Danganronpa: String Theory (DrV3)

4.20 - Cult of Benevolence

⚠️ tw/ mentions of sexual assault ⚠️

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"Ready?" I ask, making Himiko nod hesitantly from where she's sitting on the edge of Tenko's bed. It's been about half an hour since we got off the topic, after Himiko was becoming noticeably agitated and stressed. I'm not surprised that talking about it would be taxing on her, so we did other things in the meantime and agreed to discuss later once it simmered in my mind for a bit.

With Himiko's help, we got Tenko propped up so I could trim her hair and even it out after such awful cutting made by whoever drugged her. Her hair rests above her upper shoulders now, at medium length but not short like Himiko's. Sadly though, it's still short compared to the gorgeous length it was before.

We also made sure to keep her warm with blankets, and regularly checked just to make sure she was properly asleep.

"I guess...we can't avoid the topic forever," Himiko answers with a grimace after some time has passed, nodding to herself and turning to face me. "Let's run through it again."

"Alright then. So based on the injection mark at the back of your neck, it was definitely made by a hotel syringe. Which means you likely went off to Hotel Kumasutra the other night, where the culprit took complete advantage of you and likely did something against your wishes. Since you woke up feeling negative repercussions to the drug, what happened there went against your subconscious fantasy," I say, reviewing the entire situation as I pace in Tenko's room and bite my pinkie nail thoughtfully.

Himiko shuffles in her seat, but nods in agreement. Of course she came to the same conclusions...this must have been on her mind ever since she woke up with the hallmarks of having a bad trip after the injection of the love hotel drug. We talked extensively about it in the trial and the Monokubs were thorough in their explanation.

"And although this all points to sexual assault being the motive- and not murder...we can't be entirely sure that's the whole picture until we've investigated a few areas: namely the pool area, the gymnasium, and Hotel Kumasutra."

Another more hesitant nod out of Himiko.

This is even more of a problem. Right now there's limited hotel keys. Kokichi has one, I have one, and Shuichi had one. For the key Shuichi had though, I think it's safe to draw the conclusion that it's gone for good thanks to Tsumugi swiping it. That key went down with her to the execution floor, after all. Wherever her body was tossed, the key is still probably on her person. There's no way Monokuma would permit it being removed and given to another student, not with the whole rule stipulating key-gifting being a banned activity.

That means that the most suspicious people who could have done this are either myself or...

Someone really wants Kokichi to look bad, huh?

If Himiko is willing to show this to me though, it's not because she thinks I'm the culprit.

"I guess you suspect Kokichi the most, don't you?" I ask, making sure I'm not implying any stance in that statement.

For one, do I even believe it wasn't him? This whole issue is serious and highly suspect, but it's sort of...isn't it out of character? Back when we were having our movie night, he wasn't aiming for anything inappropriate. Sure, he was flirty, but he respected the most important boundaries.

Even when he finally made his move, he gave me every chance to pull away. Likely because he knew I wouldn't reject him...unless I'm remembering what went down out of the lenses of a biased fool.