Imagination is endless

[TW: Single Slur in 3rd spoken paragraph]

Chronos didn’t like it when neither option was an optimal solution to a conundrum.

Ever since Atsuko gave them this ultimatum, the clockmaker stayed surprisingly silent, deeply considering the pros and contras of either path. He flat out didn’t even bother to consider Yoko’s third option, because by now, it should be pretty obvious that he didn’t think highly of robots and the likes.

Instead, he listened intently on questions and answers alike that pertained this situation, mostly ignoring everything else - even though it was kinda hard to do it when there was constant whispering besides you, like for the love of everything that was holy to him, could these two girls next to him be quiet for awhile?

A lot more was going on and once he heard a certain something, he… couldn’t really do what he may have intended to do. If his safety couldn’t be guaranteed than–

“… It’s almost frightening how many similarities we have, Nikolaievich-san.”

“Admittedly, I was working on a much, much smaller scale than you were, but… I can actually see where you’re coming from. I know first-hand how utterly corrupt the elite is - my… father and Victor-”, he most definitely spat that out in disgust,”are the prime example of that. I’ve been collecting evidence of their crimes since I was eleven years old. Blackmailing, illegal dealings, tax frauds - you name it. The amount of corruption that is going on in the Ludescher company is not something to sneeze at.”

“However, I wasn’t doing it for lofty goals like you were - my reasoning is much more petty than that, I fully admit that. However, it is something that I must personally do, because otherwise, it simply wouldn’tdo. I wish to ruin those bastard’s lives as much as I can. It’s what they deserve. And I will be able to reach this no matter which path I choose here now.”

If you would’ve Chronos asked prior to this trial if he’d ever reveal a secret he’s kept so close to his heart that he had been planning a murder for the second motive, the blonde would have flat-out laughed at you. However, with everything being said and the notion that none of the current ongoings were televisioned, he… felt compelled to say it. Well, granted, if most of them would go for the ‘ignorance is bliss’ route, then none of them would remember it anyway.

“That said, unless a certain matter doesn’t change, I will be leaving as well. While I absolutely loathe the idea of these cretins messing with my brain, I also cannot say that I’m particularly eager to work with people together who toyed with me like that. I do believe I’ve made it clear enough that I am good at holding grudges to those who wronged me or my brother.”

“… However, I would’ve been able to look past it for the time being. After all, I do not think that most of you actually genuinly consider how much can be done with such a power. To influence everyone’s memories to the degree of forgetting that a nation had an heir - it’s a terrifying power to hold and I am not comfortable that such a disgusting school would hold it in their hands.”

“… Though I do wonder if they can truly erase any traces of the deceased, especially of Mr. Bruckhard. I mean, there are history books, newspaper articles, archives, the internet, fans who may as well have collected everything related to him for one reason or another– I simply cannot fathom they could simply walk into any apartment in the entire world and get rid of all of this hard evidence. That seems… impossible, really.”

“However, to get back on a previous point; while Hope’s Peak Academy didn’t kill Todo, they actively prevented for her to receive actual justice, correct? Not that I care much about that, but it almost seems like as if you’re conveniently forgetting that. As long as you’re part of Hope’s Peak, you could technically get away with any crime, because they care too much about their reputation to care for human lives - not unlike all the other big corportations out there.”

It was almost funny that he was actually bringing forth arguments for Atsuko, despite his clear chagrin about this entire mutual killing game. Then again, it’s just like him to consider everything from a more objective view.

“… All of that said though, even if joining your group would have some benefits, it is all for naught if my brother’s safety isn’t guaranteed. I know that at least my sister would be safe, but… There is simply no way that I would ever put him in harm’s way. While I did hire high-class bodyguards to keep him safe, knowing that they could be easily manipulated if Hope’s Peak wanted to do anything–”

Chronos cuts himself off, looking much more worked up than he previously did - though he would fail at that endeavour, judging by what comes next out of his mouth:

“… No, I can’t. I absolutely can’t. If keeping him safe means that I need to get my head messed with or have to forget Mr. Bruckhard as much as it pains me or have to live in a world where one faction holds such an insane amount of power that they could get away with everything… I’ll take it. I don’t care what happens to me, I just want my brother– I just want Edmond to be safe! Is…”

For a moment, Chronos hesitated, trying to reel in the emotions that kind of got out of hand in the last spoken words.

Chronos couldn’t say that he felt reassured by Yoko’s supposed return to her original state. People and robots alike could claim a lot, but since when was trusting something at face value ever something good? If it turned out to help them out, then he wouldn’t complain, but at the same time, the clockmaker wouldn’t be surprised if something went awry nonetheless.

Once Mayura finished speaking, Atsuko took the word again - and who would he be if he didn’t at least chuckle at her tearing into the other girl once more? He hadn’t been able to display his feelings in that regard so freely as Orpheus Edler, but as himself? There was nothing holding him back anymore.

It stopped once she started to address him.

At first, he was simply looking at her with that same polite smile on his face, absolutely in control of his own emotions–

Before it all but shattered once Atsuko gave him an answer that he never would have expected.

“Wh… What?!”

Chronos’ voice hitched uncharacteristically, eyes widened in genuine shock. It was clear as a day that he was, for once, completely taken aback by the information he just received. If one were to study him more closely, they may even find something akin to… sadness? Or sympathy in his eyes.

“You as– But what are the odds…?”

One of his gloved hands found itself on top of his mouth, the clockmaker looking to the side as Atsuko’s attention was drawn elsewhere. He in- and exhaled slowly, but deeply - as if he needed to compose himself.

(This couldn’t be a coincidence anymore, could it? Not only did they come from the same class, they also happened to don someone’s clothes for frighteningly similar reasons? Because both of their loved ones were–)

(What in tarnation was going on?!)

At the revelation that all of the hostages were safe, Chronos gasped quietly:

“Leonie is–”

– but immediately forced himself to maintain a more unreadable expression on his face. Removing his hand from his face, he crossed his arms before his chest, eyebrows furrowed down more than may be necessary.

(What was he doing? He couldn’t simply believe the mastermind simply because they said so. Only if he’s seeing his sister with his own two eyes, then he can finally believe that he’d never lost someone precious to him in the first place–)

(Oh god, she’d seen him cry, didn’t she? Leonie would never let this down now, ugh–)

But that’s better than the alternative, wasn’t it?

One may have expected for Chronos to tear into Ryuunosuke as soon as it was clear that his motive had been false all along, thus making the victims of said case even more in vain than they already were. Merely thinking that Yvon, of all people, ultimately died for nothing was an outrage.

But fortunately for everyone involved, Chronos was.. remarkably silent, for once.

Aki was mentioning something that he wanted to discuss as well, but he only could bring himself to actually talk again once Sandwich was done venting his anger out. His tone was much more subdued, much more… solemn. It was akin to Orpheus’ tone when he turned somber, but still somewhat different. It sounded like as if someone merely wanted to seek the truth - and nothing else.

“Ishii-san already asked, but I would like to expand on that question a little bit more; if this is some sort of punishment for us because we were involved with Todo-san’s death somehow, then why bother showcasing it to the whole world? I do not think that many people will find your cause sympathetic if you force minors to kill each other. Was it to get back to Hope’s Peak? And what exactly happened to Todo-san? Who killed her? Was it Wei or was it someone else after all? And what about that blonde woman who supposedly knocked us out?”

All Mayurakazuemiko got from him upon her remark was a ‘really?’ look, before the main event was about to commence - and it’s main attraction was none other than Atsuko Ainara. Maybe he should have tried to be a little bit less subtle, but at this point, he was also tired of keeping his suspicions under wraps for much longer. If she hadn’t spoken up now, he would have brought up a formal accusation in a few minutes at the latest.

That aside, Ryuunosuke was asking him about the note and although he was loathe to talk to the very man who admitted to intend to kill him, he supposed he should cooperate - if they could get out and never see each other again, he’d tolerate this for a bit longer.

“Naturally, I have taken pictures of everything I’ve found; including the note in question. However, if you mean to match them with any samplings I have collected, I will have to disappoint you - Ainara-san didn’t offer hers when we’ve talked about it.“

Well, at this point, he didn’t see any reason to not name drop the very person he’d been suspicious for quite awhile already. That being said, Aki was actually the one who asked directly whether Atsuko was the mastermind behind this mutual killing game or not. In a sense, one could say that it was fitting, but also cruel–

(It’s too bad that one of the few students he grew to tolerate ended up being the person whom he’d had to ‘thank’ for this utter waste of time–)

As Atsuko began to speak yet again, he couldn’t help but facepalm at some point - it was shortly after the reveal of Ryuunosuke and Mayurakazuemiko absolutely not being subtle with their approaches in regards to their enemies.

“I’m truly surrounded by imbeciles.”

A few moments afterwards, fog started to fill the entire room. With a groan, Chronos simply closed his eyes as he gracefully put his handkerchief in front of his nose. It wasn’t a necessary course of action, but did it stop Chronos from being extra? No.

When he deemed that enough time had passed, he opened his eyes again - right when the fog started to vanish into thin air, revealing that their resident barista was actually the duchess.

Huh, same hat–

After Kimiko’s outburst in regards to the many fake identities flying around - it was actually sort of amusing, Chronos had to admit -, the resident clockmaker thought it was time to open his snake mouth again.

“Good evening to you as well, Nikolaievich. I have to say, this is quite the amusing coincidence - who would have thought that two students of the winter class decided to masquerade as someone else in their sister class? You could almost write a book about that, haha!”

He may sound polite, but is he really?

“Naturally, you cannot hold it against me when I’m wondering now where the real Ainara Atsuko is - not to mention what your motives were to disguise yourself in the first place. I think that’s a good place to start - do not worry, there are plenty of other inquiries I have… and I suppose the others do so as well.”

Wow, Chronos, you don’t reveal your own reasons, but you want to know if others are in the same position as you? Granted, Atsuko was the mastermind who trapped them into this godforsaken station in the first place, but really now? … Though it does seem like as if he’s fully aware of that, but doesn’t really care for it.

Chronos rolled his eyes when he caught Kimiko’s not-so-subtle question as to whether he’d witnessed the same thing as her when it came to the first motive. He adjusted his gloves, not bothering to look up when he gave his two cents about that particular topic:

“Mine faded to black as well. Maybe–”

There was only a split second of hesitation, before he finished what he’d started:

“–It is possible that Nikolaievich is actually involved in this mutual killing game. Think about it; all things considered, we’ve only seen her apparently die and no one else. It is not exactly hard to stage someone’s execution if they’re willing to play the part. Of course, that still doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have actually murdered our loved ones either way, but that is something to think about, yes?”

Curious how he was suddenly entertaining the thought of the hostages being alive, after all. While his voice still sounded skeptic, it was clear that he was at least thinking about different possibilities, no matter how likely or unlikely they appeared to him.

That aside, he was being spoken to - and judging by the pause and all, Chronos could already picture her spouting off his actual name without a care in the world. He didn‘t expect anything and he was still let down, huh?

Fixing her with a look that screams ‘I’m so done with you already’ at first, he then suddenly put up a sickenly sweet smile, accompanied by a far too polite tone.

“Whatever do you mean, Kita-san? My dear brother isn’t around, so I am not entirely sure whom you are speaking to. Please, do try again if you meant to address someone else and use the name they prefer to be referred to as! Surely, a response will come then.”

As soon as the last words left his mouth, he let out a quiet ‘tch’ before turning his attention towards Himawari - which meant that he wasn’t addressing any of Kimiko’s inquiries about him! Great! Loving it, you jerk!

“It is certainly curious how we were divided by day and night, though was it really for gambling reasons? If that were the case, then I would like to know how they exactly divided us amongst two factions; is there a certain link between the day and night groups? Or was it just randomly chosen?”

It was annoying that while they had some puzzle pieces, many more were still missing from the great picture. While he could hazard quite a few guesses, it was better to not unload it all immediately.

“It makes sense that Hope’s Peak Academy would like to vanquish any negative headlines if they can help it - that’s how most corportations and the likes would conduct themselves in order to save face. It doesn’t surprise me that they would cover up that an actual murder took place instead of a ‘tragic accident’.”

“Speaking of ‘accidents’, there was a list of all classes events in the archives. Interestingly enough, our class had much less to offer than previous years. There were pictures of our opening ceremonies, as well as Todo’s funeral and how her death was ruled as an accident - with the same newspaper clipping we’ve seen before. There were also some photographs of the sport festival; noting how him-”, he made a disparaging wave at Ryuunosuke,”and Saito won in solo competitions. Meanwhile, it was also noted how Ishii-san and Kita, as well as Ainara and Kishi won in pair events.”

For a moment, his eyes wander to certain people, as if he’d expect them in particular to catch onto something, before his attention was drawn to Sandwich. Now that he mentioned the reprogramming–

“Ugh, right. There was actually something about that in the archives as well.”

Oh?

“I have never seen such a pathetic excuse of an apology letter before, but it stated that they reprogrammed Kurusu, so they wouldn’t be as much of a problem in the mutual killing game as they could be. It most certainly sounded rather self-righteous and was signed by Shion Suwabe - the SHSL Programmer from our elusive college-aged ‘class’. Ah, there was also a sticky note added to it - it had a much nicer script, though it only stated the following word: Whatever.”

While Chronos did present two options for Hideyoshi’s continued existence - or the lack thereof - in this mutual killing game, Aki was focusing on the one he personally believed in as well. Given that no bracelet dummy has been prepared, it made much more sense to assume that their first casuality was meant to die early, no matter what. Truly, for someone who was supposed to be lucky, Lady Fortuna was all too ready to abandon him when it truly mattered, hm?

Once Aki addressed him again, Chronos didn’t even open his notebook as he responded.

“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you more than what is written in his description. However, that is something I wanted to bring up as well - he had ties to the criminal world and more importantly, he must have run-ins with the yakuza as well. Therefore, I do wonder whether he was telling the truth in that news article - that he barely knew about Todo.”

For a moment, he paused, before continuing on.

“Albeit it is strange that the hostages were seemingly never here, I wouldn’t be optimistic enough to say that they are still alive. Given how many people have been transported to this place, it’s possible that bringing even more people along would cause too much attraction and thus, they decided to keep them somewhere else. While there is a possibility that Minami was editing these videos, it would be foolish to assume that this is immediately the truth. It would be best to assume the worst case scenario until we can verify their whereabouts.”

Ah yes, Chronos, the shining example of optimism and sunshines.

After his reply to Aki, he remained quiet once more, listening to Atsuko’s reasoning for her attitude towards Hideyoshi - something that he couldn’t really comprehend -, as well as Mayurakazuemiko’s suspicions towards the robots.

Now that’s something they both could agree on.

“I’m with Umenoyakakutani here - I have not the faintest clue why any of you thought that it would be a grand idea to bring along Kurusu robots; especially given the fact that supposedly, their series was created for rather nefarious reasons. Speaking of–”

“Don’t you think it’s also unfair that there are so many of them here to begin with? I do not claim to know much about robots, but what if, hypothetically speaking, someone managed to kill Kurusu - wouldn’t it be possible for her to simply upload her data into one of the other spare bodies she has? If that were the case, then it would mean that the game was rigged against us once again. If all the other victims have to stay dead, then why shouldn’t the same thing be applied to the robot?”

While he could stop here, Chronos thought that it was also time to focus on something else, so he might as well start the discussion in that direction.

“… That aside, we should also discuss all the class’ lists we’ve found during our stay here. There’s the 82nd classes, which we belong to. However, there was also the 54th classes. If you may bother to remember, the spring class also got into a train crash, but miraculously survived this horror - similar to what happened to us. As for the winter class, recall that a frightening amount of equipment here comes from the Ishida company. There is no way that they aren’t involved with this mutual killing game, but we’ve come to that conclusion as much a few days ago.”

“And there is, of course, also the list of former Hope’s Peak alumnis that both Minami and Hatayama belong to, ranging from the 75th to the 78th classes - the very ones that all but disappeared from the public eye once they graduated. It should be also noted that a lot of them came from wealthy families as well.“

If everything went well, this would be the last time they had to enter this room ever again - and Chronos was all too eager to make this a reality.

Assuming his place in the trial, he couldn’t help but cast a quick glance at the robots they brought along. Truth be told, he felt uncomfortable around them, but for now, it was best to simply ignore them. Hopefully, they wouldn’t run on a rampage once it looked bad for their captors…

“Ugh.”

The blonde man grimaced at Ryuunosuke’s loud outburst, clearly bothered by the volume the other carried his voice with. At the very least, he didn’t need to is his clear irritation towards that anymore…

Having his hands behind his back, he let out a weary sigh. Of course he would bring that up right away - was he intend to cast doubt onto him again? Honestly, the nerve of this guy–

“I would have brought that particular fact up by my own just fine - though of course, you wouldn’t hesitate to cast suspicions towards me, would you?”

Chronos shook his head, before addressing the matter at hand.

“Before you point fingers at me like amateurs, let me state this clearly; my intention was to hide my name from you lot for personal reasons, but given that the control room mentioned it several times, I suppose that act had been for naught ultimately. Still, I demand to be called Chronos and nothing else.”

That was certainly not a plea - which made sense, given Chronos’ true nature. Why would someone like him try to butter anyone up at this point, anyway? He abandoned that notion the moment his true identity was revealed.

“With that out of the way, it certainly appears as if Kishi’s circumstances are particularly strange. Either he was meant to survive until the end or the ones running this utter waste of time predicted that he would die first - thus rendering preparing anything past the first motive moot for him. Which would be unfair, wouldn’t you agree?”

The clockmaker offered Monokuma a pointed look as he continued.

“After all, it would mean that the game was rigged to begin with. Either in Kishi’s favour or in ours. If that isn’t fool play, then what isn’t?”

With that, he turned his attention back to his… well, fellow captives was the most accurate description. After all, they were never truly classmates to begin with, so no need to use that word in any way anymore!

                                                                  CHAPTER FIVE END.

Once Takaku started to direct their words to Chronos, said clockmaker’s gaze went to the condemned party. However, soon enough, he was starting to look at his fingernails instead of the jester, looking positively bored at this point. He also combed his hair back with his hand for a moment, before resuming his crossed arm position once again. Once they’ve said their piece, Chronos wasn’t looking up from inspecting his nails, but he still had to trample down upon their wish to remain quiet.

“If you knew that I didn’t care what a dead person has to say, then why even waste your breath on such a sorry act? If that’s how you want to spend your last moments alive, then please, go ahead. It’s your remaining time, not mine. Oh, but do not think for even a second that I have an obligation to respect your wishes - you should’ve guessed as much, vermin.“

Those were absolutely not the kind of words you should say to a person who was about to die, but as Chronos had already clearly demonstrated, he wasn’t a good person.

And then, it was Ryuunosuke’s time to wild out.

At first, he locked eyes with the other, seeming to look absolutely unimpressed as the ouendan leader insulted him. Just as with Takaku, he was looking at his nails after a minute - sometimes, even looking at his golden pocketwatch or phone. At one point, he even made it a point to yawn behind his gloves hand - you know, the kind of gestures you do if you want to signalize the other that you really couldn’t care less what they had to say. Absolutely rude, but at this point, Chronos saw no reason to hold back - he’d played the good and nice boy for too long.

“Are you quite done yet?”

He couldn’t have sounded more apathetic if he even tried.

“You tell me that I’m running my mouth, but have you seen in a mirror recently? A lot of hot air, but no substance behind it.”

A sneer.

“Oh, but do tell me how it’s apparently my fault that Mr. Bruckhard is dead when you were the one to kill him. Do not even think for a second that you can put the blame on me. Those were your choices - not mine. Nobody forced you to become a murderer - it was you alone. You can ‘own’ up to it all you want, be the ‘man’ like you described, but I do not believe that Dragvandille will accept that in any capacity. You can whine how your siblings have it bad now - but what can you say to an entire nation that is now in turmoil because it lost both its queen and heir? How many lives will be destroyed because of that, hm?”

Someone sure knew how to twist a knife into a wound, huh!

“At the end of the day, what matters are results. It doesn’t matter what reasons you had - which you have at least enough of a brain to recognize -, as you have still killed one person in cold blood while letting someone else take the fall for a crime you committed. Nothing else matters. Honestly, it’s quite shameful, really.”

“I mean, I am fully aware that I am far from what plebians would call a good person. And honestly, so what? You never gave me any good reason to be genuinly nice to you - nevermind trust you in any capacity. Oh, but I know what you’re gonna spout; “but Chronos, you don’t need a reason to be kind”! Oh, how naive. As if our situation didn’t showcase exactly that at the end of the day, the majority of mankind are utterly selfish. I know that I’m selfish and I fully stand by it. There is nothing to be gained from showing kindness to people who could backstab you at any time. The world isn’t such a kind place, after all.”

Ultimately, he let out a sigh as he shrugged.

“So please, spare me with your nonsense. As I’ve stated multiple times, I ultimately do not care about your opinion. Think what you will about me - it doesn’t concern me in the least. You’re wasting my time. Now, stop annoying me already. It’s honestly such a bother.”

He pulled a face at Ryuunosuke once more, before his attention was drawn to Aki. Surprisingly enough, his facial expression returned to a neutral disposition - not one that was filled with disgust or apathy or anything. Simply someone who takes information in with no emotions in sight.

“It’s nice to hear some sense for once.”

(Especially from someone whom he hadn’t thought to be so sensible when they first met–)

There was no hint of mocking or sarcasm in his voice. Simply acknowledging what Aki said.

“… I’m sure my brother would share a similar view as yours, but that doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? Though I do agree that ultimately, we should focus on taking down the mongrel who put us into this ludicrous situation to begin with. I have every intention of finding out the truth behind this whole disaster. However, I doubt that teamwork will work anymore - it’s not like as if we had much success with that approach anyway.”

Even though it would be more rational to put everyone’s head together, but after this fall-out - could you blame Chronos if he didn’t look favourably upon these chances?

“There is nothing wrong per sé to get close to someone - I merely find it foolish if you would do so in an environment that essentially guarantees that we kill one another. In such a field, it is smarter to keep your cards close to you, if you want to survive - and I have every intention to fight for my survival.”

“… I really don’t know why you’re resigning yourself like this that we will all die, but I will not pry. Live life how you want, I suppose - it is yours to begin with, isn’t it?”

(Was this–?)

(No. It couldn’t be.)

[TW: Snobbish Insults???]

With all that had started swirling around in her head even before the trial had started to take some pressuring turns, there was absolutely no chance of Kimiko managing to keep up with the ins and outs of what was happening. Somehow, she voted, but that was her only further accomplishment- and it turned out to be completely wrong anyway, the roulette spinning not once but three times as though to rub it, to land on-

“Kuru-chan- hey, wait! No! How is THAT fair- you can’t just keep going for it until–!”

…This was… really the most personal one yet, wasn’t it?

Atsuko had already moved in on the Takaku hug real estate, so all Kimiko found herself capable of was letting her rage peter out, expression slowly fading into one like she’d been punched in the gut.

At least until Ryuu spoke, that was- Kimiko’s following words speeding up the more she continued, as though she feared not being able to get them all out.

“…Ryuu-chan… weeeeell, thank you for not making me break my promise to you, hee, buuuuut… I think I know why..! I don’t think I wanted to believe it, but every time I’ve interacted with him since- and call it SOME kind of actress sense maybe, hee, but the more I think about it- I was REALLY telling the truth when I said I don’t think we’ve EVER really been seen as friends or people Orpheus Edler cares about, because I’m sure he’s TOTALLY faking–”

A sneer interrupted Kimiko’s speech, coming from none other than Orpheus Edler. While a smile was present on his face, it was of a sinister nature.

“Oh please, Kita, don’t act as if you’ve even had a clue before you read about that secret in this very trial. You’re flattering yourself far too much, though there is one thing I should correct before anything else. After all, the lot of you were never deserving of my dear brother’s kindness to begin with.”

Once these words left his lips, Orpheus took his glasses off and placed them on his podium, looking around with an aloof expression on his face before he bowed - though it was clearly meant as a mocking gesture.

“Good day, everyone! My name is Chronos and I was admitted to Hope’s Peak as the Super High School Level Clockmaker for the 82nd Winter Class. Sans one exeception, it is absolutely not a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Straightening out after Chronos introduced himself, his eyes settled on Ryuunosuke and Kimiko again, his polite smile not leaving.

“Now then, allow me to make good on what I have promised - though this time’s murderer already revealed one aspect I wished to explain. Honestly, I cannot believe we actually took you out of the suspect pool, despite the fact that you’ve only been with Umenoyakakutani since 10 pm. Plenty of time to get rid of any scents, isn’t it? And looking back now, your behaviour makes now perfect sense as well. Hmpf, my senses must have been truly dulled by your idiocy’s influence. It is high time that I remove myself from you cretins.”

“Ah, but it simply wouldn’t do to leave you all alone in that corner, wouldn’t it, Yoshida? After all, I do believe that it is time to reveal that Nokubo’s murderer had been Kita all along! How you were so quick to defend the culprit, how you oh-oh-guiltily ran away when I simply told you that I had you still included in my suspect pool… My, the two of you do make for a perfect, murderous pair, wouldn’t you agree?”

Between Ryuu stealing her thunder and then Orpheus- no, Chronos then also stealing a fair amount of the stuff before dropping all of THAT, Kimiko’s expression had developed into one that was akin to being slapped as many times as there had been revelations. But to her credit she recovered fast enough, stepping out more from lurking around Aki’s side to face Chronos more as she closed her hands into shaking fists.

“Hey! Don’t you DARE start trying to throw this on us so you can get away with what YOU’VE been doing too! This is an AWFUL thing to lie about! Do you KNOW how many people trusted you? And besides- THAT’S your evidence against the both of us? Come ON! You’re just saying that to scapegoat us and pull the focus off you being an ass! I ran away because you basically THREATENED me annnnnnd I didn’t need or want to be around you any longer- and that note DID say they didn’t even want any of this! And why wouldn’t Ryuu-chan just kill YOU if he killed because of this motive!”

“Even if I did do something like kill Kubo, that’s still totally different to you! You MADE the choice to kill Ryuu’s hostage AND string us all along, despite trying to get us all to shut up and sit down and not do anything rash or whatever! Could you GET any more controlling? At least I didn’t feel like I had to act as someone else to be liked or listened to at school or whatever! However we got you instead, I feel super sorry for the real Orpheus- if he even EXISTS!”

Her voice was starting to strain even with her usual volume being applied, a couple of breaks appearing here and there. But Kimiko pressed on anyway for another jab.

“Were you really just stringing ALL of us along as classmates and friends for the sake of it? I wouldn’t be surprised if YOU were one of our killers-!”

Chronos rolled his eyes, as if he’d gotten bored of this argument already. Crossing his arms before his chest, a low ‘tch’ could be heard from him, before he took the word once more.

“Do you honestly believe that this is the only evidence I got to unmask the two of you as the murderers you are? Especially with Yoshida saying that it would’ve been too perfect if I died in a mistrial? In context, that speaks volumes. Not to mention that those were merely few amongst many - and for you to even say that your crime was lesser than mine is ludicrous. After all, you may have been under the influence of a drug when you killed Nokubo - I’ll be courteous enough to give you that -, but you cannot say the same about 🌠 now, can you? This was your choice - you could have come clean about your crime, but no, you let someone else die in your stead. I will take Yoshida’s words on this account; what a coward you are, apologizing through some anonymous note that I couldn’t be bothered to take seriously to begin with. After all, why believe a liar?”

“As for why Yoshida didn’t go for me - well, that’s something I would like to know, too. Maybe, he was as much of a coward to go for me? Or he thought that killing someone I considered a–”, there was a pause, but it was barely noticable,”good ally would truly hurt me. Well, that was a miscalculation on his part - while I am… displeased that he is gone, as he was one of the few whose company I sincerely enjoyed, I’ve never been enough of a fool to develop any kind of attachments to anyone in a mutual killing game. What a ludicrous thing to do, given how easily this class is to backstab each other.”

“Oh and stop victimizing yourself. All I said to you was that I still have you in my suspect pool. That is hardly a threat - merely a friendly reminder that I’ve been onto you for the longest time after Umenoyakakutani and me went through the case again. Which brings me to the next point - if I had really murdered Nokubo, do you honestly believe I would’ve put so much effort to go through a murder again? To go back to the crime scene and recount everything that occured? No, I simply wished to know the identity of the killer, so I knew from whom to steer away from.”

“As for me blowing up this cretin’s grandmother, that is easy to explain; when I made the suggestion to withhold pressing buttons like absolute fools, I meant it. After all, it is not like as if I’ve been eager to dirty my hands. However, given how quick some of you were to kill off hostages left and right, I didn’t see any reason to not give my hostage at least a fighting chance. Granted, they still died, but at this point? With Yoshida trying to get me killed? Oh, I do not feel any remorse for doing so anymore. And I was right to withhold that information from him, given what he’s done now, hm?”

“And I wouldn’t expect for a mere mongrel like you to understand why I opted to don my brother’s identity. Your reasonings as to why I did it couldn’t be farther from the truth. I couldn’t have cared less if you didn’t like me - all I did was to act as my brother would’ve done; aside from the first motive, that is. He would have been kindhearted enough to either save that cretin’s grandmother or not pressed the button at all. Honestly, he would’ve been much to good for the likes of you. Everything I did was for the sake of my brother - not like you need to know why anyway.”

“So yes; aside from one person I still consider fondly - dead students not included -, I have never trusted or liked any of you. Why should I, given our predicament? It is your fault alone if you weren’t able to look past my act until now. I’ve grown tired to be empathetic towards you people. There is no merit in doing so anymore.”

“… That aside, I do owe you an apology, Yanagisawa-san.”

On that note, he turned to Sandwich and bowed to the other, with his face being more subdued than it was before.

“I should have voted for either Kita or Yoshida instead of you. My apologies that I’ve not put more focus on our actual murderer than you.”

With that said, he turned to Kimiko again.

“You can try and defend yourself all you want, but I am absolutely positive at this point that you were Nokubo’s killer. Denying it is useless.”

At some point through Chrono’s latest bout of speech, Kimiko had started shaking more noticeably than she could possibly hope to hide by just closing her fists, voice growing thicker in a way that betrayed incoming tears- but still she stared down Chronos with all the fury of, well, a wronged magical girl.

“You have absolutely NO right to talk about confessing to stuff or not- you’ve been acting as someone WAY nicer this WHOLE TIME! Are you saying that if you killed someone in this situation you would have come forward and confessed? Oh! Right! Clearly not! Since you’ve been sitting on this whole hostage thing AND your gross personality this WHOLE TIME! And of COURSE you might have killed again- you just said it! You’re b-bored with us! And to borrow Yanagi’s words, someone just has to get away with this twice and they’re FREE! You’ve been doing everything- everything else to deceive us! So why not helping Umenoyakakutani too-!”

“I’m sure Ryuu-chan was only talking about it being perfect if YOU got picked because of dealing with what you did! Ryuu-chan would NEVER- he’s always been su-super kind to me, ever since he got my hostage- an-and I hope he’s not lying to me too, but he’s not like YOU! We weren’t even TALKING about last case! I just wanted to check your handbook since I’d found you out, and then you start SCARING me instead..!”

“And- and don’t you DARE start getting all choked up over Yvon now either! There’s no WAY I can ever believe you cared at ALL now, even if you say you DO still like someone here- e-even if I thought we’d m-made up and we hung out a-and I was getting to know- getting to know Orpheus and I was st-starting to make friends and–”

But her determined stance was all for nothing. The sheer amount of poison it felt Chronos had directed at her specifically all added up onto the crushing pressure that had really made itself known ever since Takaku had that burst of bad luck, snapping the thickness in Kimiko’s voice and changing whatever words were coming next into a loud hiccup of a sob that just… didn’t stop; an incredibly nasty echo of her crying to the representing Edler previously. Her mouth opened once, twice more as though to try again, but ultimately her crying won out, the argument ending on Kimiko’s side with a gesture that looked like an attempt to flip Chronos off before she all but slunk back to Aki’s side- with a little bit of distance. In case she was lying too, maybe.

As Kimiko ranted on and on, Chronos looked at his nails, clearly displaying that he hadn’t been rattled one bit by this whole argument unlike her. Then, he deemed it was time to speak again.

“No, I wouldn’t have, which is why I cannot fault you for escaping your punishment to a degree - but at the end of the day, you are still the one who caused two deaths. That is an undeniable truth.”

“And oh please, do you think I would wish to spend more time with Umenoyakakutani with how much she’s grating on my nerves? It was pure coincidence that she was in the tunnels as well when I’ve made my way there. I couldn’t have possibly predicted something like that now, could I? Oh, but of course you will say otherwise anyway. Ah well, good thing I do not care about your opinion anyway, you murderous, lying brat.”

Another sneer escaped him as he shook his head.

“Not to mention that you only hear what you want to hear, hm? You forgot a tiny little word there; ‘too perfect’. Which means that something else must have been done before and what else could it be if not escaping punishment for murdering Mr. Bruckhard, while hoping that I’m getting chosen to get executed instead? Ah, but what am I thinking, of course a fellow murderer of our classmates would try to help out the other, hm? What a wonderful pair you two make! It makes me gag, honestly.”

“Honestly though, get your ears checked. Didn’t I just say that I am displeased at most upon Mr. Bruckhard’s demise? I am fairly certain I did, so if you could stop spouting nonsense, I would appreciate it. Then again, a mere cretin like you will never stop speaking–”

“Or sobbing to get yourself sympathy from others. Tch, with how this class has conducted itself so far, I wouldn’t put it past them to forgive you because you feel ‘oh-so-very-sorry’ for what you’ve done. Ah well, not like I expected much from you simpletons anyway.”

Chronos pulled a face of disgust at Kimiko, before turning to Ryuunosuke once more - with a sinister and serious expression on his face now, instead of the mocking smile he wore prior.

“As for you, you absolute lowlife, what else can I say than this? While I wouldn’t have done it any different if I were the killer - aside from making it obvious right afterwards that I’ve done the deed -, it still doesn’t change the fact that you are a coward who would kill others to satisfy their own needs. And yes, before you go ahead and bring forth your grandma again, I know I’ve done the same in the first week. However, at least I didn’t get two people killed over this. And it wasn’t anything personal against you when I made my decision to save my hostage after how bloodthirsty and illogical my fellow peers turned out to be, while you… well, not that I particularly blame you for your hatred, as I’ll never forgive the one who killed my hostage, but oh well. You can’t say the same now, can you?”

“That is exactly why trusting delinquents like you was never an option - I’ve been right to keep this to myself or else, I am certain that you would’ve gone ahead and tried to kill me sooner.”

“Not that you would have succeeded, of course - I never let my guard down around you lot, because I know that trusting other people - especially in a situation like this one -, is absolutely foolish. Ah and if you plan to attack me now, like the violent hooligan you are, then let me say this–”

At this point, one of Chronos hands went into his pocket and… it stayed there, though it appeared as if he was gripping something..

Orpheus felt another headache coming his way.

The blonde man sighed as Kimiko went on and on, making her disdain towards him absolutely blatant at this point. He allowed himself to massage the bridge of his nose while Ryuunosuke announced his results, as well as Aki and Takaku piping up. After that though, he finally raised his voice.

“Thank you for your volunteered hard work Yoshida-san.”, seems like he wanted to more-or-less tell Kimiko that he didn’t force anyone to do the check, thank you very much.

“As you didn’t mention anything in regards to other students wearing red clothing articles, I assume that there were no discoveries to be made as well? If so, then… finding out where this red fabric came from is going to be much more difficult than anticipated. Either it came from something that you wouldn’t see immediately - like a handkerchief as Ishii-san mentioned -, or they’re good enough at sewing that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference unless you’re an expert.”

While he seemed hesitant, Orpheus turned to Sandwich, meeting his eyes.

“… Actually, Yanagisawa-san, would you mind wearing your shirt? After all, I cannot seem to recall you ever wearing it normally, so… as much as I hate to continue putting suspicions on you, it is possible that your sleeves might be a bit shorter than they ought to be - just to name one of the things that could have been altered. If nothing is amiss, then… I would be actually glad about it.“

With that out, his eyes went between Aki and Ryuunosuke afterwards.

“And I agree with Ishii-san - if the culprit was close to Mr. Bruckhard, why would they even feel the need to write a note to begin with? Why not seek him out personally and accompany him to the laboratory themself? If they have already prepared everything in advance, then all they needed to do is to let him walk through the door first - in fact, if they operated on such an agenda, Mr. Bruckhard would have let his guard down even more, making this whole murder… well, easier to pull off. It simply doesn’t make sense to call out to him anonymously with a suspicious note like this if you could avoid planting such a dubious evidence altogether.”

While he continued to talk, Orpheus’ gaze was shortly settled on Kimiko.

“Before a certain someone can go ahead and let her clouded judgement be heard again, I will freely admit that I was close to Mr. Bruckhard myself. In fact, I… find myself in agreement with Ishii-san’s sentiment for him to survive this ordeal. I would not have hurt him if I truly intended to murder someone. On that note, if you could stop pretending to know how I feel about others, Kita-san, I would very much appreciate it - not to mention that you don’t even give me a chance to explain myself, but maybe, that says more about you than about me, hm?”

There was an edge to his voice, not unlike how he sounded in the previous trial - just with no hint of exhaustion and the like.

“Either way, if you are so adamant to put me on the suspect pool, then please, enlighten me how I am connected to all the evidence at hand. It will already fall apart at the red fabric, because I do not own red clothing. As for my handkerchief, it is white. I have taken it out on several instances in public and Yoshida-san especially would be able to vouch that I only possess this one right here.”

As he said that, he pulled somehting out of his pockets and showed it to everyone - it was a white handkerchief. Some of you may recall that he had put it on his nose when they stumbled across one or the other body.

“Which brings me to my next point - why would I feel the need to use some red fabric if I could have used my white gloves to protect my hands from possible injuries? It is not like as if these are the only pairs I own - I have two identical ones in my room, in fact. And even if you were to argue that I somehow wanted to frame someone with it, do you not think that I would have chosen something that wasn’t on fire? After all, leaving something like that up to chance seems foolish. I do not like taking risks, as I have proved again and again in these last two weeks.”

While there was a smile on his face, it was definitely a different kind of smile than the others were accustomed to.

Writing down all new evidence and alibis in his notebook, Orpheus opted to remain quiet for the time being - sans when Kimiko came over to check his e-handbook. The exchange was short, but afterwards, the corners of his mouth cracked upwards for a second, before they returned to its original state.

When Ryuunosuke and Sandwich addressed him, the blonde man merely nodded, but ultimately didn’t say anything in return yet. Instead, he paid attention to the trials ongoings–

Which now led them to Sandwich being accused of murder.

Orpheus could barely keep himself from heaving a sigh, but he did allow himself to take his glasses off and clean them a bit. Once that was done, he placed them back on his face, before taking the word once more after Atsuko was done with her part.

“While you are bringing up valid points, Ainara-san, it would be unwise to focus on Yanagisawa-san alone. After all, there are others here who wear red clothing articles as well. We should check everyone who fits the description, before aiming for more specific people of interest.”

“Speaking of the red cloth, has anyone from group A took a picture of said evidence? Or brought it along with them? If not, then someone who has actually gotten to feel it should check everyone for their red clothes.”

While he was discussing checks, he might as well address Ryuunosuke now - rather belated, but at least it happened, didn’t it?

“In regards to the check you proposed, I see no reason to not go through with it. While Yanagisawa-san did mention that the culprit could have used something to protect their hand from injury - like the burnt red clothing, for example -, it wouldn’t hurt to cover as much ground as we can. On that note–”

With two swift moves, both of his gloves came off his hands. Showing them to the others, they would note that they were completely free of any marks or injuries. Once he deemed that enough time had passed, he put his gloves back on - but not without continuing to talk.

“Also, with the note being handwritten, we might consider a handwriting check as well. Before you say anything, I know that either the note itself has already forged writing on it or whoever would be writing now could simply fake it, but as I said already - no harm to do more checks that could potentionally uncover something than to leave it be, hm?”

“Which is why I still think that a scent check should be conducted regardless. After all, the culprit could have used perfume or something akin to that to get rid of any damning scent that lingers on their person. If no one else is up for it, I… suppose I can do it.”

While his words say that he looks willing to do the task, his face didn’t quite match it. Instead, he wanted to talk about something else, so he simply went for it!

“… As for the cause of death, I do believe that the fishing line’s incineration was ultimately responsible for Mr. Bruckhard’s death. After all, inhaling too much toxic gas stemming from burnt plastic could be fatal for one’s health - especially for an extended amount of time while you are unconscious.”

It’s theory time!

“Just think about it - a contraption was made to make Mr. Bruckhard trip. While he was taken by surprise, the culprit came behind him with some of the fishing line in hand and strangled him until he was unconscious. As for why he didn’t simply finish the job with that… that is anyone’s guess, really.”

“Now, with his victim rendered helpless, they dragged him back to the Bodyguard laboratory. They could have done some of the mess prior or after their deed, but nonetheless, they would leave the place after setting the fishing line on fire; leaving Mr. Bruckhard in this airtight space to suffocate to death for… maybe an hour or two? Once they returned, the culprit stabbed the victim then… Though of course, they could have also stabbed him shortly after setting the fishing line on fire, so they wouldn’t need to return to the crime scene altogether… and maybe, they were also hoping to obscure the cause of death with that course of action?”

A shrug.

If one were to gaze upon Orpheus a bit after the trial started, one would see that he had his eyes closed - his face leaned into his triangluar-formed hands (you know, the kind of pose that you do when you’re just really done with the world).

“I was a fool to expect better, really…”, he murmured underneath his breath, visibly irritated by the fact that quite a few of them thought that falling for the motive yet again would be a good idea. Granted, at least Sandwich managed to get something worthwhile out of it - but it still didn’t sit well with him, all things considered.

However, the blonde man wouldn’t focus on that tidbit, given that the case was far more important at the moment - he didn’t wish to experience a repeat of the last trial, so it only made sense to file this away for later discussions.

Letting his hands fall down and opening up his notebook, he addressed Ryuunosuke first while jotting something down.

“The red fabric didn’t belong to Mr. Bruckhard - there is not a shred of said color found in his attire. If anything, given how adamant our evidence was that most places weren’t used, it makes more sense to assume that it belonged to the culprit.”

After that, he looked up and surveyed the remaining students as a whole.

“On that note, as neither the laundry room nor any of the clothing stores were touched according to the evidence, it is possible that someone here has torn clothes on them. Naturally, it is also possible that someone might have sewn it in some capacity to hide it, but we should look out for such details - with a more heavy focus on red-colored items.”

“Additionally, I would also suggest a… smell check. After all, at this point, I do think it is undisputed that the fishing line was burnt - the package did warn about it’s flammability. The other group may not know, but the fishing line found within Tuna Elite Hunting is made out of strong, yet flexible plastic - and burnt plastic tends to smell pretty strongly.”

“This doesn’t even account for the smell of fire or blood itself - nevermind that someone’s clothes could be stained by something as well. If none of these were the case, I would highly doubt that the evidence we found would be so adament about not being used in most places.”

With the little amount of evidence his group found, he could only rely on the other group for more context - which they did provide, but it still wasn’t enough yet.