Danganronpa: Locked Doors of Despair

Ch.3 Deadly Life Part 4: Of Forgetting, Fighting, and Forbearing

Yuu

It's at that moment that it starts to click into place. "Nuh-uh," I deny in advance. It's not. It's not, it isn't. I feel my hand start to instinctively curl up into a fist.

"Guys, I can tell that you're ignoring some obvious signs of who the Blackened is. I don't know if you're doing it knowingly, or if your brain is trying to protect you by blotting stuff out, but we're never gonna get anywhere if you don't start thinking about it. The killer actually made it pretty obvious. I don't know why, or even if they knew, but they left clues for us like bread crumbs."

"Just... spit it out, Chimon! You're not gonna make us be the ones to say it!" Tozen demands.

"Fine, but you can't call me a villain, okay? I hate this, too." He takes a deep breath to calm himself. "I wholeheartedly believe that the Blackened is Bisque."

The words hang heavy in the air, and even though it's only a few seconds before someone else speaks, I feel fear course its way through my whole fucking body as though it's been hours and hours.

"I— There's no way he'd do something so cruel! Bisque doesn't have it in him!" Gou yells.

"Gou is correct! There simply must be a mistake in your reasoning! Or perhaps he's been framed, like with the first trial!" Azumi concurs.

"N-No! I wouldn't do that to a friend! Joanie was amazing, and she always did everything for everyone's sake, so I could never bring myself to betray her!" Bisque's voice cracks, and it's raw and sincere and I can't help but start to breathe heavily. It can't be him!

"I won't believe it!" I shout out.

"Oh, God," Tozen says, muffled behind his hands. He runs his palm up his entire face until he's gripping his forehead in pain. "Yuu, check our handwriting again."

"Chimon, what made you think of this in the first place?" Monterio asks.

"I couldn't have known where the nail polish remover was! Do you think I'd just fumble around the beautician's in the middle of a murder? I couldn't have even been sure there WAS any," he defends.

"O-Okay," I squeak out. I take out the sheet of paper, and also the Gotcha note. I stare at them, squinting and trying my hardest to figure out what's got him so distressed.

"Bisque and I were baking, one time, and he accidentally made a small mistake. He started to panic, even though there was an obvious way to fix it. And when I pointed it out to him, he said that common sense flies out the window when he panics."

"Maybe not, but you did know where the capes were, since I gave you a trim." Kana's voice is hushed, like she's scared we'll all scream her down.

"Yuu, think of every time you've seen someone's handwriting in here," Chimon urges.

"Now that I think about it, that definitely sounds scary! Imagine you go to visit someone, fully aware that they're trying to kill you, and you could possibly mess up and wind up dead. And then, fueled by adrenaline, you lure them into a trap and have to kill them at two in the freaking morning, when anyone who wakes up and leaves their bedroom will totally hear a bunch of loud noises and come investigate. I can't think of anything more panic-inducing!" Fujiko clacks her nails against the table furiously, as though she's jittering.

"So what if he knew the capes were there?! Didn't everybody on our side of the schism get a haircut?! We can't assume that it's Bisque when it could've been anyone else!" Ren insists.