Oh boy. 8k words. So, maybe my promise of including all evidence discovery, even when it's the same as canon, is somewhat flawed. I don't know, though, what do you guys think? Do you prefer having longer chapters with all (or almost all) relevant evidence, or could I cut back and only show what differs from canon? The pacing gets a little quick as the chapter goes on, but I just didn't want it to drag on.

Either way, I hope you enjoy.


Chapter 6

The Secrets of the Dark

That image would be forever burned into Hajime's mind.

The Ultimate Cook, Teruteru Hanamura... already dead... beyond recognition.

Soon, the others in the room joined at Maki and Hajime's side, staring down into the void that threatened to consume all hope.

"Teru...teru...?" Sonia guessed as she stared at the horrific corpse. "Wh-Why is Teruteru...?"

"N-No..." Mahiru whimpered. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Hajime stood silently as a chorus of screams rang out behind him, as he stared at the body of his former friend.

"...Wh-Why!?" Mahiru asked.

"This doesn't make any sense..." Maki muttered. "Why...? Why is Teruteru...?"

"Th-This... It's impossible...!" Kazuichi shouted. "Don't mess with me! This must be some kind of mistake!"

"This... can't be a real body, right?" Ibuki asked. "It's gotta be like a fake or something... C-C-Cause... if not, th-this..." Her statement was interrupted as she began foaming at the mouth.

"Good gracious..." Monokuma remarked as he appeared, causing everyone to jump back. "Things quickly took a turn for the worse... My my, now this is interesting! On this tropical paradise known as Jabberwock Island, the very first murder has finally taken place!"

"M-Murder...?" Hajime repeated, the word sending a chill down his spine.

"You can't be serious!" Maki snapped. "Does this mean...?"

"Puhuhu... Of course... Teruteru... was killed by one of you."

"Wha-...!?"

"If you look at the body, you can tell instantly. He was obviously murdered. Look, he has such a horrible expression on his face, don'tcha think...? A face filled with regret that his life was ended by force, all thanks to someone else's selfish desires... To have a dying face such as this... If this isn't murder, then what the heck could it be? Teruteru was most likely sacrificed... by someone who reaaaaaally wanted to leave this island."

"L-Lies..." Hajime spat. "It's all lies! You're lying that he was murdered!" But the moment he said the last word, a thick black despair swelled up inside him. He had already accepted the fact that murder was Teruteru's fate.

"Wh-What... is this!?" Peko asked as she and Chiaki finally entered the room, making their way over to the hole. "I-Is that... really Teruteru?"

"Why... why did this happen?" Chiaki asked. "Why... Teruteru?"

"I see, I see..." Monokuma thought for a moment. "It appears quite a few of you are unable to make it at the moment... Sooo, in the spirit of keeping everyone on the same page, how about we do this the usual way!?"

A bell sounded as the monitor in the room booted to life. On it, a recording of Monokuma appeared, sipping a cocktail. "A body has been discovered! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!"

"Class... trial...?" Hajime repeated as the monitor shut off.

"I've already explained this to you, right? If one of you gets murdered, the rest of you have to debate who you think is the blackened."

"Y-You're telling us... to figure out who the killer is...?"

"That's right! From this point on, you guys must investigate and uncover the blackened culprit!"

"It can't be..." Mahiru argued. "Someone actually killed... There's no way!"

"Puhuhu, if you make an outburst like that, you'll end up being a suspect..."

"It's impossible..." Maki declared. "This wasn't a murder... that's impossible..."

"If you're actually thinking that way, it means you guys are already being conned by the killer. C'mon, c'mon! Let's hurry up and begin! An impassioned, life-risking battle between you guys and the blackened! Annnnd... it's already started! It started the moment one of you plotted to kill someone!"

"H-Hey!" Monomi came out of nowhere, glaring at Monokuma. "What are you saying!? Everyone! Please! You cannot, you should not, believe what Monokuma says!"

"No matter how much you interfere... there is only ever one truth. On my grandfather's name!"

"You have a grandpa!?"

"On my grandfather's grave!"

"Grave? You're grandpa is dead? What happened to him!?"

"On my grandfather's plane!"

"What happened to your grandpa!? Did his plane crash!?"

"Hmmm... I don't even know where to begin... At this rate... You ain't my comedy partner anymore!" He swung back and sent a twisting punch into her face.

"UGYAAAAAAH! It hurts so much when you hit me with a charging corkscrew attack!"

"Didja see that!? This stunning display of power! Defy your big brother and I will show you no mercy! I will harden my heart and teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!"

Monomi sobbed as what appeared to be blood dripped from the top of her head. "Ugh... if only I had my Magic Stick... I'd be able to fight back against Monokuma..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just leave the whiny rabbit loser alone and get on with the investigation. Now then... in the spirit of lovey doubt and dovey deception, put your heart and soul into investigating! Yahooooo! I wish you the best of luck!" And with that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving everyone alone with their despair.

"Wh-What does this mean...? I don't understand this at all...!" Mahiru cried.

"A search for Teruteru's killer... Why did it turn out like this...!?" Peko asked.

"Ugh... Gimme a break..." Kazuichi whined. "Why do I... have to be involved in this horrible situation...?"

"U-Um... You can't doubt each other... Cuz... you're all friends..." Monomi did her best to encourage everyone.

"But the pervert chef really did get killed, right?" Hiyoko snapped. "And if we don't find out who the killer is, we're all gonna get killed, right?"

"That being said, I cannot abide by this!" Sonia declared. "Now that I have finally made friends... there is no way I can doubt them...!"

"Seriously? Did you even listen to what I said?" Hiyoko asked. "It doesn't matter if you can "abide" by this or not... We gotta do this to survive, right? Then we have no choice but to do it."

"Nooooooo!" Monomi cut in. "Friends doubting friends is a major no-no!"

"Argh! Shut up!" Kazuichi snapped. "Just go away already, you useless piece of trash!"

"Ha-wa-wa! Threats are scary!"

"...Do we... really have to do it...?" Hajime asked, to no one in particular.

"No... I don't want to do something like that..." Mahiru said.

"However, it is just as Hiyoko said." Peko told them. "If we're going to get killed for not doing it... then we must do it."

"Still, I... I can't believe that this was a murder." Maki insisted. "With that in mind... I'll do it. I'll investigate Teruteru's death, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no killer among us. Our real enemy isn't each other, it's the mastermind!"

Her words seemed to have an effect on the others. It didn't exactly raise their spirits, but they all realized the weight of what was going on.

"Ah, before you start, can I say something?" Chiaki asked. "...In closed-circle detective games, the player usually has to decide on who's going to guard the crime scene... What should we do?"

"Oh yeah, it would be bad if the killer destroyed the evidence and got away with it." Hiyoko agreed.

"D-Destroyed the evidence...?" Mikan repeated.

"Um... I can be the one who watches the crime scene..." Mahiru offered. "I don't have enough confidence to investigate the body... and it's not like I have the brains either... I'll just stay by Teruteru's side. That's the least I can do. That's what guard duty is, right?"

"And what, specifically, should we be doing now?" Ibuki asked. "I have nooooooo idea!"

Maki sighed. "It's obvious that I'm the only one with experience for situations like this, however little. Without police equipment, we obviously can't access certain things that I'd like to have, such as fingerprints. I also would've liked to have Mikan perform an autopsy, but she's a little preoccupied at the moment. Besides, given the body's condition, I doubt she'd be able to gleam much. Either way, without a strong lead, we're just going to have to rely on our intuition to prove that none of us murdered Teruteru."

"But... to perform an autopsy on your friend... How cruel..." Monomi whispered.

"Are you still here?" Maki turned on her. "If you don't want to help us, fine, but don't get in our way."

For a moment, Monomi gave her an odd look. Hajime noticed that it was different than the looks she gave the other students when they yelled at her. It was less disappointed and more... distrusting. She quickly returned to her sobbing.

"If we are to survive... this is our only path." Sonia decided.

"Something like this... is the only thing we can do in order to stay alive..." Mahiru agreed sadly.

Hajime thought it was horrid. That something like this was their only hope of survival. Their only hope... But still... "...Even so... I still gotta do it."

As each student finally psyched themselves up for the investigation, Monokuma showed up once again. "TA-DAAAA! You thought it was time for the investigation, buuuuut... The Monokuma File! Just as I thought, you amateurs need this, right?" He said proudly as he produced sixteen small black tablets.

"Wh-What the hell... is a Monokuma file...?" Hajime asked.

"Jeez, explaining the rules all the time reaaaaally breaks my bones... Well, it's not like I have bones in the first place... Like, don't even make me say such lame jokes! Let's seeeee... the Monokuma File contains precise and detailed information regarding the dead body. I've brought it to ya so you guys can smoothly proceed with the investigation. I'm such a nice guy! I'm so nice I wanna be known as the Mother Teresa of the Mascot World!"

""Nice," you say... You're just a selfish meanie!" Monomi shot.

"My my my... Monomi the Meaningless Mascot, you're still here?"

"Don't put me in the meaningless mascot genre!"

"C'mon, let's go! Your turn is already up! Hurry up and get the hell outta here with me!" He grabbed her and started dragging her away.

"Ouchie! Don't pull my ears! They're gonna come off!" With that, both mascots disappeared from the students' sights.

"The Monokuma File, huh...?" Hajime inspected it.

"I assumed we'd get something like this." Maki admitted. "The mastermind seems to enjoy making things fair, for whatever that's worth."

Hajime, as well as several other students, inspected the files in their hands.

The victim is Teruteru Hanamura. Estimated time of death is 11:30 p.m. The body was discovered underneath the floor of the old building near the Hotel Mirai. The entire body was severely burned, and riddled with shrapnel of varying size. As for internal injuries, many of the victim's organs were ruptured, including the eardrums. No chemicals such as poison were detected.

Hajime took a deep breath, pocketing his file. Teruteru was dead. His heart finally accepted what his mind already had. With this realization came a feeling of remorse. He wasn't going to pretend that Teruteru wasn't a weird guy with some behaviour problems, but he was sorry he hadn't spent more time with him, and gotten to know him. For his fallen friend, and for everyone who was still alive, he had to investigate this murder. Well... here goes nothing.

Wanting to avoid going near the body at the moment, he decided first to check out the duralumin case Byakuya had brought. Last he saw it, it was closed and locked, but now it was wide open. Inside, he found a nightstick, pepper spray, a taser, and other things one would find in a self-defence kit. He also found an empty plastic case, which was an odd shape. The thing that caught his attention, however, was the key. Byakuya had mentioned keeping the key to the other case in this one, meaning confiscated items were likely unrelated to this murder.

"Even so... I still don't get it." Why did Byakuya have this duralumin case in the first place? It was almost like... he knew something was going to happen beforehand.

Hajime turned to some of the other people in the room. Despite the intensity of the situation, it wasn't noisy. Everyone was very quiet. "Mahiru, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... Is that what you expected me to say!? Because I feel terrible! One minute Teruteru is alive and well...and in an instant, something awful suddenly happens... Of course I'm not fine. And not only that, but whoever killed him is one of us, right!?"

"That hasn't... been determined yet..." Hajime argued.

"...It's already been determined! You've already accepted it, haven't you!? That we... have to find out who the killer is... Find out which friend killed our friend..."

"I don't like it either but... we won't survive... if we don't go through with it. It's not just for yourself! We have to do it to protect all of us!"

"...If... If I had only acted calmer during the blackout, Teruteru might still be alive. This whole thing would've never happened..."

"Stop blaming yourself... Nothing good will come of it..."

"...Agh, jeez!" She shook her head. "Getting cheered up by a boy isn't like me at all! Hey Hajime, forget about what I just said! Got it!?"

"Y-Yeah... that's fine. I got it..."

"Anyway... I won't dwell on it for now. I can't become a burden to everyone. Plus... there might be a clue that only I have access to..."

"...A clue?"

"Photos. The ones I took just before the blackout, remember?"

"Oh yeah... the pictures..."

"Wanna see them? I have a digital camera so I can show them to you right now."

"Really? Please!"

She stood beside him and started going through her album. "Let's see, it's this photo... and this one. I took these two photos just before the blackout, but... Huh?"

"...Is something wrong?"

"I didn't realize it until just now, but right before the blackout, Byakuya was standing in a totally different place than where we found him. Wasn't he near that table that had the lamp on top of it? The one underneath the monitor? Prior to that, Byakuya was standing along the wall farthest away from that table."

"You're right... That's pretty far... Hey, can you approximate everybody's standing position from these photos?"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It'd be hard to understand from the photos alone, so it might be better for me to plot it out. But... would that actually provide a clue?"

"I don't know yet, but... I feel like it could."

"Got it... Then leave it to me. That's pretty much the only job I can do anyway."

"Thank you."

"All right, now that that's decided... You better work hard on your investigation too! How much longer are you planning to stand around? Do you understand what's going on? You gotta find out how Teruteru died."

"Y-Yeah, I know, but..." He sighed at her sudden change in demeanour, but decided it was better than her being depressed. He slowly made his way closer to the hole in the floor, but kept stalling. He inspected the air conditioning unit just above it.

Hm...? Air conditioner? Could it be...? He recalled the moment before the blackout, when everyone could hear a beeping sound. This air conditioner is probably the only machine inside this room... And... the air conditioner's remote control... "The timer is set to 11:30 p.m. I'm pretty sure Teruteru's time of death was around the same time. If so... that means..." Hajime nodded as it started to make sense. "My flashes of inspiration aren't as bad as I thought."

With that, he turned to the only spot he hadn't investigated yet. He made his way over to the hole in the floor, where Teruteru's body became visible to him once again. "Why... why did he have to end up like this...?"

Maki had already beaten him there. She held her collar over her nose as she inspected the body, occasionally even touching it with her hands. Hajime was impressed by her lack of hesitation.

"I overlooked the shrapnel on my initial... viewing." She explained. "Most of the shards are probably very small, so we can't see them, but upon closer inspection, I can see some of the larger pieces sticking out." She looked down at her watch. "And 11:30 is roughly the same time that explosion happened. So, assuming that's what killed him, we can believe that the Monokuma File is accurate." Her eyes seemed to catch something out of Hajime's field of vision. "...Hey, Hajime, come down here."

"Huh? Why?"

"I noticed something I want you to look at."

"Uh, okay." He pulled his shirt over his face like her, and jumped down to her side. Now that he was closer, he had a better view of things. Teruteru's body looked even more horrific, he could see the ashes in the dirt under their feet, and he could see some objects that were hidden under the floor.

"There." Maki pointed to a large metallic box. Hajime leaned over to get a better look. It appeared to be a fireworks machine. Not the kind used on stage that sprayed sparklers, but the kind that was used to light multiple rockets at once for big events. It looked big enough to fire about twenty rockets once activate. It was tipped at an angle, pointing directly at the hole that was formed. "I'll bet you top dollar that's our murder weapon." To prove her point, she pulled from the ground a small shard of shrapnel that was decorated with colourful, if charred paint.

Hajime went to move the machine into the light, but even with some good leverage, he found resistance. Peering past it into the dim light and darkness beyond, he saw the machine was tied to a rope that disappeared into the distance. "Huh? What's this?"

He turned to Maki, and she seemed to be thinking deeply. Finally, she shrugged. "I suppose the killer wanted to keep track of its spot somehow?"

"Is that it?"

"More importantly, how about this?" Maki asked, bending over and picking up an odd object. One end was designed to look like a bone, but the other end appeared to be a very thin, warped blade.

"What's that doing under here?" Hajime wondered.

"That's just another question for the pile, isn't it?"

Hajime considered this as he did another scan of the area, and then looked up to the table that was tipped over. Now that he had a clear view of the underside of the table, he noticed something stuck to it. "What about this?"

Maki followed his gaze. "Good eye, Hajime. I didn't notice that."

"It looks like... a knife taped to the underside of the table." He observed, climbing back up to get a better look. "And what's this green stuff on it?"

Maki followed him, and leaned in to look at it. She held her hand over it, and nodded as her palm glowed a pale green. "It's glowing paint."

How did the knife get here in the first place? Hajime wondered. Byakuya thoroughly patted down everyone and thoroughly inspected every corner of this old building, and all the confiscated dangerous items were supposed to be placed in that duralumin case. "It's possible they stole this knife from the case... Or... they hid it somewhere hard to find."

"See, it isn't that hard to put your junior detective brain to work, is it? Also, this is a pretty interesting find." She held up what appeared to be a pair of binoculars. Parts of it were busted due to the explosion earlier.

"Why is there a pair of binoculars under the table?"

Maki shook her head, chuckling. "This isn't exactly a good location for birdwatching. No, these are night-vision goggles."

"N-Night-vision goggles?"

"The supermarket stocks all kinds of equipment like this. Probably in the hopes that we'll use them for murder plots."

Hajime made note of this, performing one last scan of the area around the hole. When neither he nor Maki noticed anything, they climbed out of the hole.

Maki seemed to be lost in thought as she spoke. "Hey Hajime, there's something I want to run by you. How do you think Teruteru got under the floor? We saw him before the blackout, so he must've gotten under there sometime between then and the time of the explosion. But isn't that confusing? Why was he under the floor?"

"You're absolutely right..."

"I think discovering exactly what happened during the blackout is going to be the crux of this case."

Hajime shook his head. "There's no way I'd know... It was so dark during the blackout, I couldn't see a thing."

"Well... Sight isn't the only kind of testimony there is. Sometimes, an account of what was heard is just as valuable."

Hajime nodded, knowing what she was implying. There was only one person here whose ears would be strong enough to pick up everything through the racket.

"By the way, Hajime, when we're done investigating here, would you mind coming with me to pick up testimonies? If I go solo, some people might not speak to me due to our situation."

"But, why me?"

"Well, you're easy to talk to. Plus, you might have a knack for this investigation stuff. I suppose what I'm trying to say is... I trust you." The way she said it, it was as if she was afraid the words would explode as they left her mouth.

Still, he decided not to argue. "...Fine. If we're going together, let's get on with it. There's no time for idle chit-chat."

"...Thanks."

As they approached the door, however, Hajime noticed one last odd thing. "What's that?"

Maki followed his gaze to the small rope poking up through the floorboards, and hooked onto the door hinge. "I'm not sure. Say, where else have we seen a rope in here?"

"...That rope that was tied to the fireworks machine. But why would the killer tie it to the door?"

"Not sure. Just another question we can solve later. C'mon, let's get a move on."


As Hajime left the room behind Maki, she began to explain what was going through her head. "It's easier to get through tasks when you split them up and focus on one part at a time. With that in mind, now that the dining hall is finished, we should focus on the rest of the building before exploring outside."

"Yeah, you're right."

The pair walked up to Ibuki, who seemed to be in the middle of her own train of thought. "Apparently, a great man once said, "Investigations should be done on foot." Sooo, that's why I'm also using my feet! I'm just walking around for no particular reason!"

"At least there's a method to her madness." Maki remarked. "Ibuki, we were wondering if you had any idea what occurred during the blackout. With your ears, that should be easy, right?"

"Tee hee, not only do I have a perfect face, style, and personality, but I also have perfect ears!"

"...I see. If your hearing is so good, maybe you heard what actually happened during the blackout." Hajime suggested.

"Specifically, we need to make out who said what, to give us context clues as to what happened." Maki requested.

"Just leave it to Ibuki! It'll be easy as fried rice with gravy!"

"...Huh?

"La-li-la-laaaa! I'll heartily eat it for breakfast!"

"...Uh, right. I'll take your word for it."

"Anyway... can you tell us what you heard?" Hajime asked.

"Leave it to me! I'mma take a bite outta ya!"

"Ibuki..." Maki's voice gained a firm edge. "Please, we're all going to die."

"Alright, alright..." The reminder seemed to significantly lower Ibuki's mood. "Let's see... the first person to raise their voice during the blackout was... That's right, it was Mahiru."

Uwah! It's a blackout!

"Next... was Kazuichi's voice, and the next next voice was mine."

Hey, I can't see anything!

I-It's pitch black! My future is pitch black!

"Kyahaha! What a nice remark I made! It's to the point and has its own unique charm!"

"...Just continue."

"Then there were more voices, one after the other..."

Mahiru. E-Everyone, calm down! We gotta stay calm in a situation like this!

Hiyoko. Waaaah! Don't step on my feet!

Maki. Ah! S-Sorry!

Kazuichi. H-Hold on a sec! I'll go along the wall and... do something about it...!

Byakuya. What the hell!? What's going on here!? Th-This is...!

Nagito. Ow!

"All righties! That's pretty much it! Hehehe, aren't I awesome!? Praise me, praise me! Gimme lots of praise!"

"I-I heard you the first time..." Hajime said, trying to keep her off of him. "Seriously, don't get any closer... Hey Maki... Say something to her...!"

"Thanks for the help, Ibuki, but I'm afraid I need Hajime alive and un-bitten for now."

Hajime took note of her distracted expression. "...Hey, did something happen?"

"Well, it's like I said, what happened during the blackout is going to be a the crux of this case. So I'm just carefully considering what those voices meant. Either way, this will help take us to the truth."

"Then praise me! Lemme bite ya!" Ibuki pounced on Hajime and closed her mouth on his arm.

"...Ouch! Why are you really biting me!?" He shouted. Maki sighed.

After that, the two of them made their way to the kitchen. The scent of cooking food served only as a sad reminder of the recent death. Maki went around and turned off all the devices that were abandoned, and likely would never be used again. Hajime found an equipment list hanging from a hook.

"Well, just from reading through this list... It looks like that knife that was taped under the table didn't come from in here." Maki noted as they read through it. "Meaning it was brought from outside."

"From outside...? Then how did the killer get past Byakuya's body check?

"Good point. He didn't even go easy on the girls for that. They would've had to have brought it before Byakuya even started up security."

"There weren't that many people going in and out during that time... But other than Nagito and Teruteru, I can't think of anyone else."

"Well, it could've been either of them, or neither of them. Whatever the case, that knife isn't the murder weapon, so it doesn't matter who brought it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey... what's this?" Hajime pointed to a large chunk of meat.

Maki followed his gaze. "Oh, Teruteru called that Meat on the Bone. He thought it'd fit the tropical... aesthetic..." She trailed off as she moved closer to Hajime's angle.

The meat had a bone through it, but only on one end. The other end of the meat had a hole through the middle, but no bone stuck out of it.

"Hey, remember that weird blade you found under the floorboards?" Hajime asked her. "How the handle was designed to look like a bone?"

"Yeah... so the secret to making Meat on the Bone is that, the meat is actually a kebab?" She stepped forth and pulled the other bone off of it, and it had a blade-sized hole in the centre, like a sheath. "I'm assuming this went under the gaze of you and Byakuya when you were in here earlier?"

"Yeah, we had no idea. Actually, now that I think about it, Teruteru lied to us. Byakuya said that he couldn't find the last iron skewer that was on the list. Teruteru told us it was missing from the start."

"Hmm..." Maki inspected the dishes for a moment. "I can think of quite a few reasons why he would do that. The only question that raises is... Why did Teruteru bring a skewer with him under the floorboards?"

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Hajime admitted. "But what I want to know is, how did Teruteru get under the floorboards anyway?"

"Save your bad feelings for the trial. C'mon, let's go check out the storage room."

Following her lead, Hajime and Maki went down the hall.

As they entered, Hajime commented, "This storage room is really dusty... and dark."

"Yeah, like Nagito said, he apparently didn't get time to clean this room."

"It even has cobwebs... There's no way I could stay in here for a long time."

Maki rolled her eyes. "Quit being a pussy." With that, she made her way over to three irons that were plugged into the wall. She quickly turned them each off. "I'd bet this is what caused the blackout."

Hajime nodded, taking note. He started looking through a laundry hamper, but didn't find anything of note.

"And I guess this answers your earlier question." She said, kicking over a stack of boxes. Behind it was a small trap door.

"So we know how he got under the floor. Like you said earlier, though, we still don't know why..." Hajime said.

"We can't expect all the answers at once." Maki assured him. "Right now, all we need to focus on is gathering more evidence. We can... can..." She suddenly sneezed. Then, before she could recover, she sneezed again.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Say, I don't think there's anything else in here. Why don't we step out?"

Hajime rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're right..."

Eventually, the duo found themselves in the office, where Peko remained guarding the duralumin box, and Kazuichi stood nearby. However, what caught their eyes was the circuit breaker, high up on the wall near the ceiling.

"Doesn't look like it was used." Maki commented.

"The circuit breaker is pretty high up." Hajime observed. "Even if you use a stepladder, you won't reach it."

"Yeah, I totally agree..." Kazuichi said. "That's why it's so mysterious... Well, during the blackout, I was panicking so bad I forgot about that, but... you're right. Even with a stepladder, there's no way you'd be able to reach that circuit breaker. Which means, someone must have reset the breaker after the blackout. But who?"

"I did it!" Monokuma announced.

"...Gwaaaaaaah!? IT'S HERE!"

"You idiots had nooooo idea what to do about the blackout, so I'm the one who reset the circuit breaker. Ah, by the way, I'm not the one who tripped the breaker. The killer did that, of course."

"B-But... how did someone as small as you reset the breaker?" Hajime asked.

"Well firstly, my eyes work reaaaaaal good at night, so I have no trouble seeing in the dark. And, if you wanna know how I reached the circuit breaker... My body stretches. You know... I'm very elastic."

"...L-Liar!" Kazuichi snapped.

"I'm serious! Wanna see? Wanna see a version of Monokuma with his body all stretched out? It's gross! It's grotesque!"

"Sorry, that's a hard pass." Maki said.

"Oh really? Such a shame! Still, don'tcha think Monokuma's such a nice guy!? In a popularity contest, he'd take first place!" With that, he disappeared.

"What the hell...?" Kazuichi muttered. "So he's the one who reset the breaker... Well, in that case, I'm convinced. There's no way we'd be able to reach that."

Maki nodded, turning to Peko. "You got any ideas?"

The Swordswoman stared at her for a moment before responding. "I can already tell... You doubt me, correct?"

"Huh?"

"However, it does not surprise me... An unexpected blackout occurred, and during that time, Teruteru was killed. The circuit breaker is in this office... Naturally, I look suspicious since I was supposed to be here."

"Supposed to...? Meaning..."

"So I was right... You weren't in the office." Kazuichi accused. "...But why? Weren't you supposed to guard the circuit breaker and the duralumin case with all the weapons in it? So... where'd you run off to on your own...?"

"Well... that is..." Before she could fully explain, Peko doubled over, clutching her stomach. "...Ugh! Ugh... kh...!"

"...Hey, what happened?" Hajime asked.

"N-No... I am just not feeling too well... I apologize but... e-excuse me..."

""Excuse me"? What was that...?" Kazuichi asked.

Maki simply smiled. "Well, luckily for you, unlike before, the bathroom seems to be unoccupied now."

"...Huh?"

"Tch...! So the path will be short... but treacherous...!" Peko rose and slowly made her way out of the room.

"Wh-What happened... to her...?" Hajime asked.

Maki rolled her eyes at him once again. "Jeez, use some context clues. And here I thought you were pretty good at investigating..."

"I mean, is it cool?" Kazuichi asked. "She didn't like... run away or something? Cause, if she ran away, she's obviously the killer! I'm almost positive!"

"Chill out. Just assume it's a case of the bloody Mondays, alright? More importantly..." She turned to the duralumin case, and produced the key that was in the case in the dining hall. "Let's crack this case wide open."

"Hey... is it okay to take that key without permission...!?" Hajime asked.

"What happens now that I did? You think Byakuya's going to ground me just for investigating?" With that, she unlocked the case and opened the top. Inside were various knives, forks, skewers, and other dangerous tools. "Well... it doesn't seem like anything was taken. I mean, this key was still inside that other case, so Byakuya was the only one with access to this. Besides, the murder weapon is a bunch of fireworks, I doubt they'd fit in here."

"Yeah..."

"Anyways, I assume this wrench is yours, Soda Pop?" She held out the tool to him.

"Oh, yeah, thanks." He took it and pocketed it.

"Just don't bash anyone's brains in, okay? I don't need Byakuya getting on my case for opening this case."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!? I'm not a killer!"

"Yeah, yeah... Well, that's that for in here. C'mon, Hajime, let's get a move on."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Bidding farewell to Kazuichi, the duo exited out into the hall.

"I think we've pretty much seen everything there is to see in this building." Maki noted. "So now we should expand our horizons a bit further. I want to see how the victims are doing."

"Victims...?"

"Byakuya and Nagito. I want their accounts of what happened in the dark. They were the closest to the scene of the crime at the time."

"Okay. Let's get going." Even though they were investigating, Hajime couldn't shake the feeling that Maki was purposely leading him around to each of the places. Why she was doing so, however, he couldn't guess.

Either way, the two of them headed for the exit of the building.


Outside, there was a strange sight before them. Chiaki was kneeling near the side of the building, trying to see under the foundation.

"...Hey, what are you doing?" Hajime asked.

"Um... I'm just checking to see if we can get under the floor from here."

"...Under the floor? Why?"

"If it is possible to get under the floor, it'll change our understanding of the murder... I think. So I thought... it was important to check it." With that, she stood up to face them.

Maki nodded. "Sounds logical. It'll reduce our suspect pool, however little. Though you should know, the most likely place the killer got under the building from is the storage room. There's a trap door behind all the boxes."

Chiaki did one last scan of the foundation. "Hmmm... I guess it's not possible to get under the floor from outside. The building is surrounded by firm fences, so there's no way to sneak under the floor from there."

"Well... that's a relief, I guess." Maki decided.

"Relief...? Why?" Hajime asked.

"Because, if the killer got in from outside, there's only one logical suspect. Someone who didn't attend the party, and didn't have an alibi."

"Oh, right... Fuyuhiko."

"I... suspected him, too." Chiaki admitted. "That's why I was checking to see if it was possible to get under the floor from outside. Speaking of which... Not long after I began guarding the entrance... Fuyuhiko came here."

"...Huh? He did?"

"Yeah. We even talked for a bit. But I eventually said something wrong, and he got angry. And then... he just left."

"That sounds like Fuyuhiko alright." Maki remarked.

"So that happened... but... why did he come here?" Hajime wondered.

"...He probably wants to be a part of the group, but he can't be honest about it... He believes he's different from everyone else... That's why he's always alone... He's like the main character of an RPG. Have you played those before?"

"Yeah, well, I can tell you firsthand, a lot of those kids raised in crime families tend to be pretty troubled." Maki told her. "But regardless, since Chiaki was guarding the only entrance, I think it's safe to say that Fuyuhiko has an airtight alibi. So that's one person out of sixteen whose name is cleared."

Saying their goodbyes to Chiaki, they headed across the hotel grounds to their destination. Barring Nekomaru's, Mikan's cottage was the only one with the lights on. Hajime and Maki knocked softly, and Mikan softly called, "Come in!"

As they pushed open the door, they saw that she was busy. Byakuya and Nagito were both awake now, and their burns were covered in some sort of lotion. Nagito sat on the couch, his wounds covered in bandages, and Byakuya, sitting at the edge of the bed, was currently having some applied to his wounds as well.

"Hajime!" Nagito cheered as he saw him enter. "You came to visit me?"

"Well, uh... kinda." He answered. "Maki says we need to collect your testimony for the trial."

"Testimony, huh...?" Byakuya muttered. He looked utterly defeated as he stared at the pile of Monokuma files on a nearby desk. "So it's true, then. Teruteru is really... dead."

Despite her hands working steadily, Mikan's face was a mess. "I-I should've done something... Maybe there was still time...!"

Maki shook her head. "No, his death was almost instant. Even if we had him prepped for surgery immediately, the amount of shrapnel in his body would've made it impossible to save him."

Mikan nodded, but her mood didn't change. "I-I know, but... Why... Wh-Why did this have to happen?"

"That's what I intend to find out. So how about it, boys? What happened to you two before the explosion?"

Byakuya and Nagito exchanged a glance. Byakuya was the first to speak. "Well... I doubt anyone could give a completely accurate account of what happened in the dark. Needless to say, Nagito and I ran into each other, and became somewhat... entangled, near the site of the explosion."

Maki looked to Hajime to gauge his reaction, before turning back to the boys. "You two weren't making out, were you?"

As Byakuya glared at her, Nagito broke out into laughter. "It wasn't like that. It was more like, Byakuya fell on top of me, and because of our size difference, we had a bit of a scuffle. I was trying to get him off of me, and he was trying to get me out from under him."

"Right." Byakuya agreed. "That's all there is to it."

Maki seemed lost in thought. "If you say so..."

"I wish I could help out with the investigation." Nagito said. "But obviously, I'm not in any condition to do that. I'd just end up getting in the way. Is there anyone who's cleared of suspicion, yet?"

"Well, things could always change, but at the moment, Fuyuhiko is looking unlikely. I'd also add you and Byakuya to the list, since I doubt either of you would go anywhere near where the bomb was set if you knew it was there, and you can vouch for each other in the dark. And we could probably add Mikan, too."

"Y-Yeah..." She agreed, finishing up Byakuya's bandages. "I'm too clumsy to commit m-murder..."

"Uh, yeah, there's that, but I also doubt you would've let Byakuya and Nagito live when they were so close to the crime scene. Even though they don't know anything, I doubt anyone would take that chance."

"O-Oh, that makes sense..."

Maki glanced at her watch. "Hajime, there's probably not much time left until the class trial starts."

"...Probably." He agreed.

"Which reminds me, you asked Mahiru for a favour earlier, right?"

"Y-Yeah... I wanted her to find out where everyone was standing just before the blackout... She's probably finished by now. You're coming with me, right?"

She considered it. "No, thanks. I need some time to organize this crime in my head. I'm not exactly a detective, you know, so things like this don't come naturally to me."

"I understand." He told her.

"See you, Hajime."

With that, the boy left the cottage. Maki watched him through the window as he ran into Nekomaru leaving his own cottage, and started speaking with him. Probably gathering his testimony, she thought.

She checked her watch again. It was just past midnight, but it felt like the sun should be rising by now. It was going to be a long night.


"Alrighty guys, it's finally time! That's right. It's time for the long-awaited class trial! Now then, I shall tell you all the meeting place. At the central island of Jabberwock Island, there is a mountain with my adorable face carved into it. That, my friends, is Monokuma Rock! Once you're there, please proceed to the underground by taking the elevator located at the secret entrance. Puhuhu, I'll see you soon!"

Maki, along with the other students, all made their way to the meeting place Monokuma had designated. Upon arriving, all the Criminologist could hear was Kazuichi's screams.

"Hey, what the heck is that mountain!? Wh-When did that get there!?"

"That story... that story might be true after all." Peko considered aloud. "There might be an enormous organization involved in all this..."

"For there to be a sculpture of that scale, there would have to be..." Byakuya agreed. It drew the attention of the crowd to him and Nagito.

"Is it alright for you two to be attending this trial in your state?" Sonia asked.

"We don't have a choice." Nagito explained. "Monokuma said that our attendance is mandatory, as long as we can still stand and communicate."

"Indeed..." Byakuya added quietly.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Chiaki asked, "What... happened to Fuyuhiko?"

"N-Now that you mention it... it appears he's not here yet..." Mikan noted.

"Ah, I know! He probably ran away!" Hiyoko teased.

At that moment, Monokuma showed up, dragging Fuyuhiko behind him with an iron grip. "Aw hell naw! There's no way I'd let him escape, you know! Look! I dragged him back over here!"

"I-I'm tellin' you, let me go!"

"Hey now, if you keep acting violent, I might just eat you up."

"Hey Fuyuhiko! What were you doing all this time!?" Mahiru asked.

"Nothing... I wasn't really doing anything. I was just chilling in my room when I suddenly heard that fuckin' pervert got killed... Tch... Who the fuck cares about that anyway?"

"You... How can you say something so irresponsible...!? We've been doing our best to investigate this murder, even though we don't want to, just to survive!"

"Mahiru, that's enough..." Nagito begged. "You too, Fuyuhiko..."

"Tch...! Dumbass...!"

"All right, now that everyone's all together... Let's take the secret entrance to the trial field!"

"P-Please wait a second!" Monomi begged, showing up out of nowhere.

"...My my, Monomi. Just what are you doing here? Nobody asked for you."

"I-I... I...!"

"Hm? Do you actually want to join in? Do you want to taste how powerless you are at the class trial? You're an even bigger masochist than I thought... Oh well! I'm a big brother who dotes on his little sister. I shall allow your special participation! I'll go on ahead and wait for you guys, so hurry over!" With that, he disappeared once again.

"He said to hurry, but... how do we get there?" Kazuichi asked.

"He mentioned something... about a secret entrance, was it...?" Mahiru recalled.

Suddenly, one of the heads on Monokuma Rock started moving, opening it's mouth and emitting a realistic roar.

"Wh-What the...!? Something's... shaking...!?" Hajime yelled.

"Th-This is dangerous!" Monomi warned. "Everyone, please get down!"

Before anyone could react, the head vomited an escalator, which landed right in front of the group. The steps started sliding upwards into the mouth.

"S-Something came out!?" Mikan shrieked.

"Could it be... Is he telling us to enter it?" Peko wondered.

"S-Such a suspicious aura...!" Gundham said. "Even Crimson Steel Elephant Maga-Z is trembling with fear...!"

"Uwaaah! That's so totally suspicious!" Hiyoko said.

"F-Forgive me...!" Kazuichi said to the heavens. "Seriously... just forgive me already...!"

"C-Complaining won't get us anywhere!" Mahiru told them. "If you're really a man, then man up for god's sake! We've come this far... We have no choice but to keep moving forward..."

"You're right..." Hajime agreed. "There's nowhere for us to run... We need to do it..."

"If that's everyone's decision... I'll just follow you guys." Chiaki decided. "If this were a video game, it'd have a very high difficulty level... Let's do our best to clear the game."

With that, everyone began stepping up to the escalator, one by one. While she waited in line, Maki turned to Byakuya and asked, "So, fearless leader, you have any orders for us?"

With a pained expression, he told her, "I've failed you. I have no right to be your leader."

Before she could respond, it was her turn on to board, and the conversation was cut off as she was brought closer and closer to the Monokuma Head. At the top, she found herself entering what appeared to be a large metal cage. Once the last of the students entered, the door shut, and the room began lowering down into the mountain.

"This... is an elevator!" Nekomaru said. "I see...! This entire block is an elevator!"

"Once again... Monokuma is doing what he pleases..." Chiaki said with a sigh.

"However, if he's gone this far and made something like this... I don't think he's playing around." Peko decided.

"Even so, we're goin' pretty deep." Akane noted.

"You're right..." Hajime said.

The students remained in silence as the elevator continued its dark descent into the underbelly of Jabberwock Island. Maki could feel her heart hammer in her chest, but she dared not show her anxiety to any of the others. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the elevator came to a stop.

"Okayyy! Welcome!" Monokuma greeted as everyone stepped out into the trial room. Sixteen podiums stood in a circle, facing each other. Off to the side, Monokuma sat upon a raised throne as the judge. "This is the class trial field! How do you like it? It's a special place that will decide your fates!"

Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes as he looked around. "Tch... what the hell is he thinking...!? Locking us in a shitty-looking place like this...! Are you fuckin' crazy!? Don't mess with me, asshole!"

"Puhuhu... Complain all you like, I'm used to it by now. C'mon, you're wasting your time and energy. Hurry up and take your seats where your names are written!"

Everyone decided not to resist, and made their way around the ring, looking for their names. Maki herself found her name on the plaque at the podium between Sonia and Peko, directly across the ring from Fuyuhiko. She steeled her nerves. She new the truth of this case, but whether or not she could get her classmates to believe in that truth, that was the question. Regardless... no one would be leaving this room without some blood being spilled.

And so, the curtain rose on... A trial for life, and a judgement of death... Deception in life, and treachery in death... Betrayal for life, and betrayal for death... The riddles of life, and the mystery of death... Justification for life, and rationalization of death... Faith in life, and trust in death... A life or death... Class Trial!


Well, this is it. The first trial. Maki seems to know the truth, but will she be able to lead the rest of the students to the same conclusion? I also must wonder how many of you readers will be able to guess. For this first trial, the mystery probably isn't too hard to solve.

In the next one, we will begin the class trial to discover who killed Teruteru Hanamura.