Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Danganronpa series. I only own Hikari Seishin and her family. I also do not own any video games I mention in this fanfic.

Note: I try to make the story as canon as I can with obvious creative liberties. Please let me know if any of the original cast is OOC and I will do my best to fix it. I tried really hard in this chapter to keep our Yakuza in character as well as his sister.

Chapter Fourteen

The Arcade Game's Mystery

Fuyuhiko was at a loss. He was standing in front of Hikari, yet her facial features reminded him of his younger sister. What is this…? Is she really fuckin' with me? he thought to himself as the girl scrunched up her face, lifting the glasses so that they rested on the top of her head.

"Geez…this chick is as blind as a bat…" she complained, rubbing her eyes. The Yakuza watched her cautiously, his eyes narrowed. The ever-blushing girl blinked at him and grinned. "Hiya, Onii-san! It's been a while…" She skipped towards Fuyuhiko only to have him step back warily. She frowned at his behavior before looking shocked. "AHHH! I'm actually shorter than you in this body!? That's no fair!" She wailed, her hands to her cheeks, looking aghast at her temporary appearance. Fuyuhiko couldn't help but sweatdrop at the antics before him.

"Seishin," he warned harshly, glaring at the petite girl, "that's enough of this bullshit of a ruse. You are not my sister, bitch."

The grayish-olive eyed girl smiled knowingly. "You need me to prove that I'm your adorable little sister, Natsumi-chan? Challenge accepted, idiot brother." She tilted her head back slightly, a finger to her chin. "Hmmm…let's see. You're lactose intolerant which is why you hate milk and why you're so short, you love sweet things, especially Karinto… Oh! And you have this super-duper crush on Pe-" Fuyuhiko covered the girl's mouth, interrupting her list of things he didn't want the public knowing, his face a deep red.

There's no denying it…this is definitely Natsumi. But I thought Seishin couldn't use her talent… he thought to himself as the possessed girl kept rattling off embarrassing things only the siblings would know, her voice muffled from his hand. Seeing that the Yakuza's guard was down, Natsumi's eyes twinkled mischievously before blowing a raspberry on his palm. "What the hell!?" He reeled back in disgust, ready to pinch her cheeks hard like he did in the past. Just as his hands got near, Natsumi made an x with her forearms.

"No can do, Onii-chan," she warned casually, "unless you really don't want me around." She lowered her arms as Fuyuhiko looked puzzled. Natsumi sighed softly, "Apparently, if this chick feels any pain, the spirit leaves the medium prematurely."

Fuyuhiko nodded slowly before frowning, finding this so hard to believe. "So…you're really dead…huh…" He closed his eyes, trying so hard to remember what happened back then. The Gangster clenched his fists tightly when nothing came to him, warms tears threatening to fall. His heart skipped a beat when he felt two arms wrap around his neck, the young man's body rigid. Opening his eyes, Fuyuhiko realized his little sister hugged him, leaning her body against him.

"I'm okay…" she whispered comfortingly, her face inches from his ear. "You made sure to avenge me…I'm at peace…only because I can be by your side forever now, Onii-chan. I only ever wanted to be by your side because you really are amazing…" Fuyuhiko's body started to shake, trying not to cry with all his willpower. He relaxed his hands before he slowly pulled Natsumi into a close embrace, a few renegade tears traveling down his cheeks.

"I'm…not as great as you make me out to be…" he muttered bitterly. "I…I should have protected you...I-I'm sorry…" Natsumi stayed quiet knowing that he wouldn't listen to her protests about how it wasn't his fault, just rubbing his back gently until his hold on her lessened to a loose hug.

"Hey, Onii-chan…?" she asked softly.

"Hm…?" he grunted, his head on her shoulder, eyes closed.

"Can you…try to be nice to this girl? She lost a sister too…" Natsumi frowned, before realizing how soft she was acting. "A-Anyway, I feel like I owe the broad for taking over her body in order to speak to you…that's all!" she huffed defensively.

"Heh…" the Yakuza chuckled lightly. "I can't make any promises, idiot." Natsumi smiled a little, knowing that was as good an answer as any when it came to asking her older brother for favors.

"Thanks, Onii-chan." The two stayed like that until a school bell rang out throughout the islands.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

Fuyuhiko could hear the static of the monitor coming on and could already predict what it meant. "The time for the unparalleled hedonism…has come to an end…" Monokuma's voice invaded the quiet and yet calming atmosphere in the room. "Come! Now is the time to fight the decisive battle! The hostility of fresh blood! The insanity of a contest of wits! The class trial is finally raising its curtain! Soooo, meet up…in front of Monokuma Rock! Once you're there, please proceed to the underground by taking the elevator located at the secret entrance. Puhuhuhu, I'll see you soon~!" Silence fell once again in the cottage for a few moments until the girl in Fuyuhiko's arms started to tense up.

"Ku…Kuzu…Kuzuryuu…?" the girl quietly asked as if afraid of what might come next. The Yakuza pulled back to see that the girl's eyes and facial features were Hikari's again, Hikari squinting to the point that Fuyuhiko thought she had her eyes closed. Fuyuhiko's cheeks immediately turned red when he got a hold of his current situation: here he was, arms still around Seishin Hikari, the girl who was possessed by his younger sister's soul seconds ago. Hikari didn't even have time to react when the blond male roughly pushed her away from him, causing her to fall on her butt, her glasses slipping down from the top of her head back onto her face askew. "Ow…!" she whined with a grimace, rubbing her aching backside as the slightly flustered Yakuza paced a bit, running his hand through his short hair.

"How did you do it?" he glanced at the black-haired girl as she fixed her red-framed glasses on her face.

"Do…what?"

"Don't give me that bullshit! You acted exactly like…" he trailed off, his eyes looking at the floor, still in a bit of disbelief. Was I just imagining it…? Maybe staying on this fuckin' island causes people to go insane… He looked back at the Spirit Medium to find her staring at him, waiting for him to finish his thought.

"Acted like what?" she asked, blinking. "I don't remember doing anything…"

He wasn't sure if this girl was lying to him or if possessions caused the Medium to black out. Either way, Fuyuhiko was trying to forget what just happened and accepted it as a very vivid daydream. His heart didn't want to admit that his annoying but beloved sister was dead…killed, for that matter. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind." Hikari opened her mouth to continue the conversation but nothing came out when she witnessed the first kind act Fuyuhiko did in front of her. She stared dumbstruck as he held out a hand towards her, his face turned to the side. "The class trial is going to start. Let's get there before Monokuma comes and drags our asses to that hellhole." Not wanting to make the boy mad, Hikari took his hand, allowing him to help her up. Once she was on her feet, Fuyuhiko walked past her and opened the door, the confused girl quickly following after him.

The walk was silent and a bit awkward, the two walking side by side. The Gangster's hands rested in his pockets, his mind still focused on what happened in his cottage and also tried to forget what happened at the beach house. Why…Why Peko… And why does Natsumi appear to me soon after…? Fuyuhiko frowned, a part of him wishing that he really killed Mahiru like he planned so that he could get executed and just escape all of this. However, whenever his thoughts took that path, a certain someone's words would come back to haunt him.

"But what would reckless killing accomplish? If you fail to get away with it, you know you'll be executed…Or perhaps…that's what you really want? If so…You'd only be killing yourself to run away from this predicament. That's what a child would do."

Tch…that bastard Togami still annoys me even after death…Am I really acting childish? Fuyuhiko bitterly thought as he and Hikari stepped onto the central island and headed to Monokuma Rock. Hikari frowned, watching her companion out of the corner of her eye, seeing how overall exhausted the boy appeared. She felt bad for him, but she was still wary of the Yakuza, the circumstances and motive pointing to him as Mahiru's murderer.

This is going to be a difficult trial…I can tell already… the Spirit Medium sighed softly to herself as the two teens neared the rest of their peers in front of Monokuma Rock, Monokuma himself sounding very angry.

"But there are other problems to deal to with besides this one…" he growled, raising his paws in the air. "Where the heck are Kuzuryuu and Seishin!? Those two…they totally ditched! They totally ditched my appointment! They…piss…me off…Ah…aaa…aaaaa… Aaaa…aa…aaaaah!" The stuffed bear began to sweat, starting to spaz out until all of a sudden he became a bit taller with a very muscular build. Everyone couldn't believe their eyes.

"Eeek!" Ibuki screamed, looking as if she was going to have a seizure, foaming at the mouth. "His anger changed his form!"

Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, looking away as if he could care less. "…I'm right here."

Chiaki stared at Fuyuhiko. "Ah, Kuzuryuu, you came… I was worried about you."

"There was nowhere for me to run, anyway… So, no matter the ending…I have to accept it, right? But, still… I'm a yakuza! Accepting defeat is not an option!"

Hajime raised an eyebrow. "Kuzuryuu, what does that mean?" It was then that Hikari walked to Chiaki and Hajime, both of her friends visibly relieved to see that Hikari was alive and safe.

Noticing Hikari's approach, Hajime turned to her and smiled weakly. "After the announcement came on and Chiaki arrived without you, we got worried…we thought that maybe…"

"Yeah," Chiaki nodded in agreement, "I was starting to regret leaving you there…did you manage to get through to him?"

Hikari smiled a little, feeling slightly embarrassed for worrying her friends. "No need to worry…and uh…I did get him to open the door, but he didn't really answer any of my questions…" Chiaki nodded slowly, her eyes finding Hikari's wrist was a deep red with slight bruising, but didn't bring it up in case her accusations were wrong.

"..Ah-huh?" the muscled Monokuma stared at the late arrivals blankly as if not expecting them to show up like that. "Anyway, looks like everyone's here, so let us depart now! I'll go first and be one step ahead of you guys!" He quickly disappeared into the sand, muscles and all.

"C-Crap… I'm not mentally prepared yet…" Kazuichi groaned, clutching onto his beanie on top of his head nervously.

Akane placed a hand on her hip. "…Do you even hafta prepare?"

"If you don't have enough power, harness your latent energy!" Nekomaru encouraged loudly, grabbing the poor Mechanic by the biceps and shook the teen's body. "C'mon, bring out that energyyyyyyyy!"

"So it begins…the beginning of the end…" Gundham muttered, arms crossed. The only one who was enthusiastic about this whole situation was, of course, Nagito.

"Now then, let's keep our spirits high! So we can one day find that shining hope!" he declared cheerfully with a huge smile. Both Hajime and Hikari stared at the Luckster warily, both on high alert as the second stone Monokuma head opened its mouth to send down the escalator with a deafening roar, the earth shaking beneath the group's feet.

Monomi jumped up in surprise, terrified, standing outside of the group. "Eeek! No matter how many times I see it, it's such bad taste! The worst, the lowest, most brutal taste!" Hikari blinked at the rabbit.

Huh? When did she show up? Was she here the whole time? Hikari thought as people started getting on the escalator. Hikari stepped onto it slowly, her legs feeling heavy with dread and her heart pounding loudly. I don't want to be here…I don't want to be here… That thought in her head went on repeat, looping over and over as everyone stood in basically the same spot in the elevator they did on their way to the first trial. The elevator rumbled as it started to make its descent. Hikari felt very uncomfortable despite standing near Hajime since she stood in front of the one person she didn't want to be close to. She didn't dare turn her head to look at Nagito. She couldn't afford to get herself into a panic or angered tirade. Besides being present for the reason of self-preservation, Hikari was there to bring justice for Mahiru. She still couldn't believe that Mahiru was dead or that one of them killed her. The Spirit Medium grasped her necklace, closing her eyes. I really don't want to send another person to their death…but this is for Mahiru…my friend whose life was cut way too short because of this stupid killing game… We have to give her peace and justice…she deserves that… The elevator gradually slowed down with a screech, the elevator vibrating less and less as it reached its destination. Hikari opened her eyes as the elevator's doors opened to the trial grounds.

This looks different from last time… the girl observed as she got off the elevator with everyone else. The podiums and the big tablet screen were the same. The backdrop wasn't the same coliseum décor as before. Instead, the floor was covered with sand, the lights were off in the farthest parts of the room, blacking out the tiers of seats above the arena where a couple of projection screens hung next to the huge tablet screen. Each entrance had a palm or coconut tree at each of its sides, a couple of coconuts laying in the sand beneath a few trees. The arena walls were draped with backdrops of the ocean. On the golden throne behind the circle of podiums sat the malicious black and white bear.

"Aim! Defeat the boring routine!" Monokuma commented, answering the unasked questions the teens had. "...Soooo, I've decided to start redecorating. How's it look? Monokuma-san's redecoration is awesome, isn't it?" He asked with pride before laughing his head off. "It's not like I'd allow you to think otherwise anyway!"

Of course not… Hikari gave the bear a deadpan stare.

"To go to the trouble of doing something this elaborate… Really…what is your true intention?" Sonia asked meekly, obviously looking uneasy.

Monokuma rubbed the back of his head with his white paw, looking innocent. "Nothing really… Essentially, this killing game is just to kill time anyway."

"Kill time…!?" Akane growled furiously, gritting her teeth.

"Puhuhuhu! To break away from my purpose! That alone is my purpose!" he replied, erupting in uncontrollable laughter yet again before abruptly stopping and stared at the teens ominously. "A purpose is only gonna be a weakness! Those who have purpose are always the weakest ones in the whole bunch! That's why you guys should forget about such cheap-ass purposes like 'trying to survive…' And enjoy the class trial from the bottom of your heeeeaarts!"

Slowly, one by one, everyone started to walk up to their podium. Hikari took a deep breath before getting on hers, the memorial picture of Byakuya causing the girl to remember the last trial and the aftermath. Glancing at the podium where Teruteru was last time stood yet another memorial picture, but this time of the SHSL Cook, a fork and a chef's knife formed an X in place of a bloody X over his chubby face. Hikari bit the inside of her cheek, and turned to Chiaki who embodied what the Spirit Medium needed at that moment: determination. Feeling calmer, she sneaked a peek towards Hajime and froze. K-Koizumi… she thought as she stared at the memorial picture of her dear friend right next to Hajime. Hajime seemed very tense, clearly uncomfortable standing next to the podium of someone who should've been alive. If she was alive, we wouldn't be down here… Hikari thought morosely. This is not going to get any easier…only worse the longer we stay on this forsaken island.

"Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial," Hikari could hear Monokuma talk behind her on his cushiony throne. "During the class trial you will present your arguments for who the killer is, and vote for 'whodunnit.' If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person…I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will earn the right to leave this island!"

Monomi trembled in her rope restraints, tied up and hanging next to Monokuma like in the last trial. "O-O-Oh… No matter how many times I hear it, it's such a cruel rule!"

"Now then," Monokuma said happily, completely ignoring the hanging bunny beside him, "let's first discuss the motive! That masterpiece of gaming: Twilight Syndrome Murder Case!"

"Whaaaat? Who cares about that game!?" complained a frustrated Ibuki.

Gundham crossed his arms. "The outcome of this trial should be determined by whether or not we find Koizumi's killer…"

"Nevertheless," piped in Nagito, "we shouldn't ignore it. After all, that game is the motive this time."

Chiaki nodded. "Yeah…you're right… Then let's try discussing that first."

"I'm sure everyone who's beaten the game…or seen the True Ending…" Nagito added, catching Hikari's eyes as he said this, Hikari glaring lightly at the Luckster for trying to put attention on her this early into the trial, "already knows that's it's based on an actual murder case."

Peko stared at the white-haired teen. "Some of us have not beaten that game… Give us a detailed explanation."

"It means…'Twilight Syndrome Murder Case' is a nonfiction game. Additionally, some of us are characters in that game, too."

Nekomaru looked taken aback, mouth opened wide. "S-Some of us are characters in a video game!?"

Chiaki tapped her chin with a finger. "So…I think it's better if we clarify who the characters in the game are first."

"Girl A is probably…Tsumiki Mikan," Hajime suggested.

Mikan cowered, her arms raised in self-defense. "Uuaah…M-M-Me!?"

"That timid tone… That definitely sounds like Girl A… Based on the list of names in the staff roll, I can't think of anyone else who would be Girl A."

"Wh-Why am I in a video game? Th-That's an infringement of my right to privacy!" Hiyoko snorted at Mikan's complaint.

"Ha! A nasty, trashy, pigshit like you doesn't have any privacy rights!"

Chiaki glanced upwards in thought. "Ah… 'A nasty, trashy, pigshit'… I feel like I heard that in the game, too."

The Traditional Dancer gaped at Chiaki with wide eyes. "…Huh?" Hikari blinked at her best friend, a bit shocked to hear foul language coming out of the Gamer's mouth even if it was just to quote someone else. Nevertheless, Hikari knew what Chiaki meant.

"Well…Girl B was short and foulmouthed… She's probably Saionji," the Spirit Medium concluded, arms crossed.

"Short and foulmouthed…?" Hiyoko pouted. "That's like the complete opposite of me!" Hikari gave the smaller girl a deadpan stare.

And I'm the devil incarnate… Hikari thought with a small sigh, not believing Hiyoko's statement for one second.

"…Anyway, let's move on," Nagito said, redirecting the conversation back to the topic at hand. "Next is Girl C."

After a few moments of silence, Hajime spoke up. "Girl C…is Mioda Ibuki."

"Girl C?" Ibuki remarked cheerily with a wink. "Then I'll 'C' you next Tuesday!"

Both Hikari and Chiaki stared at the eccentric Musician blankly before Chiaki swiftly avoided any incoming remarks to keep the discussion from derailing. "…Let's move onto Girl D."

"Girl D is Koizumi Mahiru…the victim in this case."

"Girl D is the one who took the pictures in the game, right? So she has to be Koizumi…right?" Hikari asked for confirmation.

Nagito crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's correct. Let's skip Girl E…and talk about Guy F." Hikari blinked, a bit confused that Nagito wasn't provoking her into an argument, but felt somewhat relieved for the reprieve.

Why are we skipping Girl E? Could it be because she's not any of us that came onto the island? I do remember a name on the staff roll I'm not familiar with here…Sato… Is Sato…Girl E? Hikari thought to herself, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Going along with Nagito's suggestion, Hajime went right to the point, turning to the Yakuza. "Aren't you Guy F…Kuzuryuu?" The Spirit Medium froze, her thought process about Girl E instantly forgotten as she heard Kuzuryuu's name, wondering how the blond boy would react. However, the Gangster seemed completely unfazed.

"Hmph, I was in a game?" he asked, a hand on his hip, appearing to be bored. "That's fuckin' stupid…"

Nagito smiled shrewdly, his arms crossed. "Ah, that reminds me… Wasn't there another person whose last name was also Kuzuryuu?" Hikari did her best to keep her composure, not quite sure why she felt on edge when the topic came up concerning Fuyuhiko and the other mystery Kuzuryuu.

I mean…I have suspicions towards Kuzuryuu myself… Why am I so tense? She frowned as some of her friends voiced their confusion about the meaning behind there being Kuzuryuu mentioned twice on the staff roll.

Nagito continued to act casual, his calculating eyes landing on Hajime. "Since you beat the game…you probably know what this actually means, right?" Hajime stared at the Luckster seriously.

To call me out like that… Komaeda, you're definitely someone I shouldn't mess with… the plain teen warned himself mentally before answering the question. "In the game, Guy F…'Kuzuryuu'…mentions that he has a little sister." Hikari's eyes darted right at Fuyuhiko who turned pale, clenching his left fist tightly.

"This is what Guy F said in the game…" Hajime explained, "'That bitch…what the hell did she do to my little sister!' It's pretty clear… There's no doubt that Guy F had a little sister. Plus, the sister actually appeared in the game. That's why the name 'Kuzuryuu' appeared twice."

"By the way, what role did Guy F's little sister, the other Kuzuryuu, play…? You probably noticed, right?" Nagito asked Hajime. Hajime looked away slightly, very reluctant to announce the younger Kuzuryuu's role out in the open. Hikari bit the inside of her cheek, closing her eyes when she saw how visibly distraught Fuyuhiko looked as he faced the impending confirmation of his beloved sister's part in the evil bear's arcade game.

Hajime's words came out of his mouth quietly, but everyone heard them very clearly. "The dead high school girl who was the first victim in the game…is the only person I can think of."

"Based on Guy F's tone in the game, it's clear that Girl E is not his little sister…" Nagito commented indifferently before he smiled. "So if the only person left is the dead high school girl…then she must be Kuzuryuu's sister."

"Tch…" the Yakuza clicked his tongue, glaring daggers at the Luckster. "Why do you sound so fuckin' happy…? That's a winning personality you've got there…!" Hikari frowned, holding herself back from reprimanding Nagito, the girl really not wanting to get riled up by Nagito again that day.

It's just like him though… Pouring salt in people's open wounds… Hikari thought with a tired sigh as Hajime's statement started sinking into the minds of their peers.

"Hey…" Gundham interjected, arms crossed with a serious expression. "You said the game is a work of nonfiction. That means Kuzuryuu's little sister…"

Fuyuhiko looked to the side, interrupting the SHSL Breeder with swiftness. "Yeah, I have a little sister… Somethin' wrong with that!? It's just a fuckin' game, don't go mixing up some video game with reality!"

Kuzuryuu is slowly admitting to the truth in front of him… He's trying his best to deny all this involving his family, but his defenses are crumbling… Hikari noted to herself as she watched the Yakuza trying to pick up the pieces of his protection from the inevitable reality.

"It's not just a game…" Nagito stated with certainty. "It's definitely based on true events… That's why it's the motive."

"D-Don't go making shit up, bastard!" Fuyuhiko growled, scowling at the white-haired teen. "If she was the type to die easily, I'd have fuckin' killed her myself a long time ago… I-I mean, when I first entered Hope's Peak Academy, she was mouthin' off to me as usual and…s-sent me off… I-It happened just the other day!"

"Um, about that…" Monokuma said slowly, sitting comfortably on his plush throne behind Hikari. "You're probably thinking like that because you've lost your memories…"

"Shut the fuck up! You be quiet!" the Gangster threatened darkly, pointing at the two-toned bear. The Spirit Medium turned a bit pale, knowing that Fuyuhiko was talking to Monokuma, but it really looked like he was pointing at her from her angle.

"I see…" Nagito said with a frown. "So you're never gonna accept that that game is based on true events, huh…?" He closed his eyes with a grin, waving a hand in the air. "Okay, I understand your attitude towards this class trial now!"

Nekomaru glanced at the Luckster. "Komaeda… You seem to be doubting Kuzuryuu a lot. Do you suspect that he's the killer?"

"A mystery that easy would make me feel sad. It wouldn't be good enough to serve as everyone's stepping stone… That's why I'd be much happier if Kuzuryuu wasn't the killer!"

Hikari looked at the boy blankly. Are you serious right now? That's your logic regarding this case?

"Anyway…" Chiaki declared with her calm voice, pulling everyone back on topic again. "Now we've established who all the characters in the game are."

"Girl A is Tsumiki, Girl B is Saionji, Girl C is Mioda, Girl D is Koizumi, Guy F is Kuzuryuu… And…the first victim in the game—that dead high school girl—is Kuzuryuu's little sister," Gundham listed off the characters and who they were in reality.

"That's just a story in a fuckin' game…!" Fuyuhiko persisted, attempting to stay composed even though it was evident that he was failing miserably.

"If so, then Girl E is Sato-san…" Chiaki confirmed out of the process of elimination.

"Urgh! Hurry up and talk about the mystery of the game!" Monokuma ordered impatiently, fidgeting restlessly at his seat.

"…Huh? What do you mean 'mystery of the game'?" Monomi chimed in, confused. That question definitely perked the evil bear right up.

"My, my, you don't know?" he asked, covering his mouth with his paws. "I heard that Girl E got killed!"

"Whaaaaat? No waaaay! Is that true?"

"Getting killed is sooooo violent, don'tcha know?"

"My, such awful times we live in! Why did this happen!?" Monomi whimpered with tears in her eyes. Everyone sweatdropped while staring at the two stuffed animals.

What the hell are they doing? Hikari thought, restraining herself from performing a facepalm.

"So the 'mystery of the game' is the murder of Girl E, correct?" Peko asked.

"Then let's hurry up and solve it!" Nagito said with enthusiasm. "Let's first figure out why Girl E was killed!"

Hajime was the one who answered that question. "The reason Girl E was killed is because she killed the first victim in the game."

"Which means Girl E was killed as revenge for the dead high school girl," Nagito concluded before turning to a pale-looking Fuyuhiko. "What do you think, Kuzuryuu? Apparently Girl E was killed to avenge your little sister."

He looks as if he has just seen a ghost… Hikari thought, watching the Yakuza's reactions. Hm…? She blinked a couple of times when she caught the blond boy's eyes on her but only very briefly.

What the fuck…? It can't be…It just can't… the Gangster thought to himself as he remembered his sister's words to him when she possessed Hikari's body.

"I'm okay… You made sure to avenge me…"

Did I…really avenge her? Fuyuhiko thought before shaking his head and stuffing his hands into his pockets and gritted his teeth when he listened to Nagito's annoying voice directed towards him. "You're fucking persistent… I don't care what that game said at all…but…"

Nagito leaned a bit closer, a hand to his ear. "…But?"

"I-Is…that true…?" Fuyuhiko asked hesitantly. "Girl E, she…she killed the first victim?"

"In order to make that clear, we need to know more about the case involving the first victim's murder…" Nagito said, a hand on his chin.

Chiaki perked up slightly, ready to be useful in this discussion. "It's the murder that occurred in the music room. I knew it would come up so I prepared in advance." Hikari sweatdropped as the Gamer pulled out a piece of folded up paper from her backpack and spread it out so that everyone could see. "Look, I made a map of the music room's surroundings, which was the stage of the first case."

When did she have the time to do this…? Hikari thought in disbelief as she looked at a rough sketch of the music room and adjoining classroom, complete with the murder scene, game characters, and the broken vase in the empty classroom. This is quite detailed… The Spirit Medium frowned, being reminded of Mahiru's diagram for the previous trial. She definitely felt her heart break as memories about Mahiru popped into her mind.

"Then…I'll start explaining," Chiaki said with a hint of dejection in her voice, having gone on a tangent about how mapping was "second nature to retro game fans" only to be steered back on course. "Girl A, Girl B, Girl C, and Girl D were at the entrance hall when they heard the sound of glass breaking. Immediately, they climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor and headed to where they heard that sound… Girl E was in front of the music room on the 2nd floor, and she confirmed that the sound came from in there. But the door to the music room was locked. So Girl D went to get the key from the office, and when the five of them were finally able to go inside… They…found the victim's body, dead from a blow to the head. Because the music room's window was broken, the girls thought the killer escaped through there. The sound of breaking glass that they heard at the entrance hall seemed to confirm that. Plus, Girl E's school swimsuit was stolen, so they concluded that the escaped killer was some pervert. …How does that sound?"

Nagito looked overjoyed, smiling brightly. "Yep, an understandable explanation! Just as expected from the SHSL Gamer who excels at clearing games!"

"But it wasn't a pervert, right?" Mikan asked timidly, clasping her hands together nervously. "Wasn't the real killer Girl E?"

"Obviously…Girl E was waiting outside the music room for the other girls after she killed the first victim," Nekomaru pointed out.

"Did she lock the music room from the outside?" Ibuki wondered. "Then she would've totally needed the key from the office!"

"Which means…Girl E was hiding that key. We can assume she used it to lock the music room after she left."

Hikari frowned, drumming her fingers on the podium. "No…Girl D was the one who ran to the office to get the key to the music room… I remember from watching Hinata play the True Ending…"

"By the way," Nagito interrupted, a hand on his hip, "since it was never mentioned in the game, we can exclude the possibility of there being a spare key."

"You can lock the music room from the inside, right?" the Team Manager challenged with another theory. "So from there, Girl E broke the window and escaped…and sprinted to the front of the music room as fast as she could before the others arrived!"

The Spirit Medium shook her head. "I don't think that's possible… Girl E would've passed by the entrance hall where the other girls were waiting if she tried to do that."

Feeling embarrassed at the rejections of his theories, Nekomaru closed his eyes and clenched a fist. "Then…forget this!"

"It's not cute to see an old guy sulk…" Kazuichi teased.

Hiyoko pouted, becoming impatient. "Hey! Is Girl E really the killer? We haven't reached an answer yet." The group started going over what happened after the crime took place in order to figure out any way to prove Girl E was the killer.

"At the entrance hall, the girls…" Nekomaru began, "heard the sound of the window shattering…"

"No, that's wrong!" Hajime disputed. "First of all, the sound the girls heard wasn't the window breaking."

"If it wasn't the window…then what broke to make that sound?" puzzled Ibuki which was evident with a stumped expression on her face.

"A vase."

A vase…? Why a vase…? Hikari pondered, feeling baffled by Hajime's simple answer. Wait…is that what that photo was about? So many things happened that day that Hikari didn't realize why the photo of the broken vase was so important until that moment.

"After the murder, a broken vase was discovered in the classroom next to the music room."

Chiaki nodded. "So the sound of breaking glass that the four girls heard wasn't the music room window… It was the sound of the vase breaking…probably."

"Actually, the murder was nearly finished by the time the four girls met in the entrance hall…" Nagito concluded. "Girl E killed the victim in the music room, broke the window, and went to the office to get the key… With that key, she locked the music room from the hallway, returned the key to the office…and went back to wait in front of the music room. All she had to do was break the vase in the next-door classroom as the four girls met by the entrance hall…"

"To make them think the murder had just occurred…and that the killer had just escaped…!" Nekomaru noted out loud, arms crossed with a frown.

"So," Peko chimed in, a hand to her chin, "when the four of them ran over after they heard the sound, Girl E acted like she just rushed over, too."

Hikari licked her dry lips, her eyes staring at her podium, processing all this information. That does make a lot of sense… There are still a couple of things that need to be cleared up though…like how did Girl E kill the first victim? Does it have to do with Koizumi's death? Hikari wondered, not knowing that it was Girl E's murder that was identical to Mahiru's crime scene since she never played the Investigative Edition. Apparently, Monokuma also noticed that there were still some loose ends to the mystery that needed to be tied up.

"Wait a minute! The mystery hasn't been solved yet! You haven't determined what the murder weapon was yet!" Monokuma scolded the teens.

"Who cares about the murder weapon?" Ibuki whined. "We found out who the killer was!"

Monokuma huffed angrily, raising his paws in the air. "Noooot cool! I went to all that trouble of making this death march, so you gotta stick with it to the end!"

Hikari crossed her arms, feeling annoyed by the bear's attitude. Like we have any other choice except imminent death…

"Fine, let's figure out the weapon. If this keeps up, I'm gonna feel like I need to shit…" the large muscled male said, cracking his knuckles before shouting, "…Which means I'll feel disgusting!"

"You are the disgusting one," Hiyoko remarked with a repulsed look on her face.

Monokuma settled down and started giggling once he got his way. "Puhuhu, the weapon is pretty unconventional. The answer was revealed in the game though… Nooooow then, will you guys be able to figure it out!?"

A few minutes went by as the group argued what the murder weapon could have been. "How about beating the victim with gravel?" Ibuki suggested offhandedly. Some of her peers looked at her strangely until Hajime widened his eyes in realization.

"I got it…" Hajime stated. "The killer must've used gravel to attack the victim." Everyone looked at the brown-haired boy stunned.

The Musician rubbed her head, sweatdropping. "My goodness…I got it right… And I was just throwing things out there…" However, she instantly brightened up. "Tahaa! Just as I thought, I'm chosen by the gods!"

"You're not chosen at all and gravel is impossible!" Kazuichi retorted hotly. "It's too small to be a weapon!"

Hikari turned to Hajime. "Why do you think that it was gravel, Hinata?"

Hajime placed a hand on his chin. "What if the gravel was put inside some sort of bag?"

"A bag?"

"Yeah… If the weapon is something that appeared in the game, then so is the bag… And the only thing I can think of is the school swimsuit! If you tie the swimsuit like a bag and stuff it full of gravel, it'd make an effective weapon."

Hikari raised an eyebrow. I don't remember seeing the swimsuit when I watched Hajime… Does it appear in the other edition of the game or does just mentioning the swimsuit count?

"But for the killer, it's an idea that kills two birds with one stone!" Chiaki exclaimed. "To make people think the killer is some pervert, it'd make sense for a school swimsuit to be stolen… And if that swimsuit was used to make an improvised weapon, it'd have to be disposed of later."

Hajime stared with determination towards the evil bear. "How about it, Monokuma… Are you satisfied now?"

"This happiness you feel when the mystery you create is solved… Only producers know this feeling of ecstasy!" Monokuma sighed dreamily, looking very content.

"But the real important talk begins now…" Nagito addressed the group seriously. "Girl E had someone who can be called an accomplice. That person was actually…Girl D."

Hikari nodded slowly. That's right… Girl D took the photo of the broken vase and confronted Girl E about it on the 3rd Day... However, she never reported it to the authorities and got rid of the photo. Why would Koizumi do something like that? Were the two girls that close?

"And…apparently the reason Girl E committed murder in the first place was to 'protect' Girl D," Chiaki clarified. "Girl D was being harassed by the victim… Girl E found out and tried to stop it, and they ended up getting into an argument…"

Nekomaru clenched a fist, frowning. "And she felt a rush of anger and ended up killing her…"

"But she should've had a clear murderous intent. I mean, she choked her out and then bludgeoned her to death," Nagito casually pointed out.

"She probably…" Mikan whimpered, "made her unconscious by accident… A-And from there, she couldn't go back… I-I…I somewhat understand that feeling." Both Ibuki and Hikari looked at the Nurse with worried expressions as Nagito spoke up again.

"But Girl E was also killed by someone on the '4th Day', or the game's last day… I might as well ask just in case… Who do you think killed Girl E?" Hikari's eyes darted straight at a bewildered Fuyuhiko, the Spirit Medium already knowing the answer from all the implications she heard.

"It should've been…Guy F," Hajime responded solemnly.

"A scenario where Guy F murders Girl E out of a burning, hellfire desire to avenge his murdered sister…!" Gundham declared with a dramatic tone in his voice.

Kazuichi itched his cheek nervously. "B-But…Guy F is…"

"…What?" Fuyuhiko said, hands in his pockets, trying to appear calm. "It's just a story in a video game, isn't it?"

Nagito grinned, eyes closed. "That's all you can say. If that game is telling the truth, it'd be a huge problem for you."

Nekomaru looked around. "Hey, clear this up for me. Those of you who appeared as characters in the game, do you remember this incident?"

"Th-That is…I'm terribly sorry but…" Mikan stammered with an uneasy expression on her face.

"They don't remember!" Monokuma said, still in his blissful state. "That's obvious! Cuz their school memories were like totally stolen!"

Hiyoko slammed a hand on her podium, pointing at Fuyuhiko. "Even if I don't remember, I already know! It's obvious that guy is the killer! No one would kill a nice person like Koizumi besides a piece of shit, menace to society like Kuzuryuu! Girl E and Koizumi were killed by that guy!"

Fuyuhiko frowned and glanced to the side dejectedly. "Tch… You sure do talk a lot of shit… Well, I'm used to it by now…"

Hikari felt a pang of sadness in her chest, watching the Yazuka sympathetically. Kuzuryuu… I understand what it's like being accused like that… Maybe he isn't the killer, but I really don't know.

"But does Koizumi's murder have anything to do with that game? Perhaps the two are unrelated," Peko hypothesized.

"I'm not sure the two events are unrelated…" Hajime answered. "At the very least, the killer has definitely played the game. As proof, Koizumi, who was killed in the beach house…and Girl E, who was killed in the game, were both killed by a blow to the head with a metal bat… There's no way we can ignore that connection."

"Someone must've wanted to split her head open the exact same way they avenged the first victim," Hiyoko huffed angrily and glowered at the Gangster. "Hey, why don't you confess already? You're the one who killed Koizumi, right?"

At this point, Fuyuhiko couldn't hold himself back, glaring at the shortest teen there, seething. "Y-You better cut that out right now…! There is no way a stupid game could be the motive!"

"You're dumb enough to believe that stupid game and that's why you killed her as revenge!"

Peko crossed her arms, holding back a tired sigh. "If you keep making up your mind like that, we're just going to go around in circles… And…it's true Kuzuryuu may look suspicious, but don't you think that'd be too obvious?"

Fuyuhiko spun towards the Swordswoman in surprise. "Wh-What are y-?"

"I mean…" the red-eyed beauty continued, "there's a possibility that it's a trap set by the true killer."

"Tr-Trap…? What do you mean…?" Hiyoko asked in a soft voice, her anger promptly fading away.

Peko's fierce stare bore into the small girl. "The true killer played that game and most likely found out about the relationships between the characters. That person could be using that knowledge to try to set up Kuzuryuu."

"Are you saying that a completely different killer murdered Koizumi and used the game motive as their cover?" Sonia questioned, her face taking on a serious look.

"Isn't that what happened, Saionji?" Peko pressed, her eyes narrowing towards the shell-shocked Traditional Dancer. Even Hikari couldn't help but gape at this accusation. "Don't you understand!? I'm saying that you might be the true killer!"

Hiyoko started giggling nervously, her hand covering her mouth. "Hehehe, what is this…? Like, I can only laugh…" Suddenly, she gripped the hems of her kimono sleeves and leaned forward with a creepy stare. "What are you even saying, you nasty, toilet-clogging bitch!?"

Ibuki glanced at Peko. "Why do you doubt Saionji?"

"Do you know where Saionji was today?" Peko calmly asked before answering her own question. "She was at the beach house, the scene of the crime!"

"But I didn't go to the beach house…!" Hiyoko whined.

Hajime blinked a couple of times before looking at the girl to his left. "Wait a minute. You should've been at the beach house, Saionji."

She stamped her feet in irritation. "S-Seriously, I told you that I didn't!"

"But…the footprints in the sand in front of the beach house… Aren't they yours?"

"I-I don't have such ugly footprints! They're probably Tsumiki's based on how ugly they are!"

Mikan whimpered, eyes closed. "Don't decide that based on ugliness!"

Nagito smirked, tapping his forehead with a finger. "Huh? They're not Saionji's footprints? That's strange…" He reached inside of his hoodie and took out many pieces of paper that had two shoeprints on each sheet with everyone's names that match each pair of footprints. "The footprint I collected from your room matches those footprints perfectly…" Hikari stared at Nagito, dumbfounded.

H-He went into my cottage…? I feel somewhat violated by that… She grimaced at the thought of the Luckster going through her things without her knowing.

"Plus," Peko added, "the footprints left in the sand were facing away from the beach house… Which means…when the owner of those footprints went inside the beach house, they used a different entrance."

Mikan blinked, her mouth agape. "A different entrance… Are you talking about the door facing the road that Koizumi's body was leaning against?"

"The door was still accessible when they went in… And wasn't when they left…" Ibuki said slowly as if in deep concentration.

Peko turned her crimson eyes to Hiyoko. "Which means, something happened in between those two events. Isn't that right, Saionji!?"

"Ah, I remember now!" Hiyoko chirped brightly, smiling. "I remember when I went to the beach house!"

"Hmph, so you've finally decided to confess…" Gundham said haughtily.

The blond pig-tailed girl jumped, her arms in the air dramatically. "I'm pretty sure that you guys already know this, but going for walks in the morning is my daily routine."

"I've never heard of that daily routine before!" Ibuki remarked with surprise.

"And that's when I went to the beach house! I went there on my morning walk!"

"I see," Akane said understandingly. "If you went there durin' your mornin' walk, that doesn't have anything to do with the case at all."

"Don't believe her so easily, dumbass!" Fuyuhiko scolded the girl to his right. "She's obviously lying!"

Akane blinked and her jaw dropped, stunned. "Huh!? It's a lie!?"

"People who call other people liars…are usually liars themselves," Hiyoko articulated while holding back a snicker. The orange-eyed girl then lashed out at everyone. "If you say I'm lying, prove it! Can you even prove that I'm lying!? Kyahahaha! There's no way a bunch of worthless idiots like you guys would be able to do that!"

She's making me want to prove her wrong… Hikari thought, looking irritated at the girl next to Hajime's left. Fortunately, Hajime himself had the proof to counter Hiyoko's statement.

"Only during your morning walk, huh?" Hajime asked. "Will you still claim that after you take a look at this letter?" He pulled out a folded up piece of paper spattered with blood and opened it to read the contents. "'I was going to tell you in person, but I couldn't find you so I put this in your mail box. About what we discussed earlier, is it okay if we change the place and time? I want you to come to the beach house on the second island at 2:30 p.m. It seems there's someone who wants to interfere with our meeting. Let's keep it a secret. Until then, let's try not to see each other for a while. It would be bad if they started suspecting us for no reason. –Saionji Hiyoko."

Mikan gasped, shocked. "ThThat letter…! It's the one Koizumi had, right?"

Hikari blinked, a bit confused. A letter? Tsumiki must have found it during her autopsy… Even Hiyoko appeared astounded by the appearance of the letter, the color draining from her rosy complexion.

"Wh-What is…that letter…? I'm serious…I don't know…"

"Oh snap," Kazuichi blurted out, eyes wide. "I remember now! I totally saw you!"

"Huh!?"

"Me and Hinata met up at the diner around 3:00 p.m. to go to the beach… I saw you about 30 minutes later, so it should've been around 3:30 p.m."

Hikari blinked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Nanami and I also saw Saionji running to the bridge towards the central island as we reached the second island on our way to the diner. I think it was around that time so I can back up Souda's account."

Peko nodded, listening to both accounts. "I see… So if she met Koizumi at 2:30 p.m., killed her, then ran away afterward… I think 3:30 p.m. is a reasonable time for Seishin to have witnessed Saionji."

"Y-You're wrong…you're totally wrong…!" Hiyoko started to sob, her voice starting to crack.

Kazuichi itched his cheek, remembering something else. "Now that you mention it, you also passed by the diner, Kuzuryuu. So you should've seen Saionji too, right?"

"No, I didn't…" Fuyuhiko mumbled, arms crossed. "It's just a coincidence that I passed by the diner. I wasn't even paying attention to the beach house… I went straight back to my cottage after I saw you guys. I didn't see anyone during that time."

"For some reason, that sounds suspicious too!" Ibuki commented with doubt.

"It's the truth. Deal with it…"

Peko closed her eyes. "Just leave him alone… It'd be a waste of time to question him any further. Anyway, that letter and Souda and Seishin's testimonies say it all. You were meeting up with Koizumi at the beach house."

"S-Seriously, I don't know!" Hiyoko cried out in panic. "I didn't even write that letter! I-I'm telling the truth… I really…really don't know…" She wailed loudly, huge tears flowing freely down her face.

Ignoring Hiyoko, Peko continued speaking. "We can assume she summoned Koizumi with the intention of killing her all along… That's why she wrote a letter to let her know where to meet, so the others wouldn't find out." The stoic girl gazed upon the bawling one. "And then you went ahead to the beach house, hid yourself in a specific place, and waited for Koizumi. There's evidence for that, too!"

"The place where Saionji was hiding…" Hajime muttered to himself before asking Peko for confirmation. "Are you talking about the closet?"

Peko nodded. "Yes, that's right… The gummy candy we found on the floor is the evidence. Saionji…your favorite candy is gummies, correct?"

"Wh-What's a gummy…?" Hiyoko asked weakly, her eyes not meeting Peko's. "I've…never eaten something like that…"

"Kehehehe…I have captured the true character of this mystery!" Gundham proclaimed with gusto. "Saionji, who summoned Koizumi to the beach house, hid inside the closet like a familiar… When she saw her chance, she attacked her like an evil spirit, and left the beach house like a swift wind."

Peko crossed her arms. "But Saionji miscalculated that Koizumi's body would be blocking the door at that time… Because of that, she was only able to leave from the beachside door and ended up leaving her footprints."

"Fuahaha! We have presented the proof! My Four Dark Devas of Destruction didn't even need to come out!"

Hikari closed her eyes with a frown. No… Something's not right with what Pekoyama is saying…

"I-It's a trap!" Hiyoko exclaimed in tears. "This is obviously someone's trap!"

"Who's someone…? Whose trap is it?" Ibuki asked.

"I-It must be that one person… You know…the one with the mask…maybe? There was a suspicious mask…at the beach house, right? Whoever was wearing that could be the real killer…"

Akane raised an eyebrow, a hand on her hip. "You're the one who wore that mask and killed Koizumi, right?"

"There's no way I'd wear such a childish mask! Is your brain fried or something!?"

"That is right, it cannot be Saionji!" Sonia said with a serious look. "That mask belongs to Sparkling Justice!"

Hikari blinked, very confused, her glasses sliding down her nose. "Sparkling…Justice?"

The Princess's eyebrows furrowed. "That mask says it all! Sparkling Justice is hiding on this island! Which means…the legendary serial killer Sparkling Justice is the one who killed Koizumi!"

"A…A serial killer…here?" the Spirit Medium stuttered, shocked.

Disregarding Sonia's claims, Nekomaru looked at the petite blonde. "Saionji, why don't you just admit it already!? You're being unreasonably stubborn!"

"It's all in your heads!" Hiyoko screamed. "Oh, why can't you understand!? I'm not the killer!"

"Going back to the gummy…" Hajime spoke up in thought. "Did Saionji really drop it?"

"The only one childish enough to eat gummies is that midget over there," Fuyuhiko taunted with a grin.

"Y-You're a midget too, you know!" Hiyoko snapped back. "You're the one who worries about never getting taller!"

"It's true Saionji likes to eat gummies…but she only eats a specific brand," Hajime stated, overlooking the two bickering at each other.

"The brand of gummies you eat only have strawberry, melon, grape, and orange flavors, right?" Nagito asked Hiyoko.

"Huh? But what about the lemon flavor…?" Mikan wondered. "The…the gummy at the crime scene was yellow, so it obviously looked like it was lemon-flavored…"

Hiyoko gaped. "Huh? That gummy is yellow? Then it's not mine! The ones I eat don't have any yellow gummies!"

"What…?" Peko uttered, looking somewhat surprised.

Nagito smiled. "That's right… None of the gummy bags in her cottage had any yellow ones."

"Then we can't assume Saionji is the one who dropped that yellow gummy," said Chiaki, a finger raised.

"S-See!? Didn't I tell you!? It's definitely a trap!" Hiyoko berated everyone harshly, hot tears threatening to fall. "Ugh… Dammit… Who would set a trap like this…? I'll get my revenge! I'm gonna bop you on the head with all my might!"

"Hold on, you little bitch!" Fuyuhiko barked, a vein throbbing in his forehead due to his anger. "You think you're in the clear just because of a little gummy!? Don't be stupid! I'm not done backing you into a corner yet! There's still a huge piece of evidence left!"

"You're talking about the footprints near the beach house, right?" Mikan asked.

"We can thank Koizumi for it!" Nekomaru yelled with passion, getting fired up.

Ibuki tilted her head, stumped. "What does that mean?"

Akane gritted her teeth. "Koizumi used her last ounce of strength and…blocked the door to the road. Thanks to her…we have the evidence we need!" Akane declared, pumped up as well.

Hikari gasped. No, that's it! I argued about that theory with Hinata!

"You're wrong!" two voices shouted simultaneously and everyone fell silent. Hajime blinked across the room and Hikari blushed, realizing they both shouted the same thing at the same time.

"Go ahead, Seishin," Hajime encouraged. Hikari fiddled with her necklace for a second before gaining the courage to explain why Akane was incorrect.

"Well…Koizumi didn't block the door. She died…instantly," the ebony-haired girl said sadly.

"I-Instantly?" Akane said in shock.

"If you look at the crime scene, Koizumi's back was leaning against the door. If she was trying to get away, why wasn't she facing the closest exit? Plus, the Monokuma file explained that her death was caused by only one blow to the head."

Mikan nodded in affirmation. "According to my own autopsy… Yes…there's no doubt that Koizumi died instantly…"

"I-If you keep making shit up…I'll fucking kill you!" Fuyuhiko exploded at Mikan, making sure not to lay eyes on Hikari in case Natsumi possessed her again, remembering his promise to act nicely to the Spirit Medium. Mikan screeched in terror while Hikari tilted her head in confusion.

Is he also yelling at me or not…?

Sonia looked at the Yakuza sternly. "Kuzuryuu, you cannot do that. Only a coward threatens women."

"I'm pretty sure…her death was instant, too," Nagito commented before chuckling heartily. "Hehe, looks I agree with Seishin this time."

"I feel so privileged…" Hikari grumbled, giving him a deadpan stare.

"That's why Koizumi isn't the one who blocked the door," the Luckster continued. "Someone else used her body to block it."

"It would have to be the killer, of course," Hajime insisted. "They're the only one who blocked the door with Koizumi's body."

"Hence…the bloody drag marks on the floor of the beach house to Koizumi's body," Hikari concluded solemnly.

"But why did the killer block the door?" Ibuki wondered.

Fuyuhiko glared at Hiyoko. "Just ask Saionji! She's the killer, after all!"

"S-Seriously…" Hiyoko said breathlessly, "that's not true…!"

"Let's assume Saionji is the killer…" Chiaki suggested. "Wouldn't that mean she's also the one who dragged the body? If she handled a body that bloody, I think her clothes or skin would've been stained with blood…"

Souda blinked. "Huh? But when I saw her, she was…clean."

"I agree with that," Hikari nodded to Souda. "I didn't see any blood on her when she ran past me."

"See!?" Hiyoko repeated loudly. "I told you I wasn't the killer!" She jumped with joy, hands in the air. "Yaaay! With this, my innocence has been proven!"

"W-We haven't decided that yet!" Fuyuhiko fumed, slamming his fists on his podium hard.

"Hey, Kuzuryuu… Why do you keep insisting that Saionji is the killer?" Hajime questioned, a bit taken aback at Fuyuhiko's persistence.

"Shut up! I'm telling you she's the killer! That little bitch is definitely the killer! So what if she had to be covered in blood? She must have washed it off in the shower!"

"No, washing it off in the shower is impossible because the shower in the beach house was out of order!" Hajime argued.

"O-Out of order…?"

"I'm terribly sorry…" Monomi apologized, swinging back and forth in her restraints. "I haven't had any time to actually repair it…"

"Then…maybe she took her clothes off to move the body, and when she was done she…put them back on…!" the blonde male suggested desperately.

Hiyoko gasped. "A-Are you saying I did something that perverted!?"

"Listen to me, Kuzuryuu…" Hajime implored to Fuyuhiko. "Saionji mentioned before that she couldn't tie her sash by herself. Which means…Saionji can't change by herself. It's impossible for her to put on and take off her clothes."

Fuyuhiko looked absolutely stunned. "Wh-What…!?"

"Oh yeah, she couldn't even tie her sash on her own," Akane said with a grin. "That's why she couldn't take a bath and smelled bad."

Hiyoko turned away with a pout. "I-I didn't smell…and it only smelled a little…"

"Oh, wasn't changing inside the beach house prohibited in the first place?" asked Chiaki.

"Yes…" Monomi confirmed. "If you broke the rules, I'm pretty sure Monokuma wouldn't have kept quiet…"

"Damn right! I'm such a stickler for the rules that even safari park rangers want nothing to do with me," said Monokuma.

Ignoring Monokuma's confusing statement, Ibuki asked an important question. "If she didn't change her clothes, then what did Saionji do with the blood that got on her!?"

"Like I've been saying," Hiyoko retorted, still pouting, "the blood wasn't on me in the first place! 'Cause I never touched Koizumi's body!"

Kazuichi scratched his head slowly. "Hey, if you think about it the other way around… Does that mean that whoever was covered in blood is suspicious? Cause if so… I believe Owari was soaked with blood when we all met up to go to the beach…"

"Didn't I tell ya that was 'cause I got beat up by coach Nidai!?" Akane contended.

"I can attest to that," Nekomaru admitted, his arms crossed. "If I hadn't gotten that rough with her…she never would've backed down!"

Akane cracked her knuckles with an ominous grin. "Doubtin' me of all people, you got some nerve… All right! I'll bend your body in half so you're stuck in a bowing position for the rest of your life!"

"That actually sounds pretty cool!" Ibuki commented with hearty laughter.

"The hell it does!" Kazuichi cried out, shaking a fist towards the Musician.

"Hey…more importantly…I'm okay now, right?" Hiyoko breathed hesitantly. "It's okay…that I'm not the killer…?"

"Yeah, seems like it," Chiaki answered blankly.

"See…I already told you… There's no way that I'd kill Koizumi…" Tears started to form in Hiyoko's eyes. "Cause…Koizumi taught me how to wear a kimono…and she was very, very kind… There's no way I would kill a nice person like her! Why wouldn't you believe me earlier!?" The Traditional Dancer leaned her head back and wailed. "You guys are stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Hikari frowned, starting to feel guilty for doubting her.

Sorry, Saionji… We just needed to make sure… This really must be tough for you if you and Koizumi were as close as you say… I don't know how I'd be if Nanami or Hinata were killed… She shook her head to get rid of that last thought. No… I can't think like that. They will survive…We all will survive except Koizumi's killer…

"Hey Saionji…" Nagito called out when the girl started to calm down. "Now that our suspicions have been addressed, can you tell us the truth?"

"…Huh?" Hiyoko hiccupped, sniffling.

"Even though you're not the killer… You still went to the beach house, right?"

"L-Like I said…it was a trap…!"

The white-haired teen waved a hand carelessly. "Yeah, I got that already so…can you give us details about that trap?"

"F-Fine…you want me to talk, huh…? Um… Earlier this morning…Koizumi was the one who came up to me. She asked if we could meet up later…"

"Huh?" Ibuki blinked. "But didn't you say earlier…that she never talked to you at all?"

The lip-pierced girl blinked again, getting angry. "Dammit, so that was a lie!?"

"C-Cause…I thought I'd be doubted if I admitted it… So I figured it was better not to say anything…"

"So…what was your answer to Koizumi's invitation?" Nekomaru asked.

"I told her it was fine. I mean, I didn't have a reason to say no. Unlike everyone else here, Koizumi was someone I wasn't embarrassed to be seen with…" Everyone sweatdropped at that remark. "At the time, we were supposed to meet around 2:00 p.m. but…around noon, there was a letter inside my mailbox."

Chiaki tilted her head, a little intrigued. "…A letter?"

"Yeah, this one…" Hiyoko took out from inside her kimono a folded piece of paper, opening it for everyone to see what was written. "'I was going to tell you in person, but I couldn't find you so I put this in your mail box'," Hiyoko read out loud. "'About what we discussed earlier, is it okay to change the place? I want you to come to the beach house on the second island. The time is still the same at 2:00 p.m. It seems there's someone who wants to interfere with our meeting. Let's keep it a secret. Until then, let's try not to see each other for a while. It would be bad if they started suspecting us for no reason. –Koizumi Mahiru.' I saw this letter…and went to the beach house at that time."

Hajime looked at the letter carefully. "This letter… Doesn't it look like its contents are different from the letter Koizumi had? Koizumi's letter said to meet at 2:30 p.m., but in Saionji's letter…"

Hikari frowned, troubled. "The meeting times are not the same…"

"It's also strange that both letters wanted to change their meeting spot to the beach house. It would be plausible if one of them said it, but for both letters to say the same thing…"

"S-Saionji! Since you wrote it, what do you think!?" Ibuki asked with a nervous smile.

Hiyoko huffed. "Like I said, I never wrote the letter! How many times do I have to tell you!?"

"The killer…must've forged both letters…" Hajime spoke up.

Nagito nodded in agreement. "The killer forged them so they could manipulate their actions… Yeah, that's how we should think about it."

"That seems very likely," Nekomaru concurred, each letter in hand. "In fact, if you compare both letters… Confirmed! Just as I assumed, the handwriting is the same! The content of the letters matches, too!"

Chiaki leaned over to her left to see the two pieces of evidence. After a moment of comparing both letters, she nodded. "Like this part: 'I was going to tell you in person, but I couldn't find you so I put this in your mail box.' This part: 'It seems there's someone who wants to interfere with our meeting.' And this part: 'Let's keep it a secret. Until then, let's try not to see each other for a while.'"

"Th-The killer forged…both of those letters…" Mikan faltered, clasping her hands together anxiously.

"In doing so, they were able to control Saionji and Koizumi to do their bidding…like a Netherworld puppeteer," the Breeder acknowledged in his dark and deep voice.

Hiyoko started to sob again. "S-So they completely tricked me…and then…Koizumi's killer…" Unable to control herself, the kimono-clad girl burst into tears. "Waaaaaaaaaaah! How mean! Give me back Koizumi!"

"Really…this is really terrible…" Nagito sighed forlornly. "I've offered to help so many times…but the killer this time didn't discuss their plan with me at all…"

Hikari glared slightly at him. Good. Who knows what you would do…

Hajime cleared his throat. "…So based on what the letter said, you went to the beach house at 2:00 p.m., right Saionji?"

"What's most important is what happened afterward. What on earth happened there?" Peko asked in a calm manner.

Hiyoko abruptly stopped her tears and bonked herself on the head playfully. "Teehee, I fell asleep."

"Why'd you fall asleep!?" Mikan asked, frazzled.

"I-It's not like I wanted to…" Hiyoko pouted. "I think I was forced to get a whiff of some kind of medicine or something…"

"It could be possible that the medicine came from the Pharmacy… It's on the same island as the beach house…" Hikari pondered out loud with a frown.

"I thought that place seemed unsafe," Mikan commented. "They even have prescription medicines laying out in the open…"

"If you were aware of that from the start, you should've done something about it!" Kazuichi scolded the Nurse.

Mikan jumped in fear, cowering behind her arms. "Eeeekkkk! I-I'm soooorry!"

"When I woke up," Hiyoko continued, her voice starting to crack again as she remembered what happened, "I was inside a small closet… And when I rushed out… I-I…saw Koizumi's body…"

"And that's why you ran out of the beach house in such a panic!" Ibuki said sympathetically.

"I-I was scared…I was really, really scared…really scared that I couldn't help but…" Once again, Hiyoko cried loudly, tears streaming down her face.

"The killer probably planned to frame Saionji from the start," Chiaki guessed. "And for that reason, they summoned Saionji before Koizumi, put her to sleep, and shoved her inside the closet."

Gundham closed his eyes. "So their reason for blocking the door with Koizumi's body was to make Saionji leave her footprints as evidence…"

"E-Everything…was done to frame Saionji as the killer…" Mikan gasped, trembling nervously.

"Th-That's horrible…" Hiyoko cried, "I didn't do anything wrong…and I was f-framed by Koizumi's killer…"

"S-Saionji, please do not cry. We believe you…!" Sonia smiled sadly, trying to comfort the distraught girl.

Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue. "Tch! Is it really okay to believe her so easily? She might be faking those tears, you know…!"

"This will never end if you keep being so suspicious!" Nekomaru warned the Yakuza.

The short male only smirked.

"Isn't that what a class trial is all about? The only way to survive is to be suspicious… This is where we go to thoroughly doubt each other… So if you believe in each other so easily…then there's definitely somethin' wrong with you!"

"You're wrong, Kuzuryuu…" Nagito objected. "We aren't supposed to doubt each other here, we're supposed to work together. The class trial is where we cooperate with each other, work hard, and aim for victory." He hugged himself with a smile. "The killer and everyone else… Two hopes attempting to grasp the one, true hope… Two hopes clashing with each other is poetry in motion! That…is what a class trial should be! I'm on the side of the absolute hope that can overcome any despair. And I believe that absolute hope…exists at the point where two hopes clash."

And he's gone on a crazy "hope" spiel…again… Hikari sighed tiredly.

Gundham stared at the Luckster with slight irritation. "Your stance is neither white nor black, but gray… And you do not yearn for your life, or even for victory…"

"…Jeez, I wish he'd just side with the enemy already so I can believe what he's actually saying!" complained a puzzled Ibuki.

"Let's stop…" Hajime advised, already done with listening to Nagito's views. "Believing every little thing Komaeda says is a waste of time."

Hikari smiled a little. "You're right. We should concentrate our energy on figuring out who killed Koizumi."

"There should be a new clue contained in what Saionji has told us… So…let us believe Saionji's words and discuss it once again with everyone!" Sonia said encouragingly, trying to help bring the focus back to what they need to do.

"Yep yep…" Monomi chimed in. "The debate proceeds when you assume you can believe each other… Good job! That's the right way! That's the splendid power of teamwork!" The bunny turned her head to Monokuma. "Hey! What do you think of that, Monokuma!? I'm not gonna let you have the outcome you want!" Her only replies to her taunts were quiet snores from the stuffed bear, Monokuma apparently having fallen asleep due to how boring the trial seemed to him. "Ha-wa-wa!? He's sleeping!"

Fuyuhiko gritted his teeth, feeling very frustrated. "Dumbasses… You bastards don't know anything… If you're stupid enough to trust each other…the only thing waitin' for you is the bitter truth."

Hikari glanced down at the podium's surface in front of her, biting her lip. That may be so…though that's all we can do. We have to keep going to give peace to Koizumi's soul…and in order to survive this hell… Living with the truth is better than dying for the sake of lies…

Days Left: 15
Survivors: 14