Just One More Time

3 - Which One Are You?

"Remember Himiko, you need to sacrifice yourself first for the plan to work, okay?" Shuichi reminded the woman of their plan to escape the loop, now that the end was nigh.

"Do you think you'll be able to call the mastermind's bluff and save everyone?" Himiko asked.

"Yes, the plan with definitely work."

"Then why can't I know about it?" Himiko asked, indirectly accusing the male of lying.

"I just don't want to risk anything going wrong. The less you know, the better, okay?" Shuichi informed her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Please, just trust me."

"Nyeh, fine," she sighed. Before Shuichi could continue the conversation, the two jumped from the sound of a loud bang somewhere inside the academy. "What was that?"

"Not sure, maybe the Exisals? We are in the gym, so if they're outside, we'd be able to hear them." Shuichi wondered out loud.

"Nothing about the mastermind has been mentioned yet, isn't that weird?" Himiko sighed.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean we can't investigate ourselves. Why don't we search for that secret room in the girl's bathroom?" Shuichi offered, the mage nodding at the suggestion. They began walking through the hallways, finding Momota and Kiibo approaching them from the dining hall. 

"Hey, guys! Kiibo's coming to see my lab, wanna join?" Momota asked, waving at the two newcomers.

"No thank you Momota," Himiko replied.

"Alright, you're missing out though!" Momota laughed. Before the two could continue towards the possible mastermind's lair, a terrified scream erupted from down the hallway. "That sounded like Akamatsu..."

"Yeah..." Shuichi muttered. The blonde in question ran around the corner, stumbling to a halt in front of them.

"Help! Shinguji, dead, stairs," she panted. Everyone shared a glance of fear before running down the hallway, the remaining five contestants finding Shinguji's dead body lying in a pool of blood. The body discovery announcement chimed for the last time in the world, confirming the validity of Shinguji's death.

"Puhuhu! I have an extra special trial for you lot!" Monokuma cheered, throwing Monokuma Files at the remaining contestants. "You gotta find the blackened, but also, the mastermind of this entire killing game!"

"How are we going to do that?!" Akamatsu shouted in disbelief. It's easier than you'd think.

"Why the fuck would I tell you that?! Go and figure it out!" Monokuma snapped before disappearing from the hallway.

Shuichi glanced to his side, feeling a tug on the sleeve of his striped jacket. "Nyeh, Shuichi, what do we do?"

"I'm going to have a look at Shinguji's body first since we're here," Shuichi told her. Himiko nodded, the two kneeling next to Shinguji's limp corpse. Staring at the electronic device in his hand, Shuichi began reading the Monokuma File.

Case 6
Victim - Shinguji Korekiyo, the Ultimate Anthropologist.
Location - Floor two, staircase leading to the first floor.
Time of Death - 12:43 pm
Cause - Brain was severed.
Other Injuries - Multiple puncture wounds to the chest, neck and face.

Analysing Shinguji's body, Shuichi noticed multiple superficial lacerations to the victim's body. Blood seeped from a hole in his head, brain matter mixing in with the rest of his blood pouring from behind, soaking the floor. Someone shot him in the head, but this doesn't look like a regular bullet wound... A wound like this would be a death sentence for anyone, there was no saving him.