>>19385
I'll pull the bloody phone out of my pocket and check to make sure it's still on.

Assuming it is, I'll continue.

"Miyako, you will note the blood on this phone. I found it among Budo's bloody clothes while he was in the shower.

The hope that this phone was not really Sota's and that some miscommunication, intentional or otherwise, had occurred was my last hope to clear Budo's name. Unfortunately, he looks really guilty given all of the evidence. He has a clear motive, and I seem to have accidentally given him all the opportunity he needed.

I still want to be sure we aren't falling into a culprit's trap to frame someone else, though. To that end, I'm going to need to question Budo now."

I will go speak to Budo.

"Hey, man, you disappeared. What gives? Don't tell me you ran out of the shower, through the gym, into the girl's changing room, and then booked it down the hallway..... "

~~~ Karma ~~~

Budo looks down. "Yeah... I did. While Ryusei wasn't looking I took my gym clothes and put them on the other side of the gym door. And it isn't that complex, I just waited for my chance and then went into the gym, changed my clothes and went out the other exit, the main exit to the gym. There are 3 ways into the gym, the main door at the end of the hallway, and then the two in the shower rooms. As for why, I did that. I have my reasons."

>>19389
"I understand the desire for privacy, I really do, but people have died, Budo. Former friends, people you grew up with. Their light and their hope dashed in an instant. And it makes you look guilty. The bloody clothes, the proximity to the first body, Sota's phone, the knife in your hand, the disappearance just prior to two more murders.

You, sir, are not doing your future defense attorney any favors. The witnesses that the prosecution will call, these former friends, will destroy any chance you had. Unless, of course, your goal from the beginning was to leave no witnesses.

So say something, anything. Lie to me if you must, but at least put up a defense. Say it was self-defense, say that they attacked you first, say that you saw some shadowy figure who must be the murderer lurking in the shadows."

>>19389

--Locker Room--

Miyako pocketed the bloody cloth, and took a moment to look around for Budo's phone while she was there.

--Library--

Returning to the library with the information about Budo's phone, Miyako cut in. "It's because you got an impossible text from your dead girlfriend. You were told to meet her someplace, and when you arrived you were knocked unconscious."

~~~ Miyako ~~~

You take the bloody cloth, and take Budo's phone from his pocket.

~~~ Library ~~~

Budo frowns. "....Not quite.." He answers quietly. "The reason I left was... to try and stop any more murders from happening. I knew who the culprit was and I was going to stop them. So I left to confront Oka."

Last edited at 16/03/16(Wed)21:25:56

>>19392
"Are you admitting to killing Oka? Are you going to assert justified self-defense, or perhaps justified defense of others?

The screaming could be heard throughout the entire building. She screamed your name before she died. She begged your forgiveness. Like I said, you look guilty.

And what about everyone else? Kuu died, was that your doing or Oka's?

Besides, what made you so sure that Oka was the culprit?"

Budo's eyes open wide. "Oka's... dead? And Kuu... too?" He freezes. "... I found out about Oka and Sakyu's plan to kill me. Sakyu tried to attack me when we were alone. But.. well I'm a martial arts master, it was easy to stop her. And so when I found the knife, I just assumed that was the one she used when she attacked me."

>>19394

"How did you know it was her? It was still dark at the time."

"We were searching for Oka together. We entered one of the class rooms. I felt something hit my head, and then I heard her attack from behind. It wasn't hard to guess it was Sakyu. And how did I connect it back to Oka, well, I knew about their activities, so I knew Sakyu thought of me as a nuisance."

>>19396

Miyako walked to Sakyu. "Sakyu, please. People have died. Oka has died. It's important that you tell me the whole truth. What happened on the second floor while the lights were out and you were with Budo?"

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore... Oka and I planned on killing Budo. We set up so the lights would go out, and then... after Oka pretended to be kidnapped. I continued with the plan on leading Budo into the trap. We were going to attack him from both sides. But... for some reason Oka wasn't at the attack point. She must have gotten found out... So Budo stopped me. I got scared. I ran away. I was afraid he was going to kill me. So I quickly texted all of you guys to come. I was hoping I could maybe fool you guys into thinking Budo was dangerous... I guess it sort of worked..."

>>19394
"So that means you weren't able to find Oka when you were searching for her? How the hell did you not hear the screaming? Were you in the basement?

Well, whatever. How about that injury on your head? That's quite a bump, when did you get it? Don't tell me you still intend to keep secrets knowing how many people have perished..... you'd only be putting us in more danger."

>>19398

"And the blood on him?"

"No, I didn't hear any screaming."

Budo growls. "I got this bump, at the time when Sakyu attacked me. Something hit me, I don't really know what it was."


~~~ Miyako ~~~

"Hahaa, that's the beauty. We planned a second trap. Just in case Budo stopped us. We set up a little trap to make him get bloody at the attack point. That way, if he did stop us. We could come up with a defense that he attacked us. I mean if we couldn't kill him together, getting him put away for assault was the next best thing. And with what he was doing to Haruto, it would work even better."

>>19401
"Excuse me while I go investigate the room in which you were attacked."

I will go and investigate the room where Budo was attacked, checking to make sure Sota's corpse hasn't been moved along the way."

>>19401

Miyako left her to languish in the purgatory of frozen time, and returned to the third floor classroom where she found the lens. She checked the windows.

>>19402
Sota's corpse has not been moved.

Inside the room next door, the room where Budo and Sakyu fought, after quite a bit of searching you find a bucket hidden in a small closet, that has been stained a little red on the bottom.

~~~ Miyako ~~~

While examine the windows you find something strange, signs of something haven been tied there. This was probably where Kuu was suspended from.

>>19404

She looked around further, looking for signs of anyone or anything that may have been brought back inside and taken out of the room or stashed away.

>>19404
I'll examine the red at the bottom of the bucket. Is it blood?

If this is blood at the bottom of the bucket, then it is likely that the blood on Budo's clothes was a result of somebody throwing this bucket, while it was full of blood, at Budo. The injury to Budo's head is the result of the person who put the blood on Budo throwing the entirety of the bucket, not just the contents inside.

If there is nothing else of note, I'll go back to scour the room Sota's body is in.

You find noting of interest.

~~~ Karma ~~

Sakyu and Oka had a bucket with some blood set on top of the door so that went Budo opened it, it would fall on his head.

You find nothing new of interest.

Last edited at 16/03/16(Wed)22:30:40

>>19407

Miyako returned, and quietly watched Karma while she thought.

>>19407
I will return to the library. Because I'm curious about the detective hiding information from us, I'll use my time freezing power to reach into her pocket and take out the evidence. I'll inspect it.

~~~ Karma ~~~

You steal Erika's...

..

It's a white headband.. It looks like the one Budo wears.

~~~ Karma ~~~

Time resumes and the white headband vanishes from your hand returning to its owner.

~~~ Time start ~~~

"Budo just confess!" Sakyu shouts at him. "We know you killed Oka, we even have her saying so!"

"I didn't do anything! I didn't even know anything happened to Oka!" Budo shouts back.

Haruto fights Budo, trying to pin him. "Just spill the truth."

Ryusei joins in trying to pin Budo. He winces in pain when his hand bumps against Budo's shoulder as Budo fights the two of them.

Erika claps her hands. "Stop." She smiles as everyone's attention is on her. "I will now prove who the culprit of these murders are. Budo, I will prove your guilt."

>>19411

"Not so fast, Erika!" said Miyako, polishing her glasses. "I'll admit the evidence against Budo is quite damning, but so was the evidence that the Earth was the center of the universe. Both, however, are quite wrong."

She looked Erika square in the eyes as she put her glasses back on. "Budo is innocent." Turning, she looked on her target. "Ryusei, you are the culprit."

She waits to prove her case until the room reacts.

The room is filled with shock, but the one probably most surprised by it is Ryusei.

"Hey! What the hell do you mean?" He growls. "I wouldn't kill anyone, how dare you accuse me!"

"What.. what is going on?" Sakyu is getting confused.

"Heh.. so that is how you'll fight against me." Erika laughs. "I expected you'd fight against me, but to think you'd pick something like that."

"I'm not the culprit. How can you say something like that!" Ryusei bites back with venom. "Don't you remember! I was with you guys when we found Kuu's body, and when Oka was killed! I couldn't have killed either of them!"

Last edited at 16/03/16(Wed)23:06:57

>>19413

Miyako ignored Erika for the moment.

"Yes, you were there when we saw Kuu's body hanging outside the window. However, we have not found that body yet. It is quite possible that Kuu was only pretending to be hanged, to provide a distraction. As for Oka, she was tied to the roof. The whirling sound we heard at the time was the sound of a chainsaw, designed to slowly cut through the rope. You killed Oka beforehand, and Kuu set up the mechanism to make her fall."

She smirked. "Your opening gambit seems a little weak."

~~~ Miyako ~~~

"What do you mean I killed Oka before! We heard Oka's voice just before she fell! We even heard her scream as she fell to her death. And how dare you mock Kuu's death! She was suspended in mid-air with a rope around her neck, how can you say she was pretending!"

>>19415

"Yes, we heard her voice. We heard her screams. However, those were recordings, either taken by Sakyu and Oka to help frame Budo for assault and acquired by you, or spliced together from conversations you overheard in time prior to this. If the fall was timed, the voice could be timed. And as for Kuu, it is possible to look like you're being hanged while not in danger of death, using braces to support, especially if you are outside, through a window, in the dark, for a very short time.

Sakyu speaks up. "Hold it... I'm not trying to defend Ryusei here, but I know Oka's voice, and I know what I heard. That was not a recording."

>>19417

Miyako looked to Sakyu, and smiled sadly. "I would not doubt the word of a vocal master. Very well, Oka pleaded with the one who had trapped her, who had convinced her that he was Budo. Perhaps using a headband that our dear detective was kind enough to find on the roof that Oka fell from? Either blindfolded or trusting in darkness.

"So what does that have to do with me? I was with you when Oka got killed! I couldn't have killed her."

>>19419

She shook her head. "Again, you were with us when she was killed. Immediately prior to that, no one knew where you were. You could have set up Oka to fall, then joined the group to watch it happen. Thanks to Kuu, you knew we'd all be there, acting as your alibi.

Erika laughs, "What about Sota? He was killed on the first floor. Ryusei was on the 2nd, wasn't he."

>>19421

"Not at all! Oh he planned this to a T, did our chess master. He wandered away from our group, shortly before Sota started getting messages from 'Soul-chan.' At that time, knowing that Sota was prone to panic, he went outside and waited. Then, when Sota locked himself in a room, he entered through a window, killed him, and carried his body up to the second floor room where he was found! Do you wish to say that couldn't happen?"

"I would have gotten covered in blood, if I had stabbed him!"

>>19423
"Not if you were wearing a raincoat. Does a large full body raincoat, covered in blood, sitting in a locker in the boy's changing room ring any bells?

You could easily avoid getting covered in blood by wearing that raincoat!"

"Oh yeah! What motive would I possibly have for killing Sota or Oka!" Ryusei is getting pissed off and is losing his composure.

>>19425

"Because your true motive is to turn everyone against Budo, just like they are now. Sota, the man who recorded the video that was used to discredit him and the easiest to separate due to his temperament. Oka, the girl who was cheating on him, and who already had a plan to kill him. No one would doubt that Budo would want them dead! Especially following All Traitors Will Die! Perhaps there are even more reasons that I, a newcomer to the group, do not know. Anyone want to add on?"

"Hold... hold... it.. I didn't kill anyone." Ryusei begins stammering. "I didn't I swear."

"Do you have any proof." Haruto asks.

"Ryusei... you didn't..." Midori adds.

"I didn't kill anyone! I swear!" Ryusei cries out. "All you've done is provide an option. How about proof! I want to see some proof that I'm suspicious!"

>>19427

"You have passed the event horizon, Ryusei. I'm sorry. It's time to pull you in.

Proof #1: You knew that Midori made the restaurant reservations online. How? Did you add a chair afterwards?

Proof #2: You cannot account for your whereabouts during Sota's murder.

Proof #3: Sota's phone was found in Budo's pocket only minutes after you were the only one with access to his clothes, in the locker room where the raincoat was found.

Proof #4: You ran off alone after Budo outside the lockers. Why think you could take a murderer by yourself?

Proof #5: We met up with you by the stairs, possibly coming down from setting up Oka's fall.

Proof #6: You immediately declared we all had to leave the room and go down to check on Oka when she fell, even though Kuu was right there.

Proof #7: ...what's wrong with your hand?"

Ryusei is in shock.

Everyone seems to start believing your words.

"Hold... hold it... I know I look suspicious."

"Things make sense." Haruto nods.

"Ryusei..." Midori whispers.

"You bastard!" Budo growls.

"How dare you kill Oka! You murderer!" Sakyu shouts.

"Wait! Guys.... hold on.." Ryusei backs up to the window to avoid his angry friends. "Hold on. I swear. I didn't kill anyone."

Erika grinds her teeth. "It seems I wasn't needed after all." She lets out an annoyed expression and leaves the room.

"Guys, please listen to me."

Ryusei is leaning against the window. "Stop this. I didn't kill anyone."

~~~ Time Freeze ~~~

The shadow witch appears you both once more. "I see, so this is your final answers?"

>>19429

Miyako looked at the frozen scene, and her hand drifted to her pack.

Sighing, she looked to the witch. "I wish it could be, but no..."

Time resumes

All the others are backing Ryusei up against the window.

>>19431

"Hold on everyone!"

She walked towards Ryusei, her hand in her back. "Ryusei, you've fought hard enough. But you've lost. This isn't chess. You needn't sacrifice yourself for the king. Or rather, the queen."

She pulled her hand out of the bag, displaying the solitary red contact lens. "Where is she?"

Ryusei lets out a sigh, and laughs. "Well, I guess I lost. I was simply out played. Can't be too mad, when it was such a fun game. As long as you understand I didn't kill anyone. See, I'm perfectly innocent. I didn't harm anyone. All I did was plant some evidence on Budo. It was a fun game."

"You bastard!" Budo shouts at him.

Ryusei dodges his punch and smirks at Miyako. "And just who is she?"

"Why, she's obviously referring to the culprit. It all fits too perfectly. The motive, the opportunity. Why, nobody even suspected her when she simply kept to herself.

Add some red contacts and hair dye, and any of you same-face students would look identical to one another.

Of course, you'd need quite a bit of computer knowledge to be able to pull this off. Files on websites, obituaries, the works. And she did it all right under our noses.

Heck, I bet she's hiding in here as we speak."

Last edited at 16/03/17(Thu)19:44:47

>>19438

Miyako smiled at Karma as he spoke. As he finished, she turned as if looking around the room, but let her eyes fall on each of the other students. In her hand, she held out the red contact.

"He's right. Here I hold a red contact. Out of our group, there is only one who has red eyes. So there is only one person who could be impersonated by using red contacts. A person whose body has not been discovered. Kuu Dere."

"There is another way that every crime could have occurred without having Ryusei as a culprit, but only as an accomplice. In the death of Sota! Haruto! You said that Sota did not leave the room as far as you were aware. That indicates a time you are not sure of, because you were not watching the room. During that time, Kuu walked in wearing the raincoat, stabbed Sota, and then got Ryusei to carry the body to the second floor with the raincoat while she returned to outside the room. As for Oka, who bought us here as a hunter and ended up being hunted, it happened as I said for Ryusei, but instead Kuu is the one who set the mechanism, and Ryusei only orchestrated the viewing. Of course, Ryusei still had the critical piece of capturing Oka after her fake kidnapping and locking her away, while convincing her that he was Budo. Nevertheless, he did not kill him. The person impersonating Kuu killed them both."

She walked to the center of the library, holding her arms wide and looking to the sky as if asking the stars that hung above the ceiling out of sight. "But then! Who could have been impersonating her? After all, we've accounted for everyone's whereabouts who could have taken her place while she was hanging outside the window. Budo, considering his developed physique, could never have passed for Kuu, even partially obscured." Her gaze returned to everyone. "What is more, Erika was the 11th human in the school! This leads to only one conclusion, Kuu was replaced by the impostor before we came here. Maybe even all of school today. After all, Kuu is quiet. Kuu is reserved, as my partner said. Who would break her cover? These colored contacts gave her problems though, so she had to focus, to stare intently, at everything she read."

With her free hand she pulled out her phone and scrolled to a picture as she continued. "So, someone outside of any of us was the impostor. Karma knows exactly who it is, but I want us all to be sure. This person killed Sota. This person killed Oka. This person wanted Budo to suffer." She put the phone down at her feet.

"She had to look enough like Kuu to pass as her, but also know her well enough to imitate her mannerisms. She had to be someone Kuu knew, and you all likely did as well." She put down the handkerchief with the red contact.

"And finally, she had excellent computer skills. Ryusei probably wouldn't have been able to track and alter the reservations Midori made quickly. He certainly wouldn't have been able to hack phones to possibly get advance knowledge of Oka and Sakyu's murder plot." She reached into her bag and pulled out the bloody knife. "With skills like those, it would be easy to fake an article on the school website about a suicide, and bring it back again and again after the faculty kept trying to delete it. It would have been easy to get a false obituary posted...."

She looked at all the students. "So it is that I say that there is only one person we can blame for these murders. The girl who knew Kuu and you all well. The girl who was betrayed by Budo and Oka. The girl who is the leader of the 9th club, the computer club! The girl who could fake her death with a pair of shoes, a note, and a few lines of code! False ghost and true culprit, I name you! Soul-chan!". She slammed down the bloody knife, in the center of the ritual circle that Oka had drawn.

Last edited at 16/03/17(Thu)20:34:42

Clapping echoes in the room. And then laughter, a girl's laughter. Out from a storage cabinet appears, Kuu... no... it isn't Kuu, as is evident by her two different eye colors. She is holding a gun.

"Correct." She smirks as she points the gun at the group. "Now you all get to die though, a little different than I planned but it works. I wanted Budo to take the fall for everyone's deaths."

Budo is in shock. "W... why?"

"Why do you think! You just dumped me like yesterday's trash."

"I didn't cheat on you!" Budo defends himself.

"I know that." Soul-chan answers. "I know that Sota was lying to me. He was punished for it. But it doesn't change the facts. After I 'died,' you just moved on with Oka. You are a bastard."

She laughs. "I don't care anymore. Because you are going to die here. You are all going to die here."

Surprisingly Ryusei is the one who starts walking up to Soul-chan. "It's over Soul-chan. The game is over."

"What are you talking about!? It's not over. I'm going to kill you all! I'm going to... I going to!"

Soul-chan is too focused on Ryusei that she fails to notice both Budo and Haruto approaching and they quickly take her down.

"No! No! Stop!" She struggles with them, but they easier overpower her. "Why does my life always fall to pieces... why.... I just want to be happy..."

And thus ends the night at Akademi High.

~Court Case of Ryusei Koki~

"Mr. Koki, what is your defense for your actions you've committed. The crimes you've committed." The lawyer questions Ryusei.

Ryusei chuckles. "I've committed no crime. I didn't harm anyone."

"Aiding a murderer is also a crime!"

His face darkens a little. "I did it simply because, it was a game. In a game you play your best to win. So I simply did the best I could, to win. I did it to create fun, because without fun, it can't be a game."

The court ruled Ryusei as being psychotic and gave him a 10 year sentence.

~~~ Ryusei's cell ~~~

Ryusei sat on his bed staring at the wall of the cell.

Despite the fact that he had a cell to himself, he was not alone.

Someone else was in the cell with him. Someone who shouldn't be there. It was a woman dressed in black.

"I'm not sure if I should call you a good piece, or a bad piece." The woman spoke to Ryusei, though he didn't react at all. In fact his eyes looked dead, like a doll's.

"You failed your mission greatly, so really this kind of punishment is worthy wouldn't you say?" She giggles. "But it was worth it for the game. Anything to make the game more interesting, to make it more fun for the players. So for that you did a good job, I suppose."

She waves her hand over Ryusei's face and a black shadowy creature flies out of Ryusei's body. His eyes come back to life and he look around in confusion.

"What... what is going on? Where.. where am I? A jail?" His tone is scared. "Why am I here?" He notices the woman in front of him. "Who are you? Why am I here!? Do you know? I can't remember anything... the last thing I remember was hearing tomorrow that we were going to have a new transfer student and then nothing."

She smiles coldly at him. "That's okay child. You should consider yourself honored for the fate I've chosen you. You got to be an important piece in 'the game.' That kind of honor doesn't happen to many people."

"What are.. what are you talking about?" He jumps up and tries to grab the woman but his hands pass through her and she laughs. "What is going on?!"

"Goodbye young piece. You are no longer useful to me. This whole world is no longer interesting to me. I have other worlds to visit, other games to enjoy. It is all for the sake of fun."

And with that the woman is gone.

"What... what is going on?!" Ryusei screams. "What happened.... what game?...." A tear slips from his eye as he is left without any type of answer, only a harsh fate without knowing why.

He was just a piece.

Just a piece to make the game 'fun.'

A piece's fate isn't important after the game is over.

So let's leave this piece to his fate. We have other pieces, other worlds to visit after all.

Last edited at 16/03/17(Thu)22:35:58