Danganronpa: Locked Doors of Despair

Ch.3 Deadly Life Part 1: Of Pretend, Play, and Positivity

Chimon

This is a really bad situation.

That's very obviously an understatement; we're dealing with another murder, another trial, another risk to our lives. I don't wanna die, duh, and it's honestly surprising to me that it was JOANIE of all people. Fujiko, Kana, and I all sounded like more reasonable options for victims. And, if we're thinking of this from a moral standpoint, I performed the action that was likely the reason for her death, so I have to act way more guilty than I actually feel in order to not look extremely suspicious.

I'm getting pissed off at this point. This should be a big deal to me. There has to be SOMETHING.

"Aha! Will you look at that?" the annoyingly chipper voice cries out. Monokuma cartwheels in. "It looks like your wish-granting spirit's been sent to the afterlife! And as such, I'd love to present you all with the Monokuma File that I made with the utmost care!" He passes it out to everyone.

"The victim is Joanie Moore. The body was discovered in the pool. There are also external injuries to her hands. Estimated time of death is around 2 am. The cause of death is blunt force trauma."

TRUTH BULLET: MONOKUMA FILE

I rush to Joanie's body, but get blocked by Wakumi. " 'Fore anyone goes pokin' n' proddin', ye best believe I'm gonna be a lookout fer any trouble. Nothin' leaves this room 'till the class trial starts, end o' story. No rigs'll be run, full stop." she announces in a booming voice. Then she gives me a light shove toward the body, scowling.

"I gotcha. I can be the second guard," Gou volunteers. I look back and find him trying to comfort her, but she shrugs off his hand and scoots away coldly. Undeterred, he stays right there. Hm. I guess if this group is good at one thing, it's consistency.

As if proving my point, Monterio settles beside me. "Y-You don't have to. If there's something else you're more interested in searching for, I'll be f-fine," I explain through alligator tears as I quake. He just shakes his head and holds my head to his heart briefly. Its beat is quick, since we're still seeing the body of someone we've been around for roughly two months, but it's still strong and steadfast.

I swiftly turn to try and note who's teaming up. Haruto, Azumi, and Tozen head off together. Kana and Fujiko, having apparently mended their differences, also partner up. And this case's "awkwardly partners because they're left over" award goes to Ren and Yuu.

Having committed that to memory, I wipe away the last of my tears and get to work examining the body, which Monterio fishes out. It's slightly bloated from having been submerged in water for around ten hours, and even as robotic as I am, it's not pretty to look at. Neither is the freaking massive indentation in the back of the head, covered in blood. "That doesn't look like trauma from something with sharp edges. Looks more rounded, don't you think?" I point out. He nods.

"It's also off-center. More to the right of her head, kinda low." His eyes are analytical.

TRUTH BULLET: JOANIE'S HEAD

I turn my attention to the hands, like the file says. The left hand is pretty much undamaged, though obviously the fingers are pruny. But the right hand is where the real damage lies. "Oh, shit. All of her fingers are broken. And the skin on the side of her hand looks... like... peeled off. Yeesh. What could the point of that have been?" I ask to nobody in particular.

TRUTH BULLET: JOANIE'S RIGHT HAND

"Hey, wait," I realize. "Where are her shoes?"

Monterio looks around and then points to a heap at the other side of the room toward the lounge chairs, where her shoes and staff have been tossed somewhat haphazardly. We go to look. "Huh. No blood on these boots."