Mists of Penjar Chapter 3-6: Case 3 Trial, Part 2, a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 3-6

The Germination of Despair

*Monokuma Family Trial Intermission*

*Monokuma and the four Monokubs are all standing at the front steps of Town Hall. Monokuma is standing on the top step, the Kubs two steps below him. Taro is nowhere to be seen.*

Monokuma - "As we stand here, mourning the loss of our beloved Monotaro, we must ask ourselves: where did we go wrong?"

Monodam - "HE-IS-NOT-DEAD."

Monophanie - "Maybe if we understood him more, his desires, how he wanted to represent and better Penjar?"

Monosuke - "Youse think we should have paid more attention to him? Wha'cha think would happen if we listened to more of his ideas?"

Monokid - "Fuck that guy, this just means more time for me and my ideas! And since he isn't here to stop me from picking on Monodam, my life is infinitely easier!"

Monophanie - "How can something be infinitely more easy?"

Monokid - "Shut up!" *He proceeds to hit Monophanie on the head with his guitar.*

Monophanie - "Ouch! Oh woe, now I'm one of your targets too? I miss Monotaro so much!"

Monodam - "STILL-NOT-DEAD."

Monosuke - "Such a shift of power and responsibilities! Youse never really know what someone contributes until they are gone. I knows I will be missing my big brother, and will try to do things to honor his memory!"

Monokuma - "That's the spirit! Because when you are moving forward, you can only do your best, and that is all that is expected of you! It's not like you can ignore the tragedies of the past, but they help guide you on the correct path!"

Monokid - *hits Monophanie on the head with his guitar again* "I hear ya, Father!"

Monophanie - "Ouch! Oh boohoohoo, I miss him so much!"

Monosuke - "Let us all do our best for the future, youse hear that, Monodam?!"

Monodam - "…"

Monokuma - "And now, on with the show!"

LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!

Ishiku stared with a wide-eyed, deer caught in the headlights kind of fright at Emanuel. The magician held his hands up defensively, as if that could help against the accusation. "Um, okay," he whimpered, "what now?"

"Ohhhh," Fiora crooned from her position of clinging to Crystal but staring at Ishiku, "you're in trouble~"

Emanuel growled in frustration, and held out his flask. "I'm tired of doing this sober. Monokid, the refill, if you would?"

"With pleasure, you magnificent bastard!"

As Monokid rushed over to grab Emanuel's flask, Anzu let out a vexed groan. "You're accusing Ishiku, but that's just the same as how you always blame Fiora. You hate him too, you just want to brand someone as the villain."

Emanuel snickered, and glanced over at Anzu. "Well then, let's see you defend him after I strip him of all of his defensives, and showcase his true nature. First off, Ishiku, where's that fucking staff that you always carry around?"

The magician glanced at his empty hands, and he chuckled nervously. "Um, in my house?"

"And why is that, hmm?" Emanuel asked, leaning against his podium to stare down Ishiku with a more personal touch. "Maybe that's because you couldn't bring it with you when you went to help Shinobu? I mean, that's not something you can take on a mission where you'll need both hands available. And no time to retrieve it too, huh?"

"That's it?" Odelios squawked, slamming his hands on his podium. "That's all you got, you drunken git?"

"Oh, I'm just getting started, clown boy!" Emanuel snapped, then went back to grinning wickedly at Ishiku. "Secondly, who was it that told us the weapons testing room was locked?"

"Um, that was," Aka started to speak, then she gasped, "that was Ishiku!"

"How highly convenient that the one who claims it was locked, especially when he left the group early to inspect the second story of the building. Maybe someone wanted to make sure no one walked into his trap."

Ishiku nervously twitched his fingers, accidentally causing a chocolate coin to appear in his hand and dropping it. "W-wait, that isn't what it looks like-"

"Oh yes, about the booby traps, I was wondering who would set those up for Shinobu. While Fiora may have some idea, Shinobu wouldn't know that, but a magician? Someone who works with props, tools, even explosives?"

Emanuel chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "That slight of hand applies to the weapons testing room, pretending it is locked and everything. I mean, your stupid friend went up there, you couldn't get him killed, even if it'd technically be his fault if he opened the door."

"Wait a minute here," Isaac declared, interrupting the Bête Noir's revelation, "this is getting out of hand, Emanuel! These are coincidences, just like last time you did this."

Emanuel glared over at the reporter. "I'm not done yet."

"Well, maybe it's because I have seen this before, and I don't want this to set up another person who just happens to fit some circumstances."

Isaac crossed his arms defiantly, glancing around the trial room. To his surprise, not everyone seemed to be in agreement, they looked confused and concerned. It was time to stop this rant before it received momentum.

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"Why don't you let me finish the damn case I have," Emanuel shouted, "before you tell me I'm wrong?"

"Because we all know how you do this," Isaac said, "and your track record showcases you try to dominate the trial even when you're wrong."

"But Ishiku did go up to the second floor right away," Aka said, scratching the back of her head as she spoke. "And he was the only one who tried the door."

"…" Ishiku stood there, staring at the ground nervously.

"Ishiku isn't a violent person," Hikari argued, putting her hands on her hips. "He wouldn't have a reason to kill Shinobu."

"I don't see how not having his staff is proof," Drake remarked. "I mean, yes he carries it around with him a lot, but…"

"What actual proof is there that Ishiku is involved?" Hara said, shrugging in confusion. "I mean, it's not like we found anything of his there."

"We didn't find any lost items or things that stood out of place," Saiko remarked, "except for the jackets."

"You see, this is why I'm the Bête Noir," Emanuel shouted, pointing at Saiko, "and you should heed what I'm saying!"

"You all wanted proof? Here's something that is definite proof: the jacket that was destroyed was a Monophanie jacket."

"So? What's the problem with that?" Odelios asked. "Monophanie's jacket obviously belonged to a girl, right? That was the connection."

"The connection is that Ishiku fucked that thing when it was a human," Emanuel snarled, "and that is why Shinobu would give him that jacket. Because that would be his reason to help her out, he wanted to keep his piece of ass a human!"

"Hey, don't call her that!" Ishiku shouted indignantly, throwing his fists down in outrage.

"This… was about me?" Monophanie asked, nervously poking her chin. "Was I really that special to you, Ishi?"

The magician stared at her, then went silent. Blake noticed this, and exclaimed, "Wait, 'Ishi'? That thing is still calling you a pet name? Haw haw haw, you really left an impact on that thing when you fucked it, dude!"

"Hey, you were trying to get in her pants since the moment you saw her," Kimiko shouted.

"Yeah, but I didn't, and we all know who did. So yeah, that's totally why Shinobu would pick the Monophanie jacket for him. I mean, the two girls there were given other jackets, if being a girl was the reason to give someone the jacket, it should have gone to Fiora."

"That's hardly reasonable," Crystal said, as she finally managed to push Fiora away from her. She brushed herself off, and tried to compose herself, though everyone noticed her slightly flushed face after the amount of kissing she had been through. "Still, if Ishiku wanted to save Fannie like Shinobu wanted to save the Kubs, that is motivation, for sure."

"Ishiku is one of those without a motive," Futaba noted. "Plus, I cannot help but notice that he isn't denying anything."

The magician was shaking slightly, his hands nervously twitching as he tried to control himself. Chocolate coins flipped and bounced out of his hands, as he stared down the smirking Emanuel.

"Is there anything that disqualifies him, hmm?" the detective asked. "He has no alibi, a disgusting motive, he's skilled for what was needed, his activity was suspicious, and he isn't even himself right now without that stupid staff."

"That doesn't prove he killed Shinobu," Anzu shouted, pointing furiously at the Bête Noir.

"I thought we were just done discussing that whoever the third person was could most likely be the killer?" Emanuel countered. "You don't get to change your mind just because it's someone you like."

"I fail to see how we came to the conclusion that the third person is the killer," Odelios snapped, standing quite boldly against the claims. "I mean, you all were saying that the third person gave Fiora the Blue explosive, and then… what? She just dropped it accidentally? She'd be dead!"

Pyrrha cleared the throat and waved over at Odelios. "Odeli, honey, you may be overdoing it. Maybe we should let Ishiku defend himself?"

The entire trial room turned towards Ishiku, who ran out of chocolate coins to drop. He sighed heavily, and said, "Odelios, I really appreciate it, my friend, but I shouldn't try denying my involvement any longer."

The trial room went quiet as the grave, with everyone letting that statement sink in. Ishiku wiped his sweaty brow, and then braved glancing up at those staring at him.

"What?" Anzu balked.

"What?!" Odelios cried out.

"He admits it?" Blake asked, then he thrust his finger towards Ishiku, and shouted, "Murderer!"

"Wait, no no no!" The magician frantically waved his hands and shook his head. "I didn't kill her! I swear!"

"Don't try to fucking deny it," Emanuel shouted, slamming his fist on his podium. "You just admitted you're the third person!"

"Let me explain, please!"

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"Shinobu asked me to help her out last night," Ishiku said, "because she wanted to save the Kubs from being forced into that robotic slavery state."

"Wait, how much did she tell you?" Isaac questioned him.

"She told me at that point that she had to spend time asking Taro for details, and that I would have to wake up at 8:30 AM, and go to the tailor shop."

"Uh-huh, and next?"

"I got the instructions from a note in the first Monophanie jacket on the rack! It was highly detailed, and it let me know everything I needed for the mission."

"Wait, you didn't question any of this?" Eisei asked.

"Why'd you wear the jacket, anyway?" Saiko inquired.

"Oh, the note said to wear the jacket, because that would signal to her that we were onboard with the plan when we approached the front door."

"Do you still have the note?" Yejoon asked, twirling around a throwing dagger in his hand.

"No, I don't. That was in the jacket when I left it in the weapons testing room."

"How convenient for you," Emanuel snidely remarked.

"Looking back, I would say it was a stupid thing to have done! But that matters, I just need to explain my actions. I was working alongside Fiora when I got upstairs."

"You spoke to her?" Isaac asked, rather surprised by this confession.

"More than that, the two of us were told to stay up on the second floor, and make sure everything up there was prepared!"

"Haha, got it!" Odelios declared happily. "Ishiku, buddy, you're gold, baby!"

"Our theory was that the killer didn't kill Fiora because she never saw this third party, but if Ishiku and Fiora worked together, then it makes perfect sense," Odelios announced. "He's not a killer!"

Emanuel let out a loud scoff right as the trial room went quiet for a moment. "Oh for fuck's sake, that's not proof or a contradiction, that's just an alibi."

Crystal ran her fingers on the collar of her jacket, and remarked, "It isn't really helpful that Ishiku lied about his involvement until it was dragged out from him."

"I didn't want to say anything," Ishiku cried out, "because I knew something like this would happen! I knew that I'd be accused, and Emanuel would do everything in his power to make me look like the killer!"

"You're Goddamn right I would," Emanuel declared, "because you are! Like hell you were working with Fiora… how would she end up on the first floor if she was helping you on the second floor?

"Unless you're declaring she is the killer?"

The Bête Noir grinned wickedly once again, as he leaned towards the quite intimidated magician. "Oh please, tell us that. Accuse her of being the killer, I'd love to hear how you deflect this from that idiot."

"I used to be terrible at dating," Fiora sang as she wobbled back to her podium, and was now leaning rather strongly on the railing. "Then I met a Love Fairy, and I'm all better now!"

Ishiku took a deep breath, as he tried to summon all of his courage while the entire trial room stared at him. He was obviously struggling with words, so someone spoke first.

"Ishiku, is it true?" Taro asked, taking a deep breath as he stared at him. "Did you get Shinobu killed? I… I don't want to believe it was you, I really don't."

"I don't either," Monophanie shrieked from the Kubs' platform. This gathered a lot of their attention, because of how loud she was. "Ishi, you're not the killing type! Please, tell them what happened!"

"Youse really shouldn't cheer them on," Monosuke remarked.

"I thought we were here to cheer on the death!" Monokid protested.

Ishiku stared at Monophanie, who had her little paws clasped as she pleaded with her metal eyes. The magician inhaled, and declared, "No, I didn't kill Shinobu! But I believe I know who did!"

"Who?" Taro asked, gripping his podium, leaning towards the magician. "Please tell me who did this horrible thing to Shinobu!"

Ishiku glanced defiantly at Emanuel, then he raised his hand to point at…

…

SELECT A SUSPECT!

…

… Monokid.

"He did it," Ishiku shouted, glaring at the blue Kub. "He was the one who killed Shinobu!"

Now this shocked the entire trial room, with the silence feeling like a thunderclap cleared the place out. Ishiku trembled with emotion, but he didn't back down from pointing at the Kub.

Then there was laughter, strong and mocking laughter, coming from the humans and the Kubs. Some of the laughter was the nervous variety, but it didn't help the tense atmosphere that felt suffocating at this point.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Blake shouted, clutching his stomach as he cackled. "You're saying the Kub did it?"

"That's ridiculous," Monosuke hollered as he guffawed.

"My adorable widdle Kubs aren't murderous," Monokuma protested, "well, they aren't directly homicidal, at the least."

"Of all the stupid, ludicrous, pathetic excuses," Emanuel said, as he tried to contain his emotions but failing, "you're trying to pin this on the dumb Kubs?"

Monokid had stayed silent throughout all of this, and then he barked out with laughter of his own. "You wanna take me on, magic boy? Alright, then bring it!

"You bring it harder and more metal than you've ever brought anything in your life if you're gonna accuse me in a Penjar trial!"

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"Tell us what happened, Ishiku," Isaac pleaded. "We need to hear your side of the story before we can reach any conclusions."

"Alright, please hear me out. I was setting up the trap and all of the weapons in the other room, when Fiora beckoned me over to the other room."

"Is there any point to listening to this liar?" Emanuel asked.

"He gets a chance to explain himself," Anzu affirmed, pointing rather viciously at the detective. "Ishiku, please continue!"

"Haw haw, I ain't buying it," Monokid guffawed.

"Okay, so, Fiora had to communicate without words, but she showed to me that the Monokubs' bodies were different. The Monotaro one was heavier, like a robot of different material."

"Which would be because he was the only real one," Kimiko commented.

"Then, all of a sudden, that one came to life!" Ishiku declared, pointing at Monokid again. "He ran over to that other shelf, opened it up, and pulled out this other version of himself…

"Then he chucked himself at us! Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed the two vials of Blue that Fiora had left on one of the desks!"

"So she did have Blue explosive instead of Red, like you were given?" Hara asked.

"Yeah, that really confused me, but I had little time to react, as Monokid started running around the room, laughing and cackling and acting like a freaking child carrying a bomb and playing Keep Away with it!"

"Haw haw haw! I'm no child," Monokid shouted. "There, proved you fucking wrong, discussion over!"

"I actually dove towards him when he made a run for the door, and he dodged out of the way. Then… I still cannot believe this… he did a football victory dance, and raised his arm to spike one of the vials!"

"That does sound like him," Taro said, staring suspiciously at his blue brother.

"Hey, I thought I won. What do you have to say?!" Monokid demanded. "No, that's fucking wrong!"

"How did you survive that?" Yejoon asked.

"I kind of leapt out of the room when diving for him, so when I saw him ready to spike that vial, I slammed the door shut. I guess since Blue works best against building material, rather than metal doors, it saved my life."

"I'd hate to ruin a bullshit story," Emanuel shouted, "but this is over right now!"

"There's so many holes in that story, I'm tired of fucking listening to it!" The Bête Noir spat, and then turned to Monokid. "Hey, by the way, where's my drink?"

"Huh? Oh, I gave it to her to give to you, I kind of got wrapped up in the trial when it became about me."

Monokid gestured towards Fiora, who was holding the flask in both hands. "I love fruit punch," she declared, before trying to drink from the still-closed flask.

Emanuel slapped his palm against his face, and mumbled in Spanish. Shaking it off, he went back to the debate. "Okay, let me just go over this quickly then:

"If Monokid had spiked the explosive on the ground, he'd be obliterated. Not to mention he had the other one in his hand, as you said, which would have blown it up too! And most of all, you used a fucking door to defend yourself from a building busting explosion?

"How fucking dumb do you think we all are?"

"But it's the truth!" Ishiku shouted, frantically glancing around at everyone. "I swear, that's what happened, even if I cannot entirely explain everything that happened!"

"Need I remind everyone that the Blue explosive demolished the floor of the building, and one of the walls?" Emanuel hollered. "There's no way that little bear survived that explosion from that close!"

"I'm fucking tough," Monokid protested.

"Can we wrap this up? I'm tired of listening to these horrible stories," the detective remarked. "We all know he did this solely to get his piece of ass back."

"Stop calling her that!" Ishiku shouted, his eyes blazing with emotion, mostly anger and frustration at Emanuel. "This is precisely why I didn't say anything, because I knew it would lead to this!"

"Lead to what, exactly?" Crystal asked.

"Everything thinking I did it because Fannie and I were intimate. I knew that you'd all think it, 'Oh he's a guy, he just wants to have sex with her more.' That isn't why I did it, and that isn't why I like her!"

Ishiku gripped his hair again, and groaned in frustration. "But no! I'm a man, so of course that can be my only motivation, isn't it? How am I supposed to defend myself when people will think I'm just a sex-crazed pervert?"

"But you're not!"

Monophanie sobbed from up on the Kubs' rise, and gestured towards the magician. "I… I… I know it's different, and I'm who I was meant to be now. But Ishi… I know what we had was more than physical delight! You cared about me, when no one else did."

The speech would have been so much more impactful if the two foot, pink, robotic bear with a shrill voice wasn't delivering it. Still, Ishiku let out a relieved gasp, and smiled. "Oh, Fannie…"

"This is fucking disgusting," Blake remarked.

"You are talking about romance," Futaba snapped, glaring at Ishiku, "with a Monokuma-based robot who simply had a human body for a couple days. And nothing more!"

"Are you really that type of person?" Souma asked, crossing his arms as he frowned at the magician. "Do you really believe that anything that comes from the very depths of Despair is going to have a heart, a true care for you?'

"Stop claiming my sister and Ishiku are liars!"

Taro shouted as he slammed his hand on his podium, and stared furiously around the trial room. "I feel emotions and desires the same way you all do. It was different when I was a robot bear, but I know now the free will you all possess, the desire, the want for affection, friendship, romance…"

The white 'n red-topped young man sniffled, and a tear ran down his face. "Every time I think about Shinobu, about losing her after getting to know her so well, it feels… heart breaking. I feel like someone kicked me, right here…"

He pointed at his chest, and took a shuddering breath. "After all she did for me, what she meant to me, it's what makes me human. And who am I to deny my sister and her friend that?"

"This is fucking disgusting," Blake repeated.

Pyrrha sobbed, wiping tears away from her eyes. "T-Taro, you really felt that way about her? Did you love her?"

"I… don't know what love truly is, I was only introduced to all these emotions when I became human. I-"

"Did you fuck her?"

The trial room went quiet at Emanuel's sudden question. The Bête Noir was glaring the sharpest of daggers at Taro, as he was gripping his podium and shaking in outrage. "Did. You. Have. Sex. With. Her?"

Taro nervously glanced around the trial room, and asked, "Do… do I have to answer that?"

"YES YOU HAVE TO ANSWER IT," Emanuel bellowed, his voice making the room feel like it was shaking, "SO TELL US NOW!"

The newcomer yelped in fear, and cried out, "But… but it was private between us!"

Emanuel's jaw dropped, and then he shook his head. "Holy fuck, that's what it was about, all this time. It wasn't about trying to free them from enslavement, or stop Despair's cloning process, or anything noble like that…

"It was about that flat, lonely, idiot girl trying to save a boy she had sex with so she could have what she saw as a boyfriend!"

Emanuel slammed his fists down on the podium, and spat out, "Unbelievable. She was just as awful as Ishiku this whole time!"

"Hey, I didn't know she was intimate with Taro," Ishiku cried out. "But that isn't important! We did it for the Kubs to be free, not for the sex!"

"Sure ya did," Aka muttered.

"It's true! Why won't you believe me? It's not Shinobu's fault that she didn't know Fannie's schedule, she wanted to save all of them!"

The Bête Noir had been fuming, breathing hard, when that stopped suddenly. His eyes stared downwards as he went silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled, and burst out laughing. "Oh fucking hell, you gave yourself away, Ishiku! You truly stuck your foot in it by admitting to where you were!"

"Huh? What are you saying?" Odelios argued. "He still sounds credible to me!"

"Oh really now?"

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"Ishiku admitted earlier," Emanuel said, "that he knew that the Kubs were of different weight and characteristics, but he knew that only Monotaro was real."

"That was Fiora who found out," Anzu pointed out, "according to him."

"Well it's not according to him, because he's a fucking liar. The truth was, he found out that his little fuck buddy was a bear Kub once again, while Shinobu's could still be saved."

"That's not true!" Ishiku pleaded. "That's not the truth at all!"

"I can guess that if he found out Fannie could never come back to him," Crystal remarked, "he would have been upset."

"He had the Blue with him," Saiko said, glancing from side to side, "and he also knew that Shinobu was right underneath him, so to speak."

"Wh-what's going on?" Ishiku declared, fearfully gripping his hair. "Why is everyone going with this?"

"So he would have tried to blast the floor to have the ceiling fall on Shinobu," Aka declared, "and get revenge!"

"Are you kidding me with this?" Odelios shouted. "That is so crazy and stupid, and-"

"Then he would have jumped down to see if the deed was done," Emanuel continued. "But he had missed, Shinobu was still alive, so he threw the second container of Blue at her."

"Boom goes the wall, Shinobu hits the rebar," Souma said, rubbing his chin, "and then the shelf falls with the power strip attached to it. Ishiku is standing on one of the large pieces of rubble, maybe one of the flatter pieces since it was the floor from above that had rained down."

"Then the power goes out, killing the electricity after it kills Shinobu," Emanuel carried on. "Ishiku leaves through the new hole in the wall, and then comes back later with everyone else to hide the fact of what he did upstairs."

"Stop it!" Ishiku begged. "I didn't do this! I didn't kill Shinobu! I wouldn't!"

"Everyone, stop talking right now," Isaac shouted, as he pointed at Emanuel, "because you've all gone horribly off-track!"

"Oh what is it now, Mr. Reporter?" Emanuel said with a roll of his eyes. "Can you deny anything we've said?"

"What about the fact that according to you, Ishiku went on this rampage when he discovered the difference between the Kubs?" Isaac pointed out. "However, the Kubs were in the weapons testing room, destroyed by the Red blast rigged up to the door."

"Yes, the trap that Ishiku himself set up. So what, he just moved the fake Monokubs into that room to destroy them first, so that it would look like he had gone according to plan."

"Oh so he was morally outraged to the point of murder, but he still helped Shinobu destroy Taro's robotic body? How very thoughtful, during his murderous rage!"

"He probably wanted to make it look as convincing as possible, should his role be revealed," Emanuel shouted, tightening his fist and shaking it at Isaac. "He did need a way to destroy the Monophanie jacket, after all."

"No! No please stop," Ishiku cried out. "I told you all, it was Monokid! He did this!"

"Yeah, I don't think anyone's buying it," Monokid remarked, and added, "Fucker!"

Emanuel groaned, as he tried to grab at his flask from Fiora, but the movie maker wobbled out of range. Losing patience, he announced, "Anyway, this conversation is over."

"What?" Kimiko balked. The biker gang leader glanced between Ishiku and Emanuel. "No it isn't!"

"It really is," Aka said, crossing her arms. "Ishiku lied about his involvement, he had the motive, and the ability to do everything."

"All of the evidence points to him," Souma said in agreement. "And there was no one else there."

"No… no I'm innocent!" Ishiku pleaded. "Fiora! For God's sake, snap out of it! You have to tell them what happened!"

The movie maker glanced around the room, trying to find out where her name was coming from. "Is that my conscience? I won't pick my nose anymore, I promise!"

"Fiora, please! WAKE UP!"

"That's enough," Emanuel shouted, glaring vicious at the magician. "You heard them! It's time to vote, here and now!"

"No it isn't," Isaac asserted. "We're not all in agreement!"

"Damn right," Odelios insisted. "I don't think Ishiku did this! Not my friend, not my buddy, not in my house!"

Ignatia glanced up at the bears' platform, and proceeded to place her hands over her ears.

"I DECLARE THIS SPLIT DECISION MAKING TIME!"

Monokuma's sharp shouting alerted everyone, as the bear waved the megaphone around in the air. "I think we can all agree that it'd be so uncool to do a vote when there is still argumentation and debate to have!"

"No, we don't need this," Emanuel argued. "It's only a couple people who won't see the truth!"

"Oh really now? Your podium panels have the two choices on them, so I'd like to see how many people vote for each one. So, what do you all think?"

There was a quick rush of electronic beeps, with only a few people needing a little more time to think about it. Monokuma held up a tablet, surveying the screen.

"Looks like there is call for a good ol' debate! Let's see if you can convince Mayor Monokuma which side is strongest!"

"I thought we were the mayors," Monosuke grumbled.

"You got this, Taro," Monophanie called out. "You're the first one of us to take part in this!"

Taro took a deep breath, as he studied everyone in the group. He glanced between Ishiku and Emanuel, and said, "I won't fail Shinobu."

Monokuma lifted a large key, labeled "Key to the City" on the side. A large lock raised up from the floor in front of his garish throne, and he inserted the key into it. With a twist, power could be heard charging up and machinery running throughout the trial room.

The platforms lit up at the base of their stands, and then hovered into the air. Taro had to grip his podium, but he managed the ride alright; Fiora was alright too, but she was now declaring how she could fly. As the podiums lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened up, and moving into the hallway-like room.

This was their third Scrum Debate, and despite how intense the previous two were, this one felt more dire than the others. The emotions were acute, and there was no showing weakness now…

SCRUM DEBATE!

Team SCP-049 ("Ishiku is Shinobu's killer!")

Members: Emanuel, Blake, Crystal, Futaba, Souma, Eisei, Aka, Saiko, Ken, Yitro, Ignatia, Fiora.

…

Team Otherworld Nurse ("Ishiku is not her killer!")

Members: Ishiku, Odelios, Taro, Isaac, Hara, Hikari, Anzu, Drake, Yejoon, Pyrrha, Shuuya, Kimiko

The podiums rose up into the room, with everyone facing each other now on two sides. Monokuma and the Kubs were standing at the end of the room, though Taro was standing prominently at the forefront for the innocent side.

"So tell me why Ishiku's story is less believable than Emanuel's?" the newcomer asked, crossing his arms.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Ishiku's story is full of holes," Emanuel snapped at him, glaring at the young man. "For starters, how could Monokid survive a Blue blast that close?"

"It was said that the Kubs were blast proof," Anzu asserted as she extended a finger towards the detective. "We know those bodies of theirs are strong!"

"It's ludicrous to think they are that strong," Saiko said, shaking her head. "If they were that tough, why would Shinobu even attempt to destroy them?"

"They were destroyed, however," Hara pointed out to her friend, "by the Red explosive. Shinobu knew what would work, and that's why she planned on using Red to destroy the Kubs' robotic bodies."

"But there weren't Red explosives in the workplace room," Yitro replied. "There were two Blue vials. The only reason they would be there would be sabotage."

"If Ishiku really was sabotaging Shinobu's plan, how could he do that?" Hikari asked, twirling her parasol on her shoulder. "Think about it, he would have realized the change, gone downstairs to make Blue, come back up and set up all the traps, and bomb the floor. That's too long!"

"How could that take too much time?" Ken inquired. "If he was instructed to get there at 8:30 AM, then he had had an hour and a half-hour to do that. It's plenty of time, for the Ultimate Magician."

"But during that hour and a half, Shinobu was downstairs the entire time," Kimiko declared. "Surely she would have noticed if he deviated from her plan to come downstairs to make more liquid explosives!"

"If Shinobu was downstairs in the containment tank room the whole time," Souma reasoned, "then she wouldn't be able to see to the other side of the building. After all, she had set up a plan, thinking they'd fall in order."

"What was her plan?" Shuuya asked, raising an eyebrow. "To stand around in that lab room and wait for things to get ready? No, she had to have been doing something! Like preparing the explosives in the chemistry lab."

"That's not possible," Futaba said as she corrected her glasses, "because there were notes left in the chemistry lab, obvious instructions to someone other than herself because she could speed-read the instructions. She wasn't the one mixing the liquid explosives, it was either Ishiku or Fiora."

"The liquid explosives couldn't have been made by either," Pyrrha remarked, "because Ishiku was working upstairs all that time, and Fiora was tricked into thinking Blue was the correct explosive. Fiora isn't stupid enough to read basic instructions wrong."

Fiora giggled as she stared at the panel on her podium. "I like words that start with G more than I." She then slumped on the railing of her podium, giggling to herself.

"Is that why you're over there, my little flower?" Yejoon questioned. "Anyway, as Pyrrha said, if Ishiku was the one making explosives, then he would have made Red to begin with, following the basic instructions, before going upstairs."

"Or maybe he's fucking lying about working upstairs," Blake swore, clenching his hand into a fist, "and he planned to kill Shinobu from the start! She's dead one way or another, and he's the only suspect!"

"Except that Monokid is also suspect," Ishiku insisted. "Have you all forgotten that he was set to transfer back into his robot body at 8:30? We didn't know until it was too late, so he came to life while we were organizing things after 9 AM!"

"I remember the explosions happened after 9 AM, before 9:30 to be precise," Crystal said. "But what does that prove? Are you implying that Monokid jumped down to the first floor, and hurled the other vial of Blue at Shinobu? Why didn't it blow up when he allegedly spiked the first one?"

"You do realize that if Monokid spiked the first vial of Blue," Isaac countered, "it doesn't mean he was holding the other one. After the blast, he could have grabbed the other one and jumped down to the first floor."

"Monokid jumped down to the first floor, and proceeded to kill Shinobu?" Eisei repeated, before shaking his head. "The Kubs are not allowed to kill us, that is against their rules."

"It's against their rules to directly kill us, but don't you see how it could be considered not direct in this case?" Odelios declared. "Not to mention that the Kubs are shockproof, so the electricity wouldn't kill Monokid!"

"Oh, and I guess Monokid," Emanuel snidely remarked, "left the footprints outside, soiled the jackets at the tailor shop, and then joined with everyone else? He's not a murderer, he's just a fucking Despair bear!"

"Wait a minute, Monokid wasn't with everyone else when we first saw him at the lab," Hara protested. "He was already inside the lab, while the other Kubs were stuck outside with us!"

Ignatia mimicked a building with her hands, and then motioned to imply those who were stuck outside. She then pointed to the side of this mimicked building, and pantomimed an explosion at the side.

"I see what you mean, Ignatia," Drake said, "but the Kubs weren't aware of the explosion at the side of the building. They were trying to get in through the front door!"

"The Kubs don't need the front door," Aka declared, "they get anywhere they damn well want in this town! They know everything about it! So obviously Monokid came in through that hole for the fun of it!"

"Aka, calm down, there's a reason why he couldn't use that hole," Hikari said. "He would have had to wade through the water, but when we saw him, he wasn't wet."

"You could have easily missed if he were wet or not," Futaba remarked, "because that wasn't where your attention was, for sure. Besides, if he did attack Shinobu like you claim, wouldn't he have gone into the water?"

"Go into the water? Wait a minute," Odelios said, then he snapped his fingers as he laughed in relief. "What about Ishiku? Shouldn't he be wet to go through that gap underneath the shelf?"

Ignatia held out her hand at an angle to mimic the shelf, then she tried to crawl under it with her fingers on her other hand. Struggling, she then decided to climb over it with her fingers.

"So Monokid pulled himself over the shelf," Pyrrha countered, "avoided going through the water entirely, to show up inside of the lab? That's ridiculous behavior, and yet you're claiming to understand his actions."

"No one can understand Monokid's actions," Saiko reasoned, "but at the very least, he wouldn't have done things like a human would to frame someone else, or hide that he was there."

"Wait, hide that he was there?" Taro repeated, scratching the red side of his hair. "Why wouldn't he do that, exactly? Why can't my brother have deviously hid his involvement in Shinobu's death?"

"Gah, another word that starts with an I!" Fiora shouted. She grabbed the hood of her jacket and pulled it up over her head (and hat). "Protect me from the cursed words, o' beloved jacket!"

"Jacket? Wait a minute… wait," Taro mumbled, scratching at his head harder. "Hold on!"

"Ignore her, she's not part of this!" Emanuel ordered.

"No, hold on, that's wrong!" The newcomer pointed at Fiora. "The Monokub jackets that everyone on the team had to wear! Ishiku destroyed his in the weapons testing room!"

"Yes, I found the pieces there, but what about it?" Eisei inquired for the opposing team. "What does that prove?"

"If Ishiku destroyed his jacket in the weapons testing room, then why sneak out and mess up the jackets at the tailor shop? That would only call attention to the fact that there was someone else on the team, not to mention run the risk of being caught!"

"My God, he's right," Isaac said, grasping at his beanie as he tried to contain his excitement. "But if Ishiku destroyed his jacket, and the tailor shop was a decoy done by someone else… that can only mean one thing!"

"There was a fourth member of Shinobu's team!" Taro specified.

"No!" Emanuel shouted. "No that's all fucking bullshit-"

"THIS IS OUR REASON!" Team Overworld Nurse shouted in unison, boldly asserting themselves in the face of the other team.

"Holy cow, what a spectacle, what a show," Monokuma said. "And I'm totally not biased because of my lost son, but victory totally goes to his team!"

The platforms all came down, slowly but surely, and settled back inside of the trial room. There was a bit of a hush, as everyone from both teams contemplated the possibility of a fourth member of Shinobu's team. The only ones not doing so were Fiora, still loopy, and Emanuel, still enraged.

"No no NO!" The Bête Noir hollered as he kicked at his podium. "We had the killer in our grasp, and we lost some fucking debate!? There is no fourth member, there is no chance… there… there…"

"Thar she blows!" Fiora cheered.

"Oh shut up! This is all your fucking fault, PUTA!"

Emanuel swung at her, and the slap echoed violently across the trial room. Fiora fell to the ground, not even catching herself as she went down. With a heave of frustration, Emanuel ignored the shocked gasps and cries from the others, and moved over to collect his flask from her at long last.

When he bent down to pick it up, he felt a sharp object press up against his neck. "If you lay a hand on her one more time," Yejoon whispered into the detective's ear, "I will perforate you to ensure you take the longest amount of time to bleed to death."

Emanuel froze up, and stared over at Monokuma in the hopes that the bear would stop this bad situation. The Despair bear noticed, and cried out, "Okay, enough violent fun, people! Go back to your respective podiums, and carry the trial on! Or Daddy Monokuma will get beary beary mad! Phuhuhuhu!"

"I will not," Yejoon snapped, glancing up at the bear in charge. "You do not intimidate me, I refuse to let this beast continue his violence."

"Oh that's rich, coming from the parent-killing serial murderer," Emanuel said with a bitter laugh. "But hey, I get it, you like her for some reason. Fine, just get away from me, I won't hit her again."

"You'd best not."

Yejoon removed the dagger from its precarious place, and moved over to Fiora. The movie maker hadn't moved since she had collapsed, but she was breathing irregularly.

"Fiora? Please, talk," the artist implored. "Are you alright?"

"…

…

Ugh… head… face… pain… ow…

D-don't hit me again, Junko… ugh."

Fiora blinked and shook her head, then glanced upwards. When she saw Yejoon's mask, she shrieked and leapt up into the air, but with nothing to grab onto, she came right back down and into his arms.

"Oh put me doo'n," she shouted at him, shaking her fist as she adjusted her fedora back onto her head correctly. "I doo'nt recall saying you could touch me, eh!"

"I apologize, my little flower, but I could not risk you hurting yourself again."

"What do you mean, 'a'geen'? What… wait… where am I?"

The movie maker glanced around, as the scenery was different enough to warrant confusion, but it didn't take her long to realize she was in the trial room. Her eyes widened in shock and terror, as she surveyed the graduates, and saw the memorial stand that she dreaded becoming a reality.

"Shinobu," she whimpered, then sobbed as she covered her face with her free hand. "No! No no no, how did this happen?!"

Yejoon placed her back on her feet, and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know this is hard for you right now, but we're trying to discern who killed Shinobu. You are the witness we have needed for some time."

"Um, okay. How much do you all knoo' already?"

The artist walked over to his own podium, and said, "Why don't you give us your story, but you'll have to make it a little quick. We're running out of time."

Emanuel snorted, as he stared at Fiora. "Like she'll give us anything new."

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"Alright, let me start at the beginning," Fiora spoke, rubbing her sore face. "Shinobu asked me to join her at the tailor shop at 8 AM, and when I got there, she told me her entire plan."

"Her whole plan?" Hara asked. "Goodness, that's a lot to go over."

"Um, I'll try to give you the abridged version: go upstairs, get the Monokubs out of their case, place them in the same location as the files and computers, then help Ishiku with setting up the booby traps at the doors."

"Wait, did you know what explosive you were supposed to use?" Yitro asked.

"Huh? It was a liquid explosive. It was left at the foot of the stairs, and we were alerted by a loud knocking a'geenst the wall."

"Shinobu was downstairs the entire time?" Yejoon inquired. "And you two were upstairs the entire time?"

"Y-yes, why do you ask? Is something wrong with that, eh?"

"Oh my God, this is so asinine," Emanuel spat out. "She's lying!"

"Why did you go behind our backs and do this?" Saiko demanded to know, glaring at Fiora. "Why all the secrecy?"

"What? Because we knew you people wouldn't understand, eh," Fiora, suddenly quite angry, snapped at her. "And who here could we trust?"

"I'm still not fully convinced you're being honest here," Ken said, crossing his arms. "You were babbling udders nonsense just a few minutes ago, up until now."

"I… wait, what? Was I talking in my sleep?"

"I believe we have more than enough," Isaac interrupted, pointing at Fiora, "to go to the presses with this one!"

"Everyone, we were just done discussing the possibility of a fourth person being part of Shinobu's team," Isaac said, "and now we know it for a fact thanks to Fiora!"

"Huh? We do?" Fiora asked, staring in utter confusion at Isaac.

"You said that someone left the liquid explosive vials at the base of the stairs, and knocked on the wall to let you know they were ready. Shinobu didn't make the liquid explosives, she left instructions for someone to do so."

"Are you sure," Hara said, staring hopefully at Fiora, "that Ishiku didn't go downstairs at any point?"

"No, I know for a fact he was upstairs with me the whole time, eh."

"FIORA! You wonderful, beautiful woman!"

Ishiku was over to Fiora's podium in a flash, and seized the woman in a tight and grateful hug. He squealed in delight, as he buried his face in her shoulder, and sobbed as well. "They were going to vote for me for a while there! You came just in time! Thank you, thank you thank you thank you, you're my hero!"

"Awk! Errrrgh… friendly… hug… too friendly…"

Emanuel stared at the two with a look of utter disgust, and unscrewed the flask he had finally retrieved. Taking a sip, he coughed and hacked, then said, "Is anyone buying this bullshit?"

Shuuya stared at him, asking, "Are you sure you're not overreacting to your theory, once again, being wrong?"
"Wrong? Oh please, Fiora could have easily been faking this whole time! You cannot trust her, you cannot trust any of them! Two of them did this to have someone to fuck, and Fiora is the fucking Seed of Despair!

"No one," he snarled, as he pointed at the two, at her in particular, "no one comes out of a Killing Game like the one she did unscathed! You want to know how many Killing Game survivors I found over the years? Every one, every single one, turned into a psychotic killer because they couldn't handle the madness, or killed themselves!

"Despair fucks with your mind in that way, and there is no way that stupid, talentless, waste of a human being Z-grade movie maker just miraculously shrugged it off!"

Fiora, who had finally been put down by Ishiku, stared at the detective in bafflement. "What's he talking a'boot, eh?"
"We know, Fiora darling," Hikari said sadly. "We know you survived a Killing Game before all of this."

The movie maker flinched, then glanced around at the others. When no one reacted with the least bit of surprise, she knew it to be true.

"… Oh. But what's that got to do with this case?"

Emanuel let out a wail of pure angrish, and covered his face with both hands. Souma monitored this, and then looked towards Fiora. "We're concerned that this previous experience, combined with Ishiku's deviant reasons, are why one of you bombed the second floor to try and kill Shinobu."

"… WHAT?!"

Fiora shrieked so loudly, it made most of the others flinch. Monosuke's glasses shattered, and the orange Kub grumbled as he replaced them.

"I'm guessing you're going to claim that didn't happen?" Eisei remarked. His lollipop had shattered as well, much to his surprise, so he procured another one.

"No, that didn't fucking happen," Fiora hollered, clenching her hands into fists, before pointing over towards the bears' rise. "That stupid fucking blue bear tried to kill us all!"

She was singling out Monokid, who was so startled that he dropped his guitar. "Nani the fuck?!" the blue Kub shouted right back. "Moi? Me? Dude? Fuck what?"

"I told you all," Ishiku added to the chaos with his mixture of relief and outrage. "I told you, Monokid tried to kill us!"

"Wait, everyone calm down please," Crystal implored. "Fiora, yelling about this isn't going to help! Tell us exactly what happened."

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"So after I got the explosives for my room, I was organizing things when I found 'oot that the Kubs weighed differently," Fiora explained. "The one of Monotaro was much heavier, and it felt like a real robot compared to the others."

"The fake ones were much more storage for our memory," Taro explained, "they weren't as strong or flexible."

"Oh em gee, what is HE doing here?!" the movie maker shrieked, pointing at Taro.

"Focus, little flower," Yejoon remarked. "Back to what happened?"

"Um, okay. So anyway, I go down the hallway to tell Ishiku, or at least try to bring him over without talking, eh. When we get there and I am showing him, that blue Kub just gets up and starts running around!"

Monokid hid his arms behind his back, and tried to whistle innocently. It didn't come off as such.

"He grabbed one of the vials, and Ishiku chased him around. Then when he jumped for Monokid and missed, that damn bear started acting like he scored a touchdown, and spiked the explosive on the floor!"

"And he survived that?" Futaba asked dubiously.

"Yeah! I mean, I kind of was floored by the blast, and when the ringing in my ears had stopped and I was back up, I saw Monokid with the other vial in his paw… jump down to the first floor!"

"Holy crap, is that what happened?" Ishiku asked. "I was still on the other side of the door, I didn't know."

"Well, I mean, I was so worried a'boot Shinobu, I kind of… went after him."

"You jumped down to the first floor?" Futaba balked, staring at her with wide eyes. "You just leapt into that dangerous situation?"

"I could hear screaming and shouting and laughing! I was so scared fur Shinobu, and when I could see what was happening, I saw her chasing after that stupid bear!"

"I deny all of this!" Monokid shouted. "This is character assassination! Slander! Defamation! It's… it's fucking trolling!"

"Shut up, you damn little monster! You knoo' what he did?" Fiora slammed her palm on the podium as she pointed accusingly at Monokid. "When Shinobu picked him up, trying to get him to stop, he whined about not getting to have fun…

"And then he threw the other vial at the wall! Then, um, well, I tried to make a run for it, and then suddenly I was airborne… then everything went black."

"You cannot prove any of this!" Monokid asserted.

"I think I can prove something," Pyrrha exclaimed.

"You know something? I think just pieced something together from all this," the romance writer said, coiling her red hair around in her fingers. "Monokid was very disrespectful to us during the investigation, but he was also hiding something."

"I'm not hiding shit," Monokid shouted.

"Really then? Turn around."

The blue Kub froze up, almost appearing to be like Monodam. He muttered, "Um, no, don't feel like it."

Pyrrha stared him down. "You lay on your back most of the investigation. You walked backwards into the Town Hall. And now Fiora told us that when the explosion went off, you were in her arms. So turn around."

"No! You cannot make-WHOA!"

Monodam walked over to his brother, put his green paw on top of him, and spun him around. Upon his back was a scratch, as well as a slight bloodstain.

"Oh my God," Hara declared in horror. "That… that…"

"That's Shinobu's blood, no doubt about it," Isaac said, shaking his head. "She was holding Monokid in her arms when she was thrown back, and that rebar that penetrated her chest stabbed Monokid as well."

"It's just a scratch," Monokid insisted as he turned around. "I've had worse."

The graduates all exchanged glances as they took this in, though Shuuya seemed more incensed than anyone else. "Monokuma?" he spoke towards the Despair bear. "I hope you realize that this trial is against your rules?"

"Oh really now? And why is that?"

"Because if Monokid killed Shinobu, then this trial never should have happened! A trial is for when one of the tourists of Penjar commits a murder, not one of your staff! Not one of your kids!"

The bounty hunter/assassin crossed his arms, and said with a huff, "Those are your own rules, and you cannot make excuses. This trial never should have happened!"

Monokuma cocked his head to the side, then let out a confused grunt before chuckling. "Eh? Upupu… phuhuhuhuhu! Funny that it still is going on then, huh?"

"Wait," Shuuya stared at him suspiciously, "what?"

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

"The bloody scratch on Monokid's back proves it," Shuuya declared. "He was in Shinobu's arms when he threw the explosive!"

"That in turn made the shelf fall down and the power strip on it drop into the water," Drake recounted. "That's how she died right?"

"But if Monokid is responsible for Shinobu's death," Hara asked, "why are we having this trial?"

"Is Monokuma lying? Did he cheat?" Blake questioned.

"I never lie!" Monokuma protested.

"Daddy never cheats," Monophanie retorted.

"I'm just an innocent, harmless Penjar enthusiast," Monokid complained. "I never hurt anyone!"

"No, this doesn't make any sense," Ishiku shouted. "My puzzler is so stumped! I don't know what to believe in anymore!"

"Ishiku!" Odelios called out. "Just believe in the me who believed in the you!"

"That's so beautiful," Fiora said with a happy sob, "I'm so touched by your words!"

"Focus, little flower," Yejoon reminded her. "We have to decide here and now if Monokuma is cheating us."

"No! No no no," Emanuel bellowed, "you've all, no we all had it wrong since the beginning!"

"You idiots, Monokid cannot be Shinobu's killer, because that's against the rules," Emanuel exacted. "Despair doesn't cheat its own rules, it never has, and it never will!

"So there's only one conclusion we can draw from this, and that is that Monokid did not throw that Blue explosive…"

He took several deep breaths, running a hand through his hair, then he let out a bitter laugh as he turned to stare at the person in the podium next to him. "But Fiora could have."

"Huh?" Fiora balked.

"After you jumped down to the first floor, you could have thrown that explosive at Shinobu and Monokid, and hit the wall! You were the one to kill them, all along!"

"No, you've got it wrong!"

"Then was it Ishiku? Because it's either him or you!" Emanuel shouted, leaning towards her. "One of you had to have done it!"

"It wasn't him either, I swear!"

"Then what the fuck was he doing? Because, if your story is to be believed, you left all those Monokub bodies in the workplace room, yet they were blown up in the weapons testing room!"

Fiora glanced between Emanuel and Ishiku as she stammered. "I… I was unconscious, I doo'nt knoo'-"

"Listen, you stupid, stupid puta, we're going to get the truth from you one way or another, so FUCKING TALK!"

"I AM FUCKING TALKING!"

The movie maker moved in, glaring down Emanuel as a fire raged in her eyes. "But you're the one who's not listening!"

"Oh please, this is such an easy set-up for the two of you," the Bête Noir said with an exasperated groan. "You threw that explosive, made the footprints outside, and then pretended to be unconscious all this time."

"I was knocked out! I had one of those visions that Anzu and Kimiko had, I was at Hope's Peak, kind of, when this crazy woman attacked me!"

"Oh, good God, really now?! That's your story?"

"Yeah, and you know what, buster? I was told that when this happened, that the mists helped 'oot! But there still was… there was…"

Fiora went quiet, as her eyes widened in realization. She thought back, remembering what Mahiru had said, and suddenly it made so much more sense.

"Fiora, don't let your anger get the best of you. The mists saw what happened, they aided it, but a person is still in control of their actions. Remember that, it was a person!"

"A person," she whispered, then shouted it defiantly. "A person was involved! That's what Mahiru told me, that a person was responsible fur this murder, eh!"

"What?!" Anzu shrieked.

"What?!" Kimiko yelped.

"What?" Eisei declared.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Saiko shouted. "The dead girl said the mists helped but a person killed her? You just got done saying Monokid killed her!"

"What is going on?!" Aka wailed in confusion.

The trial room exploded with the most fierce argument yet, with everyone talking and shouting over everyone else. Isaac, Odelios, and Taro tried to get everyone to calm down, but nothing was working.

As the white 'n red-topped young man reached for his air horn, fumbling with the tool, Hara was contemplating everything that had gone on. She noticed her lover was trying so hard to get everyone back on track, and she tried to think of how she could help…

She need to focus. Hara felt if they didn't find the answer to all of this, and fast, they were going to be in a lot of trouble.

I don't think that Fiora or Ishiku are guilty of this crime. They both felt trapped by circumstances, and neither one would commit a murder. There's just no proof.

…

So wait a minute, if there's no direct proof that says Fiora or Ishiku killed Shinobu, then who could have?

…

It couldn't have been Monokid, then we wouldn't be holding a trial.

…

But if Monokid didn't kill Shinobu by throwing the Blue explosive against the wall, then how could someone else have killed her?

…

Trying to think of who it was is making my head hurt. If it wasn't Ishiku or Fiora, and it wasn't Shinobu herself, then who could have possibly killed her?

…

Wait, didn't we believe that Shinobu's team had a fourth member? This fourth person could very well be the culprit!

…

Ah, but wait, the fourth person couldn't have thrown the explosive into the room, Fiora would have seen them!

…

If the fourth person came upon the scene after the explosion, then did they do something that caused the fatal electrocution?

…

Yes! That has to be it! Ishiku didn't go outside, Fiora was unconscious, and Shinobu was impaled, so a fourth person had to go outside to leave those footprints and hide that they had a jacket!

…

Hold on. Why haven't Fiora and Ishiku said anything about this fourth member? Surely they would have said something by now if there was one?

…

Did they even know? Shinobu asked Fiora and Ishiku to come at 8 and 8:30, respectively. Did she ask this person to come help at 9?

…

But why do that? Come to think of it, Shinobu has been highly secretive about this, even to the members of the group. She requested that Fiora and Ishiku stay upstairs the entire time, and not come down…

…

The only reason I can think of why Shinobu kept the fourth member a secret from the other two, and vice versa, is that she knew there would be problems.

…

Shinobu must have trusted this fourth member, but knew Fiora and/or Ishiku would have an issue and thus wouldn't want to work with whoever it was? Maybe it was vice versa, maybe both…

…

Wait, does all this mean what I think it means? Did this fourth person kill Shinobu without Fiora and Ishiku knowing who it was? How, though… how did…

…

Oh.

OH!

That… that could be it. I remember what she said, or rather what she showed us.

…

But then! Who IS this fourth member? Who were they, and why would Shinobu hide their identity from the rest of the team?

…

Was it Yejoon? I mean, Fiora doesn't trust him at all.

…

No. No no no, Shinobu had zero reason to trust Yejoon either.

…

Was it Taro? Maybe the other two would have been leery of one of the human Monokubs working with them?

…

No, that doesn't work either, for a number of reasons, biggest of all that she wouldn't hide him from them; Ishiku was doing this for Fannie, after all.

…

Was it Shuuya? Was it… it…

…

Oh.

Oh my God!

"OH MY GOD!"

Hara's scream came right after Taro had finally managed to get the air horn properly in his hands, and pressed the button. Thus, right when everyone went quiet, the explorer's sudden revelation was made quite obvious to everyone.

"Honey?" Isaac spoke, staring at her questioningly and concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I… I know who it is," Hara said, practically breathing out the words. "I know who the fourth person is, and… the one who killed Shinobu."

"Wait, what?" he responded.

"Wait, what?!" Emanuel declared.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Fiora trilled.

"Enough shouting and whining," Taro pleaded, staring hopefully at Hara. "Just tell us, please. Tell us who killed Shinobu?"

Hara had to take a deep breath, shuddering as she tried to summon all of her courage. She raised her hand, and pointed…

…

SELECT A SUSPECT!

…

… at Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir.

"I believe Emanuel was Shinobu's fourth member, and he possibly killed Shinobu."

The trial room went dead silent, as the detective stared at the explorer with the most incredulous expression. Emanuel eventually unscrewed his flask, and took a long swig of the alcohol.

"Okay, I know I'm a jerk to some of you," he said, "but that's taking it a step way too far."

"Emanuel cannot be the killer," Souma said, shaking his head. "There's no way he would be a part of this."

"I mean, he is a jerk," Ishiku said, "and the jerk is never the killer, he's just being a jerk so people hope he did it. But I mean, in all seriousness, Shinobu wouldn't trust our team."

Hara glanced around at everyone, noticing their dubiousness. She glanced at Isaac, who motioned for her to carry on, showcasing his belief in her.

"Hey! I… I believe I can prove it to you all," Hara announced. "Let me just start by saying-"

"AHEM!"

Monokuma leaned forward on his throne, glaring down at the graduates and Taro. "I should let you all know that your time with the trial is almost over. You really wasted a lot this trial, I blame my good-for-nothing no-longer-mine son!

"So guess what! I'm going to allow one more debate amongst you all, and then… it's voting time!"

Hara flinched, as she realized that the pressure was all on her, and social skills had never been her strong suit. "This is bad, this is really, really bad," she thought frantically. "I think I'm the only one who recognizes the truth, and I have to convince them…

"Wait, I just have to convince over half of them, which is… thirteen of them, and that includes myself. Okay, Hara, our lives depend on this. I need to do this!

"I HAVE to do this!"

LEAP OF FAITH PERSUASION!

HARA, BEGIN!

Hara took a deep breath, bringing in all of her strength and conviction. The explorer corrected herself, and then stared at the one person she knew she could trust above all.

ISAAC!

"I know I haven't had a chance to explain myself, but do you trust me?"

"You said you'd always be by my side, Hara my love," Isaac said, smiling at her. "You should know that I'll always be by yours. If you have conviction on this, I'll be alongside you."

Hara nodded, smiling sweetly at him; however, before she could speak, Emanuel slammed his fist on the podium.

"Shut the hell up, and stop accusing me because you want to blame someone else other than those two stupid people! There's no evidence that showcases it was me, and in fact, there is evidence against a fourth person to begin with!"

SOUMA!

"Yes, about that," Souma remarked, turning towards the Bête Noir, "that note you found on Shinobu said there were only three people total?"

"Exactly!"

The public speaker shook his head, and stared down Hara. "Honestly, I know you're trying your best, but it makes no sense for him to be the killer. Not to mention we have two far more suspicious people."

"Hey, you haven't given Hara a chance to explain herself," Isaac fired off at Souma. "And also, what are you going to do? Flip a coin on who to vote for between Fiora and Ishiku? You cannot prove it was either of them!"

Souma glanced over at Emanuel, and asked, "Do you have an idea who did it?"

"Well of course it was Fiora," Emanuel said. "Ishiku looks highly suspicious, but she had the motive, the opportunity, and all of the suspicion lands on her as she was the last person to see Shinobu alive."

"No, you cannot do this," Fiora shouted.

"I am afraid I agree with Emanuel," Souma said. "You have been highly suspicious since you were found unconscious, if you even were."

The public speaker turned towards Eisei, and smiled down at his friend.

EISEI!

"Now I know you are a logical person, my friend," he said to the dentist, who stared up at him in regard. "Surely can see how this trial will be ending soon, and we'll need a strong verdict."

Eisei surveyed the trial room, and took a deep breath. "I…"

SAIKO!

"You have to believe it was Fiora at this point by now, Eisei," the forensic investigator said, with a roll of her eyes. "I mean come on, at this point, it has to be her."

"But… but Saiko," Hara stammered, staring at her close friend incredulously. Saiko managed to look her in the eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Look, Hara, I'm really sorry, but I cannot agree with you here. I don't see Emanuel working with Shinobu, this vision stuff is way too crazy for me to grasp at this point, and most of all, I've seen what people who get out of Killing Games alive do too."

She shivered at the memories, then stared at Fiora. "I… I just think she's too far gone, and I saw the fury in her voice when she was arguing."

"I… but I," Fiora stammered, whimpering as she glanced around.

AKA!

"Okay, I don't want to just stand around talking about this anymore," the skier declared. "Yeah, I don't like Emanuel, but you really think we'll take Fiora seriously? After all that bizarre shit she was doing?"

"I doo'nt even remember what I was doing," Fiora pleaded.

"This is just beyond ridiculous, arguing during a trial when someone admitted to being the last person in the room with the dead girl," Aka said. "I'm done, I'm just done with all of it."

"But wait," Hara insisted, "I haven't even-"

KEN!

"Hara, I'm afraid that there's nothing you could to convince me," the cavalryman said, as he hung his head and let out a massive sigh. "This trial, we should have known from the start that there wasn't going to be a clear answer."

"Ken, please," Hara begged him, clasping her hands. "We believed in you when you insisted you were innocent last trial, why are you rushing to conclusions now?"

"Because," Ken stared down Fiora, who shivered at his harsh glare, "I vowed to destroy Despair, at any cost. And it's sadly true, the ones who are immersed in it, even against their will, become part of it."

Fiora shook as if struck, and then sobbed. "No one believes me… I… I doo'nt knoo' what to do! What happened?"

"Wait a minute, please, everyone," Hara spoke up, gripping her podium tightly. "I haven't even tried to explain to you why-"

"We don't want to hear it!" Emanuel shouted, glaring at her. "You just don't want to accept the truth! But your fuzzy little goofball girl is actually a murderer!"

"N-no! Please, stop-"

BLAKE!

"You heard the man, we're not interested," the pyro said, shaking his hand. "Anyway, it should be obvious to everyone here that the little bitch is crazy. I mean, I guess at this point Ishiku was covering for her. He seems to be doing anything for pussy."

"I hate you," Fiora shrieked, the volume of her voice reverberating around the room. She glared at Blake, heaving in exasperation.

CRYSTAL!

"That didn't help your case," the military adviser said, staring at the movie maker. "Please, you haven't been able to put up a decent defense, you just made everything more confusing.

"I'm not letting this madness go on any longer. This fourth member doesn't exist, it's just an attempt to exonerate someone you all pity. I'm sorry, I just cannot go with that."

DRAKE!

The cartoonist raised his hand, wanting to ask a question. He had been doing this for a while, since the beginning of this debate actually. No one had noticed since he was shrinking back as his nervousness made him more and more withdrawn.

It was at this point Ignatia knocked on her podium until people noticed her, and she pointed to Drake. When the discussion came to a pause, the cartoonist glanced up from behind his sketch pad.

"Hara," he whimpered, "I trusted Emanuel during some really bad times, and I feel like it would be betraying his trust to doubt him now…"

Hara swallowed nervously, as her mind was tallying up everyone in her head. Seven people, and it was going to be nine if Drake went with Emanuel's call, because Ignatia would surely follow…

"But I still want to ask you, what is the reason you think he was the fourth person?"

Hara locked up for a moment, incredulous that she finally had a chance to talk. Before she could, Emanuel let out a frustrated growl.

"Really? You are going to listen to her try to set me up? You are going to do that, boy?" the Bête Noir asked.

"I… I just want to hear it. If it can be disproved, we shouldn't mind hearing it out."

The explorer nodded, then pulled herself together and spoke, "Okay, well, Shinobu must have asked Emanuel to help her, but she knew he wouldn't want to work with Fiora and Ishiku, because he hates them, and vice versa. Especially since Emanuel was looking to lock her up after seeing that Killing Game."

"You saw it?!" Fiora shrieked. "Wh-what? What do you mean you saw it-"

"Shut! Up!" Emanuel snarled, glaring down Fiora. "And that's the dumbest reason I've heard in my life! I hate those two, so therefore I did it?!"

FUTABA!

"I'm going to have to go with Emanuel here," the anthropologist said. "That's a very weak reason, that he wouldn't work with Fiora and Ishiku? Then why would Shinobu even ask him for help?

"Face it, she easily could have done everything herself. She had to make the explosives."

"But Shinobu left instructions for them on how to make the explosives," Isaac argued.

"Then Ishiku made the explosives, while Fiora is the killer."

"Then who made the wet footprints outside?"

"That's either Fiora, who faked being unconscious, or Ishiku."

ISHIKU!

"Hey wait a minute! How could I have gone downstairs to try and set up the image that someone left the building?" Ishiku shouted. "I was upstairs, I had to take the Monokub bodies to the weapons testing room to ensure they were destroyed!"

"Why did you do that, anyway?" Eisei asked, staring at the magician.

"Because… after that second explosion, I was frozen in place for a while, I was horrified but I realized that eventually you all would come to the lab, and our chance would be ruined. I had to do something, and I had to set up the trap!

"So I jumped the hole in the workplace room, stuffed the Monokub bodies in a bag, and leapt back to put them in the weapons testing room! Then while people were slowly starting to arrive, I snuck down to make it look like I came back in with you all…"

The magician nervously scratched the back of his head, and muttered, "I… I had a feeling that Shinobu was dead, but I thought the last thing I should do is ensure Taro couldn't be forced back into his robotic body. And those decoys needed to go as well."

"That," Emanuel said as he spit in disgust, "that is the lamest, most pathetic excuse I have ever heard in my life!"

"It's the truth!"

ODELIOS!

"And I believe you!"

The clown placed his clenched fist, holding his rubber chicken's neck in it, against his chest, over his heart. "I believed in you since the beginning, buddy! I thought it was a dangerous and mysterious mission, but I understand why you kept it secret! I would have too!

"With all the shit I've seen, I wouldn't have asked you to risk your life for a favor for me! But you know what? Next time, ask me! Because I would risk my life for you…

"And for the little lady over there as well," Odelios said, pointing Rubarrow at a quite startled Fiora. "The idea that you must be corrupted if you suffered a tragedy from Despair?

"BULLSHIT! All the shit! So much shit, it smells like cleaning up after the elephants! I don't believe it for a second! But there is one thing I have to ask you, Hara…"

Odelios leaned forward, and spoke to her in a more serious tone. "Now you're sure that no one else would have been a mystery fourth person for Shinobu's team? It really is the jerk?"

"It really is," Hara took a deep breath, and said with conviction, "the jerk."

SHUUYA!

"That's a mighty strong accusation you have there, Hara," the bounty hunter said, crossing his arms as he stared at her. "But I have some stronger questions for you.

"Why would Shinobu trust Emanuel in the first place? What has he done to warrant such trust?"

"Emanuel may be a brute, but what he wants more than anything is to stop Despair. Shinobu felt that destroying the Monokubs' robotic bodies would stop Despair's hold over them."

Hara stared at Emanuel, and sighed heavily. "I don't think he was going to betray her at first, or even at all. I think this was an accident of sorts."

"Really now?" Shuuya raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"It's something Ignatia brought up, that someone could go over the shelf instead of under it, to avoid the water."

"Wait a minute," Eisei spoke up, rubbing his chin, "didn't she try to do that at one point? But she stopped when…"

His eyebrows raised, and he glanced over at the Bête Noir. "When you asked her to help with the note."

Emanuel snarled in frustration, hammering his fist on his podium. "I just asked someone at random to help me, she didn't seem like she was doing anything."

Shuuya stared at him. "And where is that note now?"

"I put it on this fucking…"

He stared at the podium, noticing it was bare. Emanuel scanned the area, and spluttered out, "Where'd it go? Where's the note?!"

"How convenient for you to lose it now," Odelios said with a scoff.

"Fuck off, clown, that note proved that Shinobu only had two teammates, not three! I'm standing in-between the two most suspicious people in the trial room right now…"

He pointed towards Fiora and Ishiku, respectively at his right and left. "One of them had to have snatched it to prevent there being proper evidence!"

"About that, why did you ask the mute girl to help you?" Shuuya asked. "You also said it was in Japanese?"

"What's mute got to do with helping to properly read a note? And what's the problem with it being in Japanese? Everyone who studied and graduated properly at Hope's Peak knows how to read, write, and speak in Japanese and English."

There was a brief moment of silence, as Drake audibly gasped. The cartoonist was shaking, and his eyes were misting up. Several of the people noticed, especially Shuuya. "What's wrong, Drake?" he inquired.

"It's… it's just that Ignatia is like me, she didn't study at Hope's Peak like the rest of you, she was part of the art program. She was only there for one year, and you're not obligated to learn both languages."

Shuuya rounded his crimson eyes on Emanuel, and said quietly but with the utmost seriousness, "So the one person you asked to help you recover a vital clue wasn't qualified? You're looking far more suspicious to me now!"

The bounty hunter slammed his fist on the podium, and shouted, "Until you can prove otherwise, I believe you are the killer, Emanuel!"

IGNATIA!

"What the FUCK?! If Ignatia didn't know Japanese, she made no indication while I was trying to transcribe it!"

He pointed furiously at the mime, who merely rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Don't just fucking stand there, say something!" Emanuel hollered. "Write something, I don't care! But you didn't seem to have a problem when I was working with you!"

Ignatia glanced from side to side, then visibly slumped. Gesturing to Drake for his sketchpad, she made a quick message, and handed it back to him.

" 'I'm ashamed to admit I don't know how to read Japanese really well. I just didn't think it was important, since I didn't believe you could be the killer, until now.' Wh-what? Ignatia!"

Drake stared incredulously at the mime, who refused to look back. He then peered at Emanuel, pleading for an answer.

"This is ridiculous," the Bête Noir shouted. "So it's my fault that she actually didn't know what we were doing because of her fucking ego? How does that make me the killer?"

He rounded on Hara, glaring venomously at her. "You haven't put out one bit of proof it was me, that I was even there! You cannot even say how I could have killed her! The room was flooded, and then she was electrocuted!"

Hara took in a deep breath, then stared right back at him. "The room was flooded, but we all assumed that the power strip fell into the water right away. However, if that were the case, then Monokid would be our killer."

"Fiora is the killer, she threw that explosive!"

The explorer shook her head, and pointed at him. "No, because then she would have been shocked when the power strip fell in the water. You're asserting that she faked her unconscious state, that she faked those footprints, all before we showed up…

"The power strip falling into the water was an accident caused by the explosion, and yet you keep acting like it was deliberate!"

YITRO!

"I'd hate to interrupt," the swordsman said, staring questioningly at Hara, "but I do have an important question for you."

"Oh, um, yes?"

"If the power strip didn't fall into the water because of the explosion, how did it fall in?"

Hara felt panic begin to rise up in her. She blurted out, "It must have fallen in when Emanuel climbed over it, rather than under."

"How would that make it fall in when the explosion didn't cause it to? And also, why wasn't he electrocuted, those shelves are metal and would conduct a fatal shock."

The explorer tried to speak, but words were beginning to fail her. As she desperately tried to remember details about the shelf and the power strip, Isaac spoke up.

"The zip tie is on the back, left bar of the shelf," the reporter said. "If you were to stand on it, and twist your foot, the zip tie could break."

"'Could'? COULD?!" Emanuel exploded. "You're setting me up over a 'could'?!"

"It's the exact movement one would make when jumping off the shelf," Isaac countered, glaring at the Bête Noir. "You climbed over the shelf, stepped on that zip tie, and broke it when you exited the building…"

"Thus, the power strip fell into the water and electrocuted poor Shinobu, killing her!" Hara finished, pointing accusingly at Emanuel. "That's why Monokid isn't responsible for her death, you are!"

Emanuel bristled and was about to shout, when the sound of a slap echoed around the room. Ignatia, her eyes wide in shock, had covered her mouth as if to stop herself from screaming. She yanked Drake's sketchpad from him, and started writing furiously.

"Um, 'I inspected the zip tie, and I thought it was damaged more beyond a simple snap. Again, I didn't think much of it because of the situation, but those black smudges…' I-Ignatia!"

The mime lifted up her foot to point at the sole of her boot, then stamped down on the floor, and twisted her ankle. She glared at Emanuel, her conviction evident.

The same could be said for Yitro. He narrowed his eyes at the detective, and said, "I may have believed it when you described how Ishiku was the killer, but I'm not blind. And I can see how you're deflecting on Fiora, once more, to hide your involvement."

HIKARI!

"Could we all take one second, please?" Hikari asked, glancing frantically around the room. "This trial has been accusing people left, right, and center. I'm having a hard time following."

"Hikari, Monokuma is going to wrap the damn trial up in a few minutes," Aka declared. "And the case against Fiora is far more solid than the one against Emanuel!"

"But what about the fourth person? We won the Scrum Debate over that being a real possibility… and also! Someone had to smudge up those jackets in the tailor shop! It couldn't be Fiora, who we found inside the lab!"

Emanuel slapped his hand against his face, cursing under his breath. "That was Ishiku! He was trying to hide his involvement!"

"But he blew up his jacket," the steampunk model countered, staring suspiciously at him. "And so the only one who'd need to discard it is you!"

The detective heaved in exasperation. "What possible reason would I have for killing her, or leaving her for dead? I didn't know she was sleeping with Taro until now, so if I had seen her, I would have tried to help her, not leave her!

"I'm not that callous of a person," he glared around at the graduates, then specifically at the bears. "I fucking hate their kind, I hate Despair! I don't leave people to die!"

"It was the mists, wasn't it?"

FIORA!

"Monokid blew open that wall, and the mists came in," Fiora said, as she clenched her hands into fists nervously. "When I first saw Shinobu that morning, she had to walk throo' the mists, and she was speaking the truth against her will.

"I asked her why she was doing this, and she honestly replied she wanted to save Taro, as well as the other Kubs. She said she felt so bad for Taro, that he was special and a good person who had just bin created by awful circumstances. She spoke with such affection…"

The movie maker sniffled, then pulled herself together. "I knew then and there that she was attracted to him, and I accepted that. She was doing the right thing. But impaled on that rebar, helped, shocked… with the mists coming in and affecting her, she couldn't help herself, could she?"

Fiora shot a fierce glare at Emanuel. "You must have lost it if she confessed. You lost it over Ishiku and Fannie, imagine finding out your mission was over something like that! So you just ditched her, and made your exit in secret so people woo'dent knoo' it was you!

"You left her to DIE! And you killed her in the process, you evil, scummy, two-faced bastard!"

YEJOON!

"That's incredible conviction of yours, my dear little flower," Yejoon said. He pulled his mask up, and smiled at the movie maker. "But the pressure is on you, as it is on you, Hara, to lead this discussion. What proof do you have that it was Emanuel, and not someone else?"

Fiora glanced over at Hara, who stroked her chin. The explorer stared inquisitively at Yejoon, and asked, "He didn't exactly leave a trail, it's all circumstantial. Though there is one witness to this whole ordeal that has been rather silent…"

"Who would that be?"

"Monokid. He has that bloody scratch on his back as proof he was there, and he's not saying anything about his involvement. He's clearly involved, but he's not saying anything."

"That's just a fucking red herring," Emanuel spat out. "You cannot use the Kubs as proof! Or as witnesses!"

"I can use them if they willingly give information, as they have in the past. But when he's not saying something, and that's because, as it has been, because he knows too much."

Monokid glanced around the room, and nervously, wriggling his paws together. "Okay, let's all take a fucking step back. Dad'll be upset if I get this directly involved… and I don't know if he'll blame Monodam like he really should-"

TARO!

"Brother, please."

Taro placed his hands over his heart, as he stared up at Monokid. "When I was a robot, like you are now, you wouldn't believe how much the memory loss drove me crazy. I couldn't remember those I cared about, I couldn't recall those I should have.

"Takeo, Angelique, I had forgotten their names even during the trial. Now that I'm human, it hurts to think that I forgot about others so casually, so easily. You don't understand just how much I cared about Shinobu, and never, ever wanted to forget about her.

"So please, if you know something, tell us. Could you find it within yourself to care about someone else, just for this?"

Taro stared pitifully at Monokid, who slouched as he stared back. The blue Kub glanced side to side, and muttered, "Thought you were supposed to stand for determination and leadership, bro, not fucking pushover wussy boy!"

"It's not weak to care about others!" Taro shouted, his face hardening with his resolve. "I will never forget someone else in a case like this ever again! I wouldn't even forget about you! That's what Shinobu taught me, and that's far greater than any other feeling!"

PYRRHA!

There was a soft sob, interrupting Taro's speech. He glanced over at the one who had done it, who was wiping her eyes.

"You… you really did care about her," Pyrrha whimpered as she cleaned herself up. "Against everything, you felt that love in your heart, and it changed you. It's so beautiful… it's so right…"

"It's all fake!" Emanuel hollered.

"NO! It is NOT FAKE! YOU ARE FAKE!"

The romantic writer's shrieking was so sudden and emotional, even Emanuel flinched. She heaved in fury, as she continued. "I can tell, I know you all think I'm just a hopeless romantic, but I see it in the way people act towards each other!

"Whether it is budding romance between two people like Angelique and Kimiko, the long-standing love between Hara and Isaac, or the feelings that it brought to Taro and Shinobu, I know when there are those feelings of care and desire!

"And I see it in Fiora too," Pyrrha smiled through her tears at the movie maker. "There is concern in your eyes, in your tone. It's in you too, Ishiku. Your friendship with Odelios, how you two care about each other, despite how everyone probably sees it as two dudes goofing around…

"But what do you care about?" she pointed at Emanuel, frowning with a special kind of fury. "You've lost all of that care, all of that regard! That's been your problem since the beginning, and you've done everything you can to dismiss it!

"Even as you say you want to stop Despair, I can tell it's not because of care about others! You stopped caring for others a long time ago, didn't you?

"There's your proof right there, you didn't care about Shinobu. Only someone like that would leave that sweet, caring woman impaled there, bleeding to death, because she wasn't your problem anymore!"

DRAKE!

"Emanuel…"

The cartoonist spoke, slowly lifting his head to look at the detective. Their eyes met, and though he was intimidated and scared, the young man spoke to him.

"I… I didn't want to believe it was you, because you don't like the Kubs or Monokuma or anything dealing with Despair at all. But someone tried to hide what jacket they were wearing, and it just dawned on me…

"The reason for that would be revealing why, because of which Kub it would be. If it were Monodam, everyone would believe Shinobu picked that for me. But…

"But if it were Monokid, who is the only person with a strong connection with him? That would be you, he provides you drinks during these trials."

"Drake…" Emanuel started to speak, but uncharacteristically lost his voice.

"And why would she ask her teammates to wear them, to show they were in? Because she had to be able to trust that they'd do it even if they didn't like something about it, and why would she do that when she knew Fiora and Ishiku were so readily on board?
"Because she had to be worried her final teammate was going to work alongside her, and help her through it all."

Drake sobbed, and rubbed at his wet eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry, I really am sorry, but if isn't you, then why does everything about this case sound like something you would do?!"

KIMIKO! ANZU!

"My cinnamon bun, please doo'nt cry," the biker gang leader pleaded. "I knoo' this is hard for you, but not every killer is as easy to go up a'geenst as Jin or Samson."

"Even if he is a gigantic jerk," Anzu grumbled, "that threaten to face-fuck me."

"Y-yeah, besides that," Kimiko stammered, then sighed as she shook her head. "But I remember what Fiora said, that a human being did this."

"I remember that too, but I also remember Emanuel fighting tooth and nail to deny everything that pointed to a fourth member, to himself," the actress added, glaring at the detective. "It stinks to high heaven of someone who thought amping their aggressive personality up to steer the conversation."

"Hara put up a good argument, and we're going to back her up!"

"Indeed!"

EISEI!

"I agree," the short dentist said.

"What?" Souma balked. "You… you agree with all of this?"

Eisei regarded his friend, and nodded. "It makes more sense to me. When you argue what is more logical, in either case, there is a lack of proof but there is a running theme of consistency. And I'm not ignoring that."

HIKARI! YEJOON!

"I believe this conversation is over," Hikari said, as she tapped the tip of her parasol on the floor. "Like what was said many times, the trial wasn't going to last long, and we seem to have a majority decision."

"That's quite correct," Yejoon said, shaking his head. "I do believe we have a much more realistic answer to the crime than the other side."

"This," Taro shouted, pounding his fist into the air, "is the truth behind Shinobu's murder!"

He, with Hara leading the charge, pointed defiantly and shouted in unison with all those by their side, "THIS IS OUR ANSWER!"

The trial room felt like it had been struck by lightning, with how impactful that statement was. There was no one speaking, no one murmuring, just the intense feel of an argument that was completed. Even the bears were quiet.

Emanuel took a deep breath, as he regarded his flask. He slowly sipped from it, and muttered, "Probably shouldn't have made that Blue shit, since it didn't kill anyone; what a worthless explosive. Hey, Drake?"

"Y-yes?" the cartoonist asked, as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Show the people how it happened, like you've done in the previous trials. If you're going to stand with your resolve, you should do it all the way. Otherwise, this world will eat you up and spit out your bones."

"O… okay."

CLOSING ARGUMENT

Shinobu Takahashi had a plan to try and save the Kubs from their robotic forms, preventing them from being enslaved to Despair. She kept Taro out in the truth serum infused mists to learn of how the transfer would work, as well as the security systems the Science Lab had.

…

Shinobu enlisted the help of three people: Fiora, Ishiku, and our culprit. The first two had such bad history with the culprit, that she kept his identity a secret by setting up certain times. Fiora and Shinobu would prepare at 8 AM, by writing down instructions and slipping them into Monokub jackets. Shinobu wore a Monotaro jacket, and Fiora wore a Monosuke one.

…

When they went inside the lab, Fiora was to prepare the Kubs' robotic bodies for destruction. They had to be set up so that Monokuma would open the doors and blow them up, making him at fault rather than one of us. Therefore, no one would die for this cause, and Monokuma would suffer from his own cruel rules.

Fiora started to set things up in the workplace room, as Shinobu went to work in the chemistry lab to prepare for some of the essential items: the explosives. It wouldn't be long before Ishiku would show up at 8:30 AM.

When he did, he started setting up the weapons testing room for the destruction of the weapons testing room. Shinobu had prepared him Red explosive to destroy the weapons before his arrival. She was setting up the containment tank room for a trap as well, having prepared Yellow explosives to fry the equipment.

…

At 9 AM, our culprit arrived at the Science Lab, and went to the chemistry room. He started to make some of the explosives, but, because he wanted to be more destructive than Shinobu desired, made Blue instead of Red.

When he left the Blue explosives for the upstairs crew, as were his instructions, Fiora took them to the workplace room. However it was around this time that she noticed that the Monotaro body was the only one that weighed differently.

Concerned about the weight difference, she went to inquire Ishiku for advice. When they returned, Monokid was active because he had just finished his transfer.

Unbeknownst to the team, the Kubs had different times for their transfer, and only Taro hadn't been moved back. Kidd had been, and was now enjoying his robotic body by taking the Blue explosives and horsing around with it.

Ishiku tried to stop the out-of-control Kub, but when he jumped for him, Monokid dodged him. This led to him preparing to spike the explosive, and Ishiku had to shut the door to save his own life. Fiora was floored, and Monokid dropped down to the first floor where Shinobu was.

…

Monokid ran around the containment tank room with the other Blue explosive, as Shinobu desperately tried to chase him down; she had narrowly avoided being hit by the falling debris, and was now trying to stop his shenanigans.

Fiora jumped down to the first floor through the new hole to help Shinobu, and it was then that the historian managed to pick up the Kub. Then Monokid hurled the Blue explosive at the far wall, causing a horrific blast near them.

The containment tanks shattered and water flooded the room. Shinobu was thrown backwards, impaled on a piece of rebar that also stabbed and stained Monokid. Fiora was thrown out of the room, landing in the hallway and knocked out from a blow to the head.

…

It was around then that our culprit came running in from the chemistry lab, and saw the carnage that had been wrought. Maybe he initially thought it was the unconscious Fiora, maybe he thought the plan had failed. But when he saw Shinobu pinned to the rubble, he had to leave in secret so no one would know he was there.

Maybe the reason for that was because someone talked during this madness, and the security system had activated. The hole in the wall was the perfect way to get out, so he climbed over a shelf that had fallen over due to the blast.

The culprit placed his foot on one of the zip ties holding up a lengthy power strip, and when he pushed off of the shelf, he broke the zip tie. The power strip fell down into the water, and Shinobu, who was pinned down in the water, was fatally electrocuted.

…

The culprit was leaving wet footprints around the dusty wreck, so he scrapped his feet around to ensure that they weren't identifiable. He then snuck towards the tailor shop, and took off the Monokid jacket he had been wearing. Rubbing some of the other jackets on the ground, he made sure that people wouldn't know which jacket he was wearing.

Then the culprit left the tailor shop, and joined the others as subtle as possible so that people would think he was joining them normally. His involvement with the case was to take the note Shinobu kept on herself, and lie about what was on it in case it had anything implying he was part of the team.

…

At the same time, Ishiku had recovered, and collected the Monokub bodies to take them to the weapons testing room. He set up the booby trap, which eventually would ensure Shinobu's plan to save Taro happened.

I cannot claim to know how everything happened, why it happened, or that this was all his fault. But we know of his involvement, and his actions that led to the death of Shinobu Takahashi… that's right, isn't it…

Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir!

Drake closed his sketchpad, taking several deep breaths. He covered his face with his hand, and muttered, "How… no, why? Why would you do such an awful thing like leave her for dead? Did your compassion truly run out?"

"I'm sorry, Drake," Hara apologized, staring sympathetically. "I know this isn't easy for you, but it is the truth."

"Yeah, looks that way," Saiko said, shaking her head. She took a deep breath, and added, "I think, especially with his reaction, we can all see the truth now."

"Unbelievable," Souma muttered.

"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-four 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. Taro had been added, as his human form, to the pixel bunch.

"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 came relatively fast, as it was quite one-sided.

Emanuel Salmuera - 23 votes.

Fiora R. Stenton - 1 vote.

"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 coming to a stop rather suddenly, it rested upon Emanuel's portrait.

Unlike last time, the results came blaring in. It was so sudden that the answer was like a punch to the face, even if it was something they could see coming.

…

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 echoed excruciatingly with the erratic noise. When the screen turned off, and retracted back up into the ceiling, Monokuma bounced up and pumped his fist into the air.

"Wahoo-hoohoohoooooooo! Well then, we found out who done did it! Monokid, that little explosive scamp, destroyed my lab and broke most everything there! And Ishiku Shyre was the one who BLEW ME UP!

"Oh, and also, the Deviant Tourist in this murder was Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir!"

The Deviant Tourist let out a long sigh, and muttered, "Well, this sucks. This really fucking sucks."

He took the flask and whipped his head back, chugging the hard drink down as fast as he could. Coughing, hacking, he winced as he took more than he could handle at first.

"You still voted for me, eh?" Fiora said, scowling at him. "You joo'st couldn't resist, could you?"

"What can I say?" he said after the coughing stopped. "It was my last 'fuck you' to you, puta."

"How could you!"

Taro sobbed, trying to keep himself together, but his emotions spilling out. "You left Shinobu to die? You could have helped her! You claim to be against Despair, but aren't you just as cruel?"

Emanuel stared down Taro, and then sighed as he wiped his forehead. "Yeah, maybe at this point, I am a real son of a bitch. But I just don't care anymore, I really, really don't…"

The detective rummaged around in one of his pockets, as he continued to say, "That's why I'm the Black Beast, the Bête Noir…"

He then pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket, and unfolded it. There were two vials of Red explosive in that bundled cloth, and now he had both in his hand.

"And that's why I won't care who gets hurt in my last stand."

…

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