Chapter Text
→ ACCUSE: Ruri Hattori
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JUNICHI SASAKI: It could only be you, Ruri! |
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RURI HATTORI: Huh-- me?! |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: It has to be you. You’re the only one who could have pulled off that kind of stunt. |
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RURI HATTORI: “That kind of stunt”? What are you talking about? |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: If I recall correctly... there was something you said to me when we were investigating the red hall the other day. “I mean, my room looks kind of like the inside of a circus tent. There are mechanical tigers, clown outfits, fire sticks, and even a tightrope!” |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: The wire of the lantern lights and the arrow could easily be strong enough to support the weight of someone who knew what they were doing... for example, if they were using the wire as a tightrope! |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: Someone who could easily balance without falling. Someone who was small but strong enough to carry a body. |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: Someone like you. |
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RURI HATTORI: H-hey, don’t point fingers at me like that! Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions? |
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RURI HATTORI: Shiori was my friend! I don’t have any reason why I would want her dead! |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: Are you completely sure about that, Ruri? |
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RURI HATTORI: ...What are you trying to get at? |
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RURI HATTORI: I have no motive, remember? My secret was already read out loud, so everyone heard it! |
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LUCIDIA LAYTON: Who cares about your motive now? You sound suspicious. |
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TETSUO ISAYAMA: Weren’t you the one who rattled off her secret to begin with? |
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RURI HATTORI: No, really… you’re making a huge mistake! I’m not the bad guy here, I swear! |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: (‘Not the bad guy’? That was worded strangely…) |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: (Wait a minute… could it be?) |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: The motive didn’t matter to you, Ruri. |
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YUUYA TSUBASA: Huh? But why else would she kill Shiori? |
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RURI HATTORI: I didn't... |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: What mattered was that you stopped the person controlling Monokoumori. |
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RURI HATTORI: That… it’s… I… |
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HIROE KOBAYASHI: … |
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HIROE KOBAYASHI: Controlling Monokoumori? What do you mean? |
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MONOKOUMORI: Yeah, Whiz-Kid, what do you mean? |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: Don’t play dumb. Someone’s controlling you from the outside. |
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MONOKOUMORI: Interesting theory! What else does that brain of yours come up with? |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: Monokoumori is a robot. Shiori was the ultimate roboticist. It makes sense that Ruri would come to that sort of conclusion. |
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CHIKAKO UEDA: H-hey… can you blame her? I mean, she was trying to save us… probably. |
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HIROE KOBAYASHI: Regardless of her reasoning, Ruri still committed a heinous crime. |
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RURI HATTORI: ... |
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AI KUROSAWA: But surely being a roboticist wouldn’t merit suspicion by itself. Shiori must have incited her somehow. |
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RURI HATTORI: All of you... just stop. |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: …! |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: (Was she on the verge of confessing?) |
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DAISUKE GODAI: You’re all putting a sizable amount of pressure on Ruri. |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: (This guy again?) |
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DAISUKE GODAI: If I were in her situation, I’d probably do the same. Crowding around her isn’t going to get us anywhere. |
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DAISUKE GODAI: ...Junichi. |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: ...Ah? |
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DAISUKE GODAI: Your job as a reporter is to give a voice to those who can’t speak, correct? |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: ...Journalist. |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: But anyway, what are you getting at? |
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DAISUKE GODAI: Perhaps you can shed some light on this event. Go over it from start to finish, so we don’t miss any details. You’re capable of that. |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: ... |
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JUNICHI SASAKI: Alright. I’ll make sure everything is so clear that none of you can miss it. |
CLOSING ARGUMENT
PART 1
- It all started when we gathered to destroy Hiroe's weapons with the hydraulic press yesterday.
- While we were distracted by moving the firearms, the killer managed to sneak out a crossbow and a pair of arrows.
- It was easy, since the killer's room was right next to Hiroe's.
PART 2
- We can assume that the killer managed to lure Shiori out of the room somehow… perhaps by using the monopod’s call app.
- When the killer and Shiori met up, the killer was already prepared.
- They brought the crossbow and arrows they'd taken from Hiroe's room… and shot her.
- After the fact, the killer heard the sound of someone approaching down the hallway, and realized that they couldn't hide.
- So they quickly hatched a plan.
PART 3
- The killer unplugged the lantern lights to avoid being seen, and made their way to the statue in the center of the room.
- Figuring out that Shiori's body wouldn't be able to be accessed from the elevator room, the killer created a bridge between the two rooms.
- By tying one end of the cord around the statue, and the other around the end of the second arrow, they shot the crossbow again and made a precarious path.
PART 4
- They carefully balanced Shiori's body and the weapon, and crossed from the hub to the elevator room as if they were using a tightrope.
- The arrow was just strong enough to support their weight as they dropped Shiori and the crossbow, and walked back to the central hub.
- After the killer made it back to safety, they pulled the cord to bring it back, which snapped the arrow in half.
PART 5
- Once they knew the coast was clear, the killer plugged the lantern lights back in, and returned to their room to wash off like nothing had ever happened.
- Finally, this morning, they joined us in the central hub as we entered the elevator room to investigate.
- However, there was no way to hide the damage that had been done. Putting the body in the elevator room was what made the truth come to light, not the other way around.
- And there’s only one person who could have put the body there in the first place.
Isn't that right, Ruri Hattori?
RURI HATTORI: ...
YUUTO ONODERA: Ruri? Are you... giving up?
RURI HATTORI: You guys… you… you really don’t get it, do you?
LUCIDIA LAYTON: So you're going to deny it to the end?
RURI HATTORI: No, that's not it... I...
RURI HATTORI: I'm so sorry...
MONOKOUMORI: Snnnnnz… hrnk… huh… OH!
MONOKOUMORI: Is it time? Did I miss voting time?!
JUNICHI SASAKI: ...Voting time?
MONOKOUMORI: Weren’t you listening at the beginning of the trial? You all need to vote for whodunnit!
MONOKOUMORI: And don’t even think about NOT voting, ‘cause it won’t end up pretty if you abstain!
MONOKOUMORI: Well, since I didn’t appear to miss it… It’s voting time! Please use the touchpad available on your podium to select who you think the blackened is!
MONOKOUMORI: Will you make the right choice? Or the dreadfully wrong one?
“Hey, wouldja lookit that!” Monokoumori tittered, sweeping her gaze across the room, “You all voted correctly— Each and every one of you!”
The oppressive atmosphere in the room turned ten times as heavy as it had been before. I swallowed thickly, unable to bring myself to look at Ruri. I didn’t want to admit it, but after all that had happened, after all I’d learned… I was scared. Scared of what she’d done, scared of what would happen next… scared of what would happen to her.
“Eh?” Monokoumori piped up again, “What’s with those gloomy faces you’re all wearing! You’re all going to survive another day! ...Or rather, all but one.”
Ruri’s face paled.
“Ruri…” Came a calm voice from the opposite end of the room.
A glance to the side, and I felt my eyes twitch.
“Why did you do it?” Diauske asked, far more gently than he had any right to do.
“I…” Ruri started, her eyes flickering across every corner of the room, yet meeting nobody else’s gaze, “I was… I was scared.”
“Being scared doesn’t give you the right to kill someone,” Lucidia sneered.
“I didn’t want to!” Ruri screamed suddenly.
Her voice echoed through the area, and even Lucidia was taken aback.
“I just…” Ruri continued, “I hadn’t brought the arrows to kill her. I brought them for self-defense at first. And it was just like Junichi said… I called her with the monopod app, because I didn’t want to risk getting anyone else involved if something happened. But when I met her last night… she was carrying it…”
A sob wrenched its way out of her throat, and tears began to drip from her face to the floor.
“It?” Hiroe pressed on, furrowing her brows.
“The red robot egg… that stupid thing that broke yesterday. I saw her with it, and I thought… I thought she would… I don’t know what I thought! But… but I panicked, and before I knew it… I’d already pulled the trigger on the crossbow, and she was there on the floor, and… and…”
“Why was she carrying the egg?” Emiko asked out loud. “There’d be no reason to carry that busted thing around, it’s basically scrap metal.”
“I don’t know,” Ruri said, her voice suddenly quiet. “I don’t know. If she didn’t fix it…”
“Hmm,” Monokoumori hummed, interrupting the conversation, “I wonder what she was up to! It’s a good thing you offed her before she could crack the passcode on my computer, though. That would’ve been very troublesome!”
“Oh… oh god, what have I done?” Ruri stuttered out shakily, looking down and clenching her fists so tightly she could have ripped the fabric of her gloves.
“Well, anyway,” Monokoumori dismissed, “I’ve had just about enough of the sob story portion of this thing, so… let’s get on with the best part of the trial!”
I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach, and stepped back. My mouth dried, my throat closed, and suddenly, my fear returned.
“I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Ruri Hattori, the ultimate ringmaster!”
Before any of us could react, the sounds of metal screeching against metal and loud rumbles permeated the air. Ruri froze in her spot, and looked at me despondently.
I couldn’t help but look back.
“Iiiiiiit’s punishment time!”
We stood there, unable to move.
The screen that had descended from the hallway that Ruri had been dragged through flickered off, leaving the rest of us to stare emptily at the ghost of the video.
Water, tinted red with blood, as Ruri was taken away from us.
Nobody said a word for several long moments. I couldn’t hear anything, the ringing in my ears too loud to process anything else.
“Wasn’t that fun?” Monokoumori clapped, making several of the others look behind themselves; She’d probably reappeared in the back of the room, but I didn’t dare to follow their gazes. I merely stared as the screen slowly ascended again, revealing the hallway as if nothing had happened.
“Y-you…” Miyu spoke up suddenly, her voice sounding wet, “You killed her! You killed Ruri!”
“Wrong, wrong, wrong!” Monokoumori ‘tsk’ed, “She killed herself when she chose to murder another student! That’s how it works in this killing game, dollface! Hope and despair, life and death! There’s no avoiding it here!”
Miyu looked as though she wanted to protest, but all that exited her mouth was a choked sob.
“Hey…” Yuuya said, in a shaky voice that suggested he was actually aware of what had just happened, “Don’t start crying, or… or else I’ll start crying too…”
The quiet hiccups of repressed cries quietly echoed through the room, coming from all directions. It seemed there were only a few unaffected by the sight; Most notably, Hiroe, who made her way to the center of the room, and looked up at the ceiling, where the ladder had led from before the class trial started.
“Are we allowed to go back up now?”
Hiroe’s voice was steady, with no audible cues to imply she had been moved by the sight.
“Wow,” Lucidia interrupted before Monokoumori could answer, “I figured you had no morality before, but this is a whole other level of stoicism.”
“Shut up!”
All eyes snapped to the source of the outburst, which came directly from Tetsuo.
“You guys are disrespecting Ruri’s memory by arguing after her death. Can’t any of you spare a moment to give her spirit some peace?” Tetsuo glared, which turned his usually calm demeanor into something much more serious. “Both she and Shiori won’t be able to rest until we can figure out a way out of here, so… so…!”
Suddenly, Daisuke approached Tetsuo, and put a gentle hand on his back. “So we need to set our egos aside and work together like we did before. Is that right?”
Tetsuo’s glare faltered, and he looked at Daisuke with some amount of gratitude. “Yeah… yeah, that’s right.”
Daisuke nodded, and removed his hand from Tetsuo’s back. “I think the best way to honor them would be to find freedom. What they were fighting for, that is.”
For some reason, I had no will to glare at Daisuke. All I could feel was a sudden emptiness. I barely registered the sound of the ladder descending from above, the sound of everyone solemnly climbing back into the hexagonal hub, the sound of my own footsteps as I headed back to my farce of a bedroom and promptly collapsed onto the floor.
Something inside me had shifted, for better or for worse.
