DISCLAIMER: This chapter will be longer than the other ones, so bear with me, also if the evidence or testimony seems out of left field or confusing, it's either my way of making everyone have a part in the class trial or it's because I messed up when it came to making the trial run smoothly and integrating evidence properly.
I completely understand if you guys want to stop reading this story because you feel cheated out of the experience, I promise to make future trials and investigations more thorough and understandable, but right now this trial is a stepping stone for me in terms of improvement, also there's a reason for this format, so just humor me. Anyway feast your eyes on the conclusion to the first trial, and I will see you all later at the end.
P.S. As usual, if I made any typos or misrepresented your character during the trial, please let me know ASAP and I will tweak it here and there.
I mustered up all my protagonist power, and pointed the metaphorical finger at Yuzuki as everyone was aghast by the fact, that the cool and calm warden killed Dietrich in cold blood. It's very shocking to me as well, Yuzuki seemed to be the most rational and normal person in this motley group of individuals, but life has a way of surprising you I guess.
However, if I want to keep up the appearance of being a goodie two shoes, straight and narrow journalist in front of everyone, then I have to put my pride aside and make a bold assumption based solely on an ominous feeling curdling in my mind.
Monokuma: Oh my! What a twist! But what is it that makes jailbait the candidate for murdering Dietrich?
Arihime: Well to be honest, from the beginning of the investigation, it felt almost off to me...
Nori: What makes you think that, crimson butterfly?
Arihime: I mean out of all of us, you'd think the Warden of all people would be the most willing to help us solve this mystery. But from my journalistic observations, Yuzuki seemed almost hesitant and weary of us, as if she was hiding something nefarious behind our backs.
Calypso: Is it true, Yuzu-chan? I mean you've been nothing but cooperative this entire time, is what Arihime saying true?
Yuzuki remained calm and collected, but her forehead started dripping sweat droplets at an unusual rate. I mean it's understandable, someone has accused of her murder and she's a warden of all people, so it'd be counterproductive for her to kill an inmate, let alone her classmate, someone devoid of guilt.
Looks like my initial assumption about the Ultimates was true, even the most dignified and upstanding ones, have an ulterior motive hiding up their sleeves.
Yuzuki: That's preposterous! I would never do something as heinous as that! Where did you even come up with something as ludicrous as that, Arihime?!
Her frantic speech caused people around her to be solicitous, as her eyes darted around the room, looking for a way to impugn my argument.
Athena: Then how did Yuzuki know of the secret hatch in Athena's room, if Athena xerself didn't even find it before anyone else? Seems pretty suspicious if you ask Athena.
Eduardo: Maybe el guardian, when she was setting up sus camaras, saw someone use the hatch discreetly? Maybe Monokuma told her about it?
Monokuma: No way Jose, I didn't tell anyone about that escape hatch, "beary" unfortunate for you guys, upupupupu!
Nekotang kept struggling underneath Monokuma's tiny feet, as he managed to wriggle his feline arm through his bindings and pulled the tape off of his mouth.
Nekotang: Neither did I, I was busy doing som-eow-thing else.
Monokuma: Shut yer trap! Did I ask for your shitty opinion, whiskers!
Monokuma then slapped the tape on Nekotang's mouth again and added more to prevent another gratuitous outburst from his supposed partner in crime.
Reina: Anyway, it looks as though those two haven't meddled with any part of this mystery at all.
William: While that would spice up the trial immensely, it's pretty evident that if the headmaster interfered with our lives or more specifically with this murder case, then it would be pretty obvious that this was rigged from the beginning. Besides why have a trial, if he's the one who orchestrated it in the first place?
Natsume: T-That's t-t-true.
Simon: Wait, what were we talking about again? I forgot to type out what was just said on my Ipad.
Camille: How you're able to gain that much muscle when you're still in high school.
Simon: The same could be said of you...
Alia: No one cares... idiots...
Karuta: We were talking about Yuzuki's supposed involvement in Dietrich's murder, and if she's the killer.
Tokaku: I mean Yuzuki, seriously? She's a hardass who follows the rules, what would she gain from even killing Dietrich in the first place?
Toto: For that matter, she has an alibi, she was with the Japanese maiden cleaning her human attire after the party.
I continued to think upon it some more, it's true that she has a somewhat rock solid alibi, but something keeps nagging at my shoulder telling me to look at this differently.
Arihime: I mean, maybe we should turn our thinking around and think of it like this...
Natsume: L-Like w-w-what?
Arihime: Instead of bickering over if she is the killer or not? Let's ask the question of what would give her motive to kill him in the first place?
Yuzuki: What do you mean, motive? I assure you, you must be mistaken, Arihime.
As cliché as it is, my gut was telling me that my convictions were right on the mark. Even though I don't have much in the way to tie her to the scene of the crime, I can try to BS my way there, maybe someone can interject and save me from embarrassing myself.
Arihime: If I'm wrong, then feel free to provide some evidence as to why you are innocent.
Yuzuki: Okay firstly, if I killed Dietrich as you say I did, where did I acquire the syringe and poison to end his life?
Secondly, how would I have been able to sneak up on him without arousing suspicion?
Thirdly, he's more dexterous than me. Plus, since I'm a woman, he has more of a physical advantage over me even if I tried to overpower him?
Fourthly, the scene is a mess and he was spitting blood, so how did I avoid getting splattered on and where are the bloody clothes?
Her rapid fire questions seemed to have swayed some of the others into believing her, based off mainly logic and the fact she was nowhere near the scene, makes accusing her even more difficult.
Mei: Lastly, what's her reason for killing Dietrich? I mean we just met each other, I think any resentment towards him would be very minute at best.
Arihime: True, but we can't deny the possibility of her planning this from the get go and executing the deed in some vicarious fashion.
Athena: Athena wants to believe Yuzuki, but something tells Athena to listen to what Arihime has to say.
Nori: Better to have a sound mind, than a paranoid one when entering the battlefield, I say.
Kazuko: So what's the game plan? How do we tackle this?
Arihime: Let's start by answering her questions one by one shall we.
William: Yawn, wake me up when you losers have come to a conclusion.
Simon: Not like you've been any help at all...
Toto: So, hypothetically speaking, how did the culprit get the murder weapon? Someone must have seen them around Calypso or Dietrich's rooms?
Alia: Cameras...what about those?
Arihime: Unfortunately according to Yuzuki, those were recently installed and they cut off at certain points, so it's a fifty-fifty percent chance that they actually captured the person who was holding the murder weapon.
Kazuko: So where the hell did they get the syringe?
Calypso: I mean...I have some syringes left over in my room...but I didn't use any to commit murder, I always discard the ones that are contaminated or broken into one of the trash cans nearby. I also make sure to count my inventory before going to bed every night!
Reina: What about Izuhara? He's still suspicious in my books.
Izuhara: I wouldn't do something like this! I swear on my life that I didn't harm a hair on his head.
Aohito: But you were seen around his room at the time, so that's something to note.
Izuhara: I'm telling you all the truth! What has gotten into you guys!?
Karuta: It sure is getting intense in here, I need some air.
Mei: Agreed.
At this point we're getting nowhere, continuing to point fingers without submitting evidence is hasty as hell and everyone's raging hormones are all over the place. I can barely make a word of what everyone is saying with how loud it has gotten.
Narrator: Would you like to learn about a brand new mechanic added to the class trial?
Arihime: Seriously?! I can barely understand everyone, let alone comprehend the idea of making heads or tails of this debacle.
Narrator: I guess considering your talent, this new mechanic might help you piece the puzzle together, wanna hear it anyway?
Arihime: Go ahead, disembodied voice.
Narrator: Now in instances like this, when everyone is hysterical and can't process their thoughts coherently, there's this part of the debate called 'Mass Panic Debate.'
Arihime: Sounds like trouble...but shoot.
Narrator: In this section, you're classmates are trying to talk over each other, as the conversation gets even more heated, and it's hard to distinguish between each person's voice. So you have to use your abilities as a true journalist to spot the contradicting statement amongst all the accusations, moot points and pure speculation.
Arihime: So... basically what I do for a living, except this time it's on crack. Sounds like a plan.
Narrator: Well I wish you luck, have fun!
A/N: I will try my best, but here's how I differentiate between each speaker. Normal bolded names refer to Izuhara's argument, Italicized bolded names are Calypso's arguments and Bolded Underlined names are Yuzuki's arguments.
MASS PANIC DEBATE
Izuhara: I swear on my life, I didn't kill Dietrich!
Calypso: I would never kill Dietrich!
Yuzuki: It's impossible for me to have killed Mr. Kurohato to begin with.
Izuhara: I would never fight someone without their consent, let alone kill them!
Calypso: Yes, I had the syringes, but I only used them for scientific purposes, plus I was with Natsume fixing his wounds!
Yuzuki: I was nowhere near the crime scene, plus I had an alibi.
Aohito: So even if Dietrich was armed, you'd still go ahead with the murder?
Reina: Yeah right! Science my butt, you just wanted a guinea pig that's all. Besides you could have done it after helping Natsume.
Karuta: She was with me in the bathroom after all...
Eduardo: No senor, I'm pretty sure you're mixing up what he said.
Alia: Don't mess... with people like us...ice queen.
Tokaku: Did she even have a means to be in two places at once?
Mei: But Izu-kun made us dessert, he wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose.
Athena: What does being a scientist have to do with this, Athena wonders?
Simon: Ummm...what are we even talking about again?
Nori: His aura does give off a mysterious vibe, should we really trust his word?
Camille: Agh! This is boring, talk in layman's terms please!
Yuzuki: Also, if I was at the scene, how did I avoid getting blood on my person and where are the clothes hidden, frankly I have no idea?
Used Truth Bullet #12 - Bloody clothes in the girls' toilet
I HEARD THE LIE LOUD AND CLEAR!
As the sound of shattered glass vibrated throughout the room, I pinpointed the contradiction and raised an objection to Yuzuki's claim about not having bloody clothes.
Arihime: I'm sorry Yuzuki, but what you just said contradicts the evidence!
Yuzuki: Come again, what evidence are you referring to exactly? I honestly have no idea, typical journalists.
William: Oh! She just dissed you!
Arihime: Go back to sleep, troll.
Camille: What evidence have you found, Ari-chan?
Arihime: This.
I pulled out my Monokuma pad as I showed everyone the bloody clothes lodged inside the girls' toilet.
Calypso: Oh yeah, you did mention that there was something funky in the girls' bathroom.
Arihime: Exactly, and I'm referring to these blood stained clothes that were, I assume, meant to be destroyed by the culprit.
Yuzuki: So? Someone must have clogged the toilet before and hadn't the time because of the sudden news of Dietrich's murder.
Arihime: Ah, excellent excuse, but did you take a closer look at the clothing in particular?
Everyone was even more confused at my sudden confidence and also disgusted by the idea that I was basically snooping in the toilet for clues. I know but duty calls, no pun intended.
Tokaku: TMI, so whose the owner of those clothes?
Arihime: I'll let the prime suspect answer that for you.
Everyone then turned to Yuzuki as her face stiffened when she looked at the ripped clothes in the photograph.
Yuzuki: They're mine...
The room grew a bit silent, some gasped, as Yuzuki was trying to make this all come together in her head.
Yuzuki: However, I'm afraid to admit it but... I..uhh...
I immediately knew what she was talking about, she's using the PMS excuse that some girls use to get out of their responsibilities and is trying to hide her mistake in the process. The rest of the girls understood what she meant, but some of the guys, excluding Izuhara, were clueless as to what she was talking about, did any of them take a Health class at least once in their middle school years?
Karuta: I think we get the point, Arihime, but how does this tie back to the murder?
Arihime: You should know, Karuta, you were there the whole time remember.
Karuta: I was?
And here we go again with the sudden memory loss, do I have to answer every question that's presented to us?
Was Karuta present in the bathroom?
Yes
No
Arihime: Yes, the moment when I entered the bathroom to clean my dress, I saw you guys in there as well, do you recall?
Karuta: I remember now, some tea spilled on my outfit, so I went to wash it out and saw Yuzuki exit a bathroom stall with some reddish stains on her pantsuit.
Yuzuki: Uh...
William: Well, unless my straight A's in Biology have anything to say about it, girls are only supposed to bleed from their crotch area downward and it's not supposed to be anywhere near the chest area in particular.
Unless you decided to have a bloodbath?
...
Izuhara: No comment.
Yuzuki remained silent, refusing to comment further as to prevent any more disgrace to her professional image. I think it's high time to move on to another question.
Arihime: Now that we know her clothes had a significant amount of blood on them, and we also know for a fact that Dietrich was spewing out blood from the poison, it's safe to assume the two events are connected.
Kazuko: Also, since Dietrich had the poison in his room beforehand...that means the murder weapon was hiding in plain sight the entire time!
Toto: The culprit could have also used one of the used syringes in Calypso's trash to incriminate her in the process as well, talk about human scum.
EVIDENCE UPDATED - Calypso's used syringe filled with cyanide
Aohito: Understood, but how would she have been able to take him by surprise?
Tokaku: For that matter, she's smaller compared to him, so how did she gain the upper hand?
Nori: How does the frailest thorn pluck the life of the pesky scientist? Your guess is as good as mine.
I think it's starting to come into place, everyone might be just as confused as to how this evidence came into our laps, like myself included, but I'm going to ride this train into the station and solve this complicated mystery.
NON STOP DEBATE
William: Like you said, Dietrich has the physical advantage over Yuzuki...
William: But what if she did something that made him defenseless in that moment...
Natsume: Like w-what exactly?
Camille: Did she seduce him...?
Tokaku: They would have been cute together, honestly speaking...
Izuhara: Maybe she attacked him from behind and knocked him out...
Simon: Probably, but there was no struggle...
Athena: Maybe Yuzuki hid somewhere and surprised him like a ninja...!
Reina: This isn't an anime...
Alia: Did she....sedate him with some sort of drug...?
Used TRUTH BULLET #6 - Scented candle in the vent
I agree wholeheartedly with that claim!
Arihime: I have to agree with what Alia just said.
Alia: See...
Eduardo: Are you really saying, that Dietrich was drugged before he was killed?!
Arihime: Exactamente, senor Reyes!
Eduardo: Oh! Puedes hablar espanol?
Arihime: Uh...I only know a few words, I just wanted to be cute, haha...
Eduardo: Well I commend you for trying at least, with the princesa's permission, I'm willing to teach you if you want?
As he said that, Reina hit his leg as he yelped and tried rubbing the pain away, as she smugly regained her composure and tried to assuage her guilt.
Reina: I'm sorry about that, I was stretching and accidentally hit your leg, sorry Edu.
Eduardo: Oh, no es problema!
Boy he is gullible, but that's not the problem, we need to get back on track.
Kazuko: When you two lovebirds are done bickering, care to help us put the bastard away before we all die!
Monokuma: Oh my, all this romantic tension in the room is making me...hah... hah... ha...
Arihime: Anyway! Yes I concur that he was drugged.
Calypso: But what caused it in the first place?
Arihime: I bet it has something to do with this.
I then pull out my Monopad, as I show everyone the picture of the burned out candle laying inside the air vents.
Simon: Hey, that's one of the candles you showed me earlier! I have a whole cupboard full of them.
Everyone then turned their gaze towards Simon suspiciously, wondering if he had any part to play in this murder.
Simon: But you guys need to understand, I was busy attending to some of you asking me for massages, not to mention that Mei, Natsu and Calypso were with me after the party.
Natsume: I was t-t-there, I can attest to that f-f-fact.
Tokaku: Then that must mean, someone must have either asked for or stolen one of your candles while you were prepping for their massage?
Simon: That must be it, I always lock my door before leaving my room, unless I'm with a client.
Mei: So all we need to know is, who were your clients for the day.
Arihime: Smart idea, Mei, Simon can you show me your Ipad with all your clientele please.
Simon: Sure, anything to help my friends!
Simon then handed me his Ipad as I swiped through a bunch of notes he made while detailing the trial, wow is he that forgetful? I then come across a tab titled 'Massage Appointments' and open it up to see a set of names listed in order from the times:
Kazuko Okumura - 9:30 AM
Toto Makumi and Black - 11:00 AM
Camille De La Rosa - 12:30 PM
Dietrich Kurohato - 2:00 PM
Yuzuki Hashira - 3:30 PM
Arihime Koyuji - 5:00 PM
Arihime: Well this is very organized, I must say!
Simon: I always like to make sure that my clients are punctual, unless they decide to reschedule, they will let me know what time suits them.
Arihime: So the time discrepancies between each appointment is what exactly?
Simon: Well, depending on my mood and the client in particular, I take about an hour tops to massage them. If they so choose then they get an extra ten minutes, but it takes me about twenty minutes to set up for the next appointment so I need to work fast.
Athena: Look who's on the list!
Izuhara: It looks like Dietrich decided to get one last rub down before he kicked the bucket.
Camille: I like to get myself oiled up and loose before doing a shoot.
Kazuko: My legs were so stiff, I needed that really badly.
Arihime: When did this conversation devolve into a poorly written ecchi anime?
Nori: Butterfly, when the body is relaxed, so is the soul.
William: Moving on! It seems as if our dear sweet warden got her hand stuck in the cookie jar this time.
Yuzuki: Wait a minute! I did go and see Simon for a massage, but that was because I was stuck in a chair all day monitoring the cameras. Even I get hunchbacked from time to time.
Simon: Oh I remember now! After the massage, you asked me for a special candle to help you sleep better at night!
Yuzuki: I made no such-
Simon: Right here in my notes, you and Dietrich, both requested my lavender vanilla scented candles to help with your insomnia. Lavender is one of the best plants recommended to help with your sleep issues and the like.
Nori: Is this true, does the jailbird sing such sweet lies?
Arihime: Nori, can you tone it down with the poetry for a few minutes.
Karuta: So does this mean that Yuzuki borrowed a candle from Simon, planted it into the air vents, and then finished him off while he was groggy?
Arihime: That seems to fit the ticket.
Yuzuki: Hold on! Dietrich got a candle too. He could have used his own to-
William: To what? Intentionally knock himself out and then kill himself using the syringe found by yours truly? No, I don't think so.
Izuhara: Also while guarding the crime scene, I seemed to have stumbled upon a candle sitting on top of Dietrich's work table next to his documents. So it seems he hasn't used it at all since the massage.
Yuzuki: B-B-But..
Arihime: Well that has answered your second and third question. Logically speaking, if Simon was careful as he claims, then he only gave out two candles and since one is unused then that must mean yours was placed in the vent used to put Dietrich into a sluggish trance.
Aohito: Now that you mention it, she did ask me to help her up to the vents before the party started. She said it was to help her set up her cameras so she could track Monokuma.
Monokuma: Oh, do my ears deceive me?! Was little Yuzuki trying to get the good juicy bits of me when I'm alone! I'm flattered!
Yuzuki: That's wasn't my intention at all. I was simply trying to see if anyone was doing anything suspicious is all. Especially when it comes to that room with no handle or lock, what if someone we know is lying to us and secretly uses that door without our knowledge.
Reina: That sounds very convincing.
Eduardo: Si, that does seem logical considering our circumstances.
Arihime: But why did you put a candle inside the vent? Was it to put someone to sleep?
Yuzuki: I refuse to answer that, as it would breach classified intel I'm working on at the moment.
Camille: Oh come on! This was just getting interesting and now you cockblock us with some legal crap!
Kazuko: As much as I despise this egotistical pretty boy, I have to agree with this one, what gives Yuzuki.
Yuzuki: Like I said-
William: Yeah yeah, go give your hand waiving BS a rest, tell us the truth.
She then resumed her fifth amendment right as everyone got antsy and Monokuma began to yawn into his monochromatic paw at how long this trial was going on for.
Calypso: Yuzuki, did you really try to frame me and Izuhara?
Alia: Tell us...
Arihime: Let's not beat a dead horse and move on to the final nail in the coffin.
Mei: You mean why she killed him?
That's right, there are exactly two things that would give her motive to kill, the motive Monokuma gave us and that little meeting we had during the investigation.
TRUTH BULLET #13 - Yuzuki's secret motive (?)
TRUTH BULLET #14 - Yuzuki's backstory
ADDED TO THE COURT RECORD.
Arihime: Yes, I also have two reasons-
- REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN: YUZUKI HASHIRA -
- "You have the right to remain silent!"
Yuzuki: How many times must I tell you!? I'm not the killer.
Arihime: And we're back to the sudden yelling out of nowhere. Okay, Ms. Hashira, if you're not the killer, provide us with a motive.
Yuzuki: I'm disappointed in you Arihime, I thought you of all people would be rational, but looks like I was wrong!
Okay, you want to tango, come at me bitch!
DEBATE BEGIN!
Yuzuki: From my observations of the entire case...
Yuzuki: You have provided some likely plausible scenarios...
Yuzuki: However, trying to pin this crime on me, is pure lunacy!
COUNTER ARGUMENT!
Arihime: As much as I want to believe you, Yuzuki...
Arihime: There's an overwhelmingly huge pile of evidence and eye witness testimony, placing you as the prime suspect...
Arihime: What could you possibly have that contradicts all that...
Yuzuki: Simple, where's my motive?
Yuzuki: Not to mention, I was with Karuta at the time of the crime...
Yuzuki: To put it in terms you can understand..
Yuzuki: I have no reason to target or even murder Dietrich!
USED Truth Bullet #13 - Yuzuki's secret motive (?)
ALLOW ME TO SLICE YOUR ARGUMENT TO PIECES!
Arihime: No, of course you do.
Yuzuki: What?
Nori: What do you mean she has a motive, butterfly?
Arihime: Come on guys, do you remember the motive that Monokuma gave us as an incentive to murder.
Aohito: Yes, I do remember getting one of those secrets tossed my way, but it didn't make much sense to me at the time.
Natsume: S-So do you w-want us t-t-to tell the secrets w-we got from Monokuma?
Arihime: Precisely, if my intuition serves me right, then the person who received, in this case Yuzuki's secret, must have been Dietrich.
Tokaku: Oh I see, then the person whose secret hasn't been unearthed must be the one who was most likely to kill Dietrich, right?
William: Correct, oh boy finally it's coming down to the wire.
The room became even more chatty as I started to sigh a bit at how far we've come and it's only the first trial, in I presume a multitude of those to come. If it's as haphazardous as this, then count me out.
Monokuma: Luckily for you all, I anticipated something like this, so I decided to pilfer the secrets from your rooms, and in respective manner, each secret will be put next to the person who found it.
Tokaku: So much for invasion of privacy, I guess. I hope he didn't see my closet.
As we collectively cringe at that line, Monokuma pressed a red button next to his right side and out popped pieces of paper in front of each of our podiums, which were the secrets he presented to us earlier today.
Arihime: Okay, guys, we're going to do this one by one.
Mei: So you want one person to read out loud a secret they received and then the person, whose secret you have, raises their hand to claim that it's theirs?
Arihime: Pretty much, now let's start with me since I suggested this experiment in the first place.
I then open up the paper that I found on the floor in the cafeteria and read it aloud so that everyone could hear me clearly:
Arihime: "I killed my class' pet hamster and got away with it.'
Everyone perused the room with interest to who that particular secret belonged to.
Karuta: That's horrible, the poor animal, who could be so cruel?"
Toto: I will slaughter you to pieces if you harm a hair on another living being.
As the voices grew slightly more concerned, Nori tried his best to remain cool but inevitably raised his hand to claim the secret was his.
Nori: The cool cat's got a confession to make, that's mine.
Toto: Such despicable, classless behavior, you disgust me!
Kazuko: That's it? That's so tame compared to what I got.
Calypso: What did you get, Kazu-chan?
Kazuko: Mine says, 'I was assaulted by a lovesick fan and killed them in retaliation.'
At that moment, everyone froze like statues in place, they must be thinking that someone was a murderer already and that that person was most likely to kill next.
Tokaku: U-Um...that's mine.
Everyone collectively gasped at her statement, Tokaku was looking at all of us dead in the eye, not hiding the fact she already had blood on her hands.
Tokaku: Don't get me wrong, Mikoto asked me to hypnotize her to get rid of her confidence issues. I had no idea she was lusting after me honest! I don't force people to love me, that's not what hypnotism is about! She lunged at me, not the other way around.
Arihime: As much as I would like to judge you for your actions, since it was in self defense, you have nothing to be guilty of for protecting yourself.
Izuhara: As much as I hate condoning murder, I will let you slip by this time because of your circumstances back then.
As the conversation went on with more secrets being aired out like dirty laundry, I started to learn more about my classmates and their darkest secrets. The secrets ranged from tame to morally questionable and to WTF levels of crazy.
Calypso got "I blackmailed someone and hospitalized them for a week and won a competition by default.' To which Karuta, the sweetest of them all, raised her hand in reluctance. I think the gasps reached peak height when they found out the kind Karuta could be possible of such dastardly deeds. She then looked down on herself and was silently kicking herself for her mistakes.
Tokaku got "I had a polygamous relationship with twin models," to which Camille squirmed at, as he tried to hold it in, but everyone deduced that it was his. Not admitting to his promiscuous nature, we all agreed it was his and moved on, to not hurt his pride any further.
Reina got "I have contemplated suicide," which was the most shocking as to who it belonged to, Athena. Honestly, if I made such tasteless jokes that xey did, I would kill myself as well. Poor timing, but Athena kept up xer happy persona and moved on like it was nothing.
Karuta didn't get anything on her paper, everyone was surprised. I was wondering who was devoid of skeletons in their closet, but analyzing the shifty movements in the room, I no had a clue whose it was.
Simon kept looking at his Ipad, scratching his head at who it could be. It's his, he's big and strong but his memory is questionable at best, so it's safe to assume it's his.
Eduardo got "I have attacked my bullies in the past, was suspended for hospitalizing them and my club leeched off school funding for unrelated club commodities." Wow what a mouthful, then Kazuko raised her hand to collect her secret. She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side shrugging off the secret as "her way of expressing her frustrations in her early years."
Natsume got "I ruined my rival's career by "accidentally kicking" them and I feel immense guilt for doing it." More underhanded tactics to make me hate Ultimates even more, Eduardo raised his hand as he started to weep slightly, and cried that he was forced to do it by his manager if he wanted to get ahead. Reina felt slightly irked by that remark, as she and Edu grew a little distant despite how close to each other they were.
Izuhara got "I cut someone with one of my knives while defending myself." What's with all the self defense claims? Then the last person I expected to see raise their hand, Natsume, quivered a lot as he stuttered admitting his secret. If he wasn't my old friend, I would lambast him harshly for his behavior, but since it's him I will let it slide as well.
Toto got "I made a robotic version of my mother." It didn't take a genius to figure out whose secret that was. Alia still as cold as ever, didn't faze at all at her secret being revealed. Someone has mommy issues, everyone creeped out by that fact, moved on without further question to her pastime activities.
Mei got "I don't love my father as much as I love my mother." Reina gasped at the secret, signifying that this one was hers. It seemed as if this particular one was meant to be kept hidden, based off her countenance. Embarrassed by her secret out in the open, she plainly said it was hers and was even more irritated by the reveal than anyone else.
First mommy issues and now daddy issues, what's next incest?
Yuzuki, still contributing to this case, despite her supposed guilt, got "I paid many influential people to torture my grandfather while he was still in prison, even diminishing his food portions and toiletries."
I have to say murder is one thing, but torture is another matter entirely. I never pegged anyone for a sadist but like I keep reminding myself, this place is full of Ultimates trying to backstab each other to get ahead in their lives. Aohito raised his hand and reluctantly admitted to it, with no concern in his face for the consequences. I think everyone started to question the morality of the delivery boy, because some of them were sweating bullets that they might be next if he pissed them off.
Aohito, still trying to recover from admitting his crimes, got "I have a hereditary mental illness that causes my mind to shut off when I'm too angry, therefore I lose my memory of what my body does." That's not as bad as the other secrets, it's not as destructive to other people but I could be wrong. Then the pharmacist raised her hand, looked everyone in the eyes and tried her best to remain calm in the situation.
I'd think she would have made some medicine to combat this ailment, unless it was incurable. I think we should move on, as Calypso seemed even more anxious than ever to get this over with.
Camille got "I killed someone who called my animal friend a pet." This is by far the most pettiest secret that I have ever heard in my entire life, by far this person needs the most help, if he's willing to kill others because someone called his pet what he is. Toto expressed no guilt admitting this was his secret and Black started to roar at the statement, maybe his way of confirming Toto's crimes. Unfazed and undeterred, he took the heat off of Aohito's crimes and made everyone more weary of him instead.
Athena got "I have no loved ones to return to except for my parents." This was one couldn't be considered a secret in my books. This is by far the tamest and saddest secret ever. Mei raised her hand and expressed her grief in a serious tone. I think some people sniffled at that fact and Mei felt slightly distraught that everyone knew of her issues. I thought I was a fan but now I'm even more dedicated to helping her survive this absurd killing game.
Nori got "I made perfect replicas of me and everyone I've met so far in my life." Everyone looked at each other and collectively agreed this was the creepiest secret ever said out loud. With no clue as to whose secret this was, since no one claimed it or raised their hand, some of us predicted that this was Dietrich's secret. I mean he's weird AF, but he had way too much time on his hands if his experiments were that extreme.
It could be that it was talking about wax figures or life scale models, but at this point, he's dead so I can't ask him.
I grew even more worried about my secret being exposed by that orange haired troll. Knowing him, it was probably a moment he was relishing inside his conniving little mind and was probably going to enjoy making me squirm like an eel.
William offered to go next and I started to get even more antsy. Hopefully whatever my secret is, that it doesn't compromise my position trying to investigate this school and exposing it for what it really is, an elitist playground that favors the extremely talented and leaves it's average students biting the dust.
William: The secret I received says as follows, "I am an obsessive otaku and love writing fanfiction."
...
Arihime: WHAT!?
William: Oh! I take it that this is yours Arihime?
Everyone stared at me with intense curiosity, as William gives everyone the most bogus secret ever conceived. Japan is very cruel towards otaku, I will admit, but this is really stretching it in terms of believability.
Reina: I thought you were one of them, you seemed to have a particular taste that almost makes mine shiver in comparison.
OMG, they actually buy it. Might as well ride this train before I get more glaring eyes my way.
Simon: Oh that's cool, I'm starting to get into anime myself, care to recommend some titles to me?
Eduardo: Do you know any sports anime that are Bueno? Particularly soccer related?
Karuta: I love shojo manga, care to divulge some hidden gems, Ari-chan?
Arihime: Um...sure.
I was still a little uneasy about that sudden reveal, I mean I love anime as much as the next person, but I write fanfiction!? Now William is going to get his ass handed to him after the trial. I could see his devilish smirk hiding behind the paper as he gestures a glance probably saying that I should brush up on my anime knowledge.
Arihime: As much as I would like to divulge how much anime I've watched, can we get back to the trial?
Nori: I agree, a total waste of time to something that has no relevancy to the case.
I guess some people aren't as thrilled to be talking about anime as the majority of everyone else here, at least some people have a life.
Athena: Athena recalls that we have three secrets left to find out about.
Toto: Certainly, that would be Yuzuki's, Izuhara's and William's.
Izuhara: Who has my secret?! I need to know immediately!
Alia: It's...me.
Everyone turned to the cold robot as she opened up her paper and read it aloud. Izuhara looked surprised at this fact as he listened closely to what she said.
Alia: "My family is in hiding from a mercenary group trying to find my father."
The room started getting chattier by the second, some people wondered if Izuhara's family was in deep with the mafia? Were they professional assassins? Did they do bad things? Personally, I want to know as much as possible so I better take note.
Izuhara: I didn't want anyone to know about my family's hiding spot, even if someone didn't know about my situation, I had to get that secret back at any cost.
Yuzuki: As I expected, the meeting with Dietrich was because you suspected him to be the bearer of your secret?
Izuhara nodded as he pulled out the piece of paper that was stuck underneath his door that I also noticed as well.
Izuhara: I found this under my door as I finished hanging out with Arihime.
Arihime: I remember it as well, I took a quick peek, sorry about that.
Aohito: That doesn't matter now, what does the note say.
He read the note in one hand, regaling us with this detail that we overlooked like everything else in this case.
"Someone has your secret and I know who, Mr. Tomokazu, it's.."
That's the same spot where I finished in the letter until I was interrupted by Karuta.
"Dietrich Kurohato!"
...
Everyone (minus William): WHAT!?
At that moment everyone's initial suspicions about Izuhara arose from the grave, like a zombie, as people started questioning each other and interrogating him for more information.
William: Well well well, since Izuhara is so concerned about that secret, it seems his friendly chat with Dietrich wasn't so cordial now was it? Right Arihime.
Some of them looked at me with surprise, some were disgusted by my blatant lie while William grinned more evilly by the second.
Arihime: Yes, I will come clean here, guys. I did lie to you all about being with the two of them, but that's only because I found it suspicious at the time. That was too perfect to not be related to the case in anyway.
Tokaku: That's a dirty tactic, Arihime, we should all be honest with each other no matter how tragic our secrets are.
You're one to talk, half the people in here are almost cold blooded killers and you think me telling a simple lie is going to assuage your sins? But this is what William wants, he wants me to lose my cool and freak out. Nice try, moron, but not this time.
Simon: I'm sure she has her reasons for lying, but I trust her as much as anyone else.
Calypso: Yeah, she's the one who helped prove I was not the culprit, so I believe her.
Karuta: Same here, she indulged me in cards, when no else would at the time.
With those three rooting for me, I didn't feel as bad as I initially did for fibbing to everyone.
Natsume: I've known h-her since c-c-childhood, she has no reason to lie.
Way to go Natsume, way to stick up for me like any other friend zone character.
Camille: Boring, I'm tired of this friendship is magic nonsense, who killed Dietrich!? I want to know now!
For once I agree with the model, he may not have any brain cells, but at least he knows when something gets old fast.
Mei: But what about the other two secrets? William's and Yuzuki's?
William: I've figured, due to process of elimination, Simon and Dietrich both have secrets still untold to the rest of us.
Oh yeah that's true, now that I think about it, Simon didn't go yet and since Dietrich is dead, I was at a loss as to what they were.
Simon: Well I have the paper here, let me get it.
Simon pulled out his paper and opened it up to say what he got amongst the sea of truths, half truths and lies. He read it as follows:
"I killed an inmate by accident during a prison riot, and had the other guards help me cover it up."
Monokuma: Oh bum bum bah!
Yuzuki: See, now you know.
The room then turned to Yuzuki as she crossed her arms in disappointment. I mean more self defense claims? She was nearly killed and here I am blaming her for wanting to keep her secret under lock and key. Now I feel like a douchebag.
Yuzuki: But that's weird as well. I also received the same note as Izuhara, but I got mine before the fight ever happened between those two.
Monokuma: Oh my gosh, this is "beary" confusing indeed. Is this mystery unsolvable?
Arihime: No, because Yuzuki has another motive for killing Dietrich?
Everyone (minus William): Really!?
Arihime: Yes, she does.
Yuzuki: No I dont!
Everyone jumped in fear as the once calm Yuzuki, her hair now a messy bun and her sweat dripping from her forehead, screamed at me to stop accusing her. Her head facing the floor and her eyes darkened from the lighting.
Yuzuki: You know, I've been listening to you prattle on and on about me killing Mr. Kurohato with little to no substantial evidence.
Yuzuki: I despise people like you, Ms. Koyuji.
Calypso: Yuzu-chan?
Then, as if on command, Yuzuki raised her head, her face swimming in sweat, her eyes shrunk to pointed pupils as they darted all over the room like lazy eyes and her tone of voice started getting more serious and angry.
Yuzuki: For the last time... I DIDN'T KILL DIETRICH!
She yelled at the top of her lungs the people closest to her, William and Aohito, covered their ears in pain.
Yuzuki: You know, you talk a big game about knowing all the facts and having everything under control. But the way I see it...
She then plastered an angry smug look on her face as if she was going to get away with her crimes, after having a sudden switch in personality.
Yuzuki: You're just another slanderous, so called journalist who throws people under the bus when it fits your stupid fucking agenda!
Nori: It seems as if the stoic warden, is showing her true colors after all.
Yuzuki: Yes, I had bloodied clothes, but I really was on my period. You can't incriminate me on that alone. Plus when would I have the time to acquire the syringe to kill him in the first place? Need I remind you, I have an ALIBI!
At this point, her hysterical side is trying to hide the fact she had something to do with this case. I need to knock some sense into her one way or the other.
Narrator: Do you want to hear about the penultimate game mechanic before you confront the culprit?
Arihime: Seriously, this is so anti-climactic that it hurts, what is it now?
Narrator: To keep it brief, you need to do the closing argument "manga" of the case. Basically this part in the trial you have to summarize the entire case so that you can point out how the culprit committed this crime and what they tried to do to get away with it.
Arihime: Oh, I like the idea and the manga format! I might as well give it a go.
Yuzuki: Are you even listening to me?! I told you I have no connection to this murder. So please enlighten me, my dear journalist, how did I commit this murder!
Arihime: Thank you, but I didn't need your permission in the first place, so let me educate you all on how our dearest warden killed Mr. Kurohato.
CLOSING ARGUMENT
Act I: It all started when Monokuma and Nekotang introduced to us the first motive, the sordid secrets pertaining to each one of us. As we didn't know who had which secret, we all went on with our merry day. That is until an anonymous source, decided to stir up the pot and cause some trouble for our two main suspects, Izuhara Tomokazu and the culprit themselves.
The notes left by each of their doors was meant to entice the two of them to go and meet with the person who supposedly had the others' respective secrets.
Act II: Now this happened before the party started, so the culprit and Izuhara had time before to set up their individual plans to confront Dietrich before anything else. Whereas Izuhara decided to talk with him directly about what transpired, the culprit decided to take the less confrontational route. This plan, was to kill Dietrich before he could spill their secret to everyone else.
Act III: The culprit, after setting up their cameras knowing each one's blind spot, took full advantage of the time frames between each cut off point and made it look like Izuhara had some personal beef with Dietrich giving him a motive, when in reality, they were talking it out like what real men do. When snooping around the others' rooms, they came across Athena's escape hatch hiding underneath the stage and after finding out it was connected to Dietrich room's, they had set up their escape route and left the room before the camera could capture them.
Act IV: Figuring out a way to execute the deed, the culprit had to plan ahead and gather supplies to make killing him easier. While getting a massage from Simon, they asked for one of his candles, specifically the lavender one, knowing that they cause drowsiness to help with insomnia. With a way to sedate him, they were lucky to catch Calypso throwing out a contaminated syringe in the trash nearby. Realizing that pinning the blame on Izuhara wasn't enough, they wanted to incriminate Calypso in the deed as well, as a backup plan. Lastly, they asked Aohito to help them up to the vent near to Dietrich's room, under the guise of setting up a new camera. In actuality, they lit the candle in the air vent and let the scent waft into the air so that when Dietrich came back, he would be relaxed and vulnerable.
ACT V: When the party was in full swing the culprit, I imagine, was a little impatient and decided to spike Dietrich's tea cup with cyanide ahead of time to make him even weaker. However as we all know, Dietrich hated the sake put into the tea by our sweet Karuta and swatted it out of her hand and onto the table, floor and mine and hers' outfits. After that happened, a select few left the room to get some air from the ensuing brawl Simon and Dietrich were about to have, and one of them happened to be the culprit.
ACT VI: When Dietrich left the room to go and cool off, the culprit was hiding somewhere discreetly, presumably inside the escape hatch and when he entered the room and locked it to prevent further intrusion as he usually does, the culprit sprung into action and opened up the hatch to attack Dietrich. Since Dietrich was a little tipsy from the excitement and the candle's wafting scent, he was completely defenseless as the culprit stuck the needle, filled with the cyanide from his room, into his skin. As Dietrich's body reacted to the foreign chemical agent, he started to get dizzy thus causing the mess around his room with all the papers. He started vomiting out the food we ate and especially blood which found it's way onto the culprit's clothes. With Dietrich gasping for air, he eyed his culprit one last time before his life evaporated like water in the sunlight.
ACT VII: After his death, the culprit staged the scene by moving his body to the table and getting rid of the syringe in some unknown location only William knows of and escaped down the hatch and into Athena's room. They ran out of xer room and headed straight for the girls' toilet as they rushed inside to clean up their mistakes. They washed their hands in the sink leaving some blood residue caked inside the bowl and realizing that someone had entered the room, they hid inside a stall as they tried flushing their clothes down the toilet, in a last ditch effort to look unsuspicious. Little did they know that the clothes clogged the toilet causing a lot of water to build up and before they could fix the problem, they were greeted by Karuta, who was also there to clean up her outfit from the party. Having covered all their bases, they told her that they were cleaning up a ketchup stain, as I entered the bathroom as well, after talking with William himself.
ACT VIII: The culprit acted normally for the rest of the evening, until I left the room again to go and find Dietrich. I found his room locked, still under the impression that he was busy conducting an experiment and, for the sake of the argument, entered his room using a lockpicking method since it was quieter than breaking down the door. That's when I discovered the gruesome sight and met up with you guys in the hallway initiating the 'Body Discovery Announcement.' As we all gazed at the horrific death in front of us, the culprit looked on pretending to be concerned as they secretly smiled in their head at how ingenious their plan was and how they were going to escape this god forsaken school.
But luckily for us, we all worked together to solve the mystery and unmasked the culprit.
Arihime: The person who terminated the scientist's life is none other than you, Yuzuki Hashira, the Ultimate Warden!
Arihime: The jig is up, Yuzuki! I've went into full detail of your crimes and even drew a manga where you are an ugly, red eyed, grey mannequin, looking menacingly at everyone. It's time to give up now.
Yuzuki didn't answer as I exposited all of the specifics of her crime, she regained her composure slightly and continued to refute my arguments even with all the evidence pinpointing her as being the culprit.
Yuzuki: I refuse to acknowledge this, this is pure madness! You have it all wrong, I was framed!
Nori: It seems the jailbird doesn't want to sing her song, this is really getting annoying.
Karuta: Please, Yuzuki, just tell us the truth! This is going to be even more painful on us than on you, if you continue lying to everyone.
Kazuko: Do I have to beat it out of you, to get you talking?
Natsume: I-I-I don't think t-t-that'll work.
Reina: We've all had enough of this drivel, can we please end this already, I'm tired.
Monokuma: But don't you guys want to hear more about her-
William: As much as we appreciate your lectures, I think it's high time to end this farce as well, we don't need this BS thrown in our faces.
Aohito: Well this was entertaining to say the least.
Yuzuki: I'm not yielding just yet! I didn't do it!
Arihime: Oh my god! Just stop already, if I have to finish you off myself then so be it, time to get some sense knocked into you once and for all.
Narrator: Guess what time it is?
Arihime: Another pointless game mechanic?
Narrator: This will be the last one, it's called Panic Talk Action or PTA for short. Here your opponent will just not give into reason and won't listen to what you have to say. So you have to play Guitar Hero in order to break their shields, one by one, using only your instincts and logic.
Arihime: Yeah yeah, I'm tired of breaking the fourth wall, let's get moving before we turn people off this story.
Narrator: OK, have fun and see you later.
FINAL SHOWDOWN!
PANIC TALK ACTION!
4 shields representing balls and chains remaining:
Yuzuki: You all are being fooled, I'm not the culprit, please listen to me!
Arihime: I'm not fooling anyone, you're the one trying to pull the wool over our eyes with your sob story.
*CRACK*
Yuzuki: I didn't want him dead, honest!
Arihime: Then why did you set up this elaborate scheme, based solely off a note that could have been forged from the beginning.
*BREAK*
3 shields remaining
Yuzuki: How was I able to avoid the cameras when they were all over the place?!
Arihime: You're the one who set them up to begin with and knew of all their blind spots! You've played yourself!
*CRACK*
Yuzuki: I told you I was talking with Athena at the time when the cameras caught me!
Arihime: But xey told us that xey were talking with Mei and Alia at the time, what's your excuse!
*BREAK*
2 shields remaining
Yuzuki: What about Izuhara? He had motive to kill as well!
Arihime: But Izuhara confronted Dietrich head on instead of jumping the gun, unlike someone we know.
*CRACK*
Yuzuki: What about Calypso? It was her syringe that killed him!
Arihime: If that's the case, what's her motive for killing him? Frankly I have no clue.
*BREAK*
Last shield remaining
Yuzuki: I was covered in puke from head to toe, how do you think I was able to move around so quickly without being seen by anyone?
Arihime: Seriously, there's the escape hatch, you left through Athena's room and sprinted to the bathroom avoiding the cameras as fast as you can. Besides, I thought you were using the period excuse like some girls do!
*CRACK*
Yuzuki: If I clogged the toilet, trying to get rid of my clothes with his DNA on them, how did Karuta not notice the overflowing water coming out of the stall.
Arihime: Pure convenient timing for you, that I happened to stumble upon your work as soon as everyone was called to attention by the announcement. A little too perfect if you ask me.
*BREAK*
=FINAL BLOW=
Yuzuki: You guys have had your fun, but one thing your missing is my MOTIVE! What's my real goal going through with all of this! If you can't provide any evidence to back up your claims, then you have no case against me!
YOUR BACKSTORY ( The Real Motive)
Arihime: I hereby find you in contempt of court! Anything you say, can and will be used against you, so suck it!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
Bet you weren't expecting this to come out! I hope you all liked it, as your Christmas present from me to you guys!
Holy heck this chapter was a bitch to write and edit. I swear this took me about a month to make, tops, I just got lazy in between making other chapters for my other story and trying to keep up with my classes at college and working through some mental problems I was dealing with during these past few months.
Anyway it's in the previous chapter if you want to know more.
Also for all of you wondering when the next chapter is coming up, after this amazing one that almost killed me with how many times the system crashed and deleted my files, I might make this a biweekly thing if I can make my schedule work for the upcoming new year.
I hope you guys can forgive me for how cluttered and clunky the first part was. I had to pull a lot of strings to get this to work out properly in my mind and all that jazz. Not to mention trying to make ends meet, Christmas shopping and exams have kicked me in the butt so many times that I almost stopped writing entirely.
Before I leave, here are the questions that I will end the year off with.
1) Did you like this chapter? Would you like to see the same format for future trials? Do you want it to be of a different person's perspective or do you want it to stay with Arihime? Let me in the reviews or PM
2) If you want to do it, I'm doing a little side project where I give you guy's OC voice actors both English and Japanese. For the ones who have sent me your VA's don't worry this only applies to the people who haven't sent in their options yet.
3) What do you think the execution for the 1st trial will be?
4) Who is the most likely candidate for killer and victim for case 2?
5) How is your guys' Christmas or holiday going so far? Did you get what you wanted? Or not? Let me know if you'd like in the PM's or reviews.
That's all I have for you right now, I hope you all are safe and doing well, if you any concerns leave me a PM to avoid spoiling anything for others. I hope this lengthy chapter suffices for the two month delay.
I love you all and thank you for sticking with my story with the amount of excuses I pile on etcetera etc. and yeah that's all I have to say.
SO ONCE AGAIN! HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANNUKAH AND ALL THE ABOVE!
AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR AS WELL!
Bye bye and happy reading.