Exam 5

[lockdownmods]

Exam 5.

[ Once again, the exam begins with the desks arranged in a perfect circle; one desk for each person that's participating in the program. There are nameplates for everyone, and they have been bolted to each of the desks, facing the inside of the circle...

...including the deceased. Their chairs have been placed on top of their desks, signifying that they will not be needed. Above of their desks are holograms of their portraits from their profiles, grayed out and bloodstained.

Han is no longer here to watch over you. And yet at the desk, a beautiful vase of flowers sits by his name plate. It is Oswald who stands at that desk, though Vivienne watches him intently from the side of the room with a sharp gaze. But his eyes are frozen on those delicate flowers. With his knuckles white, he grips the desk as one, and then several more tears fall.

Vivienne waits, but he doesn't speak. So ultimately she's forced to do it herself. ]

...Professor Han was... a good man. It's truly unfortunate that he won't be able to finish the semester with you all I know... he would have wanted to. In... his absence, I will... do my best to support you in his place, the way he would have wanted to.

[It's hard for her too. This is... it's just sad. It's all just... sad. But they have to press forward.


Today we're here to find the person who is responsible for the death of Waver Velvet, the Apprentice of Magecraft.

...Take your time. The evidence you need is all here.

Victim.






Suspects.



[ The physical evidence tray sits in the middle of the circle of desks; you all have the Evidence app on your tablets to access photo evidence. ]

Examination START.

links.
Evidence
Profiles
Vote Now

Comments

[lovedanime]

Because he killed him!!! That's why it's pertinent to the case!! That's it! That's all I meant to... Oh my god... It's happening again...

[buriedearth]

[ ...Terra's expression is just like what right now? ]

What? What are you talking about? I don't understand.

Why are you saying Akira killed Waver?

[covertizer]

[ To be fair, Terra, Akira's face is doing exactly the same thing. ]

[buriedearth]

[ Good because they can be confused together.

Terra's just thinking Mitarai's having a panic attack or something... ]

[lovedanime]

I - hang on! No, this isn't how it—!

I thought Kurusu-san sounded so much like he didn't care about anyone else that it sounded like he would have killed Waver-san! It's just character [personality sense] speculation! Max said it was like he didn't care! How come it made sense when Max said it, but when I said it, everyone hates me...

[swordsinternally]

Because you outright accused him without any sort of evidence. If our banter back and forth would have caused that sort of thing... Akira shouldn't have been the one on that suspect list.

I should have. I even have a motive to kill Waver, too.

[sendintheclown]

So he did it for you?

[swordsinternally]

No. I don't think he did it at all, in fact.

[lovedanime]

Well— Well, you're in love! Maybe you asked him to do it for you!

[swordsinternally]

Even if I did that, I'm certain that I would have been on the suspect list for that alone. But I'm not. And I wouldn't make Akira do that for me. I'm not the type of person who wants others to do my own dirty work.

If I'm going to want someone dead, I'm gonna do it myself, damn it.

[buriedearth]

[ What.

Mitarai, what. He's looking at him right now like he has two heads. What the hell's going on with him right now?!

He's looking confused and kind of...upset right now? ]

Mitarai, you need to stop. You can't just throw around so many accusations like that -- not to mention that doesn't even make sense! If you care about actually catching who did this, you'll think this through and stop acting like this!

[buriedearth]

No, no, Akira's not-- he's not like that. He was just...having a private moment--at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he does care, trust me. He's not the type of person who wouldn't.

[ ... ]

It's just, the way you said it ... sounded like you were accusing Akira of killing Waver, so that's why.

[ Maybe there was a misunderstanding? ]

[covertizer]

Because Max didn't accuse me of murder.

You don't know a thing about me, Mitarai. You don't know how I feel, you don't know what I think about any of this. I've lost Mishima, Yoosung, Henry, and Maya, all of who I'd known for months. And that's not even mentioning everyone I've lost in the past few weeks alone, here, who I haven't known as long but all of whom matter.

Sorry you don't personally think I sound shaken up enough about this because I'm apparently doing a damned good enough job of holding myself together not to.

[lovedanime]

Oh, right, I forgot! With a strong enough motive yourself, you can get through some pretty heavy stuff!

Hey, I'm sorry I don't understand your feelings very well. Could you please explain how you consider Mishima-kun someone precious you've lost when becoming a culprit is so beyond the range of your empathy?

[covertizer]

Do you even know who Mishima is?

[lovedanime]

He killed someone during the entrance exam and got executed... but Kim-kun had tried to protect him with his life! Because he understood weak suffering people are the ones we should help the most! Even psychologically suffering people who are driven to commit murder!

[covertizer]

Mishima was my friend, from back home. Before this, before Fayflower, before Yoosung. We met on the first day at my new school, and ended up supporting each other through some difficult things that were happening at the time.

The victim of the entrance exam planned his own murder. He talked Mishima into carrying it out, and Mishima believed he was helping us all out and becoming a hero. None of us wanted someone to risk themselves and become a hero that we didn't ask for... and none of us knew they were going to execute the culprit. All of us tried to stop it and save him. Vivi-chan died trying to save him. No one wanted to see him die.

If you think not having a message to send home means I don't have empathy, then you don't understand empathy at all. I don't have a message to send home because I don't want any more of my friends to know about this place, to try and find me and put themselves in any sort of situation where they might die like Mishima did. I don't have a message because there's nothing I could want to say that would be worth risking the lives of anyone here. I don't want anyone else to die, we've lost too many people--how is any of this worth more than someone's life?

[sendintheclown]

Don't get upset, now.

[Into the cloak you go.]