Faux Danganronpa: Magical Reality

Chapter 2: The Coldest Heart Has Selfish Desires - TRIAL Part 2 (Mahouko)

The killer... is injured?

"If Hyourei's only wound was the fatal head wound, yet there are signs that someone was cut," Mirai continued, "the obvious answer would be that the killer was the one that was wounded, instead of Hyourei."

"That is true..." Raimei nodded. "Although there could be other possibilities..." he added under his breath, before shaking his head to dismiss the thought.

"Anyway, this is a very important clue," Serena said. "If we can figure out which of us has a cut somewhere on our body--"

"As if the killer is gonna do that!" Hidari scoffed. "Besides, who knows where the cut is? What, are you gonna do a strip-search on all of us?"

Shoujiki squeaked. "P-Please don't do that!"

Serena sighed. "M-Ms. Seiza, that is not--"

"H-Hang on, there might be other ways to find the killer before resorting to that!" Suishou interrupted, trying to change the subject. "There's still a few clues left... such as the blood trail, right?"

"Hmm..." Haneko murmured. "If what we're thinking is true, then the blood trail must have come from not just Hyourei's dead body, but also the killer's wound, right?"

"R-Right," I nodded. "The blood trail started at the edge of the lake, where Hyourei was killed. The blood trail led from there to the hedge maze, where Hyourei's body is... and then--"

"Hold on, Ms. Houseki," Awabeni said suddenly, interrupting me. "I just have a few questions regarding that... because something about what you said is strange."

"H-Huh? Really?" I asked, confused.

"Indeed so," Awabeni nodded. "Would you like to talk about this dispute?"

== REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN: Vs. Awabeni Hareta ==

"First of all, Monoryu," she said, turning to the dragon. "How many exits does the hedge maze have?"

"Only one!" Monoryu responded. "The one at the front!"

"Thank you. Now, assuming Mr. Monoryu is telling the truth," Awabeni continued, "this means that when the killer was moving Mr. Fubuki's body, they entered the maze through that entrance, yes?"

I looked at her. "Y-Yes, what about it?"

"If Hyourei died not long after Ms. Migi Seiza was knocked out, that means that this would have had to happen shortly after we all split up to search for her, right?" the counselor continued. "However, you and Mr. Kumo must have discovered the crime scene, and followed the blood trail into the maze. This means one of two things could have happened - either the killer gets trapped in the maze, unable to escape because of the two of you on their trail; or the killer would have had to run into you and escape through the entrance, blowing their cover."

"I'LL CUT THROUGH YOUR WORDS!" I shouted, refuting her claims. "W-While I agree with what you said, Awabeni... neither of those things happened."

Awabeni tilted her head in confusion. "Do explain?"

"Well... if you looked at the scene in the center of the maze," I explained. "You would notice that the blood trail doesn't end there - it leads into a wall of the maze, and seems to cut through to the outside of the maze."

Raimei nodded. "I believe that's true," he agreed. "For one, when Mahouko and I were walking through the maze, we heard loud rustling sounds - as though someone were climbing over the hedges to escape the maze."

"Ah, I see..." Awabeni nodded. "My apologies, I might have missed it. I did leave quickly to check on the twins, after all..."

"After it cuts to the outside of the maze," I continued. "The blood trail leads into the castle, and into the dormitory areas, where it fades out."