Welcome, everyone, to the last part of our first trial! Before we get started, I feel the need to put a general warning out here. I... may have gone a little overboard on the execution in terms of violence. Now, you're in this fandom so I doubt that bothers you, but I live by the policy that it's better to over-warn than under-warn. With that out of the way, let's get started!
liammarklh88: I'm really glad that you liked the first part of the trial! I was low key super nervous about it, but I'm glad that you liked the formatting. As for the fate of your son, I guess you'll just have to read on and see! And seriously, thanks for reviewing!
Crimson Spider Lily: But I like making you feel feelings. The goal is to make you feel all the feelings, especially sadness. As for the cliffhanger... well, I may have cackled as I wrote it. I enjoy evil cliffhangers. They make me feel powerful. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm really glad that you liked the last chapter and its format!
CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION
ALL RISE
Shoma closed his eyes, the sullen expression on his face smoothing out into something far more composed and relaxed. It was striking, really, and more than a little unnerving. In this moment, Misa would swear that he almost looked… happy, if that was even the right word to describe it. No, happy felt like too pedestrian a word. It was like Shoma was finally at peace with himself.
"It's obvious. Right, Zettai? That's what you've been repeating all morning."
Zettai nodded slowly, something akin to uncertainty flickering in his eyes. "Of course," he said, adjusting the cuffs of his jacket. Shoma hummed and opened his eyes.
"Then you won't mind explaining what I meant. Right? You've known this from the start."
"Exactly," he said. Was that a small hesitation there? Or did Misa imagine it? Hell, she'd hesitate in front of Shoma right now too. The look in his eyes scared her. Truly scared her to her core. It suited him far too well.
"There's nothing to explain. You just admitted to killing Tsuyoshi!" Sumire declared. Shoma's gaze slid to her.
"I didn't touch Tsuyoshi," he said. "If I had, I wouldn't have done something as stupid as stopping the vote, which you would know if you actually used the brain that you claim to have."
"That's the longest sentence I've ever heard him say," Kotoko whispered.
"Me too," Misa whispered back. They looked at each other for a moment, their expressions perfect mirrors of each other. Misa felt a sudden burst of gratitude towards the onomastician; she wasn't alone here. Shoma had turned his attention back to Zettai.
"Come on," he prompted. "Contribute to your own survival."
"Yes, of course," Zettai said. "I suppose watching everyone stumble around has gotten a little boring anyways. Not to mention dangerous." He glanced briefly at the silent Monokuma. The bear was completely devoid of emotion as it stared at Shoma. "But to explain how it was an accident. And no, not one of those ridiculous theories that Tsuyoshi slipped on a puddle and drowned. It was manslaughter."
"And we know this because…? Come on, now. We don't want Monokuma to grow bored waiting for you to get to the point," Shoma told him.
"Why don't you just say it then, huh?" Fujiko demanded. Shoma completely ignored her. "Hey! I asked you a question!"
"Because of what Monokuma said," Zettai said smoothly. He smirked, suddenly completely at ease. "Monokuma said that someone had caused Tsuyoshi's death. Odd choice of words when he could have just said that someone killed Tsuyoshi."
"Meaning that this wasn't premeditated," Satsuki said quietly. "The killer didn't want to kill Tsuyoshi. It just happened. It was an accident."
"Damn," Kat said. For once, he didn't have a joke ready. "That fucking sucks."
"It is still murder, minion," Shouko reminded him, but even she looked a little subdued. "And no one shall be a part of my glorious empire with blood on their hands."
"Did I pass?" Zettai asked Shoma, inclining his chin ever so slightly so that he can look down at him all that much more.
"With flying colors."
"Ya gotta be fucking kidding me," Ryuu said with a laugh that got stuck in his throat. "Ya just gonna believe them?"
Ryo tilted his head to the side. "Why wouldn't we? Aren't we supposed to trust what other people say? That's what we've been doing, right?"
"That was before fucking Hyde popped out over here," Ryuu said. "He's the fucking killer!"
"I agree. This feels far too convenient," Sumire said. "Something is wrong."
"Come on, Sumire. Use your brain," Zettai told her teasingly. She pressed her lips together into a thin line.
Misa found herself nodding. "What Shoma and Zettai said makes sense."
"No, it doesn't!" Misa turned to look at Miyu. The genetic engineer looked at her pleadingly, as if she could make Misa agree with her through sheer force of will. "This doesn't sit right with me. Why didn't they say something before?"
"Because Zettai's a dick?"
"Thank you, Misa. I appreciate that."
"Anytime, BB."
"I don't know… Shoma did kinda just save our lives," Kat said.
"B-but what if it's a t-trick?"
"Yeah! We need to talk about this more!" Fujiko said with a decisive nod.
"I really don't think that we do…" Satsuki trailed off.
"Minion, are you lying?" Shoma stared at Shouko flatly. "Understood."
"Yes. I trust Shoma," Hoshina said. "And Zettai. We should move forward with the assumption that the killer didn't mean to kill Tsuyoshi."
Kotoko shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding absolutely miserable. "I'm sorry, but I can't."
"Me either…" Rudolph agreed. Hoshina looked down at her feet.
"Oh. I see."
Zettai huffed, irritation clear on his face. "You're not just doubting Shoma. You're doubting me too."
"Not that big a stretch, kid."
"Oh, oh, oh!" Monokuma suddenly came to life, leaping to his feet. More than a couple of people flinched as he did so. "I spaced out for a second there. But do my cute, ursine ears deceive me? Or do we have a split decision?"
"No!" Miyu said quickly. But the word had barely left her mouth before Ryo started nodding.
"I think so! It's not even because we only have fifteen people but…"
"Ryo!" Sumire said sharply. The adventurer titled his head as he looked at her. "Where you dropped on the head as a child?" she asked. He pouted.
"That's not very nice!"
"Upupupupupup! Yay! I get to push one of my favorite buttons now!"
"The execution is held so lowly in your heart? What kind of Monokuma are you?" Shoma sneered.
"Listen, you bastard – "
"Junko wouldn't be very happy with you," he interrupted.
Monokuma muttered angrily under his breath before slamming his right paw down onto one of his throne's armrest. Misa quickly grabbed her Monopad as each trial stand shuddered to life. With the grinding of gears, they all rose into the air and arranged themselves into two rows that faced each other.
"Now, if the interruptions are over, it's the magical, morphing trial room!" Monokuma declared as his throne also rose to join them. "It's time for the one and only Scrum Debate! You all are organized into two teams. Convince everyone else that they suck and that your team is right!"
"How?" Rudolph asked. "We haven't been able to convince each other of anything yet. Why would this be any different?"
"I don't know. Figure it out, you boring normies! Listen to what the other teams says or whatever. Now start!"
SCRUM DEBATE
Question: Is Shoma Blackened or Innocent?
Team Blackened: Ryuu, Fujiko, Itami, Kotoko, Rudolph, Miyu, Sumire
Team Innocent: Shoma, Zettai, Shouko, Misa, Kat, Satsuki, Ryo, Hoshina
Ryuu: Shoma is the fucking killer! He admitted it!
Shoma: I admitted nothing. Just pointed out Monokuma's words.
Fujiko: What's if he's lying? We can't trust him!
Zettai: Am I lying too? It's just not Shoma's word here.
Itami: He's t-trying to t-t-trick us.
Kat: That's a pretty complicated trick.
Miyu: Why didn't he mention this earlier? Either of them?
Misa: Because Zettai's a dick and Shoma's unengaged earlier. He's not now.
Rudolph: How do we even know if they're right?
Satsuki: How do you know that they're not right?"
Sumire: Something isn't sitting right with me.
Ryo: But we're not sitting. We're standing.
Sumire: How is that a good response? You have nothing.
Shouko: Where's your proof of your side, minion? I see nothing.
Kotoko: I just don't know if we can trust him.
Hoshina: I know that we can trust Shoma!
BREAK!
"We said this earlier, but doubting everything will get us nowhere," Misa said as everyone's stands slowly sank back to the floor. "What they said makes sense. We should believe them. The killer didn't mean to kill Tsuyoshi. It was an accident. Right?" She met everyone's eyes, waiting for a nod or some other kind of confirmation before moving on to the next person.
Miyu crossed her arms. "I just want to know why the hell they didn't say anything earlier. And don't tell me it's because they're an asshole or a jerk or whatever! That's no excuse." She leaned forward, jabbing a finger at Shoma. "Besides, if this is what we get out of him when he hides in his room, think of how helpful he would have been if he investigated!"
"You really want to know why?" Shoma asked. Miyu looked like she wanted to shrink back but still nodded firmly. "It's because I – " He cut himself off, blinking rapidly. All at once, the color drained out of his face. "I… No… Nononononono. I backslid again. Not again. Not already." His voice was no more than a whisper. That light in his eyes that had chilled Misa's bones was gone, replaced by naked fear and panic. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that. I should have been better. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Stop looking at me!"
"Shoma, it's okay. Just breathe. You helped us. You did something good."
He shook his head wildly. "No. No! All of you just leave me alone! Don't talk to me!" He took a trembling step backwards and Monokuma was immediately on his feet.
"You stay where you are!" the bear growled. Shoma shook his head again, and Monokuma straightened, a calm smile blooming over his face. "The trial isn't over yet. You wouldn't want me to punish everyone because you left early, do you?"
That managed to stop Shoma, although his knees shook so badly that he looked like he was on the verge of collapse. His eyes were blank and unseeing, but he stepped further onto the stand. After a moment, Monokuma settled back down in his throne with a "Hmphf!"
Misa immediately looked at Zettai. The tactician, frankly, looked absolutely bewildered, and Misa was sure that she looked the same. What the fuck was that? A second personality or something? She thought that only happened in movies or video games. Zettai finally looked at her and frowned. She inclined her head, and he nodded slightly. Good. They were definitely going to talk about this afterwards then.
"We should keep moving," Hoshina said. "Now that we know that Tsuyoshi's death was accidental, we'll be able to figure something out."
"B-but he just freaked out," Itami said. "C-can we t-trust him?"
"Of course," Hoshina said, smoothly turning to look at the patient with her patented gentle smile. Make no mistake though; there was a strong undercurrent to her voice that would not tolerate any arguments. "The decision that we came to is still a good one."
"I think I have a theory. Can I share it?" Rudolph asked, lightly bouncing up and down in order to catch everyone's attention.
"Speak, minion!"
TRUTH BULLETS LOADED
Monokuma File #1 | Argument | Tsuyoshi's Room
Shouko: Speak! What theory resides in your twisted mind?
Rudolph: Hey! My mind isn't that twisted!
Kotoko: It's a very interesting mind.
Rudolph: Thanks! I think so too!
Miyu: Rudolph! Your theory?
Rudolph: Right! Now, please don't get mad at me, but what if Tsuyoshi tried to kill someone.
Ryo: WHAT?! Tsuyoshi was so nice though! Like a sweet chipmunk or something.
Rudolph: I know. But it makes a little bit of sense!
Sumire: How on earth does that make sense? I'm actually agreeing with Ryo here.
Rudolph: Because then the blackened could have fought back!
Rudolph: They have a fight and accidentally push Tsuyoshi into the shower!
Itami: That sounds s-stupid.
Truth Bullet Selected: Tsuyoshi's Room
Nope! Try again!
BREAK!
"I really don't think your theory is right, Rudolph," Misa said.
"No? Why not? Not that I want Tsuyoshi to be a potential murderer. But it makes sense! And it would be an exciting story."
"This isn't a story!" Miyu said. "And Tsuyoshi wouldn't do that!"
"Rudolph, I didn't see an evidence that Tsuyoshi was trying to kill someone," Misa said. "Ryuu and I looked all over his room. There was nothing. Right?"
"You and I gotta stop agreeing," Ryuu muttered before clearing his throat. "Yeah. There was nothin.'"
"Oh," Rudolph said. "Well, that's still good!"
"Except now we no longer have any theories," Satsuki said.
"Any theories, Shoma?" Zettai asked, honestly probably just to be mean. Shoma shrank further in on himself without saying a word. Hoshina looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but settled for giving Shoma an encouraging smile instead.
"What possible motive does that leave for us then?" Sumire asked. "If it wasn't self-defense, but it was still manslaughter, then what's left? Roughhousing? Momentary crime of passion?"
"N-no," Itami said.
"No?"
Itami just shook his head. Sumire barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Fujiko frowned, scratching the back of her neck.
"Can accidents even have motives? I don't know if this is what we need to be focusing on."
"We need to focus on something," Miyu said. She sighed. "But I don't know. Maybe you're right."
"No, accidents can have motives."
"Kit Kat?" Misa asked quietly. The explosives technician shrugged and forced a weak smile.
"Don't worry, Solo. This isn't a confession. Not that kind of boy. But maybe the blackened meant to do something else, maybe scare Tsuyoshi or try to teach him a lesson or something, and it all went… really, really bad."
"Oh, Kat…" Kotoko said softly, looking for all the world like she wanted to reach out and hug him.
"Okay then, let's run with that for a second," Miyu said. "Is there anything we can use to support that?"
What could be the blackened's motive?
-SELECT TRUTH BULLET-
ARGUMENT
BREAK!
"Hey, didn't Itami and Tsuyoshi have a big argument?" Misa asked.
"S-so?" Itami demanded.
"So… that could be a motive?" she said. "You guys get into a fight, you see him in the bathroom and decide to start it again, things go horribly, terribly wrong?"
Itami stubbornly shook his head. "T-that's not what h-happened. I didn't t-touch him."
"But you guys did have an argument," Misa pressed.
"Yes!" Ryo said with a decisive nod of his head. "Kat and I told you so during the investigation! It was very loud."
"It was n-nothing."
"Really?" Zettai asked. "I wasn't even at your silly powwow and I still heard about it. That doesn't sound like nothing to me."
"S-shut up!" Itami told him. "I didn't hurt T-t-tsuyoshi!"
Ryuu narrowed his eyes. "Could still be a motive, kid. Maybe not yours, but someone's."
"What do you mean?" Sumire asked. "Someone used the argument in order to target Tsuyoshi?"
"No, that doesn't work," Miyu said, skating her head. "That would mean that it wasn't an accident."
Sumire looked away with a huff. "Then it's another dead end."
"Hey, guys? Maybe we don't say stuff like that?" Fujiko said, looking nervously at Monokuma. But the bear didn't look bored. Yet, anyways. It was just staring at Shoma, who was determined not to make eye contact with anyone.
"Think, minions… and underling! There is always a solution!" Shouko declared, thrusting a pointed finger to the sky. "We merely must delve to the depths of despair to reach it!"
Fujiko looked at her flatly. "Yeah, we probably shouldn't say stuff like that either."
Misa ignored them in favor of staring at Itami. There was something about him that was bugging her. Well, it was more that Zettai's comments about him were bugging her. Before today, he had barely even looked at the kid. Now he was making comments and talking about Itami's backbone? Why? And why did that even bug her? Zettai was his own person. He was free to be a jerk towards anyone he wanted, as long as it wasn't her. Or Miyu. Or Kat. Or… alright, so he wasn't free to be a jerk. But still, there was something wrong here. Did Zettai think that he was the killer? Sure, there was the argument, but nothing else really pointed…
Misa's eyes widened. She could barely hear her own soft gasp of surprise over the sudden buzzing in her ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zettai's satisfied smile.
"Misa?" Kotoko asked. "Is everything alright?"
"Did," she said. "How did you know?"
"Misa, what is it?" Miyu asked. "Did you figure something out?"
She nodded, the muscles in her neck fighting her for every inch. Her eyes were locked on Itami, who at this point was way past pale and well on his way to looking green. That more than anything gave her the strength to start talking. "When Shoma said that it was an accident, you said 'How did you know?' Why not 'do?' Wouldn't that be the right word there? How do you know? Tell me I wasn't the only one to catch that."
"Mein Gott," Shouko said.
"How did I not notice that?" Sumire asked, speaking more to herself than anyone else.
"N-no!" Itami shouted. "N-no! I d-didn't s-s-say that!"
"Yes, you did," Zettai told him. "I heard it too."
"And you didn't say anything?" Fujiko growled. Zettai shrugged.
"Misa had it under control."
Yeah, right. Seriously, what was his plan here? He had to have some kind of plan, right? This couldn't all be random.
"S-shut up!" Itami cried. "You're lying!"
"No, I'm not," Misa said. "I haven't lied once this whole trial. Which is honestly kinda surprising. I really thought that I would have had to by now."
"Da fuck would you say that, kid?" Ryuu asked.
"What can I say? It's the truth."
"Stupid truth."
"The truth usually is."
"Guys!" Miyu yelled, slammer her hands down on her banister. Misa and Ryuu immediately shut up. Miyu took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. After a count of five, she opened them again, although she didn't really look calmer. "Misa, you're saying that Itami did this?" she asked.
"It's one hell of a slip of a tongue," Misa said.
"I-I didn't," Itami protested again.
"Really, every time you say that, you only sound more suspicious," Sumire pointed out.
"But we were all friends," Miyu said, completely ignoring them. Her voice wavered but didn't break. "We were buddies, right? The three of us. A group."
And then Misa got it. Really, she should have realized it before. Out of everyone here, Itami was probably the very last person that Miyu wanted to be the blackened. He was the one person that she had really fought for as important. The boy who could cure everything. Her friend who had killed the one person here that she had been closest to.
And Itami had killed him. Misa didn't have any more doubts. The certainty had settled in her gut like a lead weight. Her tongue was dry and sticky in her mouth. Pressing forward with this, really pressing forward without stopping or getting distracted or being swayed to another theory, would mean that they damn Itami. It was easy to forget that while they just threw out ideas without knowing if they would stick or not. But the reality of what they were about to do suddenly pressed heavily on Misa's mind. For some of the gentler souls, it would be like they killed him themselves. Even if they didn't really have a choice in the matter.
Misa looked at Zettai, silently pleading for him to say something, to just get the ball rolling. He just held out a hand, as if to say after you. Of course. Why would he actually get involved and say something important? He would only do that if cornered.
Her next look was to Sumire, but she couldn't catch the other girl's eye. And even if she could, her expression was cold and closed off. There would be no help there.
She wouldn't even think of asking Miyu to lead this.
Fine. She would just have to do this herself then. And if anyone asked or got angry or started to cry, then they could all just blame her for what was about to happen. She could handle that. She was strong enough to do that.
Misa took a deep breath and waited for Ryo to shut up about how he didn't know what was going on. If he would listen, she was about to tell him. Finally, there was a lull in the conversation.
"Itami, do you have an alibi for around five in the morning?" she asked.
"We still on this 5 am shit?" Ryuu asked.
"I thought our first breakdown was because we couldn't determine a time," Satsuki added.
"It's the most realistic time we have," Misa said. "It lets the blood be dry and his hair be wet."
"Doesn't sound right, kid," Ryuu said.
"Then give me a better time. Oh, wait, you can't," Misa snapped.
"Don't ya try to intimidate me."
"Give me a better time."
"Guys, stop. Let's just let Itami give his alibi and we can move on to someone else," Miyu said. She looked at him hopefully. "You have one, right?"
"I…" Itami's face suddenly lit up. "Y-yes!" He pulled out his Monopad with shaking hands and quickly scrolled through it. "S-sumire's Ac-count."
"My account?" she asked. "Oh, yes, I see it on mine as well. I went to the dining room at 4:30 am. Kat and Zettai joined me at 4:50, and Shouko at 5:20."
"And I j-joined at 5:00 am exc-c-catly!" Itami said. "T-there!"
Miyu didn't quite cry in relief, but it was a close thing. "So then you can't be the killer. You have an alibi."
Misa's heart dropped to her feet. "No, he doesn't."
Why doesn't Itami have an alibi?
A) The clocks were wrong
B) Misa wants Itami to be the killer
C) No one saw him in the dining room
I'm sorry. But it can't be anything else.
"The clocks were different. By twenty minutes," she said. Itami's skin was definitely a nice, pasty green at this point. Miyu's was right behind him.
"W-what?"
"The dining room clock is twenty minutes slow. So you didn't get there until 5:20. Which is plenty of time for you to kill Tsuyoshi."
"Who the hell changed the clocks?" Fujiko asked.
"Hm? Oh! That was me," Monokuma piped up. "I wanted to see how long it would take someone to notice."
"You c-changed the clocks?" Itami asked.
"Yup!"
"W-what about Zettai and K-kat?" he demanded. "T-they fit the window."
"Hey, don't put this on me!" Kat told him. "I'm not the one who looks like pea soup right now."
"Besides," Zettai added, "That would only give us ten minutes to kill Tsuyoshi, calm down, and clean up any evidence from ourselves. Less, once you factor in the fact that it took us a few minutes to reach the dining room."
"You could do it…" Rudolph trailed off.
"But it isn't likely," Kotoko finished. "Not when we have someone with a twenty minute window." She covered her mouth with her hand as the realization of what she just said hit her. "Oh my God. Itami, why?"
"Itami. Tell me it isn't true," Miyu said. "Please. You wouldn't kill Tsuyoshi."
"He did," Misa said, and internally winced as soon as she did so. Apparently, she had never heard of tact. That could have definitely been worded better. Or actually, not said at all. Yep, judging by the horrific glare Miyu was giving her, she really should have just kept her mouth shut. Wow. She didn't know that someone could look that angry.
"I…" Itami fell silent. His hands balled into fists. When he finally looked at Misa, there was a stubborn set to his jaw that would have put a bull to shame. "I w-won't accept this. You c-can't pin t-this on me."
"We're not pinning anything on you," Misa told him. "You're the most likely suspect. Hell, you're the only one who could have done it!"
"Says the m-murderer!"
Misa breathed in sharply, her own hands tightening into fists. "Yeah, because that's a convincing defense. A+, Itami, really."
"S-shut up!"
"Another killer defense. Oh, wow. That was a Kat worthy pun."
"S-stop it."
"Make me. Give me something. Prove to me that anything I've said is wrong!"
"Misa, back off a little," Hoshina told her.
"No! I won't. Not until Itami –"
"I'M NOT A M-MURDERER!" he finally screamed. "You are! S-stop looking at m-me like y-you're innocent! You're n-not! M-murderer! Killer!"
Misa blinked in surprise. Wow. That was… Kat and Ryo weren't kidding when they said that Itami had a pair of lungs on him. But actually, this was a good thing. This was a panicked reaction. You never thought clearly when you panicked. You said and did things that you didn't mean to do. She could use this. She just had to trip Itami up somehow.
ARMAMENT ARGUMENT
Itami: M-murder!
BREAK!
Itami: Y-you're the killer!
BREAK!
Itami: I didn't k-kill him!
BREAK!
Itami: L-leave me alone!
BREAK!
Itami: Why d-don't you b-believe me?
BREAK!
Itami: I didn't w-want to hurt him.
BREAK!
Itami: It w-was Kat or Zettai!
BREAK!
Itami: Hypocrite m-murderer!
BREAK!
Itami: I just w-want to live.
BREAK!
Itami: It wasn't m-my fault.
BREAK!
Itami: S-shut up! P-please.
BREAK!
FINAL BLOW
Itami: There's n-no p-proof that I k-killed Tsuyoshi!
THE WHITE | FOUND | WE | FIBERS
Enough. You know this is the end.
ANSWER: THE WHITE FIBERS WE FOUND
BREAK!
"The w-what?" Itami asked, even as his anger and rage drained away.
"Shouko's white fibers," Misa repeated. "They were important after all."
"Ha! The Iron Maiden is never wrong!"
"Hey, not the time for that," Kat told her.
"Why are they important?" Miyu asked quietly.
"They can tie Itami to the scene. A couple of days ago, I startled him, making him fall over. The first thing he did was to check the bandages on his arms to make sure that they were okay. I bet they fray easy, especially if you rub them against something rough like a tile floor. Or if you fall against them after the shock of killing someone."
"So, if we explore his room, we should find frayed bandages somewhere, probably stuffed in a drawer," Zettai said thoughtfully. "I doubt he would have been thinking clearly enough to dispose of them elsewhere."
"This is still circumstantial evidence. Hardly proof," Sumire pointed out. "Are we going to condemn a man on that?"
"Nah, look at him," Fujiko said. "There's your proof."
Itami was silent, his chin trembling as he fought to hold back tears. He had pulled his teddy bear from his pocket and hugged it tightly to his chest. But above all, he was broken. There was no more fight in him. Misa had won. Despite everything, she still felt that rush of victory in her chest. Guilt followed immediately after. This really wasn't anything to celebrate.
"Ya done talking, kid?" Ryuu asked. Itami squeezed his eyes shut. "Take that as a yes."
"I just… I don't understand what happened," Miyu said. "Itami, please. You need to explain." He stubbornly stayed silent. "Please!" She looked around, her gaze finally falling on Misa. Misa immediately looked away, unsure of what she would find there. "Can you explain it then?"
"Can't anyone else?" she asked. "I've done almost everything else."
"Which means no one knows the facts like you," Zettai said. "Come on, Misa. Or will you leave Miyu hanging like that?"
Misa wetted her lips and drew a shaky breath. "Fine. Home stretch then. Let's wrap this thing up."
CLOSING ARGUMENT
Let me take you through it.
We don't know the exact specifics of what happened. However, there are more than enough clues for us to piece together what happened. And in the face of the blackened's behavior during trial… But let's stay with the facts right now.
Everything really started with Monokuma's motive announcement: four of us were planning on killing someone. Whether this was the truth or a lie doesn't really matter. It still set the stage for this case. Hoshina and Kotoko decided to host an event where everyone could get to know each other and become friends. They hoped that this would make us trust each other more. Tsuyoshi probably came to the event with that same hope.
The blackened also attended that event, after missing breakfast that morning. Almost everyone was there, minus a few exceptions due to the… let's go with character assassination, since this is my explanation and I can say what I want. The event was going well until Tsuyoshi and the blackened got into an argument involving the blackened's Ultimate talent. This was a very loud, very public and very angry argument that almost everyone heard or heard of. It ended with the blackened running out of the room.
I can't pretend to know what the blackened was thinking during the next few hours. If they were angry, hurt, scared… all of the above… but they were not thinking about murder. The real tragedy of this case is that what will soon happen was an accident. Completely unintentional. But, it did happen. The blackened and Tsuyoshi were both in the showers at around 5:00 am. They could get in because Rule 5 dictates that the girls can't enter the showers until 6:00. They were also alone.
This is where the details admittedly get a little hazy. Maybe the pair restarted the argument, or Tsuyoshi surprised the blackened, who reacted violently. The result is the same no matter what. The blackened pushed Tsuyoshi away from them, sending them flying into the edge of one of the showers. The impact knocked Tsuyoshi out instantly, and he fell face first into the puddle caused by the crappy and slow shower drain. One of the two had probably showered immediately before their confrontation, which formed the puddle. The blackened didn't think to move Tsuyoshi, and the scientist drowned.
By this point, the blackened must have known that they had killed someone. They spent the next twenty minutes calming down and attempting to appear normal. This included replacing the bandages on their arms, which had become damaged during the scuffle. With this done, they went to the dining room and secure an alibi. Except two things were wrong. The clock in the dining room showed the wrong time, screwing up his alibi, and his bandages had left behind some fibers on the tile floor.
And this is why Tsuyoshi's killer has to be you, Itami Toyaku, the Ultimate Patient!
BREAK!
"So that's it? It sounds so simple when you put it like that," Miyu said. "And it's true?"
Itami sniffed. "Y-yeah."
"So, you finally admit your guilt, minion. Our path forward is clear," Shouko said. "Bring forward the votes."
"Wait!" Kotoko pleaded. "You know what that means. Punishment here means a death penalty. It always does in Killing Games. How can we do this?"
"Refusal means our own death," Shouko told her. "And that, I shall not allow!"
"It's not really our fault. It's Monokuma's," Rudolph said. "Right? He's making us do this. So it's his fault."
"But we'll still carry the guilt," Hoshina said quietly. "It's human nature."
"Well, duh!" Monokuma said. "That's part of the fun! It'd be even more boring if you were all a bunch of unfeeling psychopaths!"
"Oh, shut up, you stupid bear!" Fujiko told him.
"Nope! It's my duty to oversee this trial! Especially this part! Time to do the great Junko Enoshima proud! Oh, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. First, it's voting time! Pull out your Monopads and pick the name of the person you think is the blackened. It's that easy!"
As he spoke, Misa's Monopad flickered a few times before showing an obnoxiously pink screen. Everyone's faces were lined up in neat two by 8 rows. One of the faces was completely black and had a pink X through it. She assumed that was Tsuyoshi.
"Tick tock! Hurry up and cast your votes!"
IT'S VOTING TIME!
MISA, CAST YOUR VOTE!
Shoma Hirano
Zettai Noseifuku
Rudolph Sminov-Sakaguchij
-Tsuyoshi Genda-
Katashi Koizumi
Itami Toyaku
Ryuu Hagiwara
Ryo Fujimoto
Miyu Shimizu
Kotoko Moto
Misa Katsu
Fujiko Ozawa
Satsuki Enomoto
Shouko Sakamura
Sumire Aoshima
Hoshina Kaminaga
RESULTS!
Itami Toyaku: 14 votes
Misa Katsu: 1 vote
CONGRATULATIONS!
ITAMI IS THE BLACKENED!
CLASS TRIAL END!
ALL RISE!
Glittery confetti fell from the ceiling as the sounds of bells and whistles exploded through the courtroom. Misa held out her hand to catch a white piece of confetti, crumpling it as she squeezed her fist around it. There was that rush of victory again. Annnnnnd there was the guilt. Right on cue. She had gotten it right. She won.
How many more times would she have to do this? Two? Three? Five? They'd start running out of people once they go through enough trials.
The one vote for her didn't really bug her that much. It was obviously Itami, trying to claim one, last, spiteful action. She couldn't blame him for that. Hell, she would do the exact same thing. She was a petty bitch like that.
A red, metallic piece of confetti landed on Itami's head, followed by another one. He held his teddy bear tucked under his chin. Miyu left her stand and slowly walked over to him. Misa watched them from where she was, but caught Shoma out of the corner of her eye making an immediate beeline for the elevator and banging his fist against its doors when it wouldn't open for him.
"Can I give you a hug?" Miyu asked. Itami turned and looked at her suspiciously.
"W-why?"
"Because you're still my friend. I'm pissed yeah, but I never wanted this to happen!"
"I'm n-not your friend."
"What are you talking about? Of course you are."
"N-no, I'm n-not. You just see me as a t-test subject," he said. Miyu's face immediately fell.
"That's not – "
"I d-don't even like you," Itami told her, because apparently there was nothing like impending doom to make you brutally honest. "I h-hated being around you and Tsuyoshi. H-hated it! You two would never l-l-leave me alone!" Miyu took a small step back, obviously searching for the right words to say here. Or any words, really. Itami didn't give her the chance to find them. "I just wanted to be n-normal! And you wouldn't let m-me!"
"And that's an excuse to kill him?" Sumire asked, completely cutting into the conversation. "All you had to do was roll him over and Tsuyoshi would be alive right now. You do realize this, yes?"
"I d-didn't mean to. He s-scared me and I-I-I pushed him and he f-fell."
"So that's your excuse. Interesting."
"It was his f-fault!" Itami said, pointing at Ryuu. The bounty hunter looked around with wide eyes. "He made me s-scared!"
"Da fuck did I do? Own up to it, kid. Ya killed him. Not me."
"Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk," Monokuma sighed. "Does it really matter why Itami did it? He still killed someone."
"But we still need to say goodbye!" Ryo said. "He can't leave without us saying goodbye! It's not nice!"
"When am I ever nice?" Monokuma asked. "Hell, dragging poor Itami off to be executed before you all have your precious heart to hearts would be so much more despair inducing, dontcha think?" He burst out laughing. "Man, out of everyone, I'm so glad that our very first blackened was you, Itami. After all, you're important."
The way that he said that made Misa's skin crawl, and she could see Miyu shudder. Maybe it was just that she had come out of a trial that had hinged on words, but that word choice felt way too specific. And of course it was. Monokuma had cameras everywhere. He probably recorded their entire conversation about who they should save and who was disposable.
"If someone like you can be so easily driven to murder," the bear continued, "then what could possible happen to everyone else? Just how depraved will they turn if I just give them the right incentive?"
"We won't!" Fujiko yelled. "We're going to fight you and get out of here and kick your ass!"
"Upupupupup. If you say so. But first, we have some business to finish. It's PUNISHMENT TIME!" He all but swooned. "Oh, it's been so long since I said that!"
A large, red button rose out of the floor. Monokuma procured a gavel out of thin air and slammed it down on the button. Misa straightened her shoulders and stared straight ahead. The least she could do was watch this.
A chain burst out of the wall and wrapped itself around Itami's throat. Before he could cry out, it yanked him back and out through a new, teenage-sized hole in the wall. His teddy bear fell to the ground and laid face down on the stand.
EXECUTION TIME!
ULTIMATE ORGAN DONOR
Itami was strapped down to a hospital gurney, only able to move his head form side to side. Three Monokumas, each dressed as a nurse, raced him down one hallway and up another. Finally, they ran through a set of double doors clearly marked as "Operating Room." The nurses wheeled Itami into the middle of the room, and one of them flicked on the bright overhead lamp. Itami squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden, blinding light. He was left there alone. Exposed. Helpless. Unable to move.
And then the surgeon arrived. It was another Monokuma, and he carefully placed a facemask over his muzzle. One of the nurses brought him a tray of tools. The wicked edges and sharp points glinted in the light. Itami began to struggle desperately against his bonds as the surgeon picked up a scalpel and slowly walked over to him. But it was no use. The straps were too tight. He could barely wiggle as the surgeon stepped closed and closer.
The first cut was across Itami's stomach, staining his T-Shirt red with the blood that came spilling out. The surgeon reached inside of the incision, rooted around for a bit, and pulled out something that looked like a chunk of liver. He promptly placed it inside of a waiting cooler.
Next came the eyes. Then Itami's tongue. Then kidneys, the pancreas, a lung, part of the intestine. Each came with its matching cut, its matching spray of blood. Each was placed inside of it's own cooler.
Finally, it was the heart's turn. Finally, Itami, gasping for air and choking on his own blood, had reached the point where his body simply gave out. His body stilled and sagged lifeless against the now blood-soaked restraints. The surgeon stared at Itami's heart and contemplated placing it inside of a cooler of its very own. That is, until he slammed it onto the ground and stomped it until it was red paste.
Misa felt the familiar burn of bile rise up in her throat as around her people cough and gagged and retched. She forced it back down, incredibly glad that she hadn't eaten yet today, but her skin was still cold and clammy and covered in sweat. Her immediate thought was that she needed to take a shower. But that was where Tsuyoshi's body was. Where he was killed.
But even beyond that, there was one thought pounding inside her brain in time with her pounding heart.
She had done this. This was her doing. And she would probably have to do it again.
And so, we bring an end to Trial One. Hopefully it was a good one with a satisfying conclusion. I still got one more chapter after this before we wrap up and move onto Chapter Two. Start thinking about who you might want to have FTEs with! The poll for that will be up next week.
Until next time!