Danganronpa: Melancholic Mayhem

Chapter 4 Part 13-Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Can Truly Kill

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!" Ressa said over the monitors. I stood frozen, waiting for the announcement to go off again. But it didn't. One of them... was alive? Kajiwara walked over to Imamura, and felt her arm, as he rested his arm underneath her pillow.

"She's alive." Kajiwara said. My eyes went wide. Then... that meant... that... Taguchi was...

"Yep-a-roni that I put on my yep-a-roni pizza!" Ressa laughed, wandering into the room. "Taguchi has bit the dust! Or, maybe he bit the yep-a-roni pizza..." Ressa continued.

"So... you're here to give us the files..." Kawata said, stared at Taguchi's lifeless body with a serious, surprised look.

"YES!!! I AM!!!" Ressa laughed maniacally. "IT TOOK YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOO LONG!!! That I literally had to make the motive have a shorter time limit!" Ressa laughed.

"Hey, wait..." I began, looking to Ressa. "I- if... someone had his target card... w- we get to leave this place, right!?" I asked desperately. Ressa chuckled to himself.

"Oh foolish little Hirano..." Ressa laughed. "You see, I would've announced that you were free! But, since I didn't..." Ressa chuckled to himself. "The killer was someone with a different sacrifice card!" Ressa laughed.

"Are... are we allowed to know who has the card?" Kawata asked. Ressa thought to himself for a moment.

"Sure! Why not? Have a free alibi! But no one else can say their sacrifice card. That'll ruin the surprise!" Ressa laughed. "Alright, it's time!" Ressa said, spinning around as quickly as a tornado and then coming to a full stop, holding three files in the air. "Murder File number 4! Take good care of it!" Ressa laughed. He handed us the files, before disappearing. I stood frozen, staring at the file.

Taguchi... died? N- no... that wasn't possible... r- right?! He'd... just come back to us... he was finally apart of the group! I- I could never imagine... that the guy who'd spent the first half of the game terrifying me to the bone... would die. Especially after everything he went through to get to where he was today.

"Hey... Hirano..." Kawata said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's... gonna be okay... we'll just... have to do it again..." Kawata laughed nervously. He continued to stare at Taguchi's corpse, a look of shock, sorrow, disappointment. But not of Taguchi. Oh himself.

"Unfortunately... it seems we've found ourselves in this situation once again..." Kajiwara sighed. "I'll... perform an autopsy on the body and see if I can discover anything, like always." Kajiwara said, wandering over to Taguchi's body.

I took a deep breath, looking to the file. So... it's time to do this again. I opened the file.

Victim: Taguchi Masahiko
Age: 18
Height: 6'3
Weight: 128
Time of Death: 12:00 AM - 5:00 AM
Cause of Death: Victim died of blood loss.
Bodily Wounds: Punctured Stomach, Bruised Eye.

I sighed, looking to Taguchi Masahiko. That... looked like a painful end.

Truth Bullet 1: Murder File 4

I looked to Taguchi's body again, as I put away the file. He looked so disturbed. I sighed, walking over to the lifeless figure and began scanning at him, fear in my eyes as I slowly investigated. Kajiwara placed a hand on my shoulder to try and reassure me, before turning back to the corpse to search. I paused, checking his pocket. Inside was a small piece of notecard paper. I pulled it out, and looked inside. "Arima". It was his target card. Well... at least we know that he didn't have his own card.

Truth Bullet 2: Taguchi's Target Card

I looked back. His body was covered head to toe in blood. But why was that? Some blood was around his mouth, and the rest was on his abdomen. And a small hole was made in his shirt, that seemed slightly burnt around the edges.