>SIDEWALK ARTIST

I nod at the single door past Tsunyasha’s podium.

“I’m sure we all saw at least some of the execution props next door.”

“Like MJ’s cliff ‘n stuff?”

“Right. Even aside from what we’ve already seen used...”

“...it looked to me like executions were prepared for all of us. Including the young masters.”

“So WHAT, I look like the type to EMBRACE his own EXECUTION?”

“You’re much more the type to flee it.”

“Are you CALLING me a COWARD?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Perhaps you’d care to face down my blades to prove otherwise?”

“No blade-facing!!”

“Miss Kogamino, if you could continue...”

“I would love to.”

I clear my throat, as if it will instantly shift the energy of the room back where it was supposed to be. It has yet to work after all these months, but still worth a shot. I just up my volume a little instead.

“I say we all had one prepared because they’re pretty clearly tailored to our talents.”

The room at least goes quiet in thought for a second.

“A greenhouse for the Gardener...”

“A plane for Aid’s thing...”

“You can always just say ATC if you're wanting to save yourself a few syllables.”

“And then a ‘country western’ for the Country Music Artist...”

I think it even referenced a specific song of hers, but heck if I can keep all her lyrics straight.

“And PENS and PAINTBRUSHES for the next guy, very fun, very exciting.”

“NOT!”

Why are you even talking?

“And finally a mochi hammer for Miss Kurokame.”

“The pattern... certainly holds.”

“And there were a lot more props and backdrops back there than the ones we saw in action. A backpack for Arthur, an 8-ball for me...”

“.....”

“P sure I saw some messed-up gym stands or something.”

I assumed those were hers, yeah. Not going to think much harder about it.

“But you say there were props for all sixteen of us? Young masters included?”

“Right. And the funny thing is...”

“Two of the props that hadn’t been used during the game were less dusty than the rest.”

“Implying that they were handled more recently...”

“...despite not appearing in the executions we... were made to watch, correct?”

“Like, I guess you could totally horse around here if you’re that bored?”

“Totally jank kinda playground, though.”

“Of all the items here, I doubt the young master felt like playing with a gurney and a slab of concrete.”

“GREAT, so it’s something MEDICAL.”

“Sounds more like KAICHI’S execution than MINE, don’t you THINK?”

“As if any of these whelps can be said to think.”

“We’ve already given plenty of reasons that Kaichi wasn’t the mastermind.”

“If you want to claim he was the heir, then that still wouldn’t clear you of your role.”

“Because of the slab of concrete?”

“Right.”

“Even if ‘something medical’ could apply to multiple students, the point of a single slab of concrete is a lot more limited.”

“There’s totally no construction dudes here.”

“And if it was intended for me, I should think...”

“...a greater distance traveled... would be involved.”

“Right. This wasn’t any sort of path. Sidewalk material, but not leading anywhere...”

“A pretty prime spot for some chalk art, wouldn’t you think?”

“For what, a CHILD? I need a LOT of surface for MY projects, thank you very much.”

“When did I provide the dimensions? All I said is it wasn’t a path.”

“I INVESTIGATED the same ROOM, you know.”

Well. Can’t prove he didn’t see it just a bit earlier.

“So the theory, I presume, is that the mastermind and heir arranged for their own recorded ‘executions’ just prior to the game starting, or even shortly after it started...”

“...so that they wouldn’t have to worry... should they feel the need to be killers in the game.”

“Wait, so they, like, already died? Again? How many times’s Kokoro bought it now?!”

“Fool. Clearly it was merely a spectacle rather than another true death.”

“Can you people at least DECIDE whether or not the young master was FINE with dying or not?!”

“They FAKED it, they DIDN’T fake it, they FAKED it again—”

“UGH!”

“More than faking their executions, test runs of the execution chamber’s capabilities in general would make just as much sense.”

“And only the ones who put this game together from the start could have come down here to make these preparations.”

“Well, Ichiriki? Do you have a better explanation for all this?”

“......”

We’ve had all sorts of responses to being cornered in trial. Exactly what someone with control over Monochap could do...

We’d better stay on our toes.

“So, like, that’s great 'n all, but...”

“It is totes still a ton of people. Like, literally more than we’ve had to pick from ever, at any of these.”

“Well, we WON’T just blindly GUESS!”

“ ‘Kay, then how do we, like, not-guess?”

“Before we call this point dead in the water, there’s one more angle we should look at.”

“Maybe Monochap only serves one young master at any given moment...”

“...but what if that title can be passed down?”

“WHAT, like GENETICALLY?”

“STUPIDEST thing I ever HEARD!”

“You’re the one who said it, though?”

Ichiriki gestures wildly in my direction. I’m glad I’m a couple stands away.

“But it was HER idea!”

“No, what you said was very much not my idea.”

“Yes, we’ve already covered the topic of an entire history of killing games.”

“I’d prefer we... didn’t return to it.”

Yeah, no more backtracking here than necessary, please.

“Instead of anything that needs to be familial...”

“...could the mastermind have designated someone to inherit the ‘young master’ title upon their death?”

“It seems likely that the person responsible... would have at least considered the necessity... of some such thing.”

“Especially being one of the very participants of the killing game.”

“And how, pray tell, would they determine which of you worms was fit for such a thing?

“I certainly wouldn’t trust any of this lot.”

“They had plenty of research on all of us, at least as far as the student profiles go.”

“They could've even known someone before the game, though I don’t think that’s anything we could prove.”

“And HOW would that CHANGE anything?”

“KNOWING you people BETTER would make me trust you LESS!”

“Sounds like a you problem, dude.”

“But if we can’t prove that the mastermind may have known and trusted a, er... accomplice?... ahead of time...”

“...how could we prove this theory at all?”

“I’m sure you pathetic whelps could ‘prove’ it just as well as you’ve proven much of anything today.”

“Gee, sorry this trial’s a little less tidy than solving a single incident.”

“Hard proof would... certainly be difficult, yes.”

“But as with the rest of this trial... circumstantial evidence and arguments are a lot more convincing once enough of them have been stacked up, don’t you think?”

“Then what circumstantial proof do we have?”

Proof that the young master title could've been passed down... There has to be something.

“That’s right—Kokoro was the only case where we weren’t able to inspect the body right away.”

“Which means WHAT, exactly?”

“Any number of things... could have been removed from her person in the interim, I suppose?”

“Uh, like what?”

“Dude, was Koko packing heat, too?!”

“I guess anything’s possible...”

“There’s also...”

“....”

“...the fact that we don’t know exactly how student IDs are deactivated after death. The lull in time...”

“...could have at least been used... to ensure we wouldn’t find anything on her ID.”

“Right, since the mastermind would have had access to additional functions.”

“So you think she PLANNED to die for that motive?”

“She wouldn’t have an EXCUSE to delay investigation for any of the OTHERS!”

“I’m certain a sinner of the necessary caliber could devise other reasons.”

“A worse fire, perhaps...”

“Or a chemical spill or something.”

“.....”

That wasn’t aimed at you, sorry.

I can’t decide how much of that to voice before Kanagi jumps in.

“Like, what about the other one, then?”

“Other what?”

“The other USEless, VAGUE comment!”

“Blah blah DECEPTION? That ring any BELLS?”

“Ah, the... games of deception, yes...”

“Oh? Moreso than all you pathetic mortals so love to play?”

“Oh, right!”

“We’re talking about poker specifically, right? She’d mentioned that to me, too. Didn’t really focus on the deception part, but...”

“My dude, I don’t really play cards, but I’m p sure poker doesn’t make you, like, kill people.”

“That’s not quite the argument we’re making.”

“Perhaps more along the lines of...”

“...a reason the young master would participate in their own death game at all?”

“It makes little sense to me, but I suppose if you’re the type to be thrilled by disguising the contents of your hand...”

“Like, I’m pretty sure Eats was thrilled by mystery stuff too, though?”

“Mysteries where he’s outside the situation, in full control of what happens.”

“I can’t say he didn’t seem excited to be part of a game...”

“...but I wouldn’t consider him more suspicious than Kokoro as far as that point goes.”

The conversation finally lulls. Is that all the points we brought up? Hard to keep track, even with so few of us left to make them.

“......”

But a loud “a-HEM” interrupts before I can worry for long.

“So we’re just GOING AHEAD and VOTING for Kokoro because a COUPLE things MIGHT make sense?”

“Well, it’s not as though you lot can rely on your own full knowledge of the worlds.”

“I don’t feel as though... we’re likely to have much in the way of... direct evidence, either.”

“Still not liking this, dudes.”

“It doesn’t matter if SOME of us don’t LIKE it. It all comes down to a MAJORITY VOTE, doesn’t it?”

“The wording of the rules isn’t quite so succinct. But at least so far as the execution portion is concerned, yes.”

“I guess so.”

Is that all, then? Do enough of us agree? Should we agree? Everything we’ve found feels circumstantial, but that’s still about all we can rely on.

I don’t know if I’m satisfied with this answer, but... We’ve narrowed things down. I really do think more points to Kokoro than Itsurou. 

So... Is this it?

I’m just about to say so when another voice cuts in.

KOTODAMA LIST

Standard word bank disclaimer—some evidence may be used more than once, and some may not be used at all. Some evidence that didn’t need to be found in investigation has been added.

>STUDENT ID

“They’re personalized mini-tablets, basically! Just so you don’t accidentally run off with someone else’s, I’ve made sure they display the owner’s given name at startup!”

That’s right! If we can just get her to hand over her ID...

“...Tsunyasha.”

“What?”

“Monochap gave you a student ID like everyone else, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Seeing as such an unholy creature was responsible, there’s no reason you couldn’t part with yours for a minute, right?”

“B-but I...!”

“Surely hers will show the same profiles as ours do?”

“I don’t believe mine showed my own true talent from the start.”

I shake my head and turn back to Tsunyasha.

“Humor me?”

“Is that any way to ask a favor of the holy one herself?”

“Look, dude, can we please just see the thing?”

“ ‘S not like you need it, anyway, right? With your holy owl-knowing ‘n stuff.”

“Hmph. I suppose.”

Finally, Tsunyasha sweeps around the circle of podiums to hand her ID over... to Kanagi.

“Sweet, thanks!”

“....”

“Uhhhh what’m I doing again?”

“Just restart it and see what happens.”

“ ‘Kay.”

After eventually locating and nearly dismembering the power button, Kanagi taps her foot and stares at the screen until its light hits her face again.

“What’s it say?”

Beside her, Ichiriki, who’s pretty well able to read over anyone’s shoulder he wants, heaves a massive sigh.

“Looks like ‘Kiiko Senade’ to me.”

“So, like, was she taking notes just now, orrr...”

“Monochap. Remind us what our electroIDs display when we turn them on?”

“Oh, um...!”

“That would be the owner’s given name...”

“!”

“...”

“So regardless of who’s ready to admit what, all the evidence points to Tsunyasha coming to Apex Academy as the Super High School Level Kuroko. Not any sort of assassin.”

“In other words, this entire RIDICULOUS tangent was to say there’s no REASON to think the weirdo would decide to POISON people.”

“Of course not. One with my skill has no need to resort to such cowardly tactics.”

Masterful selective hearing for sure, but I won’t complain if it saves me a knife to the face.

“You’re the one who was whining about a lack of hard evidence, Ichiriki.”

“UGH!”

He casts his capelet over his shoulder in a huff, is apparently even less pleased with it this way, and proceeds to wrestle it like a cat until it’s roughly back in the same spot. Kanagi leans out of his way.

“ ‘Kay, so, like, hold up.”

“We’re saying the masterguy totally isn’t Tsuntsun, then?”

“Or at least that...”

“...the oxygen poisoning wouldn’t be expected from her, despite her alleged talent.”

“...And lack of consistency in regards to the prerequisite knowledge of poisons.”

“Then the focus of the second motive argument should wholly be on medical types?”

“And potentially Mr. Shintsuu, more chemically.”

“And you can HARDLY tell me a MYSTERY AUTHOR wouldn’t know OBSCURE ways to KILL people!”

“The poisoning wasn’t lethal... but that’s a fair point.” Especially when he had some kind of lung condition to boot.

“Wait, wait. Didn’t we totally already get rid of KAZE?”

“Like on the list or whatever. Not, like, rid-of rid of.”

“Dispatched, you mean?”

Before we can go any further down the thesaurus rabbit hole...

“Kazusuke didn’t fit the hidden camera criteria, right.”

“So if we’re to cross-compare those two lists of young master suspects...”

“...we’re left with only Mister Kishaba and Miss Tanukihara.”

“Is that correct?”

“Sounds right to me.”

Our final suspects...

Is the culprit really one of them? For all the speeches on the value of life or altruism, could one of them have plotted a killing game?

That’s what it looks like from here. Let’s see if we can come anywhere close to agreeing on the culprit.

“.....”

Whether we want to or not.