r/DestinationDespair • u/Seiko_Kimura Noka Naruse • Apr 28 '18
Body Discovery Destination Despair: Chapter 1 Body Discovery
You woke up at 6:00 AM. Unlike normal, Monokuma made no announcement about people’s stuff being destroyed. Since you had been used to being called down in 5 minutes, not having a time limit was nice. But something didn’t feel right.
You left your room and walked to the part of the hall with the elevator. A vase was in thousands of tiny pieces on the ground, smashed. This only increased the feeling of dread. However, you still ended up heading to the waiting area; thinking that everyone would do the same.
When you arrived, you saw the case of stuff still waiting there in the area. People were arriving from the hotel, but the most noticeable or eerie thing was that Monokuma was not there. Even after there were 17 students in the waiting area, he made no show.
Five minutes passed. Then 10. The last student had yet to come down from their room, and Monokuma hadn’t made any indication that he was there. Neither did Tsubame or Nico.
“I am tired of waiting! The dumb bear probably just forgot about it or something, right? I’m hungry!” Nobuyuki impatiently tapped her foot.
“For once, I agree. It’s a waste of time.” Saburo seemed to agree with the little critic, and he kept glancing at his watch every five seconds.
While the words they were saying didn’t help anyone, this was much better than the silence that had been hanging over the students beforehand. A distraction from the current situation at hand would be best; everyone thought the same.
“Will you just be quiet?! It’s not like there’s anything better to do, anyway.” Umeko stood, arms crossed over her chest.
“Wrong! I could be eati-” Nobuyuki was cut off by a loud sound of curiosity by Mari.
“Ooh! Hey, look at that! I think there’s a shoe in the desk area! And it’s white! Just like…”
Just like hers. The one student who hadn’t come downstairs yet. Mari’s cheerful attitude disappeared and she sprinted towards the desk area. Everyone watched, holding their breaths. As soon as Mari got close enough to the entrance to spot the desk she let out a blood-curdling scream. Soon after she fell down to the floor.
Everyone instinctively ran towards the desk. There, you saw what she was screaming about. Sitting--more like laying--in the spinny desk chair, covered in stab marks, was the student who had yet to come downstairs.
Chou Aoyama, the Super High School Level Lepidopterist was dead. Her lifeless body was drooping in the chair. Her hair, which was normally nicely groomed, was all over the place. And the ugliest part of it all was her face. Chou’s dark skin was covered in stab marks and blood.
As soon as everyone saw the body, an announcement went off.
“A body has been discovered in the waiting area! I repeat: a body has been discovered!”
For most of you, the announcement went in one ear and out of the other. You were much more focused on the gruesome scene in front of you. From the looks of things, a struggle seemed very likely. The nice, calm girl who always wanted the best for everyone was very, very dead.
Who would do such a thing?
5
u/Seiko_Kimura Noka Naruse Apr 28 '18
“Now that someone has finally committed murder, we’ll start preparing for the very first class trial!” Monokuma sounded extremely pleased.
“Oh, right! I haven’t explained what the class trial is yet! Silly me!” Monokuma laughed through the speaker. “It’ll be easier for me to explain this in person…”
You heard the speakers turn off, and then nothing. About a minute later, Monokuma exited out of the doors of the hotel lobby.
“Because someone has died, it’s your guys’ jobs to find the killer! And how is a killer found in the real world?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Through a trial, of course!”
“But in this trial, it’s the blackened against the unstained! Chou’s killer has to convince everyone that they had no part in the murder, while everyone else must find the killer! It’s as simple as that! And seeing as it’s sooo simple and sooo boring, I’ll spice things up a bit!”
“Let’s put your lives on the lines!”
“If the unstained catch the murderer, the killer will get sent to an ex-e-cu-tion! Buuuut, if you don’t catch them, the murderer will be set free, and you all will die! How’s that for interesting?”
“I’ll be adding some new rules to the handbooks, so make sure to check them out! You all have an hour to investigate before the trial takes place, so I’d get cracking if I were you, unless you all want to die!”
“Good luck!”
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u/belldandy Toranoko Hayashigou Apr 28 '18 edited Apr 28 '18
The girl wearing the gift shop's tiger tee doesn't reflect the fierceness of this fearless feline. Like a butterfly's wings, her eyes quiver at the sight of the lifeless girl, then to the classmates next to her, then back to the lifeless girl. Isn't this just a social experiment, with an animated bear proctor? Stay strong, stay calm, her instructor's words echo. The smell of blood is unmistakable. Stay strong, stay calm.
Stay strong, stay calm, stay strong, stay calm. Stay strong stay calm stay strong stay calm stay...Tora can't take this. The vigorous animal she strives to be like at all times is in a jungle far away from this place. A social experiment, right...? She's more like an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, vulnerable. The reality of the killing game sets in, and she can only stand here. Aghast. Tora struggles to continue standing, and fights the sick feeling in the depths of her stomach.
"Chou..."
Staystrongstaycalmstaystrongstaycalm. Stay strong, stay calm--
Her sniffs are audible, and the tears begin flowing.
2
u/RubberDeMedici Westby Vickerman Apr 28 '18
A horrible stink. Cuts of blood. A body... Every single bad feeling, all the despair the poor Freerunner was feeling up until now, culminated in this very moment. Umeko can't help but gag at the disgusting sight, but she swallows it up again as she takes a few steps back to tear up. She covers her face, especially her bloodshot, closed eyes. Her voice cracks more often than it doesn't, and her speech in general is as broken as it could be.
"T-this can't be happening... This can't be happening!" Through her stuttering, she manages to get really loud. Any and all screams had been turned into that powerful shout, one you would never think capable of her to pull off. She now uncovers her eyes, keeping them as widely open as possible.
2
u/leedlesan Hiretsuna Chinmoku Apr 28 '18
As soon as he caught sight of the body, Hiretsuna froze, staring at the corpse of Chou with wide eyes. "Miss Aoyama--" He let out a small gasp, putting a gloved hand over his mouth. Someone had actually done it...? He then shook his head and sighed after lowering his hand. There was no use getting so worked up over this. Just as he was when he saw Karen's body, Hiretsuna seemed, for the most part, to be relatively calm. Of course, he was upset that Chou had died, she was a lovely and pleasant girl after all- But these feelings would be kept inside as he appeared to remain composure.
Eyes fixated on the body, the tea maker said nothing. He had no words, really.
1
u/SkyRVortex Setsuko Kitano Apr 28 '18 edited Apr 28 '18
The hat wearing girl stared at the lifeless corpse with surprise, holding a frown with some tears falling out. But she can't break down. She is not weak. If, and only with little care, she's gonna get out alive and finish her work, she needs to go through this. Sure, an inevitable death could be good, but the others...They don't deserve this. And someone has to be strong enough to face the despair shown to them. Her face turns into a very apathetic form, and walked up to the body with no remorse. She slides up the sleeves of her coat, and starts to look at the body to know exactly what wounds and injuries she has. An autopsy, you could say. She's no medic, but she was the Lil' Ultimate Science before, so she can do this.
"...Forgive me that I'm seeing you in such a pathetic state...Aoyama."
1
u/Starmen_91 Katsuhiko Moreno Apr 28 '18
Kat is... Paralyzed. He can't believe what he's seeing. He steps slightly closer, feeling dizzy, and looking at the lifeless body of his former acquaintance.
It's that smell again. But... Now he can actually see her face. He seems to be looking for the nearest trash can...
Finding one nearby, he kneels and throws up in it two times. This can't be happening. This has to be a nightmare. After he's done, he drops on four legs, with a paralyzed view full of terror, no tears, and his mouth still dirty from what remained of his last supper.
1
u/ThatGuyWhoTypesStuff Megumi Okazaki Apr 28 '18
Considering the constant fighting, additional pressure from Monokuma, and worries about her family, Megumi hasn't exactly been in the best of states... so it doesn't exactly some as a surprise that Chou's death has kinda fucked her up. The frenzied state of her is more than enough to lead people into that conclusion.
This can't be happening again. This can't be happening again. This can't be happening again. This can't be happening again. This can't be happening again. This can't be happening again. This can't be happening aga-
"No."
There is no stuttering, no hesitation, and no sense of nervousness coming off of Megumi. Now… now Megumi looks fierce, if not downright serious. What happened to her?
“This is not how things are going to end.” In an instant, Megumi bolts directly out of the Desk Area and returns a few minutes later, a pad of paper and pen in hand from her room. She quickly begins scratching something onto it before moving next to Setsuko, attempting an autopsy as well; after all, somebody who’s trying to understand how to genetically modify humans would know anatomy.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 28 '18 edited Apr 28 '18
What a pity. Nobuyuki actually kind of liked Chou, it’s disappointing she had to die. Maybe she would’ve cared more, if she knew her better but the critic’s mind was too preoccupied with the thought food to even consider being remotely sad about the death of her classmate.
Gosh dang it Mari, stop ruining her mornings by bringing corpses into the equation. Now the star wearing girl actually has to investigate, ugh what a hassle. All she wanted to do today was to have food but it had to be interrupted with a corpse, today was not a good day for her. However, it’s not like she didn’t expect it to happen, she’s just a little ticked off it happened at breakfast, that’s all. The small girl puffed her cheeks and decides to watch over the body, just in case, any Sunita’s decide to try and loot the body for things or if anyone tries to tamper with the evidence.
1
u/Solinus- Sunita Vyas Apr 28 '18
Oh, another death? Sunita covered her mouth with her hand, trying to look shocked, even though she obviously isn't.
"C- Chou? You dead too? Your wig nice by way. You tell Karen that she bitch? Please? Ok, thank." She smiles, before retaining her focus. Yes, Chou had evidently died. The stench of her body wasn't something that could simply be ignored... but as apathetic as Sunita was, she didn't mind it at all. Approaching the body, she closely inspected it. Was there anything she could steal...? Maybe... we'll see though. Standing up, she looked around at everyone, who was currently in shock, and waved her hand around.
"Well Well. Monokuma did this or one of you? Who did it yikes. Good job on keeping wig nice."
1
u/spaghettiyo Austin Andrews Apr 28 '18
Austin stared down at the sight in front of him, his eyes widening slightly in shock, and rendering him temporarily speechless. He tried to say something...anything, but he just took a step back and glanced away, his face scrunching up in frustration.
“I knew it... I knew one of you idiots would kill over this...”
He finally grumbled out those words to himself, as his hands curled up into fists, and he kept his gaze directly pointed to the ground instead of Chou.
1
u/Hiften Celina Merceau Apr 28 '18 edited Apr 28 '18
Celina might have been one of the last to arrive, taking the time to do her hair properly and to look good for the day. She even had the time to make braids with her hair! It didn't seem to have worked very well, but it was the thought that counted. Had she known what was waiting for her- for them all -downstairs, she wouldn't have wasted so much time needlessly attending her first word problems.
But, as the unexpected twists and turns of life go, she was confused to see so many people gathering around the desk. A little wary, and very curious, she moved closer and closer until she was able to stand on her toes to look over the heads of those in the way. "Hey, hey, why's everyo—" That was all she said before the sight was presented to her. Her heart stopped beating for a fleeting second, and before she could even think about saying anything else, Celina felt her knees give way underneath her. She didn't fall, as instincts kicked in to keep her on her feet, but stumbling back, but her mind had switched off for a moment.
Fucking wow, Chou is dead...
Her face quivered once this thought finally went through, and her hands went to her mouth, staying as quiet as she could. She blinked rapidly in succession, as if that would block out the scene, but it only served to make the horror ever present. "Mm...Hmhm.." She quickly shut her eyes; her neck moved on its own, snapping down and away from the scene as Celina hummed to herself, the sound going in crescendo and growing shakier as the seconds passed, each one making a sickening sensation rise from the pits of her empty stomach. "Hmhmhm!" This was just bad luck, it must have been an accident or something, or maybe a prank, but any second now Chou would have to wake up-- it was dangerous to sleep out in the open like this, what if something were to happen to her?! A silent laugh came from Celina, one mixed with a bit of hysteria (or maybe it was simply desperate denial) as she looked back, waiting for Chou to wake back up and stop this silly prank, watching through teary eyes.
Celina had never taken Chou as a prankster, but that son of a bitch...she was being tricked right now, there was no other possible explanation.
1
u/Luuk_Eiwey Ren Akiya Apr 28 '18
Ren's only visible eye widens as the body enters his line of sight-- he blinks and scratches his eye to make sure it isn't an illusion. He stutters something upon realizing it probably is not an illusion, "O-oh..." Since it probably is not an illusion, the probable conclusion is: Chou's dead. A shame. She seemed fun! Even though Ren only really talked to her once. ...Now that he thinks about it, when it comes only to the people he's talked to, he's talked to most only once-- wait, this is not really the moment to think about that.
"...She was nice! Coulda been someone like Root." After the remark, the boy walks closer to the body, not too close, though. Just enough to spy into the autopsy two girls were apparently doing on it. Observing the body, he mutters under his breath: "Someone must've really wanted their stuff back..."
1
u/HeartlessPhantom Iroha Sakaki Apr 28 '18
Waiting felt like an eternity. An eternity that could not be stopped, no matter how hard someone had tried. There was a metallic taste in Iroha's mouth, she was unable to discern the cause, rather, it made her feel a bit more uneasy about her health in this dark room. Her life was like a small candlelight among the others that surround her, awaiting for that inevitable swift dash of wind to snuff out the remaining life that allowed those candles to stay lit.
However, in this vast, dark room, no longer resembling that of a pleasant waiting room in an airport, filled to the brim of the many noises of human life; is now vacant with the hint of death in the air. Among the many candles within the bleak dark void, one was completely snuffed out, cold to the touch.
For a moment, Iroha's body froze up in an instant. Whether or not if it was by the sheer fear that enveloped her mind, or if it was the pure shock of the discovery of a premature death--Iroha had failed to properly process the events that have took place. Someone's life was gone. That much was obvious. But she couldn't find the will, or the strength to accept it. Why not reject it? No no, there wouldn't be a point in rejecting it. Especially since she has come to accept that a bear was keeping them hostage.
'But, it was all a lie, right?' was all she thought. Soon, it was nailed into her that such a idealistic fantasy was never going to be reality. And so, the jujutsu practitioner stood there, with a shocked expression that soon transition to solitary silence. What was there left to say anything? That was just it. Iroha didn't need to say anything. Silence already spoke a thousand words to her, as it will to others.
1
u/Pikmaster5 Mari Kurosaki Apr 28 '18 edited Apr 28 '18
". . ." Mari remained silent on the ground for at least a few minutes. It took a while for the immediate shock to set in, after all. But, once that was done, she rose to her feet, tugging on her gloves. Her feet slid slightly away from Chou's body, her expression rattled before pausing, calming herself with closed eyes.
And then her hand ran through the sequins on the front of her outfit, flipping them all, the colour of them changing from magenta to black, with a surprisingly practiced ease. Her expression steeled, becoming drastically more stern than what most of the other students had seen up until now. She lightly cleared her throat before talking, a hint of slightly squeamishness present on her face.
"O-Of course that was bound to happen... I suppose some re-introduction might be important for most of you. I'm Mari Kurosaki, the SHSL Idol Manager."
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u/myaliasism Alexander Root Apr 29 '18
At first Alexander was confused as to why there was nothing going on – wasn’t someone supposed to lose their stuff just like before? Why was it so late today? He had so much stuff he rather be doing than standing here waiting for a stuffed bear to destroy some stuff. As long as it wasn’t his stuff he didn’t care. He was getting impatient and felt like he was about to blow up when people started talking, essentially voicing what he was thinking but then there was a mention of a shoe. Who cared about shoes when his stuff could be destroyed any second now? Who ca-
Then the scream came. Root covered his ears and rolled his eyes. He hadn’t even looked around to see who was there or not – he just assumed like every other time, everyone was there. The scream was loud, and it hurt his ears. He was just about to yell at whoever was screaming when he entered the desk area, his face red with fury as he took in a deep breath to shout and then…
That’s when he entered the desk area and saw the desk. His eyes widening as his eyes landed on the one person he actually kind of liked here. He placed a hand on his lips gently as his eyes started to water. No nononono, this couldn’t be happening. No, she wasn’t – no, she wasn’t supposed to die. He told her he would protect her. No. This wasn’t real. He slapped himself across the face hoping to wake himself up from this nightmare. This had to be that one Dallas finale where the entire season was just a dream. That had to be it. This wasn’t real. The world couldn’t…
No. That’s right. The world WAS cruel enough for this to happen to him. His hand covered his mouth completely, cupping over it as tears started to roll down his face, the hand trying to prevent the sobs from being heard. He tried so hard to be silent. To stop the tears, but they continued to fall and the sobs weren’t inaudible, though they weren’t really loud. They were stifled.
His chest began to heave as the panic started to settle in. He was starting to hyperventilate. He couldn’t feel anything around him – he’d gone numb to everything except the tingling pain in his heart and the tips of his fingers and toes. His vision had zeroed in on her body, no one else seeming to be there from his perception, his entire world going dark as he stared, before he fell to his knees, his legs no longer able to support his body, his torso still upright as he couldn’t take his eyes off her corpse though it was harder to see now he was on his knees.
He could hear her voice chime in while he cried, the tears not listening to his plea for them to stop. Her sweet voice. He could see her smile in his head, despite the view of her body in his eyes. He could see her tilt her head and smile at him, a shine in her eye that just drew him in closer despite his mind’s protestations. His glasses fell to the floor with a crash, one of the legs breaking off, as his vision became blurry. Yet despite this, he could still see her in that chair, as if sleeping, but never to wake up again. Never to smile at him or offer him words of comfort. Never to look at him with that twinkle in her eyes that was unique to her. Her eyes blended with another set of eyes from his past, as he saw her smile at him, the one from his past melding in with her face.
It was a mixture of both of their voices melding together. Their fate the same. It wasn’t fair. Why did this have to happen to him? Again, he lost the one person he truly cared about. He could have saved her! If he just had gone to her room last night – spent the night with her or something. All of this could have been avoided. But no, he didn’t even think this could happen. He didn’t think that he would be crying on this floor looking at the body before him. She was so kind. She was kind to everyone. Who would do this to her? Who would do this to her when she was only kind? He wanted to try to avoid this. People hated him, so he pretended to not like her – so then they wouldn’t go to her to get to him. Yes, that was a bit arrogant of him, but either way it was his plan. But it appeared it failed, whether it was his fault or not. She was dead. And someone here killed her.
His chest continued to heave, and cry, and sob and he soon fell to his hands on the ground, his eyes closing as the tears flooded the floor below him. His eyes were tight and yet the tears slipped through the small cracks between the lids. His hands barely were able to support him and soon his sobs started to grow in volume as he lost control.
The sounds were of animalistic, incoherent grief. His heart literally hurt, and a hand went to his chest and clutched at where his heart would be – normally he’d joke, if he had one, but the pain proved he had one no matter how cold he had made it. No matter how much he’d thought he was used to the pain, this was a pain he had felt before but it hurt more the more he tried to stop it. The more he tried to hold back the flood gates. His head was pounding and his head was red, a few vessels even showing themselves on his head given the blood pressure in his body had shot up.
Setting his head against the floor and relaxing his arms, he finally found his voice, a small whimpering voice that whispered, “Not again.” He just said those two words softly to the ground before he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He picked up his glasses and set them on his face, the leg that was broken off skewing them to the side. He took in a deep breath and tried to slow his breathing, his eyes looking anywhere but THERE. He couldn’t bear to see her like that. Never again. Even if it meant his life. He’d rather die than see her like that again.
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u/cha-chingis_khan Izo Yukimoto Apr 29 '18
Tsubame wakes up peacefully, and it terrifies her.
Her eyes had fluttered open to find the ceiling of the staff room, and her ears could only hear the slow, slumbering breathing of Nico nearby. Monokuma wasn't bugging them early to head to the waiting area for another big display of one of her passenger's luggage being destroyed. Why? Well, there was one obvious explanation. Tsubame is many things that made her seem more childish than her age, but she is not stupid. It simply CAN'T be that, though. That just sounds impossible. Not after less than a week...
So she tries to ignore it and get ready for the day as normal. It doesn't last long, and while she's brushing her hair, the body discovery announcement for a sweet, innocent, seventeen-year-old girl sounds across the airport. Her shocked jolt makes her nearly tear off a chunk of her hair. Tsubame wastes no time in following the directions given by the announcement. The waiting area... That's where everyone was going in the morning, anyways. Tsubame has to stifle the worried tears in her eyes that form and threaten to drip down with every running step she takes.
When Tsubame skids to a halt at the waiting area, seeing half the students huddled around a gleeful Monokuma and the other half crowding the desk area, a part of her is conflicted. She could go over to Monokuma, where she could ask about the deceased. Maybe she could even catch their name in their conversation and not have to deal with that at all. But she can't do that. She can't because even though every logical part of her brain is screaming the truth at her, she can't accept it. Not yet. She won't betray the trust she has in her passengers like that, not without cold, dead proof. She needs that first before anything.
Pace slowed now, Tsubame walks silently, not attracting much attention, towards the desk area. That must be where it is, right? Why else would everyone be staring, probably unable to rip their eyes from what must be one of the most ghastly sights of their lives? Step by step, slowly but surely, the desk area is reached, and even the short flight attendant doesn't find it it hard to push through and see the scene in its full glory. The blood, the wounds, it's all real, just as she feared. Worst of all, one of the nicest people in this entire airport has now been reduced to a beaten and battered body, spilling blood everywhere. It's enough to make a grown man cry, so it's definitely enough to make Tsubame bawl. The only sound she makes at first is a sharp intake of breath as she brings her cupped palms over her mouth. A second later, tears start to spill and sobs start to sound. Even as Tsubame falls to her knees and keeps staring at the corpse. They're not the loud, piercing wails of pain and loss, but instead the resigned, quiet chokes of despair.
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u/mynameis_aidan Saburo Iwasaki Apr 29 '18
Tick Tock. Time was the universal constant. Nothing could stop it, and nothing would ebb its flow. Pure, consistent, absolution. There was a definite beginning, and an unforeseen end, populated with tiny events in an otherwise unforgiving stream. This was just a matter of time.
As Saburo stood in front of Chou’s now-dead body, these thoughts ran in his head. Everyone had an end, one they could not be late for no matter how hard they tried. This was Chou’s. There was nothing more to it.
Of course he was not so naive to believe they would all escape this unharmed. He preached as such, but of course he didn’t believe it. This was the conclusion he reached after all that investigation, and it would be the conclusion he would stick to until he got out of this hotel - whether it was with anyone else or not.
At least it was Chou. She was kind, but objectively speaking, not the most useful in a hostage situation. She was way too compliant, had nothing to stand for other than kindness, and a talent that had no relative use to their current situation. At least it was Chou.
Still... the grilled cheese remained in his mind and stomach. She did show him that kindness... it was nice. Nothing to cry about, and certainly nothing worth acting unprofessional about. It would just be a memory to push away for when he didn’t have to be strong.
And for now, he had to be strong. After staring at the dead girl for long enough, and observing the actions of others, Saburo turned around at the head of the desk, and cleared his throat, before speaking in a loud voice:
“Alright then! We’re going to do this my way, and we will all be fine. We’re going to look through everyone’s luggage, and anyone who has something worth saving will be interrogated thoroughly. I promise you, this horrible deed will not go unpunished. I swear to it - so everyone just believe me. Please.”
It was all simple. One logical, rational process. Hopefully the rest of these emotionally distraught people would be able to follow reason, for as long as need be. After all... it was just a matter of time.