smol n fast

[tw: water, electrocution]

The runner was stuck. He could not run away from his fate. It was sealed tight for him, and he had no choice but to face it. For once, fear was written on his face. Yuudai could not muster a word as he was dragged away to his awaited fate and away from the classmates he knew. It would be the last time he’d see them. And soon they will get rid of him.

…It was pitch black for a moment, before the runner froze then adjusted to his surroundings and setting his sights on a small source of lights, heading quickly to it. He needed to see light again; darkness was never a good thing for him. Opening wide the door, the runner was met with a loud cheering noise… And a long non ending track field. Huh… As the cheers went on, the runner examined the surroundings and deduced that everything was invaded by those goddamn mascot bears. But he had no time to lose. As Yuudai looked up, the system that hung up above the start line reads:

“CHALLENGE: RUN 10 000 METERS IN 30 SECONDS.”

The athlete looked around in the courtroom once more, watching as most people voted for him (with a minor stupor that two of them defaulted), before directing his attention at Mitsuki, who asked him both the simplest and hardest question.

“… I… I’m…”

He hopped in the circle to pick up his shirt before going back to his place, thinking for a moment about said question.

As Kumi confirmed for sure that Yuudai was indeed the killer, the small student’s expression didn’t change, but he was indeed distracted for few seconds before remembering what Mitsuki has said.

“…. I couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard I tried, it just… I’m gonna just go straight to the point; I have claustrophobia, and whenever I remember what occurred for me to have it, and having to live it constantly, even as memories… I couldn’t… I never learnt how to control my phobia when it’s there. I was never calm since the announcement of the motive frankly. And against my better judgement, I just wanted it to stop as soon as I could… I thought that if I killed someone I did not know at all, I wouldn’t care much… It could have been anyone I didn’t talk to at least once…! And Charger was the first person I saw… But I was wrong about not feeling bad. I feel horrible over that since you guys were investigating…”

“Doesn’t mean I ask for forgiveness however, I know what I did was really fucked up and I accept the blame fully. It’s perfectly fine if you guys don’t forgive me at all for what I did, I understand, honestly. …If you need anything to clarify… Ask away…? I’ll try my best to answer.”

You waited in anticipation as the tallies ran - what would the outcome be? Had you gotten the correct person this time around? Kumi closed their eyes and exhaled deeply before turning to the side, their expression completely unreadable.

“….Quite the intense trial. Betrayal, hope, and… uncertainty. But did you get it right, I suppose you are wondering? If there is a confession, if there is not, if there is something to point to the culprit?”

They paused for a few seconds, their eyes flickering open and narrowing.

“Well, are you proud of yourselves? You’re Correct. Congratulations. Are you surprised after yet another confession? This is getting to be rather dull, don’t you think? But rules are rules, and Yuudai Akiyama, you can’t seem to run away from this one.”

With that, they turned their back to the students and offered one last comment.

“Please allow me to prepare. Feel free to discuss this amongst yourselves in the meantime.”

Yuudai Akiyama - 7

Akemi Al Amari - 1

Mitsuki Arai - 1

Shirou Sonozaki - 1

….. With 7 votes, Yuudai Akiyama Super High School Level Long Distance Runner, has won.

Accusations and doubts were thrown around the whole trial - it seemed to be that you were simply repeating the same thought patters over again, without getting anywhere. Doubt still lingered as Kumi stood up, exhaling audibly, their violet eyes scanning the students. 

“

I believe that is enough time for you to arrive at your conclusion. Or not. We are on a time limit here, and whether you’re ready or not, this trial has ended. I have become bored of this, either way…”

They reached a hand for the lever at their side, pulling it back before giving the students a few more words.

[self depreciation? mild nudity, swears cw]

The runner had been quiet for most of the trial. Was it lack of concentration? He didn’t know but he was trying to pay attention to people talking and discussing their suggestions.

As far as he knows, they’re running in circles and that was… Annoying. Very annoying.

After some events that occured (stripping included, what the fuck you guys), the runner looked clearly fed up with this circus going on. But it was when the exchange between Shiroi and Akemi was going on that the athlete had enough.

Without warning, he pulled away then threw his sweater in the middle of the courtroom, if one paid a close look at it…

…Oh.

“That is enough. I’m tired of this. I was hoping you’d catch on instead of hearing my words right now, but apparently I wasn’t in the suspect list for some reason, or maybe you just didn’t care enough about Akemi’s point..! That being said…”

He flipped off at Kumi before talking.

“If the sweater isn’t enough evidence, then I don’t know what to say. But I… I never… I just.. I’m fucking selfish, yeah… But not that selfish to let someone else die in my stead…! But yes… I killed Charger..! I don’t care that I’ll die anymore, in fact it’s more preferable than witnessing this fucking nonsense and having it gone straight to HELL! Hate me all you want, I don’t fucking care, I deserve this. Not her.”

Kumi took their usual position and the rest of the students arranged themselves around the podiums. Aoiko was standing listlessly to the side of the fox-person, and she didn’t make any move to speak - nor did Kumi. There was a heavy silence, and during this you noticed how empty the room seemed. Five students dead so far. Five students, some forced to kill, some the unfortunate victims of the others. And soon there would be another about to join them. 

Eventually, Kumi stood up, dusting their outfit off and addressing those still alive in a grave tone.

“You have made it this far. That in itself is admirable. You have not fallen to the pressures of the motives or had others single you out, and I… congratulate you for that. At the very least, I… You’re here. But…”

They looked off to the side, audibly inhaling behind their mask.

“There is a killing afoot. And you are the ones to solve it. Or perhaps you will not, it all depends on your constitution. Are you able to figure this out?”

Their voice took on a noticeably sharper edge.

“Or will this end up in yet another confession? It becomes a bit tiring after a while. If this turns out to be that case, I suppose I will applaud your bravery, because you know far too well by now what ends up happening.”

A pause.

“You die, much like Charger-san.”

They clapped their hands together, their tone losing the edge.

“Anyways, I declare this court in session.”

Ding Ding!

You knew what the chime meant at this point - the end of an investigation period and the start of yet another trial to figure out who the latest killer of one of your number was. It was routine at this point, routine and repetitive and… could you call murder dragging on? It was the same story, the fact that someone among you had fallen for the motive, and after all someone was responsible for killing the victim - Charger Nitrous, this time around, her life taken from her cruelly. And now, it was time for you to figure out who was responsible. 

The previous two cases had ended with a confession; you knew who the culprit was, and you were successful in identifying them. But would you be successful this time around? Only time would tell, really. The speaker crackled to life, and as expected, Kumi spoke up.

<<Please assemble in the main hall. We are about to have a trial.>>

The students, wherever they were investigating, were all gathered. Some walked up the stairs from the first floor, some from the second, and some already were on the third - but wherever you were, you quickly joined together with the others and stood in front of the trial room. 

Minding his own business was practically all Yuudai did during the motive. This motive sounded quite laughable, even with the discomfort it caused to him initially. Because seriously, as he realized a bit after thinking about it, it just… Didn’t make sense. The next day however, as they were called to go to the infirmary, the athlete guessed it happened again, and went ahead, while other people were coming as well. As he looked in the mess that is this place, he could only wonder to himself…

Name: Charger Nitrous, SHSL Street Musician Time of Death: 6:30 AM Location: Infirmary Cause of Death: Fractured Skull Additional Notes:

Charger Nitrous lies on the ground in a pool of her own blood, eyes wide and staring. She certainly doesn’t seem to have died peacefully, or did she? What happened here?

Perhaps the journey up the stairs didn’t allude to much. However, the atmosphere amongst the students was more than enough. Someone else was dead. Step by step, inch by inch, the class drew closer and closer towards the inevitable: the corpse of someone that they had all once known. Thankfully, the initial view of the hallway that met the top of the stairwell didn’t betray anything too gruesome; was this a good thing, or did it simply conceal further horrors?

Further and further, your steps take you, fear gathering in your stomach like low, dark, thickly pitched clouds, stewing as apprehension took your feet further and further. It wasn’t the arcade – with relief, it can be registered that the indisputably happiest place in the castle was untouched (at least, to the eye of someone who wanted to believe the best). The armory laid to your left, but something was urging you forward. Still ahead lay the body.

It wasn’t until reaching the infirmary that the first strikes of just what had happened began to crash down.

Destruction is clearly the name of the game today, even from the most initial glances past the infirmary doors and into the room itself. What was to be a room full of safety and reparation is naught but a ruin now: without even stepping in, it’s all too apparent by the sight of a shattered jars of bandages and cotton swabs, alongside the skids of sneaker marks that marred the look of pure white tile. Do you dare to step further or look beyond the threshold of the room? Do you even have time to ask yourself that before your eye catches a flash of pink and a striking swatch of orange?

Charger Nitrous lay before you, although she looked nothing like her usual self – the stuttering, sheepish musician had long since lost what defined her.

Red eyes stared absently away from the doorway, freckled expression long since gone blank. Blood pooled around her head, rolling along the grout between the tile like beads of sickly wax from the surface of a candle. The state of her skull is hard to make out, what with all her hair and the sheer messiness of the wound. What a wound it is – large and nearly ruinous, it makes a gaping impression in the unprotected surface of her skull. You can only cringe at the thought of the pain Charger must’ve experienced. Even just the body language of her position, splayed out in a belly-down spread eagle, suggests vulnerability and openness.

The soft spoken girl had clearly crossed paths with someone who, unlike her, hadn’t bothered to put forward their most courteous and timid foot. Had she done something to deserve this? Or was this a random act of violence? Could the motive have driven someone to strike out against her so brutally all by itself, or was this the comeuppance of some previous misgreviance?

Soft and as gentle as spring rain, Charger Nitrous was gone just as fast. Will you wilt under the weight of the raindrops, or will you rise to the occasion and seek justice in the remaining clouds?

A motive had been given - indeed, as cryptic and weasel-worded as it was, it was still a motive. Two people so far had fallen to them, which proved that they had some effect, to at least one of your number. Perhaps that was more frightening than the content of the motive itself - the fact that someone could fall for the motive and kill one of your number. Perhaps it was this and the fact that your memories really did seem to become more frightening as time went on. 

It was early in the morning when the chime went off, the students who slept broken from their rest. Kumi’s voice filtered in afterwards, calm, cool, and commanding - and you knew just what this meant. 

<<Well, someone has done it… please do head to the Infirmary. There is a body there.>>

They paused for a second, clearing their throat into the microphone in such a way that it caused a screech to ensue. How unpleasant… did they mean for that to happy?

<<Apologies. Please hurry.>>

It was hard to tell. Either way, you rose from the bed, walking outside into the hallway in the same steady plod the students walked in line using whenever you were about to encounter a body. Up the stairs you would go, to the infirmary… 

[tw: implied mild panic attack]

Great. One more motive, absolutely what they needed. Totally. Guess he’d have to drag his ass there, god. He just wanted to sleep, why are they oh so insistent on that motive garbage. But there was Yuudai going to the meeting place as usual, because he didn’t want to find out what could happen if he didn’t go.

At first, Kumi clearly didn’t make sense, all that strike to Yuudai is they were just trying to be #edgy by having a ~mysterious past~. Yeah whatever, not like he cared, even if he admittedly doesn’t know anything about Kumi themself, other than they were bloodthirsty for murder (even if they don’t look that way in appearance).

However, when they started to talk about memories, the blond frowned a bit, staring at the fox mask person.

“What are you spouting about..?”

Something about it felt really off, but he had no time to question Kumi further nor getting his initial question answered, as they were already away. Thanks Kumi.

Kumi was not holding anything in their hand this time around, nor did they seem particularly eager to get to the point. In fact, they seemed quite reluctant to say anything about a motive… perhaps you truly weren’t getting on this time.

“So, I know a lot about you, but do you know anything about me? Well, Aoiko-san here does. We go back, if none of you already know that. A nice reunion, hmm Aoiko-san?”

The exorcist looked over at them, an upset look on her features.

“It’s…. it’s true. I do know them. I…. we do go back… but… times have changed. I can’t support what they’re doing.”

Kumi then cut in.

“Support, no support, you still talk to me. I do not need support. Have I gotten support in my ventures, Aoiko-san?”

Aoiko’s shoulders slumped, and when she responded it was in a lower tone of voice.

“No, but-”

Kumi waved a hand dismissively.

“Exactly. Now that I have hinted at this mysterious past of mine, I will share another experience from it. Specifically… ah, memories. Positive, memories, those you enjoy…. such as a day at the beach, perhaps? The day you got your talent, and were accepted to Hope’s Peak?”

Their eyes fluttered open.

“If you do not kill, these memories will gradually become tainted. With what, you ask? Fear. Your past will be filled with fear, all your most positive associations will be plagued with doubt and hesitation, and your positive experiences will turn into negative ones. Now, this progression is gradual. I will only cause your most recent memories to cause feelings of fear and resentment in you… imagine stepping inside the academy, but instead of feeling thrilled, you feel like someone will take your talent away from you, like you, ah… cheated to achieve it?”

They snapped their fingers without further ado, nodding.

“There. Your earliest memories will become tainted in… say, three days? There is no way to reverse this, the fear will become worse and worse following those three days. And if nobody kills in a week? I’ll intervene myself. Anyways, I shall take my leave… Goodbye.”

Another week, another cycle of murder, and another execution had passed the students by. Two more people were dead, one killed in cold blood, the other seized by the motive. It was unfair, that more were taken from your number… it was unfair, and Kumi didn’t seem to want to do anything about it. Why would they? They were the one keeping you here, as far as you knew, and beyond their apprehension and apologies, they showed no signs of care about the students that died. 

And of the motives - two had come so far. If you were keeping track of time, you could figure out that it was roughly the same time frame as last week, between when the students were allowed out of the courtroom and when the motive was given. Surely enough, the morning of the fourth day since the trial, the students were roused not by their own will but by the familiar crackle of the loudspeaker, and Kumi’s raspy voice.

<<Please… come… to the main area. I have something I want to tell you.>>

It was fairly clear what they wanted - they could have just as much said that they wanted to give another motive, and it would have carried the same implication. There was little choice in the matter, as was clear at this point, so out the door you went.