Trial 2-1: Numb
Class Trial: All Rise!
While Monokuma goes over the rules of the trials once again, just much angrier than usual (and, of course, Mirabilis still questions him on why they have to die), I decided to take a look at the Truth Bullets once again. My finger glides across the screen and presses on the correct tab. I take a deep breath...I really do not want another one of these, but sometimes you got to do what an evil teddy bear forces you to do in order to see yet another sunrise. Of course, we cannot see the sunrise.
Before I press onto the screen, I look over to my right. Inbetween Akemi and Cassius are where Shinichi used to stand, but now he is just replaced with a stand that has an x just like Akita's. Slightly over is...Kazuhiko...who has met the same fate. Only a picture to remember them by. Just imagining the possibility of somebody else joining them soon makes me...scared. Scared to progress through this and send another one of my classmates to their death. Briefly, I try to convince myself that Shinichi somehow committed suicide, but that does not make much sense. He is the only reason I am still alive. I was looking forward to teaching him about hacking...but that is a future that can never be.
Seeing Kazuhiko I think about how he is with me. I do not exactly believe in the afterlife, but, even with no way to bring somebody back from the dead, he lives on in all of our memories. Even though there is nothing after death, there is still us in the land of the living. Both of us live in nothingness after all.
A small smile creeps on my lips as the memory of Kazuhiko enters my mind. I need to live on for the truth. So I press the button...
Truth Bullet #1-Monokuma File #2
Victim: Shinichi Fujimoto: Ultimate Translator...and the poor bastard who wasted a perfectly good murder on him
The victim is Shinichi Fujimoto. His body was found in the cafeteria. He died around 11:40 PM. Shinichi's cause of death is chocking on his own vomit.
Hidden Information (use this wisely, as one person per trial gets extra but only once) (this also cannot be used as its own Truth Bullet but as an add-on): Due to his small body and lack of weight, along with the chaos around him, the death happened quicker than most usual cases of this type of poison.
Before death, Shinichi experienced muscle spasms, seizures, mydriasis, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypertension, cyanosis, leukocytosis, opisthotonus, and vomiting.
The cause of death is respiratory failure by choking to death on his own vomit. Shinichi also suffered some brain damage before dying, but only enough for mental retardation.
Truth Bullet #2-The Party
Shinichi Fujimoto was killed during Kyoto Kamui's birthday party. Namita Nakahashi and Miyuki Kobyashi were the ones in charge of making the party. Miyuki Kobyashi was told by Ayano Nishiki that it was near Kyoto Kamui's birthday. There were five groups. Takara Miyagi, Shinichi Fujimoto, Kyoto Kamui, Takayuki Anno, Naoko Kawabata, and Rosalina Folium were in a group. Then Yasu Matsuhita, Minato Ueda, and Mitsuru Banda. The third consists of Hayato Akimoto, Tsukiko Oda, Miyuki Kobyashi, Namita Nakahashi. In the kitchen and not the cafeteria like all the other students, there was Kira Iwata, Cassius Jacobson, Akemi Nakatani, Satoshi Nakajima, and Hotaru Amemori. And then Ayano Nishiki was all by herself.
Truth Bullet #3-The Blackout
In the middle of the party, and right before Shinichi died, there were two blackouts.
The first one was followed by the appearance of mysterious cups, one for each of the surviving students. The second was followed by Shinichi's corpse.
Truth Bullet #4-Murder Setup
After the first blackout, there were cups for all of the surviving students at the point. All of them contain the alcohol Balkan 176, some food coloring, and small amounts of poison, though this is unlethal. The worse case scenario is a couple of cramps so don't complain. One of them had a lethal amount. The order of the students on the left side of the table is Takayuki Anno, Satoshi Nakajima, Akemi Nakatani, Kira Iwata, Cassius Jacobson, Kyoto Kamui, Ayano Nishiki, Rosalina Folium and Yasu Matsuhita. The right side is Hotaru Amemori, Tsukiko Oda, Namita Nakahashi, Miyuki Kobyashi, Shinichi Fujimoto, Naoko Kawabata, Hayato Akimoto, Mitsuru Banda, Takara Miyagi and Minato Ueda.
Truth Bullet #5-Hotaru's Alibi/Testimony
Hotaru Amemori talked with Ayano Nishiki during the first part of the party. Before the first blackout, she decided to enter the kitchen. Hotaru Amemori played card games with the others in the kitchen until the first blackout. Before that, though, she explains that both Kira Iwata and Akemi Nakatani went to the bathroom.
Truth Bullet #6-Ayano's Testimony
Before Hotaru Amemori went to the kitchen, she had a conversation with Ayano Nishiki. Ayano Nishiki herself was with Kyoto Kamui before the blackout. She, Naoko Kawabata, and Takara Miyagi were the first ones to go to the Hospital. Then Ayano Nishiki went to the Hospital by herself right before Shinichi died.
Truth Bullet #7-Balkan 176
The alcohol inside the drinks. It seems to be less powerful than it usually is. It is one of the most potent vodkas there are. Several flasks of it can be found in the cellar.
Truth Bullet #8-The Cups
The cups used to hold the alcohol are typical red party cups usually used for beer. These can also be found in the cellar. One of them stands out. It is on the left side of the table, four down. It has a marking on the rim.
Truth Bullet #9-Tampered Supplies
Naoko Kawabata, Takara Miyagi, and Ayano Nishiki went to the Hospital before Shinichi's death. They tried to get the correct medical supplies to save him. Those supplies were a charcoal slurry, a benzodiazepine, an oxygen mask, and phenobarbital. The oxygen mask did not work due to being incomplete. All of the other supplies are in the Hospital in different containers. The pickup team bought fake containers that only said the name and had nothing inside. Before they were empty, they held the ADHD medicine Vynase.
Truth Bullet #10-More About The Poison
The poison itself is in its liquid form. It is poisonous to all living things if they digest, inhale or injected in a high enough dose. Shinichi Fujimoto digested the poison. Note that the poison is mostly used to kill other animals like rats (note that this poison has the same effects in all different kinds of animals). It used to be a common poison until the Committee outlawed its use. Even before, the poison was not used that much in murders. It was mostly used for beauty, healing, and steroids.
Truth Bullet #11-Tsukiko's Testimony
Before the blackout, Tsukiko Oda, Namita Nakahashi, Miyuki Kobyashi and Hayato Akimoto were having a conversation about possible ways to stop the Killing Game. The cups they used were different than the ones for the murder setup. There were gone but were found to be in the place where the cups used in the murder setup are usually placed.
Truth Bullet #12-Kyoto's Account
Kyoto spent the first part of the party with Takara Miyagi, Shinichi Fujimoto, Takayuki Anno and Naoko Kawabata. Rosalina Folium was with them as well trying to purify Takayuki Anno and 'save' Naoko Kawabata. He began a conversation with Ayano Nishiki right before the blackout. The five...or maybe six if you count Rosalina Folium...were talking about random things. He does note that Shinichi Fujimoto was strangely on edge during the whole conversation. This might be why Shinichi Fujimoto at first refused to drink as well.
Truth Bullet #13-Hospital Trap
Ayano Nishiki and Naoko Kawabata were trapped inside the Hospital until Monokuma freed them. There was no evidence inside the Hospital itself as if it was all cleaned out right before.
Truth Bullet #14-Takayuki's Poison Lesson
The poison comes from the plant Strychnos nux-vomica which is not native to Japan. It can still be found in the gardens.
Truth Bullet #15-Shinichi's Diary
Nothing is known about the contents inside or why it is even here. It is all written in code in some sort of possibly dead language. It was thrown into the pool just before the party started by the culprit.
Truth Bullet #16-Before the Party
Ayano Nishiki was the one who proposed the idea to Miyuki Kobyashi, Namita Nakahashi, and Cassius blah blah blah. Kira Iwata was there in the cafeteria but decided to not listen in to the conversation. Ayano Nishiki and Kyoto Kamui were in the library. Hotaru Amemori came to get them from the library but was in the cafeteria beside for that. Everybody else stayed in the kitchen.
Truth Bullet #17-Investigation Positions
Ayano Nishiki and Naoko Kawabata were in charge of the Hospital. Satoshi Nakajima, Yasu Matsuhita, and Minato Ueda the kitchen. Hotaru Amemori, Mitsuru Banda, Akemi Nakatani and Hayato Akimoto the pool and secret passageway. Kira Iwata, Namita Nakahashi, Rosalina Folium and Takara Miyagi searched Shinichi's room. And, lastly, Kyoto Kamui, Tsukiko Oda, Miyuki Kobyashi and Cassius blah blah blah investigated the cafeteria.
Truth Bullet #18-Hidden Empty Bags
In the kitchen, in one of the cupboards, there are two big pouches that are now empty and wet. One of them contained the poison, while the other contained red colored water. They were placed in the cupboard after Shinichi Fujimoto's death.
Truth Bullet #19-Right Before
In the small window of time, before the drinking started, Shinichi Fujimoto was visited by Kira Iwata, Cassius blah blah blah, Akemi Nakatani, Satoshi Nakajima, and Hotaru Amemori. All of them were in a group and had a small conversation that lasted for a couple seconds.
Truth Bullet #20-Shinichi's Secret
Shinichi Fujimoto is hiding a secret of some kind. That's it.
Truth Bullet #21-The Letters
Sometime before the party, Shinichi received a letter that told him to watch his back. It is not the same handwriting as the letter found before the murder.
TO THE HOLDER OF SECRET INFORMATION: Do not tell anybody about this perk or you will get executed. Your death would be in vain. You can, however, tell people about the information inside, but only those you trust. Having this information will paint a target on your back. Be careful.
Because you have been entrusted with this information, you have been given a job. Point out a student who you know for certain is not the culprit and pin the blame on them. Not doing this will also result in your death.
...Secret information? I do not remember my father telling me anything about this. Perhaps something like this happened but he just did not know? No, that would be stupid. The mastermind here is probably the person who came up with this idea. The most likely reason why is to throw her off guard and not trust each other. Trust is what wins the Killing Game. If people just trusted each other, then nobody would have to die. Of course trust was hard in the old world and even harder in this new one.
Thinking about the people around me, I try to think about many things. Who is the killer? Who can I trust? How can I point to one of my classmates knowing that they are innocent? What does the evidence lead to?...And who was the person burdened with this information in the last trial? The people who-
"Oh, Ayano, you finally returned to the land of the plot!" Monokuma shouts out, still clearly pissed and keeping his eye on Akemi. "Now, since the audience will actually know what's going on, let's do this before I kill you all!"
"Before Monokuma can start his bullshit games, we should decide what to discuss first. We need to be more organized than we were in the disaster of the previous trial," Akemi says. He is also returning Monokuma's stare. "We've to make sure Monokuma doesn't mess with us again-"
"I give my word as a bear that this trial will be fair..." Monokuma then takes a zipper out of his mouth and zips it. Does that mean he will not say anything to sway the process of the trial this time? Although this is Monokuma and cannot be trusted by any means. Any means.
"The first thing we should discuss is the poison used to poison Shinichi," Tsukiko suggests.
"That may be important, and I may want to stay neutral, but I believe the murder weapon should be discussed later," Miyuki replies. She places her hand on her chin, clearly thinking about something. "Sorry for speaking out of line, Oda-san, yet I believe that there should be another topic. There is something else we have to discover before we can fully understand what the poison means."
"..." Monokuma tries to say something but fails. We all ignore him. Takayuki smirks.
"Maybe we should talk about who the evidence points to as being the culprit?" I ask.
"No, it's way too early for that! I want to know how the culprit did that prank. It would be impossible to do with just one person." Hotaru is doing her usual thing and hanging off the edge of her platform. Kira, Akemi, and Satoshi stare at her, clearly annoyed. Why these people? I truly do not know.
"H-Hotaru has a point-"
"How about the fact that somebody ruined my precious alcohol!? Think about the poor alcohol!" Satoshi cries out. Naoko shows her first emotion of annoyance throughout the time that I have known her, raising her eyebrow subtly. Takayuki sighs loudly, however.
"Alcohol!? That's bad! How about that poor plant forced to be the murder weapon? I'm sorry, strychnos nux-vomica, I failed you as a magical girl!" Mirabilis shouts. She actually begins to cry, which causes Takara to try to comfort her by writing out words using his own tablet. What surprises me the most is that Mirabilis is using quite big words. A word I did not know how to say is spoken by her with perfect clarity. Even now, Mirabilis cannot shake off her roots of being the Ultimate Florist.
"I'm still surrounded by idiots-"
"That's enough! You kids clearly can't handle yourselves again! Fine. I guess I've to actually do some work again," Monokuma interrupts Mitsuru. "Here I thought I could leave your kids alone since you were always bitching about my involvement. But you're not going anywhere! It bores me!" He snaps his paws. Somehow the sound echoes loudly. Most of my classmates are in pain, except for Takara, who looks at everybody in a confused manner.
Non-Stop Debate Commence: Battle Arena Preparation
"Non-Stop Debate?! Again!?" Satoshi questions, dumbfounded.
"Since you can't all agree on a topic, and I really don't want you all wasting your valuable points, I'll give you the first one. As your headmaster, I lead you all to a bright, despair-filled future!" Monokuma explains himself. "Then lead yourselves, my precious, bastard students...How did the killer get the poison?"
"The plant is strychnos nux-vomica, most commonly known as nightshade, produces a poison named strychnine from the seeds. Getting in contact with strychnine can lead to death," Mirabilis states. Amazed, I stare at her, not knowing whether or not my mouth is open. She was useless in the first Class Trial, but now she seems to be a possible key to solving the case. Nobody is refuting here, possibly because everybody knows that she is the true plant expert around here.
"Y-yeah and Shinichi's s-symptoms match up perfectly! Muscle spasms, seizures, mydriasis, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypertension, cyanosis, leukocytosis, opisthotonus, and vomiting are all symptoms of strychnos nux-vomica poisoning that he shows!" Naoko adds-on. She seems a lot more confident than before.
"They w-would also be able to get them unnoticed." Kyoto is becoming part of the conversation which makes me smile. "If s-someone caught them, they c-could easily come up with a l-lie."
"Kids, I think you just opened this case up real good." Yasu smiles as they let out their rabbit from their box. They hold him, careful to not let him anywhere near the edges of the platform.
"There's one problem though, my magic could not find any seeds on the plant. A villain must've taken them!...Though I checked before this case. My magical girl senses were telling me that the garden could be unfairly used for murder so I listed down everything that I could find! FYI, this happened before Akita died too. The seeds are somehow not growing back-"
"It m-must be it after all! The poison is one used for the Forbidden Actions!" Naoko can hardly contain herself. Adrenaline is coursing through her body. She is taking long, halted breaths.
"Then how did the killer get that poison?" I question her. I look at the bracelet on my own hand once again. Its small weight now feels a lot heavier than before.
"..." Everybody is silent while trying to think about a possible answer.
"Pleasant...I mean, M-Monokuma, can somebody extract poison from their own bracelet?" Cassius asks him, being strangely helpful. Though he may just be looking for a way to solve this case without thinking about it too much. Monokuma, however, does not respond. Cassius pouts.
"That is a good inquiry, Monokuma, and I highly suggest that you tell us the correct answer. You did say that you want this trial to be fair, right? Then you should give us the information we asked for." Hayato winks at Monokuma, immediately grabbing his attention. Though it is good to see that Hayato is using his talent.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-s-since you asked for it." Monokuma is blushing and sweating. He is grabbing his chest while panting loudly. Once again creating an ungodly echo, we all, except for Takara again, begin to be in pain. How does Monokuma do that? "No."
"...Good." Naoko then smiles at me. It is good that she does not suspect me anymore, but the culprit expected something else from this trial. The culprit did not suspect that Monokuma would give us this information. Whoever the culprit is, they must be freaking out to see that Monokuma destroyed a crucial part of their plan. Monokuma is being just as bad as he always is.
"Now, kids, this is supposed to be a debate, not a session where you just talk! So debate! C'mon, this is boring!" Monokuma then begins to braid Takayuki's hair. Takayuki crosses his arms and legs. "This chapter has a couple thousand words left and there's nobody on the chopping block yet! Hop to it!"
"Hm, there's no evidence on how they got it then. Perhaps exploring other parts of the case will make this clear-"
"NAMITA, REMEMBER, YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Everybody is just getting on Monokuma's nerves today. There is a high percentage that we are going to pay for this dearly.
"Wait, kids, I think I'm gonna try something," Yasu tells everybody. "Using my tools I can actually be helpful is this Class Trial. Monokuma, I request permission to examine Ayano's Forbidden Action."
"Having this sort of information will help the Class Trial to be fair also." Hayato starts battering his eyes at Monokuma. Monokuma has the same reaction as before. Although Hayato remains neutral, it is clear to see he is trying to find the truth in order to live. Nothingness is better, but, hey, what can I do?
"Permission granted."
"Alright..." Yasu gulps as they see the distances behind all the platforms. Even though I am closer to them than Minato and Takayuki, Yasu is still a fair deal away. They carefully move from one podium to the other. Mochi is back in his little box but is poking his head out.
"...Shall we move onto a more...pressing subject-"
"Haha, no. Hayato, you gotta follow the rules. I'm a bear, your flattery doesn't affect me," Monokuma laughs. Hayato is not affected whatsoever. What I find strange is that not only is Monokuma blatantly lying, but he is not doing his usual thing by calling people by their nicknames.
"If the culprit received the poison from the bracelets, may I ask whose they got it from? Do any of you with them remember something like that happening?" Miyuki questions.
"No," Minato and I answer at once. Takayuki keeps his mouth shut. Most likely because of the very thing we are talking about.
"Maybe the dirty commoner culprit took it while they were sleeping?" Cassius is trying to fix up his jacket like usual only to accidentally make it look even worse. He frowns but still looks confident. Somehow.
"I don't think that happened," Kira responds.
"Yes, I agree with Kira. They would have most certainly woken up," Tsukiko agrees. It is weird that I cannot refute any statements, but that is likely because of us having no information about this yet. Why did Monokuma begin with something that should have been discussed later?
Yasu finally reaches me, out of breath by making the distance between all of the platforms. They are taking a moment to steady while they search through their toolbox to find the right equipment for the job.
"Hmmm...one of us should just make a really stupid claim to advance to something else. Satoshi, time to do your job." Akemi glares Satoshi down. Made even easier because they are right next to each other.
"So I'm still the butt monkey...oh well! Time to do this! Umm...the killer got...the killer got the poison from his butt!" Satoshi exclaims. We all are staring at him. Sighing, Miyuki is the one to refute it with the Takayuki's Poison Lesson bullet.
"Takayuki explained to us that the poison comes from the plant nicknamed nightshade." Miyuki is the one that is glaring at Satoshi the most. She even broke her usually neutral stance just to prove him wrong. I always thought she was the type of person who would always put her emotions aside, but even Miyuki is starting to wish that Satoshi will just shut up. If he does not die, he is doomed to be forever the person kept alive only to be framed for murders.
Non-Stop Debate Stop: Time to Plan Out Avenues of Discussion!
"Ayano, kid, keep this secret," Yasu whispers into my ear, being careful to not let Monokuma know the truth of the situation. Their words do not appear in front of us. Looking in their hands, there is a small, white, folded up note. I take a deep breath while I quickly place it in my jacket's pocket.
"Monokuma, this bracelet cannot be abused without any experience of tools. I would say that it would acquire somebody that has years of experience to crack."
"That only paints a target on your back, you know," Hotaru responds.
"There's no evidence pointing me to the crime. Since I didn't do it, kid, I would've no reason to be afraid to share this information." Yasu, trying to ignore Hotaru, slowly makes their way back to their own podium. Hotaru keeps her eyes on them.
"Years of experience?"
"Attention, my students, I shall add the new information to the Truth Bullets! Please make this trial interesting now!" Monokuma is acting like a little kid watching a TV show. He is the most immature of all of us here. "Since Miyuki is the one who 'won' the debate, she'll pick the next topic."
...But, thinking about it, some of the other students seem to be planning something. Like they are purposefully making it so that Monokuma will be bored but they can still find Shinichi's killer. Monokuma does not know that keeping us in this situation will not break our spirits since we are used to being forced under unfair rules. No matter what, he will not break the other students' hope. Or my nothingness I guess. It is hard to break something that is not there.
"...If you say so. I believe that focusing on the party is the must. Exactly, how did the culprit set up the murder? Like how they got those cups in the right places under such a small window of time, filled them with poison, diluted the effects of the alcohol, turned the lights off-"
"We get it. Just continue already!" Hotaru is bored like Monokuma. Or possibly tired, since I believe the only thing that is keeping all of us awake is the adrenaline in our systems. Falling asleep now will possibly result in our deaths. Especially with us being so high up.
Non-Stop Debate Commence!
"...Hm, is it possible that the killer hid the setup in advance in the cafeteria-"
"No, my talent is being able to create events like this," Namita interrupts, taken off guard. "In the final bits of preparation, I, Tsukiko, and Miyuki looked all over the cafeteria and saw no signs of it."
"I know, the killer used magic!" Mirabilis takes out her wand with a smile. Takayuki jumps even though he is far away.
"...Perhaps the k-killer found some way to get in the e-electricity supply? Or even f-found a way into Monokuma's passageways?" Kyoto suggests. Although it is possible, Kyoto is thinking too ahead of the group, leaving everybody but possibly Takayuki, Naoko, Tsukiko, Miyuki, Hayato, and Takayuki confused.
"That still doesn't explain how they did it in such a low amount of time," Akemi berates Kyoto.
"Maybe, the killer h-had accomplices!" Naoko shouts out. Thinking about it, that possibility would make the most amount of sense. Quickly searching through all the collected evidence, I remember something that my father told me. The ability to agree. I click on our hospital stay and direct the bullet to Naoko's statement.
AGREE
Non-Stop Debate End!
"Wait, you can do that!?" Kira reacts. Not waiting for anybody else to react, I state my thoughts.
"Naoko and I were both trapped in the Hospital by somebody that's neither the killer or the mastermind...That means that somebody is consciously making the decision to work with the Blackened."
"...Wouldn't that mean the Blackened would've been part of a group? Since they would have to plan everything out?" Hotaru asks. "Congrats, Ayano, you're off the suspects list!"
"But I wasn't on in the first place," I pout. Even though the culprit possibly tried to set me up, it seems like their plan has failed miserably. I look around to see whether or not anybody is acting weird. Like they slowly get off the edge. Surprisingly, nobody seems out of line. Maybe, though, that is because of me not knowing them that well yet other than actual personal insight.
"Speaking of, I think that's what we need right now. Let's not just randomly lynch somebody now though. Having a clear view might be-"
"Do not accuse somebody because of your boredom, Hotaru Amemori," Miyuki says as she slowly draws her sword.
"The best way to get a suspect is to check all of the alibis," Tsukiko notes. "Knowing who was with who is important. Plus, with all the preparations, it's easy to see for me that the killer was in the cafeteria and kitchen during the day." She makes a good point since, even if they somehow avoided the cafeteria, they would have to get the cups from the kitchen and alcohol from the cellar.
"So...does that remove all the commoners not working there?" Cassius questions.
"Yes, at least right now," Namita responds. She is forcing a smile to most likely make everybody else feel more at ease. "...That lowers the possible killers to me and Miyuki, who were working on planning it, Tsukiko, Kira, and Cassius."
"Why did you just pointed out all of them? That makes you have a real target on your back, Namita. Better step carefully or else something bad might happen. I'm pretty sure other people worked on it too-"
"Hotaru, shut up." Hotaru is taken back by Namita's sudden aggressive behavior. "It's because we were the ones who knew about the party before anyone else. Miyuki and I told Tsukiko and Cassius told Kira. So only we would have the foresight to plan something like this."
"Namita, there is a way that somebody else is involved. Somebody could have listened to the conversation," Tsukiko tells her friend in a soft voice. "We should focus on other things before-"
"Are you sucking all brownie points, Namita and Tsukiko? Trying to get us off track by focusing on people-"
"Stop interrupting people! Geez, you guys are seriously a bunch of toddlers! Do I need to train all of you to not be completely stupid!?" Mitsuru calls everyone out. "We've gotten nowhere in this trial since we're focusing on the wrong things! Monokuma is just gonna fuck with us again at this point!"
"Time for a debate! Seriously, guys, stop this. Debating shouldn't be done in this mode!"
Non-Stop Debate Commence!
I realize that it is technically my turn to start. Thinking quick on my feet, I realize we have not talked about something very important. "Perhaps we should talk about the killer's motive." Although this would be an easy time to point a finger, I have no idea who to do it to in this case. I have to be careful. Doing it to somebody I trust will only cause a riff, and picking out a random target would only make them think that I'm the culprit. Think, Ayano, think. Having no idea who the killer is makes this much more difficult. I would love to trust my classmates, yet I also have no reason to believe them. Anybody can be the culprit. Kazuhiko was the culprit before after all, it could easily be somebody like Kyoto and Naoko. The world just loves seeing more and more of my misery.
"...The motive?" Everybody is silent once again. Even with all this time, we did not think too hard about the motive. There was still some time before the time limit ran out, and the water motive is too stupid for anybody to fall victim to it...right? Is there something we're overlooking here? Perhaps there is a reason why the culprit would want to give somebody water. The culprit might know that Monokuma will do anything to continue the game beyond this point evidenced by him giving up Kazuhiko easily. Could there be something more than this than what meets the eye?
"I cannot believe in a million years that somebody would do this for them to be caught and give one person water," Akemi says. "That's stupid. They might've known Shinichi's secret, or maybe felt like ending the timer to the time limit early."
"Is that perhaps the reason why they threw Shinichi's diary in the pool? Or is it because they wanted to protect it?" Minato, finally vocal, asks. They are having a hard time keeping up with everything but somehow came up with a possible theory.
"Yes, and that also means the culprit would've spent some time away from everyone else," Namita adds-on.
"Maybe this is random murder though? Everything can be a coincidence-"
"No, that's wrong!" Kyoto, with a surprising bit of confidence, interrupts Satoshi before he can even finish his sentence. "The marked cups tell a different story
"That's absurd!" Mitsuru shouts out. She points her finger to Kyoto and their two podiums move into the middle of the circle. They are only a couple feet away from each other.
Rebuttal Showdown Commence!
Even though it is a new mode, and Monokuma was about to explain the rules, he realizes that he does not need to. It is like the Mitsuru is already in the debating spirit and understands this game very well.
"The marked cup is a different cup than the victim's!"
"...U-um..." Kyoto is uncomfortable and blushing. "The c-c-culprit could have done that as a diversion."
"When would they have the time? And why would they go out of their way? Satoshi might be right about it being a coincidence. Somebody might have accidentally torn the rim of their cup."
"Then w-why is there a Truth Bullet-"
"Because Monokuma wants to trick us! He wants us to think that this was a malicious attack when it's truly a planned out murder-"
"Mitsu-cho, I'm done with those games!" Monokuma announces. He is back using his nicknames. With a snap of his paws, Mitsuru's podium descents all the way to the floor. "Goodness, somebody teach that girl a thing or two about manners!"
"I can still fucking hear you!" Mitsuru shouts from the floor. Seconds after, she is 'escorted' into the room where all the students watch the executions by some spare Monokumas. Guess not even getting out of the trial will make you escape seeing your classmates brutally murdered. Takayuki though still stares longingly for the exit.
"Monokuma, why did she go? If I remember correctly, she still had points left-"
"None of your business! Now continue on with the Class Trial!"
Rebuttal Showdown End!
"So...it was planned?" Akemi questions.
"Yes, yes-"
"I thought you said you wouldn't interfere with this trial," I interrupt Monokuma. The both of us glare at each other. Does Monokuma trust us so little that he solves our cases for us? Or is it because our killers are more experienced than those of past Killing Games, leaving us with less evidence? Is Monokuma truly scared that our inexperience would get us killed? No, that doesn't make sense. If that was the case, he would've made sure that Takayuki would take part in these little games of his. This Monokuma makes me confused. All I can read is his cowardice, nothing else.
"If you truly want that, Aya-Izumi-Chan-Chan." Monokuma then zips up his mouth again. Although that does not prove anything, it makes me calm, for, in this small moment, we are free to explore our own nothingness.
"Once again, we need a suspect. This isn't going anywhere," Hotaru says. She is being strangely serious.
"Um, like I said before, the suspects should be Tsukiko, Miyuki, Kira, Cassius, and I-"
"Namita, you seem to forget that there are other suspicious people as well. Satoshi is the one who knows the most about alcohol and spent most time in the kitchen and cellar, Akemi is just a dick, I'm notorious for pulling off pranks and could've easily set it up, Mirabilis is the one who knows the most about plant life, and Naoko the most about poisons and how they affect the body. Don't jump to conclusions with the right amount of evidence! The only people off the list right now are Takayuki and Mitsuru."
"Still we s-should explore her theory-" Kyoto tries to say before getting interrupted.
"If you truly believe in that theory, then Ayano would've to be part of that list as well. In fact, if you believe that, then Ayano is the most suspicious one among us. She's the one who came up with the party idea. And she did speak with Kyoto and I-"
"N-no, Ayano is n-not the culprit!" Naoko shouts. "Although we do not have enough e-evidence to support Namita's t-theory yet since it's m-mostly conjecture, Ayano is n-not suspicious!"
Sighing, I say, "Hotaru, we haven't been making any progress since we're not working together. The best way for us to find Shinichi's killer is to team up to take them down!" I try to be more energetic than usual, but Hotaru does not look convinced.
"Then convince me!" Hotaru replies. Something is...of about her. Although she is carefree, she isn't acting like herself. There is something weird here...maybe I should figure that out. For this part of the trial!
Class Trial: These Kids Are Still Lost. (because DRAMA and not reading enough Agatha Christie novels)
So, yeah, our kids need to step up their game if they truly want to find Shinichi's killer.
Reviews~
Scissor-Snipper-Keep your eye on EVERYTHING...even my billion typos. Mirabilis is the Grim Reaper (because TVTropes). The murderer is somebody really good at tricking these idiots. Because Monokuma likes to ruin everything, even precious cinnamon rolls. Being Takayuki is SUFFERING. But, hey, he gets clean clothes. And free cosplay. Bonuses!
AnonChan1-Takayuki is still internally screaming. Only I know since I created this world. *evil laughter* Ayano is having a lot of fun getting framed. Satoshi might be an idiot, but he's our precious little idiot. No leaving Yasu! Swimming in the pool is nice. Hotaru really needs to learn how to read time. Akemi, NO. May our future executed classmate rest in peace. *huggles*
TheRoseShadow21-Mochi is in his little box. Takayuki is still screaming. These kids will do anything for some sweet poison. Thanks! :D
ObieSenpai-Namita is like SHINICHI! TELL ME YOUR SECRET DAMMIT! Or not. Who knows? Wait, I do. The mastermind is feeling...unwell. Dammit, Akemi. For the DESPAIR!
ShadedLyht-He did. Blame Agatha Christie. Yep, she did, but she's used to that. That's why the kids are having so much trouble. Requiem: Ultimate Theory Destroyer. All the jossed theories on the WMG page. All of them! Ayano didn't type on it, she only read out names. Hotaru, yeah, for shoes! Shoes from a dead person!
SanityRequiem-Oh hey again.
QueenofChocolateWinx-Hello. Congrats on being the 300th review! :3
CommanderofInsanity-HEYA!
SqualinaTralala-Don't worry, all of us have the disease. It is 's fault. I swear. Screw Logan Paul. Thanks! :D Good, since it takes forever to write these idiots. XD Akita Yamazaki: The Ultimate Base Breaker. Mei is like get away from me! Monokuma learns...to Ayano's despair...or nothingness. Kazuhiko is like...I don't want more death flags, I'm just gonna die right away. Shinichi got killed...by the poison...from his own butt! Hotaru is like, hey, it's me! I wonder...hmmm...I'm totally not planning anything with Hotaru. Thank you. ^.^