CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION

"Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial." Monokuma said. "During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who the culprit is and vote for 'whodunit'. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy! Also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so you better vote for someone! Now, let's get this crazy, awesome, crazy-awesome trial underway!"

"So, it's starting, huh?" Kaede said solemnly.

"Ah-haha, oh man, I haven't been in a trial in, like, forever!" Kokichi said.

"Oh, so you have experience with trials…?" Tsumugi asked.

"Yeah, since I'm a leader of evil and stuff. I've done a loooot of bad things." Kokichi said proudly with a pose.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Kaito asked. "Where do we even start?"

"Gonta never done trial before… Not sure where to begin…" Gonta stated.

First, let's breathe in! And breathe out! We need to remember our 'No, No, No's'!" Tenko said before saying: "No pushing! No running! No talking!"

"But communication is the foundation of any discussion!" Keebo pointed out, backing a bit away from his spot next to Tenko.

"Keebo's right, we need to start discussing things." Rantaro stated.

"Exactly. This isn't a normal trial after all." I agreed. "In this sort of situation, you could say that each of us will be and can be acting as either a lawyer, prosecutor, jury member, or even culprit. With that in mind, we should begin talking about the case."

"Then might I offer the first topic?" Kiyo asked.

"Don't fuckin' get ahead of us! Ya tryin' to start some shit!?" Miu yelled angrily.

"C-Calm down… How about we listen first?" Kaede suggested.

"Atua has spoken… He says it is vital that we hear everyone's testimony." Angie said.

"I'm a good listener cuz my ears are clean. Once, I cleaned them so hard they bled." Himiko added for no reason.

"Why are you bringing that up?" I asked.

"I'll begin the conversation, then. There's something...I found curious: Why, I wonder, did Monokuma take away the First Blood Perk?" Kiyo asked.

"I thought that was strange, too!" Tsumugi exclaimed.

"Didn't he say that it was because the culprit wanted a class trial instead of leaving?" Ryoma asked.

"Then doesn't that mean Rinny is the culprit? He seemed really happy that the class trial was happening." Kokichi said. Everyone looked at me, causing me to sigh.

"I will admit, Monokuma taking away the First Blood Perk did make me happy. The reason why?" I asked before showing a malicious grin. "If the culprit couldn't escape with the perk, then they'll definitely die in the trial. I'll be able to avenge Kirumi and fix my mistake."

"Fix your mistake?" Shuichi asked. Before he could ask more, Miu interrupted.

"If it's not the white hair fucker, then it's Monokuma! Duh-doy! This whole class trial was his idea!" She said. "Hoo-yeah! Easy-peasy! I'm a fuckin' genius!"

"Wait, is it even possible for Monokuma to be the culprit?" Kaito asked.

"Of course not. I would never do anything to you guys directly." Monokuma giggled.

"The rules do state that Monokuma cannot directly interfer with a murder case, but I wonder if that's really true." I said while giving Monokuma a glare.

"Of cooourse it's true. I would never break my own rules." Monokuma said.

"I doubt that." I muttered, but it seemed no one heard me.

"Even if you can't, it's a different story for the person controlling you, right?" Kaede suggested.

"...Hm?" Monokuma hummed coyly.

"Is it possible that the mastermind controlling Monokuma killed Kirumi?" Kaede clarified.

"Mastermind? Wuzzat?" Monokuma asked while tilting his head in confusion.

"I-I dunno any mastermind." Monotaro stammered.

"N-Never heard of 'em…" Monophanie said nervously.

"Don't play dumb with me! Who's the mastermind controlling you guys!?" Kaede yelled, but the bears ignored her.

"The mastermind, huh?" Ryoma sighed. "Odds are, it's one of us…"

"It's Kee-boy over here! Everyone else thinks so too!" Kokichi said happily as he pointed to Keebo.

"D-Does everyone really think that…!?" Keebo asked with a sad expression.

"No one thinks you're the mastermind Keebo." I said. "I know for a fact that you can't be the mastermind."

"Know for a fact? What does that mean?" Rantaro asked.

"I suppose I should let you guys know then…" I said with a sigh. I then turned to everyone with a dark grin. "I already know who the culprit and mastermind are."

"Wh-Wh-What!?" Tenko screamed.

"The fuck you say!?" Miu yelled.

"Wh-What!?" Monokuma exclaimed as sweat poured from his body.

"Why are you surprised?" Maki asked him.

"Cuz if he's right, that would make this the fastest class trial to date!" Monokuma explained.

"Fastest class trial?" I questioned, but was ignored.

"How fast was the previous record, anyway?" Monotaro asked the other cubs.

"Real fast, lemme tell ya" Monosuke said.

"He was like… a leaf on the wind." Monophanie reminisce.

"Oh yeah… I guess now he's one with the wind." Monotaro laughed.

"Yeah, I think about him this time of year, too." Monosuke said while tearing up.

"The way he soared through the enemy fleet all badass, just to die like a li'l punk!" Monokid exclaimed.

"Shut it, you weirdos! This is an important conversation!" Kaito interrupted them.

"You...know already?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, to be exact, I'm only 99% sure I know who the mastermind is. I didn't have time to find one piece of evidence, but I did find evidence to suggest that what I was trying to find exists, so I'm pretty confident." I explained.

"Then tell us who it is!" Kaede said.

"No."

"Huh?"

"If I told you guys now, I bet you'd all be super confused and wouldn't be able to follow me. It'd be like trying to explain multiplication to kids who haven't finished learning about addition. I would have to explain everything from the beginning and then explain everyone's actions and all the evidence and theories I have, and that would take way too long. Besides, I bet most of you suspect me, so I would rather clear any doubts about myself and any others before that. So we should discuss the case and figure out how Kirumi was killed, and then I'll reveal the culprit. That way, you all will have an easier time understanding why I believe what I believe."

"I...suppose that makes sense." Keebo said.

"Nyeeeh… What a pain…" Himiko muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll still help you with the trial. I won't let you guys fail in figuring this out." I said.

"Puhuhu… I wonder who you're gunning for. This is so exciting!" Monokuma said. Kaede sighed and folded her arms together.

"We'll get to the bottom of this…" Kaede said.

"Before we determine the mastermind, we must uncover the culprit. Only then will we find out if they truly are the mastermind." Kiyo stated.

"Then… we could start by determining the sequence of events?" Shuichi suggested. "Let's do what Rin said and take a closer look at the circumstances of Kirumi's death."

"Gonta agree with Shuichi! After all, Shuichi is Ultimate Detective!" Gonta said.

"Then we should begin discussing what happened." Rantaro said. With that, we started to discuss the case and how it happened. I took a deep breath. It'll be fine. I already know who did it, at least I think. I just need to clarify how they did piece by piece. With that thought, our podiums began to float a bit above the ground and moved a bit, settling back into a circle. There was no going back now. With this first step, the nonstop debate that is the class trial truly began.

"Kirumi's body was found right after the time limit ended, right?" Tenko started the discussion.

"She was killed in the library." Kiyo stated.

"How did Kirumi even get into the library, and why was she even there?" Ryoma asked.

"There is a possibility." Kaito said. "She went to the library cuz she knew about the hidden door! That would mean Kirumi was mastermininding this whole thing!"

"Wait a minute!" Kaede interjected. "I don't think Kirumi was the mastermind!"

"Huh? Why!?" Kaito exclaimed, shocked his suggestion was so quickly shot down.

"Kaito, remember when we examined Kirumi's belongings? She didn't have anything like a card key on her. She wouldn't have been able to open the hidden door without it." I explained.

"Perhaps the culprit took the card key after killing Kirumi?" Keebo suggested.

"But if the mastermind had died there, this killing game would've already ended." Maki refuted.

"Agreed. The possibility Kirumi was the mastermind is pretty low." Rantaro nodded.

"I also don't think Kirumi knew about the hidden door. I never saw her go to the library. Did any of you?" I asked.

"Not that Gonta can remember." Gonta said. The others nodded to that as well.

"Then perhaps the mastermind told her about it?" Ryoma suggested.

"Whaaaat? Why would the mastermind tell her that?" Angie asked.

"To lure Kirumi to the library… and kill her." Ryoma explained.

"If that is the case, Rin's statement that the culprit is the mastermind would be true!" Keebo pointed out.

"Hmm… That does seem plausible." Kiyo commented. "I have to agree with what Rin said before the investigation. It's very likely the mastermind knew about Kaede and Shuichi's trap."

"Th-They knew about our trap the entire time?" Kaede asked, horrified at the suggestion.

"This case may have become the perfect crime, thanks to your hidden cameras." Kiyo explained. "The mastermind knew about your trap and exploited it to commit their crime. I believe that is what Rin meant when he said your plan had 'flaws'."

"So after the mastermind lured Kirumi and murdered her ass, they used Kaeidiot and Poo-ichis's hidden cameras to arrange the perfect crime!" Miu added.

"Th-They took advantage of our trap?" Kaede repeated, not being able to believe it.

"Is this really… the perfect crime? Are we in an unsolvable mystery?" Tsumugi asked with a horrified expression. It's true, the mastermind was planning to use the trap in the library to their advantage, however...

"I do not believe the mastermind told Kirumi about the hidden door." I said.

"How come?" Himiko asked.

"If the mastermind did tell her about it, she would have gone to the library at least once to check it out, but none of us ever saw her go to the basement. It's still possible that she found the door during nighttime or some other time when we were all busy with something else, but I doubt it. There's another reason for my believing this as well."

"And what would that be?" Kiyo asked.

"I think the mastermind told someone else about the hidden door, and that person was the original target." I said.

"T-Told someone else!?" Tenko exclaimed.

"And who would this original target be?" Keebo asked.

"I'll tell you later. We're getting off topic. We need to focus our attention and discuss Kirumi's murder more first. While I don't believe that Kirumi knew about the hidden door, the fact still remains that she ended up in the library and was killed. Kiyo was correct. I do believe the mastermind planned to use the trap Kaede and Shuichi made to create the perfect cover for their crime." I said.

"But we still have no idea who the mastermind could be…" Tsumugi said sadly.

"Well, I guess this is a dead end…" Himiko sighed.

"Wait, don't give up that easily! We already know the culprit is the mastermind." Kaede said. "We gotta work together to find the mastermind! Then we can end this killing game!"

"You yap about teamwork and all that, but you still think one of us is the mastermind…" Kokichi points out.

"Yes, and I know that's a horrible thought…" Kaede softly said. " But that's why I want to end all the terrible things happening to us! I'll defeat the mastermind and end this dumb killing game! I'll...I'll even use this class trial to do that!"

"Kaede…" Shuichi said with a look of regret and admiration.

"You're having the same thoughts that I had." I said with a chuckle. "Yes, that's what this class trial really is. It's a tool we can use to end the game. That's why I was so happy. The mastermind is trapped now. They can't run away anymore. We just have to drag them out to the light. We'll find the mastermind in this class trial, and the killing game will finally end! I don't care who the mastermind is. I won't let them get away!" I declared.

"Nee-heehee… Wow, looks like you're both determined to face even a cold, hard truth. Then here it comes: The cold, hard truth!" Kokichi said with a huge, cocky grin.

"Huh?" Kaede asked, caught off guard by Kokichi's claim.

"Just like Rinny, I already figured out who killed Mom." Kokichi said.

"What!? Another one!?" Monokuma exclaimed.

"Be quiet and listen." I growled.

"Kokichi! Are you serious about knowing who the culprit is?" Kaito asked.

"Yup! Sooooo… we all agree that the culprit knew about Kaede and Shuichi's trap, right?"

"No shit! That's why they're not in any of the pictures! So who is it!?" Miu demanded.

"So whoever knew about the hidden cameras is the culprit." Kokichi explained further.

"So who the hell is it!?" Miu asked once again.

"It's you!" Kokichi exclaimed while pointing at Miu.

"Moi!?" Miu staggered backwards from the accusation. "How come you're not pointin' the finger to the fuckin' amnesiac!? He knew about the cameras too!"

"But he didn't know where they were placed. He only knew they were in the library, and there's no way he could have known about the camera's blind spots." Kokichi explained. "You, on the other hand, made the cameras used for the trap! Riiight? Obviously, whoever made the cameras knew about the blind spots."

"Before breakfast was the only time someone would be able to sneak by." Ryoma added.

"Wh-What the hell brought this on all of a sudden…?" Miu clammered. "I...I just designed the cameras… I didn't know where they'd get set up in the library either…"

"If someone asked me to make cameras, I'd totally ask what they were for." Kokichi countered.

"How come you never asked what the cameras were for? Huh? Huhhhh?" Angie questioned.

"I...I...I pulled an all-nighter makin' them… and afterward, just sorta...passed out…" Miu tried to explain.

"You're getting awfully worked up. Look at you, you're sweating." Kokichi pointed out.

"I'm always wet! I'm just feelin' extra sensitive, like these big boobs of mine…" Miu rambled, trying to defend herself.

"For someone so aggressive, you're kind of a wimp, huh, Miu?" Tsumugi pointed out.

"C-C'mon, lemme off the hook already… D-D-Do you want money!? Is that it!?" Miu asked frantically.

"Your pathetic excuses are consistent with those of a common male criminal!" Tenko accused.

"This is getting out of hand…" Rantaro sighed. "We should discuss if Miu could have killed Kirumi, not just accuse her." With that, we began to talk again.

"Why don't you just admit it already? You're the culprit, aren't you Miu?" Kokichi asked. Miu's podium moved toward the center of the circle, signaling she was the prime suspect at the moment, fueling her fear even more.

"N...N...No way! That's not possible!" She tried to say.

"So you knew nothing about the trap in the library?" Keebo questioned.

"I'm tellin' ya, I had no idea! Not like it matters, cuz I never went to the library!"

"I agree with that." I said calmly. "I found her in the dining hall with Kiyo. Kiyo and Miu actually are each other's alibis.

"Agreed. Miu can't be the culprit. She was in the dining hall during the murder. I saw her there while dining on what I thought would be my last supper."

"You fuckin' slug! Why didn't you say so earlier!? And good job, Rin! I shouldn't have judged you by your lack of any noticeable traits!" Ok...ouch...

"What Gilgamesh-level condescension! But which Grail War are you from?" Tsumugi jokingly said, which made me laugh a bit. Was always a big fan of that series.

"Wow… Another reference we don't get. Heh, you must be a hardcore loser." Kokichi pointed out. Double ouch...

"...Oh, sorry. Sometimes my hobbies just sort of slip in…" Tsumugi apologies.

"Hey! Don't be actin' all cocky, Cock-kichi! You put my ass in the hot seat earlier! How 'bout you just keep your fuckin' mouth shut, you lyin' little abortion!" Miu screamed. Holy shit… What the actual fuck Miu? You can't just say that...

"Wha-!? Th-That was really uncalled for… I only said that to find the culprit!" Kokichi said before letting out a flood of tears. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! YOU'RE SO MEEEEEEAAAAAANNNN!" Kokichi's tears then vanished as he smiled. "...'Kay. I feel a lot better now."

"Cool your jets kid." Ryoma sighed.

"Tsumugi and Kirumi were both in the dining hall as well."

"We can dismiss those three who were in the dining hall together as potential culprits if they were together the entire time." Keebo said.

"No...not the entire time. At one point, Tsumugi went to the restroom." Kiyo pointed out.

"Oh...so you brought that up after all…" Tsumugi said sadly. "It's true. I went to the restroom closest to the dining hall."

"It's true. Kiyo told me she went to the bathroom, so in a panic, I went inside to make sure she wasn't dead and found her there." I responded.

"So that's what you were doing." Rantaro said.

"...Oh? Did I hear that right? The restroom, you say?" Monokuma asked. "Excellent! I was waiting for this moment! I'm getting so excited right now!"

"Ew! Why!?" Tenko asked while making a disgusted face.

"Did you take a firm dump!? Or was it a soft one!?" Monotaro asked.

"...Why're you assumin' she was droppin' a deuce in there?" Monosuke asked with concern.

"Ignoring them…" I groaned.

"But I really did just go to the restroom. Not the basement, you know?" Tsumugi said. "Also, I don't think I was there long enough to be suspicious, right?"

"You're the Ultimate Cosplayer, though." Ryoma pointed out. "You could've just disguised yourself as someone else while you were out."

"D-Disguised!? No, no! I don't do disguises!" Tsumugi clammered.

"I don't think that's possible. And I know the reason why." Kaede said. "Tsumugi can only cosplay as fictional characters!"

"Only fictional characters?" Rantaro asked.

"That's what cosplay is supposed to be in the first place!" Tsumugi raised her voice. "Lately, some people prefer to cosplay as non-fictional characters, which is unforgivable. It's so unforgivable that I break out in cospox if I even attempt it."Tsumugi then said with a solemn look.

"Yeah… the cospox was pretty gross. She turned entirely pink." Kaede said.

"That… sounds more like a placebo effect than an actual condition." I sighed at the absurdity of it.

"I see… If that's the case, then there's no way you could've been in disguise. Sorry about that, Tsumugi. I just thought it was something to check."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm not bothered by it at all." Tsumugi said calmly.

"Awwww, Tsumugi is so nice! She's waaay better than Miu!" Kokichi added. My subconscious mind had to agree, but I would never let myself say that outloud.

"Well, fuck you too!" Miu then said.

"Back to the discussion, we now have alibis for the people in the dining hall, but Kirumi who was with them ended up in the library. How did that happen?" Rantaro asked.

"Kirumi left a few minutes after Tsumugi went to the bathroom. She said she had a request to fulfill." Kiyo explained.

"A request?" Himiko asked.

"Request? Does it have something to do with this note that was found with her belongings?" Shuichi asked.

"A...note?" Keebo said, his face turning to one of confusion.

"Oh yeah. That note…" Kaito said while rubbing the back of his head. "We found that note too, but we couldn't make sense of it."

"How come?" Himiko asked.

"It was written in 4 different languages." Kaede said.

"From looking at it, I think they are Latin, Russian, French, and Chinese." Shuichi added.

"I was able to read the Russian part, and from that, I got that someone must have asked Kirumi to do something." Kaito explained.

"That must be the request she had to fulfill." Rantaro said.

"Does that mean this request was the reason Kirumi was in the library?" Angie asked.

"Then does that mean that she was going to meet up with someone who was in the basement to fulfill their request?" Kaede asked. Keebo shot me a nervous look briefly, but I pretended to ignore it. I'd rather not talk about it right now.

"So that means all the swines who went to the basement are all suspicious, right!?" Miu exclaimed.

"Which of us went to the basement again?" Kiyo asked.

"Well, when Shuichi and I were on lookout, we saw Kaito, Gonta, Maki, Tenko, Angie, Himiko, Rin, and Rantaro… So those 8 people in total." Kaede said.

"So the culprit is among those 8?" Keebo asked, giving me an even more nervous look for a bit, but still I ignored him.

"Nyahaha! But of course!" Angie herself cheered.

"Why are you laughing!? That includes you, too!" Tenko stated. The others then stared at the mentioned 8, me included. How ridiculous…

"Why not toture the truth out of them?" Kiyo suggested without hesitation. "It would be the quickest method."

"W-Wait, please! No toture! My tolerance for pain is actually really, really low!" Tenko cried out. "I'll tell you everything! Anything! Just please don't hurt me!"

"No one is going to toture anyone." Rantaro reassured.

"If the culprit is among that group, then wouldn't Maki be the most suspicious?" Kokichi asked. "Just look at her-she could definitely kill someone." Does...Does he know about her?

"Stop being so stupid. The culprit could easily be anyone… like Kaito." Maki refuted.

"Wh-What are you talking about!?" Kaito exclaimed with a horrified expression. "There's no way I'm the culprit!"

"Who's the culprit!? Who!?" Miu shouted.

"Gonta is gentleman! Gentlemen not hurt people!" Gonta said.

"I-It's not me either… Murder sounds like way too much work." Himiko said softly.

"I have an alibi!" Angie said happily.

"Who's the culprit, for fuck's sake!?" Miu shouted again. The room then filled with everyone talking over each other. People kept shouting and giving reasons as to why they aren't the culprit. Most of the people who went to the basement were shouting out "I'm not the culprit!" while yelling out their defenses. I ignored the senseless noise, thinking about everything and double and triple checking my theory and suspicions, along with making sure I wasn't looking over anything. I can't overlook a single detail here. Not again. I'm only brought back when I hear Kaito shout out something.

"None of us could be the culprit! All of us have an alibi since we were all together!"

"Wait a minute, Kaito! Wasn't there a few people who disappeared during the meeting?" Kaede asked.

"That idiot already forgot. Rin and Gonta left during the strategy meeting." Maki explained.

"Oh, that's right. Gonta locked himself in the A/V Room and Rin went to the library to-" Kaito said before realizing what Maki said. "Hey, wait a sec! 'Idiot'!?"

"We saw Rin in those photos, so that makes sense, but Gonta, is it true you locked yourself in the A/V Room?" Ryoma asked.

"Y-Yes, Gonta watch bug movie. To fill Gonta with fight, so Gonta can fight Monokuma." Gonta explained.

"Were you trying to imagine yourself as a huge mantis with swords for hands?" Tsumugi asked.

"Oh, come on! How is looking at bugs supposed to put you in a fightin' mood!?" Monotaro asked the question most of us were thinking.

"Terrible idea! Like puttin' ketchup on a hotdog!" Monosuke agreed.

"I was wondering about that. Why did you lock the door?" I asked.

"Cuz… Gonta need focus…" Gonta said before turning to all of us with a nervous expression. "Hm? Everyone suspect Gonta? Why!?"

"Because you don't have an alibi!" Tenko explained.

"Oh, Gonta just need alibi? Okay! Gonta will get alibi! Just tell Gonta where to find it!"

"The way this debate is going… this will be difficult to refute." Maki sighed.

"Kehehe… What will you do? Without an alibi, we'll all choose you." Kiyo said.

"That won't happen." I objected. "After all, Gonta already has an alibi."

"Gonta do?"

"Yeah. Remember when we were in the A/V Room? Me and Kaito investigated the sliding door that faces the hallway. If you try to open it, it gets jammed and won't open all the way. At most, you would get an arm through."

"Rin also pointed out how the dust on the railing wasn't disturbed, meaning no one forced the door open either." Kaito explained.

"If Gonta couldn't use the sliding door, then in order to get to the library…" Kiyo began.

"He'd have to go through the Game Room. But we didn't see him at all." Kaito finished.

"See? Gonta tell you he not culprit!"

"Honestly, you're lucky." I sighed.

"What do you mean, Rin?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, if Kirumi only had one wound, you could have still made a case against Gonta being the culprit, but since Kirumi had multiple wounds, Gonta is cleared without a doubt. So...he's lucky the culprit stabbed Kirumi multiple times."

"He would have still been in trouble if the victim only had one wound? How would that work if he was stuck in the A/V Room?" Kaito asked.

"Not that it matters, but the sliding door is right across from the rear entrance to the library, which in turn is directly across from where Kirumi's body was found. If Kirumi only had one stab wound and the knife was still in her, you could argue that Gonta threw the knife, but since she was stabbed 13 times, that theory goes out the window."

"W-Wow… that would have definitely been bad for Gonta…" Himiko said, scared of what that possibility could have resulted in.

"Well… if Gonta's not the culprit, then we should discuss if Rin is a possible suspect." Kiyo states.

"I expected this. I was the one who triggered the security sensor on the moving bookcase after all. Shuichi and the others also never got the chance to question me when they arrived, so it makes sense if you all think I'm suspicious." I said. "However, I am not the culprit or the mastermind."

"How do you intend to prove that?" Maki asked.

"Well, ask me anything you want I suppose. I'll do my best to answer it if it means clearing my name." I said while rubbing my neck.

"If that's the case, I'll start. How did you learn about the moving bookcase?" Ryoma asked.

"I actually almost found it on our first day here, though I didn't get a chance to actually see it until the day after, since when I first investigated the library, Maki sorta… scared me off before I could." I said with a laugh.

"You almost found it on our first day?" Keebo asked.

"Yeah. I thought it was pretty obvious. There were drag marks and the bookcase was the only one that didn't have books stacked on it when the library was flooded with books piled up everywhere. I was surprised to learn that only 4 of us knew about it." I explained.

"4?" Shuichi asked.

"U-Uh...forget about that." I quickly deflect the question.

"Well then, how did you find out about Shumai and Kaeyayday's plan?" Kokichi asked.

"Well, I knew Kaede and Shuichi knew about the door since I ran into them right before I found the hidden door. When I told them I was heading to the library right after Monokuma was destroyed, they gave me a weird look, probably because they were suspicious of me after that. Anyway, a few days later, I accidentally overheard them asking Miu for the cameras and sensors, so I put 2 and 2 together and figured they were planning to catch the mastermind." I explained.

"If that's the case, why did you walk right into their trap?" Rantaro asked.

"..." How do I answer this…? It's pretty...complicated after all. "U-Umm… Well… I…"

"Does it have to do with what you told me and Kaito in the Game Room?" Tenko asked.

"What did Rin tell you?" Gonta asked.

"He told us someone was-."

"Nothing!" I screamed, cutting off Tenko. "I-I mean… it was nothing. It had nothing to do with the case." I stammered, praying this makes us change topics.

"Nothing? That sounds like a lie." Kokichi said with a smile.

"Rin, even if you say it has nothing to do with the case, we should still know why you went to the library. I can't think of any reason you would go there unless you're the mastermind, but I don't think that's the case after seeing how you reacted after we found you and after Kirumi was discovered." Shuichi said. "So please… tell us why you went there."

"I… I can't." I said while looking away. "If I do, then we'll be forced to discuss…" I stopped myself.

"Wait. Does it have to do with how you almost died?" Rantaro asked.

"Rantaro!" I shouted angrily.

"Almost died!?" Gonta exclaimed with a horrified expression.

"Someone attempted to kill you!?" Keebo asked with a terrified look.

"Rin told us when we entered the library someone tried to kill him, and he asked us who it was, though he also said he already knew who it was." Rantaro explained, much to my chagrin. We can't start talking about that. We can't!

"Why didn't he tell us!? That's incredibly important!" Tsumugi asked.

"Does this mean that the person who killed Kirumi might be the same person who tried to kill Rin?" Kiyo asked. I took a look at Shuichi, who was now realizing why I wanted to avoid this topic. We exchanged nervous looks and nodded. No one will know. We won't allow it.

"So did Rin go to the library to stop the attempt?" Maki asked. "But why would he go if he knew someone was trying to kill him?"

"But he didn't say someone was trying to kill him!" Tenko explained.

"He didn't?" Ryoma asked.

"No. He said someone was trying to kill Rantaro." Kaito finished.

"Me?" Rantaro raised his eyebrows in surprise, though he didn't appear very upset about it. "So that's why you two didn't let me leave the Game Room by myself."

"Yeah. Rin personally asked us to keep you there because of it." Kaito explained further.

"But how did Rin find out someone was planning to murder Rantaro? And why did he go to the library if that's the case? Did Atua give him divine knowledge?" Angie asked.

"Perhaps it was magic…" Himiko said slowly.

"We should ask Rin for more details, however, it appears that he wanted to avoid this discussion. I wonder why." Kiyo pondered.

"He did say he didn't blame his would-be murderer and forgave them." Rantaro said. "He also said he doesn't want them to be publicly persecuted."

"So he's hiding them? What purpose would that serve?" Keebo asked.

"Perhaps Rinny here has a crush on them." Kokichi suggested with a mischievous grin.

"Shut up and give us something that could actually be a fuckin' reason!" Miu yelled.

"You know who was trying to kill you, right? Why don't you tell us who?" Tsumugi asked me. I just looked away. I won't let them accuse her of this. She didn't mean any harm. She made a mistake, and no one got hurt, so I won't let her get punished for my own mistakes.