Danganronpa: Locked Doors of Despair

Ch.5 Deadly Life Part 2: Of Lamenting, Limits, and Love

[A/N] I'm gonna drop a content warning here. Obviously there's a lot of gore, but if you're squeamish, I'd seriously recommend avoiding the paragraph directly after the truth bullet position of the body. I almost managed to squirm myself out this time.

Wakumi

The common sayin' is that dead men tell no tales. N' obviously the meanin' is that a man blown down won't be blabbin' any o' yer secrets anytime soon, but I think I came ta realize somethin' while bein' here. All dead men tell tales. Just not with their words. They tell tales o' their own last moments, n' it's e'eryone else's job ta figure it out. Normally, I wouldn't care much ta hear the tales o' those who've fed the fish, but me life is on the line here.

The laddie's body ain't what ye'd typically expect. Not that ye'd expect anythin' in particular from a corpse in the first place, but 'e's got some oddities. One o' the first things we take notice of is that 'e's directly under the safety net from the wench's tightrope. There ain't any bloody trails, like if 'e was drug o'er under the net. 'E's just... layin' there. 'Is expression is relaxed, though maybe a wee bit upset, eyebrows curled in concern but jaw relaxed. I think I heard that jaws usually clam up real tight in rigor mortis, but it ain't been long enough. 'Is death is real recent. The Monokuma file says so.

TRUTH BULLET: POSITION OF THE BODY

Though 'is expression is relaxed, 'is face is far from "normal." 'E's got bruises 'round 'is eyes n' ears, n' 'is clothes are stained with a clear dribble from 'is nose. It's absolutely nauseatin', e'en fer someone like me with a strong stomach. Ginny died in a very similar way-- the gashes in the back o' their heads are real reminiscent o' one another-- but the pool water kept 'er clean-ish.

The other two boys're squeezin' their eyes shut n' lookin' like they'd rather perish themselves than hafta look at this shit. They're both pretty much tryin' ta ignore the head n' focus on other parts o' the body. "G-Grow a pair, ye lily-livered pansies," I command them.

"You're scared, too. Stop pretending you're not," Gou calls me out.

"Sh-Shut up." I try ta snarl at 'im, but me countenance prolly comes off more as a grimace.

"I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't be here. I was okay being the group looking at the body because I didn't want Ren or Zu to have to do it, but this isn't okay. I'm not okay," Yuu trembles, startin' ta hyperventilate.

"Laddie, turn off yer brain. Think o' it like a shoe. Moisture started soakin' inta a shoe n' ye need ta check it all 'round ta figure out what's wrong n' fix it."

"It's just... a shoe. That's all." 'E hesitantly prys one eye open, squeaks like a wee li'l mouse, n' then forces the other eye open. "Th-Thanks."

Me face scrunches up a bit. "Nah, don't thank me. I'm just tryin' ta get yer ass in line so ye can actually be useful."

"H-Huh. Speaking of shoes... he's not wearing any. I'll be right back." 'E comes back a moment later, Tozen's shoes in hand. "They were left by the door to the rest of the hallway. There's, like, a small, thin piece of plastic in one of them. Like maybe the killer dropped something on accident. How's that for useful?"

TRUTH BULLET: TOZEN'S SHOES

"Aye. Useful enough. Actually, I remember somethin'. Mateys, d'ye remember much 'bout the first case?"

"Of course I do. Poor Hachi," Gou nods.

"Well, 'er neck was broken, just like this. Didn't Keiji say somethin' or another 'bout that bein' a sign o' hangin'?" I ask.

"True... I wasn't really sure if he was lying, since he tampered with the body, but it would make sense if it was the truth."

"Thing is, though, if he died of hanging, I don't think that the back of his skull would be caved in. That seems like a bit of a confounding factor," Yuu points out, tuggin' at 'is silver hair in distress.