Weiss shook her head. "We don't even know how she was killed. How are we supposed to figure out who did it?"

Blake, who was kneeling down beside Nora's limp and bloody form, glared back at the heiress. "We can at least consider motives. Tell me, who is the most volatile person in our group? The one that has the most to go back to when they escape? Who could that be?"

Pyrrha knelt down across from Blake. "Stop it. You don't know that."

Weiss glanced around the room at the others gathered. "You know what we do know? We do know that someone ran off and went missing yesterday, and that they weren't seen again until this morning. The same person just happens to have a close family member who has been directly threatened by Deadb3ar."

Blake jumped up and got in Weiss' face. "What are you trying to do?"

Weiss just yelled back at her. "I'm trying to get everyone to realize who the prime suspects really are!"

"You're just trying to incriminate Ruby!"

"Not just Ruby!" Weiss turned back to everyone else. Ren, Velvet, and Carl were the only ones absent, as Carl and Velvet were unconscious and Ren couldn't bear to see his friend in such a condition. Weiss looked at each of them in turn. "The way I see it, there are three prime suspects."

Jaune looked around, trying to figure out who those three could be. "Uh... who?"

Weiss crossed her arms, ignoring the hole being burned into the back of her head by Blake's glare. "First, of course, there's Ruby. She went missing last night, and she didn't show up again until after Nora was dead. She had the opportunity and the motive, with her sister being held hostage."

Ruby just shook her head sadly. "I... I can't defend myself there..."

"Second is Pyrrha."

Pyrrha looked up, shocked. "What?!"

"I'm not sure about the motive, other than getting out of here, but she definitely had the opportunity. She was waiting out in the hallway all night, keeping watch for Ruby. She could have gone over to visit Nora at any moment throughout the night, and Nora would trust her enough to let her in."

Pyrrha jumped up, pushing past Blake. "That's absurd! I would never hurt anyone! Not even... Not even you!"

Blake added another bit. "If anyone is the prime suspect, it's you!"

Miltia spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Actually, the jerk-ass is usually innocent..." She stopped when she noticed everyone was staring at her.

Melanie punched her arm. "Well done. You just cleared Carl and Weiss."

Cardin laughed at that. "Alright, then who's most likely to be the culprit?"

Miltia started sweating under the weight of the gazes. "Um... well, in one I saw, the quiet shy girl who fainted at the sight of blood was actually a serial killer..."

Blake shook her head. "I don't know what your source is, but we are not going there. Velvet is as innocent as Ru-"

"Nora was killed by a large bladed weapon."

Blake turned to Pyrrha. "What? How do you know that?"

Pyrrha shrugged. "I inspected the wound." She held up her hand, showing that it was covered in blood. "It's not as fun as it sounds. Can I get to the washroom so I can clean this off."

A number of the others filed out of the room, allowing Pyrrha access to the washroom and the sink within. Blake and Melanie stayed behind, with Miltia and Jaune standing in the doorway. After a few seconds of silence, Melanie approached Nora's body.

Blake arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Melanie glanced up at her, then lifted Nora's arm. "Tell me you noticed this."

Blake looked. They had been hidden behind her arm, but now she could see them. Five small numbers, written on the wall in blood. "What is that?"

Melanie read the numbers off slowly. "One-one-zero-three-seven. It looks like she wrote it down before she died."

Pyrrha joined them, taking in the new discovery. "She left us a message?"

Melanie shook her head, then stopped. "Wait... the smell of cleaner in the hall. She was killed out in the hallway, then brought back in here. She only could have written it if she was still alive when the killer dragged her back to her room."

Blake nodded. "Then, when they were busy getting rid of the smell of blood in the hall, she wrote these numbers."

Melanie dropped Nora's arm back into place. "Then she died. She either couldn't hold on any longer, or the killer returned and finished the job. Too bad her message means nothing."


Ren, Weiss, Sky, and Ruby were in Ruby's room. They were hoping to find anything that could prove neither Pyrrha nor Ruby was responsible. Ren in particular hoped they would find good evidence that they were innocent. He had placed his trust in them, and he would not have it shattered.

Weiss was the opposite. She seemed determined to prove that one of the two was guilty. It was almost as if she wanted to get rid of them, or possibly, shift the blame off of herself. Ren was sure many of the others had started to suspect Weiss.

As for the other two, Ruby had come along to defend herself and Pyrrha in the other's absence. Sky was simply there to be the neutral party. No one gave any particular care to him, which quickly made Ren realize how helpful the blue-haired boy would be.

Weiss stepped away from the washroom and around the bed, stopping right in front of Ruby. "When Jaune found you and Pyrrha, the two of you were in the shower, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Just getting out of the shower."

Weiss gave her a questioning look. "Why were you showering together? Is there something you would like to tell us?"

Ruby's face, as well as the two boys' faces, turned red. "Uh... well... we were just... I needed a shower and she needed a shower, so we decided to save some time. It's like, you know, we're both girls so what's the problem? It's not like I was in the shower with a fully grown man or anything. Besides, can you honestly say you've never showered with another girl before?"

Weiss crossed her arms and fixed Ruby with a glare. "Never."

There was an awkward silence, eventually ended by Sky coughing and raising his hand. "I've never showered with a girl either."

Weiss turned around and stomped the floor. "Oh, grow up! I can't believe I'm stuck in here with you... you... guh!" She stomped again and stormed out the door.

Ruby pulled Crescent Rose over to herself and unfolded it, showing it to the boys. "Anyway, as you can see, there is no blood on my weapon. Trust me, it's ridiculously hard to properly clean, and I think Pyrrha would have noticed blood on it. Especially if I had to clean it in front of her."

Ren stepped to the door. "And I take it you can vouch for Pyrrha as well." Ruby nodded. "Well, then I can only see one possible answer. Weiss."


Velvet stood out in the hallway, waiting for everyone to come out of Nora's room. She had fainted as soon as she entered and saw the blood. She didn't want to repeat that embarrassing moment, so she was trying to steel herself for the next time. She wanted to be able to help the investigation, and to do that she would have to go into the room. She would have to see Nora again.

Her nose twitched, bothered by the smell of the cleaner. It wasn't the best smell in the world, and after a while it was more than the smell that was bothering her. She looked both ways down the hall to see if anyone was there, but she could only see Jaune and Miltia standing in the doorway to Nora's room. A thought started coming to her, and she acted on it.

Her first stop was the kitchen, and after some searching she found a cupboard containing a few bottles of cleaner as well as other cleaning equipment. She took one and unscrewed the lid, moving it to her nose. The smell was just as bad as the one in the hall outside Nora's room, but she could tell the difference. She closed the bottle and put it back, moving on to the next cleaner. She repeated the process until she was sure that the cleaner used in the hall was not one from the kitchen.

Then she moved to the gym, and at the back she found a large closet full of sports equipment. She looked over the rack full of Hockey equipment, the folded up Basketball nets, the large mess of a Tennis net, and the portable plates for Baseball. Just behind the nets for Football, she spotted exactly what she came for. There was a large stack of mats, usable for a number of things including for fighting tournaments. Her evidence was sitting on a small shelf beside the mats.


Cardin, Russel, and Dove had moved back to the assembly hall, where they waited until Carl woke up. Then they decided to start questioning him. This time, however, they would be questioning him Cardin's way.

Carl slid across the floor for several meters before slamming into the stage at the head of the room. He had flown several meters more before he even hit the floor. Cardin stepped towards him, hoisting his mace over his shoulder.

"See, Carl, I figure the best way to get a confession out of you is to beat it out of you. I won't even bruise your pride like Blake would. Let's face it. Being beaten by a guy twice your size is far better than being beaten by a girl who, on any other day, you'd probably try to look up her skirt."

Carl sat up, holding his hand to him bruised chest, but laughing all the same. "When she knocked me out, I didn't actually lose consciousness until after I hit the ground. I guess you could say that I'd try to look up her skirt any other day, but today I actually did."

Cardin gave pause, working that thought through his mind. He let his weapon drop from his shoulder, the head hitting the ground heavily, then leaned on it. "That's... pretty funny actually. You humiliate her while she's humiliating you."

Carl nodded, then started laughing quietly. Cardin joined him in laughing, and soon Russel did as well. The three of them laughed, growing louder and louder. Then Carl hit the wall and slid down to the floor in a heap.

Cardin shouldered his weapon again, sneering at the far smaller boy. "Doesn't matter if it was funny, though. You're an asshole, and nobody likes you."

Carl sat up and shrugged. "So they all want to see me get executed. So what? I'll enjoy knowing that all but one of you will die with me."

Cardin considered his words for a moment before smiling cheerfully. "Well, Carl, I can definitely say the same about you. Unless the others have some really good evidence on someone else, you have my vote."

Carl nodded, grinning. "I've got mine too. It's a sure way to take everybody down at once, ain't it." He looked over to Russel. "What about it? Can I count on your vote?"

Russel looked conflicted for a moment, then he chuckled. "Ah, screw it. Might as well."

Cardin reached out his hand to Carl, helping him to his feet. "Cause if we're all gonna die we might as well take this asshole with us, right?"

Russel waved his hand and started walking away. "Yeah, sure. That."

Cardin grunted and punched Carl back down. "That is, of course, if no one can prove someone else did it."

Dove had stayed silent the entire time, standing off to the side and observing them. He noted everything they said, trying to determine if they were lying and how well they were lying. It seemed to be that either Carl was telling the truth, or he was really good at lying.

The doors opened and people started arriving. Weiss was first, keeping her distance from everyone as they walked in and giving suspecting looks toward everyone. Dove watched intently, noting every little thing Weiss did. Every move and every glance was caught in his memory.

Jaune looked around the room at everyone. His fellow students. One of them was guilty, but which one. Pyrrha tried to give him a hopeful smile. Ren avoided making eye contact altogether. Ruby shuffled her feet around innocently. Weiss glared icicles into everyone she could see. Blake barely contained her building rage. Cardin crossed his arms and acted too superior to have killed. Dove studied the people around him, looking for hints. Russel leaned against the wall, humming some tune. Sky looked around himself, trying to figure out where he was going to start in the trial. Melanie tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Deab3ar to show up. Miltia hid behind her sister, staring at the ground.

Jaune wasn't sure who he thought did it. He hoped for all their sakes that someone had a clue. As such, it was the last two who caught his attention. Carl noticed his gaze and met it, his mouth taking the shape of a malicious grin. The boy almost looked like a rabid snake about to pounce on a small rabbit. Jaune shuddered and looked away, turning his eyes to the small rabbit.

Velvet wasn't shaking. She wasn't shuddering or fidgeting or crying. The whimpering and stuttering had gone. She just looked determined, a bottle of something in one hand and a cloth in the other. She looked to him like she had found something important.

Deadb3ar's voice called out through the speakers. "All students, please head to the Class Trial Room. The door is at the back of the stage in the Assembly Room."


Author's Note: Can you piece it together? There are subtle enough hints that should make it possible to guess, but I want this to play out like Dangan Ronpa did. On another note, I can now say that I know exactly how this is going to end. I want to drive you all up the wall with it.