~Mistpouffer~ Danganronpa V2: Goodbye Despair x Male Reader

Chapter 20: Partners In Crime

"Upupupupu! Well, looky here... we're gathered together again." There was a beat of silence after Monokuma's oddly chipper comment when he continued, "Well, it's ABOUT TIME! I was getting bored." M/n could feel his jaw lock at Monokuma's antagonization. Nobody spoke, they just exchanged weary glances of suspicion and fatigue. The whole schtick was growing quite old. M/n exhaled through his nose slowly as Hajime took charge, as per usual.

"First, we need to figure out who died first." Chiaki gave him a disapproving frown, "But, Hajime, we already know that..." Hajime rubbed the back of his neck "Ah... right." Soda sputtered from his podium, "W-Wh-Whah?! WE DO?!"

M/n searched his brain for the answer... 'Was it the comb? no... ah! I got it!' Fuyuhiko had, unfortunately gotten impatient and stolen the spotlight, "It was that ink, obviously." Gundham nodded beside M/n, taking a moment to close his eyes and cast his arms up dramatically, "Mwahaha! An astute observation! Seeing as the substance was undoubtedly present in both crime scenes and originated from the cabin of—" "Then we just have to figure out who was with both Teruteru and Ryota. Piece of cake!" Akane cheered, pressing her open palm to her fist. "Kch!" Gundham gasped, irked that his monologue was interrupted.

Mentally, Hajime went over the clues in his head... a broken comb at both crime scenes: a signature accessory Teruteru was seen with. The ink from Ryota's apartment that was found in traces at the diner. But both of the deaths... that's where they were stumped. Overall, the diner didn't have many clues, they'd have to stick with Ryota. Maybe they could figure out who was there. Let's see...

Hajime glanced at Nagito to study his expression. The white haired boy was usually quite... unhinged during the trials thus far. Surprisingly his mossy eyes were glazed over. Perhaps he was still recovering from the despair disease? For some unknown reason, the disease hit him like a freight train. Hajime shook his head to dispel his wandering thoughts, his thumb and forefinger under his chin in thought. "Let's start by figuring out why Teruteru was involved."

"Um... maybe he just didn't like Ryota?"

"Teruteru probably witnessed the crime!"

"Imbeciles! It is clear to me— that without my all seeing eye— Teruteru would not actively pursue such homicidal endeavors, unless he was recruited by some foul beast."

"I agree with that!" M/n declared, "I don't think that Teruteru didn't like Ryota as much as Ryota was an easy target," The surfer crossed his arms over his chest "Out of everyone here, still standing, it would've been hard for Teruteru to overpower any of us. Ryota on the other hand..." Some others nodded, seeing where I was going with my thought process. "Just as Gundham said, Teruteru would need a secure position to go through with it... don't forget the initial motive behind this killing game." Sonia gasped, "I see! It was the first reason we got to kill! If we made it through a trial as the blackened, we would be set free."

Practically with hearts in his eyes, Soda leaned forward and propped his head up with his elbows on his podium, a dreamy sigh leaving his lips "Clever as always, Miss Sonia..." Sweat-dropping, Hajime continued where M/n left off, "And if you recall, Teruteru really wanted to see his mom..." Mahiru frowned, frustrated, "Ugh! But how does that help us? His motive could apply to any of the murders!"

Hajime fell silent again in thought, getting an encouraging nod from Chiaki to launch into his next point. "Mahiru's right. Teruteru wouldn't have waited this long unless someone else with a motive approached him... but who?"

"Easy! Whoever it was wanted to put an end to the Despair Disease!"

"That means the killer must have been affected!

"...how can we prove who it was when everyone has alibis?"

"No! That's wrong! Not everyone has an alibi." Hajime pointed out, though, he apparently took to long to elaborate since Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue in annoyance, "At the very least, I was with Hajime, Edge Lord, and Bolts-for- Brains in the Hospital waiting room." Hajime nodded, "Yeah. And I know Mikan was there taking care of Nagito and Akane. Other than Nekomaru, nobody else was together."

Soda, pointing at M/n, "Yeah! M/n only came in later plus he found Ryota's body!" That left Sonia, Mahiru, Chiaki, and M/n without an alibi. The only problem was, everyone except the Surfer can provide a story. He couldn't remember anything while he was sick, just waking up afterwards. This can't— it can't be how it ends. Not this way. No. He couldn't let the killer get away with this. Something's missing there has to be something... a clue that's going to piece everything together.

"HALT! San-D speaks of something to clear Palaemon from this purgatory!" Gundham declared with a flourish of his magenta scarf, the plump hamster in question perched on his fingers. "Amazing! The Deva showing its powers!" Sonia exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes, much to the chagrin of Soda. "Uwah! Miss Sonia! Don't feed into his delusions!"

Holding out the small rodent towards the center of the ring of podiums, Gundham listened intently as San-D made a variety of squeaks only comprehensible to the Breeder. With motions of her tiny paws, San-D tried to convey her message to the Ultimates. Miraculously, M/n remembered one specific thing in the diner. A pool of water that the hamster pointed out.

"Ah... that water... I did think it was odd..." Mikan clasped her hands together with a nervous stammer, "Y-You mean... t-the water on the table, right?" M/n nodded and Fuyuhiko planted a hand on his hip, his other hand raised palm up, "Well? Spit it out!" Hajime hit his fist against his own upturned palm, "Oh! I get it now. That spill. It was weird seeing as there were no glasses... if someone really did make a mess, why clean up the glass but not the water?"

Irritably, Gundham shushes the crowd, "Silence! The Dark Deva Speaks!" Gundham nodded, intensely focused, "Salt, you say?" Fuyuhiko grimaced, "And here I thought Nagito lost his fucking mind..." Akane piped up from her stand, her pinky in her ear idly, "So what? Water was salty big deal." Mahiru shrugged, "I don't know. It is strange isn't it? About as strange as having a conversation with a hamster but..."

Mikan frowned, recalling her 'moment' with M/n on the bridge, "S-Someone was crying...?" Mahiru planted her hands on her hips, "Which one of you degenerates made someone cry?" Chiaki's head bobbed as if she was asleep, but nonetheless she hummed, "There's another reason someone might be crying... I think..." Hajime furrowed his brow in thought, knowing Chiaki was leading him in the right direction as usual.

Fuyuhiko scoffed, "Heh. Why else would water be salty? Unless one of you fucking morons salts your drinks." He eyed Nagito and Soda at the end of his sentences, implying that his last sentence might pertain to them (one for lunacy and the other for stupidity). Hajime then snapped his fingers in realization. "Akane. It was you wasn't it?" The gymnast frowned, perking up, "The hell? Doubting me of all people... you got some nerve..." Sonia frowned, her index finger poised on her bottom lip, "I suppose that makes sense... Akane.. didn't you have the Coward Disease?"

"Hmph. It was weird to see someone cry more than Pinky." Soda gasped in offense, "Hey!" Akane slammed her hands on her podium, rocketing forward, "I. Don't. Cry. It wasn't me!" One of Gundham's hamsters, Maga-Z based off of the solid tan coloring and white stomach, jumped from his hiding spot towards the Gymnast and scurried onto her shoulder briefly. He sniffed her hair before running back to Gundham. "Bwahahahah! What mortal treasure have you acquired?" Clasped in that jaws of the hamster was a small piece of plastic, grabbed from Akane's messy hair— the tooth of a comb.