Class Trial Resume
Mikayla's eyes remained closed as her face was unmoving. 'Why is she not refuting them? Did she really kill Sienna, who she swore to protect?' I thought in despair at the thought.
"Mikyala... Why aren't you saying anything? TELL THEM THEIR WRONG DAMMIT!" Shana shouted at her with tears peaking out of her eyes.
"..." Mikayla stayed silent.
"Then... Mikayla really did do it. She's making no argument." Brenda looked away in sadness, rubbing her wrist.
Melinda chuckled. "That was too easy. It almost wasn't worth the hunt but this class trial wasn't all that bad."
Tommy glared at her. "Just shut up! This isn't a game!"
"But it is. The game where the strong prevail over the weak. Where the killer fights back against the innocent. Where we live to win or die and lose. Your emotions will ultimately betray you here by trusting others. Mikayla is the prime example of that. Sienna trusted her with all her heart and she took advantage of naivety." She said to us before looking to Mikayla. "I gotta say that was well played for a stupid dreamer like you."
"Then let us proceed with voting time. Monokuma..." Paul passed the torch to him.
Monokuma laughed. "If everyone agrees to move on then we'll..."
"No! Not yet!" Luca suddenly shouted.
"Grr." Monokuma growled.
Melinda glared at Luca. "What? Why not? You better not suggest that it's not her."
"I will admit that seeing Mikayla make no aim to defend herself is suspicious and how she fought against Kai was also very strange and unlike herself, but that doesn't mean she could have done it!" Luca pointed at her.
Ollie cocked her head in a questioning way. "But what's your reasoning?"
Luca shrugged. "Well I just think that out of everyone here she has a 100% chance that she wouldn't kill Sienna. I've seen the way she tended and protected Sienna. I saw true dedication in her actions and words that drove Sienna onward to improving herself. Out of everyone here I believe in her friendship with Sienna the most!"
I blinked at Luca in amazement. I have definitely seen this strong belief before. That's when I felt a smile appear on my face as I looked up. "... I will believe in her too."
So many shocked expressions looked to me. I even noticed Mikayla looking at me in the same regard and shock.
Paul spoke up with an evil glint in his eye. "You better have a good explanation for yourself!"
"I'm simply going off what I feel in my heart and what my experience is telling me." I told them as I thought back to the investigation.
After a minute of utter silence Luca walked to her, knelt behind her, and hugged her close. I was just surprised as Mikayla was by the sudden contact with his chest against her back. "We really need your help. I know it hurts but you have to push forward. This is for our sake as much as Sienna. We saw how strong she wanted to be so I bet right now she'd want you to stay strong for her sake. She believed in you and so will I."
"Luca told Mikayla that because Sienna trusted and believed in her that he would do the same. I'm following that belief. If Sienna was here instead of someone else, she'd be fighting all of us to protect her! I know this from the time I've seen them spend together, from the things I came to learn about them, and from knowing who they are I will believe in Mikayla like Luca does." I then pointed my hand forward with a shout, "Like Sienna does!"
"If Sienna believed in her then I will too!" Shana cheered.
Damian nodded his head with his arms folded. "I can't argue with that."
"Might as well." Willie shrugged.
"You're all as stupid as Marcel." Melinda snarled.
"Why does everyone target me, man?" Marcel drooped.
"It may be stupid for you but it's the sole reason we need to continue! There's more we can talk about!" I told her.
"No! There's no reason to continue!" Melinda shouted.
"Yes there is! Stop arguing and trying to make us think you're the only one with any sense around here!" Luca shouted back.
"But can we really believe in Mikayla after being so quiet?" Brenda asked confused.
"She's the culprit!" "She's not the culprit!" "Who is the culprit?" Melinda, Luca, and Brenda all shouted.
Mass Panic Debate!
Truth Bullets Loaded: Damian's Account, Updated School Store, Blood Near Drain, and Monokuma File
"I'm telling you she's the culprit!" "Mikayla loved Sienna so much!" "I'm getting confused with all of this shouting!" Melinda screamed out, Luca defended, and Brenda cried out.
"She didn't defend herself when accused!" "But that love can be manipulated." "Then let someone with expert knowledge do the thinking for you." Melinda continued to shout at us, Paul argued, and Willie whispered over to her.
"But she may have had a reason to do so." "But the motive didn't sway Mikayla. That's what I think!" "Are you making another sexist comment again?" Ollie said thoughtfully, Shana shouted, and Brenda growled at him.
"Of course there was! It's because she's guilty!" "You have no way of knowing that!" "What? I'm not being sexist. I'm just being honest." Melinda retorted, Paul sneered, and Willie said in shock at her accusation.
"There's nothing more that can suggest we need to continue!" "I don't know it! I believe it!" "Sure. Stop lying through your teeth!"
Truth Bullet Fired: Blood Near Drain
"I CAN HEAR YOU!"
Counter!
I shook my head. "No Melinda there is more to discuss. There are still many things we haven't gone over. Such as the blood I found."
"Blood? You found blood?" Melinda asked me through gritted teeth.
"I did. But that's not the only thing. Me and Luca discovered a few things unusual." I replied.
Ollie jumped in. "That's right. There is more to talk about and this time, you better not interrupt me again." She sent a glare at Melinda.
"She interrupted you?" Brenda asked her.
"When I was giving my testimony. I didn't finish speaking before Melinda said Mikayla was the only one I saw. But that's not the case." Ollie answered.
Luca looked at her with a slight stare of concern. "Really? But didn't Paul agree with her."
"No. What I said was, "She was there too"; As in she was there along with the others Ollie told me about." Paul reexplained himself.
"Then why the fuck didn't you specify that?" Shana yelled at the hacker.
Paul looked away from her. "Simply because when Mikayla was blamed for the murder she made no jump to defend herself as if she was caught red-handed. I still think that was very suspicious of her so I still don't trust her."
"Then Ollie please continue with your testimony." Luca gave her the go ahead.
Ollie nodded before proceeding. "So as I was saying earlier I heard footsteps outside and went out to see Brenda walking towards the dorms first. Later I heard more footsteps and saw Mikayla walking to and from the dorms, then later again it was Luca, and finally I saw Shana not long after. She was the last person for about three hours I saw before Willie, who was walking in the direction of the second floor, at about 6 this morning."
Truth Bullet Added: Ollie's Account
"So then four people all walked out sometime during nighttime. Then they are all suspicious." Paul stated.
"And Mikayla is still one of them." Melinda added.
"What were you all doing out so late?" Damian asked them.
"I was worried about Sienna so I went up to see if she was okay but no one was around the fitness room so I went back to my dorm." Shana confessed.
"Me too! I wanted to ensure her safety and I did see her but I was feeling sleepy so I went back to my room." Brenda told us.
"I just couldn't sleep. I went out to run around the school but I stayed on the first floor. When I felt I was done I went back to my dorm too."
"..." Mikayla however remained silent.
"Someone's not fessing up. The blackened per chance?" Melinda offered.
"No accusations yet. We'll find a way to make her crack." Paul said to Melinda who growled at that.
"Well then let's continue. There's still more I need to share with you all. More clues we found that are too important to overlook." I told them.
"Such as?" Melinda asked me, very perturbed that we were continuing.
"Such as the fact that the jacket and leather strap weren't the only things Luca and I found in Sienna's room." I paused as I loaded up the bloody hand towel we found. "This hand towel was found hidden in her garbage can behind the door."
"It's covered in a good amount of blood. But doesn't that strike anyone as weird?" Luca questioned everyone.
"What's so weird about it? I don't see what's wrong about that." Marcel looked puzzled.
'It is weird. We need to show them why.' I thought as we began debating again.
Non-Stop Debate!
Truth Bullets Loaded: Monokuma File, Blood Near Drain, Used First Aid Kit, and Bloody Hand Towel
"So can anyone tell me what was off about the hand towel we found?" Luca asked again.
"But I said there's nothing weird about that hand towel. Isn't it?" Marcel said thoughtfully.
"Maybe it's because of where it was hidden?" Brenda suggested.
Willie hopped in. "I bet where it came from is suspicious!"
"What about the blood itself? I wanna know about who it belongs to." Ollie stated.
Truth Bullet Fired: Monokuma File
"I BELIEVE YOU!"
Consent!
"Ollie has the right idea. We need to think about where the blood on that towel came from." I told them.
"Huh? Wasn't it from Sienna? After all she's the one that died." Marcel said.
I shook my head. "No. You can tell since the Monokuma File says this..."
"Her body was discovered in the pool. The cause of death is choking. The victim's body is also swollen and majorly bruised."
"It doesn't mention any cuts or open wounds on her body and choking her would not have caused blood to spill out." I explained.
"Then if the blood on the towel isn't from the victim then whose blood is it?" Damian asked.
"It's obviously the killer's." I answered. "After all if it wasn't why would they put effort into hiding it in the same room as the jacket and strap? Because they wanted to ensure it wouldn't be found behind Sienna's locked door."
"I bet the killer did intentionally set the jacket and strap out in the open to draw attention away from the rest of the room and away from such an important piece of evidence." Luca guessed.
Paul chuckled. "I have to admit this blackened is very smart for using so many misleading tactics but very dumb for not doing a better job."
"So many traps the murderer set up to make us think of the wrong answer. That is very clever but downright dirty too." Tommy growled inwardly.
"Let's not forget our primary suspects." Melinda pointed out as everyone began looking at each other.
I happened to look at Mikayla and noticed her looking over the entire group. I could see tears perk in her eyes only when she looked over particular areas in the seats. I sensed sadness in them. I sensed something more and I figured her out in that moment.
"Mikayla, I know why your resisting to talk. You know something big. Something you didn't tell me." I said softly to her.
She looked at in surprise. "Huh?"
"This entire time you've been acting strange. I first noticed this right before we got on the elevator." I told her.
"So real quick, did you discover anything new with Sienna's body that can help?" I asked her.
Mikayla's sympathetic smile suddenly vanished as she removed her hands from mine and cast her gaze away. "Unfortunately no. I found no hints hidden on her body. We only have what was clear as day. Nothing more." Mikayla then turned and continued to proceed to the elevator.
"You lied to me when you said that, didn't you? You lied because you're scared. You're scared to discover who backstabbed us and who killed Sienna. You don't want to know who betrayed you. Betrayed Sienna. That's why you didn't defend yourself. Because if you did you would have said something that would pin the blame on someone else. But remember if you don't fight back then Sienna's killer will get away and we'll all die! So please tell me what you know. If you truly wish for Sienna to find peace then tell us what you discovered."
Mikayla looked heartbroken as I spoke as she whimpered and trembled. "The tiny bump on her neck..."
Luca blinked. "What?"
"What the hell do you mean by that? What tiny bump?!" Paul shouted at her madly.
"She had a nasty looking mosquito bite on her neck, right above her collarbone. But that's all that was right?" Luca questioned Mikayla confused.
"I thought so too... until I got closer. I saw that she actually had a small hole that the bump most likely formed from. It's not noticeable at first glance because the water swelled it mostly shut. Also I found dead skin underneath her right hand's fingernails." Mikayla went on to explain.
Truth Bullet Updated: Status of Sienna's Body
'So with this new information I bet I can gather what it is relevant to.' I wondered to myself before I spoke out. "Then I think this means Sienna's cause of death has another layer we don't know about."
"Are you kidding me? You said we wouldn't have to discuss this further! She died from someone choking her! Don't you dare suggest otherwise!" Melinda screamed at me.
"But we didn't know about this information! It may prove that we fell for another trap the killer set up!" Luca refuted.
"But Mikayla has been suspicious from the start and you want me to believe her now? I refuse." Paul sneered.
"Well I'll believe her over you any day!" Shana taunted him.
"We need to believe Mikayla!" I hollered out.
"No we don't!" Melinda shouted back.
"HOLD ON THERE!" Monokuma exclaimed, cutting us off.
"This is getting us nowhere! It seems your all split on this matter. Which means... it's time for the American Hope's Peak Academy to proudly present its very own morphenomenal trail grounds!" Monokuma cheered.
"What? Not this again!" Willie moaned.
"Yes this again! Now let's go!" Monokuma shouted.
'I gotta make them see that we need to factor in Mikayla's words. If we can't do that then we all might be in big trouble.' I thought.
The panel soon popped up in from of Monokuma as he pulled out the key with his head on it. He inserted it into the panel and turned it as we saw it light up in front of Monokuma. Suddenly the whole place lit up as I felt my podium drop a bit and then began levitating up like before as did Monokuma and his throne. And much like before I saw that everyone's was following after me in a stair like pattern with Sienna's podium next to me and Brenda would be that last one floating up. Our podiums began mixing around as the formed two lines in front of Monokuma as we faced each other with the left side consisting of Paul, Melinda, Marcel, Ollie, Brenda, and Willie and the right line had me, Mikayla, Shana, Luca, Damian, and Tommy.
Debate Scrum!
Question: What was used to kill Sienna?
Answer 1: Killer Choked Her With Their Hands
Answer 2: Killer Used Something Else
START!
"We already know what caused Sienna to die! She was choked by the killer's hands!" Melinda shouted.
Shana stepped up. "But there's a chance we overlooked a vital clue that might have actually caused her to die."
"But can we be sure if this is another trap the killer planted?" Marcel asked.
Tommy took the lead. "We can't be sure unless we discuss the potential trap they placed."
"But what could possibly be proved here? We already covered everything." Brenda said confused.
Luca answered her. "No. We covered a lot of ground but not enough to say Mikayla is the killer."
"Outta everyone here, Mikayla has been super suspicious." Willie noted.
Damian was next to step up to the plate. "Remember Ollie saw more than just Mikayla which means she's not the only one suspicious."
"I believe what she has to say is more deciet since she's been silent and dodgy this entire time." Paul said.
It was my turn. "You may think that but I have every reason to believe her now!"
"Mikayla has lied to us. Should we really trust her so easily?" Ollie questioned us.
Mikayla spoke up. "I may have lied before but I can prove I'm telling the truth now!"
Our statements, arguments, and engagements felt like they were pushing back at each other until our group overpowered theirs!
"THIS IS WHAT WE DECIDED!"
Full Counter!
Soon our podiums drifted back down as the debate was done. Everyone was silent until I broke it. "We need to discuss this new information and see if Mikayla is telling the truth or not. If we can show that what she hid is fact or fiction will make everyone satisfied and come to a more unanimous vote. If we don't go into voting time with everyone feeling confident then we're just asking for trouble."
After another second of silence Paul grumbled a bit. "Fine. But only because not everyone is willing to continue to voting time."
"That would be best. After all we only get one vote so we can't afford to get it wrong." Brenda sighed.
"Then let's discuss this. So we believe that maybe the choking by the killer's hands may be another trap correct?" Ollie asked.
"Then what was the actual means against Sienna to kill her?" Tommy asked.
Soon someone raised their hand. It was Marcel. "Um... I might have something that may help."
"You? What could you possibly have that I don't know about?" Paul asked him, looking furious.
"W-Well I didn't have time to tell you what I found because the investigation was over when Monokuma made the announcement so I grabbed my clue and brought it here since I thought I couldn't discuss it before the class trial." Marcel confided.
"What? Come on. Out with it. Let's see this clue you found." Paul demanded.
Marcel obliged to his demand and reached into his swimming trunks!
Shana screeched. "YOU BETTER NOT BE FISHING OUT YOUR DICK, SICKO!"
Marcel looked up in shock. "No! I-I have pockets on the inside of my trunks! I swear my penis isn't in there!"
"What a stupid lie!" Brenda shivered in disgust.
His face turned red with anger. "I'm not lying! Watch this!" He shouted before he pulled his hand out and held up a small vile high above his head. Or more precisely... a small bottle of... soy sauce. We could all see that the bottle was nearly half empty.
"Is that soy sauce?" Shana gasped in horror.
"Yeah! I remember this bottle yesterday when I used it on my pancakes last night before going to bed early." Marcel told us.
"You ate breakfast food at night and used soy sauce instead of syrup? Disgusting." Ollie stated blankly.
"Hey! I happen to like the taste of soy very much." Marcel growled at her.
"Get to the point dipshit!" Melinda shouted holding her knife in her hand.
Marcel was quick to continue. "A-Anyway the bottle wasn't open until I used it and I didn't even use much at all. The line was just underneath the neck of bottle. But when we investigated the kitchen, I noticed the bottle was gone. I soon found it in the library, hidden out of sight on the librarian desk just before the investigation ended."
"AND YOU WAITED NOW TO TELL US SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT!" Tommy shouted at him.
"I didn't realize that the soy might have played something in the murder after we discussed the choking method of murder." Marcel drooped as he lightly tapped his index fingers together.
Truth Bullet Added: Soy Sauce Bottle
"So then if this soy sauce was used to kill Sienna, we need to figure out how they got so much of it into her." Brenda said thoughtfully.
"Then let's do it." I said nervously.
Non-Stop Debate!
Truth Bullets Loaded: Soy Sauce Bottle, Ollie's Account, Plastic Shards, and Monokuma File
"If that much soy sauce was used, then it definitely means that's what killed Sienna!" Shana shouted.
"We can't know that for sure unless we find out how so much soy was put in her. The culprit might have taken soy sauce out to trick us yet again." Melinda stated.
"Or Marcel used it more this morning and just forgot." Brenda shrugged.
Marcel folded his arms. "DID NOT!"
"I didn't see anyone use the soy sauce this morning." Damian noted.
"Then maybe it was used to kill Sienna." Luca replied. "If so how'd they get so much in her system?"
"They must have shoved the bottle into her mouth and forced it down." Ollie suggested.
Tommy shook his head. "Nah. They probably added it into her snacks before she went into the fitness room."
"But they wouldn't know about Sienna's allergy before she locked herself in. It's more likely they simply poured it all over her face!" Shana theorized.
Mikayla looked away. "Maybe they forced it through her skin somehow and into her system."
Truth Bullet Fired: Plastic Shards
"I BELIEVE YOU!"
Consent!
"That's... That's it. They forced it into her skin!" I shouted out.
Mikayla looked away in pain.
"What? How is that possible?" Damian asked confused.
'There's only one way to get a liquid forced into you through your skin. I don't like singling us out but it's the only way.' I thought before I spoke up. "It was a syringe or more accurately... an EpiPen."
"Now what kind of hair-brained idiot are you? I looked over the school store inventory list and it didn't say anythin' about no syringes or EpiPens." Willie tried to counter me.
"You're right. The school didn't have any in stock throughout our time here. But Sienna did." I told Willie.
He blinked in surprise. "What? She did?"
I began explaining. "Before entering the school Sienna had five EpiPens on her and was suppose to give it to a teacher she trusts. But given our situation she had no choice but to give it to someone else she trusted. She eventually gave them to Mikayla. That was what we were told by Mikayla... before she gave four of us a syringe each. Those four are me, Brenda, Luca, and Shana with Mikayla holding onto the last one."
"Then you five are the most likely culprits. And once again Mikayla is one of them." Melinda smirked at Mikayla.
"But why are we the most likely culprits?" Shana asked surprised.
"It's because of the plastic shards Tommy and Damian found in the garbage cans in the fitness room. I noticed there was something written in ink on them but it was faded so I couldn't make it out at first. But then I realized they weren't words but measurements. I bet you anything if we had all the pieces it would make an EpiPen." I told her. I loaded the picture and showed everyone the pieces. "Mikayla, you know what those syringes look like. Do these look like pieces of a broken EpiPen?"
She looked over the picture and slowly nodded.
"If that really is the case then it can only be on of us five since no one else knew about Mikayla having possession of Sienna's syringes or about her giving them to us. The culprit took their EpiPen and emptied it's original content with Sienna's medicine and replaced it with the soy sauce." I replied.
"But how did the syringe break in the first place? If the culprit broke it then all we'd have to do is ask the suspect to show theirs and then we'd find them." Paul theorized.
"It probably happened during the struggle with Sienna. The killer most likely surprised her when she left the fitness room and when the syringe was stabbed into her she most likely tried to pull it out while the killer kept it in place to ensure the soy would get in her system and as a result of the pressure on the Epipen, it broke or at the very least cracked. Then all they would need to do is tackle her to the ground to ensure she didn't run for help. Then either the killer let the soy kill her or they did choke her to make her die faster. That's when they punched her face repeatedly so her face would be covered in bruises to make us think she was mercilessly beaten and choked to death. Also if the cracked syringe was discovered by someone they would need to explain how it happened and if the soy was connected tothe murder then they'd be the most likely culprit. So to avoid it, entirely they destroyed the syringe and scattered it's pieces inside the garbage cans in the fitness room and other places to ensure no one would piece it together." As I continued explaining, my eyes went over to see Mikayla tremble. "Someone with an EpiPen betrayed us. They used the gift Mikayla gave us to help protect Sienna and used it against her and kill her."
"That's terrible. So someone really did use her allergy to their advantage." Ollie said sorrowfully.
"We have seen many traps before in this case but that takes the cake. This culprit must have one major silver tongue if they've been able to deceive us for most of the trial." Damian noted.
"Someone with a silver tongue. Someone whose been deceiving us. Even as the Ultimate Actor, I should be able to see any kind of act. Acts of paranoia, lines someone delivers, and their overall performance. I've seen it multiple times now but never acknowledged them until now. No, it's more like... I didn't want to." I confessed.
"Kai? Are you telling us... you know who the killer is?" Willie asked me nervously.
I looked away. "I wasn't able to make certain connections until a while ago. Thinking back on things I should have realized it sooner. But... I have a hunch on who it might be."
Mikayla remained silent when I looked to her. She knew what was coming and she couldn't prepare for it. Everyone's eyes followed mine as they all looked at Mikayla; some in shock, some in horror, and other who looked displeased.
But before anything was said my head turned to the first person... directly to my left.
"..."
"..."
"...Will you tell me why you lied to me, Brenda?"
All eyes immediately left Mikayla to look at me and then one space over to Brenda whose gaze was still stuck on me.
"What are you saying Kai? I didn't lie to you." Brenda responded.
I glared at her. "Yes you did. Remember?"
"Mikayla hasn't seen Sienna around and she wanted help finding her. She asked me to grab a few others to help her look so I grabbed the first two closest people and you happened to be the second person." Brenda informed me.
I pointed to her. "What you said has contradictions because when I spoke to Mikayla..."
"Is there anything that you noticed this morning?" Luca asked Mikayla.
She shook her head. "No. Nothing and no one out of the ordinary. It's just when I couldn't find Sienna I ran into Brenda and she offered to go get people to help us find Sienna."
"You had told me Mikayla asked you to go find others to help find Sienna. When in reality, you had offered." I told her.
Brenda just looked at me mortified. "But Kai..."
I didn't give her a chance to speak as I continued. "That's not the only inconsistency I found in your testimony this morning."
I looked at Brenda a bit confused. "But shouldn't we check the first floor too?"
"No. Besides her dorm, which was left unlocked and was empty, there's no where on the first floor she would be." She replied.
"You told me her dorm room was left unlocked and was empty. But if that were the case then all that evidence we found in her room wouldn't have been there. The only reason Sienna's dorm key was missing is because the killer used her room to hide evidence and no killer would leave a door with evidence unlocked." I glared accusingly at her.
"Kai, what are you doing? Why are you attacking me like this? I-I don't understand. You must have misheard me because I didn't say those things! And now you think I was lying? That's beyond cruel!" Brenda cried as tears filled her eyes.
"Is... Is it really Brenda? I mean she's a collector. Why would she kill Sienna?" Tommy asked puzzled.
She sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "No. It's fine that you suspect me but don't worry Kai. I'm not a damsel. I will show you I can protect myself. I will show you your errors in accusing me."
Non-Stop Debate!
Truth Bullets Added: Soy Sauce Bottle, Damian's Account, Updated School Store, and Bloody Hand Towel
"I'll tell you how I couldn't be the culprit! I had no way of getting the soy sauce!" Brenda shouted triumphantly.
"Really? How? Everyone had access to the kitchen." Damian said curiously.
Brenda shook her head. "Sorry Dami-Bear but you got it wrong."
Damian blushed at the nickname. "D-Dami-Bear?"
"I'm telling the truth. You wanna know why? The kitchen was inaccessible at the time. And why you may ask? Because it was nighttime when we left Sienna!" Brenda shouted out.
Truth Bullet Fired: Soy Sauce Bottle
"YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!"
Counter!
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Brenda, you're lying again. Marcel said he had put that soy sauce back after using it last night but this morning when his group investigated the kitchen the soy sauce bottle was gone which means it had to have been taken before nighttime since that's when Sienna was killed."
"Gah!" Brenda gasped.
"After we left Sienna we all went straight to our dorms which it wasn't nighttime by then since I know I went to sleep before the nighttime announcement. We didn't stop by the kitchen so Marcel was probably eating at that time. As long as he left before nighttime that would give you plenty of time to get the soy sauce. However due to you having to get everything ready, you probably took too long and you couldn't get the soy bottle back to the kitchen before nighttime was in place."
"I'm collecting my own deduction!" Brenda exclaimed.
"Kai? Why are you doing this to me? I've been your biggest fan for years. We spent so much time together and gotten to be great friends. So why? WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO GET EVERYONE KILLED?" Brenda growled lowly. Her expression suddenly grew dark as her ponytail and hair seemed to stand on edge.
Rebuttal Showdown!
Truth Swords Prepared: Damian's Account, Ollie's Account, and Soy Sauce Bottle
"Kai, please don't try to be a hero! You're thinking about this too much! If you overthink things your bound to overlook them too! What if Marcel took ==/== the bottle and used it to kill Sienna. He admitted to using it ==/== last night! You should suspect him! He's probably the killer!" Brenda shouted.
"No we already discussed how the syringe was used to inject the soy sauce in her. Marcel wasn't aware of the EpiPens. But you did since you were given one." I refuted.
Brenda chuckled as she held up her finger. "But anyone ==/== of us could have grabbed that bottle before nighttime. Besides you had an ==/== EpiPen too! Yeah... that must be it. You're trying to pin it on me because you're the killer! You grabbed the soy bottle and strode right up ==/== to the second floor to kill poor Sienna!"
Truth Blade Used: Ollie's Account
"I'LL CUT YOUR WORDS DOWN TO SIZE!"
Counter!
"Once again your wrong, Brenda. I can't possibly be the killer." I slowly shook my head at her.
"Oh really? Why not?" Her dark gaze remained unfazed.
"Because Ollie never saw me last night." I reminded her.
"I heard footsteps outside and went out to see Brenda walking towards the dorms first. Later I heard more footsteps and saw Mikayla walking to and from the dorms, then later again it was Luca, and finally I saw Shana not long after. She was the last person for about three hours I saw before Willie, who was walking in the direction of the second floor, at about 6 this morning." Ollie finished explaining to us.
"The only people she saw last night after nighttime were you, Mikayla, Luca, and Shana. Then Willie later at 6. She never saw me because I never left my dorm!" I told her which made her growl at me.
"Still that leaves three other suspects besides me that could have killed her too!" Brenda pointed out.
Paul sighed. "Even though this collector seems to have lost her marble collection, she does bring up a valid point. Kai has been scratched off the suspect list but there are four others who all had the syringes and all who were seen outside the rec room by Ollie."
"Actually we can probably narrow the list down more." I said to the others.
Shana looked a bit hopeful. "Really? How?"
"We already discussed how that hand towel has the killer's blood on it which means if the killer was hurt then they probably did everything they could to hide an injury that could link them to the murder. After all Mikayla found dead skin under Sienna's fingernail on her left hand which would also be the reason why there were small traces of blood around Sienna's body. She probably did bleed out a bit from being stabbed with the syringe but I bet most of that blood was when Sienna scratched her attacker when trying to fight back." I replied to Shana.
"And what actions would suggest they took to hide the injury?" Melinda asked.
'What was the actions they took? I know one thing they would have done.' I thought before speaking up. "They would need to patch it up using the first aid kit found in the Nurse's office. When Luca obtained it to use when Tommy cut himself, he noticed something was off."
"Yeah I had noticed it had been used before I grabbed it for Tommy. The band aid box had tears in the lid suggesting it had been roughly opened, the Neosporin was squished which meant it was also used, and a roll of skin-colored bandages were noticeably smaller than the others." Luca testified.
"If someone wants to confess to using the first aid kit better explain how they got hurt and show us proof but no one will because they wanted to hide it since they used the skin-colored bandages specifically instead of the white ones." I mentioned.
"Maybe it was Luca. After all he knew where the first aid kit was." Brenda accused.
"It wasn't me! Besides the first aid kit was out in the open." Luca said tensely.
"But we should still question you since you can't be cleared of suspicion based on that alone." Paul reminded him.
'No I know Luca is innocent. I can prove that too.' I pondered as another debate was underway.
Non-Stop Debate!
Truth Bullets Loaded: Plastic Shards, Monokuma File, Leaking Shower Head, Ollie's Account, and Pool Rules
"If Luca was injured by Sienna, then he would need to take care of the cut." Damian said.
Brenda pointed at him accusingly. "That's why he went to the Nurse's office to patch himself up! He knew where the first aid kit was when he got it for Tommy which means he got it when he went to fix his wound."
"Anyone could have seen it if they looked." Luca pointed out.
"It was easily accessible and could be in anyone's view with the glass cabinet door it was stored behind." Mikayla noted.
"But he still could have used it!" Brenda sneered at her.
Melinda put her hand to her chin. "But it's quite a bit of a way to get to the Nurse's office. Even with the hand towel it can only hold so much blood before it drips. He would need to wash off any excessive blood to avoid it dripping on something he couldn't wash off."
Truth Bullet Fired: Leaking Shower Head
"I BELIEVE YOU!"
Consent!
"Melinda is right, for once. In order to hide the fact the killer was hurt during the murder they needed to wash the wound of blood so it wouldn't bleed out very badly." I consented with Melinda of all people.
"Aww. You agreed with me? Why that's so sweet, Kai." Melinda cooed.
"Don't take that as me wanting to agree with you. I only am because it will prove Luca's innocent." I told her.
"Huh?" Luca looked surprised.
"The only place close enough to wash off the blood would be the showers in the locker rooms. When I investigated the girl's locker room I found a leaking shower head. It was leaking because it wasn't turned off."
"Luca could have used the shower in the boy's locker room!" Brenda tried to rebuttal.
"Then why did I find blood in the girl's locker room?" I questioned her. "The locker rooms will only allow people of their gender to enter their side of the locker rooms. If it was Luca then that blood I found in the girl's locker room shouldn't have been there. Which means the one who killed Sienna was a girl."
"Which means Luca is not the killer. Unless he's a girl in boy's clothing." Shana chuckled.
"I'm definitely a guy." Luca laughed before he looked to me and quickly looked away. His eyes appeared to be shameful.
"Then that narrows our suspects down to three." Paul said as we all looked over Shana, Brenda, and Mikayla.
Tommy said. "But we can narrow it further. Let's do what Paul suggested earlier. Let's have them show the EpiPens! If they have it with them, then they can't be the culprit. If they don't however, then they are the culprit."
"As long as two of them show theirs then we have our killer." Damian said happily.
"Well then ladies, produce your syringes." Paul ordered them.
At first no one made a move. That was until Mikayla opened her scrub jacket and reached inside the inner pocket to dispense an intact syringe. "There."
"Then this does clear Mikayla of suspicion. If she had asked the others for a new one then they would have been suspicious as to why she would." Paul clarified.
"But she might have gotten one from the nurse's office." Brenda suggested.
Luca shook his head. "Nope. Not possible. There were no spares in there. I didn't see any when I was searching for the first aid kit."
"And since we cleared Luca of suspicion then we have no reason to doubt him." I added.
Soon Monokuma chimed in. "I will also attest to this. If there is anything that could be used as a murder weapon the only places would be the kitchen where all the utensils are stored or the school store. No other room has any killing items that I know of."
"So Brenda, how about it? Where's your syringe?" Tommy asked, trying to corner the blonde girl.
"I don't have mine on me. It's back in my room. I don't have pockets big enough to hold something that long." Brenda told us.
"Heehee. That's what she said." Marcel giggled like an immature child.
"SHUT IT!" Brenda shouted.
"Then there we have it! Brenda's guilty!" Tommy cheered.
"Not yet. Dirty tomboy there hasn't shown us hers either." Melinda pointed her out.
"Oh right. Go on Shana. Show them your EpiPen." Tommy told her with a confident grin.
"..." Shana glared at Tommy.
"Uh... Shana? Why aren't you doing anything?" Tommy asked with a bead of sweat running down his forehead.
"Because I can't show mine. Mine is in my room! YOU JUST THREW ME UNDER THE BUS YOU ASSHOLE!" Shana shrieked at him, leaning over the podium and into his terrified face as she did.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you didn't have yours!" Tommy shrunk as he tried to recoil back away from her.
I swear I saw her braided pigtails turn into snakes as they hissed at Tommy like Medusa. "I SWEAR TO GOD IF I DIE BECAUSE OF YOU I WILL ENSURE YOU BURN IN HELL WITH ME AS YOUR ETERNAL NIGHTMARE!" Shana screeched like a banshee which made Tommy let out a horrible scream of terror.
"Then what do we do? Do we just go 50/50?" Willie asked confused.
"No we need to be sure on our vote. Even with only two suspects we have a great chance of getting it wrong if enough people don't vote for the blackened." Luca commented.
My eyes were closed when I spoke up. "We don't have to decide. I already know now that Brenda is the culprit."
She looked over at him. "Why Kai? Why are you still insisting it was me? Was the time we spent together a lie?"
"No of course not! Just please confess! It hurts me to condemn you like this! Please make this easier on me and turn yourself in."
Her eyes were shadowed out as she trembled lightly. "Turn... myself... in?" Brenda asked quietly as a tear streaked down her freckled cheek. Her head suddenly lifted up as her dark expression returned but with teary eyes. "LIKE FUCKING HELL I'M GONNA DIE FOR KILLING SIENNA! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS, KAI! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO CHOOSE THE WRONG PERSON!"
The entire courtroom fell silent as the only ones fighting now were me and Brenda, just like when it was me and Evelyn.
Argument Armament!
"You're going to get everyone killed if you choose the wrong person!"
"I won't choose wrong."
"It's Shana! It has to be her!"
"It isn't."
"You can't prove that!" She shouted getting right next to my podium and in my face as I got right back in her face.
"I can!"
"There's no way!"
"Yes there is! It's where the culprit most likely got hurt that gives it away!"
"You can't prove that I have a wound! Unless you strip me, you nasty pervert. But you'd have to do the same with Shana since she is also a suspect!"
"No I don't! The wound would have to be right in plain sight!"
"It can't be! You said they had to cover it up with bandages! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT WOULD COVER A WOUND OR BANDAGES!"
Final Blow: Big, Puffy Girl Bracelet
"THIS IS MY ANSWER!"
Break!
I soon opened my eyes and calmly looked into her rage-filled ones and asked in a soft voice. "Brenda, when and where did you get that bracelet?"
Brenda's eyes trembled as she trembled. I heard the wood of her podium creak from how tightly she gripped it. "I... I-I've always had this. I wear this everyday. It from my collection of big and puffy girl bracelets."
"No you don't. Everyone knows you only have one collection on you at all times. That's you pin collection on your vest. You keep all of your other collections at home in your collector's shack. Besides that bracelet was found in the vending machine at the school store. Willie can testify to that since he has the inventory list. Everything, including that bracelet was not in the school store until the time the second motive was revealed which was before Sienna died. When we Mikayla asked each of us to take an EpiPen from her, you didn't have a bracelet on. But you did this morning when we met up."
"I also happened to notice you were lightly pulling at that bracelet from the time we found Sienna's body and throughout this entire class trial. I just thought it was something you naturally did when you were scared of nervous but I bet it's because of how tight it is that's been bothering the wound on your right wrist. After all if you injected her with your left hand and kept her pinned with the right, I assume she'd use both hands to try and free herself. Since we already know you were facing each other and her left hand had dead skin under her nails, then that would mean her left hand would only reach two places of note. Your face to try and push you away but since you face isn't cut we can assume it was the only other place her hand would've grabbed at; your right arm." I deduced right in her face.
Brenda trembled more as she kept a straight of a face but I could see in her eyes that she had already broken. I... had broken her.
"Brenda, I will go over the case from the very beginning. I will make you confess who you are and what you did to our friend." I told her as we continued staring into each other's eyes.
Closing Argument!
Act 1
"Everything began with once again the motive being displayed. Monokuma had me choose the motive with a luck-of-the-draw and the one I chose was money. Everyone was convinced that no one was in anyway swayed by the motive I helped choose. But the culprit began their string of lies by making us believe in that false hope. Soon after there was a dispute between us and Paul exposed a lot about Sienna I think most of us would rather forget. But Sienna was fueled to try and become stronger so no one would protect her. But then Paul exposed more by telling everyone about Sienna's deadly allergy to soy. The culprit at this point now knew exactly who their target was gonna be and how they would do it. They'd use Sienna's allergy and weak body to their advantage."
Act 2
"However the culprit was trying to think of a way to implicate soy in to murder her. Little did anyone know that the answer would be unknowingly given to them by Mikayla. She pulled me and four other people to the side; one of which was the culprit. She begged for us to help ensure Sienna stays safe. With her allergy exposed to everyone, Mikayla felt that made her a greater target. So she entrusted us and gave one EpiPen to each of us because she believed we all would do everything we could to protect Sienna. Little did Mikayla know that she gave the killer exactly what they needed to now proceed with their plan and take advantage of Mikayla's trust as well as Sienna herself. We all soon departed together back to retire to our dorms for the night a little before nighttime but four of us entered our rooms, the culprit most likely did not."
Act 3
"The culprit most likely doubled back to the cafeteria but noticed Marcel eating just before nighttime. He soon left and made his way to his dorm. The culprit hid out of sight so they wouldn't be caught. Once the coast was clear they rushed to the kitchen to snag a bottle of soy. However the nighttime announcement played that signaled the start of nighttime. The culprit had no time to get the soy in their EpiPen and put the bottle back before Monokuma discovered they would violate a rule. The culprit couldn't take the risk as they probably rushed out when that announcement played to avoid punishment. They then went back to their dorm most likely to begin the switching of the EpiPen's contents of the medicine that counters soy sauce with soy sauce itself. They soon began making their way to the place where Sienna could be found at the time; up in the fitness room on the second floor. But they made a slight detour to the library and hid the soy bottle on the teacher's desk since they knew they wouldn't be able to sneak it in since it was off limits by morning and everyone who did go to breakfast might catch them."
Act 4
At this point the culprit was now outside the only exit to the fitness room where Sienna was still working out. I'd imagine working out in the jacket was pretty hot so Sienna probably took off her jacket before the culprit arrived. Soon the unsuspecting target unlocked the door and began making her way out to go back to bed. However that decision would prove to be fatal. The killer found their opportunity and struck! They stabbed the EpiPen into Sienna's neck as the content of the EpiPen, the soy sauce, began seeping into her system. Sienna probably tried running off for help but was pinned either against the wall or the ground to keep her in place. One hand held the EpiPen in place as the free hand of the culprit took hold of her neck and began squeezing, probably in another attempt to ensure Sienna couldn't cry out for help either. Soon the soy began taking its toll as her face and neck began swelling from the allergic reaction she was having. Sienna tried to free herself but with her being the weakest person here and add the fact the soy was killing her, she never stood a chance of escaping. But the pain must have been intense enough that the culprit suffered a flesh wound when Sienna's nails dug into their skin, causing them to bleed. It might also be the case that caused the EpiPen to crack but by that point it was too late for Sienna. As she had now died most likely from the soy that poisoned her."
Act 5
With the victim dead the killer need to take action to hide their crime. They first needed to hide important evidence. The first thing the did was take the hand towel Sienna most likely used during her training to act as a temporary bandage to ensure their blood didn't get anywhere. They most likely rotated it since the towel was small and to make sure not too much blood soaked in on area and would leak through. The killer then took their damaged EpiPen, destroyed it fully, and spread most of the pieces in the garbage can in the fitness room, taking more vital pieces like the needle and cap so that we wouldn't clue in the shards were someone's EpiPen. They dragged Sienna's body to the gym since it was close by to the fitness room and approached the girl's locker room. This would only have happened if the killer was a girl. Once inside they made two vital errors while in there. The hand towel probably was completely soaked in blood as a drop fell unnoticed near the drain. The second happened after the killer used the shower to wash off the excessive blood from their wound. The killer turned off the shower but not enough to shut it all the way off as it leaked. If that hadn't happened I would have missed both very important clues. The culprit then took the body to the pool area and beat her face to cause bruising to make us think she'd been brutally choked and beaten to death. Then to top it off they threw her body into the pool. This was done as another cover up for how she died and to cause the body to shrivel up with how long it was in the pool for as a way to destroy evidence. The killer then used the leather strap from the school store and used it on the pool railing to fray it out and to direct us to it being the murder weapon. But the culprit was in such a rush they didn't erase the mark that was left. They had to get their injury tended to and went to the Nurse's office to use the unused first aid kit. But skin-colored bandages could only hide so much. They needed something else. Back at the school store they grabbed an item that would surely cover their bandages. That was the big, puffy bracelet in the vending machine. The killer had one last thing to do as they walked back to the dorm hallway but not before Ollie briefly spotted them passing the rec room. With Sienna's jacket, the frayed strap, and the now dried, bloody towel in hand, the killer used Sienna's door key, that they took from Sienna's body, to gain access to her room. There they threw the towel in the trash and placed the strap in the jacket and set it on the bed. With the last of the evidence now locked away, they returned to their room with a sigh of relief, thinking their plan went perfectly."
"But due to the errors the killer made throughout their crime they failed to hide everything. Thought the bracelet was a nice touch. No one thought about it being suspicious when the culprit wearing it could write it off as being part of a new collection they were starting."
"That's everything you've done! Well? Tell me I'm wrong Brenda Bates, the Ultimate Collector!"
Break!
"Well Brenda? What do you have to say for yourself?" I asked her calmly.
By this point Brenda's mask shattered as she fell forward and began sobbing uncontrollably.
"WAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" Brenda cried out as tears, spit, and snot was seen leaking out of her.
"So it is true. Brenda did it." Shana whimpered into her hand that covered her mouth as tears escaped her eyes and stained her dirty cheeks.
"Then we are finally done. About damn time." Paul grumbled in annoyance.
Melinda looked away like she was upset. "Monokuma."
"No need to tell me twice! I can see you're all done talking. Now the time has come for the blackened and the spotless to face off! It's Voting Time!" Monokuma cheered.
My handbook screen suddenly changed as a voting ballot appeared. The four dead friends were grayed and crossed out like the pictures in their seats with the remaining twelve very visible. I soon saw Brenda's face as I pressed her. The timer stopped at 24 seconds for me as I waited for everyone to finish casting their vote. The screen soon went black.
"Now then let's see the results!" Monokuma called out as a giant monitor descended down above him. When it turned on the caption "Voting Results" appeared before a tally score for everyone appeared. However we'd see eleven tallies appear under Brenda's name and one under mine. Soon a picture of Brenda appeared as confetti fell around her picture and a bell rung, signaling that she was selected as the blackened.
"The blackened has been selected by majority vote. Did you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one? Let the unveiling of the blackened commence!" Monokuma gleefully called out as the lights went out. The next thing we saw was the Monokuma Vote machine light up in front of us as a drum roll sounded, the Monokuma dressed in a Statue of Liberty attire began flashing, and the lottery ball cage began spinning as we heard plastic balls being thrown around inside. Soon it stopped as a bright yellow ball fell out onto the metal rail underneath and slowly rolled down the track, stopping at the end to reveal a pixelated face of Brenda on the ball. Just like last time, the bottom of the machine popped open as a Monokuma holding American flags in each hand began waving them and coins with his face spilled out on the ground. This was no victory however. No one cheered as that was confirmation that the blackened we selected was indeed correct.
Holy shit! I spent the entire day writing this! I can't believe I wrote nearly 10,000 words for this chapter alone. Damn my head hurts. XD Anyways it's done Brenda is the blackened. Did anyone see that coming or did it shock you? I wanna know! Why do you think she did it? Let me know. Do you think Monokuma is kinky in bed? I... actually don't wanna know. Anyways leave thoughts and comments down below and I always love constructive criticism so feel free to tell me what I can improve on. But until next time I'll see you later! Puhuhuhuhu~