Murder Game XIV: Monokuma's Awakening

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Holder brought the group following him to the girl's dorms and into one of the locked rooms. Hands on his hips, he gave the room a look over.

"Girl's name was Anna. One of the last to go missing, so no one barely knows crap about her. I was brought on for the Palmer girl, so there was a lot of focus there, but these other girls, man..." Holder clicked his tongue. "Fucked up. Once I figured they were all from Blackwell, seemed obvious where this was going. Town's got a secret, that's for sure."

Victoria had followed this group, though she grimaced at the sight of the room. "Gross, my room's being used for this missing girl." Holder shot her a confused look, but Victoria laughed it off. "Don't worry about it."

"Try not to go crazy around the girl's unmentionables, yo. Someone take a look at her lappy and I'll have a look for some kind of journal. Seems a little old for one, but you never know with these artsy types."

Considering Nono's apparent skills at finding diaries, she would find one under the girl's mattress. A look through would show it was sparsely used, with the missing girl having mainly used it to document some personal study notes. One entry stood out in particular, as it was a sketch of some kind.

"... Was this girl weird or something?"

Stiles arrived at the room in time to see the detective was giving them orders on what to look for. He was going to go for the labtop, but Honda had beaten him to it and he wasn't about to take a fight with the man, he was way too big to argue with. He looked over at Victoria. "It could be much worse, the girl could have been murdered and be much messier. Also, would you like a stick of gum, Victoria? Detective? Others? " He asked. The gum tasted good, whoever he had stolen this from had some good taste in food or for that matter, gum. He saw the others and decided to investigate the drawers.

@Atomyk @Yun Lee @Crow @Dorm Investigation

 

[Atomyk]

"I guess..." Victoria sighed, trying to determine what the heck was going on with this girl's sketch. "Something about scales...? Tipping the scales?"

The laptop would turn on without error, though as could probably be expected, it asked for a password.

In one of the drawers, there was a a matchbook with a logo on the back for the One Eyed Jack's casino.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

"I guess..." Victoria sighed, trying to determine what the heck was going on with this girl's sketch. "Something about scales...? Tipping the scales?"

The laptop would turn on without error, though as could probably be expected, it asked for a password.

In one of the drawers, there was a a matchbook with a logo on the back for the One Eyed Jack's casino.

Stiles looked over at the picture. " I think it is the exact oppsite of that. I think it is balancing the scales," he said, pulling the matchbook out of the drawer.

He looked at the back of the box and wasn't sure what to make of it. He decided to look in the box for now, perhaps there were more than matches.

@Atomyk @Crow @Yun Lee

 

[Crow]

Holder brought the group following him to the girl's dorms and into one of the locked rooms.

Hands on his hips, he gave the room a look over.

"Girl's name was Anna. One of the last to go missing, so no one barely knows crap about her. I was brought on for the Palmer girl, so there was a lot of focus there, but these other girls, man..." Holder clicked his tongue. "Fucked up. Once I figured they were all from Blackwell, seemed obvious where this was going. Town's got a secret, that's for sure."

Victoria had followed this group, though she grimaced at the sight of the room. "Gross, my room's being used for this missing girl." Holder shot her a confused look, but Victoria laughed it off. "Don't worry about it."

"Try not to go crazy around the girl's unmentionables, yo. Someone take a look at her lappy and I'll have a look for some kind of journal. Seems a little old for one, but you never know with these artsy types."

Considering Nono's apparent skills at finding diaries, she would find one under the girl's mattress. A look through would show it was sparsely used, with the missing girl having mainly used it to document some personal study notes. One entry stood out in particular, as it was a sketch of some kind.

"... Was this girl weird or something?"

@Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

"Check her laptop you say? Leave that to me!" Honda sat at her desk and, cracking his knuckles, got to work looking for anything he could on Anna's computer. With any luck he could find something here unlike with Jefferson.
​

@Atomyk @Crow @DRI

Stiles arrived at the room in time to see the detective was giving them orders on what to look for. He was going to go for the labtop, but Honda had beaten him to it and he wasn't about to take a fight with the man, he was way too big to argue with. He looked over at Victoria. "It could be much worse, the girl could have been murdered and be much messier. Also, would you like a stick of gum, Victoria? Detective? Others? " He asked. The gum tasted good, whoever he had stolen this from had some good taste in food or for that matter, gum. He saw the others and decided to investigate the drawers.

@Atomyk @Yun Lee @Crow @Dorm Investigation

"I guess..." Victoria sighed, trying to determine what the heck was going on with this girl's sketch. "Something about scales...? Tipping the scales?"

The laptop would turn on without error, though as could probably be expected, it asked for a password.

In one of the drawers, there was a a matchbook with a logo on the back for the One Eyed Jack's casino.

@LuckycoolHaek9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

"Under the bed... that is where Morikubo used to hide hers, until she realised that the maids would occasionally clean it and all. For a self-managed self-cleaned room, it is a good hiding spot...

...Morikubo is no Watson or Philip or Conan, but she will try to decipher this... wait, when was I able to understand English?"

Nono then starts to recite things as she assumes a comfortable position underneath a desk.

"First word: Clip, Tag, Pin, Hang, Hold, Uphold, and other related words.

Second word: Scales, Balance, Weight, Order, Libra and other related words.

Morikubo is Japanese... so maybe there's some sort of American or UK slang she is not getting? Morikubo does have a friend who calls potato wedges 'Jojos'."

Nono then turns to Stiles as he offers the others gum.

"Morikubo heard that it gum takes about 7 years to digest... if swallowed... please be careful..."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Atomyk @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

"Under the bed... that is where Morikubo used to hide hers, until she realised that the maids would occasionally clean it and all. For a self-managed self-cleaned room, it is a good hiding spot...

...Morikubo is no Watson or Philip or Conan, but she will try to decipher this... wait, when was I able to understand English?"

Nono then starts to recite things as she assumes a comfortable position underneath a desk.

"First word: Clip, Tag, Pin, Hang, Hold, Uphold, and other related words.

Second word: Scales, Balance, Weight, Order, Libra and other related words.

Morikubo is Japanese... so maybe there's some sort of American or UK slang she is not getting?"

Nono then turns to Stiles as he offers the others gum.

"Morikubo heard that it gum takes about 7 years to digest... if swallowed... please be careful..."

Stiles heard her list them up and it dawned on him. " Hanging in the balance, it's a fate thing, when something is uncertain. Though that does leave more question than answers, I should be fine. Never plan on swallowing it," he said. He offered her a grin.

@Crow @Atomyk @Yun Lee @Dorm Investigation

 

[Atomyk]

"I don't know... it doesn't really seem like that's right."

Victoria looked down, brow furrowing at the sight of Nono under the desk. "... You okay?"

Holder walked over and took a peek at the book. He smiled at the sketch and pointed at it. "Hey there, lil' detective, looks like you got one of them, err... rebus puzzles or whatever. A pictogram, yo. The picture spells out a sentence, or at least is supposed to." He laughed and pointed then to Stiles when he identified it. "Think this one's got it."

"Huh. I can see that..." Victoria said, crossing her arms. "By the way, Stiles, I don't think you're going to get much else out of those matches."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

"Oh no..No.."

Tommy muttered weakly as he gripped onto a nearby bookshelf and pulled himself to his feet. Although it was clear that he was in condition to be moving around, let alone standing on his own two feet. Making no notice of the machete, Tommy limped towards Lapis and Genji before putting a hand on the other man's shoulder. Tears welled up in Tommy's eyes as he brought his heavily bruised face to look up at the armored man's own.

"It's..It's my fault the killer came here. At least..One of them. I fought this guy months ago. I...I thought I'd put him behind me."

Tears streamed down Tommy's face as he leaned into Genji and propped his head on the other man's shoulder and blubbered. "He was an paramedic who lost his son! I..I tried to stop him and I thought I did! But I fucked up again and now that Cat thing's dead! I'm sorry!" It was clear that whatever horrible thrashing Tommy had gone through and this hadn't done wonders for Tommy's already shaky fragile mental state. How could he have failed like this? He couldn't stop Jason or Roy and now someone that this group cared dearly about was dead.

If only he'd been stronger, if only he had fought harder against the two hockey mask wearing killers. Then maybe this whole mess could have been avoided.

@BarrenThin @Verite
​

"..."

No attempt to cheer Lapis up or a joyous exclamation that he was indeed Catbug. No more sound would have come out of this strange but friendly creature. Catbug had only lived to be ten but in that short time he had tried his best not to make enemies. Life was too short to go around hating people after all. If everybody could have just stopped fighting and been friends then everybody would be happy! There'd be no need for fighting, only superheroes doing heroic things! Like saving catbugs from fires and helping old ladies across the street! Or helping an indie writer publish his own comic!

But even in death Catbug seemed happy. Ignoring the blood that now stained Lapis's chest and arms from cradling the deceased creature, Catbug's ears were down and his eyes were closed. But his mouth had ended up in a smile. No doubt his last few thoughts had been positive ones. But what exactly had they been?

~~~

Catbug could feel himself growing more and more tired with every passing second. He let out a groan of annoyance as Roy made his way off from the group. He had hurt him and Kyoko, but more importantly he had hurt someone who was friends with a lot of people in this group! He couldn't let him get away with that! But as Catbug tried to rise to all fours, his legs gave out and he collapsed onto his chest which immediately earned him a wince. The pain was immense as the gash he had gotten from Roy's machete spread across his front left leg all the way to the right leg.

"I'm sorry..."

Catbug's bottom lip trembled as tears threatened to escape from his eyes at this very moment.

He knew full well he wasn't a fighter. It was why when the group wanted to spar, Chikage had taken Catbug off her head and put him off to the side. Then during the fight with Roy, Chikage had once again removed him. But how was he expected to simply sit back while his friends put their lives on the line and got hurt themselves? He may have been a pet but he was still a member of the Bravest Warriors dang it! Yet all he had managed to do was irritate Roy at the very least with his claws and teeth. He wasn't a big strong fighter like Genji who looked like someone straight out of a superhero movie! Someone Catbug would have likely wanted to emulate had he gotten a chance to speak with him some more. He wasn't a skilled martial artist even for his size like Chikage who could throw grown men like both masked jerks to the floor with no effort. Catbug would always think fondly of her. She had shared chocolate with him and had let him sleep on the same bed with her when he didn't want one to himself!

She was one of his best friends and he'd miss her dearly when it came time to go. But he wouldn't be going anytime soon. He didn't want to leave before he got to see Chikage smile again! How else would he able to tell the other Bravest Warriors about the awesome fighter girl with a great smile?

Then there was Bolin and Honda, two great people who were very friendly to Catbug! Bolin had even said they'd be the best of friends! Which meant a lot to Catbug as it meant he'd have to do very little to convince Bolin to be friends with him! He already had the same kind of thinking as him! Honda was a great guy as well. He reminded Catbug a lot of his owner and best friend Wallow! He was big ,strong, and was nice to everything and everyone he met!

But the person who had done so much for Catbug had to be none other than the very same person who often gave Catbug the cold shoulder.

Lapis Lazuli.

From the moment she had appeared in the Bravest Warrior's invisible HQ, Catbug had done everything in his power to make her feel welcome. From hugging her, to telling her she looked like some kind of amazing superhero, to even giving her a kiss. He wanted to be Lapis's friend and was genuinely hurt when she kept her distance from him. Was it because he had done something wrong? Or because he was positive in times that didn't require it? Like during the investigations. He knew others didn't quite like it. But he knew everyone couldn't afford to be sad. Not when they were all friends.

Maybe he'd tell Lapis that he'd change. That he'd start taking things seriously. But first he just really wanted to sleep. As Jude picked him up, Catbug's face slowly settled into a smile as he closed his eyes and imagined he was being picked up by Lapis and Chikage, both of whom looked so happy to see him.

"Catbug, let's go have candy together okay? Then I can train you to be super strong like me!"

"Catbug!~"

"I'm Catbug!"

Then it all went black.
~~~

Catbug's corpse had lost something in the process of being handed over to Lapis. That something was none other than Sir Jeffers who Herbert absent mindlessly stepped upon while looking over the scene. How dull, he had been expecting that Jason would have collapsed here and succumbed to his wounds. Instead it seemed to be none other than an imposter. Barely a footnote worthy of Herbert's time. Realizing he had stepped on something however, Herbert pulled his foot back and saw that Sir Jeffers had been snapped in half and one of his eyes had been knocked off.

"It seems the pet's toy is broken as well."

Not exactly one for social graces, Herbert thought very little of how offending his statement could have been as he glanced over towards Lapis. Ah, she was the one who had annoyed him earlier and attempted to assist him in the battle with Jason. It seemed she was grieving quite heavily over that abominable looking hybrid creature. Perhaps there was an idea there. Making his way over to Lapis, Herbert glanced down at her.

"Quite upsetting isn't it? To lose someone you care about so suddenly. Least of all when it's due to something you couldn't have even prevented. After all your hands were full dealing with the other brute. It wasn't as if you could be in two places in one now could you?" Herbert asked as Dan glanced over, raising an eyebrow at Herbert's statement. He had known Herbert for a long time and he knew Herbert didn't give a shit about the death of that poor cat thing. Walking over to Lapis himself, Dan tugged on Herbert's arm. 'What the hell do you think you're doing, Herbert? Give the girl some room to grief."

Angrily snatching his arm free from Dan, Herbert pushed up his glasses.

"Grieving is all and well and good. It's a natural human reaction when dealing with grief and loss. But, it's even more traumatic when it's so spontaneous. Like in the case of our little friend here, isn't it?"

'What are you looking for here, Herbert...?"

"Looking for? You misunderstand, Dan. I'm simply trying to reach out to someone in need.."

@Gummi Bunnies @Yun Lee @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Verite @The Tactician


​

Her eyes immediately darting towards where she heard two voices nearest to her, her vision piercing through Herbert the most as she listened to his words. It was like the guy didn't give a single shit when it came to someone mourning a terrible loss. Knowing that she was under the vision of others once more, Lapis ceased her tears, wiping her face with her sleeve as she worked up a vocal response.

"Oh, I know... been through this one too many fucking times."

A weak laugh, probably at her own disposition, came with her words. She was well aware that Catbug wasn't the only friend she had lost, and that she had lost more than just friends along the way. She witnessed the public execution of a close friend. She was forced to kill her own brother with her own two hands. It hurt...

Slowly getting up on her feet, Lapis had a distant look on her face as she felt the dread settle inside her.

"Guess I grow attached to people when I don't want to... but I keep forgetting that playing hard to get just ends up with people getting friendly with me... and then the inevitable happens. People get hurt... people get corrupted... people get killed. All because they have connections with me. Even if I only distance myself from others to prevent that ... I also don't want to have the feeling of guilt lingering on my tongue..."

She stopped herself, thinking that she was rambling about her life problems when she was aware that these two wouldn't even understand what she was getting at. Though, she rose an eyebrow at Herbert's latest statement.

"Someone in need..."

Lapis stopped thinking at that moment, and just stared at Herbert.

"Wait... don't tell me you're going to offer some help? Even after the bullshit I put you through before that fight broke out? Like... are... are you really sure? If... that's what you're implying."

@Chewy Rabbits​

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

For a moment, Jack fell silent as Zinnia's tears fell like the rains of spring. He quietly listened as she admitted that he was her most precious person, confirming his earlier suspicions, and smiled in a slight manner. His eyes softened as his hand crept to hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I know, Zinnia."

He bit back against a wince of stinging pain, Jude's treatment not being the gentlest as he patched up his shoulder, before smiling once again.

"So please, do not deny what you feel anymore..."

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Atomyk​

Zinnia gently wiped her own eyes with the back of a hand, taking in a deep breath afterwards. She wanted to stop crying, but it felt as if every tear she had suppressed over the years couldn't help but flow out. The tears didn't even stop when Jack spoke to her. The only difference his words made to her was in causing her heart to briefly lurch to a halt in her chest.

"Y-You know? How can you know? I never said--"

...

"Oh."

Right, he did know. She had told him she loved him when she thought she was going to die. But when she denied it later on, why hadn't Jack said anything? He could've called her out on her tauros crap and yet he didn't. Zinnia knew if she would've been in his spot, she would've called him out on it for sure. But, then again, Jack was far more polite than she was.

Zinnia anxiously squirmed for a second, lowering her face behind the collar of her cloak to hide a small blush she knew that was forming on her cheeks. He said she could be honest with her feelings, right? He was so kind, Zinnia almost couldn't help the words starting to spill out of her mouth. "I... only denied it because I was afraid if I said something, I'd lose you. Those precious to me always seem to go away."

When Jack touched her hand, she felt her skin tingle. Using his hand, she tugged him a little closer, looking him in the eye after a moment. When he looked in her eyes, he would see they were redder than normal, bloodshot from how stressed she had been. Wrapping her hand around his, she placed it over her own cheek before gently leaning into it. "But I guess the jig is up. To me, you're far more than just my best friend. I lo-- u-uh, well, you know."

...

"B-But hey, don't let that make you feel weird. I know you've said before that I'm your best friend," she paused for a moment, her blush deepening. "So I can cut it out if you need me to. You just, uh, told me I didn't have to deny it, so there you have it."

Zinnia quieted for a moment, a thought popping into her head that caused the blush on her cheeks to deepen a crimson so intense that she looked like a shiny red balloon. She appeared mortified.

...

....

.....

I just said all of that mush with Jude sitting right here in front of us.

I-If I even see a smirk on his lips I'm punching his lights out!


@The Tactician @Atomyk​

 

[Yun Lee]

"I guess..." Victoria sighed, trying to determine what the heck was going on with this girl's sketch. "Something about scales...? Tipping the scales?"

The laptop would turn on without error, though as could probably be expected, it asked for a password.

In one of the drawers, there was a a matchbook with a logo on the back for the One Eyed Jack's casino.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

Stiles looked over at the picture. " I think it is the exact oppsite of that. I think it is balancing the scales," he said, pulling the matchbook out of the drawer.

He looked at the back of the box and wasn't sure what to make of it. He decided to look in the box for now, perhaps there were more than matches.

@Atomyk @Crow @Yun Lee

"Under the bed... that is where Morikubo used to hide hers, until she realised that the maids would occasionally clean it and all. For a self-managed self-cleaned room, it is a good hiding spot...

...Morikubo is no Watson or Philip or Conan, but she will try to decipher this... wait, when was I able to understand English?"

Nono then starts to recite things as she assumes a comfortable position underneath a desk.

"First word: Clip, Tag, Pin, Hang, Hold, Uphold, and other related words.

Second word: Scales, Balance, Weight, Order, Libra and other related words.

Morikubo is Japanese... so maybe there's some sort of American or UK slang she is not getting? Morikubo does have a friend who calls potato wedges 'Jojos'."

Nono then turns to Stiles as he offers the others gum.

"Morikubo heard that it gum takes about 7 years to digest... if swallowed... please be careful..."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Atomyk @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

Stiles heard her list them up and it dawned on him. " Hanging in the balance, it's a fate thing, when something is uncertain. Though that does leave more question than answers, I should be fine. Never plan on swallowing it," he said. He offered her a grin.

@Crow @Atomyk @Yun Lee @Dorm Investigation

"I don't know... it doesn't really seem like that's right."

Victoria looked down, brow furrowing at the sight of Nono under the desk. "... You okay?"

Holder walked over and took a peek at the book. He smiled at the sketch and pointed at it. "Hey there, lil' detective, looks like you got one of them, err... rebus puzzles or whatever. A pictogram, yo. The picture spells out a sentence, or at least is supposed to." He laughed and pointed then to Stiles when he identified it. "Think this one's got it."

"Huh. I can see that..." Victoria said, crossing her arms. "By the way, Stiles, I don't think you're going to get much else out of those matches."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

​

"Gum? I'll take one!!" Gum helped keep cravings down after all. Hearing the riddle he tried entering hanging in the balance as the password.
​

@Atomyk @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

 

[Crow]

Stiles heard her list them up and it dawned on him. " Hanging in the balance, it's a fate thing, when something is uncertain. Though that does leave more question than answers, I should be fine. Never plan on swallowing it," he said. He offered her a grin.

@Crow @Atomyk @Yun Lee @Dorm Investigation

"I don't know... it doesn't really seem like that's right."

Victoria looked down, brow furrowing at the sight of Nono under the desk. "... You okay?"

Holder walked over and took a peek at the book. He smiled at the sketch and pointed at it. "Hey there, lil' detective, looks like you got one of them, err... rebus puzzles or whatever. A pictogram, yo. The picture spells out a sentence, or at least is supposed to." He laughed and pointed then to Stiles when he identified it. "Think this one's got it."

"Huh. I can see that..." Victoria said, crossing her arms. "By the way, Stiles, I don't think you're going to get much else out of those matches."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

​

"Gum? I'll take one!!" Gum helped keep cravings down after all. Hearing the riddle he tried entering hanging in the balance as the password.
​

@Atomyk @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

"Hanging in the balance? That must be it..." Nono speaks as she looks at Honda key it in as a password. "Well, that is one down, but how many more to go?"

When asked by Victoria if she was doing fine, Nono simply replied, "Morikubo finds relaxation under desks and tables... they're a good place to be when you are facing great difficulty. A form of nihilism, some may describe it..."

With that, Nono continues to look at the diary, flipping page to page. She starts off with the most recent entry, and moves down seven days. "Pleasedon'tbechainmailPleasedon'tbechainmailPleasedon'tbechainmail..."

@Atomyk @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

Zinnia gently wiped her own eyes with the back of a hand, taking in a deep breath afterwards. She wanted to stop crying, but it felt as if every tear she had suppressed over the years couldn't help but flow out. The tears didn't even stop when Jack spoke to her. The only difference his words made to her was in causing her heart to briefly lurch to a halt in her chest.

"Y-You know? How can you know? I never said--"

...

"Oh."

Right, he did know. She had told him she loved him when she thought she was going to die. But when she denied it later on, why hadn't Jack said anything? He could've called her out on her tauros crap and yet he didn't. Zinnia knew if she would've been in his spot, she would've called him out on it for sure. But, then again, Jack was far more polite than she was.

Zinnia anxiously squirmed for a second, lowering her face behind the collar of her cloak to hide a small blush she knew that was forming on her cheeks. He said she could be honest with her feelings, right? He was so kind, Zinnia almost couldn't help the words starting to spill out of her mouth. "I... only denied it because I was afraid if I said something, I'd lose you. Those precious to me always seem to go away."

When Jack touched her hand, she felt her skin tingle. Using his hand, she tugged him a little closer, looking him in the eye after a moment. When he looked in her eyes, he would see they were redder than normal, bloodshot from how stressed she had been. Wrapping her hand around his, she placed it over her own cheek before gently leaning into it. "But I guess the jig is up. To me, you're far more than just my best friend. I lo-- u-uh, well, you know."

...

"B-But hey, don't let that make you feel weird. I know you've said before that I'm your best friend," she paused for a moment, her blush deepening. "So I can cut it out if you need me to. You just, uh, told me I didn't have to deny it, so there you have it."

Zinnia quieted for a moment, a thought popping into her head that caused the blush on her cheeks to deepen a crimson so intense that she looked like a shiny red balloon. She appeared mortified.

...

....

.....

I just said all of that mush with Jude sitting right here in front of us.

I-If I even see a smirk on his lips I'm punching his lights out!


@The Tactician @Atomyk​

He allowed her to guide him closer, careful to not scare her during her heartfelt confession. She needed to take the lead in the moment, to ensure that she accepted her own feelings without feeling rushed. For a moment, a pang of pain echoed in the samurai's heart as he met her eyes, able to sense all of the tension and strain the day had brought for her. It seemed like every day had taken its toll on her, wearing her down yet somehow also strengthening her to be willing to honestly admit her.

And for some reason, Jack couldn't help but find her to be as beautiful as ever.

"There is no awkwardness in this moment, Zinnia. After asking you to be honest with me, it is not right to reject you when my heart tells me to do differently..."

His hand was gentle as it provided whatever comfort she desired, his thumb wiping away a few spare tears. He cared little if Jude was witness to their interaction, instead only focused upon Zinnia and the moment between them.

"You do not need to worry over losing me, Zinnia, for I feel the same and I do not aim to leave someone so important to me..."

The smile on his lips held nothing but honesty and bliss for his declaration.

@Atomyk @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

 

[Atomyk]

Nono would find there was not much more to see. With the diary searched, Holder made his way over to the closet and dresser. He hummed to himself as he perused through the girl's clothing, including her underclothes. He took interest in a waitress uniform, noting that it was for a diner called the Oh Deer Diner. As he continued further, he seemed confused at a pattern with Anna's clothing. Turning to the others, he held up two pairs of bras.

"Hey, you know, these styles don't match. Not the sizes either. I mean... one's a little country and one's a little rock n' roll. Clothes could belong to somebody else, but I, hmm, I dunno 'bout that."

The laptop accepted the password, allowing Honda access to the desktop. Holder caught wind of this and joined in on searching the computer for anything of interest. Nothing in particular stood out, though when one looked through Anna's photos...

"Woah, now," said Holder, leaning forward in interest. "What the fuck? Seems our girl fancied herself a model." One folder contained a number of photos depicting Anna posing in shots that looked professional. In some she was barely clothed, with majority taken under dim lighting and looking grey or washed out. "Someone was taking these photos and I'll give you one guess who that likely was."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

***

The way Zinnia was looking at him... Jude suddenly felt scared for his life. He saw to the woman's wounds gingerly, afraid the slightest break in concentration would result in him receiving Zinnia's wrath. Sweat broke out on his face as he was finishing up, with only a slight twitch of his face indicating he was uncomfortable.

"Y-You two... I, uh..." Jude coughed, clearing his throat. A deep blush colored his cheeks. "I'll just give you two some space." He briskly moved away and isolated both Zinnia and Jack by pulling the hospital curtain between them and the others before he moved on to Kyoko.

While Jude tried to get Zinnia and Jack's budding affection out of his head, he saw to Kyoko, ending up peering at her title tag with interest. "Kyoko, is there any reason your title is unknown? Are you... a spy of some kind?"

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @BarrenThin @ShiroKiyoshi @Gummi Bunnies @Chewy Rabbits @Verite @Injured​

 

[Verite]

The way Zinnia was looking at him... Jude suddenly felt scared for his life. He saw to the woman's wounds gingerly, afraid the slightest break in concentration would result in him receiving Zinnia's wrath. Sweat broke out on his face as he was finishing up, with only a slight twitch of his face indicating he was uncomfortable.

"Y-You two... I, uh..." Jude coughed, clearing his throat. A deep blush colored his cheeks. "I'll just give you two some space." He briskly moved away and isolated both Zinnia and Jack by pulling the hospital curtain between them and the others before he moved on to Kyoko.

While Jude tried to get Zinnia and Jack's budding affection out of his head, he saw to Kyoko, ending up peering at her title tag with interest. "Kyoko, is there any reason your title is unknown? Are you... a spy of some kind?"

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @BarrenThin @ShiroKiyoshi @Gummi Bunnies @Chewy Rabbits @Verite @Injured​

"..."

"I can't say."

As always, one had to wonder what the purpose of the pause between Jude's inquiry and Kyoko's response meant, and if she had meant she couldn't say or wouldn't say in her reply. Averting Jude's gaze, Kyoko let him patch her up as she would simultaneously ponder what to say next afterwards.

"I assure you though, I'm no spy. I'm on your side, no matter what."

@Atomyk​

 

[Jeremi]

Nono would find there was not much more to see. With the diary searched, Holder made his way over to the closet and dresser. He hummed to himself as he perused through the girl's clothing, including her underclothes. He took interest in a waitress uniform, noting that it was for a diner called the Oh Deer Diner. As he continued further, he seemed confused at a pattern with Anna's clothing. Turning to the others, he held up two pairs of bras.

"Hey, you know, these styles don't match. Not the sizes either. I mean... one's a little country and one's a little rock n' roll. Clothes could belong to somebody else, but I, hmm, I dunno 'bout that."

The laptop accepted the password, allowing Honda access to the desktop. Holder caught wind of this and joined in on searching the computer for anything of interest. Nothing in particular stood out, though when one looked through Anna's photos...

"Woah, now," said Holder, leaning forward in interest. "What the fuck? Seems our girl fancied herself a model." One folder contained a number of photos depicting Anna posing in shots that looked professional. In some she was barely clothed, with majority taken under dim lighting and looking grey or washed out. "Someone was taking these photos and I'll give you one guess who that likely was."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

***

The way Zinnia was looking at him... Jude suddenly felt scared for his life. He saw to the woman's wounds gingerly, afraid the slightest break in concentration would result in him receiving Zinnia's wrath. Sweat broke out on his face as he was finishing up, with only a slight twitch of his face indicating he was uncomfortable.

"Y-You two... I, uh..." Jude coughed, clearing his throat. A deep blush colored his cheeks. "I'll just give you two some space." He briskly moved away and isolated both Zinnia and Jack by pulling the hospital curtain between them and the others before he moved on to Kyoko.

While Jude tried to get Zinnia and Jack's budding affection out of his head, he saw to Kyoko, ending up peering at her title tag with interest. "Kyoko, is there any reason your title is unknown? Are you... a spy of some kind?"

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @BarrenThin @ShiroKiyoshi @Gummi Bunnies @Chewy Rabbits @Verite @Injured​

"Man, that's some classy pictures right there." Poison replied leaning over Honda. "Uuuh...that dead teacher?" Poison replied to Holder's question with a puzzled look.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation

 

[Crow]

Nono would find there was not much more to see. With the diary searched, Holder made his way over to the closet and dresser. He hummed to himself as he perused through the girl's clothing, including her underclothes. He took interest in a waitress uniform, noting that it was for a diner called the Oh Deer Diner. As he continued further, he seemed confused at a pattern with Anna's clothing. Turning to the others, he held up two pairs of bras.

"Hey, you know, these styles don't match. Not the sizes either. I mean... one's a little country and one's a little rock n' roll. Clothes could belong to somebody else, but I, hmm, I dunno 'bout that."

The laptop accepted the password, allowing Honda access to the desktop. Holder caught wind of this and joined in on searching the computer for anything of interest. Nothing in particular stood out, though when one looked through Anna's photos...

"Woah, now," said Holder, leaning forward in interest. "What the fuck? Seems our girl fancied herself a model." One folder contained a number of photos depicting Anna posing in shots that looked professional. In some she was barely clothed, with majority taken under dim lighting and looking grey or washed out. "Someone was taking these photos and I'll give you one guess who that likely was."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

"Man, that's some classy pictures right there." Poison replied leaning over Honda. "Uuuh...that dead teacher?" Poison replied to Holder's question with a puzzled look.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation

"Nothing. Impossible. Absolutely nothing..." Nono found nothing of note in the diary. "Morikubo thought we'd at least find something of note in the diary. Maybe a reason why she was disappearing..."

Nono looks at the laptop photographs. "W- woah! Not even I'm ready to shoot for gravure! You'd have to be pretty daring to do such a thing... even though Morikubo aims for such a level of daringness someday, she hopes that it'll never be reached, well... Must... not... look... Also, maybe this girl had... extra padding, fake breast sizes and all... Morikubo just doesn't get these modern trends..."

Poison suggests that the late Jefferson took these pictures.

"Enjo kosai, do they call it? Last week, Morikubo read in some shoujo manga that... that can occur... with some disastrous results... and will occasionally lead to this. In a loop of forbidden love... she has become his doll... his marionette... his plaything... It's an affair? A student-teacher romantic relationship? Forbidden love? Is that it? They're dating for profit? Morikubo would certainly not want to do that! No! No! Absolutely impossible!"

After calming down with a few heavy breaths, Nono says, "... maybe Max was going to say something that would lead to the discovery of such a thing... which was why... well... Klim k... killed... anyways, speaking of Max, this belongs to you, Poison." Nono hands a photocopy of the photograph Max took to Poison.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation​

 

[York]

​

Replies

Detective Holder flashed Nono a grim smile. "Aren't you a cute one? Missing girl, probably dead, with a dorm room that police have been too incompetent to search so far, sound good? Aren't you a little young to be here, anyhow?" Holder casually shrugged his shoulders and began to leave the library. "For now, this is none of my business. Any of you junior detectives wantin' to help me out, follow me to the dorms."

Honda found that the gunshot was easy to find, as the victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The source of the bullet was clear once Dr. Hayward ran into the library, looking out of breath as he held a gun in his hand.

"Did you put a stop to him?" he asked.

Additional wounds on the body included twin cuts on Roy's wrists, blood spilling from them to pour into a puddle on the ground below. Aside from these wounds, Roy wasn't sporting any hidden injuries. However, it seemed that there was paint on the ground, mostly obscured by the blood. Careful examination of the paint would find that it appeared to be some kind of ritualistic symbol.

@Crow @Yun Lee @york @Investigation​

​

"I guess so..." Nono says in response to Holder, about being asked if she was too young, "but without Kirigiri-san... well... anyways, let's just go and skip the exposition talk..."

The moment Nono entered the dormitary room, she tried to use her instincts to sniff the girl's diary out. If there was anyone who knew where to hide a diary, it was Morikubo Nono.

@Crow @BarrenThin @Atomyk @Yun Lee @york @Investigation​

"I don't know... it doesn't really seem like that's right."

Victoria looked down, brow furrowing at the sight of Nono under the desk. "... You okay?"

Holder walked over and took a peek at the book. He smiled at the sketch and pointed at it. "Hey there, lil' detective, looks like you got one of them, err... rebus puzzles or whatever. A pictogram, yo. The picture spells out a sentence, or at least is supposed to." He laughed and pointed then to Stiles when he identified it. "Think this one's got it."

"Huh. I can see that..." Victoria said, crossing her arms. "By the way, Stiles, I don't think you're going to get much else out of those matches."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

Nono would find there was not much more to see. With the diary searched, Holder made his way over to the closet and dresser. He hummed to himself as he perused through the girl's clothing, including her underclothes. He took interest in a waitress uniform, noting that it was for a diner called the Oh Deer Diner. As he continued further, he seemed confused at a pattern with Anna's clothing. Turning to the others, he held up two pairs of bras.

"Hey, you know, these styles don't match. Not the sizes either. I mean... one's a little country and one's a little rock n' roll. Clothes could belong to somebody else, but I, hmm, I dunno 'bout that."

The laptop accepted the password, allowing Honda access to the desktop. Holder caught wind of this and joined in on searching the computer for anything of interest. Nothing in particular stood out, though when one looked through Anna's photos...

"Woah, now," said Holder, leaning forward in interest. "What the fuck? Seems our girl fancied herself a model." One folder contained a number of photos depicting Anna posing in shots that looked professional. In some she was barely clothed, with majority taken under dim lighting and looking grey or washed out. "Someone was taking these photos and I'll give you one guess who that likely was."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation​

"Man, that's some classy pictures right there." Poison replied leaning over Honda. "Uuuh...that dead teacher?" Poison replied to Holder's question with a puzzled look.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation

"Nothing. Impossible. Absolutely nothing..." Nono found nothing of note in the diary. "Morikubo thought we'd at least find something of note in the diary. Maybe a reason why she was disappearing..."

Nono looks at the laptop photographs. "W- woah! Not even I'm ready to shoot for gravure! You'd have to be pretty daring to do such a thing... even though Morikubo aims for such a level of daringness someday, she hopes that it'll never be reached, well... Must... not... look... Also, maybe this girl had... extra padding, fake breast sizes and all... Morikubo just doesn't get these modern trends..."

Poison suggests that the late Jefferson took these pictures.

"Enjo kosai, do they call it? Last week, Morikubo read in some shoujo manga that... that can occur... with some disastrous results... and will occasionally lead to this. In a loop of forbidden love... she has become his doll... his marionette... his plaything... It's an affair? A student-teacher romantic relationship? Forbidden love? Is that it? They're dating for profit? Morikubo would certainly not want to do that! No! No! Absolutely impossible!"

After calming down with a few heavy breaths, Nono says, "... maybe Max was going to say something that would lead to the discovery of such a thing... which was why... well... Klim k... killed... anyways, speaking of Max, this belongs to you, Poison." Nono hands a photocopy of the photograph Max took to Poison.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation​

​

Jack Frost
@Atomyk @Body Investigation

Jack Frost frowned, that symbol... Was there some sort of ritual going on here? What's more is that it seemed that Roy had been shot by someone else before rushing to this room... Which meant that he must have been ambushed in this very room somehow. Tommy was the immediate suspect, seeing as he had that bloody machete, but if he had been the killer, why'd he slit his wrists? And how did that symbol fall into place? Waaait a minute, what if one of the books-... He suddenly rushed around, trying to look for any misplaced books from the shelves, he wondered if someone might have used one to make that symbol.

If they did, he was bound to find something that was misplaced, or well... At the least, related to the matter at hand; probably something like the book of the dead, maybe.

​

 

[Yun Lee]

Nono would find there was not much more to see. With the diary searched, Holder made his way over to the closet and dresser. He hummed to himself as he perused through the girl's clothing, including her underclothes. He took interest in a waitress uniform, noting that it was for a diner called the Oh Deer Diner. As he continued further, he seemed confused at a pattern with Anna's clothing. Turning to the others, he held up two pairs of bras.

"Hey, you know, these styles don't match. Not the sizes either. I mean... one's a little country and one's a little rock n' roll. Clothes could belong to somebody else, but I, hmm, I dunno 'bout that."

The laptop accepted the password, allowing Honda access to the desktop. Holder caught wind of this and joined in on searching the computer for anything of interest. Nothing in particular stood out, though when one looked through Anna's photos...

"Woah, now," said Holder, leaning forward in interest. "What the fuck? Seems our girl fancied herself a model." One folder contained a number of photos depicting Anna posing in shots that looked professional. In some she was barely clothed, with majority taken under dim lighting and looking grey or washed out. "Someone was taking these photos and I'll give you one guess who that likely was."

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @DormRoomInvestigation

***

The way Zinnia was looking at him... Jude suddenly felt scared for his life. He saw to the woman's wounds gingerly, afraid the slightest break in concentration would result in him receiving Zinnia's wrath. Sweat broke out on his face as he was finishing up, with only a slight twitch of his face indicating he was uncomfortable.

"Y-You two... I, uh..." Jude coughed, clearing his throat. A deep blush colored his cheeks. "I'll just give you two some space." He briskly moved away and isolated both Zinnia and Jack by pulling the hospital curtain between them and the others before he moved on to Kyoko.

While Jude tried to get Zinnia and Jack's budding affection out of his head, he saw to Kyoko, ending up peering at her title tag with interest. "Kyoko, is there any reason your title is unknown? Are you... a spy of some kind?"

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @BarrenThin @ShiroKiyoshi @Gummi Bunnies @Chewy Rabbits @Verite @Injured​

"Man, that's some classy pictures right there." Poison replied leaning over Honda. "Uuuh...that dead teacher?" Poison replied to Holder's question with a puzzled look.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation

"Nothing. Impossible. Absolutely nothing..." Nono found nothing of note in the diary. "Morikubo thought we'd at least find something of note in the diary. Maybe a reason why she was disappearing..."

Nono looks at the laptop photographs. "W- woah! Not even I'm ready to shoot for gravure! You'd have to be pretty daring to do such a thing... even though Morikubo aims for such a level of daringness someday, she hopes that it'll never be reached, well... Must... not... look... Also, maybe this girl had... extra padding, fake breast sizes and all... Morikubo just doesn't get these modern trends..."

Poison suggests that the late Jefferson took these pictures.

"Enjo kosai, do they call it? Last week, Morikubo read in some shoujo manga that... that can occur... with some disastrous results... and will occasionally lead to this. In a loop of forbidden love... she has become his doll... his marionette... his plaything... It's an affair? A student-teacher romantic relationship? Forbidden love? Is that it? They're dating for profit? Morikubo would certainly not want to do that! No! No! Absolutely impossible!"

After calming down with a few heavy breaths, Nono says, "... maybe Max was going to say something that would lead to the discovery of such a thing... which was why... well... Klim k... killed... anyways, speaking of Max, this belongs to you, Poison." Nono hands a photocopy of the photograph Max took to Poison.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation​

It was rather disgusting to think about, but Honda dared to speak up. "You know, Bullet mentioned that Rachel Amber and Jefferson were involved. Now, as much as I would love to believe that these photos are merely her modelling, I doubt it's innocent as that." Honda shook his head. "I think...maybe Jefferson had some sort of relationship with every girl involved!"
​

@Atomyk @Jeremi @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

 

[Crow]

It was rather disgusting to think about, but Honda dared to speak up. "You know, Bullet mentioned that Rachel Amber and Jefferson were involved. Now, as much as I would love to believe that these photos are merely her modelling, I doubt it's innocent as that." Honda shook his head. "I think...maybe Jefferson had some sort of relationship with every girl involved!"
​

@Atomyk @Jeremi @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

"It's like one of those cheesy local crime dramas Daddy watches, except it actually happened... Morikubo can only hope it is that simple..."

@Atomyk @Jeremi @york @Yun Lee @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation​

 

[Jeremi]

"Nothing. Impossible. Absolutely nothing..." Nono found nothing of note in the diary. "Morikubo thought we'd at least find something of note in the diary. Maybe a reason why she was disappearing..."

Nono looks at the laptop photographs. "W- woah! Not even I'm ready to shoot for gravure! You'd have to be pretty daring to do such a thing... even though Morikubo aims for such a level of daringness someday, she hopes that it'll never be reached, well... Must... not... look... Also, maybe this girl had... extra padding, fake breast sizes and all... Morikubo just doesn't get these modern trends..."

Poison suggests that the late Jefferson took these pictures.

"Enjo kosai, do they call it? Last week, Morikubo read in some shoujo manga that... that can occur... with some disastrous results... and will occasionally lead to this. In a loop of forbidden love... she has become his doll... his marionette... his plaything... It's an affair? A student-teacher romantic relationship? Forbidden love? Is that it? They're dating for profit? Morikubo would certainly not want to do that! No! No! Absolutely impossible!"

After calming down with a few heavy breaths, Nono says, "... maybe Max was going to say something that would lead to the discovery of such a thing... which was why... well... Klim k... killed... anyways, speaking of Max, this belongs to you, Poison." Nono hands a photocopy of the photograph Max took to Poison.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Crow @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Atomyk @DormRoomInvestigation​

Poison cocked her eyebrow as she took the photo from Nono. "Well, thanks."

It was rather disgusting to think about, but Honda dared to speak up. "You know, Bullet mentioned that Rachel Amber and Jefferson were involved. Now, as much as I would love to believe that these photos are merely her modelling, I doubt it's innocent as that." Honda shook his head. "I think...maybe Jefferson had some sort of relationship with every girl involved!"
​

@Atomyk @Jeremi @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

"Disgusting. If that was the case that Jefferson guy sure was a rotten guy."

@Atomyk @Yun Lee @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

 

[Yun Lee]

"It's like one of those cheesy local crime dramas Daddy watches, except it actually happened... Morikubo can only hope it is that simple..."

@Atomyk @Jeremi @york @Yun Lee @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation​

Poison cocked her eyebrow as she took the photo from Nono. "Well, thanks."



"Disgusting. If that was the case that Jefferson guy sure was a rotten guy."

@Atomyk @Yun Lee @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation

"Well, considering Klim was willing to kill a young girl in order to preserve Blackwell's reputation over what she'd tell us, then I really don't think Jefferson is as upstanding a citizen as the town wants us to believe!"
​

@Atomyk @Jeremi @Crow @LuckycoolHawk9 @DormRoomInvestigation