Chapter Text
As the morning announcement sounded, Takuto groaned as he awoke slowly. Sitting up in his bed, Takuto sighed as he adjusted to the morning light. He swung his feet over the side of the bed before standing up and getting ready for the day, changing clothes and redoing his tie as well as putting on his choker and. Kasumi’s hair tie. Takuto sighed before exiting his room and heading over to the dining room, the group usually met up there every morning. He still had no clue how Kana managed to get everyone to agree, hell Takuto worked with people as a profession and he doubted he’d be able to get this many people to meet up this frequently. As he left his room he ran into Tsunako who was walking down the hallway, “Hm? Morning Takuto.”
“Good morning Tsunako, are you also on your way to the dining room?” Takuto asked.
“Yes.” Tsunako answered simply.
Tsunako continued walking down the hall and Takuto walked behind her, struggling to keep up, “How are you feeling about the motive Tsunako?” Takuto asked.
Tsunako flinched and stopped walking for a moment before starting to walk even faster. “Tsunako wait! I’m sorry, did I say anything wrong?” Takuto tried his best to keep up.
Tsunako froze and simply shook her head, “I… No… It’s not you… It’s me.”
Takuto caught up and grabbed Tsunako’s wrist, “Please tell me what’s wrong! I want to understand you Tsunako. Please?”
Tsunako turned around and looked into Takuto’s brown eyes, meeting them with her own heterochromatic purple and red eyes. Eventually she sighed and closed her eyes, “Long story… All you need to know is it’s not you specifically that’s making me uncomfortable, I promise.”
“If you say so..” Takuto said.
Tsunako gave the smallest of smiles before noddig her head towards the staircase, “Now come on, let’s go. I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”
Takuto quickly caught up to Tsunako and they walked downstairs and to the dining room together. As they entered they sat down at the table where everyone else was already seated. Everyone seemed. Distracted. At least to Takuto. Fumiko was sleeping in her seat next to Kana with her head on the table and Ren was fiddling with the blue scarf. Others were twirling their hair around their fingers like Chiyo or Minoru. Some seemed to be making small talk as a distraction such as Kazuko and Ichika. Hiroto and Momoka seemed accepting but slightly frustrated, Akihiro was talking to Ichika specifically trying to calm her down. Strangely though, there were three people who seemed calm. Kana, Jiro, and Riku. They were talking quietly amongst themselves while exchanging looks. Kana noticed that Tsunako and Takuto had arrived and promptly started speaking, “Good, all of us are here now!”
Everyone quieted down and Tsunako gently shook Fumiko awake from her spot on Fumiko’s other side.
“I hope everyone slept alright. And now that it’s morning I want to talk about the motive…” Kana spoke carefully, “I want to know what each person’s object is. Mine is a fake flower a friend gave to me when I first started performing.”
Riku hesitantly raised his hand before speaking, “Mine was a gift from my twin brother. It was a stuffed bear from a long time ago…”
Ren raised his head slightly, “Mine was a telescope from when I was really into star gazing.”
Takuto tapped his foot nervously as answered, “It was a book. My mother gave it to me.”
Minoru nodded softly, “Mine was also a gift from my mom, it was one of those toy oven things. Y’know like the ones that can actually cook stuff but aren’t considered too dangerous for a child.”
“I had a bracelet.” Momoka said with a gentle and slightly sad smile.
“Fumi’s object was a dress she made a long time ago.” Fumiko replied.
“A bow…” Tsunako said simply.
“Headphones, good quality ones too.” Kazuko huffed.
“Mine was a teacup.” Hiroto sighed.
“Ah! I had a cat collar from my old cat!” Akihiro answered.
“Aww, that’s cute actually.” Ichika grinned, “I had a necklace pendant, not the chain, just the pendant.”
“A violin.” Chiyo said.
Jiro stayed quiet for a moment before fiddling with a strand of his shoulder length red-orange hair, “A puppet I made.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s everyone then. Thanks for being honest guys.” Kana said with a soft smile as she stood up.
“How’d you know none of us are lying?” Hiroto asked skeptically.
“Easy.” Kana shrugged, “I have a good memory and I can remember what Monokuma showed us so I just figured out all the stuff in the photo and matched it up with your guys’ answers.”
“That’s impressive actually.” Chiyo commented.
“Thank you.” Kana smiled. “That’s all I really wanted from this meeting though so thank you. See you all later.”
Kana gave a small wave to everyone before leaving the dining room. Takuto sighed and also stood up, “I’m also going to get going, if anyone wants to talk about the motive you can come find me.”
Takuto left the dining room and began making his way out of the hotel. Quite honestly, the first thing he wanted to do today was look through more of Kasumi’s file, and he kind of wanted to be alone for that so he could process stuff on his own. That first file was still on his mind, he wanted to know more about the mysterious priestess who killed without even needing a motive, the young girl who had seemingly been involved in something sinister.
(Free Time)
-Kasumi Sakakibara-File Reading Session 1-
Eventually, Takuto had reached his lab and opened the drawer of the cabinet, rifiling through the files until he reached Kasumi’s section. He pulled out a file and began to scan it.
-Kasumi Sakakibara-
*Age: 16 years old
*Birthday: June 28th
*Blood Type: A
*Height: 5,4
*Weight: 108 lbs.
*Family: ###### Sakakibara and ##### Sakakibara
*School: ##### Public High School
—
Takuto sighed, this all just seemed to be her basic information. The only things in here that caught his interest were the two family members listed, and Kasumi’s old school. From the name of the school he could guess it was a normal public school, so Kasumi most likely wasn’t wealthy. He also guessed that her two family members were her parents, and if he had to guess. He’d say they were the same people in that image from yesterday. Takuto continued looking through the file until his eyes landed on a picture. It seemed to be more recent, it was Kasumi in a normal school uniform, her hair was tied back in pigtails and she seemed uncomfortable but not downright terrified. It was just a straight up picture of her, kind of like a school photo if he had to make guesses. There were more papers inside of the file, Takuto pulled them out and read them.
It was a collection of quote from Kasumi’s classmates, all about Kasumi.
-###### ###### said, “She’s weird. She’s pretty out of it during almost every class and she doesn’t talk to anyone.”
-###### ######### said, “I haven’t talked to her ever but I’ve noticed she just doesn’t show up to school sometimes, for days on end.”
The quotes went on, all talking about Kasumi, all describing her as distant, quiet, and weird. From the quotes, what Takuto had gathered was that Kasumi didn’t have any friends. There really was no way to sugarcoat it, Takuto could most definitely infer that she was a loner who never fit in. Takuto sighed dejectedly and put everything back in the file before closing it and putting it away.
He stood up and left his lab as he thought about what he had read. Kasumi never exactly seemed like a loner to him when she was still alive. He always assumed she was an extrovert who easily talks to people. But he supposed you can’t always judge a book by its cover. He returned to his room for the time being.
-Kasumi Sakakibara-1st Reading End-
-Jiro Yoshida-2nd Event-
A little bit later, Takuto left his room once more and went looking for Jiro. Eventually he found Jiro in the Ultimate Puppeteer’s Lab. Jiro looked over at him and smiled, “Takuto! Hi!”
Takuto gave a polite smile in return and walked over to Jiro, “Hey Jiro, what are you doing?”
“Nothing much.” Jiro shrugged, “You should join me!”
“I’d love to.” Takuto accepted.
“Great!” Jiro pulls Takuto over to the work space for puppet making, “You’re going to help me make a puppet. I need a new one, and the ones premade for me… I’m probably not going to use those.”
“They’re based on your family right?” Takuto reached up and grabbed a random doll, it looked like a girl with the same hair color as Jiro and brown eyes instead of Jiro’s black ones.
The doll was wearing a light blue dress. Jiro nodded and pointed at the doll Takuto was holding, “Yeah, that one’s supposed to be Mayura.”
“You said Mayura was older than you right?” Takuto asked.
“Mhm.” Jiro affirmed, “Mayura and Sakiko are older than me by about two years. They’re twins incase you forgot. Me and Mayura never really got along… Actually I didn’t get along with Sakiko either.”
Takuto watched as Jiro took the doll out of his hands and stared at it for a moment before putting it back on the shelf. “Why don’t you get along with them?” Takuto asked.
Jiro sighed, “She just never saw how I saw things. Both of them were just mother’s precious little girls. Right now I just hope Izumi and Sora are okay.”
Takuto put a comforting hand on Jiro’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, “I’m sure they’re fine, if they’re anything like their brother.”
Jiro looked at him in slight surprise before smiling and reaching up to grab a different one of the dolls, “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“What doll is that one?” Takuto asked.
Jiro grinned mischievously and handed it to Takuto, “That’s for me to know and you to find out. All you need to know is I want you to look after it for me. I want you to have it.”
Takuto turned the doll around in his hands to get a better look at it. “Are you sure? It was lined up with your family so I would think it’d be important to you.”
“I’m very sure. Trust me, the person that doll is of would want you to have it.” Jiro said with a smile, “I’ll tell you one day I swear.”
“Alright then. I’ll take good care of it.” Takuto promised as he looked at the doll.
The puppet had Jiro’s same red hair and his same black eyes. The puppet was also wearing a black dress.
“Is there anything I should know about it?” Takuto asked, “Do I need to clean it or anything?”
Jiro laughed at that, “Pftt, it’s not a dog Takuto! No, as long as you’re not doing anything with it, it doesn’t need to be cleaned.”
Takuto blushed in embarrassment, “Alright then.”
“You can set it right there for now. Before you go I want some help in making a new puppet.” Jiro grinned as he pointed at an empty table.
Takuto nodded and set the puppet down gently pn the table before returning to Jiro’s side, “How can I help?”
“Just hand me things when I ask for them.” Jiro shrugged, “I already painted it before you got here so the skin and eye colors are done already. I just need help stringing it and sewing the clothes for it as well as adding hair.”
“You sew clothes for them?” Takuto asked.
“Hm? Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I doubt the clothes I make for my puppets are as good as the stuff Fumiko makes. I’m no Ultimate Seamstress, but I can do basic stuff.” Jiro answered as he pulled out a piece of white fabric, “Could you be a dear and grab the scissors, sewing needle, white thread, and the box of white buttons.”
Takuto retrieved what Jiro asked for and brought them over to him. Jiro smiled and took the items before getting to work, “Thank you~!”
After about an hour of Jiro asking for things, Takuto retrieving them, and Jiro working on the puppet. They had finished the doll and Takuto looked over at it for the first time. “You made it of me?”
Jiro nodded with a grin as he held the doll carefully, Jiro had recreated Takuto perfectly onto the miniature wooden version. His purple hair and brown eyes, his simple yet recognizable outfit. “Yep!” Jiro confirmed.
“If there’s one thing I want in this world Takuto. It’s you.” Jiro said as he walked over to Takuto with a smile on his face.
“Huh!” Takuto sputtered in surprise, “Why would you want me?”
Jiro winked playfully, “Figure it out my dear therapist!”
Takuto then stood there and watched as Jiro ran out of the lab with the newly made doll. Takuto blushed softly before grabbing the puppet Jiro had given him and leaving the lab to return to his own room, his head spinning.
-Jiro Yoshida-2nd Event end-
-Kana Yumiko-2nd Event-
Eventually Takuto left his room after setting the puppet down in his room. He wandered around for a but before finding Kana in the hotel lobby. She was sitting on the couch as she ran her fingers through her long wavy white hair. She looked up as Takuto entered and gave him a polite nod as he sat down next to her. “Hello Takuto, how are you doing today?” Kana greeted.
“I’m doing alright.” Takuto shrugged, “Do you mind if I hang out with you for a bit?”
Kana nodded with a soft smile, “I don’t mind.”
“What were you doing?” Takuto asked.
“Just. Thinking.” Kana trailed off thoughtfully, “I. Wonder what Enkai’s last thoughts were, I mostly just hope they didn’t suffering too much.”
Takuto didn’t know what to say to that so they say in silence for a moment before Kana laughed softly, “Sorry, that was a little dark.”
Takuto gave her a thoughtful look, “No, it’s alright. If I had to guess I would say Enkai didn’t suffer too much. Their death would have been instant.”
“Hm, I suppose you’re right.” Kana sighed, “Well, how do you feel about the motive?”
“I. Don’t know what to feel. One one hand, I know it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, it’s just a book after all…. But on the other hand. That book was the only gift my mother has ever given me.” Takuto fidgeted with his hands on his lap.
Kana nodded softly as she braided a few strands of her hair, “I’m sorry. That. Probably sucks. What kind of book is it?”
Takuto tilted his head back thoughtfully, “It’s alright, I got used to my mother’s hands off approach to parenting a long time ago… It was a children’s book, from when I was eight years old.”
Kana gave him a small smile, “That’s cute.”
Takuto sighed before facing Kana once more, “What was the story behind the fake flower?”
Kana stopped braiding her hair for a moment before thinking and speaking with a soft smile on her face, “It was my second ever show and I was about to leave the place. But I noticed a little girl who came to my show, she was looking for her mother. It just so happened her mother was actually one of my costume designers. The little girl gave me the flower as a thank you gift. I guess I’ve just cherished it ever since.”
“If we get out of this alive, I’d like to see you perform.” Takuto told her.
“That’d be fun.” Kana agreed, “I would gladly perform for you. If we live of course.”
“What’s the best part of your job Kana?” Takuto asked.
Kana giggled in response, “I love to see my fans smile. It makes it all worth it in my opinion.
She then quietly adds, “The money isn’t half bad though.”
“What about you? What do you like about being a therapist?” Kana asked as well.
Takuto hummed thoughtfully, “Hm. I mostly work with children, I guess I just like making their lives easier to process in any way I can.”
Kana nods as she smiles, “That’s beautiful.”
-Kana Yumiko-2nd Event End-
-Fumiko Sasaki-1st Event-
Eventually their brief hangout was over and Takuto returned to his room. After a few minutes of resting in his room, he left once more and walked around until he found Fumiko at the pool. She was sitting on a pool chair, (Not wearing a swimsuit btw, she’s wearing her normal clothes) her hair was down and she was looking at the water. “Hey Fumiko!” Takuto greeted as he approached her.
Fumiko looked up at him, startled, “Huh!? Oh it’s you. Phew, you scared Fumi!”
“Sorry.” Takuto rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Do you mind if I sit next to you?”
Fumiko nodded and scooted over slightly as Takuto sat down next to her on the pool chair. “Also! Fumi thought she told you to call her Fumi!”
“Did you?” Takuto questioned, “Eh, whatever. Okay Fumi it is.”
Fumiko smiled and placed her hands on her lap, “Thank you. Not many people actually agree to calling Fumi by the name she wants to be called. Even Fumi’s own sister doesn’t call Fumi, Fumi.”
“You have a sister?” Takuto asked.
Fumiko huffed. “Yeah. She got a better life than Fumi could even dream of.”
“What do you mean by that?” Takuto asked
Fumiko sighed as she messed with the ruffles on her skirt, “Fumi’s parents are divorced, and Fumi was stuck with her father while her sister got her mother. Father is…. Not great?”
Takuto reached over to Fumiko, intending to comfort her. But he stopped when she flinched and looked at his hand nervously. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Fumi just isn’t comfortable with being touched.” Fumiko said angrily, “It’s all his fault!”
“His? Do you mean your father?” Takuto asked.
“No… Fumi’s father didn’t touch her. He just pretended the person who did was in the right.” Fumiko scowled.
“… Fumi…” Takuto whispered sadly.
Fumiko gave him a soft smile before standing up and smoothing out her frilly pink skirt, “It’s okay Taku! Fumi’s got over it a long time ago.”
Takuto stood up and walked over to her hesitantly, “Are you okay?”
Fumiko’s smile faltered and she blinked in surprise at the question, “What?”
“Are you okay?” Takuto repeated as he hesitantly stepped closer.
“Fumi is just fine.” Fumiko replied quietly, “Thanks for hanging out with Fumi. Fumi’s gonna go now. Buh bye Taku!”
Fumiko waved before leaving and walking away towards the hotel. Takuto watched helplessly as she left before returning to his own hotel room.
-Fumiko Sasaki-1st Event End-
It was getting late so he decided to go to the dining room once more to meet up with everyone before bed. It was just Kana was there with Jiro. Takut walked over and Kana turned to him, “Hello, everyone else already went to bed. I decided it wasn’t important to have a meeting tonight.”
Jiro nodded, “Yep, me and Kana were just chatting before heading to bed ourselves.”
“Okay then, what were you guys chatting about?” Takuto asked.
“Nothing much.” Kana shrugged, “I’m gonna go to my room now. Goodnight you two.”
“Goodnight Kana.” Takuto said as Kana left the room.
Takuto then turned back to Jiro who was brewing a pot of tea. Jiro grinned at him, “Sorry, I just like to have tea before bed. It’s a habit my mother drilled into me.”
“I see.” Takuto hummed thoughtfully, “You once said the strange nicknames were also a habit. How did that habit start?”
Jiro laughed as he finished brewing the tea and poured some into a cup, “Well, me calling guys weird pet names like that always annoyed my mother. So i kept doing it.”
Takuto nodded silently as Jiro spoke, “I’m probably gonna go to bed now. G’night Takuto.”
“Goodnight.” Takuto gave Jiro a small smile as Jiro left the room.
Soon after that, Takuto retired to his own room for the night. He removed his accessories and laid down on his bed, letting sleep overtake him.
As the morning announcement played, Takuto slowly sat up as he opened his eyes. Takuto got ready for the day and left his room before heading to the dining room and taking his seat.
The meeting started as usual, Kana directing the conversation with the occasional input of everyone else. As the meeting concluded, Takuto left the dining toom and returned to his room to rest for a bit.
-Riku Naoji-1st Event-
After a while of resting in his room, Takuto left the hotel and wandered around until he came across Riku in the Ultimate Chess Master’s lab. Riku was sitting at a table by himself with a chess board in front of him, he noticed Takuto entering the room and looked up, “Hey Takuto. Would you like to join me?”
Takuto gave him a small note and sat down opposite to Riku, “Sounds fun.”
Riku smiled as he set up the chess board, “Ren went to his room after I tried to get him to play with me. His frustration was quite adorable actually, very endearing.”
Once the board was set up, Riku made the first move, “He lost quite miserably, he was only able to take one of my pieces.”
Takuto laughed as he moved his pawn forward, “You two seem to get along well.”
Riku blushed softly as he made his move, “Thanks.”
Takuto took his turn as he spoke, “Why’d you get into chess anyways?”
Riku moved a knight as he spoke with a smile, “I have an older brother, he loved chess a long time ago but he never had anyone to play with. So when I was around eight years old, he taught me how to play and I stuck with it. I was so obsessed with beating him one day, and I finally did a few years ago. That was just a little bit before I got my title of Ultimate Chess Master. I also played in tournaments and competitions.”
“That’s really cool Riku!” Takuto told him as he moved his queen.
Riku took Takuto’s queen with his own queen as he grinned, “Thanks. I still remember when I beat him, like it was yesterday. I remember how proud he was of me and how happy I felt. Our mother seemed proud of me as well.”
Takuto moved his bishop and took one of Riku’s pawns, “How much older is your brother?”
Riku thought for a moment as he took Takuto’s bishop with a second pawn, “He’s seven years older than me.”
“Are you two the only children, or did you have other siblings?” Takuto asked as he moved his king to the side.
“Just me and my brother.” Riku shook his head as he moved a piece, “Check.”
Takuto moved his king out of check before speaking, “That’s nice.”
Riku moved his queen as he grinned, “Check again.”
Takuto sighed and move his king out of check and Riku placed him back in check. This cycle kept going until eventually Takuto could not move his king out of check. Riku glanced over the board and nodded before smiling at Takuto, “Checkmate.”
Takuto sighed with an accepting smile as he laid his king down on the board, “You really aren’t called the Ultimate Chess Master for nothing, that was the hardest chess match I’ve ever played.”
Riku cleaned up the pieces before standing up, “Thank you! You put up a decent fight yourself.”
-Riku Naoji-1st Event End-
They were then interrupted by the intercom system turning on, and played a singular announcement that caused panic in both boys. “A body has been discovered! Please gather in Chiyo Nishikiori’s Hotel room!”
“What!?” Riku gasped as he pulled Takuto out of his seat, “Come on let’s go!”
Takuto nodded and the two of them ran out of the casino building and into the hotel before rushing up the stairs and heading towards the hallway where everyone else was gathered.
Takuto pushed through the crowd and looked into Chiyo’s room.
….
To say it was a mess. Would be an understatement. But the mess wasn’t what was concerning. It was the body, hanging from a rope in the center of the room. Red hair draped around the corpse’s head, out of the ponytail it was typically kept in. Chiyo Nishikori, the Ultimate Violinist, was dead. Chiyo’s eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted, her body was limp as it hung from the noose that was around her neck.
To Takuto’s absolute dread, the monochromatic bear appeared in the room. Monokuma laughed at the sight of their despair, “Finally one of you decided to kill someone! Do you know how bored I was watching you guys get along! Anywho, make sure to investigate and prepare for the class trial! Upupupu!”
Before any of them had the time to react, Monokuma had disappeared, leaving them to investigate the death of Chiyo Nishikiori.
—————————————————————————-
Thats the end of this chapter, next is the investigation and trial!
Who do you think the culprit is?
-Takuto Koboyashi
-Kana Yumiko
-Jiro Yoshida
-Riku Naoji
-Fumiko Sasaki
-Minoru Kuriyama
-Momoka Sonoda
-Ren Kimura
-Hiroto Matsuda
-Akihiro Nakamura
-Ichika Hinode
-Kazuko Uchida
-Tsunako Fujiwara
Or do you think Chiyo did it herself?
All will be revealed next chapter! And this time, you don’t get the body discovery announcement to clue you in early!