Part 99: Chapter 4 Deadly Life, Part 2

: We've got a lot of stuff to investigate this time. Let's start by going over Sakura's body.



Sakura drew her last breath sitting slumped forward in this chair... There's obvious evidence of the blow to the head Sakura suffered... Normally, I wouldn't have any problem believing that that's what killed her. But according to the Monokuma File, she had also vomited blood...



And I can see a trace of blood on her lips for sure. So...what would have caused her to vomit blood? The Monokuma File specifically said she hadn't suffered any other injuries...



: Maybe her getting hit on the head somehow caused her to start vomiting blood?
: Not a chance.
: B-Byakuya...
: However, your eyes have landed on a most interesting location.
: Interesting...?
: Yes, most interesting. Don't you agree?
: N-No, I don't think I'd call it "interesting."

But it does make me wonder... The reason Sakura vomited blood absolutely has to be connected to why she died...



: Let's see what Kyoko thinks of this whole situation.



: But for Sakura to have been killed...
: Yeah, she's not the type who would go down without a fight.
: And she certainly didn't, I would say. She was the Ultimate Martial Artist, strong in body, mind, and spirit. So how was the killer able to get the upper hand on her...? I wonder...*did* someone get the upper hand...?
: They must have taken her by surprise, right?
: Certainly, they would've needed to if they expected to stand any chance against her.





This looks like...some kind of wrapper.

: Ah, that's--!
: Do you recognize it, Hina?
: Well yeah. I mean, I gave it to her... That's a candy wrapper. Sakura got super upset when she found out Genocide Jack had attacked me, right? So after we left the nurse's office, I gave it to her. I thought it might help her calm down a little...
: So you gave that candy to Sakura...



: I found a big box of it in the warehouse. I...really like 'em... Actually, as soon as we could get into the warehouse, I took the entire box back to my room. I made sure nobody else could get their hands on 'em.
: You really like them that much?
: But I wanted Sakura to get a chance to try one for herself. That's why I gave it to her... But now...they've lost all their flavor.
: Hina...







Huh? The locker's open. And there on the inside...



It's...a handprint?

: What's a handprint doing here?
: It looks like someone touched the inside of the locker, and it left a handprint in all the dust...
: And it looks quite fresh, too. I'd say someone was hiding here in the locker, and they left behind a little something extra...
: So then...! Maybe the killer hid in here until the locked room was opened, don't you think? And during all the confusion, they popped out and joined the rest of the group!



: Unfortunately, that's not a possibility.
: Huh? Why not?
: Think back. Before we opened the door, we looked inside the room, right?



: Oh yeah... And the locker was already open at that point...
: So there's no way someone could have hidden in there until *after* we opened the door.

Yeah. So then...what does this handprint mean?







There are shards of glass scattered all around the chair Sakura was sitting on. The glass is all...red. And... These are...the top and bottom sections of a bottle, right? So this must have originally been a bottle...



Huh? There's something else on the ground near the glass.



It's a figure... It fits in the palm of my hand. It's...a Monokuma figure.







There are four red bottles lined up on the shelf.



And inside each bottle, there's some kind of Monokuma figure...

: What I'm wondering is, how'd they get those figures inside the bottles...?



: It's no different from your standard ship in a bottle.
: ...Huh?
: You know, where the bottle's opening is smaller than the boat placed inside? You've never seen that?
: Oh, yeah...maybe I have.
: So this is the Monokuma version of that. A...Monokuma Bottle, if you will.





: I feel like I'm finally starting to make sense of things, little by little...

The Monokuma Bottles sitting on the shelf... The Monokuma figure we found on the ground... The red shards of glass, which probably started out as a bottle... Which would mean...Sakura must have been hit in the head with a Monokuma Bottle, right? The shards of glass and the Monokuma figure are evidence of that... So I think it's safe to say that the Monokuma Bottle was the weapon.





There's a bloodstain in front of the magazine shelf... It must have come from Sakura, right? But that doesn't make sense... Why is it so far away from where she died?







There's some kind of plastic container rolling around near the entrance to the room.

: It looks like...a protein drink. And it's empty...
: Sakura must have drank it. Everyone knows how much she loved her protein... And she mentioned more than once how protein was good for all sorts of ailments.



: I wouldn't take that to heart, if I were you...
: I know...

But still, this protein can... It's got a label on it that says CHEM A-2. That reminds me... Sakura mentioned how the chem lab had all kinds of health stuff. So she must have gotten this from the chem lab...

: But that's strange...
: Huh? What is?



: You see what's scattered around the can?
: Shards of light blue glass... They must be parts of the window I broke to get inside.
: But they aren't just scattered *around* the can. They're also underneath it.
: Why does that matter...?
: I can't say for sure yet, but you're probably going to want to take a note of it. I feel like it'll become an important clue later on...

An important clue...? I'm not sure I see how...






: Let's see how Hina's holding up.



: We already know who did it...! Byakuya, Toko, or Hiro--it had to be one of them!
: They couldn't stand the sight of her! You agree with me, don't you Makoto!?
: U-Um, well...I don't want to say anything for sure without finding out more.





: ...Then let me help you find out more. You see, Sakura asked all three of them to meet with her. You know where? Right here in the rec room.
: What!?
: After I went to the nurse's office this morning, Sakura and I both left together, right? Well, eventually she went off on her own. But when I saw her again after that, she told me... She said she'd left a note for each of them. She asked them to meet her in the rec room by noon.

By noon... The Monokuma File said she'd died right around then...

: I'm telling you the truth. I heard it right from Sakura herself. And...I tried to stop her.
: But she wouldn't listen. She said not to worry, that she just wanted to talk to them. And this is what happened...



: If I'd stopped her, by force even, this never would have happened...
: H-Hina...

It's impossible not to have regrets, I know...







But the fact that she had asked those three to meet with her. And she asked them to come to the rec room at noon--the same time and place she ended up dying... It might be good to confirm what I just heard with the three of them directly.



: Well since Hina mentioned it, let's talk to Byakuya about Sakura's note.



: What do you want? You're bothering me.
: Um, there's something I'd like to talk to you about.
: Make it quick.
: Is it true that Sakura asked you to meet her in the rec room?
: So you found out. Interesting.
: Then it's true?



: I did receive a note to that effect, yes. But what fool would do what it said, and risk being killed by that monster?
: So you didn't go see her?
: Of course not. I ripped the note to shreds and threw it away. I haven't seen Sakura today at all.

Byakuya says he didn't go see her. Is that the truth...? Well, until I can prove otherwise, I have no choice but to accept it as fact.

: If you're all finished, please remove yourself from my sight.
: O-Okay. Thanks...







This door is the only way in or out of the rec room... The door doesn't have a lock, and there's no evidence that the mountings have been tampered with. The only notable change to the door is...the smashed window. Which happened, of course, when I broke it to get inside... There's no evidence that any kind of string or mechanism was used on the door... In other words...

: ...I don't see anything suspicious about the door itself.





The chair was shoved up against the doorknob, so we couldn't gt the door open. There's no evidence that any kind of string or mechanism was used on the chair...

: In other words...there's no reason to think the chair had anything special done to it.

Hmm... Having examined both the door and the chair, there's no doubt the reason the door didn't open was simply because the chair was shoved up against it. This kept the doorknob from turning, and the door from opening. And there was no evidence of the door or chair being tampered with or anything like that... So the killer must have created the locked door from the inside, *not* from the outside.





: Well, Makoto? Have you finished with your general investigation?
: Yeah, I think so...for the most part.
: Then you should probably go talk with people now. I'm on guard duty, so I can't leave.



: Which is why I've decided you'll go in my place.

She's decided...? She's gotten a lot more pushy since we had out...issue. But she's right. I do have to go talk to the others. Sakura wanted to meet with two other people. I need to hear what they have to say...



Those other two probably went back to their rooms...



: Next time: Interrogation.