~Mistpouffer~ Danganronpa V2: Goodbye Despair x Male Reader

Chapter 11: Caught in the Crossfire

We couldn't stop Fuyuhiko from running to Peko. Everyone was upset. No one felt how the yakuza felt, though. Peko knew him for a long time. Fuyuhiko knelt down to hold her hand. Then, without warning, he whipped around to face us, "Which one of you bastards did it? WHICH ONE OF YOU KILLED PEKO?!" Nobody answered. I rested my hand on his shoulder, which he promptly smacked away, "Don't fucking touch me..." I sighed, "Fuyuhiko, you at least need to get your cuts healed." I gestured to his suit which, like mine, had small rips from the chandelier falling.

Finally, I had managed to convince the yakuza to get his cuts treated. I sat beside Fuyuhiko as Mikan bandaged our cuts. I hum softly, "Mikan, this can wait until later. We should focus on an autopsy now-" "She isn't dead! She can't be... not today..." Fuyuhiko scowled at his lap. I smiled at Mikan, letting her leave before I turned to Fuyuhiko, "Hey, I know it's hard losing someone so close to you, but you can't hide from the truth." He turned his head stubbornly, but still nodded.

I stood up from my seat, deciding to start my investigation. I passed by very few people, the only ones that stuck around being Hajime, Chiaki, Nagito, Mikan, Mahiru, and Fuyuhiko. The others probably wanted a breather before the trial. I crouch down beside the hole in the floorboards, the small gangster at my side.

I look at Peko's features; she looked so peaceful, almost as if she was asleep. I carefully lower myself beside her body, noticing a slip of paper beneath her. I glance at the gangster, "Can you grab that paper while I lift the chandelier?" He nodded, "Tch... sure." Fuyuhiko knelt down to Peko's body, grimacing slightly. As I lifted the chandelier, he hesitated to reach towards the girl he was close to, his hands skimming her arms to delicately pull the slip of paper from beneath Peko.

 Fuyuhiko took one look at the contents then stuffed the paper into his pocket and stalking away. It was no use stopping him; he made up his mind. I turned back to the chandelier, my eyes fixated on the end of the rope. It was burnt. Likely by that exposed wire I had seen earlier. Though... I don't remember that wire being exposed when we were setting up the party.

Could that mean that someone came into this room afterwards to plan the murder? That would make everyone a suspect. Anyone could have been in here, that's a whole day's worth of events. I paid closer attention to Peko's positioning; her shoulder was snapped beneath her, almost like she was reaching for her sword. The other end of the rope that was tied to the floorboards had traces of food on it. Likely meaning that the someone made an attempted cut with a fork or knife the perpetrator was eating with. Though, that was the reason for the rope giving way, even though it looks burnt.

The only thing that wasn't completely at the scene was the motive. Sure, there was whatever that piece of paper was, but there could've been more. The only way we would know for sure would be to play the game Twilight Syndrome Murder Case. But first, it would be better to change out of formal wear. 

After briefly stopping by my cabin, I head to the park where I see Hajime and Chiaki playing the game on the arcade machine. Hajime was working the controls as the gamer watched. They had just finished the game by the time I approached, "Hey, find anything?" Hajime glanced at me, "Ah... no. There is only one copy of the photos so the only person who has them is whoever won the game initially." I nodded, disappointed we seemed to be at a standstill.

Chiaki held up a finger in emphasis, "Though... the plot of the game also seems to play a key role. That, and the character dynamics being oddly realistic. So, whoever has the motive photos knows something the rest of us don't, I think..." I open my mouth to ask Chiaki what exactly she meant before Akane jogged up to us, "Yo, we need ya back at the building." I glance at the other two before nodding. Gundham greets us at the door, "Palaemon, we have discerned the cause of the abyss." Hajime raised a brow in confusion, "Do you mean the blackout...?" Gundham nodded, escorting us inside. 

He led us to the storage room, where we see some irons lined up on an ironing board. I neared the back of my hand to the irons, getting close enough to feel the emitting heat. "I hadn't touched anything. It was already like this." I turn to them, "The irons are still on, but... I don't think irons alone are enough to cause the blackout." Chiaki nudged Hajime, "You know the answer to that, Hajime. Remember?"

The brunette puts his hand under his chin in thought, closing his eyes to concentrate. After a moment, he opens his eyes, "Right, while we were in the office to check out the breaker, we saw that the air conditioners were on a timer. If I remember correctly... they were set to go off around 11:00." I nod, "So, once the AC turned on, the blackout was caused by a circuit overload?" Hajime nodded, "Yeah... the breaker was too high up for any of us to reach."

I smile, "That's one mystery solved. Then all that's left is-" An all-too-familiar melodic chime rang out. "Upupupu! Looks like someone got antsy! I'll see you at the trial!" I force a smile, "That. All that's left is to bring Peko to justice at the trial." Hajime nods determinedly. The four of us (Chiaki, Hajime, Gundham, and I) made our way to the main island to get to the trial grounds. 

We all took our spots on our podiums, the newly crossed out portrait of Peko where she once stood. Though, with closer attention to detail I noticed that the X's were personalized. Ibuki's was two drumsticks, Peko's two swords. Byakuya- the imposter, however, just had smears. They must have preparations for whomever dies.

Then, the bear that was Monokuma appeared to start the trial.