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Entry tags:
June mini-event
06/19 07:32
[ The following half-cryptic message goes up in the early morning before class, at the exact same time as two people are let into the faculty office to talk to the Vice Principal. ]
S.Saihara
S.Saihara
Sorry. I should have told everyone a lot sooner.
I know that.
But... if I did that, there was a chance it might have become about the merit points. And no matter what, I wanted to prevent that at any cost.
The person who did it might have been wrong... but they're still an important friend that we lived with.
That's something that shouldn't be reduced to a number.
The fact that it can be is what's messed up in the first place.
So maybe I wanted it to be a message. Not only for that person, but for the rest of us too.
06/19 17:23
It's a bright and sunny day. The heat is unbearable, with sunlight reflecting off the whites of the outer walls of the school building and seeming to concentrate right in the middle of the courtyard where it comes off the concrete in waves. In desperation for a breeze, you open a window— or perhaps you can't, and simply rattle the window latch futilely— when something large and black falls from the sky and smacks into the pavement, black turned red turned nausea and vertigo and the consequential darkness of the school when a blood sacrifice has been observed.
Black shadows students start to converge upon the body in the courtyard, although their efforts to drag the body into the expanding void in the auditorium can be thwarted by breaking a mirror and returning to reality— just in time to see a second body hit the pavement in the courtyard and send you right back. Escape once more and... a third body hits the ground, bright blue eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky above.
The sky stares back, dark storm clouds gathering in the horizon. Tonight, and through the weekend, it will rain.
Black shadows students start to converge upon the body in the courtyard, although their efforts to drag the body into the expanding void in the auditorium can be thwarted by breaking a mirror and returning to reality— just in time to see a second body hit the pavement in the courtyard and send you right back. Escape once more and... a third body hits the ground, bright blue eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky above.
The sky stares back, dark storm clouds gathering in the horizon. Tonight, and through the weekend, it will rain.
06/19 17:47
I.Sena
dying is sooooooooo annoying
so fess up who did it
✽ Please use the toplevels below for investigations. For some semblance of organization, there will be a separate toplevel for body investigation, location investigation, and suspect investigation, as well as one for general questions.
✽ As a reminder, npc students can open/close any window; pc students in classes with at least one rank (3-A, 3-B, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, and all of the first year classes) can open/close windows in 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C; and pc students in classes that gained at least one rank in the past month (3-A, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, 1-B, 1-D, and 1-E) can exit through the courtyard-facing window in 1-D.
✽ Unless there's an ic reason to argue otherwise, npc faculty will remove all three bodies by the end of the day.
✽ As a reminder, npc students can open/close any window; pc students in classes with at least one rank (3-A, 3-B, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, and all of the first year classes) can open/close windows in 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C; and pc students in classes that gained at least one rank in the past month (3-A, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, 1-B, 1-D, and 1-E) can exit through the courtyard-facing window in 1-D.
✽ Unless there's an ic reason to argue otherwise, npc faculty will remove all three bodies by the end of the day.
no subject
And without more direct proof than that... ]
...You're right. If those were the only things... then interviewing you like this would be enough. But, Sakasaki-kun... I think even a police officer might have changed their mind after seeing these.
[ His hand feels a little shaky, but even so he still reaches into his pocket -- pulling out the PDA he's had prepared. It's clear despite the hesitant moves, from the summary way he does things, that Shuichi anticipated he might have to bring this up. He unlocks the device with his fingers, then takes no more than a single tap to bring up the forum posts he'd already tabbed, turning the screen for Natsume to see. The thread dated two days after the murder, with messages like... ]
I'm going to kill you... and bury you beneath the wisteria tree. Touch my locker and see what happens. (...) If we made this same case in front of everyone who can read these boards, what do you think the consensus would be?
[ Isn't it better to nip this in the bud right now, when only a few people have made the connection? ]
1/2
but there's only one person who would've known anything about that, and he's dead. Natsume's only somewhat spoken this way to one person and that's Komaeda, and it's Komaeda. Even if they weren't serious threats, if they were brought up in front of others alongside the date of them... ) To think that poor timing's the nail on the proverbial cofFIN... Fine, you can search my locKER, though I don't know what you're expecting to FIND.
( That isn't completely true — he has an idea — but he cuts past Shuichi anyway with a glance and heads off to the lockers.
He'll be quiet otherwise, mindlessly putting in his combination when they reach his locker - 101 - and opening it. He stands in front of it for a moment longer, lips pursed, then steps aside for Shuichi to take a look. )
no subject
Which means yes, he's in this today, I didn't mention this before until I realized it's 8pm so he has no reason to be in uniform anymore. "Isn't he hot" it's for the aesthetic. )
1/10... looks up to the lord
[ Shuichi says nothing more as they walk down the hallways and stairs, only lagging behind for the first starting steps while he pockets his PDA. He watches Natsume's back for a second while catching up, as if body language like that alone would ever be able to show him the truth. Whether he's right or wrong to have chosen to act on this lead... the outcome can only be harmful, he knows that already.
I'm sorry, Sakasaki-kun. Words that cross through his mind, but remain unsaid.
The only thing he can offer is look away as they get there, pointedly turning his head for the moment it takes for Natsume to open his locker. Shuichi's eyes fall instead on his own -- 097, not far at all -- and there's no way to block his mind from remembering casual mornings of trying to smile, despite that it isn't something he does, and of saying good morning to a familiar face. Maybe he and Natsume weren't the closest of friends... but they still have memories here together, no matter their extent. ]
...Thank you. I promise... I'll be careful.
[ It's all he can quietly word before he makes his way closer, to take a look at the locker. ]
no subject
[ There doesn't seem to be anything to investigate about these right now, so he leaves them be. ]
no subject
[ Shuichi can also recall Nene mentioning the wisteria could be toxic... how exactly were the flowers used? This might be worth at least keeping in mind.
>> Obrained Truth(?) Bullet: Flowerless Branches ]
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[ He pages through in a cursory fashion, not lingering too long on anything unless it seems weird. He already almost-read Steph's diary by accident, he doesn't wanna do it to Natsume too. A missing page isn't necessarily strange either... but he'll take note of the fact at least, and maybe of what else was on the pages around it. If he finds anything you think he'd look at, let me know but otherwise moving on from this too. ]
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[ Imagine walking up to Natsume and just smelling him... only Komaeda would do that. Anyway, Shuichi almost chokes (mostly because he didn't expect perfume), so he promptly closes the bottle and puts it back. ]
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[ He only shuffles them around a little bit to make certain there's nothing else craftily hidden between them, but other than that he doesn't even touch them so it's fine. Natsume doesn't have to glare for too long. ]
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[ Shuichi should know, because all his outfits are mostly black too, so he feels Natsume's pain. Either way, he'll remember this later if needed.
>> Obtained Truth(?) Bullet: Hair on Clothes ]
no subject
[ Yeah, sorry Natsume, he'll be careful about it and try not to crumple your waiter outfit, but he moves it aside to uncover what's tucked between it and the next set...
??? ]
no subject
.
[ Grouping all these together so I don't give you 3 tags that say the same thing but Shuichi checks the pockets... and feels a little around the lining. He does his best to make sure they're folded as neatly again when he's done though.
Nothing related to the case to be found... ]
10/10 i'm done i'm crying
.
[ He feels around the blanket and tries to inspect it the same way he did the clothes, but... It doesn't take long until his hand runs into something that decidedly doesn't feel like blanket. Unless Natsume does something first, he's going to pull that out too...
??? #2 ]
i love my dangan ronpa-enstars crossover 1/2
The first unidentified object, the one beneath his waiter outfit, is his crystal ball! Shuichi might recall he's offered fortunetelling with this before. It's clean, so it probably wasn't used to murder anyone this time (: There's also a broken wooden toy with it; it appears to have been a horse at some point, and closer inspection reveals letters that sort of look like N and S on different pieces of it. Order of initials isn't clear, though.
The second unidentified object, the one hidden within Nene's blanket, is a gun. It looks like the one Izumi usually had around, because it is. It doesn't seem to be damaged in any way, though closer inspection reveals a little dried blood around the butt of the gun, as if someone had tried cleaning it but hadn't managed to get all of it off.
Natsume doesn't flinch much when Shuichi's going through his things, glare relaxing when he stops messing with the scales but returning if he holds the crystal ball for too long— )
That's an important keepsake of MINE, so please be careful with IT.
( ...but there's nothing much else until the blanket. )
(: .............
It isn't like Natsume forgot the gun was there, despite burying it so deep in his locker that he'd never find it - especially since, with the school so warm, he rarely has need for the blanket. Its only use recently was to make a nice little picnic spot for him and Maya in the auditorium a few days ago. Otherwise, it's been keeping the item out of sight, out of mind.
His stomach turns seeing it again — but he has the advantage of "Shuichi is distracted" and "Shuichi is in front of him," and it's only a few steps around him to grab the arm with the gun in it and wrench it behind Shuichi's back, shoving him against... in? the locker.
His grip is tight, and he smells faintly of vanilla perfume, if he cares. Though — even then, after a moment, Natsume relaxes his grip but uses the chance to get the gun from his hand, stepping away and freeing the other from his grasp. The gun goes behind his back, one hand holding his wrist as he keeps the weapon loose in his fingers, not making a move to attack Shuichi or anything.
He smiles, but it isn't a very nice one. Being as astute as he is, actually, Shuichi can tell Natsume's a little pissed off, but whether or not that's at him or himself... )
Sorry, ( he says, not really meaning it and not really sounding like he does, ) I'd like to explain myself before you go jumping to any concluSIONS.
( Though he's no doubt already connected some dots anyway. Natsume gives a cursory look around the area — no one still, so he supposes this place is good enough if they keep their voices low. )
1/2... enstars and danganronpa are basically the same thing tbh
He doesn't handle the crystal ball for long, so at least Natsume won't have to worry too much on that front; it's glass after all, and Shuichi's aware of how easily fingerprints stick to surfaces like those. He does turn it once though, using his sleeve as a filter, to check for blood or for visible scratches or chips that might mark is past use as a weapon. But there's nothing, and at the other's remark he's quite quick to let go with a startled apology, storing it away atop the same clothes he removed to uncover it.
The problems... begin at the broken horse. Shuichi's seen it directly before, and he's vaguely aware it's the item Stephanie used somehow to identify Nao. He knows who had it... and the initials shouldn't be hard to put together from that context either, pretty much confirming it. His shoulders stiffen, and maybe Natsume's perceptive enough to see, but he doesn't say anything yet.
It's only when he discovers the gun (which he was also right there for and would recognize right away) that he finally makes to turn, a more visible sense of worry in the change of his posture... only to not make it even half the way around before Natsume's upon him. It's too sudden -- even if he'd been quicker or more athletic, not to mention less passive and nervous, it might have been difficult to defend this. ]
...Sakasaki-kun, w--
no subject
All Shuichi gets to say before he kind of... falls into the locker while trying to turn and squirm out of the grip on his arm, which only causes his temple to slam into metal and almost gets him knocked out. There's a wince to be heard, strangled and breathless already from being cut off mid-sentence before, and he slumps the next moment -- it's difficult to find strength when you almost black out, and in the middle of it the gun slips quite easily from his grasp when Natsume takes it.
He's left reeling for just a minute, all sorts of things in his head. There are at least two people aware of where he went -- if Natsume kills him, it's only a matter of time before-- no. He needs to calm down. It hasn't... even exactly been confirmed yet, and from the way he knows the other... he's smart and intuitive, there's no way he wouldn't have guessed as much. He won't do anything rash... Plus, it takes a moment for the reality to set in, but it seems like... he's been let go?
... ]
Y-You don't...
[ It's strangled at first, his voice pitched awkwardly from the position he's in, before he begins to pull himself out of the locker he's fallen pretty much face-first into. ...I was going to make his head bleed, but then I realized it'd have touched the locker and idk if that doesn't mean void school so never mind... he can have an ugly bruise later on. Either way, his vision blurs for a moment from all the sudden moving around, converting Natsume into a dizzy mosaic of different colors for the first second Shuichi attempts to look. ]
...have to go this far if that's all you wanted. Even if you were the culprit, it'd just work against you to do anything right now. I know that... I'll listen. What's going on?
SIGHING
He's quiet a moment longer, but when he speaks, his voice is soft and controlled, feelings held in measure. )
Last SaturDAY, I met with Sena-senpai on the third floor — I'd intended to apologize to him about the argument we had at the beginning of the MONTH. It wasn't right for me to bring up Tsukinaga-senpai nor to act the way I DID, even if he provoked my ill conduct by bringing my unitmates into IT. ( A beat, squeezing and loosening his fingers on his wrist. ) We ended up having a fight over some... lies I had told Kudo-chan some days priOR, and it got a little physiCAL.
( More than a little physical. )
Anyway — Sena-senpai's little horse toy got broken in the struggle; I stepped on IT, and I...
( Natsume purses his lips, thinks about it - the way he'd suddenly felt panicked, felt fear, felt desperate. There hadn't been a reason for it, but, but... )
I wasn't mySELF. ( It sounds lame; it sounds like an excuse; his voice quickens, pleading if Natsume Sakasaki could plead. ) Looking back on IT, all I wanted to do was LIVE, and it felt like everyone else — even Sena-senpai on the GROUND, or those students who came to see what the fuss was all about — was coming to kill ME. I don't want to die here — I can't die here — I know full-well they wouldn't or couldn't HAVE, but I still couldn't stop myself from thinking that type of THING, nor could I stop myself from...
( Well. His shoulders tense when he tries to shrug, and he aborts the motion. )
My head cleared up after — I don't know what triggered THAT, but one moMENT, I was desperate to do anything to live — and then the NEXT, I was completely and totally aware of what I'd DONE. It really ( a little weaker, but a little angry, too ) didn't feel like I had any control over mySELF.
( —he straightens up, shaking his head to clear it; his gaze is more focused now, maybe a little too focused, like he's forcing himself. )
You all saw the REST. After I... After that hapPENED, I went and found the little white cat that lurks around the school and ( cried ) spent some time with HER, and I watched some of the proceedings of the investigation in the courtYARD. ( And then, as an afterthought: ) I don't appreciate the fact none of you stopped anyone from mutilating Sena-senpai's boDY. Maybe I'm in no position to JUDGE, given it was at least by my HANDS, whether or not I was mySELF, that he became a corpse in the first PLACE, but I feel like that was a little worse than him being KILLED.
SIGHS WITH YOU...
A hand rubs idly through his hair at his temple, where a dull ache's settled in from the scuffle just moments ago. ]
What happened to you...
[ ...No. It isn't time to be discussing that just yet. Maybe Natsume's thought about it himself though -- it sounds just a little familiar, like what they were able to piece together from observing the process of Ishimaru's "election" while gathered around the windows. And in the scavenger hunt Komaeda set up for him not that long ago, although Shuichi never did get to learn more, the note he pieced together mentioned things like yellow eyes and "those feral creatures" inside the school. It's true that, if thought about in this way, it doesn't sound like a lie.
Maybe Natsume got lucky it ended up being Shuichi. But... even so, this isn't the time to be hasty. ]
...Sorry. It's not that I don't believe you... on the contrary, I have reasons to think it makes sense. But there are still questions I need to ask you first, Sakasaki-kun. Do you think you can answer?
[ ... ]
Where... on the third floor did you and Sena-kun meet?
no subject
By the stairWELL, but I wanted to speak somewhere more priVATE... Since class had let out for the DAY, we went to the classroom side of the third FLOOR. That's where we had our talk and subsequent FIGHT.
no subject
[ With the hour at was, and the unlikelihood of many students lingering about in that wing, that doesn't sound impossible either. It's not that they couldn't have caught a few quiet moments to try and talk... ]
My classmate and yours... must have been in the 2-D homeroom, studying at the time. But they heard the sounds of the two of you fighting, so they came out. Is that right? But... at that time, you said Sena-kun was on the ground.
[ He kind of wants Natsume to describe more in detail what he did... though, he knows that might end up a quite harrowing task. ]
Did you injure him...? Do you remember... what you used to attack them?
no subject
( Natsume recounts the events in his head — he'd stepped on it, felt that surge of unfamiliar feelings, unwarranted feelings, right in the moment but illogical in the aftermath, and then... )
Whatever happened with that TOY, I went to hurt him inSTEAD, and he moved away; he had that gun on HIM, of course he DID, and went to take it OUT, but I tackled him for IT. That's when the other students came out to see what the fuss was about; they tried to pull me OFF, but I don't like people touching me even on days I'm not being possessed or whateVER, so I grabbed the gun out of Sena-senpai's pocket and swung it at THEM.
I don't know which ONE, but I threw one of them off balance by hitting HIM, and I knocked him out right afTER. Just a hit to the back of the HEAD. The other I... ( ...he was much worse to, remembering it, and he glances away. ) He managed to pull me off before I could smash Sena-senpai's face with the GUN, so I hit him inSTEAD. While he was DOWN, I smashed his windpipe with the butt of the GUN.
( He tells it like he's just telling a story — something that didn't happen to him, even though he's fully aware it did. )
I bludgeoned his throat until he didn't make any more NOISE, and then I threw the gun at Sena-senpai — who was tryING, rightfulLY, to escape — and while he was STUNNED, I strangled HIM.
( That final part is... a little less monotone, a little more caught in his throat — he clears it, still not exactly looking at Shuichi, but at a point over his shoulder. )
That's when I came TO. Throwing them out the window was... entirely of my own voliTION, but I didn't want to just leave them there in the hallWAY.
( Which isn't
the entire truth.
He just didn't want to see them anymore, and the window was the easiest way to get them out of his sight. )
no subject
Right now... as cruel as it seems, this is all he can do for Natsume. He asked for it himself... so at the very least, whether it's with the cold and quiet composure it appears as, or with a frozen exhaustion that stems from weakness instead, he has the duty to hear the entire truth. It helps that Natsume won't look at him either, so it can go unnoticed when his own gaze averts -- not that it helps, because the only things to see from this hallway are the windows that point outside into the courtyard... the door to the library, and stairs. ]
So even if you're in that state... it's not like you'll forget what you did.
[ Maybe soon enough there won't be any place in the school anymore that doesn't serve as a memento of someone's death. But they don't have the time or the luxury to be moping about that. Instead, he maps what he listened to in his mind, applying it to the bits of his own investigation that match, or to the info he's heard from others. It isn't all of it... and there are probably many pieces to better compare with others... but it's still enough. ]
At the very least for the body I looked at... the injuries match your story. And from what I've seen of the others, I doubt that we'd find many differences about those either. Even if you had looked really carefully from the windows... no matter how ingenious you are, it's just impossible to fabricate all the details to this extent.
[ So Natsume... must have been there. It has to be the truth, whether they like it or not. :) ]
You must have thought that the rest of us won't believe you, right? About what happened when you broke the horse... So in the moment, I suppose I can see why it seemed better to hide the evidence. But... in that case, what about Kudo-san? Given the timing of her death and her relationship with Sena-kun... it's pretty difficult to consider it a coincidence.
[ Why did she die later on... did she find out something? ]
no subject
( Natsume glances back at him, a little tired, a little guilty, but: )
I murdered HER. ( Murdered — acknowledgement it's first degree, premediated and everything. ) You saw how she acted when she saw Sena-senpai's body, didn't YOU? Without a DOUBT, she would have killed me if she found out — and with a group like OURS, if they ever discovered who did IT, at least one of them would have told her or let it SLIP.
( And, more firmly than he did before: ) I don't want to die here; I can't die HERE. ( ... ) I won't die HERE.
( In a way, murdering Chiaki was self-defense — just preemptive. )
no subject
[ It's the first time Shuichi flinches, the first piece of revelation that gives him pause, drawing an almost panicked gaze quickly towards Natsume's face. Why...? He might have expected it if she found any evidence, something conclusive to lead her towards the killer -- she might have asked them to meet, and then even... attacked them. It could have been another accident.
But by the sounds of it from Natsume... she'd never even gotten the chance to know. She'd just died -- all along, maybe thinking the person who pushed her from the top of the stairs was a friend who could help. It sounds cruel. It's just too much. Something like that-- ]
...
[ There's a brief flash of anger... or there should have been, if Shuichi's body didn't just freeze midway. The words that Natsume just said... they ring through his mind, repeating themselves like a memory he won't forget: I don't want to die here. I can't die here.
But that's because... they are a memory. They were said before, not that long ago, and a shiver almost crosses him as the two of them lock eyes. Yellow... not that you could tell with Natsume, that's true. ]
Sakasaki-kun... you're acting strange.
[ Has that even... occurred to Natsume? Is it... subconscious? Or is Shuichi just overthinking it, trying to make excuses for someone he knows, as if it could even change the fact that he killed? As if he doesn't know, that no matter what your intent was, it changes nothing for the cold body it left behind. ]
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1/2 i'm sorry i wrote so muchhh
but at least u only have to reply to this i'm cryin
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