I go into each bedroom and count the number of beds.

>>19814
Each room is a long area with bunk beds lined up horizontally. Looks like that is all there really is in each bedroom. The beds are made save for a few that have their blankets slipping off onto the floor. However they don't really look like they have anything interesting to note.

In total you count thirty two beds.

I examine the storage room next.

>>19816
Inside the storage room you find various items mostly for cleaning up. You see a stack of buckets next to some brooms and mops. There are laundry machines in the back with a basket filled with old crusty washcloths. There is a fire extinguisher and some soaps as well. There are a number of chemicals like toilet cleaner among various others.

"Oh well, it's time to get to the heart of the matter." Sighs Kizami.

I go to investigate the parking lot. I am interested in following the corridors that connect to the theater. I'm hoping to find a way to the balcony and examine the scene of the crime from there.

>>19818
You head through the theater and down the green hallway to the parking area. Upon entering you find yourself in a long hallway that goes down deeper, and two adjacent halls that go left and right, presumably one to the theater and one to the area Takumi explored based off what they said.

You find the way to the theater splits up and you can access most of the little stained glass seats of the theater from here, although some of the doors are locked. Inside most of the boxes are two or so seats that look onward to the theater. Some go to the second floor but each hall merely leads to another room, none to the area behind the curtains or above.

I go back to the theater and examine the area behind the curtain.

>>19820
You go behind the curtain and find it to be somewhat similar to a normal theater. There are pulleys and lights set up on the ceiling, but for the most part its empty. You can see a staircase in the back that leads up to the balcony.

The balcony is rather empty itself too. There are some curtains on the walls here, but unlike the ones below they seem merely for decoration and don't connect only match in color. At the edge on either side you can see the end of the real curtain directly below the balcony. You can see the chain where the chandelier once hung across from you as you walk up.

I look at the chain. How far from the balcony is it? What is the ceiling around where the chandelier used to hang like?

>>19822
The ceiling is typical; flat and with some cobwebs. Like the chandelier the wire entangled in the chain looks the same, it feeds into the ceiling out of sight. You are about a foot out of range from reaching the chain yourself even after leaning over.

"Hoh? Just a foot?" Kizami looks at the bottom tip of the chain. Is it below or above the balcony level?

>>19824
Above, around arm height if you reached out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJx13lAy_c&

Kizami looks at the broken chandelier below. "Alright, brain, work with me here. How likely would it be for someone to simply make a jump to the chandelier from the balcony and gain a firm enough foothold? What was the chandelier like before it broke?" Kizami assumes a thinking pose.

>>19826
From what you recall of the chandelier you aren't sure if it would support someone's weight. It seems more likely it would get pulled out of the ceiling.

Last edited at 16/07/11(Mon)18:53:26

Kizami looks at the mocking chain. "So there seems to be no way to get you close enough... But what if..." Kizami walks all over the balcony examining how it is setup (the edges in particular). Perhaps there is a way to move the balcony instead?

>>19828
The balcony seems pretty solid. You can't find any indication that it moves.

I examine the backstage more closely, to see if there are any interesting tools lying around.

Last edited at 16/07/11(Mon)19:42:30

>>19830
You find some more ropes and sand bags, but nothing what you are looking for.

"Ahh... It's useless. My brain is useless, ihihi." Kizami decides to head to the control room. Partly to check the phase system switch and partly because he suspects someone might be there.

>>19832
As you approach you hear voices in fact, and looking inside you can see everyone else. You notice Reiko is still standing but her whole left shoulder is painted red and has been bandaged up.

"So it was a planned power outage then?" Kato asks looking over the control panel.

"That is right. That part was simple to disable, we would need that password to stop the doors from turning on every 30 minutes now."

It doesn't seem like they notice you peaking into the room currently.

Kizami lets his presence be known.

"Ah, so that's where you all were. I was looking for you guys. What happened after we got separated?"

>>19834
The group is surprised and expresses their concern before recapping the events.

"The only thing I saw was Reiko getting clipped by that door so I tried to help the best I could," Kato explains. "After a quick patch job we tried to move everyone to the waiting room I think we got split up by another door closing."

"Yeah, Aoi and I got separated. Thank god we didn't lose anybody with all those doors coming down," Taiga says. "After the lights came back on we hurried over to the waiting room to see if they had gone there and regrouped. After that Reiko suggested we go to the control room and check it out."

Seems like they were about to come look for you.

"Wait, hold on a sec, you and Aoi got separated by another door? Can you show me this door's location using these maps?" Kizami points at the color coded states on the wall.

He points to the one right to the right of the waiting room.

"Wait," Reiko says, "I couldn't pay attention at the time, but that doesn't make any sense. The door that hit me should only be activated on the blue phase, same with the one you just pointed to, so it should have been closed already."

"W-well it was dark maybe I was mistaken," Kato admits.

"No I think you are right," Aoi says, "We waited in the intersection for that door to open, although we didn't notice when it did open, but it was at least before the lights turned on. Those doors are weirdly silent."

Taiga holds his head, "This is just confusing."

"Are you kidding me? If you were waiting at the intersection with the door to the waiting room already closed, what made you think you got separated from everyone else? Reiko and the others should have been at the intersection too at that time or close to it. I want you to tell me from the very beginning how you two moved, step by step after the door that hit Reiko closed. Were you all together at first? When did you feel you got separated from others?"

Last edited at 16/07/12(Tue)12:58:09

>>19838
Seems like the story is that they tended to Reiko using the light from a match Kato had, then after that was done started moving in the direction of the the waiting room. As they were going down the hall that other door closed and split them up as they were behind the rest of the group.

Kato says after that he took Reiko into the waiting room, but they were still without light so they did as the room was named.

Last edited at 16/07/12(Tue)13:05:41

"So we can't even rely on these maps to tell us how the doors function?" Kizami looks irritated. "No, calm down and think... there is no reason these maps would be completely useless. Perhaps we simply made a wrong assumption about them. Perhaps during each color phase the respective doors don't close all at once. It could be more complex than that."

"If we look at the colored halls as our basis and extend that division to the rest of this place, then we could say that the blue area is east, the green is west and the red is middle. We know the color phases cycle counter clockwise from red to blue to green. Maybe each phase also goes through this cycle on its own. So during each color state, first the blue (east) area doors close, then the green (west) and finally the red (middle). Unfortunately we have no way to verify this, at least not for another 30 minutes." Kizami sighs.

"Miss Reiko, as I was entering I overheard you saying something about disabling stuff. What did you disable? And how were you able to do it?"

Last edited at 16/07/12(Tue)13:45:50

>>19840
"There is a section in the controls that contained scheduled actions. Someone set it up so the power would turn off using that, now that I removed that the power shouldn't turn off again. The door cycle itself was already activated before with the password, just last time we were here it wasn't clear that it would continue to cycle after certain intervals."

She also tells you that the door cycle is set to turn off and remove all the doors after the end of the cycle. So the cycle is more clearly; red, blue, green, off.

"Miss Reiko, could I talk to you outside the room for a sec? I have a personal question."

>>19842
The group seems obviously worried that you'd ask that, but she complies and you walk out of listening range.

"So, what is it?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHjBHFDoTOU&

"Remember when we resolved to work as a team to solve this? I'm going to honor that promise and lay my cards bare to you."

"First of all, you should know that during the power outage someone attacked me and stole one of the tapes from my backpack. It was the one labeled #8 Ami. I think that this girl Ami might be... Mr Kato's granddaughter, or something to that effect."

"I also suspect that Kato is the killer. Something about his testimony doesn't add up. He said he saw the green light in the parking lot 5 minutes before the crash and Takumi said that he saw the red light approximately 10 minutes before the crash. However, I measured the time of the blue phase and it was about 8 minutes. Needless to say if the blue phase happens between the red and the green phases, then something about their testimonies isn't quite right because the timing doesn't fit. I suspect Mr. Kato is the one who is lying."

"I also suspect that he is the one who organized this whole expedition with the sole reason to retrieve the tape that has the recording of his would be granddaughter. Why does he want it? I'm not sure. There could be plenty of reasons. Apparently he wanted it bad enough to kill Mr Heisuke over, since he was clearly after the tapes as well."

"It's even possible that Kato lied about his examination of the parking lot, and there really is an exit down there, but I'm not sure. I also don't know if he was the one who attacked me, but he could have easily slipped away during the green phase to do so. Whoever attacked me broke my flashlight, so I suspect if the police examined it for fingerprints, the assailant would become clear."

"Oh, and I have a feeling he burned Aoi's film back at the mansion on purpose, possibly for similar reasons that he does not want these tapes getting into the wrong hands."

"As you can see I don't really have any direct proof, but even if I did, I'm afraid to confront Kato directly, as he might be armed. So now I ask you for advice. What do you think we should do? Should we rush him down and do a body search? I suspect he might have gotten rid of the tape already, but who knows..."

Last edited at 16/07/12(Tue)14:27:17

>>19844
"Well whether or not he is the culprit, I would like to investigate more before accusing anyone. If we did without a plan of escape, we might not make it out in one piece."

"In regards to the phases, the power outage should have caused a pause making it take longer than normal. It is likely the true time is around 5. Either way we can test it once the next cycle starts."

As you are talking you notice the smell of burning plastic coming from the incinerator room. Reiko notices it as well.

"And there goes the tape. Very well, let us investigate more. Just keep an eye on Kato, he might try to pull something again. Perhaps we should all go examine the parking lot next one more time."

>>19846
You and Reiko head back to the control room and tells the others.

Seems like the plan is to go check out the incinerator room.

"Alright, incinerator room it is then. Let's go, gang!" Kizami gives a cheerful smile.

>>19848
The smell is very clearly coming from the room now that you open the door and enter it. On the way over Reiko tells everyone that you were attacked and a tape was taken.

"So logically that must be this smell then," Takumi says reaching up and opening on the hatches to look inside.

Aoi placed a box next to another few and opens another one herself, "Not here either."

Looking around at the incinerators Reiko heads further into the area near the back and everyone follows. At the very back behind some boxes that have roughly pushed aside and behind them you can see another differently built incinerator that has a hatch low to the ground. The hatch is half opened and inside you can see the remains of the tape, just a plastic burnt mess now.

"Well this detour was a waste of time as expected. Shall we go examine the parking lot now? Any objections?"

>>19850
As you go you leave you hear Aoi say, "Reiko?"

Reiko seems to be pondering something while looking at the remains of the tape. After Aoi calls out however she responds, "Alright let's go."

The group heads over the door to the parking area, and continued past where you turned before. Shortly after walking down the hall you come out into a large complex that is clearly for parking. There are pillars holding up the ceiling but mostly all you can see are water pipes there. The area is shaped rectangular in a way that you would expect a door to be on the left most wall, but you can't see anything there. As you walk in you notice a light on the ceiling similar to the ones in the halls, it is currently off.

"Miss Reiko, did you notice anything particular about the remains of the tape? Could you see a number 8 carved on them perhaps?"

>>19855
The others are exploring the parking area.

"No. I was just thinking that they went to a lot of trouble to burn that tape."

"Well, the other tapes are still safe, so if we get to see what's on them, I imagine the reasons for destroying that particular one will become clearer."

Kizami makes sure nobody is close enough to listen and then adds:

"By the way, Miss Reiko. Have you ever thought about the implications of Mr Okazaki having gone missing 5 years ago? Since most of us here are in our teens, it makes it very unlikely that we were involved in any incidents that long ago. Unless of course, Aoi was a test subject and doesn't remember it, ihihi. This pretty much rules out any suspects except you and Mr. Kato... And while my money is on Mr. Kato, I still wonder... Do you perhaps have some connection to Mr. Okazaki that you're not telling us about?"

If Reiko doesn't tell me anything interesting I walk around the perimeter of the parking lot examining the walls.

>>19857
"You sure are having fun... Sorry to disappoint but I already laid my cards on the table when Yasunori was murdered."

You walk around the area and as you are coming to the left most wall you can see a small line that you likely would have missed. It looks almost like a seam and it goes all the way up the wall. If you had to guess this might be a large door that could open horizontally.

I alert everybody to my discovery and suggest we take a closer look at examining this particular wall for any means of opening this door.

"If we find no way to budge this from here, there is a possibility it opens remotely... Perhaps from the control room."

>>19859
Everyone examines the wall in more detail and after a while a panel is found, disguised like the seam. It reveals a fingerprint scanner like on the doors of the other rooms. Looks like it is currently unpowered.

"The controls for the other doors were there so that sounds about right," Kato says.

"Before we do that let us try to break down the door to one of the rooms Takumi mentioned," Reiko says, "With everyone together it should be possible."

>>19860
Without complaints everyone heads to the halls in the parking area once again, but this time going the other direction until coming to various side halls that lead to separate doors, similar to the area leading to the theater. Kato, Taiga, Takumi, and you all break down the door after a few hits.

Now inside you get a look of the rather red room. You can see a bed with bedside tables next to it. On one of the tables is a phone. To the side next to the wall is a sofa with a coffee table. The opposite end of the wall has a mirror, which according to Takumi is likely a one way mirror. There is a closet in the corner of the room.

"You know what this kind of room makes me think of? Didn't Mr. Okazaki used to have some companions? This might be where they spent their quality time. Anyway let's see if there are any skeletons left in that closet." Kizami proceeds to open it.

>>19862
The closet has a few boxes on the ground. The closet is mostly filled with clothing as you would expect, or rather more correctly various costumes. There are nurse outfits, maid outfits, Chinese dresses, and all other manner of clothing.

In the boxes you notice other material like rope and handcuffs. In the very back on the ground is a number of wigs, you think you even see some from some popular anime. You also find a camcorder that you can tell matches the tapes. The batteries are dead however. You find a charger for said batteries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3nYhLjXv_c&index=18

"You know I was only half serious, but it looks like I may be right."

Kizami picks up the handcuffs and the camcorder and shows them to the others.

"Looks like they were up to some kinky stuff down here. Do you think we could use this camera to watch the tapes somehow? Providing we could charge the batteries. Although I'm afraid some of us might be underage for this, ihihi. Anyway, the pieces are falling into place one by one. The dress invoices, the tapes, the parking lot. Was this an underground brothel? It could have even put on shows for its customers on the stage. Now the question is, were the girls confined down here against their will? And what was the laboratory for? It could not simply have been a brothel without some sort of underlying experiment, right?"

I put the handcuffs and the camcorder with its charger and the dead batteries in the backpack as I talk. I'm also keeping an eye on everybody to make sure no one slips away. Kato in particular.

Last edited at 16/07/16(Sat)16:30:02

>>19864
"Yeah I think that is pretty obvious," Takumi says looking at the bedside table. Inside you can see a large assortment of sex toys as well as bottles of lube.

"Looking at the design of this area I would go one step further and suggest human trafficking," Reiko adds.

You put the items in the bag without issue. You can see Taiga getting up from looking under the bed. Aoi is standing in the corner listening to the conversation. Kato was looking at the mirror and turned to face the group. Reiko is over by the entrance now.

She asks you what type of AC plug the charger has, it being a three pronged one. "The majority of these rooms only have two-pronged, there are a few three-pronged in the theater however."

"Let's head to the theater then."

I keep keeping an eye on Kato.

Last edited at 16/07/16(Sat)17:12:10

>>19866
For now the group heads to the theater without an suspicious movements and you locate the socket right next to the entrance for the red hall.

Kato asks the group, "Should we head to the control room now while it charges?"

While Taiga and Aoi are next to you two, Takumi and Reiko don't hear that however and are over by Yasunori's body. Reiko says something to him and he goes off to the back of the curtains. Reiko is rummaging around the body.

"I feel it would be more prudent to stay together from now on. It's safer not to split up. We should wait for it to charge and then we will go to the control room together. By the way, how long do we have until the next color phase cycle starts?" Kizami looks at his watch.

>>19868
"Of course, right. I didn't suggest to split up," Kato explains.

Aoi says the next cycle should be in 5 minutes.

Kizami walks up to Reiko.

"Find anything interesting? Also, looks like the next color cycle will start in 5 minutes. Would it be a good idea to go to the middle intersection to check if the doors behave the same way they did during the power outage, you think?"

>>19870
As you get closer you can see she has removed his clothing around the wound. "Yes actually. Looking at the wound more closely shows damage directly next to as if the chandelier didn't create the wound but rather fell into an already existing one." Indeed you notice next to the main wound is a large tear that doesn't completely break through the flesh. "I had considered he may have been drugged and placed here due to how he is lying directly below the chandler, but a more direct approach is now likely."

Takumi calls up from balcony and you can see some of the curtains have been pushed out of the way. He grabs something and is currently on his way down.

"I have already considered a similar theory, Miss Reiko. However, let me ask you again, are you certain you would not like to make certain the way the doors function? It would tell us if the power outage had anything to do with messing up their closing speed. And we won't get a chance like that again for a while. We could talk to Takumi while we wait at the intersection."

Last edited at 16/07/17(Sun)17:51:45

>>19872
"Right, no need to go into the intersection however. For we can tell which color it is on by standing in the middle and look down each hall," she says referring to this room.

Takumi makes his way back while the others come over to see the commotion. In his hands is some weird makeshift long pliers looking device with some electrical wires wrapped around it. In his other hand he is carefully holding between his two fingers a sharp looking slice of metal that has dried blood on it.

"I found these behind the curtain up there," he explains "Reiko told me to check since... something about the wounds not matching up... Looks like she was right."

You grasp the pliers like object and can instantly tell that this would be enough to pull apart the chain from the balcony.

Takumi continues, "I think I saw similar looking pieces of wire in the incinerator room. Along with some clocks and other electronics. There were a bunch of tool boxes right?"

"We won't need to go and check that. I don't think there is any doubt that this was the tool used." Reiko adds.

"This is strange..." Kizami mumbles. "Alright, I want you guys to observe the color phases. I'm going to go to the middle intersection however, because I absolutely have to check whether the middle intersection doors close the same way they did during the blackout."

Saying that, I head off before the doors have a chance to close.

Last edited at 16/07/17(Sun)18:40:01

>>19874
As you do, you notice the light start flashing red as you near the intersection. You stand in the intersection and wait for the doors to change. You both notice that each cycle takes almost exactly 5 minutes each and that the door Kato mentioned never appears. The lights also don't go off this time.

The doors rise again and down the hall you can see the light stop flashing green as the cycle ends.

I inspect the halls, the one with the waiting room in particular.

Last edited at 16/07/17(Sun)19:21:52

>>19876
On a closer inspection you notice the areas that have doors also have faint seams you can barely notice just like the parking area.
In fact you can see there are a few every few meters in the hallways. Either they are there to make you unsure where the actual doors are, or perhaps there are more doors than you were lead to believe.

Kizami inspects one of these seams to see if they can be opened manually on the spot somehow.

>>19878
You look at the seams and can't see to find anything, until however you see another small square and you are able to pry it open to reveal some switches. Flicking one instantly closes a door in the hall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kVwCXrQZ4&index=5&

I ditch all those wolves and go to inspect the lab one more time. I want to examine the room with the desk that had the tapes in it for any traces of blood.

Last edited at 16/07/17(Sun)19:33:09

>>19880
You go to the lab and find everything to be the same. You find no blood in the office.

I inspect the rest of the rooms for any traces of blood. Something must be there, because it could be the real crime scene. If nothing is found, I head to the control room and inspect it for blood as well.

Last edited at 16/07/17(Sun)19:42:28

>>19882
You find some blood in the operation room but its very clearly years older and crumbles at the touch.

I move to the control room anyway and search for more blood.

Last edited at 16/07/17(Sun)19:47:17

>>19884
You find some drips of blood on the floor and on the chair of the control room where Reiko was standing and sitting. Otherwise nothing.

I go back to the theater and inform everyone of my door discovery... assuming they are still there.

>>19886
BGM: Core of the Matter

You go back and find everyone to be there. Seems like everyone understands what you found solves the door mystery.

"While I appreciate that being figured out you shouldn't run off like that Kizami," Kato says worried, "If the lights had not have been disabled you could have been hurt."

Takumi mumbles something.

"Did you say something Takumi?" Kato asks.

"-lways sneaking around. I know we said not to suspect people... but Kizami here has been as suspicious as Yasunori this whole time! He gets knocked out twice, and the second time he gets the tapes stolen from him? Even back when investigating the mansion, he never cared about the mansion at all. He was just walking around stalking everyone, as if... interrogating them, sizing us up! Don't you all remember, he started laughing when he found the body!" he says while starting getting worked up.

Kizami's face darkens. "Ihihi... Really, Takumi? Are these really the grounds you suspect me on? It's true. I don't give a damn about this mansion. My true objective isn't even the disappearance of Mr. Okazaki. I'm only investigating this matter in hopes of discovering clues about Kinjo Goldbar, because this mystery might be connected to his disappearance."

Kizami's lips widen into a grin. "Do you want to know why I laughed? It's because I tried to prevent something bad from happening. I tailed Yasunori on purpose. But he left me behind. He never planned to cooperate with any of us from the very start. What a stuck up moron! That stubbornness cost him his life!"

Kizami's grin widens. "By the way, since we're pointing fingers, let me take my turn. Do you know what I find suspicious about this murder? The way the murder weapon was masked. Why was it necessary to make the chandelier fall on Yasunori after killing him? Were they really naïve enough to think we would assume it to be an accident? No... The real reason was likely to confuse us about the real crime scene. They wanted us to think Yasunori was murdered in the theater, while the actual murder took place somewhere else. By the way, when I say 'they', it's not because I'm trying to keep the identity of the murderer gender neutral. It's because I believe it would have been very hard to do everything by yourself. Killing Yasunori, dragging him to the theater and then dropping the chandelier on him... It's very likely there was an accomplice. Two people were responsible."

Kizami's eyes widen with excitement. "Now who could these two people be you ask? Perhaps they were Mr. Kato and Taiga. Mr. Kato could have been responsible for destroying Aoi's film back at the mansion. He could have organized this whole trip to retrieve the tape that Yasunori was also after. Is it because the girl on the tape was somehow related to him? Or is it because he appeared on the tape himself? It matters little. Taiga could have been the one to attack me during the blackout. He was also the closest one to the curtain's rope after the murder."

"But you know who else is suspicious, Takumi? You and Miss Reiko. You have been Reiko's little errand boy this whole trip. The way you conveniently found the real murder weapon when Reiko told you to check around... was that to give us a reason to believe there would be nothing strange about having your fingerprints on the pliers? Could you have been the one to drop the chandelier? And did you lie about seeing Yasunori alive during the red phase? Were you the one to attack me during the blackout? And Miss Reiko... you sure have some convenient knowledge about how to operate the console in the control room. Could you have had full access to it from the start? Did you omit the details about the plier markings on the chain from me when I asked to investigate on purpose? Did you kill Yasunori? Why?"

"And finally... Somebody here sure knows how to open doors with the fingerprint locks... If we take the age of everyone here into account, the most likely people to be involved with Mr. Okazaki are Mr. Kato and Miss Reiko. There is still one lock we have yet to open, the one that will likely lead us out of here. Whoever is able to activate that fingerprint scanner is likely the culprit, right? I suggest we watch the tapes as we were planning to do and then try to power up the scanner In the parking lot."

"Ah, it seems the only one whose innocence we can be sure of is Aoi. Unless she simply pretended to not be able to get out while I was unconscious that time."

Last edited at 16/07/18(Mon)14:22:32

>>19888
"Wha-" Takumi seems too stunned to speak. "So, what? Everyone is suspicious then?"

"I would never!" Kato cries out.

"Don't get riled up. We are likely moments away from escape, so we might as well get to the bottom of this now," Reiko says. She continues, "However I do think you have made an assumption Kizami. You are overestimating how smart the culprit considered us. I think it was exactly what you brushed off; they tried to make it seem like an accident. You simply happened to suggest it was a murder before we investigated."

"So... there wasn't an accomplice then?" Taiga asks.

"That would be a jump in the logic, but it was possible for somebody to do with without one yes," Reiko says.

"I-I really was down there the whole time! Even if you don't believe me." Aoi speaks up.

"If that is the case then that would make it impossible for Kizami too...wouldn't it?" Kato concludes.

"Alright, I'll bite into the accident explanation. In that case, it's important to establish the timing of the door cycle relative to the murder. After the crash, the cycle must have already ended because Aoi, Reiko and I were able to enter the theater without any hindrance from the red hall. Since we are going with the simplest assumptions, it's also unlikely that Taiga is responsible because the dormitory area is completely blocked off from the theater during all three color phases, assuming that the murderer entered the theater after the cycle started.

That leaves, Miss Reiko, Takumi and Mr. Kato as suspects. Perhaps we could go over the accounts of your whereabouts during that time again to try to establish at least partial alibis for you."

Last edited at 16/07/18(Mon)15:09:23

>>19890
"What if that tool had some sort of timer hooked up to it to make remote. They could have set it up and set up their alibi," Aoi suggests.

"No, in that case it would then need to be hidden behind the curtain. From what we know so far the culprit would need to twist the chain," Reiko explains.

"Well going off what Kizami said, what if he was killed in another room. It seemed like those tapes were his goal right?" Taiga says.

"Right, however he never got to them," Reiko continues, "Think about it for a second. The door to the control room was already unlocked before the crash. Yasunori was seen coming from that direction a few moments before that, and the door to the lab was opened once we went to investigate. In other words it might not be the culprit who can activate the fingerprint scanner after all."

"Basically all we need to do to get out is power up the final scanner and borrow Yasunori's hand. Looks like he'll be able to contribute to the team after all, ihihihi..."

"However..." Continues Kizami. "Can Takumi and Miss Reiko vouch for each other after meeting during the red phase? If Yasunori was still alive then, then that only leaves us with one person without an alibi and who had the access to the theater..."

Kizami turns to look at Kato.

>>19892
"After we met up in the waiting room during the red phase we sat down around one of the tables discussing...I went to the bathroom once," She admits, "So there was a window of time then."

Takumi looks at her shocked, "No! I stayed sitting there. I wouldn't just..."

"Let's just get out of here," Aoi suddenly says, "We can escape with his prints right? We can let the police handle this."

"Perhaps. Everything is in order however, we might as well finish what we started." Reiko says.

>>19893
"Reiko, you say that like... do you know who the culprit it?" Kato asks.

"...Most likely," she responds. "They made a mistake by disposing of that tape. They were on a time limit and had to be rid of it quickly. Due to that they didn't consider the format of the incinerator room and how it would end up given them away because they had to go out of the way to burn it."

"So like, there was something wrong with that incinerator, or...?" Aoi asks.

Kizami interjects. "In other words, you're saying there was a particularity about that incinerator that implies it was the only one that could have been used by a specific person among us, right? For example, I remember Miss Aoi being too short to reach the regular incinerators, so if she was in a hurry, she would probably use the first one she had access to, something like that?"

Last edited at 16/07/20(Wed)11:17:32

>>19894
BGM: Inferring

"Right, that is the logic."

Aoi looks like she is about to break into tears but Reiko speaks up again.

"We already know you couldn't have committed the murder so let me finish. If you notice you have to reach up and open the grate just to burn an object, all except for the last one that is near the ground. With the lights off the flame from the incinerators would have made it easy to locate one of them, yet they went all the way to the back just to use that one. That is likely because they had to use that one, or were unable to use the others in such a hurry."

Reiko then raises her hands above her head. "Let us try this. Everyone put your hands above your head."

With a bit of confusion you decide why not, and the group puts their hands up, everyone except for Takumi and Taiga.

"W-wait, hold on." Takumi stammers out.

"Is there a problem?" Reiko asks

"It's... just...a sports..."

Suddenly Reiko puts her hands down, everyone else does so too seeing this. "Sorry to put you on the spot, but I already know you can since you helped me with the boxes in the mansion Takumi. During that time you were adamant about not bothering Taiga with helping lift those boxes. He also tried to catch that bottle Aoi passed to him but could not, as if his arms simply would, or could not raise up high enough. Taiga... something is wrong with your shoulders, is that not ri-?"

"It's just a fucking sports injury okay!" Taiga yells frantically. "That is just fucking speculation right! It wasn't fucking me!"

"Are you so sure about that?" Reiko says.

"W-wait!" Takumi cries out, "I mean yes the arm thing makes sense but when we checked those moving walls he was the only one blocked off!"

Reiko shakes her head at this, "Do you not see? Out of everyone here Taiga is the only one who nobody else saw during that time. He literally does not have an alibi, and may not have even been in the dormitory for all we know. The culprit knows this place well, so they could have just told us what they knew was there."

Taiga is about to speak up but Reiko stops him before that. "Since we never investigated that area there could have been some other alibi set up that shows he was there near that time, but in that case think back to the layout of the cycles. We were separated by those closing doors, so who is to say that someone who knows exactly when they go off and where they can just walk all the way around as the cycle changes from red to blue to green, ending up in the theater in between door changes. The murder was done as originally suspected, he killed Yasunori, placed the body under the chandelier then dropped it, then jumped off and using the rope to get down quickly. They then ran back into the room pretending to have just found the body."

Taiga's fists are shaking as his face is hidden due to his hanging head.

Kato manages to speak up after this revelation, "So that is... but, why?"

"Well, assuming Miss Reiko's theory is correct, it means the tape had some very unfavorable footage for our Taiga. I can only assume he lost his virginity at an early age, ihihi. And who knows what kind of details that tape would have revealed."

Last edited at 16/07/20(Wed)12:12:35

>>19897
"Yeah, those tapes where likely home videos made by Yasunori or someone close to him of the children kept down here. Girly clothes, girl names, female companions, nobody ever said they had to be girls."

"Shut up! You don't have any-" Taiga yells again

"Proof? You know the moment we found those tapes the theory that it was one of them getting revenge becomes easy to make. I swapped the labels and engraved the numbers into the tapes. Luckily only one was taken, meaning that the tape that was meant to be destroyed should still be safe and sound. Once the batteries are charged let us take a look and see if we do not have any proof."

Taiga is left gritting his teeth, but then tears well up in his eyes and he turns around yelling.

"Fuck! It wasn't my- He deserved it! He couldn't-" he says as his tough guy facade falls apart trying to hold back the tears.

"Taiga..." Takumi says in shock as Taiga falls to his knees.

Kizami takes out the handcuffs from his backpack. "Would you like to do the honors, Miss Reiko?"

>>19899
She looks around at the other members of the group, "If it would make everyone feel safer."

BGM: Unforgettable Past

After crying Taiga gets handcuffed without any resistance. He just stares blankly accepting his fate it seems. The charger suddenly beeps and you go over to pop in the tapes and take a look.

They are pretty much exactly what you expected. Amateur porn videos taken with various young girls, of course skimming through the videos it becomes clear that they were all boys. Yasunori is the one in most of them. Some of them have scars indicating some sort of surgery, one even has their genitals removed. Eventually the one tape thought to be taken is watched and you can see two scars right at the bottoms of the child's rib cage and some on their back. When examined Taiga has matching scars and is missing his two lower ribs. Seems it wasn't a sports injury after all.

Taiga is mumbling something and the group stops to listen. "I spent some time here, then they sold me off. I was rescued but they never found the source of the business. I thought maybe the mansion had clues but... didn't think that it would be here. Not to mention that he would show up..." Reiko comments on how that explains his sudden change of attitude towards being the best at solving mysteries.

He then explains that it was indeed human trafficking. They used surgery to try to create and experiment with making young boys into feminine slaves. There would be auctions in the theater and all the rich bastards would come and hide behind the stained glass while bidding.

When Yasunori left the control room and went to the lab he caught the door and turned off the lab door for a second which forced Yasunori to come back where he had left a note saying "I have what you want. Come to the theater" Once there he stabbed him and just as Reiko explained carried out the deed. Apparently he knows very little about mysteries, but decided to gamble on a trick he heard and make himself seem more suspicious when the murder was first found, then making it seem like it couldn't have been him with the doors to throw people off.

"This is just, terrible," Kato mumbles.

"...Can we leave now?" Aoi asks.

"To the control room first then," Reiko finishes.

I let Reiko lead the group, while keeping an eye on Taiga and also Takumi, to make sure they don't try anything suspicious.

>>19901
Nothing eventful seems to happen. The door is powered with a flick from the control room and the group returns to the theater.

Aoi asks, "Should we carry him then, or?"

"No, if your squeamish look away. I will cut off his hands."

"...You only need his left thumb," Taiga suddenly says.

Reiko looks back at him, as if everyone else unsure whether or not to believe him. With a quick motion she cuts off the thumb.

"Alright, time to leave." Reiko says.

I walk behind Taiga and Takumi, because if they will try something it will be likely after we open the door.

>>19903
Now in front of the scanner and the door Reiko takes the thumb and presses it to the pad. With a small beep it the starts to slide open. Behind it is a large driveway going up.

BGM: Hellfire

Suddenly the whole room shakes and you hear a thunderous boom come from back in the main area.

"What was that!" Kato tries to say over the sound of Aoi screaming. Before another word is said another boom goes off, and another. Reiko signals just to run, and she grabs onto Taiga and pulls him along. The others follow quickly behind.

Not trying to outrun everybody else yet, I try to glance about as I run to notice any particularities of the layout of this driveway. Are there any faster exits?

Last edited at 16/07/20(Wed)13:59:10

>>19905
It seems to be mostly straight, you notice some walls that cut out for a second to let other cars go by, but they don't offer any other exits.

The ceiling cracks above you, and you hear Taiga yelling, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

As you pass one of the passing areas something catches your eye. Lying against the wall is a body long decomposed to the point of a skeleton. It has a white coat with green stripes outlining the edges. The corpse itself has stands of white hair lightly still clinging onto the top of the skull.

"Now's not the time for that!" Yells Kizami. "Just keep running, Taiga!"

>>19907
Everyone continues running until another wall comes up. Unlike the last one the scanner is in clear sight. Reiko quickly slams the finger on the pad and the door starts to open.

The ceiling cracks more and rubble starts to fall, the door suddenly stops opening leaving a small crack at ground level. The lights go out.

"Quick!" Reiko shouts as she pushes Taiga under the door and then herself.

Kato tries to get through but his jacket gets caught.

"AOI! KATO IS STUCK! QUICKLY! SPAM YOUR CAMERA FLASH!"

IF Aoi does as I say, I use the brief flashes to locate what is keeping Kato stuck. Assuming it is his pocket I take whatever is inside then get out as quickly as I can, making sure Aoi does the same. After, if Kato isn't out yet, I pull on him to get him outside.

If she doesn't help, I get outside and then try pulling on Kato anyway.

Last edited at 16/07/20(Wed)14:31:26

>>19909
She does what you say in a panic and starts flashing. You locate the pocket and throw out some cans of bear spray or something similar and he is able to slip through.

Takumi, Aoi and yourself all rush out. You don't recognize it for a second but you pop out in the shed like area beside the mansion. A large cloud of dust and rubble puffs out behind the mansion, seemingly indicating the whole thing has collapsed.

Takumi falls on the grass outside like some of the others. Everyone out of breath from the mad dash. The sky has become dark as it is now late into the night.

"Alright, now that we are all outside and out of harm's way presumably... Do you have anything substantial to say, Taiga? Or were you just desperately panicking?"

>>19911
You watch him get up, and notice his hands are suddenly no longer behind his back, although he is still handcuffed. Your mind flashes to the scars on his body. In his hand holds a handgun and points it at the group.

"Just, just let me go," he says with a pitiful face.

Reiko clicks her tongue clearly displeased that she didn't anticipate and prevent this. "Yasunori was armed then."

"Taiga..." Takumi manged to say.

Taiga is slowly moving around the group trying to get to the mansion gates. You are currently the closest to him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F26Vt1Q2-E

"Ihihi... Hey, officers! Over here!" Yells Kizami looking behind Taiga's back. Then he leaps at him to try to disarm him.

>>19913
He jerks his head to look for a moment and you take your chance. You successfully knock the gun out of his hands.

He is still standing, but Reiko has circled around and blocks his path.

Takumi calls out, "Taiga don't! This isn't the best way."

"What would you know!" Taiga yells back, "I can't..."

"This is bigger than you now! All those kids, all of Yasunori's connections. If anything you can testify!" Takumi responds.

Taiga while still aware he is surrounded has his back towards you.

Kizami earned a reputation for being the Ultimate Daredevil as a joke from his peers. However, to him it wasn't just a joke.

It was time to see if Taiga really played sports. Kizami used Soccer Slide Tackle hoping to knock Taiga off balance and make him fall.

>>19915
You fly at him but your tackle doesn't have much power. You end up bumping into him and the two of you start trying to through each other off.

"Freeze" Reiko calls. As you two were wrestling she grabbed the gun off the ground. The two of you both stop. "Takumi is right you know. Not to mention with all that rubble Yasunori's body won't be found anytime soon. We have the tapes, and you can give a testimony."

Even Kato who was still on the ground gets in on this, "T-that's right! This was a horrible horrible thing, but it doesn't have to end like that."

Taiga shakes his head unsure, "No these people, you've seen how much money- they don't follow the law, they just-"

"That doesn't matter. We can help, trust us." She says, lowering the gun.

"Taiga" Takumi says looking at him. Taiga then falls to his knees and covers his hands with his face.

In the distance sirens are heard, likely summoned by the explosion.
---

--

-

>>19916
BGM: Fragment

The police cars and ambulances at the gates roll down most of the length of the drive way. Apparently the cloud could be seen from the other end of town.

"I am deeply sorry for how this turned out," Kato says bowing his head at you and Reiko. He had gone around to the rest of the members after Taiga had been taken away and apologies. "I just can't believe it."

"Worry not, you could not have seen something like this coming," Reiko reassures him. "You will be the one to blame for illegally trespassing though."

"Ah... you knew about that?" Kato says rubbing his head. Turns out there was a chain on the gate that has been cut instead of unlocked. Reiko had found it before but with Kato already suspicious never brought it up. "Of course, I intended to from the start. With everything that has happened something like this is trivial."

"So why did you decide to trespass in the mansion, Mr Kato? Did you somehow know what was going on? You know you seemed really suspicious to me for a while, I guess I owe you an apology for that. Also, did you really destroy Aoi's film by accident, or do you think that was Mr. Heisuke's doing?"

>>19918
"I really did just want a fun time investigating. I have been trying to persuade the owners for a while but I couldn't stand it anymore. I used to go out and try to find UMAs and explore other abandoned builds so, I suppose in a sense I was feeling nostalgic."

As for the film he insists that it wasn't him. Reiko adds "I don't think we can prove it, but Yasunori seems like the most obvious solution there. He likely didn't want any pictures that he was here after all."

After a few moments Kato gets called over and you and Reiko remain.

"Kizami, in that drive way there at the end... was that?"

"It's a catbox, Miss Reiko. We didn't have time to examine it closely. It could have been Kinjo, but it could also have been a dummy double. Wouldn't put it past him..." Kizami smiles sadly.

Last edited at 16/07/20(Wed)16:11:07

>>19920
"I see. If they decide to turn up the rubble they will be able to test what remains... perhaps. Well, good luck. See you around."

With that she walks away and Kizami follows suit. This is a big event, who knows perhaps he'll gain some notoriety from this. One way or another, if that was really him why was Kinjo there? Or why did he die. What about Okazaki too? Looks like those answers may not reveal themselves any time soon.

Kizami steels himself, and proceeds to deal with all the boring questioning.

---

THE END

>>19921
As the cars pull away from the scene at the mansion one figure walks towards a car and gets in the passenger seat. The driver has an eyepatch.

They pull out a clipboard with sheets of paper on it. The pictures of the group who investigated the mansion each have their own page listing personal facts and history.

The individual takes a marker and circles Kizami's picture, then places the clipboard back.

They then silent drive away.