Mists of Penjar

by The Kobold Necromancer

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

36. Chapter 5-4: Case 5 Investigations

Chapter 5-4

Street to Suffering

---

"I didn't think I would be fitting for Hope's Peak Academy, which kind of seemed a bit like a celebrity status over talent. I'm a simple gal in a lot of ways, enjoying food, games, more food, and my career. A forensic investigator isn't exactly someone who needs a glamorous lifestyle.

"However, when I became part of this academy, I found more purpose in my life. It sounds cheesy, corny, even like a farfetched tale, but I discovered parts of myself that I didn't even know I was missing. My now close friends, Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik, mean more to me than anything. My career is now a part of my life, not the only thing.

"This has truly been eye-opening, and I have a much better outlook on life. When I leave here, I know that I'll be a better woman, and I believe that many others will too. Thank you, Hope's Peak Academy, my teachers, my classmates, my friends... just thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

-Saiko Kobayashi's Graduation Speech

---

Day 16, 9:36 PM

Monokuma's Arcade District

Stage 'n Cafeteria

Isaac couldn't stop himself from shaking, even as he held onto Hara. None of this felt real, he felt so numb and unsteady, as if this was a nightmare he couldn't wake from. The smell of blood and death, he was barely breathing to prevent himself from smelling them.

Though no matter how many times he had the faintest of hope that it was all fake, he would look up again and see her. Saiko, his close friend, impaled on a sword against a twitching animatronic, was there.

Eventually, people were coming into the arcade, horrified gasps and whimpers escaping from most of them. Isaac didn't want to hear them, he didn't want to acknowledge that what was there was the truth. He clenched Hara to him, who was holding onto him amid her shivering.

There was one person's reaction who he couldn't ignore, however.

Eisei sprinted into the arcade, a frantic expression removing any resemblance to his stoic norm. He froze when he saw Saiko, his mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Eisei began quivering, extending a hand towards Saiko's body.

"N-no," he whispered, then he screamed, "NO!" and sprinted towards her. Souma, who was already at the scene, managed to grab him. Eisei struggled, as tears started running down his eyes. "Saiko! NO!"

"Eisei, stop," Souma cried out, holding him back. "You cannot help her, you shouldn't see her like this!"

"There's still hope! There's so many cases of patients who had a faint bit of life and were resuscitated," the dentist shouted, struggling still despite his petite body nowhere near strong enough to break free of Souma's grasp. "Saiko could still be alive! Let go of me! Please... please let me... let me..."

Eisei grabbed ahold of Souma, sobbing miserably as he clutched at his friend's clothing. Almost everyone had gathered in the arcade by now, and could see Eisei breaking down in Souma's arms, a bloodstained Hara being held by Isaac, and Saiko's grisly fate on the stage.

The last person to step into the arcade was Blake, who took a long look at the forensic investigator's body. He ran a hand through his hair, scoffed, and then noticed Hara.

"So she killed her friend with the big mouth and bigger tits?" the pyrotechnician said, then laughed aloud. "Well, that'll make the trial so much easier."

There was a flurry of movement a few seconds later. When those words registered in Isaac's brain, he let go of Hara and charged at Blake, a murderous look in his eyes. Shuuya, with lightning-fast reflexes, managed to get in-between them and prevent a fistfight by holding Isaac back; Blake didn't help with how he laughed and taunted the reporter.

"Aww, what? Cannot handle the truth?" Blake asked, scoffing as he waved at them, stepping out of the arcade. "Whatever, no need to investigate what is so damn obvious. I'll just wait for Monokuma to announce when the trial starts, and get ready to vote for your killer fiancé."

As he walked away, Isaac fiercely fought against Shuuya's grasp, but the assassin was just as strong as one would imagine him to be. "Stop letting him get to you!" Shuuya hissed.

"He can't say that," Isaac strained out, heaving in fury. "He can't talk… like that… about them!"

"Isaac, you think beating him up will help you out now? FOCUS! Focus, damn it!"

Shuuya pinned Isaac up against one of the walls in the arcade, staring him down. The bounty hunter's eyes were gleaming red, but not the malicious kind, the kind that showcased he was quite serious about what was happening now.

"Saiko has been murdered, and we need to conduct an investigation," the bounty hunter declared. "And I need you and Hara to cooperate with me on this, or it's going to be impossible to find the truth."

Isaac panted, gasping as he still gripped onto Shuuya's arms. He stared back into Shuuya's eyes, and growled out, "I'm supposed to trust you? The killer, the one who turned on Hara last trial? You probably think she did it!"

"Isaac, we cannot rule anything out right now. But you starting a fight with that asshole won't help anyone!"

The arcade was still noisy with music playing overhead, and the animatronics jerking about as if playing a tune on their instruments. All eyes were on Isaac and Shuuya, though some were glancing at Hara. The explorer had stood up, watching her fiancé with horror and concern.

"Isaac," she softly spoke, breaking Isaac's furious panting, "please. I… we need to find out who did this. Who killed Saiko… even…

"Even if it was me."

"NO," Isaac cried out, hurrying over to Hara when Shuuya let him go. "Hara, look at me. You didn't do this. You couldn't have, you wouldn't have."

"We don't know that," Hara whimpered, shaking her head as he gently cupped her face. "The horrible things that have been happening, we don't know what Monokuma and this town is capable of. I might of… I seriously could have done this."

"Hara…"

Everyone in the arcade could only stare as Isaac and Hara looked into each other's eyes. The only sound, besides the music and robots moving around, was Eisei's soft crying. All of the graduates were quiet, trying to think of what to say or do in this terrible scenario.

"You know, it always seems to be the fifth case that really hits home, doesn't it?"

Monokuma appeared, from out of nowhere as usual, on the stage with the animatronics of his kids. He was leaning up against the Monokid one, glancing over at Saiko's dead body. "Wow, whoever did this was a real psycho to Saiko! Hehe, get it?"

"Would you kindly," Ishiku snapped, "just announce the investigation and get the hell out of here?"

"Now now now, we'll get to that! After all, the investigation has rules too! Though you should know that all buildings are now open to everyone, though not every room inside."

"Yes, we're aware," Futaba commented, shaking her head. "That's how most of us were able to get in here, I imagine."

"My adorable cubs can tell you the rest."

"RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!"

Monodam and Monokid popped out from behind their own animatronics, waving their metal paws in the air. Monokid glanced at Saiko's body, and burst out laughing.

"Fucking metal way to die," he declared, pumping his fists in the air. "Hell yeah!"

"STOP-THAT," Monodam said, then turned towards the graduates. "THE-INVESTIGATION-WILL-BEGIN-SOON. YOU-WILL-HAVE-AN-AMBIGUOUS-AMOUNT-OF-TIME-TO-INVESTIGATE, THEN-THE-TRIAL-WILL-BEGIN."

"Monodam, please," Drake pleaded, walking up towards the green cub, "can you answer any questions we have?"

"ONLY-THE-ONES-I-AM-ALLOWED-TO-ANSWER. I-WILL-REMAIN-HERE-FOR-THE-DURATION-OF-THE-INVESTIGATION. MONOKID-WILL-HELP-ALL-OTHERS-OUTSIDE."

"What about," Anzu spoke up, "Monocrow?"

The green Kub didn't say anything, even though he turned to glance at Anzu with his lifeless eyes. Monodam simply turned back to Drake, and asked, "IS-EVERYONE-ACCOUNTED-FOR?"

Drake glanced around the cafeteria, taking everyone into consideration. "Um, there's a couple of us missing. Blake, and Odelios…"

As if summoned by saying his name, the clown sprinted into the arcade, gasping and panting. His face paint was crusty and smeared from sweat, and he looked quite disheveled; his exasperated expression warped into horrified realization when he saw Saiko's body.

"N-no," he gasped, covering his mouth. "Oh my God, did… did…"

The clown glanced over at Anzu, who gasped when she realized it was her he was looking at. While everyone was confused by this, Monodam spoke up again. "MONOKID-CAN-GO-TELL-BLAKE-THE-RULES. GO-NOW, MONOKID."

"Go fuck yourself, fuck-face Fuckodam!"

Monokid scurried out of the building, chuckling as he flapped his arms around. They all watched him go, with Fiora closest to the door. The movie maker tilted her hat up, her eyes narrowed as she observed the body. "So what else do we need to know about the investigation?" she asked.

"AS-FATHER-SAID, ALL-BUILDINGS-ARE-OPEN, BUT-YOU-STILL-CANNOT-GET-INTO-LOCKED-ROOMS-WITHOUT-PERMISSION. YOU-ARE-WELCOME-TO-INVESTIGATE-ANY-PART-OF-PENJAR-YOU-WANT-NOW. AND-FINALLY, YOU-CAN-ASK-ME-ANY-QUESTIONS-YOU-HAVE, JUST-KNOW-I-CANNOT-ANSWER-THEM-ALL."

"Then where's Monocrow?" Anzu asked again, stepping forward. "Where is he?"

"Saiko is dead," Crystal snapped at her, "and you care about that stupid bird?"

"Monocrow knows where everyone is, and was," the actress fired back. "If we ask him the right questions, we could find out who the killer was."

"Sounds like the perfect way to catch our killer," Ken agreed, clapping his hands together. "We should split up to look for the raven!"

"HE'S-OUTSIDE," Monodam said. "YOU-SHOULD-PROBABLY-SPLIT-UP-AND-INVESTIGATE, THIS-WILL-BE-A-VERY-TRICKY-CASE."

Eisei, having stopped crying, gently stepped away from his friend. "I… I want to stay here and help with investigating-"

"No, my friend," Souma responded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I said, you shouldn't see her like this."

"I'm the only one with medical training now."

"Dentistry never covered sword wounds through the chest. Please, let people who have dealt with this kind of stuff before do this part of the investigation."

Eisei reached into his pocket, pulling a lollipop from it. As he unwrapped it and placed it in his mouth, he started shivering so bad that it fell from his mouth. Against every bit of his character, he reached down, picked it up from the carpet, and tried to put it back into his mouth.

"Don't do that," Souma said. "It's filthy now."

"I don't care," was the sullen response from the hygiene-conscious dentist. "I don't care about that anymore. I don't… I can't…"

Souma, very tenderly, led Eisei out of the building. As the others watched them go, Shuuya turned to Hara and Isaac. "You two should come outside with me."

"What?" Isaac shouted. "No!"

"I don't," Hara stammered, staring over at Saiko, "I can't… leave her like this."

"You two are far too close to this case. If you're guilty, you cannot be allowed to investigate the body. If you're innocent, you shouldn't see her like this, just like Eisei. This isn't how you should remember her."

"It's far too late for that," Isaac replied. "But I suppose you're not going to take 'no' for an answer, Mr. Killer?"

"Isaac," Hara whispered, staring in concern at how furiously he was glaring at Shuuya.

"No, I'm not," Shuuya responded coolly. He glanced over at Futaba, and asked, "You'll carry on the investigation here for me, will you?"

Futaba nodded, then glanced around at everyone present. "Who's going to help me here?"

"I will," Yitro said, staring grimly at Saiko. "This is… all too familiar territory for me. I believe I can help."

"It happened under my watch," Ishiku said, shaking his head in shame. "I'll try to inform you of everything I know."

"Me too," Fannie said, wincing as she glanced at Saiko. "Oh the poor lady…"

"Aww, it's so cute," Monokuma spoke up, "that my least favorite daughter has a heart now… well, quite literally, since you're human. Guess you're going to help your new friends conspire against your dear, hard-working Dad!"

"You're not," she shouted, glaring at him, "my father! You were never my father, you evil, mean, awful robot! I hate you, I hate you so much for causing all this to happen-"

"Hey, wait a minute," Ken spoke up, interrupting Fannie's rant, "wasn't it Ishiku who had that sword that is now in Saiko? The sword of Peko Pekoyama?"

"Huh? N-no," Fannie stammered, her fury replaced with worry. "I… I had it last night."

"YOU did?!" Isaac shouted. "You, the former Kub of Penjar, an avatar of Despair, had the weapon that killed Saiko?!"

Fannie started to quiver at the suspicious glare that Isaac was now casting at her. Ishiku held her close, protectively, while Shuuya moved in-between Fannie and the reporter.

"We're leaving," the bounty hunter said, pointing at the reporter and Hara, "now. We will conduct our own investigation outside."

As Shuuya led the two outside, Anzu hurried alongside them, keen to look for Monocrow. Futaba glanced around at the others, and asked aloud, "Anyone else who can help with the investigation in the arcade needs to stay. Everyone else, get out there and look around."

"Where else is there to look around?" Hikari asked, shrugging in confusion. "I mean, the asylum? The tent?"

"I doo'nt knoo' a'boot you all," Kimiko said, shaking her head, "but I got a bad feeling a'boot this. We should maybe stick together, get everyone's stories, instead of splitting up?"

"It's too late for that now," Fiora said, walking towards Saiko's body and staring down at it. "The group has already parted ways. If you feel it best, you two should go talk to everyone and gather alibis and whereabouts."

Kimiko stared at her fellow Canadian for a moment, then nudged Hikari. "That's probably the best idea. We should go, eh."

"Shouldn't we start here?" the steampunk model asked.

Futaba nodded, then glanced around the room. Drake and Ignatia had walked out a minute ago, with the mime tugging her friend as if needing to show him something. Odelios had, surprisingly wordlessly, stepped out of the building too, while Pyrrha had left, quietly sobbing.

Crystal and Ken were still inside, not appearing to be interested in going anywhere else. Futaba corrected her glasses, then glanced over at Monodam. "I believe we are ready to begin."

"GOOD-LUCK-TO-YOU."

INVESTIGATION START!

Futaba approached Saiko's body, and sighed as she realized that the woman's eyes were still open. She moved in and slid them down, trying to give her a more peaceful look in death. "So it looks like our killer knew what they were doing. She's been stabbed through the heart, and hard enough to impale her through the machine." *TRUTH BULLET*

"I wouldn't say they knew exactly what they were doing," Ken remarked. "She's been slashed several times."

"Her stomach, her neck," Yitro said, closely inspecting Saiko's corpse, "they've been cut pretty deeply, mostly likely by the same sword."

"Still, that's a lot of strength, to penetrate a metal monstrosity like this," Ken knocked on the animatronic of Monophanie, "with a katana."

"We should inspect her entirely," Fiora suggested, "see if she was carrying anything on her."

Crystal gestured towards the stage. "You mean like those?" she asked as she pointed at the cloak and axe that were there.

"Yes, but we don't know if anything's on her person. Allow me."

As Fiora started to go through Saiko's pockets, Yitro moved over to the axe and cloak. He picked up the axe, testing its weight. "This is a dangerous weapon, but I don't see blood on the blade."

Ken picked up the cloak, inspecting it as well. "There's something very odd about this garment."

Futaba took the cloak and held it up in front of the tall Novoselic man. "Yes, it's rather short. It would only go down to your waist. Also, no cuts in this cloak, just blood." *TRUTH BULLET*

"That's not how it looked when we saw whoever was wearing it," Fannie spoke up. When everyone (aside from Fiora) glanced at her, she blushed, and continued on though nervous with the attention. "Ishi and I were chased by someone wearing a cloak and holding that axe!"

"Wait, what?" Hikari gasped. "You poor darlings! When was this?"

"Last night, in the asylum," Ishiku explained. "We kind of lost track of time, running from someone dressed up in that! Though, there was something odd about the encounter…"

"Something odd other than a hooded person wearing a black morph mask," Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow, "and carrying a battle-ax while coming at you?"

"Yeah, I know. Weird."

As Ishiku contemplated this, Fiora let out a small sigh. "She doesn't have anything else on her, except this." She held up a lollipop, which had a touch of blood on the wrapper.

Yitro sighed, then glanced down at the stage. "There's so much blood here. Wait, is there any elsewhere?"

The nine people inside of the arcade peered around, finding some blood in a puddle and trail nearby the stage. "Looks like someone," Kimiko deduced, "seriously wounded her near the stage, and then killed her." *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

Futaba sighed, then turned to Monodam. "Can you tell us when she died?"

"NO," he replied.

"Can you tell us how she got in here?"

"NO."

"Can you at least," the anthropologist said, grinding her teeth as she rubbed her forehead with her robotic hand, "tell us about the cloak and axe?"

"THOSE-ARE-SPECIAL-ITEMS-FROM-ELSEWHERE-IN-PENJAR. YOU-NEED-SPECIAL-PERMISSION-TO-TOUCH-THEM." *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

Futaba blinked in surprise, glancing over at the executioner's garb. "Wait, what? We never saw anything like that in all of Penjar. Were they in one of the locked rooms around here?"

"NO."

"What do you mean?!" Futaba blurted out. "Where else could they possibly come from?"

"Wait, Futaba, I have an idea," Yitro spoke up. He turned towards Fiora, and asked, "Could you join me, Fiora? I will most likely need a witness."

Fiora was staring at the sword inside of Saiko, analyzing the scene intensively. It took a couple tries before she realized that Yitro was trying to get her attention. "Very well," she conceded, "I don't know how much help I can be here."

"Wait, before you go," Kimiko spoke up, "could you tell us where you two were last night?"

"I was in the asylum, in the room that Blake was recovering in," Yitro said. "I fell asleep thanks to Monokuma's sleeping gas or whatever, but I woke up right when Blake did too. That machine they had in there, it fully fixed the bastard's leg; got up and walked around on it."

"Fascinating technology," Fiora said, pushing one of her fingers against the bridge of her nose for a second. She blinked, then shrugged and added, "Oh, I was in that tent across the road when I woke up."

"You were in there a'geen?" Kimiko asked. "Whatever for?"

The movie maker closed her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms as she said, "I'm afraid I cannot tell you that right now, I'm still uncertain as to whatever effect that place left on me. Now, we should hurry, we may not have as much time as we were led to believe." *TRUTH BULLET*

Yitro and Fiora left the arcade, leaving the others slightly confused but brushing it aside from now. Kimiko turned towards Ishiku and Fannie, shaking her head as she tried not to focus on what was bothering her. "Alright, lovebirds," she said, "what a'boot you two, eh?"

"Oh, we were on the other side of the arcade," Fannie offered, grinning at the mention of 'lovebirds.' "With Anzu, that is! She was talking to Monocrow for a while, but when we were asking him some important questions about the benefit swapping that he could do, Anzu fell asleep, then we did."

"So the three of you fell asleep, and you," Hikari glanced at the white 'n pink-topped gal, "two had the sword that was used to kill Saiko?"

"Y-yes. I know that makes us look suspicious, but someone could have taken it from me when I was asleep!"

"No need to throw out accusations," Crystal spoke up, "it's too early for that."

"Even if the one who had the murderous weapon," Ken grumbled, "used to be an avatar of Despair!"

"Hey now, handsome," Kimiko said to him, frowning, "we won't get anywhere like that. And you knoo' as well as I do that when we had Taro on 'oor side, he was good to his dying breath."

Ken opened his mouth to say something more, but seemed to think twice about arguing with Kimiko, and sighed. "Very well, I'll concede, for now."

Fannie grinned happily. "Aw, it's so nice you two are still getting along since your time together at the love hotel!"

"Okay, stop pushing it," Kimiko snapped at Fannie, blushing too now. "Handsome, I mean... Ken, what's your alibi?"

"I was at the motel of Monokuma's, when sleep overtook me. When I woke up, we were being summoned to the arcade."

Hikari rubbed her forehead, then glanced over at Futaba. "What about you, darling?"

"Also at the motel, but I was upstairs with Shuuya in one of the rooms. We fell asleep, but woke up at 9:30. I know that," the anthropologist said, "because I checked my phone when I woke up. And Shuuya woke up at the same time, we woke up to the sound of someone pounding at the locked door at the end of the hallway; he decided to go check on it, I believed it was another trick of Monokuma's."

"Was it?" Kimiko asked.

"No, in fact, it was Isaac."

"What?!" all of the others shouted in disbelief. Several of them stared at the small hallway which led to the maintenance room, where they had all believed that Isaac was trapped in.

"Okay, how's that possible?" Ishiku asked, moving over to the door and trying to open it. When he failed to do so, he cried out, "What magic trick did he use, and how can I do it?"

Crystal turned towards Monodam. "Okay, can you explain anything about that?"

"I-CANNOT-TELL-HOW, WHEN, OR-WHY-IF-IT-INVOLVES-SOMEONE'S-ACTIONS-OR-ACCESSIBLE-LOCATIONS-IN-PENJAR."

"Well, how can we get into that room then?"

"… YOU-CANNOT."

As people tried to understand what he meant, Ishiku snapped his fingers. "Fannie, my sweet, can you stay here for a few minutes? I'm going to the hotel to check on something, stay near this door."

"Okay, Ishi-pudding!"

As Ishiku left the building, Hikari watched him go out of curiosity. Then she turned to the last person they hadn't questioned: Crystal. "And you, darling?"

Attention from the flirtatious model took Crystal by surprise, and she cleared her throat before she spoke. "I was at the asylum with you two, remember? Or rather, I was with Pyrrha the whole time."

"Did you wake up at 9:30 as well?" Futaba questioned.

"I don't recall ever falling asleep."

The anthropologist stared at her, then at Kimiko and Hikari. "What about you two?"

"No, we didn't fall asleep either," Hikari said.

"Were you all having," Futaba crossed her arms and huffed, "a very lovely orgy? Goddamnit, I cannot believe-"

"We were not," Crystal blurted out suddenly, "having sex! Pyrrha and I were not doing anything of the sort! I was against doing anything like that anymore."

"And neither were we," Kimiko said, glancing over at Hikari. "Seriously, in an asylum? You think we're that randy?" *TRUTH BULLET*

Futaba glanced to the side, and sighed heavily. "Fine then. But how is it that you four didn't fall asleep?"

"Maybe that has something to do," Fannie chimed in, "with the benefits of the buildings?"

"It quite possibly may be," Ken remarked. "We still are not certain of what those buildings do."

"Between the motel, the arcade, the psychic's tent, and the asylum," Crystal said, "I don't know who's been in which ones to follow that pattern." *TRUTH BULLETS ADDED*

"There's also the fact," Fannie spoke up, "that Monocrow could swap someone's benefits with someone else." *TRUTH BULLET*

"And also," Ken said, "those of us who were dragged into the Killing Game Realm last night."

"So you mean to tell me," Crystal asked, adjusting her jacket, "that everyone who fell unconscious last night was having visions like we've heard some of us have been having?"

"It wasn't just a vision, darling," Hikari said. "It's a very real, very dangerous place with no rules, no mercy, and very serious consequences. We all could have died."

The steampunk model shook her head, as Mahiru's last words to her rang in her head. "The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm sorry." *TRUTH BULLET*

"I wonder if the Queen was any bearing on this case," Futaba remarked.

Fannie shook her hips side to side, trying to take all of this in. "So who was in the Killing Game Realm? Ishi and I have no idea, we were awake all of last night."

"Most everyone was in the Killing Game Realm," Ken said, as he turned towards Saiko's body. "Including her." *TRUTH BULLET*

"Oh darling," Hikari said, staring sadly at the forensic investigator, "I hope we can find who did this to you. We need to hurry now, Kimiko, we have to talk to everyone else."

Kimiko nodded, and added to the four inside of the arcade, "Keep looking, we cannot afford to miss anything."

They nodded, though as the two ladies walked out, Fannie stared miserably at Saiko's body, and the animatronic she was pinned to. That pink robot that represented the bear version of herself, she hated looking at it.

"Did someone," she whispered to herself, "do that because of me?" *TRUTH BULLET*

---

Day 16, Evening

Western Plaza

Central Area/Monokuma Statue

Kimiko and Hikari stepped outside, and immediately saw Anzu squatting down in front of the Monokuma statue. Nearby was Shuuya, talking to Hara and Isaac, but the actress appearing very forlorn caught their attention.

"Hey there, Anzu," Kimiko said, trying to see what she was fixated on, something covered by the thick mists. "What's wrong?"

Anzu glanced over her shoulder at the two ladies, and sighed heavily. She lifted up something for them to see, and it shocked them both.

…

…

…

Monocrow's face, and just his face, was held up by the actress; his expression was one of shock. She also brought up one of his wings, and then let out a heavy sigh.

"Someone killed him," Anzu said, "or, I guess, smashed him. Whoever killed Saiko did this to cover their tracks."

Hikari nervously glanced to the side, not sure what to say. Kimiko pat Anzu's shoulder, and said, "I'm soo'ry. I know you liked that bird."

"Yeah, even though I know Saiko is the real victim here, and we need to find her killer." The actress picked up the pieces of Monocrow and put them on the base of the statue. Kimiko noticed there was a dented, scratched area on the side of the statue's base. *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

"Looks like someone smashed him here," Kimiko remarked, tapping the scratched part of the concrete. "It's highly possible that it was to make sure we didn't ask him where everyone was last night."

"Could he even do that?" Hikari inquired. "I mean, did anyone ever ask him to say where someone was previously, rather than where they were currently?"

"Even if he coo'dent, Hikari, Saiko's killer woo'dent want to take that risk."

"I suppose that's true…"

Anzu sighed as she finished gathering up the pieces of Monocrow, placing them on the statue base. Kimiko scratched the back of her head, and asked, "Hey, so, Anzu, we're trying to gather alibis and such right now. Coo'd you?"

"I was at the left side of the arcade, with Ishiku, Fannie, and Monocrow," the actress said, leaning up against the statue and crossing her arms glumly. "I was talking to him, and I found out some things before I fell asleep thanks to that sleeping gas Monokuma gave us."

"Like what, darling?"

"Monocrow had the power to swap someone's building benefits with someone else, and people could reserve that power swap at specific times. Someone reserved it for when we would start falling asleep." *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

"Wait, what?" Kimiko said. "That can only mean one thing: one of the building benefits is immunity to the sleeping gas." *TRUTH BULLET*

"It might be more than that, darling," Hikari spoke up. "Ishiku and Fannie said they were running from that executioner all of last night, but they didn't seem the least bit fatigued or sleepy when we saw them this afternoon."

"You noticed that too, huh?" Anzu remarked. "Not to mention neither of them were in the Killing Game Realm like we all were."

"But they fell asleep like you did a couple hours ago," Kimiko responded, crossing her arms in frustration. "So if they had immunity, why did they fall asleep?"

"Are you sure you saw them fall asleep?" Hikari asked, nervously staring at Anzu.

"Why, do we suspect them?" Anzu responded, equally as nervous. "I… I don't believe for a minute that Ishiku did this!"

"Wait, let's not fall into this digression, we cannot possibly deduce who did it with what we have," Kimiko said, holding up her hands. "Anzu, could you tell us anything else Monocrow said he could do with his powers?"

"He basically said you could reserve swaps, and that someone had done so already, blocking any other requests until after the reservation was complete. Also, I was trying to ask him, before I fell asleep, if someone was allowed to take more than one."

"You mean different building benefits?" Hikari asked.

"That, or the same benefit from multiple people. I had a feeling someone would do that when I realized that immunity to sleep may be one of those. However, Monocrow never got to tell me…"

Anzu felt something brush by her raven hair. She turned to see Monokuma, dressed as a maid, holding a broom and dustbin for a bear his size. He quickly swept all the pieces of Monocrow into his dustbin, then snickered at the three ladies staring at him.

"What? I cannot allow garbage and litter to mess up Penjar," he cackled. "Time to finally put this bird where he belongs, in the trash!"

"I HATE YOU," Anzu screamed, and stormed off. Kimiko and Hikari watched her go, and decided it was best to leave her be for now. They approached Shuuya, Hara, and Isaac, none of whom appeared willing to talk right now.

"Is this important?" Shuuya asked the two ladies. "I'm trying to get their stories straightened out."

"There's nothing else to really say," Hara said, staring sadly down at the ground. "Please, we've gone over everything. I just… I want to see her. I want out of these bloodstained clothes. Please, Shuuya."

"Darling," Hikari said, walking up to the explorer as she gently caressed her arm, "please, maybe if you tell us, he could let you do those things."

She cast a glance over her shoulder, frowning at Shuuya. "Right, mister?"

"Don't get emotional over this, or we might all end up dead," Shuuya snapped. "I will be watching these two very carefully until the trial, we cannot allow them to be unsupervised. But I will agree to let her change out of those clothes after they tell you two everything, so we're on the same page."

Isaac let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead and adjusting his beanie. Hikari could see the worry lines making intense creases on his face, he looked ten years older with frustration and desperation. She couldn't help but pity him, though knew Shuuya was right as well.

"Okay then, could you two tell us everything?" she asked politely.

"I'll tell you my side," Hara said with a nod. "I was leaning up against the door in the arcade, the one labeled maintenance? I could hear Isaac on the other side, we talked until that sleeping gas put us to sleep.

"And when I woke up… I was h-holding that sword by its handle. I was over Saiko, I was… I am… c-covered in her blood."

Hara started shaking again, and Isaac held her tightly. Hikari bit her bottom lip, thinking that everything seemed so genuine here, but she couldn't let her guard down. "And… you have no idea how that could have happened?"

"I don't! I swear," Hara insisted, "though… maybe I was moving in my sleep again. Like we all did last night when we were in the Killing Game Realm…"

"You think you killed Saiko when being controlled a'geenst y'oor will?" Kimiko asked.

"That's not possible," Isaac barked out, then calmed down a little and looked into Hara's eyes. "Hara, the rules of these buildings is that so long as you are in any of them, you do not suffer the nightmares. No nightmares means no sleep walking or being controlled against your will."

"He's right, that's what I was thinking," the biker leader said. *TRUTH BULLET*

"What about you, Isaac?" Hikari asked. "I mean, we're extremely confused how you were in the hotel when everyone thought you were in the arcade!"

"Believe me, I'm one of the most confused," Isaac said, shaking his head, "especially because I don't know how I could have gone back into the hotel after leaving it and being told by Monokuma I wasn't allowed back in."

"Ishiku is investigating that room right now," Hikari said, "but could you tell us about it?"

"It was definitely a control room of sorts. There were control panels that turned on the music and animatronics, but I couldn't figure out how to turn them off; another stupid twist that Monokuma made this town to be. There were also security camera screens." *TRUTH BULLET*

"Do you have any idea when you woke up, darling?"

"9:30. Monokuma played one of his awful segments, announcing the time. After that, I saw on the security camera feed… something awful, and I started pounding on the door."

"That's where I came in," Shuuya said. "I could hear the thumping against the door, much stronger than all those little noises that wicked motel could produce. I opened the door, and there he was; he sprinted out of the motel before I could stop him."

"But that door was locked when we tried it last night," Kimiko commented. "It just opened for you?"

"Yes."

"Did you try opening it before then?"

"No, I don't think any of us did," Shuuya remarked. "We were told by Ishiku and Fannie that it was locked, so I don't think we even bothered; why bother with the only locked door of the building? In retrospect, it seems like we should have."

"I just wonder why you never heard Isaac," Hara spoke up. "Was that door soundproof?"

"Anyway, when I was running out of the motel, I think I tripped over something, but it hardly matters," Isaac muttered. "I just saw had to get to the arcade when I realized I wasn't in there to begin with."

Shuuya rubbed his chin, then eyed the couple. "Alright, if that's everything, let's see about getting you out of those bloody clothes, Hara. You'll have to accompany me, I need to make sure you two are as innocent as you claim to be."

Isaac glared at him, but sighed as he managed to pull himself together and take Hara's hand in his. The three walked off, with Kimiko and Hikari exchanging glances.

"Do you think she did it?" Hikari asked.

"After everything I've seen in this God forsaken too'n, I doo'nt knoo' what I think. Maybe we should-"

"You let me at him," a feminine voice shouted from afar, "you let me perforate this scoundrel until he needs that medical room again!"

"Aww, the little queer gonna try and throw a punch? That's fucking rich!"

Hikari and Kimiko recognized the voices, and hurried over towards the asylum. Nearby the entrance, Souma was holding Eisei back, as the dentist looked ready to do something extremely painful to Blake, without novocaine being administered.

Blake snickered, then saw the two ladies approaching. The pyro turned towards them, and said, "Oh, you two dykes looking to shag somewhere? Wait, does that mean Kimiko is actually guilty? You do like fucking the guilty person, if I recall, Fancy Tits."

Hikari lifted up her umbrella, fuming so hard that it sounded like a steam engine ready to burst. Kimiko grabbed her shoulder, and said, "Doo'nt acknowledge him, he's not worth it."

"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Hikari snapped, glancing over at her. "He's literally trying to be the absolute worst person he can be!"

"Yeah, that's how some people cope with bad situations. He's probably already made up his mind that Hara is guilty, or he's sure we'll get throo' this like the other trials."

"You know I can hear you, biker dyke," Blake snapped at them. "How 'a'boot' you go and properly blow your brains out this time, save us all some trouble? You are just about as useless as the other bitch who died, whatever that midget's name was."

Kimiko took a deep breath, eyes fluttering. She crossed her arms as she tried to keep all of her anger inside, noticing that Eisei and Hikari both appeared ready to snap. "Blake, where the hell were you earlier?"

"In the asylum, getting my leg fixed; Yitro can vouch for me, I don't have shit to do with this trial. Just get ready to kill what's-her-face, I wonder what kind of execution she'll get; hehe, maybe she'll get shipped back to whatever third world country she's from."

Kimiko felt like a tiny, fierce monster was trying to claw its way out of her temple, the kind of anger-induced migraine that was painful to hold in. She took another deep breath, and said, "You knoo' what? Joo'st stay the hell away from all of us if you're not going to be helpful."

"You don't tell me what to do, you half-breed cunt. I can talk about anyone and anything I want, and if you wanna throw down, well, I'm the one who's got muscles and experience, you probably only spar with other dykes by scissoring."

"Blake, I will break your leg again, and you can just suffer through the trial-"

"I said to try to, cunt-face! You won't do it! Ha ha ha! You aren't man enough, you're not even woman enough! Excuse me, I think I'm going to go somewhere else now, I'm rather tired of looking at you, and that faggot over there who thinks he can take on a real man."

The pyrotechnician walked away, laughing, flipping them off time to time. Hikari was trembling in outrage, and Kimiko noticed she was as well. Eisei was still being held onto by Souma, the public speaker the only one who managed to keep his calm throughout all of that.

"I guess," Souma said, "he's finally embraced his talent."

"What do you mean?" Eisei asked, as his friend let go of him.

"Someone who wants to master fire now just wants to see everything burn around him. It's not about despair or chaos, it's not about answers or questions, he's literally now just here to see how it all goes down. And he'll add fuel to the flames every step of the way."

Kimiko sighed, shaking her head as she tried to push her rage down. "You seem to have a good read on him. Who wood've thought the guy who was joo'st disagreeable at the start woo'd become the most antagonistic jackass there is?"

"Souma's right," Eisei said, his voice shaking a little as he tried to hold himself together. "Blake is, right now, coping in the only way he can. It's only logical, it's all he knows how to. Prison, upbringing, the Tragedy, he survived it all, so this is his only course."

"You don't have to defend him," Hikari said. "He's awful."

"I know he is. I just need to find some sense in all of this, because nothing makes sense now… nothing does… why."

Eisei slowly pulled another lollipop out, and this time managed to place it in his mouth without dropping it, despite his shaking hands. "Did… did you two need something from us?"

"If it's alright," Kimiko said, staring down at the cute, young man, "we need to ask for alibis."

"I fell asleep alongside Saiko earlier today, when we were playing video games together," Eisei said, blankly staring forward. "When I woke up, she wasn't there. The shower was running, so I thought she may be taking one, but when I knocked on the door and called to her, I didn't hear her." *TRUTH BULLET*

"Did you go in to check on her?"

"Walk into a room where a lady is showering? I thought that would be most improper, despite our relationship. She and I were just… it wasn't like…"

Eisei started stammering again, clutching at his shirt over his heart. Souma knelt down to rub his shoulder, and the dentist shivered. "She was gone, she wasn't in the shower. If I had checked, if I had… why was it even on? Why?

"I don't understand anything right now. Saiko and I knew each other only from the time in this town. We were only starting to really know each other for a week. A week isn't enough time to develop an entire relationship, is it?

"I'm not a romantic, I never engaged in any sort of chemistry-addled fornication beforehand. She was always grabbing me, arguing with me, confusing me with her choice of words and passionate actions. So why… why…"

Eisei clutched at himself, and sobbed out the words as his second lollipop fell to the ground and shattered. "Why does it feel like I'm in agony? Why can't I stop thinking of her? Why… why would anyone want to hurt her? Kill her? WHY?"

He feebly tried to pick up the stick of that lollipop, but Souma stopped him. Glancing up at the two ladies, he said, "I'm sorry, I'll take care of him."

"Of course, but Souma?" Hikari spoke up. "Could you just tell us where you were?"

"In the psychic's tent, watching a marathon of Miss Stenton's work. I fell asleep, thankfully, during it, but woke up when there was the announcement of, well, you know."

Hikari and Kimiko took this into consideration, and left, both of them heartbroken at the sound of Eisei quietly sobbing again. The steampunk model sighed, gripping the handle of her umbrella, as she said, "Saiko's death is hurting so many people. Why would anyone want to kill her, darling?"

"I have no idea," Kimiko mumbled, brushing at her green bangs, "and that just complicates things even more. How did Saiko even get into the arcade, since she had to have bin murdered there? And what's moo'r, why her? Why there? Why now?" *TRUTH BULLET*

"Monokuma said that the nightmares would stop after a murder was committed, but that the benefits to the buildings couldn't be earned afterwards, I believe. Could someone be so desperate to make the nightmares stop?"

"Or was it someone who wanted to stop us from learning the truth of this place? Is this the work of the Seed of Despair, or the Entity of Chaos?"

"I don't know, darling, I really don't. We just have questions right now, and none of the answers."

---

Day 16, Evening

Western Plaza

Third Eye Psychic's Tent

Pyrrha walked into the tent, examining all of the strange doodads around the edges of the main room. The crystal ball that was supposed to be in the center of the table was lying on the floor, as if knocked off and disregarded. She stopped when she entered the bedroom of this large tent, where she saw Odelios sitting on the side of the bed.

"What on Earth are you doing hiding back here?" she asked him, entering the room.

"Oh, you know how it is," Odelios said, his voice neutral and devoid of his impish teasing, "this is a very serious situation. When the situation gets serious, you shoo out the clowns."

"Nobody shooed you out."

"I shooed myself out. Saiko's death is too serious, no one will want me around."

"Odelios, you've been missing for almost an entire day," Pyrrha snapped, flicking her red hair behind her shoulders. "We were looking for you throughout the asylum once we were situated in there earlier today, all four of us."

"Huh? Four?"

"Crystal, Kimiko, Hikari, and myself. Yes, you had four women looking for you, use that as a bragging tool later. Now where were you?"

Odelios stared at her, and she could see in his eyes how much the humor had been sapped from him. It chilled her, making it feel like she was staring into a shell of someone she felt she knew.

"I cannot tell you," he said.

"No, you have to. Saiko's death has many of us wondering who could do it and why, and every detail is going to matter! Now tell me!"

"Pyrrha, if I tell you, it'll get so many people hurt! It's bad enough that my best buddy and his girlfriends were in the arcade where it happened, and how he always gets accused of something during the trials! If I say what I'm thinking, and it starts during this trial…"

Odelios rubbed his stomach, and she could hear his stomach rumbling. It was a rather deep and painful sounding rumble. Pyrrha was rather concerned, but she had to push that aside for now.

"I'm sorry, Odelios, but you need to talk to me. Saiko deserves that, we need to find out the truth."

The clown stared at the romance writer for a minute, then let out a long, heavy sigh. "Anzu tried to kill me."

"Excuse me?"

"We were in the asylum, exploring the rooms. We found this room that was like a torture room, you know how that place is. Anyway, we found this cabinet full of hammers, like big, thick, bash-in-a-railroad-spike hammers, and as I was looking around…

"She swung one of them at my head. She hit one of the cabinets, and busted that thing like it was balsa wood. Her eyes were like fire, she looked so furious, and then, like if a switch, she was normal again. She started muttering she thought she saw a spider, but…"

Pyrrha sat down next to him, taking his hand into hers. "You were hiding from her this whole time?"

"Anzu has always been a good person, and I know that Ishiku cares about her. I don't know why it happened, how, but yeah, I saw something so dangerous and terrifying in her that moment, I kind of hid from her."

"But you were missing for almost twenty-four hours!"

"I cannot explain that. I was in a room on the third floor, just trying to make myself as small and difficult to find, my circus training really paid off there! Heh, luckily, there was a bathroom nearby, but that's all I was doing. Hiding."

Pyrrha shook her head, trying to steady the confusion building up. "Wait, it didn't even dawn on you that an entire day passed by? How is that possible?"

"I honestly don't know, I literally don't remember anything until one of those damned TVs came on with Monokuma announcing there was a body at the arcade. Nothing happened, and I didn't fall asleep." *TRUTH BULLET*

"You didn't fall asleep? And you're not even tired now?"

"Nope. I would have remembered that, trust me. I would have welcomed the gentle embrace of drifting off, or suddenly waking up when you've stuck yourself in a closet and don't remember why, or where you are."

Pyrrha sighed, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "Crystal and I were looking around for you all that time, and, to be honest, I don't remember her and I sleeping either. I was watching Shuuya and Futaba all night last night, when they passed out; I was wandering that damned asylum all of this afternoon too."

"How did any of us miss that?"

"I don't know, but you know what I do know?"

Pyrrha leaned over and smooched his cheek, then wrinkled her nose and pulled back. "I believe in you, my cute clown; however, you desperately need a shower, and a change of make-up and clothes. You totes smell."

"Don't sugarcoat it now, Pyrrha, give it to me straight."

"Heh, you know what? Let's get you cleaned up, then we'll go talk to Crystal. She's probably desperate to see you too, she just won't show it."

---

Day 16, Evening

The Bears' Motel

Second Floor

Ignatia stood outside of the once formally locked room at the end of the dark, creepy hallway. She stared down indignantly at Monokid, who was staring up at her.

"I fucking told you," Monokid raged, "that you aren't allowed in here, mime woman! Don't make me get my guitar and teach you a lesson like I did when you first arrived here."

Knowing it was her who showed him on that first day, Ignatia rolled her eyes and glanced over at Ishiku. The magician shrugged, and muttered, "Well, looks like my plan has busted before it began. Can I at least handle the door? It's opened into the hallway, meaning I'm not going into the room."

"Huh? Sure, I don't think you need permission for that," Monokid admitted. "Though your friend here is stumped silent. How is that so hard for you to understand? Is it because you're a woman? Haw haw haw!"

The mime held out her cell phone, which had the typed message, [We were told the buildings were all-access during the investigation.]

"You can go in and out of all the buildings, but not all the rooms!"

[So there are rooms only those with all-access can enter?]

"Man are you thick! Yes, you dumb dumbass ass!"

Ignatia merely smirked, and then walked down the hallway, stopping midway. Drake was investigating the room that Eisei and Saiko had been in, recognizing the two's belongings. The mime moved towards him, and communicated in that unique way only she could.

[I think I managed to trick Monokid into admitting one of the perks,] she wrote on her phone, [is that you gain all-access in Penjar.] *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

"Oh dear, I hope he doesn't realize you did that. Good work!"

[Thanks. But what's seriously confusing me is which building it could be? Which one has Ishiku not been to as well?]

"He was here the first night, we were at the arcade. And we were both at the asylum, but he was saying how he and Fannie had to leave when that executioner chased them."

[You think the hotel grants all-access to those who stayed here?]

"We need to find out. Who else has been at this hotel?"

[Kimiko and Hikari. You know, the two women who haven't done it yet but are obviously aching to? Honestly, with all the shit going on, they need to do that.]

Drake blushed at reading this, staring at Ignatia with an unspoken curiosity if this was some kind of hint or joke. The mime merely stared back at him, pursing her lips as if to dare some kind of reaction from him. The cartoonist tried to think of an answer, then something more important came to mind.

"Wait, Kimiko and Hikari were with us when Yitro took Blake into that fancy medical room. Those two couldn't go in that room, just like us."

[Yet Yitro was allowed to, and I believe Monodam said since Blake was a patient, he was allowed in as Yitro's plus one. He's been in the asylum and the arcade?]

"We were in the asylum and the arcade too! It makes no sense."

[Yes, I think we're going to have to confer with everyone over this contradiction. Damn it, these cases are getting so confusing.]

Drake nodded, sighing heavily as he tried to get the image of Saiko's body out of his head. "I don't know why someone would hurt her. She was a good person, even if a little harsh."

[Yeah, I liked her. I don't like a lot of people, but I admired her fighting spirit. Still, we needn't mourn right now. Did you find out anything?]

"Just that the shower is still running, even when I turned the knobs. I think it's stuck running."

[A shower running nonstop? Monokuma really wants that Psycho feel.]

"I never watched it, so I'll take your word for it." *TRUTH BULLET*

Ignatia shook her head, then headed back out of the room alongside Drake. She watched Ishiku knocking on the door, and even speaking into it as if it were a microphone. The mime was baffled, but then Drake walked on over.

"You think that there is a microphone of sorts in that door?" he asked the magician.

As soon as he said that, Fannie's voice could be heard from the door, the side that would face inside the control room. "Oh, is that Drake? You sound so clear, it's like you walked right on up to me from the other side of this door. Hi, Drake! How's Ignatia?"

"She's fine," the cartoonist said, realizing he was talking towards a door. He confusedly tried to check the front side of the door. Fannie's voice was much quieter, but he could still hear her asking about their relationship.

"Fannie, don't pry too much on that," Ishiku said to the door, tapping it. "Now wait a minute, I need to test something loud, okay?"
"Okay, Ishi~"

"Drake, stand on the other side of the door, if you could, good sir?"

Drake stood on the side of the door that would face the hallway, and then Ishiku pounded his fist on the door. He did this several times, then said, "Okay, Fannie, did you hear those thumps?"

"Yes, I did!"

"But did you feel them?"

"Um, what did you mean?"

"If someone hits a door, there's shaking, vibrations. You would be able to tell if someone was pounding on a door rather than just hear it."

"Oh, I see! Well, I didn't."

Ishiku smiled in triumph, then turned to Drake. "But you could tell someone was pounding on the door rather than just the sound, right?"

"I would think it would be different when closed, but yes," the cartoonist said.

"Hot damn, I think I solved that mystery!" *TRUTH BULLET*

Ignatia snapped her fingers, catching their attention. She showed Drake her phone, and he read from it. [You solved one part of it, yes. But how did Isaac get in there last night? And if he had all-access, why couldn't he leave the room when he woke up this morning?]

Ishiku scratched the back of his head, pocketed the chocolate coin he procured from there, and then turned to Monokid. "Yo, blue Kub, does all-access mean that all doors are unlocked to you?"

"Who said anything about all-access? You think because you're banging my sister, you get mad-crazy all-access knowledge, fatso?"

The magician stared at him in utter confusion, stared down at his lanky frame, and then tried again. "Can you tell us why Isaac wasn't able to leave this room, even though he had permission to open the door?"

"I can, yeah."

There was a moment of silence, and Ishiku rubbed his forehead. "Alright then, will you tell us-"

"No, fuckface!"

Ignatia rolled her eyes, then knocked on the door, gesturing to Ishiku. It took a little bit of time, but eventually Ishiku caught on to what she was implying.

"Fannie, could you do me a favor?" Ishiku called through the door.

---

Day 16, Evening

Monokuma's Arcade District

Main Stage and Cafeteria

"Yes, my Ishi?" Fannie asked, standing directly in front of the door and speaking to it as if a person was there. It looked slightly odd to the four people inside of the arcade.

"Could you ask Monodam the questions we're trying to ask Monokid?"

"Fuck you, sister-fucker! I oughta kick your ass so hard!"

Fannie nodded, and walked over to Monodam, who was still on the stage. "Hey there, brother," she said, waving at him.

"HELLO-FANNIE."

"So, why couldn't Isaac get out of the room he was locked in, even though he had permission to be in there?"

Monodam glanced side to side, then stared up at his human sister. "ISAAC-PRESSED-ONE-OF-THE-BUTTONS-THAT-LOCKS-THE-DOOR-FROM-THE-INSIDE. THOSE-WITH-PERMISSION-COULD-OPEN-IT, OR-HE-COULD-PUSH-THE-BUTTON-AGAIN."

"What was the point of that?"

"YOU-KNOW-HOW-FATHER-IS-WITH-THE-COMPLICATED-CONTROL-PANELS."

"He's not our father," Fannie stubbornly said, crossing her arms. "I know you cannot say otherwise since you're stuck in that body, but you know it's true."

"There is little point," Ken remarked, "to arguing with an avatar of Despair."

"Let's not start an argument," Crystal pleaded. "So long as Monodam is answering questions, we'll be fine."

Futaba adjusted her glasses, and asked, "Monodam, you said earlier that we cannot get into that room. What if someone has special permission?"

"YOU-CANNOT."

The anthropologist growled in frustration, then Fannie spoke up. "Is it because there actually isn't a room there?"

"THAT-IS-CORRECT." *TRUTH BULLET*

Fannie beamed in pride, and turned towards the others. "You gotta understand how he talks."

"Understand nothing!"

Ken's booming voice made everyone in the room jump. The cavalryman approached Fannie, grabbing her shirt by the collar. "You knew about that being a falsehood room, a trick! You know more than you're letting go!"

"Ken, stop it," Crystal cried out, approaching them as she ignored the Novoselic's misusage of words. "Let her go."

"I will not! This harlot of Despair," he continued, shaking the very intimidated and scared-looking Fannie, "is probably deep within this horrendous murder!"

"He is right," Futaba remarked, calmly watching the altercation. "Fannie should never be trusted, a lot of you just let her do as she wanted."

"I-I-I don't know what to say," Fannie stammered as tears leaked from her eyes. She glanced over at Saiko, her eyes widening at the cold reminder of how she was dead, murdered, with the sword she had been holding when she fell asleep. The white 'n pink-topped girl shouted, "I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie! That sword was in your possession! And you knew of the falsehood that was that room, who is to say you didn't know about the rules of the buildings? The timing of Monokuma's tricks and deceit?

"Why should we trust an avatar of Despair?!"

Futaba approached the two, adding in, "You need to answer our questions, now that we have you here. You haven't given us any reason to trust you."

"Now wait a minute," Crystal spoke up, "I'm one of the toughest bitches there is, but even I'll say she's been helping us. She gave us insight on Monokuma's plans!"

"There's no verification to what she's said," the anthropologist countered the military adviser. "Keep in mind, this murder happened in the building she was in, with a sword she and Ishiku had, and it was done to someone who, technically, shouldn't be in this building to begin with!" *TRUTH BULLET*

"I don't have special access," Fannie shouted desperately. "I don't have anything like that! You all heard Monokuma, I'm the same as you all now."

"You say that, but you have no proof," Ken snarled. "We need you to prove it."

"F-fine, I'll do that. I'll try to go into one of the rooms you need access for. They won't let me in."

"You think I'll trust the fact that your bear allies will just say it, and it'll be so?! How foolishly foolish do you think I am that you can fool me, tramp?! They'll just say it, but that proves nothing to us!"

"But I cannot go into one of those rooms without being punished!"

"Then let's see," Ken let go of her shirt with one hand, but clenched it with the other, "what that punishment will be."

Fannie's eyes widened, and she squeaked out, "He might kill me."

"A fitting way for you to prove you aren't in league with him. Come now, I'll watch this with my own eyes."

"NO! NO, STOP!" Fannie pleaded as she was pulled towards the arcade entrance. "Monokuma wants to kill me, he will use any excuse!"

"Ken, let go of her," Crystal shouted, moving over towards them. "You cannot do this-"

She was seized by Futaba, who had her strong, robotic hand grasping the blonde's arm. The anthropologist had a cold, steel look in her eyes. "We need to do this, she's far, far too dangerous."

"Please stop, I beg of you!" Fannie struggled, but was no match for Ken's strength and grasp on her. "He'll kill me! I know he will!"

"I will not," Ken shouted, "let Despair win once more! Too many innocents were lost during the Tragedy! No more blood, no more slain individuals, no more distractions like a pretty face and evil mind like yours!

"Now come on, I will-"

THWACK!

Ken was sent sprawling back, clutching his face where something had hit him rather roughly. He immediately unsheathed his sword, the blade gleaming in the arcade's lights, to counter his attacker, though he was stunned to see who it was.

Ishiku, holding his staff in both hands, glared venomously at Ken. As Fannie scurried behind him, he spat out, "Don't you ever, EVER, touch her again, you bastard."

"Ishiku," Ken balked, flabbergasted at this turn of events. "Don't you see? She's poisoning your mind! She is a member of Despair."

"I can see a member of Despair for who they are, and she is not one of them."

"You do not know that! No one knows Despair until it is too late! My family, my country, wiped out because anyone and anybody could become infected with despair!

"You endanger us all because of her pretty face and large dish rack and willingness to give outside to you! She is the prime suspect in all of this!"

"Indeed," Futaba said, glaring at Fannie and Ishiku as she let go of Crystal. "Ken is right, we never should have trusted her. I know better than anyone that a woman can be capable of sadistic evil."

She traced the scars from the corners of her mouth, and then spat out, "I won't ever allow that kind of mistake to happen again."

"And you think killing her will solve everything?" Ishiku shouted. "You're crazy, that's not only pure madness, it's malice!"

"There is no other way for her to be trusted," Ken announced, though he sheathed his sword. "You should not take part in this conversation, you are corrupted by her."

"You all were shouting loud enough for me to hear it from the door. I could hear you threatening her, and I came here. So I was part of this, and it's over."

"It is not over," Futaba insisted.

"Yes," Crystal, nearby her, insisted, walking in-between Ken and Ishiku. "It's over. There's nothing more to say to them, so Ishiku, Fannie, get out of here. Just go."

When Ishiku and Fannie wordlessly left the building, Ken and Futaba glared at Crystal. "Why do you interfere?" the Novoselic cavalryman demanded. "Surely you, a military tactician, know that it is folly to allow her to be part of our ranks."

"There is nothing we can do to prove Fannie's innocence or guilt where we are now," Crystal said defiantly. "Even if she is a member of Despair, Monokuma would kill her for trespassing as much as he would any one of us. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

"That seems incredibly hackneyed at this point," Futaba said with a frown. "Crystal, do you not understand that-"

"What on Earth is going on here?"

The three of them turned to see Pyrrha and Odelios walk into the arcade. The clown had freshened up, and was looking much better now, though he still lacked the mirthful spring in his step, or the twinkle in his eyes. The two of them approached Crystal, who blushed a little at the sudden attention.

"Listen," Futaba spoke up again, "Fannie is the odd one out here. No one else had a reason to kill Saiko, while every other murder at least had motivation or a reason behind it."

"What about the nightmares ending?" Odelios inquired.

"We were all in safe buildings, save for the ones who didn't want to be. No reason at all to panic over that, so that cannot be a reason."

"'No reason to'," Pyrrha repeated, then she sighed heavily as she spoke up more firmly. "There may be a reason."

"And what would that be?" Ken inquired.

"Yesterday, Blake forced several people out of the motel along with him. And there was a very, very heated argument between him and Saiko. She was saying how she'd kill him, and that she had… killed someone before."

"While that is concerning," Crystal remarked, "that isn't enough to trigger someone, unless she said something pertaining to a specific death?"

"No, she didn't. But she was threatening Blake, maybe he took it seriously?" *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

"That cad had a broken leg," Ken responded, "and fell asleep like the rest of us, I'm sure. He cannot be the culprit."

"He's going around saying the most awful things! That bastard is enjoying this!"

"That doesn't mean he's guilty, Pyrrha."

Futaba sighed, and shook her head. "I'm afraid we're letting emotions override us now. Saiko's murder is going to be deduced with logic and reason, not a hatred for one person or the other. We may have become too forceful back there."

"It sounded like pandemonium was erupting in here," Odelios said, crossing his arms. "Ishiku was so pissed off, he didn't even acknowledge me when Pyrrha and I came by. What the hell did you two that my friend didn't even notice me when I had been gone for so long?"

Ken groaned in exasperation, rubbing his forehead. "We seriously do not need to answer the questions of a missing court jester right now. We need to find out anything else about this murderer."

"Hey, I can be of help!"

"Can you now? Do you know everyone's whereabouts since yesterday? Do you have any insight towards the benefits these buildings give us? You weren't even part of the Killing Game Realm vision most of us went through last night!"

"Hey now," Crystal spoke up, "not all of us were part of that either, but how does it relate to the case?"

"Maybe someone saw something in that evil realm," Futaba speculated, "that gleamed them some insight on Saiko. Perhaps it was in the nature of the Queen's true identity?"

"What?" Pyrrha stammered, highly perplexed. "How is that possible?"

"Unless someone was asleep and in the Killing Game Realm," Ken said, narrowing his stare at Odelios, "and was actually that unholy abomination slaying innocent people like they were Jason Gorehees."

"It's Voorhees, and also," Odelios protested, "I was awake throughout the entire night! And a guy!"

"In a nightmarish wonderland such as that world, the idea of hiding one's gender can be as easy as finding sand on the beach. And you have no one to verify your consciousness."

"Hey, Crystal and I were awake too," Pyrrha protested.

"But you two can verify each other, as you were looking after some unconscious people?"

"Y-yeah, her," the writer pointed to Futaba, "as well as Shuuya and Fiora."

"Did someone say my name?"

Almost everyone in the room jumped when they saw that Fiora was standing nearby them. The movie maker glanced around at them all, her eyes focused as if trying to find a weak point. "What were you discussing?"

"The, the Killing Game Realm, Fiora," Pyrrha admitted. "Do you remember anything that could point to our killer that you saw in there?"

"No."

"Oh, okay. Um, where's Yitro?"

"Behind me."

As soon as she said that, Yitro walked in, appearing beleaguered. His normally stoic expression was rather pale and frazzled.

"What has you so consternated, my friend?" Ken inquired.

Yitro glanced at him, at the others, then let out a heaving sigh. "There's a new portion of town, a southern plaza."

"What?!" everyone in the arcade shouted in astonishment.

"Impossible!" Futaba balked. "We would have known about that!"

"Wait, like what happens after each trial?" Pyrrha asked. "That's not possible!"

"Shouldn't Monokuma have told us about this?" Odelios demanded.

"OH-TECHNICALLY-HE-DID."

Everyone turned to Monodam, who stood ever motionless on the stage. Fiora approached him, causing him to slide his head to meet her stare. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded to know, her voice calm and cool.

"FATHER-SAID-YOU-ARE-ABLE-TO-EXPLORE-PENJAR-DURING-THIS-EVENT. HE-SAID-YOU-ALL-WERE-FREE-TO-SEE-THE-TOWN-JUST-THAT-YOU-WOULD-HAVE-NIGHTMARES-IF-YOU-WEREN'T-IN-THE-SPECIAL-BUILDINGS."

"That doesn't explain," Yitro shouted, "how a new part of the city came to be!"

"YOU-MEAN-LIKE-ALL-THE-OTHER-TIMES-IT-HAS-HAPPENED?"

"But… but none of you said anything about a new section of town opening!"

"WASN'T-IT-SAID-THAT-YOU-COULD-SOLVE-THE-MYSTERY-TO-PENJAR-WITHOUT-ANY-DEATHS?" Monodam stated. "YOU-ALL-WERE-ALLOWED-TO-ENTER-THE-NEW-AREA-AT-ANY-POINT. FATHER-ASSUMED-YOU-WOULDN'T-BOTHER-LOOKING-FOR-ANYTHING-ELSE-SINCE-YOU-WERE-SO-FIXATED-ON-THESE-BUILDINGS.

"IT-APPEARS-HE-WAS-RIGHT." *TRUTH BULLETS ADDED*

Silence from all of the graduates made the room feel suffocating. The sound of animatronics creaking and the music overhead playing were the only noises for a short while. It was Fiora who finally broke the quiet.

"When was the new portion of the town added?"

"LAST-NIGHT, AFTER-THE-SLEEPING-EFFECT-HAPPENED."

"And could anyone access the buildings there?"

"YES, EXCEPT-FOR-THE-ARMORY."

"The what now?!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "You're kidding!"

"No," Yitro remarked, shaking his head. "No he is not, because that's where Fiora and I were."

"A warehouse-like building," Fiora stated, glaring down at Monodam as she folded her arms, "filled with guns, blades, explosives, and more. All kinds of weapons, primitive to high-tech, all very real."

"ONLY-THOSE-WITH-SPECIAL-ACCESS-CAN-ENTER-THE-ARMORY," Monodam explained. "I-BELEIVE-EVERYTHING-ELSE-IN-THE-SOUTHERN-PLAZA-IS-OPEN-TO-THE-PUBLIC."

"That's horrifying and all," Ken muttered, "and this is a very shocking revelation, but what does it have to do with our case?"

"There was a section featuring medieval weapons and clothing," Yitro said, "and it was missing a cloak, a morph mask, and a large executioner's mask."

They all turned to look at the battle-ax and the garb that was on the stage nearby Saiko. Odelios wandered over towards them, reaching out for the axe. "So this came from the distract that none of us were aware about?"

"DON'T-TOUCH-THAT," Monodam instructed him. "YOU-ARE-NOT-ALLOWED-TO-TOUCH-IT."

"Huh? Hey, it's part of the investigation, when can I touch it?"

"ONLY-THOSE-WITH-SPECIAL-PERMISSION-MAY-TOUCH-IT. FOR-YOU, THAT-WILL-BE-NEVER. A-DEATH-MEANS-THERE-ARE-NO-OTHER-CHANCES-FOR-YOU-TO-GAIN-THE-BUILDING-BENEFITS."

"Wait, seriously?" Crystal inquired. "What about the ones we were in tonight?"

"NO. THE-RULES-WERE-YOU-STAY-IN-THE-BUILDING-OVERNIGHT."

"But there was a murder!"

"DO-YOU-THINK-FATHER-MONOKUMA-ALLOWS-EXCEPTIONS? THE-ONLY-BENEFIT-YOU-ALL-GAINED-TONIGHT-WAS-FOR-AS-LONG-AS-YOU-WERE-IN-THAT-BUILDING. ONCE-YOU-LEFT, ANY-BENEFITS-THAT-DON'T-STICK-TO-YOU-PERMANENTLY-ARE-GONE." *TRUTH BULLET UPDATED*

Ken cursed in his native tongue, and muttered, "Every time, every time I think that Despair cannot sink lower, it becomes like a devilish lawyer!"

"You mean a regular lawyer?" Odelios offered.

Before anyone could comment on anything else, the televisions in the room buzzed to life as the music from the overhead was muted. The vision of Monokuma, seated on the front steps of Town Hall, greeted them all.

"AHEM!" came his high-pitched, taunting tone. "Ahemy hemy hemyoo! Attention, guests of Penjar and my least favorite daughter! The time for investigation is now over. Please report to the front steps of Town Hall, within ten minutes. Anyone not there within ten minutes may be subject to termination by the Guardian!

"And please, don't keep me waiting! You don't want to see me when I'm a psycho! Do it, for Saiko! Upupupu!"

Everyone in the arcade exchanged glances, realizing their time was up. Before they could head out of the building, they could see Hara and Isaac almost running towards the arcade.

"Let us see her," Hara shouted, and the group could tell that Shuuya was right behind them. "Let us see her one last time, please!"

"The trial is going to start soon," the bounty hunter called out. "There's no time! Come now, this is not-"

"Shuuya!" Pyrrha declared, getting in-between him and the two. "Just let them go see her."

"Hey now," Futaba said, watching Hara and Isaac run inside. "We shouldn't let them do that. After all-"

"We're already leaving," the writer assured them. "What, you're worried they'll mess with the crime scene? We're leaving, there's nothing else they could do…"

She glanced back at them, as the two slowly approached Saiko's body. "Except to say good-bye."

The group exchanged glances, then started to head out, towards Town Hall. Only Pyrrha and Fiora stayed back, both watching intensively at this last farewell.

Hara approached Saiko's body, started to reach for her, then recoiled. "No," she whimpered, "no I cannot see her like this! Especially when I… I might have-"

"No, you didn't do this," Isaac assured her.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good with death, you know."

She sniffled, and glanced hopefully at Isaac. "Could you… for me?"

"You don't have to even ask."

Isaac moved up towards Saiko's body, and placed his hand on her shoulder. He moved to adjust her gently, closing her mouth and trying to make her look as dignified as possible. Though as he tried, he started to shake in grief, and then sobbed.

"I'm sorry," he said, tears rolling down his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. We should have left this evil town, we should have gotten the hell out of here. And taken you with us."

"Saiko, I still remember when you and I first met, you were as stubborn and fierce and compassionate as you are now. You would eat half of my lunch, tell me to stop being a dumbass, and make the same silly joke about my being a reporter every time I asked you a question in class.

"I hope wherever you are now, you're happy. You're with your family, you're in a better place, that's all Hara and I can hope for. We'll… we will miss you… every damn day, we will miss you.

"I wanted more than anything for you to be there at our wedding. You were our family, and we loved you."

Isaac could hear heartbroken sniffling behind him, but not just Hara. He turned to see Eisei had come into the arcade, staring at Saiko's body before glancing at Isaac.

"I'm sorry, I know," he stammered out to the reporter, "I have no business here. I'm not a long-time friend, I just-"

"No," Hara blurted out. "You cared. It's alright."

Nearby, Souma had joined Fiora and Pyrrha. The three were quiet, before the movie maker walked into the room. She spoke, quite calm as she eyed Saiko's body.

"If you want, I can remove the sword from her," she offered. "She shouldn't be left like that."

Isaac glanced at her, then at the sword in Saiko's chest. He put his hand on the handle, but the thought of trying to tug it out was too much for him to bear. He stood up and silently gestured for her to do so. Fiora walked over, wrapped her hands around the sword's handle, and pulled hard.

The metallic scrapping sound as well as the blade cutting through the body echoed around the room. Isaac caught Saiko before she slumped down, and lay her gently on the stage. Posing her in a more dignified manner, like if she were to be placed in a coffin, the deed was done.

Fiora inspected the katana, and grabbed one of the napkins that was on the cafeteria tables. "We should bring this to the trial too, but you needn't see her blood. Come now, we must hurry, or Monokuma could eradicate us.

"I am… so sorry for your loss. Now let's go."

---

Day 16, Evening

Central Plaza

Town Hall

"Cutting it close, are we?" Monokuma called out as the group of six graduates appeared out of the mist and in front of Town Hall. "But hey, you came on time. I shan't complain."

Pyrrha sighed heavily, glancing over at the ones she had defied. Futaba and Shuuya were at the side of the group, surveying everyone; they were occasionally glancing at Fannie and Ishiku, who were at the other side of this group. The magician and his girlfriend were staying as far away from Ken as they could.

Anzu was sweating, her eyes darting towards Odelios multiple times. Hikari and Kimiko were close together, whispering to each other. Everyone seemed incredibly tense and occupied, which was why he was the only one to notice the addition Fiora had brought.

"Wait a minute," he called out to her, alerting everyone's attention, "you took that sword out of Saiko, Fiora?"

"Yes," the movie maker responded, finishing cleaning it with the napkin and then tossing it to the floor. She then sheathed it in the scabbard, as she added, "Also, I retrieved the scabbard from where I assume it had been left behind."

"Wait, seriously?" Kimiko asked. "You did all that?"

"It felt appropriate, how often do you get to bring the murder weapon to a trial?"

"We're gonna let her do that?" Blake grumbled. "Psycho bitch gets a sword for this trial?"

"She is not the only one," Ken spoke up, patting his own sheathed sword. "And I shall not surrender mine, you fiend; not after all the horrible occurrences that have happened."

"Yeah, I'm with them," Yitro said, wrapping his hand around his sword's handle. "Anyway, since we're all here, can we go in?"

"RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!"

Monokid and Monodam appeared on opposite sides of Monokuma, both of them posing like they were getting ready for a photo op. Monokid also had his guitar, strumming it like the rock star he thought he was.

"Let's kick this trial into high gear," the blue Kub hollered, "and then, maybe then, we'll find out why it all has to end in a church!"

"I-WISH-YOU-ALL-LUCK," Monodam said. "INCLUDING-YOU, SISTER."

"I refuse to acknowledge her relation to me!" Monokid holllered.

"Oh, your adorable sibling squabbles really do make your proud papa chortle," Monokuma declared, rubbing his belly as he laughed. "But let's do this then, and Fannie? You get your dead brother's position in the trial room! UPUPUPUPU!"

Town Hall's doors opened, and the bears ran into the building. The inside of the building seemed to unleash a chilling burst of air, and as the graduates shivered, they could hear something in the distance…

The sound of bells, loud and strong, echoed from the southern area of the town of Penjar. Every clang was an intense noise, like the Grim Reaper was calling for the living's final destination.

"Never ask for whom the bell tolls for," Pyrrha whispered to herself, "it tolls for thee."

"Since when are there bells in this damn town?" Kimiko spat out.

"Looks like the new district decided to enhance our trials," Ken muttered bitterly. When some of the others stared at him in befuddlement, he said, "Sorry, we'll explain during the trial. Let's go now."

The group of twenty survivors entered Town Hall, walking across the littered, dusty floor of the building. They reached Monokuma's freight elevator, climbed in, and it started to move down.

Down…

Down…

Down to this hellish trial room of dark humor and darker hearts…

Down to where the truth would freeze and chill…

Everyone was grim-faced, as this trial felt so different, so heinous, and so very personal. Several of them, those closest to Saiko, were shivering and breathing heavily. Suspicion was abound, and it took all the willpower to stop themselves from shouting accusations there and then.

At long last, the elevator stopped. The door scrolled open, and a trial room of a different color greeted them once more.

The floors, ceiling, and walls were striped with metallic blue, gray, and silver all around, almost appearing like dancing steel. The floor was almost like an artistic version of a blender, the ceiling a gigantic fan frozen in motion. It was almost as if the walls were a steel fence instead of a solid material.

The statues that Monokuma somehow had ready for every trial were there, and each one was a female samurai. The firm armor, with face masks, shoulder guards, gauntlets, leggings, belly armor, were part of every statue's gear. There were no helmets, allowing their hair to flow free with lengthy ponytails. And, much like all the other statues, the female samurai couldn't afford proper chest plates, which were more like metal push-up bras that showcased that warrior women are definitely well-endowed.

Each statue was posed as if for combat, all holding katanas and ready to strike. They were a fierce collection of grim-faced ladies, and it fit the mood for the metallic coloring the place had gone over.

As the survivors moved towards their positions, Monokuma sat on his throne, though he was wearing a traditional samurai helmet on his head. Monokid and Monodam stood on their platform, next to the memorial pictures of Monosuke and Monotaro.

Fannie found that she was positioned next to Ishiku, with a memorial picture of Taro where she was to stand. She took her place, trying to put on a positive smile for her boyfriend. Ishiku waved at her, and squeezed his emerald staff tightly in anticipation.

Hara and Isaac shared a long hug before parting ways, and stood at their designated spots. They both happened to glance at the memorial picture of Saiko, who had a cruel X painted across her face.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Monokuma called out. "Surely by now, you've gotten the hang of this!"

"Haw haw haw! Maybe their necks snapped when they were dropped like the doomed dumbasses they are," Monokid cackled.

"…" subverted Monodam.

Before any of the survivors could speak up, there was a burst of laughter from one of them. They all turned, and saw Blake cackling and pointing towards something.

"What the hell," Kimiko shouted, "is yoo'r problem?"

"What could possibly," said Fiora, glaring coolly at him, "be so funny?"

Blake wheezed, and pointed more upwards, until they realized he was drawing their attention towards the statues of female samurai. "Did you all notice?"

"It's impossible to miss those," Hikari scoffed, "inappropriate decorations."

"No, stupid, look at their heads," the pyro snickered, before glancing over at the explorer nearby him. "They've all got Hara's hairstyle!"

Everyone took a moment to look, and it was quite apparent once they surveyed the statues. Blake burst out laughing again, as Hara tried very hard not to burst into tears over this.

"Monokuma knows who did it, HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!"

As Blake's sadistic laughter echoed around the trial room, with Monokid joining him, the room felt a terrible combination of sweltering hot like rage, and frigid chills like a deadly scare. How sinister and convoluted this case could be, they could only imagine…

This heartbreaking trial with a victim stabbed through the heart, breaking the spirits of those that cared, and broke the unity that had almost kept them all together…

*Jin glares forward, three fingers correcting the rim of her owl-themed eye mask.*

*Yejoon stares through the eye holes of his fox mask.*

*Crystal stares downwards, as if surveying a map or field.*

*Isaac is leveling a studying stare straight forward with a hand extended, as if wanting an answer.*

*Fiora is glancing to the side, staring with an analytical gaze towards whatever has caught her attention.*

*Aka has a hand on her skiing goggles perched on her head, looking bravely forward.*

This was going to be the trial for Saiko Kobayashi, the Ultimate Forensic Investigator. However, she was so much more than that to several people. She was a friend, or a partner, or she was family.

*Saiko has her hands on her hips, glaring downwards at someone or something.*

*Drake is nervously glancing to the side, while holding his sketchpad up and close to his chest.*

*Souma has an arm raised as he is apparently in the middle of delivering a speech.*

*Hara has her hands clasped together, staring anxiously forward.*

*Shuuya is glancing over his shoulder, with his arms crossed defiantly.*

*Eisei has a lollipop in his mouth and looks half-interested in whatever is going on.*

She could be argumentative, abrasive, and even dismissive at times. Her hobbies and desires were an odd combination, and she led with her heart more times than with her head; however, she was compassionate, caring, honest, and protective of those she cared about more than anything in the world.

*Blake is cracking his knuckles and growling in frustration.*

*Ignatia is glancing from the side, seemingly uninterested.*

*Hikari is taking a confident pose with a smile, hand on the brim of her hat and her chest stuck out with pride.*

*Shinobu is holding a finger up, trying to prove a point about something or other.*

*Odelios is holding up a rubber chicken and pointing at it, as if to accuse it of the crime.*

*Yitro has his arms crossed and eyes closed, scarf pulled up slightly over his mouth.*

Who would kill Saiko? Why? How? There were so many questions about her death, and even more pertaining to all of the mysteries the town enshrouded in its fog-like mists. Though, like Saiko, the survivors and graduates were not going to give up until they found out the truth!

*Ishiku is grinning and holding up one of his signature chocolate coins in-between two fingers.*

*Samson glares forward from underneath the brim of his hat.*

*Takeo pumps his fist into the air with gusto.*

*Emanuel gives a tired stare from the side as he is holding his favorite flask close to him.*

*Ken salutes and stands proud, staring up to the sky.*

*Angelique has her hands over her heart, silently praying.*

Even if it is heartbreaking, even if it is difficult, there is only one path to take. One road, one way towards victory and living for another day. To stray off the path would mean death, and down this pathway towards the truth!

*Kimiko is pointing forward while shouting defiantly.*

*Pyrrha is making a heart with her hands, a sad but sweet smile on her face.*

*Futaba has a finger touching her glasses, narrowing her eyes.*

*Anzu stares forward defiantly, her frown and posture confident and ready.*

*Taro crosses his arms as he stares forward, using his red eye more prominently, as he joins the debate.*

*Fannie clasps her hands together in front of her chest, staring forward with a slightly confused tilt of her head.*

And thus, it is time to begin the Town Trial of Penjar!

---

Truth Bullets for Case 5:

---

Saiko's Autopsy – Saiko Kobayashi was found impaled through the heart with a katana formerly belonging to Peko Pekoyama. She had deep cuts on her stomach and neck, with most of the blood on the stage with her though a puddle and trail nearby leading to it. Her body was pinned up against the Monophanie animatronic. Precise time of death is unknown, but her body was found at approximately 9:30 PM.

Saiko's Location – Saiko was in the Mononkuma's Arcade District building, on the stage which is located in the right section of the building. As it is not allowed to access the four buildings if you weren't in one to begin with, it is unclear how she made it into the Arcade; however, from the amount of blood found on the stage, there can be no doubt she was murdered there.

Motive for Murder – Monokuma promised that the dangerous nightmares, which caused people to sleepwalk, do harm to themselves, and/or develop injuries or rashes, would stop if a murder was committed. Several people also heard Saiko threatening Blake, adding that she killed someone before.

Executioner's Garb – A cloak, morph mask, and a large battle-ax were found at first in front of the plaza statue, but then next to Saiko's body. The cloak, which is slightly smaller than the norm, has no cuts, but is soaked in her blood. Ishiku and Fannie were chased by someone wearing these the previous night, but swear that the person was fully covered. Ishiku also seems to recall something being off during that encounter, but cannot remember what exactly.

Monocrow – The crow version of the Mono-family was a new addition to Penjar that everyone met yesterday, but apparently had known all about Penjar and the Kubs beforehand; he claims Monokuma was not part of the original design of Penjar. Monocrow would come when requested some of the time, though he fancied Anzu. He was found destroyed at the base of the plaza's statue, smashed to pieces against the side of said statue.

Monocrow's Powers – Monocrow was able to, if asked when alone with no other witnesses, swap benefits in-between people, even without the person who would be losing their benefit's knowledge or permission. These could be put on request, and one was made for right when Monokuma's sleeping gas came into effect the third night. Anzu believes there are more details to Monocrow's abilities, but never had a chance to ask.

Building Benefits – For spending the entire night and morning inside one of the four buildings of the western plaza, guests would be granted secret benefits for their stay in Penjar. No one quite knows which building gives what, but there are theories that one of the benefits is all-access to Penjar's locked rooms and areas, and another is possibly an immunity to sleep and fatigue.

Now that a murder has happened, there can no longer be any benefits gained. Apparently, staying in one without "permanent" benefits during the third night means they lost them when they left their building. No expections were given due to the murder.

Monokuma's Arcade District – The building in the bottom-left corner of the plaza, in which the murder was committed. This place had computer games, arcade games, and a stage where animatronics of the Monokubs pretended to play instruments. There is a maintenance room that turned out to be a fake room.

The Bears' Motel – The two-story building in the top-left corner of the plaza, a stone's throw away from the arcade. It creaks and makes haunting noises of someone moving about the building at night at all hours. The locked room turned out to be the control room for the Arcade, and Isaac was trapped in that room due to accidentally locking himself him with the control panel.

Enoshima Asylum – The three-story building in the top-right corner of the plaza, and the most imposing. This derelict asylum was made up to cause tricks of the eye and hallucinations, where people saw all sorts of awful creatures and heard terrifying sounds of things that weren't there. It had many dusty rooms with awful medical tools, including weapons that could be used for murder, but also a highly advanced, state-of-the-art, self-operating medical table/chair. The usage of this room is restricted.

Third Eye Psychic's Tent – The large tent made into a small building in the bottom-right corner of the plaza. This was the one place that Monokuma informed the guests of Penjar that wouldn't shield them from the nightmares and body controlling/damaging that would happen. A large amount of trinkets and doodads lined the inside, a crystal ball on a table in the center, and a smashed robot of Yasuhiro Hagakure at the front.

Door Trick – The door to the control room of the Arcade, hidden in the Motel, was soundproof, though it had speakers built on the inside that transmitted any noise coming from outside of the fake maintenance room in the Arcade. Therefore, everyone thought Isaac was inside of the arcade room, but he was actually in the motel. It was only revealed where he was when Shuuya could sense someone physically pounding on the door, and opened it.

Secret Motel Room – The control room for the Arcade was located on the second floor of the motel. It had a large control panel, capable of controlling the music, cameras, animatronics, and doors at the arcade, as well as the door to the room itself. There were multiple screens showcasing the camera feed inside of the arcade, which was where Isaac saw something terrible after he was personally awakened by Monokuma. The control panel isn't labeled, and is impossible to navigate, leaving the music to play indefinitely and the animatronics moving about.

Running Shower – The shower in Eisei and Saiko's room was running when he woke up. When investigating, Drake attempted to turn off the water, but the flow didn't stop despite turning the knobs. Some of the survivors believe this is to be an homage to the horror movie the motel is meant to copy.

Isaac's Location – After everyone awoke from the second night, Isaac was supposedly inside of the arcade; truthfully, he was trapped in a room on the second floor of the motel. However, either scenario should be impossible, as Isaac left the motel yesterday and thus banned from any of the buildings by Monokuma, as were the rules. How he managed to get in there, no one knows, not even him as he claims.

Eisei's Alibi – Eisei woke up from the sleeping gas, to find Saiko missing from their room. When he heard the shower running in the bathroom, he assumed she was in there, though she did not answer when he called. He left the room when he heard the Body Discovery Announcement.

Odelios's Alibi – The clown had been hiding on the third floor of the asylum ever since the second afternoon, when Anzu suddenly and uncharacteristically attacked him. He claims he didn't fall asleep, and has been awake and alert, but time passed by incredibly fast. Odelios was made aware of when things were wrong when the Body Discovery Announcement played on the TVs located throughout all of Penjar, including the rooms in the asylum.

Monophanie Animatronic – Saiko's body was pinned up against the animatronic modeled to look like Monophanie, Fannie's previous robot-bear form. The animatronics are held in place on the stage, though they are moving about with their heads and arms, sometimes in the dead of night.

Suspicion on Fannie – As a former Kub, several members of the group are suspicious of the white 'n pink-topped young lady. Ishiku had given Peko's sword to Fannie after they entered the arcade, so she was the one to have it last. Due to this, being in the same building as the murder, and the lack of confirmation to what she has told the graduates, there are those that don't believe she can be trusted.

Sleeping Gas – On the second night, Monokuma used a sleeping chemical in the air to make many people pass out right after his Monokuma Theater at 9:30 PM; this caused everyone who fell asleep, allegedly, to fall into the Killing Game Realm. Only some people claim they never fell asleep.

On the third night, the sleeping gas went off at 8:30 PM, earlier as Monokuma said it would be. When Saiko was found dead shortly after 9:30, everyone who had fallen asleep was awakened by Monokuma; however, some people claim to have awakened at 9:30 PM precisely, which was when Monokuma Theater played on the TVs.

Southern Plaza – During the second night, the Southern Plaza, a previously nonexistent area of the town, came to be. Everyone was allowed to go down to this plaza, but seemingly no one knew of its existence until it was discovered by Yitro and Fiora. It has been implied that this was the path the graduates were meant to take after they were done with the western plaza, but they had become too caught up in the rotation and building benefits.

Armory – One of the buildings in the Southern Plaza is a large, warehouse-like storage area. It is full of all kinds of weapons, from primitive to high-tech modern day weapons. The executioner's garb and battle-ax came from this building. One needs special access to enter this building.

Killing Game Realm – The alternate realm, where the Killing Game involving Hope's Peak's students, where several graduates have found themselves in, became a place for everyone knocked unconscious due to Monokuma's combination of sleeping gas and truth serum gas on the second night.

Inside this realm was an ever increasing body count done by the Queen, a figure enshrouded in shade that could steal someone's talent in the process of murdering them. The Queen wanted something or someone, and appeared to be an embodiment of Chaos and malice. Only one person knows the true face of the Queen, but whoever that is hasn't said anything; Hikari was seemingly successful in killing the Queen, though her shrieks could still be heard amongst the small group that were in the area where she was impaled with one of her own self-created spikes.

Hikari was in the body of Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist, due to wearing a bikini that looked much like the deceased artist's, and a swimsuit from Hope's Peak Academy. Kimiko was in the body of Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, possibly from holding onto Hikari in her unconscious state. Items belonging to members of Hope's Peak seem to be gateways into this realm.

The following graduates were inside of the Killing Game Realm during the second night: Hikari, Anzu, Souma, Shuuya, Ken, Yitro, Futaba, Saiko, Blake, Eisei, Fiora, Ignatia, Drake, Hara, and Isaac.

Mahiru's Last Words - "The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm sorry." This was whispered to Hikari, when Mahiru Koizumi realized she was about to die once more in the unending cycle of Killing Games.

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THE TRIAL WILL COMMENCE SHORTLY!