Danganronpa: Until Proven Guilty

Chapter Two - 8: The Final Verdict

"Are we moving on, then?"
I snap out of my daze as Mitsuharu's calm voice floods my ears. Blinking, my vision clears, my head clears.
Though I have no clue what they've been talking about in my stunned state, I nod with a slight hesitance. The others seem to nod too, though much more conclusively, and I know it's time to pay attention.
"I guess we've sorted all that out, then," Haruka folds her arms, "But we're not really any closer to finding the killer, right? I mean, we still have no idea what half of the stuff is."
"She's right, you know," Shiro toys with his hair, "There're those kitchen knives, those ghastly spears. Ugh, it's so horrible I want to wretch."
I think back to all those spears sliced through Tory's motionless, dead body. Not a single spot untainted by those sharp edges.
"Neither of those is the murder weapon, though," Daiki says, "I mean, she choked to death? That's a strange ass way to spell stabbing, Monokuma."
"Hey!" The bear roars, "Don't make fun of my spelling, it hurts my little robot heart. I wasn't bullied for 15 years for this!"
Mitsuharu rolls his eyes, "Anyway, it's fair to say the spears were an afterthought, especially since there's no blood in the water, nor any around the pool."
"How do we know they didn't just clean it up?" Yashira raises an eyebrow, "Jin did it, so could this killer."
Kaso grins, flashing a smirk at Ayana, "You shove a rake up anyone's ass? Might get a lead from that."
"Leave her alone!" Kohi yells, "She'll do it to you in a minute!"
I sigh, trying to ignore their bickering, "That's not very likely, the towels in both locker rooms were in the lockers, folded too. Blood would probably stain a white towel, so they wouldn't look that pristine."
Ayana sighs, "But then why the spears? Seems a bit overkill, unless they went crazy or something."
I flash a brief, secretive glance to Kuroko, whose face is as chirpy as ever. Her screams play back in my mind once more, her swinging for Kaso, being pulled out of the room crying.
Shaking my head, the thoughts scurry as I try to concentrate on the spears.
Ayana's right, it is overkill. So why?
"Wh-where would the spears even come from?" Mamo says gently, "I d-don't remember seeing anything like that around campus."
"The ceiling," Mitsuharu says suddenly, as if he's thinking aloud. He rubs his temples, metal rings pressing firmly into his skin.
Kaso scoffs, "Jesus fucking christ, this man's outta ideas."
Yashira laughs with him, "Yeah, what the fuck, man?"
Mitsuharu flushes, turning away from them, a sheepish look spread across his face, "N-no. Hold on, let me explain." He clears his throat, "There was a metal ceiling panel in the pool, kind of in line with where Tory's body was. "
"Again?" Amai growls, clenching her fists, "You're keeping shit from us again? I'm sick of you! Our lives are on the line and you wanna be some 'mysterious emo kid'? Cut it out!"
Mitsuharu bites his lip, narrowing his eyes, though no words come from his mouth. Silence.
"A-amai's right," Haruka says, "You really need to stop. I don't know what's keeping you from telling us these things."
Nothing. Just silence again. Nothing but an intense green stare.
"Mitsuharu?" I say, worry burning in my heart. Say something, anything.
He looks at me dead on, "The rules state some areas are blocked off at night, remember? Perhaps the pool is one, not necessarily the area around, but the pool itself."
"Kid's right and all!" Monokuma nods, paying more attention to a glass of wine that's probably been pulled out from places I can't even comprehend, "Can't be enterin' the pool at night, the insurance company will 'ave a right day with me!"
"That's neat and all," Daiki raises an eyebrow, "But what do the rules have to do with anything? She was murdered."
"I'm suggesting," Mitsuharu slides his hands into his pockets, his stare only intensifying. "Perhaps Tory being dead in the pool was considered a violation of the rules. Thus, the metal panel slid open, and spears shot her corpse from the ceiling."

Silence again, no noise except for light gasps and jaws dropping.
"That's so crazy," I say, voice breathy from shock, "It might just be plausible."
"The heavens decided her fate!" Aki croaks, lifting her hands to the sky.
"The spears weren't the cause of death, maggot," Amai picks at her nails.
Kohi looks at the marble floor, "Do rules actually apply to corpses?"
Monokuma springs to attention again, "Bloody shit! Another rule I forgot to add! I tell ya, I'm gettin' senile these days, need to take my meds."
He turns away from us, fumbling around with lord knows what, until each of our handbooks ping simultaneously with a new notification.