The Fear of the Past //Saiouma (Pregame)

Chapter 19

"A body has been discovered! Please gather to the dining hall to start the investigation!"

Kokichi stared at the dead body for a while. He turned to look at Kirumi and Gonta with a horrified look.

"What...?" His voice trailed off slightly. Kirumi opened her mouth to talk but just then the other students arrived, interrupting whatever Kirumi was about to say.

"What happened here- woah!" Kaito looked horrified as he saw Angie's dead body on the dinner table. Not too long after he had entered, everybody else had arrived.

"Oh, what a shame." Kiyo sighed. "I wasn't able to witness the beauty of the Ultimate Artist."

"Sorta insensitive, don't you think?" Ryoma looked up to Kiyo who simply nodded.

"But, how...? She was smiling with us just a few hours ago..." Kaede seemed about ready to collapse. Shuichi was by her side, making sure she wouldn't collapse and hurt herself.

"This must mean the killing game has started again." Maki sighed tiredly. Even if she looked annoyed and unaffected, she too was scared, although she didn't show it.

"The k-killing game?" I don't want to deal with that." Himiko said. Judging by her words, she was scared, yet her tone and expression said otherwise. Perhaps it was because she was too tired to even change her expression.

"Don't worry Himiko! I will protect you!" Tenko said reassuringly. However, her fierce expression faltered a little. "But... I don't want to deal with this either..."

"Oh...? Oh!" A excited voice appeared out of nowhere. A voice that belonged to no other than Monokuma.

"What do you want?" Kirumi asked with a hard face. She too was startled by the new body. But despite her feelings, she couldn't let her normally calm demeanor falter.

"Finally, a dead body! And here I was thinking that you kids wouldn't kill again!" Monokuma said happily. "I'm just here to hand you kids your Monokuma Files! Now, investigate quickly. After all, the class trial is about to start!"

A small ding came from everyone's Monopads, causing the room to be filled with said dings. Monokuma quickly left the kids to investigate by themselves.

Kokichi opened his Monopad to read the information.

Victim: Angie Yonaga
Time of death: 8:05 A.M
Cause of death: Acidic Burns
Wounds: Burned lips. Burnt skin on arms and neck.
Other key points: No blood shed.

Kokichi sighed as he turned off his Monopad. The Monokuma File wasn't particularly useful, but the information that it did contain would be helpful. It was better than nothing anyway.

"She was still alive a few minutes ago..." Kaede said with a horrified tone. It was unsettling that Angie had died just a few minutes ago.

"If I may ask, who were the ones who found the body?" Kiibo asked them.

"Gonta, Kokichi, and I were the one who found the body. We found it around 8:30." Kirumi replied. Gonta and Kokichi nodded in confirmation.

"I see. I'll make sure to save that into my hard drive." Kiibo replied. "Thank you." He added

"What were you doing up so early? And together nonetheless?" Miu asked, not using any foul language for once.

"Gonta Kokichi and Kirumi go to eat food. Then see body." Gonta replied happily.

"We should investigate now." Shuichi said after staring at his Monopad for some time. "I mean. The trial will start soon..."

Kaede nodded. "Shuichi's right! We need to find out who did this. We need to avenge Angie. Let's do this for everyone who has died!"

Kokichi watched the whole exchange with a uninterested expression. Again, Kaede was spreading positivity. Again, she was becoming a possible target. He knew it wouldn't be soon until the mastermind made a move against her. After all, Kaede was one of the main reasons that everyone was still going.

Encouraging others to stay on the side of hope during a killing game was sure to put you on a target list.

How they would get rid of her was an interesting thought. Maybe having her betray everyone who trusted her was the way to go. That was sure to cause despair.

Or maybe they'll give her memories of her former self. As much as he didn't want to do so, he had to admit that she was quite scary. Her little interest of humanity made her the perfect blackened.

Well, no use thinking about it now. Wheter Kaede died or not want up to him. He really had no say in the matter. Although if he were able to pull some strings he could keep Kaede from doing something that she'll regret. In some way, he was operating the whole system.

He turned his back to the people getting ready to investigate. Kokichi figured he should review the information on the Monokuma File before actually investigating. Some people may not want to talk to him, so he should get whatever information was in his reach first. Plus, who knew? Maybe the Monokuma File actually had some useful information. If he looked hard enough that is.

It said that Angie's cause of death was due to acidic burns. Perhaps it was an effect of the chemical substance touching her skin. But it also said that part of her lips and throat was affected as well. Mayhe the real cause of death was swallowing the substance. He'd have to check the actual body to make sure.

The time of death was at 8:05am. That means that the culprit was in the dining hall minutes before Kirumi, Gonta, and Kokichi got there. That also meant that the culprit must've woken up earlier than the rest. Since it was a crime committed in the morning, everyone was suspicious. After all, most of them were alone. Having a solid alibi was the way to get you off the suspects list.

Her having no blood shed supported the chemicals being the cause of death. If the chemicals did manage to get into her skin and intoxicate her, there would be no reason for blood to be shed. It also meant that the death was most likely done in one swoop. The culprit didn't seem to need to knock her out or anything like that. This probably meant that Angie was attacked suddenly.

The phone also played a important role in the case. Kokichi wasn't sure of what role it'd play exactly, but he just knew it did. Maybe after he had gotten all the clues, he would be able to see how the phone fit into the equation.

Kokichi closed the Monokuma File after he finished thinking up possible theories. He would have to investigate the actual body, as well as question the students in order to see the whole picture.

And so, Kokichi Ouma started the investigation.

                                        Investigation, Start!

Short chapter goes brrrr