Author's Note: I'm sick, so I'm just going to post the remaining 4 chapters for this arc so I don't have to worry about it. Enjoy.
The others, now aware that I almost died, began to bombard me with questions, but I refused to answer them. I tried to persuade them into talking about Kirumi's case again, but they were convinced that the two cases were related. "It's clear that Rin won't say anything." Kiyo sighed.
"Then we should have Shuichi figure it out." Rantaro said.
"Me?" Shuichi asked, sweat now dripping from his face.
"You're the Ultimate Detective, so maybe you can figure out who tried to kill Rin." Rantaro explained.
"..." Shuichi fell silent. He then pulled his hat down to cover his eyes. He wasn't going to say anything either. We both didn't want to talk about the case.
"Shuichi?" Kaede asked, noticing the detective's odd silence.
"Wait… why Shuichi no talk?" Gonta asked.
"So he's not going to help us either!?" Miu screamed.
"Maybe that indicates that he was the one who tried to kill Rin." Kiyo suggested.
"Th-That's impossible! He was with me the entire time!" Kaede said.
"That's true. He couldn't try to kill Rin if he never went there by himself." Himiko said.
"But I don't think that matters." Rantaro pointed out. "After all, Rin said that the weapon that almost killed him, a shot put ball, fell off one of the bookcases and almost dropped onto him." Shit...I did tell them that.
"If that's the case, then that means that someone set a trap to have the shot put ball drop on Rin, allowing them to kill while not being in the library." Ryoma said.
"So does that mean Shuichi try to kill Rin?" Gonta asked.
"It's possible. If it was a trap made in the library, it's highly possible that either Shuichi or Kaede set the trap." Maki said.
"But Shuichi and Kaede wouldn't do something like that!" Kaito shouted. "It has to be someone else!"
"That's highly unlikely. If someone set up the trap before Shuichi and Kaede set up the cameras, they would have found it, and if the trap was set up after the cameras were placed, the culprit would have been caught on the cameras." Keebo said.
"But still!" Kaito declared.
"How can you be so sure? We only met a few days ago, so who's to say?" Kokichi said with an evil grin. "Either one of them could actually be a cold blooded killer who tried to kill someone."
"So, the one who was planning to kill Rantaro and almost killed Rin is either Shuichi or Kaede?" Tsumugi asked.
"Go on and confess you two! If you do, Atua will forgive you!" Angie said happily.
"So that means that one of them also killed the goth maid, right!? Which one of 'em did it!?" Miu yelled.
"I'm telling you, it's not relevant to the case!" I raised my voice. "It's impossible for the person who set the trap in the library to have killed Kirumi!"
"And how do you know that?" Maki asked. "How can you be so sure?"
"Th-That's because-"
"It's me." Shuichi and I turned our heads in horror when Kaede spoke.
"K-Kaede…?" Shuichi managed to say.
"Kaede, you don't have to-."
"I do. I'm grateful to both of you for trying to hide it, but we can't avoid it anymore. So, I'll talk about it." Kaede interrupted me.
"K-Kaede? What are you talking about?" Tenko asked
"It's like I said." Kaede said with a small, sad smile. "I'm the one who set up the trap and almost killed Rin." As soon as she spoke, the entire courtroom burst into chaos.
"WHAAAAAAT!?" Tenko cried out in confusion.
"It was you!?" Kaito exclaimed.
"No! That's unpossible! Kaede no do that!" Gonta cried out.
"If you all won't believe me, then I should explain it to you all, but I think Shuichi should be the one to do that." Kaede said while turning to Shuichi.
"M-Me…?"
"Shuichi, you're hiding from the truth. I'm grateful to both you and Rin for trying to hide what I did, but it's better this way. So, could you please explain my crime to them?" Shuichi looked at Kaede with a distressed expression before it turned into a determined one. He nodded and took a deep breath.
"Kaede's right. She was the one who set up the trap in the library." Shuichi said.
"So she was confessing!?" Miu exclaimed.
"Nee-heehee… now this is interesting!" Kokichi laughed. "So now Shuichi is going to explain to us how his 'bestest fwiend' Kaeyayday tried to kill someone, riiight?"
"Be quiet you male! Have some tack!" Tenko said while making an offensive stance, causing Kokichi to shiver in fear, or at least pretend to.
"Then let us ask you, Shuichi. What was Kaede's plan and how did you find out?" Kiyo asked.
"There are a few clues that point to this being Kaede's doing." Shuichi explains. "The first clue that I heard was how Rin said the shot put ball fell from one of the bookcases."
"But how does that show that Kaede is the culprit?" Himiko asked.
"To explain that, I'll need Miu's help."
"Me!?" Miu shouted.
"Do you have those drone photos of the library's layout?" Shuichi asked.
"Oh yeah! I got 'em right here!" Miu pulls out a few photos, each showing the layout of the library. Shuichi took a look at them and nodded.
"Just as I thought."
"What do you mean?" Ryoma asked.
"Look at this bookcase." Shuichi said while pointing to the bookcase that had the stacked books on them. "If you look at the books, you'll see that the books are stacked in a way to make a path. More specifically, a ramp."
"A ramp?" Maki asked.
"Yes, and right here…" Shuichi then points to the vent in the library. "The vent is right above the ramp."
"But what does the ramp have to do with the murder trap?" Himiko asked.
"When Kaede and I were looking for spots to put the cameras, she stacked the books like that, and not only that, when we were investigating the vent, she opened the vent cover and placed it inside the vent to make a pathway."
"Then does that mean she rolled the shot from the vent in the classroom you were in?" Rantaro asked.
"Most likely." Shuichi said.
"It was right after the receiver went off." Kaede explained. "Shuichi ran out of the room, and I stayed behind and rolled the shot down the vent."
"With the shot put ball rolled through the vent and came out in the library, falling onto the pathway of stacked books. It then started to roll down the pathway until it hit encyclopedias that were left open to change it's path to fall off the bookcase." Shuichi finished.
"But how would that kill someone?" Angie asked. "The bookcase with the stacked books is not near the moving bookcase. How did she know someone would be standing next to this bookcase?"
"I got that answer when we saw the hidden door photos." Shuichi said. "When I collected the cameras, Rin said he turned off the sensor of the hidden door camera. He said it was 'annoying'. I didn't understand what he meant until we saw the photos." He took out the hidden camera photos and pointed to them. "If you look closely, you'll see the flash is on."
"The flash? Why would it be on if it was supposed to be hidden?" Keebo asked.
"I understand now." Rantaro said. "It was to lure whoever moved the moving bookcase to the camera, which is directly in the path of the weapon."
"So when Rin said it was annoying, he meant the flash." Ryoma repeated.
"Rin, is that true? Was the flash on?" Kaito asked. I looked away, a pained expression on my face. They figured it out.
"Judging from his silence, I believe that we can believe Shuichi's words." Kiyo said.
"But if that's true, and Kaede tried to kill someone with this trap, then that's pretty heartbreaking." Kokichi said. "I mean, it's Kaeyayday! She was the one who kept saying we wouldn't play this killing game and was trying to unite us all to escape! How could she try and murder someone in cold blood?"
"No, that's not it." I finally spoke up.
"Huh? What's not it?" Kokichi said with confusion.
"Kaede wasn't trying to start the killing game. She was trying to end it." I explained.
"End it? How?" Himiko asked.
"Didn't you say that someone was trying to kill Rantaro and that person was the one who almost killed you? How would killing Rantaro or you end the killing game?" Tenko asked.
"Kaede wasn't trying to kill me or Rantaro." I said.
"But you said-."
"That was a lie." I cut Kaito off. "I said that because I was certain that Rantaro would fall into the trap, so I needed you guys to keep him in place. I said that because it was the only reason I could come up with."
"But if Kaede wasn't trying to kill you or Rantaro, then why did she do this?" Keebo asked.
"She was trying to kill the mastermind." Shuichi answered.
"The mastermind?" Ryoma asked.
"The trap was set up so that whoever opened the moving bookcase would be lured to the camera and get hit by the shot. And the person that we were expecting to move the bookcase was the mastermind. Kaede wanted to kill the mastermind to end this game."
"...You're right." Kaede said softly, tears forming in her eyes. "I should've known that you would have easily figured it out."
"So everything that's been said is true?" Kaito asked.
"Yes… After the time limit was added, I was scared. I didn't want anyone to die and I wasn't sure how I could save everyone. Then Shuichi told me about his plan to catch the mastermind, and I thought it would work at first. But when we were in the warehouse looking for the cameras, I saw the shot put ball and had a thought. Even if the mastermind was caught, what's to prevent them from stalling until the time limit ends and then kill us. As long as the time limit was a threat, I didn't know if just catching them would be good enough."
"So you planned on killing them." Maki said.
"Yes. I thought it was the only way to end the game and save everyone. I even made it an elaborate trap to make sure no one would find out, since I was terrified of what you all would think of what I'd done, but…" Kaede then clutched her shoulders and shivered in fear. "Not only did my plan fail, but I almost killed someone innocent. One of our friends. H-How could I have…" I didn't let her finish as I shook my head.
"It's not your fault. You were only doing what you thought was best for us. I said it before. I don't hate you for it. I forgive you."
"Why!?" Kaede shouted angrily. I was taken aback as she looked at me with confusion and sadness. "I just don't...understand why… I almost killed you! You should hate me! I-I'm horrible!"
"...That's not it at all… If anything, I'm the one at fault here." I said, looking away.
"Wha-?"
"It's my fault Kirumi is dead." I said as I gripped my hair tightly. "I was an idiot to think I could solve this easily. If only I had planned better, maybe had contingency, acted faster, or knew more, I could have saved her!"
"...Why do you keep saying that?" Shuichi asked me. "You kept saying something similar when we found the body."
"I think I may have an idea as to why he thinks that." Keebo said. "I think it has to do with the note Kirumi had."
"The note?"
"To be honest, I was conflicted about whether I should bring this up, but I believe I should now. After all, I believe we need Rin to explain everything to us for us to find the culprit who killed Kirumi. May I show them Rin." He asked when he turned to me. When I nodded, he pulled out the note I had given him earlier. "Rin wrote this note and gave it to me earlier today. I would like for you to take a look at it." He showed the note to everyone, causing most people to gasp.
"It's written in different languages too!" Tenko said.
"So that mean Rin wrote note to Kirumi?" Gonta asked.
"So he's fluent in those different languages?" Ryoma asked.
"I was surprised too…" I said softly. "It just… came to mind when I was trying to figure out a safe way to communicate without the mastermind finding out." Damn Foresight...Just when I think I understand how it works, it throws that piece of information at me.
"So you hide a message in different languages. Smart." Rantaro said.
"My data banks have information on most major languages, so I could understand the note. I imagine the same could be said about Kirumi." Keebo said.
"Nyeeeh… What did the note say then?" Himiko asked.
"My note asked me to keep watch on the people in the dorms, who were Ryoma and Kokichi. It told me to make sure to note who entered and left and try to stop people from leaving if I could."
"Keeping watch?" Rantaro questioned.
"So that's why you were just waiting outside your door and tried to stop me when I left my room!" Kokichi said with a smile.
"Yes. I am glad I convinced you to go back to your room, but you did not have to keep saying robophobic things to me!"
"Oh please, Kee-boy! I know you had fun chatting with me."
"Anyway, what about Kirumi's note?" Kaito asked.
"It is the same as mine, but it asked her to watch the people in the dining hall." Keebo explained.
"Why were you having Keebo and Kirumi keep watch over those areas and people?" Kiyo asked.
"Was that… your plan? Is this why you willingly chose to walk into Kaede's trap?" Shuichi asked.
"...Yes. This was all a part of my plan." I sighed. "Now that you know about Kaede's trap, I suppose now I can reveal my plan in its fullest. When I do, you should all realize who the culprit, the mastermind is." I staggered as I felt my podium move towards the center of the circle. I took a deep breath, and then I began to explain. "I suppose it started when I found the hidden door. When I saw it, I came to a couple of conclusions. 1. There is a mastermind among us, 2. The killing game wasn't over, and 3. Kaede and Shuichi knew about the door. I also made a few theories and assumptions about everything because of the door."
"Assumptions and theories?" Tenko asked.
"I automatically assumed that it was intended for a few of us or all of us to discover the moving bookcase and hidden door for one thing."
"It was...intended for us to discover it?" Rantaro asked, now an expression of confusion and slight anger, as if he just realized something.
"I said this already but...wasn't it pretty obvious that the moving bookcase and hidden door existed?"
"Nyeeeh… You say that as if everyone would have noticed the strange things in an old library…" Himiko groaned.
"But isn't the fact that 4 of us knew about the door super strange, considering it was supposed to be hidden?"
"You keep saying that. I understand that Shuichi, Kaede, and you knew about it, but who was the 4th?" Ryoma asked.
"It was me." Rantaro confessed. "That must be why Rin was sure that I would get caught in Kaede's trap."
"You also knew about the door?" Maki asked.
"It was actually my attent to wait in front of the door as time ran out to wait for the mastermind to arrive to stop them." He said as he put his hand on his chin.
"So that's why you were convinced that you could stop the game." Kiyo commented.
"But now that I think about it, Rin has a point. 4 people discovered the door and all 4 made plans to either kill or capture the mastermind. The mastermind could have avoided dealing with the trouble if they just hid the door better."
"Exactly. For a 'secret door' that leads to the mastermind's lair, it has 1 too many obvious hints to point it out, not to mention how cliche it is for it to be a moving bookcase in a library."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was cliche…" Tsumugi added.
"Because of that assumption, I made another. I believed that there were multiple hidden passageways, each much more hidden than the one in the library."
"M-Multiple passageways!?" Kaede exclaimed.
"If it was intention for the hidden door in the bookcase to discovered, then it's possible it's entire existence was a trap to make us think there was a mastermind among us when there wasn't, or perhaps to encourage us to try to trap the door and kill the mastermind, or, what I thought it probably was, it was to distract us from other hidden doors. Doors that might not even need card keys. I was convinced that the door was there to give us impressions of the mastermind that weren't necessarily true so that if we ever did question the mastermind, they would have plenty of ways to avoid suspicion."
"If that's the case, then there could be another entrance that leads to where the library door does." Kiyo states.
"But how does knowing any of that help? You said it yourself. Those were just assumptions. How could you end the game with just that?" Kokichi asked with an amused smile.
"It didn't. I didn't have a single clue how anything I found or theorized about could end the killing game. But then… I found out that Rantaro was going to die, and that Kaede was the one planning his murder, intentional or not. I was… so confused." I confessed, remembering the memories of the visions. "I was...scared. Nothing seemed to make sense. But then I calmed down and thought about it. Kaede's trap was actually a perfect opportunity."
"Opportunity?" Kaede asked.
"I told you before that your trap didn't work. Since I assumed you weren't going to kill directly, since you were going to be with Shuichi, I believed there was a possibility that your trap would fail to kill whoever was caught in it. What do you think the mastermind would have done in that situation?"
"If the Kaede's trap failed, then it was almost guaranteed that no one would die before the time limit." Shuichi explained.
"If that happened, then we all would have died." Angie said.
"At least, that's what we were told and expected." Rantaro added. "Turns out that the time limit was just a bluff to help push us to kill. Rin proved that when the time limit ended and Monokuma didn't start killing us all."
"If Kirumi didn't die right after time ended, we would have most likely been more united than before and would have a stronger resistance to the killing game and future motives." Keebo said.
"That must mean the mastermind wanted to avoid that at all costs, right?" Tsumugi asked.
"Yep. That's why there was no doubt in my mind that they would prepare some kind of insurance." I told them.
"Insurance?" Ryoma asked.
"That's where my plan began to form. First, I had to figure out how to keep everyone in a location with accountability. Kaede and Shuichi were going to be together for their trap, so that's 2. Kaito then approached me with the strategy meeting plan, where he was going to invite Rantaro, Maki, Gonta, Angie, Tenko, and Himiko. Not only was that 7 people down, but this also gave me a way to keep Rantaro away from the library so there was no chance he would die. I then met Keebo at the dorms and he agreed to help me, which gave Ryoma and Kokichi accountability, along with Keebo himself. Finally, I talked to Kirumi about the rest of the group, all of whom just so happened to be in the dining hall. With everyone in a place where they effectively had alibis, I went down to the basement with the others in the strategy meeting group. I convinced Kaito and Tenko to keep Rantaro in the Game Room and I went to the library. The reason I went to the library...was to purposely set off Kaede's trap."
"You...wanted to set off the trap?" Maki asked.
"Yes. It was the only way to trap the mastermind. Of course there was the risk of dying, but I thought I could handle it since I knew that there was a trap somewhere. I was expecting to see some sort of trip wire or something simple. Unfortunately, I was completely blindsided by the camera flash. That was very clever, but I luckily realized what was happening before it was too late. And even more lucky was how the trap would have missed me anyway. But since the trap was a failure and I didn't die, that meant that the mastermind would be forced to use their insurance. I.e. Kill me themself."
"Th-They were planning on killing you themself!?" Kaede shrieked.
"That explains why you said there were 2 shot put balls missing in the warehouse." Kaito said with a worried look. "Fuckin' hell dude. You knew you were walking into not 1 but 2 death traps? Talk about nerves of fuckin' steel."
"I did bring that knife with me for a reason…" I laughed. "I was ready to fight the mastermind to the death then and there if need be. But something unexpected happened: the mastermind never showed up. No one ever came out of the hidden door like I expected, or rushed into the library to kill me. Before I could begin to understand what was happening, Kaede and the others burst in."
"Then soon after, we discovered Kirumi's body." Rantaro sighed.
"So your plan was to fight the mastermind by yourself? Doesn't that seem foolish?" Angie asked.
"That wasn't my plan." I said, which caused everyone to give my confused and strange looks. "I was planning to stall as long as I could against them until Shuichi and Kaede came, though I knew there was a chance that the mastermind, upon seeing me armed with a weapon and prepared for them, might flee to avoid being seen by anyone else. My real plan lies in the alibis."
"The alibis?" Miu asked.
"Remember everything I said. I was assuming that there were multiple hidden passages for the mastermind to use, some if not all of them connecting to the area where the library door led. If the mastermind was going to kill the person caught in Kaede's trap if her trap failed, then they would have to make their way to the library, but we already discussed how it was highly likely how they knew all about Shuichi and Kaede's trap with hidden cameras. The only safe way to prevent discovery would be coming out of the hidden door. That means that the mastermind would have to leave their area to go try to kill me."
"And since you made sure everyone had an alibi where they could keep watch over each other, then that means…" Kaede began.
"That the mastermind would be the only one who would leave the place where they were being watched." Shuichi finished.
"Exactly. So remember how I said I already knew who the mastermind/culprit was? Tell me… who was the only person who left to do something during the last few moments of the time limit?" Many of the other's faces shifted to complete shock as they turned to the person I was suspecting. "I'm glad you all understand." I said as I pointed to the supposed mastermind. "Tsumugi, I have some questions for you. You're the mastermind of this killing game and the one who killed Kirumi, right?"
