"The best way to determine who our killer is we must reevaluate the facts and determine who had the highest chance to do this," Kirumi speaks in determination, watching everyone closely.

We spend forever fighting between ourselves on who could have killed Rantaro, barely making progress. I pointed out as many things I could to get the blame off Miu. I don't think it went too well with some people. As much as I was technically correct, I don't think people appreciated my comment of 'If Miu left the dorms then it's Kirumi's fault'. That was not my best moment.

"The knife was from the kitchen and the shotput ball from the warehouse... Anyone could have accessed them both easily." Shuichi says thoughtfully, "Even though Angi and Tsumugi moved them if anyone was looking they could have found them."

"Who went into the warehouse then?" Gonta questions.

The warehouse? Hardly anyone was in there. Rantaro and I were there with Kokichi. If this followed canon close enough... Kaede and Shuichi might've been there. That's it! My eyes widen imperceptibly at the prospect of what this means. No one else could've been in there! If I'm right... this could narrow down everything.

"What about Kaede?" Kokichi asks quietly, staring into her eyes and snapping me back into reality. "Or Kirumi?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Kiyo glances at Kokichi and then Kaede casually

"Well, Kirumi was the one who was supposed to be watching Miu." Kokichi pauses slightly, thinking, "So, no one can confirm Kirumi was at the dorms."

"While that may be true, I..." Kirumi hesitates, voice wavering before she continues "I can understand your suspicions, and I assure you I was nowhere near the warehouse nor the dining hall during the time of Rantaro's death."

"Umm, when were you last there?" Kokichi asks, tilting his head with a smirk, "It's kind of hard to prove you weren't there, ain't it?"

"That's not bad logic." Tsumugi comments

"Why are you ganging up on Kirumi! She said she wasn't there!" Tenko responds defensively.

"She was supposed to watch Miu and if Miu's suspicious then so's Kirumi." Tsumugi weakly defends.

"But... what did you mean by Kaede being suspicious?" Keebo asks nervously

"Kaede and Shuichi were together the whole day apart from when Rantaro could've been killed." Maki's cold voice states as she glares at Kaede in disgust, "Kaede was the one to leave Shuichi in a classroom, and he was still there when the announcement happened."

"Tenko's account can back that up," Tenko confirms quietly, realization flooding her face "When we were all on our way to the dining hall we passed Shuichi who was just leaving that room, Kaede wasn't there."

"That settles it, right?" Kokichi shouts with a smug grin

"Hang on a minute, Angie's account says you and her were both in the warehouse!" Kaede shouts with a glint of triumph in her eyes, "She was there from 5.30 to 7.30, and you joined her at 7 p.m." Kaede points directly at Kokichi as she says this.

Kokichi shoots me a look before speaking, "So? "

Kaede stammers briefly before speaking "W-Well that settles it!" She crosses her arms defensively, " You were the last ones there, so one of you must've taken the shotput ball!"

I silently curse Kaede, Kokichi and I both know Rantaro was still alive at that point, he was with us, but now we can't tell anyone! It'll just make things worse.

"Don't be Naive, Kaede!" Kaito cuts in, a look of utter fury on his face. "You're wrong!

"Huh? What does that mean?" Kaede glares at Kaito, "You know I'm right!"

"No," Kaito states that one simple word and it causes Kaede to double over and insult him.


Rebuttal Showdown


" Angie confirmed that she was in the warehouse with Kokichi!"

"They were the only ones who could get the shotput ball."

"No one else was in the warehouse."

"Tsumugi said that she helped Angie move the shotput balls!"

It makes her and Kokichi the most suspicious!"


Advance


"Why would they even help each other? Without taking the first blood perk, one of them would die no matter what! There's no way they're close enough to be willing to die for each other."


"If that's the case, then one of them could've taken the shotput ball when the other wasn't looking!"

"Besides..."

"Who else could've gotten the murder weapon!?

"No one!"


Advance


"Even if that's true, how would they have gotten to Rantaro?"

"They can't walk around the place with a shotput ball in their hands?"


"The dining hall is next to the warehouse, they wouldn't have a problem."

"Why are you defending them?"

"No one saw either of them or Rantaro!"


Perjury


"I saw Angie in the warehouse before Kokichi showed up!" Kaito lies, glaring harshly at Kaede, "I couldn't see the shotput balls anywhere, and when I asked Angie she said she wasn't sure! She couldn't find them!"

Tsumugi, with a look of realization and determination, speaks up quickly to defend Kaito's lie. "I investigated the warehouse, and the shotput balls weren't where we put them!"

Kaito glances at Shuichi next, "And they weren't the only ones in the warehouse today."

"What does that mean?" Ryoma asks softly, with a dangerous undercurrent in his voice

Kaito straightens up, "I saw Kaede and Shuichi in the warehouse this morning." He reveals and shoots Maki a look, who caught on and continued "I was with him, one of them could've taken the shotput ball, which would have been long before Angie went there."

"Which would explain how the shotput balls weren't where Angie and Tsumugi put them," Kiyo concludes sadly

"Kaede has a backpack," Ryoma whispers in realization before repeating it louder, "She could've easily kept the shotput ball hidden that way."

"Kaede did say she kept a spare sweater in there," Himiko grumbles, "She could've had the rest of her uniform in there." She finishes, looking slightly sick, as everyone's thoughts were coming to similar conclusions.

"With all the paint and blood... She would've easily been able to change clothes, and when we all went into the kitchen. " Maki pauses, "No one would notice if she had some blood on her-" Maki cuts herself off and glances around, looking confident in her deduction, she finishes, "There was some blood I found in the student store."

"W-Wait!" Shuichi shouts, panic clear on his face, "Th-That doesn't-" He choaks slightly before pulling his hat over his face, "It...It can't be Kaede."

Kaede freezes up, looking pained she tries to speak, but all that comes out is a strangled sob.

"So...It's Kaede?" Tsumugi questions

"We can't find out the time of death, and the window where Kaede was away from Shuichi is right before the discovery announcement." Ryoma sighs thoughtfully, "It's tough, but it's the best we can do. She was gone for over half an hour and wouldn't say where she went."

"We know she didn't go to the basement, and no one saw her outside." Kaito shrugs slightly, looking shocked at what his lie discovered.

"Her reaction gives us enough proof." Kiyo calmly gazes at Kaede, "There is no reason for her to react this way if it is not her."

"Wow, how ironic, huh!? The one who preaches teamwork is the one that goes ahead and kills in cold blood! I'm getting chills over here!" Kokichi laughs

"NO!" Everyone turns to stare at Shuichi who speaks with a conviction that none of them have heard before, "I refuse to believe that. It doesn't make sense! Murder in cold blood is just... not in her character." Shuichi falters, gazing at Kaede as a kicked puppy would.

"Why do you still believe in me Shuichi? Why are you doing this!?" Kaede explodes.

Oh, so we're doing this no matter what. I sigh deeply, guess no matter what Shuichi is a protagonist, even if he did practically nothing this time around.


Argument Armament


"Why are you doing this!?"

"Everyone knows the truth now!"

"I'm the one who killed Rantaro! I can't take that back!"

"Stop it!"

"That's all there is to this."

"This is it!"

"I don't want this."

"If you say you believe in me..."

"Do you know why I didn't take the first blood perk?"

"I'm sorry."


"This wasn't done on purpose. You didn't take the first blood perk... " Shuichi's eyes widen in realization, "because you wanted to be punished, this was an accident!"

"What?" Miu whispers

"Haha, right again Shuichi." Kaede laughs weakly, tears streaming endlessly down her face

"So, she didn't mean for any of this to happen?" Kaito questions

"Shuichi, can you... end all of this?" Kaede looks down, "I want you to tell everyone what happened and convince them all, then end everything. That's... my final wish."

"I'll reveal everything. The truth and the lies!" Shuichi declares, "This is the truth of the case!"


Closing Argument


It all began three days prior when Monokuma gave us a motive. It caused some of us to start forming groups to plan out our next moves. Dividing most of us. I teamed up with the culprit to make a plan to... stop any possible murders. We planned to keep an account of where each group would be, which gave us the idea to use the classroom near the basement. At the time, I never could've imagined they would become the culprit.

Today we went to the warehouse to gather some supplies so that we could camp out in the classroom for the rest of the day. We searched the entire place as the group that never went into the tunnel were in here, but while there, the culprit found something else- The shotput ball. I'm not sure what they were going to do with it, but they put it in their backpack and hid the rest of the shotput balls to keep anyone from figuring out someone took one.

Then late in the afternoon, the murder took place. The culprit and I saw a large group heading down into the basement, and I took off to follow them and find out what was happening. During that time the culprit took out their shotput ball, I'm not sure what happened, but they might've been having doubts and decided to put it back in the warehouse.

When I returned to the classroom, they left and headed to the warehouse, where they ran into Rantaro. When they reached the warehouse, they saw Rantaro carrying paint into the dining hall and followed him, completely forgetting about the shotput ball in their hands. The culprit followed Rantaro into the kitchen and confronted him, leading to an argument. When Rantaro saw the shotput ball, their exchange escalated, causing the culprit to lash out with the shotput ball. Rantaro, in a wild panic, grabbed a kitchen knife while throwing a paint bucket at the culprit, obscuring their vision. They slammed into Rantaro, knocked him onto the ground, and flung the knife straight through his skull.

Leaving both weapons, the culprit attempted to leave and go to the dormitories only for Angie, Keebo, Kirumi, Kaito and Miu to show up. The culprit ducked into the first room they could - The student store. Taking a spare outfit from their backpack, they quickly changed clothes and the moment the body discovery announcement finished they went straight to the dining hall. Acting as surprised as everyone else and rejecting the first blood perk out of guilt.

Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, this is the truth behind your crime!


"And that's what happened." Shuichi finishes sadly

Everyone stares at him in open shock for a moment before a small voice brings us back

"K-Kaede...No."

We all stand in silence as Gonta starts sobbing, some of us barely registering we're doing the same. It's hard. Understanding the depths this goes, the pain, the fear. For me, it's so much more. Kaede killed Rantaro. Exactly like the first chapter. Except this time, it... wasn't the mastermind, there's no doubt in my mind about that. Kaede killed Rantaro in a brutal and bloody way. By accident.

"I'm sorry for doing this, I truly wanted to escape with you all," Kaede speaks lowly, her arms crossed over her chest defensively as her body quivers. "I wanted to be punished for my crime, but... I was scared. I started blaming you guys, it was a stupid idea, I just... I don't want to die."

"Stop, stop, stop! Wait for the end of the trial to give your sob story!" Monokuma screeches, jumping up and down on his throne to show his frustration. "At last! It's voting time!"

"Press the button in front of you to cast your vote and make sure you do, cuz refusin' is grounds for termination," Monosuke explains calmly.

The monitor in front of me lights up and shows pictures of all of us in different poses, with Rantaro's being crossed out. I hesitantly reach out and vote for Kaede, sealing her fate.

"Puhuhu, let's see the results!"

A giant screen is pulled down from above showing a tally of all our votes, with 15 marks next to Kaede's name.

"You've got it right! The blackened who killed Rantaro Amami is the Ultimate Pianist, Kaede Akamatsu!" Monokuma cackles

At the very same moment, a chime rings out from every single monopad in the room, including mine.

"I'm... glad." Kaede whispers, tears streaming down her face as she hugs herself, "Thank you, everyone, for catching me. I know I would've never forgiven myself if I'd lived through this. I wish I could apologize to Rantaro, but it's too late for that. I don't blame him for what happened between us, either of us could've stopped it at any moment, but we didn't. I truly didn't mean for things to drag out for so long,"

As Kaede speaks, our voices rise louder and louder, a tension surrounding us all as we beg for this to be fake, to wake up like this never happened. Kaede continues talking, but this time only to Shuichi, who listens with rapt attention, until, "Shuichi I-"

"That's enough! I'm ready to get this show on the road, which means, It's Punishment Time!" Monokuma roars

"Shuichi, please don't be sad. I-I'm entrusting you... with my wish, all of you!"

"I have a very unique punishment prepared for the Ultimate Pianist, Kaede Akamatsu!"

"Your wish?" Shuichi questions, rapidly pailing as reality comes crashing down around them both.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's... PUNISHMENT TIIIME!" Monokuma slams his hammer down onto the bright red button

"YOU CAN'T LOSE, I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU HAVE TO LIVE!" Kaede screams at the top of her lungs as a chain descends from the sky and clamps around her neck before dragging her up into the air, hand outstretched and reaching out hopelessly towards Shuichi.

Next to us, a wall opens up showing a large room, blocked off by a fence, with a piano in the middle of it. Which is where Kaede lands.