Gou

"First thing's first!" I take charge. "So, the three people we know of who saw the body were Ren, Azumi, and Yuu. Did all three of you see him at the same time, or was there a definitive last person to find the body? As always, we can knock the person who caused the BDA off the suspect list."

Yuu sheepishly raises his hand. "I saw it last."

"I can confirm that," Ren agrees. I look around and notice Chimon giving a brief smile of satisfaction. I find that kind of weird, in a good way. I would've thought that he'd have a way harder time expressing any joy around him. But since Monterio used his life to keep Yuu alive, it seems Chimon's committed to the same cause.

"Alright. So it's impossible for Yuu to be the killer. That means we can probably trust that any information he gives us is true. With that addressed, I did have a question."

"What's up?" Fujiko asks.

"So, you heard sounds coming from the Warehouse yesterday, right?"

"Mhm! It was a crash and then some chain noises!"

"Here's my question. If Fujiko was able to hear noises from the Warehouse last night, and the Monokuma File says Tozen was killed at roughly 1:30 today, then how did none of us hear anything?"

"Well, if we were all in our rooms, which are soundproof, we wouldn't be able to hear anything. I've been alone shoemaking most of the day," Yuu points out.

"We weren't all in our rooms, though! I was at the beautician's!" She says it enthusiastically, as though it's a big breakthrough.

"Blimey, wench, ye're e'en more o' an addlepate than I thought. Ye still wouldn't be able ta hear anything. Bein' on floor three means ye almost certainly couldn't hear anything happenin' in the basement floor. Savvy?" Wakumi's tone is mocking, harsh, and it makes Fujiko flinch.

"Wakumi, shut the fuck up," I respond automatically.

"AYE! ZIP IT, YE LILY-LIVERED BASTARD!" she shouts in retaliation, cracking her knuckles.

"We don't have time for this!" I shout.

"Cease your bickering!" Azumi denounces us. "We will work together to solve this case, and I will not allow childish quarrels to divide us or lead us astray." The force behind her words takes me aback.

"Um, but like, surely someone was around, right?" Fujiko continues, trying to move past what just happened.

"I was in the game room. That's not too far from the Warehouse," Chimon clarifies.

"And you did not hear the slightest peep coming from there?" Azumi asks.

"Not one!"

"Okay! So the question becomes: how did the Blackened kill Tozen in the Warehouse so quietly?"

Wakumi grunts. "I don't really think this be a possibility, but ye know I gotta ask. No way in hell 'e was put on a gibbet-- er, hanged? 'Is neck was broken, like Keiji said all that time ago, n' 'is shoes were off. Just kinda planted the idea in me brain, n' whatnot. Our whole Crazy Ideas bullshit did us a lot o' good, so I just wanna get this outta the way."

"Hmm... M-Maybe that hook in the ceiling was put there for that reason?" Fujiko offers timidly.

"Well, it is certainly not suicide, regardless of the exact cause of death. In the event that he was hanged, someone must have certainly moved him. First off, of course, there is the matter of his cracked skull. Secondly, if he was hanged, how did he manage to wind up underneath the safety net?" Azumi rationalizes.

"What if someone smacked him real hard in the head to knock him unconscious? We wouldn't hear a scream if he was out cold," I propose. The idea is unsettling, and I shudder a bit at the mental image.

"We didn't find any signs of used blunt objects in the Warehouse," Fujiko reports.

"Besides. If he was hit like that, I'm sure there would be blood splatter indicating it." Ren keeps his volume low and he plays with his gloves as if to not think too hard about the mental image. Tug, tug, tug, he pulls at the fishnet with his thumb.

"And Chimon would've probably heard something like that. If there was enough force behind the blow to crack his skull, there's no way the impact noise would be particularly quiet," Yuu winces.

"Kay. Then what if... the Blackened broke 'is neck first ta shut 'im up?"

"I don't think that's how that works. Either the broken neck would kill him instantly or he'd still be able to yell. That part depends on whether the break snapped any cervical spinal cords," Ren counters. We all give him a look. "After the second trial," he explains with a sigh, "Tozen felt like us having more medical knowledge might help us in the long run. So I know a little bit more than I used to, here and there."

"That's probably for the best. The more we know, the better off we are in general. I'm pretty sure the chloroform was used to make him pass out. But that just makes the sound mystery all the more confusing. That would mean five minutes' worth of nonstop struggle, and I DEFINITELY would've heard something like that."

Azumi quivers. "It is displeasurable imagining Tozen haplessly struggling for that long. It must have been simply unbearable."

"You can do this, Zu. I promise we'll figure this out," Yuu comforts her.

She gives an almost imperceptible nod. "You have my gratitude."

"There are two exits to the Warehouse," he continues, "the rope ladder leading up to the main floor, and the door entering the rest of the basement floor. That door is heavy, right? Cause it's metal?"

"Oh! Oh! I see where you're getting at!" Fujiko squeals with pride. "If Toz was knocked out somewhere else on the basement floor, and the door to the Warehouse was closed up tight, that makes it super duper unlikely that we'll hear anything! Even if someone was right by the rope ladder, the noise might not make it!"

"Precisely. In addition, Tozen usually goes to the gym sometime between 1 pm and 1:30 pm. And what time does the Monokuma File report that he died again?"

"Good catch. So maybe someone was lying in wait for him in the gym, preparing to take him by surprise and knock him out." Chimon knocks gently on his head. "They then moved him to the Warehouse and killed him there, somehow. Any objections?"

Nobody contradicts him. "Aye, so we figured that out. Next order o' business... 'somehow' ain't good enough. HOW was 'e done in?"

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

Wakumi

"If I'm being honest," Ren says, "I don't have the slightest idea. Fujiko and I didn't find any weapons, sharp or blunt."

"Let's play Wild Ideas. Just briefly. What about... the door again? What if they slammed his head against the door, and then cleaned said door?" Yuu tries.

"Nah, laddie. Not a chance. There was no blood trails or nothin' like that. If 'e was killed all the way by the door, the killer'd hafta drag 'im o'er ta underneath the net. N' the blood would either get all along the floor, or on the killer themselves. N'... how long did it take ta find the body? Hardly any time at all, yeah?"

"I believe... it was, at the latest, 1:45 when the three of us discovered him," Azumi confirms. The wench nods 'er head with certainty.

"And even that's pushing it."

"Okie dokie! So, like, it's probably impossible for the killer to clean their clothes in time. But, like, what if they had a change in the secret room we found?"

"We didn't find the bloodied clothes in there, Fujiko. So probably not. Something I particularly was on the lookout for was a furnace, for burning evidence. There wasn't one," the wee laddie says. 'E tilts 'is hat.

"Mmmm... wild idea number two. What if we were already right?"

"Whatever could you mean by that, Fujiko?" the acrobat asks, intrigued. The wench is doin' 'er thinky pose, the one that makes it look like 'er body's made o' complete rubber. Like those sticky vendin' machine toys that are super stretchy. Y'know the ones? Some look like hands n' stuff, but I'm talkin' 'bout the skeleton ones.

"Like, maybe... he died both from blunt force trauma AND from hanging!"

"How would that work?" I ask, rollin' me eyes.

"Blunt force trauma AND hanging... like... a fall?" Chimon interprets. If there's e'er anyone capable o' decipherin' 'er shpeals, it's 'im.

"Yeppity yep. Possible or impossible, everyone?"

"There was no rope," Ren points out, "...but maybe we're missing something?"

"N' also, what o' the safety net? If he were to fall, the net would catch 'im, yeah?"

"Didn't Azumi say something like, 'he could bounce off if the net's too tight'?" the blonde wench recalls.

"I did indeed make a statement regarding that. However, I sincerely doubt the physical damage from that would be enough to... lead to death. In fact, I am almost positive of the contrary. Perhaps one or two mild bone breaks would occur as a result of improper net usage, but certainly no cracked skull."

"Aw, okay. So my idea doesn't work after all. Oh well! Not all of them can be winners," she shrugs, poutin' a wee bit.

"Well, something's up with that net, there's no doubt about it. The fact that it had less slack at all means it was probably messed with. I made triple sure the net was perfect for Zu's tightrope," the skittish laddie smirks, givin' a thumbs-up with 'is gloved hand.

"Wait, wait, wait. Before we dismiss Fujiko's idea entirely, maybe we need to push it to its absolute limit. What would need to be true for it to be possible?" Gou asks.

"The safety net has to be out of the way-- and put back a little wrong. There also has to be something to drop him with," Chimon lists.

"Alright. So, is your intent to request that we seek out methods in which that becomes a possibility?"

"Yeah." E'eryone 'round me starts ta cook up ideas in their heads. "Wild Idea Number Two Part B?" the racer thinks, crossin' 'is arms o'er 'imself. "What if the killer knocked out all of those problems with one stone? Maybe Tozen was hung up WITH the safety net?"

"How would that work?" 'e asks.

"Ah-- I have brought the net. That may be of assistance." Azumi takes it out of 'er bag n' passes it along ta Gou. It's gettin' a bit tricky, what with the gaps 'tween us, but it gets ta 'im eventually.

"Like... this, maybe?" 'E twists it up as though wringin' out a cloth, turning it inta one strand that could be passable as a rope.

"That... makes a fair amount of sense. So, what, they used the net to tie up an unconscious Tozen, put him somewhere high up, and then dropped him somehow?" Ren says.

"Argh. Ye notice how there's sorta a triangle?"

"What do you mean?" Fujiko asks.

"'Tween all the hooks. Two on one side, two on the other side, one on the ceilin'. If we're thinkin' the sides hooks weren't bein' used ta keep the safety net in place, then they're free ta... well, hold the safety net in place. But as a rope."

"I-- But how would that even--? Like, if the two ends of the rope were on either side of the room, was Tozen in the middle? Why? And how would he be dropped that way?" Ren asks.

"Perhaps..." Azumi drawls, speakin' way too slow fer me liking, "only two of the hooks were used. The one on the ceiling and one one on a side. May I see the net again, Gou? There is something I would like to examine."

"Got it." After a repeat o' the annoyin' process, it's back in the wench's hands.

She makes a noise o' approval. "It is as I suspected! One of the ends looks... strange. Almost a bit choppy? Maybe they affixed one end to a hook, and then chopped a bit off to drop him."

"Oh! And that would explain why there was less slack in the net! If there was less net, it would've had to be stretched further to reach both ends!" Yuu notes excitedly.

"There is this spot in the middle where it is a little bit cut up, too, though I do not know how to explain that."

"Hey, maybe that's where they tied Tozen up! His shirt had a little rip, so maybe the killer tied it too tight and needed to slice just a bit to help get it undone!" Gou mentions.

"But, if he wasn't hung up by his neck, why was it broken?" Fujiko asks.

"If 'e WAS, I don't know how 'e'd land on 'is noggin'," I point out, proppin' me feet up on the table.

"There's a lot of really weird things about this case. But... there's something in particular that's REALLY throwing me off," Gou says.

"That is?" Ren prompts.

"Why the fuck is it so much like Hachi's case?"

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

Ren

"Y'know, now that I think about it, it really is similar... the victim was hung up and their neck was broken, but that wasn't actually how they died!" Fujiko mentions, readjusting her hair clip.

"Don't forget that it involves a secret passage," Chimon points out.

"Oh yeah!!" she yells.

"And his shoes were put somewhere else. I was wondering why, since we all obviously knew it wasn't suicide," Gou knocks on his helmet.

"That really is way too weird! Like, it's been pretty much six months since that happened. Why are per-- fuck-- parellels like that popping up now?"

"Did you just almost confuse parallel and perpendicular?" Chimon asks, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"H-Hey, leave me alone!" she protests playfully, an embarrassed smile dancing across her rosy cheeks.

"I didn't think it was possible to mix that up outside of math class!" he teases further.

"Go away, this is slander!" she jokes.

"You have no idea what slander means, if that's your idea of slander!"

"I sincerely apologize for breaking up this entertaining chat, but..." Zu trails off. It fucking hurts. I don't want anyone else to die. Why can't we all just be okay?

"Right! Sorry! Focusing!"

"Something that equally perplexes me is the parallels to the third trial, as well," she continues.

"Aye. I'm not savvy," Wakumi glares, as if telling Azumi to tread carefully. The lethal edge with which she manages to lace all her words is still unsettling, even after all this time.

"O-Oh. Well. There was a trick involving hooks, as well as a note with falsified handwriting. It was reminiscent of the third crime scene. That does make sense, yes? It does not seem like a stretch?" she explains.

Wakumi is silent for a few seconds before giving a slight nod. "Ain't a stretch. Ye're right." Zu lets out a sigh, like she was holding her breath.

"Don't forget the fact that Tozen was drugged. Like Keiji's case," I point out.

Yuu gulps, going a little pale at remembering that trial. "A-And, there were two. U-Um... like how it was the pills and the parsley, and now it's the chloroform and more pills." My heart starts to pound a bit.

"Ah, right. We still dunno what those were fer. High blood pressure n' heart issues ain't exactly somethin' Tozen suffered from, aye?"

"Not even remotely... he was the very model of good health... it is only natural, given his profession." Our eyes meet for a second, and I quickly look away. Seeing her that distraught isn't pleasant.

Gou nods seriously. "Okay. We'll bookmark that for later. But this raises two really weird questions. First... why did the killer feel the need to make this similar to the other deaths? Second..."

"...What about my trial?" Yuu finishes, looking to the ground. He bites his lip and fidgets.

"You're alright. You're safe now," Zu reassures him.

"I would squish your shoulder, if you were comfy with it," Fujiko says.

"I'm... okay," he says, though his voice cracks from the lie. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I'm okay," he repeats, but this time with more certainty.

"Cuttin' the rope could be reference ta the bow snappin'."

"That seems like a bit of a stretch, doesn't it?" Fujiko winces. "The secret passageway leads to the playground, which is where the dancers died. Maybe that has something to do with it?"

"But there were no signs of the playground serving a role in the crime at all," Yuu mumbles.

"Hey, Azumi," Chimon speaks quietly. "May I see the warning note again?"

"Indeed." She reaches the note over to me, and I pass it to Chimon. He scans the pages, eyes flitting across it frantically.

"Okay, that's freaky. Whoever sent this note pulled the same trick Kana did."

"Does it reveal the killer?!" Gou gasps.

"No. But it does sound really important. I'll read you the whole note, and then point out the message.

Stay away from the Warehouse on January 6th. Everything will be okay if you avoid it, but you'll be in danger if you go. Trust me on this, don't go to the basement floor, do your daily exercise in the outdoor area.

Until the next day, let nobody know of this. Panic will be the only result if you tell.

Set up. It's a set-up. Something about this whole thing is a set-up," he concludes.

Everyone's expressions span from cold and resolute to flat-out horrified. I lick my lips slightly to moisten them before talking. "Question... is this the reason you two were asking about the date? Did... he somehow think... that today's the seventh?" Their somber silence is answer enough. "How? How did he get something so fucking vitally important WRONG?!"

"His calendar is a day ahead... I do not know when this fundamental mistake occurred, but somehow, he came to believe that an extra day had passed." Her words are unsteady, like she's trying to stay calm and failing.

"Well, the problem definitely happened before today. Yesterday, I was pretty sure it was Thursday the fifth, but he seemed convinced it was Friday the seventh, and he adjusted his schedule accordingly," Yuu adds.

"Also, we checked his meal plan in the kitchen, and yesterday, he cooked the food that he planned on making for the sixth... aka, today," Chimon mentions. He tilts his hat down just a little bit, and his expression is crestfallen.

"That's totally off! He should've known it was the sixth today-- we only celebrated my birthday two days ago!" Fujiko puzzles. "It's like he flash-forwarded or something like that!"

"D-Did you just say... flash-forward?" he asks, color draining from his face.

"Yeah? What's... wrong with that? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?"

"Azumi... you, Tozen, and I were the three people in charge of reading through the death games, back when we still had the book. Do you remember Flashback Lights?"

She gasps. "No... you can't be serious!"

"Argh. Fill us in, we ain't in the know."

"Flashback Lights... in the old Danganronpa show, they were used to make participants 'remember' events that they had forgotten. But they were actually fake memories, made by Team Danganronpa. I know this sounds batshit insane, but what if someone took Tozen by surprise and gave him the memory of a day we didn't have?"

"Fujiko. Give me that broken flashlight you found in the weird room," Gou demands, tone flat. She quickly forks it over. His grip on it strengthens until his hand quivers. "No normal killing game participant should have access to something like this, right?"

Yuu pulls at his hair slightly. "The traitor... The traitor is involved."