Azumi

After a long while of pondering this incomplete puzzle, searching haplessly for the missing piece, Joanie looks at me, and then her eyes widen in recognition. "Hear me out on this one... what if... he was poisoned with two things? The pills and then, like, an allergen. He specifically tried to ask for an EpiPen, right, Azumi?"

"I— yes, he did!"

"Now, it's possible that he just didn't know he was poisoned, but knowing him, he'd almost certainly know the symptoms of an allergic reaction. I mean, goddamn, the guy knew a hell of a lot," she mentions.

"But if the killer was simply going to kill him with an allergen, why would they bother with the pills at all?" Sayuri inquires, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"There are a couple options, and maybe more than one of these apply," Chimon adjusts his hat. "First and foremost is probably to confuse us. Now our timeline is different, and so is our list of suspects. Secondly could be that using the pills would weaken Keiji and make him less alert. Maybe they figured he'd be more reliant on other people and less likely to shy away from suspicious behavior. But... I think that first idea is even more vital. Cause now we can narrow it down a TON. Tozen, could I see that cooking schedule?"

"Uh, yes, sir," he nods, stretching across Nari's empty seat to hand it to him.

"It could've only been someone who cooked for Keiji. And if we eliminate everyone who lost the challenge... that only leaves one." His eyes suddenly turn to cold steel as he stares straight at me. My heart skips several beats and my vision blurs ever so slightly. It starts to feel like I'm being crawled on... now I know what Fujiko meant when she said violation feels itchy.

"N-No. It was not me. I swear! I— I lost! And it cannot be verified, which I know looks incredibly bad, but I can explain! My code was to meditate, and I had to break it because we hit the anniversary of a day that something... traumatic occurred."

"Oh!" Sayuri's eyes glimmer with concern as she puts her hand over her mouth. This reaction makes me feel on-edge. Pity is difficult to grapple with.

"But none of us can verify that. Sorry, I don't mean to... umm... doubt you on that. Yeesh, this is a sticky situation," Ren mumbles.

"She didn't do it! I was there the whole time, and she didn't do anything to that food!" Bisque swears, throwing himself across his seat to hug me. I shudder.

"Yeah, cause you're the master o' keepin' watch n' payin' complete attention. Can ye even remember what ye made for 'im?" Wakumi rolls her eyes. I wrap my arm around Bisque as I feel him tense up from her words.

"Y-Yeah. We made chicken noodle soup. A-And gingerbread pretzels for a treat," he whimpers slightly.

"Guys... just think for a minute," Kana says, knocking on her own head for a moment condescendingly.

"Azumi wouldn't pull anything like this," Tozen insists firmly.

"Wait... you could be in on it, Tozen," Joanie glares. She hits her staff on the ground sharply and shakes it a tad, as if trying to get him to see some sort of hint.

"What?! No, I didn't tell her about that!"

"I do not even know what's going on, but please do not drag Tozen into this! I did nothing, and he did nothing! Please!" I plead.

"C'mon guys! The last time we all jumped on someone, it was wrong!" Gou points out.

"Yeah... and I'm gonna make up for it by trying my best to believe in those two," Yuu says, gritting his teeth.

"But if the evidence implicates them so heavily, why are we turning a matter of life and death into a moral conundrum?" Sayuri asks.

"Uhh... umm... I'm not smart enough for this!" Fujiko squeals lightly.

"Y'all, really?" Kana snarks again. I really don't know what on Earth is happening. I can feel my toes going numb, and the dialogue swirling around my head starts to sound fuzzy.

"I want to believe you two, but... this all looks really incriminating. You'll have to back it up to prove it to all of us, since we seem to have a split opinion," Chimon points out.

"Puhuhuhu! Did someone say split opinion?! Oh my, it's been so long since I've had a chance to do this!" Monokuma suddenly cries out. I jolt from his cheeriness. Our chairs start to lift, and rearrange themselves into two sides.

"I— huh?" I murmur, feeling woozy from everything that's happened.

"Well? Get started! Have yourselves a good ol' fashioned debate!"

Fujiko looks concerned. "All I know is that Azumi's the only person who made Keiji food and didn't positively lose."

"But she said she DID lose, and we have no way to disprove that," Gou emphasizes.

"The killer took an element into account that only Tozen and I knew about," Joanie points out. I still have no clue what she's referring to.

"I did NOT tell Azumi about that element. Besides, where would we have hidden the remote during the pat down?" Tozen points out.

Wakumi tosses one of her braids. "Ye coulda just stuck it in the galley— er, kitchen— right after ye turned on the speakers!"

"Don't you think somebody would've noticed it in the kitchen?" Bisque asks, still holding my hand.

"I know Azumi went to the garden... maybe she could've fetched the herbs and berries. Like a dainty little faerie trying to pull a mischievous trick," Ren compares, presumably attempting to keep the mood as light as possible.

After taking some deep breaths and composing myself, I swoop in. "I was in the garden mere moments before stumbling upon Keiji. Even if I'd known his allergies, I'd have no time to administer them!"

Sayuri raises an eyebrow. "Could it possibly be anyone else? How could we in any way explain her situation?"

Yuu runs an anxious hand through his hair. "Maybe it IS someone else. The real winner could've tampered with a loser's dish."

"You guys haven't shown us anything definitive. It's all just a bunch of possibilities," Chimon reminds us.

Kana gives us the most provoked and exasperated expression I have ever seen in my entire existence. "You want definitive? Fine. None of you morons seem to know how anaphylaxis works, so here. Symptoms almost always take mere minutes to have an hour to start up. Aka, not WAY after Azumi's AND Tozen's meals!"

Everyone in the room, aside from Monterio, of course, go stunned. And then, the group representing our side of the argument make our proclamation. "THIS IS OUR ANSWER."

"Wait, but that would mean it happened during MY meal... WAIT WAIT WAIT," Yuu gives a sudden outburst. But then he lets his shoulders drop as he takes a few deep breaths, himself. "I'm probably wrong. I want to be wrong. But I need to get a theory out of my head, so please... be patient with me," he requests, humility written on his face.

And so... we nod. To facilitate discussion, to discover our sought-after answers, we must be willing to listen. My, do I need to just take a moment to listen. I'm so tired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuu

All the pieces make way too much sense. But I figure, I just need to make sure. If I get it out there, it can get disproven. "Monokuma, did the victory prize have two parts to it?"

"Wha-wha-what? Why would you think that?"

Gou catches on relatively quickly. "I get where you're coming from. If it's not Azumi and Tozen, they couldn't have known whatever Joanie was talking about. Even if the killer found out through some other means, there's still the question of how the killer found out Keiji's allergy. We still don't even technically know what it IS."

"Ah, I knew I could trust you guys to catch on! You're all such smarties."

"Stop doting on us and answer the damn question, you lunatic," Kana demands.

"You're right! And yes, a set of keys to everyone's rooms is one of the two parts!"

"I'm assuming the second part is something to the effect of learning secrets?" Monterio chimes in.

"Oop! I've been busted! Yup yup! To the lucky prize winner, one secret about each student-- including Hachi and Nari!"

I shudder, concerned about the secret that somebody knows about me. But I press on. "I'm... shit, I'm sorry for thinking this, but... Sayuri?" I cringe as soon as the name leaves my mouth.

She looks so genuinely disappointed, and it stabs at me. "After all this time? What is it gonna take to convince you that you can trust me, Yuu?"

"Be patient with me! Just let me get this out of my system without making it any harder, okay? Please!" I beg. Her tensed shoulders relax. I look away so that I can't see her expression. "Okay, so a couple of things. The first one is coincidental, so I don't put too much merit in it. She was interested in spying, a while back, and she has a pair of shoes that I made. They're specifically designed to be quiet, cause I hate squeaky sounds. I dunno, just an observation. The other two thoughts are a lot more... damning." I hesitate, taking a breath.

"Go on," Fujiko urges, setting a hand on my shoulder supportively.

"The scissors with the scrap of paper. And Keiji's book box. What if his book was already that way when he came here? What if someone else, after visiting Keiji's room and seeing everything in there, decided to borrow the idea? What I'm getting at here is, Sayuri usually keeps her journal with her at the table. And we didn't check it out during the pat down. Don't you think that would make a brilliant place to hide the remote? The remote that she watched Kana use?"

"Ah! And she and I sit the furthest from the kitchen's exit! I outran her, so I did not witness her leave, and she was at least one of the first three when we reconvened!" Azumi motions.

"She was the first," Ren interjects swiftly. "I paid attention. Thought someone would die... didn't think it would be two days later, though."

"And I left my-- I mean, she could've dealt with my secret while she was in there," Joanie confirms. She's gripping her staff so hard that she's shaking.

"Perhaps the nail in the coffin, though, is that she brought my food to Keiji. She offered, and I was busy, so I let her do it... I shouldn't have been so careless," I sigh. "She could've spiked the food, right under my goddamn nose," my voice cracks.

"Yuu, I don't know a thing about medications, or anaphylaxis, or any of this!" she insists. With this, the disillusionment sets in.

"Sayuri, don't lie to me. You're you. You're curious about everything, you want to learn about everything, you want to ask all the personal questions and get all the insight, because that's just the way you are."

"Why would I need to know about those specific medications or medical conditions? Wouldn't metaphorical illness be suitable enough for poetry? It can represent so many things, yes? Wouldn't my time be better spent learning about people themselves?" she pushes. I don't believe you. "You know me, don't you? Then shouldn't you know what type of person I am? Why would I risk my own life on a plan like this if the goal is to experience and learn as much as possible? Would I not spend more time trying to protect myself, or, better yet, find a way out of here? Please, what's wrong?"

"Stop it! Stop trying to get inside my head!" I yell, clutching at my hair and forcing my eyes shut.

"Yuu, what's wrong? Won't you let me talk this out with you?"

Shut up! STOP IT! "AZUMI! I need Keiji's list. I need to find something out, it's important!" She casts a nervous glance to Sayuri right beside her, and passes the note the other way to me. Fujiko squishes my shoulder, as though trying to console me. I ignore everyone's information, passing through until I find Sayuri's. And my heart sinks even further, but it feels, in some twisted way, vindicating. "Your dad's a medical researcher."

The room is filled with a thick, heavy silence for the gajillionth time in the last, like, hour, and then she gives a slight giggle. "Is it bad that I'm proud of you all for sifting through all of this? Sure, my plan fell apart, but I did not make it easy, and you all worked very hard, didn't you? I get this recording whether I win or not, so I suppose I'm relieved that you all will be okay."

"Shit," I declare simply.

"Yuu, can you give us a summary, or do you want me to do it?" Bisque asks softly. I just point to him.

"Gotcha. It all started pretty much as soon as the killer won the code challenge. Within that very afternoon, they got busy. Armed with our secrets and a set of keys, they made a plan. They looked through Keiji's room, since, as their intended target, they figured he'd have some interesting information. There, they discovered his book, transformed into a box. They swiftly found a pair of scissors in the warehouse and carved their own journal. They then took a trip to each dancers' room, stealing the speakers and the remote. When dinner rolled around, they activated the speakers, and then swiftly tucked the remote into the compartment in their journal. While everyone looked for speakers, they ground up some white pills they'd taken earlier from the infirmary, and added some to Keiji's salad, disguised as parmesan cheese. For two days, all they did was wait, but they did stop by the garden to get whatever Keiji's allergic to. Then, today at lunchtime, they offered to bring Yuu's food to Keiji. In the process, they added in another ingredient, and then carried on their day as usual. And it looks like that killer is you, Sayuri Asai, the Ultimate Poet!"

She gives a small applause, a woman standing alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joanie

The man next to me seems as betrayed and spite-filled as I feel. "Yuu," she reaches out.

He lifts up a hand. "Save it. You have a lot to worry about, and I am your lowest priority right now," he insists.

All I can utter out is a bitter, "Why?"

"Are you asking about my motives? Aren't they somewhat obvious? I need to hear that recording. Did anyone here really expect me to be okay without answers?"

"Why Keiji?!" I demand, digging my fingernails deep, deep into my palms.

"Who would be most likely to see right through any scheme I laid out? Also, Joanie, I deeply apologize for the insensitivity of this question, but... who among our group of fourteen would have been missed the least?"

"Shut up. I know nobody liked him, but why do you get to decide that makes this okay?"

"Oh, I know well that it's not okay in the slightest. It was simply... the least bad way I could see to get what I need. Ah, even so... who knew that all it would take to kill a genius is a couple sprigs of parsley?"

I look around at everyone else. Their expressions are hard to read, but I know that any concern spared is not for Keiji. If it's for me, it's undeserved, and if it's for her, even less so. But what is there to do anymore? I look at Wakumi, and she's looking back at me. No concern in her eyes. Just this stubbornness. Like, "Well, what're ye gonna do now, lassie?"

I stand up straight, spurred on. "Good luck. Go get your prize. It had better be worth it to you, girl."

"He, missed by the one,

She, missed by none,

Are going to be united.

They had their fun,

But now it's done.

To new worlds they're invited.

Let's be the best bugs,

Then jump to slugs

And soon we'll wind up human.

And we'll share hugs

And drink from mugs,

Find happiness that's true, men.

Good luck, I bid you

And sure, it's true

That further we'll be parted.

The man I slew

Stuck t'me like glue.

Please end what we have started."

With that, she takes Monokuma's hand. "Let me meet you, Mastermind."

"Allllrighty! Let's go, my little poet!" Her chair and his sink even further than we thought possible, and the openings in the floor are immediately sealed.

Almost instantaneously, both dancers press their ears to the floor, trying to catch wind of anything. But Monoinu only sighs. "We can't have cheaters. That's against the rules. So it's uber sound-proof. You couldn't hear a heavy metal concert down there."

"We'll see for ourselves," Kana defies. She stares with intense focus, trying to get anything, but she soon grunts, and the two of them give up.

"Guys, get back to your seats before he gets back and punishes you!" Bisque pleads.

A few minutes later, the two of them return, and Sayuri is bound up. She's being gagged, and all we can hear are muffled squeals as she casts a frantic glance at each of us. It sounds like she's desperately trying to tell us something, but it's useless.

"Ah-Ah-Ah! I was gracious enough to deem you these answers, but I can't let you spoil the rest of our story, now, can I?" Monokuma smiles wickedly.

She stumbles backward, trying to somehow pry herself free without falling to the ground, but it's all fucking futile. She gets picked up by the collar, and dragged off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Justice

I am ripped from the ground and carried far, far away. Fuck, shit, I need to have gotten them that information. The answers I found were not at all what I was expecting, and I think this may be the first time in my life that I am worse-off for knowing something. Especially something of this much relevance. The evening sunset is so beautiful, so resplendent and lovely, and I wish I had the time to pen down this whole scene. I'm not even deserving to see something so pretty.

I try to hold the image in my head as I'm placed in a small, cyclindrical room. The walls are covered in what look to be little mail slots, all aimed right at me. The voice of the Mastermind still rings through my mind, echoing there, and I try to focus on the sunset. Sunset!!!

My arms and legs are bound, and I'm forced to stand. A monitor turns on, and I see a sheet of paper on the screen— one of my poems. Monokuma loads it into one of the mail slots from the other side, and it suddenly comes shooting at me, scraping my face and making it bleed.

Oh no. I know what this is. Lingchi. Death of a thousand paper cuts. Another one of my poems flashes, and gets loaded, and slices my arm. On and on it goes, faster and faster, at blistering speeds, even. My shirt and skirt get torn up so that the pages upon pages of my work have easier access to my skin, which is raw and dripping and stinging. I try to think up a new poem to distract me, but it's no use. All I can think of is the pain of shredded skin and the voice of cold despair. OW. OH MY GOD.

Help me. Help me. I never got to fall in love, I never got to travel or go to university or be a parent. There was so much I still wanted to do. Why did it have to happen this way?

A huge ray gun is aimed at me. As it fires, I twist out of the way and fall, further opening up hundreds of cuts on the process. My scream is muffled by my gag, but it's animalistic. Pain, pain, pain, nausea, exhaustion. Ah, I'm dying. I'm dying of blood loss. I'm coming, Keiji. Let's be the best little bugs together.