DANGANRONPA V2: ECLIPSE

Chapter 5: Part 4

For a moment, I thought that someone else must have discovered a body. Maybe Ahmya really did kill Rantaro. But, in order for an announcement to play, three innocent people had to discover, right? If Rantaro or Ahmya had been killed, then that would have to mean Yuuki and Daiki were with them. And even then, it wouldn't have worked, because one of them would have to be the killer.

No, we discovered the body. 

Kichiro stepped forward, his eyes on the ground. I didn't look down, though. I wasn't ready to. 

We couldn't have lost someone else. We were a team. The seven of us, we're the team to beat. We were the survivors. We were the ultimate survivors, like the people on my raft had joked about earlier. 

That raft... most of them were gone now. Sora, Saikoro, Brittany, they were all dead. The only ones left from that group were me, Rantaro, and Ahmya. 

How could we have lost so many people so quickly? The rafting trip felt like it happened just yesterday... I could practically hear Saikoro and Sora joking about being the first mates while Brittany giggled playfully as our boat went over larger waves.

I took a deep breath, then slowly looked down, seeing six letters that glowed red, pulsating on the floor.

Crying

The skin around his wrist had turned a deep purple, as did the entire left side of his body. His chest no longer rose and fell. 

Kichiro remained silent as Ruji gasped and covered his mouth, trembling beside me.

The ultimate unlucky student kneeled down by him, picking up something that I couldn't quite see. There was a crumpling noise that echoed throughout the silent room as he stuffed it into his pocket. 

"Daiki..." I whispered, breaking the silence we were trapped in. My voice broke as my vision focused in on him. There was a tear, still clinging to his face below his open eyes.

He was dead. 

"AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF INVESTIGATION TIME, A TRIAL WILL BEGIN!" Monokuma's voice added cheerfully. I flinched at the sound of it, fighting not to break down in sobs. 

Why him?! He was quiet, he liked to keep his distance, but even so, I felt closer to him than almost everyone else. He was the one who showed up at my cabin after Tora died. He was the one who inspired me to keep fighting.

And now, he was gone too. 

Kichiro remained silent as he stepped over the ultimate spy's body, walking up to the monitor. I had no idea what must have been going through his mind. There was an old machine located beneath the monitor with Daiki's tape sticking out of it. Kichiro let out a strained breath as he reached up to it and pushed the VHS tape back in. 

The video was static for a while before coming into focus, revealing what looked to be Daiki, looking directly at the camera. He didn't look the same, though. His eyes weren't wide and alert, but tired and sunken. 

"Hey," Daiki's image said, his voice as soft as ever. "If you're watching this, then congrats, I guess. You've made it to this point in the game. Again..." 

Was this the tape Rantaro had? Did Daiki snatch it back and watch it on his own? Or had Monokuma somehow returned it to him?

Daiki wasn't a thief, so it must have been the latter. Why was it in the monitor, though? Did he actually watch it?

Why would he do that? I thought we all agreed it was safest to keep it from him...

I frowned and looked at Ruji, who seemed equally as lost. Kichiro kept his eyes on the screen, unmoving. I don't think I've ever seen him so focused.