#5086 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

another-dr-another · 2 months ago

Note

aw man. um. shit. {advance}.

Maeda, narrating - Fuck.

Maeda - I mean… just, plainly.

Maeda - We are entirely screwed. I have nothing. I was… I was banking on that.

Maeda - …

Maeda - …Fuck. Tsurugi was completely right.

Maeda - If he isn’t able to solve it for us… we’re good as dead.

~*~

Maeda - …

Taira - …

Tsurugi - …

//The tears haven’t subsided, but any sounds are gone. Tsurugi’s efforts to wipe anything away have vanished as well- he’s looking at the floor across the courtroom, and letting the tears fall.

Uehara - …

Hatano - …

Tomori - …Wh…

Tomori, small - …What do…

Tomori - What do you mean you don’t know what happened?

Tsurugi - …

//His voice sounds both wet and dry simultaneously, turned a bit raw.

Tsurugi - I’m sorry.

Tsurugi - I don’t… know where to go from here.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - It’s okay, though.

Tsurugi - I get there in the end. I always have. I can solve it… I just.

//…His tone is completely flat.

Tsurugi - …Haven’t yet.

Tomori - …

//Tomori looks shocked, and crestfallen.

Maeda - …

//…Maeda doesn’t know how he feels. A part of him… feels something in his diaphragm, and that’s probably the guilt. It’s only small, something he hasn’t really processed yet- the way he pushed Tsurugi, and the context it has now. Then, there’s a slight ebbing pulse, a gentle wave on his soul. Something tells him to move forward.

Kobashikawa - …

Ōtori - …

//Both have different reactions. Kobashikawa’s seems akin to disbelief, while Ōtori is on the opposite end, clearly running through the ramifications of Tsurugi’s statements. Let’s talk through it! Let’s look at every angle, we’ll find some way to see it, and make a way to solve it. But, no… no, that won’t be accurate. There’s no facts, no way to prove anything.

Uehara - …

Hatano - …

//Maeda doesn’t think about any of that. Because, irregardless of what he may be feeling, there’s only one thought in his mind. There’s no hope. No one’s going to be able to come up with a way out of this. There’s nowhere left to go from here. All that remains is voting, and hoping that they get it right.

Taira - …

//…The waves recede, and dissipate away.

Maeda - …Things can’t end here.

//The game has to go on.

Maeda - Okay.

Maeda - Let’s work together, then.

Taira - …

//She’s listening to Maeda.

Maeda - It’ll be okay. When we’re all on the same page, someone will be able to come up with something new.

Tsurugi - …

Maeda - I-It doesn’t look good right now- but now we know everything in full.

Maeda - Kobashikawa said earlier that knowing there was a way to find an answer should be a good motivator- knowing that we need to find an answer will get us to one.

Maeda - I mean, what are we going to do? No one’s thinking about just giving up, patting the blackened on the back, and saying well done as everyone else gets executed.

Maeda - We’re going to try. We aren’t giving up here, we’re going to find an answer.

Maeda - There has to be something that fits. Something that works with the evidence we have, which can’t be argued against.

Maeda - Maybe we decide to use physical ability, and just- just arm wrestle to work out who’s the strongest, then vote for them!

Maeda - Or maybe, there’s a better idea that we can use. Or maybe, we try every option we can come up with, and find our answer.

Maeda - Either way, we need to do something. We have a better shot if we try.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Did I… really say all of that?

//It feels like his words weren’t his own- like they were some sort of echo, something he heard a while ago, that’s only bouncing back now.

Taira - …

Tomori - …

Tsurugi - …

//…Not that it matters, though. Someone said something- right now, that’s all the class needed.

Hatano - …There’s nothing else we can do.

Hatano - Giving up now is stupid. There’s no reason to, we shouldn’t… abandon all hope just because we don’t have a get-out-of trial-safe card.

Maki - …

Maki - You’re both right.

Maki - So what if Tsurugi doesn’t have the answer? We’ve made it through two trials where he wouldn’t explain what happened, so the fact that he can’t now shouldn’t matter.

Maki - Every time, we’ve treated the trial as serious, so we’ve worked hard to solve it.

Maki - Whoever here started celebrating because they think they’ll pull off the murder, don’t start feeling safe.

Kobashikawa - …I think we can reevaluate things- everything that’s been explained, let’s look at it again.

Tomori - …

Tomori - …Monokuma?

//Her voice is so small.

Tomori - How… how are we on time?

Monokuma - The Staff Does Not Currently Plan To Implement A Time Limit.

Maeda - …We’re fine.

Maeda - I like Kobashikawa’s idea. Let’s change how we see everything.

Tsurugi - …

//He’s staring at Maeda. Maeda doesn’t know how to describe the look in Tsurugi’s eyes.

Maeda - …

Maeda - It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to work through things together, and we’ll find an answer we can put our faith in.

Uehara - I don’t think this is right.

Maeda - Seriously?!

Maki - Uehara, what the hell do you mean?

Uehara - …

//He crosses his arms, and shifts back and forth on his feet.

Uehara - …I don’t know. I can’t explain it.

Uehara - I just…

Uehara - Don’t agree.

Maeda - …With what?

//Tomori glances at Maeda- he feels his face flush.

Maeda - Right. Need to dial it down.

Uehara - …

Uehara - I don’t think that going over what we saw will help. I think…

Maeda - …

//Uehara says nothing else.

Maeda - What the fuck.

Maeda - Well, it doesn’t matter what one person thinks. The rest of us are going to keep working on finding the answer.

Tsurugi - …

Maeda - …Damn. This would’ve been a good time for Tsurugi to step in.

Ōtori - Well, if you don’t want to discuss the evidence, what do you want to talk about, Uehara?

Uehara - …

Uehara - I don’t know.

Maki - …

Ōtori - Okay. Well, we can go with Maeda’s plan, where we go over the evidence, and try to actually answer what happened,

Ōtori - Or we can just vote now. Of course, no one has any clue who to vote for, since we don’t know what happened…

Ōtori - Maybe everyone should just vote for the person to their right.

Ōtori - Hey Monokuma, what happens if there’s a perfect tie?

Monokuma - The Game Of Mutual Killing Is Designed To Avoid Such Outcomes.

Tsurugi - …Wait, really?

Maeda - ?

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - This is… mm.

Maeda - …Tsurugi.

Tsurugi - …This is the first time we haven’t had an even number of people in the trial.

Tsurugi - Therefore, in every trial before this, a perfect tie was possible. Then, we look at how Monokuma handled this case, and you wonder if-

Monokuma - Irrelevant.

Tsurugi - …?

Monokuma - The Number Of Students In Trials Prior To This Trial Has No Relevance To This Trial.

Tsurugi - …

Maeda - …Tsu, what were you saying?

Tsurugi - …I’m worried that if I bring it up again, Monokuma will implement a time limit.

Maeda - Ah…

Maki - …

Maki - This is irrelevant, but voting for the person to the right of you would be the only way to get everyone to have one vote, and one vote only, right?

Taira - …Oh?

Maki - If we asked everyone to vote for themselves, the blackened would likely vote for someone else- they have the most to lose, they can’t afford to trust people to not vote for them, and avoid racking up votes.

Maki - Plus, if they vote for someone else, then the majority vote goes to someone they know is innocent, meaning they’d have won, undeniably.

Taira - Ah. That’s right.

Maeda - Why are we even discussing what Uehara brought up? He doesn’t even have an argument! Or a point!

//Maeda laughs, way weaker than he meant for it to bed.

Maeda - Who knows! Maybe the blackened doesn’t even know who they are. Blind rage inducing amnesia…

Tsurugi - …

//Tsurugi’s expression changes.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Tsurugi?

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Uhm- nothing, I was just thinking of when I’ve heard stuff like that in the past. It’d, uh…

Tsurugi - …

Maki - …

Maki - It’s… the-

Maki - The blackened does know they killed Higa, right?

Maeda - …

//A chill runs down Maeda’s spine.

Tsurugi - …Uhm.

Tsurugi - I wouldn’t worry!

Maeda - …

Tsurugi - Uh… seriously, I don’t think it matches up with this case. So, no one should stress…

Tsurugi - Emotional amnesia is a distress thing, in a situation like this, you’d be seeing it not because the blackened was afraid of getting caught, but because of the consequences for the murder-

Tsurugi - The emotional weight of it!

Tsurugi - It’d be because they couldn’t confront that… the guilt of killing someone important to them- like someone they genuinely loved dearly.

Tsurugi - Regret because of fear is different from pure regret.

Maeda - …Ah.

Tomori - …

Tomori - It’s nice to hear that we don’t need to worry about being the blackened.

Taira - Frightening, right?

Taira - To imagine that you’ve hurt someone, and caused fear and strife for everyone else, and you didn’t even know it…

Taira - The whole time you were cursing some “other” in your head, it was you. You were the reprehensible person that everyone loathed- and you agreed with them while they called for your head.

Maeda - …

Tsurugi - I think the reason behind it is scary.

Tsurugi - Making a decision you’d never want to… the things that’d drive you to that…

Tsurugi - To get into that mentality, where you’d make the choice, and then, the moment where you realize, and you just want to take it back-

//Tsurugi’s face twitches- Maeda looked over at him because he could hear Tsurugi’s voice start to tighten.

Tsurugi - But you can’t, and you have to go on with what you did, but you can’t do that either, so you jus-t…

//He sniffs loudly. He’d started to gesture with his hands, though his gaze fixed on the floor as soon as his tone started to go, he continued to try and manually communicate via his posture- but as his face falls, so do his hands. Maeda takes it as Tsurugi being done.

Maeda - …

Maeda - I don’t like either of the places that subject went.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - Thank god we don’t have to worry about either one of those ideas, then.

Ōtori - You two are right, they both sound like they’d suck. So, let’s count our blessings that that isn’t our circumstance, and deal with what we actually have going on right now.

Ōtori - We’re going to go with what Kobashikawa suggested. We’re reevaluating everything. Everything gets a new answer.

Maki - …Wait.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - Yes?

Maki - No- no, I agree- with Kobashikawa, that we should look at everything again, force ourselves too-

Maki - But, I want to ask Tsurugi some stuff first.

Maeda - …Ah?

Maki - …Tsurugi? Can you answer some things for me?

//Tsurugi’s eyes are huge.

Tsurugi - Mhm!

Maki - …

Maki - Are you sure?

Tsurugi - I’ll give you anything I know.

Maki - …Alright.

Maki - Are you confident that Higa died of strangulation.

Tsurugi - Yes.

Maki - Do you have any objection to the timeline we came up with?

Tsurugi - …The order of events, or the time Higa might’ve died at?

Maki - I- I meant the latter, but now I want to know about both.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Honestly forgot the numbers everyone decided on, but I remember that I didn’t have an issue with them.

Tsurugi - Same goes for the timeline.

Maeda - He forgot them both?!

Hatano - You forgot both?

Tsurugi - Mhm.

Maki - …Unmedicated.

Tsurugi - …You say that like it’s bad :(.

Maki - ….I don’t mean anything by it. S…Sorry.

Tsurugi - You’re so fine, I was just teasing <3.

Maki - …

Tsurugi - <3.

Taira - Any more questions?

Maki - N…No.

Hatano - I have a question. How did you forget both of the timelines?

Tsurugi - …Unmedicated :(.

Uehara - Probably wasn’t really listening.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - More important things than details :(.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - You know, it’s a bit funny to compare this case to past trials.

Ōtori - There’s one difference between this one and the other two that we haven’t discussed.

Maeda - Oh?

Ōtori - Tsurugi didn’t get hurt this time.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - I learned how to cross the street on my own <3.

Maeda - …If Inori was here, I think she’d offer to hit Tsurugi with a car for insurance, if she could get half the payout.

Maki - Maybe if someone hits Tsurugi, it’ll help him work out what happened.

//Ōtori chokes out a laugh, audibly half from surprise at what Maki said, half from the comment itself.

Ōtori - As he’s falling to the ground, it gives him a different angle.

Tsurugi, softly - Wheee..

//Maki grins, but tries to hide it behind her hand.

Tomori - …How hard does it have to be? He was passed out bad the first time, but the second time he stayed conscious…

Tomori - Maybe the threshold’s gotten lower?

Tsurugi - Tomori, I’d like it if you could go to the empty podium now, please. Pretty please. For my comfort.

Tomori - Who would you rather have attack you?

Tsurugi - …Oh, good question…

Uehara - …C’mere piccolino, I’ll keep you from getting attacked again.

Tsurugi - Okay…

//Tsurugi makes zero effort to get closer to Uehara.

Uehara - …

Tsurugi, unaware - …

Maeda - …

Uehara - …Sunshine.

Tsurugi - Ah.

//Tsurugi grabs Uehara’s hand, then, when Uehara pulse their arms flush to try and get them closer, stands next to Uehara.

Maeda - What should we go ov-

//There’s a soft thump, as Uehara flicks the fingers of his free hand against Tsurugi’s forehead.

Tsurugi - !!!

Maeda - !

//It’s silent.

Tomori - …

Ōtori - …

Maki - …

//Maki snorts, and it’s like a dam breaking open. Ōtori follows immediately after, and Tomori isn’t far behind. Uehara grins, and Tsurugi follows suit, looking at Uehara as he starts to softly laugh. Maeda can’t help but smile too, and he sees Kobashikawa doing the same.

Uehara - Well? Anything new?

//Tsurugi reaches for Uehara’s other hand- the only one that’s free, as they’re still holding hands- and holds that one as well. Uehara turns towards Tsurugi to better accommodate the position, and laughs a bit as Tsurugi tilts slightly over, laughing harder.

Tsurugi - Mm-

//He’s trying to keep his lips shut, but they’re pulled apart by his grin.

Taira - …

//Maki and Ōtori are still laughing, and Tomori keeps getting herself to giggle again. It’s spread to Maeda, who laughed in response to Tomori once- and Tsurugi seems to be trying to choke himself off from making any sounds.

Uehara - …Tsu, hey~-

//Tsurugi wheezes.

Uehara - …

//Maeda’s still watching them both, like most of the class- so he catches it when Uehara’s grin fades to a smile.

Uehara - …

Uehara, gently - …

Tsurugi - …

Uehara - …You know, if you start to cry again,

//Tsurugi moves closer to Uehara, tugging their arms behind him as he simultaneously pulls Uehara closer.

Uehara - Then the whole world’ll flood-

//Tsurugi let’s go of Uehara’s hands at the last possible moment, letting him wrap his arms around Uehara as he crashes into Uehara’s torso.

Tsurugi - Mmmmmmm-

//Uehara is crestfallen. His eyes dart around only briefly- before Tsurugi is pulling away, and he focuses on Tsurugi.

Uehara - Carino, no, come here-

Tsurugi, shakily - No.

//He’s trying to wipe away his tears, and wrench both his eyes and mouth shut to keep anything from escaping. Uehara opens his arms again, forearms up, hovering in line with his waist… Tsurugi doesn’t react.

Uehara - …

Maeda - …

Maeda - Nothing… set him off, right?

Uehara - …Tsu.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - I caaan’t…

Uehara - Just- don’t. Just come here.

Tsurugi - No…

Uehara - Tsurugi, stop, and come here.

Tsurugi - …

//It happens too quick for Maeda to understand any of the progress- Tsurugi is back to Uehara. His hands fall loosely around Uehara’s waist, while Uehara… doesn’t seem to know what to do.

Maeda - …Jesus.

//It isn’t anything negative about the PDA- Maeda couldn’t explain this himself, but he just doesn’t know what to do.

Maeda - …

Taira - …

//He looks away.

Kobashikawa - …

Ōtori - …

//Taira is watching Tsurugi and Uehara.

Maki - …

Tomori - …

//Maeda looks back, following Taira’s gaze. He’s surprised when he finds them- they aren’t standing anymore, instead, they’re somewhat visible through the slats of their podiums. He can’t make out much of what’s happening.

Hatano - …

Maeda - …

//Maeda won’t know this. But, currently, even an omniscient narrator couldn’t say who’s holding up who. Uehara has his right hand carding through Tsurugi’s hair, his shoulder pushed into the podium to try and keep himself from leaning further back. In turn, Tsurugi has his left arm resting along Uehara’s torso, fist gripping Uehara’s jacket, holding him close. Uehara’s left hand and Tsurugi’s right are just next to each other, fingers brushing, but neither moving, as they both try to plant themselves, and stay steady. Tsurugi’s left leg is between both of Uehara’s, but, as Uehara has his left leg slightly raised, Tsurugi has moved his right leg over Uehara’s thigh, and under his knee- compensating for the pressure he’s putting on Uehara’s chest. Uehara’s eyes are flicking around rapidly, and for a brief moment, Tsurugi’s sobs are open-mouthed and ugly.

Tomori - …

//The sobs are muffled, though. Uehara’s shallow breathing is quiet enough. The room is silent.

Taira - …

Maeda - …

Maki - …

Maki, quietly - Let’s talk about the case.

//The world winds back to Maeda.

Ōtori - …

Kobashikawa - …Okay. What are we starting with?

Maki - …

Maki - I don’t think suffocation versus strangulation will help us. We definitely can go over it again, just…

Maki - Let’s shelve it, for now.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Should we revisit Higa’s motive, maybe?

Maki - …For getting after the blackened?

Maeda - Mhm.

Maeda - That’s one of the more arbitrary things we have… it’ll probably be easier to come up with something new for it.

Maki - Okay.

Maki - …Does anyone have any thoughts?

Maeda - …Personally, I don’t.

Maeda - …

Maeda - This trial just hurts.

//Maeda looks at Tsurugi and Uehara again. They’ve disentangled- but they’re still sitting. He can see two individual forms on the two different podiums.

Taira - Maybe someone did something to make Higa think there’d been a murder.

Taira - Sure, we know there wasn’t actually one, but Higa wouldn’t necessarily know that, would he?

Tomori - …

Tomori - That’s true… it- it did take us some time to work out what had really happened.

Maeda - Right… we all believed there’d been a murder.

Maeda - Though, didn’t Monokuma sort of mislead us?

Kobashikawa - Hm…

Kobashikawa - We thought there’d been two murders because we saw two bodies, and two announcements played.

Kobashikawa - What would make Higa think there’d been a murder? Did he leave Tsurugi’s dorm?

Maki - …

Maki - Well.

Maki - What was our main theory for what had happened to Iranami?

Tomori - …

Maeda - D… Do you mean the poisoning?!

Maki - …

Maki - Ōtori. Did anything happen last night?

Ōtori - W-Wait-

Maki - Answer. Did you interact with Higa at all?

Ōtori - Only in the dining hall! Only in the dining hall, only- only when we all went there! When we went with Uehara and Kobashikawa, th-that’s it!

Kobashikawa - …

Uehara, trying to look over his podium - ???

Maki - …

Maki - Didn’t you walk back with Higa?

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - Fuck.

Ōtori - -THAT SOUNDS BAD. That makes it sound bad! Okay, yeah- this looks bad, because you’re right. You’re right, I did walk back with Higa.

Ōtori - But we didn’t say anything!

Ōtori - Seriously, not a word. I didn’t do anything that could make him think I’d done anything- besides, how would that fit into the timeline? Tons of people were still awake when we got back to Tsurugi’s dorm!

Maki - Yes, but you two could’ve gotten into the fight later on in the night. Maybe Higa witnessed you tampering with the coffee, and when he saw you awake later on, he put two and one and one together, and got the right answer.

Ōtori - But I didn’t do anything last night!

Maki - But you tried to!

Ōtori - !

Maki - Well?

Ōtori - …

Maeda - …Oh my god. He still won’t admit it.

Maeda - Ōtori, everyone knows you screwed with the coffee! Just cough it up!

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - I didn’t do anything last night. Higa had no reason to suspect I’d done anything. He didn’t see me awake last night, because after I woke Kobashikawa up, I went back to bed.

Ōtori - I have no involvement in Higa’s murder.

Maki - Mhm. And a flawless record to back you up.

Taira - Hm…

Taira - Not a very good shepherd if you never cry wolf, hm? Have to wonder where the wool and mutton is going.

Maeda - …Wool pulled over your eyes.

Ōtori - …

Tsurugi - …It wasn’t Ōtori.

Maeda - !

//Tsurugi’s standing. His bangs are slightly astray, his face is flushed pink, and there’s dried tears clinging to his face, and under his eyes. Still, his posture has him facing the class- he’s stepping in to defend Ōtori, and take down the arguments.

Tsurugi - He’s telling the truth about not interacting with Higa- and he was telling the truth earlier when he said that he was practically asleep by the time Kobashikawa got back into bed.

Tsurugi - I was sitting in the door frame, remember?

Tsurugi - Ōtori didn’t mean to kill anyone. He chose a removed method that involved something no one was going to interact with.

Tsurugi - He wouldn’t go and kill someone, not by strangulation, in front of everyone, and not because they accused him of murder. It’s not a driving force for him.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori, quietly - Thank you, Tsurugi.

Tsurugi - …Mm.

Tsurugi - Just for the record, Ōtori did poison the coffee.

Tsurugi - I’m not looking for you to comment on that Ōtori, but I do want to make sure that everyone, you included, knows what my stance is there.

Tsurugi - …I think I get why, too. But that’s not relevant. I just want to close the book on that.

//Uehara has also stood up. He has his hands placed on his podium, bracing himself as he looks at Tsurugi. As far as Maeda knows, Uehara hasn’t shifted his gaze since standing.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Lemme share my thoughts on the case. I never gave you all a clear outline of my understanding…

Tomori - …

Maeda - …

Maeda - Tsurugi looks exhausted.

//Tsurugi’s clearly trying to steady himself.

Tsurugi - Okay.

Tsurugi - Looking at Higa, the most obvious sign of injury is the marks and discoloration on his neck.

Tsurugi - Certain parts of his skin were discolored as well, and his hands were stuck by his head.

Tsurugi - The marks on the neck, and the position of his hands imply he died due to a lack of oxygen.

Tsurugi - The discoloration of the skin implies that he had remained in the pose we found him in for some number of hours.

Tsurugi - …

//It’s quiet, as Tsurugi thinks.

Tsurugi - …Fuck.

Tsurugi - Okay. Then, there’s the matter of what Maeda heard…

Hatano - Wait.

Hatano - Is there nothing else we can learn from the marks on Higa?

Tsurugi - …I’m sorry. There really isn’t.

Hatano - What do you mean?

Hatano - I know we talked about how we can’t really match hcnads, but surely it tells us something?

Hatano - Like, shouldn’t the placement indicate something- or isn’t there some other marks indicati-

Tsurugi - Hatano.

Tsurugi - Asphyxiation leaves no trace.

Tsurugi - There is nothing surface-level that could possibly indicate who the blackened is.

Tsurugi - I mean, even if I had access to the best tech in the world, there’s only so many clues that are left behind, and none of it is damning.

Tsurugi - This case is dependent on testimonies.

Tsurugi - If we can’t find something in a testimony, we don’t have any evidence.

Uehara - …

Tomori - …

Maeda - …Uhm.

Maeda - …

Maeda - I- I think Tsuurgi’s doing bad.

//It’s hard to explain. He just looks… haggard. There’s resolve there, and it isn’t waning… but…

Maeda - …

Tsurugi - Maeda’s testimony is going to be the one that explains what happened last night.

Tsurugi - …It’s definitely crucial. If we can accurately understand what happened… I think we can identify the blackened.

Maeda - …But, how do we work out what I heard?

Tsurugi - I…

Tsurugi - I don’t know.

Tsurugi - But- I think I’m starting to get it? I- I may be starting to come to an answer.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Then, take time to yourself, and think.

Tsurugi - …?

Maeda - You work best on your own. When you have to explain things, that's when you falter.

Maeda - If you know where you need to go, or have an idea, just focus on that. We’ll continue to work on it too.

Maeda - Tap out, Tsurugi. It’s fine.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Y… you said-

Maeda - It’s fine. Don’t worry about anything I’ve said, okay?

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - …Okay. I’ll make sure we solve the case properly.

Maeda - Great.

Maeda - In the meantime.

//He focuses on the rest of the class. No one seems too focused on Tsurugi (...bar the usual), instead, turning to Maeda to see what he thinks they should do.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Ah, shit. I don’t actually know where we need to go from here.

Maeda - I liked what Maki said earlier, about looking into Higa’s thoughts a bit more.

Maeda - He might not have seen anything incriminating that Ōtori did, so, what is it that he saw?

Maeda - I don’t think anything much was happening last night… but maybe if we can confirm what all the noises and sounds were, we’ll be able to narrow down our suspect pool.

//Tsurugi chokes.

Maeda - !?

Tomori - Tsu?

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi, tightly - Nothing.

Maeda - …Is he about to cry again?

Maki - …

Maki - Did you think of something?

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Sorry. Sorry.

Maeda - Holy shit, he’s about to cry again.

Tsurugi - I just- I just need a moment. Then I’ll have everything worked out.

Maki - Okay. No- don’t worry about it. Just making sure you’re okay.

//Tsurugi gives a thumbs up, then starts toying with his hands.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Well, anyways.

Maeda - So… how should we try and understand what happened?

Maki - Ah… I was thinking about who Higa already had issues with- sure, he was a dick to everyone, but some people got the brunt of it, right?

Maki - Like, if everyone were still alive, we could probably cross off Mekaru and Yamaguchi. They were both more sympathetic, and unlikely to use any sort of force against Higa- they both disagreed with it when he got thrown out of the dining hall that one time.

Kobashikawa - That could definitely work…

Kobashikawa - But on that note, doesn’t it go past who had issue with Higa, and start to ask who would have been able to strangle him?

Maki - That’s right too-

Maki - We can look at it from the angle of who would’ve been physically capable of strangling Higa, if we’re already looking at when exactly he died.

Maki - Though, that doesn’t get as much into the motive.

Taira - …

Taira - It also may be worth considering who was asleep then.

Hatano - Right, yeah!

Hatano - If we’re using Tsurugi’s testimony to confirm that Ōtori was asleep, maybe we can do the same to clear some other people off the list.

Maki - Oh, true.

Maki - …Damn. Now we have too many things to consider.

Ōtori - Well, let’s just pick one, and see where it gets us, yeah?

Tomori - Lots of outcomes we could be running here…

Taira - So long as one of them is correct.

Tomori - …

~*~

Maeda, narrating - We went from having no clue what to discuss, to too many options…

Maeda - Honestly, I’m not really sure which one will be most helpful.

Maeda - I think Tsurugi has some sort of idea for what Higa witnessed, maybe? So, that’s good at least.

Maeda - I’m happy to know he’s back to guiding the trial- or will be, at least.

{Who Hated Higa}

{Who Is Strong Enough}

{Who Was Asleep}

#dra #yuki maeda #kiyoka maki #kizuna tomori #ayame hatano #kinji uehara #haruhiko kobashikawa #akane taira #teruya ōtori #tsurugi kinjo #chapter 3 #deadly life 3 #deadly life #word count 5086

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