Part 10

Sai: After I ate, I rested for a bit in the dorm, before I headed to the swimming pool to go swimming. That lasted all the way until Makoto came to find me. You and Tama ran into me at the swimming pool, didn't you?

Ran nodded in response.

Sai: After Makoto found me, we headed to the power room together. I helped her put the cover of the generator back on top of it, and then we took the toolbox back to the pool and fixed the broken door to the changing room.

Sai: Then it was back to the dorms to have tea with the rest of you.

Sai: If there's any point of suspicion, it'd have to be the time period while I was swimming by myself. But that period had a large overlap with the period during which you claimed you were with Tama, so I feel like my suspiciousness is relatively low.

Miho: After eating, Aya and I cleaned up the kitchen. Ran and Tama showed up together to help as well, so the cleanup went quickly.

Miho: Afterwards, Aya went to the music room, and I went back to my room to do homework, all the way until I heard your voices and came downstairs, and met with you all. Finally, of course, we all had tea together.

Aya: After eating, Miho and I cleaned up the kitchen, since we were on duty for the day.

Aya: Basically it was like Miho said!

Aya: And then you and Tama-chan showed up to help, right?

Ran nodded.

Aya: And then I went to the music room to practice, but I ran into Ran again there later so I'm probably not that suspicious right?

Ann: Aya, you practice your guitar in the music room, right? Were you able to practice while the power was out?

Aya: Ehhhhhh, now that's a hard one to answer, ahaha.

Aya: Yeah, I couldn't actually play my guitar today, so mostly I performed some... mental practice. Ehe.

Ran: (She looks pretty suspicious, but I know she only ran out there because she didn't want to be in the same place as Miho, so maybe she really isn't all that suspicious.)

Miho: Since you've asked both me and Aya, we'll go and get the bodybag.

Ran: Oh, sure.

Aya: Bye-bye!

Ran: (Let's continue the interrogation.)

Makoto: After I ate, I stayed with Tama-chan in our room for a while. Then I went to the tool storage room to grab my tools, and left to fix the generator.

Makoto: After fixing it, I found that the generator's cover was so heavy I couldn't get it back up by myself, so I went to the swimming pool to find Sai. We returned to the generator room and put the cover back on, and then we went to the swimming pool to fix the changing room door.

Makoto: Afterwards everything was as Sai said.

Makoto: This counts as an alibi, right?

Ran: Mm, mm. Say, it took quite a while to fix that generator, huh?

Makoto said nothing in response.

Ann: After lunch, I rested at the observation deck until Ran came to see me. After we finished conversing, we went downstairs, where we ran into Sai and Makoto. After that we had tea together in the kitchen.

Ran, beaming: There's no way miss Sakura's the culprit.

Ann: I mean... I have no alibi for any of the time period before you came back to see me, Ran.

Ran, dejected: ...Right.

Koizumi: After eating lunch, my feet felt uncomfortable, so I went directly to the nurse's office.

Koizumi: I found the medicine that Takei-san mentioned to me previously, there. I applied it to myself and then rested there the whole time.

Koizumi: After lying there a while I headed back to the dorms, and then you know where I've been up until now.

Ran: (Koizumi-sensei couldn't have done it, right? The injuries to her feet are very real. She can hardly even walk by herself. At the least, she's easily the least suspicious.)

Ran: (Well, nobody's completely free of suspicion, but I can rank them in order for now.)

Ran: (The class president is the least suspicious. After that, it's Miho and miss Sakura. After that it's Aya. The two that I'm most suspicious of are Makoto and Sai.)

Ran: (Of course, this only takes into account the alibis. A holistic analysis performed later might cause the order to change again, but let's table that until later.)

Ran: (There's still more clues we can uncover from investigations. We don't need to pin all of our hopes on pure deductive reasoning and logic until we're completely out of options in the material world.)

Sai: Asakura, once the bodybag's here, we'll put the corpse in together.

Makoto: ......

Sai: ...C'mon, just- say something.

Makoto: I understand.

Ran: Forget it. I'm investigating with miss Sakura.

Sai: I don't know what I was expecting.

Sai: What're you two doing here.

Sai started chatting with Ran after she'd left the power room and closed the door.

Ran: And did you find anything?

Sai: Jack shit. But I imagine you'll want to look for yourself anyways.

Sai: Don't forget to lock up after you're done looking, and to give the keys back to Makoto afterwards.

Ann: Ran.

Ran: Yes, miss Sakura? (She's so pretty!)

Ann: Do you think Sai was here to get rid of evidence?

Ran: I thought of that too, but, probably not?

Ran: After all, before we departed, she asked me if I'd like to come with. If I'd said yes, she'd have been totally exposed.

Ran: (Oh I love looking at miss Sakura's wonderful face so muuuuuch.)

Ann: ...She could probably guess that you were going to refuse and go with me instead, though? Like, it was pretty obvious?

Ran's eyes widened.

Ran: ...That's possible!

Ann: ...Let's just check the power room for now.

Ran: (Impressive that Asakura is able to fix this. I don't know enough about motors, myself. I can't even tell if this is a diesel generator or if it uses some other kind of fuel.)

Ann: It's a bit cramped for two people to stand in here, don't you think?

The walls and floors were very clean, with very little dust. But there was plenty of dust on the shelves.

Especially a stack of tarps. The stack was coated in dust everywhere except at its top, where it was clean.

Ran: (The topmost tarp must have been removed, then.)

Ran: Presumably, the culprit hid it somewhere after using it. If they brought it back and were seen doing it, that would have been extremely awkward.

Ann: Maybe she'd just kill the witness as well.

Ran immediately turned around and looked outside of the toolshed to make sure that they weren't about to get ambushed. Thankfully, nobody was outside.

Ran: ...Well, then, we should definitely get out of here quickly, miss Sakura.

Ran: If we're talking about something that could be used to fix Tama's body in place, I think that the trees of the forest would be an excellent choice.

Ann: Indeed. Trees are everywhere, so you don't even need to do extra prep-work.

Ran: I noticed some plant-like scents on Tama's back as well. At that point I was wondering if she'd been affixed to a tree at some point.

Ann: Why not tell everyone, then?

Ran: I thought of it, but I was afraid that'd make the murderer realize I was onto them, and try to destroy evidence.

Ran: Though, I suppose, any evidence that could be destroyed, the murderer probably already destroyed it before coming back, anyways. But even then if I'd said it they would likely have become more careful.

Ran took Ann's hand and led her into the forest.

This time, there was no rainstorm, and Ran wasn't runnning furiously forward with abandon. There was just the clean and refreshing air after a bout of rain, and the pleasant sound of grass crinkling with their steps.

Ann looked at the silhouette of Ran's back, as if she'd thought of something. But I imagine that the emotion she felt was quite different from that which Ran was feeling.

Ran: We used to hold hands and take strolls around campsites just like this, before.

Ran: Though in those days it was always miss Sakura taking the lead.

Ann: You and I went out to play quite often, then? And we seemed to go to rather distant places, too- places like what you mentioned before, the seaside?

Ran: That's right. Because back then my personality was quite irritating. I was a gloomy crybaby. To cheer me up, miss Sakura, you took me to a lot of different places.

Ann: ...Did we get any studying done at all, then.

Ran laughed as she walked, her shoulders bobbing up and down with her giggles.

Ran: We only went during vacation days!-

Ran: Ah, miss Sakura, look, there.

Ran: Tama was likely positioned with her back facing the tree. Then, another rope was tied to a higher branch, with one end tied to Tama's wrists, which was used to suspend her in the air.

Ann: Mm. The rope's length would be enough to allow Tama's toetips to touch the ground. After that it'd be the second rope.

Ran: The second rope tied her legs closely to the tree trunks, suspended somewhat above the ground

Ran: That way, the first rope, which was longer, would cause Tama to dangle forwards, diagonally, suspended in midair.

Ann: But if that was the case, if Tama began struggling, she'd start swinging back and forth, wouldn't she?

Ran: That's right. I suspect this is why the culprit choked her out- or one of the reasons why.

Ran: Tama was probably very compliant at first, since she was unconscious. Once the pain had increased to the point where she could wake up and start struggling, her head was... probably already turned to an irreversible degree.

Ran covered her mouth. She could clearly hear that her voice was trembling.

Of course, Ran had seen much more horrible ways to die than this. But this wasn't the same. Was it because Tama Indou was so adorable and lovable? Or was it because of how much manual operation this method of murder required?

She didn't have a certain answer, and the anxiety of the unknown made her very uncomfortable.

Ann: So, Aya and I are out, then?

Ran: Probably. Miss Sakura, you're much shorter than me, after all.

Ann: ...Is that bad?

Ran: Absolutely not! Why, it's the exact perfect amount of height difference for a couple, in my opinion-

Ran: Anyways- it's not just that height is needed to tie the ropes. After the culprit placed the pipe wrench on Tama's head, they had to rotate it five hundred and forty degrees. That meant that at some point, the wrench had to be pointing vertically upwards, and if the culprit wasn't tall enough, they might not be able to reach the far end of the wrench's handle, which would make it quite difficult for them to continue.

Ann: ...This methodology is both cruel and complicated. I don't know why the culprit chose this method, except if it was motivated by hatred.

Ran: (Could it really be that...)

Ran: Let's not worry about the why for now. No matter what the culprit was thinking, the facts remain the facts. Let's just use these to find the truth; that'll be enough.

Ann: Right. After that... the culprit had to carry the body to the gym and set it up.

Ran: That disqualifies Koizumi, whose injuries make it impractical for her to commit such a complex murder.

Ran: Even if she'd somehow bore her way through the pain with sheer willpower, she'd have shown some sign of discomfort while we were having tea together.

Ran: She had no signs of moisture on her body, and she didn't seem particularly uncomfortable either. If she was just acting, or if she somehow prepared a way to conceal her exhaustion- well, then we'd be looking at a really complex situation.

Ann took Ran to a room in the corner of the maths building. There were no desks here- just steel beds and some dissection tools.

The bodybag had been folded and set aside. A white cloth covered Tama Indou's face. Her neck had been cut open, and her head rotated back to its regular position.

Neither Miho nor Aya were present- only Makoto, alone.

Ran: (...Hard to start the conversation.)

Ran: ...So, are you sad that Tama's gone?

Normally, avoiding this topic would probably have been the best way of respecting Makoto's feelings. But Ran wanted to find the truth of Tama's death, and that meant that even Makoto needed to be considered as a culprit.

Makoto raised her eyes and looked at Ran.

Makoto: Every night, before I went to bed, the last thing I saw was her face. She'd always sit by my bedside until I fell asleep.

Makoto: And each morning after that, the first thing I'd see would be her face, as well. She'd already have put her clothes on, and she'd tell me, 'good morning'.

Ran patiently listened. She was waiting for Makoto to finish her somewhat-poetic expressions.

Makoto: Even if I made the slightest sound from waking up unexpectedly at night, she'd rub her eyes and climb down from her bed, to ask me what was happening, and to comfort me, until I fell asleep once more.

Makoto: She took such meticulous care of me... and now she's not here anymore.

Ran's question hadn't been directly answered, but Ran understood the point.

Ran looked at Makoto, and hesitated a bit before speaking.

Ran: So, uh, we'll be going now?

Makoto nodded, and Ran and Ann quickly vacated the morgue.

Ran: Miss Sakura, we've gathered a great number of clues, but they're all jumbled. We need some framework by which to organize them, perhaps a timeline or something-

Sai: Less thinking, more dinner.

Sai appeared behind Ran and patted her shoulder.

Ran: It's already dinnertime? Time has really flown. ...Do we even have the appetite for it, though? I mean, Tama's still dead...

Sai: Well, if you've already figured the answer out, I might let you try speaking it before you eat. Otherwise, forget it. Eat your meals properly. Otherwise you'll fall over from hunger and then we'll have to work extra hard to help you recuperate again.

Ran: You are completely correct except that it won't be any of you doing it because I will only accept miss Sakura's lovely ministrations.

Ran: (I suppose that, in a classic snowed-in murder mansion scenario, after a corpse appears, there's always a scene where everyone is eating dinner together at the same table.)

Ran: (And everybody would just be super serious and suspicious about each other, and barely say a word to each other, and maybe they'd only be eating canned foods, and maybe there'd be that one character who starts provoking others or accusing others of being the culprit.)

Ran: (Such corny tropes are thankfully consigned to irrelevance, with girls like these.)

Ran: (Well, if even Makoto's feeling a little better, there's no need for me to be so uptight either.)

Ran: Miss Saaaaakura~! Do you want some fish fillets? These fish fillets are delectably sour, you must try one ❤️

Ran: ...Miss Sakura?

Ann: Ran, what exactly did I like eating before?

Ran: I mean, as far as I remember, as long as we were together you pretty much ate everything happily.

Ann: Really. Well, unfortunately, I seem to have developed a bit of pickiness now.

Ran: I'm blaming Sai for this one. What don't you like eating these days, miss Sakura?

Ann: Fish, for starters.

Ran: Oh, that's fine! I'll eat all the fish then. I love fish!

Sai, leaning against a chair, overheard their conversation.

Sai: ...What's so bad about fish? Sakura, if you don't like'em, I'll try preparing them a different way next time.

Ran: Hey, if miss Sakura doesn't like it, then don't try to force her to eat them! Not everybody is oceanspawn like you, Sai, it's perfectly normal not to like fish!

Sai: You- didn't you just say you liked fish the most too? I swear, you are way too fanatical about Ann. Be more normal while you're in my damn kitchen.

Ran: Whaaaaat, c'mon. What's wrong about how I favor miss Sakura?

Aya: It's honestly pretty nice, in my opinion! I wish I could be as straightforward as Ran was.

Aya grinned and leaned up next to Miho.

Aya: Right, Miho?

Miho: I choose not to understand what you're saying.

Ran: (Are they arguing or not? I actually can't tell. Well, whatever. They went and investigated for clues together, so I doubt they were up to any mischief.)

Ran: (Truly, Koizumi-sensei is my greatest romantic rival.)

Koizumi: Sorry, Ibuki-san. If you'd like, you could come to our room and we could chat together as well?

Ran: Nah. I'll use the opportunity to reorganize my thoughts by myself.

Ran: (More importantly, if it were all three of us together, the atmosphere would be so fucking awkward.)

Ran: (I'll have a more in-depth discussion with you when I've prepared myself, Koizumi-sensei.)

Ran: (So what if someone died? It wasn't miss Sakura, after all. Why should I work so hard to solve their cases?)

Ran: (Is it just because I find Tama adorable? If it were any of the others, would I not care at all?)

Ran: (Or am I just doing this because I enjoy the process of deduction itself?)

Ran: (Would Tama turn into a skeleton if I tried to take her away from here?? Would Koizumi-sensei age up instantly?)

Ran: (My goal is just to take miss Sakura away from here, but there's so much I don't understand. Aaaaaargh.)

Makoto: Hey.

Ran: ASRBAHGOAIGAIFASAAAAHHHHhhhhh ohhhh you scared me.

Makoto: Can I take a bath with you?

Ran: Well, you're already here, what am I supposed to say, 'no, now get the fuck out'?

Makoto: Ho ho ho. My dastardly plan has worked.

Ran: So, how exactly did you get together with Tama in the first place?

Makoto laughed as she washed some suds out of her hair.

Makoto: Wow, you're a freak, aren't you. Normal people try to respect other peoples' feelings, you know?

Ran: I've endured forcing myself to respect-other-peoples'-feelings for like, five whole minutes already, just now. I think I've done more than my due diligence.

That cracked Makoto up for a good while again.

Makoto: Damn, you're just too likeable when you act like this.

Makoto gets into the bath, letting her long hair settle over her chest.

Makoto: Me and Tama just acclimated to each other. Initially it was because we were assigned to the same dorm, and I wanted to have good relations with my roommate. But she was just way too proactive about it!

Ran: And did you feel annoyed by that?

Makoto: Ibuki-san, are possibly trying to get intel out of me?

Ran: Whaaaaat, ha ha, nooooo, c'mon.

Makoto: I'll take your word for it, then, suuuure.

Makoto: I've never thought that Tama was annoying. She's so adorable, after all, and she's always very considerate about how I feel, so we never had any problems.

Makoto: Since my relations with Tama are so good, probably everybody's thinking that I'd never do something so horrible to Tama. So the culprit's trying to play a level above us all, and trying to frame me by doing something nobody thinks I'd do.

Ran: ...Even a less-horrible method would still work if they were trying to frame you, right?

Ran hadn't expected her to actively change the topic towards the case, so she immediately became careful with her words. After all, to the others, Ran herself was also an active suspect.

Ran: Seriously, let's just forget all that bullshit 'she knew that I knew that she knew that I knew' nonsense.

Makoto: You're quite interesting, you know that?

Makoto had smoothly changed the topic once again.

Ran: Me? Interesting?

Makoto: From your perspective, we must be a group of complete weirdos. Going through with classes despite the lack of teachers, with a light pinch of murders on top of it all.

Ran: Yeah, like, I seriously don't even know if you're going to be able to hold final exams here.

Makoto: Haha, yeah. Final exams.

Ran: (Ever since I got back my memories about Koizumi-sensei, I've decided that it's not likely that the students here are the true mastermind that's set all this up. They're very possibly victims of the situation, just like me.)

Ran: (But I can't say that there is no mastermind, either. Historically, whenever I encountered situations like this before, they tended to be more like natural phenomena than anything else- systems without self-consciousness.)

Ran: (But this situation's rather complex. Rules and conditions are everywhere. It's hard to believe that this is a completely non-conscious anomalous phenomenon.)

Ran: (Well, maybe the supposed 'complexity' is just my subjective perception. Maybe to the anomalous environment, it's just performing one very simple task. Like, say, it took an existing complex thing, and used that as a blueprint...)

Ran remembered what she'd experienced, before the Model of Ten Thousand. It gave her a bit of inspiration.

The Model of Ten Thousand People

A complete, vertically standing human anatomical model. The left half of the model appears to be the naked human form with skin intact, while the right half permits the internal organs to be directly viewed.

The Model's particular appearance depends on and changes based on the observer. No matter how many people simultaneously observe the model, they only perceive the model as being modeled after a being indistinguishable from their own body. Furthermore, the organs of the model will reflect, in real-time, the statuses of the corresponding organs of the observer. Examples of this include the heart's beat, movements of the eye, and any diseases of the internal organs. If the model is intentionally touched, the toucher will feel the same touch on the corresponding part of their own body. The organs of the model can be removed, so as to permit convenient observation of organs concealed behind other organs.

Ran Ibuki once brought a certain person (details lost due to memory loss) before the Model of the Ten Thousand, and used that person's hand to trigger the shutter of a camera, allowing her to capture the Model as perceived by the other person. She received great inspiration from this.

Makoto: Wow, Sai was right. You do just suddenly stop talking randomly in the middle of conversations.

Ran: Just, thinking, about stuff.

Makoto: See, it's stuff like this that makes you, to us, the weirdest one out of all of us.

Ran: Me? I feel like I'm completely normal.

Makoto: Yeah? Think about it. You suddenly appear in the school, can't explain where you came from, and then immediately acclimate to our killing game, and also display a startling degree of competence in logical deduction.

Makoto: What makes you, an outsider, so capable of living easily in what should be an extremely strange environment to you?

Makoto: Perhaps it's because you know some things that none of the rest of us know?

Ran: I'm just here to get miss Sakura's memories back. I'm pretty sure her memory loss has something to do with this school. That's the only reason why I'm forcing myself to accept your bizarre lifestyle. If I spent all my time freaking out about all the ridiculous things you did, I wouldn't be able to help miss Sakura.

Makoto: I don't think her memory loss has anything to do with the school. She was like this when we first saw her at school. It's far more plausible that she lost her memories due to an event that occurred outside of the school.

Ran: Yeah... Otherwise, you couldn't explain why she didn't get into contact with me immediately, after she disappeared.

Ran looks down at the ripples in the bathwater.

Ran: So, then, should I-

Makoto: That's what I'm curious about as well.

Makoto put a hand on Ran's shoulder.

Makoto: There's no disputing your feelings for Ann, at this point. But if your relationship was really as rock-solid as you thought, then why did Ann leave you? Wouldn't you two have been together at all points? What happened?

Ran: (No, relax, this isn't important, this is probably another part of my missing memories. I'm sure I'll remember it once I leave here. Being with miss Sakura is the most important thing; everything else is inconsequential.)

Ran: I don't remember, you're right. It's not important, though, because I'm sure that miss Sakura will explain to me once she's got her memories back.

Makoto pulls her hand away from Ran.

Makoto: You really do trust her. You must treat her as your reason to continue living, don't you?

Makoto: I'd love to hear about how you accomplished that. How was it possible for you to make another person into your reason to live?

Ran: I have no interest in discussing miss Sakura with others.

Ran gets up and out of the bath.

Ran: Plus, I also feel like Tama sees you as someone very important to herself. You should probably have this conversation with her, after all of this is over.

Makoto: Her, huh?

Ran looked down and saw that Makoto wore a very peculiar expression, almost like smiling but not quite, staring at the misty surface of the water.

Ran: (She must still be recovering from the shock of Tama's death. Let's leave her alone for now.)

Ran: Well, I'm heading out now. Bye.

Makoto nodded, and Ran left. Ran didn't feel like she wanted to be alone with Makoto in the same room.

Ann had started getting used to Ran's neediness, at this point. She took a step forward and patted Ran on the head.

Ann: You're quite spoiled, aren't you, Ran.

Ran: Oh, trust me, I was so much more spoiled before.

Sai: Huh. You sure look cheerful tonight.

Ran: I said goodnight to miss Sakura and she kiiiiissed meeeeeeeeee.

Sai: Well, that's good. Looks like you and her are getting closer and closer, then.

Ran: Can't believe you're keeping an eye out on our relationship now, Sai. Also, I have to say, you didn't go swimming this afternoon? You usually go swimming every night don't you?

Sai: Hey, I've always been keeping an eye out for you.

Ran thought about the barbecue, and the way that Sai would prepare food by herself in the kitchen for everyone.

Ran: Yeah, I guess you do. Thanks.

Sai: Oh, no. I've been thanked by Ran. Keep your disgusting Ran-brand sincerity away from me, blech.

Ran, in response, kicks the top bunk of the bed, causing Sai to laugh.

Sai: Okay, that's enough horsing around. Let's go to bed. We still have to finish dealing with Tama's case tomorrow.

Ran: Yeah.

Ran: (Let's sleep for a bit and then get up in the middle of the night to do a Recall. Recalling while laying in the bed is the most comfortable way to do it.)

Ran: Alright! Let's start the recall!

SPECIAL RECALLS

When Tama and Ran split apart, so that Tama could go find Makoto...

When Ran Ibuki was free to act on her own...

When it was mentioned, at the tea party, that the cabinet was jammed...

Ran: (Eh? There's a pretty weird recall point in there. Let's check that one out too.)

meta!Ran: Let's go visit Koizumi-sensei before she confesses to us, see what she says then.

Ran: While we were eating just now, it seemed like miss Sakura preferred to speak with you rather than me. It seems you two have a rather close relationship.

Koizumi: Mm. Ann and I are roommates, so we take care of each other frequently. But more often she's the one taking care of me.

Suddenly, Koizumi opened her eyes wide, and her voice grew panicked.

Koizumi: Ahh! Ibuki-san, I'm- Ann and I have no romantic relationship between us! So- so-

Ran: I know, I know.

meta!Ran: (Indeed, for the current miss Sakura, I'm practically a stranger. There's no way I could compare to a roommate who could be seen every day.)

meta!Ran: (Maybe I need to change my attitude towards miss Sakura. Looking at me from the outside, I seem far too brash and forceful.)

Koizumi: Uh, Ibuki-san?

Ran: What?

Koizumi: N-nothing, just- you weren't talking, so...

Koizumi shifted a tiny bit forward.

Koizumi: Ibuki-san, before the dinner starts, do you- have time?

Koizumi: I have- some things I want to say, to you.

Agree to meeting (REQUIRES CHARISMA 5)

Refuse

Use Temporary Points

I'm currently in the middle of a recollection.

Temporary Points: 5

Investigation: 6, Alacrity: 6, Charisma: 4

Ran: Aya seems to play the guitar pretty regularly, but I've never seen her play it in the dorms. Let's check the music room.

Aya: Oh, Ran! Did you come to hear my virtuosic performance?

Ran: I heard you were half-decent at guitar, yeah.

Aya: Oh, please. I'm clearly a master. Couldn't you tell just by looking at me?

Ran: I mean... I really can't tell the difference between proficiency and mastery, when it comes to the guitar.

Aya: Sheesh, it was a joke, you weren't supposed to take it that seriously. Now I'm the one that's in an awkward place.

Aya: Nope!

Aya: I would in fact not like to take a break. I don't get enough time with my guitar as is! I gotta use up all my valuable time appropriately.

Ran: Oh. Uh. Okay.

Ran: (I really figured she'd say 'oh sure' in a lackadaisical voice and then toss the guitar right aside, but, no, she's actually kinda serious about that guitar. Still, I should give it a second shot.)

Ran: ...I'm honestly jealous of how you've got something you like this much.

Aya: I thought you had your beloved 'miss Sakura' that you're always obsessed with, again, now.

Ran: But seeing a miss Sakura who's lost her memories... it fills me with pain and confusion more than anything else.

Aya: Huh.

Ran: .....

Ran: ...

Aya: ...

Ran: ...

Aya: ...

Ran: (Looks like she really does want to get back to her guitar.)

Ran: Well, you have fun. I'll be going now.

Aya: Byebyebyebye.

Aya: Comingcoming.

Aya: Well, look at the rare guest we have tonight!

Miho: What brings you here, Ibuki-san?

Having opened the door, Aya takes a step back, conveniently resting her head against Miho's chest.

Miho: Okay, cut it out.

Miho: Ibuki-san, is there something the matter?

Ran: No, I'm just looking around.

Ran: After all, a murder could take place at any moment. I've got to make early preparations.

Aya: Oho? How diligent of you. Not bad, grasshopper.

Ran: Just thinking about the what-ifs.

Miho: I agree with Ibuki-san's thought process, but I'd like to suggest that it's vanishingly unlikely that a murder will take place in the dorms.

Ran: I suppose that's true. Everyone knows where everyone else is supposed to be, and it's too easy for us to run into each other.

Miho nodded, her hands resting daintily on Aya's shoulders.

Miho: Mm-hm. Right now, everyone's either showering or waiting in their rooms.

Miho: The bathroom's only got one room, but it's pretty big. Everyone generally washes up in pairs with their dorm-mates.

Miho: Don't forget to take a shower, Ibuki-san. After all, you got rained on, today.

Ran: Okay, I'll go in a bit. Well, I won't disturb you two any further. Bye.

Aya: Bye-byyyye~