-This is made by Starrshard on Ao3 and Wattpad, please check them out. I have been given permission to upload this to , as they do not have an account on this website-
Back in the trial room again, huh..?
Yaomomo scanned her eyes around the trial circle. Tamaki and Nejire were dejected; the latter was still crying softly into her hands. The former was staring at the top of his podium, his expression shadowed. Yaomomo couldn't read him.
Tsuyu was muttering softly to herself, bouncing up and down on her toes, hands on the railing. Her eyes were dazed; laced with despair. Yaomomo dragged her gaze away. Denki was huddled on his podium, eyes downcast. He was like a shell; a hollow being, devoid of any light. So unlike the lightning that used to charge his heart, his hands, his body...
Mezou's eyes were also scanning over his classmates. They were sharp as ice; does he still hate us? Their eyes met, locked for a split second, before Yaomomo turned away, the tension snapping like a rubber band.
Shouto had noticed her casting glances and met her gaze evenly. His eyes were calm; comforting. Yaomomo offered a hint of a smile to him, which he didn't return, but instead gave a small nod of acknowledgement to. Almost as if he were saying, 'good luck.'
Hitoshi wasn't looking at her. When she glanced at him, he side-eyed her, his expression emotionless. He's like a monochrome; drained of anything that made him alive.
Staring up at Chisaki and Monokuma on the throne, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. It's scary how this has just become a part of my life. A normal part of my routine.
"Let's get this show on the rooooooad~!" Monokuma grinned. "Go get 'em, kiddos!"
...I guess that's our cue to start.
Class Trial : Begin!
"Shouto. Let's start with the results of your search," Yaomomo prompted. "We didn't get to ask you about it during investigation time."
"Gladly." Shouto glanced to his two investigation partners. "Mezou and Denki helped me skim through the entire school. Collectively, we discovered a few points of interest.
"One: the AC controls have all been set either ridiculously high or low. They were all deactivated after the power surge and required a reboot, but the set temperatures were to the extreme. Two: most appliances in the kitchen were plugged in and on. Every outlet was occupied by some item; the stove was on, a blender was plugged in, as was a mixer, and many other random items. Several outlets had a power strip attached, with even more appliances attached. All of them were simply running; not functioning to do anything but sap power.
"Three: all of the appliances in the laundry room were running, meaning the dryers and washing machines both. When we checked them, there was nothing inside any of them. Four: every outlet in the library was occupied by various things, mostly being lamps." Shouto paused. "All of these discoveries relate to my theory of a power surge being the reason for the blackout."
"H-Hey, Shouto, you didn't even include the most important discovery..." Denki suddenly spoke up, his voice soft.
"I was about to get to it," the Theorist replied calmly. "But since you discovered it, why don't you report it?"
"Ah, sure..." Denki fidgeted as everyone turned to him. "Um, in the vending machine in the cafeteria, there was another bottle of poison missing."
"Poison?" Tamaki echoed bleakly.
"Y-Yeah. You know how the bottom row has a bunch of poisons and toxins? There's two missing slots now... one was from... Kyouka..." His voice trailed off as he spoke her name, eyes lowering to the ground. Oh dear.
"...and one from this current case." Shouto briskly finished Denki's sentence. "It must have been used in the murder."
"So let's discuss it," Yaomomo prompted. "What was the cause of dea-"
"No, I believe we should talk about the blackout," Shouto insisted. "All of the evidence around the school, spare for the poison, points to the cause behind the power outage. We should deal with that, first and foremost."
"...sure." Feels nice not to be taking the wheel for once.
"I was thinking about it, and I realized-" Shouto continued, "-that the blackout occurring at such a time could have been a villain blunder."
"A villain blunder? What is that supposed to mean?" Mezou inquired coldly.
"Basically, what if the villains shut off the power to confuse us? Aren't they running this place? Who's to say they can't control the electricity? If we found them to be interfering by shutting down the power, then they could have interfered in this case -and past cases- further. That puts this entire game into jeopardy," Shouto said. "What if the villains killed Mirio?"
Silence followed the Theorist's words. The villains killed him, huh..? Yaomomo mused. How nice that would be... we wouldn't have to sentence another one of our classmates to death...
But, even if I want that to be the case... I know it's impossible. Because of what happened after the blackout...
Select a Truth Bullet
...
Denki's Account : I got it.
"No, wait, Shouto," she spoke out. "That's wrong."
"What do you mean, I'm wrong?" the Theorist shot back, passive aggression edging his tone.
"You can't be completely sure the power outage was villain tampering. After the lights went out, Denki and I went to the main office and found the power switch. That's how we turned it back on. It's entirely plausible for it to have been a student who cut the power," Yaomomo explained.
"That doesn't completely disprove it being the villains' fault," Shouto retorted.
"But why would the villains tamper with a crime scene anyway?" Hitoshi cut in coldly. "Their traitor is already unmasked. Why would they make the murder of a hope fanatic more difficult? It doesn't add up." The violette's words were sharp as ice, but Yaomomo could hear the tremor in his voice as he spoke of Mashirao's murderer. It hurts, doesn't it? Even if you try not to act it...
"We should at least entertain the possibility of a classmate pulling the power," she spoke. "Come on, Shouto."
"...fine. I will admit, your theories are valid," Shouto slowly agreed. "Let's discuss."
Non-stop Debate : Start!
Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #7, Pool of blood, Tsuyu's Account, Yaomomo and Shouto's Discussion, Laundry Room, Vending Machine
"The power outage... occurred right when the announcement was playing..." Denki said quietly.
"How was it caused?" Tsuyu murmured.
"Maybe someone pulled the power switch in the office," Mezou suggested darkly.
"If they d-did, they would've moved a stepping stool to the switch, or had an accomplice," Denki hummed. "Moving the stool back to its c-correct place and also leaving before Yaomomo and I got there would be hard. And I d-don't think... we should g-go into the possibility of an accomplice yet..."
"Then what other choice do we have? How else could we shut off the power?" Tsuyu spoke out.
"The variety of electrical appliances running around the school imply a power surge," Shouto replied smoothly. "I believe it's our only option."
"No, that's wrong."
Yaomomo and Shouto's Discussion : Break!
"I already discussed this with you earlier, haven't I?" the Detective mused.
"But I stick by my thought," Shouto insisted, ever stubborn.
"In that case, let's ask the others what they say, after I present the counterclaim," Yaomomo replied. "I'm pretty sure that no matter what you try to do, it will be impossible to create a power surge in a school. As a functioning high school, this place had been designed to handle power usage. When there's hundreds of students doing god knows what and a large number of staff, there's bound to be a lot of electricity being used, and the school is supposed to be able to handle it all. If this were a smaller facility, or an older one, a power surge would work, but not here in a modern school."
"I'd agree with Yaomomo," Mezou said, unemotional as usual. "She has the right logic."
"S-Same here..." Denki murmured.
"And me," Tsuyu spoke out. "Yaomomo is right."
"If you're all going to agree with her logic, then go ahead," Shouto shrugged. "I'm just a theorist. I make theories. Most of them are supposed to be wrong, anyway."
That doesn't keep the bitterness out of your voice, though.
"So how did the power go out, if I am incorrect?" He brushed himself off and moved on with the conversation. "Would that lead us to believe someone manually shut it down?"
"I'm sure of it," Yaomomo agreed grimly. "Whether it be the villains, or a student... we can't be sure until we have more clues."
"Hey, hey!" Monokuma suddenly spoke up. "Please do remember that us villains have no use fiddling around with you guys! It's unlikely we would do anything! Heck, I don't think we even have any controls except the security cameras in our possession!"
"...the bear's right," Chisaki added behind him. "The villain monitor base only has the camera footage. Nothing else. The power is controlled from the main office, and it's in your control."
"Whether or not we'll believe the words of villains is another story," Mezou snapped back at the throne. The two fell silent again.
"Putting aside the villains, which of us would possibly shut down the power?" Shouto continued.
Who would shut down the power... it's...
Select an Answer:
The killer
The victim
The villains
The traitor
The killer : I got it.
"That would be the killer," Yaomomo said. "They must have shut the power just as the announcement played, to create havoc..."
...or to change the crime scene...
"If that's the case, then Denki is suspicious. Hehe, case, what a funny pun," Tsuyu said offhandedly, her head seemingly in another place already. But she's conscious enough to suspect others... Is this what our natural senses are coming to? Suspecting one another as a first defense?
"H-Hey! Why me?!" Denki wailed.
"'Cuz you're the electrician," Tsuyu reasoned. "You're in charge of the power. You could easily cut it off, and you knew the location of the power switch in the office. Unless you could secretly use magic to find it, or something, it's impossible."
"But if he were the one who shut it off, why would he turn it back on?" Yaomomo reasoned in favor of her ally. "If he wanted it off, he could have just pretended he couldn't find it in the dark instead of hitting it."
"But how did he know where the switch was?" Tsuyu shot back.
"I-I found it in a prior investigation!" Denki blurted out.
Tense silence filled the room. People glanced at each other in suspicion; glares were exchanged. Yaomomo cast her gaze across the trial room. We can't just do this... suspecting each other without any logic or evidence...
"This is stupid," Mezou hissed. "We cannot begin determining a killer with no evidence. We haven't even talked about half the investigation results, for god's sake."
"He's right," the Detective reaffirmed quickly. "If were were going to suspect Denki, then how would you tie him back to Mirio? How would he kill him? Where? When? How? Why? We have nothing to base any arguments off of, so we should move on for now."
"They're both right," Shouto muttered. "Let's go on and talk about what we do know, for sure. Meaning the Monokuma File." He gestured to Yaomomo. "Your turn."
"Right." Looks like I'm taking the reigns again. She took the tablet out and clicked it on. "The victim was Mirio Toogata. He died at about 11:30 in the morning, and one of his wounds is a ruptured appendix." She turned it off. "That's it."
"That's it..?" Denki murmured. "We don't even have anything to go off of..."
"Well, technically we do," Shouto cut in. "There's one topic we can start expanding on."
The topic... that he's talking about... it's got to be...
Select an answer:
Time of death
Cause of death
Ruptured appendix
Broken bones
Ruptured appendix : I got it.
"I see. You think we can deduce something from the ruptured appendix, right?" Yaomomo prompted.
"Correct. It's as if you can read my mind." Shouto chuckled. "Anyway, we know Mirio had a ruptured appendix. The question is... what caused that to happen?"
The cause of the ruptured appendix... I can see it now...
Mind Mine : Start!
...
Paring Knife : I can see it.
"There was a stab wound over his gut. It looked like it had been created by a blade... and Hitoshi found a paring knife behind the gym bench," Yaomomo explained. "It's very likely that that was the weapon in question; it's at the crime scene and was also covered in blood."
"If the weapon is the knife, then, considering the circumstances... do you have any idea of who wielded it?" Hitoshi prompted.
"Well... it was near Nejire and Mirio's stuff-" Yaomomo saw Nejire flinch, "-and it was obviously right where Tamaki and Tsu were sitting." Tamaki had no reaction. "But that's inconclusive. We can't determine anything with just this info."
"But do we know when his appendix ruptured?" Mezou cut in. "He must have shown some sort of symptom when it did..."
When Mirio's appendix ruptured... I have to solve this...
"Give me a moment, then... I'll think of something."
Psyche Taxi : Start!
...
Question 1: Can we know for sure when his appendix ruptured?
Left: Yes
Right: No
Right : Correct!
...
Question 2: What caused Mirio's symptoms to spike?
Left: When he got a stomachache
Middle: When he drank poison
Right: When Nejire kicked him
Right: Correct!
...
Question 3: What happened shortly after the symptoms spiked?
Left: Mirio died
Right: Mirio went insane
Left: Correct!
Success!
Question 1: No
Question 2: When Nejire kicked him
Question 3: Mirio died
Break!
"It's impossible to determine when the appendix ruptured exactly," Yaomomo began. "But we do know when his symptoms spiked, directly before his death."
"It was when I kicked him... right?"
Break..!
"Mmh?" Yaomomo turned to the girl who had spoken out.
"His symptoms spiked... wh-when I kicked him... right?" Nejire's voice was small; it shuddered, the edges of a sob threatening to destroy her composure. Tears still welled in her eyes. "I...
"I give up! I give up, okay?" Crystalline droplets spilled over her face as she wailed hysterically. She rose her head to meet Yaomomo's startled gaze; her eyes were alight with tears and despair and fragmented light. "I killed Mirio!"
Rebuttal Showdown : Start!
Nejire Hadou : Momo Yaoyorozu
Truth Blades: Monokuma File #7, AC controls, Kitchen setup, Shattered bones, Vending machine
"Explain yourself, Nejire," Yaomomo prompted. Quiet sobs escaped Nejire's lips as she broke down.
"I... I stuck that b-blade in my shoe, u-under my foot," Nejire cried. "Wh-When I kicked him, I stabbed him in the gut!"
"But-"
"I-i-it's the truth!" The bluette's breath hitched violently. "C-come on! Tamaki and Tsu can agree! Right?!"
"She's lying."
Break..?!
"...huh..?" Yaomomo turned to the one who had spoken out, who'd cut right through her and Nejire's debate like a blade through butter. "This is..."
His voice is cold.
Tamaki's eyes were sharp as flint. He glared around the room, glazing over Nejire.
"E-Eh?" The girl in question seemed just as confused as everyone else in the trial room.
"You're lying, Nejire, aren't you?" The Florist said, venom underlying his words. "Because I killed Mirio."
Another lapse of silence. Yaomomo's eyes went from Nejire to Tamaki, confusion spinning her brain in circles. Why are they doing this..?
"Explain this, Tamaki." Shouto's words were calm, but the confusion in his eyes, in the air, was palpable. He doesn't understand, either... Yaomomo shuddered, a nervous wave running through her core.
"I had the knife. I stabbed Mirio when we sat down." Tamaki's explanation was simple, blunt, straightforward.
"No, I killed Mirio!" Nejire sobbed.
"I killed him. Don't you remember?" Tamaki's voice wavered and cracked; tears were still visible in his eyes. "Stabbed him. His tears, his screams, his pain, his last words..." Tears began to run down his face; his words devolved to a pathetic sob. "I-I killed him..! I killed him, I k-killed him, he's d-dead, he's dead because of me!"
"N-No... No, that's..." Nejire cried, her words punctured by her hitching breath. "I... I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry-!"
"What the fuck are you two rambling on and on about?!" Yaomomo finally interjected. "Stop trying to declare yourself the blackened! It's only confusing us!"
"No... Yaomomo, why are you so mean..?" Nejire's voice was pitiful. Yaomomo felt her resolve shudder and crack like glass as the upperclassman's words struck her. I'm... mean?
"Y-You're just... a cruel, unemotional, unempathetic cold bitch." Tamaki's words turned icy as he went on. "Y-You don't care about us... if you did, why would you be so insensitive? Wh-why do you drag us through all these trials, when we clearly don't want to, wh-when we all just want to die? You're the one who should stop. Just- Just stop." He lowered his voice, grief thick in his words. "Stop forcing us to do this, please..."
Yaomomo felt her jaws glue together as Nejire and Tamaki's words bounced around in her skull. Mean. Cruel. Bitch. Unemotional. Unempathetic. Cold. Insensitive.
Are they right? Should I stop?
She turned to Hitoshi, but he met her gaze with his own blank one. He's unreadable.
"Y-You're so c-cruel..." Nejire sobbed, ripping Yaomomo's attention back to her. Tears were spilling down her face in a torrent; her cheeks and nose were red, her sky-blue eyes filled with sorrow. "Di-Digging through these cases, casting aside e-emotion, and human attachment and friendship and love... you're no better than a m-murderer!"
Another punch to the gut.
"You ignored m-me, when I most n-needed support." Tamaki's voice was weak; tears streamed down his face. Are they angry ones, or ones of grief..? "You saw me, I noticed. I-I always notice." He took a quivering breath. "You i-ignored me, ignored my feelings, ignored everyone's feelings... you taint Mirio's wishes for hope and cooperation!"
His voice rose to a yell; a cry of rage. Yaomomo winced, flinching back into a shell, wishing he'd stop, wishing he knew that she already got the point, she got it, so stop yelling at me, please stop, just stop, because can't you see what you're doing to me?
She supposed she deserved this, though, as his words rang in her ears.
"Y-You do nothing... but dig through our friends' corpses like they're nothing but objects. You dig through these cases like our feelings are w-worthless..!" But Tamaki kept going, and the words kept hitting her, piercing her skin like knives, like a thousand needles. "Y-You call yourself our savior... when y-you're the worst, you're the absolute worst!" he sobbed.
A beat of tense silence followed Tamaki's outburst. A swift glance around the room made the thoughts of each person vividly clear.
Nejire sniffled pitifully and wiped tears out of her eyes, but she stared at Yaomomo. Tsuyu was rocking back and forth, dazed and obviously completely out of it. Denki was huddled, hands and arms crossed over his chest, frightened and attempting to will his body to shrink. Mezou was stoically gazing at Tamaki, observing with a neutral gaze. Shouto looked startled; by Tamaki's outburst or by the words spoken, Yaomomo wasn't sure. Hitoshi was smugly satisfied, the hints of a smile quirking the edges of his mouth.
"Come on, everyone," Nejire whimpered. "It's over. It's done. Let's just vote, please..."
"W-Wait! Hold on a second, it's been all of two minutes-!" Shouto began to protest. "We can't just-"
"Sorry, Shouto." The Florist's voice was dark. "If you're all going to disagree, we'll have to do this the hard way."
Double!
"Y-Yeah! We'll... we already f-figured this out, so why not vote?" Nejire said, her breath still hitching.
Triple!
"Nejire's always right... she's always right..!" Tsuyu suddenly blurted out.
"Listen to us!"
"L-Let's vote!"
"Nejire's right!"
Mass Panic Debate : Start!
Truth Bullets: Kitchen Setup, Tsuyu's Account, Yaomomo's Autopsy, Pool of Blood, Power Outage
"Come on now, guys..." Tamaki's voice was drained.
"Listen to Tamaki!" Nejire cried.
"Everyone, let's believe in Nejire!" Tsuyu's voice was insistent; she believes in her that much?
"Let's vote or something, please..." A pleading tone.
"This makes no sense. Who are we even supposed to vote for? If you wanted to trick us, you're terrible at this," Mezou said coldly.
"Tsu. Why are you trusting her so much?" Hitoshi's voice was cool.
"H-Hey, Tamaki..." Denki stuttered.
"I-It doesn't matter! We can... figure it out, right..?" Tears edged Nejire's eyes once more, threatening to spill over.
"Because... she's the true Ultimate Hope, our real hero!" Tsuyu's voice was hollow; distant.
"You heard me. It's vote or follow her..." The way Tamaki said those words sent a jolt down Yaomomo's spine.
"Hmph. Whatever. I don't really care, so I'll roll with this," Mezou decided, arms crossed.
"She's taken care of me... so I trust her!" Warmth edged her words.
"Come on, Denki. Choose me. Believe in my word," Tamaki insisted.
"Eh? That fast..? Okay..." Nejire appeared surprised as he agreed to her plot.
"If I were you, I'd trust her too!" Tsuyu finished.
"..." Denki was silent, his eyes fixed to the floor. He's shaking.
"Hey, Nejire... just what are you plotting?" Shouto's words were cold as ice, sharp as a nail.
"Mmh... I'll go with this." Hitoshi's voice was quiet.
"Are you defying?" Tamaki suddenly said, his tone dark.
"..!" Nejire's eyes widened; not the best poker face, to say the least.
"As long as I don't have to follow Yaomomo like a dog on a leash, it's fair game," he continued coldly.
"O-Okay! I'll vote!"Denki gave in.
"You're lying, aren't you?" Shouto hissed.
"Th-Thank you! That makes me really happy..." Tsuyu said with a glowing smile on her face, and a thousand knives seemed to pierce Yaomomo's heart all at once.
"No, that's wrong!"
Break..?!
"Yaomomo, snap out of it!" Shouto's voice was sharp. "Come on, think! Think about it, about their words! You have evidence against them, right? I know it. I know, because I know they're lying..!"
Yaomomo was silent, still reeling from Tamaki and Nejire's prior onslaught. But Shouto's voice was making it through to her; it was a light, a beacon in the night, a beacon guiding her to land as she was tossed across the thrashing seas. They're lying, huh..?
Despite everything, the darkness still overwhelmed any sign of hope.
"Why should I... try..?" She spoke, her voice hushed. "When everyone's against me... should I even bother to do anything when nobody will listen..?"
"Well, you're wrong." Shouto's voice bluntly shattered the haze around her all at once. It wasn't because his voice was sharp or declarative, no; it was purely because he just sounded so genuinely kind. Warmth bubbled in Yaomomo's stomach, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her silver eyes widened; she met his gaze, feeling herself becoming more and more absorbed in him and the string holding them together, holding her together. "I'm listening. I always have."
"Why would you trust me so much?" Yaomomo murmured, heat brushing her eartips. "When everyone else is opposing me, why bother..?"
"Because I believe in you and your skills, miss Detective," Shouto continued, his voice soft. He graced her with the ghost of a smile. "Come on. Me and you, against them. Numbers don't matter; it's a problem of who has the better evidence."
"...Yeah. Yeah, that's got to be right." At his encouragement, Yaomomo turned away to sweep across the rest of the trial room.
Tamaki was staring at her blankly, and Nejire gazed pitifully up at the pair conversing. She looked away as Yaomomo glanced to her. Hitoshi was indifferent as ever, as was Mezou. Denki fidgeted nervously on the spot, while Tsuyu continued rocking back and forth like a flag in the wind.
"Come on, Tamaki, Nejire..." Yaomomo began. "What's your motive here?"
"..." Tamaki was silent; he only glared back at her. Nejire now stared at her feet, sniffling
"Upupupu..!" Yaomomo turned to the direction of that trademark laugh. Monokuma was grinning down at her, malice alight in his every cell. "A split opinion, eh..? Seems like a good time for a scrum debate!"
When met with silent glares, Monokuma only laughed and activated the movement of the trial room.
As light filled the room, Yaomomo briefly wondered if this was what heaven in hell looked like.
Scrum Debate : Start!
Should we vote for Tamaki and Nejire?
Vote: Tamaki, Nejire, Mezou, Hitoshi, Tsuyu, Denki
Don't Vote: Shouto, Yaomomo
"Nobody's listening, Yaomomo. Give it up," Tamaki snarled.
"Shouto..!"
"I already told you, I'm listening! Our efforts aren't fruitless!" Shouto declared.
"We already gave our accounts, and everyone at the scene agreed to them," Nejire choked out, her voice still shuddering from her breakdown earlier.
"Shouto..!"
"But your accounts don't even match with each other! It makes no sense," the Theorist continued.
"Tamaki and Nejire were there at the scene; they should know exactly what happened," Mezou said cooly.
"I'll do it..!"
"Just because they were at the scene doesn't mean they're telling the truth," Yaomomo retorted.
"If it's a question of following them or you, I'd pick Tamaki. Even if it meant I died," Hitoshi hissed.
"Shouto..!"
"This isn't a matter of favorites; everyone's going to die if we vote wrong!" Shouto snapped.
"But... Nejire's always right... I can't see myself untrusting her!" Tsuyu cried.
"I've got this..!"
"Even if you trust her, Nejire isn't always right. You can't base your trust on that," Yaomomo said gently.
"T-Tamaki's right... they've stepped up and revealed the truth, so we should just vote..!" Denki stuttered.
"I'll do it..!"
"The killer stepping up so soon... don't you think that's a little suspicious?" Yaomomo asked slowly.
Crouch Bind : Set!
W - D - W - A - S - D - W
Full Counter : Break!
"Come on, everyone!" Shouto yelled. "Listen to Yaomomo! She's our Ultimate Detective, right? She's got to have something under her belt!"
"The way you're phrasing that makes it seem as if you, mister Theorist, are coming up with a blank," Tamaki replied coolly. "Are you just throwing responsibility onto her, hoping she can come up with something when you can't?"
"..." Shouto was silent. He merely turned to Yaomomo, handing her the spotlight. "Yaomomo, you heard him. He's asking for your evidence. What puts Tamaki and Nejire's tales into jeopardy?"
Evidence to put them in jeopardy... it's got to be..!
Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!
What piece of evidence clashes with Tamaki and Nejire's accounts?
? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ? ﾟﾗﾆ
...
BODY DISCOVERY ANNOUNCEMENT : I can see it.
"That's right..!" Yaomomo started. "The body discovery announcement!"
"..!" For a moment, Tamaki's composure seemed to shatter, before he righted himself in half a heartbeat. "What about it?" He asked, aggravated; he was trying to keep the tremor out of his voice, but Yaomomo could still tell.
"Well, all evidence points to you, Nejire, and Tsu being the three who set off the announcement. If nobody else steps up and says that they saw the body, then that sets you three out of suspicion," Yaomomo explained. "Because the murderer does not count as one of the three to activate the announcement."
"If anyone would like to step up and say they helped trigger the announcement, you may do so now," Shouto added. When nobody responded, he sighed. "That settles it then."
"But what if someone else did see the body, and is just not admitting it?" Tsuyu piped up. "What if it was something suspicious, like they were in the vents or something? Or maybe they weren't supposed to be there. It could cause suspicion. You can't determine anything."
"E-Even so, Nejire and Tamaki's accounts are both flawed!" Denki suddenly cried out.
Huh? I thought-
"Hey, Denki. I thought you were on my side," Tamaki stated coldly.
"B-But... Yaomomo deserves to succeed..." Denki said, his voice wavering. Yaomomo offered him the closest thing she could to a warm look, and he managed a shaky smile back. "I-I believe in her... more than I'd ever in you..."
"Thank you, Denki." Yaomomo felt gratitude bubble in her chest. I'm glad you're my friend. "Now... what were you saying about their accounts being flawed?"
"Oh! W-Well, Nejire said she had the blade in her shoe, and she stabbed him as she kicked, right?" Denki began. "Th-There's something off about that..."
What Denki means... the fundamental flaw with Nejire's account, it's-
Select an option:
Blood
Blade
Accuracy
All of the above
All of the above : I got it.
"I get it..." Yaomomo said softly. Denki nodded to her to keep speaking; she complied easily. "First off, she didn't bring a pair of shoes to change. We would've found a bloodied pair during investigation; it's not like she could change her bloody shoes in the blackout anyway, and Tsu and Tamaki would have noticed.
"Putting a blade under your foot is also not a good idea; there's got to be an easier way to stab someone without cutting yourself. Her impeccable accuracy, perfectly striking the gut, is also strange. Tsu's account earlier contrasts this tale as well; I'm not sure why Tsu is following her, despite her nonsense, but I'm sure it's nothing to mull over," she concluded. Considering Tsu's mental state.
"..." Nejire was silent in response.
"Well, Nejire, do you have anything to say?" Mezou prompted, indifferent as ever.
"Um... umm..." The Beauty Pageant Star seemed anxious; indecisive. "Uh, okay, fine! Fine! I'm sorry! I lied," she hastily confessed.
"Why did you lie..?" Shouto's voice was tinged with confusion as he questioned her.
"Ah... wahh... I don't know..." The girl's voice went quiet, and she dissolved into tears again.
"...best not to question her now," the Theorist decided. "Denki, you also mentioned Tamaki's account being flawed. Can you continue and explain that?"
"O-oh! Well..." He began to speak, but a cold glare from Tamaki cut his words short. He fell silent, looking to Yaomomo instead for help.
Alright, the problem with his account...
Select an option:
Contrasts Nejire's Account
Contrast's Tsuyu's Account
Contrasts Denki's Account
Contrasts Nejire's Account : I got it.
"Oh, I know," Yaomomo muttered. "The very fact Tamaki and Nejire are working together, yet their accounts are clearly contradicting, is incredibly strange," she explained smoothly. "Also, I don't care how disturbed Tsu may be; if she watched Tamaki literally stab his boyfriend in the gut, she would definitely at least speak of it to me when giving her account earlier." Her impaired judgement in how much to say also works in my favor. Not that that's a good thing... if anything, it only worries me more.
Tamaki was quiet in return. He appeared to be glaring daggers at the ground instead.
"Yaomomo. You have no solid evidence against Tamaki; you just proved that. You keep speaking of Tsu's account, and Tamaki and Nejire's prior accounts," Hitoshi said, his words all facts and flint. "But consider this: what if all three of them are working together on a murder plot, and they agreed to lie together about their accounts initially, before re-lying during the trial?"
"But- But Tsu-"
"What if her entire mental state is a fabrication?" Hitoshi shot back.
"Hitoshi!" Nejire cried out. Yaomomo looked sharply to her; tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and her face was flushed, but her words were filled with anger. "How- How could you-?!"
"This is a killing game," Hitoshi replied calmly. "Anything can happen."
"N-No... Tsu... why would she do such a horrible thing as fake mental illness?!" Nejire wailed. "Of all the things... how dare you suggest such a thing..?!"
"Hmph. If you insist," Hitoshi hissed spitefully, turning away.
"If I had a word to put in, this is all just one big waste of time," Mezou snapped. "We're getting nowhere. Tamaki and Nejire are obviously working together. Their fake accounts even contrast. Just move on. There's nothing worth digging here."
"He's right," Shouto piped in.
"If you both say so..." Yaomomo cleared her throat. "Come on, guys. You heard them. Let's move on. We can come back to this later; there's nothing worth getting out of this right now."
"Y-Yeah! Listen to Yaomomo!" Denki agreed.
"I sure as hell hope you have a plan..." Hitoshi grumbled.
"We should at least recap. Everything's gotten so confusing with Tamaki and Nejire's accounts, so it's best to go through what we know for sure," Shouto began.
"That sounds like a good idea." Yaomomo internally breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, we can get back on track.
A single glance around the trial room, of course, quenched all comfort in her heart. Hitoshi was hateful as ever, Tamaki silent as the night, Nejire was still weeping, and Mezou appeared cold as ice.
We've got a long way to go, huh?
I may not know if what I am doing is good or bad... but as long as Shouto believes in me, I think I can continue.
"Let's discuss."
Non-stop Debate : Start!
Truth Bullets: Nejire's Account, Tsu's Account, Shattered bones, Monokuma File #7, Vending Machine
"Mirio, Tamaki, Tsu, and Nejire were in the gym," Shouto began. "They were training."
"M-Mirio, along with Mezou and Shouto, were sick... they had some stomach bug." Denki's voice was soft as he recalled the illness that came prior to the death.
"While they were training, Nejire kicked Mirio in the gut," Mezou continued. "A short while later, Mirio went into a fit."
"A-And then... he was dead..." Tsuyu concluded shakily.
"This timeline should be correct," Shouto reasoned. "It's based off of Tsu and Nejire's accounts from before the trial; Tsu's contribution in this points it even more to be true." Considering her mental state, I don't think she'd be able to lie so smoothly...
"Looking at the body, what other injuries did Mirio have?" Mezou inquired. "From an overview, I thought he just had the stab wound, the appendix, and a broken bone."
"No, that's wrong."
Shattered bones : Break!
"You are only partially correct," Yaomomo spoke out. "Based on my autopsy, most of the bones in Mirio's body had mysteriously shattered."
"E-Eep-?!" Denki started. "M-Most of his... bones?"
"It's strange, alright," Shouto murmured. "What could have caused such widespread destruction of his body? And someone so strong, too..."
Something that could have caused Mirio's bones to shatter... what about..?
Select a truth bullet!
...
Vending machine : I got it.
"How about poison from the vending machine?" the Detective suggested.
"Poison from the vending machine, huh?" Hitoshi mused bitterly. "Sounds plausible. The villains have countless resources in their hands. It's not a stretch for them to make something that made bones brittle. The weakness of his body could have been triggered during his thrashing fit."
"If that's the case, why did he start thrashing in the first place?" Tsuyu asked. "Ooh. Hehe. That rhymed."
"She has a good point. Not the rhyming part, I mean, the first half," Shouto said hastily. "Why did he start spasming and violently tossing about?"
The cause of his fit... I should be able to find that...
Mind Mine : Start!
...
Bottle of Poison : I see it.
"What if... Mirio was not only poisoned with one, but two poisons?" Yaomomo asked. "The second poison could have caused his appendix to violently rupture at once, instead of the usual slow deflation ruptured appendixes go through in more natural cases. That sudden surge of agony, in addition to the weakened bones and concoction of poison, would be enough to make anyone break."
"Since when did you have a doctorate's degree in medicine?" Hitoshi huffed, suspicion edging his voice.
"I have a lot of free time, and the library proves to be filled with information. You really can get lost in those shelves for hours," Yaomomo shot back. That shut him up.
"A-Anyway, where would one get this... this second poison?" Denki asked nervously.
"Maybe the nurse's office," Shouto suggested with a shrug. "The villains have placed weapons everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if there was poison stuck in the laundry room, or a supply closet, amidst other junk."
"Mister Theorist is right!" Monokuma piped up, apparently seeing himself as helpful in the discussion. "There's various devices for killing all over the school, in all the places you'd least expect!" He grinned maniacally. Chisaki tapped him on the head with a gloved finger to shut his jaws. "Oopsie! Might've said too much." Another giggle, another irritated tap.
"So... Mirio was poisoned..?" Tsuyu mused. "That's... weird."
"Yeah! How would you poison Mirio?" Denki asked. "And... and what of the rest of the people who got sick..?! Are they going to... die... too..?"
"I don't think so," Shouto spoke up. "If Mezou and I were poisoned the same way as Mirio, I think we'd be dead by now, to be honest."
"Then how did the blackened poison him fatally, but spare the rest of us?" The Heavylifter inquired.
How Mirio was poisoned... I should be able to figure that out!
Non-stop Debate : Start!
Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #7, Paring knife, AC controls, Vending machine, Tsuyu's Account
"H-How could someone poison three people, and have only one of the victims... die?" Denki murmured.
"What if it was luck? They set out three traps, one of which was fatal," Tsuyu suggested. "Hehe. Sounds like Mirio is the Ultimate Lucky Student, in this case."
"If it were luck, what if the blackened accidentally killed one of their friends, or someone they actually cared about?" Shouto prompted.
"What if they had no friends, and just wanted to kill like playing Russian Roulette?" Tsuyu retorted.
"Hey, um..." Nejire's voice was small, but the room went quiet as she spoke. She swiped at the tears in her eyes. "Mirio took a sip... of water... right before his fit. What if they poisoned his drink..?"
"No, that's wrong."
Tsuyu's Account : Break!
"Hold on, Nejire," Yaomomo cut in. "According to both you and Tsu, the four of you went to the gym to spar, right?"
"Y-Yeah... yeah, that's right!" Nejire cried decisively.
"Did any of you, other than Mirio, bring a water bottle as well?"
"Yeah..."
"Did you all get the water from the same place?"
"Yes... we got it from the kitchen sink," Nejire explained softly.
"Then it isn't possible the water was poisoned," Yaomomo decided. "People other than Mirio have been using the tap all morning, and the rest of us are fine. Even moreso, just poisoning the kitchen sink is near impossible. If the entire water system was contaminated, we'd all be dead by now."
"Oh... that's..." Nejire trailed off, falling silent and averting her eyes. "...you're smart..."
"Hmm... if it's not the water..." Shouto appeared deep in thought, a hand to his chin. "Oh! What if... the killer poisoned all of us, but only fatally to Mirio? Mezou and I, being poisoned non-fatally, were supposed to be distractors, to throw us off the scent."
"Oooooh, I get it," Tsuyu said slowly. "They're trying to disguise the cause of death by poisoning extra people. How smart, ribbit, ribbit."
"Um... all of the sick people fell ill right after the banquet..." Nejire spoke up, her voice shaky. "So... that must mean..."
Select the correct option:
Before the banquet
During the banquet
After the banquet
During the banquet : I got it.
"It must have been during the banquet, right?" Yaomomo asked. "It's the most plausible. You could poison the food or something."
"If that's the case... how would you fatally poison just Mirio?" Hitoshi pushed.
How to poison just Mirio, without killing anyone else... If I just think logically, everything should come together..!
Psyche Taxi : Start!
...
Question 1: Could the food have been poisoned in the kitchen?
Left: Yes
Right: No
Right: Correct!
...
Question 2: Could Mirio's food specifically have been poisoned in the cafeteria?
Left: No
Right: Yes
Left: Correct!
...
Question 3: What could have been poisoned?
Left: Mirio's plate
Middle: The silverware
Right: The drinks
Right: Correct!
Success!
Question 1: No
Question 2: No
Question 3: The drinks
Break!
"Ah! I've got it!" Yaomomo declared.
"Hm? And what has our precious Detective thought up this time?" Mezou inquired.
"To figure out what could have been poisoned during the banquet, we first have to outrule some more obvious answers," Yaomomo began. "First off, it couldn't have been the food."
"Why not?" Tsuyu cut in. "Isn't that the easiest? Poison the dishes, Mirio eats it, and he's down."
Why the dishes can't be poisoned... It's because...
Select the correct answer:
Because only Mirio was poisoned
Because there was no poison in the kitchen
Because all food was prepared by someone trustworthy
Because only Mirio was poisoned : I've got it.
"It's because only Mirio was fatally poisoned," Yaomomo explained. "You cannot control what food Mirio takes. And there's no dish that only Mirio ate from."
"F-Following that logic... what if s-someone poisoned Mirio's plate?" Denki asked.
"That's also not possible. It would be far too suspicious if you touched Mirio's plate when it was right in front of him," Shouto retorted.
"He's right," Yaomomo reaffirmed. "The only thing that could've been poisoned, the one thing that was handed out specifically to each person, was the drinks."
"S-Someone... poisoned Mirio's drink..?" Nejire spoke out. Her voice shuddered; tears streaked down her face.
"How..?" Mezou's voice was softly incredulous.
Of course. They were the two who prepared the drinks.
"So someone poisoned Mirio's drink," Shouto murmured. "Who could have done it..?"
Well, for starters," Hitoshi began, "the two who made the drinks-"
"Hey, hey."
"What?" Hitoshi snapped, turning to Tsuyu.
"I remember something," she muttered. "I remember seeing Tamaki and Mirio exchanging drinks and doing all sorts of lovey-dovey couple stuff."
A beat of silence followed the short girl's words. Denki turned to the Florist in question, who stood stiffly, shadowed gaze fixed to the floor. "H-Hey, Tamaki... it's okay! She- She's got to be mistaken..!"
"It's okay, Denki."
"Wh-What..?"
"It's okay, Denki." Tamaki looked up, tears like crystals gleaming in his eyes. He turned away from the Electrician to address the room as a whole. "I'm sorry for lying earlier. You can stop now."
"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice shuddered. "What are you..?"
Tamaki exhaled, as if ridding all the sins from his body in a singular breath, and the tears slipped down his face.
"I killed Mirio."