Class Trial Start!
Monokuma's shrill voice breaks the silence. "Now then, let's give everyone a fresh reminder of the trial rules! You poor sheep will discuss who is the wolf among you, who devoured one of your kin. Make the right choice and I will execute the wolf. Make the wrong one…"
He doesn't need to finish his sentence. Everyone saw what happened to Kikoi. Everyone wants to avoid that fate.
"Is there really a blackened though?" Yuyami asks aloud. "I mean, for all we know, Shinri's lungs collapsed on their own."
"And for all we know, Shinri was poisoned for that very reason." Isamu harshly say, glaring at Mizuki. "Really convenient how Shinri suddenly dies because of his illness, isn't it?"
Mizuki returns the glare. "Just because Shinri might have been killed by poison, does not mean I was the one to administrate it to him."
"You've said it yourself Mizuki," Isamu presses on, "you always lock the door to your research lab. If no one was able to get in, how would they have been able to grab one of its poisons?"
By now, Mizuki's calm composure is starting to crack. "You're an imbecile if you think my research lab is the only one to have poison. Or are you forgetting that there are more places to gain any toxic substances from?"
We're not even ten seconds in and they're already arguing. I'm going to need to prove one of them wrong if we don't want this discussion to spiral out of control.
NON-STOP DEBATE
-
Bullet: Noriko's account
-
Isamu: The most likely place where any poison could have come from is Mizuki's lab.
Isamu: And considering how she always locks the place up…
Isamu: Mizuki is the only one who could have poisoned Shinri!
Mizuki: Are you out of your mind!?
Mizuki: There are many places that anyone could have gotten toxic substances from!
Mizuki: The kitchen, the laundry room, even the storage room could have them!
Mizuki: Just grab any cleaning product and you're good to go!
Mizuki: Thus, in short, you cannot accuse me just because I have access to harmful substances.
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"
She immediately whirls her head to my direction. I'm not intimidated by her cold glare. "It might be a bit early to blame Mizuki, but there is no way anyone could have poisoned Shinri with cleaning supplies. After all, Noriko stored all of them away before the party began."
Mizuki huffs. "Someone could have stumbled upon them."
Noriko shakes her head. "No, because the first thing I did when the investigation started was to go back to see if anyone had gotten to them. They were all in the same place and none of them looked like they were touched. Plus, I've hidden them well enough to avoid poisoning in the first place. The only reason Yurika knows about this is because she saw me collecting cleaning products in the laundry room. And after she left, I made sure to hide them in a different place."
"Okay, so we have scratched bleach and such off the list," Hanako says, "how are we sure Shinri was actually poisoned in the first place? I mean, didn't he tell us during dinner how he gets sick a lot?"
Homura nods. "The twink was skinnier than a twig. If he'd told me he had some life-threatening illness, I'd have believed him. No doubt."
Yuyami joins in, scratching his head. "Yeah, I mean, wasn't he saying stuff like: 'not now, not now'? Maybe he knew he wouldn't last long."
Isamu sighs. "As much as I hate to admit it, Shinri was very frail. He admitted as such even in the beginning. Not that I'm in favor of ditching my theory of Mizuki poisoning him, but it's important to know all the facts."
Mizuki grumbles something I can't quite make out. Toshiya makes up for it by speaking for the first time in this trial.
"While the question of Shinri's death still lingers in the air, I feel obligated to share my discoveries. When Yurika and I searched for clues in the dormitories, Monokuma allowed us entrance to Shinri's room."
I nod. "Yup. Shinri definitely wasn't healthy, let me tell you that. He has a hospital bed in his room for god's sake. And I saw plenty of medicine bottles. Whatever he had; it must have been going on for a while."
Mizuki narrows her eyes a little. "If that's the case, I highly doubt Shinri's illness was recent. Either he caught something big before arriving here…or his illness is chronic."
"Chronic means that he had it for very long, right?" Yoru nervously asks.
Hanako nods. "Yeah. I guess whatever he had put him through the ringer."
"But can we really rule out poisoning that way?" Isamu questions. "Just because Shinri may have had an illness doesn't mean someone didn't take advantage of his weakness."
Toshiya nods with him. "You are correct. While it shall be difficult to prove either theory correct, taking in account the fact that Shinri is no longer with us to confirm this story, I believe we can overcome these challenges as long as we keep an open mind and think outside of the box."
Ekorin twirls a strand of hair in around her finger. "But, if we are to take into account all sides, how will we start to eliminate possibilities?"
"We should continue discussing why and why not Shinri was poisoned." Noriko says, raising her voice a little. "If we go and check theories off the list of possibilities, we'll eventually be left with the truth."
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Mizuki quotes. "Well, as long as we keep Monokuma entertained, we do have all the time in the world to go past every possibility."
"Hell yeah," Homura agrees, "we'll figure it out eventually, no matter how batshit insane the solution is. I mean, that is pretty much how we solved the last case. Or how Yurika solved the last case, rather."
Isamu groaned. "Don't remind me."
Nobody's gonna let me live that down, huh? Whatever, Homura's right. We'll figure it out. We just need to start eliminating theories with evidence.
NON-STOP DEBATE
-
Bullet: Mizuki's account
-
Yoru: So, how are we going to figure out how Shinri died? We can't ask him.
Noriko: As long as we can find enough evidence, we should be able to figure it out.
Isamu: I still believe Shinri has been poisoned, it's too much of a coincidence.
Yuyami: Dude, you've said it about a hundred times now.
Yuyami: Besides, what proof do you have for that theory?
Yuyami: As far as I know, there's no reason to think it could be anything else other than his illness.
Toshiya: Still, we have to investigate every possibility.
Hanako: But what if it really is just a coincidence?
Rea: Then we just vote Shinri and go to bed early! I'm good with both options.
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"
"Actually, Mizuki's account proves someone was at least involved in this." I speak up.
As to be expected, Yuyami just stares at me in confusion. "But we weren't really sure if her account was real, right?"
I explain. "It doesn't matter. If she was lying, then she really was involved in Shinri's death. However, if she is telling the truth, then someone actually did lock her in the lounge. Whether she was lying or not, someone was involved in Shinri's death, which makes the chances of Shinri's death being just a fluke of nature significantly less."
Isamu lets out a big sigh. "I didn't think I would be doing this but…Yurika, thank you for listening and using your brain."
Homura crosses her arms. "But why would someone lock Mizuki up? To frame her?"
"More than likely, to avoid her examining Shinri and potentially saving his life." Toshiya theorizes. "I heard that Mizuki examined me last trial after my fainting spell, so it is easy to assume Mizuki has enough medical knowledge to properly treat Shinri."
Mizuki herself looks away. "I'm not sure if I would have been able to save Shinri's life, especially if he really was poisoned. But I suppose whoever was involved didn't want to take any chances."
"Okay, so we now know that someone was involved in Shinri's death," Hanako summarizes, "does that mean we can rule out sickness?"
"No, there might still be a chance." Noriko insists. "Someone could have tried to prevent Mizuki from saving Shinri…knowing that Shinri was going to collapse because of his illness."
Yuyami looks confused. "Uh, what would that mean for voting?"
"It's second-degree murder, but that means jack shit in this kangaroo court." Isamu snarks.
Toshiya continues the discussion. "If someone tried to prevent Shinri from getting treatment, they must have acted fast when Shinri started coughing up blood. It was only then that we realized how dire Shinri's condition at the time was. Taking into account Shinri's reaction to his state, it is reasonable to assume Shinri did not expect to succumb to illness."
Is there really a chance Shinri could have died from sickness after all? It doesn't seem really likely…but…
A person interrupts my thoughts. And it's the person I least expect.
"Then it's Homura."
Everyone looks at Masato. His head is slightly raised, and I can see his eyes, cold as snow. It flabbergasts me so much I can't even think.
Homura seems just as taken aback. "Excuse me what the fuck?"
"Homura ran for Mizuki just as Shinri started coughing up blood. She announced it as such. She only needed to stall her long enough for Shinri to get past a point of no return." He balls his fists. "It's Homura's fault."
I've never seen Homura panic before, and yet here she is. "No, no, i-it fucking wasn't! I wanted to help Shinri and I knew Mizuki was the only one who—"
"YOU KILLED HIM! LIKE AINOSUKE KILLED HER!" He screams.
At this point, Homura's shaking, tears and fire in her eyes. "I DIDN'T! STOP MAKING SHIT UP!"
"Guys, calm down—"
"SHUT UP NORIKO!" They both yell at her.
I-I don't know why Masato is acting like this…but I have to intervene before this conversation derails. I just hope I can get between them.
NON-STOP DEBATE
-
Absorbed Bullet: Bad timing
-
Homura: I didn't do jack shit! Why the fuck are you accusing me!?
Masato: You were the one who stopped Mizuki from reaching Shinri!
Masato: If it weren't for you, he'd still be alive!
Homura: Are you fucking nuts!? I was trying to find Mizuki so she could save him!
Masato: Sure, sure, how convenient. Too bad there isn't anything to prove that!
Masato: Just give up and say it's your fault!
Masato: You saw Shinri dying and ran off to trap Mizuki, so she wouldn't be able to save him!
Yuyami: Dude, I'm happy you aren't moping around anymore…
Yuyami: But you have really bad timing, my dude.
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"
"Alright, both of you shut up!" I scream at them. The moment they drop their discussion to pay attention to me, I seize my chance.
"Homura can't have killed Shinri like that, the timeline doesn't match up. Mizuki disappeared just after dinner, I personally saw her leave to check her lab. She didn't return until Shinri's last breath. And considering how Shinri was acting both before and while he was dying, I think it's safe to say he wasn't expecting to die either."
Masato sneers at me. "And? Homura could have locked her up from the beginning."
"Because if not even Shinri, who knows his own body better than anyone else, could have predicted he would die this night, than no one would have. There was no reason for Homura to lock up Mizuki to prevent her from saving him from his illness because she couldn't have known it would kill him."
Homura lets out a sign of relief. "Thanks, Yurika, I owe ya one."
Isamu butts in. "As such, it becomes less and less likely Shinri died of his own illness."
"Well, there is still a chance." Masato scowls as he crosses his arms. "We don't have definitive proof, do we?"
"Actually, we do. Or…well…it is very close to being decisive, that is…" Toshiya pipes up.
Right, we do have one piece of evidence that should at least decide how Shinri died…
-
Bullet: Shinri's diagnosis
-
"When Toshiya and I were investigating Shinri's room, we stumbled upon a file with Shinri's diagnosis. I'm not gonna try and pronounce what he has, but long story short, he apparently had a chronic disease that fucked up his immune system to the point it couldn't recognize viruses and such in time." I explain to the group.
Mizuki thinks aloud. "An autoimmune disease fits with everything we've talked about regarding Shinri's condition. To be honest, it's a little surprising why they still made him come here if his condition was that critical."
Toshiya nods. "The medical file states that prior to Shinri admittance here, every staff member and inmate underwent a medical examination to inspect signs of illness and to check past vaccinations. I can personally attest to being medically examined prior to coming here."
"If that's the case…there really isn't any logical reason for Shinri to have gotten any kind of illness." Noriko concludes. "Even if none of us infected him, I think it's pretty reasonable to assume Shinri was careful enough to keep himself from filthy bacteria."
"Whew, finally, we managed to decide on something." Hanako exhales relieved.
"If Shinri wasn't killed by his illness, then there is only one option left: poison." Isamu glares at Mizuki. "Which brings us back to you."
How Mizuki keeps a calm face despite the seething hate in her voice, I don't know. "Again, I am not the only one with access to toxins. Anyone could have administrated it to Shinri. In fact, this makes Noriko and Hanako far more suspicious than me! They were the ones who made our food, they had every chance in the world!"
"But they didn't even have access to the cleaning supplies." Isamu counters. "How could they have poisoned someone if they didn't have any poison?"
She grips the railing until her knuckles turn white. "Again, my lab isn't the only place someone could have obtained poison from. There are other ways to poison Shinri. And even if there wasn't, that still doesn't mean I did it."
Isamu refuses to give up either. "What other ways are there, then? And how would someone even get into your lab if you keep it locked the whole time? Just admit it, Mizuki. You've dug your own grave by poisoning Shinri!"
This isn't going well. Neither of them is going to listen to each other. I guess I have to butt in like usual…
NON-STOP DEBATE
-
Bullet: Portable radio
-
Isamu: Just confess already Mizuki.
Isamu: You were the one to kill Shinri!
Mizuki: Hate to disappoint you, but you're wrong!
Mizuki: I had nothing to do with Shinri's death in any way, shape or form!
Mizuki: You're just jumping to conclusions like the last trial!
Mizuki: As I said, there are other places to precure poison from.
Mizuki: Plus, my testimony gives me an alibi.
Isamu: Right, an alibi that no one can properly confirm.
Isamu: Who's to say you didn't make that up either?
Isamu: It's clear you don't have any basis to your testimony.
Isamu: It's just as much fiction as your other arguments.
Isamu: Just give up and start confessing your guilt!
Mizuki: Honestly, at this point, I feel more insulted that you'd think I'd be this stupid to do that.
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"
"Actually, Mizuki does have some basis to her claim of being trapped." I argue.
Isamu sneers at me. "And what kind of basis would this be?"
I ignore him in favor of turning to Mizuki. "Hey, Mizuki, you said you heard music coming from the lounge when you exited your lab, right?"
She looks a little surprised, probably because I'm picking that peculiar detail from her story, but she nods. "Yes, it was the reason I investigated the lounge in the first place. It was sudden, strange…not to mention incredibly annoying."
"Right." I nod back. "Well, I did actually find a portable radio in the lounge hidden under the couch. One playing a very annoying song. I bet it's from the recording studio."
Homura puts a hand on her hip. "Okay, so, someone put a radio in the lounge to lure Mizuki, right?"
"It's the only logical explanation I can think of. Why would anyone put a radio in the lounge otherwise?"
Yuyami scratches his head. "Couldn't someone just have brought it with them and then forgot?"
"If they had, Mizuki would have heard the music playing before she went into her lab." I point out. "Besides, if someone had forgotten it, they probably would have spoken up about it now. Not to mention, someone would have heard it before the party started. No, I think someone deliberately put it there to lure Mizuki into the lounge so they could trap her."
Ekorin thinks aloud. "That makes perfect sense. But how would they have trapped her? The lounge does not have a lock, right? Similar to the staircase?"
Masato growls softly. "That hasn't stopped people before."
"Eep! Sorry Masato, I-I didn't intent—"
Noriko quickly comes between them. "No harm was meant here, so let's just focus. If the lounge doesn't have a lock, someone must have blocked it from the outside. Is there anything heavy enough to keep the door shut?"
I know the answer to that.
-
Bullet: Speaker box
-
"I found a large speaker box on a utility dolly in the recording room. It was standing near the door, so I bet it must have been recently moved. A speaker box that large would have kept the door on Mizuki shut." I tell everyone, showing them the speaker box on the large screen.
Yoru practically beams. "That means Mizuki really was locked up! Which means she can't be the killer!"
Homura punches the air above her. "Fuck yeah, one suspect down."
Rea claps excitedly. "Yay, one down, twelve to go. At this rate, we'll have the killer tomorrow evening."
"It may not appear as much, but we have assessed that Shinri was poisoned and that it couldn't be Mizuki." Toshiya tries to inspire hope. "With a bit of luck, we can start eliminating more suspects."
"Right." I smile. Things are finally looking upwards—
"I WILL UNCOVER THE TRUTH!"
Wah! I should have known Isamu wouldn't give up that easily.
"We can't just cross Mizuki off the list yet! There is too much evidence against her!" He yells at me. "This isn't like last time where we didn't even know where to start!"
"Last time you suspected Toshiya, see how that turned out." I snap back.
He slams his fist on his stand. "It doesn't matter. I'll tell you why Mizuki is still a suspect and why her alibi is a fake!"
Dammit, I'm not gonna sway him like this. And we can't look at other suspects as long as he keeps bringing up Mizuki. I'm going to need to destroy his argument, right now!"
REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN
-
Blade: Tape
-
Isamu: There is still too much evidence/ against Mizuki to find her innocent!
Isamu: And the evidence that should prove her/ innocence is flakey at best.
Isamu: Mizuki obviously put that/ radio there to back up her claim.
Isamu: And since anyone/ can enter the recording room…
Isamu: There is no way to prove/ she wasn't the one to take it!
ADVANCE!
Even if there is no way to prove Mizuki didn't enter the recording room… :Yurika
That doesn't mean she is guilty either! :Yurika
The radio was hidden under the couch, so it was likely meant to be hidden out of sight :Yurika
Why would Mizuki do that if she wanted to prove her alibi? :Yurika
Isamu: Because she is smart /enough to know we aren't dumb.
Isamu: We would/ have found out about it anyways.
Isamu: Just face it: the /radio is a lousy argument.
Isamu: And since there is no other/ evidence to back her claim…
Isamu: Her testimony/ cannot be trusted!
"I'LL CUT THROUGH YOUR ARGUMENT!"
"There is one more piece of evidence that supports Mizuki's claim." I cut him off. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't notice it."
He scoffs at me with a daring look in his eye. "Well then, what is it?"
"When I walked into the lounge, it was completely dark. And when I tried to turn on the light, I saw that the light switch had been taped off." I explain.
"That's right." Noriko nods. "It was awfully dark in there. I asked Monokuma if he could turn on the lights, but he refused. Likely because it's important evidence."
"But what does that prove?" Tomoe asks.
"There is no logical reason for Mizuki to tape off the lights. Even if she was falsifying her testimony, that just seems like an unnecessary step to me." I theorize. "I think the killer taped off the lights to avoid the radio from being spotted, which would make her more inclined to search the lounge…and probably also to disorient her, buying them more time."
"When plunged into complete darkness, people tend to be more on their guard, since one of their senses have been eliminated. While this might not have been their intention, it would prevent Mizuki from screaming too much." Toshiya adds his two cents.
Mizuki twirls a strand of hair, looking away with a flushed face. "While this might be embarrassing to admit…Toshiya is not completely wrong. When the door shut behind me, it took me a few seconds to realize what had happened. I tried to hurry back to the door, but it was difficult to navigate. It didn't help that I had been thoroughly investigating the lounge as this happened, so I wasn't standing near the door. I have screamed, yes…but not as much as I would have been if it weren't for the darkness."
"Not that it would have helped anyways. We were all downstairs, so we wouldn't have heard any screaming." Tomoe points out.
Yoru turns to Isamu, puffing up his face. "Well, doesn't that prove that Mizuki couldn't have done it?"
Isamu sighs in defeat. "Fine, I suppose Mizuki's alibi has some merit…but that doesn't mean the other evidence against her is void!"
"Ugh, dude, we get it." Hanako rolls her eyes. "What's this super special evidence you keep bringing up?"
He doesn't immediately answer. Instead, he reaches into his pocket…and pulls out a bottle from it. "This is my evidence! A strong poison, half empty, found in Mizuki's lab!"
"…What?" Mizuki says as she looks in surprise.
Hold up, isn't that the same bottle I saw at the lab? Guess Isamu must have found it too…
"This empty bottle cannot be found anywhere else in the facility!" Isamu boasts. "And since it's half-empty, that means it's been recently used! Its symptoms include vomiting blood, weakness and death, which match with Shinri's symptoms before he died."
"Oh, then it must be the cause of death." Hanako nods in understanding.
"B-but are you sure it's the right poison?" Yoru tries to interject. "For all we know Mizuki was using it for something else."
"Starlight's right." Homura backs him up. "Mizuki's always in her lab, we all know that. What if she, y'know, just used it and forgot to put it back?"
Isamu huffs. "If she really is that sloppy, then we have more to worry about. Not to mention, if she hadn't cleaned up, there would be far more equipment lying around. Yet everything seemed to be in the right place. The fact that this one isn't, is very suspicious."
Could it really be the poison we're looking for then? I dunno, something feels off…
NON-STOP DEBATE
-
Bullet: Bottle of poison
-
Isamu: A half-empty bottle of deadly poison…
Isamu: If that isn't damming evidence, I don't know what is!
Yoru: W-well, Mizuki could have used it for her experiments!
Hanako: What kind of experiment requires poison though?
Tomoe: Isamu did bring up the point of the cleaned lab.
Yuyami: Sorry Zuki, but it is pretty suspicious…
Mizuki: This is ridiculous! I clearly have been framed!
Ekorin: I truly want to believe you…but a bottle of poison that matches Shinri's symptoms?
Ekorin: Please forgive me, but it sounds too suspicious to ignore.
Homura: Dammit, I can't believe it…
Rea: I'm curious to see how you'll save yourself from this one!
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"
Man, taking down Isamu's argument with his own evidence? Awesome. "Actually, read more on the poison bottle. It says there that when consumed, you also get diarrhea, nausea and a fever. If Shinri had been poisoned with that, he would have gotten at least one of those symptoms. Which, considering how careful he was about his health, would definitely tip him off that he wasn't alright. He would have at least told Noriko, and likely cancelled his speech!"
"And we likely would have noticed those symptoms on him as well." Noriko agrees. "Thus, he couldn't have been poisoned with it."
Upon reading the bottle, Isamu's face hardens. And yet, he refuses to give up. "He could have inhaled it just before entering the cafeteria, or have it injected in him. If death came too fast for him, there wouldn't have been any time for other symptoms to develop."
"No, I disagree with that statement." Toshiya counters. "The bottle reads that death comes after just 1 to 5 minutes after inhaling. There is no possible way for Mizuki to have administrated it to him in such a short window of time, especially since she has an alibi."
"Not to mention, toxins like this are extremely dangerous. If Shinri had died by inhaling it, he wouldn't have been the only one." Mizuki bites back. "And it is true that poison works faster when injected, but as has been proven, I have an alibi."
Hanako frowns. "But he still could have been injected with it, right? Do we need to check if anyone had a needle on them?"
I shake my head. "No, Shinri could have been injected with anything. I even have proof for it…"
-
Bullet: Monokuma File 2#
-
"The Monokuma File says there were no external injuries. If Shinri had been stabbed by a needle, there would have been mention of it."
"Okay, not that I don't belief you, but…" Homura crosses her arms "would Monokuma really put such a tiny-ass detail in his file? Ainosuke received plenty of injuries, but not every single scratch was put on his file. Could have just missed it."
Monokuma takes offense to that. "Hey! I am a very meticulous bear. If I fill in information, it is always to the dot. If the file says there is no external injury, is there none!"
"That means Shinri must have ingested something poisonous." I conclude. "And if it had been the poison we found in Mizuki's lab, then Shinri must have experienced nausea and diarrhea as well. Considering he wasn't even complaining about feeling sick like that, I think it's safe to say we can cross it off the list."
Isamu huffs and crosses his arms, but I stopped paying attention to him a while ago. Ekorin twirls a strand of hair around her finger.
"It is nice to have more clarity on the subject, but does this not mean we are out of potential leads? If the killer could not have found a toxin in Mizuki's laboratory, nor in the laundry room, do we have any more places where such a thing can be obtained?"
I frown deeply. "There is. There is one more place we haven't discussed yet…"
- Kitchen
- Botany lab
- Mizuki's lab
"The botany lab has all sorts of plants. It's very likely there might have been a toxic plant in there."
Yuyami looks confused. "…Are you saying Shinri was killed by a plant?"
Thankfully, Mizuki jumps in. "That makes a lot of sense. Many toxins are derived from plants. Considering Monokuma's game, I wouldn't be surprised if a poisonous plant was deliberately put there to encourage another murder."
"Wait, that doesn't make sense!" Hanako shouts. "If there really are dangerous plants in there, wouldn't they be marked or something so that we wouldn't be accidentally eating them?"
"Maybe Monokuma or Kumachrome intervenes every time someone tries to pick it?" Yoru offers as explanation.
Tomoe shakes his head. "Doubt that anyone's been alerted by them yet."
Isamu nods along with him. "If we had been told, we would have taken measures beforehand! I still think it came from Mizuki's lab, but it was a different poison."
Homura groans loudly. "Dude, lay the fuck off. How much evidence do you need to drop that shit?"
Ekorin looks doubtful. "I too find it hard to believe Shinri could have killed in such a manner. Maybe there is another place we have overlooked?"
Toshiya disagrees. "No, the botany lab is the only conspicuous place left. If a poison was taken from somewhere, it must be there."
Rea grins. "Wouldn't battery acid be considered a toxin as well? I'd say we check the recording room."
"I don't want to hear another word from you." Masato spits at her.
Noriko, realizing the argument is getting out of hand, tries to sooth the situation. "Everyone, calm down! We won't be solving anything if we're split about this issue—"
"HOLD ON!"
Monokuma yells, and everyone grows quiet. He takes this as a sign to continue on. "Ooh, it looks like you guys are split down the middle again. Seems like it's time for another Debate Scrum!"
"Please no." I sigh.
My plea falls on deaf ears. "It's time for the Morphing Trial grounds! Let's go!"
Like the last trial, he grabs a key and inserts it into a machine, which causes the stands to glow and rise into the air. Whereas Toshiya and Homura were left below last time, Noriko now watches as we ascend higher and higher. I look next to me to see Toshiya, Mizuki, Yoru, Homura and strangely enough, Masato. However, upon seeing who he is paired with, he scowls and look away. It doesn't look I'm going to get a lot of help from him.
On the other side, there is Yuyami, Isamu, Tomoe, Hanako, Ekorin and Rea. We're in the minority, it seems, but I don't plan on giving up now. We'll just have to account for Masato if he refuses to speak. And as we move to face each other, I know we need to give it all we got to convince them to follow my train of thought and get to the right answer to the question:
Did the poison come from the botany lab?
No, the poison came from somewhere else / Yes, the poison came from the botany lab.
DEBATE SCRUM START!
Ekorin: There is no way Shinri could have been poisoned by mere plants!
"Mizuki!"
Many plants are poisonous, so he could have easily been killed by that: Mizuki
Hanako: Toshiya and I had been picking berries, wouldn't we have been told about such danger?
"Toshiya!"
The berries we picked weren't dangerous, so Monokuma might have seen no need to: Toshiya
Tomoe: Then how would the killer have the knowledge which plants were toxic?
"My turn!"
Monokuma likely gave them that knowledge at an earlier point, which they hid: Yurika
Isamu: You have no proof the poison came from the botany lab!
"Homura!"
We don't have proof yet because we haven't discussed it yet, dipshit: Homura
Yuyami: But why would there be an opened poison bottle in Mizuki's lab then?
"Yoru!"
Maybe the killer planted the bottle there to frame Mizuki: Yoru
Rea: If Shinri's food had been poisoned, wouldn't everyone have died during dinner as well?
"My turn!"
There'd been more food during the party, he could have been poisoned through that: Yurika
Isamu: Argh! Why can't you guys accept that Mizuki is the killer!?
"Mizuki!"
Because we have to determine our killer through logic, not emotion: Mizuki
"THIS IS OUR ANSWER!"
Despite not everyone looking fully convinced, it looks like we've won the debate, so the stands are lowered again. I'm really happy to have solid ground under my feet again, unlike Homura, whose eyes are still sparkling.
"That. Was. Fucking. Epic!"
"Well, I'm glad someone enjoyed it." Mizuki snarks. "Are you finally ready to admit you might be wrong?"
For a single moment, Isamu looks like he is about to explode of anger. But then he calms down, looking away. "Fine. I guess it shouldn't hurt to examine the botany lab. But you're still my number one suspect until there is another."
"Fine by me." She coldly says. "We'll see who is right in the end."
Yuyami scratches his head. "Okay…but do you guys have proof that the botany lab's involved?"
Toshiya nods. "We do. When Hanako and I went to gather berries, one of the bushes was missing. At the time, I did not think much of it, but looking back on it, I am sure the killer uprooted it to prevent anyone from finding out about its properties."
Hanako's eyes lit up. "That's right! I already found it weird why there was hole in the ground, but an uprooted bush makes a lot of sense."
"The bush might have been uprooted for another reason." Tomoe points out. "How do we know for sure it has anything to do with this case?"
I know the bush is involved. Actually, there is a lot of evidence pointing to it. Maybe if I put them together, I might uncover a solid theory. Alright, here goes…
CONNECTING CLUES
(What is suspicious here?) – Uprooted bush (what proves the missing bush is suspicious?) – Toshiya's account (how could the bush have been used to kill Shinri?) – Quarter berries (what proves the quarter berries were involved in the party?) – Stains on the floor (and what proves Shinri ate the berries?) – Shinri's laundry
Conclusion: Shinri had been poisoned with quarter berries
"I HAVE CONNECTED THE DOTS!"
"I think I may…no, I know what killed Shinri!" I announce to the group.
Isamu sighed. "Yurika, please no more outlandish theories."
"Ok, first of all bitch, my outlandish theory was what saved everyone's ass last time. Second, listen to me first." I snap at him. I really have enough of people doubting me because of one incident. "When Toshiya and I investigated the botany lab, we found a page detailing a plant called…Toshiya?"
"Rubus Cyanotox," Toshiya fills everyone in "but more commonly known as quarter berries. They're incredibly toxic and cause death in fifteen minutes, hench the name."
"How are you so sure that is what killed him?" Noriko asks. "You sound very sure about this."
I explain. "Because one: the page detailing it had a rip near the spine and a bent corner. My guess is someone used it as a bookmark to double check they had the right plant and then tried to tear it out before realizing it would only make it more suspicious."
"Lots of books in the library have bent corners, that doesn't make it suspicious." Isamu points out.
"Chill, I was getting to it." I shush him. "Second: the quarter berries have a second characteristic: when plucked, they secrete a dark blue fluid that is incredibly hard to get off and leaves a lot of stains."
I hold up my stained fingers for everyone to see. "Now, three guesses as to what I found on the ground in the cafeteria and on Shinri's shirt and tie in the laundry room."
"Dark stains." Yoru answers. "And that proves the quarter berries were involved?"
"As far as I know, blueberries don't leave that many stains and if they did, I would be able to wash them off with water. I admit, those two points alone sound a little flimsy…but together, they become very suspicious!"
Rea chuckles. "And how are you so sure that the stains aren't from blueberries?"
Again, Hanako saves the day. "They don't look like blueberries stains to me, and I've handled plenty of blueberries. Heck, I even picked them today, so I should know this!"
Ekorin cocks her head. "How do you know Shinri ate them?"
"Because I found them on Shinri's dress shirt and tie in the laundry room." I remind her. "When I was looking around there, I noticed one of Shinri's shirts and a golden tie in there. Both of them had these stains. I'm betting Shinri must have eaten something containing them, spilled them on his shirt, ran to his room to change and came back with it to stuff the laundry in the laundry room before returning to the cafeteria. It explains why he was wearing a different tie while on stage than during dinner."
"If the killer used those berries then, their hands would be stained too. Unless they used gloves to pick them and a bag to store them." Mizuki speculates. "The time frame between dinner and Shinri's death is pretty long though…"
"Weren't there treats and drinks handed out after dinner?" Hanako recalls. "Maybe the killer poisoned one of them."
Yuyami frowns. "But that would mean the killer went into the kitchen."
"Regardless of what was poisoned, the killer must have gone into the kitchen to poison it anyways." Toshiya says thoughtfully.
Rea grins. "That means one of the people who were in the kitchen is the killer! Let's mark them off one by one! Ooh, anyone wanna gamble with me this time?"
I ignore what Rea says and everyone's reaction to it as I mentally go over every person that was in the kitchen. However, one name sticks out in particular. That person…it has to be them. There is just too much of a coincidence. There is too much tied to them. That person…must be the killer!
Select someone!