Despairingly Perfect

by TheMayBellTree

Ishimaru hadn't always been prone to despair. He came into the world as hopeful. He came into the world as hardworking. He came into the world believing that he actually had a chance, but when those geniuses denied him that opportunity simply because of his namesake, he swore to make a world where the common man would be respected: the perfect world. First stop: Hope's Peak Academy

36. The Fourth Class Trial

Hey guys! Sorry for the late chapter! This class trial is a bit insane, so make sure to pay very close attention in order to understand exactly what happened! Clues that are in here aren't necessarily just from last chapter; they come as early as "the fourth motive". So if you want to read back to see if there is anything you missed, by all means go ahead!

REPLIES:

Fallenstreet01: ;)

The elevator was solemn, quiet and empty. Someone was missing. Chihiro was a given, but even more so… there was someone still alive who I hadn't seen for quite a while-

"Ya-whoo! It's Syo here!"

Ah, right…

My eyes meet Syo's in a hurry, a frown etched onto my face. Genocider Syo appears after Fukawa witnesses blood… but then again, given the state of Chihiro's body, it would be awfully hard for Fukawa to kill someone so brutally without immediately passing out. It is also possible that Fukawa just sneezed, but why would Syo wait so long to make an appearance? Even Fukawa dilly-dallying and avoiding the crime scene would make a lot more sense. I am confused!

Togami snorted, lifting his glasses up the bridge of his nose, eyes closed and unseeing. "You took an awfully long time to appear, didn't you?" He peered at Syo, dare I say curiously, "do you have something to hide?"

Syo shook her head ecstatically, her tongue hanging upside down out of her mouth flaccid while her cheeks took on a red tinge. "Nothing at all, Master! You know I wouldn't hide anything from you!" She stalks forward into the elevator. Almost subconsciously, I back away from her approaching form. She gives me a sly wink, grinning, before turning to Byakuya once more. That is odd… "Soooo? Who died this time?" She glanced around once more, "oh? That little minx?"

Unable to take anymore of the tension, I blurt, "enough of this! All I want to do is find Chihiro-kun's killer! And what I want to know, fellow classmate-" I point at her, "-is why you decided to keep us all waiting!" How rude!

Syo absentmindedly twirls scissors around her two forefront fingers, a wide smile stretching her face. "I don't know! All I know is that it is so refreshing to be away from Gloomy for a little while! She's so stuffy!"

It takes all the willpower within me not to give her the nastiest glare I can conquer up. Despite her so clearly disrespecting Chihiro's memory with her lollygagging and insolence, I cannot bare to be rude to a fellow classmate! I am better than that!

Before I can say the first thing that comes to mind, Kirigiri jumps in, "to be away from her?" she questioned. I give her a curious glance. Is that important? "Aren't you two still the same person?"

Syo points her scissors at Kirigiri. Acting almost purely on instinct, I march forward to tug the scissors out of her hands, but Naegi quickly puts his hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. "Don't compare me to her! She's so boring and ugly and gloomy! I'm so much better than her!" She turns to Togami, foaming at the mouth (how unsanitary!), "isn't that right, Byakuya-sama?"

Togami tsks, "both of you are equally annoying to me."

"Byakuya-sama!"

Kirigiri sighs, rolling her eyes. "I suppose your current situation will be a point of interest in the approaching class trial. We shouldn't keep Monobear waiting."

oOo

"Blah blah blah, class trial, whodunnit, the blackened, capisce?" drilled Monobear, waving his free hand (paw?) absentmindedly as his other one was driven deep into a vat of honey.

"Wait, Monobear-san, aren't we going to find out if Fujisaki-san was the mastermind?" questioned Maizono, a finger tapping delicately on her chin, obviously perplexed with the whole proceedings of the trial.

Togami gave a deep sigh. When I turned to look at him, I found him to be replicating his typical pose; one slender finger pushing up his glasses while his free arm curved around his body. "Obviously she wasn't. Fujisaki-san was a female, remember?"

Maizono frowned. "Well yes, I remember that, but why would anyone murder her if she wasn't even a male to begin with? Perhaps it is because of Monobear's tricks?"

Monobear stood atop his throne, claws out and teeth bared. "Excuse you! I'm an honest bear!" Suddenly calm, he sits back down. "And no, Fujisaki was not the mastermind! Now, class trial time, commence!"

Kuwata decides to speak up, "well obviously it was Ishimaru, right?"

I freeze. Oh gods, not again! "I'm not the killer of Chihiro-kun! I… I could never-"

"Awful coincidence then that Fujisaki was found in your room, huh? I think-"

"Enough!" demanded Kirigiri. In less than a second, Kuwata's next words die in his throat, possibly due to the absolute menacing, violet glare Kirigiri sent his way. "We should begin with the state of the corpse."

Apparently obtaining his second wind, Kuwata says, "why is it always you who decides what we do next? I think it's pretty obvious who the culprit is!"

"Kuwata-kun," began Naegi, "I realize you weren't conscious when we discussed why Ishimaru-kun couldn't be the culprit, but-"

"It's not that he couldn't be the culprit," interrupted Kirigiri, calmly tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's that it would be odd for him to make himself that suspicious, but then again-" at this, she gave me an icy stare, "-it could all be a ruse."

"Kirigiri-san," started Naegi, "you believe he's the culprit too?"

Kirgiri frowned. "I don't know. I have two culprits in mind currently, but I must narrow them down. You understand, right Naegi-kun?"

Naegi nodded. "Well… onto the body. It appeared that Fujisaki-san was stabbed brutally multiple times and finished off with a stab to the chest."

Maizono coughed softly. "Isn't that a bit of overkill? Why didn't they finish her off soon and put her out of her misery? Especially since it would've been impossible for her to be the mastermind."

Kirigiri simply stared at Maizono, an empty gaze. I felt as though she wished to tell her the truth, but might've been wary. For what reason, I couldn't exactly pinpoint. Nevertheless, if I must-

"Chihiro-kun wasn't a female!"

… Silence. At my classmates' wide gazes, I realize how badly I may have just messed up. One: I may have just further incriminated myself, and two: I'm sure that Chihiro wouldn't of wanted to have been outed as a male like this!

"Um…" I pause, peering at my classmates' faces. Some have their eyebrows drawn low, while some have their lips pulled back. What does that mean? "Uh… j-just kidding!"

"Bull," spat Leon, fists gripping the podium in front of him with a rather intense ferocity,"how do you know that Fujisaki wasn't a chick?"

"I retract from my statement! I wasn't thinking!" For possibly the first time in my life, I genuinely regret wearing my school uniform. It is rather thick, and I'm sure the whiteness of the fabric makes my sweat appear through it easily. They'll think I'm nervous… "Um, but another thing about the state of the corpse-!"

"Stop changing the topic." Togami. "You're clearly avoiding the subject. You have something to hide, don't you?"

"N-No, I-!"

"Stop bullshitting us!" Kuwata.

"I swear I'm not-!"

"Oo, is Eyebrows the killer now? And the killer of a crossdresser? How juicy!" Syo.

"W-What?"

"Stop!" Maizono… "Ishimaru-kun has been one of the only people to have full trust in all of us from the start! And… and you all…" from what I can observe from my position, I swear that I see a tear roll down her face, "you guys are doing exactly what the mastermind wants!"

"Perhaps your friendship with him is causing you to be naive," mused Togami, "to be expected from a pop idol."

Maizono shakes her head, arms wrapped tightly around her skinny body. "There's no way Ishimaru-kun would've done something like this! I know how close Fujisaki-san and him were! He would've never been able to kill her… him."

"What if that was just an act?" lamented Togami, "it is possible for people to act a certain way, I hope you realize."

"Yes, I know that, but…" finally, Maizono sighed, giving the idol-esque smile that I had grown so familiar and fond of. "We're talking about Ishimaru-kun." Is that an insult or a compliment? It's just my name… unless she is referring to the shame of the Ishimaru family?

"You do have a point…" agreed Leon.

"Erhm, excuse me for interrupting, classmates, but I am afraid to admit that I do not quite understand! What does my name have to do with anything? I'm quite sure my grandfather has nothing to do with this!"

"... what?"

"-anyways! Now that I am in the clear, I believe we should continue discussing the case!"

"We never agreed that you weren't the killer!" snapped Togami, "but in order to further explore this trial, I suppose that would be best."

Kuwata snickers, "yeah, we all know how it's going to end up anyways, right, Ishimaru?" At a look from Maizono, he holds up his hands palms outwards in defense. "Sorry, Sayaka, but I don't think we can just go off of gut feeling. You understand, right? I mean, no one can be as perfect as Ishimaru is supposed to be, right?"

In order to quell any further arguments, I give a rather large, slightly hoarse cough. "-Chihiro-kun's stab wounds were also stuffed with paper towels, like he was being transferred somewhere immediately after being killed!"

Naegi nodded. "He was most likely stabbed in his room and then immediately transported to Ishimaru-kun's room." Naegi scratches his chin. His mouth opens and closes - like he might want to say more - but right afterwards he holds his head in his hands, eyes squinted and nose scrunched up. "Sorry… I'm still a bit concussed."

"It's alright, Naegi-kun! You're trying your best!"

"Thanks Maizono-san…"

Kirigiri clears her throat, effectively drawing our attention to her lavender eyes. "It is also noteworthy to mention that the killer would've had to have known that Ishimaru-kun and Togami-kun were meeting up, by that logic. That, or…" Kirigiri stares straight at me, "perhaps the killer had had Fujisaki in Ishimaru's room from the get-go."

"So… what you're suggesting is that Ishimaru locked Chihiro-kun in his room and just acted surprised when he found the body?"

Kirigiri held up her hand, silencing Kuwata. "I'm not suggesting anything like that. In fact, it is a theory without basis, considering the fact that the blood in Fujisaki's room was recent, meaning that the killer would've had to have stabbed and transported Fujisaki at around the time the body was found, meaning it would've been near impossible for Ishimaru-kun to transport Fujisaki-kun's body unless he managed to do it right before Togami-kun arrived at his door for their duel."

"So Ishimaru isn't the culprit?"

Kirigiri pinched the gap between her eyebrows, takes a big gulp of air, and proceeds to straight up ignore Leon's inquiry. That's mighty rude… "No, I'm not saying that." Oh. "What I'm saying is that someone transported and stabbed the body at curfew. That also means that he was likely to have been murdered by another mean other than stabbing. In fact-" at this, she taps into her Electro ID, bringing up an image on the TV screens littering the courtroom (more screens than the normal amount, actually…). The picture contains Chihiro's dead body, but it appeared zoomed in on the heel marks littering the upper half of Chihiro's frame.

Kirigiri continues, "from this, it can be concluded that Fujisaki-kun was beaten heavily prior to being stabbed. Perhaps that is what killed him."

"Er… actually…" the timid voice of Naegi Makoto suddenly speaks up, distant and quiet, yet as he continues speaking, he begins to sound strangely firm and resolute. How can a human being have all of those features at once? "I don't think that Fujisaki-kun was killed through that."

Togami scoffs, "oh, what, you think you have something better? Please, do tell!"

"Yes, please do tell!" copied Syo, a bright red blush lighting up her features. "I love hearing the juicy facts about this case! It's getting me so excited."

Naegi merely stared at the serial killer for a long moment. "... erm, right. Anyways! As you can see here…" from his own Electro ID, he manually controls the image appearing on the screen, choosing to instead focus on the dried blood stain running down Chihiro's chin. "All of the blood on the rest of Fujisaki-kun's body is new and fresh, as it was inflicted post-mortem. However, the blood on Fujisaki-kun's chin is dried, indicating that, for whatever reason, he most likely coughed out blood from a different sort of trauma."

Maizono hums, "that's a big conclusion to jump to. Do you have any other evidence? As far as I'm aware, as long as there is internal bleeding then it's possible for blood to trail up the throat and be coughed out."

"Well, yes," agreed Naegi, scratching his cheek, "but I have evidence!"

Togami scoffs, raising his eyebrows and pointing at Naegi, "do you now? Show us then."

"Erm… thing is… I don't have it with me… or on the Electro ID, for that matter..."

… "what?" I asked, rather dumbly if I might add! "Why did you not store the evidence in the Electro ID, Naegi-kun? Surely it was vital to the case!"

"Y-Yes, but I have a valid excuse!" Seeing that he has received our undivided attention, he fidgets for a second before continuing, "as soon as I found the evidence, the class trial started! Any access to Electro IDs was terminated and there's no way I would've been able to fit a teacup anywhere on me!"

"A teacup?" mused Syo, "oh! Oh! Did they smash it over his head? Or perhaps did they make him choke on its' shards?"

Ignoring Syo, Naegi continues, "it wasn't a huge one in particular, but still far too big to stuff in my pocket. It had some little remnants of coffee in it, but also of blood. It had been filled with poison!"

"Isn't it kind of convenient that the class trial just so happened to begin right as you found 'evidence' that may turn this entire case around?" began Leon, "I'm startin' to think you might be the culprit now!"

"-that's impossible," cuts in Kirigiri. "Naegi-kun may be onto something when he suggests poison was the ultimate killer. After all, Fujisaki-kun's corpse gave no indication of choking on his own blood."

I furrow my brows. What? "What does that have to do with anything?"

She turns to me, a frown on her lips and a crease in her brow. "If he was indeed being beaten to death, it would be safe to assume that he would've been laying down. However, if that were the case, then as soon as the internal bleeding began he would've immediately began to choke and drown in his own blood. Of course he possibly could've been lying on his side, but given the fact that most of the heel marks on him seem to be direct impact and straight, then it is safe to assume that that wasn't the case. Besides…" she continued, "that would explain the lack of struggle in his room."

"That is true," mused Maizono, "but it was warned against to take food or drinks from others when we first discovered the poison in the chemistry lab. Why would Fujisaki-kun go against that?"

Naegi decided to pick up where Kirigiri left off, "the killer was probably someone who Fujisaki-kun trusted to not hurt him. It is also likely that Fujisaki-kun didn't even suspect he could be killed, because no one except Ishimaru, as far as he knew, knew that he was a boy."

"So you're saying that the killer is someone who Fujisaki-kun didn't know knew that he was a guy?" inquired Kuwata, "isn't it just easier to pin the blame on Ishimaru? He seems like the most likely culprit." The nerve of this guy!

Before I could get out a word, Togami beat me to it,"not when our lives are on the line, you insolent idiot!" he spat, gripping his podium, "if we're going to play this game, at least play it right!"

"Don't call this a game!" cried Maizono, "it's wrong! Fujisaki-kun wasn't a pawn in Monobear's sick game-!"

"-hey!-"

Quickly, Kirigiri began to intervene, "okay, back to the case. It is also worthy to note that Alter Ego was broken in Fujisaki-kun's room. I have reason to believe that Fujisaki was the one who brought the laptop in there with him, further signifying that Fujisaki must've had an extensive amount of faith and trust in his killer."

At this, Naegi jumps, "w-what? What are you talking about? Are you saying that Fujisaki-kun agreed to meet up with someone and bring Alter Ego with?"

Kirigiri nods. "Shortly before Maizono-san's account, I had an encounter of my own with Fujisaki-kun. He was wearing a backpack, and seemed to be in a hurry to be somewhere. Alter Ego must've been in the bag."

"W-Well I'm sure the killer could've just gone to the sauna to get it, right?" asked Leon, hands outstretched, "come on! We all know who the killer is!"

For the first time, Mukuro decides to speak up, "I was close to the sauna all day. The only person I ever saw go inside of it was Fujisaki himself." She spares Kirigiri a glance. "With a backpack."

Kirigiri stares at Mukuro for a long moment. "What color was it?"

"White."

Kirigiri hums, "that solves it, then…"

Togami intervenes, "solves what exactly?"

"Fujisaki-kun must've had a huge amount of faith in the killer. The question is, why on earth would Fujisaki-kun agree to bring Alter Ego when meeting with someone?"

"I actually have a question about that!" exclaimed Maizono, "if Alter Ego was such a reliable resource to us, and if Fujisaki-kun was the one who has been helping us all this time with him, why would they ever decide to destroy Alter Ego and kill Fujisaki?"

Naegi answers, "I'm sure that they didn't want to risk being found out if it turns out they were wrong in their accusations of Fujisaki-kun. And as for why they killed him…" he leans on his crutches, back slumped down. "... they must've somehow figured out that he was a male after all. And they might've thought it would've been in Monobear's bag of tricks to say a male was the mastermind when the male looked like a female. At least…" he pauses, "that's how I would've thought of it.

"I suppose that makes sense…"

Kirigiri speaks up once more, "now that it is clear that Fujisaki trusted the killer, I believe we should continue by attempting to narrow down who the culprit was." She pauses, staring evenly at every face in the courtroom. I swear the she looks at me just a fraction of a second longer than everyone else. "I don't believe any of us had an alibi at noon today."

"No… unfortunately I don't," sighed Maizono. "I don't believe anyone did at curfew, either."

Kirigiri nods. "That means that anyone could've committed the crime. And as for who mutilated the body… it would have to be either Maizono-san, Fukawa-san, or Ishimaru-kun." She paused, evaluating our reactions. She was right to.

"H-Hold on!" yelled Kuwata, face turned red and veins protruding from his skull, "Sayaka? Are you fucking shitting me, dude?"

Togami takes a much calmer approach. "You mentioned the person who committed the crime and the person who mutilated the body as though they were separate people. Do you honestly believe that?"

Kirigiri averts her gaze. "It is possible."

I clear my throat, aghast at her ignorance. "But Kirigiri-kun, the motive clearly stated that only one person could kill the supposed mastermind, with no outside help! Only one person would've been able to commit the murder!"

"Yes, only one person would've been able to commit it. The motive said that we couldn't help eachother kill a person, but it never said that we couldn't help eachother cover it up." For a moment, all was quiet; surely everyone must've been processing her words! And as I mulled them around in my head, they began to make more and more sense. Flashes of the past day pass through my head, and suddenly all is clear.

"Maizono-kun took my room keys…" I muttered.

Maizono simply stares at me. "W-What? Ishimaru-kun, why would I ever switch your and Fujisaki-kun's keys? Don't be ridiculous!"

I stare right back at her. I feel the sick pang of betrayal course through my veins. She was trying to pin the blame on me all this time, wasn't she? "Turn out your pockets. My keys will be in there." Even to myself, I sound absolutely dead inside.

"My skirt doesn't have-"

"Yes it does," cut in Kirigiri, "if you have nothing to hide, why are you lying?"

"W-What about the actual serial killer here? She's still suspicious; why aren't we questioning her?" Maizono points directly at Syo, who gives a sly little grin, "she's has a lot more of a history with murder than I do! I'm a good person!" She pauses for a moment, looking grim, "besides! I didn't even know Fujisaki-kun was a man!"

I close my eyes. I recall that day… "You did… you walked in on a conversation with Chihiro-kun and I and didn't announce your presence. So it was easy for you to play it off like you didn't hear anything, wasn't it?" I feel the familiar feeling of tears begin to clog and burn my eyes. "You framed me."

"Ishimaru-kun…" Maizono paused for a moment, "I-I didn't…"

Kirigiri quietly speaks up a bit farther down the aisle. "Your actions speak louder than your words, Maizono-san… and as for Syo, it would've been impossible for her to commit the murder."

Kuwata, for the first time since the start of the whole exchange, speaks up. He sounds strangely quiet as compared to his usual loud and ignorant nature. "H-Huh? Why's that?"

"While it is true that the interval between the death and finding of the body plus the nearly bloodless murder would've made it possible for Fukawa to kill Fujisaki-kun, Genocider Syo would've awoken after Fukawa passed out, and seeing as they cannot speak to eachother, would've been unaware of Fukawa's plan of killing Fujisaki-kun. For all she knew, Fukawa might've just passed out at the sight of a dead body. Because of that, she would've had no motive to mutilate the body. And before the collaboration theory is brought up, Fukawa would've never collaborated with anyone for fear of being turned against last minute."

I clenched my teeth. Just as I thought. In a final desperate plea, I ask, "w-what if Genocider Syo would've been the one to commit the murder? Why would she not have been able to?"

Instead of Kirigiri's voice, I jump in surprise at hearing Syo answer instead. "Oh, I wish I had! Crossdressers get me all hot and bothered! But unfortunately I had no idea Fujisaki was a man… if I had, errgh, I would've gotten a piece of that!"

Naegi turns to her. "H-How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Togami answers on Syo's behalf. "She only murders with her scissors. Besides, she's sick enough that'd she take pride in murdering someone," he pauses, "it's the only thing I can find in myself to appreciate about her."

"Master!"

"Gross."

I turn the facts over in my mind. Ergh… perhaps I could harness my inner Kirigiri!

Kirigiri speaks up, "Syo, you mentioned that Fukawa was unconscious?"

"Yeah, and?"

"How does that work?"

"I dunno… Gloomy prolly hit her head or something. Whenever she faints she sometimes becomes unconscious for longer than usual, and then I'm in control finally! It's such a relief! She is such a bore!"

"Perhaps she saw the culprit moving the body, then?" Naegi.

Kirigiri had mentioned there could've been someone who was trying to help cover it up… perhaps Maizono was helping with a cover up? Think, think, think… Who has been acting suspicious this whole time? Maizono during the day of the murder and investigation had been way too obvious and suspicious to actually be the culprit! For Christ's sake, she's an idol! She can act! She swapped the keys, she saw my box cutter - she knew that I was going to be out at night because of that! Furthermore, she was the only one who could've known Chihiro's true gender! But - someone else has been acting weird! Who, who?

"I still think it's Ishimaru, guys! We never exactly figured out why it wasn't him!" … Leon Kuwata.

He's the one who attacked Naegi, isn't he? Yet he claims he doesn't remember anything that happened before he was chloroformed… is he lying? Gah, I wish I was better at reading people! But I'm not a genius, I'm not someone with social skills, I'm not very good at anything and I'm a bad person!

… but Chihiro wanted to live on. No one else has noticed yet, no one else has caught onto the fact that the case was far too elaborate and coincidence-oriented to be done alone! I must avenge him! But… am I capable of doing that?

I search Maizono's face. Tears stream down her face, smearing her makeup and causing her lips to tremble and her nose to drip. I gaze into her eyes - she hasn't noticed me. Her gaze seems empty, lost, but… it rings with determination!

"M-Maizono-kun…" I gasped, "you're not the killer, are you?"

Maizono slowly shakes her head. "No… it's alright, I've been backed right into a hole and I know it. It's the least I can do to honor his memory, live up to my mistakes. I-I'm sorry, Ishimaru-kun!"

No…

No!

That's a lie!

"I should've known… you're far too innocent. It was just an act, wasn't it?"

You're falling for it!

"Maizono-san… really?"

It's not her!

"Kyahahaha! Good job, sweet cheeks!"

Stop being so ignorant!

Monobear hops onto his feet, spinning around excitedly. "Alright, alright! Voting time! Whodunnit, who is the blackened, let's fiiiind -"

"No!" The words come from my mouth before I can snatch them back. "We're not ready! Maizono-kun isn't the killer! We need to revisit this again, classmates!"

I looked to my left, only to find a lavender pair of eyes already on me. She nodded, took a deep breath, and - "the bat that Kuwata-kun used was splattered with blood, Naegi-kun." Kirigiri.

It wasn't the most definitive evidence, but...

The entire courtroom was silent for a good moment. After another, both Maizono and Kuwata simultaneously yelled-

"It wasn't him!" - "it wasn't me!"

Kuwata leaned forward, teeth bared and eyebrows drawn low. "Like you know shit! The bat only became splattered with blood when I kept hitting Naegi, you dumb bitch! I didn't kill that dude, so shut the fuck up!"

"I thought you said you couldn't remember what happened before you were chloroformed."

All is quiet for a moment. Kuwata's face suddenly begins to slacken, drawing into a low, open-mouthed scowl. "I-I-"

"He just remembers now!" insisted Maizono, "he didn't kill Fujisaki-kun! I did! I'm telling you, I did it!"

"... why do you want to die, Maizono-kun?" I find myself asking, "why… why do you want to take us all down with you?"

She's silent.

"Maizono-kun?" Her face twists and turns, and eventually she turns to face Leon, a deep, resentful frown situated on her face.

"He's might have a point… why am I defending you?"

Kuwata bolts up straight, wide eyes staring at her. "W-What do you mean? Sayaka! We… we agreed on this, we decided this was for the best!" Silence. "S-Sayaka…" Tears begin to stream from Kuwata's eyes. "Please… please, I don't want to die!"

Maizono, dead-eyed, stares at him. "I don't think I want to either." She clutches at her chest. "I don't know what I was thinking… I wanted to see my bandmates so bad that I risked dying for a stupid boy…" she gasps, "is this what despair feels like? God, I want to die so badly, but… I-I can't! I can't die yet, Leon! They might still be out there!"

Kuwata sinks down to his knees. "Sayaka… this wasn't the plan! We were supposed to get out together, why did you mess it up? You… you fucking bitch! I'm dying because of this! Because of your stupid fucking plan!" Maizono simply stares at him, eyes dry and mouth firm. "I fucking hate your guts you useless whore! You'll burn in hell a lot longer than I will!"

She murmurs, "sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it! I'll… I'll kill you! I'll escape from this, and I'll fucking kill you!"

After a moment of deliberation, Maizono turns to the rest of us. "Let me start it from the beginning.

It all started out normal. I was going on my way to swim to keep in shape, and when I opened the door, I came in just in time to see Ishimaru-kun and Fujisaki-kun making their way out of the boys' locker room, and of course at first I was shocked. I didn't want Fujisaki-kun to know that I knew his secret, so I stayed put, and I heard the entire conversation - I heard how scared he felt, how they were training together and, of course, I heard that Fujisaki-kun was a boy, which only confirmed my suspicions.

At first I brushed it off, because I felt like it wouldn't really affect my normal life that much. But then… the motive came. Of course, my mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion, and I figured that Fujisaki-kun was the one responsible for everything, because I felt as though it would be the person least expected. And so… I planned to kill him. What I didn't account for was Leon coming to my room, to see me practically having a mental breakdown and full of murderous intent. I told him everything. From Fujisaki-kun being a boy to planning to frame Ishimaru.

Once I explained my reasoning, he was immediately encaptured by the idea of killing them both. He believed that one of them would have to be the mastermind. So that gave me an idea… I suggested to him that we try to kill all the boys in the school, in one way or another, in order to escape together. And he fell for it.

So we had a plan. We planned to ask Fujisaki-kun to come over at noon with Alter Ego, saying that we had an idea for some advancements on it. And he believed us and trusted us. So at noon sharp we arrived at his door, a cup of coffee in Leon's hands. Normally it would've been a red flag to be offered a cup of coffee when neither of us had one, but I suppose Fujisaki-kun never thought about the possibility of two people attempting to kill him at once, seeing as it was against the rules.

However, we knew that since only Leon would be giving him the coffee, it would only count as him murdering Fujisaki-kun, so we weren't technically going against any rules. So Fujisaki-kun sat down, opened up his laptop, took a drink of his coffee, and then immediately started choking on the poison. He faced the wall, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, before falling to the ground dead. That was phase one. At this point, I had already left my keys in Ishimaru-kun's room, so all we had to do was have Leon kill Naegi-kun and I could kill Togami-kun and then we would end up framing Ishimaru-kun for Fujisaki-kun's death.

I went back to Ishimaru-kun's room a bit later in the evening and swapped his and Fujisaki-kun's keys, but that's when I noticed how uneasy he looked, and I clearly saw the box cutter on his desk. See, I have a good intuition, and I had a really good feeling that Ishimaru-kun was going to try to kill someone. Of course Naegi-kun seemed like a bad choice, so I logically thought Togami-kun. So, without telling Leon, I decided on my own that I was going to wait until after Ishimaru-kun's attempt to kill Togami-kun to strike. If Togami-kun turned up dead, then my job is done, but if he turned up alive then I would kill him. That was my plan.

So at about nine-thirty I proceed to try to mutilate Fujisaki-kun's body. The purpose of this, as well as a lot of things we did, was to attempt to create confusion. After mutilating and stomping on the body, Leon comes with his bat and rolls it in the blood, once more to attempt to create mass confusion. It did incriminate him, yes, but seeing as he didn't have any evidence traced back to him regarding the mutilation of Fujisaki-kun's corpse, we thought that he would be in the clear.

During this period, Leon leaves to attempt to find and kill Naegi-kun. While he's doing this, I stuff the wounds with paper towels in order to attempt to stop the blood, and soon after destroy Alter Ego to prevent any incriminating evidence from getting out. I proceed to try to bring Fujisaki-kun to Ishimaru-kun's room, but unfortunately Fukawa-san happened to see me on the way, resulting in her passing out. So after depositing Fujisaki-kun in Ishimaru-kun's room, I also drag Fukawa-kun into hers, before finally retreating to my own room to wait for further action."

She stares evenly at all of us. After a moment, one in which I expect her to give her trademark smile, she breathes, "and that's how it happened."

Kuwata stares at the girl, fists clenching the podium in front of him. "Y-You asshole! Betrayer! Whore! Bitch! Cunt! You'll burn in hell for this!"

Sayaka stares back at him, level. "As will you."

Kuwata looks for a moment like he is about to charge forward, but after a long moment he simply slumps forward, clutching the podium like his life depended on it. His shoulders shake, and gross sobs suddenly fill the classroom. "I-I don't wanna die! I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to -"

"Blah, blah, blah, we get it! You have a sob story!" chuckled Monobear, "now! Before I was so rudely interrupted! It's voting time! Punch in your votes now!"

Kuwata stands up, lurching forward towards Monobear. "Hey! Hey, wait, I'm not finished yet!"

"Oh boooooo-hooo! Cry me a river, baseball!"

"H-Hey!"

As an array of choices appear before me, I look at Leon Kuwata's. It stands on the top row, close to the far right. As I press it, I contemplate whether or not this means I'm killing someone as well.

Guilty: Leon Kuwata

Togami mutters, "well, we all knew that."

Kuwata bares his fists towards him, "the fuck did you just say to me?" After a moment, he relents, staring at everyone situated around the courtroom. Silently, he stares at his podium. "Fuck…" he whispers, voice caught halfway in between a sob and a hiccup. After a moment, he holds his head up to the sky, screaming with all of his might, "FUUUUCK!"

Monobear swiveled in his chair, laughing a frightening and terrifying high-pitched squeaky chuckle. "Well, what can I say next? Upupupu, I know! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

"No…" whispered Kuwata, "I can't… Sayaka!" He turns to look at the idol, only to lay his eyes upon the sight of her looking away from him, hair covering her face and a single visible eye utterly lifeless.

"Bye, Leon…" she mumbled.

BATTER-UP, BATTER-UP!

Kuwata found himself stranded in the middle of a grassy, baseball-like field. His body was stuffed in a metal, circular object - shaped like a baseball, obviously, but very cramped nonetheless. Four Monobear clones found themselves at each base, and one particularly hefty one stood in the center, towering over Kuwata.

After a long, agonizing moment, the pitcher suddenly lifted the Kuwata-ball and threw it full-force at first base. With a sickening crunch, the batter hit the ball with a metal bat and it shot at lightning-speed towards second base, then third, then homeroom, then back to first…

Suddenly, the ball appeared almost invisible - it was hard to hear Kuwata's screams over the sound of metal hitting metal and bone, over and over, over and over, over and over, over and over, until…

The metal ball suddenly dropped to the ground, rolling for all to see the horrific mess that lay inside. Horribly misshapen arms and legs and fingers and ribs rolled to a stop, revealing the bloodied mess that was once the Super High School Level Baseball Star.

I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my mind.

Silence.

Once again, everything was silent.

oOo

As soon as the elevator opened back to the main floor, Naegi realized just how deathly tired he was. He hadn't slept at all today, and it must've been way past two in the morning by now. Plus, add that to the stress of almost being killed… it wasn't very pretty.

Everyone dispatched the elevator, a particularly heavy tension surrounding everyone. Another one of their friends has fallen victim to Monobear's game… what will come next? More death and despair? Despite Naegi's best attempts to remain as hopeful as always, he couldn't help the overwhelming sensation of imminent defeat.

Tears clogged his eyes and began to run down his cheeks.

Feeling a sudden gaze on the back of his neck, he turned around to find Kirigiri still waiting outside of the elevator. "H-Hi, Kirigiri-san!" he hastily wiped at his eyes, "w-why are you still here?"

Kirigiri stayed silent. She marched forward, and instead of leaving like Naegi fully expected her to, she launched her hand forward and took hold of his own. It didn't feel particularly nice. Her leather glove was rather scratchy, and his hand was already starting to become sweaty. Despite that, Naegi welcomed the feeling, smiling earnestly at his friend.

"Kirigiri-san…" he whispered, "thank you for saving me."

Kirigiri nodded, letting go of his hand finally. He felt himself deflate a bit for some odd reason unimaginable to him. "You're welcome," she finally said, "I just wanted to let you know…" At this, she leans in closer to his ear, "this game is about to come to an end."

Naegi leaned in closer. "What?"

Backing away, Kirigiri spins on her heels and marches forward. She turns her head just enough towards Naegi so that only her lips are visible behind her lavender heel. "Monobear is running out of people, isn't he?" At this, she turns her gaze sharply to him, staring up at a video camera right above his head. "Something tells me he won't be able to do much after the next murder. And he won't do anything."

Naegi tries to take a step forward, but thinks better of it. "Are you saying that the next trial we have will be the last one?"

Kirigiri pauses for a moment, as if mulling the question over. Finally, she faces forward once more. "I don't know."

oOo

I lay in my bed, staring at my ceiling blankly. The world seems so much bleaker now. However, that's unimportant…

I caused Maizono to go into despair, didn't I?

It's my fault, isn't it?

I should just come out and say I'm the last mastermind already, shouldn't I?

… wait.

I should do that! That's it! That's the magical remedy I seek; what will make everything and everyone better! I'll die, but… that's a small price to pay! I can't allow myself to wreck havoc on this world anymore! At the next possible moment, I will-

*DING, DONG*

Sighing, I sit up. I suppose checking who it is wouldn't hurt…

… Sayaka Maizono.

"Maizono-kun."

"Ishimaru-kun."

My eyes travel her face. Her eyes are just as lifeless as before. But what seemed the most strange was-

"You're not smiling."

Maizono nodded. She didn't attempt to smile, but her eyes lit up the tiniest bit, and before I knew it tears were sliding down her face. "I-Ishimaru-kun! I'm so sorry… I didn't want to…!"

"Who are you?"

Maizono freezes, a distraught expression plastered on her face. "W-What do you-"

I can't help the tremble in my voice as I speak, lacking of the usual confidence I tried to exude. "You're faking this, aren't you? Tell me, Maizono-kun, are your tears real or fake?" I knew just how desperate I sounded. But… I needed something!

"... I don't know."

Frowning, I turn away from the idol. "Then please feel free to show yourself out."

As she leaves, the turmoil of today catches up with me. Trembling and crying, I sink to the floor and scream at the top of my lungs, praying the walls were truly soundproof enough to block my yells and cries.

I need to tell them.

7 LEFT

Heyo everyone! Yes, Maizono was NOT the killer! Sorry, haha… she was a total red herring, but on the bright side I'd say this was actually one of the best chapters I've written of Despairingly Perfect (definitely the best class trial). I'll be honest, Maizono was the original planned culprit of arc 4 and Leon was intended to be a survivor of the killing game. However, somewhere down the line I realized how easily Leon's storyline would've fit into being an accomplice to Maizono's murder, and then I ended up switching them around entirely! A lot of things have changed since the original design of this fanfiction, but trust me, this is only the beginning of the end! Only two arcs left, guys! And ya know what arc 5 means in the Danganronpa verse, tons of important shit is bound to happen!

Next chapter is Thursday, and is titled "When All Hope is Lost"!

Question: What did you think of this class trial? Also, any predictions or guesses for what is to happen in arc 5?