Danganronpa: Ultimate Collapse - IC

[Aravhorn]

As the students gathered in the dining room one by one, a high pitched tune played over the speakers, to be followed by the cheerful voice of Monokuma:

"A body has been discovered! Please, everyone make their way to the Dining Room!"

Then, as the speakers went silent, out of nowhere, Monokuma popped up sitting on top of the counter that divided the Kitchen and the Dining hall.

"Oh my, I have a barely revealed your second motive, and we already have a murderer on day one!" the bear said giggling mischievously. "You sure an impatient bunch, ain'tcha? At least you could've waited until the last day of the deadline; that way the murder would be sooo much enjoyable. Puhuhuhuhu~" Monokuma laughed before adding: "But enough crying over spilled milk, it's time to move on to the main event!" Just like last time, the robotic bear pulled out a tablet from thin air, and after a dramatically long pause as he raised his paw, he tapped the screen, causing the MonoPads to bleep. If one were to check it out, they would find the following infromation displayed on the screen:

Monokuma File #2
Victim: Chikako Kimura
The time of death was around midnight.
The body was found in the Kitchen of the school's west wing section.
Her body is covered in multiple stab wounds and lacerations caused by a bladed object.
A heavy bruise is also present on the victim's left temple, possibly caused by a dull object.
No other remarkable features were found on the victim's body.

"Man, this "technology" thing is so hip and cool! No wonder kids like it so much nowadays." Monokuma said with glee as he toyed around with the tablet like a kid who discovered a new toy for the first time. "Huh, I think I'm forgetting something...Oh, yeah, get investigating, you rascals. Or don't, I don't really care. Now, let's see what this app called "Kuma Crush" is all about..." Monokuma's words trailed off as he kept staring at the tablet's screen, without paying much attention to the distressed students surrounding him, and slowly floated away through a hidden vent in the ceiling.

 

[The Tragedy]

Logan Vickson-SHSL [spoili]Psychotic[/spoili] Card Teller

Logan woke up with the second announcement from the bear. He sat up and stretched a bit... another body? He slowly stood up and pulled on a fresh shirt. He walked down the hall and looked at the pad, searching through the details. He stepped into the dining hall and glanced around. Then his eyes landed on the body, huh.. a corpse, he was going to get used to that wasn't he...

He walked around the room, noting the blood.. everywhere but still the large pool under Chikako. It was quite a mess for such a big room and such a small girl. He went next to her and knelt down, examining her body. He scribbled down notes on a piece of paper and then looked at the growing group in the dining hall. "You guys heard what the bear said, we need to get investigating" He put the monopad into his pocket and went towards the kitchen to look around there for anymore signs of the killer.

@everyoneinthedininghall

 

[Neobullseye]

Thalia Melete -- Act 3-1
[Thalia's room > Kitchen]

After the events of last day, Thalia had refused to leave Violet's side for a second, even going as far as to let the poet sleep in her room. In that way, even if it was for just a little while, she had been able to offer Violet some peace and support, some amount of safety and stability against Monokuma's constant pressure. Even though Thalia had known that her guarding walls would not last forever, and that they would soon need to face reality once again, it still came as a nasty shock just how fleeting their moment of peace turned out to be. Not long after the duo left Thalia's room, Ken's panicked voice could be heard from the direction of the Dining Room, shouting that they had to get to the Kitchen. And though it was not said yet, Thalia had a gnawing feeling she knew exactly what was up. What else could there be to get so upset about, given their situation?

Quietly, Thalia made her way over to the kitchen, to see what had happened. What she saw in the kitchen was deeply disturbing. The kitchen had been turned into a butchery, blood spattered all around. And the victim... was Chikako, the Ultimate Chef, slaughtered like an animal. 'That's... horrible," Thalia spoke, finding herself unable to look away from the victim. "Why..."
Why indeed. Why would anyone do this, to her of all people? What had Chikako done to deserve something like this -- no, what could anyone do to deserve this? Not even the Despairs deserved such a fate, as far as Thalia was concerned, let alone someone as innocent as Chikako was. Were it up to Thalia, had she had the choice, nobody would have to go through this. And yet here she was, another one of her friends had died, and once again she had found herself unable to do anything about it. How many times more did she have to pay witness to this? How many more would succumb to Monokuma's temptations? How many more times would she have to fail her promise to keep everyone safe?

As Violet clung herself to Thalia once more, the actress quietly spread her arms around her, pulling her friend closer to herself. She wasn't going to say all was going to be okay -- to do so right now would be an insult to Chikako --, but at least she could be here for Violet. Yet as much as she tried to keep a strong appearance, even she could not prevent a tear from appearing in her right eye. The actress lifted up her right hand to wipe it away, then decided against it. No, Chikako deserved at least some tears. More than that though, she deserved peace. Whoever violated the poor girl in such a way would suffer the consequences, that much Thalia would make sure of. "...Let's go," she said to her friend, softly squeezing the poet's shoulder with her hand. "Let's do this. For Chikako." Waiting for a moment until Violet was ready too, Thalia led them towards the nearest other room, the Dining Hall itself. Maybe they could find something of interest there.


@Snowflake @Aravhorn

 

[Vitreus]

Tatsuya Yamazaki - SHSL Street Fighter
_______________________________________________________________________________________​

Not even a full day's peace, huh?

When the death announcement sounded that morning, Tatsuya was awake in his room, lying on his bed and absently toying with the key-card he'd been questionably entrusted, holding it up to the light as though it'd reflect some sort of answer back at him. Although the motive had been freshly circulated, his mind was elsewhere, better preoccupied with yesterday's findings (although in reality this seemed a futile thing to linger on as well). So when the speakers crackled and suddenly brought forth news of a body discovery...

Tatsuya gradually froze, then lowered the key-card to his chest, wordlessly glaring up at the ceiling. ...Really? Someone had committed a murder, again? He wasn't especially surprised, per say, but he was mildly taken aback, and it was a difficult thing to accept via announcement alone. Somehow, he didn't feel all that different, as though it were merely a piece of unpleasant world news brought to attention only to be brushed aside in favour of more relevant things. But that was not his reality. Reality dictated that someone from among them had been slaughtered by yet another individual from their group and now it was a matter of life-or-death that Tatsuya discover just who the culprit was. Light-hearted stuff, honestly. Exactly how the street fighter enjoyed spending every third fucking day in this god-forsaken shit-storm.

"Fuck's sake," he muttered as he picked himself up from his bed, pocketing the keycard and grabbing his e-book as he brusquely left his dorm room and followed the general direction of their small crowd towards the kitchen. He recognized the bleep of his e-book, signalling that the Monokuma file had arrived, but momentarily ignored it in favour of viewing the scene first. This was sure to be good. He enjoyed a good surprise, you know? Who'd dropped dead this time...?

The street fighter entered the dining room and soon enough the kitchen, joining those gathered around Chikako's lifeless body. Violet was sobbing nearby and Tatsuya was silent as he surveyed the bloodied room and the brutally mutilated girl sprawled upon the tiled floor. It was a sick sight. Arguably sicker than the first. And all Tatsuya did at first was survey the premises, expression strangely unflinching.

There was something absent from Tatsuya's demeanor. Sympathy? Concern? Outrage? It was replaced with a grim sort of acceptance; that this was almost destined to happen. It was going to happen and it was almost expected that sooner or later, someone would snap, someone else was going to die, and that this time it happened to be her. Tatsuya's disgust at the culprit and at the situation on a whole is what ruled out the natural instinct to mourn. This... desensitization was nothing new to him, but the more it was reinforced, the more mundane death became as a concept, and the more tightly wrought Tatsuya felt on the inside. They were losing more than just a life from among them. It was difficult to explain, but that sense of camaraderie he might've felt from their being part of the same organisation was being worn so grossly thin. He was cynical towards them from the beginning, but he knew if they had anything to unite them as a people, it was their purpose. In the face of these hideous betrayals, however? What was the point if the understanding was not mutual? Clearly Chikako's life equated to little more than a ticket to safety to someone from among them. So what stopped Tatsuya from feeling the same way about them, or about anybody else for that matter? So badly these people lacked austerity. Rammed down his throat, etched into his eyes, the horrendous state of the kitchen was vicious proof of the fact that he could not trust anyone here. A pernicious game of self-preservation and survival, that's all this was, and it would be idiotic to second-guess the nature of his circumstances any moment longer.

His fingers curling into fists, Tatsuya remained quiet, not caring to waste breath as he had after discovering the first body. He was pissed off, but he wasn't as impulsively angry as he felt back then. Besides, there was no point expressing his feelings to a bunch of people who were clearly overcome with shock or grief, or who happened to be the murderer and likely possessed no remorse given the ludicrous state of the murder scene. This was beyond necessity, really. The blade in the eye? The blood splattered everywhere? Absolutely merciless; and to think it came from someone among them, it was almost laughable.

Huffing his rancor, Tatsuya was drawn from his thoughts by the need to observe the Monokuma file; there was only one way to go from here, if Tatsuya wished to remain productive for the sake of his own wellbeing, and that was to draw evidence from the scene and piece it together such that they'd reveal the culprit. Accessing the file and glancing it over, he made a basic attempt at committing the main facts to memory. None of what was said particularly stood out to him, although his eyes did linger on the anatomical figure for a moment longer. Blunt trauma... followed by a vicious stabbing? Tatsuya didn't necessarily wish to draw any instantaneous conclusions, however; this was the sort of matter that could be discussed in the trial. As to reasons why the murder had been performed so ferociously, however...

Lowering his e-book, Tatsuya approached the body and crouched beside it, wordlessly eyeing the most obvious wounds. He tried not to think about the girl too much from when she was alive; in having quite the assertive personality despite her small size, that was somewhat difficult to accomplish. He didn't think of her all that highly, but it was hard to believe she'd ever deserved as grisly an end as this. Which led Tatsuya to stand again, gazing over the body before scanning the floor and all around the kitchen. As distinct as her injuries were, Tatsuya was not as interested in them as he was in finding a certain belonging of hers... and that thing was her e-book. Was it here, or back in her dorm, or somewhere else altogether? There was a possibility it was irrelevant to the murder as a whole, but knowing whose secret it was that she'd received, the nature of her secret and the person allowed access to it... these things may very well play a major role in revealing the identity of the culprit, Tatsuya believed.

 

[Aravhorn]

Investigation Phase, Part II
Tatsuya's Results
As Tatsuya rummaged through Chikako's pockets, he eventually found what he was looking for. As he switched on the tablet and pressed the "Secrets" tab displayed on the screen, he was presented with the following information:

Your Secret:
"Did you know that Chikako has connections to the Ultimate Despairs? One of her closest friends is even a member of the group..."

Their Secret:
"Tetsuya hasn't reformed at all. As soon as you turn your back to him, he will go and has gone back to his old practice."

Who knows your secret:
Pahn Teece, The Ultimate Photographer.

@Solaresque

Thalia's Results
After throroughly searching the entirety of the dining area, Thalia couldn't find anything noteworthy that could help them solve Chikako's murder case.
@Neobullseye @Snowflake

Logan's Results
As Logan looked around the blood-covered kitchen, he spotted an unusually clean cleaver resting in a holder right next to the knife block. Aside from that, however, there wasn't anything unusual in the room (save for the excessive amount of blood splattered everywhere).
@The Tragedy

Haruka's Results (Arav's Note: I currently don't have the time to write a proper post for her (or for Grifter, for that matter))
After giving an annoyed glare at Hiro, Haruka approached the body and examined the young cook's body. Just like the Monokuma file pointed out, her entire body was completely covered in deep slashes and lacerations, with a few stabs mixed in between, alongside with a heavy bruise on her left temple, to the point of shattering the skull underneath the skin. However, what really caught Haruka's attention was that the victim didn't show any signs of struggle, and the wounds themselves didn't follow any particular pattern to begin with.
@Snowflake (since he is the one who asked Haruka to search the body)​

 

[Neobullseye]

Momouru Rieki
(Kitchen > Laundry Room)

One after another, the students had stumbled onto the murder scene. Some of them had left already. Others were currently examining the body and the area directly surrounding it. Momouru, meanwhile, was still staring at the body. They... they would have to go through another Investigation, huh? And afterwards, another Trial... and another Execution. One among them would soon perish. The question was no longer if, nor even when. The question was who. Who could have done something this insane? Murder was one thing, but this? The salesman hoped with all his heart that they would be able to find the guilty party. Not even the prospect of having someone who could not be killed and who would have no further motive for killing again was enough to overrule that wish, for it was not guaranteed that someone capable of this would not kill again and again, knowing that there was no way they could be stopped -- not until it was too late, at least. No, he could not afford to let that happen. They had to find the killer.
.
.
...Which meant that it might be a good idea for him to actually start doing something instead of standing in place here. Judging by how quickly the previous Trial Announcement had come, he could not afford to waste any time. He shook his head in an attempt to regain his focus, then nodded at the group. "Okay, remember what we decided during last Trial, people?," the Salesman spoke up, trying his best to keep a steady voice. "Pair up with someone, anyone, then start exploring. I'll go and check out the Laundry Room then. Logan, are you with me?," he said, the last line aimed at the Ultimate Card Teller. Regardless if Logan agreed to it, Momouru would move towards the Laundry Room and explore it.

@Aravhorn
@The Tragedy

 

[SolemnOath]

Ken Tanaka / SHSL Architect / 12th Division ​

As everyone else went about their thing while they did their part to investigate. Ken slowly walked around the room in silence, a monopod in hand as he simply glanced around at what this crime scene had to offer visually. As anyone could see the crime scene was very gruesome, excessive even. "How did this all go down?" He mumbled to himself as he knelt next to the body on the other side of Tatsuya. He didn't bother the man as he searched for something in her pockets. Rather his interest was with her head. Glancing at the file once more he then looked at her left temple checking the wound there. "This bruise..." Reaching out his fingers he let them hover right above the bruised area.

"Hey Tits, you know more about beating the shit out of people than most people. Do you know if a bruise this ugly came from a hit that could knock her out?" Ken asked as he nodded his head at the bruise his hand was almost touching. "That, and do you know if bruises can be made after death? Turns out being an architect doesn't equip me with that kind of knowledge. Annnd since you haven't killed me yet~Well, I cant let personal expression tell me the information." He kept an even tone as he a small smirk formed on his lips. "During our practice when you somehow forget not to hold back your punches I get bruising...but I don't think they look this ugly. Or am I just too amazing to have ugly bruises, which is something I cant knock out either~"
@Solaresque @Aravhorn ​

 

[Snowflake]

Hiro Doku SHSL Poisoner [Kitchen > Violet's Room]

"I see... Then I guess I'll just stick with Haruka, the only person I can count on to kill me in a completely predictable manner. Really the only one I could trust." Hiro didn't seem too interested in the deceased, nor really taken by her passing. Just another stiff in the killing game, hardly a surprise one like her would go down early. "I think it's safe to assume a few things about the way things went, given the info our lovely Nancy Drew gave us. Just don't expect me to spell it out for you Ken, you can learn to use that thing you call head as well. The answer to most of your questions is right there, just use some common sense." Not really interested in helping the Architect with his conundrum Hiro looked to Haruka expectantly. "Well, then Detective? Anything more about the scene you have to tell us or should we move on? Oh never mind, you're just the muscle, or rather, half of one now." He nodded at the door out. "Come on, there's bound to be more clues to find somewhere else. Like the place the girl was supposed to be at instead of here." Hands in pockets Hiro departed out the door and fully expected his former classmate to follow along.

Violet Theobold SHSL Poet [Dining room > Violet's Room]

The girl clung to her friend like a limpet until she could calm herself down enough to actually be useful in the investigation. The weeping and crying won't help solve the murder. It was a gruesome scene that shook her despite the terror she saw after the Tragedy. This was her friend that was brutalized to this extent. The blood on the floor and walls felt all the more visceral because of that connection. "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." Violet cited meekly. "I'm such a coward, Thalia. Such a weakling..." She moved alongside her friend seeming as if she was helping but her mind wandered in dark places. "We should look at my room and Chikako's room. Figure out where she slept and..." She couldn't finish the sentence and instead just stood up and started towards her room resolution to be helpful in her every step. "I won't let this world turn into The Waste Land. Our stars are still shinning."

 

[Vitreus]

Tatsuya Yamazaki - SHSL Street Fighter
_______________________________________________________________________________________​

Recovering the item he was looking for wasn't such a difficult task when it happened to be located on the body itself. Still, Tatsuya was a bit hesitant in handling Chikako's e-book, making a rather ineffective attempt at wiping the screen free of blood before accessing the information he was concerned about. A mild surprise that the device had not taken a beating, and that it appeared to be fully functioning after all... maybe the fact that this was openly available in the first place was indication that the secrets were not so important after all. Still, diligence begged that all grounds be covered nonetheless, so Tatsuya had a quick look at the tabs in question...

And while it posed novel and interesting information, none of it appeared glaringly relevant. It did however happen to bring both Tetsuya and Pahn under mild suspicion, and Tatsuya supposed that was something worth mentioning during the trial.

Lowering the tablet after having checked it for its secrets, Tatsuya glanced across at Ken upon being addressed, then down at the bruise that marred the girl's forehead. He studied it for a moment in silence, then tilted his head with a huff.

"Probably. Depends on what she was hit with and with how great an impact... although judging by what we're seeing here, I'd sure as fuck think so. See how it's uneven there, beneath the skin? Looks like her skull cracked."

Tatsuya observed this grimly, folding his arms across his knees and his dark eyes narrowed in his cynicism.

"The killer wasn't holding back. They either rammed her head into a hard object, or used the blunt edge of a weapon. That's what this looks like, at least."

Ignoring the most of Ken's meaningless conjecture, Tatsuya moved on to address his second thought.

"I'm not a forensic," he clarified sharply as he stared at the discoloured area, his brows furrowing slightly. "But if I had to guess... then I'd say beforehand, or very shortly after she'd died. Bruises would only form if the blood was still pumping, after all."

The street fighter glanced up at Ken then, his rather neutral approach to the situation faltering in place of a judgmental and derisory nature more typical of him.

"That's common sense, right? You aren't very amazing if you lack basic insight." He drawled as he stood up, Chikako's tablet joining his own as he tucked it beneath his arm.

 

[The Tragedy]

Logan Vickson-SHSL Card Teller
Logan grabbed a towel and then picked up the cleaver. He walked out of the kitchen, turning the cleaver over in his hand "Uh.. sure, i suppose so, but first things first, that kitchen looks like someone knocked over twenty buckets of red paint but somehow there is no blood on the cleaver that was just out in the open. I'd think maybe our killer or somebody cleaned it off or was using it and found that kitchen in that state..." He shrugged a bit and put it down on the table for the others to look at while he went to catch up with Momouru.

He walked into the laundry behind him. He began to search around it. "Surely the killer got blood on their clothes, either they would have attempted to wash it or they are hiding it..." He began to look through baskets, washing machines driers, blood was no easy thing to get out, it would take multiple loads to even get the stain out.

@Neobullseye
@Othersinthekitchen

 

[Galaxi]

Lelei Vivecca ~ SHSL Pharmacist​

The girl wasn't expecting anyone to approach her, let alone for her presence to suddenly be requested by not one but two people. Before she even got the chance to reply to Hiro, Ken appeared causing a sinking feeling in her stomach when he mentioned them needing to talk. She wasn't sure she could handle something like that right now, nor did she really want to to be honest so she made some excuse about not feeling well and rushed back to her room. The only place she wouldn't be disturbed.

There she quickly ended up falling asleep, sprawled out on her bed still in her clothing. It wasn't till the morning announcement came on that she was woken from her slumber. Lelei sat up on her bed groggily, rubbing her eyes as she slowly processed the events of the previous day. Looking at the tablet that lay next to her on the bed, she scrolled through it, the dreaded information still there burning bright into the lit up screen. Well, she could at least hope it had been a bad dream. Picking herself up off the bed she began her daily routine, getting in the shower first of all to freshen up and help her body wake up quicker. If she could she would happily sleep much longer, stupid Monokuma and his early rude awakenings. She had barely soaked her body when the next announcement sounded on the monitor in her room. Hearing it she felt her knees growing weak, causing her to lean against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall. No....not again.... Lelei wasn't sure she could go through this again. However a part of her was certainly glad she had taken her time this morning, if she had left as normal and got there early....well...she'd have to see that again.

Finishing up her shower quickly, she got dressed and headed out to the dining room, her hair still wet and slowly dripping onto her lab coat. When she got to the doorway of the dining hall she hesitated. Was she up to seeing another dead body? The body of someone who very recently she saw walking about, breathing...living... The thought gave her the shivers but it had to be done. She walked into the dining hall, looking to anyone who was there. Lelei could smell it from here, scrunching up her nose, that hard hitting metallic smell coming from the kitchen. She managed to work up the courage to walk in here but something told her whatever was beyond the entrance to the kitchen she would not handle very well. Rather pathetic for her to be so affected by this, yet she couldn't help it. This is why she preferred to stick to treating people with pills and such rather than surgery. She never had the stomach for it.

"S-sorry I'm late...." She muttered as she entered, her hands disappearing into the large pockets of her lab coat. "I uhm...would rather not go in there....if that's alright..." she said, her eyes glued to the doorway of the kitchen. "..but can I do anything to help?.." She spoke loudly enough that anyone in the kitchen could hear her voice clearly, she rather speak up than have to go in there. Honestly she had no idea what the situation was apart from the brief Monokuma file they received that she scanned on her way here, thinking about which just made her woozy. It definitely sounded rather violent from the wounds she sustained....poor Chikako, she always seemed like such a nice girl.

@Anyone in dining room / kitchen

 

[SolemnOath]

Ken Tanaka/ SHSL Architect / 12 Division ​

"Just wanting a second opinion~In a place where any of us can be the killer. Personally, I would like the same information to come from two people rather than just one person." Ken said with a hum as he kept his eyes on the corpse. "I just want to double check everything if possible. Or should I just take the word of one person and roll with it without doing any fact checking? I could do that, but I feel like taking someone's word, without hearing at least one more opinion. Is an action that lacks common sense." He said as he looked at Hiro with a forced friendly smile on his lips. It was a small attempt to hide his annoyance about his supposed lack of commonsense. An attempt that all in all, wasn't his best. On average he knew he could have done better, but in this current situation. Well there were more important things than hiding some emotion he was temporarily feeling to a person.

Turning his attention back to the corpse, his forced smile went back to a neutral look at the sight of her lifeless body. Ken merely remained crouched there as he listened to Tatsuya speak. "Okay, I wonder if Chikako was knocked unconscious before being attacked." He muttered as he stood up. "But, if she was unconscious, why the hell would anyone have to be so brutal?" As rubbed the back of his head, he looked up at Tatsuya. "Hm? Is it? When I was learning how to be an architect surprise surprise, things about bruises and how they are formed, as well as when they stopped forming. Didn't really appear in my test." Shrugging at this he looked back at her body. "I could go on and on about some reasons as to why I don't know what you consider basic information. But, I think I'd like to focus on her for the time being." Ken said in a solemn tone as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Though Ken didn't feel queasy at the sight of Chikako body, he still struggled to even force mirth to leave him. Closing his eyes he gripped his knife that rested in his pocket before letting a small slow breath leave him. Opening his eyes he looked over at Logan and listened to what the other said about the clean weapon. "Why would someone bother cleaning the cleaver? Isnt the weapon in her eyes the murder weapon? Maybe both were used??"

After saying this he walked over to the cleaver and grabbed it before inspecting it himself. "Maybe we should compar-" Before he could finish his sentence, he stopped himself when he heard Lelei's voice from the dining area. "If you don't want to come in here, you may want to look around to see if there is any evidence in some other place." He called out as he looked over his shoulder. "Though I'm not certain where right now. I think someone headed to the laundry room, and some went to Violet's room." He informed her only to turn his attention to the cleaver once more. "Maybe you could check out Chikako's room? I don't think she was there often, but who knows might be something in there worthwhile."

After saying this he walked back to Chikako and knelt down beside her. "She has stab wounds as well as slashes. If the cleaver was used on her it wouldn't be used for the stabbing, is that enough common sense for you Tits?" He stated (though the last part was merely a grumble under his breathe) as he looked at her wounds. Putting the cleaver closer to her body, he started to compare the weapon in his hands with the slashes and lacerations to see if any of the matched the blade that was currently in his hands.
@Snowflake @Solaresque @MisterJ @Aravhorn

 

[Aravhorn]

Momouru and Logan's Report:
It didn't take them long to find out that something was amiss as the pair set their foot inside the laundry room. Almost as a reminder about the fateful days of the first trial, Logan noticed a bloodied black-and-white short-sleeved jacket with a purple t-shirt tucked away inside one of the washing machines. It was obvious that someone was trying to wash away the blood but it only ended up ruining the garments even further.
@Neobullseye @The Tragedy

Haruka, Hiro, Violet and Thalia's Report:
Despite Haruka's best efforts to simply ignore the wisecracking idiot that was Hiro, she couldn't resist the temptation to "gently" place her only arm on his shoulder (read: almost breaking Hiro's shoulder with her iron grip) and "calmy" guide him towards the exit (also read: forcefully pushing him towards the door while inflicting as much physical pain as (in)humanly possible). "Keep talking and this "half-a-muscle" of yours will start leveling the playing field." It was almost surprising how Haruka was able to keep her calm and stoic façade all the while as she led the poor poisoner and the others towards Violet's room.

As soon as the group arrived at their destination, they've spotted a strange dent on the inner side of the door leading to Violet's room. Judging by its shape and length, Haruka estimated that it was caused by a sharp object with a long and uniform edge, probably somewhere around 17 centimeters (or roughly 7 inches) in length. Aside from that, however, the room seemed to be mostly in order. Maybe a more thorough search of the place would be needed to find anything unusual.
@Neobullseye @Snowflake

Ken's Report:
Just like Ken had suspected, most, if not all of the wounds on Chikako's body were caused by the cleaver he was currently holding, with some of the wounds probably belonging to the knife that was currently stuck in the cook's eye.
@SolemnOath
​

 

[Neobullseye]

Frowning, Momouru took the clothes out of the washing machine. Hadn't the killer been paying attention during the previous trial? They should've known that blood doesn't easily wash out, at least not this much. So then why even try it anyway? It just didn't make sense to the Salesman; what was there to gain from doing something like this? Unless, maybe they just assumed that Alex had messed up on purpose for his plans? After all, perfectly clean clothes would have done him no good at all. If so, then- No. All of this was just baseless speculation, which was bound to lead to mistakes. There was no point in thinking it over too much right now, not when he still knew so little. It would be more advantageous to try to look for more clues first, then work things out during the Trial. Shrugging, he grabbed a large plastic bag out of a nearby closet, then put the bloody clothes into it. After that, he started to take a more thorough look through the Laundry Room, to see if there was anything else to find.

"Okay, while we're looking at this place, we might as well discuss our next room," he said to Logan, taking a quick look at his Monopad to see where all the others were. "It seems that multiple others are already searching Violet's room, and I know that the Dining Hall has been searched too. I think it would be most efficient if we just move in a counterclockwise room around the building, leaving the other private rooms to the others. This would mean that the Meeting Hall would be next, then the rooms in the other wing. Do you have any objections or suggestions?"

@The Tragedy
@Aravhorn

 

[Neobullseye]

Thalia Melete - Act 3-2
(Dining Hall > Violet's room)

Quietly, Thalia searched through the Dining Room, keeping half an eye on Violet at all times to support her whenever she needed it. Though the search took slightly longer than needed as a result of this, she still found nothing of importance. Not that she had expected to find much in the first place, if only because the Dining hall would be a horrible hiding place for clues. Then again, it wasn't like Chikako's butcher had made much of an effort to hide their acts in the first place, so perhaps she shouldn't think too highly of them.

Just as Thalia figured she had searched every corner of the Dining room, Violet spoke up again, stating how weak and pathethic she saw herself as. "Don't say that," Thalia responded to Violet's self-depreciation, her own expression halfway between a sad frown and a comforting smile. "You'll only drag yourself further down. Focus on what you can do, rather than what you think you're unable of. The past might be the past, but the future is ours to forge, and forge it we will. Besides, you're a member of the Future Foundation, remember? Do you really think they would take someone who wouldn't be able to handle this? The very fact that they accepted you in their ranks means you're a lot stronger than how you see yourself right now."

Upon hearin Violet's suggestion to check out either her or Chikako's room, Thalia just nodded. "Yes, that's a good plan. Let's go then," she responded, then followed her friend through the hallways towards their new destination. Part of her wanted to ask Violet if she really was ready for this, if she didn't want to go somewhere else instead. Another part of her knew that saying this would only sow a seed of self-doubt in a heart that was already so covered in viens of despair. No, she just had to trust her friend, and show her that she trusted her. As such, Thalia just joined Violet to wherever she wanted to go now, just making sure she was there for her.

Soon after their arrival at Violet's room, Hiro and Haruka entered the room too -- or rather, Haruka physically dragged Hiro into the room. "Hey," the actress said in greeting. "Found anything back in the other rooms?" Having turned back to the door when Haruka and Hiro had entered the room, Thalia spotted something odd on the door she had missed while entering the room -- mostly because it was on the inner side rather than on the outside. Some kind of dent, apparently? Silently, Thalia walked over to the door and traced her fingers across the dent. "What could have made this?," she wondered out loud. Obviously it was made by some kind of sharp thing, anyone could see that much, but what exactly was not quite as easy to see, at least not to her untrained eye. "...Maybe it's just an accident? Like, something just bumped into the door, or the other way around." To test her theory, Thalia opened the door all the way to the wall, to see if there was anything there that could explain the dent.

@Snowflake
@Aravhorn

 

[SolemnOath]

Ken Tanaka / SHSL Architect /12th Division
Kitchen > Chikako's room > Medbay​

After examining the wounds with the blade Ken stood up and let out a small sigh. "So this cleaver was used in hacking her apart." He said as he turned the weapon in his hands a bit. "But, not all of the wounds were made from it? The stab wounds likely were made from the knife in her eye. But...why the change? The brutality of this all just....Fuck, whoever did this is sick in the fucking head." Letting out a sigh he walked over to the counter and placed the knife back onto it before putting his hands in his pocket. Once he did this he looked back at Chikako. 'I know, I should triple check to see if the knife in her eye is the same one that stabbed her body. But...." Closing his eyes he shook his head, as he knew there was no way he could bring himself to remove the weapon in her socket.

Now opening his eyes and looking away from the body he figured it was time to look elsewhere. Alas, he wasn't sure where to start. He knew people were already in the laundry room, and in the bedroom she had been staying at. "I guess another place to start is the victims room itself. Who knows, could lead to something that can explain this mess." After grumbling this he walked to the door and headed for the victims room to inspect it and see if there was anything worthwhile.

Upon arriving in Chikako's room, Ken walked around searching for anything out of the ordinary. "She really didn't stay here much. Nothing seems off, or worth concern. Damn, was hoping to find something to help out." He grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head now standing in the middle of the room. "Where else should I check?" Pulling out his tablet, Ken opened up the map and looked down at it in silence. Using this he was able to figure out which rooms were occupied for the most part (though he knew there was at least one asshole who didn't have their Monopad with them), and which were vacant.

After debating for a moment Ken took the tablet and placed it back in his coat pocket before leaving the room. He figured the best place for him to look for now would be the medbay. At least then, even if he didn't find anything, he could quickly treat his wounds before continuing with the search.
@Aravhorn

 

[The Tragedy]

Logan Vickson- SHSL [spoili]Artist?[/spoili] Card Teller
Logan looked at the bloody clothes, they were clearly feminine. That at least... hopefully made things a bit simpler. He picked up the clothes and turned towards the door, following Momouru out of the room. "Nah, I'm fine with it, What do we do with this though? Not like i really want to carry around a bag of bloody clothe around with me," He walked towards the meeting hall with Momouru. "If these are in fact the killer's clothes, it means that our killer is a girl," He stepped into the meeting hall and began to search through it.

He looked at his deck of cards and turned it over, his cruedly drawn Queen of Clubs looked back at him. He shook his head and put it away, he was clearly in denial. His connection with his cards was strange, he was obsessed and the lost of one of them left him... shaky at least.
@Neobullseye

 

[Snowflake]

Hiro Doku SHSL Poisoner [Violet's room]

In between the yelps of pain caused by Haruka's titanic grip on him, Hiro felt only the slightest regret at poking the hornet's nest. Regardless of that, it was good to know that she still was a force to be reckoned with even if missing an appendage. On location, however, seeing the seemingly innocuous room, Hiro was a bit disappointed. After spotting the scratch on the door, rather than waste time thinking about what was thrown against it to cause such a dent he took to more closely inspecting the room. "Come on, 'Detective', as much as I like our little playdates it would be best if we get to searching this place top to bottom." He decided to start from the corner of the room inspecting everything for any sort of clue in case the Kitchen wasn't the murder place or if Chikako was first kidnapped from the room and taken to the kitchen.

Violet Theobold SHSL Poet [Violet's room]

Violet seemed more determined now, some combination of Thalia's words and whatever sort of respect and obligation to Chikako made her suppress all her emotions for now and look to the investigation. Eyes still red from crying and occasionally still sniffling she started from the opposite end of the room than Hiro and inspected the furniture in the room. The desk, the bed, nightstand, closet, one by one she looked to them for anything unusual. If anyone was going to notice any abnormalities it would be her since this was, in fact, her room. "A fleeting hope, so frail and weak. Rests within the hearts of the meek." She whispered to herself as a reminder of what Chikako was to her. A small spark of hope, something even more frightened than her and yet so hopeful of a happy future.

 

[Vitreus]

Tatsuya Yamazaki - SHSL Street Fighter
_______________________________________________________________________________________​

Tatsuya cocked a brow at Ken's rejoinder, not entirely convinced that this was a good reason not to know the basics of why or how a bruise would form. But he didn't bother with a retort- they had more concerning things to dwell on than minor shortcomings in the limited medical knowledge of an architect. It seemed Ken shared a similar thought however, so with a careless half-shrug, the street fighter turned away from the corpse to continue his investigation elsewhere.

As to where it was best to look, however, Tatsuya wasn't so sure. A fair few people had already left the room to investigate the other facilities, it seemed. And there were sure to be other places to look, so Tatsuya figured he might as well do some independent investigation of his own (not for the purposes of withholding evidence, though; Solar pinkie-promises). Sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks, with either e-book tucked securely against his side, Tatsuya left behind the gruesome murder scene and wandered back into the hallway. From what he could see, most of the other graduates were gathered about the dorms or the infirmary- so the street fighter made in a separate direction, towards the storage room. That's where he spent most of his time investigating for the previous murder as well, so he knew the place relatively well. Enough that it was an effective enough place to stash away things you might not want immediately found, or to gather the things necessary to carry out a murder or otherwise.

Pushing the door open and silently stepping foot into the room, Tatsuya gazed around the area before approaching the shelves and clutter of boxes, keeping an eye out in his thorough search for anything out of the ordinary.

@Aravhorn

 

[Aravhorn]

Thalia's report:
As Thalia opened the door, it eventually bumped against the cabinet standing to the left of the entrance with a soft thud. However, it was highly unlikely that said piece of furniture was responsible for causing the indentation, given how it was located at around shoulder/chest height, which was way higher than the cabinet could reach, and was mostly vertical with a slight tilt to the left, unlike the horizontal edges of the cabinet. Furthermore, the edges weren't sharp enough to leave such a deep mark on the door, even if someone were to smash the door against it.
@Neobullseye

Ken's Report:
Upon reaching the Medical room, Ken couldn't find anything noteworthy that could help in their current case. He did find, however, some medical supplies to treat his wounds, so at least his search wasn't for nothing.
@SolemnOath

Hiro's Report:
As Hiro checked the area around the bed, he noticed a small splatter of blood on the wall, hidden behind the bed. At first glance, the blood looked fresh, and it seemed that it was sliding down the wall for quite some time, leaving dark red trails on its otherwise white surface.
@Snowflake

Violet's Report:
While examining the desk in her bedroom, Violet noticed that the lamp was unusually clean compared to the table it was resting on, and that the light switch was placed in a very awkward location that made it hard to turn it on while sitting in front of it. Outside of that, however, everything else seemed to be in order.
@Snowflake

Momouru and Logan's Report:
Upon reaching the meeting room, the duo didn't find anything out of place that could be related to Chikako's murder; however, Logan noticed that the second chair counting from the left in the final row was unusually comfortable compared to the others; hell, it was so comfortable that he could be sitting there all day if they didn't have a trial to be worrying about. Like damn, if every chair was as comfortable as this one, the world would be suffering from a severe sedentarism problem right now. And hey, maybe the whole Tragedy thing would've never happened since everyone would be too lazy to stand up from the chair and wreak havoc around the globe.
...Meanwhile, Momouru noted that in fact the room didn't seem to be in any way related to the investigation, and therefore they should look somewhere else.
@The Tragedy @Neobullseye

Tatsuya's report:
While checking out the cardboard boxes in one of the far corners of the room, Tastuya found a broken metal desk lamp clumsily tucked away inside one of them. Whatever happened to it, the lamp surely has seen better days: the metal shade had a dull indentation on its surface, and the lightbulb was completely blown apart. Aside from that, however, everything else seemed to be intact, and while Tatsuya was no engineer, it was safe to assume that changing the lightbulb was enough for the lamp to be back in working condition.
@Solaresque

Masuyo's Report:
"Zzzz...I'm still sleeping, god damn it, please come back later... Sheesh, people these days, acting as if someone died or something..." ~Grifter, moments after hearing the body announcement in his slumber.​