Danganronpa - Despair's Experiment

Chapter 3 - Flowing Treachery Initiated With Deceit - Deadly Life

It was a body, burnt to the crisp, arms and legs sprawled outwards. Singed clothes and peeling skin, with gushing blood that pooled onto the floor around it. A horrid smell tainted the air, sourced from the incinerated corpse on the ground before us, rendering it even harder to breathe. My stomach dropped as my heart sunk, each escalating heartbeat as if it were digging itself into my body. The shiny object we had noticed were glasses, and a familiar uniform only meant one thing. The body that lay before us was none other than Toshiro Chosokabe, the Ultimate Scientist, burnt to death.

Ding, dong, bing, bong...

Clicks echoed above the fleeting fire, and the smoke-filled halls. This meant that Monokuma had appeared on all of the monitors. "AAHH! Fire, fire!! AAHH! Oh, did I mention a body has been discovered? After a certain amount of time to investigate, the class trial shall commence! AAAHH! FIRE!!" Monokuma flailed his plush arms about wildly, only to stop to promulgate the announcement. Nobuo continued to eliminate the esurient flames with the fire extinguisher. The intense heat subsided, but steam still billowed and filled the area. Coughing and sputtering, we waved our hands to blow it away from our faces, and so that we could see. As it cleared, we hadn't noticed our other four classmates coming up the stairs.

Panic-stricken, they caught their breath, proving strenuous due to the smoke. When the last of the fire had been extinguished, we crowded together to examine the science lab. The original white walls and floor had been smoldered black in some areas. Items had been reduced to melted blobs or ashes, littered along the walls. But the most palpable feature that made our hearts stop was Toshiro, laying dead on the ground. "I...I don't understand! We were all g-getting along...!" Kagami began to caterwaul, followed by nods of agreement. In the past few days, it had seemed as if despair never existed. This was so sudden...! It felt like my insides were being twisted and wrenched around, heart twinging and clamoring out in pain. My mind felt reduced to a pile of stone, cumbersome and hindering my entire body. The realization of anything could happen here took root in our hearts and etched into our minds, forcefully so. I stared despondently down at Toshiro, who was such a convivial friend to all of us, and genuinely cared. The zealousness of his personality now gone, as his life had been stripped away from him. My mind felt like mush, a slipshod of feelings and thoughts trying to hold myself together. I was reluctant, but the only way to make sense of it all and bring justice for Toshiro was to investigate for clues!

-Investigation-

Monokuma waltzed in with a quixotic look on his face, beaming devilishly. "Puhu, tis a shame I didn't get to unearth your juicy secrets, but at least one of ya kicked the bucket! Smells like a barbeque in here, how scrumptious! Now then, monsieur, I give to you the treasured key of the deceased gentleman, and be sure to check the new Monokuma file!" The bear's words were imbued with taunting elegance. Noritaka took the keys from the bear through slit eyes, and Monokuma sashayed away, cackling.

I couldn't move at first, rooted in place from the trepidation. I quickly glimpsed at Toshiro's body then immediately darted my gaze away. Toshiro had been seared amidst the fire, trapped in the flames, and dying from the burns. Thanks to his informative science lessons, our hope had risen, only to plummet once more with his death. With all the curiosity and appetency to learn more, it must've shocked Toshiro when death ambushed him, when we had hoped nothing tragic would take place. But now, at our feet lay our good friend, who aided us through investigations, brought grins to our faces, and even led us on that journey to the sauna... I took out my e-handbook and tapped on the notification regarding the next Monokuma file.

"Toshiro Chosokabe - Ultimate Scientist

Died at 8:04 a.m, in the science lab.

Burnt to death, inflammation on skin suggests gasoline was spilled on the body."