Part 125: Chapter 5 Deadly Life, Part 3

: Now this track, THIS track is the best track in the game. This is the one I've been waiting for. Enjoy.



Well...I'd better start by checking out the Monokuma File...

"Due to the explosion, the victim's identity is unknown. They were, however, dead before the blast. The victim had been stabbed a single time with a knife, which went completely through the body. They had also been struck in the head with an object about as thick as a metal pipe. The body was covered with other wounds, but these were at least several days old."

: So even the Monokuma File doesn't tell us who the victim actually was...



The unidentified body... Could it really be Kyoko...? Or...?



I have no choice... I have to investigate. I have to uncover the truth for myself... No matter what, I have to find out what happened. Or we're all dead...!

: I need to go back to the scene of the crime--back to the garden!





Okay, time to get started. I need to check anywhere that may be important, from one end to the other. I just need to do what I always do...



: Let's get started by checking out the body itself.



If I check the body more thoroughly...maybe then I'll find out for sure if it's Kyoko or not.





: Huh...? There's something weird about the body's fingernails... Oh, these are fake nails. They're really long... They seem like they'd get in the way of normal activity.



There's also something on the back of her right hand... Is this...a tattoo? It got burned, so I can't make out the whole thing, but... It looks like it's a picture of a dog or something. I've never seen anything like it before.







The upper half of the body got set on fire in the explosion, so it's totally blackened... Also, the top half of the body is wet.




That's because it got set on fire, and I threw water on it... Since I only threw water on the part that was on fire--the top half--the bottom half is still dry. In other words, there's nothing strange about the top half being wet. There...isn't, right?





The lower half of the body didn't get wet at all... After the body blew up, the top half got set on fire, so I dumped a bucket of water on it. Which explains why the bottom half isn't wet. There's nothing strange about that...right?



: Stepping away from the body, let's look at whatever these pieces are on the floor.



These...look like fragments of something. They're all burnt, so I can't really be sure, but...I feel like I've seen something like it before. But where...?

: Wait, was it...there!?

I'll have to double-check that later...





: Next up, the knife.



There's a knife laying on the ground... Is this...?



It must be the knife that was stuck in the body before it exploded. The force of the explosion must have thrown it over here...



The Monokuma File said the knife went all the way through the body, from front to back. Does that mean this knife is what caused the fatal injury...? ...Either way, this knife... It looks really familiar...

Wait, is this...!?





That's it! It's the knife that person was holding...!

: ...

This is getting really weird... There are just too many strange coincidences. Whoever the person in the mask was that attacked me last night... They were holding that knife... And that same knife was used to stab that same masked attacker we found here... So...maybe this masked person got stabbed because...!

When they attacked, I was in a kind of trance. Maybe I reacted by grabbing the knife...and maybe then I...I...!

: ...

And if this really is Kyoko...it would mean Kyoko is the one that attacked me. But why the mask...?

: ...

I just don't know. I don't remember anything clearly from last night... No...no, it can't be. There's no way...!







: It's a long shot, but let's see if Toko has anything useful to tell us.



: So who does that b-body belong to...? Whoever it i-is, I'm not gonna look...! I don't wanna f-faint anymore...



: About what I expected. Hina's usually better about these things though.



: Listen, Makoto... Do you remember how the body looked, y'know...before it blew up?
: Umm...if I remember right...



: It was wearing some kind of mask, and a big white coat. Also, there was a knife sticking out of the stomach, and the area around it was stained with blood... Apparently, the wound had stopped bleeding, but the blood on the body was still wet. Byakuya said not to touch it to avoid getting all bloody... But for how much blood there was on the body...I didn't see any on the ground around it.



: Wow, thanks! That was a big help. Now that you explained it, I totally remember how it looked!
: Well, having to talk about it like that helped me remember it a lot better, too. So thank *you*, too.





: Let's see if there's anything to discover about the sprinkler system.



This is the panel that controls the sprinklers. They're set to turn on at 7:30 every morning. And Monokuma said the time positively couldn't be change.

: Huh? Hold on...

So the sprinklers turn on at 7:30 each morning, right...? Then...if the body was here before then, the sprinklers should have gotten it wet.

: Which would mean the murder must have taken place...





: Could the chicken coop be hiding a clue?



I remember there were some chickens in the chicken coop.



I count four chickens.

: Huh...? Four?



: What's goin' on, Makoto?
: Oh, I'm glad you're here. Listen, do you remember how many chickens there were in here?
: Of course! There were precisely five.
: Yeah, right?
: Hmm? What's wrong?
: There's only four chickens here now. We're one short...
: Huh...?
: AaaaAAaaAAAHHhhhHH!
: That's so weird. I wonder when it disappeared...



: I was down here just before nighttime last night, and there were definitely five chickens then.
: What are we gonna do!? Going from five to four is gonna have an impact on the structure of the world!
: It's like a jigsaw puzzle. If even a single piece disappears, the entire world will remain unfinished!

I did my best to ignore Hiro and focus on the problem at hand... Why did one of the chickens disappear? Could it be related to the case...?





: Let's have a chat with Byakuya and see if he's figured anything out. Of everyone here, he's the most likely to have a discovery.



: Good timing, Makoto. I wanted to [talk] to you.

> talk

: What do you want to talk about...?





: I'd like to hear your alibi.
: A-Alibi!?
: Correct. I'd love to hear where you were after nighttime began last night.
: U-Umm... Well I was sick, so I was asleep all night... But why are you asking about that now? And what's "nighttime" got to do with it...?
: Isn't it obvious? This murder took place after nighttime.
: H-How can you know that for sure?



: Because just after nighttime began, I came to the garden. I was going around looking for everyone, so I could tell them about Monokuma. Hiro's been spending most of his time in the garden the last few days, so I figured he'd be here. And I can confirm that when I arrived last night, there was no body here.
: So the murder could only have taken place at some point during nighttime, *after* I left the garden!
: However...Toko, Hiro, Hina, and I were in the gym together the entire night last night.
: What...?
: Once I found Hiro in the garden, we immediately went to Toko and Hina's rooms to get them. At that point, we all went to the gym and began dismantling Monokuma. As a precaution, we made sure not to go anywhere alone. We even went to the bathroom in pairs. In other words, all four of us have air-tight alibis. The only ones who *don't* have alibis...
: ...are me and Kyoko.



: And if the victim really is Kyoko...
: ...then I'm the only one without an alibi...!
: Also, when we went to go get Hina and Toko, we stopped by your room, as well.
: But you never came to the door. So...where, precisely, were you?
: I'm telling the truth, I was in my room. But I was dead asleep. I had a fever, so...



: That's hardly an alibi.
: I know...
: So? What now? You seem to be at quite the disadvantage here...

I'm the only one without an alibi. That's...really bad, isn't it?







: Well, that's a really bad realization. Hopefully nothing Hiro can say will match that...



: It's 11 o'clock right now!
: ...Okay, and?
: Oh, well I was just thinking about when we first found the body...
: When the body was found, huh...?

I should look back at what I did this morning, to help me remember when that was... Monokuma's announcement woke me up at 7 o'clock as usual, and I headed for the dining hall pretty soon. Once I got there, I met up with Hina. That was right around 7:30. Then I headed to the gym, where everyone else was waiting. Next, Toko went to go get the pickaxe. And that's when she found the body... What time was it then...?



: Now then... Toko, what time is it?
: W-Well, when we left the gym, it was j-just before 9 o'clock. So it's probably 9 on the d-dot now...



: That's right...! It had to have been right around 9 o'clock!
: Ah! Now that you mention it, I think you're right!
: So I think we can say for sure that the body was found at 9 a.m. Okay, my job's done!

That's...a pretty small job.





: Let's check out the toolshed while we're here.



Just to be sure, I should take a look at the toolshed.



This room is dusty and disorganized. In other words, a pretty stereotypical toolshed.



Is this...a tarp? Wait...was there a tarp in here before?

: I should probably look into that. It could be related to the case...





The top is wet, and covered with mud and grime. But the underside...



It's totally clean, and completely dry. One side of that tarp is wet and dirty... Something about that bothers me...



That's the one thing in here that concerns me...

: Indeed it is, so we step back outside.



: I think I've checked everything I need to in this area.

But I'm not done yet... There are other areas I need to check.



Specifically, that fragment I found before... There's somewhere I need to go in order to confirm my suspicions... And I still need to find out more about Kyoko.



Is that corpse really Kyoko? If that's true...



...was that also Kyoko who attacked me last night? If I can find out more about her, maybe I can answer that question... Kyoko was never the kind of person to talk about herself all that much. Maybe if I can get into her room, I'll be able to find out more... But the key to her room...



: I will simply...limit your options. I can't allow you to engage in any further suspicious activity.
: Limit my options...?
: Give me the key to your room.




I don't have a choice. I have to see if he'll let me borrow her room key...



: Hey, um...Byakuya?
: If you do come up with ab alibi, I'd be happy to hear it. Later. At the class trial.
: Oh, no, it's not about that. You have the key to Kyoko's room, right? I was hoping I could borrow it...
: ...I'm afraid I can't take that risk. You're the prime suspect, after all.



: Of course, if I were to go with you, that would be a different story.
: Then...*will* you go with me?
: Sorry, I have my own agenda to take care of. Find me again later and we'll see.
: Depending on my mood, I may go with you. Or I may not. *leaves*

Come back later, huh? Okay, then in the meantime I should look around somewhere else. Maybe I should check out...that one area...