Chapter 5, Part 1: First Investigation
Library
My throat burned and an awful smell infiltrated my nostrils. I just watched Gonta die in front of me and my body couldn't take it.
"Are you okay Miu?" Kaede asked as she handed me a piece of cloth.
"I don't I think I will ever be again" I hoarsely answered with an upset look on my face. I could tell by her face what she was thinking: We royally fucked up.
Neither of us turned to face Shuichi, we refused to face the truth of the situation.
"So, it seems this killing game was inevitable" Rantaro stated.
"Gonta may been a degenerate male, but he seemed harmless" Tenko cried, "So, why did he have to die?"
I was half expecting Shuichi to bring up the theory of the mastermind, but it was Kaede who brought it up.
"A mastermind?" Rantaro blinked, "That's...an interesting thought." Rantaro absolutely knew there was, but was hiding that fact.
"If there is, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a guy" Tenko spat. She didn't realize how wrong she was, not that she would ever find out.
Eventually, everyone else rolled into the library.
"Oh no, Gonta" Tsumugi exclaimed.
"Ok, which one of you did it? I'm going to kick your ass!" Kaito shouted.
"It pains me to see these turn of events" Kirumi solemnly said.
"Hmph...so that motive was too enticing" Ryoma remarked.
"Thaaaaaaaaat's right!" Momokuma laughed, "Now that there has been a murder, the blackened will walk free."
"Hell yeah! No justice for the victim" Monokid exclaimed
"One of you bastards cashed in that motive" Monosuke said.
"BLAHBLAHLALA" Monophanie vomited.
"Hey...what are we talking about again?" Monotaro questioned.
"You forgot about the first blood perk? Dumbass!" Monosuke scolded.
"Now, if the blackened would please raise their hand so they can accept their reward" Monokuma continued.
Nobody was raising their hand, as expected. Shuichi and Kaede were clearly tunneled on to discovering the mastermind, but that argument had even less weight than the original storyline.
"Danm it Shuichi" I bitterly thought, "Please take the perk."
"Oh? Nobody is owning up?" Monokuma tilted his, "That means they don't need to take the perk then, huh~? In that case, we will proceed with an investigation and then the class trial."
"Kaede, what were you talking about in regards to a mastermind?" Rantaro asked.
"Well, Shuichi and I discovered this in the library" Kaede mumbled before revealing the hidden passageway.
"Nehehe~ A secret passageway with Monokuma's colors?" Kokichi chuckled, "That certainly screams a place that a evil mastermind would hide in."
"We know somebody has access to it, because Shuichi rigged the card reader with dust...which we found on the ground the next day" Kaede explained.
"After that, I theorized the idea that there someone here that was pulling the strings. So I had a plan to expose them with hidden cameras" Shuichi answered.
"What were you going to do with that information?" Maki questioned.
"Ah...well the goal was to end the game before it started" Shuichi admitted.
"But then someone when went and killed Gonta..." Himiko grumbled.
"Maybe Gonta was the mastermind?" Tsumugi guessed.
"While I don't know what you guys are talking about, I will say that Gonta isn't a mastermind" Monokuma interjected, "If he was, then the game would be over. Thankfully, this game won't end on such anticlimactic conclusion. Before I head off, here's the file of the first case." And with that, the evil teddy bear left the room.
"So Gonta wasn't the mastermind" I spoke up, "But we can probably confirm who killed Gonta with photographic evidence. But...someone will have to develop the film."
"It would have to be a neutral party" Ryoma suggested, "That way nothing can be loss."
"I will do it" Monophanie said.
"You're not a neutral party" I grimaced.
"Monokubs are always neutral" Monophanie defended, "I promise you that."
"I think we should let her do it" Kaede sighed.
"I will get the cameras" Shuichi said. Once that was said and done, the investigation began. Half the team went to investigate the A/V room, since I left the sliding door partially open.
That was going to being the first hurdle of this trial, as everyone but Kaede and Shuichi would assume I was the culprit. Thinking about it now, I might as well be executed along with Shuichi. Nobody is going to trust me moving forward.
Then I discovered the second hurdle of the trial: pink and black fiber on the shot put ball. This makes Kaede a plausible culprit as well, since at one point the shot put ball was hidden in her spare vest.
"Kaede...please don't be the culprit" I think to myself in anguish. Unlike the original storyline, the mastermind didn't need to frame someone else for murder. Blood was on their...our hands this times.
"Miu-ah, I've yet to hear your account of the events" Angie singsong.
"I...was the last person to see Gonta alive" I admitted, "I was trying to fix the A/V door before giving up and heading back upstairs. I suddenly ran into Gonta, who was pacing out of stress. I suggested that he head to the library and he read a book as a form of decompression."
"I see, I see" Angie nodded, "Atua thanks you for your honesty and he shall lead us to correct path."
I softly smile at Angie, masking my discomfort at the situation.
Time passed before Monokuma announced that it was time for everyone to meet at the Shrine of Judgment.
Kaede, Shuichi, and myself followed behind everyone else, trying to maintain composure. But we all knew the harsh truth that faced us.
We were about to face our class trial, our sin unraveled in cruel fashion.
A/N: Every investigation/trial will be split into two parts. Writing the court drama needs to be its own thing.