Chapter 1-5
Accusation Banter Commences
LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!
Monokuma cleared his throat, piercing the tense silence that had settled in. "Now then, everyone, allow me to give you a brief description of the town trial. We have a Deviant Tourist amid our guests! You all need to work together to find out who is the Deviant Tourist, and if you do…
"I will subject the Deviant Tourist to an execution, where they will be tested to see if they are truly worthy of being a citizen of Penjar! It will be amazing to watch, such extreme entertainment!
"However! If you vote for the wrong person, everyone besides the Deviant Tourist dies! And they will get all the rewards for it!
"During this trial, I will be in charge of how the debate flows, and my Kubs and I will also be answering some questions from you all, just keep in mind, we cannot answer all questions. Got it? Cool, okay!
"Let the first Town Trial commence! Upupupupu~"
The twenty-seven graduates exchanged glances, taking all of this in. They didn't say anything at first, trying to cope with the overwhelming tension and worry.
"Alright then," Crystal spoke up first, standing at attention and wearing a strong, determined expression, "I believe we should start to discuss the murder. If I may, we should first talk about-"
"IT WAS THE GORGONS!" Odelios shouted, waving his hands in the air. "There's a gorgon in the city, and it turned my buddy Takeo to stone!"
"It was a gorgon?!" Fiora declared, gripping her podium in terror. "Oh no, oh no no no, that's not good for any of us!"
"Wait, you mean there's an actual gorgon," Hikari asked, tilting her head to the side, "or you mean one of us is a gorgon?"
"Either is possible at this point," Futaba remarked, correcting her glasses. "We truly cannot rule it out at this point, considering the madness going on in the world."
"Twas the gorgons then!" Fiora screamed, hiding behind her podium now. "Don't look anyone in the eyes!"
"Holy fuck," Aka swore, "I didn't know there were monsters here too! This place is insane!"
Crystal was face-palming so hard, her breath was a hissing noise through her nose. Saiko appeared to be ready to blood a gasket. Emanuel unscrewed his flask, and took a swing.
"Everyone, calm down," Isaac called out. "Please, we mustn't-"
"We've got bigger problems now," Odelios declared, holding up a hand mirror in front of him with the glass facing away, "than the bears!"
"Um, everyone," Drake started to stammer. "P-please… we need to focus…"
With several members of the group shouting in fear, worry, and wonder, it was difficult to get a point across. The only thing the graduates could do would be to join in, and try to find an opening to get the facts in.
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"It was a gorgon that did it," Odelios hollered. "Gorgons killed Takeo, they must have!"
"That's why he was a statue, right?" Fiora agreed, keeping her eyes staring at the floor. "That's what gorgons do, they petrify people!"
"Oh, was that why he had cuts in his chest and back?" Yejoon remarked casually, staring up at one of the gorgon statues with a wry smile. "They do have some nasty nails on them."
"Um, guys?" Drake whimpered, glancing at the rather incensed Saiko.
"It has to be a gorgon!" Odelios went on. "Why else would the trial room have a whole bunch of gorgon statues and be made out of stone? Monokuma knew they would be there a gorgon, that's why!"
"Wait wait wait," Hikari spoke up, "I thought the gorgon theory was that one of us is a gorgon, not that there was one in town? Surely, we would have seen it previously…"
"That's possible, with the New Talent Motive," Anzu remarked, nervously biting her lip.
"G-guys?"
"Wait, so that is what happened?" Aka asked. "One of us was given gorgon powers, and they petrified Takeo?"
"Given mythological creatures' powers and being forced into a Killing Game?" Fiora remarked, tapping her temple. "Ooo, I like that, it sounds like a great idea for a movie!"
"Guys… guys… Saiko knows w-what happened…"
"We solved the first part of the case then!" Odelios proudly announced. "We have a gorgon in the mists in our midst!"
"No, that's wrong," Ishiku shouted, "that's super-duper really, really incredibly wrong!"
Everyone glanced over at Ishiku, who was flailing his arms around to get the attention of the others. When he had it, he spoke more calmly. "Look, people, I can guarantee you all that Takeo was not turned to stone. He was murdered by a person. There is a pile of innards in the backroom of the taxidermy shop that used to be his."
"Ugh," Angelique groaned, "that's horrid!"
"Look, he wasn't turned into a statue or petrified or anything like that, and I'm not the only one who can attest to that," the magician continued. "I think Saiko could tell us much more."
The forensic investigator had the visage of someone who would rather stand at the wrong end of a shooting gallery than cooperate. "Oh? Are we going back to reality now?" she snapped.
"Saiko, please just tell them," Drake pleaded. "They'll listen to you."
"Fine, fine," Saiko remarked, throwing her hands up in defeat before continuing. "Listen everyone, because I refuse to repeat myself, nor will I listen to any more ridiculous theories about gorgons.
"Takeo was killed by a series of stabbings to his chest and back, though I do not know if the death was shock or blood loss. His spine was possibly stabbed, and it may be possible that his heart was penetrated, but I do not officially know.
"The stitching on his chest, as well as on his legs and arms, implies someone skinned him in these particular areas, and what was there is now on the floor of the taxidermy work room. He had stuffing, namely cotton and straw, pushed into his body."
Saiko paused for a moment, several of the graduates were starting to look green in the face. She waited a second, and carried on. "His head, hands, and feet were not stuffed, and I believe that is because those would be the most difficult to do. I have no idea how good of a job was done on the parts that were worked on, but it seemed like someone knew what they were doing. Also, his mouth was glued shut."
"I have been thinking about that," Yejoon said, raising his hand, "and I believe that the reason for that must be an improv way to ensure his mouth didn't hang open when posed standing up."
"Wait, what?" Fiora shouted, still wide-eyed. "You mean to tell me that someone wanted this to be stylish?"
"More than likely, my dear Fiora."
"Great googly moogly, that's revolting!"
"If I may," Saiko growled, glaring daggers at Fiora, "I do not have time of death, nor exact cause for this. The Kubs didn't help us with this either."
"Hey now," Monotaro protested. "You didn't ask some of us for information!"
"Fine then, what's the time of death for Takeo?"
"… We cannot say."
Emanuel let out an audible sigh of disgust. "Well then, what a great big waste of time that was. All that effort to prove that a snake monster didn't kill Takeo. Let's move on to something more important."
"Do you have a suggestion?" Shuuya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, that would be when he died. If Saiko or the Kubs won't tell us, then we need to narrow it down. Think you collective screw heads can accomplish that?"
Odelios held up a rubber chicken, stared into its eyes, then back at the other graduates. "We're ready!"
"Very well then, if that's our course of action," Crystal remarked.
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"So if we're going to find out when Takeo was killed," Kimiko said, "do we know when he was seen last?"
"Takeo helped Odelios and I," Pyrrha said, "with dinner. We were cleaned up a little after 10 PM."
"Did anyone else see him after that?" Souma asked.
No one responded for a while, silently admitting the sad truth that no one could recall.
"At the very most," Hara spoke up, "everyone gets up at 9:30 AM. Though there are others, including me, who get up a little earlier."
"The killer would have to set Takeo up before 9 AM, I would guess," Isaac said. "But do we have any idea when he could have been killed?"
"…" Odelios stared down his rubber chicken, then turned back to the graduates. "Rubarrow says no."
"It couldn't have been too late into the morning," Yitro mentioned. "I mean, the killer had to spend some time… preparing him."
"Do we have any notion at all," Eisei asked, "when Takeo was outside?"
"I got it," Shinobu declared, raising an important item into the air.
"This note was found in Takeo's spare pair of boots," Futaba said, "when we were investigating his room."
She read it out loud, emphasizing on the points of time and place. "1 AM, behind Town Hall. That would be when Takeo was outside, and was killed!"
Blake crossed his arms as he puzzled over this. "That's one odd place to meet someone, why would he ever agree to that?"
"In case you hadn't noticed," Samson remarked, "Takeo listened to any orders given to him. So if he was told to do that, he would do it. That's what happens when you are trained as a hardcore mercenary who his superiors want to do whatever it is they want from him."
"Do we have any proof," Pyrrha asked, "that he could have been killed there?"
"Yes!" Aka shouted, loud enough to startle a lot of them. "I found a pool of blood back there! It was a whole lot, there's no way he could have survived that!"
This crucial combination of information sank into everyone, even the slightly thick headed ones. Crystal hummed in thought, her eyes shining as clues fell into place for her to strategize.
"So we have the time and place," she remarked, "but there are still some big questions we need to answer."
"Like what?" Blake asked, watching her work.
"There are a few questions I have about the method of murder. What was used, and how they were able to kill him, of all people… Saiko, do you have any idea on the murder weapon?"
"Not really," Saiko admitted, "except it was a blade that was shorter in width than a military combat blade, though wider than, say, a butterknife."
"How about a pointed stick?" Odelios asked.
"Shut up," Emanuel replied.
"Let's discuss the method of murder for a little bit," Crystal advised. "I think we could learn a bit more about the case if we do…"
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"So do we have any idea," the military adviser continued to speak, "what Takeo was killed with? Did anyone find something suspicious?"
"Nothing in his room," Souma remarked, "or the other rooms we investigated."
"Hikari and I investigated both the café and the cafeteria," Futaba remarked. "Nothing appeared missing, or was bloodstained."
"Was there anything in the taxidermy work room?" Ken inquired.
"Or something in the antique shop?" asked Drake.
"Or was it," Odelios added, "a pointed stick?"
"Shut up!" ordered Emanuel.
"I don't know if this is going anywhere," Souma admitted.
Crystal let out a long sigh, and rubbed her forehead. "If we don't know what killed him, then do we have any idea how he could have been killed?"
"Takeo was the Ultimate Mercenary," Samson declared. "There's no way he was taken down so easily!"
"He's still mortal," Yejoon remarked, "like any one of us."
"What if he was shot?" asked Jin.
"What if someone managed to sneak up on him?" Anzu said.
"No, that's ridiculous," Samson spoke up again. "Takeo would have heard someone sneaking up on him, he's trained for that sort of thing!"
"I agree with you," Fiora declared, pointing at Anzu, "you've got a great idea!"
"Guess what, everyone," Fiora continued, smiling brightly. "A few of us made a very big discovery, and it can turn this case around!"
"What are you going on about?" Saiko mumbled.
"Actually, Saiko, this is rather crucial," Hara remarked. "You see, Fiora found out along with Isaac and I that sound doesn't travel well in Penjar. There's something dampening sound at a really high level."
"What do you mean?" the investigator inquired, though not as harsh as she used to be, as she stared at Hara.
"Well, see, we spent some time trying to yell at each other, and none of us could hear each other if we weren't within visible range of each other. It was pretty intense, like I couldn't hear Isaac if he was about twenty-five feet from me."
"And footfalls were next to soundless," Isaac explained. "Whatever is going on with the mists in this town, it's muffling sound."
"Are you all serious right now?" Yitro asked, raising a dubious eyebrow. "You really are saying that the mist is dampening sound?"
"You remember how I had a megaphone when I approached you all in front of Town Hall?" Fiora said, her grin still wide. "I screamed in it at you all when we were close. And yet when I walked up, none of you, not one, appeared to have heard it."
"She really did," Hara remarked, wincing slightly from the memory. "She does everything with gusto."
While everyone was contemplating this, Crystal hummed aloud in her chain of thought. "It's rather hard to take in," she admitted, "but-"
"But nothing," Emanuel declared, slamming his fist on his podium. "Sound-dampening mists!? That's absurd! And we've heard noises across Penjar all the time we were here!"
"Then it must have happened last night," Isaac reasoned, "maybe it was something that Monokuma did?"
"Oh, you mean my little trick?" Monokuma remarked. "Hehe, I am so glad someone noticed, but yes. I did make the mists a little bit thick in that way, starting right when the motive started!"
"He admits it," Ishiku declared.
"Oh fuck right off with that," Emanuel snarled. He pointed at Ishiku, who was on his left, and added, "Monokuma can say whatever he wants, but he and everyone behind this is a lying, sadistic bastard. There is no trick to the mists, that isn't a thing.
"And even if it was, how do we know we can trust those two? For all we know, Hara and Isaac are in on this together!"
"Excuse me?!" Isaac shouted. "You're saying one of us killed Takeo, knowing that the other will die if the murder succeeds?"
"Hey, what about me?" Fiora spoke up, waving at Emanuel who was on her left. "I was part of the team-"
"I don't trust anyone," Emanuel said, "who doesn't have a concrete alibi. Thus we can just disregard Isaac and Hara's so-called findings, until they can be verified."
"I was the one," Fiora tried to speak again, "who found out about this first-"
"Someone who has a smidgen," the Bête Noir snapped, "of competence!"
Eisei rolled his lollipop around in his mouth, and let out a soft sigh. "As much as I don't want to be a devil's advocate right now, we do have to take into consideration that this murder was heinous and vicious, worthy of Vlad the Impaler's sadism. Whoever did this could be suffering from Despair, so we cannot just trust feelings or words."
Isaac took a deep breath, then pulled on his beanie. He clicked his tongue, glanced at Hara (who gave him an encouraging smile), and he started to think.
"Okay, is there anything at all," he was quickly pondering mentally, "that can prove Hara and I are trustworthy? We don't have a solid alibi for the time of the crime, but what if…
"… Wait. There's one other thing that can prove innocence in a Killing Game, isn't there? Because there's always been something that every Killing Game had, and… this one did too!"
"Hold it, stop the presses," he shouted, clapping his hands together. "The Body Discovery Announcement! We forgot all about that!"
"You mean the rule that was in the other Killing Games?" Shuuya inquired. "If memory serves, Monokuma would only make that announcement after three people discovered the body."
"Hey, Monokubs," Isaac turned towards the Kubs, smiling at them for the first time ever, "this game still follows the Killing Game rules with the Body Discovery Announcement?"
"Yes, it does," Monotaro said.
"We're no second-rate spin-off," Monokid added.
"So in this case," Isaac continued, "is the killer part of the three who discovered the body?"
"NO," Monodam replied.
The reporter clapped his hands and laughed triumphantly. "Ha! The Body Discovery Announcement played when Ignatia, Hara, and myself found it. Therefore, the three of us are innocent!"
"What a relief," Hara said with an appreciative smile towards her fiancée. Ignatia mimicked whipping her brow.
"That is," Emanuel remarked, glaring at Isaac, "if you three truly were the ones to see his body."
Isaac shrugged, and asked aloud, "Did anyone see Takeo's body before 9:30? Because that's when the three of us found him."
There was silence amid the members of the trial, and then the reporter let out a sigh of relief. "Well then, I think that verifies-"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I may have seen him there."
Souma spoke when nervously rubbing the back of his head. "When I was getting ready in the morning, I looked out my blinds to see if anyone was there; I was still a little bit paranoid of the motive and what it could bring to us…
"So when I did, I saw a figure standing at the edge of the plaza. I thought it was a bit odd, but I didn't think it was that bad… until I found out it was Takeo's body."
"Wait, what time did you wake up?" Isaac asked.
"9 AM, I am afraid. My apologies, Isaac."
"What… you… you apologize?" the reporter stammered, incredulous and losing his temper. "Why did you even say anything?"
"I cannot lie over stuff like this! What if I didn't say anything, but the killer was one of you three?"
Isaac leaned against his podium, squeezing it until his knuckles turned white. "Goddamnit! Well, where does that leave us?"
Emanuel let out a loud scoff, and took a swig from his flask. "Absolutely nowhere, since we don't know what was used to kill Takeo, or how someone managed to kill him, of all people. We wasted a whole bunch of time, since it cannot be verified that the mist really does muzzle sound like you claim it does."
"Hey wait a minute!" Isaac declared, head looking up again. "When I found Takeo's body, I… I screamed. And I know a lot of you arrived shortly, before Hara took me to the café. Did any of you hear me?"
"Isaac, please."
Saiko spoke up, rubbing her hands together. "You know I value the friendship I have with you and Hara, but… this is really out of left field. Now I don't believe either of you did this for a minute, but even if the mists are dampening sound, what does that prove?"
"She has a point," Jin remarked, glancing up from her pink nails. "Couldn't anyone just shank him good?"
"I'm still going to have to protest to that," Samson declared. "Takeo's training was amazing, he and I had a few conversations about the things he had to do, and even tested each other's reaction skills. He was incredible."
"That really does concern me," Souma remarked. "I know of his abilities too. That's why we cannot just assume anyone could have killed him. Unless they were an exceptional fighter… or is already naturally silent and possibly deadly?"
He glanced over at Ignatia, who noticed this and glared at him. As everyone pondered over this, Ken spoke up. "Maybe we should debate this further?"
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"So could Takeo be killed by just anyone?" Shinobu asked. "Or would it have to be someone as skilled as him?"
"Who here could take on a mercenary with hardcore training?" Crystal asked.
"I could!" declared Odelios.
"They'd have to have some kind of training themselves," Shuuya commented. "Though I shouldn't admit it, I may be one of the few who could."
"Samson and Ken could too," Jin remarked, "they're trained killers."
"I object to defining my noble training," Ken shouted, "as if it molds me into a killer!"
"Is it possible," Aka remarked, "that someone here has training that we're not aware of?"
"I was there when we found out the mists dampen sound," Fiora bitterly grumbled. "Why is everyone ignoring me?"
"I doubt someone just became," Angelique said, "a hardcore fighter overnight."
"What about Yitro?" Jin said, smirking wickedly. "Isn't he a murderer?"
"What!" the opera singer shrieked in outrage. "You awful woman, how dare you!"
"Wait, that might be the key," Yitro declared, snapping his fingers.
"Wh-what?" Angelique stammered, staring at her swordsman friend. "You agree with her?"
"No, not what she said, what you said," Yitro said. "Becoming a skilled fighter overnight, wasn't that what the motive was about?"
"Monokuma said that four people were to be given additional talent," said Drake, glancing up at the bears, "and also, Monodam assured us that Takeo wasn't one of them that has a new talent right now."
"THAT-IS-CORRECT," Monodam spoke up. "FOUR-OF-YOU-HAVE-NEW-TALENTS!"
"Wait, seriously?" Ishiku asked. "Which four?"
"Is one of them the killer?" Blake added.
"THOSE-QUESTIONS-WE-CANNOT-ANSWER."
"Damn it," Ishiku said, scratching his chin. "Okay, we may be dealing with someone who became a super fighter overnight."
"Wait, are you serious?" Saiko asked, staring down the magician. "You seriously think that you can just be given new talent just like that?"
"Saiko, sweetheart, there's so many things going on nowadays that make no sense," Hara spoke up. "Isaac and I interviewed the people who were being held hostage on the moon, and they literally had their minds swapped amongst their bodies."
"Not to mention," Kimiko spoke up, "how Despair spreads in ways that make no logical sense, and it only happened when the Tragedy popped up."
Saiko sighed heavily, and rubbed her temples. "Look, I know there are bizarre things happening, but I'm not about to think that new talent can be given at will like that!"
"It is an outrageous claim," Eisei remarked, "however, if three or four people were to speak up and showcase talents they didn't have before, it could be a bit believable."
"But no one has spoken up yet about having new talents," Futaba remarked. "You'd think they would have noticed."
Souma sighed, and glanced over at the Monokubs. "Kubs, if this motive is the real thing, are the people who have the talents aware of such a thing?"
Monosuke let out a loud scoff. "Pops' skills should not be doubted! But if you're talking about new talents, people aren't just going to be aware of them, like we said. If you are trying something, talent means it just comes naturally, so how could you realize it until you are doing it?"
"If you think about what you can do, it might dawn on you," Monophanie added. "It helps to do it first. Once you do it, you're far more aware of it, though if someone were to point it out, that might make you the most aware of it."
A rather pissed-off growl echoed around the trial room. "Are we still," Emanuel shouted, "going on about this? None of this is important! Monokuma doesn't have the power to just give talent to people!"
"Will you chill out?" Anzu snapped, crossing her arms. "This isn't entirely impossible."
"Oh is it, fuck star?" He took a long swig from his flask, hammered it down on the podium, and clapped his hands. "Alright then! Who here has new talent? Do any of you? Surely if four of you have a new talent, one of you would have noticed by now! SPEAK UP!"
Everyone stood there in silence. Looks were exchanged, nervous glances went all over, but no one was speaking up. There were a few coughs and sighs.
"Actually," Odelios spoke up, "I-"
"FUCK OFF, CLOWN!"
Emanuel's hollering echoed sharply around the trial room. The detective's eyes were brimming with fire, he was glaring white-hot daggers at Odelios. "If you so much as utter one more syllable, I will come over there and beat the shit out of you. No more talking for you! No more dumbass jokes from the peanut gallery!
"We are in a murder case here, we are trying to survive by finding out who the killer is! And you're wasting our time with jokes, dumb remarks, and pointless train of thoughts such as if Monokuma can grant talents, or if the mists just all of a sudden dampen sound.
"So you can fuck right off, and stay quiet for the rest of this trial! And you!"
He pointed at Anzu, who jumped with a start at the sudden attention. "If it is physically possible for a porn star to keep her mouth shut, I'd advise you do it!"
Anzu let out a very annoyed huff, and twirled one of her blue bangs around in her fingers. "Fine, whatever."
"So I don't want to hear any more comments," Emanuel carried on, "from people who are just going to be a burden on us, or aren't trustworthy. So that means you…"
He rounded on Fiora, who nervously backed up in her podium away from his finger. "You are going to shut up, and you two, Isaac and Hara! We cannot trust you, and I don't need to hear any more crackpot theories in the midst of our life-threatening trial!
"And finally," he glanced over at Ignatia, stopped shouting, and then grumbled, "well, guess I don't have to worry about you speaking up. Keep it that way, you damn mime."
Ignatia flipped him off when he wasn't looking. Emanuel took a deep breath, another deep swig from his flask, and found out it was empty. With a sigh, he tossed it up towards the Monokubs. "Refill this for me, will ya?"
"Hell ya," Monokid shouted, "I like your style!"
As the blue Kub ran off, Emanuel turned towards the graduates, saying, "Now then, where were we? We know where Takeo died, we just need to think about what happened next."
Most everyone was stunned by what just happened, but some of them weren't quite as perturbed by the outburst. Ken spoke first, saying, "I believe that Takeo was dragged off, to the taxidermy shop?"
"Let's work with that," Crystal remarked. "Right now, we just need to retrace the steps of the murderer."
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"Okay, so," Shuuya said, "after Takeo was killed, he was dragged to the taxidermy shop?"
"Why on Earth would they do something so obvious?" Hikari asked. "Anyone could have spotted them!"
"Maybe," Aka spoke up, staring at the model, "they hid Takeo in one of the buildings first?"
"Remember, it was 1 AM," Shuuya remarked, holding up a finger to emphasize this. "There's no one up past 1 AM normally, correct?"
"I don't know," Blake remarked, "how many of us are night owls?"
"Don't look at me," Jin said, tracing the owl-themed tattoos on her face.
"It still seems fairly dangerous," Angelique remarked, "to drag a body out in the open."
"I get the feeling," Yejoon muttered, "that our killer is brazen enough to do something like that."
"Wait a minute here," Futaba declared, "that's wrong!"
"Samson, don't you remember?" the anthropologist said. "We talked about a couple points right before the investigation was over."
"Oh yes, I remember now," Samson remarked. "There was no blood going up the road or sidewalk to the shops. The killer didn't drag Takeo's body up that street."
"So they took a long, out-of-the-way around?" Ken asked. "It sounds like something a wicked murderer would do, to avoid being seen."
"Wait, about being seen," Futaba said, intertwining her fingers and rolling her thumbs around as she spoke, "that doesn't make any sense either. You cannot see the shops from the housing area, so why take the long way? Everyone would be in their house past 1 AM."
"Oh, I know," Ishiku spoke up. "Maybe the killer used the backdoor to the taxidermy workshop?"
"There is no backdoor," Yitro corrected him.
"Really? That's a fire hazard, right there," the magician remarked. "Only one way in and out, shame on the building designer…"
Emanuel growled and turned towards the magician. "If you're going to make pointless comments, you can shut the fuck up too!"
"Oh yeah?" Ishiku turned towards him, glaring at the taller guy. "You cannot make me shut up, so what are you going to do about it, you drunk, washed-up detective? I can talk if I want-"
POW!
Ishiku fell backwards, falling off of his podium and collapsing on the floor. Blood seeped from his nose, and he sat up in a terrible daze. Emanuel rubbed the sore knuckles on his fist, and turned back to the circle of trial members.
"Now then," he remarked, rather calmly, "if anyone else wants to hold up the trial that all of our lives are hanging on, you can see what is going to happen to you."
"You jerkass," Kimiko shouted, pointing furiously at Emanuel.
"You have no right to do that!" Angelique declared.
"Do you have no honor?" Ken scolded him.
"No, I don't have honor, and I don't fucking care about anything," Emanuel remarked, "except for getting out of here alive. And if you all want to too, you'd better take this seriously, and no other way.
"So we were talking about something important before that little puta interrupted the chain of thought," he said, shaking off his fist as he continued. "What was that again?"
"I believe," Samson said, "we were just discussing in what direction the killer dragged the body. But there was no other blood trail that Ignatia and I found, so they either went the long way, or the body wasn't bleeding anymore by the time the killer was heading up that road."
"Is that possible?" Futaba asked Saiko, staring at the biggest expert there.
"It's more likely that the killer used something to prevent the blood from leaving a trail," she responded. "That was probably either a futile attempt to keep the crime scene secret, or some other reason."
"It was past 1 AM, everyone was asleep by then," Crystal remarked.
There was a frustrated growl from Isaac, who was crossing his arms and leveling a very annoyed glare at Emanuel. The Bête Noir simply scoffed at the reporter, and spoke again.
"Look, the time of night means the killer didn't have to worry about being seen by us in the housing area," Emanuel said. "So the killer brings the body into the taxidermy work shop. That's when they do their horrid work."
"But there's something confusing me," Yitro said. "In the workroom of the taxidermy shop, there were tools and such, but there wasn't stuffing. So how did the killer stuff the body?"
"And why was the job only half-done?" Eisei remarked.
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"How do you know there wasn't any cotton or straw," Saiko asked Yitro, "in the workshop?"
"There were all the tools and such in the workshop," the former swordsman said, "but no boxes or containers that would have the stuffing."
"I remember that too," Emanuel spoke up. "That was odd."
"Where would someone get cotton and straw and such in this town?" Hikari asked. "You don't think they brought it with them to Penjar, do you?"
"Are you sure there wasn't any other containers in there?" Crystal inquired. "Weren't there cabinets?"
"There wasn't really room in there for that much straw and cotton," Emanuel explained. "You need an ample amount for taxidermy. … Where the hell is that blue bear?"
"Rrrrrgh," Ishiku growled as he glared hatefully at Emanuel. He was leaning against his podium and rubbing his bloody nose on his sleeve.
"Wasn't there anything else that could have contained straw and cotton?" asked Shuuya.
"Hold on, I'm thinking," Yitro muttered, tapping his forehead. "I was there, I'm trying to think…"
"I got it, mate," Blake declared, pointing at Shuuya.
"Hehe, I totally remember now," the pyro said, punching his palm as he grinned triumphantly. "There was something in that shop that had additional cotton and straw. The other taxidermy statues, that's what!"
"Oh yes," Angelique said, placing a hand over her head. "Someone broke all of them and hollowed them out… so that means the killer bust open all those poor animals and used the stuffing?"
"Well, all of them," Blake remarked, staring over at Yejoon, "except for the fox."
A lot of people stared at the artist, who merely chuckled. "Oh really? I wasn't even aware there was a fox one, I couldn't find it the first time I went there."
"So the only taxidermy animal not destroyed was the one that your art and style are based off of?" Saiko remarked.
"Oh no, big brother," Jin said, smirking wickedly at her sibling. "You've been found out. How horrible, how could you!"
"You stay out of this now," Yejoon responded, waving dismissively at her. "But everyone, I must say, this isn't really enough proof to declare me the killer, now is it?"
"Weren't you supposed to be part of our group?" Blake asked, narrowing his eyes at the artist more. "You were, but you never showed up."
"I had more interest in the body," Yejoon said with a simplistic shrug. "What can I say? Us artists really do march to the beat of our own drum. I don't do orders."
"Well you will listen to this order," Emanuel declared. "You are on thin ice, so keep your damn mouth shut, and do no speak unless spoken to! You understand that, you fox… fetish… fuck?!"
Yejoon simply nodded, and pulled his mask down over his face. As he crossed his arms, Jin was snickering all the more, her hands on her tattooed stomach and face. "You so just got told off, big brother," she commented, pointing her painted nail at him. "Haha, I'm gonna so remember that nickname too!"
Emanuel didn't say anything to this, as Monokid had returned with his flask. Patting the blue Kub on the head, he took his flask and set it on the podium. "Now then, thanks to Blake, we know what was used to stuff Takeo's body."
"But why was the job half-finished?" Eisei inquired. "That is something that has been concerning me."
"The head, hands, and feet would be incredibly difficult to do," Saiko remarked. "Especially if the person isn't the most experienced taxidermist."
"Wait wait wait, are we just going to assume," Hikari declared, waving her free hand as she held her lacy parasol open behind her, "that someone just improved taxidermy? That they cut a man open, cut and scooped everything out, and sewed him back up, all without any previous experience?"
"Maybe our killer does have taxidermy experience," Samson remarked. "Sadly, there's no way to prove this."
"Jin, does your brother know taxidermy?" Emanuel asked, glancing over at the mask-wearing artist. His sister laughed at this.
"I don't know everything about him," she replied, "it's not like we're glued at the hip! Maybe he does, I don't know."
"…" replied Yejoon, head turned to the side as if he had something much more interesting to look at, possibly one of the gorgon statues.
"Wouldn't the reason for a rushed job," Souma remarked, "was because the killer had a limited amount of time? If they killed Takeo around 1 AM, they only had until 9:30 AM before everyone would be up because of the morning announcement."
"Not to mention they needed time to clean up," Pyrrha said with a shiver. "I mean, there's no way they could stab him to death, carve open his body and make him into a human statue without getting blood all over them."
"The killer would have been up all night," Ken remarked. "The murder, the preparation of the body, and then having to clean up? Surely they would be exhausted with so little sleep."
"I would imagine," Eisei said, "that the fact that they'll die if they don't stay awake during this trial is giving them the adrenaline they needed."
"We are Ultimates," Aka remarked. "We do the most amazing feats that most people couldn't even think of, so it's not like a stretch of stamina and skill is unheard of."
"They could have got some sleep before 1 AM," Emanuel said. "In fact, a lot of you went to sleep early, if I recall."
When he narrowed a stare at Isaac, the reporter couldn't hold in his outrage anymore. "Okay, I don't give a damn if you're going to threaten me, I'm not having this anymore! You keep accusing my fiancé and I of the crime, you don't get to do that and tell us to shut up!"
"Isaac," Hara pleaded, staring nervously at Emanuel.
"No honey, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to just let him accuse us! What proof do you have?"
"Proof? The murder happened at 1 AM, and the killer had to rush things to prepare the body, and have time to clean up," Emanuel replied. "Now I have no idea how to estimate how long a taxidermy job takes, but as was said before, we're all Ultimates; we are more than capable of doing things fast and efficiently.
"But we are still human, we still need sleep. Our killer would have been up since 9:30 AM yesterday, stayed awake all day, killed a professional mercenary, gutted and stuffed him, and then cleaned up, and is now standing up here in this trial room.
"Look around here, does anyone look close to falling asleep, or dead on their feet? Nope. So, Isaac, tell me, what's more likely: someone doing that gauntlet that I just outlined, or someone who went to bed early yesterday and then woke up at 1 AM so they'd have the rest needed for the murder and trial?"
Isaac gnashed his teeth, crossing his arms in frustration. He glanced to the side, and let out a heaving sigh. "The latter," he admitted.
"Aha, so you're not beyond reason."
"But that doesn't mean Hara and I are the main suspects!"
"I never said you were. You're just two of the possible suspects that fit the profile. We're still outlining the case, so let's carry on then without any more interruptions, shall we?"
Emanuel took a swig from his flask, then let out a hacking cough. He glanced up at Monokid, and declared, "Whoa, what is this? This is strong stuff, amigo!"
"Hell yeah, because you're a badass who deserves a badass drink!"
"Hoo, I think I'll have to hold off on that, that's really good stuff," Emanuel remarked, tucking his flask in one of his pockets.
"So now where are we?" Shuuya asked, a tinge of annoyance uncharacteristically in his voice as he stared at Emanuel. "We know that the killer took the body to the taxidermy shop and prepared it."
"Then they set up Takeo's body," Crystal said, "cleaned up, and had to wait or rest until the morning announcement."
"I think we have the murder set up from start to finish," Blake said. "It sounds pretty darn good, but what could be next? How do we narrow it down from here?"
"There's an odd combination of skills for this case," Ken remarked. "Why don't we go over that?"
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"So our killer," Angelique said, "has to have some experience in taxidermy…"
"They went to sleep early, or at least got some time in," Aka remarked, "so they would have enough energy for all of this."
"Was this because of the motive or not?" Blake asked.
"They would have to be skilled enough," Samson said, "to sneak up on Takeo, or beat him in hand-to-hand combat."
"That's the most confusing part of all this," Eisei commented. "I still can scarcely believe he didn't draw blood."
"Was he that unprepared?" Ken said. "How could he drop his guard like that?"
"Fool didn't even draw his knife?" Jin asked, then laughed. "Some mercenary, probably wasn't told to do so!"
"…" Aka went silent, lost in thought as she stared at someone from the corner of her eye.
"Wait, what if he was ordered to disarm himself?" Futaba asked. "Or, what if he was told to kill himself?"
"No, that's wrong," Pyrrha declared.
"I know we have a lot to consider, and I don't want," the romance writer said, nervously running a hand through her red hair, "to make this worse… but…"
"It's best to be honest, dear," Souma said. "I hated to have to do it, but please, speak your mind."
"Takeo couldn't be ordered to do anything that would be lethal to someone, including himself. And I know this for a fact."
"How's that?" Emanuel asked.
"Because I ordered him to kill me, and he didn't do it."
"Good God, girl," Kimiko shouted, staring at her. "Why on Earth would you do that, eh?!"
"I wanted to be sure," she said, smiling despite it all. "I had a feeling he was a good man, and I was proven right. He also wouldn't harm himself."
"That's interesting, however," Emanuel said, "can anyone prove that?"
There was silence for a few seconds, before a loud whistle could be heard. Odelios raised his hand and wiggled his fingers in a wave, giggling.
Emanuel took a deep breath, then reached over to Ishiku. Yanking his staff from his hand, the Bête Noir chucked it at the clown, who ducked just in time.
"Freaking jerkass, that's important to me," Ishiku shouted as he ran over to where it had gone.
"If you're quite done being abusive," Pyrrha snapped, her smile replaced with a very stern frown, "Odelios can back me up on this, whether you like that or not."
"Fucking whatever," Emanuel said, reaching for his flask. He paused, then disregarded it for the time being. "So if Takeo wouldn't let himself die, how was he killed?"
"I think I know the answer to that," Aka shouted, raising her hand up high. The skier appeared rather anxious, almost shaking in anticipation. "There's something I am highly suspicious of!"
"Wait, Aka," Hikari spoke up, "sweetheart, are you sure you want to do this?"
"It might not be the best time," Kimiko said, "to bring up such a suspicion."
"No no, trust me, this is important, because there's someone who could have easily killed Takeo," Aka declared. She lowered her hand, and pointed…
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SELECT A SUSPECT!
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… at Crystal Wilson, the Ultimate Military Adviser.
"I think that she," Aka shouted, "is the most likely person to have killed Takeo."
"What?!" Samson balked, his eyes widening in shock.
"Her?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow at the adviser.
"Crystal?" Angelique declared.
The blond woman merely reached up and traced the long points of her collar, and let out a small chuckle. "My, I didn't think I would be accused, of all people. Care to explain?"
"You see, you've been spending a ton of time with Takeo ever since we got here! You're working with him, a mercenary and a military adviser sure seems like a good team! And you also," the skier cracked her knuckles as she continued the accusation, "were discussing defenses with him.
"And isn't that exactly what lured him out? Talking about defending us?"
"That is true," Shinobu remarked, holding up the note. "That's the cause of concern written out in this."
"Now I didn't know about that until the trial, but I thought that since you were really close," Aka continued, "you would be the ideal person of someone who could approach Takeo, get in close…
"… and STAB STAB STAB!"
The shrieking words reverberated around the trial room, making a great deal of the graduates flinch. Aka, having proven how sudden and fierce it could be, grinned in delight.
"Now obviously, Samson could have been the same, however," she carried on, "what's the one thing a beautiful woman can do that a big burly man cannot do? Get in close without there being suspicion. After all, what man is going to deny a pretty lady getting up close and personal?"
"… What?" Samson blurted out, staring with the utmost incredulousness at the skier.
"See, you were all so busy trying to think of who could beat Takeo in hand-to-hand combat, but none of you were thinking outside of the box," Aka pointed out. "Now think about it, who else but Crystal could have done this?"
People stared at the military adviser, waiting for her response. Crystal took a deep breath, and exhaled, before looking at the skier. "I admire your passion, but I am not the killer."
"Got any proof?" Aka asked with a smug grin.
Crystal ran a hand down her long collar again, and said, "This jacket I am wearing is custom-made, one of a kind. I couldn't possibly have gotten blood on it."
"There's no way you can prove that, or you just weren't wearing it when you killed him," Aka declared. "Haven't you got anything better as an excuse?"
DEBATE YOUR CASE!
"I must admit, I'm a little bit at a loss for words," Crystal confessed, crossing her arms as she glanced upwards. "I don't know how I can prove my innocence under these circumstances."
"Do you have an alibi for 1 AM?" asked Hara.
"I was in my room. No one else was with me."
Eisei tucked the straw of the finished lollipop into a little baggy, then put another one into his mouth. "Who rooms next to you?"
"I believe that would be Angelique and Fiora."
"Did either of you see her go to her house?" Shuuya asked. "Were either of you up past 1 AM?"
"…" Fiora stared at Emanuel, standing as far as away from him as she could in her podium.
"…" Angelique nervously glanced to the side, as if she could avoid people staring at her expectantly.
"Why are you both going quiet?" Hikari asked, staring at them both.
"I'm not afraid to speak!" declared Anzu.
"I have to speak, because Angel is too nervous, and I frankly don't care if that drunk pig," Anzu glared at Emanuel as she said this, "objects. But Angelique, I hope you'll forgive me, but I need to say it."
"Sweetheart, go ahead," the opera singer said, trying to hide her blush.
"I was with Angelique last night," Anzu explained. "We were worried about the motive and what could happen, so she invited me to spend the night in her room."
As she scanned the faces of the group, she rolled her eyes and scoffed, adding, "No, we didn't have sex. I know what you all are thinking, but we didn't. Not that it is any of your business."
"Anzu-love, no need to be defensive, it matters not if they believe us or not," Angelique said, smiling at her. "Because the important thing is, we were both up really late last night. And I remember this distinctly… because…"
She paused, glancing over at Yitro. The former swordsman raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that the singer wanted to draw it out to be as dramatic as possible. "Ever the theater production," he remarked with a small laugh.
"Anzu and I could hear Crystal yelling in her room, after midnight, even after 1 AM," Angelique finished.
People in the group stared, perplexed, at both Angelique and Crystal. The singer was smiling in accomplishment, while the military adviser was covering her face in embarrassment.
"You were yelling?" Hikari asked Crystal. "Whatever for?"
"There were some names being used, as well as a lot, and I mean a lot of swears," Angelique said, giggling impishly. "Names like Mario, Ridley, Cloud, Daisy, and… Wii Bitch Trainer, was it?"
"I was playing on my Switch," Crystal muttered, so softly that people didn't hear her unless they were close. She then said, louder but with just as much shame, "I was playing video games! I brought along one of my consoles with me, the most portable one, and last night, I couldn't sleep. So I played games to try and tire myself out."
"You were screaming as if your opponent killed your cat or something," Anzu remarked, giggling as well.
Crystal hid her face more, sighing. "I'm not… proud of my gamer rage, okay? It's not befitting for someone of my position. And I honestly didn't think anyone could hear me."
"Guess our rooms aren't entirely soundproof," Souma said with a chuckle.
"Oops," Monophanie said from the Kubs' platform, "did we forget to mention that?"
"You still gotta pay your rent when all is said and done," Monosuke remarked.
Amid all of this, Aka was appearing even more embarrassed than Crystal. The skier was trying hard to hide her head in-between her shoulders. "So, um," she whimpered, "does this mean Crystal has an alibi after all?"
"I think it does," Emanuel said, oddly calm, tapping his chin.
"Oh my God. I feel like the biggest bitch in the world right now," Aka squeaked out. "Oh shit, oh damn… Hikari, I'm so sorry, but now I have to be Crystal's bitch!"
"I'm not into women," Crystal murmured, correcting her collar as she tried to restore her image.
"Then how do I restore my honor?! I'm a skier, do I have to stab myself with one of my skis?"
"Please don't do that," Hikari pleaded, smiling softly at Aka. "I mean, you did help reveal several peoples' alibis, so now we're narrowing it down."
A small, nervous noise came from Drake, who raised his hand as he glanced around. "So, um, are we doing that now? Are we going to try and narrow down who it could have been?"
Shuuya hummed aloud in thought, then shook his head. "Even if we are going to declare that Crystal, Angelique, and Anzu are innocent, that's twenty-four suspects. There's no way we can get twenty-three alibis at 1 AM."
"Hold on, now," Emanuel declared, slamming his palm down on his podium. "We needn't do that. Because, thanks to the efforts of the people who took this seriously…
"I know who the killer is, for sure now."
The trial room went totally quiet, with Emanuel's announcement that showcased total confidence and no hesitation.
"Do you now?" Isaac spat out, glaring at the Bête Noir. "Because part of me thinks you've spent more of this trial being abusive than deductive."
"You're going to eat your words, mister reporter, but I don't mind making a statement for you now," Emanuel said, chuckling in triumph. "You see, everything adds up now, every single thing. And, I must admit, I have to thank you, Aka."
"Huh?" the skier honked, placing her hands over her heart. "Me? But I screwed up!"
"Maybe on your suspect, but you see, I was entirely stumped on how someone could have killed Takeo. I was just trying to think how one could beat someone like him, but you brought up the fact that someone can approach and make a fatal strike without having combat skills."
He took the flask out of his pocket, and unscrewed it. "Now thanks to you, every single piece of the puzzle falls into place. The motive, the time, the place, the taxidermy, the method of death, every single piece of evidence has now painted the perfect picture."
"I like the way you're setting things up," Blake said with a laugh. "Come on, don't keep us waiting, mate."
"This is a murder trial with our lives on the line, as you pointed out so many times," Ken said, frowning in disapproval. "Please stop making a big show about it for your ego."
"Sheesh, fine," Emanuel said, screwing the lid back on the flask. "But you see, it seems fitting to make a big show out of declaring who the killer is, because the killer loved putting on a big show with their work…
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SELECT A SUSPECT!
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"… isn't that right, Fiora?"
"HUH?!"
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TRIAL INTERMISSION!