Ugh, jeez, sorry. I took a little longer than I thought I would. I had a busy couple of weeks, and on top of all of that, writer's block hit me like a truck and sapped me of my energy. This isn't the first time I fought with the block, but it is probably the worst timing in which I've had to deal with it. Either way, not trying to make an excuse, just saying. I hope this chapter still reads alright despite my struggle.

In any case, if there's anything you feel I could do to improve my writing in the future, whether for the trials or in general, feel free to let me know. I'm still learning, so any advice would be appreciated.

With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy.


Chapter 7

Trial By Fire

CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!

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

"S-Such a cruel rule...!" Monomi whined. She was hanging from the ceiling of the trial room by a rope tied around her torso. She was suspended just to the left of Monokuma's throne.

"Before we begin, I'd like to confirm one thing." Nagito cut in. "Is there really a killer among us?"

"Most definitely... There's no doubt that the blackened is lurking among you. Such a sad state of affairs, isn't it? By the way, this class trial is gonna be 100 percent fair, so there's no need to worry. I'm the type who hates favouritism and prejudice... Well, not as much as I hate Monomi, of course."

"You hate me that much!?"

"Now let's begin!"

"Y-You're telling us to begin... but what are we supposed to do?" Mikan asked.

"No complainin', let's just settle this with our fists!" Akane suggested.

"Were you even listening to the rules!?" Kazuichi asked.

"Didn't Teruteru get killed in the dining hall, huh?" Fuyuhiko asked. "Then everyone there is a fuckin' suspect."

"Yeah yeah. What you're really trying to say is that you're not the killer, right?" Mahiru said.

"No shit... You guys went off on your own and started killing each other. This has nothing to do with me..."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Anyway," Maki interrupted before the bickering started again. "let's focus on what is probably the most pressing issue in everyone's minds."

"The most pressing issue?" Kazuichi asked.

"The location of the body, of course. I'm sure none of us were expecting to find Teruteru under the floorboards, after all."

"Then... let's start with that mystery." Chiaki agreed.

Hajime took a feep breath. The reason why Teruteru's body was discovered under the dining hall floor... We can start with that... But ultimately, we need to find out who murdered him... If we can't do that... He shook his head. No... Thinking about "if" is a waste of time. We have to do this... No matter what!

"Why was Teruteru's body in a place like that?" Nagito wondered.

"His body was underneath the floor, at the very back of the dining hall." Gundham recalled.

"After the killer murdered Teruteru... they probably moved the body there." Kazuichi guessed.

"No, that's wrong!" Hajime interjected. "No... I don't think the killer moved the body."

"...Huh? Why?"

"As I've mentioned countless times during the investigations, Teruteru's cause of death was the explosion." Maki explained for him. "However, unlike Byakuya and Nagito, his body was completely covered in burns, and riddled with shrapnel. Therefore, we can surmise that he was much closer than the other two victims."

"So that's why you think it's impossible that the killer moved the body... I see, I get your point." Mahiru said.

"Arghhh! And here I thought I had a genius idea!" Kazuichi grumbled.

"Too bad you're sooooo stupid and boring and unpopular!" Hiyoko shot with a laugh. "Your life is meaningless!"

"I-I respond better to praise, you know!"

"But if the killer didn't move the body, why was it under the floor?" Ibuki wondered.

"Teruteru was probably killed... under the floor." Hajime explained.

"What...? You think he was killed under the floor!?" Nekomaru shouted.

"So Teruteru snuck under the building for reasons unknown, and that's when the explosion went off... Then, shortly thereafter, we found his body under the floor." Nagito clarified.

"Th-That does make sense, but... Why did he go under the floor?"

"The reason why is most likely connected to his actions during the party, don't you think?" Maki asked.

"It probably has something to do with the skewer we found under the floor." Hajime guessed.

"Skewer...?" Byakuya repeated, suddenly alarmed.

"Teruteru kept the skewer hidden from us, and probably brought it with him under the floor..." He explained.

"He was particularly sensitive when Byakuya compared his tools to weapons, so I cannot deny that possibility..." Gundham admitted. "But for what reason would he have went under the building, and with a skewer, no less?"

"I can think of one possibility." Maki said. "Although... well, I don't wish to speak ill of the dead, but I believe that Teruteru may have been planning a murder of his own."

Quite a few students were taken aback at the idea. However, just as many seemed to consider it a very real possibility.

"Maki, do you have any proof for this claim?" Byakuya asked.

"I'm afraid it's just speculation on my part. But the spot where he was found wasn't covered by carpet, and the skewer's blade would have fit through the floorboards. Ultimately, however, the "why" of Teruteru's behaviour isn't as important as the "what," and it's undeniable that Teruteru and the skewer were both discovered beneath the floor of the building."

"You... have a point." Peko admitted.

"But... where do we go from here?" Kazuichi asked. "I mean, how does knowing where the body was tell us who killed them?"

"It doesn't on its own, but it's important to establish a base before jumping to conclusions." Maki explained. "For now, I think we should interrogate the two people closest to the scene of the crime. Byakuya, Nagito, you have the floor."

"Huh? Us?" Nagito asked. "I thought we already explained that we had no idea what was going on during the blackout."

"Yeah." Byakuya agreed. "We simply ran into each other near the location of the blast. Anyone could have ended up in our place."

"No, that's wrong!" Hajime shot. "Byakuya, that excuse doesn't work. After all, you were probably the only one who was able to see in the dark. If you used those night-vision goggles we found near the hole in the floor, you could've seen what was happening."

Byakuya seemed to recoil. However, before the argument could continue, Mahiru cut in.

"Your reasoning is out of focus! That's obviously wrong! It should be the other way around!"

"O-Other way around...?" Hajime repeated.

"Seriously, the killer used those night-vision goggles, not Byakuya! If you just use common sense, the killer obviously used those night-vision goggles! That's gotta be it!"

"Where's your proof that the killer used them?"

"Because, if they used night-vision goggles, then they could've killed Teruteru, even in the dark! I mean, in reality, that's what happened. So, those goggles were planned in advance. The killer... brought them to the crime scene!"

"No, Byakuya was definitely the one who brought those night-vision goggles." Hajime asserted.

"D-Definitely...? But why!?"

"Inside the duralumin case Byakuya had with him during the party... we found a smaller case for storing the night-vision goggles."

"Which means we can assume that the night-vision goggles were kept inside that duralumin case as well..." Ibuki realized. "Wahoo! I said "assume!" Ibuki never uses such clever language!"

"Plus, Byakuya was the only one who could've taken the night-vision goggles out of the case... since he was carrying it around before the blackout in the first place." Hajime continued.

"I see... When you put it like that, it makes sense..."

"So how about it, Byakuya?" Maki asked. "How did you run into Nagito when you had perfect vision?"

"...Just because I could see doesn't mean I was completely aware of my surroundings. Nagito ran into me as I was putting on the night-vision goggles, and caught me off guard. After all, he couldn't see anything, himself."

"Sorry, Byakuya, but that doesn't make sense, either." Hajime said.

"What do you mean? Why doesn't it make sense?"

"To show that, all I need is one piece of evidence. Mahiru's diagram."

"The diagram of where everyone was standing before the blackout, right? Um... here it is..." Mahiru pulled out a slip of paper and unfolded it.

For most of the students, there wasn't much to gleam from the mess of names dotting the dining hall. However, those with a more keen eye were able to notice that Byakuya was across the room from where Nagito was standing, near where the duralumin case was discovered after the lights came back on.

"See, Byakuya? There's no way you could've "stumbled" into Nagito in the dark." Hajime said. "You've been lying to us this entire time, haven't you!?"

"I-I..." The Affluent Progeny stumbled on his words.

"But... why would Byakuya lie to us?" Sonia asked.

"Could it be!? Is he the killer!?" Ibuki shrieked.

"N-No, I'm not!" He swore when he saw everyone's suspicious glares on him.

"Byakuya, just tell us the truth." Maki told him. "Who are you protecting?"

"I... I..." Finally, the boy sighed. "...The last thing I wanted was to cause a panic..."

"...Huh?"

"If you all promise that this won't lead to chaos, that you will all think rationally about this before starting a witch hunt, then I'll tell you."

"What the hell...? You're in no position to be making demands, fatass!" Fuyuhiko spat.

"Yeah, if you don't tell us what we need to know, we're all gonna die!" Hiyoko agreed.

"...Fine, you're right. I'll give you my testimony. During the blackout, I immediately opened my duralumin case and grabbed for the night-vision goggles. Upon turning them on, I could see everyone stumbling around and tripping over each other. But beyond all of that, I could see one person who was coordinated. He was using the power cord of the table lamp at the back of the room to move toward a table. Of course, I found this suspicious, and assumed the individual was the one who planned the blackout. And so, I took action, and charged forward, manoeuvring through the crowd as necessary. When I got to him, he was already under the table. However, I was quick enough to tackle him and pull him out. That's when the explosion occurred."

"And that person... he was Nagito, wasn't he?" Maki guessed. "He's the one you were protecting."

Byakuya's expression was pained. "Yes, he was. And yes, I was."

Nagito was suddenly surprised. "Wait, Byakuya, you're not accusing me, are you!?"

"I have no evidence for my claim, but I saw what I saw. I'll admit I never saw you actually kill someone, but your actions were nonetheless very suspicious."

"I agree with that!" Hajime said. "Byakuya, the table you happened to find Nagito crawling toward, you said it was the one that had the lamp on top of it, right?"

"Yes, that's right. The one just beneath the air conditioner."

"Well, you should also know that that table was knocked over by the explosion, and Maki and I checked it out during our investigation. Imagine our surprise when we found a knife taped to the underside of the table, covered in glowing paint!"

"Th-That's just a coincidence!" Nagito argued. "I was just using the power cord to find my bearings, I didn't know there was a knife under the table!"

"But still... you had a chance, right?" Chiaki asked. "A chance to hide the knife under the table..."

"Nagito... Weren't you cleaning the dining hall all morning?" Hajime asked. "If so... you would've had a chance to hide the knife!"

"Th-That's...!"

"-also true of the blackout as well, right?" Maki finished for him.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mikan asked.

"Well, given the height of the circuit breaker in the office, I imagine the killer couldn't just trip it. In fact, we already know that they caused the blackout through a power surge. And they started with the three irons in the storage room."

"When we found them right after the blackout, the irons were still on, right?" Hajime asked.

"So by leaving those irons on in the storage room, they deliberately caused a power surge." Mahiru realized.

"Yeah, it seems that's how the killer cause the blackout..." Hajime decided.

"STUPID FOOL!" Nekomaru roared. "Hold on a second! Let me speak too!"

"Wh-What the heck...?" Hajime jumped.

"You say the irons in the storage room were used to trigger the blackout...? THAT'S INEXCUSABLE! If the irons in the storage room caused the blackout, then for the killer to turn the irons on, you're saying they went all the way to the storage room? Then that means everyone who was in the dining hall when the blackout occurred can't be a suspect!"

"No, just because people were in the dining hall doesn't mean they're not a suspect!"

"But the people in the dining hall weren't able to cause the blackout! If the irons caused the blackout-"

"The irons are just one reason the blackout occurred, but they weren't the direct trigger... The direct trigger was when the air conditioners in the dining hall and office clicked on." Hajime finished.

"A-AIR CONDITIONERRRRRRRRRRRS!?"

"The timers for both air conditioners were set to 11:30 p.m."

"11:30 p.m... Teruteru died around that time, too!" Hiyoko pointed out.

"I see... When the timers activated the air conditioners, the breaker was tripped and caused a blackout." Nekomaru realized. "I see! I understand! Indubitably!"

"...Indubitably!?" Sonia repeated.

"Nagito probably checked the old building's energy usage in advance, and used the irons to nearly max it out." Maki explained. "Once he set the air conditioners timers, all he had to do was wait for the ensuing power surge."

"H-Hang on!" Nagito argued.

"If so, he would've had ample opportunity to set up this power surge!" Sonia realized. "Indubitably!"

""Indubitably"? Miss Sonia, not you too!?" Kazuichi gasped.

"Regarding the energy usage... He probably asked Monokuma about it." Chiaki guessed, glancing at the bear.

"Dun-dun-dunnn!"

"Is she right!?" Monomi asked. "What a hateful bear... You deserve to die a thousand deaths...!"

"A thousand, you say? If I died that many times... I might really stay dead, you know..."

"Shut up!" Mahriu demanded. "You guys just stay quiet!"

"If you factor in Byakuya's testimony and the time you spent cleaning, you're the only one who could've done it!" Hajime accused, pointing at Nagito.

"S-Seriously, that's all just a coincidence!"

"If it was just one coincidence, it'd be fine... But when it's one right after another... I wonder... Is something like that even possible?" Chiaki asked.

"Could it be...? Did you give yourself cleaning duty on purpose so you could hide the knife under the table...?" Mahiru asked.

"Now that you mention it... Nagito did prepare the drawing to pick who cleaned the dining hall..." Nekomaru recalled.

"You rigged the drawing, didn't you? That's how you got picked to clean the dining hall, isn't it?"

"I don't know if you're the killer or not, but... Regardless, it proves that you're suspicious, right?" Chiaki pressed.

"Gh... gh-gh...!" Nagito appeared to be trying to argue, but any words he attempted to say were choked up in his throat.

"Well? Just admit it already!" Mahiru demanded.

"Nagito, c'mon." Maki pressed. "If we're to reach the truth, we can't have you freezing up now."

"Ngh... ngh...!"

"Nagito, tell me you object to this..." Hajime begged. "Frankly, I don't want to believe it either... You're the first person I met here... You were so kind... I can't believe that you're the one who killed Teruteru..."

"Ngh... nghhhh...!"

"Nagito! Say something!"

"Ngh... nghhhhhhhhhh...!" Suddenly, Nagito's friendly demeanour melted away as a twisted grin spread across his face. "Aha...! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! The Ultimates are working together to combat the despair of their friend's death! Ah, how wonderful, how beautiful it is!"

"...Huh?" The part that disturbed Hajime most, however, was when he made eye contact with Nagito. His eyes hid a swirling pool of darkness and negativity, but also a bright light of determination and optimism. It was a crude mixture of hope and despair, like oil and water being stirred eternally.

"Let's cut to the chase... You're correct! It was my doing all along! I'm the one who hid the knife under the table before the party started. I'm the one who used the power cord to find my way to the table in the dark. And of course, I'm the one who caused the blackout. After all, there's no way I'd knowingly whip out a knife in front of everyone, right?"

"I-Is it just me or... does he seem a little nuts right now?" Ibuki asked.

"But... I never expected Byakuya to have night-vision goggles... Because of that, we had ourselves a little scuffle under the table... and, well, you all saw how that played out." He gestured to his and the other boy's injuries. But with a twist ending like this, I think we can all agree this ended up being a very interesting mystery. Hahaha! Teruteru performed admirably!"

"J-Just stop it already...!" Kazuichi demanded. "Seriously... what the hell happened to you!?"

"Don't tell me... Is this your true nature?" Mahiru guessed. "Were you lying to us this entire time?"

"Me, lie!? That's outrageous! There's no way someone like me could ever lie to you guys! I understand better than anyone else that I'm ultimately worthless. I'm too arrogant to have dreams or cling to hope... I'm too disdainful to actually try at anything... I've made peace with the fact that I'm a lowly, stupid, insignificant human who can't do anything right."

"Holy crap!" Ibuki shouted. "He's totally the type of guy who spent his childhood killing neighbourhood pets!"

"He seems like the sort of person whose eyes light up while watching "Friday the 13th"... Just like me." Sonia agreed.

"Th-That's quite the hobby you have there... But, like, now's not really the time to bring it up..." Kazuichi said.

"Nagito... If you were really behind all of this, then did you also send that threatening letter?" Byakuya asked.

"Threatening letter?" Maki repeated.

He nodded. "The true reason I decided to throw a party was because... I had received a threatening letter under my door earlier this morning. Someone wrote to tell me that "the first kill will happen tonight. Someone will definitely kill someone." I threw the party in an attempt to dissuade them."

"So was the someone Nagito?" Akane asked.

"Nobody besides Monokuma would write such a dumb, threatening letter like that..." Hiyoko said.

"Wasn't me!" The bear answered.

"...Are you sure?" Monomi asked.

"The only lies I tell are friendly lies!"

"Those are still lies!"

"It doesn't matter who wrote it yet... So, Byakuya, you became paranoid because of this threatening letter?" Peko asked.

"Yes. As I've mentioned, the party was my attempt to prevent the murder. By gathering everyone in one place, I tried to create a situation where everyone could keep tabs on each other. In doing so, the writer of the letter should've been in a situation where they couldn't act."

"But the letter might've just been a little prank..." Kazuichi pointed out.

"As the leader of this group, I could not- I would not- take that risk. I had to treat even a small prank as a full-scale emergency."

"Tch...! You should've told us you received a threatening letter...!" Nekomaru told him.

"If I had, you would have panicked and done something stupid. That would have been a worst-case scenario."

"So... you tried to do something about it without telling anyone?" Sonia asked.

"Tch! Screw that noise! Who the hell wrote that letter!?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, Akane raises a fair point." Maki agreed. "If it was Nagito, then that brings us one step closer to wrapping everything up."

"So, Nagito, do you object?" Byakuya asked. "Did you write the letter or not?"

"Yep. I sure did. There's nobody else on this island whose handwriting is that painful to look at, right?"

"But why would you send a threatening letter in the first place?" Hiyoko asked.

"I think... somewhere deep in my heart... I was probably hoping to find someone who would stop my evil deeds... Well, I bet if that really was my reason, at least some of you would feel sorry for me."

"Are you makin' fun of us!?" Akane asked.

"By threatening Byakuya, Nagito was able to manipulate his actions." Chiaki said. "In doing so, Nagito was able to manipulate everyone to the scene where the murder would occur... Am I wrong?"

"I was... Manipulated?" Byakuya asked.

"That reminds me... Nagito was the one who suggested I guard the office." Peko recalled.

"Oh, I get it." Hiyoko realized. "If Peko was guarding the storage room, Nagito wouldn't have been able to use the irons."

"The threatening letter, along with all your suggestions... It was all a trap to manipulate us." Peko accused.

"Yep, that's true too!" Nagito congratulated. "...But you're wrong about one thing."

"H-Huh? Wh-Wh-What...?" Mikan asked.

"I didn't need to rig the drawing for cleaning duty, you know."

"If that's true, then how did you conveniently get picked for cleaning duty!?" Mahiru asked.

"I see... Well, there's no way I'd expect you to remember it. A worthless talent for a worthless human..."

"You're the Ultimate Lucky Student..." Hajime recalled. "Then... did you...!?"

"That's right. I just trusted my luck. I trusted I'd be picked for cleaning duty."

"Y-You just relied on your luck?"

"It's not just luck... It's true my talent sucks, but I'm still the Ultimate Lucky Student, you know? At the time, Hajime said I wasn't lucky... But it was actually the opposite... I was lucky! That's why I got picked for cleaning duty, just like I wanted!"

"...E-Enough..." Hajime said. "That... I don't care about that anymore... More importantly, why did you kill Teruteru!? Answer me!"

"Teruteru was someone who didn't have a lot of people's respect. It's only after his death that you all realize how poorly you've treated him... Oh, the despair such a realization brings... It's only fitting that you symbols of hope should use his death as a stepping stone to shine even brighter. That was my only motivation!"

"Y-You're not making any sense!" Nekomaru said.

"It's fine... Let's start the damn vote already!" Fuyuhiko demanded. "I'm ready to fucking kill this psycho!"

"Please, Monokuma!" Ibuki shouted.

"Wait!" Maki called out, interrupting everyone else. "Nothing's been decided."

"...Huh? The fuck?"

"Just because Nagito confessed doesn't mean he's really the killer." She explained. "In fact, given how quickly he confessed, and how many loose threads still remain, I'd say his confession only proves that he's not the killer."

"Loose threads? What do you mean?" Byakuya asked.

"Well, for example... How did Nagito kill Teruteru with the knife?"

"Um... Wouldn't he just need to stab him?" Hiyoko asked.

"No, that wouldn't work." Hajime argued. "Remember, earlier we talked about how Teruteru was killed by the explosion. A combination of the burns, shrapnel, and shockwave all caused him to die."

"I personally inspected the corpse myself, so I can confirm these facts." Maki assured them.

"Hey, that better be true! If you screwed up, I'll sell your fuckin' ass to a whorehouse!" Fuyuhiko threatened.

She simply rolled her eyes. "Additionally, the knife Nagito supposedly used had no blood on it, despite the glowing paint still remaining. Combine this with the fact that Teruteru was under the floor, well out of the knife's reach, and it leaves little room for doubt of Nagito's innocence. Well, innocent on the charge of murder, at least."

"I see what you're saying, Maki..." Nagito nodded. "As long as we can't prove that the knife is the murder weapon, we can't assume that I'm the killer."

"Wh-What are you saying...!?" Mahiru asked. "No one else can be the killer! It has to be you!"

"No, it really doesn't." Maki replied calmly. "In fact, along with Byakuya, he probably has the strongest alibi."

"Th-That's true..." Byakuya admitted. "There was no way he could have set off an explosive during our struggle."

"Well, your guess is as good as mine." Nagito said. "I don't know about anything that happened after the explosion. Next thing I knew, I woke up in Mikan's cottage. Before I realized it, everyone was going on about how Teruteru was murdered."

"H-Hold on!" Mahiru demanded. "Are you saying you're not the killer?"

"From the very beginning, the idea to throw a party... Hiding the knife, setting up the blackout... It was all going according to plan... But unfortunately, my plan failed. And all thanks to Byakuya's night-vision goggles. What happened after that... even I don't know."

"Y-You failed...? Th-Then you're not the one who killed Byakuya?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Th-Then we're right back to square one!" Hiyoko shrieked.

"How can that be!? We've spent all this time talking back and forth!" Nekomaru shouted, throwing up his hands.

"Meaninglessness... What other word is brimming with so much despair?" Nagito wondered. "But you can't give up! You need to have hope, do your best, and move forward! Rising to the challenge again and again is why you guys are the symbols of hope!"

"No, that's wrong!" Maki shouted. "It's not meaningless! Because I will find the answer. And not because of any of your bullshit ideologies revolving around hope, but because I refuse to die here. And as long as we live on, our friends' deaths will not be in vain, they won't be meaningless!"

"Well, what now?" Nagito asked. "If the knife isn't the murder weapon, there's no definitive proof that I'm the killer."

"No, but we should be able to figure out who triggered the explosion through some simple deduction." She explained. "But before that, we need to figure out how the explosion was triggered. Hajime, we already know the answer to that, right?"

"...You're talking about the rope that was tied to the door of the dining hall, right?" He guessed.

"A rope, you say?" Gundham asked.

"Maki and I found this thin rope with a hook on the end, and it was hooked onto the bottom door hinge of the dining hall doors." He explained.

"I see... but how does that relate to the explosion, exactly?" Peko asked.

"The rope went from the door hinge straight down through the gaps in the floorboards. What's more, the other end appeared to be tied to the fireworks machine that we believe was used as the murder weapon."

"That all makes sense..." Mahiru agreed. "But how could the rope act as the trigger? It's not like the rope has any sensors in it, right?"

"It works just fine." Maki said. "It's one of the most ancient forms of traps; a tripwire. When the door, or in this case, its hinge moved, so did the rope, and the fireworks machine detected it, and was told to fire its rockets. Hajime didn't notice it in his investigation, since I moved him away from it, but there was also a wire that was plugged into a battery-powered generator hidden in the darkness, and a small timer/trigger mechanism attaching the rope to the machine."

"Hang on, Maki..." Hajime interrupted. "We inspected that area together, and you didn't bring that up to me at all. How do you know all this? And what do you mean you moved me away from it?"

"I mean just that; I moved you away from the fireworks machine by drawing your attention to something else. To answer your other question..." She hesitated for a moment. "I know because I set the trap. I'm the one who set up that explosive."

"Wh-What!?" Nekomaru shouted.

"Is Maki secretly crazy like Nagito!?" Ibuki shrieked.

"Are you serious!?" Byakuya asked. "You were the one who-!?"

"How interesting..." Nagito mused. "I would never have guessed that you were the one who did it."

"Wait, does that mean Maki's the killer?" Mahiru asked, turning to Monokuma.

He giggled to himself. "Of course I wouldn't make it that easy! Look at it this way, if Maki loaded a gun with bullets, but someone else took that gun and shot Teruteru, would I consider Maki the blackened, then?"

"N-No... obviously, the killer would be the one who shot him..." Mikan answered.

"So that's what Maki meant when she said we have to find out how the fireworks were triggered." Chiaki said.

"Precisely." Maki agreed. "Because the how will lead us to the who, to the killer."

"But why?" Byakuya asked. "What were you thinking, bringing something so dangerous to such a crowded place?"

"He's right. Given how many things could have gone wrong, we're lucky only three of us were caught in the blast." Peko scolded.

"You think I don't know that?" Maki snapped. "But I had to do something. I couldn't just let Nagito do what he wanted. It's not like I knew Teruteru was going to crawl under the floor and stick his face in front of my trap. I made sure the fireworks were still weak enough that they wouldn't kill anyone above the floor, and hey, look at that, Byakuya and Nagito are both alive. There wasn't one second I was making this plan that I thought about using this for murder."

"So you discovered Nagito when he was setting up his murder plan?" Sonia asked. "But why didn't you tell anyone?"

"For the same reason Byakuya tried to stick up for Nagito at the start. I didn't want to cause a panic and have everyone wanting to kill him. Teruteru and I both discovered him, but decided to keep quiet for that reason. But I thought with my plan, while it would cause a bit of a stir, everyone would eventually move on from it, and Nagito would be injured for a while and hopefully wouldn't try anything sinister. Obviously, Teruteru's involvement screwed that up."

"But where did you even find something like that, anyway?" Hiyoko asked. "Do they have tripwires at the supermarket?"

"No, the supermarket merely supplied the require parts, and my mechanical skills do leave something to be desired. So in order to set this trap, I required a little help from Kazuichi." In an instant, every pair of eyes in the courtroom fell on the Mechanic, who had gone noticeably quiet during this topic of discussion.

"Kazuichi, is this true...?" Byakuya asked.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! She told me she was gonna hook up the tripwire to an alarm, I didn't know anything about any fireworks!"

"He's right, I avoided telling him anything that might scare him off the plan. He's innocent in this." Maki defended.

"Right. I just thought everything would be a little safer." Kazuichi explained. When the realization hit him, he eyed the floor sadly. "I didn't think it would end up killing someone."

"Anyway, this is all well and good, but I wish to remind everyone that we need to find out who triggered the trap, not who built it or set it up or any other inane details." Maki insisted.

"You're right." Chiaki agreed. "But there is one other thing I want to know about how the tripwire works. How did you make sure it didn't go off too early? Teruteru was going in and out through the door multiple times before the blackout, after all."

"Oh, that's easy." Kazuichi said. "I turned my alarm clock into a timer and attached it to the trigger, which I guess Maki plugged into the fireworks machine. You can set the timer for whenever you want, up to twelve hours, and no matter how much the rope moves, it won't go off until the timer runs out first."

"Yeah, I made sure the timer was set so that it would go off at exactly 11:30, the same time Nagito's blackout would occur." Maki explained. "I didn't want it to go off before that. So the answer to this mystery is, whoever was the first to open the door after the blackout started is the killer, and they didn't even know it until just now."

There was a moment of silence as everyone considered that, looking suspiciously around the room. Monokuma's quiet laughter only accentuated how twisted the idea was.

"So..." Byakuya started. "In order to figure out who the killer is, we have to figure out what happened in the dark. I'm afraid I wasn't paying much attention to the doorway during my struggle with Nagito."

"Nobody can see in the dark..." Nagito said. "No matter how hard you think about it, the truth is beyond your sight... Don't you think that's a pretty clever metaphor, despite the fact that it came from me?"

"No, that's not it." Hajime argued.

"...Not it? What's not it?"

"Even if we couldn't see what was happening in the dark... I'm pretty sure someone could've heard it... Isn't that right, Ibuki?"

"Fo' reeeeaaaalz!?" The Musician shouted.

"You were the one who told me, remember? How everyone was shouting during the blackout..."

"Uwah! It's a blackout!" Mahiru shouted.

"Hey, I can't see anything!" Kazuichi shrieked.

"I-It's pitch black! My future is pitch black!" Ibuki shouted melodramatically.

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

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

"Ah! S-Sorry!" Maki apologized.

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

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

"Ow!" Nagito yelped.

"Such perceptive hearing!" Nagito praised. "Impressive! I'd expect no less from the Ultimate Musician!"

"It's a good thing your ears are awesome because your face, style, figure, and personality totally suck." Hiyoko shot.

"Tahaa! You've cut me deep with your knife of truth!" Ibuki cried.

"However, how does this help us pinpoint the killer?" Peko asked. "Unless you also know at what point the door was opened?"

Maki shook her head. "You're forgetting one crucial fact. The explosion would've had to occur the instant after the door opened. Nobody would've heard a creaky hinge over that shockwave, but we can still infer that that's the moment the killer did it."

"We still ain't any closer to finding the killer!" Fuyuhiko snapped. "We already know murder happened at the same time as the door opening. What we need to know is who the fuck opened it!"

Maki scanned the group, shaking her head and sighing. "Well, at least I know the level of intelligence I'm working with... Just wish it were a little higher."

"No, I know the answer." Hajime said. "It's right there, plain as day. The killer... is you!" He pointed across the courtroom.

He felt bad making the accusation, especially when the other person didn't even know they were the killer. But in order to survive, they had to play by Monokuma's twisted rules. And so, Hajime's finger pointed across the courtroom, directly toward...

...Kazuichi Soda.

"Kazuichi... Could it be you?"

The Mechanic paused, staring at the finger in his face, before taking a step back and raising his hands. "Huh!? What!? What are you talking about!?"

"K-Kazuichi's the killer... Is that true!?" Mahiru asked.

"N-No! Of course not! I can't be the killer!" He argued.

"Of course, that's simply my assumption, so if you have an objection, please speak freely." Hajime continued.

"You can't just expect me to have an objection ready!" He shrieked. "Besides, why do I have to be the killer?"

"Because... you were the one who opened the door."

"What...?"

"Everyone, remember what Kazuichi said during the blackout. "I'll go along the wall and... do something about it...!" In the middle of a blackout, the only thing he could really do was find the circuit breaker. But there is no circuit breaker in the dining hall. Kazuichi would have needed to leave the room, but the only exit was already rigged to blow."

"H-Hey, just because I said I was gonna do something, doesn't mean I did it! I'm a screw-up sometimes, alright?"

"I agree." Maki said sadly. "But I'm afraid this might actually be your biggest screw-up yet."

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm sorry, Soda Pop. I don't know if there's really anyone we can fault for this killing, but by Monokuma's rules, this is the truth of this case. I don't even need evidence to prove that you're the one who opened the door. All I need is everyone's account. Do you guys recall who it was the used the fire extinguisher to put out the flames from the explosion?"

"It was... Kazuichi, wasn't it?" Akane recalled.

"Yes, I believe that was the case." Peko agreed.

"I... also remember that..." Sonia admitted.

"Well, Kazuichi?" Maki asked. "If there was anyone ahead of you when you were leaving the dining hall, feel free to make an accusation."

"I...I-I... I didn't want this to happen..." He whimpered. "...I didn't know the door was gonna make Teruteru explode... I didn't know any of this was gonna happen... I just... panicked... alright?"

Nagito sighed. "Jeez, what a disappointment... I didn't expect an Ultimate like you to give up so easily. Can you really call that hope?"

"Hey Nagito... I'm sorry but can you just be quiet?" Chiaki asked. He obliged, quieting down instantly.

"Kazuichi, we're going to go over the entire case one more time." Maki told him. "When you're ready... just let us know, okay?"

"S-Sure... Whatever..."

Go over the entire incident... Hajime thought. And then, I can reveal the truth of this tragedy... That's right... if we don't do that, we can't end this no matter how much time passes. "So... we need to do it!

"Let's try going over the whole incident, beginning with right after the party started... Byakuya had us gather in the dining hall of the old building near the hotel. He was extra cautious about a murder occurring that night because of a threatening letter he received. Therefore, he decided to throw a party so he could monitor us. Though one person didn't come, the rest of us assembled at the dining hall... and the party was underway. But, at that time, the whole building was already a minefield of traps, all set in motion.

"The first person's trap involved three irons plugged into the outlets in the storage room, which nearly capped the power usage... Additionally, they prepared something else that would activate at 11:30 p.m... The air conditioners in the office and dining hall. They had already set the timers for these. Thanks to the irons maxing out the power usage, the breaker was tripped when the air conditioners kicked on. Since the windows in the old building were covered, the blackout plunged the dining hall into total darkness.

"But when that happened, Byakuya took out a specific item that he brought in his case. That item... was the night-vision goggles. Byakuya was so concerned about a murder occurring that he brought a variety of security equipment with him. When he put on his night-vision goggles, Byakuya witnessed a certain someone making a suspicious move... He saw Nagito guiding himself with the desk lamp's power cord so he could get under the table. That's right. Everything up to that point was all part of Nagito's plan. The murder warning to Byakuya, the source of the blackout... It was all Nagito.

"While the blackout was happening, someone else began making their move in the kitchen. Teruteru already knew about Nagito's plan, so he knew a blackout was coming... That's why he prepared what he needed for his plan, a weapon to stop Nagito. This had been hidden in the kitchen beforehand. The long iron skewer used in the churrasco dish. He hid that inside that meat with the bone on it. Somehow, he managed to find his way down the hall and to the storage room, and snuck under the floorboards through the secret passage. What he couldn't see in the darkness under the floor, however, was that the area he was in was trapped, and ready to blow.

"Above the floor, the entire crowd in the dining hall was in a panic. Maki tried, but failed, to get to the door, where a trap of her own would be triggered. The one who beat her there was the true killer, whether they wished to be or not. In their panic, they couldn't possibly have guessed what would have happened when they left the room. But there's only one person who could have possibly triggered that trap, the final trap of the evening...

"Isn't that right... Kazuichi Soda? That's what happened... How about it? Did I get anything wrong?"

Kazuichi was shivering in his spot. "N-No... that all sounds right. It was a trap. I-I was trapped. I never wanted to come to this island... I never wanted to kill anyone... I just... want to go home..." He didn't say anything else, but it was clear to the rest of the students that he had so much more to say. He just didn't have the time.

"It seems... this is the end." Peko decided.

"Puhuhu... it looks like your argument has come to a close." Monokuma announced. "Let's move on to the nerve-wracking voting time! Now then, please pull the lever in front of you and cast your vote. Oh, just a reminder... Make triple sure you vote for someone! If you don't vote... I can't promise you won't end up like little Teruteru."

"Ughhh...! Wh-Why did this happen...!?" Monomi cried.

"Who will be chosen as the blackened!? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one!? Puhuhu! Such heart-pounding excitement!"

Everyone grabbed the levers that popped out of the podiums in front of them, and pulled them to select who they thought the blackened was. With that, his fate was sealed, and that was the end of their first class trial.


I'm sorry to Kazuichi fans, including myself. Someone had to bite the bullet, and in canon, he is the one who opens the door. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized he'd be the perfect one to die this early. Unlike in my first story, where the first murder left little impact due to it being the same as in canon, Kazuichi plays an important role throughout the story. He makes the radio thing in chapter three, fixes the elevator in chapter four. So having him be the killer here is going to change things up quite a bit.

Huh, unlike Albert, who shouts Objection as his cut-in, Maki shouts No, that's wrong like a proper Danganronpa character. However, she also makes a speech in reference to the one Albert gave Toshihide, so it's like, a recursive reference or something. Mind = Blown. Not actually, though. It doesn't take that much thought to process.

In the next chapter, we'll see the aftermath of the trial, and maybe see what Albert and friends are up to.