Roses are Rainbow

“Let’s see… Who shall be revealed today?” The bear entered the crowd, pacing back and forth, stopping briefly in front of a student on occasion, just to inspire a little fear. “I suppose we’ve had enough excitement the past few days… How about something a little tamer.” He stopped in front of the snow-top. “Since you all already HATE him… I figure I might as well give you a face to hate as well.” A dull blue light surrounds them briefly before…

Outside of attire, Nao actually didn’t change all that much. His fancy dress clothes were replaced with a hastily thrown together outfit consisting of ripped black jeans, a black t-shirt, and an unzipped, black-white striped hoodie. His glasses had disappeared. Black bags hung under the poet’s tired eyes. His hair, while still its same white, was longer now, and far more dishevelled. Other than those changes, everyone was still looking at the same Nao they’d come to know and hate. He crossed his arms, and sighed. Prior to having his appearance revealed, he gave no signs of distress. After its reveal, however, he tensed up, and allowed a bead of sweat to trickles down his face. Having his true identity exposed was the easy part. What came next was going to be much more difficult for him.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s get this over with.” Nao closed his eyes, bracing himself for the shitshow of a secret he was sure was to be revealed. He stuffed his shaky hands into his pockets. Deep breaths. Relax.

CW: Suicide

“What is it with your generation? Constantly needing me to feed you entertainment? Can’t you be content for a minute while everyone stares at your ugly mug? Well… regardless, the fiasco with Shirokuma’s sweet, sweet grandbaby isn’t the first time he’s gotten someone else to do his dirty work. This kid has a track record! How many lives have you ruined? How many people decided they’d rather be DEAD than have to spend another minute listening to your god-awful words?”

/CW

Nao narrowed his eyes upon hearing those words, and turned to face the bear beside him. He stared down at Kurokuma bitterly. “… I see. That was the secret I thought you’d reveal, but… That was well-worded on your part. Of course you’d take advantage of any situation in order to maximize the tensions in our group.” He glanced over to his classmates, his eyes cold and firm. “But there’s no point in explaining anything to you guys, is there?” The poet turned his back to everyone, and walked slowly towards the other end of the room. After a moment of silence, he stopped in his tracks. Nao turned his head over his shoulders, landing his attention on Kurokuma. His lips stretched into a weak, forced smirk. “But in revealing my secret so early, you’ve admitted your defeat, haven’t you? You realized that you couldn’t force me to kill. That your words mean nothing to me.” Despite his big words, and his efforts to mask his vulnerability, it was clear that his confidence at that moment was nothing more than a facade.

... What? Those were some unexpectedly heavy words, and coming from Michi of all people? Huh. Nao’s smirk faded away. He wasn’t being serious at all, but Michi flat-out rejected him more brutally than he could have ever imagined. 

‘The time to play with me was before you enticed my friend to kill somebody.‘

Oof indeed. When Michi came to talk to him, Nao was anticipating a rather laid back time, but... Well, this was the complete opposite of laid back. As soon as those words hit him, Nao sunk into his chair, giving Michi his full, undivided attention. A strange tenseness tugged at his face. At that moment, Nao almost resembled a child being scolded by their mother or father. 

And yet another curveball was thrown his way. Michi just wanted to talk about his interests? After responding the way she did? What was... What was she thinking? Had Nao not been put into this submissive position, he probably would’ve glared at her as he scrambled to figure her out. That wasn’t the case, however. Nao was caught off guard. He was even somewhat intimidated. He didn’t have the time to focus on anything other than what was directly in front of him. “R-Right... Right... Sorry. I’ll be good. Just don’t hit me.” He hung his head, looking down at his lap.

Maybe that whole Donmul Mode thing was a little too effective. But hey, it seemed to work, right?

What makes people human... Philosophy. Philosophy was something that Nao was adept in. And that specific question was one that Nao had discussed with someone else during this killing game.

“One can answer that question by considering the biology of a human. Humans have incredible abilities in survival. They can fight off diseases, they can store food and water for future dire situations, they can heal wounds off... All better than many other beings on this planet. It’s encoded in our instincts to survive, too. They have physiological responses whenever they so much as perceive danger. Even if they went out of their way to kill themselves, their instincts would kick in at the last moment. If they jump off a building, they panic. If they wrap a plastic bag around their head, they desperately try to claw it off.”

Nao hesitantly looked back up at Michi. “Not only do humans seek to avoid death, but they also, in most cases, seek to create life. This doesn’t have to be directly, either. Humans strive for survival, not only of the self, but of the race, even if they might think otherwise. One might believe that they hate humanity, but when it comes down to it, they probably wouldn’t allow the entire race to die off. Humanity’s purpose is to survive, and not just literally. They strive for a prosperous survival. They seek happiness. Company. The aspects of life that make life worth living. A human is defined by their pursuit of life, but this would appear different from individual to individual.”

Nao shrugged. “So the meaning of life is life itself. Every human gives their own life meaning. If, however, the meaning of life is life, then the two cancel out, meaning that life has no meaning. Thus, humans seek, again, to give their life meaning. One’s humanity is found merely in the fact that they’re living, I believe. It is not the human instinct to avoid happiness, nor to escape life. Does that mean that people who do avoid happiness, and actively pursue death, are not human? No. Those behaviours are symptoms are symptoms of mental illness. While mental illness should be accepted as part of the self, it should also be recognized as foreign to the default human state. Mental illness does not define anyone. It is a foreign complication that does not necessarily destroy one’s humanity.”

Nao glanced up from his notebook to the person that sat down opposite from him. Hm? He actually hadn’t noticed her arrival. He was probably too invested in his writing. Confirming the identity of his classmate, Michi, Nao set his pen down, and leaned back in his chair, giving the girl his full attention. The two hadn’t spoken before, but Michi was someone that Nao’d wanted to speak to for some time. She seemed like an interesting character. Perhaps too energetic, but interesting. But what could she have wanted with him? Did Michi not see Nao as an enemy like most of the others did? Well… She didn’t seem like to type to treat others as opposition, at least. Regardless of what she thought about him, she didn’t appear to be hostile. While she didn’t say anything, it was clear that she just wanted to talk, with the way she sat herself down. 

She breathes in, and asks.

No, come on. It was clear that this conversation was going to be about the last case. Michi’s seriousness in her approach supported that theory. It was getting tiring, having to constantly explain himself, but Nao couldn’t bring himself to ignore any questions about the murder. If he, and everyone else, wanted to work together, he had to be cooperative, and talk. Besides, he hated being seen as in the wrong. So, as tiring as it was, discussing the matter, he sat still, and patiently awaited Michi’s questions. The answers that Nao already gave everyone ran through his head, ready to be given when required.

That preparation was a fruitless endeavour, however. The conversation starter that Michi offered was completely out of left field. Never could Nao have expected a question like that. Nao raised a brow at Michi, unsure if he’d just misheard her. Michi couldn’t have just asked something like that, out of no where, with the blank expression she was wearing. No way. Yet, after a momentary wait for clarification, Michi didn’t correct herself, nor repeat herself. Was that really the topic they were going to discuss? Accepting that realization, Nao’s cheeks were tinged a faint red, and his lips stretched into a forced, awkward smile. 

“My... sex life?” Nao sighed, and as if following his breath, any signs of his fluster immediately vanished. “Why? Are you interested in me? Let’s at least have dinner first before moving on to such topics.” He chuckled before he closed his notebook, and pocketed it, along with his pen. He wasn’t going to need those during this conversation. “On a more serious note, I’m a beta cuck. A virgin. In that regard, I’m actually quite pure. And what about your sex life?” 

Nao glanced up from his notebook to the person that sat down opposite from him. Hm? He actually hadn’t noticed her arrival. He was probably too invested in his writing. Confirming the identity of his classmate, Michi, Nao set his pen down, and leaned back in his chair, giving the girl his full attention. The two hadn’t spoken before, but Michi was someone that Nao’d wanted to speak to for some time. She seemed like an interesting character. Perhaps too energetic, but interesting. But what could she have wanted with him? Did Michi not see Nao as an enemy like most of the others did? Well... She didn’t seem like to type to treat others as opposition, at least. Regardless of what she thought about him, she didn’t appear to be hostile. While she didn’t say anything, it was clear that she just wanted to talk, with the way she sat herself down. 

After a momentary wait, someone, indeed, arrived at his floor. Sachiko. Much like how Nao piqued Sachiko’s interest, Sachiko was an item of interest to Nao. The chocolatier didn’t seem to be highly emotional like some of the other members of their class, and with that absence of emotion came a sharp mind. That was something that Nao could respect. 

Nao chuckled softly at Sachiko’s comment. “Interested is one way to describe it, yes. Honestly, I’m not a big consumer of this kind of stuff, but it was here, so I thought I might as well give it a try. Being open to new experiences isn’t harmful in itself.”

Hmmm... There seemed to be several interesting books in the mystery section. It was nice having so many options, but at the same time, having that many options made it difficult for Nao to decide on one. He didn’t feel it was right to take more than one book out at a time, either, even though people probably wouldn’t notice if he were to do that, given the number of books present on the shelves. 

Murder mysteries. They were always fun to read. They helped to stimulate the brain, and they were just all-around exciting. Solving the murder before the details were officially revealed also allowed for a sense of pride and accomplishment (thanks, EA). Nao felt awkward choosing from a selection of such stories, though, given the killing game he and his classmates were stuck in. Was it acceptable to read things like this here? Whatever the case, it wasn’t going to stop him. The entertainment provided by the fictional murder was something completely separate from the reality of his situation, in his mind. He had to wonder, though, how the others would see it. 

Oh? Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs, Nao turned to the source, eventually meeting eye-to-eye with Keiko. She was someone that Nao had interest in. She was intelligent, and, as far as Nao could tell, a pleasant person to be around. Collected, too, as demonstrated in her manner of initiating conversation with him. Having a conversation with her, even if it was about his involvement in the case, as the conversation would most likely be about, couldn’t be all that bad.

Even as time since the trial passed, it was clear that things weren’t going to get much easier for Nao. Understandably so. What he did was disgusting. He knew that just as much as anyone else. Unfortunately, the nature of his actions would always overshadow the intent and logic behind them, it seemed. For most people, at least. There were some that understood, and even agreed with, his rationale, but the majority were opposed to him.

What a predicament. The unease Nao felt during his conversation with Fran not even an hour ago proved that difficulties would surround him for the remainder of his time spent in this virtual reality. Well… No. The boy sighed. He closed his eyes, focused on clearing his mind. It’d be fine.

It wasn’t long before Nao managed to purge those weighting thoughts. He picked his pen up off the table in front of him, and pressed its tip to the blank, open page of his notebook lying flat on the table. Absentmindedly, he reached for the mug to his left, only to recall that he’d already finished his coffee. He chuckled to himself, and returned his attention to his notebook. His hand glided over the page, his pen leaving poetic words in its trail.

The punishments were cruel, huh? That was what Shirokuma’d told Katsumi. At first, it seemed as thought those words rung true. A chain dragging Katsumi by the neck? Cruel, but… then she was placed into some kind of video game. No. That couldn’t have been it. Surely, there was more to come, if Shirokuma was speaking the truth.

And, indeed, she did. The moment Katsumi started bleeding, Nao turned away. He didn’t even see anything all that bad, but he couldn’t bear the sight of the blood. It was even a source of relief when he’d decided to turn away at that time, avoiding the sight of the worse that was to come. It wasn’t a good thing, of course, that this was happening at all, but… Anything to keep your cool. Still, as the punishment continued, and the gruesome sounds met his ears, Nao’s skin gradually paled. Faint beads of sweat trickled down his cheek.

Then, following the girl’s apparent death, that was it. No words from Kurokuma? Shirokuma? Nothing was going to be said from them? Everyone would just get to leave as if that hadn’t just happened? Nao lowered his head, his hair shadowing over his eyes. With his laboured breaths and trembling body, it was clear that, despite his earlier actions, he wasn’t taking this well. But how could that make sense? Like everyone must’ve been thinking, he had to be some kind of psychopath, right?

These were the closing moments of the trial, then. The results were in. There was no more need to argue over the case itself. Rather, now people had to argue over the actions taken prior to the case’s verdict. It was a tiring prospect, but Nao couldn’t blame people for being so emotional about things. He especially couldn’t blame them for how they must’ve felt towards him.

As expected, between all of the vitriol, Barako took it upon herself to set things straight. That made things easier, considering the fact that nobody would respond well to anything Nao himself had to say. Having someone support his side was a very much needed boost to his morale. Something Barako said, however, caught Nao off guard. His eyes widened in surprise. “Y-You were… You were considering making that kind of sacrifice? Just like me… Huh.” The poet breathed a sad sigh. “… I see. We really are quite alike, at least in terms of mentality.” Those words were uttered more to himself than to Barako, though they were loud enough for those around him to hear.

Yet, despite Barako’s efforts to deescalate the situation, the emotional ties that the majority of the class had didn’t vanish, and they continued to squabble. Of course. That was just human nature. 

“Nobody here is to blame. The murder was a result of the motive, not of character. However, naturally, no amount of rationalizing can eliminate the emotions that come as a result of the murder, nor of my actions. I don’t condone the way people are speaking to Sakamoto-san, but I still can’t blame them. The way I see it, logically, I did what was best, but emotionally, I realize that it was deplorable. If you wish to blame me… If you wish to hate me… Go ahead. Just realize that carrying the grudges we bear in this room outside with us, and acting on those grudges, is ill-advised. Like Sekisei-san said, we shouldn’t be opposing each other. That goes for everyone, to everyone. If you feel that you can’t be around someone, then don’t. Don’t stick around, and allow conflicts to occur. Not in this environment.”

Well, it seemed to have worked out, at least. Not without cost, considering all of the vitriol being thrown around as a result of Nao’s actions, and what was revealed afterwards. However, the end result was that Katsumi had essentially confessed to the crime, making for an undisputed victory. 

Regardless of the result, however, Nao still felt bad seeing Katsumi in tears like that. The intimidating aura around him vanished, replaced with an air of bittersweet comfort as he addressed the murderer. The poet frowned. “Yes, during the investigation, I did say that I would defend you. I shouldn’t have said that. It seems that that only caused you more suffering in the end. I apologize. I only said I would so that I could make use of that, and help the rest of the class out. It had nothing to do with me giving up on you. It was just… the needs of the many versus the needs of the few. I don’t think negatively of you, Sakamoto-san. It was a motive that many of us would’ve killed over given enough time. I understand. And that’s why I have to disagree with everyone that’s been talking down to you. It’s also why I regret having to call you out the way I did. I used intimidation tactics to secure a victory because it was the most efficient way towards finding the killer that I could think of.”

Nao shook his head. “The act may have been wrong, but the motive behind it was not. You’re not at fault here.”

Receiving Suu’s harsh criticisms, and Yuki’s related question, Nao sighed sadly. “Yes, I could have warned people about it. However, that would only have made the situation worse. With a motive like what we’d faced prior to this, murder was an inevitability. I was even considering an alternative course of action that only Sekisei-san here would be aware of, but… then, I was informed about Sakamoto-san’s plan. From there, I abandoned my previous plans, and allowed things to take their course. If I told everyone about the plan, then it is likely that another person would have killed someone else. If that happened, we wouldn’t have the advantage of my prior knowledge of the murder, risking failure in finding the culprit. Don’t get me wrong. I would’ve liked to prevent murder in the first place, but under Kurokuma’s rule, that’s not possible.”

With a short bow, Nao said, “Regardless of my reasoning, however, I do apologize. It was a lose-lose situation. I merely chose to go with the course of action that presented the fewest number of risks. I also apologize for how I handled things in this trial. I delayed the reveal of the truth so that I could utilize it at the most opportune time, and corner the killer more effectively. By delaying it, I also had the opportunity to clear up some details that escaped me prior to the trial. That way, I was able to be more sure of the fact that Sakamoto-san was the one we were looking for, rather than somebody else that coincidentally killed Kotohiki-san. I, however, had to rush things when I explained my involvement with the… stabbings… in place of Ravenholme-san. I didn’t want people getting bitter at him for that misunderstanding.”

After Nao taunted the killer, he fell silent, still bearing the threatening smirk over his face. He ignored everything else that happened around him.  Keiko’s contribution? A barely perceptible nod. Suu’s demanding for an explanation? That was met with little more than an inaudible chuckle. Lucian’s input? Nothing. Matsuo’s demanding of an explanation? Nothing once again. Nao had his sights on one thing, and that was cornering the killer his own way.

As soon as Katsumi began speaking, Nao dropped his smirk, and replaced it with a sweet, innocent smile, as if he hadn’t just made such an effort to intimidate the killer into speaking just moments ago. He was unmoved by Katsumi’s accusation against him. In fact, once Katsumi explained herself, Nao laughed ominously. “And there we have it.”

Nao nodded in the direction of Suu. “See, this is what I was waiting for, Suu. I intentionally didn’t explain anything, and didn’t point out whom the killer I was pointing out was. I neglected to reveal those details just so the culprit would feel obligated to speak up. Yet, in the end, her defending herself will be her downfall. Just by speaking up at this point, after my taunting, she may as well have confessed, even before considering the things she had to say.”

The poet sighed, and returned his attention to Katsumi. “Strange, isn’t it? How you didn’t say anything about that earlier. At any point in time during the investigation, or during the trial, you surely could have found that the murder was carried out using the coding you designed. If you did tell me about what you’d done, and only me, then surely you would’ve been able to accuse me earlier. Like, say, when the locked room was first brought up? During the investigation, you could’ve ‘stumbled’ into the revelation of your coding trick just like I did when I showed some others the trick. And, yes, like you, I have no intention of hiding the fact that you did, in fact, tell me about your plan.” Nao slipped his hands into his pockets. “Additionally, if I were the murderer, I wouldn’t have showed the others that in the first place. Nor would I have brought it up here in the trial. It was a locked room murder, Sakamoto-san. I could’ve easily avoided being caught without having to call attention to you. I even criticized some points of the murder, like how the knife wasn’t hidden. If I called attention to that, then surely I would’ve thought to wash and hide the knife myself before the investigation began, thereby making the case even more difficult. I didn’t even call you in particular out, but you still felt threatened enough to take a stand after I said I knew who the killer was. Or, perhaps it was just you learning that I revealed the trick? But then that brings us back to my earlier argument.”

“It would seem that the cellphone has become an item of interest to some people. In that case…” Nao dug into his left pocket, and produced the phone in question, holding it up in the air for everyone to see. “Here it is. Like I said, I found it in the Debunker Room. It was in the corner before I picked it up. Having looked into it myself, I found that there wasn’t anything on it. Outside of the defaults a phone would normally come with, there weren’t any relevant apps, files, texts… Nothing. There wasn’t a SIM card, either.” He shrugged. “There was, however, something interesting about it. When I found it, it was opened to an audio recording app. It wasn’t recording at the time, and there wasn’t a record of any previous recordings, but it was open to the app, at least. As such, I don’t think it was used for any technological manipulation, Abe-san. It didn’t have any wireless connections, either.” He walked over to Suu, and offered the phone to his classmate. “Pass it around as needed,” he instructed before returning to his podium. “Ah! Right. There was also a VHS tape in the Debunker Room. It was labelled ‘Bigfoot is a Lesbian?!?!?!?!’ I don’t know what that was about.”

“Oh, and Suu?” Nao rolled his fingers over the platform in front of him. “I understand where you’re coming from. Your theories are quite sound. I would, however, like to offer some more insight. You say that the killer could have left the room after committing the murder, cleaned themselves up, and then returned. The amount of time they had until the body discovery would certainly give them enough time to do that. However, if they did have that time, and they did bother to clean themselves up, why not hide the weapon more thoroughly? Why not clean it up? I won’t dismiss the possibility, again, but I have my doubts that the killer stayed behind. I’m sure that something I’ll reveal shortly will help to clear some details up.”

As soon as Lucian admitted to his deed, Nao opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by Matsuo’s outburst. Nao glanced over to the scene with a glare. After allowing it to play out, he kicked his podium, causing a loud bang to echo throughout the room. He hopped on one foot for a second, wincing at the pain, and mumbling some profanities. When he recovered, however, he took a deep breath to collect himself. “That’s enough!” He shouted with authority. “Ravenholme-san, as much as I appreciate the coverup, there’s no need to do that. It was me, everyone. I was the one that brutalized the corpse. Not without reason, however.”

Nao gave a confident smirk. “I made an interesting discovery in the room with the note. After learning from Ravenholme-san about where the weapon was found, an idea to came to my mind, and so, I tested it out. I wasn’t quite sure what the results would be, but, in the end, it worked out for the sake of investigation. Thanks to it, I was able to strengthen my suspicions about who the culprit was. Though, certain details of the case do still escape me. You see, by stabbing into the wall…"

After having a brief conversation with Barako in the hub, the two teleported into the trial room, and claimed their stands. Nao leaned forward, listening in on the ongoing conversation.

The evidence brought up was mostly stuff that Nao was already aware of, however, and the others seemed to be contributing just fine, so he kept silent in the meantime. However, whilst the others spoke, he pulled his notebook and pen out from his back pocket, and began scribbling onto some of the once-blank pages inside. After he was finished writing, he pocketed his pen, and began tearing the pages up uniformly. Once finished, he left the scraps of paper on his podium, and pocketed his notebook, waiting for a break in the current conversation before he contributed. He remained largely impassive to the words that were said.

Once an opportunity for him to interject arose, Nao spoke up. “If I may…” He began, with a tired yet firm voice. “Firstly, in regards to new evidence to offer, I did find a cellphone in the Debunker Room. I’m not sure if it’s related to the case, but I thought it was worth mentioning.” He shrugged. “And, to contribute to things that have already been said, I have to agree with Suu here. This is definitely a murder we’re dealing with, and a locked room murder at that. After having thought about it, I couldn’t think of a way for the culprit to bypass the lock, but maybe it’s possible. Perhaps Kenmeina-san could offer further insight, with the room essentially belonging to her.”

Nao cleared his throat, and continued speaking. “I don’t think the killer stayed in the room, though. If they did, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to clean the blood off of themselves, and we surely would’ve noticed the blood on them when we arrived. And, considering the nature of the murder being a stab wound, it’s very unlikely that the killer managed to avoided getting blood splatter on them. I didn’t find anything that would’ve been used to shield the killer from blood splatter, either.” While developing his thought process, those beside him could probably notice an almost invisible paling of his skin. He retained his cool, however. “So, I believe that the killer somehow managed to make it out of the room after the murder. Unless there are any objections, that should satisfy Dupuis-san.”

Once he finished, he held up the slips of paper previously left on his podium. “Now, I would like to offer everyone the chance to provide any evidence that you don’t feel comfortable sharing for whatever reason. I’ll walk up to everyone’s podiums, and quietly request any relevant information you feel like sharing. Don’t feel obligated to share, though.”

With that, Nao, like he said he would, set out to gather information from everyone.