Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 3 Chapter 4 part7

"I'll start from the beginning. First, you prepared a string—a steel wire would be even better—and you strung it through the metal guard of the katana. A typical guard has a hole in the center for the blade to pass through, in addition to one hole on either side. The holes serve different purposes, but for you, they were perfect to pass the wire through."

The police confirmed the guard of the katana used in the murder had two open holes.

"So? Thanks for the riveting lecture on how to string a wire through a katana. So what?"

"One end of the wire was tied to a heavy weight. The heavier, the better, especially if it was an object that could float on water. A piece of firewood or a log would work well."

Wood was scattered around the backyard, so a quick search for a sturdy piece would likely prove fruitful. Or perhaps she cut down some bamboo to do the job.

"To finish preparing the wire, you twisted the other end into a loop."

How was that strange setup used…? I had no idea where Kyoko's deduction was headed.

"You tied the loop around one of the icicles on the water wheel. Those icicles aren't frail; they've grown thicker throughout the winter and won't break easily."

"And then?"

"The next part required some skill. You opened the double doors. At this point, you had already wrapped rubber bands around the handles. Once you opened up a large enough gap, you wedged something in the doors—the jack would work quite well—to prevent them from closing. Then, you slid the katana through the rubber bands, stretching them back with the guard of the blade. The mechanism resembled a large slingshot, or a bow with the katana as an arrow."

Even I could imagine the scene.

"Finally, you took the free end of the wire, crossed the backyard, hopped over the fence, and stretched it all the way to the cliff. Once you secured the weight to the wire, you kicked it into the ravine. The weight plummeted into the river and got caught in the rapids, creating tension in the wire that kept the katana taut. But the weapon didn't fire immediately, because the icicle on the other end kept the wire fixed."

I pictured the setup in my mind. The double doors and rubber bands formed a bow, while the katana being pulled by the weight functioned as an arrow. The icicle was used as a device to delay the katana from being launched.

"At this point, you could remove the jack from the gap. The force pulling on the katana was sufficient by itself to keep the doors open."

And thus, the wire device spanning the entire backyard—from the water wheel, to the dojo, to the cliff—was complete.

"Tension was constantly pulling on the loop around the icicle, and the pressure caused the ice to slowly melt. But the icicle didn't snap. The segments of ice melted by the wire would refreeze, thus keeping the wire trapped in the icicle as it passed through to the other end. Eventually, the wire was released. Without the tension in the wire pulling on the elastic rubber bands, the katana was fired."

The entire time we were trying to open the dojo door in the hallway, the katana was waiting patiently to be released.

"But… how would it hit its target?" I asked. "Did it stab the victim by sheer chance?"

"That's where the armor came in. Those two warriors weren't simply decorations adding to the mansion's haunted aura."

"What do you mean?"

"The warriors were in the center of the room, standing behind the corpse on either side, right? Take a step back in time and imagine the scene when the victim was still alive. Yui, do you realize now?"

"Oh… don't tell me."

The suits of armor were positioned with bent elbows. The unconscious victim could be propped up and forced into a standing position.

"The warriors were there to secure the target," I answered.

"Correct. Blood splattered onto the armor because it was used to hold the victim up."

The force of the launched katana propelled the victim forward, thus completing the crime scene that we stumbled upon.

After the katana was released, the rubber bands caused the double doors to automatically shut. Those doors weren't just part of the locked room; they were part of the murder trick as well.

"The wire was swept away with the weight. It may never be found, even if the police conduct a thorough search downstream. Perhaps it left traces in the snow at some point, but the additional snowfall would have removed any evidence. That nick on the fence would be indistinguishable from the countless other scratches once covered by snow. The only evidence that wouldn't disappear by itself was the trail of the wire in the icicle."

Kyoko crossed her arms and slowly approached Kakitsubata. "I knew the killer would return to destroy that evidence. That's why I first accused Mizuiyama, just as the culprit planned. I knew the true killer would lower their guard and reappear."

Kakitsubata hung her head. Her shoulders sagged. The battle had been settled.

"Who the hell are you?" Kakitsubata asked with her head down. "Isn't that Yui Samidare girl over there supposed to be the detective? Did she hire you? Or are you really one of Ryuuzouji's underlings?"

"Who I am is irrelevant… It's all over for you."

"Over?" Kakitsubata muttered. She stared at Kyoko with hollow, ghost-like eyes.

The crowbar in her right hand slowly rose into the air…

"Stop!" I ran across the snow and leapt in between the two of them.

Kakitsubata's arm stopped above my head.

"It's against the rules to harm the detective!" I warned, throwing my arms out to protect Kyoko.

"Are you stupid?" Kakitsubata burst out into laughter. "You think I care about those silly rules when I've already lost?"

"Oh… I guess not…"

"Taking my anger out on you won't do any good." She sighed before tossing the crowbar away. "To tell you the truth, I didn't care about the game. Don't think I'm a sore loser; all I wanted was revenge."

"Was revenge really the answer? Surely there must've been another—"

"I hear them." She cut me off and raised her voice to nearly a shriek. "I can hear them on the other side of a door. Any door, the moment it shuts, I hear them coming from beyond. 'It's hot…' 'Help…' Those voices calling out to me…"

"'Hot?' 'Help?'"

"Do you remember the news about a fire in a mountain railway tunnel eight years ago? It made headlines. It was an accident caused by an electrical short circuit, but during the evacuation, one man shut the emergency door leading out of the tunnel. Twenty-eight people lost their lives that day. My family was among them. I survived because I made it out ahead of them, but that man came out right behind me, and I watched helplessly as he shut the door. He said he had to do it to survive… Even though many others were still on the other side…"

I vaguely recalled the incident. Due to a passenger closing off the emergency exit, many others were left behind to perish in the flames. There were some who testified that shutting the door halted the advance of the smoke, allowing the other two hundred plus passengers to safely escape.

The media and the police were unable to uncover the identity of the passenger in question. Nothing came of the matter, as public opinion opposed turning the incident into a witch hunt. Could that passenger be blamed? Nobody could answer that question, especially not those who weren't directly involved.

"So… did his murder bring you salvation?"

"I don't know," Kakitsubata laughed at herself and looked down at her hands. "The truth is, it doesn't feel like I killed him. All I did was set things up exactly as I was told. My hands don't feel dirtied. When I saw his corpse, confusion overwhelmed me more than joy or relief, so much that I wondered if someone else had killed him for me. It still feels like I'm in a nightmare…"

"Then what purpose did his death serve?"

"I can only believe it saved not just me, but all those people beyond the door." A gentle smile crossed her face. "I'm sure that even if a door closes, I won't hear those voices calling for help on the other side anymore… They've been appeased through my salvation."

She was another person who was cursed to battle against a tragic fate. The Crime Victims' Salvation Committee had its eyes on people like her, prisoners of the past.

"Do you have a way to pay the 151 million yen?" Kyoko asked.

"Do I look like I'm made of money? If I did, I wouldn't have gone through any of this in the first place."

"Then listen to my advice." Kyoko whispered close to her ear. "Turn yourself in to the police. If you go to the station with the officers here, you'll be unharmed."

"What are you saying?"

"You've now become a target of the Crime Victims' Salvation Committee. They'll be coming to collect your debt by any means necessary. Of course, that includes murder."

"No…" Kakitsubata's lips shuddered. "Can't I do something? You know a lot about them, right? Help me!"

"Understand that you've already crossed the line. From my point of view, you no longer exist in this world." With her hair freely blowing in the wind, Kyoko stared off into the colorless night.

"No…"

"You should've asked for help before you resorted to murder."

"Please, come on! Help me!"

The police had surrounded us. They led Kakitsubata into a police car. The cars and officers were likely real; I had watched them arrive at the start of the investigation.

The door to the car shut with Kakitsubata inside. Her expression was frozen onto her face. She covered her ears with her hands, and with eyes wide open in panic, shook her head back and forth over and over again. She was trembling with terror, just like a frightened child.

Had salvation come to her? What was salvation to her in the first place?

Before long, the flashing red lights disappeared beyond the bamboo.

4:00 AM. The police dropped Kyoko and me off at a hotel in the closest city. They paid for our lodging, still under the impression that we were Ryuuzouji's assistants.

With the television playing on mute in the background, we sat atop the bed with our backs against the wall until the crack of dawn, stringing together words into a conversation that went nowhere. Reflecting on all the events of the previous day, it seemed like several days had passed by. But the fresh marks on Kyoko's thin, white neck reminded me of our cruel reality.

"Does it hurt?" I touched her bruises with my fingertips, causing her to turn away with a frown. "S-Sorry…"

"I won't get off this easy next time," she said with little emotion. "I'll be expecting you to protect me, Yui."

She cradled her knees, pulled the blanket up to her chest, and leaned against my body before shutting her eyes.

As long as Kyoko's remarkable abilities remained intact, she'd continue to face danger head-on. Each time, she'd risk getting hurt. If she renounced her role as a detective, she could live a comfortable life, but that option was out of the question for her. And I wanted her to have a long career as a detective. This world needed a beacon of light to cast away the darkness.

At some point, while mindlessly staring at the infomercials flashing on TV, I fell asleep sitting up. The world beyond the curtain was growing brighter, and the snow glistening on the windowsill signaled the arrival of dawn.

Next: Chapter 5, Part 1 (Coming Soon!)
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Chapter end