"None of us want to be here right now, either." Explained Kirigiri.

"Then… Why?" I asked.

"Sh-Shouldn't it be obvious?" Stammered Fukawa nervously. "Monok-kuma… He told us all to c-come here…"

"Well, hold on!" Ishimaru spoke up. "Don't talk like that. We all protested it. I mean, we all remember the terrible price Maizono had to pay… B-But…!"

"I'm the one who convinced them to come." Finished Kirigiri. "Right now, we need to do whatever he says. We're his prisoners, right? It's not a good idea to defy him without reason. We don't need to make any ore sacrifices than we already have…"

"Why should we listen to anything he has t say?" I asked. Everyone just gave me a confused look. "It's obvious he's the one who killed Maizono!"

After I said that, Monokuma appeared on top of the stage in front of everyone.

"I would never do that!" He said. "If you can't believe anything, you can't believe that!"

"He's here again…" Groaned Leon.

"Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere." He explained. "I can promise you, I won't do anything that goes against the purpose of your school life here. I'm famous at safari parks throughout the world for following the "Bear-Times-One" rule!"

"Then… Who did it?" Asked Chihiro. Simultaneously tearing up. "Who killed her?"

"You already know the answer!" Monokuma replied. "The one who killed her… Is one of you!"

Nobody had a reply for that. One of us… Killed Maizono?

'Don't be stupid.' I thought to myself. 'That's…'

Monokuma noticed the expressions on our faces. "Hmm? What's the matter?" He began. "You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling gun! Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Maizono so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Y-You're lying… Right?" Asked a nervous Yamada.

"Of course, he's lying!" I reassured not only him, but everyone else as well. "I'm telling you, he killed her!"

"Nope, sorry." Said Monokuma. "One of you is now a bona fide killer. If they wanted to, the one who did it could testify to that little fact."

"What…?" I gasped. Without thinking, I looked around at everyone. They all had that some look on their faces… Everyone looked at each other with a combination of fear suspicion, and confusion.

"A-Are you serious?" Asked Chihiro nervously.

"Someone… Someone killed someone!" Exclaimed Ishimaru.

"It is amazing what some people are capable of." Mused Celeste.

"Hey, hold on!" Grunted Mondo. "Don't just assume he's telling the truth!"

"That's enough." Togami spoke up. "Before we do anything else, I'd like to confirm something with the stuffed animal here. If one of us really did kill her, that person gets to graduate from the school, right?"

"…Huh?" Was all Monokuma said.

"Don't play dumb!" He said in frustration. "That's what you said, isn't it!? If you kill someone, you get to leave!"

"Upupu…" He laughed. His laughter slowly grew into a fierce and evil howl.

"Why are you laughing?!" Asked Leon in anger.

"Upupu… It's cuz you're just so naive!" He laughed. "You think it's really that easy? You can just kill someone and just waltz on outta here? You're super naive! Devilishly naive! HELLISHLY NAÏVE! No no no, the real thing has just begun."

"The… Real thing?" I asked.

"Are you ready?" He continued. "Allow me to explain the second of the rule regarding graduation! Just like I explained before, you must kill someone if you want to leave. However, even if you do that, there's still one more part to the agreement you have to uphold, remember?"

"You are referring to the rule number six of the school regulations…" Said Celeste. "If you are the "blackened" that committed the murder, you can't be found out by the other students. That is what you are talking about, is it not?"

"Bingo!" Monokuma replied with a nod. "It's not easy to just kill someone. You have to actually get away with it! Which naturally means you need a system in place to assess whether or not it's been gotten away with! So, a certain amount of time after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!"

Class… Trial?

As if he read my mind, he answered my question. "Yup! It'll begin a few hours after the murder!" He explained. "Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will all engage in one big debate showdown! During the trial, you'll have to present your arguments about who you think the blackened is. And once everything comes to an end, the outcome will be decided by popular vote! If the answer you've arrived at is correct, only the one who disturbed your peace will be punished. The rest may continue their communal life. However, if you choose poorly, then the way who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you will receive your punishment. Which, of course, means your school life will come to an end! As far as class trial rules go… That's all there is to it!"

"So, um…" Began Yamada. "What exactly is this "punishment" you keep talking about…?"

"Oh! Well, to put it simply…"

None of us were ready for what the quote, end-quote "punishment" was…

"It's execution!" Monokuma said chillingly.

"E-Execution?!" Exclaimed Yamada.

"And by execution, you mean…" Began Chihiro. Monokuma cut her off.

"Execution is… Execution." He bellowed. "Ex-e-cution! Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper plane in a hurricane!"

"S-So, to make sure I understand…" Trembled Ishimaru. "If we get the culprit right, then only they die. But if we get it wrong, all the rest of us get… Executed?!"

"What a smart little chimpanzee you are!" Said Monokuma. "Look at you, implying you didn't do it without actually saying it! So it's basically what the outside world calls a "lay judge" system, or an inquisition type thing! Which means that you'll be deciding who you think the killer is. But judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line! Okay, let me just add the rule I just described to your handbook. Make sure to keep it in mind!"

Just as Monokuma was about to disappear again, Junko spoke up. "W-Wait, hold on a second!" She angrily exclaimed. "You're freaking insane, you know that!?"

"Hmm?" Questioned Monokuma as he cocked his head in confusion.

"A class trial? What the hell is that?!" She continued. "I don't want anything to do with it!"

"Why not?" He asked.

"Whaddya mean why not!? Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone!?"

Monokuma didn't take kindly to that. "What?!" He exclaimed. "Are you saying that you're not gonna participate in the trial!? Only punishment awaits such blasphemy!"

"What? Punishment!?" Asked Junko nervously.

"I might… I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark, scary prison or something!"

"Shut the hell up!" Snapped Junko. "Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!"

"Don't be so selfish!" Monokuma snapped back.

"You're the one being selfish! Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me!"

"The evil standing before me…" Said Monokuma as he started sweating. "I'm trembling with fear…! But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end…! If you really wanna get out of here, you'll have to go through me first!"

As he said that, he came charging at us, Although, it was more of a waddle… But then Junko suddenly rushed forwards and knocked him down. Pinning him under her foot.

"Are you enjoying yourself now?" She asked aggressively.

"Are you?" He asked.

"Huh?" Was all Junko could say before Monokuma continued.

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed." He said angrily. "You've violated a school regulation… I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear, Gungnir!"

All of us (Except for Togami) gasped in shock as small holes in the floor opened up and spears pierced Junko's body. Making her scream in pain.

"Wh…? H-Huh?" She managed to speak out. "This wasn't… Supposed to… Why… Me…?"

Suddenly, right at the end, her shot wide open. And just like that, she went limp. Never to move again.