Danganronpa: Hope for the Hopeless/Chapter 2 - Class Trial

## Story

Once more, the elevator slowed down to a screeching halt as the noise of it’s mechanisms flooded the area. I looked around once more as the light from below approached us. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the first time, but by the time the elevator door clicked open to the same room as before, the tensions was once again palpable. Even a quick glance around the room told me that most of everyone else’s breathing had changed at least marginally.

“So-” Koike began slowly after an entire elevator ride of silence. “Is everyone here a little apprehensive to go through that door or is it just me?”

“It would be a surprise if you weren’t.” Sasori calmly said as he looked around for agreement. Everyone more or less nodded when he finished. “How about we get going then? Like it or not, we still have a class trial to attend and a killer to catch.”

With that, Sasori did the same thing that Seno had done before him. He marched out of the elevator leading the way as we followed. After that, he gripped the right door handle to the double wooden doors, let out a long sigh, and swung the door open for all of us to head inside.

And that is exactly what we did. One by one, we filed in. Not that anyone wanted to if everyone felt the way I did, but Sasori was right about the necessity. I went in first. After that came Senji, then Eto, then Wakuni, then Koike, then Yakawa, then Saeki, then Tanabe, then Machi, then Sama, then Sanda, and then Shiro. And at last, Sasori filed in behind us. As the door shut and locked, we all looked around.

The trial room was more or less the same as the last time in terms of shape and student placement. It was the same hexadecagon with the same positioning. However, I did take note of two new greyed out pictures with X’s on them. Ones for Yasui and Seno both took their former positions. In the former’s case, it happened to be to my immediate right.

Of course as we stepped up to our podiums and everyone more or less took at least a few glances at the new environment. It had about the same level of dimness as the last time, but this time the floor was made of polished dark brown wood. Furthermore, the the walls had a cozy dark green with dim twin light sconces in each corner of the room. The walls of which were occupied by portraits of the person in front of them in some regal room by a fireplace except for the one behind me which had the door. I wasn’t about to complain though because, quite frankly, I found them uncanny. And finally, the ceiling was white and had a wide single bulb chandelier that hung from the center of it.

“So, do you like what I did with the place?” Monokuma asked as he looked around the room evidently taking notice to some of the student’s curiosities. “It would get boring pretty quickly if the class trial looked drab. So I thought I’d do some renovation.”

“How did you do this so quickly?” Machi asked as she looked around. Though she evidently regretted feeding the bear’s ego because she slumped in her podium and scowled immediately after she finished.

“Because it pays to be prepared. Besides, I have experience in this kind of stuff. Your headmaster is very well diversified in his qualification you know.” Monokuma replied nonchalantly with a shrug. However, he almost seemed to stretch his signature smile during his boast.

“That still doesn’t explain-” Senji began to point out as he calmly motioned towards the portrait of himself with his right pointer finger. However, Monokuma cut him off before he could finish.

“Alright everyone! You know the rules already but i’m going to go over them again. Because I’m nice like that.” Monokuma said. I just glared at him as he continued. “One of you murdered Seno Sotatsu and the rest of you need to figure out whodunnit and settle it by majority vote. If the majority figures it out who the blackened is, only the blackened will the punished. But if the majority is wrong, the blackened will earn the right to leave and everyone else will be punished. Class trial round two, here we go!”

“Never mind.” Senji said as he turned to face us again with a sigh all while Monokuma dramatically held up his left arm towards the sky. “No problem, I have no doubt that we can solve this trial. Now, does anyone have anything that they would like to discuss?”

Everyone looked around the room for just a few seconds and Monokuma lowered his arm before slumping back into his seat. Apparently nobody knew where to start or they were waiting for someone else to speak up. But finally, after about twenty seconds, somebody did speak up to the rest of the class.

“I hate to be that guy, but I want to know how Machi got injured.” Wakuni dryly as he pointed to her bandaged right shin with his right hand. “I mean, I’m not about to accuse you for no reason but you have to know at this point that you’re a little suspicious.”

For just a flash, I saw Machi wince and scowl with Wakuni. But just as fast, she dropped everything and replied to Wakuni in a deadpan tone. All while crossing her arms. “I thought we were past randomly accusing people. Whatever, I was moving a box full of stuff into my room when my hand slipped due to, well feeling like I was freezing to death. Everything broke and some of the pieces cut my leg. If you don’t believe me, both Saeki and your precious brother saw the event.”

Yakawa and Saeki both nodded at that before the former spoke. “Machi is telling the truth. Some of the pieces cut into her pretty deep. Clearly not enough to stop her from walking despite my advice, but enough to warrant attention. I also want to note that it was a bad idea for her to have carried that box in the condition that she was in.”

“How bad was it?” Tanabe asked as he looked at her in what must have been morbid curiosity because he didn’t show the usual signs of doubt or anger.

“It was bad but she will be fine so long as she doesn’t put too much pressure on it. And that’s all you need to know.” Saeki answered briefly before Machi could even speak up. “Now how about we move on? We don’t want to repeat the last class trial.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time a classmate repeated a stupid mistake.” Sama retorted. A quick glare from Saeki caused her to almost shrivel up however. “Sorry. Nobody is going to bother anyone without probable cause.”

“Right.” Eto proclaimed before giving Sama a small wink with her right eye. “We don’t want a repeat of last time. Uh- except for succeeding of course.”

I looked around the room and it seemed as though everyone was more or less giving little gestures of agreement. None of them looked too happy, probably because of our current situation of course, but they were agreeable nonetheless. And after that, there was about a three second pause.

“Shall we discuss the time of death?” Senji asked as he looked around the room. “I believe Monokuma is correct but I thought I should ask in case anyone had any other theories about Seno’s demise. Perhaps some confirmation would help.”

“I couldn’t examine the body properly but the head was fresh.” Yakawa concluded without a hint of doubt in his voice. “He definitely died around 7:52pm at least. Give or take five minutes.”

“If it helps, I also remember the time it took for the lights to turn off.” Machi cut in without regards to anyone else. “The time it takes for the lights to turn off and on directly collaborates with the time of death listed. Seno did in fact die within a minute of 7:52pm.”

“Well of course i’m right! I saw the whole thing on camera!” Monokuma said as he held up his arms in mock outrage. He reverted back to normal shortly after. “You group really need to stop second guessing me. You guys have no notion of trust in authority.”

“That may have to do with the fact that you kidnapped us and are forcing us to murder each other.” Sama retorted as she rolled her eyes. Apparently, she couldn’t help that one. And to be honest, I more or less expected someone to make a remark like she did.

“So, we’re all in agreement then? Seno died at 7:52pm?” I asked to cut in before Monokuma could say anything. After that, I looked around the room. Once again, everyone more or less gave a nod or a grunt confirming that we were in fact, on the right page.

“Well now that that is settled, I would like to know the cause of death.” Wakuni spoke up while taking a quick glance around at the group to see that they had in fact agreed. “I know we haven’t for sure ruled out decapitation. Even though the Monokuma file said otherwise. Besides that, the bear admitted he had complications with the causes of death before.”

“Hey! I-” Monokuma began in a defensive tone before he visibly back down. “Well I suppose I did say that earlier.”

“So does anyone have any guesses?” I asked. I knew it was a half-hearted question and that I was almost positive that he was strangled to death but I figured I might as well get one of the experts like Yakawa to speak up before I made a final decision.

And that was exactly what I got because Yakawa took a deep sigh and spoke up once more. “I’m going to have to go ahead and say that he was strangled to death before he was decapitated. The only clue I found on his body was a presumed restraint but Monokuma’s file said he died of asphyxiation and his head showed all the signs of a person struggling to breathe. The killer decapitated Seno’s corpse afterwards.”

“Yuck.” Shiro butted in and stuck out her tongue again. Likely from envisioning the whole scenario. “Why would anybody want to do something like that? It would just cause a bloody mess and risk leaving more clues.”

“Probably so that Yakawa couldn’t find anything or resuscitate Seno.” Sasori chimed in with just a slight growl in an otherwise calm tone. “The latter of which would ruin the whole plan and expose what would be an attempted killer.”

“So we can all assume the culprit strangled Seno, decapitated him, and tried to burn his body.” Saeki concluded with a quick snap of her right fingers. Though otherwise, she seemed more than weary of this trial. “Good job guys.”

“Hold on a sec.” Koike said quickly before anyone else could interrupt. “Did Yakawa say that he found Seno’s body? And did Saeki say that the culprit tried to burn it?”

“Senji noticed the incinerator burning and a blood trail leading down the chute.” I replied. As soon as I said it, a quick involuntary shiver swept up me from the memory. “When Saeki turned the incinerator off, we found what was left. About all we found was a wire wrapped around one of Seno’s limbs and I believe it was used to restrain him.”

Koike involuntarily looked around at Yakawa and the others for some sort of confirmation. Pretty much everyone who had seen Seno’s body by that point gave a nod to confirm that my theory was correct.

“That isn’t all.” Senji stated as his frown started to subside just a little. “I believe I’ve found the murder weapon, and the tool used to decapitate Seno. There is a twelve inch knife in the kitchen that was washed recently. Furthermore, the dumbwaiter cable seems to be missing so I believe that it was used to strangle Seno.”

With that, Senji pulled out his ElectroID and flipped through two pictures he had taken. One of which was the one I had seen him take from earlier. I bit my lip of course when he claimed to have found the clues himself but I kept quiet until Senji put his ElectroID up. There was no point in drawing attention to myself after all.

“I see.” Eto said as she perked up just a little and gave a passing smile. She dropped as soon as she resumed speaking however. “So I guess we can all agree that the culprit strangled and then decapitated Seno.”

“Pretty much.” Shiro stated. I looked around to see if it was true. And while Shiro got a few unamused or questioning glances, nobody challenged her. So I concluded that she was correct about that.

After that, the class fell to a silence and our little streak seemed to end. Apart from the time and cause of death, not much was immediately obvious so everyone was left to look around wait while trying to find something to say. At Least, until Eto spoke up again.

“So-uhm, what now?” Eto asked now back to what she was like before and rubbing the back on her neck nervously with her right hand.

*(Yeah, what should we talk about next?)*

Of course, the answer came just as soon as the question did and I spoke up as soon as it did. “Why don’t you start by telling everyone the same thing you told me Eto. The more people we can eliminate from the suspect pool, the better.”

“Oh right, good idea Nishi. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.” Eto started to trail off before she got right back to speaking. “So we all know that Seno could not have been killed on the east wing of the second floor because I would have seen him otherwise. I was in the art room you see. And I thought making something would help me calm down after the motive.”

“Everyone did something to calm down.” Sasori admitted. “I was with Nishi the afternoon playing board games. You don’t have to explain yourself.”

“Okay then.” Eto continued. “The point is, there are several people who were in the east wing of the second floor when the murder took place so they couldn’t have done it. Wakuni was in the archery room, Shiro was in the women’s public restroom, and Sama, Sanda, and Koike were all in or near the recreation room when the murder took place. The point is, we all have alibis. Unfortunately, Sasori was in the west wing of the second floor and Nishi went downstairs so either of them could have done it. Now I don't believe they did-”

“Relax Eto, I know you aren’t accusing me.” I replied through a brief forced smile although I honestly didn’t enjoy being in the suspect pool. I visibly saw her relax just a little at that even if she didn’t seem too pleased either.

“I don't want to be that person but it doesn’t give you an alibi either.” Sanda interjected. He wasn’t smiling and he wasn’t showing any signs of being happy about, but he said it anyways. “I’m not saying you did it either, but it does need to be pointed out.”

“But-” Eto muttered and slammed podium railing to defend herself. But she was cut off.

“Eto, we know it doesn’t necessarily make you the culprit,” Senji said in what sounded like a reassuring tone. “You’re in the same boat as Nishi and Sasori. Obviously, we will not be jumping to any conclusions after the last trial. Am I correct everyone?”

Senji scarcely had time to look around to see everyone agree with him before Tanabe interrupted. “Well, I don't want to rain on your parade, but I’m not sure how viable that alibi is. I didn’t think of it at the time, but anyone could have killed Seno upstairs and then moved his head to the kitchen when we all scattered to search for him. I’m sorry but-”

“But we really don’t want to get this one wrong?” Machi asked dryly, and what sounded rhetorically to me. This earned her a cautionary glance from both Saeki and Wakuni though they both dropped the matter and looked at Eto when she spoke up.

“Are you saying that that meeting was for nothing?” Eto asked as more than a few beads of sweat accumulated on her forehead. I could almost immediately tell that she wasn’t going to take it easy if that turned out to be the case though I doubted it was all for nothing.

*(No wait, I don't think what Tanabe said is possible.)*

“Tanabe-” I began as I mentally prepared for my response to him. Inevitably, he looked at me though he showed no signs of being irritated by me at least. “I saw Seno alive when I headed downstairs and Eto seems to have had already taken point in the art room by then so Eto would have noticed if he walked upstairs. Besides that, I don’t believe the killer would have had enough time to move Seno’s body downstairs during the search. The killer would have had to sneak past everyone while moving a body, make it to the kitchen, decapitate Seno, slide his torso down the trash chute, clean up the crime scene, and leave before Sama stumbled on the head.”

“Still, what if he was hidden? The last culprit found a way around the time constraints.” Sanda asked. He winced as he did, likely because he knew he was damaging his own alibi by suggesting it.

“That isn’t possible either.” I calmly refuted. I could almost see him let out a sigh of relief even before I explained to him why he was wrong. I thought to say something but I dropped it and continued with my response. “The only places in the east wing where he could have been hidden are the men’s bathroom and the sports room. Both of which have only one entrance which was in Eto’s line of sight so neither of those places are possible. The pool might have been possible but the card reader was down like all red card readers and he still would have to have walked past Eto unnoticed.”

“Nishi’s right, the pool was locked.” Koike mumbled with a scowl as she undoubtedly recalled the motive. Or at least, as I assumed she recalled the motive since I doubted she was angry with anything I said.

“It sounds like everyone who was upstairs is innocent then.” Saeki chimed in again although she frowned as she continued. “Except of course for Eto, Nishi, and Sasori. But I believe Nishi has an entirely different alibi if I am correct.”

“Are you talking about what I said earlier?” I asked Saeki. To be honest, the memory came surprisingly fast though it might have helped since my alibi and the time when I explained it were important moments. “In that case you are correct. I was with Yakawa when the lights turned on. We were talking for a while too I don’t believe either of us could have killed Seno.”

“Right-” Saeki concluded as the both of us looked over at Yakawa. I didn’t know about Saeki, but I was hoping that he would confirm it. Saeki must have known the importance because she continued. “Can you confirm you and Nishi’s whereabouts Yakawa?”

“That’s right.” Yakawa replied and even gave a smile while he did in spite of everything even though I knew it wouldn’t last. “I was with Nishi the entire time he could have been murdered. Long story short, there is no way she could have done it.”

“Well that’s settled then.” Wakuni cut in before he tapped his right hand on his podium. “So while we’re on the subject of alibis, does anyone else have any?”

There was about a ten second pause where room was silent before Machi quickly explained her alibi. “I was with Saeki the entire time. I think I can safely say that I was with Saeki in the first aid room when the lights turned back on. Saeki can confirm that. And although Yakawa can’t also confirm that I stayed there, he is the one who took me there.”

Wakuni glanced at them both. Though in his defense, everyone looked at least one of them for confirmation including me. Luckily for Machi though, both of them nodded to confirm what Machi had said to be true.

“It’s like Machi and I said earlier.” Yakawa surmised now frowning again. “The weather affected her motor coordination and she dropped a box full of equipment that cut her. And like she said, I noticed and took her to the first aid station to be safe. Saeki followed me there and judging by her reaction, she and Machi really did stay there until the lights turned back on.”

“So that means we can presume Saeki’s and Machi’s innocence.” Tanabe carefully and quietly concluded as he looked between Wakuni and Machi. Both of whom returned what looked like a blank, unamused stare. For the three seconds that followed, the silent tension was almost palpable between the three of them.

“So if we’re keeping track, that means we know Saeki, Machi, Nishi, Yakawa, Wakuni, Shiro, Sama, Sanda, and Koike are all in the clear.” Senji surmised neutrally enough though a quick glance told me that he was also trying to diffuse the situation. “Does anyone else have an alibi to contribute?”

Eto just glanced over at Senji and frowned. Some things were left unsaid but the truth was that neither of them had an alibi but their own accounts. I kept my mouth shut and looked around at the remaining possible suspects, Eto, Tanabe, Sasori, and Senji. All the while, I tried to think of a way to narrow the list of suspects down again. But unfortunately, I left Sasori. I had nothing but Eto’s word to rely upon, and I couldn’t remember seeing Tanabe or Senji at all between breakfast and the search. I gave a quiet sigh.

*(I guess we’re just going to have to take a different approach to this.)*

“I don’t think anyone else has any alibis,” I admitted. “I hate to say it, but we probably need to look at this from another angle.”

“Like what?” Sama asked as she tapped her right foot and put her right hand up to her own chin in thought. She didn’t sound happy, but she didn’t sound sarcastic either. “We already know the time of death, the cause of death, and most of the operation. The killer strangled Seno, hacked his head off, and dumped his body down the chute. Honestly Nishi, we don’t have anything else left to cover. We just need to find three more alibis.”

*(But that won’t work.)*

I closed my eyes and sighed before I opened them again and looked around. Almost everyone was looking at the four remaining suspects and they were taking the occasional glance at each other. Yet nobody else said anything. I figured it was because they had nothing else to say. In fact, I wouldn’t have been completely surprised if Sasori and Senji teamed up with each other because one of them was innocent and they wanted to reduce the risk. That was, if suspicion didn’t gravitate towards Senji or Tanabe first for their respective talents.

*(I can’t let that happen. But what can I talk about?)*

My pulse picked up ever so slightly at the thought of them doing that before something came to me. “Wait! We still need to talk about the crime scenes themselves like we did last time. We still need to know how the culprit pulled off this murder.”

“I’m afraid the murder does not appear to be that complicated.” Senji argued. Calmly of course, but he argued nonetheless. “All the culprit would have to do is lure Seno into the kitchen when I wasn’t around, strangle him with wire he or she stole from the dumbwaiter, slice his head off, dispose of the rest of the body, and clean the kitchen up. They would have had plenty of time to prepare for the murder and change their clothing afterwards.”

“Well-” Saeki began as she traced the podium with her left pointer finger. “I noticed that several specific cleaning supplies were missing. Our culprit must have swiped them which means he or she is familiar with them.”

“That could have been anyone though.” Eto claimed with mild desperation in her tone as at least two other people looked at her. If I had to guess, I supposed she was familiar with them. I didn’t know how, but I only assumed it had something to do with birds.

“Our culprit had to know Seno’s handwriting-” Senji began to suggest as helpfully as he could. When everyone gave him questioning looks, he was more than quick to continue and explain himself. “I found a note that implicated Machi-”

“What?” Machi just stated flatly before she got cut off.

*(You didn’t find that note Senji.)*

“Don’t worry Machi. We already know for a fact that you didn’t kill Seno and I suspected this was a frame up attempt from the start.” Senji replied holding out his right hand for a stop motion and reaching into his coat with his left hand.

When Senji pulled his out, the note supposedly from Seno to implicate Machi came with it. As he held it up for all to see, Machi crossed her arms and grumbled. Meanwhile, almost everyone else looked at it and saw it for what it was. Namely, evidence that someone tried to frame Machi for the murder of Seno Sotatsu.

‘I am writing this in case something bad happens to me because I don’t want you to go without what I’ve learned. I am worried about Machi as of late. Yesterday I saw her grab a knife from the kitchen and overheard her mutter something about Saeki. I don’t know what is going to happen but I know that someone needs to intervene before Machi does something. ~Seno Sotatsu.’

Machi scoffed as she glared at it with a gaze that could send a chill down most people’s spines if it were directed towards them. Suffice to say that by the time Senji put the note back in his coat, Machi’s mood had probably more or less been soured for the near future.

Just moments afterwards, I noticed Shiro glance at Tanabe with clear worry on her face and Tanabe just looked back with a raised eyebrow. Why she showed concern, I didn’t know. But I had a feeling that it was worth finding out. Especially since we were going over clues to the murder and she seemed to take notice to something.

“Is something wrong Shiro?” I called out directly but as kindly as I could manage under the circumstances. “You look like you figured something out.”

“Yeah.” Sama said as she looked over and took notice of her as well. “You look like Nishi did when she came to the realization that Yasui killed Naya.”

“Thank you Sama, I appreciate it. And yes, you are right. But to be honest, I hope it isn’t him. First and foremost because I don't want the guilt of sending someone to their death like Nishi did.” Shiro began.

I frowned at the last part because it meant she thought I was responsible and because Yasui’s beheading once more crept into the back of my mind. But I was quickly brought back to reality when Shiro made her accusation.

“I like you Senji, you’ve been nothing but helpful. And you helped save us from the last trial-” Shiro said before drawing a sigh, pulling out a book with the title, ‘blue ink’ coat of her clothes, and continuing. “But I have to ask you if you did it because, well you would know all about the cleaning supplies, writing apparently, and the crime scene apparently. Not to mention that you could have easily planted that note and claim you found it.”

“I discovered the note.” I blurted. But my pulse picked up when I realized that I was very much too late to call Senji out on the lie. In part, because nobody heard me speak up or they ignored me if they did. But mostly, because Senji had inadvertently made himself suspicious.

*(All because I didn’t ask him about the book sooner and because he was probably trying to take credit for solving cases to protect me-)*

Already, Tanabe, Yakawa, Sasori, Sama, Saeki, and Sanda slowly gravitated their gaze towards Senji with what I assumed was mixed caution. Probably not judgement by this point, but suspicion at least. If I had to guess, they and Shiro formed 7 of the 8 people who took copies and the last one was Senji himself. Furthermore, her remark about the crime scene brought another thought to mind. I didn’t read the book, but Tanabe did say the murder was similar to a crime in chapter two.

Immediately afterwards, Shiro actually opened the book and flipped through the pages slowly and delicately until she made her way to the front cover. From there, she held the credits out for everyone to see. Suffice to say that we all saw it. There was another note neatly written in what looked like perfect cursive handwriting that appeared identical to the one from the book I took from the crate in the storage room. I was the only one who knew about the similarity between the signatures since I was the only other person with one in my book as far as I was aware, but the style and content of the message was more than enough to implicate Senji.

*(The Ink is too faded for it to be recent as well.)*

‘To Naya Hitomi, the first person to figure me out. ~Senji Kenazane.’

Although I kept a calm enough image a part of me winced on the inside knowing full well that the class trial was on the verge of spiralling into the witch hunt that we had to deal with the first time around. I wasn’t frantic, but my grip on the railing tightened as it dawned on me just how much I didn’t want to go through that again as well as how likely it was that I was going to have to anyways. For a second, even I questioned whether I should agree with Shiro or not.

*(Did he do it? No, I can’t just throw accusations around and nothing Shiro said proves that he did it. In fact, It’s my fault that he’s suspicious.)*

Of course, there was also the fact that a few questions unanswered if Senji really was the culprit such as everything that was out of place upstairs in the billiard room. I wasn’t oblivious to the possibility that that was unrelated to the case, but it didn’t seem likely enough to make me any less concerned about it. It didn’t explain the cold weight or the wires that I had found in the storage room either. None of it proved Senji was innocent of course but I knew it pointed in that direction. With that in mind, I had a feeling in the back of my mind that I needed to think of something to say fast if I didn’t want to class trial to escalate like before. Because I would never be to figure out if the evidence was related to the case or not.

“Can I interrupt?” Koike asked gently enough to what appeared to be an increasingly suspicious crowd if their occasional glances were anything to go by.

“Of course. We’re trying to make this a fair trial and I know you are going to give your input.” Saeki agreed calmly enough and looked around. When it didn’t look like anyone was going to argue, she continued. “I guess the floor is yours, Koike.”

“Well- there is something that occured to me.” Koike went on. “Even if Senji is the one who wrote that book, he isn’t the only one with access to it. It looks like most of us managed to read through to whatever scene your describing. And it isn’t like he was the only person who could have done the other stuff either.”

I brief silence fell he room before Sasori replied to her. “I assume that there’s dissent with Shiro’s suspicions then?”

“Yes!” Koike, Senji, I all said at once.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I thought about what I said. I wasn’t just taking a neutral stance, but the assumption that Senji was innocent. Still, I didn’t have any regrets. After all, with so many people probably assuming otherwise, I was needed to make sure the class trial didn’t go off the rails. At least until I figured out for sure whether he did it or not. In a sense, it was almost like with Koike’s case except I didn’t know for a fact that I only had a few pieces of information to go on and they all only meant that Senji was probably innocent.

“Your opinion is clearly biased.” Machi said exasperatedly as she crossed her arms. “You’re only defending him because he defended you and you have some sort of white-knight complex with him.”

“Machi, my point is completely valid. There is no reason why it couldn’t have been the other three.” Koike deadpanned though she frowned immediately afterwards.

Machi opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Sama cut in and pointed to her. “Koike is right. I’m willing to bet that most of us haven’t decided if he’s guilty or not. And quite frankly, you don’t have the right to be dismissing other people after all the crap we’ve taken from you. I want to believe in you Machi, but you really aren’t helping your case when you act like this.”

Machi opened his mouth once more to speak. But once again, she shut it. This time, she just rested her hands clasped together on the podium and slowly but surely looked down at them. Apparently, with no argument.

“Moving on-” Koike began with clear concern in her tone as she looked over at Senji. “Have you thought of an alibi? I believe you didn’t do it but now would be a great time to share an alibi if you have one.”

“Of course. I was likely near the greenhouse at the time of the murder.” Senji seemingly deduced with the same calm demeanor as always. Though I started to see hints occasionally that he wasn’t as in control as he wanted us to think. Especially not at the end of it all when he relented with a sigh. “Perhaps it would help if I explained where I was this afternoon?”

Most of the group nodded and I could help but agree with them. After all, that was more or less how Senji and I managed to help Koike out. And really, I needed everything I could get before I determined which of the remaining suspects killed Seno. I would never feel safe guessing of course but if it was inevitable then the next best thing was to get as much information as possible before the class decided who to go after.

“Alright then. I have to begin somewhere.” Senji said after taking a deep breath. “It more or less all started this morning when I promised I would at least try to keep some of the food warm. I spent most of the morning experimenting in the lodge but I’m afraid I just didn’t have much luck. But eventually, I found a promising method. The greenhouse heat-”

“But we couldn’t get in the greenhouse.” Sanda grumbled and eyed Senji with a hint of what looked like jealousy. It didn’t help that he probably wasn’t too happy to be helping the others accuse Senji in the first place either.

“I was referring to the vents.” Senji corrected. “There was a ventilation shaft northeast of the greenhouse that wouldn’t blow heat but was still warm enough to theoretically scald yourself on. So I spent a few hours in the kitchen-”

“Senji, that’s exactly why people are accusing you,” Sasori responded unhelpfully. “I don’t know why you need to state the obvious either. You need to explain why you couldn’t have done it.”

“I couldn’t have done it because I left the kitchen at 7:40pm for that spot near the greenhouse and I didn’t return until the lights turned back on.” Senji said as he gave a more visible frown. “I was going to tell you about an hour break in the lounge that I took from 5:00pm to 6:00pm but I do not believe it’s pertinent so I am just going to skip straight to the important details. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, but once I had the trolley cart set and a salad placed in it, I went to the northeast corner of the loop around the greenhouse with the main dish. I more or less stayed there because I didn’t want Monokuma to interfere-”

“Hey, you should give me more credit than that!” Monokuma defended as he jumped it his chair and raised his arms to get attention. For the most part, it worked. “I only interfere with you guys when I need to. Or when it amuses me.”

“Regardless, that is where I spent my afternoon and part of my evening.” Senji said through grit teeth. Evidently trying to ignore Monokuma’s input. “I don’t recall running into any of you but I would like to think that one of you saw me or saw some sign of my activities. I am a fairly clean individual but did anyone see anything I left behind? Perhaps condensation along the floor or vent shafts? Or perhaps you heard something?”

Senji looked around at the group in a bid for confirmation. Though he appeared more upset or inconvenienced than desperate, I knew that the situation could quickly get worse. And I was willing to bet that he knew that as well. Unfortunately for him, everybody remained silent.

“Nobody heard anything then?” Senji remarked surprisingly calm for someone who couldn’t prove their innocence at the moment. “I guess that it is a shame then that nobody came with me. I even offered.”

“So you could murder them perhaps?” Shiro asked with an irritated and sarcastic hum. She sounded innocent enough but her question most definitely wasn’t.

“I assure you that I was never going to hurt anyone.” Senji defended fervently. “And I didn’t commit a murder just to save my own skin either.”

I bit my lip and looked around the room. Things weren’t looking too well for Senji given that all the small things, while explainable in their own right, started to add up to where his word alone wouldn’t be believed. He was going to have to prove himself innocent or someone else would need to soon or we were going to have seventy-five percent chance of guessing the wrong guy. An eerie prospect in of itself but it was worse when combined with the fact that I still had way too many unknowns. It made the who ordeal so much worse.

“Hmm,” Saeki crossed her mouth thoughtfully though she didn’t sound too happy about any of it. “I know Senji didn’t see anyone but did anyone see Senji? It’s still entirely possible that he’s telling the truth so it would not be fitting to proceed without asking.”

“Saeki, please just cut it out. Senji isn’t even able to defend himself and if anyone saw him, they would have spoken up by now. Besides that, I just can’t see how anyone could have swapped what he claimed to be salad with Seno’s head and not have Senji notice.” Sasori said as he brought his hands up to the sides of his head out of what appeared to be stress. “I hate to say it Senji, I really do, but you have to know by now you’re our number one suspect.”

I’m not sure what he was expecting from Senji in return. Perhaps anger or spite. But instead, Senji just gave a frustrated sigh. “I understand completely why you believe I did it, after all, I imagine you aren’t the only one so I won’t hold it against you. But you are making a mistake and I am not finished explaining why I could not have killed Seno. Nishi said earlier that the last time he saw Seno was in the dorm area. Because Machi and Saeki both claimed to be in the first aid station at the time, they would have seen Seno or I head directly to the kitchen.”

Everyone who had left to go to Eto’s meeting looked at me for confirmation. I nodded to prove it again of course because it was the truth. However, it didn’t improve my mood at all because there was the obvious and immediate rebuttal to Senji’s explanation.

“What is it not possible that Senji simply took the back hallway?” Sasori asked while rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. “I’m sorry to say but it’s completely possible.”

“But why would I do that?” Senji simply asked. “Neither Seno nor myself knew that Machi and Saeki were in the first aid station. If I were the culprit and I did that, I would have the impression that I was taking an unnecessary risk.”

“That doesn’t explain Seno’s actions.” Shiro chimed in. Albeit with a frown on her face. “We do not have the slightest idea where he was headed so he could have reasonably taken the back hallway if he wanted to go somewhere like the drab storage room and- well that is about it isn’t it?”

Senji looked around the room before he opened his mouth to protest, but he closed it soon after. It almost made me wince internally. Particularly since Senji added yet another piece of evidence to the reasons why I thought Senji was innocent but wasn’t sure of it yet. Likewise, we both knew what was at stake. So when his eyes met mine, I knew I had to do something. Yes, he could have still been the culprit, and he had a decent chance of being the one who killed Seno. But if I didn’t do something, this trial would devolve into a witch hunt. And I didn’t know I had any way of stopping from becoming a guess this time if that happened.

I just closed my eyes and drew a sighed.

*(If I had spoken up sooner, Senji wouldn’t be in this mess. But now this trial is quickly becoming like the last one. I don’t know for certain if Senji is innocent or not, but I don’t think we’ll be able to get the trial back on track if we’re wrong and I lose control right now. We need to look at the facts before we make an accusation and we haven’t had a chance to look at all of them. I can always recant my statement if I’m wrong. But for now, I have to trust Senji and lie.)*

“Wait.” I declared as I opened my eyes, propped myself up, and prepared myself to potentially trick my classmates again. “I think I remember something. It could be nothing, but I don’t think it is.”

Most of the class looked at me in silence. Though Senji raised his left eyebrow briefly before defaulting to his usually demeanor. Albeit one that appeared to be a little more frustrated than he typically was.

“Yeah, I lost something precious to me a while back before I met Sasori in the game room-” I continued. “I eventually told Senji what was wrong and he offered to help find it. And he did because he gave it to me right before the two of us went to the elevator. The point is, he was in the kitchen for most of the investigation and I didn’t tell him until I had already headed down stairs and saw Seno one last time. So he wouldn’t have had the time to kill Seno and find what I lost.”

“Really.” Sanda answered. He sounded as though he was willing to believe my story though he took a quick glance at Senji that told me he wasn’t quite convinced yet. “You should have told us earlier. What was it that you found?”

“Her watch. The silver one she’s wearing around her neck right now.” Senji lied and pointed to me. I pulled the silver stopwatch out of my shirt to show everyone. Of course, it knew it was a lie. It was a completely disposable fake silver watch that I could replace as the drop of a hat. But nobody else needed to know that. “It was given to her by her grandfather to calm her down at night and right now, it’s the only token of the outside world that she has left. She was afraid of the weather naturally and she didn’t want to go without it. I, I knew something would happen so I thought she deserved to keep it at least.”

“That does sound pretty valuable actually.” Sama replied apparently convinced. “Nishi, is Senji telling the truth?”

“Well I wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise.” I lied with a nod before turning to Senji. “I just wish you would take more breaks Senji. The weather is getting to your head and you seem like your starting to forget things. You need to relax before you work yourself to death.”

“But how would you have had enough time for all of that?” Sasori questioned me. Luckily, he didn’t sound as though he completely doubted me either. “When you left, it didn’t take too much longer before the lights turned back on.”

“I have no idea.” I said as I forced an authentic looking shrug. “I just happened to run into them when I, well, ran into them. I guess it was luck.”

After that, I looked around and waited for a response or for one of them to rebuke me like the group did before. But this time, after about ten seconds when nobody said anything, I realized that no one was going to contest me. I let out a sigh of relief at that and visibly relaxed. For now at least, we could go straight to the fact. And if Senji turned out to be guilty, I could just confess to lying.

“So if Senji is innocent, how could the culprit have access the kitchen?” Saeki asked defaulting back to her typical tone of voice. “I was with Machi in the first aid station well before the lights turned on and probably before Nishi saw Seno last, so they couldn’t have gone through the front hallway.”

“The back hallway and side exit were off limits as well.” Senji concluded after taking a deep sigh. “I was watching the area and I would have seen someone enter from either place. Even when I was searching for Nishi’s watch, I took periodic trips back to make sure nothing bad would happen to the food.”

“Perhaps the windows then?” Shiro suggested a little begrudgingly. “And Senji, I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“Not possible.” I said as Senji gave a quick smile to probably reassure her that he forgave her. “The windows are frozen over and we don’t have access to our coats. I do like how you’re thinking because I found an open window upstairs.”

“Really?” Shiro began to raise an eyebrow before she shook her head and dismissed it. “Wow, this place has real low quality upkeep.”

“Perhaps they got one of Machi’s drones to do drag him below Machi and Saeki’s lines of sight?” Sama suggested. “I don’t think Machi could have controlled the thing since she was hurt and being watched by two different people but could anyone else have gotten that remote she showed us earlier?”

“Nope.” Machi declared as she looked up at the rest of us once more. “They don’t have the strength to lift a person let alone hide a body. And before you ask if you can trust me, I really was with Saeki the whole time.”

“Either of us would have seen it.” Saeki agreed with a sigh of his own.

“So how could our killer have gotten the body into the kitchen?” Wakuni remarked bringing his own hand to his chin in thought. “Also, I know you don’t seem upset by it but I really regret our doubt of you Senji.”

“Well I told you people I forgive you. I’m just happy Nishi remembered what she did.” Senji replied again before giving me a nod. “Now let's just concentrate on the question.”

Indeed, it did seem like the million-dollar question. Or in this case the twelve lives questions. Because that would be the amount of people who died if we couldn’t think of a solution. Of course, it would likely mean that Senji was guilty after all and I could just recuse myself. But nevertheless, I wracked my brain to think of the layout of the kitchen and all the possible entry points. The windows, front, and back were all not impossible. The kitchen roof didn’t have those loose sections like the second floor either. The incinerator chute wouldn’t work either since Senji would have seen the Seno either walk or get dragged there.

For a second, I believed there really wasn’t an answer and Senji really was the culprit. But then, it came to me and my eyes lit up. The dumbwaiter wire was stolen, but that didn’t have to be the only use for it. The thing really was large enough to squeeze a person into if the shelves were removed and they were loose when I examined them. And so, I concluded that I had to be right and pulled out my ElectroID to show everyone my discovery.

“Guys. I can only think of one entry point that wouldn’t have any witnesses.” I said as I showed them a picture of the dumbwaiter shaft. “The culprit could have stored the body in the shaft, lowered them into the kitchen. And set everything up when we all split up all before Sama found Seno’s head.”

“Please don’t remind me of that.” Sama remarked with a frown.

“Uh, Nishi.” Koike spoke up tapping the podium with her right pointer finger as though she wasn’t too happy about what she was going to say next. “Sorry but I have to disagree. There is no way that could have happened. Sanda, Sama, and I were right next door. We all would have heard something. Besides that, the door to the hallway was locked so Seno and the culprit would both have had to go through the recreation room. We all would have seen them if they did.”

“I take it that none of you guys could have been the culprit either.” Yakawa started with a grumble. But he quickly retracted his attitude. “I mean, I’m really happy that none of you murdered him, but it does pose a problem.”

“It doesn’t pose a problem.” Sanda remarked with a shrug. “It just means we have the wrong entry point. The killer must have found another way to get Seno’s head into the kitchen.”

“But there isn’t any other way into the kitchen.” Saeki argued, calmly, but firmly. “If the culprit had taken any other route, they would have been spotted.”

“I certainly think it’s possible.” Tanabe chimed in in his usual demeanor. “There are a lot of places to crawl about. It wouldn’t be surprising if the culprit found at least one other way into the billiard room with Seno’s corpse.”

“Okay, no offense but that makes you sound really suspicious.” Eto replied as she winced at what must have been the implications of Tanabe knowing what he did. “And it would have been harder for two people to walk into billiard room unnoticed. I would have seen them for starters.”

“Unless you’re the culprit.” Machi argued with a sigh at the end when Eto looked back at him and frowned. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m not saying you did it. I’m just saying that there are ways around you and the art room despite your claims.”

“The art room appeared to have a view of the whole area.” Sasori calmly refuted although hints of his voice raising could be heard in his tone. “There was no way in or out of the east wing without her knowing.”

“What if-” Tanabe began only to be cut off by a familiar robotic teddy bear.

“Hold it!” Monokuma said while he waved his hands in the air to get us to stop. It worked because the noise in the room dropped to a silence as we looked over at him. Then, he continued. “I think that this is one of those moments! You all seem to be fairly evenly split right now.”

“Oh no, we’re doing it again.” Shiro commented as she started to catch on.

“Oh yes!” Monokuma gleefully continued choosing not to be influenced by her protest. “I am once again proud to present, the one, the only, Newpoint Lodge’s Morphemonial Trial Grounds! You know how it works! Pick a side on your ballet, watch things change, and get to arguing!”

It took a second for everything to click, but it did when I saw everyone look down at their podium ballets. Once again, I did the same. Like last time, there were two choices to make. This question seemed to ask how the body got into the kitchen. It didn’t even say Seno, just ‘the body’ and I clenched my hand involuntary for a second when I noticed. The right pointed arrow on the left said ‘some other way’ and the left pointed arrow on the right said ‘through the dumbwaiter’. The countdown timer made another appearance of course in the top right corner, but I ignored it again and pressed the option to argue that the culprit used the dumbwaiter.

What followed was more or less the same as last albeit with a different environment. The podiums clicked forward towards the center of the room to form a two-line formation of opposite sides facing each other. During the process, I tightly gripped the railing. And after that, a rectangular portion of the floor dropped into the rectangular antechamber. After our podiums clicked into place, I looked around the room. Like before, it followed the same design as the main trial room. But this time it has the occasional door on both sides as well as lamps like the ones in the main room to give it a more hallway centric feel. I knew they were purely aesthetic, but they were there.

I had just enough time to look around and see who had taken what side when the Monokuma landed between the two signs on the far end to my right. Aside from myself, Senji, Saeki, Machi, Tanabe, Yakawa, and the crossed out pictures of Yasui and Naya took my side. On the other side was Eto, Sama, Koike, Sanda, Sasori, Wakuni, Shiro, and the crossed out picture of Seno.

*(Here we go again.)*

“I’m surprised you’re all taking the other side.” Sanda began with a frown immediately starting the debate. “It’s just simply not possible. There’s no way the killer could have gotten into that room.”

“But we don’t know that for sure.” Tanabe replied with a hint of warning in his tone. “You remember what I said not a minute ago right?”

Wakuni butted in after that. “I can only think of four entrances to the billiard room. The window, the shaft, and the two doors. The killer would have frozen to death if they’d used the window and the other routes have witnesses.”

“But the kitchen has the same problem.” Machi refuted earning her a glare from Wakuni that made her flinch and scowl back. “It’s the truth whether you like it or not. I know you’re smart enough to know that at least.”

Koike replied a little faster than she normally spoke after that. “Well the culprit couldn’t have used either of the doors. The one to the recreation room went straight through us and the one to the hallway was locked.”

“I assume the culprit had a solution for that.” I said almost instinctively as I recalled the layout of the room. “I’m not sure how yet, but I know the culprit had to remove the dumbwaiter wire at some point.”

“I’m pretty sure we would have heard something if Seno was being murdered, or at least moved, through the room right next to us.” Sama rebuked as she crossed her arms. “But we heard nothing from there.”

“Well from what i’ve heard, you were distracted by your meeting and the snowstorm. Not to mention whatever condition you three were in” Yakawa answered as his frown faded to a quick nod to Sanda. “It wouldn’t be surprised at all if you didn’t notice anything.”

“Never mind how the culprit got into the billiard room. I remember there being a lock on the hallway door during our search of the second floor.” Eto argued as he pointed towards Senji with his left pointer finger. “I don’t see how our culprit could have left the room when the door was locked.”

“There are several solutions to that problem.” Senji surmised as he brushed the whole notion aside with the flick of his left hand. “Our killer either didn’t take the door out or left a self-disposing mechanism in place to lock it.”

“Strictly speaking, I don’t see how Eto or Shiro would have missed the killer.” Sasori said with the shake of his head. “Even if he or she snuck by, they would have clear view of the billiard room through the outdoor windows.”

“Except they were obstructed by the snowstorm. Remember?” Saeki replied before taking a quick sigh. “I saw the front window and it was covered in ice. Not to mention that it looked too cold outside for even my tastes.”

Shiro stepped up to contend with us after that. “Darlings, you all have an entertaining theory but there’s simply no reason to believe it’s true.”

I pulled out my ElectroID and pulled out as many pictures of the billiard room as I could. “Yes there is. I found several signs of disturbance and I’m more than willing to through all of them with you people. I’m not happy about it, but I’m willing.”

“Guys, it just isn’t possible. Nobody from the second floor could have killed Seno.” Koike argued as sweat started to become visible on her forehead.

It took me a second to connect the dots as I put my ElectroID away, but I quickly came to the realization that she and her associates would become prime suspects if she lost this argument. As a result, I bit my lip and looked away as I thought of something to say.

Yakawa beat me to the punch. This time he frowned again and crossed his arms. “Koike, most of the people on the second floor could have moved Seno using the dumbwaiter and you know it. I know you’re likely trying to convince yourself otherwise but stop. You want to find the killer too right? We will, but only if we all cooperate.”

As soon as Yakawa finished, the neon sign on my side lit up. And looking across at the others, I noted that most of them showed signs of a reluctant acceptance. Once again, It appeared as though the little scrum debate actually solved the argument in my favor. And I couldn’t help but pass a weary smile to some of the people who helped as the floor slowly rose up to the top and our podiums returned to their initial positions.

As soon as they did, I looked around at the others once more. But my smile dropped when I realized that at least half of them were showing some signs of confusion to the outcome. I supposed this was an inevitability though. While some of us had begun to bring up possibilities on how the culprit did it, nobody had a concrete explanation.

“So, if i’m being honest here, i’m not sure how the situation is any better than before.” Sama concluded as she adjusted her glasses with both of her hands. “The billiard room suffers from the same problem that the kitchen does.”

“It still means the culprit doesn’t have to be someone who was on the first floor.” Tanabe said as he traced the podium with his right pointer finger. “And that is an important discovery. We would rather err on the side of caution here.”

“Perhaps we should examine whatever Nishi has to offer. I do remember she said something about being willing to share some of the photos she took.” Senji replied as he looked over at me. “You will still show us right?”

*(Why wouldn’t I?)* I deadpanned in my thoughts.

“I told you I would so of course.” I agreed nonchalantly as I pulled the ElectroID out once more and pulled up the screen. I flipped through everything I had taken pictures of until I got to the first one I had taken in the billiard room. Namely, the one of the window. ”So, this one was just a picture of the storm outside. I don’t currently see anything notable in it but you can tell from the snow inside the room on the lower edge of the picture that the window had been opened for some time just like Senji said. In fact, I had to close it.”

I swiped the screen once again. This time, I showed the group the picture of the billiard room table ever so slightly off. “The second thing I would like to show you is the skid marks on the bottom of the table. It was moved by some force. I don’t know what yet, but it is a definite sign of activity.”

“It could be any activity though.” Shiro protested.

“That may be true, but it wasn’t like that when I checked the room earlier this afternoon.” Sanda remarked earning himself a brief glare from Shiro which he intentionally ignored as he continued to speak in a serious tone. “Continue Nishi, this could be important.”

“Alright so, this is from above one of the roof panels.” I explained as I swiped to the next picture I had taken. “One of the roof panels was removed and if you note here, you can find a few scrape marks on the top as well as a weight on one of the balance beams. I Believe it may be involved in the murder actually.”

“That is certainly understandable.” Senji said politely enough though he couldn’t help but add something else. “I wish we had evidence to link them to the case but I’m not sure we do. Still, I also believe that it is connected to Seno’s death.”

At that, I flicked my scroll to the final picture, the one of the empty shaft, before showing it to my classmates and putting it away. “Well, this isn’t proof, but this is a picture of the dumbwaiter shaft that confirms the absence of the cable wire you mentioned earlier. Also,-”

My eyes dilated for a second as it dawned on me. And quite frankly, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t made the connection before. Senji, Koike, Machi, and Saeki both seemed to pick up on this because they all gave me some expectant look.

“I assume you just realized something.” Koike inserted into the conversation.

“Yep-” I said with a nod. “The scrape marks I showed you earlier loosely match a portion of a cable wire’s outline. Several of them in fact. Which means they were all stored in the ceiling so it must have been related to the murder somehow. Oh, and before I forget. I want to say that I didn’t find a spec of blood in there which further reinforces Yakawa’s statement about this murder being a strangulation if Seno was killed in the billiard room.”

“As dreadful as it sounds, I think it’s safe to say that that's the case.” Shiro answered before looking at Yakawa. “I assume the culprit would have a hard time stuffing Seno into the dumbwaiter if he were still alive?”

With a nod from Yakawa, that was settled. The culprit strangled Seno upstairs with the cable wire upstairs and stuffed him in the dumbwaiter to take him downstairs. The killer likely hid the body in the dumbwaiter as well until we had all split up for the search. Of course, I quickly connected the dots and realized that this excluded Senji from the list of suspects since he couldn’t have gone to the second floor to strangle Seno with said cable wire. And once I did, my pulse slowed to normal. It was odd really because I didn’t know the possibility of him being the culprit was nagging me. But in spite of believing he was innocent, it had.

“So that explains why he couldn’t have just screamed for help.” Machi explained as she drew a frown. “Was he knocked out before it happened? I noticed a blow to the back of his head.”

“No, the bruising in the back of his head doesn’t indicate a blow powerful enough to knock him out.” Yakawa commented. “There would have been a struggle. So I hate to say it but the people next door should have heard the noise. Or at least have felt the cold draft from the open window.”

“Hey, there are a lot of explanations for the cold draft.” Sama said as she crossed her arms defensively. “Sanda told Koike and I that the room was well insulated. That’s why we picked the thing. Also, it gets kind of hard to feel temperature changes when your freezing.”

Sanda nodded in what looked like earnestness. “Us not hearing any possible noise can be explained as well. You see, if the murder happened when we split up- wait-”

Sanda, Koike, and Sama all winced in some form or fashion as the vague memory of what Koike told me came back to me. If I remembered correctly, Koike claimed that they took a short break just before the murder. Of course, taking the delay in the lights into account, it meant that any one of them could have murdered Seno and reconvened with the others to look innocent. I took a glance around and everyone more or less gave a sign that they knew that fact as well.

“Alright, I guess I have to explain what happened don’t I?” Sanda said rhetorically with a sigh. “Some of us thought it was getting too cold in the recreation room so Sama and Koike both stepped out for a break. Koike first, and then Sama second. I assume we were all alone for a good five minutes before we met up with each other again.”

“Don’t look at me, I nearly went to the art room.” Sama defended with a slightly elevated voice. At the same time, I started to notice a bead of sweat forming on her brow as she likely connected the dots that they were all prime suspects.

“Well I hope you all realize that five minutes is more than enough time to commit a murder. Especially since the culprit didn’t take the time to clean up the crime scene as the pictures show.” Sasori calmly but sternly interjected. “I’m afraid that makes you three the prime suspects.”

“We aren’t seriously going to do this again are we?” Koike begged before taking a quick glance away from the group. “I can’t believe you think I might have killed Seno.”

“Like I said earlier, I couldn’t have killed Seno.” Sama rebuked. This time with desperation more evident in her tone. “I headed to the art room. If Seno was killed in the billiard room, then there’s no way I could have done it.”

“Well I didn’t do it either.” Sanda vehemently defended against the people in the group who looked over at him. “Really, i’m telling the truth!”

As soon as Sanda finished speaking, a memory of the last class trial came to mind and I looked at them wearily. If I remembered, the last time people got desperate like this, they wound up scrambling to prove their innocence but it was up to somebody else to convince anyone that they didn’t do anything. And based on everyone’s reactions, it looked like history was going to repeat. I sighed.

“Guys, why don’t we take turns to-” I began in a futile effort to stop them from panicking before they could start. But as I expected, I got interrupted.

Koike: “I didn’t kill Seno!”

Sama: “I couldn’t have killed Seno!”

Sanda: “I’m not the culprit.”

Koike: “I- I know it looks bad but I didn’t hurt Seno. I don’t know how to prove it but I really am telling the truth just like last time.”

Sama: “There is absolutely no way that I could have killed Seno. Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, I couldn’t have.”

Sanda: “Be honest here. Would I really have told you everything I knew if I was the one who murdered Seno?”

Senji: “Calm down Koike. Just take a deep breath tell us what happened like last time while we work to sort out the details.”

Sama: “Of the people who went to Sanda’s event, I’m the only person who walked away from the billiard room.”

Sanda: “If you have to suspect somebody, look at the other two. Koike and Sama both went outside. They both could have gone to the billiard room.”

Koike: “I- uh- well I know this won't sound good but I swear i’m innocent.”

Sama: “Oh, I know. Koike stayed behind in the hallways near the greenhouse when we all took our break from the event right?”

Tanabe: “Is it really wise go around pointing fingers Sanda? I believe i’ve visited that room and I know there’s a door that connects it to the billiard room.”

Koike: “I admit I headed to the billiard room. But I couldn’t get inside because the door was locked. I was stuck out in the hallway so I couldn’t have killed Seno.”

Sama: “So if I committed the murder, she would have seen me. Which means I couldn’t have killed Seno. You can believe that at least right?”

Sanda: “I admit that that’s true, but I still couldn’t have done it. I stayed in the recreation room so I wouldn’t have had the chance to even pull a trick like that.”

As soon as the three of them finished their last statement, something clicked. Particularly with what Sanda said about not having a chance to pull off the murder. I didn’t know how, but the thought practically sprung to the front of my mind that he was right. Though it might not necessarily have been in the way that he thought it was.

“Wait, I think I’ve figured this out!” I said as fast as I could and held out my right hand to signal everyone to stop. I wasn’t sure what response I wasn’t expecting them all to just stop and look at me. So when they did, I couldn’t help but feel my pulse pick up slightly. “Each of them could have committed part of the murder-”

“Hey-” Sama interrupted in a warning tone and she crossed her arms.

“I wasn’t finished.” I continued. Though the interruption irritated me, it was far too important to continue. “I was saying, any one of them could have pulled off part of this murder, but none of them could have pulled off the entire murder. See, the body would have needed to be stored in the dumbwaiter until we all split up to search for Seno. That means the culprit would have had to waited until then to prepare the crime scene. But Sanda spent the first half of the search with Sama, Koike spent the first half of the search with Senji, and they both spent the second half of the search with Eto and each other. So neither of them could have prepared the crime scene.”

“That is true.” Eto concluded with a nod and even a quick smile at Koike and Sanda. The smile dropped however as soon as she glanced over at Sama. “Wasn’t Sama the one who discovered Seno’s head though? I don’t think your story covers for her.”

“It doesn’t.” I agreed. “But unlike Koike and Sanda, she had no way of accessing the billiard room so she couldn’t have pulled off the first part of the plan. Either Koike or Sanda would have seen her if she did.”

“Well that makes enough sense to me.” Wakuni concurred. “I think we can all agree that all three of them are innocent then.”

I looked around the room to see if everyone agreed. And most of the group seemed to be nodding. For a brief moment, my eyes drifted past the three suspects and seeing all three of them look to me in what must have been gratitude put a smile to face. But almost everyone wasn’t everyone. And after a few seconds, I heard a voice speak up that brought me right back to reality.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, I hate to ruin your mood but is it possible that there was an accomplice?” Shiro replied delicately and with what sounded like reluctance. “I know it means two people would have engaged in such a brutal act, but I know that at least one person to descent to such barbarity so perhaps someone else might have as well.”

We all showed some sign of shock at that and I myself clenched the podium a little harder and looked around at everyone. Most of what we had proven thus far depended on the assumption that the killer didn’t have any help. But if we threw that out the window, I couldn't even be assured of things we first established like Machi or Senji’s innocence. And the thought of going back to square one put a sick feeling in my stomach.

“That is true.” Yakawa said as he recovered after about ten seconds. After that, he looked over at Monokuma. “Is it possible for murders to have an accomplice here? And if they do, how does that affect our votes?”

Monokuma just stared Yakawa down as gleefully as always as though he were boring into his soul for about five seconds before he replied. “Well of course you can accomplices! Feel free to aid in as many murders as you want! But it doesn’t change how the voting system works. If any of you help someone else commit a murder, you’re still just as spotless as anyone else. Nope, nobody here is going to mooch off of their classmate’s hard work. Accomplices get no credit unless they get their hands dirty and actually kill someone.”

At that, Monokuma’s voice died back down as he resumed his normal posture and left us to do our thing. Apart from a few glances at the bear, most of the class took a few silent glances at each other. Apparently accomplices get no credit for any murders committed but the possibility of one was still jarring enough to silence us for a little while.

That was, until Senji took a deep breath and spoke up. “Everyone, there is something I have to say. We now know that accomplices don’t graduate with blackened, so I wanted to offer the opportunity for anyone who helped out to come forward and confess. If the blacked gets away with it, you’ll die as well so it’s within your interests to come clean. And if it helps, I understand that the motive didn’t provide much of a choice but for someone to die. So if you helped, come clean now. I can promise that I’ll forgive you if you do but we will have to assume the culprit received no help at all if you don’t.”

After that was more silence. It could have been for any reason really, but to be honest, I doubted that anyone other than the blackened still had any reason to hide the truth and nobody showed any signs of hiding anything, so I was pretty that nobody was going to speak up. Of course the thought occurred to me that the culprit might to undermine a previous suspect like Senji And to be honest, my heart skipped a beat when I realized I had no way to counter that. But I took a deep breath and forced myself to ignore the thought as it became clear that nobody would speak up. And by extension, nobody seemed to be the culprit.

“Well, it sounds like there are no accomplices.” Wakuni said to break the silence. When he did, I let out a sigh of relief as he continued. “In that case, I think we should continue where we left off. How could the culprit have gotten Seno and themselves to the billiard room?”

“Is it possible that someone might have climbed through the window?” Sasori suggested almost as though he didn’t even believe the suggestion himself. “I mean, I know Saeki said it was impossible earlier but could it be? Could the culprit have rigged a way to climb up using wire or something?”

As soon as he asked that, the image of all of the cold stuff in the storage room flashed through my mind. But I still didn’t say anything. Sure, it meant that the excess wires could have been taken outside but I highly doubted that that was the reason. And it only took me a moment to realize why.

“I don't think that’s possible Sasori.” I replied. “First, the wire marks I found above the panel are facing the opposite direction of the window and they would have torn through if weight was applied to them. And second, the culprit still would never have been able to climb the wire anyways. It was way too cold outside.”

“Yakawa did notice that Seno had wire wrapped around his left wrist though. He was likely bound by it.” Saeki surmised before she almost gagged at the memory. Yet she refrained from what could only be described as sheer force of will. “It was not a pleasant sight but the point is, I believe you’re on the right track with the wire.”

“Hmm.” Senji brought his right hand up to his chin in thought. “Perhaps they used the wire for a different purpose then. Perhaps some sort of Rube Goldberg deathtrap. All access points to the billiard room were unavailable but the culprit could have set the door to the hallway up to lock itself and orchestrated a trap in advance. It would solve all of the problems we can’t figure out right now.”

“I don’t think that could have happened.” I replied with some skepticism in my voice. “I’m pretty sure I would have found a timer, trigger, or something that could have put the trap in motion. I couldn't even find any marks from something getting dragged out the window. It was clean just like the rest of the room.”

“Indeed, I have to agree with Nishi here.” Shiro chimed in with a nod of her own. “There is no way the culprit could have used a deathtrap. Everyone next door would notice just like they would have noticed a killer show up in person. The plan wouldn’t even be flexible if anything were to go wrong.”

“I believe I can answer both of those questions.” Senji replied calmly enough. “Nishi, the trap could have been triggered remotely. And Shiro, if it were triggered remotely, not only would it be more likely to trigger correctly, but it would also not necessarily have to be more conspicuous. Besides that, the culprit wouldn’t have had to actually have set foot in the billiard room.”

“But that’s just a theory right?” Tanabe calmly and quietly interjected. “I remember Nishi having a picture of a crawl space above the room in question.”

“Yeah, about that-” I replied tapping my right hand on the podium in thought. I didn’t think of it before, but when he brought that up, I realized that that would have been impossible. “I actually don’t think that’s possible. The boards and tiles were all covered in dust. If the killer entered from there, some of the dust other than the dust I noticed would have been disturbed.”

“Which means the death trap theory is the only one that stands.” Sama said before sighing and shaking her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know how it could have worked. All I know is that It had to strangle Seno with a wire.”

“Obviously, it had to shove Seno into the dumbwaiter itself.” Machi cut in unhelpfully. “There wouldn't be a point in having the machine do half the job for you if you had to do the other half yourself. It would just leave more evidence behind.”

“I also believe that the trap might have something to do with the window of which Nishi took a picture.” Senji remarked without breaking his thoughtful stance. “It is the only reason that the window could conceivably have been open.”

“Oh, and it would have had to have been connected to the panels on the roof as well.” Koike chimed in almost frowning for a second before she dropped it. “Right?”

“You would be right Koike.” Senji assured her with a quick endearing smile. “Now let's try to think of how the culprit managed to set the trap up.”

I looked around at the group, and it appeared to me that that was what everyone was doing. Or at least, that was what I was doing. I took a deep breath and tried to piece together what I knew. I knew first and foremost that I was wrong about a death trap being impossible. But I also knew that the trap had to connect through both the panel and the dumbwaiter, it had to strangle Seno, it had to be triggered from outside the room, and part of it was outside given that some of the wire was cold. It was then that something clicked in my head and my eyes lit up.

*(The contraption ambushed Seno from above, pulled Seno him into the dumbwaiter, and lowered him.)*

“Guys, I think I know what the death trap did.” I announced. When I did, most of the group looked at me. When I noticed Senji and Saeki show signs of shock, I winced. Nonetheless, I continued. “Those scrape marks in the top roof panel were parts of the wiring. They were held in place marginally by a weight, but the wiring could have formed loops that would have dropped onto Seno once the trap from triggered. Now, I noticed some holes in the dumbwaiter trolley so I assume the wire ran through them. When it went taught, it would have pulled Seno back to knock him into the billiard table, to fly into the dumbwaiter, and to be strangled to death.”

Koike just blinked twice before she replied. “Uh, that sounds pretty complicated. But, if you say it’s possible I believe you. I mean, you’ve been right about everything before.”

“I believe it is possible actually.” Machi agreed with a quick nod. “I’m not sure how feasible it would be though. The culprit would have had to set everything up precisely and he or she would have needed to have a direct line of sight to Seno as well as a way to trigger the trap remotely.”

“Way ahead of you Machi.” I replied. “Tanabe and I found ice cold wire in the storage room in case I haven’t told you guys already. All the killer would have needed was a view through the billiard room window.”

“We know it was too cold outside, so the killer had to be inside.” Eto remarked sincerely enough even though sweat started to trickle down her brow. “It sounds like the only question is, who could have watched Seno while he was in the billiard room?”

I took a quick glance at Eto and tried to put together everything I knew about the room and the events. And really, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made for her to be worried. Sanda was just outside the room and Koike and Sama were in the hallways when Seno was pulled into the shaft yet none of them heard what had happened. The point was, the culprit couldn’t have snuck through the group. Furthermore, the killer would have had to stay inside due to the weather but part of the wire ran outside judging by its temperature. And finally, Eto had been to the billiard room before.

Really, If I didn’t know she was innocent, she would have had every right to be worried. She was just lucky that the windows in her area were snowed over disqualifying her from being a suspect. Nonetheless, my eyes went wide and I bit my lip when the only alternative came to mind. My mind raced with the events of afterwards as I searched for possible alibis, but there were none. The suspect could have looped around after heading off during the search, After that, they would have plenty of time to plant the note implicating Machi, Hack Seno’s head off, use the cleaner which was probably stolen beforehand, dump the body, set everything else up, and leave to pretend to search. So naturally, I spoke up.

“Guys, I remember there was one window besides the billiard room one that wasn’t frosted over.” I said with a heavy heart as I pulled out my ElectroID to show the window picture I had taken to the class once more. “It's the window to the ladies bathroom. The same ladies bathroom that Eto and Shiro both claimed Shiro was in during the murder. Shiro Michihiro, you are the only person who could have sprung the trap that killed Seno Sotatsu.”

At first, Shiro’s jaw dropped before she quickly closed it. But even after that, she just stood there in stunned silence. Even as the group glanced over at her one by one. But over time, her shock seemed to turn to outrage as she clenched her teeth.

“So,” Saeki added a little slower than usual. “Do you intend to dispute her claim?-”

“Yes a intend to dispute Nishi’s claim.” Shiro said as she took a deep breath and gave another smile to the crowd. She spoke pleasantly enough but it held thinly veiled rage that this one sent a chill down my spine. “Nishi, you have a lot of nerve trying to drag my name through the mud like that.”

“I have proof.” I defended as I pointed to the ElectroID which I still held out before myself. “As you can see, the only window not frosted over was the window to the women’s restroom. We also know that it was way too cold to be outside without a coat. And finally, you claimed to be in the women’s restroom at the time of the murder. Or at least, multiple people did and you never disputed it.”

“She definitely claimed to be the women’s restroom when we compared alibis at the meeting.” Koike agreed as I put my ElectroID away. Through she frowned and looked away as soon as she finished speaking. “I’m sorry Shiro. I’m not saying you did it but everyone needed to know the truth. Yakawa was right. We need to tell the truth to catch the culprit.”

“Except some people aren’t competent enough to thoroughly understand the facts.” Shiro warned through her smile. “They keep seeming to misinterpret them. Honestly, I dare to say that i’m disappointed. I didn’t take either of you for morons, and I don’t believe you are. But you are making a pretty stupid mistake.”

“They both seem to be more on point than you right now.” Sama immediately responded. “They’ve both been right about all the main suspects in both class trials up until this point. The point is, I don’t think they’re making a mistake. Nishi’s picture looked fairly conclusive.”

“Oh, no. They are definitely making a mistake. I am simply stating that I am innocent and saying that it would take some kind of imbecile not to realize that.” Shiro argued back with a slightly elevated volume in her voice. “Though they can’t even figure out that I couldn't have done it which makes me question if the weather has gone to their heads. But no matter. There’s no way i’m strong enough to have strangled Seno. Especially not when you take the temperature and rules of mechanical leverage into account. I’m innocent. Simple as that.”

“Right,” I calmly replied with a quick sigh of my own. I had dealt with a lot worse than having my intelligence questioned in the past so it wasn’t hard at all for me to keep calm. “Wire wasn’t the only thing I found in the storage room. I found PVC pipe and weights that were also ice cold. The former of which could be used to make something to hook the the wire around and the latter could have been tied to the the end of the rope and dropped to create the force you needed. So what’s your next objection?”

“Uhm-” Yakawa cut in as soon as I finished asking. When I looked at him, he cleared his throat and responded. “I actually have a question if that’s okay with you. How could she have made sure the trap hit Seno? It sounds like she would have to lure him to just the right spot, drop a loop of rope around his neck, and hope for the best. There’s also his talent to consider of course but the problem would still be there for any victim.”

“It’s fine Yakawa.” I reluctantly agreed. Being contradicted was never fun, but I had to keep myself in check after all. “Give me a second to decide if I’m wrong or not.”

(How did she lure Seno to the right spot and actually hit him?)

The layout of the billiard as well as the open panel and scrape marks, immediately came to mind. Although the answers weren’t immediate there, I closed my eyes and focused on everything I had remembered from the multiple scrape marks to the open window. Luckily, I had a clear enough memory of the event and it wasn’t long before it hit me. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes just as Shiro started to protest.

“See?” Shiro exhaled sounding almost as calm as before she was accused albeit with an aggravated breathing pattern. “It is simply impossible for me to have murdered Seno Sotatsu from the bathroom. As if I would have done it in the first place. But now I have proof otherwise.”

“Actually-” I cut in and took a quick glance at Shiro in time to see her expression change straight to a frown. “The window doubled as a distraction for Seno. He was probably too cold to think clearly so he went to shut it. After all, the open panel was right above the window. And as for hitting him, I noticed two dozen scrape marks in the roof section. I imagine a lot of them missed thanks to his luck and the sheer difficulty of aiming them but you only needed one to land around his neck so you used brute force.”

“Hmm.” Senji began and nodded with another frown. “Not to mention the fact that I didn’t see you leave with anyone during the search for Seno. You could easily have stored the body in the dumbwaiter and circled back to set up the crime scene while we were out. Then you could have joined in searching and pretend that you couldn’t have found him.”

“I, I can’t believe this.” Shiro objected before she cleared her throat and leaned against the podium in what looked like a failed attempt to regain her composure. “You two just want to believe it was me don’t you? Why? There are several reasons why I couldn’t possibly have killed Seno.”

“Then just tell us. You have every opportunity to defend yourself.” I replied after I shook my head to her accusations. After that, I addressed the group. Not that I was in charge but a reminder didn’t hurt anyone. “That goes to all of you as well. If you can think of a reason why Shiro is innocent, then the sooner you speak up the better.”

“Nishi is right, if you can prove that I didn’t do it, you really should speak up. Come on darlings.” Shiro almost demanded through her soothed voice. But all she got were either blank stares or people showing some sign of pity and she shook her head. “I suppose it’s up to me to prove my innocence then. Shame none of you can be any help but it doesn’t matter. You see, I would not have killed because I simply don’t do blood.”

“You need a stronger defense than that.” Machi chimed in almost incredulously. In spite of all of our differences, I couldn’t help but feel as though she took the words right out of my mouth.

“The- point is-” Shiro continued through gritted teeth trying to ignore Machi. “That it was absolutely disgusting and abhorrent. I almost regurgitated looking at the wretched head and you sincerely believe I caused it?”

“Adrenaline, fear of freezing to death, a needed to get out of here. Any of those could force you to put aside your condition Shiro.” I said as I waved her response away with my right hand. “I know enough psychology to know that much at least.”

“You may most definitely not say so.” Shiro growled as a few beads of sweat trickled down her face. “You’re acting like an idiot and if you keep this up, I swear I am going to make your life a living hell. Well-” She took a deep breath in an effort to recompose herself after raising her voice. “You're forgetting that Eto also had access to windows next doors. Windows she could conceivably peer through from the art room. I say that she did it.”

“Not possible.” I replied just as Eto opened her mouth. “All the other windows were frozen over. The one connected to the women’s restroom was literally the only window that you could properly see through. I even showed the class the picture to prove it. She couldn't have observed Seno through the back of the room either because Sama or Koike would have noticed.”

At that, Shiro more or less all but dropped her facade. The smile was there but the undertone wasn’t. “Nishi, I swear I am going to gut you like the idiot that you are. I can’t believe you don't realize it. I can’t believe that nobody else realizes it either but you’re the one that led them like sheep Nishi. You know what? Eto would have seen Seno if he had headed for the Billiard room. She’s been withholding information from us because she did it. You absolute brain-dead whore.”

I took another deep breath and looked around the classroom. She really wasn’t convincing anyone with that last comment. In fact, she was pretty much on a fast track to get herself voted as the culprit by me between her lack of cooperation and the evidence against her. But while I was almost certain of her guilt thanks to the evidence, I wanted to make sure this was a fair for the sake of future trials and in case I was wrong. So I focused on the question at hand.

*(How did Seno get past Eto without being noticed?)*

Luckily the answer came to me without much effort as well as the answer to the obvious follow up question. “Because you distracted her. You probably made an extra effort to catch her attention and all you would have had to do would be to time your heading to the bathroom with Seno’s passing Eto. From there, he would have a straight shot at the billiard room sense Koike and Sama were likely in recreation room next door. It's just a shame he didn't visit them first. That way, he would have lived.”

“I would also like to add that you’re wrong about Nishi.” Yakawa commented as he crossed his arms and glared at Shiro. “Really, you aren’t helping your case at all by throwing insults around and hoping for the best.”

“Thanks Yakawa but I really can defend myself.” I said as I took a glance over at him. Had it not been for the current circumstances, I probably would have smiled at his willingness to defend me. But it didn’t change the fact that we were still in the middle of a class trial so I just looked back at Shiro and pressed on.

“This is all your fault bird-brain.” Shiro seethed as her attention turned towards the unfortunate Ornithologist who flinched in turn.

“Me?! How is this my fault!?” Eto yelled back defensively as she began to visibly sweat under Shiro’s cold stare. As soon as Eto, responded, I knew I had to intervene.

“Eto, don’t take what she says personally. I think she’s just lashing out-” I explained calmly enough to Eto before looking over at Shiro, or more accurately, glaring at Shiro and continuing in a more warning tone. “But of course she really isn’t helping her case just like Yakawa said. And if you ask me, she had better have something useful to say unless she plans to keep her mouth shut.”

Shiro more or less finally lost it and yelled back at me as soon as finished my remark. “Of course I have more things to say! Lot of things! You think you’re all so clever trying to pin the blame on me but we all know the real culprit here was Eto! But there is one thing that none of you have accounted for! The dumbwaiter! How could I have moved the dumbwaiter if I wasn’t even in the room with the controls?! The answer is obviously that I couldn’t have!”

I noticed Senji open his mouth along with Sama, Both likely had something else to say on the matter. But both were interrupted as Shiro began to rapidly rattle off the excuse in what sounded like blinding rage. “I could not have moved the body so I’m not the culprit!”

“This is all a big setup! Seno was a screw up! I wasn’t the only one who would have wanted him dead!” Shiro screamed. It honestly stunned me to second because while it didn’t help her case, I doubted she was completely wrong. “You should be going after Eto!”

“A bet this is all a witch hunt! That’s it! You’ve all grown tired of me and now you want me dead!” Shiro continued as she slammed both hands against the podium as actually winced for a brief second afterwards.

That wasn’t to say that she stopped. She pulled both hands up and the left one was bleeding from a cut, but she still continued to yell. “I thought we were all better than this, but you’re both following that bitch, Nishi!”

“There is absolutely no way that I could have murdered Seno! But since you idiots can’t get it through your heads, it looks like I have to spell it out for you!” Shiro exclaimed. “I. Could. Not. Have. Moved. The. Dumbwaiter!”

I had been thinking back to the dumbwaiter ever since she brought it up so it didn’t take long for me to figure out an answer to her question. I simply crossed my arms, looked her in the eyes, and coldly answered.

“You used the wire.” I replied with another deep breath. As soon as I did, I felt a brief surge of guilt for not caring about Shiro nearly as much as I did about Yasui. It was true that she was insulting me, but that didn’t change the fact that she was literally coerced into murdering Seno if she was the culprit, and she probably was.

“The wire?” Shiro asked. It was apparently enough to make her freeze up and try to think of something to say. “The wire. The wire. The- wire. The wire? Wire? The wire? W- what about the wire you imbecile?”

“You obviously rigged a wire to raise and lower the dumbwaiter as well. I know because Senji and I both noticed that the dumbwaiter is no longer connected to the controls.” I simply replied and looked over to Senji for confirmation.

“It’s all true.” Senji agreed with a quick nod. “If Shiro is the culprit, and she used PVC pipe to rig a way to pull Seno into the shaft, I see no reason why she couldn’t have rigged a separate wire for the task. She might also have hidden it in plain sight.”

“Like by binding Seno’s corpse to make it appear as though she tied him up.” Saeki agreed before giving Shiro what must have been a disapproving glance. “Do you have anything else to say for yourself Shiro?”

Shiro opened her mouth but closed it very quickly and sighed. Following her, a brief silence took the room where we all looked at her and waited for her to speak. I didn’t know if she would yell or not but I looked away as the gravity of her plight dawned on me. It was her or us if she did it, and I was willing to bet she was, but it still didn’t sit right with me even with all of her ridiculous insults. Most of which included me. Because at the end of the day, they were nothing more than a slight annoyance.

It didn’t help that Shiro’s anger appeared to subside to what looked like raw desperation as she looked around at the others for support. Yet, she managed to alienate at least a large percent of the people in the room. And nobody had any reasons why she was innocent before all of her antics so it wasn’t like they could do anything but stare back.

That was when it came full circle and she glared back at the group and spoke in an almost chillingly slow angered voice. “There actually is something I have to say. Darlings.” She took a meaningful pause before she continued. “I know it looks like I did it, but I insist that I didn’t murder the fool. So if you want to pin this on me, you’re going to have to prove it. You had better tell me every last detail. Every. Last. Detail.”

“You know we don’t have to.” Machi coldly replied as she bit her lip. “I’m willing to bet that you did it. And I’m also willing to bet that there isn’t a single person in this room who wouldn’t vote for you right now. All the evidence points to you, you know.”

“I actually-” I began before I sighed and stopped. This would probably cause me way more grief later down the line and Shiro wasn’t being cooperative, but it was too important to continue. “I actually agree with Shiro this time. It’s really important. If we can’t even say how the culprit did it, then there is still too much room for doubt. I want these class trials to be fair at the very least.”

“I suppose that’s wise enough.” Sasori agreed with a quick thumbs up. “How about we leave it to you then?”

I looked around at the rest of the group to see if anyone else wanted to do it. But, the room only had silence as they all stared back at me expectantly. Even the portraits seemed to be eying me in spite of their being inanimate. And I visibly winced and resigned myself to my fate.

*(I guess now everyone is going to think of me a threat.)*

“Okay-” I replied before I sighed and thought back to everything I knew about the case. “It must have started earlier, the morning after Monokuma struck with the motive. The culprit might have known the day before, but our killer definitely knew what would happen to them the next morning if nothing happened. It was frigid cold and when the culprit made their way into the cafeteria, that fact became all too clear. So during breakfast, when Monokuma showed up and stated that the only way the group could live was if someone turned up dead, they truly had no choice but to commit a murder.”

Technically they did, but the alternative was to die and it wasn’t relevant so I continued. “Our killer probably met Seno Sotatsu that afternoon. The victim wanted more than anything to make up for his mistakes and to make things right with Koike before something bad happened. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Not to mention the fact that it made our victim vulnerable to manipulation from the killer. Naturally, the culprit leaped at the chance and arranged a meeting place and time for later that day where they could murder Seno and create an alibi for themselves.”

I continued with another sigh. “Because the murder wasn’t until later and everyone was spread out, the blackened had plenty of time to set up the crime scene. The culprit grabbed cleaning supplies, PVC pipe, wires and weights to fulfill the task. After that, they set up a counterbalance in the women’s restroom. Likely attaching a rampart outside made of PVC where nobody would see it even if they did enter the room. From there, they stretched two wires across the gap. Probably through the use of a crossbow or something. And finally, the killer set up the finishing touches in the billiard room. Tying two dozen nooses on the end of the wire and setting it up on the roof panel, rigging the dumbwaiter to transport Seno’s body, setting the door up to lock behind Seno after he entered, and even leaving the window open to lure him to the right spot.”

“All the killer needed to do after that was wait.” I continued. “The killer went to the restroom and made a note to be noticed by Eto. But in addition to being noticed, they made sure that Seno walked by Eto unnoticed by keeping her distracted. From there, it was a straight path for our victim Seno Sotatsu. If only he had gone to Sanda’s event but he didn’t. Instead, he headed into the room where the trap was sprung. He headed to the window, the killer dropped a weight connected to the wires, and at least one wrapped around his neck through sheer numbers. He bumped violently into the billiard table and the died in the dumbwaiter, but it was a silent struggle. Not even Koike, Sama, and Sanda next door could hear him.”

I continued again. “The crime scene pulled itself apart after that. Our culprit pulled the weights back after Seno died to loosen the first wire and pull it back to the women’s restroom. Then, the killer used the second wire to lower the dumbwaiter into the kitchen to set up the last phase of the plan. The culprit couldn’t risk the evidence being found in the women’s restroom however so they took it with them and looked for another place to dispose of it. It must have been just in time too, because the lights turned on just minutes after Seno died.”

I continued once more. “And that was the killer’s opportunity to finish the final touches. When the group split up, our killer moved Seno’s body out of the dumbwaiter, hacked the head off, bound the body in one of the wires to misdirect us, and shoved the body down the dumbwaiter. But that wasn’t all, the killer moved the head to the platter, planted a note to implicate Machi, and hastily hid the murder implements and cleaning tools. From there, all they had to do was rejoin the search and hide the remaining evidence in the warehouse while they pretended to be searching for Seno. There was only one person who could have pulled this off, and that person was you Shiro Michihiro, Super High School Level Transportation Architect!”

I caught my breath and briefly pondered how I was able to even solve this case just as Shiro retorted. “It’s actually Ultimate Transportation Architect. You really don’t have any taste Nishi though I suppose I can tell that much from your clothes.”

“Well then.” Tanabe cut in almost glaring at Shiro’s responses. “Do you have any other objections for us Shiro?”

“I-” Shiro’s demeanor softened to a frown as she thought for a whole minute. But nothing came up so she just shook her right fist at Tanabe. “All I have to say is that if you vote for me, I will rip your entrails out and choke you to death with them. Darling. If I die, I will not be the only person to suffer for it. Each and every last one of you will regret voting for me if you do. Kapish?”

“Lets just vote.” Sasori said a short pause followed by what must have been a disappointed sigh about Shiro’s hopefully empty threats.

Almost everyone nodded at that and it was apparently enough for Monokuma, because he cheerfully stood up to address everyone. “Alright then, voting time! In a few moments, you will see a list of students on the ballot screen! Tap one to vote for the one you think did it. Just be careful though because you don’t get a redo! As I said before, you have to vote no matter what so get ready to vote!”

I looked down at my ballot screen once more. Just like with the last vote, it had a four by four grid of the students only Yasui and Seno joined Eto in having faded pictures with X’s crossed over them. Likewise, the countdown timer was in the top screen and I didn’t want to die horribly for not voting. So I did the obvious and voted for the one with the that had Shiro’s face on it. Like before, it enlarged, turned yellow, and froze. I looked up and noticed that everyone else had voted as well just as the time ran out.

“Upupupu!” Monokuma cheerfully exclaimed when it was over. “It’s time for someone to come to a horrific end! Will it be the spotless or the blackened? Only time will tell!”

For the first time this trial but the fourth time overall, the monitor slowly lowered from behind Monokuma. Like last time, there seemed to be a vote tally and all the candidates were there. Even the dead ones. In fact, it was even divided once more against three people. Though fortunately, at least everyone voted.

* Senji Kenazane: 0
* Saeki Masu: 0
* Sanda Iwane: 0
* Seno Sotatsu: 1
* Koike Juichi: 0
* Shiro Michihiro: 11
* Tanabe Kenzaburo: 0
* Yakawa Shoda: 0
* Nishi Toshiro: 1
* Yasui Katai: 0
* Sama Koetsu: 0
* Machi Satu: 0
* Naya Hitomi: 0
* Sasori Renzo: 0
* Eto Uzuki: 0
* Wakuni Shoda: 0

I blinked twice looking at the results. And quite frankly, I was more upset about these votes than the last ones because at least nobody voted for me last time. I was pretty sure I knew who did it too and as I glanced over at Shiro, she gave me a steely glare that confirmed it. But I looked back at the monitor quite frankly surprised by the vote for Seno. The first guess would be that Koike voted for him but she seemed genuinely upset about his death, so I couldn’t tell who voted for him for the life of me.

“I’m so sorry guys.” Saeki confessed between a bit lip. “Apparently there’s still grime on my hand. I was barely able to vote for anyone. I kept tapping the screen until I got a response and Seno’s face came up.”

“Nobody blames your conduct Saeki.” Yakawa assured her with a sigh as he recovered from a scowl. The group more or less gave signs of agreement. “You were only in that situation because you investigated the case so diligently after all.”

Not long after Saeki’s confession, the once more quickly changed to a digital screen showing the same roulette wheel from before with eighteen different spots. Including the two random spots on the wheel that denoted Monokuma and the mastermind. And like always, there was both a half-white and half-black ball in the Monokuma section and an unlit neon ‘guilty’ sign in the middle of the wheel.

Once again, everything except the center spun rapidly and the ball was dislodged from monokuma’s section. I wasn’t nearly as nervous as last time when the wheel started to slow because I was all but certain that we were right. Still, I tensed up at the possibility of being wrong and I noticed others do the same. But luckily, It came to a stop and landed in Shiro Michihiro’s section. With that, the neon sign lit up and confetti began to fill the screen until the whole thing was covered and it slowly faded to black. Finally, the monitor retracted.

“Correct!” Monokuma yelled as he jumped over dramatically from his chair and did a three point landing on the ground. I cherished the delay before he stood up and had to hear his voice again. “Shiro Michihiro did in fact, kill Seno Sotatsu in cold blood!”

We all stepped away from the podiums and more or less formed a cluster after that. Most of the group looked over at Shiro after that including myself. Yet, nobody got close to her in the minutes that followed. For good reason too. Shiro’s fists almost seemed to shake down by her sides as she looked down at the ground.

“As bad as things got-” Sanda chimed in while taking a few steps forward. I don’t know what kind of look Shiro gave him, but he flinched and stepped back before he continued. “As bad as things got, I imagine you didn’t want to kill Seno. I imagine that if it weren’t for the motive, none of this would have happened.”

Everything went silent for a moment, but then Shiro shook her head and gave a dark laugh before she looked up and gave her new yelling routine. “Are you kidding? I didn’t kill Seno because of the motive!”

“Wait, what?” Eto and Koike both went wide eyed in shock at her remark.

“I said, I didn’t kill Seno because of the motive.” Shiro coldly waved the notion aside with her right hand. “It was my plan to graduate from day one. I had a bigger, better plan and all I had to do was wait for the right time. But no, Monokuma pushed the motive and none of you idiots could be bothered to kill someone because you all would apparently rather freeze to death than escape this hell and live out the rest of your lives!”

I stepped forward a few steps but still maintained a distance from her. “So if it wasn’t because of the motive, why did you kill Seno? We were already working on getting out of here Shiro. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Hmm, I bet you would like to know why I did it wouldn’t you?” Shiro goaded with a fake smile before resetting to her scowl. “Fine. The reason is obvious though isn’t it? Spend the rest of my life here with you misfits or live out my life. I don’t about you guys, but I worked hard for my future! I strove to it! I earned it! I deserved it!-”

“It’s strove for actually-” Sama cut in before Shiro cut her off.

“Shut up Sama!” Shiro shouted as she barely held herself back from charging her based on her stance. “I earned my way to the top! I am an ultimate! I was going to live out the rest of my days in fame and happiness! I could have gotten everything I wanted! I had a future! I HAD A LIFE!!! But no! You all took that away from me because you never think about anything but yourselves! Especially you Nishi!”

“Was it all a lie Shiro?” Eto almost croaked as her eyes started to water up. She looked away before most people would notice, but I did.

“Yes! It was all a lie! Why would I ever want to be friends with someone like you?!” Shiro pointed her right hand at Eto. “But now i’m going to die and it’s all your fault you selfish bitch!” She pointed at Senji “And your fault!” she pointed at Koike “and your fault!” And finally, she pointed at me. “And especially your fault Nishi! By exposing me, you condemned me to death! Well I said the group would suffer for condemning me! Starting with you Nishi!”

*(Huh?!)*

I froze in confusion, but that didn’t last long. With a flash, she pulled something gold from under the back of her skirt with her left hand and I instantly recognized it. While I hadn’t actually seen it before, I saw the rack that held it in the prize room. Shiro aimed the gold plated revolver almost as quickly as she brandished it and fired. I didn’t get much time to look in the split second that followed, but I was pretty sure it was aimed for my heart.

The sound of an empty click failing to catch on anything echoed throughout the room and no bullet followed. However, the shock of it startled everyone in the class sans Yakawa and made me grasp my chest as my heart skipped several beats. It took at least thirty seconds after that before my brain processed the fact that I wasn’t breathing and I gasped lowering my hands all the while to confirm once more that I had not actually been shot. Regardless, I began to shake.

Yakawa, who had started a sprint after Shiro tried to fire, immediately tackled the girl to the ground and knocked the gun a few feet away. Shiro flailed her arms wildly after that, but Yakawa was clearly the stronger of two though I was too busy trying to subside my trembling to speculate the obvious answer why. It only took him five second to pull out a zip-tie from his right sleeve, ten or so to get Shiro’s hands behind her back, and about thirty to restrain her hands behind her back though I was too busy to keep an exact measurement of the time.

As Yakawa got up, pulled Shiro up with him, held her back by grabbing he left arm, Wakuni approached. The guy carefully, but quickly knelt down on his right knee to pick the golden revolver up and even raised his right eyebrow when he grabbed the thing and stepped back.

“I recognize this.” Wakuni growled at Shiro. “This belonged to Seno. You stole this off of Seno’s corpse didn’t you? You just couldn’t keep your hands off of what didn’t belong to you. You know, unlike you, Seno never wanted to hurt anyone. And unlike him, I’d be hard pressed to find anyone here who will have something good to say about you after this stunt of yours.”

“Wowie, you did a super job at wrapping that up!” Monokuma exclaimed from behind Saeki. Something that made her, Koike, and Sasori who were next to her jump. “I think it’s about time to finish this event. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Why didn’t you show up sooner Monokuma.” Sasori calmly but passive aggressively asked as he clenched his fists and stared down Monokuma the moment he recovered from the initial shock of the bear’s arrival.

“As your headmaster, I won’t be interfering with murders. Haven’t I said that before?” Monokuma asked in fake sincerity. This only earned him a glare from everyone other than Yakawa who was busy holding Shiro back and Shiro herself. Monokuma just sighed and looked at the ground. “Never mind then. Let’s focus on the important stuff. I’ve prepared an extra special punishment for Shiro Michihiro.”

“You’re just going to skip the rest of her title?” Machi remarked. But she immediately bit her lip and shook her head afterwards. “You know what, I don’t care. I just want to get out of here and forever burn this memory from my mind.”

That seemed to be the only cue that he needed. He looked up, somehow seemed to smile, and had a red eye that glowed particularly bright as he finished up his speech. “You know what time it is! It’s the end of the tracks! The end of the line! It’s Punishment Time!!!”

Train of Logic

I watched as the flames cackled until the screen went to black. All the while I took a few deep breaths. It was horrific by all accounts, but it wasn’t the only thing that was on my mind. I couldn’t help but consider the dark thought that It was over and I was safe. If I were to be honest, I could almost feel a relief sweep over me. It wasn’t the end that I wanted for anyone and it didn’t make anything Monokuma did to her less reprehensible, but I was now safe from her for good.

I looked away and at the group. Unlike before, I was one of the last to look away from the chilling video and move on. To be exact, I was the second to last person with Eto being the one person to stare at the now blank screen almost vacantly and with watery eyes. Now that I was no longer immediately afraid for my life, it didn’t take long to connect the dots that Eto had her attempt to reach out to Shiro betrayed.

“Shiro-” Eto muttered almost vacantly.

“Eto, I hate to speak ill of the dead but- is Shiro really the kind of friend that you wanted to have?” Koike said tugging at Eto. Apparently, she wasn’t having any of it. “You don’t deserve to be lied to and abused like that.”

“You have us-” Saeki reassured her as best as she could. “I know it’s hard to trust again after being betrayed like that, but we were all betrayed by Shiro. She was a monster. And I doubt that anyone who made it through this motive is going to be a monster like her.”

“She’s right.” I said walking over to her. I had my fair share of problems and I could still feel my heart throbbing from the last one in fact. I couldn’t put on a smile without it looking fake, but I could help out at least. “You have us. And you’ll find we’re a lot better friends than her-”

I shuddered though it largely went unnoticed.

“Yeah-” Eto said before she looked up at them and gave a weak smile. “I’m sorry guys, it just seems like there’s always an unpleasant surprise here. I know you wouldn’t act like that. It’s just a bit hard to find out you never had the friend you lost in the first place. How about we get going then? I- I just want to go to my room, speak with someone who i’ve been keeping a secret from, and get some rest. It’s been rough for all of us and I think we need a little break. And- thanks.”

“Oh give me a break!” Monokuma trudged forward to us. “This is a class trial room. Not some sort of pity party. Anyways, the elevator is ready. You can head there whenever and probably should too.”

I heard a sigh from behind Monokuma when he finished saying that. I looked up to see the source and it appeared to be Wakuni. Though right next to him was Tanabe, Yakawa, and Senji so it wasn’t easy to tell. The rest were already on their way to the elevator of course and I noticed a few shiver briefly as they left. Apparently I wasn’t the only one shaken.

“I see no reason to linger here any longer. Why don't we leave?” Senji said with clear disdain in his tone though it was obviously not directed towards the group.

With a nod from Koike, she headed past the bear, next to Senji, and headed towards the elevator. It almost looked as though she was struggling not to clutch him or any nearby person. Though once they got about ten or so paces away from the group, they both looked back and slowed down as if they were waiting for the rest of us.

“Well it looks like everyone is leaving and it’s not exactly hard to see why. The sooner we get out of this room the better if you ask me.” Tanabe added a little more silently than usual. “We should follow Senji’s suggestion and head back up topside.”

Eto nodded and she, Saeki, and Tanabe led the way. I followed behind the both of them though I straggled behind a bit with Yakawa and Wakuni at either of my sides. They were both frowning about what happened though both looked to me when we got halfway to the elevator.

“Uhm, I don’t know if this helps-” Wakuni nervously rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. “But you were never in any danger. As soon as Seno won that golden gun from a room he called the prize room, he came to me. He told me that he only wanted a deterrent and asked me to make it harmless. So I did. I removed all the internal mechanisms.”

I nodded and swallowed. “It was a good thing that the gun didn’t work then.”

“Well, it still wouldn’t have killed you.” Wakuni responded all too quickly. “She was aiming for your heart but based on where the barrel was pointed, she never would have hit it. It would have been close and i’m sure it would have hurt worse than anything you had ever felt before, but the bullet wouldn’t have hit you anywhere that Yakawa couldn’t have patched up.”

Yakawa just glared at him for the duration of ten footsteps before he shook his head and looked at me. “Do you want a medical checkup? It’s outside of my field but I can still check your pulse for irregularities and such. I’ve had a lot of people who said that being held at gunpoint is traumatic. Oh, and Wakuni does bring up one good point even if he didn’t do it in the best way, do you have any medical allergies? I keep forgetting that there isn’t a medical database around here.”

As soon as I shook my head no, he put his right hand, with a brand new clean light blue glove on it, to the left of my neck briefly. I didn’t stop him and didn’t plan to unless he poked around too long. He didn’t. Yakawa retracted his hand and seemed to be satisfied enough to wait for an answer from me.

“I’m fine guys.” I replied earnestly. “I really am. I’m a little shaken I will admit, but I think I just need some time to let things wind down.”

*(I don’t know if you trust me after Yasui panicked and killed Naya, but it’s what I need right now.)*

Luckily, they both nodded. Then, they kept quiet as we stepped through the doors, into the other room, and onto the elevator. And shortly after, everyone more or less converged in the center of the elevator. Once we finished, the doors clicked shut behind us and the Elevator started it’s slow ascent back up. It was then that the eleven other remaining survivors looked at me. Silently and almost eerily.

“Nishi, are you okay?” Koike spoke up. “I know Eto was upset but it’s you that got the gun pointed at them. I don’t really have much to say, but- are you okay?”

I sighed and nodded as the elevator picked up speed and bounded up the shaft. It wouldn’t take too long to reach the top and already, it was approaching the dark part of the shaft. But I didn’t focus too much on that nor the sparks that flew nor the clatter of the elevator. Instead, I focused on trying to move on with the knowledge that I more or less solved two case, that someone tried to kill me, and that she likely wouldn’t be the last.

“I’m fine.” I replied. It wasn’t a lie, I didn’t have it in me to lie for the moment, but it was true only in the most basic sense. “I told Wakuni and Yakawa that I was a little shaken, and I am, but I will feel better with time.”

*(I just need to rest is all.)*

## Trivia

* Props to Nishi for getting credit for her actions and getting the benefits and drawbacks.
* The original culprit of this class trial was Tanabe, who originally accidentally killed a Super High School Level Gardener by feeding her something that she had an allergic reaction to. Whether he lives to the end or not in this version is still unknown.
* The aforementioned Super High School Level Gardener was originally going to be Tanabe’s girlfriend.