Another Dead Body

Kendo club had ended shortly before the sudden shouting of a murder. She did not believe it at first, especially after the murder of the Principal, but it did not take long for her to fear the worst. Already walking from the area, she suddenly began rushing to the rooftop, paying no mind to anyone who tried to get her attention before opening the door quickly to see the body of the Athletics club leader, Mako Honomura, on the ground, blood all around her and her clothes shredded.  Lorielle would take a moment to look silently at the body. How in the world did this happen? Did this seriously just happen not too long after the Principal’s death? She recalled the website which broadcasted most likely the Killer. Was this what they meant? Too many questions, and at the moment, she would be remaining by the door, lest to interfere with the scene or worse, make herself already more suspicious. Which reminded her. ‘I have to stop Zong Wu,’ she thought. Immediately, she would pull out her phone ad drop him a text message. Whether he was here or not did not matter. ‘DO NOT come up to the rooftop! There was a murder. Can’t talk, just let me see it. I will tell you about it later. I don’t want you to look any more suspicious. Delete this,’ the message would say before sending it off to Zong Wu, another one with a Persona she knew. She would also take the time to delete the message she sent, lest she look even worse, and then proceed to dial 911 after a moment, and report the body. It was her job to do it as a citizen. And mostly, she could not afford to look even more suspicious than she already did with the Principal. Once that was done, she would put the phone away quickly.

What was going on? ‘This Killer is a cocky bastard aren’t they?’ she thought. It took serious will and daring to kill another person here even as the detectives were there just recently after the murder of the Principal. And it even happened in a similar way too. Her clothes were torn up, but she did not look hurt in the slightest. Only blood was around the body. ‘Was it a soulbound weapon like my own?’ her thought went. They do not hit physically, and could cause damage to the inside of someone. Maybe that was how she and the principal were murdered? Once more, the Killer had to be someone here. A student or a teacher. How else would they be able to commit this murder so easily without arousing any kind of suspicion? She knew that at least for sure. But the problem is proving who it was. Either way, she would remain there for the moment, looking to see if anything was out of place or noticeable, the disbelief and shock still plain on her face. She would need to keep a close eye on the body without raising suspicion. If this was the same person, they may try to take it. And that had to be prevented.

Daiki had heard another student screaming about a dead body on the roof, but she didn’t believe it. Someone either had to be rash or foolish to leave a dead body at the top of the school. Oh well. He was bored anyway. Everyone seemed to be doing more and having more fun than him as of late. Not that his family wasn’t fun, but they weren’t exciting. He would have to give in and see this sight for himself. He went up to the roof, acting as if he hadn’t heard a thing about the supposed body. The first thing he saw was a woman standing nearby. She was pretty and blonde, “Well, hello, Lorielle.” He said with a cheery voice and a smile on his face. As he got closer, he began to see a body lying on the roof, “I think she’s the dead body.” He was caption obvious in this moment. How else should one approach death? He waved his hand in the air to brush away the scent of death, “I hate to be the one to be a buzz kill, but I think this is a crime scene. Though, she looks fine to me. Well, except for the being dead part.” He got closer to the scene, trying to get a better look, “I wonder if the gods stopped watching her for one second and a demon got a hold of her. We should pray for the poor things soul and hope that the god of the heavens doesn’t take his eyes off of her again. I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it.” He shrugged, “But maybe she’s already been reborn and needs a different god. We’ll never know.” He actually was unsettled by the sight, but he did come here to see the body and see if it was true. He wasn’t going to lose it just because he found what he was looking for.

It would not take long for a crowd to gather at the scene, even the student council president, Atsuki Kiryu was there. Daiki had showed up, a man she met not too long ago at the carnival, which offered her some comfort. Though everything would be rather quiet when Kiryu went to check the body. Then the magic words finally came from his lips. ‘My name…?’ she thought. Though her face hid it, confusion was raging around in her, as she stepped forward near Kiryu to see what he wanted. It would not take long for her to see the message on the ground in her own name. Panic swelled within her a bit, as she knew the only person that could have done this.  On the other hand, this was so obviously a frame, it was a wonder that they did not catch on. Too many things were pointing away from her. Then again, the thought that everyone may be turning on her, this many people, would worry her at the very least. She would look to Kiryu, and in a calm voice, speak. “What is that I am looking at?” she would ask. She had to remain calm, no matter what. If she let any sign that could inflame people, they will all start to think she did it. And she knew that was where they were going to go with this.

If only she had not gone herself up here. On the other hand, this also gave insight on who the Killer actually was. In fact, she was now able to narrow it down to three people. One did not seem all that likely, but was suspicious nonetheless. On the other hand, the other two were people she had met once before. These were her only options. But that was not the issue at hand. She would need to find a way out of this as she will definitely be accused.

Kiryu was calling out Lorielle’s name, but why? He couldn’t see whatever the two of them were looking at, but he couldn’t imagine it was a good thing by the way they were speaking. Either way, he could tell this wasn’t going to end well. For the moment, he needed to find a way to even the odds. He stepped forward, finally seeing what they had been talking about. Lorielle’s name being written in blood was sure suspicious and he didn’t know he well enough to say she wouldn’t do this, but she had the right to be innocent until she was found guilty by the law. He stood close enough to the blonde so that the others in the crowd couldn’t see her perfectly and hushed his voice so that the only ones who could hear him would be Kiryu and Lorielle, “Mr. President, I’m sure you already know this, but there are quite a handful of students here. You don’t want them to panic, considering there is a dead woman right there. Lorielles here has graciously heeded your request and come forward, so why don’t you send the others away. I’m afraid they’ll probably only make things much harder, don’t you think?” He’d put on his best smile and hope that Kiryu understood what he was getting at.

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Remaining silent, she would listen to Kiryu speak. Obviously this was a dying message from the Killer trying to frame her. What was even worse was that Kiryu was believing it, and made very clear that he was accusing her of murdering Mako. It was as though he had his suspicion of her since the detective talk to her. Perhaps talking to Keryu even for that little bit screwed her for the moment. Daiki did try to help get the mob away, to diffuse tension, but it ultimately did not work, and Kiryu continued on. Kiryu mentioned the victim left the dying message of her name, but she knew that was impossible. She would have to explain immediately. But not now; she would have to wait and see what he planned to do next, lest she look worse. Of course he would accuse her of murdering Mako. She knew who did it; the Killer, but even knowing that, and her alibi after school, one kid who had spoken up for her, was shot down by Kiryu’s point. And to be honest, he makes a fair one. Mako never misses class or practice if what she hears is correct. For her to suddenly go missing partway into the day is rather odd.

He made his stance, and so Lorielle had to make her own. She only had one chance to plead herself. But she could not get too far ahead. He would ask her connection to both victims. ‘So he is under the assumption the killer murdered both victims. Good, that may help me later on,’ she thought. She would nod to Kiryu. “You’re probably right. This murder most likely had to happen earlier in the day. I know Mako, she is in my class. But I have never spoken to her once. I also have never been to the Athletics club; ask anyone who has been there,” she explained. “As for the Principal, I know him even less, since he is always absent. I have no connection to either of them. So I don’t have a motive to kill either of them,” she said, looking back at Kiryu. She remained calm, and dd not falter. She had to keep her stance and be ready to argue at a moment’s notice if he brought up something else-and he will. She was ready for when the dying message came up, cause she was sure the motive route may not convince him. Cause it would not be surprising if someone were to think she had a connection of sorts to her, being in the same year. A connection to kill? Unlikely since she has never spoken to her nor been to the club. Either way, she expected she would need more than just no motive to convince Kiryu. She could hear the cops trying to break in but to no avail. It seemed he would go this far to keep order in the school. The fact brought unsettlement to her, but she could not give in to fear. If he even feels she is the killer, it seems he will not hesitate. She has to be ready to bounce back to everything he has.

So Kiryu wasn’t going to listen to reason. In that case, there was nothing Daiki could do to convince him. He had already singled out Lorielle, and he didn’t give any sign that he was willing to change his mind. He was even willing to rile up the students who were here. Lorielle sounded like she could defend herself for now, but he was more concerned with the crowd. At this rate, they’d lynch the girl, “You can’t all be listening to this. Yes, Kiryu is our president, but I have to seriously have to question the intention of a man willing to commit a murder in front of everyone else. Think about what he’s asking you to do. He wants you to kill someone else. You’ll be just as bad as the murderer. The worst part is that he’s asking you to do this without any proof. Are you all willing to turn your backs on a fellow classmate and convict, even kill her, just because Kiryu tells you to.” He could hear the police trying to get through the door, “The police are just behind that door, and if Lorielle is really suspicious they can deal with the problem. But, if you all decide to take false justice into your own hands, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind arresting you all instead.”

Class just ended for Jin. Insomnia had made it almost irritable for himself. But he kept his composure as clean as possible to teach these kids competently enough. Of course, he had a few mistakes that he had to fix in front of the class. That said, he had just been getting that coffee from the staff room. Then there seemed to be a commotion. Students seems to be swarming up the stairs hurriedly. Then he heard something buzz in the phone. Taking the electronic into his hand, he looked into it to only almost spit out his coffee.


After reading it, he promptly did as told.

Now he was left with a dilemma. He had to come since he was a teacher. And all these students would have to be sent back to their rooms or possibly back home. However, he was still a suspect. The teacher didn't want to anger the girl he had just established a bond for going against her order. But, regardless, he had to go. After all, he was a teacher who instilled the wisdom of his trade and who had to look after their well-being.

Leaving the office, he started to go up the stairs. However, only police officers seemed to be present. From their shouts, it looked like they were locked out. And with students that are obviously outside on top of that roof, there was bound to be trouble. He walked up calmly, but briskly towards the group of cops that wanted to get outside.

"Could you move? I can try to open that for you."

As he said this, the teacher rolled up his sleeves.

Interesting how Kiryu said logic may not help her. It may help her find a better suspect in the end. But fine, she’ll go his route. He mentioned the possibility of her simply not having enough time to finish Mako off and left her to her own devices, naturally giving her time to write the dying message. But in that claim lied several problems. “If she was killed in the morning as you say, then I had plenty of time to go where the body was and check on it,” she said. “It’s also worth mentioning that the blood is clearly still fresh since we walked in. But if the body was killed in the morning, then the blood would have dried. So the blood may not be Mako’s at all. So she couldn’t write that message,” she said. “Also another thing. You probably saw that Mako does not have any blood on her except for her clothes. Specifically her fingers. Assuming I did have time, why in the world would I leave a message like that to incriminate me, and instead of wiping off the finger, wipe that off?” she would ask. So much of this situation was in her favor she could not believe how no one was seeing it her way.

But no, he was not going to listen most likely. If he didn’t want logic, then fine, she had a perfectly good scapegoat, and she had to get emotional just as he was when he spoke to the students. “Wait a moment. Is anyone even considering the possibility that that pink ninja woman did this? Or even Kogami Shibuya?” she said, looking to the people. “Surely everyone in my year saw her in the class. She has the ability to literally fly in and out of the classroom, coming inside through the ceiling no less! How obvious does it have to be that she killed the Principal? She could have easily killed Mako the way she can get in here without being caught. Who’s to say even Kogami was not responsible?” she said looking back to Kiryu, paying mind to the mob as well. “You said it yourself how he could have done it, but you pin it on a person who has no extraordinary abilities and then do not even give her a proper chance and just amount everything I say to “being logical”. Kiryu you’re a smart man, surely you have to understand that this is less of an interrogation and more of witch hunt,” she said. It seemed emotion was starting to be his major focus. He was not even making excuses. He just wanted her dead for order. It seemed that way when he went so far as to manhandle Daiki, though Lorielle would give a concerned face. The worst part besides her death was knowing that they inevitably would be wrong if they did have her killed. Hopefully something in him would cave, or Daiki would do something, or those police officers would break through. Cause all Kiryu was doing was brainwashing the students loyal to him, and that could only spell doom for Lorielle.

Daiki hadn’t been paying attention to Kiryu as of late, since Lorielle was handling him, but that changed when he was lifted off the ground. He smirked in response. So he was hurting the boy’s pride. He was smart enough to know to only speak when he was put down, “You think this school can’t come back from something like this? You obviously don’t have much confidence in it or the students here.” The way he was speaking now was unlike him. He was far too caught up in the moment to goof around with his speech pattern and act like a drama king, “Personally, I believe in the people here and all they are capable of. If you don’t share that same belief, then fine. But don’t you ever dare stand up here and say that you are doing it for the good of our school’s name. Someone like you is only using that as an excuse to justify your horrible ways and you’re only using the student body here as validation. You want them to validate your acts so you can go to bed with a clean conscious after you’ve murdered a perfectly innocent woman.” Daiki actually had no idea if Lorielle was innocent or not, but only a court of law could decide that, “You are not God. Don’t go around pretending you have a right to judge a person whose name you didn’t even know a moment ago. If I had to accuse anyone on this roof of a crime, it would be you, Kiryu. A crime against the laws of God and man.” With his long rant against the inquisitor done, he would look at the rest of the students there. He couldn’t read people, so he didn’t know what they were thinking. He just hoped he was getting somewhere with them. He would look at Kiryu again, but not actually be speaking to him, “And you call yourself our president. You should be calming the fears of the students, not fanning the flame and asking them to lynch Lorielle.” He would look directly at the students this time, hoping at least one of them was now on his side, “Someone, get that door open and let the police come up here. I think they have more of a right to be here and judge the issue than any of us do. Let Lorielle face real justice, instead of this witch-hunt, as she so lovingly put it. As for Kiryu’s promise of going back to the way things were before, do you think they really can knowing that you helped murder a woman? Even if he says he’ll take the blame, you’ll all know that you let it happen.”

There was consent between all the officers and the young detective. With a nod, Jin walked up the stairs to the final platform that the door stood on. Looking on, he tried tapping it a few times to see if there were exact weak points. From his examination there were some and many of them were just near the door lock. He stood back and breathed in. The oxygen "vibrated" in his lungs as he then took the San Ti stance of Xing Yi. Feeling his muscles tensed, the teacher finally lashed out a double palm attack. To the officers and the detective, it just seemed as if that wouldn't do.

Once his hands met the hard door, the hinges that kept it in place found itself broken off and undone. Wrenched and twisted by the opposing force that commanded it to open the way. The door in question would fly out a bit, but wouldn't hit any students. At best some would scream at the sudden breach without any harm.

Walking out in the open, he then stood to the side of the doorway for the authorities to swarm in.

"Well this is quite the party," he remarked darkly with a grimace and then gestured the police to do their part.

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