"Welcome to the third trial." Monokuma spoke. "Here you'll de-yada, yada, yada. You get what needs to be done. You're all smart folks."

"The victim was Ito Tsubomi." Mitsuba recapped. "We found her in the Records' Room this morning. Her time of death was 6:43 AM. Given this information, anyone present is a suspect."

"Not exactly." Sora spoke up. "Remember, during the investigation process, I took everyone's alibis for the time. Two of us or off the suspect list."

"Tomoki and me." Kirika said.

"If Kiri says so and Tomoki backs it up, I trust it." Aiyaka stated.

"Don't call me that." Kirika deadpanned back.

"Fine, Ms. Dark and Gloomy." replied Aiyaka. "Anywho, let's move along. If you're going to be that way, what makes you think these two alibis apply. They could have set a trap."

"Ah, good point!" Takashi exclaimed. "If a trap was set, they could go elsewhere and establish an alibi."

"You arrived late, but I believe we told you two that a bat was found at the scene. That is the murder weapon." Tomoki said

"And how does that prove a trap wasn't set. A bat could still be used with a wire or some contraption."

"Except none of those things were found." Takura stated. "If the culprit was trying to establish an alibi, they wouldn't be there or have the time to clean that up."

"Consider if we did. Why would one of us not abscond with the bat?" explained Tomoki.

"Makes since now." Takashi admitted.

"So, their alibi stand." Sora said. "That makes things easier with two less suspects. Five are much better than seven."

"Four, not five. And that's three less suspects." Aiyaka spoke up.

"What do you mean? Who are we excluding?" asked Mitsuba.

"Me, of course. You mentioned the weapon was a bat, correct?"

"And how does that eliminate you from the list?" Mitsuba cocked her head.

Easy. Think about all the force required to do someone in with a bat. Given my non-usable arm in the relative tightness of the scene, how could I pull this off?"

The group thought for a moment before they spoke again.

"Fine, your logic matches up." Mitsuba agreed. "And it's not like you've been thinking all this time. There is no way you could have done it."

"See, you will need to trust me more. Besides, why would I kill Strawberries?"

"That's a good point!" Mitsuba replied. "Why was Ito targeted for being the mastermind? What actions made her appear suspicious"

"What about where we found her?" Kirika chimed in.

"The Records' Room?" said Sora. "What of it?"

"No one really went in there. What was she doing in there?" Kirika said.

"That would seem a bit weird." Takura stated. "If I recall correctly, we found nothing there before."

"I'm know the reason Ito most likely entered the room."

The room turned towards Tomoki at his statement.

"The day after Taru's death, I had summoned Ito alone and the pair of us conspired to unravel the mastermind. Since then, we searched and relayed our information among ourselves. It is without a doubt, this was the activity Ms. Tsubomi was engaged in before her untimely demise. I hope you do not hold these actions against us. This strategy was mine. Given our circumstances and time constraints, this was the best course of action in my honest opinion."

"I…I understand." admitted Mitsuba. "The plans you develop and implement usually succeed. I guess that's why you got your title." She chuckled. "But thanks for your honesty. With this, we know why Ito was in the room."

"So, because Strawberries was in the Records' Room before wake up call, someone saw her and offered her. I mean, other than seeing a goth-loli in the morning, what coulda set them fully off?" Aiyaka questioned.

"The books, right?" Kirika chimed in again.

"Books set someone here off?" Takashi spoke.

"It may appear in sane, but the contents of said books are nothing to scoff at." Tomoki said. "I scanned over the pair of text Ito had set aside. The first contain the profiles on the eleven of us who awoke here. This tome was knowledge among us all. However, the text beside it is different. This black clad book contains information and images over the Killing School Life. Given it was unknown and compounded with her early activity and our captor's admiration of Junko Enoshima, I believe facts speak for themselves."

"A case of paranoia and misunderstanding…" Takura murmured.

"I would be remiss should I not mention an additional clinical found within the book." Tomoki said, picking up his speech.

"Another clue? How would a murder book help us out more so than whatcha said?" piped in Aiyaka.

During my observation of the contents of the book, hidden among the pages was a hair strand."

"Hair? What of it?" asked Takashi.

"From our conversations, it is safe to say no one present knew of the book's content. This would imply Ito was the only person who had observe the interior. Such a thing could explain a hair; it having fallen from her during her reading. However, the hair found does not match Ito. Ms. Tsubomi as we all know had long, blue hair. They hair present in the text with a small, brown hair."

"Small, brown hair…" Kirika took in the information.

"Playing devil's advocate, who is to say that hair belong to the culprit?" Mitsuba mused the thought.

"Recall the scene." began Tomoki. "The book had yet to be opened before I checked it. Then, should the hair be mine, the color would not match the description given. From this, I concluded the culprit saw the book open when they struck, providing them with more evidence in their mind. After their blow that fell Ito, they closed the book, unaware of their single hair having fallen, and awaited to see if Ito truly was the mastermind."

"If this is true, then we have three suspects left." Mitsuba stated. "Sora, Takashi, and Takura all have brown hair and no alibi."

"Mitsuba, you were with Takura when you found the body, correct?" asked Aiyaka. "And Sora was with Artsy and Tomoki. Is this about right? Sorry, I came a bit later, remember?"

"Yeah, why?" Mitsuba replied.

"Well, the rules state the announcement sounds when two people find the corpse. I was wondering about that rule a little. Hey, Monokuma, what counts as "two" people?"

"What…huh, me…Sorry, I was dozing off a little." Monokuma snapped to attention. "To answer your question, the number refers to the number of people outside the room who find it."

"And what of the killer? What if they leave and reenter the room?" plundered Aiyaka.

"Well, in that case, they count as someone who found the body. I guess this is the first time anyone has asked me that. So you are better remember this!"

"Heh, thanks for the tip and clue." Aiyaka giggled. "There, I've cleared Takura."

"Huh? How was he cleared?" Sora asked.

"I see." Tomoki raised his fist to his mouth in thought. "Monokuma mentioned that Aiyaka was the first to pose that question. For Takura to find the body, get Mitsuba, and trick us into thinking he truly did, it would be improbable."

"Because he couldn't have known about that clause!" added Mitsuba.

"Y'know Aiyaka, for your airheadedness, that was helpful." Kirika spoke while facing the floor.

"Thanks. Wait, did you just insult me?"

"So, the culprit is either Takashi or Sora." Takura said. "Tell us all, what was it you two were doing at the time of the crime?"

"I was getting up around then." Sora stated.

"I overslept. That's why I was late." Takashi said.

"Both these statements fit their character." spoke Tomoki. "This does not absolve one of their lies, however."

"YAWN! I'm starting to get bored." Monokuma interrupted. "Can you all wrap this up soon? I mean, you've got a 50-50 chance and seven voters. Just guess and hope you get it right."

"Now hold on, will get this soon." Mitsuba interjected.

"I think I know who it is." Kirika spoke.

"What, again!?" Aiyaka called out.

"It's Takashi."

The statement from Kirika made everyone look at the blamed party.

"Me!? Why me!?" he stammered.

"Your behavior. You've quieted down."

"What does that mean? How does that implicate me?"

"The only times you spoke, you questioned the evidence. Also, you were late earlier."

"Ah, I see!" Takashi said. "It's the same as last time. You guess the culprit and wait to spot a tell or direct incrimination!"

"Takashi…" Mitsuba uttered.

"See, she's going after us all till she finds the killer. This will get us nowhere."

"Takashi, that is enough." Tomoki spoke up. "This is evidence against you. Even in these dire straits, and innocent party with defend them self. You are along the lines of attacking her statements. We have outlined the motive, so just admit it and go out with dignity."

"We understand a little, Takashi. Please." pleaded Sora.

"I…I…Okay, fine. It…it was me." Takashi said.

"Ooo, an admission! Perfect chance to start the voting!" the voice of the monochromatic bear practically sung.

As before, the voting process proceeded in the corporate was chosen.

"Yup, Takashi Nagai, the Ultimate Architect, murdered Ito Tsubomi, the Ultimate Voice Actress. Now, this bear has places to be. Let's give it everything we've got! It's Punishment Time!"

"Huh, wait!" Sora let out for Takashi's sake.

Monokuma pressed the red button in front of him. As with Suzuki, the floor beneath Takashi brought the bespectacled man downward.

The lights flashed on, illuminating the dark space. Surrounding Takashi on four sides were giant, Jenga-like towers. Poles rose on each side of the four towers and produced hammers. Takashi looked in confusion as hammers started going up and down, knocking blocks away. Little by little, the stability of the towers were threatened. The hammers chipped away more and more until they couldn't take it any longer. With a great sound, the towers collapsed inward. Beneath the rubble, a pool of red began to form.

"Wow, what a show! It certainly woke me right up" Monokuma shouted. "Well, off you go. Have a nice rest of the day. And remember, after today, you only have six days left."

Alone, the person recalled would have occurred till this point. Now that the halfway point of their game had been reached, things were bound to get interesting. They knew of the secret alliance between Tomoki and Ito. They knew about Takashi's growing distrust. They knew it all. Anything underneath this roof was not a secret.

In order to keep Junko's will alive, everything had to go according to the plan. The game was proceeding along the lines they had anticipated.

With six members of the class remaining, this game was not over. No, it was not a game. It was a battle between hope and despair. One that would be in favor of Junko's side. That was one thing they could be sure of.

Survivors: 6