What happened in my room, and what lead to Maizono's death… That's what we need to make clear.

"When the fighting broke out…" Began Hagakure. "The culprit grabbed the sword. And that's when the first blow was dealt! A sword-based sneak attack!"

"Actually, no." I interrupted. "I don't think the fight started with the sword."

"Huh? Why not?" Asked Hagakure.

"Because the sword's sheath had been scratched." I replied. Taking my e-Handbook out to show everyone the picture of the sheath. "See? There's a gash in it, like someone cut into it with something sharp."

"Something sharp…" Began Chihiro. "You mean, like the kitchen knife? That was the only sharp thing found at the scene…"

"Stop jumpin' ahead!" Exclaimed Mondo. "Slow down and explain it so I get with the hell's goin' on!"

"If the sword was used first, there wouldn't be any explanation for the scratch on the sheath." I explained. "If you were going to attack with the sword, you'd take it out of the sheath, right?"

"That's true." Agreed Mondo. "With the sheath on, it'd be heavy and bulky and useless as shit."

"Okay, so how did the sheath get damaged?" Asked Yamada.

"If they got attacked with the kitchen knife, maybe they grabbed the sword as a defensive impulse." Suggested Kirigiri. "In that situation, there wouldn't be any time to actually unsheathe the sword."

"So you're saying the sword was initially used to defend against an attack from the knife…" Said Sakura.

"Which means that whoever had the kitchen knife was the one who attacked first!" Proclaimed Yamada.

"I think I get it!" Began Ishimaru. "So, here's how it all played out: The culprit came in, found the kitchen knife hidden somewhere, then they took the knife and attacked Maizono before she knew what was happening! So she grabbed the sword to defend herself, but then the culprit took that from her, too…! Then, after they broke the wrist with the sword, the took the knife and… Finished it…"

Kirigiri shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't think Maizono used the sword to defend herself." She said.

"Wh-!?" Stammered Leon. "How the hell can you not think that?!"

"Because she never held the sword at all." She explained. "There's a certain part of her body that makes this clear."

The part of her body that shows she never used the sword… That would be…

"Her palms, right?" I asked. "The palms of her hands were perfectly clean, so I don't think she ever picked up the sword…"

"How can you know that just by looking at her palms…?" Asked Asahina in disbelief.

"Like I said before, the gold coating on that sword comes right off." I explained. "All you have to do is touch it."

I then pulled out my e-Handbook again and pointed to the handle on the picture of sword. "In fact, if you look…" I continued. "You'll notice that a lot of gold has already come off the handle. It's safe to assume that's because whoever used the sword got some of it on their hands. There's really no way she could have picked it up and come away completely clean."

"Maybe she w-washed her hands after she e-escaped into the bathroom…" Assumed Fukawa.

"Sorry, but I don't think so." I said as I shook my head.

"Why d-do you say that?" She asked in frustration. "Is it b-because you think I'm u-ugly…?"

"N-No, that's not it at all!" I stammered before continuing. "According to the Monokuma file, Maizono's time of death was around 1:30 AM. In other words, at "Nighttime". And the water in the bathrooms shuts off at nighttime, right?"

"Oh… I didn't know that." Fukawa said in defeat. "Actually… I haven't taken a shower here yet…"

"Oh my…" Said Yamada. Blushing.

Fukawa didn't like that at all. "Y-You're no different!" She exclaimed. "You s-smell like a big f-fat ugly donkey!"

"Hmm?" Questioned Yamada. "I'm not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment!"

"An, insult, obviously…" Sighed Leon.

Ishimaru cleared his throat to gain our attention. "…So anyway, if Maizono never touched the sword, then that means that the killer is the only one who used the sword. But hold on. If that's right, then the one who damaged the sheath with the kitchen knife was…"

He trailed off, but I had a pretty good idea as to who it was.

"Maizono…?" I asked in disbelief. "She had the kitchen knife…?"

"But…" Stammered Chihiro. "We already said that the attack started with-"

Togami cut her off. "The person with the knife attacked first, and the sword was used as an impromptu defense."

"Then the one who attacked first was…!" Began Yamada.

"…M-Maizono!?" I exclaimed in utter shock. If that's true, then that means…!

"Now do you understand?" Asked Kirigiri to no one in particular. "She wasn't a blameless victim in this."

"No, far from it." Smirked Togami. "It's almost as if she had been planning to commit a murder of her own."

"What…?" I stammered still in shock that she would do something like that.

"She took the knife from the kitchen, then invited the culprit to the room she was staying in." He continued. "And if it's true that she had the kitchen knife and attacked without provocation…"

"Indeed." Mused Sakura. "These are all the sings of an assailant."

"Which brings up another point…" Began Celeste as she looked at me. "Naegi, Maizono was the one who suggested you two switched rooms, correct? Maybe the reason she wanted to switch rooms…"

What she said next put me into a state of shock.

"…Was so that she could pin the crime on you. That is a possibility, is it not?"

"Maizono wanted to…" I stammered. "On me?!"

"That would also explain why she would switch the nameplates." She continued. "She wanted to get whoever she had targeted to come to Naegi's room, where she was staying… And by committing the murder there, instead of her room, that would implicate Naegi. But for that to work, the target had to be lured out while she was keeping the room swap a secret. If the target knew she had switched rooms, they would have become suspicious right away."

"So all that's why she switched the names…?" Asked Mondo.

"But doesn't that plan seem a little risky?" Asked Yamada. "For one thing, even if her plan worked, Mr. Makoto would just tell everyone they'd switched rooms."

"I don't know…" Disagreed Togami. "I'm not sure if our soft-hearted Naegi is capable of that kind of cutthroat behavior. I'm sure Maizono realized the same thing, which is why out of all of us, she asked him to switch rooms."

"P-Plus…" Began Fukawa. "She was the Ultimate Pop Sensation… A t-toally forgettable kid, o-or a national superstar…" Who are you m-more likely to believe?"

I was completely silent. Was she really going to place the blame on me? My own assistant? I felt like giving up at that point. This was all too much to handle…