Well, it's the 7th chapter. Ok, I'm on a roll. I was able to continue on with my momentum and get this chapter done relatively quick. Anyways, please enjoy!

Chapter 7- Friend or Foe?

After all the investigation, they class trial was about to begin.

"Alright, let's begin with a basic explanation of the Class Trial!" Monokuma declared. "After a period of debate, you will take a majority vote for who you believe is the killer. If you're right, the killer is punished! But if you're wrong, everyone else is punished and the killer is allowed to leave the Academy scot-free!"

Monophanie agreed with a head nod.

Monokuma tilted his head to look at his Monokubs. Then Monokuma exploded in anger, "Why are there only three of you!? Where the hell is Monosuke!?"

Monophanie looked dejected. "Daddy, we're sorry. We couldn't find him."

While Monophanie apologized, the other two Monokubs didn't say anything.

Monokuma frowned.

Kaede didn't have time to focus on Monokuma and his Monokubs. It was time to find out who killed Kokichi. "Forget them, we need to find out the truth!"

"Yeah!" Himiko yelled. "We need to find out who killed Kokichi!"

"Damn right!" Miu added in.

The rest of the classmates may have been unnerved by the energy and determination the three shown, but they too quickly joined in.

"Yeah, we'll find out what happened with Kokichi," Kaito declared, bumping his fists together.

"Yeah, let's find the truth together," Tsumugi nodded.

Rantaro nodded his head. "It's critical we find out what happened that day."

"Gonta like to know truth."

"Atua states that we will find out the truth today."

As the energy and determination around everyone rose, one student glanced at everyone critically.

Maki scoffed. "I don't really care, but why are you so pumped to find the murderer? If I remember correctly, you guys weren't this determined to find out Ryoma's murderer."

When Maki mentioned that, the realization of her words struck the students.

"You telling us we shouldn't even care!?" Miu screamed in outrage.

Kaito sent Maki a shocked expression, as if he didn't expect Maki to say such a thing.

Maki glared at Miu. "I never said we shouldn't care-stop putting words in my mouth! All I said was that the energy level didn't match the first case."

Before anybody could protest, Shuichi nodded his head in agreement. "I have to agree with Maki on this one. I understand now. When Maki mentioned that the energy level didn't match the first case, she meant it as if we cared more about Kokichi's death than Ryoma's. It's disrespectful to Ryoma, because we didn't react this heavily for him. So, the least we can do to respect his death is to approach Kokichi's death with the same focus and level-headedness from the first case."

Some of the classmates looked down at shame, as Shuichi's explanation reached their ears.

"Are you kidding me!?" Kaede snapped. "I don't really know Ryoma that well, so how else do I react? But Kokichi...I love him! This isn't a just a classmate or a friend, but I literally love him! So, for you to ask me to tone down my feelings for him, it's impossible."

Tears were beginning to form in Kaede's eyes and were soon dripping down. Perhaps crying was contagious, because Gonta, Miu and Himiko were crying thereafter.

"Y-Yeah. H-He changed my whole life!" Miu added in, while her tears were also starting to fall.

"Wahhhh. Why'd he have to die?" Himiko wailed.

"Gonta sad that everyone else is sad."

The crying must have been uncomfortable, because some of the students looked at their feet or looked elsewhere.

It was at that moment that Rantaro spoke up. "I don't mean to interrupt, but we are at a class trial. We still need to find out who killed Kokichi."

Rantaro's words sparked a fire under Kaede. Here she was, crying about Kokichi's death again. When in reality, she should be finding out which of her classmates killed her hero. She could cry all she want after the trial, but for now, she had a mission and that was to avenge Kokichi. The killer had to be punished, there was no way the killer was going to get away scot-free. Quickly, Kaede wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Kekeke...so, Kokichi's body was found in Kirumi's Maid Lab. However, nobody could get into her lab, so that means she's the most likely culprit." Korekiyo stated.

"I think that could be true. When I investigated Kokichi's body, I found this," Kaede replied, pulling out a motive video.

"Is that a motive video?" Tsumugi asked.

Rantaro stared at the video. "So, whose motive video does that belong to?"

"The video belonged to...Kirumi," Kaede answered.

"Doesn't this mean Kirumi is the culprit?" Angie cheerfully asked. "Since it could be possible that Kirumi saw her motive video from Kokichi."

Kaede looked at Kirumi. She didn't say anything so far and she was looking down at the ground. Based on her actions so far, it could be plausible that she's guilty. But at the same time, something seemed off...

"It could be possible," Kaede said. "But how do we know Kirumi saw her motive video? Kirumi, I'm going to ask you five questions. Nod your head for yes or shake your head for no."

Kirumi seemed surprised by the request, but she nodded her head to show that she understood.

"Kirumi, are you a maid?"

Kirumi nodded her head. She looked at Kaede, like she expected her to know that answer already.

"Are you a boy?"

The maid looked at Kaede with a confused look. Kirumi seemed surprised about the oddity of the questions and shook her head.

"Do you like Kokichi?"

This time, Kirumi nodded her head. Perhaps a little too quickly.

"Do you love Kokichi?"

Kirumi hesitated for a moment. She seemed to ponder the question for a few seconds before she nodded her head.

"Are you a prime minister?"

Once again, Kirumi sent Kaede a confused look. The maid shook her head.

Kaede had seen enough. If there was one thing she learned from being around Kokichi, it was whether a person was lying or not. So far, it seemed like Kirumi didn't lie on any of those questions. By asking obvious and unordinary questions, the pianist had a better grasp of which questions the maid would react to the most. When Kaede asked Kirumi if she was a boy or a prime minister, the maid sent her odd and confused looks. In fact, she had reacted to the fifth question the same as the second question. There was no widening of the pupils, shocked expressions or anything. However, Kaede knew that Kirumi had a good poker face, but she really doubted it would work in such a high pressure scenario.

"Kekeke, does this really matter?" Korekiyo asked, interrupting Kaede's thoughts. "She is the only one that could enter her own lab."

The pianist nodded her head. "It does matter, because I think Kirumi didn't kill Kokichi. In fact, I don't think she even had a motive to."

"I disagree," Shuichi objected. "Why did Kokichi go into Kirumi's maid lab? They probably had a reason for them to meet up and that reason was for Kokichi to give the motive video to Kirumi."

"It's not likely, because she messed up the questions. When Kirumi shook her head for two questions, in actuality, one of the questions were true." Kaede insisted. Before she continue her explanation, a voice cut her off.

"Kekeke, so?" Korekiyo asked. "That just means she lied for one question."

Kaede stared hard at Korekiyo. "Is that what you think? Or maybe it's possible she never even saw the video. I was carefully looking at her expressions during the questioning. She had the same confused look when I asked if she was a boy or a prime minister. There were no difference in reactions, so I can say for certain that she's not lying."

"Perhaps she has a good poker face," Tsumiugi suggested. "It could be possible."

"In this situation? I highly doubt it," Kaede shook her head.

However, Kirumi's calm and gloomy demeanour was gone in an instant. "Wait, I'm a boy? It can't be, I'm definitely certain I'm a female. A prime minister? I'm just a maid, there's no way I'm the prime minister. What? Kaede, are you lying?"

A few classmates glanced at Kaede. They too didn't seem like they believed that Kirumi was a boy or a prime minister. Either idea sounds preposterous.

"See, you still think Kirumi is the culprit? Her reaction to the information shows that she really didn't know about the motive video." Kaede told everyone.

"Wait! Which one is it? Is Kirumi actually a boy or the prime minister?" Himiko asked.

Everyone turned to Kaede. They too wanted to know which one was the truth.

Kaede was going to announce the truth, but her mind suddenly drifted to Kokichi. What would he do in this situation? Obviously he would make a joke out of all this. Really, she shouldn't toy with everyone's feelings and opinions, and this was a serious matter...but doing a tribute for him couldn't hurt. Really, the pianist was sure the boy would smile at what she's about to do next.

"Kirumi's a male."

The moment she announced that, everyone was shocked. Kirumi looked like she was about to pass out. Angie was delighted with the news, since she was happy that there were no more secrets between them. Tsumugi, Gonta, Kaito, Kiibo, Miu and Himiko all had shocked expressions on their faces. Shuichi, Rantaro and Maki all had neutral expressions, but they too were unnerved by the news.

Korekiyo probably took the news hard, as he was mumbling words like, "can't be, can't be."

Maybe this was why Kokichi was always joking around. The expressions on their faces was so funny, if only the situation wasn't so dire.

"Nope~I'm joking. It's the other one. Kirumi is actually the president."

When Kaede mentioned that, everyone turned on her.

"Huh? You were joking?"

"Girl, don't play with my heart!" Korekiyo screeched. "Is Kirumi a male or not!?"

"Relax," Kaede soothed, as she put her hands behind her head and flashed everyone a grin. It was the same posture and expression that she had seen Kokichi do so many times. "It's just a joke, I just...wanted to tribute that joke for him. Really, Kirumi isn't a male. Kirumi is the prime minister."

Kirumi looked like she was on the verge of passing out with all the newfound information. Korekiyo sighed in relief, it didn't seem like he cared all that much about Kirumi being a prime minister. The others all had shocked expressions. This time, Shuichi and Maki were appalled. Only Rantaro had a neutral expression still.

"Are you lying again?" Maki asked.

"I'm not, that's literally what the motive video said about Kirumi," Kaede insisted. "I have the motive video with me, so do some of you guys want to see? However, do not show the video to Kirumi, it may trigger something bad."

Rantaro nodded and took the motive video from Kaede. As he watched, his expression morphed from neutral to genuine surprise.

"I'm afraid Kaede is telling the truth. Kirumi really is the prime minister," Rantaro noted. "That's quite a pleasant surprise."

Rantaro handed the video back to Kaede.

"Then why did you invite Kokichi to your lab room?" Himiko sternly asked. She seemed intent on finding out the reason.

"I wanted to make him happy and talk to him. He is quite reliable, but I had no idea what was about to happen at that time." Kirumi answered, although her face seemed more pale than before. It was perhaps due to the joke of being a boy and the fact that was literally a prime minister.

Rantaro nodded his head. "So, Kirumi doesn't have a motive to kill Kokichi, since she hadn't seen the motive video. But now the big question is which of us poisoned Kokichi?"

Before anyone replied, Shuichi shook his head. "Just because Kirumi didn't see her motive video, it doesn't rule her out as a suspect. She is the only one to enter the lab."

"Hey Kirumi, who entered your research lab!?" Miu demanded.

"After all the motive videos were released, I only invited Kokichi. I can definitely understand if that makes me suspicious." Kirumi answered.

"Doesn't that mean Kirumi is the murderer?" Angie asked. "Well, that's what Atua thinks."

There were a few nods of agreement from the other students.

Miu groaned at Kirumi's answer. "That's not what I meant. Who went into your room before the motive videos are released!?"

When Miu mentioned "before", a lot of the classmates froze. Was Miu suspecting someone to commit the murder a few days in advance?

Kirumi frowned as she pondered the answer. "Well, a lot of people have came into my research lab. Maki, Kiibo, Shuichi, Himiko, Kaede, Kokichi, Korekiyo and Tsumugi."

"How is that supposed to answer anything?" Shuichi asked. "It can't possibly be a murder before the motive videos, because we wouldn't have a motive to kill in the first place!"

"Yeah, Shuichi's right!" Kaito exclaimed, supporting his friend. "That's also way too many suspects! How are we supposed to narrow it down?"

"This is so dumb," Maki muttered. "It's obvious that it's Kirumi."

"Shut up brats! Including Kirumi, there's eight suspects! Basically, the only ones free of suspicion as of now are Rantaro, Angie, Kaito, Gonta and myself!" Miu declared.

"Kekeke, why are you off the list?" Korekiyo asked. "It's possible that you could have broken in with one of your inventions or if you were good at lock picking? Actually, isn't it more suspicious that five people didn't go into Kirumi's research lab?"

"I was praying to Atua. That's why I didn't enter Kirumi's lab," Angie cheerfully answered. "Atua is first priority, you know?"

"I was just working out," Kaito replied as he looked away. "And I suppose I was hanging out with Kiibo, Shuichi and Maki."

"Gonta was looking at insects."

"I was in my room," Rantaro answered.

"And I was making some wonderful inventions!" Miu declared.

Kaede could see Miu's reasoning, but she wasn't sure how this was going to narrow down the suspects. "So, there's eight suspects. How do we narrow it down?"

"Hahaha, isn't it obvious? We already know who the murderer is now. It's Maki!" Miu pointed at Maki. "She's the one who could easily kill without batting an eye."

Maki glared at Miu. "Do you want to die?"

"Hahaha, see my point! She's the murderer!" Miu announced.

Maki glared intensely at Miu. Now that some of the classmates thought about it, Maki was always relatively angry.

"Kekeke, I see. Maki has expressed hatred towards Kokichi, so it's plausible she's the culprit. And she would have a motive to target him before the motive videos came out anyways. So, Maki must be guilty!" Korekiyo insisted.

"That's right. Maki has been extremely violet these days. She could've committed a murder," Tsumugi stated. "And Kaede called her an assassin."

"Yeah, what's the damn deal!? Why lie about your Ultimate talent?" Miu demanded.

"Hey, cut it out guys! Stop blaming Maki!" Kaito defended.

Maki glared at everyone before she relented. "This is why I kept it a secret. If I have told you guys, I would always be suspected."

"Damn right! You are an assassin!" Miu yelled. "Who in the right mind would trust an assassin?"

"Stop it!" Kaito roared. "I believe in her! So if she didn't do it, she didn't do it!"

A slight blush appeared on Maki's face.

Shuichi nodded his head. "Yes, I believe in Maki and Kaito as well. How do we even know the murderer did the deed before the motive videos? In fact, there wouldn't be a motive and if that were the case, Kokichi would've died before the motive videos right?"

"Yeah!" Kaito agreed. "Did Kokichi drink any of those drinks before the motive videos?"

Kirumi nodded his head. "He did drink some carbonated drinks before the motive videos and nothing happened at the time."

Kiibo finally spoke up, "This settles it. It must be Kirumi, as it couldn't have happened before the motive videos."

"Blah, blah, blah. All I heard is rubbish. You guys are full of shit," Miu cursed at the group. "When I investigated the carbonated drinks, I found something interesting. Based on the cupboard size, it could contain probably six carbonated drinks. Three in the front and three in the back. Kirumi, did you give Kokichi a carbonated drink near the back of the cupboard?"

Kirumi looked at Miu with a curious expression. "Yes, the cupboard can contain six carbonated drinks. I handed him the one at the front before the motive videos. And I gave Kokichi the carbonated drink at the back. But why? Why would this matter?"

"What you dipshits don't get is that this murder was planned beforehand. The carbonated drinks at the front are normal and the carbonated drinks at the back are full of poison," Miu explained. "So, the murder must have happened before the motive videos!"

Gasps were heard.

"Before the motive videos?" Tsumugi repeated, like she couldn't believe that.

"So, there are eight possible culprits?" Angie asked.

Shuichi shook his head. "How do we know if what you're saying is the truth? There isn't a way to test if the drink contained poison."

"What do you guys think I was doing? With my inventions, I was able to capture a lot of wild animals in the Academy like rabbits. Then, I gave them some of the soda. Or I coated a food with the soda, say I coated a carrot with the soda. It was a trial. As it turned out, all the carbonated drinks at the front, nothing happened to the animals. But the carbonated drinks at the back, there were some instant deaths."

"How horrible! Animal abuse!" Himiko cried, pointing an accusing finger at Miu.

"Well brat, how else are you supposed to find out it was poison? I can't kill someone with the poison, so the next big thing are animals!" Miu retorted.

Kaede frowned. She wasn't a fan that Miu had to poison animals around the Academy, but in this case...well, the end justified the means right?

"How horrible!" Himiko yelled. "The worst human in Earth."

Miu glared at the witch. "Well, how else was I going to find out if it was poison? And since I didn't want to waste all my time searching for animals, I used the rabbit in your Magician Lab."

Himiko cried out, her tears were falling. "Not bunny! You're a horrible human being!"

Korekiyo laughed. Then, his voice turned serious. "How can you even enter Himiko's lab?"

A few classmates looked at Miu in alarm. How did she enter her lab?

"Duh, the door was wide open. I don't know why, but I just went in and pulled out the rabbit."

By that point, everyone turned to Himiko.

"Um...I think I left the door open when I found out there was another murder. I immediately rushed out, so I don't think I closed it," Himiko replied. She seemed ashamed by the fact that she left the door open.

"That settles it! One of the eight are guilty," Angie declared. "And Maki seems like the most likely to kill Kokichi."

"Sorry to interrupt you guys again, but I have to ask something," Rantaro broke into the conversation. "Where did one of us even attain poison? I don't think poison is something easily accessible to, especially in this academy."

Everyone blinked in alarm. How did the murderer attain poison?

There was silence. Nobody could figure out where the poison came from.

'Oh cute Kaede, sometimes you got to expect the unexpected'

Kaede blinked. That was a quote she had heard from Kokichi, back when they first met. She wasn't sure why that quote reached the forefront of her brain, but perhaps it was Kokichi trying to tell her something. She wasn't really sure why or how to explain it, but the blonde was going to trust that instinct.

"Sometimes you got to expect the unexpected."

Kaede's quote immediately caught the attention of everyone.

"Huh!? Are you saying it isn't Maki here? She has a reason to target Kokichi!" Miu exclaimed.

Kaede shook her head. "I'm not saying that. Maki is still a prime suspect."

Miu angrily turned to her. "Then, what the hell are you saying!?"

The pianist sighed. She was going to explain it to everyone. "Well, I think we have a solid grasp right now everyone. Based on all the conclusive evidence, there are eight suspects, including myself. However, we should narrow it down even further, based on our research labs."

"R-Research labs?" Shuichi asked. "How would that help?"

"Man, I'm telling ya guys, it's obviously Maki!" Miu insisted. "Trust me on this."

"Stop blaming Maki!" Kaito defended once again.

"Stop!" Rantaro shouted, cutting the argument between Miu, Maki and Kaito. "Let Kaede speak. We don't have much time."

Kaede nodded her head to Rantaro. She appreciated the gesture. "First, I think we have some conclusive evidence that Kirumi is not the murderer. Back to my main point...I think the poison may have come from a research lab. Based on the open labs, Miu, Himiko, Kirumi, Gonta and mine does not contain any poison. So, us five cannot be the murderer. Now, the eight suspects have been narrowed down to five, as Himiko, Kirumi and I cannot be the murderer."

Maki instantly scoffed. "How like you...to get your friends and yourself out of the mess immediately."

Kaede narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "So, that trims our five suspects to Maki, Kiibo, Shuichi, Korekiyo and Tsumugi."

"Hey, my friends can't be suspects!" Kaito objected. "So, it's Korekiyo and Tsumugi. And I think it's Korekiyo! We can never tell what he's thinking, because we can never see his face."

"Yeah!" Tsumugi nodded in agreement.

"It is true that it's suspicious that we can't see his face." Himiko pondered. "It could be possible that Korekiyo is the culprit."

At that moment, Korekiyo frowned.

"But, there's one open lab we never went into and that was Maki's," Kaede stated. "So, she still is our main suspect."

"Like I said, stop blaming Maki!" Kaito defended.

"Maki?" Kiibo jumped back in alarm. It may be a dawning realization to the robot that his friend Maki could actually be a murderer.

"I'm afraid to say it's true," Shuichi sadly sighed. "Maki wouldn't even allow Kiibo, Kaito and I to enter her room. And we're her friends."

"Shuichi, you're suppose to cover her back!" Kaito roared, turning to the detective.

"Anyways!" Kaede screamed. "What's in her room!? If she is the Ultimate Assassin, poison could be inside her room for all we know, because she never let us in!"

"Damn right!" Miu added in. "She's obviously the culprit!"

Maki was about to retort when Kaito jumped in.

"She let me in that one time! Her room contains weapons, crossbows and guns. But there is no poison in that room!" Kaito declared. "Trust me, I swear!"

A lot of the classmates seemed troubled on who to believe.

"That's obviously full of shit!" Miu roared back.

Kaede sighed. She was certain it was Maki, but could there be another possibility? Before she knew it, a familiar quote popped up on her brain once again.

'Oh cute Kaede, sometimes you got to expect the unexpected'

Kokichi. Personally, Kaede was nervous as a wrecking ball. Without his presence, she was lost. But even then, she couldn't really explain it, but she felt like he was guiding her. Yes, even when he was gone, she felt like he was by her side. Perhaps Maki was the obvious choice, but it was supposed to be someone entirely different...

"Wait a second, let's look at the four other suspects." Kaede suggested.

Her suggestion garnered a lot of surprise from the other classmates. Kaito sighed in relief.

"Why? It's obvious Maki is the culprit!" Himiko stated, pointing at Maki. "There's no other person who could do such a thing!"

Kaede shook her head. "No, because if Kaito is telling the truth, then there wouldn't be poison in her room. And personally, I don't even think there is poison in her room. Based on how Maki acts, she would have weapons or use her bare fists. If she really was planning to kill Kokichi, she probably would want him to experience as much pain and blood as possible. That's how Maki operates."

Maki scowled at Kaede's description, but muttered, "Exactly."

Miu grunted. "Then who the hell did it?"

"There's still poison to think about. So, let's look at what could possibly be inside the locked labs," Kaede stated. "Kiibo is the Ultimate Robot, so his room will be full of technology. I highly doubt poison would be in his room. That narrows it down to three. Tsumugi is the Ultimate Cosplayer, so her room would be full of costumes, so once again, there's probably no poison in that room. We're down to two suspects. Korekiyo is the Ultimate Anthropologist, so his room would contain studies of human society and culture, as well as human development. Nothing about that talent could attribute to poison. Now, Shuichi? Ultimate Detective, I think it's plausible that his room would contain poison."

"That's not possible!" Shuichi immediately countered. "First, our research labs are locked! How could we even get in? Even if there is poison in my research lab, there is no way for me to access that lab."

Kaede nodded her head. "That's true. All your research labs are supposed to be locked, but I'm telling you that I am expecting the unexpected."

At that declaration, everyone turned to Kaede with intent gazes.

"What do you mean?" Kirumi asked. "Mind explaining?"

Kaede nodded. She had to make everyone understand her perspective. "What I'm saying is, perhaps Monokuma left a certain door open for someone. That may be unlikely, but that would explain the whole crime scene."

Shuichi gritted his teeth. "Even so, why are you accusing me? If the door was unlocked, that means anybody could've went into my research lab!"

"Hold on, I'm just wondering," Rantaro stated. "Whose motive videos does everyone have?"

Once again, Kaede had to give thanks to Rantaro. That was an idea that she had forgotten, but was very crucial to find out who killed Kokichi.

"Kokichi had Kirumi's motive video. I had Kokichi's motive video. Miu had my motive video," Kaede stated.

"Did you show your motive video to anyone?" Rantaro asked.

Both Miu and Kaede shook their heads. They had declined to see their own motive video once they saw Kokichi blatantly walking away from his own motive video.

"I had Maki's motive video!" Kaito yelled. "Didn't show it to her."

"I had Kaito's motive video," Maki mumbled. "I didn't show it to him."

"Huh, Maki-roll? You had my video?" Kaito looked at her with surprise.

"Stop calling me Maki-roll. Call me another nickname, but not that!" Maki growled.

"I had Angie's motive video," Korekiyo replied. "Also, didn't show it to her."

"Huh, I had Korekiyo's motive video and yep! The video wasn't shown to him," Angie happily said.

"Keke, what? When I asked you, you happily walked away from me!" Korekiyo growled.

Angie happily laughed. "Yep, so it's a reason for you to not commit murder."

"I had Himiko's motive video. Due to everything that happened, there was no time for me to show the video to her." Kirumi explained.

"And I had Miu's video. She didn't even want to see it, so yea..." Himiko trailed off.

"Yeah, and I got Rantaro's motive video. I never had the chance to ask him if he wanted to see it." Tsumugi insisted.

"Gonta had Kiibo's motive video," Gonta stated. "Gonta no show."

"Affirmative, I had Gonta's motive video and didn't show it to him as well."

Rantaro nodded. "That's enough, I had Tsumugi's motive video. By the way it was exchanged, the motive videos of Kokichi, Miu, Kaede, Kirumi and Himiko had it been delivered randomly five-way. Everyone else had the motive video of someone else, while that someone else had your motive video. Based on our math, one person would've gotten their own motive video, isn't that right? Shuichi."

Shuichi raised his hands in defence. "I didn't even look at my own motive video."

"Now, that sounds like a lie." Himiko pointed out to Shuichi.

"What the heck! Motive videos haven't been delivered properly. Why you little Monokubs." Monokuma glared at his Monokubs. "...Luckily, it's quite interesting."

"Where's your proof?" Shuichi asked. "There isn't any concrete evidence that I killed Kokichi. All you're doing is making assumptions. Your whole basis fails if Monokuma didn't open my research lab."

Kaede thought about it. "Shuichi, you've been quite quiet in this investigation. Aren't you the Ultimate Detective? Instead, you tried to direct our attention and blame onto Kirumi. When that didn't work out, you actually argued for Maki being the culprit."

"Shuichi, what the heck!?" Kaito whirled to Shuichi.

"N-No, I didn't. I was just stating facts," Shuichi insisted. "Look, you guys are all going to die if you choose me as the blackened!"

"Is that a threat?" Miu demanded as she narrowed her eyes.

Shuichi shook his head violently. "No, it's the truth!"

Monokuma laughed. "Well, now that time has run out...It's voting time!" With that said, Monokuma sprung into action. "Please cast your votes in front of the game pad. Who's gonna get chosen as the culprit? Will your choice be right or hopefully wrong? What's it gonna be?"

Everyone was shocked. They hadn't determined who the culprit was.

"Guys, please! I'm certain it's Shuichi." Kaede insisted. She had to make sure everyone was certain to vote for Shuichi.

"What are you saying?" Shuichi barked. "The room was locked and motive videos happened recently. I couldn't have gone in after the motive videos were released. And if you insist I did it before the motive videos, then I would have no reason to target Kokichi or attain poison in any way! Think guys! Think!"

"Gonta no can choose!" Gonta yelled out, he was clearly in disarray about the prospect of selecting who murdered Kokichi.

"Hmm, who's the one? Who's the one?" Angie happily wondered. "That is something Atua must decide."

Maki frowned. "It's obviously Kirumi."

"Please trust me," Kaede insisted. "Monokuma could be behind this and if he was, then Shuichi is obviously the one!"

"You're trying to get us killed!" Shuichi yelled. "Guys, it's obviously Kirumi. You guys trust me, right?"

Everyone was torn on who to vote. There were quite a few options to vote for. Maki. Shuichi. Kirumi. Which of the three killed Kokichi?

At this point, Kaede turned to her friends. Miu. Kirumi. Himiko. Hopefully, they would pick Shuichi. Kaede was certain that Shuichi was the culprit. At the same time, she felt like she could visualize a ghost Kokichi, nodding besides her. He was telling her that she was making the right decision. Either that or she's gotten delusional, but the pianist would rather not admit the latter part.

At the same time, Kaede could see Shuichi pleading with his friends as well. The detective was telling Kaito, Maki and Kiibo to vote for Kirumi.

Based on everything so far, it was at a possible four to four. That means the other five votes are deciding the whole outcome. Their fates rested on Korekiyo, Angie, Gonta, Rantaro and Tsumugi.

"Vote already!" Monokuma yelled. "Stop stalling!"

Quickly, Kaede sent a look to Rantaro. He frowned and quickly looked away from her. For Kaede, she was praying for a miracle. If Kokichi was here, he would probably solved this case easy.

Kaede pressed the button on Shuichi.

Once they finished voting, the screen lit up.

The pianist could feel her heart beat heavily. She had no idea who everyone else voted for. It was unpredictable, unlike the first trial. And that unpredictability was scary!

"Now, it seems the voting has finished. Let's see the result." Monokuma gleefully smiled.

The screen popped up from above, it was slowly going down. Kaede felt like she could have a heart attack any second now.

Then, the votes appeared besides the avatars.

Gonta had one vote. Maki had one vote. Kirumi had five votes. Shuichi had six votes.

The roulette wheel began to play and stopped on Shuichi's face. And the screen declared him...Guilty!

Monokuma laughed. "Look like you guys are correct! That was quite a close vote. Hahaha, the one who killed Kokichi Oma was Shuichi Saihara!"

Shuichi sighed. "I guess this is game over for me. And I thought I would beat this game."

"Shuichi? No way!" Kaito denied. "It can't be."

Kiibo shook his head. "I can't believe it."

Maki didn't say anything.

"Why? Why'd you killed Kokichi!?" Himiko shrieked.

Shuichi stared intently at Himiko. "It's because he's obviously the smartest here, and he has the greatest influence of four people. That would be deadly in a trial. With him gone, I thought I was going to win this game easily, but who knew you guys would caught on? Even with limited evidence."

"You killed him before the motive videos! So, you were deceiving us from the start." Kaede snapped.

The detective looked at the blonde. "That's wrong, I got my motive video a few days early from Monokuma. You guys were the one who got your motive videos late."

"What was in your motive video?" Rantaro asked. "It obviously must be something big if it drove you to commit murder."

"Nope, I just remembered everything. Maybe mine was special." Shuichi shook his head. Then, all of a sudden, his face had morphed with a certain crazy edge to it. "This is all a game and I just tried to win it! I wanted to give everyone a show to remember! The detective being a murderer, that's unheard of. Hahaha, I wanted to give everyone a show!"

At the sudden declaration, everyone backed away. It was like he had suddenly turned crazy.

"So how did you attain the poison?" Korekiyo asked.

Shuichi crazily laughed, as he looked at Korekiyo. "It's just like Kaede had said! Monokuma gave me the key to my own research lab. He personally delivered my motive video and key to my room. Then, I placed that poison into the carbonated drinks. By placing the poisoned drinks at the back, I could tell everyone that the poison was recently done. Unfortunately, I got toppled. I wanted to win Danganronpa so bad!"

"D-Danganronpa?"

Before anyone could say anything, Monokuma popped up.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's Punishment Time!"

Game Over

Shuichi has been found guilty!

Time for the punishment!

Shuichi sat in a desk in a nice office. He looked around and before he knew it, he was covered with a blindfold. Then, he felt an immense pain from his back. Quickly, Shuichi turned around, but there was no point as he couldn't see who had targeted him.

Pain erupted from his left shoulder. Then, his right shoulder.

As this was going on, Monokuma was attacking him heavily with a sword.

Shuichi smiled. So, this was how his Danganronpa ending was going to be like. His death was going to be a mystery, as he continuously get attacked. Well, the answer was obvious. It was the Monokubs, but at the same time, was it?

Bam. Bam. Bam.

It didn't matter too much. It was a shame that he was going to have to die. He was so close to winning the game as well! Just one vote...

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Before long, Shuichi laid on the ground bloody and dead.

Before anyone knew what happened, Monokuma jumped back to his seat and pressed a button, releasing a quick BOOM.

"Huh, what happened? Monophanie!" Monotaro yelled in anguish.

Monodam glared at Monokuma.

Monokuma looked at his sons with an evil smile. "This is what happens when you're slow or fail to listen to my orders. You go boom-boom. So, find Monosuke, alright?"

While the whole scene happened, Kaito was crying. Kiibo was frowning. They were clearly not expecting Shuichi to commit murder. Even Maki seemed disturbed. In some way, Kaede felt bad for them, but it really didn't matter to her.

Suddenly, a ghost Kokichi appeared in front of her. Obviously, it was not real...but she wished it was.

The ghost Kokichi flashed Kaede his unique grin. 'Thank you Kaede'

Then, the ghost vanished.

Kaede blinked. She was glad that she made the him happy, even though it was in ghost form. Perhaps Kaede was becoming delusional, but somewhere, she was certain that Kokichi was watching her.

Kaede walked into her lab and went straight for the piano. She began to play the tune that Kokichi and her had made together. The song that they were going to release to the world when they get out of this killing game.

"Kokichi, this is our song. Hopefully, this song reaches you."

Surviving Students: 12

Okay, I am certain there is going to be some backlash for this scene. I know, Kokichi died two chapters ago? And now, Shuichi died? I know, I already killed two of the main characters before the halfway point. But hear me out, the mastermind has a lot of control. As you guys may have noticed, Shuichi's motive video was special. He had gotten it a few days beforehand, a key to his own research lab and his motive video was actually his memories of the past. Let's be honest. If Monokuma showed everyone their memories before the killing game, even guys like Kaito would be driven to kill.

As I said before, this case was huge! The next case might be even bigger! Keep in mind that there is still the Necronomicon. So, for all you guys missing Kokichi, there is still a way for him to come back! But we'll see what happens from this point on.

How did you guys feel about this chapter? I've gotten a few reviews about my pacing for the first case, so this time, I dedicated a whole chapter solely for the case. This time, I think I did a better job. But give me your thoughts on the this class trial?

Did you guys correctly predict the murderer? Who did you guys initially pick to be the murderer? I'm certain it was somewhat obvious it was Shuichi, but there were quite a few moments in this case that pushed you from Kirumi to Maki to (Korekiyo?) to Shuichi.

Hopefully, I left you guys undecided at the end when Kaede and Shuichi argue against each other...Oh, the irony! Shuichi played the song for Kaede after the trial and in this case, Kaede played their song for Kokichi. Do any of you guys wonder if my story has some parallels to the original game? It's an interesting concept to incorporate, but if it's too much, just let me know...

If you guys want to know who voted for who, here it is...

Gonta- Gonta

Miu- Maki

Korekiyo, Maki, Shuichi, Kiibo, Kaito- Kirumi

Kirumi, Himiko, Kaede, Angie, Tsumugi, Rantaro- Shuichi

Anyways, please share your thoughts and opinions on this chapter! It would be greatly appreciated!