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.]

38. Chapter 5-6: Case 5 Trial, Part 2

Chapter 5-6

The Leading Lane of Lies

---

*Monokuma Family Trial Intermission*

---

*Monokuma and the two Monokubs are standing on the steps of Town Hall, the main bear at the top and the two cubs three steps down.*

Monokuma - "Things certainly are heating up in the trial! I mean, we rarely ever get people who aren't visitors of Penjar joining the cast!"

Monodam - "THIS-IS-THE-THIRD-TIME-ACTUALLY."

Monokuma - "Oh, you know what I mean, you annoyingly adorable little bastard! I miss my obedient children, those who would agree with me and say I'm right with whatever I say."

Monokid - "I'm obedient as shit, Dad! Why don't respect me for the shit that I am? Shit!"

Monokuma - "For one thing, you swear too much! You should stick to bear puns and impish laughter to be your calling cards, not four letter words that any dumb bastard can use!"

Monodam - "FATHER, YOU-KEEP-SWEARING-WHEN-YOU-SAY-SWEARING-IS-FOR-LESSER-BEARS."

Monokuma - "And YOU keep arguing with me! You're right, Monokid, I do respect your shit! But sometimes, I wish I could hibernate until you're mature enough to understand the big picture."

Monokid - "Whoa Dad, if you hibernate too much, you'll miss the trial! I mean, what would we do without your fucking awesome leadership skills?"

Monodam - "GET-THINGS-DONE?"

Monokuma - "Upupupupupu! Oh, you witty little bastard! Now then, let's get back to the trial, and see if our visitors can survive the fifth Town Trial of Penjar!"

Monokid - "HELL YEAH! You hear that, visitors? Your asses are grasses, and grasses are 'wackes'! Speaking of whacks…"

*Monokid takes his guitar out and hits Monodam on the back of the head, knocking him down on his face.*

Monodam - "OW. I-MISS-MONOPHANIE. AND-MONOTARO…"

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

Monodam - "AND-MONOSUKE. AND-MONOCROW…"

Monokid - "Maybe you wouldn't miss them so much if you'd just die like they all did!"

Monodam - "MONOPHANIE-IS-NOT-DEAD."

Monokuma - "You know, you're gonna be dead yourself if you don't stop correcting us, young cub!"

---

LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!

---

The eighteen conscious members of the trial stared in utter bafflement at Peko Pekoyama, though she was in Fiora's body right now. Her stance, the way her eyes peered into them all, the way she had spoken, there was no denying it. The Ultimate Swordswoman was back from the dead, and threatening them all.

"O-okay then," Souma stammered out. "Let's not get carried away, Miss Pekoyama. Our interests do align."

"Do they?" Yitro challenged, staring with the same kind of steely look as Peko. "Because it seems she wants to use us all."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Futaba said, "talk trash with her right now. Let's just find out what she wants, okay?"

Peko flicked Fiora's hair behind her shoulders, and let out a sigh. "Should I give you my demands then? You all seem highly confused."

"Confused?" Hara repeated, leaning forward on her podium before she pointed accusingly at Peko. "You… you killed Saiko, didn't you?!"

The swordswoman in the movie maker's body turned towards her, a stern but calm expression on her face. "No. I had nothing to do with that."

"Pardon us for not believing you," Eisei spoke up, "but it is quite hard for us to find you credulous in this state."

"Yeah, I mean," Odelios spoke up, "how in the hell are you possessing Fiora right now? Are you an evil ghost or a demon?"

"I am not a monster," Peko responded, crossing her arms. "I was called here and am being channelled by the lady Fiora."

"But she's not a spirit medium," Anzu shouted, pointing at Peko as well. "She's not a clairvoyant or psychic or anything like that!"

Peko stared at Anzu, longer than she did with anyone else. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then glanced to the side. "There is something about you that confuses me. I wish to gain information on my master, but I must admit, I am confused how I am here if Fiora Stenton is channelling me if she is not a medium. Perhaps we should discuss that to avoid further confusion."

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"I believe you all said that Fiora was a movie maker?" Peko asked, holding her hand up near her face as she flexed her fingers in thought. "Are you sure she isn't a medium too?"

"That loudmouth keeping something secret?" Crystal remarked. "She couldn't, and wouldn't, keep a second talent like that hidden."

"She never mentioned anything about the dead," Yitro said. "Though I believe it was the subject with some of her movies."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Souma remarked. "I had to watch a lot of those earlier today in the psychic tent."

"Peko darling," Hikari said, clenching her umbrella handle tightly, "are you aware of where you are? Do you know about Penjar?"

"I know as much as you all do, possibly less."

"Why you, in particular?" Pyrrha asked, crossing her arms. "Why would Fiora channel you? We've been in constant contact with Mahiru Koizumi!"

"What? My classmate?" Peko was visibly unnerved. "She was the first person to perish at Hope's Peak! How are you in contact with her?"

"Don't change the subject!" Shuuya snapped. "We're talking about you, not the other people from Hope's Peak."

"I know as much as you all do, as I previously said."

"Hold on a minute," Drake called out, "I have the answer!"

---

"If you all recall," the cartoonist said, peering around at his peers, "we never found out what exactly the benefit to the psychic's tent was. Is it possible that the benefit is the ability to channel spirits?"

Everyone glanced around, curious if such a thing were even possible. Anzu sighed as she coiled one of her blue bangs around in her fingers. "Drake, our little cinnamon roll, you do realize that Hikari and I were there, and we're not channelling anyone?"

"Hasn't Fiora been in the psychic's tent twice? Maybe that's the key?"

Ignatia rocked back and forth on her feet, contemplating this. She snapped her fingers, then typed out a message for Drake to read. [It could be true. I have heard rumors that learning how to spirit channel takes a great deal of physical and mental strain. Were you under strain after your night there?]

Anzu froze up, gasping as her pupils shrank in fear. "Oh… you mean how I attacked Odelios?"

"And how I had a terrible rash all over my body the following day?" Hikari admitted, blushing slightly. "Also, Fiora threw up when she woke up, the poor darling."

"She thought she was pregnant, the goofy goober," Yitro said, chuckling lightly, then the humor was gone when she stared at the woman she was talking about, though it wasn't her at the moment. "So, for lack of a better explanation, we can say the reason Fiora is channeling you is because she was granted that via Penjar's powers."

"Spirit channeling is supposed to be extremely taxing to the one doing it," Futaba said, crossing her arms. "All of my research on the subject says that it is extremely taxing, and takes years, if not decades, of training and the right bloodlines to do it. Are you telling me Fiora Stenton is so gifted, or this town is so powerful, that she can channel a spirit for hours?"

"Apparently," Peko said, flexing her fingers more before lowering her hands. "We have an answer. I'd like my answers now."

"No, you hold on there," Ken shouted. "You don't get to possess one of our comrades, control the trial, and get what you want when you are looking mighty guilty."

Peko stared at him, then sighed. "What are you talking about? I did not kill Saiko. I have no reason, nor the ability."

"Saiko was killed by a sword," Isaac snapped, "the same sword you have on your hip right now! How can you say you don't have the ability?"

"There are a lot of other factors. I had no idea how anything worked until I overheard you all talking about them."

"Like the building benefits?" Fannie asked. "Oh, and who was staying where? I mean, since you technically only came around tonight, I don't know how you could catch up on everything."

"Yeah, I'm having trouble imagining," Ishiku admitted, "that Peko somehow was channelled, knew how this damn city works, and then murdered a woman she doesn't know!"

Hara and Isaac were staring hard at Peko, who noticed the couple's intensity. She said, "I believe we should discuss this further then?"

"Yeah, that would be best," Kimiko said. "Come on, let's get this settled, then we can calm doo'n our ghost gal."

"I would appreciate not being called that."

"…" Pyrrha clenched her hands together, her green eyes becoming blazing emeralds as she gazed extensively at Peko.

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"Futaba, does your research into spirit channeling," Shuuya asked, "say anything about how much information the spirit has on the one channeling them?"

"We're talking about a subject that has never been fully documented, and incredibly rare and protected," the anthropologist said. "There are people who spent their entire lives trying to learn more."

"Wait a minute, wasn't there another classmate of yours," Crystal asked, "who had been affected by spirit channeling? Korekiyo?"

"The serial killer of women?!" Anzu cried out in astonishment. "What does he have to do with this?"

"If I recall," Isaac said, "Korekiyo Shinguji stated that a séance led to him being possessed by his deceased sister, and together, they killed many women to become her friends in the afterlife."

"Saiko was a woman," Hara said softly, staring intensively at Peko.

"I am not Korekiyo," Peko responded. "I was appalled by the violence he had taken, and aghast by the lives he took."

"That bastard," Ken shouted, "murdered my princess! Why are we even talking about him?!"

"We're trying to see if Peko has Fiora's knowledge," Kimiko said to the enraged Novoselician, "on this city, eh. If she didn't, she had no way of killing Saiko."

"Even if she did, what possible reason would she have," Fannie argued, "for murdering Saiko?"

"Yeah, Fannie's right!" Ishiku spoke up. "Maybe we're just reading too much into this, and it's another red herring in our case-"

"Stop arguing this," Pyrrha shouted, "because I have the answer to it all!"

---

Peko stared at the romance writer, more curious than stern now. "You seem to have a lot against me, Pyrrha. I'd like to know why."

"Why? You want to know why I suspect you so much?" the writer shouted, pounding her fists on the podium. "I was wondering for so long how one of us, when we were finally getting along and working together, would murder one of us!

"And that's because you're not only not one of us, but you also have a reason to kill Saiko. A very personal reason!"

The swordswoman shook her head. "I'm afraid I am not following you."

"You cannot deny it, we discussed it during the trial! Saiko was forced to frame a member of the yakuza Kuzuryu clan, leading to his death. And YOU are an enforcer of the Kuzuryu clan!"

The trial room was silent for a moment, before Hara gasped in shock. "That's… that's right! She told us that! Oh my God, you…"

"You killed her out of honor for your clan!" Isaac shouted in fury, his eyes burning with hatred towards Peko. "You murderer!"

Peko noticeably flinched, as a bead of sweat ran down her forehead. She closed her eyes, and said, "I have no love for the Kuzuryu clan, only for my master."

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu was set to take over the clan," Souma remarked, crossing his arms. "As a member of the Future Foundation, I know all about those who took part in the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game."

The swordswoman gaped at him. "'W-was'?"

"You're answering our questions now," Shuuya snapped.

"No! Please! Tell me," Peko's stern visage was gone, a look of utter desperation crossing Fiora's face. "Fuyuhiko lived, didn't he? He made it?"

"DON'T TALK BACK!" Isaac bellowed, startling everyone as he fiercely pointed at Peko. "You murdered Saiko, didn't you?"

"I didn't kill your friend!" Peko shouted, gripping her podium tightly. "I swear! Please, I need to know!"

"You'll get nothing out of us," Eisei said, glaring at the lady in another person's body, "until you tell us everything we want to know. Saiko's dead, and you're looking very responsible."

"Y-young master," Peko started to stammer, as tears leaked from her eyes. "Is he… is he really…"

"Upupupupu! Well if they won't tell you, Peko," Monokuma spoke up, "I should inform you that there are no living Kuzuryu anymore. Ah-HAHAHAHAAAA!"

Peko locked up, then slumped down against her podium. "No… no you're living! Young master Fuyuhiko would survive the Killing Game, he'd survive anything!"

"And yet, the Kuzuryu are no more! UPUPUPUPU!"

"NOOOOOO!" The swordswoman heaved in desperation, staring up at the trial members. "Tell me he's lying! Please, I'll do anything!"

Isaac took a deep breath, as he peered at her. "Did you kill our friend?"

"I didn't kill Saiko! I…" Peko stood up, glancing around as she uncharacteristically panicked. "But I don't have any way to disprove it!"

"That's probably because you," Ken snapped, "are responsible for this odious crime."

"You're the only one with a motive," Pyrrha said. "Saiko was responsible for one of your yakuza members being executed."

"So if you'd kindly pull yourself together," Yitro said, staring the most intensively at Peko, "and tell us what we want to know, we tell you what happened to your master!"

"I… I don't," Peko stammered, attempting to calm her breathing but failing, "I don't know how-"

"Stop it! Stop it all of you!"

Anzu's shout startled everyone in the trial room, even herself. The actress gripped her podium, as she continued, "You're railroading this poor girl into confessing what you want to hear! Can't you see she's desperate?"

"Anzu," Isaac growled, "she's most likely the killer!"

"I don't think so. Isaac, I know you're suffering," she glanced between him, Hara, and Eisei, "God knows you three are hurting so much, and you want to find Saiko's killer more than anything in the world. But she's not a villain, she's a scared and confused girl right now."

"Was she a scared and confused girl," Hikari bitterly remarked, "when she murdered Gonta Gokuhara?"

"Was she a scared and confused girl," Shuuya commented, "when she was an enforcer for a yakuza gang, a blade that would draw blood at a moment's notice? The yakuza are not to be admired, they were ruthless killers."

There was a pained groan from down on the ground, and then an arm reached up to an empty podium as Blake pulled himself up off the floor. "Was she a scared and confused girl," he said, "when she plunged that blade right in Saiko's big chest?"

"Oh God, not you," Pyrrha cried out. "We don't want to hear this coming from you!"

"Hey, I'm on your side, cinnamon tits," Blake commented, wheezing out several breaths. "I think this bitch is totally guilty, and I'm all for voting her to get sentenced to death!"

"Wait a minute!" Odelios shouted desperately. "We cannot do that! If Peko gets executed, Fiora dies!"

"Oh God," Kimiko shrieked, "yoo'r right! Everyone, slow doo'n a minute! We cannot rush this!"

The members of the trial room were horrified at the prospect of this, except for one of them. Blake let out a laugh, and said, "Oh big loss, the B-movie maker finally gets offed like we've been trying to do since we all first got here."

"Shut the hell up," Yitro shouted at him, "before I come over there and knock you out again!"

"I think you're wrong, Odelios," Shuuya said. "Monokuma's rules are about who committed the crime, and the culprit is clearly Peko Pekoyama. Fiora is not the killer, therefore he isn't allowed to harm her."

"Don't be so sure."

Peko had managed to pull herself together, as she wiped her brow and then surveyed the others. "Monokuma, Despair, it's obvious the way they work from now. Though I am not Saiko's killer, I believe that you need to slow down right now."

"Then just leave her body," Isaac shouted at her. "Go on, do it!"

"I… I cannot. I do not know why, but I feel bound to her right now, as if this was my body now. I don't understand, is Fiora Stenton a trusting soul?"

"What do you mean?" Fannie asked. "She's very friendly and outgoing, but how do you figure trusting?"

"I don't know where I was before she summoned me, there is just a void in my memory, like I am not meant to recall it; however, I do remember a voice calling me, asking me to help."

"Help? You?!" Hara shouted, gripping her hands together. "You're the last person who could help, you're the only being who would want Saiko dead!"

"I didn't," Peko started to say, wincing as she almost lost her cool. She took a deep breath, then started again more calmly. "I did not murder your friend. I am sorry, I am not a good person, I'm barely even a person. I'm more a tool for my master, one to use as he saw fit. And a tool, a weapon like me, only knows how to be what it was trained to be. I'm sorry, my actions were crass and thoughtless, but I know no other way to go around it.

"I was just trying to help, and I believe it hurt you all in the process. I apologize."

Something inside Isaac clicked at those words. He gripped his scarred arm, and then stared intensively at the sullen swordswoman. "Wait, you wanted to help?"

"I figured it was the right thing to do, I had to be brought here and now for a reason. If it were something about how the sword was used, or something else I knew-"

"We've already seen your work, you yakuza sex-toy," Blake interrupted, gaining a rather fierce glare from Peko. "Why don't you just shut the hell up, and let us kill you off again?"

"You can't do that," Peko shouted. "I didn't kill Saiko, you'd only be leading to Fiora's death, and yours!"

"Are you using her life as a bargaining chip now?" Hikari cried out fiercely. "You refuse to leave Fiora's body, and thus we have to kill her if we vote for you?"

"Sly as ever, yakuza," Shuuya growled. "You're lucky we didn't meet on normal terms."

"Wait, stop," Anzu cried out. "Please!"

"We haven't even debated this," Fannie insisted. "We don't know how she carried out the plan!"

"Yeah, I mean," Odelios remarked, "how the hell could possibly know everything about the town?"

"She's a damned yakuza spirit," Crystal yelled. "What isn't impossible about what she can do right now, Odelios?"

"Who else but her would murder Saiko?" Ken asked. "The only person who'd care about a gang member like that being executed would be her, a member of that gang!"

"She pulled that sword out of Hara's body like it was nothing," Hara said, her voice slightly ragged from the intensity of the situation. "Peko's just too cruel."

"I… I don't know about that."

Drake's statement was rather startling to everyone there. The cartoonist was nervous at all the attention, but he continued on. "Peko, I don't think you remember me, but I met you once, at Hope's Peak."

"I apologize," Peko said, "but I honestly don't. My memory is very hazy about my time at Hope's Peak, just as it was when I had amnesia during that Killing Game."

"Well, I do remember you, and I don't think you be this brutal, to kill Saiko in cold blood."

"Drake, you cannot seriously be using memories like that," Crystal said, "to defend her. This is completely different, and it's obvious now!"

"I… I don't think so."

Everyone was shocked to hear those words come from Isaac's mouth. The reporter had one of his hands on his beanie, almost covering his eyes as he had been so deep in thought. "Maybe we rushed too fast into judgement."

"Isaac!" Hara cried out, clutching at her shirt over her heart. "You… you cannot be serious! She killed Saiko!"

"You were the most fervent just a minute ago," Shuuya declared.

The mint-topped man sighed hard, then looked up at everyone. "Yes, I was so furious that I couldn't think straight. However, now that I'm thinking about it, we're not even debating it."

"You may be right," Souma responded, crossing his arms. "If we don't discuss this, it could be fatal."

"Yes, I'm having second thoughts too," Futaba muttered.

"She fits the profile over everyone else," Pyrrha objected. "Who else but her?"

"But but but," Fannie stammered wildly, "we haven't even debated-"

"I'M JUST GONNA SCRUM SCRUM SCRUM IT OFF!"

Monokuma rubbed his paws together gleefully. "I'm sure some of you saw this coming! It's more appropriate now than ever! We even have an even number of trial members, maybe it'll be an even team!

"Now get ready to select your side! Just remember, if the team that believes the suspect of debate guilty wins, the trial is over! Now choose wisely..."

"I fucking love the music that plays during these," Monokid shouted, strumming on his guitar. "Let's get ready to fucking rumble! I'm gonna prove you all wrong, and then security will drag you off kicking and screaming like the jokers you are."

"YOU-ARE-NOT-PART-OF-THIS," Monodam commented.

Most everyone was ready to select a side, though Hara hesitated as she watched Isaac. "Isaac, honey," she called out to him, "I… I don't agree with you, but I don't want to argue. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hara, when we did the debates, Saiko was sometimes on the other side. I believe we can debate this on opposite sides, and find the truth."

He smiled at her, and added, "I have faith that in you, and everyone else, that we can find the truth. Trust me."

The explorer took a deep breath, then managed a smile as she nodded. The two picked their choices, and being the final ones, the decisions were all made.

"Yay," Fannie cheered, "I've always wanted to be part of a Scrum Debate!"

"You all have just lost your damn minds," Blake shouted, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'm not backing down," Peko said as she folded her arms. "I'm not the killer."

Monokuma lifted the large Key to the City, as the equally large lock popped up in front of his throne. He inserted it and twisted, and thus power ran through the floor and into the platforms the trial members stood on.

The platforms lit up at their bases, and then lifted up into the air. Most were used to this by now, and Peko and Fannie kept their balance. As they lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened, and the Scrum Debate Hall was set up.

This was their fifth Scrum Debate, and none of them could have foreseen one being this emotional, this personal, and involving a person they never thought could be involved now being the subject of debate.

---

SCRUM DEBATE!

Team Erza Scarlet ("Peko Pekoyama killed Saiko Kobayashi!")

Members: Eisei, Shuuya, Crystal, Blake, Yitro, Hikari, Ignatia, Ken, Pyrrha, Hara.

…

Team Saeko Busujima ("Peko did not murder Saiko!")

Members: Drake, Peko, Souma, Odelios, Ishiku, Futaba, Kimiko, Anzu, Fannie, Isaac.

---

Everyone was now situated in the Scrum Debate Hall, and without any hesitation, the hyped argument began.

"You cannot seriously believe that Peko is innocent," Pyrrha shouted. "She's the only one with motive, means, and opportunity!"

"When it comes to motive, she's the only person with a clear motive," Drake replied. "Let's not forget that in the past, we've been shocked on who killed someone and why."

"But the why is the most important," Shuuya said, crossing his arms. "She's the only person who would have a reason to exterminate someone who killed a Kuzuryu clan member."

"I don't care about the Kuzuryu clan," Peko responded. "The reason I killed Gonta was because I hallucinated he was someone of the Kuzuryu clan, threatening to harm Fuyuhiko."

"You thought Fuyuhiko would be the head of the clan," Crystal snapped. "You would do anything for him, we know that. I don't know why any of you over there are even defending her, she's a cold killer."

"I'm defending her," Kimiko responded, "because I fear you all are getting too emotional a'boot this. Have you forgotten that if we find Peko guilty, we sentence Fiora to death? I won't just let my friend die without a proper debate!"

"There are people here who care about Fiora too," Yitro said, staring at Peko in Fiora's body. "But Peko's involvement in this case is too deep. It's her sword, and Fiora had the all-access pass to allow Peko to go anywhere she'd want to go."

"You bring up the all-access pass, but how would Peko know about that?" Odelios cried out, pointing his rubber chicken. "How would Peko know about any of the things that have been happening in this town?"

"Peko may know everything that Fiora knows," Hara said, quiet but still able to find her strength to argue. "That cannot be disproven, we know so little about spirit channeling. She could know everything Fiora was privy to."

"Hara," Isaac responded to his fiancé, "Peko didn't know Fiora had an accent!"

[Peko is not an actress or a voice actor,] Ignatia had the electronic dictation read from her cell phone's notes. [She isn't capable of feigning an accent, she just had to pretend to be Fiora, all the while retaining her knowledge of this town and the rules.]

"The accent is only part of it," Anzu responded. "If she has all the knowledge Fiora does, why didn't she know Fiora has been accused every trial? Why doesn't she know anything about our movie maker?"

"It could be that Peko," Ken said, "doesn't retain knowledge about our movie maker, just on the town. What she knows seems to be on everything else but Fiora, which makes her the perfect suspect for this crime!"

"Listen, handsome," Futaba remarked, "she is far from the perfect suspect when you realize how spotty our knowledge is on spirit channeling. How can you claim she knows everything about something, but nothing on something else? It feels like you're molding her to be the killer."

"Well if the mold fits," Blake retorted with a triumphant grin on his face, "then the bitch did it! You all don't have any proof she isn't the killer, you just have emotional arguments."

"We want to find proof as much as you do," Ishiku remarked. "But the same can be said for you all, you don't have anything solid to prove it was Peko!"

"What's solid for me were that Mahiru's last words were something along the lines of this," Hikari said, clenching her umbrella. "She's never steered us wrong before with her warnings, so what have you got to say that can actually give us doubt?"

"Isn't it doubtful that Peko would resort to murder," Fannie said, "when all she wants to do is find out about Fuyuhiko? If you claim that she knows everything about this town, she'd know not to do such a thing or she'd never leave this town!"

"She doesn't have to leave to gain information from us," Eisei responded. "Again, that is not proof, that does not lead to doubt. If you don't have anything better to disprove how Peko had motive, means, and opportunity, your argument falls flat."

Futaba tapped at the ground with her walking stick, deep in thought during this debate. Something clicked in her head, and she repeated, "Means… of course! What about the fact that the building benefits come around at 9:30 PM? I know this because they did at the motel with the sleep immunity, so Peko couldn't have been channeled until 9:30, AFTER the murder!"

"That sounds reasonable," Crystal replied, slightly shaken but still going strong, "however, the psychic tent is different than the others. You don't know if she was channeled after the murder because she could have been channeled since the first day Fiora was in the tent!"

"No, that's not possible," Isaac countered. "After the first day, Fiora spent time with our group. She was herself, accent and all; plus, the other two who were in the tent aren't channeling anyone."

"That wretched tent is an anomaly we cannot explain," Hikari furiously stated. "How do we know Fiora didn't unintentionally start channeling when she was in it the second time?"

"I was with her during the second time," Souma responded. "I would have noticed, especially since we were watching her filmography right up until we fell asleep!"

"You falling asleep is where things fall apart," Shuuya said. "That's the point in time where you have no idea where Fiora, or rather Peko, was. That tent's benefits are much more different than any other building, and thus we cannot say the same rules apply to it too. So she might have been unintentionally channeled the moment you fell asleep, Souma."

"WAIT," Fannie shrieked, her white 'n pink eyes wide in shock. "You think that Peko was unintentionally channeled the moment Souma fell asleep? But that's impossible, the killer made the deal with Monocrow to steal Ishi and I's sleep immunity! Peko couldn't have made that deal!"

"She could have made that deal if she was channeled earlier," Pyrrha fired back.

"Earlier? While I was in the tent the whole time with her?" Souma shot at the romance writer. "Monocrow's deals must be done in secret, and that tent offers no privacy!"

"Well what if Peko stepped outside to gain that privacy?" Ken asked. "With the all-access, she could go right back in and you wouldn't have been the wiser, Souma."

"Didn't you hear Souma before," Isaac declared, "that the two were in the tent the entire time? That's not possible."

Blake scoffed and muttered, "Maybe it's not possible for Peko, but it's possible if those two assholes were conniving to begin with?"

"Conniving?" Drake balked. "Are you accusing Souma and Fiora of being complicit in this murder?"

"Well why not?" the pyro responded with a cruel grin. "Maybe they were complicit in planning a murder together, and Peko being channeled was an unforeseen happening."

"Oh you'd like that, woo'dent you, you hateful bastard?" Kimiko snarled. "But if Fiora left the tent to make the deal with Monocrow, she woo'dent receive the spirit channeling benefit that made this all possible to begin with!"

"And how could I have known about the benefits to make the deal?" Souma commented. "I wasn't ever part of the building groups the first two days, and we were all rushed into a building after our sleepwalking adventures last night; Fiora couldn't have known either, now that I think about it."

"I'm afraid this debate is over," Ishiku said. "You cannot counter Fannie's point, because there's no way Peko could have been channeled before the deal and the plan to kill Saiko was made!"

"THIS IS OUR REASON!" Team Saeko Busujima announced in unison, pointing at the other team.

"Woohoo! First blood, last blood, and team kill goes to Team Saeko," Monokuma announced. "Looks like the trial carries on!"

---

The platforms lowered back down into the trial room, with everyone on the losing team of the debate rather unnerved. Hara and Eisei were the most thunderstruck, gripping their podiums as they were so overwhelmed.

"I… I had completely forgotten about that," Eisei admitted. "The deal, the channeling, the times disprove her involvement."

"I was so sure," Hara whispered, staring at Peko. "I thought you killed my best friend. It seemed like too big of a coincidence."

Peko lowered her head, her eyes closed as if deep in thought. She sighed hard, and then spoke. "I don't blame you, it might have been Monokuma's intentions. Maybe that's why I am here, because I would appear the most suspicious.

"But I did not kill your friend, and I'm sorry that it happened. I will do everything I can to help you discover who it was."

"Heh, I thought as much," Drake said, smiling at Peko. "I knew you were a good person."

"You'll have to forgive me, but I still don't remember what you're talking about," she responded. "My memory of my time at Hope's Peak is still lost."

The cartoonist had been busy sketching, and then he showed her, as well as everyone else, what he had been drawing: a picture of Peko Pekoyama smiling, holding a fluffy cat in her arms. While most everyone was confused by that, Peko audibly gasped.

"That," she stammered, gripping her head. "I… oh my goodness, I remember…"

---

"Thank you, Miss Pekoyama, for agreeing to pose for us," the art teacher said to the swordswoman, who had been holding a stance with her sword drawn. "This will be great for people to practice the action poses with their work."

Peko nodded, her expression as stern as ever. The teacher and the students all shuffled out of the classroom, except for one. Drake Flare nervously approached the swordswoman, who glanced at him curiously.

"Excuse me," he said, "but I was curious if you could do me a quick favor, Miss Pekoyama?"

"Which would be?"

Drake showed her his sketch, which was of Peko but with two noticeable features: she wasn't striking an action pose, and she had no face. The cartoonist blushed slightly when she quirked an eyebrow, and admitted, "I don't really want to draw anything aggressive like combat, and I think that you'd look better if you were smiling."

"Smile?" Peko repeated, glancing to the side. "I rarely ever do it, I don't know if I could give you a genuine one."

"Is there something you really like? Like someone, or doing something, like your talent?"

"Yes, but I do not smile for those, I trained myself to be neutral when doing what I do."

"Is there nothing you really like as well?"

Peko crossed her arms, and took a deep breath as she considered this. "I must admit, I do love animals, cute animals. However, I don't really get a chance to see them, they are normally very scared of me."

The swordswoman noticed Drake was drawing on his sketchpad, his hand moving fast enough to rival a master of the blade. Before she had a chance to ask him what he was doing, he showcased the improved picture of her. The sketch of faceless Peko was holding a fluffy cat in her arms, as little 'purr' noises came from the creature.

Peko stared, her eyes widening for few moments. Then a smile spread across her face, and she even giggled at the sight of it. "Oh my. That's rather nice. You really captured the fluffiness of that cat."

Drake took his sketchpad back, and then went to work again. This time, he finished the sketch with Peko smiling down at her fluffy kitty. The swordswoman stared at it, and smiled again. "You have talent, it makes me happy to look at this."

"You can keep it, if you'd like."

"No, I'm sorry, I cannot accept that, but I appreciate it. Take care of it."

---

Peko's mouth was gaping, before she swallowed and then stared at the cartoonist. "I couldn't keep that drawing you did, because nothing was ever mine in my life except for my sword. I was brought up to be nothing but a tool for my master, a sword for his bidding.

"But Fuyuhiko was too good of a man, his heart was not into the death and crime his family expected him to fulfill. I just wish things had been different, that I had controlled my emotions back then."

The trial room was silent for a little bit, with everyone focused on Peko. She was hanging her head in shame, arms crossed as she contemplated everything that had happened. The moment was ruined when Blake let out a barking laugh.

"Didn't stop you from lezbo-fucking that assassin chick," he shot out, slapping his podium as he chortled. "And then that sword of yours was used to penetrate her in a different way than what you wanted Fuyuhiko to do, but he was too busy fucking the cosplaying bitch when he thought she was you!"

Peko glared at him, her blue eyes blazing in fury. "You really are a bastard, you know that?" she spat out. "Does my pain give you that much delight?"

"Haw haw haw! You know what? Yes, yes it does," the pyro responded. "Shame that your lezbo-fling is dead, bitch, as is your sex master!"

"No he isn't," Pyrrha shouted, then turned towards Peko. "Peko, I'm so sorry, I'm so very, very sorry I accused you; you should know, that Fuyuhiko is alive. He escaped the Killing Game."

Peko covered her mouth, her eyes wide for a few seconds. "But… Monokuma said the Kuzuryu are no more."

"The yakuza clan is no more," Souma spoke up. "As a member of the Future Foundation, and the head of human resources, I know about all of the survivors of the Hope's Peak Killing Game. Fuyuhiko officially disbanded the Kuzuryu clan, what little there was left of it, after the Tragedy.

"He lives with his girlfriend and sister, in an establishment they constructed. They are doing quite well, I assure you."

"G-girlfriend?" Peko repeated, stunned at the word.

"HAHAHA! Used and replaced," Blake cheered. "Well, not even used, what a terrible shame for you, dead bitch!"

Before anyone could tell him to shut up, Peko let out a small laugh. "So it was genuine between them," she said softly. A smile crept across her face, as a single tear came down from her eye. She wiped it away, as she laughed again. "And Natsumi is alright too, oh thank goodness.

"Young master is alive, happy, and is living the life he wants to?" she asked, her sad but happy smile radiant. "Th-thank you. Thank you all."

"I'm so sorry we misled you," Pyrrha said, clutching her hands over her heart as she appeared ready to burst into tears. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"No, you should have," Peko responded, staring at the romance writer with a gentle expression on her face. "I was most suspicious, and you all have everything to lose. And now that I know that Master Fuyuhiko is alright, I will do everything I can to help you all out."

"Oh great," Blake said with a roll of his eyes, "the dead girl who hasn't a clue what's going on is going to help us. Maybe you should just leave, give us the incompetent bitch you're controlling right now, go back to fucking the resting bitch face assassin in the afterlife."

Peko sighed, frowning as she was visibly losing patience with the pyro's crass words. "I never thought I could meet someone this abrasive and difficult. You are worse than Nagito Komaeda, Kokichi Ouma, and Byakuya Togami combined! Do you not care that if you don't find the culprit, you will die?"

"Not really, because I really don't care about anything else right now, I just like seeing other people burn. You fucked with this trial enough, we're probably all dead anyway. So why don't you-"

"You know," Eisei spoke up, "she could always knock you out again. I would welcome it at this point, the risk of concussion is no longer any concern with me. But if you're right about one thing, we don't have time to waste. If Peko is not the killer, we need to discuss who is."

"Yes, let's ignore that bastard," Isaac remarked "and get back on track."

"Who could have killed Saiko," Hara softly said.

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"With Peko, and by extension, Fiora," Isaac said, crossing his arms, "not being our killer, where were we when it came to who could be our killer?"

"We know our killer had to be able to make a deal with Monocrow," Hikari stated, "and that they had the all-access pass in order to kidnap Saiko."

"There was a list of people we were whittling down," Ishiku said. "Who were they again?"

"CRYSTAL, PYRRHA, YITRO, AND-KEN," Monodam announced.

"Oh, thank you, Monodam," Drake said, waving at the Kub.

"YOU-ARE-WELCOME-DRAKE."

"Are you all still accusing Pyrrha and me?" Crystal asked, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "Do you really think we planned out a vicious murder together?"

"You don't have any proof it wasn't either of you," Shuuya remarked.

"Shuuya, please," Pyrrha implored, staring down at the ground in shame. "We cannot disprove it, what can we possibly do?"

"There's still Yitro and Ken," Odelios said. "I don't like thinking it was any of you, but those are the only all-access passes remaining."

"We have a murder by sword," Crystal argued, "and two men who are highly experienced with swords! Someone strong enough to jam a sword through Saiko's body, and into a metal robot!"

"You make it sound so difficult," Monokid scoffed. "Why don't we stab Monodam and see if it is?"

"While that may make Ken and myself look bad," Yitro argued, "it's not proof."

"Don't we have anything," Ken spoke up, "that can help us clear this up?"

"Oh, I may have something," Hikari declared.

---

"By this point, all of us are highly aware of the warnings that Mahiru Koizumi has given us in the Killing Game Realm," Hikari said, "and she said something to me when I was in there."

"Wait, what is this about Mahiru?" Peko questioned. "I don't understand, she's dead."

"Peko, long story short," Drake said, "there's something about this town that sends us to an alternate realm, and in this realm, the Killing Game happens over and over again. Mahiru gives messages to the people who have been in there, and her words have always assisted us."

"I was you once," Anzu said, staring at Peko. "I was in your body, after I held onto a… a camera."

"Wait, what?" the swordswoman asked, crossing her arms as she stared in confusion. "What does a camera have to do with me?"

"Actually, that's a good question," Eisei said. "For everyone else, what they held onto transported them to the Killing Game Realm in the body of whoever the object belonged to. Could Mahiru have given you a camera, Peko?"

Peko shook her head, frowning in uncertainty. "I'm sorry, I'm still hazy on all this. If I saw this camera, maybe I could remember?"

"It turned into dust when I woke up," Anzu said remorsefully. "It was so weird too, being in your body… oh, but then again, you're in someone's right now, so you probably know how I felt!"

"Um, excuse me," Hikari spoke up, crossing her arms in a huff, "remember how I said that Mahiru warned me? I was going to say what she was going to say, we need to get back to that."

"Ever the attention seeker," Souma remarked. "Alright then, what were her words, Miss Tetsuhime?"

"'The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm sorry.' That's what she said to me. The problem is, I was certain that the affiliate of the coterie was talking about Peko and the Kuzuryu clan. I don't know what the other part can mean."

"'Antilogy' is a noun that means a contradiction in terms or ideas," Eisei said, "and 'tribulation' means a cause of great suffering or trouble."

"A contradiction of great suffering is the weapon?" Isaac repeated. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Is it possible," Peko said, "that the first part of that warning still could be about the yakuza member that Saiko was forced to frame?"

"You mean, someone else wanted to kill her over that?" Hara asked. "But why?"

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

Shuuya let out a sigh, and said, "We have a military official, a cavalryman from a noble country, and a man wrongfully accused as three of our four suspects."

"You think one of them wanted to kill Saiko over her miscarriage of justice?" Futaba remarked. "That's certainly possible, but it begs the question of how they knew about it."

"Saiko never told anyone but Isaac and myself," Hara said, "about the details on what she did!"

"She also told me," Eisei admitted. "She was so ashamed, but it wasn't truly her fault."

"She was shouting that she killed someone yesterday," Souma argued, "in the plaza, at Blake."

"But she didn't say who it was or her involvement in the trial," Isaac pointed out. "She was just saying that she killed someone. That's not entirely uncommon after the Tragedy."

"Yes, a lot of us have blood on our hands after that," Ken remorsefully said.

"Still, even if most of us do," Kimiko remarked, "if we're taking Mahiru's warning seriously, that means someone who overheard that could be our killer."

"Did any of our four suspects overhear that?" Fannie asked. "Were any of them there?"

"Hold up now," Souma announced, "I believe I have the answer!"

---

"Now, I remember that day, it was quite an eventful afternoon," Souma said. "I recall there were people watching from the asylum and the arcade, though I could only see one of them. In fact, they were talking to Fiora, who would have been able to tell us if she were here."

"Really now?" Peko asked, quirking Fiora's eyebrow. "Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about…

…

…

…

…

…

…

SELECT A SUSPECT!

…

…

…

…

…

…

… you, Miss Poole!"

"Huh?" Pyrrha shouted, covering her mouth in shock. "What? But… I didn't-"

"Bitch got caught, what a shame," Blake said while laughing. "You know, I'm pretty sure I saw your red head sticking out watching us like a peeping tom. Shame, I'm going to miss calling you cinnamon tits to your face, since you're gonna be dead soon!"

"Now wait a minute!" The romance writer shrieked, holding up her hands. "I am not going to deny I overhead that argument happening! But I didn't murder Saiko!"

"You were the only one of the four suspects to overhear it," Shuuya pointed out.

"But… but… Shuuya, you suspect me?" Pyrrha asked, the pain in her voice evident. "You think I would do something so terrible?"

"That's no defense," Futaba remarked. "You have to have something more than that, Pyrrha."

"Hey, you bastards!" Crystal furiously pointed at the anthropologist and the bounty hunter. "If you're accusing her, you're accusing me too! You don't have any proof it was us, just speculation!"

The military adviser stared down the two, and it appeared like there was going to be a shouting match any moment. Pyrrha was about ready to cry. Monokuma was eating popcorn from his throne.

"Everyone, please," Hara called out, holding up her hands, "we mustn't devolve into yelling and screaming at each other. I beg of you, that won't get us anywhere."

"Hara's right," Fannie spoke up. "What we have now are leads, but nothing solid enough to make a firm accusation."

"Cinnamon tits is the only suspect," Blake reminded the trial members, "who overheard the bitch bragging about killing someone."

"But Souma said someone was watching from the asylum," Pyrrha argued. "That could have been someone else! Who was it, Souma?"

"Alas, I do not know," the public speaker lamented. "The distance and the mists were too much of an obstruction to see who it could be. I recognized you because it's hard to mistake that shock of red on your head, Miss Poole."

"D-damn this stupid hair of mine!"

"DO-NOT-HAIR-COLOR-SHAME," Monodam scolded the trial members. "NONE-OF-THAT-NOW."

"However, if I recall," Souma remarked, "both Yitro and Ken were in the asylum yesterday. It could have been either of them."

"Wait, are we back to square one?" Ishiku asked. "I mean, now it sounds like we still don't have a way to discern who it could be!"

"Have we gone over everything?" Anzu lamented. "We keep getting distracted, we maybe didn't go over one or two of the points?"

"Did maybe someone forget something?" Odelios asked. "Do we have to review everything, see if there's one of those points?"

"We may not have time for that," Shuuya commented. "We've spent a lot of time discussing everything already."

"Well we have to do something," Drake insisted. "Please, everyone, can you think of something that stuck out with you all?"

The trial room was quiet for a minute, everyone contemplating what they had seen, experienced, and thought of. It was Peko who spoke up first, drumming her fingers on her katana's handle.

"There is something that I thought of at some point," she admitted. "Something about the murder scene that caught my eye, but I didn't want to admit because it had to do with things I did for the yakuza clan."

"It's not like we can punish you," Anzu said, smiling at the swordswoman. She coiled her blue bang around her finger, and said, "Just come out and say it, Peko."

"If the killer had impaled Saiko against the robot, I am confused about the additional slashes to her neck and stomach, and the blood that was off of the stage. If you recall, not all of the blood was on the stage, which suggests there was a deep cut made before the final blow."

"Wait, that is true," Shuuya remarked. "And now that I think about it, it doesn't make sense. If the killer was carrying Saiko, how did the blood get on the floor like that?"

"Sounds like something to discuss," Isaac said, crossing his arms as he glanced around at the other people in the trial room, in particular the four who were most suspect.

Could one of them really have brutally murdered his close friend? It felt like the answer was getting closer, though the way forward felt darker all the more.

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"So Saiko was deeply cut before she was murdered?" Hikari asked. "But why? Why the sadism?"

"I'm more concerned about how it was physically possible," Shuuya said. "Especially if the killer was concerned about the blood spray."

"The killer could have worn the cloak," Futaba said, "to prevent the blood from getting on their clothes. And then thrown the cloak in the pool of blood on the stage."

"That cloak was rather small," Kimiko remarked. "They'd have to wear it backwards unless they were Saiko's size."

"He's the only one small enough to fit properly," Blake said as he pointed at Eisei. "Hehe, he totally did it-"

"Shut up," Pyrrha snapped at him. "But wait a minute, are we saying that the killer slashed at Saiko on the floor, then picked up her bleeding body and murdered her on the stage? That's so horrible!"

"Yes, that makes absolutely no sense," Souma remarked. "Could the blood on the ground have shot from the fatal wounds when Saiko was murdered?"

"No, not at that difference or the way it was splattered on the ground," Peko said. "I'm not a crime analyst, but I do know what I'm talking about here."

"Wait, was Saiko fighting back?" Hara asked. "Was she trying to escape her attacker?"

"She was asleep," Futaba countered. "She couldn't have done that, I'm sorry to say."

"Wait a minute," Fannie shouted, waving her hands in the air, "I think I have the answer!"

---

"Futaba is right that Saiko was asleep," the white 'n pink-topped gal said, "but I think Hara may be right too, in a sense. We forgot a detail about this kidnapping, and that is that the kidnapper took Saiko out of the motel."

"Yes, that's obvious," Shuuya said with a roll of his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"The moment the kidnapper took Saiko out of the motel, she would start suffering the effects of the nightmares, which we know include sleepwalking."

Ishiku gasped, and clapped excitedly. "Honey, you're brilliant!"

"Aww, shucks," Fannie said, cupping her blushing face. "You flatter me, Ishi~"

"This is fucking weird," Blake muttered.

"Shut up!" Pyrrha shouted at him, as she had been cooing over the flirting that had transpired. She collected herself, and then asked, "Wait, so Fannie, you think that Saiko started sleepwalking, disrupting the killer's plan?"

"Thinking about that, it makes sense," Peko remarked. "I can only imagine that Saiko was standing when she was cut, possibly to stun her."

"Our killer placed her down," Anzu said, "and then she got back up due to sleepwalking. After all, she had lost the benefit, even if she was in the arcade then."

"I have to ask," Hikari intrepidly piped up, "but what exactly does this change? So the killer cut Saiko before putting her down on the stage and then murdered her?"

"Hang on a moment," Kimiko said, "are we reading too much into this?"

---

DEBATE YOUR CASE!

---

"We cannot afford to waste time," Kimiko reasoned. "I mean, it feels like we're just discussing step-by-step of what we knoo'."

"Except that it begs the question," Peko said, "why would our killer cut her and risk blood spray all over their clothing? The only two areas Saiko was cut besides her fatal wound were her neck and stomach, both of which would spray blood at the attacker."

"The only answer is that the killer panicked," Isaac said, "because they had to strike Saiko there and then."

"She was a sleepwalking, five-foot, unarmed woman," Futaba argued. "No matter how fierce she was awake, she is not intimidating physically."

"Yeah, you could punt that midget," Blake cackled, "like an overinflated football that she was-"

"Peko!" Hara shouted to interrupt Blake. "If you want to knock him out again, you can."

"Okay okay, I'll shut up."

"I still might do so," Peko offered.

"There's no reason for the killer to hasten the murder," Anzu said, "that I can think of."

"But the blood on the floor proves that something happened to make things go out of schedule," Drake reasoned.

[Yes, but what?] Ignatia's phone spoke for her. [And how does it prove anything useful?]

"I've got it," Isaac shouted, clapping his hands together.

---

"Our killer placed the executioner's gear next to her on the stage," the reporter reasoned. "What happened if Saiko reprised her role, and picked up the battle-ax when her killer's back was turned?"

"Wait, wait wait wait," Shuuya chanted, wiggling his fingers as he mentally reconstructed the murder scene in his head. "Our killer carries Saiko in with that executioner stuff, sets them all down on the stage, and then goes to get the sword that Ishiku and Fannie have."

"But then they hear something," Odelios reasoned, "they turn around, and bam! Saiko's holding a battle-ax and is closing in on them!"

"Saiko was capable of moving fast when sleepwalking," Fannie spoke up. "She ran after Ishiku and I when in the asylum last night."

"Someone coming at you holding a battle-ax," Anzu remarked, "you'd have to defend yourself immediately!"

"But wait," Eisei remarked, "that would mean they cut Saiko before they took the sword from Ishiku and Fannie."

"Isn't this a large leap in logic?" Kimiko asked, peering around the trial room. "I mean, we're basing this all off of a blood splatter!"

"We have two people very knowledgable about these things," Futaba said, pointing to Peko and Shuuya. "It is the only lead we have right now, and it follows a logical path."

"But, if we follow that logic, then 'oor killer had a bladed weapon to start off with!"

"And two of our suspects," Isaac remarked, eyeing Ken and Yitro, "have swords on them."

"I'm pretty sure if it were one of them," Hikari reasoned, "they would have cleaned the blood off of their own sword."

"Irregardless, I know for a fact that Ken's sword is clean," Futaba said. "He unsheathed it during the investigation."

"If that's true, then Yitro," Shuuya said, "should have no problem showing us his sword."

Yitro glanced at the bounty hunter, at the rest of the trial room, then shrugged and smiled. "Sure, I don't see a problem with that." He unsheathed his sword and held it up for the trial room to see.

…

…

…

There was a small coating of blood on the sword's tip, covering the edge of the blade.

"Oh my God," Anzu shrieked.

"What is that?!" Ishiku hollered.

"What the hell!" Yitro shouted, horrified. He held the blade's edge near his face, sniffing it. "B-blood? How did-"

"I cannot believe this," Kimiko cried out. "After Angelique's death, you… you woo'd… murder someone?!"

"No no no," the swordsman shouted, glancing between his sword and the trial room. "I don't know how it got there!"

"You don't know how blood got on your sword?" Souma remarked dubiously. "Looks like the theory about Saiko's crime being the catalyst for this murder turned out to be true, you were enraged that injustice happened again?"

"I knew nothing about that! I didn't murder Saiko! You have to… you have to…" Yitro gripped his podium with his free hand, eyes wide, breath starting to come in and out heavy. "I… I didn't… my blade…"

"He must have forgotten to clean his sword," Futaba remarked, "due to everything that happened."

"Wait a minute, please," Drake implored. "What if this is a set-up?"

"A set-up?" Crystal asked the cartoonist. "Do you know how farfetched that sounds? Our killer did the deed, then decided to smear blood on Yitro's blade to frame him?"

"When Yitro told some of us what happened with his brother, he explained that he woke up to find him impaled with his sword. Our killer could be exploiting his past in the hope that we'd think it's something the same!"

"Or maybe," Shuuya growled, "Yitro is simply guilty. He meets all the criteria, and there's blood on own weapon."

As the trial room exploded with accusations and protests, Isaac stood completely still. He was lost in thought, trying hard to concentrate during all of the shouting.

"Think hard about this," he mentally coached himself. "Is this truly the end of the trial? You need to make sure, because not only does everyone die if we get this wrong, but you'll have to meet Saiko in the afterlife and explain how you messed up.

"Heh… she'll lecture me for all eternity if that's the case. Alright, Saiko, this is for you."

---

If Yitro is the culprit, if he killed Saiko, then everything should be settled right here and now. Yet I need to make sure there are no loose ends.

…

If not Yitro, then there's only one person it can be…

…

…

…

Ken.

…

Ken has a sword as well, Ken has the all-access pass, and he could have overheard Saiko's confession yesterday.

…

But that's not to say he HAS to be guilty.

…

Is there anything that disproves it was Ken? Because if it was him, he also set up Yitro to take the fall by applying blood on his sword.

…

The pathway that the killer took seems rather straight-forward, kidnapping Saiko, taking her to the arcade, and setting it up for Hara to look like she did it.

…

Where would it have all gone wrong?

…

…

…

Saiko's sleepwalking.

Saiko, taking up the axe as the executioner again, is where it went wrong. That's why there was blood on the floor where the killer "defended" himself, that's when they had to use their own weapon.

…

If it was Yitro, the idea is that he forgot about doing this, and now he's caught red-handed.

…

If it was Ken, he realized that the trial could lead to this, and set it up so that we would all think it was Yitro.

…

But the problem is, both are equally believable. I don't have any reason to suspect Ken over Yitro, but I have no reason to believe Yitro is innocent.

…

And no matter how I think about it, there's nothing that proves either man would be more suspicious than the other with everything I've gone through.

…

…

…

Maybe I need to continue on with the murderer's path.

They cut Saiko's neck to stun her, then brought her back onto the stage.

…

After injuring her more to ensure she didn't have the strength to get back up, they hurried to retrieve Peko's sword from Ishiku and Fannie.

…

Then they murdered Saiko, left the executioner's stuff around her, and left the arcade.

…

Now, at this point, what else was there to do?

…

…

…

Destroy Monocrow.

If Monocrow lived, we could have asked him where everyone had been, one at a time. We would have found out our killer immediately.

…

So they called for Monocrow, being alone out in the plaza, grabbed him, and smashed him against the statue base.

…

Then they walked back to whichever building they were staying at, and pretend to wake up with everyone else.

…

…

…

No.

No WAIT.

…

There WAS something we had started to go over before we got distracted.

…

That was that Ishiku and Fannie woke up before everyone else, and thus they discovered Saiko's body. I saw her shortly after, which triggered the Body Discovery Announcement, since there were three people who hadn't committed the murder.

…

What we had been discussing before we realized Fiora was channeling Peko's spirit was that in destroying Monocrow, the killer's deal was undone prematurely.

…

That means that whoever the killer was lost their sleep immunity right then and there.

…

And that sleeping gas would still be in their system, if it wasn't still in the air because Monokuma is thorough like that.

…

Once they found themselves starting to fall asleep, they would have to make a break for it towards where they were supposed to be last.

…

But that means they would wake up after the Body Discovery Announcement, which means…

…

…

…

Okay, I don't think I have everything yet, but I'm going to have to find out fast.

If what I'm thinking is true, I'll know for a fact who the killer is.

Saiko, I promise…

I WILL find out who murdered you!

---

The trial was full of fervent arguing, most of it directed at Yitro. The swordsman was still overwhelmed, gripping the podium as he stared aimlessly at the floor. The reporter rolled his eyes, and put his fingers in his lips.

The sharpest of whistles alerted everyone, causing the shouting to stop. Isaac spoke once he had everyone's attention. "Everyone, there's something we need to discuss that we forgot to finish, due to getting distracted.

"Ishiku and Fannie woke up before everyone else, and discovered Saiko's body. The only explanation we could think of for this is that when the killer destroyed Monocrow, the deal to steal their sleep immunity was reversed, returning it to them.

"This means that our killer had to make a break to whichever building they were supposed to be in, before the sleeping gas took effect. However, there's no way to prove it was either Ken or Yitro with that knowledge alone."

"Hang on a moment, what?" Kimiko shouted, glancing over at Ken. "What a'boot Ken? Why do you bring him up?"

"Ken isn't a suspect," Futaba said.

"He's also has a blade, and one was used to critically injure Saiko when she was sleepwalking as the executioner. We deduced that, and it led us to Yitro's blade, but the suspicion on him hasn't lifted yet."

Ken sighed, but shrugged nonchalantly. "I understand, you aren't fully convinced it was Yitro. You want to be sure, this is a good friend of yours we are talking about."

"Yes, you're not making a lot of sense, Isaac," Shuuya remarked. "I mean, the part about Monocrow and the sleep immunity actually does make sense, but you also said you cannot discern who it could be just from that."

"W-wait!"

Yitro snapped out of his thousand yard stare, and turned desperately to face Blake. "I woke up in the medical room with you, Blake! You were coming to at the same time as me, you asked me what was going on. If I was making a mad dash to the asylum from the plaza, there's no way I could have made that distance when drugged.

"The medical room is fairly far inside of the asylum's first floor, so according to what Isaac deduced, you're my alibi."

Blake stared at Yitro, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know what you're going on about, mate, I don't remember seeing you in that room when I woke up."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU DID AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Yitro's hysterical, enraged shouting reverberated around the trial room. He was heaving in fury, face red as he stared over at Blake. The pyro shrugged again, and remarked, "Oh what are you going to do? Threaten me to lie for you now?"

"Haw haw haw! He cannot do that," Monokid cackled. There was a second of puzzlement, then he turned to Monodam. "Wait, can he?"

"Looks like you proved it rather well, Isaac," Eisei said. "Yitro appears to have exposed himself."

"I still cannot believe it," Kimiko sorrowfully said.

Yitro faced them, the color quickly draining from his face. "G-guys, you cannot believe Blake. He was literally talking about how he wanted all of us to die! He's lying!"

"He said that, but I'm pretty sure he was exaggerating because of how fervent he was getting," Souma remarked. "He's calmed down now, he wouldn't consciously lie in an attempt to kill us all when we're this close to finding out the truth."

"Yeah, I mean," Futaba remarked, "if getting laid is all he cares about, that's more likely to happen if we survive."

Blake snickered, and shrugged once more. "Yeah, you guys are right. I don't have a reason to lie now."

"You… you evil, stupid, son of a bitch," Yitro snarled.

"I don't want this to go on any longer," Hikari mumbled. "This trial has been far too emotional. Can we end it now?"

"Wait a minute now," Isaac spoke up, "I never got to my point."

"You seem to have proved it already," Crystal remarked. "Yitro is undeniably guilty."

"If you all would just let me," the reporter started to emphatically state his words, trying hard to not lose his cool, "say what I was going to say!"

"Isaac, come on," Kimiko implored, "what moo'r needs to be said?"

"I already proved that Yitro is lying," Blake pointed out, smirking at the reporter. "What, you wanna be the big strong hero who proved who killed Saiko? Wanna be a man for your sheila?"

"You shut up," Pyrrha snapped at the pyro. "Saiko was his friend, we should at least hear what he has to say. Isaac hasn't steered us wrong yet."

"Yes, please," Hara pleaded, clasping her hands. "Give him a chance."

"I want to be one hundred percent sure," Eisei remarked, "of who killed Saiko. I don't believe in overdoing it in this case. Isaac, please."

"Thank you," Isaac said, smiling to those who stood up for him. "However, I must admit, I cannot do it alone. You see, I cannot remember a crucial detail to what happened tonight, but I know someone who can help me…

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SELECT A SUSPECT!

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… Fannie, I need your help."

"Huh? Me?" the white 'n pink-topped gal asked, staring in confusion at Isaac. "How can I help?"

Isaac let out a small laugh. "I cannot believe I'm saying this, but could you give me a truth headbutt?"

"What?" Hara and Eisei blurted out.

"What?!" a great deal of the trial members shouted.

"Okay~" Fannie cheerfully said, as she rushed over to Isaac's platform. She cupped the reporter's face, staring into his eyes. "Now think hard about what you're trying to remember, and you have to hold still for this to work, okay?"

"How exactly does this work?" he asked, still slightly concerned.

"Hahaha! I have NO idea!"

"Now really, Isaac," Shuuya called out, "this is incredibly ridicu-"

WHACK!

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---

Isaac felt like he was floating, almost like an out-of-body experience. He was back in the control room, with the door wide open, a stunned Shuuya holding it.

His body took off running, but now Isaac could actually see what his eyes had seen during this time. His panic, desperation, and fear were no longer blinding him. The hammering heartbeat, pounding pulse, and frantic breathing were all still there, but Isaac could recognize what he had missed during this horrific point of his life.

Isaac sprinted forward, almost shoving Shuuya out of the way as he made his way down the hallway, down the stairs. He almost tripped over something in the lobby, nearby the front door, but nothing would stop… him…

No…

Not something in the lobby…

SomeONE.

Someone nearby the front door, someone lying on the floor, sprawled out as if they had passed out upon walking through the front door.

Someone he knew, someone they had all trusted…

---

Isaac flinched, grabbing his head and breathing frantically as the rush of emotions from that period had also come back temporarily. He was wide-eyed, gasping for air for a few seconds.

And then that desperation turned into anger. He ground his teeth as he was ready to roar with a kind of primal fury he didn't even think he was capable of.

"KEN KISHI!" He thundered, pointing at the Novoselic cavalryman. "YOU MURDERED SAIKO!"

Everyone in the trial room flinched at the power at which Isaac had declared those words. Ken himself appeared rather startled, and crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the reporter.

"You are mistaken, Isaac," he replied. "If you would allow me to respond-"

"Allow nothing!" Monokuma shouted, standing up on his throne. "This trial has gone on long enough!"

"Aww, but Dad!" Monokid shouted, "we barely got a word in! It's been so dead serious about the dead and deadly swords and deathly executioners."

"PERHAPS-WE-SHOULD-ALLOW-ONE-FINAL-DEBATE," Monodam suggested. "THAT-IS-THE-ONLY-WAY-THEY-CAN-REACH-A-PROPER-CONCLUSION."

"Hmmm, I see your points, and I gotta agree with Monodam. Thank you, my second favorite son."

"NO-PROBLEM-FATHER-YOU-BASTARD."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU LITTLE-"

The bears shouting at each other wouldn't distract Isaac, Ken, Yitro, or the members of the trial room. This would be their final debate, and it was absolutely crucial at this point.

Isaac narrowed his eyes at Ken, and clenched his fists. He was going to have to convince everyone, and with only a little time left.

---

LEAP OF FAITH PERSUASION!

ISAAC, BEGIN!

---

"You were there, sprawled out inside of the motel's front entrance," Isaac declared. "I almost tripped over you, but I didn't recognize it was you in my desperation to get to Hara and Saiko. Everything about what we discussed about the case showcases that the pathway the murderer took would lead to where you ended up.

"You murdered Saiko!"

KEN!

"No, you are mistaken, Isaac," the cavalryman said, shaking his head. "If you remember, I fell unconscious when searching the lobby. I just happened to be near the front door, but I had not left the motel. You are misremembering, mostly because you only recalled it when that woman…"

He pointed at Fannie, who had returned to her platform at this point. "Did whatever she did to you. Slamming her head against yours to help with memory? That's why all your bases of argument are belong to you?"

FUTABA!

"We really need to work on your expressions, handsome," Futaba remarked, as she corrected her glasses. "But you are right, Isaac is overreacting. There's no chance that someone like Ken would commit a violent murder like this."

KIMIKO!

"Isaac, I knoo' yoo'r hurting, and I'm so very soo'ry," the biker gang leader said, scratching the back of her head. "However, Ken is an honorable gentleman, and he is highly keen on restoring his country's honor. Please, calm doo'n for a minute and think a'boot it."

BLAKE!

"Yeah, listen to the two women thirsty for the Novoselic slab of man," Blake said with a chortle. "Or are you forgetting that I also said that Yitro was lying about his alibi? I didn't see him in the medical room when I woke up, and therefore, he's the lying, murdering son of a bitch."

YITRO!

"You're the one who is a lying son of a bitch," Yitro shouted, pointing fiercely at Blake. "If I were the murderer, why would I try to use you as my alibi? Would I expect you to lie for me? You've just given up and want to die!"

The swordsman looked down at his blade, and then shook his head as he tried to calm himself down. "I don't know how blood got on my blade; however, if Ken is the killer, he must have wiped blood on it."

CRYSTAL!

"No, that is absurd," the military adviser said. "With the amount of blood on your sword, it would have to come from a cut. If Ken had committed the murder, he would have to transport blood from the arcade, to the asylum, and smeared it on your blade.

"Now tell me what he used," she said, flipping her blond ponytail behind her shoulder. "A cloth soaked in blood? That would leave a smear of blood completely different than the way your blood is on your sword."

"Indeed," Ken remarked. "The way blood is on your sword, Yitro, is formed only by cutting into someone, not a bloody rag rubbed against it. That's exactly how we deduced, with the killer cutting Saiko's throat."

PEKO!

"This is true," the swordswoman said, staring at Yitro's sword, "they are all correct about this. I would know better than anyone.

"However," Fiora's face had the keen stare of the swordswoman, contemplating hard, "I'm not fully convinced. Isaac, you've proved a great deal, can you explain how Yitro's blade was stained with blood in a way that only happens when you cut someone if he is not the culprit?"

Isaac took a deep breath, as he racked his brain with possibilities. "So the blood on Yitro's blade was made by cutting into someone, that's the only answer. Did Ken cut someone with Yitro's sword? He wouldn't cut Yitro, or himself, so who could he…"

"Wait! He had Blake!"

"Are you shitting me?" the pyro snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "You're saying that meathead cut me when I was sleeping?"

"Yes, you were unconscious due to the sleeping gas! You wouldn't wake up!"

"I'm not cut, you fucking moron! I'm perfectly fine, which is quite amazing considering my bone was protruding through my leg earlier today!"

ODELIOS!

"Yes, how incredibly bizarre," the clown said, narrowing his eyes at the pyro, "that your leg miraculously healed while on the medical table that miraculously healed your leg earlier!"

"You dumb fucking clown, the only reason it worked was because of Yitro's usage of his asylum benefit," Blake hollered. "It wouldn't work again, you have to have the benefit!"

"Yes, that's true. And you know who has that benefit?" Odelios said, as he pointed his rubber chicken towards Ken. "He does!"

ANZU!

"Wait a minute, Odie," the actress spoke up. "Are you saying that Ken walked into the medical room in the asylum, cut Blake with Yitro's sword to make the correct type of bloodstain on the sword, then used his own benefit he gained yesterday to heal Blake so that he wouldn't notice when he woke up?"

"Well… yes."

Anzu stared at him, then smiled and shrugged. "It's entirely valid, so I believe you and Isaac. It's more likely that Ken did this."

"Wait, you too?!" Kimiko shouted in disbelief. "Anzu, you aren't serious, are you?"

SHUUYA!

"Anzu is apparently still feeling guilty over what she did to Odelios previously," Shuuya remarked, shaking his head. "Isaac, you need to stop this overreaction."

"I'm overreacting, am I?" Isaac retorted. "What part of what I said can be disproved?"

"Your entire argument is based off of what you 'recalled' when Fannie headbutt you! You are accusing a noble warrior over a fallen swordsman, not to mention Yitro's reason for killing Saiko is far more credible than Ken's!"

HIKARI!

"I've known Ken for a long time," the steampunk model said. "He's very kind and noble, despite being strong-willed and stubborn as well. The fall of Novoselic hurt him, and he was willing to sacrifice his life to find out how to solve that.

"Isaac, you were there, by our side defending him and me when people thought we were guilty of murdering Angelique. Why would he turn around and murder Saiko? It makes no sense!"

The reporter shook his head, and said, "It doesn't make sense for Yitro either, if you think about it. It doesn't make sense either way, and I know it hurts, but I refuse to relent."

HARA!

"Honey…"

Hara took several deep breaths, then stared at her fiancé. "You asked me to trust you when I disagreed with you over Peko. What would you tell me to do now?"

"Hara, you are free to think what you want; I don't tell you what to do, you are a woman with a mind of your own. Just please," he placed his hand over his heart, and said, "if you find what I'm saying credible, trust me. I know I am on the right track."

The explorer took a deep breath, and then smiled back at him. "When have you ever steered me wrong? I trust you."

EISEI!

"I trust you too."

Eisei took a deep breath, as he stared at one of his lollipops. "I know everything about my relationship with Saiko made no sense, but it was something, more than I felt about anyone in my life. And I must admit, this entire trial, I have been distracted by emotions and thoughts of her, I am not myself.

"It has come down to either Yitro or Ken, and I don't know how to believe in my judgement, I feel only… regret right now. You knew Saiko better than anyone, and you two, you've been right so often while we've been in this awful town."

The dentist pocketed the sweet, and managed to smile up at Isaac. "Lead the way, I figure this is my only path now."

SOUMA!

"I am so very sorry for your loss, my friend," the public speaker said, "and I wish I could remove your pain. However, I must say, I'm still perplexed on how it could be Ken over Yitro. The only thing Isaac has is his befuddled memory to prove one over the other."

"And not to mention," Ken shouted, "Blake said that Yitro wasn't where he said he was."

"You're going to listen to that bastard?" Isaac said, surveying those in the courtroom. "Blake has been trying to sabotage this trial since we started! He admitted he's given up!"

"You really think he's at the point of suicidal?" Souma asked. "That he would lie at this critical point and kill us all, including himself?"

"I know there has to be something else," the reporter stated, clenching his fists. "There has to be."

FANNIE!

"Uuuuugh," Fannie moaned, wobbling on her feet as she gripped her podium. "That last truth headbutt was really hard on me…"

"Are you okay, honey?" Ishiku asked.

"I… I think I'm remembering something too. When I headbutt Isaac, I was also trying to remember something. Something important… and…"

---

"I-I-I don't know what to say," Fannie stammered, crying as she glanced over at Saiko, then back at Ken, who had gripping her shirt and shaking her. "I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie! That sword was in your possession," Ken hollered at her. "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?"

---

"I was so scared when Ken was yelling at me, that it slipped my mind," Fannie said, as she rubbed her temples. "But now, now that I am thinking more clearly, I recall something he said when he was accusing me.

"As he was telling me not to lie and that I knew too much, he said I had the sword in my possession; however, how could he know that?"

"If I recall," Isaac said, "we all thought that Ishiku had the sword?"

ISHIKU!

"Y-yeah, I was holding onto it when we were all outside," the magician said, "before we chose our buildings for this tonight. In fact, everyone seemed to think I had it before we told everyone… during this trial."

"Yeah, you were a bit hesitant to admit that," Fannie said with a giggle, "but I don't blame you; people would be mad if they heard you gave me a weapon like that."

"Fannie, honey, the problem here is not that," Ishiku declared, "it's that Ken knew you had the sword, not me! And how could he know that if he wasn't the killer?!"

There was an audible gasp, and the members of the trial room realized it came from Crystal. The military adviser was covering her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. Nearby her, Futaba let out a loud scoff.

"Oh please, I was there during that argument," the anthropologist said. "He said you had it 'in your possession,' that is not the same thing. It was in your possession, you were with Ishiku the entire time.

"So stop this, you're accusing a good man of-"

CRYSTAL!

"No, you stop this!"

The military adviser slapped her hands on her podium, as she breathed in and out hard. Her eyes stared down at the floor, then up at Ken. The Novoselic man said, "Ma'am, what's gotten under you?"

"When you were shouting at Fannie, and saying that you were going to make her prove herself to us, there was a moment. A moment where I thought, 'Why is he trying to kill her too?' I pushed it away, I thought it was beyond ridiculous…

"Because I trusted you. I trusted you, but I also trusted," Crystal gasped as she collected herself, "Samson. You are an honorable, reasonable man who hates Despair more than anything, I figured you hated Fannie because of how suspicious she is. If there was anyone you'd kill at this point, it would be Fannie.

"But you couldn't do that because we'd suspect you, right?" She gripped her podium as she heaved out a massive sigh. "Is that why you tried to kill her afterwards? Is that why you kept trying to blame her for all of this?"

"Ma'am," Ken protested, holding his hands up, "I may have overreacted with her, but the death and horror has become too much! We've lost a lot of people, and she is an avatar of this town!

"Why are you trusting her word over mine? I have no reason to kill Saiko, I wish for only Despair to be destroyed! You're trusting someone who is responsible for this evil town over me! I don't want it to be Yitro either, but after everything we've been through, who is more likely? I have a country to save, a duty to fulfill! You cannot deny that, even with the coincidences that Isaac has created."

"I didn't create anything, Ken," Isaac snapped. "I know you did it."

"You only have your unreliable memory, and the word of that woman," Ken snapped, pointing at Fannie, "who is working with the enemy."

"And you have the word of a man who said earlier that he wants us all to die because he cannot get laid," Isaac retorted. "I guess in this final confrontation, it's not just you or me, it's Blake or Fannie that people are going to have to trust."

"You got ten seconds now!" Monokuma shouted. "Isaac, you started this argument, you finish it."

Isaac glanced around the trial room, noting how many people hadn't spoken up or sounded undecided: Drake, Peko, Souma, Ignatia, and Pyrrha. Had he convinced them? Or did they believe it was Yitro?

"I'm sorry, everyone," he said, "but Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman, is undoubtably our killer! The guilty knowledge, the positioning of where he was after the murder, it adds up. Trust in me, trust in Fannie, and most of all, trust in that it's how the murderer's path makes the most sense!"

"THIS IS OUR ANSWER!" Isaac, and everyone who agreed with him up to this point, shouted as profoundly as they could.

"Aaaaaaaaaaand time!"

---

"Now we don't have time for a Closing Argument, mostly because you all aren't unified on a certain suspect," Monokuma explained, "and you know what? I have a feeling you could be wrong… dead wrong! Upupupu!

"The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podiums! There's pictures of every person in Penjar there, so select who you think the Deviant Tourist is, and select the Confirm button!

"Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully WRONG one? Upupupu, let's find out!"

---

Twenty fingers poked the touch screens, the Confirm button sound effect ringing twenty times. Heated glances and glares were being shot across the room, as the gigantic screen came down from the ceiling over Monokuma's throne.

The digital blackboard with the pixel representations appeared once more, though it zoomed in towards one particular row. The only two icons there were Ken Kishi and Yitro Stana.

"The votes are in," Monokuma cheerfully announced. "Let's see who got the most, shall we?"

Tally marks drawn by invisible chalk started to form, very fast at first with several appearing for Ken and Yitro. It crossed the minds of some that Monokuma was adding the votes in real-time, with those sure having voted first, and those who had been conflicted coming in one at a time.

It took thirty seconds, but it felt like an eternity to the survivors of Penjar.

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Yitro Stana – 6 votes.

Ken Kishi – 14 votes.

"And with that, let's see if you were correct!" The despair bear host started to giggle, then cackle. "Oh, I feel GOOD about this one!"

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced with the digital roulette wheel. The pixel representations of the people in Penjar included Peko and Fannie, though those weren't the ones that were being watched. The wheel spun at an alarming fast route, with sparks shooting out at the base as if it were going to malfunction or catch fire.

The latter happened, with flames shooting out from underneath the rim of the roulette wheel; it was like an stovetop someone had cranked too high. Though it was a digital representation, the flames and sparks and the screeching noises the wheel was making were intense enough to make those watching wince.

As the edge of the wheel charred, the spinning gradually slowed down. Slower, slower, and then it finally rested on Ken's portrait.

The sound effects of fire burning, sparks spraying, and the roulette music slowing down to a ghastly groan, they helped make every second feel like one's last. There were no lights, no confirmation noises, just the sound of flames roasting the suspect wheel…

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BLAM!

The wheel exploded off of its base, flying off and away from the screen. A pixel version of Ken's face was on a screen that had been underneath the roulette wheel. Flames roared as confirmation music played, and Monokoins started pouring out of the slot machine. They kept flowing out, even as the machine itself caught fire.

---

Another explosion engulfed the suspect wheel, and when smoke was all that could be seen, the screen pulled up and out of sight. Monokuma adjusted his samurai helmet, chuckling darkly.

"Upupupupu… AHAHAAHAHAA! WAHOOO! Didn't I tell you all I felt good about this one? I cannot wait to see what comes next!

"You WIN! The Deviant Tourist in this murder is our very own Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman!"

Ken was hanging his head, his hood covering his eyes, his hands in the front pocket of his garment. He had been like this since the number of votes had been collected, unmoving, unresponsive.

"Goddamnit," Crystal growled out, gripping her podium. "Why? WHY?!"

"Ken," Kimiko's hurt voice echoed around the trial room, the normally tough woman so fragile that she sounded ready to break, "how… how coo'd you?"

"I don't understand," Futaba muttered, grasping her head. "You, of all people…"

"…" Ken didn't say a word.

"You murdered Saiko," Hara sobbed, clasping her hands together as she hiccuped in her grief. "You murdered her…"

"Why?" Eisei demanded, slamming his fists on his podium, as tears came from his eyes. "Why would you do this? To her? You… you horrible cretin!"

"You set me up," Yitro growled. "You murdered an innocent woman!"

"…

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"'Innocent'?"

There was a rush of movement, then the sound of a sword unsheathing from a scabbard. Ken held his weapon with both hands, the swift action had been so sudden that his hood had fallen off. His black bangs draped around his dark eyes, which were darting around the room in fierce, wild movement.

"Do not kid yourselves, she was not innocent," he snarled viciously. "None of you are. Don't any of you deny your foul, odious, true selves now, because I will end this evil one way or another.

"Despair, your sins, this entire wretched town, I will destroy it. All in the name of my new queen, my new hope, my mission for my homeland!"

…

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…

"You know, we really oughta make it a rule not to allow weapons in the trial room," Odelios muttered. "Maybe stop and frisk too, this is getting out of hand. Seriously, with how many times this has happened, we're starting to look predictable and stupid…"

No one was listening to him, he wasn't even paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth. Odelios's quiet rambling was the only noise in the trial room along with Ken's heavy, furious breathing. The shock was too much for everyone, they didn't know what to say or do right now.

How had it come to this?

---

…

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