Part 1:
Chapter 11:
"Attention passengers! It is now time for the Class Trial. Please meet at the door at the end of Coach A," Monokuma announces over the speakers.
I guess we're going to find out what is beyond the locked door that Koji was guarding when we first met yesterday. The time for investigation is over. I didn't do much. There wasn't much I could do. Other people seem to have found things to pursue, but I don't know how much people have actually worked out. I can't seem to piece together the information that I have seen. Maybe that's for the best. Maybe the despair of the killer graduating and leaving everyone else for dead is just what I want.
I put that thought to the back of my mind as I make my way through the train, climbing over Koji's corpse one final time. Everyone is slowly making their way to the front of the train. No one really wants to talk. We arrive in the First Class carriage and I spot something on a table. A tray of plant pots filled with soil is sat beneath a lamp. Hanbei set these up before he tried to kill me?
"You ready for this?" Keigo asks. It takes a moment for me to realise that I'm the one he's talking to. I look up from Hanbei's pots.
"Not really," I say, "How do you prepare for something like this?"
"Just believe in yourself," Keigo says, "Just believe that you can overcome this despair and we'll all come out of this alive. I know you can. I know we can."
Overcome despair? Is that something I really want to do? As for everyone coming out alive. He's lying to both me and himself. Someone has to die. Whether it's the killer or everyone else. Those are the rules Monokuma laid out.
I look around. Everyone is gathered. Almost everyone. We are missing two people. Koji and Hanbei. They have been murdered and now we must face a trial to work out who killed them. That electric bell rings again and we await what Monokuma has to say again.
"Please make your way through to the courtroom in the next carriage where your fates will be decided," Monokuma says, "I'll be waiting."
"So, this is really it," Akari says.
Shiki nods meekly. Everyone looks forward to the door, but no one wants to press the button. Eventually, Yuuhei steps forward and does it. The door slides open and only reveals darkness. Without hesitation, Yuuhei enters the darkness to the next carriage and seems to disappear. Akari follows him. Next, Hakuro forces his way past the rest of us and ducks down as he goes through the door. More people follow behind in single file. With Keigo hesitating, I take my chance to head to our courtroom.
The tunnel between carriages is darker and longer than normal. I can't see a thing. I just keep walking forward. With each step comes more anxiety. This was intentional. Whoever designed this wanted us to feel nervous as we made this journey. Suddenly, light appears and I emerge into the new part of the train. As with the previous carriages, it is long and fairly narrow with a ceiling far too low for Hakuro to deal with. I don't quite understand the interior decoration. There is what looks like a set of podiums arranged in an oval shape stretching along the carriage. At two of the podiums are poles holding up portraits at head height. One is of Hanbei and the one closest to us is Koji. Both have a red X crossing through their faces. I desperately hope it's red paint. At the far end is a large throne, on which Monokuma sits.
"Welcome to the courtroom carriage! Now then, everyone find your assigned places and we can begin!" Monokuma says. His voice is filled with excitement. Even more than normal. That high pitched whine of his always sounds a bit joyful. He is enjoying this far too much.
Reluctantly, we all approach the podiums and try to find our places. I am along the left hand side of the room, sandwiched between Akari and Nami. Despite how elongated the setup is, we have a pretty good view of everyone. There's nowhere to hide here. As I look around and take everything in, I spot that Hakuro has a seat. It is understandable. He needs to use a cane to walk and he is too tall to stand up for a long period of time. I just feel a bit jealous that I have to stand.
On the stand in front of me is a screen that looks a bit like an e-handbook. The screen is currently showing a list of 'Truth Bullets'. I still don't know what that means. I scroll through the list quickly to remind myself of what information I've come across. There's nothing I don't recognise, so I don't know if that means no one found anything else or it only shows what I know.
"Let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial," Monokuma says, "You will present your arguments for who you think the blackened is. Then, you will vote to determine the results. If you can figure out 'whodunit', then only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong one… then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened and the killer will earn the right to graduate!"
"Before we start, I would like to clarify two things," Nami says.
"Are you going to ask me if one of you really is the killer?" Monokuma asks, "I can assure you that the person who murdered Koji and Hanbei is definitely among you."
"No, it is a haunting truth that there are those amongst us potentially capable of this," Nami says, "Firstly, I would like to make clear that all testimony from Axel Wakahisa is to be ignored or treated with extreme caution."
"Hey, you can't do that!" Axel cries out.
"She has a point," Yuuhei says, "You are the Ultimate Liar. Nothing you say can be trusted."
"What if she's the killer and wants to frame me? She's trying to stop me defending myself," Axel says. He seems very annoyed by this, but he can't deny that they're right.
"If that's the case, then we'll just have to expose her," Keigo says. He looks determined now. He's put his dismay behind him and he is ready to do everything he can in this trial.
"Next, I would like to find out something from Monokuma," Nami says.
"Oh?" Monokuma asks and tilts his head. He tried to pre-emptively answer a question, so is curious as to what she could want to know.
"There are spaces for sixteen people, but there were only fifteen of us to begin with. The same is true of our accommodation. Why is that?" Nami asks. They still haven't noticed Chouko…
"Only fifteen of you?" Monokuma asks. He then bursts into a fit of laughter.
"Notice me, dammit!" Chouko shouts.
Ayato, who is stood next to Chouko, recoils in shock. "How long have you been there?" he asks.
"Who… Who are you?" Akari asks.
"Chouko Natakami…" she says, suddenly sinking back into her shell with the attention on her.
"Where have you been all this time?" Keigo asks.
"I've been with you guys the entire time," she says. I look around to see countless confused expressions.
"She has," I say, "It's her Ultimate talent. She's practically invisible. I've actually been able to see her though."
"Huh, sorry about that," Keigo says to Chouko.
"It's alright, no one ever notices me. I'm used to it," she says.
"Hey, if you knew, why didn't you tell us about her?" Axel asks me.
"It, uh, never really came up," I say. I had thought about it multiple times, but it never really seemed like the right time to mention it.
"Puhuhu… Now, if we're all finished with the preamble, we can begin," Monokuma says, "Since this is your first time, why don't we start with something simple like the murder weapon?"
"Well, that's an easy one, it was the screwdrivers," Axel says.
"Continue no further," Hakuro says, "We already established that you are to remain silent until necessary." Axel looks taken aback, but says nothing else. It looks like he's been forced into a backseat position for this trial. "Would someone care to assert what they believe to have been the tool of demise for our victims?"
"Well, it was the screwdrivers. They were the only thing left on the scene," Akari says.
"Are we sure about that? The killer could have used something else and left the screwdrivers behind to throw us off," I say.
"That is a possibility," Keigo says, "We need to be sure about this before we can move on."
"I believe there is little doubt that it was the screwdriver," Nami says. She taps the screen in front of her and my screen changes to show a picture of Koji's fatal wound. It's not something I want to be looking at, really, but it's important to what we're discussing. "The fatal wound's diameter matches the screwdrivers. I am hard pressed to think of anything else of that size. The same is true of Hanbei's fatal wound."
Nami taps her screen again and this time the hole in Hanbei's neck shows up. It looks pretty much the same as the previous picture. This Truth Bullet thing seems to be for sharing information amongst the group. It looks quite useful for showing things that people may not have seen. And haunting people's nightmares with stab wounds.
"I don't know," I say, "What about… Yuuhei's arrows?"
"Are you accusing me?" Yuuhei asks.
"No… I'm just making a suggestion of something else that could cause that kind of wound," I say.
"Very well, but I can easily disprove it," he says and reaches over his shoulder to pull an arrow from his quiver. He holds it out for all to see. "While the shaft of the arrow fits, the arrowhead would be too wide. It would also cause more damage to the skin upon exiting the wound. I believe it would also be too blunt to cause the damage done if the head were to be removed."
"Ok, maybe thinking of alternative weapons is a bit too hard. But is there any way that we can prove the screwdriver was used?" I ask. I'm trying to pursue this idea, but it isn't really working out. I don't appear to be particularly good at this trial thing.
"Yes, there is something else that I noted about the condition of the screwdrivers," Nami says. Once again, she taps her screen and another picture appears on the rest of our screens. This time, it shows both screwdrivers that were used. I look at them, but can't figure out what she means.
"Are you talking about the handle?" Keigo asks, "It looks like there are blood splatters. They cut off quite abruptly too. I would say someone was holding the screwdrivers when blood got on them. That would rule out putting blood on them after the victims died."
"That was my theory too," Nami says, "So I believe, with that and the state of the fatal wounds, it is safe to assume the screwdrivers are the murder weapons."
"Where did the screwdrivers come from?" Yui asks.
"I can answer that," Ayato says, "They were from a toolkit that Axel and I found yesterday when looking for a way out. I went back to check it during the investigation and the two screwdrivers that Nami mentioned were gone."
Ayato fiddles around with his screen for a moment before a picture of briefcase-like toolkit appears. There is a row of screwdrivers strapped into the box, but two are missing. All the screwdrivers have the same black handles as the ones used in the murder.
"So, who knew about the toolkit?" Keigo asks.
"Everyone except Sakuya," I say, "Ayato mentioned finding it and trying to use the tools to remove the metal plates. Sakuya was the only one absent at the time."
"I never said where in the luggage car it was, so Axel is the only other one who knows exactly where," Ayato says.
Axel grunts in response.
"That doesn't rule out someone finding it, though," Keigo says, "That doesn't really help us much."
"Now that we know what the murder weapon was and where it came from, we need to figure out how it was used," Ayaka says.
"How it was used…" Keigo muses, "It was used to stab the victims in the neck and eyes…"
"Why the eyes?" Miki asks, "If you're trying to kill someone, the eyes ain't a great place to start."
"The killer didn't start with the eyes," Sakuya says, "That's where they finished. I suspect it was a calling card of sorts. That's why they left the screwdrivers behind."
"You might be right," Nami says, "They certainly were not left behind because of being stuck."
"What do you mean by calling card?" Yui asks.
"I mean we are dealing with a serial killer," Sakuya says darkly.
"A serial killer?" Yui cries out.
"Nami did say it looked like a professional strike," Shiki says.
"The cruel and unusual state of the cadavers would suggest the whims of serial homicide," Hakuro says, "Is anyone knowledgeable on any such psychopaths?"
"The only serial killer, who is still at large, that I have heard of is Genocide Jack and I don't recall any of those cases being reported with details like this," Yuuhei says.
"Nami, you're a mortician, have you ever seen a body killed in a similar way before?" Keigo asks.
Nami stays silent and seems to stare off into the distance.
"Do you know anything or not?" Miki asks impatiently.
"I could not say," Nami says, "I may have encountered such a thing before, but I have since forgotten. In my line of work, forgetting is the key to coping."
Now it is everyone else's turn to stay silent. That is quite the revelation. Working with dead bodies all the time does affect her and she has to cope by forgetting them. I guess that's why she was affected by what Hanbei said about clinging onto cherished memories. She's so used to forgetting that it's hard for her to remember the things she wants to.
"Anyway…" Keigo says awkwardly, trying to shift the direction of the conversation, "Thinking about how the screwdrivers were used. They were both used the same way. To stab the victim in the left hand side of their neck."
"They were both stabbed on the same side of the neck," Yuuhei says, "I think that can tell us something about the killer. Their preferred hand. If they attacked from the front, then it would be a safe assumption that the killer is right handed. While if they attacked from behind, then they're likely left handed."
"That seems like a sound theory," Keigo says, "And I think we can narrow it down further. Hanbei had to have been attacked from the front. The luggage rack would have been in the way if the killer tried to get behind him. As for Koji… The other wound he sustained."
"It would be difficult to wrap an arm around him and stab him at such an angle," Nami says, "It is also on his left."
"So, the killer is right handed?" Akari asks.
"Ok, who's right handed, then?" Yui asks.
"I fear it may not be so simple, Miss Yukihira," Ayaka says, "Now that we have established that we are looking for someone who is right handed, the killer may try to conceal that."
"What's with that other wound, anyway?" Miki asks.
"Huh?" Keigo asks, "What do you mean?"
"She had to remove his armour to find it," Miki says, pointing at Nami, "How'd he get stabbed through it?"
"Well, as I said, it was not attached properly and there was no trace of blood," Nami says, bringing up the relevant information on our screens, "I would suspect that he wasn't wearing that part when he was stabbed."
"So, the killer probably put it back there to cover it up," Keigo says, "It would also explain why it wasn't attached properly as the killer likely didn't know how to do it."
"I guess the killer did that to hide the wound," Ayato says, "We only found it because the Monokuma File mentioned it. If the killer didn't want us to find it, then it's probably very important!"
"So, why wasn't he wearing his armour?" Shiki asks.
"I think he was wearing it, just not that part," Keigo says.
"That is correct, the rest of it was secured in place," Nami says.
"Maybe he went to the toilet?" Yui suggests.
"You've miscalculated!" Sakuya shouts across the courtroom. What was that about?
"What?" Yui cries out.
"Sorry," Sakuya says with a smile, "Koji would not need the toilet again until half past six."
"You calculated when he would need the toilet… again?" Keigo asks. He sounds horrified. What is with Sakuya? I can understand doing it to prove her numerology, but to do it again…?
"No," Sakuya says, smiling some more. This is no time for messing around with us. "I already considered the possibility of Koji using the toilet and getting stabbed then. I had Ayato unlock the boys' bathroom so we could check."
"Yeah, there was no blood or anything in there," Ayato says, "The killer could've cleaned up or something, but then we'd never be able to find out."
"Also, if you consider the size of the toilets, it's impossible for someone to hide in there and strike from below," Sakuya says, "And then you would have to consider moving the body, it would all be such a mess."
"I guess…" Keigo says awkwardly.
"Anyway, I found the real reason that Koji's crotch area was exposed," Sakuya says. Her grin is wider than ever at this point. Like Monokuma, she is enjoying this far too much. "Sex."
There are a few coughs and awkward noises in the room. Sakuya proceeds to present her Truth Bullet. What appears on my screen is a picture of a bright pink thong. The panties are extremely revealing, being little more than string. There are more unusual sounds of discomfort and many of the boys in the group are averting their gazes and blushing. Ayato looks quite curious about the image. Typical.
"I found this delightful pair of underwear underneath a table," Sakuya says, "In fact, it was just across the aisle from a rather specific table."
"Wait, do you mean…?" I begin and quickly find the table with blood on it that Ayato pointed out. I press the button for sharing a Truth Bullet and there is a collective sense of relief as the thong vanishes.
"That's the one," Sakuya says.
"What was… that underwear… doing under a table opposite a table with blood on it?" Keigo asks.
"I told you," Sakuya says, "Sex. And the person Koji was having sex with… stabbed him."
"That's impossible!" Yuuhei declares, "There is no way the Ultimate Knight would abandon his duties for such an obscene act!"
"I may have evidence to support her theory," Nami says.
This is getting rather surreal. We're trying to solve a murder and the topic of discussion is currently sex.
"You… do?" Yuuhei asks. He blinks a few times as he looks at the mortician.
"While I was examining his body, I came across fluids in Koji's underwear that may back up the theory of intercourse," Nami says.
"You checked in his pants?" Miki asks. I can't tell if she's horrified or aroused. Maybe both.
"So, you're saying that whoever owns the pink thong is the killer?" Ayato asks.
Sakuya nods.
"Why would anyone wear something so revealing?" Chouko asks, "It's sickening. To expose yourself like that."
"There's only one way to find out," Ayato says, "Ladies… and Akari… take off your clothes."
"What!?" Shiki cries out, "No way!"
"Yeah, you pervert!" Miki snaps.
"I just want you all to prove that none of you are wearing those pants," he says, "I believe that you're all innocent."
"You… what?" Miki asks.
"I believe you're all high class ladies who would never commit such an act," Ayato says. He's flirting with us when our lives are on the line.
"I think we're losing sight of what we're discussing here," Keigo says, trying to regain control of the situation.
"If the culprit did possess such undergarments, then they must be currently wearing them," Hakuro says.
"No, I'm not exposing myself to the likes of you," Miki says.
"Even if it provided irrefutable evidence that you are innocent?" Hakuro asks.
"Yeah, we're not going to show our underwear," I say, "You'll have to find some more evidence."
"It is a simple fact, someone in this so-called courtroom is wearing those undergarments. We all possess just a single selection of clothes," Hakuro says.
"We do?" Shiki asks, "I thought that was just me…"
"Monokuma granted me access to the abodes of the deceased," Hakuro says, "Their wardrobe options matched mine. Duplicates of a single outfit."
I look around the room. Sure enough, everyone is wearing the same thing as yesterday. Even Akari. The Ultimate Cosplayer doesn't have anything but his schoolgirl outfit to wear, apparently.
"That changes nothing," Miki snorts, "You're not seeing my pants."
"If Koji was… getting off with a girl, that could explain why he didn't defend himself with his sword," Keigo says and presents us with a picture of Koji's sword propped up on a seat.
"So, you are suggesting that Koji disarmed himself?" Yuuhei asks, "He was a vigilant man, how do you propose the killer concealed two screwdrivers?"
"Pockets?" Yui says.
"Who here has pockets that long? They were large screwdrivers," Yuuhei counters.
Lots of people have pockets. Especially Shiki. Her fishing jacket is covered in them. Except I think most of them are filled with bait and hooks. The smell really hasn't bothered me as much as I would have thought. I try to visualise the screwdrivers in people's pockets. The end would stick out of most of them. Or be very visible, at least.
"What about a back pocket?" Akari says, "Koji wouldn't have been able to see behind their back."
"Take another look at the blood splatter on the table," Yuuhei says and brings up the image again, "It is similar to the screwdriver handles as it cuts off abruptly. Something was blocking the path of the blood."
I hadn't noticed that before. One side of the bloodstain has a relatively straight edge while the rest of it is completely random.
"Koji was on top," Sakuya says. She's still enjoying this. "With their back to the table, it would have been difficult to get something from a back pocket. Not to mention that Koji might have seen the killer reach behind their back. Unless, of course, he was locked in a passionate kiss."
"Perhaps we should leave the issue of where the screwdrivers were for now," Ayaka says.
"Yeah, let's try and finish working out how Koji was killed," Keigo says, "So far, we have him making love with someone who has pink underwear. That person then stabs him in the pelvis. What happens next?"
"I would guess he staggers away in pain only for the killer to go for the neck," Yuuhei says.
"That's a reasonable assumption to make," Keigo says.
"Could that explain the trail of blood you found?" Shiki asks.
"Trail of blood?" Ayaka enquires.
Shiki shares the relevant Truth Bullet. People examine the trail of blood droplets for a moment before Keigo interrupts. "No, the trail goes well beyond the table where we assume Koji was first stabbed," he says, "We need to figure out what that trail is too, though."
"Footprints?" Yui suggests. She's trying to help as she said she wanted to during the investigation, but most of her ideas have been shot down and I don't think this will be any different.
"For a mouse, maybe," Miki says, "…we don't have a mouse problem, do we?"
"Nope!" Monokuma chimes in. He's been so quiet throughout the trial, watching us try to put this all together. "I can't stand mice! I wouldn't let this place get infested with those monsters!"
Good to know that Monokuma doesn't like mice. Let's get Yui to make countless mice from paper and use them to force Monokuma into releasing us… This is just distracting us from the issue at hand.
"If the killer was all about killing Koji, why did Hanbei die too?" Shiki asks. We have focused so much on Koji's death, that Hanbei has largely been overlooked.
"He was a witness, the killer simply needed to dispose of him," Nami says.
"The killer probably planned to kill Hanbei too. Otherwise, they might not have brought two screwdrivers," Yuuhei says, "and they could have used the one they already had instead of going to get a second."
"You mentioned his bandages getting rubbed," I say to Nami, "I guess the noise from Koji being attacked woke him up and he tried to struggle free."
"This isn't helping," Keigo groans. He's getting annoyed. "This isn't getting us closer to finding out who the killer is. I thought if we could figure out how it happened, we could figure out who did it."
"I… have a theory," Ayato says cautiously. He continues to stare at his screen for a moment before looking up at me. "Izumi, could I borrow one of your boots?"
Why is he suddenly asking to see one of my boots? Where has this come from? It's such an odd request.
"Huh? Why?" I ask.
"I want to see something," he says, "If you're innocent, you shouldn't have any problems showing it to me."
That is a powerful argument. If I refuse, suspicion will instantly fall on me. I pause for a moment and then reach down to unzip one of my knee-high boots. I slip my foot out and pick it up. "I suppose, since it's not asking to see my underwear," I say as I pass it along.
Ayaka passes the boot to Ayato and he immediately begins inspecting it from all angles. Everyone remains quiet as Ayato examines my boot. He checks the screen in front of him again and then looks back to the boot. It takes a while for me to realise what he's actually doing. When I do, I start to worry. How did I not realise that before? Then, he looks up from the boot to the rest of the group.
"I think that settles it," he says, "One more thing. Akari, as you're closest, could you please place two fingers down the side of Izumi's other boot?"
What is he doing? Akari looks confused, but complies. He crouches down next to me and slips two fingers into the space between my leg and my boot. They fit. I quickly try to kick Akari away and knock him over. Ayato nods.
"What's going on?" Keigo yells.
"I'll let you figure it out," Ayato says. Suddenly, he tosses my boot across the carriage. Keigo scrambles to catch it before the heel strikes his face. Keigo looks at the underside of the shoe in confusion.
"What is this?" he asks.
I am starting to panic. I don't want to let it show, but I just kicked Akari. People are looking at me. Ayaka helps Akari back to his feet, giving me a distasteful glare as she does so. Keigo, meanwhile, is still holding my boot. Suddenly, he looks down to his screen. He looks back to the boot and then back to the screen. He's figuring it out too. Shit. Keigo does a quick scan around the room with his eyes before settling his gaze on me. I can see a determination and anger in his eyes as he stretches an arm out to point at me and shouts.
"The killer is… Izumi Mizushima!"