𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗣𝗔: 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗖

𝗜𝗧𝗦𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗛: 𝗬𝗛𝗦 𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

[𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗟𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘]

𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁?

[𝘆𝗲𝘀] 𝗇𝗈

𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜......

❝𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘚𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘜𝘚 𝘓𝘌𝘍𝘛 𝘕𝘌𝘌𝘋 𝘛𝘖 𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘒 𝘛𝘖 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘜𝘛𝘜𝘙𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘓𝘐𝘝𝘌. 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘚' 𝘚𝘈𝘒𝘌,❞

-𝙏𝙎𝙐𝙈𝙐𝙂𝙄 𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙊𝙂𝘼𝙉𝙀, 𝙉𝙀𝙒 𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙂𝘼𝙉𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙋𝘼 𝙑𝙆𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙔

"BING BONG, DING DONG!"

"A body has been discovered! Everyone, please gather in the dance room of the second floor! After a brief period of investigation, a trial will be held!"

"Oh," I hear Evelyn murmur behind me as I continue to hold the doorway, "I see."

"What kind of reaction is that?" Kyran hastily inquires to her, "for goodness' sake, it's a dead body!"

"That's not some dead body... it's Alec," I quietly murmur out, my breaths becoming more heavy. I feel like I'm going to drop or pass out again. I feel... dizzy.

"But... why?" Kyran murmurs, "I mean, yeah, he got on my nerves sometimes... but I never wanted him to be murdered or hurt! I don't want that for anyone!"

"It's... he's... I... we..." I mumble out, eyes wide and body shivering. I can't even bring myself to speak.

"Funneh, I think it's better if you come out of the classroom for a moment..." Senpai suggests quietly, pulling me away from the doorway by my shoulder.

"He's... Alec can't be..." I continue to sputter out, still in disbelief.

"Just breathe, Funneh," he assures, "stay out here and wait for the others. Kyran, Evelyn, and I will check this out." He shudders for a moment with a sad frown and shakes his head.

I slowly nod and rub my eyes, trying to stop the tears that have formed in them before I can start sobbing and worry everyone.

Last time when I discovered Gold's body, I didn't even cry. I couldn't. I was in too much shock. I screamed and blacked out. But now, I just wish I could pass out. Maybe when I'd wake up, it'll turn into a dream instead. And I'll wake up inside my own bed, back in my own home, with my family and my old friends, where everything is normal.

"Funneh? Are you okay?" Aly's voice suddenly enters my mind, "Funneh?"

"Aly...?" I slowly inquire.

"Yeah, it's me. Um, who... who was it?" she hesitantly asks as more people start to enter the hallway. The people coming up from the first stairwell only reach the floor after those on the second stairwell have arrived.

"Aly... I think it's best if you stay out here with me," I warn, adjusting my voice as I start to try and guide her by her shoulders away from the room.

"Why?" she questions.

"We heard the announcement. Is it true?" Rainbow inquires, saving me from answering, "it's... it's not true, right? I mean, there's no way any of us would hurt anyone! We promised!"

"It's... it's true," I quietly admit.

Rainbow's hopeful smile drops immediately. Her expression changes to a hollow worry, her eyes growing wide.

Aly turns around to look at Rainbow, however, her eyes wander to everyone else. I watch as her eyes switch from person to person, as if she's looking for someone. When she doesn't see whoever she's looking for, her glances become more panicked. "Funneh, who is it? Please, who is it?"

"Aly... just stay out here with me. Let the others group together, and I'll join them. I don't think you should..." my voice trails off.

"Why...?" she continues to ask, taking steps backwards towards the door.

"Funneh," Rainbow whispers to me, "is it...?"

I frown, feeling the tears start to emerge again as I nod to confirm her question.

Her solemn expression turns into a gape of her mouth, eyes seemingly trying to see if I'm lying or not. She looks over at Aly, then slouches slightly.

"Aly, really. Please, listen to me," I advise, "stay with me out here."

But it's too late. She's already hurrying over to the doorway of the dance room. I quickly start to chase after her, pushing past everyone before they even reach the scene.

"Aly, don't—" I'm too late.

She stops immediately, standing in the doorway of the dance room. She pauses, absolutely silent and still as I approach her. But when I turn her by her shoulder, her eyes are wide and tears are already starting to roll down her face. I hold up my hand to rest it on her shoulder, desperately trying to stop my own self from crying to avoid upsetting her any farther when she just suddenly screams. Loudly.

She drops to her knees and continues to sob, almost screaming in grief. Immediately, Rainbow and I pick her up to her feet slowly, then take her out of the classroom. We guide her along using her shoulders before gently letting her sit down against the wall of the corridor.

"Sh, it's okay," Rainbow softly assures, rubbing the palm of her hand along Aly's shoulder, "it's okay, Aly."

Aly cries out some words that I can't hear exactly as she buries her face into her knees, curled up in a ball. I glance over at Rainbow, who leans towards me and whispers, "Go. I'll stay here with her."

"Are you sure?" I quietly ask.

"She needs someone right now... and... I don't wanna be near a dead body. Last trial you helped out a lot. You should be the one to investigate," Rainbow explains, "I know it's important that we search but... I can't. I can't just look at a corpse like it's nothing. I'll stay here with Aly to make sure she's okay. You help the others."

"...Okay," I comply reluctantly, "take her into a classroom a little away from the room. I'll... I'll go help everyone else."

She nods as I stand up, slowly making my way back over to the group of people. No one knows what to do. They all just... stand there in horror. No one wants to even step inside the dance room.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask to the closest people around, "it feels... uneasy."

"Seeing a dead body normally does that to someone," Draco sarcastically replies, keeping his head turned away from the door, "especially a murdered dead body of our friend."

"We... we have to investigate," I say, rubbing my eyes as they water again just at the words, "everyone is just... standing and staring."

"And do you blame them? This isn't some game or anything. This is real life. Right there, in that room, that's a real body. Death isn't just something anyone gets over. In here, we're forced to confront it at its center. And none of us know how to handle it," Lunar says before glancing into the room and then looking away.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" I hear someone say, though, considering the voice, it sounds like Felicia.

"We don't have time to waste," Evelyn suddenly commands, "you heard Monokuma. We have to investigate before the trial."

Some people back away and stay in the hallway, insisting that they'll search out there. But in reality they just don't wanna do this again. None of us do. Who would want to have to search another dead body of your friend?

I sigh and shudder.

I guess it's up to us again.

[𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡!]

Evelyn is already ahead of me as she enters the classroom without hesitation. She stands in the center of the room and glances around, presumably searching for clues.

I reluctantly step inside the room, my breath becoming more hastened and my head growing dizzy again. A hand on my shoulder snaps me back to reality. When I turn around, it's just Lunar. She gives me a look and a nod before leaving me alone again, assuring me that we have to do this despite the large amount of fear in her eyes.

I inhale a deep breath and slowly start to follow behind Evelyn. She's already standing before the body, arms crossed and pupils dilating with stress as she takes notice to any main details. "Check the Monokuma File," she instructs me.

I keep my head turned away from the scene, but does what she tells me to do.

𝗘𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗞𝗨𝗠𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘

𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗫𝗜𝗦𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗪𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢

[𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗖]

𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐜

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡: 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐦

𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫.

𝐈𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦'𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤. 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲.

𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡: 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚.

I reread the Monokuma File like it's hieroglyphics, almost like my mind refuses to believe any of it's true. Is that because I don't want to accept that he's dead? Or is it that I don't trust Monokuma?

"Are... are we sure that these files Monokuma gives us are correct?" I question to Evelyn.

"The information from the last file was correct, and from the looks of it, it's correct here, too," Evelyn assures.

I grow uneasy again. "Okay."

𝗘𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐤𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞 "𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

"Funneh, come here," Evelyn calls out to me, to which I hesitate to comply.

"I..." I try to gather my words, "Evelyn, I... I don't know if I can do this again. I don't know if I can... can... just search the dead body of one of my friends..."

"I know it's hard, but they are no longer walking this Earth alive. There's nothing we can do about that. But what we can do is make sure this doesn't go unjustified," Evelyn huffs.

"What?"

"Well, it's not like any of us can bring back the dead. They're gone and we're alive. We can't change that. All we can do is deal with the living. And that means making sure those who aren't around anymore get justice," Evelyn elaborates, "besides, you promised someone you'd live if they couldn't, didn't you? If we don't investigate and solve this crime, we'll all be executed except for the person who did this. Would that be keeping your promise?"

"I... you're right," I reluctantly agree, inhaling one last deep breath before turning towards the scene and crouching down.

Alec's body is propped up with his back against the wall, slouched forward. His hood is pulled over his head, but it's obvious there's a bloodstain on the back of it. The crimson liquid stains through the black colored fabric of his hood, darkening it.

His wrists are bound together by what looks like a string of some sorts. However, the small rope is actually rather loose. The sleeves of his arms are darkened by blood, but I don't dare to try and check it. I can't touch a dead body. Especially not of someone I knew.

𝗘𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐎𝐧𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

I assume Evelyn sees my struggle because she does the work for me, reaching over and tugging up his sleeves to reveal the awful injuries.

Blood drips down his arms like rivers, but it's not new blood. Vertically, there are numerous cuts running along both his arms. But they look rather off to me, stabbed strangely at odd angles. I tilt my head to try and see the cuts more clearly. Suddenly, they seem to make sense, forming what looks to be letters.

"You see it, too, I assume?" Evelyn suddenly asks me, easily startling me as I jump slightly.

"Oh, uh, y-yeah. I do," I slowly agree, remembering what's really happening as I feel sick to my stomach.

"Don't think about it. It makes it worse," Evelyn advises, tilting her own head to view the injuries better.

"Like not thinking about makes it any better," I sigh.

"It helps. But moving on, you see that too, right? The cuts?" Evelyn points with her finger towards his arms, "they form words."

I squint and look closer. She and I are right.

I read aloud what we can tell the messy cuts spell out. "It says, 'green with money but red with blood'," I slowly realize.

𝗘𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐎𝐧𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

"Lovely," Evelyn remarks sarcastically, "but regardless, this carving must have been done after Alec died."

I bounce back and forth on the heels of my tennis shoes, still clearly uneasy. "I hope so. That sounds morbid but I'd rather have him dead than suffer through the pain of being cut like that."

"Not only that, but the blood coming from his wounds pour down onto the floor. See? The puddle has round edges, which implies that it flowed out from a vessel that was stationary," Evelyn explains, "the lack of blood being smudged also implies that he was set up like this prior to the knife —or weapon in general— making contact with the skin. I doubt they cut him like this and then bludgeoned him."

𝗘𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦

𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧"𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

"I see... huh? Is that..." I slowly say, spotting something stuck in his hand, "is that a piece of paper?"

Evelyn glances over. "Certainly looks like it."

"How do we get it?" I ask, desperately hoping she doesn't answer with what I don't want to do.

"Take it."

Yeah, that.

"No way," I deny instantly, shaking my head as the uneasiness comes back, "I'm not like you. I can't just meddle with corpses. And not those of people I care about."

"Mind over matter," she remarks back before then reaching over and yanking the piece of paper out of his fist, "I assume rigor mortis might be setting in. Not completely, but quite a bit. Considering his time of death and the current time now, the body won't reach full stiffness for around another... five hours at minimum."

"How often..." I start to ask before shaking my head, "nothing. Nevermind."

"How often do I work with dead bodies? Is that what you're asking?" Evelyn questions, "well, I don't know. For most of my life, I assume." Her tone implies that she herself does not know, only guessing with little knowledge herself.

What do you mean, "I assume"?

I brush aside my thoughts and inspect the piece of paper, unfolding it in my hands. Evelyn peers over my shoulder.

"It just says, 'NNING', 'AM' and with a hashtag above it," she says, still looking at it.

"Is that all?"

"It's torn. If it said anything else, it was ripped off."

"Strange," Evelyn murmurs, "I have my suspicions about it, but I'll save them for the class trial."

𝗘𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦

𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫"𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

"What about... about the bruise on his cheek?" I question, "can... can you check?"

She sighs and nods before turning back towards Alec, squinting her eyes to quickly scan over the scene just in case before reaching out towards his head. She holds his hood back enough to reveal his face, where his eyes are closed and his skin starting to pale.

"Lividity, I see," she murmurs to herself.

I instantly look away and shake my head, "You do this. I can't."

She sighs yet again. "Go find more clues. I'll continue to check this area if it's too much for you."

"Okay," I mutter before standing up.