(A/N: After this part, I'll be heading straight to the class trial after the closing argument for Chapter 1. Part 7 takes place after that. So the class trial is the same as in V3. Just a heads up on that regard.)

...

Begin Deadly Life

I leaned close to Rantaro's body and put my ear to his chest. I didn't hear anything and I turned to confirm what happened as I said, "I don't hear a pulse anymore. He's... dead."

"No..." Kaede muttered.

Tenko's scream and Monokuma's announcement that a body has been discovered was more than enough to let everyone else know that the killing game truly has begun.

"Kaede, Shuichi, can you two gather alibis for what everyone did before we found Rantaro's body?" I asked.

"O-OK." Shuichi agreed.

"You can count on us! Whoever did this is gonna pay!" Kaede exclaimed.

"I'll stay here to take an autopsy on Rantaro's body. The rest of you try to find anything that could lead to the culprit." I told the others.

Once everyone went off on their investigation, I looked at the Monokuma File I just got and read through it. Rantaro was killed by blunt force trauma to the head. I walked up to his body and leaned close. It was clear that he was hit in the back of the head and died instantly.

I turned to see the murder weapon, a shot put ball. Shuichi was behind me, having finished gathering alibis.

Why did Rantaro come to the library..? ...And why was he killed with a shot put ball. I thought.

"Hey, Shuichi. Do you know why the culprit used a shot put ball? There were more conventional weapons like the knives in the dining hall." I asked.

"The only way for someone to use a shot put ball unless they had something to contain it in..." The detective replied before his eyes widened.

"The only place to get a shot put ball was the warehouse. When could they've taken it? How did they contain it?"

As I spoke, that person's image became clearer in my mind. And then suddenly, flashbacks appeared in my mind.

...

"...Kaede? What are you doing?"

"Oh, Shuichi. Done already?"

...

"Hmmm... it would be pretty difficult, but you might be able to crawl through. I can't really get to the vent with all these books in the way, though..."

"Well, we'll be able to see the entrance to the vent in the classroom... So that should be OK, right?"

"Just in case, I'll stack more books around the vent so no one can get through."

...

The books... I thought to myself as me and Shuichi looked to the vent that lead to the classroom where we waited for the mastermind to their move.

The detective hastily took the ladder and climbed up to the top of the bookcase. What he saw must have made him realize who the most likely culprit was. Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist.

With that revelation, he could only mutter out a single sentence.

"What have you done..?"

"Excuse me, Shuichi? Sharla?"

The two of us turned to see Kirumi behind us.

"Ah, Kirumi." Shuichi finally addressed the maid.

"Please forgive me." Kirumi began. "You two seemed to be particularly fixated on something atop those bookcases. Did you perhaps find any new evidence that would help in this investigation?"

Shuichi was clearly at a lost for words. Was it wrong to trust Kaede? Was this her true character? Was she one of the traitors? I knew that there was more to this murder than from what we already saw.

"Why?" The detective muttered. "Why did she do this?"

"Shuichi?" Kirumi called out his name in confusion.

He stayed silent again. Can we expose the truth? Or lie to protect Kaede? And then, I thought of a third option.

We needed to test the murder scenario for ourselves.

"...We need the room." I said as Shuichi climbed down the ladder.

"I'm sorry?" Kirumi responded.

"We need the room." I repeated a little louder.

"As if we leave you and Poo-ichi all alone at the crime scene, Shyla!"

The three of us turned to see the source of that outburst was from Miu. She walked towards us and yelled "You expect us to skedaddle outta here while you go tampering with all the evidence?!"

"We... that's not..." Shuichi tried to get his words out but couldn't.

"If they wanted to destroy any evidence they would've tried to do so earlier."

We turned to see Ryoma approach us.

"A majority of us already investigated this scene as much as we could." The former tennis pro continued. "So if they were to try and tamper with any evidence now, it would only contradict what the rest of us had found."

"O-Oh, is that so? O-Of course that was obvious to a genius like me, so I'm glad you explained it to the other slowpokes here." Miu stammered as she blushed in embarrassment.

"That would leave only me." Kirumi said as she glared at the inventor. "Are you perhaps insulting my intelligence?"

Miu let out a mild whimper. "Hey would you look at the time! I better get back to my lab to develop the photos my moan took!"

"You mean 'drone'." Kirumi corrected her as she sighed.

The maid wouldn't get a response as the inventor left the library in a rush.

Ryoma shook his head as he turned back to address us. "In any case, if it's integral to solving this mystery, I won't hinder you."

The former tennis pro gave a short nod to me and Shuichi and left the library as well, leaving only me, him, and Kirumi remaining.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Sharla." The maid said. "However, I was the one who suggested that we not investigate by ourselves."

"We understand, Kirumi." Shuichi replied.

The maid put a hand to her chin and looked away, appearing deep in thought. She looked back at us and asked "Would it really be a hinderance to you if I, at least, remained in the premises?"

I thought about it for a moment before speaking, "That sounds fine to me. Besides, I wouldn't want to be a liar for willingly letting someone investigate this on their own."

"And what's wrong with being a liar?"

The three of us turned to see Kokichi as he continued, "The correct answer is 'everything'. After all, liars are just the worst!"

"Kokichi? What are you doing here?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, I was walking around, minding my own business, when I saw Miu rush out of this room all flustered. So, I thought 'Wow! There must be some shindig going on in here to make that slutty pig flee with her tail between her sweaty legs'... Y'know, it's not as fun making fun of her when she's not here."

The rest of us stayed silent from this remark until Kirumi asked "Kokichi, you've been on your own for the majority of this investigation, correct?"

"Yeah, I suppose." The purple-haired boy admitted as he lowered his head. "Actually, it made me quite sad. It was like I was the last person to get picked for dodgeball or something. Except... I never got picked in the end... UWAAAAAAAAAHHH-!" He started to cry before Kirumi cut him off.

"In that case, I think it would be best if you helped out Shuichi and Sharla for the rest of the investigation."

"W-What?" Shuichi was taken aback by the maid's suggestion.

I was equally taken aback. "Really?" I asked.

"Pardon my wording, but with this we are able to kill two birds with one stone. Now you two will be able to keep an eye on Kokichi, and Kokichi can keep an eye on you two." Kirumi said with a smile.

"Oh? Does that mean I get to play assistant to the Ultimate Detective and the Ultimate Sniper?" Kokichi wondered as he tilted his head.

"If that's what you'd like to call it." The green-eyed woman responded.

"W-Wait! What will you do in the meantime, Kirumi?" Shuichi asked.

"As it just so happens, your little proposal caused two of our classmates to go off on their own." The maid pointed out.

"Oh... yeah, well..." I muttered.

"So I shall fulfill your request and let you do as you will, provided that Kokichi remains with you. As for me, I will check up on the others to ensure that they aren't planning any suspicious activity on their end."

"OK, got it." I obliged as I nodded.

"Then I shall make my leave. If you three will excuse me."

After that, Kirumi left the library and the door closing was an signified that we were now free to perform our experiment, along with the 'assistant'.

"I'm not really sure what's going on, but it sounds like you're planning something fun, right Shuichi?" Kokichi asked.

"Sort of... I think me and Sharla may have found the method of murder the culprit used to kill Rantaro." The detective replied.

"Oooh!" Kokichi's eyes suddenly had stars on them, something I swore I've seen before. "That's our 'Ultimate Detective' for ya, I knew you'd be one step ahead of the killer. Honestly, I don't know why they went for Rantaro when killing you would've been a greater benefit for them."

Shuichi kept silent at Kokichi's inquiry while also trying to determine whenever or not what he said was a vague threat. Instead of responding, I handed him the shot put.

"Go to the classroom just upstairs from this basement. I want you to roll the shot put into the vent that's in there." I told him as he took the shot put from my hand.

"Do I really have to go all the way up to Classroom A just to roll a ball?" The purple-haired boy whined.

"Huh?" Shuichi muttered

"Well, if you wanted me to roll the ball into the vent of Classroom A, then that means the vent would lead to the one that's here in the library. And that means the ball exited that vent, rolled across from atop the bookcases and WAM! Killed Rantaro." Kokichi theorized.

I could've sworn this wasn't the first time Kokichi showed off his intellect. Shaking the feeling off, I said "Yep, that's right."

"I don't like thaaaaat..." He whined once again.

"...Huh?"

"Can't we just use the ladder and roll the ball from here?" Kokichi asked before saying "That way, I could also see it for myself!"

Shuichi shook his head in disbelief as he spoke, "Wait. Y-You're only upset because you yourself won't get to see the results of this experiment?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, but I thought I was sticking with you because Kirumi didn't want you to be all alone?" The supreme leader said with a sly smile, his attitude suddenly changing to that of a scheming villain.

"That's... true." was all Shuichi could mutter out.

Me and Kokichi ended up in a stare-off, each of us trying to figure out how to spin this situation in our favor. Out of everyone I could work with, the purple-haired boy I was somehow familiar with was the worst option.

"Look, I know this is against our deal with Kirumi-" I started to say but was cut off by Kokichi.

"I won't tell if you won't." He suddenly blurted out.

"W-What?" Shuichi muttered, looking at the supreme leader in confusion.

"I'll go up to that classroom like you asked. I wouldn't want to stall the deductions of the Ultimate Detective or end up under the aim of the Ultimate Sniper, now would I?"

"What's in it for you?"

Now it was Kokichi's turn to have a look of confusion as Shuichi continued, "Cooperating with me so easily while also willingly leaving me and Sharla alone in this crime scene... what do you want in return?"

He thought about it for a moment before saying "Hmm, I'll get back to you on that."

After that, he turned away from us and started exiting the library.

"W-Wai-" Shuichi tried to shout but the supreme leader cut him off.

"Can't! Who knows how long we have left until the class trial?!"

And with a slam of the door, me and Shuichi were left all alone in the library.

"I'm guessing that was a 'yes' for rolling the shot put from the classroom." I thought outloud.

"I-I hope that's true..." The detective muttered.

The two of us waited with baited breath for Kokichi to roll the shot put from the vent. A few minutes have passed, though it felt like hours.

"What in the world is Kokichi doing?" Shuichi asked.

"You might know what he could be up to." I snarked.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have Kokichi walking around with the murder weapon..." The detective muttered.

Suddenly, the library door creaked open and the two of us turned to see who it was and we were surprised is wasn't anyone we've previously spoke to. Rather, it was Keebo.

"Keebo? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"My apologies. It wasn't my intent to return to the crime scene, but Kokichi asked me to come assist you... with whatever it is you're doing in here." The robot responded.

"Kokichi asked you to come down here?" Shuichi wondered.

"Indeed. He also told me to, um..." Keebo paused for a bit before continuing, "...Well, he asked me to give this back to you..."

He then held out his hand to reveal that he was holding the bloody shot put that I gave Kokichi earlier.

"Why do you have that?" I questioned.

"Kokichi gave it to me. He said for me to tell you that he didn't need it anymore."

"H-He what?!"

Keebo nearly flinched back at Shuichi's unexpected outburst.

"Y-Yes, I found it odd myself and quite frankly, a little redundant."

"Huh?"

"Well, he came into the classroom holding about 4 or 5 shot puts. I was almost certain he would end up collapsing from the weight..."

"The classroom?" Shuichi repeated as he seemed to realize something.

"Why did Kokichi have the murder weapon with him? What exactly are you three planning?" Keebo asked.

Before me or Shuichi could respond, the echoing sound of moving metal reverberated throughtout the library. Suddenly, a shot put came out of the library's air vent and rolled through the row of bookcases. The three of us watched as the metal ball made it's way across the room and towards the location of Rantaro's body. Me and Shuichi braced ourselves for the cold, dark truth that would come to light.

Except... that wouldn't be the case.

The shot put ball fell from the bookcase, but it landed not towards Rantaro's body; nowhere near the initial illustrated point of impact, in fact. The ball landed on the floor a few feet from the victim's position. Keebo put a finger to his metal chin in curiousity. Shuichi had a look of confusion, surprise, and relief.

It didn't hit Rantaro. It didn't fall where it was supposed to. I thought.

Seeing the detective looking at me, I decided make the point from what we saw clear.

"Kaede didn't kill him." I firmly said.

We watched as the metal ball rolled across the floor in the library. The room was silent as it came to a halt at my feet. I picked up the round object and let Shuichi take a good look at it.

"So it couldn't have been that..."

The two of us turned to face Keebo as he continued, "I'm impressed, though. I didn't suspect that could be a potential way for the killer to murder Rantaro."

"Indeed, I noticed something suspicious as I was investigating the top of the bookcases and I wanted to test out that theory." Shuichi admitted.

"Your detective skills are truly unmatched, Shuichi." I said as I chuckled.

The detective returned the chuckle as he looked at the metal ball in my hand once again. As he gazed at it, he seem to grow curious about something.

"You said that Kokichi had multiple shot puts with him when he entered the classroom, right Keebo?" He asked.

"That is correct. I didn't get a good enough look to determine specifics, but I would say it was around 4 or 5." The robot replied.

After a brief moment of thinking to himself, Shuichi climbed up the ladder and tried to reach the vent as close as he could. I dropped the metal ball back onto the floor as he shouted into the vent.

"Kokichi! Can you hear me?"

The sound of the purple-haired boy's voice suddenly escaped from the metal opening.

"Loud and clear, boss!" The supreme leader yelled.

"I need you to roll another shot put into the vent!"

"Another one?" Me and Keebo repeated.

Shuichi turned to face us as he spoke, "We can't be sure until we test this out multiple times. I won't be satisfied until I know that the shot put ball missing wasn't just some fluke!"

"Alrighty! Here comes another one!" We heard Kokichi say.

Like before, a loud reverberating sound reached the library as another shot put ball rolled down the vent. Shuichi watched the metal ball from the ladder intently to see the exact movements of the metal object. It rolled through the pathway of books that Kaede organized and once again it fell from the bookcase to the exact same location of the previous ball.

He must not be convinced yet. I thought as Shuichi turned to the vent.

"Again!" He shouted.

Suddenly, the echoing sound of a rolling shot put ball amplified. I nearly flinched as I noticed that Kokichi seemed to roll three balls into the vent this time. I watched all three shot put balls roll through the path and all three fell to the same destination as the previous two. Shuichi slowly climbed down the ladder and stopped near ground level.

"Shuichi?" I called out his name as he lowered his head.

However, despite his melancholic posture, he was actually smiling.

"Thank goodness." The detective whispered to himself. "Thank goodness..."

Kokichi ran back into the library and him and Keebo got into an argument. I didn't listen to them. Then the realization hit me hard like Xord's hammer. There was another culprit, Rantaro's true killer and they were framing Kaede for murder.

After a while, Kaede rejoined me and Shuichi. The three of us went to the warehouse for the photos from the cameras. Shortly afterwards, Monokuma announced the end of the investigation and for everyone to meet in the courtyard.

As Kaede was about to open the red to the Shrine of Judgement, she stopped when me and her noticed Shuichi looking back at something.

"Shuichi? Is something wrong?" The pianist asked.

He stayed silent for a while before finally speaking, "Sorry, Kaede, but do you and Sharla mind going on ahead? There's something... I need to do.

"Oh, ah...of course," Kaede concurred. "Just don't keep us waiting too long, OK?"

Shuichi made a small nod in agreement as he walked away from us. The two of us entered the Shrine of Judgement as the other students talked among themselves.

"So this is the Shrine of Judgement..." Kaito muttered.

"Careful, everyone! If bad things happen, get behind Gonta!" Gonta yelled.

"Then gimme a piggy-back ride! C'mon carry me." Angie pleaded.

"Omigod, you are so fucking annoying! So are we doin' the class trial here or what!?" Miu wondered.

"No, Monokuma made it sound like we'd be guided somewhere from here." Ryoma responded.

Kirumi looked around and said "But Monokuma is nowhere to be seen. What's going on?"

Suddenly, the Shrine of Judgement started to rumble.

"Wah!" Kaede yelled in reaction. "Wh-What?!"

All of us stared in awe as the Monokuma statue in the shrine started to move and lower itself from the fountain it was originally placed upon. In it's place, from behind the fountain's waterfall, what seemed to be an elevator appeared before us.

"Is this... an elevator?" I asked, still reeling on what we just witnessed.

"Does he want us to board it?" Keebo followed up on my inquiry.

"I don't wanna... I don't do scary rides." Himiko said.

"I... don't want to get on either." Tsumugi agreed.

"Stay behind, then. Though I'm sure that'll just be worse for you in the end." Maki countered.

"Yeah, that's true... I know..." The blue-haired girl reluctantly obliged.

"However, if everyone wishes to run away, I will cooperate as well." Kirumi offered.

"That's probably not a good idea. As long as that End Wall exsits, escape's not an option." Ryoma warned.

Despite this bleak outlook, Kaede stood her ground. "It'll be fine...Let's all work together. Remember our promise? We're gonna escape this place and remain good friends afterward…So let's do it! I'm sure we'll be alright! Because...we make such an incredible team."

"Heh, I wouldn't be able to call myself a man if I was still scared after hearing a girl say that." Kaito said in response, clearly affected by Kaede's little speech. "Bring it! I'll show them how I, Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, live!"

"Don't you mean 'die'?" Kokichi added in.

"Don't say something all ominous like that!" Kaito shouted at the supreme leader.

"Nggaah! We've come so far already! We just gotta do it...SO LET'S DO IT!" Tenko yelled.

As the other students began to walk towards the elevator, I stopped them by shouting "Hold on a second! Shuichi isn't here yet!"

"Shuichi? Wasn't he with you and Kaede?" Maki questioned.

"Well yeah, but he said he had something to take care of before he joined us." Kaede answered.

Miu started to laugh. "I guess Poo-ichi knew his life was forfeit, so he decided to have one last 'time to himself', if you know what I mean!"

"Unfortunately, we do know what you mean." Kirumi retorted.

The inventor suddenly became frustrated. "Actually that might've been a good idea...Dammit, why didn't I think of that too?"

"Th-That's what you're concerned about?" Tsumugi asked."

"Hmm... Maybe the burden of the situation was too much to bear and he decided to abandon us…" Kiyo spoke softly.

"Shuichi would never do that!" I yelled.

"But wait!" Gonta interrupted. "If we no have Ultimate Detective to help us, how are we supposed to solve crime?"

"I thought the class trials were supposed to be mandatory participation…" Himiko said. "If Shuichi can ditch them, then maybe I should just stay behind as well."

"No, Himiko!" Tenko shouted. "We'll need your magic in the class trial! Don't be like that degenerate male and abandon us in our time of need."

"I'm told you guys, Shuichi isn't like that!" I exclaimed once again.

"Sharla's right!" Kaito said. "I'm sure Shuichi's just preparing himself for the battle that's about to begin!"

"It's a class trial. Not some duel to the death." Maki corrected.

"Isn't it, though!" Kaito countered. "To an Ultimate Detective, a trial's like a duel, and regardless, his life is on the line as much as the rest of us, so it is 'to the death'!"

"Don't be an idiot..." Maki muttered.

The sound of the door opening silenced the concerned conversation of the others as we saw the detective walk into the shrine.

"If it isn't Mr. Tardy Pants." Kokichi decided to address the detective first. "You should've heard the mean things everyone said about you while you weren't here! Why, Kaede even called you a-huh?"

His lie was cut short as he noticed something different about Shuichi. In fact, the rest of us let out similar noises of curiousity as we noticed the detective's change in appearence.

Kaede finally said what was on everyone's minds, including mine. "Shuichi... your hat..!"

As the pianist claimed, Shuichi was no longer wearing his signature hat, revealing his short hair and a curious slim forelock of it sticking out from the top of his head, similar to Kaede's.

The now hatless detective didn't look at the other students as he slowly walked pass them, only looking straight ahead. He didn't say a thing as he made his way towards the elevator.

Outside his lack of headwear, most of us saw a change in demeanor from Shuichi as well. What we were seeing was not the reluctant, stuttering boy that we first met. In fact, he was a completely different person. He stood straight, walked with confidence, and had a fire in his eyes that could only be described as 'glowing'.

"See, what'd I tell ya? You all could take a lesson from Shuichi in confidence!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Hmph... That look in his eyes kinda reminds me of how I used to be back in the day..." Ryoma muttered.

"Oh my~! Shuichi's looking pretty cool right now! And more handsome without his hat!" Angie cheered.

"I-I'll admit, even for a degenerate male, he looks pretty cool." Tenko admitted.

"For the Ultimate Detective to look like this before a class trial... If I were the blackened right now, I'd be sweating bullets~!" Kokichi said mischievously.

"Sh-Shuichi?" Kaede called out his name, taken aback by the detective's current state.

The 'no-longer-capped' detective finally made his way to the elevator, but not before addressing me and Keebo, "Whatever happens in there, follow my lead."

"All right." I said as I nodded.

"Affirmative." Keebo responded.

With mine and the robotic student's assurance, Shuichi was the first to step in the elevator.

"Are you guys coming?" He asked the other students.

Miu moaned in pleasure, "Give me a few more seconds of you acting like that, then I'll be close!"

Regardless of the inventor's comment, the rest of us complied with Shuichi and entered the elevator ourselves. Kaede was the last to enter it as it's doors finally shut and moved down towards it's next location: the class trial.

I stood beside Shuichi and Kaede, ignoring the random remarks of our current situation from the other students.

"Um, Shuichi... Sharla... About that talk from before…" Kaede started to whisper to me and the detective.

"Hmm?" Shuichi let out a sound of confusion.

"I think everyone is afraid of learning the truth. But the people who are willing to find the truth are the ones who can decide their fate. If you never know the lies from the truth, then you can't choose a path. You won't even know you're on a path. So...fight for the truth…Even if it is frightening. I know you can do this. If you're scared, borrow the strength of others, who will be there to help you. Think of everyone you're helping, and let that be your strength. I used to be like you-" The pianist continued before Shuichi cut her off.

"Kaede..."

"Yes?

"Do you... trust me and Sharla?"

The pianist looked at me and him before answering, "Of course I do."

Shuichi closed his eyes and smiled before speaking, "Then I don't have anything to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Kaede asked.

"Kaede... can I ask something of you?" The detective requested.

"What is it, Shuichi?"

"You said the truth can be frightening." He went on. "And me and Sharla will do our best to find it... no matter how painful it may be... but... I also ask that you face it with us."

"Face it with you?" Kaede repeated.

"I'm asking you to find your strength, as well." Shuichi clarified. "Cause I know you have that strength within you...to bring everyone together...to lead us out of these dire times. Promise me, Kaede, no matter what happens, you won't run away from the truth and face it head on...with me...with all of us."

"It's like I said before, you must fight for your own future. No one else can decide what happens to you, Kaede." I said.

"Shuichi... Sharla..." The pianist muttered, surprised by our inspiring words. "I... I do promise... I won't turn my back on the truth."

"That's the spirit!" I exclaimed as I smiled.

Shuichi sighed in relief, "I'm glad... Thank you, Kaede."

The elevator finally came to a halt. The doors slowly opened to reveal what awaited us on the other side: a large room with seventeen podiums surrounding each other. It was an authentic replica of a courtroom, complete with a high standing judge's chair, where Monokuma and the Monokubs placed themselves.

The twisted bear instructed us to stand behind our respective podiums.

As I walked towards my podium between Kaito and Kirumi, an image of Rantaro's body flashed in my mind.

Rantaro... He died without knowing who killed him. I thought to myself.

An image of Kaede then flashed in my mind.

And Kaede... you planned something drastic, but you weren't the one who did it. For Rantaro's sake... for your sake...

Suddenly, images of everyone in the Ultimate Academy flashed in my mind.

...Me and Shuichi need to find the true killer, here and now. Mastermind or not, they're framing you for his murder. Whoever did this must pay for what they done... if they succeed, it will cause your unfair death. I have to solve this case with Shuichi... so we can move onwards. So we can... end this killing game. I will fight... just like in the past... I will fight for my life in this trial of truth and lies!