Dangan Ronpa: Unser Sommerende/Chapter 1 - Class Trial

Continued from Chapter 1 - Deadly Life.

[1]

The goat was almost a bit hyper, getting pumped up for the event. “Uwehe... So before we start, I wanna quickly explain the rules of the Class Trial. Of course, first thing’s first, the main thing you gotta do is figure out whodunnit.”

“Who did it.” Molly complained.

“... Whodunnit. The entrepreneur, the guy or gal who done the dirty deed, is the one you need to find out. Once you do that, they’ll be sent off with an extra-special execution prepared just for them! I even drew a picture as an example!” He held up a piece of paper with a rather unimpressive drawing...

“Pick the wrong person, though, and instead, EVERYONE else gets executed, and the entrepreneur escapes!”

Lucy tilted her head leftwards. “But if everyone dies, then you’ll die too?...”

“Why do y’even call it bein’ an ‘entrepreneur’...” Rocky scratched the back of his head. “It’s just cold blooded murder, not like you’re... Entrepreneur... Ing... What’re those in the first place?...

“Didn’t I already say why before?” The goat got a little cross. “Whatever... The whole idea’s that by endangering the rest of the pack, you’re gambling to profit off of something and so you’re being an entrepreneur...”

Jo seemed unimpressed. “You would’ve been better off calling it something cool-sounding, like... ‘The blackened’ or something.”

“That sounds too evil and discouraging... It’s not like there’s anything wrong with killing people... Anyway! Get talking, and when you come to a conclusion, or when I get kinda bored, I’ll end the trial and let you all vote for your main suspect!” He rested back in his chair, proceeding to snap his fingers, followed by a box of orange juice falling from the ceiling into his glove. “Oh, and abstaining from the vote will get you executed, too. Just saying so that everyone remembers...” Finishing his speech, the goat took a sip of his drink, as we all turned to each other.

It was time. I guess. Would it be obvious to point out that this was a really high-pressure situation?

[2]

Because it was.

“So...” Mia stuffed her hands in her hoodie’s pocket. “What first?... I mean, where do we... Start?...”

Lucy, whose head was still leaning to the left, slowly leaned her head to the right instead. “Let’s start at the beginning. That’s where everything starts. And begins.”

“And ‘the beginning’,” Mary began, “is the murder. Now, does anybody know when exactly this event took place?

“Nope, nobody knows that.” Jo said. “There weren’t any witnesses, right?”

“No, that’s wrong!”

[3]

That was me saying that... I realised that I probably came across as a bit dramatic, thanks to the tense situation... I cleared my throat before continuing.

“J-James saw it. He was there on the night that it happened.”

“Y-yeah. I was, y’know.”

Charlotte pouted, hands on her hips. “Oh, was he now? How can we trust him? He’s not even the REAL James McKenzie, remember? He’s got to be lying!”

“I mean...” Terry paused for a bit. “If the only people who saw it were him and the murderer... Then we can’t know if he was really there. Maybe he has some way to prove it? I-I mean, I’m sure he has...”

“Well, there’s this...” James pulled back his sleeve and revealed the cuts on his arm from before. “Sadie and I were attacked that night, and the killer managed to hurt me a bit. And I... Ran... Like... A d-damn coward...”

“Nice sob story.” Mary straightened her hat. “You probably just did that to yourself so we’d believe you. They don’t even look like real cuts. Is that all you wanted to say?”

“I...”

[4]

“So...” Rocky continued to look at James’s arm. “We got a couple cuts, that’s it? We don’t even know if the murderin’ varmit was killin’ with a cutter!”

“Actually!” I interrupted, “In the crime scene, there was a knife laying next to the body. That could easily have administered some cuts, right?”

Amber, who had been trying not to look at James’s injury, perked up a bit. “So, James is telling the truth then, right?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

Mia furrowed her brow. “Wait, if there’s a knife, that means that Sadie was?...”

“Stabbed, uh,” Dan quickly stuttered out, “Do we have to talk about the knife, though?

“That’s the thing!...” I don’t know why I was so quick at making corrections all of a sudden, but I just tried to roll with it. “Sadie’s body was also burned, remember? So, the knife isn’t necessarily the cause of death. She could have been burnt but not stabbed... Though she could also have been stabbed, then burnt.”

“B-b-but how are we supposed to know if she was stabbed or not?”

Amber looked over at the throne of the goat. “Um... Monoyaki? Can you tell us?”

Said goat promptly spat his orange juice onto the ground. “No! You bozos gotta figure it out yourselves! Why do you think you’re down here, anyway?”

“I mean... It would be nice if you’d tell us...”

“I am NOT nice!”

“Quiet.” Mary sternly commanded.

Trying not to get side-tracked, I quickly made a point. “Anyway, the way to figure out the cause of death is... It’s... There were no stab wounds on the body!

Terry raised a finger awkwardly. “N-no, actually, a fire would be enough to mask any wounds given... I-I mean, I work with fire...”

Charlotte glared at Terry, and did that same hands-on-hips pout from before. “So you like to burn bodies, huh?”

“I-I mean I use it to work with metal! J-just... It was an observation!”

Shit. Things were going really smoothly up until here. With the possibility of stab wounds being covered by cauterisation from the flames, there was really no way to tell whether or not a stabbing had occurred...

[5]

“One second.” Eh? Archie’s talking all of a sudden. He’s looking directly at me... “We discussed this before, didn’t we?”

“Y-yeah?” My mind’s drawing a blank here...

“There are a couple ways we can know for sure what happened, that is to say, there is very little chance that Sadie has been stabbed. Firstly, the knife only had blood along the edge of the blade, as if it had only been used to make cuts; cuts like the ones on James’s arm.”

“Uhh... Why’s he talking so much suddenly?...”, Mia whispered, though in a somewhat non-covert manner.

“If Sadie had been stabbed, the knife would be covered in blood, and if she was stabbed and the knife was then cleaned, there wouldn’t be any blood on it whatsoever.”

“ Y-yeah.” I’m really glad he’s covering for me here. “And... What’s the other way we can know?”

“You should be aware of that, I believe.”

[6]

... Damnit. “Yeah... I... Know that...”

“Just tell us!” Jo complained dramatically. “We’re gonna freaking die here!”

“J-just let her think for a moment...” Directly after granting me permission to think, Molly paused to do some thinking of her own... “Err... So what else was there about the scene?”

“... She was dead...” murmured James.

“Yeah, good job workin’ that out.” Jo snickered. Wait, he was so worried about death just a second ago?

Rocky stroked his chin. “‘Side from that, there were all kinds of nick knacks on the ground, right?”

Hang on... “On... The ground! There was no blood on the ground! If Sadie was stabbed, then blood would have gotten onto the floor. But there was none there, meaning she either wasn’t stabbed, or it was cleaned.”

“So... The maid did it!” Charlotte pointed directly at Molly.

She scoffed in return. “I hardly think so...”

Getting back on track... “Again, we’ve established earlier that the murderer doesn’t have an eye for cleaning anything at the scene... So, it just means that she wasn’t stabbed.

Dan seemed perturbed. “So... That means she was... B-burned... To death...”

“So...” Jo closed his eyes. “The idea’s that this person attacked with the knife, but then set Sadie on fire, and then the fire was put out... Wait, how would she even do that?”

Wait... “H-huh?”

“ You’re telling me that she got set on fire, then put it out with that fire extinguisher, but still died? I mean... She would be too burnt by that point to use it herself, though? Did the killer put the fire out or something?”

Mary looked off to the side. “Why they would put the fire out is beyond me... Unless they had some sort of regret for what they did. Pathetic. Why wouldn’t she at least try to put it out herself before that point, anyway?”

“Because...” I... I remember. “She was knocked unconscious. She had a large bruise in the back of her head.”

“But...” Terry spoke, a little pensive. “Why would they try to stab James, but knock Sadie out instead of stabbing her as well?”

“ I... Don’t know. That’s just what the evidence seems to say.”

[7]

“Nevermind.” Archie was speaking again. “Next, we should try and establish an idea of who could have done it.”

“And who couldn’t have, for that matter.” Molly stated, finger in the air.

Amber touched her fingers together. “U-u-um, I was sleeping! So, it w-wasn’t me.”

“... I was too...” Mia rubbed her eyes.

“I have a feeling that me and Sadie were the only ones who weren’t ‘sleeping’...” James mentioned, seeming slightly annoyed.

“I dunno if this is gonna get us anywhere...” Lucy’s head was still tilted to the right, but now, it tilted to the left again. “Can we go do something else and forget about all of this?...”

Dan spurted out, “B-but then we’ll all g-get killed!...”

The alibi question went around, and was met with unanimously with ‘I was sleeping’, until eventually it arrived at Robin. Robin was still motionless, unresponsive, looking straight forward.

“That boy ain’t well...” Rocky adjusted his headgear. “Should we even ask?”

James sighed. “We might as well... Were you asleep last night?”

No response. I was again considering that his knife was there... I was hesitant to mention it earlier, but now seemed like the right time.

[8]

“... The knife that was lying at the scene belongs to Robin.”

“Oh my...” Molly held her hand over her mouth.

Jo leaned forward on the railing, irritated. “You could’ve, uhh, mentioned that a bit earlier? Just coming out of nowhere now?”

“She’s right, though.”, Archie quickly pointed out. “She and Dan saw it when they were hanging out a day or so before.”

“... Yeah...” Dan messed with his fingers anxiously.

“Then Robin’s the killer! Time to vote!” Charlotte pointed directly at Robin, as she’d done to Molly just a bit ago.

Mia rubbed her eyes. “Aren’t you... Jumping to conclusions... Or something?”

“Nope. I’m just the only one smart enough to see it first.”

Mary crossed her arms. “I think we’re all highly suspicious at the very least. But there wasn’t anything else relating to him at the scene, was there?”

“Well...” I thought back to what the murder scene looked like... “Other than the knife and extinguisher, there was a tissue and a lighter on the ground...”

Dan shot up. “W-wait, there was a lighter?”

“Yes, th-that’s what I said.”

“That... Robin has a lighter he uses sometimes... He used it when the two of us were...”

“Th-that.”

“Yes.”

Lucy did another head tilt. “What?”

“Doing stuff.”, Dan said, visibly trying to move the conversation along.

“That?” James seemed to be aware of... That event.

“Y-yeah, that. You saw, remember?”

“Yes. I borrowed a lighter from Robin, and gave it back later.”

“I... Don’t remember if you gave...”

“Well, I gave it back to him after you finished... Y’know. That.”

Lucy stopped tilting her head around, looking genuinely mad. “Just tell me... I wanna know...”

Molly shrugged. “Well, whatever ‘it’ was, I think we can trust them when they say it belongs to Robin.”

Amber was looking down at her penguin, looking a little confused. “So... Both the knife and the lighter belonged to Robin then...”

James gained a more confident demeanour. “I think that’s enough to incriminate him, yeah.”

“Wait!” Terry raised a palm. “I-I think he should have a chance to defend himself first... He hasn’t even said anything...”

Robin still wasn’t saying anything. He wasn’t really responsive at all, still.

“... B-but... He...” Dan’s hands were shaking. “He wouldn’t... I’m not letting this happen! I-if he isn’t going to speak, I’ll defend him on his behalf!”

Amber cuddled the penguin a bit more tightly. “Tr-try not to get worked up...”

“See... H-he couldn’t have... Killed her, b-because... He wouldn’t! He would never do that! Because he wouldn’t! So there!...”

James seemed unimpressed. “... Should we start voting now?...”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

“... I’m... That’s... Not good enough?... He didn’t d-do it!... H-he’s... Not gonna... He... Can’t...”

Dan’s speech started to devolve into small, panicked noises.

Mia yawned softly. “... Are we getting this over with now?...”

Monoyaki sipped his juice carton again. “Yeah, alright. Looks like it’s-“

[9]

“Just a moment.”, Archie interrupted. “I need to point something out.” He paused for a moment, scratching his chin tensely. “... I want you to quickly ask yourself... Does this make sense?”

“Sense?” I was pretty sure we had solved everything... “Wh-what?...”

“Let’s go through this; Robin, armed with a knife and a lighter, attacks James and Sadie in the night, managing to inflict cuts on James’s arm. But then, instead of stabbing Sadie, the killer knocks her out on the back of her head, and then, even with the chance to stab her when she’s unconscious, instead chooses to set her on fire without stabbing, and then puts the fire out before all the body had burnt? And on top of all that... Robin apparently left behind every single tool used to commit the murder, directly implicating him as the killer. I want you all to think about this, one more time. It just doesn’t add up, does it?”

There was a short round of silence.

“That’s... Certainly most peculiar...”, noted Molly.

Charlotte grumbled a bit, arms crossed. “Something’s going on here... And I don’t like it!...”

“I-it’s strange, yes,” James interrupted, “but, the evidence points to that series of events being the truth, y’know.”

“Yet, we haven’t looked at all of the evidence yet.”, Archie quickly pointed out. “There very well could be a few more things we’re missing.”

“And what are those things?”

“That... I’m not entirely sure of, so it’s best we continue to discuss.”

Mia yawned. “Ugh, I just wanna leave...”

[10]

Jo scratched his hair, playing around with the little cat-ear-shaped bits of it. “Yeah, alright. Crap. We’ve got no idea what to discuss, then?”

Rocky looked off to his side. “Well there’s gotta be at least one thing that’ll clue us in. There’s always a sure-fire way...”

Dan, as could be expected, was mid-panic. “B-but what if there isn’t?!”

Molly raised a finger to her chin. “I feel as if the best course of action would be to methodically sort through the evidence at the scene.”

“U-um...” Amber looked over at Molly, seemingly trying to follow her lead. “There was a... Tissue... On the ground...”

James sighed. “In case you’re wondering, I don’t know how it got there.”

Lucy blinked a little. “I find it very unlikely that it played a major role in... Stuff.”

Mary, with that usual stern expression that she never seemed to lose, spoke. “If that’s the case, then that resolves it. In regards to the knife, tissue, extinguisher, and lighter, we know everything there is to know about these items.”

... Wait a minute, that’s...

[11]

“That’s wrong! There’s one more thing we need to make sure of!”

She swivelled her head towards me. “Alright then. Tell us, Attebury.”

“There’s one event to do with this that hasn’t been confirmed, and that’s the status of the lighter. We know that James borrowed it while Dan and Robin were using it together, and, according to James, it was returned afterwards. Dan wasn’t there to see it happen though, so as of the moment, we’re taking James’s word for that.”

James seemed a bit insulted. “Yeah? So, what’s your point? I’m telling the truth, y’know.”

“Well, without a second witness to back it up, we aren’t able to be a hundred percent sure...”

Molly, looking a bit unimpressed, was slightly adjusting the flower in her hair as she spoke. “It doesn’t exactly prove anything, though, does it? I find it highly unlikely that the lighter wasn’t returned...”

Amber (once again speaking straight after the maid) quickly muttered something. “E-excuse me, can I please say something?”

“Most certainly, go ahead...”

The petit girl turned to James. “... James, I wanna know... Did you remember when exactly you gave the lighter back to Robin?”

“Well, I don’t have a watch... But I think it would have been in the afternoon.”

[12]

“... Sorry, that’s not the truth...”

Rocky raised an eyebrow. “Hold up, what’s this about now?”

“Well,” Amber began to explain, “I was actually following Robin around for most of yesterday, starting around the time they were hanging out...”

Mary promptly interjected. “Before you say anything more, did anyone else see you doing this?”

“Um... Mr. Penpen did. Right, Mr. Penpen?” She did a silly voice and messed with the penguin plushie’s flipper. “That’s right! Amber’s telling the truth!...”

“... Idiot. Do you seriously think we’ll believe that your toy is a witness?”

“H-hey, actually,” Dan began to inform us, “I saw her after I had finished doing... Stuff, with Robin.”

“Can someone just say what the stuff is?” Lucy said, in a perturbed tone.

“She was hiding right near the door, listening in to us. I, uh, pretended not to notice her.”

Hang on, I don’t remember that... “Wait, why didn’t I see her?”

“Um...” Amber paused. “I must have shown up after you left... but I remember James going in, and leaving...”

“B-but why WAS she spying on him?” Jo outstretched a hand, raising his voice. “You can’t just tell me she was eavesdropping on Robin for no reason, right?”

“Sadie told me to.”

“D-did she now?” James said, surprised.

Amber pulled a slip of paper out of her dress, with what looked to be Sadie’s signature. “She said that if anyone asked why I was following Robin, I should show them this. Sadie told me that she thought that Robin was the one who attacked you earlier, James, in the laundry room. So, she sent me to try and track his movements...”

Charlotte tapped her foot. “... Alright, I’m willing to believe this, I think.”

James seemed a tad annoyed. “A-alright, but what’s all this about anyway? Spying on on him, following him... Why did we bring this up again? This has nothing to do with the lighter!”

Wait, of course it does... “On the contrary, I believe. Amber, you asked him when he returned it, right?”

“Mhm. He said in the afternoon. I was following Robin all afternoon, and James never returned it then. I wasn’t keeping track during the night...”

“... And as he said... It wasn’t at night. So, from the looks of things, James...”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

I pointed my finger towards him. “You’ve lied.”

[13]

“I’ve... What?...”

“Either you gave it back to him at night, contrary to your claim of the time, or... You didn’t return it at all. I don’t see any reason you’d have to lie about the time... So... James, did you return it or not?”

“I-I...” He stuttered, shifty eyed. “I forgot, y’know? I mean, I know I said I returned it, b-but, I just didn’t want to let all of you know I messed up. It’s embarrassing, y’know.”

Mia twiddled with her fingers. “That’s probably enough justification, right?... Can we just forget about it and vote?”

“No, there’s one more thing... If you forgot to return it to him, how did the lighter end up on the ground? How did he burn the body?”

“I-I... I have no idea... Wait, actually...”

[14]

James suddenly started speaking a bit more hastily. “It must have fallen out of my pocket! When I was running, y’know. Then he used it to burn Sadie!”

“Yeah, well guess what?!... Um...” Charlotte’s usual cross demeanour faltered. “That... Makes sense?...”

Mia stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Yeah. That, uh, makes sense. Voting time? Get this over with? Please?”

“Yes,” Terry agreed, “James has covered any inconsistencies in his testimony, so there’s nothing left to question.”

Ugh... There has to be one more thing that was at the scene which we still haven’t brought up... Hang on. “There’s still more, actually!”

“Ugh...” Mia looked away, seemingly ignoring things now.

“I have one more question, James. There’s something still left in my mind... Was Sadie wearing lipstick the night she was killed?”

“I mean, yeah. It was a date, y’know.”

Lucy chuckled to herself. “Heh, they’re dating, I knew it...”

Jo just raised an eyebrow in response. “I thought everyone knew it...”

“Yeah... And that was when we had our first and last kiss... Only to be interrupted by a heartless, cruel attacker...”

I spoke up again, this time with a proper plan. “I’d like to point something out, then. There was a tissue on the ground, and it had some lipstick on it.”

“Yes, I wiped it off my face afterwards, thank you for backing me up, Jane...”

[15]

“Although, I recall earlier, you had no idea what the tissue was doing there, didn’t you?”

“I-I didn’t! I didn’t say that!...”

“Wait, no, he did say that...” Rocky thought aloud.

“W-well then I must have remembered incorrectly!”

I couldn’t help but sigh. “You’ve been remembering a lot of things incorrectly, James.”

“It’s a coincidence! It’s all a coincidence! Didn’t we show enough that Robin’s the murderer?”

“Except he didn’t have the lighter, so he couldn’t have had it. You were the one with the lighter, James.”

“I... Look, you haven’t proved anything! I’m not the culprit, am I?”

“Did anyone ask?...” Lucy went back to the head tilting.

“W-well that’s-“

[16]

“Sorry to interrupt.” It was Archie speaking again.

Mia was beginning to seem genuinely cross. “Ugh... What now?...”

“It’s, um, very important! Pl-please be a bit more patient!... Erm...” He quickly regained composure. “I’ll try to make it entertaining for you, if you’d like... Anyways... James-“

“What?!... I mean... Ask away!...”

Archie winced a little after being shouted at, but carried on despite. “... Can you show me Jolly Buddy one more time?” N-not the cricket again... “Before we decide who the entrepreneur is, I’d like to have some good luck, so maybe we can all take a look at your lucky charm?”

“I mean... Sure, y’know.” He reached into his pocket, and brought out a cricket. Most people looked at it with indifference and even impatience. I just think it’s gross...

“... Thank you. One more thing...”

[17]

“When you were fleeing from the killer, the lighter fell out of your pocket, apparently. Why didn’t Jolly Buddy fall out as well?”

“... I... I... I, I...” James stammered, sweating profusely. “I didn’t... I didn’t bring it with me!”

“So, you didn’t bring it with you when going out on an important date? Wouldn’t you want to have good luck on an occasion like that?”

“I... Didn’t need it, and... Sadie would have thought it was gross!”

Archie still kept the pressure on. “You wouldn’t have had to show it to her. You just could’ve kept it in there... Right?”

“ I... I, I, I... What are you trying to accomplish? Can you tell me that?”

“ I just want to know. What happened?”

“... I...” Breathing heavily, he crunched the bug in his fist.

[18]

“I-I’ve got it! It was Dan!”

“Wh-wh-wh-whaaaa?!” Dan cried out, as was to be expected.

“Think about it! We know it wasn’t Robin, so who was it? Dan! He was the only one who was close enough to Robin to probably borrow his knife, y’know?! Then he attacked me and Sadie! And he borrowed the lighter back from Robin so he could set fire to Sadie’s body and burn the evidence! THE CASE IS SOLVED!”

I did another dramatic point at him. “There’s no way we’ll believe that! You’ve already said that you had the lighter and forgot to return it! How could Dan have gotten it then?”

“... Because it fell out of my pocket!... Wait, no it didn’t, it... He just... I... I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO IMPLY AND IT’S INSANE! Do you really think I’M the killer? Really?! The one who’s been trying to help all of us get out of here? Your LEADER?! You think that I would betray you like that?”

“Well, if you aren’t the killer... Can you prove it?”

James lost the yelling from a few moments ago, and resumed the prior stuttering. “I-I-I-I-I... E-everyone surely still believes that I’m telling the truth, right?”

Terry murmured. “... W-well... I...”

“I didn’t believe you from the very start!”, declared Charlotte.

Jo shrugged. “I thought you changed your mind, Char...”

“D-don’t call me ‘Char’...”

Molly pondered a little. “I must say... At this point, believing you is...”

“PERFECTLY REASONABLE!” James messily pulled his sleeve back again. “I mean, what about the cuts on my arm? I was attacked! There’s no way I could have been the killer!”

I rolled my eyes. “Whether or not someone else attacked you, that doesn’t actually disprove anything...” I’m starting to get a feeling as to who made those cuts and why... And if Robin is the one who did that, then it explains who must have put the fire out afterwards, too.

Dan seemed slightly less panicked, maybe just from no longer being the most panicked person in the room. “I-if you’re not the killer, can you just c-calm down a bit?”

“Why should I? Everyone’s BETRAYING me! You know...” James was starting to lose his breath. “You know that you’re wrong, and that means you’re ALL going to die and the killer is going to get away with it!”

“Who’s the killer, then?”, Mary asked, looking unimpressed.

“I... Look... You can say what you will about if I’m telling the entire truth, but... Look at me... Do you really think I’d be able to knock someone out on the head to make them unconscious? Not only am I not physically able for combat, but there wasn’t a single object I could have used to make such a blow...”

I don’t believe that for a second. “Once again... That’s wrong.”

“ALRIGHT, GENIUS! TELL ME, WHAT DID I USE TO KNOCK HER OUT, THEN?!”

“Your guitar.”

[19]

“M-my...”

“The guitar you were playing for everyone before. You could have easily used that to knock Sadie unconscious.”

“... Where... Did you get... That idea... From?”

“Well... I just thought back to that moment when we found you lying in the laundry room, where you had been attacked and knocked out, but not harmed any further. It just so happened that you were lying there... With your guitar. Is it possible that there wasn’t actually anyone who attacked you that day, James?...”

“... That’s...” James paused for an awkward amount of time, before having a sudden outburst. “THAT’S THE STUPIDEST THING I’VE EVER HEARD! NOTHING ABOUT YOUR VERSION OF THIS STORY MAKES ANY SENSE, Y’KNOW THAT? YOU’RE MAKING SHIT UP, Y’KNOW THAT?... If... If you’re so confident in this accusation... Then... Tell me... Tell me the whole series of events... From start to finish... And show everyone how little sense it makes!”

“... Gladly.”

[20]

“On the day leading up to the murder, the culprit borrowed a lighter from Robin... Then, in the night, they brought Sadie out on a date, and, as she kissed them, they dealt a blow to her head with their guitar, knocking her out... After wiping the lipstick off of their face with a tissue, they then proceeded to immolate the victim’s body using the lighter... As this happened, Robin entered and, seeing what the culprit was doing, attacked them with his knife, and cut the killer’s arm multiple times... As the murderer fled, dropping the lighter on the floor, Robin quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher, and put the fire out... At which point, he dropped the knife and extinguisher on the ground in shock as he realised that she was dead, and retracted into an unresponsive emotional state. With Robin having left behind evidence linking to him, it should have been an easy framing, the perfect murder, perhaps... Yet... Just a few minor inconsistencies in the culprit’s testimony, and the whole thing fell apart. Isn’t that right... James McKenzie?”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

This was followed by another bout of silence from James, accompanied by continued heavy sweating. “... Crazy. See, everyone? It’s...”

[21]

“It’s CRAZY! That makes NO SENSE! SEE?! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! IT WASN’T ME! And It COULDN’T have been me! There’s NO CONCRETE EVIDENCE! You can’t prove it, CAN YOU?! So that’s INSANE! There isn’t a SINGLE part of that argument that makes ANY sense!”

“Personally, I don’t see any flaws in the argument’s logic. If you’d like to point out something wrong with it, then feel free to do so.”

[22]

“I DON’T NEED TO, BECAUSE IT’S OBVIOUS, AND THAT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE CRAZY! YOU CAN’T BE TRUSTED! WHY WOULD YOU TRY AND SPREAD A LIE LIKE THAT?! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?! I’M TRYING TO HELP! I’M THE MOST TRUSTWORTHY PERSON HERE, AND EVERYONE KNOWS THAT! SO JUST SHUT UP!”

“Again... Trustworthiness doesn’t seem to have been your strong point today, James... The only thing you’ve proven is that you aren’t good at lying...”

[23]

“... CRAZY. YOU’RE CRAZY! YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY BONKERS. YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MARBLES. NOTHING YOU SAY MAKES ANY SENSE! YOU’RE CRAZY! CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?! I DID NOTHING. THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING I COULD HAVE DONE TO HURT HER!”

“Again, your possession of both the guitar and the lighter show that you were fully able to harm Sadie, and with the very same item found next to her body! So... There is no denying... That YOU were the one who killed her that night!”

[24]

“... C... Cra... Zy... That’s... I...” All that energy seemed to leave his body, as he trailed off into silence.

Mary’s expression seemed even more judgemental than previously. “Is he finished now?”

Monoyaki, still looking overly excited, piped up. “Looks like it!” The goat boy sipped the rest of his orange juice, and threw the carton on the floor. “Now, in just a moment, your Monopads are gonna receive a little menu where you can vote for... Whodunnit.”

Molly began to correct him again. “Who did-“

“Whodunnit! Just pick whoever you think the entrepreneur is, and if you’re right, they get killed! And if you’re wrong... Uwehe, you know what happens.”

A binging sound from the Monopads in unison signified the arrival of this new menu thing. I took it out of my coat, and it presented fourteen portrait shots, each depicting one of us. Even I was on there, though I wasn’t keen on voting for myself... Although I was sure who did it, picking them in this little menu felt sort of... Wrong. I mean, he was guilty, but still, we were putting him to death... We didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter, did we? Looking around, it seemed that everyone made their choice rather quickly. Even Robin, who, despite seeming catatonic still, tapped on his pad a bit.

Monoyaki chuckled. “Alrighty-right! Everyone has voted! Let’s see the results!~”

From the ceiling, just behind Monoyaki’s chair, was a large monitor lowering down. It stopped just before going right behind the throne, and turned on, revealing a picture of a slot machine.

[25]

The slots had little drawings of our faces on them, though we didn’t get a good look at them before they started spinning wildly, until, slowing down, all three slots lined up with pictures of James. The screen played a fanfare, crowds cheering, and the sound of flowing coins.

[26]

“Good job everybody! The entrepreneur has been exposed as none other than James McKenzie, the Ultimate Rock Star!”

Confirmation, then. This murder really had been committed by one of us. Even if it was obvious that he had done it by the time we all voted, now that we were being told outright... It was a harsh reminder that our attempt at co-existence had failed. Looking over at James, he seemed... Shocked? It was a bit hard to describe, honestly.

“S-so it’s...” Dan stuttered, horrified. “R-really him?”

“It appears that way...” Lucy seemed barely fazed by it.

Rocky put a hand to his forehead. “You’ve gotta be pullin’ my leg... You... Killed her?”

“... I...” James sighed, his body becoming somewhat less tense. “Yes. I killed Sadie.”

Now that he admitted it, I had just one question left. “But-“

“Why? That’s what you’re going to ask...”

“W-well yes, but... Really... Why did you do that? You never... Seemed like you would...”

He tensed up again, if only slightly. “It was... The newspaper...”

The...

[27]

I remembered receiving that paper, talking about our hypothetical deaths... James’s reaction at the time was definitely the worst. He didn’t even say anything, he just ran off...

“... On that paper, it said that I had died, and... All... My fans... They were crying. Bawling their eyes out... Y’know... And I looked at this one girl’s face in the photograph, and...” He got choked up. “Do you know how heartbroken they’d all be? If all those girls found out that James McKenzie was dead? They’d... I... I couldn’t let them down like that...”

“... And to stop that from happening... You killed the most dedicated fan you had.”

“Wh...”

“I don’t know about you, but I could tell that Sadie trusted you more than anyone else here. And you used that to your advantage...”

“That’s...” His fist clenched, looking down at the ground. “That’s true... Isn’t it?... I...”

“E-everyone tr-trusted you...” Terry interrupted, emotional. “How... N-no, I still don’t believe it! It... It was just Monoyaki who killed her, right?”

“... Again, it was me. I... Had a responsibility to all of you. And I guess I failed that, huh?... Haha...” He paused for a second, then looked over at Robin. “... Sorry for everything, Robin. I really should have listened to you from the beginning... I... Just wish you had showed up sooner that night.”

Robin blinked a couple of times, as if becoming more attentive and aware of his surroundings. He remained silent despite.

Monoyaki yawned. “Okay... Is mope time over now? Can we get on with it?”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

“You mean?...” Molly said with a tone of dread. “You’re going to?...”

“Yep! I happen to have a special execution prepared for the Ultimate Rock Star, James McKenzie!”

“W-wait, I!...” James raised his hand as if trying to stop the goat from starting the...

“I said I would, so I will!” He grabbed his mallet, yelling “IT’S PUNISHMENT TIME!” before he slammed it down.

[28]

A few moments after this, a long, clanking chain crashed down from the ceiling, and a cuff on the end tightly gripped James’s neck. Just as fast as it had come down, the chain promptly lifted, carrying him upwards and out of sight.

The monitor changed to a camera feed of James standing on some sort of stage, with the sound of screaming, cheering crowds. He was staring forward with a look of disorientated distress, as the camera turned around to reveal what he was staring at; a chain link fence at the end of the stage, barricading a massive crowd of what looked to be teenage girls, all wearing masks styled like Monoyaki’s face.

**STARDOM STAMPEDE**

The ‘fans’ started clawing through the fence, more and more piling up, until finally, it burst open, and they poured out onto the stage. They immediately surrounded James, screaming even louder with manic glee, as he struggled not to be swallowed by the crowd. The stage was entirely engulfed in people, and by then, James’s face was barely visible... Screaming, reaching his arm out... Until he fell under the rushing current, out of sight. Seconds later, the screams slowly died down, and the crowd dispersed. The only remaining body on stage was a highly trampled, bleeding corpse.

[29]

...

Fuck.

Why... Was that necessary? I...

... James... He may have killed her, but... Even then, he didn’t deserve... THAT... Nobody deserves that...

Everyone else was staring at the screen with the sort of expressions you’d expect. A couple of them were even crying a little.

... With every single thing that happened from the start of the killing game, it felt like it was somehow worse than the last... So... It was now that we knew what we were really in for... A bloodthirsty competition with no regards to mercy of any sort...

... And yet...

[30]

I started to feel somewhat numb after that. If I was going to have to deal with any more of this, then... I... If I broke down in the middle of one of these situations, that could be the end for me. For all of us, even.

I thought back to earlier, when we were first meeting each other... Whenever I had to bring up that I was a conceptual artist, I felt drained of confidence, and expected to be laughed at, even... Yet... In this class trial, I had been really confrontational and focused, perhaps even... Brave?...

... I looked around at everyone... Dan... Archie... Terry... Lucy... All of them. It finally sunk in that they could be lost just as easily as Sadie or James... We... We’re the brightest, most talented of our generation, and yet, here we are. We couldn’t even co-operate as humans without one of us succumbing to self-preservation...

Are... Humans really like this?

Are humans... Evil?

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

“Well,” the wretched goat said with a bored tone, “If nobody’s going to chat anymore, I’ll go...” And he vanished as he always did.

... Some more silence passed. Eventually, someone’s footsteps were heard, heading towards the elevator. I didn’t even pay attention to who it was, I was just staring at the ground... It was hard to look anyone in the face at the time. Soon enough, however, everyone was gathered in the lift, and I followed in.

The ride up wasn’t as tense as the ride down. Just numb.

Upon reaching the top, everyone dispersed, nearly all of them seemed to head straight to their rooms. I just sort of stood there, outside the elevator door.

“Hi.”

Archie was also standing there. It was a bit strange for him to start a conversation in a non-tense situation. Not that it was calm or anything.

“Archie...”

“... I know that you probably don’t feel like talking but... I want to ask you something, Jane.”

“U-um, go... Go ahead...”

[31]

“... Why do you think we trusted him?

“Hm?”

“James. Not just before the trial, just the whole time. I want to know what you think. Did he really have everyone’s best interests in mind? Or was he only manipulating us from the very start?”

“... I mean... His leadership wasn’t the most effective... He... Might have been somewhat domineering... But, that might just be his style of leadership.” I sighed. “I think that Sadie would have done better in his role, she’s responsible and... Less selfish?...”

“We didn’t get to know her as well as James, though. He only did what he did because Monoyaki’s motive made him crack. If the motive was different, it may have hit at something relevant to Sadie...” He looked down at the ground. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she also resorted to violent actions in that case.”

“... So... You think that most leaders just want to manipulate and betray the people they lead?...”

“... If there’s anything to take away from today, Jane...” He looked back at me, his expression even more serious than before. “Anyone is capable of betrayal.”

“I...” My hand shook a little. It was horrifying, but it was true. “... I mean, you wouldn’t betray me, would you?”

“I assure you that I would restrict any urges to resort to violence... To the best of my ability.” He began to walk off slowly. “... Get some rest, Jane.”

(SOUNDTRACK PAUSES)

... After he had left, I did just that. I made my way to my room, got changed, and immediately flopped onto my bed with a thud...

... Funny thing is, even if everyone is a potential murderer... The time I felt most uncomfortable was when I was alone with my thoughts. The regrets about what’s already happened, and the fears as to what’s to come.

...

I don’t feel fine at all.

Continued in Chapter 2 - Daily Life (1)