#emtrois

As the paper floats off from everyone's podiums the web developer finally let her smile fall. Her name was called, eleven times it had been read out and she just had to accept the fact that, well, this may very well be her time! She'd always thought about what she was going to do when she was older, if she'd stick with coding or try something else. Life was fair like that, right? To give someone second chances?

Apparently not, as it was confirmed that she had in fact killed Ryuuji Nemoto.

"...Geez." The web developer lets out a defeated sigh. "Y'know, life never prepared for me for something like this...! Didn't think I'd have to explain how I ended up killing someone." Even with her heavy heart she tries to keep the mood light. Her smile is back for all of two seconds before she simply shakes her head again.

"So, it's true, I was in the school on my own-some. That's when I found that mirror. What it showed me though was, um..." Her hands begin to ball into tiny fists. "My family. They were on the floor, like they were in pain. Like something had happened to them. To say I panicked would be an- an understatement...! I smashed the mirror and, realizing I had to do something, grabbed one of the shards and ran off. That's when I saw... Nemo-kun."

She feels her body begin to shake. Her heart beating fast enough that it was like she had two that were working overtime in her chest.

"I- I panicked. I st- started slashing wildly. Before I knew it he was- he was bleeding out on the floor and I had to- I had hide him. That's when I dragged him under the lecturer's desk in the classroom and stole his jacket and hat to blend into the darkness and escape."

"I wasn't lying about- about being disoriented though. It was sh- sheer luck that I found a way out. That's when I threw his hat and jacket off and then I heard all the commotion. I took that opportunity to- ah- tried to disguise all the blood on me by throwing myself into that shelf with the vase on it. That was- That was on... purpose."

Even as she spoke now it still didn't feel real. The girl felt light-headed, thought after thought blended together as it felt like the whole world had gone silent. She grabs onto her shirt, tugging onto it ever so slightly like she was trying to still her ravaged heart.

"...I just- I just wanted to see m- my family again. They mean- they mean the world to me y'know but I- I really couldn't keep this a secret, heheh. I never really- ah- planned it out or anything, yeah? I mean who plans something like this out...?"

"To think that someone like me, a girl who just- who just wanted to bring people together... Who made a p- pretty dang popular dating app would do... do something like..."

Finally words fail her, like her mind had run completely dry. Can she even bring herself to cry? She feels like she lost that right as soon as she saw blood and broken glass in her hands. All she can do is stand silently with her gaze towards the floor. This... this was never supposed to happen. She was never supposed to be a murderer, right?

“That’s right, ya all have chosen Iris Aiuchi as the identity of the Hajun. But ya now may be wondering, is that the right answer? Well...”

The inugami bursts out into laughter before continuing.

“KEHEHEHEHE!!! Well of course it is! That’s right, ya are lookin’ at a flesh in blood Hajun. And this time it ain’t even a spirit or demon. Honestly, ain’t that kinda worse? That a mere human just like ya could commit such a heinous crime. Well, I guess she ain’t a human anymore, though. Now she has become a Hajun...”

As he continues to drone on about this, you start to realize... You’re still not even that sure what a Hajun is supposed to be. You always just assumed it was a weird way for Daisan to describe the killers, but now you’re not so sure.

Tallying Votes…

Iris Aiuchi - 11 Sayuri Oshiro - 1 Ryuuji Umemori - 1 Noto - 1 Usami Osada - 1

And with that, your ninety minutes to discuss the identity of the Hajun among you is over. But it’s not like you needed much more time anyway. You did get a confession after all. Unless... That confession was all a farce. No, it couldn’t be...

Daisan speaks up, startling you at first.

“Alright, I’ll start countin’ all the votes. Please wait patiently.”

The scraps of parchment in which you had written your vote on begin to float into the air, as if by magic, drifting over towards Daisan. From there he begins to read off each vote, without revealing who had written them.

When Aoki insisted to take the blame all the same, Shizuka couldn’t help but lightly frown at the other. It wasn’t good to absolve someone of their mistakes if they’re prone to repeat them - especially if they’ve carried themselves as uncaring as Nisemono did. While she would love to sit down and explain to them why they shouldn’t be so lenient towards their resident murderous tanuki, she could do that on another date.

On the other hand, Iris couldn’t wait.

Not when she admitted that she killed Yuudai.

Even though the evidence pointed to her, it was still... shocking to hear it from her own lips. It was also difficult to believe that she took someone’s life - but that was reality and thus, she needed to face it, whether she liked it or not.

The songstress took a deep breath, before seeking out Iris’ eyes with her own:

“... Thank you for admitting it yourself, Aiuchi-san.”

She smiled sadly, trying desperately to reel back any emotional outburst for the time being. There was a time and place for everything and right now, she needed to be the solid rock in a stormy ocean.

“…”

Just like last time people are poking holes in her alibi. Iris tugs on her collar ever so slightly before she lets out a bit of a nervous laugh. Her eyes dart to Ryuuji, then to Aoki. Her fellow accused! Everyone close enough to her can see that’s visibly put off more than the rest of them.

“Well I- You see, when I got out I was feeling a little lightheaded! Suuuper loopy. The school is such a pain to get around that I had to sit down for a bit. I only heard the panic after I had gotten my bearings y'know!”

She raises a shaky hand, looking as if she’s about to point towards someone. “B- Besides! We don’t know… where…”

Her hand and her heart sink as she shakes her head.

“No… I’m sorry I-  I can’t lie about something like this. It’s as Oshi-chan says! I’m a sweet person, heheh.” There’s a long pause.

“…A sweet person wouldn’t lie about doing something as sour as killing someone though, would they? That’d be- ah- the opposite of sweet! So…”

She hangs her head.

“AH YES, THAT DOOR! IT DID NOT GO BOTH WAYS. I WAS UNABLE TO RETURN FROM THE SCHOOL WHENCE I CAME - NOR ENTER DAISAN’S ROOM WHERE IT APPEARED TO LET OUT! IT WAS MOST CURIOUS.”

Guess that particular question is settled.

“WORRY NOT, LADY SHIZUKA - I CLAIM FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY MISTAKES! I CAN HARDLY BLAME SIR NISEMONO FOR HAVING A CASE OF WHAT I BELIEVE IS COLLOQUIALLY REFERRED TO AS ‘ZOOMIES.’ I WILL BE MORE CAREFUL NEXT TIME!”

It probably would not have happened without the shoulder jumping, but they don’t seem to mind. The fire was controlled in the end, after all, so minimal harm done! Hooray. Except for the part where Yuudai was still very much super duper dead. And the part where it… really, really seemed like Iris maybe might have done it. Maybe she had just been attacked too, but then why wouldn’t she just say that? What happened in those ten minutes between her apparent departure from the school and that crash? Aoki was unsure. They really didn't want to think anyone had done it, and fully intended to defend her as long as they could.

“IT IS STILL TOO SOON TO SAY FOR CERTAIN, IS IT NOT? PERHAPS LADY IRIS IS SIMPLY MISREMEMBERING! IT IS NOT UNLIKELY, GIVEN THAT SHE HAS SUSTAINED FURTHER INJURY TODAY, THAT HER MEMORY MAY BE SOMEWHAT FOGGY!”

"Uh... Guys?"

He gulps a little bit as he takes in everyone's alibi's. 

"This is like, super suspicious, right? Uh, Aiuchi-san... maybe she got injuired and... if she doesn't have a solid alibi and the times are all funky-like... she ALSO could have killed Nemoto-san! (you know, aside from the doppleganger...)

And just as suddenly, it seems the crosshairs have been pointed at him, however slightly. His eyes quickly widen as he goes into a bit of a panic.

"W-Wait! I'm not the first? Aoshi-San- they were the one who like- mentioned a door by the hat and jacket... I just sort of... figured it went two ways? But if thats not the case, and there's 2 seperate uh... portals? teleportation doors?? I'm just going off what they said!"

"And uh- I know I don't really have too solid of an Alibi... I'm sorry for like... bailing and not helping with the fiiirrreee!! I... was kind of scared of it... heheh... yeah- sorry. But Oshiro-San saw me out there, so like- we're chill, right? Right??