Author's Note: Did somebody order an extra-late class trial conclusion? No? Well... crap.

Anyway, some of you may have been curious about what I had to reveal. Well... Hanneko has a tumblr blog! (Yes, I'm really bored). It's pretty much dead now, but soon I'll post things like references for characters and early story ideas (and my personal favorite- mastermind AU designs for everyone!). If you want to check it out, it's called "itshannekobitches," and the password (which might be removed soon) is "tripledanganronpa." I hope you enjoy this chapter! Next one will come out on Sunday. Like always, leave a review if there's something you think I should know!

"So… you guys done or what?" Hanneko asked us.

"We already said no," said Bunpei.

"Nya. I'm getting bored," said Hanneko. No one bothered to lash out at him about how this isn't some sick form of entertainment.

"Okay," I said. "Should we go over what all we know about his case? Maybe if we mention more things that stood out, we'll be able to figure out more."

"At this point…" said Tobiki. "It's starting to look like the killer might get away with it…"

No… I won't let that happen… I can't…

Why can't you? If I do, then everyone here is gone. Oh. You're still worried about possibly being executed? Do you really think Hanneko has the power to kill all of you at once? I've seen him execute us one by one… Hm… Wanna know what I think? I think you shouldn't worry about that so much.

"Maybe," I whispered. It didn't seem like anyone heard me.

"Yeah… Well, it was nice knowing you all," said Irina. "I didn't want to have to make a confession in this kind of situation, but—"

"Unless it has to do with this case, save your confessions for when we're done here," said Kotaka. "Nakauchi, what all do you know?"

"Uh…" I said. I wasn't really expecting her to call on me like that. "Okay. At this point, it probably won't change any opinions, but I saw Nezumi go in the kitchen, and she came back out with a brown jar, which I'm guessing was because there were peanuts inside it. I'm assuming she would take them for self-defense, since Luka was allergic to peanuts and they'd probably deal him a lot of damage if she needed to get away from him. Luka confronted Nezumi about her being Mouse. I think Luka might have had a plan to get them both out of the school so he could turn her in, which is probably why he bothered to mention it at all. Honestly, that plan probably wouldn't have worked, but Nezumi didn't want to be taken away, nor did she want us to know who she really was. They both somehow got in a fight and wound up falling into the pool, with Nezumi winning the fight in the end. At this point, Sugihara-kun must have seen what was going on. Once Nezumi spotted him, she tried to get rid of him as well. Unfortunately for Sugihara-kun, he and Luka had one thing in common: both were highly allergic to peanuts. She could easily be rid of him with what she had on her. I think most of us were still in the dorms when this transpired.

About fifteen minutes later, after I saw Sugihara-kun's message, I saw Nezumi again. She had changed her clothes and her hair and shoes were wet. At the time, I didn't think anything of it, but that should have been an indicator that something was wrong. We were the first two to find Luka—or so I believed—but most of you came by at that point. Jay pulled him out, and Glasses and I talked about the notebook and what may have happened. Of course, I didn't find the notebook, and I went to look for Nezumi, but I wasn't sure if she was still alive or dead since her name had disappeared, but there were other possibilities. But, when I found her, she was unconscious. I'm guessing a few of you found Sugihara-kun at this point as well. I ran to find answers about what was going on elsewhere, but found none. After that, Glasses found me and brought me to Nezumi, who was, in fact, covered in bruises. I only went to look for Sugihara-kun after I thought he was third, which was when Neko and Wakabayashi-kun found the allergy list that Yamamoto-san wrote. Nezumi must have brought him there when no one was around… Probably when she was looking for Ido-san and Furuda-kun."

"Hm…" Tougo said. "I think you're leaving some things out."

About what? I wasn't sure, so I just made something up. "It's not relevant to this case, so of course I'd leave it out."

"Wait," said Tobiki. "Did anyone else go to the cafeteria? If not, Karafuto-sa—or, Muon-san might have brought him there while we were all elsewhere. Most of us were in the dorms at that point."

"Yeah," said Jay. "I was with Kotaka in my room, and Neko, Rin, and Tougo were with Irina in her room. Luka was also probably planning on meeting with Nezumi, so I don't think he'd have gone there…"

"I was in my room as well," said Tobiki.

"Yeah… I was probably in my room as well," said Bunpei.

"You can't even remember where you were?" Kotaka asked.

"I… I dunno," admitted Bunpei. "I think I might have been… maybe in the gym of the main building… But I left a while after the announcement was made."

"But Bun-chan," said Neko. "If you were in the gym in the main building, and you left a while after the announcement was made, wouldn't there be a chance that you'd encounter Nezu-nyan? The gym and the cafeteria are right by each other."

Bunpei remained quiet. Does that mean anything?

"Oh, right," he said. "There was that…"

"So?" Kotaka asked. "Did you see them or not? If you're withholding information, I'll be sure to have you punished."

"I…" Bunpei hesitated. "I wasn't in the gym."

I'm confused. "Furuda-kun," I began. "Why would you lie about being in the gym?"

"He's probably trying to hide where he actually was," said Kotaka. "Furuda, what do you know about this case?"

"Uh… I dunno who did it, if that's what you mean," said Bunpei. "After leaving where I was, I didn't run into Nezu or the culprit or anything."

"But… Would there be any reason you would run into Nezumi?" Jay asked. She brings up a good point. If Bunpei bothered to mention that, there must be something important about it…

"I'm not going to ask again. Where were you?" Kotaka asked.

"Furuda-kun, were you in the library?" I asked.

"Ye… yeah," said Bunpei. I detected a hint of chagrin in his tone.

"But… Why would you try to hide that?" Irina asked.

"He was probably afraid of being pinned to the crime, seeing as Muon was the last to die, and she was found in the library," explained Tougo.

"Uh… Yeah, that was it," said Bunpei. "I didn't have anything to do with it, by the way."

"We can't just take your word for it, though," said Neko.

"Well, first we should go over everyone's alibi for while Kara—Muon-san was still alive, or some time after that," said Tobiki.

"Furuda and I were on our way to the library after we realized she was missing from the map," said Tougo, wasting no time.

"I was with Irina for a while, but left to look at Luka again," said Jay. "After that, Neko kept up with her, so it'd be impossible for one of us to hide anything from each other."

"I was in the hallway trying to figure out what was going on," said Kotaka. "Furuda walked past me, so he can confirm this."

"Did I? I don't remember too well," said Bunpei.

"He doesn't remember seeing you?" Neko asked. "That seems a little bit suspicious."

"In any case, I saw him, so I figured he saw me," said Kotaka.

"Furuda-kun, this is kinda unlike you," said Tobiki. "Normally your memory is excellent. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," said Bunpei quickly.

"I went to search for Nezumi, of course, but was in Luka's room before I found her," I said, trying to change the subject. No need to dwell so much on one person.

"Interesting," said Irina. "You were the only one to find her after she went missing and before the announcement, correct?"

… Am I being cross-examined? "Yeah, I was," I said.

"Hm… And Nezumi-chan trusts you… It's easy to see how you could have murdered her!" Irina exclaimed and pointed accusingly at me. I guess that's true…

Wait, what?! "That's ridiculous!" I shouted. "I had no reason to kill her, and I couldn't have done it!"

"Oh yeah?" Irina asked. "Prove it!"

The courtroom erupted in murmurs and whispers. Shit! I don't have any proof that I didn't do it…

"How could Nakauchi have done it," began Tougo, "if Nakauchi was under the impression that Sugihara had killed Muon?" That argument's kinda weak. I could have been acting…

"How do we know Rin-kun wasn't just accusing Yasushi-kun in order to throw us off track?" Irina asked. Dang it.

"Nakauchi," Kotaka began. "What state was Muon in when you found her?"

"Uh… Almost nothing like when her announcement went off," I said. "She had no bleeding or bruises from what I could tell."

"So, she had acquired them after Yasushi's announcement went off," stated Kotaka. I guess so…

"Why's that important?" Neko asked.

"I'm not sure just yet," Kotaka answered.

"Hm…" Neko said. "Who were the first three to see Nezu-nyan after Yasu-chan's announcement went off?"

"That would be me, Ido, and Furuda," said Tougo.

Wait a second… Tougo must have seen her before he went to find me. But if Bunpei and Kotaka also saw her…

"Furuda-kun… Ido-san… Neither of you could have done it, right?" I asked.

"Oh? Trying to hastily throw suspicion off yourself, Rin-kun?" Irina asked.

"Wait, why would you say it was either of those two in the first place?" Tobiki asked.

"Because of the announcement," I said. "We already know the announcement goes off after at least three people see a body. If the culprit had not 'seen' her, then why would it only go off after I, being the fourth person, saw her?"

"Right… If Rin-tan were the culprit, then the announcement should have gone off after Taka-chan saw Nezu-nyan," said Neko. "That is, assuming she arrived at the chiisai library after Megane-kun and Buns. She could have done it…"

"Buns?" Bunpei asked. "Can we at least have consistent nicknames from you?"

"Huh? I've never called you 'Buns' before?" Neko asked.

"I think I'd remember something that sticks out so much," said Bunpei.

That's important. Remember that.

"So," said Kotaka. "I'm being accused of murder?"

"Damn straight, toots," said Hanneko. "Any rebuttals?"

"Of course," said Kotaka before turning to address the rest of us. "I didn't freakin' do it."

"Then… Does that mean I did it?" Bunpei said.

"Please state a fact and stop asking questions," said Jay.

"Exactly. There's still the fact that Furuda had as much of a chance to do it as I did," said Kotaka.

"Kedo… Something's not right," said Irina, pitching her voice to be higher and slightly whiny. Neko narrowed her eyes at Irina.

"Let me ask this," I said. "If you didn't do it, then why would you lie about your alibi?" A single, small twitch from her eyebrow. Her expression remained as it was previously.

"What? Why would I lie about my alibi? Even if I did, there's no way you could prove it," defended Kotaka.

"Because," I said. "You claimed Furuda-kun saw you in the hallway. If he had seen you then, why did he only point out your new haircut after we discovered Nezumi?"

A small "tch" escaped her lips, and her eyes became angry for a brief moment. Besides that, her expression returned to normal. "In case you haven't realized, Furuda's been really out of it," said Kotaka.

"I have not… well, not that much," said Bunpei.

"Even if he was out of it," I said. "He still managed to notice a couple of small details. Remember his response to Neko's new nickname for him?"

"Yeah, I said I think I'd notice something that sticks out so much, or something like that," Bunpei said. "But you can't really go by that to accuse Kotaka-sama. It's practically a baseless accusation!"

"That's true," I acknowledged. "But Ido-san, do you actually have someone who can verify where you were?"

"I've been checking in on her," said Tobiki. "I did see her name in the hallways and the library. But that reminds me… Hanneko, your system is faulty. Ido-san's name kept disappearing."

"So has Rin's, now that he brings it up," said Jay.

"True. Nezu-nyan's name had disappeared a couple of times earlier, too, but I dismissed it since her announcement went off a while later," said Neko.

"We can't forget Tougo-kun~ His name's been going on and off the screen, too," added Irina. "Has that been happening to all of ours? That's too many people to ignore."

"NYAA! Absolutely NYATHING's wrong with the system! NYATHING!" Hanneko yelled. "All of those bastards you named just happen to have something in common!"

"They've killed people?" Irina asked in jest.

"Are they supposed to be the smartest or something?" Jay asked.

"Are all of them supposed to have some sort of horrible secret?" This came from Tobiki.

"Were they in some secret group that none of the rest of us knew about?" Bunpei suggested. Funny he should mention that… But what we all have in common… I know.

"Ido-san," I began. "You know a secret about this school. Glasses knows it, Nezumi knew it, I know it. Hell, Luka even knew it. Am I on the right track?"

"Are you sure it's not what Jay or Furuda suggested?" Kotaka asked. "Both of them seem to have some sort of accuracy, although I can't completely agree with Jay's statement in Hanai's case." Glasses grimaced at her.

"As if a murderer should insult my intelligence. My mind isn't so primitive as to resort to killing someone," argued Tougo. God damn it. This must have to do with what Nezumi mentioned a while ago… Seems like so long ago…

"I haven't been proven to have murdered anyone. Think before you speak and pay better attention, plebeian," responded Kotaka.

"Get a room, you two," I said before Tougo could make his inevitable defensive response. Both of them stopped immediately.

"A rare pair?" Neko asked.

"Ido-san, I do have more questions for you," I said. "Before Luka was found, you and Jay were together."

"Yes," Jay said. "But I don't see what that has to do with the situation…"

"That we were," confirmed Kotaka. "In case it wasn't completely obvious, I had asked her to cut my hair."

"That's exactly what I wanted to know," I said. "A few white, wispy strings were found on Jay's jacket, and in a certain other incriminating area. Is there any chance those wisps belong to you?"

Now Kotaka's expression changed completely from her earlier stoic appearance. Bingo.

"Hmph," said Kotaka. "If anything, you make it sound more like Jay did it."

"Now hold up," said Jay in English. "I don't even—I mean, Rin, what 'incriminating area' are you talking about?"

"That's not the point," I said. "Ido-san, when Jay left to check on Irina, we pointed out that she had one on her jacket, then she quickly removed it. I don't suppose you're trying to say that more were stuck on her jacket, then fell off?"

"Then why would they come from me? I don't suppose you saw any hairs fall off me recently," Kotaka said.

"Interesting word choice. Why would you suddenly say 'hair,' Kotaka-chan?" Irina asked.

"We all know those white wisps that Nakauchi keeps bringing up are supposed to be hairs. It's not that hard to figure out," said Kotaka.

"Like I said, that was the only one on her," I said.

"She hadn't finished cutting my hair by that point," said Kotaka. "More hairs could have stuck to her afterwards."

"True," I said. "But Jay did something that would have completely removed any other hairs that could have stuck to her: she jumped in the pool to get Luka out."

Kotaka doesn't even seem to be trying to keep up her normal appearance. "So, you're claiming I was in the office. It's not possible that anyone else could have been in there. Correct?"

"I guess so," I said. "But I haven't had a chance to get to the relevant part. For some reason, you and Nezumi were in there. You expected one of us to come that way, didn't you? Why is that?"

"I… I wasn't expecting anybody," said Kotaka. "I was just investigating that room."

"That doesn't explain why Nezumi was there."

"There's no proof that Nezumi was there."

"She was in the elevator leading to it!"

"And your point is?"

"Why would you be 'investigating' in there, anyway?"

"I can't disclose that information just yet."

"Two of us can verify the evidence we found there!"

"You and who? If it's Hanai, we can't rely on that. He's clearly got it out for me."

I'm running out of points… Is there something I'm forgetting?

"Anyway," continued Kotaka. "I didn't kill Muon. If you'd like to insist that I did and that we both met in the office, then how did I get out of the office without being noticed by you or Hanai, since both of you claimed to be there?"

That was exactly what I was afraid of.

You don't need to be afraid. You already know this bitch killed your precious lying thief friend. Prove it or die. Thanks for the pep talk.

"Ido-san," I said. "When the elevator leading to the office reaches the floor, a tiny bell goes off."

"Tch," said Kotaka. "So? Where's the relevance in that?"

"It's relevant because you knew I was coming," I said. "There are several other rooms in that hallway. My guess is that you hid in one of them until I was in the main room at the end of the hall. Were you able to wait until the coast was clear, then escape through the elevator?"

Kotaka remained quiet. The entire courtroom was silenced.

"Hmph," said Kotaka. "Alright. Rin Nakauchi, will you explain exactly how everything went down? Starting from where you left off earlier, please."

Uh… Alright… "While no one was around the area, you heard the Corpse Discovery Announcement for Luka go off. You knew to investigate, but you decided on a smarter route. Instead of scrambling to search for clues, you'd search for surveillance footage of the crime taking plane. Around the time you actually found it, you probably managed to witness another setup by a certain phantom thief occurring. She must have been summoned by you to the office, where she would meet an untimely demise. Were you avenging Sugihara-kun? Trying to take advantage of a scenario riddled with chaos? I'm not sure. But I do know that in the office, you two fought. Unfortunately for Nezumi, she was overpowered by a surprisingly strong politician. After placing her in the elevator in order to add to the confusion, you hid in one room in the office after realizing someone would be there soon. Luckily for you, I was only focused on the main room at the end of the hallway. After I was in there, you quickly went to the library in order to finish off Nezumi, taking advantage of the lack of witnesses in the area and running away after beating her and slamming a bookshelf on her. But, seeing as Glasses and Furuda-kun were quickly on their way, you 'd probably be left with no choice but to hide somewhere you wouldn't be noticed, or be forced to explain exactly what had happened and have this trial end before it even starts.

Glasses, after seeing Nezumi, more than likely went to find me, knowing where I'd be. Furuda-kun was probably too stunned by Nezumi's death to see you crawl out from behind a desk or a bookshelf and pretend to have just arrived on the scene. Unfortunately for you, the rule about the culprit always returning to the scene of the crime held true. My seeing Nezumi set off the alarm despite the fact that three of you had 'seen' her before me, leaving one final clue needed to incriminate you. It could only have been you, couldn't it?"

Throughout my litany, Kotaka nodded her head either up and down or side to side from time to time.

"You have a few details incorrect," said Kotaka. "But it seems like your theory makes sense for the most part."

"So," said Hanneko. "Are we completely done? No doubts this time?"

"Wait!" Tobiki shouted.

"Dear freakingtrnggmeopbgiofbiogaaaaahhhhh!" Hanneko yelled.

"You okay there, buddy?" Neko asked.

"Gah," he said. "It just feels like this trial's been going on forever!"

"Ido-san," began Tobiki. "Why did you do it?"

"Hm… why indeed," said Hanneko. "It wasn't some stupid cliché reason like 'she killed the one I love!' or something like that, right? If so, that'd be completely lame of you and the author."

Kotaka sighed. "I just didn't want to die."

I'm confused. Why would she die because Nezumi killed two people?

"You're probably wondering what I could possibly mean by that," began Kotaka. "But I saw… Her eyes were completely devoid of anything resembling light. I went to confront her, and she tried to run away, going into the office. She probably thought I wouldn't find her, but I already knew about the elevator to the office. Once I arrived there… would you like to know what she said to me? 'I'm surprised you found me… I know… I'll get in trouble for killing those two… I'm horrible… but hey… if I kill a third person… Hanneko will punish me, right? I won't have to put everyone through another one of those trials… I won't have to lie just to save my life… they'll never know… who I really was…' I was scared. She was fully prepared to kill me just to keep her secret, and soon that confrontation turned into a fight to the death. What else was there to do besides try to stay alive? I'm sure if any of you were in that situation, you'd react the exact same way. So please, just consider that when you think about how horrible I am."

"OKAY," said Hanneko. "Are we ready to cast votes now? Will you be right in selecting who committed this horrible act, or will you be hideously, fatally wrong?"

We all voted on the culprit. I feel disgusted with myself. For some reason, it feels like I shouldn't be voting on Kotaka, even though I know she did it. It seems… wrong.

"Aha, I see," said Hanneko. "You all voted on the Super High School Level Politician, Kotaka Ido. Unfortunately for you, that's completely wrong!"

"Na-NANI?!" Neko shouted.

"What?" Tougo asked, as if Hanneko were challenging something he knew to be true.

"What?" Kotaka asked in a similar fashion. "That's impossible! Who else could it have been?!"

"Nyahaha! It could have been Bunpei Furuda," said Hanneko. What? It was him? I turned out to be wrong? No! God damn it! God fucking damn it! Everyone else is going to die, and it's all because of me! I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but tried not to let any fall.

"Shit!" Bunpei yelled. "Please let everyone else vote again! I didn't realize the bookshelf—"

"Lol, I'm just messin' with you guys," said Hanneko. "You all are absolutely right! Kotaka Ido was the one to kill Mouse-chan!"

"You're a literal piece of trash," said Jay.

"Nyeah, whatever," said Hanneko. "Does our esteemed culprit have anything else to say?"

"Actually," said Kotaka. "I do. Thanks for reminding me. Your little prank almost caused me to forget."

Kotaka walked over to my podium. "Rin Nakauchi," she began. "In case I were to die, I wanted to make sure someone capable would take over as a leader for everyone. I planned to have Yasushi tell you, but I guess it'd be unnecessary in this case. I want you to take over as this group's leader."

I was stunned. "Gee, thanks Ido-san," I began. "But I don't think—"

"Yeah, shut up," she said quickly. "You're already halfway there. You just need to make it to the other half."

Wow. I'm not sure how to feel about this. I don't really want to take over as a "leader" per se, but if it's Kotaka's dying wish and everyone else agrees, then I guess I will.

"Remember what I said, Nyakauchi," said Kotaka. "But I also have one more question."

Huh? "What is it?" I asked.

"How were you able to figure out that my alibi wasn't true?" Kotaka asked. I can tell this'll end up pissing her off…

"Oh, that?" I asked. "I was bluffing."

Kotaka looked ridiculously pissed off. Then she laughed. "Good job," she said. "Alright, kitty-cat. No reason to prolong this, right?"

"Glad you'd say so," said Hanneko. "I've got a super special execution planned for our Super High School Level Politician! It's punishment time!"

Hanneko pressed a button, and Kotaka was dragged away from the courtroom. She left without a fight. Seconds later, she appeared on the screen displaying the executions. She was standing behind a full wooden podium on a platform. Several microphones covered the podium, and several Hanneko clones in different wigs and outfits made an audience. Kotaka, recognizing this kind of situation, decided to give a speech.

"Classmates," she began. "I realize that I have disappointed you by committing such a heinous act." Her voice shook. "Even so, I only wish for you to rise beyond—"

Suddenly, a device plopped down on the podium in front of her. Kotaka picked it up and flipped it open. While this happened, the words "Operation: Hunt down the Hawk, Take out the Prime Minister" appeared on screen. Suddenly, the screen was panned to someone whose hair was an unmistakable green color. "We ready?" These words appeared on the screen.

The feed panned to another person dressed in black. Her hair was black and held together in a ponytail, and she stood on top of a building.

"Ready." This word appeared on screen. Meanwhile, Kotaka managed to power up the device, and a hologram of Yasushi appeared.

"With whom am I speaking?" The hologram asked this. Kotaka frowned.

"Kotaka Ido," she said the cracks in her voice becoming more apparent.

"Ahaha," Yasushi laughed. "I guess this means I've been killed. Who turned out to be the culprit in this case?"

By this time, Kotaka was practically in tears. A faint beeping sound could be heard.

When the feed changed to show the assassin, we saw her trying to adjust her rifle. Intense music began. As the feed zoomed in to show her preparing to pull the trigger, she was tackled by officials in law enforcement uniforms. Her gun fired, but missed completely. It still managed to cause panic within the crown of Hannekos, and they began to scramble about in a ridiculous fashion.

"Kotaka… Is everything okay?" Yasushi's hologram asked. He sounded worried.

"Please… Forgive me," said Kotaka. The hologram portrayed a knowing expression as the faint and irregular beeping became louder.

"I understand, Kotaka," said the hologram. "I won't tell you what you did was okay, but I forgive you." The beeps became louder and more frequent.

"Is everyone else okay?" Yasushi asked.

"They're all fine," said Kotaka, trying not to cry so much.

"That's good. I sense something different about you…"

"I… cut my hair… if that's what you mean…"

"Ah. I always thought you'd look cute with short hair." The beeping has become quicker and more piercing.

"Yasu—"

She was cut off. The ElectroID detonated, showing a small puff of fire before the screen changed to a black picture with the word "CENSORED" in white letters. Once the screen went back to where Kotaka was, all that was left was a pile of ashes and burning wood. "Operation: Hunt Down the Hawk, Take out the Prime Minister is complete." The screen cut off after this.

"So…? How was it?" Hanneko asked. "I was starting to feel like these executions weren't brutal enough, so I tried something new! For the first time ever, we have actual dialogue in the executions!"

"Fuck you," I said.

"Nyahaha!"

"So… Our leader's been changed to Rin-tan?" Neko asked. Oh, yeah.

"That'd only be if you guys want me to lead. I'd probably not really do much different from what I normally do," I explained.

"That should be decided upon later," said Tougo. "For now, send us up, Hanneko."

"With pleasure, kid," replied Hanneko. We all stood on the logo and ascended back to the gym. I stood next to Bunpei.

"Furuda-kun, were you actually withholding information?" I asked. Bunpei's face hardened.

"I'm really sorry, Rin-chama!" He apologized and began to bow. "I accidentally knocked over the bookcase! I didn't see her and thought I'd killed her, so I started freaking out! Please don't be too angry…"

"Calm down," I said. "But you're not getting off so easily. I'll make sure to find an appropriate punishment for you." We'd reached the gym. Before he could inquire further, I walked away quickly.

"First order of business," I said to myself as I pulled out my ElectroID. "Set up a meeting in the cafeteria in five minutes."