Mists of Penjar

by The Kobold Necromancer

Graduated students of Hope's Peak Academy want to know how Despair was able to spread so fast and ruin so many lives. In an abandoned town known as Penjar, where windless mist creeps down old streets, they have come to find the answers. But Despair, and its Kubs, still have plans even in this seemingly forgotten place. [Part 1 Spin-Off of Crit Fail's Legacy of Despair Series.]

16. Chapter 2-6: Case 2 Trial, Part 2

Chapter 2-6

Hemoglobin Coffin

---

*Monokuma Family Trial Intermission*

*Monokuma and the five Monokubs are all standing at the front steps of Town Hall. Monokuma is standing on the top step, the Kubs two steps below him.*

Monokuma - "This trial sure has taken an unexpected turn! But I think we can all agree on what is truly the most tragic part of this trial!"

Monotaro - "The horrible realization that the innocent can be executed for the crimes of others?"

Monophanie - "The tragedy of losing someone you like, without having a chance to say good-bye?"

Monokid - "The utter fucking sorrow of having to deal with the loss and pain of death without much experience?"

Monosuke - "The agony of having to cope with the fact that there are things beyond your reach due to a hierarchy of overwhelming power?"

Monodam - "…"

Monokuma - "No! It's that I've had so little dialogue during these trials! I mean, when the trials are going on, I don't get to exposit my well-crafted plans like normal! Hell, I don't even get my theater presentations! Where's the time for your Daddy Bear, huh? WHERE IS THE LOVE?"

The Monokubs - "…"

Monophanie - "You'll always have a place in our hearts for expositing dialogue, Daddy!

Monokuma - "Just remember that, my little cubs! Never let someone else's tragedy get in the way of you being in the spotlight! You only got one life, so make it about you whenever you can! Now, let's get back to the trial!"

Monodam - "…"

---

LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!

---

"No," Drake whimpered. He was shaking, quivering as he stared at Ignatia. The mime was sweating now, the beads running down her made-up face. She was staring at him with pupils dilated in terror, but she was holding it in. Drake, however, was losing it. "No no NO! This cannot be!"

The other graduates were quiet, as all of this dawned on them. Emanuel spoke out first, his voice calm and emotionless. "If Ignatia tripped the laser wire, then by the rules of a Killing Game, she is the culprit. That's the way these despair-ridden bastards work."

"No, I cannot accept that," Drake shouted, gripping his head as he quivered in emotion. "There has to be another answer! Ignatia isn't guilty of anything!"

"We know she's not, but that's not how Monokuma ever sees it, kid," Emanuel muttered. "It's tough shit, but it's how it goes."

The cartoonish openly sobbed, covering his eyes as the tears ran down his face. Some of the others were near tears or shedding them, the intensity of the situation too much for them. Then Blake spoke, with a sigh of relief to start with.

"Well, at least it isn't anyone important."

This sentence spread across the trial room like a slap to the face. Everyone stared at Blake incredulously, to which he shrugged and shook his head. "What? Oh come on, she's a temperamental mute who hasn't contributed anything. She's a fucking mime, it's not like we're killing someone of importance."

"What," Anzu stammered, then shook her fists at him, "what the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"You're all thinking about it! You're thinking that thank goodness it isn't someone you know, someone who is of importance to this group. What good is a mime? What good has she ever been, or will be?"

"That's no excuse," Saiko hollered. "She's still a person!"

"Oh, would it rather be one of your friends? Or someone who contributes? Face it, this is the best possible-"

"SHUT UP!" Drake yelled, pounding his fists on the podium. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, she's someone important! Just because she doesn't talk doesn't make her less of a person!"

Blake rolled his eyes at the cartoonist. "Yeah, I know you wanted in her pants, fetching flowers for her and shit. But guess what? There's nothing you can do. She's screwed, and we all get to live to see another day!"

Emanuel scoffed, placing his fingers on his forehead. "Okay, that's enough, Blake. There's no point in rubbing the shit in the wound any more."

"What? Hey, I thought you of all people would understand!"

"What I understand is when people do horrendous things for profit or sadism. I can get behind nailing a perp who did it for evil reasons, but someone dying for another's crimes? I'll never get behind that."

Emanuel took his flask out of his pocket, and shook it. The absence of sound made him roll his eyes, and he muttered, "I really would liked a drink right now. Anyway, I think that-"

"Wait!" Pyrrha, rubbing the tears from her eyes, shouted desperately. "Wait wait wait, I think there's a flaw in this logic! It can't be this way!"

Emanuel shook his head, muttering, "Stop being emotional over this, and-"

"I have proof!"

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"Listen, the rules of the Secrets Motive," Pyrrha continued her case, gripping her podium tightly, "is that the ones who ask a question have to commit a murder to avoid execution."

"Yes, we know that," Emanuel said.

"But that's just it! It has to be someone who asked a question that commits a murder!"

"Wait a minute," Shuuya said, tapping his chin in thought. "That's true… that was the exact wording."

Pyrrha nodded a great deal, pointing at the bounty hunter. "See? See, that's the rule! Someone who asked a question would not set up for someone who didn't to take the fall!"

"Oh my gosh, that's right," Hikari declared. "They'd still be executed at midnight!"

"That was the wording for the rule," Pyrrha continued, "right, Monokuma?"

"Correctamundo! The exact wording was," Monokuma declared, "that you had to have committed a murder to prevent all those who asked a question from being executed!"

"Wait, what's stopping them," Souma asked, "from committing a murder after the trial?"

"Very few would plan for that level of recklessness," Yejoon remarked. "I am proof you would need to be quite talented in combat to survive your collective wrath."

"Wait a minute," Monokuma shouted, waving his paws in the air, "what the hell is wrong with my voice? Why do I sound so different right now?!"

"So… so it's true?" Drake asked, clasping his hands together in jubilation. "Ignatia isn't considered guilty of the crime?"

"I… I'm sorry," Shinobu cried out, "but that maybe wrong."

---

Everyone turned to look at the historian, who was also rubbing her eyes as she tried to clean herself up. "At least, we can find out for sure or not if you'll all allow me to check."

"Check what, exactly?" Crystal asked.

Shinobu took a long shuddering breath, and said. "The other rule change, that's what. Monokuma?"

"Eee-yeeeeeeeesssss? Oh good, back on track."

"Is the other rule change," the historian took a deep breath and clenched her hands tightly, "that someone who didn't ask a question can commit the murder to prevent those who asked from being executed?"

"…" Monokuma paused again for dramatic effect.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Eee-yeeeeeeeesssss! That was the other rule change! Congratulations, you guessed them both!"

The feeling of hearts sinking, the collective gasps and groans, was the most despairing feeling in the world for those in the trial room.

"No," Drake sobbed, covering his face again. "No no no!"

"I'm so sorry," Shinobu whimpered. "I… I had to be sure."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Yitro muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You just made sure that we weren't going to be tricked."

"D… damn it," Pyrrha cried out, slumping on her podium. "I was so sure… I… I cannot believe this is happening!"

Blake groaned, but everyone ignored him. The trial room was quiet, save for the tragic sobbing from several people. Ignatia was clenching her podium so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, to try and prevent herself from shaking.

"So, I'm sorry," Aka muttered, "I really am sorry, but is that it? Is there nothing else we can do?"

"No," Emanuel replied. "There's nothing else for us to do. We cannot fight the reality that she is guilty in the eyes of-"

"No, I will not," Drake shouted, "accept this!"

---

REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!

---

"Emanuel," the cartoonist pleaded, leaning forward on his podium to stare down the startled detective, "you once told me that I should be bold about my actions, that I should be assertive! Well, this is how I'm going to do it!"

"Kid, arguing with me is pointless," Emanuel replied, rubbing his forehead. "You cannot change the reality of the situation. It sucks, but that's how it is."

"No, no I refuse to just accept it like that!"

Drake glanced over at Ignatia, and the two made eye contact. He reached over, and he put one of his hands on hers to hold it comfortingly. "I'm going to defend her, I'm not just going to let her die."

"Kid… no, Drake, you barely know her. She doesn't talk, she normally avoids you."

"Maybe, but I still get a feeling that I understand her…"

Emanuel stared down Drake when the cartoonist made eye contact with him again, and the two were quiet for a moment as they psyched themselves up for a logical argument amid the intense emotions of the trial room.

"Listen, I know it's hard to understand," Drake tried to explain, "but I can understand Ignatia, maybe even just a little. There's something about her expressions, her actions, that makes me realize how there's a person with a good soul in there. I'm not giving up on her."

"Kid, she's a performer, an actress if you will," Emanuel countered, his tone cold. "You cannot tell who the real person is when there is always a facade, an act to the reality they have made part of themselves. She wears make-up to cover her whole face, and dresses up for the part every day!"

"I can still tell things about her, like how she's a streets smart girl. She's observant, but she tends to follow what truly interests her. While she's blunt and dismissive, she's not without manners. If you just looked, you could see those things too."

Emanuel shook his head, glancing to the side. He couldn't believe he was having this argument, but he also had a feeling he was losing it too. "Okay, even if you're right, even if there is more to her than the act, that doesn't change the facts here, kid. She still tripped the laser wire that set off the fatal fire trails. That's the truth."

"If… even if that is the truth, then you are a detective. You should be aiming for the full truth."

"Drake, I have not been called a detective for a long time, I don't like being called that! And you know why? Because a detective discovers who the culprit is, and brings them to justice!"

"That's what I want," Drake pleaded, "you to do!"

---

Emanuel took a step back, shocked by these words. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"We all know that the culprit is the one who set up this trap, the one who killed Angelique and had it so someone innocent would take the fall. We're here in the trial room, aren't we? So please…"

He looked over at Ignatia, who had been staring at him the whole time; she was shaking less, but there were more tears in her eyes. "Help me find out who the real guilty party is, while we're still here."

Emanuel stammered, then frowned and crossed his arms. He glanced from side to side, then up at the Monokubs. "Hey, Kubs, is it okay if we continue discussion?"

"Hahaha, you foolish fuck," Monokid roared with laughter. "Why on Earth would we want to do that? Do you really think we're okay with such a notion?"

"Sure," Monotaro said.

"Of course," Monophanie chirped.

"I'm good with that," Monosuke declared.

"YES," Monodam blurted out.

Monokid had been holding his guitar over his head, when he dropped it and it cracked in two over his skull. "OW! What the FUCK! Guys! … Well whatever, I think it has to remain unanimous, so-"

"Well then, Monokid," Emanuel held his flask up in the air, "wanna get me the good shit so we can enjoy the extra innings?"

"Oh! The drunken Bête Noir's second performance?! Hells yeah!"

Monokid grabbed the flask and sprinted off, disappearing from their sight quite suddenly. Emanuel blinked in surprise, and then muttered, "That actually worked out a lot better than I thought it would. Well then, we got you some time, kid, let's get cracking."

Drake sobbed as he smiled at the man. "Thank you… thank you so much!"

He leaned in towards Ignatia, whispering to her so softly that no one else could hear what he was saying. Most of the graduates were staring at Emanuel, who rubbed his nose and sniffed. When he noticed the stares, he grumbled, "The fuck you all looking at? You heard the kid, let's find out who the real culprit is!"

"O-okay!" Aka stammered. "But how do we go about doing that?"

Isaac hummed as he pondered it, and he said, "What if we go over everyone's alibi? From 11 AM to 1 PM, that would be most ideal."

"Sounds like a good place to start!" Pyrrha chirped, glancing over at Ignatia and Drake. "Let's do this!"

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"Alright, so," Isaac started them off, "Hara, Saiko, and myself were together during the entire time. We were at the tavern for the most part during that time."

"I was in the Town Hall," Fiora spoke up, "then the fire station!"

"Pyrrha, Shinobu, and myself were at the cafeteria," Emanuel remarked.

"I was searching the streets for Fiora," Yejoon remarked casually.

"I was with Ignatia for all of that time," Eisei said, glancing sympathetically at the mime, "most of it at the movie theater."

"Souma and I were in the café," Futaba said.

"I was in the tavern for most of that time," Yitro commented, "reading a book…"

"I was there too, in the tavern's kitchen," Odelios announced. "I was getting ready for my hot date! Oh, darn it, now I'm hungry again!"

"I was at the tavern for the most part too," Samson commented as he rubbed his arm, "as was Crystal?"

"No, I was mostly in the clockwork shop, because it's nice there," the military adviser admitted. "But eventually I came to the tavern."

"I was at the tavern until Crystal came by, that's when I left to see if I could round up the others," Anzu remarked. "I thought of visiting the other buildings, but I didn't have time…"

"Um, I was in the plant nursery," Drake said, holding onto Ignatia's hand as he spoke, "and I have Monodam as my witness to that. So I was-"

"Wait a minute," Anzu suddenly shouted, "we forgot about that important thing!"

---

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there," Fiora declared, holding her hands up. "What important thing did we forget?"

"The wheelbarrow in the plant nursery! Didn't we guess that the culprit used it to carry all of the heavy stuff?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with alibis?" Emanuel grumbled.

"Because," Anzu said, "it proves that the culprit was done with the traps before noon! If the wheelbarrow was returned before Drake made his trek through the nursery, that is. So we shouldn't be looking at alibis between noon and 1 PM, we should be looking at alibis before noon!"

Some of the graduates groaned, and the actress tilted her head in confusion. "What, what's wrong?"

"We're getting nowhere with the alibis," Crystal remarked, shaking her head. "This isn't going to work out."

"Maybe I never should have brought up the wheelbarrow," Samson remarked. "It's quite possibly a red herring."

Anzu stammered, as she tried to get some traction back. "W-w-wait! Please, listen! We have to think about within the time limitations, don't we?"

"But the problem with that," Ishiku remarked, "is that we don't know how long it took for those things to be set up! We didn't have the time to test it out."

"But we know about the restrictions, and we know about some limitations. Please, if you'll just hear me out, maybe I can sort these things out…"

Anzu clicked her fingers, then mimicked shuffling cards with her hands. After making a few motions, she began to speak with her eyes closed:

"The fire station, tavern, and other special buildings were not open until 9:30 AM. That is the soonest that the culprit could start, but there is also breakfast to consider. Everyone came to breakfast, but how long they were there varied.

"Now, the last time anyone saw Kimiko and Angel was at 11 AM, and that was at the cafeteria, I believe.

"The wheelbarrow was still in the plant nursery at noon, so the culprit had… wait, no…

"Shuuya and Blake discovered the fire station had been closed up, and opened it to discover the spark machines and laser trip wires were gone at 11 AM! If that's true, then I was wrong about the wheelbarrow, but let me continue…

"The traps went off at a little after 1 PM. That also was the time of the explosion, and the time of death for Angel.

"If we take all of this into consideration, at the very least, the culprit had to have some time around 10 AM, prepared everything by 11 AM, and then kidnapped Kimiko and Angel. Then it mattered not where they were, for they had set it up for someone else to take the fall.

"They couldn't have worked on it so brazenly when the fire station was opened and with the tavern being a popular place, so this had to be done while people were still busy with breakfast and such. That's the only feasible time frame that someone could have done this, and because it was so short of time, I cannot imagine them not using the wheelbarrow!"

Anzu opened her eyes, then hummed aloud as she curled one of her bangs with her fingers. "At least, that's how I see it. What do you all think?"

There was silence amid the graduates, most of whom were trying to figure out how the porn star had deduced all of that before they did. Shuuya was one of the few who didn't let the lady's profession daunt him, and thus he chimed in first.

"Let's consider the fact that the wheelbarrow was necessary," he commented. "After all, the mist was thick enough to hide someone running around with it. It wasn't like a truck or something…

"So let's discuss this out some more, shall we?"

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"If our true culprit had only an hour, give or take some minutes," Shuuya continued, "would there have to be a particular place they would start?"

"Okay, before we get into that," Crystal remarked, "how would they even know the wheelbarrow was there? They would have had to go to the back of the plant nursery at least once, right?"

"Why would anyone do that to begin with?" Samson asked dubiously.

"Hehehe~" Anzu chuckled, pursing her lips as she curled her bangs some more.

"I don't think the wheelbarrow is as big of a mystery as you make it out to be," Eisei commented. "I knew it existed before it became relevant."

"How's that, my friend?" Souma asked him.

"For the same reason no one could see me in the mist, because I'm vertically challenged."

"Wait, is our culprit short?" Aka asked, staring at Eisei.

"Hey, that's profiling!" Souma barked, pointing at her. "I won't stand for that!"

"I got nothing against short people! I swear! I just… like tall women! Is that a crime?"

"We are heavily digressing here," Emanuel growled in frustration.

"I got your liquor, buddy!" Monokid shouted, handing the flask to the Bête Noir. "Just keep in mind, when you finish it or pass out, time's up on the trial!"

"Oh, goody, a timed event," the detective muttered, taking the flask.

"Wait a minute, eh," Fiora shouted triumphantly, "I think I got it!"

---

"Okay, I knoo' why the culprit had to use the wheelbarrow, why they had to do all of this as if under a certain amount of time! It wasn't because of a woo'ry of being caught, it was because of the party!"

Everyone stared at her, silence filling the trial room. Fiora blinked as she realized that they weren't exactly astonished by this revelation. "Um, d-don't you all get it?"

"Fiora," Hara tried to talk, but the movie maker quickly tried to follow up.

"No no no, see? The culprit wouldn't have a chance to commit a murder if they didn't get everything ready as soon as possible, because everyone woo'd be together at the party! So they had to commit the murder before the party, and-"

"We already KNOW," Emanuel shouted, pointing angrily at her, "that the murder was done before five! What's the point of finding out the reason why they had to rush it, puta?! We're trying to find out who the culprit is, not WHY they did it the way they did!"

Fiora flinched, suddenly feeling very small. With a quick glance towards the rest of the graduates, she realized that she had messed up the flow of the debate. "I… I'm soo'ry," she whimpered.

"Oh, just stay quiet for the rest of the trial, that would be best," Emanuel snarled as he opened his flask and took a swig. The powerful liquor made him gasp, and he strained to keep his balance. "Fuck, forgot how strong that was."

"I… I was joo'st trying to help. I didn't want it to be true, when I realized the set-up," Fiora sniffled. "I was worried that this would happen…"

"It's okay," Drake assured her. "You're trying your best, we get it. It actually makes sense that the culprit would have to hurry this plan, if they feared the party bringing everyone together and thus erasing their chance at committing a murder in private."

"Well, if the fact that the culprit asked their question way early in the morning and then found the new buildings locked up tight," Saiko remarked, "it does imply that they were hurrying like hell to get everything done in the morning."

"Are we sure it's not Ken and Hikari?" Samson asked, eyeing both the cavalryman and steampunk model. "I mean, they are the ones missing throughout most of the day."

"I would never hurt them," Hikari said, standing firm rather than dismissive like before.

"You already know what I did," Ken remarked, crossing his arms. "And I asked Hikari to be my witness for my question, and to stay out of harm's way. That's why she made herself scarce, in case my attempt of slaying the fox monster failed."

Yejoon chuckled as he placed his fingers on his mask, and raised it up. "You should really stick to a positive outlook, Mr. Kishi; however, I'm afraid that you all have overlooked something rather important yet again."

Samson scoffed loudly, and said as he crossed his arms, rubbing his fingers against them, "I really don't want to have to listen to you, of all people."

"I asked beforehand, how did the culprit move so much dirty wood and oily rags without getting stained? If the answer is the wheelbarrow, then how did they make it through the overflowing red poison oak and ivy without getting stained as well?"

The graduates went silent in deep thought, before Fiora laughed and pointed at Yejoon. "Ha! Brilliant! Nice work, Yejoon baby! … Um… uh… for a mean stalker and a serial killer, I mean."

"Oh God," Samson groaned, rubbing his forehead, "it is true. You are falling for your stalker, aren't you?"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE, SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BAKA JERK-FACE LOSER-"

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"So our culprit had to move through the plant nursery to get the wheelbarrow," Hara said, speaking over the angry yelling. "How could they do that without getting the poisonous plants' oils on them?"

"… LOSER, STUPID, DUMB-FACE, HOSER…"

"When I made my way through it," Drake said, "I was wearing a thick jacket, pants, and a hood. The clothing still was stained with the red poison oak and ivy's oil."

"Is it possible to wear a tarp or something covering all over?" Ishiku asked.

"Couldn't they just go back to their house and change?" Futaba asked.

"… NEGATIVE CHARISMA SCORE, FAT-BUTTED, FLAT-CHESTED…"

"They could have worn something additional, and then discarded it somewhere else," Saiko remarked.

"What, like in the fire pits? Destroy the evidence?" Samson suggested.

"No, I'm sure we would have seen burnt clothing somewhere," the forensic investigator said. "Don't forget, that's my career, and I'm damn good at it."

"But we never had a chance to check the eastern fire pit," the trader pointed out.

"I still think they could have gone back to their house to change, the mists covered everything," Futaba remarked.

"SEAL CLUBBER! CRAP SPAMMER! YOU PLAY BASEBALL LIKE A GIRL!"

"Oh will someone shut her up?" Samson growled.

"If someone had gone to change their clothing," Shuuya said, undaunted by the angry yelling, "Blake and I would have seen them. We were at the housing area and kept our eyes out at all times, the mist wasn't thick enough there to be kept hidden."

"YOU'RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO DOESN'T FLUSH PUBLIC TOILETS! YOU WEAR YOUR UNDERWEAR INSIDE-OUT THE NEXT DAY, AND CONSIDER IT CLEAN ENOUGH! YOU-"

"Fiora!" Yejoon declared, silencing the movie maker. "You've more than made your point, little flower."

"Are we sure they didn't just crawl through the plant nursery?" Yitro asked.

"Okay, everyone," Emanuel hissed, "stop. Just… just stop, that's enough!"

---

"Wh-what?" Hara stammered. "But we're trying to figure out-"

"It's hopeless. There isn't a way to know officially how they did it, there's too many ways they could have destroyed the evidence!"

"But," Yitro blurted out, "but they were on a time limit, they couldn't just be running around willy-nilly. If they constructed their death trap in an hour, then they had to use something to-"

"No, Samson was right," Emanuel muttered, sipping from his flask. Wheezing slightly, he muttered, "The proof could have been in the eastern fire pit, and we never put that out. With that possibility up in the air, we cannot ever be sure."

"Aw damn it," Samson muttered, scratching his arm. "I didn't mean to put a damper on this!"

"The damper was there to start with, man," the Bête Noir muttered, swigging from his flask again. Coughing, he added, "It… ugh… it was a fool's hope from the start."

"No," Drake shouted. "No please! Please, just try! We're still making progress!"

"Kid, where else are we going to go? There's over ten people unaccounted for during 10 to 11 AM! Whatever they wore to cover up the poisonous' plants oils and the dirty lifting is long gone! Everyone here is dressed the same as they always are, no deviation!

"That's the problem when it comes to evil, kid. You don't always win, no matter how much you want to."

Drake sobbed, turning to Ignatia. The mime shook in fear, but she managed a brave smile for him. Pulling him into a hug, she held him tight, an obvious way of thanking him for trying.

"Sooooooo…" Monokid remarked, "is that it? You all concede?"

"We don't have ALL day," Monosuke said.

"I cannot let my kids run the show as long as they want!" Monokuma declared. "There's only so much running around in circles that we can tolerate!"

Everyone in the trial room was devastated, some trying hard to think of something, anything, to turn the case around. Isaac was probably straining the most, gripping his forehead as he leaned down on his podium. The reporter groaned loudly as he tried so hard to think.

"I should be able to do this," he shouted. "I… I've worked so many cases and mysteries… why? Why can't I solve this?"

"Isaac?"

He looked up, to see his fiancé smiling at him from across the trial room. Despite it all, she managed to smile, for him. "I know you can do this. You're the smartest, most dependable man I know. If anyone can find the answer here, it would be you.

"Just remember one thing, my love, the thing you always told me: sometimes the answer is just the most simple way of looking at it."

Isaac blinked, and he thought back to how many times overthinking a case led to such frustration. He glanced over at Drake, seeing the guy holding onto Ignatia tightly. The reporter took a deep breath, as he thought back to when the cartoonist solved the previous case.

"It was rather simple, really. The killer had stayed up all night, so of course she would have bags under her eyes; or at the least, she would have tried to hide it.

"Wait… wait a minute. Hiding it, the evidence was on them all the time! Jin couldn't hide what was evident on her body, is it the same thing here too?

"Our killer had to have covered up for the poisonous plants, for the dirty wood and oily rags. They needed to, and then they got rid of the evidence, right?

"… Wait NO. No no no, everyone came to breakfast, everyone was wearing the same thing they are now. They had to do something to hide it, and then they probably thought they could hide it… but how… what was so simple that I'm missing? What…"

Isaac tried to think of what could be simple, what could be the answer that he was missing. He didn't want to sound vain, but thinking simplistic wasn't easy for him. Being over analytical was a problem of his, he wished he could be more simple like some of the others at times…

…

…

…

WAIT.

---

"You're the kind that doesn't flush public toilets," Fiora was hollering over the debate. "You wear your underwear inside-out the next day, and consider it clean enough! You-"

"Fiora!" Yejoon shouted. "You've more than made your point, little flower."

---

Was it… really that simple? Did the answer just come to him from a random insult from an angry person's rant?

Isaac chuckled, as he snapped his fingers. "Of course it could be. Gosh, I should really listen to it from all angles. Hara, my love, I could kiss you!"

Hara blushed and smiled at him, and said, "Did you think of the answer?"

"Wait, what?" Emanuel said, turning to Isaac. "What's the news, mister reporter man? You got something the rest of us didn't think of?"

Drake and Ignatia turned towards Isaac too, and though they didn't become happy, they appeared far more calm and collected. Isaac looked at them, and then he stared into Ignatia's eyes.

It was then that he saw what Drake had been talking about. The eyes of the mime gal were brimming with hope, the kind of personality and depth that came from a real, life, honest-to-God human being. Having spoken to so many people in his life, Isaac could recognize a good person when he saw one.

This made his heart both rise and fall, the twisting feeling of knowing he had good news for them, but still had to accept their fate.

"I think I have an answer," he said, gaining everyone's attention. "I think that… Ignatia… I, um…"

He trailed off, as he stared into her eyes. The hope in her eyes, it was overwhelming and heart-breaking. He couldn't bear the fact that he could only tell her that they could catch the killer, but couldn't save her.

"But what if you could?"

The voice in his head came out of nowhere. He rubbed his temple, and tried to push that vague bit of optimism away. Isaac was a realistic person, he couldn't change the facts.

"What if you're looking at the facts the wrong way?"

He rubbed his temple more, trying to shake this odd voice invading his thoughts. This was unusual, even for all the crazy shit he had seen in his life.

"Isaac?" Hara called out to him. "Honey? What's wrong?"

"I, um, I'm okay. I just… I just think that…"

He then spoke, and at the same time, someone else did, saying the same words that just came to mind with him.

"I don't want evil to win."

"You don't want evil to win."

Everyone turned towards the other person who had spoken. It was shocking enough to hear them speak with how silent they had been, but when Kimiko had said the same phrase at the same time as Issac, both out of place, it mystified them.

"What is going on?!" Saiko asked, glancing between the biker gang leader and her close friend.

"What does this have to do with the case?" Crystal inquired.

"Are you losing it?" Samson said, staring at the reporter.

"Are you alright?" Hikari said to Kimiko, looking at her sympathetically.

"What mad-crazy shenanigans are goings on?!" Odelios demanded to know, then he stared down Rubarrow. "Is this your doing? You know I don't approve of your shenanigans after the cotton candy incident!"

Isaac was silent through all of this questioning, then he shook his head. He snapped his fingers once more, and closed his eyes, going deep, deep into thought…

---

I don't want evil to win. That means something here more than ever before. Is it possible that this is all but another trap by our culprit?

…

We all have resigned Ignatia to her fate, because we think that the rules of the Killing Game mean she is considered the guilty party.

…

But what if that is exactly what the killer wants us to think?

…

What if the killer set this whole thing up to make it look like someone else did it, but killed Angelique themselves?

…

But why? Why do that?

…

…

…

Because we're ready to sacrifice Ignatia for this. We have seen so many Killing Games where this happens, where someone innocent takes the fall for something they didn't do. It's almost fate for it to happen.

…

And then they win the trial. They get everything that Monokuma promises. Someone evil would most certainly have us all killed for that kind of power.

…

I'm NOT going to let that happen.

…

So how did they do it? How did they personally murder Angelique when the trap was set up for an innocent to trigger it?

…

Let's not overthink this, Isaac. The killer needed a direct method to start that fire. What's the only way that the killer could murder Angelique?

…

…

…

The master remote! That's the only way they could start the fatal fire trail, and kill Angelique!

…

Now what's the only way for them to know when to set off the fatal fire trails? Were they really going to leave it up to chance that someone was going to trigger the explosion?

…

No, I think they had to know that it was going to happen, they wanted total control over this. Everything about this murder implies that is a must, that every step is planned…

…

Did they know Crystal was stepping outside? No one goes in the park, but they had to have seen her. That's how they knew that the trap would be sprung.

…

The explosion wouldn't be to lure someone to trigger the third laser trip wire, it would be the cue to set off the fatal fire trails!

…

After all, they needed someone to get Kimiko out of the fire pit before she died, and thus they knew Crystal would be there.

…

They had to be someone in the tavern at the time the trap went off, because they would want to make sure that there wouldn't be a second victim. The first two laser trip wires were adjacent to the tavern. The people in the tavern...

…

That was…

…

Wait, but how did they hide the master remote, that thing is huge! So where were they keeping it? Where…

…

And also, the master remote was found in the fire station. So how could they…

…

…

…

Oh.

OH.

I… I'm going to have to take a leap of faith with this one.

Because I don't have any way to effectively prove all of this.

Our killer has manipulated us and hurt so many people.

…

I'm going to manipulate the hell out of them now!

---

Isaac shook his head, and snapped his fingers one more time. He chuckled, and said under his breath, "Game on."

"Isaac? What's wrong?" Hara asked him, clasping her hands together. "Or… what's right? I've seen that look in your eyes before!"

She smiled at him proudly. "Have you discovered who our culprit is?"

"I've discovered more than that. And I'm going to effectively prove to you all that our culprit, our killer, AND the guilty party are one and the same!

"Because our murderer is…"

He raised his hand, and then pointed…

…

…

…

…

…

…

SELECT A SUSPECT!

…

…

…

…

…

… at Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader.

"You, Samson," he shouted, defiant and strong with his words. "You're guilty of everything in this case, including the direct murder of Angelique Angelmois!"

"… What," Samson responded, his expression quite unamused.

"What?!" Crystal hollered, staring at Isaac as if he had just suggested an actual ifrit had done it.

"Him?!" Yitro balked, staring at the solider.

"Yes, him," Isaac declared, "And I don't think he even set up the trap so that someone else killed Angelique! I think, no I know he personally murdered Angelique, and is hoping we all die when we vote for the wrong person!"

Samson's jaw drop, and his eye twitched. He quickly shook this facial contortion away, and then growled at the reporter. "Isaac, what the hell are you going on about?!"

"Where did all of this come from?" Saiko asked, staring wide-eyed in-between Isaac and Samson. "I've never seen you like this, Isaac!"

"What the almighty FUCK," Emanuel spat out, staring him down, "is wrong with you?"

"Allow me to prove my point then," the reporter said, smirking defiantly at the increasingly agitated trader.

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"You see, the culprit had to have known Crystal was going outside at that moment," Isaac said, "because they needed to know when to trigger the fatal fire trails."

"There's way too many flaws in that," Samson shot back at him.

"I'm just getting started! Now, the master remote is big, but you know what you have? A jacket and a utility belt!"

"Lots of people have jackets in our group! Where the hell is all this coming from, anyway!?"

"What you did was wait until Crystal triggered the decoy trap, and after the explosion, you triggered the fatal fire trails. This was to let us think that someone running towards the park caused the fire to go off, not you."

"Wait wait wait!" Crystal implored. "How could he possibly know that someone would be coming up the central path to the park?"

"That's right, dumbass," Samson hollered. "No one could have known! It could only be the person setting off the trip wire!"

Isaac merely smirked at this. "The third laser trip wire wasn't originally programmed to set off the spark machine. You just programmed it afterwards to make it look like it did."

"You… what? Where is this COMING from?" the trader shouted, leaning on his podium and shaking his fist at Isaac. "Why the fuck are you accusing me of all this?"

"Because you used the master remote, that's why, and you were the only one in the tavern who could have hidden it on your person before using it to kill Angelique!"

"Fucking dumbass, the master remote was found in the fire station! It was there the whole time! I couldn't have used it!"

"Could you now?" Isaac asked, crossing his arms and continuing his smug smirk at the trader. "Is that entirely true?"

"I repeat," Emanuel shouted, "what the FUCK is wrong with you, reporter man?"

"… Wait a minute!" Shuuya declared, his eyes surveying both Samson and Isaac. "Wait just one minute here."

---

"Yes, it is true that we found the master remote inside of the fire station," the bounty hunter remarked. "But I also remember that it was you who found it there, Samson."

Samson's eye twitched, and he pulled his cap down to cover this irritation tic. "Yes, I found it. So what? That's nothing but complete coincidence!"

Shuuya narrowed his eyes, analyzing him. There was something deathly serious about the bounty hunter in all of his actions, and he spoke with the same kind of deliberate manner. "If what Isaac is propositioning is true, you are the only person who can be the direct killer. Fiora is not the guilty party or linked to them, so you are the only one who could have used the master remote."

"Through a tactic of planting evidence," Isaac said, also grimly calm as he stared down Samson, "you would have us all believe that you found it there, that it was there the whole time."

The trader snarled as he crossed his arms, glancing between the two men. "Okay, you've both officially jumped off the deep end when it comes to making accusations. I know you want to save Ignatia, but you just created a convenient story in which I'm the bad guy.

"It's just like how Emanuel tries to paint Fiora as the culprit, everything just seems to add up. But when you deal with the Ultimate Trader, you should learn to have something of worth when you come to the table."

"And that would be?" Isaac asked.

"You don't have any proof! All you have is the fact that I found the master remote, and that's not proof at all. That's putting a story to something that there is nothing to… oh, but you are the Ultimate Reporter, so I guess that's your strongest strength, building a story out of nothing."

Isaac frowned at Samson, the two glaring each other down. Shuuya went quiet, contemplating this. The others were so flabbergasted, they didn't know what to say exactly.

"Honey, if I may ask?" Hara spoke up. "Why would he, or whoever set up this murder, personally murder Angelique? The rule change gives the culprit a pass for making someone else do it."

"They'd get everything that Monokuma has offered since the start," Isaac responded.

"Everything Monokuma has offered," Shuuya remarked, nodding in agreement, "All the answers, all the possible power, it goes to the winner of the Killing Game. All he has to do is trade our lives for that."

"PROOF," Samson barked, his eyes blazing with fury. "You don't have any! You're making up the story more and more!"

"That's right," Crystal said, glaring at the reporter as well. "This is completely unsubstantiated, and what's more, you're accusing a soldier of murdering a citizen. I find that reprehensible."

"And you're not going to find proof," Emanuel said, words starting to slur after he had taken a couple more swigs of that strong drink, "because we hadn't found any beforehand. Nothing points to Samson."

"Does it now?" Isaac remarked. "Because I realized something after you stopped one of our debates, something about the plant nursery and the poisonous plants' oils.

"And that is that the killer had no choice but to wear what they always do, because any deviation from their normal attire would be instantly be spotted. So what did they do with their clothing, more specifically their jacket?

"Turn it inside-out."

Shuuya let out a surprised sound, and exclaimed, "I cannot believe I didn't think of that! That is the perfect way to hide all of the stains, both from the plants and the material that made up the fire pits!"

"So let me get this straight," Eisei spoke up, tapping his lollipop against his lips in thought, "you are claiming that the culprit turned their jacket inside-out when they did the dirty work, then turned it right-side in when all was said and done? Wouldn't that mean the poisonous plants' oils would get on their skin?"

"Precisely," Shuuya said, eyeing Samson's arms, covered by his jacket.

"Would that also mean," the dentist continued, "that you think the culprit made sure he was near the decoy trap going off? You think they had to be in the tavern?"

"Yes, and that was also to create the illusion of an alibi in some regards," the reporter explained. "There were eight people in the tavern before Crystal left for that breath of fresh air: myself, Hara, Saiko, Yitro, Crystal, Odelios, and Samson, and Anzu.

"Anzu stepped outside early, and plus, she couldn't carry that bulky remote on her person, there's no place to store it."

"True, I'm not sporting a Victoria's Secret Compartment," Anzu said with a shrug.

"Now Hara and Saiko were with me all day, it couldn't have them," Isaac continued. "Crystal ruined her jacket, but look at her arms. No grime, no rashes, she's clearly not the person who did this horrible deed. And also-"

"Wait a minute!" Emanuel shouted, pointing over at Odelios. "He has plenty of clothing on!"

The clown blinked in shock, then asked, "Wait, are you agreeing with Isaac now?"

"No, he's delusional if he thinks that the killer would stick their neck out like this, this is a case of setting someone innocent up to get killed for them. However, he may be right about how they hid the poisonous plants' stains on their clothing with the inside-out theory."

"Am I supposed to strip down?" Odelios asked, wide-eyed and confused. "Because… I mean… this would mark the third time I had to strip for someone in my life…"

"Oh, shut up, and let's see your arms! That's the key to finding out who the culprit is."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Monosuke shouted, flinging money everywhere as a method of gaining attention. "Are youse all planning on having people roll up their sleeves here and now? All of youse?"

"Nope, not allowed," Monotaro said defiantly.

"What?" Isaac cried out, staring in shock at the Kubs. "Why the hell not? That's how we can prove who our killer is!"

"We cannot have strip searches in our trial room!" Monophanie whimpered. "It's indecent, it's not polite!"

"Our lives are on the line," Shuuya pointed out. "Plus, we're all adults here, it's not a completely naked strip search, it's just to see people's arms."

"Nope! We utterly, totally refuse to allow you to show more skin than you already are," Monokid blasted. "It's just fucking wrong, asking to see more of people's bodies!"

"You," Shuuya lost his cool for a moment, and tried to collect himself. "Are you seriously saying that the masterminds of a Killing Game, where you are encouraging people to butcher each other and then create gruesome and twisted ways to execute them, you're saying you won't allow us to expose our arms because it's indecent?"

"Yes," the blue Kub simply answered.

Isaac crossed his arms as he took a deep breath. "Someone's enforcing new rules to prevent us from finding out the definitive truth."

"Guess what, little reporter?" Samson said, fixating a ruthless glare at Isaac. "You haven't proved a single thing. You just tried to make me look like the bad guy, to pretend to be the good guy for everyone. You're no better than Emanuel, saying it was Fiora over and over."

"Oh, screw you," Emanuel said with a drunken hiccup. "Either way, we have a job to do, no matter how much we hate to do it. Sorry, kid, but we have to vote for Ignatia."

The detective gripped his podium, glancing at the distraught Drake holding onto Ignatia's hand. "I don't want to do it, nor does anyone else, but the proof leads to her tripping the fatal laser wire. Those are the facts, and that's that."

Isaac glared at Samson, who cast his head down, appearing sad over what Emanuel had said. The reporter knew it was an act, and it made his blood boil in outrage.

"No, this guy is guilty as sin," Isaac thought, clenching his fists. "I don't have the ability to prove now that he set it up, nor do I have definitive proof that he murdered Angelique! However… I know it is true, I believe it with every fiber of my body!

"I only have until Emanuel finishes his drink, then the trial is going to be declared over. What I have to do is convince half of the people here to vote for Samson, or we're all going to die!

"Twenty-five people, so I need thirteen people on my side; I am one, so I have to persuade twelve people! Do or die, Isaac, let's go!"

---

LEAP OF FAITH PERSUASION!

ISAAC, BEGIN!

---

Isaac sized everyone up, and then started at the first person to officially agree with him. He was going to need allies for this argument.

SHUUYA!

"You know I'm right, you know what kind of a man Samson is, I can tell," Isaac implored the bounty hunter. "You can sense it too, the malice behind his methods!"

"Wow," Samson muttered, "talk about slander-"

"You don't need to convince me," Shuuya said, nodding his head. "I can see the truth now, so it's up to us."

Isaac nodded, smiling at the man. He had two votes for Samson now.

HARA!

"Honey," he said, turning to his fiancé, "I know I am asking for a lot here, and it's not the nor-"

"I'll always be by your side, Isaac," she said with a reassuring smile. "If you feel this strongly about this, I'm going to back you up, all the way."

Isaac felt a swell of joy, and thought to himself how very lucky he was. Her belief in him gave him strength. Now, he just had to go to those who may not entirely believe him, but luckily he was good friends with someone here too.

SAIKO!

"You and I have been friends for a while, and I know that you know how eccentric I can be," he said, "but this is the full monty, as it were. Can I count on your support?"

The forensic investigator crossed her arms, rubbing her chin in thought. She stared at him, and then said, "Can you answer me this, Isaac: how come it couldn't have been someone hiding in the mist, using the master remote? We haven't taken into account everyone's alibis."

"He cannot," Samson fired off. "Heck, there are people here we haven't even heard a single word about their alibis, but you don't see me accusing them willy-nilly!"

"Samson claims to have found the remote inside of the fire station, which means he had his hands on it to begin with. Fiora was in the fire station, the killer couldn't have slipped in and put it away."

"Plus, when I was there," Shuuya chimed in, "Samson was searching that part of the station, while Emanuel, Blake, and myself were in other areas of the station."

"You were outside at one point!" The trader pounded his fist against his podium. "And I'm telling you all, that is pure coincidence!"

Saiko glanced at Samson, then scoffed. "I don't believe in such coincidences. I'm sure as hell going to trust Isaac over you. I'm on your side, my friend."

Isaac grinned, while Samson fumed. The trader then realized he had allies of his own, and called out to them.

CRYSTAL! EMANUEL!

"He's going to get us all killed, leading them on with false hope," Samson declared. "He's deluded himself into thinking that this is the right answer, because he doesn't want to have to do the hard thing to do!"

"You don't have to worry, soldier," Crystal said, nodding in agreement. "I won't let him run us astray."

"Stupid reporter bashtard," Emanuel slurred, then gripped his forehead. "Damn hangover… anyway, I think I got this."

The Bête Noir turned towards Futaba, one of the few who could stand his personality. He smirked, as he tried to fight through his drunken haze.

FUTABA!

"Sure you realize the fool's errand this guy is on," he said. "You're a logical woman, and you aren't going to listen to this kind of bullshit, are you?"

"I can speak for myself, but I do have to agree," the anthropologist said, "I don't believe that the culprit would set up a rule change for themselves, and then endanger themselves by committing the murder alone. I'm against this theory entirely."

With Futaba standing there with rigid stubbornness, Isaac realized that he could not convince her at all. There was no sense in trying for a lost cause, he would have to persuade the others.

DRAKE! IGNATIA!

"I assure you, I'm not trying to give you any kind of false hope here," Isaac said confidently. "This is a terrible set-up to make you look like a necessary sacrifice, Ignatia, but it shan't happen. Not today!

"I ask you two to trust me, that you'll stand strong by this decision. Do not think that killing yourself is the only path, Ignatia."

As the mime placed her hand over her heart, Emanuel glared at Drake. "Don't get us all killed because you like a girl, kid. I told you before, it's unfair, but it's the way it has to be."

"But," Drake spoke up, "but what if it is true? What if Samson really did murder Angelique and set it up to make it look like Ignatia had to die for our sake?"

"The culprit didn't target her specifically, it was the unfortunate circumstances that led her to this fate! You stand by this false hope, you'll get us all killed!"

Drake shivered, then felt Ignatia squeeze his hand. The mime smiled at him, and gave a confident nod. The cartoonist sighed, and said, "I'm sorry, but I cannot give up on her. Nor will I become that person who'll kill someone just to spare themselves."

"You damned, naive fool," Emanuel shouted, "it's all of our lives you're flushing down the drain if you do this!"

SOUMA!

"You're a very reasonable man," Samson said. "Surely you can see how they're going without proof, without logic!"

Souma tapped his chin, before running a hand through his hair. "This is a very hard call to make, but you are right. Without proof, the claim means nothing."

BLAKE!

"We've had our differences," Crystal said, "but you can see how we are right, yes? You were accused of the crime simply because of circumstances, and you didn't like that, did you?"

"I sure as hell didn't, and I'm not all for just following people blindly. It's stupid as hell, and when I see the obvious, I go by that," the pyro shouted. "You can count on me to make the right call!"

Isaac clenched his teeth, realizing that he had six people on his side, and seven against him. He had to push this harder, or they were in trouble.

ODELIOS!

"Gah! What?!" the clown asked, rolling his arms around as if trying to avoid being knocked backwards.

"You had best vote for Ignatia, if you don't wish to die," Samson shouted. "You won't get to go on that date, you won't get to do anything again, ever!"

"You play the fool, but don't be the fool," Emanuel muttered. "Or are you just going to trust Isaac because he's nicer, or some shit like that?"

Odelios tilted his head to the side, glancing between the reporter and the trader. He eventually stopped at the former, and asked, "There's something I don't get. The way you described how the culprit hid the remote on their person, the way they wore their clothes inside-out for the poison oak, all of this sounds like it could have been me. Heck, I was in the tavern with you all, I was alone in the kitchen…

"So why do you think it was Samson, and not me?"

"Wait, are you actually asking him to prove your innocence?" Samson balked. "Now is not the time for that!"

"Want to know how I know?" Isaac said. "When the fire pit that burned Angelique to death caught fire, you took charge of holding the fire hose. If you were the culprit, you would have volunteered to turn on the water, and gone inside alone to hide the master remote, but you had Fiora turn on the water.

"Plus, you got knocked around and soaked by the hose. If you were holding onto the remote, it could have gotten ruined, or at the very least wet. No killer would risk damaging something so incriminating."

Odelios rubbed his nose, and then laughed. "Thanks, man. You have no idea how nice it is to be cleared. I'm on your side."

"Fucking FOOL," Emanuel shouted.

"Suck it, drunken git!"

PYRRHA!

"I know you were the most against sacrificing someone," Samson said to the romance writer, "but you are a logical woman. You know that this is wrong, that there is no reason in thinking I did all of this for that damn bear. Who would fucking trust Monokuma?"

Pyrrha wrung her hands, taking deep breaths as she nodded. Isaac spoke in as well, saying, "This isn't a case of dodging a terrible choice, it's the right choice. I know it's hard to take in, but realizing that true evil is still in the world. And it'll burn us."

"How dare you," Crystal growled at Isaac. "A solider, a fellow Hope's Peak graduate, and you label him as evil over a theory?"

"I…," Pyrrha stammered, catching their attention. "I just have to know, if the trap wasn't set up for someone going up the central pathway, why was the laser trip wire programmed to do so?"

"Because he programmed it afterwards, it doesn't take that long if you know how to do it," Shuuya explained. "He must have used the remote to know when someone triggered it, and then set off the spark machine."

"Oh please," Samson declared, "where would I have hidden a large remote like that?!"

"Behind your jacket, on or behind your utility belt, like I said earlier," Isaac pointed out. "You can easily keep it concealed."

"And I just pulled it out and used it with all of you around me at the tavern?!"

"You had your back to us, Samson," Saiko pointed out, "and it's not like we were watching your every movement. "There was no reason for us to do so."

"You didn't see him do it then?" Pyrrha asked, then shook her head. "I… I don't know yet, please, give me time to think…"

AKA!

"Look, I'm sorry, but this is way too much for me," the skier said, glancing around at everyone. "I don't want to hurt anyone here, I just wanted to make sure no one thought I did it, or that Hikari was part of it.

"I gotta go with the fact that there's no evidence saying Samson did it, and leave it at that. I'm just so tired of this arguing, and I want it to stop."

The skier crossed her arms and stared down at the floor, uninterested in continuing the debate. Isaac winced nervously, trying to think of who he should try to talk to. As he scanned the graduates, he saw someone he had actually wanted to talk to earlier.

KIMIKO!

"You said you don't want to see evil win, at the same time I did," the reporter said, alerting the biker's attention. The green-haired rebel stared at him, still very sullen and quiet. "I don't know how or why that happened, but I think you know."

"We know you're hurting, sweetheart," Hara said as she placed her hands over her heart. "We know this is very hard for you, but please, listen to what we have to say."

"You know something is very wrong here, you had that vision like Anzu did," Isaac said to her. "And you get the same sense I do, that Shuuya does, that something is off about this whole trial, the whole set-up."

"The only thing off is you," Samson roared. "You're using her grief as a tool!"

"If you don't want evil to win, the answer isn't sacrificing an innocent woman to Monokuma, it is finding out who truly did this! You know that's how we're going to solve this case!"

Kimiko gripped her podium, taking deep breaths as she tried to process all of this. As she did so, Samson quivered in fury. He slammed his fist down, shouting, "Damn it, stop manipulating people, you horrid charlatan!"

"You know, he's made a case, but what about you?" Anzu said, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Because other than you, the culprit claim hasn't stuck with anyone."

Samson's next declaration rang throughout the trial room.

"I'll prove to you all now who the real culprit is!"

ISHIKU!

"Um, yes?" the magician asked, quirking his head to the side. "You want my input on the subject? Well-"

"NO! YOU are the culprit!"

Ishiku flinched as if he had been struck once again in this trial room. He started to mutter, panicked, "Okay, w-wasn't expecting that."

"We literally have heard everyone's alibi, their reasons, but the one person who we didn't hear a single thing about is you! Where have you been, what's your alibi, and how come this entire murder trap has been such a magician's trick?"

Ishiku opened his mouth, closed it, and said, "It's… it's not all that much like a magician's trick."

"The fake-outs, slight of hand, all of it screams something you would set up! And again, I demand to know, where were you?"

Ishiku squeaked nervously, and said, "Um, uh, the reason I haven't been saying much is because… I took a nap."

The graduates all stared at him. "You what?" Crystal said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"After breakfast, after I hooked up Odelios and Pyrrha up for a date, I started to get… really sleepy. So I went to my room to take a nap. It's that simple."

"It's that WRONG!" Samson hollered. "You don't an alibi, not even an excuse! The pyrotechnics, the stage handling, this entire murder was set up like a magician's trick. Who's more likely to be the culprit, the guy no one saw all day and who avoided detection during the trial, or me, the target of a deluded reporter?"

Ishiku whimpered, and said, "I don't like where this is going. Um, help?"

SHINOBU!

"I'm afraid he's right, Ishiku," the historian said, shaking her head sadly.

"Aww, Shinobu, say it ain't so-bu," Ishiku whimpered.

"I'm afraid that everything about this murder screams someone with stage performance skills, and you haven't got a proper alibi, you haven't anything. I'm far more likely to believe it is you at this point…"

"But… but we haven't got enough time, and I have no way to prove otherwise! Look, I'll roll up my sleeves, you'll see there's nothing under them-"

"NO UNDRESSING!" Monokid screamed.

Ishiku flinched again, and then muttered, "But how can I prove I didn't do it? I mean, Samson just accused me because the heat is on him!"

Shinobu sighed, and said, "I have no reason to believe that he, or you, or whoever did this, would set it up so that someone else could take the fall for them, but didn't do it that way. It makes no sense to me."

Ishiku swallowed the large lump in his throat, and he scanned the others. Those siding with Samson were staring him down, and it made him feel rather fearful. "I-Isaac! You gotta believe me, I had nothing to do with this! I just took a nap, I swear!"

Isaac crossed his arms, and then surveyed Samson. "Ishiku, is it possible you were drugged?"

"When will your baseless accusations," Samson shouted, shaking a fist at Isaac, "STOP!?"

"Well, I mean, I dunno. I was tired and fell asleep, but the body discovering announcement came on," Ishiku remarked. "I don't know what was up with that."

Blake scoffed loudly. "If you were sleeping in your room, how come we didn't see you?"

"Because we never inspected his room," Shuuya replied simply. "We didn't have time to do everyone's room when looking for the fire starters, and I remember the ones we did."

Isaac ground his teeth, as he thought about who he needed to talk to next. They were running out of people, and just a few more siding with Samson to vote for Ignatia would mean a majority vote.

ANZU!

"You've had the most interaction with the weird things happening in this town, and the most belief in it," Isaac said to the actress. "Tell me, did I ever call you crazy for it?"

"No, you did not," she replied as she curled her blue bang around her finger. The process slowed down, as she made eye contact with the reporter. "Are you asking me to have faith in the horrid things that have happened to me?"

"I'm asking you to have faith in the good, not the awful way out. But I need to know, what do you think of all that is going on, with Kimiko, with the supernatural?"

Emanuel growled loudly, catching Anzu's attention. "You're telling her to trust her delusions. Whatever the fuck is going in this town, you sure as fuck shouldn't trust it! Hic…"

Anzu rubbed her knuckles against her lips, staring down at her hand, before she glanced up at Isaac. "And what makes you think that the supernatural is leading us the right way with you, Isaac?"

"I don't think it is. I know I am leading us the right way, you just have to take that gamble."

Anzu took a deep breath, and said, "What the hell. You've treated me so decently, I can trust in you."

"Stupid whore," Emanuel snarled.

"Yeah, that's gonna change my mind real fast, dick-head."

EISEI!

The dentist sighed heavily, as he glanced over at Souma. "This isn't an easy choice for me to make, my friend. I never believed in having this kind of power, to rule over others' lives."

"I know, Eisei, but I ask that you trust in the logic here, rather than the emotions. You feel guilty since Ignatia was with you at the time, but that wasn't your fault. None of this was."

"Fault, blame, responsibility, they've meant so much more since the Tragedy. Who is at fault, who's to blame? I don't know what to think on it much more, these days."

"Eisei, wait," Hara called out. "Before you cast in your vote, just consider that Isaac's theory hasn't been proven wrong yet!"

Samson pounded his podium again. "Having no proof is a good part of being disproven! How about the fact that no one ever saw me holding that remote, the remote as big as a brick!?"

"That is true," Eisei said, rather softly. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to side with my friend Souma on this one, I don't know what else to think. My apologies, I failed to figure out the mystery myself."

Isaac winced at these words. With Pyrrha and Kimiko unable to commit to a side yet, there were only five people left to talk to: Ken, Hikari, Fiora, Yejoon, and Yitro. He needed four of these people to side with him, or all would be lost.

FIORA!

"Um! I-I-I-I dunno," the movie maker stammered helplessly. "Samson wasn't a jerk, but neither has Ishiku! And I don't wanna execute Ignatia, I just-"

"Make up your damn mind!" Emanuel hollered, causing the girl to flinch. "Or better yet, just stay out of it if you cannot!"

"That's not helping," Fiora whimpered.

"Emanuel, calm down, you're frustrating her," Samson commented. "It's actually quite logical for her to side with me during this crazy accusation."

"Huh? Why?"

"You know what it's like, to be falsely accused. You shouldn't be thinking it's wrong to defend me just because Emanuel is too, you need to think for myself."

"But, there's no evidence to prove either you or Isaac are right!"

Samson growled in frustration too, but he didn't say anything as Fiora panicked. Isaac couldn't think of what to say, and switched gears fast.

YEJOON!

The artist had slid his mask down over his face a while back, and was peering at Isaac through the eyeholes. "You wish to know my opinion? I would have thought that you would be sickened to converse with the likes of me."

Isaac took a deep breath, then said, "You die too if we don't get this right. Doesn't that concern you at all?"

"Death does not frighten me. It is just another part of life, and more beautiful than you all realize. I daresay that this will not sway me."

"What about Fiora? Do you want her to die?"

Samson let out a disgusted groan. "Oh, that's sick. You're appealing to him by asking him to care about the girl he's grooming!"

"WHAT?!" Fiora shrieked. "Isaac, you jerk! You creep, why do you all think I like him?!"

"Fiora, please," Isaac pleaded.

"You should calm down now, my little flower," Yejoon said, waving at her. "I do have something to say, because I respect your boldness, Isaac; however, I must ask you, do you think a fiend can recognize another fiend? Are you inquiring that from me?"

Isaac crossed his arms, and huffed out his chest. "I'm not afraid to ask you questions like that."

"So very bold, I do respect that. Well then, I must say…"

Yejoon pointed at Samson with one of his slender fingers, the pose dramatic and prominent. "He is most certainly the fiend you make him out to be, Isaac. I have no doubt that he orchestrated the murder exactly how you theorized."

Samson's face contorted with a combination of emotions, then he huffed. "The serial killer doesn't like me, that's just fine. But since he wants us all dead, that comes as no surprise!"

"Isaac!"

The reporter was startled when he heard Ken call out his name. The cavalryman was frowning in disgust, as he asked, "You actually would take the word of this murderous fiend seriously? You consort with him?"

Isaac could see not only Ken, but Pyrrha and Fiora appeared rather upset by this. The reporter started to mentally panic, wondering if he had ruined this entirely.

HIKARI!

"Hold up there, darlings," the steampunk model said, twirling her umbrella on her shoulder. "Isaac may be right about this. You shouldn't discredit it simply because someone you don't like or trust happens to agree with him."

"This is more than just a disagreeable person," Crystal said vehemently. "This is a serial killer who we cannot trust in the least."

"Hmm, well, a lot of you didn't trust me earlier this trial, and I cannot blame you. I clammed up due to my pride, and I am ashamed of that, but it did let me take time to observe people."

The model turned towards Isaac, and asked, "You think that the culprit turned their jacket inside-out, and then turned it around, thus getting the poisonous oils on their skin?"

"Yes," the reporter said, "and thus they're bearing the pain."

"They're not bearing it very well," Hikari said with a scoff. "Samson has been scratching and rubbing his arms when he thinks no one is looking."

Samson flinched, and then declared, "No I haven't!"

"I've been watching everyone while I've been silent, wondering if they let those poisonous plants affect them. And yes, you have been. No one else I've been watching has been rubbing their arms as much as you."

The trader placed his hands on the podium, flexing his arms outward. "Listen here you, you've been far more suspicious than me from the start, and-"

"And I'm trusting Isaac on this," she defiantly replied.

The reporter tried to keep himself calm, as he listened to Samson furiously argue with Hikari. Isaac needed two more people at this rate, but so many people looked rather put off by what he had done with getting Yejoon's vote.

Still, there was someone who hadn't spoken much, someone whose opinion mattered most of all over this case.

YITRO!

The former swordsman glanced upwards, leveling a stare at Isaac. "I suppose you want me to listen to what you have to say?" he asked, his voice emotionally hollow.

"Are you up for talking about it? Or have you made up your mind?"

"I don't know anymore. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. All I know is that I haven't been able to do anything correctly this trial."

Hara cleared her throat, catching Yitro's attention. "Yitro, I know it might not be my place, but what do you think Angelique would want you to do?"

"Angel is dead, she cannot think about what to do, much less about her own murder. I… I failed her."

"Angelique," Anzu spoke up, "was an amazing person. She was our friend, she cared about us. We should honor her memory, and consider what she would do in this situation."

Samson, growling in the utmost frustration, slapped his hand on the podium. "Stop manipulating emotions, you group of immoral vultures!"

"This trial," Emanuel strained to say, fighting his slur and drunkenness, "is to find out who the guilty party is! Voting for someone to blame for it won't do her justice!"

"You cannot get revenge over a set-up like this," Crystal said. "I'm sorry, Yitro, but that's simply how it is."

The former swordsman drummed her fingers on his arms, glancing around at everyone, before resting on Isaac. He smirked slightly, and said, "You're French too, right? Angelique once said that as a native French woman, she could stand strong on her own; however, if she got a bunch of fellow Frenchmen together, she'd retreat."

Isaac, despite everything, chuckled. "Heh, yeah, I've heard a million of those jokes. Sounds like her, though."

"You know what also sounds like her? Standing up for what she believes in. Because the way I see it, the last thing she wants is for despair to win. That's the very last thing she'd want."

Adjusting his scarf and hair, he composed himself before he spoke. "The way I see it, Isaac's the only one who has a winning result either way. If Samson personally did it, we get the bastard. If he or someone else set it up and Ignatia tripped the laser wire, well, she'll tell our story after we all die."

"You," Emanuel stumbled as he thrust his finger at Yitro, "you fucking FOOL! You'd rather die than accept the truth?"

"No, I'd rather die than let despair win one more round. I won't let it force me to kill someone else to save my neck. I'm doing exactly what Angelique would do…

"I'm standing up to Despair, and telling it to go to hell. It's not swaying me anymore!"

Yitro mimicked sheathing a sword, and chuckled at himself. Crossing his arms, he added, "The rest of you can do what you want, forgive me for being a stubborn jerk."

PYRRHA!

"No, you know what? I think you're right."

The romance writer defiantly crossed her arms after wiping her eyes of the last tears. "I'm on the same boat as you. I would rather die than let Despair control my actions."

KEN!

"Well said, my friends!" Ken declared. "I know that I shamed myself, but I wish to take part in your endeavor!"

"You're… you're all crazy!" Samson hollered. "You're throwing your fucking lives away as a statement? You're lemmings! Fucking lemmings!"

FIORA!

"You know what?" the movie maker said as she adjusted her fedora. "That's just fine by me, I've had enough of Despair. If this is my last stand, so be it."

She glanced around at everyone, mentally noting where they stood. Her eyes rested on Kimiko, who stood there transfixed on the uprising going on. The biker gang leader let out a small laugh, and muttered something too quiet for anyone to hear.

"What was that?" Isaac asked, seeing Kimiko's mouth move but not hearing what was said.

KIMIKO!

"I said, I think I'd rather die too," the biker commented, "but I think… Samson is the one who should be getting ready for that."

"Wh-wh-what?" Samson stammered, gripping his sweating forehead. "What the fuck are you going on about?!"

"What I mean is, if we're wrong, and you did set up that trap that almost killed me, that killed Angel, then you should really fess up now," Kimiko pointed out. "Because if Ignatia really did trigger that death trap, you're going to die with all of us."

Samson shook, the amount of emotion in his eyes and body language was like something of a powder keg ready to blow. Crystal saw him quivering, and then doubt came to her eyes. "Samson? What… what is going on?"

Samson glared at her, and shouted, "They're going to get us all killed! I didn't do it! Ishiku did it! They're fucking crazy!"

"Too bad, Samson," Isaac declared, "because I think we see right through you!"

Everyone on Isaac's side thrust their fingers forward, pointing at Samson in unison, and proudly shouted, "THIS IS OUR ANSWER!"

Those on Samson's side all flinched, Emanuel hardest of all. The Bête Noir accidentally dropped his flask, and it clattered to the ground. The bottom was resting on a small ledge, and thus it all poured out at his feet.

"Drink's out," Monokid announced, "the trial is over!"

Emanuel's face contorted, and his fury grew when he heard Ishiku laugh. He whipped around and grabbed the magician's lapels. Aggressively shaking him back and forth, he shouted, "Do you realize what you idiots have done!?"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!"

"You've gotten us all killed! Fucking emotional PUTAS!"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!"

"I could kill you stupid fucks right now!"

"Whoa whoa hold off on that!"

Samson heaved out the heaviest of growls as he stared hatefully at the graduates who defied him, but most of all, Isaac. The reporter smirked, and the trader clenched his podium so tightly, the others could hear sounds of it breaking slightly.

"Ahem."

Drake held up his sketchpad, which was full of drawings that looked like an animation storyboard. "If I could just direct everyone's attention to here…

---

CLOSING ARGUMENT

---

Our killer wanted an answer to whatever question he had for Monokuma, and he was willing to sacrifice someone, no, all of us for it. Though there were time restrictions that they weren't aware of right away.

…

The Monokubs had locked up the new buildings until 9:30 AM, when everyone was getting up. They thought that they could still pull this off, and thus after a quick breakfast, they used the thick mists of Penjar to move to the other side of the city. There, they turned their jacket inside-out, and retrieved the wheelbarrow from the plant nursery.

…

This part required a lot of heavy footwork, but our culprit picked up logs from the tavern's supply room, and made a bonfire in the eastern fire pit. They used some more logs for the western fire pit, but mostly used the thick bundles of newspapers and oily rags.

They took the fire starters, the spark machines and the laser trip wires, and set them up around the edge of the park. Using the master remote, they programmed two of the laser trip wires to activate two of the spark machines. They kept the remote on them, using their jacket and utility belt to keep it hidden behind their back.

Our culprit was very fit and strong, which meant this work didn't take so long for them to do. This worked out to their advantage, which meant we would all be confused when the work was done, and how long it actually took.

…

Next our culprit attacked Kimiko and Angelique, who were sticking close to each other, bludgeoning them in the back of the head. Why they chose to put Angelique in the fatal trap, only they know, but they did just that. Kimiko was placed in the eastern fire pit, the one made to look like there were going to be two victims.

At 1 PM, the culprit was casually hanging out in the tavern, with several other graduates there too. They waited until someone went outside, which would activate the decoy booby trap they set up. Crystal, the one who set it off, used her jacket to stop the first fire trail.

The explosion went off shortly after, which lured people to the park to find out what was going on. Ignatia was one of those people, who came up the central path, which was where the third laser trip wire was.

However, this laser trip wire wasn't set up to start a fire trail, it was just a notice for the culprit to know when someone set it off. So upon seeing the light signal on the remote turn on, our culprit activated the third spark machine, setting off the fatal fire trails!

They also set the controls so that the third laser trip wire and the third spark machine were linked, making us think those were the original commands, some time during now and before they "found" it.

…

Crystal managed to pull Kimiko out of the fire pit she had been placed in, but sadly, we couldn't get to Angelique in time. Our culprit "helped" with the investigation, but what they were really doing was putting the master remote back where it was originally, and thus making it look like they had found it there.

…

Our culprit was really hoping that we would think that the set-up led to some random person being at fault, according to the rules of the Killing Game. But that's not who murdered Angelique Angelmois! The culprit, the true murderer is you…

Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader!

---

Drake closed his sketchpad, and then stared down Samson. The young and sheepish cartoonist appeared far more confident than before. "You're a horrible person," he spat out, "but you aren't getting away with this."

"No he will not," Isaac added, staring down Samson's exasperated expression of fury.

---

"Now hear this, now hear this," Monokuma declared. "The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podium!

"You will see pictures of every graduate here in Penjar! Poke the one you believe to be the Deviant Tourist, and select the Confirm button!

"Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully wrong one? Let's find out!"

---

Twenty-five fingers poked the touch screens on their podium, and the Confirm button was selected by all of them. Digital sounds echoed around the room, then the gigantic screen came down from the ceiling above Monokuma's throne.

The blackboard-like screen turned on, with the chalk drawings of their pixel art representations for each person. Those who were dead were still there, though red X's had been drawn through them now.

"And the votes," Monokuma cheerfully announced, "are in! Let's see what the results are, shall we everyone?"

Tally marks drawn by an invisible chalk were made in front of one of the pixel drawings, like if someone was tapping a screen to add strokes to a blackboard app. They seemed to come a lot slower this time, maybe that was the mood of the place, or Monokuma's method of making it far more tense.

Samson Miller - 16 votes.

Ignatia Nazario - 9 votes.

"And with that, let's see if you were correct!" the despair bear host carried on.

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced by the digital roulette wheel. On each portion of the wheel was the pixel picture of the Penjar visitors, and the wheel was spinning with slot machine-styled sound effects.

The wheel spun around, highlighting the one at the top, until it started to slow down, and with the agonizingly gradual crawl, it finally rested upon Samson's portrait.

It felt like an eternity passed from between the final selection, and the next part. Were they wrong? Were they right? The slot machine didn't move, no lights flashed, and everyone started to feel their heartbeat hammer in their ears.

…

…

…

…

…

…

The machine lit up with tons of lights, confetti spraying out the top. The bright neon sign showcasing "WINNER!" turned on overhead, and millions of Monocoins spilled out from the slot.

---

The trial room was pumped full with rancorous Vegas-styled noise, from wherever the speakers were hidden in the room. When the screen turned off, and retracted back up into the ceiling, Monokuma bounced up and pumped his fist into the air.

"Wahoo-hoohoohoooooooo! I didn't think you'd do it this time, but you did! Huzzah! You won! The Deviant Tourist in this murder is none other than Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader!"

Samson, who had been rubbing his arms furiously during all of this, started to strain out words amid his heavy breathing. "How the fuck did you know? HOW the FUCK did you KNOW?!"

"S-Samson?"

Crystal had gone very pale, shaking with the emotional impact of it all. She was twisting a ring in one of her fingers, at such a fervent pace that it appeared as if she was going to unscrew her digit.

"You… you did it? You truly did it?"

"Fuck fuck FUCK! There's no way any of you could have known! How the fuck… d-damn it! DAMN!"

He pounded both fists on his podium several times, then took several deep, ragged breaths. Letting out a long, frustrated groan, he muttered, "Fine then."

Reaching to his side, he pulled his gun from the holster, and held it up. Pointing it around at the graduates, the frenzied look in his eyes showcased to them what state of mind he was in after losing this trial.

"We're just gonna have to do this the hard way, aren't we?!"

---

…

THE TRIAL HAS CONCLUDED! STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL RESULTS!