Blades of Despair

-Chapter Fifty-Nine-

Three Numbers

Panic erupted inside the trial hall.

"Dead! How can he be dead?" Ori shouted.

"No... not another death..." Morihei shrieked.

"He... died?" Mina whispered, staring at the small pool of blood that had settled at the centre of the room. Her face was as white as a sheet, and her hands were trembling. "He... really died? Huh?" Shit! How did this happen? I knew there was something wrong, but to think he was on the verge of death... Yoneda, why did you hide this from us? I was still kneeling besides his body, transfixed by the vacant expression in Yoneda's eyes. All the loathing and foulness that had once glistened in them like a burning pool of water had now gone. There was nothing left of the Yoneda we knew at the start of the killing game after the third class trial, and now the one we had come to hate was gone too.

"This cannot be... what the-? How did he... in front of everyone...?" Nishi stuttered.

"Students, please calm down!" Monoworth ordered, but to no avail. The others were too rattled by what they had witnessed. Everyone, that is, except him.

"Miyagawa, are you certain he is deceased?" Morino asked me firmly, his golden eyes staring at me unflinchingly. I nodded. "I see... Monoworth, I have a question."

"What is the matter, Master Yoshimatsu?"

"Your trial hall has become a crime scene for murder," Morino declared calmly. "Am I right in thinking that this warrants an investigation?" I blinked. Another investigation? Morino, are you serious?

"Hmm... That is... Hrm..." Monoworth seemed at a loss.

"Of course, as per your rules, the trial will only be held for the person who killed Iowa," Morino added, and I thought I detected a trace of a smirk on his lips. "Plus, I imagine you will need to move Yoneda's body after Miyagawa conducts his autopsy? You'll need us to leave the room to do that, so why not allow us a second investigation?"

"Grr... very well, Master Yoshimatsu. I shall permit you another investigation. Master Hitomaru," the bear turned to me, "how long do you think you will need to analyse Master Naosuke's body?"

"About thirty minutes," I said after a moment of contemplation. "I'm fairly certain I know what his cause of death is, but I will need to check his clothes for evidence, as well as his body for external injuries."

"I see. In that case, I shall make preparations to transport Master Naosuke. You have thirty minutes, and not a second more, Master Hitomaru." With a pop, Monoworth disappeared from view, leaving Morino and I with our still-dumbfounded classmates.

"Miyagawa, you said that you know what killed him?" Ori asked quietly. "Is it...?"

"Poison," I said, nodding with a grim expression on my face. "Judging by the symptoms, it's the same one that killed Iowa, but I will need to do an autopsy to confirm. Who... wants to stay with me while I perform it?" Nobody raised a hand, or gave verbal indication that they would. Just as I thought, I said to myself. They're all shocked that he's dead, but they're not saddened by the event. Have we really come so far that we are no longer bothered by the death of a friend, albeit a former one? Would things have been different if... no, I cannot think about the past. I have to examine him.

"I think we should all stay here until Miyagawa has finished with Yoneda," Morino stated to the group.

"But what about the investigation?" Morihei asked, clearly still shaken from what she had just witnessed.