This went better than Ch 4!
Sorry for the slightly awkward trial shift. It's because I was uncomfortable with writing a class trial, and wanted a mix of tenses to ease myself into it.
Hopefully the script format isn't too jarring.
Everyone was waiting for them.
"What the fuck took you so long?" Iruma complained.
"Don't be a rude bitch." Kokichi countered.
Iruma froze up and blushed, but more importantly, stopped talking.
"I hope that you and Momota-kun have been successful in your investigation." Korekiyo said.
"Gonta hopes you can find Saihara-kun's killer." Gonta said.
"It should be easy. Nishishi." Kokichi boasted. "Momota-chan and I make a killer team!"
Kaito rolled his eyes.
"Well, you're both degenerate males…but you'd better do a good job!" Tenko drawled, pointing at them.
"Who says that I'm going to do all the work? With Saihara-chan gone, you guys need to pick up the slack and actually contribute." Kokichi said.
"Can we please just go to the trial grounds?" Maki snapped.
There was a loud rumbling noise and the ground started to shake.
The gaudy Monokuma statue smashed the chalice it'd been holding and pointed at them, before crossing its arms and descending into the water, revealing the entrance to the elevator that would take them to the trial grounds.
Kokichi touched his right pocket and felt his Monopad through the fabric.
As sickening as it was, the device was a reassuring presence. During the investigation, he had made a quick overview of all the evidence he and Kaito had gathered.
It was an idea he'd adopted from Shuichi. In the first class trial, The Ultimate Detective had written copious notes on Rantaro's murder. It had helped him out Kaede as the culprit.
And now, Kokichi was using that same tactic to solve Shuichi's murder.
He needed his notes.
The identity of the Blackened wasn't as clear-cut as he thought it would be.
"Let's do our best everyone!" Kiibo cheered, trying to rally them.
"We can only move forward, not backwards." Kirumi agreed.
"For Shuichi." Kaito said quietly.
Everyone nodded.
Kokichi didn't say anything and just strolled into the elevator.
The others shuffled in after him.
Kokichi stole a quick look at Kaito.
The Ultimate Astronaut was oblivious. He was looking straight ahead with a determined glint in his eyes.
Kokichi looked away and sighed.
I'm going to have to rely on him more than I planned to, aren't I? He realised bitterly.
"Hey Kokichi!" Someone yelled excitedly. The suddenness of it made him jump a little.
It was Angie. Himiko was with her.
Kokichi frowned at them.
"What do you want?" He said.
"I have been communing with Atua. He says that all will be well." Angie declared.
"Nyeh. Yonaga has been comforting me. She told me to smile more. "Himiko said, smiling lowly to illustrate her point. It was slightly brighter than her usual lazy pout.
"I've been telling Himiko about life back on my island, and how safe it is. Everyone always has their door open, and no one breaks in. Some people even sleep with their door wide open." Angie said warmly, clasping her hands.
"I've also told her that she needs to be more open. Atua wants her to learn how to express herself." Angie added, grinning at Himiko.
Himiko stared at with clear adoration, and nodded gently.
"That's very interesting Yonaga-chan, but we have a class trial to get through." Kokichi said with thinly veiled contempt.
He found Angie and her cult mania disturbing.
Angie just nodded excitedly and walked away with Himiko.
Kokichi shook his head and tried to forget about her.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened.
Monokuma and the kubs were waiting for them in the trial room.
The black and white bar welcomed them with a lazy wave and grinned maliciously at them.
"I hope you're ready for this class trial. It's gonna be tough without the Ultimate Detective doing everything for you." He jeered.
"Don't worry, you'll catch the Blackened. Then they can be brutally punished." Monophanie tried consoling them, failing miserably with her overtly violent sentiments.
"You have a 70% chance of success." Monosuke lied, adjusting his glasses.
"I'm still torn up over Saihara-kun! He was my favourite." Monotaro whined.
Monodam, thankfully, stayed silent.
"We'll avenge Shuichi and we'll beat your killing game." Kaito vowed.
"Hope will prevail." Kiibo concurred.
"Y-yeah, we won't let the blackened get away." Tsumugi said.
As most of his classmates voiced their unanimous agreement, Kokichi resisted the urge to face palm.
They were so pathetic. They were playing right into the Mastermind's hands.
"Ohh, this'll be an exciting trial. I can't wait to witness your despair." Monokuma cheered.
The audience will enjoy this. Kokichi thought darkly.
"Let's just get this over with." Ryoma said tiredly.
He strode ahead and stood behind his podium.
Kaito and Kokichi quickly joined him, as did Kirumi, Kiibo, Tsumugi, Korekiyo, Maki, Angie, and Himiko.
The others briefly hesitated, before finally taking their places.
Kokichi got out his Monopad and put it on his podium. He wanted to have a clear view of his notes at all times.
Before the trial started, he quickly went through them:
Truth Bullet list[1]
1. Monokuma File 2: The victim is the Ultimate Detecive, Shuichi Saihara. The victim's body was discovered in the Ultimate Magician's Lab. The cause of death was blood loss. He was stabbed in the chest. The victim also suffered extensive bruising, several shallow stab wounds, and cuts along his arms.
2. Black cloth: A small strip of black cloth found in the water tank with Shuichi's body. It's from someone's clothing. Not Shuichi's.
3. Handcuffs: A pair pristine handcuffs found in the water tank with Shuichi's body. They are from Ryoma's lab.
4. Blunt sword: A sword found in the water tank with Shuichi's body. It's from the Iron Maiden in Himiko's lab.
5. Iron Maiden: It's missing a sword. Most of the blades are retractable and stuck in place aside from the one Shuichi grabbed.
6. Bloodstains on the floor of Himiko's lab: Dried bloodstains found on the carpet. They are evenly spread around the middle part of the room.
7. Bloodstains in the gym: Several small drops of dry blood that were found backstage. They were so faint that only Kiibo could see them. They contain several light brown coarse hairs and some black fibres.
8. Bloodstains in the pool: Streaks of blood found near the door of the pool. Darker and larger than the blood drops in the gym. Has most fibres and strange hairs.
9. Rope next to the pool: Found under the window leading to the gym. It had been carelessly tossed out by someone.
10. Blood in the Ultimate Tennis Pro's lab: Found on the floor under the net. Only a few streaks. Almost as faded as the ones in the gym. Also contains hairs and fibres.
11. Tennis net: It was re-tied. The knots aren't Ryoma's
12. Angie's account: After the magic show, Kokichi left the room first, followed by Kaito and then Kirumi. The other stayed in the gym except for Tenko, Himiko, and herself. They went to clear Himiko's lab. Himiko noticed that the curtain was drawn and opened it, leading to the discovery of Shuichi's body.
13. Gonta's account: The night before, he forced Shuichi and several others to stay in his lab for several hours. He was tricked by Kokichi. Himiko and Angie were brought in at 8:55p.m. Kokichi left the lab at 9 p.m. Shuichi and the others were forced to participate in the "Insect Meet and Greet" until after 11 p.m. Then they left. It was 11:45p.m. when Gonta took Kokichi to the dorms. He saw Miu running around in her underwear.
14. Maki's account: Maki was in her lab alone until 00:50p.m., then she went to bed. She spoke to Ryoma sometime past 11p.m. That was her only contact with another person.
15. Miu's account: She saw Shuichi enter the dorms with the other Meet and Greet victims, then Gonta and Kokichi, then Kaito, and finally Ryoma. She went to bed afterwards, at 12:05p.m. She didn't see Maki or Kirumi enter the dorms.
16. Kirumi's Account: She was in the gym from 8-10pm. After leaving, she encountered Kokichi at 9 p.m. He stayed with her until 10 p.m. Then she wandered around the school for a few hours. Sometime after 11p.m., she saw Ryoma approach Maki's lab.
17. Swapped motives: Ryoma and Maki swapped motive videos the next morning, just before breakfast.
18. Tenko's account: She was with Angie and Himiko all morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Before the magic show, she and Himiko checked the latter's lab. Tenko was sure that the curtain was drawn back.
Kokichi looked up from his Monopad and took a deep breath, steeling himself for the Class Trial.
He caught Kaito's eye.
The astronaut blinked, then smiled lightly and nodded at him.
Kaito was putting his unfaltering faith in him; to catch Shuichi's murderer and save them all.
Kokichi bowed his head, hiding his face from the taller teen.
He could feel the pressure and he hated it.
He didn't see Kaito send him a worried frown.
There was a sudden shift in the trial staging.
Kokichi looked up and did his best to appear nonchalant.
The portraits of the dead students had appeared.
Shuichi's portrait was next to Kaito.
The astronaut, who had been smiling mere moments before, was now fighting back tears.
Kokichi took a deep breath and plastered on a goofy smile, putting his façade back up.
He nodded excitedly at Kaito, who frowned back.
Kokichi let his smile grow, doing his best to get Kaito out of his funk.
Kaito was taken aback, then he sighed and stopped crying, giving him a determined nod.
It was show time.
[CLASS TRIAL START]
Monokuma: [clearing throat] "I'll begin with a basic explanation of the class trial in case any of you dunderheads have forgotten it. In this trial, you will present your arguments for who murdered Saihara, and at the end you'll vote for "whodunnit". Vote correctly, and the blackened will be punished, but get it wrong…and I'll punish everyone besides the blackened. They will get to graduate and leave this academy. [He laughs wildly] Also, refusing to vote will result in your death. So, you'd better vote for someone at the end of the trial! Now, start arguing!
[Everyone is silent for a few moments]
Kokichi: [sneering] Well, if all of you are too chicken, then I'll start…I killed Saihara-chan!
[He smiles demonically at everyone]
Kaito: [exasperated expression] Ouma, quit it. No one believes you.
Miu: [She pulls herself together.] Yeah, shut up you little shit. Quit wasting our time.
[She glares and points at Tenko, Angie, and Himiko in that order]
Miu: It was one of those three bitches! They were all alone in the school this morning. Anyone of em' could've killed Shuichi-poo and dumped his body in that tank.
Tenko: [arms in the air] N-no. We were together all morning.
Miu [She narrows her eyes at Tenko] Prove it!
[Kokichi sighs quietly and looks at his notes.
Iruma-chan is such an idiot. He thinks.]
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT]
Miu: Just admit it. All three of you had plenty of time to murder Saihara.
Angie: Miu, we all have alibis. We all went to the gym to finish preparations for Himiko's magic show.
Miu: Bull-fucking-shit! One of you musta snuck off before the show, lured Saihara to Himiko's lab, and stabbed him.
Korekiyo: Iruma-san, you're side-tracking us.
Miu: No, I'm not! There's no proof that Saihara was murdered last night.
Kokichi: Wrong as usual Iruma-chan. It's pretty obvious that Saihara-chan was murdered last night. I can prove it.
[BREAK]
Miu: Well, where's your proof?
Kokichi [smug expression] The bloodstains on the floor of Himiko's lab. They had long since dried out. If Saihara-chan had been stabbed this morning, they would've at least been damp.
Miu: [flustered expression] I…uh…well, I uh…didn't know that.
Kokichi: Of course, you didn't, because you're a dumb cow with small boobs.
[Miu falls to her knees and blushes profusely]
Kiibo: [He bites his lip] Thank you for refuting Iruma-san's point. If Saihara-kun was murdered last night, then aren't we all suspicious?
Kaito: Yeah. None of us have a solid alibi.
[He takes a deep breath and looks at the others.]
Kaito: Anyone of you could've murdered Shuichi. The Insect Meet and Greet really messed things up.
Gonta: [quietly] Gonta sorry for that.
Tsumugi: [She smiles at him.] You don't need to apologise Gonta. You fell for Kokichi's lies. It's not your fault.
Kokichi: [He grins and puts his arms behind his head.] Y'know…I don't regret it! It was so much fun! Well, except for the part where I was covered in bugs.
Gonta: [defensive expression] Gonta not like bugs being used for tricks.
Kaito: We're getting side-tracked again. About the insect meet and greet…it proves that Shuichi died after eleven. So, how are gonna sus out people's alibis?
Angie: [calmly] Atua tells me that everyone is focusing on the wrong thing. We need to focus on the immediate evidence, not people's alibis.
Tenko: All right then. So, where should we start?
Korekiyo: [darkly] One moment, how can we even be sure that there is a Blackened? Monokuma could be tricking us.
Monokuma: …
Kubs: …
Kaito [confused expression] W-what? Shuichi would never kill himself. Never!
[Kaito hits his podium and raises a threatening fist towards Korekiyo.
His eyes are full of anger.]
Korekiyo: Kukuku. Saihara-kun was quite heartbroken over Akamatsu-san's death. Maybe he just gave up on life? For all we know, he could've stabbed himself in the stomach and then fallen into that tank.
Kaito: [getting angrier] No fucking way! Take that back!
[Kokichi glares jovially at Korekiyo, pretending to be unfazed by his theory.
However, inside he is seething.
He agrees with Kaito.]
Korekiyo: If you're just going to yell at me, I have no desire to speak with you. If you want to disprove my point, then debate me.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT]
Korekiyo: As I said, Monokuma could be manipulating us.
Kaito: No way! S-shuichi would never kill himself.
Korekiyo: Now you're just repeating yourself. Saihara-kun was stabbed in the chest and bled out. He could've easily done it to himself.
Kirumi: Do you have any definitive proof that he committed suicide?
Korekiyo: He only suffered one stab wound?
Kirumi: And a host of other injuries?
Korekiyo: None of them disprove my theory.
Kokichi: They do.
[BREAK]
Kokichi: Saihara-chan's additional injuries are outlined in the Monokuma file 2; "The victim also suffered extensive bruising, several shallow stab wounds, and cuts along his arms."
[Kokichi pauses.]
Kokichi: [He grins.] Sooooooooooo unless Saihara-chan somehow beat himself up, I don't see how he got those obvious defensive wounds.
Monokuma: It was sooooooooo obvious. I even put it in the file for a reason.
Korekiyo: [frowning in embarrassment] Ah. Thank you for informing me.
Kaito: Ya see? No fuckin' way Shuichi killed himself.
[Kaito smiles gratefully at Kokichi.]
[Kokichi rolls his eyes and looks away]
Kirumi: Can we please focus on the evidence now?
Tenko: Well, Saihara-san was stabbed. Do we know what he was stabbed with?
Tsumugi: A knife?
Kaito: Uhhh, that's also kinda obvious…
[PRESENT EVIDENCE]
Kokichi: [mockingly] Yeah, it's obvious as fuck that Saihara-chan was stabbed with the blunt sword that was found in the tank with his body.
Tsumugi: Oh, right. Where is it from?
[PRESENT EVIDENCE]
Kokichi: It was from Yumeno-chan's lab. She has an Iron Maiden with a number of swords stuck in it. However, the sword Saihara-chan was stabbed with was the only real blade. The others are phonies.
Himiko: [She pouts] They're all magic. Real magic.
Tenko: We know Himiko. We're talking about the one that is more magic than the others.
Kokichi: [dismissively] Whatever.
Kaito: So, what's next?
Kiibo: Is there anything that could indicate the sequence of events in the lab? We know that Saihara-kun was attacked…but we don't know how the fight actually started.
Maki: Was Saihara attacked first? Or did he act in self-defence?
Miu: [frustrated expression] Why would Saihara attack first? He was the one that was murdered!
Kokichi: Actually, I can prove that Saihara-chan attacked first.
[QUESTION-What shows that Shuichi attacked first?]
Kokichi: [serious expression] There's a long cut on the palm of Saihara-chan's right hand. It can't be explained away as a defensive wound. It fits the general shape of the sword. This proves that he grabbed it from the Iron Maiden. He must've fumbled with it and yanked it out.
Kaito: [He frowns.] I forgot about that. Shuichi must've acted in self-defence.
Tsumugi: [Hesitating] W-why would he do that? Saihara-san wasn't aggressive.
Kirumi: He must've seen something and panicked. Perhaps it was something that his attacker brought?
Tenko: But there were no other weapons in the lab…
Kirumi: His attacker must've brought it from outside the lab.
Korekiyo: What could he have possibly panicked about?
Kokichi: [annoyed expression] Why don't we just put our ideas forward? Y'know brainstorm.
Kaito: [relieved expression] Yeah. We'll find the truth together!
Gonta: Gonta likes this idea!
Miu: Wow! Ouma actually made a good suggestion.
Korekiyo: Kukuku. We wouldn't have made any progress without him.
[Kokichi realises that he had slipped up a bit.]
Kokichi [laughing jovially] well, what else am I supposed to do? You guys are so useless…I don't care about any of you. I just want to avenge my beloved Saihara-chan. [He starts sniffling] I-I forgot to tell him…but I was in LOVE with him.
[Kokichi bursts into tears]
[Everyone stares at him in apprehension.]
Miu: We don't give a shit that you wanted to bone Saihara.
[Kokichi stops crying and glares at her]
[Before he can insult her, Kaito cuts in]
Kaito: [encouragingly] Let's just do our brainstorming. I'm sure we can find an answer if we all work together.
Kiibo: That's the right attitude Momota-kun. Where should we begin?
Angie: [cheerfully] Let's just throw ideas out and see what sticks!
[NONSTOP DEBATE-MAKE AN AGREEMENT]
Tsumugi: I'm wracking my brains, but I can't come up with anything.
Kaito: Same here. I have no idea.
Tenko: What if Saihara-san was attacked with another blade?
Gonta: That not sound right. He had bruises. What if it was a blunt weapon?
Angie: Either of those could be good!
Tenko: Yonaga! Don't be so excited.
Kirumi: What if it wasn't another weapon? What if Saihara-kun's attacker wanted to restrain him?
Kokichi: Tojo-chan has it!
[Break]
Kokichi: Her theory explains the handcuffs we found with Saihara's body!
Kaito: [disbelievingly] Shuichi's attacker tried to restrain him? Why? Didn't they kill him in Himiko's lab for a reason?
Kokichi [insultingly] Momota-chan, don't be an idiot and don't get too far ahead of the curve. Let's just keep following the evidence.
[Kaito glares softly at him, then nods.]
Tenko: But if Saihara-san was threatened with the handcuffs, how did his attacker end up stabbing him?
Kirumi: [she puts her hand to her chin] We know the sword was used to stab him, and that he was the person who originally got it out of the Iron Maiden. So, somehow, his attacker took it from him.
Korekiyo: We also know that they fought in Himiko's lab. It explains the blood on the floor.
Angie: [puzzled expression] Didn't we find blood all over the school?
Kaito: Yes, but let's just focus on the blood in Himiko's lab. The answer must be there.
[QUESTION- How did Shuichi's attacker take the sword from him?]
Kokichi: I have the answer, but I'll explain it in detail just so that you idiots can keep up. Firstly, Saihara-chan attacked his attacker with the sword, to fend them off and try to get away. His attacker must've blocked the blade somehow, and dropped the handcuffs in the scuffle. There was a dent in a table in Yumeno-chans lab. It'd been hidden under a table cloth.
[He pauses for emphasis.]
Kokichi: His attacker must've grabbed the table and used it as a shield to block Saihara-chan's opening attack, then grabbed the blade from him and stabbed hm with it.
Kaito: Hold on, what about the handcuffs?
Kokichi: [irritated expression] what about them?
Kaito: Where did they come from?
[Kokichi blinks. He had forgotten about that minor detail.]
Kirumi: They came from Hoshi-san's lab. There are several pairs in the bathroom.
[She frowns steadily at the Ultimate Tennis Pro.]
Ryoma [He laughs dryly] What? Now I'm under suspicion.
[1] See this as a real truth bullet list, not exclusively Kokichi's own notes.
Howzat?
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