Fanganronpa: Destination Despair

Part 1/Chapter 16

My eyes widened. I...zumi..? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What... What the hell is going on here..?

"WOAH!! SHE TOTALLY WENT BAD SHIT CRAZY!!" Ishibuko screamed.

"She's gone loco!!" Haru said. She ran over to Aiko and hugged them. Aiko seemed to hug back, as if protecting her. Mars did the same thing, but Marje was the one to hug Mars. I almost wished I could do the same, but I knew better.

"HA! You think this is loco? You guys really are a lot more stupid than I originally thought." Izumi said. She let out a crazed chuckle, long and breathy.

"Damn... This really is just like Hello Despair!" Ishibuko said again.

"Stop saying that!" Mars shouted.

"But like... that one character-"

"Not the time!!" Mars said again.

"You know, that one guy... I think his name was..." Ishibuko thought. "Never mind, I don't remember." I heard Mars sigh in relief.

"Izumi, what happened to you?" Mirai asked. "This isn't like you... you're always so cool and composed..."

"Ah... Don't say it like that. It just proves how clueless humanity can get. You see, I can be composed when I want. I can break when I want. It's my choice, isn't it?" Izumi said harshly.

"But why are you acting like this?" Tomoka asked.

Izumi sighed and made no effort to speak.

Since she wasn't talking, I decided I would. "Izumi, I need to know... how do you know the killer is a she? And why are you... why are you laughing?"

"...Because..." Izumi said, letting on.

"B-Because what..?" Yukiya asked.

"...Because don't you find this exciting?" Izumi said loudly. "I mean... how this all ended up playing out! I guess a little nudge can do a whole lot, eh?" Izumi laughed again.

"...Izumi, what did you do?" I asked cautiously.

She began with a sigh, then, "Does that really matter? And didn't you just ask me two other questions? Let me at least answer those first..."

"Then tell us why you're acting like this!" I demanded.

"Because, like I sad, this is all just so thrilling! I mean... with Shikumo dying... and how greatly set up it was! It truly was a perfect murder... Alas, the killer won't be able to hide for long... They've almost found you out, haven't they?" Izumi looked at everyone, probably trying to throw us off.

"...And how can we say that you're not the killer? After all, I believe your pronouns are she/her, are they not?" Chidori asked.

"While that is true, I can assure you, I'm not the killer. I haven't killed someone in years..." Izumi said with a sigh.

"W-What-?! K-Killed?!" Hikari said, louder than ever.

"Well, of course! I mean, I'm honestly surprised myself... How long it's been since I've killed someone... It truly is unfair...

It's always so thrilling... Seeing the distressed look on their faces... How their bodies tremble in fear... How blood-soaked the scene is! Ah... Even just seeing the pink on my hands makes me go manic..!" Izumi let out a breathy laugh again, even louder this time. "Ah, it's so truly wonderful! So breath taking, don't you think!"

A disgusted look spread across my face. "You think this is funny? You think that this is all just a show to you? What the hell, Izumi?! Someone died... Shikumo died, and you're over here laughing about it!!" I continued to yell at her, over and over. "What the absolute hell?!"

"S-Sachi.... Maybe you should calm down a bit..." Mirai suggested.

"No! How the hell can I calm down?! Shikumo's dead! He's... dead... He's..." I suddenly started to feel water spill from my eyes. I didn't want anyone seeing me like this. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go home.

Before I knew it, I felt two people at my side. As I looked to my left, and right as well, I saw both Mirai and Tomoka. They both gave me a hug, and told me it was okay.

"...Stop acting so pathetic..." Izumi rolled her eyes.

"I don't think you should spur her on..." Aiko said to her.

"I'll do what I please," was all that Izumi had to say.

Once I started to feel a bit better, Mirai and Tomoka patted me on the back and went back to their podiums.

"Now that that's over..." Amy said, "Care to explain what you know?"

Allie spoke up, too. "Yes, I agree. Tell us why you know about the killer's identity. Better yet, since you seem to know so much about the killer, why don't you just tell us who they are?"

"Now would that be any fun? Sure, giving you little hints here and there is one thing... But telling who it is straight away? I'd rather eat a squirrel." Izumi scoffed.

"Then tell us why you know so much!" Amy demanded.

"...Hmm... Well... Maybe I'll give you a little peek at my side of the story..." Izumi started. "You see, as I mentioned earlier, I haven't killed someone in such a long time... It truly is quite addictive, you know? But... I didn't feel like getting my hands dirty."

"So you just up and told someone to kill somebody else? Yeah, not making sense there. Why would anyone ever listen to you?" Ishibuko asked.

"Well, I didn't just "tell someone". Ah, how would people put it these days... I just gave them a nudge in the right direction. All I had to do was get a little close to them... And ask about who was most precious to them. Quite easy, really." Izumi explained.

"S-So... You m-manipulated s-someone..?" Yukiya asked.

"If that's how you'd like to put it, then sure. But you shouldn't take it so seriously. I mean, people manipulate others all the time. Is it really all that surprising?" Izumi asked.

Mars, who was still holding Marje, spoke up. "So you manipulating someone into killing Shikumo? That's what you're saying?"

"Indeed." Izumi said flatly.

"...So then... who did you m-manipulate..?" Haru asked, still holding on tight to Aiko.

"Didn't I already tell you that I'm not going to give that away? There'd be no fun in telling you all right away." Izumi said again.

"...So you're saying that we need to find out the killer first?" I asked.

"Precisely."

"Then... Chidori..." I said, looking up at him. "Mind telling us what the clue was that would lead to the killer?"

"Me? Oh... that's right... I did say that," he sighed and looked to the ground. "Well... it's not like I'm trying to say that I know it's them for sure... but... based on what you said, Sachi, I think that a certain someone looks rather suspicious."

"A certain someone?" Tomoka asked. "Like who?"

"Well... Sachi, Mirai... you two were the one's that would know the best, since you were there." Chidori said.

"We were there? What are you talking about?" Mirai asked.

"Well... I mean... Sachi, you said that you saw a certain someone when you two were investigating... I remember you saying that they had "found" the sewing kit that we were talking about earlier in the barn. Don't you think that... it's possible they might've been in the middle of hiding it?" Chidori asked slowly.

I thought for a second. We saw a certain someone... That was... It took me a second to remember who it was, but once I did, it all snapped into place.

"You're... you're talking about her, aren't you?" I asked.

Chidori simply nodded in reponse.

"Her?" Aoi asked. "Who are you even talking about?"

"...Well, put simply..." I slowly raised my hand. It pointed out, straight in front of me, towards Aoi. "You, Aoi Lunwike."