A few rice balls… a jacket… and flashlight get thrown into the backpack. The young man swung it over his shoulder and walk to the other side of the bedroom. On the walls he past numerous newspaper clippings and articles, all with lines of string crossing between different points.

“White Devil of the the Rokkenjima Incident”, “Detective Does it Again!”, “Frostbitten Murders”, “Goldbar Solves Yamanote Suicides!”, “Fancy Suit Murder Case Cracked!”, “Kinjo Goldbar Stops Ferry Heist”.

The wall covered in the various deeds of the detective Kinjo Goldbar through the past years. After growing in fame the detective found himself constantly running into different cases. It was looking good, until…

“Kinjo Goldbar Missing.” Dated August 2nd 1991.

BGM: Shogetsu

It not unusual for a detective to go undercover for long periods of time, however one day he simply vanished on his way to a client, no warning to friends or family. Needless to say it caused a scandal for a while, and investigations were held, but nothing seemed to be found. Seven years passed and he was declared legally dead, it was at this point in time that the young man gained interest.

While hearing stories as a kid he never really cared much about the missing detective, until that news reminded him. The last year he spent collecting old newspapers from archives and researching what little he could.

One day he stumbled across an email group that liked to talk about unsolved mysteries. While they were not as interested in Kinjo Goldbar as he was, there was one that caught the young man’s eye. The vanishing of Masayoshi Okazaki. Unlike Kinjo, the man to vanish this time left his mansion completely abandoned and his political position vacant. While it happened almost two years after the event of Kinjo Goldbar something seemed to connect them. It seems Kinjo himself had met with the man during one of the cases Kinjo solved. It was a long shot, but the well had run dry in terms of clues, so the young man jumped on it while he had the chance.

One person in the group, Kato Sugimoto (one of the few to use his real name apparently) announced that with the reading of Okazaki’s will the mansion had passed to one of his family members, and Kato had gotten the permission to explore the mansion as they saw fit. In total six people signed up including the young man. The mansion was in the next town over, and tonight was the night.

With a last look in his room his eyes fell on the mirror, taking in his figure. Besides being a young man and mystery enthusiast, who was he?

Kizami Suzuya was a Japanese highschool student in his third year. He didn't have any kind of special characteristics that made him stand out. Middle height, brown haired and brown eyed, wearing casual school type of clothes (black attire mostly with a blue shirt), he had the appearance of an ordinary highschool kid. And he probably preferred it that way. His personality was also quite ordinary. At least on the outside.

So why was an ordinary guy like Kizami interested in the extraordinary detective Kinjo Goldbar? None of his highschool friends knew the answer to that. In fact, none of them were even aware he had a passion for mysteries. On the other hand, the email group he became a part of knew nothing about him except that he was a mystery enthusiast. The mansion excursion would be the first time any of the group members would meet him in real life.

"Time to make a great first impression... my mystery friends." Said Kizami with a smile and walked out of his apartment.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)12:07:11

>>19578
A short walk from the bus stop Kizami found himself at the base of the mountain and the road leading up to the mansion. He had researched a bit on the man Okazaki. The Prefecture Governor had started to make a name for himself and for his personal use had the land on the mountain leveled to build his mansion. He had some ties with some corporations and would host the occasional gathering, some typical political allegations but ultimately nothing too interesting beyond that could be found.

>>19579
BGM: Peaceful Sailing

It was about six pm. The sun still wouldn’t set for a while. As he walked up the road eventually the gates came into sight. Four people were waiting in front; an old man, a young women, and two teenage males.

“Welcome welcome!” the old man calls with open arms as you walk up, “I am Kato Sugimoto, you are here for the event yes?”

"Yes I am. My name's Kizami Suzuya. Though if any of you know me, it's probably by the nickname "Nightingale". It's a pleasure to finally meet you guys!" Kizami gave a wide smile.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)12:32:15

>>19581
“Ah yes I remember you contacting me, excellent! Not everyone is here yet, but we may have some no-shows, who knows.”

One of the two younger males starts, “Yo, Taiga Watanabe, if anyone is going to solve anything it’ll be me!” He lightly grabs the other guy in a headlock, “And this is Takumi Nakajima.”
The displeased looking Takumi pushes Taiga off of him, “I can introduce myself…” he says in a meek voice.
“Ahaha sorry, yeah you are right, just getting excited that’s all,” Taiga laughs off.

Taiga seems to be wearing the local school uniform from here.

"A pleasure, Taiga and Takumi. I look forward to seeing you guys in action."

Kizami then turns his attention to the girl.

"And what is your name, lovely miss?"

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)12:28:56

>>19583
The young women speaks, “Reiko Kitagawa,” she says with a smile. She looks no more than twenty, but the way she holds herself makes you think she is closer to thirty. “Of course like everyone else I am here to investigate, although not as competitively as some," she says clearly indicating at Taiga.

"Let’s help each other alright?”

"Of course. Let's work together to solve the mystery, ga-- guys."

Kizami pauses in thought for a moment, then speaks again.

"So while we are waiting for the others to get here, do you all want to go over what we know about Mr. Okazaki's disappearance?"

If they agree to my proposal, I tell them what little I know from the introduction of the game and then listen to what they have to say

>>19585
"I agree. The mysterious events of his vanishing always seemed to lack information, so pooling our resources could help," Kato explains.

It seems the others know about the same that Kizami did, and so he asks about any other information.

"I only know as much as Takumi has told me," Taiga admits, "I was excited that something like this was happening in my city for once and just went for it."

Takumi pushes up his glasses, "From what I heard, Okazaki was doing very well very quickly in both his campaign and once he had the title of governor. People thought it was strange until he had vanished and all the investigations suggested it was purely thanks to skill and his connections."

"Yeah that," Taiga says as if he helped.

"Exactly!" Kato says excitedly, "If it was a kidnapping no signs would be odd, but for a political figure to leave no trace is just outstanding. He was at the height of his career even!"

Reiko has her own piece to add, "While it may not be useful, I had heard the man actively avoided public relationships, but some of the people who had been to his parties said he had a few women companions at times."

"Hoh, that's news to me. I knew he never had a wife but... Where did you hear about that?" Kato asks.

"I tracked down a few people who had been to his parties beforehand. Although most of them had closed lips besides the one drunk that said that," she says simply. The rest of the party seems impressed.

"Wow. It's quite impressive that you've managed to find out this much, Miss Reiko. If you don't mind me asking, what is your occupation? Are you perchance a journalist?"

>>19587
"At one time, but not any more," she mentions.

As you four are talking some noise starts to crawl up the road behind you. A man and a girl can be heard and then seen coming into view. The girl chirps around the man as she holds her camera up only to be roughly pushed down by him. He points to the group and upon noticing us she jogs over.
“Sorry I’m late!” she says while giving a silly salute. “Aoi Fujimoto reporting for duty.”

"Hey... don't I... Wait... you're that reporter girl from Northcoast High aren't you?"

Takumi looks up at Taiga, "You know her Taiga?"

"Only in name. I heard she caused the principal to retire based on something she leaked in the school newspaper."

Aoi sighs and shakes her head in an exaggerated way with a smirk, “Looks like my reputation has taken a dive. The result was because people learned the truth, just because I happened to be the one who revealed it doesn't mean much.”

As they bicker back and forth Reiko walks over to Kato. “If I remember correctly you said there would only be six people here today?”

“Ah yes sorry about that. This Yasunori Heisuke,” he says walking over to the newly arrived man. “He contacted me last minute to join our excursion so I had no time to update the list.”

“Nice to meet you,” Yasunori says with not exactly a happy face.

Kizami tries to smooth things out.

"Now now, there is no need to fight over the past, we all have a common goal here. Let us focus our energy on the task at hand."

He addresses the man.

"You must be very interested in this case, Mr. Heisuke, to have arranged your participation last minute like that. I hope we can help you find what it is you're looking for."

>>19589
He stops to look at Kizami for a moment, then manages a half smile, "Yeah. Thanks for the help."

“Well, anyway, we are all here," Kato starts, "Without further ado let us begin shall we?” He strolls over to the gate and pushes it with a heavy series of creaks. One of the chains around the door slips off as it finishes opening and you can see the inside of the walls for the first time.

The grand mansion stands as the main attraction in the top left and middle. It still seems to be in decent shape despite the state of the garden. The yard has been completely overgrown and certainly has not been taking care off. There is a fountain to the left that is mostly overtaken by the grass and garden, and to the right is some sort of garage. The road opens up to allow for multiple parking as well as access to the garage and right in front of the mansion front doors.

"Man this place needs a few dozen gardeners. I guess the new owner never bothered to clean it up?" Taiga asks.

Kato gives a small laugh. "Sadly that seems so. Although the mansion is still as it was for the most part."

The group starts to move through the garden with the mansion as the goal. Aoi stops every now and then to take some pictures, and Takumi is looking around the fountain as he walks by too.

I decide to walk over to the garage and see if there are any signs of it being used recently. My love of mystery novels and detective fiction will surely permit me to tell if there are relatively fresh tire tracks or some such. I will also check whether the garage is locked or not. If it is unlocked, I will suggest to the group having it inspected.

>>19591
Kizami walks along the road and looks at the clearly long unused ground. The grass hangs onto it and hits his feet as he walks through to the garage. Its mostly made out of concrete and the door itself is half opened. There is one window inside, but other than that its completely empty.

"It sure looks abandoned, doesn't it..." Kizami mumbles to himself.

I sniff the air to see if I can pick up any strange odors that should not be in a garage usually. Then I go back outside and inspect the fountain just to see if anything about it stands out to me.

>>19593
It smells rather similar to an underground parking complex, but nothing unusual is smelt.

The fountain is covered in moss and other plants, the water is a murky green and some frogs are living in it. Other than that it is clearly not operational and hasn't been for a long time.

Aoi and Takumi have joined back with the rest of them and Kato seems to be opening the front doors.

I catch up with the rest of the group letting the guide do his work and guide us in.

>>19595
Above the doors reads a small sign “The Fox’s Mansion.” With the light from outside the mansion is lit up enough to see but still fairly dark in some of the corners. Inside the main hall is a staircase in front of you at the end of the hall, and it opens into the second floor which can be seen from where you stand.

There are walkways along either side above and doors lining each wall below and above. Along the walls are various painting and a surprising amount of taxidermy. An Elk, maybe a moose on the left wall, various deer and other game.

To the right of the staircase is a statue, and to the right is a hallway that heads further to the left. Overall the place is rather dusty and the red patterned carpet on the ground is patchy perhaps from insects eating away at it.

"Well then. The mansion isn't large enough for us to get lost, so just call out if you find something. Is splitting up fine with everyone?" Kato asks.

Before anyone can respond Yasunori walks on a head to the stairs without a word.

"That answers that!" Taiga jogs over to one of the rooms and enters one with Takumi calling out for him to wait as he follows. Aoi is already taking pictures of the main hall and various parts of it at this time.

"They sure are energetic aren't they," Reiko says with a small smile.

"You can say that again, Ohoho."

Reiko heads to a room on the right and Kato continues to look around the main hall with Aoi.

Kizami follows Reiko into that room and attempts to start a conversation.

"So Miss Reiko, what got you interested in this case? Do you simply have a passion for unsolved mysteries like the rest of us, or is there anything about this one that tickles your fancy? After all, you did seem to do a lot of your own investigating already..."

>>19597
The room seems to be a living room. There is more taxidermy in this room followed by various chairs and sofas. There are some cabinets in the back of the room but they look mostly empty. Next to them is another Elk. On the wall to the right from where you entered is a portrait of a couple and next to it an violet hued rooster on a pedestal.

On the other side are windows to the garden that are somewhat obscured by the plant growth. The floor is covered in a carpet like the rest of the mansion you've seen so far, and there are a few coffee tables in the middle surrounded by some of the chairs. A tv sits in the corner and on the ceiling is a light, both of which are clearly unpowered.

"Just general interest. I had been following that email group for a while but it was mostly trivial discussion. Since this is the first time they had an outing I thought some preemptive investigating would help," say says while scanning the room.

"Ah." Says Kizami. He then turns around and walks out of the room.

BGM: Dark Cemetery

As quietly as possible, I walk upstairs and begin searching the second floor in hopes of sneaking up on Heisuke in the middle of whatever he is doing.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)15:37:12

>>19599
You walk past Aoi and Kato who are still in the main hall and go up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs you can see the mansion layout a bit better. There are three rooms on either side, or at least three doors. There also is a door to the balcony. Directly after the staircase on the wall is a large impressionist painting. The door on the right closest to the balcony seems open.

I cautiously peek inside the room with the open door.

>>19601
As you creep closer you hear someone click their tongue and the door bursts open almost hitting you. Yasunori stops himself before walking into you. "Watch where you are going kid," he says angrily and walks past you.

"My bad!" Kizami announces cheerfully to the leaving Heisuke.

I go inside this room and look around.

>>19603
You enter the room after dodging the angry man. This room appears like a study of some sort. There is a desk in the back and a few bookshelves along the walls. It looks like some of the books have been thrown on the ground and the dust is still floating in the air.

There is a fireplace in the wall, and to the left and right some fake potted plants. The chairs in the middle of the room are turned over as well as the table. There is another stuffed rooster in this room as well.

Kizami tried to recall the methods described in "Investigation For Dummies" by none other than Kinjo Goldbar.

"Now how would he go about this...?"

I approach the desk and examine it closely, try to open its drawers if it has any. Afterwards, I examine the contents of the books on the ground. Finally, I come to the rooster and try to open its beak, sticking a finger in its mouth.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)16:33:09

>>19605
You notice the drawers have already been opened and it doesn't look like anything is inside. The books seem miscellaneous and are of random things. Hunting, politics, etc. It looks the bookshelf was searched more than the books themselves, although there is nothing to be found there either. The beak seems to be shut closed by the ever attentive taxidermist who did the work.

Kizami went back downstairs to find Heisuke.

"Mr. Heisuke. Could you tell us what it is you are looking for? Perhaps we really could help you find it?"

>>19607
As you leave the room you can't see to find him. You do notice Aoi and Kato are gone from the main hall and Takumi and Reiko are over by the back hall on the left side of the staircase on the first floor.

Kizami walks up to the two of them.

"Hey, have you guys seen Mr. Heisuke pass by here just now? Did he leave the mansion already? And any idea where Aoi and Kato are right now?"

>>19609
You see the hallway in the back is cluttered with some furniture making it difficult to pass as it is.

"I didn't see him. Aoi and Kato should be in the dining room," Takumi says indicating to the room opposite from the living room.

"While you are here Kizami can you help out?" Reiko explains while pointing to the blockage, "There are some more rooms down this hall but as you can see we have to clear the way first. It will not take long."

"Of course. I did say we should work as a team after all. Where is Taiga anyway? I'm sure he would love to help too!"

Kizami proceeds to help clear the way.

>>19611
"I asked him to help first but Takumi took his place."

"Ah, it should be fine with just us really. We don't need to bother him," Takumi hastily explains.

The three of you make quick work of the pile as it turned out smaller than it first appeared. There are two rooms now visible down the hallway.

Reiko walks over and opens the first one, "A laundry room... seems like it."

"Right. Well, Miss Reiko, I'm counting on you to dig up any dirty laundry you can find. As for me, I have to go talk to someone."

I head to the dining room hoping to find Aoi and talk to her.

>>19613
As Takumi and Reiko go to check the other room you head off to the dining room and find Aoi looking under the table.

The room is similar to the rest so far, with some more animals placed around the walls including a nice orange rooster next to where you entered and even a bobcat in the corner of the room. There is a long dining table in the middle of the room with various chairs along each side stretching to the end. Some cabniets line the walls with dishes. There is a door on the left side of the room that is open to what looks like a kitchen.

"Hello, Miss Aoi, have you found anything yet to help you on your next big scoop? Since you are a reporter, you are probably the one with the most attention to details amongst us."

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)12:54:50

>>19615
"Nothing yet," she seemingly not really listening to you as she puts down her camera and continues deeper into the depths of the under table.

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)13:04:38

"In that case, I may have a bit of interesting information for you. Nothing too major, but a start of a nice trail nonetheless. First however, I would like to know what is your relation to Mr. Heisuke. Are you two acquainted somehow?"

>>19617
"Huh?" she pops her head out, "No we just met walking up the road, although it seems you think something is up with him as well." She stands up from under the table.

"Perhaps we can have a sort of information trade if you catch my drift," she says with a twinkle in her eye.

Kizami looks around to make sure there are no creepy old men in the room eavesdropping, then lowers his voice just enough so that Aoi can still hear him.

"For someone who had only met him then, you sure seemed adamant on taking his picture. Did his imposing presence appeal to you that much? You see, if we are to trade information, I would appreciate some details about who exactly Mr. Heisuke is. The bit of info I have for you is also related to him. If you really only had just met him, I would still be interested in hearing what else you have to offer for this exchange."

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)13:27:07

>>19619
"Hold your horses buddy, your offered first. No info from me until you spill your beans. I doubt you've found anything big in such short time anyway," she says doing an exaggerated shrug.

Kizami sighs and smiles with a shrug.

BGM: The Dusty Attic

"Alright, in that case, what if I told you that Mr. Heisuke has been to this mansion before? Does that pique your interest? If you want to know why I think this and what else I think in regards to him, you'll have to tell me whatever it is that you know. I trust that as a reporter, you understand that your information needs to be worthwhile as well."

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)13:47:06

>>19621
"Hmm is that so. Alright, trying to take his photo was just to see how he would react. Why? While walking here I saw him get dropped off by an impressively expensive car. However he then walked the rest of the way before getting onto the mountain road, as if purposely not wanting to be seen."

Kizami mulls over Aoi's words in his head.

"It fits... Why else would he make a last minute decision to join our excursion so that none of us even knew he was coming? He is clearly trying to leave as little traces of his presence here as possible."

He looks at Aoi who seems to still be waiting for more.

"Oh and he is also looking for something important. Not only that, but he apparently had a good idea in mind where to look. He didn't just pick a random room in his search. He found the study right away and did quite a number on it."

Kizami turns to leave, but says one last remark.

"We should both keep an eye on that man, Miss Aoi. Let's work as a team."

I head back to join Reiko and Takumi

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)17:35:11

>>19623
As you enter the main hall you see Taiga, Takumi and Reiko gathered at the base of the stairs.

"Hey Kizami, you should come along too," Taiga calls out.

Reiko holds up a key, "Taiga said some rooms upstairs are locked. We found this in the servant room."

"Ah, very well. Let us see what those rooms hold for us."

I follow them upstairs.

>>19625
Going up the stairs and directly to the left the Reiko puts the key into the door and unlocks it. You notice the key reads 'guestroom' as the door swings open.

Inside is mostly what you would expect. There is a bed in the corner, with a small bed side table with a light on it. There is a wardrobe and next to it a tv. There is a bathroom connected to it with all the standard commodities. In the corner of the room is another rooster this one colored blue.

"More and more dust," Taiga complains as he enters with the rest.

"Opening the window might be a good idea," Takumi suggests.

Taiga takes him up on the offer, letting in a large gust of wind that unsurprisingly makes it even more dusty. Reiko has started looking under the bed.

I examine the bedside table and open its drawers if it has any.

>>19627
BGM: Foolish Outcry

The beside table is sadly empty despite having drawers.

"What is this?" Taiga is over by the wardrobe and is looking at something next to it, or rather touching the wall rather intensely. "Maybe a hidden passage?" he says looking back at everyone jokingly as he gives it a wack.

In a sudden burst the wall slams open and part of it falls down with a snap. Everyone is dumbfounded for a moment as Taiga stands there with the same expression frozen.

"Woah what the hell!?" he manages after coming out of it. On closer inspection it seems to be an ironing board that was built into the wall. The neglect over the years caused it to snap the moment it was opened and fall to the floor. You notice a piece of ripped paper stuck between one of its folders.

"Jinkies!" Exclaims Kizami and examines the piece of paper.

>>19629
You snatch it up and you notice Takumi and Reiko looking at it over your shoulder.

It reads. "Fox's Mansion" however the mansion is crossed out and under it reads "Main hall portrait"

The slip seems to be ripped from a notepad or notebook and has random dents from when someone was writing on different pages. For a moment the idea of trying to decipher them comes to mind but then you realize something.

You recognize this writing style. It's Kinjo Goldbar's.

"Of course it would be a portrait..." Kizami mumbles.

"What do you say we go to the main hall and examine this piece of art, everyone?"

>>19631
Everyone seems to agree and you walk out of the room to the potrait. The large painting in front of the stairs seems to be a straight forward picture of a couple in front of an altar.

"So a wedding then?" Takumi asks.

"Oho, did we find something?" Kato calls as he walks up to the group and Reiko fills him in on the findings.

"I see I see. How peculiar! Does anyone have any ideas?"

"I think we should examine this painting more intimately." Kizami smiles.

I examine the frame of the painting by tracing it with my fingers and applying pressure, hoping that there is some kind of a secret compartment that can be opened. If this yields no results, I take the painting off the wall and examine its back.

>>19633
You don't seem to find anything interesting. The painting is far too heavy to lift but you can tilt it and see nothing behind at least.

Reiko speaks up, "If we take the note literally it reads "Fox's Wedding", in other words a sunshower."

"Sunshower?" Taiga asks.

"It is a phenomenon where the sun is able to shine while it rains, unlike normally when it is blocked by the clouds. The fox came from superstitious stories."

"Are any of you familiar with a man named Kinjo Goldbar?" Asks Kizami.

>>19635
"Goldbar? Wasn't he that detective or something?" Taiga questions.

"Ah yes Kinjo Goldbar. I remember when his father was making a name for himself. If I recall Kinjo went missing too..."

It seems like everyone more or less knows the name.

"I studied a lot of his work." Continues Kizami.
"And I am pretty certain the note we found is in his handwriting. I think this note was his message to someone. The question is who..."

Kizami pauses then adds: "By the way, Mr. Kato, you wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of Mr. Heisuke, would you? It seems he's quite good at staying out of sight."

>>19637
"I think I saw him a moment ago," Kato says.

BGM: Strange Client

At that moment the group can hear some arguing coming from one of the room down on the first floor.

"Maybe it is karma for taking pictures without permission!" you hear Yasunori yell.

"There is no way it could just roll off and just happen to fall in the flame you lair!" Aoi shouts right back. At that time you hear one of the doors roughly open and the two of them enter the hall.

"Well that doesn't mean it was my fault now does it? To get so worked up over a single film, get over it."

"That's not the point!" Aoi retorts.

As they bring it into the hall Kato takes the stand and tries to suss things out. "Come on now, what seems to be the problem."

"This girl is accusing me of burning her stupid film," Yasunori explains. Following this more information was asked of Aoi.

"I had to swap films so I put the full one down on the kitchen counter, but I forgot to pick it back up after switching. When I was in the freezer I smelt something plastic so I ran back and, 'poof' all melted and burnt."

"Your film was destroyed, Miss Aoi? That's rather unfortunate. I don't suppose you could give a list of the things you took pictures of? I know some of it were the various paintings..."

>>19639
"It was mostly of the building, nothing I can't replace. But the fact it got burnt in the first place pisses me off,"

"Where did the flame even come from?" Takumi questions.

"There is a gas powered burner in the kitchen," says Kato.

"I've got it. Kato you probably just forgot to turn it off when you were testing it," Yasunori says with a slight smirk, "Aoi wasn't in the room at the time so she wouldn't have noticed."

"Oh well... I'm not sure. I suppose I could have," Kato says dubiously.

"There you have it," Yasunori concludes. Aoi doesn't look happy about it but doesn't seem to be able to argue back.

"I have an idea!" Exclaims Kizami suddenly. "In order to cheer up Miss Aoi, what do you say we all take a group picture in front of the portrait?"

>>19641
As you go to speak to everyone you notice Reiko doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight. Taiga also notices this, "Woah where did she go?"

"Up here," suddenly calls down from the across the mansion. On the second floor coming out of the study you explored, Reiko waves while resting on the railing.

"I tried not to interrupt your dispute, but I think now would be a good time to tell you that I've started solving the puzzle."

The group kind mumbled a bit unsure. "Puzzle? What puzzle?" Taiga calls out.

"The painting and that note. I just confirmed that for whatever reason there is a puzzle here in the mansion to solve with those clues," she says while starting to walk to another room, "Oh, but if you want to solve it yourself I suggest not leaving the hall. It will become rather obvious if you check what I was doing."

As she finishes she enters one of the rooms on the other side of the second floor out of sight.

"Are you fine with that?" Takumi asks Taiga, "She seems to be beating you."

"Oh... yeah... But puzzle? What sort of puzzle is she talking about?" he mumbles looking up at the portrait.

Yasunori seems to not care about solving it and walks up clearly heading to the study once again.

Aoi and Kato also start to ponder the situation.

"Something in this hall then?" Kizami takes a look around. "Anyone got any ideas? Perhaps it's something to do with the paintings? Or the taxidermy?"

>>19643
"Well she keeps going between rooms and doing something," Aoi says while Reiko does that again.

"Yeah it must have to do with the paintings or these animals," Taiga says while scratching his head.

"I think she meant only this painting right? So perhaps that was just a part of the puzzle," Takumi suggests.

"She said sunshower... If that is the train of thought she used then what does that give us? Cloud... Rain... Sun..." Kato mumbles.

"Maybe a rainbow? Those happen during sunshowers sometimes, right? Could she be checking the animals in order of their colors related to the order of colors in the rainbow?" Kizami makes a shot in the dark.

>>19645
"Bingo," Reiko says as she comes out of another room. "There is a button under all the rooster's feet that can be clicked in. But if you click it out of order they all reset. ROYGBIV."

Yasunori seems a bit perturbed but confirms he found a button under the rooster in the study as he went to go check.

"Nice thinking Kizami," Kato says enthusiastically while patting you on the back.

"So what exactly did it do then?" Aoi asks.

"There is one more left, the one in the living room." Reiko explains. "Shall we go and find out?"

"Let's." Says Kizami and follows Reiko to the living room.

>>19647
Everyone heads to the living room and locates the violet hued rooster in front of the portrait. Without much pause Reiko presses the button and everyone waits for a response. With a few people gazing around the room it didn't take long for a change to be noticed. The portrait behind the rooster was of a couple and two red glows appeared on the chest of the women. It seems two buttons were built in to shine through the portrait in that spot.

"Well that's just..." Kato tries to say but is kinda dumbfounded.

"Isn't that Okazaki himself?" Takumi asks. Sure enough the main the the portrait is Okazaki, nobody can say who the women is however.

Seemingly unphased by this Reiko pushes the two buttons with a solid click. After a few moments of silence a sudden shattering noise shakes the room. It wasn't just the noise, but the room itself seems to be shaking. Slowly to the left of the portrait a seam appears and that whole section of the floor starts to pull away. With ear numbing movements the floor tries to pull away, stuttering each few inches from neglect. Finally it seems to stop halfway open. A staircase leads into a dark hallway going down into the ground under the house. With a pop and a flash the hall is lit up and lights on the ceiling of the hallway turn on. The ones in the mansion remain the same however.

"A generator perhaps?" Reiko theorizes as she examines the new entrance.

Aoi already has her camera in motion taking pictures, "An actual hidden passage! Now this is something."

"What a nice find! It probably has many uses." Remarks Kizami. "After you, Miss Reiko, you get to do the honors."

>>19649
Without complaints Reiko heads in while ducking her head. Kato, Yasunori and yourself head in right afterwards.

At this point however Taiga seems to be next, yet doesn't move. "Hey wait, maybe we should-" However Aoi bumps into him and he rolls down into the passage. Aoi and Takumi follow immediately afterwards.

"Oops, sorry about that," Aoi says trying to see if he is alright while he holds his head in pain.

"Gah, I'm fine."

Suddenly the sound of whatever was opening the door grinds to a halt. The entrance slams shut. A quick glance at the surroundings tells you that there is now no way but deeper into the depths.

"Do you suppose we'll find Mr. Okazaki's skeleton down here? Perhaps this is how he went missing." Suggests Kizami.

>>19651
BGM: Feel Uneasy

After the doors closed some of the others check to see if it was as everyone expected. Indeed the entrance wouldn't budge.

"Ugh stop," Aoi says grossed out by your comment, "If there is a body down here you guys can handle it."

"Perhaps Goldbar is down here too," Takumi points out.

"Well first thing first is to find a way out," says Kato. "This can't be the only way in."

With that said the group presses forward into the underground area. The place certain feels long deserted, with stagnant air and cool temperature. The long white hall continued straight for a minute before an intersection appears in the distance. From the intersection directly forward there is a door on the right wall and another intersection further beyond. To the left and right it seems the hallways turn in other directions.

"This place is like a maze," Takumi mumbles. The group more or less automatically checks the door first but to no luck.

"Interesting," Reiko comments. "There is a fingerprint scanner here." Sure enough the door seemed to have been specifically made to fit a fingerprint scanner for the lock. Further down the second intersection appears to be a more lavishly decorated red hallway.

"You can get through simple structured mazes by sticking to one wall and following it through until the other side. That of course assumes there is an exit and that it's a simple enough maze. We should stick together. And if the intersections become too numerous, we should try that wall tracing method." Advises Kizami. "For now, perhaps we should check out that red hallway."

Last edited at 16/06/17(Fri)17:40:50

>>19653
The group moves up to the second intersection and can get a better look at the red hallway. It seems similar to the halls upstairs and continues to a large room in the distance without any doors. There is a small ceiling light in the hallway that is off and unlike the rest of the lights.

To the left and right are two more halls similar to the ones in the last and at the end connect to different halls perpendicular to it. Judging from the length you wouldn't be surprised if the other halls just turned and connected to each of these. Halfway down the left hall is a set of double doors that are open unlike the last. A small sign above those doors indicates that inside are bathrooms and a waiting area.

"Ah a washroom. If we can, let's go here first," Kato asks of the group being in need of the facilities.
Inside of the waiting room is rather similar to the mansion, nicely furnished with comfy chairs and tables all around. The room walls are covered in red curtains all around. In the back of the room there appears to be several doors that lead to bathrooms, where Kato excuses himself. In the corner there is a bar seemingly still fully stocked.

Reiko is currently looking at one of the rooms herself but hasn't completely entered. Aoi is taking pictures of the hallways. Taiga and Takumi are looking around the tables. Yasunori is looking at the line of liquors.

I use this time to try to recall the details of my contact emails with Kato. I am interested in my memory conjuring up the gist of the conversation exchange I had with him and what kind of info I provided him with.

>>19655
You recall that you pretty much just sent an email to him saying you were interesting in joining. He responded with enthusiasm and gave you the time and place of the meeting.

As you are thinking back you hear some of the others saying something. "What is that Aoi?" says Takumi. Over by one of the tables Aoi seems to have picked something off the ground. It looks like some clear plastic bottle with a small label.

"I dunno. Some sort of drink or something, here," she lobs it over to Taiga and he raises his arms up but stops halfway and it flies straight past his hands and hits him straight in the face.

"Oh god I'm sorry," Aoi quickly apologies.

"It's fine don't worry," Taiga says rubbing his nose. Takumi picks up the bottle and after checking on Taiga, looks closer at it. "Hmm, looks just like water but it could be some chemical."

Kizami licks the bottle eyes Taiga curiously. "What does the label on it say?" He asks.

>>19657
Taiga seems still off put from the hit to his face, as he continues to rub his nose.

Takumi says,"It just says '#17' on it." He puts it out in front of himself and away from everyone else and unscrews the lid carefully. Nothing surprising happens, so he continues and uses his hand to try and scoop the air from the bottle to near his nose in order to smell.

"I think... I think its just some sort of nutrient drink. It smells kinda like the kind you can buy at the store, but much more dusty."

"Why label a nutrient drink this way though? Perhaps they were conducting some sort of culinary experiments and this was attempt #17!"

>>19659
"Good question," Takumi agrees, "I don't think we should try drinking it at least. Even if it was good then might have spoiled by now." Takumi brings the bottle with him for now.

Kato exits the bathroom and joins the rest of the group again. The bottle is discussed but the other don't bring any new information in regards to it. "Shall we continue down that red hallway?" Kato suggests.

"Yeah, let's proceed."

>>19661
The room at the end of the red hallway matches the way to it accordingly with bright red colors. It looks like a large theater. It is a large circular room with various seats and glass panes around. There are two other halls leading into this room, a blue one on the right and a green one on the left. In the middle of the room is a stage that stretches out from the back of the room and into the middle as a long walkway. Above the stage is a level with some additional seats. In the middle of the ceiling is a large an ornate chandelier. On the main part of the stage curtains are only partially drawn and you can see an area in the back.

"Well now isn't this something," Kato comments looking up and around the whole room.

In most parts of the room and theater boxes you notice are covered in heavily tinted glass. You aren't sure you would even be able to tell if anyone was sitting inside one of the seats given how dark it is. Reiko seems more interested in the halls leading out and walks over to check them while the main group continues to look around.

Kizami walks up to Kato. "Mr. Kato do you remember how in my email to you I said that if the investigation took a surprising turn of events I was going to make a request? I'm wondering if you would hear me make this request now."

>>19663
"Er, when was this? Did you send one right before you came here? I'm afraid I haven't read it if that was the case, so I don't quite know what are you talking about."

"I see. Then feel free to disregard what I just said. My apologies." Kizami decides to go join Reiko on her investigation of the halls.

"I guess the stage doesn't look particularly impressive to you, does it, Miss Reiko?" He tries to start a conversation.

>>19665
You find Reiko coming back from the second hall she checked.

"I wanted to see if the layout was as it appeared. I have a good idea of the area now."

She explains to you, and the group, what it looks like.

"It seems like this isn't a big area. In this case, it's probably safe to split up. Let's check the areas and rooms we haven't been to yet and then meet up back by the stage to discuss our findings." Suggests Kizami. "Who wants to go where?"

Last edited at 16/06/18(Sat)15:16:54

>>19667
Seems nobody is disagreeing.

"This theater area interests me," says Reiko.

"I think there were a few corners we couldn't see, I'll take the right one!" Aoi quickly says.

Yasunori pushes up his glasses and takes his pick. "The other corner works for me, but first I need to go to the bathroom as well."

"Then... the closest room in the green hall will be mine," Kato says with a smile.

"I will try that door past where Kato is close to the waiting room," Takumi concludes.

"The door down the blue hall I guess," says Taiga.

"Do you mind if I keep you company, Mr. Heisuke? I need to go to the bathroom too and then we can check out that corner together."

>>19669
"...Suit yourself," he says after giving what seemed like an annoyed look.

Everyone heads off, and Yasunori heads to the waiting room. Once inside the waiting room he heads over to one of the five bathroom doors.

Kizami picks one of the other bathroom doors. When both of them are done and begin heading to the corner, Kizami asks a question. "So Mr. Heisuke, have you been to this mansion before?"

>>19671
You go to the bathroom and do your business. Leaving the door you step out into the empty waiting room. Seems like Yasunori isn't done yet.

What a perfect time for questioning! Kizami patiently waits for him to finish.

>>19673
You wait some more, but he doesn't come out. You notice that you don't hear anything coming from the bathroom he was in.

I cautiously check inside the bathroom Heisuke went in just to make sure there isn't a corpse, then proceed to go to the corner we were meant to investigate.

Last edited at 16/06/18(Sat)15:51:58

>>19675
You open the door and find it in pristine condition. He certainly isn't there.

You head over to the appointed corner and find it to be quite straightforward. There is a small indented area with a few decorative plastic plants in the corners and a larger door in the middle.

Like the other closed door you find this one to have a fingerprint scanner as well, however this one doesn't seem to be functioning currently.

I run to the first fingerprint door we discovered.

>>19677
You run over and find the door as it was before. It is still functioning. Looks like it was just the other lock.

I go to explore the remaining corner and if nothing that needs detailed investigating is found, head back to the stage.

Last edited at 16/06/18(Sat)16:05:19

>>19679
You head over to the corner and find another door, this one is open however. Looking inside of the room shows that it is some sort of incinerator room. it is rather dark and only some of the glow from the machines seem to be giving off some light. You can see other areas within the room that are too dark to tell exactly what they contain. It is also significantly hotter in the room.

"Hey Kizami," Aoi calls out. She notices you from across the room, as she is balancing on some box trying to open a hatch on one of the pipes. "Could you give me a hand?"

"Is that safe?" Asks Kizami before reluctantly providing Aoi with assistance.

>>19693
It appears like the one she is at isn't ablaze at the moment. "There are some fragments of something I'm trying to get at, but I couldn't get the bottom hatch open." Beside her is a water dipper that she seems to plan to use to scoop the ashes out.

Still not being sure what exactly Aoi wants me to do, I nevertheless extend to her the hand of friendship.

>>19695
You walk over and help Aoi open the top grate. Easily being taller than her you reach up above your head and open it with moderate force.

After scooping out some of the ashes she pours them on the ground in front and sifts through them. "Hmm, doesn't seem to be anything valuable," Aoi says. From the look of it there are only a few snippets of words on random papers, none of which seem to make out anything useful.

Now further into the room you can see a bit more but still not quite the entirety. There is a stack of boxes opposite of the incinerator that seem to be partially opened. Next to the boxes is a shelf with a few tool boxes on it, and a few meters away from that is a small trap door with a rather rusted handle. There seems to be another area further back that you can't see from here as well.

"Did you check the area farther back yet, Miss Aoi? If not, would you mind taking a look while I manhandle this trap door?"

>>19697
"Yeah, there was just more incinerators from the looks of it," she explains seemingly missing your joke.

"Alright then." Kizami proceeds to manhandle try to open the trapdoor, seeing if it gives any resistance or not.

>>19699
You yank at the door and it suddenly comes off. In a panic you drop it, but it was also your footing and you fall through the hole hitting your head on the edge as you go down.

As you black out you hear Aoi calling out for you.

---

--

-

>>19700
---

--

-

Slowly your foggy mind comes to. It takes a while for you to realize since it is all lit up, but you can see the opening for the trap door and you remember what happened. Lurching up you see Aoi looking over you. "Ah you are awake!" she says looking relieved.

The room is mostly empty, perhaps just used for storage. There is a small light bulk on the ceiling with a metal chain to turn it on and off. There is a ladder back up to the opening, but the bottom half is broken off.

"How long was I unconscious...?" Groans Kizami feeling the bump on his head.

>>19702
"I think around twenty minutes or so... I was going to go get someone to help but, after finding you and turning the light on..." she says while looking over at the ladder. It looks like you could probably reach it yourself.

"I think I can reach the ladder by myself, Miss Aoi, so if you need to use me as a stepping stone, it's no trouble at all, just..." Kizami touches his bump lightly. "Please be careful with my head."

Last edited at 16/06/23(Thu)17:16:37

>>19704
"R-right!" she says.

You get down and she quickly hops up and scampers up the ladder before you can get back up. You follow suit behind her back into the incinerator room.

"I bet everyone else is wondering where we are by now," Aoi says.

"Yeah, let's go back to the stage. And don't worry. The only person who I think might assume something indecent could have happened is Taiga."

Last edited at 16/06/23(Thu)17:25:16

>>19706
She grumbles a bit put off by that comment, but doesn't say anything else and you head to check the scanner and then back to the stage.

As you leave the room and head right back to the first fingerprint scanner, right as you make it to the first intersection you hear a faint yet powerful crash of thousands of pieces of glass you can only assume is the coming from the theater.

"Let's hurry, Miss Aoi!" Kizami says urgently and begins to run towards the stage, casting a glance at the fingerprint scanner as he is passing it by.

Last edited at 16/06/23(Thu)17:36:02

>>19708
BGM: Sense

You and Aoi run down the hall. While its hard to tell when you pass the door running, you think you notice the door is opened slightly. Putting that aside for now you hurry in the direction of the theater. Ahead of you as you come to the second intersection you see Reiko run down the hall as well, and as you pass through said intersection you notice Takumi coming out from the waiting room.

Finally reaching the theater and somewhat catching up to Reiko. As the three of you enter the room you quickly take note of Taiga entering at the same time from the blue hall and Kato entering from the green hall on the left. But that is besides the point, for you instantly find the source of the sound.
In the middle of the stage the chandelier has fallen and shards of glass have flown all over the room. The metal bars of the glorified light stand are twisted and dented. Most strikingly however is mixed in with the mess is clearly something else... You can see Yasunori pinned underneath, looking very much deceased.

"Good lord!" Kato cries out.

BGM: Class Trial (Odd)

"Ihihihyahyahya!" Kizami's face contorts with a twisted smile. "Ah... I'm sorry. I lost it there for a moment. Do you think this was an accident or something else? Ehehe... Somebody, check the status of the rope that was holding the chandelier... It was suspended on a rope right? Are there any signs of it having been cut?"

Last edited at 16/06/23(Thu)19:52:02

>>19710
It seems only Reiko is able to react given the shock of the body and the sudden character change.

She goes over to the scene and lifts up the chain to examine it. It looks like its a chain with the wires for the lights intertwining within the chains. "I doesn't look like it was cut. The wires are frayed and the chain was bent..." she says while looking around the scene herself.

"Ah, that's just not good enough... let me see it." Kizami walks up to the chandelier as close as possible without stepping on the corpse and examines the broken chain.

>>19712
One of the rings to the chain is bent open enough to the point it falls off. You could see this happening over time from the weight of the chandelier, but one of the ends of the ring has a few dents and markings on it, as if it was grasped by some pliers or something.

Reiko checks the body, "Yeah, it wasn't cut." She then informs the others after checking the body that he is certainly is dead.

"W-what!?" Takumi cries out as he enters the room behind Aoi.

"Good news, everyone! The chain has signs of it having been tampered with, which means this could very well be a murder. How is that good news you ask? Because if this is a murder, then that means there is a way out of this place."

Last edited at 16/06/23(Thu)20:19:12

>>19714
"Wait really, but where?" Kato asks you.

Everyone seems to be focused on you. Reiko is listening as well but is also looking up at the roof at something.

“The killer must know where it is, otherwise what point could committing a murder possibly have? If there is no exit, chances are we'd all starve to death down here anyway, right? Wouldn't it be in everyone's best interest then to band together and search for a way out? The more manpower we have, the better are our chances of success. Of course, for a murderer this fact is irrelevant because they already know it's possible to get out. Therefore, the act of murder itself is their way of ensuring that the victim doesn't.”

“If you think about it, there are only two possibilities.” Kizami continues. “Possibility A: There is somebody present down here besides us and they are the killer. Of course being able to stay down here for so long means they probably have ways of procuring supplies from the outside.”

Kizami pauses, then resumes: “Possibility B is a lot more interesting however. There is nobody down here but us and the killer is one of us. If we combine this notion with the premise that the killer knows a way out, that means one of us is aware of the exit. This in turn also means one of two things: first is that one of us has already discovered the exit during the short while we remained stuck down here. And second... is that one of us was aware of the exit from this place even before coming to this mansion. And how would that be possible you ask? Well, the most likely explanation is that at least one of us has been to this mansion in the past or is somehow connected to it.”

“For example, one likely candidate is Mr. Heisuke. We sure don't know a lot about him, but he seemed to possess some knowledge regarding the mansion. He knew where the mansion's study was located from the start and went to search it directly. Of course, Mr Heisuke is now dead. It's a shame he refused to cooperate with the rest of us; this outcome could have been avoided. Oh well, I suppose that's karma, ihihi..."

Last edited at 16/06/25(Sat)16:20:41

>>19716
Everyone seems to react when you suggest one of the people here could be the killer, but surprisingly nobody seems to argue it in face of the logic.

"I see, yeah that is certainly a possibility," Takumi admits.

Kato agrees, but is unsure in other aspects, "But if it was a crime of passion then there is a chance they might not have known about an exit..."

"Exactly what sort of motive could that be?" Taiga asks sarcastically.

"It was just a suggestion," Kato explains.

"Speaking of that," Reiko speaks up, "It is probably best if you know Yasunori's background. Yasunori is, or was part of the local chamber of commerce. I recognized him when we gathered, but kept silent because there was no point revealing at the time. Given that he knew his way around he must have had some sort of ties with Okazaki or someone close to him."

"Chamber of commerce, you say? Perhaps Mr Okazaki was involved in some kind of business deal then. I wonder what purpose this place used to serve. We might find some answers if we poke around more." Kizami muses.

"Well, first things first. I propose that we all stick together from now on to assure everyone's safety. I believe we have two goals. One is to find the exit and another is to see what we can find out about this incident. The two are likely not mutually exclusive anyway, so by looking for the exit we might uncover some details about the murder and vice versa. We should all discuss what we have discovered during our search a few minutes ago to get a better idea of the area and see if we can spot any hints about the exit. Also, Miss Reiko, what were you looking at up there just now? Are you also wondering how the killer managed to access the chain?"

I let them know what I found while examining the bottom right and left corners of this place.

Last edited at 16/06/26(Sun)09:19:23

>>19718
Everyone seems fine with sticking together after the following events. After some consideration everyone one by one explains their findings.

"It looks too far to simply reach from the balcony up above," Reiko explains. She also says that there isn't any way to enter the tinted rooms in the theater but you can get up on the balcony from behind the curtain.

"There was a separate dormitory-like area down the blue hall. There are multiple long rooms filled with beds, there was also a kitchen, storage room, and changing room with bathrooms," Taiga reports. Aoi reports after him and its what you already know.

"The area I investigated was a series of hallways that ends up in an area for underground parking. I was certain an exit would be there once I found that, but it was empty except for where I entered. Reiko met with me after that and pointed out some of the hallways connected to the theater and to the tinted rooms," says Kato

"Right, you can access them there, and we think the hallways also connect to where Takumi looked, however we were not able to get in," Reiko explains indicating for Takumi to tell his part.

"My area was a series of halls with bedrooms on either side. Some of them seemed pretty standard but I noticed some rooms were connected to one-way mirrors to look inside the rooms. Some of the bedrooms had stairs going down and no visible entrance so it probably connects to where Kato was."

>>19719
After you tell your bit and how Yasunori ditched you.

"So for whatever reason he ended up here and got killed by the chandelier," Aoi says.

"Well if it was tampered with someone must have been in here to drop it on him..." Takumi adds.

"That is right, there is an indication of that," Reiko points over to the curtains. Since you were busy explaining the situation rather than investigating you now notice that the large tassel on the right side has been pulled down and the curtain has been pulled mostly to that side as well. "After dropping the chandelier they could have jumped and grasped the rope to get down quickly."

"But everyone rushed to the scene right?" Aoi says, "We would have seen them in that case."

"Maybe... they could have pretended to be running in... so since the curtain is on the right side they would have been right next to the blue ha..." Kato stops. At this time everyone looks over at Taiga who clearly has grasped the situation.

"Oi, hold on a minute now," he manages to stammer out.

"Now now, it's too early to jump to conclusions." Kizami steps in on Taiga's behalf. "During the sound of the crash we were all likely too far away from the theater room investigating. And the halls appear to be much longer than this room is in diameter. So it's probably a safe bet that if the culprit used that tassel to get down, they still had enough time to run towards any of the halls to pretend like they were entering along with everyone else."

Kizami switches the topic. "By the way, I'm not 100% certain, but when running on my way here I think I noticed the first fingerprint lock door we discovered to be slightly open. I think now would be a good time to go investigate whatever lies behind it. But before we do that..." Kizami approaches the corpse again.

I examine Yasunori's body for anything unusual. In particular, I am interested in the contents of his outer and inner pockets. I will also try to see if his neck has any signs of syringe use, or anything similar to that suspicious effect.

Last edited at 16/06/26(Sun)15:04:37

>>19721
"Sorry, you are right. We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Kato admits somewhat unconvinced.

"You beat me to it... but thanks," Taiga says.

"Y-yeah let's try not to suspect each other randomly. It's probably that Kinjo guy and he has been living here or something," Aoi says trying to make a joke but it comes off as more scared at the thought then anything.

You check the body in more depth. The main wound seems to be where the bottom spike of the chandelier stabbed into him; in his stomach. There are various other small cuts on any other exposed areas of skin, making it difficult to tell if there are any needle marks, but you don't see any other noteworthy wounds. In his pockets you find surprisingly nothing, save for a small piece of paper with something written on it. It reads "Love loves to love love".

"To that door then?" Reiko asks the group. Nobody seems against it.

"Yes, let us proceed." Consents Kizami.

>>19723
The group heads over to the door in question and indeed, it seems to be slightly open. With push you gain access.

Inside you see what could be called a control room, or something like it. There is a control panel with various buttons and screens. There are some boxes next to a door in the back. Ultimately it is one large room.

On the screens you can see cameras monitoring various rooms, although most of them seem to be offline. In the corner there seems to be a map of the whole area, and next to it a list of switches.

"This room is in dire need of investigation." Kizami points out.

I verify whether the stage room is present on one of the monitors. I look at the map of the area to see whether it has any new information on top of what I already know. Finally, I check whether the switches have any labels identifying them or anything else that might indicate what they are used for.

Checking the monitors reveals that most of the rooms are either offline or don't have cameras and you can't locate the theater. The map seems to be three smaller versions of the layout, each color coded and have lines through certain parts.
The switches seem to have labels to certain rooms but you can't see them from here.

"It couldn't be as easy as checking camera footage..." Taiga complains at the clear lack of one for the theater.

Reiko is poking around the control panel, "It doesn't seem to be recording anyway. If it was when we arrived here then there is no footage now, but who knows if it would automatically start when the power came on."

"Interesting..." Says Kizami observing the map. "It almost seems like this place has three different color coded states and depending on each state different passages get blocked off. I wonder if we failed to notice the presence of extra doors... However, if this theory is correct it seems all three states have the blue hall blocked. Since that didn't seem to be the case during our exploration, I'm guessing none of the color states are active right now... Or perhaps my theory is simply wrong. What do you guys think?"

I walk over to the switches to examine their labels.

Last edited at 16/06/27(Mon)17:31:33

>>19727
Nobody disagrees. Looking at the map closer you notice it suggests that it goes in a clockwise fashion, cycling through red, blue, then green. Currently there is a small light with the text "inactive" lit up.

"That reminds me," Takumi speaks up, "I saw Yasunori heading to the theater a few minutes before that sound."

"Would that have been right before I showed up?" Reiko asks.

"A little afterwards yes, but that isn't what I recalled. When I saw him walking down the hall I noticed the light on the ceiling of that hall was slowly flashing red." You recall that light, when you left the theater just now it was off.

Kato adds his own side, "Flashing you say? I think I may have seen a light just like that in the parking area... but it was green."

"So the light indicates which setting then?" Taiga states.

"Well, that is what I'm thinking," says Takumi.

"If this does indicate walls, then if red at the time neither of us could see them, so it works." Reiko adds.

You check the switches and see that the board seems to be broken in someway, and you can't seem to change them. The switches themselves indicate different powered sources, what catches your eye are certain doors. The door to the control room reads "Scanner Activated, Door Open, Door Unlocked." The door to the lab reads, "Scanner Deactivated, Door Closed, Door Unlocked."

BGM: Class Trial (Oh god the sun in me eyes edition)

"So Mr Heisuke was seen a few minutes prior to the crash... Could you clarify which hall you saw him take, Takumi? Was it the waiting room hall?"

"Yeah the red one, I was right outside the waiting hall at the time. I went and looked around the corner to that second intersection, which is when I saw the light."

"Right. Mr. Kato, do you recall what time prior to the crash you saw the green light in the parking lot approximately?"

>>19731
"Hmm I can't say for sure. It was fairly close I believe. Reiko had left a while ago and I was about to head back myself so within 5 minutes."

"Takumi, would you say you saw Mr Heisuke heading to the stage less than five minutes before the crash or more?"

>>19733
"Probably a bit more, maybe 10 or so."

"I'd think ten minutes would constitute a bit more than 'a few', but it's ok. Nobody's perfect." Smiles Kizami.

"If we assume that the color states are cycled through automatically and clockwise by the system once initiated and if each one lasts an equal amount of time, then they don't last for very long, This could prove vital to identifying the murderer. It would be ideal if we somehow managed to manually trigger the cycle ourselves. Would you like to press some buttons on that console, Miss Reiko?"

Kizami looks at the map again. "By the way, is it just me or is this map suggesting that the way we came through to get here is open during the blue and green states? Or is that a different door? I wonder if perhaps we have found our way out of here."

Last edited at 16/06/27(Mon)19:02:51

>>19735
"You need a password to activate the cycle. Currently it is locked," Reiko explains.

The map suggests its actually far away from where you entered and likely not the entrance.

"How big can the password be? Would 'love loves to love love' fit?"

>>19737
"No it is 8 characters... Why Ulysses?" Reiko asks you, clearly actually asking what you have been hiding.

"I found a piece of paper while examining the... Mr. Heisuke back there. It just had that phrase written on it. Do you know what the phrase is about? I've never heard of it."

>>19739
"'when in love people love merely the fact of being in love' would be one interpretation. However I don't know why Yasunori would have something like that."

"Maybe he felt good about being in love with himself." Suggests Kizami.

"So eight characters, huh? Mind trying 'thetiger' and 'yasunori' for me please?"

Last edited at 16/06/27(Mon)20:03:41

>>19741
Neither work.

"Hey, if I'm reading this right, I think this door is open," Aoi speaks up, indicating to the switches and the door to the lab.

"A lab? That seems strangly out of place," Takumi mumbles.

"I don't know... the more we learn about this place, the more it feels like they were conducting some sort of experiments down here. So a lab doesn't seem all that out of place to me." Remarks Kizami. "Anyway, I think we have investigated this room enough for now. The lab seems like the only place we haven't been to yet, shall we check it out?"

Last edited at 16/06/27(Mon)19:49:46

>>19743
BGM: Truth

The group decides that is the course of action and you leave the control room.

Making it to the door you notice the scanner's light has gone red, seemingly to indicate it is off. Like any other door it now opens and everyone enters the lab.

Inside is similar to the main halls with its stark white appearance. At the end of the rectangle room is a long window that stretches across the wall and looks into a room full of drawn curtains like an infirmary. On both the left and right are doors, one on the left and two on the right next to one another. You notice the room itself is surprisingly barren. There are some wires and debris scattered around the floor. Coming out from some parts of the walls are bits and pieces where it looks like large machines could have been hooked up along the walls but are currently empty.

One by one everyone starts looking at their own things. Aoi is looking around the main room, Kato is looking through the window, Taiga is going to the door on the left, Takumi and Reiko are both looking at the doors to the right.

Kizami sits down, opens his backpack (which he was presumably carrying around all this time) and munches on a rice ball.

"Tell me if you guys find something, ok?"

>>19754
Taiga enters the door on the left, shortly followed by Aoi. Reiko and Takumi head into one of the doors on the right, and Kato leaves through the one beside it.

You shove the riceball in your mouth right as your stomach growls. Looks like you timed that rather nicely.

I decide to follow Reiko.

>>19756
You and Takumi head into the room behind Reiko to an old surgical room. There is a door on the left of this that seems to lead into the room with the curtains.

In the middle of the room there is a surgical table surrounded by some suspended lights. This room too seems rather bare, and walls have very little around them besides some desks and tables. You see the cupboards have been left opened and are empty too. Reiko heads to the other room while Takumi is checking out the cupboards.

I continue stalking Reiko.

>>19758
The two of you enter the room and see the curtains mostly concealed beds as you expected. There are a number of beds lined in the room, in the end closest to you is a desk with a collection of broken and some intact glass items. Some of the intact items you can make out include a few dusty syringes and beakers.

"I feel like I'm in a visual novel written by Mr. Uchikoshi. All that's left is a puzzle to solve with our lives depending on the outcome." Kizami chuckles. "What do you think they were doing here?"

I examine the objects on the desk more closely, to see if I spot any unusual apparel.

>>19760
As you go to ask you notice Reiko has already left the room and gone back through the door you came.

The objects all seem to be unused for a long time and like the rest of the place most of the shelves seem bare as if everything was removed at some point.

I walk out of the room and inquire if Takumi found anything interesting, if he is there.

Last edited at 16/07/01(Fri)17:49:02

>>19762
You find him trying to look behind one of the desks.
"Actually..." Takumi starts pointing behind one of the desks, "Could you help me move this desk? There are some papers stuck behind it."

"Sure." Kizami, as gently as possible, helps Takumi move the furniture.

>>19764
Since you try to move it gently as possible your grip slips and you drop it on your foot as you move it. It hurts and stings, but luckily nothing is seriously damaged.

Behind the desk are indeed some professional looking documents that are covered in some gross residue that was on the floor behind the desk. Whatever it was coats most of the paper making it hard to read. Only the logo for "Copper Coin Businesses." can be seen among a list of others that aren't quite as clear.

"I wonder if this is anything meaningful..." Takumi says looking at it quizzically.

Last edited at 16/07/01(Fri)18:05:46

"I THINK!... WE NEED!... All the information we can get right now..." Kizami says through clenched teeth.

"Maybe there is some way to clean up these messy papers... Let's consult the others about whether they can think of any way to read them."

I take a closer look at the papers, trying to distinguish anything I can.

Last edited at 16/07/01(Fri)18:13:12

>>19766
Taking a closer look you think you may see Okazaki's name on one of them, but you aren't sure.

From the main room you hear Kato call, "Hey Takumi, Kizami? Can we get your help for a moment?"

"Sure as long as moving heavy stuff isn't involved. I'm a bit incapacitated at the moment." Says Kizami.

>>19768
You head back into the room and see that everyone has gathered into the door on the left. Inside is a small hallway with cubicles that look thoroughly searched since you've entered the lab. There you see the rest of the group, with Taiga hitting the back door with his body.

Kato explains, "This seems to be the last room to check, but we can't see to get in. If we all do it at the same time maybe..." Just then however there is a large bang and the door breaks off its hinges leaving it half attached to the frame in a diagonal angle.
Taiga who falls over upon archiving this calls out in a deadpan, "I got it..."

"Ah, well I suppose we don't need everyone's help after all. Ahaha," Kato states.

You look into the room with the rest and see it is some sort of office. Unlike the rest of the place it is somewhat still in order. While it does look completely messy there are still items scattered around. There is a desk to the left with a cup filled with pencils. There is a lamp on the desk as well. In the corner there is a steel trashcan filled with crumpled paper. Opposite of the desk is a bookshelves partly full and a few have fallen to the ground. Behind the door is a painting of a large swamp colored with various purple flowers. On the ceiling is a nicer light unlike the office like ones for the rest of the lab. The floor is carpeted too.

"It's time for some urban foraging." Declares Kizami before going through the papers in the trash.

>>19770
You grab some of the crumbled up paper and take a closer look. A few of them are simply loose leaf paper with scribbles on it. One however turns out to be an invoice confirming that Okazaki was involved with that business company. The paper lists some products, seemingly a large number of clothes ranging from dresses to socks.

"Well now, do you think they were perhaps raising synthetic humans down here?" Kizami shoots off a wild theory. "Takumi, do you still have that bottle on you that we found earlier?"

Last edited at 16/07/02(Sat)16:17:11

>>19772
"Synthetic humans, now that is a bit far fetched," Kato comments

"I dunno, look at all this other stuff down here. It's almost scifi like."

"Ah no, I left it in the waiting room while exploring," Takumi responds.

Taiga reads the title of the books as he picks them up and puts them away one by one, "The Broken Commandment, Wildlife of Hokkaido, James Joyce Bibliography, Scandal at High Chimneys..."

"I mean, if that bottle Takumi forgot didn't contain the materials needed to grow a human, then perhaps it was a special mix that they fed to the subjects in order to study the effects of something." Concludes Kizami. "Is there anything we have overlooked? Is there a place we have not explored yet?"

>>19774
"...a key hole," Reiko suddenly says from under the desk, "There is a hidden compartment built into the desk."

"Wait, really?" says Taiga with surprise.

"A key hole? I don't suppose anyone found a key did they?" Kato asks. The rest of them shake their heads.

I bring the strange substance covered papers from earlier to their attention.

"Does anyone have any ideas on how we could clean these up or perhaps use some secret mystery detective technique to read the text anyway?"

>>19776
Everyone takes a look at it, but to no avail.

"Taiga can you hand me that book you just put back," Reiko asks.

He holds out 'Scandal at High Chimneys', "This one?"

"No the bibliography."

With the book in hand she flips through a few pages, and then turns it upside down and shakes the novel. With a solid thunk a small key falls out of the book and she picks it up. "Love loves to love love, huh?" Reiko says examining the key.

"And once again, Miss Reiko, you've earned your right to do the honors." Smiles Kizami.

>>19778
The fits in and the compartment is unlocked revealing a drawer with five labeled tapes that look like they are for a camcorder.

#12 Aki, #7 Saori, #20 Shiori, #8 Ami, #14 Noriko.

"I don't suppose you have something that could read these, Aoi?" Takumi asks.

"No... just normal flim," is her response.

"I do, but sadly it is at home," Kato says.

"What do you think is on those?" Taiga asks the group.

Reiko responds curtly, "Footage that Yasunori wanted at least."

Last edited at 16/07/02(Sat)17:25:18

"Is it just me, or do all the names belong to girls? This would explain that invoice for the dresses... This could mean the subjects in this facility were all female. Just what kind of vile experiments were they conducting down here?" Gasps Kizami.

>>19780
"Oh god stop making it even more creepy," Aoi cries out.

"You're right... Should we take them with us?" Taiga says.

"Perhaps we should focus on finding an exit," Kato says unsure, "Maybe we missed something back in the control room."

"Of course, finding the exit is the main goal," Reiko starts, "I don't see any harm in taking these with us. Do you mind lending us your backpack Kizami?"

"If by that you mean lending me the tapes so I can place them in there, then no, I don't mind."

>>19782
The tapes are stored you the group is ready to go.

Everyone leaves the lab and while walking through the hall you suddenly see a flash of white as a door out of no where closes in front of you. As this happens you see it hit Reiko's shoulder and push her down onto the ground right as the lights flicker and then turn off. Her cry can be heard moments before the door, and some confusion from the others. The door was almost completely silent, now only faintly the voices of the others coming from the other side.

In the dark you can't hear anyone else on your side. Looks like you are separated from the others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlCho8m4Zyc

Kizami recalls he packed a flashlight before leaving his apartment for just such an emergency.

I take out the flashlight and search around the immediate area to make sure I really am the only one on this side. Afterwards, I approach the door and yell.

"Hey, can you guys hear me?!"

>>19793
Your flashlight pops on, providing a decent amount of light in front of you. The door is clean, or at least no pieces of Reiko are found on your side. You certainly are the only one on this side of the door. Yelling through the door seems to fail, for you can't seem to hear anything from beyond it.

"Aaah, Miss Reiko, please don't be dead... that wouldn't be fun at all, kukukukuku!" Mumbles Kizami before sprinting off as fast as he can towards the east door of the theater room, or at least its supposed location on the map.

If I have a watch, I check the time. If I don't, I start counting seconds in my head and run north past the dormitory then take a left until the theater door stops my progress. If it is there as I anticipate it to be, I wait for about five minutes and see if the door remains closed.

Last edited at 16/07/07(Thu)19:39:36

>>19795
You make it past the dormitory door in about 30 seconds and find a wall blocking the theater as expected.

After waiting for five minutes the door remains where it is.

From the east theater door, I now run to the dormitory door which should be there and closed by now, leaving me trapped in this hallspace. After another 5 minutes, I run back to the east theater door and wait another 5 minutes or however long it takes for it to open.

Last edited at 16/07/07(Thu)20:09:39

>>19797
As you run back, expecting the door, you fail to find one and see the path has remained open. Checking the door you saw hit Reiko you can see it is also still closed.

"You're still here, Mr Door? This won't do at all... Alright, change of plans. I'm sorry Taiga, looks like I won't be able to vouch for your innocence, ihihihi." Kizami continues talking to himself.

I keep counting time while waiting by the door that hit Reiko. I want to have an approximate time of how long it stays closed, so I wait until it opens.

>>19799
You wait in front of the door for another 2 minutes and suddenly the door opens. You notice the hall to the dormitory suddenly closes next to you as well. Nobody seems to be behind the door, although you can see a few splatters of blood where you saw Reiko get slammed into the ground.

Using my highly accurate math skills, I calculate the approximate amount of time it took for the blue phase to end. I move a bit further west to the middle intersection and wait there until the green phase begins. I should know when this happens because a door should block the hall I was just in. I'm also counting time in my head again.

>>19806
It took about 8 minutes for the blue phase to end you estimate.

You watch the door for a few minutes but then your head suddenly gets thrown to the floor after feeling an impact on the back of it. Your flashlight cracks when it hits the ground, but is then picked up and completely smashed against the wall. Dazed on the ground you hear your backpack zipper fly open and all the contents spill out. Followed by footsteps of someone running away.

-

You come to, and coincidentally the lights come back on as you see the door in front of you rush up into the ceiling. Checking your watch tells you that it has been about 5 minutes since you started waiting for the green phase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoh-Z_TS_xE&index=36

"That really hurt you know..." Kizami looks at the spilled contents of his backpack. Are the tapes still there? How many are there?

Last edited at 16/07/09(Sat)18:50:24

>>19808
You notice one of the tapes, the one labeled #8 Ami, is missing. The others, as well as the rest of your items are all there. On closer inspections the numbers are carved into the label as well.

I run towards the dormitory and check whether there is a door south of it blocking off the incinerator. If it's there, I wait for it to open counting the time for the red phase. If it's not there, I go into the dormitory right away and count the number of beds present.

>>19810
You don't find the door there, or any blocking off the halls for that matter.

Entering the dormitory area puts you into a hallway much shabbier than the rest of the basement area with six labeled doors. Kitchen, storage room, changing room, and bedrooms 1 through 3.

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