Danganronpa: Digital Daze

Monorakun scurried past Chihiro and I, entering the room. Once everyone else showed up, he addressed us.

"Alright, shitbags. We've got everyone's favorite ship dead, and you ruined it!" Monorakun complained. "But who ended them? One of you, of course!"

Monorakun then scratches behind his ear with his hind foot. "Or was it... TWO of you? I mean, there ARE two dead bodies, after all... Hmmmmm..."

"Enough with this! Just give us the damn Monorakun File!" Kaito snaps.

Monorakun sighs. "Fine, fine. Here."

Everyone's E-Handbooks went off at once. I opened mine up, and saw two files sent to it. One was an Autopsy Report for Makoto, and the other for Mukuro.

I decided to open up Makoto's Autopsy Report first.

"Victim: Makoto Naegi. Time of Death: Around 12pm. Cause of Death: Extreme Nipple Piercing. The victim has an unidentified object embedded into his chest. The victim also died in water. No other external injuries reported."

So Makoto died in water... that was good to know.

I next opened up Mukuro's Autopsy Report.

Victim: Mukuro Ikusaba. Time of Death: Around 12:30pm. Cause of Death: Lacked Volt Absorb or Water Absorb. Two electrical burns were found, one on either side of the victim's neck, which contributed to her death. Water was found in her lungs. No other injuries reported."

"So, two deaths, both involving water. Makoto has... something, in chest. Mukuro, two burn marks on neck, water found in lungs," Kenchikka summarizes.

Theo nods. "Yes, dear lass, it would appear so. I shall monitor the crime scene."

Kenchikka nods. "I'll join. Two murders, need two people. Otherwise, lose time."

Kaito concurs. "Yeah, I like that. Rest of us, look around, gather alibis, and let's avenge Makoto and Mukuro!"

The first thing I did was look inside the tubs. I saw no trace of blood in either one, but there was something inside the cold tub, where Mukuro met her end.

It was, to my horror, the taser. It had been dropped inside of the cold tub, and I wasn't sure if it was off or not.

Kaito, noticing my reaction, walked over to me, quickly noticing the taser in the water.

"Hey! What the hell is that?" Kaito asks out loud.

Everyone except Theo comes over to see what we're staring at.

"Taser. No lights on, likely safe," Kenchikka comments.

Celeste finds an elbow-length rubber glove behind the cold tub. "Here. This may be evidence, but would it not be wiser to use it to procure the device, rather than your bare hand?"

I nod in agreement. "Thanks, Celeste!" Taking the glove, I put it on my right hand, then slide my hand in and grab the taser. Pulling it out of the water, it was indeed turned off.

"Well, at least the weapon was turned off, Bera," Chiaki remarked. "But the mystery deepens. How did it end up there?"

"A valid question," Celeste responds. "Perhaps this glove holds the key?"

Chihiro, Leon, and Kaito exchanged puzzled looks. Meanwhile, Chiaki's eyes lit up.

"I recall seeing these items. The taser and elbow-length rubber gloves were prizes from the Carnival Room," she remarks.

"But there's only one glove here," Chihiro replies. "Where is the other one?"

Kenchikka shrugs. "Worry about that later. For now, deal with taser."

I carefully handed the Taser to Chihiro. "Here, I trust you with this. See what you can find out, ok?"

Chihiro nodded. "Ok, leave it to me!"

While Chihiro carefully examined the taser, Chiaki and Leon departed for the Carnival Room. Theo carefully watched everyone, while Celeste looked over at the massage chairs.

I decided to try to get some alibis from people, starting with Theo.

"Well, good sir, I started the morning with breakfast, then spent a large part of the morning in my room. We then met for lunch, and spoke for a while, as I'm sure you remember. I believe you departed me around 1:15pm or so, heading to another person's dorm room while I returned to my own."

Of course. Theo and I were together during the time of the murders, so we had each other's alibis.

Chiaki and Leon returned, and I decided to speak with Chiaki next.

"Hey, Chiaki. Do you remember what time it was when Mukuro and I left the Carnival Room?" I asked.

Chiaki pondered. "I think it was around 11:45am."

"So, what did you do after I left?" I asked.

Chiaki responded, "I stayed in the Carnival Room, playing "Dress to the 9s". I've gotten a promotion to manager, and just bought my first car, too."

Chihiro claimed to have been working on Alter Ego most of the day, which made sense, since we had discussed Alter Ego earlier in the day, in his dorm room.

"So, Leon, where were you at, then?" I asked next.

Leon shrugged. "Hmmmmm... Well, I was in the Exercise Room most of the morning, then went to the Jam Room around 10:45am to work on some new vocals. I'm still giving up baseball to pursue a music career, ya know."

Celeste, meanwhile, mentioned discussing a private matter with me that morning, before leaving for the Spa Room. However, she claimed she was getting a back and shoulder massage at the automated massage table, spending most of her time face-down. She left at 10:45am, noticing Makoto coming in alone as she was leaving. She had no idea where Mukuro was, and never saw her that day.

"Around noon, I came down for lunch, where I engaged in a pointless debate with Kaito and Kenchikka. Theo and you can attest to this, can you not?" Celeste added.

I nodded, remembering the three-way argument in the Dining Hall.

Kaito was in the pool that morning, as Chihiro and I could vouch for, but after he left, he was in the Bowling Room, on the same floor as the Spa Room. He left at 11:35am to take a quick shower, then arrived at noon to the Dining Hall.

"I heard a few people pass by the doorway at different times, but I didn't pay much attention to it," Kaito admitted.

Kenchikka, meanwhile, was in her dorm room most of the morning with vertigo and a migraine, but left her room to eat lunch.

"Ummmm... guys?" Chihiro spoke up. "There's a part missing to this taser. It looks like the two little wires that eject from this mechanism are gone."

Theo nodded. "I see. It would appear that Makoto has those wires in his chest."

Chihiro nodded, then continued. "However, it looks like the prongs should still work, even without the firing mechanism, similar to a cattle prod or a policeman's electric baton."

Chihiro compared the markings on Mukuro's neck to the space between the prongs. It was a very close match.

"I think that -" Chihiro started, but was interrupted by Monorakun.

"Alright, time's up. Everyone to the Courtroom for the Fourth Class Trial! Do we have two separate Blackeneds, or did someone take advantage of a Two-for-One sale? Time to find out!"

For the fourth time, we all headed to the Courtroom.

For the fourth time, we would have to discuss a student's murder.

But would we get it right for the fourth time?