you not going to the tower this time?

You, and the other investigation groups return to the campsite, now restructured so the obelisk is now surrounded by a total of 18 log-carved stands. It’s adorably rustic, and yet, you can’t help but wonder how Boufana set everything up so quickly. Speaking of the dastardly blonde, she appears as soon as you even think of her, and this time, she drags a clunky, classic drum-set on top of a wheeled pallet. Climbing meticulously on top of the of the small stool that pairs with the set, she enthusiastically commences what looks to be a strange, stark, and oddly standard trial.

“Here’s the official Boufana Twist for today’s trial, kids! You are all the proud, lucky recipients of a class trial accompanied by....” She hops down, and immediately starts on an insane, complex, and impressive drum solo. Near the limits of human capability, she snares and drums to no end, until, after what seems like both nothing and infinity, she finishes the round of beats and crashes. “MY SICK DRUM BEATS, LOL!” This, surprisingly, is the first addition to the ‘standard trial’ that you actually seem to enjoy. No more racing, or lawyers, or body doubles...finally, a normal, stress-filled trial. The drumbeats begin again, in a rapidly growing volume. At it’s apex, the beat freezes, as Boufana shouts into open air---

“LET’S FIND THIS! TRAITOROUS CULPRIT! TRIAL START!”

[sleeplesscitizen]

The Circle Closes In - Chapter 4

Well, after a tense search, you converge with your other classmates in the woods, after following a trail of blood. There, lying cold under the trees, is Maestro.

His body was bruised, and broken. His expression twisted in pain. This was clearly something brutal.

Minato, or “Maestro” to most, lay dead among the bushes of the forest, eyes in shock, body already in a state of decay. It is truly a nasty sight, and a hard stop to the serene silence you experienced these past few days.

The sunrise runs the sky a dull pink, like if drips of the boy’s blood tainted the canvas above.

Among the silence in observing the body, heavy footsteps approach.

“Ooo! Epic fail FTW! Seems this guy did not win the Epic Battle Royale! GG...”

Doing a quick once-over of all the present students, the teacher snickers. “LOL. Just as planned, it seems! Well alright kids, its another round of regular investigation for you! Don’t let any new rules for the trial distract you now, okay? Just find out who killed poor Minato. And give me your credit card numbers.”

As Boufana walks away from the scene, you’re left empty handed as to what may be in store for this time. Every other trial had a gimmick, and yet, no word of that here.

Regardless, there’s still a murderer among you, and justice to be dealt.

Investigation Start!

[sleeplesscitizen]

Land O’Lakes

The past few days, as you have noted, have been eerily quiet. With the motive for Closure this time around being so removed from your day-to-day life, you haven’t really seen the effect of it as you predicted. Instead, it's a tense, empty atmosphere, so fragile that a pin-drop could break it.

Everyday, you’re able to hear and see from your periphery that obelisk in the middle of camp, always playing some variation of a terrible, avoidable “accident”, and another person dead. The guilt has been weighing you down, but your resolve to keep your hands clean and your morality intact perseveres. You don’t know for how long, though.

You remember two nights before, now entering the third, watching some shitty Halloween movie with some kind of gimmick ending, but besides that, not much else. The amenities are nice, as they always are, but it doesn’t seem to matter too much. The fall air wraps around you coldly, pushing you indoors.

It's time for another silent night. You drift to sleep in your cabin along with the other students, awaiting the cruel alarm of that obelisk in the center of camp going off again.

When the night passes, you wake up not to the blaring audio of the monitor outside, but a beautiful ray of sunlight, beckoning an unusually warm day for the climate. The silence, unexpected as it is, becomes serene, as you look out to the lake for an impressive view of the sunrise. A few other students have done the same.

That’s when you all realize, at once, and turn to the monitor.

Of course.

Its not playing.

What do you do?

[sleeplesscitizen]

Nerco Neutrality - CH 4 Closure Pt. 2

A large, wider, and sturdier version of those black obelisks has been rocketed from somewhere right into the center of camp, lodged deeply in the dirt. Its screen, compared to the smaller displays of the dead student’s own obelisks, is almost 70″ inches diagonally. Impressive!

“I decided to launch an initiative meant to really strike back at those lazy assholes who have clearly abandoned you! Welcome to my new PRANK CHANNEL!”

The monitor flicks on.

CW: Car Accident

The monitor flicks on to show camera feed of a four-way stop in some suburban area in the world. The street signs are English, and judging by the cars being driven on the right side and a nearby pedestrians wearing thicker winter clothes, its likely in Canada somewhere.

“Hey there, all you lovely listeners! Thanks for dropping in for our first Sleepless Goof-em! The least funny prank show in the world!”

“Now watch, as this poor man makes an uh-oh by being randomly selected out of everybody in the world!”

One of the pedestrians on the road walking slowly comes to a halt, almost out of camera range. He looks towards the camera, and clear as day, you can see the blankness of his eyes. He’s gone Sleepless.

You swallow the air in your lungs. Your stomach drops. There’s...no way. Wasn’t this supposed to be purely within Japan?

The man begins shambling down the sidewalk, patiently moving past oncoming walkers and even maneuvering around a biker.

Finally, he arrive at the crosswalk. On a green light, he makes his way to the center of the road. He flails his arms out, wide open.

Not a moment later, an oncoming car screeches towards him, and before you can even tell what’s happening, its all too late. The man lay bleeding on the side of the road, and a car horn can be faintly heard from the presumably live feed.

“Looks like that guy should have looked both ways, am I right, people?”

The screen flicks off.

Boufana beams at the kids now staring dead-eyed at her, some with tears welling up. You stand in disbelief at what just appeared on the screen.

“I’ve been actually thinking of expanding my programming schedule, actually! Tomorrow, I think I’m gonna go with 10. If the audience doesn’t have any objections after that, I think I’ll move it to 100. Then 1000. And I think you get the point from there.”

Could she...actually do that? Kill that many people?

“If you want to call my bluff, go ahead, but if you also want to believe I’m about to fake every video that appears on that screen? Be my humble guest. Just makes it all the more fun for me!”

The blonde woman in front of you snickers with delight. “With that in mind, I think we’re done here. You all get what you have to do to end these killings. Wonder if you all truly cherish the lives of these strangers enough to actually do anything I’ll tell you what--you’ll never see Japan victimized for this one, at least. Finally, some respite, right? Spend it well!”

With no trick or fancy exit, Boufana just walks off towards the RV Park.

You are now free to explore the campsite.