#investigation5

Victim - Kino Kyouzo

Body location - Not the Thunderdome

Time of death - 7:03 PM

Cause of death - Exsanguination

Time of discovery - 7:58 PM

Victim - Keahi Alamea

Body location - Not the Thunderdome

Time of death - 7:01 PM

Cause of death - Organ Trauma

Time of discovery - 7:58 PM

The literal storm clouds hanging over all of your heads had been replaced with a more abstract, more suffocating darkness. You knew what that announcement meant - obviously, someone had died. Perhaps you were all simply growing weary by this point, and that weariness lent itself to anxiety. It was almost to be expected with the deluge of tragedy and death you’d been faced with over the past weeks. Sooner or later, you all made your way down to the Thunderdome where one had already died just over a day ago, and now another was to be found.

As you made your way to the interior, the smell of pool water mingled with the metallic stench of blood that you’d all grown distressingly accustomed to It was there at the pool’s edge that you saw why you had been called here.

Keahi Alamea lay still, lifeless, eir eyes wide open in shock. Blood seeped from eir chest and onto the tile floor around the pool area, but that wasn’t all. There was more blood on the tile not a few feet away from em, and for a split second your first thought might have been something along the lines of ‘oh no, not two bodies again.’ Your second thought shortly thereafter might have made your blood run even colder. As unbelievable as the tableau laid out before you was, there was no questioning it.

That was Kino, and she was every bit as dead as Keahi was. You knew that the pair could not be completely infallible, and yet it was still a surprise to find out like this. Kaguya stood by the two, seemingly in shock, Ika was in the process of laying stones around the two, and you saw Tadao picking up a gun from where it lay next to Kino. 

There was no further announcement. Your handbooks simply rang out with what you could assume were the files, and after that, nothing but silence.

As Ren speaks, Yuki just.. looks away like a huffy child getting scorned. If you don't make eye contact with them, what they're saying isn't real! That's how it works. As Fran mentions her hand, once again she tries not to warrant much of a response and simply shrugs it off. "...I guess..." She looks down to her clasped hands for a moment, then back up to the group. Just in time for Seiichi to speak. Hah, Okay, Nope! Silent too long! That's too say, she's went a hot minute without talking so time for her to speak again.

"H-Hey! That's not fair! Just because a murderer and me both sent letters doesn't make me a murderer! What, Does every postman deserve to be condemned as well?! Just go ahead and pull the trigger, because when it comes to sending letters of reassurance to my friends - I'm guilty, okay?!" She smiles, but she also looks mad? She's just being usual drama queen Yuki. 

And then... Nao confesses. Yuki looks at him with a totally defeated 'what was the point' expression. She looks away in shame. Eh, She shouldn't have done it - Lying doesn't feel good... "...W-Well, Anyway! My point still stands, I'm innocent and I was in my room all night, Alone, okay?! But I promise that I leave VR every night at 11 PM! If Barako-chan were here she could --" She stops herself mid sentence and a wave of sadness hits her. Euuughh, Shouldn't have brought her up...

Yuki looks back at Fran, mildly surprised for a moment. She stammers a little, clasping her hands tightly together again, placing them back onto the podium. "I-I... I mean, How should I kno--" She begins to speak, but is soon interrupted by Max who begins to explain some things further. She decides to be quiet for a few further moments, taking time to listen to others, but still... She looks annoyed. Fair to say, Yuki doesn't enjoy being framed as a liar... and she bows her head slightly, looking down to her hands. She remains in silence, but doesn't even look to Sasaki or Max as they talk.

"...Whatever! Well, I know we're innocent and that's all that matters! Whether you believe me or not! Nao's probably just... Being Nao, You know?!" She smiles and nods assertively. That sounds about right to her! "I just know that I was forced to log out at 10 PM, So I logged back in and then left to log out again at 11PM again, Nao bumped into me before and asked to join me, so I went back to my Virtual Room and we logged out and he came to my room and we played games together!" She sticks her tongue out at Fran. Very mature.

"...He's probably just doing his usual... Y'know..." She pretends to push a pair of glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I'm Nao and I'm going to withhold information until it seems necessary to bring it up." She even puts on a silly voice that sounds fairly like his! Not exactly, though. She's a comedian, guys.

"You know what I mean?" She leans back on her podium with the palm of her hands, and pulls her right hand back suddenly and quickly, looks at it for a moment, then shakes it around in the air before clasping her hands together again.

"...I suppose I should clear some things up."

Sasaki audibly taps their fingers on their podium, before suddenly lifting their hand and slamming it down...except their palm just phases through the podium instead. Their arm just phases through the entire thing until it gets caught on their fingers.

"I don't know about you, but it's kinda hard to hold stuff with just your fingers for me. Oh, and for the record, my entire body sans my fingers is five inches behind and to the right of what it appears to be. Seiichi can vouch that my hitbox's been like this since long before the motive was revealed. My consciousness is still where my eyes appear to be, though. So I think that explains a bit."

About their clumsiness? Probably.

"I have no idea how some of you can deal with avatars that are different heights from your real bodies, by the way. I feel like an astronaut trying to readjust to gravity every time I log out now."

Uh, back on topic.

"Oh, and another thing. I've been the one force-logging people out. It'd take a while to explain exactly how, but just know that I've been the one doing it. I hoped that logging people out during nighttime would stop them from killing in VR, but fat lot that did. Anyway, ever since motive, I've been logging out people at 10 PM, midnight, and 4 AM. It's also important to note that I can see people's locations on the map when I log them out. At 10 PM last night, Sachiko was in her room. At midnight, only three people were online: me in the Game Modders Room, and Fran and Matsuo near the fairy circle in the forest."

They take a moment to catch their breath.

Yuki changed her position to standing upright, her hands once again clasped back together after writing a sample for Fran. When Nao started... whatever it was Nao was doing, Yuki couldn't help but be mad - just a little. Why this again? He's always up to something... It's frustrating at times, but... even still, Yuki believes in Nao. Call her stupid, It's true. But she's choosing to believe in others no matter what. Innocent until proven guilty after all!

After Ren explained... It was very clear Sachiko didn't do this herself. Though... Yuki never even thought she did? Like... She say the state of her body, She didn't even think about the idea that they were trying to make it look like she did it herself! Yuki's so unperceptive that she couldn't even see that. The layers of this trial were confusing. Even worse, this whole process of elimination was... Just as confusing. So far it made sense, and it was down to Herself, Fran and Nao?

Safe to say, Yuki was offended. That much would be obvious from one look at the girl. She looks over and visibly looks at Ren like an upset toddler. Not angry, just... pouty. Like a child post-tantrum. But then it hits her after... Fran has an alibi... so it should just be her and Nao left as suspects?... but... She takes a moment and her expression sinks.

"...Uh, Actually..." She lifts up her left hand to her choker and tugs at it gently. "...Me and Nao-kun were in my room... From 11 till near midnight. W-Well, I mean, I always leave VR at 11, Anyone who knows my routine knows that!" Yuki, literally no one knows your routine. "I was awake from 7 AM and went to leave VR at 11PM after logging back in, and when I was heading to my Virtual Room - Nao stopped me and asked to join me in my room and..." She blushes a little. Not a cute, romantic blush. A clearly embarrassed one. Then she outbursts.

"I-It wasn't something lewd, okay? We just played some games together!" Who was that even aimed at? "It wasn't what you think it is... Leave me alone!" She turns away, embarrassed. Ugh, Boys are groce. "...We ...We just have an alibi, okay?"

Even before Fran comes along to do the handwriting samples, Hoshimi is a bit wary about it. While it would be great if something matched, having no one match also proved something.

"Literally anyone can fake their handwritin'. Not just fer the note, but the test as well." She sighs quietly, looking around the room. "Copyin' syntax is a bit harder, however, but not completely impossible. It just involves payin' attention t' how people talk. But as fer the messy handwritin'... yeah, it may be hard t' shake, but it ain't hard t' fake, and it coulda been faked durin' the test. Th' only person that can really be ruled out is me, the one who is literally unable t' use their arms."

Her arms twitch as she says that, as if she was trying to move them, but not paying enough attention to actually be able to.

"I was gonna rely on process a elimination - which, by th' way, would result in Nao, Yuki, Sasaki, and maybe, maybe Sachiko herself bein' th' culprits, but honestly yer just puttin' yer foot in yer own mouth their, Mr. Condescendin'."

She turns her attention to Nao at this point, very obviously displeased.

"Are ya so desperate to laud yerself over us that yer gonna give up yer own actions? Ya just so happen t' be th' one t' solve how the door was locked? I don't buy that, given yer track record a withholdin' evidence an' bein' more involved than ya let on. Yer theory seems completely random an' out a nowhere... except if ya were the one t' do it, meanin' ya'd know about it.

"Even disregardin' everythin' about yer actions an' yer character, it's suspicious. Ya mock us fer not realizin' how t' make th' locked room murder, then describe how, markin' yerself as th' only one to figure out how. But why would anyone throw themself under th' bus like that? Maybe if they were a condescendin' piece a shit that had a track record a startin' drama they would... oh wait, ya are. And that's why takin' character inta is important here."

The last words she said are practically spit out, the distaste evident in her tone expression.