Danganronpa: Digital Daze

Chapter 12: First Murder Investigation

Once everyone was gathered in the Laundry Room, Monorakun addressed us.

"Sorry, but the princess is in another...dryer? Who the fuck came up with this shit? Well, that's for you to find out! But first, the Monorakun File!"

Our E-Handbooks all went off at once. A new section appeared, after "Settings". It had a Monorakun face, and was labeled "Monorakun File". I tapped on the icon, and "Autopsy Report" appeared within it. I tapped on it, and it opened a document for me to read.

"Victim: Sonia Nevermind. Cause of Death: Falling head over heels. Multiple fractures, as well as minor burns, discovered on arms, legs, head, and torso areas. No other major injuries reported."

We all glanced at one another, bewildered. This is all we had to go on?

Mukuro asked the first question, in a even voice that bordered on annoyance and boredom. "What now?"

Monorakun perked his ears as he faced her. "Now, you gather evidence for the Class Trial! Search the crime scene, examine the body, gather alibis, go down on an promot- Oh, sorry, that was supposed to remain backstage, right?" Monorakun was looking at Sayaka, who seemed like she was hiding her embarrassment.

Monorakun continued. "Also, while I'm thinking of it, I took the liberty of going through all of Sonia's private messages that she sent to everyone. Rather than make you sift through all of it, I've filtered out anything that might, even remotely, be relevant to her dethroning. Make of it what you will."

Celeste cocked her head, suddenly interested in Monorakun. "So you mean to tell me that all of Sonia's private messages are now accessible to us? I wonder, is this to be our fate, too, if we are struck down in this place?"

Monorakun nodded. "Yep, but ONLY what could be considered relevant to determining a Blackened."

"And how is that determined?" Celeste was...smiling?

"In truth, I don't have to answer that question, but I will anyway. I run every message sent to and from Sonia through a program that determines threat assessment and suspicion levels. Anything that rates over a certain threshold, on either front, is saved into a file, which I have just sent to you all."

Monorakun continued. "Now, you're not gonna just jump in there, see one person messaging her, and know that's the Blackened. I always ensure several people's messages are included, based on the thresholds. In fact, the Blackened might not even BE any of them! Maybe they're the silent killer type who keeps everything in their head..." Monorakun shrugged. "Who knows?"

Mukuro spoke up next. "Could use two people to monitor the crime scene, too. I won't be able to inspect Sonia's body and prevent sabotage at the same time."

Kaito eagerly volunteered. "You can count on me, Mukuro!"

Theo agreed to stand guard, as well. Celeste offered to search the Laundry Room for any clues, and Theo agreed, under his watchful eye.

The rest of us split up. Kaede, Sayaka, and Makoto paired up, with Makoto asking Monorakun a question.

"Could we be permitted to search Sonia's room? There could be evidence in there."

Monorakun considered the request for several moments, then shrugged. "Eh, I have no logical reason to keep you out of there. Go for it." Monorakun's red eye flashed erratically for about three or four seconds, then went back to normal. "Door's unlocked now."

Kenchikka spoke up next, but not to Monorakun. Instead, she looked directly at Sayaka and moved towards her, catching Sayaka's attention.

"Sonia swam with you earlier, right?"