Chapter One-Holiday at Hotel Cecil

TRIAL

-Naoya's POV-

I glanced at the other people in the room. Fifteen of us had walked in, and not everyone would make it out. That was a dark thought; even darker still that some sick bastard here orchestrated this game, potentially with Junko Enoshima herself. Why would they risk the end times because of our life ruining ways? What was the point in it all for our lives to end so cruelly?

Monokuma began, "Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial. During the class trial, you will present your arguments for 'whodunnit.' If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person..." Monokuma stretched the last word out for emphasis, "I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and that person will earn the right to leave this city!"

"This is just like in the recordings..." Ryoji offhandedly commented, "To think I'm here... My heart is beating so quickly..."

"Not for long if you mess this up..." Monokuma sung the phrase, earning Ryoji's burning glare.

Hiro scratched his head, "I don't understand anything about this trial shit..." He folded his arms, "You all can handle this shit anyways... I didn't even get to..." He yawned mid sentence, "Sleep..." He fell forward onto his stand, collapsing.

"Uh..." Honoka gave him an odd look, "Great... There's only fourteen of us..." She noticed that Sho was also face against his stand as well, "Thirteen..."

Narutoya adjusted his shades, "Twelve, unless the killer is a dumbass. Twelve of us to solve this murder... And Kojiro's usefulness is limited."

Ryuu stared down at his handbook, "Okay, then let's keep it simple for now. First, the murder weapon is obvious."

"The knife!" Aya announced.

"Exactly. The butcher's knife is effective and silent," Ryuu spoke his thoughts, "Honoka and I checked the kitchen and one of the knives was indeed missing. Akira confirmed for us, since she used it."

Akira added, "I used it to cut the chicken Maria ate, but it was missing when we checked. The weapon being from the kitchen means we all had access to it and there'd be no suspicion if we acted after hours."

"I'm not going to like this at all, but..." Ryoji spoke up, "Michi heard the elevator crash. That means she was outside of her room."

Kotoko nodded, "Yep! The girl's rooms are soundproof, like my old room was... No one can hear your pleas in there..." She stared off into the distance, remembering something I didn't want to know about.

I produced the note I found in her room, "This was in her room. Sho had the spare key and he lent it to me. You can read it for yourselves."

Ryuu read it aloud for everyone to hear, "She wrote... 'In case I am killed in action, let the record show that Kojiro Keigo is the infamous serial killer, Lorraine. I intend to capture him tonight with my ally. I won't identify them here, but they agreed to help. Sho was going to be our third, but he turned me down. He cares for me so much! When I catch Lorraine and get him to confess, I'm going to confess my feelings to Sho! That's the promise I made myself...' Michi's goal was to capture the serial killer, Lorraine."

Akira grinned, "Let me guess..." She focused on the injured man next to Ryuu, "Kojiro Keigo, the Ultimate Policeman."

Kojiro glared at her, "What is it, Sanada?"

"Someone who can track criminals and escape the law. Sounds like Lorraine might have a job in law enforcement, don't you think?" Akira's suggestion wasn't one I'd never considered, but it wasn't pleasant to bring up, "You were trapped in the elevator, injured. If the killer wanted you dead, it would have been easy. Right?"

"The door wasn't all the way open, so-"

Maria interrupted, "Prying it open with a crowbar or even the knife wouldn't be impossible. And if you were so focused on your wound you didn't hear Michi get killed, they could have surprised you."

Kojiro grimaced, "That's... Even if that is true, why would that make me a serial killer?"

Akira pointed an accusatory finger, "I distinctly remember a lack of you telling us what the fuck you did to ruin a life. And Michi, the one who sought to capture him all this time, is dead."

Shiori came to his defense, "But Kojiro solves cases! He's the best officer in Japan! Why would he kill people!?" She pleaded with him, "It's a lie, right, Kojiro!?"

"Of course, this is nonsense. A man like myself seeks to uphold the law," Kojiro argued, "That's all I seek in life."

"I told you that being an officer meant you'd never catch everyone. Because of corruption, a broken system. You were removed from the force several times, but what happened next? A powerful politician or criminal was found murdered, Lorraine's calling card on the scene, and you get reinstated. This was a repeating occurrence, I found," Akira grinned and revealed her own investigative skills, "The newspapers left behind here were quite helpful to that end. Suspicious, isn't it? I told you that you couldn't catch them all, and then, a few months after Genji's death, Lorraine appears. Not unreasonable to suspect the only person here good enough to pull that off for so long."

Kojiro shook his head, "I am guilty because I'm competent at my talent? What kind of ludicrous logic are you leaping to, woman!?"

Maria followed up on her partner's advance, "The note said she intended to catch Lorraine, right? She must have set a trap. And other than the killer, you're the only one else out during the murder. Either you're the killer, Lorraine, or her supposed accomplice. And you were the only one trapped."

"Gh... Okay, maybe she did indeed trap me... But what if she was wrong? What if I, an innocent, was caught up in her games trying to play Ultimate Detective!?" Kojiro refused to back down.

Akira opined, "Really? Naoya, your turn. Explain your dream."

"Dream?" Shiori asked, somewhat confused.

I revealed my experience, "I had a dream as Michi, just like Sheena. She knew an alternative way downstairs, and she was shocked to find blood at the crash site. That tells me she never intended to kill you, Kojiro. So you are indeed her suspect," I sighed, "She also thought of her accomplice, how they likely killed her. But without any definitive proof, no names or anything, I can only speculate."

Ryoji nodded, "That makes sense, then. Michi suspected you and tried to trap you in the elevator."

"But how would she have done that?" Kicho asked, "I didn't participate particularly well in this game, but it makes little sense to me."

Honoka answered that one, "Well, the cables were severed. In most elevators, they have brakes. The car can grab onto the rails it's on, or in this case, it has small jutting parts that go into wedges on the way down to catch it."

"And if that happened, the elevator would be trapped between floors four and five, about five up from the basement," Ryuu added, "And I checked the shaft. Indeed, there were four holes. The side of the elevator had four small latches meant to grab hold of them and stop its descent."

"Meaning Michi absolutely intended to trap you in the elevator, not to kill you..." Aya continued.

Kojiro sighed, "Maybe that is the case, but it doesn't ensure my guilt. And whether I am Lorraine or not, that is false imprisonment without proof!"

Narutoya denied him, "There is no whether. You have no accounted connection to anyone yet, and have neglected to admit to it even now. You're very clearly Lorraine, and you're a poor liar."

"Ngh... Fine. I'll play along..." Kojiro smiled, but we could feel his angry aura consuming us, "I'm a serial killer who kills criminals that escape my ability to prosecute them, is that it? Would I really be the Ultimate Officer if I failed to get said conviction?"

"Yeah..." Kotoko sarcastically replied, "Because police officer and lawyer are the same. Arrests mean convictions guaranteed, am I right?" She shook her head, "That's stupid and we both know it. If you had a criminal in your sights and the government protected them, what other option could you take but vigilantism?"

Akira followed up, using the momentum to push further, "Putting all of this together suggests that you are. Unless you admit to whose life you ruined right now, and how..."

"Michi's dead because of her plan to catch you..." Aya sounded quite upset, "Ruin her life? You ended it too..."

Kojiro finally took the gloves off, throwing away his tie and ripping off his badge, tossing it to the floor with gusto, "Why would it even matter!? Justice is what I live for! Without it, we're just monsters! Everyone here is a monster! Who turned blind eyes to others in need! Who killed for their own selfish gain! Who hurt others out of petty anger! Why would you dare look down on me if I was Lorraine!? They never hurt innocents!"

Taka, who silently listened to all of this, finally spoke, "Because unlike you, we don't pretend we did good. We aren't standing before the rest of us..." He was trembling, his anger boiling up, "Lying to cover our own murders! Be a man and admit it, Kojiro! Or do even you know that you're no better than the criminals you chased!?"

"I'm nothing like them! I sought to help the world! I didn't take advantage of the poor! I didn't rig the systems! I don't start killing games like the mastermind has!" Kojiro was frantic, his bangs turned up as his eyes lit afire, turning a deep orange, "I don't kill innocents like the scum you and that Warrior bitch are!"

That was where I stepped in, "Shut the fuck up, Lorraine!" He glanced at me, "She at least apologized. She at least isn't running from our judgment! So why don't you act like an adult for once in your goddamn life and tell us the fucking truth!?"

Maria threatened, "Or should we solve this without you and then I cut your throat to be sure?"

"At this point, you're holding up the entire trial procedure..." Ryuu changed gears, "Kojiro's Lorraine. Ignore him for now. Michi's goal was to trap him, correct?"

"I am not-"

Aya yelled, "Quiet, killer!"

Kojiro's hair fell back down and he just turned his gaze to his feet, "If that's... really what you all would label me as... Fine. Do what you want."

Akira responded with savage intent, "Of course we are, Lorraine."

"Michi intended to catch Lorraine. She probably wanted to solve that long-standing case," I had talked with her about it in detail, during my free time, "Whether I believe Kojiro is guilty or not, let's assume that's the case. We have an accomplice she had; someone who knew about her plan. And we know how that person may have sabotaged it..."

Ryuu showed everyone a picture he had taken, "Here. This is from the mechanic's office. The place was torn apart. Michi didn't do this."

I nodded, "In my dream, Michi only needed the blow torch to trap Kojiro. It was a very simple and effective plan. And she saw Ryuu pick it up and knew where it would be."

"In addition..." Honoka spoke up, "The killer used the knife. The kitchen area was in a mess, but I was in there with Ryuu the evening before the murder, baking a pizza for ourselves. When we checked for the butcher knife, the entire holder for them was on the edge, nearly pulled off the counter. Whoever grabbed it was in a rush."

"The mechanic's office was in a similar state. However, that wasn't because they needed a weapon," I decided to clarify, "Someone searched for something to place in the openings in the shaft. If the elevator's latches couldn't break through what was stuck in them, they'd stop for a brief moment, a few seconds, and then plummet. In that time, Kojiro tried to open the door, and then it kept falling."

Ryoji realized something, "Ohhh... That was what Aya found in the shaft."

Aya cheered, "Right!? We found some car parts in the corners. One nearly fell on Ryoji's face. His scream was so high-pitched, I thought it was me!"

"That's not the point! Someone took car parts and placed them in the holes. This was enough to cause the elevator to fall, and for Michi, who had gotten on top of the elevator, to burn through the last cable with her torch and jump off..." Ryoji sighed, adjusting his ruin maniac hat, "Meaning whoever did that likely knew the fall wouldn't have killed Kojiro, and they could give Michi a chance to jump to safety."

Ryuu frowned, "Concerning. Only someone who knew intimately of Michi's plan could do that. Sho was out on the third floor not long after it happened, and him getting there so quickly is unlikely. If we rule him out, only the mysterious accomplice knows for sure about her plan. So... Who here is the accomplice? Any takers?"

"So Michi wasn't trying to kill Kojiro, right? Just capture him?" Shiori clarified, "And the accomplice sabotaged her plan... but didn't kill either of them? Why would they do that?"

"No fucking clue..." Ryuu shook his head, somewhat downtrodden, "I searched for clues, but I couldn't find anything."

I was trying to remember the scene of the crime, everything, "Sho!" Sho woke up suddenly, started.

"Whoa, dude... What year is it...?" Great, he was in stoned mode.

"Sho, Michi's dead, Stop playing around and tell me; did Michi mention a secret passage!?" I never asked him that directly, and I needed his information.

Sho struggled to think, "A what...? Secret passage? Oh... Right. Yeah, she told me about it. Said that if the plan failed, or Kojiro got down there but was trapped, we could confront him by going through the uh... Janitor's office?"

"The closet in the fifth floor girl's lavatory," I glanced at our headmaster, "You modeled it after Hope's Peak for a reference in case we paid attention, right? That's how Michi found it herself..."

Monokuma nodded, "I was so proud of her! I didn't think anyone played the first game besides those nasty weebs!"

Sho nodded, "Yeah... Dirty weebs..." Then he got back on track, "So the accomplice knows the passage... Could they have stabbed her?" His alertness returned, "Dammit... She didn't tell me, either..."

I nodded, "Yeah, she likely wrote it in her notebook," I held it up, "She took notes on everything, though. The last page was ripped out."

...

No. That was a defining point.

"Guys... Let me propose something," I asked, "Say the one who sabotaged the elevator didn't kill Michi. Say they were unrelated..."

"How would that even be possible?" Aya asked, confused, "Didn't they have to know about the passage?"

I shook my head, "If I was the accomplice, I could have killed Michi on the fifth floor and dumped her body on the elevator in the shaft right then. Easy escape."

Ryuu realized what I was implying, "...True. If that's the case, the accomplice didn't intend to kill them."

"No... It's much worse than that..." I had finally decided upon the most important clue. Michi's notebook, "I have to check..." I pulled out her notebook and tore it quickly, as fast as I could manage. The loud sound of tearing was enough to confirm my fears.

"Why'd you rip that?" Ryoji asked, confused.

Sho's eyes widened, "What, did you learn something?"

I pointed, "Ryuu, remember when we first entered the parking lot together? I think we took notice of the echo, right?"

Ryuu admitted, "Yeah. Noise bounces off the walls by the elevator. Pretty bad for acoustic purposes."

"Then Kojiro lied..." I turned on him, "You said in your testimony the killer was silent. But whoever grabbed the knife did so in a hurry. They grabbed it and ran. With how hastily they left the kitchen, they must have decided to kill last moment."

Honoka nodded, "That's... I guess I can't say it didn't look that way..."

"I get it..." Akira put the pieces together, "The killer hadn't intended to murder, and did so by chance that night."

I agreed, "Yeah... Since our objectives can't fairly include murder, they must have decided based on what happened last night... The only thing we know of is Kojiro's accident! And if they had to react from the time he crashed to the time we found him, they had barely any time to use that secret entrance. They had only a short time frame to sneak back up; when Sho, Hiro, and I found her body. Barely any time at all. Maybe four minutes..."

Ryoji sighed, realizing what that meant, "So they were in a panicked rush. If that's so, they didn't have time to leave and come back if they ripped the note elsewhere."

"And if they did it where they were in a hastened panic, Kojiro would have heard it," I glanced over at Kojiro, "Well? Did you really hear nothing or were you lying to us again?"

Kojiro rolled his eyes, "Why would I lie and get myself executed? That's nonsensical... And no, I heard nothing of the sort. It's not impossible to think they-"

"The climb up the stairs isn't short..." I shot back, "The climb upwards would slow them, and if they ran too fast, they'd trip. They didn't even fix the knife set afterward; that's how little time they had," I admitted, though I disliked the thoughts I had come to, "They didn't plan murder, either. So they weren't thinking to protect themselves. They were reacting... Reacting to your fall."

"That is not enough to convict someone of something like this," he rebuked me, "That's just circumstantial evidence. And if your theory is wrong, and they did sabotage the elevator as well, they could have-"

I turned my head, "The mechanic's office was a mess. I never understood why; if they planned around Michi's idea from the beginning, they could have also cleaned that up. No, I think that someone else placed the car parts in the elevator. Someone framed Michi as an attempted murderer and tossed the mechanic's room about to imply that the car parts or the blowtorch weren't easy finds. It suggested to us, if we hadn't been with Michi-" I pointed to Ryuu, "-that Michi could have been the one to tear it up. We know she didn't. Why would I plan ahead so carefully but leave messes?" I shook my head, "We assumed because of the knife set and the note being torn instead of just being stolen were hasty mistakes that the office would be, too."

Ryuu cursed under his breath, "So... The person who sabotaged Michi's plan knew that nearly killing someone in the elevator would set off the accomplice to kill!?"

"That's unsettling news," Kicho talked once more, having remained silent throughout this trial, just listening and observing us, "They knew about Michi's plan and that the accomplice would react in self-defense. If they thought Michi killed Kojiro, they'd be next because they know the plan."

I turned to Sho, "Sho clearly isn't the accomplice. He turned it down, and he wouldn't fear for his life," I sighed, wishing I had a better alternative, "He was on the scene, but he wouldn't have killed Michi and reacted like that."

"Then who did the killing?" Honoka asked, growing weary of the debating, "I'm totally lost!"

I faced Kojiro, "You heard the tearing, perhaps. And when you said you only checked your wound, you lied."

"How would you know that? What guarantee would you have?" Kojiro responded critically, "Without any proof, I have no reason to discuss this with you."

"Because there was blood by the door crack... How is that possible? You said you never tried to leave... You'd have bled inside where you fell." Kojiro's face blanked as I caught him in a lie, "And it was there outside the elevator... Right outside it. Like you had your leg against the door, looking out!"

Kojiro closed his eyes, "Is that your theory? I did leave, remember? I just bled on the ground then."

I shook my head, "It was in my dream, Kojiro!" I refused to budge, "Michi saw that blood, too! You must have been damn close to the door! And you must have heard the note, so don't stand there and tell me you didn't see the murder!"

"..."

Akira glared at Kojiro, "Well, Lorraine? What do you have to say to that?"

Shiori frowned deeply, "Kojiro... Are you really Lorraine...?"

"Shiori, is that relevant to this-"

"Don't lie to me anymore!" Shiori cut him off, "Are you really a man who kills people for his own sake of justice!? Did you lie to me when you said you didn't need a partner!?"

Kojiro grinded his teeth, "Shiori... I couldn't let you get involved in my work. I said it was dangerous, and I never lied about that..."

Shiori started to cry, "So Michi was right... Then." She bawled her hands into fists, "She suspected you and asked me about it! And when she accused you, I defended you! I promised you were not that kind of person!"

"Shiori..." Kotoko tried to stop her, but she continued.

"You lied to me, to everyone! Why couldn't you have been honest with me!?" Shiori was sobbing even harder now, "To think you'd..."

Sho gasped, "Shiori... No... You can't mean to say that..."

I sighed, knowing what I had to do, "Shiori, you're her accomplice, right?" No one said a word, "When Michi accused Kojiro, you defended him vehemently. Perhaps you even suggested to confront him, and Michi decided to play it safe. You agreed, but when the plan went wrong, you thought she was betraying you, trying to kill you both. And when you got the knife in case you needed it for defending yourself, when you followed her down there and saw Kojiro's blood... You feared for your life and struck."

Shiori didn't answer me, standing there, listlessly.

"Shiori..." Kotoko refused to accept that, "Shiori, tell him he's wrong! You and Michi, you were friends! You would never kill her!"

Maria interrupted, "Quiet, kid. She's an adult, she can defend herself."

Shiori finally spoke on her own behalf, "Michi came to me and asked me to help. She said I'd be the only one who Kojiro might not be willing to harm to hide his dirty secret... I thought we were going to catch him, and she'd be wrong... But then she jumped off that elevator and it fell, and I watched Kojiro, who had opened the door a crack, open his eyes in terror... He must have thought I betrayed him, was trying to kill him..."

I punched my stand as hard as I could. I wanted nothing more than to believe that it wasn't her. I wanted it more than anything I'd ever wanted in my life, but I knew reality wasn't kind to the broken ones.

"I demanded to know what was going on. Michi said I needed to go back to my room while she investigated. She said it wasn't safe... I thought that was a threat..." She wiped the tears from her eyes, her sleeve darkening from the dampness, "I ran to get the knife... I thought I might need it to protect myself..." Shiori stopped for a moment to breathe in deeply, then continued recounting the events, "After I followed her, and I saw blood... I thought Kojiro was dead... And I thought, if Michi intended for this, she was going to get rid of me too... And I couldn't let Sensei be murdered... So I attacked her..."

Honoka turned her head away, closing her ears off with her hands, "No, no! I don't want to hear this anymore!"

Shiori moved right along, knowing she had to confess, "I hit her in the chest by accident... I was shaky, and she was moving so suddenly that I thought I had to... I was never good under pressure..." She focused on her own feet, "That's why Kojiro hated bringing me along... I'm just a fuck up."

"You are not a fuck up!" Kojiro shouted, annoyed, "You're just too damn reckless sometimes! And I... Shiori, I told you not to confess!"

"I know! But if I wanted to be like you, if I wanted to pursue justice and be a hero to people... I can't let anyone else die for my crimes!" Shiori slammed her hands onto the table, "I can't be responsible for this after what I did to Michi!"

"Then it's true..." Narutoya sat his new set of shades down on his stand, "The one who sought to play detective played the killer instead..."

Shiori placed her handbook on her jury stand, "I... I panicked, and because of that... I killed a friend. I don't have the rights to be a detective anymore... Nor do I..." She shook her head and walked off from her stand to approach me.

"Shiori... Please don't..." I begged, pleaded with myself on what to do. To vote for her, to sell her out when I realized... But I knew that Shiori, the Shiori I knew, the Shiori I felt love for, would have wanted to have been caught.

"Naoya... I'm thankful that... that you spent the morning with me..." She hugged me, placing her head against my chest, "Let me hear your heartbeat one last time... Okay?"

I started to cry and hugged her back holding her tightly, "Shiori... Why...? Why didn't you tell me..."

Shiori was crying too, "If I just told you like I wanted to, you'd have turned me down for sure... And I just wanted to be with you, even for a single night..."

"Shiori... I... I really do care for you so much... I think I might love you..." I wanted to hold her forever, to never let go, "Why... Why does everything I care about leave me!?"

"I won't leave... I'll stay by your side, watching over you..." She gazed into my eyes and kissed my lips one last time, so gentle, like a flower, before pulling away, "But you have to vote for me... I did this, I confessed..."

Then she called out, "Kojiro... No... Lorraine Sensei... I know you might have done bad... I understand that..." She continued speaking even though she clung to me, barely able to see through her own tears, "I want you to survive this, too... Become a real Ultimate Officer... Stop your crimes and repent... For me... Please..." She let go of me and headed back to her stand, sniffling hard, "Now... Do what you all know you have to... And goodbye, guys... I... I love you all, I mean that... I was afraid to say it... I'm sorry... But I had to know. I had to know if Kojiro was..."

Kojiro started to cry himself and he pleaded, "Monokuma, is there an alternative!? Can't you just execute me instead!? It's my fault for this trial, too! I'm why this all happened!"

Monokuma shook his head, "No can do, Lorraine! The killer is the murderer here, clearly! You're just collateral..." he grinned evilly as he laughed, embellishing his joy to our chagrin, to our despair.

And like that, we had to vote. Nothing was said as we all put our votes in. As the slot machine spun and spun and landed on Shiori, coins overflowing from out of it as if we won the lottery, Monokuma jeered, "Looks like you got it right! The totally stupid Ultimate Meteorologist Shiori Tojiko colossally fucked up and accidentally murdered her best friend! And then she guilted her crush into loving her before dying anyways! What kind of cold, heartless person does that!?"

"Shiori..." I whispered to myself one last time, tears falling down my face.

Shiori walked over to Monokuma, not afraid of him in the slightest, "I might die here, Monokuma... But my friends, they'll survive. They won't be tricked by the mastermind again, I know that much! You won't ever win over us!"

Monokuma smirked, "Oh, but silly girl... We already have..." He pulled out his mallet, "If you're done, I think it's way past time for this again! It's... punishment TIIIIIIIIIIIIME!" He slammed down the mallet onto the big red button that appeared before him on a platform elevated from the floor, the annoying sound effects playing in the background. On another screen, Shiori appeared on screen as a pixel character as Monokuma dragged her off by her hair. Her little art sprite was crying, too.

The Ultimate Meteorologist's Execution! Burning Love Strikes!

That was the title that appeared as a door behind us opened. The light got brighter, and by the time any of us could see again, we glanced back to the screen. Tojiko was bound seated to the top of a giant metal heart, glancing down over the world below from outside the airship. She said nothing, just assuredly smiling, closing her eyes as she waited. The sky around her started shooting lightning downwards towards the ground, striking rooftops and even a water tower, shattering the wood and plunging the building in gallons of water.

Tears fell down her face as she stared in awe at the thundering sky and lightning struck towards her. It missed, hitting the heart, but the current traveled through her, and she started burning up from the intense heat. The entire time she was burned alive, though, she didn't stop smiling, one last tear falling from her face before her body slumped forward and she never moved again...

The screen turned off, and I slammed my hands onto the stand again, struggling to stand.

The others all reacted in their own ways. Sho waved goodbye, Ryoji and Ryuu clutched Aya and Honoka respectively, neither trying to shed manly tears. Kojiro stood motionless, his eyes fixated on the screen, lost in his own mind, in his own pain.

Taka and Kicho were silent, neither saying anything as they stood, stalwart and silent.

Within a few minutes, we were dropped down outside the hotel. The others tried to rally us to speak, but I ignored them; ignored their calls for hope, for moving on. It was all nonsense to me; white noise. I felt my heart shatter in pieces when I saw her body struck... I felt my soul leaving to join her in heaven, taking every good thing in this world from me.

As I arrived back outside my room on the third floor, I checked my pocket for a key... Instead I found two, and a small note.

I opened it up, and in handwriting I didn't recognize, I read it to myself. 'This is my room key. If you ever feel lost without me... Visit there, okay? -Love, Shiori.'

...

I reached the fourth floor after a few minutes in my room debating whether to visit now or later. Considering Monokuma's traps, I figured we'd get locked in the hospital next. I wanted to be in here at least once, in case I didn't make it...

I opened the door and noticed her room had all kinds of cute drawings. There were some of all of us; sometimes as chibis or stick figures. She had Maria bullying Ryoji, Akira drinking and talking shit to Narutoya. I noticed one of her and me, smiling and holding hands as we walked to the manga cafe. She had hearts all above her sprite there...

Then I found the book; the diary left on her desk. I opened it up and the first page caught my eye. 'To Naoya-kun... These were my thoughts during the game. I'm fine if it's you understanding how I felt... All those times we spent together... When you're done, check the closet, okay?'

What did that mean...?

I started reading through her entries, since they had been left for me. She mentioned how she and Michi nerded out about cool detectives like Kirigiri, or how Ryuu and Honoka had both asked her to playtest. She wrote about the pain she suffered, and how Honoka had profusely repented for using her likeness how she did.

She talked about me, and how she wished I'd see her as more than a little sister... She knew that I felt that way, huh? At first... I suppose I did.

She wrote about how cute Ryoji and Aya were together, or how Narutoya would stare at cat photos on his phone when he thought he was alone, or how Kicho and Taka had become confidants for each other behind the scenes... And she talked about Kotoko and Akira, and how she felt she could never compete.

'I hate that he spent so much time with Kotoko and Akira! How can I compete? Kotoko is adorbs and smart, and Akira's a real woman... I'm just a kid. :( No, I won't surrender my Naoya-kun! I will make him my husbando if it kills me! :D Is that a death flag? Oops .-.'

'He spent the night with Akira because of Honoka-chan! How mean! Why couldn't she do it for me!? Where was my wing girl!? :C Fine! I'll just have to step up my game, too!'

'I found a way to grab his attention today! I just need to get into the hospital... We have to escape the hotel somehow or I'll never win him over! D:'

The final entry seemed as recent as an hour or so ago, the ink on this page not even fully dried yet. She must have written this just before the trial.

'The trial is soon. I have to confess... But I need to know if Sensei is Lorraine or not... If they can't figure it out... We'll, I'll confess. And then I'll be executed... I just hope that Naoya can smile again. That's my favorite thing about him... Naoya... Please, don't stop smiling. Okay? If you check the closet, you'll see something you'll like. Cheer up! I'll be with you in your heart. Always... Officer Shiori, the girl who found her evidence.'

That was the end. Feeling on the verge of tears again, I walked to the closet and opened it, wondering what she had planned that would cheer me up so much...

Inside...

...

...

...

...

Was a nurse's uniform.