![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
DRK 1.6.4: Duel Noir 3, part 4
Find previous chapters at the Navigation Index.
Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1
Chapter 6: Duel Noir 3
"It's over!" Asakura shouted at the air, out of nowhere.
Who has he been talking to this whole time?
"It's Game Over. Hurry up and call the police here already! You're watching, aren't you?"
"Who exactly are you talking to?"
"Those bastards watching us."
"Watching...?"
"Didn't I say? The Duel Noir is broadcasted as a show. I dunno if it's a live broadcast or not, but at the very least there should be someone watching us on the other side of a monitor somewhere."
"No way... There are security cameras somewhere?" I glanced around in shock. There didn't seem to be anything camera-like anywhere.
"Yeah, they've gotta have tons of cameras with microscopic lenses set up somewhere. I scoured the place looking for them myself, but I couldn't find a single one."
We're being watched, this very instant...
I wrapped my arms around myself to stave off the sudden chill I felt.
"Incidentally..." Kirigiri continued the conversation, expression as cold as ever. "Upon whom were you exacting your revenge?"
"Inuzuka."
"I-Inuzuka-san?" I repeated.
"That guy... That piece of shit was the true culprit behind the serial arson case."
"But... isn't he a detective?" Not to mention, he was a Class 3 detective. Detectives don't just rise that high in the ranks every day. Wasn't that proof in itself that he was proactively cracking cases and fighting crime?
A detective like that wouldn't just...
"What, you think detectives can't commit crimes? You think detectives are all knights in shining armor and saints? Well, let today be the last day you ever think that. He's a goddamn fuckface. That bastard... committed crimes, over and over, so that he could solve them and make a name for himself as a detective. He's personally sustaining his own detective business."
"That can't be true..." It felt like everything I'd believed in up until that point was crashing down around me. Weren't detectives there to protect the weak? It shook me down to the very foundation of my identity.
Aren't detectives... heroes?
"Guess he really needed to pull some shit to rise in the ranks after the DSC showed up on the scene. Though really, it's a disgrace that he managed to make it all the way up to Rank 3. The world should be giving me a round of applause for this. I condemned evil to its grave. The world is better off... with Inuzuka dead."
"But... but..." I couldn't find the words past that.
"Why did you kill Amino-san and Enbi-san?" Kirigiri asked.
"Enbi looked like me, so I used him as a body double, just like you thought. Amino... Well, I thought I could use one more person for the dismemberment trick, so I picked him at random. Incidentally—you, young lady, I picked because you were the newest member. I had thought a newbie who didn't know left from right would play the role of the pitiful criminal just as planned."
"Hmmm, I see." Kirigiri crossed her arms and turned away, moving closer to the wall.
"In the end... even if I lost, I still got my revenge. I'm grateful to the Committee in that sense. Maybe these past few days have at least saved me. I got revenge, and fulfilled my life's purpose. It's a refreshing ending. But—it's about time for that to be over, too."
Just then, I heard sirens from outside, signalling to us that it was time to draw the case to a close.
"Did the people on the other side of the monitor call the police?" I swiveled my head towards the noise.
"The end is nigh." Asakura tossed aside the knife in his hand. "But, damn, I really panicked when I thought I might get set on fire. There I was, sitting there in the chair with a knife the whole time so I could shut the girl up when I needed to. I thought, if I'm found out, I'll take her down with me—I'll kill her even if I get a Game Over. But I never would have thought I'd be lured out of the armchair that way. I don't think she even knew I was afraid of fire... That was reckless..." He gave a pained smile towards Kirigiri, behind her back.
Maybe her determination broke Asakura's heart. No doubt, Asakura had assumed that I would indict Kirigiri as the culprit, and that would be the end of it. And in practice, I did suspect her. If she had made one wrong move, I might have even laid a hand on her. If that had happened, then I would never have indicted the true culprit, "Enbi" a.k.a. Asakura, and the 168 hours would have passed with his victory. Or else—in the worst case scenario, Kirigiri and I would have taken each other out, and then it really would have been And Then There Were None.
Thinking about it that way—Kyouko Kirigiri had saved me. Such a small detective solved such a big case. She had already proven her talent with no room for doubt. She had the power to fight back against crime. She was the detective that could be the real knight in shining armor.
Kyouko Kirigiri was becoming more and more intriguing to me.
The sirens finally stopped outside the building, and the police bustled into the hall en masse. Apparently they'd already been given the details of the case, because they had Asakura restrained in an instant to take him with them. We saw them off at the Building B entrance.
Just as he was about to leave, Asakura told us in a low voice, "The two of you might be able to end this game of theirs. If you promise you'll get back at them for me, I'll give you a hint."
"A hint?"
"They take DSC ranking into account when they pick which detective gets involved in these cases."
"Quit running your mouth and get in the car."
A policeman shoved Asakura into a black car, which then disappeared down the snowy road. The snow had mostly stopped by now, and there was a dim light in the sky to the east.
Kirigiri and I exchanged a glance, and, without putting our thoughts into words, went back together to Building A.
There, we found a strange sight waiting for us. The police should have still been there, but there wasn't a single policeman to be found.
"—We've been had," said Kirigiri, full of regret.
"Wh-What happened?"
"Those policemen... I'm sure they were with the Committee."
"Oh, no!"
An hour later, the real police showed up at the Sirius Observatory. This time, I was highly suspicious of them, but they seemed to be the real deal. Kirigiri and I rode in a patrol car down the mountain, finally leaving the scene of the crime behind us.
What's more, an ordinary citizen found a black car having fallen off the mountain road. In the car was a man with two prosthetic legs, dead from severe blunt trauma across his entire body. The police wrote it off as an accident, and announced through mass media channels that there would be no further investigation. The dead man's name was given as Tadashi Asakura.
Stay tuned for the start of Volume 1's final chapter, next Sunday (PST)!
You are encouraged to comment and form theories on the mysteries, keeping these rules in mind!
Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1
Chapter 6: Duel Noir 3
"It's over!" Asakura shouted at the air, out of nowhere.
Who has he been talking to this whole time?
"It's Game Over. Hurry up and call the police here already! You're watching, aren't you?"
"Who exactly are you talking to?"
"Those bastards watching us."
"Watching...?"
"Didn't I say? The Duel Noir is broadcasted as a show. I dunno if it's a live broadcast or not, but at the very least there should be someone watching us on the other side of a monitor somewhere."
"No way... There are security cameras somewhere?" I glanced around in shock. There didn't seem to be anything camera-like anywhere.
"Yeah, they've gotta have tons of cameras with microscopic lenses set up somewhere. I scoured the place looking for them myself, but I couldn't find a single one."
We're being watched, this very instant...
I wrapped my arms around myself to stave off the sudden chill I felt.
"Incidentally..." Kirigiri continued the conversation, expression as cold as ever. "Upon whom were you exacting your revenge?"
"Inuzuka."
"I-Inuzuka-san?" I repeated.
"That guy... That piece of shit was the true culprit behind the serial arson case."
"But... isn't he a detective?" Not to mention, he was a Class 3 detective. Detectives don't just rise that high in the ranks every day. Wasn't that proof in itself that he was proactively cracking cases and fighting crime?
A detective like that wouldn't just...
"What, you think detectives can't commit crimes? You think detectives are all knights in shining armor and saints? Well, let today be the last day you ever think that. He's a goddamn fuckface. That bastard... committed crimes, over and over, so that he could solve them and make a name for himself as a detective. He's personally sustaining his own detective business."
"That can't be true..." It felt like everything I'd believed in up until that point was crashing down around me. Weren't detectives there to protect the weak? It shook me down to the very foundation of my identity.
Aren't detectives... heroes?
"Guess he really needed to pull some shit to rise in the ranks after the DSC showed up on the scene. Though really, it's a disgrace that he managed to make it all the way up to Rank 3. The world should be giving me a round of applause for this. I condemned evil to its grave. The world is better off... with Inuzuka dead."
"But... but..." I couldn't find the words past that.
"Why did you kill Amino-san and Enbi-san?" Kirigiri asked.
"Enbi looked like me, so I used him as a body double, just like you thought. Amino... Well, I thought I could use one more person for the dismemberment trick, so I picked him at random. Incidentally—you, young lady, I picked because you were the newest member. I had thought a newbie who didn't know left from right would play the role of the pitiful criminal just as planned."
"Hmmm, I see." Kirigiri crossed her arms and turned away, moving closer to the wall.
"In the end... even if I lost, I still got my revenge. I'm grateful to the Committee in that sense. Maybe these past few days have at least saved me. I got revenge, and fulfilled my life's purpose. It's a refreshing ending. But—it's about time for that to be over, too."
Just then, I heard sirens from outside, signalling to us that it was time to draw the case to a close.
"Did the people on the other side of the monitor call the police?" I swiveled my head towards the noise.
"The end is nigh." Asakura tossed aside the knife in his hand. "But, damn, I really panicked when I thought I might get set on fire. There I was, sitting there in the chair with a knife the whole time so I could shut the girl up when I needed to. I thought, if I'm found out, I'll take her down with me—I'll kill her even if I get a Game Over. But I never would have thought I'd be lured out of the armchair that way. I don't think she even knew I was afraid of fire... That was reckless..." He gave a pained smile towards Kirigiri, behind her back.
Maybe her determination broke Asakura's heart. No doubt, Asakura had assumed that I would indict Kirigiri as the culprit, and that would be the end of it. And in practice, I did suspect her. If she had made one wrong move, I might have even laid a hand on her. If that had happened, then I would never have indicted the true culprit, "Enbi" a.k.a. Asakura, and the 168 hours would have passed with his victory. Or else—in the worst case scenario, Kirigiri and I would have taken each other out, and then it really would have been And Then There Were None.
Thinking about it that way—Kyouko Kirigiri had saved me. Such a small detective solved such a big case. She had already proven her talent with no room for doubt. She had the power to fight back against crime. She was the detective that could be the real knight in shining armor.
Kyouko Kirigiri was becoming more and more intriguing to me.
The sirens finally stopped outside the building, and the police bustled into the hall en masse. Apparently they'd already been given the details of the case, because they had Asakura restrained in an instant to take him with them. We saw them off at the Building B entrance.
Just as he was about to leave, Asakura told us in a low voice, "The two of you might be able to end this game of theirs. If you promise you'll get back at them for me, I'll give you a hint."
"A hint?"
"They take DSC ranking into account when they pick which detective gets involved in these cases."
"Quit running your mouth and get in the car."
A policeman shoved Asakura into a black car, which then disappeared down the snowy road. The snow had mostly stopped by now, and there was a dim light in the sky to the east.
Kirigiri and I exchanged a glance, and, without putting our thoughts into words, went back together to Building A.
There, we found a strange sight waiting for us. The police should have still been there, but there wasn't a single policeman to be found.
"—We've been had," said Kirigiri, full of regret.
"Wh-What happened?"
"Those policemen... I'm sure they were with the Committee."
"Oh, no!"
An hour later, the real police showed up at the Sirius Observatory. This time, I was highly suspicious of them, but they seemed to be the real deal. Kirigiri and I rode in a patrol car down the mountain, finally leaving the scene of the crime behind us.
What's more, an ordinary citizen found a black car having fallen off the mountain road. In the car was a man with two prosthetic legs, dead from severe blunt trauma across his entire body. The police wrote it off as an accident, and announced through mass media channels that there would be no further investigation. The dead man's name was given as Tadashi Asakura.
Stay tuned for the start of Volume 1's final chapter, next Sunday (PST)!
You are encouraged to comment and form theories on the mysteries, keeping these rules in mind!
Inuzuka
(Anonymous) 2017-07-11 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)I'm looking forward to seeing more interactions between Kyoko and Yui, and I can't wait to see what the next mystery to solve will be!