Danganronpa: Until Proven Guilty

Chapter Two - 6: Our Lost Symbol of Justice

REUPLOAD BC I FORGOT AMAI'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU UTTER BITCH 💕💕

I can't shake that horrible feeling that irks the back of my brain as I make my way around the poolside, opening random drawers in some desperate scramble to find any evidence. The world moves around me like the bustling high streets, yet I feel my body move at a snail's pace. Stranded. Isolated. Alone.
It's hard to imagine Kohi's frail arms ending someone's life. Those scrawny little fingers would probably crack under the weight of a feather, let alone a knife. Or the weight of a fully grown woman.
As I trace my finger along the wall, I jump in fright as I scrape my nail against a rough surface. Much rougher than the usual tiles. 
Turning to the wall, I notice a rather large dent, the surrounding wall cracked from the impact. And smaller marks around it, almost like scratches.
Carvings.
"This is where she died," I say, my words hollow.
"Huh?" Haruka tries to peer over my shoulder, "Those markings, right? You're sure?"
I nod, "We'd need to assess her injuries before we make any firm conclusions, but I'm pretty sure this is where she was attacked.
"And the dent?" Haruka asks, "What do you think that's about?"
My words trail off as she says this, no thoughts filling my head. No ideas. No nothing.
After an awkward silence, Haruka finally speaks again, "God, it's so weird to think Tory actually took a knife. Poor girl, she must have been so scared."
Her rambling continues as we head to the men's changing room - it had been so considerately unlocked by Monokuma for investigation purposes.
Taking a quick look around the room, everything seems to be mostly intact, apart from the piles and piles of duffel bags spilling out from the locker and onto the floor.
All the boys' duffel bags. Except for Kohi's.
"All the towels seem to be stacked," Haruka says, peering into the top shelf of the locker, "Five, six, seven. Yup. All of them are still there."
"I guess we can assume those weren't tampered with then," I say, more to myself than anyone else.
Before I can drift off into thought, the sound of crying fills the room. A soft cry, clearly belonging to a man.
I whirl to see Kohi standing close to Ayana, holding his wet cheeks in his hands as he sobs. Ayana seems particularly uncomfortable, merely patting his back for support.
"I-I swear!" He whines, "I didn't do anything, this is horrible!"
"Kohi," I say flatly as they both enter, trying my best to sound sympathetic, "It's fine, we just need more conclusive evidence."
"Dude," Yashira grunts, trailing in after them, "What's more conclusive than that? It's his duffel bag."
"Yashi's kinda right," Haruka rubs her arm, "I mean, it seems obvious, but we have to go with the most likely option, y'know?"
Yashira raises an eyebrow, "Did you just call me Yashi?"
"Sorry."
"You have to believe me!" He sobs, burying his face in Ayana's chest, an awkward placement to say the least, though he doesn't seem remotely bothered.
"Look, calm yourself down," Ayana sighs, patting his head, "You're digging yourself into a deeper hole if you keep crying."
"You two were definitely together the whole time, then?" I ask.
Ayana brushes her hair from her face, "No. he left me for about 10 minutes, said he had to use the bathroom. And apparently Daiki and Amai saw him in the kitchen."
"I-I'm sorry I lied," Kohi's lip quivers, "I-I mean...I went to the bathroom, yes. But I lied to the others and said we were together the whole time. I'm so sorry."
"What the hell were you two even doing?" Yashira says, slouching on one of the changing room benches, clearly not even slightly invested in the investigation, "Don't tell me you two are a thing."
Kohi blushes as Ayana continues to speak, "He lost his handbook. Said it just went missing, so we spent all night looking for it. Ended up turning up at his door at around 3 anyway, so we just wasted our time in retrospect."
"Interesting," I mumble to myself."
"Anyway," She continues, "We're not just here to cry. We have some important information."
"Oh?" Haruka's eyes light up with interest.
"We heard a noise," Kohi says, wiping his teary eyes with his sleeve, "At around the time of death. It was really faint, and we weren't concerned about it, but it sounded a lot like the pool alarm that went off just then."
"We ran into Amai and her group too," Ayana says, "They said they heard something similar."
"And Kaso too," Kohi says.
"Yeah. Him."
"That's interesting," I say.
"B-but it was weird," Kohi says, straightening his back like there's a string in his head, "It was so...quiet. Like, nowhere near as loud as it was just then."
Ayana nods, as if to conclude his statement.
"I see," I look away from them, taking a final scan of the room, "Wow, there's kind of a draft in here, huh?"
"Tell me about it," Yashira shudders. I feel the cold air against my skin, as if the biting winter has drifted into the changing room, "Is there a window open in here or somethin'?"
Kohi scuttles around the corner of the changing room, his eyes widening as he sees it.
The window Mitsuharu was talking about. Wide open.
"Oh damn," Ayana plays with her earrings, "Someone got out."
"Probably the killer, right?" Haruka says, "It leads out onto the courtyard, it would be a pretty good escape."
I want to respond to her, but Mitsuharu's words from yesterday replay in my head like a scratched record.