#🎲aditi: former ultimate despair🥀

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The Ending

“Oi, Putri..”

“Yes?”

“Ya run dis place, right?”

“More or less…”

“Well! Can ya make an executive fuckin’ order ta install some cell tower, now!?” Iyabo barked, raising her phone in the air in a desperate attempt to find a signal. “Urgh! Ya gotta be kiddin’, outta all te times ta get no service-!”

“Oh! I’ll check my phone!” Fay piped up, searching her pockets, fumbling but finding nothing in the end. In her other free hand was a laptop she found in her holding cell and decided to take with her, unbeknownst to Fay, Chiaki resided inside of it. Fay began to pout, leaning over to Leigh. “Pst! I can’t find my phone, do you have one…?” She asked in a whisper.

Leigh pouted sadly. “No.. I don’t have a phone…” They sniffled.

“This is horrible! We’re gonna be stuck on this shitstain of an island forever now!” Hiyoko whines with teary eyes and an upset scowl. “A-All because you idiots can’t find a phone booth!”

“You’re welcome to search for one yourself, Hiyoko.” Aditi commented, entering the scene while still carrying an unconscious Miu in her arms.

“Audi! Jesus- what the hell happened to you guys!?” Hajime asked with genuine concern, hovering next to her like an overprotective mother hen.

“Me and the robot sat down and had a wonderful game of chess…” Aditi grumbled sarcastically, whipping some blood from the corner of her mouth. “Have you found a way to return home yet?”

“Not exactly..” Finn commented gently, realizing Iyabo was in too frazzled of a state to answer properly. He was more worried about her getting too frustrated and throwing the phone in the ocean.

Angie had her hands clasped together in prayer, humming and focusing all of her energy. “Atua, if you can hear Angie now… we are in a great time of need. Could you perhaps send us a savior of sorts? Another god? A ship? Perhaps a plane?? Both! Atua says he will give us both!” She brightens.

“Oh yea? Why don’tcha ask yer god where te fuck they are then, huh!? ‘Cause ‘m not seein’ it!” Iyabo growled at the artist, who merely shrugged in response. “Can ya take this seriously!? If we don’t get outta ‘ere, we could become fuckin’ war prisoners! Do ya want that, airhead-!?”

While everyone else was bickering, Ivy had been off to the side. One arm was wrapped around her sister, who had once again gone catatonic. The other was outstretched, with her hand holding up a faintly glowing red cube. The cube spun in the air, occasionally collapsing in on itself before reforming. Then, in a flash of red, it vanished, but not before sending out something akin to a dying message. Letting her arm fall, Ivy whispered to herself.

"...I trust in you, Paff. Bring us home…"

In that exact moment a plane flew right over their heads at incredible speeds, the noise of the engine so loud that conversing was impossible for a couple of seconds, the small plane turning around and circling over the island.

“AHOYYY!” A voice called out excitedly. From the same direction the plane came from, a small ship appeared, coming directly at them. At the top a familiar man standing.

“Is everyone alright?! We’re ‘ere ta pick ya landlubbers up!” It was Drake, waving at the group with his hooked hand, grinning widely. And he came with a whole cavalry of familiar faces, all there for the rescue mission.

Aditi and Iyabo gawked at their sudden appearance, while Putri began jumping up and down violently and waving her arms. “Here!! Heeeerreeee!! You’re here!!!” She squealed happily.

“Nyahaha! You see, Atua never disappoints!” Angie proclaimed with a big smile, pointing at the crusade here to save them.

Drake grinned, yelling back: “Of course! We’ve been lookin’ fer ya the whole time!” He turned, informing his crew: “Get ready. We’re ‘bout to dock.”

The plane stopped its high circling after finally finding a nearby spot to land, probably causing a lot of commotion but at least landing smoothly, the hatch opening and revealing a very familiar pilot, taking off his helmet and jumping out, asking: “Is everyone alright?! We should leave as fast as possible!”

The boat docked successfully and Drake made his way down the bridge, ordering: “Quick, ‘fore we be spotted. We gotta set sail quickly!”

(Tags below the cut for those welcome to interact with this post! Me and the fellow mods want to thank you all for sticking around for this journey/event! We hope you enjoyed and look forward to seeing you on our original blogs too. Thank you for reading! <3)

@the-ultimate-spaceboy @ask-sayomi-ouma @ask-theshadowcyborg @ask-shslpianist @the-sound-of-cold @ask-the-ultimate-cosplayer

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****

“Wonderful...” A voice groaned from the static. A mass of moss green hair entered the screen, along with an annoyed expression. Ivory glared daggers at the screen before him, showing a critical failure in the system.

Behind him stood Pixel, hovering in the shadows, one of her giant claws behind her back. The robot had returned from her mission, yet in her hidden hand she concealed the laptop that held Chiaki inside. While she was originally sent to destroy the device, riding on the boat back home, staring at the screen with the other artificial intelligence looking back in horror.... Pixel found it near impossible to toss the laptop in her grinder. A feeling. Another dreadful feeling. What a bother. No matter, she’d just hide this from Ivory until she could investigate further.

Pixel’s expression turned curious when the lights flickered in the room, signaling the power surge. Ivory huffed angrily, taking immediate action. “Go. Keep that witch locked away. Do not let her escape.” He commanded, Pixel obeying without question.

As she quickly advanced to the room in question, Pixel slipped the laptop under a different contestant’s holding room, in hopes of keeping it safe and sound.

Opening the doorway, the robot scanned the room for any abnormalities first, carefully. After certain it was safe, Pixel entered and approached where the tall figure lies with a helmet of multi-colored wires covering her head.

The only sound being her metallic clicking blades on the floor, Pixel reached forward and removed the helmet to reveal Aditi’s face. Her eyes were shut, head turning to the side without the support keeping her in place. The ravenette hadn’t reacted or even twitched, Pixel couldn’t see any signs of breathing.

One of the arms attached to her shoulder blades began to glow lightly, activating a feeling function. Pixel reached out to touch the woman’s chest and search for a heartbeat, any sign of life. The second her hand made contact, a horrific noise of bones cracking sounded from below.

Unnaturally long and sturdy appendages shot out of Aditi’s chest as a cavity opened to reveal her hallow insides. Pixel jumped back out of instinct, letting out a robotic screech of alarm. The former contestant’s eyes were now wide and glowing, the grin pulling at her lip full of malice. Aditi shot up from her laying position, readying her clawed hands and the six extra limbs that Pixel was now aware of.

A fairly even match. Aditi’s six appendages and two sharp talons, verses Pixel with her six arms and two bladed legs.

As the pair circled one another, sizing each other up, Pixel laughed mockingly in her distorted voice, amused by someone trying to fight back. She’d be no match like the others, surely?

Aditi took this personally, because the next second she had lunged at Pixel and locked four appendages around the robot’s hand hair arms, keeping them immobilized. Their shoulder blade arms locked with one another, as if they were dancing, but the pair only glared back at each other.

Maybe, not so easy after all. Oh well, more fun.

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Miu dashed down the long winding hallway, ducking in and out of various rooms, cursing every time her labors proved useless. “Fuck.. fuck-! Where is she!? We gotta get the hell out of-!” The inventor began, only interrupted by the sound of a loud crash which caused her to emit a startled squeal.

Aditi and Pixel had brawled their way through yet another wall, sending rubble flying in every direction, some of it hitting poor Miu as she reeled back in terror at the scene. Aditi luckily had Pixel pinned at the moment with her various extra limbs making escape impossible for the robot currently. Both parties were in awful shape. Aditi was covered in claw marks and wounds from Pixel’s throttling. Pixel herself was busted in multiple areas, more stray wires poking out and electrifying the air.

The inventor stared in horror at the scene, Pixel’s unholy screeching piercing her ears and making her heart ache. “Pixel! H-Hey! Stop it, y-you’ll tear her apart-!!” Miu called out, voice wavering with desperation making her demands half hearted at best.

“What are you doing here!? Get out!” Aditi yelled back, voice much stronger and commanding than Miu could hope to be at this moment. Pixel was still clawing and struggling viciously to get free, giving the other girl a hard time.

“Fuck no!” Miu hollered back, eyes welling up with tears as she shook her head violently. “I-I can’t leave her! You’ll destroy her! She-! Sh-She’s counting on me, god fucking damn it!!” She cursed, running forward and grabbing Aditi’s arm, trying to haul her off of the robot.

Pixel finally twisted her head around completely, her dark screen face taking in the scene. For a split second, when Miu looked down at the deformed robot, she could see the red screen with the happy emoticon staring back. Miu believed it was all in her head, until one of Pixel’s long thin arms broke free and reached out slowly towards her. “….. Ṃ̴̣͝-̸͓͑M̴͑ͅ… i̴͜͝u̵͈̫̓̕…” Pixel called out with a distorted voice, barely recognizable to the inventor.

Miu let go of Aditi and gawked, her eyes filled with water and blurred her vision. “… Pixel, I-I… I’m s-so sorry…” She whispered through grit teeth, her hand shooting out to grab the robot’s. Her robot.

“You fool, don’t-!” Aditi tried to reach out and stop Miu from taking the extended metal claw, but it was too late.

As soon as contact was made, Pixel’s expression shifted back to a maniacal one, causing the inventor’s heart to drop. With ease, Pixel hurtled both the girls off of her body, throwing them both against the wall and screeching victoriously in response. Miu choked up as her back hit the wall, slumping down in pain and clutching her side. Aditi landed back on her feet, seeing Miu in pain and immediately darting in front of the pink girl to block Pixel’s path.

Pixel lunged angrily, trying to sink her claws into her opponent but found herself grabbed by the neck instead. Aditi held the robot in midair while her robotic arms lashed and scratched her body and appendages viciously. Looking back at Miu with an apologetic gaze, Aditi made her choice. With all her might, she hurtled Pixel out of the giant decorative window with a ceremonial shattering of glass.

Miu cried out pitifully as she watched her corrupted creation fall out of view, her body visibly flinched at the sound of metal clashing and breaking below that followed suit. “No… no, n-no, please…” She mumbled, pushing herself up and feeling the sharp pain in her side as she did so, but she persisted, stumbling forward to look down at the shattered remains of her robotic friend. Pixel was beyond salvaging now, she was gone. This is all my fault. The sight of the remains and guilt that followed was too much, causing Miu to hyperventilate and grow dizzy.

Luckily, Aditi rushed over and caught Miu mid-faint. She sighed heavily, her body relieved the fight was won but her mind fuzzy from the despair that radiated from the inventor. Though it was to protect them both, Aditi felt a sliver of guilt for what she had done. The ravenette picked Miu up bridal style and began the trip down to the ground.

Of course, she stopped to survey the corpse of her enemy. Bending downward, Aditi scooped up a lone, highly advanced looking green and black chip from the wreckage. After a moment of observation, Aditi tucked it into her back pocket for safekeeping and trudged forward.

[threads-of-trust]

My money's on Audi!

“Thank you for your... support-“ Aditi struggled to get out, while Pixel flailed angrily trying to fling her opponent off. Aditi clung to the robot adamantly, knowing that if her restraints were broken this would be more of a hassle. “I’m-“ She was interrupted when one of Pixel’s shoulder blade claws broke free, grabbing Aditi by the throat and tossing her against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her for a moment, but she landed on her feet like a feline. “... busy. I’m busy. Go find the others. Get them out.” She commanded, whipping a few droplets of blood off of her now visible wound on the side of her neck from Pixel’s claws.

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Angie, honey... It's okay. He's not here. He can't hurt you.

Angie hardly responded to your assurance, focusing on breathing in and out rapidly. Her throat felt like it was closing in on itself. No matter what she tried, the mental image wouldn’t leave. It felt so vivid, she could hear everyone laughing and mocked her, the tears that burned her cheeks red, the hands. “D-D-Don’t touch me-!” She shouted, shoving Hajime’s hand away from her violently. Though it was meant to comfort her, her mind was too far gone to recognize it. All she could picture was that devilish man. Nobody else.

Aditi stood from her spot, walking over to put her hands on Hajime’s shoulders as reassurance. Her gaze looked to Angie in the midst of her breakdown. “... Are we able to call a short recess? Until she is able to stand trial once again? She is in no condition to do so..”

“No.” Monokuma responds coldly. “You all will see this through. Whether you want to or not. No exceptions.”

"We can't keep questioning her if she doesn't respond, you know." Hajime argued with a cross of his arms, looking to Monokuma sternly. "It'll just make it worse and take longer." Hajime said with a huff. Of course he didn't care. He never did when someone broke down mid-trial.

"I agree- it's hardly fair to keep questioning Angie when she's in this state... the stress is really bad for her health." Leigh pointed out with worry, also looking towards Monokuma more pleadingly than stern.

“I said, no. Do not question me again. Or else.”

Ivy sighed. “...fuck. I suppose the only option now is to just...leave Angie alone.” She runs her hand across her podium, using her other hand to cover her mouth as she lets out a yawn. “...we should keep going. The only way out of here is to finish this trial. For Angie’s sake.”

“... Can we assume Angie was involved in this case?” Aditi asks bluntly, shaking her head. “I don’t want to presume the worst in her, but considering her breakdown- I...” She bit her tongue at first, not wanting to seem cruel or unsympathetic but it was of no use. “She has the clearest motive to do this. Who else is there to accuse?”

As the silence thickened, large beads of sweat formed on Leigh's forehead. In an attempt to suppress their nerves, they started bouncing in place; anxiously glancing between those leading the trial.

"Leigh, you look a little worried." Hajime commented, glancing at the doctor in question. "Are you involved somehow? You and Angie would make a good team. Did she get you to kill Maisie for her? You do seem to listen to whatever she says."

“It can’t be Leigh.” Salient spoke up, crossing his arms. “Yes, Leigh is loyal to Angie...to a fault, but they’re also legally blind. There is no way they would be able to even locate Maisie’s room, let alone acquire and use the acid on the doorknob. Don’t even get me started on the fact that the killer struggled with Maisie. Leigh would not win that.”

“Look who’s talkin’.” Iyabo barked, before straightening her posture and glaring at the chemist. “Yer just as much of a candidate as te blind sweatin’ pig! Ya both work fer ‘er, don’tcha?”

"Exactly." Hajime said. "Leigh might not win in a fight with her, but you probably could." Hajime commented. "Maybe it's you who did the dirty work for Angie. And you know how to use the acid that melted the lock. To add onto that, Angie is your only alibi." Hajime said, pointing towards Salient. "You're the one who committed the murder for Angie! She was your accomplice and not the murderer the whole time."

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“Stop talking... stop, stop, stop...” Angie chanted over and over again, unable to handle all the eyes look at her. “You don’t know anything, you don’t. You can’t. A-Angie made sure no one knew! Until.. U-Until you...” The artist bit the air in Aditi’s direction.

“.....” Aditi didn’t respond, glaring back defiantly. “Really? I’m the cause of your pain? Ironic, considering you started the cruelty to begin with. Now you’re blaming me? You have some nerve.” She snarled.

“You looked into my mind!” The tiny artist shrieked at the taller girl, shoulders shaking violently. “Y-You knew what happened-! You-! You taunted me over it! You h-humiliated me! I-I-I know I began the battle, but I-!” Her shaking suddenly turned to tears, arms wrapping around her own form, hugging herself tightly. “You.. you shamed me. J-Just like my father.. just like my whole island. I can’t... y-you’ll all do the same. It would never b-be the same again if you knew..”

"Angie none of us will humiliate you. It may not be the same but we can help you." Hajime said, taking a glance towards Monokuma and opening his mouth like he was going to say something, but decided against it and left his podium and headed towards Angie. "None of us want to hurt you, humiliate you, or even have this trial to begin with. I promise." He said, extending a hand carefully to her.

Monokuma doesn’t take this too kindly. “Hey, OJ boy! Don’t you know how-”

“Shut up!” Spy cuts Monokuma off. “You’re the one who made this happen, so this is your fault! Shut! The fuck! Up!”

Angie startled worse at the yelling of Monokuma and Spy, looking down at Hajime’s hand and noticeably flinching back. “What are you d-doing..? Why? Angie doesn’t, she... she’s sorry..” She mumbled, looking back with teary eyes only to look away. It was difficult to breathe. “I.... A-Angie’s father.. he... he performed the “Transfer of Atua,” t-to me. I was... very young... v-very... stupid. Angie didn’t u-understand what was h-happening, it-it... everyone w-watched... n-nobody... stopped h-him... it h-h-hurt..” She crumbled in her podium, falling to her knees and full on sobbing into her palms. She needed to hide her face, now that it was out there, everyone knew what she was referring to, surely. They knew her sins. Their gazes never felt so heavy than they did now, leaving her will to stand broken in half.

Hajime's eyes widened as she explained, quickly growing sympathetic. "Its okay, Angie. He can't hurt you anymore." Hajime comforted once more, crouching down to rub circles on her back. "You weren't stupid. You were young and didn't know. We're here to help you."

Ivy puts a hand over her chest as a distraught expression showed on her face, not realizing the extent of what Angie had gone through until now. Vanessa bursts into tears, still remaining silent as she covered her face with her hands. Ivy does notice, but doesn’t intervene.

Salient covers his mouth in disbelief, while Spy sort of blankly stares at Angie, jaw dropped. Ryan has a sympathetic look on his face as his gaze falls to the ground, while Wren gasps and covers their mouth in shock.

Putri made a face of disgust, hoping it wouldn’t be mistaken as one for Angie herself. The thought of going through that.. it made her feel sick. Aditi looked away, her hair blocking the view to her expression completely. Her shoulders shook while taking in a shaky breathe. Finn had a similar reaction, a darker shadow ghosting over his face underneath his bangs, and needing to look away, his grip on the podium noticeably tightening.

Fay got teary eyed, feeling a shared pain in Angie’s story but her mouth worked uselessly at the moment, only gasping at the words she heard. Iyabo grit her teeth, clearly angered by what she had heard. Her instinct was to start yelling about how fucked that was, but she couldn’t find her words either, looking away and growling in frustration.

Miu gasped and started shaking with teary eyes. “Y-You...” The inventor gasped out at first, trying to steady herself on her podium for support. “What the f-fuck...? What the fuck...” She repeated breathlessly.

Leigh seemed frozen in place, staring at Angie in concerned awe. They wanted to be the one to comfort her, but it seemed they were unable to move from their spot and could only stare. Hiyoko on the other hand had a face of visual disgust. She was always disgusted with older men, but this put the cherry on top of the cake. "W-what the hell?" She asked quietly.

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Wait. So if we suspect that two people could have worked together to kill Maisie... The lock was melted with some kind of acid... Salient and Angie have an alibi together... And Maisie had Angie's secret...

Guys, I think those two are looking sus.

"...yeah, I have to agree, it looks like Salient is the obvious suspect." Spy leans against his podium, drumming his fingers on it. "The acid makes him seem like the only candidate. But I just don't see...wait, did you say Maisie had Angie's motive?"

“Hm? Oh? Is that true??” Angie’s eyebrows raised in surprise, tilting her head to the side. “That’s why Maisie tried to talk with Angie and console her? Ah! Atua should’ve seen this coming!” She laughed light and airy.

“... Do you not realize that makes you suspicious?” Aditi asked, glaring down at the artist from afar. “The motive was secrets? If you did not want yours getting out, then it’s likely you’d want to silence the only one who knew.”

"I told you idiots it couldn't possibly be me!" Hiyoko cheered with a laugh. "Weren't those two also friends before this stupid game? It would totally make sense that they worked together!"

"Just in case, however. Do either of you have an alibi at the exact time of the murder?" Hajime asked, glancing at everyone else quickly before continuing. "If they were seen at the exact time of the murder, it would clear them both of suspicion."

"Wait, exact?" Ivy spoke up, a confused expression on her face. "We don't have an exact point of death. All we know is Maisie died sometime last night after 10 pm. We don't know what exact time frame. Plus, considering how unreasonably cold her room was, she could've died an hour before sunrise for all we know. Alibis won't work. We need motives."

Hajime seemed to get flustered for a moment, scratching his neck muttering a small "right.." under his breath. "Then motive wise, it makes sense. And Salient would be the one most likely to use acid without causing harm to himself, making a good accomplice to Angie." Hajime explained, trying to take charge once more after his mistake. "Angie, what was on your video that made you want Maisie to keep quiet?"

Angie startled at being targeted again, her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline. The artist looked genuinely taken aback by the question. “... How-? Aha-!” She laughed tensely. “Why do you.. need to know that? How will this prove Angie’s innocence at all...? Are you...?” She paused, staring with her eyes still wide.

But, it changed. A shadow ghosted over her expression, giving her a thousand yard stare. “Are you trying to shame me..?” She asked lowly, very unlike her usual happy tone.

"Shame you-?" Hajime repeated, a look of confusion plastered on his face. "No not at all! It's just evidence in case you-"

“N-No!” Angie shouted back, slamming her small hands on her podium with an nervous smile spreading upon her face. “You all have not told your secrets, why should Angie tell hers? You don’t understand, I can’t- Angie can’t... just...” Her hands grasped ahold of her pigtails, pulling them in frustration. “This is- is blasphemy! Unfair!”

"..." Salient looks away from Angie, holding his side. Spy glanced over at him, a sympathetic look on his face, before looking over at Angie, remaining silent.

"Oh, that reminds me." Ivy, on the other hand, does not care all that much. "The video was missing."

“What does that prove exactly? Anyone could’ve taken my video. Anyone! Why would anyone pass up the chance for more leverage after they’ve already committed a murder?? Of course they took my video! They shared it with you all too, didn’t they...? They...” Angie started to shake, looking up and glaring at Ivy. “Be quiet, you demon.” She hissed.

Miu squeaked from the venom in Angie’s voice, stepping back anxiously. “Wh-What the fuck is your problem, cult freak!? Stop acting like a psycho! You only look more suspicious!”

"Angie, none of us saw your video. That's why I asked. It's okay if you don't want to share what it is, but it would greatly help figure out who did this." Hajime attempted to comfort. "We need your help Angie. You're only making everyone think you're our killer but I have faith in you."

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What's the question, Audi?

“...” After her eyes shift around the courtroom, they finally nestle on Monokuma. “Bear.” She calls out to the mascot. “A question. How many people must witness the body before the announcement plays?”

“Oh, a question for lil ol’ me? Ooh, how exciting! To answer your question, Aditi, the body discovery announcement plays after three people, excluding the blackened, have seen the body. This does not need to be simultaneous, either.”

"The announcement went off after me and Iyabo saw the body. That means someone else must've saw it too." Hajime pointed out. "It could've been an accomplice. That's the only way no one would report the body."

“The only way? Don’tcha think that’s a little close-minded?” Angie chided. “There could’ve been plenty of other reasons! Perhaps they were frightened by the sight of the body and ran off? Fight or flight response, y’know?”

“Yea, maybe someone who didn’t show up durin’ te whole ass investigation.” Iyabo glared at Vanessa from across the court room.

"Vanessa was in my room for the entire fucking investigation, Iyabo." Ivy snapped at Iyabo, staring her down in return. "Not only that, she was asleep the entire time. I get that you're bitter what happened yesterday, but save that for after we get this trial over with. Fucking hell."

Vanessa buried her face in her hands, still distraught over the events of yesterday. It didn't help that she had just woken up before everyone gathered for the trial, and was still tired.

“Oh really!? Yer gonna get on my case!? I’m te one who almost fuckin’ died, y’know!?” Iyabo snapped back, her hair practically frizzing up like an angry animal. “She could’ve fuckin’ left an’ came right back ‘fore hand after she saw te body. Yer te only one coverin’ fer ‘er. An’ ‘course ya would, she’s yer sister. Stop actin’ like I’m in te wrong! ‘M not! She’s a fuckin’ danger ta all of us!” She snarled.

“Oh yeah, I forgot! The robot lady did almost kill you, huh?” Putri chimed in, tilting her head to the side. Shrugging her shoulders lightly, she continued. “We have to suspect everyone, Ivy! Attempted murderers are logically a prim suspect, duh.”

"Anyway, enough about that!" Hiyoko chimed in. "The only people who wouldn't report a body that isn't an accomplice would be the blind bimbo and her right hand pal the creepy bird thing." She said, pointing at Fay and Leigh as she named them. "Did one of you go visit her and not get an answer? Huh?"

Leigh made a small face at the name, but was quick to shake their head. "No. I don't know Maisie well so I have no reason to visit her." They said with a small shrug.

Fay didn’t respond or even turn her head in Hiyoko’s direction. Spy picked up on that almost instantly, turning towards Fay with a concerned expression. "...Fay, did you open Maisie's room while you were heading down for breakfast? I know you would never kill her, but...we need to know."

The astrologist looked towards Spy’s voice, hearing the concern and her expression faltered finally. “.......... She would walk me to the diner- I... I didn’t know.. I-I...” Fay choked up and turned her head away, ruffling her hair to hide her teary eyes.

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Among the ground that already stood on the sandy beach under the sun, Putri seemed the most confused. “.... Is there a reason we’re just waiting here!? How are we supposed to hold a true trial on the shoreline? You scatterbrains will be distracted by the water!”

“Patience, Putri.” Aditi reminded the littler one, looking around at the group who had already arrived, anxious to keep track of all the live bodies around. They had a job to do after all. Iyabo was sulking with her back turned to everyone, not over her bitterness from Ivy flat out admitting what had happened the night before. Angie idled in place, looking out to sea and gawking at the bounty of colors. “... How do these trials work? Is there a system we must follow?”

“I assume there is. The bear will probably explain it to us once we get there.” Spy was sitting down, staring out into the ocean. “Chances are there’s more to this patch of sand than meets the eye. Considering how there’s a mall of labs underneath the hotel, on this remote island...Monokuma has more up his sleeve, I know it.” In the meantime, Wren was shuffling a deck of cards to pass the time. The sound of the cards were a nice break from the crash of the waves.

Salient stood a little ways away from the group, staring back at the hotel to see anyone who’s coming over. “...there’s a lot riding on this trial. One dies...or one lives.”

"Wow, okay emo." Hiyoko snorted, earning a small look of distaste from Hajime. "Either way, someone's dying so you all better do your best to make sure I'm not involved in the dying part." She said with a small laugh, a cruel attempt of hiding fear.

Leigh approached the group hesitantly, something seeming to be on their mind. They said nothing, however as they promptly went to stand next to Salient. They looked up at him for a moment before looking to the ground, nervously playing with their hair.

“Is this where we’re supposed to meet?” Someone called out to the crowd. It was Ivy, who was bridal carrying Vanessa. Vanessa was undoubtedly awake, but was clinging onto Ivy for dear life, head buried into the other’s chest, dead silent. “...I was expecting something more...befitting the situation.”

Spy turned back to look at Ivy and Vanessa, tilting his head. “...Vanessa doing alright?” Ivy responded with a shake of her head. Spy’s expression became one of concern. “Oh. Another time, then.”

“Nobody gives a fuck how she is anyway.” Iyabo snarked loudly, uncaring of how cruel it sounded. Gasper pawed at the girl’s face, trying to cheer her up, but only got gently pushed away. Fay stood close by, her hands touch her shorter friend’s shoulders in an attempt to calm her down, only to get swatted away as well.

“U-Um...” Fay started, unusually anxious. “Do any of you see the bear? Or do we have to wait on him? He’s not very punctual, huh? Heh..” She attempted to joke.

“He’ll be here when he wants to be here.” Ryan sighs, looking around at the group. “...where’s Finn and Miu? Shouldn’t they be heading this way right now? Why aren’t they here yet?”

“They’ll be here soon, I’m sure of it.” Ivy glanced over at Iyabo for a moment, before putting Vanessa back on her feet. “I’m sure they have good reasons for the delay. We shouldn’t worry about it.”

"Do you think they got caught up in something?" Hajime asked no one in particular, looking towards the hotel with worry. It was clear he was worried something bad happened. "If they aren't here soon someone should go try to find them.."

“... I know ‘m quiet, but I didn’t expect ya ta not notice I was right ‘ere.” Finn suddenly spoke up, indeed he was standing nearby, admiring the ocean out of sight. “‘M ready ta go when y’all are.”

“Let fuckin’ go of me! Aaaah!!!” Miu screeched in the distance, tears in her eyes and clawing at the ground as Monokuma was literally dragging her out of the hotel and to the beach. “You can’t make me do this shit again! You can’t-! Fuck you! You stupid god damn care bear reject!” She hollered while kicking violently at the animatronic.

“Too bad, so sad! You know the rules!” Monokuma ignored Miu’s struggling, and simply dragged her towards the group. Once they both got close, he just let go of Miu and walked towards everyone else. “Alright, everyone’s here now! Now...time to break ground.”

With those words uttered, the patch of beach everyone was on began to sink into the ground. A secret elevator...to parts unknown...

[threads-of-trust]

I think we need more alibis

“Alibis are useful, but they can only get us so far. In a case such as this, they may prove to only confuse us more and more..” Aditi sighs.

“Yes, yes! Besides, not everyone is here!” Angie pointed out, looking to Ivy. “Can Angie ask where your sister is, Vee?”

Iyabo immediately stiffened at the mention of Vanessa. Her unease quickly turned to bitterness, not fearing being petty at all. “Yea. Where is that bitch, huh?” She asked with a pout.

Ivy sighed, putting a hand on her hip, glaring at Iyabo with a blank expression. “...asleep. I was planning to wake her up when the body was found. She’s still in my room.” Her tone was indignant, fully aware of why Iyabo reacted how she did. “This couldn’t have been her. I made sure of it.”

"Iyabo you got kinda.. aggressive.." Hajime pointed out with concern, hoping that nothing was wrong. Maybe Iyabo and Vanessa had something bad happen between them.. "Is everything okay?"

"...no, Hajime. Vanessa, she...she tried to kill Iyabo." Ivy sighed, still somewhat beating herself up over the incident. "I...she-"

“Yea, she did.” Iyabo spat, clearly angry at the memory. “Way ta just spit it out like that. Do ya wanna make me look like some floozy who can’t fight back? Fuck yerself!” She huffed, brushing past them all and heading for the doorway. Aditi reached out to grab her arm, but the zoologist slapped her hand away. “Keep yer fuckin’ dog on a leash ‘fore someone puts ‘er down, bitch.” She hissed at Ivy, uncaring about how she felt at the moment and walking out abruptly.

“Iyabo-” Too late, Iyabo had already moved out of earshot. Ivy sighed. “...fuck.”

"O-oh.." He stammered, surprised at the reaction he got. "I should apologize for making her talk about it later.." Hajime said, mostly to himself. That’s two people he had to apologize to now..

[threads-of-trust]

unfortunately, i'm not even sure we can trust alibis. there was a two-person conversation the night of the kill, where one person asked the other to help 'get rid of the evidence', which they agreed to... i hate to suggest this, but maybe the killer had an accomplice.

“What!?” Putri gapped like a shocked fish. She whined aloud. “So we can’t even use alibis!? Then how are we supposed to figure out who it could be!?” She demanded.

“It’s simple. We have to consider who would’ve worked together to plan this murder. We have to factor in relationships into the mix.” Aditi sighed. “Who would cooperate to complete a murder together..”

"We also have to consider what that person would reasonably know." Hajime added, a little too knowledgeable on this kind of thing. "Like who would know to tamper with the temperature so we couldn't tell the time of death."

“People with experience with bodies or a scientific talent!” Putri proclaimed. “Soooo... Me and my goddess... the doctor... the chemist... Iyabo... the inventor, maybe? People with those kind of talents!”

“Why te fuck am I involved!?” Iyabo asked defensively. “I work with animals, not fuckin’ people-! I only handle bodies when they pass on an’ shit, it’s not like it’s my hobby like you two-!” She huffed accusatorially at Putri and Aditi specifically.

"...considering how sloppy this was, I'm actually starting to think this wasn't planned." Ryan rubbed his chin. "Think about it. There's signs of struggle, and Maisie's fully clothed. Something tells me she wasn't planning on sleeping last night."

"...it sounds like she was expecting someone to come to her room. Why else would she be awake at the time?" Ivy's expression lit up slightly, as she started to catch on to what Ryan was insinuating. "Although...if murder wasn't the aim, what was?"

"Perhaps Maisie and our killer were going to meet for whatever reason. Perhaps it's possible that she was the one planning to kill them and got killed in self defense?" Leigh asked, hoping that their theory could be correct. "That could be why it was so sloppy. They never planned to kill in the first place."

“Hmm...” Ryan put a hand to his chin, lost in thought. “...that would certainly be a good explanation. Although... can someone check the door? I suspect a break-in.”

“Yaha!” Angie chimes, matching back from her position at the entrance of the room, holding what looked like a lock mechanism for the door. “Angie would have to agree! There is clear evidence of a break! What do ya think, hm??”

Truth Bullet Found: Broken Lock

[threads-of-trust]

So... would now be a bad time to let Audi know her sister and some skittle broke into her home or...?

“.....” Aditi simply glared at you in confusion. “Don’t toy with me. We’re in the middle of our investigation. My sister has been missing for years, both of them. Why either of them would break into my home with some sort of fruity candy is beyond ridiculous. Come up with more convincing lies, anonymous.”

[threads-of-trust]

Can we look at the wall she was leaning against?

Aditi, glancing behind her, noticed that no one else jumped at the opportunity to touch the corpse. Since Leigh was busy investigating, she took the chance. “... I’m sorry for this.” Aditi apologized, before pushing Maisie’s body forward. She spotted a blood stain behind Maisie’s head. “Yes. There is blood where her head lies...”

"Then that confirms that there actually was head trauma.." Hajime noted aloud, now knowing they could trust Leigh's word. "What about the pillow? The anon did mention that. Maybe it's relevant."

Aditi gently set Maisie back in place, her hand sliding under the bed, jolting when she felt something poke her hand. “..?” She grabbed the object and pulled it out. A necklace with a crescent moon on the end, the one she had seen Fay cling onto as a memory of Maisie in the past. Her gaze softened. “.. This looks to be her friendship necklace with Fay. It must have been in her pocket and slid out upon impact...” She explained sadly.

"Oh.." He said just as sadly, knowing how much that necklace meant to Fay. "Maybe we should put it back where it belongs.." He suggested quietly.

Aditi shook her head, her free hand moving to take Hajime’s and pull him forward. She balled up the necklace, and placed it in his hand. “No. She would want Fay to have it. You should give it her. As a way to... start your conversation with her later. It would mean a lot to her.” She suggested.

Hajime stared at the necklace for a minute before nodding. "Okay. I'll do that after the investigation. Maybe she'll be in a better headspace then.." He said , putting the necklace carefully in his shirt pocket. Just to make extra sure it didn't get lost.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Blood Stain

[threads-of-trust]

investigate the body, specifically the shoes and the hands

At the mention of shoes, Hajime looked towards them to see the left shoe had it's heel broken, barely holding onto the shoe. "Hey, Audi. Her heel is broken." He pointed out to her. "Do you think that's sign of a struggle?"

Her eyes looked down to the broken heel, her hand reaching out and toying with the small wedge that hung loosely. “Possibly? I can’t say for sure. I’ve never worn heels. How easily can they break?”

“They’re not easy ta break.” Iyabo stepped forward, keeping a mild distance from the body, not as comfortable being up close and personal with a corpse. “Chicks dance in ‘em and do tons ‘a crazy shit while wearin’ ‘em. It all depends on yer balance. She was a dancer, right? There’s no way it would break easily with ‘er grace.” She shook her head. “It had ta be broken on purpose.”

"That makes sense. She does have to have strong heels to support dancing." He said, putting a hand up to his chin in thought. "So that definitely means there was a struggle- wait... how do you know about her heels?" He asked, looking towards Iyabo. She definitely wasn't a heel type of person.

Iyabo bristled at the question, almost immediately getting defensive. “W-Wot? I can’t know ‘bout girly shit too? ‘S not that big ‘a deal! ‘M just sayin’ from wot I’ve seen, okay!? Fuckin’ hell!” She grumbled, exasperated and clearly embarrassed.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Broken Heel!

[threads-of-trust]

Now, it looks like she stabbed herself, but don't let that cloud your thoughts. From previous killing games I've seen, people believe anything they see, don't do that. It's easy to move someone's hand and adjust their fingers.

Aditi moved past her shock quickly, pushing past a few others to enter the room. She walked to the bed, leaning down next to Maisie’s body. “... There’s far more efficient ways to commit suicide. Stabbing yourself seems like a last ditch effort. Besides... she’s cornered. Why would she frame it like she had been killed, if she hadn’t..?”

"You're right." Hajime pitched in, giving a nod in agreement. "They either made it look like a suicide on purpose or she tried to pull it out before she died," He added, "She was likely alive for a bit after she was stabbed."

“.... Thats unfortunate to imagine.” Aditi sighed, standing back up and crossing her arms. She stared at the body, starting to feel amounts of despair entering her system. She tools a deep breath to stay calm. “She didn’t deserve this, no matter the outcome.”

"No one does." He agreed with a sigh. He already didn't want to go farther. To poke around her corpse aimlessly seemed disrespectful. He was working up the nerve to go through this again.

[threads-of-trust]

OH GOD

Who's going to tell Fay that Maisie got stabbed?

“S-Stop it!” She shouted at you with a sudden burst of anger. Her shoulders shook, her foggy eyes darting back and forth anxiously, trying to keep the tears in. “She’s not... no. No. You’re wrong. I-I was... I just-! There’s no way, she’s-!”

“Fay, please, listen to us.” Aditi urged, reaching out to touch her friend’s arm and pull her away from the scene. To try and protect her. “I know she was your friend, but don’t-“

“Don’t touch me!!!” Fay screamed once Aditi grazed her shoulder, making the taller girl flinch back in shock. The blind girl stumbled forward, heading into the room with the body laying inside. “Maisie..? May!” She called out, raising her arms to grope the air, ignoring the pleads and advancing.

"Fay, please listen to us.." He said, carefully going behind her, not touching her as she requested. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love before you can tell them.. she may be gone but we aren't. We're here for you, okay?"

"...Fay, he's right. As much as I hate to admit it...there's nothing we can do anymore. She's gone. All we can do now is...try and bring the killer to justice. " Spy couldn't bear to look at the body anymore. He turned away, moving towards the back of the group.

“... Stop. Just-! Stop!!! Don’t act so c-calm about this! What’s wrong with-!?” Fay nearly yelled in anger, but shoved her words away, moving closer and closer to her target.