A/N: So, yeah, here's the thing. I'm about to spoil the identity of the Mastermind, so this is really your last chance to turn back. Again, I'm not sure who would read this without knowing about V3's endgame, but just to be safe.


Akamatsu's eyes wandered the room. If Ouma was telling the truth, then someone she thought had an alibi was actually lying. It seemed impossible to piece together.

And suddenly, a single piece of information took root in her mind.

"At one point she left for the bathroom. She wasn't gone for very long, so I didn't find it suspicious."

"Shirogane-san..." Akamatsu's declaration was just above a whisper as realization dawned.

The blue-haired cosplayer immediately turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"Around what time did you go to the bathroom?"

"Just a few minutes before..." Shirogane trailed off. She blinked twice before realizing what she was really being asked. "Are you accusing me?!"

"To answer your question," Shinguuji chimed in, "It was just a few minutes before the Body Discovery Announcement. She didn't return until slightly afterward."

"Exactly when the Mastermind would've been committing the crime," Saihara realized.

"Hold on a second!" Shirogane cried, "Are you really accusing me of murder just because I couldn't hold my pee?!"

"It's not that I'm accusing you," Akamatsu replied, "It's just you don't have an alibi anymore, and we need to explore that."

"Nishishi... isn't it weird that that's the only part of the night you don't have an alibi for?" Ouma taunted.

"I was in the bathroom!" Shirogane shouted.

"That's right, you were..." Saihara said, his tone indicating he was beginning to put the pieces together, "And that's just about perfect."

"What are you talking about?!" Shirogane grew more and more frantic with every comment.

"Like Ouma said," the detective explained, "if I were the Mastermind, I'd want to hide an entrance to my secret lair where no one would look. And it would have to be a room that the Ultimate Detective couldn't examine thoroughly."

"The women's bathroom..." Momota muttered, "If Saihara tried to examine that place..."

"Tenko would give him such a thrashing!" Chabashira proclaimed.

"This is insane!" Shirogane protested, "Akamatsu leaves a trail of evidence two miles wide, and just because her little boyfriend does a half-rate science-fair project we're gonna believe she's innocent?!"

"Boyfriend?!" Saihara and Akamatsu shouted in disbelief. They then proceeded to avert their eyes from one another in embarrassment.

"Excellent work trying to change the topic," Ouma commented.

"You shut up, you little brat!" was Shirogane's only reply.

"Not that I disagree on Ouma's brathood," Harukawa chimed in, "but thanks to that 'science-fair project' as you called it, Akamatsu's guilt is questionable at best."

"Harumaki's right!" Momota cheered, "Meanwhile, you still can't prove you didn't do anything."

"The Hell did you call me?" Harukawa spat.

"Shirogane-san," Akamatsu said, returning to the conversation, "I don't want to believe it was you, but you're not doing a good job of defending yourself."

"I don't need to defend myself! You're the one who threw the ball! You goddamn admitted to what you did!" Shirogane argued.

"But that doesn't mean anything if the Mastermind could've done it," Akamatsu countered.

"You're just gonna listen to Ouma's stupid theory?! He lies out his ass all the time!"

Ouma just smirked. "I find it funny that I don't have an alibi but she just wants to pin it on Akamatsu-chan instead."

"You're the one who killed Amami!" Shirogane proclaimed, "That's how it's supposed to go!"

"How what's supposed to go?" Akamatsu asked.

"This trial! You're the guilty one! And you die! And then the game keeps going! That's how it works!"

"So you wanted a trial?" Saihara attempted to confirm.

"All of you BE QUIET!" Shirogane screeched.

Akamatsu decided it was time to go for broke. "You're the real Mastermind aren't you?!"

Shirogane refused to listen and began screaming assorted sentences in response.

"I'm done listening to you!"

But Akamatsu kept fighting back.

"You set up everything so someone would be tempted into murder."

"You're the one who killed him!"

"And when that didn't work you took matters into your own hands."

"This isn't how it goes!"

"And now that we're on your trail, you're panicking."

"Quit breaking away from me!"

"You don't have anything to refute our argument."

"I don't need to refute your argument, there's nothing you can do to prove your crazy theory!"

"YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!"

The entire room was taken aback by Akamatsu's bold claim.

"Shirogane-san, if we're wrong about everything, then you wouldn't mind if Saihara-kun investigated the women's bathroom, right?"

"Wh-what?"

"I say we let Saihara-kun investigate the women's bathroom top to bottom. If he doesn't find a hidden passageway, then we'll just have to move on, won't we?"

"You... you can't..."

"So girls?" Akamatsu asked the room, "Mind if we let Saihara-kun take a look?"

"I don't mind," Harukawa replied.

"Tenko will want to supervise, but sure."

"Angie thinks that's a good idea."

Himiko yawned before saying, "Cool with me."

"Shyhara getting down and dirty in the girl's bathroom?" Iruma joked, "I like it!"

"If that is everyone's wish, I will also permit it," Toujou finished.

"No... no..." Shirogane shuddered. "This isn't happening..."

"Well, Monokuma? How about it?" Akamatsu challenged.

The ursine headmaster considered this for a moment, before declaring, "I suppose a little break couldn't hurt."

"WHAT?!" Shirogane yelled, "Why would you do that?! You can't just let them do this! That's not how this goes!"

"I'm the headmaster, dearie," Monokuma reminded her, "What I say trumps everything else."

"You can't let the trial go like this! You need me!" Shirogane immediately clasped her palm over her mouth after she realized what she had said.

An audible gasp filled the room.

"You and Monokuma..." Akamatsu muttered.

Saihara finished the thought, "Were working together?"

"I... I..." The cosplayer was at a loss for words. "I... I... I don't understand... How... How did this happen...?"

Saihara's eyes shut tight as he began to piece things together in his mind. "I can tell you exactly how it happened."

The detective took a breath before letting his train of logic run it's full course.

"This murder began with Monokuma's declaration that if no one was killed in a predetermined time limit, he would have all of us killed. In response, I came up with a plan in the hopes of finding and neutralizing the Mastermind hiding among us. I invited Akamatsu-san to help me, unaware that she had her own plan in mind. As I set up my trap for the Mastermind, Akamatsu-san set up her own trap to kill the Mastermind by luring them into position to be killed by a shot-put, guided by a row of books. After all the pieces were in place, we waited for the Mastermind's arrival. During that time, Momota-kun gathered a group to hold a strategy meeting should the time limit run out. Amongst that group was the victim, Amami-kun. For reasons that remain unknown, Amami-kun excused himself and made his way to the library. Upon uncovering the hidden door behind the bookcase, Akamatsu-san's trap sprung into action, and as I made my way to the library, she threw the shot-put, believing the one who triggered the motion sensor was the Mastermind. However, despite Akamatsu-san's efforts, her trap failed, and the ball completely missed Amami-kun. At this point, the true culprit, the Mastermind, entered the library through the hidden door, thus avoiding any of the cameras we had set up. They took this opportunity to bludgeon Amami-kun to death, and allow Akamatsu-san to take the blame. There are multiple suspects who lack alibis but one is more noteworthy than the rest. One person who disappeared for the exact portion of the night during which the Mastermind would have been killing Amami-kun. Tsumugi Shirogane, YOU'RE THE REAL MURDERER!"

With the entire case laid bare before them, the class felt reassured that they had come to the proper conclusion. With nothing left to say, Monokuma decided to take action.

"Alright then, if there's nothing left to discuss, then I guess it's Ballot Time!"

"What?!" Shirogane cried, "You can't be serious!"

"Deadly serious! With the emphasis on deadly!"

"Papa! Can we do this part?" Monotaro asked.

"Well... I guess you could use the practice," Monokuma agreed.

"Alright then! Please cast your votes with the lever in front of you!" Monotaro ordered.

"Who's gonna get chosen as the culprit?" Monosuke wondered.

"Will your choice be right or hopelessly wrong?!" Monokid shouted.

"What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?" Monofunny asked, quivering at the possibilities.

Monodam, again, remained silent.

The class slowly but surely cast their votes, and after the final vote was sent in, the viewscreens around them displayed what appeared to be a roulette wheel with each of their faces on it. The roulette wheel spun before finally landing on Shirogane's face.

Bright colors and flashing lights only served to emphasize the most important feature. A single prominent word.

"GUILTY"


A/N: Join us again next time when Shirogane gets the execution she's long overdue. Note that with next chapter, I will be upping this fic's rating due to violence and language.

And maybe adult situations later...