The Child Of Hope | SDR2 Insert Child Reader - CANCELLED

Chapter 1 [13]

You backed away from the body. Everyone else around you was screaming with you.

"Goodness! I see something shocking has happened! The newly deserted Jabberwock Island has finally seen its first murder! One of you killed Byakuya Togami!" Monokuma announced.

You fell on your knees, unsure whether to cry, to scream or to do nothing at all.

"The only way to move on, is to find out who committed this crime, so you better investigate!" Monokuma continued.

"We have no choice, do we? We can't... just refuse, can we?" Mikan stuttered.

"Nevertheless, we have no choice." Hajime said.

"Ah! Wait, I have something for you guys!" Monokuma finally said, passing Hajime a file.

Monokuma then disappeared, by now, you had been silently sobbing. You couldn't believe someone really killed him. You stood up, wiping the tears from your face. Everyone crowded around the file as Hajime opened it.

'The victim's body was discovered at the main hall of Hotel Mirai's old lodge. The time of death was around 11:30PM. The cause of death was stabbing with a sharp object. The victim was stabbed multiple times in the region between the abdomen and the throat. There are no other wounds on the body, nor any traces of poison or other drugs.'

Most of the information about the body was stored on the file. After everyone had seen it, Hajime put it away and made his way over to the table, presumably to investigate. You decided to walk over to Mahiru and talk to her.

"Didn't you take photos before the blackout? They had Togami in them right?" You asked her.

"Yeah, do you want to see them, this is a digital camera, so we can look at them now." She replied.

You nodded as she passed you her camera, you inspected the photos, looking at everyones position. Mahiru looked over your shoulder before asking,

"Hey, don't you think Byakuya is too far away from the table? How could he of got there when it was pitch black?"

"Yeah- We didn't hear anyone bump into a table, so he must of had something which allowed him to see... Wait, could you possibly map where everyone was from these photos?" You asked.

"I should be able to do that." Mahiru replied.

You walked away from Mahiru and over to Gundham.

"Is your earring still missing, it may of fell under the floorboards, since the carpet doesn't cover the entire floor." You told him.

"But, how do I get it out of there? My hand will not fit through this gap, and it seems no tool can reach far enough in." He replied.

"Well, there has to be a way under there, maybe there is a way under from the outside! How about we check out there?" You suggested.

"That earring must be returned to me..." Gundham muttered.

You both made your way outside, Gundham's hamsters moving around in his scarf. Chiaki was still in front of the lodge. You explained what had happened inside to her, and informed her about Gundham's lost earring. She kindly offered to help, so you all began searching for a way to enter. You did this for a while until you heard the door open.

"Hey, what are you three doing?" A voice asked.

You all turned around, before you were two confused faces which belonged to Hajime and Nagito.

"What are we doing? Ha! A question fit for an imbecile!" Gundham laughed.

"We are checking if there is a way to get under the floor from here." Chiaki told them.

"Under the floor? What for?" Hajime asked.

"They thought it impossible. They judged it useless. But who are they to decide? That earring must be returned to me, whatever the cost!" Gundham shouted.

"I have a feeling that the truth behind this murder hinges on whether the space under the floor is accessible or not. And that's why it is necessary to investigate that. I think." Chiaki said.

"The carpet didn't reach the area where Togami died, and if you look at the position he was in when he died, he would of been stabbed from under the floorboards." You informed.

"And? Did you find anything?" He asked.

"No. I think it's impossible to reach that space from outside the lodge. There's a remarkably sturdy fence surrounding the space under the floor on all sides." Chiaki replied.

"It's also inaccessible from inside. I haven't seen anywhere you could get under the floor from." Nagito stated.

"But maybe there's some kind of a hidden door somewhere?" Hajime puzzled.

"No, I don't think so. In any case, it seems it's impossible to access that space from outside. I'm quite relieved, actually. Because if it were possible to enter that space from the outside, that would make one person seem very suspicious, wouldn't it? The one person who wasn't at the party and has no alibi. Fuyuhiko." Nagito said.

"In fact, while I was guarding he came by. I think he really did want to join the group, but just couldn't bring himself to admit it." Chiaki replied.

"Well for the time being let's go visit Togami-kun's cottage, like we planned." Nagito insisted.

"I'm coming too. Togami was a nice guy. If there is anything that might help us find out who killed him, I'm coming." You said.

The two boys nodded in agreement, signalling that you could come. The three of you made your way to the cottage. The door wasn't locked, which surprised you. Inside was nothing out of the ordinary except for a letter. It was addressed to Togami. You read it out loud,

"Watch out. The first murder will occur tonight. It is inevitable."

"Perhaps this is the reason Togami-kun announced a party so suddenly." Nagito muttered.

"No, this is the reason. He said he would do it around a week. I was the one who suggested it to him after all." You informed.

You returned to the lodge. After entering the main room, Monokuma made an announcement.

"It's time! That's right! It's time for our long-awaited school trial! On the central island here in Jabberwock, there is a mountain with my cute face carved on it. Please proceed to the underground elevator, accessible from a hidden secret entrance on that mountain."

So everyone made there way to the meeting place. Everyone entered the elevator.

It began moving down.