The body looked familiar, it was the same athletic student that had his arm bitten off during the first loop.
"He wasn't there, was he…" Shiro walked up closer to the body. "What was your name again…?" As she crouched down to see the body properly tears from her eyes fell onto his legs. The eyes had been pulled from their sockets, the blood had already begun to dry up.
"How long were you here… Who did this… Could it have been-" Shiro turned around to see a familiar figure holding an umbrella.
"Did you check the weather? It's supposed to start raining soon." Kurono walked up to the sobbing girl.
"Another one gone…"
"I know Ena didn't kill Emilia."
"Yeah, didn't we already agree on that…?"
"Yes, but her having a vial of the blood doesn't change anything like everyone seemed to have believed. You said Emilia was killed at her home, why would Ena even think of bringing a vial of blood?"
"Unless it was a setup… There was only one other person I know of who would be near Ena in the morning."
"Before you get too hasty we can't rule out anything that happened before the loops."
"I know but the whole interaction I had with Ena and Robert was always weird, she said she twisted her ankle but was walking fine. At first I thought that was due to her being too shy but after he suddenly turned on her during this timeline I'm sure that this has something to do with him..."
"Doesn't his name also seem strange?"
"What do you mean..?"
"Shiro, Kurono, Ena, Emilia, Ren and then this fucker over here called Robert."
"You're right it does seem strange… There was another thing I noticed, when this guy- wait do you remember his name?"
"No I don't."
"That's weird, I don't either… But I remember him being in our classes for ages… I wouldn't have remembered Ren or Emilia's if it wasn't for you and Ena either… Anyway when this guy had his arm bitten off in the first timeline he seemed to go into a sort of monologue, telling us to bury him in the mountain with flowers…"
"Like the one behind here?"
"Yes... It was almost like NPC dialogue, everything he said seemed robotic and programmed, I ignored it because of everything else that happened during that first loop… We were also pushed forward in time until New Years but I almost passed out, you and Ena were completely fine…"
"Did anything else happen when you almost passed out?"
"There was a ticking sound and my heart seemed to beat louder…"
"Did you ever hear that ticking sound again?"
"Once more when New Years hit and another when I was stabbed…"
"So you hear a ticking sound when you loop?"
"It seems that way, but is there a limit to this..?"
"As if I would know, but I do know that the most likely to have killed anyone is Robert."
"What if Ena was being manipulated by Robert…?"
"And he gave her the blood to stir some suspicion despite it not making sense if you thought about it."
"And if this guy's weird reaction wasn't the only case of NPC behaviour then they could essentially be following a script, most likely set up by Robert if that is even possible..."
"But-" Kurono seemed to freeze as if his soul had left his body.
"Kurono..? Wait what th-" Shiro felt a weird tingling sensation on her head and in her tailbone. "Huh? Kurono..? Wolf ears…? What the fuck..?"
"Shiro you're alive!? I thought you were- I saw- don't scare me again."
"Huh? Kurono, what are you talking about?"
"I saw you die! How are you alive?"
Shiro felt her body get hot. "Die? Why would you remember, where-?"
"You got stabbed and pushed into the lake, I- what happened after that?"
{Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick}
"Oh no… I'm not actually am I…"
"What was that tick? Shiro?"
"You can hear that too?"
"You heard it as well- wait what's with the cat ears?"
"Cat ears..? Do you remember the conversation we just had..?"
"Conversation?"
"Oh fuck…"
Shiro saw a figure approaching Kurono from behind. "So you finally arrived, and it seems this place's original managed break the code and help her figure me out." Robert pulled a knife out of his uniform and jabbed it straight through Kurono's back and into his heart.
"KUR-" As the knife hit Kurono's heart Shiro felt an intense stabbing pain in her own. "Bastard… what did you…?"
"Aww is the little cat mad I killed her fuck boy."
Kuronos eyes were empty, his consciousness had already faded.
"Hey, at least now you feel the same amount of pain, so you'll know when one anothers in danger."
Robert twisted the knife that was still stuck inside Kurono's heart.
"ARRRGGGHHH!!! YOU FUCKING!!!" Shiro screamed in pain as she felt her heart twist, now bleeding out internally and fell to her knees.
"Let me just get this out." Robert pulled the knife from Kurono's heart.
"Maybe I should put you two down here, it might jog your memory a bit." Robert grabbed Kurono's deceased body and threw it into the lake.
{Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick}
"So this is you…"
"Huuuh? You still alive?" Robert grabbed Shiro's cat ears, pulled her down towards his leg and kicked her in the face, letting go so he would knock her into the lake where she slowly felt herself die.
{Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick}
"Looks like that bitch cat is going to be tougher than expected, but that helps me in prolonging her suffering and now the puppies here I can hurt her all the more. Life was so good when I was dead but you just had to come and "Save" me, I wanted to stay dead but the next time I entered was just an empty abyss. A punishment from god or whatever I guess, but who the fuck would want to stay in the normal world, well I guess it's better then what I've made this place to you. Oh, I'm monologuing to myself again, I fucking hate that habit. Time for some fun in the next timeline."