Danganronpa: Digital Daze

Chapter 22: Second Murder Investigation

Everyone gathered outside of the Boy's Restroom, where Monorakun met up with me and the others.

"Alright, shitbags, here's the drill. I can't override the restrictions regarding girls in the boy's restroom, so even with a dead body in there, I can't allow girls inside. With that said, here's your Monorakun Report!"

Our E-Handbooks went off. A new message was under "Monorakun Files". I opened it up and read it.

"Victim: Yasuhiro Hagakure. Time of Death: 11:30am. Cause of Death: Being a dipshit."

"Huh?" Kaito asked. "How is THIS supposed to be a cause of death?"

He showed Monorakun his E-Handbook. "Whoops! That's not supposed to say that. Let me update it for you."

About 30 seconds later, the Monorakun File updated itself, and now reads:

"Victim: Yasuhiro Hagakure. Time of Death: 11:30am. Cause of Death: Extreme Facial. A bottle of turpentine was found near his body, along with a rag soaked with it. Traces of paint were found on the victim's face and neck. No visible injuries noted on the body."

"Alright, students, start your investigation! I'll call you when I think you're done, or whenever I get bored," Monorakun declared. "And girls, STAY OUT of that Boy's Restroom! That chaingun on the ceiling will make you dance, and NOT in a nice way!"

While the girls discussed what to do, Kaito, Leon, and Theo talked amongst each other.

"Bera got pretty embarrassed at the Halloween party. Maybe he did it, and is waiting to see who to pin it on!" Leon blurted out.

Kaito shook his head. "Yasuhiro towers over Bera, and has like 30 pounds on him. I don't think Bera's big enough, or strong enough, to kill Yasuhiro."

Theo pondered. "Be that as it may, Bera must still be considered a person of interest. Someone should question him. Meanwhile, I will examine the body."

Wait... They think I killed Yasuhiro? I mean, sure, he was annoying, but I would never!

Leon approached me. "Alright, dammit, let's do this. Where were you when Yasuhiro died? And please don't be a pain in the ass."

I answered him honestly about playing video games with Chiaki, before leaving to use the bathroom.

"And what did you see in the bathroom?" Leon inquired.

"Yasuhiro was laying on the ground, like he is now. I touched nothing."

Leon eyed me suspiciously, as if I was trying to hide something, but I merely shrugged.

Meanwhile, Theo was in the Restroom, looking over Yasuhiro. I saw something white stuffed in Theo's nose, which I assumed was toilet paper.

Knowing that turpentine is used to remove paint, I headed to the Art Room to check for clues, while Leon moved on to interrogate someone else.

In the Art Room, I found Kenchikka questioning Angie, while Celeste was examining a table, which contained paints, a few brushes, and a sheet of paper with smudges on it.

Not wanting to bother them, I went to look in the sink. The sink had traces of purple paint inside, and the cold water faucet had the same shade of paint on it, too.

"You WHAT?!"

Kenchikka seemed shocked by something. Turning around, I saw she was still talking to Angie.

"Atua saw that the soap was not working, and He recommended to me to have Yasuhiro use the turpentine on his face. Why? It removes paint."

Kenchikka cradled her face in her hands. "Yes. From walls, floors, ceilings."

She then looked at Angie. "Not faces!"

Angie shrugged. "Well, I helped him in the sink at first, but then Yasuhiro complained that he couldn't see what he was doing. I accompanied him outside the Boy's Restroom with the rag and turpentine, and then returned to the Art Room. I did not go inside the restroom, and Yasuhiro was alive when I left."

So, Angie was behind Yasuhiro using turpentine on his face, because some paint wouldn't come off. But Angie could not enter the Boy's Restroom. Plus, Angie claims that Yasuhiro was still alive when she last saw him... Does that mean someone was waiting for him in the restroom?

Leaving the Art Room, I started walking back to the restroom, but was intercepted by Leon again, who looked apprehensive of me.

"Yo, Bera! Gotta ask you some follow-up questions, alright?" This didn't come out as a question, but as more of a demand.

I shrug. "Sure, why not? What's up?"

"Well, what were you up to today, Bera?"

Wait... My alibi? Why am I being suspected?

"Well, I slept in because I was up late last night, mending Chihiro's clothing before returning them to him and going to bed."

Leon interrupted me. "Chihiro? You mean that dude who dressed like a girl?"

I didn't dignify that with a response. "Anyway, when I did get up, I went to talk to Theo in his dorm room. He was having a bit of an identity crisis, and just wanted to vent."

Leon seemed uninterested. "Ok, and then?"

"Then, after I left Theo's dorm, I saw Kenchikka staggering in the hallway, having a vertigo episode. I helped her to her dorm, and we talked for a while about how she got her injury and her prosthetic left eye."

Leon's eyes went wide in admiration. "Wow, you were there to rescue her? I'm jealous, dude. She's a real hottie, though that tongue is damn sharp on her."

Ignoring his praise, I continued. "She's lucky to be alive; I'll leave it at that. Anyway, after that, I got a message from Chiaki, wanting to play a Konkey Dong game with her. We eventually beat it, and then I left to use the Boy's Restroom. That's when I found Yasuhiro."

Leon thinks about my words. "Hmmmm... Sure, whatever." Leon then walked off, leaving me to return to the restroom.

As I arrived, Kenchikka was speaking with Celeste, which Chihiro was being questioned by Kaito. I found Chiaki, who was being questioned by Kaede. I validated her alibi, stating I was with her in her room, playing video games.

Finally, I went into the Boy's Restroom. The smell in there had subsided some, due to the door being jarred open by Monorakun himself. Theo seemed to be finished examining Yasuhiro, and seeing me approach, decided to speak with me.

"Keep a fair distance from the body, good sir," Theo warned. I put my hands up and stopped.

"I have made some progress with poor Yasuhiro here," Theo continued. "For one, the poor chap was truly a fool. Both of his hands, as well as his face, had turpentine on them, as well as a flannel he used to clean his face."

I cocked my head, confused. "A flannel? Like a flannel shirt?"

Theo chuckled. "No, sorry, my good boy. A flannel, like a face cloth. Usually, a small square towel, used on the face and hands?"

I nodded. "Ohhhh. Ok, yeah."

Theo resumed. "Anyway, I was also able to determine -"

"Alright, shitbags! Time's up! Everyone head to the Courtroom. We'll enter via the fountain steps, as we did last time. Move it!" Monorakun interrupted.

Theo didn't finish his sentence, and instead followed everyone else to the Courtyard. Once again, the fountain dried up and slid backwards, revealing the staircase.

Once again, we all descended down the stairs to the Courtroom.

Once again, we all took our places at our podiums, around the Courtroom.

And, once again, we had to bring a killer to justice, or die trying.