Shizu's Notes for Kaixi's Trial

Character Profiles – The notes I built from talking with everyone here. Some of these notes may be incorrect due to faulty speculation, but they still hold my gut feelings about everyone.

Rules – The rules of the Ultimate Game. They give us some idea of what's impossible for people to do, though there may be loopholes to exploit.

1. Violence against Monokuma is explicitly forbidden.

2. We are not allowed to force our way past any areas marked with Monokuma's face.

3. Nighttime begins at 12 AM and ends at 8 AM. Announcements will be made at both times.

4. Punishments vary in severity.

5. Monokuma may change the rules at any time.

6. In order to win the game, we must kill someone without anyone else figuring out that we are the culprit.

7. A body discovery announcement plays once three people discover a body for the first time, which signals the start of a trial.

8. A majority vote for the correct culprit results in punishment for them, while an incorrect majority vote results in everyone else being punished and that person getting to go free. The punishment for either party is execution.

9. With the exception of punishments, Monokuma will never kill or tamper with a crime scene.

10. Each secret must be kept on person at all times. Attempting to get rid of the secret in any way will result in punishment.

11. No murders can occur after a body discovery announcement plays. If someone is about to die during this time, Monokuma will ensure that they live.

12. Should multiple murders occur, the most recent murder will be the one that the trial is for.

Body Discovery (Kaixi) – The announcement played after Shizu and Sawako discovered Kaixi's body in the last shower stall in the gym a little after 7:30 AM. Shizu found it first before informing Sawako.

Status of Kaixi's Body – Kaixi's body is covered in bruises from top to bottom. There's barely a square inch of him that hasn't been hit. In addition, his body has been thoroughly washed off and soaked. There are a few bloodstains on his clothes, but, other than those, he's been cleaned.

Shower Stalls – There are three large shower stalls in the gym. At the time of the crime, only the furthest one had been in use recently. All of them were turned off when the body was discovered.

Meeting Note – A drenched note was found in the middle pocket of Kaixi's backpack, along with his key card. The right side had been torn, and most of the writing was illegible due to water damage. However, it is possible to make out the words "important", "discuss", "gym", and "secret".

Kaixi's Secret – The secret that Kaixi was given by Monokuma reads, "Someone copes with their health issues by obsessing over a cartoon character." It was stored in the front pocket of his backpack.

Sawako's Exercise Meetup – Sawako and I agreed to meet up around 7:30 AM to begin a group workout session. However, Sawako forgot that she changed the time from her normal one and woke me up at 6:30 AM instead.

Kaixi's Camera – Kaixi's camera is lying destroyed in the locker room. It's been completely smashed into tiny pieces of plastic, metal, and glass. Judging by the size of the fragments, this was not done hastily.

Bloody Drag Marks – A bloody trail leads from the gym into the locker room. It ends just past the entrance to the showers.

Cooler – A cooler was found inside Kaixi's locker. It is filled with bags of ice and a few sports drinks. The ice hadn't started to melt at all.

Gym Restrictions – From 12 AM to 6 AM, the doors are marked with Monokuma's face. Thus, during this time, it is impossible to access the gymnasium, locker room, or showers.

Status of the Gym – The gym is a complete mess. Most of the equipment has been damaged and covered in blood. Most of the walls and floors are similarly bloody. It appears that a great struggle took place here.

Samia's Account – Samia checked the infirmary last night. She notes that none of the poisons were touched. However, she mentions getting the feeling that something non-lethal was missing, though she doesn't know what.

Joshua's Account – Joshua woke up at 3 AM to go check on the greenhouse. Once confirming the sprinkler settings hadn't been tampered with, he got with Soraru to have a game night. Aside from a few short bathroom breaks, the two of them were together for the entire night/morning.

Rock-Climbing Wall Platform – The platform at the top of the rock-climbing wall is very difficult to reach. It has a retractable staircase which allows you to climb down, but you must be at the top in order to put it away. According to Sawako, there wasn't anything else hidden up there.

Kogi's Secret Meeting – Kogi invited Michio, Fumika, Pal, Samia, Morgan, Joshua, and myself to share our secrets in the gym, though Kaixi and Soraru also attended. Kogi, Pal, Kaixi, Soraru, and myself all wanted to share them. Michio, Fumika, Samia, Morgan, and Joshua all wished to keep them hidden. Kogi claims he used this meeting to figure out our positions on sharing secrets, not necessarily actually seeing the secrets.

Additional Motive – Two mornings ago, Monokuma told me that Kogi was the person who had my secret. It is likely that he told others who had their secrets as well, including the culprit of this case.

Destroyed Staircase – The staircase between the 2nd and 3rd floors was blown up by Monokuma. It still hasn't been fixed, rendering it unusable at the time of the crime.

Sprinkler Incident – For the past few days, someone has been jumbling the sprinkler settings in the greenhouse, gaining Soraru's ire. After Soraru stayed up all night and Joshua set up a lax guard duty, the culprit hasn't struck again.

Missing Plant – Soraru claims that a small potted flower had been stolen last night. According to xem, the only possible culprit is Kaixi.

Soraru's Account – Someone used the elevator to go up to the 4th floor at 4 AM and down to the 2nd or 3rd floor a little before 6 AM. Though nobody saw who it was, it's most likely Kaixi.

Missing Beekeeping Suit – According to Hachi, one of the beekeeping suits went missing since she last checked. Given she was on guard duty last night, it must have been after that.

Garden Closet Hatch – There's a hidden trapdoor hatch in the garden closet. For some reason, it had been stuck shut, despite the fact that it can't be locked. The inside is filled with dirt, but Chouki managed to find gardening gloves, a few leaves, a small scoop, some ceramic shards, and a Velcro strap by digging around. There could potentially be more things that he didn't find.

Michio's Autopsy of Kaixi – The cause of death is being bludgeoned multiple times. Many of the bruises occurred post-mortem, and it is unclear which ones are which. In addition, Kaixi was strangled before he died, but this was not fatal. Michio was unable to estimate the time of death.

Ultimate Trial Start

When the final person settles behind their podium, Monokuma takes his own seat high above them at the judge's seat. He bangs a gavel and says, "Now, let's begin with a basic recap of the Ultimate Trial. Over the course of the trial, you'll present your arguments for who you think Kaixi's killer is. At the end, you'll vote for whodunnit! If you vote correctly, then I'll have the culprit executed. But if you pick the wrong person, I'll execute everyone besides the culprit, and only they will be allowed to leave this place alive!"

"We already know all of that," Chouki complains.

Morgan agrees. "I doubt any of us would have forgotten how this horrible trials functions."

"But it would be just awful if any of you happened to forget," Monokuma says, failing to suppress his giggles. "If that happened, then you wouldn't be able to put your all into the trial."

Joshua scratches behind one of his ears. "Uh… I know I'm kinda dumb, but even I can remember how this all works."

"Oh right, you were actually awake for that bit," Soraru says. "I forgot because you're always snoozing."

"What would even happen if one of us fell asleep midway through the trial?" Tsubame wonders.

Looking rather put out, Joshua says, "Hey, do you really think I'd do that? Give me some credit…"

"Oh!" Tsubame's hands fly to her braid, and she begins tugging. "I'm sorry! That wasn't directed at you or anyone in particular. I was only thinking out loud."

Fumika drums her fingers impatiently on her podium until she's finally had enough. "Are you all done now? We're here to solve Kaixi's murder, not get into petty arguments."

"Huh? Huh? But we got into tons of petty arguments last time," Soraru says, bringing a hand up to xer chin. "I think some of them even helped catch the killer."

Pal levels xem with a chilly stare. "We can find the culprit… without going down that route."

Xe fakes an affronted expression. "But it was so much fun watching everything go into chaos over the little things! And it was so easy to start. Like watch this." Swiveling around to look at Chouki, xe shouts, "It was obviously you!"

"Shut up! You don't even have anything on me. And you just said out loud what you were doing," Chouki yells back.

"I actually do," xe claims. "Remember when we all decided to make friends so that nobody else would die? You were the only one who disagreed with that. That makes you the most suspicious!"

"That's…" Choking, he switches arguments. "Were you really holding onto that all this time?!"

Xe smirks. "That's for me to know and you to not care about. Now, confess!"

Michio watches their argument with bemusement. "Uh… hang on. Didn't this happen last time to? And with the same people no less?"

"Well, there's, like, maybe a little more basis to suspecting Chouki this time," Hachi mumbles. "I think it was random the other time."

Shizu has had enough of this. Snapping her fingers, she draws everyone's attention. "Focus! Our lives are on the line. If you can't stay on topic, then shut up."

Though Soraru doesn't seem phased, Chouki flushes and stares at his clenched fists. "…Sorry."

"I don't need an apology. I need you to start discussing the crime," Shizu says.

Rolling her eyes, Samia retorts, "You mean 'we' need you to start. This is a group effort. Remember?" She puts extra emphasis on that last word, as if she thought she was being too subtle before.

Recalling Samia's complaints since the last trial, Shizu averts her eyes. "…Of course I do."

Sawako claps her hands together. "If I may start things off, perhaps it would be good to start with the most basic facts of the case. That was how we began last time, no?"

"A wonderful idea." Morgan waves a hand in Sawako's direction. "Mayhap you would start us off. If my memory serves me well, you were the one who first discovered the body. You had access to the purest form of the crime scene."

"Ah, it was actually a joint discovery. Shizu and I arrived together to find the bloodbath in the gym." Shaking her head, Sawako salutes. "But I would be honored to testify, so long as everyone else consents."

"Just start us of already," Kogi growls as he rolls his eyes. "Nobody else has even tried to say anything about the crime."

"O-of course!" Looking embarrassed, Sawako clears her throat. "I shall do my very best!"

Normally, Shizu would be a little insulted that she wasn't asked to explain as well, but this gives her a good chance to sit back and listen for any potential mistakes. There are many oddities about the case. If they let wrong assumptions slide this early on, then they'll never reach the truth.

Nonstop Debate Start

Sawako: Shizu and I arrived at the gym shortly after 7:30 this morning. When we went inside, we witnessed a horrible sight.

Pal: Horrible… does not even capture the spirit of that place.

Fumika: The whole place was torn up. It looked like a huge brawl had broken out.

Michio: And that's not even mentioning all of the blood…

Sawako: Indeed! Carnage surrounded us, but we could not see a body in the main room.

Morgan: In reality, Kaixi's body was sitting in the showers.

Joshua: Uh… If we wanna get technical, I think he was in the shower furthest from the entrance, right?

Hachi: Kaixi must have tried to escape during the fight, only for the killer to corner and kill him back there…

Chouki: It's a wonder that he even made it that far with all the blood he lost.

Shizu: I can already see one issue here. Maybe, if everyone would just let Sawako speak, we wouldn't have to clean up any misconceptions yet. Better now than never, though.

Bloody Drag Marks

kill him back there

BREAK

Holding out her hand to signal everyone to stop talking, Shizu calls out, "Hold on one moment, Hachi!"

Hachi instantly freezes and looks concerned. "Oh no! Did I already mess something up?"

"Don't worry about making a mistake, so long as you're willing to be corrected," Shizu says.

"Oh… Okay then." Pumping both of her fists, Hachi puts on her determined face. "I'm ready to listen! Um… though, what am I wrong about?"

Shizu makes sure that she's got all of her facts straight before she answers. "You claimed that Kaixi was killed in one of the shower stalls, correct?"

Nodding, Hachi says, "Y-yeah, I did. Wasn't that where his body was? I mean, everyone else seems to agree."

Michio snaps his fingers. "Ah, I see. So that's where you're mistaken. I can see why you'd think that if you only heard about where the body was without going to look for yourself."

"Kaixi's body," Shizu explains, "was moved there after his death. You can tell by the drag marks that were in the gym and locker room. They lead directly to the doorway of the showers."

"Oh, oops…" Hachi pushes her index fingers together. "I didn't realize… There was so much blood that I didn't even notice that there were drag marks."

To Shizu's surprise, Chouki comes to Hachi's defense. "Wait a minute. Just because there's drag marks doesn't mean that the killer moved his body. Kaixi could have left them himself," he argues.

"Are you serious? Who's gonna be dragging themselves across the floor instead of running?" Joshua asks. "Like, the killer had to be on his tail. There's way more efficient ways to move."

"He lost a lot of blood. He probably didn't have the strength to do anything else but drag himself," Chouki claims.

Fumika shakes her head. "It's a nice theory, but you're wrong. If he was killed in the showers, then there would have been blood everywhere, just like there was in the gym. However, we didn't find anything of the sort."

Chouki isn't ready to back down just yet. "You said it yourself: it's the showers. The culprit could have easily washed away all of the blood."

"Maybe the blood in the shower itself but not the blood that would have been left in the room," Michio counters.

Morgan also chimes in. "It isn't only that either. The locker room was similarly free from any giant bloodstains, though there were a scant few, along with the drag marks. If what you claim is the truth, then this presents a problem."

"With how much blood he lost… I cannot imagine Kaixi was able to move quickly," Pal muses. "Would the culprit… seeing their prey still clinging to the life… simply allow him to escape without doing anything?"

Crossing her arms, Samia says, "Well, I wouldn't call it escaping. He would be going straight into a dead end." She shivers when she realizes what she just said. "Ugh… Sorry. Anyways, even with that, I still think the culprit would go after him. I don't really see why they wouldn't keep trying to kill him after going so far already."

"In which case, there would be far more bloodstains in both the locker room and showers," Morgan finishes. "Do you still claim that the culprit cleaned all of those bloodstains up as well?"

"Pah…" Chouki spits. "No. Not with the gym in the state that it's in."

She smiles. "Good. I'm glad you've returned to your senses."

Hachi rubs her hands together. "I'm sorry all of that happened because of my mistake. I didn't wanna get things that far off track."

"That's what you get for not even looking at the crime scene," Soraru chides her.

Chouki scowls at xem. "You didn't look either! And it's your fault that we didn't look, too."

Folding xer hands behind xer head, xe says cheerfully, "Yeah, but I wasn't the one who said something stupid, so it doesn't matter. That's all on you two."

Samia interrupts them before things get out of hand. "It's fine, Hachi. Now, you know, and that's the important bit. Hopefully, we explained everything well enough for you."

"Yeah, of course!" Although Hachi says this, she then bites her lip, looking uncertain. "Um… but, now that you mention it, I'm still a little confused."

Tsubame gives her a gentle smile. "I'm certain we'll be able to help. What is tripping you up?"

"If Kaixi wasn't killed there, then why was he moved there at all?" Hachi asks.

Joshua raises his hand. "Ooh! I was wondering that too! Because all I came up with was that the killer wanted to hide the body, but then I realized that that makes no sense. The gym's already a dead giveaway. Why bother hiding it?"

"He was completely soaked too," Sawako adds. "The culprit must have washed him off after they moved him to the shower stall, but I don't understand why they would do that. I cannot see how his blood would be something that was necessary to hide."

"Sometimes blood can be a useful clue, but we don't really have the tools to give us that information right now. If the culprit knew how blood would give them away, they'd also know that none of us could catch them with it." Michio whistles softly. "Sounds almost like they didn't have a reason to hide the blood at all."

Kogi pinches the bridge of his nose. "That's obviously not true."

Raising up both of his hands, Michio says, "Hey, I'm just saying what we're all thinking. We're probably on the wrong track with this line of thinking."

Morgan shakes her head at this. "I do not think that all of us have given up that quickly. At least, I know that I have not."

"You know what they were trying to do?" Hachi leans over, eyes sparkling.

"I have a guess," Morgan corrects her. "You recall our previous trial, no?"

Tsubame gives a quivering nod. "Um… I believe so, for the most part. There are a lot of little details that I've probably forgotten. It got rather complicated."

"That's fine. I'm certain nobody would forget the detail that I'm thinking of." Raising her index finger, Morgan proclaims, "You all recall that Kazuha employed a certain trick to throw us off course last time, no? I believe that the culprit of this case attempted to do the same thing."

"The same thing? I think you've lost me a bit," Joshua says, as he tugs his beanie down.

However, Shizu understands what Morgan is getting at. Given the similarities to where both of the crimes took place, there's not much else that she could be talking about.

Gym Restrictions

"You're referring to the restrictions placed on the gym, correct?" Shizu says. "Just like the dining hall, the gym also closes at midnight, though it opens up at 6 AM rather than 8 AM."

"As expected of you, Shizu, you understood exactly what I meant." When Shizu fails to respond to her attempted flattery, she explains herself further. "The obvious assumption is that this crime took place in the morning, after the gym opened up."

Pal's eyes widen. "Ah… it is possible… that the crime took place last night… and the culprit sought to mislead us."

"Is that really true? I mean, would they really try the same thing that we figured out last time?" Tsubame asks.

"Time out!" Soraru shouts. "How does that connect to where the body was found? I don't get that at all!"

"Oh? I thought that much would be obvious." Giving a dramatic sigh, Morgan says, "I suppose I must explain it to you."

Shizu has an idea of where Morgan is going with this, but she's not sure that she agrees. After all, she was the one who found the body. If the culprit really was trying to copy Kazuha's methods, then there's a huge problem that crops up.

Nonstop Debate Start

Morgan: We've already established that the culprit purposefully moved Kaixi's body into one of the shower stalls.

Chouki: You don't need to keep reminding me… I get it already.

Joshua: So, uh… you're saying that they did this because the gym closes at night, right? Why's that?

Fumika: If you had to go looking for a body, it would give the culprit time to escape.

Samia: The showers are at the very back of the gym.

Sawako: If the culprit had to hide away until the dawn, they would want the body in a place that would ensure they could flee unnoticed.

Soraru: How does any of that connect to washing off Kaixi's blood? You're making this up as you go along!

Morgan: Washing off the blood was merely a byproduct of the culprit's plan.

Pal: The important part… would be the showers themselves?

Morgan: By leaving the showers on, they would ensure that those who discovered the body would rush to the noise in the back.

Hachi: And that's totally what happened, right? Good thinking, Morgan!

Shizu: In theory, this all makes sense, but this is reality. The scene that I found and the scene being described don't match up.

Shower Stalls

By leaving the showers on

BREAK

"I regret to inform you," Shizu lies, "that your theory is incorrect."

Morgan gives her a fake smile. "I'm not surprised to hear you of all people say that. However, I have a good feeling about my version of events. The spirits have guided me to it, after all."

"You should find smarter spirits then," Shizu remarks. She does her best to ignore Morgan's scandalized face, but she can't help but feel good about her comeback. "None of the showers were turned on when I discovered the body."

"I can attest to this," Sawako says, coming in to assist her. "I did not hear any water flowing when I arrived at the gym, and I also did not see any of the showers running."

Soraru points at Morgan in gleeful victory. "I totally knew it! You were just saying things to make yourself sound smarter!"

"Better than your strategy… of saying things specifically… to make yourself sound less smart," Pal grumbles.

"I like to think that my words are smart neutral, neither intelligent nor dumb," Soraru states with pride.

Fumika looks over at Shizu. For some reason, she looks annoyed. "You're sure about that, right? The showers definitely weren't on when you got there?"

"Both Sawako and I just said that. I even recall looking in all of the stalls before the last one. None of them were on," Shizu confirms. "Is there a reason you're being so thorough?"

"…No. I just didn't want there to be any room for doubt." Having said her piece, Fumika backs down.

Shizu adjusts her glasses and continues to stare at her. That was a rather weak dismissal, especially coming from Fumika. Not to mention, Fumika was also acting similarly during the investigation. She was very curious about whether or not Shizu had tampered with the crime scene. Given her question here, perhaps she assumed Shizu had turned off the water. Maybe she had also been thinking similarly to Morgan.

She's pulled out of her thoughts when Kogi speaks up. "So, it's settled then. Since the showers weren't on at the time, this line of reasoning is bunk. We're back at square one."

"Unfortunately, that appears to be the case," Shizu says.

"Fate reveals all!"

Morgan's declaration echoes throughout the trial grounds. "You are dismissing my point far too early, Shizu. I still have more room to argue."

"I already told you why you're wrong. The crux of your argument relies on something that Sawako and I have told you is false," Shizu retorts.

"The crux of my argument?" Morgan gives a soft giggle behind her hand. "I have given nothing of the sort. Your haste will be your downfall."

Shizu can feel a vein throbbing in her forehead. "Is this all because you claimed that your fortune telling powers led you to this? If I have to go through all this just because of that…"

"What a charming attack on my character. This bodes well for convincing the others," Morgan taunts her.

The worst part about this is that she's probably right. Shizu has put herself at a disadvantage for immediately ignoring Morgan's point, wrong as it might be. Samia, in particular, is already certain that Shizu doesn't care about what others think up. Damn it. She's going to have to deal with this problem before her influence dwindles.

Rebuttal Showdown Start

Morgan: I admit that I was incorrect about the shower being on.

Morgan: That being said, I still believe that I was correct about why the body was moved to the showers in the first place.

Morgan: The culprit was lurking at the crime scene ahead of time.

Morgan: Though the showers would be helpful, they are not necessary to draw anyone closer.

Morgan: The rest of the crime scene would do that on its own.

Advance

Shizu: Hold on, you've changed your story drastically.

Shizu: Your entire basis for your argument relied on the culprit keeping the shower on.

Shizu: Without that, they have no reason to wash off the blood.

Morgan: I admit that those actions have puzzled me.

Morgan: However, the rest of your claims are simply not true.

Morgan: As I just stated, the state of the crime scene, what with it lacking a body, is enough to accomplish their goals.

Morgan: They would get any witnesses to head into the locker room and then into the showers to find the body.

Morgan: There is no shortage of places to hide in the gym, especially considering its current state.

Morgan: They waited for you and Sawako to head to the body, and they used that moment to escape.

Morgan: You fell right into their trap!

Morgan: I would appreciate it if you took back your comments at this time.

Shizu: Take my comments back? When there's a gaping hole in your argument? Not likely.

Body Discovery (Kaixi)

used that moment to escape

BREAK

Shizu smirks. "It seems you're unaware of what really happened after all."

"Ah, do forgive me," Morgan gives a mock bow. "My powers do not make me fully omnipotent. I cannot ever truly know something that I did not see for myself. However, I believe the same should apply to you. After all, you fell for the culprit's trap."

"Did I now? I'm not sure the culprit was even there." Shizu adjusts her glasses as she speaks.

Hachi coughs a little. "Um… are you sure? I think Morgan was making a lot of sense back there."

Shizu nods. "Positive. If the culprit truly wished to make a hasty retreat, they would not have had the chance."

"That's right. I remember now!" Sawako punches her palm with her fist. "When Shizu and I first came to the scene of the crime, I stayed behind in the gym proper while Shizu went to look further inside. When she returned, I ran into there by myself, while Shizu waited outside."

"So, there was never a time when both of you were in the shower stall together," Michio sums up. "If that's the case, then there's no way the culprit could have escaped."

Morgan's eyes go wide. "Oh dear… But I thought… I'm very sorry." Shaking her head, she leans on her podium. "I had assumed that the two of you were together the whole time when you found the body. I have made a very grave error."

"Hey don't sweat it. I make misunderstand things all the time," Joshua says in a poor attempt to console her.

Samia brings a hand up to cup her chin. "Do you think that it's possible that the culprit could have fled before Sawako and Shizu showed up? If there were lurking in there all night, they might have left the moment the gym opened up."

"That would be risky. They could run into someone immediately," Fumika says.

Soraru scrunches up xer face. "Wait, hang on… That'd mean that Kaixi was in the gym too, right?"

"Obviously. He's the victim," Chouki says, looking exasperated. "How's he supposed to be killed if he's not at the crime scene? Have you been paying attention at all?"

"More than you, because I've just found out something important," xe taunts him. "Right, Joshua?"

"Huh? Me?" Joshua looks around him, as if there's some other Joshua around.

Xe chuckles. "Come on, keep up! You know why that's not possible, right? You were telling me about it last night."

Joshua continues to look befuddled until realization strikes. "Oh yeah! There's no way that Kaixi was in the gym before midnight. I can't believe I forgot!"

"Mind telling the rest of us what you're thinking?" Michio cuts in.

Actually, Shizu has a pretty good idea herself. It's not the most accurate information, given the source. However, judging by that reaction, it's most likely true. Plus, there's an easy way to confirm it.

Soraru's Account

Shizu decides to explain in place of the two of them. She doesn't trust either of them to stay on topic. "If I'm remembering correctly, Soraru told me that both of you heard the elevator go up at 4 AM and down a little before 6 AM."

"Yeah, and it was Kaixi!" Soraru shouts.

Joshua chimes in with his own information. "I'd asked him to keep watch over the greenhouse around that time. I didn't actually see him myself, but I'm sure it was him."

Across the room, Soraru shakes xer fist at Joshua. "And you tried to lie to me, saying that it wasn't him taking the elevator back down! Don't think I've forgotten that!"

Morgan raises one of her hands. "Please wait one moment. If neither of you actually saw Kaixi, then how can you confirm that it was actually him?"

"I've already asked everybody about their movements last night," Shizu responds. "Nobody mentioned going up to the greenhouse last night. In fact, Joshua and Soraru were the only people to say something other than that they went to bed. Kaixi is the only person who it could possibly be, unless someone would like to amend their statement."

She looks around the circle, trying to see if anyone looks like they want to speak or to hide something. However, all she gets are concerned and suspicious gazes in return. Nobody says anything to contradict her.

"Very well then. We can now proceed with the understanding that Kaixi was not in the gym until after he used the elevator," she says.

Fumika looks uneasy with that. "Are you sure about that? What if it really was someone else taking the elevator, and they're afraid that they'll be suspected if they speak up?"

"They shouldn't be," Shizu answers. "If Kaixi wasn't the one using it, then it still doesn't make sense for the culprit to be the one using it either. After all, Kaixi couldn't have been murdered unless the culprit was in there with him."

"And don't go saying it was a trap set up in advance," Chouki adds. "He was obviously physically attacked. No way a trap could do all of that."

"…I guess that sounds right," Fumika admits. "It sounds like there really isn't a way for Kaixi to have been in the gym last night. As long as all of this is true, that is…"

Pal traces random patterns with his nails on his podium as he speaks. "If Morgan's point truly leads nowhere, then I wonder… what was the point… of moving Kaixi's body after the crime? I cannot fathom… any other reasons…"

"Maybe there wasn't a reason other than wanting to lead us in circles," Hachi guesses.

Running a hand through his hair, Michio sighs. "There's still one possibility left, you know."

"Weren't you saying before that there wasn't a reason at all?" Soraru accuses. "You have to stick to one story if you're trying to sound smart."

"Nah, I said that it seemed that way," he corrects xem. "I wasn't entirely sure at the time if the culprit intended for this to happen, but, now that we've ruled out Morgan's theory, it's really all that's left."

"Why are you saying it so cryptically? Just tell us if you've figured it out," Fumika demands.

Michio gives a lazy shrug. "It's something only I'd really think of, is the thing. My experience might be tricking me. It'd be nice if I got someone else to think the same way before I come out with it."

Chouki doesn't buy it. "You're just scared. If it's something only you'd know, then that makes you the prime suspect, and you don't want that."

"Well, it's not fun being in the hot seat," Michio mutters.

To be honest, Shizu has an inkling of what Michio's talking about. Then again, the main reason why she's thinking of it is because he's already said something strange before. If it has to do with that piece of evidence, then it makes sense that he'd suspect that something's up.

Michio's Autopsy of Kaixi

"You're talking about what you left out of your autopsy report, right?" Shizu asks.

Michio winks at her. "Yeah, you've got it. I figured you'd be the one to understand."

Looking back and forth between the two of them, Tsubame frowns. "Um, I'm sorry, but I don't think I've heard your report yet, Michio. What's the problem?"

What was missing from the autopsy report?

A. The cause of death

B. The time of death

C. Other injuries on the body

Shizu answers before Michio can. "Michio said that he wasn't comfortable putting the time of death in his autopsy. If I'm right, then this ties into the reason why the culprit did what they did with Kaixi's corpse."

"Yeah right," Soraru scoffs. "I bet he just couldn't figure out it, like with the cause of death last time."

Rolling his eyes, Michio says, "Nah, Shizu's got it right. I can tell you the time of death if you really want, but, like she said, I doubt it'd be helpful. According to my tests, he died around 1 AM."

"Wait, wouldn't that back of Morgan's theory?" Tsubame wonders.

Michio shakes his head. "Not really. Remember, the gym closes at midnight. If Kaixi had been killed like Morgan said, you'd expect the time of death to be before midnight, or at least closer to it, not an hour later. That was my first clue that something was off."

Joshua still looks puzzled. "But, uh… what does that have to do with the showers?"

"You can tell how long a body's been dead because you have an idea of what the surrounding area it's been in is like. Stuff like temperature or what's going on with wounds can give you a good idea. In this case, that's not really possible. The culprit washed off Kaixi's body for an unknown amount of time with cold water," Michio explains. "At least I think it's cold. And even that's part of the problem."

Fumika, probably the one following along closest to his answer, elaborates further. "Cold water would rapidly deplete his body heat, and I can imagine it would change how his wounds developed. We have no idea how long Kaixi underneath the shower. Without that, it'd be impossible to estimate the time of death."

"Perhaps if the culprit had left the shower on as Morgan suggested, it would have been easier. At least then you would know it had been on since around the time that he died." Sawako sighs. "The culprit is truly crafty."

"Very crafty indeed," Morgan muses.

Chouki looks annoyed. "It sounds like they wanted us to think that the crime could have taken place at night, like with the last case. They just wanted to waste our time!"

"You've all summed up most of my thoughts. Good job, everyone." Despite Michio's welcoming smile, he sounds upset. "Sorry for not bringing it up early. Like I said, I wasn't sure if the culprit would even know that it'd mess up the time of death that bad. I mean, when it happened to Takumi, it was a byproduct of the coverup, not the objective."

"It's not impossible to be able to guess. Shizu managed to do so," Tsubame points out.

Shizu adjusts her glasses. "It isn't a huge stretch to assume that running cold water over a body would also cool it down." Despite downplaying her logic, she still feels pride in being complimented.

That feeling shatters when Samia speaks up. "You're right. Shizu did manage to figure that out."

"Is there a reason you're phrasing it so suspiciously?" Shizu asks, wary of the answer.

Samia narrows her eyes. "I'm just saying that it's notable that you'd be able to think of how to mess with the time of death. You don't have to act so defensive. It's making you look suspicious." She frowns. "Although, that's not the only suspicious thing about you so far."

To her surprise, Kogi comes to her defense. "Shizu isn't remotely suspicious. Trust me, she's not the killer."

"What? Why are you so sure about that?" Samia glares at him, only to catch herself. "No, hang on. I should explain myself first, right? I shouldn't expect people to follow along blindly."

"This is a rather sudden sense of distrust," Morgan says. "Or have you been holding onto it for quite some time now?"

"It hadn't hit me at first, but, the more I thought about it, the more is struck me as strange that Shizu was one of the people to discover the body." Crossing her arms, Samia continues, "The body was found in the gym early in the morning."

Shizu bristles at the accusation. "What's your point in all of this?"

Samia is done playing it cool and swiftly moves to question her. "What were you doing there in the first place?"

"I guess it's maybe a little weird that Shizu went to the gym this morning, but I don't think that means she did anything bad," Hachi says.

However, Pal disagrees. "She has made it clear… that she does not wish to exercise. That she changed her mind… on the day that Kaixi died… is reason enough to suspect her."

"I had a very good reason for going to the gym, and it had nothing to do with Kaixi's death." Well, she doesn't really believe that it's a "very good reason", but explaining the situation should be enough to get everyone off of her back.

Character Profiles (Sawako)

Shizu flips through her notes until she finds the ones from yesterday. "The only reason I was there in the first place was because Sawako was looking for an exercise partner. She was very insistent upon that fact."

Snorting, Samia isn't convinced. "That just makes you look worse. We all know that you dislike Sawako. Why would you randomly decide to meet up with someone you don't like to do something you don't like at a time when you're only just waking up?"

Sawako chooses this moment to shout, "Please wait! Shizu only agreed because I was so adamant about it! She was very hesitant to agree to my offer. It took a lot of effort to persuade her to join me. Shizu is telling the truth here."

Tsubame glances back at Shizu. "If Sawako is telling the truth, then I don't think Shizu planned this out. It was a spur of the moment decision."

"I told you I was innocent," Shizu grumbles.

However, Michio shakes his head. "Sorry, but I think we should talk about this a little more. Just because the decision wasn't suggested by Shizu doesn't mean that she didn't plan around it."

Shizu's eye twitches. "Are you serious right now?"

"You're the one who's always so assured in your genius," Samia retorts, her fist raised near her chest. "Who's to say that you weren't able to come up something in that short amount of time?"

"Hold on! Why does this make Shizu the suspicious one?" Waving her arms around, Sawako exclaims, "If anything, I should be the one you are focusing on! It was my idea in the first place!"

"Do you uh… wanna rethink what you're saying?" Joshua asks, running a hand over his forehead. "I mean, I don't think it's Shizu either, but what kind of defense involves accusing yourself?"

Soraru leaps up and down in the air. "Huh? Huh? Why don't you think it's her? Wasn't she the last person to see Kaixi? I thought you said that they traded shifts in the greenhouse last night."

"That is… news to me," Pal states.

Morgan turns to Joshua. "Is what xe says true?"

Making guilty eye contact with her from across the room, Joshua gulps. "Uh… well…"

Shizu pinches the bridge of her nose. His lie just dug her deeper into this mess. She's not about to bail him out by agreeing, and her word isn't good enough to deny it outright. Instead, she remains silent.

Unfortunately, Soraru takes this silence and Joshua's embarrassment to mean the worst. "I knew it! I was totally right."

"Things aren't looking good for you right now," Samia says. "You'd better have some kind of explanation."

This is a headache and a half. How did everyone suddenly become of apprehensive of her? Suppressing a groan, Shizu forces herself to focus on the discussion. Otherwise, things may get further out of hand. But how is she even supposed to fight skepticism born from nowhere?"

Nonstop Debate Start

Samia: It's strange that Shizu would ever give in to something she clearly doesn't want to do, no matter how much she was pestered.

Pal: So, going to the gym… was her plan all along?

Morgan: "All along" is dubious. It was a hastier plan that she could have concocted.

Sawako: How could she have planned something so elaborate so quickly? We only agreed right before I ate dinner.

Samia: I think it's possible that Shizu is capable of coming up with something that quickly.

Michio: It sounds like she was using you too, Sawako.

Sawako: What does that mean?

Michio: Since you'd be meeting up with her nice and early, you could act as her alibi.

Tsubame: It is possible. Because she knew when you'd arrive, she could kill Kaixi and leave knowing she wouldn't be discovered.

Soraru: Didn't you say she found the body first? She totally could have done that to check if she needed to do any last-minute fixing.

Fumika: So, she could have lied to me about that, too…

Kogi: What a pain… I told you, you're all barking up the wrong tree.

Shizu: There are several weak points in their reasoning. It makes sense, as all of this is patently false. However, which ones am I actually able to refute? There has to be something that's verifiably wrong.

Sawako's Exercise Meetup

knew when you'd arrive

BREAK

"There's one thing you should know about all plans," Shizu cuts in. "You cannot ever plan for every minute detail. No matter how hard you try, there will always be something that you couldn't have prepared for."

"W-wait, are you confessing? It sounds like you're saying you made a mistake," Hachi frets. "I… I thought you were innocent!"

Shizu hurries to reassure her. "I am innocent. My point is that, if I had planned all of this out, then it's strange that I was somehow prepared for something that should not have happened."

"Oh!" Sawako's eyes light up with understanding and, shortly afterwards, guilt.

"Please do explain yourself. The rest of us have little time for your theatrics," Morgan says.

Not bothering to comment on the hypocrisy of her statement, Shizu says, "Sawako and I agreed that we'd go to the gym a little after 7:30 in the morning, as that is when I always wake up."

"And that's what happened," Samia says, annoyance creeping into her voice. "You said it yourself: you 'stumbled' onto the body around that time, right when you said you were meeting."

Sawako raises her hand, her face red. "Um… Actually, I made a rather embarrassing error. I mistook the time for my usual morning exercise time of 6:30 AM. I very rudely woke her up an hour in advance."

Rolling his eyes, Chouki says, "So what? That still gives her thirty minutes to get the scene ready and get out of there. Who cares that if she thought she had more time then she really did? It was plenty enough."

"I would not say that was plenty of time… but it would be sufficient, provided she moved quickly enough," Pal corrects him.

Perhaps Chouki would have a point if the crime was similar to the first one in scope. However, there is a key factor that makes it unreasonable for her to have done this without Sawako suspecting a thing.

Status of the Gym

"Do you all recall how much blood there was in the gym?" Shizu asks.

Hachi shudders. "I'm doing my best to forget, actually. Sorry…"

Clicking his tongue, Michio says, "Ah, I see. If you were the culprit, it'd be hard not to get some blood on you or your clothes at some point. Sawako definitely would have said something by now if that was the case."

"Exactly." Shizu moves to preempt any extra arguments. "And before anyone suggests that I simply could have cleaned myself up to hide the bloodstains, that would require me to wash off any of the blood that got on my body or hair. Even if I changed outfits afterwards, I would still have to do that much."

Sawako comes to her assistance. "However, when I rang Shizu's doorbell, she was completely dry."

"And what if she didn't get any blood on herself?" Chouki demands, slamming a fist onto his podium.

Michio inhales sharply. "Yeah… I don't think that's possible. At the very least, she'd get some on her clothes. But then, she'd have to change out of them afterwards and that'd take more time."

Fumika huffs. "Don't forget that you're all claiming that Shizu did this fast enough that she was theoretically able to make it look like she had just woken up, despite thinking she had nearly three times as much time as she actually did. If Shizu is the culprit, then this isn't how she did it."

Reluctantly, Samia folds. "You're right… Sorry, I got carried away."

"Should've listened to me," Kogi says.

She raises her finger and glares. "You didn't give any arguments, so I don't want to hear that from you."

Raising her hand, Sawako says, "Hold on! Should we not also consider me as suspect as well? I feel terrible that Shizu took all of the blame for my decision…"

Pal makes a popping noise with his lips as he thinks. "I believe that… the same logic applies to you as well. If Shizu… had reason to believe you had cleaned yourself up in a hurry… she would have said so by now."

"Besides, I doubt you would have mistaken the meeting time if you were planning a murder. Besides, you could have waited for me to come and fetch you. That would have been the safer option," Shizu says.

Sawako backs down, though she's frowning. "Very well then. It doesn't feel right that all of the work proving my innocence has gone by without me ever being a suspect…"

Michio laughs. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's not healthy to stress out so much." Snapping his fingers, he says, "I guess it was kinda silly to go on about you two for this long. I mean, you did discover the body. Monokuma cleared us last time for doing that, so there really wasn't a point to any of this, huh?"

Shizu doesn't really agree with his point. Hadn't that been a one-time clear? Well, whatever. It's not as though it's a huge deal to correct him. However, bringing up the discovery again makes her think about something odd. She pulls out her notebook to check, but the discussion moves forwards, so she focuses on that. It's not as though the issue would be damning evidence. It's more-so a curiousity.

"If it's no trouble, could we go back to discussing the crime scene again?" Tsubame asks.

"I have no issue with that," Shizu says. "We've mostly been focusing on Kaixi's body. Was there something in particular that jumped out at you about the crime scene?"

Tsubame tugs on her braid. "Not really, I'm afraid. It's just… we've been avoiding talking too much about it. It's horrible to think about, but I think that it's something we must do. We'd only be making things easier for Kaixi's killer."

"That sounds like a good plan to me," Samia agrees.

Soraru objects to this. "Do we have to? What good gonna come out of it anyways?"

"I mean, we kinda do," Joshua gently points out. "Like, it is a huge part of what happened. It's uh… pretty hard to ignore."

"Fiiiine." Crossing xer arms, xe pouts. "But only because you said so. If nothing comes out of this, you're getting raison muffins instead of chocolate chip next time!"

"Nothing's wrong with raisons," Chouki grumbles, mostly to himself.

It's not difficult to see why they're so reluctant to talk about the gym. It was a rather visceral sight to behold, and it's not clear if anything can be made apparent by thinking about it more. It sort of seemed self-evident. However, thinking like that will get them nowhere.

Nonstop Debate Start

Tsubame: The gym was in complete disarray. Surely that's important, right?

Michio: There was so much blood everywhere… Reminds me of some other crime scenes I've been to.

Soraru: Ew! No one wants to hear about that!

Sawako: It's not just that there was blood. The equipment was severely damaged as well.

Hachi: Did the culprit purposefully break the equipment too?

Morgan: It's more likely that it was damaged in the fight against Kaixi.

Hachi: Um… oh. Which stuff was broken anyways? I didn't get a good look…

Fumika: Most everything was hit in some way. It'd be easier to say what was left alone.

Chouki: So, the killer managed to hit him with everything in the gym before he died. That's brutal.

Pal: It is also… inefficient, for lack of a better term.

Samia: Maybe the culprit was someone who's weak.

Joshua: That really only narrows it down to everyone but Sawako…

Shizu: It's an accurate summary of the remains of the gym, but something strikes me as off. There's actually something that's been bothering me for a while. Does it have anything to do with that evidence?

Michio's Autopsy of Kaixi

hit him with everything in the gym before he died

BREAK

Looking up from her notes, Shizu calls out. "Hold on one moment, Chouki. I'm not sure that I agree with your assessment."

Chouki folds his arms. "I thought everyone said that most of the exercise stuff was busted! Don't tell me you're getting caught up in the semantics of 'everything' or whatever."

"You don't have to take everyone else's word for what was broken, dude. Didn't you see for yourself?" Joshua questions him.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny." Scowling, Chouki says, "We've already been over how I ditched the crime scene early. Stop wasting your time with that!"

Joshua blinks. "Oh. Right. I forgot about that."

Before Chouki's temper breaks, Shizu clarifies her point. "My issue lies in the idea that all of the damage happened before Kaixi died. I believe that Michio's autopsy suggests otherwise."

"Kaixi had a lot of post-mortem wounds," Michio explains. "Like, there were so many that it was hard for me to find the ones that weren't post-mortem because of how much area they covered up."

Tsubame takes in this information before saying, "Then, it's likely that some of the stuff was broken after he was murdered."

"The culprit could have punched him a bunch after he died. That's just as possible, right?" Joshua asks.

Michio chuckles. "Nah, not really. Most of the wounds didn't look like they were made with fists. I mean, maybe some of them could have been made at odd angles of attack, but it's way more reasonable to assume they came from being hit against something in the environment."

"That wouldn't make much sense anyways," Fumika remarks. "I always thought it was odd that, apparently, Kaixi managed to survive for so long after getting hit by everything but the kitchen sink. It fits better if the culprit continued to hit him after they killed him."

"May I ask why we are assuming that the damages solely came in accordance with Kaixi's injuries?" Morgan interrupts. "Would it not also be plausible that some of them, even if they are less numerous, came from way Kaixi fought back against his murderer?"

Hachi waves a little to get everyone's attention. "Um… I was kinda thinking the same thing. There was a fight, right? So, the killer probably got hurt a bit too."

"I wonder…" Pal hums to himself as he sways back and forth.

"Wonder what?" Samia urges. "If it's something important, you shouldn't hold back."

Closing his eyes, Pal says, "I'm not sure that it is the truth… but I have come to doubt that fact…"

Sawako awkwardly coughs. "Could you please be more specific?"

"The fact that the killer was injured at all in the struggle." Pal's eyes snap open as he declares this.

Tsubame falters, catching herself on her podium before she falls over sideways. "Huh? Are you sure? From how the gym looked, I think it would be hard for the killer to not get hit at all during the fight."

"Indeed," Morgan concurs. "Surely, Kaixi fought back a little. I know that he believed in all of us, but I doubt even he would refuse to defend himself against murderous intent."

"And even then, wouldn't he have just run away if he didn't want to fight?" Hachi asks. "Like, the killer could've been blocking the entrance, but I don't think that'd lead to a whole chase around the gym without him fighting back even once…"

However, Pal is insistent with his idea. "But… if that were the case, then it raises… further questions. Namely, why doesn't anyone here… look as though they've been in a fight? I've thought that strange… since the start of this all."

It's true, Shizu realizes. Nobody here looks injured at all. She knew that something had seemed off, but she hadn't been sure of it until now. She had been so focused on Kaixi's injuries that she had barely spared a thought to the culprit's.

Not everyone is so convinced. Soraru, for instance, points out, "Injuries don't have to be visible to exist, you know. They probably got hurt and hid it under their clothes."

"I'm not sure about that," Shizu interjects. "If anyone was injured to the extent that they left dents on some of those machines, we would be able to tell just by the way that they're acting."

"I've seen plenty of people try to act tough after getting a gut punch, but they cannot truly hide their pain," Sawako adds. "And I do not believe any of you have practice in taking hits strong enough to make you bleed."

"That is a fair point," Morgan acquiesces. "I suppose I cannot deny that as suspect. The only person who has seemingly taken any damage is Kaixi himself…"

Chouki rubs his forehead. "Good thing Pal noticed something. How'd none of you professionals pick up on that?"

"I do not think… that it is necessary to scold," Pal chides him. "However, thank you… for appreciating my contribution."

Ducking his head down, Chouki mutters, "…No problem."

Kogi slams a fist onto his podium. "Hold on. That raises another problem. What's with all of the blood?"

"Well, I mean, Kaixi did still die, y'know," Joshua says. "He still bled, right?"

"Can't have been that much," Kogi counters. "It was everywhere."

Michio brings in his expertise. "Actually, I think Kogi's right. Kaixi lost a ton of blood, but I don't think that would be enough to coat the gym like that. That blood must have come from somewhere else."

"If our culprit wasn't injured, then that leaves us with a huge problem." Samia groans.

Sawako attempts to rally everyone. "I'm certain we can figure out the truth behind this mystery. If the culprit was able to think of it, then twelve of us working together against them should have no trouble."

That's not entirely true. If they don't have any evidence for what might have happened, then it's unlikely they'd be able to figure much of it out. Still, Shizu is confident that she can do it. In fact, she might already have a clue about what happened, albeit an indirect one.

Nonstop Debate Start

Sawako: How did so much blood get all over the gym? We must find the answer.

Hachi: We've already ruled out that it's only Kaixi's blood, right?

Pal: Michio… has confirmed that for us, yes.

Tsubame: Maybe they found a substitute substance that looked like blood and spread that around.

Pal: Wouldn't someone… have noticed that it lacked the properties… of blood?

Soraru: Ooh! They could've used blood from somewhere else!

Hachi: Huh? Whose blood did they use?

Soraru: We've got a lot of bees, right? It could be bee blood!

Pal: I do not even think… that bees have blood.

Hachi: Actually, they have something similar called hemolymph, but it's not the same as blood. Oh, sorry for the tangent!

Fumika: They could've cut themselves days ago and stored their blood for later.

Pal: I did not notice… anyone looking injured at all… this past week.

Kogi: Monokuma might've lent a hand if the culprit begged hard enough.

Pal: I thought that Monkouma… was not supposed to tamper… with the crime scene.

Chouki: Why the hell are you all making Pal do all the thinking?! None of your ideas are good.

Shizu: Something like this came up last time. Could the culprit have just…? But how would I go about proving that?

Samia's Account

blood from somewhere else

BREAK

Letting out a deep sigh, Shizu is full of regrets about what she's about to say. "I believe… that Soraru may have the right idea."

"I knew it!" xe cries. "It was bee blood!"

"Not that, obviously!" Chouki shouts back. "She means the part about getting blood elsewhere."

"Oh. I knew that too." Still, xe shuffles backwards, xer confidence faded.

Kogi regards her curiously. "If that's the case, where did they get the blood? It sounds like you already know, so don't keep us in suspense."

"I have an idea. I just need to confirm something." Shizu looks over at Samia and addresses her with her next comment. "May I ask you something?"

Samia's eyes go wide. "Me?"

Nodding, Shizu says, "I believe that you mentioned that something had gone missing from the infirmary last night, correct?"

"Oh, that?" Frowning, Samia replies, "I told you that I don't remember what it was. I might have just imagined it."

Shizu cringes at Samia downplaying her own account. More confidence would mean a better chance of convincing everyone. "What if I told you what I think it is? Could that help jog your memory?"

"Maybe?" Samia shrugs, looking genuinely upset. "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't even remember where I was looking when I thought that."

"That's fine," Shizu hurries to assure her. "I'm positive that I know what it was. Given all of the facts, there's only one thing that makes sense."

What did the culprit take from the infirmary?

A. Bandages

B. Poison

C. Blood Bags

D. Medical Poster

"Did you happen to notice any of the blood bags missing?" Shizu asks, confident in her answer.

Samia freezes. "Blood… bags?"

Rolling his eyes, Kogi says, "It's the obvious answer. The culprit needs blood? They just go take the blood that's readily available. If only I knew that something had been taken in the first place…"

Morgan smiles as she puts everything into place. "Ah, so I was correct then, just not in the way that I thought. Our killer was copying Kazuha's methods to an extent. Just like her, they used the blood bags to plant fresh blood at the scene of the crime."

"We're not sure of that quite yet," Fumika says, hesitantly. "Samia hasn't confirmed whether or not that's true."

"Does that sound right to you?" Tsubame asks, leaning over gently to look at Samia.

Samia has a hand on her podium, supporting her as she tries to remember. Eventually, she answers. "I don't feel confident saying that it was definitely the blood bags… but, now that you mention it, I'm certain that when I noticed something missing, I was looking in the fridge." She pushes herself upright. "Yeah… It was something in the fridge! I remember now!"

"That's where the blood bags are!" Hachi shouts. "Shizu's gotta be right!"

Flipping her notepad shut, Shizu says, "Like I said, it's the natural conclusion, given all of the information I held."

Soraru puffs out xer chest. "You should all be thanking me, actually. If I hadn't given out my genius idea, Shizu wouldn't have even thought of it at all."

"I dunno. It sounded like you were throwing out random ideas to me," Joshua remarks.

"That just goes to show that my genius is subconscious," xe says. "Sometimes, not even I am aware of my own brilliance. Guess it's all thanks to Big Brother giving me all the great ideas!"

He smirks. "Your subconscious throws out more misfires than hits, dude."

"Better some than none!" Xe points at him with dramatic flair.

Michio raises his voice so that he can be heard over that nonsense. "I don't want to rain on your parade, but I'm not fully sold on your theory just yet. Mind discussing it a bit longer for me?"

"I'm not sure what you're expecting the truth to be if you doubt this," Shizu says, as she pushes her glasses up. "Pal has kindly shut down most of the other ideas, and I believe this is our strongest. But, I suppose that, if this idea cannot withstand scrutiny, then there is little point in believing in it."

"How generous of you to allow someone to doubt you," Samia grumbles. "We can definitely talk about it, Michio. You don't have to ask."

"Sweet." Michio gives a thumbs up to them all. "I'll do my best not to disappoint you all. You'll see why my doubts are reasonable."

Nonstop Debate Start

Michio: The blood in the gym definitely didn't all come from Kaixi, but that doesn't mean that blood bags were used.

Hachi: Huh? Why not?

Michio: You can't just bring blood wherever you want. You've gotta keep it in very specific conditions.

Fumika: Blood needs to be kept cool, or else it will start to dry. That's why it's in a fridge in the infirmary and why Kazuha stored it in the kitchen's fridge when she used it.

Michio: There's nothing that can store blood in the gym, so that's why I'm skeptical about this whole thing.

Joshua: Could they have just splattered the dry blood around?

Morgan: Most of us would be capable of telling the difference between dry blood and Kaixi's fresh blood, I believe.

Sawako: What if the culprit only took out the blood right before they went to meet with Kaixi?

Chouki: I'd have a choice few words with anyone lugging around a bunch of blood bags. He'd notice something was up right away!

Michio: I don't have a solid theory of my own for what happened, but I know enough to say that blood bags weren't used.

Shizu: Michio does have a point, but that doesn't mean he's right. His doubt has helped clarify something for me. That must be the true meaning of that thing…

Cooler

nothing that can store blood in the gym

BREAK

"You would normally be right about there not being a place to store blood in the gym, Michio, but, at the time of the crime, things were different," Shizu tells him.

Michio raises an eyebrow. "Really now? I didn't see anything like that when I was looking around." He pauses to run a hand through his hair, "Though, now that I think about it, I did spend most of my time looking over the body to produce a top-notch autopsy report. I guess it's possible that I missed something."

"To be fair, it wasn't out in the open." Pulling out her notes, Shizu finds the information she's looking for. "However, we did manage to find a cooler in the locker room."

"A cooler, huh?" Clicking his tongue, Michio says, "That'd work, so long as there was ice inside. Cooler's don't just work without something actually cold in there."

"We did find ice in there… as well as a few sports drinks… However…" Pal grimaces as his speech ceases.

Morgan is more than happy to finish his thought. "Did we not find that cooler inside Kaixi's locker? Surely you know what you're implying, right?"

Hachi squeals, recoiling from her podium. "No! You're not saying that… that Kaixi was planning on… on…" Unable to finish her sentence, she falls silent.

"I understand how it sounds," Shizu begins, "but I'm not saying that Kaixi had anything to do with what happened. However, the fact remains that there was a cooler inside his locker at the time of the crime. The ice inside hadn't melted at all, so it can't have been in there for too long."

Michio nods. "Yeah, that'll clear up my problems with your argument. A cooler isn't an ideal long-term storage for blood bags, but it'd be good enough for a few days. Sorry about that, by the way. I just had to make sure."

"No apologies necessary," Shizu denies. "It allowed a good opportunity for me to present the cooler, at the very least."

"Hang on, go back to this not being related to Kaixi. If the cooler was in his locker, then he must have had something to do with it," Joshua argues. "You don't just stuff a cooler in there for no reason."

"W-well, you said it had drinks in it, right? Maybe… he was just using it to store those in case everyone wanted to… spend some time in the gym?" As Hachi says all of this, she becomes less and less convinced by her own weak argument.

Chouki easily counters it. "It takes time to put that stuff together, and it's not going to stay cool forever. Nobody was planning on a gym hangout, so there's no way he was intending to use it for that."

"There was quite a bit of empty space in the cooler," Morgan points out. "It did seem as though something was missing…"

"Again, I'm not suggesting that Kaixi was storing the cooler in his locker for nefarious purposes," Shizu reiterates. "In fact, I don't believe that he placed it there at all. That was most likely the culprit's doing."

Joshua scratches his head. "How'd it get in there then? Only we should be able to open our own lockers."

"That is true, but that is because the lockers open when you scan your room key," Sawako informs them. "So long as the culprit had access to that key, they could open his locker without any troubles."

"And they did have access to it, because we found the key in his backpack," Fumika states.

Pal hums. "It is unlikely… but what if the culprit… did not search his backpack? After all, they may not… have had a reason… to do so."

"That's weak. They'd obviously go through his stuff," Kogi mutters.

"Still… I would like some proof of that… if it exists," Pal insists. "The facts of the case… would change drastically… if Kaixi was the one who stored the blood bags… of his own free will."

Shizu flips through her notes, looking over the evidence she's collected. Eventually, she finds something that, while not conclusive, points to the culprit having a reason to look through Kaixi's backpack.

Kaixi's Camera

"Pal, do you recall the object that you, Morgan, and I found in the locker room?" she asks.

He nods slowly. "That would be… the remains of Kaixi's camera."

"Remains is putting it lightly. I don't think there were any pieces bigger than my thumb left intact," Morgan says.

Shizu gets back on track. "Correct. However, Kaixi normally stores his camera inside his backpack when he's not using it. Instead, we found it smashed on the locker room floor, far away from the rest of the destruction in the gym. That means that, at some point, the camera must have been removed from there."

"When we searched his backpack, I didn't see any broken pieces in any of the pockets," Fumika says. "Are you saying that they removed all of those from there and dumped them in the locker room?"

"That's one possibility," she confirms. "The other is that the camera had been removed from his backpack prior to the fight. In which case, the culprit must have realized that, after attacking him, they had forgotten to put it back inside. That's why they had to destroy it so completely."

Pal's eyes widen with understanding. "They sought… to distract us with the mystery… of why they went through such lengths to make sure… that the camera was no longer functional. We would be less likely to think about… why the remains were not sitting with Kaixi."

"I don't think it matters which version of Shizu's events are true," Michio says. "In the first case, we know that they looked through it. In the second, they'd have to look through it to see if they messed up anything else. Either way, they'd find Kaixi's key."

"I understand now… Thank you for humoring my whims." Pal gives a short bow.

Chouki grips the edge of his stand. "It still doesn't make sense to me. Why would the culprit want to hide anything in Kaixi's locker? That just gives us an opportunity to find it. Why not use their own?"

"It's likely that they had something far more incriminating to hide in their own locker. I don't think there's much space in them," Samia says. That being said, she still has concerns. "That's not my issue with all this. Why wouldn't the culprit take Kaixi's key with them when they left?"

That… is actually a very good point. There's no rule stopping anyone from taking someone else's key card if they so desired. It's such a huge oversight that Shizu can't help but feel stumped. Was there some reason that they couldn't take it?

Morgan frowns. "Hmm… I hadn't thought of that. I believe we may need to reconsider the possibility that Kaixi really did put the cooler into his locker."

Could it have something to do with the lockers? Actually, there was another strange issue regarding the lockers, now that Shizu thinks about it. She tentatively brings it up, not certain in her own line of reasoning. "Perhaps… there was something else that made them not take Kaixi's key. When I was investigating the lockers, I was unable to open mine due to Monokuma's interference. It's possible that something similar could be happening here."

High above them, Monokuma clears his throat. "Well, now that you mention it, there might have been some deliberation at some point… You see, I always run a fair investigation and trial. I have to give all of you a chance to actually solve this little mystery. Otherwise, you'd all stumble at the first hurdle, and that's no fun. So, I figured that, since Kaixi here is the victim, it would only be fair to let you search his locker if you asked."

"Even if we didn't have his key?" Michio presses.

"Of course! I run this place. I can open up whatever I want!" Monokuma shouts.

"Even if that's true, it would still make sense for the culprit to take the key with them," Samia says. "We'd be less likely to think about them managing to get their hands on it."

Shizu narrows her eyes. "It would make sense, unless, of course, they cut a deal with Monokuma. Say, perhaps, they left the key, which they knew wouldn't stop us from investigating the locker, in return for keeping us from looking into any other lockers."

"That sounds like a great deal to me!" Monokuma devolves into a fit of laughter but eventually regains his composure. "But, if you're asking me to confirm whether that's true or not, I'm not gonna do that. There has to be some suspense in this trial!"

Hachi raises both of her fists. "That sounds like you're basically admitting you did it to me."

"The alternative of Kaixi playing a part in all of this sounds less likely to me anyways," Sawako claims. "The culprit must have used blood bags to set up the crime scene. The idea that Kaixi also brought in his own cooler for apparently no reason sounds too convenient to be true."

Rubbing his forehead, Chouki complains, "I should have known the bear had something to do with all of this. He's using loopholes to his own self-imposed rules. Not tampering with the crime scene, huh?"

However, Morgan sighs softly. "I am certainly glad that we were able to clear up all of this mess, but I wonder if this has left us any closer to finding the culprit than when we started."

"I mean, we've done a lot of work, haven't we?" Joshua asks.

Morgan shaking her head. "I'm not disputing that fact. I'm simply questioning whether the work we have done has given us any better idea of who the culprit is." At his continued confused stare, she elaborates. "So far, we have determined Kaixi's killer lured him to the gym, killed him, and continued to bludgeon him long after his death. Then, they dragged him into the shower, took the blood bags out from their cooler, splattered more blood around, and stored the cooler in Kaixi's locker. Finally, they fled from the scene. But does that narrow anything down?"

"Are you kidding me?" Soraru whines. "The only people who couldn't have done it are me and Joshua, but that leaves, like, eleven of you guys to sort through. Why can't any of you actually have good alibis?!"

"Is it true then?" Pal places a hand over his heart. "Do we not have any clues… on who could have done this… despite our lengthy efforts?"

"Our deductions haven't been wasted, if that's what you're implying," Shizu is quick to interject. "It's important to establish all of the facts of the case, not just the ones that point to people."

Soraru shakes a fist in her direction. "That's a lot of words to say that you don't know who did it!"

"What a pain." Kogi stretches his arms as he watches them squabble. "There's an obvious way to find the culprit. You just haven't thought of it yet."

Tsubame tilts her head. "I'm sorry, but it may only be obvious to you. Could you please tell us what you're thinking right now?"

In response, Kogi says in the flattest tone possible, "The motive."

Michio stands stock still. "You mean… the secrets stuff?"

"What other motive is there?" Kogi remarks sarcastically. "The killer clearly wanted to keep their secret from getting out. That's how we'll find them out."

"The motive might be the um… motive," Tsubame says sheepishly, for lack of a better word, "but I'm unsure of how that will lead us to the killer. We don't know whose secret Kaixi had. I very much doubt that person would step forwards now that they've killed him."

Kogi takes a deep breath. "Maybe you don't, but I do."

"What?!" Hachi flails her arms about at his declaration.

On the other hand, Chouki leans towards him and shakes a fist at him. "There's no way that you know! You wouldn't have waited this long to come out with it if you did!"

"Yeah, you tell him, Chouki! Liar!" Soraru agrees.

Gesturing out towards the group, Kogi turns his head away and closes his eyes. "No, I don't know the exact person who did it, but I do know who it is we should be questioning: the people who wanted their secrets to be kept hidden."

Tsubame holds her cheek with her hand. "Wouldn't that be all of us? Each secret was chosen specifically so that we apparently wouldn't want it getting out."

"Speak for yourself. I've got nothing to hide." Soraru holds xer hands on xer hips and puffs out xer chest.

Pal grimaces. "There are obviously topics… that you wish to avoid. There is no point… in telling such paper-thin lies."

"Not everyone is so defensive about their secrets getting leaked," Kogi insists. "I made sure of that myself. And one of those people must have known that Kaixi had their secret."

Michio considers him for a moment. "Hang on. You're not talking about that meeting you held, are you?"

"Um… what meeting are you talking about?" Hachi asks.

Shizu responds with, "Three days ago, Kogi sent out invitations to meet with him in the gym. He asked all of the attendees to share the secret they'd been given with the group, but apparently his real goal was to see who was resistant to the idea of sharing in general, not finding out the secrets themselves."

"Then, when he says that he knows who to suspect…" Fumika grits her teeth.

Kogi nods. "It's everyone who doesn't want their secret getting out."

"Hold on, isn't that a little hasty?" Michio asks, sweat dripping from his face.

"Funny you would say that." Kogi pretends to inspect the backside of his hand as he speaks. "I remember you not wanting to share your secret. Is that why you're so upset."

Michio balks. "That's not… you can't just…"

Kogi doesn't let him finish. "The people who didn't want to share were Michio, Fumika, Samia, Morgan, and Joshua. I also know from watching you all that neither Tsubame or Chouki would want to share their secrets either. That's your list of suspects."

"That's way too sudden to drop this on us!" Samia shouts.

Chouki clenches his fists. "What are you talking about?! I don't care if my secret gets out. Don't put words in my mouth!"

Raising his hand, Joshua asks, "Uh… You don't actually think that it's me, right?"

Soraru grins in Samia's direction. "Huh? Huh? Weren't you all up in Shizu's face a while ago? Why's it not cool when the same thing's happening to you?"

"I also wasn't asked about what I wanted to do with the secrets," Tsubame mumbles. "Wouldn't it be worth it to at least ask me before you make assumptions?"

"Joshua… you will recall… that anyone can be a killer," Pal intones. "You were already suspected heavily… during the previous trial. Feigning ignorance… will not work."

Samia glares back at Soraru. "I had more than one flimsy piece of evidence to back up my theory. You can't compare these situations at all!"

Crossing her arms, Fumika stares at Tsubame. "I can't help but notice that you didn't refute Kogi's accusation. It sounds like he's right on the money about you, but you're hoping nobody would notice if you act all indignant about it."

"Worry not Joshua!" Sawako shouts. "If you truly are innocent, then it will come out in the end. Have faith in our ability to find the truth."

Once again, the courtroom has devolved into a jumbled cacophony of shouts and accusations, none of which are particularly helpful or coherent. Kogi might think that he's onto something here, and there is a chance that he could be. However, his actions have done nothing but rile everyone up into a frenzied panic. Shizu groans. It looks like it's going to be up to her to break up this mess somehow.

Mass Panic Debate Start

(Samia: Just because I don't want to share the secret that I got doesn't mean that I killed Kaixi.)

[Chouki: Leave me out of this! I don't care if my secret gets out or not!]

{Joshua: Come on guys. There's no reason to suspect me at all!}

(Soraru: Huh? Huh? But it does make you suspicious. It means that you don't want your secret getting out.)

[Fumika: That's very easy to say now, when you've just been accused.]

{Pal: Kogi was quite clear… when he laid out his reasoning. You said so yourself… that you did not wish to share.}

[Tsubame: But we didn't have a chance to say it before. Kogi's only guessing about us.]

{Joshua: Y-yeah, well… that's beside the point. I couldn't have done it anyways!}

(Samia: I don't care about my secret. I just don't want to reveal the one that I got. That's not fair to do to someone else.)

{Sawako: Do you mean that you physically couldn't have done it?}

(Morgan: Come now, Samia. There's no reason to lie to us. Most of us are in the same boat as you are.)

[Fumika: If you ask me, you're not doing a good job of hiding how you feel. All that's irrelevant anyways. I disagree about the premise of this argument anyways.]

{Joshua: Exactly! My alibi's airtight! I couldn't have even gone to the gym to kill him.}

[Hachi: Huh? You don't think that Kaixi was killed because of the secrets? Why not?]

(Samia: I'm not lying!)

(Morgan: Your denial only makes you look more suspicious to us. Is your secret truly that terrible?)

{Pal: Are you talking about… whatever you were doing… with Soraru? Is it not possible… that two of you fabricated a story… to make yourself seem innocent?}

[Fumika: The culprit had no way of knowing who had their secret. None of us ended up sharing with anyone.]

[Chouki: Then we're being suspected for no reason? Are you serious?!]

(Michio: Hey, secrets don't have to be terrible for you to not want them to get out. Although, if you're saying that, then that kinda implies that yours is really bad, huh?)

{Sawako: They'd have no motive to do that though. It would only lead to either of their ends. We must consider other possibilities.}

Shizu: It's very difficult to follow each of these arguments. But, with everyone shouting whatever comes into their heads first, there must be a mistake somewhere. I'll just have to focus twice as hard to find it.

Additional Motive

no way of knowing who had their secret

BREAK

When Shizu spots the opening, she can't help but wince. In order to exploit it, she'd have to reveal something that's makes her look very guilty. However, she can't see any other way forward. With a heavy heart, she shouts at the top of her lungs. "LISTEN UP!"

A few people near her stop talking to look at her, but the rest continue to bicker. Shizu groans, but her annoyance quickly turns to panic when she sees that Pal is one of the people who heard her. Remembering what happened last time, she shouts louder to stop him. Luckily, the others near her notice the problem as well and add their voices into the mix. Finally, the courtroom calms down.

Panting lightly, Shizu levels a glare around the room. "Did I not tell you to never let this happen again? How are we supposed to find anything out if none of you able to listen to what others are saying? You'll doom us all."

"Did you stop us simply to give us a lecture?" Morgan asks, using a false-polite tone.

Shaking her head, Shizu moves on to her explanation. "Somehow, I was able to spot a flaw in all of that chaos. Specifically, I would like to address Fumika's point about the culprit's ignorance."

Fumika blinks. "…What about it? I didn't think that what I said was wrong. How would the culprit know if Kaixi had their secret?"

"Two days ago, I was woken up by Monokuma," Shizu explains. "He told me something very interesting. Apparently, for whatever reason, he had decided to tell me the person who had my secret."

Hachi shouts, "W-what?!"

"Oh my…" Bringing a hand over her mouth, Morgan gapes. "Are… are we to take this as your confession?"

"Of course not!" Shizu yells. "I wouldn't be telling you this if I was told that Kaixi had my secret. It's somebody else. The point is that Monokuma could have very well told the culprit as well."

Soraru regards her with suspicion. "Hmm… you say that, but you can't actually prove that anyone else was told, right? Is this a risky gamble to throw suspicion off of yourself?"

"Uh… it's a really bad gamble if that's what it's supposed to be," Joshua points out. "We'd never even have thought of it if she hadn't brought it up."

"The point remains," Morgan says, "that we cannot trust her word alone. I'm certain that Shizu could think of multiple benefits for coming up with such a lie, if that is what she is doing."

Shizu clenches her fists. Why is it that her critical thinking skills are only fully trusted when it's to put her theories into question? "This is ridiculous. Even if I can't prove that anybody else was told, the fact that I was means that it's not out of the realm of possibility."

Shaking her head and shrugging, Morgan replies, "That's a far cry from being substantively true. How do we know that you were even told in the first place?"

To Shizu's immediate right, assistance comes in the unexpected form of Kogi. "I can't prove that she's telling the truth, but I agree with her."

Samia's face is a mixture of guilt and understanding as she speaks. "…So, then, are you saying… you too?"

"Wait, hold on, why do you agree exactly?" Joshua butts in. "Like, I agree too, but usually you have, like, more backing up why you think the things you think."

Kogi stares at the center of the circle of podiums. "Because Monokuma told me too."

The courtroom explodes into noise as everyone tries to shout out their thoughts at the same time.

"T-then… the same thing happened to both of you?" Hachi asks, shivering in place.

Chouki glares at the two of them. "Why didn't you say any of this at the start?!"

"Yeah…" Samia mutters to herself. "I thought you were going to say that."

"How do we know that you're both not lying?" Fumika asks. For some reason, she looks frustrated.

"Why lie about it?" Kogi retorts. "Don't have a reason. It only makes me look worse by saying it. Since you didn't bother to listen when I said it wasn't Shizu, I've got no choice but to reveal it."

Sawako looks determined. "If two of us were told who held their secrets, it cannot be a coincidence. The killer must have known that Kaixi held their secret!"

"No, not just two," Samia admits, shame written across her face. "Monokuma told me who had my secret two days ago before I went to breakfast."

Raising a shaking hand, Tsubame also speaks up, "To be honest, I was told as well. The thought of acting on it never crossed my mind, but I worried that revealing it would only make others avoid me. I'm very sorry."

"Four in total…" Pal counts in shock.

Michio shakes his head. "Nah, it'd be five. Gotta include the culprit in there as well."

"We don't know that for certain," Morgan clarifies. "One of them could be the culprit, attempting to hide their crime under the guise of helpfulness."

Pal doesn't look convinced. "Would they truly speak up… if they had been told that… Kaixi held their secret?"

"For now, let us assume that none of them are guilty," Sawako states. "Should we find that their stories do not match up, then we may start to suspect them. However, if we ignore their words at this point, we may be dismissing valuable evidence."

"Hang on!" Soraru shouts. "How come they got told extra stuff? I didn't get anything at all other than this lousy first secret!"

"That… is a fair point. Could it be that it was all completely random?" Morgan asks.

Kogi scoffs. "Why would Monokuma do that? He could have landed on all duds if it was random."

"Yeah, I get this feeling that there's a pattern or something," Joshua agrees. "Maybe that's just me playing too many video games."

Laughing, Michio says, "Heh… That could be, but I'm getting the same vibe. He only told five people. That's a real odd number to choose if he's going random. Five out of fourteen? No way he just picked that out of thin air."

"Then, there's some kind of connecting thread between all of us…" Tsubame taps a finger on her stand as she thinks out loud. "Does anyone have any ideas on what it could be?"

Shizu drums her fingers along the back of her notepad as she flips through it. She definitely agrees that there's more to this than there initially seems to be, but what could it be? She doesn't know who the culprit is at this stage, so she'll have to extrapolate from the four data points that she does have…

What do Shizu, Kogi, Samia, and Tsubame all have in common that doesn't apply to most of the others?

A. Their rooms are all on the same floor.

B. They all agreed about what to do with their secrets.

C. They're all immigrants to Japan.

D. They all had no preference for the next movie night.

E. Nothing.

She slams her fist into her podium, startling Sawako beside her. "Damn it! I can't think of anything at all. Nothing's coming up, especially not anything recent…"

Hachi tentatively speaks up. "Then, maybe there really isn't a connection after all. It could be that the four of you just got picked randomly."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Shizu argues. "Monokuma told me himself that he made sure nobody got their own secrets. Why would he curate that but leave this part up to chance, when this is far more likely to put someone in the position to murder?"

Sawako gives her a look of pity. "I understand your frustration, but perhaps you should take a step back and breathe."

"I'm fine," Shizu dismisses her.

"Please do not lie to yourself," Sawako urges. "If you cannot think clearly, you will only be hurting yourself."

"Also all of us, because we'll follow your logic off the cliff and get executed," Soraru chimes in, about as helpful as ever.

Reluctantly, Shizu closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She can still feel her blood simmering, so she repeats this process a few more times. When she finally opens her eyes again, she's less furious with herself but still just as lost. "It's no good. I still can't think of anything."

"Well, uh… you could be thinking about this all wrong," Joshua says.

Shizu judges him curiously. "How so?"

Having been put on the spot, Joshua looks less sure of himself but speaks nonetheless. "It's just… I don't really get why we're focusing on who was told. I'm more interested in who was given up, y'know. Like, the people who you were told had your secrets."

She pauses to consider this. "That… would make a modicum of sense. After all, it could be a punishment for something if that were the case… I had been so focused on myself that I hadn't considered it."

Chouki rolls his eyes. "We're still in trouble if that's the case. None of them told us who had their secrets when they confessed. Why'd they do that now?"

"Aw, I'm sure we could persuade them if we asked nicely," Michio offers.

Fumika says quietly, "These are their deepest, darkest secrets. I doubt they would even consider-"

"Shizu has mine," Kogi admits offhand.

"…What?" Shizu balks at his cavalier attitude.

"Were you listening at all?" he growls. "I said that you have my secret."

She fumbles to find the right words. "But that… you…"

This can't be right. That would mean that Kogi was responsible for… for the Ultimate Protests, but there's no way that's the truth. She certainly would have been aware of an Ultimate being so influential in all of that starting up, especially if that person was literally the Ultimate Protestor. There is no way she could have been ignorant of that fact. Not with how involved she was herself… Besides…

"I don't understand…" she eventually says. "That can't be… Especially because Monokuma told me that you have my secret too."

This admission actually gets a look of intrigue on Kogi's face. "Huh… Then, you were… That's not what I expected, but I guess it makes sense. Figured you were a bit too much of a straight-edge for that, but I guess it makes sense since you hate Sawako."

Shizu is unable to avoid glancing over at Sawako. Sawako's face betrays no emotion, but, when she sees Shizu looking over at her, she gives a small smile in return. Shizu quickly glances away, distracting herself with another thought. Kogi didn't seem bothered by knowing what her secret was… It must be something illegal, given his choice of words, but what could it be?

She's thrown from her thoughts when Hachi speaks up. "Ooh! If you have each other's, then maybe Samia and Tsubame have each other's too."

"Yeah, then that'd mean that Kaixi and his killer would be a pair as well," Joshua extrapolates.

Samia frowns. "No, that can't be it. You see… um…" She takes a deep breath before admitting, "Pal has my secret. Or, at least, that's what Monokuma told me."

Pal's eyes widen. "Oh dear… that would mean… you were… Oh…"

"Yeah," Samia grunts, clasping her forearm nervously.

"I… see…" Blinking a few times, Pal snaps himself out of his thoughts. "We might wish… to discuss this at a later date… For now… it appears the pairing theory cannot be confirmed."

"We'll have a better idea once Tsubame tells us the person that has her secret," Shizu says.

However, Tsubame looks nervous, tugging on her braid as all eyes turn to her. "Oh… um…"

"Tsubame?" Hachi gulps. "Aren'tcha gonna tell us?"

"W-well…" Tsubame mumbles. "It's a secret for a reason. If possible, I… I wish to keep it that way."

Chouki groans. "Even if it kills you and everyone else here? Figures… Basic human nature on display right here. Selfish to the very end."

"It's not like that," Tsubame tries to defend herself.

Soraru hops up and down. "Huh? Huh? Then why aren't you telling us? Come on… out with it already! I wanna know!"

Samia has a much gentler approach. "Tsubame, please give us a chance. The rest of us have already outed ourselves. I know that my secret… well, it puts me in a really bad light. I know for a fact that, whatever secret you have, it won't change our opinion of you. We're all your friends here."

"You say that but…" Tsubame gives a deep sigh. "No, I suppose this was inevitable from the moment this motive was given. I would really much prefer not to say this." She gives one last hopeful look around the circle, only to be left disappointed. "The person who has my secret… It's Soraru."

Collective understanding passes through every face. Morgan tuts. "Oh, so that's it then. That must be why you were so much more hesitant."

Soraru pulls a confused face. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're the person this thing's talking about?" Xe pulls a folded-up piece of paper from xer pocket. "Seriously, you?! No way! I totally thought this was Joshua's!"

Joshua flinches. "H-hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"It seems like a thing you'd do," xe reasons. "You know, you'd be all, 'I swear I had no idea that they were like that, but I guess I gotta just keep at it?' That kind of thing."

"Uh… I think I'm going to need more context," he replies sheepishly.

"No, that's fine!" Tsubame urges, throwing both of her hands out in front of her. "You don't need to talk about it any further. Please."

"You sure? I think it'd be fun to talk all about-" Before Soraru can finish, Michio reaches over and covers xer mouth. He shivers when xe presumably licks his hand, but he remains firm.

Morgan crosses her arms. "In that case, we are left with Shizu, Kogi, Pal, and Soraru. Is there a connection between those four?"

"Don't forget Kaixi!" Hachi adds. "Remember, the culprit probably was told too."

A connection between the five of them… Shizu's eyes light up. There is something that has to do with all of them after all! And it's related to that piece of evidence.

Kogi's Secret Meeting

"Kogi, you remember how everyone voted during your meeting, correct?" Shizu asks.

Nodding, he says, "That's what I was thinking. Out of everyone there, Pal, Soraru, Kaixi, you, and myself all wanted to share the secrets."

"Oh man! Monokuma totally took that as trying to wiggle past his motive!" Soraru laughs. "That's so lame! He tried to make us targets because we weren't falling for his trap."

"If everything lines up so perfectly, it can't be a coincidence," Michio surmises. "The culprit must have known that Kaixi had their secret, and that's why they planned on killing him!"

"If their secret was… truly terrible, it may explain… why they were so violent with him. They could not stand… even a dead man… knowing what skeletons they hid," Pal suggests.

"Now that we're certain of this, perhaps we should consider the secret in Kaixi's backpack," Sawako says. "It may be a helpful clue in determining who the killer is."

"What did it say?" Hachi asks.

Shizu consults her notes. "I believe the phrasing was 'Someone copes with their health issues by obsessing over a cartoon character', if I wrote it down correctly."

"W-what?!" Hachi shrieks.

"That's what I remember it saying as well," Sawako agrees.

Joshua frowns. "Uh… not to be that guy, but that doesn't sound right to me."

"It's not just you," Samia agrees. "That's… seriously nothing like I was expecting.

Hachi vehemently shows her support. "Y-yeah! There's, like, no way that has anything to do with Kaixi's murder. Nope! Nuh-uh!"

"But it was found on his body, right?" Fumika says.

"Well, that just means…" Hachi stumbles over her words. "We must be on the wrong track after all!"

Chouki gives her an unimpressed glare. "Are you serious right now?"

Smiling, Morgan decrees, "It sounds as if we should talk this over a little bit longer. Once we get everyone on the same page, all will be revealed."

Honestly, Shizu doesn't think that this secret is really what killed Kaixi. It may be her lack of vengeful imagination, but it seems very unlikely that person who has this secret was the one who killed him. There's also… the obvious elephant in the room, but perhaps it's best if everyone pretends that they don't notice it.

Nonstop Debate Start

Kogi: Kaixi was murdered because of the secret he was given. No two ways about it.

Tsubame: The culprit knew that he had their secret, because Monokuma told them.

Morgan: However, I find it peculiar that the secret that we found was so tame.

Chouki: Humans kill for all sorts of dumb reasons. Obviously, this must have been enough to get him murdered.

Hachi: N-no way! That can't possibly be right!

Chouki: Why not? We've already gone over this!

Hachi: W-well… um… Oh! If it was the culprit's secret, then um… then why didn't they take it with them?

Pal: Did they wish… to throw us off their scent… by leaving behind a seemingly innocent secret?

Tsubame: Maybe they did take it and replaced it with the secret they had been given to throw suspicion towards another.

Joshua: But then they'd be breaking the rules, right? You can't ditch your secret anywhere, so they couldn't have left it on Kaixi's body.

Fumika: So, it's impossible for that to be someone else's secret.

Hachi: Wait! Let's think about this some more! Please!

Shizu: Ah, there's the answer. It's a fairly simple gambit, but effective for causing confusion nonetheless. But it looks like I'll have to clear up that misconception first.

Rules

couldn't have left it on Kaixi's body

BREAK

Raising her hand, Shizu calls upon Joshua. "Hold on one moment, Joshua. I believe that you've misinterpreted the rules."

"Aw man, again?" Joshua whines. "I thought I had them down this time… Weren't we supposed to keep the secrets on us at all times or something?"

"That's close, but I believe the wording was that 'secrets must be kept on person', not necessarily ourselves," Shizu explains. "So long as they were on someone's person, the rules would be maintained."

Soraru does finger guns. "That's how I was thinking about it, too. There's gotta be exceptions if someone wanted to steal someone else's secret. It's the most obvious thing to think about doing."

"You say that like you were planning on stealing someone's secret," Samia accuses.

Xe shrugs. "Meh, not really. That'd just get me killed or something. But it's the obvious loophole, right?"

"Now that I'm thinking about it more, yeah, honestly," Joshua admits, pulling his beanie down over his eyes. "Dang, it sounds like I've really gotta pay more attention to these loopholes. I'm, like, the only one making these mistakes."

"Actually," Michio interrupts, "I wanna clarify something before we get too far. I'm all for Shizu's idea, but Monokuma's proven himself to be a disgusting person."

Monokuma calls down to him, "I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but don't call me a person. I'm clearly a bear!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, bear." Brushing him off, Michio continues, "My point is that I'm not sure if Kaixi would count as a person in this situation. By all technicalities, he's a corpse. Again, I'm not trying to dehumanize him, but we gotta think like Monokuma."

"Monouma should tell us. Is… is a corpse a person in the eyes of the rules?" Sawako looks sick for even having considered it.

"Wow, I can't believe that you're already thinking so poorly of your dearly departed friend," Monokuma cackles. "Then again, one of you did kill him, so you can't have cared all that much about him."

Pal brandishes his sharpened nails as he glares up at the bear. "Enough of your attempts at banter. You will… answer our question… posthaste."

Throwing up a paw right back, Monkuma yells, "Fine! Geez! Everyone here counts as a person for that rule, even after they're dead. I don't know why you're getting upset with me. I never even implied anything like that. You're all way sicker than you want to admit!"

Michio raises both of his hands in surrender. "Alright, good to know. Sorry I brought that up. Just had to be sure about these kinds of things."

"It's fine. I'm sure no one is blaming you for being cautious," Tsubame reassures him. "It's better that we cover every possibility before we make any assumptions."

"S-so, we're all agreeing with Shizu, right?" Hachi asks as she shivers in place.

Kogi nods. "Makes the most sense to me. The motive for the crime was to keep their secret from getting out. No sense in leaving it behind after they killed the guy."

"Good…" Hachi sighs before perking back up again. "I mean, I'm glad that we've figured that out now. We don't have to keep discussing it anymore."

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Shizu says, "Correct. Now that we've agreed that this wasn't Kaixi's secret, we can begin to discuss-"

"I've seen past your 'truth'!"

Shizu coughs as Fumika interjects. "Excuse me, what are you talking about?" she demands.

Fumika stares directly into her eyes. "It's too soon to follow your line of thinking. You're falling right into the culprit's trap. Your 'truth' will only lead us astray."

"How on Earth did you come to that conclusion? I've backed up everything I've claimed with evidence. There's no reason to doubt this, especially not at this juncture," Shizu claims.

"If you'll let me talk, I'd be happy to explain why," Fumika responds, still keeping her eyes locked with Shizu's. "Pay close attention, and you'll understand where I'm coming from."

This is such a strange objection. Shizu can feel her hands tensing up as she prepares to here Fumika's reasoning. She may be imagining things, but it almost feels like there's something… desperate about her pushiness. But now's not the time to focus on that. If she lets Fumika's argument go unchallenged, all of their work will have been for nothing.

Rebuttal Showdown Start

Fumika: I'll admit that Monokuma told several people about who held their secrets.

Fumika: However, I don't believe that has any bearing on this case.

Fumika: The culprit didn't need to know who they held their secret in order to commit their crime.

Fumika: So long as they killed one person, they would ensure that their secret would remain hidden after they completed the class trial.

Fumika: Kaixi was targeted because they thought he would be easy to kill, not because of whose secret he held.

Fumika: That's merely an assumption you've all made, one that the true culprit is taking advantage of.

Advance

Shizu: If that were truly the case, then why would they leave the secret in Kaixi's backpack?

Shizu: To complete their ruse, it would have made more sense to take it with them rather than to swap it out with their own.

Shizu: That way, it would appear that the specific secret Kaixi held was an important piece of the puzzle.

Shizu: No, it makes much more sense that the killer swapped his with theirs, in order to keep their secret hidden when we investigated.

Fumika: Again, the specific secret didn't matter to the culprit.

Fumika: It's likely that they simply paid Kaixi's secret no heed after they killed him.

Fumika: They had no reason to care much either way, since their end goal would have all of us slaughtered.

Fumika: Besides, there's no evidence that Kaixi's secret was swapped out.

Fumika: That's merely an assumption you've made based off of what Monokuma told you.

Fumika: The fact that another person was told that Kaixi held their secret is a coincidence.

Fumika: They haven't spoken up now out of fear that they'd be suspected.

Shizu: She's dismissing my argument like it's nothing. We already know that the culprit searched Kaixi's backpack. They must have seen the secret. Therefore, there's no way it didn't factor into their plans. Think… Was there anything else that can prove that I'm right?

Meeting Note

no evidence that Kaixi's secret was swapped out

BREAK

"No evidence, you say?" Shizu smirks as she adjusts her glasses. "Funny you would say that, given that we rummaged through Kaixi's backpack together."

"I could say that same thing to you," Fumika spits back. "I don't recall seeing anything in that backpack that indicated that the secrets were swapped out."

"I thought it was quite obvious in retrospect. You should think the same." Shizu points towards her. "After all, you were the one who uncovered it for us."

Fumika flinches. "What?"

Tilting her head and scratching her chin, Sawako says, "I believe that Fumika was the one who removed the remains of the meeting note from Kaixi's backpack for us. Is that what you're referring to, Shizu?"

"That's exactly it, and you've already made my point for me." Shizu clears her throat. "When we searched through Kaixi's backpack, we had to be careful with the meeting note because it had been completely soaked through. In the end, it was still barely legible."

"Well, of course. It was in his backpack when the culprit put him in the shower," Michio points out. "It's only natural that it'd get wet."

Pal frowns. "You said that… the meeting note… was difficult to read due to the water damage?"

"That's how water works, dude," Soraru chides him. "I thought you were a water specialist or something. Shouldn't you know stuff like that?"

"Oceanographer," he corrects xem. "And that is ignoring… the crux of the issue… Did you not say… that you also found Kaixi's secret… inside his backpack?"

"We did," Shizu confirms.

Samia snaps her fingers. "Hold on. You were very clear on what that secret said. It sounds almost as if you had no trouble reading it."

"Oh!" Sawako gasps. "There wasn't any evidence of water damage on the secret in Kaixi's backpack! That's what Shizu meant!"

"It's strange that both pieces of paper wouldn't have been similarly soaked," Shizu says. "It's even more surprising that the secret, which was in the very front pocket, wouldn't have been showered with water. At most, it was slightly damp."

"The only way that could happen is if they put that secret into his backpack after they finished rinsing him off." Kogi snorts. "But they forgot to rinse down their secret when they stored it in his bag. Talk about a rookie mistake."

"They could have been in a super rush to get out before they were caught," Hachi reasons. "They might not have had time to check."

Chouki raises an eyebrow. "They would've noticed when they stole his secret. They sure as hell didn't swipe it before dragging him into the shower. Otherwise, they would've done the swap then."

"So, we're all in agreement then," Morgan states. "The culprit's foolish mistake has revealed their true motives. Someone in this room currently holds their own secret, a secret they believed was important enough to commit murder over."

"Correct," Shizu reaffirms her. "We can begin narrowing down our suspects at this point."

"Wait, really? How'd you figure that?" Joshua marvels at her.

Shizu raises her index finger. "To do uncover the truth, I will require all of you to take out your secrets. Don't think about claiming that you don't have them. We've already been over that rule."

"Whoa, time out." Michio hastens to speak before anyone does anything. "Didn't we already agree that we shouldn't reveal them? I'm not so comfortable with that idea."

"I am in agreement," Morgan says. "I know that you may have been comfortable outing your own secrets to at least one person, but that does not mean that it is the same for the rest of us. You must also consider that you're asking us to tell everyone."

Joshua nods rapidly. "Yeah, there's gotta be a better way."

"Oh, for the love of… That's not my intention at all." Shizu rubs her temples and groans. "I don't need to see what's written on them. I only need to see the paper itself."

"What for?" Samia asks, not hostile for once but merely curious.

"I believe that Chouki made a good point earlier," Shizu explains. "The culprit must have retrieved Kaixi's secret at the same time that they left their own. Since the secret was dry, that means it happened after his body was washed off."

"That means that someone here's hiding the water damage on their secret," Chouki finishes for her.

"Wow, you actually did it, Chouki," Soraru cheers. "I didn't expect that from you at all!"

"…Just leave the compliment without the backhand next time," he grumbles.

Sawako bites her lip. "I agree in theory, but I do not think we can accuse anyone simply based on the presence of water damage on their secret. It is very possible that several of us have gotten water on our secrets by accident."

"That's why I said that this could narrow down the list of suspects, not single one person out," Shizu corrects her. "I have no intention of declaring one person guilty over a possible accident."

"I see… Very well, I am in agreement with you." Sawako salutes, then reaches down into one of her pockets. "As a sign of good faith, I shall show you all my secret first."

"That won't be necessary."

Sawako freezes. "Pardon?"

"I said that it won't be necessary. Nobody has to show anyone their secrets."

"…And why would that be?" Shizu asks, looking over to the person who just spoke with apprehension.

"Because I'm the one who swapped secrets with Kaixi."

Ultimate Trial Suspended

A/N: And there's the first part of the trial. There's a bit of jumping around in topics, and I'm still not confident in my abilities, but I hope that it's enjoyable nonetheless. There's still quite a few mysteries around, and I hope that they won't seem too sudden when they're revealed. Also, uh... I suppose there's not much point in hiding who the person was at the end, since you'll know by next chapter, but hey, it might be fun to see if you know who they are. In any case, thank you again to everyone who's following along with the story. Please take care of yourselves.