#TDADRPBP

[detectivenyx]

Kiyotaka's just trying to find the culprit - he's pressuring people for it.

You wave your hands to try and settle everyone back down, doing your best to defuse the situation. There'll be ways to determine the true culprit later, right?

"I'm a little concerned at how little we did get to investigate. We determined multiple possibilities, but no way to narrow them down at present."

"With that said, you seem pretty convinced Byakuya wasn't the culprit all of a sudden, Kiyotaka."

"But- he was executed!"

"... He was staked through the heart. But as the rules themselves say, that would kill anybody."

"Ah, but I have a reason to believe in his innocence! Makoto, too, had a dream of his execution that likely proves his innocence!"

"... Are you feeling alright?"

"It's not just me and Makoto! Our friend here had one, too, that proves Makoto's innocence!"

You feel your heart sink into your stomach as Kyouko looks at you expectantly - but also with a sincere and severe glint in her eyes.

[detectivenyx]

We're going to find Hifumi now.

You stand up from the cafeteria table and scurry back to the dorms, without even bothering to check if anyone is following your lead. It doesn't take too long for you to find Hifumi - he's leaving his dorm when you arrive.

"You approach me like an important character approaches the protagonist... how will this chapter shape out?"

You indicate to him Kiyotaka's dream about him - his attack on Touko.

"What?! A dream is surely important, but he must be mistaken! I never laid a hand on Touko!"

"No matter how much her views on the art of manga hurt, I would never stoop so low as to do something like that!"

You can't tell if Hifumi is being dramatic for the sake of being dramatic, or if his theatrics are covering up a more sinister truth.

"Drop the act, Hifumi! I am now convinced you had something to do with this!"

"Absolutely not! I had nothing to do with this whatsoever! Do not wound my pride with such trivial accusations!"

"... It's a little early for these sorts of arguments, isn't it?"

The three of you all turn around to face Kyouko, folding her arms and staring at you.

"Kyouko! I ask for your help in conducting another trial! I now know Hifumi Yamada must've been the one to kill Touko Fukawa!"

"... You said that about Byakuya Togami."

"I am aware, but I now have new information! The scene playing out Touko's death came to me in a dream!"

"... Let's get to the cafeteria."

"It seems you've made a fool of yourself, Kiyotaka..."

"I know it was you, Hifumi!"

"..."

"Part of solving a crime is to consider all possibilities. You seem to be pushing hard considerations to rash effect - almost as if doing so without pushback would benefit you, somehow."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That you have an advantage to gain by trying to get others executed on rash decisions."

These are... interesting positions being presented.

[detectivenyx]

To the cafeteria. I want to raise similar questions there.

Considering you are together, you and Makoto decide to head to the cafeteria together.

When you arrive, there's already five others seated around the cafeteria table - Kiyotaka, Chihiro, Aoi, Sakura, and Sayaka. Despite the populated room, it's... rather quiet, here.

"Excellent! You made it just on time! Good morning to the both of you!"

"Er- good morning? What do you mean by 'on time'?"

"It is almost 7am! 6:58 to be exact!"

"Does it matter what time we arrive?"

"Of course it does! There's no excuse for tardiness!"

"G-Good morning!"

You take a seat, and immediately try to grab everyone's attention - to relay the odd dream you had. Even without your words, you - seemingly - manage to convey the idea perfectly to the others. The warm sunlight, the cloudwatching with Makoto.

"That's... I don't think that's a coincidence. That... sounds like it's a clue, of some sort."

"Maybe, but how would a clue appear to us in a dream?"

"I... I'll admit, I'm not sure. I had a similar, but much more devastating dream. A girl with black hair took Byakuya up to a stake, and burned him alive in front of all of us."

"That's... pretty morbid."

"Y-Yeah... after that, she pulled back his- what was left, and... she started to weep."

"... It sounds as though Byakuya was innocent."

"Y-You had these strange dreams, too?"

You tilt your head, waiting for Kiyotaka to go on.

"I'd believed it to be nonsense when it was happening, but now I'm questioning if it was another clue..."

"Another one? What kind?"

"I... I was walking down a dark hallway, and heard strange noises at the end. I approached quietly and cautiously - but I still kicked something loud in the darkness..."

"But by that point, I was close enough to see two people - Touko, who was dead on the floor, and Hifumi, who turned around to face me, with blood dripping from his mouth!"

...

Well. That's certainly an interesting tidbit of information.

[detectivenyx]

There's more to it - I'd like to ask Makoto for more detail.

You gesture to Makoto and open and close your hand.

"Er- are you asking for more detail? I mean, I thought that was pretty thorough..."

"... I'll admit, I don't think I saw you there. I saw everyone else, though. Uh..."

"I... I know a lot of people were cheering for it... but- Sakura and Hina hung back. I don't remember if they said anything, but they weren't cheering - they looked nervous. Hina, especially..."

"... Sorry, that's legitimately all I can remember."

You nod slowly. That wasn't super helpful...

[detectivenyx]

Talk to Makoto, to see if he experienced a weird dream.

You're very quickly up, and with a quick brush of your hair, you head to his room. You're about to ring the doorbell, when the door opens, revealing Sayaka on the other side.

"O-Oh! Sorry, uh... I take it you're looking for Makoto?"

... You are, but it begs the question - why was Sayaka in Makoto's room?

"It's... a little embarrassing. My door wouldn't lock, and I... I couldn't sleep because of it. I went to Makoto and asked to stay in his room."

"... We did stay in the same room, but that's all that happened, honest."

... That's a lot of words similar to your line of thought...

"I can read minds."

"Kidding! I just have good intuition."

Sayaka heads back out into the hall, still looking somewhat anxious, and you head inside.

"Oh- uh, hey. Did you need something?

You nod - indicating to him the dream you experienced, him in the fields with the warm sun, and asking if he had a similar dream.

"Sorry... no, I didn't."

That's unfortunate. You-

"I had a much worse dream."

You pause, indicating for him to go into detail.

"I... guess it was just a dream. It was... it was a historical village. Byakuya was being dragged through the streets by this girl with short black hair - and a lot of the rest of us were following."

"She... she tied Byakuya to a stake, and lit it on fire. Some of us were horrified, but... a lot of us were cheering. And he was screaming."

"He... he eventually died. Of course he did. But when the black haired girl pulled back his body, she... she seemed to think she'd made a mistake. She started weeping."

"I... don't know why I dreamt something so morbid. They... they'd have to be coincidences, right?"

[detectivenyx]

… I dream a dream of hope.

The images in your mind slowly swirl into tangible feelings - a cool breeze, a blue sky full of fluffy clouds. You stand on a grassy hill, the scents of the small flowers growing within it wafting through the air, alongside small dandelion puffs that get caught within your hair as they pass along the wind. The bright, warm sun beams down on top of you - and one other person.

At first, the image is unclear - humanoid is all you make out. But as you approach them, features become clear. Dark clothes. Light brown hair that sticks out in gentle tufts. Pale green eyes that smile even brighter than his actual smile.

You try to recall... Makoto Naegi was his name, wasn't it?

He holds out his hand, taking yours within his own, and helps you down onto the grass below, sitting beside you.

"... Do you do a lot of cloudwatching?"

You shake your head, lying down in the grass with him. The sunlight beams over the both of you - but the grass sits perfectly in place to keep it out of your eyes.

"I'll admit... me neither. I mean, there's not an exact science to all this, right?"

"... But here, it might be nice to forget our worries for a while."

You lie next to Makoto, entwining your hand with his. It's not a romantic gesture - you both seem to subconsciously know that. But one of solidarity. One to at least forget about the game for a while.

Truly... a dream of hope.

After a while - lying in silence and watching the clouds and hours pass by - the sky begins to swirl again. The warm sun begins to fade, the grass seemingly retreating back into the ground. Makoto begins to fade...

... and you open your eyes, back in your bedroom.

You check the clock next to your table - you've slept for about 7 and a half hours, you're pretty sure. And there's a few things you could do now you've rested, depending on the time - the clock does read 6:30am.

[detectivenyx]

... accept the terms.

You nod, miming a finger over your lips.

"Alright... god, I hope I'm making the right decision for the circumstances."

"I... am not Junko Enoshima. Mukuro Ikusaba is my name."

"That doesn't leave this room, though. If there's other people around, I am Junko. Are we clear on that?"

You nod again - though recall Mukuro's words... 'You'll just forget it again'. Was... your memory terrible? It seems to be pretty good by this point. At the very least, passable.

"Alright... I know this screwed with your plan, but this whole situation screwed with it. But... for a plan like this, I wonder if..."

"... I'll talk to you tomorrow. I want to see if I can find out more on my own."

Mukuro pulls the chair out from under the door and heads back out into the hall. You quickly replace the chair and lie back down.

It... feels strangely natural, sleeping in this place. You're unsure why. Before you know it, you've dropped off to sleep and have begun to dream.

[detectivenyx]

Un-barricade the door and open it.

You pull the chair out from under the door, and hesitantly turn the knob. On the other side stands Junko.

"... Now all that's out of the way, I need to talk to you."

Junko's strangely authoritative tone strikes you as odd, but you can't place from where. Regardless, you let her into your room, closing the door.

"... Aren't you going to shove the chair under it again?"

Is she completely mad? If she is one of the vampires, you'll have trapped yourself in here with her. You shake your head.

"Fine, I'll do it like usual."

Junko jams the chair back under the doorknob and turns back to you.

"So. Uh. Something's gone wrong. I don't know what the fuck is happening."

You frown.

"Y-Y'know, about the whole- the game! This isn't the game we-"

"Ah, fuck it. You don't remember anything. But just like - the- someone else has hijacked our shit."

You sit on your bed, and Junko sits on your desk.

"Don't just sit there silently like a drowning fish! Just- ugh. Does the name Junko Enoshima mean anything to you?"

For some reason, this doesn't strike you as egotistical. The name rings a bell unrelated to the angry girl in front of you... but threads your fingers can't even brush against, right now.

"... Let's try something a little less confusing. Yasuke Matsuda. Does that name ring any bells?"

...

Come to think of it, you can recall Yasuke Matsuda as a name. You can recall that name is important to you. But not quite how.

"... Mukuro Ikusaba."

That name... feels even more familiar. Familial. Someone you were maybe... close to?

"... How about Ryouko Otonashi?"

That one feels... personal. Either someone you were very close to, or your own name...

... but nothing seems concrete, and you look at Junko with confusion.

"God, they... they really fucked you up... This wasn't part of that plan..."

You tilt your head.

"... Fuck it, you'll just forget it by tomorrow. You're... Ryouko Otonashi. We were running a... a test trial, for erasing memories. You decided to erase your own."

"... There was a... a game, we were meant to run. One you designed. One showing... showing the symbols of hope turning on each other. That game got hijacked by whatever the fuck all this is."

...

A game? Symbols of hope? There is something about that word that repeats the slightest echoes of bells in your head.

"... If I trust you with this, can... can you ensure it's just between us? I'd like to look further into who the hell stole our plan from us."

Junko seems to be asking for a leap of faith from you in exchange for information,

[detectivenyx]

... I lick some of it off.

You wipe the wet stain from your face, leaving a smeared trail behind on your cheek and a line of fresh-ish blood along your hand. Tentatively, you slide your tongue along it, and feel pangs of copper and iron hit your tongue. Odd. Would blood not taste different to vampires?

You feel no satisfaction when you swallow. You feel... nothing. Not the horror of having consumed another man's blood. Not the satisfaction of tasting something divine, that you have been craving.

It's nothing.

You approach the mirror - you still cast a reflection on it, but you do not know if vampires will do that or not.

But from Touko's corpse, you do know that they have fangs. You pull open your mouth and tap each of your teeth one by one. They're all about as sharp and as long as they were before. You try to force your teeth to extend the same way you would raise or lower your hand - and nothing.

You frown, heading into the shower. Why... did you do that? As what remains of Byakuya begins to circle the drain, the rust-flecked water beginning to clear, it is the question that occupies your mind. A question that may have many answers or none, swirling your mind.

You leave the shower, going through the drawers. There are a couple of copies of your own clothes in the drawers, well-stitched but thrown in as if in a rush. Beneath those copies of your clothes are copies of Touko's.

Her clothes... don't exactly smell great, so you remove yours. They seem freshly placed - they haven't had time to smell the same. You fold all but one copy on the drawers, and re-equip yourself with a fresh set of clothes.

You bundle up the set you were wearing previously to take to the laundry, and briefly consider washing the rest of your clothes just to be sure.

You begin to head out of the room, before you hear the door handle rattling, and someone trying to push their way in. After a moment of trying, the doorbell rings.

[detectivenyx]

this will be the one time i outright say a theory is wrong, and im only saying so because as someone with a very similar disorder to touko and syo, nothing i said implied the turncoat was an alter. if the player character is the turncoat, they would now be a vampire 24/7. it will not be a situation with a split personality.

[detectivenyx]

I'm going to my room to wash the blood off. And hopefully rest.

Leaving Byakuya where you found him, you follow the winding halls of the school, hoping to find a room for you to call 'home' in this twisted game.

You pass by Sakura and Aoi in the cafeteria, catching cups in their hands in the seconds it takes to pass them.

"... was kind of a jerk, but... did he really deserve what he got?"

"... Though I wish it had gone differently, we cannot do anything about..."

You keep moving past them, and come across what you hope is the dormitories - all with a faceplate on the door, indicating their intended occupant.

You soon come across a room that's peculiar - your face is pasted on a door, but you can easily see Touko's face beneath it, roughly scratched out. That's... odd.

You enter the room regardless, and it's empty beyond a bed, a set of drawers, and a desk with a chair at it. There's not even an indication that anyone but you has been in this room.

You fumble around for the lock, before finding it's been hastily un-screwed from the wall, flecks of paint and wood hastily splintered out. Monokuma did say the rest of the school was unlocked... it really must've been the rest of the school.

You move into the adjacent room to find an ensuite shower, the lock removed there as well in much the same fashion. A chill runs down your spine, but Aoi and Sakura hadn't noticed you, and you saw nobody else.

But still, you take the chair from under the desk and push it under the door. You return to the shower, removing the uniform that's been splattered with blood.

You catch wind of your reflection in the mirror - the crimson, dried flecks blending almost perfectly in with its colour. You gently brush it with a comb you see on the desk, ends to tips - a daunting process given its length.

Your eyes reflect light in a way that makes you briefly consider something... something rather unusual. The blood on your face has not quite all dried - and there's... an odd temptation to lick it.

A very odd temptation - you're human, right? You were not given a sheet that indicated vampirism. But there is always the human that could change at any given time.

[detectivenyx]

I'm going to investigate Byakuya to determine what I can.

You pull Byakuya out of his seat and tip him onto the floor. He twitches as he lands, and a groan escapes his mouth. For a moment, you jump back - had he survived?!

But then, you gently, cautiously, place your hand on his now-upright sternum, and push. He groans again - but not his own consciousness. It's his last breath, forced out of his lungs, striking up against his voice box in death. You put your fingers up to his neck - his skin is beginning to cool to the touch, and there's no trace of a pulse anymore.

You know this is what happens to a corpse... but you worry, despite the wooden stick in his chest. You pry open his mouth and touch his teeth, to be sure. They are perfectly aligned, perfectly white... and none of them sharp enough to draw blood from veins.

And then... you attempt to pull the wooden pike from his chest. But try as you might, it feels as though it's caught on something. You brace your foot against his chest, gripping the pike, and pulling... and yet, despite your best efforts, it won't budge.

[detectivenyx]

... Yes.

You push down on the 'YES' button, and patiently wait for the other votes.

Eventually, the screen begins to tally up the votes - it appears to be an anonymous vote, only counting the numbers...

... which display 10 YES, to 5 NO.

"... You voted 'yes' on this?!"

Cold sweat drips from Byakuya's brow, as his eyes dart around the room. His hands, though just barely, shake, and you swear, being to his immediate right... you can hear his very pulse racing, now the vote has finished.

"But... but why?!"

"Seems pretty simple to me. Cooperate or die... and Byakuya has not chosen to cooperate."

"How... how are you so nonchalant about this?!"

"Weren't we all, about Touko's death? You especially. You barely reacted to-"

Junko is cut off mid-sentence by a loud beep. And with that as the only warning, something swings down from the ceiling.

Byakuya barely opens his mouth to further his lecture, before...

[SCHLCK]

You feel something wet and copper-smelling splatter the left side of your face and clothes. You turn your head... and see Byakuya now splayed in place, with a sharp wooden pike directly through his chest, life draining from his eyes.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The room is silent for a moment. As though... for but a moment, perhaps, what just played out may have been a hallucination.

But... when Junko, the first to get ahold of herself, turns to her right - Byakuya to her immediate right - and begins prodding his body...

"... He... he really is dead."

Junko, like you, is splattered with blood. She hasn't even taken the time to wipe it from her face.

"... Naturally. I suppose that... that's as harrowing a lesson as any."

"L-Lesson?! He was- he got fuckin' stabbed right in front of us!"

"Do you care to reveal your vote? Because I voted yes. To ensure this very thing happens to less of us."

"... I voted no. Uncooperative or not, we didn't have enough information."

"What we voted means nothing. Enough of us voted 'yes' to execute him."

The room falls silent, and the air soon grows thick with the stench of iron and the weight of the result.

"I... I'm sorry. I need to go."

Chihiro stands up, her hands covering her face, and quickly excuses herself out the door.

"..."

Sayaka soon follows without a word.

One by one, everyone stands up and heads back out. Several seem to look much more visibly exhausted than when they went in.

Soon, it is only you and Junko, left with the corpse of Byakuya Togami.

"... We sacrificed one guy to ensure we don't suffer thanks to him. I don't know if he was a vampire or not, but... we had to do that to survive."

"... Let's hope things get better tomorrow."

You tilt your head, pointing to the blood splatter across Junko's face, and noting how... calm she looks.

"Eh? Is it really that weird I'm not freaking out? Like... it's just blood. I've- er, not had the best life before becoming a-"

"Wait, why am I explaining it to you, of all people?! Like, I'll just... I'll go wash it off. As much of a bitch as it'll be to do."

Junko heads back out, leaving you alone with Byakuya's corpse.

[detectivenyx]

Byakuya is dangerous. I'm steering it with Junko.

You point accusatory fingers at Byakuya, miming the breaking of the CD, as he and Junko return to their seats.

"... There wasn't really a point to doing that in front of us."

"My point with that was to have you search for your own information."

"It's not a free-for-all competition, asshole! We need all the info we can get!"

"With all the facts on the table, it cannot be clearer that Byakuya is a vampire!"

"You're going to waste an execution on me being uncooperative?"

"Given the nature of the game... we are likely to be given more stakes than vampires. How many more is a different question, but with sixteen of us..."

"This is ridiculous."

"I... he did something horrible, but does he really deserve to die over it...?"

"At this stage, it's not really whether he 'deserves' it or not. But he'll get more of us killed if we leave him alive."

"I... I know, but..."

"... How many vampires do we think there are?"

"What kinda question is that?"

"Celes suggested there are more stakes than vampires to accommodate for error. My question is how many people think there are."

"Besides less than five, no idea."

"For a game like this, three to four would be balanced..."

"We're getting off-topic. The topic should be-"

The screens all suddenly light up with a voting board - two options.

[VOTE: EXECUTE BYAKUYA. VOTE ENDS IN ONE MINUTE.]

Two options stare you in the face: a 'yes' and a 'no'.

[detectivenyx]

... let her hit the button.

Junko presses the button, and an alarm horn blares throughout the library. You hear it echoing in the halls, too. The screens around the library light up with red, their brightness pulsing in time with the alarm.

The intercom crackles to life with a sound like a tape being carelessly shoved into a VCR, and that bear's voice appears therein.

"Ahem! It looks like one of you bastards pressed the button! Could all living players please gather at the large, red doors on the first floor? Players who aren't there by the third alarm bell will be executed immediately!"

Well, that's that.

"You'll be making a pretty big mistake so early on in this game."

"Like I said. You're either a vampire who wants us all dead, or a human who's going to get us killed."

Junko joins the group of people leaving the library, and so do you.

The giant red doors are not locked, and you push them open to see two rows of seats, each containing 8.

"What on earth is that?!"

Sayaka points towards something already seated in one of the chairs. Fifth on the left, is a crudely sewn, life-sized doll, resembling Touko Fukawa.

"Oh, that doll is rather... unsettling."

The intercom buzzes, and you hear more from Monokuma.

"You talking about the dolls? I thought it would be unsettling as the game whittled down your numbers, to have to sit in increasingly empty rooms! With the dolls, everyone can stay with you!"

"He thinks that shit's any less unsettling?"

... Despite the doll, everyone takes a seat where they are indicated. The second everyone is seated, sixteen tablets rise from the floor - one presented to each seat.

You look up, and most of the tablets shine white lights onto everyone's face. You look down at your screen, which reads

WAIT FOR THE ACCUSER TO MAKE A SELECTION.

There are only two different lights. Touko's shines a red light onto the doll, glinting off the button eyes. And Junko's shines a blue light, as she presses one of the buttons.

JUNKO ENOSHIMA HAS ACCUSED BYAKUYA TOGAMI.

All tablets beside Touko's turn Cyan, and two podiums rise at the end of the seats.

Junko and Byakuya stand up, and both walk over to them.

The podium lights up on Junko first, and her prosecution begins.

"... We've, like, gone over the reasons why I called the trial. Byakuya's been uncooperative with the rest of us, and even done things to sabotage us."

"He's smashed the blood supply, under some weird idea it would prevent the vampires from hiding or some shit, even though we might need it to save people later. Chihiro, Sayaka and... our friend, also saw him snap a CD with important shit on it."

"Whether a vampire or an uncooperative human, we should get rid of him."

When Junko goes silent, the light shines on Byakuya instead, and he begins his defense.

"This accusation is emotionally driven. I've explained my reasons for destroying the blood supply, but I'll spell it out, too."

"With a supply of non-violent blood, the vampires could time their kills more efficiently. They wouldn't be starving or desperate. With that supply destroyed, they have to rely on us - they will need to kill more often, which opens them up to making more mistakes."

"And the information CD? Of course it wasn't the only copy. I was proving a point about finding their own leads to Chihiro, Sayaka, and that person."

When Byakuya goes quiet... the tablets light up with red text.

DISCUSSION TIME ENDS IN 3 MINUTES.

.. That's not a lot of time once a trial starts. Discussions will need to be quick and forceful.

So that begs the question...

[detectivenyx]

Offer people bottles of vanilla extract to calm down.

You dig into your pockets and present the group several bottles of vanilla extract with an earnest smile.

It definitely stops the argument before it starts and calms everyone down - if only because at this stage, it's utterly baffling.

"... I'm sorry, are those bottles of vanilla extract?"

"I think they just do that in times like this."

You hand a bottle to Hina and Kiyotaka - both hesitantly take them.

"Is... now a bad time to mention another thing Byakuya did?"

"If it's unrelated to the issues we're facing, then yes."

"... It's very related. Byakuya raided the medbay and emptied the blood down the sink."

"He did what?! What if one of us needs a transfusion?!"

"Then you either take the saline solution, or you die. Simple as that."

"Hardly a small price to pay to ensure vampires can only feed through direct confrontation."

"... How would you know the vampire clause in the rules was genuine?"

"What? I didn't. I took a risk."

"You had been indicating you believed it to be just flavour text to our situation. It makes little sense to destroy the blood that may be necessary if the murders are merely violent, to prevent a possibility that would be..."

"... Honestly? Preferable. Vampires having access to non-lethal blood would benefit all parties, if not the humans."

"I see! So Byakuya was a vampire all along!"

"... I didn't say-"

"Whether or not Touko's taste in literature was of a top-tier nature, she did not deserve this fate...!"

"You fools... why would I do this?"

"Simple. You got hungry."

"Why would I kill Touko if I was the one with access to the blood?"

"If you spilled her blood on you, then it would be a perfect alibi."

"... Should we go for it?"

"Absolutely not. You'll waste one of our executions."

"Waste... I don't know about that. You're uncooperative and sabotaging - to the point where we don't know which side you're on. I'd argue you're pretty expendable."

"E-Expendable... any of us? He's not being the biggest team player, but--"

"If he's a vampire, we get rid of one of them. If he's a human, he's an active detriment to us. If nobody else has any argument... I'm calling a trial."

Junko makes her way over to the button.