A/N: 'I'm gonna try to just push through until the end since it's in sight'.
Me: Looks at the five months of not writing.
"...Well that was a lie, apparently."
Yes, I'm back. Sorry for not updating in so long. The worst kind of mixture of writer's block and life being a pain in the ass got in the way, and then I got sidetracked by a million other things. I'm back and I'm hoping I can get back to a steady schedule again.
"Ahem! Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! During the trial, you'll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for 'whodunnit'. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy! Also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so you better vote for someone!" Monokuma told us before sighing. "Man… You guys must be pretty stupid if you need me to keep repeating that every trial…"
"Hey! We never asked you to-!"
"Well then, now that I've covered our bases let's get this party started!" Monokuma cut Tenko off as he cheered excitedly. "Isn't this exciting, Monodam?"
"..."
"Oh c'mon, Monodam. You could at least play along with me this one time."
"..."
"Fine! Be that way! See if I care!" Monokuma growled as he looked back at us. "Well? What are you guys waiting for? Hurry up and discuss the case already!"
"We would already be talking if you would shut up already." I grumbled.
"Before we start, I just wanna ask something since there's not a lot of us left…" Kokichi began by asking Monokuma a question. "What happens if the votes result in two first places?"
"Huh? Like a tie?" Monokuma questioned. "That's never happened before, I think… Well, if it does happen, as long as one of them is the culprit, you guys win. Is that fine?"
"Thaaaaanks! Since that's answered, I can start enjoying this life-or-death game now!" Kokichi cheered happily.
"He's being awful again…" Kaede grumbled.
"Ignore him. That scenario is highly unlikely anyway. The only way that would happen is if we don't get to finish a discussion during the trial and we don't know who the killer is. But considering we have ample time to investigate unless Monokuma cuts things short, I doubt that will happen." I sighed.
"Can Monokuma cut Class Trials short?" Keebo asked.
"Well… There's not really a time limit for trials per se…" Monokuma began. "The trial just lasts as long as I'm entertained. So be entertaining! The moment I get bored is when the trial comes to a quick close! So start arguing already!"
"Man, he's being pushy today." Rantaro noted.
"So where should we start? There were two victims in this case, just like the last one." Tenko began.
"But unlike the previous trial, we know who died first." Kokichi added.
"Kaito…" Shuichi mumbled as he frowned and looked away.
"That's right. Kaito was the first to die. That means we need to focus on who killed him. His killer is the blackened of this case." Maki stated.
"But was Kaito even killed by someone?" Kaede asked.
"What do you mean?" Keebo asked Kaede.
"Well, there was that bottle of medicine near his body, right? And from what the label said, that medicine was for potentially lethal illnesses that caused awful coughs that might have caused Kaito to spit up blood."
"If that's the case, then Kaito wouldn't have died because of a murder. It would be natural causes that killed him. His own illness." Kirumi said.
"In that case, that would mean Gonta is the victim we would have to focus on for this trial." Keebo exclaimed.
"No, that's wrong." I argued with a bored sigh. "That's not the case at all. Kaito didn't have any illnesses."
"What makes you say that, Rin?" Kaede asked.
"He's talking about the seal that was on that bottle." Shuichi explained.
"Seal?" Rantaro questioned.
"Yes, a seal. When I opened the bottle to see its contents, it was still sealed shut. That means that bottle is new and hasn't been used at all prior to the murder."
"But even if it's a new bottle, couldn't Kaito have just grabbed a new bottle after finishing a previous one?" Kokichi asked.
"No, that is not possible." Kirumi countered. "There was a record of all the medicine that could be found in the medical room, and that bottle of pills only had one bottle stocked. If Kaito took it, then there wouldn't be any left."
"Meaning that the bottle he had was the one and only bottle that had those pills. Yet he didn't use them at all. That clearly contradicts the theory that he had a deadly illness." I pointed out.
"That was obviously not the case anyway. Kaito would have told us if he had that sort of problem." Maki grumbled. "And he was an astronaut in training. They wouldn't have made him the Ultimate Astronaut if he was the type to get really sick to the point of dying."
"True…" Kaede gave a nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head. "So…I guess we're back to square one."
"No, I still have a question. If Kaito didn't have a deadly illness, why was that bottle of pills found at the scene?" Tenko asked.
"It must have been placed there to derail us from the real cause of death. With that bottle of medicine there, we would obviously assume Kaito must have been sick." Rantaro said.
"But then what was the real cause of death?" Keebo asked.
"There is one possibility." Maki muttered. "Poison."
"P-Poison?" Tenko stuttered.
"From examining the body, and seeing what the Monokuma File has to say, I can't think of any other cause of death but poison. That would explain why Kaito was coughing up blood." Maki explained.
"But there was not any kind of poison found at the scene." Keebo argued.
"That's because the culprit hid it away. They put it back where they got it." I told them. "I had a feeling this might happen, so I went to Shuichi's lab and found a certain bottle of poison that had blood stains on it."
"Blood stains?" Shuichi questioned. "Why would it have blood stains?"
"Maybe the victim bled on it while he held it?" Kokichi suggested.
"That doesn't really make sense. Why would Kaito hold the poison of his own will? He certainly wouldn't have drank it straight from the bottle, would he?" Rantaro shook his head.
"I can't imagine why he would do that, and there are far too many elements in this mystery to start thinking it's a suicide like that." I pointed out.
"It's more likely that the culprit got blood on it sometime during the crime." Kirumi stated. "Or perhaps Kaito's blood got splattered on it when he coughed. Either way, the blood stains prove the poison must play a part in this case."
"Okay, let's assume that Kaito was poisoned." Kokichi began. "How did they do it? You said it's unlikely that Kaito drank it straight out of the bottle, so how did the culprit poison him?"
"They might have used that empty bottle that we found." Shuichi said. "That bottle looked like it was filled with something before it was dropped and spilled on the ground. Perhaps Kaito drank what was in the bottle, but dropped it when he realized there was poison in it."
"That's possible…" Kokichi grumbled. "But would Kaito really be dumb enough to drink something suspicious that was handed to him?" Kokichi then paused before he laughed. "Actually, forget what I said. Kaito is totally dumb enough to drink something suspicious that was offered to him."
"Have some respect for the dead, you degenerate!" Tenko shouted.
"Let's ignore him for now. He just wants to aggravate us." I sighed. "Now, for Kaito to have died from the poison, we have to consider-"
"I'm sorry, but are you sure this is the right train of thought?" Shuichi asked me.
"Huh? Of course I'm right." I said without missing a beat. "Why do you ask?"
"Well… Have you seen what the side effects of this poison are?" He asked me. "One of them was the constricted eyes of the victim."
"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by 'constricted eyes'?" Tenko asked.
"That is the term given when a person's pupils shrink." Keebo explained.
"That isn't too strange. Why would that be a side effect of the poison to take note of?" Kaede tilted her head.
"Usually when a person dies, their eyes dilate. Their pupils grow as the muscles relax after death." Rantaro explained.
"That's right, so seeing the victim's eyes are constricted after death is very strange." Shuichi nodded. "However, Kaito's eyes weren't constricted. They were dilated."
"What?" I questioned, my eyes becoming wide. "They were dilated?"
"That's right. Since Kaito's cause of death wasn't stated, I wanted to examine his body very closely to find any signs of what might have killed him. This included me opening his eyes to see if there was anything strange with them, but they were normal. Exactly as they should be." Shuichi explained.
"Are you positive?" Maki asked, to which he nodded.
"But if Kaito's eyes were dilated, then that disproves that he was poisoned, does it not?" Kirumi brought up.
"But…that can't be right…" I began with a frown. "Because then what did kill Kaito? Is there any other possible cause of death other than poison?"
"If it wasn't a deadly illness or poison, what could have killed him without leaving any external injuries?" Kokichi questioned.
"Hmm… Perhaps we should discuss the possibility of a cause of death further." Rantaro noted.
"But the only hint we have as to what killed Kaito is that there was scraping in his throat and he coughed up blood." Kaede said.
"No external injuries, and just clumps of blood in the throat and around the mouth…" Keebo noted. "I believe it will be very difficult to solve this mystery."
"Then perhaps we should think about this another way." Kirumi suggested.
"Another way? What do you mean?" Kaede asked.
"Let us focus on another part of the case. Once we've cleared up other parts of the murder, we will most likely have a better understanding and be able to find out what exactly killed Kaito." She explained.
"That's a good idea. We just don't have enough clues to figure out what killed Kaito. It'll be better to turn our thinking around and focus on other parts of the case." I nodded.
"Okay, so what should we discuss?" Kokichi asked.
"That rope seems suspicious. I wonder what it was for. Could it have something to do with Kaito's death?" Rantaro asked.
"What about the bottle? If the poison wasn't the cause of death, what was that for?" Tenko asked.
"The location of the crime is strange too, isn't it?" Kaede mentioned. "Why did Kaito die in the spiral staircase room at the base of the stairs? It's a very strange place for him to just happen to be, isn't it?"
"Urgh…! Isn't there a clue we can use to figure this all out?!" Tenko sighed loudly.
"Well, there is that note that we found." Shuichi said. "Kaito had a note on him from someone who wanted to meet up with him."
"A note?" Tenko repeated.
"Actually, that note had some interesting details in it." Shuichi said as he began reading the note out loud. "'Rin is lying about the motive. He saw it and is trying to commit murder on me. I don't want to die, and I need your help. Meet me near the spiral staircase so we can discuss how to prevent a killing'."
"So someone made that note to lure Kaito to the spiral staircase." Keebo said. "It's unlikely that the note was written by Kaito since he is a victim and the note was on his person after death."
"Yes, and it appears that whoever wrote the note was trying to implicate Rin." Kirumi noted.
"Of course, I'm innocent. I have an alibi that can be confirmed." I sighed. "I was in the virtual world, and the log-in/log-out record can confirm this."
"Why were you even in the virtual world anyway?" Kokichi asked.
"I was looking at the pictures that Kaede and the others found that seem to be from my past. I looked at them to see if I could recall any of the moments shown in the photos. Unfortunately, looking through it didn't help." I lied without a second thought.
"But wait. That note's really strange, isn't it?" Tenko asked. "The beginning part of it is about Rin and the motive."
"But that can't be right, can it? I mean, Rin told us that the motive Monokuma gave us, the keycard, didn't work." Kaede said. "Rin wouldn't lie to us, would he?"
"Well, even if he did lie, he was the only one with the keycard. No one would be able to know whether he was lying or not." Rantaro added, a suspicious glance now aimed toward me. "Unless, of course, someone was with him when he used the keycard. If that's the case, then they'd be able to say whether or not he was lying."
"Yes. My thoughts exactly. That means that Rin should have a good idea about who could possibly write a note like this." Shuichi said before turning to me. "So Rin, what are your thoughts on this note? Was someone with you when you tried to use the keycard? If so, they might be the person who wrote this note."
I sighed as I closed my eyes and thought about how I should respond. Obviously, I know who's the most likely to be the author of that note, and it's honestly something that he would do. Plus, just like Kirumi said, there are a lot of things that make him suspicious. I didn't like it. I really didn't want this to be true. I put a lot of my trust in him. And yet…I can't help but start to believe that he really did it. He's been pushing it for so long, and he might have finally crossed the line. And with how strange he's been acting, I need to make him answer our questions.
"...Alright. I'll explain." I nodded toward Shuichi. "I suppose I should begin by saying that the note is accurate in that I lied about the motive."
"You what!?" Tenko screamed while some of the others gasped. "Why? Why would you do that!?"
"...Despair." I replied in a soft whisper.
"Sorry?" Shuichi questioned with a confused expression.
"The reason why I lied about it…was because of despair." I elaborated with a defeated look. "The motive was…I can't even put it into words. The only thing I can even say about it was that it was pure despair. It was like gazing into the pits of hell itself. I didn't…I couldn't tell you all about it. It…really messed me up." I let out a choked breath as I shook my head. "I really should have listened to you all back when we got that keycard. I shouldn't have tried to use it. That's why I lied. If you knew about what I saw, you would have felt the same pain and sorrow I felt. I wanted to spare you all from that."
"Is…that really true? Was the motive that bad?" Kaede asked with a horrified look.
"Yes. Worse than that. Something like that…shouldn't ever be seen." I told her. "But… I never thought this would happen. I didn't think a murder would happen?"
"How so?" Rantaro asked.
"Because…the only ones who saw the motive…were me and Kokichi." I answered.
"K-Kokichi!?" Keebo shouted in shock.
"..." Kokichi didn't say anything. He just stared at me with a blank look as the others turned to face him.
"So you are saying that you brought Kokichi with you when you found the motive?" Kirumi asked.
"Sort of. He followed me, and he wouldn't leave when I told him to, so I let him tag along. That's when we both saw that terrible sight." I put a hand on my face as I sighed. "That note…it could only have been written by Kokichi."
"I see. It's just like I suspected." Shuichi began. "Kokichi. You were at the scene of the crime, weren't you?"
"Nee-heehee… What are you talking about, Shumai?" Kokichi giggled as he held a finger to his lips, a devious smirk painted on his face as he did. "By saying that, are you trying to say that I'm the culprit?"
"...I don't have the entire story just yet." Shuichi admitted. "However, if we're going to find the truth, then you have to tell us. Were you or were you not at the crime scene? Tell us the truth, Kokichi."
"Well, if you're giving me the chance to tell you the truth, then I'll have to say that I wasn't at the scene." Kokichi responded.
"You're lying, aren't you!? You were totally there, you degenerate!" Tenko shouted.
"Do you have proof that I'm lying?" Kokichi asked. "This is a class trial, after all? Evidence speaks louder than words. Just because I'm a liar doesn't mean I lie all the time."
"No, you are lying." I told him. "There was evidence left at the scene."
"The white fabric, correct?" Kirumi asked. "Indeed. There was a bloody piece of white fabric at the scene of Kaito's murder. That certainly could have been from your uniform."
"But lots of us wear white clothes." Kokichi countered easily. "You can't say I was at the scene just from one scrap of clothing."
"True, but we can narrow it down to you when we connect it to how you were injured recently." I argued.
"Injured?" Rantaro questioned.
"I found Kokichi in the dining hall. He was bleeding from an injury he had and used the blood from it to try to prank me. At the time, I didn't think much of it, but now that we're in the class trial, perhaps that injury connects Kokichi with the crime." I said.
"But Rinny, I told you already. I got that injury from Keebo's lab! I cut myself while I was looking around at all the cool gadgets!" Kokichi whined.
"My lab? But I was there the whole time. I would have seen you if that were the case." Keebo stated.
"Maybe your eyes need a bit of maintenance? Didn't you say something about having terrible eyesight back when we all first met?"
"Stop lying! If you know something, just tell us!" Kaede shouted.
"Perhaps the reason why he's refusing to tell us anything is that he's actually the culprit." Maki pointed out. "He and Rin are the only ones who saw the motive, right? And if the note was trying to incriminate Rin, then that leaves Kokichi as the only person who had a motive to kill."
"Well, Kokichi? It's starting to look a lot more like you're the culprit we all have to vote for. Anything you want to share with us to try and prove your innocence?" Rantaro asked. Kokichi didn't say anything for a while after that. He just looked at us with the same blank look as before. And then, he started laughing.
"Hahahaha! You guys are soooooo stupid!" He suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" I tilted my head at that. "What are you talking about?"
"You guys seem to be forgetting a very crucial part of the case, y'know." Kokichi said.
"And what would that be?" Maki asked with a glare.
"Kaito's cause of death! Shumai already ruled out poisoning, right? The poison Rinny brought up had side effects that Kaito didn't have, and there's no other poison that we know of that could have been used, right?"
"What are you getting at? There must have been some other kind of poison that was used that we don't know about then!" Tenko responded.
"But if that's true, then wouldn't there have been some kind of noticeable side effect that we all would have found strange?" Kokichi questioned her. "Wouldn't there be some kind of clue as to what kind of poison was used? There would have been something for us to find, right?"
"...He has a point."
"Shuichi?"
"We didn't find anything to prove that poisoning was the cause of death." Shuichi told Tenko. "That's just speculation on our part."
"But what else could have killed Kaito then? We found that empty bottle at the scene. It must have been full of poison that the killer got Kaito to drink, right?" I asked.
"Perhaps, but that's just one possibility. There's another possibility that we need to take into account."
"And what's that?" Kaede asked.
"The medicine." Shuichi answered. "Just like how it's plausible that Kaito died from poisoning, it's just as likely that he could have died from an illness."
"But I already explained why that isn't possible! That bottle of medicine hadn't been used at all before now!"
"Even if that's the case, that doesn't mean Kaito wasn't sick."
"Huh?"
"Kaito could have been carrying that medicine around, but never took it. Perhaps his illness never got to the point where he felt he needed the medication, but still wanted it on his person just in case."
"But if he died from the illness, that meant it got pretty bad, right? Why wouldn't Kaito use the medicine that might have helped save his life?" Rantaro asked.
"I…don't know." Shuichi sighed. "Kaito's case is confusing. I don't think we can discover what truly happened by just looking at his crime."
"At just his crime. Then are you suggesting we could discover more by looking at Gonta's crime?" Keebo asked the detective.
"That may be our only option at this point. Gonta died ten minutes after Kaito. Gonta's death must be connected in some way."
"Yeah, and with how the scenes are so close together, it's likely both cases have the same killer." Kaede nodded.
"Then let's hurry up and talk about Gonta's murder!" Kokichi smiled brightly. "Alright! We're getting closer to the killer! I just know it!"
"As if you aren't the killer…" Maki grumbled.
"Now now, Miss Assassin, let's not get hasty. There's no proof that I did anything!"
"You've clearly been lying though." I shot back at him. "Why not just tell us the truth, Kokichi? You obviously know more than you're letting on."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just as clueless as you all." Kokichi replied playfully.
I growled. He's really starting to get on my nerves. The more he dodges our questions and lies, the more I start believing he's the culprit. I'm getting really sick of his lies. Why won't he just tell us the truth, damn it! I want to trust him! I've wanted to trust him this whole time! Even after everything he's done to me and the others! I've stuck my neck out for him, and this is how he's repaying me!? I'm really getting pissed off at him.
Just what is his deal? I always thought that Kokichi was on our side, no matter how nonsensical he was, but was that all just imagined by me? Was that just me being foolishly naive again? I gritted my teeth at the thought. I'm so sick of this. I'm sick of lying. Of the deductions. Of the blood and tears and sobs. Of sifting through it all just to find the whole truth. A truth that will bring only pain when it's revealed. I'm so sick of it all.
Well if that's how it's going to be, I'll end it right here and now. You're lying right now, Kokichi. You know something. In fact, I think you're a major player in this trial. You're the only one other than myself who saw the motive. You must be the culprit. You're acting too strange not to be. The despair must have been too overwhelming for you. It consumed you, just like it nearly did to me. But I had people around me who wanted to help me climb out of that pit. Out of that pain and sadness, but you've isolated yourself in that villain role you so love. If you want to hide the truth, then I'll reveal it by any means necessary. I'll reveal your lies with a lie of my own.
No more games. No more playing to the rhythm that you've created. No more trusting you only to be stabbed again with more lies. I'll reveal everything one last time, and then I'll end it all. I'll find the real truth. Your lies and tricks won't stop me anymore.
"No. You're lying." I told him firmly with a dark glare. "And I can prove it."
"Huh?" Kokichi almost gasped as he returned my glare with a look that might have been one of shock. "What are you talking about?"
"Exactly what I said. I have proof that you know more than you let on. In fact, you might say it proves that you play a major part in this case…as the culprit!"
"Eh!?" Tenko gasped.
"You have proof that Kokichi is the culprit!?" Kaede asked with wide eyes.
"It might not be definitive by itself, but with what we've already said, it certainly paints that picture." I told her. Shuichi gave me a strange look for a bit before he took a short breath.
"And what is this evidence, Rin?" He asked.
He must realize something's up. Sorry Shuichi, but if you think that my lie will be so easily seen through, you've got another thing coming. I can't just make a blatant lie, or else everyone will see through it. However, the truth of the matter is, I can be as blatant as I want, as long as the only person who can really see through it is someone no one else will believe. I took a breath of my own before I began to speak.
"I already mentioned how Kokichi was injured when I saw him in the dining hall, right? He was bleeding quite a bit from an arm injury." I said.
"As I said, I got cut from one of the metal do-hickeys that were in Keebo's lab." Kokichi countered.
"But I never saw you, and I was in there!" Keebo shouted.
"But you don't have any proof that I wasn't there, do you? So what Rinny's saying can't really prove anything, now can it?" Kokichi shrugged.
"If you won't confess to where you really got injured, there's nothing we can do to disprove you." I sighed. "However, thinking back to when I saw you in the dining hall, I can't help but wonder something."
"And what's that?"
"Your arm was injured, and your hands were mostly clean, so why were there blood stains around your finger?" I asked, planting my lie.
"Huh?"
"Your finger… It was stained with blood like you tried to clean it off, but it didn't wash completely off. Yet the rest of your hands were clean. No stains at all. I can't help but find it strange."
"His finger…?" Shuichi muttered before his eyes went wide. "Oh!"
"Shuichi?" Kaede asked.
"If what Rin is saying is correct, then that might explain that message."
"You are referring to the dying message next to Gonta's body, correct?" Kirumi asked.
"That's right. That message did seem a little strange." Rantaro nodded.
"Gonta's finger was clean, so he couldn't have written that dying message." Keebo nodded.
"But if Rin saw Kokichi's finger was bloody, then he could have been the one who wrote it!" Tenko shouted.
"That's what I think happened, yes." I nodded, keeping my face neutral as I did my best to not realize any hint of my deceit.
This was it. My lie. Only I saw Kokichi in the dining hall when he was injured. Of course, I wasn't paying any attention to his hands during that time since I was more focused on how much he was bleeding and how he managed to get it all over himself just for the sake of a prank (it was almost impressive at the time). However, whether his hands were bloody or not doesn't matter. Gonta couldn't have written that dying message. His hands were clean. So if Kokichi is really involved in this case… If he really is behind all of this, then he must have written it. As long as I can paint that picture, then I can corner him into finally giving us answers. Either he'll tell us the truth, or give us a hint as to what he knows. And he definitely knows something, so I'll keep cornering him until he spills. Two can play the lying game, Kokichi.
"Pfft…!" Kokichi let out a snicker as he held his hand to his mouth, doing his best to not burst out into laughter. "Are you kidding me, Rinny? Is lying really what you want to do right now?"
"I'm not lying." I replied smoothly as I crossed my arms. "I'm not the one hiding something major in this case. I'm not the one who's a self-proclaimed liar. I have no reason to lie. I want to find the truth so we all can survive! If you know something, then tell us! You can't dodge the question anymore, not with what evidence we have against you. You're looking more and more like the culprit. Do you have a rebuttal? So far, you've just been avoiding saying anything."
"Really? Do you think this is going to work? None of what you said is strong enough to prove I'm the culprit, is it? A white piece of clothing that was torn off, an injury, and a supposed bloody finger… is that really all you need to vote that I'm the blackened?"
"No, but it's enough to prove that you were involved, and now that you're trying to hide it, it's painting a very interesting conclusion." I said while shaking my head.
"Please, you can't really think that anyone will buy this?" Kokichi laughed.
"I believe Rin. easily, in fact." Kirumi quickly countered without any hesitation.
"...What?" Kokichi asked with a blank look.
"You claim Rin is lying, and rin claims you are lying. If it is a matter of his word against yours, I chose to believe Rin." Kirumi said simply.
"But he's-!"
"I believe Rin too! He wouldn't lie to us about something like this!" Tenko exclaimed.
"Indeed. As he said, he has no reason to lie. In fact, if his lie convinces us to vote for you and we are wrong, he would also die along with us. He is not someone who revels in lies as you do, Kokichi." Keebo added simply.
"Agreed. The choice is an easy one." Maki nodded with a huff.
"I have to say I find Rin more believable too. Sorry." Rantaro gave a weak chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah. I trust Rin. He's helped us out so far, so there's no reason to doubt him now!" Kaede nodded. "And you, Shuichi?"
"..." Shuichi stood at his stand without moving for a moment before he sighed and nodded. "It's as Kirumi said. If it's Kokichi's word against Rin's, Rin is the one I'm prone to believe right off the bat. Unless you can prove otherwise, Kokichi, I believe Rin that you are the most likely person to write that message."
That seemed to hit Kokichi quite hard, as he actually looked shell-shocked. Slowly, his head began to look down as he hid his eyes, almost like he was about to cry. I didn't buy that for a moment.
"I just…can't believe you guys." Kokichi began in a shaky voice. "You all will willingly believe a lie as blatant as this as long as someone you trust tells one? Rinny's already admitted to lying many times, including his lie about the motive. Do you all really believe him after that?"
"Of course. Those lies were his attempt to protect us from the motive. He didn't want to hurt us like you do with your lies, and he wouldn't lie to us right now!" Kaede shouted.
"He isn't a lying asshole like you." Maki added with a snarl towards the supreme leader.
"What comes around goes around. This is what happens to liars like you!" Tenko exclaimed.
"Why do you guys hate lies so much?" Kokichi asked. "There's only one truth, but endless possibilities for lies, y'know? And some of them are only white lies, or lies to be kind to people, and those are the kind of lies that make Rinny a much bigger liar than I am. If you deny all of that just it's a lie, or because I'm a proclaimed liar… Then that means you guys are just terrible at being lied to! Seriously, the worst!" Kokichi then proclaimed, his head shooting back up to reveal an evil grin that almost seemed to laugh at us with how taunting it was.
"Cut it out with the games, Kokichi! Tell us what you know!" I shouted. "You were at the scene of the crime, weren't you?!"
"He probably wasn't just at the scene of the crime." Kaede nodded. "He's probably the one who-"
"Okay, fine! I'll tell you if you wanna know that badly! Consider this my revenge." Kokichi cut her off with a sigh.
"Revenge?" Rantaro questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Rinny's decided to use underhanded tactics this time around. You've got some balls lying to me." Kokichi glared at me with an evil grin. "This trial's been boring so far anyway. I've been soooooo bored, but I thought maybe I'll have a little fun messing with you guys, but I'm not even allowed to do that, it seems. So I'm gonna take away your fun for pissing me off."
"What do you mean by that?" Shuichi asked with a concerned look.
"I'm gonna end this trial quickly. I won't let you do any detective work, or deductions, or mystery solving, or anything!"
"Oh?" I asked with an amused chuckle.
"So, I'll confess everything! You guys better listen carefully."
"Confess…!?" Keebo exclaimed with wide eyes.
"A confession!? Do you mean… You really are-!?" Kaede began.
"I see… So you really are the culprit…" Kirumi frowned with a disappointed look in her eye as she looked at Kokichi, who only chuckled before he began 'confessing'. Finally, he was finally giving us what we wanted. So why was there now a pit in my stomach?
As if knowing something big was about to happen, Kokichi's stand moved over to the middle of the circle, putting him in the middle of all of us before he began speaking.
"I came up with a plan after I saw the motive with Rinny. After seeing the motive and waiting for a bit, I knew that Rinny wasn't going to use it for anything. He was waaaaay too depressed to even make an attempt at that, so it fell to me. I wanted to make use of the motive, but with it being what it was, that was going to be hard to do. So…I decided to work with Monokuma to make it all work."
"You…worked together with Monokuma?" I asked. The bear in question sighed loudly as he shook his head.
"Sigh… I guess the jig is up. Yeah, everything he said is true." Monokuma admitted. "Kokichi came to me with an idea to make the killing game more interesting. It was such a good idea, I decided to give him better access to the motive to make use of it for his plan."
"Give him better access to the motive?" Shuichi repeated before he put a hand to his chin. "I see… Then that's what that flashback light was for. It showed the motive."
"Nee-heehee… Good job, Shuichi. You got it with one guess. That's right. That flashback light was the motive Rinny and I saw." Kokichi smiled cheerfully. I paled when he said that as my hands shook nervously.
"Hey! You can't do that! Monokuma's supposed to not take any sides!" Tenko shouted while pointing at the bear.
"I didn't help him with anything, and I had nothing to do with the murder itself!" Monokuma argued. "I merely gave him a way to spice up the killing game, just like I did with Angie! Kokichi and I had a 'quid pro quo' relationship. Technically, that doesn't violate any rules!"
"You're just doing whatever you want. Don't try to pretend otherwise." Maki grumbled with a glare.
"Y-You… Are you telling me you…showed someone that nightmare!?" I screamed angrily.
"What? It wasn't like you were going to do anything with the motive, so I decided it would be better off in my capable hands. This is a killing game after all." Kokichi gave me a smirk, but that just angered me more.
"You… You little-!"
"Rin, what's wrong?" Kaede asked me. "I know what Kokichi did is upsetting, but why are you so worked up about it?"
"I-It's…It's because…" I tried to say, but I couldn't. I didn't want to tell them about-
"He's upset because the motive is about the outside world." Kokichi interrupted my thoughts like a train going full speed. My eyes widened as I stared at the kid in disbelief. Is…Is he serious right now? Did he really just reveal that?
"The motive is…about the outside world?" Keebo repeated, confusion now clearly seen on his face as he frowned.
"That's right. More accurately, you could say the motive is a secret about the outside world." Kokichi clarified.
"A secret?" Rantaro muttered.
"A secret bad enough to terrify Rin…" Tenko added as she looked over to my pale, sweaty self.
"B-But… But why…?!" I asked. "I don't… I just don't understand! Why would you show anyone that?"
"Nee-heehee… Calm down, Rinny. I'll explain everything, so let me finish my confession." Kokichi smirked innocently.
"Y'know, I don't really mind that you're confessing, but this seems a bit strange. You aren't putting up much of a fight, Kokichi." Rantaro told him.
"I told you, didn't I? I'm gonna get in the way by taking away the mystery-solving fun." Kokichi explained happily. "If I can't win and have fun in this game, then I'll make it boring for everyone! That's my revenge!" And then, without any hesitation, he gave us an evil laugh and smile before continuing.
"Well then… The culprit is Maki."