Class Trial in Session

All Rise!

"Now then allow me to start this off with a quick explanation of the class trial," Monokuma started. "During this time you will present your evidence and argue who you believe the killer is and vote for whodunit! If the majority vote is correct then only the blackened will be punished. However, if the majority is incorrect then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened and they will get to graduate and leave to the outside world scot-free!"

"Except those rules won't apply here for once," I huffed out.

"Wassat?" Monokuma asked with a tilt of his head.

"You heard me! The way this class trial works makes the rules invalid considering the blackened isn't here with us. The Shadow Vigilante! They're the one who murdered Ollie and almost killed the rest of us!" I shouted out.

"I do wish to make an inquiry to the bear. If this Shadow Vigilante is indeed the culprit, how do we vote for them if we do elect them the blackened of this case? Is there a special button to choose them?" Paul asked Monokuma.

"Well, to make this a fair class trial I made every room of interest involving this Shadow Vigilante of ours open for investigation. With what is at your disposal I've given you the time and resources to look into this masked genius!" Monokuma told us.

"So in other words, we are more than capable of uncovering the shooter's identity even if they aren't here," Melinda summarized.

Monokuma blinked before replying, "In other words… yes, that's correct!"

"But that doesn't seem possible! How can we identify the shooter if it's someone who hasn't been inside the school at all?" questioned Shana.

"But what if it's really one of us?" Willie asked nervously.

"Willie?" Luca asked, surprised.

"I mean what if we do know the identity of the bucko who went gung-ho on all of us? It may not be impossible for one of us to be the killer, right?" Willie suggested.

'If one of us is the killer then the math doesn't add up because of one crucial detail,' I thought.

Non-Stop Debate!

Truth Bullets Loaded: Hidden Perk, Lack of Motive, and School Store Inventory List

"So you're saying it is possible that the Shadow Vigilante is not some rando psycho but one of us. Am I hearing you correctly?" Paul asked.

"Well, yeah… that's what I'm thinking," Willie replied.

"But didn't we all see the Shadow Vigilante before we all gathered up? If that's the case then how was someone able to be them?" Luca asked, confused.

"I'm just sure that someone may be hidin' more than they are lettin' on just like before. If that's the case, then this case ain't no different than from any other case before!"

Truth Bullet Fired: Lack of Motive

"YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!"

Counter!

"No, there's a very big difference that makes this trial unique from the past trials. The fact a murder happened before Monokuma gave us a motive!" I argued back.

"Speaking of which, I wanna ask Monokuma about that. Why haven't you given out the motive you said you would?" Shana asked him, her voice filled with suspicion.

"W-Well I wanted to do so when you all woke up this morning but the next thing I knew was that shooter going around and shooting every student up," Monokuma blushed. "It's not my fault someone was beyond eager to get another kill going!"

"So what will become of that motive you had prepared for us? Surely, you're not about to let it go to waste," Paul insisted on knowing.

Monokuma giggled. "Well, since it really can't be used to kill someone at this point, I'm going to use it to reward one individual who survives this class trial, whether they are spotless or the blackened! So let this be your new motivation to win this class trial! But I'm not telling you what it is until you've reached your conclusion. No point in spoiling the prize!"

"If it doesn't help us win the trial then I don't care about it! All I want is Ollie to be avenged! She deserves it!" Luca suddenly growled out with a steely look in his eyes.

I nodded. "He's right! Who cares about the stupid prize when justice for Ollie is all we want!"

Monokuma looked down, depressed. "Aww… you don't care about the new motive? Maybe I should have spoiled it."

"Alright, so what? Just because Monokuma was late in givin' out his motive to kill don't mean there wasn't one. I'd say there are still two likely people who would want Ollie dead! Ain't that right, Paul and Melinda!?" Willie shouted.

"Haven't we mentioned this before in every other class trial? The most likely suspects are rarely involved in the case," Paul deadpanned at him.

"No, Willie does have a point! You threatened us after we broke Ollie free of her binding to you and your cult! You have all the reasons to kill Ollie for "betraying" you! Is that why you sicked your mangy mutt on Ollie? Because that's the punishment for abandoning your group?" Shana accused them.

"What complete nonsense," Melinda huffed out.

"You're nonsense!" Willie yelled at her.

"My point exactly," Melinda pointed him out.

'It would make sense if that was the case but even that can't be the answer. I better remind them before they drag us into the wrong direction,' I said in my mind as the next argument started up.

Non-Stop Debate!

Truth Bullets Loaded: Shana's Account, Luca's Account, and Paul's Account

"It has to be one of them! I bet Paul killed Ollie!" Willie hollered out.

Shana quickly added, "Or he used Melinda to kill her for him. She would bend over and use her gun to blast a hole through her own ass if he demanded it."

"I may do as the Great Protector says, but I do have some dignity," Melinda retorted.

"You left that behind when you started calling your hunting rifle, Pablo, in an attempt to make it resemble Paul," Shana admitted.

"What?" Paul asked, looking creeped out.

Melinda blushed before she stuttered out, "I-It's nothing."

"All I'm gathering is that Paul or Melinda killed Ollie. But can we be sure of that? Don't they have an alibi?" Luca asked.

Truth Bullet Fired: Luca's Account

"I BELIEVE YOU!"

Consent!

"I really shouldn't have to say it but we all can vouch for them. But Luca is the one who could make it obvious those two couldn't possibly have done it!" I reminded them.

"But why would Luca defend them?" Willie asked, shocked.

"It's not like I want to. Believe me, if I wanted to blame them I would but I was in the fitness room last night, working out since I couldn't sleep. If Ollie went alone somewhere I probably wouldn't have noticed but had more people been moving around that late at night surely I would have seen someone walking around so much. Not to mention when I got shot, they were with you right?"

"And we saw they were shot at from outside the library. The broken glass on the library floor proves that," I told them.

"But how can we be sure they didn't stage it? After all, we didn't hear any gunshots." Shana pointed out.

I pointed at her. "That's because of the one thing that occurred at that time…"

Present Evidence: Setting Off the Alarm

"HERE'S YOUR EVIDENCE!"

"It's all because of that blaring alarm that was set off! I could barely hear the gun being fired at you and Willie and your voices. Even when you guys were next to me we had to scream at the top of our lungs because we could hardly hear each other. So they used the alarm to hide from the others when they shot at the three of us and the two of them," I explained.

"That… does make sense," Shana admitted.

"But can we really be sure one of us isn't the Shadow Vigilante?" Melinda suddenly asked.

I blinked at her. "What are you trying to suggest?"

"I'm only saying that someone may be tricking us like before. Is there any other proof that one of us isn't the Shadow Vigilante?" Melinda asked.

'So we need to prove that the Shadow Vigilante is one hundred percent not one of us. Heh, easy,' I thought with a smirk.

Non-Stop Debate!

Truth Bullets Loaded: Torn Black Cloth, School Store Inventory List, and UsagiKuma's Logbook

"Can anyone prove that the Shadow Vigilante is someone else? Besides us seeing the Shadow Vigilante?" Melinda asked.

"Isn't seeing them enough?" Willie's asked back.

"No," Melinda replied.

"Well, how about the fact we were all shot at?" Luca reminded her, pointing to his shoulder.

"I mean something not everyone would know," Melinda clarified.

Shana hummed to herself. "We did find Ollie on the fifth floor but didn't we also find a hiding place for the shooter?"

Truth Bullet Fired: UsagiKuma's Logbook

"I BELIEVE YOU!"

Consent!

"Shana's right! There is a way to prove that one of us can't be the Shadow Vigilante!" I hollered out.

"And what might that be?" Melinda interrogated me.

I smiled. "That would be UsagiKuma to thank for this! Remember, Shana?"

Shana lightly slammed her fist into her open hand. "Oh, you're right! UsagiKuma has a logbook for the VR room!"

"She does?!" Willie shouted out before he tilted his head and asked, "Uh, what's a logbook?"

"It means you're an imbecile," Paul replied.

"Hey! I resent that comment!" Willie snapped at him.

"It's fine, Willie. Just ignore him. It's basically a recording of when people entered and exited the VR room and what time they did so. And looking at it shows that none of us entered the room this morning! The last full entry we have was SO and LA leaving the room at 9:26 PM," I told everyone.

"You're not gonna say that South Los Angeles is the one that exited the room, are you?" mocked Melinda.

"What is up with those letters? What do they mean?" Willie asked, curiously.

"What are the letters for? It's actually very easy. They're…"

•Secret codenames

•Our initials

•A bunch of Monokuma nonsense

Answer Selected: Our initials

"HERE'S THE TRUTH!"

"Each group of letters is our initials. Like my initials are KB for Kai Brugger and yours are WS for Willie Sadler," I explained to him.

"Oh yeah! I see it now! So then the LA and SO are… uh…" Willie seemed to be thinking a bit too hard about this before he sighed. "Who are they?"

"Luca Archer and Shana O'Conner. So you two were the last recorded people in the VR room last night before nighttime?" Paul asked.

"That's right. Kai had guard duty with Ollie and I had already spent my morning with Willie so I spent my night with Luca," answered Shana.

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what was that about guard duty?"

"That was something we all agreed on because of what happened after the last trial with you and Melinda. We were so sure you two would try to do something so we took turns watching over her during the day," I explained to them.

Paul smirked. "But after yesterday, you know that wasn't the case anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" Luca interrogated him.

"I mean I made an agreement with Kai. He and I would have a civilized conversation and in exchange, I would forget about Ollie and her betrayal to me," Paul told him.

Luca squinted his eyes at him in suspicion. "That's… unusual for you."

Paul shrugged. "I think what you mean is unpredictable which is how a hacker should behave at all times."

"Anyway, I have reason to believe that the Shadow Vigilante is the one who was in the VR room this morning since the logbook has none of us logged for entering in at 5:05 AM when UsagiKuma sensed the door locking," I elaborated.

Melinda soon chimed in with, "How can we be sure about that?"

"H-Huh?" I gasped in confusion.

"It sounds to me like you're suggesting the Shadow Vigilante entered the room undetected and locked that door to keep us from finding them. How do you know this is a fact?" Melinda asked me.

"W-Well because they don't have an e-handbook since they aren't a student here so when they entered the room, they couldn't be registered in the logbook since UsagiKuma can detect who we are by our personal handbooks," I responded to her.

"There's a flaw in your theory," She suddenly told me.

"What flaw?" I asked, a bit enraged by this.

"You say UsagiKuma can identify us students, as long as we have our handbooks on hand. But say our shooter is indeed a student, what if they purposefully left theirs behind just so that they wouldn't be registered in the logbook at all?" Melinda cooed at me with a grin, her arms folded with confidence in her eyes.

"Melinda has presented an argument. How do you intend to answer that?" Paul asked me.

But I wasn't able to! For the first time in a trial, I wasn't able to find an answer to the question laid before me. My voice croaked as my mind scrambled itself in my skull to try and think of an answer but I had nothing.

"K-Kai?" Luca called out to me, looking scared.

Melinda snickered, "What's this? Our great mouse detective doesn't have anything insightful for us this time? Well, then allow me to shed a new theory. What if absolutely no one entered the VR room this morning?"

"But that's impossible! The door was locked! Someone had to have been hiding inside!" I shouted out.

"But think about it without getting all prissy. Even if the sensors don't pick up an e-handbook, they should still have picked up movements of someone entering and exiting the room. I'll bet if that were to happen the logbook would have said that an unknown person entered and exited at this time. The reason that kind of log doesn't exist however is because they never went inside. And you already pointed out how it is impossible for the Shadow Vigilante to have been hiding in there!" Melinda expounded upon it.

"I… I did?" I soon began letting my mind retrace back to the evidence I found as I soon saw the contradiction. "Wait a minute… the Shadow Vigilante began their attack around 5:30 since that's when the alarm had approximately started but the lock on the VR door was locked up at 5:05 and unlocked at 5:44."

"Bingo! If the Shadow Vigilante locked themselves in the VR room then the locking of the door should have happened after 5:30 when they ran up and shot Ollie but it was locked up almost half an hour before they even made their debut," Melinda told us.

"Then how did the door lock if no one got inside to lock it?" Luca questioned her.

Shana looked up in thought. "Maybe… because of what we couldn't find before?"

I began thinking as well. 'What wasn't found before. Shana must be referring to…'

Present Evidence: Hidden Perk

"HERE'S YOUR EVIDENCE!"

"Are you talking about the hidden perk Monokuma gave us the opportunity to find when the floor first became available to us?" I asked Shana.

"Yeah, I've been putting a lot of thought into the riddle Monokuma left with us as our guide to the perk and after talking about the VR room I think I finally figured it out. "This little perk in recollection and more". That part must be referring to the VR room being the hiding place of the perk because in that room you can recall memories and more!" Shana announced.

"So that's where the tricky bear hid that perk!" Willie growled out.

Shana spoke up again. "But I think I now know what this perk actually is. The last sentence of the riddle was "So unlock the way to stay in touch"! I bet the perk was a key to the VR room! After all, there was a keyhole on the outside of the door so it seems only natural for someone to be able to lock the door and never enter the room!"

Melinda nodded. "That's a reasonable assumption. I'm impressed that you managed to figure that out before us."

Shana glares at her. "Just because you're giving me praise now doesn't mean we're on equal ground after all the shit you've pulled on us."

"Haha! Oh, honey. I know for a fact you are nowhere near the same level of ground that I'm on," giggled Melinda.

"So that means someone did find the perk after all," Willie deduced.

"Which means someone here must be in possession of it," Paul remarked.

"But it could have also been the Shadow Vigilante! After all, no one ever figured out the perk when it was given out! There's no proof any of us have it and even if one of us does have it, I doubt they would still have it on them right now," I argued.

Melinda sighed. "Those are valid points you bring up so I guess that's as far as we can go when it comes to the hiding place the Shadow Vigilante was in."

"But that's not the end of the Shadow Vigilante's attacks since they must have been hiding somewhere. After all, we had one last encounter with them or at least you did before the investigation ended," I reminded her.

Melinda growled. "Don't remind me. I hate how they took me by surprise and made me whimper like a baby. It was pathetic of me."

"Wait what? What are you guys talking about?" Luca asked us, confused.

I began explaining, "See, I met up with Willie in the school store and soon afterward Melinda showed up and left no too long after arriving. But then from down the hallway near the entrance of the school by the commons area, we heard a massive gunshot as Willie and I rushed out to see Melinda had been shot at."

"But Willie has the murder weapon right? How was Melinda shot at if the gun wasn't in their possession?" Shana asked.

"It was a different gun that was shot at her. The hole in the wall from that shot was bigger than the other holes we found everywhere else don't by the handgun," I told her.

Willie then sheepishly added, "Also… I seem to have misplaced the murder weapon."

"You what!?" Shana shouted out in horror!

"I swore I still had it with me but I couldn't find it! Not even at the school store with the other guns!" Willie desperately replied.

"The other guns?" Paul asked suspiciously.

I spoke up for him. "The school store was filled to the brim with a wide variety of guns and other gun supplies."

"Well, then that settles it! I think we can naturally assume where the gun originated from," Shana said, confidently. "Which means that anyone who went in there is a suspect!"

'As much as it would be easy to say that, what I found shows that isn't exactly the case,' I wondered.

Non-Stop Debate!

Truth Bullets Loaded: School Store Inventory List, Beretta M9, Shadow Vigilante's Attack Path, and Blood Splattered Canvas

"I think it is safe to assume we found our murder weapon's place of origin," Melinda said.

"But are we one hundred percent sure of that though?" asked Luca.

"What are you talking about Luca? That school store is the surplus of death and carnage behind most of our friend's deaths," Shana replied.

"Yeah, but I peeked in after we got back from the class trial and I saw no other handgun like the one the Shadow Vigilante had," Luca explained.

"That's suspicious you know," Paul warned him.

"How?" Luca asked.

"You may have gone in and saw the one handgun in the store and taken the opportunity to take it. Especially if that Beretta M9 was the only one in stock in the school store,"

Truth Bullet Fired: School Store Inventory List

"YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!"

Counter!

"No actually, he couldn't have found that gun in the school store. As a matter of fact, no one could have been able to retrieve it from there," I retorted.

"Oh, really? And why is that?" Paul asked.

"Because the Beretta M9 isn't on the inventory list for the school store," I answered as I brought up the picture of the list to display for everyone. "And Melinda was the one who identified the gun for us and I looked over this list and there is not one Beretta M9 anywhere on it. That means Monokuma didn't provide the gun for us to use!" I explained.

"Then how do you propose the gun got here?" Paul asked again.

"I bet it was Melinda! After all, she is a huntress who specializes in guns!" Shana shouted.

"I only brought with me my beautiful Ruger Guide bolt-action rifle and this baby is all I need. He can take a black bear down in one shot," Melinda bragged.

"Just saying that isn't enough!" Shana argued her point.

"The problem is I've never seen Melinda with any other weapons besides her rifle and her Bowie knife. But there is one possibility that would make sense. That's the Shadow Vigilante, obviously. They appeared out of nowhere and so did this gun so it would make sense why this gun isn't on Monokuma's inventory list since he never provided it!" I confirmed.

"Actually, I bet someone else did have it," I heard someone say as I looked over at Melinda who had spoken with a smirk.

I blinked in confusion before sputtering out, "W-What? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I know the identity of our killer," Melinda suddenly dropped on us.

"What in tarnation are ya talkin' about woman!?" Willie shouted out.

Shana nodded. "Yeah, don't go announcing baseless ideas like that!"

"But I'm not. I can see clearly who it was. The way this murder was carried out and executed was by someone cheeky and deceitful. I know who the Shadow Vigilante is, plain and simple," Melinda noted.

Paul grinned. "I'm glad to hear this. It seems you've thrown yourself into this investigation more thoroughly than even our usual Ace Sleuth Kai."

I growled at him. 'Melinda knows who it is already? It's gotta be a trick! It has to be.'

Non-Stop Debate!

Truth Bullets Loaded: Blood Splattered Canvas, Torn Black Cloth, Art Room Window Hole, Setting Off the Alarm, and Shadow Vigilante's Attack Path

"Let us go over how the Shadow Vigilante was able to even enter this school, shall we?" Melinda offered the next discussion topic.

"Why should we even bother listening to you? You're a gun expert so you might be hiding something from us," Luca pointed out.

"She isn't. After all, how many times have we said the most likely suspect is never the culprit?" Paul asked him.

"That don't mean jack to us!" Willie hollered.

"Of course it wouldn't for a pathetic dog like you," Paul huffed out.

"Say that again, boy! I dare ya!" Willie then screamed out angrily.

"Anyway, we can imagine the killer in two scenarios, one if it is one of us and two is that they are from outside the school. Doesn't that second option seem impossible?" Melinda questioned us.

Shana looked a bit confused. "How is it impossible? If Monokuma allowed it then a third party killer is entirely possible."

"So then where did Monokuma allow this killer to enter?" Melinda followed up.

"Perhaps the school entrance. Monokuma could have unlocked it and let them in," Luca replied.

"I didn't unlock anything for anyone!" Monokuma giggled.

"You must be lying," Luca snarled out.

"You have no way to prove he is and as long as he is telling the truth, then there is no possible way anyone was able to enter or exit this school!" Melinda countered.

Truth Bullet Fired: Torn Black Cloth

"YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!"

Counter!

"No, there is somewhere the Shadow Vigilante may have come and gone from and I have proof!" I called out.

"Oh? And what proof does that include?" Melinda asked me.

"I found it in the fitness room. There are cabinets in the back that tower about fifteen or more feet high and I found a torn piece of fabric that got caught on the top back right corner of it where the wood on the back is slightly split open. The Shadow Vigilante must have some kind of hidden entrance in the roof of the fitness room like a vent or something that leads to the outside. Why else was there a piece of the killer's clothes caught up there?" I explained.

"Wait, you said the cabinet itself was fifteen or more feet tall? Then how did you get a hold of the fabric? Did you Go Go Gadget some springs out from your feet and bounce up there?" Paul asked, trying to insult me as he said it.

"It wasn't easy but I used one of the weight benches to elevate me up a few feet before I jumped up a few times and eventually managed to yank it down. It was caught onto that corner good," I told him before looking to Melinda. "So how about it? Can't deny that possibility now can you?"

Melinda smirked. "Then answer me this. If that is their point of entry and their only exit, how did the Shadow Vigilante get up there in the first place?" My confidence was shattered in an instant as I froze up and could only sputter out useless nonsense. Melinda chuckled as she continued, "That's what I thought. You already see the problem, don't you? As we all saw the Shadow Vigilante was around our height so around six feet tall and yet it seems impossible for anyone to simply jump up on top of the cabinet and climb into the roof unless you extended your body limbs like Mr. Fantastic."

"Couldn't the Shadow Vigilante have used the weight bench to raise themselves higher?" Shana asked.

"Yes but only by about two feet. Besides even if that was an option, there would have been one major flaw. The weight bench wouldn't have been able to be put back. If they used it to get up there, the bench would still be next to the cabinet as the Shadow Vigilante would be high above and unable to move that heavy bench back from way up there. So that begs the question, was there a bench over by the cabinet, Kai?" Melinda interrogated me in a way that made me beyond uncomfortable.

"N-No… I had to pull one over when I used it," I hesitantly answered.

"Then we know that it is impossible for the benches to have been used to get up there and there was nothing else that could have gotten anyone up there. So then we can only assume Kai is wrong," Melinda spoke out in a menacing tone.

"But that can't be! I showed you the evidence I did find! It's a piece of black sweatpants that only the Shadow Vigilante wore! How do you explain how that got up there!?" I screamed at her.

"It's easy actually," Melinda replied, coldly.

"It is?" I asked her, feeling worry swell up in the pit of my stomach.

Melinda giggled as she nodded. "Yes, but let's talk about something else for now and we'll get back to that."

"Stop jumpin' around these important things! It's difficult enough tryin' to understand your logic as it is now!" Willie groaned out, clutching onto his head.

"I wish to discuss the most suspicious person here in the class trial and how they could be hiding the truth from us," Melinda said.

Paul hummed. "The most suspicious person here, you say? I think for once this game has intrigued my interest and thus class trial is to thank for that."

Luca glared at him. "We don't wanna hear it."

"So you're saying one of us may potentially be the Shadow Vigilante?" I asked Melinda.

"No darling," She paused before her face went dark and she broke into a creepy grin with wide eyes and continued by saying, "I know one of us is the Shadow Vigilante."

My face flushed as my legs felt like they became jello at that moment. "No… No, that… that's just not possible! We all have alibis! It's just impossible for us to have killed Ollie!"

"Shut the fuck up you little bitch. You're clearly out of your element now so why don't you stay back like a good understudy and let me be the hero here, you pretentious, spoiled brat," Melinda's voice was ice cold and deep and for once in my life, I felt true malice at that moment more than ever in my life. For once, someone was actually scaring me more than even Monokuma has.

Suddenly I heard Luca shout out, "Don't you DARE talk to him like that! Kai doesn't need that shit from you!"

Her neck suddenly snapped as she was now laser-focused on him now. "Who the fuck gave you permission to speak? Now shut it or else."

Luca trembled a bit before he huffed and looked away. 'What was that? Why did Luca give in so easily?' I thought, still frozen in fear.

Melinda then looked back at me, smiling and looking giddy as she did. "So, shall we get back on topic?"

Willie shivered as he eyed her. "There's something not right with you."

"Actually, I'm feeling more comfortable than ever. I guess it's thanks to the killer for exposing themselves to me," Melinda replied.

"Like I'm gonna believe that you actually know who it is. Don't be so stupid. I won't believe anything you say," Shana growled out as she folded her arms.

"But the evidence I saw doesn't lie. There's some similar evidence that has some major differences and that alone proves this individual highly suspicious," Melinda informed us.

'Similar evidence that's majorly different from each other? What does that even mean!?' My brain screamed as we got into our next debate.

Non-Stop Debate!

Loaded Truth Bullets: Paul's Account, Shana's Account, UsagiKuma's Logbook, Beretta M9 Handgun, and Status of the Dead Body

"What did you mean by what you said, Melinda?" Willie questioned her.

Melinda shrugged. "Simple. I found evidence on someone that is without a doubt highly suspect."

"Why should we even listen to you!? You've done nothing to help us!" Shana yelled.

"I'm helping you now, aren't I?" asked Melinda.

"We didn't want your help anyway." Luca muttered.

Paul stepped in. "Enough. What is it, Melinda? Tell us."

"Kai? Can you tell me what the killer did?" Melinda asked me all of a sudden.

"The Shadow Vigilante? They shot at us and killed Ollie," I responded.

"Ollie was killed but did anyone else get shot?" She kept asking me.

I nodded. "Luca did but that's because he wasn't able to dodge it fully. Are… are you suggesting because he was shot like Ollie, they're connected?"

"..." Melinda remained silent.

"Oh hell no! I won't sit here and let you make that suggestion! They were both shot at but there's no difference in their injuries!" I shouted at her, fuming.

Truth Bullet Fired?!: Status of the Dead Body

"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!" Melinda called out?!

Counter!

I was suffering from a major loss of words! 'How did she do that!?'

Melinda snickered loudly before letting out a sigh. "Oh, poor naive Kai. All you have to do is compare the shot Ollie suffered to the bullet wound Luca has. Well? What are you waiting for? I know you have a picture of Luca's bullet wound."

I had no idea what game she was playing at, but I slowly opened up the evidence photo of Luca's shoulder. "So can you tell me what is different between Luca's wound," She then opened one she took of Ollie as they were now side by side as she continued, "...and Ollie's?"

I didn't understand this but I easily pointed out the difference. "Luca's wound looks like it was burned. So what?"

Suddenly a gasp resonated in the courtroom as I saw Willie with his mouth covered by his hands. I stared at him in confusion but then Melinda spoke up, "I had a suspicion you would realize it since I know you know enough about guns to see it."

"See what? What is she talking about, Willie?" Shana asked him, mystified.

"That burn… Luca suffered a gunpowder burn," Willie deduced.

"Gunpowder burn?" I asked in confusion.

"What is that, Willie?" Shana also asked.

Willie gulped a bit before Melinda started speaking for him, "Well, when a gun is shot at point blank, which is anywhere between twelve to twenty inches, the shot will leave a burn around the bullet hole. Gunpowder exploding is what makes a gun fire, and that stuff gets real hot, pal. Isn't that right, cowboy?"

Willie nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I learned that from Pa when he told me about the time his Pa had gotten drunk one night he was a kid and shot some buckaroo in their leg point blank when that man made a move on my grandma."

"And as you can see on Luca, he most definitely suffered a gunpowder burn," Melinda added.

Luca just stared at her as I began shouting, "That doesn't change anything! It just means that the Shadow Vigilante shot at him from close up! He's still a victim in this!"

"Is he? Remember what he said when we found him in the fitness room?" Melinda asked.

"...I was getting myself ready to check things out but the next thing I knew as I was coming out, some masked shooter fired at me and I barely managed to dodge to the side but it still hit me," Luca told me.

"Luca had told us when he was shot he dodged to the side when he was shot at but he has a gunpowder burn too? This is impossible," Melinda replied.

"How is that impossible?" I questioned her.

"Regardless of your speed and finesse, no human can dodge a bullet at close range. The bullet would simply be traveling too fast. Even the slowest handguns shoot a bullet at 760 miles per hour. So even with Luca being the Ultimate Traceur and having amazing reflexes and athleticism, the evidence shows that the gun was point blank on him and there's no way he would have managed to move his head fast enough if the Shadow Vigilante immediately shot at him. He would have died. Hell, I would be dead if it was that close to me and that's saying something since my hunter reflexes and reaction timing are very superior." Melinda explained.

I stuttered as I replied, "T-Then the shooter must have hesitated for a split second! I don't know why but it was probably just enough for Luca to move enough so only his shoulder took the blow! After all, there's no denying Luca was shot! He's still a victim in the end of all this!"

"If that is not enough to convince you then look at this," Melinda pointed up at the photo of Luca's bullet wound. "See the entry point in the middle of his shoulder?" We nodded as she looked towards Luca. "Question, Luca. Is the bullet still impeded in your shoulder?"

Before Luca could answer, I spoke up instead. "No, the bullet went clean through him. I found the hole in the back of the fitness room where that bullet ended up after it exited Luca's body. What's the point of all this?! Why are you doing this to him?!"

But it seemed like she ignored my questions as she pressed on. "Now, look at the exit wound on the back of his shoulder. Where is it?"

Shana looked at it, carefully before replying, "It looks like it's on the back of his shoulder near the top. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Actually, there's something incredibly wrong with that," Melinda said.

"Huh? What?" asked Shana.

Melinda smiled as she spoke, "Shana, hold an imaginary gun up to me using your hand and pretend like you wanted to shoot me."

"Pretend like I want to shoot you? That's not how I would word it," Shana snickered at that.

"Just do it!" Paul growled out.

Shana rolled her eyes before holding out her right hand with her thumb pointing up and her index and middle finger pointing straight ahead as she pointed it at Melinda from where she was. Melinda then said, "If you shot my shoulder from where you stand, where would the bullet exit?"

Shana's left eye closed as if she were taking aim before her eye soon reopened in realization. "It… it would exit straight out."

Melinda nodded. "Yes. So then explain how the bullet made a last second decision to curve and exit at such a high point on the back of Luca's shoulder. The answer: it wouldn't. A bullet would fly straight through no matter what. Willie, seeing that your seat is next to me and you're a mediocre gun expert, I want you to now point your imaginary gun at my shoulder at the angle the gun must have been at to match the entry and exit wound Luca has."

Willie hesitantly complied with her and did so but the result was bewildering. Willie's wrist was pointing at the correct angle in a painful way as his hand trembled with how high it was craned up with his straight arm holding his "gun". Willie dropped his hand and shook his head. "That's the only way the Shadow Vigilante had to have held the gun when he shot poor Luca. But it don't make any sense! That angle is too weird for anyone with a gun to be held with the intention to shoot us!"

"We already confirmed the Shadow Vigilante was around our height, so we can't say the upward angle the bullet path took was because they were shorter than Luca. Since we are all around the same height then we can confirm they had no reason to be pointing the gun up at any of us if they were the same height as us. They would have held it straight out with no angles needed," Melinda expounded upon.

"So then what? Are you saying it's impossible for the Shadow Vigilante to have shot Luca because their wrist would need to be at an awkward angle to give him the wound he got? Then explain how he got the wound because it's obvious he was shot no matter how you look at it!" I screamed out at Melinda.

Melinda shrugged. "Certainly. It would be impossible for the Shadow Vigilante to shoot at Luca like that with the angle Luca's wound took and the gunpowder burn he suffered, however…" She then lifted her right hand and made the gun with her finger before she did something that turned my blood cold and my face sickly as it was drained of blood. She took her "gun" and pointed it… at herself! "...it would be completely natural for the Shadow Vigilante to get that angle and burn… if the Shadow Vigilante shot himself," She finished her statement.

Shana and Willie looked horrified at Melinda as Paul let out a laugh. "Now this is something! Melinda has cracked this case wide open! I knew you were good but you've blown me away today! Your deductions have impressed me immensely!"

Melinda then blushed as she smiled at him. "It means the world to hear such praise. I'm glad I was able to please you, sir!"

Luca remained silent, his eyes closed and his head tilted down. My head slowly moved from side to side as my voice croaked in, "No… it can't… it can't be. Luca? L-Luca is… the Shadow... Vigilante?"

Class Trial Intermission

Sorry for the long wait. I've had to deal with so much shit recently and I've literally had so little time for myself so I haven't been able to write as much as I would like but I finally got to a point where I could sit back and finish my chapter! I'm hoping you liked this first half of the class trial! Please leave a review and give me your thoughts on this chapter and what you think will happen next! I hope I can get the next chapter out fast because what will happen I know no one will be expecting! Until then, see ya later! Puhuhuhu~