Everyone heads off to Monokuma Rock, descending below with the provided escalator. They all get off from the escalator, walking on to wherever they'll discuss the full murder case.

There's so much heavy tension in the air.

For a moment, Chiaki pauses, raising an eyebrow as she looks back. She could now see why this place is called 'Monokuma Rock'.

Even for some normal person like her, it's easy to see that it's a clear parody of Mt. Rushmore, only instead of four certain historical figures, it's decorated with four Monokuma heads. If it weren't for the dire situation and the one behind that, it would've been a little funny.

'And here I thought that bear's ego couldn't get any bigger.' Chiaki internally remarks to herself with a slight grimace. It's so disgusting and uncomfortable for her to even imagine feeling such a thing.

Just as she thought, that cursed bear is already in front of them, waving a paw at them without a care in the world. "About time you kiddos got here!" He greets, before gesturing a paw towards what's behind him. "Since this is going to be your first ever class trial, I figured I should go all-out in decorating the courtroom, just for this beary special occasion!"

"God, when is he going to shut up about all those stupid bear puns?" Hinata groans, palming over his forehead.

Monokuma didn't seem to hear any of that, and if he did, he didn't react to it either way. He just waddles over, before going on to jump on some kind of grand seat of some sort, like he's the main judge here. Considering what he's been doing up to this point, he does feel like a judge, albeit a very cruel and corrupted one.

Once they've all gathered in, Chiaki squints at the supposed 'courtroom' that Monokuma's so proud of. While it's true she's never seen one in person, she has seen what they look like in some video games, and whatever this bear is presenting to them, it…barely resembles the courtroom she's used to, if at all.

It has the basic setup; there's the grand seat, which feels more like a cheap copy of the judge's usual desk, and then there are the podiums. But other than that, everything else about it feels so wrong. In the podiums' case, instead of having separate ones for different designations, all of them are stacked next to each other in a circle.

"What are you planning with this?" Chiaki comments, glancing around her surroundings a few more times. "For a courtroom, it doesn't look as orderly as the real thing."

"Hmph!" Monokuma simply crosses his arms. "Never thought I'd ever get a critic, much less having my first one be someone like you, of all people. Geez, it's no one understands my artistic vision here at all…" He glumly remarks, moping around in place.

Komaeda hums in thought, rubbing two fingers over his chin. "I think I can see where you're going with this. In making the podiums position each like that in a circle, it makes a lot easier to make the Ultimates turn against each other during the class trial." He glances over at his direction. "Isn't that right, Monokuma?"

Monokuma suddenly brightens up at that, and then he claps his paws together. "Bingo, you've got that right! At least there's someone here who gets exactly what I'm going for. Maybe you and I are more alike than I thought."

"Haha, as if I'll ever associate myself with the likes of you and the despair you bring." Komaeda replies, still using his calm and friendly tone. Though, despite how his expression looks, it's clear that his mood immediately got soured by that.

As everyone steps into the middle of the courtroom, what they all saw next nearly made them stop. In one of those podiums, there's a funeral portrait of Pekoyama. However, there's also an X mark that's been crossed over her face.

Chiaki reels back at the sight of it, completely appalled by how insulting and disrespectful it was. The others have similarly horrified reactions, with some of them screaming or even barely keeping themselves from retching on the spot.

"What in the actual hell is wrong with you?!" Hinata yells.

Alter Ego's face darkens, his body trembling. "Monokuma…I never thought even someone like you would stoop this low."

"How fucking dare you!" Kuzuryu nearly rushes forward to charge at the bear, only held back by Owari grabbing at both of her wrists. She continues to kick and struggle against the other girl, screaming from pure rage at how her late companion is being treated.

"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Monokuma raises both paws up. "I just thought it'd be such a shame if we excluded her from the class trial just because she's dead right now."

"Please don't tell me you'll do the same thing to anyone else who dies after this." Souda comments with a slight shudder.

Monokuma tilts his head to the side. "I mean, that's already a given. But of course, that's assuming you all manage to find out who the blackened is, move past your first trial and all of that junk. Since, you know, I wouldn't need to do any of that anymore if that happens." He then laughs at the end of that.

After that, no one decides to press any further on that topic, no doubt too disturbed by how morbid the whole thing is. No one wants to think about the implications of that any longer than they should. With that said, one by one, they all start getting to their respective podiums.

Right as Tsumiki gets to her podium, she glances at a lone podium that's separate from the others, and instead, it's much closer to where the bear's grand seat is. She timidly raises a hand. "W-Wait, w-why is his podium s-separated from e-everyone else?"

"I mean, he's not exactly a student like the rest of you kiddos, so he doesn't have the same voting privileges as everyone else does in the class trial." Monokuma shrugs. "If anything, he's more like, you know, Big Brother!"

Souda balks. "He's what now?!"

Sonia, on the other hand, hums in thought, before quipping back at him with a bemused, "I never thought I'd see you reference 1984, of all things."

"Well, what can I say? I'm as cultured as a bear can possibly be." Monokuma replies with a teasing giggle, putting a paw at the back of his head like he's flattered by it. He then shakes his head. "But anyways, enough about me. It's about time for your first class trial to start!"

Once everyone finally got into their designated spots, Chiaki can't help but inwardly wince a bit. Even though there's only fifteen of them around here, it all feels so crowded and overwhelming. It isn't helped by the fact that everyone's so tightly close with each other, all because of how that bear positioned their podiums together.

'No, you can't be like that right now. Calm yourself down. Everyone's lives are at stake here.'

Forcing herself to do that just now, she takes a look at the other's states. Most of them are similarly unsure and nervous about the impending class trial as well, but then, there's how Kuzuryu's taking to it right now.

She can see how Kuzuryu is trembling so hard while in her podium, and it's clear to see why she's being like that right now. For some twisted reason, her position is placed right next to where Pekoyama's portrait is. It's no wonder she's reacting like that.

"Alright, let's go over the main rules one more time!" Monokuma clears his throat. "Remember, if the majority of you manages to figure out who the blackened is and correctly vote them out, then only the blackened alone will be punished. But, if you fail to figure out the blackened is, then you will be punished in their place, and the blackened is free to leave this island!"

'Well, here goes nothing.' Chiaki breathes in, steeling for whatever will come next after this.

Now, with that announcement in mind, the class trial officially starts.


"You know what," Kuzuryu begins as she glares at everyone, at least, as best as she can in this state. "I don't give a fuck on how long this shit is going to take, so you better 'fess up right now. I'll gladly beat the answer out of everyone here—"

Right after that, everyone wastes no time talking in. Some are objecting against Kuzuryu's use of violence, while the others are trying to tell their side of the story. But, since every there's so many people talking all at once, nothing comprehensible comes out of any of them. And it doesn't help that Kuzuryu's also shouting back at them.

Chiaki barely resists the urge to cover her ears with both hands. If she still had her hoodie, then she could've at least covered herself with it. But, now that she doesn't, the most she can do is to tough it out for now, even it all feels far too overwhelming for her.

As everyone's white noises begin to blend more and more with each other, she isn't sure how much longer she can take it.

"Wait, wait, wait! One at a time, everyone!" Hinata suddenly shouts while holding his hands up, signaling them to pause for now. "We won't be able to get anywhere while we're like this!"

Thankfully, everyone did just that, and things quieted down a bit. Though, Kuzuryu didn't look happy about that, as she grumbles in her spot.

After that's been settled, Komaeda is the first one to speak up and get it back on track. "If I remember it all correctly, everyone was present during the crime scene, including Alter Ego."

"And everyone else was present during the party too." Nidai points out. "Except for Kuzuryu, Pekoyama, and Alter Ego."

Upon hearing his name get mentioned, Alter Ego shamefully shrinks back on his podium.

"Can we even narrow our suspect down like that?" Mitarai says with a sigh. "That's far too many people to consider."

Hinata gazes down at his podium, the realization dawning upon him. "Oh god…the party I suggested was supposed to keep everyone together and prevent a murder from happening, but all it did was to create the perfect alibi for the killer instead."

"Hey," Chiaki cuts in. "There's no use beating yourself over it. The least we can do now is to find out who's responsible for it and keep everyone else alive as much as possible."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Hinata admits, before facing her with a small smile. "But thanks for it. I really needed that." He then turns his attention back to everyone. "Alright, looks like we'll have to start from the beginning, at least for now."

"Indeed." Tanaka agrees with a nod. "Perhaps we should go over exactly what transpired on that fiery night. Once we piece it all together, certain details may allow us to slowly root out the true murderer hiding among everyone still present."

Kuzuryu stares at him with a really dumbfounded look on her face. "Excuse me, but what the hell are you even saying?"

Tanaka huffs, crossing his arms as he glares back at her. "Hmph, are you so simple-minded with your quest for vengeance, that the rest of your being's cognitive ability has completely ceased to function? I've already explained my proposal rather well."

"Why you—!" Kuzuryu raises a fist.

"In that case," Komaeda begins, interrupting them before a potential fist fight can break out in this courtroom. "Nanami, would you mind recapping what the Monokuma File said about Pekoyama's case?" After saying that, though, he then quickly backtracks that with an awkward, "Ah, but you don't have to do that if you don't feel like it."

"No, it's okay." Chiaki reassures him, before continuing on with that. "Okay, so, according to the Monokuma File, the estimated time of death should be around 11:30 PM. Then her cause of death is from her injuries, as well as carbon monoxide poisoning." She tries not to let herself visibly shudder as she recalls the grisly details about it.

Owari blinks. "Carbon what now?"

"It's from smoke inhalation." Sonia helpfully explains.

Owari gets the simpler explanation. "Ohhh. And that happened because she got stuck inside the cottage while it was burning up."

"Come to think of it, do we even know how her cottage was set on fire in the first place? It'd take too much time if we try to guess exactly which way the killer tried to do that." Koizumi points out.

Souda suggests, "I dunno for sure, but I'm thinking that since it happened during the cabin, maybe the fire got by some kind of power outage at her cottage."

At that moment, Chiaki recalls something she's seen at the crime scene. Something that clearly didn't belong with the rest of the cottage's surrounds. With her arm fully stretched out in front of her and her index finger sticking out, she shouts, "No, you've got that wrong!"

Everyone turns towards her direction. Some look very confused by that, while the others are looking at her with more expectant looks.

As soon as she feels the heavy weight from all of their expectant looks, she quickly realizes what she just did. "Er…I think?" She weakly says with a sheepish smile, before finding herself awkwardly shrinking back in her podium. 'I ended up acting like Mr. Wright without even realizing it, didn't I? Oh boy, I feel so embarrassed now.'

"Oh?" Komaeda raises a brow, and then he smiles. "Do you think you can explain why Souda might be wrong about that, Nanami?"

She almost jumps back after hearing him call her name. "Um…" She swallows, trying not to let everyone's stares get to her.

"Hey, you shouldn't pressure her so much." Koizumi chides, turning to his direction and giving him one heck of a stink eye.

"No…it…it's okay," Chiaki shakes her head. "I did bring that up, so I should explain what I mean by that." She makes herself take a deep breath. By then, she composes herself, thinking of how she'll articulate her words to get her point across, and then proceeds with, "Okay, so, there was some melted plastic near the cottage. It was colored red, though most of it got badly damaged by the fire. It's hard to say for sure, but I'm thinking that it could've been the container of the gasoline the culprit used to set the cottage on fire."

"Wait, hold on," Souda jumps back in that conversation. "So you're saying that someone poured gasoline all over the cottage, and then threw in the plastic containers in too, for extra fuel?"

Sonia looks rather contemplative as she comments, "It's true that the crime scene heavily reeked of gasoline, as well as burnt plastic."

"And how the hell would you know what those things smelled like?" Kuzuryu sarcastically asks.

Sonia simply smiles at that. "Why, from personal experience, of course."

'I don't think it'd be good if I were to ask anything more about that.' Chiaki inwardly winces, all while she tries not to think about the implications of that one. "For now, though, it looks like the cause of the fire has been narrowed down to one possibility, at least."

"It still doesn't say much about who the killer might be, however. Anyone of us could've easily committed arson for this murder, since the base materials for it, like the gasoline and the matchsticks, are readily accessible to everyone here." Sonia sadly points out.

"Yeah, that's true." Chiaki admits. 'If there was a more specific murder weapon, it would've been at least a bit easier to narrow it down.'

"So you're not even going to bother narrowing down who did it, aren't you?" Kuzuryu groans. "God, you're all way more hopeless than I thought. I swear, Peko wouldn't be able to get her justice, and then we're all going to die here because of your stupidity."

"Well excuse us for not being trained professionals in this kind of thing." Koizumi sasses back as she shakes her head.

Komaeda laughs. "I apologize for the fact that our class doesn't have the Ultimate Detective or Ultimate Lawyer to help smoothen everything better. But that's okay, I'm sure everyone can manage to trump out this challenge sooner or later, because we're all united by our hopes to live past this class trial."

"Please shut it. You're not helping us with that trashy hope talk at all." Saionji deadpans towards him.

"Enough, who the hell cares about that!" Kuzuryu slams her fist onto her podium. "I swear, if no one can still get their shit going, I'm getting out of here, and I'll beat the shit out of everyone until someone confesses—"

"Alter Ego was the one who told us about it, didn't he?" Komaeda suddenly brings up, and his usually calm, cheery face has changed into a more serious one. "I didn't think much about it, but now that I think about it, there are far too many red flags about him, and that's including what we know about him so far."

Kuzuryu quickly fixates her glare on the boy. "So it was you, you little bastard?! And here I thought you couldn't sink any lower."

Alter Ego's so shocked by that sudden accusation, his eyes look like they're on the verge of bulging out because of that. "I swear, I had nothing to do with it!" He says, frantically shaking his head at it. "I did tell everyone about it, but that's because I was running some errands. I saw Pekoyama's cottage getting set on fire, and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

"Who's to say your 'errands' isn't just you setting that cottage on fire yourself, and then you ran back to tell everyone and cover yourself up, huh?" Kuzuryu sneers.

"Alter Ego said he was patrolling outside, and then he saw someone's shadow." Chiaki points out, springing up to the boy's defense before she knew it. "I think it's safe to assume whose shadow it was, they might've been the real culprit."

Kuzuryu didn't relent at that, as she continues to glare at them both. "And how do we know he isn't just bullshitting you? He's already lied to us so many times, so there's no difference at all if he's lying to you again right now."

"I can vouch for him. I've seen him run errands and patrols at night, even before all of this happened." Hinata interjects as he stares her down. "That's why I can believe that he wouldn't have done whatever you're accusing him of."

"Hinata…" Alter Ego murmurs, and it's hard to tell whether he looks grateful or flustered.

"Well, if Hinata thinks that Alter Ego's clear, then I'm with him too!" Souda agrees with a determined nod. "He's been a really reliable guy so far, so I'm willing to believe in him."

"Not sure about what's goin' on here either, but sure, I guess I'm in with them too." Owari adds in. "Besides, he looks way too small and scrawny to do somethin' like that anyway."

"It does sound rather reasonable." Sonia concedes as well.

Tanaka scoffs. "If that's what everyone wishes to believe, then I suppose I would consider that for now."

It didn't take long before the others start agreeing with that assessment, and soon, Alter Ego is officially ruled out as the potential culprit.

"Since we're ruling that guy out. Now that I think about it," Saionji suddenly cuts in as she eyes the yakuza with heavy suspicion. "How do we know that you didn't kill Pekoyama yourself?"

"Wait, huh?!" Alter Ego worrying glances from Saionji to Kuzuryu.

Chiaki looks down on her podium, considering that idea for a moment or so. 'Hmm, that could be possible. Though, while I'm not going to rule it out completely, I'd keep that in mind, just in case.'

"Are you seriously bullshitting me right now?" A terrifying smile makes its way on Kuzuryu's face as she says that.

Around the same time, that got the others talking rather quickly.

"We're not even halfway through looking at how the murder happened, and we've got at least two suspects already?"

"W-Wait, isn't that a little too q-quick?"

"That's a rather bold and preposterous claim to make, especially with such little weight to hold it up beyond sheer confidence. Then again, I suppose anything might as well happen at this point."

"Don't you all think it's weird she's been staying at Pekoyama's cottage right when that fire started?" Saionji scoffs. "Just think about it for more than a second. Aside from three people, everyone was at the party. It's impossible for anyone of us to get to that cottage without anyone noticing. Besides, blaming it on a fire would the perfect way to cover up her tracks and prevent anyone from suspecting her at all, don't you think so?"

"I suppose so. It is rather suspicious when you put it that way." Sonia admits. "In fact, this reminds of how some murder cases were often instigated by people who personally knew the victim, often with plans as complicated and convoluted as this one."

"Hold the fuck up, you can't be serious about this. So what if I've been sharing a room with Peko for these past days? We literally grew up together." Kuzuryu slams her fist on the podium. "What kind backward-ass logic are you working on in here? Are you even thinking about what you're saying at all? Why in the actual hell would I go through the extra effort of doing some bullshit murder plan that could've ended up killing me too!?"

"Yeah, I agree with her." Chiaki cuts in. "That doesn't sound right at all. Kuzuryu said she was asleep before the cottage was set on fire, and didn't wake up until after that. Though, she did say she woke up some time before that, since she heard some noises coming from the cottage's door, but then went back to sleep after that."

Kuzuryu stares at her while looking completely slack-jawed, but after a second or so, she recomposes herself. "Finally, someone with enough common sense here." Though, she then grumbles under her breath, "Even if it had to be you, of all people."

"If you don't mind me chiming in, what kind of noises were they?" Hanamura asks with a slight giggle, and of course, there's liquid dripping out of his nose.

Chiaki blankly stares at him. 'Seriously? Now's not the time for that, you know…'

Kuzuryu groans, most likely picking up on the gardener's rising pervy thoughts too. "Nothing like what you're imagining, you freak. All I heard were some kind of scraping noises on the door or something like that. Thought it was weird, but I was sleepy as fuck, and didn't think much of it. Look how well that ended for me." She cracks a pained, bitter chuckle at that.

Saionji stubbornly huffs, still unconvinced by that. "Well that sounds more like a really convenient excuse to me. Do you even have anything to support that besides that? She's a yakuza, remember? She could be lying to your face for all you know."

"I think I'll have to agree with Saionji for this one," Komaeda apologetically backs up. "Kuzuryu's witness account is shaky at best. Unless there's something more concrete that'll clear her up, then we can't just let her off the hook like that."

"I saw there were some really odd stains on the cottage's door and windows." Chiaki blurts out.

Komaeda's interest gets piqued at that. "Oh, stains, you say?"

"Yeah." Chiaki affirms. "And they weren't caused by the fire. They looked smooth, but when I touched them, they were rather rough and hard."

"The hell does that have to do with the case?" Saionji raises a brow.

"The point I'm trying to make is, those stains were definitely used to seal the cottage. Kuzuryu couldn't have been the one to plan it if that was the case. It'd be impossible for either her, or even Pekoyama to seal the cottage up, and then burn it up while they're both still inside."

"Well," Saionji sputters, before firing back at her with, "What's stopping them from lighting it up from the inside? What about that, then?"

"We already established that the gasoline's plastic containers were found outside the cottage," Hinata cuts in. "So that should officially rule Kuzuryu out from that. And honestly, that theory is ridiculous in the first place, but I'm glad we got something to fully discredit that."

"Hmph, you didn't have to rub that in, you jerk." Saionji turns away from him with a huff.

"Now that you're done pointing fingers at me, which is completely stupid already, mind you," Kuzuryu grumbles. "It's about damned time you all get back to finding out who did this."

"Yeah, I guess we should." Mitarai offhandedly replies. "While we're at that, Nanami mentioned seeing stains on the cottage's door and windows, and then suggested the idea of them being used by the killer to seal the cottage up, maybe even before setting it all on fire."

"What kind of stain's strong enough to do somethin' like that anyway?" Owari gripes in. "I couldn't break it down, not even with the old man lending both of his hands in."

"And that's true. I swear, I almost thought I'd break my own hands after that. We don't even know where that might've come from." Nidai remarks.

Chiaki thinks about that, and replies with, "Actually, I think we did see what kind of substance might've been used for those stains. Remember the bucket that we saw back there?"

Souda's eyes widen in realization. "Oh, you mean that bucket that Miss Sonia found?"

"Oh yeah. Now that you're talkin' about it, he said it was heavy, and I knocked on it." Owari then comments, "You sure about that, though? That thing was really hard and dry. I dunno if the killer could still scoop some of it up to stain the door and windows like you said."

Hinata interjects. "Unless if it was a lot softer back when the killer used it, and it only hardened by the time we found it. Helps that the bucket wasn't exactly covered up at all, so of course it's going to dry out."

"Ohhh. Guess that makes more sense, then." Owari accepts that with a slight nod.

"If that's how it works, then I think it's safe to say that the mystery substance in that bucket is actually quick-dry cement." Sonia proposes.

That made Chiaki think some more. 'Quick-dry cement, huh? I do remember seeing it get sold right there, right on the day before the party happened. I thought it was weird back then, but I never thought it'd get used this way. That does explain why not even the combined forces of Owari and Nidai could do much to break the door and windows open. At least, not so easily.'

"How long does it take for it to dry up anyway?" Owari asks.

"At least an hour, more or less." Kuzuryu quickly answers, and then once she sees everyone look at her weirdly, she nonchalantly shrugs. "Don't ask me how the hell I knew that. I'm sure no one here would want to know."

"In that case, the culprit could've gotten the quick-dry cement from Rocketpunch Market." Hinata surmises. "I remember seeing it being sold in there at some point, for some weird reason. So, for now, let's say that quick-dry cement was used to cover up the doors and windows, presumably to keep Pekoyama from escaping once the cottage started burning up."

"That just makes me even more pissed at who did it." Kuzuryu growls, before breathing out. "Looks like the next thing we need to know is where that damned quick-dry cement tool is. And you obviously can't just scoop the quick-dry cement up and then smear it all over the damned place." She huffs at the end of that.

"Ohhh, why not?" Ibuki asks, eyeing her with such a great curiosity.

Kuzuryu blankly stares at her. "Do you really want to know?"

"Hmmmm." Ibuki crosses her arms, likely considering it, before eagerly nodding at her. "Sure! Hit Ibuki with what you've got!"

Kuzuryu palms her forehead. "Alright, fine. To shorten it up as much as possible, cement that starts setting up would burn and constrict anything under it, including humans." After taking a look at almost everyone's horrified reactions, she grumbles. "I can't believe I'm gonna have to say this again, but don't ask me how I knew that, okay?!"

"Ah, since you're talking about tools, there was that trowel that Souda found near the cottage." Chiaki points out. "And Hanamura mentioned that it wasn't the same kind of trowel he'd use in gardening, didn't he?"

"Oh yeah, I do remember that. And I do mean it when I said it wasn't even close to anything I'd use for gardening. That trowel is too hard for a more…delicate handiwork like mine." Hanamura affirms.

"It's got some stains on it too, and they look to be about the same texture as the stains on the cottage and the quick-dry cement in the bucket. Since it was used rather recently and Souda found it near the cottage, the culprit must've not thought much of disposing it. Or maybe they did, but they didn't think anyone would find it." Chiaki adds.

Ibuki scrunches her face in concentration. "They probably didn't have a lot of time to get rid of it to somewhere further away from the crime scene, and if they did bring that trowel with them, then someone could be passing by and BAM! Caught them red-handed right then and there, or in this case, trowel-handed."

"So they don't have much of a choice, but to just leave it right next to the burning cottage. Maybe even hope that the fire would be strong enough to burn it altogether." Komaeda surmises. "That's an interesting way to put it."

"Oh yeah. You think that trowel was sold at Rocketpunch Market too?" Souda asks. "I mean, it'd be hard to use the quick-dry cement without that, so they've gotta be paired together."

Chiaki's face scrunches up in thought. "I haven't looked around much when I saw the quick-dry cement getting sold, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. It'd be really hard to actually use it without the trowel. At least, I think that's how it'd be."

"Yes, that makes sense." Sonia affirms with a thoughtful nod. And then, she adds, "Now that I think about it, since the quick-dry cement took at least an hour to try, does anyone think that the killer might've done that before the attending the party, rather than during or after it?"

"Could be possible. Though of course, that still doesn't really rule out a lot of people." Mitarai admits with a shrug.

"At the very least, we're now getting a somewhat clearer vision of how it all down." Chiaki supposes.

"I agree with that." Hinata affirms with a nod. "I think it's time to recap what we know about this murder case so far. So far, we know how the killer might've set the cottage on fire, as well as how they sealed to cottage to keep Pekoyama from escaping, and the fact that might've done that before attending the party. So now, it's time we discuss what happened during that, and which one of us might've acted off before the lights went out."

"Yeah. It's really weird how the lights went out back at the cabin, right before the murder happened, you know." Souda agrees with a grimace.

"U-Um…" Tsumiki shyly says while raising her hand. "I...I w-was thinking, I did notice that—"

Saionji immediately shoots a nasty glare at her, interrupting her from saying anything more. "Oh shut it, no one cares about your opinion!"

Tsumiki shrinks back, tears falling from her face while she squeals. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Hey." Hinata directs a stern glare at Saionji, and then his face changes to a far softer and kinder look towards Tsumiki. "It's okay, Tsumiki. You can tell us what you saw."

Tsumiki's cheeks redden slightly at that, but other than that, it does seem to help encourage her. "O-Oh, um, o-okay then. I-I…remember b-before the light went o-out, I did h-hear some footsteps n-near the backdoor."

"Did you see who it was?" Hinata presses a bit more.

"N-No." She shakes her head. "T-They w-weren't there a-anymore when I l-looked."

"Well good job right there. If you didn't see anyone anyway, you might as well just shut your trap from the started. Instead of wasting everyone's time here like you're doing right now." Saionji snappily comments.

"Much as I loathe to agree with this insufferable gremlin," Tanaka begins, (conveniently ignoring how Saionji's screaming "Who the hell are you calling a gremlin?!" towards him), "She does raise a valid argument for this case. What's been said is far too vague for any considerable help towards solving this murder."

Mitarai opens his mouth, only to close back, and he concurs."That's fair, actually. We're lacking in any other context beyond what she provided."

That makes poor Tsumiki raise both arms to cover herself as she starts crying and apologizing for it once again. Each apology becomes more and more shameful and filled with more self-depreciation than the last one, and it's honestly getting really painful to see her like that.

'Even if it wasn't much, there's still got to be something there.'

Chiaki then remembers something from her investigation. Although she's a bit unsure of it herself, it wouldn't hurt to bring it up, just in case. "Maybe it was Ibuki, Saionji, and Komaeda whom Tsumiki heard back then?" She points out.

"Ooh yeah, that's true!" Ibuki perks up, raising a hand up as she joins in. "Nagito's stomach started hurting reaaal bad, so Hiyoko and I stepped up to help him. Though, now that Mikan brought it up, I don't think she only heard us." Her face darkens. "Because there was something really fishy going on at the backdoor back then too."

Chiaki glances at her, getting even more confused by that revelation. 'Wait…huh? There was something else that happened back then too? I wonder why she didn't mention that until now.'

Ibuki continues. "It was after we escorted Nagito outta the cabin because his stomach hurt a lot. Ibuki closed the door behind her since she was the last to come out, but then, once the three of us walked out, she heard it open twice!"

"Excuse me, but what in the actual fuck is up with that? What does that even have to do with this case at all?" Kuzuryu comments, not amused by it at all.

"Huh," Komaeda hums in thought. "That's weird. I don't think I've heard anything like that."

"Did you see anyone or anything that might've caused that?" Hinata asks her.

"Hmmm," Ibuki crosses her arms, closing her eyes as her face scrunches up in deep concentration. After a while, she then replies with, "Nope! Didn't see anyone at all, no siree."

Hinata blinks, a look of complete bafflement coming over his face. Hard to blame him for it, considering that this is the second time in a row this happened to him.

"Huh, looks that means you lost your mind back there." Saionji deadpans at her.

Ibuki starts to rapidly shake her head at that accusation. "No, I swear, I really did hear something back there. Just couldn't see what was up with that."

Kuzuryu groans, and rather audibly too. "Good god, thanks for nothing right there. Can we please just get to the part where we out Peko's killer already?" Judging by how impatient and increasingly irritable she's becoming, she might've started pacing around the room if everyone hadn't been assigned to these podiums.

"It could've been put in much nicer words, but she does have a point." Hinata concedes with a sigh.

"Since we were talking about the power back then, I think I've got a good idea." Souda hits his fist over his palm. "Obviously, the killer must've pulled the wires away from the plug, which caused the blackout!"

Komaeda rubs his chin in though. "Hmm, I've checked the wires, and from what I've seen, none of them have been pulled out. Not even after the blackout."

"Wait, seriously?" Souda questions as he squints in disbelief. "What else could cause a blackout of that kind?"

"There are plenty of different ways to do such a thing." Komeada says with a slight laugh. "For example, it could happen because of an electric overload,"

Kuzuryu huffs. "You're acting like that's something you'd consider doing."

"Well, you'll have to admit it's a viable way of doing it." Komaeda replies with a slight chuckle. "In any case, the killer causing the blackout by overloading the appliances is the most plausible way to put it."

Chiaki shakes her head at that. "No, that couldn't have been it."

Komaeda raises a brow. "Oh, how so, Nanami?"

"And why the hell not?" Saionji interrupts as she squints at her."Also, it's really weird that you're always the one bring up new 'evidence'," She emphasizes that point by curling her fingers into air quotes. "And keep getting everyone else to follow your lead."

"Okay, first you've suspected Kuzuryu, and now you're suspecting Nanami?" Hinata palms over his forehead. "Can you please be somewhat reasonable for five minutes, at least?"

Sajonji crosses her arms and scoffs at him. "I never said anything about that one this time, but sure."

Once Chiaki's certain she won't get interrupted again this time, she then continues it off. "I've checked outside the cabin, and I saw that the electrical breaker got tampered with. I think it's safe to say that's probably what caused the blackout."

"Really? It was that simple? Someone just tampered with the electrical breaker outside the cabin and made all the lights go out?" Kuzuryu flatly remarks. "Why the fuck were we debating about how the blackout happened again?"

"It wouldn't hurt to make sure, I think." Chiaki replies with a shrug.

"Now that we've narrowed down the cause of the blackout, the question is," Sonia thoughtfully begins, "Who among everyone at the party was capably sneaky enough to not only cause the blackout, but also murder of Pekoyama later on? And then, after that, shortly come back to this cabin like nothing happened?"

"Your security must've been so ridiculously nonexistent if no one saw anything suspicious before the lights went out." Kuzuryu deadpans with a sarcastic clap.

"I mean, we were all havin' a good time back there. Ya can't exactly blame us for gettin' a little too relaxed about that." Owari says with a slight scowl.

Kuzuryu grits her teeth, her fists clenching and shaking at her side. "Were you all seriously so relaxed, you forgot that we're all trapped on this island, in the middle freaking nowhere, and we're all also forced to kill each other by some psychotic bear?! This isn't just some stupid fucking vacation, you load of dumbasses!"

Hinata winces, looking away from her in shame. "Yeah, sorry about that. In hindsight, there were a lot of things I ended up overlooking."

"You know, come to think of it, it's weird that Komaeda's the last one to come back before the lights went out." Saionji points out, quickly interrupting that conversation's direction, all while she's eyeing him with heavy suspicion.

"Do you have any better contributions other than to meaninglessly accuse everyone within this room until you've run out of fingers to point with?" Tanaka glowers as he crosses his arms. He's already tall, but somehow, his presence ended up feeling a lot bigger because of that.

"Hey, I mean it this time!" Saionji shouts, turning her head to shoot him a big stink eye. "Don't tell me you forgot that Ibuki and I accompanied him when he had a bad stomachache. Speaking of that, it sounds more like a convenient excuse to me right now."

"So you're saying that…" Souda trails off as he stares at Komaeda.

"Oh, so you're saying that I'm the one who did it?" Komaeda's calm demeanor hasn't changed at all, even when he's being accused as the murderer right now. He even lets out a light, maybe slightly nervous chuckle. "I'm honestly surprised by that leap of logic."

"But it's true, isn't it?" Saionji shoots back. "You said that your stomach started hurting, so Ibuki and I decided to help you out, and then you told us that we didn't have to wait for you. Hell, you insisted we go back the party so that we wouldn't 'help someone as pathetic as you'. Isn't that what you said?"

That made Chiaki tense up as she thinks of that possibility. 'Could Komaeda be the culprit, then? No, that couldn't be, can it? He doesn't seem like that kind of person. But then again, we've only known each other for a week at most. It's hard to say for sure, and I can't just blindly believe in everyone, especially at this current situation.'

At that, Chiaki suddenly remembers something, and she springs to the defense. "But if Komaeda did use that as an excuse to sneak, that doesn't explain the open window back there, though."

Saionji glares at her. "And what about that? It's just a window anyway."

"Ooh, yeah, that's true. Komaeda did close the door when he got back in, and it's still closed even when the power got back." Ibuki affirms. "It really is weird now that you've pointed it out."

"Who's to say he didn't jump out of the window?" Koizumi suddenly accuses as she glares at him.

"Actually," Chiaki interjects. "I tried to see if I can exit the cabin through that, but I wasn't able to. I think I only reached around halfway in. And since Komaeda's a lot taller than me, then we can assume he wouldn't have fit in there either." For a moment, it might've been just her, but she wonders if Komaeda had looked at her just now, and with such an adoring look too.

"Then that can only mean one thing. Whoever did that should be someone who's small enough to fit in there with no problems at all, and if that's the case, then that'd considerably narrow down our suspects." Hinata concludes.

Komaeda nods as he adds, "Nanami's one of the shortest people in here, and even she couldn't fit in that window, so that would leave anyone else smaller than her. And we've already ruled out Alter Ego, so that leaves…"

At that revelation, everyone begins to turn their heads, staring down at the two shortest people in their class.

"Probably just me, but Saionji's looking a lot more likely compared to Hanamura." Mitarai murmurs.

"Yeah, there's no way he'd be able to fit in that window," Souda agrees. "And even if he does, he can't jump out of it without anyone noticing."

Hanamura's smile gets strained, like he got slightly offended by that.

As everyone's whispers and accusations continues to pile up, the heavier and more oppressive the atmosphere becomes. Chiaki takes a look at how Saionji's doing right now, and to say that she's starting to buckle under the pressure would be a huge understatement. Her arms are trembling, beads of sweat are dropping from her forehead, and her face is that of pure, seething shock.

And then, finally, Saionji snaps from it all.

"Fine, I admit it! I'm the one who killed Pekoyama. What else was I supposed to do?" She stares Kuzuryu down, even with her much shorter size in mind. "You would've had her kill everyone else if you got the chance, so I had to take her out before that happens!"

"Who the fuck gave you the right to decide that? And you killed Peko in such a cowardly way too." With the way Kuzuryu's glaring at her, the only thing left standing between her and tearing Saionji out would be everyone else still present. "I never had plans to forgive the one who did it, but now that I know it's you, that only makes me want to see you suffer even more."

"You don't scare me at all." Saionji bitterly laughs. "Admit it. You're just pissy as all hell because someone like me," She jabs a thumb at herself. "Of all people, managed to take out the Ultimate Bodyguard you're so proud of! It proves that you're not as invincible as you think you are, and for someone like you, doesn't that hurt a lot?"

Kuzuryu growls. "Count yourself lucky that bear's got to you first, because I swear, I can do so much worse to you. You'd wish you were dead instead!"

As the two blondes continue to argue, Chiaki keeps thinking about that possibility.

'Saionji being the one who murdered Pekoyama makes a lot of sense, and the motive she gave out lines up with it. In fact, it makes too much sense. So then,' She frowns. 'Why does it feel like there's something…off about it? There's something about it that doesn't line up at all. What else is there that's missing, something that'd help make it all line up together?.'

Chiaki tries to vividly picture it, at least, as best as she can at this kind of situation. All the possible evidence everyone's discussed up to this point is pointing towards Saionji as the culprit, and her confession of it only strengthens it.

'If Saionji really was responsible and tampered with the electrical breaker, then why would she climb out of the window after it all blacked out? That doesn't sounds like it makes any sense at all…wait a minute, I think I see it now.' She turns towards her direction. "Saionji, are you trying to cover for the real culprit?"

"W…What the hell are you saying?" Saionji murmurs, taken aback by the sudden change of opinion. She then groans, palming over her forehead. "I literally just told everyone that I did it. Were you even listening at all? Or wait, don't tell me you're suffering from some kind of brain damage right now."

Chiaki tries to not let those insults get to her. She breathes, before replying with, "Honestly, the more you insist you're the culprit, the more I'm starting to doubt that. It just doesn't add up at all, and it gets more suspicious, the more I think about it."

"Now that makes me curious." Sonia interjects. "What makes you think Saionji couldn't have been the one who had done it?"

"The timeline of those two events don't make any sense at all," Chiaki starts off. "Saionji wouldn't have any reason to climb out of the window if she already tampered with the electrical breaker outside before that. So, I think that'd mean the noises that Tsumiki and Ibuki heard back there might actually be the true killer—" She immediately gets interrupted by a loud slam. For a moment, she flinches from that. It was far louder and intense than she expected it to be.

"What the fuck are you even saying right now?!" Kuzuryu roars, glaring at her with the most intense, fiercest fury anyone has ever seen so far.

"Kuzuryu, please calm down." Sonia calls out, trying to intervene before it gets worse.

That didn't work at all, and if anything, that only made Kuzuryu even angrier. "And why should I?! Better yet, why don't you shut the fuck up first and stay out of this. This is between me and her." After making her point, she refocuses. "You're getting on your high horse right now, aren't you? You really think you know everything better than everyone does here, don't you? All because you've been leading everyone to the right answers until now."

Chiaki feels her fingers twitch at that.

Kuzuryu continues. "Actually, why would you even bother wasting your time with this at all? Now that it's come to this, you can't even speak up for yourself, just like last time. I can't believe you're still so spineless, even until now." She darkly chuckles. "Since you might as well shut up right now, it's obvious that little brat confessed already, twice now, actually. We've already covered every piece of evidence, and they all point towards her. Who the hell cares about tiny details like that open window? There's no one else who could've done it!"

"And what's where you've got it wrong!" Chiaki finally shouts back. After seeing that shock Kuzuryu into brief silence, she uses that chance to continue her argument. "Aside from that inconsistent timeline, there is one more thing that proves Saionji couldn't have done it. Think of it this way. You remember how the doors and the windows of the cottage are covered up with cement, right? Do you think that someone of Saionji's height could possibly reach any of that?"

"Well," Kuzuryu pauses for a moment to think of her next argument, and then fires back at her with, "She could've used something to help her reach those! Ladders, chairs, or anything else like that!"

"That's what I've considered too," Chiaki replies. "But there's one more thing that proves Saionji couldn't have been the culprit. The way the cement lined up on them looked way too clean and smooth. It's clear that whoever did it, they must've had some kind of experience with clean, precise, and effective strokes."

"So you're saying that, aside from the inconsistencies between the open window and the noises Tsumiki and Ibuki heard, Saionji couldn't have been responsible because she isn't tall and experienced enough to do that for the murder?" Mitarai asks.

"Yes. That's why I think that it's more likely she's only the accomplice for the real culprit in here." Chiaki nods, before facing everyone on as she finally declares, "And now, I think I've got a good idea on who's really behind this brutal murder."

'That's right. There's only one person here who's not only tall enough to reach those doors and windows, but also someone who's talented enough to keep those strokes as smooth and clean as possible.'

Her mind made up, she points a finger towards the person she suspects the most. "It's you, isn't it, Koizumi?"

"Huh, Koizumi?" Kuzuryu glances over at the accused girl, her anger slowly fading away to a quieter shock and confusion. Though, knowing her, it's only a matter of time before it comes back at full force, especially if that suspicion gets confirmed.

"Ohh, I see now. So that's why I thought I heard the backdoor opening up twice. Looks like I wasn't crazy after all!" Ibuki remarks.

The others have similar reactions, muttering and talking among themselves about the possibility of Koizumi being the true culprit. It sounds so unbelievable for now, but the pieces are picking up on it.

"Hey, wait, stop! I'm the one who did it, so why don't you all stop picking on big sis Mahiru already!" Saionji screams, finally speaking up and breaking through the others' noises.

Koizumi, on the other hand, has gone still. She lowers her head, and soon, her hands start trembling. There's not a lot of noises or any other expressions being shown, and just as it got too worryingly quiet, she then lifts her head. Her face is contorted in pure anger as she shouts, "Excuse me, how dare you accuse me of something as baseless as that!"

Chiaki tries to not let the other girl's sudden hostility get to her. "You're the Ultimate Artist, right? The door and windows are covered up with quick-dry cement to seal the cottage up. If Saionji really was the one who did it, then those strokes should've looked a lot messier, especially if we take her much shorter height in mind."

"Well, that's just circumstantial evidence at best, and you obviously have no idea what you're talking about! What makes you think that my talent suddenly translates into doing something like that? It's too farfetched! There's no other way you can prove I knew anything about it!"

Forcing herself to remain undeterred, Chiaki remembers a detail, before firing back at her with, "Actually, I do have a way to prove that! You came along with Hinata's group during that time. He told me that it was weird the fire extinguishers have gone missing, exactly right when Pekoyama's cottage has been set on fire. And it was thanks to your help, they were able to find them somewhere near the cabin. Isn't that right, Hinata?"

Hinata's eyes widen, everything clicking in his mind. With a completely dismayed look on his face, he turns to face her. "Koizumi, is that why you easily found those fire extinguishers in the cabin's storage while everyone else couldn't find them? You knew what was going on all along, and you joined in our group so that you can sabotage our efforts to save Pekoyama, didn't you?"

"I…" Koizumi sputters, and then angrily shakes her head. "Well, it's not my fault that you aren't as good of a leader as you think you are!"

'Sounds like that's a good enough confession for this.' Chiaki breathes in, raking her mind up on how she's going to explain it all. "Okay, so, since we've got the culprit down, this is how I think it all happened."


"It all started when the culprit decided to single out Pekoyama as their targeted victim. However, they weren't alone with this. They had an accomplice."

"Both of them knew that they wouldn't be able to take down Pekoyama in a direct confrontation, even if they were to outnumber her. In some way, the party that'd happen that evening became a perfect alibi for their murder plan."

"And so, some time before the party officially started, the two of them headed towards Pekoyama's cottage. With the trowel and bucket of quick-dry cement, both of which they've acquired from Rocketpunch Market, the culprit wasted no time coating the door and windows. At the same time, the accomplice stood by as a lookout, all to keep Pekoyama from possibly escaping once they set her cottage on fire."

"While waiting for the cement to dry out, both the culprit and accomplice then went ahead in hiding the fire extinguishers away, taking them out from usual spots and placing them somewhere deep within the cabin's storage instead."

"After that, both of them went ahead to the cabin as promised, acting normally and even participating with the party to keep anyone from getting suspicious of their initiated murder plan. After enough time has passed, that's when Komaeda got a stomachache."

"The accomplice saw that as an opportunity, and so, they decided to begin the next part of their murder plan. Along with Ibuki, they accompanied Komaeda outside for a while."

"Around the same time that's going on, the culprit snuck out through the backdoor, and since almost everyone is still focused on the party, no one noticed them that much. Only Ibuki was able to pick up on the sound of the backdoor opening for the second time, but had no reason to be suspicious of it at the moment. While waiting for their accomplice to return, the culprit kept themself hidden."

"Ibuki is the first one to return, followed by the accomplice, and then lastly, Komaeda. Once they've all come back inside, that's when the culprit tampered with the electrical breaker that's outside the cabin. In doing so, they caused a blackout to happen inside. The accomplice then takes advantage of that and exits the cabin through an open window, with their small size allowing them to do so."

"Once they've successfully left the cabin without anyone suspecting anything at all, both the culprit and their accomplice head back to the cottage to proceed with the more…fatal part of their plan. They then started pouring gasoline all over the cottage, and even throwing the gasoline's plastic containers in to increase its flammability and deadliness. As soon as they thought it was enough, the culprit began lighting it all up, and soon, it didn't take long for everything to get set ablaze."

"Satisfied with how it's going, both the culprit and their accomplice tried to go back to the party and act like nothing happened. Though, while they're heading back to the cabin, Alter Ego happened to be patrolling nearby, and so, he spotted their shadow. He tried to follow them and investigate what's going on, but he wasn't able to directly meet up with either of them. However, in doing so, he was able to see what the culprit and their accomplice had done: setting Pekoyama's cottage on fire in order to murder her."

"Because of that, Alter Ego came back to the cabin, told everyone what happened, and then got everyone to head to the burning cottage as quickly as possible. As soon as that was done, the culprit joined in Hinata's group to keep anyone from suspecting them. While pretending to help, they also made sure to delay the group from finding any fire extinguishers, at least long enough so that by the time they're found, it'd already be too late to save Pekoyama."

"Now, please tell me. This is what you've planned out, didn't you, Koizumi?!"


Koizumi's face darkens. She's gone completely quiet, and her expression has become a lot harder to read. And yet, it's clear that all the remaining fight she had before has left her.

Saionji glances at her direction, looking very worried about her. Even all of the fight within her has been drained away too. "Koizumi?"

"Alrighty everyone. It's time to vote for the blackened!" Monokuma cuts in. "Remember, if you refuse to vote or vote incorrectly, then you're getting punished along with the blackened! So remember to vote wisely! And now, here comes the beary exciting part. Who's it gonna be? Who's it gonna be?! Will you get it right, or will you turn out to be oh-so dreadfully wrong?"

He practically bounces in his spot, pumping himself up like it's some kind of ordinary game show, instead of some twisted game where everyone's lives are put on the line.

Chiaki swallows a gulp, staring at the list of names below her. Even though if everyone got the case down, there's still no way to say for sure until they've all cased their votes.

'Now, here it is. It's either my life, or Koizumi's.'

She closes her eyes, forcing herself to take deep, steady breaths. After she's sure she's calmed herself down enough, she opens her eyes, before finally going along with her vote.

A few more tense moments pass by as everyone else casts their votes too. Some of them are taking a while longer compared to the others, and honestly, it's hard to blame any of them, especially with what's going to happen next.

As soon as everyone's votes, including Saionji and Koizumi's own, was counted in, a slot machine pops up in everyone's view. Instead of just having random symbols on its three screens, it seems like it has everyone's faces.

It then spins around for at least half a minute at most, but for everyone else, it feels so much longer than that. And then, several more spins pass by until it slows down to a halt, finally landing on Koizumi's face in all three screens.

And just like that, confetti starts popping out.

"Ding ding ding! You've all got it right! Mahiru Koizumi is the blackened, and she's the one who's responsible for Peko Pekoyama's grisly and fiery murder!" Monokuma announces, ringing a bell with far too much energy and enthusiasm than anyone should have for this kind of situation. "And would you look at that, it looks like everyone got it right this time around. It's kinda a shame the blackened will have to die alone this time, but oh well. That's just how life is sometimes."

Despite how Monokuma set it up, it didn't feel like they've won at all. Even if everyone else will live for another day, it doesn't change the fact they've still sentenced a classmate to a horrible death.

Kuzuryu's hand curls into a fist as she glares at the killer. "So it was you all along…" Her teeth grit against each other. "I swear, if things have gone differently, I would gladly kill you myself for what you've done to Peko—!"

"But," Monokuma suddenly interrupts. "Before we get to the main event, let's have a little special opening for that."

"W-What are you planning this time?" Alter Ego fearfully asks.

Monokuma chuckles. "Just a little parting gift for our dear blackened, of course!" He gestures his paw at the screen above. "Now let's see exactly what happened in her motive video!"

The screen lights up, and from there, a video starts playing. At first, it shows some kind of building of some sort, possibly even a dorm, but other than that, it's hard to tell exactly where it was. After that, it cuts to a room.

The room looks rather normal for the most part, but at the same time, there's a girl inside, directly facing at the screen. She didn't look like someone anyone could recognize, but it's clear that she's very terrified of who, or what, was in front of her.

"No, please, don't…" She begs, making herself look smaller and more vulnerable.

"There are no excuses for what you've done to him. You should've known better than to come between the Kuzuryu clan." Though it wasn't shown on-screen, it's clear that voice belonged to Pekoyama.

"Please, I didn't mean to do it…I swear!" The girl continues to plead. Tears begin to well up at the corner of her eyes as she uncontrollably trembles from fear.

"It doesn't matter," Pekoyama coldly replies. "What's done is done, and there's only one way for you to repay your sin."

After that, the girl tenses up, putting her arms above her head. Her haunting screams echo in the courtroom, exactly just right as the screen cuts to black.

Everything goes quiet for a good moment or, before everyone begins to mutter and talk among themselves, reeling from the complete shock of it all.

"Who was that?"

"What was Pekoyama doing there, and what exactly is she talking about?"

"Didn't Koizumi said that her motive video had her old man in it? Why is there a girl in there instead?"

"That was Sato," Koizumi suddenly speaks up; her tone no longer sounds angry or defensive, compared to how she was before. As soon as everyone stares at her, she swallows, before continuing on with, "She was the only other friend I've ever had. There's a big gap in our memories, and after seeing that video, I couldn't just sit there. I knew I had to do something to find out what happened to her."

"Koizumi…you lied about your motive video back then, didn't you?" Hinata murmurs in complete disbelief. "Why? Why would you do that?" His hands begin to tremble on top of his podium.

Koizumi shamefully looks away from him, biting her lip.

Chiaki thinks it through, and once the pieces came to her, it takes everything within her to not fall back from shock. "You were planning to go after Pekoyama from the start, weren't you? If you've told everyone what your motive video was like, then you…" She trails off. She couldn't even finish the thought of that, feeling too horrified and sickened by it.

"It was either her, or anyone else in here. If I had to pick a victim, I knew it had to be her," Koizumi shakes her head. "And I couldn't bring myself to drag anyone else into it, not when I know they're all innocent. I knew it wouldn't be right at all."

"Well, great job doing that, then!" Kuzuryu shouts. "If you'd succeeded in getting away with that, what then? Everyone else would've gotten dragged in and then get killed anyway because of you, and that includes your own damned accomplice."

"Yes, you're right." Koizumi's voice is shaken as she says, "I know I don't exactly have the right to say this anymore, but, please…" She lifts her head, staring at everyone with so much heaviness in her eyes. "Please don't blame Hiyoko for any of it. It was all my idea—"

"Bitch. Fucking. Please!" Kuzuryu growls, slamming a hand on her podium to stop her from saying anything more than that. "So what if she didn't actually kill Peko like you did? She still willingly helped you in doing that anyway, so I don't see why I shouldn't treat her any differently."

Tanaka huffs, crossing his arms. "As much as I loathe to admit it, she does raise a valid point. Her complete willingness to assist the murderer take someone else's life, while knowing exactly what she's getting into, makes her just as loathsome as the true murderer."

Monokuma claps his paws together, urging everyone to quiet down. "Alright, as interesting as it is to hear you all mull about morality and other kinds of mumbo jumbo, that's enough chit-chat for everyone right there. Now let's get going to THE main event that everyone's been waiting for. IIIIITTTTT'SSSSS PUNISHMENT TIME!" He gleefully proclaims, raising his gavel in preparation for his official sentence.

Koizumi suddenly snaps back to the reality of her situation. "No, wait, please! I don't want to die!" She pleads, her tone sounding so broken and desperate. Her hands grip even tighter on the podium, as if she'll get whisked away to her death if she ever lets go.

Monokuma pauses for a moment, only for him to throw his head back and laugh at her distress even more. "Well, that's too bad! Maybe you should've thought of that before murdering someone, huh. Ever heard of equivalent exchange? This is just like that." He dismissively shakes his head. "You murder someone, you get caught, and you get executed for it!"

To further emphasize the finality of his sentence, he strikes his gavel down on to the red button.

Once that was done, high-pitched, beeping 8-bit noises fill the room as the screen brightens once again. On it, it shows a pixel sprite animation of some sort. To be more exact, it depicts Koizumi getting dragged away by Monokuma, presumably off to her punishment.

While the animation's playing, these words are displayed right with it too,

GAME OVER

Mahiru was found guilty. Time for punishment!

Shortly after that, a chain suddenly comes in, and without any warning, it starts to tightly clasp around Koizumi's neck.

Chiaki feels her spine run cold at that sight. And yet, even if she knew what was coming, she couldn't bring herself to look away.

Just like how it played out on the screen, Koizumi gets cruelly yanked away from her spot on the podium. She chokes out, eyes widening from the force as she futilely claws at the metal collar. But, no matter how she tries to tug and pull at it, it wouldn't open up. It's so useless.

As soon as she's been dragged off in the middle of somewhere, where everyone still alive would witness her ongoing execution, bold letters begin to flash onto the screen.

The Inverted Portrait of Galatea

The chain around her neck unclasps, and so, she gets unceremoniously dropped inside a glass container of some sort. The glass container is rather tall, but also so tightly cramped in its space too.

Beads of sweat drop down from Koizumi's forehead as she tries to navigate her cramped surroundings , at least, as best as she could at this state. She lifts her head up, her eyes widening as she sees something slowly pouring down some kind of mixture onto her.

Panicking and out of options, she begins banging her hands against the glass, in the slim chance it'd break or even topple over somehow. But, no matter how much she tries, the glass wouldn't budge, or even crack a bit.

Koizumi glances down, gasping and choking out at what she saw. The mixture has already hardened at her ankles. She tries to tug and pull at her legs, but no matter how hard she tried, they remained stuck. And soon, her knees are covered up by the quick-drying cement.

Fearful tears fall from the corners of her eyes as she continues to struggle somehow, even as the concrete mixture slowly overtakes her above the waist. Her left arm has been submerged into the mixture at that point, leaving only her right arm and head untouched for now.

The mixture creeps closer to her neck. As her face is slowly submerged into the concrete, her mouth opens for a scream, but all she manages to do is to gasp for the last time.

The only thing that can be seen is her hand, still futilely reaching out for the freedom she'll never be granted. Her index finger keeps on twitching, only for it to get overtaken by the concrete too. And with that, there's not a single trace left of Koizumi anymore. Her entire being is all but completely submerged in the concrete mixture.

Not even a second after that, Monokuma suddenly jumps into view, carrying a hammer and a pickaxe in each paw, respectively.

The bear proceeds to go on and jump on top of the solid block. He raises both the hammer and the pickaxe above his head, and then strikes them both down onto the block below him.

A tiny crack forms on the block.

Monokuma tilts his head to the side as he seemingly eyes that tiny crack. He doesn't say anything, or even react that much aside from that. And then, he goes ahead and raises both tools above his head, before striking them down on the block once again.

Several more cracks appear on the solid concrete block. A few pieces of it even begin to crumble and fall onto the ground below.

Monokuma raises both tools over his head once more, and then strikes them down on the steadily cracking block for the last time. The sheer force from that last blow is so great, he jumps for a couple of inches above before landing back. It's clear to that it's far more intense than the previous attempts.

This time, several more pieces of the block fall off, before finally, a good chunk of it begins to crumble more and more, until a more irregular shape is left behind. It's no longer a perfect rectangular block, but it isn't something that has even slight traces of human remains either.

After pulling several tools, including a dust pan, a chisel, and yet another hammer, Monokuma wastes no time, rapidly working to dust and scrape the solidified block.

The bear works so inhumanly quick, dust and debris begins to pile up and cover him, the block, and their surroundings, effectively obscuring his current work from everyone else's view.

A couple of tense silence passes by, and soon, the dust and debris completely clears up. And from there, everyone can see exactly what's been done to the body of poor Koizumi.

From the looks of it, it's been perfectly encased in the concrete mixture, to the point it's almost as if she was a statue the whole time. Her petrified hand is still futilely reaching up for escape, possibly for eternity. And her lifeless face…it's forever stuck in a frozen scream.

Monokuma wipes a sweat off his forehead. He looks up at the statue, putting a paw under his chin like he's contemplating something, before pulling something out from his back. It's a blue ribbon of some sort, and then just like that, he carelessly slaps it right on Koizumi's chest.

It's clearly a mock awarding of some sort.

With that done with, he breathes out a contented sigh, all while looking so proud of his twisted handiwork. It's like he's completely oblivious to everyone else's horrified reactions at what just happened to a classmate.

It's so sickening.


A/N: It's been at least more than a month, so I heavily apologize for taking that long to get here. I didn't expect this part to get as long as it did (and I'll admit certain irl events were kinda stressful), also holy heck, this was at least twice as long as the longest chapter I wrote back at Farewell to Thee, Normality. It's a new record haha. Though, thankfully, I'm getting it all back on track. Now that I'm getting the hang of this class trials, the next ones shouldn't be as tough to put out, hopefully.

Also, while I did say that I wouldn't include gameplay elements in here, I do think that if this fic was an actual game, then that Hangman's Gambit/Logic Dive segment would definitely be a Galaga-inspired minigame, except instead of shooting aliens, you shoot the words. Speaking of that, to those who are curious about the potential truth bullets that might've been used here, I did write them down to make the whole class process a bit easier for me to format and write down. Though, it doesn't exactly line up with how the game works, so yeah, apologies for that haha.

1. Monokuma File

2. Melted Plastic Container

3. Alter Ego's Account

4. Natsumi's Account

5. Odd Stains on Door and Windows

6. Bucket of Dried Substance

7. The Trowel

8. Ibuki's Account

9. Outdoor Electrical Breaker

10. The Open Window

Minigame - TIMELINE

11. Clean and Smooth Strokes

12. Missing Fire Extinguishers