Blades of Despair

-Chapter Twenty Seven-

Suspicion in Time of Heartbreak

Two murders. There have been two murders. These words swam repeatedly around my head, the images of Ouji and Tokunaga's corpses alternatively flashing in my vision. The unforgettable and sickening conditions their bodies had been left in made every cell of my body ache with confusion, rage and pain. Both of the victims were some of the kindest, most goodhearted people I'd ever met. Ouji, despite her salacious sense of humour, had always been selfless and acted like a big sister to us all. Similarly, Tokunaga had shown us his caring side, but he had also been quick to point out flaws of the killing game and retorted the bears at any opportunity he could. Both of them had been strong, far stronger than I could ever be. So, why were they dead? Who could have done this?

"I can't believe this," whimpered Mina. Some of the others had cautiously moved over to the desk to inspect the corpse of Tokunaga, but Miyagawa and I warned them not to look if they had weak stomachs. Only Nishi, Morino, Morihei and Iowa dared look him, while Mina, Saza and Mitsumi stayed by the entrance to the classroom. Yoneda, for his part, was motionless and silent. He just stared in horror at Tokunaga and wept uncontrollably. Once recovered from the shock, we all reconvened at the entrance and decided on what to do, but we were immediately faced with a problem.

"So, how are we investigating their deaths?" I asked weakly.

"Indeed," said Morino in thought, "the bears have not been in clear in what they want us to do. I did not imagine that we would be faced with two murders at the same time."

"How dare you insult my administrative skills?" roared Monomenon, who had just dropped into the room. "The game is perfect!"

"Then what will you have us do?" demanded Morino. "What do we do when there are two murders?"

"The rules state that any student cannot murder more than two students," added Miyagawa angrily, "so are we to assume that the same person murdered Ouji and Tokunaga?"

"No, because to assume makes an ass out of you and me," sang Monomenon. "I will not reveal whether they were killed by the same person or by different people, but in terms of the class trial, you need to figure out who was murdered first. Once you have decided that, you need to determine who the killer of the first victim is."

"And the second victim and their killer?" Nishi questioned.

"Oh, they don't matter," chortled Monomenon happily, "we will not be conducting a class trial for the second victim and the one who murdered them."

"Why not? We need to know who killed them both," cried Saza.

"No, you don't," retorted the bear. "Monoworth and I have so much to prepare, and you guys take ages to do your class trials, so doing two in a row would be exhausting! You still have to investigate both Ouji and Tokunaga's deaths since you all have to decide the chronology of their demises. I'd ask Tokunaga to lend you a hand, but it seems he's missing them!"

"You bastard!" screamed Yoneda. "Don't you dare talk about him!" Monomenon just laughed.

"Don't talk about him? Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're upset, Yoneda. Perhaps you'd feel better if I told you a joke? Although, now's not the time to be humerus, we've got an investigation to do!" With those tasteless jokes, Monomenon disappeared from the room. Yoneda shook with rage, and I hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder for comfort, but he only erupted.

"Why would anyone want to kill Tokunaga?" he shouted. "Why would any of us kill him? He was so kind and helpful, and his English was really improving... It's not fair! Why..?"