I hope you all have your theories ready because it's finally time for the class trial! This chapter was a lot more difficult to write than I was expecting. Any fellow SYOC writers reading this, my respect for you has tripled. Seriously. Regardless, hopefully the first part of this trial matches or exceeds your expectations!
liammarklh88: Lots of interesting theories there. Don't worry. It's only natural to be worried about your son. No one wants their character to be a killer! Well... most people. Probably. Maybe. Unless, you know, they were deliberately made to be a killer. Anyways, I always enjoy hearing your thoughts. Let's see if any of your theories are true!
Shirasaur: Welcome back! Don't you hate it when you come back and suddenly there's dead people? But yes, you did miss a lot. I'm glad to have you back with us, and I'm really glad that you enjoyed your binge!
oddlyillregular: Yeah, not a lot of people saw Tsuyoshi's death coming. Poor boy. But yeah. Misa's guns haven't really been important yet. I would call them Chekov's guns, but Misa might take offense to that. She's protective over her babies. Anyways, I really enjoyed reading your analysis of what potentially happened. Let's see if you're right!
Crimson Spider Lily: Yes, Zettai has been fairly friendly and yes, Fujiko was absolutely ready to throw down. She still is. You always ask so many questions in your reviews and I want to answer every, single one. Except then we'll be here all day and also spoilers. But I will say that you're the one person who's picked up on something fairly important, which is very nice to see. And also, yes, Zettai is a smug bastard. That continues here. Don't worry.
The three of them were the first to arrive at the black and white doors. So these led to the trial room. In hindsight, they probably should have been able to guess that from the start. Although, when Misa first stumbled upon Miyu trying to open them, they had no idea that Monokuma was here or that one of their own would be dead only a few days later.
That was the thing that probably struck her the most. Less than a week ago, everyone here had been living their normal lives. They were probably happy and peaceful. They didn't have to worry about bloodshed or murder. Tsuyoshi was probably planning his next experiment or scientific study, enthusiastic and hopeful about the possible outcomes. And now he was dead, murdered by someone who could have never dreamed that their life would turn into this.
But she was getting far too introspective. Continuing this train of thought would only bring sympathy for the killer. And Misa couldn't afford that right now. They were about to take part in a trial. There was no room for dangerous things like sympathy or understanding. Not when punishment, and that word only meant one thing here, awaited the losers.
Shoma silently slipped out of his room and into the hall, careful not to open his bedroom door too wide. Zettai frowned immediately.
"Fruitful investigation?" he asked dismissively. Shoma glanced at him before hunching his shoulders and pulling his headphones fully onto his ears. The gamer didn't say a word and eventually Zettai gave up and turned his attention elsewhere. Misa and Miyu looked at each other. Misa shrugged.
Slowly, the entire group gathered in front of the doors. To Misa's surprise, Itami actually chose the stand next to Miyu. He didn't look at her or anything, but it was a definite sign of solidarity. Even if Itami hadn't liked being around her or Tsuyoshi they were still a trio. Or, well, a duo now.
"Are we supposed to knock or something?" Fujiko asked.
As if on cue, the doors opened inward, revealing a large elevator with more than enough room to fit everyone inside. Fujiko looked around before walking purposefully inside, dragging Satsuki along with her. She crossed her arms and stared at everyone else.
"You coming?"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on, kid," Ryuu told her. He sauntered in and leaned against the back corner. Everyone else filed in, eventually leaving just Shoma standing there. He wouldn't even look at the elevator. Hoshina stepped out of the elevator and lightly placed a hand on his upper back with the intention of leading him inside. He reacted as if he had been shocked, flinching away from the touch. Hoshina immediately pulled her hands back.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Leave him be, Hoshina," Sumire told her. "He'll hardly have much to contribute anyways."
"I doubt that we'll be able to leave without him" Hoshina said. "Everything important has required full attendance."
"Fine," Shoma muttered.
As soon as he and Hoshina stepped inside, the elevator doors closed. It groaned, metal laboriously creaking to life, and started it's slow, shuddering descent. Misa stared at the back of Ryo's head, trying to plan her opening moves. All of the crime shows said that a killer needed motive, means, and opportunity. The motive was fairly clear; Monokuma gave them that. So they just needed to focus on the other parts. Those were only two things. It wasn't intimidating at all when she thought about it that way.
All too soon, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. They were in another circular room, this one decorated in rich reds and glowing golds. The air was choked with the smell of wood varnish. Dominating the room was a circle of sixteen mahogany stands. One of the stands held a picture frame, although Misa couldn't see what it was from her current angle. Directly across from the elevator was a red throne. Monokuma lounged in the seat, his head propped up by one paw.
"Welcome, welcome! Everybody, find your place!" he cooed. It would be pointless to refuse, and so everyone slowly made their way to a stand. They were organized in the same way that the bedrooms were. Boys made up one half, girls the other. Misa took her place between Kotoko and Fujiko. From her spot, she could lock eyes with everyone else in the circle. There would be no escaping scrutiny or judgment. Not from the living Ultimates, and certainly not from the dead either.
The picture frame stood in Tsuyoshi's designated spot. His dirt-streaked face stared out at everyone from underneath a messy, pink X.
"That's morbid," Sumire said lightly.
"I don't like it. Can we take it down?" Rudolph asked. Misa didn't know what he was complaining about. At least the picture wasn't starting directly at him. Misa shifted positions slightly. Yep. Tsuyoshi's eyes were definitely following her.
"Of course not! How else are we to remember our dearly departed friends? This way, they get to participate in the trial too!" Monokuma said.
"I still don't like it," Rudolph muttered, edging closer to Zettai's stand.
"So, how does this all work?" Sumire asked. "Do we simply start debating?"
"I would like to look over my notes first," Ryo said with his hand raised.
"Sure, sure. Look at your truth bullets," Monokuma said. "You just need to figure out who the blackened is. When you're finished, you'll vote on your answer. If you're right, congratulations! You win and I get to punish the blackened! But guess wrong, and I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, who goes free. Oh, and remember… everyone is punished for a tie."
Okay, that seemed simple enough. Misa took a deep breath and pulled out her Monopad.
Truth Bullets:
Monokuma File #1: The victim is Tsuyoshi Genda, the Ultimate Scientist. He was found in the shower room at 6:05 am. The cause of death was drowning. There is also evidence of a blow to the back of his head.
The Shower Drain: The drain is very slow, leading to a build up of water whenever people shower. There was a small puddle of water around the drain that did not reach the body.
Damp Hair: Tsuyoshi's hair is damp with water.
Back of the Head: There is a large, bloody bump on the back of Tsuyoshi's head. It was made by something with a hard, straight edge. The blood has coagulated.
Tsuyoshi's Face: There are no scrapes, cuts, or any other kind of injury on Tsuyoshi's face.
Shower: There is a small amount of blood on the corner of the shower, about two thirds of the way down the wall.
White Fibers: There are white fibers caught on the tile floor not far from the body.
Rule 5: Girls are only allowed in the bathroom from 6 am to 6 pm. Boys are allowed in from 6 pm to 6 am. The bedroom doors lock depending on what time it is.
Soundproofing: The showers and each bedroom are soundproof. Only Tsuyoshi, Misa, Ryuu, Shouko, Kat, and Sumire knew this.
Tsuyoshi's Room: There is nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary about Tsuyoshi's room.
Ryuu's Account: Ryuu entered the bathroom at around 12:30 am in order to shower. There was no one else in the bathroom when he left.
Argument: Itami and Tsuyoshi had a very loud and public argument about Itami's Ultimate Talent, which resulted in Itami running out of the lounge. The only people unaware of this argument were Misa and Shoma.
Sumire's Account: Sumire went to the dining room at 4:30 am. Kat and Zettai joined her at 4:50 am. Itami joined at 5:00 am. Shouko joined at 5:20 am.
Dining Room and Kitchen Clocks: There is a twenty-minute difference between the dining room and kitchen clocks.
Misa nodded when she was done, but balanced her Monopad on the edge of her stand in case she needed it again. Even if she didn't know who did it, at least the evidence painted a fairly clear picture of what physically happened. She could start there and then… well, this wasn't like a normal trial. There were no prosecutors or defense attorneys or clearly designated suspects. Everyone acted as all three, which meant that she had to question and doubt everything that everyone said. Hopefully, that would be enough to find out the truth. Not just for Tsuyoshi's sake, he was already dead and gone, but for everyone still breathing.
Miyu cleared her throat. "Well, I guess we should get started by going over the basic facts. The victim was… it was Tsuyoshi."
"I found him in the bathroom at 6:05 am," Hoshina said. "According to the Monokuma file, the cause of death was drowning."
Ryo raised his hand again. "I'm confused about that."
"How surprising," Zettai muttered with a sigh. Miyu glared at him before turning back to Ryo with a sweet, albeit forced smile.
"What don't you understand?"
"You need water to drown in. Or some other liquid. But it's water here. Tsuyoshi wasn't in water. So where did it go? Or did Tsuyoshi move somewhere?"
"I was wondering that as well," Satsuki said.
"Okay then," Miyu said. "We'll start there."
Truth Bullets Loaded
Shower | The Shower Drain | Tsuyoshi's Room
Hoshina: I found Tsuyoshi in the bathroom, so it makes sense that he drowned there.
Kat: Yeah, there's definitely no shortage of water there.
Fujiko: Well, how about while he was in the shower?
Rudolph: Oh! There are lots of horror stories where people are drowned in the toilet.
Kat: Ugh, I hate stories like that.
Kotoko: Could it be in the sink? That's another common place.
Ryuu: Fucking hell. It's obvious.
Ryuu: He was drowned exactly where he was found.
Truth Bullet selected: The Shower Drain
I can't believe I'm agreeing with you!
BREAK!
"Of course you're agreeing with me, kid," Ryuu said. Misa held back a sigh.
"And I'm already regretting it," she told him.
"I'm still confused," Ryo said. "There was no water where we found him."
"Yeah, not at the moment. But remember? The shower drain sucks and takes forever to actually work. There's always a huge puddle whenever someone comes out of the shower. It definitely would have reached where he found Tsuyoshi," Misa explained.
Ryo slowly nodded. "Oh. I actually haven't – "
"Please don't finish that sentence," Sumire interrupted. Ryo's face flushed red.
"It would have probably been deep enough too," Miyu said. "If Tsuyoshi was being held face down, it only needs to be a couple of inches to cover his nose."
"He was held d-down?" Itami asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
"I… I just assumed."
"Heh. Well you know what they say about ass-u-me!" Kat joked. No one laughed or even cracked a smile. "Okay, not now. Duly noted. Sheesh. I was just trying to make things less creepy."
"Kat does have a point, though," Sumire said. "Assumptions will get us nowhere."
"Okay! Let's talk about it then!" Fujiko said firmly.
TRUTH BULLETS LOADED
TSUYOSHI'S FACE | WHITE FIBERS | BACK OF THE HEAD
SHOUKO: Tsuyoshi must have been held down!
SHOUKO: Every human fights for their life. No matter how pitiful!
HOSHINA: Maybe we shouldn't talk about Tsuyoshi like that.
SHOUKO: The blackened held Tsuyoshi's face against the floor…
SHOUKO: Not stopping, even as my fellow scientist struggled and fought back.
HOSHINA: Shouko, please…
SHOUKO: Has The Iron Maiden lied? I think not!
Truth Bullet Selected: Tsuyoshi's Face
Nope! Try again!
BREAK!
"Was sagst du?" Shouko demanded.
"Shouko, you know that no one else here speaks German, right?" Misa asked. And this was exactly why she didn't like spending time around her. She huffed, clearly offended.
"What did you say, underling?" she demanded.
"Nope! Try again!" Misa repeated. "Did you hear me that time?"
"Are you going to banter forever, or does this actually have a point?" Zettai asked.
Misa sighed. "I suppose I can have a point. The killer didn't hold Tsuyoshi down when he struggled. If they did, then his face would be all scraped up from the tiles. They aren't that smooth."
"But his face didn't have any injuries," Sumire said. She covered her mouth with her hand. "My, my, that is a bit of clever thinking, isn't it?"
That sounded like a genuine compliment, but something about it made Misa's skin itch. Was it genuine? Or was it simply what was convenient in the moment? Ugh, if their lives weren't on the line, she would try to pin this on Sumire in a second. Then she'd be done with her conniving bullshit.
"But then why wouldn't Tsuyoshi fight back?" Rudolph asked. "It's an instinctual reaction."
Why didn't Tsuyoshi fight back?
A) He didn't want to.
B) He was tied up.
C) He was unconscious.
It can't be anything else!
"It's hard to fight back if you're unconscious," Misa said.
"Yeah, true enough," Ryuu said. He paused. "Damn it. We agreed again."
"You both think that Tsuyoshi was unconscious when he drowned?" Sumire asked. Ryuu immediately nodded.
"Makes sense," he said. "Yeah, it's dead weight, but ya don't have to worry 'bout your prey getting away or being funny."
"But what did they knock him out with?" Fujiko asked. "We didn't see anything in the bathroom."
"Yes, we did," Satsuki said quietly. "Remember?"
"We did? Oh! You mean the blood that you found on the shower?"
The astronomer nodded. "It was the only blood that we saw. And it could certainly knock someone out."
"And it is right where we found Tsuyoshi," Kotoko said, her hands clasped behind her back. "If he hit his head and fell into the water…"
"Now, now," Zettai said. It was one of the most patronizing things Misa had ever heard. "Don't go down the 'it was all an accident' road again. Because it certainly was murder."
"I doubt that we need a reminder, thank you," Hoshina said with the upmost politeness. Zettai held up his hands in surrender, a smirk playing across his face. Of course he was enjoying this. Why did that not surprise her?
"If it makes you feel any better, the attack would have had to be pretty quick," Rudolph said. "I mean, no one heard Tsuyoshi scream or anything like that, right?"
"Wouldn't have mattered if he did, kid," Ryuu told him.
"It wouldn't?"
Why did no one hear a fight?
-SELECT TRUTH BULLET-
SOUNDPROOFING
This is it.
"Nah, the showers and bedroom are completely soundproof," Misa said. "You could yell at the top of your lungs and no one would ever hear you."
"How do you know that?" Miyu asked.
"Oh yeah! From when our group explored everything. Good catch, Solo! I completely forgot about that!"
"Da fuck? I'm the one that brought it up!"
"Shut up, Ape Face. I'm not talking to you."
"Kat, Ryuu, there's no reason to argue over that," Kotoko said gently. "We have other, more important things to focus on, yes?"
"W-who knew that there was s-soundproofing?" Itami asked.
Misa raised her hand. Ryuu, Kat, Sumire, and Shouko soon followed. "Tsuyoshi was also with us."
"S-so the k-killer is one of y-you!" Itami said, pointing his finger at each of them.
"I… don't know if that makes sense," Hoshina said, her face gently contemplative.
"Why n-not?"
"We just decided that this was a quick, probably silent attack before Tsuyoshi could fight back. That wouldn't make sense if the killer knew that they didn't have the worry about sound. These are the actions of someone trying to stay as quiet as possible."
"B-but…" Itami trailed off. "That's still a lot of p-people."
"No, we eliminated a third. That's a lot!" Kotoko said. Her encouragement fell flat though, especially once Ryuu spoke up.
"That doesn't eliminate shit. Blitz attack is still the best for getting people, kid."
"Is that coming from personal experience?" Misa asked innocently.
"Ya fucking right it is."
"You all insult the intelligence of the Iron Maiden! What about the fibers I found?" Shouko demanded, slamming her hand against the stand. "Das is clear evidence of a struggle!"
"They're a few fibers, Doktor," Zettai drawled. "Hardly as important as you think they are."
"Everyone uses that room," Satsuki pointed out. "We don't know where they're from. I doubt they're important." Shouko fumed, but said nothing more.
Miyu clapped her hands together, gathering everyone's attention again. "Hey, come on! We've done a great job so far, everyone! Now we know that the killer used the shower to knock Tsuyoshi unconscious and then, um, and then drown him." Her enthusiasm faded about halfway through, but Misa still had to give her credit. That was a lot longer than she was expecting. Still, she made a visible effort to recapture it. "And! We've started to narrow down our suspects, at least a little bit."
"So, we have the how. We should move on to the when," Sumire decided. "Especially since Monokuma was so kind as to keep it from us."
"Hey, I got to make these trials fair," the awful, horrible, annoying bear piped up. "It's not as much fun if I favor one side over the other!"
"Does that mean that the time of death points directly to the killer then?" she asked innocently. Monokuma went silent. If Misa squinted, she could almost see him mentally kicking himself. "I'll take that as a yes then."
"So," Zettai said. "When did Tsuyoshi die?"
TRUTH BULLETS LOADED
Sumire's Account | Monokuma File # 1 | Rule 5
Hoshina: I found Tsuyoshi at 6:05 am, according to the Monokuma File.
Miyu: And the last time that anyone saw him was what? 10 pm? Midnight?
Itami: T-that's a lot of t-time.
Kat: Don't say it like that.
Itami: Like w-what?
Kat: You know. Like that!
Fujiko: Stop goofing off! You're seriously pissing me off.
Ryo: Wait, we can't narrow it down anymore than that?
Ryo: This sucks! We can't narrow down the suspects at all from this!
Truth Bullet Selected: Rule 5
Nope! Try again!
BREAK!
"No, we can narrow that down a lot," Misa said with a shake of her head. "Only boys can get into the bathroom during that time frame."
"Hey, that's a lie!" Fujiko said suddenly. "Why are you lying?"
"Fujiko, what are you talking about?" Misa asked, fighting to keep her calm. No one had accused her of anything so far, which had surprised her but was definitely nice. Did this mark the end of that?
"Satsuki and I saw you, remember? When you were locked out?"
"What? Oh, that?" Misa had honestly forgotten all about that. "It's really no big deal."
"How can you say that? It directly contradicts what you said!" She crossed her arms in front of her. "We can't narrow it down at all!"
"Fujiko – "
"You're heading in the wrong direction!"
Rebuttal Showdown
TRUTH BLADES LOADED: Ryuu's Account | Argument | Dining Room and Kitchen Clocks
Fujiko: Satsuki and me saw you!
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: You were locked out of your room, remember?
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: And very clearly came out of a boy's room!
-SLASH!-
ADVANCE!
Misa: I do remember now. But it really isn't that big of a deal.
Fujiko: Sounds to me like you're trying to cover your ass!
Misa: Are you going to let me explain why or not?
Fujiko: No! I won't let you hide the truth here!
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: Rule 5 locked you out of your bedroom.
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: So you used Ryo's instead!
Ryo: What?
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: So, a girl could have easily hidden in the bathrooms before the locks changed.
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: Killed Tsuyoshi, and then sneak out of his room!
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: It would be easy!
-SLASH!-
Fujiko: See? We can't narrow it down at all!
-SLASH!-
Truth Blade Selected: Ryuu's Account
I'll cut through that!
BREAK!
"You know what? I'm actually glad that you said something," Misa told her. Fujiko narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because now I have the chance to use one of my favorite truth bullets here. Ryuu, do you want to be a dear and tell everyone what you told me? About last night?"
Ryuu sighed. "Nah, but you'll just tell 'em for me. I took a shower at 12:30 am. The showers were completely empty when I left. Not a single person, girl or not, was there."
"No one?" Fujiko repeated, her burst of energy suddenly gone.
"Nah. It's why I haven't accused our resident killer of doing this one. I ain't fucking stupid." That last part seemed to be directed solely towards Sumire. She didn't acknowledge it. She was too busy silently counting something off on her fingers.
"Did you have to throw in 'our resident killer?'" Misa asked. Ryuu smirked.
"Well, what if he's lying?" Fujiko asked, having apparently gotten a second wind. "He could be covering for someone?"
"Why da fuck would I do that?"
"I don't know! Loyalty? Stupidity? Money?"
"Can't spend money if I'm fucking dead, kid," Ryuu told her. "I ain't got a death wish."
"So you say."
"Do ya got a death wish, kid? 'Cuz right now you're acting like it!"
"You're the one being suspicious and defensive! Maybe that's why you accused Misa of murder in the first place! To set up a fall guy… girl… whatever!"
"Ya deaf or just fucking stupid? I'm not saying she's done this!"
"What if all the evidence pointed towards Sumire as the killer?" Miyu asked mildly. "Would you stand by your statement?"
"I'm sorry, but why are we dragging me into this?" Sumire asked as Ryuu glared daggers at Miyu.
"Oh, come on, Sumire. Everyone's noticed how… close you and Ryuu are," Zettai said with a grin.
"Should I be offended by that?" she asked.
"I'm flattered," Ryuu said, earning a few chuckles from around the room, including one from Misa. Sumire rolled her eyes. "And yeah, I would say the same thing. I see ya staring."
"Excellent. We just eliminated more than half our suspects then!" Miyu said.
"Not quite," Satsuki said. She looked directly at Hoshina. "Tsuyoshi could have been killed in the five minute window between the girls being allowed into the bathroom and the time listed in the Monokuma File."
"But that would mean…" Ryo trailed off before also staring at the psychologist. "That would make it be you, right?"
"What? Hoshina would never kill someone!" Kotoko told them. Hoshina quickly nodded. Shoma, who had been predictably silent this whole time, barely even looking up from the floor, suddenly started paying attention.
TRUTH BULLETS LOADED
Damp Hair | Rule 5 | Back of the Head
Hoshina: Tsuyoshi was already dead when I found him! I promise!
Satsuki: We only have your word for this.
Rudolph: But she's so nice? Would she really kill someone?
Kotoko: Besides, five minutes isn't nearly enough time.
Ryuu: It's physically possible. Blitz attacks are quick. That's da point.
Hoshina: Then why would I immediately bring everyone else?
Hoshina: It doesn't make sense!
Truth Bullet Selected: Back of the Head
I'm with you!
BREAK!
"No, it couldn't have been her," Misa said. "There wouldn't be enough time."
"Ryuu said that it was possible," Satsuki said. Misa shook her head.
"Yeah, but the blood on the back of his head was dry. That doesn't just happen in five minutes. Especially with a head wound."
"Those do bleed a lot," Ryo chimed in eagerly. "I know because I have some first aid training. In case things go wrong when I'm exploring. And they do, usually. Well, it did during my one official adventure. Why are people glaring? Should I stop talking?"
"Maybe," Rudolph told him with a small, half-hearted smile. Ryo deflated like a popped balloon.
"Oh. Sorry…"
"The blood was dry?" Satsuki asked, immediately getting everyone back on task. She looked surprised and maybe a little sheepish.
"Yeah. Did nobody else look at the body?" Misa asked, looking around. No one would really meet her eyes except for Zettai.
"Don't look at me. It's not my fault everyone is a squeamish idiot."
"Bold talk for someone who hasn't contributed yet, minion," Shouko told him, pointing her finger imperiously at his chest.
"What can I say? I like watching you stumble around the obvious."
"S-shut up," Itami muttered.
"Glad you found your backbone," he said, and while it should have been praise or a compliment, it just sounded mocking to Misa's ears.
"How long would it take the blood to dry?" Kotoko asked. "That can help us narrow the window."
"About an hour," Rudolph answered immediately. "… I needed to know for a story. It's not that weird and definitely don't look at my search history!"
"Which means that I couldn't have done it," Hoshina said, all of the tension in her body bleeding out of her.
"Besides, that shower drain is freaking slow. It would take way more than five minutes for the puddle to disappear," Misa said.
"My apologies then," Satsuki said with a small bow of her head.
"Okay, so about an hour for the blood to dry. That puts us at around 5 in the morning," Miyu said. Misa nodded. That sounded reasonable. People would be more likely to be up and about at that hour too. "Now what about on the other end? Can we push that past 12:30?" That might be trickier.
TRUTH BULLETS LOADED
Damp Hair | Sumire's Account | Tsuyoshi's Room
Kat: So Ape Face was sure that the room was empty at 12:30. Anyone go in after that?
Fujiko: Tsuyoshi.
Kat: No shit, Captain Obvious. You gonna say the killer next?
Sumire: If we can't rely on testimony, there has to be physical evidence.
Itami: Like w-what? T-there was n-n-nothing on the body.
Kotoko: There wasn't really a lot of evidence in the room itself.
Hoshina: If anyone went into the bathroom, don't be afraid to speak up.
Hoshina: We won't automatically condemn you.
Zettai: How idealistic.
Truth Bullet Selected: Damp Hair
Nope! Try again!
BREAK!
Misa frowned. "Wait, Itami, that's not quite right."
"Y-yes it is," he said stubbornly.
"No, it isn't. You watched me examine Tsuyoshi's body. His hair was damp."
"S-so?"
"So, his hair would have dried already if he was killed hours ago."
"Even with the drain being super slow?" Kat asked, scratching the back of his neck.
"Come on, it's not that slow," Misa told him.
"Hey! I haven't measured the rate of… of… damn it, I don't have a pun."
"Small mercies," Sumire said with a quick grin.
"Hey! My puns are great!"
"Okay, so we have a time frame now," Miyu said. "In fact, I think we have a pretty set time of death."
"We do?" Ryo asked. "What is it? I missed it?"
"5:00 am, give or take a few minutes. It's long enough for the blood to dry and for the hair to mostly stay damp."
"N-no."
"No?" she asked, obviously confused.
"I agree with the sick kid," Ryuu said. "Guys' hair doesn't fucking take an hour to dry." Itami looked like he wanted to protest, but stayed silent.
"Yeah, but with the puddle –"
"This fucking puddle. It's slow and fast whenever da fuck you need it to be."
"That's not true!" Miyu protested.
"It is, kid. Just admit it."
"I will not!" she said, slamming her hand on her stand for emphasis. "Why are you suddenly trying to derail things? We were making progress."
"Is that what that's called?" Zettai asked.
"Oh, don't you start."
"You have made zero progress on this front. All you've established is that Tsuyoshi's killer was male. We already knew that. It should have been obvious the moment you saw where he was killed. I can't believe you idiots have actually debated that fact for the last oh… twenty minutes."
"You're always welcomed to help, Zettai," Sumire told him sweetly. "What was that line again? About contributing to your own survival? That's sounding a bit hypocritical right about now."
"I doubt Monokuma would appreciate me spoiling the fun."
"What fun?" Monokuma grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Those two words immediately straightened Misa's posture. Those didn't sound like good words.
"Ugh, this is taking forevvvvvvvver," Kat complained, looking exactly like a wilted flower. "I'm hungry and my head hurts and we're no closer to picking someone than when we started. Can't we just decide and vote already? We got a one out of seven shot!"
"An excellent idea," Zettai said, which really should have been Kat's first clue. "Why don't we vote for you?"
"Hey! That isn't funny!" Kat told him.
"Who ever said that I was joking?" Zettai asked.
"Out of all of my minions, you do have the worst sense of humor," Shouko said thoughtfully, stroking her imaginary goatee. Zettai shot her a dirty look.
"Guys, come on," Miyu pleaded. "We can figure this out. I'm sure of it! We are getting closer. And there's still a lot of evidence that we haven't gone over yet."
"Yes, let's ignore the fact that everything we've covered already contradicts each other," Sumire said, leaning forward slightly in order to rest her forearms on her stand. There was an obvious tightness around her eyes, despite the easy smirk on her face.
"That's not true," Hoshina said lightly.
"Fine. Everything relating to the time of death contradicts each other. Is that better"."
"That contradiction would disappear real quick if Ryuu would just admit he was lying when he said no one was in the bathroom when he left," Fujiko muttered.
"I already told you –" Ryuu growled.
"Yeah, well I don't believe a word comin' out of your lying mouth!" the navigator said with a huff.
"Guys!" Kotoko said almost desperately, holding up her hands as if trying to physically keep the pair apart. "Please! We don't need to start this argument again!"
"Whoever killed Tsuyoshi, just tell us," Rudolph said quietly. "Please? You should do the right thing."
"They already killed someone," Satsuki said. "They're obviously not interested in doing the right thing."
Misa stayed silent, her mind racing. Miyu was right. They still had more truth bullets to go through. But they didn't really point anywhere concrete. Yeah, Ryuu's testimony could be considered suspicious, but that didn't mean that Sumire was the killer. It could have easily been Shouko. Or Hoshina. Or literally any other girl whose only alibi was that they were asleep in their room. Yeah, they were pretty sure that whoever killed Tsuyoshi didn't know about the soundproofing, but what if the killer was banking on that conclusion? That would be an easy way to avoid suspicion. And then there was the problem with the puddle. Ryuu was, unfortunately, right. It could easily be twisted around to fit whatever time frame they wanted. If they just knew for sure how quickly it drained. That would solve most of their problems.
They had some theories that they just assumed were true, but that was it. It was nothing concrete. It was certainly nothing that they could convict a murderer on. Not when their very lives were on the line.
The trial room had gone quiet. Even Miyu didn't have much to say, her head bowed and shoulders slumped as she quickly paged through her truth bullets. Misa suddenly felt this horrible, sinking sensation. They weren't going to be able to pull this off. And that feeling was only made worse by Monokuma's overdramatic heave of a sigh.
"Man, you guys are bor-ring!" he complained with a pout. "You got stuck so quickly! You are all Ultimates, right? I didn't kidnap a bunch lame normies, did I? Talk about wasted effort. I might as well just kill you all now and start over."
"W-what? That's n-not fair!" Itami cried.
"Yeah!" Ryo agreed. "Isn't there a rule that you can't hurt us?" He looked around for confirmation. "I'm right, right? I didn't make that up?"
"No, you didn't," Hoshina said. She stared at Monokuma, her remaining eye unblinking. Still, she kept her composure.
Monokuma's red eye glowed brighter. "There's also a rule that says that I can change them whenever I want. Like when a class trial is being a total snooze fest. Or maybe I should just make all of you vote right now. See what happens. I'd be doing the blackened a favor." He tilted his head to the side. "Hmmm… I like that idea." Protests immediately broke out, Miyu and, surprisingly, Zettai being the loudest. "Alright, everyone! Let's – "
"Fine. It was an accident."
Those five words stopped Monokuma in his tracks. His eyes narrowed, and for a brief, terrifying moment, pure rage twisted his features. Shoma didn't care. He just stood there with the same sullen expression on his face that had been there the entire trial, as if he hadn't just admitted that he murdered Tsuyoshi. The room came to life all at once, as if everyone else reached that conclusion at the same time.
"I knew this guy was weird!"
"Explain yourself, minion!"
"Are we still voting? I'm confused. Should I vote for him?"
"Fucking hell, kid."
"Another interesting decision…"
"How d-did you know?"
"I told you this case was simple."
"Shoma?" Hoshina asked hesitantly. His dark gaze slid over to her and she visibly swallowed. "What did you do?"
CLASS TRIAL SUSPSENDED
ALL RISE
Just as a general heads up, I am starting grad school tomorrow. I've been told that it's a ton of work, that it'll destroy my social life, etc. etc. etc. My goal and plan is to continue these weekly updates. But if that doesn't happen and I disappear for a couples of weeks, know that I'm probably drowning in code and wishing that I could be writing this instead.
Anyways, let me know what you think of the trial format! I might mess around with it a bit between this chapter and the next. If there's anything I can do to make things more clear, let me know.
Until next time!